#hmmm I wonder if I still have anger about that lol

[leverage-ot3]

sorry to keep personal posting but my day fucking SUCKED and ended with me dropping one of my brand new earrings from a set that I just finished cleaning down the drain, took the sink apart and still couldn’t find it 🙃

if y’all feel like asking a leverage/misc question for thoughts or headcanons I’d love to answer them in the morning! or even if you just want to say something about your day- I just like hearing from you guys 💖

[dumpsterfire-daydreams]

Hmmm~ After the way this chapter ends, I wonder what will happen next~ Hold onto your butts though, because a wild twist is coming very very soon!

Brooding Ghost, horny Ghost, sexually frustrated Ghost, surprised Reader, inquisitive Reader, [classified information lol. just read for the full details]

Ghost POV:

Though everyone else had happily found their way to the mess hall after sparring practice, Ghost had completely lost his appetite. There was a sickness curdling in his stomach and it had nothing to do with digestion. It it was, it'd be preferable to what he was feeling. No, all of this was instead coming from his head. From his emotions. He sullenly traversed the halls of the barracks like a vengeful wraith. On his march to his room, everyone immediately gave him a wide berth as he passed. No one dared utter a word to him, his simmering expression making doubly sure of that. But even so, he still heard their whispers. Everyone was abuzz about his moment of humiliation. And it pissed him off. It was bad enough that the girl had unmasked him like that in front of the entire team. That she’d managed to catch him off guard when he should have had the upper hand from start to finish. But the whirlwind of heated gossip whipping through the base only made it worse.

Ghost wasn’t necessarily sore that his mask had been removed. In truth, he’d been seen without it a handful of times. Sometimes, combat got a little unruly and it couldn’t be avoided if he wanted to make it out alive. A few team mates had spotted him when he’d thought he was alone and craved sunlight on his skin. So it wasn’t just about his mask coming off. It was that she had been the one to do it. Her, the seductive thorn in his side that he couldn’t manage to dig out. It seemed that no matter what he did, his mind was haunted with her presence whether she was there in the flesh or not.

He’d tried giving her the cold shoulder in an effort to keep her distant - and to keep his hands off her. But she still drew him in like a star caught in the greedy pull of a black hole. He’d scared her shitless last night when he'd put his hands on her, unable to resist the tempting opportunity. But that peek at his more dangerous side should have sent her running like hell. And it hadn’t. He hadn’t held back during sparring either. He’d roughed her up a bit and admittedly taken things a step too far in the end. But no matter what he did, he couldn’t get her to leave, stay away from him, or stay out of his head.

Losing his cool during their match was yet another pain point to add to his lengthy list. He never lost it like that. Ever. No one made his cold, distanced demeanor crack. It was his trademark, what he was known for. But she had come along and made him snap in a matter of seconds. She’d done it easily, too. Acting in blissful ignorance, unaware of just how much control she wielded over him. How every brief moment of contact made him ache with need for more. How his hands had been desperate for any excuse to hold her, to touch her. How his cock had been throbbing painfully in his pants the entire time. And how it was continuing to do so even now.

Ghost sat in his room, sulking through the lunch hour. His stomach was beginning to protest at the lack of food, but it would have to wait. There was too much on his mind right now. And the last thing he needed added to it was a hoard of chattering people on all sides. What Ghost needed most was to try to sort through everything he was feeling. Emotions were never his strong suit. In order to do what he did so well, they had to be viewed as dangerous distractions and nothing more. But while he had the time, he did his best to pick apart just what he was feeling in an effort to find some manner of relief.

Anger. Annoyance. Frustration. Hatred. Envy. Longing. Desire. Hunger. Need.

All of those terms eventually came through loud and clear. But the consistent cord that connected them all was arousal. Desperate, unrelenting arousal. Perhaps that was the key he was looking for. Maybe tugging that one cord would unravel the maddening knot of feelings that continued to expand in his mind.

With a resigned huff, he reached into his closet and grabbed his soiled glove from his hamper. He’d thrown it in there in a brief fit of frustration. But deep down, he knew he could never bring himself to wash it - to wash her away. Maybe he should. Maybe it was things like this that made this nightmare even more of a living hell. But at the same time, if he couldn’t have her, this vulgar trace might be the closest he’d ever get to the real thing.

“Just need to get this outta my system,” he reasoned, inhaling in the remnants of her intoxicating scent that lay trapped within the woven fibers. He hurriedly undid his belt and shoved his hand down his trousers, firmly grasping his throbbing erection in his fist. “A quick wank oughta do it. Then you get your fucking shit together, Ghost.”

He knew how low he looked. Honestly, he felt pretty low, too. Sitting alone in his darkened room, frantically tugging at his cock while huffing a slick-stained glove. It felt juvenile. It made him feel like a hormonal teen whose sole mission in life was to finally touch a girl for the first time. He shouldn’t have to resort to this, not at his age. Not when the girl of his dreams was sitting right there within his reach. Ghost did his best to shove his raging jealousy down once and for all, hoping a quick release would clear his mind. But as he shot his load with a muffled growl, that feeling just came back even stronger. All his body craved was her. And anything less than that just made him crave her even more. It was like being offered a cup of ice when what you really wanted was ice cream. No matter how much of it you were given, it would never meet that need. It would never be enough. This would never be enough.

“Ghost!” Price banged on his door as he hurried passed. “EMT starts in ten!”

Ghost rolled his eyes, falling back onto his bed. And as he laid there, scowling up at the ceiling and cursing the day König’s girlfriend had first set foot on base, he wanted nothing more than to remain there for the rest of the day.

Reader POV:

As you gathered your shower supplies in your room, the idea of a hot shower was sounding better and better. And since Ghost was leading a practice everyone else was guaranteed to be at for a good while, it was the perfect time to claim the bathroom while you still had it to yourself.

The entire time you changed, your mind was completely hooked on the latest secret König had teased. The suspense was killing you! Part of you wanted to shoot him a text or call him. Or get a hold of Price and tell him you needed König and it was an emergency. But you quickly thought better of it. You could all too easily see such a message sending a stampede of concerned armed men towards your room to figure out what was wrong. It looked like you'd just have to suck it up and be patient.

After slipping out of your sweat-stained clothes and slipping on your bathrobe, you threw a few items into your shower caddy. Then you slowly made your way down the hall in search of the bathroom. Your muscles were still aching from that morning's face off. And you knew a moment of solitude paired with hot water raining down on your back would be the perfect way to recharge.

You’d seen pictures of military shower rooms before, so you had a general idea of what to expect. A large portion of a room that functioned as one giant communal shower with benches along its periphery. A row of shower heads that ran along the top of the wall with individual controls installed under each one. Tile walls and flooring that sloped ever so slightly towards the center of the room where a drain was located.

You hoped the shower heads had a good range of motion. Because, if you could line it up just right, the temptation to just lie on your stomach and let all the water massage your back was very strong. But you were immediately disappointed when you entered the bathroom. There was a short corridor of shelves where you could stash bags or clothing. Off to the right were multiple sinks, urinals, and bathroom stalls. And directly ahead were the showers. They were exactly as you had expected, down to the little benches. Everything looked perfect! But sitting in the middle of the furthest one was someone else who apparently had the same shower schedule that you had.

Ghost sat facing the wall back, hunched over and rummaging through his bag in search of something. Rivulets of water were trailing down the broad expanse of his back before disappearing into a towel that cinched low around his hips. He must have just finished a shower a few minutes ago.

You considered saying something to alert him to your presence, but instead chose to remain silent and watch him with curiosity. You'd never had the chance to really look at him without his glare making you shy away. And without all his gear or his constantly hardened gaze, he almost looked human. It didn't surprise you that he was still wearing his mask though. You doubted he was crazy enough to actually waterboard himself by showering with it on. He’d most likely slipped it back into place as soon as his face and hair were sufficiently dry. But who knew for sure? What did surprise you were the jagged scars criss-crossing over his back. They were all healed and some looked older than others. But you could tell from the way they looked that each one must have been excruciating to earn.

A few seconds later, he withdrew his hand from his bag. A gentle clicking sound echoed off the tile walls as he lit a cigarette and took a long draw. The smoke floated through the air as the pungent scent of burnt tobacco filled the room. Ghost exhaled, blowing a cloud of smoke out through his mask.

"Done staring yet?"

He’d spoken the words without so much as a glance over his shoulder. He’d known you were there the whole time!

“I’m sorry, I was just going to take a shower,” you stammered.

“Then why aren’t you showering?”

“Smart ass,” you muttered internally. But you straightened your back and continued into the bathroom. It looked like he’d be on his way out soon and you were determined to get the shower you craved. But while the opportunity presented itself, you figured now was as good a time as any to try to smooth things over as best you could.

“I wanted to apologize about the thing with your mask,” you said hesitantly. “I didn’t know it was a sensitive thing for you. But I crossed a line and I’m really sorry.”

Ghost didn’t speak right away, instead raising the cigarette back to his lips and inhaling again before responding.

"You saw an opening and you took it. Nothing to be sorry about. You’re the talk of the base now anyway. Don’t lie, I know you’re enjoying it, too."

There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence. You didn’t really know how to respond to that statement. And it was hard to tell if it was an insulting dig or an innocent observation. So, instead of answering, you tried to distract yourself by pulling items out of your shower caddy. In the background, the steady rhythm of Ghost’s smoking continued.

He breathed out, surrounding himself in a light haze before speaking again. “...You okay?”

The question completely caught you off guard. After how ruthless he’d been in the gym, the last thing you had expected was for him to care about how you felt afterward. There was something hesitant in his tone, too. It was almost repentant. Knowing him, this was probably his distanced way of apologizing. And you suspected it was the closest you’d get to the real thing.

“I’m fine,” you said, accepting the meager olive branch. “Just a little sore.”

Ghost grunted softly before returning to his cigarette, going quiet again. Apology or not, you hoped he’d quickly finish his cigarette and just leave so you could de-stress in peace. After your chat with König, there was a lot on your mind that you wanted to sort through. And you wanted to sort through it alone. The last thing you needed was a peeping tom loitering just a few steps away. So you took your time arranging your body wash and shampoo on the shelf suspended beneath the first showerhead.

"Why are you here, Y/n?" His voice sounded exasperated. Or annoyed. It was hard to tell.

You stopped, bewildered at the odd question. "I came to visit König."

"No," he said, finally turning to face you and rising to his feet. “Why are you here? In here with me instead of out there with your mates? After what I did to you, you should be running like hell. You could have run the minute you saw me in here. But you didn’t. So why stay?”

“I told you,” you gave him a nervous laugh, pulling a small loofa out of your shower caddy and setting it down beside your body wash. “I need to take a shower. Anyway, Price wants us to get along. So I guess that’s another reason why I haven’t left.”

Ghost huffed again, crossing his arms and giving you a pointed stare. And when you met his eyes across the room, a wave of exasperation hit you like a load of bricks.

“Look,” you sighed, mirroring his pose. “I know you don't like me, okay? You’ve made that very clear. But let’s just get this assignment over with. Then we can both move on, go our separate ways, and you can hate me as much as you'd like.”

“...You think I hate you?” he asked, slowly starting to approach.

“Honestly, Ghost? I don’t know what to think anymore! You avoided me like the plague when I first got here. Then you fucking assaulted me last night! And then this morning, you almost broke my neck. What am I supposed to think?”

“Do you know what an addiction feels like?” he asked, abruptly changing the topic as he drew nearer to where you stood.

As he walked, your eyes couldn't help but flit down to the waist of his towel. A triangular section of his hips crested above the soft fabric, tilting in a gentle sway in sync with his steps. His torso rose upward in a sharp “V”, the edges of various muscles creating defined lines that hugged the base of his stomach as it tapered outward. Water glistened on his bare skin in a sheen, and tiny droplets of water clung to the light hairs on his chest. You swallowed the growing lump in your throat and tried to make sense of his question, slowly lifting your eyes as he stared down at you.

“Do I what?”

Ghost continued his advance, following his train of thought almost absentmindedly. And images of the previous night flickered through your mind as your back met the shower wall. But he didn’t stop until there was only an inch of separation between your bodies. His hand slowly rose, and for a moment, you thought he was going to grab you by the throat all over again. But this time, his hand rose higher as he reached for your hair. His fingers wound themselves in one of the stray spirals, gently tugging at it. As he spoke, he watched transfixed as it stretched before slipping from his grasp and bouncing back against your temple in a tight coil.

“All it takes is one taste. Then you’re fucked. It sinks its teeth into you, dragging you back like a slave no matter how hard you fight. No matter how strong you think you are. No matter who or what is in your way. It's obsession. Hunger. Need. A craving so strong, you feel like you’d die unless you kept coming back for more.”

He paused. His eyes were intense as always, but beneath that fire was a hint of pleading. They looked desperate and haunted. It felt like he wanted to say more. But he paused, taking a deep breath. “Do you know what that feels like?”

“No?” Your answer came out hesitantly, like a question. You’d never seen him like this before. Expressive? Conversational, even. It was like he was in a trance.

“That’s what I feel when I’m near you. When you look at me? When you’re close to me? That’s what I feel. I can’t get you to stay the fuck out of my head and it pisses me off.”

His gaze burned as he went on. “I want you. I want you and I want you so bad it bloody hurts. I could give you everything you need that König can’t give. I could do it right here, right now. So why the fuck won’t you just let me?”

“Because I can’t do that to König, Ghost,” you said, carefully. “I can’t hurt him like that.”

“I’m not asking about him,” he rasped, pressing in even closer. His hips pressed flush against you and you could feel the unmistakable outline of his desire pressing against you too. “I’m asking about you. I need to know you want me too.”

[on-leatheredwings]

i've found your account only a few days ago but ever since then I've been STUCK here rereading your fanfics, especially ones with damian. i wasn't even a dc fan (heard about some stuf, watched some films and cartoons, but that's it) but now im reading comics since im Obsessed and need more batboys in my life (rip my productivity😔)

Anyway, after Sleepover i'm curious what will Bruce (and maybe even Thalia) think of batboys strange behaviour towards reader. He's smart, so he definitely notices it early on, but how he'll react....

