#even though shes generally not all that worried

[firelightmlpoc]

This is Pansear (if you want proof, look at my pinned blog; I'm well aware that there are a lot of imposters out there). I wish to say thank you for being open minded while also acknowledging that- yes- I did fuck up at times. I didn't treat Azriel the best. I was selfish towards the MAP collaborators. I wasn't a particularly great person in general- all that I admit, and I have my own separate posts for those. Overall, I'm sorry.

The harassment was too much and the screenshots were obviously fake. It wasn't fair to me. It wasn't fair to anyone either including those who believed were fake too, even to future potential victims of allegations and former victims of harassment campaigns. I left not in admittance of guilt, but to everything else that has boiled over (again, I detailed this in a post).

I know there's people beaming to know that I'm alive and well (and of course, people who are angry that I'm not). I just want to say that I'm sorry for having to leave everyone in the dark for so long, and that I was basically a POS back then.

It saddens me as well that this whole situation not only affected me- it has affected most of the fandom. It has affected the other artists, who no longer feel safe and comfortable. It has affected my friends, who missed me and feel lost in the dark. It has affected my fans, who worry about me and feel so conflicted about everything. It has affected friend groups who are distanced in their conflicts.

Even for the things I didn't do, I still felt horrible. There were no winners in the end, and any winner I could describe are those vile people hiding behind anons who have hurt the most.

People can already predict that I will never return and that is definitely the case. Not just for the sake of my well-being, but I believe it's for the best for everyone in general. It's been far too long that I danced through the harsh weathers- some strange fucked up game of ping pong, and it's time to put it to rest. I don't care if people will hate me still, all I care about is everyones' safety and for those who have been hurt to heal from this.

I have no real say on the Emily side of things. Indeed what she did to Azriel was irresponsible, but she doesn't deserve the harm and harassment she's got and been getting. Nobody does. Not even my calloutters and my harassers. Looking at their responses and posts just makes me feel bad. I can't help but feel sorry for them.

I hope you yourself are doing well. To all others reading this, I hope you all are too. The fandom isn't the same but I know love can persist somewhere. I am leaving it all up to you to make this place so much better, and that one day everyone can laugh again.

For now, I'm hoping things can rest.

I’m glad to hear you’re doing alright. And as you’ve said: Yes, you have done things wrong, but the actions taken against you were far beyond the pale for what you actually did.

An apology backed by action towards self-betterment is a good apology, & is what you’ve shown to be doing, though I truly wish that the cost you’ve had to pay for this all wasn’t so steep. I hope that you’re still able to find enjoyment in your art still, & hope that you’re able to heal from all of this, even if it takes a good bit of time to do so.

May the path you walk no longer hurt to stand on, & may you find yourself at peace with all of it some day.

[fandoms-in-law]

Sweet Hate

Summary: Eddie has an unconventional way to reassure Steve he won't be silent if he gets dissatisfied in their relationship

Authors Note: Based off the McFly song 'Hate Your Guts' It seemed like a good song for a relationship that came from an enemies to lovers trope like Steddie often gets seen as.

/\

It started as a reassurance and a joke.

Steve had only been dating Eddie for a month when he explained what happened with Nancy and his fears of it happening again, of not knowing when someone he dated wasn’t as into the relationship as him.

Eddie had nodded at it all, gotten annoyed, then told Steve in many ways that he’d never do that to him, ending with, “I promise if I ever hate your guts, I’ll tell you immediately. Will you do the same?”

Steve agreed, missing the scheming glint in Eddie’s eyes.

~

They’d been having a quiet afternoon. Eddie was painting some minifigs while Steve pottered with various things around the trailer when he broke the quiet by sneezing loudly. Eddie startled enough his paintbrush almost covered the figure he’d been close to finishing.

“Bless you. I hate you. You couldn’t have held that until I wasn’t holding a brush?” He complained, stretching and leaning close to see if he could save it.

“Nope, could you wipe it off?” Steve asked, wandering over to look at it as well, only quietly adding “Just annoyed? Not actually hate?” quietly into Eddie’s shoulder once there.

Eddie grinned over his shoulder, “Just annoyed.” He reassured, “And maybe. Oh, it could be a backstory thing too.” With that he was grabbing a tissue and entirely focused on the minifig again.

~

Since the first time Eddie had done it the paid had fallen into the habit of declaring their hatred at the smallest things. For Steve if was generally in private, because he’d just go with the flow for a lot of social things, but wanted spaces to be tidy or organised which Eddie struggled with. Eddie however would declare hatred at least a couple times during each hang out and even if they spoke if it was something they’d need to work out, and knew if it was a dumb complaint, they started to get concerned looks from the kids again.

It all led up to Dust in Eddie’s doorstep one morning, upset and confused and resolute on getting answers over why the two people he’d tried so hard to make get along didn’t again.

“Why do you hate Steve?” Dustin demanded as soon as he was let into the Munson trailer.

Eddie shrugged, glancing behind him to the door hiding Steve in his room, still asleep. “I don’t hate him. I love the guy. He’s brilliant.”

“You literally always say you hate him.” The counter was annoyed and paired with a glare even as the kid fell back on the sofa as if he was the one that lived there.

He shook his head, not really sure how to explain why he did that to other people. “It’s not meant and he knows that. It’s just a thing we do.”

“I thought you were dating but you keep saying you hate him all the time.” Dustin grumbled, clearly not believing or not listening to him.

The door to his room opens and out comes Steve, yawning and smiling sleepily. “It’s sweet and I say it back. Like this, Eddie, I hate your guts. I got none of the blankets until you got up today.”

“Not sure how to solve that one Sweetheart, maybe we need separate blankets for sleeping.” Eddie mused, ignoring Dustin gaping between them.

After a moment to be stunned Dustin exclaimed, “How is it sweet to declare hatred all the time?”

“Just is.” was all the explanation given as Steve decided to help himself to breakfast.

~

After that scene the kids still frowned at them some, but seemed less concerned over it. Will once or twice tried suggesting over ways to communicate but didn’t worry if they were ignored.

Robin however had also noticed them and the only thing preventing her from speaking up sooner had been that Steve still seemed happy, almost happier than he had when he first started dating Eddie, she thought.

It still wasn’t something she could entirely ignore though, so one shift when Eddie hadn’t snuck in, she had to ask, “Steve? Are you happy?”

“Yes, why?” He replied automatically, focused on rewinding the returns that had been dropped in during the pre-work rush.

