#he knows exactly what the fuck he did when he formed that alliance

[zolo-san]

Okay but op your tags on this are so good lol

Hawkins interrogating Law about Luffy is peak comedy. As if Law would know shit about what that little freak is up to.

[jazjelspen]

ex-girlfriend

jeff the killer x fem! reader

(you've dated Jeff the Killer since high school and have known him for longer. You stayed even after he became who he is now.. but what if you became stronger than him? what if you became a completely new person entirely? and left your heavy-hearted killer boyfriend to rot?)

(notes: took inspo from fanon Jeff but also tried to write him into his own person of course :) will try to be realistic when it calls for it + took some creative liberties in certain aspects too. I also apologize if the characterization of Jeff and others isn't super fitting.. I'm still getting used to how I want to express them and construct them as characters and the world around them.)

(CAUTION!!!: includes dark/serious themes, mention of murder/death, use of cannab1s, slight implications of s3x, toxic relationships, physical abu$3, possible ooc(?) )

(NOT PROOFREAD)

[part 1/2]

you and jeff are a killer duo.

seriously and figuratively.

you two have always been attracted to each other, a connection you two couldn't see but you both knew it was there.

the older and closer you two got, the more you two realized you had more in common than you two initially assumed..

way, wayyy more in common.

but to skip a long origin story short, let me give you some details on how you and Jeff suddenly got separated in the way that you did.

you see, you and Jeff resided at the Slender Mansion.. mostly just to get Slender off your backs due to you guys finding solidarity and a sense of safety in the deep dark forests, far away from home. it kept you two safe from police, as well as anyone or anything else that could be a threat.

of course, the specific area you went into was territory of the thin and tall boss of the forests.. and you would've been dead meat if you two didn't create a sort of alliance with the deity, not exactly proxies yet you two still had to trade something in return for your lives.. the lives and bodies of others seemed to quell Slenderman's hunger quite well.

nonetheless, tonight was one of those nights in which you and Jeff had to find more lives to take, blood to shed.

this night was different though, as Jeff was currently stuck in your shared room after going through a minor operation at the hands of Eyeless Jack, another being that came and left as he pleased.

"You think he'll recover quick?" You perked up as you watched EJ sew in the last stitch in a cut that reopened earlier as he was helping Jeff into your room, cutting up the thread before standing back as you two stared at your injured boyfriend from beside the bed he laid on.

"Not as quick as you may think," spoke EJ, his calm, raspy, and slightly demonic voice sounding monotone as he isn't intending to comfort you in the slightest but just to inform you. "Slenderman's healing properties can only work so fast, the rest depends on his own body's will to repair itself."

"Makes sense, with how much the victim fought back and the cops almost got him by a hair.. " you let out a huff through your nose before crossing your arms over your chest and shook your head slightly. "It has never gotten this bad before..." You murmured before moving away to open the door for EJ to find his way out. "I know you don't usually accept 'thank you's but, thanks. I owe you one for saving his ass."

"Hm." hummed the blue masked being. He may have the form of a human, and sound like one to a certain extent.. but he doesn't have the feelings of one for all you knew. "I'm sure you know how to stitch him up again if another injury reopens, I won't be here the rest of the week as I'll be doing my own business elsewhere."

"Got it.." You opened the creaky wooden oak door to let him through, and he left just as fast as he came in.

Closing the door behind you and letting go of the rusty brass door knob, you sighed in exhaustion.

"Yknow, you've been awfully quiet--"

"Shut the fuck up or I'm going to slice your throat."

Your shoulders dropped as soon as you heard Jeff's empty threat escape his throat. You walked closer to him, your shoes making small thuds and the wooden floors creaking beneath your feet.

"There you are." you cooed, finally hearing him talk after being silent the entire time.. incredibly out of character for him yet you were sure the shame of getting as injured as he is now and having to be 'taken care of' definitely got to him. "I almost started missing you."

"Get my knife, get the rest of your shit, and let's move.. we have people to kill for fucks sake.." Jeff's hoarse voice cracked even further as he attempted to sit up yet the pain coming from his abdomen only caused his nerves his fire up, making him fall back onto the moldy mattress yelping in pain. "You're absolutely stupid for even thinking you're able to go out tonight Jeff." You proceeded to sit on the empty side of the bed beside him, your hand slowly reaching over to gently caress his brutally cut up cheek yet your lover only harshly smacked it away with the back of his own hand. "So.. you're telling me you're going to ignore what I fucking telling you to do?" Jeff groveled and huffed in irritation, if he wasn't so incapacitated he'd probably be pulling you by your arm or hair to get you to do what he told you. "Since when have you gotten so brave, doll?"

"Since I followed you and helped you kill your own family that night." You pulled your hand away, reminiscing the night when your Jeff turned into who he is now.

You remembered how much your heart swelled when you saw him covered in his family's blood, his fresh cut up smile and red inflamed burns across his body and face. You continued to love him just as much as you did before he became so disfigured.

He was your religion, and you followed him in devotion.

"Now, we still have to keep our deal with the big boss right? I'll do your kills for the night, then when your better tomorrow we'll finish up whatever else we have to do.. or hell we can just kill for fun to make it up to you, " you hopped off the bed as you spoke and walked over to a wooden rotting vanity in the corner of your room, with drawers that were unable to close and doors that were hanging by their hinges. Your hand reached over to get an empty crunched up ziplock bag and continued on to walk back to your boyfriend with the object in your hand. "What do you say? I'll even get you some of the good stuff to make you feel better." you spoke lovingly, your hand with the bag grazing over his misshapen nose as he inhaled it deeply with a faint sense of delight. It still lingered the smell of his favorite thing to smoke and get high off of.. aside from your kisses and affection of course.

"Fuck that smells good.." he mumbled before his beady black eyes then suddenly shot up at you with this look of angry hesitation. "This is the only damn time I'm ever letting you out of my sight, make it quick, come back, and if you take a fucking second too long I'll get up and drag you back by your hair myself, got it gorgeous?.."

"You won't even have to bother Jeff." you bent over slightly to give him a quick peck on the lips, but just as much as he was addicted to the green he was also addicted to your warmth, your lips, your presence and self.

You couldn't help but have to suddenly sustain your own body weight by resting an arm beside Jeff's head as his own uninjured arm went to grab you by the back of your head to pull you closer in a deeper, much more passionate kiss.

Hearts beating aggressively in a dark passion that was just as fiery and scarlet as the blood you two would spill on the daily, the faint smell of dried blood, mud, and rubbing alcohol reeked as you two struggled to inhale air with your noises clashing against each other, his aggressive and hungry kisses tasting of iron but also of old cigarettes and booze.

Normally this would disgust any one else that wasn't you, but you liked the way he smelled, how he tasted.. it reassured you that this was in fact Jeff, your Jeff.

Eventually, he would finally let you go by harshly pushing you away in order to break the kiss. He knew that if you stayed any longer he was gonna want you all to himself for the rest of the night, as close to him as you physically could.

"Get out of here and get back, ______. Don't make me wait longer than I have to."

You smiled at him, a sweet and sinister little smile that would somehow always get him hard every time you did it.

"You've got nothing to worry about."

two weeks.

two weeks passed since you disappeared that night.

Jeff recovered the night after you left, but you could imagine the absolute horror and rage he felt when he realized you never came back later that night.

With other residents also living in the mansion, residents with personalities and have bits of humanity left similar to Jeff, you can also imagine the slight wave of rumors to those that knew or noticed the two of you in your years in the mansion. Some say you made a deal with Slender and got to leave, others say that you got kidnapped, that you got brainwashed, caught by police, sacrificed to another higher being, stuck in an asylum or- simply that you died. There were endless possibilities but they all ended the same:

you hung Jeff dry, left his grasp and simply didn't come back.

Jeff would obviously try to get in contact with Slenderman as to know your condition, since he knew that the deity had the consciousness and psyches of every being or person he's made some kind of contact with in his hands.

Although he had to go through one, two, three of Slender's proxies, just to have a word with him somehow.. He would eventually get a word from the big boss through one of his more well known lackeys.

"She's fine, Jeffery. She isn't dead, she hasn't made any deals with him, and she isn't injured to death or whatever." the annoyed and exasperated voice of Masky would echo in the empty halls that the pair stood in, the arms of the mustard-yellow colored jacket would fold over his chest while also being in a sort of stance that expressed the fact that he simply just didn't want to be there.

"Then why the hell is she not back?? Does he know where she could be? If she was kidnapped? If she got arrested or put in a fucking ward?" Jeff yelled in an almost desperate sort of tone yet he would never admit it openly.

"Look, I don't fucking care whether she's alive, dead, stuck in a fucking hole or hell! if she's sucking some other guy's dick that isn't yours! But all I know that is that if she left on purpose he would've already had me or one of the others to get her back, but he hasn't so maybe she's nearby or some shit like that."

Anyone around could see that Jeff was on the verge of reaching over for his knife and cut Masky in half, yet he knew better than to do that to him of all people. "Does he at least know where she is?? I'll get her myself if I have to just give me a fucking address, some place to know where she could be!.."

