#That his allies thought him to be a monster. But still he committed to them in the hopes that they would repay his loyalty. And they did !!

[techno-rat]

Im always thinking about the tubbo execution t.b.h.

coz like it sucked for EVERYONE but schlatt and wilbur, who orchestrated it. Techno realized his allies didn’t give a shit about him. Tubbo was killed traumatically. Tommy watched his best friend be murdered by a man who he thought was his ally. The crowd is various levels of shocked depending on their allegiance

[crazycoke-addict]

5 Worst things that team Green has done and 5 worst things team black had done

1. Usurping Rhaenyra (Team Green)

Throughout season 1, Alicent and Otto are trying to get Viserys to change his mind about Rhaenyra being his heir, but he never did. When Viserys died, he mentioned Aegon's dream to Alicent, whom he believed was Rhaenyra. Alicent believes that Viserys is telling her that Aegon their son must be king.

The Green Council (excluding Alicent) was already planning to put Aegon on the throne. Aegon is the eldest son of Viserys, and since the succession goes through the male. They believe that Rhaenyra shouldn't be Queen because she is a woman and woman shouldn't rule.

2. Blood and Cheese (Team Black)

After the death of Lucerys, Valeryon. Daemon goes to Kingslanding in secret to meet up with two people known as blood and cheese. Daemon orders them to find Aemond and kill him. However, if they can't find him, then go to the next person. That being Prince Jaehaerys, eldest son of Aegon and Helaena.

While not all team black conspired with the murder of an innocent child. Daemon held more responsibility and is an important figure through team black as king consort and a warrior himself.

3. Killing Lord Beesbury (Team Green)

After Visery's death, the greens are already planning to put Aegon on the iron throne. Lord Beesbury doesn't want to be part of this plan and tells them that Rhaenyra will always be Viserys' true heir and the great house have already served their loyalty to her.

While accusing them of poisoning the King and this includes Alicent. Criston murders him by pushing his head in the ball. Because of this, house beesbury will no longer support house Hightower and even declare war on them for the death of their lord. Criston Cole really messed up for the greens and turned their supporting allies against them.

4. Ordering the blockade (Team Black)

While Rhaenyra and Mysaria had a successful propaganda by bringing in food so that the small folk would turn against the greens. It's worth noting that Rhaenyra ordered the food to be blocked. She could order the blockade to be released and let the food be transported to the small folk.

These are some of the things that Aemond is frustrated with and why they are trying to ally with the Greyjoys. I believe if they use their dragons, they might be burned the food.

5. Exploiting a child's death for political gain (Team Green)

After learning the murder of Prince Jacerys. Otto Hightower see this as an opportunity to get the main houses to surrender their cause by turning this tragedy into a political gain. Otto has Alicent and Helaena to play the dutiful grandmother and mother mourning over their dead son and grandson.

It's upsetting to see Helaena being put through this, and just you forced to do something because it's their duty doesn't mean anything.

6. Committing war crimes in the riverlands (team black)

You know who isn't great at being a diplomat, Daemon Targaryen. Daemon thought it was a great idea to negotiate with house braken by bringing in their enemy, house Blackwood.

House Bracken refuses to support the blacks, so Daemon orders Willem Blackwood to get them to change their minds. Of course, he never told him to commit atrocities, but the fued between Blackwood and Bracken is pretty well known.

7. Parading the head of meleys (Team Green)

This is not only the worst things that team Green has done but rather the most stupidest. Parading the head of meleys was an obvious political gain to make aegon, a heroic person who slain the monster.

I do believe that this was Criston Cole's idea because when you live with and befriended the hightowers, then you know that PR works. While I don't like what they put Helaena through involving exploiting her dead son, it was still a good political gain.

But for meleys head being paraded, Criston Cole has done is break the illusion that house targaryen had been building that being dragons are gods who cannot be touched. Most of the dragons like vhagars and dreamfyre have been living since aegon the conqueror. Team Green had targaryen, and their dragons are in kingslanding. It's a recipe for disaster.

8. Exploiting the small folk (Team Black)

From a political standpoint, Team Green and team black's individual propaganda is a well-done job, and it gave them the success they were looking for. Yet, it's also awful if you watch it from the outside.

Mysaria's whole thing is that she cares for the smallfolk because she herself was one of them. It's also likely that may not know about the blockade, so she genuinely believes that Rhaenyra will be a good queen. However, using the small folk by exploiting them and turning them against the greens, especially with Queen Helaena and Queen Alicent. It is shown that the small folk will be seen as a pawn for both team Green and team black to use.

Team Black just used their weakness by giving them food, but without having to open the blockade.

9. hanging the ratcatchers (Team Green)

This is one of the most vile things that Aegon has ever done as a king besides raping Dyana. During the blood and cheese, Blood ended up confessing that he was ordered by Daemon Targaryen, and while he didn't know the name of the other guy's name and he knew that he was a ratcatcher.

Instead of having Helaena to identify the ratcatcher, Aegon decided that the best option is to hang 99 ratcatchers and place them in the public. I get it. He was grieving, but he weakened team green's claim and potential allies. Him firing Otto and making Ser Criston Cole as hand of the King is also a bad idea as well.

10. letting bastards have access to the throne (Team Black)

Now,I understand why Rhaenyra and Laenor couldn't have kids with each other. They tried to once, but Laenor couldn't go through with it because of his sexuality, so Rhaenyra had to look somewhere else.

The problem is who she chooses to be the father of her children. While Rhaenyra could say that they got their looks from house arryn from their maternal mother's side or house baratheon from their great paternal grandmother's side. It isn't in line with them.

There's a double standard involving Rhaenyra having bastards and other kings/lords having bastards, but the majority of the time, the lords and kings aren't pushing their bastards to take the iron throne. While yes, Viserys accepted Jace as his heir because Jace is a targaryen. It doesn't do much.

Having bastards gain access to a powerful position is a dangerous thing to do, and later on, it has caused many wars and rebellions later on. What's interesting is that the blackfyre rebellion happened came from Rhaenyra's side of her family.

Rhaenyra's reckless behaviour pushes the greens to prevent her from getting the iron throne.

[princess-of-the-corner]

I ended up thinking about Hawkmoth with good publicity again & had thoughts.

So, it was agreed Fu needs to change his entire methodology. His foe knows he exists & has some estimation as to an identity. He knows Hawk Moth want the Ladybug & Cat. He knows the man has connections in the city and is building both a fanbase by orchestrating disasters to play hero, so he can use his followers to eventually flush Fu out of hiding.

Long story short, he cannot keep all the Miraculous, nor can he risk putting Tikki & Plagg into the field. He also needs to find people who, rather than being cinnamon roles are those with little respect for authority or a willingness to break and bend the rules as necessary. He needs a team of infiltrators, saboteurs and fighters.

With that in mind he chooses: (I use my 12 Kwami lore, sorry XD)

Chloe, as she was often used as Hawk Moth's favorite hostage and is aware of his con. He entrusts her with Mulo both to help protect her identity as both civilian & agent and for infiltration and battles. With the power of Multiplication & Duplication, she takes the name Mademoiselle Millions!

Chloe uses her skills in ballet, gymnastics and general athleticism to orchestrate incredible combo attacks. Also like, sends tins versions of herself elsewhere or whatever, she thinks spy work is lame & has seen 'way' more than she ever wanted when looking for Hawk Moth.

Luka is chosen in large part because of his soul song ability, it helped him parce that Hawk Moth was not someone genuine. What's more, raised by ANarka he has a healthy disrespect for authority and his skills with empathy and calm head make him a good counter to some of the Butterflies inate powers.

He is entrusted with Dusuu and with the powers of Evocation & Transmutation, he takes the name Erymathy From kari-go). Luka uses these powers to enhance or weaken his surroundings, strengthen his allies or weaken his enemies, and to change the elemental nature of objects as necessary. Its useful for infiltration.

Juleka, like her brother, she has a healthy lack of trust in authority figures and is far mroe willing to go to extremes as she deems necessary. She is also surprisingly fearless in the face of monsters, even of social situation cause her dread.

Entrusted with Longg, she wields the Miraculous of Storm & Power, as Draconyx. SHe is an ideal partner for the Peacock which can radically dversify her elemental combinations allowing for greater versatility or more overwhelming power as the situation demands.

Alya is a reporter and while at first enamored with Hawk Moth, hshe sought to uncover his identity despite him stressing people should not. She also jjumped on toe 'conspiracy' theory that Hawk Moth was a thief with great interest, not outright distrustful, her commitments to the truth at any cost suits Fu's needs well.

Thus she was entrusted with Kaalki, the Kwami of Action & Migration, to assist her in infiltrating and intel gathering. Alya took on the name Troades (A Trojan Horse reference) and has sworn to get to the bottom of things no matter what. & if she becomes an acclaimed reporter, hero and all around stunner in the interim, she & Kaalki won't complain.

Fox: Fu would have liked to hand out the Fox, the powers of Mirage & Materialization, when used correctly could pull images and emotions from even Hawk Moth and help uncover his identity. However that Miraculous was lost sometime ago, though it seems to be making its way back to Paris in the hands of one, Volpina.

Tiger: I am unsure who I'd give Tiger to, my shortlist is, Kagami (Cos of course), Alyx (She can work) and Mylene (She is a protestor after all) But its hard to make any of them fit quite as I'd like. Though if Mylene was picked she'd go by Sabertooth to honor an extinct animal.

Still, he doesn't need to hand them all out right away so there'd be some wiggle room. Marinette & Adrien are off the list due to their respective respect for authority (Meaning she would struggle to see HK as a villain unless he does so in front of her) or controlling parents making the work harder.

I imagine Fu is a bit more involved in trying to designate tasks and serve as mission control, though he may need to move in & hide with his old flame to hide out from Hawk Moth and his followers. Also, a team made up of people with a lack of respect for authority is not exactly easy to control!

Who knew!?

XD

Oh!

Honestly I'm voting for Sabertooth.

[blackjackkent]

Interesting. I went back to talk to Wyll a bit more and get Rakha a few smooches maybe, since she could definitely use them, and realized that we unlocked some dialogue about Stelmane after her last conversation with the Emperor.

"Could it be true? Duke Stelmane allied with the Emperor?"

"Mind flayers are like devils - they just sport tentacles rather than wings. Clever. Manipulative. Exploitative. The Emperor says he's a friend; I think we'd be fools to believe him."

...Interesting.

This honestly comes a little bit out of nowhere and I have to believe that for Rakha it feels like a massive kick in the gut. She deliberately avoided Raphael's deal because she didn't want to choose to ally herself with a devil because of Wyll's experiences - a decision that took her a certain amount of mental strength - and now Wyll is instead telling her that he believes the Emperor is no better.

I have to imagine Rakha has told Wyll something of why she slurped the Astral Tadpole and has committed to the Emperor's interpretation of things; she's told him about the mental peace that she finds in the Astral Prism. Perhaps she's even told him how she realized she could see something of her relationship with him in the Emperor's relationship with Stelmane - a monster dependent on the company of another for guidance towards a better nature.

However much she's told him, Wyll is very specifically saying that it doesn't matter - the Emperor cannot be trusted regardless.

(A/N: Also - the game is distinctly inconsistent in the pronouns it uses for the Emperor. The Narrator definitely uses 'it' and Wyll uses 'he' here. I've been sticking with 'it' in general since it seems to be the overall more used term in the game, and I tend to think mind flayers don't really have a concept of gender as such, regardless of the creature they were transformed from.)