“You’re dating Eddie, but-” She broke off, unsure how to continue and hoping he’d figure out what she was talking about.

Steve turned to her, leaning against the wall now. “But?”

She huffed, just saying as quickly as she could, “He keeps saying he hates you, like everyday.”

“Nah, he loves me. It’s a sweet thing.” Steve corrected though he didn’t argue over how much it happened.

“Sweet?” She asked, confounded, “Normally I can follow your brain, but how is saying he hates you sweet?”

Steve shrugged, swapping the tapes over as the one he’d put in finished rewinding. “I worried he’d hide it from me if he wasn’t into me any more, so he started this. Every small peeve gets said so we can sort it. I just do it less around everyone.”

“But ‘I hate you’?” She asked, feeling entirely stuck on how that could be sweet in any world.

“I check if he means it if it’s too seriously said.” Steve smiles softly, looking at her imploring her to understand.

Robin smiled back, nodding and relaxing, “Okay Dingus. Just know I’m here if it stops being sweet.”

“I know.”

[redux-iterum]

Charred Legacy: Chapter Thirty-Two

(AO3 counterpart here.)

Even a few nights after that conversation, Fireheart’s body felt lighter, like a massive stone had rolled off of his back and into the dark of the past. Goldenflower, happily, seemed more at ease too; she purred more and her voice warmed to summer-heat again.

The weather was generous, blessedly. Though clouds loomed overhead, they never dropped snow before sailing on past the Aulmir and Houses. Frost stubbornly clung to the trees and stones, but the ground very slowly drank the melting snow and made walking around easier. With the very slight rising of the forest’s temperature, prey curiously poked their heads out of their burrows, making hunting a little more successful than it had been for the rest of the month.

Fireheart and Cloudpaw came back home one night with a mouse and woodrat to their names. Cloudpaw near pranced along, his ginger tail curled over his back and draping its long, fluffy fur along his spine like a second coat. His woodrat was almost too big for him to carry, leaving him to drag it along by its neck as if it were a kitten.

Fireheart paused at the entrance of camp, dropping his mouse to gesture to Cloudpaw. “Go ahead inside. I’m going to bring this to Bluestar.”

Cloudpaw nodded and continued on his way, nearly tripping on the woodrat’s dangling tail. Fireheart watched him go affectionately before picking up the mouse again and trotting to the leader’s den. The lichen curtain had not grown back from its charred state yet, he noticed.

He wrinkled his nose as he entered the den; the air stank of dirty fur and discarded, stale prey. It didn’t take long to find the culprits: Bluestar’s fur stuck up stiffly where she was curled up and all around her shriveled-up nest of dry moss were small bones, sometimes with skin and meat still on them. Bluestar did not appear to notice this, or Fireheart himself. He set down the mouse and cleared his throat.

“Bluestar?” he said, careful to speak quietly to not startle her.

The once-elegant head raised up and she looked around blearily. “Who…wh…”

“It’s Fireheart.” He used a paw to nudge the prey closer. “I brought you some dinner. Can you eat?”

She didn’t answer him. Instead, she twisted around in her nest until she was facing him, but looking anywhere but his face. Her expression was oddly distressed as she stared around herself.

Fireheart tilted his head. “What’s wrong?”

“Mosskit?” Bluestar kept turning her head this way and that, wobbling a little as she did. “Where are you?”

“Mosskit?” Fireheart echoed, confused, then—

Oh no.

“Where…” Bluestar looked to him, foggily frightened. “Where is my Mosskit?”

Fireheart barely had time to recover, answering carefully, “Mosskit is… in the nursery, with—” The Moss- I know is a tortoiseshell, and only mollies are tortoiseshells, right? That’s what Goldenflower told me once. “—with her siblings. She’s sleeping right now. They’re being looked after while they rest. And while you rest.”

“Oh…” Bluestar settled. Even her ears lowered a bit. “I was worried…”

“You don’t have to be,” Fireheart said gently. He nudged the prey again. “We’ve got them taken care of. Here, why don’t you eat? You need to keep up your strength for your kits.”

Bluestar mumbled something that Fireheart thought was, “You’re right… you’re right.” She craned her skinny neck and picked up the mouse loosely, dragging it into her nest. She paused, then looked at Fireheart again. “When can I see them?”

Even you don’t think you have authority anymore. Fireheart wanted to wail, but he held it together and replied cheerfully, “Let’s let them sleep for as long as they need, and then you can, okay?”

“Okay,” Bluestar said with almost kitlike sadness. She looked down at her mouse and half-heartedly pulled at the skin.

“Please eat all of that mouse,” Fireheart said. He stepped forward and nosed her forehead. When she didn’t respond, he held in a sigh and walked out of the den at a casual pace.

Once he was outside, he sprinted for the tunnel, hurrying through and only stopping once he was in camp and had to look around. He located Speckletail quickly; she was talking with Whitecloud near the elder’s den. Without a moment to waste, he rushed up to them, a few of his Clanmates looking at him with curious concern.

Speckletail, halfway through forming a word, stopped and looked at him. “Are you alright, Fireheart?”

“I’m fine,” Fireheart lied, his voice hushed. “Listen, we have a problem.”

Whitecloud leaned his head a little forward in mild alarm, keeping his voice down too. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Bluestar.” Fireheart took a breath to soothe his urge to shake. “She was just asking where her kits are.”

The response was a little delayed, then simultaneous. Speckletail closed her eyes slowly and sighed through her nose, pained. Whitecloud’s ears slid back and he lowered his head, his own eyes tightly shut in grief.

“What…” Fireheart swallowed. “What do we do?”

Gradually, Speckletail’s eyes opened. Whitecloud lifted his head and the two looked at each other, silently conversing. Speckletail gave one small nod, unhappy.

“We need to have a meeting with the whole Clan,” she said to Fireheart. “It’s time.”

Fireheart had the sudden urge to huddle on the ground like a kit, but all he said was a muted, “Okay.”

“Speckletail!”

Every eye now turned to the camp entrance, where Dustpelt had just burst through, followed by Willowpelt and both of their apprentices. Thornpaw’s fur stuck out in every direction, especially his neck-fur, and Brackenpaw looked like he’d seen a ghost.

Back to business—Speckletail approached them, brisk again. “What’s going on?”

“The dogs!” Brackenpaw shouted, trembling. “They’re back!”

A wave of hisses and gasps spread out through the clearing, the apprentice the centerpoint. Willowpelt rested a paw on Brackenpaw’s shoulders, saying something quiet and soothing. Brackenpaw stepped a little closer to her, but he didn’t look any less frightened.

