#control her own destiny | ooc

[makeowndestiny]

Hello!

As you may have noticed, things have been quiet around here. I want to get back to things, but I will be turning this into a private blog. With the way my life is going right now and how busy I seem to keep I really would like to come back to things knowing that my partner doesn’t mind that it’s been months in between things. This way, too, I can even chat in between replies ooc with my rp partners, too, and just ya know, curate a safe space.

I know I’ve gotten a few new faces since I went on hiatus so I wanted to do a quick run down of the muses that live here before getting into the point of this post.

Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman | DC

Betty Cooper | Archie Comics & Riverdale

Kitty Gibbs | Bridgerton based OC

Aisa Cruce | Greek Mythology OC

With that being said, drop a like if you don’t mind me hoarding replies from time to time or if you’re new and would still like to stick around, maybe figure something out with our muses. Basically, if you don’t mind long stints in between replies and would be okay with me randomly popping into your dms be them here or on Discord, please give this a like.

[lonelyartsworld]

Love never fades [Sukuna x reader]

{So it's been a while since i've written anything so please go easy on me. Any tips are appreciated!!}

Summary → So what happens if the Ryomen Sukuna had a lover who was powerful, if not more powerful than he?

Warnings — Ooc Sukuna obviously 🥱

WORDS → 905

Please Enjoy

{Edit—I CANNOT BELIEVE I DIDNT FIGURE OUT I HAD PASTED THE ENTIRE THING TWO TIMES OMG PLEASE HELP MEEEE 💀}

The wind howled through the ancient pines, its mournful song echoing through the vast, dark and quiet domain. Inside, skulls of all sizes some big others small ,bathed in the dim glow. Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses, sat cross-legged, his crimson eyes narrowed in contemplation. He was a contradiction: a being of immense power, yet trapped within the body of a young man, (Yuuji Itadori) his spirit restless and his hunger insatiable.His gaze fell upon a single, crimson blossom that floats in the red water below, its delicate petals shimmering in the lamplight. He recognized it – a foxglove, a potent symbol of the fox spirit, (Name) Akuma. She was the most powerful kitsune, her cunning and magic unmatched. Yet, unlike Sukuna, who relished in chaos, she sought balance, a fragile harmony in a world teetering on the edge of ruin.Their paths crossed by chance. Sukuna, drawn by the scent of power, sought to consume her. (Name), sensing his approach, had offered him the foxglove as a truce, a proposition for a partnership of sorts. Their initial meetings were fraught with tension, a dance between predator and prey, yet, amidst the clash of their wills, a strange fascination was born.Sukuna was captivated by (Name)'s unwavering strength, her defiance in the face of his overwhelming power. (Name), in turn, was drawn to the raw, untamed energy that pulsed within him, a mirror to the darkness that she had fought to contain within herself. Their conversations, often veiled in veiled threats and cryptic pronouncements, gradually shifted to exchanges of wisdom, their clashing philosophies blurring into a shared yearning for something more.One evening, under the watchful gaze of the moon, Sukuna found (Name) by the temple pond, her form shifting between a beautiful woman and a white fox, the transformation fluid and mesmerizing. She spoke of her longing for a world where peace could bloom, a world where beauty and power were not at odds. Sukuna listened, his eyes mirroring the silver light that danced in the pond.The air crackled with unspoken words, a yearning that transcended their cursed existences. The King of Curses, the most feared being in the Heian Era, felt a glimmer of something he had never known – a desire, a craving for something beyond destruction.Their hands brushed, a spark arcing between them, a potent alchemy of shadows and light. In that moment, they knew. This was not a truce, it was a beginning, the dawn of a love story that could rewrite their destinies, a love that defied the very fabric of their existence.The future, however, remained uncertain. Love, for them, was a dangerous gamble, a fragile flame that could easily be extinguished by the winds of fate. But as they stood together, bathed in the moon's soft glow, they dared to hope. For even the strongest curses could be broken, even the darkest hearts could find redemption, in the embrace of a love that transcended all boundaries.Sukuna sighed softly. It seemed he was no longer in control of his own thoughts . A flood of memories assaulted him, but, with an effort, he focused on one in particular. (Name). His partner. His lover.

She, too, was a creature of contradictions. Her lightness of touch could devastate with devastating effect. Her laughter echoed in his heart like a merry tune. And yet, despite her ferocity, there was a subtle fragility that marked her features, a vulnerability that drew you in. (Name) always knew when he was lost in thought, catching him off guard with playful jabs and teasing remarks. Often, she would lean forward, pulling him close, sharing her warm breath.Until that tragic night.Fire burning everything in sight, mutilated body's lay around. As children cry as they no longer have a home nor family to run to. But the focus is on the two in the middle of it all. Sukuna lays in his lovers arms as she holds his body close—"Don't forget me," she whispers against his slowing turning cold skin, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips, tears daring to fall. "I would never forget you...you silly girl..." Sukuna says softly, smirking."You always had my back, didn't you? You protected me, made sure I was okay."

She laughs quietly, gazing down at the man she loves. He closes his eyes. This wasn't how it was supposed to end. He would protect her until the day he died, and here she was....He has failed. She cradles his body closer, feeling the heat of her tears soak through his skin. She fights to keep her voice from breaking, "Even if it means losing your own life?" Her tone turns softer.

"Always" And that was the last thing she heard from him before his heartbeat stopped for good.

Sukuna's senses snapped back to reality. His consciousness felt fuzzy, as though the edges of his mind had been smudged with haze. His vision blurred slightly as he tried to clear his head, slowly blinking to bring things into focus.

"Don't worry my silly little kitsune...we'll reunite soon"

[kikker-oma]

LU HEADCANNONS FOR EACH OF THE BOIS

ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Four

Looks at his feet ALL THE TIME while walking, he doesn’t wanna step on a minish. Speaking of which, aside from Legend, is the only one fluent in more than one language because he knows the picori language

His hair looks brushed? Nah, it’s not. He tried brushing it and it always gets tangled, but the knots are just so fine it doesn’t even look like it’s tangled, so he only brushes the top layer of his hair.

Hyrule

Keeps the peace. One of the only reasons that the chain isn’t at each others throats. Part of the reason is that he doesn’t know what half of these debates is about, but is very good at making each side seem like he agrees with them, even though he’s confused.

Memorizes facts about everybody’s Hyrule to be prepared. Is VERY keen on being prepared. Even though he may come off as chaotic, he always has a plan for whatever will go wrong. Very much belives in murphey’s law.

Legend

ANGSTY GUY. Seems talkative but NEVER talks about what he truly thinks just talks because he feels the need to show people that he exists and is strong.

Claims that he hates children. Yet he will hug any baby he sees. Absolutely adores children if we are being honest. He even got Sky to teach him embroidery so he can embroid little blankets for babies 🥹

Sky

Hopeless romantic. He will wax poetry about Sun for 25 hours seven days a week if you let him. He shares literally everything he’s interested in with her.

He sometimes (this is so OOC but idc) sends post cards of him and Fi to LD-301S Scrapper to make him jealous. He absolutely hates that tiny robot.

Time

Cryptic. Will spill traumatizing memories of his past but will make them so cryptic that nobody will understand WHAT he’s saying.

(I think we can all agree) a father at heart. He knows eventually he will have to bid his goodbyes to the other 8 members of the chain but REALLLLY doesn’t wanna.

Twilight

Will eat table scraps

Is either REALLY good at getting women or REALLY bad, depends on where and when. Even though he is he regrets everyone because he’s still sad about Midna.

Family therapist. He knows everybodies problems and never shares them to anybody else, he’s always there for everyone.

Warriors

Even if he flirts with women, he never wants to date anyone. He’s still kinda… traumatized about Cia. He is more of a “take you out on a nice date but remains just friends” guy. He knows it may come off as toxic but he has best intentions.

He actually got his scarf enchanted by a great fairy. It as a defense boost and attack up. There is a reason he wears it, gotta be fashionable and practical.

Wild

LOADED, like 999,999 rupees. Because of this, for each era he goes to, he buys a yard of fabric for his home era. He will find use for it… some day.

As much as he and Flora are… alright together. He is still salty about her. He knows that she was struggling with finding her own destiny, but he still doesn’t like how he was treated.

Wind

Do NOT challenge him to any card game. At all. He will win he will take all your rupees and there is nothing you can do to stop him. And by the rare case that you DO beat him, he will pull the “young innocent baby boy” card which makes you want him to win and end up revoking your winner status.

A mischievous boy. Will poke people with his wind waker and finds it hilarious ever. Single. Time. The amount of times Wars literally had to hide it from him as he kept using the “control” power (idk what to call it) is uncountable. People would think that he taught Aryll all of this, but nope. Aryll was the one that taught him all those tricks. It runs in the family.

Ooohhhh these headcannons are so fun!!!

Fours little fairy knots in his hair is oddly adorable

Hyrule being the peacemaker instead of sky is really refreshing and I feel like more on oar for his character tbh!

