#I made my way over there and was so ready for this epic battle and ended up killing it in 5 seconds. I was too powerful ���

[vynnyal]

Finally finishing totk

[dragon-ascent]

You face off against the Geo Lord in an epic showdown.

"The moment is now, Rex Lapis," you announce, staring down at him from where you are perched. "I have come to challenge you!" Every single moment of your journey has culminated into this moment right here.

What you were made for.

And if fate has willed it, it's what your foe was made for, too. The older man is poised, golden eyes shining in amusement as he looks up at you. "You have done well to come this far, esteemed one. If a battle is what you seek, then so be it. Ready your weapon!"

"Weapon?" You laugh mockingly. "No, I need no weapon to fell you!"

The god smirks in response. "Then nor shall I use one." He gets into position, eyeing you like a hawk. Waiting for your first move.

"Here comes...the cuddle monster!" You jump off the couch and glomp your husband. "Raaaaaah!"

"A formidable move," commends Zhongli, holding you tight, "but can you counter...this?" He squeezes you, but you squeeze back with as much vim and vigor.

You cackle. "You're no match for me, Deus Auri!" You kiss his cheeks repeatedly, tackling him onto the soft sofa.

"Ah...you are strong..." he murmurs, holding you by the waist. "However, do not underestimate me, Huggable One." He takes your mouth by surprise in a deep and passionate kiss, rubbing your hips as he does so.

You find yourself melting, turning limp atop your husband. "Oh my," you sigh dreamily when he pulls away from the kiss. "Perhaps I'm no match for the Geo Lord after all..."

But just when Zhongli thinks the match is over, you grin and slide your hand teasingly lower, cupping him between his legs, eliciting a moan of surprise from him.

"I know just how to vanquish you," you tease, giggling at the way he closes his eyes with a small smile as you gleefully advance your surprise turnaround attack.

Suffice to say, the victory goes to you tonight.

[msbigredmachine]

Power Couple: The Aftermath (Roman Reigns)

When the Tribal Chief falls, no one helps him back up better than you do. Set after the epic main event of Wrestlemania XL.

Pairing: Roman Reigns/OC

Warnings: Excess fluff and of course, smut.

Word Count: 3.3k

A/N: Yes, I'm still in my feelings, and there was only one pairing I could properly convey my feelings with, because this has also been their story all along. For new readers, I strongly suggest reading the first two one-shots before delving into this one. Hope you enjoy!

Banner made by me. Credit to the owners of the pics and gifs

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

1,316 days.

All wiped away with three slaps of the referee’s hand to the hard canvas.

Even after Cody rolled away from him, Roman could not move. Hell, he couldn’t breathe. Not when the air had been punched out of his lungs, literally and figuratively. It was only when Dwayne pulled him out of the ring by his pants leg that his body managed to kickstart itself into some sort of motion. And even then, all he could do was turn his head to look back and watch as Cody celebrated in the ring with his wife Brandi, holding his title belt aloft for the whole world to behold as the ultimate symbol of his victory. 

It should have been you and him up there. It should have been him. Again. But it wasn’t. Because the one time he got careless in battle, it cost him everything. Throwing years of hard work down the drain.

And it made him sick to his stomach.

The sound of ‘Kingdom’ blaring through the Lincoln Financial Field Stadium was torture to the former champion’s ears. His legs felt like lead as he dragged his battered body up the ramp, ignoring Dwayne’s baseless, performative complaints about nothing, as he put distance to the tableau of triumph of his opponent. The weight of this defeat was heavy, suffocating even, and he was desperate to get the fuck out of there, to get out of Philadelphia, out of Pennsylvania and all its environs. As he reached the top of the vast WrestleMania stage, pain surged through his abdomen, forcing him to recoil into himself and double over in pain. 

His Wise Man noticed his plight and paused to observe his charge. "My Tribal Chief, are you alright? Do you need-"

Roman shook his head. "I'm fine,” he snapped, willing himself to keep walking until he made it past the curtain. He leaned against the wall and bent over, resting his hands on his knees.

“What can I do, my Tribal Chief?” Paul implored.

“Just…get my wife on the bus and make sure everything’s ready to go. I’ll be there soon."

“Right away my Tribal Chief,” Paul replied eagerly, scurrying off to do as he was told.

It was a good long minute before Roman managed to pull himself back upright, staggering towards his locker room. Walking was so hard, his body hurt so much, but none of it hurt as much as the gut punch of failure. Much worse than any of the bumps he took was the shame, the disappointment engulfing him; so much so that he couldn’t bear to look anyone else in the eye right now.

Because he had failed everyone who cared about him.

He had failed you.

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

All good things come to an end. That’s how the saying goes, right? The interesting part of that was that on the surface, it was a throwaway little trope, harmless and benign, until something that meant a great deal to you got taken away in the blink of an eye, or in this case, a three-count. The moment the bell signaled the pinfall that confirmed your husband's time as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion had come to an end, you knew he would never be the same again.

It wasn't unlike Roman to be a little on edge weeks before a big premium live event. And given the nature of the two main event matches he was locked in for the fortieth annual WrestleMania, you expected he would be grouchy. But this time around seemed different, and not in a good way. He’d been surly towards everybody, including you. He disappeared for hours working out obsessively. He’d even thrown out a female member of the press who had dared to boo him at the press conference on Saturday night. Now, despite the final match of the weekend concluding nearly an hour ago, Roman was yet to return to his tour bus. That only meant one thing; he was not taking this defeat well, and it was up to you to lift him up, like you always did.

When you found the door boasting your husband's name, Heyman was outside, pacing back and forth. The Undisputed title, which you had grown accustomed to seeing on his shoulders on behalf of his Tribal Chief, was missing; a stark, prickly reminder of the outcome of tonight’s proceedings. 

"That bad, huh?" you asked, reading the Wise Man’s expression in a second. In fact, he looked on the verge of tears, his shoulders sagging with despair. The weekend had taken an emotional toll on him, too.

"He won’t come out," he informed you, his usually confident voice shaky and helpless. “He won’t let anyone in and he won’t speak to anyone…”

You raised your index finger to cut him off. "Correction, he won’t speak to anyone that’s not me," you stated, shooting him a warm smile, one among countless others you had shared with him since burying the hatchet after years of friction between you. "Go be with your family, Paul. I’ll handle my husband.”

“He’s my family, too,” he declared softly, the conviction in what you used to call his beady eyes, palpable and heartbreaking, “Both of you are.”

Touched and at a loss for words, you could only look on as he turned around slowly and made the lonely walk down the hallway. Turning back to the locker room door, you sucked a breath between your teeth and blew it out, mentally preparing to confront this task head-on.

You knocked timidly and stuck your head inside. If Roman was in as foul a mood as Paul let on, even you did not want to be there. It had taken a few unfortunate incidents over the years for you to learn that even a kiss from his wife wasn't enough when he got too stressed. It never stopped you from trying, though. Kissing was one of your favorite things to do with him after all.

"Knock, knock," you called out softly, listening for signs of movement as you stepped inside and closed the door. The room that was bustling just a few hours ago was now stripped bare and cloaked in dead quiet. It was an eerie contrast to the majestic, sweeping grandiosity that encompassed his entrance to the ring tonight. “Babe?”

Venturing further inside the room, you found him on the couch, his strong, broad back to you, his shoulders slumped dejectedly. An open bottle of Jack Daniels sat on the coffee table in front of him. His ula fala was draped over the headrest, where his title belt would surely have been. 

This was the reality no one warned you about after a monumental loss. It plunged you into a cold, dark abyss, wrought with biting silence and dreary loneliness now that the show was over and the lights were no longer bright. The what ifs, buts and maybes crooning in your ear like a morbid symphony. It was an experience all too familiar to you unfortunately, and recently, too; you and your husband had traveled down this terrible road following the tragic miscarriage of your son in the summer of 2022.

Stepping in front of him, you wiggled into his personal space and made yourself at home on his lap. Gently wrapping your arms around him, you sighed with relief when he instantly melted into you and his huge arms enveloped your waist, holding on to you like his life depended on it. 

“My baby,” you cooed soothingly, the sound of your lips meeting the side of his head piercing through the emptiness of the locker room. “My love.” 

The audible hitch of his breath at your soft words was expected. In the course of your lifetime, those two little phrases had garnered a poignant significance. As words of comfort and solace first uttered by your mother when you were a child, you murmured those words regularly to Roman between sweet, playful kisses when he was courting you, basking in the bliss of newfound love, and again as part of your wedding vows as you became man and wife. They were the first words you whispered to Laleia the first time she was placed in your arms. They were the words that you had cried yourself to sleep with as you mourned the baby boy you had lost. You and Roman had seen each other at your absolute best and worst, and now, in the isolation of this room, with just the two of you and nobody else, this was another bad moment you had to overcome.

“On Matt’s birthday, too,” Roman finally spoke, wiping at his nose with a sniffle. “Fuck, man.”

“I know,” you replied, running your hand comfortingly up and down his upper arm. As he met your gaze at last, you saw that his eyes were bloodshot. Seeing him like this broke your heart afresh. You held him as close as possible, willing all his pain and his hurt into your soul, wanting nothing more than to take it all away.

"I fucked up," he breathed, his voice raw and choked with misery, "I fucked up out there, babe...I let Dwayne down...I let y'all down. I lost the title and I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what? Over thirteen hundred days as champion?" you countered, "Nine WrestleMania main events? Billions of dollars in revenue? A roof over your child's head and three square meals a day? One loss will never wipe any of that away, don't ever get it twisted."

He exhaled tiredly as he hugged you tighter, resting his head on your shoulder. "I really wish I felt that way right now," he mumbled.

"It'll take some time, but you will," you asserted, running his fingers through his loose hair before tugging it lightly, making him look at you again. "Roman, you changed the industry, just like you said you would when we started this. No one will ever, ever forget what you've done these past four years. Be proud of all of it. You've been through so much, you sacrificed too much to not be proud."

Roman nodded in understanding. He just wished he didn't feel so down. "Baby, I...I want you to know how sorry I am. I know how much you wanted this. And I've been such a dick to you lately-"

You kissed your teeth and waved his apology away. "Nah. That don't matter no more. And I don't care that you didn't win. All I care about is you being safe when you're out there. Being healthy for our family and our daughter, who will be very happy to have her Daddy home, by the way. So we took an L. Okay, we'll only come back stronger. We had one bad night. Guess what? I plan on giving you a better morning, if you know what I mean." You rounded off your words with a wink, your heart blooming when he chuckled in response. "See, there's that smile I love so much. Keep your head up, baby. You did so good tonight. I couldn't be more proud of you."

Roman leaned into you, his forehead pressed to yours, breathing you in and filling his head with your scent. It was like breathing fresh air. “I love you, Y/N. I love you with all of my heart. I don’t deserve you, I never have.”

