#It seems to be the only way he'll EVER be allowed to have any development outside of the “perfect boyfriend/fuckup sidekick” box.

[actually-factually-anonymous]

I see the appeal now, Adrien going a little crazy like this might be a quite a bit of dramatic fun. And there's no reason he can't start out by finally snapping under the revelation of everything about himself and his life being a horrible lie and then go the Eren route because of some dark dilemma that he doesn't have faith in Ladybug to solve (anymore).

Might be some good development for him, starting from fawning and forgiveness, to a mental breakdown and lashing out from the utter insanity of his situation, and then resigned determination to do whatever he deems necessary.

But of course, that would require Adrien to be allowed to react and develop away from the "perfect boy". And I don't think that's in the cards.

Besides, Marinette seems to be heading for a villain arc of her own- even if the show seems dead set on validating her faults.

Adrien should be the final akuma.

Him finding out the truth, Him having to deal with... Everything.

Either him as the last akuma or last villain.

Boy earned every right to be a villain as a treat

[sunderwight]

SV AU where the System does offer Shen Qingqiu one way out of pushing Luo Binghe into the Abyss:

Since SQQ is now the POV character of his own story, he can accept a special one time purchase of the protagonist halo, and go down and do the Abyss plotline himself instead.

The catch is that there's only one protagonist halo. No dual protagonists allowed. Which means that if Shen Qingqiu takes it, Luo Binghe loses his immunity to fatal plot developments, unless SQQ can replace it with another immunity halo.

The only other halo that grants immunity from fatal catastrophes in PIDW is the love interest halo.

Luckily, love interest halos are extremely plentiful in the setting. It seems even Shen Qingqiu himself has one in his inventory for some reason? Weird, but at least that means he doesn't have to rob some poor girl of her golden ticket and potential happily-ever-after in Binghe's arms.

There's probably something especially bizarre about making Luo Binghe his own love interest for a while, but Shen Qingqiu reasons that it's only temporary. He'll swap the halos back once he's out of the Abyss! And he'll get Xin Mo and bring it back, and personally help Luo Binghe figure out how to wield it. Preferably with far fewer costs and downsides than in canon. Maybe then Binghe won't need as big of a harem and will still have some time to spend with his old master, when he's not running around conquering the world.

Surely, there's not way all of this could backfire. (Okay, he knows there are like a million ways it could backfire.) But definitely, Shen Qingqiu will get back, be in his right mind, NOT be suffering any grave imbalances due to Xin Mo, NOT have unlocked any secret demonic heritage that helps him survive but also gets him blood up, and NOT need to or want to have life-saving rescue sex with anyone holding any love interest halos after five years of struggling his way through a nightmare training gauntlet.

Of all the ways he imagined fucking this up, having to somehow play the part of the darkened hero flinging himself towards and away from his own student like said student is some demure maiden at risk of losing his virtue to him was not on the list!

Shen Qingqiu: Binghe, stay away! This master can't control himself properly right now!

Luo Binghe: but Shizun's already been gone for so long! Won't he come a little closer instead?

Shen Qingqiu: Binghe wouldn't ask that if he knew what this master might do to him!

Luo Binghe: Shizun can do whatever he wants to me! I don't mind!

Shen Qingqiu: my poor Binghe, this world has not shown you enough darkness, you don't realize what's going on!

Luo Binghe: so does Shizun want to top, or...?

[a-mint-bear]

Jacob (Subby Yandere) Headcanons

🐶Jacob: Puppy Dog in Puppy Love🐶

bit longer than i thought it'd be, so lore under the cut

● Jacob grew up with crap parents who never paid him any attention. They were a couple of horrible, rich monsters who hated being married almost as much as they hated being parents. He was raised by a series of nannies, they never stayed on longer than a few months, his parents didn't want him getting attached. He always wondered what it would be like to have someone he loved and who would love him and only him.

● On the outside he seems nice enough, if a little awkward. He knows how to talk to people and navigate social situations, but it's all on the surface. He doesn't learn people's names unless it would put him at a disadvantage not to know. He has no friends, he never really felt the need to connect with other people. Most rub him the wrong way. But you just feel... right.

● Before he confesses, you seem to be the only person he can't figure out how to talk to. He doesn't know how to act around you, what the right thing to say is. At first it pisses him off, like why are they so much more difficult to figure out than everyone else? Who do they think they are, making him feel this way? Then he sees someone flirting with you and... oh. That should be him. He should be making you laugh and why won't you smile at him like that?

● He wants all the milestones with you. If you aren't the marriage type, he's more than happy to just be together forever. He wants to move in with you right away, he sees no point in "taking things slow". But he'll hold off on some things if it makes you more comfortable. He'll wait as long as it takes.

● Kids are a toss-up for him. He would absolutely see a baby/kid as competition for your affection and want you all to himself, but if a kid (or kids) would be important to you, being a dad would just be another thing he could do to make you happy. At some point, being a parent wouldn't be a job/role for him (a job he'd be happy to do regardless). The first time the child shows him affection, it's like a switch gets flipped. He breaks down, realizing that they're HIS family too, just like you. He becomes an obnoxiously loving and involved dad. Dad Yandere. Daddere.

● If you have (a) beloved pet(s), again, they're competition for your affection. It would be like a "I don't like you and you don't like me, but we both love [y/n]." relationship where he just acts like a big baby when you're loving on your pet and not him. He would never neglect or mistreat them, but you can bet he gloats to them like "Aww, aren't you cute. But [y/n] thinks I'm cuter, yes they do, you little dummy." while giving them scritches. He was never allowed to have a pet growing up so he doesn't "get" why people get so attached.

● He has a tendency to try and isolate you, he wants you all to himself. But this can be negated using his submissive side. If you're the boss, telling him exactly how things are gonna be, rewarding his good behavior or punishing the bad, he's putty in your hands. He can't say no to you.

● If he ever made you upset with him, he would freeze up, panicking at the thought of hurting you. Or worse, losing you. He might try and egg you on to punish him to make up for it, to "make things right". If he ever made you cry? He's in crisis mode. He's crying too, begging you for forgiveness. He's offering anything and everything to make you not hate him.

● He works as a Software Developer from home and does freelance IT work on the side. He's very tech savvy and definitely didn't use his skills to hack into any of your accounts to find out more about you when he was working up the nerve to ask you out. At least not since he confessed. He's better than all that now, of course.

● His yandere traits come out if he's left to his own devices. He gets nervous that you're unhappy with him and acts out by being a brat and trying to keep you home with him. You can lovingly reassure him that you're happy over and over and it helps for a while. But the only thing that quiets his jealous, paranoid brain is putting him in his place, reminding him he belongs to you and only you, punishing his brattiness and telling him he's your good boy.

● Full yandere mode: You try and break up with him. I say "try" because he would be stuck in the denial phase for a good long time. He thinks you're testing him to see how loyal he is, that even you pushing him away can't get rid of him. He hacks your computer and bugs your house, he breaks in to watch you sleep, leaving gifts for you before you wake up. You start dating/flirting with someone else? They get attacked on the street, no witnesses, with a warning to stay away from you or he'll come back to finish the job. If you tell him you're in love with someone else? It won't be long before you can't get ahold of them.

You can try and get rid of him, but he's your good boy, whether you like it or not.

[coyotelip]

☆ second chance.

Regulus and James start dating in high school. 

They're each other's first. 

And Regulus... has expectations. James is an affectionate guy, he likes him in almost everything, so it makes sense that Regulus expects him to be just as good in bed. 

However, his lack of experience plays a role, after all, this is also his first time. On the good side, he really tries, he tries to cover his inexperience with his enthusiasm. But it only makes it worse for Regulus. However, he also tries to be a good boyfriend, so he doesn't tell him about it, but goes on thinking that they just need more time. 

And time passes. Months go by, and nothing changes. And Regulus expects them to just... fall apart on their own. Don't judge him, but back then he clearly didn't know how to talk about the problems, and chose to wait for them to disappear. 

James notices that Regulus doesn't take initiatives, refuses to go out with him, doesn't seem interested. So he starts a conversation that doesn't end well. Or rather, it ends with Regulus yelling and admitting to James' face that he's a complete loser in bed. 

And Regulus walks away, not knowing that he's leaving James with a trauma for many years. 

◇◇◇

James doesn't plan on getting into a relationship, not sure he'll ever recover from his first love, his broken heart, and his crushed pride. 

But Lily is here. 

Even as their friendship develops into a tender relationship, James doesn't allow himself to harbor any hopes that he'll ever sleep with anyone again. 

But Lily is here. 

James may indeed be an inexperienced loser, but in the hands of a caring girl he learns. He is a good student and she is a good teacher. No one is surprised that they marry three years later and have a baby two years later. 

And to everyone around them, this picture looks perfect, but James is constantly facing ups and downs, learning something new every day about being a good husband and father. 

But Lily is here. 

Lily's here while she's not. They just... fall apart of their own. After Harry is born, they have less and less sex, though everything else is just as perfect. Eventually, they just go back to their original phase, back to being just best friends. 

And then one day Lily comes back from the gym and says she's fallen in love. It's not cheating, she and this trainer are just talking, but every day she feels more and more. And James is only supportive and suggests she ask her out. 

Slowly, they work through the divorce and James finds a new place to live. 

◇◇◇

Regulus spends years searching for someone to stay close to and feel loved by. Unfortunately, all of his relationships end in one way or another. His partners only care about their own pleasure, the rich see him as a nice piece of jewelry, and the really nice guys just can't stand his temper. 

Over the years, as he watches Sirius find love and plan his wedding, it occurs to Regulus that the only one who really cared about him was James. And he hates himself for the times he didn't have the patience to stick with someone who really wanted him around. 

Now he realizes that this is all in the past and there is no chance that James will ever want to see him again. Regulus has heard about his family, his child, his beautiful wife. At first he was very skeptical about the news, but the pictures on the network and Sirius's stories convinced him that James had found his place. 

Regulus hadn't. 

An idiot who pushed his own happiness away. 

Sirius's wedding day is coming up and of course Regulus has to be there, so he prepares his best suit, gets a new haircut and sets himself up to have a few nervous breakdowns during the evening. Because that's exactly what you'll feel when you're surrounded by happy couples in love and Regulus is having a romantic crisis himself. 

And he sees James again. For the first time since they broke up in a fight. The last time he remembers James was in tears after Regulus crushed his ego and broke his heart. That time he thought he was pathetic with wet cheeks and begging him not to do this to him. 

This time he sees James again with tears on his cheeks. But they are tears of happiness for his best friend, tears of love for him. James doesn't look pathetic. He looks like a dream, just as tall but now covered in muscle. He's wearing his perfect suit, with mussed hair and beard, but it doesn't make him look dirty. It adds to his charm. it makes Regulus see him from a new angle and feel something he hasn't felt in thirteen years. 

Despite Regulus's fear, James does not react to him negatively. In fact, he greets him with a smile, asking how he has been doing all this time. They sit at the same table as the groom's closest family. They give each other their opinions on the food and other guests. 

Having been on hundreds of dates, Regulus doesn't remember any of them feeling like this, even though it wasn't even a date. 

Day turns into evening and into night, and they find themselves at the edge of a wedding venue. Both are jacketless, with loose ties and cigarettes between their fingers. The amount of alcohol they have drunk relaxes him and gives him the courage to lean in closer as they laugh and occasionally touch the other's shoulder. 

But he's afraid that at some point James will stop it. He has every right to tell Regulus what an idiot he is if he thinks their story doesn't exist and that the man will be willing to get close to him again after all this. James is definitely doing this out of politeness, not to ruin his best friend's big night. 

And James doesn't push him away when they share cigarettes. When they are among the last guests on the dance floor. When they help each other to the hotel and discover that their rooms are next door. James doesn't push him away when Regulus is so tired that he can't walk to his own room and falls on the man's bed, almost falling asleep immediately. 

James doesn't push him away, but holds him close, falling asleep in his suit as well.

[troius]

What we learned from the war

"Endings are hard" is a something of a truism, but it's borne out in Bleach, where every story arc besides after the first two stumbled at the finish (even the endings of the first two arcs don't really "end" so much as continue into a new story). In the Arrancar arc, the number of characters and plotlines got so overwhelming that an ending that had to be rushed if it was to arrive at all. In the Lost Agent arc, the characters were pared down, but the ending wound up thematically inconsistent with the story anyways, possibly due to real-life circumstances. And the Thousand-Year Blood War somehow managed to have both problems.

The change in direction from "tightly focused character drama" to "sprawling cast of soldiers" meant that it was unlikely to ever give us the development of our protagonist that we craved, and that lack of focus was only aggravated by the widely-reported health problems of the author. And yet, perhaps because we don't get that, because so little of this arc is filtered through Ichigo learning about himself, we get a much clearer statement of the values inherent in the work.

This is most evident in our antagonists for this Arc. Yhwach and the Wandenreich don't really have the relationship with Ichigo that previoius antagonists had. He never knew his Quincy heritage, never identified with their ideals, and so feels very little conflict about opposing them. He doesn't ever develop his Quincy powers, at least beyond integrating them with his already existing powerset. And he doesn't take much of a personal interest in Yhwach, who in turn, doesn't seem to think much of him when he's not directly in front of him.

But for all that Ichigo doesn't end up having much of a dynamic with them, the Wandenreich still manages to maintain a unique character. Every antagonist has a priority, something that they are willing to do great evil for. For Soul Society, it's its own existence, the continuation of the system they've built. For Aizen, it's his own self-aggrandizement. For the Fullbringers, it was simply living another day, screwing over others so that they can't screw you first. But the Wandenreich has no such priority. They simply want it all to end.

That's most obvious in Yhwach's ending monologue, but you can see it from the very beginning as he kills Yamamoto, the man who tried to move on from his bloody past being slaughtered by the man who would absolutely not let it go. Yhwach shows more emotion towards the skeletons of Argola and Huberdt, his dead soldiers from a war long lost, than he does towards any of his living subordinates. And his subordinates follow his lead in showing no love to one another, happily stabbing each other in the back without even the Arrancars' uneasy level of camaraderie. Their movement has no future, and neither do they, so nihilism is the only recourse.

Most of the time. I think it's important to note that every time a member of the Wandenreich expresses positive feelings towards one of their comrades, it's immediately followed by them turning on Yhwach. Liltotto, Bazz, Giselle, eventually, in her own twisted way…even Jugram, at the very end. Sure, Yhwach kills them for their impertinence (he is the bad guy), but he also massacres the Wandenreich faithful en masse. There's no salvation, only death, and he'll enforce that state on his followers rather than allow them to discover any alternative.

