#and this show is all about losing and gaining

[sapphicyanli]

might be a corn plate tweet kind of post but during the last round of the mingle game which is where the group only consist of two people, everyone else was running without holding hands except players 222 and 333 that is a canon couple (or exes so far i guess) in the show, and the other pairing that are holding hands are players 120 and 246. could this be a hint that hyunju (120) and gyeong sok (246) could be an endgame in season 3?? bcs i certainly hope so

also the meaning of the color room that they were in is....well, quite fitting for their current relationship dynamic to say the least i'd say

[sunsetsover]

ik they generally don't mean it in a bad way and it's supposed to be complimentary but people being like 'first/khaotung are so talented they should be on big screens/should be doing x type of work they deserve so much more than this!!' feels really condescending and dismissive of the work they've done and are doing right now. like their work has value and worth as it is, right now . if they choose to go a different way with their careers fine but being in a movie or whatever doesn't inherently mean their work is better or has more value, esp if its done just for the sake of saying they've been in a movie like. they are not somehow degrading themselves or their worth or their talent as actors by doing the work they're doing now and if you think that or that they're somehow being 'wasted' doing what they're doing then that's kinda fucked up and rude. tbh.

[rttnzombii]

Guys who wants to see my mini essay about Eggman being a loser and agent stone making him less of a pathetic loser?

“In the games, and in any other media before the movies came out, everyone hates Ivo Robotnik. It’s not in a fun, dedicated way where he is an arch-nemesis of Team Sonic; no, everyone sees Eggman as a failure. This may sound weird if you don’t know anything about Sonic and thought Eggman was a typical villain.

To make matters worse, his entire family hates him too. Movie-only fans might be aware of this as it was the focus of the newest movie— there’s Gerald Robotnik, His and Maria’s grandfather, who didn’t give Ivo a second glance in favor of his long-dead cousin Maria, who’s death he wants to avenge. Gerald manipulated Ivo and dismissed him, saying "oh Ivo, you’re no Maria," even though Ivo probably doesn’t even know who Maria is in the movie universe. Gerald's character suffers similarly in the games.

What you may not know is that in one of the games, Eggman encounters a descendant multiple generations into the future named Eggman Nega, who absolutely hates Ivo too. He believes Eggman is cramping his style and even tries to go back in time to eliminate him to restore his own reputation. Eggman also has other family and cousins who seem indifferent to his fate. I recall a character named Collin, who went by the nickname Snively, who worked with Eggman at one point but also hated him and later betrayed him. I can't remember a single family member of Eggman's who actually seemed to like or tolerate him.

He’s had many henchpeople too, most of whom are robots. Many, like Omega, Alpha, and Sage (who was a robot daughter he built for himself), have betrayed him and joined the heroes. Sage is somewhat of an outlier; while she doesn’t switch sides, she certainly isn’t loyal either. Smaller minions like Orbot and Cubot were unable to betray Eggman, but would have if they could, as they didn’t like his poor leadership and failure to recognize their devotion.

None of this is particularly surprising. Eggman is seen as a villain to the heroes and a failure to other villains. It’s humorous in a way; he needs more formidable foes in the games to heighten tension, but his iconic status prevents him from being sidelined completely, so he remains a comedic figure rather than a genuine threat. It’s a bit sad, but he has brought it upon himself by attempting to create a totalitarian egg-state and belittling Sonic for having friends. Why should anyone remain loyal to someone like that? Joining the heroes is often viewed as the right move; characters like Shadow and Knuckles have done it, and others have wandered the line of allegiance.

It’s worth recapping that for many years, Eggman was depicted as someone without any truly loyal supporters – not even his robotic henchmen. In various animated shows and comics, he created robot companions expressly meant to like him, but he often found himself isolated.

However, that has changed in recent times. As of 2020, Doctor Robotnik finally gained his first and only loyal henchmen, Agent Stone.

Agent Stone's presence sets off a shift in Eggman's story and character, as he embodies the loyalty and support that the villain has long been deprived of. When movie Eggman states that there’s only been one person who truly cared for him, he is specifically referring to Stone, who is the only true ally eggmans ever had. GAent stone worked to follow Eggmans manifest and work to follow the villain through all his evil schemes with no alternate goal in mind other than to follow Ivo and keep him safe. Who can see Stones heart is in it when he heart brokenly says “No, I cant lose you again.” As Ivo fires him when he is still being manipulated by Gerald.

Eggman is ignorant towards Agent stones devotion and genuine care for him until hisGrandfather betrays him. Revealing he was only manipulating Ivo so he could destroy the world that he blames for Marias death . He then decides to Team up with team sonic and redirect the giant self destructing laser that he and his grandfather are currently in to the moon. Choosing to save earth, to save the only person who ever cared about him, to save Agent Stone. “I, Dr.Ivo Robotnik am dedicating my final live stream to one very special henchman, Agent Stone.” Then the camera cuts to Agent stone watching the broadcast play jaw slack and eyes wide. “ If i cant rule the world then I might as well save it. You were the one and only person who ever cared about me”The camera then cutes to Stone again as he begs the doctor not to “you were more of a sicko freak to me. You were a sicko friend.” Then the camera cuts and the beam hits the moon and the space station eggman is stationed in explodes.

This strays completely from the games, where Ivo doesn’t have to self sacrifice and there isn’t any ally who’s going to miss him when he’s gone. They set this up so that he would finally have a friend, an ally, someone who loves and cares for him. He is still no where near the typical villain, but he’s now no longer universally hated. He’s growing and developing for the first time 34 years. “

Uhm sorry I panicked

[lemon-ee]

naruto wingfic headcanons

wings (and other hidden things) - lemon_ee - Naruto (Anime & Manga) [Archive of Our Own]

reference ^ for more context :)

Summing up the AU, wings are permanent and solid chakra constructs that evolve over a shinobi's lifetime. They are directly connected to chakra coils, and gain additional colors when a person goes through a life-changing experience or becomes more powerful. Kakashi seals his wings (which can be done b/c they're chakra based) to hide them, similar to his face.

