#but a little murder has never kept me from shipping something before

[cookinguptales]

came out of that episode like. wow. I kind of ship mabel/theo and theo/tobert.

[pruneunfair]

Ranking every manhwa villainess and white lotus I could find.

Keep in mind these are all opinion based.

#22: At the very bottom of the list is Sumin Jeong from Marry my husband

Now, like almost everyone else on this list, Sumin is kept a level that is below the FL Jiwon so she can never best the hero. However unlike the others here, Sumin has not once been shown to be anything other than a dumb and evil bimbo who talks like elmo even before Jiwon regressed, her reasons for wanting everything Jiwon has make no sense and she has no flavor to her, no backstory that makes sense, no real charm since it's lost as soon as possible, all she has going for her is a distinct design.

#21: Charlotte-the villainess maker

Honestly, Charlotte is about as forgettable as the comic she's from. She doesn't do much, just basic bland white lotus tropes over and over. She is portrayed as a sweet heart but she's secretly a jealous vindictive mean girl, she loses everything to the FL because she's too basic for the not-like-other-girls readers, nothing really revolutionary about her, but this could be chalked up to the story shes from canonically being an abysmal mess written by the FL when she was 14, Sorry Charlotte.

#20: Iris Van Conrad-Today the villainess has fun again.

A step up from Sumin when it comes to backstories, still not the greatest but it makes a little more sense. She's more passive aggressive since her actual plots are destoryed in nanoseconds by the plot, she gets dunked on so much I wonder if she's supposed to the Villainess or a discount Meg Griffin. Considering the fact to that Reilynn is pedo coded, Iris is less of the two evils.

#19: Aisha Selir-divorcing my tyrant husband.

Shes okay, But like Charlotte, Aisha isn't very noteworthy, as usual, any attempts she makes to best or outsmart Robelia are met with utter failure, she could be something really great if she were just allowed to make a mark on the plot. Like actually have Alexandros take responsibility instead of blaming her for her existence. Her design before the art shift was pretty enough and I'm pretty sure she's being possessed by a vindictive soul so that might explain why Aisha suddenly became a villain when she's described as being dainty, sweet, and a general damsel and saintess in the story within DMTH.

18: Fonta Magnus:the tyrants only perfumer

Fonta is the type of antagonist that would be adored as a isekaied protagonist. She doesn't really do much though since she gets defeated over and over with the same plan of copying Ariels ideas (how original, no pun intended) I like her though just because her design reminds me of cartoon goth girls, specially Gwen from total drama island.

#17: Benela Verdi- the princesses jewels

I don't care if she seduced Ariannas father or killed her brother, Arianna was out there acting like she wouldn't do the same just to get with a sexy man. Benela may suffer from the same problems every other villainess does but if ranked them based on that then almost all of them would be on the bottom. This image of her drinking her stress away is accurate to how I felt reading this one.

#16: Claudine von Brandt-Cry or better yet beg

I absolutely adore Claudine and she's not really a villain but unfortunately the narrative says she's a so she'll have to count. It's why she's this low since she's just a woman who gets in the way of the main ship

As you can probably guess, her only crimes are being condescending to Layla and valuing superficial values such as wealth and status, crimes that somehow make her worse than Matthias in the narratives eyes. Justice for my girl Claudine ✊️

now we are moving up to the middle tier

#15: Diana-for my derelict favorite

This girl has more protagonist material then Hestia ever will. Sorry but Hestias entire thing is just being a rich girlboss, simping for Cael and damning any woman who broke his heart including Diana, who is the saintess that opposes murder, Wow! Who would have guessed that the saintess woman wouldn't endorse literal murder! Could she have communicated better? Yes, was she always in the right? Hell no. But she's got more character in her pinky toe then everyone else in their entire bodies to I salute to her.

#14: Irene/Aileen Hascator- I didn't mean to seduce the male lead

I have a weird relationship with her. One minute I'm impressed because she actually does manipulation pretty well at first with making the lives of those who won't swear loyalty her unbearable in very smart ways, she'll buy all her friends expensive dresses so she can stand out in a simpler one, she'll defend the black sheep and make her into her friend to keep up her sweetheart facade, unfortunately it's all so she can get with a boy where she goes nuts on anyone who gets near him.

#13: Freya van Furiana- how to get my husband on my side

I really loved this manhwa, almost all of the characters are complex and 3 dimensional with a great commentary on abuse, ED, and family dynamics, with that said I was a little disappointed seeing Freya as another basic white lotus who only wants Izek for herself, it won't take much even a little more character traits would help because Freya isn't just some random girl who became the ogfl, she was the childhood friend of Izek and Ellen, so we should've gotten to see a little more too her then what we got

#12: Mielle Roscente- the villainess turns the hourglass.

Beautiful design, basic but rather solid goals, a charming personality, Mielle has all of that in the bag. She secretly wants Aria and her mother out of her life since they aren't of noble blood (before the terrible Arias a noble plot twist) and she's really entertaining. However I'll never understand how she managed to destroy Aria in the first timeline if she's such an idiot now. The first timeline also takes the blame off of Arias shitty actions with "Mielle tricked her into being evil!" It ruins the charm since Aria, as a villainess should be allowed to suffer the consequences while not wanting to quit.. since you know, she's not meant to be a good person.

#11: Isabella de Mare-sister I am the queen in this life

NOT YOU!

THIS is the Isabella I'm talking about

Absolute genius, she knows that Ceasre is a bastard and not just in the literal sense, she doesn't even love him and just wants that sweet sweet power and wealth. Fooled Ariande for years that she was on her side and as a bonus she can easily say she wanted revenge for Alfonso to the public if they ever found out she was behind it all. But the best part about first timeline Isabella is her villain monolog that women mean nothing to men, putting your life in their hands is a fatal mistake and if you want to make it to the top, you gotta crush the opponents. But alas we never see this version of Isabella after Ariande goes back in time

Higher tier now, the best of the best who managed to make it this far

#10: Rhyse/Lise Sinclair- not your typical reincarnation story

Yeah shes technically being controlled by the author or hell maybe she is the author I have yet to finish this one but for once we get a comic that doesn't immediately pit two women against eachother and actually gives a solid reason for her to be at odds with Edith. When something doesn't go her way, Rhyse doesn't throw a fit and turn on the water works no no no. She stands there, awkwardly, almost like the real Rhyse is wondering why she feels so jealous and angry with Edith for stealing the spotlight. She's incredibly ominous too when that purple mist surrounds her to force the other characters back into place. All while she's making friends with Edith in a possibly geninue friendship.

#9: Isis Frederick- the villainess reverses the hourglass

I'm pretty sure most of us can agree she's the real villain of TVRTHG since she basically started and encouraged the whole operation to begin with from afar, the puppeteer if you will. Killer design, a great fear factor and an evil sister done better. Wish she had more time to shine.

#8: Diane Poitier- I abdicate my title as empress

What already sets her apart from other evil concubines is that she was there before Adelaide so her reasons for being upset that another woman is showing up to marry the Emperor is reasonable, obviously her actions aren't but I still felt bad for her since no one in that palace gave a damn about her, Diane got ruthlessly belittled and ignored for not being useful to their liking or simply being too desperate and when Adelaide tries to not make an enemy out of her, Diane is looking for anyone to direct her anger on but the redemption arc as short as it is, makes up for it.

#7: Leila- villains are destined to die

My favorite ogfl turned villain. Leila is pure evil no questions asked. She steals the body of Yvonne which played a part in taking the latters reputation to a degree in the fandom and starts brainwashing everyone around her. That's what makes her so terrifying, one minute you could be at your highest and you feel like you rule the world, and next minute it all comes crashing down when the face of your long lost sibling arrives with fake tears in her eyes, ready to destroy everything you hold dear.

#6: Soleia Elard- seducing the villains father

I can't believe I'm saying this but a classic black magic witch is a unique villain in the manhwa world. During her introduction she's already causing mayhem by trying to kill Yerenica with black magic, and at first you'd think she's another "I want my hubbies affection!" Chick but no, she just wants to marry Erudian to have his child and use said child to avenge her family and destroy everything, characters are all frightened by her because she actually gets shit done instead of failing every minute of the day, and even after all that, she's allowed the privilege of life by getting a redemption arc.

#5: Cosette Weinberg- I was the real one.

She deserved so much better!! 😭 Cosette, my baby, you were set up to be such an amazing villain with high intelligence and well thought out plans, why did they have to give you the good old plot induced lobotomy! Girly wasn't just smart but there were actually times I could get behind Cosette. When Keira gave a maid 100 lashes after she insulted and wished death on Keira, it was Cosette who took advantage of an actual truth with only a little bit of exaggeration, they were both evil but only one of them was rightfully called out for it. Honestly just read the novel, the manhwa did it dirty.

#4: Marianne Edenverre- into the light again.

Nah someone get this baby to a church and give her the aggressive baptism 10 times over, I'll always be wondering how the hell did that 10 year old get her hands on a demon in the first place, the fact that the family never found her hiding behind a door or closet staring into their soul like a paralysis demon is surprising cause I imagine she would do that and be like "it's just me sillies, I would never mean to scare you 😛" she's a well written villainess who I wish would have a little bit more screentime but her powers and what she can do honestly confuses me (like that whole body-swap thing)

Final 3 everybody, you ready for this?

#🥉: the 3rd place medal goes to Dodolea Castor from My in laws are obsessed with me

Another real villainess, putting everyone off guard with her initial gacha life brat persona only to be hit in the face with disturbing levels of cruelty that can only match a psychopath, she looks straight out of an uncanny mr incredible meme with that light skin stare shes got. Straight up laughs at Therdeos trauma while being well aware that she tried to SA him and how it affected the poor guy and later proceeds to attempt to kill and later kidnaps his wife. There's no remorse, no regrets, just the souls of innocents behind those huge eyes.

#🥈 : the second place medal goes to Verta Alberhart from depths of malice.

She isn't even the antagonist, no that's the protagonist! And honestly, the only white lotus in the main lead spot I've ever read so far. And while she has a messed up backstory that explains why she's so bitter, she still full on embraces it. Vertas way of being granted a second chance isn't even because of some goddess or divine power, she just snatches the body of a suicidal noblewoman and wreaks havoc on all of the disgusting noblemen in her path. She cries on the court trial of her fiances murder while secretly laughing knowing she set the whole thing up and slowly ruins the life of anyone who fucked around and found out.

At long last, we reached #🏅, and the crown goes to none other than...

Rashta Ishka from the remarried empress!

Hear me out now, this isn't just me being biased. Rashta earns first place because even though she is rendered an idiot who's only use is being worse so everyone else can look good, she still managed to do something unfathomable. She earned the respect of a fandom that initially hated her with all the fiber of their being and now she has a growing fanbase of real people, not fictional characters, actual fans. People are literally turning on one of the most popular manhwas that started it all for its treatment of Rashta (because who would guess that people are uncomfortable with the fact that a former slave is the ultimate evil and not the guy who tortures people just for shit talking the FL) and even though there is still a big part of the fandom who despises her, she still lives in everyone's head rent free. The trashta meme is more well known than Navier as a character and her character arc will always be superior and far more interesting than everything else in the story, after all remarried empress did start to decline after her death.

Jesus christ this took so long, I had to do so much rereading and fact checking but it was worth it.

[mxtxfanatic]

Hello, new danmei fan here. I'm really late into danmei, just started last year (so I missed the hype). Just when I confused which blog to follow, I found your blog. Thanks so much for this blog of yours, it really helped me to understand more of the stories. I just finished MDZS, TGCG, SVSSS and now I'm reading 2Ha.

For this ask game, can I ask MDZS or SVSSS?

Before I start reading, many people said that SVSSS is inferior to other MXTX works, after finishing the books, I disagree, because I enjoy them all the same....

I mean, if starting last year is considered "late," then I'm also behind, because I only started reading things a few years ago lmao! But it's never too late when fandoms are still booming (for better or worse). So I see we're finishing out the mxtx novels.

MDZS

Favorite Character: Wei Wuxian

Favorite Arc: all Drunk Lan Wangji encounters!