I can see him being weirded out (like he was by Jason's anger issues, before his death), but he also can be an enabler, since Robin (literaly any of them) had a hard life, so if those relationships can help him why not pretend that everything is normal? you'll be safer in a Wayne's Manor anyway

All in all, thanks for a new hyperfixation 💞💞

P.s. About games:

1. Boyfriend to death 1&2 - since you're into yanderes you might want to check this game out. I prefer the second game, but the first is also fun. But beware the trigger warnings!!

2. Long live the Queen - more of a raising sim than dating sim but you still can romance some guys and girls.

,3. Hatoful Boyfriend - mostly a comedy, but there is a yandere.

4. The Royal Trap - it's been a long time since i played it, but it used to be one of my favorites so i'll just mention it.

5. Higurashi - once again not really a romance sim, but its an interesting horror mixed with a slice of life

;A; AWWWW THANK YOU IM SO HAPPY YOU LIKE MY STUFF.... THAT MAKES ONE OF US GIJSDOFAFGHFOJDSD

and yes yes get into DC!!! (girl who hasnt even read a full run since like. injustice)

damn now you got me thinking and excited. incoming spiel

i agree entirely about bruce just knowing how Bad things can get, so to make things simpler, he's like "yes, your darling(s) can stay in the manor, boys. 🙄"

mmm yes..... when it comes to bruce noticing the batboys are yandere, i think it's always sinfully delightful to just have him be reluctantly okay with it. 😈 it's also easier narratively ngl but i also like the idea that the batfam is all just corrupted.

bruce's thoughts are that they (his sons) fight for vengeance and justice but this is where they could use some leeway.... we all need our vice... they fight so hard for gotham, they deserve a little treat (getting rid of your human rights)... it's very "Dad who wants his sons to have happiness even if its not healthy" of him. in fics where bruce is a yandere, well, he's the exact same way so he can't judge. although if that's the case, i like the idea of bruce just being like "yes what we do isn't right. let's not talk about it. just don't kill <3"

still wondering what i like more. a yan!bruce who's self aware what he's doing is wrong but he just refuses to think about it. or a yan!bruce that justifies it all because of his paranoia, Tower of Babel style (if you don't know, that's when it's revealed batman has plans to subdue/kill the justice league just in case they go rogue.)

for the batboys depends on their personality... for damian, he's so resolute in things that i prefer when he just believes 100% what he's doing is okay, if not actually righteous. ^_^

hmmm talia.... I'M STILL UNSURE HOW I PREFER THAT AS WELL... i think talia being a you-arent-good-enough-for-my-son mom is a little cliche but also. she kinda would say that. you'd have to prove your worth somehow but idk how tf darling would do that LOL. in the end, i think talia is just relieved/comforted that her son indeed feels desire and wants love and will continue the family legacy (regardless if youre afab/can biologically have children.)

no THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!!! AND THANKS FOR RECS!!!! heheh yeah ive checked out btd and im not averse to the warnings its more like im not that most of into the designs ngl. fox guy seems cute? AND LMAO FUNNY BC IM ON A HIGURASHI REWATCH (never played it tho)

[perfectlovevn]

what's milo's taste in music, and how significantly does that change between his forms? (...asking both as a general question and wondering if he would have any particular interest in vocaloid at all)

Hmmm good question. Considering he likes more management, good feel games like Animal Crossing, Spirit Farers, Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley (probably Potion Permit, which is also another game I'm playing lol), I can imagine he has more of taste in softer and calmer music. Probably into lowfi and possibly classical.

Manipulation Milo I think would be into more pop and whatever songs are more popular. For some reason, I can kind of see him being into EDM as well. He listens to all kinds of music to blend in with the crowd and will happily listen to any song Eris gives him.

Violence Milo is, as you guessed it, really into more heavy music, rock, metal all that kind of jazz. Anything that has a very strong bass he will probably like as well. While it's partially because he wants to keep up his tough boy image, I think it also helps him channel his anger. He'll still listen to softer music that he likes back when he was Pre Milo but he might be a bit more embarrassed about it.

I think they'd listen to vocaloid if you'd ask him to, since vocaloid encompasses a ton of different genres. My guess is that Manipulation Milo would probably like it the most since they have more of the pop styles in Vocaloid songs, though if you can find heavier beat/softer music for the other two Milos they will enjoy it as well. I'm sure Eris could also just force them to listen to Vocaloid if they really wanted to. Who knows, maybe a Vocaloid Milo will end up appearing after all that.

[hikennosabo]

trimax vol 10 random thoughts (ch 1-4)

usually my method for writing these posts is to read the volume in full, then read it again while writing out my thoughts. sometimes i have to read a volume more than just twice. i don't want to read this one again... mom come pick me up i'm scared

also it's finally gotten to the point that i have to split this post up into multiple parts... lol

why is nightow recycling chapter titles. or is this a translation thing? we already had chapters titled 'wolfwood' (vol2ch4) and 'death omen' (vol6ch4)... heck, the first 'wolfwood'-titled chapter is DIRECTLY REFERENCED in this very volume... anyway.

chapter 1:

this chapter cover FUCKS... it's just the punishers because this is all razlo is... a weapon. to chapel, anyway.

the bullet holes in ww's back... they've healed by now i think, but still, it's so visceral...

i don't know what to say about wolfwood's faith in vash that hasn't already been said. just. fuck, man.

can chapel die please please please please please youre nothing

razlo getting in between chapel and wolfwood is... interesting. even if he just wants to prolong ww's suffering... i don't know. it's not like razlo cares about wolfwood, but, hmmm, i don't know. just something i wanted to point out i guess.

...remind me to count how many vials wolfwood drinks when i rewatch stampede.

razlo's expressions while chapel is talking about how ww needs to die NOW while shooting him and stabbing him with the gun... hmmm... he's thinking...

chapter 2:

i like seeing razlo being pensive.

the way chapel has his talons in razlo... razlo is so loyal to him because he literally shot himself to beg for razlo's life, but this line of thinking tells me there's also lowkey fear there. the level of obsessiveness for which he injured himself so badly is the same one that makes him want to hurt wolfwood so much and razlo knows it. this is how far chapel is willing to go...

razlo... :( all he ever wanted was to be needed. and chapel fully took advantage of that.

ww is trembling here. is this him trying to physically resist chapel pushing his head back or is he trembling out of fear...

chapel is the evilest motherfucker in this whole fucking manga. seriously, fuck this guy.

melanie's words to wolfwood... despite it being a scolding, they're clearly coming from a place of love, not fear or anger. i think other people have already said everything that i could say about this. so instead i'm going to talk about razlo some more, since nightow made it a point to show us that he's listening to this.

i wonder what he's thinking... this chapter opened with him thinking about what happens to those who "betray" chapel... and he's observing this interaction, of a mother, a guardian, not reacting with anger, but with love, to seeing what's become of wolfwood. such a far cry from chapel's unbridled rage. melanie took care of razlo, too, technically. so i wonder if this is another... i don't know how to put it... another way that razlo's belief in chapel is being chipped away at.

and wolfwood thinks of vash, and once again, vash appears. like he's answering his prayer again.

i said this last volume, but i love seeing vash use his feathers to protect. and use his powers willingly. of course i worry about him when he does it, but it's just such a powerful character moment every time. because it's for wolfwood.

chapter 3:

wolfwood reaffirms his feelings about vash - absolute faith, someone he believes in and considers a friend - but doesn't understand why vash would come for him. i'm feeling some type of way. it's mutual, you fucking idiot!!!

razlo's smile is cute...

he's just excited to fight who he deems a worthy opponent... i wish the situation wasn't so dire...

^ how it feels to read trigun maximum (eating glass)

also, i need to share that when i watched stampede for the first time, this is what i said, copypasted directly from the group chat:

"as if the giant cross he carries isnt enough of a death flag on its own, the glass vials he's drinking are like. major flying high death flags."

i was thinking along the lines of "a character taking mysterious medicine is a death flag," but little did i know that the vials would literally be his cause of death. i was closer to the truth than i thought.

someone in the tag said something about ww going "catholic beast mode" and truly this is it. chapel was REALLY sent flying... fuck you fuck you fuck you you deserved that. i do feel a bit bad for razlo though.

a LOT of people have already questioned/referenced the theory that vash can literally hear ww's thoughts, but honestly i think this one is just a case of vash knowing ww so well that he understands what ww wants without doing that.

GOOD!!!!!

i actually do, truly, feel bad for razlo though. chapel was the closest thing he has to a father. thing is, chapel was just as abusive and controlling as livio's parents were. not in the exact same way, obviously, but abusive all the same. razlo has just... not been in a good situation. like, ever. he doesn't know anything else. he didn't see chapel's abuse for what it was.

*head in hands* VASHWOOD.......

they're so fucking stupid. they understand each other so well and yet so little. they can fight back-to-back seamlessly but fall so short when it comes to words. i'm going to cry.

chapter 4:

vashwood banter is back, but oh look, more dread. i've talked before about chapters that use familiar setups/scenarios but have an air of dread over them. 'colorless expression' was one. 'bastards and the blues' was another. i think this scene also falls into that.

what if i microwaved myself.

no!!! no silly expression!!! not when my heart is so full of dread!!!!

vash thinking about his feelings for wolfwood. i can't even articulate anything. i just want to cry.

"i wanted to see tomorrow with him." I WANTED. TO. SEE. TOMORROW. WITH!!! HIM!!!! i feel like shinji on the chair.

he can feel wolfwood's body dying. what if i ate rocks.

the way he clings so hard. he doesn't want to let wolfwood go, literally and figuratively.

the embrace. the hesitation. what if i ate glass.

the apology...... ww knows he's dying and he knows that vash knows. in yet another "i know he knows i know" situation. their whole fucking relationship.

i can't read this chapter without crying, fuck.

even razlo is like, "i want to fight both of you!" but even if vash joined wolfwood against razlo now, it would be too late...

i have nothing coherent to say. this post has become a record of my vashwood-induced mental breakdown, sorry. and we're only halfway through the volume...

[dogueteeth-fhr]

WIP Not-Wednesday

Thanks @silvery-bluish for the tag!

I'll forward this to @wonda-fhr ! As always, not pressure to participate ;) <3

Hmmm let's see what I've got for my WIPs that I can share a bit of!

ACT 1

a Tokyo Ghoul!AU FHR series I started on a little while ago. WIP title for now, I think i like the idea of setting up the story as "acts 1 & 2" for Rebirth & Retri. Here's a lil snippet from it I might publish soon once I get the "scenes/chapters" planned out more. Riding heavy on Tokyo Ghoul's "tragedy" quote for my titles on this WIP lol.

He beams, sunshine and smiles, the thousand-watt smile that melts hearts, melts hers a little too. She can feel the smile grow on her face, feel the way that damnable knot between her shoulders loosens a little still, after all of these years, and shit, that's a complication she doesn't need. Didn't and doesn't, not back then and not right now. His hand lands on her shoulder, friendly and comforting. To anyone else but her.

It feels like a lasso. A leash. A noose. Leading her to the front gates, dragging her to her doom. To the gates. The gates. That.

The gates in the Rangers' HQ that scan for RC cells.

Standard. Necessary. No, not standard. State-of-the-art.

Always the best for the Rangers.

Her pulse grows cold. Is she pallid? What does her face look like? Is it terrified, is the the mask crooked?

Last time. Last time, last time, years ago, the RC scanners were still new tech. Not strong enough the pick up her trace, the trace of a half-ghoul. But that. That was almost ten years ago.

A decade is long enough to make improvements.

stray.

Collection of small segments that talk about both of Isa's escapes from the Farm. Alas I'm still working on this! Just haven't made much progress as of late since my brain is rather fried but here's a little snippet!

The stars are beautiful.

Most places she's been deployed have swallowed their stars. Shot them down, trapped them in little plastic and glass containers, anchored to the earth to light roads and pavements and rooms. Kept like animals poached from the wild. Surrounded by wall and window cages in the comforts of humans' homes to chase away the dark. So many caught, so many brilliant stars brought down by man, leaving the skies above filled with an inky emptiness.

But here, in the Nevada desert where man could not remain, where they couldn't take and claim, not the stars nor the arid land, the night sky celebrates with the splendor of galaxies above her head. She stares into the wonder of purple-pink clouds of cosmic dust and the glittering shine of stars, motionless and quiet. She should be running. She should be taking advantage of the darkness that she had waited so long for, curled into a small ball beneath a pile of road debris to keep hidden in the light of day. She never understood the concept of beauty before; it was a uniquely human perception. Less-thans can't afford to think about such things. But she might understand it now. Just a little.

kiss & tell (it's called: freefall)

Another snippet from a piece of the "freefall" series I'm taping together in my free time! Hehehe so many good moments in this series it's always so hard to pick a snippet without potentially spoiling a part of the series's story.

"That's not the point!" He cries out, tossing his arms in the air and biting back the sting of regret when she flinches in the corner of his eye. Regret, then anger. Anger aimed at himself for regretting that. She does not deserve his sympathies right now.

"I get that you're not sorry. I get that you're going to do it again, even if I don't agree with it, even if I wish you would be sorry. What I want to know is why, Cerrísa. Please." His voice cracks, and he can see the way her face falls at the sound. "Please, explain yourself, Cerrísa. Because I'm running out of ways that I can understand you, and I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, that you're not just doing this- killing people- for shits and giggles. Please."

He's almost in front of her now, taller and casting a shadow over her but he feels minuscule in front of her, begging for understanding. She refuses to look him in the eye, and he hates that she's chewing on the already-cracked part of her lip, and he tries not to think about how the metallic taste would feel echoed in his own mouth. Her mouth opens and closes a few times, and every time it falls shut, he feels a little bit of hope within him die.

[marvelandsuchstuff]

Sleepless Nights and Golden Sunlight (Corpse husband x reader)

A/N: helllllooooo everyone, I think like most of the internet I have been obsessing over this man for the past week and couldn’t help myself. I would however like to take this time to say that I will fully respect this man and if he ever does want this taken down - I will do so :). Anyways I wrote this shit in 12 hours and it’s now 2:45 am lol but I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: None, unless I can kill you with softness

It was well past 6 am when the sun had crept through the sheer curtains of the room (y/n) lay asleep in. The golden light streamed on to the grey bed in which she was peacefully in her own world. She was curled up around one of the pillows, with a small smile cracking through her soft lips.

