#and also why not put her in the Bloodline? considering she literally came up with the Usos

[jtmarx]

Honestly WWE does nothing but disrespect Tamina.  Like how has home girl been with the company for over a decade and have NO single championships? How was she not part of the Bloodline?  How has she not been a mainstay of the division?  I don’t understand

[sansa286]

Alysanne was especially weird about Viserra...she engages her to Theomore Manderly, who's much, much older than her, thrice widowed, and has many children and grandchildren. So, on the surface there is no political advantage to the marriage aside from vaguely putting a Targaryen somewhere buried in the Manderly bloodline. Alysanne says that she believes it's a good match because he's a good person, so some argue she was trying to "teach Viserra a lesson" about being less vain and valuing things outside of looks. To that I ask: she couldn't have done that with someone Viserra's age? Surely if Lord Manderly is a good person, he more than likely raised some good sons/grandsons. Engage Viserra to one of them instead. Maybe even engage him to one of his heirs, like his grandson Desmond, who eventually goes on to inherit White Harbor after his father (and even votes in favor of Rhaenys and Laenor during the Great Council of 101, so clearly he had some functioning brain cells.) But...no. None of that forethought is present in her decision and Jaehaerys being the antithesis of a girldad that he is, is just as dismissive.

Which brings me to the Baelon incident. Alysanne's reaction to Viserra's supposed flirty behavior around Baelon before the fact is pure projection. For one - Baelon is not even the heir at that point. Aemon is still alive, and may have more children that would put Baelon even further down the line of succession (under normal circumstances, Rhaenys would've inherited before him anyways). And second - a core part of her and Jaehaerys' entire reign is justifying their incestual marriage. They even came up with the Doctrine of Exceptionalism, which was widespread propaganda that stated that Targaryens were allowed to wed their siblings because of their supposed inherent superiority. And Viserra is the tenth child of thirteen children and born when Alysanne and Jaehaerys were getting up there in age, meaning that the DoE was well established by that point and a prime aspect of the culture she was growing up in. Her parents are siblings. Baelon literally married Alyssa who was also in contention to be Aemon's wife before Alysanne declared she was meant for Baelon. Viserra herself was briefly considered to be a wife to Vaegon. Actually, pretty much all of her sisters were at one point or another considered potential spouses for their brothers. Simply put: if Viserra did seriously desire Baelon (and I don't think she did, but that's a conversation for another day) it's literally due to the conditioning that's been a part of upbringing for as long as she's been alive.*

The specifics of Alysanne's reaction to the Baelon incident is not recorded. We're only told that she sped up the process of sending Viserra to White Harbor because of it. But she has no room to be angry. Viserra going to her older brother in the hopes that he will save her from a betrothal to an older man she does not desire was clearly inspired by the exact same thing that Alysanne did with Jaehaerys. Alysanne, like Viserra, was also extremely young (13 to Viserra's 15) and engaged to a man significantly younger than her, and when she found out she immediately went to Jaehaerys, and they then booked it for Dragonstone where they wed in secret. And what do you know? At the time they did this Jaehaerys was already the king, and their wedding automatically made Alysanne the queen. The man Alysanne was initially engaged to was twenty-tree, compared to Theomore, who was geriatric. This is why I argue that Alysanne claiming Viserra wants to marry Baelon because she wants to be the queen despite him not even being first-in-line for the throne - Alysanne is essentially saying that, at the very least, part of why she wanted to marry Jaehaerys is because she wanted to be the queen. Which is valid because in terms of political duty, she made the best of her position, but still, she was ambitious and is trying to crucify her daughter for potentially having the exact same ambition.

A lot of people seemingly hate, or at least, villainize Viserra because she said she was prettier than fan-favorite Alyssa, and while yes that is a crazy rude thing to say about your sister who died tragically, it also does not make her a supervillain. Baelon was widowed, so it's not like she was doing this while Alyssa was still alive. Men in Westeros are not just allowed to get remarried, they're expected to. Baelon remaining unmarried was the exception, not the rule. And also, she was 15 and was routinely praised for her looks in a society where the two main things women are valued for is their looks and ability to pop out children. Some love to make the internalized misogyny argument, and I don't disagree, but I also don't single-out Viserra for that because for one: Westeros is a society where it is extremely easy for women to be taught to be that, and two - Alyssa also had internalized misogyny if we're going strictly by the text. So if we're having a who's-more-hateable off based off of that alone, then that's a tie. Notice how people never throw as much vitriol at Vaegon despite the fact that he was ultimately more rude to Daella than Viserra was to Alyssa? Because I certainly have.

*No, I don't ship visaelon/baeserra.

[shinagawa-division]

The Hegemony Wedding Ceremony (CodeX Voicelines Ver.)

— Miho

“It’s finally happening, I honestly can’t believe that the day is here. Am I nervous? A tad but I am absolutely confident that this won’t end like the last engagement. But honestly I’m more worried about the ceremony than anything, I don’t know why but I feel like something bad is going to happen which cannot be true, everything has to be absolutely perfect! I’ll have to get more security to keep an extra eye on Sumire.”

(To Ritsuko) “Ritsuko! Don’t you look lovely, I’m so glad you actually decided to show up considering that you’re quite literally my maid of honor. Come now, at least try to look happy for me, but I’m serious, thank you for being here for me, you’ve always been like a sister for me, especially when my own family can’t be here.”

(To Sumire) “Honestly, I don’t know why I still decided to let you step foot in this venue after what you did but…even after everything, despite all the fights and arguing…we’re still family, Sumire, like it or not, the truth is that we’re all we literally have left for each other, we are the last of our family and that’s terrifying. I genuinely, absolutely love Tomi but I’m also doing this to secure the future of our bloodline, I hope…I hope that you understand someday.”

(To Luis) “Kōkyū-san…I wanted to thank you for providing our wedding cake and…thanks for attending.”

(To Karada) “Oh…Kessaku-san…how…lovely to see you, yes, thank you for compliments and wishes, I do hope you enjoy yourself today.”

(To Tomi) “Is it bad to say that I am still in shock? Haha, but truly I could not be happier than I am now, who would’ve thought that the charming young man that I met at his parents’ soirée would become my future husband? Life has a strange way of putting things together but I can say with absolute certainty that I do not regret a single thing, especially because it leads us to now. Tomi Chōten, my dearest, my King, you are the love of my life and I cannot imagine being without you, it is my greatest honor to become your wife and I promise to be there for you always, through highs and lows until death do us part, I love you.”

— Ritsuko

“Miho better thank her lucky stars that I have such a soft spot for her, I find weddings to be quite irritating as they are nothing but over exaggerated pageants and we’ve already had enough of those. But still, this is the only wedding that I will have minimum grievances with, Miho deserves this and who am I to stop her from finally achieving happiness after all she’s been through.”

(To Miho) “I’d be rather hard pressed to find anyone else who would even try to steal the spotlight from you, you look absolutely stunning Miho, hard to believe that Tomi Chōten of all people will be officially able to call you his. Putting that aside, I’m happy for you, truly, I am attempting to smile from the inside. Is that enough sentimentality for you? Yes? Good, now let’s finally get this over with.”

(To Sumire) “Goodness Sumire, dare I say that you look more devoid of emotion than I do, while I understand how positively infuriating this must be for you, I do think you should focus on the bigger picture, that being that Miho has constantly been put through the ringer from the time of your disappearance to even now. The world has tried again and again to beat her down yet she came out on top even stronger than before, what I’m trying to say is that whatever you’re thinking about this is simply not true, Miho is not marrying Tomi simply just to spite you or anything of the sort, even I can see that she is sickeningly in love with him and that she is just simply taking the chance to be happy, to do what she wants to do for herself for once. Just something to think about, I’ll see you on alter.”

(To Luis) “Greetings Kōkyū. At least the one good thing from this is the cake you’ve made.”

(To Karada) “…” *shows him a spider to get him to leave her alone*

(To Tomi) “Chōten, before we proceed to the main event, I just wanted to have a word with you. Miho is absolutely excited and is very looking forward to become Mrs. Miho Chōten, I figured I’d let you know and to also remind you that should you ever hard Miho either physically, mentally, emotionally, or psychologically, I will make sure that you will regret the day that you ever came to existence, Sumire’s little aggressions will look like absolute child’s play compared to what I am capable of and no one, not your wealth, your prestige, or even your mother will be able to save you. Have I made myself clear? Good.”

— Sumire

“So many happy faces and yet I feel absolutely nothing, not even anger funny enough, I don’t know, maybe my subconscious knows that this is it, there’s nothing I can honestly do to actually put a stop to this, Miho’s determined to see this through and I fucking hate hate hate to see how genuinely happy Chōten is. No, no, fuck that, screw this and screw them, I’m not done yet, if they think that they’re coming out of this unscathed then they got another fucking thing coming!”

(To Ritsuko) “Hey Ritsuko, you look nice, who’s funeral you attending? Yeah yeah, whatever, I know you’re not too thrilled about this either, at least we’re suffering together, right? I just…nothing, it’s nothing, you better get ready before Miho goes into full Bridezilla mode.”

(To Miho) “…I hate how pretty you look��oh shut up, also it’s adorable how you think having a bunch of guards follow me throughout the day will deter me from finally putting an end to this bullshit. Save me the speech, Miho! You could have chosen literally anyone in this fucking country to marry and yet you chose HIM?! What the fuck do you even see in him?! And don’t say some bullshit like ‘his personality’! Goddamnit do you seriously hate me that badly that you want me gone?! “

(To Luis) “Hey Luis, surprised to see you here, last time I checked, you and my aunt aren’t the greatest of friends and I honestly thought that Tomi had some sort of blackmail to have you keep hanging out with him. Eh, anyways, good to see you, I guess.”

(To Karada) “Oh for fuck’s sake, don’t you have to go chase some sluts?! Leave me the fuck alone you no brain having, muscle-headed, small dick guerilla!”

(To Tomi) “I have nothing to say to you, you absolute scum, honestly just looking at you is enough to piss me the fuck off, just because you’re marrying my aunt doesn’t mean that I will stop making your life a living hell, I will never see you as family and I hope you drop fucking dead, bitch.”

[enbyleighlines]

Leigh plays Tellius prt 15

It's the final chapter! I had Ike give his speech, because I love it, even if he's clearly uncomfortable giving it. I literally muttered, "you're doing great, sweetie" at this moment.

What a wild time for Ashnard to confess this. I'm surprised Bryce wasn't more upset by this, honestly, considering he was a loyal retainer to the last king for fifteen years. But I suppose it's possible that his loyalty was more for the post, rather than the man himself.

We never do learn much about the previous King of Daein. This amazing post theorizes that Ashnard was perhaps an illegitimate son of the king, which is why he was never mentioned in any talk of succession prior to the "plague" that killed off the rest of the royal family. I really like this theory, because it explains why Ashnard was so obsessed with strength over bloodlines.

I put Soren up against a dragon laguz, and he completely decimated it through a combination of crits and adepts. Then I felt really terrible afterwards, considering that Soren might have indirectly been the cause of him becoming feral, since it's possible that this was one of the dragon laguz that traveled with Rajaion to rescue Almedha and infant Soren.

As expected, Soren capped his magic before even reaching level 20, so I didn't have to use a spirit dust on him. Fantastic job, Soren!

Ilyana reached level 20 not too long afterwards. However, she was unable to cap magic and speed on her own, so I used both a spirit dust and a speedwing for her. Hopefully this makes part 1 of Radiant Dawn just a teensy tiny bit easier.

Unfortunately, Soren and Ilyana were the only two units I was able to get to level 20. I severely overestimated how much exp was available on this map. Even more frustrating, I got Jill all the way to level 19, but then I ran out of enemies to pit her against.

I very nearly got Mist to level 20, too, through using a physics staff to heal Ike. Unfortunately, I forgot to unequip Ike's ragnell and he defeated Ashnard with aether before I could get Mist all the way to level 20.

I unironically love Ashnard's dying words. There's no disappointment, no anger. He's just so happy to meet someone who proves to be a formidable opponent. I suppose he was getting bored. I suppose it makes war less thrilling when you wear invincible armor.

This reveal is sooooooo gooooooooood. I love Ena and Rajaion.

A closer pic of them because man they are too cute.

I wish Rajaion had survived. Unfortunately, they didn't make it very clear that he died, so when I first played this game, I thought he had survived until I played the sequel.

I love this image! So many cute and unique laguz designs.

Ike and Elincia's friendship is so good, so pure.

A moment of silence for my least used characters. Rhys, Volke, and Brom, you are great characters, but I didn't need you, I'm sorry. Sothe, I will see you in the next game.

And that's it! The end progressed too quickly for me to take too many screenshots, but I did record who my top 5 units were:

Jill came in at 5th. No surprise there. I worked really hard, trying to get her to level 20. It's a shame I never did.

Soren was 4th. I'm a little sad he didn't rank higher, but I suppose it makes sense. Once he classed up into a sage, I mainly used him as a healer, since he was such a higher level than everyone else.

Rolf was 3rd. I'm also sad I didn't get him to level 20. He would have been so buffed with those transfer bonuses. Oh, well.

Ilyana was 2nd. Again unsurprising. She lagged behind for a while, but I managed to get her to level 20 with 4 capped stats, so all the extra effort paid off.

And of course Ike was in 1st place.

And that was Path of Radiance! I'm going to take a break to work on my Big Bang fic, but I am excited to get into Radiant Dawn. I wish I had gotten more characters to level 20. So far, I have Ike, Ilyana, Soren, and Ranulf all at level 20. Ike has capped 5 stats, Ilyana and Soren 4, and Ranulf only the 1. Perhaps I should have played on hard, so there would have been more reinforcements. Additionally, I could have farmed several bosses for extra exp.

Oh, well. Overall, I did manage to achieve all 5 of my goals. No one died, Ike and Soren are at an A rank, Ike and Ranulf at a B rank, Soren and Ilyana capped speed, and Ranulf capped strength.

Next time: we meet the Dawn Brigade!

[tipsycad147]

Fairy Bloodlines: Do You Descend from a Celtic Fairy Queen?

posted by : kitty fields

While researching a customer’s ancestral goddess, I came across something intriguing. There was an Irish sept, the Corcu Loigde, that claimed descent from a Fairy Queen named Cliodhna. It turns out, my Irish ancestors were part of the sept and I am able to claim fairy blood! What’s even more amazing is that MOST people of Irish descent can claim a legendary hero, fairy, god, or goddess as their ancestor. In this article, I’m providing you a look at my research of the Irish clans and their descent from Fairy Queens. Check if YOUR Irish or Scottish ancestors’ names are on this list and find out if YOU were born in a fairy bloodline!

(Check out this article and compare your Irish surnames against a list of clans who claim gods and goddesses as ancestors!)

READ THIS FIRST: Check the variations of each of your surnames and compare to what I have listed here. You can Google your surnames and find the variations. Why is this important? There are multiple versions of most Irish surnames. For example, my ancestors’ last name was McNally. Variations of McNally include: MacNally, MacNall, and MacAnally, etc. This is not an all-inclusive list as there are thousands of Irish surnames that could literally take up a book.

1. Cliodhna: Celtic Fairy Queen and Goddess of Cork

I have to put Cliodhna at the top, as she’s been the inspiration and voice behind this project. If you have any of the following Irish surnames in your ancestry AND your ancestors came from Cork, Ireland, they are part of an ancient sept called the Corcu Loigde. And it means YOU are a grandchild of Cliodhna the Fairy Queen! Cliodhna is an ancient sovereignty goddess of what is now Cork, Ireland. She is a goddess of beauty, love, healing, dreams, music, and the Celtic Otherworld. She is also considered a fairy queen, witch and mermaid. Read all about Cliodhna and how to work with her here.

Do you have any of these Irish surnames from Cork in your ancestry? If so, you descend from Cliodhna!

Coffey

Flynn

O’Donovan

O’Driscoll

O’Leary

2. The Fairy Bloodlines of Queen Medb

Queen Medb is the queen of Conacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She started the infamous Cattle Raid of Cooley in her attempts to capture the kingdom of Ulster’s prized bull. Scholars believe she is a variation of a sovereignty goddess and may even be the war goddess The Morrigan. In later centuries, she became a Celtic Fairy Queen. This may be because of Shakespeare’s fairy Queen Mab character. To many modern pagans, Queen Medb is more than a mythical figure or queen, she is a warrior goddess and an ancestor to the following Irish clans.