Wings show a lot about your social status, connections, and personality. Small movements can indicate emotional expression (though these can be controlled with chakra and most shinobi choose to do that), and allowing someone to touch them demonstrates a lot of trust, as attacks can damage them permanently. Color changes can result from a traumatic/dramatic/generally life-changing event or a huge development in power level.

The ANBU tattoo is a strengthened wing seal. The typical jounin seal only temporarily puts their wings into a “pocket dimension” of sorts, which still allows for the wings to form while hiding them effectively for short-term high-ranking missions. The ANBU seal redirects the chakra that flows to form the wings, preventing them from existing at all. ANBU seals are much better, because the jounin version still allows the wing chakra to be sensed. Kakashi just keeps on using the ANBU version even when he’s not on missions.

Kind of already included in the story, but cool/beautiful wings = being attractive. Kakashi went around without his wings for half his life so he never really experiences this. After he starts having them out more, he goes through a sudden increase in propositions, much to his students’ consternations. Of course, wings are also related to some bedroom activities ;)

If Kakashi had looked at his wings when he still had the Sharingan, he would’ve seen a mess of molting feathers and immediately resealed them. The reason is because the Sharingan eats away at his non-Uchiha chakra reserves, keeping him in a constant state of half-chakra. To reflect this, his wings are weaker and lose feathers constantly. After his Sharingan was taken, the chakra drain lessened considerably, and Obito’s chakra boost essentially restored his wings. Also, if he did have his wings out, he would likely become chakra-drained much faster because a portion of his reserves would be dedicated toward manifesting wings.

Obito has always thought Kakashi’s silvery wings were super pretty. Obito was super disappointed when Kakashi started sealing them after his father passed away, so he only has vague memories of fluffy silver wings. You can bet he was screaming and having heart palpitations in the afterlife when Kakashi does his wings reveal during the Kaguya fight lmaooo

Shinobi can absolutely fly, it just takes more chakra than most are willing to sacrifice. It’s also not super good for fighting, because there are a number of long-range jutsu that would bring them down immediately.

Rin’s wings were purple. Side note: when shinobi die, their chakra wings disappear. When she was forcibly made into a jinchuuriki, the tips of her wings started greying and painfully molting. It was too dark for Kakashi to tell.

The orange tips on Naruto’s wings are a little more red than Obito’s were, but it was still enough to remind Kakashi of Obito, playing into his guilt complex.

The black on Kakashi’s wings actually crept further up the more grief and trauma he went through. So after his dad’s death (btw the silver reminded him of his dead dad! and his wings were stained with blood when he went to report his father’s suicide, which didn’t help the rumors later on in the older generations of shinobi…), he starts sealing his wings and never really notices the black. It increases after his entire team’s deaths. The white dots are for every person he’s killed with chidori/raikiri, so I guess it really is a good thing he doesn’t know exactly how he got them (though he probably can guess). The blue underside is the influence of Obito’s chakra and the entire life-changing experience of the war.

feel free to comment with your own additions!

[arcadia-of-pluto]

"Ghost of You" .2. || Caleb

Paring; LADS Caleb x reader

Word count; 4,512

Themes; angst (maybe less in this one?), yippee real Caleb shows up in this one

Warnings; suggestive themes, cursing

Notes; Am I really gonna blue ball y’all…Yeah— Probably 😭 I really wanted to write foreplay-y smut, but the vibes just aren’t there — and by that, I mean, I’m not confident I can do what I want and do it with pride, you know? Caleb is already so out of character as it is, so I hope no one minds me stopping it where I did...I hope it's still good regardless!

☆ Part 1 ☆

“Y/n! Hey — “

You wince as your head throbs with the tell-tale signs of an on-coming headache and you tiredly open your eyes to meet Xavier’s worried gaze. “Oh…Hey Xavi…” You sleepily smile up at him until you feel something wet and viscous drip down your face. Your body jerks to sit up straight and you bring your hand up to your face, staring at the crimson blood staining your fingertips. Your hands tremble as you look down at them and Xavier lightly shakes you.

“Y/n, snap out of it.” He waves his hand in front of your face and after you blink a few times, you realize your hands…are clean.

“I’m not bleeding?” You mutter to yourself, but Xavier gently answers you, “No…you’re not. You’re okay, Y/n. You’re safe.” He murmurs as he sits down next to you to wrap an arm around your shoulders. His hand lightly rubbing your back. “I’m sorry…” You don’t know why you’re apologizing. You honestly feel like you might be losing your mind, but you feel Xavier shake his head, “Don’t apologize.”

The smell of something burning brings you out of your daze and instead of having a panic attack over the smell of smoke, you laugh. “Xavier, you’re burning the food!”

“Oh shi — “ The ash blonde haired man races into the kitchen and groans. “We might need to — “

“Order pizza, right? Already on it!” You call back to him. Your heartbeat slowly going back to a normal pace as Xavier’s clumsy nature, helps you gain a grasp on reality.

Everything was okay. It was all just a dream and there was absolutely nothing you could've done differently.

You just have to keep mentally repeating that to yourself like a mantra. Even if you don’t believe it, maybe you’ll eventually know it to be true.

