#also we said faith was the second admin on this blog

[crashdcwn]

he had it coming. it was only a matter of TIME.   ↳ a remake request by: @thelightwillbreakthrough

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

Hi guys!

Since Admin 1 is very busy with work and dating their soulmate, the one writing todays post, and the one taking responsibility for its contents, is Admin 2. This isn’t about any one specific thing but I simply wanted to give you a sign that we’re still around, assure our fellow vminies that we still very much follow vmin and watch over what they’re up to and we’ve very much not lost any kind of faith in their bond or started to doubt what we’ve laid out across all the posts on this blog. Quite on that contrary, actually, we’re been rather satisfied as we’re watching vmin in recent months.

Writing this post today was also sparked by someone in our ask box, but more on that later.

Let’s begin at the beginning.

Like I said we’re still avidly watching and following what BTS are up to, as well as the members individually, especially Tae, Jimin, Jin and Namjoon, since those four are the ones that our blog focuses on most. A few months have passed since the FESTA dinner and time shows us exactly what I thought about vmin in the last few years and in recent times. Judging by how vmin present themselves and support each other in their individual activities I don’t have any doubt that, and still uphold my opinion that, vmin are the closest bond within the group and I think the bond will continue thriving and getting closer. What led me to that conclusion was watching what’s been going on and through that observation a lot of what we saw already in the past (end of 2019 and onward) have gotten a new/deeper meaning and it also elevated the meaning behind the words between and actions between vmin. 

I mean that vmin (+Hobi once) were the ones who mentioned wanting the group to remain together for a long time/forever the most, or even were the only ones to do so repeatedly in such a manner. Tae said he wanted to see the members until their end and Jimin even claimed (jokingly) he would be willing to take over the leader role and how it would be great if the group would still live together and keep creating music together for a very long time. That also heavily reminds me of what vmin said in Friends where Jimin asks Tae to stay with him even after the fame will be gone. So it’s easy to see that Friends being on MOTS7, now knowing that the band was originally supposed to go on hiatus after MOTS7 and its tour, now takes on an even deeper meaning than the song already had when we analyzed it in the past. So vmin and only vmin mark their bond between them with the want of staying together forever publicly. All gestures between Jimin and Tae in Bon Voyage 4 and things that came afterward, like holding hands on the airport at the end of December 2019, “this is my love for you” from the behind the scenes of the 100th RUN episode when Jimin gave Tae a bunch of heart shaped balloons, Tae’s 95z is love comment on weverse, show a want to mark just how special their bond is during a time when they used to think that the end of chapter 1 was approaching (before the pandemic came and changed everything). 

Of course I don’t want to negate the bond between all the seven members because it’s very much there and strong and will also be something that’ll stick with them forever, but vmin are the only ones who in such a manner underlined their subunit within the group.

Everything that happened later, all our posts, our analysis, all moments between vmin and other duos, they also get put in a somewhat different light now that we know things that we didn’t know yet back then.

What I’m trying to say is that, despite the group being in its second chapter and working on their individual projects, vmin still stick to each other in their own ways and support each other, like Jimin quickly ending his live yesterday because Tae was about to go on air and so he wanted to send ARMY over so they would listen and support Tae. Or in the previous live Jimin did when Tae came by to comment along and how they agreed to do a video call right after and whatnot. Those are all signs for me that we have no reason whatsoever to worry or doubt vmin, and there’s even less of a reason to pay attention to weird behaviors and thoughts from other shippers or individuals who can’t quite deal with their half of vmin interacting one way or another with others, or the strange and fabricated rumors floating around. There’s no reason at all to doubt Tae’s words about liking Jimin the most, because their bond is unique and special.

Furthermore I wanted to add that, since I’m a Tae bias, am very much annoyed about the rumor that I think is simply stupid and baseless.

I’d also like to say that we’ve made many individual observations about vmin but there are no reasons and there’s no need to write out each of them and support it by some kind of comparison, the way other shippers feel the need to each time, so we will keep that to ourselves. What vmin are doing is more than enough on its own. 

If you really listen to what vmin say (without leaving out or twisting the context) and do, then a lot of the noise from other shippers stops holding any kind of meaning or importance and instead simply fades somewhere far into the background. 

Personally I’m very curious to finally find out a date or hint or anything when it comes to when we might finally hear something from Tae music wise that I could look forward to, but even here Tae is showing us his independent personality and the fact that he won’t allow others to pressure him into delivering something before he is entirely satisfied. Which of course also makes me happy, because if we finally get to hear any of it, I’d want it to be exactly what Tae wants it to be and how he wants it to be. So I’ll continue to patiently wait. 

At the same time I’m also curious about what kind of music we will get from Jimin. His photofolio already was quite the surprise look wise, since I’ve never seen Jimin as harbinger of chaos (he was a tattoo in one of the pictures that says Tailor of Chaos) so I was rather surprised to see him presented/presenting himself this way. So after that I’m even more curious about his music, especially after we’ve seen the different producers that flew to Korea to work with him.

Next I’d like to talk about Hobi, especially since we know he’s quite close with vmin and we know both of them supported him a great deal during his solo activities, especially when he was performing at Lollapalooza. For me Hobi’s album and the performance were truly the event, the moment. Personally I’m extremely happy that Hobi finally got the recognition and the status he rightfully deserves. At the same time I’m also happy that we could get to know Hobi in ways we haven’t quite before, like finding out that Hobi is just as much of a social butterfly as Tae and has a gigantic social circle of friends and acquaintances across different fields. Jack in the Box was like the music moment of this year and I love it so much.

And now lets get to the point that inspired me to want to write a post after a rather long time. As in the anon message we got in our ask box about Namjoon.

Dear anon I assure you I care a great deal about Namjoon, I respect and cherish him a lot, and that we even have a lot of hobbies and interests in common. Through the art that he shows us we can find out a lot about Namjoon the person, his thoughts and feelings, and also through that I feel close to him, in a way. And as such, I cannot imagine how someone can look at this very intelligent person that is Namjoon, who you claim to care about so much, and truly think he would go and post this mysterious boyfriend you claim he has on his social media with stickers over his face. BTS keep their privacy safe for a reason to the point that we literally know nothing expect for the few things they tell us themselves, and yet still Namjoon would go out of his way to post his boyfriend with a covered face?

I still stand and agree with what Admin 1 said in their post about this topic, as in that either these are his friends, a manager or other type of staff, or a trusted family member, and they surely aren’t someone he stands in a romantic connection with Namjoon, which is why Namjoon sees no reason not to share them with us with their faces covered. What I’m saying isn’t leaning on my thinking that namjin are a thing, but that is what I think and I surely won’t try and go around to convince others of that, but instead it’s me trying to get you to respect Namjoon a bit more. I also don’t negate that Namjoon might be in a relationship with someone else than Jin, though I honestly doubt it, but obviously that’s always a possibility, regardless of what gender that partner might have. This isn’t me being delulu or trying to push a narrative or agenda, but instead my thoughts and opinions based on my conclusions reached through what we’ve seen over the years.

Despite your triple dare we will not be posting your ask and the link it had because it leads to a blog filled with posts that we do not agree with and we very much are not interested in leading more people there and running the chance that people might get misled by them. 

This whole Namjoon’s mystery boyfriend topic has been floating around for months now and we’ve already posted about it back in December last year, and since then nothing has changed so, as it stands, you can lay this topic to rest. And if you don’t agree with our blog, perhaps it simply isn’t the place for you since this is a BTS, vmin and namjin blog. There are enough other bloggers who support your thoughts so you might feel happier there instead.

I’m happy that Namjoon is doing well, that he’s getting so much appreciation in the art would, that we could catch a glimpse at how much fun Namjoon had with Hobi at the Billie Eilish concert, and that he’s been steadily working on his music and seems satisfied with the work he’s doing.

Another thing that I/we kind of missed (as in mentioning it on the blog) was Jungkook’s birthday and his live with Jin and the whole situation around this day and how it’s practically the most anticipated date of the year among xkook shippers. That kind of passed us by. I watched the live and I must admit that it didn’t feel quite the way like the previous lives he’s done and the weverse post Jin made after he left Jungkook’s apartment, about how he should continue his live professionally, led me to believe that he didn’t feel quite as enthusiastic and energetic about the live as he did with the previous ones. For whatever reason. But one thing this showed us was that Jin is watching over Jungkook and that their bond is very close and brotherly with older brother Jin caring a lot about his beloved younger brother Jungkook. At the same time I hope that the whole day, and what happened on it, will finally put certain things to rest for people who think clearly who maybe finally saw or will see that the bond the entire group has with Jungkook is exactly the same and none of them are romantic. That vmin treat Jungkook the same, one and the other. That you can see that in some of their gestures and behaviors, in Jimin's like in Tae’s, that they care about Jungkook the same way the other members do as well, and that their bonds with Jungkook don’t have any romantic connotations. Jungkook is simply the baby of the group and nothing and no analysis will change my mind about that. 

Going back to vmin for a closing summary or thought. Everything that was to be analyzed about them has been analyzed and really everything that could be said about what we’ve seen since 2013 has been said, and knowing that chances are rather slim that we’ll get anything more than this, I don’t think there’s a need for further analysis of each and every new word and gesture we get since they all following and fit in with everything we’ve seen so far, none of it is new or shocking or anything like it. What we see now is just the way we thought it would look like. My stance on vmin is known among those who read our blog and everyone knows that I’m the Admin that is convinced that vmin are together, but I’m also convinced that we will never get any kind of confirmation, as in something official like a statement or anything like it. Or at least not now or any time soon.

So I’m remaining firm in my opinions but I will not try to convince anyone of them either. 

[eddtober]

EDDTOBER MASTERPOST 2019!

ABOUT:

Eddtober is a list of prompts made in an effort to encourage the Eddsworld Fandom to spread their wings of creativity beyond the norms that they are used to, during the month of October.

It is all without harming others or causing drama, a neutral ground for all fans of Eddsworld to come and have fun, no matter what side of a discourse they’re in. 

It hopes to promote inspiration beyond the usual over-dramatised content, to revive a spirit in Eddsworld that hasn’t been seen in many years, and to stretch the invitation to all who can create.

Eddtober calls not only the artists who have a talent for drawing and painting and so forth, but also: the authors (fanfics, journalists, essayists, diarists, poets, ramblers), the cosplayers, the video-makers (animators, video essays, memers, youtubers), the gamers (game devs, let’s plays) and more. Eddtober calls for all those who want to be inspired with unconventional creativity. 

So Eddheads: come forth, be inspired and make something new! 

With that out the way, steel yourselves - this post is gonna be a long one under the cut!

RULES:

Base Rules need to be set so everyone can participate in Eddtober safely and in a fun way. Please read them carefully!

Always tag it with #eddtober and tag appropriately! Of course, the first part is easy. In regards to the second part, there’s three categories. All they have in common is that they must be tagged with their own tag and NOT in the main eddtober tag. These specific tags musn’t be shortened or reimagined either, just to make sure. Side Note: If you don’t want to see ANY of these things mentioned in the categories, it’s recommended that you get some form of a blacklist extention, either Tumblr Savior, xKit, or even tumblr itself to hide those things from you. Though do beware - be careful when looking through the blog since… Yeah, it’s hard to blacklist stuff through there. a) Gore. Gore and related NSFW is allowed in the challenge, but please tag it as #Eddtober gore, alongside the appropriate trigger warnings of the subject as #tw -trigger here- . The creative piece should also be posted with a ‘keep reading’ redirection so it isn’t immediately seen by those who are repulsed by it. b) Shipping. As of 2019, shipping is now officially allowed and acceptable in the challenge! If you have any ships implied or shown in a prompt response, always use #eddtober shipping and what ship it is in a seperate tag. c) (In)Famous Fan Projects. As of 2019, a lot of dividing opinions have been flying around the community and splitting people apart. In an event of unity and neutrality, these opinions are still welcomed, but still have to be done carefully. If you’re in favour of a fan-project, go ahead and tag them alongside ’#eddtober fan project’. But if you’re not, then you don’t have to tag them - just use ’#eddtober fan project salt’. And yes, those are the exact tags. No need to alter them here.

Be Sensitive and Respectful to Others. I know many of us here in this fandom can take easy offence to certain creations, so please consider and think on your creative piece before you make and post it. If it’s intentionally insulting and offensive, don’t post or even create it at all.  

Credit Where Due. This should be blatantly obvious right now, but please, please don’t steal other’s creative fanwork or post it without credit. Always have permission from the creator to post something of their’s, regardless of the social media, and always have their username when you post it, not just ‘credit to the artist/original person’. If you do not follow this, actions will be taken for your consequences. This also goes for spreading Eddtober - always place a link to this blog if you spread the list to other social medias!

Keep your situation and life chill. You can do one prompt for Eddtober, some of the prompts or all of them - up to you! It’s understandable if life gets in the way. The goal of Eddtober is not to do every prompt, but to be inspired to create fan-content in a way you usually wouldn’t have.

Spread the word. This is less of a rule and more of a personal request from Admin Chris, but since she doesn’t have many social media accounts you’d expect, spreading word of Eddtober (with appropriate credit back to this blog) would mean a LOT, so they can join in the fun too!

Sharing is caring. Reblogging and sharing from your fellow creators doing Eddtober would be great to give them a motivation and confidence boost! (Keep in mind that reposting is not the same as reblogging, unless proper credit is given with the original artists’ permission.)

Go Beyond the Boundaries of Your Imagination. The whole purpose of Eddtober is to promote new, fresh things to come up in the Eddsworld fandom and break a cycle of the same old that’s been there for a while. Take a leap, spread your wings, do your best, and go have fun.

BOUNDARIES:

Most of this list will be related to Rule Two of Eddtober:

Be Sensitive and Respectful to Others.

Quote:

‘I know many of us here in this fandom can take easy offence to certain creations, so please consider and think on your creative piece before you post.‘

Whilst Eddtober is a fun, neutral place to spread our creative wings, there are boundaries that need to be taken in order to keep everyone safe. Which means certain parts that are usually seen as ‘common’ within the Eddsworld Fandom will not be acceptable in the challenge. This list is just to make sure that we as the Eddtober community can set a good standard for the fandom and for ourselves.

Edd Gould’s death. Admin Chris wishes to make it clear that creative pieces that draws clear lines to Edd’s passing IS NOT okay. This includes Edd (IRL and the character) in hospital for cancer, Angel Edd or any AU that depicts him as a divine being of any sort (including Blessworld), in Heaven or Hell (as an actual denizen there, not a tourist like in Hello Hellhole. There’s a strong difference).   Here at Eddtober, Edd's life is something to be celebrated, not his death. It’s uncomfortable to see this thing happen and should be steered clear of.

Fetishisation/Sexualisation of Religions and Faiths. This is another reason why AUs such as Blessworld aren’t okay. In regards to that AU, the sexualisation and the horrendous acts done within the Catholic church is a highly sensitive topic that’s still debated over even in real life. So things such as ‘sexy’ nuns and priests and so forth are a strong insult to them. This is only one example though, and I’m not saying you can’t explore faiths and combine them with Eddsworld, but I HIGHLY recommend doing your research on the faith or religion and its history before creating for Eddtober.

