#but its not true! we've moved past this ending!

[liyv]

is this what you wanted?

[thankskenpenders]

At long last, the trailer for Sonic movie 3 is here, giving us our first look at Shadow! It looks like a fun time, though my excitement is probably more tempered than a lot of peoples' due to a few things I have mixed feelings on. Here are my off-the-cuff thoughts about it.

Shadow

Yes, it does seem like they've really nailed Shadow here. Fowler's attachment to the character clearly shows. The action looks cool and really sells Shadow as a serious threat. He's got his bike, he's doing Chaos Control all over the place, it's great. Keanu is very much just doing his regular voice, but it fits well enough. The backstory from SA2 seems to mostly be there, though I'm sure some details will be adjusted. Mostly I'm still just amazed that we're getting a major tentpole blockbuster movie this Christmas starring Shadow the fucking Hedgehog that treats him as a serious character worthy of respect. We've come such a long way...

I mean, just... what an image to see on the big screen.

I also really like the way they're setting Shadow up as a foil for movie Sonic, kind of his dark mirror image as a Mobian hedgehog whose family life on Earth ended in tragedy and turned him into a vengeful antagonist. It's pretty straightforward, but it works well.

Robotnik(s)

Welp. They put Jim Carrey in a fat suit. I suppose we knew this day would come eventually.

I guess a small part of me is glad that movie Eggman finally actually looks like Eggman in every way that matter, but they're completely playing it as a joke at his expense here. And, yeah, the Sonic franchise isn't immune to fat jokes, the early years of the franchise (particularly Western adaptations) gave Sonic tons and tons and tons of jabs about Eggman's weight. But I thought we'd moved past that. But here we are with a depressed movie Robotnik binge eating and gaining a lot of weight like Fat Thor and the other characters think he's so GROSS and look his clothes don't even fit him anymore, haha! There's so much of this crammed into the trailer. I can only pray they don't do this in every fucking scene he's in in the movie.

I do like the plot of Sonic reluctantly teaming up with Robotnik to try and stop Shadow, though. It's very different from SA2, but we knew it would be, and I think that gives the movie some potential for Sonic to have kind of a dark turn of his own that mirror's Shadow's. I have a feeling that Sonic will try to get back at Shadow for something he does - maybe hurting Tom or something like that - and in the end Sonic sympathizes with Shadow and decides they have to stop their cycle of revenge, teaming up to stop some final threat.

Oh, and, of course... Jim Carrey is also playing Professor Gerald. Who might still be alive? Or maybe it's a hallucination on Ivo's part? I don't know, but either way, I'm here for it. Everyone joked about them doing it and then they went and did it. Yes, it risks playing him as a joke character, but the shot of him and Shadow mourning Maria while surrounded by GUN soldiers makes me believe he won't be a total joke. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the true final antagonist of the film, which would diverge a lot from the games but would work as its own version of the story.

And again, WHAT an image to see on the big screen lmao

Everyone else

The human cast is VERY downplayed in this trailer, but let's not forget that they're still going to get a lot of screentime one way or another. The Sonic 2 trailer barely showed anything from Hawaii. Where oh where is my best friend Wade?

Speaking of the Wade show, Knuckles... frankly still seems to be mostly a comic relief character heavily influenced by MCU Thor here, getting some jokes in the trailer but immediately getting Worfed by Shadow when it comes time to fight. Tails seems to be flying the gang around in a real-ass helicopter, and his big pilot's helmet is funny, but otherwise he doesn't really do anything here aside from getting stomped by Shadow. I really hope they don't get sidelined too hard, but frankly I fully expect them to, Tails especially.

And, of course... I can't help but think about who isn't here. Namely: the girls. Yes, three movies and one streaming miniseries into this film franchise, exactly zero of the female (animal) characters from the games have made the jump to live action. Please allow me to bitch about this.

Despite her being both 1) a main character in the game this movie is loosely adapting and 2) my fave, I suppose I can understand why Rouge isn't here. Paramount took one look at that bat cleavage and went "nope," cowards that they are. There was some speculation that Kristen Ritter could be playing Rouge, but we now know she's just playing someone at GUN. But, again, I at least get why they'd be hesitant to include her.

But Amy... Amy is such a glaring omission at this point. There's no excuse. She's the female lead of the franchise. She's one of Sonic's closest friends. (Honestly, these days it's more accurate to say Team Sonic is Sonic, Tails, and Amy, not Knuckles, especially in the comics.) And she's also a key player in Shadow's arc in the game. Shadow has his change of heart because Amy reminds him of Maria! And yet, she's nowhere to be seen. It sucks.

(I know some fans are still holding out hope for Amy, but the toys for the movie already leaked and she didn't get anything, so I have to assume she's not in it.)

It's not like I really expected either of them to be in this movie, but that doesn't make it less disappointing that they set up the film franchise in a way that makes it logistically difficult to include 90% of the characters and conveniently managed to leave all of the girls in the "low priority" pile. Yes, I know everyone points to how much Tails was downplayed in the third act of Sonic 2 as evidence that it's just so impossible to introduce more than one new Mobian character in each movie and give them the focus they deserve. Yes, I know having to come up with a story excuse to bring more characters over to Earth is an obstacle, especially when they're gonna have to devote time to Shadow's backstory. But these are excuses. It's a writer's job to figure out solutions to problems like this. They could make it work if they really wanted to. I'd take Amy having a suboptimal amount of screentime over her not being in it at all. It's just not a priority for them. That's what disappoints me. You can justify these absences from a logical perspective, but I just care way more about Amy and Rouge as characters than I do about Shadow, so there's no way for this to not sting.

But, at the end of the day, for what the movie is actually trying to do, it seems to be pulling it off well. Aside from the fat jokes. I don't like the fat jokes. But the Shadow stuff is good. As always, this live action version of the franchise is never going to be my ideal version of Sonic, but it's turned out far better than it had any right to, and I'll probably have fun when I go see this in theaters and hear Live and Learn.

[millieisawriter]

La redención de un tonto

javier escuella x reader

summary: the fall of the van der linde gang was the thing that doomed what had been between you and javier. you loved each other, you truly did, but after he chose dutch's side, and you stood by arthur, you knew this is the end. however, a few years later the fate had led you right back to javier.

wc: 2.7k

all pics taken from pinterest

!!!rdr2 spoilers!! rdr1 spoilers too i guess?

♡this was requested!♡

a/n: okay so i have never played rdr1 nor have i watched any gameplays, but i conciously spoiled it to myself after having finished rdr2, so i know what happens in rdr1, but forgive me if i have missed some details from the game

You never had the intention of heading to Mexico. Well, back when you and Javier were a thing, he always talked about how he was someday going to take you there. But due to what happened to the gang, it never happened, so you buried the memories six feet deep.

Long story short, Javier sided with Dutch and his ideas that got crazier each day, one worse than the other. On one hand you understood his loyalty, but you looked at the problem more objectively. Dutch's brilliant ideas were dangerous, leading the gang into a dead end, from where there was no saving.

"Loyalty is the only thing that can save us." Javier would often remind you.

By then, the gang had moved somewhere near Annesburg. The damn cave you had cleared of its previous tenants was making the camp feel cold, unfamiliar, even scary. Or maybe it wasn't the cave's fault. So much had changed the past few months since that failed job in Blackwater.

"Look, I love Dutch like a father, he practically raised me," you had replied, "but right now he's leading us all into a grave!"

"So what, you're going to side with Arthur? With John? Turn your back on everything we've built?"

"I can't be with you if you support ideas of a man who doesn't give a shit about none of us anymore!"

In that moment, you had been ready to leave. If only Javier wanted to, you two would have left the gang, keep your head low for some time, and eventually leave a happy ever after.

But that never happened. Javier had been blinded by his loyalty to Dutch, and you saw it even without Arthur pointing it out. Because Dutch saved Javier's life a few years before, Javier was now willing to give it up for plans that were doomed from the start.

After you had left, you had no idea what happened to any of the others. You've heard a whisper here and there in saloons, talking of the great fall of the Van Der Linde gang, some people that died, but never any details.

"I guess this is where we part ways." You had stated the last time you ever saw Javier. It were as if you needed to say it for yourself, because it still didn't feel real.

Old you never thought a breakup with Javier would ever have to happen. But then, the old Javier wouldn't put Dutch over the love of his life. Maybe it just wasn't what you were to him, after all.

He knew you still loved him, even if you hated you were on separate edges of the war within your gang. "You don't mean that."

Did he say that because he still loved you too? Or was he just so full of himself? In that moment it hit you, the memory of how John had called Javier a cynic that tried so hard to be a romantic. Maybe the fall of the gang caused Javier's true colors to show.

"I do." Tears appeared in your eyes when you thought about how you'd often imagine saying these words to Javier, but in slightly different circumstances.

For a moment, you thought he might argue, that he would try to convince you one last time. But instead, he looked at you with an expression you had never seen on his face before. There was sorrow, and regret. And the sign of an internal struggle within him.

"Then go," his final words pierced your heart, "just don't expect me to save you when everything falls apart."

Like a prophecy, everything did fall apart. The next few years were so difficult for you. You couldn't get a job, you had practically nothing left. You left the gang, but you never left the life of crime. It was the only way of living you knew.

The price on your head grew, at some point you stopped keeping track of how much it was. You had no way to redeem yourself, but there wasn't a thing you'd regret. You did what you had to in the order to survive. Regret wouldn't feed you, and it sure as hell wouldn't protect you from the men who wanted your head.

The next job was supposed to be simple. You were going to deliver a shipment of rifles to a small band of people like yourself near the border. But nothing ever went according to plan and you were ambushed. You ran, and all you knew was that now you were in Mexico, the place you were supposed to someday visit with the man you once had loved.

Coming back to America would be too risky, maybe fate just wanted for you to end up in Mexico, so after weeks of travel you thought you finally found a safer place to rest. The building looked like an abandoned house, falling apart, but it was better than the lack of any roof over your head.

You woke up one night to a group of unfamiliar male voices talking to each other outside. In Spanish, so you didn't even understand a single word. Before you could silently flee, the door opened, and you had been found by a group of Mexican bounty hunters.

Maybe it was the dehydration, the hunger, the lack of good sleep, but you could swear one man looked way too familiar.

"Javier..?" You asked quietly, to shocked to be scared by the three other men pointing their guns at you.

"¿La conoces?" One of the men asked, as Javier's shocked expression didn't go unnoticed.

["Do you know her?"]

Javier quickly recomposed himself, as if slipping into a role. "Es mía." It was a gamble, but Javier had always been good at those.

["She's mine."]

"¿De qué carajos estás hablando, Escuella?"

["What the fuck are you talking about?"]

"Vale más viva. Y no pienso compartir la recompensa. Váyanse ahora o ninguno de ustedes se va a ir caminando."

["She's worth more alive. And I'm not going to share the reward. Leave now, or none of you will walk away walking."]

The other bounty hunters passed knowing looks among each other. "Bien," one of them nudged Javier, you reckoned it was a playful gesture, "es tu problema."

["Fine, she's your problem."]

The other men left, and you were confused. How the hell were you having a reunion with Javier in such circumstances? As if out of habit, your reached for your gun, resting your hand on the holster at your hip.

"What the hell are you doing here?" You asked, standing up.

"I could ask you the same thing, querida." He raised his hands to show you he doesn't mean bad. "I'm not going to hurt you." He's always had an accent when he spoke in English, which you had always adored. Now, the accent was even more prominent.

You pointed the gun at him, unlocking it. "Yeah, just hand me over so I can swing." You snapped. "That's the great Javier Escuella! Bounty hunting, of all things! That's ridiculous!"

"At least it's honest work. Continuing the way you chose... did you think the law will never catch up to you?"

"That's rich coming from you."

Javier's jaw muscles twitched, betraying the calmness was just a mask he put on. He lowered his hands slowly, but didn't reach for his weapon. "You don't know what I've been through. I lost everything."

"Just as I did! I've lost the gang, the life we had... you..." you paused before you seethed at him, "don't you dare act like you're the only one who's suffered. Nothing justifies selling people out for a few... whatever currency you have here."

Javier's gaze softened, you could swear you saw his lips twitch into a smirk momentarily. "I didn't sell you out, did I?"

Suddenly, the words 'then go, just don't expect me to save you when everything falls apart,' rang in your mind again. Truth be told, those words were said in anger, and right now... Javier was far from angry.

He hadn't seen you in years, but he still loved you. Maybe even more than before. After the gang fell appart, he quickly came to the conclusion you were the love of his life. There was no one better before, nor after. Meeting you again was felt like life giving him another chance.

"Why don't you sell me out, then?" You asked, lowering your weapon.

Javier smirked, as if the answer was supposed to be obvious to you. "Because I don't want you to swing, querida." He took a few steps closer, carefully as if approaching a wild animal.

"You don't get to suddenly act as if you care." Your voice was aggressive, but it sounded forced, almost cracking. "Let me go, and tell your... friends that I ran away."