The tears you'd been fighting all night resurfaced, but you blinked them away as you captured his lips with yours, your hand sliding over the back of his neck. He clung to you, a different emotion quickly overtaking him as he returned your kiss with a bit of aggression, his tongue whipping hungrily against yours, savoring your mouth as though he was tasting it for the very first time. You surrendered to his every whim, your other hand raking through his hair then caressing gently down to his chest, resting your palm over the spot where his heart pumped for you. You could feel how much he needed this moment of intimacy, and you had no qualms giving him anything he asked for.

With one quick tug of your legs, Roman had you straddling him on the couch, bringing you chest to chest with your lush backside resting on his growing bulge. He paused for a moment to take a deep breath, then sealed your mouths again, his tongue invading, probing, a moan rumbling in his chest when you matched his energy, the emotions take over this loving embrace. He could never get enough of you, of the passion that overwhelmed him by your mere presence, immersing him in a love and gratitude he would always feel for you no matter what state of mind he was in.

Eventually, you pulled away from each other, breathless, panting, lips glistening with each other’s saliva. His heart raced at the familiar gleam in your darkened eyes. You weren’t done with him, not just yet, and this was confirmed as you slowly slid off him and sank to your knees between his spread thighs, pushing the front of his shirt up to expose his newly honed six-pack abs.

“Do you know how fucking hot you looked tonight, Daddy?” you purred to him, leaning in to run your tongue over the ridges of muscle on his taut belly. “Last night? All week? Do you have any idea of all the nasty shit I’m gonna do to you on the bus?”

Roman’s dick jumped in his joggers as his imagination ran wild. He squirmed in his seat, his bottom lip slipping between his teeth as your tongue lapped at his belly, your mouth warm on his skin, all while you rubbed the fullness of his bulge straining eagerly against your touch. “Baby girl…” he choked out, as your fingers peeled the waistband of his pants, unveiling his big, beautiful brown dick. 

“Hmm, commando. I like it,” you commented with a smirk, curling your fist around his turgid length.

“Babe, wait…ain’t Paul outside?”

“I sent him home. Plus, won't be the first time he's seen me suck you off.” Your small hand massaged his blunt, plum-shaped head as you licked a trail along the underside of his dick, enjoying the gasps of pleasure that he made. Licking up the pre-cum that had gathered at the tip, your mouth opened wider to take him in. He stared you down with an intense look in his dark irises, which soon fluttered shut as your lips wrapped tight around his flesh, his stomach tensing as he felt himself slide deeper inside. “Awww, fuuuck,” he moaned.

Pulling back for a second, you held his lust-filled stare and stroked his dick a little harder, giggling when it twitched in your grip. A defiant look clouded your eyes as you licked at his tip before pushing him back into your mouth. It was enough for him to nut by just watching you, the visual of your lips sliding slowly up and down his length, that sexy mouth of yours making sweet love to his dick. It felt so good that he sank further into the plush leather of the couch, his head rolling back lazily against the headrest, his toes curling inside his brand new Air Reigns sneakers. All the pain and punishment his body had endured tonight melted away and was replaced with much more pleasurable sensations.

“I love the way you suck my dick, wifey,” he praised you, forcing himself to observe you through his barely open eyelids. “Mmm, that slutty little mouth is warm as fuck…You so sexy, baby, keep lookin’ up at me like that...” 

His raspy growls had you glancing back up at him, batting your pretty eyelashes as you sucked him off. Wetness pooled between your thighs at his famished expression. Completely aroused, you picked up the pace as your hands and your mouth worked in tandem, sucking and stroking his dick, pleasuring him from tip to base. His breathing became heavier as he throbbed against your tongue, his hands finding the back of your head as he got lost in the paradise of your warm, wet mouth. 

“Damn, baby. I bet that pussy leakin’ for me right now. You gettin’ wet sucking Daddy off, beautiful?” he taunted, his tongue swishing over his bottom lip at the same time your tongue swirled around the base of his shaft. The little moan that escaped your throat told him he was right. Of course he was; he knew his wife better than anybody else. “Good girl. Keep goin', I want that pussy extra wet. I’ma lick all that shit up when we get on the bus.”

With another soft moan, you crawled closer to his body and bore down on him, bobbing your head up and down that long, fat cock. Scooping your hair up into his large fist for leverage, Roman rocked his hips upwards from his seated position, thrusting in and out of your mouth. You relaxed your throat to take him deeper, moaning around his dick and letting him know how much you were enjoying him fucking your face. You rolled his balls in your hand, caressing the heavy, tightened sac to send him over the edge. It was working, as he began thrusting faster, his husky groans of pleasure amplifying as he neared his release.

“Unnnhh, baby, here it comes…Fuck, open your mouth,” he gasped, not waiting for you to do so as he yanked you by your hair to free himself from your intoxicating mouth. You quickly opened wide as he grabbed his cock and jerked it desperately against your tongue. He caught sight of the glazed-over quality of your gaze, and he knew that your panties were completely ruined, your pussy dripping with your need for him. He planned to take care of that very soon.

It was a show more spectacular than Mania, the sight of his gorgeous face contorted with pleasure, his head thrown back, eyes rolled to the heavens as his orgasm washed over his big body. Your moans harmonized together with each spasm of his cum down your throat, making you swallow every drop he unleashed. His grip on your hair was tight and almost painful, but you were turned on anyway, aroused by the knowledge that no one brought him to this state of paramount pleasure like you did. Licking your lips, you scooped him back into your mouth to clean him up, released him with a soft pop when you finished, and tucked him back inside the confines of his joggers. You giggled as he stared dazedly at the ceiling, licking his lips to catch his breath, his big frame slack and helpless as he recovered from the intense orgasm.

"Goddamn, baby...Shit," he groaned.

Wiping your mouth with the back of your hand, you stood up and sat back on his lap, welcoming the gentle press of his mouth to yours in a sweet, grateful kiss. “You feel better, Daddy?” you asked.

"Much better. I needed that so much. Thanks, baby," he smiled up at you, his stomach doing flips as you smiled back. He truly was the luckiest man in the world.

“Mm-hmm. Luckily, there’s more where that came from,” you assured him with another kiss before getting to your feet and pulling him up to his. “Come on, Daddy. Let's go home. We got a toddler to take care of. We'll figure out all the other stuff when it's time."

He nodded in agreement and squeezed your hand. “Okay, baby. Home it is.”

A new chapter in your story had been opened tonight, and the path ahead seemed uncertain and even scary. But you both took pride in the fact that as long as you kept writing it together, your love story was going to remain as beautiful as it already was.

But make no mistake about it; Roman Reigns was going to rule the wrestling world again. That was one story that was never going to end.

THE END

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

Thoughts? How sappy was this😢Was quite cathartic for me, loved writing it.

Thank you all so much for reading and commenting!

TAGGING: @jxtina-86 @wrestlingprincess80 @fame-ass-ers @southerngirl41 @alyyaanna @squishyguishy @jstarr86 @murrylove @thewarlordsworld @mzv11 @cozyaliensuperstar7 @nayys-world @hunnidmilly @harmshake @cyberdejos2 @papireigns-05 @niknakbucks92 @captainwithoutmakingitlove @sovereigngoth @aisharmi @kennedi0818 @alichesmi @thesamoanqueen @herwickedlittlesins @questionable-behaviour @tribalchiefreigns @2-muchsauce @thatbxtchsblog @raya-hunter01 @marchi36753 @lovelysuccess @christinabae @wooahmiri @thatonecarebear @tabletheofhead @rheaanddamianfan @vebner37 @hanley1577 @princessesareforsuckers @-naturally @joannasteez @bbygirlky18 @lilucey @theninthwonder @melaninsugababy @chocovibesonly @msbluehaz3 @scarlettnoir01 @heerah34 @empressdede @tbmotw @darkangelchronicles @visionarymode @marasdeathnote @aintnorainbows @meggylynnloves @shantinextdoor @harlemblipster @trc-punzel @afterdarkprincess @nbanenefrmdao @sassginaswanmills @purplehairgawdess @holisticcoach @girlwhogaf @royalkay23 @heyitsnajabrinee @stoner2k @reci1996 @catxo @iamimanim @lookmais @ts1mp0ne @shonny09 @lizzyd1ish @m3llowww @skyesthebomb @final1miya @mzv11 @kia1996 @randomuser0711 @yourtribalqueen @caramelcleopatraa @katymae12344 @that-one-anxious-mango @yana3sworld @ajenae @truefant4sy @thetribalqueen @bhjszsdxc

[sitp-recs]

HP Rec Fest 2024

day 9: a wip

so very excited to be reccing two of my favorite authors for @hprecfest today! what a privilege to have WIPs from both of them this year. it feels like an early Christmas gift and I’m so hyped up. I’ll try to keep this short & sweet (LIES) and not give too much away, but I’d love to scream about these with anyone else who’s following them!

First Watch of Night by @tackytigerfic (E)

Harry Potter defeated Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts on May 2nd, 1998. But what if he didn't?

Tacky’s FTH started posting a couple days ago and it’s already consuming everyone’s hearts and minds (as it should). this is the Voldemort wins AU meets time travel multiverse we’ve dreamt about and deserve. the tags were clearly crafted to meet my cravings and paint the most exciting scenario: wartime politics, magical theory, undercover, the list goes on and up to perhaps the most important tag of all (This Fic Asks the Question Would Harry Potter Have Sex With Himsel ‼️) and I am ready to inhale this in an obsessive frenzy. Tacky is my reference when it comes to Drarry romance and gorgeous prose, so I just know this is gonna be epic, heart-wrenching and potentially ruining in the most satisfying ways. I’m extra excited bc (don’t ask me how) I was able to avoid all excerpts posted this year hoping to stay in the dark and I’ll save the experience for my birthday as a lil treat!

I will also say (this time as a personal note) that having been friends with T for some time now, I know what this accomplishment means and how much this journey took from them over the last few years - there’s a renewed sense of pride and appreciation you develop watching your friends achieve something massive like this, I couldn’t be prouder of them!