I imagine the lesson, and the general attitude of the Wandenreich, was not lost on Uryu Ishida. Even in his relative paucity of appearances, it's he who is at the moral center of the arc. His culture, which he had thought was nearly entirely dead, turns out to be alive, and out for vengeance against the people who exterminated them. It's something he probably fantasized about growing up, and I don't blame him for joining. How could he not?

But at the end, he makes the very easy choice. Calling it a matter of "life and death" is a little on the nose, but it's morally quite black and white. Yhwach has no hope for this world, or for his people within it, or even himself. He lost a war for the nature of existence to a monster a thousand years ago, and never got over it. But Uryu has the strength to look at the horrors of this world and yet hope for better. Because he has people he loves in life, and who love him in return, he can dream of a better tomorrow.

And that's what the ending is all about. Yhwach loses to Ichigo, and it is very much "good guy beats bad guy". But he also loses to Uryu, and to "I hope to have a family with my girlfriend who I love so much" Renji Abarai, and to "I have a tremendous amount of hope to eventually make myself king of everything" Sosuke Aizen, and eventually (in a way I'm still confused about mechanically) to the child Ichigo and Orihime will eventually have, the literal embodiment of the potential of the future.

The final villain of Bleach is not society's tendency to preserve itself at any human cost. It's not individual selfishness, or manipulativeness, or any of the many vices we saw embodied in the hollows throughout the series. It's despair, the idea that life might not be worth living even through all the struggles and horrors our protagonists have endured. Sure, it will always raise its head, sometimes at the most inconvenient, or ill-fitting times. But having its reincarnation be blown away by the supernaturally normal lives of our cast…well, that's as clear of a message as I can imagine.

[autosuns]

Of Ambulon and Pharma and doomed amica endura

I'll preface that I'm the last person to try and explain my ships by how canon they are and this is very much the same case of me just entertaining the idea and what their relationship represents and what role they play in a wider story, this is not an invitation for discourse or a debate. It's just me rambling on why I like the ship so much, think Pharma and Ambulon are narrative foils, while using some canon stuff and word of god.

Jokes about hamburger or hot dog or literally anything regarding Ambulon's death will end in block idc I think it's obnoxious 👍

CW for robot gore, discussions of torture, you know, the package that comes with DJD and Decepticons and MTMTE.

When it comes to Ambulon and Pharma's relationship, I think it's fair to start with bare bones, yeah?

I'm going to start with each character individually, what my take on them is, so we're all on the same page.

Ambulon

So, the basics are:

Ambulon was part of the failed combiner project of decepticons, the first combiner at that. He has horrible alt mode, that brings him a lot of shame, so he prefers to keep it a secret. He switched to the Autobots, eventually.

We don't know for certain if he was created for the project, or was one of the "volunteers". What we do know though, is that he's an MTO specifically, not just constructed cold, and MTOs were a concept of war.

Meaning, he cant be older than the war. Meaning, in my personal opinion, he was either made for some operation, then snatched by Shockwave for the project, or was created already specifically for the project.

There, I think, comes a timeline conflict. It feels unfeasible, to me, that MTOs were made this early into the war, by Decepticons. What I think happened, is that Shockwave did try to experiment on other Decepticons to figure out and develop on Jhiaxus' research, but once MTOs as a concept came into the picture, it became infinitely easier to just have an alt mode pre-made for a mech.

Unless when Shockwave said he was going to give Megatron a gestalt he meant he'll postpone it for 4mil years and do it a little before he succeeded with Devastator so Ambulon deserting LITERALLY as he is picked out for the combiner project JUST to avoid it makes this line from him especially funny:

Boy for all we know you're not even 15 years old.

Also the idea that character like Ambulon did that out of some sort of cowardice, that THIS was his breaking point to join Autobots, feels wrong.

In-text it becomes even less likely Ambulon had a life before the project, as his name "Ambulon" seems to be the only one he ever had (judging by his statue post on Necroworld).

I think why I'm getting a Little long-winded explaining Ambulon is to draw a better picture on his experience with Decepticons, Specifically Shockwave.

That to say, he had a horrible one. He knows better than anyone what Decepticons are capable of and how far they will go/what Megatron would allow. Especially once DJD comes into the picture.

And it just emphasizes the way Ambulon in the end of it all chose kindness. The first issues he appeared in cement it very well, especially since most of his intro we get from First Aid's point of view.

Ambulon is tetchy, can be a gearstick sometimes

Ambulon took pity on the Decepticons he thought were hunted down by the DJD

Ambulon convinced Pharma to let them stay

The Genericons showed their scars to Ambulon specifically

Ambulon gets passionate about hate crimes concerning one's shape/alt mode

Ambulon is "tetchy" and rejects First Aid's idea because he's concerned that it's too risky

For Ambulon to put your own life on the line to save a single life is an act of selfishness (also stemming out of his concern for First Aaid, imo)

Ambulon let the Genericons share a cell

To sum it up: Ambulon is very greatly concerned for the greater good and treating people without bias, Decepticon or Autobot, especially when there's any sort of discrimination involved.

(Using Genericons and Triple M as a tool with Ambulon was a very clever foreshadowing for Ambulon's situation, but it is a general theme that runs in these issues and Ratchet's/medics character arcs, it's the functionism, one's shape and purpose in life, but it is a completely different post to make. Just let's keep the theme of one's shape and purpose in mind.)

The thing is, Ambulon is who he is by choice. His Decepticon past is always showing, whether he wants it or not, but all he wants, essentially, is to help people and treat them with kindness. He's a "gearstick", but he's a gearstick with a big spark. He saw the greater cruelty in Decepticons and made a choice to never participate in it.

Ambulon is an MTO who made his life and became what he wants to be despite everything: Decepticons, his alt-mode, biases, all of that. He's true to himself and his intentions.

I'm gonna also get this out of the way that Ambulon's established character is continuously ignored, dumbed down and twisted: the point is that I do believe JRO didn't think about him that much or that deep, and what he did with him did not retain with him into further issues. That is to say, "You're gonna let Dr DJD cut us in half?" is a dumb fucking line to come out of Ambulon specifically, makes no sense, too snarky and cruel all things considered, and while I think it's also very funny it jsut shows Ambulon's accidental insignificance. Ok. That's all.

Pharma

Oh boy this one's a doozy. Okay, listen, I'll try to get more brief with it, try to get straight to the point, but Pharma has so much nuance around him on a greater scheme of things that it might also just be it's own post. SO we'll just try to focus on his persona and relations to others.

Pharma is a doctor of talent on par with Ratchet, if not actually better. He used to be friends with him, he's implied to have used to do medical service in the new institute, and eventually was stationed on Delphi by Prowl, practically abandoned by Ratchet. There, he ends up being blackmailed by Tarn, ending up killing his patients to meet the increasing quota, being led to the brink of creating a virus that he exposes the facility to in hope to close it down and escape it scot-free. Obviously, because of Ratchet, it didn't work, the rest is history.

Unlike Ambulon with his 3 panels and a half of screentime worth talking about character-wise, Pharma is a combination of multiple things at once, his place as an Autobot, his connection to the DJD, his act, and most of his actual character we get from very few shots of him from the past and what people say of him, and just a little of his behavior at Delphi before his crime is revealed.

So I think we'll focus specifically on the Decepticon part when it comes to Pharma cuz it's much easier to talk about.

Pharma vehemently, without hiding it, hates Decepticons.

It will go into even bigger field of speculations than trying to piece Ambulon's character together for why he hates them so much. It could both just be a thrown in line for the story to flow (Genericons) and act as a foreshadowing (DJD blackmail), the fact of the matter is, he hates Decepticons, he does not have pity for Decepticons, and if DJD did not play into his hatred, years of war for sure did.

(Also worth mentioning that in the issue #4, the paralleling story is Tailgate learning about the war and backing off on his decision to be a Decepticon. The entire build up works very well, imo, and plays into just how much it should hit you when Pharma turns out providing for DJD, along with the choice of Ambulon to not be a Decepticon anymore.)

You see, I think Pharma is incredibly caring person. He cares for his patients and he cares for his people. He takes his work extremely seriously. He's willing to be a donor for his patient and he's still conducting research to cure illnesses when there was no legitimate point for him to do that anymore. He's not just a surgeon, but he's a virologist/epidemiologist.

But, probably when we ask ourselves, "So if he was such a wonderful doctor, equal to Ratchet, someone Ratchet recognizes, why wasn't he the Chief Medical Officer in the first place?"

I think it's mostly his personality. It's his hubris and ego. It's also the inherent societal bias of Cybertron when it comes to jets - though this part of worldbuilding isn't that consistent, he is a forged jet AND a doctor.

And that's also why I think he doesn't believe in that "forged" functionism bullshit. BUT thats another post of its own (take a shot every time i say that in this post).

Let's just bullet point this:

Pharma is a talented doctor who's good and dedicated to his job. Practically nothing is impossible for him and it becomes a focal point of his conflict with Ratchet, too.

That said, Pharma's shape is what, I think, is responsible for his hubris. He's a jet, he's forged, he's a doctor, but he's a doctor because HE, PHARMA, is good. Nothing to do with some God. (which is different from Ratchet's internalized functionism)

Pharma hates Decepticons, he tried to kill the DJD, and it may seem like he pushed it all on Ambulon because he was a Decepticon, but I don't think that's the case. Specifically because of this:

He does not see Ambulon as a Decepticon, and it was just panicked shitty lie he had to quickly come up with on the spot.

Pharma feels guilt for his actions, and after killing Ambulon, he's actively taunting First Aid to kill him.

Pharma is a jet doctor trapped in the loop of self-sabotage after being exploited, psychologically tortured and left for dead, after a poor attempt of saving face. Pharma is a jet doctor who embraced his new look, but couldn't live with it, far from accepting it. Furthermore, his body is used by Adaptus himself, where the only thing he could do is trying to get his body back, to help his comrades, only to end up dying, again.

That's where I'm going to use a single word of God that makes, all in all, a lot of sense.

"Grurdging respect" is about best way to describe Pharma and Ambulon.

Now since I've reached the image limit on this post it's relentless rambling and speculations time!

You probably can already tell where I'm going with this. I think Pharma and Ambulon direct inversions of each other.

Decepticon gone Autobot as a choice - Autobot gone rogue out of blackmail and fear of failure

MTO doing what he wants to do and taking control of his body and life, disconnected from a gestalt or his "purpose" - A forged jet trying to continue his career of a doctor despite all the odds but who's agency is continuously taken, not only by others but by his own ego

Where they overlap, is their desire to do what they want. Where they differ, is one's sincerity and other's toxicity.

Ambulon is someone Pharma would never be, and someone he, on meta level, wishes he was more like. He doesn't want to be Ratchet, even if we think a little about his obsession and desire to prove to Ratchet that he's better, he wants to be someone Ratchet would respect. And in the end of the day, it all didn't matter anymore, because clearly Ratchet never respected him enough in the first place: "waging a war on his body", taking body parts for his own gain (hands), that Pharma didn't even really care about anymore. It was personal. He wanted Ratchet to hurt.

All of this, ultimately, is justified. Little who would respond to knowing someone who betrayed you (and whom you, also, betrayed) also breached boundaries of your autonomy. It's just basic decency. I don't believe TFs never heard of that or don't follow it, in some fashion. Maybe it's more loose, but for the purpose of drama and villification of Pharma, it was convenient, I guess.

See, Pharma is just inherently, like anyone, very flawed. The circumstance he's put in and the war led to the worst of his qualities spike. And in relation to Ambulon, it's the inverse of a person who, having seen the horrors of the war, having been through the horror and the existential dread of being in a gestalt, chose kindness anyway.

"Grudging respect". A jet doctor, a genius, and an ex-soldier MTO, who made the choice of helping people. An ex-Decepticon, too, no less.

See how it could've developed into something more?

Both eager to do their job, Ambulon is a perfect stabilizer for Pharma's general emotional response to things. He may be a good doctor, but he's prone to acting and saying things before really thinking about it. Ambulon is capable of convincing him and giving a good argument, without it being personal.

"Grudging respect" with Ambulon working with one of the best doctors out there, who's work is going to be invaluable even after his death.

And if things worked out differently? Do you think Ambulon wouldn't be there to sympathize with Pharma's trauma regarding DJD? Do you think Ambulon wouldn't pity Pharma for what Tarn put him through? Ambulon? The Decepticon who was there? The one who even should fear DJD the most? The one who might've even triggered DJD once he was so close on the radar?

He might've confided in Pharma in the first place, as someone literally second in charge after him.

Pharma and Ambulon are defying Adaptus as a societal concept, among with the existential idea of your shape dictating your purpose. And within the text they don't just defy, they end up suffering the most out of it - Pharma ends up in a position where his hands are praised more than he, as a person, is, Ambulon dies by these hands, and his death dooms Pharma as well.

I hope it was comprehensive enough, i WISH i could include more images to prove my point. The amica endura would've been insane. If only the circumstance was different.

[writing-frenzy]

Beautiful Disaster AU- 2:

:P so the gremlins for this AU won't let go it seems; fitting as I eat noodles I get the author man himself, along with his favorite hater.

:3

Edit: I almost forgor to put a link for part one

Here is another poem/quote thing :3

I'm beautifully broken,

perfectly imperfect,

beautiful in my flaws.

All together I am a Beautiful Disaster.

By Unknown

Again, this fits both SQH and SJ so much :3 This will be set kinda after the Moshang extras, just without the ship happening so far (because rebuilding trust and care, and loyalty takes time, Mobei being patient enough because SQH is worth it, with SQH learning he is indeed worth it, more than worthy.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite what most think of the An Ding Peak Lord, the glorified immortal secretary/janitor of the Cang Qiong Mountains never misses any time. He has more months, years plotted way in advance then anyone would dream, dates and times printed into his mind with an ever ticking constantly echoing his steps. He plans weeks ahead of anything he can afford to, considering people and patterns he has noticed, procuring orders before they were ever thought to be sent, knowing his martial siblings won't noticed the needed thing until it is too late.

But even he is not all knowing, author god he may be, so when things run out faster than he expected (Ah, embezzlement or incompetence, take your pick of what it could be! Maybe even both, it could be one of those days.) He takes days at a time to get these 'urgent' orders filled, replaced, fixed, or cared for to the best of his ability.

And he can assure you, that you will find no better than him when it comes to time and logistics; he has it down to the minutes it takes him to eat a bowl of noodles, to the seconds it takes to wipe the blood from his hands from yet another sad little assassination.

His days, like any An Ding Disciple, are numbered and ruled by the water, sand, and hands of a clock.