In one of the other rooms, a man sat at a desk trying to record a video for the third time in the past four hours. He was growing increasingly furious with the script in front of him, no longer wanting to attempt reading it out. Put it down to the lack of sleeping for more than three hours or the fact that he was pushing himself too hard again with the rapid rate of growth over these past couples of weeks. But what he did know is that he needed to finish this video, however, no matter what he did, he just couldn’t seem to do it.

That’s when he finally gave up and slammed his hands down on the desk in front of him, not noticing how loud it had been. He sighed and looked at the time on the side of the screen and starred as the minutes passed. Great. Another sleepless night had passed him by without a shutter of a thought. That’s when he heard a sleepy girl’s voice from the doorway.  

(y/n) awoke from her peaceful state when she suddenly heard a forceful thump from down the hall. She hurriedly pulled herself up, dazed and confused and still half asleep, slowly gathering her surroundings. The golden sun bursting into the room now blinded her eyes as she tried to look around at where she was. (y/n) put her hand up blocking it from her line of sight and sighed with relief as she realized she was at corpses' house, in his bed. Safe.  

Although this fact comforted her, she still was mildly distressed at the sound she heard moments before. Almost immediately she noticed how she was alone in the king bed, which wasn’t surprising, in fact, it was normal for her. She knew corpses’ sleeping habits often kept him awake until ludicrous hours in the morning and often he would only end up getting a few hours sleep before returning to reality. Often she would have to drag him to bed, only for him to leave once she had fallen asleep in his arms and he made sure she wasn’t worried about him. So, she decided to go find out what was happening and where her boyfriend had gotten to.

She put her hand down and slowly swung herself out of the warm covers onto the cold hardwood floors. She pushed herself off the mattress, steadily gaining her balance and then slowly walking to the door, still very tired from not having enough sleep. She then opened one of the bedroom’s double doors while leaning on it for a bit of support. (y/n) roamed down the hallway, her feet cold from the wood under them, searching for her boyfriend.

She noticed the dark purple glow coming out of his gaming room, which only could mean he was in there. As soon as this realisation occurred, she felt her legs growing even weaker and used her last source of strength to get over to the door frame. She quickly lent herself against it to support herself before she entirely collapsed onto the floor.

Once (y/n) had gathered herself again, she glanced over toward the computer monitor and lo and behold saw corpse staring at something on the screen. He seemed like he was in a different world, taking no notice of the small girl behind him. After about a minute (y/n) built up enough energy to let out a small and soft “hi”.

The chair swivelled around to face her, and a weak smile crept onto corpses’ face, “hey baby”,

However, he soon realised the state (y/n) was in and quickly dashed over to her before she completely fell to the floor.

“Princess, what are you doing awake?” he asked with concern as she sank deep into his chest for some stability.

“Hmmm, I’m ok”

“You sure, because right now you're clinging onto me as if gravity didn’t exist” he chuckled lightly.

“Yeah,” she whispered and giggled a bit, “Anyways I heard a loud noise and wanted to make sure no one had come to kidnap you,”

He laughed again, “Well I’m standing here are I? So I must be fine unless I’ve been given some drug to make me hallucinate the most beautiful person in the world. Which in that case I want to be on this forever.”

(y/n) laughed and smiled into his chest. They both just stood like this for a moment taking in the silence and the warmth of each other. Their breaths aligned creating a bliss in which the earth itself shattered away and nothing else mattered. Two souls becoming more intertwined with each second passing by. Heaven.

Corpse was the one to finally break the silence, softly asking, “Do you want to go back to bed?”

(y/n) nodded into him, “mhm, can you come with me?”

“Of course princess, I wasn’t planning on leaving you anytime soon” he mumbled.

Then suddenly he manoeuvred around her, still making sure she had balance. He carefully picked the girl up bridal style and moved over to turn the lights off. At first, (y/n) was a bit taken aback by this but quickly adjusted to his body and curled into him. She closed her eyes softly caving into the darkness but wanting to stay awake until they got into the bed.

Corpse carried the girl in his arms down the hall, no longer concerned about the video he left or the lack of sleep he had. All that mattered was his wonderful and sweet little girlfriend who kept him sane at the worst of times. He looked down at her and he wondered how she ended up with him.

“Why’d you choose me?” he whispered, not sure if she heard him.

This made (y/n) open her eyes, now full of concern. “Because I love you, I knew it then and I know it now”

They both recounted the night they met. It wasn’t much, the met when poki had invited (y/n) to play a couple of games of among us and he was there. (y/n) remembers instantly feeling overwhelmed by even the few amount of people there. Corpse realised this a couple of rounds into the game after poki kept asking why she was so quiet compared to normal. He had seen her talk in poki’s videos a few times and was wondering the same because she was often more vocal in those videos. So he decided to message her to see if she was ok, seeing the same signs as he does with himself. For some reason (y/n) decided to tell him what was going on in hopes that he could help, knowing that he also struggled with these things.

After that, they immediately became really close and both were happy that they finally found someone who fully understood one another. The rest became history and now they were here, together.

“I love you too. So much,” Corpse said, smiling as he pushed the second of the double doors open. He then walked over to the opposite side of the bed and then carefully laid the girl down on the mattress. He moved the pillow she had been curled up against to make sure her head was supported.

After he put her down he went to the wall with the control panel and lowered the blackout blinds so they wouldn’t be disturbed by the already light sky outside. Then, he went back around to the other side of the bed and climbed on top of the grey sheets. He pulled the covers over both of them and tucked them into (y/n) side to keep her even warmer. Then snaking one hand over her torso and leaving one to play with her hair, he pulled closer to her body

“Are you going to tell me what was that noise I heard now?” (y/n) quietly asked,

“It was nothing, I just got mad at a video I was trying to film”

With this, (y/n) turned over to face him, searching for the emotions on his face. A strange look of sadness and anger and hatred she knew all too well. Very often this was corpses’ permanent emotional state where it is for something like a video or mean tweet, or more often himself. Every time she sees this side of him, it breaks her heart because he, of all the people in the world, definitely doesn’t deserve to feel like this.

The worst part is, however, often she feels as though there is nothing she can do to help. The best way she has found is to be there for him, whenever and whatever he needs because she knows he would do the same for her.

“Can I do anything?”

However, what she didn’t realize was how much she already does to help, just by being there. Because often if she’s happy and doing ok, he would always come back to her. His own personal light in the dark.

“Get some sleep for me baby. That’s all that I want you to do,” He replied, running his hand through her hair.

“Ok, but please stay with me?” she asked as she fell back into her own little world of dreams.

“Of course princess, I wasn’t planning on leaving you anytime soon”

[mxvladdy]

Hi, I love your writings 💜 and wanted to suggest a prompt, but if it won't hit you or if your requests are closed than feel free to ignore.

What if MC will forget the brother and that they are in relationship (it can be as side effect of some spell /potion etc, but it will last for quite some time, no one knows how long). How brothers will react on that? What they will do to make MC fall in love again, or will they do anything at all? Or they decide that it's the chance to change everything? What if MC won't love them again? I don't know if that can be angsty (I want some angst), or you can do whatever style you find appropriate. Anyway, if you don't feel like doing for 7 brothers you can do only for brothers of your choice (who you feel comfortable to write about, but maybe Lucifer, Mammon and Beel?? ).

Thank you! And have a good day or night!

A/N: 80000 years and a day later I post lol ;.;. Sorry for the wait! I tried something new with this, hope you like :)

So I was going to drop all three at the same time but it turned into 20+ pages of work. So I will post in 3 separate parts since they all turned into beefy boys... Much like their counterparts >:)

Hope you like it!!!

Part One of Three: Lucifer

Magic is a beautiful and powerful thing. It permeates the Devildom like an eternal fog. For the residents, it is as common as breathing. From the strongest of their kind down to the lowest inhabitants, it is integral to their culture and daily life. Mistakes and accidents happen daily with young and old alike learning or experimenting. Magical rebounds and mishaps mean very little to them, especially the brothers. From the Celestial Realms down, they have seen it all.

Sometimes they forget that to you, magic can be a volatile and dangerous.

The crackle of energy and the acrid taste of sour magic on his tongue are his only warnings before things went south. He reaches for you, strong arms moving to shield you from the blowback of energy discharging around you both. Lucifer crouches, turning his back to the explosion to cover you from the debris and dust raining down. The rebound of the failed spell washes over him for a moment turning his stomach on impact. A heavy miasma coats the room. It weighs down his wings momentarily before disappearing as quickly as it had come.

Once the dust settles, the room fills with light-hearted teasing and jabs at the inept caster. Whatever chastising remark he had stuck to his tongue. When he looks down at you the air seizes his lungs in horror. You were heavy and unresponsive in his arms, eyes closed and face slack. Physically, he could see nothing wrong with you, no hair unkempt or dust on your uniform. He shakes you trying in vain to rouse you.

He doesn’t remember fleeing the room with you clutched tight to his chest nor the shouts of his confused brothers all he could focus on was your limp body cradled in his. You weren’t waking up. None of his magic was working, and you were still sleeping. It was like looking down at his brothers all over again. The feeling of dread, of helplessness, had him staggering. You were like his little Lilith all over again, another failure in his unending life span.

The healer's answers do nothing but anger him. Diavolo’s weak speculations drive him into a frenzy. Wait, they want him to wait. For how long was anyone's guess. They say that you just need rest, the human body is unaccustomed to such stresses. That though your body is weak, a human’s spirit is strong. You’ll recover-he had to trust that you would heal on your own. Trust… he had so little of that left to begin with, but he had he gave to you.

He couldn’t lose you. Couldn’t lose this small flicker of hope you brought into his life, of happiness. He didn’t want to be alone again.

So he waits, a permanent sentinel by your bedside. He sits in silence stuck with his sins. His rough hewn palms cover your small hand to warm your cooling finger tips. He strokes them with callused fingers. He contemplates all the little things he could have done differently while he waits. Hells, what he should have done differently. Spells at the best of times were unruly and dangerous and in the hands of a novice? He shakes his head squeezing your hand. He was so stupid to have let you take that course. Why hadn’t he told that weak pissant of a demon off for trying such an incantation? Or at least to take it outside. Was he that bad of a protector? Of a lover? Deep down he wants to be angry at you. That this somehow was all your fault, with your puny human constitution and defenses. He wants to blame you but the moment passes with a gut-twisting sense of guilt and almost shame.

The days move on unceasingly, the clock on your wall mocking him with every steady tick and turn of the hand. With each moon that passes his simmering anger and wounded pride cools to an ice cold fear in his veins. The healers stopped showing up daily, they were at a loss like the rest of them.

No one would say it, least of all around him, but he heard it travel down the halls like an unwelcome guest. The whispered sympathy, the soft admissions of acceptance. He blocks them out, his world narrowing down to nothing but your icy hand and weak pulse. Your room begins to turn into his. His paperwork fills your desk, while he holds meeting over the phone. One hand clutching his phone to his ear and his other always touching you. No one but him is going to take care of you. He refuses help, turning down Diavolo’s increasing offers and pleas of support.

He turns them down each and every time. He will take care of you.

Yet, no matter how much he tends to you and researches you remain inert.

It’s maddening, he was suffocating under the weight. Finally he tips. One night drunk and desperate in his destroyed room he does the last thing he could think of.

The hardwood of his bedroom is unforgiving under his knees. The cold of it soaks through his pants and the harsh grain digs into his skin. But he doesn’t care, he wasn’t looking for absolution anymore, he was begging for your salvation.

It burns him bowing like this. His pride lashes out, roaring like the untamed beast it was as he dives deep searching within himself to find the tattered remains of his former self. Each second with his eyes closed and head bent was tortuous as his pleas fill the oppressive silence of the room. No matter the discomfort of the moment he can only think of you. No cost was too steep to have you open your eyes again.

Lucifer should have known going back to his father would be a mistake. Nothing was ever simple with them, everything was by their rules and their way. Not even being the once most favored son could fix that. Your eyes open, sure. They are hazy with confusion, but also bright and full of life. You were back.

Papers forgotten Lucifer approaches you like he would a wounded animal. He stares in disbelief for a moment before succumbing to his need to hold you. “Amata-” He breathes out in relief into your neck squeezing you closer to him. Lucifer pulls away when he notices you not embracing him back. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. You just took me by surprise is all.” You rub your eyes and smile wearily. “What did I do to deserve such a good morning hug?”

His smile fades, hearts sinking. “Do you not remember?”

“Remember?” Hmmm. You look around you at the clutter of your room. “I- remember being in class, then you over me.” Something must have happened, but for the life of you, you couldn’t recall. He fills you in leaving small blanks hoping to see some recognition in your bewitching eyes. But you sit, nodding along taking his word as gospel truth. “Wow.” You lean back on your pillows. To be asleep for so long, you had so much work to catch up on. “Thank you for looking out for me.”

There was an odd look in his eyes before he nods, rising to his feet. “Of course… for you, anything.” He flees then, choking back a sea of emotions to go fetch a healer to look you over. It was as he expected. You were whole and healthy again, back to your old wonderful self. Except for him. Did you truly remember none of him? Have you really forgotten how he held you at night when you were able to tear him from his works.

How could you forget the words he would whisper to you as you drifted off long after the candles had been snuffled out, the sweat had cooled on your skin, and your limbs loose and tangled with his? Would you ever remember the way he would watch you at school? How he would search for you and watch you with vigilante and hungry eyes. You were not his little lamb anymore. Even after everything he had lost you.

It was what he bargained for with his father it seemed.

He calls a meeting soon after informing his brothers and the Prince of your condition without telling them of his speculations as to why. “We will say nothing.” He speaks standing rigidly while the room erupts with confusion around him.

“Why not tell them?” Beelzebub asked brows drawn low in concern.

“And say what?” Lucifer rubs at his nose pinching the bridge tightly already feeling a dull throbbing growing underneath. “What would it change?” He leaves it at that and retreats to his room. He looks at his dusty chambers and broken furniture from his explosive temper. It is so cold again without you there. This is how it must be. The thought brings a broken whine from his lips. Tt soaks through his leather gloved hand, refusing to be shoved down. He didn’t want to believe he was so forgettable, that something as intimate as his trust and love was so weak in your soul. He had thought surely he had ingrained himself deeper than that. You were in his mind.