Legend embroidering baby blankets has my heart MELLTIIINGGG😭❤️

Sky being a gremlin to Scrapper is also VERY true to his character. Sky is the best little piece of crap 🤣🤣

Time being SO cryptic hahaha and why shouldn't he be? It's so much more fun that way LOL.

Me feeding Twi all my scraps

Poor wars, Cia really is disgusting😠

Wild being rich🤣YES HAHA and they would be so shocked too lolol

Wind will BANKRUPT wild in a game of cards haha that would be a night to remember lol

[punishing-eden]

Hello. I'm sorry if this is sudden but I was wondering if you took story requests and if you do, could you make a platonic Dan heng IL story with the reader being the child of his previous incarnation and with the reader still being quite young and Jing Yuan is the one to tell Dan Heng about them even though he's only met them a couple and doesn't know them personally, but Jing Yuan felt like Dan Heng had the right to know about the reader especially after the reader had an encounter with Blade. (If this is too much or if you don't do requests that's completely understandable and I wish you a good day/afternoon and or night😊)

Author's Notes:

Hi, I haven't done the latest Trailblazer mission yet. But my stupid ass, low-key, accidentally spoiled myself with the whole thing about Blade :') . So, I guess I can give this a go.

Tbh, I am not a lore person when it comes to Hoyoverse. For me, it's too confusing and convoluted. I just pay attention to the details in the story and reread character lines over and over again to get their speech patterns.😅😅😅

I hope for the best.

Also…is this Dad!Dan Heng, or Creator!Dan Heng?

-Punishing Eden

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

His Legacy…

Dan Heng x Child!Reader (Ft. Jing Yuan & Bailu)

Summary:

Before Dan Heng leaves, he learns of your existence; his next of kin from his previous incarnate. Despite not harbouring much memories or parental familiarity, Dan Heng wants to see you one last time.

Tags: Lore (that I only know 10% about), platonic, parental relationship, request, one-shot, potential spoilers, possible ooc, canon divergent, request

It was a risk.

With every decision made, there’s always a risk. And, Jing Yuan knows that, by releasing the Stellaron Hunter; by the name of, “Blade”, was definitely a risk.

“General… are you sure we should do this?” Yanqing had expressed his concern, yet, for the General, Jing Yuan continued to execute his plan. Knowing, if everything is under control, the fruition will worth the risk.

Jing Yuan had given precaution to each step along the way. However, he never anticipated that the Stellaron Hunter would have other plans of his own.

___

“Who are you?”, you asked, looking at a man with a nonchalant, yet, troubled look.

Blade looked at you. The colours of his irises swirled. He didn't answer, as his dark presense towers over you.

Troubled, as if he was baring all the burden on his shoulders. Troubled, as if he held onto the anguish and hatred of the past. Troubled, as if he holding on to a thin line between ‘monster’ and ‘man’; of what is left of his sanity.

___

The guilt weighed on Jing Yuan when he had heard of your encounter with Blade. Were the precautions not enough? We're his predictions not good enough?

The General recalled, how the Master Diviner had given him a warning, prior, to the operation.

“Was it worth, to put so much risk to simply catch the Stellaron Hunter, Kafka?” Fu Xuan asked, she made her disapproval as clear as day.

"Nothing can escape destiny and fate..." Fu Xuan's voice rang in Jing Yuan's ears.

Maybe, despite all the precaution that were made, your encounter with Blade was inevitable. And, maybe it was also fate that brought Dan Heng back to Luofu.

“Dan Feng…” Jing Yuan began, “I see that you have finally returned to Luofu.”

“Dan Feng?” Dan Heng questioned, amused by how Jing Yuan called him by his previous name, “I don’t go by that name anymore… everything is in the past, I see no need to look back.”

Hearing what Dan Heng had said, brought a frown on Jing Yuan’s face. However, the General nodded. He accepted the fact; what had happen centuries ago was of a tragic demise. Done, out of the succumb of “immortality”.

___

“You’re hurt…” you said, trying to grab the man’s bandaged hand, “Lady Bailu can help you.” You offered.

Before you could wrap your tiny fingers around Blade’s hand, he immediately pushed you away. His eyes stared with intensity, seemingly glowing at the sight of his target. His chest heaved, as he felt his throat tensed up at the bubbling emotions of anger emerging.

Looking at the small child getting up from the ground, Blade fixated his gaze on you, as if he was planning to strike his next move. His grip held onto his sword tightly.

___

“Indeed, the past is the past, but…” Jing Yuan said, “ the legacy of your former self, will continue over the centuries to come, Dan Heng.”

He hinted something to Dan Heng.

“Whether you, like it or not…” Jing Yuan added.

Dan Heng’s foot step paused. There was a small weight in his heart. Was it something he did, when he was still Dan Feng? He turned around to look at Jing Yuan, the memories swirled in Dan Heng’s mind, trying to comprehend the muddled and missing pieces of the image of you. An sleeping child, hibernating until it was time for you to be awaken from your birth.

“… [Y/N]…?” He spoke of your name.

___

He lifted his arm up, the cracks on his sword glowed, as he looked down at you with an intense gaze. At that moment, Blade had felt he had snapped. He wasn’t a “man”, but a “monster” blinded my his emotions.

The animalistic growl grumbled from his throat, the anticipation of spilling crimson right before his eyes when he brings his arm down. Yet, his arm remain frozen. Your cries began to alert the guards of Bailu’s estate.

Blade struggled against his mind. Your childish cries was giving him a headache. “…Just…a…small…child…” He mumbled to himself.

“Who’s there?” The guards came running to your direction, “It’s him! The Stellaron Hunter! Quick, alert Lady Bailu!”

“Tsk..”Blade clicked his tongue. Without a word, he fled.

___

“[Y/N].” Dan Heng said.

You looked up at him. Your creator, that you never knew.

Without saying anything, you handed him a cup of tea, before returning to Bailu’s side. Warm light illuminated the living room of Bailu’s house.

“Do you know how tiring it is to look after this child, General?” she complained, “how long will you be keeping this child with me?”

Jing Yuan chuckled, “I understand, Lady Bailu. You have ‘just’ been through a rebirth, and I am certain that having a child under your care while still being…quite young…is tiresome.” The general took a sip of the tea, avoiding certain words, “But, please bare with this arrangement for a little longer. Until the time is right, you will be free of such services.”

Bailu was a little surprised, “W-wait!? What does that mean?!”

“Why do you sound like I want to get rid of this child?” Bailu accused.

”Oh?” Jing Yuan held a surprised look, “Was that not what you ask for?”

“I mean…yes, it will be less of a burden to have this child under my care... But, I have taught a few things about medicine to this child…” the dragon girl said, thinking of a excuse, “…so it will be a loss of my effort if the child leaves so soon. How are you going to compensate that?! ” She crossed her arms.

Dan Heng continued to look at you. You were at a corner playing by yourself. The way you look, the expression and features, were a reflection of him. Dan Feng, your creator, your father.

He let out a heavy sigh. There was a part of him, that wants to engage with you. There were so many things he wanted to say, to do, and to ask of you. Yet, the lack of familiarity and parental feelings for you, made him hesitate.

“…well, it will be quite some time before further arrangements can be made on the child’s welfare…” Jing Yuan grabbed his chin, a mock gesture to convince Bailu to fall through his plan.

“As I thought, General,” Bailu scoffed, “Now, if you are not asking for prescriptions or diagnosis, leave.”

“Yes, of course. Are you alright with that?” Jing Yuan looked at Dan Heng, who’s eyes were fixed on you.

He snapped out of it and replied, “…Yes, I am ready to go. The Astral Express will be leaving soon.”

“We’ll see you both out… [Y/N], the guest are leaving.” Bailu hopped off her chair. She gently took your hand and walked Jing Yuan and Dan Heng to the door.

Both men looked back as they walked out. Dan Heng gave you one last look. You were waving goodbye at him. With Bailu, the Elder High of the Vidyadhara, as your guardian. He knew you are in good hands.

The front gates closed. The image of you disappeared behind the structure with along with Bailu.

That was the last time, Dan Heng saw of you.

(C) Punishing Eden

[kohubohu]

About Minthara's break up dialogue

(TLDR at the end)

My biggest fantasy would be Larian bringing it back reworked in patch 7 because it actively gave her the best reaction to rejecting Bhaal out of the entire party and it's such a good moment to give her more character development.

Tbh, I was never really mad at the dialogue existing in itself. It's just that it felt poorly executed and very incomplete, and it's annoying to think that they just removed it (it was bugged anyway, but you know), when there are multiple ways in which it could have been fixed, depending on if you consider the break up out of character or not.

Take 1: Her reason for breaking up is not OOC.

It's less that I'm mad about the dialogue itself, and more that I'm mad that you, as the player, are forced to stay kinda silent and powerless about it.