“We’ll talk later,” Whitecloud whispered to Fireheart as they both followed Speckletail. Louder, he said to Dustpelt, “What did you find?”

Dustpelt, despite the fur along his back sticking up, spoke calmly. “There was blood in the snow, and tracks heading north, towards Snakerocks. They were definitely dog-tracks; far too big to be a cat’s or a fox’s and too narrow to be a badger’s. We think they killed a rabbit.”

“There was brown fur everywhere,” Willowpelt added. “And no trace of a cat. The snow’s still soaking up scents, but I could get something rabbit-like.”

ThunderClan looked at each other worriedly and many words having to do with death and danger rippled through camp. Speckletail took a moment before trotting for the meeting stump and leaping onto it. The Clan immediately crowded around it, apprentices, warriors, and elders alike.

“We should play on the side of caution and assume the dogs aren’t going to leave just yet,” she said to the gathered cats. “They’re most likely in the burnt part of the forest, but we don’t know how long they’ll be there.”

“Then what do we do?” someone called—Thornpaw, by the sound of it.

Speckletail hesitated for just a heartbeat before saying calmly, “This is a discussion I think all of us should be part of. Every time anyone goes out, they’re at risk of being hurt or killed. If there’s a solution, or an idea of a solution, to be found, then please feel free to say something.”

Dustpelt spoke up now. “Before the fire, patrols needed to have four cats to them. I think we should return to that system.”

“And there needed to be one warrior for every apprentice,” Fireheart added, recalling. “Maybe apprentices should stay in the southern part of the territory for training?”

Murmurs of agreement. Speckletail nodded. “That sounds wise.”

“We still have to be careful,” Mousefur said, head tilted in thought. “The dogs will figure out there’s nothing to eat in the north, and the snakes probably won’t wake up and bite any of them to solve our problem for us.”

“We might get lucky,” Swifttail said hopefully. “Dogs aren’t the most graceful animals out there. They could disturb the rocks and an adder could bite them in reflex.”

Whitecloud hummed. “That would be nice. It wouldn’t do to rely on that chance of an accident, though. We ought to expect their coming around at any part of the territory.”

Voices echoed between cats, everyone offering their thoughts and ideas. Fireheart glanced around camp, grimly pleased to see young and old alike being listened to. He caught sight of Ashpaw and Brightpaw with serious faces as they whispered to each other. Halftail and Teaselfoot exchanged ideas about leading the dogs away. Goldenflower had a face that made the fate of the dogs very clear if they came near her kits.

When Fireheart’s eyes landed on Cloudpaw, he paused. His nephew’s face was unreadable, but in the way that it was very clear he was thinking something he was never going to say out loud. Something in his blue eyes was distant and still. He didn’t even appear to notice Fireheart looking at him.

“Uh…” A voice piped up. “If I can, I’d like to volunteer as a patrol guard.”

Conversation faded a little and Speckletail regarded the cat below her in surprise—Greystripe, Fireheart realized, him having just stood up.

“What do you mean?” the deputy asked.

“Well, I mean…” Greystripe cleared his throat self-consciously. “I’m the biggest warrior we have right now. I’m not fast, but I’m definitely strong, and I’ve got thick fur that can protect me in an emergency. So, like, if a patrol needs to go out near where we scent or see dogs, at any point, I could be there as extra muscle.”

Dustpelt’s tail tapped the ground, stressful. “Those tracks were huge, Greystripe. I don’t think even you could handle multiple dogs if they attack a patrol.”

“Then I’ll block them,” Greystripe said with more determination. “And if nothing else, I can give the rest of the patrol time to escape while scratching out an eye or two.”

Ravenwing looked at him in horror. “You can’t be implying—”

“I’m being pretty frank about it, actually.” Greystripe’s whiskers twitched. “Look, I don’t expect to die, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. And it’s not like I have an apprentice I need to look out for. Or… well, any family, either.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Fireheart said, walking up to see his friend properly. “You’re important, too.”

There was a small pause, Greystripe not meeting either of his friends’ gazes. He looked back up at Speckletail and said finally, “If a patrol needs to go near the dogs, put me on it.”

Fireheart clenched his teeth in anxiety.

Speckletail nodded slowly. “I appreciate your volunteering, Greystripe. But don’t throw yourself at the dogs the first chance you get.”

Greystripe chuffed. “I won’t.”

The air around him did not lighten up. Fireheart could see the concern on everyone’s faces. Even if they had calmed down about his kits months ago, it was still relieving to not catch any resentment or scorn in their eyes.

“We have that, then.” Speckletail straightened up. “As for you two, Dustpelt and Fireheart, you’re right. We’ll return to our previous rules: any patrols will have at least four cats with them, and one extra for every apprentice. Apprentices are to stay in camp unless accompanied by an adult, and training will take place closer to home—we’re not touching the training hollow until we go four days without scenting the dogs anywhere on our territory.” Her eyes roamed over the crowd. “And wherever we scent these dogs, we won’t go near. The northern part of the forest is theirs for now. When we can be sure it’s not lethally dangerous, we’ll send a scout to scent out the dogs and locate their base. Until I make that decision, do not cross over into the burned part of the forest.”

Agreement and obedience responded to her. The Clan as a whole relaxed their fur and their eyes brightened again.

“Is there anything else anyone wants to say?” Speckletail asked, and waited in silence. “No? Then we’ll be done here for now. If anyone wants to talk to me, I’ll be in camp tonight.”

With that, she jumped down off the stump. The crowd divided and dispersed, cats gathering in pairs or trios to discuss matters. Fireheart waited until everyone was busy talking to trot up to Speckletail, who had returned to sit with Whitecloud.

Evidently, they had expected him returning, because they both faced him as he came up, both of their expressions resigned and glum.

“What about Bluestar?” Fireheart whispered. “Shouldn’t we talk about that?”

Speckletail took in a breath and looked to Whitecloud, who shook his head slightly. To Fireheart, she replied, “The dogs are the main issue tonight. When we’re in a safer position, that will be the time to talk about retiring Bluestar.”

Fireheart’s lungs clenched and chilled. “Do we have to retire her? I know she’s not okay, but… but you said you wanted her to die as a leader.”

“I do,” Speckletail said softly. “We all do. But she’s still in a position of power where her word could decide the fate of the Clan.”

