#attacked by assassins and the first thing hes doing is being sassy

[silverselfshippingchaos]

PLEASE AKABAKSBQJ WHY IS HE LIKE THIS

[sunlightandsuffering]

Padawan Mikasa subtly sending girls flying when they get too close to her Master Eren. She does it at stuff like crowded bars so noone can tell who even did it. But she's so smug when she sends a girl flying into a table of drinks because they were acting too flirty around her master. Eren ofc always knows it's her doing it, at first he didn't know why and thought she just had some violent habits.

But once she got older and Eren realised it was jealously fueling her actions, he'd manhandle her out of the area and find somewhere he can fuck the brattiness out of her until she's dazed and obedient. Maybe use the force to bounce her on his dick faster 🤭

omg okay anon i actually love this so much! imma write it! I saw it earlier before i went back to sleep and I was like damn this is cute!! TBH does starwars count for halloween?? Like should I do a bunch of star wars drabbles for halloween?? would that be cute?? But im imagining when obi wan and anakin are in the club in attack of the clones, looking for Padme's attempted assassin, that's the vibes.

They turn heads, wherever they go in the galaxy they turn heads, and why wouldn't they? Mikasa is beautiful, stunning, one of the most attractive women he's ever seen, and she's in the prime of their youth.

He's not surprised when people look at them, it's just unfortunate that they are also Jedi and well, sometimes stealth is required.

He turns back to his padawan before he enters the club, giving her a stern look, "Would you be willing to perhaps wait outside?" She gives him a wan look that tells him everything he needs to know, and the answer is a firm resounding no. Eren sighs, reaching over to yank at the hood on her head, fingers brushing over the soft apples of her cheeks in the process, tucking raven locks behind her ears. He looks at her face for a moment, heather grey eyes, cheeks flushed the softest shade of blush and full pink lips. She's stunned for a moment, looking up at him so earnestly and with so much affection it's hard not to kiss her.

She is temptation itself so without further delay he yanks her hood rather brutally over her head.

"Eren!" She protests and he grumbles to himself, "Pain in the ass padawan." "Hey!" "Keep the hood on Mikasa or we're gonna have words, you're too distracting."

He paces towards the club entrance, nodding at the bouncers, and just as he's about to step over the threshold he stops, and he hears a little 'oof' just as Mikasa bumps into him, her hands darting out to clutch his waist to steady herself, breasts pressed up against his back. He's quick to turn in her grip, unhooking her arms because the force knows he doesn't have the willpower to withstand her touching him for that long.

He looks at her sternly, his hand reaching out to snatch her lightsaber from her belt and Mikasa pouts at him, "And hide this will you, nothing says Jedi more than a lightsaber Mikasa, oh and don't lose it, that'll be the next thing." "Yes Master," she murmurs, her cheeks colouring pink as she takes the instrument back, eyes darting away at her earlier blunder of losing said lightsaber, but she can't resist a sassy little quip, "But I only learn my habits from you." Brat.

Eren huffs, but says nothing on the matter, but she just might be correct, he's lost his lightsaber more times than he'd care to admit.

He ignores her quip, stepping into the club, his own lightsaber tucked away and immediately he can feel Mikasa at his back, as close as she can get, always pushing her luck. The universe had laughed when she'd been chosen as his padawan, sweet divine intervention, payback for him being a hellion of an apprentice himself. Except Eren thinks Mikasa is much worse, because his master had never had to deal with sexual temptation, he only has so much self control and Mikasa tempts it at every turn.

"We're looking for information," Eren murmurs gruffly as they approach the bar, Mikasas taking his arm in her own, cuddling up to his bicep, an act she'll later claim is simply to keep up the ruse. Mikasa leans into him, waving down the bartender, the perky mounds of her breasts pressing up against his arm, and he knows without looking that she's allowed her robes to slip, just enough to reveal a hint of cleavage. And of course, she's not wearing the requisite undergarments, no she's a young padawan learner, likes to flagrantly flout the rules, thinks the jedi robes she's been issued are a bit too stuffy. And she knows he'd never admonish her about it, had heard tales of his own adventures before she'd even met him, had known how rebellious he'd been, so who is he to tell her what to do. God, had his rebellious phases been a mistake.

Especially when Mikasa leans over to take her drink and pay the bartender and the beige robes she's wearing slips more, revealing a delicate collarbone and just the hint of her shoulder, stretched taut around her left breast now, the beige edge of her robe just barely concealing dusky pink, just a hint. Fuck.

Everything he can't see he can feel though, pressed tightly against his side as she orders a drink to make the ruse seem believable, make them blend in.

She takes a sip of her drink, her robe slipping just a little more and Eren can't function, reaching over with his other arm to yank the robe back up into place irritably.

"We should split up," he tells her gruffly, pulling his arm from her grasp, he can't be in this scenario with her for much longer, she takes advantage and he's too weak to say no sometimes, lets things go on for much longer than they should. "I guess," she sighs, "but I'd feel much comfortable with you master." God that name, that fucking title, it does things to him, dirty things that are making his dick stand hard at attention, and he's thankful for the dark tunic he's wearing, covering up his arousal. It's so wrong, so, so very wrong, but the way she says it, the absolute adoration and devotion in those gray eyes, how he knows she'd look exactly the fucking same on her knees, his cock in her mouth, would probably whisper it, 'Master', pretty and breathless as she sucked him off, as he fucked her into the bed.

No!

Bad Eren!

"Master?" Mikasa questions again, the title lingering on her lips curiously, her hand reaching up to touch his arm, and he resists the urge to yank his arm away. "We're splitting up Miki." She pouts, and Eren feels bad for a moment, it's not her fault really, she's just so damn tempting. He reaches up, tucking a stray lock of hair thats fallen back behind her ear, making sure her hood is secured tightly. A silent ask of forgiveness for her percieved slight. He can't resist the intimate gesture, his finger trailing along her cheek affectionately, and Mikasa leans into him, her eyes fluttering shut.

Force she's so beautiful, so ripe, prime for the taking, it's a wonder he hasn't had her yet, especially with how obviously she'd be into it. In the last year of her apprenticeship she's changed. Where she used to be the perfect padawan, loyal and obedient, almost to a fault, now she was a brat. Like adulthood had changed her.

Freshly eighteen, she'd woken up on her birthday a different girl, the undergarments of her Jedi uniform gone, her new lightsaber, an alarming red almost pink colour that he'd chastised her for. But she'd pouted asking what was so wrong with the colour pink?

It wasn't red!

And tempting him beyond belief, it was like it was her mission in life to fuck with him now.

She'd always driven him nuts of course, just in different ways, it was irritating to have an apprentice that was so much better than him at things. What was he supposed to teach her if she was already good at everything?

She was almost a better sword master than him, and her attunement to the force was amazing, maybe better than his too, it had maddened him those first few months that she could so easily do things he had struggled with for years. And then, during a mission there'd been a close call and he'd realized that Mikasa wasn't perfect, she had things to learn just like everyone else, they were just different things. And now, he'd like to think he'd taught her pretty well, because what Mikasa had to learn wasn't battle techniques or how to use the force, it was how to think outside the rules of the Jedi temple, how sometimes not everything was cut and dry and made sense so easily. So of course, who better to teach her than the most rebellious Eren Yeager who even within the Jedi order was frowned upon for constantly breaking the rules.

People had been outraged, but here they are, with more successful missions than anyone else. "Eren," Mikasa whispers, pulling him out of his haze, her voice breathy, eyes still shut tight as she basks in his touch and he immediately rips his hand away. A frown mars her delicate features, silver eyes peering up at him with displeasure at the removal of his touch. "We're splitting up," he repeats, no remorse this time, physically removing himself from the situation with a step back. "See what you can find out." "Yes Master," she tells them, but this time there's a distinct note of sarcasm to her tone, and she marches off with a huff. Eren groans as he leans back into the bar, the force knows he doesn't deserve this. Well, maybe he does. A little. "Aye, she looks like a right pain in the ass," the bartender speaks from behind and Eren nods in agreement, "She is, can I get a beer?" The bartender chuckles, "She's pretty though." "That she also is," Eren agrees, dropping a few credits onto the bar top for his drink, "Now do you mind if I ask you a few questions about a patron of yours?"

An hour later Eren has gotten some information on their target, but not enough to be satisfied. And Mikasa, well he hasn't seen much of her since she left the bar, just brief moments out of the corner of his eye, her robe falling too low again, chatting up a bar patron a little too flirtatiously, tormenting him in any way she can find.

But he refuses to acknowledge it, can't give her the upper hand, he is the master here, he has to exhibit confidence, self control.

He's becoming a little suspicious about why all the women he talks too suddenly decide to get up and leave halfway through their conversations. If he didn't know any better he'd say someone was using the force to make them leave, but of course Mikasa would never do that. Right? But his suspicions are growing, especially when the third woman in a row suddenly up and leaves their conversation with barely a word.

And then he sees her, she's at the bar, talking to some guy but her gaze is focused on the woman he's with, her fingers moving marginally and of course, with Mikasa's command over the force, it doesn't surprise him when the pretty blonde girl he'd been talking to suddenly sets down her drink. "Sorry I have to go." And then she's gone and Eren doesn't even bother to be subtle as he figures her out, turning his his seat to glare at her. Their eyes lock and she knows she's been caught. Jealous brat, but he can't deny it pleases him just a little, even more so when she obeys his unspoken demand, leaving her conversation entirely to walk over to him. Her drink is clutched tightly in her hand as she awaits her punishment, her head dropped dutifully, "I'm sorry Master." Eren is feeling chaotic today, a little bit of his old rebellious spark fuelling his next actions. Instead of lecturing her about her use of the force he gives her a taste of her own medicine, grabbing her by the waist and bringing her to his lap, tucking her into his body. She makes the sweetest little noise of surprise as she's abruptly forced to straddle him, her face tucked into his neck and Eren chuckles darkly. "Isn't this what you wanted Miki? To pretend to be mine for a night." She squeaks, as he grabs her thighs, settling her how he likes, playing at being the couple that everyone envies, the most beautiful people in the bar that everyone wants to be or wants to fuck, but they have each other. He tucks her close against him, letting her have just a hint of what she does to him, his turn to flagrantly break the rules as he grinds her against his dick, lets her feel the full length her teasing has caused all night.

Because for all Mikasa's talk and bratty behaviour lately, she's still only eighteen, young and inexperienced, she talks a big talk but she can't follow through, too sweet, too shy.

"Master," she whimpers, her head buried in his neck, her hair covered by her robe, "I-I'm sorry." "Don't apologize Mikasa," his hands rove over her curves, cupping the plush of her ass under her robes, "You displayed excellent control over the force, even if you were being kind of a brat while you did it. Did you find out any information." She nods into his neck, her lips tracing along his clavicle and he shivers, "I did." "Good girl." He knows if he could see her face she'd be preening, it's a wonder what praise does to his young padawan, the way her eyes sparkle, and even now she relaxes into his hold, a soft sigh overtaking her. "I'm sorry though Master, I just I couldn't stand it, watching you with them when it should be me." There it is. Eren hums, massaging the plush of her ass gently, resisting the urge to dip down towards the warmth of her heat where he knows she's probably soaked. One hand slips up to her chin, forcing her gaze up to his, he tells her the truth,"You couldn't handle it."

"Master please," she looks up so earnestly, "If you'll let me, I'd like to try."

He says nothing for a moment and Mikasa moves against him, grinding the soft warmth of her cunt down against him where he lays hard and wanting in his robes, "Please Master, please?" He groans, shaking his head, "Pain in my ass." She bats her eyelashes, and Eren lets out a long suffering sigh, "Yeah, go get the ship." AN ATTEMPT AT JEDI EREMIKA !

[sarahjtv]

BNHA Chapter 312 Spoiler Analysis: Hero Turned Assassin

It’s Friday, my dudes!  That means the leaks for the new chapter is out!  This time, we’re focusing on our new lady assassin villain who we ended with last week.  Ngl, I love her design and concept.  I actually wouldn’t mind if she stepped on me 😳  All that aside, this was a damn good chapter, but I really hope Deku’s going to be ok taking her on by himself:

Alright, the chapter starts off with a little flashback of Hawks talking to Deku as Deku is suiting up to leave Central hospital.  Hawks reassures Deku that he should be ok from AFO and Shigaraki for now since they aren’t at full power yet.  Their best option would be to take Deku in alive rather than dead.  Hawks can only think of one person who might be capable of capturing Deku: the assassin woman.  Turns out, that woman was his senpai back at the Hero Safety Commision and she’s dangerous.

So, as far as we know, Deku’s most likely going to live several more days even if he does get captured.  However, he’s being hunted down by a highly skilled assassin who was also Hawk’s senpai back in the day.  The fact that Hawks of all people is warning Deku to run away from her if he can say something about her skills.  I can only guess how good her skills are, but I’d say they’re probably somewhere in the S-tier range if Hawks is afraid of her.

The next couple of pages help properly introduce our new villain: Lady Nagant!  A few points here: 1. The bullet is made from her hair which is colored dark blue and pink.  I personally love those two colors, so I’m glad to see that color scheme used on her.  Also hair bullets is such a great concept, 2. That rifle is definitely coming from her elbow which she can bring out and retract at will, which is badass as hell, 3. I looked up the word “Nagant” and it’s actually type of (Russian?) gun that ranges from a 7-shot revolver to a sniper rifle, so that’s a good Villain name for her, 4. She was a former hero under the Safety Commision who decided to go to the dark side for some reason.  Like, did she see the bad side of Hero Society and that caused her to change?  Did she see something in Villainy that caused her to change her POV?  I want to know what?, 5. Again, love her design like hoo boy, Horikoshi snapped with her. 

So, Deku’s on the run from her and he is completely on his own now that his phone is broken.  He doesn’t even know what happened to All Might 😭!  He’s also afraid that All Might and Hawks will be targeted by her.  Deku’s debating wheaher he should run or face Nagant face on.  With someone like Muscular, I wasn’t worried about Deku because he’s not only improved a lot since last time, but he’s taken on Muscular before so he knew what he was fighting.  But, this is a brand-new villain.  Not much is known about her and Deku has never fought her before.  I’d say run, but someone has to take her out.  Maybe Hawks will swoop in and have a reunion with his senpai.  Though, he doesn’t have wings now, so I’m not sure what he can really do against her besides have a chat…

And Deku is shot!  Not fatally thank god, but he did get hit.  Turns out Lady Nagant can actually curve her shots.  Even Deku’s Danger Sense couldn’t detect it in time good lord.  So she can just straight up made bullets that can curve too that is absolutely insane.  Any marksman would be jealous of her.  

Fun Fact of the Day: Based on Horikoshi-sensei’s comment of the week, Lady Nagant and her curve bullet are actually based off the 2008 film Wanted staring James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie (he even thanked Ms. Jolie!)!  I decided to IMDB the film to see if I remembered it and it turns out that I have actually seen a little of it before.  You know that gif of McAvoy smacking Chris Pratt’s face with a keyboard and the loose keys spell out “Fuck You”?  Yeah, that’s from Wanted.  Also, the curved bullet Horikoshi is talking about is when Jolie manages to “curve” a bullet enough to kill a group of assassins who were standing in a circle.  Look, I don’t know if physics can actually make that work in real life, but I’ll be damned if that doesn’t sound badass.

Back to the story, we have a bit of flashback to an old TV special that interviewed 100 active Noteworthy Heroes.  The 25th Pro Hero being interview is none other than Snipe, one of UA’s teachers!  It’s been a hot couple of years since we’ve seen him around.  Actually, we don’t even know if he’s alive…  Let’s assume he is and continue with the story.