Little Gods by @the-starryknight (M)

The Ministry claimed that the restrictions on magical education were for the good of wizard-kind, but it doesn't feel like that when Harry works his dull machinist job. With a new mission and the advent of a snowy winter season, Harry and his compatriots might find a way to keep their underground organization alive and plan for future teachings one banned artifact at a time.

my second rec is Starry’s advent fic, which caught me completely off guard and made me scream at my phone in excitement for about 5 minutes. their Christmassy fics have a little altar in my heart and figure in all my comfort lists (see also: A Room Up There). something about the tender and unhurried slow burn, quiet contemplation and wistful tone hit a deep personal place for me. this fic opens up with such an intriguing vibe it got me immediately hooked and in love with this melancholy Harry. I wanna learn everything about his post-war life, his mysterious job and this grim corrupted world that Starry crafts with such impressive detail in about 3k (so far), contrasting with the merry holiday aesthetics. the mood is tense and enthralling, the world building perfectly executed and the hints of a complicated Drarry relationship got me at the edge of my seat yearning for more. now excuse me while I go check ch 7 and you should be doing the same 🫡

[vivaballerina]

HOLY MOLY THE ITHACA SAGA

Before I construct comprehensible thoughts- JANASNAKAKAKNSKAKDHBDHCNCJCKDOJSJWNSXLCNKSKSOQIWUWGSGSUDJJCGSJKSKSOAOWISUDUDHHDBEBSBCHDIWBJWIWIQOWNDBSKSKSJSKSJSJJAKQOQOQOSIDYTXTXVSVSHWNNMXZLLZOZSOJWHWHS

Okokokok so- first of all- I spent the entirety of the saga with my hand over my mouth. I said “Oh shit” a lot with varying emotions, and I cried even more with an even wider range of feeling. The best way for me to rant is by song, so:

The Challenge: PENELOPE’S VOICE IS ANGELIC OH MY GODS- and her MUSIC is AHHHHHHH. I love the more ‘classical’ sound (idk I don’t know anything abt music) and Jay was absolutely right about it soaring. Also waiting jumpscare :)))

Hold Them Down: I’ve been waitinggggggg for this song to release ever since I saw the birthday spoof. It did NOT disappoint. Like Ik it shouldn’t be a hype song but I felt so badass listening to it. Actually I think all the “villain’s” songs cuz I felt the same way about Thunderbringer and Get in the Water :)) THE VIBES. Like sending shivers down my spine (in good and bad ways.) AND ANTONIUS’S VOCALS WITH THE SUITOR’S CHANTING IN THE BACKGROUND IS AMAZINGGGGG-

Odysseus: Jaw dropped. The whole dam time. AHHHHHHHHHHHH. Ok so Ody’s electric guitar is BACK and ✨dangerous✨ as ever- ALSO ODYSSEUS BEING CHANTED EXACTLY LIKE POLYPHEMUS’S??? LIKE I GENUINELY THOUGHT IT WAS POLYPHEMUS’S NAME FOR A SECOND. I’ve also been waiting for this one specifically for the “You think I don’t know my own palace?” Line. It was delicious. Also I really love how the final boss battle IS Ody himself- and we’re through the suitor’s pov because symbolism. Imma break this one down a little bit more not at 1:36 am. UM THE SUITOR FUCKED UP WITH THE OPEN ARM SUGGESTION- BUT WHAT REALLY GOT ME WAS ODY’S RESPONSE BEING SO CASUAL? AMUSED? LIKE I WAS SHOOKTH. (Can you tell I’ve been shookth?) AND I WAS DEF JUMPSCARED BY TELE’S MUSIC + QUICK THOUGHT. LIKE ATHENA JUST ADOPTED TELEMACHUS AND I LOVE IT.

I Can’t Help But Wonder: 360 TURN WITH VIBES- and this is where the crying began. It was SOSOSOSOSOSO ADORABLE. It gave me such Dear Theadosia energy and that one makes me cry every time too. And then he hit us with the quick thought. And Athena. AND ATHENA. AND THEY MADE UP. BUT HE’S THE MONSTER. BUT ATHENAAAAAAAAAA

Would You Fall in Love With Me Again?: By this point I was just BAWLING. Before even the song starts after he calls her name I LOVE THE INSTRUMENTAL IT’S SO PRETTY. K, anyways- I love this song. It shows Ody’s character development- his acceptance of the monster rawr rawr rawr- but like by accepting it he can move on? Idk I’m really tired and still kinda crying. But it made me unbelievably warm and fluffy inside while still absolutely gutting me and I LOVE IT. Have I made that point clear yet? Louder for the people in the back? I LOVE ITTTTT.

I’m not ready for criteria yet- I just need to enjoy an overall AMAZING saga and the End. Of. Epic. (Not actually the end but yk what I mean guys.) I literally joined the fandom after the Underworld Saga was released so I honestly have no right to feel sentimental, BUT STILL. IT’S THE END OF AN ERA.

Wait I realized as I put the tags in that the last two titles line up:

I can’t help but wonder, would you fall in love with me again?

[epicthemusical]

The Sword and Soul

okay another one not EPIC based but decided to share here. again its Odysseus and Diomedes during the Trojan War.

Diomedes slices through enemy after enemy in the chaotic ocean of soldiers fighting. The air is hot and heavy filled with shouting and the clanging sound of metal meeting metal. He wears blood and death like a second skin. Diomedes hates war but at the same time he feels more at home on the battlefield than anywhere else. It's what he was made to do, to fight and kill, it makes him feel alive.

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Odysseus just in time to watch an enemy get a lucky slice into the chink in Odysseus armor right at his shoulder. Diomedes is on the move before he can fully process it and effortlessly cuts down anyone standing in the way. He arrives and quickly beheads the enemy Odysseus had been struggling against.

"Diomedes how nice of you to stop by and help."

Diomedes snorts as he clashes with another enemy. Odysseus grimaces as jostles his injured shoulder blocking an attack.

"Well someone has to make sure your dumb ass doesn't die."

Diomedes knocks the enemies sword aside and cuts them down.They start fighting back to back keeping each other safe as they continue their banter.

"I had it handled."

Diomedes blocks a strike heading towards Odysseus.

"Yeah sure and I'm a Trojan prince."

Odysseus tries to smirk but it is tight with pain even as he replies with a sarcastic remark.

"Oh really and why didn't you tell me that my friend?"

Diomedes huffs but doesn't try and respond as they continue to fight but to his concern Odysseus' movements start to get sluggish. By the time the enemy retreats and the battle is won Odysseus is swaying on his feet.

"Come on Odysseus let's get you to the medics."

"I'm sorry Dio..I think I'm about to pass out…"

Once Odysseus slurred words are heard he staggers and then starts to fall. Diomedes lurches to catch him as he curses. Checking the wound reveals just how much blood he has lost and an unfamiliar fear starts to creep into his heart. He picks his limp form up and starts running towards the medic tent.

"Damn it Odysseus you are not allowed to die on me you understand?"

It feels like far too long before he finally reaches the medics. He places Odysseus down on an empty cot and before he even yells for a medic someone runs up and starts looking him over. He watches them start to stop the wound from bleeding before telling him to leave.

"You can go now, you will only be in the way. I will make sure you get news on if he lives or not."

Diomedes nods and exits the tent and heads towards his own. He pushes open the tent flap and walks over to sit down on his cot. He doesn't even bother taking off his armor letting the familiar weight comfort him from his anxiety over Odysseus. He instead starts to clean his sword as his mind starts to wonder.When exactly did he start caring so much for him?

He isn't used to being afraid for others, usually every death on the battlefield is just another body, another casualty of war. He was hardened by the reality of war with nobody to care for him and nobody he cared for. Yet somehow Odysseus seems to have worked his way into his defences and refuses to let go.

Odysseus with his sarcastic remarks and sharp grins. Odysseus with his eyes full of mischief and calculated constantly ready with tricks of every kind. When he can see his bloody reflection in the blade he sheathes it and starts cleaning his spear. The familiar action is calming, helping his anxiety some.

Once he's done he just sits there as the blood dries on his skin and armor but even then he does nothing. He simply sits there waiting for news. Eventually he hears someone enter his tent and he looks to see it was Odysseus with a tired yet amused grin.

"Hey there Diomedes I was told you were worried for me."

Odysseus looks a little paler with his shoulder wrapped neatly with bandages but otherwise seems to be just fine. Diomedes relaxes a bit at the confirmation.

"Well you seem to be just fine if you can come and bother me."

Odysseus glances at his armor still on him with a knowing look that makes Diomedes both happy and anxious. He doesn't like how vulnerable it makes him feel but he also yearns for someone to really see him. Everything is always so complicated when it comes to Odysseus.

"Let's get you cleaned up."

They both work on taking off the armor and scrubbing away the dried blood with a wet cloth. The water in the basin soon turns red as Diomedes turns his attention to cleaning the armor. By the time he finishes and places the armor on its stand Odysseus is waiting for him.

"Do you want me to stay here?"

Diomedes doesn't look at him as he replies

"I don't need you here."

There it is again the look that says he knows.

"I didn't ask if you needed me here I asked if you wanted me here."

Diomedes thinks about it some before looking away. As a warrior he shouldn't need the comfort of company or to be reassured but still he finds he does want it.

"Yes… I want you to stay."

Odysseus has a victorious grin on his face as he takes a drink before tossed a wine skin at him. Diomedes catches it and nods in thanks before taking a sip.

"It's good wine."

Odysseus sits down on the cot next to him.

"Yeah unfortunately the medics would have my head if a drank too much with my injury but I thought someone might as well enjoy it."

Diomedes grimaces at that knowing how scary the medics can be about their patients health. As time goes on Diomedes continues to drink as the both talk about random stuff he finds himself relaxing.

Maybe he can get used to this.

[glitchy-anime-fan]

This might be just me, maybe I’m missing something, but I feel like some people who criticise EPIC!Odysseus for killing an infant but drawing the line at sleeping with Circe might not be taking into consideration how literally every event Odysseus has face since Troy has affected him as a person and how much guilt he’s continually facing.

To preface; THIS IS NOT ME HATING ON OTHER FANS!! I’m not trying to bully anyone or make fun of anyone, this is just something that has been in my head and I need to rant about it. This also only pertains to EPIC’s depiction of Odysseus, not any other interpretation of the character/story!

[minor grammatical edits made on 2/25/2024)

I saw a discussion on here the other day where the parties involved were talking about the changes made between the original Homeric story and EPIC. One of the main points of contention that I remember was how one of them said it rubbed them the wrong way that Odysseus was fine with killing an infant but didn’t want to sleep with Circe. I can totally understand why this may be an odd choice of morality to make, however, we have to keep in mind that the Odysseus from the Troy Saga is VERY different than the Odysseus in the Circe saga. Troy Saga Odysseus appears to be far more confident in himself and his plans; one could even argue that he’s a bit cocky. As stated by Odysseus in the ocean saga, NONE of his own men died in the battle which would add to Odysseus’ confidence and pride. This is vastly different than the grief stricken Odysseus later in the story, but more on that later.