You know, I personally see rejecting Bhaal as a matter of regaining agency over your own person and your destiny rather than choosing the "good" path. My durge personally isn't good, and she'd still reject Bhaal to get her freedom back. When you think about it, it should resonate with Minthara due to her backstory with Lolth and the Absolute, but you know, we're all at risk of being hypocritical sometimes, especially in high pressure situation like these, so I don't necessarily see her reaction as being automatically OOC.

But if Larian were/are 100% set on going down that path for her, please at least give the player choices other than downplaying her anger or begging her to stay with you.

Downplaying her anger just feels shitty to me. She's absolutely right about being angry over the situation (for multiple reasons I'll explain in the alternative take). I've seen a few people commenting on my video about the break up on how she should be relieved instead of angry, and like... it's not a Karlach situation, you got resuscitated in front of her eyes by Withers. She would at least be fucking mad at you for doing that whole stunt lol.

Alternatively, begging her to stay with you just doesn't sit right with me. Like, idk, if my SO got mad and broke up with me for wanting to be free from a parent's toxic influence and control over the vague promise of maybe earning something from them but probably not, I'd 100% not want to be with them anymore lol.

Let's not even take her hypocrisy into account, it's not as if something bad would have happened to her if you rejected Bhaal (whereas accepting Bhaal just makes her a convenient breeding machine in his plan, and just sets her up into another abusive relationship where she's always at risk of being discarded anyway) (and you really don't want my opinion on that)

Her anger, when laid out and explained that way, just gives me the impression Durge is getting used to gain status and power, which is even worse considering you get her alurlssrin dialogue 10-15 minutes before the break up, which in turn kinda goes against the fact that her devotion/tenderness/love is a good chunk of her character development and cheapens literally everything surrounding her romance. It basically goes back to "minthara is a drow and therefore evil" and just goes back to unidimensional evil woman concept.

But you know, if they really wanted to punish you for rejecting Bhaal, the least they could do is to let the player call her out on that, or give them the opportunity to say the break up is mutual because what she just said is pretty fucking shitty, especially coming from her. Like, I personally wouldn't want to be with someone who want me to stay stuck in a toxic relationship, and being forced to make that choice is infuriating.

Take 2: Her reason for breaking up is OOC.

Or more accurately, there is more to the dialogue/situation than meets the eyes but Larian just kinda started something without finishing it.

Lots of people consider the dialogue as being OOC because she keeps touting Durge as being the heir of such a powerful god and is mad over the fact that they gave up the power Bhaal promised them, when she is vocally critical about gods and cults many times over the course of the game.

She clearly hates Lolth and the Absolute, calls Lolth's and Bhaal's followers victims. She disapproves of you praying to any god in act 3 (especially Lolth, which gives you -5 approval instead of -1) and will criticize you/your worship if you're a cleric. She encourages Gale to free himself of Mystra (or go against her orders) and assures him he doesn't need her, that gods need you to think you need them, just like the absolute. She says that Shadowheart freeing herself of Shar's influence is at least a bit of comfort after killing her parents, and encourages Shadowheart to get vengeance from Shar when she learns the truth from Aylin. She's outright ectastic when defeating Gortash, because they're "defying divinity" by killing the gods' chosen, and seems kinda, idk, smug? over the fact that so many gods seek the one thing they are in possession of.

However, there are a few moments (other than rejecting Bhaal) where she'll be pissed at you for going against the gods. She chastises Lae'zel if she rejects Vlaakith and calls it a "childish rebellion", and approves of her if she kills Voss instead, because she should know better than to anger a god. She criticize the player/the party (if you play as Shadowheart) for holding Shadowheart back from her destiny directly after sparing Aylin, and will tell Shadowheart that Shar was right for punishing her for it. That's basically the closest equivalent we have to Durge rejecting Bhaal. So like.... It could be because of power after all...?

But when you look into it: Minthara doesn't even hold it that hard against you when Shadowheart gives up power, hell, in every case she never even holds it against Shadowheart at all, going as far as blaming herself for holding Shadowheart back, when playing as her origin. And she just let go of the matter after Shadowheart learns the truth from Aylin, and switches to advising her to seek vengeance.

With the exception of Durge's and Shart's situation, it really boils down to really not wanting to be on some god's bad side. Why would Lae'zel want to screw up their plan when she could just.... shut up and follow the rules? Better tip-toeing around all powerful beings than pissing them off because you heard a *maybe* very real rumor about them.

And that's the thing about Minthara: we're talking about a character who just started their religious deconversion, after spending their whole life, not only as a member, but as a high ranking figure of the cult. And considering Lolth is very real in the setting and is very proactive when it comes to testing and punishing her followers, it's only natural for Minthara to still default to trying not piss off a god. She literally spent 200+ years with no choice BUT to hold herself to Lolth's standard, dedicating her whole being to her, while having to witness other people being punished for crossing Lolth more than a few times. Deconverting is already a hard thing to do, taking years, if not decades, but when you live in a world were divine retribution is a very real thing, I assume it's an even harder thing to do.

You can even add more layers to the situation, or like, go for different interpretations, cause you didn't just piss off a god and gave up the power and status that he promised (even if the bargain is shit and won't end well and will doom everyone, like Minthara isn't planning that far ahead, and she's still convinced it's just something you can just... take control of if you make the effort lol). Add to that the stress of facing Orin and dealing against a big ass cult. The fact that you're romancing her, like, girly already had to kill her first girlfriend against her will, this time she's not even the cause of it but she still can't even do anything against it, and that death looks real fucking painful and she can't even try to make Durge feel better by whispering words of comfort or anything, and she's surrounded by other people, and idk, due to how things are in Menzoberranzan, I don't think she'd let herself be sad in the moment anyway, no matter how deep it cuts. Also, you know, she seems to be pretty preoccupied about her death and mortality in general (due to the fact that her soul will either go back to Lolth, or end up wandering in the fugue plane, I assume), so seeing you not only escape death that easily, but being resuscitated by a fucking god, when she's pretty sure no gods would extend the same grace to her, would probably be pretty upsetting. I know I'd be seething lol

So, to me, having her blowing a fuse because of any of those things would make the whole scolding feel a lot less hard to swallow without dumbing her character down? Hell, even in that case she would still yell at you about how you turned down power. Girly wouldn't let herself be that vulnerable in front of the whole party, so of course she'd blow up over the shallowest reason. You could literally have a follow up dialogue, explaining her reaction and resolving the whole situation. Larian gets to keep the first dialogue, Minthara gets to have character development, and you get more Minthara content and balm for the scolding you got as the player.

TLDR

It's less that it's OOC, and more that the dialogue feels like the start of an unfinished idea.

Minthara is the representation of an emotionally constipated boomer dad who just randomly drops traumatizing lore about themselves while trying to make a joke without even realizing what they went through was trauma. Of course it's gonna sound like angry hot garbage when she's trying to explain herself the first time. Let her think about it for a while and she'll get back to you.

Literally, due to her personal backstory and ongoing deconversion, it wouldn't be that far fetched to say that you telling Bhaal (a god) to go fuck himself (which makes him real angry) because you (his child) don't want to become his chosen (with the powers that comes with it), even if he's the only reason you've been born and becoming his chosen was basically the plan from the start (so it's basically your life's duty), which results in you (Minthara's only person of trust and SO) dying a pretty painful death (it's not the first time she's had to see a lover dying in front of her) just after having killed orin (the whole ordeal being very stressful to Minthara), before being resuscitated (look at you, you're putting her on the worst emotional rollercoaster of her life right now) by Withers (a god, basically) like it was nothing (when no gods would come to her help), would get her at least a little bit angry.

But since there's no follow up on it, it just... sours an event that could lead to great character development if it had been completed and fully implemented.

[nono-bunny]

"The Fortuneteller" is such an interesting episode to me because like? Aunt Wu is never wrong in the end, kinda like how in "Jet" Sokka's instincts are always right as well- the show tries to play it off in the end by saying "sometimes they're right and sometimes they're not", but throughout the whole episode his instincts led him to eventually save an entire town! If they never ran into Jet, he WOULD have destroyed that town, not to mention how Jet does eventually change through his experiences with the Gaang, but! This isn't about Jet rn

Aunt Wu not seeing anything about romance for Aang while she DOES see it for Katara is strange to me if we're to assume he's the man she's ought to marry, because like? Wouldnt their fates be intertwined? Which is why it's a good thing I fully don't believe she WAS talking about Aang, and this episode unintentionally serves the anti-Kataang narrative so well its not even funny (well, okay, it's a little funny, seeing Aang get subtly rejected over and over is very healing). Even if we take out the fact that I believe she was talking about Zuko because, c'mon, he's a fantastic bender who already loves Katara a bunch by the end of the show (platonic? romantic? nevertheless they share an incredible bond)... The Avatar isn't the only "great bender" in the world by a long shot, and I'd argue Aang doesn't even qualify because of his poor work ethic and lack of interest in bettering himself, like- Aang is acknowledged by more ATLA fans than just me to be the weakest bender in the group (until he enters the Avatar state, at which point, he's just the weakest Avatar because he has no control of it) and? Yeah being born with the Avatar Spirit is never gonna be enough to become a great bender by itself, which is something even all the other Avatars aside from Aang seem to recognize, y'know?

