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hestzhyen · 10 days ago

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Chapter 56 Karasu Posting

Hooooooly moly dear void. I will de-feral this as much as possible before posting, but full disclosure: I am not hiding my Hakuri bias at all this time. Thank you once again for tolerating my bullshit.

Now that I have access to the JP version, I can try to TL the editor's notes that are left out of the EN version! They're not super important or anything, but it's still an unnecessary corner to cut IMO. Other languages like Spanish keep them in...

(Please consider this and all other TLs practice for myself and not an actual competent interpretation, kind void.)

First page: 代償と覚悟- [taishou to kakugo-, "Cost and resolve..."]; I think a better, less literal translation would be along the lines of "The cost of one's resolve...", but again, not in any way competent at this. Last page: 妖刀振るう者の実力戦況が動く-!! [youtou furuu mono no jitsuryoku senkyou ga ugoku-!!, "The tide of battle shifts as the Bearer shows his true abilities through his enchanted blade...!!"]; 戦況 (senkyou) literally means "progress of a battle" or "war situation" but I think it's equivalent enough to the phrase "tide of battle" to translate it as such. It sounds a lot less stiff that way anyway... and yeah, 妖刀 (youtou, bewitched/magical/demon sword) is what the enchanted blades are called in Japanese, just like 振るう者 (furuu mono, wielder) are the Bearers. This one's honestly a toughie for me since it's hard to keep all the connotations without the sentence getting clunky or too far off from the original. Welp, that's why I'm just a total amateur still!

Also, putting this here in case it's left untranslated in the EN version: In regards to Samura's command when he draws Tobimune, karasu (鴉) means "crow" or "raven"- hence all the feathers. What an awesome reuse of the theme from Roku no Meiyaku!

Someone save this one-shot from MTL hell pretty please

Crows can represent good omens in Japan- they're associated with gratitude, guidance, and good luck in addition to the usual things like cleverness and trickery. Pretty fitting for Samura, I'd say! Especially with the backstory we got about him and the Makizumi this chapter.

On Respect for Life

I love Hokazono-sensei's chibi style. Look at Samura scolding his guards like Shiba scolded Hakuri and Chihiro!

This manga seriously never misses on the found family wholesomeness. I know we're getting this backstory to make the potential upcoming deaths hurt so much more- the only question I'm asking right now is how many of them will live through whatever the Hishaku's trump card is. I just love seeing characters care deeply for each other beyond the sake of duty, y'know? No mater how they meet, they connect and come to value each other's lives as much as or more than their own. That's peak shounen!

Samura's so passionate about saving the lives that others are willing to give up for his sake that he can't bear to leave them behind even when it's for the best. It takes Uruha's intervention to get him the hell out of there but he immediately wants to charge back in. He wants to save no matter how much it conflicts with his personal beliefs or how much it will cost him personally- no matter how much it will cost the whole nation if he dies (sounds like someone else we know).

What about Uruha, though? He's not quite like his (former) master- he's been tempered differently and I can't wait to find out why. He seems to be very accepting of letting other people die for his sake again.

Uruha has the same abundant respect for life and the desire to protect that Samura does but it manifests completely differently. He still recklessly jumps in to save the day, but he's far more prudent about strategy despite being younger. To Uruha, valuing the lives of the guards means acknowledging the importance they place on his own. He respects their devotion by staying alive to ensure their sacrifices aren't in vain. It's about honoring the choice they made, even if it hurts him to do so. (And possibly another thing, but that'll be near the end since it's kind of a reach on my part.)

Master and disciple of the same style with completely different outlooks on how to emphasize the importance of life. Which one will be given credence by the story here, though? Depends on a technically unrelated third party.

Hakuri, the Makizumi, and Samura

Hmmmmmmmmm who does this sound like.

If there were any doubts about what this part of the arc is for, let them be forever cast aside: this is for Hakuri's growth. The Makizumi, Uruha, and even Samura are here to focus on key aspects of Hakuri's character, namely his two biggest flaws: "freakishly devoted" and "not valuing himself enough or in the right way".

The obsessive devotion of the Sazanami clan was cast in a negative light- seeing themselves as tools, tradition over humanity, Soya's entire character. Now we have the Makizumi, a clan who also see themselves as tools to live for a master's sake. They're being shown in a positive way though: they're lovingly devoted to Samura's well-being, and the sacrifice they plan to make is noble instead of terribly pointless. But it's not because of their mindset- that's way too close to the Sazanami's for comfort. It's because they were humanized by being with Samura.

He rejected their protection and utility despite the air-tight logic of their argument. He absolutely refuses to let them die for his sake even though they essentially exist to do so. He's not a guy who trivializes life even if he's given full license to do so because it goes against his sincerely held beliefs. Instead, Samura sees them as people to care for and protect in return- that's how he values life (who else does that sound like?).

Now look at Hakuri.

Like the Makizumi, he lives to be useful. Working with Chihiro means making the world a better place so there will never be another Ice Lady. His life has no value other than how useful he is and what Chihiro sets it to (hence all the allusions to Hakuri being Chihiro's dog in the Japanese version).

Like Samura, he absolutely will not let others die for his sake. Even disregarding his own inherent value as a person, it doesn't matter to him that he's a key part of the plan for national stability. Whatever happens to him is of no consequence if it means others are safe. He will not let another life slip through his hands again.

So yes, this part of the arc at Senkutsuji is (almost) all for Hakuri. Uruha was an obvious parallel to him from the start, and now Samura's a mirror of his ardent savior complex while the Makizumi reflect the mindset that fuels it.

Sazanami Hakuri: #1 enabler of recklessly suicidal behavior.

What happens next depends on where Hakuri's character growth is intended to go. If he's supposed to be more like Samura, his actions will save the day and everything will be fine even if he himself is out of commission for a while. But if he's supposed to be more like Uruha, then this victory will be fleeting. I think the latter is the more compelling development, personally. There's nothing new or exciting about a character exceeding their limits to achieve an upset victory here. Hakuri's done it three times now, in fact. But I'll have more to say on this later. For now...

Shameless Hakuri Praising

I am absolutely insane over the colour page. It's the first one for a solo character that isn't Chihiro and it's just to show off Hakuri looking absolutely incredible!

Normally don't post the full thing but LOOK AT HIM. HE'S SO COOL!

//NOTE: May as well mark it in the off-chance it isn't removed: the kanji in the blue box is just the title of the series (神楽鉢, Kagurabachi).

I should have been more confident and not let someone talk me out of the "I'm the only one" connection to Kyora's willpower last week. I won't go back to edit it- that mistake will stay forever. But holy shit. I am in love with this colour page and all it represents. I've been waiting for ages for us to get reminders that Hakuri is still a Sazanami! He only destroyed his family about 24 hours ago, so their ideals are still very much present in him and core to who he is.

It's even down to the suit he's wearing! It's the same as his younger appearance in the Ch. 20 flashback panel, just with Kyoura's ugly tie from the Ch. 31 colour page:

Apologies yet again for my shitty MSPaint skills.

This is everything I wanted! Repudiating his family's ideals, taking them down, and leaving them behind to make the world a better place didn't undo everything that he was trained to do for his deeply-held beliefs. Hakuri still carries the legacy of his family with him in how he devotes his entire being to a cause. He's still his father's son.

There's his name, too! 伯理 [Hakuri] means "logical chief". It implies that the person is due respect as the family's role model, among other interesting things. So dressing him up in a suit and giving him his dad's tie makes me go just a skosh feral. He's the true Sazanami ideal that Kyoura could never be- living up to his name despite everything that happened between him and his family. Call it reaching if you want! I won't deny that it's a tenuous implication at best. But I love this kind of shit so I'm going to hold it close and gnaw on it in delulu land.

One last possible interpretation (and my personal favourite)- if the JP text is removed as usual from the EN version, the caption on it is: 胸に秘めたその信念- [mune ni hi meta sono shinen-; "The conviction(s) hidden in his heart..."] (curse Japanese for being vague about singular vs. plural so often) .

Hm. What could such an exuberant character like Hakuri be hiding? This guy is completely open about what he's thinking and feeling at all times- there's no mystery about what's going on with him.

Unless, of course, it has to do with his whole raison d'être.

Ice Lady is a complete unknown to Chihiro, Shiba, and everyone else. He only mentioned her as "someone who set [him] on the right path" in a flash back panel in chapter 34. He keeps what he did to her close to his heart, hidden away from the world. I hope this part of his backstory comes into play this arc or in the future. Her suicide completely changed his mentality but it got mixed into his slavish devotion mindset. He just shifted the focus of that resolve from the Rakuzaichi to saving lives.