"I couldn't let you go for all these years. You think I haven't thought about you every day since we parted? You think I don't regret the choices I made?"

You knew Javier has always had a way with words. In the charming way, not in the brash way Sean used to. Javier's words were like quiet, seductive whispers whenever he wanted or needed them to be. And maybe right now he just needed to sweet-talk you into giving in.

"Regret doesn't mean shit," you tried to snap at him, "you chose Dutch over me. We could leave the gang, leave a good life—"

Javier interrupted you, "Dutch knew how to get inside our heads."

"Just help me get out of here."

Javier took a deep breath, glancing outside the broken window momentarily. He could see the other bounty hunters leaving, the road's dust raising at their horses' hooves. They were far enough.

"Fine." Javier said finally, his voice disappointed.

The man grabbed your wirst, sternly but without hurting you. Now that he had you again, he was supposed to let you go. That wasn't what he wanted.

After he led you outside, you felt his grip loosen up to eventually let go of your wrist completely. Contrary to what it should make you feel, you were... disappointed? As if at some point you thought he would fight harder to win you back.

Then you realized. Javier didn't want to part ways again, but neither did you. And just when you thought there was no more hope, the man spoke up.

"You don't know this place," he said, "you're hungry, exhausted, don't know the language. Let me help you."

Your stomach had been empty for a long time, your legs ached, and the pounding in your head was getting unbearable. There were more reasons not to trust Javier, than to trust him, but you needed help. Maybe you could just sneak away after he helps you.

"And what do you get out of this?" You asked.

"I get to make up for my mistakes." He replied. "I'll show you I'm not the same man that let you go. Maybe I'll even get to keep you safe this time."

"I don't need saving. I can survive on my own."

"Not here, querida. This isn't the United States. How are you going to survive if you don't know how to even buy a damn apple in Spanish?"

Scoffing, you crossed your arms. "Don't need talking to steal."

"And make your bounty grow?" He sighed. "Admit it, you need help. Let me to that, please."

You replied after a moment of silence, "Fine. But don't think it makes up for what you did."

Javier nodded, smiling faintly. He led you to his horse, offering his hand to help you mount. Hesitantly, you took it. You pride didn't want to, but you were too exhaused.

Before climbing up himself, Javier reached for his sombrero and handed it to you. "Here."

It wasn't much, but it was better than leaving your face fully exposed, so you accepted it. You hoped wearing a man's hat didn't mean the same thing in Mexico as it did in the United States, but you tried to push that thought away regardless.

Then, you pulled the bandana from around your neck up over your face, completing the makeshift disguise. It was better than nothing, but what you really needed, were new clothes. Maybe something that wouldn't scream wanted criminal.

Some time later, a time that felt like enternity to you, Javier's horse came to a stop at a saloon. It looked as if it was about to collapse, but apparently the interior was full of life.

"Don't worry," Javier reassued you, dismounting, "most of them got a bounty on their heads. No one will care."

You reluctantly followed Javier inside. The saloon was dimly lit, and no one even seemed to care when you two walked inside. Despite the location being rather safe, Javier paid for a room, and that was where you ate your meal.

The meal wasn't fancy, but it tasted like heaven after weeks of surviving on whatever you could find. Either the saloon's cook was wasting his talent working in a place like this, or the fact that you hadn't had a proper meal in so long made it seem that way.

Javier leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching you. "Good?" He asked.

You nodded, swallowing the last bite. "Yeah."

Javier watched you for a moment longer before looking away. For all the tension between you, there was something in his gaze that you recognized well. Inside the man he was now, was still the man you once loved.

He was different. Older, worn by life and everything that had happened the past few years, but so were you. Thinking about what to say next, you moved from the tiny table to the bed.

"Why are you doing this?" You asked, making Javier's eyes shift back to you.

"Because..." he hesitated, "I never stopped thinking about you, about what happened. I didn't even know if you were alive. I was a fool, querida. I thought loyalty was everything, that Dutch had all the answers. Turns out he didn't, and it cost me the only thing that ever really mattered."

You didn't know what to reply. Of course, years of anger wouldn't disappear after a bunch of nice words. But it definitely cracked the surface of your shell. Part of you wanted to push him away, to protect yourself. But another part wanted to believe him, the part that saw in him your former lover.

When you didn't answer, Javier continued talking, making a bold move by sitting down on the bed. Right next to you. What it made you feel was so familiar yet so distant, you had to shift in spot, attempting to make the distance between the two of you a bit bigger. It barely worked.

Javier leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped. He wasn't looking at you when he spoke. "I know I don't deserve forgiveness," he couldn't look at you when he said this, "but I need you to know I never stopped loving you."

His words were an arrow that pierced right through your heart. As painful as it was, his feelings for you never faded. Even back when he made that choice to stand by Dutch. Especially then.

You took a breath to reply, but you couldn't come up with any words. So it just sounded as if you let out a sigh. That didn't make Javier feel any better.

He turned to look at you. "I'd take it all back if I could. I'd leave it all behind for you, right here, right now. Just say the word."

It was the way he said it that finally broke your shell completely. The way his voice was vulnerable. It proved to you that he wasn't trying to manipulate you.

Without thinking, you reached for his hand. He didn't know what to do, but he surely didn't want you to let go.

"You're an idiot." You said, but your voice was soft, without malice. "But so am I for what I still feel for you."

Judgning by how he's been acting, you thought he'll catch a hint this is the moment where he kisses you. It seemed as if he was too stunned to react immediately, so you took the matters in your own hands and leaned in.

It started hesitantly. He kissed you back, but the both of you were carefully walking along the thin thread of any trust that there was left. It took Javier a moment, but his hands eventually pulled you closer. He used to think he had lost you forever, so when he finally found you again... he didn't want to let go.

[downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le]

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) - Chapter 8

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 2929 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up.

Y/N Prince - miracle daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor - and Dick Grayson - first adoptive son of the Batman himself - have been best friends since day one. They went to school together, trained together, kept each other's alter ego secret from everyone else, and they founded the Young Justice alongside their friends together. 

But as time progressed, Y/N and Dick grew up and Y/N found herself wanting more than friendship with Dick. But he never seemed to indicate that he reciprocated her feelings. And when Wally died and Dick abandoned the team, Y/N realised he never would. So she heads to the one place she knows will help her become a stronger warrior so that one day she can take her mother's place: Themyscira.

Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.

However, when the two finally reunite, it isn't as warm as he hopes. Not to mention Themyscira becomes under siege as they go to war against Echidna, the Mother of Monsters in Greek Mythology, and her army of monstrous children.

Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?

~~~

'Get to your stations! Grab any weapon you can!'

Dick weaved and dove in and around the swarm of women running through the halls of the armoury that encircled the palace, all the while trying not to lose Y/N as she stormed through the halls shouting commands. The walls thundered around them as harpies attacked the palace walls, trying to get inside. All the noise and speed of its all had Dick's blood thrumming in his ears.

'Y/N! Wait up!' Dick called out to her, but still she ran on, picking up Amazons who'd been shoved to the floor in the rush and pushing them onward to their posts. All while still wearing that stunningly beautiful gown.

'Keep moving!' Y/N encouraged as they continued through the armoury. 'Those harpies are not waiting for us, and I can only imagined there is more where they came from.'

'Y/N, hold up-' Dick tried again, but was cut off.

'Not now, Dick,' she said as she waved at him, clearly not listening.

'But I think you should-'

The shattering of a glass window interrupted Dick once more, the cause being one of the deadly harpies that were attacking them. It lashed out at some nearby Amazons, slicing legs and arms in its wake. Y/N leapt into action, seizing a lance lined up on the wall and charging at the creature.

She pierced the lance through one of its wings, wrenching an ear-piercing screech from the harpy. It slashed at her with its taloned hands, but Y/N leapt back out of reach, ripping the lance from the harpy's wing before plunging it into the harpy's exposed chest.

The creature spasmed and made a horrible, wet sound before it collapsed to the floor dead.

Dick watched as Y/N withdrew the lance from the harpy, green blood dripping from its sharp end. The same blood that had spattered all across her white dressing. She looked up to see a crowd of stunned warriors watching her. 'Go! There is no time to waste. We must secure Themyscira.'

The watchers scrambled to find a suitable weapon before darting away to attend to their posts. Without missing a beat, Y/N turned to Dick and motioned for him to follow her. 'Come on, we've got to go.'

'Y/N wait,' Dick tried one more time.

'Oh for Athena's sake, what is it Dick?' Y/N asked, angered as she turned back to face him. Some of her hair had escaped its bun and now framed her face, her flushed cheeks. Dick had to bite his tongue lest he tell her he thought she looked cute when she was mad.

Instead, he motioned to her green blood-spattered dress. 'Don't you think you should change first?'

That just only seemed to anger her more. 'Are you serious right now?' When Dick just nodded, she groaned in frustration but leant down, grabbed the dress from just below her knees, and sliced it until all that was left of her dressings was a shorter version that finished just above her knees.

In a frustrated huff, she threw the remaining scraps to the floor and pointed said to Dick, 'Happy now?'

'I am, but your Grandmother is going to be so pissed.'

Y/N rolled her eyes, but before she could retort, the sound of a high-pitched horn resounded from outside. The thundering around them stopped as well. Y/N and Dick shared twin looks of curiosity with one another before rushing to the broken window.

'They're retreating?' Dick questioned, watching the hundreds and thousands of harpies retreating to the beach he arrived on.

'No,' Y/N said, 'they're preparing to attack us with something worse. Quick, we've got to get our forces down to the beach.'

~~~

Y/N stood with Dick and Calliope on the beach she first arrived on all those months ago, staring out to the ocean where the harpies just hovered over the wild waves.

'What are they doing, Princess?' Calliope asked, and if Y/N didn't know any better, she would've thought Calliope sounded partially afraid.

'I don't know,' she answered, never taking her eyes off the creatures. 'They seem to be waiting for something.'

'Well I think we should take them down now,' Dick said, pulling out his escrima sticks the weapon masters had forged for him. They weren't his usual ones equipped with tasers, but they suited him far more than a sword or lance, along with the shuriken stars he'd requested be made as well.

'How, genius?' Y/N asked, pointing to the hovering harpies. 'They are ten metres above water that could be concealing even more dangerous creatures. You really want to test what the outcome of that fight will be?'

Dick gave her a frustrated look, one she'd seen many times before when they'd been in battles, but he shook his head in response and relaxed his stance once more.

'Princess, look!' Calliope called out, pointing to the ocean.

The waves drew higher, crashed on the shoreline more heavily and creating more foam. But that wasn't what scared Y/N. It was the green light emanating from underneath the water's surface. It seemed to circle the entire coast of the island.

'Warriors, at the ready!' Y/N called out, and she heard her cry echo either side of her until it faded around the corners of the island where other units of warriors waited to defend their home. Calliope drew her sword and Y/N took up an offensive stance with her lance, its green-crusted tip flashing emerald in the moonlight.

As the light grew more bright, the waves finally came to a chilling standstill, the surface mirroring the harpies and the night sky beyond them. But just as quick as the stillness came, it was broken as hundreds of thousands of black sea-like creatures with glowing green eyes came splashing and thrashing out of the ocean.

'Attack!' Y/N cried, and she, Dick and Calliope were the first to charge towards the creatures.

The beach exploded with the battle cry of thousands of Amazons as they charged towards the shoreline. The monsters howled and growled and hissed and screeched as they too charged away from their watery entrance to meet the warriors on the beach.

The two armies clashed like steel on stone, the mighty crash resounding up and down the beach like firecrackers being set off. Y/N threw her lance at a fish-like crocodile straight down its throat as it lunged at her with an open mouth. She didn't wait to see if it died, only pulling her lance from its throat as it deflated onto the sand and moving onto the next creature.

Hours could've passed, perhaps only a few minutes had, but Y/N felt trapped in a bubble of never-ending fighting. She struggled for breath as she fought off a human-sized octopus-like creature, trying to pull her lance out of its grip. It had seven tentacles on her lance, but the eighth rose high above, ready to strike down on her.

Y/N braced for the blow, but the sudden rush of air past her ear and the screech of the monster had her looking around to see Dick running towards her, preparing to throw another shuriken star.

As the second star hit its mark, the monster released its hold on Y/N's lance, giving her an opportunity to pull it free of its clutches and slice precisely and ferociously at its other tentacles before throwing it at its huge head.

Piercing its brain, the creature fell silent and collapsed to the ground. Y/N quickly picked her lance out of the creature's head and fell back to back with Dick.

'Thanks for the save,' she admitted, batting off a slithering eel-like creature as it lunged at her.

'Don't mentioned it,' Dick grunted as he kicked back another creature. He leaned over his shoulder to get a partial look at Y/N, an exhausted smile on his lips. 'Just like old times, right?'

'Right, because the last time I had to fight a greek goddess was, uh, when again? Hey, behind you!'