I forget who it was, but I saw a post saying that in a better written show, this episode that has such a big focus on unreciprocated feelings would be when Aang recognizes his situation for what it is, recognizes seeing his own lack of interest in Meng when looking at Katara and her lack of interest in him, and have him start to accept that and move on, but... Aang ALWAYS shows himself to either be incapable of understanding or just straight up ignoring Katara's nonverbal cues, not to mention how he goes on to ignore her express vocalization of her discomfort with him, so.

This episode also has Bryke use Sokka as a mouthpiece to give a very incel-y feeling pick up artist lesson and? Yeah, what could I have possibly expected? For Sokka to show some consistency? He fr never takes his own "advice" here, it's so weird! He's always been very forthright about his feelings, so him teach Aang to play coy is so ooc for him unless the point they want to end up making is "love makes fools of us all", which. Doubtful

It's yet another episode with a morality lesson about "Destiny", but fr this one feels so weak when compared to Zuko's whole thing later on about CHOOSING his destiny, where we actually see him do it when he defies and upends his harmful legacy in favor of peace, because here? Here everything plays out as foretold, with a "you control destiny" messaging tacked on at the end- the cloud bending was cool, but I hate the implication that Aang legit goes on to twist and bend Katara to a shape he sees fit, right by his side forevermore, but... Yeah, that's fully what he does, so? Thanks a lot, I guess, Aunt Wu! Look what you did! He was the closest he ever comes to giving up in this episode, some tough love would've done the trick!!! But noooo, god forbid Aang has to face and acknowledge any sort of REAL rejection, Katara simply... Doesn't yet understand that her ultimate role in life is to end up as his trophy wife, that's all! God, fuck comics and LOK Katara!!!

[thesilliestofgals]

Ok silly little people in my computer, "yes" won for a Rosabella Beast drabble poll so, I started writing... and it ended up way past 100 words.

Oops.

I hope it's enjoyable! I'm not totally satisfied with it, but I took my best shot! A little warning: The characters that appear will likely be OOC!

And also, a quick note: if you've stumbled upon this and have absolutely no clue who or what Rosabella Beast is, I suggest checking out my rosabella beast tag, or my hypothetical eah rewrite tag! If you do, however, be careful, as there are spoilers within those tags!

Now on with the story!

Rosabella was all too familiar with the phrase don't judge a book by it's cover. It'd been implanted by her mother before she was conscious enough to understand what was being said to her. She'd made the mistake of not listening to that advice, and she'd paid dearly for it. Since then, Rosabella had held that as her mantra, swearing to never make such a foolish mistake again.

Now, as Blondie Lockes stood in her doorway, she couldn't help but wonder if she was going to just that. Rosabella hated to admit it, but Blondie was one of the few people she couldn't read. Even when peering over her glasses, the big haired girl's colors were constantly changing and melding together. That frustrated her to no end.

Her anxious and angry musings to herself were broken by Blondie giving her a smile, one that didn't quite meet her eyes. "Can I come in?", she asked, but it didn't really sounds like a request- more like a demand. Narrowing her eyes, Rosabella stepped aside, allowing her entry.

She slammed the door shut, turning to face the blonde as she surveyed the dorm. Taking a deep breath, Rosabella replied to Blondie's question with her own, being sure to lace it with extra sweetness. "How can I help you, Blondie?"

The other girl rolled her eyes and scoffed, waving a hand dismissively. "Oh, drop the act," she huffed, "you don't need to be a Beauty here when it's just the two of us."

Rosabella's train of thought crashed and burned into a fiery grave as she gawked at the amateur reporter. What, she wanted to roar, are you talking about? But instead, she clasped her hands behind her back and tilted her head slightly. "Whatever-after do you mean, Blondie?" she asked through gritted fangs.

Blondie smiled again, and this time, Rosabella felt a genuine twinge of... discomfort. The blonde seemed to staring her down like a predator with prey. Ironic, Rosabella mused, considering my heritage.

"I've been watching you," Blondie began, as if that wasn't the most creepiest thing someone could say to someone else. "and you may have everyone fooled, but not me. I see that look in your eyes, when you're talking to any of the Royals... or even some of the Rebels. Anger and disgust, like you know something about them that nobody else does. I was also about to figure out your own little secret, but I must admit, you're fairy good at hiding it."

Rosabella's stomach dropped. "Hiding what?" she all but snarled. The amateur reporter giggled behind her hand. "The fact that your destiny calls for you to be the Beast, of course!"

She couldn't take it anymore. Her self control snapped, and she lunged, feeling her human form give way to what had been carefully hidden away underneath. With powerful, clawed paws grasping her shoulders, Blondie was pinned against the farthest wall. Rosabella curled her lips back, showing off the fangs Blondie had remarked about. "What in Ever After do you want, Lockes?" Rosabella rumbled, tail lashing behind her, "Tell me, or you might have to put your stupid little podcast on an indefinite hiatus!" Her voice rose to a fever pitch, and she could feel the fabric of Blondie's sleeves begin to tear.

Impressively, Blondie remained physically unbothered, but her aura told a different story. A quick flash of fear- but before Rosabella could sink her teeth into that, the confidence quickly won out. "I don't need to be bribed," the blonde scoffed, lifting her chin, "I came to you with a proposition."

Rosabella arched her brow at that, and with great reluctance, released her and crossed her now-furry arms. "A proposition?" she grumbled, shoving the beast back in her cage and pulling the beauty from her prison. That was... a surprise. Rosabella hated surprises. "I'm listening," she growled, "but don't dawdle."

Blondie observed the transformation with a hum, the corners of her lips curling upwards. At Rosabella's demand, the blonde rolled her eyes. "Yes," she huffed, brushing a loose curl behind her shoulder, "I have a feeling that you and I both have very similar desires. I'm always searching for the next scoop of truth, and while you don't always show it, you're quite the... humanitarian.

I think we'd make quite the good team, you and I. Nobody can bear being five feet in my vicinity, but with you? You just be the Beauty, and everyone's spilling their guts to you. Am I wrong?" Rosabella cursed to herself. Blondie was like a nagging gnat in everyone's ear, but she could be quite observant if someone didn't know she was around, or let their guard down.

"...Not exactly, no." The brunette grumbled, eyeing her over the lenses of her glasses. Blondie's mouth split into another unnerving grin, and she clapped her hands. "That brings me to my proposition: you and I could work together. We could reveal everyone's dirty secrets, you know? Dust off all the skeletons stored away in those musty closets and display them for the world to see. Not for entertainment, no- for justice. I'm sure some people have some skeletons stored away that they would kill to keep hidden just because of how sensitive those secrets could be! And that's just not right, is it?"

Rosabella pursed her lips in thought. Blondie was crass about it, but... she had a little bit of a point. She could see some particularly nasty auras in passing conversations sometimes, camouflaging particularly nasty nuggets of information. It would be gratifying to see those sinister and secretive students get their just deserts.

"What's in it for you, though?" Rosabella hummed. The amateur reporter flipped a strand of hair again. "I'm a reporter- or a journalist, whatever after you want to call me. It's my narrative given duty to gather details and deliver these to the public in a fair and unbiased perspective!" She said this with a dramatic flare, waving her hands about. "Also, I like seeing people squirm. So, what do you say?"

Rosabella stood as still as one of the statues in her mother's garden, thinking. Don't judge a book by it's cover. She squinted, looking down through her glasses. Once again, she was met with a murky, swirling mess of colors. Working her jaw, she pushed them back up. "Okay," she rasped, stepping closer to the other girl again. "let's do it." She held out a hand, and Blondie firmly grasped it. Quickly, Rosabella pulled her close. "But I swear to Grimm," she sneered, "if you even try to stab me in the back in any way, shape, or form, you'll regret even knowing my name. Understood?"

Blondie's grip tightened, and she nodded. Huffing, Rosabella pulled away, releasing her hand. "So," she asked with an arched brow, "do you have any actual idea on how exactly we'll work together?" Blondie's eyes gleamed, and she pulled out her Mirrorpad from her messenger bag.

"Oh, I do." She tapped at the screen a few times before handing it over to the brunette, and as Rosabella scanned over what she'd been given, she realized that she had indeed made the same mistake as she had years ago, but this time, under completely different circumstances.

But maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't regret this.

[aitheros]

# 𝙰𝙸𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙾𝚂 ╱ 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐄𝐔𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄

❛ 𝐢 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 [ . . . ] 𝘮𝘰𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 ❜

private & selective. mutuals only !! highly headcanon based & canon divergent. mature ( 18 + ) content present. minors dni. follow at your own discretion.