(Needless to say, Airplane sometimes thanks himself for his lazy writing, for example; that regular clocks do exist here, even if they are usually only for the holier-than-thou nobles/too rich to ever think types. It had been one of the first ever things he bought with his hefty Peak Lord allowance, and one of the few expenses he never regrets.)

No, Shang Qinghua never misses any time; he just chooses to skip inconveniences so that he could be spending his valuable time on things that actually do need his attention.

Of course, not like he'll ever let anyone know the difference.

"Liu-Shidi, there shouldn't be any meeting today? I'm pretty sure the next Peak Lord Meeting is when Peak Lord Shen comes to his Peak Next week?" Shang Qinghua whines, feeling the drag on his pale blue An Ding robes as the Ban Zhan War God drags him to the meeting that was in fact today, but knowing his transmigrator bro, will usually put off to next week because Yue Qingyuan is a fucking pushover.

(The man literally let Shang Qinghua back; sure yeah, probably until he at least trains a successor, but the pale blue robed Peak Lord would bet money it was partly because his head disciple terrifies all the other Peak Lords. Not that he can blame them, seeing as Bai Weizhe has finally forgiven him for leaving him behind; the young man's talent and temper is a legendary thing to witness, almost seems a shame he's wasting away at An Ding.)

"There's been a development; Mount Tonglu has settled." was the grim reply Liu Qingge gave, voice tense as his body was, never letting up his grip on his clothes, getting firmer in fact, as if ready for a runner.

"... oh... oh.. OH FUCK!" Shang Qinghua lets himself curse in English, digging through his sleeves for a paper-ah, the good talisman paper, good, good, and his lucky specialized pen he had made just so he could write everywhere, "We're gonna have to hold a conference with the other sects, aren't we? We'll-fuck, have to prepare relief efforts for the common folk, patrols will have to be bolstered and increased-Damnit! We'll have to get offerings ready for the Heavenly Officials just in case..." mumbling to himself, he sends his hastily written note to his Head Disciple as a paper plane, still muttering to himself as Liu Qingge continues to drag him forward to the meeting room, only dropping him once they get inside, knocking him from his stressed filled muttering.

Just to see all Peak Lords are in attendance, with a bonus Luo Binghe even right next to Cucumber bro all grim faced.

AH! Why is there so much work?! Mountain, why now of all times and places do you have to settle? Couldn't have done until Shang Qinghua died or somehow fucking ascended? But Shang Qinghua says nothing, just letting out a pathetic whimper to the disgust of a few of his fellow Peak Lords, though a few do give a sympathetic glance.

Heck, Fan Qingxue of the Alchemy Peak Shoushan and Yao Qingli of the farmers peak Dong Ye look like they want to join him in it; Ah yeah, those two ladies were the ones deathly afraid of ghosts. Since they've always been pretty cool and the ones who gave him the least shit to worry about besides Mu Qingfang, Shang Qinghua thinks he can spare some of his good calming teas and drinks...

Or they can just go straight for Zui Xian's harder spirits (ha).

"As I'm sure everyone knows why we are here, let us get down to business." After Zhangmen-shixiong cuts through his usual bullshit with that simple opening(surprise, surprise), the immortal carries on, "After all these centuries, Mount Tonglu settling bodes ill omens, with it's last settling the precursor to a plague and famine that almost wiped the mortal plane from existence." with those grim words spoken, the atmosphere gets chilling.

"If I recall Zhangmen-Shixiong, it took thousands of desperate prayers and many more offerings before the Heavens answered the call of the people, putting down the cause of it all; a Ghostly Calamity." Yi Qingyao, Peak Lord of the beast taming peak Yanlin, says as her pale, scarred hands reaching up to sooth the twittering little bird on her shoulder. "Will we have to once more rely on their power?" Will they answer us goes unsaid in her words.

While the Heavenly Officials have been quiet for a long time, it is obvious that they are still there, what with prayers still being answered and merits still being met; just more undercover, detective style really. At least, that's how Airplane had wrote it out in PIDW; had to get a few goddesses in the harem some way after all, and having the Heavens be like secret agents in his mind had been funny at the time.

(Though it does put into a new perspective the harem overthrow and everything; hmmm, feels like he should do another house cleaning around now, just in case...)

"As nothing has happened so far, it wouldn't due to try and summon those from higher plane when we don't even know what we will be up against; with no intel about the threat, we don't know if we will need a Martial or Spiritual God." Liu Qingge states, the war strategist coming out in full swing. "It would just be a waste of resources and manpower to offer without any knowledge, especially since we do not know how long the Calamity has had time to settle into their power."

"What do you mean time to settle?!" Fan Qingxue asks, alarm coloring her face even paler than before, hands clenched into her handkerchief; like this, she really does look like a dainty little princess, all big eyes and perfect brown hair, no one would think she would be a treasure hunter the like of Indiana Jones.

"From what is known, Mount Tonglu can be open for years, centuries at a time before the gates of the City of Gu Close, the true regulators of the mountain; it never settles, only until years after a Calamity is reborn does it finally rest, all its energy spent on the new, cruel rebirth." Sun Qingfu, Peak Lord of Ku Xing, answers her with a frown, his regular smile lines stressed from it as he does. "If I may ask, does anyone know just when the Gu City gates last opened?"

By the quiet that happens, the grim face of those who do know, it is not going to be an answer they like.

"... From what was found, it was almost eight years ago." was spoken ever so softly, Shang Qinghua feeling his own eyes widen as his mind does the math;

Almost eight years ago? When Cucumber-bro...

Here, the Ban Zhan War God seems to twitch, jaw clenching for a minute before it smooths away, all emotion erased as he turns to the resident Demon Lord.

Ah, while Shang Qinghua has an idea of just why Luo Binghe is here, sitting at the table with no one bothering to comment on it; considering the Demon Emperor's vast influence, and still in control over a certain, foretelling/divination talented sect, he inwardly pleads with his Shidi, hoping it will get through.

Please do not get into a fight here with the protagonist son! (May his Protag also not start anything please!)

"Has Huan Hua Palace managed to gleam any information about the upcoming Ghostly Calamity at all." Liu Qingge asks Luo Binghe, Acting Grand Disciple of Hua Hua Palace still, even being a Demon Lord as he is. (Though, his son is more of a figurehead then anything, what with Huan Hua needing all the help they can get, at least until they restore their reputation just enough to 'promote' another.)

"... From what the Divinators have said, not much has been managed to be gathered, something seemingly blocking their sights and tools." Luo Binghe says, before looking to the sect leader, a question seemingly in his eye, to which he gets a short nod.

"It seems that both Huan Hua Palace and our own Divination Division have been trying to qualify the Calamity coming to little ends; very few details have been gathered, but I'm sure you have received details of the same city?"

That gets a stark frown on his Protagonist's face, dark eyes flashing a gloomy red before he says those damming words. "Jinlan City."

Eight Years.

Jinlan City.

... Oh Fuck his life with a rusty spoon; this is not the fucking time for a god dammed plague/famine thing!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You two bit, sell-out hack of an author! How in the fuck could you leave out such important world building! Just for fucking sex plots!" is ranted when they're alone in the bamboo house on Qing Jing Peak, Luo Binghe being in high demand to work with the other sects as the current head of the golden cultivators. Damn, but is Shang Qinghua glad that's not his problem anymore, even if he feels a bit sorry for the Hua disciples he revived just to take over his paperwork duties.

(What, it's not like he could have used that plot device for himself, considering that the Sweet Dream Seven Petal Rose could only be used on righteous, young souls, both of which he is not. Gongyi Xiao and his little bunch are doing great last he checked, even if they now have a newfound hunger for spiritually dense rocks and plants; still a surprise to have that many good nuggets in such a gilded, slimy place like Huan Hua.)

"Hmmm, more focused on what could get me my rent money at the time, you know, like an adult." Shang Qinghua sasses back, looking over all the reports constantly being sent to him, signing something there, double checking there, burning that paper here. "And considering how Calamities need actual, real deal gods to handle their fucking business, I made the executive decision to just not include them into the story."

"Binghe wouldn't lose!"

"..."

"... No, he wouldn't! He the- He's your protagonist..." here Shang Qinghua looks over to his bro, being hit once more just how young the other actually is, green eyes wide as they take him in.

"Calamities were not named lightly bro; they earn that title through pain, agony, and a resentment that refuses to ever fucking die." Here, Airplane comes into full swing, rambles of a favored topic only an author can understand dumping out, "It was one of my favorite things to plot out in my original draft, I did so much research and writing for what I was going to have as a neutral recurring character for an arc or two here or there, someone who could make the Luo Binghe bow in respect. Calamities were a part of the whole for the reason pure blooded Heavenly Demons were wiped out." he explains, only for Shen Qingqiu to interrupt.

"Because very few Demons or Spiritual Creatures can affect ghosts, so that the protagonist could show off fancy cultivation tricks with his companions or wives." his green clad bro finishes, a death grip on his fan.

"Yeah, had to justify at times why my protag would bother leveling his human side, considering how op his demonic blood was. I figured ghost would be an even playground, while not effecting demons much, couldn't actually be effected that much in turn." Shang Qinghua shrugs, wincing at the pops and cracks as he does, before going right back to his paperwork; he really should have went back to his peak, he really would get more done, but with his favorite hater's memory, it would be worth the cutting into his time if it could jog his own memory of his story.

From what he wrote in Proud Immortal Demon Way, Mount Tonglu was only in one arc of his story, his son having to find the ghost of one of his favored wives to revive her, who ended up being sucked up into the mountain. Luo Binghe had to struggle hard, getting the aid of a sexy Ghostly Cultivator and a Demonic one to help him along the path to find the ghost of his wife. It was a race against time and enemies, ghosts who would rip anyone to shreds, and to ensure his ghostly wife wouldn't gather too much energy from the place so that she couldn't leave.

Thanks to his Sexy helpers, plot amor, and general bullshit plot devices, Luo Binghe saves his dear wife's ghost, revives her, and has some sexy papapa times with all three ladies from the adventure. (Though the two don't actually end up wifed to Luo Binghe from what he remembers.) But despite all the bullshit, Airplane remembers at the time he only wrote the group going as far as the second level, just in the mountain proper, and sure as hell nowhere near the really important parts; the ancient city of Wukong, and the Kiln that attracted all the ghosts in the first place. Otherwise, he would have had to write a fight scene that Luo Binghe could not win.

And couldn't pay his bills; so thus, Mount Tonglu and all its possibilities got shafted, just another plot thread left dangling among the many others he had in the wind, taunting his readers as it were.

One that gives context, but no longer any help with their situation.

After that bit of thoughtful silence, Cucumber bro begins to say something, only for a knock at the door to interrupt them.

"Shizun, apologies for interruption, but the Head Disciple from An Ding Peak is here." that sweet voice can only be from one of his sweetest characters, one Ning Yingying.

"Ah, you can just come on in Bai Weizhe, I don't think-ah!" Shang Qinghua calls, before sputtering as his bro proceeds to spit take all over him, "Gross, seriously gross bro."

All that gets is the stunned, incredulous gaze from his friend, before his rather stunning Head Disciple comes in, looking like he should be the Peak Lord honestly. Really, he makes the light blue and grey of the HD Uniform look like the highest fashion, with those highly noble features and crystal grey eyes. The young man is just missing a crown in that silky black hair, and bam, he'd look the part.

Well, then he'll get that look in those usually gentle eyes and then he'll look more like he should be the Ban Zhan or Qing Jing Peak Lord; just like now, a storm brewing clouds as he takes in the two Peak Lords before him, darkening as they look to his dripping Shizun.

"This disciple hopes he was not interrupting anything? There is unfortunately much work for Shizun to do, and so little time to do it." His disciple says, face perfectly bland even as he ignores any of the custom greetings one should do before their elders, especially those way above in seniority. Raising an eyebrow at his disciple, as while Shang Qinghua could let him get away with murder, decorum and manners are not something his disciples skip on, a tool he has trained them to practically weaponize.

But Bai Weizhe merely smiles like sugar won't melt in his mouth, completely transforming that handsome face into a truly devastating attack, his raging eyes the only give away. Hearing Cucumber bro choke beside him, Shang Qinghua makes to stand up, sighing once more.

"Ah well, just another storm to weather through, maybe if I'm lucky I can just hide away on my Peak or the Northern- I'm not lucky am I?" Shang starts hopefully, only to see the darkening of his disciple's eyes.

"...When the Divinatiors were divining into the future, they managed to find out one more thing." Here Weizhe's eyes flicker, looking down for a minute before back to him, the only sign he gives off he is worried, "When looking to see who would go to investigate, Long-Shigu only kept getting omens of death, no matter who was drawn from the lots..." Here, his disciple takes a deep breath, Shang Qinghua himself now worried for his student, putting a hand on their shoulder to ground them, calm them however he could (along with himself).

"It's only when Shizun's name was drawn to go that the omens lightened at all."

... Fuck, if Long Qingyu, the Zui Xian Peak Lord, the best Divination Master this side of the Jianghu that wasn't part of Huan Hua said so, then it was so...

Damn it to planes and noddles, but he's already missing his bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I look at you, and I just love you, and it terrifies me. It terrifies me what I would do for you."

By Alexandra Bracken

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shen Yuan can fully admit, if only to himself, that he might just be, slightly, just ever so slightly, terrified.

Of course, he'll admit this too no one; despite how OOC the System has let him become, how it stays in 'standby mode', some habits have just become too ingrained at this point to change, forged as they were into his shield. It has been both a boon and a bane as it were in his day to day, keeping him together through most storms in his life, even if it's left him sopping wet afterwards.

But in the end, at least he still has someone to warm him up, a calm within that storm to rest his weary body for a time... Even if they truly aren't an actual escape from said storm.

"Shizun, is there anything you need? Anything I can do?" His Binghe fusses, those clear dark eyes of his not able to hide the tightening worry scrunching them, face still beautiful even as full of negativity as it is.

"Just be as ready as possible; we do not know what to expect, with assumptions being a foe that could blind us when we least expect them." Shen Qingqiu speaks, truly trying not to think about it, about just what kind of situation they are about to be walking into, the ruins of Jinlan City just a bit before them damningly, the Base Camp the Cultivation Sects pulled together to create rest less then a mile away in the distance.

'Oh, but how hard it is to not make any...' the transmigrator can't help but think, grimacing behind his fan as he can just notice the stares from others around them, some judgmental, other pitying, but all still obviously looking at them.

After all, eight years ago was the day he first 'died' in this world. Combined with the issues with the Sowers, then the resulting destruction of said city... it didn't paint the best of pictures.

