#but at least i showed up!

[grailfish]

WHG 20: The Big Day + The Reaping

CW for mentions of fantasy substance abuse and character being unable to trust their own memory and perception (is there a more concise way to say that), dead naming

Tag list: @concealeddarkness13​ @ratracechronicler​ @maple-writes​ @pen-of-roses​ @forthesanityofsome​ @pied-piper-of-hamlet​ 

Razz 

Razz is starting to lose track of how many times they've woken up like this, sweat drenching their back but blood cold as ice as the memory of their old, dead name being called out rings in their ears. One moment they're on the stage with thousands of stone faces and flashing lights staring back at them, and the next they're back in bed, three days before the Reaping is even set to take place.

Razz remembers watching the 20th annual Hunger Games in full from the comfort and safety of the streets. It's one of the few times of year they don't get chased out of the square and cursed as a dirty rotten Razer for the offense of being visible. The Games even had an exciting twist this year when one of the tributes staged an escape attempt, managing to get a handful of the others out with her. 

District 2 was in shambles when that happened, security tripling overnight and enforcers executing anyone who looked at them wrong, but Razz still managed to find enjoyment in that little bit of "fuck you" that the escaped tributes managed to stir up. People even left Razz alone after that, afraid that standing too close to anyone "shady" would end them up on the whipping stand.

But apparently none of that actually happened. Because just when Razz thought that things were looking up again, they woke up. There was tension in the air, and everyone was mumbling again about the upcoming reaping. Three days before the 20th Games. That was where the loop started

Razz's mom used to say they had a very vivid imagination. In time the adjective changed from vivid to active, active to disruptive, disruptive to delusional. There were hours, sometimes days, that seemed to go on repeat. Going to school felt like a joke when the lessons would replay over and over. Razz learned to keep their mouth shut when the teachers said the same sentence twice, because apparently no one else in the room had heard it the first time.

They were given a digital watch, one that displayed the date next to the time, at 10 years old. They'd missed the bus to school five times in the same month, thinking that it was already the weekend, and their parents were at their wit’s end. Razz hated that present, feeling like it was just another way that they showed how much they didn't believe whatever was happening to Razz was real. Instead there were murmurings of how they'd caught the "family crazy," just like their great uncle. Murmurings that they were cursed.

That same watch blinks up at them now, reminding them that they can never trust their own perception, that time is never on their side.

The cruelest part of their repeating nightmare is that their name gets called first, every single time. The first time the 20th Games happened, they hadn't even been a tribute. Now it was as though they were bound by fate. There was still the hope that things would return to normal and everything would be back to how it was supposed to be. That Razz could go back to their corner of the slums, wasting away on their own time and not at the whims of a bunch of Capitol snobs. But that hope was shattered every time. 

Instead there were gasps and snickers from the captive audience as they took in the bags under Razz's eyes, the needle marks in their arms that they didn't bother hiding anymore. Many of the onlookers must have been disappointed to see such a scrawny tribute for District 2, but just as many were relieved to see one more Razer taken off of the streets and delivered to their rightful place in the ground. Razz never even hears the second tribute's name being called with all of the blood pounding in their ears. The terror at the prospect of being sent into the arena to die fights with the terror of reliving it all over as they wake up again, and again, and again. Three days before the Reaping. Never early, never late.

They'd started trying to keep tally on the brick wall next to them at some point, but it was hard to remember how many marks they had the last time when it all gets erased on every loop back. Was it thirty now? Or maybe it was higher. This time, they don't even bother to count. The only thing they're certain of is that it won't be the last time.

Yuen 

There are very few things in life that cannot be controlled. It’s just a matter of figuring out the right triggers. There’s a saying that the beat of a butterfly's wing can set off a storm on the other side of the world. Yuen has found that the flash of a smile paired with the glint of a knife produces far more immediate results. 

The Reaping for the 20th annual Hunger Games is set to happen in 3 days. This afternoon, the names of the eligible will be finalized on a list, printed and cut into thousands of slips of paper. After an influx of issues with "career" tributes committing acts of violence in the weeks leading up to the Reaping, the volunteer system had been suspended until further notice. This is inconvenient for Yuen, who had decided after watching the 20th Hunger Games the first time that he wanted in. 

