#he remembers most of the saints. but only vaguely

[comfymoth]

and to you, my favorite character, i give the highest honor i can bestow………… an incredibly specific religious headcanon

[esmiara]

As promised, let me introduce you my two beloved BSD OCs:

Who are they?

Basically, Lewis and Antoine are two friends traveling around the world to discover exciting places while avoiding various government forces (more on that later). Though not related to the main story of BSD, they do know about organisations like Port Mafia and the Agency, mainly from what they heard in the streets and read in the newspapers since they arrived in Yokohama. However, they do prefer to not get anyone involved in their issues, nor do they really want to get involved in anyone else’s.

Lewis Carroll

Based on the author of Alice in Wonderland, Lewis was a man in his thirties with a fancy mind. As a child, he once had a wild imagination feeding his ability Wonderland (again, more on that later) but due to social and family pressure, he got forced upon a path of logic and perfection, now making it hard for him to think outside the box. Thus crushing his past self involuntarily and putting chains on his own mind in order to protect himself from outside complaints. As an adult, he became a plain math teacher for children, with a quite boring life. That is, until he met one certain child in London.

Their meeting

“Draw me a sheep.” said the unknown child out of the blue.

Lewis was stunned. He didn’t knew what to respond at first to this child, which he thought was one of his students. But when he put more thought on it, he didn’t looked like any child he had at the time. Who might have been this strange blond kid with unkept clothes? He decided to learn more about him, worried he may have lost his parents somewhere. However, as they talked, he quickly understood he didn’t had any. He simply didn’t knew about any “parents”. Actually, he didn’t knew much about the world itself either.

“Draw me a sheep!” repeated the child after a while of interrogative discussion about who he was, where he came from etc....

Lewis gently asked why such a demand, as he didn’t want to offend this possible lost orphan.

The boy fell silent. Then spoke again, a sad emptiness darkening his young blue eyes.

“I want a warm friend to bring with me” he simply responded.

Their exchange may have been succinct up to this point, but it was clear to Lewis that he was no normal child. As the boy seemingly didn’t have a name, Lewis gave him the name of one of his most beloved book’s author. The character of that one book simply reminded him of the boy.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

More based on the Little Prince’s main character than the actual author, Antoine was an enigmatic individual with the physical appearance of a young boy. Nobody knows of his real age, not even himself. However, most may have theorized that he at least was around for at least a few decades, if not centuries perhaps. One day found and caught by the french government in his - supposedly - hometown, he had no memories of his time before then, except for some vague fragments. He mostly remembered about this laboratory he was brought in, with a lonely room where he would occasionnally meet strangers dressed in white. Despite the many uncertainties surrounding him, Antoine was still of great interest for scientists. He didn't seemed to physically age at all. Could he hold the secret of cells regeneration or even immortality? They soon found out he did age but at a very slow pace, thus looking unchanged for many years.

Curious about this plausible new ability, they decided to make him meet a young girl, who would share his room from now on. This one girl was quite arrogant at first. Antoine didn't really like her attitude but she was the only other person he could befriend. So they did. They soon became friends. Then they learned more about the truth, may it be this girl's past, snatched from her orphanage to become a lab rat as well, or the whole reason why she was here with him in the first place.

It was all because of the young girl's ability. One that would let her copy another one and make it her own. They apparently wished to make a copy of test subject B612′s power in order to "save it” somewhere and be able to experiment on it without having to risk the boy’s life. But things didn't turned out like they wanted as the girl began to crumble under some unknown sickness. Her body couldn't handle Antoine's ability, so it seemed, and she quickly became unable to move. So she made a promise with Antoine:

“Be my eyes and explore the outer world, okay dumby?” she said, with little breath she had left.

A promise reminiscent of the one where they would explore and see the world together. One where he would do so if she couldn't follow, to make her dream come true even when she became a star.

Their abilities

Little prince

No one really knows the details about Antoine's ability. Everything we know for sure is that his body has a very long lifetime, yet not immortal. He is destined to die of aging one day and is still weak to any wound like anyone else. However, we did notice Antoine's body starts to produce a faint glow whenever he gets sick or when his life is in danger in general. Not that it really helps at all though.

Wonderland

Lewis' ability is a bit complex and confusing, much like Alice in Wonderland's whole world.

In theory, Wonderland is quite simple: it allows its bearer to create anything he thinks to be a nonsense, something that is normally impossible. It could be seen as an area surrounding the user, in which he can create anything he wants, as long as it meets the proper requirements (being a "nonsense").

However, as the whole definition of "nonsense" depends on the user's mind, one could have a hard time creating anything. As such, what could be a nonsense to someone isn't necessarily one for Lewis. He is still quite a peculiar man after all.

A strange man, but with many restrictions on his mind and imagination. As he was forced to think with logic for the most part of his life now, he can't stop asking himself about the specifics of one’s question. Where a visible nonsense would occur, Lewis' mind would subconsciously ponder over what could make it truly real or impossible. If he can't get proper answers to those questions, then it can't happen either.

The beginning of their adventures

As they became much closer as people who somehow understood each other, Lewis began to be more friendly with the child, rather than looking like a mere adult talking to a little one. He saw himself in his struggles. He saw a young mind, much like his own a long time ago, slowly getting crushed by adult's expectations and limiting his own thoughts. He couldn't let the same thing happen twice when they still had a choice. So he encouraged him to get creative and let free of his imagination, with no worries about exterior opinions.

One day however, they suddenly got caught off guard by militaries sent by the french government as well as some members of the Order of the Clocktower, there to retrieve the unknown child for their own purpose instead. It was at that time that Lewis was finally able to make use of his ability once more after so many years. Inspired by Antoine’s naturally spoken nonsense, he unleashed Wonderland in order to escape. This also put a permanent stop to Lewis’ normal way of life, as he now was as searched for as Antoine was. It was time for a involuntary trip around the world, it seemed. But this time, Antoine wasn’t alone anymore.

[yxstxrdrxxm-a]

SYNOPSIS: Lyney has a patience of a saint, but he's had enough of this game of cat and mouse. This time, he wants you, and no one will stop him for getting what he wants. (2nd POV) [ IDENTITYV AU ]

TW/S: Yandere tendencies, stalking (he's chasing you), minor character death (other survivors died), emotional manipulation, Arle teaches him how to """metaphorically""" cut off someone's 'wings', ooc Lyney and Arle, gore, teeth, Lyney is unhinged

You couldn't remember what tipped him off. It could be from your actions, or it could be from what you said. Hell, it may as well be something that you unknowingly did that offended him— something that would normally not be a bother to him that became its own trigger.

Whatever it could be, you were in the other end of such a horrible fate. And alas, the last place you wished you didn't end up in had to be the one you loathed the most.

The eerie chimes of the bell echoing around the haunted town continued to plague your senses, followed by the faint meowing of the grin-malkin cats as you sprinted for your dear life.

You can hardly focus on what is there and isn't there, as all you had is to get the hell out of here and save this sinking match.

Your only task is to survive.

Survive the madness of the man that loved you in such a twisted, horrible way.

You were his rabbit, and Eversleeping Town was the location of his greatest show yet— a show that will capture not just your attention, but your own will.

Granted, the ever forgiving Illusionist made a simple deal— if you get out by any means necessary, be it the dungeon, exit gate, or, hell— even by completing the ciphers with your companions or saved by the Nightingale… He'll let you go.

However, should you go down, he would consider that as a win of his own, and that meant you cannot leave this forsaken match that you're under.

It's why you were prepared. You came with a companion or two that can assist you, even if it had its own drawbacks.

Alas, this did not stop the Knave from simply going after them first, leaving only 4 ciphers and the dungeon still hidden and closed from many prying eyes. You were clever to cover your tracks, but he is more so with removing the most trickiest companions yet.

…

Or, that's what many may think.

The Knave bas been taught from the best of the best— his "Father" has taught him of how to, in simpler terms, keep a bird from flying away in its cage.

Should Lyney need it, he needed to learn one crucial detail: he needed to learn just how to clip his beloved's wings first and keep them in his cage.

After all, if he had found a way to do such a thing… the outcome of the match will be nothing but predictable.

And the Knave thrives off of the uncertainty, and especially with being dubbed the Trickster of Eversleeping.

He'll let you off for now. He'll let you scurry around, trying and praying that he never catches wind of your antics.

After all, the moment he catches you, you will have to pray to whatever God you believed in that he feels nice enough to not take you down to his very grave.

"Now, Lyney," he could vaguely hear 'Father' speak as she handed him his cards. Gesturing right before them was the sight of someone bound in the chair. The magician stood as he saw the stranger shake and struggle, trying to say something under the gag.

"You must learn how to use your tricks to matters such as this. I'm sure it will be hard, but I have faith that you can do it."

He seemed rather hesitant to speak with how the fool was trying and failing to scream. To beg, even. It was a pathetic sight if Lyney didn't had morals... Which he had, much to 'Father's' chagrin.

Oh well. It wasn't as though having morals can be a bad thing. Maybe it was better, so she can use it to her advantage.

"Take this, Lyney."

She hands the young magician an item. One that can be used with just a bit of force.

"Now, let Father teach you how to clip a bird's wings. All you have to do is watch and follow my lead. You can do that, right?"

He turned his gaze to the taller woman, then to the item she handed to him. The sight of the iron and leather caught his attention, and especially with the ends of it's 'mouth' being bloodied.

Pliers.

He should've dropped it the moment he had it. He should have done that and not agree. It was brutal to harm another person, and he knew that.

... But his 'Father' would simply dangle the life of Lynette over his head. She could simply threaten to send Lynette off to a dangerous mission, especially one where dying is guaranteed.

Many have died, and Lyney was not a stranger to that.

However, his sister was special. She was the only one he had left, and she to him. Should she die, he didn't knew what he'd end up doing.

And so, with a deep breath, he nodded and faced his 'Father'.

"Yes, Father."

...

That day didn't end in a simple case of dental work.

But he learned how to 'clip' a person's wings in exchange.

Your chest began to heave as you traversed through the empty buildings of the town, fatigue catching up to you the more you spent running.

Although your legs ached and begged for a break, you continued running, feeling the rush from behind you— one from the grin-malkin cats.

Now, one can say that you thought covering your tracks was a skill you need to learn. And with that, you assumed it to be the case. However, you've yet to learn that it was better not to underestimate a hunter's skills.

A lesson that Lyney, a man whom you've helped when you were both survivors, would be more than happy to teach you.