Do you have any of these surnames in your Irish heritage? Then you descend from Queen Medb!

Ainnsin

Beglin

Calbrain

Ciaracan

Connick

Cronan

Curnin

Doonan

Dunnan

Finn

Finnigan

Foaley

Geoffrey

Herry

Jeffries

Kearon

Keegan

MacCogan

MacConkeel

MacEnhill

MacLeavy

MacMurrow

MacShaffrey

MacShane

Moraine

Moran

Morey

Mulhooley

Mullock

Murray

Murrow

O’Quinn

Sharry

Sullihan

Tarmey

Tormey

Woods

3. Fairy Bloodlines of Queen Una (Oonagh)

Another goddess of the Tuatha De Dannan who was demoted to Fairy Queen over the centuries is Una (sometimes spelled Oonagh or Oona). She’s a fairy queen of Munster and is a goddess of music, love, and fidelity. And she protects young animals and children. Queen Una lives under Knockshegowna in County Tipperary (also called the Fairy Mound of Una). She is the last queen of the Daoine Sidhe and the wife to the High Fairy King Finvarra.

Do your Irish ancestors have this name? If so, you’re a descendant of Una and part of an ancient fairy bloodline:

O’Carroll

4. Aine: Midsummer Fairy Queen and Ancestor

Aine is a Celtic Irish goddess of summer, sovereignty, animals, crops, fertility, Midsummer and the sun. She resides in County Limerick, where her sacred hill Knockaine is located. Yet her memory is preserved in many place-names throughout Ireland. Aine rides an otherworldly red mare and sometimes shifts forms and becomes the red mare. In some myths, Aine is married to or was impregnated by the King of Munster Ailil Aulom, and his descendants the septs of the Eoganachta, claim Aine as their ancestor. The Eoganachta was a dynasty originating in Southern Ireland, in the kingdom of Munster in Medieval Times.

These are the clans of the Eoganachta. Do You Have Irish ancestors with any of these clan names? If they originate in Southern Ireland, you have an even higher chance they delineate from the Eoganachta septs. Which means Aine is your Fairy Queen ancestor and you have fairy blood!

Connelly

Lynch

MacAnliffe

MacCarthy

MacGillycuddy

Morgan

O’Bogue

O’Cahalane

O’Callaghan

O’Cannifree

O’Connell

O’Cronin

O’Dennehy

O’Donnell

O’Donoghue

O’Dwyer

O’Feehan

O’Flahiffe

O’Flynn

O’Hea

O’Keefe

O’Kirby

O’Leary

O’Mahoney

O’Moriarty

O’Quirke

O’Sullivan

The Fairy Bridge of the MacLeod Clan – Isle of Skye

The MacLeod Scottish Clan’s Fairy Bloodline

The MacLeod clan from the Isle of Skye, Scotland, claims they have fairy blood. The story comes from a centuries-old relic the family still has in their possession – the Fairy Flag. Legend says the flag was given to the MacLeod clan by a fairy woman who had married a MacLeod chief. She was married to him for twenty years and was forced to leave him and return to the Otherworld. The fairy woman said goodbye to the chief on the fairy bridge and gave him the flag. She told him to wave the flag whenever they were in dire need of help and it would be granted three times.

If you have the MacLeod last name or it’s in your family tree, you can claim fairy blood. Unfortunately, we don’t know enough about this fairy woman to provide a name or anything else. But the clan claims they descend from her. Learn more about the fairy flag of Dunvegan here.

You Have Fairy Blood…Now What?

Maybe you realized you’re part of a fairy bloodline. But now you’re wondering what to do with this information? It’s up to you what you do with the information. I’m not saying anyone is necessarily a fairy or that your ancestor was a fairy, I’m saying that these clans claimed it. This is similar to how the Egyptian pharaohs claimed to be gods or descend from the gods. It gave people status and probably fueled their religious rites and beliefs. Aside from telling people your ancestor was a fairy, consider working with your ancestor in your spiritual or magical practice. Research and study their lore and history. Set up an altar space. Provide offerings. Ask your ancestor to send you messages in your dreams and life. Immerse yourself in Irish Celtic culture.

Why Are There Only Irish and Scottish Surnames Here?

Unfortunately, if you don’t have Irish or Scottish ancestors, you might be wondering where the other names are. I wish I could find the same information for ALL cultures and heritages, but it doesn’t exist at this magnitude. Ireland had a Renaissance right before the Viking Age in which their clergy (who could read and write) began documenting Irish folklore, mythology, and history. Geneaology including names and locations of septs and clans was recorded, and we are lucky to have this information still today. While I can’t supply you with other European fairy bloodlines, I can help you find out more about your magical and pagan ancestors. Read the links below to learn more!

[blog-of-hubris]

Bearing it all for the World to Witness - Takako Uro

Character analysis on Uro, the culling game player I am the most interested in thus far. *DISCLAIMER* This is MY personal meta on Uro. You can feel free to agree or disagree, nothing I feel is necessarily FACT. Anywho, enjoy! 

Who is Takako Uro

Takako Uro is one of the newest characters introduced in the Culling Game arc of Jujutsu Kaisen and is probably one of if not my favorite new character introduced. We meet her in the highly volatile Sendai Colony, where she is one of the 4 strongest players there. Unfortunately for her and her peers/rivals Yuta Okkotsu entered the colony with the intention of taking everyone down and obtaining 400 points. What made Uro stand out to me, was not only her appearance (which is obviously there to make you pay attention - more on this later) but just the boldness of her character dialogue and body language. I love a female character who has confidence, skill and isn’t being tomboy written so that she feels relatable to males. Uro is clearly a female character who embodies the realism of powerful women who have resentment toward the world they were born into. 

Uro embodies this in many ways, and I basically highlight these throughout this meta in each section. From her technique to the nuance behind her backstory, Uro (to me) is one of Gege’s best written one-off characters without getting a backstory focused chapter like Higaruma. I also find it very interesting that Gege decided to introduce a character that had connection to the Fujiwara and the Michizane clans. Kinda off topic, but I think this was Gege setting up for deeper dive into the past, and Uro was the first stepping stone to that, hence her final conversation with Yuta. 

So all we know for a fact about Uro is that she was a head assassin for the Fujiwara clan, was betrayed by them and now has a heavy hatred for their kin. She probably was happy to see the future being a time period where those bloodlines aren’t as prominent which is why she was so ticked off to run into Yuta being so boldly powerful in modern times. It is this layer upon layer for her character that I'll delve into which makes her a gem to me. I do hope you understand where I'm coming from as I ramble and rant about this wonderful woman and how perfect her character is so far.

Surface Manipulation

Uro’s technique is one of my favorites in the series due to its versatility and creativity of a technique. What really gets me is how this technique can be seen as a play on Uro only seeing things on the surface, not looking truly deeper into things. Of course this is something that leans more on the head canon side of the analysis, but its worth exploring. The idea is that Uro only saw things for what they seemed, and she was manipulated because of that. This leans into a section later about Uro’s past and how I think her life came to an end, so consider this a planted seed that’ll get watered as you continue reading. 

Otherwise, I think its important to her characterization to highlight her being introduced as a character that could control “the sky”. Instantly I think about the saying “the sky is the limit”, and for the world of jujutsu the sky is NOT the limit; if we were to put a “Ceiling” of some sort I would say the Heavens themselves, and of course Uro’s surface manipulation isn’t effecting the heavens. The Sky is literally her limit, being the maximum application of her technique, letting her fly, use it to block attacks, return blasts back to senders and more. Its a very powerful technique, not as strong as Gojo’s limitless of course but its almost like a subclass version of it. Anyway, I just find her ability to be a way gege is characterizing her without giving away too much of her back story or personality. 

Past as one who hasn't achieved

I think its very bold of Gege to consistently bring up the sexism in the jujutsu world throughout the eras. We got a whole character arc around Maki and Mai’s treatment by the Zenin clan, but that wasn't where Gege decided to end the discussion. Uro was a surprise to see, as she clearly and boldly embodies a woman who gave up her own potential as an individual for what she believed was a “greater good”. This was her own words in fact. The idea of fighting for the sake of others is sick to her because of what she experienced in her first life. Uro doesn’t play a riddle game with Yuta or try to confuse him in their fight. She fight him straight up, wanting to crush him head on, butt naked bearing it all for everyone to witness. Thats because she wants to prove herself to everyone and herself. She took Kenjaku’s offer in order to come back and “become someone”. 

I’m always so impressed how much Gege has picked up from Togashi in terms of writing nuance and giving just enough information to make certain information “obvious assumptions”. Gege doesn’t have to tell us outright every detail of what happened to Uro, just use Uro’s word choices, body language and thoughts to guide the reader to the obvious assumption. For Uro it was her treatment by the Fujiwara clan, but not just that specifically the man who tricked her into getting executed for the sake of his kin. This is layers onto Uro wanting to “become someone” - she was the lead of a masterclass assassin group that was known to be the shadows themselves, not even having a last name! Her anger burns so strong because she was given a name, told to fight for others and then was used as a scapegoat, not to mention that Gege hints that Uro’s anger stems from a lovers quarrel. 

So when you put the pieces together it seems like Uro was involved with this Fujiwara Representative sexually but in secret, of course she actually fell in love with him but his love (seemingly) was not genuine and he used her. With that context in mind, when you look back Uro definitely comes off as a woman full of scorn, but Uro isn’t a fool nor is she mercilessly vindictive. She didn’t go around killing non-sorcerers just to remind herself that she is powerful. She went after other sorcerers, people who could fight back against her - all in order to “become someone” for “her own sake” (more on this later), it just really resonates with me that becoming someone to her is truly just her expressing herself in the spotlight, another play on her floating in the sky naked for everyone to see. 

It is clear that since she was a woman with skill and power as an Assassin it was clear to “That Man” (unnamed, status unknown) of the Fujiwara Clan to keep Uro in the shadows not only physically but mentally as well. Her understanding of her role in life was to be on the sidelines, unnoticed, and living for others. Her group of assassins were not even allowed to bear names, yet we know Uro by name - so does that mean she continued with the name given to her by “That Man” or is this a name she gave herself? These are questions I would like answered.

“Become Someone” for “Your Own Sake”

The core to the conflict between Uro and Yuta was not only the misunderstanding with Yuta’s bloodline, but also Yuta’s ignorance and lack of genuine sympathy for Uro’s situation. Yuta himself points out that Uro had 70 points so her focus was clearly only other players, but he still belittled her choices of coming back and fighting in the Culling Game for her “own sake”. So does that mean Yuta wouldn’t look down on someone who came back for the sake of another? Not only that, Uro’s life was taken from her.. she had regrets due to being manipulated by the world around her, so she chose to return from the underworld and move toward a second life. I honestly sided with her when she got angry with Yuta, because it was clear she had more to her situation than met the eye. 

Thats not to say that Uro was some perfect girl who was just mistreated, she was a killer - a trained assassin for the Fujiwara clan & at the time was seemingly very proud of it. What I am saying is that Uro may have accepted her death had she not felt like she was wrongly done by the ones she worked for, and that experience may have also opened her eyes to how manipulated she was. I don’t think Uro is a bad person at heart, this was proven to me when she gave Yuta those final words of advise, even though he knew the two them couldn’t necessarily come to an understanding. The truth is, Uro is simply still bitter about her life prior, and her fight to become someone for her own sake has lead her on a path filled with unknowns in a new era still coming face to face with her past regrets just in new appearances. 

To become someone for her own sake is Uro coming into the true understanding to transcend in the world of jujutsu. As she said, the sorcerers and cursed spirits that have transcended are those with an unshakable ego, that has no regard for anyone but themselves. Thats the path that Uro is going for, she refuses to go back to fighting for someone else’s sake, because she wants to accomplish something. Once again going back to her being nude in public, this adds to the idea of Uro ignoring the stigmas that come with being a woman, leaving her bare skin out symbolizing her putting her full self out there into the world now, no longer living in shadow and embracing herself to go beyond what she believed she was before. 

The thing about Yuta being the main force in her way that is poetic, is the cycle of karma coming to remind her that she hasn’t truly moved on, and someone challenging that makes her instantly revert to her primal anger toward the Fujiwara. Its realistic, faulty and perfect for a character who we know has come back for a second chance at life. That also exposes that Uro hasn't truly harnessed and understood that anger she has. She hasn’t properly converted that negative emotion into focus to become more powerful, but she had the right idea. It reminds me of when Sukuna told Jogo that he should have burned everything at his desire without worry in order to surpass Gojo. Uro has to truly move on, not necessarily forgive if she’s going to truly reach that next level. 

Now I wonder what will Uro accomplish in this second life? Will she actually achieve a second life after the culling game or is this all just another part of Kenjaku’s plan and lives will be sacrificed? I think no matter what Uro is fighting now her own place in this new modern world. 

What's Next? (Conclusion)

Sorry for ranting on about Uro and probably repeating the same thing over and over lol, but I really wanted to share my thoughts on her! I tried to be concise, and point out the things I found interesting about her character but I am mostly interested in what's next. Gege seems to be setting up these side characters for something important later, and I'm very unsure what they are. I personally hope to see more of Uro, whether it be through flashbacks per Kenjaku or us seeing what she has going on later down the line when all the pieces on the board start to move.

Tell me in the comments below what you think about Uro! (Be nice!!)

[onesheeptwosheepandachicken]

RWBY X Bayonetta x TFS Hellsing: Meeting the Grandparents

Summer: Oh it’s going to be great! I haven’t seen my Papa since I was a little girl.

Taiyang: Summer, he abandoned you! In the woods!

Summer: Nonsense, he just went out for a very, very, very, long walk! And I was picked up by a group of nuns till I went to Beacon so it wasn’t like I was in any danger.

Qrow: What about those night terrors about fighting off wolves and Grimm?

Summer: Oh I’m sure Papa just mistook those nasty things for puppies. Anyone can make a mistake.

Alucard: Oh my little Sunshine, look how big you got!

Summer: Papa!

Alucard: I heard your a huntress now, good for you.

Summer: That’s right, I’m the leader of my own team.

Alucard: Neat.

Summer: This is my Husband Taiyang, and my BFF Qrow! You can meet the your granddaughters when they wake up.

Alucard: I have grandchildren? Show me! Show me!

Taiyang: First things first.

*Taiyang punches the vampire king so hard in the stomach, he’s sent flying into half a dozen trees.*

Taiyang: That’s for abandoning your daughter! Ya prick!

*Alucard returns by a clutter of bats. Slowly dusting himself off.*

Alucard: Well, I haven’t had a punch hit me that hard since Van Hellsing. I like you blonde, Put er here sonny boy!

Summer: Yay

Both Qrow and Taiyang looked baffled.

Qrow: ”so who’s your mama?”

Bayonetta: ”Well helloooooo handsomes....”

Summer: ”Mommy!”

Bayonetta: You there. Bird boy. You look familiar...is your dad's name Dante?

Qrow: ”Oh no....”

Bayonetta: Ah so it is....tell me how are he and Vergie?

Qrow: I think you mean my sister

Bayonetta: Ah yes. Right. Wrong set of twins. Anywho, where are my grandbabies?!

Ruby: Aren't you a little young to be our granny?

Bayonetta: I like this one!

Later that evening

Yang: So lemme get this straight... hair is also your clothes...?

Bayonetta: -nods and sips tea- Correct.

Yang: Teach me!

Alucard: Darling didn't we agree NOT to teach the children dark arts?

Bayonetta: That flew out the window when you taught Ruby and Summer how to laser blast grimm with their eyes

Alucard: I hardly think that counts dear, It's literally light. How can that be considered a "dark art"? Besides, I don't even know where they got that from. It's not even one of my powers.

Bayonetta: Hmph! it probably came about when you slept with that church full of nuns while I was 'asleep' for a century!

Alucard: oh come now darling the bloodline needed preserving and you know damn well those goodie-goodie cloaks didn't hold a candle to you.

Bayonetta: Hmph flattery will get you nowhere!

Alucard: Except for between your legs

Bayonetta: Darling! Not in front of the children!

Alucard: Y'know in my defense? My fetish for nuns whips chains and torture all began with you love.

Tai: -Whispers to Summer- So is this why you are so uh...

Summer: Freaky borderline demonic in bed due to years of celibacy? Yes. Yes it is.