Dick and Y/N flipped around fully to attack oncoming creatures on both sides, and Y/N felt the familiar rhythm of working with Dick fall back into place. He had her back, and she had his. When he would duck, she would strike; when she made a feint, he would be ready for the hidden blow.

Dick breathed heavily as he turned to face Y/N, that damning smile bringing light to the midnight battle. 'Is it wrong to say I kind of missed this?' he said between heavy gulps of breath.

Y/N couldn't help but huff in amusement at his statement. 'Really? You want to reminisce now?'

He shrugged. 'Why not. No time like the present!'

'I'd beg to differ.' Y/N slashed at an oncoming creature's throat, barely flinching as green blood splattered all over her already ruined gown. Dick was right. If Y/N survived the night, her grandmother was going to kill her.

When she turned back to Dick though, he was still giving her that damn smile - the one that always sent her heart aflutter, the one that threatened to melt her resolve every time he flashed it - and she couldn't help but smile back.

But as if in slow motion, Y/N saw a black blur over Dick's shoulder, but before she could warn him, a tentacle wrapped itself around his ankle and dragged him backwards.

'Dick!' Y/N went to go after him but something slammed into her back and pushed her to the ground. She managed to rollover and put her lance up for the sea lion-like creature to bite on instead of her neck. It kept gnashing its teeth at her, and all she could do was block with her lance. She looked around for any help but all she saw were the Amazons.

Wounded, bleeding, fighting, lying dead in the sand. The cries of the injured deafened her, suffocated her to the point Y/N didn't think she was breathing. They'd fought valiantly, but the monsters just kept coming.

They were fighting a losing battle.

Anger and sadness overwhelmed her as she heard her name being called out to her. As if she could answer their prayers. As if she could help them.

I have to. I have to help them.

All her anger and hopelessness surged through her, along with something that was unfamiliar. As she looked up at the sea lion, her vision went white.

~~~

'Y/N!' Dick called out to her as he saw her be slammed into the ground by the sea lion. But the octopus had a grip on him which was not so easily escaped from.

Dick rolled onto his back as he came face to face with the creature apprehending him and threw two stars at its flashing green eyes. It screeched in pain, releasing Dick as it floundered around now blind.

Dick didn't pay the creature anymore mind, instead turning back to race for Y/N. But just as he approached, he was knocked back by some force that exploded from Y/N and the sea lion. When he refocussed he couldn't believe what he saw.

Y/N hovered just above the sand, haloed in a white energy that radiated power. Her loose hair floated as if she were suspended in water, and her eyes glowed pure white. Her lance appeared to be burning too, a white hot flame in her hand that did not flinch at its heat.

Y/N looked directly at him, but Dick saw no recognition on her face and knew in that moment he wasn't dealing with just Y/N.

'Get everyone to the mountainside,' she said, her voice echoed by a deeper, more resounding voice. It was almost like someone else was present with Y/N.

When Dick didn't move, Y/N lunged her lance at a large group of creatures running their way and expelled a large blast of energy that vaporised them in seconds. She then turned back to Dick and, seeing he still hadn't moved, shouted, 'Go!'

He didn't know what she was going to do, but he didn't wait around any longer to be reprimanded again. Dick scrambled to his feet and started ushering any Amazon he could find back towards the stairs that led up to the city. 'Get to the stairs!' he cried, running and fighting through the battlefield. 'Get to the stairs! Grab anyone you can and get to the stairs! Spread the message!'

Quicker than expected, his message wrapped around the whole beach and the thousands of warriors on it started retreating from it. One young warrior fell as she ran away from a creature chasing her. It lunged at her with fangs bared, but Dick slammed his escrima sticks down on its head before kicking it away.

'Here, come on!' he said, offering his hand out to help the young girl up. She couldn't have been any older than sixteen.

She gratefully took his hand and let him lead her to the stairs. Once they were high enough up, Dick turned to see Y/N drawing in the monsters and fighting them all. He was transfixed. She acted as a beacon on light, giving him and the Amazons time to reach safety.

But what would she do from there?

'Y/N!' He called out to her, and to his surprise she looked his way, those pure white eyes piercing his soul.

Without a word, she rose high above the crowd of creatures and Dick felt her drawing in energy from all around her as she glowed brighter and brighter. Suddenly, she took off, flying around the corner of the beach, and just when Dick thought she'd left them alone, she came flying back around the other side.

Dick held onto the young girl protectively as Y/N flew circles around the base of the mountainside, getting faster and faster until all she appeared to be was a blurry white line encircling the island. It was only then Dick noticed a sheer barrier building from the ground upwards and arc towards the middle.

She's creating a dome? Dick didn't quite understand how, but Y/N was creating an almost invisible barrier over the entire mountain of Themyscira.

Y/N finally began to slow down when the dome appeared complete, then floated down to where Dick, Calliope and other warriors crowded on the steps. She stared down at the monsters crowded on the beach, waiting for their attack.

As if realising they'd been pranked, the monsters howled and hissed as they charged at the stairs. But just as the first few creatures hit the base of the stairs, they disintegrated. Vaporised, as if they never existed.

A few more crossed the threshold to the stairs before realising they were heading to their deaths. The smart ones stood just before the stairs, growling up at Y/N as she finally floated down to the landing Dick and Calliope stood upon. As soon her feet touched solid ground, the white energy faded and Y/N dropped her lance as her knees buckled beneath her.

Dick was quick to catch her, throwing one arm under her should to hold her up and the other to gently hold her face. 'Y/N? Y/N, come on,' he said, worry threatening to overcome him.

Relief washed over him as Y/N's eyes fluttered open. 'Dick?' she asked, taking in her surroundings as she stood up properly. 'What happened? What's going on?'

'You just single-handedly saved us, Princess,' Calliope injected, turning to her fellow warriors and igniting cheers and claps of joy and success.

'What?' Y/N finally looked down at the beach to see the hoards of monsters standing by the dome. She looked up to the top of Themyscira, admiring the dome all around them. Dick noticed a hint of fear as she looked back at him and asked, 'I did that?'

All Dick could do was nod, very aware that he still held onto her and that she hadn't pulled away yet. He had questions, so many he didn't know where to start. But the semi-shocked and fearful look on Y/N's face told him that she was not up to answering them now.

He turned to Calliope, pulling her away from the celebration she had ignited. 'We should set up a guard around the base of the dome. We can't assume this will remain all night. Echidna will try her best to bring it down and get through.'

'Then I say she can try, but she will have a fight waiting for her on the otherwise if she does manage to get through,' Calliope answered, her face and tone serious once more. 'I will set up a guard immediately. You take the princess back to the city for rest. I will join you as soon as I have set up the guard so we can discuss our next moves.'

Dick nodded his thanks as Calliope turned to speak with the warriors nearby. Gently, he grabbed Y/N's hand, drawing her attention to him. 'Hey, let's get you up to the city. We should regroup there.'

Surprisingly, she didn't fight him, but instead let him lead her through the crowd of warriors who cheered and clapped her up the stairs. Dick couldn't help but notice however that she barely paid any of them any mind. She made the climb back to the city with her head lowered and her eyes distant.

What are you thinking about? Dick wished he could read her mind like he used to. But whatever had happened to her just now, he knew this time he couldn't help her.

And that thought alone broke his heart.

~~~

Tag List:

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[pointlesscandies]

Babe’s books, themes, and foreshadowing in THK

The Taming of the Shrew:

We can learn a lot from Babe's books. He started the series while reading the taming of the shrew: a clear callout because thk loosely follows its setup. That framing is still there, but we've moved out of the scope of the story told in the taming of the shrew. And so Babe has started a new book.

By episode 6 he's switched to reading Othello.

If you aren't familiar with the play. This is not good news.

Othello:

Othello is about deception, manipulation, and sowing distrust. It's about how easily people can turn on each other based off what they believe to be true: even when it's not the truth.

We're already seeing these themes play out in episode 6.

In Othello, a character manages to turn everyone against each other by preying on their insecurities and weaknesses. It's what the detective and Lily have been doing and so far it's working.

Othello does not have a happy ending.

But if Style, Fadel, Kant, and Bison are able to look past what they believe to be true and stand together despite the manipulation from all sides, they can start a new story.

[miukki960]

I'm gonna make this post before I go in the tag and see ANY God or Diew slander, because for me the conflict this episode not only made sense, but was necessary for their relationship to move forward.

The seed was planted long ago when God first found the picture of Diew and Dr. Asshole, and at first God handled it rationally (as expected of our Green Flag King). But the longer the situation went unresolved, the more doubt and insecurity began to creep in until it all came to a head in this episode, because all God needed was honesty and openness from Diew, but Diew has learned from past conditioning to lock those parts of himself away and only show a surface level of his personality and self.

I found that God's argument with Diew, while definitely escalated by emotion and insecurity, was justified at its core. We've learned throughout this story that God's main love language is Quality Time, and that most often is fulfilled by God genuinely enjoying doing anything and everything with the people he loves, so long as they are having a good time. But his conversation with Dr. Asshole put the idea in his mind that Diew has simply been going with the flow and doing whatever God suggested in order to make him feel good, that he hasn't actually enjoyed their time together. And while we as an audience know that's false, the idea is one of God's worst fears and most devastating nightmares.

But he loves Diew and doesn't want to believe it's true, so he gives him multiple chances to prove him wrong. And when Diew continues to reply with lies and deflection, it unfortunately proves him right. Because while the context is a bit off and there is definitely a misunderstanding at play, at the end of the day Diew isn't being honest and isn't trusting God enough to open up and show him the deeper, more emotional parts of himself. So God comes to the only conclusion he can see, that even if Diew is no longer in love with Dr. Asshole, their love was deeper and more meaningful than what he has with God now.

But don't get me wrong! Even though Diew was choosing the wrong dialog options during his argument with God, he was also justified in choosing to keep his secrets and emotions hidden. What God doesn't know is that Diew HAS opened up before, bared his heart and soul to someone he thought he loved and trusted, and what was he rewarded with? Disinterest, deflection, shame. As someone with major anxieties related to human interaction, you only have to burn him once to teach him to never play with fire again. And Dr. Asshole burned him deeply on multiple occasions.

No amount of kindness and sweetness and love from God was gonna convince him to play with fire again. In fact, it was reaffirming. Much like what we have been seeing with Wan towards Beer, I'm sure Diew sees how good and wonderful God is and is absolutely terrified to fuck it up. But just like Wan, his defense became his biggest downfall.

At the end of the day, rather than focusing on what happened, we should instead focus on why it happened and how the characters are going to grow from it. And we can see that how through the characters actions during the last few minutes of the episode. We see Diew, who's defense is to isolate, actively reaching out to God multiple times in multiple ways, ready to explain and open up and heal. And we see God going through the more nasty, volatile parts of his emotions alone, so he doesn't hurt Diew while he's in the wrong headspace, but also doesn't bottle the bad things to explode later.

I think what gets me the most is that in their very last conversation before the end of the episode, Diew was asking for togetherness and God was asking for space, and they were both upset on many levels, but they were still speaking to each other with love in their tone and words.

[daintyys]

needy

MDNI - fem!reader x coriolanus snow, 1k words, angst, swearing, non-descript masturbation, needy coryo, intentional lowercase, lmfao i hope its not obvious but i need to reread the book

an: this is literally AWFUL but i needed to post and i didn't want my first post in a while to be smut. i'm taking asks for coryo and sejanus! if u want me to write anything just ask me!

he's into you. he hates to admit it, but its true. when you're assigned as partners for a project, coryo doesn't know how to act.

coriolanus snow had a problem: he was too observant. whenever you were around, he couldn't stop himself from watching your every move. he disgusted himself, honestly. how perverted he was, being obsessed with a girl he hardly knew. how even more perverted he felt as he rushed home from the academy, straight to his bedroom, needing to fuck himself to the thought of your face. you were too pretty not to think about, he had to rationalize with himself whilst cumming on his sheets.

the professors at the academy were being tough on their students, as the end of term was drawing near. coriolanus constantly found himself buried in projects, textbook readings, and presentations. he wasn't worried though, his grades were perfect, he had exemplary attendance, and had never turned in a late assignment. all he had to do was get past his exams, and then it was all over.

history class was no exception. professor demigloss assigned an 8-page essay analyzing cassius heath, the winner of the first hunger games, and it was to be done with a partner.

demigloss was notorious for not letting students pick whom they wanted to work with, so it was no surprise as he began to read out the pairings for the essay.

coriolanus was bored. he knew all about the first games, and certainly didn't give a damn about cassius heath. he was 8 when the games happened, his father had just been killed, and he understood they were made to punish the districts.

what finally got his attention was hearing your name, along with, ironically, his. he looked up quickly, turning his head toward where you were seated. you stared back at him, flashing him a smile. fuck, coryo thought. just his luck.

the essay was to be done outside of class, so coriolanus gathered all his courage to stop you in the hall after history.

when the bell rang, he ran straight for the door, and stood outside it to wait for you. he clutched the strap of his satchel, palms sweating and knuckles turning white.

you exited the classroom, and coryo's breath hitched. he'd never been this close to you before, even if it was just 10 feet. he cleared his throat and you looked up. "y/n." he greeted, sounding colder than he had intentioned.

you approached him and smiled, reaching out to shake his hand. coryo quickly wiped his palm on his jacket and took your hand in his, shaking it. "i'm afraid we've never actually spoken before." you noted, taking your hand back. "you seem to be right." you answered his agreement with a nod. this was awkward.