If Masky wasn't wearing a mask, he'd probably be rolling his eyes to oblivion, irritated beyond belief at something like this even being a problem. "No. But as I already fucking said, if he isn't asking one of us to chase her down and get her back then you shouldn't have to overreact the way you are right now." the proxy proceeded to brush past him without a care, but said one last small thing before he left Jeff's vicinity completely.

"By the way, stop bothering the other proxies about this as we could care less about your girlfriend, just get a new one and fuck off!"

Jeff stood there, trembling in an anger he hasn't felt since the day he attacked his bullies and his brother took the blame for it.

He wasn't exactly reassured, but he also knew that he was very limited and there wasn't much he could do.

But he was restless, so you bet your ass he was going to go look for you even if it was just stalking the streets and killing anyone in his wake.

luckily for him, his waiting would end soon enough.

the week after that, he'd get the news of his life.

he'd been killing all week, killing innocents as he usually did but at a quicker and animalistic pace, he would almost get caught this time by the cops yet again but before his spree could continue he received some news thanks to that cheeky voice that would speak to him through the screens.

he would come back to the mansion, battered and bruised beyond belief. the calluses on his hands split and bled, cuts everywhere all old and fresh, he was ruthless in his murders as well as he was careless.

he needed you to ground him, you were the reason as to why he has even been alive for as long as he has.

his hand seemed to be superglued to the handle of his sharpened knife even as he was dragging his legs towards EJ's basement, where he was led to believe he would find what he was looking for.

He aggressively banged on the metal door with his fist in anticipation, not being able to wait any longer than how much he's already had to. The one to answer the door would be Eyeless Jack as it is his "resting" place in the mansion so to speak.

Once the door opened Jeff would quickly push past EJ not needing to be accepted in the space for him to go in.

"Where is she??" he shouted, his voice boasting in the cold concrete room. "I was told you found her, where the fuck is she?"

EJ would calmly close the door before slowly leading Jeff towards a corner of the large space, where a long, clean-white room divider seemed to hide something.

well, more like someone.

That was when Jeff finally saw you, your limp body laying there and your face had this gentle expression you'd usually make when you were sleeping. Beside you stood Nurse Ann, who was gently cleaning the countless cuts and lacerations you had around your body with several cotton pads and changing gauzes as well.

Jeff's heart fell down to his stomach, he would've started reeling and throwing up if he didn't rush to take a closer look at you only to see that your chest was still rising and falling.

He sighed in relief.

"As you can see, she's alive." spoke EJ as he took a few steps closer, "Nurse Ann found her as she was coming back to the mansion, she found her body laying on the edge of where Slender's territory ends and the rest of forest. She also claims that ______ wasn't there when she left, so she probably appeared a little later that same day."

Jeff's hand trembled slightly as he reached out to touch your face with the back of his hand, yet hesitated slightly when his hand could almost feel the warmth of your skin.

But that's when he took a minute to really take in the rest of your appearance.

Your entire body even your face was dirtied in dried mud and soil, your fingernails were dirty and chipped, your arms and cheeks were decorated in scratches and cuts of various sizes, and your clothes.. seemed to have been replaced with a clean hospital gown and your missing shoes were replaced by socks.

EJ continued on, "And so you don't go attacking me, Nurse Ann changed her clothes. According to her they were tattered and beyond repair, and that they were completely soiled in blood."

"Blood?" Jeff spoke up in slight concern,

"The blood wasn't hers."

[buff-muffin]

Finally got around to reading some of those Lawlu fics i was recommended ages ago. I’ve only read a handful and do plan on read more of them but I’m so sad none of these fics capitalise on my favourite part of their dynamic.

Because something I’ve always found fun about them is that Law as a character always sees everything as an exchange, everything is a deal. I owe you's are important to law. He doesn’t do anything for anyone without an idea of something in return and he won’t accept help from anyone without any way to pay them back because he would rather DIE then be indebted to anyone. Because this was exactly how Doflamingo manipulated people. This is how he’s TAUGHT law the world works this is all he knows.

Many people think that he saved Luffy in Marineford out of sympathy or understanding after Law himself has lost so much and understands Luffy. But that's just not it to me. Law saw this crazy bastard willing to punch a CELESTICAL DRAGON, and probably thought something along the lines of "damn. i need him on my team." and what a fucking bargaining chip to hold over someone's head "I saved your life" is. Law was trying to get any form of control over Luffy because it would be smarter then making an enemy. So when Luffy and his crew pulled up to PunkHazard. Law probably just intended to use that ' I owe you' He still has on Luffy and try strike a deal. Little did law know. Luffy doesn't do deals, if he didn't want to do something he wont. and to Luffy he didn't owe Law anything. but between a plan to take down an emperor and a friend asking for help. he was in. Law is in on this alliance as a deal where Law gets to take down Doflamingo (and kaido) and Luffy gets to take down Kaido (and doflamingo.) But to Luffy, this was friends working together for a common end goal. So when things fall to shit and Law cant pay back Luffy for all the things he's doing for him. he cuts off the deal and the alliance because he cant be indebted. But Luffy does it anyways cause their friends. Luffy doesn't expect anything from Law for defeating Dofi. and Law has to grapple with this. grapple with this KINDNESS. the idea that he doesn't owe Luffy anything. the idea that Luffy simply did that because he cares about him. the idea that someone who doesn't even know all the sides of him, cared so much to take down someone who hurt him. its so foreign to Law. to just simply be cared for. Its genuinely one of my favourite parts of their dynamic even if its subtle and just my way of reading their dynamic

[d0youc0py]

“Her and Soap would make a good couple, no?” Alejandro smirked, watching as you and the Scot took turns drowning each other in the pool.

“No they wouldn’t.” Ghost said quickly. A little too quick. Price chuckled knowing exactly what was running through his head.

“Why not? I don’t think I’ve seen Soap laugh so much and they seem pretty affectionate with each other.” Alejandro continued. It’s true, you and Soap were a bit touchy touchy but in a headlock and kick each other type of way.

“They’re friends- nothin’ more.” Ghost was growing annoyed of this conversation. He couldn’t blame Alejandro though. From outside eyes you and Soap could be seen as a good pair. Simon hated the thought of anyone thinking you were with anyone but him- yet he did almost nothing to make it seem like you were with him. Only the most observant people- such as Price- noticed the little things Ghost did for you. The way he always carried extra of your ammo in case you ran out. The way he always made extra of his breakfast for you to have some too. The way he would put up a fight when Price wanted to send you on a mission without him.

“I’d have to agree with Ghost on this one.” Captain sighed, standing up from his chair. He patted Ghost on the shoulder. “I’m gonna get started on lunch.”

“I’ll go with you!” Alejandro and Rudy were quick to stand up.

“What you don’t trust me?” Price raised a brow.

“Well I don’t know if you brits are very well known for you food.” Alejandro chuckled, wrapping an arm around Prices shoulder.

“You kiddin’? You know how many cooking show take place in England?”

Ghost sunk down in his seat and tugged at his balaclava. The heat was getting to him. Plus the way you, Soap and Gaz splashed around in the pool looked so refreshing.

“Hey Lieu?” You swam up to the side of the pool, resting your arms on the hot surface. “You sure you don’t want to come in the pool? I could use some back up in here.” God how he loved your smile. It was almost enough for him to rip his clothes off and hop in. It wasn’t that you hadn’t seen his face before. You were a jack of all trades- one of the trades being medicine. You had treated him for a head injury a while back and the way you accidentally called him handsome made it easy for him to take his mask off in front of you. It was the rest of him he was worried about. The bullet wounds on his abdomen. The burn mark across his chest. The deep angry scars all over his back- and all over him really. He wasn’t ready for you to know how fucked up he really was. He didn’t- couldn’t scare you off. So here he was. Sitting in a lawn chair, drinking a bourbon, in a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt.

“Lieu?” You repeated. He knocked himself out of his trance.

“No, I’m alright.” He took another swig of his drink trying to drown out your pouty lip.

“Alright.” You sighed. “I was hoping we could’ve formed an alliance. I’m getting tired of Bubble Boy and his attitude!” You yelled the last part, causing Soap to shoot you in the head with a water gun.

“You’re just mad cause I’m winning!” Soap yelled.

“She’s kicking your arse.” Ghost shouted. His comment caused a whole new wave of competitiveness between you and the Scot- so much so that Gaz stepped out not wanting to get a black eye.

“I feel like we should be filming this.” Gaz chuckled, pulling out his phone. It was quite entertaining watching two highly trained soldier go after each other with water guns.

About an hour later Alejandro announced lunch.

“Thank god! I’m starving!” You groaned, pulling yourself out of the pool. Ghost suddenly decided the sky was much more interesting to look at than your dripping body. When he looked back down, he had to stop a groan from leaving his lips. There you were- wearing his shirt. His shirt. It was plain black- but had L.T Ghost printed on the back. His insides were swarming, and he barely had any time to process as you ran inside to start eating. He needed to stay there for a moment. He needed to calm down. He wasn’t use to this. Such little things completely throwing him off. He looked down, noticing how his bag and your bag were so close, that’s when he noticed another black clothing item. He grabbed it, holding it up. It was another entirely too big for you black shirt. The one that was probably suppose to be your cover up. So it was a mistake. You meant to grab yours but instead you grabbed his extra shirt. That helped ease the tension in his eyes. He should’ve known you were too good of a girl to be such a tease.