"Maybe it's true," Wyll goes on. "Maybe Stelmane allied with a mind flayer and subjected the city to their political will. Or maybe he made her an offer he couldn't refuse."

Rakha relaxes just a little. That maybe is reassuring. There are still uncertainties in the situation; even Wyll doesn't know for sure what the right path is. But the conversation still sits like a lead weight in her stomach, one of her already unsteady footholds giving out a little from underneath her.

-----

She can't go to sleep after Orin's visit, not immediately; the adrenaline is still pumping in every vein. So she and Wyll end up sitting at the fire quietly for a long time. It's been a few days since they did; in the wake of the business with Gortash, Jaheira has encouraged both of them to take time to settle their own thoughts. And she was probably right - but still Rakha feels some tension ease inside her, being able to be close to him again.

"I'm sorry," she says abruptly, staring down at his hand on hers with sudden intense focus. "About your father. I didn't say anything. Before, I mean. There's been... so much."

He squeezes her hand gently. "There has. I... don't know that I've given you everything you needed either. This... this business with your father, with Gortash..." He swallows. "I don't know how to give you the peace you need. I know that's why you went to the Emperor in the first place..."

She shakes her head. It's such a broken thing, the love between them - strained to the breaking point by everything tearing at them from all sides. And yet she still feels safer with his hand on her than she ever does without it.

"What could you do?" she mutters. "I am what I am. Just... don't... don't let me go. Please."

He tips his head questioningly, then brushes her lips to hers, leans in closer when she nods into the kiss. "I won't. I'm here. I promise..."

[twistedtummies2]

The Price May Be Right - Number 4

Welcome to “The Price May Be Right!” I’ve been counting down My Top 31 Favorite Vincent Price Performances & Appearances! The countdown will cover movies, TV productions, and many more forms of media. We’re getting closer to the end now… Today we focus on Number 4: Prince Prospero, from Masque of the Red Death.

Alongside “Comedy of Terrors,” this is quite possibly my favorite Vincent Price movie of all time. It is, without any doubt, my favorite entry in the Corman-Poe Cycle of features from AIP. Combining elements of the titular story with another tale from Poe, “Hop-Frog” (here referred to as “Hop-Toad,” presumably so the character doesn’t sound like a children’s game), “Masque of the Red Death” is easily the most thought-provoking and philosophical of all the Poe movies. It’s a film that seems less interested in outright scaring you, and more interested in posing a lot of interesting and unnerving questions. It’s a film about faith, corruption, mortality, ethics, and karmic justice, and the way it presents its different themes and ideas is still just as interesting today as it was back when it was made. In fact, in some ways, I would argue this movie is stronger than it ever was before. Released in 1964 – the year after “Comedy of Terrors” – the story focuses on Price’s character, Prince Prospero. The Prince is the cruel and sadistic ruler of some unknown province in Italy, and the leader of a Satanic cult. When a plague known as the Red Death – which makes people sweat blood till they die from exsanguination – strikes his kingdom, Prospero summons all the members of his cult to his palace, and locks them all away inside his castle to try and escape the plague. Also involved is a young lady named Francesca, whom Prospero kidnaps after her father and fiancé each try to stand up to him. Prospero has all three brought to his castle, to try and devise some unusual punishment for the two men, all while he tries to teach Francesca the truth of the world, as he sees it. Prospero is a truly fascinating villain. In some ways, he is one of the most evil characters Price ever played: he is callous to the core, willing to stab virtually anyone in the back and showing neither pity nor remorse for any of the evil acts he commits. When people who think themselves his friends die either directly or indirectly due to his actions, he shows no recognition of the relationship they used to share. But at the same time, there is a deeper philosophy at work with him: Prospero’s belief is that people are inherently wicked, and that the world is a cruel place of injustice and despair. He believes that God is dead, and that Satan already rules the universe. So, he behaves in a manner he believes would please Satan, just the way any Christian tries to behave in a manner they believe would please God. There are glimmers of something less than totally evil inside Prospero, however. He seems to value true innocence, in a backwards sort of way, and shows respect for anyone who can match the fervor of his own horrible faith. His relationship with Francesca is truly intriguing: it’s a sort of twisted and warped take on “Beauty and the Beast,” as Prospero admires Francesca’s faith and purity. And it is true admiration: when one of his allies suggests he enjoys corrupting her, Prospero replies, “Not corrupting…instructing.” At the same time, while Francesca is frightened of Prospero and appalled by his actions, she does come to have a sense of understanding towards him and his cynical outlook on the world. She is the closest thing to love Prospero has ever felt, and he is someone she realizes is more than just a monster. Prospero also shows other signs of right thinking: he refuses to harm children, and whenever he kills people who might be afflicted with the red death, he seems to consider it a mercy. In my opinion, Prospero is one of the greatest movie villains of all time; an underappreciated cinematic titan of tyranny that really deserves more credit. And it’s just as much a testament to Price as an actor, as well as the writing and direction, that he is such a uniquely depraved and yet intriguing character. Vincent plays the character absolutely pitch perfect, rarely hamming anything up too much (I say “rarely” because…well…it’s Vincent Price), and giving Prospero an elegance and calculating intellectuality that belies his more sinister qualities. He balances the character’s vulnerabilities and cruel heartlessness splendidly, so that we do come to empathize with Prospero, despite his unholy and horrid ways. When this villain meets his defeat, it is satisfying, yet also saddening. That is a sign you have created a truly magnificent evildoer. Tomorrow, the countdown enters the Top 3!

[kitsunesfandomtime]

Treasure Vault - CH 4

Characters: All for One, Yoichi Shigaraki, Second One for All User

Relationship: All for One & Yoichi Shigaraki, All for One & Second One for All User

Warning: Platonic Yandere, EXTRA Disturbing behavior, Vault time, Force Feeding, self-imposed starvation, AFO being surprisingly nice with kids

Summary: All for One has had enough of his little brother's rebellious nature. He can't afford to risk his little brother's life by letting him continue this. If he has to commit cruelties to keep his brother safe, then so be it. What's one more sin on the pile?

It has been months since Hisashi entrapped his little brother in that vault that had never been intended for this. Each day grew longer as it felt like the ghost of his victims lingered longer than it should. Wondering if the guilt of everything was truly driving him mad and now had tried to do some 'negotiations' with the Vigilantes.

They were becoming an annoyance and while had been tempted to just get rid of him felt as if could win them over. Maybe he can use that as leverage to show Yoichi he isn't just a monster and has got some heroes on his side. Well, that was the intention but it was clear upon first meeting the leader was... Well, they certainly had quite a look.

Those red eyes and rugged looks would be quite charming if it wasn't clearly looking like he wanted to shoot him with his quirk. Likely only held back because is still startled at the sudden peace treaty. The very same man who laughed and cheered after slaughtering men was also trying to reach out to the ones who hated crossfire.

"You must have lost your mind considering you haven't exactly been 'kind' toward my group," the leader, uh was it Kenji? Kaiji? Some other third thing? Ugh, he's terrible at names well he will just call him Gearshift since it's his quirk.

"But you still accepted the offer to talk," Hisashi points out with a smile as knows it means the other is hoping for some kind of avenue. As even the leader must know when it comes to a one-on-one confrontation with All for One it was a death wish. Though he didn't respond to that seeming to be waiting for him to offer, such a quiet man.

"You must be really popular with the ladies," Hisashi notes with a sigh as he shakes his head. Holding his wine glass that had been poured the other wasn't touching his offered drink. As if expecting him to poison him, "I didn't poison it. Trust me if I want you dead you wouldn't be standing."

The man's eyes narrow as if to say he didn't believe him as he moves the drink farther from him, "I rather not drink during negotiation."

Negotiations are going to be quite difficult. He could at least make an attempt to try and smooth things over.

"Fine, more for me then," he answers with a shrug. Knowing the man likely thought of him as childish as if the bastard had any right to judge him.

"What do I have to give for you guys to ally with us and help us dismantle the government?" He might as well cut to the chase. Watching the man's lips turn into a sneer guessing didn't like how he went for the point.

"When you stop so casually getting people hurt in the crossfire and gloating how great you are," Was all Gearshift answered as stared intently at him with pure contempt.

This cheeky bastard. A part of Hisashi wonders if Yoichi would even actually like the man or would only like what he represents. He grits his teeth just a hint but it turns into a smile as he looks at the man. It was unbecoming to get upset over such things he knew this going in the other already had a negative impression of him.

"You do realize I'm in a war against the government itself right? Most fault is in them they don't even acknowledge me," he points out as he leans back in his seat. "I've had 'civilians' be contracted to try, capture, harm and poison me. I'm just trying to survive and most of the people I take in are metahumans or former ones who been hurt. I'm not the villain you think I am and you can ask anyone working for me."

Gearshift certainly seemed quite a stubborn man but even he should at least see he isn't all evil. Slowly All for One leans on the table as he stands up allowing the other to see his full height as he looks him down with a coy smile.

"So tell me, what will it take?" He purrs at the other as he holds out a hand toward the other. That is until the other let out a loud laugh making him recoil in confusion because what was so funny?

"You seriously believe that you can just buy me? That I sell my soul to you just because in your delusions you believe you're in the right? That the amount of people you've murdered in your quest is justified?" Gearshift looked amused as if wanting Hisashi to admit it. "I may not like the government but if you end up in charge I already know there will be no future for Japan."

There is a pause as the great symbol of evil slowly registers that the other truly believed that. This man would prefer a government that is in martial law, abusing its power, while being too slow to do anything. Worst there was no fear in this man's eyes simply staring him down despite likely being aware of what he could do. This insignificant man was acting as if was some how equal to him in threat despite the fact at this moment All for One could easily kill him and he be helpless.

Seems like this meeting was pointless. A pity.

A heavy sigh escapes him as he slides back into his seat more than able to tell that since the start the man wasn't here to negotiate. He was here as a courtesy and to make it clear where he stands. Hisashi tilts his head just a bit as he stares intently at the man who seemed to think the conversation was over. Slowly getting to his feet there was one more thing that needed to be said.

"You're a killer too," Hisashi speaks calmly watching the man tense up. "You've murdered my men and stolen from the government. Play pretend all you want that you're some hero and I won't do anything now. This is neutral grounds, but next time you get in my way..."

His malice, his hatred as he grits his teeth at the hypocrisy of this man acting as if he was something above the rabble. This hero was a man carrying out his own sense of justice no different than his own. His hands were not clean and he won't let him leave thinking he is, "There won't be any mercy."

It was a promise.

"You never show it to anyone. So I expected nothing less," was Gearshift's own response. Though as he got up he suddenly got really close to All for One's seat moving in close to stare him down. "And you don't scare me."

His last words before he leaves.

All for One and the 'Vigilantes' failed to make an alliance. But he knows next time he will make sure to wipe them out now that he knows who they are. With a leader like him they can grow into a challenge, he needs to be careful.

As he downs the rest of his drinks knowing he could have done better. He knows what people want and yet he couldn't bring himself to do it. Something about him, those eyes that looked down at him despite their differences created a visceral response. That made him want to forgo using a quirk and grab his hand around that man's throat to wipe that look off his face.

He is much too emotional for the role he wants to become.

"And I still have to visit Yoichi," he mutters as he gets up guessing there was no point in avoiding it.

---------

His little brother has been suffering hallucinations and delusions since being trapped. Claiming things that Hisashi knows for a fact did not happen like hurting him and constantly insulting him.

Yes, he has called him some names but Yoichi acts as if he would spend every visit just beating him down verbally and bruising him. Even Hisashi can't tolerate being that terrible his little brother is already trapped, why would he do that?