"so, y/n, when should we plan to do this essay?" coriolanus queried, running a hand through his unruly hair. you cocked your head. "tonight? my place?" you proposed, opening your satchel to retrieve paper and pen to write your address.

coryo nodded, feeling his neck begin to sweat. "great," you affirmed, handing him the paper. "just come over after class lets out." with that, you walked away, leaving coryo dumbfounded.

he had been quiet, cold, and he was disgustingly clammy. stupid, nervous, guilty, girl-crazy coriolanus.

when school let out, it felt to coriolanus like it had been days since he'd seen you. he took out the paper with your address, admiring your handwriting. your hand had been small and soft... he wished he could touch you again.

covering the growing bulge in his pants with his satchel, coryo made his way to your apartment.

coriolanus deeply regretted all those times he'd jerked off to the thought of you. he never thought he would actually have to talk to you, and yet here he was. how could he look you in the eye? he hardly knew you, and you hardly knew him.

you lived in a nice building, and your apartment was close to the top floor, with a fantastic view of the city (which wasn't really much to look at). coriolanus knocked at your door, pushing his hair out of his face.

you opened the door after a moment, out of the academy uniform and wearing an adorable floral sundress. "coriolanus!" you smiled, opening the door further for him to enter. he walked into your apartment, admiring the interior.

"you have a very lovely home, y/n." he complimented, placing his satchel on a bench next to the door. you blushed at his remark. "it is lovely, isn't it, but it's quite far from the academy. speaking of which, you didn't walk all the way here, did you?"

coriolanus paused. neither him nor tigris had a car, so there was no way for him to be driven somewhere, and he hated asking for favors. "i like walking," he lied. "i get to see the city." you smiled, guiding him to the study. "there really isn't much to see." you joked.

the two of you sat close to each other at the desk, legs brushing against together every few minutes. you both read your textbooks, compared your finds, and drafted the essay.

you found yourself admiring coriolanus. everything you'd heard about him seemed to be true. he was a genius, sickeningly handsome, and one hell of a writer. every time you made eye contact with him, you could feel your heart pounding in your throat.

there was definitely tension between the two of you, your bodies grazing each other, feeling the other jump every time you touched. coriolanus struggled to focus on the task at hand, resisting the urge to kiss you. you noticed this change in him.

"coriolanus, do you like me or something?" you joked, eyes skimming your textbook. coriolanus paused. "i tolerate you." he deflected, face burning. "well you hardly know me!" you giggled, eyes bearing into his.

"that's why it's easy to tolerate you, y/n." he smirked, blue eyes glistening. you rested your head on your hand, studying his features. coryo pretended not to notice, his heart beating rapidly as he acted like he was reading.

you smiled at him, and bit slightly down on your lip. you hardly knew this guy, so why were you trying so hard to get his attention?

coriolanus met your gaze, looking from your eyes to your lips. "i want to kiss you, y/n." he ventured, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. "oh do you?" you giggled. "yes, i do." coryo sat up straight, turning his body towards yours. you looked up at him longingly, mouth slightly ajar.

he gently cupped your face, rubbing your cheek with the pad of his thumb. "i need to kiss you." coryo clarified, his cock straining against his pants. "then do it." you purred.

so he did.

[bluegalaxygirl]

Amnesia (KidKiller X Reader) P3

Plot: After an explosion reader wakes up in a hospital with no memory of the past few years, her parents want to take her home so she can recover and get back to a normal life while the Kid pirates want her back on the ship where she belongs.

Warning: Bad language, Violence, Blood, Drugs, mentions of torture and Death.

Reader is Female, Poly Relationship, established relationship, Kid X Reader X Killer, Reader is a member of the Kid pirates and is in charge of the money, Budgeting and negotiating the best price.

< Previous part ….. Next Part >

The afternoon sun burned bright in the sky, the white soft clouds slowly floating through the clear sky as birds happy let the light wind take them across the sea. It would have been so peaceful if it weren't for the cannon fire, yelling and metal banging against brick, The Victoria Punk quickly docked at the side of the prison letting the crew off to rampage and free their crew mates while others stayed behind to fire at the prison walls with the cannons. Kid had already left the ship before it even docked and Killer wasn't too far behind, the captain busted open the gates sending shock waves though the floating prison startling everyone inside. Marines run to protect the prison but are either shot, cut or punched hardly standing a chance against the Kid pirates, Kid had no idea where he was going, he just hit and gathered mental as he runs through the base, Killer following behind slicing up anyone who came after them. Wire and Heat know that Kid and Killer would be doing their own thing so the two split up taking a few crew members with them to search the cell area for their crew, it wasn't long until Wire came across the missing crew members. Boogie waves his hand threw the bars seeing his tall crew mate and a few others running down the hall "Wire" The four call out with happy smile's glad to be getting out of this place, the tall man simply nods before using his trident to slice open the bars to each cell letting them out.

The crew around him cheer as they reunite with each other but Wire raises an eyebrow at only seeing the four of them, before he can ask though Bubblegum runs up to him in slight panic "They took Y/n to the infirmary but The Commodore recognized her, he said her father would he furious and to keep her off the records." He quickly explains knowing Wire didn't have the time for long stories, the other three nod confirming what Bubblegum just said. "Get them out of here, I'll check the infirmary , if you see Heat on the way make sure to inform him of all this" The tall man commands the crew he brought with him before heading off to find the medical ward alone, Its true the crew don't know anything about your past, but they never thought to ask and you never brought it up. You had a few strange quirks but then again so did the rest of the crew who come from all over the South blue and some even from the Grand line. Walking into the infirmary Wire looks around seeing several patients in their beds, some tied down while the others seem to be passed out but none of them were you. A whimper catches his attention turning to look at the desk's down the other end of the room, walking over the tall man steps around the main desk to see a young woman wearing a nurses outfit cowering under it, she freezes with a squeak when seeing Wire staring down at her. "Where's Y/N, she was brought in last night or this morning" He asks not making a move towards her yet, he had no reason to hurt her unless she refused to answer his question.

Despite her seeming to know that he had no intention to harm her if she answered, she gave him a response the tall man didn't like "w-we've had no n-new patients" She stutters while trying to move further back in fear but her back is already pressed firmly against the wood, Wire lets out a sigh before bending down to look right at her "My crew said she was brought here so don't lie, where is she?" He asks again becoming impatient his eyes burning into her's making the young girl gulp in fear "I-i'm not lying, I-I can show y-you the records" She pants hoping not to get killed by the tall man. Wire thinks for a second while looking her over, something told him she was telling the truth, but he needed to be sure so using one hand he shoves the heavy wooden desk away causing her to let out a scream, but she makes no move to get up and run, it seems her body chose freeze this time. "Hurry up, i don't have time" Wire gestures towards the file cabinets while gripping his trident in his other hand ready to kill her if she tried to run, with a nod the young woman stands to her shaky feet and makes her way over to the file cabinets taking out the patient records for the past couple of days. Her hands are shaky at best but manages to take them out without dropping them and places them on the other wooden desk thats still standing, Wire steps closer causing the woman to back up to the wall as to not be in his way. Looking over the files it seems she was telling the truth, there isn't any records of any new additions but there were records of the four crew members being patched up then shoved in a cell. So its true that they didn't put you on record but there has to be a trace of you somewhere at least someone who saw you here, the nurse would have told him if she saw you, she's too scared not too.

The young nurse watches the pirate's every move until he shoves the files off the desk and turn to her, thinking she's going to die the young woman closes her eyes and bases for a painful death but instead she hears footsteps walking away. Peeking open her eyes she watches Wire walk towards the door after stepping over the wooden desk that he shoved to the floor and heads down the hall to inform his captain about all this, surprisingly leaving the nurse alive. Killer slices through yet another Marine that thought he could take the masked man on in a sword fight as he follows Kid's mess of destruction, he know's that if he lost sight of his captain all he had to do was follow the trail of bodies and broken walls to find him again. A few marines tried to take on Kid but their weapons where ripped out of their hands as the red head uses his devil fruit to pull them, along with other piece of metal over to him covering his already metal arm making it much bigger and stronger. With a laugh Kid swings the giant arm hitting the marines and the walls around him as Killer finally catches up and stops next to his captain looking around at the mess. Just as they were about to keep going footsteps run up behind them causing the two to turn ready for a fight only to see Wire run around the corner and over to the two. "You find everyone?" Killer asks as the tall man stops in front of them, his breathing is heavy from running, but he also seemed very annoyed or even angry.

Wire nods at the masked man before trying to inform the two of what he's just learned "The others are heading back to the ship, Y/n was taken to the infirmary when she got here but-" Before he can continue Kid groans and walks past his tall friend while rolling his eyes "Well what the hell you waiting for?" The captain yells staring to head to the infirmary but is stopped by Killer "Kid wait.. what were you going to say?" The masked man asks knowing something is wrong since Wire would have looked in the infirmary so why was he here without you. "She's not there, there's no record of her ever being here, th-" Wire's interrupted again this time by both Kid and Killer who yell loud enough he swears that everyone back on the Victoria can hear them "What?" Wire takes a breath mainly to clam his own anger and frustration of being interrupted again before turning to the captain. With his arms crosses over his chest Wire finally managed to explain what the others told him while not being interrupted by the two, he also explained how the young nurse had no idea who you were and that the files showed the four others but not you. The only person who might know where you are is the Commodore, but he hasn't been seen anywhere, Kid growls as he grits his teeth not understanding how things can go this wrong. Killer sighs trying to calm himself before thinking how to go about things but it isn't really working "We should find him, if he won't tell us then we'll just have to beat it out of him" The first mate states getting Kid to snap out of his hate filled gaze on his clenched metal hand.

Kid gives a big grin and a quick nod showing a clear liking towards the idea before heading off to find the Commodore's office with Killer and Wire following behind, the Commodore may not be in his office with all the fighting, but they've met marines of higher ranks that would rather cower away and let their lower ranked officers do the work than fight. The three sprint down the hall gradually feeling the aura change as they get closer to a much stronger person, soon enough a white coated marine appears coming out of his office while holding a small yellow bottle. Kid growls, anger boiling through him as he jumps up bringing his fist down on the Commodore who only managed to dodge at the last second, his cheek getting cut by the splintered wood that fly's through the air due to the force of Kid's metal arm hitting the wooden floor. Using the distraction Killer runs in swinging his blades at the white coated man who gasp as it slices his hand off, Wire runs in next bringing his trident down on the man aiming for his shoulder since they need him alive. Despite the situation the Commodore smirks popping the yellow bottle and quickly tipping it into his mouth before Wire can hit him, a burst of energy sends the three flying back, yellow lightning like power causes out of the man who screams in agony. Killer manages to get to his feet quickly stopping himself from sliding too far away as Wire tumbles a little more but uses his hand to push himself up stopping his body from continuing to roll. Kid shield's his face with his metal arm as his feet skid across the floor managing to stop himself before passing Killer.

The blinding yellow lightning and screams soon stops revealing the Commodore who pants while looking very different, the hand that was cut off has healed into a stump already and the mans already large frame was even bigger, his muscles bulging and almost pulsing as thick raised veins run across his whole body, even his face, the clothes he's wearing is ripped to shreds except or a bit around his groin area and the white coat hanging off his back by a string wrapped around his neck. "What the fuck?" Kid asks standing to his full height as the now large man throws his head back in laughter before looking at the three "I know your rash but i thought you'd at least ask me a question first" The Commodore smirks bringing a leg behind him to get into a fighting stance, Kid takes a step forwards with a smirk of his own knowing it's going to be a good fight but doesn't jump in just yet since Killer lightly placing his hand on the captains arm "Where's Y/n?" The masked man calls out even though he knows he's not going to get a straight answer from this man. "I don't know who your talking about" It was a obvious lie since the man clearly rolled his eyes that smirk never fading from his face. Kid rushes in gathering metal around him to make his metal arm large again before punching the marine who uses both of his arms to stop the punch, the captain didn't bother to ask questions instead focusing on the fight. Pulling his hand back the captain continues to punch and grapple with the large marine while Killer and Wire wait on the side lines knowing not to jump in just yet. "Sneak into the office, see what you can find" The masked man glances at the tall man who nods heading of to sneak into the Commodore's office.