As you vaulted over an open window, you felt the air grow harsh as it whipped you on your descent, your feet landing on the pavement. Feeling your muscles tighten, you grit your teeth and sprinted onwards.

Come on, I just need to get to the graveyard. I can lose him from there!

Alas, you were not gifted with the matter of stamina. Just as you've reached past the tracks of the tram, you could hear Lyney speak from behind you.

"Look at what we have here! Scurrying off, are we?"

And then, you felt it.

Pain.

The harsh hit from Rosseland, his cat, as you vaulted over the window leading to the land of tombstones sent you flying; your back soon collided with one of the worn headstones, making you groan in pain.

In the midst of your suffering, Lyney vaulted through the window, his purple eyes twinkling as he crouched down to look at you.

"My, my, my little rabbit," he tutted, chuckling as he watched you crawl away from him with no avail. "Haven't we made a deal? If you manage to escape this match, I'll let you go. But since you went down... I get to keep you. Do you remember that?"

... You kept your mouth shut.

"... [Name]," he said, his right hand reaching over to grab your neck. "Answer me. Do you remember what our agreement is?"

"... I do."

And yet it feels like it's stacked against me.

Coughing, you turned your head away from him. You didn't need to see his face to know that he was happy to hear your agreement to the matter.

"See? It isn't so hard to agree, now, is it?" he asked with a lit of his voice. "Now, my darling... Now that I have you, I'd like for you to answer a few questions for me."

Questions?

"... And if I refuse?"

Lyney laughed at that, but his voice was less composed. Perhaps it was more manic.

"Ahahahaha! What makes you think you're able to refuse, my little hare?" he asked, his eyes closed before reaching up to grab your chin. With an iron grip, he turned your head to him, his eyes open to face you with a chilling smile.

"I'd hate to have you toy with me like that. You know that, right?"

You wanted to say otherwise, but you were already incapacitated. If you ever decided to counter his claim, you knew that he would do worse than simply chairing you to one of the... Less than desirable chairs with rockets strapped onto them.

".. Fine," you breathed out. "I agree."

"Splendid," he said, pulling his gloved hand away to grab his hat. As he pulled it off of his head and turned it upside down, he reached his left to slip inside.

"Now, I don't want to you to force my hand. It's only a few questions that I want you to answer, and if you answer them truthfully... I may spare you by chairing you myself."

You didn't knew what that meant...

... Up until you saw a pair of pliers peek out from his hand, the dull gleam of iron greeting your horrified face.

"But if you lied, I'll have to resort to some more... Drastic measures."

The hours you two spent together was, in short, torture.

You couldn't count the amount of times that your teeth got yanked with those metal ones, the pain and blood gushing as you wailed.

You could count other ways that would be better than feeling metal graze and nick at them. You could've asked for simply to be drugged, to face death by his hands, to bleed onto the ground that he walked on.

However, death was not a fate worse than this. And Lyney— rather, the Lyney you see now, not the one you know of— was a man who had a manic streak hidden under that smile.

As he yanked the nineteenth tooth out of you, he turned his head down to see blood drip down and stain your clothes. He scowled and placed his pliers down with four teeth now on his right side, grabbing a handkerchief to wipe the blood away.

He knew it was pointless. You did, too.

Maybe it was a way to distract yourself from the pain, and for him to justify his actions in doing such a thing.

Alas, delusions can only take you so far, and pain is karma's many mistresses. One of many that everyone in the manor is familiar with, you and Lyney included.

"Shhh..."

He began to dab the cloth more as blood spilled and tainted the fabric, his smile empty of its sympathy for your decision to lie to him. All he could see before him was his darling, whose way, way too stubborn for his good.

And one that is good to make him lose his patience.

"I have warned you, haven't I?" he asked, his voice chilling yet sickeningly sweet while he pulled the handkerchief away. Tossing it to a direction he could care less to look, he grabbed another from his hat to continue his 'treatment'.

"If you had simply stayed truthful, you wouldn't have to loose your teeth! And yet, you didn't listen," he concluded, tutting as you sobbed and turned your head from him.

"I pity you, my dear hare. But it's the price to pay with how you didn't listen to my warnings."

When the blood stopped spilling, he placed the bloodied fabric and stared at his handiwork. From the answers he got from you, he was quite... Intrigued with what you told him.

"Now... I'm going to ask you one more time."

Grabbing the now bloodied pliers, he positioned it to your twentieth tooth, ignoring the sobs you let out and your gaze full of fear.

"Do you prefer my dear sister, Lynette?"

He could hear your breath heave as the metal 'teeth' of the pliers began to tighten.

However, the answer you gave him was interesting... Especially when you whispered out 'yes' with your greatest efforts.

...

"Is that so?"

He couldn't help but laugh. So, you do prefer Lynette, his sister... Over him? What a farce!

He may care for his sister to death, but he would rather have you than her survive to be his lifelong assistant.

Especially now that his 'Father' gave him the role of Knave, and how his siblings have been punished for trying to go against him and save that sorry excuse of magician. Himself.

"Ah, I see how it is," he said, his voice merely a wheeze as his hand shook. However, it went still and firm once more, and he gave you a lopsided smile.

"Do you remember what I've told you before, hm? Back when we were simply 'survivors' in this forsaken manor?"

Your body shook.

"Magicians generally do not reveal the core secrets behind their tricks," he said, his smile widening. "And especially if it concerns their heart. However, I may just revoke that if you call me 'Master Lyney' and swear to be my only assistant— and only me."

He could see that you were shaking even more, and the fear was what drove him mad. Alas, he knew that he might nick at your gums if he got too rough.

Not that you mind, right?

"I'm curious how much of it you'd understand," he concluded, leaning over to continue in a whisper.

"And how long you'd last, hehe~"

And thus, he yanked your twentieth tooth, causing your screams to erupt all through the barren town and the Illusionist to shiver in glee. He always enjoyed the thought of performing, but maybe he has lost it while staying here for so long.

Putting the pliers away, he hushed you and began to rock your body, uncaring of the sobbing and your blood staining his attire.

"I just wish to make a point. And I hope you understand that, my assistant."

Alas, the day cannot last forever. Lyney knew that, and it's why he decided to do one last trick.

Covering your eyes, he grabbed a crimson red handkerchief— one tainted with your blood— and covered your face. With a whisper, he pulled it away, leaning back to see his handiwork.

"And... Voila!"

He seemed rather smug as he saw teeth were back in your mouth, each one untainted and straight like new. Still, the damage was done, as you continued to sob and wail, begging for him to not do it again.

...

That day didn't end in a simple denture fix, that he's certain of.

But he utilized what 'Father' taught him all those years ago.

And that was good enough.

@.throw-letter-away | do not republish or repost my works anywhere | 2023

[alenablack]

Excerpt from Chapter 8 of Saint Harry…doing some edits while we write up the next arc and i forgot how excited i am about this story! So excited to share what Chaos and I have in store. ••••••••

Harry pushed open the temple door with a gentle press of his palm, quickly glancing down the silent corridor before slipping into the empty antechamber. Still magic and the scent of crushed cypress and lilies filled the air as he quietly shut the door behind him. Septima did his best to ensure Harry didn’t enter the temple unattended, afraid a worshiper would wander too close or, more accurately, afraid Harry would wander too far—too curious for his own good, Sev always said. The magic of the temple trilled happily around his legs, winding tendrils that made him laugh breathlessly at the welcome.

Unsteady legs carried him towards the red door off the side of the main altar, wincing at the wilted flowers he crushed underfoot as he made his way downward to his mother’s resting place.

If one could even call it that.

Harry couldn’t be sure how he felt entering the sacred place. His mother was more of an idea than a person; he had a vague memory of dark red hair tickling his face and a gentle voice whispering his name. Mostly, he remembered her here, too scared as a young boy to look at the preserved remains. Her bones lay in a coffin made of marble and glass, with white silk laid over her that spilled down onto the floor. Only her skull was visible through the thick glass, a golden wreath placed atop.

Every member of the congregation knew his mother, and prayers and offerings were often left in the circular room. On Halloween, the priests would invite the most devout to look upon her. Harry hated those services the most, often clinging to Severus, silent throughout the orchestrated weeping of the flock.

He thought it was odd how celebrated the day of her death was when no one dared to visit on the day of her birth; there was no sorrowful weeping or rejoicing at her sacrifice then.

It was just Harry and her silent tomb. He wondered how she would feel about being here, separated from both child and husband. Harry stepped closer to the raised dais and rested his hands on the glass. He leaned his face as close as he could to the chilled tomb, his breath fogging up the glass.

“Happy birthday, Mother.”

[crusty-chronicles]

Airheaded S/O Headcannons #9: Hiei (Yu Yu Hakusho)

He wants you dead at first

But that's just because he's a bit standoffish

You'd waltzed in right as he had Yusuke suspended in his clutches at a warehouse.

"Yusuke, you left your calc homework on your desk, you ditz!"

And then you looked up and saw the three eyed demon and your friend.

And he was a little shocked that a human had found his hideout, even with his manipulated spirit energy.

"Kinda in the middle of something here," the greasy haired boy responded.

"Well cut that out for a second. I've got places to be."

Like you weren't just witnessing him about to be killed

It was so baffling how you just completely dismissed the situation, that Hiei's powers actually faltered and let the detective get away.

What the actual hell????

"Get out of here, now!" Yusuke warned.

And you'd just frowned

"Dude, it's not that deep. Why are you even here?"

Now was Hiei's chance to attack

But when he disappeared and quickly reappeared behind with his sword raised, you just caught the blade and glared at him

"Can you back off, I'm trying to talk to my friend."

You shooed him away like a pest.

And that was the moment he decided he wanted you dead.

A strong believer in survival of the fittest

And what the hell, because you had not a single working brain cell but were somehow stronger than him????

Kuwabara is your best friend and the two of you combined are stupid²

And it's horrible because there's only so much stupidity Hiei can take.

During the time he's still conforming after being caught, he spends most of it in the human world scouting you out for any weaknesses.

He still holds a grudge from the first time you met

But he's so damn surprised to find out that you're a walking hazard

How does one leave the stove, microwave, and oven on?

How does one forget that they're all on at the same time????

It would be so easy to let your own recklessness kill you

But his damn pride won't let that happen because he wants to be the one that defeats you

So, you wake up from your nap to see all your appliances turned off

Which is surprising because you vaguely remember cooking something before you feel asleep.

You do earn his respect eventually

It's when Yusuke is tasked with defeating the Saint Beasts

All of you were struggling to keep the roof up from collapsing

Yusuke had suggested Hiei be the one to pull the lever because he was the fastest.