••••••••

The sun had finally started to set. All of you were still coming out of your food coma, and spread all over the house to digest. Times like this were your favorite. Eating delicious food. Hearing and sharing stories with your almost chosen family. Now here you were sprawled out on the tile, your feet dangling in the water as you stared at the pink sky.

“You against company?” Simon asked. You lifted your head to see him sticking his head out the door. You quickly shook your head, giving him a smile. He grabbed a chair and sat down next to you. He followed your gaze and looked up at the sky. Your eyes left the sky in favor of his jawline. He had taken off his mask to eat and couldn’t be bothered to put it back on.

Feeling your eyes on him he looked down to meet your gaze. The mask wasn’t able to hide his emotions anymore- not that you caught the obvious adoration across his face. Your eyes traced over the scar that extended from his cheekbone down to the corner of his lip. He watched you watch him- knowing exactly what you were looking at. Yet he didn’t feel insecure. You had a glint in your eye, it wasn’t judgement or pity. The closest thing he could compare it to was understanding. You didn’t feel sorry for him. You didn’t look at him with any disgust. You just admired it. Like people would a painting that they couldn’t quite understand but enjoyed the feeling it gave them nonetheless. You enjoyed the feelings he gave you. The security you felt with him. You knew instinctually that he would always be there. Guiding you. Watching you. Protecting you. Making your day better- even in the smallest ways. His scars were assurance of that. He’d always fight his way out to be there.

The look in your eyes made it possible for him to say something he’d wanted to all day.

“Wanna go for a swim?” He asked.

[quuerbee]

Heugh ok big time spoilers warning for 1175 (and prior ofc) I'm gonna be rambling so don't expect anything analytic 🫵

GOD OK SO. Its been commented on multiple times throughout the novel that the diciples of Mount Hua (sect leader, elders, 5 swords, etc) want to carry some of the burden that Chung Myung carries. Hyun Jong asks him to trust him and not go after the Myriad Man Manor (I think that's what it was called before they formed the big bad alliance....) in the direct aftermath of the attack on the sect (chapters like. 350-420 ish if I'm remembering correctly?). The 5 Swords try to protect him during that final fight at the north sea when he's been buried in rubble, and then they try to support him again in the first yangzte river battle (the one where the 3 year pacification pact came from) and so on and so forth. This is a VERY COMMON THING.

Everytime they manage to get stronger to protect the sect (lifting some burden off of Chung Myung), the enemies get stronger and the situations get worse. They (being primarily the 5 swords + Tang Soso and Hye Yeon) begin to realize that despite getting stronger, Chung Myung is always at the forefront of the battle in the most danger. They haven't had a single major battle where Chung Myung was not present to help if needed. This also brought up the idea that they are indirectly putting Chung Myung in even more danger because he has to focus not only on the battle, but on saving them if needed (this has ALSO been brought up multiple times but i don't want to give examples so).

Now I know that this isn't Mount Hua's fault, they're being thrust into terrible situations with not great timing, but all of this has STRENGTHENED Chung Myung belief that no one but him can protect Mount Hua to the standard needed. (It's very interesting to note that he has ended up on the OPPOSITE side of the spectrum from his previous life, which Chung Myung actually comments on in chapter 1175!!!). Its been mentioned a lot (by that fuck ass monk Bop Jeong and others) that the success of the Heavenly Commrade Alliance lies damn near solely on Chung Myung back. Even Tang Gunak, Meang So, and Seol So Beak themselves admit that they were initially drawn towards CHUNG MYUNG and not towards Mount Hua. Namgung Dowi is a similar ish case, having been drawn to the Heavenly Commrade Alliance by Mount Hua and the Tang clans's actions at Plum Blossom Island (which Chung Myung lead). Long story short, if Chung Myung did not exist in Mount Hua, there would not be an alliance in the first place (which the novel straight up says).

Another concept that's been brought up lately is what exactly is Mount Hua willing to give up in the name of chivalry. Up until now, every single action taken by Mount Hua has had a positive impact on them while also upholding the chivalrous reputation of the sect. THIS IS WHERE CHUNG MYUNGS CURRENT STRIFE IS COMING FROM!!!! At the current moment he doesn't know what direct he wants to push Mount Hua in. Does he tell Shaolin to fuck off (picking the Heavenly Commarade Alliance over joining the 10 Great Sects) and deal with the inevitable consequences of that (reputation hit and more death among not only commoners but amongst Mount Hua diciples) or does he agree to Bop Jeong's plan and risk everything from the past repeating for the sake of chivalry? He is blinded by his indecision, even mentioning in chapter 1174 that if he were faced with the situation Chung Mun faced with Chung Jin (Chung Jin disappearing towards the end of the war), he wouldn't know what to do and he would "let it all slip from his grasp".

Along with this indecisiveness, he's also agonizing over his importance to the alliance. He is now in a position similar to what Chung Mun held in the past, and he's having a difficult time coping with that. Chung Myung rationally understands his importance, going as far as to say that if he were anyone else, he would never let himself go onto the front lines. The issue lies in his survivors guilt. He wouldn't be able to make the decisions needed for victory if he himself wasn't there to be able to prevent any death he could.

Along comes Baek Cheon, who has been one of the main vocalizers for all the things mentioned above. He notices the things Chung Myung tries to hide. There are many, many times where Baek Cheon is one of the ones that knocks some sense into Chung Myung, but the one I really want to focus on is their interaction in chapter 1175. Baek Cheon, despite all the jokes, is the head diciple of the second generation. Chung Myung is his Sajae, his junior brother. He CARES about him. He doesn't like seeing him not act like an insane asshole. He KNOWS Chung Myung, enough to know his habits as well as his fears and motivators.

He uses his knowledge to comfort him in a blunt way by saying that he will outlive Chung Myung. And oh, isn't that heartbreaking? To acknowledge that Chung Myung would rather spend every day in hell than "allow" a diciple of Mount Hua to die before him (again). Baek Cheon says this as an offhand comment, a subtle reassurance without making it a big thing because he KNOWS that's one of the main things driving Chung Myung. Throughout this entire exchange, Chung Myung unintentional image of being a "perfect human" starts to strip away. He reveals to Baek Cheon that he doesn't exactly know why he holds all of this burden, but that he feels he is the only one who can. (Circling back to the guilt he feels due to his inaction 100 years ago).

Towards the end of the chapter, Chung Myung starts joking that he'll be back to normal soon, that he just has a lot on his mind. This signals once again that he is pushing against Baek Cheons silent offer of support. As they sit in silence, Baek Cheon brings up the question that has been eating at the entirety of Mount Hua for a while. He asks if they were stronger, if HE were stronger, would it have lightened his worries? The final sentence of the chapter indicates that Chung Myung doesn't answer this question.

Chung Myung cares so much about Mount Hua that he continually shoulders on more and more responsibilities because to him, that is the only way to atone for his past inaction. I just wish he could see how much Mount Hua cares about him in turn.

[anxiousnerdwritings]

even Viserys would raise an eyebrow when Daemon giddily tells him that Alicent tried to have Mysaria arrested because she fucked their little brother and Viserys has to remind Alicent that prostitution isn’t illegal as Alicent is getting all flustered because the rest of the family just knows why she truly wanted Mysaria arrested 😂 and Rhaenyra will poke at her too in front of everyone by claiming that Alicent is a little too invested in the reader’s personal life

Given that this is before the idea of Rhaenyra having had Sickly!Reader father her children than yeah she would be more on Mysaria’s side over Alicent’s but she still wouldn’t completely trust Mysaria either. As long as her uncle takes to Mysaria and even falls for her than she can tolerate it but she’s still keeping a close eye on her no matter what.

Now with the thought in mind though that Rhaenyra’s children are from her Sickly!Uncle!Reader than there is no doubt in my mind that she would react to Mysaria or the overall idea of some other woman being with her beloved uncle and bearing his children completely differently. She would internally be furious with Daemon for doing such a thing and not telling her if he did so behind her back, more so for the reason that she would have talked him out of it or taken matters into her own hands to ensure it didn’t happen at all. For once she would very much agree with Alicent in the trying to punish Mysaria for being with the Reader. And Viserys may consider since Rhaenyra is all for something being done.

Meanwhile, Mysaria isn’t stupid she picks up on exactly why both women are being hostile with her and she couldn’t be more disgusted with them. Even though she had been with the Reader for one night she even knows damn well that the Reader wouldn’t have disgraced his brother’s wife or his niece willingly. If anything this would only lead Mysaria in wanting to protect the Reader all the more from even those closest to him, obviously even the people who are supposed to love and care for him have taken such advantage of him in the star he’s in.