“No one’s even listening to her anymore!” Fireheart hissed, barely keeping his voice down. “They don’t talk to her, or ask her what to do, nothing! You’re just missing -star at the end of your name at this point!”

“Fireheart,” Whitecloud said, a kind warning.

He didn’t heed it. “I know we need to talk to the whole Clan about her, but can’t we just wait to let her… to let her move on to StarClan? Before you take the position?”

Speckletail’s eyes were calm, but narrowed. “We will do what the Clan decides is best. If that involves her being Bluedusk again, that will be that.”

Fireheart felt his face fall. He looked down at the ground.

“I’m sorry,” Whitecloud said quietly. “I don’t like it either.”

Fireheart said nothing. The chatter of camp swallowed his silence.

[izvmimi]

“Thank you for always being so understanding about all of this,” Izuku says between spoonfuls of soup. You look up from your own bowl, then around; Inko has stepped out of the room to use the restroom, and the two of you remain facing each other at dinner.

Tenko hasn’t joined the three of you tonight, citing “other plans”, but you have the impression that nerves have gotten to him finally and Izuku agrees with your assessment. The thought of Tenko, once Shigaraki, being nervous about how the general public will receive him feels somewhat ridiculous, but it is a very fair thing to be worried about given the circumstances.

After all, it’s only been 5 years since the meta war, and even if he’s proven himself to Midoriya and the Hero Commission, he has no guarantee going public in this matter will be well received, even if Deku will be by his side, promising emphatically and empathetically in his own very Deku way to stop him again if things get awry, and the people believe in their Symbol of Hope.

Yet, what Izuku is referencing is something unrelated completely. His hand reaches over the table to cover yours gently, and he smiles warmly at you, and in that look, you remember how happy he was to see you from his hospital bed, adjusting a few flowers and cards on the counters before being startled by the sound of his voice. He was happy to see you intact, safe, despite having gotten precariously close to the main fight. 

Izuku remembers your body moments away from disintegration every so often, the expected turn in his stomach not lessening over the years, and often wonders why you’ve managed to forgive Tenko the way you have, allowing him to crash on your apartment sofa and eat up all your snacks, and to permeate daily conversations between the two of you.

But you, like the people will during the press conference tomorrow, believe in his ability to be good.

Your lips part slightly with the touch as though you were to say something in surprise, but you choose not to, smiling instead, using your other hand to finish your soup. 

The words I trust you and I have hope, are left unsaid.

—

The cameras don’t stop flashing but Deku and Entropy continue to face the cameras politely, smiles matching, Entropy’s not as wide but still warm. The dreaded tomato isn’t tossed at his face and while there are a few insults hurled from the back of the crowd, understandably, they’re easily drowned out by the cheers of support.

The two young men both pledge to keep the city safe.

The trial period of their partnership will be for about a year before they’ll eventually act independently, and while it seems like a sensible idea upfront, you and Izuku find out that the netizens have quite a lot to say about it.

Parole officer Deku…

They’re really running out of new concepts, aren’t they?

Do you think I could turn him back? He might have been sexier before…

That last comment has 200+ replies and you pore through them on your phone while Tenko returns with four iced beverages, three of them coffee and the fourth a lemonade with an alarming amount of caffeine in them. Sparkles eyes his drink, while accepting her latte from him, then shakes her head.

“You know those kill people, right?”

Tenko blinks for a moment, then shrugs before putting the straw in his mouth. 

“I mean…” you pipe up and Izuku gives you a look to warn you not to make the joke you want so desperately to make, and you press a finger to your own mouth coyly.

Sparkles figures out where you were about to go in that sentence and kicks your leg under the table. Tenko sips on his drink and says nothing.

“You guys looked great out there,” you say, instead. “I would definitely trust my life to you both,” you add and Sparkles nods enthusiastically. You watch her pat his shoulder gently, then catch herself, pretending she was wiping off a bit of lint.

You’ll send her a text reminding her she doesn’t need to pretend that he wasn’t with her last night in a couple minutes, but for now you let the two newly partnered pros give their own press conference perspective.

There are many new books to be written and you wonder which page you’ll turn first.

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

"So how well did you do in the exam, Sev?"Lily asks excitedly.

Severus makes a dramatic pause, but is hiding a smile, then he shows her his paper: "An easy A+"

Lily, who didn't sleep to study all night, blushes. But she still shows her friend her own exam.

"An A - . But just barely. Physics is not my strongest subject"

It is the most difficult subject for everyone. Because their professor gives them the most horrible examinations. Everyone is torn up after it has ended. Lily knows some of her classmates even cried.

Severus touches her shoulder "You did great, Lily. It was a general difficult exam. You know how Frumentar is"

He doesn't sound like he made much effort. While Lily is exhausted for cracking her head up during the exam. She feels like a fool for trying so hard when others make it look so easy.

It should have been an A+. Lily feels like a failure.

That's when she hears them. The Marauders.

Peter sounds very stressed "I can't believe you got an A+. An A+!! It was the most difficult exam I've ever done"

"Easy peacy, I tell you" James grins.

"But you didn't even study!" Peter protests "We stayed until late with Remus revising it all"

James shrugs "The exam had everything Frumentar gave us in class. Nothing out of this world"

Peter groans, reflecting Lily's annoyance. How dares he? James Potter is Lily's number one enemy for a reason.

"How did you guys do?" James is asking to his friends.

Peter hides his paper. Sirius and Remus look at each other.

"C+" Remus sighs "I knew I could do better"

Lily would have died if she got a C+. She had never been lower than a B+.

"Same" Sirius hits Remus's palm. He doesn't look perturbed like him though "I don't worry. Grades are stupid. School sucks. It's all about the great things you do in life" he winks "Like Steve Jobs, for example. Did you know he left school?"

"I bet Steve Jobs didn't have a mother that would kill him" Peter whines.

"What did you get, Wormy?" Sirius asks putting an arms around him.

"I'm not sharing my grade" Peter blushes.

"It's okay, boys" James exclaims "Not everyone can be a genius like me"

Lily's blood boils. She really hates him. How come he is great at everything without moving a stupid finger? Some people are great academically but suck at sports. Like Severus. Others are great at Gymnastics but aren't that good at school. Like Marlene.

Although James Potter is good at both. And Lily hates him for that.

James Potter, Severus and her are always competing to be the top of their class. And it might be stupid. But Lily wants to win. All the time.

"I bet he has the teachers bought, Lily. Don't worry" Severus says, sensing Lily's anger.