And you'd said something then. Something that made him not want to kill you anymore.

"I might be able to hold the whole thing by myself. You all have to be really fast though."

"Are you crazy?!? There's no way we're gonna leave you behind. We're in this together or not at all," the oaf had protested.

You gave a dopey smile and released all your spirit energy at once, lifting the ceiling with all your might and alleviating the pressure from all the others.

"You scared, Kuwabara? People die everyday. What's one more?"

Hiei had never moved as fast as he did when he pulled that lever down.

You were a fool for risking your life over the others.

A fool for wasting your power on the weak.

But you weren't scared of death, of dying for your morals

And that had his respect.

Hiei does not baby you and finds great amusement in your failures

After all, you're not his responsibility

You accidentally got captured by a demon?

Good luck to whatever idiot thought they'd last more than a minute in the same room as you

You swallowed a poisonous plant Kurama was growing because you were hungry?

That's what you get for giving into your human whims

You threw a punch at an enemy that missed and hit Yusuke instead?

You should've hit him harder

Uses your naivety to his advantage

The tape with Yukina?

You'd told him without much thought about the situation

Only for Hiei to drag you towards where she was being held captive.

"Ooh, where are we going?"

"Just quiet down and follow me, human."

It's because you can sense spirit energy a little better than he can.

That and if he's spotted, he can just pass it off as you dragging him along to see Kuwabara.

Surprisingly, you're quiet and don't make a sound that gets the two of you caught.

And maybe he's a little grateful you don't question him about it.

You don't question why he wants to save this girl you've never heard of up until a few days ago.

You just go along with it because 'We're friends.'

You're so stupid for trusting him that easily when he wanted so badly to kill you not long ago

So unbelievably stupid for following around a demon just cuz

You had a fool's heart, that was for sure.

You were a trustworthy ally during the Dark Tournament, a strong warrior during the battle with Sensui, and a true fighter during the demon tournament.

It's the last event that he realizes he values you a little more than he should.

He had just barely beaten Mukuro and was set to fight you next.

The thing was, Hiei could barley stand with his injuries, while you hadn't broken a sweat.

This was the one fight he looked forward to the most, besides the one he wanted with the spirit detective.

But there was this look on your face

An uncomfortable yet sorrowful look.

Why weren't you as excited as he was?

He shrugged the feeling off as the announcer told them to begin.

His sword was long destroyed, so he resorted to basic combat skills instead.

He lunged, fist clenched to hit, but you just dodged with that same look

He tried again and the result was the same

You didn't even try to block his attacks, just moved out of the way.

Like he was beneath you to even try.

He recognized the look now

It was pity

And that infuriated him.

"Why won't you fight back!" A kick aimed for your side.

"You think you're so-called friendship matters here? Your emotions mean nothing. Not in here. So quit acting like a fool and fight!" A punch aimed at your throat.

You stopped it this time, but didn't attack him back.

You were making a fool out of him.

And before he could berate you again, you spoke.

"I don't care if we're friends or not. Either way, the fight still isn't fair."

And that had temporarily halted his anger.

"What do I gain from beating someone so injured, they can't stand up? What do you gain from fighting when you have no power? Think about it."

You didn't want to fight because you wouldn't enjoy it?

It wouldn't be a win for you

"It's not fair to either of us if we fight like this. We'd never get to find out who's really stronger."

Hiei was the fool.

He'd lashed out at Mukuro for letting her feelings get in the way and here he was, doing the same.

Letting his pride get in the way of rational thought

He'd been the one to get upset that you weren't fighting him as an equal, when the condition he was in clearly said otherwise.

"I know you don't want to lose the tournament, so I quit. But I want you to heal up and get stronger. Don't die because next time I see you, I'll kick your ass the way you want. Got it?"

Don't die

You and that oaf shared the same moral code.

But something about it being you made him tolerate it.

"...I surrender. I'm in no shape to continue. Y/n, you better not hold back next time."

Much to the dismay of the audience, the two of you walked back together. The outcome of the match: no winner.

There was something for him to look forward to now. A new goal.

He'd surpass you and then Yusuke.

Following the events of the demon tournament, he's a little softer towards you.

You and that stupid human heart of yours had him observing you from the trees.

He was unused to the heaviness he felt seeing you visit Yukina and making her laugh.

He couldn't understand the warmth consuming his face when you would fight a stray demon and win.

He didn't know why he used his Jagan to see you while he was in demon world.

But he did know he didn't like seeing you and the idiot duo hanging off of each other, cackling at something one of them said.

Don't count on him acting on his feelings.

He would never tell you.

But his actions towards you are more than enough to let the others know you're his.

He calls you fool(derogatory) and if he's feeling sweet, just by your name.

Jealousy is a big one.

Hiei's never had something special he's been allowed to keep.

So if you're spending a little too much time with Kuwabara, don't be surprised to see him at your window the next day.

He'll deny to his dying breath that he came all the way from demon world just to see you.

He'll also deny leaving some of his own clothing or even his sword at your house just so it smells more like him than it does your (just as stupid) best friend.

Hiei leaves for months at a time and without fail, will always come back the day after you went crying to Kurama that you think he's died.

(Thanks to his Jagan that is. There isn't a day he doesn't check up on you so he's bound to know when you miss him.)

Kurama is his best friend, but that doesn't stop Hiei from getting upset when he comes to get you and sees you sound asleep on the fox's bed.

You just smell so much like the other demon now, it pisses him off.

"Keep your scent off my human."

And Kurama finds immense joy in his childish anger.

"Maybe if you would physically see them more, they wouldn't come by so often."

And Hiei's grumbling as he picks you up, still dead asleep, to bring you back to the home that would restore his own scent back on you.

The time spent when you wake up is for sparring.

He can't find it in him anymore to fight you for real

But that doesn't mean he won't enjoy the false matches you have with each other.

He refuses to take you with him to demon world.

You have a life here

And though it's tempting to take you where you wouldn't be very far away from him, he knows you wouldn't be happy away from everyone else.

So, the one and only thing he does that hints at his feelings for you is give you the makeshift necklace made from hiruiseki stone. His to be exact.

"Take it."

"Why?" Your small little brain was struggling to figure out why he would want you to have it.

"It represents a promise. A promise that I'll be back for you no matter what. So take care of it for me, human."

NEXT UP: Kurapika Kurta

MASTERLIST

An: Yall sorry it took so long, i deadass got sick last week.

[anniesilverl2]

CHARACTER STUDY: Liquidator, Representation of parody or oblivion by the script?

INTRODUCTION

Good morning / good afternoon / good evening or Good night, Returning with the third character in this analysis, Liquidator / Bud Flud. First of all, this post wasn't the easiest thing to structure, especially when the character doesn't exactly have a good depth within the program itself, so let's not leave aside the points to add to these characters, there is a guarantee of better reach with the public when the screenwriter explores how to think and until the end he will realize some things that basically they would have made him one of the strongest of the superhero's main team of adversaries, without further ado, let's follow the information.

IMPORTANT WARNINGS ABOUT SENSITIVE CONTENT: NONE

DARKWING DUCK SERIES - Taking everything the show SAYS for itself

The episode “Dry Hard” is characterized as the first and last of great participation in the sense of having attention on his abilities, there was a comic strip, but publicly only one. To sum up the basics, Bud Flud is one of the businessmen responsible for selling water on a very hot day and to earn the final income he poisons the water of his opponents. Until he is stopped by Darkwing Duck until he meets his end as a normal dog. Later, chemists somehow brought him back to life and enhanced his abilities so that they could manipulate matter and its form, giving enough idea to snot the total water of Saint Canard and sells the fresh water expensively (I don't know where this guy got the water from, if it wasn't his I don't know but where he made it appear). Luckily Darkwing has the upper hand when he beats him by throwing cement from the local construction site and learning something from the episode. Unlike those who remember, Darkwing used his own opponent as a garden decoration (old-era Disney wasn't The family friend, was it?).

DARKWING DUCK FANDOM - Building everything that was formed for the fans together with the most indirect interpretations perceived in my participation when writing or drawing with lore

There is a great personality who worked finger by finger on the character of Liquidator, whoever walks in the community must recognize the great effort and quality of this artist's work, so I also want to add to the old ones from the first internet communities like Devianart and Instagram, have been working for quite some time on adding abilities, design variation beyond their basic concept of a mutant water dog.

The point that I will highlight as its differentiation in our main universe that we will have in this meeting is that the character received a few more things from references, from a renewal of its personality, adding some points and making it go a little beyond sales dialogues. Give to cauterize a mix between a character with little social filtering/sincerity and a bit of a sensor of ease in getting into fights (it is not possible to go into too much detail, this part is better worked on than said). Trying not to leave this passage too vague, the character here gets a light dose to flourish his best characteristics that range from confidence (perhaps pride), greed (a big point) and professionalism, being able to say that in his episodes he failed to defeat the protagonist. However, there are some moments like the boiling water trap for the water modification that could have easily resulted in a filming accident, originally the villain 's animation is SIMPLY WEIRD, only, only weird, of course there's not really any indication that it was intentional by Darkwing, however it seems to have been a moment... of possible poor elaboration in the scene? It's an opinionated piece, but honestly here, Darkwing Duck barely showed any resentment or guilt over the ACID DEATH of a criminal, yes, criminal, however in this version there is a makeover that shows that it was an accident and without attempts at humor here, this moment could really have a more dignified passage and less than an episode of the week. Darkwing Duck really isn't the type who wouldn't take passages involving death, this isn't one of the first times.