Bayonetta: I Do hope at least your first time was blissful dear.

Summer: -blushes remembering said first time- It was uh... intense...to use a word.

Tai: -pulls his collar and sweats- Really glad that Qrow took Yang on a trip to Vale that day

Bayonetta: Ohhh la la~

Summer: Moooom! No! He's mine!

*as Salem is coming to Atlas*

Yang: Ruby I think it is time we had are team meet are grandparents.

Ruby: I believe you are right Yang.

*Ruby pulls out her scroll and makes a call and puts it on speaker*

*on the other end a phone is going off singing *I'm a bitch I'm a woman*

Alucard: Oh it's Ruby I have to take this dear. *answers call* Ello.

Ruby and Yang: Hey grandpa.

Alucard: Hi girls what do I own the pressure of this call.

Bayonetta: Hi girls.

Ruby: We need some help and you two came to mind.

Alucard: are they hookers.

Yang: No.

Alucard: and like that you lost me.

Bayonetta: Darling!

Alucard: I'm joking what is it you need help with.

Ruby: someone is going to destroy Atlas and we need your help stopping her.

Alucard: can I eat her.

Yang: she is immortal so I don't know if you can.

Alucard: I eat your grandmother every night.

Weiss: gross.

Bayonetta: is this on speaker.

Ruby: It is.

Alucard: Oh why didn't you tell us sooner we would really leave a mark on your friends.

Yang: Maybe another time can you come help.

Bayonetta: we just have to get dressed and we will be there.

Ruby: ok see you in a minute.

*Ruby hangs up*

Blake: what do you mean a minute we are in the air and you didn't tell them where we are and

*Alucard appears through the wall between Yang and Ruby*

Alucard: HEY KIDS WANT TO SEE A DEAD BODY.

Blake and Weiss: AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH.

*Bayonetta appears on the ship.*

Bayonetta: darling do have to do that every time we meet new people.

Alucard: yep.

Ruby and Yang: Hey guys.

Bayonetta: Oh look how big you two have grow- Yang what happened to your arm.

Yang: It got cut off by a crazy guy.

Alucard: Can I kill him.

Yang: Already killed him.

Alucard: That's my girl.

Bayonetta: and who are these two.

Ruby: there are team mates.

Bayonetta: nice to meet you so for my husband's actions.

Weiss: it's fine now we know where they get it from.

Alucard: So who are we fighting.

Ruby: her.

*Ruby points out of the ship at Salem on a whale.*

Alucard: I guess we are going to have a whale of a good time.

Blake: yep there related.

Alucard: Wait does she have a boob window.

Bayonetta: Wait she does.

Alucard: Ready to have some fun dear.

Bayonetta: you know it darling.

*both leave*

Weiss: did.... did she have guns for heels.

Yang: Yep.

Blake: I thought my family was weird.

https://www.facebook.com/RWBYfanart/photos/a.503857119978352/1067705766926815/  if you want the original source.

[masterweaverx]

RWBY Parents from Best to Worst

That’s right, everybody, I’m a-going to rank how terrible these people are to and for their kids! For the sake of covering as many parents as I can, I am defining ‘parent’ as either ‘legal guardian’ or ‘the one that gave birth to you’, and excluding relationships that are explicitly something else. That does mean that we’re going to miss out on some very important people, though, so before we begin, let’s have some Honorable Mentions!

Yang Xiao Long and Winter Schnee: Professional Momsisters

“That’s why big sisters come first, to protect the ones that come after.” I don’t know who said that to these two, if anybody actually did, but it’s a quote that most definitely applies to them. Not only would they take a bullet (or a sword, or a fireball) for their younger siblings, they took the time out to give them affection and training that they needed when their own parents weren’t quite doing the job. If I absolutely had to rank one of them as the better momsister, I’d say Yang, but that’s really only because Yang had less to deal with overall; a depressed single dad not being able to pull himself together just doesn’t stack up with an abusive powermonger, a self-loathing drunkard, and all the institutional bigotry and pressure of Atlas. Plus, you know, Winter went into the military for a bit. Still, pretty good track record considering!

Klein Sieben: Doing the work of seven good dads

Look, there is only one reason Klein wasn’t listed before the momsisters, and that reason is that he is technically the hired help (and could therefore become the fired help). He is, hands down, a better surrogate parent than Yang and Winter, providing guidance and care to all the Schneeblings and very effectively undoing the damage Jacques Gele (HE DOES NOT GET TO BE CALLED SCHNEE!) did to them. And he even helped out Willow! If he was allowed to do more, he would absolutely be My Real Dad of the year.

Qrow Branwen: “The only one that gets to be sad in this house is me!”

Qrow has a lot of flaws. Like, so so many flaws. As Yang said in a noncanon spinoff, he’s cool but not exactly a role model. Thing is, you don’t have to be a role model to be a good parent--you just have to make sure your kids (or nieces in this case) get good advice and the opportunity to grow into the best versions of themselves they can be. And when Qrow’s not beating himself up or drowning his sorrows, he’s actually very good at helping Yang and Ruby. Honestly the only reason he’s not on the actual list is because he’s technically not a parent.

Uncle Copper: Adopting a blind kid automatically makes you cool

So here we have a character that appeared in a single flashback in the novels, but from what we do know he was pretty likely to be a good guy. Like, raising a blind kid is hard enough; raising a blind kid in a desert after their actual parents got nommed by sand is so, so much more difficult. And yet, this guy said ‘If nobody else is going to adopt this kid I will!’ and by all measures he was a very caring and loving guy. Also, shout-out to the tribe, who took Fox in after Copper got killed by some maniac (and also killed said maniac). Fox has had a rough life, but it’s been filled with supportive people. Not everyone can say that.

Starr Sanzang: She put up with Sun

Sure, she’s only had one scene in one novel, but Starr showed patience and caring and... probably did a lot to make sure Sun stays as aggressively cheery and patient as he is. Plus she’s got a dojo in Vacuo now... okay, I’ll be honest, I don’t know nearly enough about her to really assess her. Still, as far as cousins go, Sun Wukong could do a lot worse. And there are the implications of their motifs to factor in...

Rhodes: If you’d done even just a little bit more--!

So, reasonably, what would you do when you see a little girl enslaved with a shock collar? Would you (A) get the girl out of there, (B) arrest the woman doing it, (C) try to get the girl therapy, or (D) all of the above? If you picked (E) secretly train the girl in swordplay so she can join a huntsman academy when she comes of age, then congratulations! You’ve given her hope! Good for you! And what if she snaps after five years of literal torture, kills her abuser, and then turns to you for comfort and/or approval? Welp, obviously she’s an irredeemable criminal and you have to bring her in, crushing all the faith she had in you and herself.

Seriously Rhodes, dropped the ball hard on that one. I’m only mentioning you because you had such a serious impact on Cinder’s development.

Brother Gods: Creating and destroying entire species

Like, okay. Look. These are the two that made humanity, so an argument could be made that they’re humanity’s parents. But, by the strict and arbitrary rules I have selected, they aren’t parents. And even if they were, they would be just the worst sort of parents possible. Darkbro is bad enough, what with viewing only strength as valuable and creating the Grimm and, you know, annihilating humanity that one time, but he’s at least honest and honorable. Not like the cryptic Lightbro, who doesn’t bother making sure people understand him, who doesn’t even keep his own promises to his brother... I get that they’re basically overpowered children. Yeah, they are. Still... kinda terrible.

So, now that that’s all done, let’s get to the actual list! After the break, so you don’t get stuck scrolling a lot. RWBY parents, from best to worst, are as follows:

23. Saphron and Terra Cotta-Arc: Two moms are better than none!

If I’m rating all the parents, and I am, then I have to acknowledge their flaws. And... these two don’t have any! Okay, fine, they used Adrian in a criminal scheme that one time (and that was literally just asking him to cry on command) and maybe Terra’s overworked and, to be fair, parenting a young kid is a lot different than parenting a teenager. But not only did they support their kid, they helped out all the kids that needed to room with them for a while! Saphron may also qualify as a momsister, depending on how well the Arcs managed their massive-numbered horde of kids. Look, the point is: Excellent parents. Bam.

22. Yatsuhashi's Parents: Their slipups weren’t their fault

When your kid can wipe your memories and you don’t know about it, you’re bound to get a few mistakes down the line. Luckily for everyone, after the whole incident with Hiyoko Yatsu came clean, and his parents made absolutely sure that he understood (A) that having such an ability was a big responsibility and (B) that even though he really screwed up he was NOT evil. Given the man that Yatsuhashi is now, I’m pretty confident in calling them great parents--even if they only appeared in a book flashback.

21. Coco's Dad: He exists!

That’s... honestly all I really know about him. He’s mentioned once in the books, and Coco has a few brothers. I’m kind of just assuming he’s a good parent from that, even if he didn’t figure out how to help Coco with her claustrophobia. So... yeah, shrug, Coco’s got a dad.

20: Ghira and Kali Belladonna: Actually marvelous people

Loving. Caring. Mentoring, protective. You may be asking why these two aren’t lower on the list, given that they are absolutely great for Blake, and I’ll have to admit that they only really made one slipup--letting Adam talk with Blake.

And okay, look. The thing about people like Adam is that they don’t start out showing their true colors. It’s always a slow, gentle broil. Blake was young and stupid, Adam was cute and edgy, and these parents want their daughter to be happy. So not twigging on what Adam really was--or at least not being able to properly convince Blake--that’s entirely understandable. And they did instill her with a strong enough moral code to leave when enough was enough, and they absolutely welcomed her back with open arms. Frankly, if the lower-listing parents didn’t exist, I would happily say they are the best parents in the show.

19. Pietro Polendina: He took Penny’s death flags

When you carve out part of your literal soul to bring your girl back from the dead, you get MAJOR parenting props. And even beyond that, Pietro is an absolutely caring and supportive father to everyone’s favorite bundle of sunshine. Even when she’s put in the rough position she was in, Pietro did his best to help her out. His one big flaw, though, is being overprotective and a bit presumptive. He does want Penny to live her best life, but he also can be just a touch too quick to say he knows what’s best for her. To his credit, when he’s called out on it, he does mend his ways. And he’s at least better then the GENERAL...

18. Salem and Ozma: Good parents, surprisingly!

Sure, Salem decided that world conquest was a good idea and wanted to put down anybody that wasn’t directly from her bloodline. Sure, she psychologically manipulated her husband when he had doubts. And, being fair, it’s highly likely that her four daughters were killed in the crossfire of her and Ozma’s little tuff. But! That was likely an accident, she’s been shown to still clearly mourn their passing, and before that point she absolutely loved and adored the girls. Ozma gets points for being a generally good person who fell in love with her before she became unstable and, honestly, was just trying to help his girls escape... and hey, he blames himself for their deaths. As does Salem.

Just because they’re kind of directly responsible for a LOT of Remnant’s woes doesn’t mean they aren’t good parents!

17. Will and Meg Scarlatina: Estranged but loving...

Yes, I know Rooster Teeth hasn’t officially confirmed that Bill is Will. I still believe though! Also it makes for a great picture, in any case.

Look, you can be the best and most loving parents ever--and from what we saw in the novels Will was definitely loving--but if you split up, your kid is going to get a little stressed. And hey, it’s not like these two were terrible people! Velvet’s just got a lot going on because of things entirely out of her control. Parents are people too, but sometimes the stress of one situation will leak out into another. Just... give people time to adapt.

16. Nicholas Schnee: The man, the legend, the titan!

Nicholas Schnee is the rockstar success story of Remnant. Some guy from Mantle put in all the work to make the SDC, and honestly from what little we know about him he was probably a great guy! But if we’re registering parental goodness, well... he wasn’t quite smart enough to warn Willow away from abusive gold diggers, and he’s not present when the story starts. So, yeah, even if he was a good parent otherwise--and I think he would be--he kinda... didn’t put in the work to prevent Willow breaking later. Still. Not deliberately terrible!

15. Li and An Ren: Don’t die in front of your kids, folks!

Seriously, it traumatizes them, especially if there’s a Grimm assault going on at the same time. Oh, double-especially if you reassure them that everything will be fine literally the second before the roof collapses on your head. And... well, okay, you couldn’t help your son and some random girl being the only survivors...

In all seriousness, that whole situation was absolutely out of their control. And before their deaths they were shown to be loving, wise, giving good advice to Lie Ren and helping him understand what the right thing to do was. Honestly, if they hadn’t died in front of him he’d be a lot better, mentally speaking. His trauma is not their fault. Plus Li went out distracting the big Grimm so Lie could run. No greater love hath man, indeed.

14. Summer Rose: Loving mother, ticking trauma bomb

When she was around, Summer Rose was probably the best mom Yang and Ruby could ask for. Sure, everyone could be exaggerating a little on how great a person she was--fond memories and grief can do that--but even taking that into account, she was probably a great and wonderful woman to be raised by. And hey, it turns out the reason she vanished was to go confront basically the Devil Herself so her kids wouldn’t have to live in a world where she existed! I can totally get the logic behind that.

And to be fair, “I’m going to do this on my own so nobody else suffers” is a pretty common character flaw among the RWBY cast. There are entire arcs where each character learns to overcome it. Still, wandering off on your lonesome without telling anyone was not the smartest move, Summer. Especially if you expected to die--which, you know, Devil Herself, high probability. And you know, if you had died, that would be bad enough, but now Ruby’s practically certain to have to fight your grimmified self. At least she figured out what happened to you before Salem decided to hammer in the trauma button, so she’ll be a little more ready, but... seriously.

13. The Arc Parents: Look, you try juggling eight kids!

To be fair, neither Arc parent has appeared on screen, but we can derive some of their traits from their kids. Jaune’s father said women like confident men. Jaune’s mother said strangers are friends you haven’t met yet. Jaune’s sister moved out of the house and (it’s implied) was happier for it. Jaune himself took his family’s ancestral weapon and ran off to Beacon to become a hero without any training whatsoever....

I get the impression that these two are not horrible parents, but they aren’t really stellar ones either. They slip up, don’t understand their children, give some really bad advice (as well as really good advice), and... look, it’s kind of middle of the road here. The Arcs could be wonderful people that just weren’t ready for the complexities of raising eight kids. I come from a big family myself, I know it can be stressful. And their kids turned out well anyway, so...

12. The Mother of Pyrrha Nikos: You taught your girl too well

Hero complexes are funny things. And Pyrrha Nikos... in retrospect, she was really hiding a lot of insecurities under that facade. Laying it all at this woman’s feet is unfair, I’ll admit, a lot of that came from being The Mistral Champion. But... with stories and fairy tales of heroes, it’s not hard to imagine a genuinely loving mother making sure her daughter knew right from wrong, always knew to act with mercy and protect the weak, and made her hardline into being a hero at the cost of her own... sense of self. It wouldn’t even be something either of them noticed, really. Good people can make bad choices sometimes.

11: Ilia's Parents: Oh god, can good people make bad choices...

So the idea of getting Ilia up to Atlas for a better life, that rocks (if you assume the propaganda to be true). And I’m certain her parents absolutely did what they did out of love. But what they did, you see, was tell Ilia to hide a very important part of herself from anybody who could find out, since it was likely she would be kicked out of the school she was in if people found out she was a faunus.

Which actually, did a lot of damage.

I mean look at Ilia now! She has trouble expressing herself until she explodes, she follows a crowd instead of her own morals, she broke down in tears when she finally did the right thing... Conceal Don’t Feel is never good advice, and these two went on and said ‘Honey, because of racism, you have to hide the fact you literally change color when you have emotions.’ Oh, and then they died offscreen--again, not their fault, but boy howdy did it give Ilia a complex.

10. Taiyang Xiao Long: Slumped at just the wrong time

Honestly, Tai as he is now is a wonderful dad. Supportive of his daughters in their time of need, able to lift their mood with a tasteless joke or two, frankly if we were assessing just how they were in the moment... I’d still be a little critical of his refusal to talk about the girls’ mothers, but hey, that’s minor. Compared to, you know...

Okay, so this needs serious addressing. Taiyang cannot be blamed for falling into a depressive slump. People can hurt, and need time to heal. That said, his depressive slump is at the root of Yang’s many issues, and frankly if she hadn’t had to pull herself together for Ruby she would be a major mess. It’s a bad situation all round, even if it’s not his fault.