Once Wire's out of view Killer joins the fight running over with his blade's spinning and going for the Marines legs, sliding past the masked man turns back only to see the commodore's leg's unharmed even though his blade differently cut though skin since there's blood on his blade. "Answer the fucking question" Kid yells as he blocks the Commodore's punch with his metal arm, some of the metal denting under the force making the captain grunt in annoyance, Killer runs back into the fight, jumping into the air and bringing his blades down on the marines back letting them dig in. The Commodore yells in pain and anger as his wounds try to heal even though there are blades stuck in his back. "Where is she" The masked man yells as the marine tries to reach back and grab him only to be punched in the face by Kid's large arm, thinking quickly the commodore runs backwards hoping to crush the blonde between him and the wall only for Killer to quickly catch on and brings his blades out, jumps off the marines back just before being crushes. Panting slightly the white coated marine swipes as Killer lands about to hit him when a chunk of metal hits his chest forcing the large back back into the brick wall making it crack under the pressure. Metal continues to swarm over pinning the man to the wall while Kid Chuckles walking up to his partners side "Tell us where she is and I'll make your death quick" Kid smirks looking at the struggling and panting marine who seems to have given up,the Commodore slowly looks up at the two letting a sick joyful smile from on his face. "i'm sorry to inform you but she's dead, her wounds were just too much for her" The captain extends his arm purple strings of light flowing from his hand as his eyes burn with anger.

Kid starts closing his fist making the metal around the commodore compress the pain of even thinking your dead makes it hard for him not to kill this guy "Liar" The captain yells but the marine shakes his head while struggling to get free "She's dead deal with it" The commodore yells managing to get one of his arms free, Killer's quick to act running over and stabbing his arm forcing the blades through and into the wall, the marine yells in pain trying to pull his arm away but their combined strength was too much even with what ever drugs he took. "We know she's alive, tell us where she is" The masked man growls using all his strength to keep the commodore's arm in place while Kid continues to try and squeeze the life out of him, before the commodore can answer Wire runs out of the office with an angry look "She's not here" their crew mate yells out causing the two to look over at him in surprise and confusion "There's no record of her but a ship left last night with a bunch of medial supply's and an extra passenger. It didn't say where it was heading though" The tall man explains before turning to the Commodore "But you were the one to order it" Kid growls while squeezing tighter making the marine caught up blood, Killer removes his blades from the mans arms watching as the wound starts to close shut leaving no scar behind. "Where are they taking her?" Kid yells out stepping closer to the large man who's still struggling, but he can tell the marine is getting weaker, the drugs must be wearing off with all the healing its having to do, when the Commodore refused to answer Kid grips harder causing the man to scream out in pain, his ribs cracking and organs being crushed "We can still follow her Vivre card but I'd like to keep him alive, so we can get information" Killer sighs looking to his partner.

The captain thinks for a second before nodding and loosens his grip, the sound of bones cracking back into place echos threw the hall along with a slight yellow glow coming out from under the metal arm holding him in place. "Shit not now" The commodore groans feeling his strength fade away, the yellow light causing through his veins making his large body start to shrink and muscles deflate. With a laugh Kid lets the marine go watching him fall to the floor, his skin turning gray and his lest over clothes hang loosely around his now skinny body, much skinnier than when he was normal. "Looks like you took those drugs for nothing, they couldn't even help you take us down and made you even weaker. Pathetic" The captain smirks before bringing his foot down on the crouched man forcing him to lay on his stomach with little effort. "Well at least it'll be a lot easier to get him to the ship" Wire states walking over to the two and looking down at the weak looking Commodore who's struggling to try and lift his own head up, its clear what ever drug he took has bad side effects but they have no time to think about that now so Killer grabs a nearby cable and hog ties the marine as the captain steps aside starting to head back the way they came. Wire follows close behind as Killer throws the commodore over his shoulder carrying him back to the ship.

----- The Victoria Punk-----

Things had stetted down now that the Victoria is far away from the destroyed and burning prison but what they hoped would a simple job as now turned into a longer and more complicated one. Wire went back to steering the ship using your Vivre card to show him which direction to go in while Heat and Reck where keeping an eye on the Commodore who's currently chained up in a dark room bellow deck. Kid and Killer make their way into the med bay seeing House just finishing up taking care of the crew mate's wounds, there wasn't much to do since the medical staff at the prison did a, ok job but the doctor could tell it was more of a rush job. "Boss" Boogie yells with a smile happy to see his captain again, the other three crew mates turn and smile too slightly cheering for their captain and first mate, Kid grins for a second before becoming serious "Tell me what happened" The captain states walking into the room as Killer closes the door behind them, The four start talking all at once causing the masked man to sigh "One at a time" Killer states as the four look at each other before nodding silently agreeing that Bubblegum and Boogie should be the ones to say what happened. It took a while of explaining since Killer kept asking for more details and what exactly the marines said about you word for word. "So you didn't get anything on her farther?" Killer asks as he leans against the wall with his arms crossed, Bubblegum shakes his head but Emma sits up from the bed she's laying on "we'll we had a talk about it all in the cell, and we all agree that he's not a marine since the Lieutenant mentioned that her farther has no power to fire them."

The other three nod but Kid turns to House who's washing her equipment her back facing them "House… You know anything? She must have told you something" The captain asks making the crazy haired girl jump a little at her name being call, you and her are best friends so it's only right to assume she'll know something about your family but unfortunately she didn't know much. Turning to face her captain and his first mate she wipes her hands clean while looking down at the floor "Only that she ran way because they did something unforgivable and that she renounced her last name" She states but Killer and Kid look at her surprised, they knew you ran away because of your parents but your last name was fake? "What?" The two ask causing the girl to jump again as Killer pushes off the wall to walk over to her, he wasn't trying to be intimidating but House shrunk away, backing up into the counter with wide eyes "I-i thought she would have told you" House tries to defend herself making the masked man realizes his actions, with a sigh Killer places a light hand on her shoulder to reassure her "Just tell us everything she told you, even if you think we know" Relaxing a little House nods as Kid walks over to the two crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for the doctor to talk "She never told me what her real last name was because if she told me then… I'd know too much. She was drunk at the time so i though maybe she was just being paranoid or drunkenly rambling. She said a lot of other random stuff that still don't make sense really" She sighs but the two stay quiet wanting her to go on.

House gathers her courage while trying to remember what you said years ago while drunk out of your mind, you confided in her and told her not to tell a soul, House promised she wouldn't but now she had to break that promise and spill your random and incoherent rambling to your partners. "She said her parents were disappointed she wasn't a boy, that she used to tutor kids even though she didn't go to school. She won a bunch of contests that she's not proud off, She has sibling that she lived with but didn't know anything about them and that leaving was the best destitution she ever made." Kid sighs pinching his nose, it didn't give them much to go on other than your family is most likely stuck up and important in some way, Killer removes his hand from House's shoulder and gives her a nod, it did sound like drunken rambling but it did give him a few hints and maybe something to use in order to make the Commodore slip up while questioning him. "Thanks guy's, get some sleep before dinner, Papa's is cooking tonight since I've got another job to do" Killer states earning groans from around the room that he tries to hold a laugh back at "Papa's is the best out of a bad bunch, so they'll have to put up with it until Killer's free enough to cook again." Kid snaps even though he knows how bad the man's food is, Killer grips onto the captain's while gesturing to the door earning a gruff hum from the red head. Walking out the two hear the yelling of their crew behind them calling out their goodbyes and thanking them before the door is shut "What are you thinking?" Killer asks as the two walk side by side down the hall heading to the dark room where the marine is. "Just… Rich pricks" Kid huffs getting the masked man to let out a low chuckle in agreement.

[charlesslut16]

if you are writing for Liam Lawson, could you do a oneshot where you guys are walking on the coastline and reflecting on your life with your child walking with you guys

-a walk at the coast-

summary: liam, your son and you are walking on the coast and talk about your life...

PAIRING: liam lawson x fem!reader

WARNINGS: none

note: i'm back guys!!! I hope that you all have and had a good easter and got everything that you wanted. And had a great time with your family and friends.

december masterlist ; masterlist 

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

The salty breeze swept across the coastline, carrying whispers of the sea as Liam Lawson and his girlfriend, you, walked hand in hand, your child, your son, skipping joyfully beside you.

The sky above was painted with hues of orange and pink as the sun dipped toward the horizon, casting a warm glow over the sand and surf. It looked absolutely mesmerizing.

As you strolled along the shore, the rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the rocks filled the air, a soothing melody that seemed to echo the passage of time.

Liam and you exchanged loved full glances, your eyes reflecting a shared history, a journey filled with both triumphs and trials. It was a rollercoaster full of emotions, but if it would always end like this, you would always do it again.

Your child, a bundle of energy and curiosity, darted ahead, eager to explore every nook and cranny of the coastline. Liam smiled fondly, his heart swelling with love for the little one who had brought so much joy into your lives.

"Can you believe how fast he's growing?" You said happily, breaking the silence that had settled between them. You looked back at your child, smiling brightly. He and Liam were the best things that had ever happened to you.

Liam nodded, his gaze following your child's every move. "It feels like just yesterday he was taking his first steps, and now look at him, running around like he owns the world."

You walked in comfortable silence for a while, lost in your own thoughts as memories of the past mingled with hopes for the future. The gentle lull of the waves seemed to carry your worries away, leaving only a sense of peace and contentment in its wake.

"Do you ever think about how far we've come?" Liam asked, his voice soft with emotion. Every time he looked at you, his smile grew brighter and his eyes showed brighter.

His girlfriend, you, nodded, a wistful smile tugging at your lips. "All the time. Remember when we first met? It feels like a lifetime ago. The happiest lifetime, if I say so myself"

Liam chuckled, his mind drifting back to those early days of your relationship, filled with laughter and late-night conversations. "Yeah, and look at us now, walking along the coastline with our little one. Who would've thought we'd end up here?"

You paused to watch your child as he chased after seagulls, his laughter floating on the breeze like a melody. Liam reached out to squeeze your warm hand, his heart overflowing with gratitude for the life you had built together.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Liam said, his voice filled with conviction.

You happily smiled, your eyes sparkling with love. "Me neither." And it was true, you loved this life with Liam and your son. Every thing was perfect and could be any better.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the sky ablaze with vibrant colors, Liam and you continued your stroll along the coastline, your footsteps leaving imprints in the sand, a testament to the journey you both had undertaken together.

And as they walked, hand in hand, with their child by their side, they knew that no matter what the future held, they would face it together, bound by love and the echoes of a life well-lived.

[hotchfiles]

third. damn your love.

pairing: james x fem!reader.

content warnings: james being kind of an ass, cheating on lily, lily will be probably shit talked (i luv her i'm very sorry !), mistress!reader, uhhh cursing, not totally AU but like... canon divergent i would say. probably hurt/no comfort unless i switch the ending but--

worth mentioning: reader insert with no use of names or “y/n”. paragraphs completely in italic are flashbacks. pro quidditch player!james. muggle born!reader.

word count: 1,2k

chapter 3

      Days had passed since the last time you spoke to James, and if it was up to you, things would stay as they were. But it had never been that way. Everything would always depend on James' desire. You rarely tried to communicate with him, afraid his girlfriend would catch you both. That was also why you didn't seek for him. You remained quiet, waiting for him or, on days like these, waiting and hoping he wouldn't show up.

      You were still very much upset about what happened last time, but unfortunately, you were more disappointed in yourself than actually angry at James. You simply hated the power you let him have over you, hated how much you wanted to do or say something and still giving in to his whims. It was as if everything changed when he got too close, as if it were just the two of you in the vastness of the universe, no one to interfere.

      Even so, you were getting tired of it, just as you had grown tired of trying to discuss what you were and what future you had continuing such a relationship. You were beginning to realize that the person who might be messing things up was you; after all, you were the mistress, not Lily. They were the happy couple and you were the one meddling where you shouldn't.

      You shook your head quickly, trying to forget such thoughts, you were taking advantage of the solitude of the night, surrounded by photos and documents from work, you had decided about a month ago to change the way your department was dealing with its archive, but still hadn't had the time to do it, mostly because of work itself but also... Because of James. You rolled your eyes at the realization that you were thinking about him again and turned back to the photos.

      Your department mostly archived the obliviations revolving everything around what happened and not who it happened to. It was a good way to actually find the files you might need, but when it got to the file what really matters is the people. Who were the muggles, where do they live, how do they live, why were they exposed. And those details were too scattered around. Some of your colleagues said you just cared too much about the muggles you wiped the memories from, which you did, but it was also a matter of organization.

      Before you had a chance to lie down after all the work you've been doing, you heard a frantic knocking at the door, and given it was 2 A.M, you knew who it was. You take a long, deep breath and debate whether you should open it or not, but seeing that the lights were still on and he would notice them, you felt like you had no choice, even if that wasn't entirely true.

      You mentally cursed yourself and opened the door, his hands were quick to push you against the wall, slamming the door close with his foot as his lips worked your neck.

      "James..." Putting both hands on his chest, you prepared yourself to push him away, trying to find the strength to get him out of there. "Stop," it came out weakly, much more than you intended to, almost letting yourself be carried away by his touches.