Character I Think is Underrated: Lan Wangji, if i have to hear “he’s boring” from people who can’t read one more time…

Character I Think is Overrated: all of the antagonists and villains. Jiang Cheng is not "single mother!jiujiu," he is just a bitchless Wen Chao. Jin Guangyao is not "poor little Meng Yao forced to do things against his will," he is a a calculating murderer who will scheme against, betray, and kill anyone who stands between him and ultimate power. Madam Yu is not a "girlboss" (unless we accept the real meaning of that word, which is a woman who gains power by ingratiating herself into oppressive systems as the female alternative to corrupt male leaders), she is a domestic abuser who made every single person in her family and husband's clan miserable.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Wangxian

Something I Love About the Book: I love the way this book is adamant about good always eventually being rewarded. That even if the outcome of doing good was terrible, that does not make the effort wasted or useless. Lan Wangji protecting Wei Wuxian at Nightless City was worth it even if he was almost killed for it, because it made sure that the yin tiger tally did not end up in the Jin Clan's hands as a completed weapon. Wei Wuxian saving the Wen was worth it even though he was killed for it, because A-Yuan got to live. Wen Qing and Wen Ning saving Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian was worth it even though Jiang Cheng betrayed them in the end, because their clan still got to live through its last descendant. None of their actions were met with immediate rewards, but the larger implications of them led to better outcomes than had they just kept to themselves and the status quo of corruption, as everyone else had.

SVSSS (my favorite of the three 🤗)

Favorite Character: Luo Binghe, hands down

Favorite Arc: Holy Mausoleum Arc, cause y'all (Shen Qingqiu 😒) gonna stop falsey accusing my baby, today!

Character I Think is Underrated: Bing-mei version of Luo Binghe, not because he's "unpopular," per se, but because mainstream fandom's perception of him seems to be that he is just Bing-ge who cries, and this is a complete mischaracterization of his character based on popular fanon. I see too much hate for him in this fandom because of it

Character I Think is Overrated: Shen Jiu. The man was a child abuser and died to one of his victims because he chose to be a child abuser. There is nothing tragic or unfair about that. Leave that man in the ether where he'll hopefully never have a chance to harm another person again.

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Bingqiu

Something I Love About the Book: Shen Qingqiu. The man is trying his damndest to do right in what he considers a doomed narrative, but the moment he realizes that his efforts have actually made things worse, he immediately pivots his actions. He never tries to justify himself, deflect from criticism, or misplace responsibility. He has one goal in mind, and that is to make as many people's lives as he possibly can better than what they originally ended up as.

[vickyvicarious]

Something I noticed is that Dracula has now resorted to killing his aides when he can to cover up his tracks and make it look like a human did it, he didn't use to do that, so Jonathan kept interviewing them

I suppose it depends to an extent on who you consider Dracula's aides. Because we see him deliberately turn on people who have unintentionally aided him (the Demeter crew), who have been forced to aid him (Jonathan), and who have aided him but then turned on him (Renfield). Jonathan's the only one who gets out alive from that, and it's largely due to Dracula's personal like for him/schedule constraints.

But even if we limit the category to people he has hired to do a job for him and who know who he is, I still think he has done that previously. Or rather, he had plans to do that, or at the very least was prepared to do so as needed. It just depends on what his main goal is at the time. I feel like I've talked about this earlier this year, but I can't find it right now, so let me just restate.

On looking at it I found in certain places little rings marked, and on examining these I noticed that one was near London on the east side, manifestly where his new estate was situated; the other two were Exeter, and Whitby on the Yorkshire coast.

On May 7, Jonathan notices several key locations marked off on Dracula's map. His arrival to Whitby is marked off, as is his first estate in London. But so is Exeter, where both Jonathan and Hawkins live. Unlike the other circled spots, Dracula never goes to Exeter. So why circle it?

One explanation which at least partially explains this: I think he deliberately chose a lawyer who wasn't based in London, in order to minimize the chances that local people would notice said lawyer going missing and connect it to the latest client arriving in town. Because it is very evident that he always intended to kill Jonathan. The man was not meant to leave the Castle, one way or another. Dracula had his whole letter scheme to disguise that fact and to separate Jonathan's disappearance from the time spent with Dracula (the cover story was obviously 'something happened while traveling home'). But if that failed and Hawkins seemed likely to raise any kind of stink, I think Dracula would have happily gone and killed him. But the man didn't contact him again about Jonathan so he didn't have to bother with that.

Similarly, Dracula doesn't kill any of the people who moved his boxes. But the thing is, that would have drawn way more attention. He didn't know that Jonathan was following his paper trail and interviewing them all, and killing a bunch of people all of whom worked for him would have been way more suspicious than just leaving them alone and hoping no one found out. So that's what he did! Not killing these people was the smarter move as far as he could see, the best way to hide his tracks. No need to have murders associated with him in England; he wants to be an unnoticed predator and to leave behind the place where everyone is onto him. Even if people still think he's human, getting associated with murders isn't a look he wants.

He's thinking long-term when he arrives in London. And he may well still have the idea of coming back and killing people later, when they're no longer so associated with working for him, but certainly in the moment it doesn't make sense to do so. Similarly, it didn't help him when leaving Transylvania. The people who work for him there are either scared enough or willing enough to do what he says, so why deprive himself of this resource in case he needs it in future? There are plenty of others to hunt instead, and no one he needs to hide his tracks from. The Demeter served a function too - first, he wanted a ghost ship so he could get ashore more easily. Second, he probably wanted to tank up before arriving in England so that he could fully use all his powers both to manipulate the weather for the crash and to shift to wolf form to get ashore. Once he's starting killing some of them, better to kill all of them so no one can tell the tale. Also, I bet he wanted to let loose and in the middle of the ocean was a good place to do so without causing any harm to his future plans.

This time around is different. He knows he's being hunted, so he's not worried about drawing attention. It's already on him regardless. All he cares about is hiding the exact information of where he's gone in order to slow them down, and the surest and most convenient way to do that is by killing the man who arranged it for him. So he does.

He is resorting to it, but not necessarily because he's finally driven to it when he normally wouldn't do that, so much as because the situation now makes it a more reasonable choice for him. I think it would have been just as much an option on the table the entire time for him.

[magadauthan]

Ep 26: Under the Sky So Blue

Thank you to the @trigun98watchparty for making this possible, and to all of you who have been reading along with me to this point. It's been a great trip down memory lane and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with other '98 fans who watched the first Trigun and loved it despite its flaws.

Also big thank you to those who engaged in meta, especially @tiggymalvern! Finding you again was the nicest surprise of all!

Without further ado, I am plant-ing (HARF) my tongue firmly in cheek for the intro to this recap.

Knives. We need to talk.

You have spent the last 130 years working on becoming the most basic bitch on NML, and you've done a good job. You couldn't be any blonder or blue-eyed. You have (had) a loyal second-in-command who did all your dirty work for you so you didn't have to get your hair mussed. You have a Squad who secretly hates you but sticks around because they want to be on the right side of things if you win out. And you have a silly-looking pair of boots.

It's also well known that you are the Beverage Boy of NML. On your desk (which is sitting in front of a big loopy wall art stating "Live, Laugh, Murder Everyone") and next to the "Universe's #1 Brother" mug you bought yourself is a canvas frame that says "But first, coffee." You probably killed everyone else at Target so you could get the latest Stanley.

But Knives. Knives. The wine? That's a red you're drinking. Red wine doesn't get chilled. It should be decanted and served at room temperature. Plus, basic bitches drink rosé, or a white zinfandel. To make your declassé behavior worse, you're drinking it out of a martini glass. If you're going to have a Cosmo, have a Cosmo. It's no shame. But really - how are you going to claim that you're a superior breed if you don't know such simple rules of etiquette?

Get a grip, Beverage Boy.

--Aw, baby Vash.

--I wonder whether the twins need to eat and drink, or whether it's just easier for them if they do.

--You know, Knives, humans wouldn't have had to rely so heavily on the Plants if you hadn't crashed the ships. Ofc he didn't intend to have anyone survive besides himself and Vash, which sounds pretty boring. What were the two of you going to do for all eternity?

--Was Knives working on the guns before the ship crashed, and that's what he went in to find?

--I remember seeing somewhere that the little cartridge above the barrel of the Long Colts is a teeny Plant, or Plant-stuff. Anyone else recall this?

--NOW who's the big whiny baby, Knives? (my leg, it hurts! Why?)

--That must be a very young Doc on the ship. Although, there's nothing to say that a year on NML is the same as a year on Earth. It would be more surprising if it was, rather than it wasn't.

--LOL William Conrad (aka Revnunt Buskus) is from Cleveland, Ohio

--No but seriously, how did Knives get himself and Vash's severed arm out of July after getting blasted to smithereens?

--"Hi Knives! Living as a human was great! Congratulations bro, I am done with your shit!"

--Vash kept quite a few of Leonov's wires. They've come in handy.

--Knives has learned Vash's physical tricks well enough to keep up with him... and Vash has finally figured out how to control his Plant powers well enough to cancel his brother out. (Tristamp really nailed this; their battle in the final ep was fantastic)

--Vash is worn out. Not only has he been shot through the shoulder by his brother, he's likely not completely healed from the encounter with Legato.

--Even in death, WW is looking after his friend and kicking his ass to do something, damnit! I'm right here to help you!

--The peppering Knives got from the Punisher likely wouldn't have been enough to put Vash off, but Knives has never been able to handle physical pain. Vash remembers this very well and takes excellent advantage of it.

--that boy has jawlines for days

--A blast from the well, the cauldron of Rebirth. Vash is reborn to be his own person, to make the right choices for himself and his conscience, rather than for her memory.

Which is what every mother wants for her son. I should know.

--go get your man, Meryl, he won't keep you waiting. if he did you'd go find him anyway.

--Vash leaves his coat, his gun... and his sunglasses. He's done hiding behind them. He doesn't need to anymore.

--This would have been the ending scene, for most anime. Anyone who watches anime gets used to the vague ending, the things left unsaid, and the ambiguity. There's rarely a "happy ending" the way Westerners think of them. Vash could have wandered off into the sunset, leaving the viewer to wonder whether he ever saw Milly and Meryl again. That's pretty normal.

And then there's Trigun, which takes that expected ambiguity and says "nah, we're not done."

Vash comes back to town. He's made his choice to accept the girls into his life, of his own volition, and he's going to let them make their own choices about having him (and his brother) in their lives. There would be an awful lot to sort out, but he wants to try.

This is the very next scene. Don't tell me otherwise; I don't want to hear it. (credit: doujinshi circle Nail Cut Club; title Meteo Strike).

I have Big Thoughts about what could happen after this, and of course a fanfic, but my cat wants me to go to bed now. She's being very persistent.

Thanks to all of you who read this far. You're the best, and I love you all! And talk to me, I like hearing from ppl!

[empresskadia]

I think the most powerful gifts you can give a Spartan is one that reminds them of you for when you're aren't there. Sometimes they're off doing missions, and you're separated, and they really miss you. Having that little reminder always makes it better.

Like, say, for Naomi, her partner has an Ace of Spades playing card on the pauldron of their armor like their uncle did back when the Human-Covenant War began. Luck was important to him, so it was important to you. Naomi was just as important to you, so when you couldn't always be together on the same ship, you gave her two things: A copy of the card on your shoulder and a magic eight ball to keep in her room. You may or may not have replaced the die inside with things you would say, so it was like you were there in spirit when you couldn't be there in person.

Not when you're getting scouted for some big secret project led by a guy whose name you forget but a number that reminded you of hers.

096?

First, I got chills reading this! Second, I gasped so loudly my dog came to check on me to make sure I was okay. Third, I was like ‘fuckin Musa! Naomi’s gonna murder you.’ Like I didn’t know how the Spartan IV program started. I lowkey went feral for this ask, you’re spoiling me and I adore it.

I love this so very much and this is canon in my head now. How cute is this!!! Spartans don’t have personal things but the item their partner gives them becomes their prized possession and they would break bones if someone tries to take it.