9. Willow Schnee: “Kids, don’t wind up like me.”

Drowning her sorrows isn’t the best way to handle being stuck in an abusive marriage, but it was the best way Willow could think of. And, yeah, that really cut into her skills as a mom... but despite that, she did her darnedest to make sure her kids had what they needed to free themselves. Heck, once Jacques was out of the picture, she even pulled herself together and risked her life to save them! A broken women, to be sure, but not a shattered one.

8. Neptune's Mother: She exists!

Being fair, there’s not a lot to go on here. We know Neptune’s mother is a lawyer (insert evil lawyer joke), that their family are famous swimmers, and that his brother caused his hydrophobia by tossing him into the water. It does paint a bit of a picture, though, of everyone having expectations for Neptune that he was not able to live up to. Pretty poor parenting, if it’s true.

7. Nora Valkyrie's Mom: Come get your girl!

Literally the only factoid we have about Mama Valkyrie is that she abandoned her to the Grimm. We don’t know when this was, and it’s feasible it’s a case of ‘Oh No I Lost Track Of My Daughter In The Panic!’ But given we see young Nora scavenging for scraps of food... I’m not optimistic on her parenting skills.

6. Raven Branwen: "I wasn’t part of your life, how could I ruin it?”

Raven is just not a good mom at all. And, surprisingly, she seems to know it. Or that’s one interpretation of her character. The thing about Raven is that she plays her cards close to chest. We still don’t know why she left her daughter, and we only have inklings about the reasoning behind her behavior once they reunited. In the end, though... she did concede to Yang, she did apologize for something, and there’s a very deliberate indication that a lot of her behavior is a mask to both others and herself. So, terrible mother, for the moment, but self-aware.

5. Salem's Father: Explicitly noted as cruel

We get a bit more about Salem’s father from ‘Fairy Tales Of Remnant’, how he became possessive of the last remnant of his wife and locked her away in a tower. From what we know of him, that’s all he did--lock her away and not let her go. Still makes him a terrible dad. And with this, we transition firmly into the most definitively abusive parent figures. Everyone before this might have the excuse of not realizing what was going on or having their own damage, but now we’ve got parents actively deciding to make their kids’ lives worse.

4. Jacques Gelé: HE DOES NOT GET TO BE CALLED SCHNEE!

His children are property, to be manipulated and traded for the benefit of the company he married into, and any defiance is to be quelled instantly. He is manipulative, scheming, abusive, and frankly the worst sort of scumbag to ever wear a white suit. He does have the single redeeming quality of only leaning into the punishment if it benefits him; nobody would ever accuse the man of being needlessly cruel. His name is Jacques, and you will hate him... especially on the rare occasions he actually has a point.

3. The Marigolds: There’s no peppy tagline, they’re just mean

There’s not a picture of these jerks on the wiki, so you’ll have to make do with the woman that is no longer their daughter. See all that empty space around her? That’s about as close as they ever got. May spells out how much they hated her for having a heart, and how little they cared about her as a person, in one epic line. And even if they have other redeeming qualities (unlikely) we can tell they’d probably still be terrible parents because of how sleazy May’s cousin is. Honestly, for once I’m glad some characters don’t get pictures. They don’t deserve to be remembered. They aren’t even the cool kind of evil, they’re just... gross.

2. Marcus Black: Look if you train your kid to be a killer...

...you’re going to have to expect them to kill you. I mean, you basically ripped apart Mercury’s legs, man. He had to get cyberlegs. Also, you used your semblance to steal his. Which, given that semblances come from aura, and that aura is a manifestation of the soul, is kinda... that’s a deeply personal and intimate violation. Sure, you got your assassin kid. And can we talk about the fact that Marcus was an assassin? It’s not a pretty job. I guess I can see all the abuse--physical and mental--as a good way to train up another assassin, but... geeze, if that’s your goal, why did you use your own kid?! Why not hire some angsty teenager?! Yeah, no, Markus Black stood high on my list of parental monsters... and was only toppled by the arrival of one other.

1. Madame of the Glass Unicorn: She only appeared in one episode and she rocketed to the top of this list, that should tell you something

Let’s be clear here: What Madame did to Cinder is bad enough. It was literally slavery. Enforced by a shock collar. And because the collar looked like a necklace, she pulled it off in front of I don’t know how many clients. Granted, said clients were racists, why else would they be customers at a ‘We Do Not Serve Faunus’ hotel, but keeping her torture just out of the public eye very clearly shows both that she knew what she was doing was illegal and that she was clever enough to avoid detection.

Oh... and then there are her birth daughters.

With Cinder, she was abusive to a dangerous degree. With her daughters, she was permissive, not only allowing but encouraging them to bully their adoptive sister. The whole point of parenthood is to teach your children how to become the best version of themselves, but Madame didn’t even bother to instill a semblance of morality in these girls. She used them as extensions of her will, and they obliviously played along because that was all they knew.

You’d think the biggest monster on the show would be the Grimm woman, but no--it’s some random lady with a hotel.

[x0401x]

Violet Evergarden Movie Summary

The initial plan was to make this a short bullet-point thing, but I felt like there was too much to clarify and I had no choice but use novel references to explain certain parts, so I decided to just write a normal summary. Many thanks before-hand to my friend Yuuki, who gave me all this info.

Apologies for taking relatively long with this thing. Not even I expected that I would end up writing this much. Buckle up for the ride, ‘cause it won’t be fun.

Nope, not kidding. It really won’t.

First thing I need to make clear is: this movie is one and a half hour long and divided into three parts and two different timelines: the times when Violet existed and the times after she dies. Already in the beginning of the movie, Violet is dead.

Yes, you read this right. She’s dead.

Now, I don’t mean that she’s dead in the literal sense. This is 60 years in the future. She might be alive or not, but it’s never said. However, the timeline of 60 years later is considered an era without Violet, apparently because she has retired and her “legend” is over, so to say. It’s also a time where Auto-Memories Dolls don’t exist. That’s one good punch in the face. Let’s keep counting.

The movie is sort of like a tale being read by someone else, which at some point goes into Violet’s first-person POV. The whole thing is kind of a look back on Violet’s life tragectory and how it took a new turn when she decided to continue looking for Gil despite all the mess of the TV series.

The era where Violet exists is an era where telephones are being introduced to the people, so Auto-Memories Dolls are starting to become unnecessary. I would argue that the creation of the telephone isn’t enough for an entire occupation to start disappearing so quickly, since new inventions are normally extremely expensive and not everyone has access to them (or even knows about their existence) so immediately after their conception. Realistically speaking, ghostwriters would still be important as long as there were still so many people unable to buy phones. Not to mention that this is a steampunk world where compulsory education doesn’t seem to be a thing yet, so even in the off chance that everybody can buy a phone, there would still be a lot of people who can’t read or write on their own. But all of this clearly went over the animators’ heads, so not only ghostwriters but also the mail business in general are nearing their doom in the movie.

The one looking back on Violet’s life was Ann, who was telling it all to her granddaughter, Daisy (who, by the way, is voiced by Morohoshi Sumire, the same girl who voiced the seven-year-old Ann). Ann had kept all the letters that Violet ghostwrote for her mother, as well as the newspapers about the CH Postal Company. Looks like the article was printed after Violet left CH, since she isn’t in the picture with everyone else.

In this era, CH’s main office has been turned into a museum. Nerine is shown working in it. Of course, she’s a grandma by then. Speaking of the CH personnel, Erica also quit being an Auto-Memories Doll and became a playwright like Oscar. She appears in the newspaper, though, so she probably a while left after Violet did. Taylor also appears there.

Back to Daisy, she was writing a letter to her parents, in order to learn how to properly convey feelings with written word. The message of this scene seems to be that, no matter the tools, what’s important is that we convey our feelings to the people we love.

As we see in the trailer, Gil’s mom has passed and Violet runs into Dietfried when visiting her grave on the anniversary of her death. To anyone who is wondering: yeah, Gil never went to see his mother and she died thinking that he was dead.

Nobody knew that Gil was alive. Not his mother, not Dietfried, not the Evergardens and not even Hodgins. No one.

Here’s what happened to Gil in the anime: he survived the incident at Intense, of course, but got separated from Violet in that explosion. His tag miraculously stayed on the same spot, though, as we saw in the TV series. Now, since this isn’t explained in the anime at all, I have to make it clear: the tag is that necklace the soldiers wear. It contains their names and ranks, so that their bodies can be identified even when they’re irrecognizable. Without the tag, the people who rescued Gil had no idea who he was, so he was sent to a different place to get treated. He ended up at a monastery hospital instead of the one in Enchaîné. I would debate that his uniform alone is enough to identify him as someone from the Leidenschaftlich Army, or maybe they could’ve just asked him which troop he belonged to after he woke up and relocated him to where his fellow men were, but who even cares about all these plot holes anymore? Definitely not me.

Anyway. After Gil was discharged, he ran the fuck away. Like, literally.

If anyone out there was hoping that Gil would finally have his moment to shine as the self-sacrificing, thoughtful and ridiculously kindhearted character that he is in the novel, I have bad news for you. What we had here was even worse than it being Gil’s excuse movie. It’s like the whole thing was made to drag his character so deep through the mud that he’ll never be able to get up again. There’s pretty much nothing in this one and a half hour that actually justifies what he did to Violet. I’ll elaborate on this as we go on.

Anime!Gil became a nomad and went traveling. He offed his ass to the island where that lighthouse displayed in the most recent official art is located (that’s why Gil and Violet were at the beach on the movie poster). He doesn’t have a prosthetic in the anime because, apparently, he was more worried about disappearing as fast as possible to somewhere he would never be found, and never attempted to contact anybody. So nobody knew that he was alive, hence the grave, which, as we feared, was not a fake one. His family really did think he had died.

This is a point that I have already addressed before, but that also means Gil really did abandon Violet to luck. If anything dangerous ever happened to her (as it did, and it was always very obviously likely to happen, since she was the southern army’s most outstanding soldier and quite literally fled from the military), he wouldn’t even know. If word ever got to him, it would probably be too late. And even if it weren’t, he wouldn’t be able to do anything to help her. More than allowing her to live freely, it felt like he was running away from his responsibilities regarding Violet.

Punch on the face count is currently at six.

By sheer coincidence, Violet learns that Gil is living in that island. She goes to see him and Hodgins goes with her after trying to stop her at first. When Gil finds out that they came to see him, he outright refuses to meet them. It pretty much takes the near entirety of the goddamn movie for them to see each other face-to-face. I say face-to-face because all of the following shit happens:

Hodgins goes to talk to Gil. It lasts about 20 minutes.

Gil talks to Violet from behind a door. This one is about 10 minutes.

Dietfried also comes to the island to talk to him. Also about 10 minutes.

At long fucking last, Gil goes to see Violet. But that, too, is only for about 10 minutes.

Hodgins gives him a speech very similar to what happens in chapter 8. Now get ready to fall back from your seats: Dietfried basically goes there to tell Gil that he won’t run away from taking over the family anymore, so Gil can live freely. Yes, Dietfried is officially a better Gilbert than Gilbert himself. I crave death.

So, after much ado, they come to a conclusion: Gil will stay in the island. In order to completely free himself of the shackles of his bloodline, he stays behind, living the way he wants to. ‘Cause all anime!Gil wants is to rot away alone by the sea, apparently. Now prepare yourselves, for it gets worse. Ready?

Violet stays with him in the motherfucking island.

That’s right, ladies and gents. Another fear became true. She quits her job at the CH Postal Company and goes to live with him. Well, at least, not as a housewife. She starts working with mail services in the island, and Gil helps her with it. Her life goes on like this and she dies in the island as well.

This is where the timeline after Violet passes away comes into light, parallel to the era when Violet was alive. Daisy talks about what happened after Violet left CH, as if it were a tale from the distant past.

That’s it.

The movie paints this as a happy ending. I can hardly see it as one. I know it almost looks like everything was solved, but it just got swept under the rug.

The main point that makes me sad in this ending is that Violet’s character development did a 360 degree flip. In the end, she threw everything to the air and went to live in someone who she always put before everyone else, even herself, but who didn’t do the same for her (in the anime). She’s gone to a crammed little island, where she led an uneventful life away from everyone and everything that’s ever had a positive impact on her. All she has is Gil.

Of course, he’s all she needs, but he isn’t all she should have, and that was the entire point of pushing her to go live on her own. Which is exactly what she earns in the novel: two loving parents, a father figure, a brother figure, a best friend and several other friends and acquaintances whom she formed a bond with. She has all she needs, so she doesn’t have to cling to Gil for any reason. There’s no emotional dependance on him anymore. She doesn’t need him to be whole. She just wants him because he happens to be the best person she’s ever met.

Anime!Violet is most definitely not whole. She almost got there, but then she backtracked completely. And anime!Gil... in my friend’s words, is a weakling. There’s nothing in him actually worth all this undying blind love. Sure, he’s full of regret and shit, but it’s too easy to only act upon it now, by vanishing into thin air like a coward.

The deal with novel!Gil is that he looks around at everything he has, everything that had been burdening him and killing him on the inside all his life, and decides to make use of it for Violet’s sake. He continues being family head and working in the army, amassing money and connections in order to have every means possible to protect Violet should anything happen to her. And as it turns out, he does end up having to use those means, more than once, but he will keep this up for as long as he needs to, because he lives for her now. That’s what makes him worth all the blood, sweat, tears, mental sanity and even body parts that she gave away for his sake: he pays it back. Every cent.

Punch in the face count ends at twelve. Thirteen if I include the fact that the movie ends with a last shot of Violet after she and Gilbert do a pinky swear. Looks like they were really trying to buy everyone with tears.

Oh, well.

I hope this has been a good enough summary. Sorry if I rained on anyone’s parade. I’m pretty sure we won’t get a remake ever, so I really wish we all can get over this soon.

[ask-hunterxhunter]

Can I get a request for yandere Silva, Uvogin, and Phinks?

Phinks has been done already, you can read it here.

  Uvogin

Uvogin is often described as animalistic and you need to know this is not limited to when he is fighting: This man is the sort of person who is fartoo connected with his most primal instincts. Normally, this is not exactly abad thing, but in his case, it is and it can easily become worse when he’s pushed into Yandere Valley, especially considering his personality,not to mention the “take what you want even if by force” mindset of the Troupeand how they already don’t exactly give a damn about who they hurt to achievetheir goals.

 While not one to beat around the bush or hide his interest once it isprovoked, Uvogin is not stupid and the Troupe is the only thing that mattersfor him, so he is usually careful with “normal” interactions and tends to preferone-night stands (far safer in his opinion and besides, he doesn’t have anyemotional attachments outside of the Spider and doesn’t care to have), meaning itwill be a surprise for him when he realizes he is thinking of you with far morecare than he’s used to and also more often… It would be easier if it was simplylust, but somehow, it doesn’t feel like that.

 Despite the initial surprise, once this starts and realizes it (whichwill be pretty soon), Uvogin won’t want to put an end to it or try to forget you(while, in fact, his obsession grows). It’s simply not in his nature. In fact,once he realizes he wants you, whatever past might be between you won’tmatter, even if you’re meant to be enemies or if you’re hunting the Spidersdown (in a way, in his obsession, Uvogin may find this exciting). Once he issure he wants you for life, he’ll also make his intentions clear.

 Hey, it’s not that you actually have a choice, but he thought you mightappreciate the pretense all the same. Sorry, sweetheart, he isn’t a chocolateand roses kind of guy, remember? When the Spiders want something, they take itand he’s no different.

 Despite the circumstances that led to you two meeting, even if yourealize the danger you’re in and decide it might be smarter to find a hell of agood place to hide for a while (hoping he’ll get over you or something), thiswon’t do more than buy you a few days. Going to the authorities and beingplaced in a safe house is useless just as well. The Spiders stick together and isvery likely some of them (such as Shalnark) will help him get to you if things geta little more complicated. While some stalkers may give up their currentobsession with time, this tactic won’t work with Uvogin. No matter where youare or the security you have, he will find you.

 Hey, if he has to kill (read: slaughter) some morons along the way, it’snothing that will keep him up at night. It will be a pretty gruesome scene andunless you’re unconscious, you’ll see it as he drags you along with him. On a note, Uvogin might not kill your family (at least not this time) or your friends (if he’s completely sure they are indeed just friends, thoughthe chances are not as good as with your family). Also, contrary to someothers, Uvogin won’t drag this “game” for longer than necessary or just take histime as he corners you. Yes, he is a predator and a hunter, this sort of thingis fun and all, but why waste time when you’re so close? Especially if you’vemanaged to stay away for what he deems to be too long. What may happen is that,when the perfect opportunity to get you comes, he will let you run -literally-and believe you’re safe before catching you. Uvogin doesn’t mean this as torture,it’s just that it’s too fun for him to let it pass.