Now the infant scene in question doesn’t necessarily set in stone Odysseus’ moral/ethical code; one could say the situation itself is an ethical dilemma (a problem with no one right answer). Odysseus is told by Zeus, king of the gods, that if he doesn’t kill Hector’s baby than Odysseus’ entire family (perhaps even kingdom) is in grave danger. However, Odysseus doesn’t make a decision right away, I’m mean the entire second song of the saga is Odysseus mulling over his options; kill an infant or risk his families safety. Neither option is preferable and I think “Just a Man” is meant to show that Odysseus isn’t a man who would readily kill a child, no questions asked, just because he was told to. In “The Infant and the Horse” Odysseus is ready to comply until he discovers that the “foe” he’s meant to kill is an infant. I mean, he literally pleads with Zeus to give him another option;

[ODYSSEUS, ZEUS]

I could raise him as my own (He will burn your house and throne)

Or send him far away from home (He'll find you wherever you go)

Make sure his past is never known (The gods will make it known)

I'd rather bleed for ya, down on my knees for ya (He's bringing you down on your knees for ya)

I'm begging please

Oh, this is the will of the gods

Please don't make me do this, don't make me do this

This part alone shows that Odysseus is, in fact, NOT fine with killing a child. Again, the second song in the saga is Odysseus going over his options and even asks for forgiveness when he finally makes his decision. I don’t know about you all, but I don’t think someone who’s okay with killing a child would ask for forgiveness. In this situation it’s very likely that Odysseus made the choice to protect his family and kingdom above all else, which I feel like is a valid choice in this situation. Odysseus was told, by a god, that him and his family would be killed should the baby live, I highly doubt Odysseus at this point was readily willing to try and call Zeus’ bluff.

It’s also not like the action didn’t affect Odysseus later. Again, I’m sure someone who wouldn’t have a guilty conscience about such a heinous act would ask for forgiveness. Similarly, two songs later in “Open Arms”, Polites brings up Odysseus’ guilt at the end when he says “I see in your face, there is so much guilt inside your heart”. Odysseus is clearly guilty about what he’s done, once again reinforcing that he is not “okay with killing an infant”. You can also pick up on it in the way Jay sings Odysseus’ songs following “Just a Man”; Odysseus seems to be more distracted or distant likely due to the shock of his own actions.

Similarly, we have to take into consideration literally every new traumatic incident Odysseus is faced with between the Cyclops and Ocean sagas. In the Cyclops Saga, Polyphemus kills a large number of Odysseus’ crew which would make this the first heavy loss Odysseus’ army would have faced since the war. I can imagine that this loss would have been a huge blow to Odysseus’ pride given the fact that none of his men died in the war. Similarly, since Odysseus is their captain and king, it’s fair to assume that Odysseus may see the deaths as his fault adding to his guilt.

Not only does he lose many in his crew, Odysseus also loses his best friend Polites which greatly effects Odysseus throughout the rest of the musical. In “Keep Your Friends Close” when the crew is scheming to open the bag of wind from Aeolus, they say “Everything's changed since Polites,” referring to how much Polites’ death not only effected Odysseus but also the crew. Odysseus becomes more and more closed off and distrusting which makes sense since it seems Polites was the one that mainly pushed Odysseus to be more open. This is another death that Odysseus can tack onto the growing list of reasons his guilt is eating him alive.

Side note: Odysseus also looses the support of Athena, his patron goddess following “My Goodby”. Athena has been someone who we can assume (given Athena’s story during “Warrior of the mind”) has been guiding Odysseus since he was a child so, even if Odysseus is no longer happy with Athena’s view on being a good warrior, it likely hurt him on some level to loose her. We have to keep in mind; Odysseus also thought of Athena as a friend not just a goddess and has thought this way since he met Athena. If we assume that Athena and Odysseus have never had a fight this bad until “My Goodby” then I think it’s fair to say that the outcome of the fight would negatively impact Odysseus. He may be too prideful to admit it at the time, but I can only imagine how awful it would feel to loose the support of a friend and patron deity at the same time.

I think one of the biggest blows yet for Odysseus comes during “Ruthlessness” when Poseidon and/or the Laestrygonians sink and kill everyone but Odysseus and his immediate crew mates (as in, the crew on Odysseus ship as apposed to those on the other twelve ships). As I mentioned earlier, throughout the ten years Odysseus and his army were in Troy not one of his men died. This changed when they faced Polyphemus, and only worsens when Poseidon attacks. Odysseus goes from having a crew of 600 (at the start of the musical) to 43 following this attack. Not only does he loose nearly all his men, it’s directly Odysseus’ fault it happened in the first place. Poseidon tells Odysseus directly that they “totally could have avoided all this had [Odysseus] just killed [Poseidon’s] son”.

Had Odysseus just listened to Athena at the time and killed Polyphemus, there would have been no one left to tell Poseidon about the attack; the god likely wouldn’t have known. Likewise, had Odysseus not let his hubris get the better of him and not told Polyphemus his full name, even if Poseidon found out his son had died or was left blind, he wouldn’t have known who did it. The whole situation is directly Odysseus’ fault and Poseidon is very clear in letting him know that. This obviously is going to add to Odysseus’ guilt exponentially since this time it truly was his own actions that lead to this scenario. Not to mention that had Odysseus just apologised, Poseidon might have been gracious to the crew.

Now there’s no saying what that would look like for Poseidon, maybe he would have only sunk one or two ships or maybe he was lying, who knows. The main point is that Odysseus was given another chance to get out of this peacefully, but he can’t swallow his pride long enough to say “I’m sorry”. Odysseus instead tries to talk his way out of it and Poseidon isn’t having it; this is another instance of Odysseus’ actions resulting casualties. All of this happens before the Circe saga mind you.

So let’s review all the instances that would be causing Odysseus guilt so far:

He’s been forced to kill a child to save his family and kingdom

He’s lost his best friend and a chunk of his crew to Polyphemus

He’s lost the support of his patron goddess who he has also seen as a friend since childhood

He’s lost 90% of his crew (give or take) due to his own actions

You cannot look at this and tell me that it would not greatly affect your mental health in any way. Odysseus is being weighed down by an immense about of grief and guilt as the story continues. It gets to be so much that in Puppeteer Odysseus tells Eurylochus that while he would like to leave Circe’s island, he can “hardly sleep now knowing everything [they’ve] done”, directly referring to the guilt that keeps weighing on his mind. By this point in the story Odysseus is so wracked with guilt that he would rather risk his own life to save the few men he has left that add anymore to his guilty conscience.

I see this as one reason why Odysseus rejects Circe’s advances. Odysseus went to save his men who were transformed because he already can’t sleep and doesn’t want to add any more guilt onto his mind. Do we really think he would change this stance just so he could sleep with a goddess? The thought of cheating on Penelope would likely cause Odysseus just as much guilt as leaving his men. This situation poses a similar dilemma to the very beginning of the story; Odysseus can either comply and free his men or not. In this moment Odysseus is in a lose-lose situation, however, he doesn’t let that stop him from trying to essentially create a third option that doesn’t add to his guilt.

And he’s successful this time.

Unlike he pleaded with Zeus, is seems that for one reason or another Odysseus is successful in pleading with Circe; he is able to create a third option for himself and his crew. He’s able to create a reality where his remaining crew survives and Odysseus doesn’t add anymore to his guilt.

Again, this is not about the original story, or other interpretations, this is solely based on what we know from EPIC. In short; Odysseus pleaded and begged with Zeus not to make him kill Astyanax, to give him a third peaceful option but failed. Odysseus is given a whole song about his own moral struggle in the options given to him and is then haunted by the guilt of his actions. He is then faced with the death of his crew due to his own actions, becoming not only a point of further guilt but also a shot at his pride. Odysseus looses Athena’s favour and looses Polities. While Odysseus may have begun to cave to Circe, I believe it was ultimately his love for his family and his desire to not add to his guilt that made him reject Circe.

Odysseus was never okay with killing an infant, he felt guilty likely from the moment he made his final decision. By the time he meets Circe, Odysseus would rather attempt to talk his way out (something that hasn’t actually worked till now) than add to his guilt. I’m truly not sure what I’m missing that, in the context of the musical, this isn’t obvious. Maybe it’s because I’m taking EPIC as its own story and not a one-to-one with the source material, who knows.

Sorry this got really long, I just needed to get it out somewhere before it plaques my mind anymore. Once again, I’m not trying to hate on anyone or bully anyone, this is just my own opinion on the matter!

[oldiesstationlover11607]

Ughhhh the vampire fic was so good!! I honestly don’t know how you do it all the time, coming out with gorgeous pieces of writing. I would like to make a request of you: Josh x Reader, where the reader and Josh have an established relationship (you can decide how long) and they’re both passing out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. All the other details can be up to you :)

Also, if it’s not too much hassle, can I be an emoji anon? You can assign one to me, whatever is fine. And if not, that’s perfectly fine, too! I might not request a ton of things, but I want to start requesting more :]

Little Bishop - Josh Dun x Reader

Warnings: None!!

Word Count: 917 (a super short and fluffy one shot!)

A/N: Thank you for enjoying the vampire fic! For anyone else reading this if you've requested something non halloween those are officially taking priority bc we're getting close to the holiday! As for you ANON... I'd absolutely love for you to be an emoji anon! How do you feel about 🥁? Especially since you seem to like Josh :) LMK! Anyways... enjoy this little fic :)

Edit: Literally posted this without adding the bandito battle stuff 😭 this was for the prompt: the bishops ;)

Josh and I had been together for three Halloweens, and by now, he knew exactly what he was in for every October. My obsession with the holiday was borderline obsessive—skeletons hanging from the ceiling, cobwebs draped in every corner, orange and black everywhere. If it could glow in the dark or be covered in fake blood, it had a place in our home.

This year was no different.

We’d spent the afternoon decorating the front yard for trick or treaters. I’d insisted on scattering tombstones across the grass and setting up a fog machine that puffed eerie clouds around the fake bones poking out of the dirt. Josh had rolled his eyes as I carefully positioned our life-sized animatronic ghoul by the front door—its shrieks and cackles would go off whenever a trick-or-treater came near. The pumpkins we’d carved sat on the porch, three glowing faces staring out at the street.

Honestly, I knew I drove Josh a little crazy with how over-the-top I got, but I couldn’t help it. Halloween was my holiday. And deep down, I knew he secretly enjoyed watching me get all worked up about it.

We were curled up on the couch, waiting for the first batch of trick-or-treaters to arrive. The living room was bathed in the flickering light from the scary movie playing on TV—something classic about a haunted house and creepy dolls. Josh wasn’t exactly a horror fan, but he’d make the sacrifice for me, like he did every year. I had my hand in his, squeezing it every time a jump scare made me flinch, though I pretended it didn’t.

The doorbell rang, breaking the tension of the movie.

I paused it with a grin. “You ready for this?”

Josh smirked, shaking his head. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

I jumped up, grabbing the candy bowl off the table, my heart racing with excitement. The door swung open to reveal a group of kids on the porch, their voices ringing out in unison, “Trick-or-treat!”

There was a witch, a tiny skeleton, a princess, and—my heart nearly stopped—a kid dressed as a bishop. I blinked, trying to process what I was seeing.