He turns to his private libraries that night, looking for any scrap of information he could find. Perhaps the threads of him were there within you, maybe they just needed to be mended. He often forgot how malleable the human mind was, how easily things can just slip from them. Each book on the topic started promisingly enough before piddling off to a dead-end or debunked hypothesis.

He hunts down the student that had fired the spell. If he knew the original purpose of the spell maybe he could recreate the reaction? No, yet another dead end.

He comes to realize one night sitting hunched over on the grimy floor that either your mixed blood had altered the spell's intentions or the fact that since you were not in your original timeline it had changed something deeper within you that none of them had taken into consideration. Or, perhaps-just maybe he truly did make a deal with Father.

Devil below, he hoped that wasn’t true. How ironic it would be that the first time they had heard his pleas to only answer it with more pain and punishment. Either way, he must accept this...eventually.

“You know, if you keep frowning like that it’ll leave permit winkles.” Lucifer ignores his brother, not glancing up from his journals to entertain him. He had recently found more old tomes deep in his studies. “Luci.” Multi-colored nails block his view of his documents.

“Move Asmodeus. I will not ask again.”

Asmo frowns but moves his hand back to his hip. “You need to breathe brother. Take a minute for yourself.” Lucifer snorts dismissively, flipping to the next page. Asmo sighs deeply, his old bones rattling with the heavy gust of air. “You know you won’t find anything in there. We’ve all tried, you know? Read up on fruitless leads and scoured the depths of the catacombs too. Satan’s hands are a mess from rummaging through his books.” He swallows thickly. “Perhaps it is time.”

“Time for what?” Lucifer rises to his impressive height towering over his smaller brethren. “I do not like what you are implying Sakhr.” Asmo flinches, he hates that damn name. He calms the simmering rage underneath his well kept skin. Lucifer was hurting, he lashes out blindly when he is. He always suffers alone.

“I’m not implying anything. We just want-” Lucifer laughs, the hollow sound pulls at the emptiness within Lust’s heart.

“What would you know of my wants?” His ruby eyes lock with Asmo’s. It was a mistake. Lucifer’s presence was imposing at the best of times, but as mad as he was now it was a knee jerk reaction from Asmo to put his guard up. It was a strong defensive mechanism that Asmo took special care not to let slip, but as Lucifer approaches him shoulder hunching and chest puffing up in anger. It took only a moment for his defenses to take over, eyes locking Lucifer saw exactly what he wanted reflected back at him.

He didn’t know what Lucifer saw but he could see the absolute agony etching into his older brother's glassy eyes with each second. Asmo steps back breaking eye contact with a gasp, the trance between them breaking. “I-I’m sorry!” He trembles.

Lucifer says nothing but raises a shaking finger while he collects himself. Finally, he looks up, face impassive once more. He shakes his head and points to the two chairs in front of his desk. A wordless order that Asmo takes. Asmodeus watches Lucifer busy himself with a decanter, broad back turned to him. “You meant no harm,” Lucifer says, voice tight. He turns back with two glasses in hand. “ I-my aggression was unnecessary.” He offers Asmo a glass before sitting back in his throne-like chair with a grunt. They drink in silence.

Asmo swirls the spicy drink around his tongue thinking hard. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. He thought he could make things better by offering a shoulder or ear, perhaps tell Lucifer that you were doing well. You didn't seem to notice the hole at the table or in the classroom where Lucifer used to join you and the rest of them to eat or study. They had missed seeing him look so at peace around them. Everything had reverted back to like it was when you first arrived between the two of you, and it was affecting everyone. “Talk to me?” Lucifer blinks.

“And say what?” He peers at his empty glass before grabbing the decanter. “I’m fine? I have meetings piling up and I frankly don’t give a damn anymore. Or the fact that I have yet to cancel the table I had reserved for our anniversary dinner?” His last words waver dangerously before he burns them away with a large gulp of his drink. He sees the look in Asmo’s honey-colored eyes when he looks up. “I don’t need pity.”

Asmodous sniffs, waving away the thought. “Please. We all know better than that. I just want to check on you, and perhaps give you an idea?”

“What idea could you have that I have not thought of?” He asks curiously. Asmo lights up leaning in.

“What if we’ve been going about this the wrong way? We’ve been looking at magic to solve this when the answer was in front of us the whole time. Humans aren’t used to magic, so why look to it for the solution?”

“I don’t follow.” Lucifer puts his glass down leaning back in his chair. Was science what he needed to look at? He had tried that, had talked to human doctors and surgeons that owed him “favors”. They were as unhelpful as the rest.

“We are thinking like demons! We have to think like a human, woo them again. You did it once, surely their attraction wasn’t wiped out, just their memories.” Ahh. Lucifer shakes his head. He had thought of that, staring at himself in the mirror. Many nights were filled with the nagging fears of defeat. If his father had a hand in your recovery could he even be allowed to try again? Lucifer looks back at all the things he said those nights kneeling by your side. It was foolish, what even contract he might have accidentally made had too many open ends, too many half wishes, and clauses.

“I’m afraid I have already thought of that my brother.”

“Then why haven’t you tried? Have you given up?” Asmo is met with silence. “Does that mean the rest of us have a chance?” He gets the reaction he was looking for then. Lucifer’s form shutters, a full body twitch as his body blurs around the edges in warning. “Seems to me like you haven’t given up yet. So what is stopping you.”

Lucifer crumbles under his brother’s worried gaze. Perhaps he could divulge his worry, just this once. “I asked father Az.”

Asmo gasps in surprise, eyes wide in disbelief, then dawning realization. “You think They did this?” Lucifer shrugged, running a hand through his disheveled locks. “They wouldn’t-they couldn’t...could they?” None of the brothers knew what their father was up to anymore, nor if They were even still able to track them. It was an ever present cloud of stress over all of them. While they trusted Diavolo and his protection, the nagging fear was never-ending.

“This is perfect!” Asmo claps his hands together. Lucifer stares at him in confusion. Lust’s smile grew toothy and dangerous. “Do you know what this means?”

“No.” His younger brother snorts looking down at his nails. His mind was running a mile a minute. For as organized and crafty as Lucifer is, he sure had his moments.

“Think about it. If Father did meddle then you have to try courting them again. Defying Father is a talent!” Asmo claps his hands in giddy delight. “Wouldn’t it just chafe their linens if you got back together?”

“And what if They didn’t meddle?”

“Then what do you have to lose?” Lucifer laughs. It was breathy and lifeless at the start but grew in intensity as Asmo’s words sunk in. Why was it when he said it it made sense?

“As devious as ever Az.” Lucifer smiles. Yes, he could win you back easily and reclaim his pride all in one fell swoop. “Thank you for reminding me of who I am.” They were troublemakers, the lot of them and it was time for him to prove it once more that he was the worst of them.

He starts the next day dressing down for once in his long life. He wears an outfit you always complement tucked neatly into a pair of dress slacks you bought him after a date gone awry. He smirked, remembering the tight squeeze of your hand on him on the drive home. The friction of your palm on the smooth material...he tipped his dry cleaner extra that night. “Good morning.” He purrs out in greeting taking his seat at the head of the table. The few brothers around the table freeze for a moment, keen eyes darting from him to where you sat still eating as if nothing had changed. Asmodeus shot him a wink.

“Morning.” You chirp back around your spoon. “It’s good to see you back at the table. Finally got a break from work?” The demons hold their collective breath.

“Yes, you can say that I came to a revelation of sorts.” He hums into his mug.

From that point on no matter what corner you turn on Lucifer was there. A pleasant smile on his lips and an offer of aid. “Thank you for the help!” You drop the large stack of books on your desk with a satisfied grunt. “You know- even though our pack is still somewhat new, if you need help with your work I’d be glad to give you a hand too!”

“Would you?” He hides his predatory grin under his hand. “ Some of the matters I have to attend to will require some long, hard work. It may take up some of your nights.” The flush that graces your cheeks and the warm buzz from his pact mark make him giddy.

“I’m willing.”

Slowly he begins to pull you back into his world. He leaves well placed hints of your past together scattered around his workspace. Your favorite Devildom blooms and treats always seem to be around when you come to offer your help in the evening. He slips old pet names into daily conversations as you scribble notes and transcribe letters for him by the soft light of his desk lamp. Pacing himself was never so hard before in his life. Was he finally cracking through? Or were you falling for him again? It was a heady rush to be sure, the mix of anticipation and thrill of such earthly courting made him realize many things he didn’t see the first time around. He learns all over again just what he loved about you.

He had forgotten how patient you were around him and with his siblings. Your keen eye and attention to detail reminded him just why he trusted you. You flitted about him picking up things he missed and settling brotherly disputes without him having to waste his breath. It was almost like things were going back to normal, minus the cold sheets beside him at night. But he sticks to his plan, finding pleasure in simply learning about you all over again.

It came to an end sooner than he had expected.

“Enter.” Lucifer calls from his overflowing desk. It was finals time once again and the damages done to school property were picking up dramatically. He heard your fluttering heartbeat before you even entered his domicile. It picks up as you approach.

“Am I interrupting?

Lucifer looks up from his work, a grin growing on his tired face. “For you, never.” You smile back, coming closer. You held a mug of coffee in your hands. The beast within him wanted to raise its hackles in triumph and howl. His life must be a divine comedy. This night is playing out just like it did nearly a year ago. Did you remember too? Or was this just how it always was meant to be?

“I haven’t seen you in a bit, and got concerned.” You fiddle with the handle of the copper mug. Lucifer nods, it was true. He regrettably had to put his plans with you on hold, he had spent so much time scheming he had let a few things build up. “Asmo told me you were hold up in here working, and I thought you could use a pick me up. He-he helped me make you some coffee.”

Ah. It wasn’t the same as the first time, but it was a matter of time before his sibling started meddling again. He takes the cup from your outstretched hand. “Thank you, this is much appreciated.” You glow under his praise taking a seat by his side.

“Need any help?” You eye the stack of papers with interest. “I’ve gotten pretty good at reading the fine print.”

“Have you now?” He pushes a small stack of papers towards you. “Very well, I would love your company again.” You take the work with a nod eager to spend time with him again. He watches you work, unable to contain his growing smile before looking down at the cup by his side. The tar-black coffee looks back at him. Oh, how he wished to commend his brother and berate him all at once. It is putrid and stomach-churning but he savors it all the same.

“Is it alright?” You pause watching him drink in. You have never seen him so enraptured by a drink before.

“Yes.” It will be.

[jayisgay]

Camp Here and There finale time!!! Wooo!!!

mmm don't like this. Does Elijah just have Sydney like. Tied to the top of the tower

Jedediah knows Elijah??? I mean we knew that Elijah knew Sydney, but ????

"architect" hmmm

ok i hate Elijah with every cell in my body but like. i understand the simps in this moment. "Fighting words. Let's check your claims against those of the gospel, hmmm?" "And what constitutes the gospel?" "My word." like ok sir 0///0

"in that moment he was perfect, our muse. Prone as he was upon the forest floor" ok thats fucking creepy

What's Elijah talking about?? Is the 'Sydney dies and it's a time loop' theory correct???

"You MOTHERFUCKER!" *gasp* "Language!" fjksdlfjlsfjs

That's right Elijah go fuck yourself

Enjoying Angry Jedediah quite a bit this time. Love it when his anger is directed at the right people :)

Oh crap. The journals

Elijah was Sydney's nurse? Or was it another tall thin blond man

Ok nope that's def Elijah

So Elijah was a fucking creep even back then. wonderful -_-

COMA???

The journals are having an Effect I do not like this

Assuming the limn happens after the events in these first few journal entries, Sydney was engaging in magic even before the world ended. Huh.

So Jedediah was trying to cure Sydney's illness hmm

YOU TURN IT OFF AND BACK ON AGAIN??? I'M SORRY SIR COULD YOU RUN THAT BY ME ONE MORE TIME

Sydney!! Yes beat his ass

ominous clock chiming 0.o

Hell yes!!! Elijah get got

So uh. To the first music break. Jamming out and. Thank God but What The Fuck Just Happened

Oh my fucking god Lucille she couldn't even do this one thing??? god fucking dammit

well at LEAst Elijah doesn't have the journals

HMmm time loop theory real? Sydney IS dead? or wait no??? ???? WHat

He died and then Jedediah brought him back ok ok

holy shit 0.o

Jedidah actually communicating? Holy shit wow

Ough my heart. This isn't entirely healthy but GOD is it tender

the pyre was LIT??? okay did NOT realize that holy crap

I'm sorry SEXY??? SIR??? FJFSLKDJLFJSLDKFSJL BAHAHDAHAHHAHAHHA

talking about their feelings for once. ough <3333

FJSKDFJLDJLKSLDKJF after all that's happened i think Jedediah deserves to be made fun of. and its funny so

"I have to work on my... project. I have to cry over a picture of you in my office, alone. My- my sobs are synced up with the ticking of my... many beautiful clocks." I am LOSING MY MIND BAHAHAHAHH

HONEY <333333 in TEARS

I wish I was able to keep the other counselor's names straight because I have no idea who these people are. I know there's a british dude, a gamer person, and someone who Sydney hates for no discernable reason. And an alpha male guy, but that might be the same as the previous dude idk. Anyway I wish i could keep the side characters straight

soop <33333

uGH Lucille. hhhhhhhhh. just get to the POINT

He's still working on shit hmmm. It's not over

this is a FAST game of chess holy shit wow

what kind of chess board is this??? X? Q? this is not how chess notation works as far as I remember

Lucille that's really rude to say about how Sydney talks. :(

"Adrenaline Wizard" lmaooo

Wait crap. Lucille... what's going on

shit what hold on what's going on crap crap crap

DID she let him know??? ok good. she didn't do that at least.

"he was a blonde with a big knife" lol

What could you have done, Lucille? You could have TRIED. You could have TRIED to help. god

Ok final thoughts:

- Elijah knew Sydney as his nurse, but how did he become so obsessed with him? I think there's more there.