Like for Linda, she has pressed flowers that you gave her and kept on her dog tags at all times, when she’s thinking about her partner or missing you, she grasps the chain and feels a little closer to you. Or a small charm on Nornfang that you made for her that Linda never takes off. Whenever she takes down targets and sees the charm, she thinks to herself that she can’t wait to hear about the mission you’ve been sent on or just to see you in general.

There is a ring that your grandmother passed down that you always wear on your pointer finger and end up giving to Kelly because it fits on her pinkie/places it on her chain because you wouldn’t see her for a few months. When Kelly’s thinking about her partner/missing you, she subconsciously spins the ring, and later, ends up seeing her name/spartan tag engraved inside the band. Or give her one of your earrings that your father gave you, so she had half of something that was super important to you and feels very protective of the jewelry because she knows you adored your father.

For John, it’s the exchanged dog tags, one is his and the other is yours. Sometimes he takes it off and runs his finger across your name and service number, he doesn’t realize that his expression softens just a bit but Cortana and Blue team know he’s thinking about you.

Everyone on Blue team knows that Fred has a favorite combat knife that you gave him and if something happens to it, he is going to kill someone, and no, it’s not an exaggeration. Kelly witnessed him panic about losing it once and horde of brutes didn’t even have a chance to blink before they were dead. There are personalized words written on the inside of the knife from you and it will be over his dead body before someone tries to take it or use it.

But also! Luck is important to Naomi because it reminds her of John too and we see how worried she is for Chief in the books, this is very important to her! So you give her the card and tell her about it, she’s putting that on her armor in the same spot that you have it in. It makes her feel closer to her partner and her eyes soften anytime she glimpses it from the corner of her vision. Especially once she gets recruited for Kilo-Five and you get sent on a secret ‘mission’ that she can’t know about. Naomi knows there is something you’re not telling her but she won’t push because it’s classified, which kind of worries her.

When Serin tells her about the whole Halsey thing or finds out about her dad, she shakes the eight ball wishing you were there to talk with but quietly laughs to herself when she reads the message because it’s 100% something you would say. Naomi constantly starts asking BB if there were any messages sent to her, getting antsy when he tells her no every time to the point BB shares this with the captain.

Eventually, Naomi asks Serin if she could find any information about you, giving her your full name, service name, rank, and all the important things to find your file. If anyone could get into classified mission files, it would be BB and Serin.

It's BB saying, "Oh that's rather somber to find out." that has Naomi wanting to panic. Did something happen? Was her partner hurt? Were you hospitalized? Did you get killed? She knew she should've upgraded your armor with those last bits of data, what was she thinking?! Naomi's thoughts are spirling but nothing prepared her for what your file read,

'SPARTAN-IV Lieutenant - pending transfer to REDACTED'

'Augmentation Procedure - Successful'

'AI Partner - Pending Compatibility with REDACTED'

'Stationed - UNSC REDACTED'

'Notes - Expand'

"What does it mean by Spartan-IV?" Naomi had to ask, she had to know because all she recalled was her own augmentation, the pain, the recovery, the loss of her sisters and brothers in arms, something that she might've just lost her partner to.

[when-the-spagheddie-hits-the-fan]

I'm in the BIT Club (IT Book Club)

Each week we read a certain amount of the book and I have thoughts and feelings about IT *Ba Dum Tss*

Warning: There are Spoilers

Week 1

Ch. 1

   I really liked being in Georgie’s perspective, and the whole time he’s describing the basement I kept hearing the Jaws *dun dun* because of future events and just having the knowledge I have from the Miniseries, Movies (and Musical), like, dude, you have no idea how right you are! And that turtle wax made me go, “omg, does Stephen King even realize what he did there?!” and it’s like “yeah, ya goof.”

   Georgie and Bill’s relationship was so siblings. People don’t always write siblings being assholes to each other while also showing that they care about each other. I think the butthole jokes weirdly show that off the best, and Georgie is so cute about Bill saying “shitty butthole” — very little kid of him.   Also, when Georgie kisses Bill on the cheek and Bill tells Georgie to be careful before leaving, I never thought it was weird while watching the other media, so when it was pointed out how unusual it was it got me thinking about why did they do it that time? Was it the turtle or was it just one of those moments that really stands out to you because it was the last time you saw that person and it ended in tragedy or was it something else completely? 

   Something that really surprised me was that an adult “saw” what happened and actually went to go check on Georgie. Any other time I’ve seen this scene it almost always cuts away right after Georgie is attacked so I had no idea. Plus adults suck, so anytime they aren't it’s always wild to me.

Ch. 2

   This chapter is so brutal, obviously. But like, fuck, dude. What adds to the harshness of it all is like this shit has happened and can still happen. My heart felt so disgusted by what those homophobic pricks were doing. And the hopelessness of Don crying out for anyone to help, and running back to Adrian and not being able to anything was so sad and sickening.

   And with Pennywise showing up to finish off Adrian I find myself thinking, not at the time but looking back on it, Pennywise is not as bad as those jackwagons. Is that weird to think? I mean, Pennywise is a murder-crazed space clown god thing, what are those scum sucking fuckwads excuses?

   Something I found interesting is how kinda neutral the cops were? ACAB and all that, but I thought they were gonna be evil and that’s that. But no. Sure they aren’t supportive of the gays but they didn’t go out of their way to fuck with them, and one stopped the first altercation and told the warthog sniffers to fuck off. Again ACAB and at the end of the day they are, but I was kinda thrown for a loop when they weren’t vile creatures.

   On a happier note; the Elmer Curtie part was really funny. Man has a successful gay bar in a small, homophobic town and it takes him 4yrs, give or take, to realize it. Amazing! And when he figures it out he’s like, “Most of my patrons are polite, I never have to pay for damages because girls aren't an issue, and I’m making money?? I see only positives!” Also, it’s totally canon that he ships Don and Adrian.

Ch. 3

   This was a hefty chapter, and my favorite out of the 3 for this week. For a chapter as a whole; I liked the back and forth of who was narrating for each Loser’s parts (other person, that loser, other person, that loser, other person, that loser), and a thought I’m sure no one has had before; IT should really be a TV Series. Chapter 1 and 2 could easily be their own episode, and each of the Losers’ sections could be their own episode too!

   Stan- Okay, starting off strong and sad. Really surprised that Stan is first, and we’re in Patty’s head. I learned way more about Patty than I ever did with the Miniseries and Movies combined. I mean in total her screen is like what? Over 5mins?

   The people need to know that puzzles are Patty’s thing! I repeat, girl has hobbies away from Staniel!!

   That part about her not being allowed in that high society club dance, describing her beautiful dress that made her look like a mermaid, the sound that her heels made on the gravel when walking back to the car, the laughing she hears and how that will affect her even years from now, that shit is crushing. And her and Stan's relationship is so nice and sweet. She doesn’t always get him, but she loves him so much, and they’re each other's person. He’s gentle with her for their first time. I made an audible “awww” when Patty said, “Don’t hurt me, dear.” and he said, “I will never hurt you.” Then the moment got ruined with remembering what’s gonna happen, but I digress.

  So when Patty goes to check on Stan, again, it’s way longer. The one thing that really stood out to me is that she notices all the unusual things Stan is doing, things that he never really does but it’s nothing that she feels like she needs to bring up with him. And then it’s too late, and those out of place things are just playing over and over again in her head. It got me thinking about Georgie's chapter. The kiss and the concerned warning that the brothers do for the last time they would ever see each other. And how it stands out to them but they say nothing about it, and thoughts of these mistakes and what they should have done will stay with (sadly only) Bill forever. And now with Patty. Fuck.

   Two things I can now confidently say now about Stan is he’s autistic and the man fucks!

   This is such a little piece and I haven’t read the whole book so technically the whole picture isn’t there, but Stan is autistic. The way he talks and interacts with people, he’s logical and doesn’t feel the need to explain himself. ‘Cause why would he? He’s right. Speaking as a person that also falls on the spectrum, reading this little bit about Stan at least makes me go, “Hmmm, gonna file that for later.” Also, and I really wish this wasn’t the case, I really appreciate having Stan not come off as cold and heartless. He jokes around and clearly loves his wife. Almost like he's a person and not some broken robot. What a concept!

   On a hornier note, Stan likes sex. The Miniseries understood that. It’s so great that when they leave the clinic, Stan's first words are, “I never do”, and then clarifies, “Think about procreation during.” Noice. I don’t know; I just really like knowing that the dude fucks and he likes it.

   On a final note; I’m interested in finding out why he remembers more than any other losers. Like, I know but I’m curious to see how the book will explain it.

   Richie- Richie has ADD/ADHD!

   From the need to play music (the louder the better) to either help him focus or distract him.

All those voices he does, him wanting to please the people he talks to, and not wanting to say or show what he’s actually feeling or thinking? That is so masking!

   I know with every character there are a lot of thoughts going on in their heads, but Richie’s on a different level. Not only does he have a lot of thoughts, but he’s also talking to a lot of people, using multiple voices, and he’s quick on his feet when on the spot. Plus I know he has the gift of gab (aka never shuts the fuck up), he’s moving around a lot, and he’s keeps getting distracted with little things going on around him. His brain is all over the place.

   Imma call it; Richie wasn’t bullied for his glasses (I mean he was but shush); he was bullied because he has ADD/ADHD! Kids don’t need to know what it is to spot it and hate you for it. Talking from experience as an ADD kid (or that weird annoying girl).

   It’s really sad that the main memories that he remembers is the bullying, the names they called him, and getting beat up.

   I’m glad he had friends that loved and cared about him.

   Also, holy crap! Richie said, “You bet your fur” first!

   Ben- …Okay, real talk? Ben’s part was so funny! I already brought up that the amount of times Ricky Lee’s name was so fucking funny to me here, but the waitress, the lemons, and the amount of stress Ben was giving Ricky Lee was really funny.

   Of course I feel bad for Ben but to be in Ricky Lee’s POV is really something special!

   Sorry, not that much to say. I guess something to add is Ben needs therapy (no duh). In this case I’m talking about his body image issues, and for what he put his body through and I bet is still doing to look “perfect.”

   Eddie- I don’t think I have to bring up examples on why Sonia sucks and is a terrible mother; you saw all the words about her.

   Everything that was shown about Eddie wasn’t surprising. I think reading the source really showed me the fights that he has with himself might be his biggest problem (those words come from his mother but you get it) And I really like that you can tell, even through all his fear, that Eddie is a capable person and is very brave.

   Also, I was expecting Eddie to have a long list about everything he takes but, good lord, that list really did go on forever.

   I don’t know how fans feel about this, considering all the fanfics I read I think I’m really in the minority, but I don’t think Myra is abusive?? At worst, I think she kinda manipulates Eddie into feeling bad and getting her way but like I don’t know, it feels like she’s fucked up like Eddie but in a different way, they both seem to be stuck in this life. Even what I said about the worst seems a bit too much. I actually feel bad for her. I’m really surprised because, again, all the fanfics I’ve read, things I’ve seen online talking about her and Sonia’s similarities, and I guess the little snippet from the second movie shaped my original opinion about her.

   And can I just say, I hate how Stephen King describes fat people. He makes it seem like the biggest sin a person can have is being fat. Like, “Of course they're a bad person. Didn’t you see how big they are? I mean how could you not?! Fat people are so gross!” I just — it makes me uncomfortable. Especially ‘cause, oh I don’t know, BEN! Let’s see how that goes.

   Bev- This is really brutal. Besides Bev beating the ever-loving shit out of Tom and scream-laughing like the beautiful mad lady she is when she's outside, my overall favorite part is how Tom is able to sound cruel and vile but also show just how pathetic and dumb he really is.

   He really is a top tier abuser with no skills of his own, and has the mind of a whiny child. I hope his balls exploded into bloody nothings, and the wounds Bev gave him never heal and he’s unable to cover them so he never forgets what happened and his outside matches his insides. (btw scars are cool and okay but fuck this turd)

   I’m glad Bev found her strength again.