Anyway, Snipe was having some good friendly competition in the Long-Range sniping with Lady Nagant back in the day.  He explains while his Quirk, “Homing” allows him to lock-on to anyone within a 600 Meter range, he can’t choose where his attack hits and the hit isn’t that powerful (Shigaraki could’ve actually gotten killed back in the USJ if Snipe wasn’t careful enough damn).  Lady Nagant, on the other hand, has a range of 3 Kilometers with insane accuracy.  I did some quick calculations and it turns out that 3KM = 3,000M!  That’s 5 times farther than what Snipe can do.  That is absolutely nuts!

Lady Nagant’s Quirk is called “Rifle”!  Turns out that the secret lies in her bullets made out of hair.  When she mixes her duel colored hair, it works like epoxy putty.  Epoxy putty is a substance that hardens over time.  It’s normally used as a seal for cracks and holes, and it’s both highly-resistant and unshrinkable when hardened.  So, when Lady Nagant pulls strands out of her hair to mix and mould them, she can harden that hair into a bullet which explains the dark blue and pink fibers in the speaker bullet she fired at Deku’s phone.  Apparently, she can make any kind of bullet she wants ranging from hollow bullets to curved bullets.  She can then load and fire those bullets from her rifle into her right arm.  God, there’s so much potential for a Quirk like this.  The only limit I can think of for this Quirk is if she runs out of hair for bullets similar to how if Ibara Shiozaki from Class 1-B (or 2-B now I guess) would run out of hair to use her Vines.  I wonder if Lady Nagant using her hair so much is the reason why it’s shorter now than when she was a hero.

I gotta say, I think this is one of the coolest and unique Quirks Horikoshi has come up with in a while.  It’s just so unique and imaginative!  I don’t think I could ever come up with an idea like this.  I like that her Quirk is almost like a 2-in-1 thing: the putty hair and the rifle in her arm.  They’re both different functions that work in tandem together.  I also love Nagant hero outfit!  She was rocking the long ponytail work, had a visor and antenna on her right eye for accuracy, and a belt holding her hair bullets.  She’s also freakin’ stacked as hell, but I’ll let this one slide because her design is so freaking great.  

Back to the present, Deku managed to catch the bullet, but his left gauntlet has been damaged.  So, it looks like Deku won’t be punching with his left arm unless All Might has some backup Mid-Gauntlets.  Thankfully he’s found out where Lady Nagant is based on where she shot from just twice.  She’s only about 1KM away and Deku wants to get in closer.  God, Deku is so freaking smart.  I want to know his IQ because it must be insanely high for him to figure out where a trained sniper would be after just 2 bullets.  Nagant also says that Deku’s the first one to deflect 2 of her bullets, so yeah, goddamn Deku!

Now we’re finally getting a look at Overhaul (I’m cool with calling him by his villain name instead of his real name for now btw).  Dude’s broken.  Just completely mentally broken.  I don’t think he even notices Deku.  All he can think about is how he wants to go back to his adoptive father, Eri’s grandfather, the man Overhaul put in a coma.  I thought that Overhaul would be confronting Deku himself, but it looks like he can’t.  Maybe him not being able to get his father out of his coma traumatized him real bad with a lot of guilt.  He probably wants to go back to try to heal his dad.  If he can do that, again, I wonder how now that his Quirk probably functions somewhere else besides his hands.

Anyway, Lady Nagant is kind of protecting Overhaul for now.  She most likely has a plan for him later since she mentions helping Overhaul as soon as she’s done with Deku.  Overhaul would be a useful ally since his Quirk can literally destroy and restore matter both living and non-living.  There’s also that glowing effect on her arm again.  If it’s not a taser like I thought before, then maybe it’s some kind of strength enhancer her Quirk gives her.  That arm gun has to be heavy.  IDK it’s not really explained.  

Flashing back to the Tartarus Prision Break, AFO and his ugly mug are talking to Nagant, calling her the “Traitor Hero” and how it’s an honor to meet her.  Again, Lady Nagant’s skills must be incredibly high enough to be recognize by AFO.  Also, her turning her back on Hero Society must’ve been a big story at the time.

AFO tells Lady Nagant of his plan to capture Deku as he predicted this earlier.  So, either AFO is stupidly good at predicting things or he has a future-sight Quirk like Nighteye had.  I want to say it’s the latter since AFO probably did pick up a Quirk like that sometime in the past.

Lady Nagant originally refused to listen to AFO in a very sassy way LOL!  But, AFO seems to have made a deal with her.  He even mentions that Nagant killed many of her fellow heroes to cause the fall of Pro-Hero Society.  Yeah, killing your fellow colleagues will definitely get you sent straight to Tartarus…  I REALLY need to know what made her turn to the Dark Side Anakin Skywalker style.

Also, personal theory that I highly doubt is true, but I wonder if Lady Nagant is the real “UA Traitor” not any of the students.  If she can make bullets that she can remotely talk through, then she could probably make bullets that can eavesdrop on people.  Maybe she listened in on UA and told the LoV about the training camp.  Or she was locked in Tartarus before then and I’m just projecting my hopes/fears onto her.  That could be it too.

Actually, I just realized that she could probably wrap objects around her bullets and fire them.  So, she probably wrapped a speaker around her hair and that’s how she remotely spoke to Deku.  Eh, she could still wrap some listening device around her hair and eavesdrop that way.  I’m just Pepe Silvia’ing the possibilities of Rifle at this point.

AFO uses Overhaul as an example of someone who became a victim of Pro-Heroes.  This give him enough leverage to make a deal with Lady Nagant.  So, as part of the contract, AFO granted her his Air Walk Quirk!  On paper, a passive Quirk like Air Walk doesn’t seem very useful.  But, this series has proved to us time and time again that passive/support Quirks can be just as/if not more amazing than raw-powered Quirks.  So, a Quirk like Air Walk can get Lady Nagant to so many places for her to fire her bullets.  It’s an incredibly useful Quirk for a sniper.  I do wonder what the limits of it are (because all Quirks have some sort of limitation), but I guess we’ll find that out later.  I really do wonder how Deku’s going to handle Lady Nagant and Overhaul though.  That’s going to be interesting.

Oh boy, that the chapter!  Solid chapter per usual.  Gah, my fingers hurt after typing so much.  I’m glad we got to know more about Lady Nagant!  She was a mystery for weeks, but we finally got some backstory on her.  So, some answers, but a lot of questions are left behind.  I’m actually glad we’re still sticking with Deku so far.  I still want to see Bakugo and Shoto, but we also haven’t gotten a purely Deku-centric arc for a while, so this is good.  Horikoshi truly doesn’t miss!  Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to be screaming about the next anime episode and Shoto Todoroki sakuga for the next week I will not apologize.         

Me @ Horikoshi every chapter:

Also, this is the Wanted scene I was talking about before:

[something-tofightfor]

More thoughts on Prospect

so, @the-streamer-girl posted about people’s feelings on the Ezra/Damon dynamic when it comes to Cee ... and it turns out that I have a LOT to say. 

So the question of Damon vs Ezra was one that I thought about a LOT when I first watched Prospect, and continued to watch closely with each additional viewing. The simple answer: Ezra is a better role model  + influence in Cee’s life than Damon was, even after such a short time together.

The long answer:

I hope this doesn’t jump around too much, but it might. When we first meet Damon, he yells at Cee for exploring because she can’t sleep. She’s a teenager (I HC her to be about 16/7 years old at most) and she’s sassy about the gum/stim stuff, but instead of even giving her the courtesy of an answer, he just tosses the thrower to her and essentially tells her to make herself useful. You can look at it as treating her like a kid and forcing her to learn from her actions - but I view it as him ignoring what she says and giving her busy work to keep her out of his hair. When they’re talking about the Green and mining, he talks down to her. Doesn’t give her the space to ask questions, doesn’t give her straight answers, and seems almost bitter that they’re in the position they’re in - presumably because their family is fractured, which comes down to … the death of his wife - which he is likely reminded of every time he looks at Cee. I personally thought Damon telling Cee that she reminded him of his wife was kind of creepy. I know that it wasn’t meant to be, and that the sleep aid was clouding his brain a little, but the look he gave her and the WAY he was speaking didn’t sit right with me. It was an uncomfortable scene, and again, it featured him talking down to her - about the way she pronounced the name of the planet, about the way she felt about The Pug, etc. That could have been a really important instance of father/daughter bonding, and it wasn’t. I don’t think that it gave Cee any happy feelings to fall asleep to, either. The whole landing sequence, too, was just … him, focused on the task at hand, which is fine. He needed to get them safely to the ground, but at the same time, he treated her like she was just there and only served a specific purpose. The only time he ever acted like a father to her was when they found that first aurelac deposit - and even THAT changed very quickly when he saw how large the gem was. He was short with her about the chemicals and that’s fine with me - it’s a safety issue, so there’s no time for coddling. But as soon as she suggested that they take the gem, get square for the pod, and play it safe, he changes. He doesn’t care what she thinks or wants - he wants the gems and the money and the thrill of the harvest. Again, that’s why they’re there, so it’s alright, but … he’s not even willing to listen to her (And in the future, that makes me question how he would have been with the mercs, because he’s so… short-fused, I guess? He wouldn’t have been able to or willing to negotiate with them the same way Ezra did, and they would have been in the exact same circumstances. They still needed a way home, and I TRULY don’t think Damon would have been willing to cut profits, even if only by a little.) 

 I’m not sure what Damon’s plan was when it came to Ezra and #2. Yes, he needed to keep Cee a secret, but … what was the end goal? Stealing their stuff and then just running off and hoping that the two of them - with a giant gun - didn’t somehow find them and take revenge? Damon again got greedy - with his daughter standing RIGHT there, and was only focused on what he could gain from the situation. He wasn’t thinking ahead - and it’s what got him killed. Ezra could have shot Cee in that field. He did not. It would have been simple to do so - shoot her, take her filter, go about his business. He hesitated. Damon did not hesitate when he shot #2.

 Enter Ezra into the pod. Cee shot him - and I believe that he believes he deserved it. He stays calm and collected, talks to her like an adult the entire time, and provides a logical solution to a problem that they’re both in. He lets her make a choice. Damon didn’t. Damon didn’t listen to her, or give her a chance to make a point, or to decide anything for herself. 

 Throughout the time they’re traveling to the merc camp, Ezra KNOWS that he is hurt, and that Cee is the cause, but doesn’t take it out on her. He continues to engage her in conversation, to trust her to feed him, to pull off this scheme with him. It’s like he said in the pod; if Damon couldn’t do these things, or understand what was necessary to survive on the Green, he shouldn’t have been there. He would have likely gotten Cee killed at some point, and probably wouldn’t have felt as guilty about it as she did that he was dead. 

 I firmly believe that by the time they’ve made it to the Sater camp, Ezra feels protective for the girl, despite what’s at stake. He’s coaching her on what to do, speaking rationally to her, and guiding her behaviors in the tent, just because he knows what the etiquette is. He’s very literally being poisoned to death, and still lets the scene play out like it needs to to - just  be respectful. But they make a mistake and assume that like so many others, Ezra values the financial gain of this aurelac over human life. 

 Is Ezra a killer? Of course he is. But he doesn’t seem to be the type to turn to violent first, or just because, and I also believe that the way he speaks is an indication of what he believes in - honor and being a man and making the right choices based on the situation. Damon would have left Cee in a heartbeat for that much aurelac - that’s what, 90-115000 credits, easily? Each gem was at least as big as the original one they found. So he takes those, gets the supplies, LEAVES Cee and still goes on to the Queen’s Lair? 

 Yes. Then he doesn’t have to split profits. He doesn’t have to argue for two spots on a ride off. He doesn’t have to worry about taking care of Cee into the future. He would have made her some sort of “I’ll come back for you” promise, and wouldn’t have meant it. Ezra’s facial expression doesn’t betray him - yes, he’s interested in the aurelac in the case, but not at the expense of a teenage girl’s future. 

 When she finds him in the tent, he again trusts her, even after she left him at the mercy of the Sater. Yeah, he needs her, but it’s more than that. He’s still willing to continue on and continue their plan, because he’s still focused on getting both of them off of the moon and back home. It would be easy to go on on his own after she cuts his arm off, or to say “Hey, I might not be able to do this”, but he never loses his cool or outright lies to her about their chances.

 He argues for her with the mercs in a way that Damon never would have. He’s rational. He lets her speak. He includes her in every single aspect of it - and the only time he acts in his own best interest is when he attacks with the blade and requires her to act. But they work well as a team there, and she picks up on what she can do to save him/them very quickly. They’re on the same page, and it’s only been a couple of very trying days.

 They don’t leave each other. He doesn’t run when it gets hard to let her fend for herself. When they decide how to attack Inumon, they make the plan together - and they need each other for it to work. And yes, he might think that he’s a goner after it goes wrong, but he’s sincere about telling her to go and save herself - he wants at least one of them to get off the planet.  She might still be mad at him for Damon’s death, but there’s no way that she would have tried so hard to get him to that ship if she truly blamed him and still had any thoughts of revenge in her mind. She answered his question - are you a killer - and it turns out that they’re the same. Yes. Definitely - but only when necessary. AND I SAVED THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR LAST: THE STREAMER GIRL SCENE. 

 We know that Damon thought what she was doing was pointless and stupid and shouldn’t have been her focus. We know that he wanted her to focus on prospecting and learning “useful” skills all the time. We know that he was set in his ways, and had a certain idea of how she should act. Ezra is the opposite. He encourages her to tell him about the book, and about what she’s adding to it. He listens to her when she tells him why she likes it so much. He’s intrigued about her contribution to the story, and doesn’t think that having these wild ideas and fantastic imaginary interactions is stupid. She’s still a kid, and she needs a distraction, and Ezra doesn’t put her down for it - he encourages her. He tells her to do what makes him happy, and this whole scene might be the first moments of levity that Ezra has had in MONTHS. In the short time they’re together, he encourages her in so many ways that Damon didn’t - that we saw or that we learned from what she said about him. He hasn’t seen a kid in a long time, but it seems like even all of his time on the Green hasn’t jaded him to the same point that a life of odd jobs and rental pods did to Damon. I don’t think Ezra sees Cee as a burden. I don’t think he looks at her as someone simply there to control/boss around. The sunlight in that scene does a lot to show the expressions on their faces - they’re relaxed. They’re open with each other, and it’s a conversation that neither of them will forget. (I was telling @the-blind-assassin-12 yesterday that I think it might be the most important scene in the whole movie.) 

 I think that when they get off the Green, they would stick together for a while. Obviously, they’re both going to go live their lives at some point, but Cee’s got Ezra now. They went through these traumatic things together, and she’s invested in his life. He - I think - feels protective of her, too, and would want to make sure she was OK on her own when they get back to civilization. Might not be a point in a formal adoption, because she’s so close to being an adult, but I don’t think that’s necessary. So, a short answer to my long answer: Damon was a shit father, and got what he deserved for being so damn greedy. Ezra is a dangerous man, but he wouldn’t ever be dangerous to Cee in the way that Damon’s actions made him dangerous (after the first encounter). She is much better off without Damon, because she needed to be around and influenced by someone that was willing to include her in decisions and let her make her own choices, not boss her around like she’s still 5. 

 There’s so much more I could say, and I’m sure you didn’t want to read 1500 words as a response do I’ll stop here … but this movie has hit me in a way that I didn’t expect it to. 

I’d love to know your thoughts, too! 

[beautifulterriblequeen]

angst with a happy ending: meta edition

I don’t have the spoons to make separate theory posts so I’m going to share some stuff that’s been circulating in my head recently. It’s angsty, because my life is angsty. But I cheered myself up at the end and it’s because of you.

Here, have a cut:

The only cishet white guy in TDP is Viren, and he’s a villain. He hates things that are differently excellent, and Runaan, a Magic Gay, embodies that different excellence very well. Unless/until Viren changes his cishet ways, he’s going to remain a villain.