It seems like a waste of energy so can only assume Yoichi is hallucinating such things. Was it concerning? Quite a bit so a part of him is wondering if he should take him to a doctor. Since it made his brother even more hostile than normal toward him randomly and bruises have started appearing on his brother likely self-inflicted.

Still, he doesn't stop his usual routine of making his baby brother's food by hand. Bringing in more food knowing it would be wasted and having to force-feed him it was his attempt at showing he still cares. That he will even accept even a pleasant lie-

Only to have to sidestep a tray being flung at him as if Yoichi had spent all day just waiting for him to arrive.

"Have you really resorted to throwing food?" Hisashi speaks almost exasperated at the other's action.

"Just let me go dammit!" Yoichi shouted before covering his own ears as if to ignore anything he wanted to say. Those green eyes were now shut as looks away despite the assault as he was curled on the bed. At least he was using the bed instead of being on the floor and here he thought he slept on the floor.

"Stop that. You go and then what?" Hisashi sneers hating every time the other talks about leaving. He places the food on the table as he watches his little brother curl up into a ball on the bed. Knowing for a fact the other doesn't actually want him gone at this point his resistance is nothing but a show.

A way to make himself feel like he was still following his own moral code and not throwing way too long of a tantrum. Hisashi watches his little brother not move and takes that as a sign to approach. Even though he recoiled when he felt the bed shift Hisashi makes sure to move an arm over his other side.

Trapping him beneath as he stares down at the young man who kept his eyes shut and a small hum escaped him. This is the closest he has gotten in a while that didn't earn a violent reaction. Slowly he leans down and presses a kiss against his little brother's head hearing a sharp breath from the other.

"Shhh I'm not going to hurt you. You know that," he whispers as the male seemed so exhausted and weak. Though Hisashi can't help but feel pleased when the other doesn't lash out like he usually did. It was a triumph, or well it would be before he heard a growl and then felt teeth dig into the arm he just put over the other.

Hisashi winces but guessed he should have expected it as his little brother has been becoming more animalistic in this place. Though he doesn't remove his arm as he feels those teeth dig in as at this point his brother was pitiable.

"You've become just an animal," he sighs it no longer hurts him as much that his brother hates him now. Though as he stares at his little brother memories of how they would hide in bed together return to his mind. Their fights that used to be playful were now violent as he could feel his brother's teeth pierce his skin.

Able to see those green eyes staring at him as if daring him to insult him or aggravate the situation. Unheroic and an absolute mess but he was still his adorable baby brother despite all that.

"Have you gained a taste for human flesh? You can have a piece of myself inside you forever," Hisashi teased knowing before he reacted a bit more violently but he wasn't showing it. Though seem his words worked as Yoichi seemed to realize what he was going on and released the bite trying to move away from underneath as he wiped his mouth of the blood. Snapping out of whatever he was in.

"You're disgusting," Yoichi mutters. Whether it was because he teased wanting a piece of him literally or was trying to imply it actually tasted bad he isn't sure. He hopes it's the former he hates to actually learn he tastes like shit this way.

"I'm disgusting? Have you looked at yourself? You literally bit me," Hisashi taunts as he sits upright with amusement as this was the closest they had returned to their old selves. With his brother acting annoyed and grumpy as hell about whatever Hisashi did.

Yoichi looked ready to retort only for the male to seem to realize he was giving him what he wanted. Shutting up instantly and stopping all conversations, is a pity.

"I had a meeting with the Vigilantes," Hisashi notes casually watching those eyes look a bit surprised. Was it really such a surprise to hear that he opened his hands to some small little militia?

"I decided to try for a 'treaty' but it seems they already have me as the bad guy in their mind. Next time will be a blood bath," he informed and of course, Yoichi's expression changed back to annoyance. Clearly not pleased at being informed of this likely thinking they must be right. As if ready to start another argument.

"Do you wish me dead as well Yoichi?" Hisashi questions casually watching his brother look gobsmacked. Whatever statement his brother had cooked up in his mind suddenly screeched to a halt. How adorable.

"Stop asking me that," Yoichi mutters as clenches at the bed sheets. "That is NOT related to anything we are talking about! Stop trying to act like some victim!"

Ha! A victim? He's many things but he knows more than anyone he is no one's victim maybe in his youth but he has since gone past that.

"Oh you misunderstand Yoichi," he purrs as he reaches out and grabs his little brother's face with his injured arm. Earning a hiss as he forces the younger male's head to look up at him to make it clear to look at him. To stop turning his head away and running from him and truly face him.

"I just want to know how far gone your mind has went. Heroes aren't supposed to be murderers you know but everyone has killed. No one hands are clean," he speaks with clarity as his free hand tucks some of his hair back behind his ear. Before he taps the others heads almost mockingly, "Now tell me... How would you have helped people? I'm curious if you ever had any ideas or you were just content in telling me I'm wrong, hero?"

He couldn't help but mock the young man as can still recall the others attempting to help with no ideas or anything. Yet more than content to snap or call him out on doing what he thinks is best all by himself. The very man who has been trying to take care of Yoichi despite everything.

"I-" Yoichi seemed to be trying to think of an answer. Something that likely would somehow convince Hisashi he was wrong. But maybe because of the state he was in nothing seemed to come out as frustration showed in his brother's eyes. But Hisashi wasn't at all done with this conversation.

Does he think he can allow him to wiggle out of this suddenly acting docile now when they are having such a pleasant 'chat'?

"Answer me," he sneers as he tightens his grip on his brother's faces watching him wince in pain. Here he was giving him a chance to show him the errors of his ways to actually tell him why he was wrong. "What would you do if men you thought you could trust betray you? If the government wished you dead or rather to turn you into some helpless experiment? You aren't an idiot, you've seen how people treated us so tell me YOUR big idea? Or... Would you have rather been some pathetic bystander?"

Yoichi's mouth still held his blood and seemed to have difficulties speaking despite his attempts. So Hisashi decided to grant him mercy as he released his face shoving him back against the bedpost.

"Would you kill me to be a hero?" His voice was low as he stared at his brother's eyes as if waiting for him to say it. To say that after everything that had happened, he would throw his brother to the wolves. Or if really had some ideas it be nice to have some honesty for once.

"Stop it. I don't want you dead dammit," Yoichi whispers... Hisashi did not expect him to still hold onto that belief. Looking almost stunned as didn't detect any lie despite everything that had been done. His brother... Truly was an enigma.

He isn't even sure if it's Stockholm or weirdly genuine. The way his brother had tears in his eyes was puzzling after everything he had done yet had strength in those words. To make it clear that he didn't wish his big brother dead despite how much of a monster he was.

"How can you think that and yet not join me. You make no sense," he sighs wondering if isolation has truly messed up his brother's mind he definitely needs to talk to the doctor. Moving his hands into his coat to take out the bag of food. Watching his little brother's eyes dilate with fear at the sight.

"I wonder how long before that changes," Hisashi speaks as he pins his little brother down as he smiles down at his little brother. Coming to enjoy making sure his little brother eats and stays alive, "It is time to eat, my hero."

He speaks mockingly as he continues this cycle and the guilt he has is slowly disappearing. It was all he could do to keep his little brother alive able to see his brother's will is weakening.

Soon they will be a family again.

[dragongodryss]

Prison Break

Sting couldn't believe he was actually doing this. It had taken a few days to get his ducks in a row. Come tomorrow, he would be a fugitive. He had emptied his and Rogue savings to set up a place to stay in Seven until Rogue recovered, and then move to wherever Rogue wanted.

He walked into the new Council Hall in Era. No one tried to stop him until he reached the prison complex. A quick strike paralyzed the guard before she could sound the alarm. Sting hurried along, tracking down the Midnight Rain members by scent. He quietly made his way to where they were being kept. Luckily for him, the council had put them all in the same place.

He came across a checkpoint and knocked out three of the guards before they could ask him what he thought he was doing. He tackled the last guard to the floor, choking him until he passed out. Every second felt like a second too long when his ears were pricked for danger.

He got up, warily picking his way through the corridors.

Letting these monsters go free infuriated Sting. He wanted them to rot for the rest of their lives, simply for being associated with the bastards that has hurt Rogue.

Finally, he found the dark mages and quickly forced open the lock. He angrily informed them of the situation and leading them out of the prison.

"We might have to fight our way out." Sting reluctantly warned them as he released their cuffs.

"Sick." A green haired woman grinned, clearly spoiling for a fight, though Sting could see that she was still injured from her defeat at Natsu and Gray's hands. Natsu had been furious that he'd needed Gray's assistance, but her air magic had been an unfortunate match for his flames. That had to have been what she was counting on.

"I don't like this. I think we should split up." A wary man suggested, eyeing Sting distrustingly. Of course, he would be uncomfortable, given that his cards had been confiscated. Cana Alberona had absolutely decimated him before claiming them as her own.

"Well, too bad. If you freaks get busted, I'm not getting Rogue back so get moving!" Sting snarled.

"No need to be rude. I'll tell the master that you tried." An old man compromised. He was still limping from his fight with Wendy, Chelia Blendy and Romeo Conbolt. Rogue's kidnapping hadn't been Midnight Rain's first attempt at taking a hostage. This man had ambushed the trio on a job and gotten his ass kicked in record time. His psychic abilities were powerful, but couldn't affect more than one opponent. Served him right. Had he been smart, he would have targeted a lone adult, but he had gotten cocky.

"Thanks, but I'm not risking it." Sting growled.

"Come on guys, Cass wants to fight, so you don't have to worry about it." Another woman pointed out in a voice as oily as her brown hair. Yukino and Sorano had had to kick her ass the old-fashioned way, thanks to her magic-erasing ability. Come to think of it, she look an awful lot like the man that had given Sting the photographs. Her brother, perhaps?

"Fine." The card wielder conceded. The large crowd followed Sting through the winding passages.

As they entered the great hall, the weight of the betrayal Sting was committing really sank in. This was a year of work that he was undoing, a score or more of horrible people he was letting loose. All for Rogue.

He had no intention of changing his mind, but that didn't stop the guilt from weighing on him. Had he exchanged the lives of his friends and allies for Rogue's?

For the first time, Sting was glad that they were leaving the country. He wouldn't be able to look his friends in the eye, even if he somehow avoided all consequences. Rogue wouldn't either, even though he held no blame.

Maybe that was why he was making this breakout so open? He wanted to burn those bridges beyond repair, so that he wouldn't be tempted to stay.

The fighting had already broken out, Sting numbly noted.

"Eucliffe?" One of the mages asked. Sting recognized him. Rogue had defeated him and several others when he'd tracked down one of Midnight Rain's bases. This man had cropped purple hair and wielded white magic, though far weaker than Sting's.

"What?" Sting asked, eyes turning back to the fray.

"I was wondering if you could answer some questions." The man stated. Sting had nothing better to do, so he nodded. "Who told you about what happened to Rogue?"

"Brown haired guy. Late twenties. Looks like one of the women here." Sting told him, wondering where this was going.

"Ah."

"What does that mean?" Sting asked, worry spiking.

"Well, Aiden is very… well, he enjoys the job. Depending on the hostage, that can go from a bit uncomfortable to very poorly. And Rogue doesn't seem the type to tolerate his antics." The man cagily admitted.

"Yeah. The bastard -Aiden? was kind enough to include pictures." Sting snarled.

"I'm sorry to hear that. He doesn't deserve that." The man said. "I hope he can recover."