He writes a tally mark in his notebook, making 38, then snaps his fingers. By now it is nearing 2AM, and he will need an early start if he wants to make it in time to run into the official Name Randomizer on her morning coffee run. He's already done what he could to make sure that his name is entered as many times as is reasonable without being counted as an error, but only a limited number of names will actually be selected and prepared for the ceremonial drawing.

Yuen is awake a minute before his alarm goes off, a habit he's been unable to kick since grade school. The sun hasn't quite risen past the horizon yet, but the cafe is a far walk away from where he's been squatting. Even in District 2, having the money to go to a cafe every morning is a bit of a luxury, so he needs to make an effort to appear high enough status not to be kicked out immediately.

Although Yuen himself comes from an esteemed family, they do their best not to appear as such and risk garnering excess attention. They didn't spend extravagantly, didn't live in the nicest houses or dress in the finest clothes, but they never struggled to get by, and never feared that they might.

Of course, as the Gifted one of the family, Yuen was always treated differently. Coddled, sometimes, patronized moreso, and so he chose to go off on his own the moment he was old enough to leave. He'd always had ambitions that far exceeded what could be contained under his mother's rooftop. 

He had taken an apprenticeship under a craftsman, although he did a shit job of ever arriving on time or learning anything about the craft. Old man Ason was just as annoyed as he was charmed by Yuen's particular mixture of eclectic and bastard, so he hadn't kicked him to the streets just yet and paid him enough that he wouldn't have to go limping back home for bread and board.

The cafe is quiet when Yuen arrives, except for the official at the register chatting up the woman behind the counter who doesn't appear to have slept the previous night. It's no surprise, with the Reaping so close, and if the cashier hasn't been under a rock all this time, she probably knows that the official in front of her is in charge of the name selection for the Reaping. Must be a dreadful job, having to make small talk while serving the person who may very well be stacking the deck with your name in it.

As the official receives her order and starts to turn around, Yuen smacks right into her shoulder, making her spill her drink all over the front of her dress.

"Watch where you're going, lady," Yuen grunts as he shoulders his way to the counter.

The official sputters, "You watch it, you little punk."

Yuen rolls his eyes at her and looks at the cashier, whose expression has changed from exhausted to horrified. "I-I'll get you a new one, on the house," she says, though Yuen knows that it'll likely be coming out of her paycheck. She's filling another cup with shaky hands as Yuen watches her with eyes like a hawk, impatient. "Be right with you, sir."

"I'll have a double shot espresso," Yuen says instead of waiting. "Name for the order is Yuen. Y-U-E-N." He then slaps down the money for the order and turns around to take a seat nearby. He added a little extra for the trouble of dealing with his bullshit first thing in the morning. There isn't a lot of room to be nice when he has an objective to fulfill, but he's not out to make more enemies than he needs to.

The official's eyes follow him back to his table as she waits for her drink. Somewhere, a butterfly flaps its wings as the winds of a storm brew up above District 2. Now he just has to hope she's angry enough to reroll the abbreviated tribute list until his name appears as many times as possible. Yuen isn't a very common name. He's certain that she'll be looking.

There isn't much else to be done until the Reaping, so he prepared to pass the time quietly, having already planned his next moves since the first time he started the time loops. Even with the ability to manipulate time, some events are random no matter how high the odds are stacked, and his luck had been particularly bad this time (or good, depending on the perspective. Any normal person would be ecstatic to go 38 Reapings back to back and not have their name called.)

There has been one consistency that surprises him, though, as if Father Time herself had already decided the fate of Raphael Legato. That was the name of the first tribute, the one who was always called ever since Yuen first reset the timeline. Somehow, after 38 times, their name was always drawn first. The odds were astronomical, of all the tens of thousands of names in the drawing, for them to even be called two times. Much less three. Much less thirty. They hadn't even been a participant to the 20th Hunger Games before. Yuen was almost jealous of their, by all accounts, unbelievably bad luck.

When the day of the Reaping arrives, the district is buzzing. This used to be a celebrated time, during the days of the career tributes. It gave the weak a sense of safety, the strong a sense of competition and pride, maintained the peace within the district for the rest of the year. Now, with that practice gone and the volunteers eliminated along with the age limit, they got a taste of what it must have felt like in the lower districts for all these years. 

The population of the district is large, so there are multiple stages set out in key locations of each area, with the Center Square the most crowded. Only the middle holds the Capitol representative and the name jars, though the remaining stages are all prepared and linked with speakers so everyone can still see and hear what’s going on. There are cameras everywhere, eyes and machines scouring the streets, rousing and assembling anyone who may try to hide from the Reaping.