IN DARKWING DUCK appearing in the episodes:

"Just Us Justice Ducks, Part 1" (Season 1, Episode 20)

"Just Us Justice Ducks, Part 2" (Season 1, Episode 21)

"Life, the Negaverse and Everything" (Season 1, Episode 35)

"Dry Hard" (Season 1, Episode 36)

"Darkwing Doubloon" (Season 1, Episodes 40)

"Jail Bird" (Season 1, Episode 62)

IN DUCKTALES 2017 appear in the episodes:

"Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!" (Season 1, Episode 11)

"The Duck Knight Returns!" (Season 2, Episode 16)

"Let's Get Dangerous!" (Season 3, Episode 12)

IN COMICS (Boom! Studios and Joe Books):

"The Duck Knight Returns, Part 1"

"The Duck Knight Returns, Part 2"

"The Duck Knight Returns, Part 3"

“The Duck Knight Returns, Part 4"

"Crisis on Infinite Darkwings, Part 3"

“Crisis on Infinite Darkwings, Part 4”

"Dangerous Currency, Part 1"

"Dangerous Currency, Part 2"

"Dangerous Currency, Part 3"

"Orange Is the New Purple, Part 1"

“Orange Is the New Purple, Part 2”

“Orange Is the New Purple, Part 3”

DARKWING DUCK/DRAKE MALLARD - Story adapted without extreme spoilers, just adding the changes, ideas on his biological identity and influence:

One thing that is important to note is that we gathered information from the episode and with the loose ideas that we already had about what led to the character's acceptance of crime, for now.The main point is that we improved the approach with their own solo appearances and made it a little harder to win. One example is that now cousin Mortimer has a better participation in the character's past. :›

LIQUIDATOR/BUD FLUD - Conceptual And Final visual:

Concept art Vs Final Design

Not enough data…

Canon Redesign

DEVELOPMENT

The first point not to forget is that the character deserved as much attention as the others in terms of giving him room to deepen his skills, of course, possibly the animation was not very cheap, But then why do they still bring the same character who only had one episode? This is your chance! Liquidator is a perfect villain to give the protagonist trouble, he not only manipulates water (and possibly is not entirely water), he himself is an unstable chemist with unknown capabilities. Able to change the state of a liquid, transition components, general manipulation of one's own body, in addition to low damage capacity, this super villain advances without difficulty within a police conflict. If Saint Canard hadn't already had some budget misappropriation, they would have reformed the banks as well as the police department to keep this villain in (yes, in the comics it was easy for him to have simply broken the glass, IF BY CHANCE it was glass). The question of the character's abilities is pure experimentation, both in script and in combat, and,the only thing that seems to be able to bring this character down is purely pricing his original body, very similar to some other characters in the cast of characters with liquid bodies, right? I can't say anymore for now, secret AU information.

> CREATIVE WRITING: What ideas can be worked and how can each one fit in?

RELATIONSHIPS:

In this process, you can work on the character's relationships as you prefer, whether platonic, loving, intimate or aggressive, the dog's relationship with others. Would he act with Negaduck the same way he did with the other Fearsome Five? Would he be open to questioning or would he find a way to manipulate the situation for his own good? Would he still have any family he would like to meet again in another life? But what reason prevents him from doing so other than mutation? Dynamics are the soul of stories, feel free to respond with your observations about this mischievous dog.

THE IMMORTALITY:

Before working on this issue I will add a theory that I tried to formulate with zero experience in chemistry, Maybe it didn't come out very well, but I'm going to transcribe what I explained in private to an acquaintance. "The fact responsible for making the jealous is the neutralizing component in the character of the donor due to three factors, CaO, H2O, CO,2, KOH and NH4, summarizing what these components found in the productivity of the agricultural process leads to the decay of electrons to a positive form of a homogeneous mixture (on this side the entire Liquidator is internally heterogeneous and nothing mixes), then the jealous has components that neutralize making a base mixture, because in the end jealous is the base of water." Summarizing what I said there.

Structuring this concept, the fact responsible for the opportunity for rebirth and maintaining the character's consciousness makes his body purely unstable to maintain each item. This point is visible because its shape is always spilling and is basically impossible to be physically damaged. Of course, with this concept the only object of damage to your body is through reactions or addition of components that break down in water, ranging from soap, chlorine, liquid or powder products in general. However, this is a theme that influences the character's personality and life, because it can gradually make him feel the consequences, perhaps destruction of the components, seeing everyone in his friendship circle die, becoming a completely unhuman figure and perhaps making him as crazy a criminal as the rest of his team, and, If this observation is correct someone could easily threaten him with this weak point in mixtures.

INTERESTING REFERENCES FOR YOU TO PICK YOU TO PICK UP FOR THE CHARACTER

Hydro-man (The Amazing Spider-Man #212) of Marvel Comics:

Clayface (Detective Comics #40) of DC Comics:

Globby of Operation Big Hero - The Series:

Sevika of Arcane: League of Legends:

CONCLUSION

This post ends here, I will not complicate the information as much as I had planned, unfortunately, without a bonus about the theory of what reaction Bud performed to bring his life back.Possibly messing with the fictional more than actually some technical source of what I expected, well, I'm leaving, see you around, BYE-EEE!

[snowleopardcrk]

I remember, will you?

From the deep shadows of the tree line, tears reflected the sunlight like little rain droplets. Moonflower Cookie stared at the vague outline of the figure, the little wings on its back and that large hat with spikes for rims. She stood in an open field, staring at him directly with her only functional eye left. Spirits of the dead loomed in the corner of her eye, staring back at the saint. Their whispers numerous, warning her about the saints presence like chirping birds. Yet Saint Vanilla only stared back, his eyes now open. "Moonflower Cookie...There you are, I've missed you." The Saint Vanilla chirped. His little smile, a crude mockery- a shell of a Cookie. "I'm not coming back. Not even a saint like you could...Save my soul." She shrugged, the grass and flowers beneath her feet already wilting and dying- the life being drained out of them. Small patches of iridescent black snake scales forming on her dough. "Why do you believe that? Even if my current methods do not suffice, they eventually will." He commented, not letting her out of his sight. She simply stared, her eyes blank- she pondered silently to herself, the dead spirits around her whispering her various disapprovals, most condemning the saint. But some, praise him. "Even if so, why would I? In your first attempt, you hurt me. I have no reason to offer you my trust." She crossed her arms, her lips in a snarl. "I will only do so if I am fully certain my methods will work." He reassured. She could only shake her head. "Even at our best to help the world, many will always be hurt." She began running her hand across the scarring on the right side of her face. "You did this. Your actions; your choices." She paused, closing her eyes. "All those I helped are now in a better place, I only want the best for you... Like I always have." Saint Vanilla Cookie stepped onto the field and slowly approached her. "If you wanted the best for me, you would've asked what I wanted. So, did you ask me?" She questioned. The saint came to a halt, his eyes now closed- she swore his tears fell faster. The wilt slowly spreading more and more. She frowned. He stayed in place- so did she. "...I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me most. We both witnessed the other ancients fall into their own corruption and did nothing." She glanced at the setting sun behind her, the dying field rapidly falling into darkness.

"You are no better than the rest of us." "No matter how much you purify the world; you cannot undo the taint upon yourself."

Moonflower Cookie disappeared in a blink of an eye. The Saint stood there, still unwavering. He turned back and walked towards the forest from where he came.

======

BAAU by @cuppajj

Authors Note: I'm still researching various religious themes n' stuff, so there will be major changes to Moonflower Cookie; both design and story wise to fit into the Saints religious themes of his own arc. Whenever I figure it out!

Also, Team Stardust (we win)

[synthetickitsune]

Jun (Seventeen) | I don't understand but I love you

angst/comfort | 0.7k | gn!reader

A/N: This is a birthday gift from myself to myself so it doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense to anyone else 🤍

Listening to your friends telling the story of the dinner they went to on their last date, you can't help but wonder how much time you have left in your own relationship. You don't show it, long since used to it by now. They talk about the roses, the champagne, the kissing under the stars and sharing an umbrella when it started raining. They look so lovesick talking about how their hands always seem to find each other. You feel the itch to start bouncing your leg again under the table.

But Jun stretches and throws his arm around your shoulders while his other hand finds its place on your knee, even if the position must be uncomfortable. When your friends get lost in each other's eyes and start arguing in whispers against each other's lips, Jun turns to you and checks on you with a smile. You nod and lean into him. 

You can't help but wonder if it feels much different to them - your friends, him - than it does to you. It feels warm, comfortable. It makes you feel safe and protected. Like you're worth keeping by his side. Is that not enough? Is something missing?

The attention is turned on you, and the second couple starts asking questions about your relationship. You're grateful when Jun starts answering immediately. He's so beautiful - his eyes spark with excitement as he talks about your recent hiking trip. Well, the way to the actual hiking place, and how you kept going back and forth on the discourse about the comic you were both reading at the same time. He is almost vibrating in his seat with glee when he tells them that neither of you dropped the water bottle once when you threw it to the other.

You manage to swallow the lump in your throat to tell them about the one crow who seemed to follow you the entire way up, talking to itself. Jun does jump slightly at that, doing a perfect recreation of the bird's behavior. He seems relieved when you laugh, and he pulls you close enough to kiss your forehead. You can't see but you know by the way your friend's boyfriend opens and closes his mouth that Jun gave them a look. 

You might just ____ him for that but your brain is too bitter to form that word.

And Jun is a saint because when you get home, he pulls you into his arms without saying a word and just holds you. He kisses the top of your head and nudges your nose with his. You understand well the slight tilt of his lips, but he says it anyway: "It's enough."

"What we have is enough," he whispers as he cups your cheek and pecks your lips, "I don't want anything else."

"You don't want... That?" you vaguely motion with your head as if nodding towards your friends, long gone to their own home. The stereotypical couple, the conventional lovers.

"I want to be happy with you" he smiles, and you smile too. You both know just how happy you are together. The relationship is all you could ask for. But it might be only a question of time before it's no longer that for Junhui.

"We talked about this. A lot," he reminds you, not unkindly, "Our feelings are all that matters. I feel loved. And I know I am."

"Wouldn't it feel better if I was like everyone?" you mumble, whisper, through your doubts. It's not like you know what it's like. Your feelings towards Jun are strong and warm. You want to spend time with him, you want to support him and cry when he cries. He's who you think about the most. He's more than your best friend. But the feeling never changed.

"It already feels like eating a delicious hotpot on a cold winter day. Remember? How it warms you from inside and fills you and it feels so comfortable you could just fall asleep happy? There's no better feeling."

You laugh, shaking your head as you hide your face into his chest. Leave it to Jun to reassure in a perfect way that doesn't feel uncomfortable or like an empty promise.

"I don't understand but I love you."

"I know. That's all I need."

[quuerbee]

Just saw a picture of divine dragon chung myung before he got that title and it really hit me how small Cho Sam's body was when chung myung came back. This little thought has spoilers for chapter 400+ (I think anyway) and vague spoilers for everything past ch 400 until like. Ch 800

GOD OK so we as the reader understand chung myungs situation very very intimately. WE understand that he is an 80+ year old man mentally. WE understand that he is not in fact 15, then 17, then 19, 20, etc. Everyone around him, however, truly believe that he is those ages.