Rhaenyra’s newfound reaction would certainly garner a raised brow from Daemon. Like, why is she so hung up on this too? So much so that she’s even taking the Green bitch’s side. I could see Mysaria pulling Daemon to the side and telling him about the conclusion she’s come to regarding the other women. And this all may result in Mysaria and Daemon forming an alliance to protect the Reader and keep his best interest at heart over anything and all else. At the very least they’ll probably sneak the Reader out of the castle to Mysaria’s brothel where she can take over care for him until Daemon can decide of a better place to take him, gods know Rhaenyra will fly to Dragonstone or wherever else the Reader could be taken to just to be with him.

[ahamkara-apologist]

Oh thank god now that Echoes is finally out I can talk about the Faith-Keeper loretab

First off: I'm not really sure who it is exactly, but we've got a Hidden agent listening in on a discussion between Eido and the Spider about Eramis. If I had to guess, this agent is likely Ikora, since Misraaks asked her to look after Eido at the end of the Lost in the Light quest post-FS campaign, but we don't really get any clarification here. In my heart its Ikora, though.

First off: I LOVE the callback to Eido's shitty datapad security from Season of Plunder. Remember when she was recording her audio logs and Eramis just dropped in unexpectedly to talk to her behind Misraaks's back? Looks like she hasn't fixed her security breach well enough to prevent others from doing the same. Which is deeply funny to me- babygirl, your father is a Splicer. His whole entire job is being a top tier hacker!! You need better security than that!!!

Eido babyyyy, I'm not sure why you think you can blackmail a crime lord, but I admire your efforts! I'm not really sure what Spider is doing here, maybe moving closer to her? Either way I love how his whole 'fake caring' shtick got immediately dropped to the side as soon as Eido laughed at him. You're not winning any uncle points here, Spider. The note about Eramis having been given up by everyone around her, however? This is both a good and a bad sign. Good because it means that the forces of Darkness that got her into this whole mess no longer give a fuck about her and aren't there to push her into poor decisions again, bad because Eramis is historically notorious for making terrible decisions when there's nobody around to influence her anyways. Given the fact that she was outright suicidal the last time we checked in on her and that means that we have a limited time frame to get Eido to soften her up before she starts putting her neck on the line again (which has me very nervously side-eyeing Revenant; I don't believe that she would want to join with Fikrul given her prior experiences with the Scorn, but it can also go either way if she's pushed. Eido could convince her to give her assistance to prevent him from spreading Dark Ether...or Fikrul could sway her to look away from what he's doing by promising to bring back Riis with the power of the Echo)

Not gonna lie, my first reaction when I read the 'staccato clicking' noises coming from Eido was 'DID SHE JUST PULL A FUCKING GUN ON HIM??', followed by wondering if she was threatening him in some way- then a friend pointed out she was likely crying, which made me go back to reread and realize that the wheezing noises were coming from her, not Spider (in my defense, he's a wheezy boi). So, yeah, she's crying. Poor sweet girl, I've been there before. I know that Misraaks set Spider on her to try to set her straight (which is deeply funny to me- he must be desperately worried for him to have Spider handle her, of all people), but, well...it's the Spider. He's a crime boss. 'Gentle' isn't in his nature

This does give me great hope for an Eramis redemption arc in the future, though. Compared to everyone else we've faced recently, Eramis hasn't even come close to the level of awful that the Witness has done, and she's outright helped us in several instances. There's no reason why we can't try to form an alliance with her- the main thing stopping us is because Eramis herself doesn't think that she's worthy of redemption. If we can barter with Savathun- whose desires are ultimately selfish even if they were momentarily aligned with our own- then we can certainly assist Eramis, especially if it means getting the remaining Houseless Eliksni off our back and in a safe, guardian-free refuge of their own (WITHOUT being tricked into being pawns of the Witness)

Also- absolutely love Eido's little speech here. Her insistence on clinging to optimism is probably what made Eramis see Eido as the guiding light for the future of the Eliksni people, and in a way, it's perfect to fit the Traveler's motif of forgiveness in the Light. Makes me wonder if the theory that Eido is the Kell of Kells may be hinted at here, since it's Eido alone of all other Eliksni who refuses to give up on a person's ability to change for the better. Even Misraaks can't do that, despite creating House Light and its open-door forgiveness policy.

I TOO WOULD LIKE GREATER CULTURAL CONTEXT ON ELIKSNI NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION. I wonder who EKS-443 is- I would love to harass them for more information on what certain Eliksni vocalizations mean. I'm so starved for more worldbuilding on their biology and cultures, I'm hoping this is a sneak peak into what we might be getting in Revenant.

But also. Uh-oh bestie. The Vanguard should probably keep their claws out of this if they want diplomacy to succeed, because Eramis is not going to be happy if we stick our soft little monkey paws into Eliksni business again. We're going to have to back Eido up but let her do most of the talking/persuading, or shit can go south really fucking quickly- just like trying to pspsps a wary old ally cat into the safety of a home after years of extensive abuse. Waiting with bated breath to see how this turns out!

[ladysomething]

rushed back home. pretty sure I broke like 7 different basic driving rules from the driver manual in my country that even kids are aware of. also my best friend says he's never letting me drive ever again. he also says you're kinda a mastermind. I may not have a driver license for tomorrow, or a car to drive, but I do have new hatred and also a new level of crush (ness? English-is-not-my-first-language moment) for Max Verstappen. and my brother as well. he also pleged alliance and eternal honor to you, Madds.

5+1!!!!

1. honestly Charles, I get you. cramps are how some criminals should be punished. make them suffer for their wrongs. make them regret ever living. make them feel pain for comitting their crime. (says the lawyer. at this rate, for tomorrow I will loose not one but TWO licenses. who cares)

2. as stated beforehand, the Max crush that you've been cooking in me with this fic is absolutely massive. gigantic. astronomical. and let me tell you something. Max taking care of Charles during his pre-heat melted me. my ex boyfriends should learn from him, because that's the bare minimum and yet they didn't do shit. and Charles here has this lovely dumb idiot (affectionate) while he hates him. honestly goals. where do I buy one.

3. I kinda understand why Max distanced himself from Charles. sorta. actually barely. but the guilt trip that my man has to be going through has to be though. what reminds me

4. FUCK MATTHEW AND FUCK LANDO AND FUCK THE DOCTOR WHOSE NAME IS NOT WORTH OF ME TO REMEMBER. oh and FUCK FERRARI AND FUCK MCLAREN AND FUCK EVERYONE. GO TO HELL PIECES OF SHIT. yeah, that's it I think. my poor baby Charlie (IBEIDNDOSNDLSBDOWHEODIAJS I went batshit with that. just so you know. worried Max might be my favorite Max. maybe slightly behind horny, protective and obedient Max) did NOT deserve that and everyone should rot in the darkest pit of hell for that. no less. cramps for you all.

5. we love Jean-Luc in this house. that was the resolution the three of us got to. my man deserves a cold pillow on both sides, a cup of tea and the chance to see his family anytime and to be happy forever. please don't make me hate him, I love him too much.

+1. if you've told me at the beginning of the year that I would be eating dinner with both my brother and my roomie while we were reading a quite explicit Lestappen omega verse fi in TV, no less, I would've not only not believed you. but died of shame or something like that. my yearly choice of a dead dove do not eat fic (I've been learning about tags!!!) has united this household. who would have thought that.

+2. Max is down BAD. but you know what, so is Charles. they really are exactly like the other. when Charles said that he was feeling lonely all I could think of is how Max said the exact same. and the hospital part had me kicking my feet, jumping around excitedly. then I alarmedly had to go all the way up to see in which chapter we were. and after, I just felt scared. chapter 16 is my worst nightmare it seems. how funny.

+3. hun, how has been your hand? I hope you're feeling better 🩷 as much as I love weekly uptades I can't help but feel worried that you might push your hand a lot. the chapter was absolutely lovely but remember to rest please 🙏🏼 speaking on my behalf and the other two readers' (and I hope everyone else's) we don't want you to be hurt, regardless of the fic.

thank you for the early uptade, even if now I'm a reckless driver to my country's police. at least I didn't read it while I was working. I don't know how I could've managed that.

I will take eternal allegiance wherever I can get it. I am making men kneel before me, one at a time, and so I'm glad to add two more to my collection.

cramps as a form of punishment .... you get it.

no because that whole heat sequence with Max .. melted me. he's so written by a woman coded in this fic (which you'd hope. considering he is. lmao)

he's hurt!!! he's sad!!! Max is going through a phase right now ok

the doctors name is Leo, and funnily enough Charles got Leo the same week that chapter came out and I was like ... Charles reads wygig confirmed

THIS IS A JEAN-LUC STAN ACCOUNT and honestly????? I love that you all love him. maybe he should get his own fic one day. who knows.

+1. the war being over because you've bonded over the lestappen war .... there's something so cosmic about that.

+2. everyone being on the edge of their seats for 16 ... god I'm good.