"Why do you care?" Sting asked, watching the battle die down.

"Just because we're on different sides doesn't mean I have to hold a grudge. Besides, he seemed like a decent guy." Decent? That didn't half cover it! "I'm Cobalt, by the way."

Sting didn't really care but nodded regardless. He followed the others out as they fled into a nearby forest.

After a short walk, Aiden appeared behind them. Sting heard him before he called out. "Well done, Eucliffe. I didn't think you'd deliver so quickly."

"Well, I did. Now let Rogue go!" Sting ordered. Aiden smirked.

"Soon." He said. "Once everyone makes it home. I'll drop him off in the woods and let you know."

"What? Why? I did everything you asked!" Sting despaired. Aiden's smile turned to a grin. "You have to give him back, we need to leave Fiore."

"A safety precaution. Besides, don't you want your little wildcat in the best possible condition when you'll be on the run?" Aiden asked. "But if you're so worried about him, I'm happy to drop him off at the border."

Sting met Cobalts eyes, which were brimming with sympathy, and made his choice.

"Fine." They discussed the details of Rogue's release, finally agreeing to have Aiden leave Rogue in the forest just across the border.

When Aiden vanished, Cobalt approached Sting while his guildmates scattered. "Hey. Do you want me to keep an eye on Aiden for you? Make sure he follows through?"

"Please. I don't want him to suffer more than he already has." Sting begged.

"I'll do what I can."

First Prev Next

[burnnouts]

Robb nodded. "I will see to it." It was as reasonable and just a demand as any: for her kin to be returned, for the departed that all this strife had created, would at last be put to rest. They might worship different gods and have different customs in the North, but on this they could agree. From what he had heard, her brother had strung up his enemies on the castle walls, placed Robb's father, Eddard Stark, on a spike, and made Sansa look upon it. The very thought made Robb's blood boil, but he would not return the favor in kind. Even his enemies deserved to rest in peace. The fact remained that the boys' murder had been an atrocity from all sides; Robb might not have swung the sword himself, but it was his men who had committed the crime, and so their blood was on his hands. He had executed the men who'd murdered them, and had lost much of his army for it, but still, the thought of those kills haunted him just as much as any battle.

Robb had made a decision that day, drawn clear in the earth the line upon which his kingdom would rest. It was a line he believed his father would have been proud of, one that promised their kingdom would be built upon a foundation of justice. But it had not been a popular decision to kill Lord Karstark. The Lannister boys were his enemies, and yet he had killed his dead friends' father for their sakes. But he could not excuse the murder of innocent children, no matter who made the kill.

"Then I believe we are in agreement." If they left this room as uneasy allies, if they allowed the other to live, they would have two separate kingdoms--and for just how long would be be allowed to rule his? His lords had made him king, and they could unmake him as easily. But if he was going to be king, he had to act like one, to make the difficult choices, the honorable choices--no matter the costs. There was no justice in killing either of the remaining Lannister children, simply because their brother had been a monster. If all men were held responsible for the actions of every relative, they would all hang.

"My armies will remain in King's Landing until Cersei Lannister is executed, and you are formally declared Queen. Then we will go." He may not be serving under her rule, but he had not come this far to leave with the Iron Throne empty. "Gods be good, we need not ever cross paths again." It was a shame, really--in another life, perhaps they would not have ended up on opposite sides of a war. Perhaps in another life, they could have had a bond like their fathers shared or just been two young kids dancing together at a ball.

It   is   reasonable.   No   further   demands   other   than   just   his   people   ,and   what   he   gained   in   battle.   It   would   be   hypocritical   of   her   to   deny   him   such   a   thing,   when   her   father   won   the   Throne   during   a   Rebellion.   "Very   well.   Your   people   will   return   north   then.   My   uncle   would   wish   the   remains   of   his   children   returned   to   him   as   well."   Two   little   boys,   children,   innocent   in   this   war,   being   killed   and   murdered   by   a   grown   man.   Would   had   he   wrapped   his   hands   around   her   neck   and   murder   her   too?   Perhaps   force   her   to   wed   to   torture   her   mother   with   the   idea   she   was   a   northern   girl   then.   All   of   that   doesn't   matter,   she   thinks,   as   she   looks   at   the   direwolf   by   his   side.   Emerald   eyes   looked   at   the   King   and   then   back   toward   the   table,   the   question   hanging   on   the   air.  

"Your   father   had   been   kind   to   me,   when   I   was   in   King's   Landing.   He   was   nice   when   we   were   in   Winterfell.   What   my   brother   did,   what   my   mother   allowed   him   to   do   to   him,   and   your   sister,   and   further,   all   of   those   I   heard   from   far   away.   I   was   send   to   Dorne   shortly   after."   But   she   has   no   Dornish   prince   anymore   unless   Quentyn   Martell   returns   brideless   from   Essos,   without   the   dragon   queen   and   Doran   tells   her   to   marry   him,   or   perhaps   a   distant   cousin.   "My   mother   never   once   wrote   to   me   while   I   was   there.   Sending   only   excuses   to   delay   my   marriage   to   Trystanne.   Eventually,   Trystanne   died,   and   I   have   all   reasons   to   believe   she   is   at   fault.   The   last   time   I   saw   my   mother   was   years   ago.   And   I   was   never   a   favorite."   That   was   Joffrey,   who   would   do   no   wrong.   Joffrey,   who   would   hurt   animals   and   servants   and   girls   as   he   saw   please.  

"And   Tommen   is   but   a   boy.   The   crown   he   sees   as   nothing   but   a   game,   he   seeks   counsel   from   mother,   and   his   wife,   both   who   I   believe   have   their   own   agendas."   Margaery   Tyrell   might   not   be   evil   as   her   mother,   but   she   does   have   some   control   over   her   brother,   who   is   crushing   on   her.   "The   moment   my   mother   learned   I   had   bled   she   send   me   moontea,   thinking   I   was   in   Dorne,   following   Dornish   ways."   Her   voice   is   hurt   by   that   alone.   That   her   mother   thought   she   had   become   Dornish   to   the   point   of   allowing   herself   to   take   lovers   before   even   wed.   "Justice   is   justice.   Regardless   of   blood."         

[hopeswriting]

ahh, your view on mukuro is so on point. i am super biased but i always felt that my precious psycho is very highly misunderstood. yes, he can be cruel and see the world in black and white, but it is not his choice, not like he was able to create his own opinion on mafia, family bonds or the world in general. he was created to be a monster by people who only viewed him as a potential weapon, and it is quite unfortunate that manga ended without an arc dedicated to him to allow him either a redemption or at least a better view into his real personality. the shimon arc and the arcobaleno arc helped a lot, but with the focus on so many other things mukuro's development was kind of lost. but i am so glad you do the analyzes and see him as a person with a lot of potential rather than a simple villain from the early arcs with few cameos. again, i am highly biased and will never stop thinking about him, his life and his personality. manifesting a manga only about him in the future kufufu

[either in reference to this post or this one.]

hi nonny, thank you for the ask!

you know what, personally i actually wouldn't say he's misunderstood per se. it's more like people don't care to see past the cruel boy who's willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goals, which i'd say it's actually fair too, because he is that cruel boy. unapologetically too. but i agree he's definitely more than that, and more relevantly here, like you said, he wasn't that boy once upon time and was made to become that boy. unfortunately almost everyone is all but too happy to judge him at face value without ever caring for the bigger picture.

(that said, i'd still say again it's still kind of fair of them, because like, mukuro has done some pretty damn terrible things, and to them specifically, but it doesn't make him any less of a nuanced, complex character, you know? which i think is one of the biggest appeal of his character.)

i also find it interesting how you said he sees the world in black and white. i've never thought about it before, but i have to agree with you he does. which is interesting because even if the mafia as a whole is obviously firmly and deeply in the black category, there's still people like the vongola first gen in it, like nono and all the moderate vongola bosses before him, like tsuna and dino, and like lancia and his family. lancia who looked after him and cared for him like family, and presumably was nothing but kind to him after his boss took mukuro in, and mukuro still (presumably) didn't hesitate to wipe them all out. by using lancia no less, and then he kept using him to do terrible things.

by which i mean, lancia's family taking him in could have been the start of some kind of healing process for mukuro, but of course it was never going to be enough to make up for what he went through, and at the end of the day they were still mafia too. which means they must have committed their fair share of sins too, and it's less that there are "good" mafiosi, and more like some mafiosi aren't all but too willing to use the excuse of being mafiosi to be the worst excuses of human beings on earth (see estraneo). so like, yeah he may see the world in black and white, but is he wrong seeing it that way? when it comes to the mafia at the very least? when the mafia does so much wrong on the daily for whatever "good" it might do once in a while?

and incidentally, i personally don't think mukuro was in need of a redemption arc at all tbh. i think what amano did, humanizing him by showing him to be more than the villain tsuna first faced and had to take down, giving him understanding by sharing his circumstances and making him go from villain to tentative ally that way was the right call. because mukuro's methods were wrong, for sure, which are explicitly condemned both by the characters and the narrative, but i don't think his motives were ever condemned in any way by either the characters or the narrative. because they shouldn't be.

i don't think mukuro ever needed a redemption arc or needs one by the time the manga ends, because he was never any kind of an irredeemable villain to begin with, not by a long shot. from all the khr villains, i actually think his motives are the most righteous ones actually. and like, objectively the most good ones too, you know? the mafia should be burned down to the ground, and i'd say the shame here is that we never got anywhere close to see that happen lol.

thank you, i'm glad you enjoy my analyses! 💕

[pluckyredhead]

Please Care About Aquaman With Me: The Nineties, Part 3

Welcome back to Atlantis! Last time, Garth got hot, Koryak accidentally unleashed an ancient evil, and Poseidonis resurfaced from the ocean...sort of.

With King Thesily dead, Arthur’s...just sort of de facto king again? There doesn’t seem to be any kind of formal process here but everyone’s just listening to him and hey, he does have a rightful claim to the throne via both of his parents.

His first act as Basically King is to decide that in order to make up for the atrocities his people committed against the merpeople of Tritonis, they need to...be their slaves indefinitely. This seems perhaps an extreme solution to me, given that...slavery is also an atrocity...but okay. (I mean, they’re servants, but they aren’t permitted to leave, so...semantics.)

Koryak decides that since he led the people of Poseidonis astray, he should join them in their servitude:

Awww, they’re hugging! Uncomfortably, but it’s the thought that counts!

This leaves Poseidonis pretty empty - it’s mostly just Arthur, Garth, and Dolphin. A lot of other stuff happens here - Arthur’s dolphin mom is killed by fishermen, Black Manta sells his soul to Neron and turns into a weird manta monster, Arthur temporarily goes all lizardy like Kordax and then temporarily blind and also develops webbed fingers - but I hope it’s clear by now that I care exactly zero amount about the superhero part of this comic and only about the ridiculous soapy interpersonal drama.

SPEAKING OF WHICH. During Arthur’s various transformations, he increasingly displays a dark, angry side, which Dolphin grows increasingly uncomfortable with. But hey, you know who isn’t dark and angry, but in fact is a sensitive sweetheart who is also super hot now?

YES. THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT.

...Well, actually, not so much, because although Arthur has some disturbingly violent fantasies of killing them both, he just stiffly wishes them well and leaves. Garth is not thrilled, since Dolphin told him she and Arthur were broken up. (Real shitty move there, Dolphin.) But, he says, at least she and Arthur never slept together!

Yeah. Awkward.

Literally why would you assume that, Garth. Also sharing a bathing suit with Dick is way more intimate, admit it.