At the same time he was totally getting on his knees for Saleer, who’s been possessed by Aaravos since before the army left Katolis. But, you know, in a homophobic way, except in the Spanish dub.

Claudia probably had to clean up her dad’s mess with his experimentation on Runaan in the dungeon. She saw what her dad was capable of in his angriest moments, and it worried her. She probably settled Runaan with lower chains and a more symmetrical seating position because she was smoothing away evidence of Viren’s frustration and anger, not because she was helping an enemy assassin feel any more comfortable.

Ethari came back to talk to Rayla by the pool after he stalked away angrily because he didn’t want her last moments with family in the Silvergrove to be him abandoning her the way she (apparently) abandoned Runaan. But he still let her leave as a ghost because he’s been angry and mourning for a week and he has trouble being around her without falling back on his own attempts to convince himself that Runaan’s death was her fault, and not Runaan’s or his own. He needs more time to get over that week of denials.

Seems you lose your name when you get ghosted, at least off the tongues of the Moonshadows who ghosted you. Rayla didn’t know she’d been ghosted until she couldn’t see Ethari’s face. But she twitched hard in surprise when he said her name out loud, even though she knew he could see her. And Feathershawl, from the ToX playtest “Lost Oasis,” has dutifully given up their name and is using a nickname instead, because their primary goal is returning to the Moonshadow fold. They’ll abide by all the rules of their ghosting as a sign of their good intentions to return and do better for their community. Which means that Eljaal doesn’t know if they’ve been ghosted or not, and is probably afraid to go home and find out. They must really like their name. I like it, too. Corvus and Eljaal adventures when.

Lotus flower rituals have rules we don’t know about yet. Pools in front of various houses across the Silvergrove must mark houses where assassins live. Which means the tree house really is a house, and not just Ethari’s workshop, which is nice. Apparently it’s more traditional for assassins go out one at a time, as even Eljaal left on a solo mission for their very first kill. So the lotus is for the assassin’s family, to reassure them. Eljaal’s lotus is still floating, no doubt. Just like Rayla’s is for Ethari. The ritual isn’t done until something further signals the end, and either Rayla or Ethari need to do that, and they haven’t. He needed to keep seeing her lotus, even after he ghosted her. And he couldn’t bring himself to fish out Runaan’s sunken lotus and end the ritual because denial ain’t just a river in Egypt. It runs through the Moonshadow Forest, too. If Rayla has returned to the Silvergrove to see Ethari, post TTM, though, there’s every chance that they’ve ended the ritual and have another clue that Runaan isn’t dead--and if he isn’t dead, then neither are Rayla’s parents.

When a Primal Nexus gets corrupted, monsters apparently start showing up. Janai must’ve been a wreck those first few days in Lux Aurea. Viren and Aaravos destroyed her whole world in a Star Touch minute--her sister the queen was murdered, the whole area plunged into darkness, the nexus’s abilities destroyed, citizens getting attacked or fleeing. And her best ally is suddenly a sassy human general? Guys. The bonding. The bonding they must’ve done over those few days amidst utter chaos, destruction, and ruin. That could be a whole book in and of itself. Janai said later that what remained of her forces had come to help defend the Storm Spire. That means the rest of them are likely dead, and Janai had to choose between saving her city and saving all of Xadia. And she chose Xadia. Lux Aurea is going to be overrun without her and her forces there, and they’ll have a steeper uphill battle to reclaim it. But now, Janai has new allies at her back... and one at her side, holding her hand. okay this one didn’t end super angsty, yay

This show is pulling out all the stops, but pulling no punches, with its determination to represent all the good, deep, amazing, complex and beautiful things about diversity. There are no Usuals here. I started this list with a cishet villain. His polar opposite, then, is a queer hero. In the small scale, that opposite is represented by Runaan. Read all you like into the cishet taking out his rage at the queer guy who can’t fight back. It wasn’t written that way by accident.

But their dynamic is visible in far more than merely their dungeon exchanges. Viren’s attitude toward Moonshadow elves is the prevailing one in Katolis because Viren holds a place of authority there, and he gets to talk and make people listen to him. And he’s canonically very persuasive and charismatic when he gives speeches. He knows what The Right Words are.

Meanwhile, Runaan, a quiet Moonshadow elf who likes to keep to himself, hasn’t had the same kind of opportunity to speak as Viren has in the show. He’s literally been silenced because he wouldn’t play along with the cishet plan for world domination. But he’s talking all the same, if you know how to read him.

I know some haven’t trusted that what he’s saying is there, or true. I know some deny he’s saying anything at all, through his character development. And I know it’s hard to look at his half-finished story. It’s hard. If you’re trying to finish it happily, to wish him health and peace and comfort, it’s because you know something of where he’s been, and you wouldn’t wish that on anyone. It’s because you have empathy. And that makes you wonderful.

I know our lives move fast, even during a pandemic. But please take a second to know how much I appreciate every one of you who looks at any (yes any) TDP character with empathy and wishes them a happy ending somehow. If you identify with a character in distress, you know what empathy is, and you can share that with actual humans around you and make the world a better place just by being yourself.

This show set out to make the world a better place in a hundred little ways, and it’s succeeding because of you. Have a happy Bait, and thank you for being part of this fandom with me.

[rudolphsboyfriend]

ndbdbdhd i saw ur 4 picrews and u said u made headcanons for them and i’m curious so if u wouldn’t mind pls info dump ur headcanons for them on me <3

Sjdhd YES I'd be glad to!! There weren't alot at first but I'll def be adding to them as i make this post so here goes

Ok so fr ref these r the four from this adorable picrew, credits go to them

I haven't named em so for now their names r Stars, Skull, Heart, Dots after their lil speech blurbs

They're all Japanese just cuz I associate this kinda manga-ey art style w Japan

They're chilhood besties and hang out regularly, despite their personalities being completely different.

Heart and Skull r twins but not the identical kind

Stars

He's half English

He was actually inspired by a character from Mo Dao Zu Shi named Nie Huaisang.

If u just met him on the street u'd think he was kinda harmless and unassuming but really he's very smart and calculating. He's not evil but he is,,, morally ambiguous.

He's v calm and chill unless u offend him/his friends. He'll take revenge in some unfathomably roundabout, clever way so you don't even realise he's doing it, and he'll be totes normal looking and like nothing is wrong.

His family owns a big hotel in uptown Tokyo so he's the sugar daddy of the group.

His parents r the really competitive-and-projects-on-their-child kind, so he went to a bunch of extra curriculars and is like, creepily good at everything. Sometimes he's even good at things he's never learnt.

He's the top of his class at college, where he's majoring in History with a minor in Japanese lit

The other three are pretty sure he sold his soul to be good at everything (they're right), but he's their bestie and pays for everything so they don't care

He's Pansexual and is single atm

Heart

Heart didn't go to college and is a waiter at a restaurant, but he has some other, very irregular source of income and no-one knows what it is except Skull.

It doesn't happen often, but he sometimes disappears for hours at the weirdest times.

He's actually a hired assassin, but he only kills like, rich assholes who r exploiting others, and only accepts payment if whoever's paying can actually afford to pay. If they can't, he works for free. Think Robin Hood but murder.

His family was poor so he always hated people who exploited others for money. Star's fam is a very honest and kind rich family that helped his fam out often, and he doesn't attack those kind.

He had secretly dreamed to be an assassin since he was a kid. At first it was just a kid's fantasy but as he grew he started taking it seriously. He began at 19.

He's a really fun, outgoing and bubbly guy. He's v popular, everyone likes him. And he's not the assholey kind of popular. He's just really friendly and warm to be around. Which is why noone even thinks of "assassin" being his other job

Despite his popularity, his two friends, his twin and his parents are the only people he really cares about. He's a crazy loyal, ride or die kinda guy for these five.

He's an amazing painter, but he never learnt professionally cuz he would much rather do whatever he wants on a canvas for fun. His art style is very impressionistic and Monet. Draws a lot of nature

He's trans and ace+aro

Skull

He's a Fine Arts major in college, the absolute top student. The red stuff on his face is paint i promise :) He mostly paints in classical styles like baroque.

He's bi and has a boyfriend whom he loves very much. He's planning on proposing soon!!

He's very intimidating and has "stay away from me" energy. People find it hard to believe he and Heart are related, but they're actually extremely close.

There's a rumours that Skull is a mafia gang leader, that he once killed someone, etc. None of these are true, of course.

He does help his brother plan his murders tho. He's really good with planning and organising, Heart is not. He shares the same hatred as Heart. They're a duo, always working together, Skull planning and Heart carrying it out.

His boyfriend knows all this and just reminds them to be careful.

The only people who can get him to laugh regularly are his boyfriend and Heart. The besties can too but less often.

He doesn't even genuienely smile around other people. If anyone else asks him to smile his does this rlly intimidating smile like in the picrew.

He loves his boyfriend, brother, and the two besties alot. He's not very obviously affectionate, but the others know his little subtle displays of love. He's just really bad at showing emotions.

Similarly, he's not very romantic. Not in the aromantic sense, he's just awkward. Luckily his boyfriend is very cheesy and it's helping him come out of his shell.

However, he's a sentimental drunk

He and Heart often talk about their parents like they r dead, or really far away. They all live within cycling distance of each other, but they find this funny.

He cries at happy endings, and if anyone other than these three sees they will be killed

Dots

Dots is non binary :)

They have a girlfriend. They just started dating but they're v happy!

They're like, the most normal of the four, considering one friend sold his soul, one is an assassin, and the other a criminal mastermind. Dots is just a tired college student.

They're a computer animation major with a graphic design minor. They're doing well academically, not the top but still high

Their dream is to start their own animation company.

They're not very talkative but everything they say is hilarious and they're a sassy sarcastic lil shit. Easily the funniest of the four.

Theyre actually really kind and nice, they're a lil withdrawn but polite and friendly.

They cry at sad+happy endings. They cry at bittersweet endings. They are a crier. They do not try to hide it.

Their taste in music is just. Everything. From bubblegum pop to screamo metal to alt to 70s country.

Knows every single band/artist out there.

Is a surprisingly good singer. Their parents were music teachers so knows how to play all kinds of instruments

Either stays up for 3 days straight or is passed out like a dead body. No in between

Estranged from their fam and is now roommates w Stars

Wow this got. Real long. It's also literally just me projecting intensely onto fictional ppl so yeah.i hope u liked that!!! Odkdnsk does this mean i have OCs now wow.

Thanks fr the ask this was actually really fun!!!

[phantomwarrior12]

A Time To Know Your Enemy

It's been a week since your escapade with the demons and all this time, Sam and Dean have been trying to get Crowley to pick up his phone.

There's been no cases, no indications of anything divine, hell-spawned or even remotely creepy in that time and you're beginning to go stir-crazy. So, between aimless "supply runs", you've occupied yourself with the ribbon Gabriel had left you. You often lose yourself in the foreign, yet eloquent lettering that flows along it's silken threads in a tongue you can't even begin to understand. Your thumb traces along the letters, the ache in your chest longing to know what secrets it holds. Of course, you won't chance Sam and Dean finding out about your little fib - the elaborate tale of your escape - but you haven't been able to get a moment alone with Cas to ask him to translate the writing for you.

It's maddening. You'd forgotten how much the Winchesters stuck to the angel's side. So, you make due, trying not to lose hope as you skim through Bobby's library for a book on Enochian translations. You'd thought you had the house to yourself, the boys having gone on a supply run and Cas? Well, you're pretty sure Bobby had taken the poor angel out back to shoot him with all his condescending remarks and blatant inability to grasp basic human concepts. In any case, you're dying to know what Gabriel wrote and very little will deter you.

Very little except being caught in the act of rifling through Bobby's bottom drawer.

"What in Sam hell are you doing, Y/N?

You tense, glancing over your shoulder at Bobby and the confused angel, "Bobby, I--"

"I'd pick those words very carefully, and what comes out of those lips better not be a lie to so help me--"

"I was looking for a book on Enochian translations." You hold your hands up in mock surrender.

"What the hell for?"

"The...sigils. The markings on my arm. I want to know what they mean," you hope you sound more convincing than you feel.

"I translated them already," Castiel tilts his head, it's almost as adorable as Gabriel's--

"I wanted to try it for myself. See if there's anything we can use for warding," you nod quickly.

"Well, you're out of luck, Sam and Dean have the Enochian book with them. You'll have to make due with this," he gestures vaguely towards Castiel, "hopeless excuse for an ally."

Castiel's brows draw together in confusion, his mouth opening slightly as if he were to protest, but for what reason, he doesn't quite know.

"Y'know, that's a great idea, Bobby," you close the drawer and straighten up, "Might as well go right to the source."

You feel his skeptical gaze as you move towards the angel and hook your arm through his, guiding him towards the front door, "Thanks, Bobby. Sorry about the mess."

"Buncha idjits," is the last thing you hear before you pull the door shut and lead Castiel towards the junkyard.

"What's going on, Y/N?"

"I have a favor to ask of you, Cas." Your free hand rests on the ribbon in your jacket, studying the angel's features.

"Of course. What is it?" He tilts his head curiously as you tug him to a halt behind a particularly large truck.

"You have to promise me you won't tell the boys." You glance back towards the house.

"You have my word," the angel assures you with a gentle nod and it's enough for your impatient ass to tug the ribbon from your jacket pocket.

"Can you translate this?" You hold it out slowly, almost as if you're terrified to part with it. As if releasing the elegant blue ribbon will mean you're letting go of the archangel.

Castiel accepts the ribbon and the shift in his expression draws yours hands level with your ribs, wringing your hands together nervously.

"What does it say?" You rock on your heels, y/e/c trained on his features.

"It's an incantation."

"A - what?"

"Where did you say that you got this?" He asks after a moment of reading the script silently.

"...Gabriel."

Castiel looks halfway startled, "When?"

"I found it in my jacket...the one I wore to the bar that night. He must have left it there, I just didn't think to look," you lie quickly, staring at him anxiously.

He gazes at you skeptically, quirking an eyebrow as he tilts his head in annoyance, "Right. Well, the incarnation is for a spell of some sort. I'm entirely certain of its purpose...there is something else--"

"What?" You step a little closer, your own eyes searching the angel's rapidly.

His gaze falls back to the ribbon, "It says...he expects that thank you next time the two of you meet...given his word choice, it's fairly suggestive, Y/N."

You force back the blush creeping into your cheeks and for a moment, there's a fleeting spark singing along the nerves in your knee where the archangel has rested his hand. You swallow the lump in your throat as you pluck the ribbon from Castiel's hand, ignoring his studious gaze as you summon more composure than you feel.

"Thanks, Cas. You're an absolute angel," you give the confused angel a tight squeeze before moving around the truck and towards the house.

Behind you, you could swear you heard a faint, "That is what I am."

You tuck the ribbon back into the safety of your jacket pocket, fingers still curled around the silken threads as you climb the steps. You need to learn Enochian and fast.

It's the only way you're ever going to get any answers out of that elusive archangel.

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

"Hello, boys."

The graveled voice of Hell's King captures your attention as you lift your gaze from the Enochian book in your hands.

"Crowley. About damn time you showed up. Where the hell have you been?" Dean glares at the demon with a look of irritation and disgust.

"On vacation. Avoiding assassins and all that, or have you forgotten?" Crowley snorts, inspecting the array of whiskey bottles on the counter.

"Oh, I remember." Dean starts to make his way towards Crowley before Sam steps in.

"Crowley, Y/N was attacked by two demons a few weeks ago. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

The demon casts a glance towards you, studying your features until you look away, "Well, they certainly weren't mine. My demons have a big more class than crude torture," he smirks, pouring himself a drink, "Abbadon does have a bone to pick with you two, I'd look there first."

"You don't have to be so damned smug about it," Bobby retorts, watching you shift in your seat.