+3. thank you for the well wishes! it's wayyyyy better now, thank god.

p.s. I think maybe your brother and your roommate would riot if you read it at work without them sooooo

[rarepairnation]

did you guys understand what i meant in my tragedy of the psychic warfare post when i said i will not be your banner. i need to make sure you understood because just the thought of it has been genuinely fucking me up ever since. i just. denethor definitely knows the story of the end of the second age, and more specifically, what banner the armies of sauron carried onto the battlefield. and if you need a refresher, its celebrimbor’s dead body. tortured and mutilated and probably stripped naked (someone fact check me on that one) and stuck on a standard to be carried into battle. and. well. god i cant even say it. even thinking of it makes me visualize it in my head and i genuinely get nauseous. ok just. if gondor falls denethor’s death will not be easy. he has been too much of a thorn in sauron’s side for far too long. and. alright you draw the Logical Conclusion from the facts ive presented while i go and cry for a minute.

now sauron has famously had a lot of enemies, and yet he only did the banner thing once. so you might ask well what’s my rationale for thinking he might do it again? well pure sick deranged angst of course. but i do have AN argument although i do not promise it is bulletproof.

i think that he chose to do it to celebrimbor as a final act of desecration. he’s taken the rings they made together and all of the art of their creation and corrupted them and used that great craft to forge a tool solely of domination. he’s tortured him, personally, to death. and THEN he turns his body into a banner and marches on the last alliance. its an act of specific psychological horror every elf on that battlefield knows exactly who that is, hanging from the standard.

and denethor? well - sauron destroyed numenor, did he not? not directly, but i think he claims it as his victory because otherwise the loss of his fair appearance and his physical form to the alkallabeth would be too heavy of a blow to his ego lol. and now here is this man - nay, this numenorean, who is the first person in centuries who has dared vie with him directly. who not only contests him mentally but HOLDS OUT, for DECADES, where saruman, also a literal maia, greatest of the order of the wizards, could not. who poses a genuine threat to him, while also standing as a bulwark between him and the rest of middle-earth. denethor’s entire existence fucks with him so much. because he thinks oh, numenor was easily corruptible. men are easy to enslave or turn to my will. and then here is denethor, single-handedly proving him wrong. by the end of the war sauron has so many sick revenge fantasies against him in his head. i really don’t think its too much of a stretch to think that bannering him is one of them.

further...i also think part of the thing with choosing celebrimbor is that the final battle was upon them. it was sort of expedient. well i need a banner for this battle and CONVENIENTLY i also have this guy i hate whom ive tortured. and what is sauron going to do once gondor falls? march on the rest of middle-earth. with the lord of its first line of defense, its forlorn hope, as. well you see what i mean. i typed it out and then HAD to delete it.

and oh my GOD he KNOWS. AND HE KNOWS!!! HES SEEN HIMSELF ON THAT STANDARD!!! I FEEL! I FEEL!!!! anyway yeah i picture it and i wish for death!

[themculibrary]

Tony Stark Pairings Masterlist

a master’s treat. a pet’s game (ao3) - meowrails tony/stephen E, 7k

Summary: Stephen grows ears and a tail, and gives himself a magically induced heat.

Tony sees a long night ahead of them.

And The World Moves On… It Has To (ao3) - Teamironmanforever natasha/tony T, 157k

Summary: This fic is set Five Years after the events of Civil War.

———

The New Avengers, headed by Tony Stark, have finally established themselves in the world, working closely alongside the UN to maintain public trust. The team has managed to create a close-knit bond, working together to forget the past. However, when Thanos comes to threaten the earth, the Avengers will be forced to face some old ghosts when Steve Rogers and his team of renegades are called in to work with Tony’s team.

The two teams will be forced to face their pasts to work together to save Earth.

Anew. (ao3) - IViv tony/stephen M, 130k

Summary: In death, there was no glory, no redemption, no salvation.

Only darkness and ice—or that was what Tony thought. He closed his eyes in a Siberian bunker and opened them again on his 41st birthday, with War Machine flying into the distance.

Asgard’s Throne (ao3) - The_Winter_Writer tony/thor N/R, 3k

Summary: There was a first time for everything. Tony had fantasized about this, imagined it when Thor had first started courting him, but he’d never believed he would find himself seated on Asgard’s throne in such a way.

darkness will be rewritten (ao3) - princessironspider natasha/tony N/R, 109k

Summary: Peter is Tony’s biological child.

Natasha Romanoff has been married to Tony Stark secretly for years.

What would the movies be like if this were the case?

Debts (ao3) - d_aia tony/t’challa M, 59k

Summary: In which Tony saves T'Chaka, T'Challa is grateful, and they both are all the better for it.

Falling Into You (ao3) - sabrecmc steve/tony M, 53k

Summary: Tony and Steve end up as fuck buddies after the events of The Winter Soldier until Steve calls it off. When Loki’s spell wipes all of Steve’s memories since the last time Loki was in town, Tony decides it will be so much easier to just not tell Steve they had something of a relationship. Spoiler: It isn’t.

Or, how Steve fell in love with Tony and forgot about it, and how Tony fell in love with Steve and realized it.

Five Times Bruce Knew Exactly What to Say (ao3) - storiesfortravellers bruce/steve/tony T, 6k

Summary: “When Steve was a kid, he hated being rescued….���

Eventual Steve/Bruce/Tony.

five times pepper potts took care of tony stark (and one time tony stark took care of her) (ao3) - zauberer_sirin pepper/tony T, 5k

Summary: In Pepper’s defense she really did try to keep things professional.

Have I Changed? (ao3) - katling tony/stephen T, 141k

Summary: I liked you more before you met the Avengers.

It’s an offhand comment that Tony wasn’t sure he was actually meant to hear. But he did and he doesn’t know what it means. Lucky for him, Rhodey’s got an answer for him.

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (ao3) - Takara_Phoenix loki/tony E, 105k

Summary: Post Civil War, Tony has to build a new team of Avengers.

Aside from new recruits, there are also two well-known Avengers that return to Earth – with a ship full of refugees. New and more functional Avengers rise from the ashes of the old and new alliances, new friendships and even new relationships are formed.

Though the biggest wild-card proves to be Loki, not entirely unexpected.

However Sweetly It May Storm (ao3) - KimchiKitty7 bucky/steve/tony E, 30k

Summary: After Civil War, Tony Stark is trying to pull his life together and deal with the betrayal and abandonment of his team. One night he goes upstairs to find Steve Rogers in his penthouse, and is ready to try his hand at throwing him out the window. But things aren’t always what they seem. Can they get it right this time?

love is like a stubborn youth (ao3) - owlvsdove pepper/tony T, 9k

Summary: The long-winded story of the meeting, hiring, working relationship, courting, and comedy goldmine that is Tony Stark’s relationship with Pepper Potts.

Natural Talent (ao3) - 27dragons, tisfan bucky/tony E, 47k

Summary: Bucky is Boss of the Commando territory, carved out of Hydra’s territory with blood, tears, and sweat - mostly his own. He has a reputation in other territories for being hard and ruthless, but his own people know him as a generous, considerate leader. He protects his land and his people, but otherwise keeps his head down. He has no intention of getting embroiled in any of the other territories’ disputes. That is, until Bucky finds himself in possession of a beautiful companion and learns that the man is far more than he appears.

one hell of a show (ao3) - MillyVeil pepper/tony E, 44k

Summary: Tony gets kidnapped for ransom and Clint gets nabbed with him. It’s rough for them both.

Perfect Soldier (ao3) - orphan_account steve/tony, bucky/steve/tony E, 5k

Summary: Immediately after Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve enlists Tony to help him fuck a mind-wiped and perfectly compliant Bucky Barnes.

Sharpen Your Teeth (ao3) - STARSdidathing loki/tony M, 369k

Summary: A betrayed Tony Stark leaves the Avengers. He’s angry and bitter but he’s not about to stop being a hero. The problem is that not everyone is happy with his decision.

spit your tongue out (ao3) - deathsweetqueen tony/sam E, 5k

Summary: Sam is the last to come out of the Quinjet when it lands, and he looks just as handsome as he was the last time Tony saw him, a little thinner, a little wearier, more lines in his face that comes from exile.

His lungs are in his throat the entire time, and when Sam finally looks at him, his face hollowed out, he’s absolutely terrified of what he might say.

Sam doesn’t say anything.

stress relief (ao3) - romanoff steve/tony E, 84k

Summary: They don’t love each other. They barely even like each other.

The Guardians (ao3) - GremlinSR peter quill/tony M, 35k

Summary: Tony is pulled out of his funk after the Civil War by actual space aliens when they come to warn him of an impending attack. Now he’s building a new team, going on adventures with his new space friends, and generally just moving on.

When Team Cap comes back, they’ll find things are different than how they left them.

A salty ‘Tony doesn’t need the team back’ post Civil War fic.

Wrecking Balls (ao3) - Bourneblack bucky/tony E, 87k

Summary: Bucky Barnes is trying to make enough money as an escort to take care of his sister after she loses an arm in the war, and Tony just wants to feel a semblance of control after aliens try to attack New York. They happen to find each other and strike up a mutually beneficial arrangement (sugar, sugar), but is their chance meeting really just coincidence?

[deemee-ed]

Screaming over Maxwell's character arc because I am going insane (+Wilson mentioned because I physically can't ignore him)

oh my god I love Maxwell so damn much y'all, I hate him and I make fun of him constantly but MAN do I love this ugly fuck.