As expected of a protagonist; even after the 'happy ever after', there was still no rest from possible story lines. (Shen Yuan honestly at times was just... tired of them. Didn't he and Binghe, especially his Binghe, deserve a rest?...

He'd rather be caught in a wife plot even at this point.)

"... A-Yuan?" was whispered rather lowly, right into his ear and behind his fan, so no one with advanced cultivation could hear or see what he was saying, "Is this some sort of... event?" His disciple asked, making his Shizun pause in his fanning for a moment, before returning, not even so much of a twitch on his face.

"...That has not made any signs of movement beyond what it has told me and your Shang-Shishu." Shen Yuan answers carefully, ignoring the brief twitch of disgust on his husband's face at the mention of the other man, "It has been quiet since a year ago." At least, from what Shang Qinghua has told him about his months long misadventure.

"... I see." there, just slightly, is a bit of relief in Luo Binghe's face, Shen Qingqiu unable to stop his own weary smile at the sight.

Despite everything, despite how he will never, ever tell his fellow transmigrator, he is grateful the man convinced him to tell Binghe as much as he could about their transmigration.

Even if it felt like a kick in the teeth at the time.

("... Bro." Shang Qinghua has a look in his eyes that makes Shen Yuan freeze, fully reminded, in that moment, in that time, that for all his fellow transmigrator plays around and whines, the man has earned his Peak Lord title, and all that it entails. "You know the tropes, the clinches, the story; what part of keeping all those secrets to yourself seems like a good idea?"

Here he couldn't help but bristle, "And in what story do you see a character actually talk about being from another world, hmm? What can I even say?!" He stops himself from going to hit the other with his fan, the urge stifled as he sees those brown eyes darken as they narrow.

"I've found that as long as I kept it vague, I can get the general idea of what happened across. I've experimented with My King and my Head Disciple, and the only time I was stopped was when I was about to mention the System directly. Otherwise I was good to go..." here the older man pauses, before he sighs even as Shen Yuan gaps, honestly stunned the other man actually tried something like that.

"Look, Shen Yuan, do you want your relationship with Binghe to work out?"

"!! Of course!"

"Then tell him; tell him before it is too late and you really become a foil for Yue Qi and his Shen Jiu." here, hearing his name and the mention of those two, Shen Yuan cannot help but pale, seeming to stop and stare at the bitter author god before him.

"Wha-"

"... Cucumber-bro, for all you remember about my stallion protagonist webnovel, you seem to always forget it's a tradegy at its core..." here the other man just looks so tired, staring into his teacup instead of directing those all too knowing earth colored eyes to him.

"And the promis of love was always meant to be Binghe's greatest weakness.")

"Ah, greeting from this Disciple to Shen-Shishu, Lord Luo." was greeted, Shen Qingqiu nearly jumping if he hadn't already noticed his husband was looking over, even if he did look stiffly over to the voice.

One Bai Weizhe stood there before them, not a hair out of place, his face neutral, calm and as if he probably wasn't plotting how to slit your throat in your sleep. Like he isn't secretly some powerhouse that could probably go toe-toe with Yue Qingyuan and even toy with the man if he felt like it.

"Ah, good day Bai-Shizhi, has everything been completed and set up?" Shen Qingqiu asks, fanning himself lightly, doing his best to pretend that this is just a regular disciple, that their is nothing wrong with them, that he is just a wrong word from breaking out into a cold sweat.

"Yes, this disciple was sent to gather all the participating Peak Lords coming from Cang Qiong Mountains; all preparations have been made, Long-Shigu and Huan Hua Palace saying soon will be the best time to enter the city. I'm sure that these Lords can find the way their themselves?" Shen Qingqiu nearly frowns at this subtle though pointed disrespect, having to gently tap his fan on his husband's shoulder before he can say anything.

"These Lords are capable of it, though it would do Shizhi well to remember their manners; I'm sure your Shifu has taught you better than that?" The Peak Lord comments, knowing if he doesn't say something, then Binghe will-

And while that face is still as calm as before, those eyes giving nothing away, there is something about that pause that says Shen Qingqiu has said the wrong thing.

"This disciple will keep it in mind, Shen-Shishu. Please pardon me, I must go and find the other Peak Lords joining the scouting force." With that, and a shallow boy just respectful enough, the young man hurries along, the pale blue and grey of his robes fluttering in the wind as he goes.

Outwardly, the Qing Jing Peak Lord seems as calm as can be, soothing his fussy husband as they walk over to the main tend of the Camp, not even flustered a bit by the altercation.

Inside on the other hand, Peerless Cucumber is just 'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, Airplane of all villains you picked up, why him!? Why him as your HD?!'

Now, while Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky had made plenty of low IQ and forgettable villains in the story, it just meant that when he actually pulled out the good ones, he made them unforgettable. From the beloved 'Big Brother' Pan Shan, a villain only in protection of his family, to the literal 'Calamitous Beauty' Tan Xifeng, a woman so proud and strong she rather turn to ashes forever then be trapped in the Harem, Bai Weizhe was just as up there, the calm 'True Mastermind' in the name of revenge in PIDW.

In the set up, The Bai Family is a very high ranking Cultivation Family, just as high if not more so than the Liu family, said to be descended from heavenly beings, granted power and weapons of that level because of it. But over the years, with less and less powerful Cultivators coming from the family, the Bai Family head got desperate, making his son marry multiple women to try and birth a hopefully powerful heir. And seeing how much of a playboy the man was, with plenty of bastards beforehand, it wasn't too hard for the man to put out it seem. Of his many spawn, two ended up as wives to Bingge and of course a few becoming villains for the arc.

But Bai Weizhe, when first introduced, it shows one of his half-sisters, a future wife, trying to defend him from another of their siblings who were attempting to torture him. All throughout the arc's mystery, one learns more of the future wives alongside this weak bastard son of a maid and the Family Head's son, learning they were little more than a slave to the Family Head and his Son's whims.

Bai Weizhe had seemed like a helpful, if slightly talented npc, being more of an awkward emotional support then any seeming threat, even if things seemed ever so slightly off about him, most of which could probably be excused by just how abused he had been. In fact, many thought the man would become a little brother character, Binghe taking in the poor bastard son as a future assistant or something because of how intelligent he was (with rotten girls going even farther and saying he would become part of the harem.)

But when the plot twist was revealed, with it turning out the murders and almost complete alienation of the Bai Family was all his doing, daringly using the protagonist to do his dirty work for him... it had been as shocking as it was satisfying to the readers, some actually rereading the entire arc with eyes wide open to take in all those little clues and cues to the real monster hiding behind the mask.

But of course, Luo Binghe being Luo Binghe in Proud Immortal Demon Way, Th Bai Bastard meets his end and Bingge gets the Bai Family twins and some family treasure as a bonus... (Though, from debates and such, it actually has been argued that his death may have either been faked or the man had a back up prepared.

Knowing PIDW and all it's bullshit plot devices... he can see it, especially after meeting him.)

But coming to the tent, Shen Qingqiu pushes all thoughts aside, face grim as he looks over his fellow gathered Peak Lords.

Yue Qingyuan. Shang Qinghua. Mu Qingfang. Liu Qingge. Qi Qingqi. Himself and his husband.

"Both the best and worst team to send." Long Qingyu's bitter words spoken broke through the tents atmosphere, making everyone tense as she did. The Zui Xian Peak Lord took a gulp from her bottle, truly stressed if she was drinking in front of them, "I cannot say much, or do anything else but offer this one last advice; make sure you actually listen." she stresses, golden hair slipping from her messily made bun as she pushes it back even as she takes another swing of her drink, mismatched brown and green eyes closed as she does.

"Listen to what?" Liu Qingge asks, eyeing the woman as she finishes her drink with a mournful look.

"Just as I said; listen. Do not assume, do not judge, do think before you damn well speak-" Here she stops herself, teeth gritted as she breaths through them, before opening her eyes once more, "I can say no more, not unless I want the omens to darken even further. Just get ready to go." with that, the woman is gone as fast as she came in, closing the tent behind her with a loud snap.

Staring at everyone, meeting eyes with a few before looking to his Binghe, Shen Qingqiu starts to prepare himself, checking just in case for anything that could have been missed.

Come what may, he and the others will be as ready as they can be, going against the Calamity as they are.

It'll have to be enough.

(Oh, but they will never be ready, unknowing of the poisonous green eyes watching, waiting for them all this time.

They've waited long enough.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note:

And here we have our favorite disaster bi's, Airplane and Cucumber-bro! Man, both are great characters, my bias being Airplane, but Shen Yuan is also such an interesting character to delve into, being one of the favs I both want to hug and just smack over the head :>

The second quote I found I feel can really seem to resonate with Shen Yuan, when our boy stops repressing and actually lets himself feel.

Also, while I like BingQiu... boi, does that relationship have issues, ones I really hope they did indeed talk through when they could (They have a fuck ton of time to do so, so here I had Airplane help and kick them into gear; nothing like be reminded of tropes and the fact that your hubby is a fucking Tragedy Protag. :> )

Anyways~

Airplane: *Revives a bunch of disciples because he does not want to deal with the paperwork* ... why are you looking at me like that, stop that, go back to your sect.

So many OCs this chapter, I'll just do a spot light for one because then this chapter will just be author's note. (not too mention how he kept worming his way everywhere, just smiling at me as he did.)

Bai Weizhe: Means Outgoing, great sage because I like it; little fun fact, how I have my OC Bai Weizhe: he was actually a high IQ Villain in PIDW, (think if Lan Zhan and Jin Guangyao had a baby, he'd be that baby :3 ) the bastard son of a great cultivation family where Luo Binghe was doing the 'acting like a pig to get the tiger' sort of deal. He was actually a genuine, hidden boss level threat for at least one-two arcs before he had to get fridged for papapa plot (tho.. more like a faked death, Airplane always had a soft spot for his villains after all :3). In fact, it was mentioned in Villainous monologue that he had went to join CQM sect, but due to sabotage by his family, never got the chance in PIDW.

In SVSSS, Airplane was still in the process of working on his 'applying by application' process to An Ding (because I love this headcannon, it gives me fucking life, I am still mad for losing the bookmark to the story that inspired it.) so he still picked disciples by the digging test for a while. He sees this one poor little guy digging despite looking like he's gonna pass out any minute, powering through it with sheer determination and spite, the other Peaks Lords and Disciples already dismissing them, thinking he has low cultivation/poor prospect.

Shang Qinghua though doesn't care about all that; he very much wants that determination (and spite, gotta respect it) He can use all he can get! *After the kid cleans up and gets the drugs out of his system, Shang Qinghua blinks, double takes* WTF when did I have a talent on my peak??

Bai Weizhe: *Smiles like butter won't melt in his mouth* I've always been here Shizun.

(Does Airplane remember him? lol nope, but Shen Yuan sure does :D)

Also, none of the An Ding disciples really 'care' about Shang Qinghua's betrayal (Anyone on An Ding? Oh, they've dreamed of much worse; so much worse~) :) They Just :) Are a bit Upset :) about being Left Behind. :) But its all good; their Shizun came back :)

(And if the sect knows whats good for it, he'll stay where he fucking belongs.)

[icycoldninja]

Allow me to elaborate:

What about the DMC men with a devil hunter reader who seems very stoic, reserved and quiet spoken ( it can be mistaken them as shy ) but is actually a big dinosaur nerd

Like one moment, she can zone out into another dimension but when the topic of dinosaurs came up, immediately “locked in”, and especially interested if it comes to the topic of Jurassic Park and Jurassic world(Reminds me of that one interview where Henry Cavill immediately get interested in the conversation once WarHammer 40K was mentioned)

———————————————————————————

Reader: Did you know that in the novelization version of Jurassic Park…Nedry was killed in a very gruesome way in comparison to the movies ?

Vergil (uninterested yet interested): What about it?

Reader: He got blinded with the acid, which caused him to topple down in pain. After that, he was slashed across his lower abdomen but he was unaware that he was holding his own intestines so it did take tine for him to come to a realization but not long after, the last thing mentioned of him was the Dilophosaurus holding his head in its maw…Yes, it’s bigger than it’s Chibi version in the film ☺️✨

Vergil (unsure what to say in case he hurts her feelings): That was…violent to say the least

Or maybe one day when they accidentally walk into her bedroom, just to find out hundreds of dinosaur related stuff, and a freaking 1:1 ratio of a Velociraptor dressed in Victorian ball gown and a feathered hat on top. Weird but endearing

Lol sure.

Sparda boys + V x Dino nerd!Reader headcannons

¤ Dante ¤

He originally thought you were one of those cold, quiet and reserved types, to which he was used to, and was very surprised to find you had a soft spot for dinosaurs.

-Has no idea what dinosaurs are; all he's ever known are demons, which are somewhat similar to dinosaurs, but not exact.

-He once went into your room to ask you something and found a 1:1 Velociraptor statue smack dab in the middle of it.

-He thinks you're cute when you start rambling on about dinosaurs and their characteristics. Even though he doesn't understand much of it, it's fun to see you smiling and happy.

-Buys you dinosaur figurines because he knows you love them.

-Will certainly re-watch all the Jurassic Park movies with you, and since there's a healthy dose of violence, he actually finds it pretty interesting.

■ Vergil ■

-Vergil always thought you were like him since you were silent and rarely ever disclosed anything about yourself.

-You also had a habit of staring off into space, not paying any mind to the world around you. It was a strange habit, but Vergil didn't mind. He liked the silence.

-Then one day, someone mentioned dinosaurs around you and your whole personality switched. You were instantly on your feet, rambling excitedly about the lore of the dinosaur being discussed.

-Vergil was surprised to see this kind behavior from you, but was also intrigued. You were full of surprises, weren't you?

-He will sit through Jurassic Park movies with you for however long you want and will gladly listen to any fun facts you wish to disclose. It's not long before he develops an interest for dinosaurs himself.

-Vegil eventually finds himself a walking encyclopedia on dinosaur knowledge, and it's all because of you.

□ Nero □

-Nero never expected you to be such a nerd; he'd always pegged you as a serious, stoic individual, but you still managed to surprise him.

-Nero is somewhat familiar with dinosaurs thanks to excitable children with personalites much like yours at the orphanage.

-He only knows the basics, as mentioned before, and was never really fond of them, even in his youth, but you're here to change all that, aren't you?

-Loves to look at your dinosaur collection because he just likes to spend time with you, and if that means staring at all the different figurines you have, so be it.

-He'll watch all the movies you want with you, even if he doesn't find them all that interesting.

-He thinks that velociraptor statue in your room is cool as hell, though, and wonders why it's wearing a dress.