You lean back against the couch to catch your breath as you bring your hand up to the dog-tag around your neck, lightly dragging your thumb back and forth across it. But then a loud clang coming from the kitchen sends you back into a panic. Your hands come up to your ears to cover them as your body trembles. You slightly rock yourself back and forth as you rub the dog-tag between your fingers as a way to self soothe.

“Ah, fuck…I’m sorry, Y/n.” Xavier comes back into the living room as he finishes cleaning the kitchen up. He gently takes your phone from you to continue the pizza order, then sets it to the side on the couch, and hugs you once more. His hand softly cradles the back of your head and you rest your forehead against his shoulder, breathing slowing down until you finally fall asleep once more.

A few weeks later, you’re sitting down in Meow’s Cafe with Tara. The other guys were all busy with work and you were still recovering from your last breakdown, so it was nice to have a chill non-working day for once after throwing yourself into mission after mission for two weeks since the anniversary was fast approaching. You think it’s tomorrow, but you’ve been feeling a bit off since your last dream. You haven’t had another one since, and that doesn’t feel right to you.

“Hear me out, angel, and please don’t try to leave when I say this…” Tara grabs your hand in a gentle, yet firm grip. “How do you feel when you think of your grandma?”

Huh?

You thought for sure she was going to say you liked Caleb again. You’ve been hearing that so much lately. Even Sylus won’t shut up about it. Saying he saw your “desires” with his right eyes - though he was probably just teasing you when he said that.

“Uh…I feel sad, of course. I really miss her…I think about how unfair it all is and I want to throw things..” You trail off, swallowing a lump in your throat as your eyes stung. “Not a day goes by when I don’t think about her.”

“Okay and…How do you feel when you think of Caleb?” Tara leans forward with her brows raised and you pause.

“I…” You feel panic clawing at your throat, anxiety stirring in your stomach, your face feels hot as you feel a mix of tears and nausea stirring within your body. “I feel like screaming and crying. Like I can’t breathe, but I also need to throw up…”

“Mmhm..You notice how different those feelings are?” Your friend questions, leaning back in her seat as she gives you a pained smile. “Come on, let’s go for a walk so you can think on that for a sec.” She pats your hand as she stands up and holds out her own hand for you to grab. You wordlessly take her hand and leave the cafe, lost in your own thoughts for the moment.

A sense of guilt spreads through your body as you realize you miss Caleb just a bit more than Grandma…but you should miss them both equally! You shouldn’t favour one over the other…That’s not fair to her.

You take a deep breath and shake your head. You’re hanging out with Tara, right now! You can save those thoughts for later, when you’re alone and self depreciating.

“Tara — “

Well…you were going to ask her how work was going, but the words fell flat on your tongue as you noticed someone who looked like Caleb further down the sidewalk. “Um — Something came up, I’ll text you later, Tara!” You drop her hand and race after the person, albeit a bit slower than you’d usually be because of your bad leg.

The person turns into an alleyway and you quickly follow after him, finally grabbing his wrist, but when he turns to look at you…You’re only filled with disappointment.

“Of course, you’re not him.” You click your tongue in annoyance and turn your head away from him, looking to the left to see if you could spot Caleb or Tara walking by from the alleyway. You hear muffled voices through your right ear, but you shrug it off as you begin walking out of the alleyway — exhausted and ready to go home at this point, but your arm is caught in a tight grip. You turn your head toward the man, still unable to make out what he’s saying, until you can finally hear him from your left ear.

“I can pay you.”

What?

You can make out the strong scent of alcohol and you wince back. How the hell did you not smell this earlier? This man is shitfaced at…You check your hunter’s watch and scoff under your breath. At 12 pm.

Well, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere, you suppose.

“Did you laugh at me, you bitch?” The man was clearly slurring his words and you rolled your eyes, yanking your arm back from him. The drunkard stumbles back as his face turns more and more red from anger.

Hmm…How much trouble would you get in for beating the shit out of an unruly citizen?

Maybe a ban from work for at least a week? Jail time?

Either way, you didn’t care. You crack your knuckles, getting ready to throw down whenever the man suddenly falls to his knees. His hands struggled to hold himself up against whatever was pushing his body down to the pavement.

“Uh, sir?” You question, but your gaze falters on the faint blue glow around the drunk man’s body. Your breath hitches in your chest and you feel warning sirens blaring within your head. Were you hallucinating again? You felt like throwing up and you held your head in your hands as you heard ringing in your ears.

You felt a hand on your shoulder, but you couldn’t bother to see who it was. You could hear your heartbeat roaring in your ears over the sudden ringing noise. If the person was saying anything, you wouldn’t have had a clue until you felt their hands cup your face and forced you to look at them. Your eyes widen like a deer caught in headlights and you’ve suddenly lost the ability to breathe.

How…

You could faintly hear your voice, sounding shaky and thick with tears. A soft, yet broken tone to your voice.

“...Caleb?”

Your hands tremble as you touch the gloved ones that cupped your cheeks, trying to make sure this isn’t just another one of your delusions. One hand touches the familiar man’s chest, palm going flat as you search for a heartbeat. You begin to panic as you feel nothing, but he grabs your wrist with one hand and presses it firmly against his chest.

………..Badum

Badum………..

If this was one of your illusions, then you’ve completely given up. He felt so warm, so…alive.

A pained cry slips from your lips and wrap your arms around his waist as you bury your face in his chest. You feel comforted by feeling his steady, rhythmic pulse against your cheek. It was like the gentle beat of a drum that was slowly picking up in pace.

“Please…let it really be you this time.”

After you said this, you felt his hands, which were hesitating to touch you, finally wrap around your waist and hold you close. One hand slowly makes its way up to cup the back of your head as he rests his against your hair.