But there's something else too. Something much more fundamental affects how Hakuri sees the world and himself that he doesn't talk about, much less acknowledge.

Most people would not frame this kind of physical harm as "love" in any way, shape, or form.

I made a separate post to go way too-depth about this facet of his character but here's the gist: Hakuri's deeply held belief in his own lack of worth is a key factor in his suicidal recklessness when it comes to acting on his other convictions.

He's used to thinking of himself as completely disposable just from the indoctrination he received as a Sazanami, but shovel a heaping helping of abusive, manipulative "love" on top of that? Hoo boy. Hakuri's got some harmful beliefs about his self-worth that he's not ready to face yet, much yet talk about. There's a reason why he's still got those Visual Metaphor Tools still hidden in his warehouse.

Hakuri's true reasons for acting the way he does are hidden alongside the beliefs about himself that he's yet to address, the combination of which are sending him into a self-destructive spiral. Deprogramming arc when?! I've always got my clown suit ready but come on...! Mentioning it so prominently means it's important, right? I'll get to see him talk about his past and trauma with Chihiro (or someone else he comes to trust) to start healing for real, right? RIGHT?!

Nice delusional rant, bro. But what about the chapter itself? Well, there's this deliberate artistic choice:

Chs. 42 & 56

Like father, like son.

Note the cracked mask and double lines that give a sort of distorted pulsing impression for them both. It's a cool as hell way to show them working against enormous mental strain, and they're the only characters to have this effect in the series so far. We're truly meant to see Kyora in Hakuri this chapter.

Of course he passes out right after. But never, ever doubt a Sazanami's capability to defend to the death.

[incoherent screeching]

God I love Hakuri so much. He responds to Samura's will resonating with his own and gives him exactly what he needs to save everyone like he's the Lady of the Lake: Kagurabachi edition.

Hakuri's resolve is the stuff of legends, no doubt about that. Chihiro was right to feel like he couldn't measure up to this guy's sheer tenacity; he's got a will of adamant, just like Kyora.

It's also leading him down the same path of self-destruction. So this moment is clutch as hell and I am cheering for him, yes... but I'm also wondering how the narrative will punish him.

Again, he's not dying despite that being noted as a possible outcome. So the question becomes: how dire was Healer Lady's "you'll lose your sorcery" warning in truth? I'm still 50/50 on him losing access at all, much less permanently. Might lean closer to losing access now than before, but it's not changed much.

Instead, I'm waiting to see how much I should keep glazing the writing.

Death Tangent (Hakuri Edition)

I lost a lot of faith in shounen series in general after I realized that "stop, you'll die!" is just a flat-out lie 99% of the time. Yeah, I know, death doesn't have to be the end result just because a character yelled about it. But the consequences of risking death should make me believe that it really was a possible outcome. It's almost insulting for a writer to try and convince me that the stakes really are that high before having everything be fine after a short bed rest.

Hm, that sounds familiar...

The stakes (chapter 42).

The consequences (chapter 45).

Shiba already committed this sin in chapter 42 and I let it slide because it was the only time so far it'd been invoked. And yeah, Chihiro probably would have went poof without recourse if he couldn't get out of the storehouse in time. But he's the main character so of course he wasn't going to die. Hakuri was the only one truly in danger there.

Char's existence also negates the worst outcomes. It's pretty safe to assume that she can heal any physical wounds our heroes incur- she can even regrow missing limbs with enough time after all! So the default stakes of "stop, you'll die!" are zilch unless the character is killed on the spot or succumbs before they can get to her (which is also undermined by Shiba's teleportation abilities).

...Or if they injure themselves in a way that Char can't help with. Which is why Chihiro's fine, but Hakuri's still struggling.

So, I might be giving the author too much credit with what I'm going to say here. I fully and freely admit it- it wouldn't be the first time I've done this. Yet I feel like the "deadly outcome" scenario here in chapter 56 isn't purely to create tension through cheap tactics. Neither, in fact, was Shiba's line in chapter 42 despite me writing it off as such. Instead, they're mentioned to highlight how self-destructive Hakuri is and set him up for changing that. Reasons being:

Healer lady mentioned death as a worst-case scenario alongside the more plausible consequence of losing his sorcery.

2. This is a direct continuation of the consequences from Shiba's exclamation in Ch. 42 instead of another one-off moment for dramatic tension.

Hakuri is mostly OK after Char's help and a good night's sleep. But he can't use his sorcery without passing out and looks like he's got a bit of a headache too. And what's this? He'll be fine in a few days but he keeps straining himself over and over? He's KOed by the pain with a nosebleed when he keeps pushing? Would you look at that- consequences. And he keeps making them worse!

Hakuri is trying to do that shounen protagonist thing of bashing his head against the wall until it crumbles from his sheer persistence. He got off almost scot-free the first time but he won't wait the few days it'll take to recover. He won't even let himself be taken elsewhere to shorten the time to 30 minutes. That's why we see him in the same state as Kyora when he was fighting off Magatsumi's influence in his death throes- Hakuri's actually risking his life using his abilities now. He's going to genuinely invite death over and over until he's forced not to somehow.

So what'll it be for him? Losing all his sorcery forever- or maybe only temporarily? Shoved offscreen in a coma? Another good night's sleep and actual rest for a week or two to be right as rain? Still running on fumes until the end of the arc? I'll be (unfairly) using the outcome of this situation to decide whether or not to take my sky-high evaluation of the series' writing down a notch. I have no problem putting on a rainbow wig and squeaky shoes if this all turns out to be me making delusional excuses. God knows I've done that plenty as a long-time KH fan and SoRiku shipper. I just want to know what to expect in return for trusting the author with my emotional investment. I can forgive a lot of things, but not having proper consequences for invoking death as an outcome really sticks in my craw.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

Samura and Uruha's argument also ties into the larger themes that I'm hoping get explored when it's time to focus on the Kamunabi as an org: the greatest good vs. the greater good for all. There are strong cases to be made on both sides of the divide and it's possible that some of them will be explored through Chihiro and Hiyuki when we get to them.

In Samura and Uruha's case, Samura is going against the government's well-justified interest in keeping him alive at all costs to act on his personal beliefs. It's noble and heroic- no one can deny that saving lives is an immensely good deed. But it's also a selfish act that exposes the nation to risk. Uruha is the voice of the other side of that philosophical argument saying that it's justifiable to sacrifice a few for the benefit of the many. He loathes that people are dying for him just as much as Samura does. But like Hakuri noted, he understands his own value in the grand scheme of things and acts according to what's best for the majority. In this case, he prioritizes his own life so that the Hishaku can't use a magical nuke in the event of his death.

This could just be reaching on my part, but I feel like it's a prelude to the eventual values conflict between Chihiro and Hiyuki. Chihiro acts in his own interests to do the greatest good he can while Hiyuki (so far) aligns with the Kamunabi's views that power of that level should be controlled for the good of the nation. Her view of Chihiro as a person shifted after the Rakuzaichi- she's willing to help him make his case to her superiors. But we haven't seen a hint of change in this mindset yet:

Ch. 20

Not to mention Kazane and Ikuto still (barely) hanging around after the Sojo debacle.

Chihiro's position hasn't budged at all either. He's got his dad's words about not letting the Kamunabi have access to the blades front and center in his mind, right next to the Hishaku wanting the Kamunabi to have exactly that. They're gonna clash over this for sure. I'm just waiting for the time to come.

On character writing...

I know it's just basic storytelling and Hokazono-sensei's not the first or only author to do it so well, but I truly admire how intricately he writes characters to compliment and bounce off of each other. There are never polar opposites who are simple contrasts. Hakuri and Chihiro, Uruha and Samura- each foil pair is a pleasing blend of shared and opposing ideology and expressions that highlight each other's defining traits, bringing out both the best and worst in each other.

Also, I love all the passionate men in this series. It's so awesome to have a cast whose ages skew heavily into the 30's and 40's still be so damn fiery and hot-headed. Even more temperate ones like Kyora are so full of conviction that they put the younger generation to shame in some respects! They aren't there to just dispense sage wisdom and remind the youngsters to keep the bigger picture in mind. They're flawed people burdened with trauma living life and guiding the younger cast with the best they have. There are some major fuck-ups along the way too- like everything Kyora did to his sons, and Samura accidentally influencing Chihiro to think he's a monster. They have issues that are unconsciously passed along to keep amplifying the manga's core theme of "legacy"- how it's made and echoes through generations. I LOVE STRONG THEMATIC STORYTELLING AT EVERY LEVEL.