Crowley snorts indelicately, "Frankly I'm offended you'd think I'd sick my demons on the only allies I have."

"We're not allies." Dean bites back sharply.

"No? How about lovers?" Crowley returns without missing a beat and Dean sets his jaw.

Sam tightens his hold on his elder brother's shoulder before meeting the demon's gaze once more, "Do you know where to find her?"

"If I did, I'd have killed the bitch already, wouldn't I?" He returns as he takes a sip from his glass.

"How do we kill her?" You speak at last, flicking a few stray strands of y/h/c away from your eyes. Your gaze holds a certain amount of sternness, a confidence that demands respect from the King of Hell.

"Sassy. I like her," Crowley flashes a grin at the boys before taking a few steps towards you, no doubt noting the square of your shoulders, "You're going to need an old relic from Heaven's armory."

"And how do we do that? Heaven isn't exactly easy to get into." You returns calmly, studying his features skeptically.

"That's your problem."

"What's the relic?" Dean interjects in exasperation, shrugging off Sam's hand.

"The Sceptor of Gabriel, rumored to be the one thing that can contain a Knight of Hell...as for killing her? That's going to require a little more commitment."

Your frame goes rigid at the mention of the archangel, your fingers brushing absently over the invisible markings along your arm. 

"We'll discuss the permanent solution later. For now, that sceptor is going to have to be located," Sam steps in, drawing your gaze to him.

"I'll get ahold of Cas, he'll know where to start." Dean pulls out his phone and starts from the room.

"Well, if that's all I'm needed for," Crowley tosses a look towards you, noting the subtle glow beneath your sleeve, "Enochian sigils, eh? You're certainly important to someone. Is it dear little Cas?"

"That's none of your business," Bobby snaps, stepping up beside you, "We'll let you know if we need you. Now git."

Crowley makes a face of mock offense before setting the glass down on the counter, "Rude." A snap of the fingers and he's gone.

You lift your eyes to Bobby and offer an appreciative smile, "Thanks, Bobby."

He waves you off, "idjit needs to be reminded of his place."

"Cas says we'll have to track down Balthazar. He thinks the sceptor might be one of the items he took when he fled heaven," Dean steps back into the kitchen.

"Guess we're going on a road trip," Sam sighs.

"Get your gear, we're leaving in the morning."

You offer a solemn nod as you stand and make your way towards your bedroom. Your hand finds the familiar threads of the ribbon in your pocket and your fingers trace along the delicate lettering. You take a seat on your bed, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath to calm yourself.

And like a whisper in your ear, you hear his voice. He's not there, but the warmth that flourishes across your skin stems from his engravings and you can breathe again as you lay back and let the warmth soothe your nerves.

It's going to be alright, sugar. I'll be there when you need me.

"You better."

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

Taglists are open! Send me an ask/leave a comment to be added!

Gabriel Squad: @thewhiterabbit42 @erisunderthemoon @stuckoutsideofthebox @nuvoleincielo @lyselkatz @high-church-of-the-holy-dick @loch-ness-moron @lovelyhexbag @shaylybaby2032 @soul-bandom @archangelgabriellives @datajana @quixoticcat @jtownraindancer @hindustani-diaspora Forevers: @pieces-of-a-whole @bofa-deans-nuts @emiwrites3reads

[mkbosworth]

Thoughts On Elain

- On paper Elain is the most traditional female character, we’ve ever seen from SMJ. She literarily excels in all the things, we associate with a traditional, female character:  She’s beautiful. She’s kind. She’ polite.  She’s gracious.  She likes flowers. She gardens.  She bakes.  She knows how to plan and throw a multi-course dinner party.  She can run a household staff.  She’s good at easing the tension in the room with a few sweet words and a smile.  Additionally, SMJ goes out of the way to show how shocked Feyre is anytime she observes Elain doing something that would be considered “unlady-like” or showing her own agency.  This is shown in everything: from when Elain curses the Human Queens, to kicking the hound that was attacking Az as he rescues her, to stabbing Hybern in the neck.  I’ve enjoyed these little moments, when Elain shows us she is more than just the “picture-perfect lady”.  She is:  Sassy Elain.  Badass Elain. Cunning & Ruthless Elain.  I’m very excited for Elain to get her own story, and her own character arc.  I hope that we get to see Elain’s agency develop side by side with her powerful femininity.  I don’t want her to fore-sake her feminine side in order to claim her power - but rather have the two of them intertwine.   

-  Elain has always felt like the baby sister to Feyre and Nesta.  Even before she was turned (and going through the trauma of loosing Greyson) Feyre and Nesta seemed to treat Elain as if she were their much, younger sibling.  It seems like an unwritten rule of the Archeron Family: Elain is to be cherished and protected.  Elain has been hugely protected and sheltered her entire life.  She’s always had someone take care of her.  She always had someone to do the hard and difficult things for her.  As such, I don’t think Elain was ever given the opportunity to fully grow-up....or to develop into an independent, woman who can take care of herself.  And as a human, I don’t think Elain was ever motivated to change or challenge that.  She developed the skill-sets   that were deemed appropriate for a woman of her standing, and a personality that her family and society expected of her.  I think her life goals were pretty much:  marry a handsome man, run his household, and find happiness being his wife and the mother of his children.  The End.  

- But now that she’s Fae, and has an immortal life...I get the sense that Elain is looking for more out of life.   ACOSF is the first time we see Elain push back on her sisters for essentially “babying” her.   This was fascinating insight to her character,  because up until this moment, I assumed that Elain enjoyed her role as the “cherished one” and the “protected one” in the family.  I had no-idea that she might be feeling stifled by the way she’s constantly being sheltered and taken care of (as oppose to taking care of herself.)  I’d never seen Elain hint, she had any desire to become an independent woman, one who could do the hard and difficult things for herself.   

- I think as of ACOSF, Elain is starting to feel more comfortable with her life as a Fae.  And as a Fae she’s probably realized that Feyre and Nesta are both alpha-females (with a lot of traditionally male character traits) and she is not.  But I also think, she’s realized that her sisters have unfairly, judged the skills and strengths she does have as being soft. They, believe she’s unequipped to do anything they perceive to be dangerous or difficult by herself or for herself.  Now, I’m not saying Feyre and Nesta should send Elain off into battle.  Gods no!  She’d likely just stab herself.  But I do think they need to stop, shielding her from all.the.things.  She’s not a child. She’s an adult. Let her be one. She doesn’t need to be constantly mothered and protected.  It’s time to cut the cord, ladies.  It’s time to let Elain do things for herself - even if they’re hard and difficult (Especially if they’re hard and difficult, because that’s how people learn, and grow, and feel confidence in their independent). It’s time to let Elain grow-up. 

- Elain doesn’t need to learn to become a badass fighter, to be a power-play for the IC.  In fact, I feel like it would be totally off-brand for her.  Plus we already have two badass fighters with Feyre and Nesta.  I want to see a different story of female-strength.  I want to see  Elain finding her agency and power in something that isn’t all about learning to throw a punch or wield a sword.   I think Elain could do a lot of great work for the IC, as the Night-Courts emissary to other courts.  People love Elain.  One of her strengths is getting people to do what she wants with a few kind words and a smile.  I think she’d make an excellent courtier.   Someone just  needs to train her in the politics of the Fae Courts - and then let her work her charm.   And while playing the role of courtier - she’d make the perfect little spy.  She’s very observant.  It’s been shown several times during the books how she sees everything, and picks up on little things that others don’t.  Now, to be clear, I don’t see Elain being like a spy-assassin like the Black Widow.  What I see her doing is observation and intelligence gathering.  Basically, she goes into a court as an emissary/courtier from the Court of Night - and from there she just observes and collects information on what she sees and hears going on, and then reports it back to the IC.   I think she’d be able to suss out things that others might miss, because no-one would ever expect her of spying on them.  Plus, this helps us expand the story to other courts in The Realm - and gets us plotlines beyond The Court of Night.  

- I love that Elain is starting to claim her independence from her sisters.  I think she needs to in order to grow-up, become an independent-woman, and fully claim her power and agency.  I love the idea of Elain,  succeeding in this, while still maintain her Feminine power.   She can be a badass-power player in the IC, and still throw a themed garden party, with the most perfect cucumber sandwiches, on fresh-baked bread she made that morning.  

[swamplatibule]

Well since nobody asked me about Aurum Argentum I guess I just have to ramble huh (no offense to you guys you’re awesome)

No cuts this time we scroll like men

So this is like a fantasy world, there’s magic and the occasional dragon and also swords, those are cool.

Let’s start with Aurum, shall we?

He’s the king of the Isles (It’s fully called the Leranian Isles, but everyone just refers to it as “the Isles” because I said so). And also? He’s a bitch. Fuck this guy. He sucks. The way Aurum rules the Isles tends to fuck over the people who actually need help in favor of keeping the wealthy happy. Those who support him are pretty much blind to that, but anyone who would dare even say a word against him are quickly taken care of by the guard. So clearly he’s Not A Great Guy.

And on the other end, we have Argentum. He’s Aurum’s younger brother (though only by a year and a half, and that gap seems to be wayyyy smaller when everyone lives for about 1,000 years) and also on what could be called magical house arrest for the rest of his life! For trying to murder his brother! How that works is that there’s this house, and there’s an enchanted dome around it. Anyone other than Argentum can go in and out of it as they please - which will be important later - but for him it’s just this invisible, indestructible wall.

Almost nobody goes near his house. Everyone on the Isles has been told that he’s insane, a complete madman, and would kill them in seconds if they were to step foot through the barrier. The frequent explosion noises coming from that direction don’t really deter that belief (He’s just a very talented alchemist, and also does a lot of experiments because there isn’t really a whole lot else to do). To be honest, Argentum would be very lonely in his lil house if it weren’t for the three different pled who actually talk to him.

Also, you’ll notice - Aurum and Argentum. Gold and Silver. Argentum’s always been second best, and I feel like the names highlight something about the two’s childhood that I can’t really name.

Anyway. Back to the three people.

First we have Adelio. He’s Aurum’s kid, but basically lives with his cool uncle because his dad sucks. Adelio walks with a pretty heavy limp that he’s had since he was born, and he usually walks with a cane. Aurum, however, would rather him use an illusion spell or something and walk without the cane so he didn’t appear weak to the public. And he knows full fucking well that it would hurt Adelio to walk like that, but he cares more about appearance. That’s the first of a long list of abuse.

Adelio went to check on Argentum’s house one day, just out of curiosity, and realized two things. One, his uncle is definitely not crazy, and is actually pretty cool and wayyy less of an asshole than his dad. Two, the man is really fucking bad at taking care of himself. He’ll go for a full week without eating anything because he has quote unquote “more important things to do”. So Adelio just decided that someone’s gotta remind Argentum to take care of himself (And also he just wanted to spend more time with his cool uncle) and started hanging around his house more.

Argentum didn‘t fully appreciate it at first, but Adelio grew on him. They care for each other, and the kid basically lives with him now. It’s... 🥺 I love them.

Aight forget that now it’s time for DUN DUN DUNNNNN Taffeta Vince! She’s... *sigh* where the fuck do I start? Taffeta is a thief-assassin combo, with a questionable moral compass and possibly more questionable number of knives on her at all times. She’s quite possibly the most wanted thief in the Isles, but most people are terrified of her and so they leave her alone. Taff is extremely sassy and chaotic and flirty and she will either kiss you or tear out your throat in seconds. Or both, in that order. You have been warned.

She met Argentum (who I will be calling “Gen” from now on because that’s his actual nickname anyway) wayyyyy before her reputation was as good as it is now. She was a beginner thief, got caught and had to run from a few guards, and went straight towards Gen’s house, not knowing who it belonged to. The guards abandoned the chase, figuring that she had basically just rung the underworld‘s doorbell and they didn’t feel like following. She broke in through a window and chilled in that room for maybe half an hour, until Gen came upstairs and found this heavily injured woman just vibing in his attic without any context.

So that’s how they met.

Shiv is Taffeta’s brother, though they were separated for a very long time and only met again and figured out they were siblings about 50 years ago. He’s a hired mercenary, and also a complete himbo sweetheart who I would murder everyone on this planet for. Very skilled with a bow. He met Gen and Lio through Taffeta, so here’s how he met her-

Long story short, he got hired to kill her. And then heard what her name was and decided to look into it. The two were twins, separated at birth, and Shiv never actually knew what his real name was. He was named by the Random Mercenary Dude who found him (that’s why he has an angsty-ass name) and took care of him. He did, however, know Taffeta’s name, because it was in a letter that was left with him. For some reason, Shiv’s name wasn’t in the letter. Just roll with it.

Taffeta knew she had a brother once, but she didn’t know his name. So when this guy, very bounty-hunter-looking, approaches her and asks for her by name, her first instinct is to attack. And so they’re just fighting and they figure out who the other is and I haven’t worked out the whole thing but it’s FINE i’ll figure it out.

Anyway so there’s Gen with his three friends, and OH YEAH! THIS MOTHERFUCKER!

Let’s talk about Cray Girani for a second.

He’s the captain of Aurum’s guard (Which is called the Gilded Guard, by the way) and also Taffeta’s nemesis. The times there two have clashed? Immeasurable. They’ve both given each other a number of scars and bruises, though Taffeta always gets away. It’s gotten to the point where he’s almost directly hunting her, because of all the shit she’s caused him.

He’s very cold, angery boi, calculating and sharp and doesn’t waste time on being nice. Cray is very commanding and a good leader, definitely, but he’s... there’s some shit going on with him. The man has issues. Maybe he’ll get a redemption arc, but who knows.

And there you go! Just two hours of typing nonstop! Wonderful! Anyway my asks are still open if you wanna know anything about these six~

[deeperthanswcrds]

AN INQUEST ! BROKENCROWNS’ FIRST TASK !

as  the  investigations  at  winterfell begin ,  so  do  the  inquests .  investigators  (  both  of  northern  and  southern  origin ) pull  guests  aside ,  asking  what  questions  they  can  to  try  and  identify  culprits  and  keep the  tenuous  peace.  below ,  is  the  set  of  questions  the  inquisitor  asks .  be  careful what  you  say - as  little  birds  are  known  to  flock nearby ,  particularly  with  the  ravens  missing  their  home .

All muses below, replies go in the order of:  Anthor  Daemon  Dorian  Valarr 

REQUIRED QUESTIONS

what is your full title / occupation ?

“Ser Anthor Lefford, Lord and Knight.” 

“Daemon Aurane Velaryon, Lord of Dirftmark.” 

“Ser Dorian Sand, Knight of the Kingsguard.” 

“Lord Valarr Waters, Master of Whispers.”

what do your friends / loved ones call you ?

“My friends call me “Thor”, I rarely hear anyone call me Anthor these days.”

“Daemon.” 

“Nicknames are for children.” 

“Val but only family. I don’t allow just anyone to call me that.”

where were you born ?

“The Westerlands, I was there but I don’t remember much.” 

“On a ship near Driftmark.” 

“Godsgrace.” 

“Waters is a bastard name for the Crownlands....you tell me where I was born.” 

do you have siblings ?

“I do....in the sense that we have the same parents.” 

“Far too many.” 

“Yes.” 

“Dragons are as fertile as Stags.”

do you have children ? do you want them ?

“I don’t have them but I want them. I want a lot of them.”

“No. Of course I want children.” 

“Children are disgusting.” 

“Dragons are as fertile as Stags. Many dragon seeds have been planted.”

do you have a positive relationship with your family ?

“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

“Yes, we’re a beacon of strength and unity.” 

“Sure.” 

“I love my family more than anyone in this world.”

do you have any family traditions / memories that you value ?

“....no.”

“For the birth of every child, we come together on the same ship for the birth. We drink and praise the Merling King.” 