      But then, a flash of awareness came back to you as you heard him groan, everything you thought about earlier and everything you wanted to say to him with it, you felt your strength return and pushed him away, looking at him showing as much seriousness and firmness as you could master, your breath still uneven.

      "Come on, honey, we've moved past this little game of you pretending you don't want me and denying me, come here," he said, approaching you again. You watched him come closer once more and moved aside, walking towards the kitchen. You needed to drink something if you were really intending to continue with this.

      Sure, your first option had been to avoid him for at least a couple of weeks so you could organize your thoughts, but it was simply impossible to avoid James.

      "We need to talk," you said coldly after filling one of your largest wine glasses. You heard him sigh, took a sip of the drink, and felt a knot in your stomach when you saw him sit at the small kitchen table. You were definitely not expecting that. You were absolutely sure he would deflect and try to take you to bed, as he had done the last time you said those words. Seeing him willing to talk hit you hard, and you lost the words you wanted to say, resorting to the first ones that came to your mind.

      "You disappeared," you shrugged.

      "As if you weren't used to it," James raised an eyebrow in your direction and looked at your glass. He knew your didn't drink casually, only if you were nervous. "If you must know, I wanted to come earlier, but Lily wouldn't leave my side after I turned down Wimbourne's offer. So we're like, totally wasting time."

      "You seemed so sure. What changed your mind?"

      "Just decided not to keep rubbing her the wrong way. Know her well enough, don't feel like dealing with her making my life hell over a stupid transfer."

      You felt an unfamiliar anger take over you. You absolutely hated the way he talked about her, as if she was the worst person to be with, such an annoying, bad girlfriend. If she was so bad, why was he with her and not with you?

      You drank the remaining contents of your glass in one go, sighed loudly, and looked at him, taking in every detail of him—the curls, the lips, the glasses you liked so much, the tired eyes but never without that sparkle you knew so well. Watching him always calmed you down in some way, but it didn't work as you thought it would. You were too tired.

      "You're a bloody bastard," you were firm but he shrugged, smiling slightly. "Not a joke. You're a dickhead. And I've let myself be made a fool by you. I've let you into my house, complaining about your girlfriend, and I've let you use me for almost an year now, hoping that you would change."

      You shouted what had been stuck in your throat for so long, and he got up, realizing how serious you actually were.

      "You agreed to this," he said coldly, crossing his arms and biting his lower lip. "We haven't been a couple for years, and we agreed on that."

      "Bollocks! You came to my apartment and intoxicated me with your stupid scent, with your touches, your voice. You know I've never been able to get over you, and you take advantage of that when you're fed up with her."

      You ran your hands over your face in agony, trying to control the tears that were already inevitably trying to escape your eyes. You passed by him awkwardly and went to the living room, sitting on the sofa.

      "Where are you trying to go with this?" He asked from the kitchen.

      "Where are we trying to go with this?" You replied back, looking at the floor, and silence was your only answer. "What am I to you? We spent almost four years not being friends, talking to each other once in a while and meeting at some parties because of Sirius and Rem. Then last year, you show up at my door drunk, saying you need me. What am I to you? Come on, tell me."

      "You're my best friend, and apparently, you're in a bad mood, on your period or something," he said, leaving the kitchen, and you watched him leave, frustration building up in your stomach. "I'll call you later when you're back to yourself."

      "Yeah, go away! You never talk when you know you're wrong anyway, bloody coward," he slammed the door behind him after he left and you got up, even angrier, grabbing one of the vases from your shelf and screaming in frustration as you threw it at the door, breaking it in tiny pieces that now covered the floor.

      You looked at him with tears in your eyes and you knew surely that James could feel how hurt you were by his actions, and that was your intention, you were silent, not having said a word to him since he had arrived to your house, despite his countless attempts to talk to you and apologise, your stubbornness was lasting almost an hour now and you knew he was about to lose his temper, so you decided it was time to speak before you weren't in the right anymore.

      "Where were you?" Your voice was low, tired, frustrated, and you had all reason for that, leaving you alone in the hospital's waiting room while your mum was freaking out all over the place seemed like a reasonable reason to be upset.

      "Quidditch practice, c'mon, try looking into this from my perspective." James tries to get close to you again and you move away, wiping away the tears that were stubborn enough to keep rolling down your cheeks, you cross your arms and he scoffs at your denial.

      "And what's that, really? Using that bloody mirror so I could tell you my father had a heart attack and I needed you, and then proceeding to continue to play? Is that it?"

      "What? No… I'm new to the team, I can't tarnish my name by running out of training." You roll your eyes and it's your turn to scoff, throwing your arms up in the air, not believing what you're hearing. "Don't do that, listen to me, take me seriously. My grandfather's heart went through worse countless times, and he was always fine. I knew your dad would be fine."

      "Yes, I remember, because I was by your side during all those times." You don't even mention how different it was just by the fact your dad was a muggle, in a muggle hospital, no healing magic to help. You glanced at the clock, it was late and you were both alone, your mom forcing you to stay there and rest; you feel your eyes wet and don't bother trying to stop them from falling, "James, as a friend, you're my best friend, if you're not going to be with me when I need you, who will? Will quidditch always be above me, above us?"

      "Please don't talk like that, honey." He runs a hand through his hair in frustration and sits down next to you, lowering his head and covering his face with his hands. "I'm sorry, you're right."

      "Because if it's always like this, maybe we should break up," you say at once, feeling your heart clench and holding back the sobs that join the tears.

      "You're tired, go to bed, I'll make you some tea, I'll stay here in case you need me in the middle of the night." He ignored what you said completely, getting up and going into the kitchen. Part of you felt relieved that he hadn't accepted the suggestion, but a large part was annoyed that he'd simply run away from confrontation, that he'd been such a coward.

      It had always been quite rare for you and James to actually fight, maybe that wasn't a good thing, considering you kept everything inside until you exploded, but while you were dating it was quite pleasant, when you disagreed on something, one of you would always give in; but when you did fight, it was unbearable, James had always been cold during fights, always the type to leave before finishing the conversation, while you were the explosive and impulsive one, talking way too much without thinking, yelling more than you probably should, and then you wouldn't speak to each other for days because of it.

      From past experience, you imagined he would disappear for a while, so you sighed and switched off the lights, heading to your room, more than ever you just wanted to sleep, sleep for a few good hours and put your mind at rest, but you knew yourself too well to know that after what happened, you would definitely end up dreaming about James, but you hoped it would be something good, something that would relax you at least during your sleep.

      Just before falling asleep, you remembered to reply the e-mail your mother had sent you during the day, saying how much your dad and her were loving their visit to France and were thinking about staying to help your aunt with her restaurant. Your heart ached when you realized it wasn't a joke, your mom saying at the very end that she knew you had your own exciting life but that they would love to have you with them there.

      A chance to run away.

tag: @xcinnamonmalfoyx @dreamsygirl

[lostsoulaltair]

OnS Chapter 136 Analysis - Love vs The Past

Well, a new chapter dropped. I must say that I liked it. We really are heading towards the end of the story and two sides now are on stage.

One fighting for love; the other one fighting to bring back something that is long lost.

Love can often be misunderstood in the manga story; to the point it distorts a lot, but in reality, it takes so many shapes, so many forms along giving birth to ideals.

Each character within the story is moved to do something for "love". But in this role too; the "love" for the "past" exists.

The past is a momentum that will always live in our memories; it is something that will forever be frozen; something that will not change. It's something that is part of us without defining us.

As we've seen today; the chapter starts with Yuu trying to reach the First; but given that the Progenitors want to avoid the destruction of the world much further; they were preventing Yuu from making contact with the First.

Of course, we see how Mika couldn't withstand the raw power of Urd Geales; we saw Shinya and Kureto alive and kicking once again; and finally, the main spot; the reunion between Shikama and Yuu.

Shikama is aware that Yuu has all his memories back ever since he detected an anomaly along the interaction with the corpse of Mikaela. Of course, whenever Shikama knows the soul of his son is alive and kicking, it's up to interpretation. Though, it is clear he knows it exists.

Eventually we see how Shikama is going to bestow Yuu his knowledge and power

But before he could give away his power to Yuu; Shinoa interferred with the possibility.

Leading to our possible future battle between Shinoa and Yuu.

Two ideals being carried away within the story. And yet, at the same time they connect through the main theme. "Love."

And no, it's not "romantic love ". The "love" or 愛 which is not the same as other interpretations of love itself. Just "ai". A love that takes so many shapes.

Let's begin with the real analysis here.

Yuu isn't exactly fighting for humanity nor his friends, nor his family. Given that the "regression" process he made to recall his whole life; he saw how his life originated alongside being the son of the First.

Given that, he is actually aiming for the task of "saving" but given that "love" is playing its role as well. It is the love he has deep down for his father that he is doing everything to bring back what his father cherished in the past. Which is something reflected as well when he was the angel Mikaela. Taking his life so divine punishment wouldn't fall upon his father.

Shikama did love his angels, his followers and he did blame himself for the punishment that fell upon them. But given God's nature; it was normal that the punishment fell upon those angels given that they no longer praised for God.

Though; one thing Shikama and Yuu have in common, is the attachment to the past. It is the very fact that the past for them is something that should have prevailed instead of changing. What do I mean?

To Shikama, the Progenitors he chose, despite being reincarnations of those angels that followed him once; are not his angels.

And this is highly visible once Ashera asks Shikama what he should do back in chapter 117.

To his eyes, Shikama's sired progenitors were just tools given that to him; they are shadows of who they were once, but to those progenitors; even if they have acknowledged that they are reincarnations; they made a choice.

They chose to follow up their own path. And as they've stated back in chapter 114; their last and final task is to protect the world they live in. Meaning avoiding the resurrection of the angel Mikaela.

But now, why do I say Shikama and Yuu have one thing in common?

Yuu is a character that despite living endlessly; along having a constant memory reset until now that he gathered all his memories; he's done one thing to no end. And that is living in the past.

True, there are scars that take its time to heal from the past; some are very difficult nonetheless; he chose to live in such past. When he had a chance to make a choice; that choice was no longer centered in the present; it began to lead further astray to the past.

But then, what's the point of those promises?

Given how everything has turned. Those promises are something that can't be fulfilled. What do I mean?

In order to revive the angels from long ago; sacrifices must be made. But here's another thing that it is being dismissed. What could it be?

The absolute lack of appreciation to life.

Yuu might state he aims to save everyone; even to Ashera who at the end understood that there are limits to life. He loved and embraced he managed to get his sister back; but the cost for that was making her suffer for eternity; nevertheless, the lives both had, those kind of experiences they managed to live had their moments of bliss; bringing back entities that perished long ago, is discarting the moments experienced, the moments lived along the emotions that were carried through a lifetime.

But now, there is an opposite force here. And that force is no other than. "Love."

Many might consider that Shinoa's love is "obssession, madness like Mahiru's love" but no. This is actually wrong.

Back when she stated she would kill Mikaela; there was a massive misconception of this which chapter 133 explained a lot.

Shinoa thought Yuu was being possessed by Mikaela at that time hence her retoric; but given that she saw first hand that Yuu had fooled them; she understood that Yuu was doing everything on his own will. And let's not forget that Yuu might be dumb, but not clueless or ignorant.

Shinoa's form of "love" is not something that came out of nothing; it's something that began taking shape by her own; it began from curiosity, turning into uncertainty, then transforming into caring, along developing feelings for a special someone. Such feelings for her were seen as something hideous or bad; but at the end, she understood they weren't bad, nevertheless, she never admitted them until or rather never accepted them truthfully until chapter 133.

Chapter 133 was a very reflexive chapter given that it gave Shinoa resolution; a resolution as to why it is the reason she was standing still in the very end of the world.

Shinoa's love is not centered to one person, but rather; it is centered to the very core family she gained through her journey which lead to this.

Her battle and her resolution is directed to the very family that has stood with her and has followed her through the long journey she has taken so far. Hence why; she is standing along her squad just like how the vampires did; how they are going to live. Not by a decree of an entity, not by a decree of her sister and Guren nor the vampires; but rather, taking their own path until the very end.

Hence why Shikama states that her love is self centered, which is no different from him. He centered his love to his angels; Shinoa is centering her love to those who exist in the present. Along letting them return to their normality before the world ended; given that the end of the world, the events that took place before they were born, were all spiderwebs made by the First.

This is the first time they are fighting for their own.

What do you think it'll happen next?

Let me know!

[beautifulterriblequeen]

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When Viren was ready to die properly, he went out wearing the clothing of a Sunfire prisoner, defending his home against a maddened archdragon. His death was dramatic, but it's still a death within the cycle. He died in Xadian penal clothing, actively defending against one of its strongest figures.

He couldn't escape that cycle, in the end. He spent too much time fueling its great engine.

Thanks to all the parallels between him and Runaan, I've already been worrying for my favorite assassin following a similar route in S7. (and celebrating his return, I can multitask) Specifically, Runaan achieving another death, one of his own choosing, but also one where he remains trapped in the cycle he kept contributing to.