“I’m…so sorry it took me so long.” He finally speaks, the baritone of his voice sends vibrations through his chest that you felt against your cheek and you can’t help, but cry more at the sound. It really was him. Sure, he sounded a little different, but this was Caleb.

After a few minutes of standing and crying, your feet start to hurt so you pull back a bit — however, he squeezes his arm around your waist, not allowing you to pull away. “Just…stay like this for a little longer. Okay, pipsqueak?��

Your throat burns and you have to hold back the urge to sob, biting your already chapped lips so hard that you taste a familiar metallic flavour. “Pip — Y/n…” He sighs, lifting your head up as he pushes his thumb against your bottom lip, pulling it free. His finger pulls your lip down to examine the damage and you feel your face warming up to the point you feel dizzy.

“C-Caleb…” You grab at his hand as you stumble for a moment and he chuckles, moving his hand so he can grab yours. “Sorry about that, force of habit.”

It had gotten considerably darker outside, but you decided to finally take in his appearance. He was wearing a black hat, similar to a police captain, and he was wearing the suit to match.

What…happened?

As you open your mouth to question him, a car passes by the alleyway. The headlights brighten up his face, but also they send you spiraling into a past memory as you meet his eyes and he averted his gaze, exactly like he did that day…

…”Why are you staring off into space? Mission’s over?” You hear Caleb’s usually cheery and kind voice, and you turned your head to look at him. You felt unsure if you should tell Caleb about the strange man who was wandering around, and how he was what caused your watch to go off (causing the Metaflux fluctuation warning)...but you ultimately decided to keep it a secret for now so you didn’t worry Grandma or Caleb.

Once you finally met Caleb’s gaze, You felt a tad guilty for withholding information. ”Did you find any big, bad wanderers?” He questioned you and you cleared your throat, “Um…The fluctuations disappeared. Probably a false alarm…” But Caleb shook his head with a slight laugh, stepping closer so he could grab your arm and lift it up. “Caleb, what’re you — !”

“If it really was, then what’s this, hmm?” His thumb dragged across the fresh stain of blood on your sleeve.

“Oh, uh…I was petting a cat and…”

“Got scratched by another stray cat, huh? I think maybe I should go find that cat so I can avenge you.” Caleb looked clearly disappointed as he dropped your hand and turned his back to you, walking away.

“Caleb, don’t! Come on, grandma’s waiting for us back at home…”

“Caleb, I was telling the truth. It was just an accident. You and Grandma have enough to deal with as is…” You sighed, slowly trailing behind Caleb as he ran a hand through his hair, “Look, I understand you wanna hide it from Gran. We’ve caused her enough trouble since she brought us up together. Now that she’s older, it wouldn’t be a good idea to make her anxious…” He walked for a few more steps before he suddenly paused and turned to face you, “But why do you have to hide it from me? Can’t you trust me now that we’re all grown-up?”

“I…don’t want you worrying about me. It’s not often you get to come home these days, so ruining the mood is the last thing I want to do. Also, I’m a grown-up now too. I need to be the one making sure I stay safe. You can’t protect me forever.” You found yourself lashing out a little bit, and if you knew this would’ve been your last conversation with Caleb, maybe you would’ve toned it down a little bit.

You sighed, turning to rest your arm on the railing next to you. Through the corner of your eyes, you noticed Caleb placing his hand next to yours and you turned to look at him. “Why is that a problem? If not me, who could you possibly turn to for…” He trailed off, getting a distant, almost hurt look in his eyes as a car turned down the street — lighting up his face with their headlights as they drove on past. Then, a soft chuckle left him, a smile tugging at his lips.

“What’s wrong?” You questioned with a raised brow, one hand perched on your hip. “You…wouldn’t understand even if I told you, pipsqueak. Forget it.” He ruffled your hair and suddenly, it seemed like he was in a rush to get home…

“Pipsqueak?”

You realize you were just blankly staring up at Caleb for who knows how long and you quickly look away with a sheepish laugh, “Sorry…I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

“You don’t need to apologize.” Caleb shakes his head, hand petting the back of your head as he looks up at the sky. “Let’s…go home.”

Your heart squeezes at those words, remembering how many times he used to say that to you, and you smile up at him, “I’ll take you to my apartment. Our..house probably still looks how it did on that day.” “I know, I checked countless times and it’s still being used as a crime scene.” He sighs, pulling back from you to grab your hand.

Everything still feels so surreal and you’re honestly terrified that you’re going to wake up at any moment, and Caleb is still going to be gone.

“I’m not going anywhere. Don’t be afraid, no matter what happens…I’ll be here for you.” He squeezes your hand and you focus on the cool leather of his gloves, the scent of his cologne.

If this was indeed a dream, you’d probably commit yourself to a psych-ward once you woke up, because you don’t think you’d be able to handle this not being your reality.

You felt a bit nervous walking with Caleb down the sidewalk, filled with worry that people would just see you walking and talking by yourself. You were too into your thoughts that you didn’t notice Caleb tapping your head with his finger. “Hey, I’m real.” He chuckles, shaking his head a bit, “It feels weird that I have to say that, but it looks like you need some reassurance.” You let out a breath you never realized you were holding as you realized some passersbys were stopping to look at Caleb.

“Got it.” You clear your throat, walking a bit faster until you both finally enter the elevators of your apartment building.

Oh wait —

You really hope Xavier wasn’t waiting in front of your door or inside your apartment feeding Leo…

“What’re you thinking about, pipsqueak?” Caleb waves a gloved hand in front of your face. “I just got back, so I hope you’re not thinking about another guy.”

Did he read your mind?

“Huh — “ You blink stupidly up at him, then rush out the elevator as he laughs behind you. “Were you really!? Seriously, Y/n?”