Guess I had a lot to yap about this time after a few lighter weeks in a row. Sorry about that, void. Thank you as always if you made it this far. Do a small act of kindness for yourself today, okay?

#kagurabachi #sazanami hakuri #long post #If Chihiro humanizes Hakuri from tool to person while Hakuri does the same for him as monster to person I will ascend into fudanshi heaven #Someone muzzle me before I embarrass myself by getting proven wrong on all of this in the next few chapters (too late)#I am very normal about Hakuri Sazanami

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4suitedplayingcard · 8 months ago

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Various Punch Out Headcanons I have that I felt the need to share or else my brain would explode :p

All of the boxers (who didn't originally live in New York) pretty much just live in hell NY now cuz of their boxing career. They do visit their families during vacation and all that, but for the most part, they just stay in New York.

Piston Hondo finds it hard to make friends with people who are around the same age as him and younger because he finds them harder to understand/relate to (and also a bit more judgemental), so he mostly hangs out w/ people who are much older than him, with the only exception being Great Tiger.

King Hippo thinks that most beds are uncomfortable and will sleep pretty much anywhere except on a bed. On the floor, the couch, a pile of leaves, a comically small pillow, etc etc.

Aran Ryan has a bad habit of eating non edible objects out of intrusive thinking (and also spite sometimes), he's eaten things ranging from twigs to hand sanitizer to cigarette butts and has been sent to the hospital a couple of times because of it.

Don Flamenco is obsessed with skincare, mostly due to the fact that he looks like a middle aged man with his toupee off. The second he gets his paycheck, he immediately spends most of it on various scrubs and lotions. He even almost went bankrupt on numerous occasions because of it

Bear Hugger had been friends with Ms. Bear even since he was 12 years old. He found her all alone in the forest on a snowy day when she was a baby and his parents agreed to keep her until they find her a new home (which obviously didn't work out)

Super Macho Man is a nepo baby. His mother was a movie actor while his father was also a heavyweight boxer, which caused him to get a lot of attention from not only his peers at school, but also media outlets too.

Glass Joe has terrible eyesight and mostly uses contact lenses wherever he goes, though he does occasionally wear glasses sometimes (mostly at home or whenever he's run out of contacts).

Bald Bull is VERY reluctant to touch, even the slightest little bump in can cause him to flip out. He only makes this exception to people who are super close to him, but even then, he doesn't want any physical contact for too long or he’ll start to lose it.

Even though Von Kaiser wasn't actually apart of a war, he was enrolled in a boot camp for a few years of his life. It was hell and he still has nightmares about it to this day…

No matter how much sleep he gets, Great Tiger usually ends up sleepy at some point during the day. He's tried every to get him to sleep better, drinking warm milk, staying away from electronics an hour before bed, taking melatonin, but he still ends up tired in the middle of the day sometimes and it drives him mad.

Y'know those scientist that you see in Soda Popinski’s title defense slideshow? Well those are kind of his dads. He was left on the doorsteps of a lab when he was a baby, and all of the people in the facility have been taking care of him ever since.

Disco Kid has a brother a few months younger than him who used to be the boxer known as Kid Quick. They both started Boxing at around 18, but Kid Quick ended up quitting early in his career to focus on something more mundane. (Yea ik I made a lil shitpost drawing a few weeks ago about Kid Quick being pre-transition Disco Kid but shhhh-)

Mr. Sandman is the only boxer in the entire organization that's not only married, but also has a kid. He has a wife named Alena and a daughter named Chelsea, they all live with Sandman in NYC. :)

#theres like 2 of these which are just me projecting and i h8 it lol #punch out #punch out!!#glass joe #von kaiser #disco kid #king hippo #piston hondo #bear hugger #great tiger #don flamenco #aran ryan #soda popinski #bald bull #super macho man #mr sandman #ace.txt

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wanderingblindly · 5 months ago

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just read your vampire landoscar and died it was amazing!! but i am so curious - does charles ever realize he was such a shit friend and apologize? does he even know what he did wrong? does oscar hate him so much if he ever does come around? max and oscar interaction/tensions??? the whole time i was so sad for lando cause charles is a horrible friend i was really glad he called his ass out!!

(fic link)

oh my goodness I've genuinely been rambling into a million people's DMs about all the nuances of this fic so THANK YOU FOR ASKING!!! One of your questions reminds me of a scene that got cut, so scroll to the bottom to check that out!

Obviously, you're more than entitled to imagine your own answer to these questions. If things are left unsaid,, it's not my place to tell you how to read into it. But in my brain:

Will Charles Ever Change?

Probably not.

Charles is a foil to Lando. He's entirely sure of what he wants, he knows how to get it, he's self-assured, and he's obsessed with power. Because he's compared to where Lando starts in the narrative (introspective, quiet, placating, etc.), it's pretty important that Charles doesn't have the self-awareness to recognize that he's a prick.

In my mind, the relationship completely died that night in the club, and Lando buried it in the café.

But could he grow later?

I think that Max and Charles's relationship is inherently doomed to be mutually destructive. I don't think that they're designed to bring out the best in each other (despite it being implied that they're soulmates -- I suppose soulmates don't always have to be for the better). Because they're so absorbed in each other, I don't think that Charles will ever gain the perspective to understand Lando completely. Meaning he probably won't come around to being a real friend.

What Does Oscar Think About Charles?

I've thought a lot about this, since it's implied that Oscar was definitely... watching... Lando lol. Oscar probably has an immense distrust of Charles, if not just for the fact that he radiates a level of danger that triggers most vampires’ basal instincts.

(if you didn't read Excess -- Charles is almost entirely covered in vampire bites, meaning he should trigger Oscar's fight or flight like no other.)

That said, I also think that Oscar has an understanding that Lando and Charles's relationship is more complex than he can pick apart from the outside. I get the feeling that he wants Lando to be with someone safer -- if not just because he loves him -- but that he'd respect any decision he makes on the matter.

Max and Oscar Vibes?

Max is the type of vampire that Oscar loathes. He's blood-drunk and confident in what he is; Max has embraced the life as a gift (barring sometimes missing human sensations), whereas Oscar views it as a curse. Their perspectives on their eternal life is so fundamentally incompatible that it's unlikely they'd ever get along.

Do I think they'd actually full on fight? No.

But I do think that Oscar would be so tense the entire time they interacted that he could crack his teeth.

Deleted (Incomplete) Scene:

Originally, after the confessional in Oscar's flat, I wanted to keep going. The next scene actually had to do with the state of Charles and Lando's relationship, where we learn that Lando hadn't heard from him -- and that he hadn't reached out, either. We get the impression that the relationship was completely dead, severed.