● V ●

-V admired you at first for your quiet mysteriousness, and later, for your hidden dorky side.

-It might be because the hidden nerdy aspect of your personality is just like his; he has his poetry and you have your dinosaurs.

-Speaking of dinosaurs, V would love it if you could tell him more about these magnificent creatures. Did they really roam the earth? Do you really have one in your room? Will it move?

-Upon seeing the dinosaur statue in your room, V is astonished. He's never seen such a large creature that hasn't tried to kill him, and finds it adorable that you put a Victorian dress on it.

-He watches all the movies you set up for him with glee, and even though some parts can be quite violent, it's nothing he hasn't seen before.

-Slowly becomes as much of a dino nerd as you are. As a result, chatting about dinosaur trivia becomes a daily, if not hourly, occurrence.

[wwinterwitch]

THAT NIGHT — JOEL MILLER X BABYSITTER!FEM!READER

rating: explicit, 18+ only summary: you've been babysitting sarah for a while, thinking there's just no way joel could ever reciprocate your feelings pairing: joel miller x babysitter!fem!reader word count: 5k warnings: no spoilers (doesn't follow the plot of the show at all), age-gap (reader is in her 20s, joel in his 40s), babysitter!reader, mutual pining, SMUT with a sprinkle of fluff, porn with plot, making out, softdom!joel, kinda shy!reader at times, pet names, a little praise, dirty talk, oral (f!receiving), vaginal fingering, possessive!joel, riding, p in v sex, unprotected sex (don't do this!) but w/ birth control

main masterlist | read on ao3 | pedro's characters masterlist

Sarah never went to sleep until her dad came back home. She'll stay cuddled up against you while watching whatever you were watching on TV. Since Mr. Miller told you he didn't mind about his daughter staying up and waiting for him, you allowed Sarah to join you every night you were babysitting her until he was home.

Many would argue Sarah doesn’t really need a babysitter, as she’s quite an independent child that knows how to take care of herself just fine. Still, you’ve been taking care of her for a few years now and she loves to have you around, which is why she enjoys your company.

You’re always invited to her soccer matches and other school events, as well as every birthday party. Every time something remotely interesting or special happens in Sarah’s life, you’ll be a part of it.

But that closeness you have with Sarah was never really developed with her dad. Sure, he keeps you around to take care of her, but other than that your relationship with him is strictly professional. That little detail is particularly sad if you consider the massive crush you have on him.

He’s probably never considered you in that way, because why would he bother with someone much younger anyway? It’s not like Mr. Miller has ever given you any indication that he’ll ever reciprocate your feelings. In fact, it’s almost as if he’s terrified of you sometimes. Like he actively avoids getting even just a little too close to you. Perhaps he's aware of your little fantasies and he prefers to stay away as far as he can so he doesn't encourage you.

If that's the case, at least you're thankful he doesn't say anything out loud to embarrass you.

However, that night seems to be different. As soon as Sarah hears the front door opening and the sound of footsteps, she stands up from the couch and waits for her dad to appear in the living room, immediately walking towards him for a hug. You sit there, watching as Mr. Miller lifted up his daughter from the ground and spinned her around, which inevitably made the girl squeal and giggle until she’s begging to be put down again.

The entire scene made you feel very out of place.

That's not their fault by any means. It's you who likes to fantasize about things that will never happen. It's you who likes to imagine you're not just Sarah's babysitter. They can't help that a hug between them sends you back to reality and reminds you of your place.

You’re so lost in your thoughts that you barely notice when Mr. Miller is putting his daughter back on the ground so she can walk over you for a goodnight kiss. After that, she's leaving to her room with her dad following her. It took him only a few minutes to come back to the living room where you were still sitting, pretending to look at the TV the second he’s standing right next to the couch while he took out his wallet.

"Thanks again," he says, handing you the usual amount he pays you for a regular shift. He'll occasionally add more if he's working late and needs someone to be there for a few extra hours.

"No problem," you reply as you accept the money.

"Is it okay if you come back Friday night? I have, uh, a few things to do."

Things. You try to act as if that didn't mean anything to you. Why would you care if he has something to do on Friday night? How great it is that Mr. Miller has stuff to do on Friday night! It doesn't matter that he's being so vague about it. Not at all.

"I can pay you a little extra for the short-notice," you hear him say. Maybe he thinks that is the reason why you're taking so long to answer.

"I, uh...no, it's fine. I can be here Friday night."

While you take care of your things.

Right after that last thought brought up entirely by jealousy, you remember what you were talking a few days ago with Sarah while she was painting your nails. "So does that mean...you won't go to Sarah's match?"

His face fell almost immediately. "It's this Friday?" he asks. "Shit."

"I can always help her get ready and take her if you're too busy."

"Thank you, but I promised her I'll be there so I have to go. I can always cancel my other plans."

You shouldn't feel this happy when Mr. Miller is telling you he won't be doing any "things" this Friday, but you can't ignore that warm sensation that flows through your body. And the fact that he immediately decides to cancel them like they were nothing? You couldn't be happier.

After trying to ignore it, you reluctantly accepted the feeling and allowed it to secretly consume you. Because as embarrassing and sad as it is to admit, you have a crush on the dad of the girl you babysit, and you might've just stopped him from going on a date this week. How could you not be happy?

Mr. Miller's face tells a different story, though. He looks like he feels the complete opposite, which inevitably makes you feel a little guilty for mentally celebrating in front of him. "I'm sorry," was all you could say, not knowing what else to add to the conversation.

"It's alright. I wasn't looking forward to that anyway," Joel quickly reassures you, muttering the last part. It was like he wanted to joke about it, but the fact that he was muttering gave you the impression that maybe he didn't necessarily mean for you to hear that.

"Work stuff?" you asked not too long after.

Joel thinks about his answer for a few seconds. "Kinda," he replied. "It's stupid, really. A co-worker asked me out today."

"Oh..."

He stared at you for a bit before you watched a smile form on his lips. "Old people go out on dates too, you know?"

"I know," you giggle, a bit embarrassed. "It's just...I don't know. I don't think I've ever heard about you going on dates before."

"I don't have many," he explained, which somehow made things worse because how. "I don't really like dates either so I'm still trying to figure out why I accepted in the first place...I guess it just gets hard sometimes."

You looked up at him sympathetically. Mr. Miller rarely opens up to you, so this new-found sincerity is making it impossible for you to go home now. He's not really the type to share much about himself. Perhaps he likes to talk for hours with his brother and daughter, but not with others. The rest know only what Joel thinks they need to know about him and that's enough.

So for him to share even just a bit of information regarding this, it means he's willing to share it with you. And you must treasure little moments like this because at any time...

"I'm sorry," his voice snaps you out of your thoughts.

You quickly notice he's embarrassed so you shake your head, afraid that's all the sharing he'll do. "It's okay. I mean...you can talk to me if you need to."

"Thank you, but I really shouldn't be talking to you about this kind of stuff."

You didn't know what to say at first. It was sad to hear he really shouldn't talk to you. As if you're nothing but a little girl that couldn't possibly understand what grown ups go through. It's always annoying when someone older treats you like you're a little kid but it's especially terrible when this comes from, no exaggeration, the man of your dreams.

You're the babysitter, not a friend he can rely on when he needs it. That's all you've been and all you will be until Sarah doesn't need a babysitter anymore. Then, you might see them from time to time if Sarah invites you.

"Okay..." was all your hurt, pathetic little head could come up with.

He sensed that he messed up right after your reply, sighing as he looked up at the roof of the living room as if the right words to say were written right on top of him. Sadly for him, nothing was waiting up there to save him.

"It gets hard being a single parent sometimes," he finally confesses.

Trying to be open about it seemed like the only way he could make this situation better. And the truth is, he trusts you. A trust that can be so deep and blind at times, it terrifies him just to think about it.

He could talk to you about his inner struggles for hours if he could– hell, he longs for it. He wishes he could share every little aspect of his life with you, and for you to be his support. That strange need of even just the smallest gesture of vulnerability, something he didn't expect to feel for another woman after the disaster that was his marriage.

He wants to be vulnerable. There's nothing he needs more than to feel absolutely defenseless when it comes to you, because he knows you'll take good care of him. He trusts you'll protect him.

But he's twice your age. You should be nothing but the young woman who takes care of Sarah, but no matter how hard he tries to feel all of that with the other women he’s dated in the past, he can’t seem to stop thinking about you.

Joel Miller has fallen for the fucking babysitter and he can't do shit about it because it'll be extremely weird and inappropriate if he does. He'll never ever do or say something to make you uncomfortable, so he chooses to ignore his feelings entirely. He'll hopefully get over it soon enough.

Still, it's hard to remember to keep his distance when you're looking at him with those eyes and he's already allowing himself to be completely at your mercy, intoxicated by the feeling.

"I never expected it to be easy," you offer with a shy smile. "And if it helps, I think you're a great parent, Mr. Miller."

He chuckles after your comment, making your heart skip a bit. That's when he finally decided to sit down on the couch next to you.

"Thank you, sweetheart. It does mean a lot- not just your words, but everything you do to help out with Sarah," he added. Of course the sentence could've ended there but he couldn't hold back this time. "You being here really makes everything easier."

You were speechless. It was like your brain short-circuits right after those words, unable to even react to them. You notice he's staring at you, almost analyzing your reaction to him, and you knew you had to say something.

"I'm glad I can help. You have to give Sarah some credit, though. She makes my job a lot easier."

"She loves you. You should see how excited she gets when I tell her you're coming over," he replies with a smile.

"That's so sweet. I adore her, she's the most adorable child I've babysat."

His smile turns into a smirk right after that. "I hope you don't say that to every parent."

Once again, you let out a quick laugh. "No, I really mean it!"

"Do me a favor and don't let her know she's your favorite. It'll get to her head pretty quickly and we'll never hear the end of it," Mr. Miller added jokingly.

"That's exactly why I haven't told her," you joke back, feeling the ever-so-familiar butterflies in your stomach when you hear his chuckle.

There was a brief silence between the two of you. Mr. Miller was looking at you with the hint of a smile adorning his lips as you sat there, trying so hard not to blush because he just continued to look your way.

It was as if all the self control he built up came crushing to the ground in less than a second that night.

"You know, I can't blame her for what she thinks about you."

Once again, speechless. "R-really?"

He nodded. You noticed he got just a tiny bit closer to you, leaning back on the couch. To let him know you're more than okay with that, you leaned closer as well. No way you'll risk him regretting his movements now.

"Of course, I mean...what's there not to like?" he insisted, one of his hands barely brushing against your thigh. "Is this okay?" he immediately asks before going further, not wanting to be inappropriate.

"Yeah, i-it's okay..." you were able to say, not fully believing this is actually happening. Since when did your fake scenarios become this realistic? Is this another one of your dreams, perhaps?

The second his hand is completely resting on your thigh, you realize. This is real. Your breath practically catches in your throat when his hand moves further up. Holy shit, this is real.

"Can I confess one last thing?" he asks. You're unable to speak, so just stare at him as you wait for him to continue. "I want to touch you underneath your skirt so bad."

"Y-you...you can do whatever you want."

He smirks once again, eyeing you up and down. "Is that so? I can just do whatever I can think of to your body and you won't complain about it?"

You keep looking back at him, your heart beating faster than ever, quickly nodding after his question. It was pathetic the way your face was burning and your panties were soaked just by this little exchange. "I really want you to touch me."

"Let's see if you’re telling the truth," he says in a soft voice. Your eyes close and a sigh escapes your lips when you feel his hand moving upwards, his fingers delicately tracing your wet underwear up and down a couple of times. Just when you were going to tell him that feels good, he's the one who speaks. "So you weren't lying, sweetheart. That pussy's already so wet for me and I haven't even started."

"O-Only you can make me this wet, Mr. Miller."

"Mr. Miller," he mocks you, leaning even closer until he's inches away from your face. "That's cute. You're gonna keep calling me that when I put these fingers inside you?"

"If you want me to..."

He smiles. A genuine smile. You're so cute, he can't handle it. "You can call me Joel, darling."

With no time to answer, you're surprised by Joel's lips crashing against yours. It was evident both of you were desperately waiting for that to happen for so long. It was clear in the way you grabbed the back of his neck with one of your hands. It was also evident in the fact that his hand is rapidly sneaking inside your panties.

You moan as soon as you feel his fingers circling your clit. Joel took that in his advantage, his tongue quickly reaching yours and the kiss inevitably deepens. He continues to hungrily devour your mouth while he plays with your clit.

The two of you continue to make out for a bit until Joel is pulling back just enough to speak. "Take these off and sit back down for me, would you?"

Of course you're not going to refuse.

You still can't fully believe this is happening as you stand up to remove your panties. Joel is watching you intently and you've never felt more self-conscious in your entire life, intimidated by the way his eyes travel up and down your body in the best of ways. It drives you crazy just thinking about what's going on inside his head at that very moment.

He moves from the couch to the floor when you're once again seated, kneeling right in front of you. His eyes never leave yours as he carefully lifts your skirt just enough so you could be exposed to him, which inevitably made you that much flustered.

"No need to be shy," he says in a soothing voice, gently spreading your legs since you didn't do it for yourself. "You're gorgeous, darling. Exactly how I imagined you’ll be."

You couldn't possibly speak right now. Not if he's kissing your inner thigh while he's still looking at you, moving further up with each contact of his lips with your skin. When Joel's tongue is finally in contact with your pussy, you let out yet again another moan, making him pull away almost instantly.

"You gotta be quiet, baby," he quickly warns you. "We're not alone, remember?"

You're so lost in the feeling of his tongue against you that you don't reply. He didn't seem to expect an answer either, returning to what he was previously doing. To avoid making any sound, you had to bite your lip, one of your hands holding onto one of the cushions of the sofa almost involuntarily as he continued moving his tongue, exploring and tasting you.

He starts by licking one single strap with his tongue from your entrance to your clit before he stays there, gently sucking on it at first before he sucks just a little harder. Your head rests back on the couch, looking up at the sky as you try so hard not to moan his name out loud because how the fuck does this feel so good?

However, your head snaps back so you could look at him when he stops. "You have to keep looking at me, okay baby? If you don't, I'll stop. Got it?"

"Y-yes."

"Good girl," he praises, right before his mouth is on you again.

He sucks on your clit for a few more seconds before he's moving away just enough for his fingers to spread your lips completely, giving him a better access so he could lick up and down however he pleased. His tongue continues to expertly move up and down before he's focusing on your clit again, repeating that cycle over and over.

You're already a mess thanks to him. You were a mess even before he started eating you out, so you're absolutely destroyed at this point. You'd either bite your lip to avoid making a sound or open your mouth making sure no sounds would come out. One of your hands was on his hair, fingers tangled in it, while the other is still gripping the cushion tighter and tighter as seconds pass.