This kid, probably no older than ten, had nailed the costume. He was wearing a red cloak and his face was painted pale, with the lower half being black just like in the music videos. It looked like he’d stepped right out of Dema. 

“No way!” I stood there, jaw practically on the floor, looking down at the kid. Josh shuffled around behind me, reaching for the candy before joining me at the door. 

“Oh my god,” Josh muttered under his breath, eyes wide in disbelief.

I nudged him with my elbow, a huge grin spreading across my face. “I love your costume,” I beamed, grabbing out an overly generous handful of candy from the bowl Josh was holding.

“Dude, your bishop costume is epic. Respect.”

The kid’s eyes lit up, and he beamed. “Are you–”

“Yeah.” Josh grinning crouched down to give him a high five before waving goodbye to the kid’s parents who had been excitedly filming the entire interaction. As the kids ran off, I closed the door and turned to Josh, still grinning like a maniac. “That just made my entire night! See? Halloween is magical.”

Josh shook his head, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Alright, I’ll admit—that was pretty awesome.”

“If I had my way, we’d live in a haunted house year-round,” I said, pressing my lips to his. 

Josh laughed, draping his arm over my shoulders as I snuggled up against him. “I know you would. But I think the neighbors already think we’re a little too... much.”

“Too much, festive—same thing.” I leaned into him, feeling ridiculously happy. The movie resumed, the eerie glow of the screen casting shadows across the living room. I glanced around, admiring our decorations for what felt like the hundredth time—black candles flickering on the mantle, fake cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, and the orange glow of pumpkin lights filtering in from outside.

Josh gave my hand a playful squeeze, pulling me from my thoughts. “What are you plotting over there? You look like you’re about to go full psycho on me.”

I laughed, leaning my head on his shoulder. “Maybe I am. I just love this. The decorations, the costumes, the candy, the scary movies. And doing it all with you.”

He softened, kissing the top of my head. “I know I give you a hard time, but I love how much you love it. I mean, if skeletons and haunted houses make you happy, I’m all in.”

I grinned up at him, my heart swelling at his words. “Just wait until next year. I’m thinking of going even bigger. Full haunted house experience—fog, jump scares, maybe a maze in the backyard.”

Josh groaned dramatically, but I could see the smile in his eyes. “I’ve created a monster.”

Before I could respond, the doorbell rang again. More trick-or-treaters. I hopped up, practically bouncing with excitement.

Josh watched me with that look—the one that said he was more than willing to let me drag him into my Halloween obsession. He’d give me grief about it all night, but I knew the truth.

As I opened the door to another group of kids, Josh leaned back on the couch, letting out a content sigh. And I knew, deep down, he wouldn’t trade this—our spooky little tradition—for anything.

//

REQUESTS OPEN

Tags for bandito battle:

@banditobattlemotherfuckers @the-paladin-gay

[jiecomic]

Chapter 10- The Mirror Blade

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In the Monkie Kings cave

"One.."

"Two"

'...'

"Nineteen... Twenty..."

"Twenty one-

BOOM!

As soon as Jie heard MK hitting the ground she turned around to write down the score of his duel with Monkey King, it was a clear lose since Wukong won nine- no wait... ten times!

It was only a second before Monkey King landed on the ground in...less hurtful way than his student.

"Jie! How long this time?" He came excited to Jie knowing the good news he was about to hear

"Twenty one" answered Jie "A whole 3 seconds more than last time" her sarcastic smile didn't destroy Wukong's good mood

"Better! So much better!" He went to MK in order to praise him

At that moment Jie stopped looking at them. Instead she focused on the Mirror blade in it's scabbard laying on the rock next to her.

She took it and sat down on the floor. From the time she got it back she liked to feel it's weight in her hands, it was somehow relaxing. But she wasn't ready to open it, not yet...

"Now..."suddenly she noticed Wukong approaching her "Me and Jie will show you what the real focus is!"

Huh?

"I don't remember agreeing to that"she glanced at her master

" Don't be like that, it's... for educational purpose!" Wukong tried to make her agree

Sigh

"Ok"Jie stood up, but no one missed the fact that she still had Mirror blade in her hand

"WAIT!"suddenly MK stood between them "Is it what I think it is!? Finally I'm getting to see the epic; fox vs monkey, servant vs master, Jie vs Sun Wukong fight?!

Instead of answering Jie showed her battle-ready pose, after jumping back Wukong did the same.

MK took a seat and started filming (for Mei).

It took a while until Jie finally said- "Please... make your move first, master"

"Hah... very well" Monkey King smirked And jumped into the air

He made a few backflips in the sky and was getting his fist ready for an attack. Jie of course noticed it and was getting ready to block it, a red stripes showed on her face, her hand held the weapon tighter and her legs moved to make her pose more steady and when Wukong was about to attack she... moved aside?!

The way she made it so unexpectedly made Wukong so surprised he didn't get to react and fall flat on the ground.

For a while there was a silent for everyone to help them process what just happened, only now MK realised that the fight was over.

"Guys... I might have spaced out for a bit because I have no idea what's going on here" He said

"Same here buddy, same here..."Wukong muttered to him standing from the ground

As he was trying to get dust off of his clothes Jie muttered something

"...It's not answering.."

Hm?

"The mirror blade... It's not getting out!" She said while showing how she was trying to get the weapon out of the scabbard effortlessly

"Tsk... You know Jie.." Monkey King took the weapon from her "If you're really that scared then just addmi-

He stopped talking after he also failed to get it out

After that he was fighting with scabbard in many ways but still failed to even loosen it.

"Why isn't it working? Is it rusty? GASP! Maybe Iron Fan used some spell!"MK started talking some nonsense

"It's not that there is a problem with blade... It's because of me" Jie announced calmly while getting the weapon back in her hands "The mirror blade doesn't simply choose it's owner, it has rules..."

"Rules?" This time the one to ask was Wukong

" Yes... the user needs to follow three rules: energy control, peace of mind and the goal. Since many things happened to me all this time when the blade was out of my reach I failed to follow it's rules...

"But... you'll be able to use the blade again, right?" MK looked at her

"I... don't know"

"Master I need your help!" Jie announced as quickly as MK went back to work

" In what?" Wukong looked at her with confusion

"The reason why I can't use the mirror blade is because of your energy that I have as a result of our contact but because of how chaotic it is I can't control it at all!" She explained

"So... You want me to... teach you?

"I guess there's no other way-

"AWESOME!" He smiled " Now I have two students"

"...If that's how you prefer to call it" she muttered to him "So, what's your secret master?!"

Monkey King crossed his arms and thought for a while

"If I was to be honest... I have no idea!" He laughed

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" Jie shouted but then realised that she shouldn't rise her voice at him "ahem... I mean, is there really no... rule, theory or... anything?

"Nope!-I'm just letting it go and do what it likes!"

"It sounds...awful" Jie didn't even hold back before saying that

"Well how about just trying to learn to use it?"

"I'll.. might give it a shot, I need to get a hold of it somehow, right?

"I can't use it!"

Jie came before Wukong after an hour all tired and exhausted.

"Yeah... looking at you I can guess it's not that easy, well it's my energy after all!"He admitted proudly

"Yeah and because of how chaotic and impulsive it is I can't control it at all!"

"I told you already" he came closer to her"Instead...-

FWIP!

"Let it control you!"

Jie was surprised as she merely avoided Wukong's fist aimed for her head, not long after that followed a kick.

She didn't get if her master was helping her, or getting revenge for before

"Wait!" She shouted before avoiding the next punch"What am I supposed to do?!"

"Stop thinking!" Monkey King explained, but didn't stop attacking her "stop analysing every move, give the control to your body not brain!"

"Then give me a chance"

"HAHAHAHA, nope!"

A next attack followed by a kick and his whip-like tail. Jie felt exhausted from avoiding them but knew accepting them won't end well either.

And at the end, when she was near her limit, the attack from before returned, Wukong was back in the air getting his fist ready, there was a chance for Jie to teleport quickly...

But then... something very strange happened

Jie took out the weapon, and with scabbard on she... blocked it!

It took a while until she realised what just happened, when she turned her gaze towards Wukong he just smiled proudly " That's how you fight in the monkie king style!"

Jie couldn't hold her smile as she noticed a golden symbol shining on the scabbard of the mirror blade.

"It actually worked!"

"Congratulations, you passed the first lesson, which leaves two" Monkie King praised her allowing himself to pat her head a little

" Yeah two..." Jie's mood started to drop down

"Hey, you know... I just ordered a few noodles to celebrate, mind keeping me a company?''

After a while a bright smile returned to the demoness face, she nodded her head and put the blade aside...

'Only two rules left...'

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[mahou-furbies]

Closing thoughts on Precure All Stars Movie F

Early in the story there was a visual gag with La Mer and Prism that made me think "is this by the guy who directed the best episode in all of Precure (That tropiRouge one)?", so I had to stop and check. And indeed it is the case, and he also directed Go! Princess Precure (one of the best seasons) and the Star Twinkle movie (the best Precure movie), so I knew I was in good hands. And indeed this turned out to be a pretty good movie and a really good anniversary movie, even though it does come with the unavoidable issue that 17 characters is way too many for a 70 minute movie. Towards the end when everyone joins the battle they even have to swap to the 3d models because nobody wanted to animate all that by hand and it looks rough.

Clunky 3d aside this was a very pretty movie, with a lot of beautiful scenery and colours, creative shots and dynamic action. Unfortunately no new forms but at least there was a new Cure design to compensate.

There were also a lot of really good character moments, we did have to waste some time on characters just spouting their catchphrases, but there was still room for funny ways to have the characters from different shows interact with each other. The chaotic muscle brain energy of the Sky-Precious-Summer trio was probably my favourite. Also points for including almost all of my top tier Cures in the main cast! And as a known hater of the over-abundance of friendly and energetic Cures, I welcome the serious edgelord Cure Supreme with open arms.

Due to the short length of the movie and spending a significant amount of it on over a dozen characters just hanging out the story had to run through its worldbuilding, but I don't think that was a huge problem since the character interactions were the best thing anyway, and certainly more interesting than the exact mechanics on how the movies' world was created or where the Cures' ultimate power comes from. But I'd say the film would have greatly benefitted of some 20 extra minutes spent on the plot.

But who cares about the plot, this was very much an anniversary celebration movie, with the theme explicitly being something like "what makes a Precure?" and even a clip show of some of the franchise's biggest moments. Everyone is included in some way, even randos like HapiCha international Cures. Especially the nod towards mascots-turned Cures warmed my heart. Or really making it a plot point that the Cures have mascots in the first place, probably the first time in the history of the franchise that I appreciated it. And in the epic finale (that had music that slaps and some really good action in the shots that didn't use the 3d models) they clearly had fun grouping the Cures by themes, like here we have the mermaid Cures in the same scene for a few seconds! Here are the princesses (and Tsubasa)! Here go the butterflies!