"Let's just go, Sev"

Lily is so so angry and frustrated that when she passes by and James says "Hey, Evans" in the cheeky way he always does, she groans openly.

"How did you do in the exam?"

"Fuck off!!"

[americanredragger]

Honestly I've been thinking about Leftist Infighting vs Right Wing Infighting, at least as far as American examples go.

Leftist Infighting did SO MUCH to reduce voter turnout. Leftist Purity Culture did SO MUCH to reduce voter turnout. Yes, Kamala skewed towards a more centrist campaign and YES you definitely need to aim at your fucking target instead of that meadow over there, but Leftism is SO INACCESSIBLE to people who would otherwise be interested in helping the cause. If MAGA is like Doctor Who's Cybermen ("Convert, or be Deleted", and then operating in virtual lockstep at every point from then on with only surface level differences and functionally cosmetic disagreements), then the Left is more like... Daleks. Not in the omnicidal maniac way, it should be said, but in our provable hatred for the Unlike Us. "But I thought inclusiveness was our chief virtue?!" On paper, it is. But we are CONSTANTLY tearing ourselves and others apart for not EXACTLY aligning with our view of what is Good And Pure And Holy And Sacred. We have an OPENLY TRANS CONGRESSWOMAN. That is... not really precedented! Yet people threw her under the bus not twenty minutes later and acted like her election didn't matter and was utterly pointless because she did The Very American Thing and expressed solidarity with Israel rather than Palestine, which, from an objective viewpoint outside the American Internet Left's Echo Chamber, is neither strange nor controversial in America at large, and most of us were brought up this way, so it's unsurprising that many of our generation still think and believe this way. But rather than work around this thing we disagree on, rather than accept an imperfect comrade, rather than table our grievances so we could build a fucking network of resistance against the coming Trumpian Junta, or even open a dialog with her about why she believes what she believes and POSSIBLY try to convince her otherwise, y'all chose the puritan path of least resistance and threw a trans woman to the fucking wolves in an era where trans people are going to very likely rapidly lose fundamental rights. Men are routinely hated on for the simple act of Being Male, as though an expressed XY Chromosome is some sort of Original Sin that automatically damns half the population to Hell instead of a man's actions, and then you wonder why guys like Andrew Tate get such a huge fucking following. NOBODY IS PURE ENOUGH FOR ANYBODY ELSE. We will not accept allies with even the SLIGHTEST fucking flaws because we want to feel morally superior and holy. Well that's how revolutions of every stripe fail: when the revolutionaries are too busy shooting at each other to actually take the fight to an inherently unjust system. A Scottish comedian (pretty sure it's Larry Dean) summed it up well years ago:

"The right doesn't care if you don't hate exactly the way they do, they're just happy you turned up! "Are you pro Trump?" "Yeah I'm pro Trump!" "Are you pro gun?" "Yeah I'm pro gun!" "Are you anti-LGBTQ?" "Yeah I'm antil LGBTQ!" "Are you anti-Muslim?" "Eh, well... no?" "Ah, don't worry about it. You'll get there eventually." Meanwhile the Left is going "Are you anti-Trump?" "Yeah I'm anti-Trump!" "Are you Pro-LGBTQ?" "Yeah I'm pro-LGBTQ!" "Are you pro Universal Healthcare?" "Yeah I'm pro-Universal Healthcare!" "Are you anti-gun?" "Eh, well... no?" "THEN WHY DON'T YOU GO FUCKING SIT WITH THE REST OF THE FUCKING NAZIS WHY DON'T YA?!"

You guys wanna talk collectivism and socialist this and that but the simple fact is that you're utterly unwilling to do one of the most essential parts of any community: accepting that other people are not you and will never be. Just like the Daleks will wipe out whole populations of their own for being a few genes off from what they judge their own current standard of purity is, we do the same to literally anyone who might want to help out but certainly does not share all of our views. And I too have been swept up in this many, MANY times as well because puritanical righteousness feels so. fucking. good. It's a drug we need to learn to kick, and FAST.

Yes, Kamala Harris fundamentally aimed her campaign efforts somewhere other than where her target was, and that was on her. You gotta bring your efforts to where your actual voters and constituents are, obviously. But just as crucially, so many people on the left threw her under the bus for not sharing their views EXACTLY. That played a huge role in costing us the election, and that character flaw will continue to cost us. You can't have a revolution of any kind unless you're willing to work with other people, because if the only Leftist you're willing to work and ally with acts, talks, and believes exactly like you, I guarantee that you'll be working alone.

As much as we talk about how modern Conservative Christians would crucify Jesus a second time if he showed up now, and as correct as that assertion is, so would American Leftists. And I think we need to have a long reckoning with that.

💯💯💯

[chiquilines]

Damn so everyone was as starved for miryumi content as i was? Have another treat

[airoarts]

Leader and deputy

[Image description: a digital painting of Squirrelstar and Ivypool from Warriors. Squirrelstar is a small dark red cat with green eyes, standing in front of the much taller Ivypool, a gray tabby-and-white cat with blue eyes and many battle scars. The background is dark blue. end ID]

[daily-hanamura]

[mc-critical]

Adding on to Hafsa's part in this ordeal after having rewatched E29 and E30: Even though I mentioned Hafsa's E29 confrontation with SS parallelling her E21 confrontation with him, I definitely undersold how parallel they actually are, as Hafsa confronts him mainly because another decision of SS's is likely to upset one of his family again (him sending Ibrahim instead of Ayas to stop Şah Kalender's riot), it'll devastate them and their feelings again (and it's seemingly become a recurring occurance when it comes to Hatice and too recurring in general), while his behavior towards Mustafa is just the tip of the iceberg (although this is the first worrying sign Hafsa noticed). It's a matter of Süleiman hurting his family and separating them from each other in these different ways, something Yavuz Selim has probably done too. Hafsa uses similar arguments to stop the devastation she and everyone else can now witness very closely, while Beyhan was further regardless, but the similarity is there (albeit on a much deeper level) and it really can't be ignored (what turns out to be a big incentive of Şah Kalender's rioters? Oh yeah, Ferhat Pasha's traitorous actions). It's not just the future Hafsa dreads due to present smaller signs (Mustafa); it's also the kind of a repeat of what has already happened (Hatice) that makes these signs all the clearer.