- This proves the Sydney Died theory but I still think the Time Loop theory holds some weight. Jedediah obviously COULDN'T tell Sydney the full truth, and he has all those clocks and shit; we definitely don't know the full story so at the very least that theory isn't DISproven.

Uh, yeah I don't have many other thoughts. I'm not good at piecing shit together. Anyway that was amazing!!!

[sageinacage]

Pog :0 Based around the stream where they did a pvp - Boomer getting tired of losing so he wrecks Punz in hopes of getting a second win?

I hope that you’re doing well and have a great day/night!

Endurance Training summary: boomer wants to knock his cocky friend punz down a peg during their pvp training. a/n: i hope its okay i kinda derailed from the original prompt D: its still them and still in a similar setting but its just boomer being a cocky ass instead LOL warnings: swearing, lighthearted mocking (?), describing a fight in minecraft kinda LOL w/c: 1.4k IG, Platonic

~

“Haaa, I’m so good at this.” Punz stretched his arms over his head after yet another victory, shooting a shit-eating grin at his friend. “Isn’t that right, Boomer?”

Boomer fixed his frog hat, and let out an annoyed huff as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re just lucky, dumbass.” He spat back, grumbling something snarky to himself as he straightened out the light training armor equipped on him.

“I don’t think there’s anything lucky going on with you falling on your ass. Multiple times.”

“That’s because you tripped me, you asshole!”

“Oh, boohoo.”

Boomer opened his mouth to say something sassy back at his friend, but decided not to as Punz is definitely someone who could match his level of wits and he knew that. Instead, he let out an exaggerated groan and picked up his training sword, standing on the opposite side of the arena from Punz.

“Ready for round… uh… three? four? Definitely a number.” Punz rubbed the back of his head as he let out a few chuckles, composing himself after a few seconds and holding his sword and shield steadily. “Born ready, baby!” Boomer tried to jest, his goal being to distract Punz in any way he could.

Punz gave the man in the frog hat a confused eyebrow raise, rolling his eyes and beginning to approach him. “Punz, you do not want to come over here!” Boomer sang in a slightly worried tone, backing up and nervously skipping to the side. “Oh, but I really do, Boomer! C’mon, don’t be shy!” Punz sneered, his speed picking up a bit as Boomer let out a high-pitched giggle and ran off.

The man chuckled as his friend’s nervous giggles, shaking his head before equipping the fishing rod from his inventory, reeling Boomer in by the hood of his hoodie. “No!” He screeched, unhooking himself and skipping away again. “You slippery frog!” Punz exclaimed, continuing the chase.

The round ended like normal, some half-assed fight from Boomer then getting absolutely whooped after. “Boomer, c’mon! You gotta try harder than that!” Punz urged, trying to pull the sulking man up from the ground.

“Hm.” He hummed, his whole body going limp as his friend tried to lift him off the ground. “Don’t be a baby, bud.” Punz laughed, eventually just gently dropping him back down. “Am I just too good that you don’t wanna try again?” He chuckled, a smirk painting his features.

“No, I’m just thinking.”

“About…?”

“How to knock you down a peg or two- then I’d put the effort into fighting you.” Boomer grinned widely, a grin that Punz definitely did not trust. “How would you be able to knock me down if you won’t even fight me for real?” He crossed his arms, slightly tilting his head.

Boomer stood up, making the blonde take a small step back.

“I don’t like that look you’re giving me-”

“I remember a little something about you, Punz.”

“Boomer…”

“I remember you had a little… weakness… yeah. A weakness.” Boomer chuckled lowly, taking a step towards Punz. Punz squinted his eyes, trying to seem intimidating but took another step back as the white-haired man took another one forward.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Punz rolled his eyes, putting a hand on his hip. “I think you do, Punz! It’s probably why you’re blushing right now.”

“I am n- not! My cheeks are red out of anger. Yeah, that’s why.” He looked down, avoiding eye contact with the other. “Yeah? Out of anger, Punz? Totally not because you know I’m about to tickle you, and you can’t do anything about it. Y’know, how about we look at this like endurance training- you did originally ask me to train with you to improve, yeah?” Boomer continued as he kept slowly walking at Punz, until he got close to him.

“I’m- I’m n- not… ticklish?”

“Sure you aren’t, pal.” Boomer sneered before tackling his friend onto the grass, rolling around as he wrestled with him to get the upper hand. Eventually, the ‘CEO of Bedwars’ got the blonde pinned under him, but not after a good wrestle.

“Gotcha.” Boomer spoke low in Punz’s ear, before using his free hand to claw into his ribcage. “Sh- Shihit- Boohohomer!” He tried to hold back his giggles, shaking his head as the immediate sensation wracking his ribcage already tickled like hell.

“What’s up? I’m all ears!” Boomer laughed, deciding to pin Punz’s hands beneath his knees so he can use both of his hands. After he managed to pin them there, he wiggled his fingers at his friend. “Now, where should I go next? Your tummy is just right here, so cute and begging to be tickled… but I think I’m gonna go riiiight here…” Boomer gave a devilish grin before kneading his thumbs in circles into his upper waist.

Punz shrieked, arching his back forward. “YohoHOU- *snort* SUHUHUCK! STOHOP IT!” Punz cackled, trying to twist side to side to get rid of the sensations, but the damn feeling just won’t leave and it was causing ticklish shocks to spread across his whole torso.

“N’awww, Punz! I know you’re easily strong enough to escape. You really just wanna be tickled to tears, huh? Tickled so much that you won’t be able to lift a finger against me. Yeah? Is that what you want, Punzie?” Boomer teased, not letting up on those wonderful horrible ticklish circles on his lower ribs.

Covering his face, Punz dug his heels into the ground behind him to try to relieve some of the sensations, but Boomer was just so persistent. “SOHOMEWHEHERE ElSE! P- PLEHEHEASE!” He squealed as his friend’s hands immediately went to squeeze his hips, then to back up to sit on Punz’s knees, immediately scribbling his nails into his thighs.

“NONONO- NOHAHAHAHA-” Punz immediately retaliated, his legs being extremely ticklish. Boomer let out an evil laugh at this new discovery, repeatedly squeezing that spot right above his kneecaps which earned the most high-pitched giggles from the blonde. “No? Not here? Hmmm… I think I like it here, though!” Boomer announced, before scooting back up.

Punz breathed heavily, weakly pulling at his hands- but they remained stuck under Boomer’s knees. “You done?” Boomer asked, his voice expressing more concern than anything. Punz, always wanting a challenge, just smirked. “Never.” He continued to smile, but his eyes grew wide as Boomer slowly started to pull up his white hoodie.

“Ooh, look what we have here! An adorable tummy, just waiting to be tickled by yours truly. You ready, Punz? Are you ready for the tickles since you’re enjoying this soooo much?” Boomer didn’t give him time to answer as he immediately began to flutter his fingertips over his exposed stomach.

“COHOLD HAHANDS- BOOHOHOMER Y- YOU AHASS!” Punz squealed, throwing his head back as one of his worst spots was targeted. “N’awww, you have such a ticklish tummy! That’s so sweet, Punz. I wonder though… ah- ignore me, I’m just going on a ramble.” Boomer spoke to him like he wasn’t destroying him under his fingertips.

The fluttering fingers turned into raking nails, the feeling it provided tickling like hell. Boomer was still curious, though. ‘Do raspberries actually tickle? Would that be a good idea?’ He thought, his fingers not stopping his attack on Punz’s stomach.

Well, here goes nothing.

“PFFT- PLEHEHAHAHAHA- BOOHOHOMER NOHOHO!” Punz went completely limp as a raspberry was planted right on the pudge of his stomach, the feeling strange but extremely ticklish. He let out another screech as more raspberries were placed, followed by nibbles trailing up his sides and ribs as Boomer’s fingers continued to dance along his belly.

“This is so priceless, holy shit!” Boomer eventually sat up, fondly laughing at the dazed look on Punz’s face. “ALRIHIHIGHT!” Punz exclaimed, playfully shoving Boomer off of him and curling up on the grass. “There you go, you managed to escape!” Boomer joked, standing up and towering over his friend.

“That was fun, don’tcha think, Punzie?” Boomer teased, earning an ‘angry’ growl from the other. “Revehenge will be fuhun…” Punz mumbled through his after-giggles, glaring up at Boomer.

“Sure it will, giggles.”

“Shuhut up, will you?!”

[aquariuscurly94]

Term: Jealously

Summary: Jealously: A word that generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. 

 It is a term that Raven had often felt among other people but never on herself. She had felt anger, fear, worry and other emotions within herself, but never the emotion of jealously.  

She had always thought she would never feel the need to be jealous of anyone or anything. She had always found it useless whenever she had felt a wash of jealously that would come from other people. She had never understood why people would feel that way towards another human being.  However, her thoughts on the term had changed recently.  

Very recently.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the DC universe!!! I just own the plot!

AN: I cannot believe that DamiRae week 2021 is about to be over!! I have seen many great works of art and fics and I truly hope that you guys had fun this week! And I truly hope that you guys will like this little beauty because it is Pre- DamiRae lol

Jealously: A word that generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety.

 It is a term that Raven had often felt among other people but never on herself. She had felt anger, fear, worry and other emotions within herself, but never the emotion of jealously.

 She had always thought she would never feel the need to be jealous of anyone or anything. She had always found it useless whenever she had felt a wash of jealously that would come from other people. She had never understood why people would feel that way towards another human being.

 However, her thoughts on the term had changed recently.

 Very recently.

 She tried to tear her lavender gaze away from a couple that was dancing in the middle of the ballroom that was filled with other rich and famous citizens of Gotham City. The woman had long auburn hair that was swaying back and forth gently against her dark blue off the shoulder dress that she was wearing. Her partner that she was dancing with had short dark hair, forest green eyes and olive skin, wearing a fancy black and white suit paired with a short green bow tie.

 “They would make such a lovely couple don’t you think?” Raven hears an elderly woman ask her in a hush whisper, leaning in close as if not to disturb the pair that was circling back and forth in a waltz even though the tune of a classic Beethoven was playing around them loudly. “I can see the headlines now: Damian Wayne and Bethany Rosewater Officially Together Finally,” the older woman giggled at the made-up title that she had thought of. “Ah, young love. Do you have a boyfriend miss?”

 Raven managed to look away to look down at the short heavy-set woman that was standing next to her. She gave her a tight smile. “I… don’t unfortunately,” she answered the woman, trying to swallow down a sudden tightness that she was feeling in her chest.

 The kind gray haired woman eyed Raven up and down, taking in her black dress that she was wearing, frowning slightly at the sight of her plum long hair that had fallen over her pale shoulder. “Hmmm,” she said, and Raven wanted so badly to roll her eyes but held herself back. “You are…interesting looking. I am sure that you will find someone soon dear.”

 Raven sighed heavily at the woman before turning her attention back towards the pair that was still dancing gracefully on the dance floor. She studied Bethany’s face as Damian swung her around, smiling ear to ear as she spun around in a small circle before she had collided gently against his chest. Raven’s eyes widen slightly when she could’ve sworn that she had saw Damian’s upper lip twitch upwards which made her breathing hitched slightly and her chest tighten once more.

 Her whole body froze when she had felt a prick from her finger on the wine glass that she was holding and looked down at the cracked surface and realized if she had squeezed it any further it would’ve shattered under her hold.

 “Excuse me,” Raven said to the woman, walking backwards so she could get away from the crowd around her. She tried to calm her sudden wave of emotions as she tries to find somewhere to clear her mind. She tipped her head slightly when she spotted an open balcony and quickly made her way over to it. “Air. That’s what I need.”

 She leaned over the railing of the balcony, wondering why she had decided to go to this stupid gala event in the first place. She rolled her eyes when she remembered that it was his idea to invite her to represent the rest of the Titans because they had helped stopped several crimes in the city of Gotham when the Dark Knight had asked for assistance to stop a villain from terrorizing citizens of Gotham.

 Raven was confused when Damian had asked her to represent the Titans and not someone like Kori who is one of the leaders of the team. Dick Grayson was no go because he has to show up to the gala to show face for the Wayne Enterprises along with Damian who was the son of Bruce Wayne.

 She had only spoken to the younger Robin once when Bruce Wayne and Dick came over to speak to her briefly before going their separate ways to mingle with the guests. Damian was preoccupied speaking with board members and her.

 Bethany Rosewater.

 Raven had seen the auburn-haired woman before on some model magazine that Garfield Logan had shoved into her face one day. Apparently, she’s the daughter of some board member of the company and her father is close friends with Bruce hence why Damian had danced with her. She had seen other pictures of her in the magazine as well as several photos on her Instagram account and some of them were with Damian which had thousands of likes on it.

 She didn’t mean to scroll through the page. In all honesty at the time, she didn’t know that she was doing it until she had spent all night going through each picture that Bethany had posted. Raven could remember some of the comments that were written underneath pictures of Bethany and Damian and it had made Raven frown at each one.

 “They would make such a cute couple!”

 “Ugh, she’s so lucky! I mean, just look at him!”

 “Maybe they are already dating but is keeping it under wraps?”

 Raven had almost broken her phone from reading all the comments before she had managed to shut off her phone and put aside her.

 She doesn’t understand why she was feeling this way towards a woman that she barely knows. She doesn’t understand why she should care at all really. Granted, Bethany is beautiful and Damian is… she even couldn’t think of a word to describe the the green eyed Robin but knew that he was more than decent looking in that department and that was why the entire Gotham City wants the model and the heir of Wayne Enterprises to be together and the more she thinks about the possibility of them becoming an IT couple, the more her chest would burn at the thought.

 Raven’s amethyst eyes widen in surprise when she realizes as to why her chest was burning and why she had stormed out of the ballroom when she had grown tired of watching them dancing. She placed her hand over her chest in hopes to calm down her beating heart that was pumping fast.

 Raven was jealous.

 Jealous.

 The daughter of Trigon was jealous, and it was an emotion that she had felt on others and never on herself. Raven had no reason to ever feel jealous on anyone! She had always thought it was a useless emotion wasted for ridiculous reasons that had caused war and chaos throughout time and here she was… feeling jealous of a woman.

 The real question that Raven must ask herself was why: why was she jealous of that woman that was dancing with Damian?