Edd’s old IRL Friends. This is regarding Prompts 27 and 28 for the most part. Whilst Edd Gould did draw his pals into comics and Eddisodes, making them their own characters (quite clearly), many of them might not want to be associated with Eddsworld or Edd after his passing or after the legacy season. So out of respect for their wishes, please do not involve Edd’s actual old IRL friends in your creative pieces unless they say they’re okay with it. This will vary from person to person, so do not also take one answer from one person and apply that as an umbrella motive. If you get no response from the person regarding this if you ask them yourself, then take it as a NO and don’t involve them in the creative piece. This doesn’t mean that you cannot use the Eddsworld character based off of them (unless they straight-up say so). You’re perfectly able to, but to avoid future confusion, a person’s Eddsworld character IS NOT the same as the real-life person. For example, using Tom from Eddsworld in a piece is okay, but using Thomas ‘TomSka’ Ridgewell himself for the same Eddsworld piece isn’t. (Disclaimer: Said example may not be 100% accurate unless there’s further information about this. This is a fictional example, after all.)

The real guys’ last names/surnames. I really didn’t want to say this in here and it hasn’t happened in Eddtober yet, but when Legacy ended, one of Tom’s last says was that the fans shouldn’t use the IRL last names of Eddsworld crewmembers (specifically actors and animators) for the characters. It’s an effort to seperate the characters from the real-life people. This means when creating your pieces, you don’t use: -Edd Gould -Tom Ridgewell -Matt Hargreaves -Tord Larsson And so forth. You’re welcome to come up with your own last names for the characters, but please don’t use the old IRL ones. Unfortunately since this habit is starting to pop back up in bits of the fandom, I want to make it clear that isn’t cool or tolerated, and action will be taken if I see it happen in here.

Sinsworld. Believe it or not, the sinsworld tag was specifically made back in the day to keep the porn out of the main. But due to a certain in-fandom event, this intended action has been long-lost. Because of all of these events, any sinsworld (porn, lewds and related sexual NSFW) that’s Sinspired by the Eddtober prompts WILL NOT be accepted into the blog or any other official Eddtober accounts by any means.   This is because many in this fandom are minors/underage and more who are 18+ are repulsed to porn and such (Admin Chris is part of the latter group). It is fine to be sexually inspired by the prompts and create stuff for them, but PLEASE don’t tag that Sinsworld content with Eddtober.

Abusive/Self-Harm Creative Content, Gorey or not. No. Just. No. I don’t wish to deny vent or darker creations. It is good to release your frustrations and express personal issues in what you create, but there are safe and appropriate ways to do so in the challenge. Death wishing, abuse, suicide/suicide idealisation, self-harm and/or similar are NOT allowed to be depicted in the challenge and should NEVER be romanticised or supported. Eddtober aims to be a safe and uplifting place for all creative people, no matter what their space is at the moment.

Shipping. On a similar note - whilst shipping is allowed, there are of course some things we don’t allow out of respect for everyone: -Shipping of the IRL people. -Sexual or abusive ship dynamics and tropes. -Ship-bashing or insulting ships. I’m sure there will be more to add to the list as I continue getting asks regarding this, but in the meantime, please don’t let yourself fall into creating for this.

Gore beyond Eddsworld’s levels. Gore has been a staple of Eddsworld since the early episodes, and it won’t be refused in the challenge. However, there are limits to how far this gore will go as of 2019, and it will be made clear here. -Guts This was allowed in Eddtober 2018, but as of now this is no longer the case. A lot of Eddheads expressed discomfort at the idea of guts hanging out of bodies as of the 2019 preparation survey, and I agree with them. This will also be extended to zombification/zombies. -Romanticised/‘Fashionable’ Gore. Absolutely not. Using the creative properties of gore to make someone look more ‘attractive’ in a sexualised manner is against the earlier boundaries. -Gore of Edd Gould, or his old IRL friends. This hasn’t happened, but it is good to make this clear in case some people are really naive about this: DO NOT DO THIS. That’s just straight-up offensive. -Gore of Prompts 27 to 30 (and potentially 31).   Obviously. Since these last few prompts are about expressing your love and appreciation to the fandom, it doesn’t make sense on why you’d make something gutsy-gorey about some wholesome times. Especially in regards to Prompts Twenty-Seven and Twenty-Eight (Which was also just technically mentioned above, but the point has been made).

(In)Famous fan-projects. In the past year or so, certain fan projects have gathered a strong following - both for love and hate. Unfortunately, due to this hate being especially loud in 2019, action had to be taken for this. It’s not to say that you can’t express your opinions of a project, but there’s a safe way for all in doing so. For the others around you, and for yourself too. So if you’re going to create things that relate to either side of the argument you’re on, I will NOT allow straight-up insulting stuff to either side. Be it horrendous caricatures of the creators, vaguing about others through a story, plain old bashing or other means, I will NOT let it be shared around. More so, if this is kept up, I’ll most likely disregard your creations entirely since I don’t wish to endorse hurtful people. Especially through this event.

With all that said and done, let’s get to the ACTUAL prompts!

Quick reminder: when this list says ‘create something for’, it’s not just referring to fanart. It refers to any medium - digital, traditional or unconventional - that can be used. The challenge here is to be creative as possible, not to stay conventional.

The List features Admin Chris’s Commentary. Some useless, some useful.

Create something for Edd. (Not his real-life counterpart, but the character. That needed some clearing up based on 2017’s results.)

Create something for Tom.

Create something for Matt

Create something for any pre-legacy season episode, except WTFuture. (You can do WTFuture if you want, but seeing that much of this fandom is currently made of people who came in after The End… It’d be worth having a crack at other pre-legacy episodes.)

Create something for or with the crew’s symbols. (An example of symbols being a cola can for Edd, something blue for Tom, a mirror for Matt, etc.)

Create something for Superhero Alter Egos! (It doesn’t have to stop at PowerEdd’s canon either! Go nuts! Give Edd and his friends new superhero alibis and outfits!)

Create something for Supervillain Alter Egos! (Reminder that it doesn’t have to stop at the ‘Green/Blue/Purple/Red Leader scenario! Again, go nuts! Get wacky if you must!)

Create something for Minor characters of the show. (Except the Neighbours - they already have their own prompt.)

Create something for descendants of the main four guys. (Sure, you can make it about the love children of your favourite ships, but the point of this prompt specifically is to not be ship-related. See if you can come up with descendant characters from the bloodlines of the main four. If not, shipping is fine.)

Create something for Tord. (He’s late in this list for a reason. Trust me.)

Create something for the neighbours of 29 Dirdum Lane. Are Kim and Katya still there, or are there newbies in the street?

Create something for the neighbours of 25 Dirdum Lane.

Create something for unlucky things happening to the guys, or one of them. Feel free to go as dark or as humourous as you like!

Create something for genderbends of the guys, maybe as if the Ellsworld we know never existed. Or you can stick to canon, up to you.

This prompt is a wild card. Do with it as you wish. (In 2017 everyone was told to quote: ‘go whole hog on this’. The next thing we all knew, everybody literally drew pigs with the guys. That wasn’t supposed to be literally taken, but by god it was hilarious.)

Create something for your crew. Whether you’re the main character with your friends or have OCs taking that place or a mix of both is up to you.

Create something for an AU of Eddsworld. You can make one up on the spot, or even fan content for an AU that already exists is cool too. (As of rule number two of Eddtober, the Blessworld AU will not be accepted for this prompt. I know it is popular, but if you have any issues with this, please contact me in the blog asks myself.)

Create something for Eddsworld as a video game. Whether it’s concepts and covers for your own ideas or fanart for games in the making such as Eddsworld Armageddon, up to you. Heck, why not make a demo?

Create something for Todd, or whoever the ‘Tord’ figure is of 25 Dirdum Lane.

Create something for a Saloonatics-WTFuture Crossover. (What? Shenanigans could be made here, guys. Just take it!)

Create something for the future selves of the guys. Or if you want to take it up a notch, make your own versions of them! Have them all be hobos (#HoBrosforlife), or have cola not be banned in the future… up to you!

The End who? Create something for and/or elaborate on how you would finish off the Eddsworld Legacy season. (For the purposes of this prompt, I can accept an angsty end for this, but I personally do not recommend it.)

Create something for Zanta. (I guess you could call him a Nightmare Before Christmas, then.)

Create something for an Eddsworld movie. Whether it’s stuff for the Eddsworld Fan Movie or your own ideas, up to you!

Create something for the deal with Tom’s eyes. If you want to call them that.

Pick a song, any song, and put that on repeat. Use it as inspiration to create something in relation to Eddsworld.

Create something for Edd Gould himself. Not his character in Eddsworld, the real-life person.

An obligatory prompt without Eddtober in the beginning: create something for Edd’s birthday. (This was made into a prompt and will permanently remain as one as Edd’s birthday shouldn’t be taken away from today.)

Create something for someone/multiple someones in the fandom who inspire you - even the small artists and writers and such who are just starting out!

Create something for who or what got you into EW. What's your story? How did you get here? (Do you have 90 minutes?)

Create something for you being inserted into Eddsworld in any way. (Because here in Eddtober, cringe culture is dead and we don’t hesitate to self-insert.) Be it you hanging with the guys or going on an eddventure, the context and situation is up to you!

VETERANS! Have you already done a prompt and don’t want to repeat yourself? Then check out the list of Eddstra Prompts here!

Phew! Alright, that’s everything. If you have any suggestions or questions about the challenge, please feel free to shoot an ask through the blog. Thanks for reading and have a safe and awesome Eddtober!

[shera-dnd]

Ethermania

Listen up, punks, you have heard of modern AUs, coffee shop AUs, D&D AUs, but today you’re gonna meet the biggest and meanest AU of all: WRESTLING AU!

You thought that wedding fic was long? Then get ready for 23k words of pure ass kicking!

Brought to you by the greatest tag team of all times: This blog’s admin and our very own buff anon!

So buckle up, because this is gonna be a wild ride!

“Welcome welcome, ladies, gentlemen and all the inbetweens. Tonight will be a night to remember, for tonight is the night of Ethermania! My name is Sea Hawk and joining me at the announcer’s table tonight is my amazing co-host, Entrapta.” Sea Hawk dropped down from atop the announcer’s table and sat down next to Entrapta, who was jumping in her seat.

“Thank you, Sea Hawk. Tonight we’ll have the most amazing matches between the greatest fighters from all over Etheria. Members of the Horde and Rebellion alike meeting in epic confrontation, to cap it all off we will have the final no holds barred match between the chosen champions from each side and the winner will receive the coveted title of ‘Defender of Greyskull’” Entrapta grabbed Sea Hawk’s suit and started shaking him “I’m so excited!”

Sea Hawk did his best to continue talking as he was being shook by his co-host “And who are these champions? you might ask. Well, you’ll have to watch and find out.”

Entrapta calmed down a little and cleared her throat “Ah yes, our opening match will be between two Horde wrestlers, fighting for the right to become the Horde champion”

“That is right, the Horde champion will have to be in two matches in the same night. Well, I don’t know what crazy tricks Hordak has in store for us tonight, but he sure must put some faith in his staff” Sea Hawk quickly glances over his papers “And how do you feel about his choice of contestants?”

“Felina and Shadow Weaver” Entrapta cringed a little as the words left her mouth “It won’t be a pretty match. Those two have a lot of baggage to work through and I have a feeling they are gonna do it the most violent way possible”

“And with She-ra away from the Horde it is almost like those two changed personalities in these last few months. Shadow Weaver has been going savage in the ring, especially when her former pupil was involved”

~~~

Of course they would find a way of making this about Adora. Everything has to be about Adora. It didn’t matter, she had her own plans for tonight and she couldn’t afford to lose her temper with something so stupid.

She wandered around backstage, looking for her next adversary and, knowing Shadow Weaver, she would be looking for her too. The pre-show had barely started when she stumbled across her target “Ready to get what you have coming to you, Weaver?”

Even with her mask on Felina could still imagine the scowl on her face that brought her so much joy “You!” Was all she said at first, but it was loud enough to start attracting attention. Good. “Do you think you’re being intimidating? That you can scare me? You’ll be the one being put in their place tonight.”

Felina just smirked as she saw a cameraman coming their way “Put in my place? That’s cute coming from the woman who shouldn’t even be in the ring in the first place. Attacking her own team. You even make me look good!”

“I will not stand here and listen to a stupid little girl blame her own incompetence on me. You’ll be defeated tonight, I’ll be Horde champion and you will cease with these foolish accusations” Oh, Shadow Weaver was pissed. That was way too perfect.

“Fine then,” Felina shrugged “since you’re so sure you’re gonna win. How about we raise the stakes a little? Let’s make this a Mask vs Mask.” Felina noticed Weaver hesitating for a second. If she failed here she would suffer the ultimate humiliation. Felina gave a quick nod towards the cameraman behind her and she knew she had made her point. She would have to accept her terms or admit to the live audience she didn’t know if she could beat Felina.

The grunt of frustration from her was so satisfying to hear. “So be it. I have nothing to fear from you.” Oh, but she had, and Felina would be more than happy to remind her of that.

~~~

“Entering the ring now for our opening match...fighting both for the right to become Horde champion and to maintain her honor as a wrestler, we have Shadow Weaver” As soon as Sea Hawk finished his announcement the lights around the arena began to slowly dim and the crowd quieted down. The sound of roaring cheers replaced by sinister chanting.

In one moment the only lights in the arena were that of the crowd’s cell phone screens, in the next a beacon of red light emerged from the ground and in the middle of it stood a dark figure. Covered by a cloak and surrounded by fog, the figure slowly made her way down to the ring as the chanting grew louder and the red beacon followed her.

Her entrance to the ring was deliberate and calculated. She was fearsome in everything she did and no one dared boo her. When she reached the precise center she shed her dark cloak with a single movement and, with perfect synchronization, the lights returned to the arena, but instead of the cheer and applause she expected all she heard were gasps of surprise.

Felina was already behind her, waiting for her in the ring. Not only had she stolen Shadow Weaver’s entrance, she had made her message very clear ‘I could have beat you there and you wouldn’t even notice’. Words failed to describe her indignation, all she could do was wait for the ref to officially start the match and then show this foolish girl the mistake she had made.

Felina was grinning at her as they waited for the ref to start the match. Oh she would wipe that self satisfied smile from her face. No, she had far more important things to wipe from the girl’s face.

At first it had all gone according to plan. Felina’s first attack was pushed back with a kick and when she insisted in trying it again she was stop by a knee to the face. Another kick to the back of her knee and Felina was already on her knees. Shadow Weaver could barely contain her laughter as she kicked Felina again and again as she tried to get up and until the ref pushed them apart she had no plans on stopping, but Felina did not need the ref to stop her.