“My father gave me my first spear, a man’s spear and told me, ‘you’re not a man until your spear is part of your arm’.”

“We like to sit on dragon eggs and hold hands.”

how do you typically spend a day ?

“I train my mind and body everyday. I’m soon to be married and I want to learn more in the way of being a husband but it seems that’s something a man must learn alone.” 

“I meet with my smallfolk and I hold court. If needed, I’m in King’s Landing. We build the best ships known to man so I spent a lot of time organizing.” 

“I protect the most important people alive. The Prince and Princess of Dorne. When I’m not doing that I train and when I’m not doing that I spend my time enjoying my privacy.” 

“Oh, you know, I collect information and read. Reading is fundamental.”

are you religious ?

“The only Gods that exist are the old Gods.” 

“I am. I suppose.” Daemon shrugged, “I don’t go to the sept or talk to trees or turtles.” 

“Religion is for children.” 

Valarr laughs, his head falling back and his arms wrapping around his middle.

what is your greatest strength ?

“You’ll never see me coming.”

“Sailing.” 

“I’m the greatest swordsman in Dorne.” 

“I’m the smartest man in any room.” 

your greatest weakness ?

“Love.”

“I get irritated very easily.” 

“Temper.” 

“I am a dragon. We don’t have weaknesses.".

describe a hidden talent / little known skill you believe you posess.

“Singing. No one knows but I do enjoy singing.” 

“If you get two people to hold me upside down I can empty a pitcher without spilling one drop.” 

“Dancing and no, I won’t go into it.” 

“I’m a lovely singer, if I wanted to be a disappointment I would travel the realm and sing for a living.” 

do you fall in love easily ?

“No but I would like too.”

“No.” 

“What a stupid question.” 

“...love is a trap.”

do you have someone you would die for ? who?

“I would die for my family.”

“My wife.” 

“My Prince and Princess and Joanna Stark.” 

“My daughter.” 

describe your life five years from now.

“I suppose that I’ll be a father by then, maybe I’ll have some more experiences. “ He wanted to do something to have the North and South united under the Targaryens but he wasn’t an idiot, some things were better left unsaid.

“Four kids, maybe, more ships, and I want to have more added on to the castle.”

“No.”

“I plan on having much longer hair when I get older.” 

do you consider yourself to be a secretive person ?

“I try to be.”

“A man must hold his tongue.” 

“Yes.” 

“I love secrets. Do you want to tell me some secrets? Lets see if I know them.”

is there a secret related to you that you hide from most people ?

“No one knows everything about anyone.” 

Daemon stares for a long moment then rolls his eyes in irritation, “we all have secrets.” 

“Mmm.” 

“Of course, good look figuring them out.” 

do you put yourself before others , or others before yourself ?

“Other first, if I love them.”

“I put my wife first. My family. My King.” 

“I would be a terrible Kingsguard.” 

“Depends on the day.”

do you like yourself ?

“I like me...I suppose.” 

“Of course.” 

“I don’t think about it.”

“I’m delightful.” 

do you believe that you are a good person ?

“Good is subjective. I’m subjectively the best person.”

“Are you?” 

“Yes.” 

“Good is boring.” 

are you a vengeful person ?

“Vengeance can be useful.” 

“Yes.” 

“Yes.” 

“Who? Me? Never.” 

EVENT / PLOT DROP RELATED QUESTIONS -

why  did  you  accept  the  invitation  to  the  coronation ?

“It’s important to be here.” 

“It was either me or my mother. And my mother hates snow.” 

“The  Starks and Martells are family. I go where the Martells require me.” 

“I wanted to play in the snow.” 

what are your impressions of the northern  rulers ? their  home ?

“The North is strong. Our leaders are just as Strong. Winterfell is nice.” 

“I don’t know them. I hate this place though.” 

“I like the walls.” 

“I find Northmen unlikeable but the rulers seem fit. I don’t care for Winterfell.” 

were you partaking in the festivities as an invited guest , or someone in service to an invited guest ?

“Invited guest.”

“I was invited.” 

“In service to House Martell.” 

“I suppose it was an invite but I’m here in service to my King.” 

did you attend both the coronation & the feast ?

“I did. I enjoyed my time.”

“I attended the coronation, came to the feast.” 

“Yes.” 

“No, I was standing on the wall and then I came for food.”

if so , can you account for your whereabouts prior &  during  the  attempted  poisoning  of  queen  freyja  &  king  edrik ? can anyone verify this account ?

“Many of my men can confirm that I was in the hall the entire night.” 

“I went to the glass gardens, I think Lord Quentin Tyrell was there. I was quite drunk.” 

“I was in the hall, someone saw me, ask arond.” 

“I can’t. Sorry. I got drunk and. think I followed a serving woman into a closet.” 

did you see , hear , or overhear anything suspicious that might be useful in the investigation ?

“If I did I would have brought them to my father immediately.”

“I heard that assassins don’t talk about their deeds.” 

“No.” 

“If I knew I would have charged you for the answer.” 

what motive might someone have for setting  the  maesters  tower  ablaze ?

“To throw everyone off.”

“Because Maesters smell funny.” 

“Distraction.” 

Valarr smirked, “maybe they were cold.” 

do you believe these attacks were / will be an isolated incident ? explain.

“Of course not. Someone planned this, someone wants to cause a war and i don’t know why.”

No one would go through all of this for a one time kick. Has to be the beginning of a plan.” 

“Someone else will be attacked, it’s only a matter of time.” 

“Seeing as the assassin failed, I imagine no one is safe.” 

who  do  you  believe  to  be  responsible  for  the  late  king  stark’s  murder ?

“Whoever tried to kill the King and Queen.”

“The dead Maester.” 

“I don’t speculate. It’s dangerous.” 

“Maybe it was you.” 

if you were asked to lay blame upon one of the houses, who would you hold responsible for such a heinous acts ?

“Greyjoys.”

“Starks.” 

“It could be anyone. I hope you find them before I do.” 

“Starks.” 

is  there  any  other  information  of  note  to  share  with  the  inquisitor ? no one has anything sassy to say. 

[thearkhound]

Tsubasa Masao on Metal Gear Acid character designs

Source: Postscript of MGA (waybacked)

The following is a translation of five blog posts made by Metal Gear Acid character designer Tsubasa Masao for the now-defunct “Postscript of MGA” blog, where he provides commentary on the designs he provided for the game. Most of the images were thankfully preserved by the waybacked version, except for the ones on the fourth blog post, which were taken from the still active gallery page from the official Metal Gear Acid 2 website. I’ve moved Tsubasa’s commentary of Snake’s main weapon of choice in MGA into the first section regarding for better flow and also added a model sheet of Snake from MGA2′s official gallery, since the sub-section looked odd without any images..

Solid Snake

The first thing we talked about Snake was wanting to change the impression that people had of him up until now, which resulted in the long-haired Snake we see in this game. Thinking about it now, perhaps it was better if we had kept usual hairstyle. As for his costume, we decided at the earliest stage to keep his usual sneaking suit from previous games, so it is what it is.

We had a request from Mr. Shinkawa to make the XM8 into Snake’s main weapon in the game. It’s a gun with quite a unique appearance, as you would know if you had seen the original. On the illustration we added a lot of over-the-top extra parts to the gun, but in retrospect I think it would had been better if we had left it as it is.

Teliko Friedman

Teliko was the first character we designed for Metal Gear Acid. Since even the scenario was still in its tentative stages, I couldn’t quite grasp an image for her yet.

For the face I was told to make her look like a “female Rambo or something like an Uma Thurman type.” I wasn’t too crazy about doing a female Rambo and wondered about what I should do, which is how I ended up with the design we’re seeing here. I was conscious of Uma Thurman’s role in Pulp Fiction at the time. She had a sort-of coquettish feeling, don’t you think?

Since I don’t like loose-fitting military clothing, I decided to make her silhouette tightly around her body. Afterward, I thought about the character’s stance and came up with the sneaking suit style.

A new-type of sneaking suit.

Built-in muscle strengtheners in one part that increases speed and strength.

 A new-type of bullerproof inner wear made by the U.S. Army. Protective clothing consisting of aramid fiber soaked with polyethylene glycol.

And so on.

Model sheets for Teliko Friedman. There are gimmicks not shown in the game such as stun knuckles and muscle strengtheners.

I wanted her gun holster to flutter on her character model’s hip while she moved, but we abandoned that due to the small screen size of the PSP unit.

As for the coloring, since she was being paired with Solid Snake, we decided to dress her in a brighter color to contrast with Snake’s black sneaking suit.

Teliko was designed to be a very typical heroine, so we thought it would be best if she didn’t have too many idiosyncrasies.

What do you think?

Roger McCoy

He’s the character who supports Snake and Telico in this game. We wanted him to have a very different outward appearance from Colonel Campbell.

We experimented with various patterns such as an elderly version of Roger or a black version of Roger, before we settled on the finalized design.

We didn’t have any particular aim with his concept, but we thought it would be better if he was more intense than previous versions of the Colonel character.

Afterward, I wanted his silhouette to have a peculiar characteristic, so I decided to give him a crippled leg and a cane to walk with. (I don’t know if this is reflected in the game though).

Rough sketch for Roger McCoy. Instead of a suit, he originally wore a military uniform.

Alice Hazel

I was ordered to make a pretty girl with ESP abilities. I was told that she has a personality that clashes with Snake’s, so I drew her in a sassy matter, but then I changed her to be more unemotional, or rather coldhearted.

For her attire I thought just having her wear a school uniform would be too plain, so I gave her a bomber jacket atop her blazer, which she received from Roger. The gun she wields on the second half of the story is hidden inside her jacket.

Since the characters in Acid are involved in a story where they’re either, manipulating someone or being manipulated by someone, I have her holding a doll as a hint that’s she pulling the strings from behind. Originally it was going to be a ventriloquist doll, but that would had been too obvious.

Alice’s initial design. “I thought she should be wearing glasses like Tommy February. I liked how it came out, but I had to redo her design after they decided to go into another direction.”

Alice’s finalized design. You can see the direction of the character took a 180 degrees turn. The characteristic doll remained until the end.

Lt. Leone

It was settled that he would be a “retro soldier”, “have the physique of a bear” and “wields an anti-tank rifle.” Based on those ideas, we decided that his gear should be vintage. But was this really the image of an old-fashioned soldier?

After that we wanted to make his silhouette stand out, so we had him wear a cloak on one side. This cloak takes the form of a Ghillie suit so that it could stand out when he moves rapidly during hand-to-hand combat.

His image was set in stone in the very early stages, so there weren’t any particularly big changes made afterward. By the way, in the international versions they added a voice clip of him chanting “pansies! pansies!, which made him stand out even more.

The left image is an early rough sketch. The right image is a proportion specification designed for reference. “In regards to his body shape, I didn’t want him to just be bigger, I wanted him to stand out as a giant even without the contrast.”

Colored model sheet for Leone. His systematic characteristics and clothing are established to the minuet detail.

From Leone’s model sheet. He was drawn with a fighting image and it seems he was initially expected to have close quarter attacks.

From Leon’s model sheet. The initial character image is almost completed at this stage. His kick attack was rejected due to limitations with the character model and such.

Elsie & Frances

Originally they were supposed to be characters who lived in VR space. But when the scenario changed during the middle of development, they were no longer virtual characters, but ventriloquist dummies who exists in the real world. Out of all the characters, I think they’re the ones who had their image changed the most from the early stages.

Their manipulating strings are established to be wires that could be attached to the walls or ceilings (like a spider’s cobweb), so that the dummies could be controlled from a distance.

We wonder if we made their relevance apparent in the miscellaneous cutscenes.

Finalized design for Elsie and Frances. Shown here is Frances, the elder of the two sisters. Elsie, the younger sister, has a cracked face and a speech impediment.

William L. Fleming (aka Gary Murray)

The boss character of this entry. Since he was established to be an excessive neat freak, he wears a fancy brand name suit under his shabby coat. His shoes are also shiny brand names. His coat is tainted with the oil fluids for Metal Gear KODOQUE.

Since it was said that there was going to be a cutscene where he shoots a gun, he was given a belt under his coat, which is equipped with a gun holster during his Fleming persona.

Originally he was established to be a middle aged man, but since he was going to be a boss character, he ended up looking quite younger than he was intended to be. Because of story reasons, he was a difficult character to make him look unique with his clothing, so we were concerned in making him stand out.

In fact, we had the idea of outfitting him with a powered suit similar to the one worn by Solidus and having him directly confront Snake and Teliko. Mr. Shinkawa gave me various ideas, such as “give him a METAL BLADE!” But because complications with the story, those ideas were abandoned.

Model sheet of William L. Flemming. There are detailed notes such as the differences between his true self and his Gary Murray persona. It seems there were plans to have him directly engage Snake and Teliko.

La Clown

La Clown’s backstory is that of an “assassin who specializes in disguises and hypnotism.” Because of this, the character’s design doesn’t differ much from Telico’s. For the illustrations, La Clown’s proportions were changed in subtle ways.

Line art illustration of La Clown

Enemy Soldiers

The jobbers of Metal Gear Acid. The small fry soldiers. This time they wear desert camouflage, giving them a middle eastern atmosphere. Perhaps they have a dusty unfashionable image.

The model sheets of the enemy soldiers. The first sheet is a soldier from Leone’s unit. The second is a member of the Genetics Army. The designs of the enemy soldiers this time are based on MGS2, since it’s set in a similar period.

Model sheet of the Genetics Soldier. “Because it is an equipment for measuring data, there are stuff like experimental cords and labels attached to it.”

Changes in Concepts

Initially the concepts we got from the scenario were horror and suspense. Specifically there would be ghost characters that would appear in key scenes, the boss characters were going to be cyborgs who served Fleming, and so on...

After days and months have passed (or maybe it wasn’t that long), the horror aspect became more downplayed and the scenario was changed to a more suspenseful one in all aspects. The colors red and black are used a lot by many characters in general, but that was actually a remnant from the early stages when the horror aspect was more emphasized.

Although MGS served as the basis, there were many twists and turns in the art designs. Because of the lack of flexibility in the development schedule, I was concerned about keeping the Metal Gear world in place while somehow giving Acid its own color. After all, the world Metal Gear is quite deep.

Model sheet of Minette Donnell. “Because she’s a malicious girl, she wears deep red.”

Rough character designs from the early stages of development. The first character is Dr. Flemming and the second is Senator Viggo. “Originally Viggo Hach was just an old man who suddenly became rich.”

More initial designs. The first is a member of the FPH. The second is the Genetics Soldier Boss. “The Genetics Boss would’ve been an underling of Flemming who would’ve supervised the other Genetics Soldier. He would’ve covered his whole body with armor-like muscle strengtheners.”

More rough designs of boss characters. They too were also underlings of Dr. Flemming. The first design looks like a bee woman with poisonous attacks, while the second looks like a giant man with sludge attacks.

See Also

Metal Gear Acid 1 & 2 Gallery

[newmayhem]

Reading and ranking the entire Den of Shadows series

Check out my other Den of Shadows reviews HERE.

After a year such as this one, I wanted to close it out with something fun so I spent the past month marathoning the entire Den of Shadows series- rereading the original quartet and then reading for the first time the new TDOS books. I was originally going to post reviews/reactions for each book, but that got too cumbersome. Instead, I’m doing one big post of my personal ranking so I can discuss each book and talk about the series as a whole.

Spoilers for the entire Den of Shadows series below.

Personal Ranking

I based it on several different criteria but mainly: 1) How much I enjoyed it, 2) Writing/storytelling quality, 3) If there was anything glaringly ‘problematic’ (which I’ve found is usually a big factor in how much I enjoyed it), 4) How it fits in context of the entire series.