 Was it because of the way that she had looked tonight at the gala? Raven shook her head no at the question. Was it because of that elderly rich woman that had mentioned that they would make a great couple? Again, Raven had shook her head no at the question. Then what was it that made Raven jealous?

 “She… she made him smile,” she whispered to herself, balling a fist that was on the railing of the balcony when she had finally answered her own questions. “It was because of the smile.”

 There are only a few people that can manage to bring out a smile from the former assassin. And when he does smile, it would bring warmth throughout her body when she feels a calm emotion that would come from him whenever he does twitch his upper lip ever so slightly. She shouldn’t feel jealous over the fact that someone other than her or the other members of the Titans made him smile.

 No. It was something else. Something deeper than that and Raven needs to figure out what it is and resolve it.

 “The party is inside Raven. What are you doing out here?”

 Raven turned around to find Damian leaning against the entryway of the building with his arms crossed and his brow lifted as he studied her. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “I needed a minute,” she told him truthfully, knowing that it wasn’t a lie. “What are you doing out here? Won’t Bethany Rosewater miss you?”

 Damian snorted as he leaned off the entryway to walk over to stand next to Raven on the balcony. He leaned his back against the railing to stare at the guests inside the Wayne Manor. “She’s preoccupied at the moment,” he answered her when he had spotted the auburn-haired woman mentioned talking to someone. “There’s something bothering you,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone after a lull of silence.

 Raven shook her head at him. “I just needed a minute. That doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong,” she explained to him with a small sigh.

 “Raven…” Damian said sternly, lifting his forest eyes to stare into her indigo ones and Raven knew that he could tell that she was lying to him and backed away when he leaned in closer to her. “Tell me what is bothering you.”

 Even though she was in heels, Damian was still towering over her with his height as he walked closer to her when she tried to back away from him. “Damian…” she warned him, placing a hand on his chest to keep him from coming any closer towards her. “Back off.”

 “Not until you tell me what’s bothering you. I would also suggest that you don’t lie to me as well.”

 “Why does it matter what I feel?” she asked him with a scoff, crossing her arms across her chest.

 Damian paused his steps and cocked his head to the side and rolled his eyes at her as if she had just asked a ridiculous question and in his opinion she did. “It matters to me Raven. Tell me.”

 She thought about telling him. Even if she doesn’t truly know exactly what she wanted to tell him because it is all confusing to her to experience an emotion that is foreign to her and doesn’t exactly know how he would react to it. All she could do was shake her head and turned away from him to start walking back inside. “I’m going back inside. You should also before Bethany starts to look for you.”

 Raven’s breath got caught in her throat when Damian grabbed her wrist to make her stop walking inside. She tried to concentrate on the guests that were inside the manor chatting with one another when she couldn’t ignore a wave of irritation that was coming from him. “Not until you tell me what is wrong.”

 Raven knew at this point the former assassin won’t give up on his quest to find out what is bothering her and sighed when she broke free of his hold that he had on her wrist. “Are you…together with her?” she whispered, and she wasn’t exactly sure how she would feel about his answer.

 Damian knitted his brows at her question, wondering why it concerns her when it shouldn’t. Why would the most powerful empath concern herself something ridiculous? “Everyone wants us to be. Father, her father,” he finally told her when silence fell over them and he walked back over to the railing of the balcony to lean against it. “Told us that it would be good for the company and for our families if we’re together…” he stopped talking when Raven’s face became unreadable. “However, do not concern yourself in this ridiculous matter because I have no interest in her.”

 Raven felt her beat of her heart slow down at his answer and nodded at him. She gave him a small smile. “I see. Thank you for telling me, Damian. I should go back inside now.” She started making her way back to the gala that was inside the manor but paused when Damian spoke again.

 “I am interested in someone else, Raven.”

 Raven turn her head slightly to look at him. She watched him leaned causally against the railing of the balcony with a balled fist at his side. His emerald eyes wasn’t looking at her when he had told this. Instead, his eyes were focused on the ground in front of him. “Oh?” she said, lifting her brow with interest. “Is it someone that I know?”

 Damian didn’t answer her as he leaned off the railing. His face was blank as he walked closer to her and Raven held her breath when he leaned in close to her and could feel his warm breath against her ear as he spoke into it lowly. “One day you will find out Raven.”

 Raven released her breath that she was holding when Damian disappeared inside the manor, leaving her to her thoughts as she processed the whole conversation. She was relieved to hear that he didn’t have a crush on Bethany Rosewater, and she knew that one day he will tell her who he was interested in.

 For some odd reason——she had a tiny suspicion of who it could be even though he technically didn’t reveal of who it was, and her stomach fluttered at the thought of it as she walked back inside with a smile on her face.

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Ultimatum”

Welcome back, everyone! We had an unexpected break last week due to the horror going on in Texas. I'm glad we did. Not because of any salty "RWBY is bad right now yay free Saturday" feelings, but because keeping to a schedule for a fictional webseries should never take precedence over peoples' safety. I can't believe I need to type that sentence out, but it's true! Over the last seven days I've seen fans who are not merely disappointed by the mini hiatus (understandable) but outright hostile towards the crew because they... were ensuring everyone survived during an unprecedented emergency? Yeah. Given the highly critical nature of these recaps — including today's! — I want to be clear that my thoughts towards Rooster Teeth's creative choices are distinct from any thoughts about the crew itself, including the most basic forms of compassion like, “I sure hope everyone is okay over there.” In an age where it has become horrifically common to harass creators and even send them death threats over stories, it has likewise become necessary to remind people: Don't do that shit. Never do that shit. If I can teach anyone anything at all, let it be that!

Anyway, dark fandom reminders out of the way, let's dive straight into our delayed episode. It was certainly a doozy. Titled "Ultimatum," we open on a trigger warning for flashing lights. Good on Rooster Teeth for including that, though I do wonder if creators shouldn't be including time stamps as well? Or perhaps a note that you can find those time stamps in the credits, avoiding any (minor) spoilers for everyone else? I'm not photosensitive myself, so I certainly don't mean to speak for that group, but my first thought was, "So how would I watch this episode if I was? Hand on the pause button, hoping I stop fast enough as soon as the lights start?" Hard to do given the surprise nature of the scene. Really, my answer would be, "Wait for the fandom to post warnings of their own, likely including where it happens so I know when to skip" which is perhaps an indication that this information that should be included from the get-go.

But I am glad the warning exists, regardless. The episode itself begins with a shot of Ironwood looking down at the kingdom. He's used his windows as a vantage point since Volume 7, so that's nothing new, but something about this particular shot reminded me of Ozpin, looking down from his tower. I'm sure the response from many would be simply, "Ah yes, the two power hungry dictators watching over their victims," but I think there's a much more nuanced reading here about leaders being expected to fix the literally unfixable and what that responsibility does to an individual. Of course, it's a nuance that is absolutely obliterated by the episode’s end, but the implication existed for a hot second!

Two other soldiers are in the room with Ironwood, reporting that Cinder has helped Watts escape. They try to soften this with news that they still have Jacques in custody, but receive only a, "I don't give a damn about Jacques Schnee." Which, fair. He's pretty useless at this point. It's when Ironwood learns that both Qrow and Robin escaped too that he really gets mad, something his subordinates have been expecting given their scared expressions.

Now, I'm treading lightly here because I realize how this is going to sound given the end of our episode, but I still want to note that outside of that ending... this is a weird take? Just hear me out. Since Volume 7 the show has worked very hard to make Ironwood seem scary and unstable — bad setup for what we end with today — but the problem is that none of it works in context and it certainly doesn't work when compared to other characters' actions. They are literally in the midst of an unwinnable battle and thousands of his people are dying. If the audience wants a human being — who also just lost a limb and was betrayed by half his allies — o remain perfectly poised and polite during that, sorry, but that's not how human beings work. But even beyond this, what’s the message here? Ironwood raises his voice, so does Yang. Ironwood hits his desk, Qrow hits a child. If we're going to examine how Ironwood handles his stress and anger, he often handles it better than many of our heroes. Namely, by continually taking that anger out on inanimate objects. I kept waiting for him to attack his subordinates or attack Winter this episode, especially given where we end up, but it never came. Ironwood always has enough control to break the desk or punch the wall, not the person in front of him. Which, of course, would not be a good thing in the real world. I want to be clear given these sensitive subjects that if someone is breaking things in your presence that's a major problem to address. But this isn't the real world. This is a fantasy world in the middle of a war, populated by other characters who express their anger by punching people, slamming them into walls, or screaming at them until they run away. The story wants us to fear Ironwood long before he makes his objectively horrific choices and it tries to achieve that by showing us characters who are clearly terrified in his presence, by giving us a string of broken objects in his wake. But those details don't land well when we compare them to other instances of stress. In the same volume I have watched Ironwood take a deep breath to calm himself down when things have gone horribly wrong. I've also watched Weiss start a conversation by threatening her defenseless brother. So again, what’s the message here? It can’t be that acting violently towards someone = villainous behavior because, as established since Volume 6, that’s common for the heroes. Why are these subordinates terrified about Ironwood slamming his fist on a table, but Whitley has no problem hugging the woman who threatened him? Obviously there is a HUGE difference between our main group and Ironwood when it comes to other actions (cough-bomb threats-cough), but these day-to-day moments don't match up. The show wants to use violence as a way for us to easily identify the Bad Guy while ignoring all the times when our heroes do the same thing. 

All of which isn't meant to be a defense of Ironwood. As we'll see in a bit, there is no defense for what he's done. Rather, it's a way of acknowledging just how badly he's been written. Why does a man who consistently reins in his anger and takes it out on objects suddenly shoot a councilman for literally no reason? Why does a man defined by wanting to save as many people as he can suddenly threaten to bomb his city? Ironwood's characterization is all over the place, in the sense that they keep writing him as the morally gray, sometimes harsh, but ultimately compassionate man he started out as... up until they need a villain. Salem isn't here yet, so Ironwood can shoot Oscar. Salem isn't attacking yet, so Ironwood can shoot the councilman. Salem is currently reforming, so Ironwood can threaten YJR and Mantle. He's the B-plot villain whenever Salem is out of commission, which is a problem for both their characterizations. This filler doesn't make sense for Ironwood and it severely undermines the threat of Salem. You finally introduce the Magical Big Bad and our heroes are facing more of a threat from a guy with a broken army and three loyal allies left? Hmmm.

The tl;dr is that Ironwood's arc is a disaster and, frankly, it's gotten old reading simplified takes of, "It's just a realistic look at what white U.S. men will do in power sweetie :) " RWBY does not have the context capable of conveying that sort of critical take because our world is not besieged by literal monsters and an immortal witch, to say nothing of how real life good guys do not get deus ex machina canes that fix the problem instantaneously. Ironwood is not an example of anti-U.S. imperialism, he's an example of writers who don't know how to write.

Anyway, I'm getting severely off topic. Obviously Ironwood is a major part of this episode, but the problems demonstrated here are two years in the making. This is the culmination of things I've been discussing for months across hundreds of posts... so I should probably stop trying to summarize it all in a few paragraphs lol. Perhaps when RWBY is over — or Ironwood has died — I'll do a single meta on his character, try to pull everything into one, unified argument.

For now though, we have an episode to analyze.

While Ironwood is receiving this news we get flashbacks to Qrow and Robyn. Qrow attacks a soldier in his bird form, which is hilarious. Someone GIF that please. It does raise some interesting questions about this magic though: does Qrow retain his aura and strength in this form (something I thought given his choice to transform during the explosion), or was that soldier just so shocked at being attacked by a crow that he went down easy? We'll never know, because that would require establishing concrete rules for this world. The point is Qrow is going feral in his freedom, throwing punches left and right — did he kill that guard? — while Robyn watches it all from under a rock. They're apparently still somewhere in the facility since all the exits are guarded, but that's not the good thing Ironwood seems to think it is. After all, Qrow is out to murder him. He wants to be there.

We all see where this is going, right? The show is going to ignore Qrow's crazy belief that Ironwood got Clover killed in favor of a "Qrow saved Mantle by murdering Ironwood"/“Qrow got revenge for Mantle by murdering Ironwood” ending. Who cares why Qrow wanted to kill him in the first place now that Ironwood has his finger on the trigger? If RWBY is good at anything, it's writing moments that encourage you to ignore everything that came before it. We'll be seeing more of that in just a bit.

"Damn it!" Ironwood yells, because the show is leaning into its cursing. He orders that the subordinates not return until "you have Qrow Branwen in custody." Here we have another great example of the show conflating what the audience knows with what other characters know. See, we know Qrow has a vendetta against Ironwood. We know their relationship is the important one to the story and that Robyn is incidental. Ironwood doesn't know that. There's no reason for him, as a character, to specify that they only bring Qrow back, but it makes sense for the audience who has the whole, thematic picture. Our understanding of the situation is influencing Ironwood's dialogue, which is... not great.

This entire scene we've had creepy music to hammer home just how evil Ironwood is. Except, as said, he takes a breath to calm down and the music fades. Instead of flying into a rage, hurting someone, or doing anything the music suggests he might, Ironwood calmly calls in for an update — which is when the explosion hits.

It's MASSIVE, seeming to originate from a lightning strike, which is weird, since it's coming from inside the whale, but whatever. The animation is very dramatic and pretty, as we've come to expect of RWBY, but the actual plot is lackluster at best. It's funny though because I thought for a hot second, when Winter and the Ace Ops were caught in the blast, that RWBY had actually done something exciting. I mean, holy shit! There are the deaths we expect from a battle like this. My god, what is everyone going to do when they realize that Oscar's needless attack took out five characters, including Weiss' sister —

No wait, never mind. They're fine.

Let's talk about that "needless" descriptor for a moment though. Do you all remember, two weeks ago, when I went, "Hey, why isn't anyone telling Oscar that that Ace Ops are approaching with a bomb? They're on a time limit! If someone would just mention that Very Important Information then Oscar wouldn't keep standing around to fight Salem." See, at the time I was frustrated because of how the plot was needlessly allowing Oscar to put himself in danger (especially when the whole point of this mission was to rescue him). Now, I'm frustrated because that same plot needlessly wasted the most powerful weapon the group had. There was no reason for Oscar to use literal lifetimes worth of stored energy when the heroes already had a bomb to do the same job! What was the point of that? I guess he took out the other grimm too, but without the whale that still would have been a challenge with a finite end, one Ironwood's army and the remaining huntsmen should have been able to handle. It doesn't feel justified to have Oscar use a weapon kept on the bench for lifetimes when there was another option literally minutes away.