It's brushed upon multiple times throughout the novel, especially whenever chung myung is down for the count/recovering after a fight. The facade he makes around himself, the strong reliable leader, fades away and the "truth" of who he is reinstates itself to those close to him in this second life. His back, every time he wavers, is described as small. This is always through the perspective of anyone but himself. This is even more apparent whenever he is unconscious after a serious fight. I don't know exactly chapters, but i KNOW that baek cheon (and the rest of the 5 swords plus soso and hye yeon), at least once, has had the reality of Chung myungs apparent age dawn upon them. That they're youngest sajae (sahyung in soso's case) is constantly spilling his own blood to protect them. (This fact is straight up said by yu iseol after the particularly bad fight with Jang ilso, spitting her frustration with only getting in chung myungs way instead of protecting him).

This phenomenon is hardly limited to the main group of disciples. After the first myriad men siege on Mount hua (while The Gang is in Xian), everyone subconsciously gains courage with the thought that soon enough chung myung will come, that he'll protect them. The disciples (soso being the most prevalent since she's one of the main disciples focused on in the novel) of course correct this thought, realizing that they cannot rely on chung myung forever. Anyways moving on from just describing this arc. What I mainly want to focus on is Hyun jong and chung myungs interaction AFTER the siege is finished, after un gum is fresh off of his amputation, after chung myung has barely gotten treatment for his own (quite serious) injuries.

What do you think when through Hyun jong's mind, seeing his youngest disciple, the one who brought back the hope that had almost died out with his sect, ruthlessly kill the enemy, return heavily wounded, and then try to sneak out almost immediately to go back to smite those who have harmed his home? To us, Chung myung is more than capable. He's the plum blossom sword Saint, the one who (even with all the regret he holds over this) severed the head of the heavenly demon. He's an 80+ year old man trying to protect the only thing besides bloodshed that is familiar in this second life. We understand the guilt he has over not being able to protect his home the first time. We understand that he would rather die than allow Mount Hua to fall again.

Hyun jong does not know this. He does not understand chung myungs rage (and guilt and grief and longing and-). He looks at chung myung and sees an 18 or 19 (I don't remember) year old boy, covered in wounds, trying to sneak out of his home on a suicide mission of revenge. He sees a boy. He knows that if he let's this boy go, he will never see him alive again. So he uses chung myungs borderline (who are we kidding, it is way past borderline) unhealthy loyalty with mount hua to dissuade him from walking to his death.

ANYWAYS long story not so short, I need need need more analysis over what everyone but chung myung thinks about him. Everyone sees this young teen, then young adult, bend over backwards to the point where he has almost died so so so many times just so mount hua can flourish. They've seen him kill ruthlessly, they've seen him sob over the skeleton of an ancestor (one of his brothers, a reminder of what he has lost, what he will never get back), they've seen him silly and carefree, they've seen him almost mad with bloodlust.

To us, he is chung myung, the old plum blossom sword Saint, slayer of the heavenly demon. To them, he is chung myung, the scrawny 15 year old that changed their lives, that faces unknown traumas, that has had a life so, so unkind to him.

Sometimes I look at chung myung pre time skip, how small he is, how he looks like a child, how he acts nothing like one, and remember that only we, the readers, get the full context behind his actions.

[slasherflicks999]

BEN MY BELOVED 😍😍😍😍 ……BENloved? yes……

FIIIIINALLY made an actual proper design for him after eons of not being able to get his outfit right guys are we proud….. i always had a vague idea of it i just could never execute it properly LMAO

I LOVE HIIIIIIIIMMMMM did you guys know

i also almost forgot his freckles as i do literally every single time i draw him despite the fact ive been drawing him covered in freckles since i was like 14 ummmm its fine i remembered eventually 😍

more rambles and yapping about him in my au after the break :3 again… I YAP A LOT. like seriously. i really could talk about him all day tbh

but first surprise doodle HEHEHEH

moving on… lets talk about his design a little to start off bcccc look at it it’s the first thing you’ve seen obvi (and bc im doing this in a similar format to my oc slasher’s post where i ramble about the design then character and personality stuff then whatever else yay!)

now. you may be looking at him and going “woah he is COLORFUL!” yes he is! i think having him be colorful is fun but beyond that like… ok u need some context first: in my au he’s not stuck in the cartridge anymore which i will elaborate on later, but likeee i still had to give him some nods to his LoZ origins other than just making him blonde and giving him elf ears and green clothes without literally making him the world’s most dedicated link cosplayer. love his cosplay era you go queen but i just feel like MY version wouldn’t be in it after he gets out of the cartridge (again will explain more later) bc he figured maybe he should be his own person a little bit. and idk if yall knew this but… zelda games get pretty colorful!

that being said i still wanted to have an itty bitty nod to it thrown in there so if you look on his jacket those fun little doohickeys on one of the sides are the colors of the spikes on the side of majora’s mask in game :3 i also gave him his little hoop earrings like adult link has because cmon. he’s gotta have em. and beyond just that he also has the green hair and like… idk what to call em, those fun little ball jointed doll looking joints i see people draw canon arg BEN with because i like them and since he’s sort of a merging of canon behavioral event network BEN and a more “fanon” version of him i wanted to nod back to it a little

beyond that he’s just a lot more generally technology inspired, like he’s literally wearing wires as accessories and those semi-transparent bits are supposed to look like the inner membrane of a keyboard! (saw some guy make shoes out of those once and said “oh i gotta use that idea” so i did :3) idk i just wanted him to look fun and like he eats circuit boards. he doesn’t but like… he’s definitely thought about it once

anyway MOVING PAST ME YAPPING ABOUT MY DESIGN THOUGHT PROCESS let’s talk about what he’s actually like!

i feel like it’s pretty often i see people make him either totally spooky or totally silly but you see…. i enjoy both…. so….. :3 let’s see if i can merge the two

generally when writing any of the pastas i try my best to write them ALL to be more or less morally gray largely bc i think it makes them more interesting than just making them all automatically evil just because they’re meant to be horror characters/murderers. idk i feel like it adds more complexity not only to them as individuals but also dynamics and makes them feel more like actual characters than static entities that jump out at you and go BOO! or on the other side of the spectrum anime twinks. staring directly at the 2010s fandom LMAOOO /lh

WITH THAT BEING SAID! he is definitely not a saint in any sense of the word like whatsoever but he also is not super evil. like he’s not always gonna have good intentions but at the same time he’s not entirely heartless and does genuinely care about some people yk?? he’s not walking around punching old ladies or anything but is he gonna go out of his way to be particularly nice to you? hell no he’s not! not unless he REEEEEALLY cares about you/likes you but even then you might not be able to tell LMAO it depends it depends

even then at the end of the day he is more or less a demonic entity and LITERALLY feeds off of negative emotions/energy, like he will become genuinely exhausted if he doesn’t torment tf out of someone for a while, he doesn’t just do that shit for funsies, he needs to or else he will feel like total shit. just so bad. not to say he doesn’t gain ANY enjoyment out of it at all but like that’s not his main motivation.

that’s the thing that makes him different from a lot of other pastas too, his method of killing isn’t anything physical, he just literally torments the living shit out of people until they kick the bucket themselves. at this point he’s rather numb to and detached from it, but i imagine it definitely disturbed him quite a bit when he was figuring out that he had to do it to keep himself satiated essentially. he definitely freaked himself out quite a lot when he was freshly dead like yeah he was angry and vengeful but like… he was also kinda just a scared little kid who got stuck in a video game and saw himself as a monster for a few years guys 💔💔 probably still kinda does view himself like that in many ways. my shaylaaa…

speaking of let’s talk about his LORE :3

first of all present day he is 19. but he’s dead! you shout. yes he is! kinda! lemme explain:

well first and foremost for all intents and purposes he IS dead. but he’s also not JUST a ghost. remember how i mentioned him being demonic? yeah i wasn’t exaggerating about that LOL, plus if he WAS just a ghost he wouldn’t need anything to keep himself satiated like he does with energy

when he died he ended up being the moon children’s first successful instance of actual digitization… key word being SUCCESSFUL. they had tried the same thing before with others, but their actual souls ended up not being able to entirely make it through the process, with some not getting through at all and others being sort of fragmented with only the scraps of what they used to be remaining. even so, all of their heartbreak and pain and anguish and rage they felt in response to their deaths (and probably even whatever they had experienced in life) ended up forming its own makeshift demonic entity. it was all sorts of unstable and constantly seemed to be searching for more and more energy to even keep itself together, but it didn’t have anything to truly attach itself to that make it much more than just a mass of jumbled up energies desperately trying to survive. until ben died. then it had something it could keep itself alive with. it had a body, more or less. something more tangible and stable than just… fragments.

this ended up being what turned ben lowercase into BEN uppercase! it also… came with lots of side effects.

we already talked about how he needs to keep getting negative energy to keep his literal energy up, but this sort of fusion also made him a LOT more powerful than he was supposed to be. he’s essentially fueled on spite LOL but besides that he also was able to literally warp a lot of the game to his will (not entirely, but he wasn’t supposed to be able to change anything at all), the soul fragments gave him the ability to control his aging and parts of his appearance more or less (he can appear as practically any age he wants but mentally ages normally, though he really doesn’t do much with that and just lets himself age normally because he kind of doesn’t wanna stay a weird little middle schooler forever LMAO. his ability to control his appearance is also pretty much entirely out of his control until he escapes the cartridge though, before that he can only really change how his eyes look and his general spookiness though even that was and still is mostly connected to his emotional/mental state.)

he also suddenly gets VERY good at just… understanding how people work in general. he gets really good at the whole manipulation and torment thing really quickly to the point where it even starts to freak himself out a bit (sort of like i mentioned before.) he tries not to dwell on that for too long though. he does his best to get used to himself now even if he really did not like how he turned out at first.

but anyway shortly after all this happens and BEN figures out he needs to really fuck with people to feel at least kind of okay, the cartridge began having so many horrible mental effects on anyone who was even AROUND it that eventually they just had to throw the thing out as a sort of “failed experiment” which explains how it eventually got into the hands of jadusable who posted about it and that in turn essentially opened a door for BEN to get out.

this was great for him in many ways! freedom yippee yippee freedom! he was much, MUCH less limited in his abilities now and had a lot easier access to new people to torment which generally had him feeling a lot better energy-wise and eventually made him a lot less aggressive since he wasn’t essentially hangry and exhausted 24/7. that being said… he was still trapped in the cartridge for about 3 years. that does things to a person. especially since he was so young.

he has a LOT of trauma from it, which is another reason i didn’t go with the link cosplay route for his design beyond just i wanted to give him a personality outside of just loving zelda games (although let’s be honest it probably is still a special interest of his (YES HES AUTISTIC because i am autistic and me and him are like this 🤞🏻)) he was literally STUCK looking like that which is the main reason he gave himself his own wardrobe basically the second he could, because he still loves link and the LoZ games and all but he didn’t wanna feel stuck like that anymore. it made him feel trapped and lose his sense of self a little bit so he was like “yeah i gotta get a different outfit.”

it also definitely made him a control freak. if he doesn’t have at least a good amount of control over a situation it sort of freaks him out and gives him that same sort of trapped, helpless feeling. he gets a little better with it as he grows but that never really goes away, he hates feeling powerless in any situation which i think also helped him come to terms with the whole tormenting people thing, because it made him feel like he had power over something and it still does even if there’s a lot more he has control of now. this is also why he’s not technically a proxy, because he doesn’t want slender to have that control over him, it makes him feel weird. he still hangs around and is civil with him, he just doesn’t wanna actually work for him. he’s his own boss 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

he doesn’t really like to talk about his life before his death all that much though. all that anyone seems to know is he didn’t have a great childhood after a certain age and he just doesn’t wanna talk about it, which of course nobody questioned because almost all the pastas had at least somewhat traumatic childhoods LMAO

anyway! now that a lot of the more serious lore shit is out of the way time for me to just mindlessly throw shit out there about him because!! i love him!!!! fun facts fun facts!!!