Finally a shout-out to NOT including the stupid light sticks, or at least as obtrusively as usual. I was ready begrudgingly to accept them this time because it is a celebration of the franchise's history after all and they are unfortunately a part of it, but to my delight there were no calls of action directed at the audience.

My final verdict is that this is a very good movie for Precure fans, but probably not that interesting to anyone else. It was also not a very good Hirogaru movie since the Hirogaru girls kind of got buried in the sea of Cures, and didn't get that much of a connection with the antagonist, or even that personal character moments.

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s6 ep7: Dragon's Teeth

I don't think I've ever seen this one before! At the very least, I had absolutely zero memories of it, so I got to experience it for the first time, and it was very cool to watch an episode and not know anything about what was going to happen.

This was a big effects episode- there were space battles, subspace corridors with floating debris, an entire bombed out alien city with underground tunnels, and sequences of Voyager landing on and ascending from a planet. It all looked really cool, and gave it an epic space opera feel. There were quite a lot of cg effects which looked really good, but they still used matte paintings for some location shots, and they looked great too. Nice to see a blend of computer and handmade elements working together.

The alien makeup was good in this one too, I like when they go beyond just bumps on their foreheads and try to be more holistic in making it feel like something that makes sense and feels very non human. The makeup here made the Vaudwaar look like cobra snakes, which was ultimately fitting once Voyager learns of their true nature. (Also fun trivia, the actor who plays the villainous general in this one also played Wyatt Miller in the Next Generation episode 'Haven'! I totally didn't recognize him under all the makeup, but I just saw that Next Gen ep again right after I saw this one and recognized his name.)

It was an exciting one to watch, and had a lot of cool elements. I liked how we got little glimpses of Talaxian history and culture, and some small insight into the history of the Borg. Janeway has some good swaggery attitude in this one, and I laughed out loud when Tom says the subspace corridors are like a maze, and Janeway tells him 'then be a good rat and find us the cheese' - what?! Who says that to someone?! But Tom's still like 'I'll try Captain!' all earnest, and it's like, oh my god, she could literally say anything to anyone, and they'd still be all heart eyes at her because she's Kathryn effin' Janeway! lol

I love that they gave Seven of Nine a drive and investment in helping the Vaudwaar rebuild their civilization, as a way to atone for the civilizations she destroyed as a Borg. It's a huge deal that Seven has finally developed a sense of guilt and regret over the the things she did as a Borg, and I actually wish it would have been more of a focus in the story. For all the times they've done stories focused on Seven that didn't really need to be about her, this is the one time I think it would have been actually justified and more interesting to explore that facet of her growth and return to her humanity. That it went badly raises a lot of questions as to how she'll deal with that outcome and what lessons she'll take away from it, and her little talk with the captain in her ready room at the end of the episode touches on those questions without answering them, which ultimately makes the episode end on a frustrating note. These are prime themes to explore further, which the episode should have been all about, but they leave us hanging instead.

Another thing I thought was odd was Captain Janeway mentioning she wishes she had a Betazoid around to read the Vaudwaar's minds to know what they're planning, but there is still one Betazoid crew member on Voyager- Jurat, who we saw briefly in 'Counterpoint' last season. Unless she died offscreen between then and now, Janeway could totally ask her for help. (Either that, or the writers just forgot she existed!)

Also not exactly sure why Janeway was mad at Seven for reviving the Vaudwaar from stasis in the first place- sure, she didn't wait for orders, but every time they find people in stasis, they always revive them. They've literally never found people in stasis and been like 'guess we'll just leave them as we found them! Bye!' I'm pretty sure reviving people you find in stasis is Starfleet protocol, because every crew always does it. But at least Seven did it out of an actual desire to be compassionate, rather than the obnoxious 'fuck you, I do what I want' attitude they gave her before. It's just really frustrating that they finally give her an interesting storyline and didn't even explore it as much as they could have.

Tl;dr: An episode with a lot of interesting elements, and very good effects and makeup, but which ultimately feels like only half of a story, without a proper resolution. It doesn't delve deep enough into the characters to keep it's downbeat, ambiguous ending from feeling pointless.

[7grandmel]

Rip of the week: 24/06/2024

YO-Kai Direction

Season 7 Featured on: Now That's What I Call Quality! 3

Ripped by DonnieTheGuy

Y'know, funny story: a part of me genuinely thought I'd made this post already, and I had to double-check my posting archive three times over just to make sure. Because for as much Season 7 glazing as I've done on here, YO-Kai Direction is the kind of rip that absolutely deserves that love, as such a perfect rip from one of SiIva's most surprise breakout events in recent memory. Hell, last time I was covering the event in question, this rip only barely lost out from being covered instead of Beautiful Dreamer - but, in earnest, I believe two legends should indeed be able to coexist.

I've learned a lot from running this blog, but one of the biggest breakout surprises to me was learning just how incredible of a ripper DonnieTheGuy truly is. He joined the team around when I was paying less attention to the channel in general, and didn't exactly have a loud internet personality for me to learn of otherwise - yet rip by rip, from the blog's very first in Running Through Cookie Country to later-covered examples like Epic Rap Battles of History: Funny vs. Funnier and Remember when this song was the one related to toilets?, I began realizing just how powerful the guy is. A master chef that works in the background, even working to provide tons of assets to help people get into ripping themselves, sharing samples, samples and much more. But even if I wasn't aware of all that, even if I wasn't aware of just how much of a menace he is even off of SiIva when it comes to Twitter shitposts (the Digital Circuit edit trend where he made like 20+ edits on his own for instance), YO-Kai Direction would've likely convinced me on its own of DonnieTheGuy's prestige.

I recall saying to myself back when I wrote Beautiful Dreamer that one of the reasons that I picked it over YO-Kai Direction was just due to how much I'd already featured YO-KAI Disco, and Yousuke Yasui's music in general, on here. 【＝３】e-MUNO Disco (vs. 音MAD AGENT) was effectively the rip that made me INVESTED invested in the art of high quality ripping, WA-HOO DISCO shows just how much Super Mario 64's sound can and has been pushed by the SiIva team, Siiva Lining just outright slaps - you get it. But we're now in the golden age of ripping quality, where it feels as if every rip made is touched by some benevolent gods ensuring that it does WAY more than it necessarily needs to in order for its proposed joke to work. Because like, YO-Kai Direction is an incredibly simple premise on the surface, mashing up the all-too-known YO-KAI Disco with What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction as part of the One Direction event. Back in, say, Season 1, that would've been the end of it, but there's so many small touches added by DonnieTheGuy that shows just how invested he was in utilizing One Direction's sound to the fullest.

And honestly, when the One Direction event began, I was initially a bit disappointed, as it took the place of the channel's annual "9/11 event", which had previously given us incredibly bait-and-switch events like what brought us SUNGORE in 2020. Initially I figured that I had no stake or familiarity with One Direction and so the event was completely out of my wheelhouse...but not only was I SURPRISINGLY familiar with What Makes You Beautiful in particular, I also had no clue that the team was so excited and ready to start using it. It gave me flashbacks to Season 6's Big Time Rush event which brought us Famous Surprise, only with even more people firing on all cylinders for it. Because again - in many other eras, YO-Kai Direction would've just been a mere mashup, but DonnieTheGuy goes the extra length to pitch-shift it all to something absolutely heavenly.

Without ever leaving that original pitch for the rip, YO-Kai Direction masters the art of escalation in a way that's so well done, it's hard to even notice with how well it fits in. It begins as a seemingly normal mashup with a slightly increased BPM speed of YO-KAI Disco being used as to match the One Direction song, but then at the second go around at the verse's melody it becomes more YTPMV-esque, editing soundbytes from What Makes You Beautiful into the melody of the source track, as if to communicate the two tracks merging - "You're insecure, but you walk-walk through the do-o-or!" is pulled off with just a slight stutter and pitch-shifting that's immediately noticeable if you're paying attention to it, yet fits so well as to initially sound just like an extension of the initial mashup. This then carries on into the bridge, before finally exploding in the chorus - wherein every part of One Direction's vocals are pitch-shifted to amazing effect. It's hard to put into word without repeating myself just how well done this build-up is, but the end result is obvious - a genuinely amazing listen.

All the while, slight elements of What Makes You Beautiful's instrumentation seem to be sprinkled into the rip, sounding almost as if they had just been dug out of the mix of the original YO-KAI Disco. That's the theme of the whole rip, and to be clear - ABSOLUTELY not meant as a negative. The way in which DonnieTheGuy managed to make YO-Kai Direction sound almost as if it was a natural collaboration between One Direction and Yousuke Yasui is actually insane, yet it still subtly honors the traditions of what makes the greatest SiIvaGunner rips as good as they are. I won't sugarcoat it - on many days, humming YO-KAI Disco in public, THIS is the version I'm humming.

[edgyandoverzealous]

Why Gabriel From Supernatural being alive would've been sick as fuck and you can pry it from my burning corpse

I'd like to start by saying I 100% understand why they killed off Gabriel from supernatural because if that mother fucker lived and the Winchester's somehow made Gabriel's side theirs instead of his own (or at least had them overlap substantially), and they would've because the Winchesters have this weird charm/luck that keeps making these ultra powerful beings fight for them/on their side, half of the show wouldn't have happened because they had a mf archangel in their corner. But also do you ever think about if he did? Because I do, all the time, I have almost the entire show rewritten, where nobody I love dies and also I'm there because ya boy's delulu and escapism is his favorite past time.

Castiel about to devour all of purgatory? Not on Gabriel's watch are you insane? He'd show up with the "Okay seriously though, playtimes over little brother." Right Before Castiel started his ritual at his other undisclosed location because "Big Brothers know everything" and there's no way his baby brother can hide from him. Because it's Supernatural there would've been an epic fucking battle, and because older = stronger, the underdogs (more specifically the Winchesters) win, and big plans being foiled by unlikely forces in Supernatural lore and because this time Gabriel's fighting for the Winchester's he'd win and make a quip with his stupid shit eating grin that I love and carry Cas over his shoulder like a bag of fucking potatoes marching both their asses back to the Winchesters.

Knocking out Crowley and scaring off Raphael as he does so because holy shit that's one raging archangel and his blade is already being thrown between his eyes because Castiel explained everything during their fight and after what Raphael was doing he was ready to kill him. He also actively tried to kill his free will favorite baby brother and also Castiel is knocked the fuck out over their brothers shoulder and the Winchesters are here too? No. He wouldn't win. Best case he can't leave another epic battle and the three of them kill Raphael while Crowley barely gains enough consciousness to dip out therefore giving Cass no more reason to crack open purgatory. Though Crowley probably will or it could still be cracked open from Cas' unfinished ritual if you want to see Gabriel interact with Dick because I do I so do.