9. Shattered Mirror It hurts to put this one last on my list because Shattered Mirror was my intro to The Den of Shadows and to ahar’s work. Reading this again as an adult was frustrating because I can see why I loved it the first time around and how most of that doesn’t hold up today. Sarah was a great main character who deserved so much better than the ending she got. It was just wall to wall rape culture and misogyny. I hated Christopher and how he was a creepy pedophilic stalker framed as a romantic hero, I hated how Nikolas got some copout backstory so he would look like a good guy even though he beat a girl to death for rejecting his brother, and I hated how Nissa was enabling both of them. I really hated that this was meant to be a racism/prejudice metaphor because that doesn’t work out when the ‘oppressed’ group does actually harm innocent people. Aside from that, I felt like the pacing was really off- the events unfold over the course of a little over a week and we’re supposed to believe that after hanging out with them twice Sarah’s developed a bond with these vampires strong enough to override the prejudice she’s been raised with since birth (and that Christopher’s in love with her). And then there’s that whole anti-climax when it turns out that the ‘villain’ was Kaleo all along, but instead of having the book end there, there’s another 20 pages where we have to watch Sarah get attacked and changed against her will and then have it framed as a happy ending. I did like that she decided to not stay with Christopher in the end, though.

8. Midnight Predator I was actually surprised by how much I liked this one because I didn’t remember anything from it at all except for like, two scenes and some character names. It felt more mature in writing style, thematic content, and aesthetics. I also liked that we got a main character who was a little older and that the world was, for the most part, very removed from the human world. It was a good way to close out the original quartet in that it touched on a lot of the themes that had been explored in the books previous. That said, I had a lot of problems with how the issue of slavery was handled and also with how victim-blamey the moral of the story turned out to be. It just didn’t sit right with me that at no point did anyone bring up the idea of, you know, ending slavery at Midnight, which Jaguar had all the power to do. I hate that we were supposed to be sympathetic towards Jaguar and treat him like a good guy because he doesn’t abuse his slaves (for reasons that center on him) like everyone else does when he easily could just...not own slaves. Tying in with the victim blaming stuff, it felt like we were supposed to be satisfied with Turquoise freeing herself but being ok with letting slavery continue. And the big character arc that leads to her getting revenge on Daryl was framed as her ‘not letting herself be a victim anymore’, which is an objectively terrible take on this issue. Aside from that, I also had issues with the pacing here. We were promised a story about Midnight and a mission to assassinate Jeshickah, but all of that goes out the window in an anti-climax about two thirds of the way through the book (and two days into the timeline), and then the rest is a plodding montage leading to a very abrupt end. I also didn’t like how Daryl was supposed to be the real villain of the story but was also portrayed as a snivelling idiot that no one liked anyway, because that lessened the impact of Turquoise finally getting up the courage to kill him.

7. Demon In My View This was a good followup to ITFOTN in that it struck a balance between being standalone and having ties to the previous book. That said, I found the tone to be surprisingly more immature. I mainly didn’t like how the main character and the antagonist were handled. Jessica, while being a great reader insert/power fantasy, wasn’t very interesting because she didn’t go through any character development or have to sacrifice anything, but still got everything she wanted in the end. Fala was too much of a buttmonkey and her motives were too weak to be taken seriously. It also didn’t sit right with me that she’s the only canonical woc so far and she’s being portrayed as this incompetent cartoon villain even though objectively, like, she does have a point. But I do love the introduction of my favorite underappreciated side character, the ultimate MVP: Caryn Smoke!

6. Token of Darkness This book had a lot going against it, mainly in that it’s the most disconnected from the other TDOS books in terms of not only characters and setting, but also with introducing beings that hadn’t been mentioned before (in text, at least). I think especially as one of the new TDOS books, it would’ve helped to at least offhandedly namedrop some people/events/places. My second problem with this book was that everything felt very underdeveloped. I loved the new characters that were introduced, but I was disappointed that we didn’t have a lot of time to get to know them. I would’ve liked to see Cooper actually start training under Ryan, I would’ve liked to learn more about the LeCoire family and what it means to be a sorcerer. I also just wanted more Delilah because she’s such a fascinating character (I loved her reckless and unapologetic ambition). Kind of like ITFOTN, I felt like this lacked an Act 2. I think the story should’ve started earlier so we could see more of the investigation part of it, so we can get all the characters together earlier and have them working together (while Delilah has her hidden agenda on the side) to figure this out and build towards that climax. Even with the pacing and development problems, this is higher on the list because I just really enjoyed it- it was light and fun and I hope we get a chance to see these characters again.

5. Poison Tree This was something that I really wanted out of a new TDOS book- it delved deeper into parts of the world that had been mentioned before- the Bruja Guilds, SingleEarth, the Mistari, and all of that serves to set the scene for Promises to Keep. The concept was this cool deconstructed/reconstructed whodunnit story. It was more complicated than the typical TDOS plot, so I appreciate the ambition. That said, the execution wasn’t great- I often had to pause and go back in order to keep the facts straight and figure out who knows what, which was distracting. Another reason why this didn’t rank higher was that for some reason, I didn’t connect as much with these characters as I have in other books. The pacing was odd, I didn’t like that it came to a point where everyone had figured the main part of the mystery out, but instead of going directly to the climax, it took a detour into relationship drama, which slowed down the momentum. I think it would’ve made more sense to put Sarik and Alysia into a situation where they were forced to work together (rather than that brief but drawn out thing with Sarik and Christian). There would’ve been more tension, conflict, and forward momentum, and because they’re the two leads that were supposed to be focused on, it would’ve felt less like a detour.

4. Persistence of Memory This was a very good return to TDOS. It feels very familiar in how the new characters fit into the world. It struck a good balance between introducing new characters and having them coexist with concepts and characters that we’ve heard of before. I felt the same spark while reading this as I felt when I first read the original quartet. Like, this entirely new book made me feel nostalgic, and that’s not to be underestimated. I really loved the two protagonists and I was very invested in both of their stories. I particularly loved Shevaun because her struggle with her fear of becoming human again is one that we don’t often see in vampire fiction. I also think both she and Adjila are the perfect embodiment of beings who’ve been around for centuries and just don’t have the same morals and boundaries that humans do. I don’t normally read these books for the romance, but both canon ships here were really well done and believable, and also paralleled each other in an interesting way. And I loved the oddly wholesome focus on found/chosen family. Also, this gets extra points for everyone dunking on Alexander every time he’s mentioned.

I didn’t rank this higher because I wished Erin was more involved in figuring out what was going on with her. I didn’t really like that after a certain point, it felt like Sassy took over as protagonist. Still, I really enjoyed it, the ending was very satisfying (I loved that it was a straight up happy/optimistic ending instead of a bittersweet or abrupt one like most of the TDOS endings had been so far).

3. Promises to Keep This was a bold ending to the series. It took a lot of guts to basically blow up the world that you spent nearly 20 years creating and I admire that. It was a really engaging story that truly showed the full extent of what ahar was capable of as a writer at that time and the full extent of what a TDOS book could be. I think this time ahar really nailed the pacing (which was something that had always been a bit shaky in the past). We got to spend enough time with Jay and get to know him (it was a good choice to have the protagonist be a character we’ve met before but could still get to know more). I liked seeing everything we’ve learned from all the previous books come together and come into play. And I especially loved that our MVP Caryn got the HEA she deserves. The little epilogues at the end were fun to read (only, I’m mad we didn’t hear anything about Risika. Especially because she does get mentioned (and we finally know that 1) she found out about what happened to her mom, and 2) she and Kaleo have active, ongoing beef over it)). It really felt like a finale, but at the same time, it felt like a new beginning and I can’t wait for new books in this post-Promises world.

This could’ve ranked higher, but I did have a problem with Brina. In terms of personality, etc., I loved her and she was fun to get to know, but I can’t get past the whole slave owner thing and how that aspect of her was handled. I wished that her character arc was more about realizing that enslaving people is objectively bad rather than having her keep pointing out Jay’s incidental hypocrisy as if it weren’t a false equivalence. Her happy ending just felt a little unearned- the only real ‘penance’ she performed wrt being a slave owner was a tacked-on apology during the ritual and a sentence about how she freed her own slaves (again, no mention of whether or not all slavery has ended), and even though she was turned human, it’s not framed as a great or permanent loss, and on top of that she also gets witch powers.

2. In The Forests of the Night I admit, this ranking is mostly based on nostalgia...but it’s still a very solid book to kick off the series, set the vibes, and introduce us to this world and what kind of series this will be. It’s not the best of the series in terms of writing quality, plot, or scope, but of the original quartet, I think ITFOTN holds up the best. For a YA book of that era, especially one written by someone of its own target demographic, this felt very mature. It wasn’t trying to talk down to its audience and that meant a lot to me. It showed me that YA could be dramatic without being overwrought, serious without being an ‘issues’ book. It tackled questions of identity, morality, faith, power, and freedom, all framed within a fast-paced revenge story. Most of all, Risika is such an interesting, complicated character and her journey was both relatable and entertaining. Of all the endings in this series, the ending of ITFOTN was the most satisfying for me in that the main character had to change and sacrifice, and in the end she got what she truly deserved even if it wasn’t entirely happy. My only complaint is that we don’t see more of Risika throughout the series, especially when there’s clearly more to her story.

1. All Just Glass The TDOS books are fine as standalones and it’s cool that each one makes it feel like whoever you’re reading about is just a small part of a bigger world, but All Just Glass shows how good it can be when we go deeper into a particular story and give it more time to develop. That said, I don’t think it would’ve been as good as it was if it was written right after Shattered Mirror. There’s a very clear improvement in writing quality and storytelling that can only come from 10 years of experience.

While it didn’t fix all the problems I had with SM (mainly, I would’ve preferred it if Sarah didn’t go back to the Ravenas in the end), AJG made a great choice in shifting to a different, more cohesive theme and illustrating it across a compelling ensemble cast. It cleverly plays on our expectations of the Vida line that were based on the limited scope of SM in order to show that contrary to what we’ve seen previously, this is actually an institution that’s in decline. The Vidas aren’t this great power ruling over the rest of the Macht witches- they’re actually these fundamentalist/extremist outliers who are on the fringes clinging to the ‘old ways’ while everyone else kind of does what they want and their decline is directly related to their obsessive adherence to tradition at all costs. What’s so great about this is that it’s not just a sequel, it’s a subversion of SM that also sets the tone of the new TDOS series in anticipation of the inevitable end.

General Notes

I loved reading these all back to back and watching ahar grow as a writer, watching the world unfold right before my eyes.

It was interesting to see the difference between the two series. I found most of the books in the new series to be generally more engaging because they’re based around a central mystery (What’s the connection between Erin and Shevaun? Who is Samantha? Who attacked SingleEarth? Who’s the shapeshifter?). I also liked that rather than shy away from mentioning technology and trying to pretend that it doesn’t exist or that we’re still in the early 2000s, ahar really leaned into it and in doing so, made the stories feel more realistic.

The original quartet was very aesthetically cohesive, it was a series of vignettes that purely aimed to explore a particular piece of the world. The new series, however, felt cohesive in that each of the books is building towards the end and showing a piece of the puzzle that sets the scene for PtK (PoM gives us more about the Tristes, ToD gives us the elementals, AJG and PT are about groups that are on the decline with their fates based on whether or not they choose to align with the rising power of SingleEarth).

On kind of a petty note, I wanted to mention how much I hate all the new covers (both for the new TDOS series and for the re-release of the original quartet) and I was really disappointed in how low-effort the marketing was for the new series. Even just reading the synopsis for PT and PtK was painful because they seemed slapped together at the last minute like no one cared. I think it was a real missed opportunity to draw in a new audience because they were coming out just as the YA boom, particularly in vampire fiction, was happening.

The biggest takeaway I got from this marathon is a huge respect and appreciation for this extensive world and cast of characters that ahar built (and then had the courage to entirely upend). I know mainstream attention isn’t everything, but I just really hope ahar gets their flowers because this is a great (and highly influential) body of work that’s so different and even ahead of its time.

Anyway, that’s my take on the series. I might make this re-read an annual thing because this was fun. Also, as I was reading, I made sure to note factual info about the world and the characters, so I’ll be making new additions/edits to the reference materials soon.

[frauleinjustice]

Saiou Day Prompt!

Hey everyone! Happy Saiou Day!! ☆ I just had to do something for them, so I wrote a short one shot... 

For a quick summary, Shuichi and Kokichi are older adults here. After helping out a client, Shuichi was given two tickets for a week long stay at a ryokan inn! He invites Kokichi, and they have a soft moment in the onsen, and later tonight as well...

Now I hope you guys enjoy and thank you very much for giving it a read, if you do! ♥ 

A week long stay at a ryokan inn: it was what the wealthy client Shuichi helped in a big case offered him as thanks. While it was a rather luxurious inn, it still had a traditional look to it. The rooms had comfy futons, and the balcony allowed one to get a great view of the zen garden and onsen baths. Shuichi was given two tickets, so he could bring one more person with him. The person he asked first, and his priority choice: was Kokichi. Shuichi was admittedly nervous at first if Kokichi couldn’t make it when he called him to ask, since the other had been out of the country recently… but thankfully, Kokichi was already back in Japan by then. And with his surprising arrival, came along to the inn with Shuichi. As soon as they had settled in their room, ate dinner and everything, he practically dragged Shuichi to the hot springs, since no one was out there this late.

 The heat of the water combined with the cold night breeze, combined with the starry sky and mountains and forest in the background, made for an overall fantastic view and relaxing atmosphere. Slowly, the detective could feel the stress and tension of long and busy work days seeping out of him, uttering a hum in content as he closes his eyes. "This feels so nice... thanks again for wanting to come along with me, Ouma-kun. ...Even if you nearly gave me a heart attack with how you suddenly appeared."

"Nishishi! It was so funny! Saihara-chan screamed so loud, I thought he was going to crash his car!” Kokichi snickers, beaming a smile. “So close..."

"Wh-What’s supposed to mean! My car was already parked, anyway... and if you suddenly saw a creepy face appear in your car mirror, thinking you were alone in there: yeah, I think anyone would be pretty startled! I still can't believe you hid on the floor of the backseat the entire ride, and I somehow never noticed..."

"Well of course you didn't notice: I'm the Ultimate Supreme Leader, after all. How else will I be able to succeed in eventually assassinating you if I can't even hide myself that well, hmm? I only spared your life this time because you invited me here, Saihara-chan..." 

"Whatever you say, Former Ultimate Supreme Leader." Despite the snarky remark, there was fondness in Shuichi's tone. Over the years since they've graduated from Hope's Peak together, the two became even closer. Even if there were times they couldn't talk in a while, with Shuichi being busy with cases and Kokichi having objectives to do outside the city: they still kept in touch by phone. This would be the first time in a long while that the two would be able to spend time together without their jobs getting in the way. It made Shuichi happy.... And in turn, the fact he was going to be spending a week here with Shuichi, made Kokichi’s heart race.

Exchanging the occasional comment or two aside, the boys were quiet as they enjoyed the onsen. Comforting silence in the presence of someone he liked, someone he trusted: for the former supreme leader, it was the best kind of feeling. He didn't have to put a guard up around Shuichi: he could just feel truly relaxed, without a care in the world. The bath also helped to relax Kokichi, who was normally out and about, so he hardly ever had the time to actually rest. He almost forgot how nice it felt when your body isn’t tense all the time, and allow the bath to mentally and physically sooth you. And to be able to do so with his beloved, no less.  "........" After a while, he breaks the silence. "Ne, Saihara-chan..." He begins, looking towards him. "...Why was I your priority choice? To invite here..." Even if he was sure why, something in him wanted to hear the answer from Shuichi, himself. After all, he thinks to himself: Shuichi has a lot of friends… many other choices he figured he would’ve picked first.