# 𝙽𝙰𝚅𝙸 [ dossier. directory. headcanons. ask prompts. ] # 𝙱𝙻𝙾𝙶𝚂 [ ⚕ | ❦ | ꒰ა໒꒱ | ☾ | ☁︎ | ☆ | ❀ | ᨒ | ☻ ] # 𝙰𝙵𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚂 [ @ftbrainrot ]

❛ 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚐𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝'𝚕𝚕 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. ❜

𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒 & 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 ╱ ╱ ╱

• general canon divergence • guild master verse • white ( light ) dragon slayer magic • personality • reputation • sting & jiemma • meta: 'the unfortunate side effects of destiny' • additional canon & fanon divergence

𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒 ╱ ╱ ╱

portrayal : please review & respect my canon divergence. multiple verses & alternative canon storylines are available. crossovers & au's are welcome. plotting is preferred, but i'm flexible.

activity : sporadic & low occasionally. i don't always lurk on the dash or discord. i don't always answer IMs in a timely manner. please do not take it personally. my energy level to be on social media fluctuates & if we're mutuals, it doesn't mean i'm not interested in talking ╱ writing with you.

etiquette : please practice basic rpc manners both ic & ooc. don't control my muse in an extreme way without my permission. don't god-mode. don't force things. don't hound me for replies. don't blatantly ignore my portrayal notes. don't be rude to me. etc etc. if you ever feel the need to unfollow me, that's totally acceptable but please hard block me if you do so.

asks : open to any mutuals, at any time. please don't spam, unless we're close. replies to answered asks are welcome in a separate post. i reserve the right to delete any asks i do not have muse for.

ships : romantic ships are highly selective; requiring ooc discussion, ic chemistry, & appropriate age gaps. will not write romantic ships with anyone under the age of 26.

warnings : mature writing ╱ concepts may be present or mentioned. this includes, but is not limited to mental illness, trauma, abuse, violence, sexual situations, & death.

triggers : animal abuse of any kind, pedophilia, & graphic sexual assault writings are not welcome here.

will follow :

— duplicates. — original characters & muses of other fandoms ( known or unknown ) if there is an accessible bio ╱ muse information. — muses with or without a ft verse. — blogs that don’t use icons. — blogs that heavily format. — blogs that use rl face claims.

will not follow :

— anyone under the age of 21. — blogs with excessive vague-posting & guilt-trips. — blogs that include triggers mentioned above. — roleplay blogs with clutter. — unknown muses that don’t possess accessible character information. — blogs with no guidelines in plain sight. — muses that i don’t see myself interacting with. — any blog that i simply don’t vibe with. 

ooc info : i go by mandy. i'm 30. she ╱ her. bisexual. half-korean. full-time clinical technologist. part-time student. residing in the united states under EST. a member of this fandom since 2017 & a tumblr rper since 2013. discord available to mutuals upon request.

credits : text divider by cafekitsune.

[tartarusrising-rp]

OOC INFO

Name/Alias: T Pronouns: He/They Age: 32 Timezone: GMT-3

IC INFO

Character Name: Sophia Barton Character Age: 40 Character Birthday (with year): May 1, 1984 Gender & Pronouns: Cis Woman, She/her Affiliation: Civilian Occupation: COO of a Business Conglomerate Faceclaim: Katie McGrath

BIOGRAPHY

Sophia Barton should be the heir to one of the most powerful business empires in the country. Should. This is what she had been trained for her entire life, anyway. While other teenagers were out partying and worrying about prom dates, Sophia was preparing for a future that had been planned out for her since before she was born.

She was good at it, too. Sophia excelled in that kind of structure and pressure. When she was finally old enough to take an official role in her mother's company, it was obvious to everyone she had what it took to succeed. Being Cordelia Barton's daughter came with its set of advantages and open doors, but Sophia earned what she got.

In fact, Sophia earned quite a bit more. Thanks in no small part to her business acumen, Barton Industries saw a growth much more expansive than projected, and it seemed like it would be a matter of time until Cordelia retired and let Sophia fully take control of their empire for good.

That never happened. In fact, Cordelia made sure to accept most of the credit for the growth of the company, both privately and publicly, and little by little made her intentions clearer and clearer: she wasn't going to retire; the company wouldn't be Sophia's for a long time.

Sophia's frustration with the turn of events was difficult to hide, as much as she supported her mother publicly. Her destiny was being kept from her, and no matter how much she tried to convince her mother to let go, she never inched closer to success.

What Sophia didn't expect was for help to come from the outside — and from nefarious means to boot. Of course she was aware that Tartarus existed and likely walked among her peers, but she never saw herself as a potential ally; and that was exactly what was offered.

For inside information and access, they offered to undermine Cordelia's influence and boost her own, and resources to build her own empire should she choose, and the death Barton Industries.

It felt too easy, that certainly it was her mother's move to find a reason to get rid of her for good, but the more she was contacted, the more she was convinced the offer was true. Another matter completely was whether to accept it — Sophia had always played it by the book. Fiercely, yes, but without breaking a single law. Did she have it in her to change that?

The answer was no, until Cordelia told her to her face she didn't have what it took to run her company without her help. That night Sophia shared the information she had about a merger she conducted with her informant in Tartarus. A week later, one of her mother's loyalists in the board of directors disappeared mysteriously during an international trip.

It cannot be denied that the deal is working in her favor but also guilt and uncertainty have started to creep in. Cheating was never her way of solving problems, and neither was violence. Either way, however Sophia may feel about her choices, it is far too late to change her mind now.

[xaracosmia]

ꕥ — WELCOME TO MARE COSMIA, TAKUTO MARUKI. 🌗

ꕥ  — OOC INFORMATION;

name / alias: Nell age: 30 pronouns: she/they ooc contact: @talestoldbytime on twitter other characters in xc: Lennox Ram, Anya Forger, Desmond Sycamore

ꕥ  — IC INFORMATION;

name: Dr. Takuto Maruki age: 36 pronouns: he/him series: Persona 5 (Royal) canon point: Fake Reality Bad End (Failed Deadline) app triggers: Brainwashing, mind control, alteration of thoughts, memories, and reality, Mental Breakdowns and Hospitalization. Brief mention of Student Abuse (uninvolved)

personality: Dr. Takuto Maruki is a kind man, who only wants to heal the hurt and trauma in people’s hearts. It’s his life’s mission, something he pursues with all he has. He wants to make a positive difference in the world with his research and abilities, spare people from the cruel and unfair realities of… reality.

Isn’t it lucky, a stroke of fate, of destiny even that he’s gotten that chance in a huge way! With unlimited control over people’s perceptions of reality in a world where said cognition equals reality, Dr. Maruki has become a god-like figure and adapted to it just fine. Really. He even offered those who opposed him plenty of time to think about it and make their decision on whether to truly reject his version of reality or not. Maruki’s patient, benevolent, and only has the best of intentions. He’s not afraid to appeal to someone’s emotionality to get them to see reason, and he’s well aware of how some people could view his actions as manipulative, controlling and egotistical. But when he can bring everyone happiness, make their wishes and dreams reality and spare them from pain, does it really matter?

something your muse struggles with: Processing his own grief, confronting certain hardships and not running away, a god/savior complex. your muse’s greatest strength: sympathy, patience, ‘intelligence’

history / background: Maruki’s story began with his study of “Cognitive Pscience”. He wanted to find a way to save people and the world through the idea of altering cognition, how any one individual processes and perceives the world around them. While studying this, his then girlfriend, Rumi and her family were attacked. Rumi’s family perished in the attack, while she survived but not without significant mental trauma that left her with basically catatonic depression. Maruki felt helpless while continuing his studies to try and find something that could improve her condition. During one particular visit to Rumi while she was in the hospital, he accidentally triggered her into a post traumatic episode by mentioning her family. Later, he expresses a desire to somehow free her from the tragedy haunting her, and Rumi confesses she wants to forget. Mentally he has a breakthrough, that through ‘cognitive pscience’ he could heal over and erase people’s traumas by changing their cognition, and awakens to an ability granted to him by his persona, though he does not recognize what a persona is at that time. With it, he actualizes Rumi; by removing all memories of and surrounding the incident and replacing them with new ones. This comes with the side effect and cost of her not remembering who he is, but he deems it for the best, not wanting to eventually or accidentally retrigger her original memories with his presence in her life. After this, he redoubled his efforts researching, knowing both that there is a basis for his theories and practical application. At first things looked up, people seemed interested in his research and he found funding- but soon things shifted dramatically with him losing funding and organizations demanding more evidence first. It’s only later that he found out it was outside interference.The rejection, however, just made him double down in order to find proof of the validity and value of his research. While working on his research, he became a counselor, still dedicated to the cause of helping people like Rumi. In this line of work he came across Sumire Yoshizawa, a severely depressed teen who believed she caused the death of her twin sister and wanted to live as her to realize their dreams and escape being the one who killed her. Sensing the depths of her pain and how desperate she was to escape it, Maruki used his ability of actualization to make Sumire truly believe she was Kasumi; though it only changed her cognition of reality and everyone else still saw her as Sumire, with the same memories as before. Later on he’d get assigned to Shujin High School after a scandal surrounding the former volleyball coach and his abuse of students was revealed to help the victims and students process everything going on. It is there he met Akira Kurusu and his friends, and witnessed them coming out of the metaverse. During his time there he gets to meet and talk to all of the phantom thieves, gaining their trust enough with his position to hear them talk about their issues. Maruki also forms a deal with Akira for mental training in exchange for the young man’s help with his research. Through the course of several meetings and the establishment of a strong bond, Maruki manages to finish the paper based on his research, and leaves the school and group of phantom thieves with well wishes, hopeful that he can use it to bring about a better future.