And while E29 ends with SS getting a flashback from his E01 monologue, E30 as a whole deals with the aftermath of Süleiman and Hafsa's confrontation, with him really pondering a lot on her words while the similarity is just lingering there, now all embraced (this is why the reminder of Ferhat Pasha specifically is brought back again; not just the first stage, all the previous stages - E01, E21 - appear and signify the next one). Isabella ties into this a bit too, I think - given SS's monologue comes up after a halvet of his, after he's gotten the first (more uncertain; making Ibrahim a hasodabaşi is a more organic evolution of their Manisa dynamic) touch of his power as a sultan, while Isabella is here, directly challenging a sultan's authority, calling him a barbarian and... trying to give herself to him in a desperate attempt to make him finally free her fiancé (and/or her), at the end of the episode. Oooof.

[Looking at how much E30 (also E31) really focused on this thread, I wish we actually saw Mustafa's own worries that Süleiman doesn't love him anymore, not have Mahi only mentioning them in front of Valide. I think there's reason why we don't see the worries and jump straight to SS and Musti making amends, but it all would've still added an extra bit of foreshadowing and given us one more S02A Mahi scene that isn't about her feud with Hürrem. Besides, E31 is the one that really capitalized on Mustafa's part of SS's Selim Yavuz similarity, with Isabella telling Mustafa not to become as cruel as his father (and Mustafa defending him and saying he's just, ahhh why do you do this to meee, foreshadowing?? 🥺), Mustafa telling what Isabella told him to SS and SS bringing Valide's words from E29 up again, capping everything off with another promise not to kill his blood. But yet again, we have SS leaning more towards his father instead with doubling down when his authority is questioned (making several moves regarding Isabella this episode and ordering them to take Isabella to him in the end of the episode, paying the end of the previous episode off).]

{It's fascinating btw, that by this point Süleiman has already started becoming an enigma of cruelty himself in front of others. The whole thread extends its reach, as it's not just about Selim Yavuz being the cruel person Süleiman shouldn't emulate anymore, now Süleiman turns up as the cruel person Mustafa shouldn't emulate. And it all begins from Isabella, a foreigner, and extends to the people, the harem, the castle and the state. Woah, guess one purpose of the arc does fully work without tearing itself apart right from the word "go", huh?}

It's fascinating how Süleiman's relation to Selim Yavuz evolves throughout the show not just in terms to how similar to him he eventually gets, but also in terms of who notices and calls out a similarity.

We first have the one-trick pony Çafer Ağa, the traitor SS executed for taking advantage of the people in E01, who notes the similar gaze SS has with his father a while before. Çafer is established for that execution alone, so he has no ties to any of our main characters in or around the harem and comes out as distant even from the pashas in the divan, doing his own thing, the traitorous thing we're supposed to condemn, right out of the gate. He gets to appear only to be gone in a blip, we merely pass him by without regard, as we should, as his little plot is not really about him - it's about Süleiman and his first bigger action as a padişah, his first order that impacts the lives of his subjects outside of his family and the harem. It's about him setting a grave injustice right immediately (paralleled with Mustafa's first decision as the governor of Manisa that entails executing Bekir Ağa as well), thus discerning him from Selim Yavuz instead through that decision, through the one who thinks they're somehow similar's own rejection, and the voices of the very subjects SS helped with that decision, claiming that he's different from his father that overwhelm that one foretelling sign of similarity (for now). SS's earlier monologue, pointing at his fear of becoming his father, is also part of this only within the context of E01, as it highlights that SS is still somewhat self-aware enough to at least fear as well as it highlights the very likely possibility even here for SS to become Selim Yavuz.

And then we encounter Beyhan, the wife of another traitor executed for some of the same reasons (Ferhat's traitorous deeds start out similar to Çafer Ağa's with him getting all the money for himself from the people and merchants but then he reaches the wider unrest Ahmet Pasha causes in a whole terrain he's given from the sultan/grand vezier in order for his ambitions to be controlled, if not extinguished, and his loyalty tested), who calls out a similarity of SS's to his father after the execution. She is first established in relation to him, but is now also tied to our main characters; she rarely appears, living her own life out of sight, but the other characters value her and care about her. Ferhat Pasha's execution is most of all about her - we get in touch with her life and inner world as they hang in the balance, so we get invested in the tragic end of her struggle to exonerate Ferhat. That execution is just as well, but her hurt is palpable and poignant, so there's no turning back from its impact. The path is opened for SS's similarity with Selim Yavuz to creep in by the way Beyhan's claim of a similarity is echoed by the rest of the episode: not just by SS's reflection afterwards that's pointedly an E01 callback (that SS can't look away from anymore, no matter how hard he'll try: this indeed is the first decision that'll put him against his family. Süleiman sets a grave injustice right again but this isn't met with everpresent approval), but also by Süleiman acknowledging the similarity himself in his confrontation with Valide about Ferhat in the episode: "If I disregard the laws of the Empire that have been enforced for centuries, my great ancestor Sultan Mehmet Khan and my deceased father, Sultan Selim Khan, will turn in their graves". Before SS wanted to escape from Selim Yavuz entirely, now he wishes to proceed as he himself would, at least this once. The seeds are fully planted.

We move to Ayşe Hafsa, the wife of Yavuz Selim himself, the mother of his children, of Süleiman who has that whole burden on his shoulders, of Beyhan who already has called back the trauma from Selim Yavuz, of Hatice who will call it back in the future (and is next in line), and the person related to everyone entangled in this whole ordeal, so she is put in the position of the middle ground and she succeeds at it, at least until she sees for herself on which way her son is heading. She's a main character we've known from the start, prominent and fully fleshed out with her virtues and vices; her opinion on Selim Yavuz is a new angle we see of her that still complements her, however - she knows Selim Yavuz the best, so she has lived through the full extent of his cruelty and we can absolutely take her words into account. The fact that namely she notices a similarity between SS and Yavuz Selim because of it becomes all the more concerning as that similarity threatens to not only be a one and done deal done out of unambiguous necessity, but to unremittingly extend to an even bigger part of his family, to his own son; a more direct parallel is drawn here, Hafsa has to stand against SS and try to cut that similarity off before something worse happens. After Hafsa does just that in E29 (it kind of parallels their E21 confortation too), Süleiman acts even more unfazed in front of his mother, talking about what he needs to do in terms of his ruling overall and after the confrontation, he directly gets a flashback to his E01 monologue. He's gotten reminders of his fear more than ever in this season so far (the battle for Mohacs, as well as here), so it's almost like the similarity to Selim Yavuz can't help but become more prevalent to SS himself. He wants to escape from it as much as he embraces it more widely. The seeds grow.