It's practically embarrassing just how desperate you are, your hips buckling upwards and your breathing becoming heavier. But how could you not be when he's kneeled in front of you with his mouth devouring your cunt, his eyes fixated on you and the room so silent you can perfectly hear the sounds his tongue makes when he’s eating you out?

He's eager to do a good job, examining your face to tell what moves you enjoy the most so he could repeat them. He licks and sucks until he gets the desired reaction, staying there long enough until he's satisfied with his work, continuing to move his tongue all over your cunt until he's discovering a new thing you particularly enjoy.

Holding back your moans is no easy job, but you seem to be partially succeeding so far. The hardest part of it all has to be the fact that you have to look at him at all times, trying very hard not to close your eyes or lean back on the couch. Because if you ever do and he stops, you're 99% sure you'll start crying.

Things only get much worse for you when Joel's mouth is entirely focused on your clit, giving enough space for his fingers to join in on the absolute attack you're suffering right now. You were about to break the silence rule when you feel two of his fingers entering you, curling inside of you and staying there for a second before he takes them out halfway, only to stick them back in.

At first he was gentle with his fingers, taking his time whenever they would go in and out of you, testing your reaction first before he gradually speeds up. The sounds alone would've been enough to make you cum right there and then. It was pathetic exactly just how wet you were for him at that point.

With his tongue taking care of your clit and his fingers penetrating you, you knew you were soon going to have enough of it. Your body was quickly hinting you were close as your hips buckled up more desperately and you're barely able to hold back your moans in between your heavy breathing.

You know he can feel it too thanks to your pussy clenching around his fingers, but you still wanted to voice what was going on internally. "Fuck, Joel..." you're able to say, making sure is not so loud.

He hums in response after hearing you, pulling back enough just to say “Keep saying my name like that,” right before diving in again.

And so you did. You chant his name as quietly as you can, which seems to encourage him as he starts fingering you at a faster pace. "I think...I-I think I'm gonna-"

At that very moment, your body is betraying you because your orgasm came like an unexpected wave of pleasure that took over your entire being, making it impossible for you to focus on anything else. You lean slightly forward, your body tensing and your legs slightly shaking as you come undone with his mouth sucking hard on your clit- the hardest yet.

Your fingers on his hair are tugging on it and the other is holding onto the cushion for dear life. Your eyes roll to the back of your head and you're thankful he understands you're in no state of continuing to look at him anymore, allowing you to do whatever it was that your body needed to try to get it together again. He gives you time to calm down, cleaning off your mess as you try to catch your breath.

"You were so good for me, sweetheart," he praises you as soon as he's moving away from you. The sight of his lips, beard and chin all covered in your juices was something you wish you could stare at for the rest of your life. "And you taste so fucking good."

Joel is still kneeled on the floor in between your legs when he's leaning in for a kiss again. You completely give in as you hold onto his flannel shirt, enjoying the way his big hands move up and down your legs.

Sadly, you couldn't make out with him as much as you'd have wanted because he's pulling away just enough to say, "'been thinking about that pussy for a while now, you know?" The comment makes you moan as you continue to hold onto his flannel. "Now that it's finally all mine, I won't be sharing with anyone else. Ever."

"I don't want anyone else," you mutter, closing your eyes when you feel his mouth on your jaw before it moves down to your neck. "Just you."

"Say it," he instructs in between kisses. "Say who you belong to."

"I belong to you, Joel. Only you. Fuck- my pussy's all yours."

Joel practically growls at your words, biting down on the skin on your neck as you pull him impossibly close to you. "That's my girl."

The fact that he just called you "his girl" almost makes you whimper. "Please...can you please fuck me? I need it so bad."

"You want me inside you, baby? Was that all you could think about when you would stare at me with those pretty eyes every time you greeted me when I came back from work?"

"Yes, yes…all the time..."

He's finally moving back from your neck and you're pretty sure you'll find several marks on your skin when you look in a mirror later. You wanted to lean closer to kiss him but he stopped you, holding your chin with his fingers as his thumb is gently brushing your lower lip.

"Does the thought of me fucking you ever pops in your head whenever you're playing with yourself?"

"It's the only thing I can think of...n-nothing else makes me cum as hard," you confess. "I think about you every time."

Joel seems more than satisfied with your answer, not letting go of your face yet. He doesn't even let you go after your hands are helping to unbuckle his belt and unbutton his jeans, quickly pulling the zip of them down before the item of clothing is falling to the floor.

You waste no time because you've been dreaming about this for so long, impatiently palming him over his boxers. It looks like he's also having a hard time staying quiet, which only encourages you to continue to touch him for a few seconds before you're also getting rid of his underwear.

Your mouth practically waters at the sight in front of you. Of course he’ll be big and just perfect.

He finally stood up from the floor so he could join you on the couch again, his jeans and boxers long forgotten on the floor as he took a seat.

A smirk appears on his face when he notices you don't move by yourself, waiting for him to grab your waist so he's the one moving you to be on top of him. Your hands quickly rest on his shoulders as you straddle him, biting your lip in anticipation because you know you'll want to scream out in pleasure the second he's inside you.

He's still holding you with one of his hands, the grip on you tightening just enough when the other is being used to align his cock with your entrance. As soon as you're feeling his tip, you close your eyes and let out all the air your lungs were holding until that moment. "You have to look at me, remember?" he says hurriedly, yet softly.

"I'm sorry..." you mutter. "I'm sorry, I just- can't..."

"I know, baby. I know," he cuts you off in a soothing voice. "But you have to do as I say, okay?"

You nod frantically, wishing that's enough to get him to continue. Much to your luck, he does. His tip is already inside you and you continue to slowly sink further down, every inch that disappears inside you making it more and more difficult for both of you to stay quiet and in control.

The hand that was previously helping him penetrate you goes up to your hair, fingers tangling in it to keep your head as still as possible as a silent reminder that you must look at him.

"Thaaat's it, sweetheart," he breathed out. "You're doing so good for me, just a few more inches– holy fuck, you're so tight."

You're barely able to hold back your moans. "Shit. I– please, I..."

His half-chuckle, half-grunt only helps to make you that much desperate. "I'm not even fully inside of you and you already can't speak?"

The fingers in your hair tighten their grip when Joel is finally ball's deep inside of you and he allows you to feel him. Every inch. It's like heaven.

You only start to move when his lips are once again attached to your neck and one of his hands is sneaking underneath your top. His moans are muffled against your skin and the sensation of it only encourages you to speed up what you at first intended to be slow movements, thinking it'd be fun to tease him a little. You're in no position to be teasing anyone right now.

The sudden change of speed makes him hold onto your hips as you ride him, his cock repeatedly hitting a sensitive spot inside you. It was impossible to hold back your moans at this point so you were forced to pull him away from your neck so you could kiss him instead. You whine, moan, whimper against his mouth and the speed is making your eyes burn with tears. His hands grip your sides so tight you're sure his fingertips would leave bruises.

The sound of the pathetic noises you're making are mixed with the sound of your skin hitting against his. That, combined with the wet sounds of his cock stretching you out so deliciously, makes you wish he could fuck you for the rest of your life.

At that speed, you knew he'll cum almost as fast as you.

You move back to get some air, forehead pressed to his. "'Pussy's so tight, don't think I'll ever get enough of it," he manages to say, which really doesn't help you at all. "You gotta stop though, before I cum."

"I want you to cum inside me," you argue. "It's fine, I'm on birth control. It's fine..."

He didn't say anything. You guess he can't really keep up a conversation given the circumstances. Not like you can either.

An orgasm is rapidly building up inside you, feeling your stomach getting tighter and your walls squeezing him much tighter than before. Before you can do much else, you're forced to move your hand up to your mouth to cover the scream that almost escapes your lips when you feel yourself coming undone all over him.

It only takes a few more strokes for Joel to cum too, still holding onto you for dear life as he fills you up, head resting on your chest as he tries to collect himself after you rode him, shooting his load just so hard inside of you.

He allows you to ride him, a lot slower this time, easing both of you after your intense orgasms. At one point he's kissing your forehead and softly caressing your hips after holding onto them so tightly.

"That was amazing," you confess after partially recovering from it all, but still trying to catch your breath. "I wasn't too loud, right?"

He calms you with another kiss on your forehead. "You were perfect, sweetheart. We might have to do this again sometime."

Your heart almost skips a beat at that proposition. He liked this enough that he’s suggesting to do this again? Now this is really going to go up to your head. You just rode Joel Miller and you did such a good job that he's already considering doing this again with you.

"Sure. Just let me know when you need me to babysit again," you reply jokingly. "Hopefully it's soon enough."

"Or...I can just give you a call and you come over? No need for babysitting," he further explains his point, which totally caught you by surprise. "If that's okay, of course."

You really didn’t want him to worry or overthink it too much, grabbing his face to give him a kiss that he immediately reciprocates. “That sounds great, Joel.”

[jadeacereigen]

Claw Reigen? 👀

oh GOD I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN WITH THIS

TIME TO LOOK AT MY OLD NOTES ABOUT HIM TO REFRESH MY MEMORY 😭

So Claw Reigen was this AU I came up with based on that moment in S1 where they make it seem like he's the Claw Boss. I never believed it for a second, but in my head I was kinda going "huh it would be an interesting au if it WAS true". Then I had my friend Parker watch the show and they genuinely fell for it and got super upset, so this made me come back to the random idea in my head and develop it more.

He's not the actual boss in my AU though, I made him a Scar instead because I thought that fit him better. Although he's a member of Claw's 5th division, no one has ever seen him use his powers and he still only describes them as "spiritual" when asked. Despite this, he is the 5th division's second-in-command and the leader Sakakibara obviously favors him despite him seemingly not contributing much to the group. This leads to rumors about Reigen being an incredibly weak esper or maybe even someone who isn't actually a Scar. (Because how could the Boss have respected his weak powers enough to spare his life after challenging him?)

None of these rumors are true, however...

(more details below sorry this got really long)

Reigen is certainly hiding many things from everyone in his life, including his fellow colleagues at Claw. But perhaps he's hiding the most from his disciple, Mob, who he is training to become a strong esper. He wears makeup to hide most of his scar when he's not interacting with Claw members, so Mob doesn't see his scar until... Season 1 events. Mob believes that Claw is a group of superheros whose mission is to make the world a better place. If he proves his worth, they'll allow him to join his ranks and become a fellow hero. However, as of now he is just an apprentice and is not allowed to meet any other members.

Claw is actually unaware of Mob's existence, and Reigen very much intends to keep it that way. In truth, he's not actually loyal to Claw, but he knows what he must do to survive. He's fully aware that his scar is not a badge of honor but is in fact a marker of his own unworthiness to Suzuki. Once Suzuki completes his world domination, Reigen knows that he and the other Scars will be disposed of, and he is determined to not let that happen. Somehow, Mob is a very important part of this plan...

In terms of personality, Reigen is similar to his canon lighthearted counterpart when he's with Mob. However, he can have a bit of a cruel streak—when he saves Mob from the S1 art gallery scammers, he intentionally sends an evil spirit to haunt them. He's also not the best role model and still smokes around Mob sometimes, though he'll awkwardly snuff it out and make a lot of excuses if Mob stares at him for too long or points out that it's bad for his health.

This is in stark contrast to how he is when Mob isn't around. The makeup he wears to hide his scar also hides his dark eyebags and stress lines on his face. He generally has a bored, heavy look to his face and doesn't smile. When he's with Claw, he sneers a lot and talks very condescendingly to make sure he doesn't look weak. (Also he just hates everyone there tbh-) People don't take him seriously, but the few who actually manage to piss Reigen off know that his sneer disappearing is a very bad thing.

(Another random but important fact that I'm not sure how to fit in here is that he never takes off his gloves.)

In summary, Scar Reigen is still very much a man of lies and self-serving deceit, just... in a far more twisted way than canon. He thinks he's long past redemption or changing his ways, but is that really true?

Anyway uh wow I talked a lot I'm not even sure if any of this makes any sense 😭 I was pretty into the idea of writing this au out as a fanfic last year but I quickly got stuck because I just couldn't figure out where to begin with it and what the structure of the story would even be like. I don't exactly see myself coming back to it but who knows. Idk

[yanderes-galore]

Could you do platonic yandere viggo grimborn from httyd with a dragon rider darling?

Ah yes, time to write another scary man. This is aiming to be for Season 2-3 Viggo as that's where I am. I hope I keep things in character ^^ HTTYD has been really fun to write recently.

Yandere! Platonic! Viggo Grimborn with Dragon Rider! Darling

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Mature language by me, Kidnapping, Threats, Obsession, Bribery, Violence, Murder, Forced companionship.

Personally I think Viggo has a hard time being a platonic yandere.

He's an ass to his brother and tends to see his men as expendable.

Platonic behavior towards a darling would take time to develop.

It would also show blatant favoritism, which irritates his brother.

Viggo is intelligent, cunning, devious, manipulative, and ruthless.

He's a business man at heart.

He could see a platonic darling as a close friend or a sibling.

It takes time before he shows any sort of obsession.

It takes even longer if you're a dragon rider.

Viggo is a dragon hunter.

He catches dragons and either sells or kills them.

You two immediately become enemies.

Well... he's an enemy to you, he may see things differently.

You could have the potential to be a great ally in his eyes.

The issue is... he knows you won't comply willingly.

Viggo is aware of how loyal you are to fellow riders and your own dragon.

You have such a nice quality dragon too... you really know how to pick them.

Your first encounter with Viggo is most likely due to being captured.

Your "relationship" towards each other is very rocky.

More rocky than a Gronckle's diet....

Viggo assumed right about you.

He did find it amusing that you didn't care about being captured...

You kept asking about your dragon.

You wanted to know if they were okay.

Viggo spares your dragon... it's a good bargaining chip.

With your dragon captured you'll listen to him.

"No need to freak out, my dear. Your dragon is fine... as long as you cooperate."

As a dragon rider this feels like the only way you could get close to Viggo.

That is unless you worked for him as a dragon rider... though he doesn't have many of those recruited.

They tend to betray him.

Viggo is a man to sacrifice things to get what he wants.

If he happens to want your companionship, for whatever twisted reason, he won't mind using your dragon against you.

He likes keeping you compliant with him.

You're more useful this way.

You'd have to be with the dragon hunters one way or another to get him obsessed.

He wasn't expecting it but your company is quite pleasing.

One way or another a platonic yandere Viggo is manipulative.

He has no problems making threats or small deals with you.