 From then on, it’s hopeless.

 You can reason, cry, argue, or yell that this isn’t love, but Uvogin won’treally give a damn, even if he doesn’t enjoy to see you in distress (if hislevel of obsession allows him that, at least). In his mind, you can call thiswhatever you want, but he wants you with him, so that’s it. Besides, there aremany types of love, and this is the love of a thief. Get used to it,little love, because you’re not going anywhere. Note that Uvogin isn’tdelusional enough to insist that you do love him and just doesn’t knowit yet, but this doesn’t mean he will care whether kidnapping you was crossinga line or not. While won’t take pleasure or be indifferent to your suffering, itwon’t make him regret his actions not even for a moment. If anything, hemay point out that the sooner you get used to your new life, the sooner thingswill start to get better.

 He just knows he loves you and wants you with him, so what else matters?

 It’s pretty disturbing how Uvogin will act all nice and gentle when you’renot trying to escape even if you’re defying him (this if his obsession isn’t onthose hellish levels where the instability becomes far too intense for him toeven resemble who he used to be, in this case, it’s better to keep your mouthshut) and, surprisingly, for someone who can be so ruthless and brutal whenfighting, it’s unlikely Uvogin will be violent around you (well, with you). It’s not that his personality will change, but in his own way, he’ll be affectionate…

 Not a sight anyone who has fought him would expect and not that it makes thingsany better, no matter how much he says he loves you while dismissing how muchpain he’s causing you. Uvogin will often want you near him, wanting to enjoythe moments he has with you when he’s not doing some job with the Spiders. In thosetimes, if no one can stay back to what you, Uvogin won’t hesitate to force you insidea cage or place a chain around your ankle and locking you in your room. If youcry, he will just joke that he’ll miss you too, love.

 The rest of the Troupe is no better, either, but then again, did youexpect anything different?

 When you try to escape, Uvogin is likely to allow you to go until acertain point before catching you… It’s an interesting game of tag and whatbetter way to make you understand you can’t ever leave? If you keep insistingor if we’re talking about a rescue, though, it won’t be pretty… At all. Manyanimals get irritated with what they consider an invasion of their territory ora “threat” to their mates and, well, remember how Uvogin bit through a man’sskull once? Yeah, what happens will be along those lines and he won’t hesitateto make you watch.

 Or maybe you can try asking nicely for him to spare their lives?Maybe you can be kinder to him in return? Yeah, Uvogin won’t hesitate touse them as levarage to force you into showing him some affection, even if it’sfake (which he’ll escalate into an attempt at seducting you very soon).

 Of course, you don’t need to know he killed them anyway (or thatsome other member of the Spider did). Come on, you didn’t really expect them tolet someone get so close and just walk away, did you?

 Silva

Silva is not a man who has much of a care for morals and even in a normalstate of mind he’ll consider all the options he has to achieve his goalsand get what he wants. This relentness will only become stronger once hebecomes a yandere for you and while this can often be said for any Yandere, the fact that Silva already has this streak doesn’t mean anything goodfor you. Silva is already used to do disregard limits, already has connections and means, so he won’t hesitate when he decides to pursue you evenafter you’ve rejected his advances.

Not being an impulsive man, it’s unlikely that he’ll become obsessed withyou after a single meeting (though some interest might be incited), regardlessof how you first cross paths: Maybe he met you while chasing a target, maybeyou’re a friend of Killua and came with Gon, Leorio and Kurapika to rescue him,so on. Your following meetings might be brief, he may just hear something aboutyou, but eventually, he will find himself growing… Curious. He’ll then decideto find more about you whenever the opportunity arises, since there are very veryfew people he considers “interesting” outside of his inner circle. You don’t evenhave to be a Hunter for that to happen.

At first, it will be apparently harmless enough (for a Zoldyckassassin, it should be said): He may read about your work, or watch a match ifyou fight in Heaven’s Arena… In a sense, at first, his view will be completelyanalytic: If he watches you fighting, for example, Silva will first focus onyour style, your abilities, your strong and weak points (only later he’ll be focusingmore on you). It’s extremelly hard to say what he’s thinking, but there probablywon’t be any darker intentions just yet. Silva is truly just curious.

There will come a time when second-hand information won’t be as satisfyingfor Silva and he’ll decide to watch you from afar personally. It is nothing outof ordinary for him, after all, there have been times when he observed histarget for some time before killing them… Well… He knows he doesn’t want tokill you, but he isn’t that sure of what he wants with you either (at least atfirst) and this will frustrate him for a good while, as it’s rare for him toget confused or unsure of what he things or feels.

Watching you from afar, seeing you personally, seeing you smile tosomeone else, will change that. Silva will realize very soon that he wants you… He may take one or two days to consider the situation, to think about whatis happening and if this isn’t a passing idea or if he isn’t mixing things up(an irony, considering obsession isn’t love). In the end, Silva will decidethat while things did not start this way, it’s how they are now.

What about Kikyo, you ask?

It depends… We haven’t seen much of their interactions to be completelysure of whether or not there is actual love in that marriage. When it comesdown to it, there are two options: They truly love each other (as strange as itmight seem considering how this family is) or Silva met Kikyo, saw something inher that would be useful for the Zoldyck’s bloodline and manipulated her to thepoint she is completely devoted to him now (I’ve read somewhere Kikyo came fromthe Meteor City. If that’s so, then marrying a powerful, rich man with areputation such as Silva must’ve seemed a dream come true to her, so no wondershe would do whatever he desires). As such, there are also two options of howthings might work in this scenario: Either Silva would kill Kikyo and make itlook like an accident (which he would be able to pull off to the point even hischildren wouldn’t think otherwise) or Kikyo, due to her blind devotion to Silva,wouldn’t mind him having a mistress (which she would consider as a pet of sorts).

In a way or another, Silva won’t care about what he has to do to makesure you’re his, regardless of your (or anyone else’s) opinion on the matter.

At first, Silva will try more normal means of getting to you (courting you,we might say) since he’d much rather have you coming to him willingly, but itwon’t take long for him to determine whether this may get the desirable resultsor not (Silva is great at reading people and remember he won’t have problemswith “checking” on you to know how this idea is going). From them on, hisattempts will start to get unsettling, as there will be an undertone of threateven with the most innocent of gestures: It’s his way of telling you this isyour last chance of doing this the easier way. He’s being nice for now, butthis can change. While most guys may be somewhat insistent without it becoming harassment, it won’t be so with Silva. Long before the time comeswhen he warns you he is not taking “no” for an answer, you’ll alreadyhave the feeling you’re in serious trouble.

Silva has many means of getting to you: From kidnapping you when you’remost vulnerable, to threatening your loved ones to bribing policemen working onkeeping you safe to just hand you over… He has many options and he’ll know whichone works better depending on the circumstances. He will prefer to not involveyour family or closest friends, since it would be counter-productive in thelong run.

While with Illumi you at least can walk around the mansion and thegardens, it won’t be so with Silva: You’ll be kept in a room deep within theZoldyck estate and the only times when you’ll get out will be accompanied byhim, when Silva decides you need/deserve a walk around the gardens. As he willtell you with a smile, there isn’t any way you can escape, so don’t bother totry. Don’t worry, though, you’ll have anything and everything you might wishfor. And it’s true, Silva will have no problems with pampering you even if younever ask for anything.

Why are you surprised he knows so much about your likes and dislikes, mydear?

In a way, it’s not so different than it was with Alluka and, just like itwas with her, it won’t mean anything when you don’t have your freedom. Don’tbother asking for it either. Silva won’t ever let you go (and he will tell you thatquite clearly if it’s necessary).

While some Yanderes might at least feel bad about seeing you suffer,regardless if they understand the depths of what they’re doing and how terribleit is, it won’t be so with Silva. Oh, he knows what he is doing and he believes he loves you, he does, but he’s not a man to be moved by the suffering ofothers even if he claims to care for them. Your tears are just a necessary eviland Silva won’t let you go just because you’re crying. The most compassionate reactionhe may have is to just hold you close and start whispering how things will bealright once you realize how much he loves you.

One thing you should never forget, and that makes the situation evenworse, is that Silva is and always will be, a manipulator. Being theonly one who you have contact with (he may let the butlers serve you from timeto time, but they won’t be allowed to really talk to you), he knows theloneliness will end up making you talk with him. At first, it will be innocentconversation, nothing that appears to have importance…

But Silva will reach the topics of your “previous” life and twist thingsto his advantage. You talk of how you love your friends, how you miss them?Silva will lie that they haven’t even tried to rescue you or remind you of badtimes and arguments you had or anything else he can use against them (andbecause he stalked you, he knows quite a few things), slowly poisoning yourmind with doubts, while acting all sweet and caring.

Silva won’t isolate you just physically, but mentally and emotionally aswell, doing his best to convince you he’s the only one who truly loves you, whounderstands you. He wasn’t kidding when he said he wants to be the only one you’llever think about.

Also, while other Yanderes may truly want you to love them, Silva won’tcare as much. Oh, he wants you to love him, he does, but asfrustrating as it might be if it doesn’t happen, he will content himself withhaving you there. Besides, he knows it will be just a matter of time until yourgive in and accept the situation…

After all, it’s not like you can ever leave, is it?

[the-neverletmegoxo]

The Fae and the Prince

Author: OK here we go! Part 4.. This took a little longer.. but i need to build up the upcoming carnival scene.. which in my opinion is going to be worth the wait! Enjoy! PS thank you for all the love i’ve been getting!! it really makes my heart warm! xoxo

Summary: Nightmares + Caliban + Tight Yellow Tees = TROUBLE.

Part 4:

You and Sabrina recited the opposite spell to get you back to her place. After you both grabbed something to eat from the kitchen, you went back up to her room. “Y/N, I told you to stay away from him.”

“Well, technically you told him to stay away from me.” She glared at you for your snide remark.

“I’m sorry. He came out of nowhere and then we were attacked by a Gallu—.”

“You were WHAT?!”

“Oh. Yeah.. I forgot to mention that.”

“Y/N, why didn’t you tell me? Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. To be honest, I don’t know if I would be if Caliban wasn’t there. He performed some spell and the Gallu vanished. If it wasn’t for him, I’m not sure I would be here right now.”

“Shit. I’m sorry. I should have never left you alone. It’s just this whole ‘Hell’ is literally driving me crazy and now Lilith says that Earth is ‘out of its original order’ and I have no idea what that means, but she said that the angels are going to be arriving soon if we don’t figure it out.”

“I think they’re coming either way,” you said under your breath.

“Y/N what are you talking about? How would you know?”

“Sabrina… there’s something you should know. Before I got here, my mom sat me down and shared some news with me.”

“What kind of news?” she looked at you with a worried grimace.

You went on to tell her everything. Your mom. Your dad. You. Glowing eyes ‘n all.

“Holy shit…” she said. She sat down on the bed, eyebrows raised. “How could you just now be telling me this?”

“I just found out, Sabrina. It took me a little bit to digest it and I didn’t know how you’d react. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I mean I get it. I didn’t tell you guys about being a which until last year. Just wow. Have you told anyone else? Please tell me Caliban doesn’t know.”

You gave her a sheepish grin.

“Y/N! Oh forevermore. Why! Why would you do that?”

“He knew! He figured it out. I mean not the entire story, but he knew that I wasn’t mortal, because of my aura and eyes..”

“Y/N he’s going to use this against us! He’ll figure out a way to get to me through you. I’m not sure how, but I wouldn’t put it past that hellfire little shit.”

“I don’t know if he will. Sabrina, for some reason and I have no idea why, I trust him. I feel something. I feel like he won’t hurt us.” You sat down next to her on the plush bed. “Also, I warned him not to use this information against us and you and your quest.”

“Oh sure! You warned the guy. He wouldn’t dare mess with you.”

“Sabrina…”

“I’m sorry, it’s just I don’t have a good feeling about that Caliban.”

“I know, but you can trust me.” She put her arm around you and you leaned in for the hug. “I know, I know. Ok, let’s get some rest, we’ve got a big day tomorrow with the carnival and all. And I’ve got to find that crown.”

The two of your got ready for the long awaited slumber and shortly after climbed into bed. Sabrina quickly dozed off, for she had a long day dealing with the hell kings and her reforms. You couldn’t help but picture those eyes of his. Those same eyes that stared at you in the forest. Those eyes that looked deeply into yours after the two of you nearly been killed. After some time of imagining you different scenarios, you finally fell asleep.

--

You were running. Running from what, you didn’t know. You looked up at the canopy of trees above you and realized you were in the Greendale forest. “How the hell did I get here?” you said breathlessly to yourself. Not seeing the large root in front of you, you lost your footing and landed on the forest’s floor.

The wind completely knocked out of you. Coughing and stumbling to get yourself back up, a force pushed you about twenty feet from where you fell. This time landing on your back, you saw what was hunting you. It was none other than a Hellhound, one of Satan’s minions chasing you. His bulging red eyes were staring right at you. The beast was huffing, from chasing after you. His four unnaturally, muscular legs outstretched ready to pounce on you. You lifted your upper body up, slowly, resting on your forearms. You turned your head to the right and then to left looking for something, anything that could kill this thing. You turned your head back again and saw Caliban standing right next to you about five feet away.

‘Caliban!’ you tried yelling. Nothing, nothing came out of you.

“Aww, love. You in a bit of mix-up?” Caliban said to you tauntingly.

Tears brimmed on the edge of your eyes. ‘Why isn’t he helping me?’ you thought.

“You see Y/N, I can’t help you. I am not permitted to. Even if I was, I do not know if I would because of how completely worthless you are. A fae and an angel. Two of the worst kinds of creatures. Your bloodline now is so utterly tainted I would never want to be with someone like you.”

You couldn’t believe it. The man you were falling in love with was literally leaving you to the dogs. How could he do that to you? The two of you shared something. The tears started rolling down your cheeks.

Caliban bent down and wiped away one of your tears with his thumb. “Love don’t cry. It’s just the beginning”, he said with an evil smile. “You may proceed dog.”

Just as the dog jumped on you, you jerked up from your pillow. Your chest was freckled with sweat.

You got up to go down to make a cup of chamomile tea to calm your nerves. “Just a dream. It wasn’t real”, you said as you sat down at the kitchen table. You took a few deep breaths, and went to take a sip of tea. You peered out the window. The sun was rising. ‘So much for a good night’s sleep’, you thought. You stood up to place the mug in the sink and make your way back up stairs to catch a few more hours of shuteye.

As you went to leave the kitchen, you felt a presence behind you. You didn’t dare look, for you were too shaken up by your dream. You ventured back upstairs without glancing through the window, where, without your knowledge, Caliban stood watching you.

--

The next morning, you and Sabrina got ready for the day. You threw on a plaid pinafore, a dark green turtleneck, some black tights, and a pair of boots that you had packed the night before. Sabrina wore a black turtleneck and a red plaid skirt. The two of you walked down to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. Sabrina told you she was going to spend the day with Nick, since he was somewhat back to normal from spending what seemed like forever in Hell. You told her you were going to try to have a normal day. Enjoy a lunch at Cerberus Books and catch up on some school readings.

After breakfast, the two of you parted ways and you made your way toward the café. Mythological stories had always been one of your favorite pastimes. Today you were rereading the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. You didn’t give the part about being stuck in Hell for all of eternity, when you read this story before, but now you couldn’t help but let your mind wander. Learning of your lineage, going to Hell, meeting Caliban, and now that dream.

‘Maybe this story wasn’t the best one to get your mind off the subject.’ You closed the leather-bound book and stood up to go get a chocolate milkshake, your favorite. When you turned to go to the register, you face planted into someone’s rock solid chest. You looked up. Caliban.

“Caliban!” you yelled in a hushed tone. “What in heaven’s name are you doing here?! In Greendale?”

“I came to see you, fae”, he said in a husky tone. He was wearing a tight yellow ringer tee, that accented every part of his arms, with tight blue jeans which mirrored the compliment to his lower half.

“A new nickname? Really?”