Yuen has made his way to the middle of the crowd at the centermost stage, eagerly awaiting the start. He keeps his expression blank, but his veins are buzzing. It's time to see if his efforts will finally pay off, or if he's in for another reset.

As the woman from the Capitol crosses the stage, a shadow gathers behind her in the mid-morning light. It stretches far past where it ought to, and as it grows all of the doubt in Yuen’s mind disappears. From the shadow a figure rises, towering behind the Capitol woman but entirely unnoticed by anyone else watching. The figure wears a wide-brimmed hat and a pinstripe blazer and skirt that drapes all the way to the ground. Her face is beautiful, eyes like spring and lips like summer, but Yuen sees the way her body ages as it stretches away from her head. Her fingers are nothing more than skin stretched over bone, and though her legs are covered, Yuen knows that her feet more closely resemble a swirling of dust than any human shape. Father Time has arrived.

As though controlling a puppet, her spidery fingers follow the Capitol woman's hand into the first drawing, unsurprisingly drawing out the name of the first tribute, Raphael Legato. As she is followed to the second drawing, Father Time locates Yuen's face in the crowd and locks eyes with him. Her voice can't be louder than a whisper, but Yuen still hears it clearly.

"You're a stubborn one. I'll give you that."

Yuen's name is called. Father Time vanishes.

He makes his way up onto the stage, almost unable to believe that it's finally happened. After so many tries, Father Time has let him infiltrate the 20th Hunger Games. Now the real fun can begin.

He shakes hands with Raphael while cameras flash and the Capitol woman forces the audience into a roar of applause. Raphael's hand is cold and damp and the color has completely drained from their face. They can't seem to stop staring at the space behind the Capitol woman, where her shadow lies a perfectly reasonable distance from her feet. They separate, and Raphael doesn't even seem to blink.

This never happens. They normally appear afraid, horrified, even gaunt. But never so haunted. What changed this time? The only difference was that Yuen's name was called. That and the presence of Father Time. But there was no way. The only people who can actually perceive her form are those with her Gifts. Unless…?

No, it's impossible. There is only ever one Gifted allowed to exist at a time. If there were someone else with power over time, Yuen would have noticed by now. He glances down to see the needle marks on Raphael's arm. Raze user. Yuen's little butterfly effect must have just given them a bad trip. That’s the best explanation.

There isn't any more time to think before they're ushered away to the government building and prepared for visitation. He decides if it's any cause to worry, he can think about it another time.

[tododeku-or-bust]

Shout out to all the Black ppl that can no longer participate directly in the fandom they love because of the stresses of racism ����🏾 you contain multitudes of value and I'm sorry that the color of your skin and the power of your voice makes people not want to acknowledge that.

[aledethanlast]

I know I've made this post before but it absolutely fucking kills me that Andrew's entire outlook on life was "I just have to hold on until I drag Aaron across the finish line," only for Kevin to swoop in and, between fits of hysterical sobbing, somehow still find the time to insist that Andrew has a great life ahead of him, and the breath to belligerently dismiss anybody who argues, especially Andrew.

No wonder they're so antagonistic. No wonder they're best friends. Suddenly Andrew is the one getting dragged to the finish line. If Kevin is wrong, then he's covered in mud for nothing. If he's right, then the finish line is much, much further away than just graduation.

[clone-futon]

Basically Kid in every movie when it comes to action scenes

[theribbajack]

"Now, the vow will be honoured, and my Lord brother's soul will return."

Radahn stans keep winning, but I personally am in Miyazaki's walls rn

[hinamie]

cursed kids v2 ⚠️👹

i've been a jjk first years stan since day one and have been wanting to redraw the first art i did featuring the three of them

[sketchy-tour]

I have been working on this piece for AGES aajsdfjkndf AUGH

I just! I just want Wally frog catching with his bestie to exist into the world dang it!!!! The idea of him slowly catching frogs and running straight to Barnaby to show him is one of my favorite things to think about. Now I can beam such an idea into yalls mind with the power of art I spent too much time on

[chalkrub]

saw some mangy dog on the outskirts of town

[aunmenosheteroenespanol]