Felina grabbed Shadow Weaver’s foot and twisted herself around, forcing her opponent to the ground. Before Weaver could get up she rolled forward and finished the movement with her knee - the same knee Weaver had kicked - firmly placed against her foe’s neck. Without getting up she posed a little to the crowd so she could humiliate Weaver just a little more. She even caught a glimpse of someone in the front row with a sign saying “Felina can climb MY top rope!” Good to know there were still wrestling fans with good taste.

When she finally got up and allowed Shadow Weaver to move again, she saw that her foe was trying to be quick and brutal. She attempted to rush Felina down, put her on the ground and pummel her with abandon again, but Felina was expecting this. She dodged under the first attack with a split, then vaulted over Shadow Weaver to avoid the second and soon she was dancing around her opponent, laughing at her failure.

Shadow Weaver had grown distracted in her rage and as she turned to strike her foe again she was met by a foot solidly planted against her chin, and as she hit the ground she was vaguely aware of Sea Hawk shouting “Felina with that Chin-tah’s Paw”.

Shadow Weaver had beat her up again and again trying to break her, to get her to quit, but what she had called torture Felina had called training, and now she was showing how much stronger that training had made her. She was the strongest fighter in the Horde and she did not need Weaver or Adora anymore.

From that moment on there was no question on who would win, there was only one option and when the match finally ended Shadow Weaver waited patiently on her knees. She was an awful human being, but even she knew what she had to do and she would do so with dignity. Perhaps that was some part of her Light Spinner persona still showing. When the camera focused on her face she slowly removed her mask and made her way out of the ring.

~~~

Felina did not see Shadow Weaver backstage again, but she didn’t care about her anymore, she got what she wanted. “Hey, boss, guess who just got themselves a new champion?” she announced entering Hordak’s office.

“Good,” Hordak allowed the word to hang as if tasting the satisfaction it carried “you have once again proven more than capable of destroying whoever the Rebellion choses as their champion.”

The man knew how to give an ego boost, Felina had to admit that, but she still had a question in mind. “Now care to explain why you booked this for the same night I would have to fight their Champion? Couldn't we have done that before just to guarantee the victory?” She knew she would still win, but she would have prefered a day or two to rest before her big match.

Hordak laughed a self satisfied laughter “It is all very simple. The Rebellion is too honorable for their own good. Whoever they send will also have fought tonight, after all that is the fair thing to do. So I have instructed your colleagues to leave victory as a secondary objective tonight. Their main goal will be to hurt and maim their enemies, so no one will be fit to stop us!”

~~~

Adora had arrived late for the event, everyone told her to rest at home until she was healed, but she couldn’t just sit and watch the massacre playing out on her screen. The Horde had lost 3 consecutive matches, but never without wounding their opponents in some way. Even if she couldn’t fight today she had to be there to help them, to give them some support. When she finally arrived at the First One’s Arena it was just in time to catch her best friends and new tag team making their way to their big match.

She was waiting at ring side when the lights began to dim. One after another black light spotlights turned on, revealing the letters B F S written on the ground and when the final spotlight shone two silhouettes came into focus. Glimmer and Bow posing dramatically, their black light clothes glowing in their classic purple and white, with Bow’s heart and Glimmer’s hair brighter than anything else. They jumped and flipped and danced their way to the ring as their fans shook glow sticks to the rhythm of their theme song. A trampoline waited for them at ring side and they entered the ring with one more flip and one final pose.

They had huge smiles on their faces when the lights turned back on. Adora loved those two dorks so much. Already in the ring were Scorpia and Kyle. Adora had to admit that she felt bad for missing their entrance, she didn’t want her former colleagues to think she didn’t care about them and, as if summoned by Adora’s stray thoughts, she heard one of said colleagues calling her “Hey, Adora, here to watch your friends get crushed?”

“Felina.” Adora answered, “Shouldn’t you be resting before your big match?” Adora was legitimately worried about her former tag team partner, but of course that was not how she saw things. Felina could only see this as Adora looking down on her, so she answered the only way she could.

“Shouldn’t you be in a hospital bed? Like the one I put you in.” Aggression was Felina’s favorite way of expressing her feelings, something that lent itself well to her wrestling career, but that meant interacting with her could be very tiresome. Thankfully they were both distracted by Kyle being tossed against the ropes next to them.

Apparently Glimmer had been spending the last couple of minutes handing his ass to him and before Scorpia could tag in, Glimmer jumped between the middle and top ropes, grabbing them for support and using the force of her jump to spin around and hit Kyle on the back with both her feet.

“Seriously, Kyle?” they both said together and laughed. They could not believe that the first time they laughed together in months was because of Kyle, but while Adora had shown that disbelief through more laughter, Felina did so through anger. She was supposed to make Adora feel miserable, not make jokes with her. It didn’t matter how good she looked in her casual clothes or how beautiful and earnest her smiled seemed. No, she had a mission here and she was going to complete it.

“And what do you think you’re doing here?” That’s it, angrier. “Do you think you’re gonna just get your injured ass into the ring and magically save the day?”

Adora sighed loudly “No, I’m here to give moral support. Something that you used to do too, before you got so obsessed with revenge.”

“Well, excuse me if I don’t take well to being betrayed and left behind!” At this point they were shouting, and were it not for the match going on right next to them the cameras would probably all be aimed right at them.

“Hey, hey Felina, look at what I can do!” Scorpia called from the ring while holding Bow upside down. She lifted him up and proceeded to do squats while holding him in place.“ Hey Felina, isn’t this cool?”

Bow struggled to talk, with all the blood flowing to his head and his lungs being crushed by Scorpia’s powerful arms “I don’t think she is paying attention...”

“Oh, she does that sometimes,” She said as she lowered him again. “I’m gonna pile drive you now.” That was all the warning Bow got before his head was driven straight into the ring. His struggle went completely unnoticed by his ringside friend as she was still focused in her argument.

“Do you really think I wanted to leave you?” Adora’s voice was quieter now, almost too quiet to be heard over the crowd “I cared for you, I still do.” and for a moment there Felina believed, she wanted to believe that, that she could have her Adora back, but as her eyes darted away trying so hard to avoid Adora’s gaze, she caught a glimpse of that sign from before, but it was being flipped around and now it said ‘Suplex me She-ra!!!’.

“No!” She pushed Adora away “You just want me so you can feel better, so you can always be the best, but I’m done playing second fiddle to you!” And with that she made her way backstage, leaving Adora by herself. Questioning what to do now.

“Are you seeing this?” Entrapta’s shouts snapped Adora back to reality. In the ring Glimmer was standing on the middle rope, using the top rope for support, while Bow pulled her back “It’s the Sparkling Arrow!” When Bow released the rope Glimmer went flying right into Scorpia’s chest, knocking her to the ground. They were announced victorious soon after.

~~~

“Absolutely not!” Angella announced firmly.

“But mom,” Glimmer tried arguing back, but one look from her mother was enough to shut her down.

“She-ra will not be our champion for the final match. She should be resting at home and not risking herself here!” Her tone made it all sound very final.

“Please, you have to understand. This may be the last chance Felina has.” Adora begged.

“She is a Horde wrestler. Are you seriously asking me to put our chance at the title at risk for the sake of the enemy?”

“Yes!” Adora shouted this time “I used to wrestle for the Horde too and haven’t I changed for the better? Why can’t she do the same?”

Angella shook her head “That girl wants nothing to do with redemption. What makes you think you can just walk in there and save her soul?”

Adora stood tall again and spoke with certainty “I cannot save her. The only one that can do that is her, but she can’t do that unless we give her that chance, a chance to prove that she doesn’t need to live in my shadow anymore.”

Angella sighed.

~~~

Felina was fidgeting in place, the room she was waiting in was dark and the only company she had was a member of staff responsible for giving her the go ahead signal. This was gonna be her big match as champion of the Horde and she couldn’t afford to mess this up. No, she shouldn’t be thinking like that, she would not mess this up and she knew that.

She adjusted her lion fur cape one last time - the fur was fake, she was a heel not a monster - and lowered herself, preparing for a running jump. The staff member next to her started counting down on their hand. When the count reached zero she ran.

Outside a loud roar boomed through the speakers as she jumped into view. Ripping apart a thin paper wall on her way out. Her music was loud and angry, just the way she liked it and by the sound of the crowd her fans loved it too. As she made her way to the ring she jumped and clawed at the people near her path, she was scary and those people loved scary.

When she reached the ring she stood outside the ropes, posing one last time for the camera, before backflipping into the ring itself, leaving her cape behind. Her fans might have cheered, but everyone else was booing her now and she looked down at them with smug superiority. Poor bastards, can’t accept that their favorites are all about to lose. No matter who they send out she will just crush them. She casually leaned against the ropes and waited for her challenger to appear.

“For the Honor of Greyskull!” The way too familiar voice echoed through the arena, the sound nearly deafened by the roars of the crowd.

“What!?” Felina exclaimed. She shouldn’t be here, she shouldn’t be able to fight, but here she was and Felina was left stunned, watching her entrance unfold before her.

A show of colors seemed to flow towards a single point and from the bright white light it formed emerged Adora, or rather She-ra. Her body covered in armor and her sword held aloft, she smiled and waved to the crowd before pointing her sword towards the ring. That same show of colors began again, but this time it formed a rainbow bridged between the two of them. God, Felina hated that entrance.

After waving and high-fiving for a disgustingly long time She-ra finally got to the stage and began to take off all her armor pieces. This was a no holds barred match, but of course She-ra was too good to take her props into the ring itself. Now came the part Felina hated the most, She-ra took off her cape and tossed it into the crowd. Felina was willing to bet that after tonight that thing would be on sale on ebay for a stupid amount of cash. She was very motivated to reduce the value of that cape now.

As soon as they had both entered the ring all screens immediately changed to show Light Hope in her office “Champions of the Horde and Rebellion, you have proven to be the strongest amongst your people and now you’ll have your chance to prove who is truly the strongest of them all. Strong enough to bear the ultimate title: The Defender of Greyskull” the screen changed again, this time to the image of a large belt, adorned by a silver skull with two large fangs sticking out, around it in the language of the First Ones were written the words ‘Defender of Greyskull’.

Light Hope herself signaled the start of the match and that was not a pretty start. Felina was much more aggressive than she ever was before, she knew that Adora had grown much stronger in her time as She-ra and even wounded she would have to give her all to take her down.

With kicks and punches she tried to wear She-ra down, to keep her on the defensive, but that wasn’t working. Why did she wait to get this strong only after betraying Felina? Fine, if hitting her wasn’t doing the job then she would just have to leverage her weight. She jumped, trying to lock her legs around She-ra’s head so she could toss her around again, but this time she was waiting.

She grabbed Felina before she could get a firm hold and tossed her to the ground with force. Felina barely had any time to recover her breath when She-ra came crashing down against her elbow-first. She-ra tried to pin her down right there, but a quick elbow to the nose was enough to dissuade her.

Felina lost no time and quickly used the ropes for impulse on a good dropkick to the chest. She-ra was thrown off balance and Felina rushed in to capitalize on that, but she let her guard down. She-ra grabbed her arm and spun her around. Next thing she knew she was locked in a bear hug from behind and that could only mean one thing.

No matter how many times it happens to you, you never get quite used to the feeling of getting suplexed. She could vaguely hear Entrapta going on about the details of the ‘Eternia Suplex’ and how it was passed down by generations of She-ras, but that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was taking down this She-ra.

This time she held back, her style was more defensive anyway. She hated to admit, but she knew the only reason she was being so aggressive was because Adora was messing with her feelings and she knew she couldn’t win if she continued to allow that to happen.

This time she allowed She-ra to come at her and began to have her fun. She-ra may be the strongest, but she was too slow and too stupid to actually get a hit on Felina. Time after time she dodged everything that came her way and soon her wounded former-partner was panting and gasping for air. Now she just had to make use of it.

Felina positioned herself just right and started goading She-ra on. She ran at her in wild fury and once again Felina vaulted over her, but this time She-ra had no time or energy to stop herself and Felina was positioned perfectly to have her run straight into the turnbuckle.

She-ra tried to get up, but Felina slammed her head down and slumped back against the turnbuckle. Felina walked around the ring, looking for something to play with and she was so happy to find out that She-ra was stupid enough to just leave her sword laying around next to the ring. Sure, that thing was closer to a bat than to a real sword, but that was just perfect for what she wanted.

She was cackling when she hit She-ra’s back for the first time. This would be her revenge...for leaving her alone, for making her feel weak, for stealing the one person she cared about. She-ra would pay. She hit her again and again and for every hit she listed another thing she had done to her. This was her victory, her ultimate victory. But then, why wasn’t she feeling any better? Why did this hurt so much?

She-ra had to pay, she told herself. For everything she had done to her. or stealing her Adora. But she couldn’t do this anymore. She dropped the sword and stumbled back. There were no cheers or boos from the crowd, only stunned silence as they watched She-ra slowly rising up again and dragging herself towards Felina. She-ra stumbled, falling to her knees in front of Felina and she couldn’t stop herself from lending her a hand.

For a moment there it felt just like the old times, like Felina was tagging in to help Adora finish someone off, and they just stood there, looking at each other while holding hands, it would be almost romantic if they weren’t so bloody from beating each other up. Unfortunately She-ra had to put an end to this.

Felina was pulled close and slammed back first into the ring by a clothesline. This time she didn’t know if she could get back up, but she didn’t have to worry about that, for She-ra collapsed next to her immediately after.

“I’m sorry,” She-ra said, without moving from her spot, but this time Felina knew it wasn’t She-ra, it was just Adora. “I know it must have hurt to be left alone all this time.” Felina couldn’t help but laugh.

“Couldn’t you have said that before beating me up? Actually nevermind, I wouldn’t have listened.” She sighed “I guess I’m sorry too. I was just so angry and….look can we have this conversation later? I feel like the crowd doesn’t wanna watch our therapy session.”

“Yeah,” Adora laughed, getting up. “I guess that wouldn’t make a good show.” Adora helped Felina up and they both took their time getting ready, but before they could restart the match they were interrupted by a ground shaking bass.

“Oh crap...” Felina knew there was only one person who would start their entrance like a damn movie trailer. She looked up to see the Horde logo taking over every screen and soon several Horde soldiers were marching down towards the ring escorting a very large man, with a very long cape.

Hordak walked with a casual pace, like he had all the time the world and nothing to ever worry about, his soldiers on the other hand rushed around him making sure everything was in order. They placed stairs in his path to the ring, handed the ref some weird paper and  removed his cape before he got in.

The ref started talking to the soldier who handed them the paper and started signaling something to the announcer’s table “It appears Hordak is cashing in a contract with Light Hope and choosing himself as a second champion for the Horde!” Entrapta announced, as confused as everyone else in the arena.

“It looks like this just turned into a handicap match.” Sea Hawk pondered “But who really is at a disadvantage here?” Was Sea Hawk seriously implying that Felina was going to betray her boss? No way she would do something that dumb.

The ref restarted the match and Hordak got to work with impressive efficiency. He delivered a quick punch to She-ra’s - already very wounded - nose; the pain taking down her defences as he took the opportunity to toss her over his shoulders, hooking his arms around her and then pulling down. The sounds of agony she made as she was subjected to Hordak’s personal Hero Breaker was enough to convince Felina that she was about to do something very dumb.