“Well, you won’t let me call you ‘love’ and besides fae suits you.”

“Fine, but you didn’t need to come all this way to tell me that. You do realize you’re in the moral world, right?”

“I do. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about; Sabrina won’t shut up about Greendale and you mortals. Well, I guess that doesn’t pertain to you anymore, does it fae?”

“Caliban, I don’t have time for this. I’m… studying.”

“Sure seems like you were getting a snack and reading—what’s this?” he went to pick up your book. “Ahh, Eurydice and Orpheus. Such a fool that Orpheus. If he had just trusted Hades, Eurydice and he would be enjoying life together as we speak.”

“Well it’s hard to trust someone like that right off the bat. Trust takes time”, you said looking down at the ground.

“You trust me right, fae?”

You didn’t answer his question. You snatched the book out of his hands and trudged to the register to order your dessert.

He followed you closely behind. “Why are you being so distant all of the sudden, fae?”

“No reason, I just told myself that today I was going to stay away from all things supernatural.”

“That’s a bit hard to do, considering you are part of that order,” he grabbed your shoulder and spun you around. “Talk to me. Please.”

“Caliban, I can’t. It’s just too much is going on right now and with you added to the mix, it just makes things really difficult. Besides, I have a carnival to get ready for.”

With that, you ditch the milkshake and Caliban along with it.

[jacksgreysays]

Author's Cut Questions 3, 4, & 14 for Hail to the Queen Uzushio remix or Family by Mother Mother for (They Call It) Soulless?

3 - What's your favorite line of narration? 4 - What's your favorite line of dialogue? 14 - Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

Hail to the Queen, Uzushio remix

Favorite dialogue is definitely Kankurou's response to Shikako's question on what he's going to do after he's handed off responsibility of the Sand intel nin:

"Whatever I want? There's sand and there's sun. So it's kind of like home, except no one is bugging me to do anything."

I think mostly its because I just love writing Kankurou so much! He's got this... wry irrelevance, almost, that is sort of but not really earned? Maybe its because I hang out with/am a theater person but they're really kind of just Like That and it's great. It's such an incongruous personality in a world filled with superpowered ninja. Like. A lot of time, I write Shikako as irrelevant because in the situations I put her in, she just is that powerful despite constantly getting underestimated, so she really can do whatever she wants.

Kankurou does not have that kind of power to back up his sass. But he still does it anyway? It probably has to do with growing up with Gaara pre-heel-face turn so now his fear response is busted as shit and only registers active, massive threats. But even then, he'll probably still complain about it. What a nerd. He's great.

Favorite narration... hm... maybe:

Shikako does not nod at this. This is a bonkers way to choose a leader. Then again, Uzushio is weird enough that this might not actually be a joke.

And that's mostly because it connects to the question, if I wanted readers to learn anything from this fic, which is primarily that I have so many Uzushio feels. So many. But a lot of them are contradictory almost, so this fic was a great way to explore various options of how Uzushio would choose an Uzukage (if they even have a "kage" at all).

I know Uzushio, even the one that I headcanon, wasn't a perfect utopia. What little scraps of canon we do have about it make that impossible. Uzumaki were known for their longevity, "special chakra," and their ability to make chakra weapons. Some enterprising individual managed to make a mask that could summon the god of death. They're known for being sealing masters including but not limited to capturing and imprisoning sentient giant chakra monsters.

The role of Kage in other nations is passed along via power. For some its bloodlines, others its a series of usurpations. Konoha has the arguably least problematic of the bunch being a non-explicit teacher-student almost bloodline thing (3 out of 5 were Senju and none were Uchiha) chosen either by the preceding Hokage or by a small council of elders. Least problematic isn't really saying much.

Largely, I just like to think of Uzushio through different lenses. It could be a society entirely of scholars with a truly wild scope of subjects available (I didn't put it in the fic, but Tatsuma is the head of the elemental manipulation department). Or a voyaging society that just upped and left. Or a conglomeration of clans with weird bloodlines that were only held in check by the Uzumaki clan's general effectiveness.

I once considered running an RPG borrowing loosely from Dusk City Outlaws. It would've been called Dusk of Uzushio and followed shinobi in the last few months before whatever destroyed them. In that, Uzushio was largely insular. Their greatest international ally wasn't Konoha but Tea Country because most of their contracts came from them to bodyguard/escort merchant vessels and/or sabotage enemy merchant vessels. I mean, yes, they were still allied with Konoha and amongst the shinobi villages they were closest, but the Uzushio in that was largely like: the continent sucks, Mist is a self-cannibalizing mess, Tea Country is full of criminals but they're organized and pay well.

Even then none of those societies would necessarily want power to be the main criteria of choosing a leader. It's intelligence or diplomacy or shrewdness or actual leadership. I dunno. It's a bit of a muddle. Just, all of my messy Uzushio feels.

---

Family by Mother Mother for (They Call It) Soulless

There's not much dialogue in this one, so I guess by default my favorite line is:

"Together... My parents will be together. If not here, then elsewhere"

Mostly because it's almost literally the premise of Pre!Kako (which is the basis of (They Call It) Soulless) if you think about it in a not just romantic but also devoted sort of way and thus all the more tragic for it. Shikaku and Yoshino got together in spite of the Nara clan's protest. They stayed together even when their baby was screaming her head off and the Kinokawas wanted her to go to Danzo. They made a life for each other and prioritized their little family's happiness above all else and that's beautiful.

So to split them in death would not only be sad, but cruel. Actively vicious and malicious and almost violent.

And so Kako deciding to keep their priorities--even though, probably, that Nara uncle might have offered some kind of deal where the Nara would help with the Kinokawa siblings' living expenses if she signed away Shikaku's remains to be with the clan without Yoshino--is definitely not the most practical decision, but it is the best way to honor their memory. And that's all Kamaru will have of them. T_T

My favorite line of narration is probably:

[[Genma is a mess after the Kyuubi.]]

Many are, unsurprisingly. Loss abounds.

Mostly because I know I have a problem with run on sentences and grammar/punctuation. I find a lot of my writing is verbal almost--maybe not all that surprising considering my main contribution to the DoS fandom and, I guess, my previously mentioned sort of experience with theater--even though I'm not that good at dialogue

I talk out loud when I write and if it doesn't sound right, then I'll readjust it until it makes sense when I speak. And then I sprinkle in punctuation kind of however I please. Not often in the correct place. So I end up with run on sentences mixed with fragments and no real proper sentences.

Anyways, the reason why I like this particular line of narration is because it would be metal AF to have a line like this in a play. Five words. Two sentences. Punch in the face. THERE HAS BEEN A TRAGEDY AND EVERYONE IS AFFECTED. It's the kind of line in a play that would have a beat of silence after to let it sit before the next line stumbles away quickly as if to distance itself from the impact.

Loss abounds. So clean! So concise! I will never be able to replicate this!

Also, its a fun sort of paradox. An abundance of loss. There is too much absence! Like saying "I'm very good at fucking up." There's probably a literary term for this but I have no idea ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hm... I don't know if there was anything in particular I wanted readers to learn from this... 

~

A/N: Thanks for the ask, anon! It was fun to look back at those ficlets and writhe around in my Uzushio feels. :)

Ask Box Advent Calendar 2020

[zmwrites]

tag: 20 first lines

I was tagged by @teasenpaiwrites! Thank you!

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20 stories just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favourite opening line. Then tag others!

I was tagged in a similar game LITERALLY forever ago by @scmalarky PRE-BLOG MOVE, which makes it the oldest tag game sitting my drafts. It came with the following rules:

Rules: list the first lines of your last ten published stories. note if there are any patterns yourself and see if anyone else notices any! tag ten friends!

I put it off bc to date I’ve only published two stories over on Wattpad. So doing the first lines from the last twenty projects is somehow...easier? I suppose? 

I’ll be putting the opening paragraph or so of each piece, and will only be using WIPs that I actually started at the beginning. Anything that doesn’t start at the actual beginning will be skipped.

Anyways, this is going under a cut bc I know it’s going to be ridiculously long. In order of ‘last modified by me’ as per Google Docs:

Remnants

Radka had been a seamstress in a previous life. Trained from childhood on the most delicate stitches, the most intricate embellishments. She had worked for royalty, sewing crystals and spun gold into skirts for the biggest social events of the year. Her steady hand and attention to detail had earned her a job in the palace by fourteen, and a spot on the queen’s personal seamstress team by fifteen. But that was years in the past. The girl she had been then, demure and innocent, wouldn’t recognize the woman she had grown up to be.

Open Seas

Theresia Bowen sat in the back of one of her family carriages, forehead pressed against the window as she watched the countryside fly past. The sky stretched on forever above her, interrupted only by the occasional wispy white clouds, and the spring sun had melted the snow from the hills to her left. The grass was still struggling to grow but was scattered in patches across the mud. To her right, the sea rolled and waved to the horizon. Ships dotted the deep blue, their sails bright and full with wind. Most were trading ships, a few navy, and the smallest of them all were pleasure ships. It was how she knew they were close to her destination.

Indigo Wars

Violet Colby sat cross-legged on her narrow bed in the room she shared with her two sisters at Osbrick Estate. The name was a holdover from the property’s previous life as a stately home, though not much else had carried over. The walled compound was nestled in the eastern sands of Edristan, less than two kilometres west of the capital city, with sun-bleached buildings that housed several dozen orphans and foundlings.

Pine Hollow

It was a miserable Monday morning, with dark, heavy clouds masking the rising sun and a steady rain pounding the town of Pine Hollow and the surrounding area. The dirt trails through the dense forest were slick with mud, the tire ruts becoming puddles and the puddles becoming proper ponds. It was as far from ideal body hunting conditions as possible without snow, but Virginia Crane had a job to do and she wasn’t about to let some adverse weather stop her.

Rochester WIP

The wedding was supposed to begin in five minutes and the bride was nowhere to be found.

Evelyn Rochester, for her part, was not surprised. Her sister Dorothea had claimed a headache a week earlier to get out of a family outing and had been gone by the time they’d returned. A small chest and a collection of her clothing had been gone as well. Their parents had made inquiries to some family friends but no one had seen Dottie, and at twenty-six she was allowed to do as she pleased, so they’d been left to wait to see if she’d return.

Just Jane

Jane rolled over in the narrow bed, pressing her face into the pillow as though it would make it any easier to sleep. Even as she breathed in the warm, sweet scent of the bed owner’s favourite perfume—myrrh, rose, styrax, and marjoram—a new sound made her ears prick to attention.

UNSS Spectre

The spacecraft glided through the void, following its prey silently. It was using its minimum operating power, leaving the two inside to perform their duties without overhead or emergency lighting. Only the glow of their instruments illuminated the interior of the craft. 

“Cloaking device operating as normal,” Ensign Graecyn Ramsey said. She didn’t need to provide verbal updates since Captain Mezei could see everything that she could see and there was no one else aboard the tiny stealth class craft, but it was habit and she couldn’t seem to stop herself.

Fissures

Katherine Delacroix was seething. It was hard enough trying to get a gaggle of thirteen to eighteen year old girls to focus under normal circumstances but having the #1 most eligible bachelor of the school just hanging out at the back of the auditorium was making it nearly impossible. To make matters worse, the attention paid to the blond was bruising the egos of the boys in the group and she was painfully aware of how desperately the musical needed them not to quit. They already had a female Cogsworth and Le Fou; they didn't have enough girls with deep voices to play Gaston or Lumiere or, god forbid, Beast.

Snapshots

“Are you still looking for a roommate?” Misha asked, voice muffled slightly by whatever she was doing on the opposite end of the phone.

“You mean since you stole my last one? Yes,” Micah replied. He was stuck in traffic on his commute home from work, something his twin sister Misha knew, which was why she’d called when he had no excuse not to talk to her. It wasn’t that he didn’t like talking to her, he just wasn’t much of a talker.

“You’re gonna have to get over that,” she said.

The Tournament

The coin spun in lazy circles on the table, defying every law of physics. Izora Graham watched it with one hand held in a claw-like position over it. She didn't need to but it made it easier to cover the coin should anyone watch it too closely. The bar was still fairly empty so early in the evening and she was tucked away in the back booth away from the few early birds sitting at the counter, however any displays of magic would bring unwanted attention. Especially something that could be useful to any of the Upper Houses like her telekinesis.

Noyama Contest

Earthens had spread across dozens of galaxies once they’d perfected faster-than-light travel, and hundreds of solar systems within those galaxies. PT-759 was one of the galaxies they’d colonized only to find that it was already inhabited. It had ended up working out alright though, as the native species had radically different planetary needs and also happened to find Earthens downright adorable.

Naetov was a smaller planet at the edge of Federation-controlled space in PT-759. It had a few key cities where government funding was funneled to keep them perfect for non-Earthen tourists. Those cities were clean and friendly, open spaces and carefully maintained flora making up the downtown cores, streamlined designs and shiny surfaces giving the impression of a planet on the cusp of significance.

Gossamer Girl

It was the first day of winter and things were already looking bad. Even though the cold weather had held off for an extra two weeks, the harvest had been poor. A mold had festered in their southern field during the wet spring and had spread quickly. They’d razed the infected sections as soon as the fungus had been discovered but it had already destroyed a large swath of plants. They’d lost nearly a quarter of their usual yield and the troubles had only spiralled from there.

Knotted Strings

The room was just a bit too cold to be comfortable. The walls were wood panelled with some sort of reddish wood that matched the flooring. Rows of chairs with collapsible desks filled most of the lecture hall, with the front of the room dominated by a whiteboard and a table. The professor, hawkish in appearance, was perched on a bar stool facing the students and overlooking the table.

Tess lounged in her seat at the table at the front of the room, notebook open on the table in front of her and pen moving deftly across the page. She watched her competition critically as he spoke. His argument was solid enough to cast reasonable doubt on her case, or it would have been had he bothered to address a small piece of evidence she found to be damning. He finished his conclusion to a spatter of applause and returned to his seat across from her. 

“Well done, Mr. Wynn. Miss Kinney, would you like a few moments to prepare your rebuttal?” the professor asked.

“No, I’m good,” Tess replied. She sat up, scribbled a note in her book, and then pushed the book across the table.

Oh, Ophelia

Alexis lounged in the shade next to the pool, sipping a daiquiri and considering her next move. She’d been using the same identity for nearly fifteen years and the neighbours were starting to get suspicious. With all the new beauty products and surgeries available to people of her wealth it was easier to convince people she was nearing forty when she was in the body of a twenty-three year old, but now she had to deal with people asking for her skincare routines and her doctors and the identity wasn’t worth all of the research she was having to do. She was getting sick of Malibu anyways, what with the yearly forest fires that got closer each year. She missed the deep-rooted history of Europe, the memories she had in all of the major cities, the people like her who were still living in their castles and manors pretending like the world hadn’t left them behind.

Bloodlines

Ten of Wands. The Tower. Two of Swords.

Morrigan Keeling sat on the floor of her bedroom, chewing the end of a pen and staring intently at the tarot cards spread in front of her. It was a simple three card spread to indicate how her day was going to go: a card to describe herself, one to indicate what was going to greet her, and another to show the outcome of the situation. She’d gotten into the habit of doing it every day while living at home, and even five years after moving out she found it a relaxing routine to start the day.

The day’s cards, however, were not very relaxing.

PerDeA

The backseat of the car was dark, only illuminated for short intervals by the orange glow of the streetlights. Two figures sat across from each other in the shifting light. In the backwards-facing seat on the driver’s side was PerDeA. Her dark hair was pulled tightly into a ponytail, lips slightly parted as she stared unblinking out the back window. Shoulders square, back straight, chin up, hands folded neatly in her lap, her breathing perfectly rhythmic; she would have looked human if not for the faintly glowing cybernetic blue rings superimposed over her black eyes.

Westhaven

Her eyes were open but she couldn’t see anything. There were mechanical sounds ‒ beeping, whirring ‒ all around her, and voices too far away for her to understand. The sharp smell of antiseptic and the softer detergent scent beneath it.

“Initiate optical system,” a muted female voice instructed. Between one breath and the next she started processing visual information: bright white lights above her, the featureless ceiling beyond, her own nose and eyelashes. She couldn’t move her head to see much else. Walls that matched the ceiling so well it was hard to tell where one became the other, bits of the bed she was on with its bleachable white sheets and side rails.