2.12 Chimney Begins - 2.09 Hen Begins - 2.16 Bobby Begins Again - 7.04 Buck, Bothered and Bewildered

Tommy's family arc

[odetojupiter]

hc that aaron has his own super close friend group and it’s not his classmates it’s the vixens

he’s constantly over at katelyn’s dorm and katelyn’s flatmates LOVE hearing the stupid fox bullshit they find it so funny, especially when aaron adds his own asshole commentary

[okthisway]

Astarion misses Gale when he stays at camp for too long

[tyttetardis]

Finally managed to record a bit of David at curtain call 😍

Brilliant seeing this incredible production once again - and getting to see what's different and what isn't 🥹🥰

(Please don't repost ☺️)

[egophiliac]

how are u on gavv so far? because i need to scream about how insane it has been (and that zakuzakuchips and fuwamallow have won special places in my heart)

can't believe his mom got flavor-blasted to death. 😔 RIP.

[catharusustulatus]

I just love how Steve Harrington was supposed to be killed off after a couple of episodes but Joe Keery was so charming and so likable they rewrote the whole season and show to keep him alive like he really Darren Criss’d it. He is that bitch. He gave the Duffers the ol razzle dazzle and now he IS the show for most normies. My uncle who has never watched ST and doesn’t even have Netflix loves Steve on vibes alone. The people’s prince.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Lan Wangji Goes To Lotus Pier AU: Part 4: Deranged Bedfellows

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.5)

[beaulesbian]

One Piece Live action season 1 + hints or similarities to future One Piece moments (specifically after East Blue saga) - part 1: episodes 1-3

This wasn't meant to be a comparison between the live action and the animanga, but more so seeing these added/modified scenes that differ from the manga, yet with some of the acting/writing includes clues and hints to different and future canon material, or even characterization that necessary doesn't fit East Blue yet, but fits well enough into later arcs.

Luffy not knowing his world directions both in Opla (ep 1) /// Skypiea arc, in anime ep 168. But it could be for honestly any other arc (Funny thing is, in Opla he rang the bell that unfortunately alerted Alvida's crew, and only when I was rewatching that scene it made me connect it with the great Luffy moment at the end of Skypiea.)

The matches that Zoro has on the Island of Sixis in Opla ep 1, possibly manufactured on Baldimore (?), with a name Beast of Baldimore. /// After Sabaody Archipelago Franky was sent to Baldimore by Kuma, finding Vegapunk's homeland and laboratory, and also developing more of his science projects, as well as causing funny incidents, such as the Burning Beast. (It has probably nothing to do with the matches, except for the 'tiger on fire' motif and the name of Baldimore, but the details of Opla are just so fun!)

Zoro's first meeting with Luffy in Opla episode 1 is really different but fun nonetheless, especially with wording of the line that he doesn't want to 'play pirates' with Luffy. It's such a great setup line for his development to truly be one of the very first to understand how much Luffy means everything he's doing /// Zoro in ep. 323 Post Enies Lobby arc, making sure both his crew and the audience know how seriously he takes being part of Luffy's crew and what it means for future arcs.

Opla ep 2, Luffy mentioning Shanks' way of thinking about fighting (or not fighting someone who's not worth it) /// ep. 146 Jaya arc, Luffy saying to Zoro not to fight Bellamy's crew, which was direct influence from Shanks not fighting the Mountain bandits in the first chapters of the manga. It's interesting that for both of these scenes both Zoro and Nami are there to hear this.

This is just a fun bit, but seeing Nami excited about having a bath was cute. Opla ep 3 /// anime ep. 326, just after they get Sunny and everyone was finding out what space there is for them.

Garp and Koby playing the game of Go, Opla ep 3 /// CP0 agents playing Go while discussing the outcome of Strawhats & Oden's crew's raid on Onigashima against Kaido. It seems like a game that maybe Marines play more/enjoy (?) & above, up to CP ranks.

Usopp 'retelling' a story about eating a dragon, Opla ep 3 /// Punk Hazard ep 580, Zoro killing the dragon and planning with Luffy what's the best way to cook and eat it. Lol. In next chapters Luffy was carrying a big chunk of it, seemingly ate a bit part of the dragon already.

This one is self explanatory. Zoro is so gone for Luffy in Opla it's insane. Every time I remember that I get emo. ep 3. /// One of the first really fond smiles that Zoro keeps smiling at Luffy, a mixture of proud and understanding how Luffy works. ep 63, but it's just so much better in the manga, just look at it. Smitten™ (ch. 104)