Business is business, if you're a business man you've got to have charisma.

He prefers intimidation at times himself.

Viggo is not a good man.

He'd be even worse if you often tried to escape him.

If you ever did try anything funny, Viggo seems to always know a counter.

He's tactical... he's smart...

He always manages to outsmart you.

He will applaud your ambition... but he wishes you used it towards his cause.

Viggo could kill your dragon and at any time if you fight him.

He's making a deal with you.

He wants to keep you around, maybe you could even work with him, in return he'll allow you and your dragon to reunite.

If you fight... well...

He wants to deliver you its hide himself.

He doesn't care about your tears or tries to comfort you if he ever did make you upset.

He finds it amusing to see you so vulnerable.

He's very forceful.

With threats and emotional manipulation... Viggo plans to make you fit into the role he picked for you.

You're either his friend... or a sibling.

Ryker can't object to his brother's lunacy.

Viggo doesn't mind shutting up him if he has a problem with it.

"Ryker, they're family now. They won't cause us any trouble. I don't care if you accept them or not... they'll be beside me. Who knows... they may prove to be on my level more than you."

Viggo often talks to you in private.

It's strangely open, like he's trying to connect with you.

It's hard to tell if he's trying to get information out of you or wants to know about you more.

It could very well be both.

Viggo can be a man that's hard to read.

Viggo is someone who knows his dragons.

He knows your dragon's weaknesses and strengths.

There's times he offers to help you care for the dragon if you still have them.

After all... he's an expert.

Viggo's attempts to connect with you come off as eerie.

He's terrifying and able to outsmart you easily.

Yet he comes up to you like you're friends or something else?

You've seen how he treats his brother...

Why is he so harsh to him but not you?

Turns out it's because you have intelligence.

He likes how well-versed you are with dragons, clearly learning from Hiccup.

He even admits during a chat with you that he prefers you to his brother.

You ask why... and he compliments you.

"With some time... you and me could be so similar. My dear... you are useful. My brother's barbaric. Yet with you, conversations aren't irritating."

You fear passing glances from Ryker.

Viggo isn't dumb and notices your fear of his brother... he can fix that.

What about he just... replaces him?

It's easy to make his death look like an accident.

Or does he even need to?

He's not sad in the slightest when he does manage to get rid of Ryker.

Viggo didn't like his barbaric tendencies anyways.

Now... he'll need a replacement, won't he?

That's when he brings it up with you.

You know he killed his own brother... you know he's capable of killing those around you, too.

With Viggo... when he brings up this little promotion for you with a relaxed hand on your shoulder...

You aren't in the position to refuse this opportunity.

"Trust me, dear. You'll fit the role MUCH better."

[lyricfulloflight]

RWRB thoughts

My thoughts after 1.5 viewings (yes, 1.5. I have watched it once and then re-watched certain scenes, but haven't made my way through a full re-watch yet.)

What I loved/like/squealed about:

nervous Alex at the wedding

Nora being all speechless when led away by Bea

The whole cake incident - it did not happened as I was expecting (don't ask me what I was expecting, I have no earthly idea), but I loved the whole thing

Zahra hitting Alex with the pillow. Perfect character moment

the silly height arguments that pop up several times. I think these are extra fun for book readers as it acknowledges the difference between the book and the actors in the movie but keeps the general teasing about height in the movie

Actually, Zahra in general was just so perfectly done

Amy being badass and also a loving dog mom (that wink at the hospital? the 'do I need to clear the room'? Amy is the best)

I still don't know what an equerry is. But I'll take a Shaan any day

The closet scene was really well done. It really allowed for the development of the rest of their relationship.

The way they did the texts with the voice overs and then Henry appearing in Alex's bed - I may have swooned a bit

The New Years party looked like what I imagine a cool party would look like (people do not invite me to cool parties and they never will).

All the representation in the film. Female black PM of the UK? Check! Gender fluid party attendees? Check? Some girl on girl flirting? Check! Trans actor? Check!

Percy's pink hair

Nora's red outfit. Damn girl.

Henry's reaction when Alex grabs his hips at the New Year's party - absolute gold

All of Henry's pining during the New Year's party was just perfectly painfully wonderful

The 'woah' of the woman who walks in when Nora and Alex are talking about his hook ups with men

Alex being totally distracted by Henry arriving at the dinner and looking every inch the son of James Bond that he is

That kiss in the red room was... hmmm... quite.... intense

Also Henry pointing at books after they were interrupted n the red room might have been the most ridiculously funny moment of the whole movie for me

Commanding Henry in the bedroom

Shots of Henry's ass bouncing on a horse being played between shots of the tack room rendevous. I think we all understand why Alex was so, motivated shall we say

The tenderness and intimacy of that Paris scene. Love making indeed.

Henry singing karaoke. Nora bopping along like all of us would like to be doing as fans no doubt

The Casey McQuinston book cameo!

Henry trying to make his burdens clear to Alex but Alex not getting it until they have their blow out. Also drenched Alex in this scene with Henry in his fancy housecoat was very visually appealing

The V&A scene made me cry. Henry talking about the only place he can find peace and have dreams of a happy life he doesn't think he'll ever have. Alex playing the song right away and making his dreams come true. Tears. Happy Tears.

The EXCHANGE! the signet ring. the house key. just kill me now

Seeing Henry's reaction to the email leak and how desperate he was to talk to Alex, how terrified he was, how betrayed. Hats off to Nicholas Galitzine for his acting (for the whole movie, but that scene in particular was just excellent)

Shaan and Zahra reveal! Yes!

Alex'a speech. Amazing.

Baby.

Stephen Fry as the king. What a choice. If you don't know how ironic this is, well go use your goggle skills.

Henry sticking up for himself. The tears in his eyes when he sees the public support

The way they show Alex's passion for politics and helping people.

The way they show Henry's passion for literature, history, etc. And also his frustration at not being able to make an impact and help people they way he wants to and how much he admires Alex for what he is doing

Things I missed/didn't love:

Alex not being a child of divorce. Also how his parent's relationship seemed ambiguous for a long time in the movie (for me anyway. Maybe I was just hoping they weren't together? like in the book?)

Not enough moments of Nora being a stats geek. She said she analyzed data but we don't get a moment where she gives Alex the odds. Sad.

Alex not having his sexual realization. I can see how this trims things down for the film, but I missed it

Not using the Miguel character as well as they could have. Again I can see this being trimmed out for time. I thought this was a reasonable replacement for the Luna subplot. Would have liked more in terms of fall out - did he have insider knowledge? Did he help get the emails leaked?

I would have loved more time of the texts to build the foundation of their relationship

I would have loved even more to have had more email time. I know this is tricky to get on film, but I really missed the sheer romance and intimacy we get in from the emails in the book. It makes the leak so much more impactful

I wanted more David. I love dogs people. I needed more beagle content!

Not enough Pez! Also why was he not Pez? Percy? Percy who? I loved when we saw him and I wanted more.

Same can be said for Nora

Did this film get an R rating from, maybe 2 'fuck's and one gay sex scene where no dicks or asses were shown? (Yes, one ass was shown, but it a completely different scene) Is that all it takes? Boo to the rating people. BOOOOOO.

The transition from the fight between Henry and Alex in his apartments to them leaving from to the V&A didn't feel quite right to me. It was awkward. Each scene itself was wonderful, just one right after the other felt like something was missing.

I honestly, completely, wholeheartedly loved this film. I know I will be watching it over and over. It will have a permanent place in my comfort film rotation. I think all the actors in the film did an amazing job. Both Nicholas and Taylor bought a lot of depth to their roles and really brought them to life so, so well. Their chemistry was completely believable and I rooted for them every step of the way.

For me, the book will remain my main source material for these characters and this story. But this film is such a great complement to the book. A different, but parallel story. I agree with director Matthew Lopez saying this was a work of fanfiction in its own right. It is not the same, but the heart and soul of the book and the two main characters is all there. Not sure I could have asked for much more.

(except for any missing scenes/extended scenes. i'm asking for those. please)

[rhythmantics]

Do you think that Cross was ever meant to be PARIAH, but was cut for sequel bait? Apparently there are some shots of him in the WOI memories that mention PARIAH. The way the game states that PARIAH would be the only to stand up agains Mercer, and Cross literally beats him in a fight. The game also has people say that PARIAH and Mercer meeting would’ve not good, and how together Mercer and Cross get shit done makes me wonder.

Cross had a really interesting original blurb in the PRIMA guide, which sketches out an early version of the game. The decision to split into a sequel seems to have been made very early on, before the PRIMA guide, because they realized they couldn't fit both Greene AND Pariah into the same game, but the PRIMA materials were written shortly after, because many fundamental character aspects were changed by the game itself. I'll transcribe it, since it's very... vertical:

Resilient, resourceful, and deadly, the Specialist is sent in when things fail to go according to plan - BLACKWATCH'S last line of insurance. His world is a world of absolutes: like mathematics, only one answer can be gained out of any equation. To him the world is easy to understand. He believes BLACKWATCH is all that stands between the average American and a biological apocalypse. His knowledge of BLACKWATCH [has] been highly edited by his superior, the General, to fit his world-view. Confronted with proof that his cause is deceptive, he re-orients his mindset instantly to keep in line with his religious beliefs. Shown absolute proof that his employers are on the wrong side of the moral divide, he will go after them with the same verve he showed as their lapdog - but even worse, he'll do so as a zealot of the highest order. This trait is further exacerbated as Cross begins to realize he too has succumbed to the infection that is rampaging through the city. Unlike the majority of the poor souls who lose higher functions, Cross's training allows him to seek the Hive Mind, and learn the threat the Prototype poses not only to BLACKWATCH, but to his new masters...

Other important things to note: hunters in this iteration of the game actually have limited shapeshifting and consumption abilities - the ones who can consume can pretty much only consume other hunters, and while they can shapeshift into human form, their minds are very much inhuman and they have a difficult time "relating." (This seems to have carried into the game itself, when you get infected vision and realize how many military personnel etc. are walking around infected, and Alex commenting that Greene is using them as spies).

Supreme hunter DOES exist, but he seems like a late-stage addition, both in-and-out of universe. His bio doesn't mention Cross at all, leading me to believe that the Cross/Supreme Hunter merge happened fairly late in development.

And finally, this religion thing in Cross's bio, which is actually seen elsewhere - such as Elizabeth's bio and old concept art, where they were attempting to capture a "goddess" vibe with the character (with PARIAH kinda-sorta having "born of a virgin/immaculate conception" vibes, since the father is never mentioned). Maybe even the edgy wings on Mercer's jacket, which we've seen since some of his earliest concepts + he originally had something to do with crows and could sprout crow wings out of his stupid backpack. Also the religious character is literally named CROSS.

At least we can say that Cross was definitely meant to fall in with the virus, and that it would've been a big betrayal - his bio outlines a clear arc of "Blackwatch are the good guys yippee!" to "Friendship ended with Blackwatch, now the Prototype is my best friend" to "what if the virus is Jesus" to "friendship ended with the Prototype, now the Virus (which may or may not be god and/or Jesus) is my best friend."

In that sense, if you imagine that the final boss was originally meant to be PARIAH and Supreme Hunter didn't exist, I think the Occam's Razor solution here is that Cross was originally meant to be your ally (like Phone Voice in the game), and then slowly go off the deep end as the infection took hold and started influencing his thoughts. This would culminate in betraying the player and using his position as an intelligent hunter with a human form under Greene's control + his position as Captain within Blackwatch's ranks to free PARIAH.

At that point, I don't really know how it'd go - but I imagine he'd be consumed by PARIAH for his trouble, given the hunter bios have so much "they eat each other to become stronger" stuff in it. Whether this happens on-screen (the cool epic dramatic option) or off-screen (like it did with Supreme Hunter), I can't say.

It's kind of interesting, though, from a religious angle. I know I've talked before about how Xander is the "dad" in the story, and Greene is the "mom," but the religion aspect kind of adds to it. Greene the virgin Mary, the Virus impregnating her, PARIAH as Jesus, Cross as an apostle... and what does that make Alex? Xander? Man playing with god? An usurper? I can't say anything for sure, but this theme is definitely in there, so it's interesting to talk about.

So... yeah! I don't necessarily know that that answered your question, but it's interesting, right?

[t4llhum4n]

Wakey, wakey, eggs and Blake-y (I type at 6pm).

Seriously though, this guy is simultaneously the smartest and stupidest man to ever speak on Redacted's channel. And I want to talk about that.

Well, kind of.

Before I get into character motivations and all that, I wanted to point something out. This? This is how you write a static character and have them still be compelling. Dynamicism is appreciated in characters, sure, but to write a static character who isn't boring? So so cool.

When I go about theorizing for a specific character's future actions, I typically take into account what stage they're at in their development. For example, my thoughts on Hush and how I believe his future actions will play out are based on what stage of development I see Hush being at in that moment. With Blake? It's a whole different ballpark.

Blake's behavior is the constant in my theories about him. His nature hasn't changed at all throughout the course of his story, save for maybe becoming a little more desperate. Even then, that desperation is fueled by feelings that he's had since childhood. Normally, that would become stale in a character (at least in my opinion). Here, though? It's anything but.

Looking into why that is, I can only think that it's because of how his character is revealed to us. We get to see both sides of him, one from "Sunshine" and one from "Bestie." And because of this, we're waiting with bated breath for both worlds to collide. His duality isn't dynamic, but it's still so intriguing. From "Sunshine's" point of view, we're left wondering just how far he's willing to go and how violent he'll allow himself to get. Then, from "Bestie's" point of view, we see a softness that he holds (seemingly) solely for them, and we're waiting for "Bestie" to see his other, darker side.

It's not necessarily Blake as a person that's interesting to me. It's how he acts around others that really gets my character analysis-prone brain whirring. I'm not interested in seeing his growth, because from where I'm standing, it doesn't look like he's going to grow. He's rooted in his obsession with "Bestie," and that, in his own words, is the reason why he's doing all of this. And nothing, not even threats from a being far stronger than him, seems to be able to change that. When his first reaction to a line like, "Watching your lover's death will feel like a mercy in comparison," was a snide, "Charming friend you've got there," I knew any hope for change in this man was lost.

So, with that said, let's talk about the brains on this man. Does he have any? I mean, he must. He got an entire major branch of a multi-establishment political hate group under his thumb, and that doesn't happen on accident. Blake is an intelligent person, no doubt, but he's also (ironically) a very blind person. He doesn't see anything beyond his lover, and he's confident that he will change their fate.