I was playing DST a few hours ago and I was reading all the new lines I had unlocked in the scrapbook, and then I saw this one from Maxwell talking about gold, it was like "I used to care about this once" or something like that, I don't remember

Y'ALL.... Y'ALL......... THIS GUY......

FIRST we see him as the enemy, the bad guy, the villain that tricked the protagonists to listen to him and trapped them all in an eternal hell

THEN Wilson saves him (and I'm just gonna say Wilson because I'm pretty sure he's the only one that canonically gets to the throne???) and it turns out he's just a selfish miserable guy. Not that great of a person, but certainly not a villain.

THEN he's finally free from the throne, and the Cyclum comic (aka one of my favorite pieces of lore) happens. He lost it all. The life he had, gone. The reign he built, lost. He's a survivor now. Doomed like everyone else. And Wilson knows this. So he offers him help. And they have to team up against a common enemy.

The two enemies we've seen since the very beginning, now forced to be allies.

Now, I know Klei never showed us the team forming (except of course for the Cyclum comic), so we don't know what happened exactly between the survivors and Maxwell. But c'mon. I dare to imagine that it must have been terribly awkward. ESPECIALLY for Maxwell. He's suddenly surrounded by the people he used to torture just a few weeks earlier. And now they're supposed to help each others.

BUT WHAT WE DO KNOW FROM THIS ANIMATION, IS THAT MAXWELL DID GET ACCEPTED BY THE TEAM, EVEN WILSON ACCEPTED HIM OH MY GOD

AND NOW HE'S STILL ACTING LIKE A SNOB, SAYING STUFF LIKE "I can't believe I'm reduced to this.", BUT THEN HE ALSO HAS THIS CONSTANT SENSE OF GUILT OVER HIM, LIKE WHEN HE SAYS HE'S SORRY FOR HURTING CHARLIE

HE'S SO SELFISH AND DANDY, AND YET HE FEELS SO BAD. HE JUST WANTED TO BE A COOL MAGICIAN, NOT A FREAKING MURDERER. I HATE HIM I HATE HIM BUT HE HAS MY PITY. I JUST WANT HIM TO BE HAPPY

ALSO little theory for the future of his arc:

You know how he has now made an alliance with Charlie? After she offered him a position of power? Yeah, I don't think he accepted it to betray the others. I feel like the guilt he's feeling is too strong to try and hurt them again. Especially Charlie. I believe he "joined" her team just to have some power back, he knows damn well he's too weak to be useful without it. He probably wants to get everyone out of the Constant, ESPECIALLY CHARLIE.

[ophiocordyceps]

fallen gabe and reconstructed v2's descriptions under the cut for those who arent on artfight and wanna know about these guys

Gabriel:

he/him

After killing the Council and leaving Heaven for the final time, Gabriel was sure he was destined to die, and he was fine with that, feeling as though he had made his peace with his upcoming bout of mortality.

He and the Council were both wrong, however.

Now permanently severed from the Light of god, he effectively sealed his fate as a fallen angel, though what he (and the rest of Heaven) did not know was what exactly that meant.

In Treachery, he would encounter V2, half-dead and unwilling to fight, rather it would go on to strike an initially-begrudging alliance with the angel, bound over a shared goal: to hunt down V1.

While much of the driving force behind this plan was provided by V2, Gabriel still tagged along as it drove the two of them back up through the layers of Hell, and as he did, he would notice his body changing.

Angels, especially fallen ones, are more like strange arthropods than anything else, especially resembling insects. An angel will typically not just outright die when stripped of their light; as an inherently divine entity they still retain a small amount that's enough to keep them alive, however they do end up "falling"--the tight control god once had on their physical form is lost and begins reverting to a more natural and organic state. Gabriel would be no exception to this.

As a proper fallen angel, Gabriel is an even taller (over 8'6") and imposing figure. His halo has become a set of horns and his wings are shattered and split into four long limb-like appendages (think malicious face spider legs but more weaponized). His armor, or rather, carapace is duller and tarnished looking, with the segmentation between plates being more organically divided. He has a pair of sharp, hooked raptorial limbs (like a mantis) connected close to his waist and his legs are completely rearranged into an insectoid form. The front plate of his helmet is largely missing to reveal what at a glance seems to be a void, though also revealing several spider-like eyes around the still completely intact (and untarnished !) cross that once decorated the helmet. The golden spike has split into wasp-like mandibles and large, wing-like lamellate antennae often cover his face in spite of everything else. The [name for whatever the skirt armor plates are] are fused together in the back and extend into a scorpion tail. also his fingers are clawed.

bro is fucked up  !!

optionally, at some point well into the future a few more changes happen over time:

- his bodyplan gets a little less strictly humanoid. playing fast and loose with it

- exposed "skin" gets a layer of fuzzy scales like a moth

- at least one set of the appendages that used to be his wings finally heal into a new set of cicada- or mantis-like wings

- he no longer has the cross from his helmet embedded into his face

- just generally seems way healthier if you know what healthy would look like in an angel ("normal" angels are like god's unethical dog breeds as is)

V2:

it/she Just barely surviving its second fight with V1 out of nothing short of sheer luck or a miracle, V2 was left to drag its utterly broken body out of the scorching heat of Greed in order to try and piece itself together again, physically and mentally. It did not believe it should have survived, only having done so out of chance. It started to see itself as something of a ghost, and there's only one thing your average ghost is after: revenge. Delving deeper into Hell in search of parts and fuel, it, at some point, got ahead of V1 once more and found itself in the frozen wasteland of Treachery, where it would encounter Gabriel. It knew about him, and could accurately guess what they had in common with each other, leading it to try and forge an alliance with him in order to take on V1 one last time, leveraging the fact that both of them had been defeated individually by it previously. It was going to kill its predecessor at any cost. Even if it was taken down with it. Heading back up through Hell, it would form a bond with Gabriel as it tried its best to help him handle his...situation the best it could, going from simply allies to eventually friends (and then even later...uh. great question lmfao). The two would become nearly inseparable by the end of their shared journey. qpp more like the inseparable warrior's bond V2 is fairly short in comparison to Gabriel, only around 5'6" or so, even with the height boost its legs gave it. It's new legs were salvaged from a sentry, and are bird- or dromaeosaurid-like in their anatomy. It's left arm replacement is a tethered saw that can be launched and swung around, built into a swordsmachine-like arm. It's right arm remains intact but it has an extra "skeletal" arm on the same side. All but two of its wing blades are broken off. V2 is also very expressive, having modified itself for the purpose. It has small blade-like structures on the sides of its head that can be moved to convey its emotions, as well as a metal "eyelid" over its optic. Its wings often move and change color in accordance with how it's feeling (red = angry, green = scared, yellow = positive/neutral, blue = negative/neutral) After killing V1, it has a few differences: - its wings are repaired, with all 8 blades intact - it replaces its saw arm with V1's feedbacker (this actually happens before it dies lol) and also reobtains it's knuckleblaster and whiplash - it replaces its skeletal left arm with V1's left arm, giving it anywhere from 3 to 5 arms total Optionally, well into the future: - it builds itself a raptor-like mechanical tail for better balance with its legs. the "feather"-like structures are built to match its wing blades  - if you go REALLY far ahead it eventually develops some synthetic angel wings for itself after studying angel anatomy for a long ass time it is strong enough to pick up gabe. just so you know.

[savage-rhi]

Idk if you write for these characters but Regis and clarus go on a road trip with

getting back from the trip, and some friends are there to welcome them back, but something seems..different and one mf cant help but say “what happened did you guys fuck or something” (…they did)

I never wrote for Regis or Clarus before, but I am now! Hope you like it! 💙

Weskham couldn't help but side eye Regis as they both ventured down one of the main palace halls. Since the prince arrived home from his trip with Clarus, there had been something different about him. Regis looked more exhausted than when he first left. As if another issue at hand was gripping his mind. This troubled Weskham a great deal. The whole point of the trip--that both he and Clarus arranged--was to ensure Regis had time to rest. Gods above knew Regis needed it before he and his team would venture to Accordo to build up alliances.

The weight of the world was literally upon the crown that Regis would wear. Weskham knew that better than anyone. Being the hand of the king, it was his duty and honor to help the monarch keep the peace and also take care of himself. To see Regis look so tired after having a peaceful vacation, felt like a failure on Weskham's part. He felt foolish for not pulling Clarus to the side to ask what had happened.

Weskham stared at the coronation ring that was snug against Regis's right index finger, knowing one day the Ring of the Lucii would take its place. Furrowing his brows, Weskham could feel the competent adviser he knew himself to be pave way to the best friend: wanting to know what was ailing his pal besides the unfair sacrifices his bloodline carried.

"A pardon, highness." Weskham cleared his throat.

"Yes?" Regis stopped in his tracks and turned his attention in full to Weskham. His eyes glanced up and down his form, noting he looked concerned.

"You only ever look like you've seen a ghost when something terrible is on the horizon, my friend."