She jumpkicked him in the chest, throwing him off balance and forcing him to drop She-ra. When he got up again he simply stared her down and stated “I expected better of you, I will not make the same mistake again.” At least now Felina wasn’t lacking any more motivation to kick his ass.

She-ra had yet to get up, her body didn’t seem to have any more strength, and though she could still hear the sounds of Felina struggling against Hordak, she simply couldn’t move. She heard a loud thud and managed to look up just a bit. Felina had been thrown around like a ragdoll and landed right in front of her. She couldn’t allow this to continue. She had to do something. Mustering all her strength she got up on her knees, she looked Felina in the eyes and gave her a reassuring nod. She knew what to do.

Felina jumped up and ran towards She-ra, jumped on her shoulders and then lept once again, front flipping right onto Hordak. Before he could get up again she ran back to She-ra and started pulling her up “Come on, that brick house ain’t gonna stay down for long.”

She-ra was going to remark on how odd it was to see be working with Felina again, but she had more important things to handle. She pushed her partner aside and prepared for impact. Hordak was trying to run them both down and she would not let that happen. Lowering her body she grabbed him by the waist, right as they slammed together. She was about to toss him over, but he simply grabbed her as well and lifted her above his head.

She had accepted that this was gonna be the end for her, when she was saved in a way she simply didn’t expect, by having a cape hooked around. Felina pulled on Hordak’s cape in the opposite direction that he was about to throw her and now both She-ra and Hordak were falling again.

Unfortunately Hordak had yet to tire himself out and got up very quickly. He gave his cape a quick pull, forcing Felina close to him so he could toss her aside with a backhand. Now She-ra was pissed. She grappled with him again, forcing him down and slamming both her fists against his back. She grabbed him, successfully this time, and began to lift him, her knees faltering for a second. He was struggling and she stumbled around trying to hold him, she brought him closer to the ropes and started lifting him again, this time above her shoulders. “Felina, now!”

Felina didn’t have to hear that twice, she took a running start and jump kicked her boss for the second time that night. She-ra let go of him just as she made contact and he was sent flying right over the top rope and by that cracking sound, right through the announcer’s table.

“Ouch, that was a rough landing.” Entrapta said, holding her mic and standing a good 5ft away from the possibly unconscious Hordak. The ref climbed out of the ring and went to check on him. “Well, it looks like Hordak will be needing some medical care, because he is out! No really, guys, we should get a doctor here”

She-ra struggled to get up again and she could see Felina wasn’t doing any better, but they had somehow done it, Hordak had been defeated. They couldn’t help but laugh again at the absurdity of it all, but the ref had to remind them that the night wasn’t over, Felina and She-ra still had a match to finish.

“Felina, I want you to know that you deserve this victory more than anyone else, without you I wouldn’t-” Felina held out her hand to silence She-ra, her eye roll was almost audible.

“Just pin me, you dumbass. I don’t want Hordak to lose the match and still get what he wanted.” Felina said dropping to the ground.

“You know you could just forfeit, right?” Was this somehow another trick?

“Yeah, but I still want you to pin me.” There was something else in her voice this time that made She-ra go red, Felina just laughed at her reaction “God, you’re so dumb sometimes. Fine, I forfeit!”

The crowd was extremely confused by what just happened, but still cheered when She-ra was handed the belt. Felina was standing right besides her, slowly clapping and shaking her head. “Are you sure you’re ok with losing the title?” She-ra asked one more time.

“Would I let you win if I wasn’t? Besides, I won something even better.”  She pulled She-ra in for a quick kiss “Yup, definitely better.”

[diveronarpg]

Congratulations, LINA! You’ve been accepted for the role of TROILUS with an FC change to Henry Golding. Admin Rosey: I am absolutely HOWLING. So, when I was writing Troilus, I was having an amazing time -- he’s so nuanced and seemingly superficial, but there are so many detailed facets that contribute to his happy-go-lucky attitude. He’s so utterly disarming and charming that, from the interview alone, I couldn’t help but swoon over him. Your development for him promises so much, from the sought-after revelation of Celeste’s infidelity to turning him into a hollow and hungry creature. I’m absolutely over the moon to be putting my precious boy into your hands, Lina. By all means, ruin us all. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | Lina. Age | 26 Preferred Pronouns | She/her Activity Level | 5 – Med school honestly wipes the floor with me most days, so I can’t promise daily activity but as I’ve said before, I promise consistency and communication. I’ll request a hiatus if needed, and I won’t disappear or drop-out without warning.   Timezone | Finally back in EST (UTC-5:00) Current/Past RP Accounts | —

In Character

Character | Tomas Sabello -> Could I request an FC switch to ether Henry Golding or Godfrey Gao? I love Bob Morley to pieces but I’ve used him as an FC for long enough that I really struggle to dissociate him from the role I played. I think Henry fits Tomas’ gentle disposition best, but Godfrey has more versatility in terms of acting roles/expression which seems more in line with the mood in Verona and what he may eventually become… I dunno! I’ll leave it to you guys to choose the preferred alternate FC in the event that I do get accepted. I’d be happy working with either one.

What drew you to this character? | I really liked how opposite he is to Viv, honestly. He’s so enamored with emotion, and despite the fact that he’s an actor by trade, he’s an open book when it comes to anything that inspires feeling within him. I think Tomas loves the idea of love to such an extreme that there’s no thought to guarding himself from it. No amount of pride could keep him from offering his heart up, not even the threat of rejection. He takes and he takes, but he also gives to the people around him, indiscriminately; even to the most insignificant of passersby who’ve touched his life or inspired his creativity in some brief, ephemeral way. While Viv absorbs and safeguards whatever light she finds, Tomas reflects it freely back into the universe, and I really like that dichotomy.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character?

*∆* - Ignorance isn’t bliss, it’s oblivion: I’ll keep this point short and sweet; I want Tomas to find out about Celeste’s infidelity and for his heart to get absolutely shattered in the process. It could be sooner, later or whenever, but I think we’re all holding our breaths for that to happen in the story, and I’d love the opportunity to portray that.

*∆* - To fight one’s nature is a losing battle: This is a plot contingent on the arc of his relationship with Celeste and details pertaining to their marriage (how long it takes for him to find out she’s cheating on him, what they do with that information, if they divorce, etc.). But essentially, I’d like to show Tomas’ struggle with his own fidelity because in his bio, he strikes me as the sort of character that doesn’t settle on one lover easily. And he loves Celeste with every inch of his being and right now that’s what’s keeping him faithful, but I think that even if her infidelity isn’t revealed, eventually Tomas will start to feel the strain. He’ll notice the little signs along the way that hint that she doesn’t quite love him the way he loves her. I think those would put cracks in the marriage even if Isabella wasn’t in the picture. I’d like to explore those, and how little micro-tensions crop up in chronic relationships when one partner feels like they’re pulling all the weight. I want to dig into that and cast the lens on a quietly troubled relationship, and I want to see how far it pushes Tomas in response. Does he grow colder?  Does he seek intimacy elsewhere? Does he fall into the same temptation and cheat on Celeste, whether physically or emotionally? Let’s find out!

*∆* - Any way the wind blows: I’ve always imagined Tomas to be the unsettled sort, in all senses of the word. His loves have always been transient and fleeting, his decisions (both in leaving Rome and marrying Celeste) seem rash and impulsive… I think capriciousness is a trait of his that extends to all facets of his life. So one headcanon I have for him is that now that he’s on sabbatical from acting, he’d want to try his hand at something new. Activities or careers that he gets excited by every few weeks and actively chases until something changes and then he drops the ball and moves on, certain he’ll find his luck elsewhere. I think it’d be interesting to see him get into all sorts of mix-ups while catering to this instinct, and maybe unintentionally making himself a nuisance to other characters in their line of work in the rp. Just this over-excited dude picking up positions and then dropping them as if life’s his own picnic… It’s definitely going to rub some people the wrong way and I’m here to see it happen!

*∆* - The hardest of hearts:  … I’m intrigued by Tomas’ deep resentment of Roman Montague. His bio implies that it’s his acting experience which primes him to look at Romeo as if he’s also an actor, playing a part he doesn’t deserve. But I think it goes deeper than that. I think canonically, even, Tomas’ character seems to have a lot in common with Romeo from Shakespeare’s original, or at least, the earliest version of Romeo that we see. Lovelorn and lackadaisical, an innate predisposition for goodness, and yet undoubtedly leaving lovers a little carelessly in his pursuit of love, etc. So the way I see it, beyond his judgment of Roman as being unfit to rule, I think Tomas doesn’t like him bc he sees in Roman all of the same flaws he recognizes subconsciously in himself. It’s always easier to see our flaws through a mirror. I’m interested in seeing how far Tomas would go to spite Roman in order to avoid having to confront himself. The fact that Celeste is still tied to the Montagues would also be a continuous dilemma for Tomas, who dislikes both mobs. Depending on what plots come up, I might even entertain the thought of getting Tomas tied up in Capulet business, with the singular goal of bringing down Roman Montague.

*∆* - … Destroys itself in the end: In his bio, it’s alluded that Tomas took from both his parents when it came to his nature. He loved as frequently and as persistently as his mother, but destroyed those in his wake as surely as his father; leaving his path littered with broken hearts. I want to see that side of Tomas again. Except this time, instead of it being an accident of youth and of too much ignorance, I want it to be intentional. I feel like heart-break would leave him hollow and hungry, and I want to experience that side of him. I think his capacity for hurt is almost equally potent to his capacity for love, and that’s what makes him such a compelling character in my eyes.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Through a well-developed plot, yes.

In Depth

These interview chairs are always so stiff that Tomas has to wonder whether it’s intentional. Maybe it’s to keep him from falling asleep, but he’d never do that. He likes giving interviews for the most part. Of course, it was easier in his early twenties; when he had very little in the ways of a filter but was blessed with the circumstances in life that permitted him to get away with it. Oh, and an adoring audience. That always helped of course. These days, as a married man in a new city, he has to be more careful with his tongue.

That doesn’t make him any more careful with his smiles, however. And right now he’s aiming one of his most brilliant at the interviewer who’s already started asking him questions. They’re three minutes in, but she hasn’t returned any of his good cheer so far, and that’s uncommon. He’s remembered all his pleasantries, he’s been considerate enough in opening doors and waiting to be seated - but still, nary a smile. He doesn’t mind too much, but it makes his job so much more enjoyable when they do. And as a result, Isabella Gagliano is both a damper and a challenge. But before Tomas can engage her into lowering her defenses, she’s presented him with the next in a series of fan-chosen questions.

“What is your favorite place in Verona?”

”The Two Gentlemen. Certainly the best bottle of pinot grigio that I’ve ever had.” Tomas tells her, lips pressing together as sweetly as the juice from those sticky wine grapes. “You wouldn’t be remiss either if you tried the risotto al tastasal. That’s a real recommendation, you know?” He stage-whispers with a grin, “Off-the record.” But if Isabella takes note, he can’t tell.

The truth is, it’s a lie. A white lie, he consoles himself, because sometimes, the truth is too heavy a price to pay. The truth is that his favourite place in all of Verona is the recently abandoned Multisala Rivoli. It’s a cliche, he knows, an actor finding his second-home inside of a rundown movie-theatre. But it isn’t for the movies that he goes, nor out of any misplaced vainglory. Rather, it’s the promise of nondescript privacy that draws him like a bee to to honey. There, he can meet his new friends beyond the prying eyes of the media. There, he has a clandestine spot to escape the humdrum of the city for a few hours, alone with his thoughts. But it’s not a truth he’s ready to share, and moreover, the Montagues will like this answer better. It’s a nod to their territory; a little more promotion for their best-boasted restaurant. He refuses to join them, he refuses to share in their cause, but maybe sliding in such harmless tips will convince them to lay off of Celeste’s case and stop pressuring her to pressure him to join. Truth and politics don’t mix. Every time a video begins recording, Tomas is well aware of that. But above all, an actor must always remember his part.

“What does your typical day look like?”

“What, like a twenty-four hour play-by-play?” He asks playfully. “No one’s that interesting,signorina, I promise. I remember I was asked a similar question in an interview two or three years ago. I think it was for Sorrisi e Canzoni? Or maybe GQ…. Either way, it was a much more exciting answer back then. Plays, parties, private jets… ” Tomas reminisces fondly, but not fond enough to want to trade it in for his present. “I hate to disappoint, but it’s not the same anymore. I’m a married man on sabbatical now, remember??” He says, directing the question towards the camera before letting his gaze find Isabella once more. His life is quieter now, but happier too. “Not that it’s boring by any stretch. I’d recommend marriage, actually. I know it’s done wonders for me! But if I start talking about her and all the ways she’s changed my routine everyone will be rolling their eyes and complaining about cavities before this interview’s over.” Tomas chuckles, thinking of the myriad of ways his daily life has become synonymous with Celeste. What time she wakes, what time she leaves, when she comes home or when he gets to persuade her out of the house on little dates… He has a life outside of Celeste to be sure, but it’s only around her that he’s really reminded of what he’s working towards. Like Eros and Psyche, he thinks. He loves, but she sets fire to his love and gives it true sustenance. A future, a family, a very happy ending - That’s all he wants these days.

“What has been your biggest mistake thus far?”

He laughs at that, taken aback by the girl’s directness. “Is that really what it says on your sheet??” He cocks a brow, leaning forward as if to sneak a peek. “Damn… That’s harsh.” Sometimes, his fans seem like tiny mosquitoes; hungry for every teeny-tiny drop of his blood as they submit questions as invasive as these. “I have to think about that one…” Tomas admits with a bemused shake of his head. “I try not to think of my experiences as mistakes. Even the ones that might feel like it initially. Everything happens for a reason, doesn’t it? Don’t you believe that?” He looks to his interviewer as though hoping to coax another answer out of her, but she doesn’t indulge him. He’s always preferred dialogue to monologue, despite his choice of career. It takes an exchange of ideas to see the world through new lenses, and he can’t do that while talking continuously about himself. But another pensive, stolen glance at Isabella tells him that she probably won’t care what his answer is, so long as he gives one. He could make it up right here on the spot - something like ‘I’ve started a third gang in Verona to spite the Mobs‘ or ‘I kicked a dog once’, and she probably wouldn’t bat an eyelash. He wonders why. He wonders why she’s so determinedly expressionless.

“Do you play Poker?” Tomas asks without warning. He hadn’t meant for that to come out of his mouth but somehow it does and it takes another laugh and a wave of his hand to dismiss it. “Sorry. But you could! It’s impressive actually - in a good way. To answer your question, I think I’ll have to keep this one to myself.” It’s apologetic but firm, because his biggest mistake is failing his parents. Of all the roles he’s played thus far, that of ‘son’ has always left him most wanting. He couldn’t fix their marriage. He couldn’t inspire their divorce… To this day, his adulterous mother and destructive, ill-tempered father remain tethered to each other. Two rusting anchors, weighing themselves down to the bottom of the sea-bed… Most days, Tomas tries hard not to think about it. But there are some moments, moments when he’s feeling low, that he wonders if he’s responsible for their unhappiness; wonders if he couldn’t have done more to help them find happiness, along the way. Today is one of the predetermined no-thinkdays though. The days he’s giving interviews always are. “Sorry about that… Got anything else on your nifty list?” He prompts her, hoping to move on to a happier topic.