"I haven't talked to Charles since I told him to leave," Lando says mindlessly, sliding Oscar's cup in front of his usual seat. He grabs it and draws in a deep breath, the memories of caffeine doing little to alleviate the blue under his eyes. "D'you miss him?" Did he really know him well enough to? Lando shrugs. "Y'know how you kinda, like… miss something because it's over, not because you actually wanted it to keep going?" Oscar nods along, eyes fluttering closed – relaxed. "End of an era." "Era makes it sound like a good thing," Lando chuckles, tilting his head when Oscar raises a brow in silent question. "Nothing good about it then? At all?" In the daylight, they slowly peel apart each other's layers, step gently into the shadows they carry. Lando hasn't asked how much Oscar had gleaned about his and Charles's relationship, if he recognized him as a riptide feigning gentleness. The wounds felt too fresh, the mistakes too recent, and yet. "I'm…" He starts uncertainly. Oscar doesn't open his eyes, doesn't move – like waiting for Lando is easy. The years in Charles's orbit feel like a blur, like watching events that happened to someone else. They're a book with ink that fades with each page – starting bold in its desperation, ending weakly in its passive acceptance. "Not good enough to remember," Lando finally answers, and Oscar drops his brow. "I probably wouldn't have been better without him, I guess. Like, I would have ended up somewhere… different but similar, just with someone else. Might as well have been him, if it had to be someone." Need you more than anything else on earth. Because at least Charles sometimes put a word to that cold, lonely spot between Lando's ribs. Or maybe prodded at it like a contusion, dark and hideous and violent. But he saw it all the same. Shaking his head, clearing it away, Lando changes the subject. "What about you? Do you still talk to anyone from…" He trails off, lips frozen around the word: before. Opening his eyes and putting down his cup, Oscar stares down into it. Pensive. But he promised to try. Lando can see the weary determination in the pressed line of his pale lips – maybe the same wherewithal that keeps his fangs tucked safely out of sight. "I text my family, so they don't think anything's wrong." It leaves a lot unsaid. Lando let's the unspoken fill the time and space between them, resting his back against the counter. Until Oscar looks up at him, eyes finding his own like how Lando always imagined coming home should be – easy. "But everyone else, it's…" A sigh, agitated fingers combing through flat hair. "Complicated." He aims for reassuring. "I know," Oscar averts his gaze anyway. "I quit my job." It's that same tone, that same pinched anguish that evokes memories of tears he can no longer shed. "D'you miss it?" "It's all I ever wanted to be, I –" His throat cuts him off, painfully tight. Lando wonders, not for the first time, how beautiful his emotions would be with the flush of life. And he wonders, anew, if Oscar can feel the difference. Shaking, small: "They were so proud of me." Between beats of his bleeding heart, Lando wonders what that feels like. "You're still the same person though," Lando tries, stopping when Oscar buries his face in his hands, elbows propped up on the counter. "'m not." "You are –" Fiery enough to burn, even muffled through his hands: "Would you want a fucking monster to help you?" "Already did." Lando smiles like a gotcha, flashing his wrist for emphasis. Oscar must sense it, peeking between his fingers. "Almost like you're still you, huh?"

#WOWZA that was a lot #but when i say i have thought of almost every angle in this fucking universe #like pls continue to ask i have so much to say hahahaahaha #landoscar #impasse of biting #ask me :)#f1 fic #f1 fanfic #directors commentary

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dbmars · 4 months ago

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Full disclosure, this is my first foray into writing Duncan or Jack even though I love them so much. I'm actually really disappointed that there haven't been any comments or anything on Ao3 or social media. Maybe I should stay in my lane! (Hannigram) or maybe I'm HORMONAL! (also true) And y'know what I'm really proud of my little photo manip job up there too.

Excerpt from this chapter nobody's read:

Jack stood and turned to Duncan. “I know what you’re thinking. We needed to get inside the house. We didn’t know Jacob was home for the break, and I should have just let those guys kick his ass and leave him in a ditch, because then we could have just walked in, no problem.”

Duncan grunted. Jack glowered at him, bottom lip sneaking out. “Catch more flies with honey than vinegar. And… y’know what, I’m not sorry I kicked a bunch of bigots’ asses. I know we’re not supposed to beat up on humans but I don’t give a shit.”

“Supposed to be quiet.” Duncan opened up his inner coat pocket and slipped out a pack of cigarettes. “Not draw attention.”

Jack scoffed dismissively, and opened his mouth to say something, but Vizla suddenly had him by the arms, and pushed him back swiftly into the wall with a soft thud. A curio cabinet rattled dangerously as the Black Kaiser easily forced Jack’s wrists against the wallpaper at shoulder height. They’d both gotten the same serum initially, but the extra doses needed for the eye surgery, coupled with Duncan outweighing him by fifty, sixty pounds, maybe more, made it no contest.

“Vizla—!” His name was a sharp exhale as the breath was forced out of his lungs. “What the fuck?” He tried to wiggle free, push back. His wrists came away from the wall an inch, trembling with exertion, before Duncan forced them back down. The Black Kaiser was granite-strong, as always. What was more alarming was the warmth that spread up from Jack's groin and the shiver that snaked through his body.

“Taking a page out of Will Graham’s book?” Duncan rasped, close to his face, his breath smoky and dangerous.

“What?” Jack’s mouth felt numb and stupid.

“Fucking everything in sight to get close to the target. That’s his MO.”

Anger flared, unfurling in his gut like a flag in the breeze, snapping in the wind. “I’m nothing like Will Graham,” he snarled.

“Maybe he’s taking a page out of yours.” Duncan released him suddenly and stepped back. It always threw Jack for a loop, how fast he could move despite his size, his coat rippling in the breeze of his movements.

Jack stepped unsteadily away from the wall, rubbing his wrists. “What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?”

Vizla finally lit the cigarette behind his ear he’d somehow tucked there. Smoke curled up from the ceiling and the cherry glowed like a tiny piece of hell stoked by his breath. He didn’t answer.

“Are you talking about Paris?”

Again, Vizla didn’t respond, just raised the cigarette to his lips between two long, scarred fingers, the smoke tickling his mustache. His stupid fucking mustache, Jack thought. “You are talking about Paris,” he answered for himself. “You’re talking about Sarah.”

“Your sugar mommy.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Jack demanded, his body taut from head to toe. He was trembling with fury and hated that it was no doubt visible to the Kaiser’s trained eyes, both human and vampire. “I was supposed to get us into the house, and I got us into the house. The only evidence we were ever here is a posse of good ol’ boys with broken noses who’ll probably be too ashamed to tell anyone they got their asses kicked by one guy. Things are fine as of right now, anyway, because the longer we’re fucking standing here–”

Vizla closed the space between them in a preternatural blink that left Jack disoriented, the assassin wrapping a hand around the collar of his shirt. Jack instinctively gripped his wrist, then glared up at him. There was a thorny silence that ended when Duncan said,“Your bag’s by the front door. Get back on schedule.”

With that, he released Jack’s shirt. Jack, fuming, retrieved the large black duffle bag from the foyer and slipped it over his shoulder.

#hannigram #hannibal #fannibals #hannibal nbc #fannibal family #murder husbands #will graham #hannibal lecter #duncan vizla #jack ganzer #tempo #polar #vampire slayers #vampires

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yoinkschief · 1 year ago

Text

Me when I men

Dog Teeth AU Tom Character Reference Sheet

WARNING: Slight NSFW - Mild, Non-Explicit Nudity under the cut

My other husband I love him so much let me kiss you on the lips volatile ball of angst and anger

My poor boy was cursed with his father's hairline and sress he cannot carry,,, to be fair that last bit was his own doing

I sure hope he looks nautical enough,, I mean I want him to nautical INSPIRED, not a member of the marine court, y'know?

My lover said "very Garp of him" and I think that's that One Piece Marine DILF guy so that's a plus :)

I also wanted his outfit to be a direct contrast to Tord's - I mean red and blue are already contrasts on the color wheel but kinda so is green so I wanted a little more driving force: white against Tord's blacker color palette

While white is supposed to represent purity, I assure you, Tom is anything but

It's more a reflection of how the characters see themselves: Tord KNOWS he's a piece of shit and happily flaunts it because no one can do anything about, he holds it with pride even

But Tom doesn't believe he's being an ass, he thinks he's genuinely doing the right thing or at the very least the lesser of the two evils he was forced into, and than on it's own has some merit but this is just to say Tom isn't exactly the "savior" of the story despite what the white palette may suggest

It certainly is what he wants to portray to the public, however

Mmmmm mann

I'm apparently really into sharp contrasts or something cause I keep shading with very bright colors against very dark shadows,,,, it's really fun actually so whateva

Also that cape thing Tom wears ? Worst thing ever, it's like a texture issues but instead of the texture bothering him it's the uneven amount of weight, like he's painfully aware it's on his left shoulder and not his right and it irks him so badly but "it carries his rebellion's symbol so he has to wear it in public" or whatever

He's really only seen wearing it during important or public matters, when it counts

Otherwise that thing's in the bin

Back in his OG style but with the horrible hairline and salt in his hair

He got a day off

He snuck out of the lime light

"Ohh I drew him naked to show off his tattoos and to talk about them"

No I didn't

I'm a liar

I drew him naked cause I wanted to draw his tits so I did, simple

But I will talk about his tattoos some more :)

First of all: That scar on his left shoulder is from the house rubble, that cut we see on his arm at the end of The End pt. 2, yeah that's where that comes from

As for his tattoos,,

I know I've explained these somewhere but I'm explaining them again cause I dunno if I explained it someone's DMs or not lol

The Harpoon tattoos are pretty self explanatory, and I also just wanted to show off colored tattoos on darker skin complexions cause that's the stupidest argument I've ever heard and black/dark skinned people should be able to get colored tattoos

The rest are kind of important to Tom and the story line,,,ish?:

the Shark Teeth tattoo comes from the time he visited Hawaii to find out more about his father and his Father's side of the family and their customs, traditions, his heritage, etc. etc.