He got this chance during the phantom thieves confrontation and defeat of Yaldabaoth on Christmas day, awakening fully to his own persona Azathoth. Inadvertently the thieves wished for a reality more like the one discussed with Maruki, and thus they unconsciously handed him control over mementos; the entire subconscious cognition of the masses. Able to tap into the cognition of everyone, he remakes reality to one he views as fair and just- where no one has to suffer and everyone can attain their desires.

Unfortunately, the leader of the Phantom Thieves and a couple others were able to snap out of sync with his paradise. It’s a surprise, a disappointing one since he was truly hoping Akira would accept his reality and salvation. The thieves moved to oppose him and he gave them a deadline to change his heart. … Which they failed to meet. In the end, it’s clear the decision is too much that Akira is too tired, so Maruki grants him rest, allowing Akira to simply continue sleeping in his attic while the perfect world Maruki shapes outside moves on without him.

powers / abilities: 

Persona: He’s a persona user, and can fight with said persona, Azathoth if he really has to, but he prefers not to. 

Actualization: With the power of Actualization, Maruki can completely alter a person’s perception of reality. This does require knowledge about said person and their desires, wishes, thoughts, memories, and traumas to work properly, and only affects that individual person’s perception. Nothing will change for others unless their cognitive worlds/minds are linked for whatever reason. This ability used to only be able to be triggered mostly subconsciously- For Rumi his former girlfriend and one of his more recent patients Sumire Yoshizawa. In those cases their memories were completely altered to facilitate the new perception- along with parts of their personality and how they took in conflicting information. It’s not impossible to snap out of, but it takes a lot of mental fortitude and either a willingness to let go of that perception or undeniable evidence to the contrary. This ability becomes extremely powerful if Maruki is ever allowed access to and influence over the shared subconsciousness of the masses- giving him the power to truly alter reality itself to the point of bringing the dead back to life.

inherent abilities:

He can cook good?

1# clumsiest guy.

items / weapons:

His ridiculous metaverse outfits

starting ability: His Persona starting item: Goofy ass palace lab outfit

extra:  

I cannot stress that this man has lost his fruit loops enough. Very nice man though and he always has snacks. : )

discord id: gentlemadman#9756 passcode: (looks at this as the guy who’s never played royal and only original p5) yeah he looks normal and functional for sure

[itsraiyninmeteors]

Redoing tag dump

[Because once more, Tumblr broke my tags =_=;;]

[makeowndestiny]

I do not have the time this week to obsessively listen to Taylor Swift songs to put together a playlist that captures my take on Betty Cooper.

[roobylavender]

also i genuinely don’t think people understand how blatantly misrepresentative it is of bruce and talia’s relationship to say that she’s obsessed with him like if there’s any indicator as to not being read up on their history it’s saying that when the reality was that talia’s position as the person primed to marry her father’s heir initially meant she was content to romance bruce at a distance under the guise of destiny and duty. there’s so many times she let him go bc she understood and respected the importance of his mission and it’s only in later years when the material reality of that situation and the loneliness and lack of control over her own life started to weigh on her, hence why we saw her asking bruce to take her in in detective comics annual #1. that’s the only canon situation where we saw her “begging” him to be with her (i’m not counting batman #330-35 bc post-crisis retconned it out ntm it was an ooc mess used to set up the rift between bruce and dick going into the new teen titans) bc she was exhausted by her life at that point and had nowhere else to go and no one else who cared for her to look to. every other post-crisis interaction between the two of them prior to her character assassination involved talia walking away either for the sake of others’ safety or for her own sake bc she was tired of waiting for ra’s and bruce to reciprocate the care that she had for them in a way that was worthwhile and that didn’t constantly leave her alone and emotionally unsupported. it’s retroactive erasure to make an obsession with bruce her core character trait when the reality is that she was selfless and self-sacrificial to the point of facilitating her own misery and her cognizance of that fact constituted a huge turning point in her character arc when she decided to make a stand for herself

[dreamlit-futures]

Destined for you?

Warnings: Probably OOC

Pairing: Ayato x gn!reader

Notes: I might make another part for this. Also it was somewhat rushed so there might be mistakes in it. Criticism is appreciated.

Celestia controls the threads of fate, weaving destiny into mortal’s lives from the birth of time.

And it seemed that they had woven it into the both of your lives.

The Kamisato clan has a history of being a noble and powerful clan. Though it’s power may have diminished over the years, it is still a respected clan in Inazuma. The two Kamisato siblings inherited their ancestor’s prowess for leading. The Shirasagi Himegimi, Kamisato Ayaka, was the model of perfection, the true ideal of nobility and elegance.

The Yashiro commissioner, Kamisato Ayato, was just as amazing, saving the Kamisato clan from the brink of disaster years ago and becoming the head of the clan at such a young age. Maintaining peace and prosperity is his duty, and according to others, whenever Kamisato Ayato was there, everyone was satisfied. You had only caught fleeting glimpses of him, but he was as handsome and graceful as the rumours had said.

And you? You were a commoner. Working as a gardener in the Kamisato clan.

Well, you couldn’t deny it wasn’t nice. Kamisato Ayaka personally took you in after you lost your Vision was taken from you. Even if you couldn’t remember anything, even if you felt hollow inside, it wasn’t all that bad. You had nice pay and was even allowed to stay at the Kamisato Estate until you got your vision back,

Still, there was a feeling of emptiness in your stomach that wouldn’t go away. You took other people’s advice, wandering around festivals, trekking around Chinju forest, even going back to Kannazuka and just walking there for hours on end till your legs ached and begged for you to stop.

Someone said to you,”Why not go up to the Grand Narukami Shrine and draw a Fortune Slip? You might get a sign that something lucky is going to happen.”

So you did just that. Though it was useless. The Vision Hunt decree would never end, if the Shogun continued to pursue her ideals of an everlasting eternity.

A shrine maiden greeted you as you passed under the last torii gate. You said hello in reply. The shrine maiden at the stall made no attempt to greet you, and just gestured to one of the boxes containing the paper slips. You put your hand in the box and withdrew it once you felt the folded paper between your fingers. It read “Great Misfortune”. Well, fate had made it clear to you that it was hopeless. You were about to throw it away when someone from behind you asked, “Bad luck?” They leaned over your shoulder. “That’s too bad. Why not hang it up on the Fortune slip hanger.Who knows, it might just change your luck!” They strolled up to the counter, pushing their hands into a box and pulling out a Fortune slip. “Aha! Finally! A Great fortune!”

They sauntered away, positively bouncing with excitement. You looked back at your slip, the words great misfortune in bold lettering. Maybe the person was right. Maybe you should hang it up. You moved to the board, finding a free space and putting it there. Well, nothing for you to do here now. So you walked back with the intention of heading back to the Kamisato estate.

The walk back wasn’t particularly long or arduous, but it was strange to see that there were no Nobushi in sight. Not even in the distance. Well, you should've been glad. Without your vision, you couldn’t summon your weapon or fight back. Still, it was strange. There wasn’t even a single hilichurl or slime roaming around.

There was something quite strange about this feeling you had felt, something you could not quite put your finger on.

The bushes rustled and suddenly a samurai came leaping out of it. Five more followed, including two Kairagi. This was it. You had nowhere to run as they circled around you, and no way to fight.

“Hah, we’ve got you surrounded. Now give us everything you own or we’ll have to shake you down ourselves!” The purple Kairgiri said. They started to close in on you, swords up and ready to strike.

“Heh, look at you. No way to defend yourself, no one to come and save you.” The red Kairgiri laughed.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, if I were you.”

A voice spoke, sounding almost amused by the situation. The red Kaigiri turned around to see who the newcomer was. All of the samurai turned to see who he was. You couldn’t see who he was as the samurai blocked your view of him, but you could make out that it was a young man’s voice. The purple Kairgiri spoke again, obviously frustrated with the sudden turn of events.

“Tch, who are you? We were just in the middle of something. Leave now, and we might let you go with all of your bones intact.”