We know someone is going to die. Runaan is very much a sacrificial character. He owes a debt to humanity that is so great he can never truly repay it, just like Viren.

And now he's out of uniform, too. Wearing the shirt of a softer, more penitent person.

If Runaan dies saving someone else, it will probably be Ezran. He owes Katolis that debt specifically. But he could also save Callum, for Rayla. He could save Aanya, other royals, or somehow all of the humans at once. If Viren's call to action and his final foe were both "Dragons!" then Runaan's should be a human threat. Probably dark magic.

Probably Claudia.

One human - Viren - and one elf - Runaan - dying to stop the two halves of the cycle might be enough to finally do it.

The part that makes me saddest about this speculation is Runaan leaving Ethari twice. I don't think Ethari would let him go alone a second time. And with the way we've seen Lain and Tiadrin dance off into their forever-after, happy and together, well...

Ethari wouldn't let Runaan go alone. Xadia could lose its best craftsman as part of the price to pay to stop the cycle. Rayla could lose her last parents.

It's a kids show. You don't generally get to keep living parents on a kids show. No one else has any, at this point. The kids have to grow up and take over. They can't do that in the shadow of their parents, and those parents' sins.

Rayla has made up for her mistake in getting Runaan coined, as far as the Silvergrove is concerned. She can be unghosted now. Any further deaths on Runaan's part won't be her fault. She's free to move forward with Callum.

There is balance here. I could see this playing out somehow. A fitting end.

But, of course, this isn't a perfect show with perfect characters and perfect outcomes. Can I make it a little angstier?

Ahaha. Of course.

Maybe Runaan does try to sacrifice himself, seeing no other purpose for his life anymore, but Ethari takes his place alone, knowing that he will do anything to spare Runaan's suffering a second time, and Runaan is left once again to live, and live, and live, past the point when he expected to perish.

A peaceful long life with Rayla and Callum and no cycle of violence, everything he could want, but no precious husband to share it with. What if living in the best timeline without Ethari is Runaan's true punishment for his choices?

That Green Mile is so long.

[vibinginthedreamlands]

Another craft shirt painting! This one isn't an older one, admittedly. It's actually my newest. I spent a while working on the concept and hands and I'm rather proud of it, as well as just a really big fan of the source material.

Malevolent episode 43 chewed me up and then spat me back out so it's only fitting that I would have a collection of art ideas for it.

This one is based off of John's line when he's scared Arthur will truly and finally die: "Not like this."

Excuse the photo quality, I had to take it at a weird angle because of my light source.

Below the cut is just going to be a detail breakdown of it because I love symbolism and other such silliness.

So obviously we've got Arthur' heart, the thing that, if I'm being honest in my perception at least, John absolutely covets and in this image is attempting to protect. He's a little to late though.

Mostly! The Witches Rapier is going through the heart of the man he loves but if you see there are the other two items.

The one on the left is the speared tale of the creature in the Mines in the middle of season 3. John will not be in time to block this attack either but his hand still reaches out and is ready to provide aid and save his friend. (Some what representating the distance and disconnect between them in this season, after John's absence, Arthur's darkening morals, and John's greater lean toward personal morality.)

The one on the right is Kayne's dagger, the weapon Arthur used to try and kill himself with as to evade the King in Yellow. For this, John's hands are already around Arthur's heart (this being the same interaction where Arthur first admitted to loving John and therefore he has no need to yearn, for the man's heart is already his). In spite of this the dagger will either slip past his fingers or pierce through his flesh and still harm his friend, the same way John's sacrifice to the King did not negate the harm already done or that Arthur himself would inflict. But it matters. It matters that John defends him and in the end it will do him enough good that he survives long enough to broker a deal with the owner of that near fatal weapon.

The Rapier itself struck high and struck true, already having completed its gruesome deed long before John's hands even had a chance to move. And yet he reaches, hopes, strives to defend a dead man from harm even still.

Speaking of John's hands. There are two of them. This is obviously for piece symmatry but also I decided to personalize them as well.

I lean more toward the headcanon that John, if granted a physical body, would be POC.

For outlining the hands I used gold, *his* color as well as something that both compliments his skin tone and, imagery wise, contrasts against the slew of silver weapons leveled against them.

You, if anyone makes it down here, may have noticed that his pinky is an entirely different skin tone. That is correct and intentional! I've got a fun Lil headcanon that if John ever gets a body, specifically in some kind of ritual, he and Arthur would split ownership of their scars. So Arthur would have the cut on his throat as that was self inflicted, but John might have the gouge in his stomach because he was the one who sewed it up. With the pinky, Arthur wouldn't lose his wooden one, but because it happened *to* John, by Arthur, and as a shared decision, John's own pinky would be lighter, closer to scar tissue or Arthur's own skin color. This way they both have an off pinky in a way that matches, differs, and compliments.

Finally, I just picked the color yellow for his lettering. I thought about gold, because again, his color, but I didn't think it would stand out against the red enough (though the yellow might be a bit much itself lol). Additionally, because in 43 he tries to protect Arthur by calling up his KiY roots and the episode culminates in him accepting himself for who he is and wants to be, and allowing himself grace and full range of identity.

Anyways that's a lot for a 2" by 2" painting on a t-shirt but I enjoyed it and wanted to get the work and thoughts out there. If anyone made it this far, thanks! I hope you enjoyed my over analysis of my own work and thoughts on Harlan Guthrie's fabulous podcast lol.

I'll be painting more for sure and posting older pieces intermittently so there are going to be more of these in the world eventually.

[homestuckreplay]

Put The Cruxite Dowel Back In The Box

(page 394-400)

400 pages!! What's next, 500? Dare I say 600? Given that we've had a few interactive pages recently that can't be easy to make, it's amazing that Homestuck is hitting these numbers already.

The past 16 pages have very quickly flicked back and forth between John and Rose, and by extension, between video games and real life. John's fully inside Sburb, in what we can probably think of as another dimension, while Rose is very much on earth. Because John is still in his house, it's really easy to forget how separated he is from the world. This rapid back and forth really reflects the constantly online + video game logic of their lives more generally. They are extremely used to crossing these boundaries, going from their daily efforts to navigate their physical houses and strife with their parents, to their Pesterchum conversations and the various other games that are part of their lies.

Another big theme in this section is Rose and John figuring things out on their own. John had Rose to walk him through the Sburb 'tutorial level', but he's no longer getting explicit instructions. The Wayward Vagabond, the Data Structures for Assholes book, and we as the reader are all giving him some information on winning his first Sburban Strife, but he's doing some of the work putting all those pieces together. I guess that can happen when you have a very steep learning curve and no time to process the traumatic things happening to you.

On Rose's end, I'm reading too much into her leaving the W stuck to the generator. A plastic fridge magnet is a kids' toy, so this is her putting away childish things, and no longer allowing herself the luxury of being silly like on p.370. But it's also a symbol of Rose's cold war with her mom, so she's walking away from that petty rivalry and towards something that - in this moment - is more serious and important, towards an actual symbol of death, which is a much darker and more adult concept. And it's honestly really sad. She should be allowed to be silly, she should be allowed to take the W, she shouldn't be on her own having to handle apocalyptic disasters. Something or someone has failed her for that to be the case.

'You wonder if your mother has any plans to have [the transformer] fixed. You guess she'd rather just play her mind games in a dark house like a weirdo.' Coming a couple pages before the W incident, I love this line. Because it is 100% reasonable that fixing the electricity is not top priority, or even possible, in the middle of a meteor shower/forest fire. But I think it's a very relatable teen emotion to dislike someone for a valid reason and then to criticize every single action they take, justified or otherwise.

I had a lot of fun with John's strife on p.397 - even when I realized it was unwinnable, I played it a few more times just cause I liked it. The controls are smooth, the programming is good, the hammer bonk noise is really satisfying. It's also interesting how the shale imp - unlike John - doesn't take visible physical damage, and from the way the health bar moves out of the vial, it's almost like the health bar is being attacked directly. I have no idea what this means though.

Even more interesting is how we can deplete exactly half of the shale imp's health with the hammer's handle, and no more. Then, when we weaponize John's sylladex on p.400, the imp is easily able to parry all of the objects except for the hammer head, which instantly depletes the other half of its health. Weaponizing a sylladex might be possible to smash a window or even to strife with Dad, but it doesn't seem to work in game. Only John's One True Chosen Weapon is effective here.

Finally, John gets some loot!!!! 32 units of build grist, good for 16 perfectly generic objects, and 10 units of shale. Looking back at p.157, that means when Rose is back online, she can deploy the Punch Designix, which... designs punch cards? This could finally be a chance to experiment with alchemy mechanics!

[randomwriteronline]

Bionicle and Plato's Cave: Mata Nui help us Random has been thinking again

HI. MY BRAIN HAS ONCE AGAIN BEEN SCRAMBLED. WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING.

A thing about stories is that there aren't really fully, one-hundred percent original ones. This is not a bad thing, it just happens.

Stories keep repeating one another whether we like it or not, maintaining their own identities through a variety of changes, and Bionicle repeats many, many stories within itself: you've got Polynesian mythos, fantasy epics, dystopian fiction, cosmic horrors, torahic and/or biblical episodes, a subversion of Pinocchio, an Odissey cut short... The works. I'm half certain one would manage to fit some parts of the Divine Comedy in there, probably.

But speaking of deeply allegorical works, the Organic Annal is that too - specifically bearing a resemblance to one of Greek philosopher Plato's most famous allegorical myths, that of the cave.

For those who do not know it, please have a simplistic bastardized version of its first half, which is the most relevant in this case:

A group of men have been, since birth, shackled within the deepest recesses of a cave. They are sat facing a wall upon which a fire casts the shadows of figurines (a tree, a donkey, a vase, etc) placed before it: this is all they've ever known, what they perceive to be reality. Imagine, then, that one of these prisoners manages to free themself from their restraints, and for the first time looks back. Thus they discover the figurines, the fire, and the lie they thought was truth; and though it would be easy to consider these new idols the "true" reality, the prisoner looks past them and sees that the cave stretches forward. As such they crawl through it until they reach the outside world: the sunlight forces their eyes down as they are not used to it yet, and their first taste of this new environment is a reflection in a puddle, or maybe a lake, wobbly and not quite clear. Only when they've accustomed to the Sun they can raise their head and properly discover the real world.

The myth of the cave is an allegory for the philosopher's quest in search of true knowledge, which resides not in the imperfect physical world, but in the perfect metaphysical realm of ideas.

This is not, necessarily, the allegory I believe the Innard Scoresheet represents.

The Biological Chronicle is, to me, a story about stories. About making stories, about being swept in the flow of a story, about recreating ourselves in stories over and over and over again.

I promise it will probably make more sense later.

But back to the point: the myth and the Flesh Record follow a similar structure and have a similar message. That is the thesis of this post until I inevitably get derailed again. Let's look at that.

In applying the steps (shadow, copy, reflection, reality) of the philosopher's journey towards enlightenment to the Meat Diaries, I'll do what Plato would bludgeon my head with a stick for and take them much more literally: the places described are physical ones, and the characters actively move between them. This is not because of any personal wish to specifically spite some dead Athenian fuck, but because that is literally what happens in the Entrail Annotations, whether through actual movement or changes of perspective.

The island of Mata Nui is of course the first step: shadows cast upon a cave wall.

There is a certain irony in this. Mata Nui shares the same allegorical location as the cave, yet physically is its complete opposite - an open space signaling the end of an enormous interconnected system of caves. The journey starts from the end. Great job everybody, we've found reality! This philosophy shit is easy.

But the island is still very much the cave. It looks prettier and livelier than the cave, but it's still a prison in which the Matoran have been confined with no chance of escaping; it's still cut off from the world at large, be it beneath it ir around it; it's still a place where beings who do not know any better blindly believe what is told to them. Only seven people know the truth (or what they believe to be the truth) and spin it in tales of shadow puppets: simplistic retellings full of gaps to fill with magic and terror and prophecies. The Turaga mean no harm - they had no way to know when or if they would have ever returned to Metru Nui, and it made no sense reminding the Matoran of a place they may end up agonizing to see without being able to - but it remains that Mata Nui is a cave, a prison of ignorance.

Things change after Mask of Light: shackles broken and door opened, the silver sea stretches before the Matoran and offers them a sight familiar yet different, more defined.

Metru Nui is the figurine, the copy held in front of the fire. It's the first introduction to the Matoran Universe proper, the first step towards the cave's exit. Here we see how the Matoran are supposed to work, how this sort of society is meant to function, and it... well, it sort of sucks the joy out of it, doesn't it? The soft edges of the figurine's shadow have been replaced by hard protodermis sides that leave no room to the imagination, letting us see the craftmanship clearly. And it's... it's kind of unpleasant. Kind of dull and mean and so... unmagical. I'd like the shadows again please. Those were nicer.

(Plato describes this exact happenstance in the philosopher's journey - upon seeing something closer to the truth one might feel repelled and want to return to simpler times. But we persevere. We must.)