To make a long story short: there's a reason his father doesn't talk about his side of the family often, but it didn't ruin his experience while visiting some lesser hostile family members in Hawaii like his cousins, and he even got to surf with them - which was when they decided to convince him to get the Shark Teeth tattoo

On top of Tom just being really obsessed with sharks and having infinite knowledge on all things shark related, it's supposed to represent strength, guidance and protection which I think is very fitting for Tom

The "Wolf" tattoo kinda stands out because Tom's Irish, not Scottish or any sort of Norse. So why the Nordic rune?

Well :)

Back when Tom and Tord lived together, they weren't always at each other's throats

I think I mentioned this in my Strip Mafia AU reference sheet for Tord ignore how I forgot to flesh out Tom's,,, I have it I just haven't cleaned it up yet but I'm gonna rehash it here really quick:

Tord gave everyone in the house a tattoo he thought best represented them, including himself (which was the Ouroboros tattoo seen on his character sheet) and Tom's was the rune for "wolf" and I think there are very obvious reasons behind it

Tom stays around his friends a lot, he's got more bite than bark, very unfriendly to outsiders, the list goes on really

It's so odd seeing Tom in so much white if I'm being honest

I'm so used to him being in like angst blacks and greys and I don't think he's adjusting any better himself LOL

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overly-verbose · 4 months ago

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I take back my previous threats of violence as my foolish self had not scampered through your art book in all its glory.

Chapter 8 has the reference that is to be used in general, correct?

No worries, I actually chuckled a bit reading that lmao - I didn't expect a reference for SIkuna being in high enough demand for me to be threatened at watergun-point 😂

(the previous Ask with the 'threats of violence' in question for context purposes;

😂)

I'll probably try to draw something of an actual approximation of a 'reference sheet' with the little differences (I was actually planning to do that for the Ask but uh that'd take much longer than this), but to explain it quickly (well, for me quickly which isn't at all);

Chapter 8 of Visuals has actually moreso to do with a perhaps-hypothetical scenario in which later down the timeline SIkuna gets Somehow separated from Yuji and gains a body of his own

- and that allows him to switch between Normal Form

which is basically how he looked whilst possessing Yuji, except probably quite a bit taller (it's already a bit stifling in comparison to the Big Form so he wouldn't make himself even shorter just to keep to Yuji's height lol), a bit older

(he looks a bit older whilst possessing Yuji anyway but yeah),

with some (usually) black earrings and two slits in his left eyebrow to connect it to the Big Form visually

The version with the earrings and slitted eyebrow can f.e. be seen in Chapter 11 lol, just with pink hair for that last one

And Big Form/True Form

which is about 9~feet / 3~ meters tall (I based it off of that one short manga flashback moment rather than some other seemingly smaller depictions?), has four arms and such + mostly wears the outfit from Chapter 8/14 but would also wear different things just like he would in Normal Form

- and I follow the logic of the clothes Somehow changing to fit whenever he suddenly shrinks or grows rather than having to have specifics outfits, but the four-arms thing still kinda demands a different wardrobe anyway for most cases lol

(+ he does have the stomach mouth in the Big Form, and sometimes he'll prefer to leave it uncovered so another outfit difference then,

like maybe an open robe in place of a shirt, something cropped, or occasionally just forgoing a shirt altogether lol)

I think a better reference for the height comparison between him and other characters in that form is moreso Chapter 11 and 14, but it doesn't matter That much

But like, in terms of outfit it doesn't have to be exactly what I've drawn before lol

- he's more of a comfy/casual guy but I'm 1000% certain that Nobara + perhaps other kids would take him shopping sometimes (she or they can't let this particular Older Familial Figure go unfashionable constantly!) and he'd probably want to occasionally wear something more Wowowo so he'd likely have something other than a dozen sweatshirts (and robes and comfy pants and such) somewhere in his wardrobe too 😂

(some Hello Kitty™ merch is also a must, For The Meme!!!)

And I've mentioned it a few times before but, especially if separate from Yuji unless he'd also agree to painted nails which he just might, he's likely to have painted claws/nails sometimes lol - they're a nice big canvas for Nobara to practice her skills on y'know, and he definitely wouldn't mind

In terms of how he looks inside the Domain, it's mostly just Canon-kuna's look lol

The kimono/kosode(? I have yet to understand what the exact difference is but heard it may be the second) is the same, the scarf and blue(?) accents on the sides of the main robe and stuff

with the anime-only addition bow to the back of the sash/idk material belt because yes, and because it's something to fiddle with whenever SIkuna gets ungodly bored lmao (the equivalent of fiddling with a sweatshirt's zipper or hoodie string lol)

I've interpreted whatever Canon-kuna wears on his legs as some sort of simple black pants that run down until a bit after the socks beneath the sandals(?) start or something like that??

I don't think he wears anything under the upper part of the kimono(?) but maybe there is some sorta ancient Japanese equivalent of a t-shirt I dunno about lol, besides that it's the same with the wide sleeves and everything

The sandals(?) are the same as in Canon, I've seen somewhere that they could have a small false heel (like a cut underneath that doesn't actually raise the heel of the foot idk how to explain it better) but it's an utter detail lol

As aforementioned, the scarf-thing around his neck is the same too, it's definitely an addition SIkuna appreciates heh - it's comfy 👍

(the Inner/Innate Domain examples I've drawn in Chapters 1, 4, 5, most of 10, 1st bonus drawing in 11, a cropped out glimpse in 13 and second drawing of 14 is ok lol - I just forgot about some things earlier/got better at it with time maybe)

In terms of physical differences, in or outside the Domain, the biggest one is probably the eyes

His usual/regular look involves the pupil/most inner part of the eye being white, then having a ring of darker red, then much lighter/brighter red

Meanwhile, whenever he's feeling particularly murderous/spooky/overall more OG-kuna-like (f.e. in Part 4 after a bit of 'experimenting' on the Special Grade), the sequence becomes [very light/bright red, much darker red, a bit lighter/brighter red]

(I mostly draw the eyes in a more oval shape, but that's just my stylistic choice lol - I don't mind it being the same but don't mind otherwise ofc

Same with the colours, they don't have to be Exactly those)

Like this;

And the fact that he actually has a whole Four eyes be eyes and usually all open - the secondary eyes are smaller, but are full eyes with colour and stuff rather than the sometimes barely-there look they had with Canon-kuna

(I'm not yet 100% certain if the difference in colouring is seen in-universe, though 🤔 - but for drawings yeah)

Another thing that isn't usually consistent in the manga/anime (from what I can remember) is the way Canon-kuna sometimes has moreso claws Or fingernails - SIkuna basically always has claws (they sharp!)

I'm kinda contemplating including slightly pointed at the tips ears to the list but it's not an 'official' characteristic lol

I've... Uh. Gone off on a tangent?? As per usual lmfAO-

But hope you get at least a little useful info from this?? 😂

(I don't mind clarifying questions lmfao (though my apologies if I take some time to respond))

Also, I'm not that much of a stickler for detail just fyi - even if the interpretation were to differ in some way from this rambly excuse for a guide I'd still love and adore any and all art created for my story because hOLY MAC A R O N I- *implodes from pure joy*

(Assuming, of course, that that's what 'for scientific purposes' meant 😂)

#Thinkings™#Ask #jjk #jjk fic #jjk fix it #jjk fix it fic #jujutsu kaisen #there's not much of it here but #my art #SIkuna #(deliberate misspell)#syuuya #jjk sukuna #ryomen sukuna #ryoumen sukuna #This is only very minimally edited and stuff so I hope it'll be readable anyway heh 😂#I am; in fact; actually very Overly Verbose even when I try not to be lmfao-#Edit; oh shoot I've been just informed by Tumblr that this is my 100th post wtf when did that happen lmfao-

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pynkhues · 1 year ago

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Unpopular opinion anon. I really enjoyed Roman but I think I watched a different character than everyone else lol. The big one that's getting me right now is I don't really get the masochism takes? I didn't really read him as seeking punishment or only understanding love through pain... I don't feel like he was really seeking that out for the majority of the show. Also I think I may be alone in thinking Roman has kind of a normal(ish) relationships with both of his full siblings?? Like I don't get why everyone thinks the golden trio abused each other. Roman is such an asshole younger brother who turns protective the second Kendall is actually down. Like Roman can be terrible to them but also he loves them so much and it's the switch from jerk to "drop me a pin" that's I think is a core aspect of that character.