Weskham couldn't help but laugh. He shook his head. "Fortunately, you are wrong there. However, I have to say that as your friend you have me worried. You haven't looked well since you left the Regalia."

"Oh," Regis made a face. He turned his gaze elsewhere down the hall, as if making sure no one else was within the vicinity. "I can assure you there is nothing amiss on my part. However, the trip with Clarus was...an experience to say the least. Let's resume our walk."

Weskham gave a bow with his head and pressed on. While staying at Regis's right side, he couldn't help but grin.

Regis raised a brow. "What's so amusing?"

"Oh nothing but an immature thought." Weskham chuckled.

"Enlighten me." Regis smiled awkwardly, shaking his head.

"If I didn't know better," Weskham began, trying to keep his composure in check. "I'd say you and Clarus finally gave into that tension that's been with us since youth."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Don't be daft, Regis." Weskham huffed with amusement. "I mean what exactly happened between you and Clarus that was an experience? Did you two fuck or something?"

Regis's eyes bulged from his skull at the accusation. His body and posture tensed and an awkward silence fell between both his long time friend and himself. He blinked a few times after Weskham did a double take.

"Reg?"

"I'm good," Regis coughed. "I'm good."

The faint blush to Regis's pale skin and his response was enough to tell Weskham everything. He parted his mouth to say something, but was quickly interrupted.

"May we both respectfully pretend this conversation didn't transpire."

Weskham could feel his own face growing warm now. What began as a jest to an inside joke between himself, Regis, and Clarus was now heading into territory Weskham himself wasn't sure he was ready for. Both as a friend of the prince and his future adviser.

"I agree," Weskham finally responded, not before smirking. "Was he good at least?"

"That meeting with the Niflheim councilman, I need you to get it rescheduled ASAP." Regis all but bulldozed through the question Weskham asked. He glared at hearing the suppressed chuckles escaped Weskham's mouth.

"I'll ensure it happens," Weskham nodded. "By the way, Reg, nice dodge."

"Oh shut up."

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[stealingyourbones]

So APPARENTLY tucker is the reincarnation of a pharaoh and that's like um, like a really big um.

So now it's got my brain thinking and it's like.

Pharaoh Tucker

My brain is like scrambling right now but HERE WE GO-

Tucker (along with sam) is known as one of ghost zone's alive occupants.

With the Scarab Scepter in hand, he's also recognized as someone of power, not counting his alliance with Danny phantom, so most ghosts won't mess with him.

Now uh. what was I talking about again...um.

AH YES so UH.

So, one way or another Sam and Tucker get roped into Danny's time travelling missions or whatever.

I Dunno where the fuck I'm heading with this but oh well.

So, Tucker deals with time stuff in Egypt.

Sam deals with time stuff involving nature and the like.

And Danny just uh, does the rest I guess.

So, here's the kicker.

All of Tucker and Sam's missions are in the dc universe.

So, Tucker is regarded as this immortal Pharaoh that appears at -seemingly- random places in time to solve great catastrophes or something.

Sam as this immortal plant queen lady that also appears at -seemingly- random places in time to stop people from fucking around with forests and magic that could end disastrously for the future timeline or, to beat back malevolent being that use magic to destroy the plant and everything on it.

(Man, you can just tell that I don't know what I'm doing)

So, throughout the ancient annals of history they are regarded as hero's or just beings that only appear through times of great catastrophe.

So, this continues until the modern age of the Dc universe and are forgotten. Since y'know the whole Justice League being established so Clockwork is just like: 'Yea they can take care of it'

So somewhere way or another, Danny, Sam and Tucker is just dropped into the Dc universe with basically no way to get back.

Danny is wearing full ghost king garments (If this is Ghost king Danny or whatever), Tucker is in full Pharaoh wear and Sam is uh, wearing a dress and a crown made of plants (Couldn't think of anything for her to wear ok-)

(Again, if this is Ghost King Danny)

Danny's royal wear transfers over to his human form so he's just stuck wearing that until they can get clothes.

Tucker is in Pharaoh wear since that's the only thing he actually wore in the dc universe and the same goes for Sam as well.

So, one way or another, they meet the Justice League and (Because I love when it's him) Constantine is just like, freaking out.

Since basically what is seen as gods in ancient history is literally standing right there in front of him along with another person who looks pretty important, y'know with the whole royal garments and all.

(So uh, I dunno where exactly I was going with this and I really dunno what else to add ummmmmmmmm.)

Ok so, in what was their limited interaction between phantom trio and the Justice League.

Those in the know about who Tucker and Sam 'are'. Their brains are going a mile a minute trying to see what kind of world ending event that requires the attention of both of them at the Sam time and how they can do to prevent it.

While also trying to figure out who the 3rd person who appeared with them is. They noticed that he seemed to be the 'leader' of the trio and if that's the case.

What kind of thing would require his attention as well?

(I literally Dunno if this is good or not but here, have it. My brain heard that Tucker was the reincarnation of a Pharaoh and went brrrrr. Sam was there because I looked at the wiki and saw she briefly got plants powers so I just, yea she can learn magic. The time stuff was just someway my brain came up with trying to get it to connect to the Dc universe.)

(Also, Sam and Tucker aren't aware of anything going on the DC universe after they went back to their one. So, they thought what they did didn't really affect anything like Danny since they didn't appear in history. Clockwork never told them that they went to a different dimension for whatever reason I guess.)

Radiance you have outdone yourself this is incredible.

Maybe Sam has a poison ivy esque outfit on but much more modest and with more darker purple and black tones.

The phantom trio meeting the big three and informing them that they're simply trapped and a world ending attack isn't impending (at this immediate moment. In thus universe its really always a matter of time.)

1, 2, 3

[absolutebl]

HOLLY FUCKING SHITBALLS

Utsukushii Kare’s final ep was SO GOOD

I can’t cope right now.

I gotta go drink or something.

Flipping heck.

Talk about sticking a goddamn landing.

what? I mean to say, WHAT.

WHAT!!!????

i’m dead

that is all

(and now I gotta fix all my best of 2021 lists)

please consider this my official review of this series for now 

can’t type, Utsukushii Kare slayed me 

Alright fine, I started breathing again... 

Man was that intense. 

Here’s your actual proper civilized review: 

Utsukushii Kare AKA My Beautiful Man (Nov-Dec 2021 - Japan), rating? 9/10 

Foundational Romance Tropes: whipping boy, spoiled prince, obsessive crush

I love a sympathetic main character and Japan delivers introvert well (emo is their brand, after all). I got a bit of a Silhouette of Your Voice feel from Hira, although the premise of this show was completely different. This is a pretty classic whipping boy trope (it’s been a while my old friend).

Our POV is that weird kid who takes photos and thinks he wants to be invisible but actually just wants to be seen by one person (and belong to him). The beautiful boy who starts bossing him around is protective out the gate, having decided that this weirdo is HIS weirdo, no one ELSE can boss him around. This execution of whipping boy was a whole lot gentler than I expected, but it did pivot into attack dog half way through and I LOVED that. One of the things I like about Japanese BL is that it's not afraid of darkness, but more emo dark than Taiwan (if you I know what I mean?) Especially with their high school stuff.

Utsukushii Kare was harsh as all get up, angry with us and itself, reminding us of old tropes and archetypes long forgotten.

This is what a real entirely unreasonable tsundere looks like.

This is what a real weirdly obsessed stalker seme looks like.

This depicts the collateral that any relationship involving these archetypes causes to everyone around them.

It was exactly as weird and as messed-up as any origin manga and it was great to watch a no holds barred authentic Japanese yaoi adaptation once again. Sure this was an angsty af warped little BL, but it was entirely true to itself with no attempt made to modify its POV for modern sensibilities or international audiences. It was like seeing street fashion or modern art, no pandering, and I fucking loved it for that and for Japan (it’s one of the things Japanese cinema is best at, staying true to itself).

Clearly I have A LOT to say about this series. 

Look, up until the last episode this was a solid 8/10, right there with Japan’s other 2021 offerings... and then the final ep BLEW MY MIND. I actually kinda lost it. I did not understand how they could possibly end this series well, I half expected tragedy, but this BL turned into a life lesson in how to stick a goddamn landing. 

They went with Hira who just wants to be seen and Kiyoi wanting to be touched, and therefore Kiyoi desires - both literally and figuratively - to be tumbled off the pedestal Hira has placed him on. We are lead to think it’s Kiyoi who will have to change and grow, when in fact it’s Hira who has to realize his own worthiness and that his responsibility as a lover is, in part, understand the other’s needs and elevate his belief in himself in order to meet them. 

There’s a grounding to this weird little BL around ideas of communication (including private couple languages) and consent and connection. It’s tackling positive ideas of sexuality meets dirtiness. There’s a reason Kiyoi keeps calling Hira disgusting as a love language. It’s because the narrative is going up against the idea that wanting, and kinkiness, and non-standard (perceived unnatural) desires are somehow less worthy or less important than other forms of love. And is that also an allegory for accepting gayness? Of course it is. (There’s a lot of reasons why there’s a strong core alliance, going back generations, between kink and queer advocacy, but that’s a different blog.) 