"Hm?" Shuichi gives a curious head tilt at that. "You're surprised? Well... it's because I have the most fun when I spend time with you, Ouma-kun. I...missed spending time with you." 

"......" The look on Kokichi's face is blank, yet the look in his eyes brightened, cheeks turning a light pink. "Saihara-chan... has the most fun with me. And he...missed hanging out with me. Ah..." Hearing the answer he  wanted to, made Kokichi much happier than he expected it to. "Shumai..." They were already sitting close to each other, but now Kokichi goes to scoot even closer until he was leaning against Shuichi’s shoulder. "...I missed spending time with you, too. And... whenever I have to leave the country for a long while, I miss Saihara-chan. It makes me really happy when he calls me, and texts me goodnight whenever it's nighttime in one of our timezones..." To be this willingly honest as he speaks... it was the kind of thing he would have struggled with much harder as a teenager. But overtime, and towards Shuichi: it was easier, and wanted him to know that.

"Ouma-kun..." Shuichi's cheeks turn a light pink, eyes looking down at him. A warm smile then appears on his face, before he leans against Kokichi in return. "Of course... I always like to make sure you're okay out there. It relieves me when knowing so..." Then an amused smile appears on his face. "...And to make sure you didn't end up getting yourself arrested. I'm a bit too busy to be flying out to bail you out... unless you deserved it." 

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean, huh?" He snickers, sitting back up straight so he could lightly tickle Shuichi's sides. "Getting sassy with me!"

"E-Ehehe, I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" He giggles, playfully swatting Kokichi's hands away. It makes Kokichi laugh even more in turn, finding that bright smile and laugh of Shuichi's so endearing. Everything about his beloved, he found so endearing... 

After they were done in the onsen, they changed into yukata robes and headed back to their room to get ready for bed. “The onsen was nice, wasn’t it? I feel so much more relaxed, I might just make this ryokan my new secret base.”

“You’re sure doing a great job at doing the actual “secret” part, Ouma-kun...” He jokes with a poke to his cheek, making Kokichi giggle. Their beds were pushed right against each other, almost looking as if it was just one big bed they were sharing together. “Though… I’m glad you enjoyed the onsen: I did, too. And to think we’ll be able to enjoy all this for the rest of the week…”

“Right? You know, my subordinates were practically begging me to accept your invitation on that night you called me, Saihara-chan. So annoying!” His tone was playful, showing he didn’t really mean that. “But I trust my subordinates: I know they’ll be fine without their boss there for a week.” Not to mention they just wanted their boss to be happy, spending this vacation with the person he loves. It made a warm smile appear on his face for a moment. He truly loved DICE, not knowing what he’d do without his precious family. 

“Hehe… you have a nice organization, Ouma-kun. I’m sure they wanted their wonderful boss to enjoy himself, as thanks for all he does for them.” He hums, smiling gently at him.

“Ah…” Flustered, Kokichi looks downward with a small whine, blushing softly. “Sh...Shumai’s always saying cheesy things out of nowhere. Geez…” He was embarrassed, but it did make him happy to hear. That even Shuichi thinks of him as a great leader…

“Ehehe, I-I mean it, though! You work very hard all the time, Ouma-kun. You deserve to just relax yourself like this… and I’ll make sure it’ll be worth it: we’ll have lots of fun during our vacation.”

“Nishishi…. Thanks, Saihara-chan. I don’t have to worry if you’ll uphold to that promise, since.. No matter what we do, or where we are: I always have fun, if it’s with my favorite detective.”

“Ouma-kun…” Now Shuichi’s cheeks were growing a shade of red, a soft giggle leaving him. “Well then I’m glad…. My favorite supreme leader.” A yawn leaving him, Shuichi was going to say goodnight… but instead, he grows silent. “.......” He suddenly looks nervous, and Kokichi can see it. 

“Saihara-chan…?” 

“Um… I was just wondering if… s-since our beds are so close, anyway… if you’d like to, u-um…” Eyes darting around nervously, he gives a small exhale. “C...Come even closer and ah...cuddle….” He whispers the last word, almost inaudibly. 

“.....!” Kokichi’s eyes widen for a moment, before a small laugh leaves him. “Hmm, I don’t know… do I?” But before Shuichi can respond, the smile on Kokichi’s face grows before he quickly scoots much closer to Shuichi, wrapping his arms around him. “Just kidding! Of course I’d want to, if it’s with Shumai.”

“H...Hehe…” Shuichi instantly wraps his arms around Kokichi in turn, emitting a happy sigh as he starts nuzzling him. He’s so happy he asked: the other feels so warm in his arms. “You’re so warm.. I like it. “ He brings a hand up to gently comb it through Kokichi’s hair, loving how smooth it felt in between his fingers. 

Kokichi gives a small content hum in response, closing his eyes to fully indulge in this as he nuzzles Shuichi back. He buries his face in Shuichi’s chest, feeling his heart pounding harder. He was also going to ask if they could cuddle, but he grew too nervous; so he was glad Shuichi asked him, instead. Just being snug in Shuichi’s arms like this… it’s what he always wanted. He feels safe in them, comfortable in them… and loved in them, too. For a moment, the thought of kissing him crossed his mind. “......” His eyes find themselves staring back up at Shuichi, who in turn looks down at Kokichi. “Shumai….”

“Ouma-kun…” For a moment, they got lost in each other’s eyes. Even if they weren’t saying anything right now, they could practically hear their hearts bouncing around loudly in their chests. The hand that was stroking Kokichi’s hair, was now caressing his cheek gently with his thumb. Deep down, they both couldn’t ignore it: the heavy tension in the air, the growing desire to be with each other. Maybe it was that, and maybe it was the overall heat of the moment: that Shuichi found himself starting to lean in closer to Kokichi’s face. It’s just before their lips touch, does he pause. “...May I….?”

He nuzzles Shuichi’s hand when he started caressing his cheek. And  when seeing the other starting to lean in, his breath hitches. So much was happening at once… everything he desired so badly. “.......” A small exhale to calm the pounding in his chest, he whispers the softest: “Yes.”

“Then…” Shuichi would go to finally close the distance between them, pressing his lips gently against his as both of their eyes slowly come to a close. He utters a content hum at how soft the other’s lips felt, continuing to caress his cheek slowly with his thumb.

Kokichi’s heart bounces in his chest when their lips met, sighing happily into the kiss. He leans in some more to deepen it, a hand making its way up into Shuichi’s hair to comb through it. When they break away, their lips are still very close. “...Again.” Is what he whispers before he plants his lips against Shuichi’s. 

Pulling Kokichi even closer to him, he happily indulges into the kiss once more. And even after that one, they kissed each other again, and again, and again. Long, deeper kisses, with soft pecks and pants in between… each kiss they gave each other, they poured all their love into it. It’s when they really do need to catch their breath, do they fully break away. Their faces are heated, pants are shaky and frantic…. And the look they give each other, was clouded with even more love and adoration for the other. “That… was nice… kissing Ouma-kun felt… really nice….”

“Sh...Shumai’s really nice to kiss, too. I want… I want to kiss and cuddle with you every night. I’ve always wanted to, with you, Saihara-chan…” He cups Shuichi’s cheeks in his hands. “That’s fine with you, right? Saiha….Shuichi…?”

“...!” His eyes widen at the use of his first name, and his cheeks darken even worse….but immediately, a loving smile appears on his face, giving a small nod. “Of course it is….Kokichi… since, since I… love you, after all. I love you…”

“Ahh….” Kokichi finds himself burying his face in Shuichi’s chest once more, letting out a small whine. “Sh...Shuichi’s g-going to kill me. My beloved really is trying to murder me… h-hehe….” Then after a small pause…. Kokichi looks up at him, with what would be… the warmest, happiest smile that Shuichi has even seen on him. “....I love you, too, Shuichi. For a long time, I have, my beloved….” 

The confession, and that smile, makes Shuichi’s heart so warm. “....You as well, Kokichi…..” He mumbles, before giving a forehead a soft kiss. A small yawn leaving him, he snuggles Kokichi closer into his arms once more. “...Let’s have a nice sleep, now. I’m looking forward to spending the rest of this vacation with you. With my...boyfriend….”

“Boyfriend… yeah: I’m… Shumai’s boyfriend, now….” Even just uttering it makes him feel giddy. “Hehehe… yep! That’s right! I want to check out more of this inn, explore the nearby town, have another onsen bath with you… I want to have lots of fun with Shuichi!!” He giggles, beaming. A yawn also leaving him, Kokichi gets nice and snug in Shuichi’s arms, whispering: “...Goodnight, my beloved. …And thank you: for inviting me here. This was already the best night of my night! And that is not a lie. Nishishi~!”

“Haha... you’re so cute...” He hums, rubbing small circles in his back. “...I’m happy to hear that, though, Kokichi. And thank you in turn for wanting to come with me. You’re already making this vacation worth it. And yeah… we’ll make sure to do all that. Now have a great sleep, Kokichi. Goodnight… I love you…” And eventually, the two drift off to sleep, in each other’s arms.

[trickstermelon]

may I please request a doodle of the asl trio and acesan headcannons-

The doodle is in progress! In the meantime...

So Many Acesan HCs (a lot of these are inspired by @beeforce ilu kite)

- While Ace was traveling with the crew to Alabasta him and Sanji just sort of Clicked, spending ridiculous amounts of their free time chatting together for people who just met. Since both their sleeping patterns are unusual, it wasn’t uncommon to find them in the kitchen at the crack of dawn giggling over tea, Ace insisting on helping prep breakfast

- Ace is 100% Sanjis first crush on a dude so he had some processing to go through that’s a different wormcan

- Sanji was nervous but Absolutely got his number before Ace had to leave, and hogs the phone c o n s t a n t l y

- Lucky for him Ace calls, while inconsistently, for hours whenever he manages to get the time. They love to swap stories about the dumb things they’ve gotten themselves into

- Ace sends a BUNCH of ingredients and little trinkets whenever the crew actually knows where they’re going. While he finds little things for all of them, Ace specifically looks for the weirdest sounding teas and ingredients he can grab for Sanji to try. Whenever the packages get in and they manage to line up the time, the crew will call up Ace to catch up and do little unwrapping parties—

- But once they’ve settled down and the kitchen gets quiet, Sanji takes the time to puzzle the ingredients together while they idly chat, and steep the tea. Ace keeps some of the blends for himself after the joke that if Sanji was going to willingly eat whatever poison Ace picked up off the streets of god knows where, Ace had to at least be decent enough to go down with him

- They drink together, Ace cackling at some of Sanji’s over the top criticisms while he gets onto Sanji for being unwilling to try the ones distilled from peppers— just enjoying their connection across thousands of miles

- Usopp and Nami are the worst teases about Sanjis not so secret crush, regularly bullying him about staring wistfully into the sunset every now and then. Nami particularly loves to hear him go on romantic tangents because 1) it gets him off her back 2) she thinks it’s genuinely adorable 3) has Lowkey been in touch with Ace too so could use it as blackmail at any moment

- (Luffy meanwhile did not pick up on it until Zoro made a jab about it)

- Meanwhile some of the Whitebeard crew (esp Whitebeard himself) are half convinced Ace and Sanji are already engaged the way Ace tends to croon on about him

- Sanji actually asked Ace out before the other got the chance, on accident too, because Sanji ends most his calls with “Love you” by habit

- You wouldn’t think it off the bat but Ace is highkey Lowkey the more romantic of the two simply because he’s unabashed about his feelings + recognized them for what they are much faster

- Ace is very much accustomed to casual touch and being handsy as a form of love— they had to work out boundaries quickly. Sanji just isn’t used to nonviolent physical contact from other guys. Though being around Luffy and Usopp has helped him relax a bit, Ace is a whooooole other level of PDA

-Since Ace has sooooome (just a feeeew) self worth + rejection issues, he took Sanji getting tense and unresponsive to his more forward flirting harder than intended n was moody for a bit. But they worked it out after some difficult conversations. Ace wants him to be comfortable as much as he wants to show his affection and Sanji more than makes up for his awkwardness in public by being a total cuddlebug when they’re alone

- Now /later/. Whoo boy later. When Sanji is confident in himself and Ace is secure in the fact that Sanji loves him and isn’t lying. They are. The MOST OBNOXIOUS couple

- Always have to be touching somehow, Sanji is really fond of sneaking a hand into Ace’s back pockets while Ace is all but draped over his shoulders, Ace using him as a chin rest frequently while they argue over little things

- U would not believe they’d only been dating for a few months they fit together so easily

- Ace is really fond of nicknames and calls Sanji all the classics like babe/darling/hon— but some of his faves are snickerdoodle, lemon / tart, and sugarsnap

- (He defiantly greets Sanji with a regular “Howdy stranger” thank you @cowboyzoro)

- Sanji is the opposite— when he’s being sassy or teasing he likes to use a sharp ‘Portgas’, but he manages to fit so much love and affection into such a short name that Ace is overwhelmed every time he says his name untethered

(Sanji: yeah I was chatting with ♥️♥️♥️♥️Ace♥️♥️♥️♥️ and—

Usopp: how the fuck did you do that with your mouth)

- He did spend a week or two trying to come up w something cutesy but realized that he likes Ace’s name just how it is

- (Tho Ace also really likes when he gets affectionally insulting + is impressed by his creative curses)

- Ace got Sanji the gentlecook shirt— he also likes to snatch it back time to time because Sanji gets occasionally grumpy that Ace owns no hoodies for him to steal. The shoulders have become very stretched out

- Whenever Sanji gets cramps Ace is his living hot water bottle—

- Ace frequently compares him to a cat because he runs cold and is constantly trying to steal Aces warmth either way

- They like. Planning impossible missions together just as thought exercises. Ace has drawn up actual maps and plans of attack for some of the biggest banks in the 4 seas just cause he and Sanji were bored

I have. So many AUs with them too. Including but not limited to:

- Modern College AU of course, where they’re long distance flirting. Both can’t decide if it’s too early to travel a few thousand miles to make out (and other hard choices)

- TattooArtist!Ace where Usopp *really* wants a piece done by a popular artist outside of town, but is too chicken for the needles. Sanji agreed to go with him as morale, planning on getting something small and stupid just so Usopp will feel better, but somehow ends up planning a whole sleeve just so he can keep visiting the cute artist

- A timeline in which Sanji could not escape his fate as a Vinsmoke and became an assassin— only he finds himself unable to carry out his mission when he meets the infamous pirate prince

- CANT say no to a good ol camp councilor AU— this ones mostly for ensemble shenanigans and Nami being mischievous

I always wanna rant about hcs + dumb AUs so hmu anytime

[solohux]

Hi I'm looking for smutty kylux fics that feature enemies to lovers classic kylux sassy Hux and either emperor Hux or supreme leader Kylo ruling the galaxy together or trying to as a goal. What fics would you recommend? Thanks!!

These are just general smutty enemies-to-lovers fics with only some having Emperor Hux/SL Kylo, I hope that’s okay!

But, of course! Here are some of my favourites with that trope! ❤️

◾ Circuit Breaker by @onewhositswiththeturtles​As an ace pilot, it is Kylo Ren’s right and responsibility to field test prototype Starfighters. Now, working with the First Order as Snoke’s apprentice to destroy the Resistance, he is given a new ship: the TIE Silencer. When the ship appears faulty, Kylo is ready to give the engineer a reminder of what failure in the First Order leads to. However, Kylo doesn’t know that the engineer of his new Starfighter is none other than General Hux.

◾ Something to Hold by @paperprinc3​ (WIP)In which General Hux accidentally ends up with a full size Kylo Ren pillow, and Supreme Leader Kylo Ren ends up finding out about it.