“What has been the most difficult task asked of you?”

This question too, gives him pause. More than he’d like. There’s the shadow of fleeting suspicion as he steals a glance at Isabella, wondering if they’re posing these questions on purpose to throw him off. But what cause would a reporter have to do that? You’re being silly,he chides himself, mulling over the question. Again, he knows the real answer.

Commitment.

It isn’t easy to choose a single person in this life, Tomas thinks. To narrow his expansive romantic inclinations and promise them to one individual and one individual only. But it’s a choice he reminds himself of every morning when he wakes up, when he cracks an eye open only for his gaze to fall on the familiar comfort of Celeste’s blazing red hair, like a halo around her cherubic face. It’s a choice he must remember when he’s comparing paintings with Juliana and hears the clear-bell tone of her laughter echo in the museum. A choice he must remember when his fingers find the soft, unwritten skin beneath Santino’s wrist as they look for stars in a midnight sky. A choice he recalls even as he listens to Paola recount the tales he’s missed in her life; eyes dancing with ferocious passion and he thinks what if, what if…

… But it’s a struggle he dares not reveal. It would insult his beloved wife, it would make a mockery of the vows they took in front of that altar, all those months ago. Worse still, it would surely garner derision from the audience, especially from his most die-hard fans; some of who still count on the failure of his marriage in order to regain the bachelor fantasy they’d attached to their idol. But idols were effigies of gold and silver. He was not an idol, he was a man of flesh and blood and feeling. Do you understand?… You will never understand me like she has, he wants to rebuke them. But there’s an old fondness that he can’t help when it comes to those who loved him first. And so his countenance softens as he answers the reporter’s question. “The most difficult task for me, has been leaving behind all my loved ones in Rome. My friends, my family, my fans…” He presses his fingertips to his lips for a moment before waving them towards the camera, sending the kiss to those who’ll hope for it most, when the interview airs tomorrow night. “I send my love, and I’m humbled by your continued support.”

“What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?”

“It’s-… It’s insanity.“

Now the Montagues won’t like that. But he feels the answer so strongly, and with so much conviction that he thinks the glassy brightness in his eyes would betray him anyway. Some lies are too big to swallow, even for an actor. “Brutal and unnecessary - do they even remember what they’re fighting for?” He asks Isabella, though he thinks she’s probably no closer to answering that than the other Veronesi. “You know, the stories say that it’s been so many decades now that no one knows any more… Isn’t that silly? To fight over something that you can’t even remember?” But deep down, Tomas knows it’s not that simple. Because mobs don’t need an impetus; not when there’s so much profit to be made in criminality. All the rest is just stories, to play on the sympathies of a winsome public. He should know… He played on that same, guileless sympathy, night after night after night on a front-lit stage. But art is one thing, war is another. And Celeste is tied up in this war, much as he hates to think about it.

“Maybe I’ll go back to Rome one of these days,” Tomas announces abruptly, shifting upright in his chair. There’s an ardent gleam in his eyes because he likes thinking in maybes. They’re so much more satisfying than the limitations of what is or isn’t strictly possible. “I’d like to take my wife with me. She’s never been… Can you believe it?? Never been to Rome… We could start there, then maybe a tour of Europe. Maybe a second honeymoon. I’m sure she’d like that.” He doesn’t know if that’s true, he doesn’t know if he can ever return to Rome, but it has a romantic ring to it nonetheless. And when has Troilus ever been able to deny the sweet-nothing whispers of romance, even as a city tears itself apart around him?….

Never, he thinks… Not even then.

——————————————-

(Thank you for Reading!!)

[astorytellerforthatgirl]

Who is Maine Mendoza for this Storyteller?

Maine is just a simple celebrity for me as I watched her first in July of 2015. Few months after that, I started venturing in my inconsistent freelance career. I’m a home-based content writer submitting my outputs through email or uploading in a Wordpress admin account. I’ll make sure at 12:00, I have to watch Eat Bulaga to have a glimpse of her. As the days passed by, I just find myself laughing and smiling at the slapstick comedy and funny antics of her silent character relying on Dubsmash.

I did not know it was a point of no return of my fangirling on Maine.

Being in a fandom is not new to me. I was an active UAAP vball fan before to the point I would even watch highschool vball games to know who are the prized bluechip recruits all UAAP teams want to have in their program. I made my Twitter account almost a decade ago to follow the Gosiengfiao sisters (Alodia and Ashley) to interact with them via tweets. Also, through Twitter and other socmed sites, I got to be in a fangroup of Pinay American Idol finalist Thia Megia and saw her in person. Through social media too, I met other fans of our Olympian Yan Lariba and met her in a friendly encounter.

I know the good side and also the bad side of fangirling. I’ve been into useless arguments with online trolls and I admit their words get to me…until I just learned to be indifferent and not mind it at all. Then here comes Maine. I was hesitant to be a vocal fan because of her immense popularity but again she just have that “something” in her that I want to root for.

I started profiling Maine like how I used to in the other celebrities I look up to her public accounts like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Ask.fm and lastly her blog….

MAY BLOG SI MAINE!!!

MGA KAPITBAHAY MAY BLOG SI MAINE!!!

Yes, I was surprised to know she has a blog!! My writer heart is leaping with joy!! That was the conviction I told myself it would be easier to fangirl for her since writing is my core and passion.

I started following her and knowing more about her like how she is close to her family, the rumors she went to PBB Auditions, and her other past Youtube uploaded videos. But I was still a silent fan back then since I am clueless how to handle a barrage of comments from other fans once I begin to be vocal. I am happy as a silent fan until the inevitable thing happened…

Maine released her Open Letter in November 26, 2017.

Yes, I won’t forget how I cried after reading it and not enjoying the ice cream I am eating on a Sunday afternoon. I began to connect the dots. I wanted to hate some people and wish them to have double, triple the pains of whatever Maine felt. I do want to start expressing my support for her to prove there are still like me…”isa sa sampu” fans of Maine.

The problem though is I am still at a down moment by that time. I failed to handle the pressure of a teaching career. I love the kids inside the classroom but the paperworks overwhelmed me. Attendance, quizzes, understanding the lesson plan, submitting other requirement, etc---those did not fare good for me. I just realized I only want to be with the kids even if I am with them 6-7 hours straight, I don’t get tired at all. I found out I like to be a public speaker but I cannot cope up with the tremendous responsibilities of the teacher.

Being an overthinker, I felt I failed again not myself but my family and everyone who believed in me. I was down for months and clueless what to do next. I even think if there would still be a company or business owner who would take risk with me seeing my resume with months of no work as I rested after resigning from the teaching post.

I thought of how I am a burden again and have no direction in my career, whereas my batchmates might already be settling down with their partners, finishing their master’s degree, or exploring more of what they can do abroad. There I was, clueless and do not know again where to start. I am just thankful I have a supportive family and set of friends who waited until I got tired of being afraid and overthinking.

There were even days I wish I can just sleep forever and not wake up to those clueless and empty days again. I was also telling God that time I wish I was the one He took instead of my papa who passed away in 2007 due to an illness. Because my papa would be able to help my family instead of my inconsistency, fears, and overthinking. I was in that bargaining stage and I am too blinded, hurt, and tired to see my own worth and potential.

In those dark times, I would pray for a direction…for an enlightenment. Angels in the form of my friends and my family gave me words to fight back. It was enough to hold on….until I saw an excerpt from Maine’s book through an online article of cosmo.ph promoting her book:

“Things may go from bad to worse and you might feel like it’s never going to change, but believe me when I say it will get better. Everything will be all right, I promise you. We may have our own different battles, but remember there is only one God. He is always looking down on us wherever we go and whatever obstacle we face. You may currently be in a lot of pain, but you never know what God has in store for your future.

Marami pang magagandang bagay ang mangyayari sa buhay mo. Magtiwala ka. Kapit lang, laban lang.

P.S.  If you are looking for a sign on whether you should still hold on or give up, this is it. Hold on tight, my dear. Don't you ever give up; never ever give up. “

I cried and smiled after reading it. “Ikaw talaga Lord ha, si Maine pa pinadala Mo rin para sabihin kaya ko pa.” The darker those moments are for me, the brighter are all the Bearers of Light shone in my life. I begin to see more how my mama is patient with me, how my brothers would ask what do I want to eat or where do I want to go, friends who would tell me they will meet me anywhere I wish to be…and that excerpt from Maine’s book.

So I told myself: May laban pa ako. Isang subok pa.

It took me until January to gather all my guts. I started editing my resume. I came back to my freelancing career by looking for homebased jobs. It was also the time I just thought of blogging for Maine. I was still doubting if I am ready to be a vocal fan…but I know in my heart if God is telling me to do something even if I am still scared or doubtful of it.

I posted my first entry about Maine on this tumblr account. What comes next are series of unexpected blessings coming in my way…I did not look for them but the opportunities found me instead. Here are some of them:

(a)    Got a DM asking if I can write for Clairedelfinmedia.com after they read my blog about Maine and Nadine parallelisms

(b)   Got invited twice to Maine’s bday party by generous fans. First is when I told her she is a Bearer of Light and we are her 10th heartbeat in the #EnchantressMaine23. Second is when I co-host in the #DearMaine bday event.

(c)    An anonymous fan who works abroad gifted me a Microsoft Surface Tablet just because she is thankful for my support for Maine.

(d)   Meeting some fans who are as level-headed and as classy like Maine I felt I attended a business conference instead of a fan event.

(e)   Getting back on my feet again to find the direction in my career.

Also, I am grateful my mama is a silent fan of Maine. You see, I am already in my late 20s but she treats me like a pre-teen kid and I find it difficult to ask permission to go to different places and stay late. Kung pwede 6pm sa bahay na ako at may number si mama ng lahat ng kasama ko para mapanatag siya. So I was surprised it was easy for me to ask permission going to Maine’s bday event even if I come home late at evening. As my mama said, “May swerteng dala sayo si Maine, puntahan mo lang pag meron.”

Of course, going back to my freelance career is not as smooth as what I expected. Rejections and no follow-up interviews came, some would even ask me to stop writing for them and they would just pay me for the weeks I wrote, or I have already written an article then suddenly my contact person said the client forgot to ask for the specific writer and that isn’t me.  

It was still difficult but I am grateful to find this new courage, thanks to God’s constant faithfulness in my life and to all my Bearers of Light. In 2018 too, I found CCF, a Christian church whom I am comfortable with in sharing my flaws and mistakes. They focus more on God’s grace, justice, and mercy for everyone than other close-minded religious people or groups who condemn sinners.

Thanks to Maine too, I started to try new things which I still hesitated before. I remembered reading her IG post on her skydiving experience. She encouraged us to try things out even if we are still scared. In 2018, I tried acting workshop and auditioned in a production house for a voice-over artist. I even tried if I could be a female reporter in an FM station. Although these things haven’t yet prospered for me, I am happy to try it out and see what else I can try aside from writing.

At present, I invested in a copywriting module and joined an uplifting and supportive Filipino community of freelance copywriters in a Facebook group. I am determined to venture into copywriting because it is parallel to my passion in storytelling and writing. The process of improving myself excites me.  I am a homebased content writer (as of this time) who still have a lowpay rate but I am enjoying the flexibility of my time. Plus, the company I work for recently gave me incentives and gift certificates.

Going back to one of the dark times in my life and just want to give up, God sent His angels in different forms to remind me I still have to fulfill His purpose, His story, and His plans in my life. He intended to break my heart and dreams so He can form it with a new one. In those times, God chose Maine too to tell me I can and I will be able to do it with God’s help.

This is just a fraction of what Maine did for me. I am more than thankful and will always support her even in the future that she is a private citizen and enjoys that under-the-radar life away from the fame and attention of public.

Salamat talaga Maine sa lahat lahat! 

Bearer of Light, please keep on radiating! 

God rewarded your sacrifices and good heart.

Embrace the genuine happiness you have now.

[wtf-hollywood]

My first post is a repost. Deal with it.

I wrote this months ago after seeing The Mummy. It was on my main, and I recently have been thinking about other movie rewrites and shit, so, hey, yet another blog.

Lets start with the mummy movie. The antagonist is fucking strong, but the protagonists are lame.

So we’re going to do better. We start by getting a restraining order against Tom Cruise, and a costumer who can do “Sexy, but empowering” for our Egyptian Princess. Then we strike out all references to Set, and instead use Apep, who is basically the evil god of ancient Egypt that these movies keep wanting. We spill some exposition in the mummification scene about how mummification was the ideal method of burial in ancient Egypt, and Ahmanet’s deal was specifically not mummification, but ritual execution and imprisonment, possibly handwaving historical inaccuracy in the law and order part by making it explicit that this whole “bound alive in bandages, put in a sealed sarcophagus, and submerged in mercury” thing was him basically taking his best guess at how to make it as hard as possible for her to come back.

Next, we make our protagonist an awesome archaeologist who isn’t a cis male. Like, maybe we go Lara Croft, but less “tomb raider” and more “properly trained archaeologist who does things by the book but cannot fucking wait to learn shit.” So she finds this site in Egypt, or we can keep the “why the hell is there Egyptian stuff all the fucking way out here!?” thing, whatever, but she finds the site and says “Ho-ly shit, this is a big fuck all prison for someone they didn’t want getting up. I cannot wait to crack it open and see who was such a big bad!” And we get a very speedy montage of her doing basic archaeology, then cut to her cracking open the sarcophagus with a notebook full of drawings and notes about the site next to her.

And I mean, otherwise, we can follow the majority of the 2017 movie outline. We just don’t bring in Prodigium, and we have better characters. And we have actors for any Egyptian characters that are at least vaguely ethnically correct.

Side benefit- we can have some seriously empowering ho yay between the archaeologist protag and the Egyptian princess. Maybe Ahmanet can take a living disguise for a limited time and uses that to try to get close to Archaeologist Chick and we get some very sweet GALS BEING PALS scenes before its revealed that this awesome person is actually the Egyptian princess who wants to unleash Apep on Earth. But would also really like to do that with said Archaeologist chick by her side.

Oh, and we finish up with Prodigium coming in during a mid-credits scene, because lets not fucking pretend we’re not trying to pull a Marvel deal. We could use Dorian Gray instead of Dr. Jekyll, too, because getting some canon bi representation on screen would be kinda cool. So, end of the Mummy, Ahmanet is dealt with, definitely sealed back up and not killed, because we’re establishing an antagonist-based franchise, here, and Archaeology Chick is aware of, but not part of, Prodigium.

Alternatively, we could kick the “Ambition is Evil” trope to the gutter, and let archaeology chick redeem Ahmanet through the power of “Look at this cool new world you could have power over without slaughtering people.” And lesbian cuddles.