Or perhaps this step is not Metru Nui itself, but the Turaga's recollection of it. The city they knew is now gone, abandoned to itself and rotting miserably alone for a thousand years, and yet they still cling to that pristine image their minds have sculpted for it, forgetting details, crafting imperfect copies of its reality: their own stories place it in a time before time, turn it as they say in a "city of legends", of great minds and a great hero and a strange tension pervading it that they might not consciously recognize. This is their basis for the stories they told, and they believe it to be the truth. It is not. The truth is deeper behind them.

The Matoran Universe as a whole is a reflection in the water. We've gotten out of that cave, but it's still too bright and our eyes can't adapt quickly enough: this will have to do for now.

But what is it a reflection of? A body? That's a given, since the whole thing is housed inside one. Yet this body does not behave like a body, its organs don't act like organs. They are landmarks and settlements, and there are species and parties involved in their own more or less treacherous businesses, and death is everywhere and seldom spares anybody, and evil isn't a singular incomprehensible thing but many perfectly identical pieces, and everything is happening all the time and I would like a break. Please. I can't handle all of this. It's too close to how everything already is. Let's go back to the figurines. They were worse than the shadows, but not to this extent. Please. I just don't want to see the bad guys win. I just don't want to see my friends die.

(Upon seeing something closer to the truth one might feel repelled and want to return to simpler times. But we persevere. We must.)

The Matoran Universe is a terrible place, but it's still far away. The edges are wobbly when the surface shifts: the stakes are universal in size, the rivalries are exaggerated, the situations are fantastical, the evil so terrible and terribly simple. It does what it does because it simply does it, and after all why else should it do it? In its increasing complexity it's still simple and sometimes a bit silly. It's still dolls that you can hold in your hand to make fly around.

As @sepublic mentions briefly here, Bara Magna is by contrast just so human. Before the big bombastic Rock-Em-Sock-Em Jumbo Edition ending and peeling away the sci-fi elements, these are stories of people trying to live. This is reality.

People are sleazy. People have priorities that not always include the well-being of other being put first. People are evil for reasons beyond just "power" or "money" or "why not". Strakk is a massive selfish bastard and also he is the one motherfucker who gets me because to be very honest I too would not want to wade through a desert crawling with quicksand and huge bat winged serpents and raptor riding marauders and spartans so bloodthirsty they don't even name their children until they make a new body count record without being paid well enough. Mata Nui's idealized honor makes him a complete anomaly because nobody is a prince in shining armor here. They're all covered in bones and doing their best not to start a war again.

Even his quest, despite what it entails and how solemnly he presents it and the information we as readers have (his identity as a usurped god exiled from his own body), is surprisingly real - in fact, his struggle is actually the same as Kiina's: both of them are strangers to the region suddenly separated from their people during a time of great strife and desperately wanting to reunite with them. The difference being that while Kiina had no chance to do such a thing, Mata Nui was built to fix both of their problems.

This is what the Matoran Universe is made in the image of. And while it very much deviated across time, the core of it remained the same: elemental tribes and variegated species caught in a dance of death, biting each other's tails endlessly.

This is the world the MU beings find once fully free. It's rough, but they've been through something like this before.

They'll handle it.

They always have.

That is the will of the Non-Mineral Journal.

Of Bionicle, the story-that-ended.

BUT.

Not necessarily of Bionicle, the story-that-does-not-end.

Now we are getting into "Random Experiences Getting The Brain Scrubbed By The Hard Back Of A Sponge And Makes It The Problem Of Everybody Listening To The Inane Yelling" territory. I'm talking walking into headcanon if not straight up just fanfiction territory. Possibly also sensible speculation but I don't know how to tell. Please do come smack me if you feel it is needed.

It's wild that Bionicle has managed to endure for what now (2024) are 23 years. The endless rebuildable possibilities intrinsic to being a LEGO product have certainly helped, but at the same time I really do feel like it wouldn't have held this strongly without its story.

I will admit I'm not a building kind of person. I had some ancient LEGO bricks when I was little and what I usually did with them was stacking them in a really tall line and try to keep it upright until they fell and scattered like lemmings booking it for a cliff. Getting into Bionicle would have never been possible for me had my dear beautiful friend @cantankerouscanuck not innocently dropped me links to Legends of Metru Nui, Web of Shadows, and the Crosswired Geeks website asking if I could have please considered skimming through it. This was back in september 2023. These pieces of plastic have been irreversibly fucking up my brain for nine months, and it was only possible because the plot and characters were written in a way that actively sunk its teeth into my skull and did an alligator death spin so potent that I'm still reeling from it, thinking about it.

I do think that's one of the main reasons why it's still going, why people still talk about it. It lives on through fans who still look at all the enormous potential left by the gaps and holes in the story and work on them, analyze them, make their own versions of them. So this second section is about that part of Bionicle, the story that just does not end, carried on by others.

So back to the point, what actually kickstarted this entire line of thought (the Squishy Note and the allegory of the cave are sort of the same lol) was a headcanon I have about the characters that have been actually missing from this analysis: the Great Beings.

You Know.

The Guys Who Kickstarted Every Single Thing, And Notably Continuously Did All Of It Wrong.

From my own prior knowledge I had understood that they are all Glatorian, and I just learned that they also were, apparently, given their incredible weird fucked up mental powers that made them into godly creatures by a space octopus.

I am going to take both pieces of information and discard them.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with them, except maybe coming from the leftest field available like a sack of granite to the face, but I feel like this kind of explanation for who and what they are isn't really satisfactory to me specifically. It does fit with the allegory of the cave still, technically - they are part of the real world, the ones who created every layer of detachment from it on purpose (somebody must have shackled those prisoners at the bottom of the cave, after all) and have managed to get to a higher level of reality still, following the platonic quest for knowledge into something that resembles the iperuranium, the perfect metaphysical world in which ideas reside.

But also... I'd like for there to be a limit to how higher we can go, you know? Into the cosmic horror? Because everything is cosmic horror in the Doctor's Report already. We live on a god's face. We live in a god's body. We are a god's cells. Our universe is a tiny manmade action figure in a larger universe. Our god is just a synthetic soul. The real older gods made it and sent it around to do their bidding. Also they're all gonna kill us when we figure out our universe is fake. Cosmic horror. Cosmic horror for miles. These are fucking LEGOs. Why is there so much existentialism in them.

So yeah, at the cost of sounding boring the psychic octopus from outer space might be a little bit too far for my personal tastes.

This does not mean I am immune to adding onto the cosmic horror.

Because my personal interpretation of who/what they are still adds onto the cosmic horror.

It just doesn't also include "giant aquatic fauna with psychic powers" in the already very large salad of sentient sapient species who have stakes in this universe, because I think we have enough of those.

So what is my platonic ideal form for them?

The Great Beings are human beings. Straight up just people. They're the readers, the players, the writers, the designers, the creators and tellers of the chronicle itself - they have this immense dominion over everything around them because they are the origin of everything around them in a sense, but their constant failings make sense because for all the influence and power they are still human, and that makes them very, very fallible. I mean, mr Greg "I will rewire your brain chemistry forever with some of the best stuff you'll read as a kid, and also for undiscernible reasons doors aren't canon" Farshtey would be one of them. Things make a lot of sense.

(this is impossible in Stone Cold Canon by the way and I am aware, because if we got to properly see the Great Beings they would have needed to be products to sell, but this is not a matter of probability it's a matter of Vision. like can you imagine how fucking cool would have been a Bonkle movie where the characters finally meet the Great Beings face to face and when it happens the style just completely shifts from 3D animation to a stop-motion and live-action combo with the Great Beings played by people and the characters portrayed by their actual sets with all of the lack of expression and stiff hands and all. do you see it. im about to blow up)

And so, we return to the allegory.

What are the shadows on the wall? Are they still the Turaga's tales? Then shouldn't they be their memories, as well? Everything that comes out of their mouth is hazy either with nostalgia or simplification, and none of it can be real. Yet they present it as such, because to them it is. Their ignorance is the same as the Matoran's, but they do not grasp it because they can't. Mata Nui to them is not the cave, it's the reflection in a lake: an imperfect mirror of reality. They cannot see the fire nor the figurines.

They are the figurines. Man-made creations confined under artificial light in a vast underground system, as large as a whole galaxy and yet so small, so isolated, so far back into the cave they are never meant to know anything other than. The shadows were their own but they can't realize that, and they can't realize they themselves are copies. The Matoran Universe is a puppet show that Teridax shuts down as he takes its reigns: he banishes its fire, Mata Nui (who is a gnostic Demiurge, a god made by gods demanding worship despite its falsehood - another copy not fully aware of being a copy) and shuts the entrance, plunging it all into darkness. No more knowledge. It is not something dolls need, after all.

Bara Magna is not the last step. It is not yet reality, not yet the truth. It's closer, much closer, but it's not: it's the lake, the puddle, the reflection that distorts when something is thrown into it. The stakes are more realistic, the characters and motivations, but not yet real. There is still a layer of separation: the elemental powers, the alien setting, the strange beasts, the supernatural history, the secrets pointing to things much bigger and more fantastical than anything reality could be, the way it is cut short by no fault of its own. What does it reflect? It's not the Matoran Universe, since that is a model based on Bara/Spherus Magna. It's not Mata Nui, because that is an attempt at recreating what the Matoran Universe was, at least in part. So... Is it the real world? Our, world?

It must be.

The Great Beings (us, the players and readers and writers and artists) shaped all of this. This universe is their creation, their work, and it is based on what they know, on their reality, because all stories are.

Maybe it was a story as close to real as possible that turned fantastic and wild until it became mythical, or maybe it was a simple story that grew so complex and grounded that it became life-like. It doesn't matter. It's a long story, a really, really long one, and maybe they're tired of it, or maybe they don't know what to do with it, or maybe they just think it has run its course, or maybe... Maybe they don't know how to tell it again. Tell it like this again.

So... I guess the thing to do is clean up.

Full tabula rasa.

And once we're done we can take these figurines we still have left, the last proof of all this immense work, this spiraling dive into who and what we are, how we function, how we create, how we imitate and recreate ourselves in fictional worlds that are our own and yet completely alien over and over, and make new ones. Distorted reflections that become imperfect copies to place before a fire so that their shadows can play out a new story upon a cave wall, for those same dolls to believe they are real.

God I got sidetracked severely

[theculturedmarxist]

"But Trump will be worse."

Alright, so you've chosen the side of the fascists then. That's all that means when you get right down to it. Biden is already committing genocide, and you, o spineless liberal, can't even muster up the moral fortitude to oppose that. For the past four years we've seen "Trump" get everything he's wanted even with the Democrats in power, and you still not only choose to support them, but demand others do, too.

"But you can vote and organize!"

Except you don't believe that. You aren't even organizing now, in the face of all of this. Withholding your vote is the absolute least you could do and you refuse to do even that much, not even for the slim promise that if elected Biden will stop arming Israel. You're not marching. You're not protesting. You're not resisting. So your one piece of political leverage is your vote and you're already giving that away.

"But if we don't vote for Biden, Trump will win!"

Oh, so you're responsible for what other people vote for, but you're not responsible for who you do vote for? At least if that happens you're not directly complicit in supporting the party actively committing genocide, right now. At least then the party that supposedly can be moved left might have some incentive to do so.

"But all the women, the POC, the disabled, the immigrants, will suffer!"

They're already suffering, and what are you doing about it? Say Trump wins, and all your nightmares come true. You know what that means for you, liberal? Nothing, because you'll keep going about your life just like you are now. These "people" you pretend to care about are just useful abstractions for you to blackmail people with.

If you had an ounce of the moral fortitude that your self satisfaction presumes to then it wouldn't matter if Trump won. You'd be educating yourselves, organizing yourselves, arming yourselves. You'd kill the cops that they send to enforce his orders. You'd burn the politicians that make his laws alive in their own homes. You'd blow up the factories making his robots and bombs and bullets. It's the least you could do. It's the regime whose infamy exceeds even genocide, after all.

But you're not, and you won't, because the last thing you want is that responsibility. That's what your incessant squalling and scolding is about. You just want to vote and get it over with so that its out of your hands. You have no faith in yourself or your neighbors or the people so you put it in some imaginary force that will somehow "push Biden left" and absolve you of having to do the hard thing, the dangerous thing, the right thing.

The most obscene thing about you is that you mask your spiritual decrepitude behind a mask of moral superiority while snidely disparaging others for demanding "moral purity." That's what bothers you the most about this whole ordeal, really. Genocide doesn't even disturb you in the least, but what does is that others show the backbone that you lack, and by acting on it your own shortcomings are displayed to the world. Your self serving amorality is on full display as its revealed that all your justifications are just pretense. You don't want to shield the weak. You don't want to shelter the downtrodden. You certainly don't give a fucking damn about ending genocide.

All you really care about, all you really want, is to absolved of your responsibility for being a fucking fascist, and for all the people revealing that fact to die as quietly as possible.