◾ Undercover Space Husbands by elfofthedarkside  That had been their mission: infiltrate a Republic senate meeting acting as newly-wedded senators, find the Head Chancellor and assassinate him, then escape without identities being exposed.Hux’s opinion? It would be impossible.Not the assassination; they could do that in their sleep. One of the highest-ranking officers in the First Order and Leader of the Knights of Ren? Nothing stood a chance. No, the real problem would be not getting caught. Kylo Ren wasn’t exactly the most inconspicuous person.

◾ Before I Wake by @anorlost​During a mission gone wrong Kylo Ren and General Hux are captured by bounty hunters and sold to a vengeful Hutt.  Forging an uneasy alliance with his General, Kylo figures it’s best he works with Hux if he wants to escape… and to keep Hux from killing him should the opportunity present itself.   

◾ No One Wants to Die Alone by @kyluxtrashpit & @mirlolo​ Frustrated with Hux’s continued, untraceable assassination attempts, despite trying everything to make his new Grand Marshal happy and make amends, Kylo drags Hux and only Hux on an unnecessary mission to some awful, swampy backwater planet as revenge. When they return, though, the symptoms of an unknown, serious disease land them both in the same quarantine room in the medbay, as well as spreads to some of the crew. They quickly learn that it’s hard to go through a near death experience with someone without getting closer to them in the process.

◾ Scarlet Lines  by @rattlesnake777​A strange disease breaks out aboard the Finalizer and rumour has it that it befalls only virgins.  

◾ Confined Spaces by @milliethecat​ Kylo Ren and General Hux are captured and sold by a bounty hunter, and forced to share a cell, all while Kylo has his powers suppressed, making him see life in a different light. While Hux formulates actual plans to escape, Kylo realises that he and Hux have more in common than he thought, and a compatibility that could be both useful and devastating. Meanwhile, their captor takes a disturbing liking to Hux, and in the face of his threats, Hux comes to Kylo with a request that would indebt him to Kylo forever, if only the alternative wasn’t so much worse.

◾  Meet Me Halfway by @callmelyss​“I don’t do that,” Hux responds in an undertone before he realizes. He flushes—hard—and scowls. “If that will be all, Supreme Leader…” He turns on his heel without waiting to be dismissed and starts to stalk back the way he came, grateful, as ever, for the wide sweep of his greatcoat, the padded shoulders making him feel less—small.He’s halfway out of the room (and what a waste of space) when what he said must catch up with Ren: “You mean you…never?”He freezes, every muscle in his body tensing. Won’t say it out loud. No, he emphasizes, clear as he can. Knowing Ren will hear, knowing he will see it regardless, terrible nosy busybody that he is. I haven’t.

◾ Ruin This Enemyship by @queenlokibeth​Kylo and Hux are enemies. That’s simple enough. Or it would be if they managed to keep it in their pants.

◾ Game Over by @onewhositswiththeturtles (as an aside, this is one of my all-time favourite kylux fics!!)Hux has a combat simulation program developed for all First Order personnel and has a sim of himself as the final boss. He congratulates himself when the program becomes a massive success, unaware of the fact that hackers have changed the coding to dress his sim in increasingly scandalous outfits. When Hux finds out that Ren is spending a large amount of time in the sim he gets suspicious and pulls up the video logs of Ren’s sessions, only to realize that Ren is seeking much more than combat training from Hux’s sim. After some thought and planning, Hux decides to give Ren the real thing.  

◾ Plus One by @mcusekat       Supreme Leader Kylo Ren is invited to a gala by a First Order benefactor. He brings General Armitage Hux as his reluctant plus one.      

◾ Impromptu Meeting by orphan_account Kylo was beyond exasperated with his top General, Armitage Hux and his lack of respect. Kylo was not an Alpha to be mocked and a simple beta should know so. He’d have to have a long talk with a certain ginger.

◾ A Reckless Act of Domination and Intimacy by               the_heauxly_trinity   After the death of Snoke and the Battle of Crait, long-time rivals Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and General Armitage Hux must cooperate or everything they value will self-destruct. Hux knows he is the First Order’s last line of defense against a raging, uncontrolled monster, and he knows how little he can do to influence him… until Ren’s pragmatic attempt to “learn more about him” presents Hux with what he believes is his only chance, unethical though it may be, to save his cause.          

◾ A Loss of Control by @hastalux  Kylo Ren decides it would be fun to use the Force to make Armitage Hux a little less inhibited, seeing as the general might have a little hidden “thing” for him. He forgot Armitage also uses his self-control to keep himself from trying to kill Ren.           

◾ Shrapnel by @agent-nemesis  If Hux is to cement his position, endure Ren he must.        

◾ Enemy Mine by @onewhositswiththeturtles          A First Order ship sent to backup Ren on a mission is attacked and crash lands on a hostile planet, most of the crew dying. Ren is certain that Hux is to blame, desperate since the destruction of Starkiller Base to pick fights and prove he’s more than a poster boy. However, when Ren confronts Hux and relives the attack through Hux’s memories, Ren realizes that he couldn’t have been more wrong about his co-commander.      

◾  Hard Men by @blackmorgan Kylo Ren returns from a mission with one thing on his mind. Against his better judgement, General Hux is inclined to give it to him.

◾ Indecent Secrets by tsworks         Kylo Ren is, unsurprisingly, angry with the General again, and this time it leads to a scuffle. During it, Ren discovers a secret that he never knew would appeal this much to him. Also unsurpringly, he can’t keep his hands to himself.        

Happy reading!

[ayakashiramblings]

The Dawn and Twilight with a Vampire AND Assassin MC

I’m going to clear up somethings that had plagued me while writing this because it really made them both hard to do unless addressed.

General 

The only people technically worthy of being assassinated would be Toichiro and Koga, the only nobles/super-rich men in the faction. 

The rest are otherwise just leading a supremely normal job/jobless existence 

(Squints at Kuya, Yura and Oji). 

Even if we could say that they could be targeted for their Ayakashi nature, it wouldn’t make sense for it to be super sneaky when the whole government is against their very beings but doesn’t want to alert the citizens. 

Too many of them disappearing all at once would just set the whole Capital in a state of unrest. 

I’m going to stick to Asian vampires but admittedly, some Western traces are going to be found. 

Out of all of them, Oji is going to be the most OCC I believe.

I’m going to be honest and say that I have been getting kind of tired of doing these headcanons especially after receiving a few... messages that were a bit insulting. So that’s why I closed the ask box. That said, Nonnie who sent this request, if this is unsatisfactory, do feel free to PM me. I’m really sorry if I sound irritable, I’m just really upset at some of the things in my inbox. 

Ginnojo

Honestly, this could be the start of something new.

A relationship fraught with sexual tension. 

Yes, even for this blushing Dragon.

No, seriously, imagine this. 

During the events of Book 1, and amidst all the chaos of being an Onmyoji…

On top of your other supernatural powers AND… unique job, you find yourself in the alleys, securing a target of yours. 

His scrutinizing gaze settled on your lips, which were pulled up with a teasing smirk.

Finally, a challenge.

He stood like stone, barely eroding even when you had started to show off your floating powers. You had to give it to him, he really was a warrior defending the Capital. 

And apparently, your best opponent. You may have easily snatched away his daggers, but he had easily grabbed your wrist and targeted the vein that should have been pumping with blood if you were alive. 

So why did you suddenly crumple to the ground?

The number of smokescreens between you two was seriously enough to choke everyone in the room. 

You did try to make sure though it did not affect any of the factions, and surprisingly, it had worked.

Seemed that there was an unspoken agreement that you were both looking out for the Capital, except his was more of a freestyle form while yours was conscripted. 

He could respect that. 

What was really hard was completely forgetting your beliefs and loyalties.

Suddenly gravitates towards the Mythology section of his bookshop.

And then... you talk. 

It’s a long talk. It may or may not have been about life, someone’s life you had to take, and everything about order. 

You guys end up working together to bring down a lot of opponents or threats and wow, what a tag team you both are.

Aoi

Finally, a gun-wielding AND sharp-tongued senpai!

… I’m joking, please don’t teach him any more violent/sassy stuff. 

And yes, technically, you’re not sharp-tongued, that’s more of your fangs just gleaming.

You, despite having been in this service and becoming a literal creature of the night, had made the most rookie mistake ever. 

Leaving. Your. Papers.

With all of your bloody targets.

Pun intended because the few red splotches scattered across the parchment certainly wasn’t just a teacher’s pen.

The thing is, Aoi at first hadn’t bothered looking at the content when he had first spotted them. 

He was only focused on just returning your ‘homework’ for Finishing School.

Even though he usually refused to look into anyone, his Seer powers couldn’t exactly tune out the presence of a heart. 

Except, apparently, you did not have one. 

Honestly, you were surprised he never called you out for it. He could have easily unravelled the whole situation.

"Trust me, I know you don’t have one. But you still feel. How can I hate someone who’s always considering her actions every time?”

Now, how to respond to a man so understanding as him?

Why by showing that you were JUST as tsundere as him.

Koga Kitamikado

He feels that he has no right to judge you for killing because at least you have determined if your intended victim was worth spilling blood over. 

He didn’t with Masanobu’s brother.

Honestly, you were always just the slightest bit worried that one day he would pay you to kill him should he ever submit to carnage. 

You and Kuya both want to shake this man so hard.

But for now, you stay. 

Sometimes, you even make sure the area is vacated if it looks like the illness is acting up again. 

For that, he is grateful and makes sure that you are properly covered as well. 

And I don’t mean just hiding your tracks from the public eye. 

This man will get you equipped to deal with ANYTHING.

Heck, even if you had turned human all of a sudden, you could fight an army in the sun thanks to the umbrellas, sunscreens and whatnot. 

It helps that thanks to your line of work, you HAVE to go to parties so while he finally has a companion to secretly diss the questionable crowd, you can gather intel on your next target and see if they were worth it, with inside info from him as well.

You both spend as much time together as you can, even if it’s just sitting in his office doing different things.

Ironically, he never says what you are aloud through it all.

Because the only thing that mattered was who was living at that moment.

Kuya

The boy is smart. He can tell something… 

That you were a bit too familiar with flying. 

At first, he had chalked it up to you being nervous about heights but with how you waved your wand around and almost seemed to be stabbing enemies mid-air, he knew something was… up. 

And he just confronts you the most easily out of everyone here. 

“So, are you a vampire who kills for literally and figuratively a living?”

A bit too morbidly fascinated with it. He’s already obsessed with wraiths, he needs to know how someone like you could battle it all. 

And now he knew.

Don’t expect him to read up. He WILL ask questions that are borderline uncomfortable and really make you question the nature of what you were doing and if there were really no alternatives. 

Always touching your dagger when you’re not looking and then looks like a startled crow when you catch him… before just outrightly asking to touch your fangs. 

Sweet goodness, Kuya, why?

Essentially, imagine him with Koga. 

Because he feels that you torturing yourself to kill just to survive was really not worth it. 

Yura

How he finds out is even more stupid than Aoi. 

You had smiled. 

Like, really smiled because how can you not smile at this pure jelly bean… 

Oh shoot, your fangs had been fully retracted. 

Again, one of those who feels that he is in no position to question your actions.

You even take pity on him by quickly removing all of the animals that he is forced to kill. 

Somehow, not seeing their carcasses alleviates his pain. 

Barely. 

What really made him relieved was that they also acted as a sort of substitute to 

At one point, you had wondered if there was any cure to you being a vampire.

Unfortunately, like with Koga, the most he can produce is a sort of potion to reduce your bloodlust. 

It does help you lower your hit list, thank god.

Maybe one day, the two of you will actually have time to clean those bloodstained hands.

Gaku

Are you here to harm his brother? 

What, you found his scent to be too saccharine? 

How Bloody Dare You. 

You better get diabetes. 

Gaku, not the point.

He found out thanks to Yura confessing. 

Sure, it had taken sheer effort to finally corner the both of you, especially since Yura knew more hiding spots in the forest than Gaku. 

When he did though, the first thing he did was to raise his drums for an attack.

Not surprisingly, he was more concerned with how you would be either against Yura rather than himself. 

Surprisingly though, he is the one giving you weapons much later. 

And I mean much, much later. Yura needed time to work his brotherly magic, after all.

He would rather you not even be doing this at all, it reminded him too much of the path Yura was forced to take. 

Only somehow worse because yours was directly related to your newfound nature. 

Still, if it helped you, he would make sure the kill is at least clean-cut and efficient.

Toichiro Yuri

Good, more resources for the Kitsune clan. 

Seriously, you don’t think there’s a bit of dirty work involved in ruling a bunch of Ayakashi, no?

He already knew of your kind thanks to not just his Western connections, but also because most vampires were related to ancient nobles. 

You had to be bloody pathetic to have not accumulated SOME form of wealth after 100 years.

Especially since your diet was literally JUST blood.

It would be no stretch to assume that Toichiro made use of his silver tongue to inveigle his questionable business partners.

That you were about to become a part of. 

And somehow even more well-hidden than the rest.

Will bug you at night on purpose just because he knows you will be up.

Asshole. 

Truly though, he does value your opinion, especially if whoever he needs info on is a potential victim.

Shizuki

Well, you could have at least told him of your dietary preferences before he had brewed up that pot of milk tea. 

And why you always seemed to struggle with meeting him on the midnight patrols. His schedule was literally thrown up thanks to YOUR secret one.

He somehow isn’t so thrown off at the fact you’re a vampire. It’s what you’re doing that gets him on guard. 

You’re going to have to work to prove that you are NOT a threat to Toichiro. 

So... good luck. 

You may even have to literally swallow your pride... in the form of milk tea. 

Low-key salty he is one of the few who didn’t figure it out and had to be told by Toichiro. 

And yet, you still did. You even tolerated his master’s jokes with an almost inhuman level of patience.

Oh, wait...

Sometimes wonder if freezing blood would help you keep it so that you won’t have to constantly hunt. 

Although you better do whatever Toichiro does ask you to do still.

Just that... he may or may not be slightly concerned with the other non-human in the manor.

Kuro 

Honestly, he is disappointed. 

It’s not about you being a vampire.

He’s probably thought his species was the worst and shameful enough not to reveal at all. 

No, it was the fact you had to murder people. 

Yes, he was glad that you had some sort of say in deciding who to kill.

The thing is, he already has one loose ex-Shinsengumi member risking everything for a few servings of justice.

He was hoping not to have a chance to lose you too.

Did try to accompany you the first few times but you were a bit too fond of the dark. 

For obvious reasons. 

Begins to stock up on random medicine he uses for physical training as an acrobat before wondering if they would even work on a vampiric body.

Still better than you not going to a hospital just because you would be tempted by the blood donors.

Hugs you tight before every mission that he knows he can’t take part in.

Someone’s gotta look after Nachi.

Oji 

For the first time, you will hear what Aoi calls ‘The Dead Voice’. 

For the longest time, you thought it was just one of his ways of covering up his affectionate slip up of calling Oji a ‘Dad’.

Now, you know. You heard right.

Strangely, he is the most aggressive. But remember, he has to consider someone. 

While Aoi may technically accept you, Oji has seen him completely vulnerable after losing all faith in humanity. 

He can’t imagine the state his ward would be in if you were to ever take it too far. 

Not only that, the resurgence of Asian Vampires started around his era so he had to grow up with the worst lot. 

Not the best memory to look back on. And he knows you can’t represent a whole species. 

Doesn’t stop him from having one or three eyes peeled open.

It takes some convincing from Koga to finally Aoi himself to reassure him that you wouldn’t do anything to harm the rest. 

And finally, you get back the adorkable manager(?) who is a bit too busy coming up with vampire puns, always offering a ‘bite’ for you.

Epilogue

After parting with your beloved, you flew. 

“Good job, my doll. I’m proud that you told him.”

With that, you smiled at the one who had turned your blood to one that lusted after another’s. Your daggers met not as an attack, but a sworn oath.

“Yes, Professor.”