For the second movie, we could go with a Creature From The Black Lagoon movie. I mean, Shape of Water just came out, and is essentially an iteration of that creature, but it’s Fox, not Universal, so whatever.

We’re going to keep the Brazilian setting of the ‘54 movie, but we’re going to make a concerted effort to have a primarily Latinx cast. In this version, however, Gillman is some manner of eldritch god. Worshipped by an indigenous tribe centuries ago, but left starved for faith since then. Hell, we’ll throw Western Europe under the bus they oh-so-richly-deserve-to-be-hit-by and say that European conquerors killed the tribe. So the god has been left in a semi-submerged temple for centuries. Alone. And bored.

Now some asshole American has showed up, paying locals to aid their expedition, looking for “aztec gold.” (Plenty of people tell them that Aztecs lived in Central America, and proceed to list off tribes that were located in what became Brazil until they realize the asshole isn’t listening.)

They find this previously completely unknown temple, and the American strides right the fuck in, while the locals are all talking about how important it is, and that they should call the local college, and so on. Then realize that if they don’t do something, Asshole American will strip the place of anything that might be valuable, and destroyed the rest through negligence, by the time archaeologists get there. We could put in a “Blink-And-You’ll-Miss-It” shout out to Asskicking Archaeologist Chick from The Mummy here for a bit of arc welding.

So the locals rush in to look for Asshole American. They carefully shuffle around, and eventually find him.

Or his corpse.

He’s in an obviously ceremonially important basin, with giant fucking gashes in him.

The locals of course decide that there’s some kind of dangerous animal in the temple, and they need to get out. And probably call someone.

This is where they find they are completely unable to find the exit, even though it didn’t seem that big, or that labyrinthine going in.

The movie then plays out like a bit of a slasher, a bit Aliens, a bit Haunted House, while the bored god makes sport of them. Maybe there could be a sort of Saw-like deal, where mostly they’re put in death traps that have an out. Those outs could be various things that strengthen the god, and maybe there’s one big one towards the end where the locals have managed to reunite, and the out is for them to worship the god.

You could even get some Designated Asshole Victims here, maybe through a B Plot about corporate exploitation of nature, or some cartel fucks. This allows the locals to be put in positions where someone has to die, but it doesn’t have to be them. The god doesn’t care who dies, they care that someone kills someone else in a ritual dedicated to him. Maybe one of the locals buys in early because they’re sympathetic to the god’s concerns about the natural world, and a bit radical, and it doesn’t take much for the god to goad them into slitting some corporate exec’s throat.

End of the movie, the locals escape. It’s a personal win. It’s the thing they care about, that they live. The god isn’t dealt with in anything even approaching a permanent fashion, but he’s not powerful enough to be anything more than a monster that haunts that temple. For now.

We could get a mid-credits scene that shows Prodigium monitoring the temple, but taking a “wait and see” approach to it. Maybe they actually care about the lives of the people who live around there and not ravaging the wilderness, and mention that going in would risk undue collateral damage.

There’s no reason you couldn’t make a good, faithful, adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I mean, you’d want to skip the part where Frankenstein’s Monster immolates himself after killing Victor, but otherwise, you could just do a straight adaptation.

But, lets say you want a new take.

Why not make it a love story?

Replace Ambitious Asshole Victor Frankenstein with a med student who flunked out after the death of their beloved. Med Student was already into some pretty experimental shit that the admins frowned upon, and Deceased Lover donated their body to science. Maybe Med Student’s friend sees Deceased Lover being brought in, and slips Med Student in to say their last good byes.

But Med Student has other ideas.

They steal Deceased Lover’s body, or at least their head, or brain, and maybe some stuff for the experimental gene therapy and tissue rejuvenation stuff they were looking at before flunking out.

Or hell, maybe Med Student convinces Friend to help. Actually, that’d be pretty cool, especially if Friend’s name is something that is just similar enough to Igor.

Anyway, they make off with Deceased Lover, and they start the work of applying Experimental Gene and Tissue Rejuvenation Tech to Deceased Lover.

And it works.

Mostly.

There are some complications, and Deceased Lover doesn’t recognize Med Student, or Friend, and isn’t too rational, or controlled, upon waking up. Maybe Deceased Lover’s groaning and such draws attention, and between Deceased Lover seeming to have Come Back Wrong, and Someone Coming, Med Student and Friend flee. Deceased Lover lashes out in instinct at the person who investigated, killing them with inhuman strength, and Deceased Lover is alone. They slowly come to full consciousness, and slowly begin to realize that Med Student left them. They brought them back, and then left them, but not before showing an expression of horror and disgust.

Deceased Lover tries to find old friends and family, but is rebuffed in horror by the people who last knew them to be dead.

Then Prodigium gets involved, because someone reported a person apparently coming back from the dead. They attack Deceased Lover on sight.

Overall, the movie plays out similarly to Frankenstein, except, perhaps, in timescale. At the end, Prodigium decides to let Deceased Lover be, provided they don’t become a threat. Prodigium has Med Student’s research, but so does Deceased Lover, and Deceased Lover has realized that there is something about them that makes the living fear them. Deceased Lover’s best shot at not living alone until they kill themselves is to 1) find other monsters, 2) create more of themselves, or 3) join Prodigium.

I personally like the idea that they decide to create their own society, creating a third faction that can oppose both the monsters and Prodigium in the franchise. This could be presented in the mid-credits scene.

The complication with this route for the Frankenstein movie is that you can’t really use the name Frankenstein, because it’s just corny unless you’re doing a direct adaptation. But you could just call it Promethean or something similar, it’s fine.

This is probably a good point to bring in Dracula, and it could be the Dark Universe’s Period Piece to mirror Captain America. We’ll set it in the early 1900s instead of the late 1800s, though, because I forgot about this as I writing, and cars were decently available in the early 1900s, but almost completely unavailable in the late 1800s. Early 1900s still works quite well.

We start with a narrator who is dictating a report on a case handled by  Dr. Van Helsing. It’s a “How We Got Here” intro. The narrator’s voice is feminine, so audiences may expect Van Helsing to be getting a gender lift in this version, but the narrator never speaks in the first person.

We’re going to embrace some parts of various versions of Dracula, and kind of weld them together. We start by making up some history, saying that a Wallachian prince set out in a deranged, and desperate mission to establish a hold on what would become the British Isles. He managed to build a castle there, but was lost to history otherwise. The reason he wanted to do this is not given particularly straight, but we use some bad christian eschatology, and have it be some kind of religious quest, because we’re totally going to embrace the whole blood drinking/eternal life thing from Christian tradition as an impetus for Dracula’s origin.

So, Prince Dracula is some mad Wallachian prince, maybe he’s actually exiled, and he goes and builds a castle in the British Isles on a shaky religious justification. We get a very bare cliff notes version of this in the intro, and it really just sets up why in our next scene we see a British real estate agent walking up to a castle in bad disrepair, on a small island in the middle of a lake. Hell, we’re going to go super symbolic, and make it a caldera lake. I honestly don’t know how likely it is for a caldera to exist on the British Isles, but, eh, fuck it.

So, the real estate agent is writing to their fiance over breakfast in their B&B, explaining that the castle was owned by some super private individual, and pretty much completely unknown to the outside world until recently, when said owner was committed to an institution and his property liquidated. So now the agent’s firm has acquired the land, and they’ve been sent to determine whether it’s a better investment to tear the castle down, or repair it.

Deep inside the castle, they find a very odd chapel. It looks normal enough at first glance, but a closer look reveals that every saint has a monstrous face, and angels and demons have traded places.

Also, there’s the altar, which seems to be hollow.

The Agent who is completely untrained in archaeology cuts themselves while looking the scene over, deeming it “creepy as fuck,” and making a note of it before moving on. There’s a close up of the blood dripping through a crack in the altar, and a sound that Agent dismisses as just the settling of an old building.

As it gets dark, Agent calls it a night, and heads back to their B&B, where they get various ominous warnings about that island. One of which is that its known for having vicious wolves who only come out at night. Which Agent dismisses as ludicrous, because wolves have been extinct in Britain for a decade at least. The person who mentioned it just gives a knowing look and walks away.

Agent goes back the next day to continue their work. They note that things are slightly different in the chapel, but doesn’t think much of it. Figures a bird knocked shit over, or something.

Time gets away from Agent, and they find themselves walking back to their car after the sun has dropped below the trees of the surrounding forest. And they hear a howl. They dismiss it. Must be hearing things. Then there are more. They hurry back to their car.

It starts to rain. Hard. And the road goes through winding forests, and there are those howls, getting closer. There’s a quick shadow bolting across the road, making them lose control for a harrowing trip across the bridge from the island to the ring, and a sudden peal of thunder distracts Agent just as they make it across, causing them to crash into a tree. They call a tow, but wind up having to walk to the B&B in the rain when told that the area has no drivers on the road and he’ll have to wait til morning.

Next day, he gets a cab, and we get to play a little homage to the carriage in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 movie. Back at the castle, shit has definitely changed, and now Agent is seeing apparitions. Also, there’s some weird old man there, who introduces himself as a descendant of Dracula, and a relative of the man who previously owned the castle. A relative whom holds a copy of the deed, and persuasive arguments about the ownership of the castle. But he’s less interested in arguing over some small sum of money than he is in purchasing property in London and moving some of his more prized items there.

And then it plays out pretty similarly to the Dracula story, but with more “deal with the devil” and “dark inversion of communion.” Yes. More. Agent’s Fiance gets bit, and becomes a vampire. Van Helsing is called in, and is in fact a woman, but her voice doesn’t match the narrator’s. Dr. Van Helsing can totally be a woman, there were tons of women doctors in the 1800s.

Dracula starts a reign of terror on London, and Dr. Van Helsing has to reach out to others for help. Fortunately, she has a group of learned men and women, mostly women, who gather to trade stories, collaborate, etc. Mostly after going on expensive expeditions that polite society considers extremely wasteful and pointless. Their motto is “Prodigium de monstrum” (ess. “Prodigy out of monsters”), and they’ve proudly taken on the name The Prodigal Circle.

In the fight, Van Helsing dies, but Dracula is defeated, partially because of Mina’s ability to fight on his level as she resists his control.

Finally, it is revealed that Mina is the narrator, who has taken Van Helsing’s position in The Prodigal Circle, guiding their transition into a vigilant order from Van Helsing’s notes and instructions after being inducted by Van Helsing in one of her vigils over Mina when Mina was her patient.

The mid-credits scene shows Prodigium scientists removing Van Helsing’s body from storage, preserved through something between magic and science, as Mina, who doesn’t look a day older, supervises from above..

That is four fucking movie premises. And I think that’s enough for tonight. If there’s interest, I could write up premises/outlines for Wolf Man; Prodigium, the conclusion of Phase 1; and maybe a start of Phase two.

[toxicityrp]

why aren’t the admins active or involved at all? neither of you are ever on the dash or in the ooc or in the chat and it’s kind of concerning

Hi, curious anon! I’m assuming you might mean my activity or ‘involvement’ since MJ doesn’t have a character currently in Toxic City yet, so, I will be answering your question and addressing your concerns to the best of my ability!  – Syd

Firstly, I want to address this concern by first stating that while–yes, this is a concern, MJ and I are not obligated to discuss our personal lives to those questioning our activity (on any platform), especially if it’s on anon. I understand the need for anonymity, which is why I’ll be going ahead to answer your question, but we hope that next time a concern might cross your mind, you’ll be able to ask us through our character blogs or our main’s IM instead. That being said…

While I am online every day, I don’t do replies every day. It’s not a choice I make, it’s usually due to my access to reliable WiFi, a laptop that has a serious freezing problem, as well as some personal physical issues that prevent me from sitting at a computer for long hours, every day. Oh, and real life too–it calls to us, surprisingly.

As for the OOC, I do my best to be as inclusive with the members as best as I can, but there’s only so much you can do with the OOC. Not everyone replies to every post, and while there are plenty of times I want to post / rant / make updates, I often digress. Most of the time I feel like it’s a bit useless (for me personally - I’m a little self-depreciating that way, haha) to notify members of every little thing I’m doing or thinking. If you want to plot or chat with me, IMs are my safe space. They’re a million times better for me to get to know other members, and I often prefer it to programs like Discord. Sometimes, you’ll have an OOC that’s boppin’, sometimes you don’t. That being said, MJ and I are two, of the plethora of members we have to keep you entertained.

As for the Discord, I chose to not join the chat for personal reasons. It’s not to mean I don’t want to get to know the members, I really do! I’d hate to play the anxiety card, but I don’t have a good history with ‘chats’ like Discord, because they make me feel overwhelmed and I get terribly anxious and wind up not wanting to talk to anyone/post anything in the chat. This goes for group chats, especially. They’re extremely daunting to the both of us, which is why MJ and I didn’t create an official Discord for the roleplay, nor did we consider changing our minds when we were asked about it before the roleplay opened. The members created the Discord, which doesn’t bother us at all! If it’s what’s most comfortable for our members, we won’t take that away.

Again, this is a personal issue that I don’t expect everyone to understand, but I do understand your concern. I wish I was as extroverted to join Discord as well as hitting up everyone’s IMs every day because I understand the importance of an admin’s communication with their members. However, I hope you can also understand where I come from, and if you had asked me off the main’s anon and come to me personally, I would tell you the same thing. 

As for MJ, you will be seeing her on the dash soon! She’s currently cooking up a bio to finally join us, as it was her initial intention. When this roleplay launched two years ago, it has always been MJ’s plan to watch the dash first and join later. The reasons aren’t deep or malicious, it’s a personal preference (as goes the dash activity, the OOC, and the chat). As for Discord, MJ is in the same exact boat as I am. She reached out and downloaded Discord for the chance to get to know the members personally since she doesn’t have a character (not to mention this being totally out of her comfort zone). However, while she loves the chat and practically tells me most of what you guys chat about, MJ also has obligations and responsibilities that hinder her from being an entirely active figure in the roleplay. She’s told me she’s been watching the dash constantly, making it a nightly ritual to catch up on all threads and drafting ideas for events and plot drops based off of them. Of course, she wouldn’t be able to catch everything since she is only human, which is why we’re devising a method that will help us with that (which will be disclosed in a future post). The stress of running a heavily plot-based roleplay, along with keeping up with in-character interactions and OOC interactions on top of real life duties can get exhausting but she’s still pulling through.

Finally, MJ and I are both very anxious people (lol) with very big ideas and hearts to match, so I hope you understand where we’re coming from. Please keep in mind that we’re running this roleplay too, and it’s not easy. May we remind you: we’re only in our second week of Toxic City’s opening— it’s too early to assume that we’re not “active or involved” when we’re busy putting our hearts into this up and coming event, and the roleplay as a whole. You lose your faith in us too soon.

We hope that this post has addressed your concerns fully as we will not be discussing this again in the future unless brought up OFF anon.