[firelords-honour]

who r ur atla ocs?? can u infodump abt them

Oh mygod

anon you’re a hero (for asking this) and a fool (you have no idea what you’re unleashing)

Alright so I have 4 girls in total

Sung Shu, Nataroq Issanuk, Shao Taijing, and Sanjay Gurun

It was by complete coincidence that I ended up with 1 of each bender. Sung and Shao are for ATLA, Nataroq and Sanjay are for TLOK. Sung, Nataroq, and Sanjay all get to live their lives with crushing guilt of their past actions meanwhile Shao was always looking out for number 1 (earth kingdom) and she’s doing pretty good lmao

I am proudly deranged in that my primary way of enjoying a story is often by making up semi self insert OCs. Sung was the first and I made her up during my first watch of ATLA in 2023

There’s literally way too much to explain of all 4 in one post, but Sung’s on the mind rn so let’s put her under the microscope. She joins the gaang…at some point at the end of s1. It gets kind of hard to pinpoint because her introduction would be a whole entire episode, but she comes in after Jeong Jeong and before they reach the NWT. She grew up in a noble capital family, was one of JJ’s students, was in an arranged relationship with Zhao (fuckin’ toxic leech), and was a commander in the Fire Navy alongside him (which I’ve taken the liberty of claiming to be an equivalent to a rear admiral in the usnavy), all up until she defected 6 years pre-iceberg.

Jeong Jeong’s desertion speech was the first crack in the imperialism armor. A lot of small things after that (among them possibly reading more about her great-grandfather) kept adding up until Sung was there in the room when Kya was killed. Watching Captain Rha kill the defenseless surrendered woman (whom she was expecting to take prisoner) and a conversation she had with Zhao after the fact was the final straw that broke the ostrichhorse’s back.

Commander Shu was declared KIA by Zhao when she’s found to be missing while docked in the colonies. Eventually, after a lot of character developing experiences such as a few months with the Old Masters, Sung ends up in a village in the northern earth kingdom named Daolin. At first she was masquerading as a wandering nonbender warrior, and met Kola Dao on the road. She helped Kola’s family, the village’s leaders, defend themselves against warmongering bandits that had been terrorizing them ever since all of their earthbenders went to fight the war. It’s halfway through that ordeal that she’s forced to reveal her real identity to the Daos. They, naturally, Really Don’t Like Her Now, but when all is said and done Sung has proven herself enough that they let her stay around for a couple days, while they recover.

A couple days become 4 years, and ‘that firebender’ becomes ‘our beloved friend & protector, and also that girl who’s head over heels for Kola (mutually)’

Annnnnnnnd then the Avatar and his friends show up asking after this little local folk legend of ‘The Defender of Daolin’

That’s Sung’s whole backstory more or less. I won’t ramble so much as to outline that whole story of the meeting but she volunteers to be Aang’s fire teacher when he’s ready. Except the invasion buildup kinda messes with that so Zuko still does a lot of teaching too. The Siege of the North is the first proper battle Sung ever fights against the Fire Nation, and yes she does have a cathartic fight against Zhao while he’s beelining for the Oasis. If memory serves correctly I think the first time she properly meets Zuko is the ghost town fight (lowkey one of my favorite scenes in the show).

OH also Kola’s a member of the White Lotus. Sung isn’t in the know about that but when she leaves Daolin Kola gives her their symbol as ‘a good luck charm’ which Iroh later notices on her at the Oasis and internally goes ‘oh we cool???’

I’m listening to Epic as I write this and Penelope’s “Though I never thought that these would be the lengths we go for love!” is so Kola

So Sung’s along for the ride for all of s2 (well, except for Bitter Work, she’s kinda on a personal side quest spying on Iroh explaining lightningbending. By the way at this point lightningbending is considered a technique only possible to be performed by benders of royal blood. Can’t stop Sung from her own bitter work in trying to do it anyway though.) And most of s3. In the time jump she makes amends with Hakoda and they commanded the invasion together, and went to the Boiling Rock together. Eventually in the finale, Sung has a reunion with JJ after nine years and gets to be shocked by Kola at the camp. She fights alongside Sokka, Toph, and Suki in the airship battle (and up there, with the comet’s power, was when she achieved the thing she’d spent months practicing, and became the first example that anyone could learn to lightningbend.)

Postcanon…well the first thing she does is marry Kola of course. Sung Shu goes down in history as not just a hero for turning sides in the war and a member of team avatar, but also as a co-founder of the United Republic and as the first Grand Marshal of the United Forces.

Sung’s friendship/dynamic with Hakoda makes me so ill btw in another world, she and Kya would’ve been good friends. Also Sung is Momo’s secret favorite.

Since I mentioned Kuzon, lemme show y’all the Shu Family Tree I constructed at 2am last night.

Tozan was basically a metalworker slash samurai in Roku’s Team Avatar, and his family was elevated to nobility by Sozin. His son Roulan built them into a renowned lineage of swordmakers, and Tozan’s grandson was Kuzon. Kuzon spent his life having to be subtle and secretive over how much he despised the war and what Sozin had done to the world and the Air Nomads. It was his son Karwan who turned the Shu family into profiteers as armory artisans, and it was completely against Kuzon’s wishes that Karwan joined the army and his daughter Riosha joined the navy. (Captain Shu died in the first war against the northern water tribe.) Additionally, Karwan married an admiral of the navy. Their first son Fezan died as a lieutenant in the Southern Raiders, and so Suli, Sung’s father, inherited the dynasty. Her twin siblings Sunan (the heir) & Juyin were nonbenders like their parents; Grandmother Nori was the last bender until Sung came along. (sidenote Sung & her siblings are mixed hawaiian, thai, and chinese)

I thought it’d be fun if I changed Michi to be Sung’s sister Juyin; specifically Ukano’s second wife after Mai’s mom. Which means Tom-Tom is Sung’s nephew (& the heir to the Shu clan) and Mai’s her niece in law :D

…and I also had the vision last night of Sung, after the war ends, taking Aang and Bumi to the Shu family mausoleum after she’d connected the dots that her great-grandfather who’d professed his grief over the air nation in his last will & testament, and Aang’s old friend Kuzon, were the same man. Cue sobbing.

AND NOW, I have this big ramble that I wrote a while back explaining Sung’s relationships with the gaang and it is very long and thus under the cut. Oh also, I lied, Sung’s name isn’t Sung it is Jerkbender and it will be for the rest of eternity (according to Toph & Sokka)

Sung and the Gaang’s relationship is complex. On the Gaang’s side, Sung is their friend, but also a mentor, a protective figure, and for some their first positive elder figure. Sung was the first firebender they ever met who was fully on their side, meaning she had to prove herself to them I say them when I mean Sokka but she also set a precedent in their minds that the Fire Nation as whole wasn’t evil like it felt.

On Sung’s side, Aang and his mission are the first things Sung really finds herself believing in after she became disillusioned with the FN. the Gaang gave her something to believe in, people to care about who needed her just as much as she needed them, and something greater to fight for. These kids are the north star of her life even while she acted as a rock for the kids, and others, when things got the worst. Naturally, honor is one of the most important things to her, which was why when the eclipse invasion failed she refused to use her ‘special status’ as the kids’ own team member/sifu in order to escape when the rest of the adult army stayed trapped. She trusted them above all else, above the odds, and that trust was rewarded when Sokka and Zuko went on the first of the life-changing field trips(tm)

To look at Zuko for a moment, Sung also played an indirect part in his journey. By virtue of what time she joined the gaang, Sung probably had the least reason to hate him. While the other three saw the guy who chased them across the world, Sung saw the s2 crown prince who clearly didn’t know what path he was even leading. Her dramatic entrance into the ghost-town fight was her saving him from one of Azula’s fireballs, and she said to him, he needed to figure out whose side he was on. For a while he thought she was merely some traitorous ally of the Avatar, but by the time Sung was back with the Gaang in the Western Temple, Zuko and Sung started training Aang together and she told him, she’d have no qualms calling him her prince. (Oh! And they can have a moment when they realize Lieutenant Jee, Zuko’s subordinate, and Captain Jee, Sung’s friend and right hand man as a commander, were the same guy.)

Speaking of s3, Katara shared her Zuko Fieldtrip with Sung as the trio hunted down Yon Rha. Sung could fill in the blank spaces among Katara’s memory and Zuko’s knowledge of the raiders as a whole, and fun fact, that day they first met in Daolin was the very same day Sung realized Kya had been lying when she said she was the waterbender. Yeah I am not lying when I say Sung & the wolfcove family makes me claw at the walls

To Toph, Sung was basically the first adult figure in her life to care about her yet not smother her; Sung was cautious to a reasonable amount given their current lives, but she respected Toph even in ways their other compatriots didn’t; just due to their unique dynamic. Sung…I can’t really put a label on what she was to Toph; she definitely wasn’t like a parent, but ‘mentor’ doesn’t feel right either. She wasn’t a teacher. ‘Aunt-figure’ maybe? Not in the familial sense, but in the way Toph trusted Sung in ways she never could with her parents, and looked to her for things that maybe she’d look to her parents for if they’d all been different people. Sung was simply the first person to know Toph for who she was and respect her as an equal in capability, so Toph and Sung grew a relationship that wasn’t familial, but had some kinda…wise-safe-adult+independant-yet-advice-seeking-youth aspect to it.

Sokka was very distrustful of Sung at the beginning, mainly due to him being the most stubborn guy in the South Pole and finding it hard to believe that ‘firebender =/= evil’. But ironically, Sung kind of became…sort of a surrogate to the empty space left by Hakoda. Again, Sung was not like a parent to anyone, but she was this seasoned warrior who’d taken it upon herself to protect them, something Sokka thought had to be his job. While I wouldn’t describe her as mentorly to Toph, I’d say she was something like that to Sokka. Thinking about it, Sung was probably also the final megaboss in the dregs of his sexism’s doomed journey lmao, as the whole reason they made a stop in Daolin was because Sokka wanted to learn from this nonbender warrior who could never be burned or beaten by the firebenders. Sung was a confidant to Sokka as they went on, he could talk to her in a way he couldn’t talk to Katara or Aang. Sokka would be—and was, when the inevitable Hakoda & Bato meeting / Kya conversation came up between s2/3–the first to jump up and defend Sung as a trusted warrior of the right side of history, and Sung was the first one to see through Sokka’s mask and teach him how to really be a warrior and a leader, but at the same time encourage him to do what his heart said it wanted; not what his head thought anyone else expected.