   Bill- I learned you can do anything if you have the unjustified confidence of a white man. I wanted to say that college Bill was being really egotistical, but what the fuck do I know? It worked out great for him. 

   Seriously though, I’m trying really hard not to jump the gun but I know that book adult Bill sucks and the live action adult Bills don’t. And overall Bill seems okay in his section buuuut, I don’t know; I’ll keep trying to take in the book without my prior knowledge.

   I like Audra, and finding out how they met. I think it’s sweet that you wouldn’t think they would have ended up together but they really do seem to love each other. And Audra really seems to care about him. What a nice, good lady. Sure would be a shame if Bill became human trash and taints what they have.

[roomwithanopenfire]

random ask where you get to rant or ramble about anything you really want to talk about

Okay I'm ready to talk!!

Ramble will be under the cut it is long. It's about my writing process for my Ronance Fic No Sweeter Drug (than just giving you my love) if you're at all interested in reading, spoilers beware.

So, before i started writing my first ronance fanfic I had not read any ronance fics at all, or at least not any where Ronance was the only ship (I had read a few where they were pretty prominent tho). This was interesting because this is the only time a ship has overtaking me that didn't start with me consuming an ungodly amount of fanfiction, instead it started with me listening to Midnights by Taylor Swift and thinking that Maroon really reminded me of them. And I'm not even a big Taylor Swift fan!! (which is probably hard to believe when I have an entire fanfic based on an album of hers).

But anyways, I started writing it, first with an outline (and because I love talking about writing processes that's what this ramble is going to be about, idc if no one wants to know, i want to share, so listen to me (or don't, idk)).

This is how it started, the first words I ever wrote of this idea.

and it keeps going, with a little blurb for each song. Rereading this, I can see that things have changed, my chapter for Vigilante Shit was originally "fun and light hearted" and ended up with Robin and Nancy seriously considering murder for about 500 words. The ending changed a bit, as I was originally trying to fit each song in there, before deciding that Mastermind really didn't make sense for this fic, and Sweet Nothings was a much better ending. (And let's be honest, Nancy Wheeler did not do any masterminding in NSD). Also Nancy was originally bisexual until I started writing the first chapter and realized my girl was so comphet.

After I do a brief roadmap/outline, i then take each chapter one by one, first writing a more detailed bullet point outline, and then writing the whole chapter. Here's my some of my bulletpoints for chapter 2 (the Maroon Chapter) for your perusal

As I kept going, I eventually stopped doing bullet points and started just writing out the scene blocks more like this (this is chapter 6, the Midnight Rain one)

And then I just write the chapter. Fun fact, while writing the end of Chapter Four (the Snow on the Beach one), I did almost make them kiss too early. In the actual fic we have this:

but when I first wrote it, she did say that out loud. This is what happened:

"I shouldn't have left you on that roof," Nancy says. And Robin is surprised because they've never talked about this before, not outside of that week. "I was scared."

"I know." Robin says. "I'm not really mad at you... not anymore. More sad about it."

"You still...like girls then?"

Robin nods. "Do you?"

"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to." Nancy says quietly.

"It's not about being allowed to or not. It just is. You can like whoever you want to like."

Nancy is quiet and think back to before. When she was in New York, she was still Nancy Wheeler, resident goody-two-shoes. So much of her life had changed after that day. So much had gone wrong. Her whole life was different. And maybe, maybe no one would really care, if Nancy dated a girl. Maybe it wouldn't be such a big deal. Maybe one day her and Robin could be far far away from here. Maybe Nancy could be happy... just maybe.

"I don't know how," Nancy says, instead of any of that. And she's talking about a lot of things here. Maybe she doesn't know how to do date a girl, maybe she doesn't know how to move on, maybe she just doesn't know how to be happy.

"That's okay," Robin says. "I don't know how to either. We could figure it out together."

Nancy doesn't say anything, just grabs Robin's hand. 

They both slink down to the floor, leaning against the house.

Robin asks if she can kiss Nancy and Nancy says yes and it's soft and sweet, not the same hurried red passion of New York, but something slower. 

"God this is weird, isn't it?" Nancy says.

"Yeah, but it's nice."

"So nice"

You can tell towards the end of me writing it, I realized that this was way to soon and I wasn't even trying with dialogue. I pretty much deleted that right after I wrote it (had to hunt through my track changes to find it). I got swept in the moment writing and the realized I had an outline to stick to! They couldn't kiss in chapter four!!!

Also ew such a shock reading my raw unedited writing. In an ideal world, my writing will go through two editing passes before posting. It all honestly, only the first five chapters got the privilege of two editing passes, the rest got one pass and a run through a spell checker. (Although one pass can be multiple, i just prefer two passes of editing with some time passing in between them)

I'm doing much better about editing the fic I'm working on right now, and I feel so much better about the quality of the chapters when I do that.

The title of No Sweeter Drug (than just giving you my love) was one of the last things I came up with. I didn't settle on it until after I'd compeltly finished the first draft. I was debating between two of them, NSD and (I love you so much) It Scares Me Half to Death and the only reason I didn't pick the latter was because a) I love Tessa Violet and b) I couldn't figure out which part to put in parentheses.

Anyways, I really enjoyed writing this fic and this fic was a different tone then anything else I've tried. The other fandom I write for has a standard for first person writing and I used present tense for my fics there, so this was the first fic I wrote in third person past tense, and I could feel myself growing as a writer while I wrote it.

The only thing is I wish it had more comments 😭😭😭 feels like such a selfish thing to wish for, especially when so many of the comments I've gotten have been so lovely and i've made a couple of wonderful friendships from this fic. But I started writing this fic back in Oct 2022 and didn't post it until Dec 2023, so that's over a year of writing for an average of four comments per chapters.

In reality, I was just spoiled by the first fandom I wrote for—they're literally the best at giving comments and I was tricked into thinking that was the norm. It's just a tad disappointing to be pouring all this time and effort into something and not getting out what you pour in, we all have to be leaders of change in the Ronance fandom and start leaving long and detailed comments on every chapter of each fic we read.

But overall, I really grateful for this fic even if no one had read it, it was fun to write and I'm really really proud of it.

And anon, I hope this was what you were looking for in a ramble and you're required to at least pretend you enjoyed it /j

[thelaurenshippen]

this month's mixtape is for Tex Bullock, one of the protagonists of my queer outlaw western (currently drafting). if you subscribe to my newsletter (linked in the previous sentence), then you'll have already read these, but for everyone else, my notes:

This playlist has been public on my Spotify for a while, but I don't think I've ever shared notes for it. Hell, I'm not sure I'd ever written notes for it, though I feel like I must have somewhere, at some point. But, anyway, to catch you up if you're new: Desperate Hollow is my currently unpublished queer outlaw romance. Tex Bullock and Sawyer Watson grow up in a gang together before Sawyer shoots Tex and leaves him for dead. Seven years later, they end up in the same dead-end town and have to deal with everything they've never said. 

The book goes back and forth between their perspectives - and in past/present - but we begin with Tex's perspective, so I thought we'd start with him in the playlists first. Like last month's main story playlist, I made this playlist 1000 years ago and I've found so many songs since that would fit it so much better. But I've kept the original three playlists the same because, even though the characters have become more fleshed out, they've largely stayed the same at their core. 

Tex is the classic Wild West outlaw - he's brash but charming, flirtatious and deadly, roguishly scarred and just the perfect amount of mysterious. And all of that is a carefully constructed persona that he's worked hard to cultivate. In reality, he's gentle with horses, loves a good novel, would happily cuddle Sawyer for hours at a time, and wants so desperately to be loved. He's a murderer, he isn't a good person, but he's a loyal one and very often kind. And he's been in love with Sawyer since he was a teenager. He can forgive Sawyer for shooting him - it's being left that cuts deep. 

1. "The Hell of It Is" - Sam Palladio & Clare Bowen

Yes, this is from the TV show "Nashville". I loved that show. I'm the only person who watched that show. The music slapped. It's all over tons of my playlists (I think the oldest Nashville add to one of playlists was on a Sam/Mark ship mix (if you're a plus pal, it's this one)). This particular set of characters were meant to be a kind of The Civil Wars rip-off and I love how love/hate their lyrics often are. 

The hell of it is/I love you even when I don't - I meannnnnnnn

I'd rather live with my mistakes/Honey say you'll do the same - in the beginning of the story, Tex has been torn between anger and love for seven years. He doesn't forgive Sawyer for leaving him for dead, but at the same time, he'd do anything to have the opportunity to forgive him. He'd rather live with Sawyer and their mistakes than not. 

2. "John Wayne" - Lady Gaga

This song just sounds like Tex to me. In your face, swaggering, a little sexy. Tex is a construct of his own making, an exaggeration of Wild West masculine violence like John Wayne. 

I crave a real wild man/I'm strung out on John Wayne - this is Tex  about himself. He doesn't want a wild man as a partner, he wants to be the wild man. And he needs to be a little enamored with himself in order to keep the construct alive. 

3. "Dress" - Charlotte Sands

This song is the reason the Desperate Hollow novel exists. It came up on one of my discovery playlists and that chorus - Love the way you wear that dress/Making everyone upset/Burning that cigarette boy/Swear to God, I confess, boy - just had me immediately thinking of Tex and Sawyer and the idea of Tex seeing Sawyer goofing off in a dress and being like "oh shit Something is happening". At the time, I was working on the story as a podcast taking place entirely in the present day, so I wrote a little drabble from their years in the gang as an exercise - Tex and Sawyer and the other men going through a haul they'd pulled, all of them trying on various fancy clothes. Sawyer throws on one of the dresses and is laughing and dancing, carefree for the first time since Tex has met him, and Tex is immediately in hell. 

Look so good I'm annoyed - this was the building block for the scene I wrote. Tex is really confronting his attraction to Sawyer for the first time and because, at this point, they do not get along, he's just annoyed by it. It's inconvenient that Sawyer is so smart and capable and also hot. 

So, anyway, I wrote that scene, kept working on the podcast and then...kept thinking about that scene, and how fun it was to write a flashback. And here we are, five years later, and I've got a 150k word novel that cuts between flashback and present day. 

You're so masculine/Taste like cherry cola - the juxtaposition of masculine and feminine in this song is so good and there's nothing inherently about cherry cola, but because of the cherry chapstick in "I Kissed a Girl", my mind just immediately went to that place. 

4. "I Will Never Die" - Delta Rae

There's an unmade playlist in my head that's "songs to crawl out of your grave to" and this is absolutely one of them. Tex is riddled with scars and has escaped death more times than anyone he knows and he just refuses to die. And even though "Dress" is a lot more pop-y, this song is more in line with the aesthetic.

5. "Bad" - Royal Deluxe

Another great little bit of outlaw rock from Royal Deluxe. This is very straightforward as a choice for Tex, but I'm bad, as bad can be/So bad that it's hard to believe/Oh, what they say about me is particularly good for the fact that Tex is all about the narrative of his own legend. 

6. "Raise Hell" - Dorothy

Another extremely self-explanatory one! This is pure vibes. Tex was raised to raise hell, and I'm always going to be a sucker for any talk of sinners in songs of this genre. 

7. "Slow Burn" - Kacey Musgraves

The flow of this whole playlist is not my best work, and we really take a hard turn into love songs here. But if I had to justify my own shitty construction, I would say that it mimics how Tex feels about Sawyer - it's total whiplash all the time. 

This song is so perfect for walking someone home at the end of a date, when there's a nice breeze and the sun is setting. It's the perfect song for falling into the initial infatuation - not love, but the knowledge that maybe, someday, it could grow into that. Tex hasn't had a lot of that kind of softness in his life, but he wants it desperately, and he and Sawyer did have moments that were like that that he holds as precious memories. 

8. "Love Story" - Sarah Cothran

This was originally the last song on this playlist, but I moved things around the more that "Night Shift" became theTex song. 

It's sad-dark Taylor Swift. Like the previous song, this is feeding into Tex's fantasies about what love could be like if he didn't live the way he did and didn't have blood on his hands. Sawyer has always been the storybook prince to him, and it's Tex who doesn't make a good princess (in his mind). 