Once you make it to your apartment door, you nervously look around and unlock your door with your thumbprint. You peek your head inside, searching for Xavier, but Caleb just invites himself inside.

“Wow, this is a nice looking place. Guess being a hunter pays pretty well, huh?” He turns around, walking backward as he speaks to you. “Whenever I work, yeah. Uh — “ Your body tenses up as you spot a familiar blonde in your kitchen and you rush to shove Caleb toward your room. Just as you get to your door, Leo rushes toward you and meows loudly as if announcing your presence like the cute little nuisance he is.

“Y/n?” Xavier turns around, hands clad in your pink oven mitts with the matching pink apron.

When you turn around, Caleb is gone and you feel dread boiling in the pit of your stomach, but you notice your door is cracked open and let out a sigh of relief. “Hey, Xav, I’m probably going to order some takeout tonight, so you can head home! I feel better today, I promise.” You shout from in front of your room, wanting to make sure Caleb didn’t try to fuck around and scare Xavier.

“Are you sure? I’m still worried about your panic attack last week and Zayne said you need to come in for a hearing aid fitting tomorrow, so I thought I could stay the night and wake you up.” He turns his back to you as he takes a tray out of the oven and Caleb creaks the bedroom door open to raise a brow at you.

“Stay the night?” He teases with a whisper, “And do what? Pipsqueak, you sly dog.”

“Shutthefuckup, it’s not like that!” You hiss, slapping his shoulder in a fit of embarrassment and Xavier calls out, “Did you hurt yourself?”

“No, no! I’m fine, Xav. Thanks for worrying, but I’ll set an alarm on my phone. I wanna try being on my own tonight!” You shove your door closed as your cheeks burnt red.

“Well, I’ll leave these brownies here for you. Make sure they cool down! And be sure to call me if you can’t be on your own tonight. You know I’ll come over as quickly as I can. We all know how much you miss him — Them. How much you miss them.” He clears his throat, catching his own slip up.

“Right, see you later, Xav! Thanks for the brownies.” You say as Xavier leaves the kitchen and he raises a single brow at you standing awkwardly in front of your bedroom door.

“I don’t get a hug today?” He flashes his puppy dog eyes with a pout and you groan internally. He can do that cute shit with Caleb here…You sigh, knowing he’ll pout about for at least a month if you didn’t hug him, so you reluctantly step away from the door to hug him. “I’m really trying to get better, Xavi. I promise.” You pat his back and Xavier pauses, catching a whiff of an unfamiliar cologne, but he chalks it up to it being yours.

“Regardless, I’m proud of you,” He says with a smile as he ruffles your hair. Once he’s close to the door, he turns and gives you a small wave, “Also, I’m saying this as a friend, but I don’t think that cologne suits you!”

Once he’s gone, you hide your face in your hands as you hear muffled laughter coming from your room.

“Ha ha, laugh all you want.” You mumble under your breath as Caleb walks up to you, shoulders shaking with laughter. “Hey Xav,” he mocks you in a higher pitched voice and you whip your head toward him to punch him a few times. “Stop making fun of me!”

“Alright, alright, pipsqueak.” Caleb’s chuckles finally die down, but now he’s frowning toward the door, “How dare he say my cologne doesn’t suit you, though. That was uncalled for…” He slings his arm over your shoulder and you turn your head to look up at him, “Hey…So you know how I said I wanted takeout?”

After a few moments of silence, you grin up at him. “Can you make me some braised chicken wings?”

“You don’t know how much I missed your food!” You groan as you eat another chicken wing, setting the bone down on your plate before you pat your stomach. “Should we try the brownies?” Caleb asks, reaching toward the pan with an excited gleam in his eyes and you point at him, “Don’t! Xav, probably mixed up the salt and the sugar again.”

“Xav this, Xav that,” Caleb mumbles under his breath as he cuts a piece of brownie out to try regardless of what you said. After he eats a bite, he raises a brow and scoffs, “What’re you on? This is good.”

“Huh!?” You jump from the back of the couch, wincing as you land on your bad leg and you hop on one leg until you reach the kitchen counter. Then, you sit up there and grab his hand to try to piece he has. The moment you taste it, you immediately hit Caleb’s shoulder. “How could you lie to me like that!? I knew he mixed the sugar and salt up again.”

He laughs to himself, shaking off the momentary surprise of your lips brushing his fingers, and sets the brownie back on the plate as he grabs your leg, fingers gently massaging your ankle. “Caleb, you seriously don’t need to do that!” You push against his shoulders, pulling your leg away, but suddenly you felt as if your legs were really heavy. Your brows furrow before you notice the faint blue glow around your legs. “Don’t use your evol on me! Caleb, seriously — “

After a few minutes of massaging, Caleb lifts you up in his arms as he walks toward your room. “Wait — “

“It’s getting late. Time for bed.” He drops you on your bed, but you grip his collar, tugging him down with you as a form of retaliation. A sigh slips from his lips and his eyes flutter closed. He brings his hand up to your face, his now gloveless thumb just barely brushes your bottom lip. “Pipsqueak, you should really get some rest now…”

You raise a brow, tugging him further down to brush your lips across his forehead. A small giggle leaves you as he lets out another breathy sigh, seemingly touch starved after almost a year. “Look at you, you’re like a sinner who’s confessing,” You tease him, taking note of his reddening cheeks, and he grabs hold of your hand, lightly dragging his lips across your fingertips as he speaks, “Then, can you carry a little of this sin too? Don’t leave me in this loneliness any longer.”

You feel your breath hitch in your throat, your gaze lowering to fixate on his lips and when Caleb finally meets your eyes again, a smirk tugs at his lips. “What? Never been seduced before?” He chuckles, mostly to himself, “I find that hard to believe.” His fingers wrap around your chin as he leans closer, pausing just a breath away from kissing you as if to make sure that you’re really okay with this.