Meanwhile, enough time has passed that Koryak is like “Okay, we’ve done our time serving the Tritonians, time to leave.” Also, he’s enormous now:

He and Iqula are about to throw down when Garth shows up out of nowhere:

PLEASE NOTE KORYAK ACTUALLY STAMMERING WHEN GARTH SHOWS UP. Not that I ship it or anything. Cough.

Anyway, Garth convinces/threatens Iqula into letting the Poseidonians go and swims off, altruistic and just a teeeeeensy bit smug about it. Koryak and the others head home, inexplicably walking instead of swimming, and run into Debbie, who Koryak immediately develops a crush on:

Look at his dumb face. I love him so much.

Back in Poseidonis, everyone immediately starts kissing up to Arthur, leaving Koryak his usual pissy self. Vulko, who has become increasingly frustrated with Arthur’s refusal to listen to his counsel, sees an opportunity:

Having manipulated his ambitious himbo figurehead into place, Vulko continues to assemble a conspiracy, pulling in religious leader Dardan and 100% failing to pull in an oblivious Garth, who is still loyal to Arthur and unaware that Vulko is no longer the kindly ally he was in the Silver Age. Arthur makes it clear that he’s aware of Vulko’s shenanigans...

But then he just sort of...doesn’t do anything about it? I’m sure that won’t come back to bite him in the ass or anything.

Meanwhile, the city is attacked by parademons because something something crossover event, and Koryak and Garth manage to get along!

...Well, until Koryak decides to let Garth get killed, oops:

(Garth’s fine, Arthur saves him.)

This dynamic is so funny to me because when he’s not trying to get Garth killed for basically no reason, Koryak is very busy gossiping about him and telling everyone in Atlantis that Garth and Dolphin are banging now:

I cannot stop laughing about this. Again, Dardan is basically like their Archbishop. Why are you dishing about Garth and Dolphin’s relationship with him, Koryak? Get a hobby that isn’t obsessing over Garth! (No, don’t, I love it.) (Also Debbie’s in the hospital because of plot stuff, she’s fine.)

Garth, meanwhile, has decided that Poseidonis needs, like...a government...and that he’s going to run for it, mostly because he’s desperate for attention from Arthur:

HE SWOONS. I’ll come back to why in a minute, but meanwhile, what does the conspiracy think of Garth’s attempt at democracy?

Once again, Koryak thinks they should all just stab Caesar Garth. I cannot overemphasize how much this is a Koryak-specific obsession. Garth is not that influential! Koryak does not need to be thinking about him this much!

Sadly, plot stuff now intervenes. The reason Garth fainted before is because he was receiving psychic backlash from Atlan. See, Triton, who is sort of a demigod in this universe, absolutely hates Arthur, especially since Arthur has kicked his ass a couple of times. This humiliated Triton’s father Poseidon, who punished Triton for it - so Triton killed Poseidon, stole his power and his trident, and attacked Atlan, hence the psychic backlash. He then shows up in Poseidonis to fight Arthur:

Arthur taunts Triton until Triton kills him, which is...a choice, I guess. His last word is “Mera!” which genuinely makes my heart hurt. She’s too good for him but I still ship it.

Arthur finds himself in the Greek afterlife, where he tracks down Hades and demands that he let both Poseidon and Arthur return to the world of the living:

Hades agrees, and Arthur and Poseidon come back to life.

Meanwhile, Triton is having a grand old time torturing Garth and Dolphin, and lest you think Koryak is completely irredeemable, he’s willing to die to try to save them and avenge his father:

Luckily for Koryak, Arthur and Poseidon return in the nick of time:

Poseidon doesn’t let Arthur kill Triton...and then proceeds to kill Triton himself. He then announces that he’s tired of ruling the oceans, hands off his trident and all its powers to Arthur, and leaves. Arthur explains that this was his plan all along - to goad Triton into killing him so that he could get Poseidon out of the afterlife to deal with Triton directly - and Garth and Dolphin are like “Wow, that’s really fucking stupid.”

Literally two seconds later, AJ - remember AJ? - shows up, fully grown and looking for Arthur’s help because aliens are going to kill Mera and destroy the dimension AJ is from and blah blah I don’t care. The important thing is that Arthur hands the trident to Garth, says “You’re in charge,” and fucks off.

EVERYONE HAS A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT THIS. Also, leaping lungfish, Arthur, PLEASE construct a functioning government. Name an heir! Appoint a regent! Don’t just hand the throne temporarily to whoever happens to be closest!

Mera turns out to have become an even more badass battle queen than she already was before since she’s been leading a resistance against the aliens. Together, Arthur, Mera, and AJ defeat the aliens, and then Arthur asks Mera to come home with him:

Way to be self-sacrificing, AJ! No one will ever think about you ever again!

The Poseidonians are super stoked to have Mera back as well as Arthur, and there is an elaborate ceremony to essentially re-coronate them as king and queen, even though privately they’re not sure how they feel about each other after everything that’s happened. Meanwhile, Koryak realizes that allowing this ceremony to proceed will cement his father’s power too firmly for him to usurp it. (It’s not explicit, but he might also be realizing that having a queen means a legitimate heir might come along and displace him in the currently unofficial succession.) He prepares to act...

...and GARTH attacks Arthur:

Yeah, so he’s possessed by the trident. WHOOPS.

This makes me laugh so hard. KORYAK YOU ARE THE WORST. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

Koryak yells that he’ll stand by Arthur and promptly gets his ass kicked by Garth (again), as does Mera. Arthur, meanwhile, tells Garth that he won’t fight him this time, which is really touching up until he sucker punches Garth and knocks the trident from his grip. Well, it was a nice thought.

Anyway, Garth’s in his right mind again, and Arthur’s not mad:

Oh, Koryak. This didn’t go your way at all, did it?

The penalty for this level of treason is death, but Arthur tells Koryak that because he is his son, he will be lenient, and merely banish him from Poseidonis for life. I cannot get over Garth getting a pep talk about what a good treason he did and Koryak getting threatened with execution. Like, yes, Garth wasn’t in his right mind and Koryak was, but Arthur knew this was building and did absolutely nothing to stop it or attempt to repair his relationship with his son before it was publicly destroyed. YOU’RE THE WORST, ARTHUR, AND NOT IN A CUTE WAY.

Anyway. Koryak storms out without a word. Vulko pretends very hard that he had nothing to do with all of this even though everyone present knows it was all his idea. The ceremony proceeds...

...and Mera suddenly declares that she cannot be crowned queen, because she and Arthur are no longer considered married under Atlantean law. Gasp!

Next up: the Larsen run, featuring lots of boobs, some near-miss incest, and a tragic dearth of Koryak.

[shimmerbeasts]

Even if Silco had known the hardships, they would have come to face, he had never regretted taking Jinx in. Carrying the little girl off the burning bridge, stepping softly over the strewn about corpses, he couldn't have anticipated how much his life was going to change in that one night and yet how consistent it stayed throughout it all.

Having been deemed a monster under everyone's bed and an outcast in the Undercity, Silco's life had already been hard on his own. After he had recovered enough from that garish eye injury, he had been forced to build up a new life from scratch. Clever investments and finding the right allies at the right time had given Silco the leg up, he seriously needed, as well as the resources to finance the development of Shimmer, even if currently, it was far too unstable and volatile to be of much use to anybody, let alone a fully-fledged revolution.

At the same time, Silco did not just have his revolution to contend with, but his daughter as well. Thus he soon grew used to using some of his resources to ensure he and Jinx were fed. Throughout it all, he always gave her the lion's share. Jinx got more food than him, she was given utensils and tools to tinker with to her heart's content, and she even got the chance to ask Renata Glasc herself about chemistry. She was a monster as much as she was a genius, and Silco did his hardest to ensure, he nurtured both.

Even so, there were still things, which not even he was always prepared for.

"You have nothing to apologise for, Jinx", Silco said, "Sometimes, our mind is our own worst enemy, making us believe things, which, in our hearts, we know, aren't true." He barely flinched as Jinx clawed deeper into his arms, still developing claws creating a small dent in his sleeves. Her face was scrunched up in pain. Silco caressed her back soothingly and placed his chin on her head.

"There could be many reasons why she didn't come back", Silco said, "Maybe she lost you in the chaos. Or maybe, as much as I hate to admit that, maybe she felt that you were holding her back. It is often the people, whom we trust the most, who are the most ruthless to stab us in the back. They leave you writhing in pain and collecting the pieces of your life, they made fall apart."

His expression darkened. For a few seconds, his stomach felt heavy and the hair on his neck stood up. Vander and Vi had both committed the same sin: Leaving them to rot when they needed them the most, after inflicting damage, they could never take back.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Jinx", Silco said, "Neither when it comes to wanting to see topside, nor when your sister left. It is not fair that you are left to feel guilty for something, you never did. Though, maybe it's not just guilt that you feel. Perhaps, there is anger there too. But you don't want to admit that you are angry, so you cover it up with feelings of guilt. Guilt is self-punishing and sometimes easier to face than rage."

"Back when I was recovering from my eye injury", he continued, "There were so many thoughts swirling inside my head. At first, I kept asking myself very similar questions to what you are asking yourself right now. What did I do wrong? How could Vander betray me like this? Did I deserve this eye injury? Was he right for hurting me like this? I blamed myself just like you did. However, after a while these feelings faded, and what I was left with, was anger. Hatred even. I allowed myself to recognise that this had been a murder attempt and not just a betrayal. I was so furious at Vander. I still am. But recognising that I was angry, was in a strange way cathartic. I needed that epiphany to move forward: Not just that I was angry, but that it was okay that I was feeling angry. And I believe you feel the same. Deep down. Am I right?"

At the age of 10, Jinx had to deal with with trauma that most much older than her would never experience. Unlike them, however, her fragile mind wasn't quite built to deal with that trauma. As adult most had a way to properly process everything; they had grown up and matured. Jinx didn't have that as a child who had suffered such losses at a significantly young age of 5. She had witnessed raw brutality and death. It was a massacre, one that had taken everything from her.

The only good thing that had come out of this was Silco, who had found her that day after the smoke had cleared. After the enforcers had cleared out without a single care for the lives they took. Silco had found a broken child and took her home. Held her in his arms as if she were the most precious cargo. He gave her a home, gave her a reason to survive. She was smart enough to realize that he was trying to give her the tools to be strong, but Vi always found a way to undo all that work.

Jinx at first looked away in shame, afraid that she had earned Silco's ire as he head was lifted. However, the caress of her cheek proved the opposite. Bluish silver eyes looked up at Silco, slowly her body began calm as it only barely shook now. However, the memories were still fresh in her mind as she could see hear the gunshots echoing in her mind.

The reputation Silco had garnered was that of a monster under the everyone’s bed. Jinx didn’t need to get out to know that. However she had ventured out just enough to hear all the whispers. It was on one of those occasions that she had spotted her sister, with a tall burly man, whom she discovered was the notorious Vander. That same man was spreading lies, warning people about her papa. But they were all wrong.

Monster or not, it was Silco who was with her now, comforting her when she needed it most like he always would. He alone knew her struggles and was there to tell her the voices were lying, too. Just like he was now, and the look in his eyes told her he believed what he was saying. But he wasn’t angry at her, either. No, his ire was directed at the lies her voices were telling her. The ones that always told her everything was her fault.