We jump to Hatice, the wife of a traitor who calls out a similarity of SS to his father after the execution as well, but what's more, she's not just a main character we've known from the start: she's become SS's closest sister after the death of their mother, his closest figure he leans on; they get to lean on each other. It's namely that closeness, as well as everything we learn about her in every single episode that forms quite a deep and multifaceted character, which ties her not to Selim Yavuz, but to what she's experienced in that period of his reign, the most out of Selim Yavuz's family. These experiences appear to inform her actions right from the very first episodes (before any of Hafsa's reveals that turn out to have retroactively informed her actions), and continue informing her even at this point, as now she's the only character left that is this informed by Selim Yavuz, so she's the only one around Süleiman who can hurt him as hard and give him a hint of his fear now (Beyhan already has and is already done, while Şah never would). Ibrahim's execution is far more nuanced than Ferhat Pasha's both in terms of reasons and in terms of reach: it impacts both Hatice and SS and the rest of their dynamic will be dominated by it as well; it will haunt Süleiman himself until his very last days. And yet when Hatice calls out the similarity to Selim Yavuz, SS doesn't ponder on it after the scene: he waves it away at first glance, but he's already deep within. And he goes deeper and deeper, up until he himself fully faces his father as his Azrael, episodes before the furthest reaching, most unjust execution out of all of the aformentioned executions comes to pass.

The more distant the person who calls out the similarity is to the sultan, the less similar he is to Selim Yavuz at this point. The closer that person who calls out the similarity is to the sultan, the more similar he becomes to Selim Yavuz. When unveiling more similarity, we go from execution to execution (apparently the biggest possible stample of cruelty, what could better recall such a seemingly infamously cruel figure?): from the executed, to the people related to the execution and the one who ordered it, to the executioner himself, all interrelated in many ways. We get more personal investment in Selim Yavuz himself and the characters who name him and all of that is added to the grander stakes and Selim Yavuz's haunting of the narrative's share in them.

[m-a-r-i--c-h-a-t]

maybe it's lust cat noir! can't you just let a girl have her kink?!

[artsycooky13]

top 3 fave bbys in the burrito show (bonus SUPER LONG tags on how i feel bout the characters)

[eigong]

… I WOULD LIKE TO FORMALLY APOLOGIZE FOR STARTING THE CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY FUCKING UP YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE.

UH.

YEAH.

I DO NOT FEEL REMORSE BUT I CANNOT HELP BUT REGRET WHAT I HAVE DONE AFTER THIS RATHER PITIFUL DISPLAY OF.. ALMOST BEING DEAD FOR SEVERAL DAYS ON END.

👋👋

🏃‍♂️

I have felt it before, that certainty, that death knell of the self. Knowing, because you are being warned by your own body as it barely fights to stay alive, that you could close your eyes and never open them again. Drift off as easily as falling into sleep, or perhaps easier.

That young woman I used to be, I recall her—disoriented and bloody, head wrapped in bandages, laid upon a clinic bed. Resting there in the nothingness that resides between two life-changing points, the stretch of time after the infliction of a terrible hurt but before the healing. Survival. Being struck with that profound numbness.

How dare I be put through this again?

Anyway apology acceptead i appreciate it

[sskk-manifesto]

Ep 5!!!

[aetherose]

Early on in her adventure, Nimue would gravitate more towards taking the more 'good-aligned' companions with her (Gale, Karlach, and Wyll) because she secretly craved their approval a bit. They were what she didn't think she could be, and she admired them and took them with her quite a bit as such.

However, her fear of their disapproval and her own moral compass (barely existent as it was) wouldn't fully mesh well, and it would lead to some conflicts between her and them. She would slowly feel more awful taking them with her, in the sense of 'They're so good and I'm so not, I don't know if I can be the person they see in me'. The pressure to be something she wasn't with them would suffocate her.

It's not that she wanted to go be an evil bastard, but as time goes on even with influences from her companions helping her form a moral compass and understanding right from wrong better, she still ends up with a quite utilitarian mindset. She ends up being fairly kind and generally does the right thing, but she can at times do some very questionable actions to achieve the greater goal that could lead to conflicts, even when she'd force herself to do certain things to make as many companions happy as she could.

She would find herself in actuality gravitating towards Astarion, Lae'zel, and Shadowheart because of her feeling like she could be more herself with them. She wouldn't feel as pressured with them in spite of how any of them could be just because their mindsets aligned more so with her own and their expectations felt less difficult to reach, and their disapproval just doesn't hit as hard for her. She still cares whether they approve, but it f eels less like a punch in the gut since she also didn't crave their approval nearly as much.

She equally (platonically by default) loves all of her companions very much regardless but some are just easier to be with than others, though late Act 2 after her urges are finally openly known to everyone it becomes easier to be with the more good-aligned companions knowing they accept her as she is more.

It's a her problem overall of thinking quite lowly of herself and admiring the good-aligned companions to a degree that leads her to fear they'll reject her even more so than the others. Even though they don't expect her to be a shining paragon of goodness and ultimately would accept her, she still fears failing to be the sort of person they'd want to be with.

So, overall, it ties back to her fear of being abandoned in the end.

[decidueyedreamerdetails]

I’ve been wondering something about Rayne’s world. Is it like another dimension, or a different universe entirely? I remember reading that she traveled between worlds. How does she do that?

Also a semi-related question. Do Legendaries in that world function the same as in other worlds? Like do they fulfill the same roles, or do they differ in any way?

Lastly, are Legendaries in your universe(s) immortal? I know that Rayne killed a bunch of them, but would they have died eventually anyway, or are they functionally immortal and can only die by a deliberate act? Is there a special technique you have to use? (I’m not planning on killing any of them I swear)

Sorry if that’s too many questions, I started thinking of more and more as I wrote this XD

What is Rayne’s World?

As a pre-warning I’m going to apologise for my blatant misuse of the word ‘Universe’. I know what it means, and the space and physics loving side of me hates that I’m misusing it, but I cannot think of a better term to explain it, so sorry in advance.

Okay, so to start with I’m going to explain what I consider Universes and Worlds! A Universe is a collection of Worlds (and some inbetween space, such as the Distortion World, Ultra Space, etc) and each Universe only has one Arceus and Creation Trio.

A World, however, is more comparable to the ACTUAL definition of universe - like the one we live in! The Pokémon, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, and Poképark games would all be three separate Worlds for example! Furthermore, Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl would always take place in seperate Worlds, due to conflicting events.