Japan, why you gotta do us all so fantastically dirty like this? 

I tend to put all my eggs in the endings basket, as a result, episode 6 alone bumped the whole thing up 9/10. I may not rewatch all of Utsukushii Kare but I have already rewatched the final ep 3x. So, yeah.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, JUST KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO

MOUNT A DEFENSE! 

Someone who could not get past the first 3 episodes asked me to explain my love.

Challenge accepted! 

ABL takes the podium, bang’s rainbow colored fist. 

You have to get bully romances and the whipping boy dynamic and then make if far enough to realize this is a subversion of those tropes. For example, did you know Hira is the seme of this narrative? Oh yes.

It’s a harsh show, but that’s the point of it, it’s harsh on its characters, and it’s harsh on the viewers. Because it wants us to really think about what’s going on here, not the actions, but the emotions behind those actions. Why is Hira the way he is? Why is Kiyoi? And why does Hira never consider either?

It’s exploring different interpretations of love, kink, and power dynamics, but also loneliness, social ostracism, and isolation.

If you stopped half way through, you stopped right before the GOOD time jump.

After they part ways and Hira goes to university and grows up (away from the object of his obsession)... everything changes.

Also we get a penultimate episode entirely from Kiyoi’s perspective and after that our audience perspective also morphs.

We suddenly realize how oddly similar these two are, and how they have reacted to hostile society, queer desire, and the companion disenfranchisement in different but complementary ways.

We are suckered into thinking it's one kind of horrible narrative (stalker, obsession, advantage, and abuse). When in fact, once you're given perspective, it turns out to be something entirely different.

We’re left not thinking so much about bully versus worship, and similar tired old romance tropes, but about the emotions guiding human behavior:

What is the nature of true affection?

How can the wrong kind of love damage?

What is the meaning of the “right kind of love” when contrasted to the warped desires of an individual?

The narrative and personality twists are ALL based in character.

On a rewatch, after completely finishing it, this show will become a whole new story - you’ll never be able to unsee the inherent pain that Hira's own worship is causing him and everyone around him, particularly Kiyoi, who has been forced into a god-like celebrity role that he wanted, yes... but not from Hira. Not from a boyfriend.

It’s the ultimate emotional reveal. Like how if you know the twist of Crying Game or Flight Club or Sixth Sense it will never be the same movie it was the first time around, but Utsukushii Kare DOES THIS AS A ROMANCE.

It’s so fucking clever.

This scene the first time around: Oh, he’s an asshole.

This scene the second time around: Oh, he’s very scared and very gay. 

Forcing us to understand Kiyoi’s bullying behavior, is not a shift to victim blaming. It's a dialogue around the nature of emotional responsibility and an examination of what it means to truly love someone as they are (and not as you idolize them or want them to be). In an odd way, this show is a pretty profound criticism of parasocial relationships. 

The other thing about My Beautiful Man is that it’s for Japanese audiences and, somewhat accidentally I think... us. International BL & yaoi super fans. This is not a show that anyone outside the community would understand. This is not intro level BL. We don’t show this to our friends to get them intersted in the genre (unless those friends are heavily in the kink community) we show them Semantic Error.

This is the kind of BL that can ONLY come from Japan. No other BL producing country has the chops, depth, or talent to pull this off. Nor are they willing to push as hard or as dark. You have to walk the edge of the knife for this kind of story, and as a result it will cut. 

It’s whether you like the pain or not.

There is a reason this show won awards, and it is ENTIRELY different from why, say, ITSAY or Semantic Error won awards. All of them are beautifully acted and filmed, but while ITSAY is about honesty in an ugly world, and Semantic Error is about perfection and ignoring all ugliness, Utsukushii Kare is about connection despite (or perhaps because of) our own ugliness.

“My Beautiful Man” is both subject and irony.

Utsukushii Kare is about embracing what is flawed, and examining that as something to be honored because it is flawed. Which means that ultimately, like all the best of the Japanese romances, it is about hope.

(source)

[madarasthicc]

Map to Hope

Madara x reader

- An arranged marriage twenty years in the making comes calling for Madara Uchiha. Now that Konoha has stabilized, his bride-to-be is ready to be at his side. But is Madara ready for what marriage all entails?

[Master list]

—> [Chapter Two]

Chapter 1: Konoha’s Most Supportive Best Friend.

“I'm getting married in three months.” 

Madara had almost forgotten to tell Hashirama and Tobirama. Well, telling Hashirama meant Tobirama would hear about it as well. Fuck. Hashirama would probably tell the whole village. Not that it mattered, his clan was already aware of the arrangement so it wasn’t as if his loud-mouthed best friend could tell anyone of importance. And it wasn’t as if it was that close to coming. Three months was still plenty of time to tell them. Not as if he was springing the news on them.

When he’s met with silence he looks up at the other men in the room. As of late he had gotten pulled into helping the two Senju’s with Konoha’s government matters- “you have an equal hand in building this village. It was as much your dream as mine” Hashirama had said to him. It was what led the three of them, often late nights in the Hokage tower. Mostly Tobirama and himself going over Hashirama’s work. Ensuring it was completely filled out and correct. 

“What? Are you two deaf suddenly?” Madara snapped, banging his first on the table. It clearly woke them up from whatever stupor they were in.

“You know a woman?”

“How did you convince her to marry you?”

“Is she real?”

“This is a joke. There’s no way you convinced any sane woman to marry you.”

“Hey!” Madara snapped. “I am a catch, excuse you both.” He said straighten his clothing. “Any woman would be lucky to be my wife.” He huffed, crossing his arms. This, he expected from Tobirama. But Hashirama? His so-called ‘best friend’? It was just rude.

“I’m sorry, Madara. It’s just, well, you’re not exactly one to be romancing women.” Hashirama cleared his throat. It was obvious he was trying to be nice in explaining their disbelief. “And you’ve never mentioned a lover so-“

“He’s trying to say you’re shit with other people, neither of us have ever seen you interact with a woman outside of pleasantries, never showed interest in anything other than battle-I’m pretty sure you’d have more fun tormenting me for the rest of your life than being with a woman.” Tobirama said, holding his hand up as he counted this off. “And only the crazy put up with your bullshit.” He added flatly. 

“Hey! I’m his best friend!” Hashirama gasped, throwing a pen at his brother. 

“Exactly.” Tobirama sighed, rubbing his forehead where the pen had hit. “Only crazy puts up with you.” 

“So who’s the lucky woman??” Hashirama asked after throwing another pen his brother’s way. He rubbed his hands together excited to get the details now that he was over his Initial shock.

“I don’t remember her name.” He said with a shrug. 

“MADARA UCHIHA!” Hashrama hollered, absolutely shocked. 

“What a lucky woman, don’t even remember her name. How ever did you woo her?” Tobirama huffed, feeling a headache forming. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to ignore his brother’s rambling. 

“Madara! I cannot believe you! Your own fiancé, you can’t remember her name?!” Hashirama began to ramble off his disbelief. 

“Hey! In my defense, I have not seen her in twenty years.” Madara yelled over Hashirama's outrage, and Tobirama’s insults. 

“Then how-why in the fuck are you even marrying her?” Tobirama snapped. Gods, he felt even more pity for the poor woman. “Some poor random woman tied to you till death.” 

“Tobirama language!” Hashirama gasped, throwing a balled up paper at him. 

“Are you always looking for the worst in me?” Madara growled, his eyes narrowing at Tobirama. “It’s an arranged marriage.” He said firmly. “Has been in place since I was ten.” The room went silent. 

“Ah, so a marriage for alliance and peace?” Hashirama said, resting his head on his hand. This took all the fun out of the news. But certainly calmed his frustration with his friend. And made the situation much more understandable.

“Loyalty, money, shinobis, land-all that.” Madara waving his hand. “As the war expanded, she and other non-shinobi members of her clan moved further west.” He explained. “I didn’t have time to focus on someone I had met once when she was a toddler. It wasn’t necessarily to me she was betrothed to anyway-it was myself or any of my brothers if I died. I just happen to be the last one alive.” There was a bite to his last words. They all knew Madara would never forgive Tobirama for the death of Izuna. Both men understood and respected Madara’s grief and anger. They understood, no one loved like an Uchiha, no one hated like one too. 

“So her clan has come calling for you to fulfill your end of the treaty.” Hashirama phrased it as a statement, not a question. 

“Yes. Her clan believes Konoha is stable enough for her to settle here and marry.” He nodded. “It is what it is. She’ll have a comfortable life here in Konoha as a clan head’s wife.” 

The other two men nodded at Madara’s words. They both understood the place where he was coming from. Hashirama, being clan head as well, would marry for an alliance between them and another clan. It was how it had always been. Marrying for power and safety, rather than lust or love.

Silence fell over the room. Madara sighed and stood, “I’ll be turning in for the night.” Was all he said before he left. The brothers shared a look and without a word turned back to their paper works. It was odd to imagine Madara being a married man. It just seemed something out of character for him. But one couldn’t escape their duty to their clan. Not even in times of peace.

End of chapter one-ten notes(likes/reblogs/comments) and chapter two will be posted. Let me know what you think!