9. "Night Shift" - Lucy Dacus*

This song makes me so catshit bananas. I could copy down every single lyric. The first time I tasted somebody else's spit/I had a coughing fit is one of my favorite opening lyrics of all time. The whole metaphor of the night shift. The tension between forgiveness and desire. Breakup song of all time!!!

Genuinely, there's so much about this song that is perfect for Tex. The first time I heard the song (which I believe was sent to me by a listener), I was bowled over, because I'd been thinking about the fact that Tex almost certainly pretended he was kissing Sawyer the first time he kissed someone. I was let down, it wasn't the same just kiiiiiills me. That's it exactly! 

And then, the night shift stuff. You've got a 9 to 5/so I'll take the night shift/And I'll never see you again/if I can help it - there's a whole thing in the book about Sawyer as the sun and Tex as the moon, so this really sends me off the deep end. 

In five years I hope these songs feel like covers/dedicated to new lovers - Tex is this way about his own legend and the narrative of his life. After he's shot, Sawyer isn't in his life anymore, so surely Sawyer can't be part of who he is anymore. Except you can't really ever untangle yourself from the people who shaped you and, no matter how much he tries, everything always reminds Tex of Sawyer. 

Don't hold your breath/forget you ever saw me at my best - Sawyer was the only one who really saw Tex's softer side and now that they're apart, Tex would give anything to remove that information from Sawyer's mind. 

Can't lose what you never had - a common sentiment, but one that punches me in the chest when it comes to Tex and Sawyer! 

Am I a masochist, resisting urges to punch you in the teeth...What was the plan? Absolve your guilt and shake hands/I feel no need to forgive but I might as well/But let me kiss your lips so I know how it felt - I'm walking into the ocean. The way that Lucy Dacus puts these different physical acts in the context of forgiveness - not punching you is hurting me, if we shook hands and parted would you feel absolved, would kissing you feel like forgiving you....Lucy, I am in your walls!!!   

p.s.if you want more queer outlaw ramblings, I've got a whole tumblr tag for it! 

[alemonyoyo]

V is for Vendetta but T is for Tension - Ronin x V (Killer Chat):

A/N: I have coined this ship "Bloodhound" since V's username is K9 like dogs lol and cause Ronin is a gore fest and because they also symbolise unconditional love. It's the perfect ship name in my op.

Summary: The devil is in the details. And the details seem to be telling V that he might be a little more than obsessed with Ronin.

Words: 2804

Tags: Feelings Realisation, Enemies To Lovers, V is really in his head about EVERYTHANG, over use of italics?

-

@goreboy: sure Baby catch me if you can

It was messages like these that made his blood boil the most. The catty nicknames and taunts that really show Ronin’s true depravity. He was a murderer. A sick fuck who did little outside of tormenting the good of the modern world. And despite that being his livelihood, when met with threats of capture, he couldn’t care less!

@K9: I will. Just you wait.

He typed it out, feeling his fingers jaggedly tremble, trying to hold themselves back from a lengthy diatribe that he’d surely get mocked for. He was used to the teasing. After 2 years it’s hard not to be, but right now he really needn’t get more flustered.

He didn’t wait for a response, flicking back over to another tab on his desktop; The Butcher’s police reports spread out on scanned documents, each fitted with the scrawling hand of the men in blue. He had been going through each of the reports, noting each death's location on a map he kept up in another window, now pin-pricked red with small dots that coagulated like a sea of blood; Ronin’s massacre. 

He was desperate for another lead, something to dig him out of the hole he found himself in, seeing neither the path forward nor backward, stuck simply in place to wallow in the details… “The devil is in the details.” Ronin had often said over call in his whiny, pitchy tone. Yet, these were the moments Valentin hated him the least. After all, the voice sought to humanise him, even if it was grating on the ears.

Never once had he seen him though. Yet he was aware everyone else had. He had heard many a time about Ronin’s deplorable fashion sense from the likes of both Angel and Misaki, and was well aware of Luca and Felicie’s apprehension of his appearance. Under other circumstances, he’d feel offended that Ronin would have obstructed him from such a view, yet it made perfect sense given their intentions with one another… Valentin had neglected to show his own face as well, so perhaps it was only fair.

Yet he wondered, what could someone like The Butcher even look like? At first, before he’d even joined the server, he’d imagined him much like how he imagines Vince; Tall and gruff, with wide shoulders and thin eyes that pierce harshly into one's chest, reading the sins of their hearts and beating out their last breath with intimidation. Yet, once he got to interact with Ronin, that idealisation was swiftly discarded. 

Now, well- he's not sure how he imagines him. He evidently has an affinity for grunge-like aesthetics, and according to Luca sports some especially “unflattering jeans” (though Luca’s taste is not to be trusted), yet his relationship with Angel would suggest he is reasonably attractive… Unless Angel was desperate, which wouldn’t be completely surprising. He exuded enough confidence to suggest that he was, though, which really got V’s mind racing…

If he could just get a glimpse of his killer, that’d make his hunt so much simpler! Yes. That was it.

He flicked back over to his chat with Ronin, the petulant nickname “baby” flashing in the gaudish pink of the chat client, grinding his gears and making him flush. It was stupid, he really shouldn’t get flustered by things like this, from people like this.

He scoffed, sighing to himself as he read over Ronin’s messages. If only these were different circumstances.

@goreboy: Eh. thats what you always say

@goreboy: And where has that gotten you?

@goreboy: 2 years in the biz and you still havent found me

He clenched one hand into a fist, clicking off the terminal with the other to get back to his sleuthing. Ronin was always such an asshole. He made him crazy! Made his heart race and his skin flush. Made him scroll through reams of documents detailing down to the finest points all the horrific acts he had committed. If it weren’t for the screen in between them, well, Valentin was certain that he’d know Ronin better than anyone!

The annoying flicker of the chat terminal’s notifications sounded. Once, then twice, then once more- V sighed, rubbing a tired hand upon his temple. It was really too late to be dealing with him, but justice never sleeps, so neither does he.

@goreboy: you just gonna ignore me are ya?

@goreboy: nah. you’re probably busy “hunting me down” arent ya?

@goreboy: Understandin my serial killer psyche and what not

@goreboy: so Fuckin Obsessed with me

@goreboy: you almost make me blush

He couldn’t stifle his audible groan. Ronin was being needier than usual.

@K9: Go seek your attention somewhere else. You have an entire server of pricks to bother.

@goreboy: eh. theyre not as fun to play with as you

He had to cover his eyes at that. Whether it be to shield him from such a snide remark, or to hide the heat that sizzled quietly under his skin, he wasn’t sure. This feeling, it had to be irritation- hatred. Sizzling, bubbling, hot. That’s how you’d describe it, no?

Ronin wasn’t being unjust, though. At least, not right now, so why was he making him feel this way? And why, pray tell, were the corners of his mouth fighting against his better judgement, upturning awkwardly into what some may call a smile. A smirk? A simulacra of emotion.

Perhaps it was because this implied a sense of favouritism. Yes, it was definitely that. To be sought after like how he pursued Ronin; with a fervent hunger that had yet to be quenched. It was flattering, sure, but nothing more!

@K9: I’m glad you find such pleasure in tormenting me.

@goreboy: aw is that so?

@K9: No.

He didn’t treat this like a game one would “play.” So of course it didn’t make him fucking glad. How stupid could Ronin be?

He squashed that thought pretty quickly, though, as evidently he was smart enough to outsmart him time and time again.

@goreboy: you wound me. are you Really sure youre not a serial killer?

He had to chuckle a little at that. Clever word play from his clever killer. He typed with a newfound ease;

@K9: With the amount of times you impose that disreputable moniker upon me, one might assume you’re simply asking for my attention. You’re well aware of the reaction it provokes from me…

@K9: You aren’t getting desperate, are you @goreboy?

A little part of him pleaded for it to be true, so that he wouldn’t be alone in this little pit of his. If the desperation went both ways, well then he could at least meet his killer in the middle of it all. Any lead. Any semblance of a lead that could direct him to a sense of understanding. Why did Ronin act like this? Why was he so cruel yet addictive? Why could he uproot his life and lead him down a path of ridiculous mystery and chaos to this very moment of time, calculated to immense precision? A mind much like his own in divisiveness yet so different in morality. Yin and Yang.

@goreboy: yk you dont have To @ me in dms right?

@K9: Dodging the question. That is so like you.

@goreboy: like you’d know

@K9: I would. 

@goreboy: fucking bet

He had little time to ruminate upon Ronin’s remarks before a bright flashing window popped up, arrogantly beckoning for his attention. He squinted his tired eyes, reading the pink text with a groan. 

[goreboy would like to voice call you.]

Alright. Groan retracted. His interest is piqued, and his anticipation is giddy. He eagerly clicks accept.

“For a moment I thought you wouldn’t pick up. But then I remembered you’re obsessed with me.” His snide tone filtered through the earbuds he had scrambled to get ahold of when the notification popped up. He had heard it a million times before yet it still made his skin prickle. With disgust, of course.

“Ugh, obsessed with putting your heinous deeds to rest. Nothing more.” He sighed out, though he didn’t feel the usual pang of immense disgust that came with reprimanding the younger man.

“Sure. You wanna tell me how that’s goin’?” He could hear the smugness dripping in his slick tone. Valentin squinted, as if the gesture might allow him to peek through the bright pixels of his screen, and out into the room of the man on the other line, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

“It’s going swimmingly. You really should start running if you know what’s good for you.”

“Ah, but you know I don’t. Don’t you? Since you know me so well.” He mocks with a thin laugh; one that’s long and drawn out. Very characteristic of him.

“I know more than you think.” 

“Oh yeah? What’s my full legal name then? Address? Place of work? C’mon you must know that!” It’s as if every question beckons forth a brewing intensity within him, threatening to tip over the precipice of his being and really spill what he’s thinking. What he wants to know. Ah, but he relents, pushes it down where it can ruminate safely in his gut to be dealt with later.

“I know your name is Ronin, and up until recently, you maintained a steady residence in the town of Angelwood. I know you’re currently employed as a mechanic, you have a former relationship with the model and influencer Maria De La Rosa-”

V can almost hear him stiffen at that. It was info he had not yet shared with him. The thought of him, just beyond that screen, possibly caught off guard, left his face running hot and his face contorting into glee. He loved this-

“As of now, I do not have a full name, as there was no one by your name living in the town of Angelwood. So it seems you are either going by a false name, or have changed it.”

“I’ll be your saint for once and clear that up for you. I changed it.” Ronin added quite quickly, his tone short and stern. It was a new sound for him.

“Care to clear up the rest of it? Since you’ve decided to be so forthcoming, you might as well just tell me your full name and address right now.”

He could hear himself, his voice bouncing off the screen in front of him, echoing back his teasing tone that so obviously dripped with some macabre sense of satisfaction. He was playing the game now- for the game was fun. Especially when you had some semblance of a high ground.

“You wish! If I forked over everything that easily, what would be the fun in it?”

“Killing you, perhaps?” He felt himself smirk as Ronin laughed.

“So the vigilante with the moral high ground gets off on killing me? Doesn’t sound very saint-like.”

“Of course you wouldn’t see it as such- Just this once I afford myself a pleasurable kill and of course you ridicule me. Don’t you understand that the pleasure is justice?”

“Yeah pleasure me with your justice yadda yadda- at least take me out to dinner before you start talkin’ dirty, V.” 

Oh he just wants to recede into his own skin and die. But in a good way? This doesn’t feel bad. No, it feels awful, yet exhilarating. It’s humiliating, yet exciting. It’s both terror and ecstasy, really, bickering with him.

…

“Shit.”

“What was that?” 

He didn’t mean to say it out loud, but the realisation was so profound that it simply bore a vocal understanding of it. 

Did he like this?

Did he like- Ronin?

“Nothing. I’m tired of your poor attempts to tease me is all.”