I just don't think I understand the fandom version of Roman or maybe I made up my own version and that's the one I like? At this point I honestly don't even know haha

I thought it might've been Roman you were thinking of, haha.

Yeah, there's a lot of interesting interpretations of him in fandom, and I think in some ways he's probably one of the more ambiguous characters on the show. I was just reading this little interview snippet actually and thinking how the interviewer's read of Roman as someone who has a lot of crazy adventures is so antithetical to how I see him. I tend to agree with both Kieran's reply and the OP's tags there though that Roman likely has a pretty good ear to the ground socially in order to project a certain image, but doesn't necessarily actually live it.

While it's not my personal read either, I do get where people are seeing it when it comes to the masochism factor. I think there's a valid interpretation of canon there between Roman courting violence with the protestors after Logan's funeral, and the complex scene with his and Kendall's hug in the finale, and I can see why people draw a link between that with things like the dog pound and Roman getting off on Gerri berating him.

There's texture there, y'know? Even if personally I agree with you and don't think they're especially linked. I tend to view Roman's seeking punishment or the murky tie between violence and love in 4.09 and 4.10 as being very explicitly tied to Logan's death and the void he's left, especially because we don't see it at any other point in the series. I also tend to view the dog pound as kids being kids (more on that in a sec), and I also don't know if I think Roman would get off in that particular masochistic way if it wasn't specifically Gerri doing it (I feel like that particular storyline and romance was that perfect storm of the taboo of it all, the hiding in plain sight, his mommy issues, and also just him generally being really into Gerri).

As for their childhood, yeah, I agree with you there too. It's one of the things that I love about the show actually is that the siblings can be mean, can squabble and set each other up to fail, but the love there is real. Like all their feelings for and about each other can be really complicated, but the love they have for each other just isn't. Gosh, Shiv even says it in the finale - she loves Kendall, but she can't stomach him.

That read of the kids abusing each other I do think tends to directly come from the dog pound game, or setting each other up (Kendall and Roman leaving Shiv with the chocolate milk, Kendall and Shiv leaving Roman with the water pistols, etc.) which I really think is pretty normal sibling behaviour. In particular, I've talked about the dog pound game a bit, namely here and here, and about fandom reads of Roman as the most abused here and here if you're interested in reading more!

But yes! I don't think you made him up. I think he's a character where a lot of different readings are possible because he does carry a little more ambiguity / we know less about his past than we do Kendall and Shiv's which invites more speculation and, sometimes, projection too. I think my read of him is pretty close to yours though.

#i do think as well that some of the interpretations of the kids' childhood dynamics can come from people who don't spend #a lot of time around small children #because as someone who was a guardian to her younger brother spends a lot of time now looking after her nephews #and has dayjobbed off and on with kids for the last 15 years #kids are evil lmao #even the sweetest ones you know can be absolutely diabolical to each other #that's literally the point of childhood #kids aren't born with morality they learn it #and very often trial and error it out on their siblings #it's extremely normal #and literally crucial for childhood development #plus studying the brain's development in pd at work at the moment #honestly that shit is WILD #i don't know how any of us make it out of childhood in one piece #but yes anyway haha #i agree with you but i do get where different reads play into roman as well #roman roy #hbo succession #succession meta #welcome to my ama

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udekai · 1 year ago

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MattFoggy 27?

27.) Things you said through a closed door

Matt hesitates before knocking. He's standing in the hallway with a grocery bag on his wrist and more under his eyes. He has a spare key in his pocket, but Foggy had left the office with a melodrama he didn't usually manage, and he doesn't want to assume that he's welcome at the moment.

For once, it's not his fault.

This case has been killing all of them, one by one. Karen excuses herself three times a day to get angry at everyone involved. It's a disgusting use of copyright law; Mrs. Clark lost her son in May, who was an illustrator. Before he passed, he made some beautiful drawings for his mother, but the contract he had signed meant they belonged to the company. They wanted to keep the prints in their vault for their own use.

Mrs. Clark was willing to pay. She shouldn't. She would, though, to keep some memories of her son. They wouldn't even let her have that.

Foggy had the floor today, and he stammered; he let the cold, dead eyes of the bailiff intimidate him, and he dropped the ball. It was a rough tumble from there, and they'd be lucky to settle.

He wasn't happy.

Matt isn't much good at this; He's never found the right things to say to make failure feel better, because nobody else has, either. He knocks anyway.

"Leave it in front of the door," Foggy groans.

Matt sighs.

"It's me."

There's a beat of silence.

"I'm fine, Matt."

When Matt lies about being fine, he tries to make it convincing. Foggy does no such thing. He says it in a way that implies he'll prove how fine he is by biting him. Matt is not well-known for his sense of self-preservation.

"I know," he replies. "Can I come in, anyway?"

A shuffle. A couple of footsteps. And then a little thud on the door as Foggy bonks his head against it.

"I don't want to be an asshole, Matt, but I really just want to... sit down. For a while. Y'know?"

"Alone?" he asks.

There is another beat of silence.

"You're not the only one gets brooding time, Murdock. I can brood. I can brood hard."

Matt's already smiling, but he feels it widen from something sad into amusement.

"I can tell. You're knocking me out of the park here."

"I... Can you do court without me? Tomorrow?"

This coming from the guy who wiped the floor with Matt in college debates.

"Maybe. I don't want to, though."

"I just don't know if I can look her in the eyes, man," Foggy says. He doesn't bother raising his voice to speak through the door. He knows Matt can hear him.

Matt drops his head into the wood right where he knows Foggy's is on the other side, and knows he can feel it. The jokes aren't working, and Foggy blames himself. Even these little hiccups of self-doubt make Matt feel like he needs to extol his every virtue in front of a crowd, assuming he could even list all of them before he ran out of breath and died.

"C'mon Fogs," he begs, frustrated. "It's one slip-up. How many times have you ever actually made a mistake in court?"

"This one's kind of a doozy, Matt," he bites back.

It was. Matt couldn't deny that. He switches strategies.

"We're partners, right?"

"Obviously. It says so on the sign," Foggy replies, more tired than annoyed.

"And partners let partners into their apartment to eat ice cream and figure out how to fix the case?"

There's a scoff of laughter. The door shakes a little with it.

"You seriously brought me ice cream?"

Matt grins. Every time he wins him over, he feels like the biggest hotshot on the planet.

"Yeah," he says. "With the little chemically-brownie bits in it. I'm standing in a puddle of thawed condensation, by the way."

The door wrenches open, and Matt has to jerk away from it before his body weight goes with it.

"Lead with that! Jesus, my landlord's gonna have my ass on the wall."

Foggy drags Matt in by the front of his shirt, and he lets himself be herded out of the hallway.

They spend the evening watching awful movies that still get aired on cable, eating ice cream, and pouring over case files in rotating shifts. Foggy's warmer with him than Matt can ever remember, and it feels easy.

They win the case by a landslide.

Thank you for the prompt :D

#dd #daredevil #ficlet #mattfoggy #fluff

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howlingday · 11 months ago

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A Terrible Choice

"Alright, I'm heading to bed." Emerald said, getting up after a long time sitting on the couch. The others were watching something she didn't really care about, but she didn't feel like sitting around in her room. "G'night."

"Good night!" Everyone else called, with only one of them filled with enthusiasm. Oscar watched her as she left for her room, letting out a sigh as he laid back with half-lidded eyes.

'Another night, another echo of affection unanswered.' Ozpin said with his own brand of sarcasm.

'Can't you let a guy dream?' Oscar replied in his head.

'Only when you are sleeping. And even so, this is a terrible nightmare that you refuse to wake from. You do realize that it's only a matter of time until you fade away.'

'Don't remind me.' Oscar slumped. 'What should I do?'

'Forget about Ms. Sustrai and focus on yourself.'

'I mean about dating Emerald.'

'I know what you meant.'

'Come on, Ozpin, haven't you ever been in love?'

'I believe we no longer need the Relic of Knowledge to know that answer.' Oscar groaned.

"Everything okay, Oscar?" Ruby asked. "Is the movie getting to be too much for you?"

"No, I'm just... talking with Oz, y'know?"

"Oh. About what?"

"Trying to watch a movie here!" Nora yelled, making the movie even more unheard.

"Sorry!" Ruby squeaked, then shifting to a whisper. "What were you arguing about?"