[destruction-personified-blog]

The Death of Guzma

(( YES; this is the CANON ending of my Guzma! I know it’s not ideal, but his lifestyle and career would inevitably lead to this type of death. Any other ending for him is an AU or headcanon. Cameo: @gruntadminloch (who is a part of this Guzmas main verse.) Since I am not the mun of this OC, my interpretation of him might not be 100% correct, but the real mun seems happy with it so /shrugs Plumeria also makes an appearance, but not any single representation of her, just the version of her that exists solely in my Guzmas universe.

This is also the last post on this blog probably so...thank you all for following me, and i hope you’ll stay tuned for the new and improved Guzma Mendoza real soon...

...so with that out of the way:

TRIGGER WARNING for blood, guns, gang violence and death. You have been warned. ))

~~~

For too long they had lived in peace. For too long they’d survived by the skin of their teeth through every battle, every war…

It was inevitable for their empire to come crumbling down, and it started with one little mistake.

The guards at the front gate, usually alert and ready to jump on any strangers who approached, on that day they’d failed to arrive to their post on time. Not the first occurrence of this, by any means, but little did they know that someone had already made their way inside unnoticed.

Unlucky for them, this time it wasn't a kid seeking some friendly pokémon battles to rescue a stolen pet. This was a more personal issue.

The unknown figure, shrouded in black clothes, kept to the shadows, only moving forward when all eyes were averted from its direction. Almost there, almost to the front door…

The Skull Boss was sitting in his throne, as per usual, casually scrolling through his phone. A quiet day, all in all. The quiet was interrupted with some gentle knocks on the door, followed by the familiar voice of his faithful guard calling through to him. “Master Guzma, if it’s not too much trouble, may I come in?”

Guzma put down his phone and sighed. “A'ight, Loch, come in then…”

Loch opened the door and entered, bowing before Guzmas throne as he usually did. “Master, I just came to inform you that some of the guards have reported suspicious activity in the last few days, including a few attempted break-ins. With your permission I think we should increase the number of guards at the gates to avoid any shady characters entering the town.” Guzma thought for a moment, before nodding. “Yeah, put more grunts out there, an’ make wall patrols more frequent while yer at it.” Loch nodded. “Of course, Master. Is there anything else you want me to do before I leave?”

Guzma tapped his fingers on the dented arm of his throne, looking down at Loch thoughtfully. “…yeah, actually. I…need your opinion on somethin’.”

Loch raised his head slightly. “I’d be happy to help, Master Guzma.”

Guzma nodded back down at him, sighing.

“…its about Skull. I think…I think maybe it’s time I stepped down. I’ve been real tired recently…everythin’ just feels like a chore. I’m not happy. I’m gettin’ too old for it, hell, I’m nearly thirty-eight. I never thought I’d make it past twenty.”

He paused to rub his temples. He certainly looked older than he was, the bleach in his hair fading to look duller, and the short black hair on the sides of his jaw and back of his neck already beginning to turn grey around the ends. The years had not been kind to him.

“I know I started this gang, and it still means everythin’ to me…but I jus’ don’t think I can keep bein’ the leader you guys see me as. I don’t wanna lead this family into darkness or, Arceus forbid, disbanding. I might hand it over to Plumes, and make you the official admin. I think you two could handle it better than me. Do you…think that’s a good idea?”

Loch was taken aback. He’d never heard Guzma speak like that before. Not in all the years he’d worked for him. He thought for a few moments, before responding, choosing his words very carefully. He began nervously fidgeting with the chain around his neck, clinking the links together quietly.

“W-well, Master Guzma…in the end, your health is what’s important, so I think that…if handing over the position of leader to Mistress Plumeria is what feels right to you, then maybe it is the best course of action. If you feel she is ready, of course. And I’m sure no matter what you do, Mistress Plumeria will support you. She does care for you like a brother, it seems, so I’m confident she will be fine with this idea.”

As they talked, the shadow moved closer, and the storm outside grew stronger by the second, rain pelting the walls of Shady House.

Guzma smiled, not his usual smirk, but a more solemn, thoughtful smile. His eyes looked tired; they lacked that fire and ferocity they were so noticeable for back in the glory days of Skull. “Plumes is my sister. Maybe not in blood, but she’s been there for me almost my whole life. She’s kept me right. Without her, none of this would’ve happened…I’d probably be dead, too. I think she’s more than capable of takin’ over.” He gave a quiet chuckle, looking down at the faded carpet.

“Besides, Skull was her idea…”

There was a moment - a pause - where Loch opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the door to Guzmas room opening. Guzmas attention snapped towards the door, and Loch turned to look. It wasn’t a grunt.

It was a man, in his early twenties maybe, dressed head to toe in black. His hood was up, partly obscuring his face, but it was easy to see he was grinning. Guzma stood up, eyes narrow, growling like a lycanroc.

“Who the fuck are you. Get out.”

The intruder slowly lifted his head to look up at Guzma, before pulling something from his pocket. Guzma froze. A pistol. The intruder spoke, his voice quiet but…crazed. He lifted the gun towards Guzma.

“An old friend. I’m back, you traitorous bastard.”

The barrel of the pistol aimed straight at Guzma, but Loch was quick to stand up, making sure he was in-between the gun and its target.

“I will not let you hurt my Master…” His voice was a snarl. He was about to call on his sister, before he heard the gun click.

Guzmas eyes widened as the man took the safety off, before acting on instinct. He launched himself forwards and grabbed Loch, throwing him to the ground and shouting angrily.

“YOU IDIO–ACK!!"

…the trigger had pulled, and the noise was deafening.

The bullet, meant for Loch, had hit Guzma.

After a moment of silence, the attacker snarled and fired once more, aiming more precisely now. Guzmas body jolted. He remained still, standing there with wide eyes. Loch finally snapped out of his daze and looked up from where he’d fallen, freezing as he saw Guzma. “M-Master…!”

Guzma stood there, starstruck, mind racing as he struggled to move. A heavy wetness began to cover his shirt, and he looked down to see two gaping holes in his chest. Only then did the pain seem to register, burning like the flames of hell through every fibre of his body. His lungs tightened and he tried to take in a breath, instead gagging as blood travelled its way up his throat and began leaking from his mouth. There were a few seconds of struggling to breathe, until finally, he stumbled, and his shaking legs gave out beneath him. It was like slow motion as he fell backwards, eyes wide, thudding to the floor like a great fallen beast. The glasses flew from his head, the lenses shattering loudly as they clattered across the floor.

"MASTER!!"

Loch had finally snapped out of his trance, the sight of Guzma falling and the smell of his masters blood filling him with anger and fear. He turned back towards the attacker, who was still standing there, grinning like an idiot as he watched Guzma squirm on the floor. Loch snapped.

"RAE!"

The assassin stared at Loch, confused, and a Drifblim faded into view behind him. She silently curled her ghostly limbs around the mans head, and quickly snapped his neck. He fell to the ground dead, the gun clattering across the floor.

Loch got to his feet and rushed over to Guzma, his body filling with a sick dread. Blood was soaking through Guzmas clothes and all over the floor, and he was making awful choking sounds as he struggled to breathe. "Master Guzma...oh, no..." Loch knelt beside him, unsure of what to do. He should call an ambulance, but...Guzma had always said he hated them, and that he'd be arrested if he were taken to a hospital. Loch growled. Better in prison than dead.

It was then that the door slammed open, and Plumeria stood there, looking vicious and holding a shotgun. "The fuck is goin' on in here, I heard gunshots."

Loch turned to face her, his face pale with shock and fear. Plumeria felt the blood freeze in her veins as her eyes fell on Guzma laying in a pool of crimson on the floor. The gun fell from her hands and she ran over, collapsing to her knees next to him.

"Guzma...fuck, oh fuck, what happened?!"

Loch combed a hand through his hair, trying to calm his breathing. "I-intruder...broke in and shot him..." He managed to stammer through slow, shaky breaths. Plumeria bit her lip, feeling tears well in her eyes already. "Guz...please, stay awake, we're gonna help ya, okay? You're gonna be okay..."

She gently stroked Guzmas hair in an attempt to comfort him, just barely able to hold in her own panic. Guzmas eyes focused on her. In her desperation she turned to Loch. "Loch, he can't breathe, what do we do." Loch froze up and struggled to think. Guzma was choking on blood and most likely had a punctured lung or two - it really didn't look good.

"P-put pressure on...on the wounds..." Loch shakily reached his hands out and pressed them over the holes in Guzmas chest, pushing down on them, drawing out a long, painful cry from the wounded man. He was visibly growing weaker, and Plumeria was panicking, but she refused to give up. She stood, glancing around the room to try and find anything to help.

"Mistress Plumeria, we...we should call an ambulance." Plumeria turned to him, her eyes wide and fearful. "You know they'll just throw him back in prison, I can't let him go through that again..." Loch didn't want to argue, but the fate of his master was at stake.

"Mistress, he's dying."

He was trying to stay calm, but the quake in his voice told Plumeria that he was serious, and just as desperate as she was. She winced and pulled a hand through her hair, gritting her teeth. "Right...okay, alright, we'll call an ambulance...just...just keep pressure on the wounds, I'll dial the--"

"NO..!"

Plumeria was interrupted by Guzma, who'd finally mustered up the strength to shout something through the blood. Loch winced. "Master, please, save your strength..."

Guzma coughed violently, before continuing, his voice barely audible.

"I'd...ra-ther...die he-ere...than...i-in some...sh-itty ho-ospi-tal..."

He coughed again and Loch bit his lip. "Master, shh...please..." Plumeria made a distraught sound in the back of her throat, trying to choke it back. "Guz, sweetie, you ain't gonna die. They'll help you, okay? They'll keep you alive..." Guzma shook his head, looking up at her with weak, fading eyes.

"...no...n-no hel...helpin' me..."

The sound of him struggling to even form words was too much for Plumeria. This was her best friend, her brother. They'd known each other for so many years and helped each other through everything...it couldn't end now. She wouldn't let it. "No, you ain't dying!! Not while I'm here!! Loch, help me put pressure on the wounds until an ambulance gets here."

Loch looked down at the dying man. Guzma looked back at him. His usually fierce silver eyes were dull, full of pain and sadness. He knew he was dying. They both did. Loch had to make a decision.

"Mistress..."

She looked at Loch, and saw the solemness in his face. She knew what that meant, but she didn't want to believe it. "Loch, what are you doing, help him."

Loch took a shaking breath. "I...I d-don't think we c-can."

Plumerias brow furrowed and her fists tensed. "What the fuck are you sayin'?! We can't just let him die!!”

Loch didn't reply, but slowly took his hands away from Guzmas chest. His body felt numb, but everything he was doing was in the best interest of his master. He knew he was suffering, and he didn't want to prolong it. Plumeria wanted to scream at him.

"LOCH!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HELP HIM!!"

She urged, desperately, her voice cracking.  Guzma coughed painfully, his breath a faint wheeze. His body felt cold. Loch couldn't believe what he was about to say.

"He's in pain...and...and I don't think even the hospital could bring him back from this. It will only extend his suffering, and then he'll die in a place he loathes. I...I'm doing this for him. It's hard, but...for his sake, we should...let him go..."

Plumeria took a minute to fully process what he had said. She was in a nightmare. All of this...it wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Even with their bad reputation and many powerful enemies, she'd never expected something like this to happen. Stupid. She was so STUPID.

"...I can't...Loch he can't die...p-please, please help him..."

Guzma looked up at her, blinking slowly, and she looked into his eyes. He almost looked like he was begging her. Plumeria fell to her knees beside him and very gently lifted him into her arms, finally letting the tears fall down her face. Guzma grunted in pain as she held him, chest heaving quickly, but her arms were so warm and safe and familiar... "Guz please...please don't die on me...we...we were gonna do so much together, you n' me, we were gonna change the world, we was gonna make a change together, I can't do that on my own...I can't..."

"Plumes...we a-already...did..."

He whispered, feeling the warm tears drip onto his own cold face as Plumeria sobbed for him. In turn his own eyes began to water, and he coughed again, more blood running down his chin. Plumeria held him close, stroking his hair slowly, and Guzma felt his vision fading.

She knew she had to let him go.

"Shhh, shh...rest..."

As his breathing slowed and he began to cry silently, Plumeria leaned down and pressed her forehead to his, whimpering. She thought back on all their years together, and remembered those hard times before Skull, when they lived off of stolen wallets and slept in the street together. Those times when Guzma was still vulnerable from trauma, regularly waking up screaming from night terrors, and she'd sing to him to lull him back to sleep... Plumeria closed her eyes, and began shakily reciting that lullaby she'd sing to him so many years ago.

"H-he na-ni lua 'ole... Ku'u we-hi o nâ lani..."

The tune brought instant comfort to Guzma, and his tense body began to relax in Plumerias arms. He cried, tears running freely down his cheeks as the song continued.

"He ki-i-lohana 'oe, Na'u e pû-lama mau..."

Loch took one of Guzmas hands in his own, stroking it gently, trying to keep the cold skin warm for just a while longer... Guzma struggled to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to die, but...the exhaustion, the urge to fall asleep was overwhelming...and he was so comfortable and safe in Plumerias arms. He silently thanked her as his eyes began to glaze over.

"Hô'olu i ka po-li e... Me-ha-na i ke a-nu e..."

Guzmas eyes faded, and his ragged breathing slowed to a halt with one last, weak sigh. His hand went slack in Lochs grip, but Loch held on tight, as if a stronger grip might will his spirit to stay a while longer... Plumeria shakily whispered to the skull boss.

"Au hui hou, Guzmania...alola..."

She lifted her head, and placed one last kiss on Guzmas forehead.

The Skull Boss was dead.

Despite being covered in his own blood, he looked...strangely peaceful. For the first time in a long, long time, he was sleeping soundly, without any worries, any pain. He was free.

Plumeria stayed with him, cradling him like he was still the scared little child she'd first met on the street. Loch was frozen in place, staring down at his fallen master. The man he'd spent so long serving and protecting and...loving...he was gone.

Loch looked down at his hands, raising them to his face. They were covered in blood...his masters blood...the blood he'd sworn to protect with his life. Precious blood that would never flow again, forever still and cold and staining the floor, staining his skin. He looked around, his own shaky breathing the only sound he could hear through the static filling his head. Blood. Everywhere. Like it had flooded his vision. A sea of crimson.

Guzma, the mighty and feared boss of Team Skull, the man who saved hundreds of kids like him from living on the streets and gave them hope, destruction in human form... dead. Murdered by the hands of an unknown assassin, and Loch could have stopped it. He may as well have murdered him himself.

Loch sat there, eyes wide, internally screaming at himself.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Plumeria spoke.

"...we...I have to...I have to tell them..." Her voice was hoarse, and she was still shaking. Lochs distant eyes slowly shifted to her, and he gave her a blank look. Plumeria realised he was probably more out of it than she was. "Loch...I have to tell the grunts."

Loch heard her this time, momentarily snapping back into reality. "Okay..."

Plumerias heart ached for Loch. She'd been close to Guzma, inseparable from him, but Loch...Loch worshipped him. He'd dedicated his whole life to obeying Guzmas every wish and making sure he was happy and healthy...hell, they'd even been romantic. Now he was gone, Loch had probably lost everything important to him, everything that gave his life meaning. Plumeria wept for him most. "Would you stay here with him..?"

Loch blinked slowly, taking a moment to respond, his voice quiet. "...okay..."