This was really bad. In love with a serial killer? The very serial killer he’d spent the better portion of 2 years hunting down? Yeah, that serial killer, his very own Butcher now skewering his heart with a knife so sharp he could barely feel it. It almost felt merciful if not for the blood it drew.

“You’re real feisty tonight! What’s got you so worked up, hm?” And he was none the wiser too! Well, maybe not. Ronin was so far up his own ass that he’d probably assumed that most of the people in the server had some underlying, undying affection for him.

It was not undying- but it was shaping up to be affection. Affection for Ronin- from V. It sounded as ridiculous as it was.

“You know exactly what has got me riled up.” He responded, trying his best to keep his tone flat and angered. “We seem to always be playing this game, back and forth, I don’t understand how you don’t tire of it.”

“I could say the same for you.” The smirk in his tone was evident. “As I said, you’re obsessed with me!”

“Then that would imply that you, too, are obsessed with me.” He quickly objected, though the idea felt hollow on his lips, slipping on its fickle feet.

“Sure, I won’t deny it.”

What.

See, that was what kept him going all these years. The surprise. Every time he figured he was bored of him, only slogging on with this case for the sake of justice, the man would just pop out and surprise him like this!

He couldn’t possibly reciprocate these feelings- No, he’s just using clever wording to mess with his head.

“You mean to say you’re obsessed with me?” His voice treaded carefully, a little tense towards his response.

“Fucking ennamoured even. You’re my little enigma.” His tone didn’t exactly make it sound like a compliment, yet it felt like one, sending his heart fluttering with a disgusting shimmer that made him internally slap himself for ever thinking of Ronin in such a way. Even if that way was, well, reciprocated.

“Enigma? That’s ironic coming from you.”

“Sure, but at least I can admit it. You’re a mystery to me, and so is your backwards logic. It’s clear you don’t have me figured out but- well I can’t say I’ve fared much better!”

This affords Ronin a precious laugh, for V rarely laughs for anyone but his own company. It’s unbecoming of a vigilante, of course, yet here Ronin has him unravelling.

“Despite this, I am certain you have more information on me than most who have attempted to track me down.”

“Aw, look at you complimenting me.”

“Comment rescinded.” He interjects as Ronin laughs breathily. V really wishes he could see him. See how he wore that expression. Would it knock any sense of affection out of him? Or would it make it even worse?

“Aw, don't be like that. You’re cute when you play nice.” He heightens his pitch in mockery, causing Valentin to groan, leaning back in his chair and letting his body, weighed down by the constant bombardment of warring emotions, sink into the cushioning.

“Shut up.”

“You love me.”

“Sure, if it makes you feel any better.” He sighs, feeling himself come down from the high of the conversation slowly, as if drifting amongst a steadying current, like a feather floating in the air.

“The feeling’s mutual.” He says with a laugh that’s so drawn out, almost like a cackle, that it makes it exceedingly hard to tell whether he means it or not. Either way, it still leaves Valentin’s heart palpitating, his hands clenching in on themselves to steady the rocking boat that is his emotions. “And one more thing before I go.”

“Oh, what is it now?” He huffed out in faux annoyance, putting on an extra sense of irritation to mask the part of him that childishly squealed at the prospect of being loved back.

“You want my full name?”

“More than anything.” Once he had that, it narrowed his broad horizon of people down to hopefully the bare minimum, affording him the capability to truly put a stop to this guy. That is, if he really still wanted to do that-

“The devil is in the details!”

And then the mother fucker hangs up.

And V is left to sit, ruminating with both rage and affection over the man he has dedicated so much of his time to. Was he really in love? This had to be love. For he knew nothing else but justice. And the justice of hunting Ronin down would surely be the sweetest. Surely deserving of the title of “Love”.

The stark screen of the chat window stared back at him, and it’s only when he reread the messages that, like a flickering lightbulb suddenly returning to its full shine, he understood what Ronin meant.

With butterflies in his stomach, he pulled up a search client: RONIN BEAUFORT.

He hit enter with a smile, ready to meet his killer.

[faelune-home]

FFXIVWrite 2023 #9: Fair

(A/n: Kind of a mix of character interaction exploring and a bit of backstory diving with Thancred and Alisaie here. I like the thought of Thancred maybe getting some chance to spend time with baby kids in their youth, but ultimately it's probably not something that did/could happen given the circumstances. :'D All the more reason to think on it I suppose, as readers and for the characters.

I think they could pair well in terms of personality, she can match him in his jesting and keep up with him without letting him win out too much, meanwhile he'd probably hold back with her anyway, stop himself from saying anything too overt. Inspiration came from the idea of him being a bad influence on them as kids, even if I didn't get to write that and only hinted at the end aha

Takes place on the ship ride to Sharlayan in early EndW, so that entire boat ride has plenty of downtime opportunities.

Word count: 670)

“I’m well aware that I won’t be able to remember it–” Thancred paused in his frantic bag sifting, looking up at Alisaie leaning against the hull’s pillar, a curious look upon her face.

“But did you ever spend time around our estate when we were young? Looking after us?” she asked.

“Why, did you think I’d give you a knife to play with?” he asked back, smirking. She rolled her eyes.

“Father would probably have murdered you before you even considered the idea, nevermind if you had one out in front of us at all,” she scoffed.

“Then that’ll be your answer. Your father didn’t approve of me and insisted I had no place in the family,” he shrugged, more matter of fact about it than upset. Alisaie couldn’t help but frown though.

“I can’t say I’m surprised, but tis a shame to hear. Aside from some over-amorous behaviour you’ve mostly grown out of, you’re a decent man,” she said, a small smile growing when she noticed the mock-offended look he gained at her comment.

“Over-amorous? Mostly?” he mumbled, loud enough for her to hear his “outrage”, causing her to giggle. Adding in an affected head shake for good measure, he stood straight and leaned against the wall beside her.

“That aside, you needn’t be too upset at your father on my behalf. I didn’t get to go to your lovely abode much since Louisoix set me up with an old acquaintance of his that specialised in subterfuge, so I spent more of my time in training. Kept me busy before and after you two were born, so it was that and your father’s disapproval that kept me away. Besides, if he needed a babysitter, Urianger was always on hand as you well know.” She still looked uncertain at his explanation.

“I suppose that’s true. Still doesn’t seem wholly fair though…”

“Yes, yes, unfortunately that is the way of the world. Oh woe is me to be cast out on the streets and forbidden access to your lovely presence, at an age when you knew naught but how to scream and cry,” Thancred exaggerated, earning himself another scoff and a shove.

“Keep that up and maybe I won’t regret that we never had you around,” Alisaie pouted, though even then a small smile snuck its way back to her lips.

“But you’d probably still miss me,” he said, with a sly wink.

“Miss your charming self? Perhaps, perhaps not, I’m not so easily swayed by sweet talk,” Alisaie matched him, smirking at his playful remark. He tutted.

“Pity.” Their little corner of the ship fell into quieter conversation, people watching the other passengers while avoiding the talk of their future plans. Better those were kept for the whole group, as spread out as everyone else was on the ship, still in the early stages of their voyage.

Later into the trip, as night began to fall and they’d settled back down onto the floor, getting ready for sleep, did he speak up again on the matter, an older memory come to mind. 

“If you wouldn’t mind to hear it?” The way Alisaie sat up straighter answered the question for him.

“Though I did say I never got to spend time with your family, or you and your brother as young ones, there was one instance. Courtesy of your very open minded mother needing some assistance one day. Just an extra hand to mind you both.” He suddenly looked very sheepish.

“She is a very forgiving woman, I’ll say, given what happened that day. Yes, I’m especially thankful that she’s never made mention of it to your father…”

“Oh?” Curiosity peaked again, Alisaie’s eyes lit up at the thought of whatever faux pas he could’ve made.

“Let it be said that as a boy,” he said, mouth already curling in an uneasy grimace, “perhaps my vocabulary was still on the rather crude side, regardless of the company I kept…and well, babes are wont to emulate those around them as they learn…”

[andy-solo1]

Legacy [Dad!Dooku] Part 1

Words: 2,183

Warnings: Angst, cannon typical death, nightsister murder arc - - - - -  Count Dooku woke from his sleep as the sounds of someone screaming and crying carried through the air. He slowly slipped from his bed and walked over to the corner of the room. From the crib the screams came loud, silencing slightly as Dooku carefully picked up the one making all the noise. 

His son, barely more than a few months old, sobbed in his arms as Dooku held him. Never had Dooku imagined something like this could happen to him. His days as a jedi had turned his mind away from the possibility of ever having a child, but since he left the order, things had happened that he’d never expected. Now, he was here trying to comfort his son as the infant cried. 

Dooku carried his son back to his own bed and sat down on it as his son’s sobs slowly faded away as the boy looked up at him. Dooku felt a smile cross his features as he watched the boy. 

“I am so grateful to have you in my life, but perhaps next time you let me sleep through the night. Hmm?” Dooku said quietly. His son cooed softly and started to close his eyes. 

Dooku felt his smile grow more as he watched him. Of course, for all he loved his son, he also feared for him. Feared what his master could have done to the boy, and feared what could happen in the coming chaos that his master was planning, though those plans were still a few years away. Still, Dooku just hoped for his son to have a happy life. 

“Of everything I hope you can inherit from me, I hope the force isn’t one of them.” 

_______________________________________________________

          Six years into the future, after an attack on his life by the dastardly Asajj                             Ventress, Dooku looks into getting a new apprentice

                                Only this apprentice betrays him as well

      Savage Opress of the Night Brothers was an agent for Ventress as the two                                team up. Both failing once more to kill Dooku

            Dooku, concerned and angered by the threats, increases security

                            For both himself, and his young son, Torrin

- - - - - - 

“Dad!” A young voice cried out as Dooku walked off of his ship. The count smiled as he watched his son running up to him. 

Dooku shifted onto his knees and groaned jokingly as the boy threw himself into his father’s arms. 

“Careful Torrin, you’ll knock your old man down one of these days.” 

“I’m not that strong dad.” Torrin laughed as Dooku gave the boy a hug before letting go and rising to his feet. 

“Not yet, but you will be.” Dooku hummed. “Now why don’t you tell me about your day and I can tell you a little bit about mine?” He asked as he began guiding his son inside. Torrin beamed and happily started chatting with his father about his day. 

- - -

On Dathomir, a dark plan was rising as Asajj Ventress returned home to her sisters. 

“I failed again to kill Dooku. That traitor Savage turned on me!” Ventress raged as Mother Talzin watched silently. 

“Perhaps it is time we find a new strategy then. Bring Dooku here to us. Your return is something he will get word of, perhaps that would draw him here.” Talzin mused. 

“No, that won’t be enough to get Dooku here.” Ventress sighed. She began to pace, as she tried to think of something. “He would need something more compelling to bring him here. Something that would make absolutely certain he came, and not just sent Grievous to deal with.” 

“Surely there is something that could bring Dooku here. You know him better than most.” Talzin replied, and Ventress stopped her pacing as an idea came to her. 

“Torrin.” 

“What?”

��Dooku, he has a son. A well kept secret of a son, but I made it my business to know as many of his secrets as I could.”

“Well, his son would certainly bring him here. It’s settled then, I’ll send a few of your sisters to…invite…the boy over.” 

- - - - 

The next day, Dooku woke with the sunrise on Serenno like he always had, but this day felt off. 

He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right, and he wasn't even sure if it was the force or his own paranoia making him feel that way. Ever since the monster Savage Opress had turned on him, he'd been more cautious, more careful, and all the more angry. Even before that all, he'd made sure to keep Torrin safe, doubling his security for the boy's sake after the attempts upon Dooku's life. 

Now though, Dooku found himself walking towards his son's room with a growing feeling of dread and an emptiness in the force tugged at him. Normally he would let the boy sleep a few hours more before waking him, but today, something drove him to check. 

Dooku knew deep down when he opened the door he'd find the room empty, but he was still not prepared for it. He stared at the empty room, the sheets thrown off the bed much as if Torrin had simply gotten himself out of bed, but Dooku just knew his son hadn’t gotten himself up. 