I suppose Katara was the one Sung was the most parental with if I had to say so. Because Katara had to be the ‘woman of the house’ since she was 8, and for all of her adult life had no mother-figure in the traditional sense, Sung was the first older woman to become friends with her—that wasn’t her elderly grandmother—and be there to take some of that load off her shoulders. Sung was finally there to listen. Conversely, Sung felt a little bit of a debt whenever she was there for Katara. She felt like this was the way she paid her repentance to Kya for standing there in between the latter and her family and not stopping Yon Rha. If Kya couldn’t be there for Katara and Sokka, partially thanks to her, then…she could try to do it on her behalf. Not to mention these two are a duo on the battlefield and you should probably run.

And…Aang. This is moreso postcanon, but Sung was, above the whole rest of the world, the one advisor as the Avatar that he could always count on to be able to fall back on, to be strong for him, to be the stoic ally always behind him. Grand Marshal Shu was even willing, if they had no other choice, to be the threat standing behind his preaching of peace in the worst case scenario. When she joined their travels, Sung had reiterated what Jeong Jeong’d said, about fire needing to be the last element and she wouldn’t teach him until he was ready. Watching her own bending for the months in between helped quell Aang’s fear of hurting someone with it, particularly when she explained to him that that’s something all firebenders go through when they’re learning, herself included. Throughout their whole journey Sung was always there as a safe harbor, and Aang was always there as that ray of hope that kept Sung afloat. Random fact: Sung also fights with a bostaff, so she and Aang are staff buddies. Also meditating buddies. Really just buddies in general. Also, tangential, but Sung was 100% the prime aunt-figure of all the Gaang’s kids, kinda even taking on that same nurturing role she maintained with Toph when the young ones were having issues with their own parents. (Especially Tom-Tom, Izumi, & Bumi II)

I guess that’s the right way to put it. A safe harbor for all the people in her life.

Sorry for not including Suki, I do think she should be considered a Gaang member but I just don’t have much interaction between her and Sung versus the rest of the mcs

I’ll finish this with one of my favorite lines from The Tale of Sung, aka her day off in Ba Sing Se:

I have a thing I like to call ‘The Monster Doc’ because I fixated so hard on Sung in April 2023 that I ended up with a doc of snapshots of Sung at various points in canon, adding up to 30k words, and still firmly a WIP. But…it might be getting posted soon

welllll THAT SURE WAS A READ….and so I’m gonna end this post here, but feel freee to ask anything about any of my OCs please <3

[im-s0rry]

Grimm's Deltarune Secret Boss Masterpost

I've decided to make a Blog specifically for my Deltarune Fanart, Ideas, Concepts, Etc so I decided to make a masterpost for all my Secret Boss OCs.

Get Ready for heeps and heeps of lore and ocs.

Sketchit, Main Secret Boss OC.

TL;DR - Secret Boss for my main Deltarune AU/sidestory about an art studio. She's a forgotten sketchbook and is a conspiracy theorist who needs to prove herself right. Eventually she turns into a sick spider god for her Boss fight thanks to an artifact.

Lore - Sketchit used to be the main bosses apprentice, some would say his favorite apprentice. Well, until she was thrown to the streets when she wasn't useful to him anymore. She was distraught and broken and looking for answers...and someone gave her a sliver of the truth. A mysterious man told her something about the truth...and left her to figure out the rest...and oh boy she's trying. She began making theories and fully believing them until the story she made seemed to devolve and become very, very complex. Eventually, The Fun Gang came along and got split up. Kris and Ralsei took a wrong turn and met her. She explained the truth of this world and Ralsei interjected, saying that she was way off. Sketchit was pissed and, after a fight, told Kris to bring her an artifact in the main boss's fortress. If you break into the Librar(b)y and find the artifact, Sketchit will break through the wall, steal it, and read through it to show she was right...but she wasn't...she was way off...Sketchit didn't know how to feel...but she knew what she had to do. If she wasn't right, then she had to make it right...and Sketchit absorbed the Artifact to turn her into the spider god form I talked about. You get the Purple soul and kick her into the ground until she dies and she can finally rest...

Fredde-E, funni little guy

TL;DR - Fredde-E is THE burnt Ice-E box that was buried in the graveyard and now wants to be the king of fear. He eventually does become the king of fear through a contrived series of events and you kick his shins.

Lore - Fredde-E once wanted to make friends. He was once a humble little guy who just wanted friends...until the friend he tried to make burnt him alive and threw him in a ditch. But he felt something during that encounter, a new feeling. Something bonechilling that he had to share. He felt fear, and he wanted more of it. He took up arms, getting his claw from a...very interesting character...and went to try and scare people. Unfortunately he's adorable and no one found him scary, which really upset him...until the Fun Gang arrived and he found out about something he could do to finally be the "Nightmare-E King"...if you do his side quest he knocks you out and drags you to his lair where you have an epic anime battle with him with the Orange Soul where you kick his shins in until he feels that same feeling he felt all that time ago...but this time I'd be his last...

Tumbal, Your Old Pal

TL;DR - Locked in glass when the show was over / his body stood still and his mind would wander / a mysterious man appeared one day / and took the last bit of sanity away. / unlock the Box the Gods had forgot / and walk inside for his end was for not / one last show would be his last / but this last show would be one hell of a blast...

*snaps from the audience*

Lore - Tumbal was once the sheriff in an old western show, but when the show got canned and the cast left, he stayed behind in that set and was locked behind a pain of glass. His mind was left to rot and wither until he was demented and violent...and a strange crystal from a mysterious man only increased this. Eventually, Kris came alone and saw him behind his glass, and if you do the side quest, you and the Fun Gang will enter the set and get to meet Tumbal for one last show where you use the Green Soul and kill him.

Snakeyes, A new face in the worst of places.

TL;DR - Okay so there's Snake and there's Eyes, they may be the same person but different personalities. Gaster gives Snake a Shadow Crystal which makes him extremely violent, crazy, and obsessed with gambling. After some casual violence and being kicked to the streets, Eyes locks Snake up and he'll only show up if anything gambling were to show up which would never happen...right? They gave him dice, didn't they? Damn it.

Lore - So Snakeyes is the secret boss of a Dark Web "Chapter 2.5" Dark World. He's a "Fluffy Pony" Video. Which if you don't know, watch Cupcakes HD, then you will. Snake actually hit it off with the resident gang of the dark world and was on a hot streak...until the House decided to kick him out and rob him. He was distraught and took a strange crystal from Mr. WD Man and went insane. After beating the living hell out of the gang that threw him out, Eyes took over and was beat up and thrown to the streets. Eyes tried to lock up Snake in their mind and would only get out if anything gambling related was shown to him...and if you want to fight him, you do. Snake shows up and SUMMONS THE DEAD and you have to fight him with the Blue Soul untim you beat him up and he and Eyes die ): .

Other Secret Boss OCs I've made.

-Hattyr - A lost hat that gain the power to control the shadows and wanted to take revenge when The Spooky Bois came in and made his Dark World Spooky. He has a cool Secret boss form and you use the Orange Soul.

-Sadedown - A Reindeer Pez dispenser that Susie bit in half that took revenge by role-playing as Noelle to trick Susie to kill her for mutilating her. She uses the Blue Soul in her fight.

-Shröd - My fursona as a Chapter 2 Secret Boss thats a old folder of bad cat memes. They are definitely not Temmie trust me bro and you fight them in their Paradox Forme with the Light Blue Soul.

And that's a fraction of the secret boss ocs I'm comfortable sharing in this masterpost. I will probably be posting about them here and I hope you enjoyed at least one of my characters (let's be honest, it's Tumbal.)

[fionajames]

how the wound heals

this is a bit short, but here. supposed to be hurt/comfort but more hurt. like, 70/30 instead of 50/50. this is for @lovejoysoots, so you can blame them for making u cry/j (dont actually, their amazing and he's my friend and epic.) (u can blame me).

PLEASE PEOPLE REQUEST THINGS SO I CAN STOP SQUEEZING IDEAS OUT OF THE SAME TWO PEOPLE

Anyways, enjoy, i hope this makes u cry (i say lovingly)

Ahsoka stared at the wall across from her, studying every scratch and inch of it. She’d been doing that for what felt like hours, waiting on Rex’s return as the emotionless numb infesting her grew with every passing second.

Some things we can’t stop, she thought, the image of Jesse ready to shoot them appearing in her head. She flinched, thinking of his laugh and warm presence, and then the lifeless look in his eyes when they’d discovered his body.

The door opened and she turned to it half-heartedly, watching Rex shuffle inside and close it behind him, pulling his hood off. The bags under his eyes reflected her own as he sat down next to her, draping an arm over her shoulders wordlessly.

“It’s not your fault, Vod’ika,” he whispered and she sniffled, feeling her heart ache. Ahsoka desperately tried to cling onto any maturity her body contained, but all of a sudden, she felt like a child. Like her fourteen-year-old self, seeing her first friend die. A clone who’d cheered her up after Teth, had died in the next battle.

“Maybe it is,” she murmured, tears filling up her eyes and collecting in her lashes like raindrops. One fell to roll down her cheek and she brushed it away. Rex’s face softened in despair, pulling her into him for a hug. That was all it took for her to crack. Ahsoka let out a cry as she sobbed, burying her face in the crook of his neck as Rex soothingly stroked her lekku.

“There was nothing you could do.” Rex closed his eyes as his own tears fell from his golden eyes. Holding his sister close to him, he whispered comfort to her in words of velvet. “Nothing.”

Ahsoka weeped as the pain of the Order hit her again. “He’s dead, because of me. They all died, because of me.” She remembered the shattering feeling of Anakin's cries, the cries that made her instinctively turn to Rex. She’d barely had any time to think about it at that moment when she was fired upon, but now, it was all she thought about.

“Nothing” Rex repeated, tightening his grip on her as though he feared she might disappear. Ahsoka was the only thing Rex had, and Rex was the only thing Ahsoka had. But due to their situation, they had to split up. “One more week.”

Ahsoka nodded, scrambling to stand. Rex looked in heartbreak at her crestfallen face.

Oh, she was still just a kid. 

So was he. 

“I don’t want to separate,” she told him gently. Ahsoka thought of the time she and Barriss had been on the transport when the mind controlling worms had taken over. They’d separated, and their situation had only worsened.

Rex stood, wrapping his arms around her again. They stood and hugged in mostly silence, sniffles here in there as their sorrow encased them. But at least they weren’t alone.

“We have to,” Rex whispered his response, rocking them back and forth slightly. “For both of our safeties.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” she croaked out and he smiled sympathetically at his younger sister.

“It’s for my safety,” he replied, knowing that the only way to convince her was to remind her that he was keeping him safe. Ahsoka cared about Rex above herself, and he hated it, but it was true. It was a bit hypocritical of him - honestly - as he cared about her over himself. They were brother and sister, best friends, and it showed. “Just as I’m doing for you.”

“One more week?” Ahsoka pleaded, he nodded, even though he’d already agreed.

“One more week.”

alright, hope i see some tears.

love y'all, have a goodday/night

request stuff please im on my hands and knees begging.