A smile tugs at your lips and the slightest hint of a laugh leaves you as you reach up to link your arms behind his neck, tugging him further down. Your noses brush and you raise a brow, whispering against his lips, “What’re you waiting for?” You feel your breath intermingling as Caleb lets out a mixture of a sigh and a chuckle, and you close your eyes, waiting for him to kiss you.

After a few minutes of silence, you open your eyes with a pout on your lips, ready to tell him off, but that’s when he finally slots his lips against yours. It’s a rather sweet and simplistic kiss, at first. A gentle warmth spreads throughout your body, but you’re impatient. You want more than this, even though you’ve never gone further than a kiss before. You can tell Caleb is just as inexperienced when your kiss stays innocent. Like a kiss between curious children, but you don’t want that.

You sit up on your elbows, tilting your head to the side as you slowly slide your hand over to grab Caleb’s. The softest of gasps slips from his lips from your touch and as you focus on forming a resonance, you also take this chance to deepen your kiss. Your tongues meet in an almost clumsy clash and you can hear Caleb’s breathing speeding up.

A faint, blue glow shines between your hands, and you hook your leg around Caleb’s waist; using your evol (that you borrowed from him), you seamlessly flip your positions so he is flat on his back with his head against your pillows and you’re on top of him, legs on either side of his hips. He has a look of surprise in his eyes, but it’s quickly overshadowed with mischief as he lifts his hand up. You think quickly and use his own evol to hold his hands above his head.

“Aww, now what’re you going to do without your hands?” You click your tongue, resting your hands on his chest as you tilt your head to the side with a mocking pout on your lips. “Can’t use your evol without them, hmm?” You sit yourself down fully on his lap, not able to hide your surprise as you feel something hard underneath you. “That’s your phone…right?”

Caleb chuckles, tilting his head back as he lifts his hips up. The fabric of his sleeves pulling taut against his biceps as he tries to free his arms. “Do you want me to lie to you?” Your gaze slowly makes its way down his body; to how his uniform top was revealing the tiniest bit of skin from his stomach, to how firm his thighs look in his uniform pants, and your thoughts falter as your eyes land on his rather sizable bulge.

Could that even…?

Within your surprise, you fail to realize that your resonance has worn off and Caleb takes this opportunity to flip your positions once more, his evol effortlessly pins your wrists together above your head.

“Don’t worry, we don’t need to go all the way for you to enjoy this.” He cups your cheek with his hand, his thumb swiping back and forth across your bottom lip.

[luniviravosshipper]

See, I was also thinking that it was because he didn’t think he had a soul. (I also theorize another reason why he was surprised is because Claudia wasn’t actually supposed to perform the ritual but I can discuss that more later. I’m writing this up on mobile and my phone is about to die lol so I’m probably going to have to reblog this later with my thoughts on that. Like, obviously he knew she did but he didn’t fully anticipate it or she didn’t do it correctly—again, I want to discuss this more later.)

But that raises an interesting question about what living creatures can and cannot have souls in the series. Because the animals in the series canonically do have souls. Otherwise, Pip and Harrow couldn’t have switched souls and we wouldn’t have seen the moonstrider back in season 3 lose its soul by the bite of a soul serpent.

But Sir Sparklepuff is a homonculus. Would that be considered a lesser or higher being compared to animals in the show’s eyes?

Sir Sparklepuff is also seen adapting his own behaviors and mannerisms that I don’t think a non-sentient being would be able to. And we can see hints of him certainly feeling things at some points in the show. But… when we saw the moonstrider earlier, I guess we also saw it still acting in fear and continuing to live despite no longer having a soul. So… what does that all say?

I think the bigger question is why wouldn’t he have a soul? We haven’t seen any indication of other creatures in the series lacking in souls (unless I haven’t picked up on that), so why exactly did Aaravos assume he didn’t have one or couldn’t form one? What does that mean for the original ritual if it was perhaps supposed to create him without one to begin with?

And did he always have a soul that Aaravos never picked up on him having (which makes sense considering his brutal treatment of him in the first arc) or was it something he gained later on?

Okay, so: I have a theory.

Aaravos doesn't know everything. (That's not the theory.) If he knew in exact detail how everything would play out, that would undermine the story's overall central theme that the world (destiny) can be changed. Most of his actual advantage is millennia of observing mortal behavior—he's very, very good at predicting how elves and humans will react when put in situations. He can also, however, be surprised.

Now, that isn't to say he doesn't definitely have some degree of cosmic foresight/timeblindness. (That's also not the theory.) However, even the Cosmic Council in its entirety doesn't seem to necessarily see things in detail, since they obviously see "humans gaining primal magic starts the spiral into chaos" but not "because you then execute a child, prompting her father to personally oversee that spiral." So when Aaravos says things like this:

I don't think he necessarily knows exactly what role Claudia will play, besides that she is important—even necessary—to his plan. It would be chef's kiss irony if what he's actually seeing is that she will become important to him, personally. (That is also not the theory. I'm getting there.)

Despite his general foresight Aaravos can be surprised, and he's specifically surprised by Rayla making a second attempt at killing Viren despite being disarmed, sacrificing herself to stop him. So: did he know Viren was going to die, just not at that moment? Did he prepare a multi-year Worm Plan specifically to resurrect Viren? Or was there another purpose he had in mind?