There's so much wrong with this I need another list. So:

Ozpin's cane supposedly stores kinetic energy, which may contradict what we've seen from it before. Regardless, we’ve never heard about this. The all powerful weapon comes out of nowhere

It also begs the question of why Ozpin wouldn't use that power at Beacon and why he wouldn't insist that they try to get their cane back while captured. You had an out this whole time! But we’re going to ignore that because Oscar is a little hesitant? 

Which makes YJR's presence even more useless than it originally was, which was already pretty useless. Oscar essentially rescued himself

This kinetic energy miraculously doesn't hurt any people or buildings, just grimm

So what is the point of Silver Eyes? That's been their MO since they were first introduced. Sure, Silver Eyes can be used far more often than Ozpin's cane, but it still feels like a let down to learn that the Big Secret behind this weapon is... the exact same thing Ruby has been doing for years

Like Ruby, Oscar likewise didn't need any practice or training. He just set off this massive attack perfectly and without issue

We have now eliminated the biggest threat to the cast instantaneously — the whale and the other grimm — with no effort from the rest of the heroes. Like the Hound, the stakes are obliterated with no satisfying work on the part of our protagonists 

Instead, as said, the actual plan already in place never happened. The bomb just... goes back. Kind of like how Cinder attacked and then just went back to Salem. Penny woke up and then just got knocked out again. We continue to go in circles 

This is because no one took two seconds to tell Oscar, "There's a bomb on the way"

Because this threat is gone the show needs a new one, hence Ironwood randomly threatening Mantle with said bomb

The one way we might have justified Oscar blowing up the whale instead of Winter is if he did it to save Hazel, but Hazel is implied to be dead

Maybe he's alive, but if he's not that happened off screen and we're not sure how. It couldn't have been because of the blast itself — everyone else is fine — so what, Salem somehow killed him before she was blasted to bits? While he was holding her? 

And there's no body?

Salem was torn apart multiple times during that fight and reformed instantaneously, yet now, conveniently, she's taking her time

None of the characters mention the issues above. None of them admit that there was no reason for Oscar to waste LIFETIMES worth of power when they already had a solution in the works. Fantastic

I need to take a moment to acknowledge that so far this recap feels... bad. Disjointed. Bit all over the place. Which makes a certain amount of sense because that's where my thoughts are at. There's so much going on in this episode — so much wrong with it — that I don't know how to boil it all down into a few, neat claims. This episode is a mess! We're barely a few minutes in and the combined issues of Ironwood's characterization and Oscar's choice have left me reeling. So if you're still reading this, bless your patience, I think we'll both need it for the rest of this journey.

Let's snag a neater plot-point to discuss. Amidst all the chaos Neo literally skips away with the Lamp, clearly thrilled at how her own life is going. Later in the episode she'll text Cinder with the obvious: Salem is going to be pretty pissed when she realizes this is gone. “If you want her name you know what you owe me." 

So wait... what is Neo leveraging here? Is she agreeing to give the Lamp back so Cinder doesn't get in trouble with Salem? Give Salem the password she's been looking for? Or give Cinder the password to use the Lamp for herself? What would Cinder even want the Lamp for when she's after the Maiden powers? I'm confused about what Cinder is being blackmailed with. Regardless, she needs the lamp for something and presumably what she "owes" Neo is Ruby. We get a cut to her just to hammer that home.

(Side note: both pictures of Neo are hilarious.) 

Before that though, back at the whale, everyone is taking stock of the situation when Marrow cries, "Hey, they were still in there!" I feel like this is another scene meant to make him look like the one good guy in the group — he cares about YJOR while the others can’t be bothered — but as always, that reading doesn't fit well with the situation as a whole. The others have barely had time to realize they're alive. I don't think it's a moral failing that they didn't instinctually worry about four betrayers, one of whom attacked them, while they're still checking that they have all their limbs intact. Besides, why does Marrow assume they're dead? The Ace Ops were caught in the blast as well, yet miraculously came out unharmed. They clearly didn't set their own bomb off, so it's logical to assume that YJOR did something themselves. It feels weird to have a "Marrow mourns them and Winter is the only other character who cares" moment when everyone is recovering from bomb shock and no one even knows if the others are dead. But, of course, the show is out to portray only two of these characters as good people, so ignore the logic and run with the emotion of the scene.

All of which is bolstered by Elm pulling away when Vine puts a hand on her shoulder. Why is she acting cold towards him now? Because they're not friends, remember?

While we get more ridiculous relationship dynamics, Ironwood calls in and congratulates them on the bomb working, but tells them to get back because they have another problem in the works. That would be Qrow and Robyn. Winter decides to tell him about the bomb in person.

We cut to Watts and Cinder watching the remnants of the blast from a rooftop. Cinder has tried calling, but no one answered. Unsurprising, given that Salem doesn't have any other allies left. Cinder says that the plan hasn't changed, she's still going to take the Winter Maiden's power for herself, and Watts can help her by bringing Penny here. He explains that he doesn't have full control over her. Rather, he implemented a virus that is setting her on a single path: open the vault, then self-destruct. Cinder, as one might expect, is furious.

She snags Watts by her grimm arm and threatens to toss him over the side of the building. Thus begins the best part of the episode, hands down. Despite the danger he's in, Watts throws common sense out the window in favor of dragging Cinder in the most satisfying manner possible. 

“You think you’re entitled to everything just because you suffered, but suffering isn’t enough. You can’t just be strong, you have to be smart. You can’t just be deserving, you have to be worthy! But all you have ever been is a bloody migraine!”

It's true! You know what else is true? This speech could apply to our heroes as well. Accusations of entitlement and reminders to be smart as opposed to just strong hit hard, considering those are the same flaws our protagonists are struggling with. The difference is that Cinder, miraculously, listens, pulling Watts back to safety and going to cry by herself. That moment is simultaneously more growth than Ruby has gotten and more sympathy than Ironwood has gotten. The woman who murdered Pyrrha is treated more kindly by the narrative than one of our initial heroes and our very first villain has taken more time to reconsider her choices than our title character. You know a show is falling apart when excellent choices are applied to the worst possible character.

So Cinder is crying while Watts looks guilty and we cut back to YJOR's group post-blast. Yang is finally able to answer a call from Blake who is obviously overjoyed to see her. Weiss gives them directions to the mansion and they ask what in the world they'll do with Emerald, currently on her knees, mourning Hazel.

Thus begins the third most frustrating part of this episode. See, on the way back the group continues the conversation about what to do with Emerald, with Yang and Jaune distrusting her vs. Ren and Oscar encouraging cooperation. I can't believe I'm saying this after's Ren's speech and Oscar's entire existence... but I'm team Jaune and Yang here. Look, what Oscar and Ren say — the literal words coming out of their mouth — is nonsense. Ren goes, “We can’t let all of our actions stem from fear," as if Yang and Jaune are being ridiculous for mistrusting Emerald, one of the established villains, after years worth of harm from her. It’s weird that Yang points to her arm as something Emerald is responsible for, rather than being framed or the deaths at Beacon, but the general sentiment of, “She’s done horrible things!” is true. Ren’s perspective is the same simplification that was applied to Ironwood last volume, wherein everyone acted as if he was crazy for fearing an attack on his kingdom... post an attack on another kingdom and pre an attack on his kingdom. Putting generic lines in Ren's mouth about not being afraid makes him sound willfully ignorant, as if choosing to believe that someone is good will magically make them so, to say nothing of thinking it will erase all the harm they've already done.

Oscar at least acknowledges the difficulty here, but then follows this up with, “You don’t have to forgive her… just give her a second chance."

Oscar, honey, that amounts to the same thing in this situation. Allowing Emerald a second chance means working with her, which means trust, which means emotionally reaching a point where these characters can put aside the harm she's done them in an effort to give her that chance in the first place. This actually ties into a post I saw last night, one I've come across before, that claims redemption arcs don't require any suffering on the part of the person who has done wrong. I agree in theory, that prolonged suffering doesn't help anyone, but the problem is that people tend to conflate suffering with consequences and someone who has done this level of harm should face consequences for their actions. The problem with redemption arcs is not that the bad people suffer too much —  emotionally and physically beating on them as a form of revenge  — but that the people they've harmed are put into situations like this one. If Yang and Jaune let Emerald go like she suggests, they are agreeing that she doesn't have to face any consequences for the damage she's done (which, keep in mind, involves multiple deaths, not including all the lost lives here in Atlas). If they agree to give her a second chance, they are forced to jump straight to some level of forgiveness. We might claim they don't have to forgive Emerald to work with her, but from a practical perspective how are they meant to function, especially during a warzone? Anything she provides them with — information, watching their back in a fight, undertaking missions, etc.  — requires trusting her enough to allow those things to happen: working with that info, letting her protect them, allowing her that responsibility. It's all about trust, trust she has yet to earn. In order for a redemption arc to be successful, the power has to be in the hands of the victims. They need to be able to see some justice for what was done to them, be offered some proof that the person in question has truly changed, and have the ability to walk away if they decide no, I don't forgive you, glad to hear you've improved, but please stay out of my life. Jaune and Yang have none of that. There are currently no systems in place for Emerald to face consequences for her choices, she has offered them no proof of her remorse or true motivations, and the other half of the group is pressuring them to give her that second chance without closure or reassurance. None of that makes for a good redemption arc and reducing that to, "So you want to see poor Emerald suffer, huh?" ignores the suffering she has already caused. The group are her victims and they are under no obligation to give her a second chance, particularly under these circumstances, which makes the story's choice to have Ren and Oscar act like Yang and Jaune are being stubborn or inconsiderate a problem. The conversation boils down to, "Give the woman you know to be a liar, manipulator, murder accomplice, and servant of our enemy a second chance based entirely on unfounded faith. If you don't you're letting yourself be ruled by fear."

RWBY's touchy-feely themes really don't sit well within its realistic, morally gray premise. We cannot continually have these characters go through hell one moment and then have others accuse them of being paranoid the next. The fact that all of this is wrapped up in the group trusting Robyn, Emerald, and Hazel over their established allies remains beyond frustrating.

Because yeah, you know how Oscar finishes his speech? “I’ve already gotten a lot of help today from someone I don’t exactly trust right now." Meaning Ozpin.

The story is trying to compare Emerald and Hazel to Ozpin.

"Oh hey, I kept a secret from you after lifetimes of watching that secret lead to betrayal and death. I keep apologizing for my mistakes while ignoring that I had no reason to trust a bunch of kids with such world-shattering information and also that you tore it from me in the most traumatic way possible."

"Oh hey, I willingly joined our world's version of the devil and helped her destroy your school, leading to numerous deaths including your friend and headmaster. It was his death that put Oscar in this position in the first place! I then continued to attack your group, leading to another near death of a friend, and a kidnapping, and the destruction of Amity, until I became scared enough to make a run for it."

Which one of these characters is granted an instant second chance? You'll never guess who!

And I do think the word "instant" is important here because just like Jaune and Yang have the right to have distance and justice from Emerald, they had that right with Ozpin too. The difference is they got it. They had the power in the situation, as evidenced by their use of the Lamp and physically attacking him. Ozpin heard what they needed from him — leave us alone — and did that without complaint. They were given months to come to terms with the secrets he kept. They were offered apologies and acts of service to demonstrate intent: saving them in the airship and continually saving Oscar. I don't believe Ozpin ever needed a redemption arc, but even if we think he did, he had it. After three volumes of material Oscar's perspective is still "I don't exactly trust [him] right now" but Hazel and Emerald have earned at least the same amount of trust in a matter of hours? They're really having my boy look at the guy who has tried desperately to do right by him despite unimaginable circumstances, and the guy who tortured him to get information for Salem, and went, "That first guy. He's the one we need to watch out for."

To make things even worse, Oscar tells the others that Ozpin took on all the torture so he wouldn't have to. So he did that and they still don't trust him? If you had told me back in Volume 6 that two years later the group would still be hostile towards Ozpin, while simultaneously urging one another to trust Emerald, I would have said you were lying. RWBY has its problems, but it's not that bad. Yet here we are. I suppose the one silver lining here is that Ren smiles when he realizes Ozpin is back? So at least one of them isn't prepared to draw their weapon at the mere mention of his name.

Both these moments raise more questions though. How in the world did Ozpin take on that torture when we clearly saw Oscar getting pummeled for a good portion of the kidnapping? Is that a weird merge thing the story hasn't bothered to explain? I wouldn't be surprised, considering Oscar said last episode he didn't want to use magic because it hastened the merge, he uses the biggest explosion of magic we've ever seen, and nothing has changed. Ozpin is still in the back of his head, thanking him for the tinniest shreds of decency they get. Ren, meanwhile, seems to be back to mindreading. How in the world does he know that Ozpin is back? I assume it has something to do with his semblance, but we don't know what. They could have shown us Oscar from Ren's perspective, perhaps with two distinct emotions swilling around to imply that he sees two different people now, not a useless shot of Emerald with purple flower petals, whatever purple means.

Oh, but no, we shouldn't have gotten either of these scenes. Remember that Ren's aura broke a very, very short time ago? Is it back already? Can he use this part of his semblance without it? Considering it was near impossible to see Ironwood's aura breaking in the Watts fight and we were then mistakenly told he used his semblance in the office, I'm going to go with, "The writers forgot."

Oscar explains that the cane had "lifetime after lifetime" of power in it and though there's still some left, "we have to be careful with how we use the rest." He says that Ozpin trusted his judgement and of course he did! Ozpin also didn’t know that there was a bomb on the way. Yet funnily enough, no one else mentions that, whoops, your choice made in ignorance was a waste and that's due entirely to us prioritizing hugs over basic mission information.

Also, all these explanations take place in front of Emerald. Half the group doesn't trust her, but they'll freely discuss their powers and limitations here. Remember how the group once wanted to talk about magical relics in front of the old lady they'd just met? Yeah, they've learned nothing.