- first of all agender he/it/they BEN is real in this house. and gay aroace BEN. and autistic BEN as previously mentioned. he doesn’t know if this is because of the soul fragments thing but he really could not care less about how he presents his gender for the most part, all he knows is he generally presents masculine bc it’s sort of his default :3

- he also still def loves video games! he’s even played through majora’s mask a couple times to try and help himself get over his trauma around it (though it takes him a long time to actually get through it now) he kinda hates that his trauma still prevents him from loving it as much as he used to :(( but at least he can play the other zelda games mostly fine which he’s glad about

- he purrs. that’s it that’s the whole thing he purrs. well he generally acts like a cat in a lot of ways for some reason like his ears moving and stuff but i think the best thing is that he purrs bc it’s just so funny to me. he definitely tries not to do it in front of anyone but has probably slipped up once or twice and promptly retreated into the nearest computer for a week or so because he was so mortified LMAO. very cat coded one of my own cats reminds me of him a little bc she’s sassy will act like she doesn’t care about you but then will purr up a storm if you scratch her in the right spot while she’s comfy. love her. they would get along great

- he is SO COLD. ALL THE TIME. he’s used to it by now but if you were to touch him it would be like touching a corpse laying outside on a late autumn evening or something like he does not know warmth. he does love blankets and warm things bc of that though. if he likes you enough to give you a hug he WILL be latched on like a leech just to take all ur body heat

- he can still eat and drink and sleep if he wants to but he doesn’t have to, like i said he runs off of negative emotions so all that other stuff is just a fun little bonus if he feels like it

-his colors will desaturate a good amount and he’ll start to glitch out quite a bit if he gets too low on energy, along with just being generally irritable and overstimulated

-he also just… glitches sometimes for no reason. any time he stutters or stumbles over his words he doesn’t actually stutter, just glitches. sneeze? glitch. got jumpscared by a bug? glitch. trying not to laugh? glitch. little things like that. along with just when he’s feeling really strong emotions (especially negative ones ofc)

- he actually does like nature a lot! it sort of helps him feel a lot more connected to reality outside of just the internet and technology and whatnot, plus he just finds it kind of peaceful in a way he can’t really get from hanging out in a digital void. maybe it’s the energy of the plants and animals or something

- he also enjoys music a lot :3 all sorts, though he does like electronica and hardcore stuff the most

-i cant lie…. he would definitely scream at people over COD. his temper isn’t AS short as it used to be but likeeee… he’s broken a few controllers 😔 he’s not really the yelling type at all otherwise though

-he’s like 5’7 ish by default. he can change that if he REALLY wanted to but he doesn’t see the point in wasting the energy if he can just float a couple inches above the ground anyway. plus he got his heels on so even if he does stand on the ground he gave himself a couple more inches of height :3 me too me too

-he does still cry blood! happens the most when he’s pissed off or trying to look scary but it will happen if he’s genuinely sad and like legit crying too

-he won’t let many people know it but he’s really claustrophobic (it means he’s afraid of santa claus 😯☝️ /ref) definitely scared of large bodies of water as well but that one’s more well known because…. he did DROWN. actually just realizing i didn’t mention his actual drowning much but anyway i feel like that would have less of a daily impact on him than the rest of his trauma anyway. stills definitely there but doesn’t directly impact him in as many ways

-my au probably takes place in like the mid-late 2000s but if it was in the modern day he would totally say shit like “chat am i cooked” or “that’s so sigma” in real situations on accident

i could talk about him literally for hours upon hours but im gonna stop here before i give myself an aneurysm LMAOOO thank you so much for reading all my nonsense rambles if you did!! :D very very much appreciated i WILL be posting more about him in the future hehe

i hope anyone who read this far enjoyed!! :D i definitely had fun writing hehe but im so tired and i now have to go to BED😭😭😭 thank you so much again tumblr for letting me yap🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

[jannikovgenosse]

I don't think it's a revolutionary take on this site to point out that the Walter guy from Breaking Bad isn't exactly a saint. Sexual assault, blowing up several buildings, manipulating most of the people around him, the list goes on...

That having been said, I still get very annoyed by Breaking Bad fans who cannot fathom the concept of him having vaguely redeeming qualities. Like I swear to god, they need to read EVERY SINGLE decent thing he does in the least favorable light imaginable.

Walt goes to rescue Jesse from the slums - "It's akshually because his pride is insulted by Jesse being in such a place."

Walt risks his life and ruins his entire relationship with Gus to save Jesse - "Walt only did this to calm his own guilt!!"

Walt offers Jack all 80 million dollars of his money to save Hank - "It was akshually just to preserve his self-image as a family man, his ego couldn't handle anything else!!!"

You could do the exact same shit with Jesse or Mike, but because they're the fanbases 'UwU softboys' they escape this treatment.

And NO, for the record, this does not mean i think every character in Breaking Bad is on the same level morally. Waltuh's absolutely a darker shade of grey, it's just worth remembering that there is more to the guy than just 'evil super abuser who consistently hates everyone other than himself".

[dragonfelling]

Bullet Point Tag Game

Tagged by @bloodmoodtrash

Now you two do it @beefies @saint-nevermore @puffin-nuffin

I'll do a bulletpoint summary of Fate of Alchemists

Dragonborn are a 2-3ft species that look like a fat rabbit/ fox with membranous wings, horns and an arrowhead tail.

This takes place 500 years prior to the events of most of the other stories. It is the Zephyr era of Anemoi. The world is populated by beastial Gods and many different sophonts which they created. Pinna, God of Anemoi created the Dragonborn.

Talisum is a dragonborn born to a traditionalist family. He is one of many siblings. When he is lost on the road, the young dragonborn is not searched for as its assumed a predatory animal would have gotten him by the time they realize he is missing. As is life for the Dragonborn at the time.

Talis wandered off after a strange calling, coming upon something he doesn't quite remember. When he woke up, the little dragonborn had acquired a strange power. He could see the past of items through touch.

An older Dragonborn named Arbitrum was also following a calling... Upon seeing the little dragonborn he knew what he was compelled to do. He took Talis under his wing, raising the rambunctious little thing and teaching him the ways of the Sun Alchemist. He too was a psychometric, so he taught Talis to stifle his powers and made him gloves to keep his palms from touching objectd and being bombared by unwanted stories.

One day Arbitrum had discovered something he couldn't quite explain to Talis. He said that he had to ruminate on it alone. Talisum went out for a couple nights and when he returned he found the place charred. Arbitrum's corpse laid burnt, a gods blessed dagger laid on the floor. Talis uses his powers to discover that a God, Pinna, had shown up to slaughter Arbi. This is the first of many mysteries that Talis would later uncover.

Talis salvaged what he could. A vial of ichor, a strange sheet of what Arbi called "unshatterable glass" and what he could scavenge from the burnt up noted and books. He went to the closest town to find somewhere to rest for the night so he could collect his barring.

Talisum sees Them for the first time. A three part entity. A hydra. Three rabbits. Three women. It didn't matter, he knew what this was. A three parted entity was known as one thing to Alchemists: The Fates. Gods above Gods that rule beyond the physical realm and its land, people and concepts.

He is warned by The Fates to not continue down the same path as his mentor. He must move on and never even threaten to think of him again. Talis of course refuses despite the vague threat.

Talisum wakes up scared of his own shadow. He decides he needs to eat, and visits his favorite restaurant. Not only is the food fatty and good, exactly what a Dragonborn needs, but its run by who he believes to be the most beautiful Dragon in the world. Albus has purblind, a fatal genetic disorder and she is older then him. He of course though is head over heels still. She always takes great interest in his work and when he tells her that Arbitrum died, she consoles him and offers his meal on the house as the least she can do.

Talisum makes his way up to another Alchemist names Jhaou. He is a healer, specifically. He was not exactly friends (#divorced) with Arbi but Arb couldn't deny that the Eute was incredibly knowledgeable and they wrote several books as eachothers co-authors. Talis tells Jhaou what happened to Arbitrum in more detail

Jhaou comforts Talis as he explains what is going on with The Fates and how he is grieving his father figure. He eventually gives Talis a pendant of a golden cobra, an important but vauge symbol in alchemy. This pendant once belonged to Arbitrum and he was asked to keep it away from Talis for his protection.

Talisum stays with Jhaou for the night and has a strangely peaceful sleep... He hoes back to the hotel in the afternoon and begins drinking. Hes eventually cut off and he begins getting paranoid and obsessive over his circumstances. This drives him to attempt to use his powers on the pendant. The first few times it fails... But eventually he channels an Entity through it.

He is interrupted by the Fates who are moments away from ending Talisums existence before he drinks the vial of ichor he salvaged and channels the Cobra once more. He makes a deal with the devil of sorts. The cobra crawls inside him, taking refuge in his mortal form. Its a painful and graphic process.

Talis escapes the fates by stinging one of them with an old curse the Entity could deliver. He flies out and the Cobra forces him to fly for hours... Until coming upon a beast called a God Eater.