This isn't the theory, either, but: I do think the plan from the beginning was for The Worm to, uh... pupate(?) into Sir Sparklepuff, and then to lead Viren (and Claudia) to the other archdragons and the clues to Aaravos's prison (or at least the one clue they actually need). The Worm begins to grow aggressively right as/after Aaravos and Viren corrupt the Sunforge, like it's preparing for an imminent new stage. I suspect that after hatching and once in proximity to the prison, Aaravos had every intent to use Sir Sparklepuff in some way to re-manifest in the world. After all, he's tied by blood to Aaravos just as much as he is to Viren—if he can be used to "restore [Viren's] life and future," there's no reason he can't serve the same purpose for Aaravos.

Of course, that all gets derailed, and instead we wind up where we wind up, which is with Aaravos being surprised:

He's surprised enough that, if it isn't in itself responsible for his hold on Avizandum weakening enough to be broken, he's at least distracted enough to be ambushed and physically overpowered. Someone has asked the "what's Sir Sparklepuff's unfinished business?" question, but I don't think that's actually what's at play, here.

Because this, finally, is my theory: Aaravos is surprised because this creature, this little homunculus puppet made a living battery, isn't supposed to have a soul.

He shouldn't be there at all—in the In-Between, or anywhere else. The essence put into him when the chrysalis was opened gives him a rudimentary consciousness, but if there was even enough there to persist, it should have been consumed to finalize Viren's resurrection. Aaravos is looking at something that should be impossible, and yet here it is.

Which makes me wonder... I had kind of dismissed the fairly extreme difference between the symbol for infantis sanguine in Aaravos's book and what is shown after the fact:

Like, that's a lot to draw in the sand. Maybe what's in the book is actually a more functional diagram or instructions of some kind, and Claudia has drawn the actual functional part?

However, because the rune Claudia has drawn is the same as the one on the cursed coins, I have to question. The assumption, I think, has been that Aaravos instructed Claudia in the infantis sanguine ritual to save Viren. I took that for granted because a) it makes sense, and b) it's funny to imagine Claudia's unhinged little "Blood of Child" giggle in s6e1 as "unfortunately for both of us, I do know you fucked the sparkly elf." However, depending on how quickly Callum and the others depart for Katolis, Aaravos is potentially moving away fairly quickly—maybe not so quickly that he can't contact Claudia and give her the ritual before being cut off, but still.

We also know Claudia knows about the cursed coins, including a good grasp of what they entail:

It's not clear if she understands it in the way Lujanne explains, with the coins containing only a piece of the soul and the rest being trapped elsewhere, in the In-Between:

Aaravos may have given her a different ritual (maybe infantis sanguine itself can only be self-targeted) that works more like that. Maybe, if Sir Sparklepuff had enough of a soul, only part of it was enough to anchor/revitalize Viren (essentially "stored" in him as the coin) and the rest went to languish in the In-Between.

Anyway, if Sir Sparklepuff is not meant to have a soul, but does... that raises some interesting possibilities, both thematically (depersonalization/what is a monster) and narratively. What if Sir Sparklepuff needs his soul completed to pass on, like Rayla's parents? Could he be after a piece of Aaravos's? Or, what if Sir Sparklepuff didn't have enough of a soul, but what he had entered the In-Between rather than being consumed because it was actually a piece of Claudia's that broke off to save Viren?

idek man this is just the shit I think about like constantly

[charlesoberonn]

The fact that there used to be a reality show where people competed to be mentored in business by professional conman and 4-times bankruptcy declarer Donald Trump, and it ran for 17 fucking seasons and only got canceled because he became fucking President of the United States.

We're living in the parody timeline.

[spotaus]

If I have energy I want to draw out some designs for an au I'm spontaneously writing.

(Medieval times, there's a Prophecy. Nightmare rules over this kingdom and is supposed to complete this prophecy, he refuses to because it would harm the people. Dream was sent away and banished by Night because he was dis-illusioned into thinking the prophecy was a Good Thing abd what he was raised to complete. Night collected his Knights (Killer, Dust, Horror, and Cross most recently) and trains them and tells them the truth of the prophecy. They're loyal to him. One day the magic of the prophesy (Apple Magic) leaves Nightmare unexpectedly, returning him to the state he was in before he accepted the mantle. This puts a target on his back and gives Dream a huge advantage in maybe making a comeback. The Knight's decide that their King (newly a young lad and variably scared and frightened) must be protected and they run the kingdom as he normally would, while also ensuring he survives and that the prophecy can't be completed.)

[nyt1ba]

     Atonement was a pointless endeavor neither of them are meant to achieve,   he isn't blind to it,   knows more than well that his endless toil might be without result.   For whatever he would try to save will be a disfigured version of what once was,   humanity's history had ended by his hands and it remains with him for safekeeping until his time comes.   All that he could fix could hardly heal the damage he'd done,   but he remains bound here by choice,   fighting an endless battle against the world and himself just as she had.   A lost soul that had unknowingly soothed a deep loneliness,   [   a temporary comfort he had to kill off as well.   ]   Her company was a balm to many unspoken wounds,   none he could share with the same honesty she offered   &.   doubts he could have done a similar thing even if he wasn't so tightly bound in secrets as it all had sanded his heart in time and became a part of who he was,   the past was ever present in memory,   but to speak of it would serve him no purpose.   He would have been content to listen to her stories about the good and bad,   unaware how she began to view him more than the mere shadow he was.

  When she speaks of his loneliness as a difficult thing,   that old heartache that ate him alive is absent,   having grown so used to the bittersweet companionship it had given him all these decades.   The truth is,   he had been prepared to lose more than he could gain,   Elektra and Artemis were a blissful stop in this journey,   gone before he could get used to them.   Loss is inevitable,   it was a constant he accepted long ago,   but to say it would remedy the waves of grief that would befall him is a lie he no longer entertains.   A part of him wishes he could have been the one to have given her true kindness,   to show her that this life wasn't all grey.   What he had done was a cruelty he never truly intended,   and yet,   she would tell him that it wasn't as bad as all the evil she'd been dealt.   Honesty is all he could give her now,   as ugly   &.   raw as he sees it.   He can't promise her anything,   he can't forsake his people for his own happiness.   While he wishes she would make the decision to stay,   he fears he would only bring her more misery than he already did,   he wouldn't wish that upon her.