“Increase tactile responsivity by fifty percent and disengage the motion inhibitors.”

Pro Patria Mori

She sat on the narrow bed with her packed suitcase next to her. Her blonde hair was pinned back, her blue eyes fixed on a spot next to the door, her hands folded neatly in her lap. The winter chill clung like burrs to the house, helped by the heavy spring rain that beat against the window in a staccato rhythm. Outside, trees bowed under the charcoal sky. The old house creaked and groaned around her, the wind whistling and wailing as the storm continued to batter the country estate. She waited.

At any moment there would be a knock on the main door of the house. Godfrey, the aged and shuffling butler, would answer. Standing on the other side would be some men in crisp uniforms, holding up her picture and asking if he knew her. She had seen them in town the evening before, and it wouldn’t take more than a day before someone pointed them in the right direction. They looked like military men but there was something different in their manner, something sharper. Godfrey would lead them up, and up, and up, until they reached her third floor apartment. The butler would introduce them, she would smile politely, and she would leave with them without a fight.

The Clocktower

Astra hated Capperham. The way it sprawled its squalor from border to border, from the sea in the west to the battlements in the other three directions. The harbour reeked of dead fish and unwashed human, the slums of sickness and stale beer. Even the neighbourhoods of rich merchants and factory owners lay under the thick smog of black soot the mines and mills spat out day and night. The grit and dirt was part of everything, so deeply ingrained that even the most rigorous scrubbing couldn’t make something clean.

Stars Incline Us

The Christmas gala was in full swing. The entire ballroom was full of people Pippa didn’t know, all wearing fancy clothes that probably cost more than her rent. Her own dress was aubergine and a simple V-neck, form-fitting enough to be attractive but loose enough to not draw too much attention.

She and another girl who didn’t seem to know anyone at the event were chatting with Antero and Mr. Rabinoff near the edge of the dance floor. Antero was already antsy to leave despite the dinner having just ended, but Mr. Rabinoff had trapped him in a debate he was too proud to back down from. The other girl was from legal and either found them hilarious or had had a little too much to drink because she kept giggling, leaving Pippa no choice but to laugh along while adding the occasional remark to the back and forth between the men.

That brings us all the way back to October 2016. Which tells me that I need to start at the beginning of more stories haha. If anyone has questions about any of these, please feel free to ask. Also, if you read all of that, you are a saint and a hero and have my eternal friendship.

I tag @the-writing-avocado​, @radiowrites​, @pigeon-hold​, @sleepyowlwrites​, @akindofmagictoo​, and anyone else who wants to share their projects!! As always, no pressure (to play or to read this whole post lmao).

[overclockedroulette]

anyone say vega mochizuki content? no? i literally haven't mentioned him on this blog once? i do not care one bit i love him

for context, he worked with avarice and fabrica when they drugged redglass and him and avarice have this? sortof rivalry?

he's from a separate (slightly more normal, but not at all less inhumane) research facility, and is fully aware that aubilon essentially raises their workers from a Very young age. he makes fun of avarice RELENTLESSLY for that. (see, his choice of insults: show animal, trained dog, circus lion, etc)

also, he was born in a cult and his sister is basically jesus. so you can imagine the kind of stress he is under.

(also, he's very scared of thunderstorms. although that might be an understatement.)

~

“That’s a stupid idea.”

“Stupid? It’s completely logical. Just because your halfwit mind can’t comprehend anything on a scale larger than one person-”

“At least my ‘halfwit mind’ works properly, psycho.”

“For the last time, I’m not crazy you piece of-”

“Can you two shut up?” Both scientists turned their heads to Fabrica, resting her head in one hand and rolling her eyes. “You’re both being ridiculously antagonistic. At least have the decency to put up a pretence of goodwill, for my sake. You’re acting like children.”

There was a short, surprised pause. Avarice was the first to respond: a curt nod in the royal’s direction. “Of course. My apologies.”

Vega bowed slightly, in a similar fashion, not pausing once before looking to his side and smirking. “So, the dog does know how to behave.”

“I will end your fucking bloodline, Mochizuki.”

Vega gasped falsely. “Oh, I’m so scared,” he mocked, devolving into laughter. “Least I have a family. Say, were you bred for your work, too?”

“Were you bred for your little ocean cult?” Avarice snapped, taking great satisfaction in watching Vega freeze up.

“You shouldn’t know that,” he muttered, mostly to himself. Avarice laughed.

“Oh, please. The name ‘Delta Mochizuki’ isn’t exactly underground, if you know where to look,” he teased, as if he hadn’t spent an unreasonable amount of time in Aubilon’s library trying to find something to hold over the pompous ass. “Plus, you smell of salt water all the time. I just put two and two together, but thank you for confirming my suspicions.”

He had to say, watching Vega panic internally was incredibly satisfying. Of course, Fabrica was less than amused, but he couldn’t help himself; the bastard deserved a little panic, even if the queen was now glaring daggers at the both of them.

“Did you- did you research my family? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Interesting that you assume I didn’t already know about your little cult. Why, are you supposed to be all subtle because you’re related to their messiah?”

“Shut your thrice-damned mouth before I-”

“Shh,” Avarice quieted him with a finger to his lips- which, surprisingly, actually shut him up. “Is that why you insist on acting like you’re better than me? Because your little sister was chosen by your god? Because all you’ll ever be is the saviour’s big brother?”

Vega wrenched himself away fairly quickly after that statement, slapping away Avarice’s hand and scoffing. “Oh, so now the guy who never had a family is lecturing me on mine? How the fuck would you know?”

“I’m just saying what I see,” he shrugged.

“Well, you’re seeing wrong.”

“Am I?”

“Gods, you’re a prick.”

“The sentiment is shared.”

“Asshole.”

“Insect.”

“Lunatic.”

“Coward.”

“This isn’t going to stop, is it?” Fabrica murmured to herself, drumming her fingers on the arm of her throne. “Fine, whatever,” she sighed and stood up, grabbing the side of a curtain. She was sure the others hadn’t noticed, but it was raining fairly heavily outside, interspersed with flashes of lightning or thunderclaps. It also just so happened to be a full moon.

And Avarice wasn’t the only one who had done his research.

She cleared her throat, just enough to get both of their attention for a moment, before yanking the curtain open. It took less than a second for both scientists to be brought to their knees on the tiled floor of her throne room.

It really was interesting, how such a strong-willed, stubborn pair could be reduced to the pitiful state she was witnessing in such a short amount of time. Delirious and trembling, such a juxtaposition to the contentious way they had been speaking just a moment before. Vega was barely recognisable, his hands brought together in some fearful parody of a prayer, pleading in some primordial language she didn’t recognise; the words didn’t have the same rhythm as if he were praying - she was sure she could recognise it - but instead sounded more like he was begging. For what, she didn’t know. She could guess, of course, but her information on how to break the unruly scientists didn’t extend to why they could be broken down so easily.

Avarice, on the other hand, could be understood without much extrapolation. After all, Fabrica spoke Celestial, and she recognised the old prayer that sounded as if it was being dragged forcefully from his lips. She didn’t need to know why a fallen aasimar who knew that prayer had such a fervent reaction to the full moon. She did, briefly, wonder about the bloody scratch marks on his ears, but she quickly put that thought aside. For some reason, he was uncomfortable to look at like this. The same sort of discomfort she had so thoroughly hidden with smug vindication when sending her brother to be burnt alive.

Maybe it was because they looked alike. That was probably it.

After a good while (she wasn’t sure exactly how long - she had gone to make tea after a couple minutes), Fabrica decided that this was probably enough to discourage them from fighting - at least, in front of her - and slid the curtain and window shut, muffling the sound of the rain and obscuring the moon from view, before settling herself back down to drink tea and wait for them to recover.

Vega came to his senses first - or, at least, he was the first to show it. He didn’t bother to stand up. Just stared weakly at nothing, waiting to be addressed first. He made some attempt at a muttered apology, not exactly stable enough to form coherent sentences. Fabrica sipped her tea and waited, and, sure enough, Avarice soon managed to bring himself back to a state of coherency. Well. ‘Coherency’ was probably the wrong word, all things considered. Sure, he wasn’t completely enveloped in nonstop feverish muttering as he had been for a while now, but the image of genuine fear in his eyes as he forced himself to even out his breathing and choke back the visible waves of nausea was just as off-putting, coming from him.

“Stand up,” she commanded. They both complied immediately, albeit a little shaky. “You’re going to get along now, I presume?”

She was met with unquestioning affirmation, as she had expected - both of them left unsettled and desperate to please as they were, like scared children. She didn’t expect it to last - of course not - but she was fairly sure they wouldn’t act up in front of her again, which was a relief. Their incessant bickering was starting to hurt her ears.

“Good,” she smiled, standing up to leave. “I’ll leave you both to it.”

As she left the throne room, she couldn’t help but notice that neither could meet the other’s eyes. She supposed that was to be expected, but they’d get over it. She’d talk to them tomorrow.

[smolbeandrabbles]

Sweet Spot - Danny Rayburn x Reader (Bloodline)

Sway: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6  / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10

All I Want For Christmas / When I See You Smile / Good Woman

@mandy23b​ @wltz-bby​ @happyskywhale​ #mendotagsquad

GIF CREDIT: X

Author’s Note: Haha - So, this Midweek is my Sway Anniversary, and to celebrate this, I uhm... came up with an Anniversary fic for your Mendo Midweek-!! 😉

That’s literally all I wrote this for but I hope you can still enjoy it for what it is! 😁

Sweet Spot - Kim Petras ❤

Disclaimer: Bloodline characters not mine / All OCs are from Sway but you don’t necessarily have to know who they all are at all. / lyrics + gifs not mine!

Premise: Danny is always full of surprises - but it’s your anniversary today, and you wanna surprise him. If he doesn’t get too mad with you first!

Words: 2774

Warnings: Swearing / Drinking...sorta. / sexual connotations

____

See you dancin' like you wantin' my attention See you dancin', see you dancin' Now your body's movin' into my direction My direction, my direction

Baby, what you waiting for? You got the green light Don't you hold back no more Let's live our best life Everybody wants to leave here with somebody Everybody, everybody Time of night we start to dip into the candy Give it to me, give it to me

Baby, what you waiting for? You got the green light Don't you hold back no more Let's live our best life

So baby don't stop, don't stop We're getting to the sweet spot, sweet spot Baby it's a sure shot, sure shot We're getting to the sweet spot, sweet spot

I wanna with you, I wanna with you I wanna with you, I wanna with you 

---

Anniversaries weren’t supposed to start with fights; but yours did. You completely understood why, he wanted to spend the day together. It couldn’t happen; unfortunately the reason that Danny was able to spend all of today with you was also the reason that you were able to get away to execute on your plans, or rather, couldn’t stay with him. Danny had shut his restaurant – he could have taken the day off but no, he’d given everyone a break -  that was just the kind of man he was. You had other ideas. He didn’t like this; and whilst you didn’t really expect him to, you thought Danny might be a little more understanding than the argument you now found yourself in the middle of. “Baby, I’m sorry-!” “Are you kidding!? I’m taking the whole day off from work for this--! The restaurant is CLOSED for you!” for us you mean! But you held your tongue, Danny was hurt, but it really wasn’t your fault – as far as he knew! You tried your best, but placating him wasn’t working; “I know-! I know! And you’ve been excited all week but-” “Can’t you just tell them you can’t do it!” “Danny, if I could, then you know I would!” “This is fucking ridiculous! It’s a Saturday.” “At least it’s not travelling…!” That didn’t help things, and Danny scowled before dragging his cigarette packet off the kitchen table and slamming the balcony door closed behind him. What you had told him this morning was that work needed to pull you in on something. The truth? You were about to meet your parents, Nolan, Danny’s best friends (and coworkers!) Javi & Jason, and your best friends Amanda & Evie down at Viva Caputa and decorate for a ‘surprise’ anniversary party. Surprise only for Danny of course. But right now, you’d be lucky to get him out for it. You sighed gently and followed him outside; “Baby…” touching his shoulder delicately you rubbed soothing circles. When Danny didn’t turn to you, you pulled yourself into him. “Baby, I’m so sorry…” His breathing was deep and Danny took at least three drags of his cigarette before he spoke. “I know. I just can’t believe this is happening today.” “Danny, please look at me?” He turned, and gathered you in his arms, brushing your hair back from your face. He was trying his best not to look super pissed, but you supposed he wasn’t really angry with you. “I’m sorry, baby girl, it’s just… It’s not what I wanted.” “Me either, you know that. God, Danny, I wanna be here with you so bad…” You leant up, brushing your lips to his. He chuckled, deepening your kiss, tasting like smoke. “What if you skipped out?” You raised an eyebrow, hoping that he was joking with you. Danny’s smiled faded, “Right. Okay.” You held him closer running a hand through his tangle of curls, “Just stay here, relax, okay? God knows you deserve it. I’ll pick you up later and we’ll go out for dinner.” “At this place you won’t tell me about.” “Why ruin a good surprise?” You realised the double meaning of your sentence and grinned, “I promise it’ll be worth the wait.” He took a double meaning of his own from that; “OH, I’m assured it will be!” You kissed him once more, “I’ll be back soon, I promise.” “Yeah, yeah! Go on! Leave me!” He might have put on a pout, but you were almost positive that he’d be sulking all day. As you waved goodbye part of you wanted to race back to Danny and tell him everything. You couldn’t. For this to work you couldn’t.   *** You’d hidden your dress of choice and a bunch of decorations in the car, and as you pulled into the parking lot everyone was already waiting for you. “Happy Anniversary!” “Oh no!!” You held your hands up, kissing Nolan gently on the cheek as he came over to help you remove the boxes, “Not when my man isn’t here, and NOT when he’s already pissed at me!” “For what!?” Javi raised an eyebrow “Well I’m at work, as far as he knows.” “That’s typically Danny.” Jason scoffed, “He’ll be fully in love by tonight!” “If he’s not, this Anniversary is gonna turn into a funeral-!” “Yours?” You narrowed your eyes at Jason and had half a mind to slap him, considering his amused little smile, instead just shoving a box into his arms; “No. YOURS!” *** Despite Danny not being here, you made sure to keep messaging him every spare moment you had. Danny wasn’t a texter, but keeping him up to date with what you were up to was important. You called him during your lunchbreak only, he seemed pretty fine – and didn’t complain once, which you thought was good of him. But Danny certainly wasn’t in high spirits; hopefully you could change all that quickly. It was a lot of fun, helping everyone else put up decorations. As you did so they all kept shouting random questions at you about your relationship, wanting you to tell stories and talk to your favourite memories. To which they all added running commentaries or their own anecdotes – either on things Danny had said about you when you weren’t around, or, if they’d been a part of any of the situations, their own personal take on it. Towards the end of your decorating Amanda paused and turned back to you, it dawned on her – much as it had your own mind – what exactly this was for, and yet your participation in it. “Wait, shouldn’t we have been doing this for you!?” You shrugged “No. I mean you could have! But, the amount of stupid surprise parties that Danny has thrown me in here?” You pointed around the room, “That all of you were all in on, I 100% need to throw him one this time! Even if it is for our anniversary…” Then you smiled, “Which uhm, reminds me, I guess I best be saying thank you!!”