Even still, something compelled him to call out for the boy, hoping that maybe, for once in his life, the boy had decided to rise early. “Torrin?” He called, a note of panic rising in his voice as he got no response. 

Dooku made his way through the house, continuing to call out for his son, hoping, despite knowing deep down. Torrin was no longer on Serenno. 

As he got to checking his office, his commlink went off with a new incoming message. He answered it, dreading it being his master, only to find the form of Mother Talzin staring back at him. 

“Mother Talzin,” Dooku growled coldly. “I’m afraid I’m rather busy at the moment, and rather upset with the betrayal I faced because of you.” 

“Oh I know you’re busy right now Count, but this is important.” Talzin replied calmly, irritating Dooku further. 

“I do not have time for this right now.” Dooku replied, moving to turn off the commlink. 

“It’s about your son.” Talzin replied, a wicked grin crossing her features now and Dooku froze.

“What have you done with him?” Dooku hissed. 

“Nothing, yet. We simply needed a way to get you to come to us, and now, you must.” 

“Show me that he is alright.” 

“Come find that out for yourself, Count.” Talzin replied, turning off the communication link. 

Dooku growled in rage before calming his temper. He knew he couldn’t go to Dathomir, it was what the nightsisters wanted and he wasn’t going to let himself fall into their trap. However, he needed to get his son back. Going back to his desk he sent out a call. 

“Count Dooku. Did you have a new mission for me?” General Grievous asked once he responded to the call. 

“I need you, and all the battle droids you want to go to Dathomir and you are to bring back my son with you, those witches have him and I intend for them to pay greatly for it. Kill them all.” 

- - - - - 

Torrin Serenno woke up feeling a cold aching darkness all around him. It was a cold feeling that seemed to leach all heat from his body and left his soul feeling hollow. His eyes snapped open and he looked around with wide eyes, gaze landing on one person he recognized from spying on meetings his father had.  

“Hello Torrin.” Ventress purred, looking down at the boy. “Don’t worry, we don’t plan on hurting you. We just needed your dad to come here and you were the easiest way to make that happen.” 

“Where am I?” Torrin asked, fear clear in his voice as it wavered. The last thing he remembered was waking up in the middle of the night to a sound only to pass out and find himself here now. 

“Dathomir.” Mother Talzin told him as she glided by. Torrin choked on a sob of fear at seeing her, scrambling back away from her. “Do not fear child.” She said to him before turning to two of the sisters “Guard him, and make sure he remains unharmed.” She ordered them before leaving with Ventress in tow. 

Torrin turned his fearful gaze towards the two remaining sisters. He felt like he was choking on the darkness around him as tears fell. The only thing he hoped for was for his father to come and rescue him soon. 

- - - - -

 “We have started the assault on Dathomir.” Grievous rasped, breaking into coughs after he finished. “We have yet to locate the boy.” 

“Find him. And kill anyone who gets in the way.” Dooku snapped before ending the call. Grievous was one of the few who knew of the Count’s son, since he’d wanted a security detail for the boy at all times and the droids report to Grievous. Dooku wasn’t entirely trusting of the cyborg to fully do what he asked, but he also knew he couldn’t have shown up on the planet first, lest he have been ambushed. 

Now though, he prepared to depart for Dathomir to wait for the witches to be dead or his son to be located. He recalled back to a time when Torrin was younger, terrified of a storm that raged outside of their home. 

The boy had made his way out of his bedroom and into his father's despite barely being able to walk on his own. Dooku had woken to finding his son in tears on the floor next to him. 

He had comforted his son then when the loud noises were too much for him. And now, he could only think of doing that again as he got ready to head out, waiting for word that his son had been found. He was certain his son was terrified, but once he was back in Dooku’s arms he would do anything to make sure his son felt safe again. 

- - - - -

Torrin shut his eyes tightly when the sounds of a fight reached his ears. He always hated loud noises, and now, now the noises were far too loud. 

But worse than that was the feeling, he felt like he could feel every single one of those bolts on his skin, feel the agony of thousands dying. He’d heard his father talk about the force before, how it could let you feel what others felt. 

Torrin had always wanted to be like that, to be more like his father. Now though, he wanted anything but this feeling. 

As time passed and the sounds got closer, he resorted to covering his ears with his hands, his eyes still closed tightly. If he focused enough, he hoped he would be able to pretend he was home, hiding away from a thunderstorm.  

When he finally dared to open his eyes,  the two women who’d been guarding him were gone, likely abandoning him to go help their sister’s. He quickly stood up and ran. He didn’t know where he was going, but he knew he had to get out. Away from the death, away from the choking darkness. 

Torrin got lost in the maze that was the inside of the sister’s home. He felt like he’d been wandering forever, trying to find his way out, when he suddenly felt a pull. It was like an invisible hand was gripping his, tugging him in the right direction. 

He followed the pull, and soon, the sounds of familiar voices drifted towards him. 

“I don’t care if you all run out of batteries, you will find him.” Dooku snapped at a group of battle droids that stood before him. 

“Dad!” Torrin shouted, tears falling fresh from his eyes again and Dooku quickly turned around to see the boy. Torrin ran and latched onto Dooku tightly when he reached him. 

The count quickly knelt down and pulled his son close, holding him in his arms for a few moments before pulling away and looking him over.

“Are you hurt?” 

Torrin shook his head, “I’m not hurt.” 

“I am so sorry this happened to you. This should never have happened.” Dooku said as he pulled his son close again. Torrin clung to his father tightly. 

“It’s not your fault dad.” 

“I’m just glad you’re okay. We’ll go home, and you are not going anywhere from now on without a droid escort.” Dooku picked up his son and carried him back to his ship. As they flew back towards Serenno, Torrin turned to look up at his father. 

“Dad?”

“Yes Torrin?” 

“The force? Does it, does it pull you places? I got lost in there, but then I felt like someone was pulling me and it led me back to you.” Torrin explained. Dooku fell silent, a dark look crossing his features for a moment. Torrin thought it almost looked like fear crossing his Father’s features before the moment was gone. 

“The force can be like that. When we get home, we’ll look into it further. Alright?”

“Alright dad.”

[lennjamin-o7]

AYYO- uh, just wondering, is there a reason why only scywar is devoted to the blood god? i mean, it feels like the *blood* god would have more worshippers, it doesnt seem he'd be satisfied with such a small land? (unless he has other things to worry bout?)

Ayo, an excuse for me to talk about Scywar's history! Thank you!

So, pretty much all gods are worshipped by all in some way. However, people have a preference. For example, if you're a fisherman, you would be more devoted to gods of the sea, of the rivers, of fishing and ships. Why would you pray to the god of something like weaving? People worship a god that is most relevant to them.

Here's how Scywar came to worship the Blood God as their most beloved god.

So, a REALLY long time ago, there was an Empire. A really fucking big empire, even larger than the Sleeping Empire. And it had flourished for so long that people couldn't even really remember when it began. It seemed like the sort of thing that could never topple.

So, of course, it did.

The exact details of how and why it fell are kind of lost to history. But when it's central government fell, it SPLINTERED. Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of city states popped up basically overnight. Each with their own ideas of how government should run, who should be in charge.

It was a time of INCREDIBLE violence and warfare.

Each city state fought for their own survival. Sometimes, that meant pushing back invaders, but just as often it meant crushing your neighbors so your people would have enough resources to survive.

In the far West, the start of the Sleeping Empire was coming together. City state after city state fell to the growing superpower in the West, rumors of inhuman abilities seen from the rising Emperor.

The East, however, was utter and complete chaos. Who stood at the top changed near weekly, overnight nations were wiped out. Those who "ruled" did nothing but make treaties only to break them when it most benefitted them.

So, in short, a shitshow.

No one really blinked an eye when an arrogant lord was murdered by one of his vassals. It seemed unimportant when said vassal took the lord's throne, thrones were easily passed around. When this usurper lord started organizing his troops, everyone shrugged because that was just expected.

A lot of them regretted not acting sooner.

This new lord was an unstoppable force, putting strategy into place that NO ONE had ever seen before. But, what really shocked the East was the fact that this lord KEPT his promises. If he made a treaty, he kept it to the smallest word. If he promised protection, he honored that. The weaker nations flocked to create treaties, willingly giving up power for the possibility of success. The more powerful nations trembled, desperate to keep control of their power.

However, as much as he honored treaties, he expected others to do the same.

The first nation to betray him found out the hard way. They were absolutely crushed, nothing more than a bloody smear left on the ground and in the history book.

He was brutal. He was viscious. But he was also just.

It was exactly how the Blood God designed him.

Because the First King of Scywar was the first soul the Blood God ever created.

As the country became more stable, richer, SAFER, people took notice. And the first King did not try to hide his connection to the Blood God, as it was a useful tool in keeping down insurrection. So the people knew that the King that had made their hellish lives better was related to the Blood God.

Of course they were thankful.

The people became devoted to the god they saw as giving them their peace, even if the god that brought it was the owner of warfare. It seems a bit counter intuitive, but that's how they saw it. The Blood God had created their king. Their King created their nation, where they could finally be safe.

Those most devoted to the Blood God were constantly petitioning the King for every little thing regarding their lives. Which, frankly, a King doesn't have time for. Especially one that is constantly at war.

So the King spent some time writing down a book of answers to the questions his people kept asking him so they would stop. He delegated a few people to spread the words. Yes, it was basically a FAQ. But it became known as Holy Texts.

And that's how the Church of the Blood God really got its start.

The King continued to conquer and organize the East. The Sleeping Empire had taken a sizable chunk of the West.

Then the first King of Scywar took control of a larger nation state and found something interesting.

A very HUMAN boy named Theseus. Though he insisted on being called Tommy.

The kid said he had been taken from the Sleeping Empire as a way to stop the Emperor. It had worked, the Sleeping Empire not touching the nation.

The First King immediately sent an emissary to the West, to inform the Emperor of what he found. His advisors thought he would try to force the Sleeping Empire to bend to Scywar's will.

He did not.

It isn't recorded what the First King and Emperor Philza said behind closed doors when Theseus was returned to his father.

But the consequences of it were obvious. A treaty that would span for generations. But the immediate effect was the absolute destruction of almost anyone that stood against the alliance.

Most of the land conquered went to the Sleeping Empire, something the advisors of Scywar argued against. Why were they not taking more land for themselves? It was foolish! But the King stood firm on his decision, claiming it made more sense for the land to go to the Empire.

No one knew then that the Emperor was immortal. For better or worse, it would be much easier for a large chunk of land to be ruled without the constant change of hands. Besides, the King didn’t really care about ruling everything. He had his own reasons.

Eventually, both Scywar and the Empire stopped conquering. At least for a time. Other countries in the south banded together to make their own nations once the onslaught of the two counties paused.

It was in this peace that more information came to light.

At the end of summer, Emperor Philza and a no-longer human Prince Theseus visited Scywar with some unknown people in tow.

The reason that the King of Scywar had originally killed his lord all those years ago was because the man had murdered his wife and sold his young daughter into slavery, in order to punish the now King for some slight.

He had conquered countries in the desperate hope to find her, somewhere, ANYWHERE.

He was never successful.

But he did find the Emperor's son, and the Emperor returned the favor by finding the King's now adult daughter.

The only time anyone saw the King cry was when he hugged his daughter, met his infant granddaughter for the first time. He even joked that he couldn't criticize his son-in-law because he took such good care of her.

His daughter never ruled, but his granddaughter did. The first ruler to give a prophecy from the Blood God was her.

The people of Scywar never forgot how it was someone devoted to the Blood God that made their country, gave them peace through his brutal warfare. Brought justice to the area. The Blood God was always the most important god to the country, became their patron. Other countries worship the Blood God, other armies pray to him for success, but no other country is as thankful to his influence.

The first King died peacefully, his daughter and granddaughter by his side. And both countries held a memorial for him.

And the rest is history. The Church became a more official group as the years went by, becoming more organized. Scywar and The Sleeping Empire always maintained a very close relationship, even though other countries claimed that Scywar was just a puppet for the Empire.

Again, Dante was a fucking idiot. There was literally no reason for him to turn against the Sleeping Empire.