"Uh, well... Hey, Ruby, had did you know Whitley liked you?"

"Well, he did tell me, but... He also picked me a bouquet of roses after I helped move Weiss' stuff into her office. He said it was just a thank you, but I could tell it was him telling me he liked me." She giggled. "Guys usually don't know how obvious they are."

"Huh..." Oscar considered what Ruby said. Was he oblivious to how obvious he looked to Emerald? If so, then why didn't she respond to him?

'Because she's expecting you to grow out of it.'

'I wasn't asking you.' Ozpin rolled his eyes. How? Oscar just knew.

"Well, I gotta go use the bathroom." Ruby said, leaving Oscar to sit and think on this debacle.

He could ask the others, but it would probably draw too much undue attention on himself, and if word got to Emerald, he might actually lose her forever. He had to really think. He couldn't solve this alone, but he also couldn't ask the others. Wait... What if-

'No.'

'Please, Ozpin! This could be my only chance at love!'

'Or it could be a disaster, like my own love story.'

'I won't make the same mistake as you did!'

'Obviously, because it's not going to happen.'

'Ozpin... Please...'

'...Very well. I suppose this will put an end to your pestering.'

'Great! So, uh, what should I do?' Oscar quickly amended his statement. 'That ISN'T giving up.'

'I wasn't going to suggest that.' He totally was, Oscar knew. Or he was at least thinking it. 'I suppose if there is any advice I can give on the matter, I would suggest doing something nice for her.'

'Something nice?'

'Something that proves your concern for her is beyond that of a normal friendship. For example, shortly after rescuing Salem, she and I rested for a night at an inn. I was about to go to bed when I heard her whimpering in her sleep. So, I posted myself outside her door until she awoke the next morning, ensuring her safety.'

'Wow, that's... That's really good.'

'A knight such as myself must always be chivalrous.'

'Okay. Okay! I'll do something like that!' Oscar beamed from ear to ear. 'There's no way this could go wrong!'

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

"What are you doing outside my room?" Oscar flinched as he turned around to find Emerald looking down at him, her red eyes narrowed on him. His throat dried and he could feel his palms soak with sweat while his heart thundered in fear, rather than the usual admiration while looking at her. "Well?"

"I... was keeping you safe?"

"Safe from what?" Her gaze intensified less.

"Well, uh, I was just trying to do something nice and-"

"So you were standing outside my room like a creep?"

Oscar's eyes shot wide open as he threw up his hands in front of him. He tried to get the words out, but his tongue tripped over itself, and he babbled for a bit until she covered his mouth with her hand.

"Okay, here's what's going to happen. First, I'm going to tell you why you're a creep." He gulped. "I don't need somebody standing outside my door. If anything, I feel even more unsafe knowing that you're standing out here. Also, the fact you think I need someone to protect me really pisses me off."

"I... I was just being nice..." Oscar mumbled out. He felt like he was going to cry.

"You were being a creep." The word stung even worse the second time he heard it. She sighed. "Look, you're a nice... guy, but I don't need somebody treating me like a kid. Maybe next time you wanna be nice to me, buy me a soda, or something. Don't stand around outside a girl's room like some pervert." She slipped past him. "I'm gonna get a drink. You are gonna go to bed, right?"

"Yeah..." He muttered. "G'night, Emerald."

"G'night." He turned away and shuffled down the hall to his room.

'Great. Now I have to make double-lock my doors.' She shook her head. 'I don't know where he got this idea from, but wherever he got it from needs to get out of his life fast.'

#rwby #emerald city #ruby rose #nora valkyrie #oscar pine #emerald sustrai #ozpin

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twistedthings · 1 year ago

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𝖔𝖕𝖊𝖓 𝖙𝖔: m/f/anyone 𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙: your muse & Kale are basically just stoner friends who smoke whenever they're together & they talk about all kinds of shit about life & love & whatever. stuff they've never really talked about with anyone else, oh what's that? is that genuine connection with another human being? oh no, maybe there are more feelings than they wanna actually acknowledge. 𝖈𝖔𝖓𝖓𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓: friend to lovers. bonus points if they've been friends since high school or college.

"Y'know...." Kale paused through the hold of the toke he'd taken from the joint posed between his fingers and he shook his head slowly, red eyes brimming with water just enough to blur his vision slightly as he glanced at the other and passed the joint to them, exhaling his hit as he continued. "Sometimes I feel that if I'm left alone with my thoughts I'll sink into the fucking abyss like my mom did, abandoning life and everything meaningful in it..." His mother struggled with many things in life and Kale would certainly never forgive her for the deplorable things she did and let happen to him but understanding he got some of his own demons from her helped clear his mind. He was able to catch on when he found himself dipping into that abyss then do what he had in order to draw back from it. "I just don't wanna get lost in that shit... I know I'm not my mom but fuck dude, it's crazy realizing how alike your parents you really are as you get older. " He could ramble at the best of times and the worst, he was sort of somewhere in the middle of the two at the moment, another hit or two though and he'd likely venture into talking about something else.

#indie rp #indie mutant rp #indie supernatural rp #indie xmen rp #indie para rp #indie bi rp #indie open starter #open starter|#| int. Kaleb |#tw: drugs #(listen. don't come at me. he's... weird #pls love him thnx that is all xoxo gossip girl)

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gierosajie · 2 years ago

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Your art and concepts are so cool!!! I've rewatched your Istaroth and Venti animatic more times than I can count haha

I don't really have a specific question in mind but I'm curious about your Gathering of Cloudy Days au! I've seen the overview but I was wondering if there were maybe any scenes or random details you have in mind?

sbdjshgkg Glad you liked them! ^ ^

As for scenes or details- hoo boy do I have a bunch of them! There's already a few floating in the Gathering of Cloudy Days AU tag, but I'm gonna be listing some more ideas that have been floating in my head in particular

Nameless Bard could practically be considered the reason why Teyvat and humanity still exists because he went out of his way to befriend Venti despite the very real risk of getting killed for defending him. And Venti cared about him and their friends so deeply to the point that it even reached Istaroth's fragmented soul deep in the Abyss and it convinced her to give humanity another chance

Somehow the power of friendship was strong enough to stop the Abyss Order's brainwashing attempt because Venti just goes "my friend wouldn't want that for me :("

Just like Relius Clover, Dottore fell into the Abyss and it allowed him to make several breakthroughs much to the detriment of several people. Thankfully, unlike Relius Clover, he never gets laid.

Y'know how I said Venti originally had blue eyes, but because he has a fragment of Istaroth's soul, it gave him the green colors? Zhongli is probably the only one that knows about his original eye color besides the people that created Venti and Istaroth. Even Venti is unaware of it

Expanding on this scene, Venti and the Tsaritsa had been talking about what it feels like to step into the actual Abyss and the Tsaritsa was curious if her falling in there instead of Venti to look for answers would even do anything. And yes, they are standing over an entrance to the Abyss itself

Venti is fated to die, but it doesn't always happen the same. Half of his deaths involved trying to save Dvalin, but it's extremely rare for him to succeed and even then, something always happens later that ends up leading to another reset. The Traveller's interference manages to save both of them

The giant sword Venti uses has Istaroth's face sculpted on it (I don't have access to my computer where the original files are, so I can't remove Venti here, but it's just the same as her statue except with her veil also wrapping to the front)

Venti also has his bangs covering his left eye so it wouldn't be targeted as often and he'd have a back up in case someone tries to blind him again like in this drawing, which is directly after this scene I wrote

Speaking of that scene, I love how @\monarchamos called it Venti going into editor mode JSBXKSGXKF

#ask #gathering of cloudy days au #littleblueberryartist

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mayordea · 1 year ago

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PLEASE tell me about your Robin headcanons, I'm so curious now.

oh beans i didn't expect a response to my meme! (i mean, it has happened before but my answer was a bit undercooked) normally i'd say my headcanons are cringe and try not to talk about them but THIS TIME i am excited to indulge, mainly to have them written down on my art page :> this may end up being a long boy answer lol

(as a brief preamble, i've pretty much been building off of these robin headcanons since like, middle school or so (at least 5 years) for my smash fanfiction. while the amount of Stuff i've imagined for them might make them a bit different from their original characters, the context of awakening is what prevents me from turning them into full-on oc's)

anyway. i'm not responsible for any damages this may induce. the actual hcs will be under the cut

Both of them

so to start out, both the female and male variants are separate entities rather than like, alternate dimension counterparts. in fact, they're siblings (reeaally starting a bit out there i know). for reference, the girl (younger of the two) is named reflect (a misreading of the japanese name i grew attached to. it is what it is) while the boy is just robin. this is why i usually try drawing them with different clothes so they don't look like clones of each other lol. i like to think some aspects like the shirt and the black robe and tall brown boots are staples of the "tactician" uniform to explain any similarities.

neither have amnesia (since i just.. don't like the trope that much + i wanted to have them remember and reflect on their upbringing y'know). robin is actually a regular, normal blooded dude (which is why i don't really depict him in an evil grima-possessed form). reflect on the other hand did have grima's blood, which tipped off the grimleal in hopes to resurrect grima. however, much like the original awakening story, reflect's mama took her away out of fear of what the grimleal would do to her in pursuit of their goals. due to circumstances that i haven't fully figured out yet, robin was left behind and was raised by daddy dearest validar. reflect was raised by her mama and unaware of the grimleal or that she even had a brother/father at all.

a fairly old but still good ref of their differences. i definitely took a lot of liberties with reflect obviously (i REALLLLY like robin's original design, main reason why i got so attached to the character, so i kept it pretty true to the original with some details i dont like redrawing sanded off). a lot of design elements developed over the years and came from various sources.