       ❛❛   And thank you for understanding.   ❜❜        he responds with a nod,   it was an agreement he could accept,   leaving the choice to her entirely,   and even if she never returns   ...   it's alright with him,   this was more than he could ever ask for.   Extended hand is taken to pull himself up from the rock,   it's strange to him that he hadn't found this place before,   he would make sure to look after it from now on for her sake                   a passing thought that distracted him from the fact that his hand still held onto hers,   he pulls away,   a sheepish smile at the edge of his lips.        ❛❛   I'm   ...   glad we had this talk.   ❜❜        he says,   dark hues shifting towards her.        ❛❛   You don't owe me any promises,   take your time,   and whatever it is you choose,   I wish you well.   ❜❜

This reality rejects Elektra Alrune with every fiber of its being; her life is just one cosmic joke after another, finding new ways to burrow into her flesh when finally the wounds of old have scarred over. Eyes focus downward upon her palm, the shimmer of nonexistent blood eternally haunting her — sticky, stringing between fingers in loose coagulation, it drips onto the stone surface within her own mind's eye. How many have suffered at her hands? To find redemption in this life is a hopeless endeavor. The weight of her reputation precedes her, name strewn about the known galaxy like a curse. She is a plague to her own people, who would rather turn her in and avoid the wrath of the Coalition’s Peacekeepers than see her fed or clothed. It was something she struggled with — while nothing seemed to bother her externally, she’d always sought an acceptance that seemed to be more fantasy than reality — one of the many pains she suffered in silence.     “ I understand. It’s not easy … to do what you’ve done. Enduring hardship alone is difficult and once you’ve adjusted to the pain of it — reversing the damage you’ve done to yourself feels … impossible and pointless. So, I don’t blame you, Adam … and I know it was never your intention to hurt me, which is already more than I can say of others. ”

That being said, she holds no pretenses about his devotion to her; Adam has enough on his plate without having to concern himself with Elektra as well. In truth, she wasn’t foolish enough to believe he would stop trying to find a way to right his wrongs … her expectations of him don’t extend past whatever it is they have now – for they both know what it is they want. Peace above all else … an end to the brutality that has carved itself into them, more familiar now than their own hearts.     “ If I stay, ”     fingers push her hair back, eyes canting upward toward the moon in a subliminal search for comfort – despite the ease with which she usually speaks, this is still difficult,     “ it will not be out of any obligation. I know your duty will always be to Earth and her people first, and I don’t think I could change that even if I wanted to. I understand that this is … my decision alone. ”     It’s not as if she couldn’t find another abandoned planet to linger upon until the end finally nears, but … she wants to be here with him – even if he has nothing to offer her, it will be worth it to have been known for who or what she truly is – even if it’s only temporary.     “ Thank you for being honest with me. ”

Rising to her feet, she adjusts the long sleeves of her shirt – thinner than she appreciates in this weather. A mental note is made to bring a heavier coat next time, perhaps a set of gloves as well. Hand is offered to the scientist, a soft smile given alongside her request,     “ Walk me back? ”     Even though her inclination is to remain here with him, she needs to think it over. It behooves her to cash out her bounties, to repay debts, to clean up any loose ends that may cause them more headaches were she to stay indefinitely.     “ It was nice – seeing you again. I might be a little busy over the next couple of days, but ... I promise I won’t make you wait too long for my answer. Okay? ”

[twinstxrs]

thinking about how gorgug + kristen perceive both their own deaths & each other’s, and how that impacts their relationship. bc i feel like freshman year kristen was too caught up in her newfound knowledge of the nature of her own god to truly clock & process gorgug’s internal revulsion of where he went after he died, & freshman year gorgug wasn’t familiar enough with the complexities of other people to truly lock onto the sorrow buried within the chaos of kristen’s upward/downward/sideways spiral until she was seemingly on the other side of it. & i wonder if they’ve ever really talked about it (unlikely), or if they’ve just cracked very few jokes that didn’t land and decided to never quite do the work & dig through that part of their relationship. but there’s a kinship there; kristen specifically singles out gorgug to tell him she died again, and gorgug apologizes that he wasn’t there with her this time. gorgug takes one of the finger bones off kristen’s newly/long-time decayed corpse to have an anchor to something in the world. despite the fact that they were in different places after death, having been together during it means everything.

anyways what i’m trying to say is i think they should talk about it.

[beaulesbian]

Trigun Stampede || episode 4

bonus: Wolfwood, just a few moment earlier, pointing out how there are bones on the floor, making Vash (and the others) notice it too

[wizardnuke]

does anyone know if we have to roll that rock up the hill again tomorrow

[ayrennaranaaldmeri]

working on a gifset and can i just say phia saban the ACTRESS THAT YOU ARE:

the sharp fucking turn when he's like wubuwbwu its a lieeee, the withering looks she gave him. it was excellent.

[sharkboy-fag]

I fucking wish talking about weight loss was not seen as a positive thing I wish it was not casually brought up with no warning

[averagemartian]

I love blue beetle and its message and I wish more people had watched it and I understand that the lack of promotion both because of the strikes and because the studios don't give a shit has affected it negatively and the role that racism/xenophobia play in people's disinterest towards the characters in general BUT PLEASE let's also not forget about superhero fatigue

[rosesradio]

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