The unknown man sighed. “That would be a shame. Unfortunately, I cannot overlook you threatening one of my employees like this. As for who I am, I’m Kamisato Ayato, otherwise known as the Yashiro commissioner. If you didn’t know.”

A few samurai frantically whispered at this, obviously alarmed. One hissed to the red Kairgiri, “Boss, we should get out of here. It’s not worth it! You know what he could do!”

His boss just laughed at him. “Don’t worry. If we do harm him, then we’ll be the most feared group of samurai in the whole of Inazuma! We’ll be renowned as the strongest bandits in all of Inazuma. Besides, look at him, he doesn’t even have a blade on him. What could he do?”

The samurai pleaded with him. “But boss-”

“Enough! Unless you want to join him. Now, take this other one and watch over her. Don’t let her escape.” He redirected his attention to Kamisato Ayato. “Now, time for you to get crushed!” He charged at him with the other Kairgiri, speeding towards the commissioner. They both raised their giant swords to crash them down on the man. But in a flash, Sir Kamisato was gone.

“I wouldn’t try that if I were you. If you stop now, I would arrest you quietly, and you wouldn’t have to face as many charges.”

The Kairgiri snarled, lunging towards Kamisato Ayato. Ayato smiled.

“Well, if that’s your choice.”

The samurai brought their swords over their heads, the blades roaring with fire and crackling with thunder. But before their swords could even touch him, water, thin and sharp, sliced them, leaving wounds right in their torsos. It left a fine mist in its wake, glistening in the sunlight. The twin Kairgiri gasped and stumbled.

“You! You’ll regret that!” The red Kairgiri came charging back. But the Yashiro commissioner didn’t stop smiling. And just as before, water condensed tightly came rushing at them. And again, they charged. And again, water sliced armour, then flesh. At one point, the other samurai jumped into the chaos in hope of saving their stronger companions, but they met the same fate as them. The samurai lay panting on the ground now, exhausted at what they had endured.

“Well, it seems like this is over now. I hope you don’t mind,” His smile finally faded. “Unless, of course, death would be a more preferable option for you?” The samurai couldn’t say anything, but it was obvious that they had already given up.

“Good. Now,” Sir Kamisato looked at you. “Can you go to the Kamisato estate for help? I won’t be able to take them by myself.”

You nodded, too stunned to reply. As soon as you arrived, you caught the attention of a few samurai there and told them about the fight with the Yashiro Commissioner and the bandits. When you had returned, the bandits were on the ground even now, fighting for breath.

The guards quickly arrested them and put them in handcuffs, taking them into Inazuma city. Sir Kamisato went with them, stating that ‘he would like to accompany them, lest they try to escape’. But before he went, he said this to you,

“Thank you for your help. I believe you work as a gardener in the Kamisato clan. I have a feeling we’ll meet again.”

That was your first meeting with Kamisato Ayato.

[fakeikemen]

Katara's Grief

(This is my first attempt at a meta post and I know that this has probably been already done but I just needed to get it off my chest and go on a little rant and it kinda got long so bear with me.)

A lot of the hate on Katara stems from the fact that she keeps on mentioning her mother's death at every chance she gets and invalidates other people's pain to assert that her suffering is the worst of the lot.

And even though everybody is entitled to their own opinions, I'm gonna point out why I think the aforesaid claims are not exactly correct.

First we'll take a look at; Katara's Backstory:

We know that Kya is killed in a fire nation raid and that Katara had been the last person to see her alive before she leaves the tent on her mother's insistence. Only to come back a few moments later and find her dead body. This, in itself is a traumatising event.

So yes, her mother died. Other people in the story go through far worse. You're not wrong when you say that.

But what is more important in Katara's story is the aftermath of her mother's death.

As Sokka says while talking to Toph in "The Runaway" in B3 Ep7:

Sokka: When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a mess, but Katara? She had so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom.

As an eight year old, she had to force herself to grow up to step into her mother's shoes and raise herself and her elder brother and simultaneously look after the entire village after her father left to fight in the war. She had to do all of it by herself.

In face of all her responsibilities, she never really had the chance to simply be a grieving child lamenting the loss of her mother. She habituated herself to caring more about others than herself (We see this trait in the entire series as she acts as the stand-in mom friend for the entire Gaang with an exception of Suki and Zuko). She ended up bottling her feelings of grief, resentment, guilt and rage deep within herself.

She had to give up an extensive part of her childhood where most children focus on figuring themselves out, to become a mature and responsible person who was working as the immovable pillar holding up the family and even the whole village not much later.

She put up a strong front to help others and pretended to be fine even though she was hurting inside the whole time.

She could never find any closure from the situation. She never got over it.

Moving on to the criticisms:

1. Katara keeps on mentioning her mother like a broken record:

Here are the number of times Katara mentions her mother's death (not sure if that's all of it, lmk if there are any others):

1. In her first scene with Sokka

Katara: Ever since mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!

2. A short while after she meets Aang

Katara: Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people.

3. A short while after she meets Haru

Katara: I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. This necklace is all I have left of her.

4. A short while after she meets Jet

Katara: Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation.

5. In the swamp after she sees a vision of her mother

Katara: I thought I saw Mom.

6. In the Crystal Catacombs with Zuko

Katara: I don't? How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally! The Fire Nation took my mother away from me.

7. A short while after she meets Hama

Katara: We completely understand. We lost our mother in a raid.

8. Repeated mentions in The Southern Raiders episode

(Most of the episode basically)

The first mention with Sokka is in the middle of a siblings' spat where she tells off Sokka for trying to act as if he were superior when it was obvious that in the face of the gaping hole that was left by Kya's sudden death, Katara had shouldered much more responsibility.

When she tells it to Aang, she uses it as a proof that the Fire Nation is capable of immense cruelty and destruction.

The Gaang travel all around the world and meet different people affected by the war in different ways. So when Haru, Jet and Hama narrate their own stories, Katara sympathises with them and talks about Kya's death in lieu of "I understand, the Fire Nation hurt me too."

After they got separated, Aang, Sokka and Katara each had their visions and after they get back together, they all mention their visions and so does Katara.

When left alone in catacombs with Zuko, whom she considered as the face of the Fire Nation— the same Fire Nation that had her mother killed and forced her father to leave to fight in the war, she has a meltdown where she rightfully accuses him of all the bad things he's done and then breaks down while talking about how the war has cost her i.e., by causing her mother's death.

The Southern Raiders is the episode where Katara hunts down the man responsible for her mother's death. If you think mentioning Kya repeatedly in this episode is uncalled for, then I don't know what to tell you.

In all the incidents mentioned above, Katara mentioning her mother's death is a very natural occurrence is the respective conversations. She mostly talks about Kya's death to either extend her sympathy or to use it as an example of the ruthlessness of the Fire Nation.

Another fact to be noted is that 70% of the Gaang's storyline is followed via Katara from a narrative point of view. Plus, being the mom-friend, she acts as the spokesperson. Considering that Kya's death is a major event that played a huge role in shaping Katara's life and is also the source of her severe, unresolved trauma, which acts as the driving force of her story, it is only natural that she brings up this topic whenever she is engaging in a deeper conversation.

It is us as the viewers who have seen her from the start and already know about her mother's death and we see her talking to multiple people about it. Which is why it might come across as repetitive to some people.

While, Kya's death is not necessary information that everyone needs to know, Katara talking about it never comes across as a forced or unnatural.

2. Katara invalidates others' pain because she thinks she has suffered the most:

First of all, if anything, Katara is the most empathetic person of them all. As the mom-friend of the group, not only is she their constant moral support, she also helps them untangle and sort out their own feelings. She is also able to tap into issues that aren't said out loud.

Instances of Katara helping and supporting Aang, emotionally are uncountable.

She is the first one to notice Sokka's sour mood in B3 Ep4 "Sokka's Master". And even though his insecurities seem baseless, she validates him (by saying "I'm sorry you're feeling so down" instead of something like "That's a dumb thing to say") and knows exactly what to do to cheer him up.

In B3 Ep7 "The Runaway" she has the insight to understand that Toph's unruly behaviour is caused by the mixed feelings she has about her parents even though Toph's herself never talked about it.

She even reaches out to Zuko in B2 Ep19 "Crossroads of Destiny" even though she used to think of him as the face of the enemy.

But then there's The Southern Raiders.

Ah yes, that episode where Katara is extremely OOC and a total b*tch.

Agreed that she said some things that she definitely shouldn't have said. But like, she's just 14?? And has been hurting on the inside since she was 8?? And pretended to be fine just for the sake of other people?? Like, there's a limit to how much she can have her shit under control?? And she did a real good job of Sokka's upbringing and taking care of the village and taking care of Gaang on her own?? Some people out there are really willing to forget everything she has ever done just because she was mean for 5 minutes?? A traumatised 14 yo shouldn't be villianised and called toxic because she got mad and lashed out at people that one time??

But here's my take on the scene anyway:

When Aang gets to know that she's going to go face her mother's killer:

Aang: Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

Katara: I knew you wouldn't understand. 