Plumeria gave him a gentle, sympathetic look, before very slowly laying Guzmas body down and standing up. She stumbled slightly, noticing her legs were weaker than she thought. With a deep breath, she walked to the door and left Loch alone. He stared down at Guzma for a while, before dragging himself forwards. He was hesitant to touch him...he didn't want to disturb that peace, even though there was no way he could wake up now. ...he did want to say one last goodbye, though.

Loch very gently slid his hands under Guzma, lifting him off of the floor slowly and holding him close, careful so as not to hurt him, as if he were still alive. He was glad, in a sense, that Guzmas pain had ended...but his own pain was just beginning. He reached up and stroked his fingers through Guzmas faded white hair, scanning the details of his face. The Boss had certainly aged, maybe more quickly than others, but he was still the same man he was when he started Skull...large and threatening, with a steely glare that could strike fear into anyone. Loch only then realised that his eyes were still open slightly. The glowing silver rings had faded to a dull grey, and there were dried tears still streaked down his face... Loch dutifully used his thumb to wipe them from his face, still staring into those lifeless eyes. This was the last time he'd see them looking back at him, so he didn't close them just yet.

The last time...

Those words echoed through Lochs head. It was beginning to sink in now.

His Master was gone, gone, gone forever.

Loch stayed quiet for a few moments, before finally, his walls crumbled and tears began streaming down his face. His head hung down and he let out a shuddering sob, his shoulders tensing.

"I'm s-so s-sorry, m-master...i-it sh-ould ha-ave b-een m-me...y-you di-dn't...ha-have to save m-me..."

He didn't want to be too loud, but...he was. His distraught sobs elevated to wails of mourning as he clung to Guzmas lifeless body, his heavy tears falling down onto his face. His grip tightened on Guzma and he lifted him more to embrace him, not caring about the blood covering his clothes. Loch buried his face in Guzmas neck, his lips curling up to expose his teeth as he cried. He took in the strong scent of his master, locking it away in his mind so he would never forget it...

"It's my f-fault!! My fault!”

After what felt like hours of sitting and cradling Guzmas body, finally Plumeria came back in, her face still stained with tears.

"Loch..?"

Loch didn't answer, silently sitting with his back to her. He had Guzma on his back, lying up against his chest, and Loch was holding him tightly and protectively while stroking his hair.

Plumeria approached slowly, before kneeling down next to Loch and putting a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Loch...the grunts want to mourn him too...we should let them in."

Loch barely heard her, but the touch made him jump a little bit. He looked at her. Plumeria gave him a sympathetic look.

"The grunts want in here to see him, honey."

Lochs distant eyes blinked, before he nodded very slightly. Plumeria went to take Guzma from him, but he flinched away, eyes widening, like he was scared of anyone else touching his master.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to let go of him..." Loch looked back down at Guzma, continuing to stroke his hair, and Plumeria got up to let the grunts in. She opened the door to see them all crowded outside, all with distraught looks on their faces. Plumeria looked around at all of them, before stepping aside. One by one, they came into the throne room, heads down, some with wide, shocked eyes, some already crying uncontrollably, others strangely quiet. They were like different people - ghosts of their usual selves.

Loch didn't look up as they all crowded around, filling up the room but leaving a space in the middle for him and Guzma.

When everyone was inside, Plumeria closed the door, and went to stand up in front of Guzmas throne. The room was quiet, save for the weak sobbing of some of the grunts. All eyes were fixed on the broken body of the Skull Boss. After a few moments, they all lowered their bandanas and took off their hats, clinging them tightly to their chests to pay respects. Plumeria took a deep breath.

"My brothers and sisters, I'm sorry. What's happened here today is...a tragedy. Our friend and leader, Guzmania Mendoza, was murdered by an unknown intruder just less than an hour ago." Her voice wavered slightly, and she looked down.

"We tried our best to save him, but his injuries were too severe...he died peacefully in my arms."

A young female grunt clung to her male counterpart, burying her face in his chest and crying, and he stroked her back as tears silently streamed down his own face. Plumeria sobbed, shivering.

"It happened so suddenly, with no warning, there's nothing anyone could have done. Neither him or I would want any of you to blame yourselves for this...or anyone else, for that matter. Unfortunately...those are the dangers and risks Guzma chose to face every day, in order to keep our family alive. He chose this, and it's how he wanted to go. No hospitals involved. He told us himself as he lay dying. This is what he wanted."

One grunt collapsed to his knees, covering his face with his hands and shuddering. Plumeria continued, just barely holding herself together.

"Guzma was a brave man, a fierce leader. A friend. Everything he did, he did for us, all of us. He brought this family together, and even in death, he'd want us to stay together. Even without him here in flesh, he will always be with all of us in spirit, and he will help us through this. He knew the risks, and so he knew we could survive without him, however difficult it is. That's what he trained us for. We're all strong, each and every one of us. He helped us realise that."

She was crying again, but she kept talking clearly, clenching her fists together.

"This is a tragedy, but it is not the end. He wouldn't have wanted that. He'd want us to live on for him, be happy and prosperous, spread his name without him and keep him alive in peoples memories for years to come. He is proud of you all for making it this far, we can't give up on him now. We will mourn, but we will continue to live and strive without him, as hard as it may be to move on. We will survive in his honour..!"

With a deep breath, Plumeria raised her fist in the air and shouted, tears falling from her face.

"Because he was GUZMA!! LEADER OF TEAM SKULL!!"

The grunts all followed suit, raising their fists in the air and shouting in tearful unison.

"LONG LIVE GUZMA!! LEADER OF TEAM SKULL!!”

They chanted repeatedly, and Loch squeezed his eyes shut, gripping Guzma tighter against him and muttering along with them so nobody would hear him but Guzmas cold body.

"Long live Guzma, alola wau iā ʻoe...long live Guzma, a hui kaua, alola..."

He finished by placing a gentle kiss on Guzmas bloody lips, one last goodbye, as the rest of them chanted for their fallen leader.

Long live Guzma. Destruction personified.

[smuttyfairy]

A Faulty Goodbye

“But I live with my heart in pain. It’s completely unfair.” 

- Bolbbalgan4′s Hard To Love 

Genre: angst

Summary: You’re spending the day at your favorite coffee shop and at some point, you get an uncalled for visit by a familiar face that leads to anything but a happy ending.

Word Count: 1698

Written By: Admin Smuttyfairy

A/N: So I just wanted to first say thank you to @xiustories for provoking these feelings and for helping me from the beginning to end on this short one shot (u da real MVP boo💕) and to the admins and friends who gave some feedback and insight on this before officially posting it to the blog here! 

So this based on a true story that happened…in a sense. Okay, but more or less, it’s based off on a real experience of mine and I felt that writing this out would somehow make me feel better or just somehow build a small bridge for me to get over this. This is a sensitive topic for me as I’m still in the healing process and I hope that all of you who read this will catch just a small glimpse of what I went through c: & the reason for using this gif is to depict a memory from the past. I felt this was appropriate since this is based on a true story and that while I may still feel some hurt, the happy memories still stay with me and are what I remember most.

ALSO. If you guys haven’t already, definitely listen to Bolbbalgan4′s song Hard To Love just to get in the mood for this fic. It’s also a song that pretty much reflects how I feel/felt about what happened. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this small short piece!

The sun gleamed especially bright today, slowly warming the Earth and grassy plains into spring. Flower buds were beginning to bloom, and your will to get out of bed was becoming much easier now that the seasons began to change. You couldn’t find it any more relaxing to come to your favorite local coffee shop, to share a seat by the window, and let your mind drift away into peaceful and warm thoughts. 

You’d slowly sip your tall drink until there was no more left, letting your thoughts wander randomly to whatever came up. Sometimes they were thoughts of the people who would walk by the coffee show. What kind of people were they? Were they living happily? Whoa, their hair is beautiful. Should I get my hair done like that? And then perhaps your thoughts would come across the thought of people and the people you know and knew in your life. How were your current friends doing? What were they doing? Should you call them to hang out? I wonder how my ex-best friend is doing? I hope they still suck. Is my ex finally dating? Did they finally find someone? I wonder if they moved on faster than I did? 

And suddenly your thoughts came across him: Kim Taehyung. You’d slurp every bit of your drink and sigh deeply in just the thought of him and your past together. Although, you’d reminisce and feel a little sad here and there, compared to past few months you were feeling better and that much closer to finally having your heart healed. 

“We had good times together,“ you thought to yourself as you stared off into the distance outside where the sun shined warmly, a slight grin forming on your face. Today was a perfectly sunny day and you felt the need to brainstorm your next agenda until you heard what sounded like…him. 

"I see you still come to this little shop,” a deep, and a questionable familiar voice spoke from behind you. 

You turned your head to face the voice, your heart instantly dropping at the sight of him. The breath was somehow and suddenly punched from out of your lungs. You couldn’t believe your eyes. You were dumbfounded; shocked more than anything. Your eyes scanned him up and down, assuring yourself this wasn’t a look-a-like or that you were seeing him in a stranger you never met. It was definitely him. 

A surge of feelings began to creep back up while your mind wildly raced for words, trying to take in this moment that this is happening and that Kim fucking Taehyung is actually alive and well and physically present before your eyes. You suddenly never wanted more than to hug him and greet him with kisses and love. 

But then you remembered. Remembered what he did to you and within seconds anger and questions began to bubble inside. 

He nervously giggles that stupid familiar giggle that once made you flutter with joy and utters his first few words. X “God…I bet you want to kill me.” Flashing you that sweet, same old boxy smile of his you, unfortunately, knew all too well. 

“I can’t believe this,” you muttered quickly under your breath, just enough that even Taehyung could hear.  

He sheepishly grins, taking a notice in your surprised state by the sudden presence of him just being there. 

“Why was he here?" you thought to yourself. 

"Hi,” he simply greets with a smile, attempting to make some sort of conversation with you. 

“H-hi…how have you been?” You somehow managed to utter, taking in his presence while your anger simmered down. His soft, brown locks of hair, his chocolate brown eyes that somehow still gleamed in the light, his perfectly tanned skin, his boxy, sweet smile and warm, deep voice. It seemed as if nothing had changed about him since the last time you saw him. “It’s been awhile.”

“Heh,” He nervously chuckles, combing his hair back as he looked away and then back to you as if your response were unexpectedly funny to him. “It has been a while…but I’ve been good. How about you?" 

"Good? I’ve been good as well,” you simply stated, your eyes not leaving his as you observed every piece and being of him. Was this a dream?  

“Oh,” he began to drift his eyes away, smiling down at the empty space in front of him. “That’s great then. I’m happy for you.”

“Happy for me? What does that even mean?" you asked yourself, your hand beginning to clench into a fist as anger bubbled within. "Did he seriously just come to see me and ask me how I was doing?" 

You cleared your voice and attempted to clear your mind. Perhaps he had an explanation waiting for you. "So…I’m just curious, but what made you decide, of all days, and oh so suddenly and just straight out of the blue to see me?”  

Your heart pounded with anticipation as you watched him turn from the empty space to you. A slight grin on the corner of his mouth lifted. “I missed you, obviously." 

You stared at him with such disbelief. You didn’t laugh. You didn’t smile. Not even a little out of good manner. Because as you sat/stood there, trying to decipher the reason for this meeting, the anger and rage you had tried to dissipate began to form once again. 

"But I guess, I’m a little late…aren’t I?” he chuckled softly. 

“Very much late,” you replied coldly. 

“That’s what I thought,” he replied, his eyes never meeting yours as he continued to stare off into space. 

“Tae…If you knew you were too late, then where were you this past half year?" 

"I-I don’t know…" 

You scoffed, turning your head away toward the exit. "Right." 

You stood up and began to walk toward the exit, ready to leave this all behind again before the tears began to drop from your eyes. "Wait, (Y/N),” Taehyung stood, unexpectedly grabbing your wrist and stopping you in your place. Honestly, you never wanted anything more than to punch him in the face like you did now. But you resisted and then you turned to face him. 

“What Taehyung? What is it? What do you want from me?” You forcefully tore your wrist away from him. “Were you expecting me to tell you I missed you back? Huh? Were you really expecting me to take you back in that easily?”  

“No, not really, but (Y/N)-, I mean I-" 

"Stop right there, Kim Taehyung. Just, don’t. I’m just iffy with you right now. I just- I can’t fucking believe that after six months of not seeing you, or receiving any sort of word from you, you’re here. I’m in disfuckingbelief. 

As I stand here and try to come up with the words to express how you made me feel, I wonder…where fucking exactly in the world do I start? How can I even begin to convey my mixed feelings for you from the past half year? I thought you were someone different. Someone I could truly trust. Someone so honest, so sweet, and so humble. You were the sunshine that lit up my dull, dark skies. You made me believe in things I never would have before, lifted me up so much higher than I’d ever been, and pushed me, encouraged me to reach my goals and pursue my dreams. Never would I have imagined for someone as you, to make a simple person as me, fall so deep, and so quick, and so, so hard for you. I thought we had it all; the present, the memories together, the promises, our future…but those were just all lies, right? All of it. Everything you said. Every single fucking word you said. Empty promises. Words masked with your amazing act. You did so well? Aren’t you glad you fooled me? 

Ha. I can’t believe I waited like a little, lost puppy for you. You promised you’d come back and I had so much fucking faith in you that I had no doubts in your words. Wow, was I wrong. When I texted you, called you, and received no answers, I just…I couldn’t believe you. For the past year, since I met you, up to the moment before you left on your little trip, did all those memories mean nothing to you? Was I such a nuisance that you didn’t want to just tell it straight to my face? Did I express my love to you for nothing? 

Since a month after I realized you had suddenly just disappeared off the face of the Earth, I have writhed with pain, cried here and there for you because I was so hurt. Broken. I felt so fucking betrayed? How could you? How. Fucking. Could. You? I believed in you. Had so much fucking faith in you. I loved you. 

So how fucking dare you, come out of nowhere and try to make casual conversation with me like you never left. HOW. FUCKING. DARE. YOU. KIM TAEHYUNG. You have no right. No. Fucking. Right. You have absolutely no right to come out of the blue and flash me with that smile of yours, and tell me you miss me." 

"I-I’m so sorry, (Y/N)…I see I’ve caused you pain…I’m so sorry. I’m just going to leave you be,” He turns his back to you and begins to walk. 

“So you’re done that easily?” You scoffed. 

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). I don’t even know why I came back." 

And then he was out the door, and you let him walk. You didn’t know why you let him leave, but you did. As much as you wanted to jump into his embrace, and hug him with all the warmth he had to offered, you didn’t. As quickly as you wanted to forgive him, you didn’t. Kim fucking Taehyung walked out of your life without an explanation six months ago and today, he did it again. You didn’t know when the tears began to trickle down your cheeks, but they did. You didn’t know why Taehyung ever left in the first place, and even just now. You didn’t know why, but you wished you did.