“I’m sorry papa, they keep telling me all of things and I keep believing them…” Jinx said was tears continued to run down her cheek and onto his thumbs. Never once did her eyes stray from his, as if pleading him to forgive her. “I see them when I close my eyes, my parents, even though i don’t remember their faces or their voices. They never say anything to me, but I always feel like they are blaming me. If I hadn’t convinced Vi to take me across the bridge to just get a peek at topside…” That’s why Vi blamed her, too.

“But if I’m not the reason Vi left me, than why did she never come back? I called out her name but instead she just… left me.” Jinx’s face scrunched up in pain of it all, her claws sinking deeper into his skin and created an indent. Why was she even feeling this way about a sister she barely remembered? “I have you, but it’s like a sister I barely remember is punishing me for something. What did I do wrong? Why can’t I move on without everything hurting?”

[bestworstcase]

on ‘villainy’ and varian’s and cassandra’s moral codes

for all that varian’s and cassandra’s villain arcs get compared to death they’re really more different than they are similar, and i think one of the more interesting distinctions is the characters’ moral perspectives on their own actions--namely that varian recognizes his own choices as villainous and consciously self-identifies as a ‘bad guy’ and cassandra not only…doesn’t do that but appears legitimately taken aback when varian says she’s ‘become the villain.’ from this we can infer that varian is transgressing his own personal sense of right and wrong while cassandra isn’t.

and… well with varian i think it’s pretty straightforward: he’s a kid who desperately wants to make the world a better place and make his father proud, but his impulsivity and recklessness and general disregard for lab safety foil his plans and get him into trouble. then one of his accidents puts his dad into what is essentially a magical coma and varian becomes singularly focused on reviving him--and, when he realizes that the king is more invested in covering up the problem than fixing it and his only hope lies with a zealously guarded relic belonging to the kingdom, he decides that the only way to achieve this goal is to start breaking the rules.

so he asks rapunzel--his friend who promised to help him--to retrieve some information the king is trying to steal from him, and then persuades her to help him access the sundrop vault; then when she balks at stealing it he makes it clear that he no longer trusts her and escapes with the flower. at this point he’s in the morally dubious zone; being strategic about what he tells rapunzel to make sure she helps him, spiking cookies with truth serum to sow chaos and get information he needs, and doing things that are crimes on paper but also largely victimless. i think these were things varian could probably rationalize as okay--not exactly good, but no one got hurt and he got what he needed.

except the flower’s magic is gone. he drugged the palace, manipulated rapunzel and broke her trust in him, and committed treason all for something useless because the actual magic of the sundrop is in rapunzel herself. now he’s in trouble, because he needs rapunzel’s help but his desperate measures guaranteed she won’t be willing to help him again. and this is when varian realizes that his only options are 1. give up on saving his dad and turn himself in and hope rapunzel takes pity on him, or 2. accept that no one is going to help him now and do whatever it takes to free quirin himself.

so--mutating ruddiger, attacking the city, kidnapping arianna and threatening her with encasement in amber, building an automaton army to defend him while he works--these are all things that varian feels are wrong, but chooses to do anyway because he doesn’t trust that anyone else will even try to save his father. despite his anger and his rationalizations, at the end of the day varian sees himself as doing bad things for good reasons. (“Believe me, I know/I’ve sunk pretty low” & “I’m the bad guy, that’s fine”)

and when his reasons fall through--when he fails to free his dad--he falls quickly into guilt and despair over having hurt people for nothing. he stews for a year in how unforgivable and ashamed he feels, and even when he teams up with the separatists, he’s doing it in, basically, pursuit of a reset button: he wants to take back what he did. and when rapunzel shows him that he can be forgiven, he can have a second chance, he does have people who are willing to help him and trust him again, he drops the memory-wiping idea and his alliance with the separatists without a second thought--because what rapunzel actually does is give him a way to pursue his goals without sacrificing his conscience, which is what he really needed the whole time.

now, cassandra, on the other hand…

cass is an interesting character in this regard because, while she does want to be a hero, she’s not at all altruistic. she’s consumed by her lack of autonomy and she craves not only control over her own life but also respect from the people around her--her desire to be a hero is very self-interested, at its core. and moreover she has a somewhat fatalistic view of the world wherein some people (not her) matter and some… just don’t. 

moreover cassandra, despite her ambitions of becoming a guard, doesn’t so much as blink at eugene’s or the pub thugs’ criminal pasts--she is suspicious of lance at first, but on the grounds that he’s an unrepentant thief who showed up out of the blue under suspicious circumstances to ‘reconnect’ with his old partner in crime; eugene is also distrustful of lance, for the exact same reasons--and of course she doesn’t think twice about breaking the law herself. literally one of the very first things we see cassandra do is commit treason to make her friend happy. cass doesn’t care about the law, and she only wants to be a guard because she associates getting the job with having her dad’s approval and it’s also her ticket out of lifelong servitude.

on the other hand, cass does seem have a strong sense of right and wrong where people she cares about are concerned. she is constantly putting the desires and well-being of her friends ahead of not just her ambitions (e.g. in beginnings for rapunzel, or great expotations for varian) but also her own safety (e.g. risking her livelihood and home to sneak rapunzel out for the night in bea, or setting aside her misgivings about the sketchy bird people in freebird). 

which is all to say--cass isn’t exactly amoral but the moral framework through which she sees the world is… more complicated than varian’s. she doesn’t seem particularly motivated to help strangers but she’ll move mountains to help people she cares about; she doesn’t care much about rules or laws except insofar as she doesn’t want to get caught breaking them, and she has this hierarchical mindset that some people matter--meaning, they get to make decisions for themselves and have people care about what they need and want--and some don’t, and that she herself is stuck in the latter category despite her best efforts to climb out of it.

which brings us to the subject of the moonstone, and cassandra’s villain arc, and why cass, unlike varian, doesn’t consider herself a bad person.

i think what it comes down to most is this: taking the moonstone is an act of defiance against not only rapunzel but also fate itself. waiting in the wings sets up cassandra’s resigned acceptance of this hierarchical order and her own cosmic insignificance, and then in crossing the line she REJECTS that same order. she’s raging against rapunzel but also against the cultural and legal and destined systems that put rapunzel on top and forced cass into subservience. she is very literally fighting for her freedom against the universe itself.

and when cass was not an altruistic or heavily morally motivated or even particularly law-abiding person before, and when her conscience has always been predominantly oriented around taking care of her friends first and herself second, and when the thing that drove her to this breaking point was her friends spitting that back in her face… well.

it’s easy to say “cass literally tried to murder rapunzel a bunch of times, how can she possibly believe she’s the good guy?”--but rapunzel maimed cass, blamed her for it, and consistently prioritized her destiny over cassandra’s wellbeing; and rapunzel represents the cosmic order that cass is fighting to liberate herself from. and while i know that the -popular- take on be very afraid is “cass is terrified of hurting rapunzel,” i submit it’s actually “cass is terrified of having to fight rapunzel, because she still believes that fate is literally tilted in rapunzel’s favor and she can’t win a direct fight with rapunzel.” that’s why she’s so scared; that’s why rapunzel seemingly deleting the red rocks hardens her resolve; that’s why she marches into corona with maximum drama and bluster and builds a fortress and tries so hard to mess with rapunzel’s head before the battle begins. she’s trying to even the odds. and that’s why, when rapunzel stomps her into the curb, cassandra’s immediate response is “i need an army.”

cassandra isn’t scared for rapunzel. she is scared OF rapunzel.

we do also see cass trying not to harm people she considers to be innocent bystanders; she uses the truth serum on varian bc she needs the incantation, but afterwards she doesn’t even bother to restrain him until after he starts pestering her, she says flat out that she doesn’t want him to get hurt when she fights rapunzel; similarly she is willing to hurt calliope to force rapunzel to comply, but--despite her deep personal dislike of calliope--uses a minimum amount of force and again verbally expresses that she doesn’t particularly want to hurt her, that it’s a means to an end and nothing more. attacking rapunzel? that’s fine, rapunzel is her enemy. attacking eugene? of course, he’s rapunzel’s closest ally. mind controlling the brotherhood? that kills two birds with one stone--eliminating powerful enemies with a vested interest in taking the moonstone away from her and turning them into allies who can level the playing field between her and rapunzel. and when she does finally snap and raze corona to the ground? the people of corona attacked her first. i think cass ABSOLUTELY sees herself as fighting a purely defensive war against people who have or will hurt her.

and this is, of course, ultimately why varian failed to get through to her during ‘nothing left to lose’--he appealed to her sense of morality and her sense of morality shrugged. 

as for the thing that snaps her out of it? the moment that forces her to question whether she’s really as right as she thinks she is? it’s learning who her new friend really is. it’s the shock of finding out that she’s been allied with, confiding in, taking advice from a legendary villain, from a monster she likely grew up hearing stories about. cass takes it as a given that zhan tiri is evil--and if she’s friends with zhan tiri, what does that make her? and even then, cass is resistant to the idea that she might be a villain--“No, no, I’m nothing like you. Just because I’m pursuing my destiny doesn’t make me a bad person!”--which is, ultimately, very telling of her whole mindset. she’s not a bad guy, she’s fighting for her freedom. she’s not a bad guy, she’s protecting herself against people who want to exploit her. she’s not a bad guy, she’s just putting herself first for once.

and OAH generally, i’d argue, is not actually about cassandra trying to reconcile with rapunzel or redeem herself or be a better person, it’s… literally cass trying frantically to prove she’s NOT the bad guy. it’s “oh yeah? you think i’m a bad person? well could a bad guy do THIS? *lies and impersonates a former coworker and gets up on a stage to justify her own actions in front of a crowd*” it’s “a bad guy wouldn’t apologize, rapunzel never apologized for anything, and to prove i’m a better person I’M going to apologize! see? SEE!?”--and then everyone in corona attacks her and she goes “FINE, i’m the bad guy, fuck you all” and wrecks the place.

only then--only in plus est en vous--does cassandra get into a mindset similar to varian’s, of “i am the bad guy but if i can pull this off it will be worth it.” she’s not sorry. she still sees rapunzel as an enemy trying to get her under control again, and the only thing that’s really changed is cassandra acknowledging that she has in fact done bad things too.

and… i would argue that by the end of plus est cassandra… feels some guilt but isn’t sorry. “i’ve failed” and “i’ve done terrible things” and “i tried to prove i was more than everyone thought but they were right”--her anguish is not like varian’s anguish in RR, where he was consumed with despair because no one could possibly forgive him for the things he did. cassandra is upset because she did awful things and failed and she perceives that failure as proof of her own worthlessness. she’s right back to feeling how she felt in waiting in the wings but with a hefty new helping of self-disgust and shame for having been stupid enough to believe she could change anything for herself. 

she’s not sorry. she’s not pleading for forgiveness. she just wants rapunzel to give up and leave her alone--& then, after rapunzel convinces her that she’s wrong, and she does have worth as a person, and she does have a destiny of her own, cass does what’s necessary to clean up the crisis she created and then… just bounces. she gets the freedom she wanted and leaves without a backward glance.

(which. good for her.)

tl;dr: varian’s villain arc explores his moral scruples and what it takes for him to be willing to ignore them, whereas cassandra’s villain arc explores her incendiary reaction to a lifetime of injustices; she isn’t amoral but her sense of right and wrong is, unlike varian’s, very contextual and personal. varian is a pragmatic idealist who wants to be lawful good but is capable of setting his own morals aside in pursuit of a goal he considers to be important enough, and cassandra is one radicalizing incident away from realizing that her grievances are not a unique personal failing but a systemic problem and then leading a class uprising.