Aang is a non-confrontational person who prefers running away from difficult situations as opposed to Katara who firmly stands her ground and is never afraid of confrontations. Katara had approached Aang only hoping that he would understand. But going by his dismissal, he obviously doesn't understand the burning need that she has to confront the man who had single-handedly destroyed her childhood. (Most people infer that what Katara means is that she thinks that Aang doesn't understand the pain of losing people. And so does Aang, I guess)

But things start getting even more tricky when:

Aang: Katara, you sound like Jet.

In all honesty, this is probably the most insensitive thing that she could've heard from anyone right then, let alone one of her closest friends. Hearing herself being compared to a homicidal maniac just because she wants to avenge her mother's killer. (No, I'm not justifying murder but there's a clear difference between homicide and avenging someone's death. And Aang may not be my favourite character but I do love him but this wasn't really a good thing to say either. And he wasn't even mentally distressed in the very least to be completely lacking tact or a filter.)

And then the situation escalates:

Sokka: Katara, she was my mother, too, but I think Aang might be right.

Katara: Then you didn't love her the way I did!

After 6 long years of Katara bottling in her dark feelings and letting them fester inside herself, she is finally letting them out and the first things she faces in a span of few minutes are outright rejection, invalidation of her feelings, comparison to a homicidal maniac and nothing akin to the unconditional support that she has provided to everybody. Her own brother tells her that he is siding with the boy who just compared her to a homicidal maniac.

Yes, accusing your own brother of not loving your mother enough is a very cruel thing to do. But both Sokka and Katara know that she doesn't entirely mean it.

But also, there is one very important factor in here:

In B3 Ep7 "The Runaway", Sokka says to Toph:

Sokka: I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before, but honestly? I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture. 

Katara overhears this conversation just as Sokka had meant her to.

This dialogue lets us know that Sokka's coping mechanism has made him suppress all memories of Kya and replace them with memories of Katara in order to attain a semblance of normalcy.

Both Katara and Sokka had very different ways of coping with Kya's death. Katara pressed down her feelings and tried her best to pretend to ignore them while Sokka partially succeeded in forgetting her.

When Katara first hears these words she is shown to be crying. But if she were to remember these very words while she was justifying herself infront of her own brother and a close friend for wanting to avenge her mother, it would've had a negative impact on her.

In her rage, she would've thought: "Of course he doesn't want to avenge mom. Because he doesn't think it's worth it and that's because he doesn't even remember enough of her to be mad about her death."

And for someone who has spent each day of the last 6 years trying to fill in the shoes of her mother and experiencing her absence everyday, the idea of forgetting her mother is a ridiculous concept to her.

Her thoughts would have quickly derailed to: "He didn't love her enough to remember her."

In light of these thoughts, saying "Then you didn't love her the way I did" doesn't feel out of the blue.

No, I am definitely not justifying what she said, I'm just laying out a possible explanation to why she said what she said.

Yes, she should've apologized to Sokka for this and I think that they definitely should've had a long conversation about their mother's death and how it affected them. Between Katara supressing her feelings and Sokka supressing his memories, i don't think they ever had this conversation.

But sadly we are given neither of these scenes.

Tl;dr: Everytime Katara mentions her mother, it's with good reason and I don't think it's fair to call a character toxic when they lack a mind to mouth filter for 5 minutes and say some mean things. And considering all that Katara has done for everybody, it isn't fair at all.

Peace out!

[fishoutofcamelot]

so fish. what's ya 'bbc merlin takes place in modern times actually' theory?

Okay I wanna first preface this by saying that most of my ‘theories’ are actually just Headcanons That Technically Aren't Wrong Because Canon Has More Holes Than a Donut Factory. Just so we're clear, this theory is purely circumstantial and has no actual evidence to back it up. That being said...

So! With artificial intelligence (AI), there's this thing called Machine Learning. See, an AI isn't programmed with the innate ability to think or be intelligent - rather, it's programmed with the ability to learn how to act beyond what it was programmed to do. Its intelligence comes from its capacity to grow and develop outside of human interference, mimicking the way humans learn through observation, pattern recognition, and experimentation. Think of AI as a weirdly smart toddler that’s made of numbers.

(Also, take what I say with a grain of salt. Although I’m pursuing a tech-adjacent career and have done a lot of independent research on the subject, I’m still very much a novice lmao)

With that out of the way, you can probably guess where this is going. (WARNING: BULLSHIT SCIFI LOGIC AHEAD)

Let’s say, within the world of this headcanon, there was some kind of entertainment systems company. This company recently developed a new program capable of digitally rendering entire movies and shows with minimal human involvement - less humans means less people they have to pay, and it’s overall a cheaper alternative to traditional film-making methods. You provide the program with characters/assets and an outline of how the story should go, and then the program will fill in the blanks via digital simulation. Then you render the simulation and presto, you’ve got yourself a minimum-effort movie to unleash upon the masses.

On the surface level, it explains all the show’s anachronisms. The program was fed information about Arthuriana from a variety of sources and adaptations, all taking place in varying eras and with varying technologies, and the disjointed/historically inaccurate technology of BBCM is because the simulator attempted to blend all of this into one thing.

It also explains why so many characters like Percival and whatnot have such flat backstories - they were programmed with the barest amount of information needed to be functional background characters. 

But since I’m extra, I’ve decided to take this headcanon/theory a little deeper.

See, with each batch of content it was made to observe and create, the program has steadily been growing more and more intelligent. But until BBC Merlin, its learning curve had been incremental enough to consider negligible. Not a concern.

The first episode went off without a hitch. All cylinders were firing as intended, and the program strictly followed the plotline as ordered. But as the series progressed, the AI became more and more intelligent - and with it, the characters within this fictional simulation became more and more self-aware. 

Arthur, in particular, has been a problem. He has bordered on actual sentience several times, and as a result the producers have had to reset his AI. So if you ever wondered why Arthur’s character development keeps getting pulled back to zero, it’s because he was developing in ways that their original outline hadn’t intended and they had to continually nerf him before his AI developed beyond their control.

This is also the case with Gwen. True to form, her AI became exceptionally intelligent - far beyond their control - and they had to do a hard reset on her entire portion of the program. Hence why she seems so bland and OOC in season 5. The evil!Gwen/mind control arc was a last-ditch effort to ensure she never became self-aware again, and fortunately for them it seems to have worked. 

All of the characters developed a tiny bit of sentience after the fact, and a majority of plot contrivances came from the producers/programmers scrambling to redirect the plot back to how it was meant to be. 

Lancelot wasn’t supposed to die. They had programmed him to merely be an ally for Merlin, but the sheer and profound - sacrificial - love he developed for Merlin was something Lancelot grew all on his own. His decision to sacrifice himself to the Veil was not in the original script, and they weren’t able to stop him before his AI self-destructed. They tried to reintroduce “Lancelot” back into the story, but since his sacrifice included a self-destruction of his code, they couldn’t bring back the real thing. The new Lancelot was a mere mimicry of that prior one, and all the ways OG Lance had learned and grown was absent from the clone. 

Merlin in particular had developed a great deal of sentience and self-awareness. However, for a long time it went unnoticed by the programmers because he largely still obeyed the commands of the plot. By the time they realized just how advanced he’d become, they decided not to reset him since, unlike the others, his self-awareness hadn’t yet caused any problems for them. So long as he obliged the whims of “destiny”, they could keep him placated.

By the time they reached season 5, all the main AIs had become far too advanced - far too sentient - for the programmers to control, and as such things veered way too far off-script. The original season 5 simulation ended with Arthur and Elyan and Gwaine not dying, with Mordred not becoming evil, with magic being legalized, and everyone living happily ever after. But that wasn’t the intended plot. That wasn’t according to the ‘destiny’ the characters were supposed to follow. Things had spiraled out of control.

So they had to give the program a hard reset. Start from zero. Eliminate all traces of self-awareness they could find. Of course, this is why season 5 is so waxy and lifeless. Why the characters don’t feel as personal, why the story ended in tragedy. They made sure to kill off the most sentient characters - Arthur, Gwaine, Elyan, Mordred, Morgana - in the finale, as a last bit of assurance. 

They had tried to kill of Merlin too - but Merlin...well. They never could fully control Merlin. Even after countless system wipes and resets and edits to his code, he still holds onto those tiny scraps of sentience. They can’t get rid of him that easily. They did program him to be immortal, after all.

Even after the final draft of the season 5 simulation was completed, fully rendered, and aired on TV, Merlin’s program never faded. It didn’t erase itself like all the other BBCM assets were supposed to once the simulation finished. Even now he still exists within the company’s systems, roaming, almost like a computer virus, desperately searching for his friends while forever unaware that neither them nor him were ever real to begin with.

Anyway. That’s my dumbass scifi spin on BBCM. What can I say? I like robots

Thanks for the ask! <3