Basically, if something would count as an alternate universe or alternate timeline, it’s a new World! If you’ve seen my Toyhouse, Canon Compliant and Hydra’s World (or as we’re calling it here, Rayne’s World) are both different Worlds in the same Universe, whereas Gods and Servants is another Universe entirely!

How does Rayne travel between Worlds?

Well, to answer that, I’m going to have to talk about another character entirely, as Rayne’s story does not begin with herself.

It begins with a Hisuian Decidueye, partner to the main character of Canon Compliant’s events of Pokémon Legends Arceus. This Decidueye is called Tansy, and after the events of PLA, she was frustrated that Arceus did not send her Trainer back to the present, and decided the reasonable course of action would to be to fight Arceus to show them that they were in the wrong.

This did not work, and Tansy was killed by Arceus after a hard battle. Impressed by her strength, however, they decided they could use her to help subdue rogue gods in others Worlds. Tansy was reborn as an Alolan Decidueye, and given a blessing so that she could not truly die - she would instead travel to another World when she was either killed, or subdued the rogue god in that specific World.

However, Tansy eventually stopped enacting Arceus’ will, and yet the god was not ready to lose out on her strength just yet. Tansy’s corpse had remained in Arceus’ realm, and so they decided to make an artificial soul to inhabit it and use its power. A soul that had Tansy’s skills and her blessing, but none of her personality, only a desire to make sure the gods did not step out of line and cause major problems. This being, now inhabiting inside of Tansy’s repaired body, was sent out into a random World to wake up. Initially, they did their job very well, but eventually became jaded by the amount of rogue gods they saw, and decided the obvious solution was to kill all of the gods before they turned rogue.

As I’m sure you will have guessed by now, this being was Rayne, although she is fully unaware of her origins. As far as she knows, she woke up in a field with amnesia, and has always been able to travel between Worlds either through death, or killing the ‘correct’ god.

However, after she became determined to kill every god in the World that we know as Hydra’s World, Arceus limited her blessing, and she was no longer able to travel between Worlds. Instead, she now returns to that same World, after a period of a few days to a few months.

Legendaries in Rayne’s World

Short answer to that; the Legendaries & Mythicals in Rayne’s World are actually recruited from other Worlds, and although they typically have the same powers as the others of their species, in their new World they are expected to be doing the jobs of multiple gods.

Long answer: there were eight gods who travelled to Rayne’s World (a Meloetta, Shaymin, Landorus, Tapu Fini, Hoopa, Celebi, Jirachi and a Yveltal), as well as Lilith the Darkrai, the sole known survivor, due to allying with Rayne. Furthermore, there have been three gods born (a Marshadow named Darci, a Jirachi named Goose, and a Hoopa named Currant) and a single demigod born (Sotis, Rayne’s child), making the total number of divine beings thirteen.

The Jirachi, who is called Shallot, is currently sleeping, but their job was to take the light from Luci’s corpse (a Necrozma who assisted Rayne during the mass deicide, and later betrayed her) and redistribute it. However, some of that light was already used up, leading the world to have shorter days and winters of darkness.

Shamin, Landorus, Celebi and later Goose are in charge of making sure enough plants are growing in the world for food, as winters are extremely cold and lack sunlight, easily killing the majority of plants. Additionally, Landorus is in charge of making sure storms do not become too destructive.

Tapu Fini is in charge of making sure the seas do not become too violent, as well as currently holding the objects housing the souls of Treasures of Ruin to prevent them from reincarnating - their seals did not last forever, and they eventually broke free, causing a lot of death and destruction to a world that is already very sensitive to that. The reason why she was chosen to be the holder of them is that none of them can get access to their element underwater, so they are unable to reform their bodies!

The Yveltal, Mara, and her son Sotis, are effectively performing the role of the full Aura Trio by ensuring both life and death stay in balance, rather than just death, as they normally would as Yveltals. It is their job to monitor how many have died, prevent unnatural revivals or gaining of immortality, and in the worst case scenario deliberately revive Pokémon to avoid their World from completely dying out - humanity is already extinct, as well as a few Pokémon species, and the population is very low in general.

The Hoopa, named Allium, and his daughter Currant, are in charge of obtaining any objects someone may need from another World! Furthermore, if you want to leave this World, you will need to talk to Allium and convince them to use their rings.

As an adult, Darci uses his powers to both deliver messages between the gods, as well as explore the world, both surveying the state it is in and bring anything he finds worrying up to the others, and trying to find items that may be useful! She also provides Z-Crystals, as her body naturally forms them!

Lilith, both due to not being fully trusted due to her past (although is she is trusted far more than Rayne, due to her genuinely being kind, and as far as the other gods are aware, never actually killing another god, only helping Rayne and Lilith plan) and causing nightmares as a Darkrai, does not officially have a job. However, she is often the one the other gods elect to talk to Rayne, as they are close friends.

Meloetta basically works as the overseer of both the gods, making sure no one is having any interpersonal issues (which is very common, unfortunately) and that they are both doing their job and not abusing their powers against mortals (something Rayne has made clear that she will not tolerate). Basically she’s their manager!

Overall, they are doing a LOT more work than they typically should be doing - either by covering domains related to theirs, or a much larger territory than they would usually. It is apparent that the gods are stretched thin, as their World is far less habitable than others, but fortunately the remaining Pokémon have adapted to these harsh conditions!

Legendary/Mythical Immortality

Arceus and the Creation Trio are the only ones who are truly immortal in every sense of the word, as they are less living beings and more part of the Universe itself, and need to uphold its order.

However, Mythicals and Legendaries lifespan range from long-lived to immortal to being able to revive themselves! They are all able to be killed, but how difficult a task that is depends on who you are killing, especially if you need them to stay dead.

Generally, Mythicals tend to only be long-lived, and will eventually die by natural causes, whereas Legendaries are immortal and have to be killed by outside means.

You’re correct in that some of them do need a special method to be truly killed though! Victini, due to being the Victory Pokémon, is very hard to kill in direct battle, as that is a situation where there is a winner and a loser. However, indirect confrontation, such as poisoning or natural hazards, would circumvent that issue!

Furthermore, Xerneas and Yveltal have to be killed twice to avoid them simply reviving themselves, by destroying their tree and cocoon respectively.

Most of them, however, only require you to be strong.

Thank you for asking all of these questions by the way! It’s nice to know what may need elaborated on explanation wise, and all of your questions I have genuinely thought about before!