God Eaters are mysterious, equine like animals that hunt the divine. The Entity begins transfering its being into the GE but not before Talis bites off his tail as his magical form crawls out of his body. Talis swallows the tail, taking a bit of the Cobras power for himself.

The Fates show back up to battle the Entity in this new form. Talis can sense a magic rising. Plants begin to wither and die. Insects and birds drop from the sky. The wind stands eerily still while the Hydra Fates and the GE locked in combat.

Talis flees back towards the town, trying to race the corruption. Eventually though... He can't keep up. He drops from exhaustion

Talis wakes up and begins walking to the town. He finds many dead animals on his way. Specifically a Grigora (think a wolpertinger. Looks like a dragonborn but more rabbit like and is an animal) that reminds him of himself.

When Talis returns to the town, he is greeted by mass death. Like the animals of the surrounding wilds, Illiotherio is a graveyard. He goes to find Albus, grieving over her death. The hotel keep. Dead. Finally Jhaou. Jhaou is not dead, but close to it. He is in great pain. Talis puts him out of his misery, half out of pity and half rage for giving him the pendant.

Talis is now on his own... Hidden from The Fated, full of grief and dealing with new urges and feelings.

[coolbeesbro]

Sinners and Fallen Saints Update!

I was originally planning to have chapter 6 uploaded by last night, but it ended up being much longer than I expected (almost at 5000 words right now) and I'm only about 1/2-2/3 of the way through! I'm hoping to have it done and posted some time this week though! Until then, here's a small excerpt!

Chapter Title: Old Man Yaoi? Niffty No.

Consciousness came to Lucifer slowly; curled up in a space that wasn’t his large and luxurious bed, head resting at an uncomfortable angle on something stiff and solid. Slowley, he blinked his eyes open and let out a large, sleepy yawn. 

This wasn’t his room, and this wasn’t a bed he was sleeping on. The King of Hell let out a miserable groan as he shifted in the armchair he didn’t remember falling asleep in; his fingers gripping a plush red throw blanket as he pulled it further around himself and curled up tighter, face now buried against the back of the chair. It didn’t matter that this was the most uncomfortable place he’d probably ever slept in, he just wanted 5 more minutes. 

Somewhere through the few hours he’d been asleep in Alastor’s strange sitting room, he’d managed to get tangled in his robe; which in turn bunched up his pajama shirt around his chest and armpits. Between the 3 layers of fabric, his body was warm and uncomfortably clammy. Every part of this situation was not ideal; leaving Lucifer to wonder what he was doing with his life. 

Bits and pieces of his conversation with Alastor last night were coming to him; and muddled with the delirium of exhaustion and the vague memory of the dream he had, he was questioning what was and wasn’t said.

Did Alastor tell him he was a vegetarian, and wanted to open up Hell’s first ever fully vegetarian Cat Cafe? There was this cookbook he pulled out of who knows where, full of vegetarian based recipes passed down from his grandfather to his father, then to him? A family tradition full of veggie frittatas and cranberry walnut pancakes?

Wait no, Alastor hated his dad, so the Cat Cafe was definitely a dream. Which was a bit of a relief because Lucifer didn’t want to debate the ethics of feeding cats a vegetarian diet. 

Oh and also Alastor ate people, so that might have been his first que to the authenticity of the idea. Definitely nothing vegetarian about that. 

Lucifer had to consciously stop himself from snickering at the thought that Alastor would be anything but a psychopath. The guy had a hotel resident fully bound to a chair last night for an interrogation. Even going so far as to play light jazz music for some sort of serial killer ambiance. But then again,  Lucifer was also a participant of the incident, so what did that make him?

Damn.

The King of Hell cracked his eyes open once more, training them on the red cretonne upholstery his face was pressed up against. He used the knuckle of his pointer finger to trace over the dips and loops of the gold flowery pattern, the smooth embroidered design feeling ever so slightly different from the rest of the thick fabric. Doing anything and everything but getting up and going to his own room to get ready for the day. 

His ears picked up the sound of a door opening from up above, followed by heeled shoes coming down steps, making Lucifer still his movements. 

“Ok you’ve been out long enough.” Alastor chastised under his breath as he approached the chair the King of Hell was curled up on. The lights in the room flipped on, assaulting his tired eyes with bright warm orange light, “Come on, up up up.” Alastor commanded, clapping his hands loudly.

“Nooo…” Lucifer’s voice was muffled against the back of the seat.

“No whining like a child.” Alastor’s said as the radio on the bookshelf next to him turned on, and Katie Killjoy’s sarcastic voice began to prattle through the crackly speakers:

“—gas station caught fire due to the negligence of a dickhead smoking at the pump. Local crackhead, Morison Morris, says he was there just getting a .98$ coffee at the time of the event.”

“I guess you could say his morning was off to an explosive start!”

“Shut the fuck up Tom—”

Irritably, Lucifer peered over the armrest at the radio and grumbled, “Please stop.” And the radio did just that. Thank you Alastor for the fun new power he held.

“Oh and I bet you think you’re rather cheeky.” Alastor said in a mock-congratulatory tone, “But really, it's 7:30am and Charlie expects us down at 8am sharp for the start of today's activities.”

Lucifer let out a long, tired sigh, “Just 5 more minutes.” He complained, not really registering the words coming out of Alastor’s mouth.

“As flattered as I am that you seem to be so dedicated to staying in my room, you need to get up and go to your own to get ready.”

“Fine fine, I’m up.” He grumbled miserably as he righted himself,  “When did I even fall asleep?” 

“Some time around 4:13am, I believe. Mid sentence you passed out, I was very impressed.” Alastor went on as he watched Lucifer close his eyes and slouch back in the chair, the King of Hell frowning deeply. Alastor walked over to chair Lucifer was still seated miserably in and took the plush red throw blanket off him in one fell swoop, all but pulling Lucifer off the chair and stumbling on his feet, “You now have less than 25 minutes to get to your room, get dressed and be down in the lounge before Charlie starts the day off without you.” He stated as he folded up the blanket and set it on the other seat.

It finally registered in his brain how little time he actually had, Lucifer frantically searched for his slippers— “They’re by the door, now shoo.” Alastor grabbed the shorter man by the shoulders and pushed him in the right direction.

Lucifer jammed his feet into the slippers before swinging open the door to make his leave; and as he dead-sprinted down the hall, he didn’t notice their resident housekeeper by Alastor’s door inspecting the fresh new claw marks carved into the carpet. Niffty, however, noticed him running and completely disheveled in his nightwhere. 

Her interest in the claw marks dragging back to Alastor’s door was now gone, and in its place grew gleeful speculation over what Lucifer was doing spending the night with Alastor. As her large red and yellow eye watched the King of Hell stumble over his slippers, almost face planting in the hallway before catching himself again and continuing his sprint, she let out a devious giggle before running back down the other way and crawling into an open air vent she’d scurried out of originally. Her quickest form of transportation.

[bookandcover]

I chose to read this book while hiking the Camino de Santiago for two weeks with my mom. I’d Googled “famous books that feature the Camino” and this was the top result. While I read some Hemingway in high school, I realized I’d never covered this one. Despite what Google promised, I was disappointed that the characters do not hike the Camino?! They spend time in North Spain and the Basque Country, visit Saint Jean (where many start the Camino Frances), and drive (drive!) to Pamplona. In spite of feeling mislead by Google, there was so much that was evocative of setting in this novel; the descriptions of the countryside are evocative, luscious, and it felt an immense privilege to read these surrounded by the landscape I internalized day-after-day while hiking through it. 

When I picked up this book on the first day of my hike, I read first the non-fiction essay about Hemingway’s trip to the bullfights in Spain and I loved this; Hemingway is funny and likable and the way he refers to his wife as “Herself” both made me laugh and respect his awareness of his wife’s presence and charisma. This essay also demonstrated a self-deprecating humor I didn’t expect from Hemingway. His line about the appeal of bull-fighters made me laugh out loud: “The only way most husbands are able to keep any drag with their wives at all is that, first there are only a limited number of bull fighters, second there are only a limited number of wives who have ever seen bull fights.” Similarly, he ended the essay with a punchy, humorous knock at himself for having dishonored his family through no real bullfighting aplomb: “There is always that room at 5 Calle de Eslava, and a son, if he is to redeem the family reputation as a bull fighter, must start very early.” From my high school education, I recall Hemingway as “uber masculine,” a product of hyper-masculine tradition that spills over into and informs his punchy prose. But, reading this book as an adult, I found him to be—both in this non-fiction essay and in the novel—far more nuanced, far more self-aware in his discussions of gender and gender roles. His writing, too, is so more engaging than I remembered from high school: tight and confident in a way that does not feel like black-and-white thinking, but, instead, like numerous sharp observations of human complexities. 

I feel I didn’t appreciate Hemingway’s prose in high school; he’s a remarkable writer on the level of the sentence. Hemingway is doing something that seems simple, but—in that—is very, very difficult to achieve. The naturalness of Hemingway’s dialogue and scene-setting is key to his craft. Conversations occur naturally to the point of the reader’s confusion, as various other characters and events are referred to in a scene, and adjustment is not made for exposition or the reader’s understanding. This approach, therefore, feels like authenticity, like truly dropping us “in medias res.” I can’t think of another writer who does this as well as Hemingway. Yet, he pairs this authentic world-building with some (likely very authentic to the setting) blatant sexism and anti-semitism, which I struggled to parse as the opinions of the characters or of Hemingway himself. While Brett’s character is perceived by other characters through a time-period accurate sexist lens (women come out to gawk at her; Pedro Romero wants her to grow out her hair), it’s the comments about Jewish character Robert Cohn that most baffled my ability to separate the author from his characters. And while body shaming is directly stated (by some characters), the nature of main character Jake’s World War I injury remains consistently vague to the reader. It seems, I deduce, that he lost his penis fighting in the war, but this is always said in a slant way, that captures the emotional impact of the injury (and its impact on his potential love affair with Brett) more than the physical impact. 