There are, of course, reasons for that stupid decision. Not GOOD reasons, but those reasons are important. And, honestly, that would be spoilers.

Thanks for the ask! Kind of sucks that there is no way that more than probably 3 sentences of this will end up in the fic.

[shiny-jr]

Hello, Shiny!

Yesterday I was looking forward to your quiz and after work I postponed all my business to read everything!!

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist and wanted to read everything from cover to cover.

Practically followed every update of this project.AND HOW HE HAS SUNK INTO MY SOUL. THEY JUST SHOT ME THROUGH THE HEART AND SEWED THIS BLESSING EXPRESSED IN WORDS AND LINES. THANK YOU FOR FINISHING THREE WHOLE CHAPTERS!!!this is amazing!!!

if I could kiss your hands, I would do it, of course with your consent.

I HAVE READ EACH OPTION AT LEAST 4 TIMES!!!

I love your writing style so much!!The way you convey the atmosphere, the characters, their actions. and the consequences of those decisions that led to such a tense denouement!!

And I would really like to print out every one of your work. Whether it's even a brief sketch with Vil or a big job!!And i want put it on shelf and reread it from time to time!!But unfortunately I don't have a printer, aahaha

A little spoilers, for the rest.

Geese Jesus, I laughed so much when I imagined the stunned, confused and complete confusion of the King of Hearts in that scene with the Cater!!!

It was so funny to imagine in my head that on their heels literally every second comes the threat in the form of deprivation of the head. And now they were literally holding a shovel for their grave.

By the way, I kept thinking that Trey is too suspiciously "kind", you know, that simple guy whom everyone seems to love, everyone trusts him. But your goose bumps are serenading you that this guy is stirring up something. Do you know such a phrase in your head "Run fool, he'll eat you up" In truth, I even thought that he would do something dark and hidden from Riddle and the King of Hearts in the end.

Excuse my waiting detective head.

And I was so sorry for the Hatter, the White Rabbit and the March Hare. I felt very uncomfortable when I read these lines. Good job!!

And the scene where Azul is on the ship….I'm sorry, but I've never swore so loudly from fright!! To sail away on a ship…A brilliant plan!!Reliable as a Swiss watch!!Sail away from Merfolk!!!Ahahahah.

(in no way do I want to offend you or say something negative, I really liked everything!!My English is not native, I use a translator)

That scene with Leona at the end. I could just feel all the disgust that blood is smeared on the Leader's face and feel this smell and taste as if you chewed nails or an iron spoon. It was a very smart move for the ending!!! What could be more cryptic and frightening than "such a proposal" after the murder of ______ (I don't want to completely spoiler for others so cruelly)

It was even a pity for the Leader when Jack was like an arrogant thistle that could not be unhooked, for them and hyenas. Ahahah.

I'm sorry if it got messy, and a little incoherent. I will look forward to the rest of this project!! I wish you a good rest and gain strength!!Thank you for sharing your works with us, which are divine!!

I still fondly remember one of your works, but as far as I understand it was removed from Tumblr. Although I really liked it!!! If I remember correctly, it was due to the fact that Azul wandered into some cheap bar? and I found a poor singer MС there and almost persuaded them to a deal. But they refused and kicked him out of their dressing room. I love this job so much!!

Oh yes, I do not know if anyone has asked you before. Sorry if you already answered.

Who are your favorites from TWST? And who do you like to write about the most?

Wow, this is a long ask. I'm both flattered and concerned that you postponed stuff to read it. I'm hoping that at least you didn't postpone anything important like a class or a meeting or work or whatever other important things you may have to deal with. It's also worrying and flattering that you've read each result four times, but it's also scarily impressive.

As for the rest, believe it or not, I actually didn't know how I wanted to insert Cater into the story. I thought it would be boring if I just added him like a regular subordinate, because then it would be too similar to Trey. Then I remembered the whole reason mc nearly died was because the king they replaced had a scandalous relationship or admiration for someone. When I thought of putting Cater into that role, I realized it would make for something really interesting especially how Cater tries to fit into the molds of how others perceive him, so of course he'd probably want to get along with the king (now the mc). At least, that was my thought process. As for Trey, Trey is just always loyal to Riddle, even in the main game story, which is why I decided to take a similar approach with him here.

As for my favorite twst character, that has to be Idia. He's both funny and extremely relatable. The easiest to write though is Vil, because of the whole soft yan Vil thing, he's a lot easier to write now and people definitely enjoy stuff I write about him.

[ferromagnetiic]

"Captain Kid~! How delightful to finally make your acquaintance, though you certainly look more... Ragged then I pictured. Tell me, is it true what they say? Did you and your crew get defeated off the shores of Elbaf?" -Doffy

          【 𝐔𝐍𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐒𝐊. 】                     @godthread 【 Doflamingo. 】    

          It has been twelve days since the Victoria Punk was torn apart. Her fragmented corpse likely still remains scattered throughout the ocean; either lifelessly floating within her death bed between white sheets of foamy waves, or dragged down to the depth of the sea, never to be warmed by rays of sunlight ever again.

It is the second time he has broken his promise to her, and the second time he has failed to prevent her murder. Again, he leaves her behind to rot and to rust, while he abandons her body to continue on living the rest of his life without her. Though he is told he is not responsible for her demise, her blood still stains his hands. Victoria is still dead, and it is still his actions that have brought about her end. He has not changed. He has not learned. He has lied to her a second time.

For the better part of the last two weeks, he has not slept — sometimes voluntarily, and sometimes against his will. Pain distracts him from rest. It is in his bones, in his nerves, under every inch of his skin. It is in the arm that was lost many hundreds of moons before. It sits below his crown, and even after almost two weeks, when he stands too abruptly, droplets of blood stream from his nostrils and splatter onto the floor.           The worst pain of all lingers in his stomach. Their rations went down with the ship; food that could have kept them fed for months, now being picked at by marine life that would surely be counting their blessings for every easy meal. He won't touch what little they've been able to hunt and gather. He won't eat until every man on his ship has been fed first, and so, he does not eat at all.

It is a particular kind of agony. A sensation he had told himself he would never experience again in his lifetime. Something he believed he would be able to leave behind with the life he escaped when he first set sail to South Blue waters.      Perhaps this should humble him.      Perhaps most would be discouraged, or fearful for what is to become of them.           Yet, adrenaline kicked in the moment Red Hair made his first and only strike, and it has yet to mitigate.

               Animals are in their most violent state when they have already been hurt.

Had Doflamingo chosen another time to make his appearance, things surely would have been different between them. Kid knew what the ex-Warlord was like; the kind of man who invented rules only in order to play unfairly. That type of person left an acidic taste in his mouth. If he'd pissed him off at any other time, he might have postponed the retaliation; fighting Doflamingo would be a pain in the ass, and he could return to him later with a vendetta against him. At the bare minimum, his Right Hand would have deliberately halted the argument before it could reach its peak.           The same Right Hand who currently lay barely responsive in the makeshift infirmary the crew had scrounged together with what paltry resources they could find. Killer was in no state to reason with him about this. There was nobody to tell him that this was no time to be antagonizing enemies. Nobody would stop him.

It had been a long time since Eustass Kid had been afraid of pain. On some level, he even welcomes it. He embraces the newfound strength that results from overcoming hardship. He would not avoid strife. He would not flinch away from suffering.

If Doflamingo enters his space, he will sink a jaw filled with serrated canines into his flesh until he bleeds. Pain numbs him from rationality. He doesn't care. He doesn't fucking care anymore.

That faux chivalry makes him want to vomit. Cracked, unpainted pale lips twist into a disgusted sneer. A voice inside the back of his head snaps at him to shut the fuck up. Ragged? He should know their better than to provoke someone who no longer has any regard for how the world sees them.

Whether Kid replied verbally or simply growled like a dog, it would have gotten his point across just as efficiently either way.

     ❝ ...That what ya heard, huh?      Funny. 'Cause I heard ya got yer ass handed to ya by Straw Hat on yer own turf.      Maybe ya shouldn't talk shit when ya can't even win a game on yer own playin' field. ❞

The laughter that succeeds his words is low, dry, and raspy, but still discernible. There is still some amount of pride left in him to bear witness to.

          He's not that easy to kill.

[weilongfu]

Prompt for 2moons the ambassador 😬

You're a jerk and I hate you. <3

------

Although his cousin had given his blessing, Lomnaw supposed that there would never be true peace between Pha and Tarntat. The two were similar in many ways, including the inability to back down from a challenge. And a challenge had, of course, been thrown.

To that end, Tarntat had invited the Wild Doctors and their boyfriends to the bar once more, handed over his credit card for the tab, and asked everyone to order as they pleased. It was only at the insistence of Yo that Pha didn't order a fresh bottle of every top-shelf liquor they had on the menu out of whatever pettiness Lomnaw supposed his cousin possessed. How a man with so many privileges could still manage to be so petty to the boyfriend of his cousin, Lomnaw could not comprehend. Although if Kit's snide remarks about Pha being over-protective were a true indication, Lomnaw was sure it really was the fault of his mother more than Pha's older cousin instincts.

"I'm really glad you could make it tonight, P'Pha," Tarntat said after the first round of drinks. "You see, I was hoping you could give me some advice." Pha raised an eyebrow and the rest of the table, except for Yo who kept eating fries and Ming who kept nudging Kit, seemed to hold its breath. "You see, I've been thinking about what you said when you last gave Lomnaw and I your blessing..."

Lomnaw immediately turned red and moved to punch Tarntat, but Tarntat quickly wrapped his arms around Lomnaw to prevent any such behavior.

"You see, I've been trying to do as you've said, to make Lom moan so loud his neighbors hear us, but I'm afraid my Lom is just too shy." Tarntat nuzzled the side of Lomnaw's face in apology but could feel the murder radiating off his boyfriend. "So I was hoping you could provide some advice on how to make him more vocal." Tarntat smirked as he saw Pha's face change colors rapidly before Yo slapped Pha's chest.

"P'Pha! You told them about that?!"

"N'Yo..." Pha immediately turned his handsome face on Yo to console him as Ming nearly laughed himself into asphyxiation.

"I... I can't believe... P'Pha.... threw down that gauntlet," Ming said between breaths.

"This nong has balls," Beam muttered into his glass. "Asking someone like Pha on how to please his cousin in bed?"

"Want me to give him some tips instead?" Forth asked while wiggling his eyebrows.

Beam leveled a careful look at Forth. "Your neighbors haven't heard me moan either so I don't think you're in a position to talk." Forth sputtered as Beam smirked and threw back the rest of the liquor in his glass.

Ming looked at Kit as he recovered. Kit gave Ming a glare and shook his head. Ming pouted and Kit made a snipping motion with his fingers. Ming immediately turned to Tarntat. "Sorry nong, I got nothing for you."

"At least someone at this table isn't insane," Lomnaw muttered to himself. Tarntat squeezed him a little tighter in response.

"So, P'Pha, any tips? Pointers? Care to demonstrate on P'Yo since you didn't seem to mind on that IG Live the other night-"

"YOU ACTUALLY KEPT THE STREAM ON THAT NIGHT?!" Yo's voice had raised to a pitch that Ming remembered hearing only once when Mr. Panitchayasawad had refused Yo's request for a working replica of Luffy's pirate ship.

"Oh, oops," Tarntat attempted to look scandalized and Lomnaw suddenly desired death for himself and his idiot boyfriend. "Did I spill the beans on something?"

Before Yo could escalate, Pha pulled Yo away, whispering apologies and uttering promises at a rapid speed while still shooting Tarntat mean looks. Meanwhile, Kit finally sighed and pushed a shot of liquor at Tarntat.

"You've really got some nerve," Kit said before pouring himself a shot. "I respect that." Kit motioned for Tarntat to drink with him and Tarntat tossed back the shot at the same time, letting go of Lomnaw who decided to nudge himself away. "But if you're going to criticize Pha for being like that, at least tell N'Lom properly that the internet saw his balls hanging out of his shorts that same night."

"I DID WHAT?!"