On the other side of Miami, Danny Rayburn was growing more and more anxious. It was getting later; about the time you should really be getting home, or at least picking him up. Yet he’d heard nothing, not a text or a call. Danny was ready: nice shirt, smart pants, he even had a jacket. He wasn’t exactly sure where you were taking him, but he could guess that you’d like to sweep him across town and into a 5-star restaurant with views of the Pacific. Danny would roll his eyes and say you were paying too much, and you would smile and say he was worth every cent; and he wouldn’t be ungrateful, Danny would surely enjoy every second of your company. Even more so now he’d been bereft of you all day. Now he was pacing, and sure that you wouldn’t make it - at the rate things were going you definitely wouldn’t be on time! – he’d already had a few cigarettes to attempt to calm himself in vain, Danny didn’t dare have another. Alternating between staring at the door and the phone; which one would alert him first? Turned out it was his phone and as he scrambled to pick it up, Danny was disheartened to find it wasn’t even you on the other end of the line, but his head waiter, Javi: “Danny you need to get down to the restaurant there’s a problem.” If it didn’t sound so urgent Danny would have left a longer pause; what else could possibly go wrong today? He didn’t dare ask that question out loud. “You’re fucking with me right!? I’m waiting to go to my anniversary dinner, everything’s already ruined because my girl got dragged off to work. Now there’s something wrong at my restaurant!?” “Danny we need you!! We NEED you!” Javi did his best to sound panicked, “But she… she’s gotta be on her way back by now… I can’t just drive down to ya!” “Y/N left you for the day man, that’s on her! Just get down here!” Javi shot you an apologetic look but you waved him off. All he had to do was get your partner to his destination, it didn’t matter how. Heck, for leaving Danny all day you probably did deserve some slander. Hopefully it’d all be worth the pain. “Okay. Okay. Just, hold on!”  Danny cut the line, sighing, well this was just GREAT. He scribbled a little note to you, hardly believing that after you left him this morning he was now going to have to apologise for this. In the state he was in though, Danny never stopped to ask the question; If everyone was off for the evening, what was Javi doing at the restaurant in the first place? *** Danny couldn’t pull into his parking space fast enough, Javi’s car was the only other one here (you’d all moved yours into a parking garage to keep from ruining the surprise until the last second.) and yet the restaurant didn’t seem occupied at all. “What the hell?” Danny muttered to himself. Locking his car, he sprinted to Viva Caputa’s front door, wrenching it open as soon as he could get the key in. Stepping inside he peered around in the pitch darkness, reaching for the nearest light switch; “Javi, I swear to GOD-” Danny didn’t get a chance to flip them, as the lights were thrown up from the other end of the room. All your collective friends and your family standing there. “SURPRISE!!” Banners and balloons and streamers decorated nearly every surface, and the more culinary skilled of the little group had clearly been busy at home. He quickly noted signature dishes of both your mother’s and Jason’s. Danny’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. He just stood in stunned silence and shook his head, before his hands came up to his face and his eyes settled on you. No longer in the clothes you’d left in this morning, you’d changed into a gorgeous dress, standing in the centre of the restaurant with a glass of champagne in your hand; “Happy Anniversary Danny!” His hands came away from his mouth; “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’D PUT ME THROUGH A DAY OF HELL FOR THIS!!” Yet as he laughed and everyone joined in, Danny stepped quickly forwards, throwing his arms around you and pulling you into a tight embrace “THANK YOU!!!” “About time I threw you a surprise party, huh?” “Oh, baby girl…” He placed his forehead to yours, “You didn’t have to!” before kissing you to a room full of cheers. *** Nolan got the music going, a playlist you’d helped him put together, and the party started getting into full flow. Although Danny and yourself were the centre of attention, it was nice to lean back against him as he sat on a bar stool - arm around your waist and drink in his hand - and observe all your friends chatting amongst themselves and having a good time. “Sorry this isn’t the anniversary you expected.” He rubbed his hand over your hip and chuckled; “You don’t need to be sorry, I like this. Right here with the people most important to us...” Danny looked up to you with a smile; “As for this morning, you CAN take me to a 5-star restaurant to make up for it.” You shook your head at his cheekiness, but knew he probably deserved it, as you bent to kiss his forehead, “Okay, baby, it’s a deal!”

With the music up it was no surprise that eventually Danny took your hand and suggested you make your way to the middle of the cleared space. “If you’re gonna stand there in a good dress, and you and Nolan built a playlist, it’d be a shame to waste it!” You couldn’t help but laugh as he pulled you out; “Just be careful, this isn’t a dancefloor in the middle of Little Havana.” “Oh, I think I’ll save that for back home.” You raised your eyebrows, with a small smirk at his suggestion; “That better be a promise, Danny Rayburn.” “Oh, you bet!”

You weren’t sure if shuffle wasn’t working, or the fact that Nolan was smirking and standing relatively close to the music player with Beth, Evie and Amanda had something to do with your realisation that it was slow song after slow song. Probably was your best guess – your friends would certainly love the opportunity to control the playlist. It didn’t matter to either of you; Danny held you strong, one hand in yours and one supporting your waist - everything about it respectful, perhaps even delicate. Danny cared about you more than anything and you knew that; his body close and tight, back sloping to fold into yours; head resting against your own as he spun you slowly around the floor. Every so often you’d catch his smirk as the lights glittered on your ‘D’ pendant - and that look on his face persisted as he continued to hold you. Sometimes you really did love that Danny made it so obvious, and you pushed up against him a little harder just to let him know you knew exactly what he was thinking about. As you did you Danny gave you a little look; ‘I’m trying to be proper here!’ And you laughed, ‘Yeah right!’

 Eventually others joined you, your parents, Jason and his wife, and you and Danny even persuaded Javi to stop making eyes at her from across the room, and go drag Amanda onto the dancefloor. When everyone’s eyes weren’t solely on the two of you, you were able to relax a bit; and his hands fell a little lower on your waist as you looped your arms around his neck. You still gave him your best ‘careful’ warning look, yet Danny’s little cheeky smile let you know that he’d heed your words, but only for a time. If he thought that he was going to get away with it, Danny was absolutely gonna get a little inappropriate tonight. It was your anniversary after all!

 You were in your own little world, that much was for sure. People were aware of what this meant, and let you have these quiet, private moments together - when all that mattered was each other. Danny grazed his lips to your forehead, and cheek before he chuckled: “You know maybe we aught to stop celebrating every special occasion here.” “You’re the one who doesn’t like taking big days off!” You were specifically referring to Valentine’s Day, but Danny’s look was sharp and you laughed, embarrassed. “Today is hardly the day to complain at me for that. Thank you for the surprise, all the same.” “You’re welcome, you deserve it... Happy Anniversary Danny!” He accepted your kiss with a sweet smile; “Happy Anniversary, baby girl...” You looked around at all your friends but none of them were paying attention, all in worlds of their own too; “Maybe we should make this tradition?” “Oh yeah, gone are the days of good meals out, it’s all about hanging at Viva Caputa!” Although his voice was purely sarcastic, Danny couldn’t help that little smile he flashed “Something like that...” You smiled back, kissing him gently again. Then Danny laughed; “I have to say though, considering your antics you’re lucky we got an anniversary at all-!” “Oh what, c’mon! Danny!” “You just wait until we get home, you’re in BIG trouble.” You weren’t sure you trusted the suggestive look on his face, and you tipped you head curiously. Danny however was under no illusions that you weren’t hopeful; “Good trouble?” “VERY good trouble.”

Danny pulled you into his body, and you locked your arms around his neck as he kissed you. That wasn’t a sweet ‘Happy Anniversary’ kiss, and his hands ran way lower than the respectful line of your waist as he kept you as near to him as possible. That only made you smirk into the kiss as he grazed his tongue over your bottom lip. The dancing had paused; and no wonder. You allowed him what he wanted, Danny hummed in approval as sweet and short became fiery, hungry and passionate. You were in half a mind to ask him to abruptly cut your own party and take you back home right now.

You wouldn’t; because this was just Danny’s way of teasing you. Merely a taste of what was in store when you closed your apartment door to the world tonight and the lights were off.

Very good trouble was damn right. And you couldn’t wait.

---

Thank you for reading *possibly* the most self indulgent thing I’ve ever written 😅

[carryonmybloodylovelies]

A Lively Game

hi hi! this is for the carry on quarantine round robin that the super cool and very gucci @xivz put together and i really really appreciate it because signing up for this literally forced me to get some writing done and it was actually FUN to write so thank youuuuu. 

rating: M (there’s a LOT of swearing … you’ll see ;))

word count: 1,500+

prompt: ‘Board Game’

read here on ao3!!

***

“Shepard! Penny! C’mere for a sec,” Simon yelled from the living room.

Shepard paused the show on his phone and poked his head out from the kitchen. “Sup?”

Penny’s door then swung open and she, too, poked her head out. “Yeah?”

“I’m bored as shit and Baz isn’t paying attention to me so let’s play a game or something!” 

Shepard grabbed the chips he had been snacking on off the counter and headed into the living room, nodding. “Yeah, sounds good. What are our options?”

Penny came up behind Shepard and snatched the chips away from him before flopping down in the plush armchair next to the couch. “The games are in there,” Penny pointed, “but Simon puts them away so horribly that they’ll probably all fall out and attack you the second you try to open it. Be warned, Shepard.” 

Simon tried to defend himself but Penny just looked at him. His mouth snapped close. Shepard smiled as he crouched down and opened the small cabinet that was underneath the coffee table in the living room, snorting when he saw how unorganized and crammed together the games were.

They were going on week three of the ‘Stay at Home’ quarantine crisis and even with four young adults stuffed into an apartment really only meant for two, they were trying to make the best of it. Penny and Baz still had online assignments for their uni classes and Simon was working through recipes for culinary school, which resulted in a lot of weird but strangely tasty meals, all things considered. Shepard was supposed to be on his way home to Omaha but with all the corona-craziness and risk of infection, he really didn’t want to get on an international flight and chance bringing anything back to his parents. So. 

“Uh let’s see, you guys have Jenga, Battleship–”

Simon yawned, “Ehh I’m too lazy to set up the tower and I want all four of us to play so Battleship’s a no.”

Simon was hanging upside down, legs bent over the top of the couch, trying to bother Baz who was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to him. Simon poked Baz’s cheek with his tongue and snickered when Baz made a face and distractedly tried to push the other boy away, continuing to type on his laptop.

Shepard kept reading off games, “Scrabble, Twister–”

“Yes! Twister!” said Simon excitedly, a huge grin on his bright red face as he sat up and immediately tried to shake the dizziness away. 

And at the exact same time Penny shuddered and said, “No, absolutely not,” looking thoroughly grossed out. 

Shepard’s interest was piqued. There had to be a story there. 

“Why no Twister?” Shepard asked, looking from Penny to Simon.

Without looking up from his laptop, Baz snorted. 

Penny glared at Baz, who still wasn’t paying attention, and then at Simon who was now perched on the arm of the couch with his arms crossed, pouting. 

Penny directed her gaze back to Shepard, glasses glinting in the afternoon light. “Well, Shepard,” she said, matter-of-factly, “in the past three times I have allowed Twister to be played in this flat, our friends Simon and Basil here take it upon themselves to play seriously until one or both of them are in a very compromising position and then they immediately give up and get halfway to shagging on the bloody Twister mat.”

Shepard burst out laughing and then slapped a hand to his mouth, trying and failing to muffle the sound as Penny narrowed her eyes irritatedly. 

“It’s not funny, Shepard! This is a communal living space that needs to be respected and not defiled when those two horny arseholes decide to make a bloody children’s game extremely inappropriate!”

Shepard was still laughing as he looked over at Simon who was scowling at Penny, flushed red in embarrassment. Baz appeared more or less unaffected as he continued to work but with most of his hair pulled into a messy bun atop his head, Shepard could see the tips of his ears had gone pink. 

“Come on, Pennyyyyyy,” Simon whined with pleading eyes, “We haven’t played in forever and now Shepard’s here so we can play even rounds! And I promise me ‘nd Baz will keep our hands to ourselves this time, right Baz?” Simon nudged Baz’s shoulder with his foot and looked at him expectantly. 

Baz finally looked up from his laptop, met his boyfriend’s stare, and then raised his eyebrows doubtfully, as if to say yeah right.  

Simon made an indignant sound and pushed Baz again with his foot but Baz just shook his head and went back to his assignment. “I’m staying out of this.”

Penny scoffed and pointed an accusatory finger, “You’re 50% of the problem, Basil, you can’t just ‘stay out of it’.”

Baz smirked at his screen, grey eyes bright with amusement. He knocked his elbow against Simon’s calf. “Bunce doesn’t seem to be budging on this one, Snow. Best to drop it.” 

Simon huffed and let himself fall onto the couch with a wumph. His face was squished in the cushions so his words came out muffled. “Ugh, fine. Whatever. We’ll play something else.” 

Baz clicked a few things on his laptop, closed it, and set it down on top of the coffee table. 

“Prat,” Baz said fondly before grabbing Simon’s leg and yanking, hard. Simon yelped and fell off the couch, landing in Baz’s open arms. Simon adjusted himself so he was sitting upright in Baz’s lap, mumbled something about ‘stupid vampire strength’, and then happily slid his arms around Baz’s neck. 

Baz kissed a curl on Simon’s forehead and then loudly addressed the room, “If Bunce says no to Twister with her and Shep, then I suppose Simon and I will have to play Twister later tonight, in our room, when everyone’s trying to sleep.” 

Simon scolded Baz while failing to keep a cheeky smile off his face, Penny made puking noises, and Shepard laughed so hard that he started choking on the chip he was eating. 

“Ugh,” Penny groaned, burying her hands in her purple hair, “you two are disgusting. And you’re killing Shepard, so I really hope you’re proud of yourselves. Both of your game choosing privileges have been revoked.” 

Simon turned and looked at Penny with wide eyes, “What? How is that fair? Baz said it, not me.”

Penny just sighed. “Remember when I said that Baz was 50% of the problem? Guess who’s the other 50%?”

“… I don’t want to guess.”

“Exactly.”

Shepard clumsily sat down on the floor and managed to swallow the chip that almost sent him to a premature grave. He wheezed, “So who’s picking the game then?”

“You pick something, Shepard,” Penny replied, exasperated. “Something that’ll give me the chance to make these barmy gits wish they had never disgraced my poor Twister mat.” 

Shepard pushed up his glasses and grinned. “I know the perfect game.”

***

“Change it to green, change it to green, change it to gr– AW FUCK YOU AND YOUR BLOODY FUCKING MOTHER THAT WAS STINKING BOLLOCKS!”

“Did-did you just reverse my bloody fucking reverse? Penny, what the fuck is WRONG with you?”

“Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, and uh, FUCK YOU.”

“Oh you wanna skip my turn? I KNOW WHERE YOU SLEEP, BUCKO.”

“DUDE, WHAT THE ACTUAL CLOWN ASS FUCKERY WAS THAT? I ONLY HAD ONE CARD 

LEFT, JESUS CHRIST.”

“No, no, no, no, NO I WILL NOT DRAW 4 BLEEDING CARDS IN MY OWN HOME, YOU MANKY MUPPET.”

“I hate you, Shepard. No, I really do.” 

“Merlin’s shit-stained arsehole, how could you change it to blue? How could you? What did I ever do to deserve this level of hatred and betrayal from the man I LOVE?”

“Simon, I am terribly sorry to inform you that you will not be living past the age of 22.”

“YES I KNOW IT’S MY TURN; I’M DRAWING BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE ANY YELLOW CARDS YOU DISGUSTING RAT WANKER.”

“That was absolute piss. PISS, BASILTON.”

“Shit. Fuck. Bitch.” 

“THAT’S IT; I’M KICKING YOU OUT. GO BACK TO THE UNITED STATES OF FUCKING AMERICA FOR ALL I CARE.” 

“I’m going to murder you with your favorite kitchen knife. YOU THINK I WOULDN’T SIMON SNOW? SKIP MY TURN AGAIN, I DARE YOU.” 

“That was a bitch move.”

“Keep it red, keep it red, oh for the love of Crowley keep– OI YOU LOOKING FOR A FUCKING FIGHT? STAND UP AND FIGHT ME AND I’LL PUT YOUR ARSE RIGHT BACK ON THE GROUND, YA BARMY FUCK.”

“Penelope–and please know I mean this with absolute full offense–fuck you.” 

“TYRANNUS BASILTON GRIMM PITCH IF YOU PUT DOWN ANOTHER DRAW FOUR I’M BREAKING UP WITH YOU.”

“You. Are. A. HUGE. Prick.”

“BRO, YOU DID NOT JUST–OH MY FUCKING GOD BRO YOU DID NOT JUST HIT ME WITH A DRAW TWO I–”

“Morgana’s gigantic fucking TITS I WILL END YOUR ENTIRE BLOODLINE.”

“Oh I am SO breaking up with you.”

“SON OF A WEASEL FUCKER.”

It was a very lively game of Uno, to say the least.

***

i can confidently say from experience that uno games with friends DO get that crazy … especially considering those four have all been stuck in an apartment together for almost three weeks … there would definitely be blood. also i thought that it would be more fun to just get the profanity-laced dialogue rather than a play-by-play of the game so!! hope it was fun to read! <3

@bazypitchandsimonsnow was super supportive, as always, (love ya theo) and i definitely couldn’t have done it without @lifeasafail encouraging and comforting my anxious dumbass. she even SANG to me while i was editing omfg i love her so much.