The choice of a protagonist whose “manliness” is so fundamental challenged (in his own eyes, in the eyes of others) brings in an inherent and consistent complexity about gender and what is means to be masculine. From Jake’s injury to Brett’s characterization—Brett comfortably hangs out with all male friends, while calling them “chaps,” and occasionally the men refer to collectively to their group as “men,” while Brett acts as she wants, following her sexual and financial desires, wears her hair cut short and her shoulders bare, and she is labeled with a masculine name—the novel’s concept of gender continues to distort and tangle. When Pedro Romero, brilliant young bull fighter appears on the scene, much is made of his beauty and of his tightly-fitting flamboyant clothes (much in the way we might expect a young female person to be received). Brett wonders if his entourage had to “shoe-horn” him into those clothes. The original description of Pedro Romero, alone yet surrounded by his entourage, was my singular favorite image and moment of the novel: “He was standing, straight and handsome and altogether by himself, alone in the room with the hangers-on as we shut the door.” It’s a moment in which it is easy to deeply identify with Pedro Romero. In a novel where emotional evolution is communicated through what is noticed, focused on, and discussed, given the level nature of the prose, gender nuance takes on importance through repetition. Even though the conclusions about gender aren’t obvious, it’s clear that “something is going on with gender” in this novel. And the piling up of moments and details of gender nonconformity shifted my perspective about Hemingway’s relationship to gender in his literary oeuvre. 

Another shift in my perspective throughout this book was on bull-fighting itself. A staunch vegetarian, I know I would be quick to recoil at the cruelty of bull-fighting. But the depiction of the community’s buy-in and risk—everyone running ahead of the bulls, rather than non-implicated spectators out for a bit of entertaining bloodshed—the descriptions of the matadors, particularly the injured fighter and the kid who takes on all the remaining bulls in the essay (he is likely the inspiration for Pedro Romero’s grace and purity in the novel)—made the tradition of bull-fighting appear in a different light to me. What is it that is so alluring about a person rising to the occasion? About someone showing fortitude and brilliance beyond what we expect possible of humans? It’s incredible feats, like the Olympics, that move us: the grandeur and fascination of transcendence, the highest pinnacles of human physical and psychological acts—these capture our hearts and imaginations. And I could see bull-fighting, in its artistry and rigor, in this light. 

The beauty of bull fighting—its pure form, the version embodied by Pedro Romero—is placed in relief against the background of meaningless extravagance and frivolity of the characters who take center stage in this book. The novel begins in the decadence of Paris, as Jake, Brett, Robert Cohn, and their other friends—hilarious Bill and predictably pig-headed Mike—drink, eat, dance, and wile away the time. In spite of the seeming purposelessness of their lives, we see the hollowness Jake feels within this. We also see glimpses of the hollowness Brett feels within this, as she seems to seek over and over again the fulfillment, the thrill of love, while finding nothing of substance to sustain her. This is showcased in her “relationship” with the affluent Count, who buys her extravagant things and doesn’t pressure her into marriage or conformity along similar lines.

The novel’s plot is kicked into motion by arrivals: Michael (Brett’s finance) shows up in town; Bill (who I found hilarious, and read aloud lines like “the road to hell is paved with unbought stuffed animals” and “caffeine puts a man on her horse and woman in his grave” to my mom) shows up in town; Robert Cohn (who falls in love with Brett) returns. These arrivals spark a joint adventure as Brett and Michael choose to join the other three on their fishing trip to Spain, which spirals off-track as Robert Cohn falls for Brett, and Brett falls for Pedro Romero (or at least desires him and his innocence, his freedom), upsetting the stasis in which their lives operate. Through multiple lenses, community and isolation are examined and questioned. In Pamplona, Jake goes to church, and an extended (this is rare!) sentence builds Jake’s anxiety at being a poor Catholic, piles prayers on top of prayers, mapping the circuitousness of his thoughts. The arc of the novel seems to exist more inside Jake than outside of him, as he seems to seek toward some transcendence and restoration without understanding what these might possibly be. We feel this suffering in many of the characters, as they make choices so clearly against their own best interests—but this clarity is the privilege of the observer glimpsing a life, and not the clarity, Hemingway seems to say, of the one who lives it. 

[thefalseapp]

Wraith Wrath - Chapter III

Inej wasn’t surprised that he was able to find her and her crew a place to stay so quickly. What she didn’t expect, however, was the name of the building he bought. Sanktum. Kaz Brekker, the one who loved to annoy her so much with his snarky remarks about her faith had called an entire establishment, which happened to be across the street from the Crow Club, Sanktum. Was this a joke? A small jab in the ribs for good fun? Or a key piece in one of his giant schemes? All he said, while vaguely pointing at all Inej’s knives, was that, at least, her Saints would have an appropriate place to rest. 

The tavern was humble. The decoration was minimalist and modest. A few nods to crows were to be found in the tapestries and some ornaments, undoubtedly to make sure people were aware of who was the owner of this place. But a proper and respectable accommodation nonetheless which is a bit ironic in the Barrel and surely must have raised a few eyebrows. Even she was skeptical until a couple of rats ran into the lobby up to the stairs. Well, that’s more like it. The ground floor was packed. It was loud and people were rushing in and out. Most of them ended up stumbling toward the Crow Club, with the help of skilled steerers. Drunk, jolly, well-fed, and ready to spend the rest of their day gambling with what they have left in their pockets. One will be fool enough to doubt Kaz’s pragmatism. On the first floor, the rooms were small but more than enough for people who had spent the last two years sleeping in hammocks stacked on top of each other. As for the top floor, most of the walls had been destroyed, enough to give a sense of space but not too much for privacy. On her right, as she opened the door, she found a tiny desk, and on her left an armchair in the corner next to the window. She advanced a little bit further and discovered a tiny bathroom. 

At the very end of the room, Inej found a four-poster bed with velvet curtains. This kind of luxury was extremely hard to find around here. It felt too much. Almost out of place. 

She sat on it and remembered the last time she felt this way. Too much. Out of place. 

Inej had said goodbye to her parents after only two weeks with them. She was more than overjoyed with their reunion. But the dreadful shadow of her past since her capture kept her from thoroughly enjoying it. Her parents had an idea of what had happened. Even though they were loving, caring, and comprehensive, there were still a lot of things they didn’t know about. Things that Inej couldn’t allow herself to say out loud. They didn’t need to hear this. To be haunted by the same ghosts as she was. 

Certain words, smells, or pieces of clothing were enough to trigger her. She had dreamed so many times to be back with her family. Like nothing had happened to her. But she knew since the heist at the Ice Court that it wasn’t possible anymore. That she was different now. She couldn’t deny it or hide it from herself. She could either run from things or face them. Yet, every time they looked at her, she felt her skin shrink almost like she squeezed herself into an old leotard that no longer fit her frame. And she refused to let her parents see what was truly under. 

So the first stop she made with The Wraith was in Ravka to let her parents go back to their lives while she continued her journey on her own. She swiftly encountered Nina there and they promised to write to each other as much as they could before their next reunion. She remembered Nina looking devastated and lost but still able to fake a smile. Between Matthias’ loss, her new powers, the pressure, and the startled look from her comrades, it must have been incredibly tough for her. Still, her eyes had a spark in them. They were glistening with hope. Hope she could change things. Truth is, she wasn’t going to change things. She was going to shake the world upside down and he will be better for it. 

Everything they endured made Inej who she was today; all she could do now was move forward. Find a new purpose and a new meaning to her life. And she found it at sea. She belonged where the sky and sea met and melted into each other until the horizon vanished and they became one. It made her feel like she was floating and flying at the same time. 

With a sigh, she finally lay down on the duvet covers. Her eyes caught the delicate golden threads forming little stars on the midnight blue curtains of the bed. It was beautiful. 

She let her mind wander again. She didn’t know if she should talk to Kaz about the real reason that led her here. On one hand, informing Kaz of a threat in his city would be the right thing to do. But, she knew that Kaz wouldn’t let her do what she had to do on her own. She might be Captain Ghafa at sea but, here, in Ketterdam, he was King. 

The sudden change in the atmosphere of the foyer alerted Inej of Kaz’s presence before a blow on the door with the carved crow head of a cane could. 

It appeared to her that she must be the only one not to see Kaz Brekker at her door as a bad omen. 

She jumped off the bed and made her way to the door. When she opened it, his amber eyes met hers directly this time. They glimmered in the sunlight that came from behind her, catching the rays like precious gemstones. He surely stole those as well. From either his mother or his father, she didn’t know. Thief. 

She turned around and settled into the armchair while Kaz stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. His eyes darted from one point to another without ever settling on anything for more than a fleeting moment.

She knew that despite his ability to blend seamlessly into any environment while wearing his confidence like a cloak, he was never truly at ease unless he was in control. And yet, in that moment, she couldn't shake the feeling that perhaps, just perhaps, she held a small piece of that control herself. 

As they stood together in the quiet solitude of the room, Inej allowed herself to savor the rare moment of intimacy between them, knowing that it was a fleeting luxury in their world. A world that was about to become a lot more dangerous.

[uglypastels]

i might be the only one but i need to know more about captain eddie and tabitha. what happened between those two??

hey i wanna know too so that's already two people!!

so, this is a little extra headcanon for my pirate!au, takes place before the events of Not Wholly Evil

18+ warnings: mentions of smut but not described. mentions of sex work. heavy drinking. (bit of angst).

Eddie had noticed Tabitha as soon as he had walked into the place

It was one of the bigger taverns, as Joyce had cut him off for the night.

He was absolutely drunk out of his mind. It had been a long day.

So, he and Tabitha immediately caught each other's attention. She was certainly the most attractive woman in the room, and her knowledge of that fact only added to her appeal. His drunkenness could be mistaken for an indifferent confidence as he walked up to her, ignoring the man she had already been occupied with wooing.

Eddie found a table for himself, and she quickly joined him, fluttering her eyelashes and making sure that however she positioned herself, he would not be able to stop looking at her breasts. She had expected it to be an easy fix and was ready for it all to be over soon too.

but the simple flirtations grew into an actual conversation.

and by the time Eddie had rented out a room in the inn for the night, they were both professing their undying love for each other.

Eddie might have made one or even, several promises to her. Some were easier to keep than others.

As he had certainly lived up to the ones in which he told her how good he would make her feel.

But what about the whispers in her ear of how she deserved better than this life and that he could help her getaway? Give her a big diamond ring and fill her with his children. All that was a bit harder of a promise to keep, especially considering that...

The next morning, Eddie woke up, headache spinning him in circles, barely any memory of the night before leaving. All he knew was that a gorgeous woman was lying next to him. A vague whisper of her name was still ringing in the back of his head, but it hurt too much to focus.

So, as she was still asleep, he did not want to disturb her; he quickly and silently got dressed, left a few gold coins on the dresser and left to catch up with the rest of the crew.

The next time he visited on Saint Claire, when he bumped into her, she still had a spark of hope that he would take her away from this place and that they would live happily ever after, so imagine the heartbreak when she realised he didn't remember any of it.

and then imagine the sex they had after that fight.