I honestly can not fathom how deep his feelings for "Bestie" are. Call it selfish, but if I were in Blake's place, I would've given up trying to change my lover's fate a long time ago. Instead, I would've cherished and made the most of the time I had with them, until ultimately I had to let them go. Blake, though, is not having that.

This brings up a point of discussion that I really love looking into when it comes to Blake. "Does he want to save 'Bestie' for their sake, or his?" I'm not going to share my stance on that just yet (mostly because both sides make a very compelling argument idk where I stand), but the fact that there's so much to talk about with a character this unchanging is astounding. It's not every day you see a static character who has so much compelling mystery surrounding them. He doesn't grow or evolve, nor does he show signs of ever wanting to, and yet we're still enthralled by his journey.

And the way his obsession is written? It's so good. I don't believe that he was always obsessed with "Bestie." Did he always have a thing for them? Sure. But I really don't think it grew into an obsession until he saw their death, and then he saw that nothing he tried could save them. See, Blake isn't just obsessed with "Bestie." He's also obsessed with changing their fate. Which leaves even more potential for character analysis.

We know that he wants "Bestie" to live. That's the main motivator behind his desire to change a seemingly unchangeable fate. But.. what if there's something else there, too? Can you imagine besting death? Overcoming something that haunted you as a fixed point in a world with no such thing as "fixed points?" The power you would feel getting the better of something like that would be nigh unmatched, and we know that this motherfucker has a god complex.

Blake wants to save "Bestie" so that they can live longer. At the same time, I think part of it turned into a challenge for himself. He's testing himself because if he can pull this off, then he's unstoppable, at least in his eyes. And what he sees in his eyes is the only thing that matters to him.

Could I say more? Yes. Will I? In a future theory, yes. But for now, I'm leaving it here. I really love diving into Blake. Characters with insane amounts of hubris and a god complex to match are some of the most fun to dive into. I hope you enjoyed my little analysis-turned-rant! Writing these is always super fun :D

[inklingofadream]

(1/3) Heartbreaking! Here's what I imagine: The gang doesn't know/can't trust anyone, and they can't just go back to their old jobs (it'll take DECADES for Sasha to learn computers again), so all they can do is play boardgames (freshly bought) and debate in circles. Why is Jon avoiding them? What has Jonah done to him? Is he in danger now? (How should they kill Jonah?) Beholding got them back only for them to sit around worried and bored. Jonah recognises why Beholding did this, that Time wasn't

(2/3) a viable solution after all. This realization does not lead to any kind of useful personal development. They were doing FINE. Jon could be happy if he just TRIED. Jon feels terrible because HE did this to his friends and he can't even support them properly. But he's also frustrated and defensive when they try to push him on WHY he seems to prefer the guy they all - to them so recently - agreed was Bad. Danny's especially hurt. Jon walks on eggshells around everyone, and ironically feels

(3/3) more alone than ever. He spirals. Everyone Hates Him. He doesn't want to hurt Jonah. He doesn't want to get hurt by him. Should he just leave for a while? But then he can't keep his friends safe... Also word quickly spreads about Team Blessed by Beholding and the gang has to deal with being creeped on by the entire cult as they're basically THE Apostles of the Messeyeah. No one knows who they actually are though, so people just collectively create a rather unhinged mythology on the spot.

(4/4) Secret message: I honestly don't know if you appreciate long brain-dumping messages like this. If you don't, just don't respond to the three previous asks and I'll stop :) Also, please don't take it as pressure to continue this particular storyline or even to write more in general, I'm just really excited about your whole au thing and I wanted to share the picture it has painted in my brain today. xoxo Jonah ask anon

yesssss love a brain dump, love your asks

The one solid Thing I know happens post-resurrection is that they Can't live in the barracks. Like it's just not feasible. Aside from the fact that several of these people Did Not Sign Up For This and Will try to peace out and make their way in the world (which Jonah obviously can't allow for both control and logistical reasons, they don't have money or ID and they'll probably like. get shot by Robocop idk future struggles) a separate and rapidly-becoming-fancier room(s) next to Jon's is constructed. Like it might be their own mini compound with a separate bathroom/living room/bedrooms but my initial gut instinct is bunk beds. The kind that's a twin on top and a double or queen on bottom, because there are two married couples. Bed 1: Sasha/Michael on bottom, Gerry on top; bed 2: Georgie/Melanie on bottom, Martin on top; Bed 3: regular bunk bed, the Stokers, I think I might actually have stated who was top bunk and who was bottom when they lived in the Institute so it's whatever I said then

That aside, it has a door like Jon's that locks from both inside and outside, and another that connects to Jon's rooms that can only be locked from Jon's side, with a single key only he has. There is Drama about keys, because it's been part of being the Archivist, on the same level as taking statements, for a VERY long time and Gerry Is Coming To Collect. The separate room reasoning is we used to sleep in Jon's room but he's avoiding us and if he isn't here he's with Jonah which is obviously unacceptable, so we need somewhere to clear out to so he'll come back.

I also think one of the things Jonah decides is that clearly they weren't Beholding enough before if they died (ignoring that it Did Not think through stuff like that, this was not on its radar before Jon told it directly) so we need to fix it so it doesn't happen again. He manages enough logic to corner them into New Tattoos, something Gerry designs that goes around their wrists or over their hearts, I think. Because Jonah mixes the Getting Shot By Robocop concern and the Jon concern into Jon being afraid he's just going to lose them again so he's avoiding them.

This does not help Jon's fear and guilt complex! Also, bad news! it's been a long time since Jon got his! Jonah has filled a New Jar Of Eyes! But I think Georgie is something of a blindspot even WITH a tattoo, which Jonah Hates

Also definitely a thing is that the current James-Shelleys are in a super weird position. Like we're past the point of anything beyond "Jon was such good friends with them 🥰" to have been remembered. But there's still a definite family resemblance to several of them. And what do you even do with that? From either end?

And I think Gerry at least is sympathetic to Jon's situation. He's very clear on Jonah having manipulated Jon into it, but he gets How. Vs several of the others having it snag their brains in a way that makes them defensive and passive aggressive and a bit mean. They come around before too long, but it's well past the point where Martin and Tim have become lifelong Complaining Buddies. But Gerry sees stuff like Jonah coming up to see wtf is happening when they arrive and Jon SPRINTING across the room and wrapping around him and recognizes it. It's the exact same way Jon used to try to fuse with HIS side when he was upset or scared. It's a bit less platonic, the image of the gang getting tattoos in my head has Jon fancied up and sitting in Jonah's literal lap bc he's so upset, but it's the same pattern. And Gerry gets a share of the guilt complex bc being like 90 years old is not a good enough excuse for having Abandoned His Best Friend

And I think the thing that eventually resets everyone's view of Jon is Jon not caring if they go in his rooms because he is Gone Gone Gone and Gerry remembering how Jon appeared from between the clothes. Cue a very Scooby Doo searching-for-hidden-rooms montage and some Big Emotions when they find what Jon saved, how carefully it's kept in climate controlled cases and STILL falling apart in many cases. It drives home both that Jon DID miss them terribly- he was literally in there when they appeared- and how enormous the time without them really was.

(cue Beholding FREAKING OUT because that makes them decide they need some Serious Jonah-free strategizing, because obviously he'll try to sabotage them as much as he can without alienating Jon. And the tunnels are right there. And it may not care as much about them, but it tried SO hard to make Jon happy and now they're GONE what HAPPENED Jon is going to CRY!!)

(also "Jon could be happy if he just TRIED" pinged something in my brain, so if anyone is interested in Jonelias-flavored manipulation, heavy Jon whump, and Elias having absurd unreasonable expectations I highly recommend The Haunting of Elias Bouchard it's an absolute gutpunch)

[twobellsilence]

Alright, I finished all available Daima episodes. Honestly? It was really fun! Even if it's giving off GT 2.0 vibes at the moment, which isn't inherently bad, but as a diehard fan of GT it makes me a little salty that they straight up ripped off ideas like the Tamagami which totally aren't just the black star dragons but not evil or the new gang landing on different whacky locations. This is just me being very high on copium and not a valid critique of the show by any means though lmao... ANYWAY, my more serious and in-depth and VERY long feelings (and maybe a little ranting) below the cut

I really like that Toriyama decided to place this immediately after the Buu saga. One of my biggest gripes with Super and one of the major reasons why I ultimately dropped the series in the Black saga was how... Pointless everything became. By introducing the Absolute Ruler of everything, Zeno-sama, and not only making him Goku's friend but also giving him a convenient way to call him AND also demonstrating that Goku can convince him to do literally anything he wants, Toriyama and Toyotaro made it so that nothing going forward could have any impact whatsoever, at least in my opinion. Why should anyone worry about anything if Goku can just call the Maker Of Everything and make the problem disappear at the snap of a finger?

You could argue Zeno's way of doing things is a bit of a monkey's paw situation because of his chaotic and innocent nature, like what happened to OG Future Trunks' timeline, or that Saiyan pride wouldn't allow Goku to actually press the button in the first place. But my issue with this has never been whether or not the button would ever be pressed (which could be an interesting, if not currently relevant, debate in and on itself) but rather its, and Zeno's, existence in the first place. I know the Dragon Balls are criticized as a massive crutch, and I would agree, but they at least have some set limitations and rules even if they're taken for granted by this point. Shen Long can revive the dead and undo everything a bad guy did, yes, so things like death don't carry the impact they probably should. But it's up to the Z Fighters to end the bad guy itself for that to even be possible. Zeno felt like an ultimate, stupidly overpowered version of the Dragon Balls to me, a being that could do whatever the hell Goku wants whenever he wants it, villains be damned, and so anything going forward was zero stakes as a result.

I suppose Toriyama realized this, or at least thought the current state of things in Super wouldn't allow for the story he wanted to tell to develop properly, and made the wise decision to backtrack a little, before gods of destruction and rulers of the universe and beings that can literally wipe out everything on a whim if they so wanted, so he could craft a way more grounded narrative by expanding on previously known, if only in passing, concepts such as the Demon Realm and its inhabitants. Which is honestly incredibly smart given the way they tie into previous narrative bits like Dabura, and where the Kais came from, and why Piccolo Daimao referred to himself as a Demon, and so on. I also really like how organic the de-powering, or however you want to call it, of the gang's power level feels, especially when it comes to Goku. Yes, he seems to have gotten used to his smaller body by episode 3, but I would definitely believe it if he was suddenly overpowered by a bad guy because of how many factors there are against him. The atmosphere, the imbalance, his child body physically being unable to be as strong as his adult one... He's at a fundamental disadvantage, and if we were to take what we've seen of Glorio's power and agility as a baseline for future enemies, it's clear he'll have to struggle at least a little later on.

The worldbuilding itself is also fascinating. The Demon Realm, from what we've heard so far, is presented as this ancient place where many of the most powerful beings that make up the hierarchy of the universe originate, and that not only presents some clues as to just how strong some of the people Goku will encounter throughout the story will be , but it also adds SO MUCH flavor to Outer Realm and the Dragon Balls themselves that we didn't necessarily need, but is undeniably cool to have regardless. Now you can go back and look at characters like Enma Daio-sama, or Kaio-sama or even Mr. Popo, and you will know that they came from the Demon Realm and just why they're so powerful, and it really makes me wonder what the Outer Realm looked like before this exodus of DR inhabitants. I think it's great how, while Super made me want to ignore as much of its lore as possible because it made everything worse, Daima is actively making me want to delve more into it, and I feel like it's scratching some of my original DB/Z itch in that way.

As for the characters... I think they're alright. I don't think they're uninteresting by any means - I Need to know how Gomah got to the position of heir to Dabura's throne and what Arinsu is working on and what Glorio's Actual deal is. But they don't catch my attention like Raditz or the Androids or, say, Baby, ever did. I am quite interested in is Degesu, however, especially his relationship with Kaioshin. I would include Arinsu in here because my following thoughts could technically apply to her as well, but I don't really care about her as a character at the moment outside of whatever she's doing, so I'll just talk about Degesu (and Shin). It's incredibly obvious that he's planning something, and that he really, really likes Gomah being in power. I am inclined to assume it's a classic "subordinate manipulates the leader" plotline, but what actually intrigues me the most is why. Why does he want to remain beside Gomah? And in the case that he does want to "control" him then why, exactly, is he still acting like a subordinate in the demon realm, instead of fleeing to the Outer Realm and ruling over a planet or a system or anything else like his brethren apparently did so he didn't have to depend on someone else? Why does he seem to resent Shin? I refuse to believe it's just because he disapproves of the lattler meddling with mortal affairs. Maybe it's because he Did get to oversee a whole universe all by himself and Degesu is jealous about it? Cliché, but it's what I can come up with at the moment. There is an interesting past here, and I can't wait to find out his and Shin's backstory (and Arinsu's too, I guess) and what exactly his plan is. This is a bit of a tinfoil hat take, but I'm thinking he might be Kadan (the ruler of the Third Demon World) or he was pretending to be him when he ordered Glorio to go fetch Goku, or maybe Glorio is in cahoots with him. Or maybe I'm just stuck in bed with a debilitating cold and my neurons aren't connecting so I'm either missing something Very Obvious or making things up. SO many possibilities. So little answers at the moment...

Oh, and a little tangent before I wrap this post up... This series only cements my belief that a "next-gen" show in the style of the original DB, with Goten, Trunks and Marron (even Bra and Pan too if you fast forwarded more) would be Banger. I adore Geico, don't get me wrong, I feel like by this point they've ran out of ideas as to how to push him further. They already made him a child in GT and here, and they made him turn into a god then into a guy with Angel Instincts (tm)... A show like this, with younger characters and a lower power level and more whimsy, feels so incredibly fresh and actually tense and it really makes me wonder why they won't try a spin-off. I mean, Super Hero proved people Will tune in for a Goku and Vegeta-less narrative, and Daima proves, at least so far, that DB can still capture a sense of wonder without bending over backwards to do so. I wish they'd used this premise to leave the heavy hitters out of commission so the new kids could shine and develop more, especially Marron, even if they had to age them up a little... But then again I also wish Mai died in a ditch so Tru/mai stopped existing and that's never gonna happen so this will probably never be anything more than wishful thinking lmao

ANYWAY, YEAH. DB Daima. Pretty enjoyable so far! I quite like the chemistry between Goku, Kaioshin and Glorio, with Goku being oblivious while Shin Knows something's up, and I'm curious as to how they'll introduce the demon girl character that appears in the intro / outro / ad cards. It's not as captivating as any of the group dynamics in previous DB shows quite yet, but it's literally only been three episodes, and I'd be a fool to deny that there's A LOT of potential for more. And I'm not gonna lie, as a Kaioshin fan, I'm incredibly happy he has an important role once again.