(strap thingies on the side were based on cipher art, stockings are based on heroes art of f!morgan, cloak is partially inspired by the grandmaster design (albeit heavily simplified), shorts... i just thought looked cool, blah blah)

ok enough rambling, time to ramble about them individually

Robin

if it wasn't clear by how i'd often draw robin with a tired/exhausted look on his face, he isn't exactly the most high-energy guy :p he's jaded and sometimes a bit of an asshole to people he doesn't know. pretty unapproachable generally. i hope the fact he was raised by validar would explain why. i imagine validar was particularly bitter about the grima vessel slipping out of his grasp and took some of that out on his remaining child.

his strict upbringing helped him become very proficient in tactics and magic as expected... but also a bit reclusive and not much of a people person. he'd travel around after being sick of validar's shit, which is how he crosses paths with chrom. chrom basically takes him in and lets him work as a tactician for the shepherds, which is an act that causes robin to become very attached and loyal to chrom. i'd say he's an established member for a few years before the events of awakening.

he's kind of unathletic (very skinny bastard) and probably has redditor posture (inspired by how slow of a runner he is in smash bros). magic is much more his "asset" ;) his sword game is mid if he's not wielding the levin sword.

he remains single to the end of awakening's campaign, but historians note he was "really good friends" with chrom (he is attracted to men lol. specifically chrom. but then chrom gets married which complicates things 🥴).

Reflect

in comparison to her male counterpart, she's much more free-spirited and bubbly. she's chill and great at making friends, a bit more accurate to the original. she was also raised to be a tactician, though she is comparatively still a novice. still, she's a quick and enthusiastic learner. i also imagine her to be kind of a risky thrill-seeker.

when she leaves her small community to explore the world, she comes across the burning village in awakening's first chapter, which is how she crosses paths with chrom. she joins his gang to further her learning as a tactician and to make some friends yeeaa!! (i haven't written as much about her as i make mrobin 😛)

she later marries chrom and becomes the mother of lucina.

I sometimes draw her with red hair tied in a black bow-- that's related to some non-fe fanfic stuff that is too convoluted and cringe for this already lengthy and cringe post. but it's an alternate look for her i think is kind of cute 😊

~~~

hopefully that's a sufficient enough answer, my brain always gets really scattered whenever i have to elaborate my robin hcs to someone else. i get a bit self-concious about them because i think i'm so far off-base with their original characters (but can't oc-ify them with some elements being based in the world/story of awakening) that i'll become like. public enemy of the greater robin community. but i know that's a bit ridiculous, so i let loose here as a means to get these many thoughts somewhere on my art page as a reference for when i draw these fellas in the future :)

there's also the separate tangent of their offspring, the morgans (or morgan being the girl, and marc being the boy) but this post is long enough as is so i'll just leave it there :,)

#not art #asks #fe #fire emblem #fe awakening #fire emblem awakening #robin #m!robin #f!robin #robin fire emblem #will tag the robin/fe tags for page organization since this post is a little old now #hope this doesnt fall in the wrong hands haha

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aron-q · 7 months ago

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Do you have any headcanons? Just, random ones that you would like to share right now?

Ok ok ok- so first of all, anybody notice the cast on lemmys foot in the Easter picture?

That's because his foot is naturally bent weirdly, so he wears a kinda cast to help him walk easier, he just doesn't need it when he's on his circus ball cus the curve of the ball lines up with the curve of his foot which makes it easy to walk with, the reason his foot is bent is due to his premature birth, Lemmy and Iggy are twins but Lemmy had to be Surgically removed from their shared egg early due to complications and he couldn't be put back because it would have been a risk to his twin, Iggy, which is also why Lemmy is shorter and not as similar to Iggy as he would have been if he hatched at the correct time WITH Iggy.

Second of all, just random fact about Iggy, he has no dietary preferences, he would eat just about anything whether it's food or not, he doesn't unwrap his candy, he eats bananas with the peels on, and along with Jr, they both randomly bite people for no reason.

Third of all, this one is unrelated to the koopalings or any major characters on the blog, but in this universe, paratroopas do not naturally have ears, and therefore they are all completely deaf and primarily communicate through sign language and dance, this was also shown in the Easter doodle I did with the two paratroopas in the corner.

(I don't know sign language btw so if I ever show it in the future, be aware that it may be wrong cus I just kinda googled it for this) The left one is just asking how many Easter eggs the right ones collected so far and the right one is saying 4, or in this case they're saying 3 because I only draw my characters with 4 fingers and their thumb is down so... ... You get the jist of it.

Fourth of all, ages have changed for the main cast aka the koopalings! Lemmy is a few weeks older than iggy, (y'know, with the premature hatching)

𝐿𝑢𝑑𝑤𝑖𝑔: 18

ᥣׁׅ֪ꫀׁׅܻ݊ꩇׁׅ֪݊ ꩇׁׅ֪݊ ᨮׁׅ֮: 17

ꙆᘜᘜƳ: 17

яσу: 15 1/2

ᥕᥱᥒძᥡ: 15

ოօɾԵօղ: 14

Larry: 12 1/2

And here are the broodals updated ages too!

కᩏꫀ᭙ꪖꪹᡶ: 21

𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒐: 19

𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒕: 17 1/2

Ｔｏｐｐｅｒ: 14 going on 15

That's right, toppers the baby sibling now

Fifth of all, GOD does Larry like trains!! Big trains, small trains, toy trains, real trains, toy trains that look real, real trains that look fake, red trains, blue trains, grey trains, brown trains, cargo trains, passenger trains, old fashioned trains, bullet trains, ALL THE TRAINS, he knows SO many unnecessary facts about them and he knows exactly how nearly EVERY model of train which ever existed in this universe works!!! All the inner mechanisms, all the different outer design features, he also knows all the models by name, and he has SO MANY model trains in his room, all of which are extremely detailed. (This idea is entirely based off of the fact that his paper Mario color splash battle was set on a moving train. Ps: Op has not actually played paper Mario colorsplash)

Sixth of all, dark land is VERY thoroughly covered in ash, soot, burning embers etc due to the raging lava rivers and active volcanic geysers in certain parts of darkland, so majority of any fabrics or materials used for clothing and buildings are nearly IMPOSSIBLE to set aflame, and majority of the people/species which live there have thick burn resistant skin and very strong lungs which are great at filtering the ash and stuff out in order to use the oxygen which the ash and soot is mixed with.

Seventh of all (yes I know this is getting long) none the species which natively inhabit this universe are human, the only humans here are the Mario Brothers which immigrated from the "real world" (I.e our world) which means, speaking outside of darkland, princess toadstool and princess daisy? Nonhuman, any other possible residents of this universe which would appear human in the canon Mario universe? Nonhuman as well, the princesses resemble the people they rule over a bit more than they do in the original Mario canon, you will see this when I post a picture of the meeting which Ludwig and Bowser went to during Easter at peaches castle soon.

That's all I can remember for now, lotta them were general universe "head canons" rather than koopaling head canons, but hey, who cares???

#nintendo #koopalings #the broodals #AWUBUBUBUBUBUBUBUVZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ-#also @splatoondetective it might take a lil while to answer your ask cus i wanna have doodles to go along with the answers. so sorry!

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