[robinchan-hananomi]

Ok, so some quick thoughts on One Piece 1038. First, I’m glad to know that not everyone escaped Whole Cake Island unscathed. I’m not surprised Judge and Ichiji would leave Niji and Yonji behind and honestly I don’t feel bad for them at all, but it is good to know that everyone didn’t slip out without a problem. We’ll probably have more to deal with that down the line, but not at the moment.

What do we have to deal with at the moment? Well Luffy’s fighting Kaido and Sanji’s still out, Usopp is still pulling the samurai to safety, Nami is still with Tama, and Brook and Robin are probably still together. Now we got Franky trying to find Zoro and Jinbei trying to hold up a ceiling to protect as many people as possible.

Chopper is normal sized again and he gives us a reminder that because Zoro took that drug, his body is going to be dealt back nearly twice the damage he would have had before. Then we see Zoro, who is currently so hurt he’s paralyzed. Even more concerning is the grim reaper like being standing over him, bringing a scythe down on him. Think Zoro cheated death one too many times that Death himself is like ‘yeah, no more?’ I know it’s unlikely Oda is going to kill Zoro, but it’s still nerve wracking.

Zoro’s current and future condition along with the strain on Chopper’s body and the changes that Sanji are going through is actually a bit of a relief to me. They are taking on two Yonko at once. If we hadn’t taken on so much damage I would almost feel like we were being jipped in this fight.

No idea where Marco is right now, but we also see Yamato trying their best to keep the flame monster from blowing up the whole island. And then we got Izo. Izo sustained some heavy damage helping Usopp and the others escape, only to wonder into CP0. CP0 decide to ignore Izo for the moment, as they are more interested in capturing Robin. Why CP0 wants Robin is a whole other mess, but Izo is a man of code. He is there to avenge his fallen master, protect his little sister, and stand by his friends. That means he is in an alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates. In addition he is still keeping Whitebeard’s finale order in mind, protect Luffy and survive. Not only that but Luffy is Ace’s little brother and someone whose crew is currently protecting Izo’s little sister. How can he do anything else but stand up for them? So despite his injuries he tells CP0 that they aren’t taking one step further, and you know that as long as Izo can still stand, he’s not letting CP0 walk past him. The scene gave me goose bumps and it kinda reminded me of a few other scenes. How many times has Luffy and the others been able to keep traveling because someone who they accidentally allied themselves to or befriended heard an enemy say they were going after the Strawhat Pirates and that ally said ‘over my dead body you are.’ Mihawk was 1000% in his assessment that Luffy’s greatest strength, greatest power, is his ability to draw people to him.

But the highlight of the chapter was Big Mom’s fight against Law and Kidd. Just like the strawhats and the samurai, all the pirates are putting everything they have into this fight. Seeing Law and Kidd working together, even if it’s more like a tag team than anything is awesome. And the two of them are just as committed as the rest of them there, vowing even if they have to give their lives to do it, Big Mom will not reach the roof.

Between 1037 and 1038 we got a lot of new things to think about. And we know our allies are mounting up, even if the others don’t know they are there. Zou is getting closer, and with it the entire mink tribe. There’s a lot being built into this battle, and no matter what happens or ends we know it’s going to throw an every increasing chaotic world into more turmoil.

There’s a few different things going on here, battles that each part of the alliance is trying to handle. The first is getting the island to land safely without destroying the Flower Capital and everyone on the island. That is what Momo and Yamato are focused on. Then we are trying to defeat Kaido and Big Mom. So far, thanks to the Strawhats, almost all of Kaido’s officers are down. Luffy is facing down against Kaido and Kidd and Law are trying to take down Big Mom. THen we have CP0 slinking around trying to get Robin. Brook is currently keeping Robin from their hands, but Izo is now holding them off. And of course the Beast Pirates have to be completely dismantled to free Wano.

So even though things are starting to wrap up, we are still facing a lot more trials. And when this fight is over, we are going to have a lot of troubles. Sanji, Zoro, and possibly Chopper at the very least are not going to be in ANY shape to be fighting or even moving any time soon. We have CP0 and the World Government waiting to continue the fight as well, so hopefully Zou can take care of that little problem. Still doesn't change that we now have a giant elephant in Wano, one with problems of it’s own that is probably next on the list to resolve. And Wano and it’s problems aside, we also have no leads on the fourth and finale poneglyph. Fans may have a few ideas where it is, but the actual characters do not. So not only is the rest of Wano going to be intense, but there is so much going on in the aftermath too.

[tirsynni]

Okay, a little more Leon flailing and then I’ll stop. Honest.

...probably.

So we’re introduced to this guy as a rookie police officer, straight from the Police Academy. In the remake, it’s clear he’s terrified and has to keep giving himself pep talks and cracking bad jokes to keep his confidence up. It’s revealed that he was so scared of becoming infected that he thought of shooting himself to just end it. Yet he still does everything he can to protect Claire and Sherry, two absolute strangers, and is compassionate to every person he meets during that horrifying night.

What happens after that? He tells Claire to leave him and this small child in order to find her big brother. When the government finds them, he basically sacrifices himself to the government in order to protect Sherry. The first thing he does after that? Uses his new resources to find Claire, find Chris, and tell Chris that Claire is in danger and where to find her. Baby...

We see the stress build on him over the years. He loses friends. He loses allies. He is forced to shoot people he cares about. He’s betrayed, scarred, faces monsters again and again. It is strongly implied in Damnation that he has considered suicide, and in Damnation and Vendetta, we see him finding solace in a bottle.

Yet he remains, in my opinion, one of the toughest and most compassionate characters in the series. He never stops trying to protect the innocent. Hell, he protects the not-so-innocent, including people who were just trying to kill him. When Claire feels guilty in Degeneration, he encourages her. When Buddy tries to commit suicide in Damnation, Leon stops him and tells him to keep fighting. When he encounters Chris in RE6, he tells him simply that he knows he’ll do the right thing and never stops trusting him. He is always quick to support and protect others, even if that person had betrayed him (Helena, Ada, etc.) or was just an enemy (ie, JD and Buddy in Damnation). 

He also keeps going. “...the option of taking our own lives no longer belongs to us... We have to keep living!” From Damnation and I feel like that speech, even if it is directed to another character, personifies him. Leon keeps going, keeps moving forward, keeps saving people, keeps making quips and jokes, keeps bolstering himself and others, and just refuses to falter, give up, or lose hope. We may see him stop to lick his wounds like in Vendetta, but when he’s needed, he literally throws himself into battle. Hell, even in RE4 when his worst fear becomes reality -- becoming infected -- he doesn’t stop moving, swearing to protect and save Ashley.

I love him for being a sassy character, but I love him most for being a broken character who never lets those cracked edges stop him and keeps going to protect others. This guy became a police officer literally to Protect and Serve, and even as a badass government agent, he has never stopped.

[aminiatureworld]

Etched Words

Characters: Xiao x gn!reader

Word Count: 2,920

Warnings: None

Premise: He'd long given up the idea. No one should be stuck with him, and fate would never be so kind to do so, no so cruel to punish someone in such a way. And yet you'd appeared, and now he didn't know what to do.

In which the reader’s familiarity is written on Xiao’s sleeve.

Author’s Note: Originally wasn’t going to write this tonight since I was afraid of how long this was going to be but oops. I love soulmate AUs, they’re probably the fic that I make up in my head the most, there’s just so much potential for it.

Xiao I’m sorry I’ve neglected a oneshot for you for so long, hope you forgive me and hope everyone who reads this enjoys!

Xiao would never admit the real reason that he was determined to wear a sleeve around one of his arms. Part of it was tradition, he’d worn it since Rex Lapis had first commanded him to fight, and even if those days of war were long forgotten to most the memories still burned bright to him. He couldn’t bring himself to completely lose that legacy, even in terms of what he wore. To those who knew him that was assumed to be the only reason; but every once in a while, when he was perhaps feeling weak enough, Xiao would lift up his sleeve to read the words snaking across his forearm.

What a lovely little bird, don’t you think? Those words haunted him, tearing apart his thoughts for certain lengths of time, filling his head with a sense of resentment and melancholy.

The last thing Xiao wanted was a soulmate. Soulmates were something destined for humans, those who could live life ducking most of its horrors, those who could feel passionately and indulge in the feeling of love without sorrow or guilt. Most important of all humans would never have to experience the feeling of losing one’s soulmate forever, and living on for millennia afterword with only memory and regret to keep them company. It was a curse to give an immortal being a soulmate, especially one such as Xiao, who battled every day with the chains of his past, with the acts he’d committed and the darkness he’d almost fallen into. No one, mortal or immortal, deserved a soulmate such as he, and Xiao for his part thought he didn’t deserve such a curse. Let him deal with his affairs alone, he didn’t want a punishment like this.

Besides, Xiao had long ago come to the conclusion that he was never to meet his soulmate. So long had it been since those words had been etched onto his skin that he was sure they must’ve been the mutterings of someone who’d long passed him by, or someone who’d never managed to say those words at all. After all, being destined to fall in love with someone wasn’t a guarantee that one would live that long, and fate could be so easily twisted and bent. Yes, his soulmate must be long dead. Perhaps they’d been a worshipper of long ago, or perhaps they’d been nothing at all. Perhaps they’d died in one of the wars in which the yaksha had participated in and perhaps they’d lived to a ripe old age, never once uttering that phrase which haunted him. Either way they were dead and gone, and Xiao didn’t want the reminder of that. He certainly didn’t want others to know, to look down upon him with pity.

So he kept it hidden, and though the words sometimes haunted him at least he had the certainty that they would never be spoken in his presence. Even if a small part of him doubted, and hoped for a miracle.

------

There was a new guest and the Wangshu Inn, and one that was most likely going to be staying for a while. Or so Xiao heard that morning as Verr Goldet checked on the breakfast and made the rounds. He liked Goldet, respected her for her ethic and her wry sense of humor, even if he loathed it being turned upon himself. She was intensely practical in nature, and always had a sense of what was important and what was ultimately not. So the mention of a new and mysterious guest stuck with him the whole day, and though he spent most of his time away from the Inn, he couldn’t help but turn Goldet’s words over in his mind, wondering if they would truly turn out as important as she made them seem.

It had been a busy day for Xiao, as Liyue was still reeling from its attempted destruction and negotiations between the adepti and the Qixing were long and arduous. The meal afterwards was even more so and if it weren’t for the traveler Xiao most likely wouldn’t’ve attended in the first place. By the time he made his way back to his usual spot on the balcony of the Inn he was tired and irritable, so much so that he only noticed he wasn’t invisible when you spoke after him, and after that he was too far gone to really register that fact.

“What a lovely little bird, don’t you think?” You were leaning on the railing, staring up at a nightingale, who was chirping away. “They’re so cute aren’t they, and they have such a classical sort of call. It’s really so peaceful.” You sighed for a moment, a sigh of contentment, and once more focused your gaze back to Xiao, smiling a slightly embarrassed smile. “I’m sorry the familiarity, I don’t believe I’ve met you yet.”

It was more of a question than a statement, but at that point Xiao could barely process what you’d just said, and the question itself was lost in the swirl of emotions he felt. Disbelief and shock were the primary emotions, for who could imagine you were real and not a figment of his imagination, but there were other emotions too; longing, frustration, fear, guilt. They all mingled together, reminding him of why he’d both longed for a moment like this and wished for it never to come. And now it was here, here and all too much. Letting out a gasp of breath that meant nothing at all Xiao vanished into the night, cheeks burning with shame as a part of him cried out that he’d just made the greatest mistake of his life.

At first Xiao had planned to avoid the Inn completely, to wait until he knew you were gone and then try to get back the semblance of normalcy that had been completely destroyed. He quickly realized however that it would be impossible to do so. The Inn had become a sort of refuge for Xiao, a familiar place where he could listen to the soft sounds of humanity in the evening and of the wilderness at night, where he didn’t have to worry about sudden changes in weather or running into treasure hoarders or monsters. Besides he’d underestimated the power of meeting one’s soulmate. And by the next morning Xiao was sure that he was going to finally drive himself to insanity if he didn’t go back and see you.

Not that you were there when he returned, for the sun was up and you’d already packed your things, going off to do whatever you did in the daytime. The hours stretched on and on for Xiao, but he attempted to busy himself by walking along the familiar valleys of Jueyun Karst, the familiar atmosphere grounding him as best it could while his mind spun this way and that.

You were real. You were alive and you had spoken to him and you were real. If the feeling of wanting to know you had suddenly appeared then so too had the feeling of overwhelming loneliness, a sudden realization of how dreary, how heavy all the years of his life had been. Xiao had acquaintances, allies, even friends, but those bonds had faded long ago, made weak by death or war or even the long peace that existed now. Even if he was grateful for the peace, he knew that it had made him lonely; all the adepti stayed within their domains and Rex Lapis had disappeared into the city, a place Xiao could never imagine dwelling in. There were humans of course, pilgrims, thieves, the curious mixing with the pious, mixing with the lost. But they were separate from him, and he had long ago developed a total disinterest in regards to most of their requests. He protected Liyue, not the interests of its citizens. And even if he had wished to mingle with them he knew that it would most likely bring them only despair, as curses clung to him and no matter how much he tried he’d never be able to exorcise them.

And yet you were human. Only now the thought truly cemented itself in Xiao’s mind. You were human, of course you were human. Fate would never be so kind as to simply drop you at his doorsteps, smiling and willing to talk and immortal on top of it; no you’d been born mortal, and in that fact Xiao saw only ruin. He might very well destroy you, for though he’d not truly spent enough time with mortals to see the long term effects of his karma might be, he could hardly imagine it to be pleasant. Even if he didn’t kill you time would. And then where would he be? If he already felt somewhat attached to you now, how would he feel then, after you’d truly gotten to know one another? The idea terrified Xiao so completely that for a moment he felt as if he was drowning. You were human. Why were you human.

Despite this Xiao couldn’t help but feel some sense of relief, even happiness, when you appeared on the balcony again that evening. You leaned against the railing for a bit, but eventually grew tired and went inside. Xiao’s disappointment however was negated when you came back, a chair in one hand a book in the other. Sitting down you opened the book on your lap, but instead of reading it you stared out into the night. And, eventually, you began to speak.

“The innkeeper tells me that what happened yesterday was normal. I’m so sorry I scared you in that way, or perhaps that I approached you so casually. I hadn’t realized you were an adeptus you see, although perhaps that was a stupid mistake on my part, as you hardly seem like a normal person. I’m sorry either way. She also told me that you were often up here in the evenings, so hopefully I’m not talking to myself.” You let out an embarrassed sort of laugh, Xiao loved nothing so much as your laugh in that moment, before continuing. “I don’t know if I’m talking to myself right now, but I do have something for you. I found it on my way here, and though it’s probably common enough here I thought it was pretty. I hope you like it.”

The next day nothing had moved from where you’d left it, and to your disappointment the Qingxin had gotten utterly soaked in the morning rain.

Xiao knew he should say something, knew that it was incredibly rude to leave your gift untouched. But he couldn’t help it, couldn’t break down the walls that he’d built up for so long. Not that he could completely stay away either. It’d become a routine of some sorts, to come back to the Inn each night and listen to you speak. You were always there, even when the heat became near unbearable or when you came back so late that it was closer to sunrise than sunset. Even then you still spared at least ten minutes to talk into the dark. Xiao wasn’t sure why you were doing so, although he somewhat suspected Goldet in the matter, nor could he tell why you were waiting for him, being hardly versed in the idea of soulmates and unsure whether you’d realized it or not. Regardless of how or why, the tradition still continued, Xiao silent, you filling said silence with words or laughter or sighs. And at least once a week there was a gift. Though Xiao never touched it and eventually Goldet would come and collect it or it would scatter in the wind.

“I have an idea!” Your voice was filled with excitement today and, as if to match it, you’d abandoned the chair, instead bouncing up and down slightly on your toes as you stared out into the sky. “I’m going to do something for you tomorrow, okay. So be sure not to come back until after sunset, or it won’t be a surprise.”

At first Xiao had been completely set on ruining your surprise, after all he disliked being thrown off guard, and you were hardly close enough an acquaintance for him to consider making an exception. The knowledge that the latter half of his reasoning was completely his fault however managed to keep him away, though he stubbornly refused to come back until a half an hour after sunset.

The balcony was the same as ever, and at first Xiao wondered if you’d hadn’t given up on whatever you’d been scheming. However he quickly became aware of what the surprise was when you came into view, a slightly bashful smile on your face and a plate of Almond Tofu in your lap instead of the usual book or weapon when it needed cleaning.

For once Xiao didn’t think about how Goldet had definitely tipped you off, or how he shouldn’t talk to you, or how you were so oddly persistent. He felt his invisibility fall off of him, as if he’d shed a coat or a second skin. Footsteps causing the wood to creak slightly he watched as you jumped for a moment, having obviously been daydreaming, before smiling widely.

“I’ve heard you like Almond Tofu!” You smiled, reaching the plate out towards the yaksha. Silently taking it Xiao stepped back a bit. You did nothing in response to the gesture, merely sitting there, hands folded in your lap and face full of anticipation.

The dish tasted wonderful, perfectly sweet and melty it seemed somewhat distinct, although why Xiao couldn’t really tell. Eating piece after piece he savored the flavor, for it’d really been quite a long time since he’d been offered Almond Tofu, and whether it was your cooking style or the fact you were the chef he couldn’t help but feel as this batch had come out better than the rest. Xiao couldn’t help himself. Looking up at you he let out a soft smile.

“I’m glad you like it!” You exclaimed, face bright with triumph. Standing up you walked slowly over towards Xiao, hand once more reaching out to take the plate. Instead of letting you take it however Xiao walked into the Inn and placed it on the nearest table. Coming out onto the balcony once more he crossed his arms.

“If you stay close to me you’ll die.”

This, instead of having any sort of negative effect on you, instead caused your eyes to widen, and your smile with it. Bouncing up and down once more you giggled slightly.

“So it really is you.” And, before Xiao could say anything, you turned around, hiking up the sleeve on one of your shoulders. Xiao didn’t need to lean in to make out the spidery lettering that trailed down towards your forearm. He wasn’t surprised in what he saw. If you stay close to me you’ll die.

Honestly, what does one do in a situation like this? Xiao couldn’t tell, having so long abandoned hope of something like this happening. Yet even while his mind reeled once more from the confirmation his legs didn’t. Stepping softly towards you, slightly weary, he reached out and traced the letters on the back of your shoulder, as if trying to convince himself it was real.

“May I see yours?” You said, turning around suddenly. Although your question was direct your tone had somewhat softened, and a slight blush dusted you cheeks. Nodding Xiao lifted up his sleeve, and your fingers ghosted over your words in turn. “I never knew what to think of those words, once I become aware of them,” you smiled softly, “but I’m so glad now I’ve found out.”

“They’re true.” Xiao spoke firmly, fear at the forefront of his thoughts. “You don’t know my past, my burden. Fate hasn’t been kind to you, and I might very well kill you.”

“I’ve read about your supposed curses.” You replied, leaning towards him slightly despite his words. “But you said ‘might very well’ not definitely. And besides,” you shrugged, “I want to trust in fate.”

“Why?” Xiao let out a bitter laugh. “Fate is hardly kind.”

“I don’t know, it brought me to my soulmate after all. If fate were so cruel, surely it would never do such a thing.”

“You’re acting reckless.” The words might’ve been a rebuke but Xiao couldn’t find it in him to be harsh. How much he’d underestimated what it’d be like to meet one’s soulmate. Well, he’d never do so again.

“Perhaps, but I’d like to stay and get to know you better regardless.” You stared at him, eyes both somehow piercing and soft. They were beautiful, your eyes, Xiao could drown in them and hardly notice.

“Very well.” Perhaps not the kindness of concessions, but nevertheless you smiled. Pausing for a moment you reached up and wrapped your arms around him. After a moment Xiao returned the gesture, too caught up in your gentle grasp to want to resist.

Was fate kind? Xiao couldn’t tell. He’d been so sure he’d never find a partner, never some he could call his home, his anchor. And yet it had come to pass, and though Xiao was afraid, so desperately afraid, he also was hopeful. How could he not be? The last thing Xiao had wanted was a soulmate, but now that he’d met you, he never wanted to be without you again.

Both your phrases faded over time. But your love never did.

[ulircursed]

It does not escape Andrei's notice that his allies seem to falter slightly after every attack not done in mere retaliation, the follow-through on their physical weaponry less steady, their gazes connecting with the villagers' a second too long. Whether it is because they are actively attacking the very people who had offered them peace, or some other discomfort about the situation, he does not know.

All he knows is that he does not share in that unease.

There is a fascinated disgust that comes with the observation, peering inwards to the rotted, festering core of his own being irrevocably blighted by the crime he had committed against his own blood.

(Crimes, now.)

It makes sense, in a way. Why would a monster capable of turning his hand on family, over and over, be affected by the murder of innocents?

(So it had been with Chalphy's army, so too is it here.)

andrei attacks villager b with brave bow (23): 3 damage villager b hp: 0/10 villager b is defeated! final attack is nat15. obligate heir is activated!

The magic-wielding enemy falls to his arrow before they can make an attack, and perhaps there should be some relief in their death, in the fact that dark magic will no longer ravage the battlefield. But Andrei feels only numbness, as though even the still-bleeding wound in his side had ceased to exist. There is still an enemy here. This is not over.

If escaping his nature is impossible, the thought pierces him through the haze, then perhaps all there is left for him is to embrace that monstrosity. He raises his bow against the final villager, a younger-looking man unlike the others.

He is weaponless, here only to encourage his now-fallen allies from the sidelines. Alone and defenseless, there are so many different ways they could disarm him, neutralize him as the nonexistent threat he already was.

Andrei raises his bow anyway.

galeforce activates! andrei attacks villager f with brave bow (12, 12): 6 damage villager f hp: 6/12

The villager does not move in the face of the onslaught — run, Andrei nearly wants to say. Retreat, as those Newcomers had in the face of their loved ones. The battlefield is not for blind courage or defiance. There are no heroes here.

...Fine then. Die, if you must.

defiant speed! andrei follows up (25, 21): 6 damage villager f hp: 0/12 villager f is defeated!

The final villager falls without a single word.

Andrei nearly wants to laugh again at this, or perhaps cry. He does neither, of course. He'd spent his tears on Lady Sister Brigid, an act done not so much in mourning — for how does one grieve something destroyed by his own hands? — as it was in despair, over the point of no return, over a choice he'd made once more, an echo of the arrow that pierced Ring's heart so long ago. A choice that he'd wanted to be saved from.

(A choice that she'd saved him from, before. Would that she could've turned the poison onto him as well, this time.)

Perhaps it is fitting, that the monster never truly dies.

the battle has ended!

the brightest shade of sun

team theta week 2 combat