Combine all this insanity with the fact that Ozpin's magic saved the day before Ironwood's bomb could do the same... while Ruby sat in a mansion drinking tea. Who's our hero again?

So things are a hot mess, to put it lightly. Their conversation finally ends when they hear voices and round the corner to find all the Atlas citizens huddled in the subway. For once the show actually writes them in a sympathetic manner, emphasizing how terrified and helpless they are. This image doesn't lead the group to any revelations though, certainly not anything that would tie back to Ren's earlier speech in the snow. No, once again the justified criticisms here are ignored as we hear that “However this fight ends, we could really use someone like you, [Emerald.]” That's it then. Discussion over. We knew as soon as it started that blindly trusting her was being presented as the "right" thing to do and now here we are, deciding that conclusively, despite Jaune and Yang's complaints. By the time the group reaches the mansion, Oscar is defending Emerald from Ruby. We're supposed to just accept that she's a part of the group now, only minimal pushback allowed.

Before that though we return to Ironwood getting news that their bomb never went off. He briefly wonders who else could have done that, but puts the currently unanswerable question aside for what he does know. They still have the bomb and it could be "useful." See, this moment — like shooting Oscar and the councilman — is when Ironwood just randomly goes off the deep end. One minute he's talking about what they've lost and cradling his new arm, 

the next he's saying that he should have tortured Qrow to get Penny to obey him! Which doesn't even make sense since I'm pretty sure Penny hasn't ever spoken to Qrow. She wouldn't want anyone to suffer, true, but it's not like Ironwood had a close friend like Ruby to use as leverage. Qrow is just Some Guy to her. Regardless, he thinks Yang, Jaune, and Ren are decent replacements, despite Penny also having no relationships with them. This is what happens when your characters only start breaking up their teams eight years into the story, the response to Ironwood wanting to torture Ren to hurt Penny is, “Does Penny know Ren exists?” But, you know, torture is torture, right? Maybe. Probably not. I mean, if they're going to turn Ironwood into a cartoon villain, they could at least keep him smart.

Because all of this is just the height of stupidity. Ironwood wants to torture people Penny barely knows to make her listen (so just grab some civilians? It would do the same job...). Ironwood wants to shoot down empty ships, even though no one, including us, knows where in the world those ships would have gone. Ironwood wants to destroy an entire city to try and save another city. He wants to use a bomb meant for a comparatively small whale and acts like that alone will take out the majority of a kingdom. None of it makes sense! And I know the easy comeback for that is, "Well yeah, Ironwood is crazy and evil" but he's not. I mean he is. Threatening torture and bombings is obviously evil, but he's never been insane, or stupid. As said before, his arc (or lack thereof) is an absolute disaster. The fandom assumes so many things about Ironwood given the opportunity — the whale is a suicide mission. He expects the Ace Ops to die on his order — and the writing hints at so many things that never happen — he's going to hurt his subordinates, attack Winter for disobeying him — and every time what we actually get is a far more compassionate, level-headed character... until he randomly does a 180 and goes, "Let's murder a whole city now!" I never wanted Ironwood to be the bad guy, but they could have at least given me a persuasive decent into this level of horror.

So... yeah. Ironwood has got to die by the end of the volume, yeah? Between Ruby warning the whole world about him and him going into full villain mode, there's no coming back from this.

Neo sends her text to Cinder and the group makes it back to the mansion. Remember Yang's criticisms of Ruby's leadership? The ones she conveniently forgot about when Ren started to agree with her? Yeah, those are entirely gone as the sisters hug it out and, presumably, forgive one another for... daring to admit that things are bad? Look, I'm not going to deny that Ironwood's scene with Winter was creepy as fuck, 

but I'm not of the opinion that the heroes are any better when it comes to the theme of obedience. They've attacked one another, screamed at one another, and any dissent from Ruby's leadership results in the questioner being left behind in the snow. We'll accept you again when you fall back in line. I used to adore the relationships in this show, but watching them now is just discomforting. The show might be 100% more obvious with Ironwood, using creepy music, a smile, and that hand on Winter's shoulder, but the concept of, "Sorry I dared to question you before! We won't ever do it again :)" isn't healthy either. The fact that the show keeps erasing theses problems with hugs — Weiss hugs Whitley now, Yang hugs Ruby, someone will probably hug Emerald soon — doesn't make the circumstances any less uncomfortable.

None of this even gets into the Blake and Yang hug. First of all, why is Blake acting like they had a fight and Yang might not want to see her? She's hiding inside rather than rushing to greet them, ears down in a devastated expression until Yang touches her. Combine this with Yang's "Do you think she's mad at me?" and it feels like the writers cut a fight in the final script and then didn't bother to remove the fallout from that. Seriously, where did any of this come from? You can't just have characters act like they've been fighting when they haven’t.

Also, can't forget this.

At this point there's nothing more I can say in regards to RWBY's almost-queer baiting. Is touching foreheads more intimate than the hugs Yang gave the others? Absolutely. Is that an appropriate stand-in for overt representation? Absolutely not. This would have been a perfect time for them to kiss. Take out Blake's nonsensical fear and replace it with them both reuniting after their first separation since Volume 5, working under the knowledge that either one could have been killed, finally admitting their feelings. Hell, they don't actually have to kiss. Not all girlfriends are interested in kissing! But they could use the terminology that makes things unequivocally canon.  Another forehead touch when we got that in Volume 6? It's not enough, especially not when our straight couples have all been allowed their rep.

Ren at least wants to know where Nora is. He's presumably told what happened off screen as Oscar tells Ruby that Emerald is their friend now.

Then an emergency call from May interrupts the reunion and the group learns that Ironwood is bombing the Schnee ships. “Those ships… they were going to save people” Weiss whispers. How? Tell me how they were going to save anyone. Where were you going to take these people where they would be safer than where they are now? RWBY continually asserts things without explaining them, meaning there is precisely zero emotional weight here. Again, Ironwood is far past the point of defense, but I'd be a whole lot more critical of this particular action if I had a better sense of why it's bad. He appears to be endangering the people given May's shout to run — falling debris? — but the further implication is that Ironwood has doomed the people of Mantle by denying them these ships. It's that part that makes no sense based on what we've been told.

Which finally comes to the ultimatum of our episode title: Penny opens the vault, or Ironwood bombs Mantle. Great! So glad this plan is wicked smart and works well for his characterization. It's definitely not a nonsensical, unfounded, overblown change that feels like it belongs in a child's cartoon, complete with dramatic spotlight. Nope. Excellent writing choices all around.

Our final line of the episode is, “I hope you live up to the title I gave you," referring to Penny's job as the Protector of Mantle, and you know what? That line could have been very cool if it was delivered by an Ironwood with a persuasive fall and a halfway decent plan in place. I love that we've twisted the concept of a protector and turned the title into a horrifying, rather than honorable responsibility... I just hate everything surrounding those details. 

So, usual RWBY fare.

(At least we get to see that Nora is awake!) 

Will things get better over the next four episodes? I doubt it. We're still expecting the rest of the Ace Ops + Winter to ditch Ironwood, someone getting the vault open, the fall of Atlas, now the potential destruction of Mantle, and none of that includes Salem who should reform at any moment. Frankly, I'm not looking forward to any of it. The final leg of a season should make its audience excited to see how everything turns out, not dreading it. I've heard from multiple people that this is the volume that finally got them to drop the show and honestly? I'm not surprised.

As a final (happier?) note: we've finally got a bingo! I completely forgot our board last time, which was a terrible oversight, but we can update it now.

Our army of grimm can't kill anyone now that it got KOed by Oscar (that is the third one hit defeat of a major enemy we've seen this volume. Yes, I'm including the Hound considering it was obviously on its last legs after Ruby's eyes.)

I'm likewise including "Ozpin apologizes for everything including his existence" because he's done nothing but apologize since he came back. The emotion is there even if the literal words are not. Oscar reminded everyone of how untrustworthy he is, but kept the group from jumping them again. And Ozpin thanked him for it.

Neo didn't literally backstab Cinder (shame), but the Relic still counts.

So a triple bingo! Is that how bingo works? Idk, I've never played. I feel like I should have thought up some sort of humorous prize, but sadly I've got nothing. If you think of anything, let me know lol

That’s all then, folks. Until next week! 💜

[bemybstar]

Saw you write nsfw including daddy/sir & humilliation kinks so if you're still up for requests...May I request smut where Louis and a carnivore!reader have that kind of relationship (with him being the dominant one ofc)? I've always thought it fit with his herbivore complex and that carnivore fetish of his 👀 can be hcs or a one shot, whatever you prefer! I ADORE your work...Thank you so much for sharing it 😭❤

A/N: Yes I am still taking requests since they are still open! Thanks so much for commenting on my writing I really appreciate it!

Pairing: Louis x fem!carnivore!reader (reader can pick the animal they want)

Warnings: Jealous Louis, dom/sub relationship, mentions of daddy kink, reader gets punished, it’s honestly just filth at this point lol.

“Louis? Do you mind helping me with this next part?” You ask politely and await his response. He was busy finalizing scripts for the drama clubs last play rehearsal, since he’s the leader it’s part of his job. “Sorry but I’m busy right now. We can practice in private later.” He says bluntly not even bothering to look you straight in the eye.

You were a member of the dance team and wanted to go over some last minute critiques for the festivals performance. You’d figured your boyfriend would be up to the task of helping you with some new dance moves but you were clearly mistaken. “But I need your advice now or else I’ll forget the entire choreography later,” you whine.

“I already told you I’m busy. Now go be a good girl and ask someone else to help you until I’m done.” He snarls finally locking eyes with you instead of his paper. “Fine!” You huff as you storm out of his office, “I will...”

You scope around the room for a potential partner, all the girls were already in groups or busy stretching after wrapping up. You sigh in defeat, there goes your chances at getting someone’s input. That was until Bill spotted you and headed your way. 

“Hey, Y/N. What’s up?” The bengal tiger asked you sounding a bit too excited. “I overheard you talking to Louis. That guy can be such an asshole, am I right?” Technically you’d be willing to defend your boyfriend and put Bill in his place, but no one knew you two were dating. So you had to play it cool and act approachable in case others got suspicious. 

“Haha, yeah I guess so,” you comment wondering how much did he actually hear of the conversation, but you push it aside as an idea pops into your head.

“Bill! Do you mind giving me your opinion on my dance number? You know, since Louis is too busy for me and all,” you pleaded with a smile. “Sure! I’d love to help you out. Where should we start?”

“Hmmm,” you think and look around until you found the perfect spot. “How about there?!” You exclaim as he follows your pointed gaze to the corner of the room. He agrees, taking your word for it as you grab him by the hand and walk over together. You place the stereo on top of the shelf and press play before taking a deep breathe.

“And one, two, three. One, two, three,” Bill’s voice echos through you as you take each step with such ease and grace, moving in sync to the rhythm. “Would you mind practicing with me for a little bit?” You ask him before stopping in place as he agrees to your offer.

His hand touches your arm as he stands behind you, raising your wrist a bit higher for dramatic effect. Your figures project on the mirror in front of you, proving just how close you two really are. His muzzle is just above your head as he instructs you on what to do next. You tilt your head to the side and lock eyes with Louis, who has been watching your every move as you intended. The whole purpose of practicing in the corner was because he had left his door wide open, he pretty much had a front row seat to this little game of yours. And he didn’t seem to like it one bit judging from his envious expression.

Bill had taken something that belonged to him and he’d be damned to let it continue any further. You let go of Bill’s hand and thank him for his partnership once the bell rang. “Bye Bill,” you wave off. “Thanks for all your help again.”

“Anytime, Y/N. Anytime,” he says waving back with a sly grin plastered on his face. You hum quietly to yourself and make your way over to Louis’s office, awaiting for what’s in store. He’s sitting across from you, pupils flaring as his eyebrows drew together in vexation. But before you ask him about his well being, he had the upper hand in stirring the conversation.

“What was all that about?” He asked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “Don’t play smart with me. You knew exactly what you were doing,” he scolds. “I don’t know what’s worse. Your desperate need for my attention or your attempt at toying with Bill’s feelings in order to get what you want...”

You gasp upsettingly and walk straight towards him. “They can’t be all that bad if they managed to get the job done. Just face the facts... you were jealous.”

“Excuse me?” He snaps before getting up from his seat. “You told me I had to find someone else to help me and I did just that. Maybe if you would have listened to me from the beginning, I wouldn’t have resorted to Bill in the first place!”

“And maybe if you acted like a good girl from the start, I wouldn’t have to punish you for it now!” He grimaced through gritted teeth.

“You know what happens when you disobey me, right?” He comes into contact with you, filling the space between you and him. He wraps his hand behind your hip and pulls you in close, bracing your palms against his chest from the forceful impact. Your lips are just inches away from his as he stares longingly at them, eager to give you what you crave once you answer his question.

“Y-Yes Louis,” you whisper lowly. His hand quickly races down your hip and goes straight to your ass, giving it a firm squeeze. A warning. A mistake on your end, it wasn’t the answer he had grown to expect from you. “Yes. What?”

“Yes, sir,” you whimper correcting yourself. “Mmm, that’s more like it,” he drags and mashes his lips against yours. This kiss isn’t sweet, but fueled with fire and pent-up anger. He’s fast enough to show you that he really wants you but at the same time stands his ground, proving to you that’s he’s in control. He leaves your lips and moves to your neck.

“This doesn’t... this doesn’t change the fact that I’m still mad at you for ignoring me,” you breathe raggedly, screwing your eyes shut at his mouth works wonders on your neck. He had a knack for knowing your weak spots. He then removes your shirt as you place your hands up and toss it to the side. Your bra comes off next as he unhooks it from the back and let’s it drop to the floor. You pull down your red shorts next as to get it over quicker for both of you.

“Stay still...” he orders to the sofa chair in front of you, propping your hands down on the arm rest to gain balance. He strips off his suspenders, loosens his tie, and pulls up his shirt placing it with the rest of the pile on the wooden floor. You spread your legs wide enough so he can get a better look at you, your fully exposed to him in this moment, it’s moments like this he enjoys most. The intimacy was unlike anything either of you had experienced in the past. It’s as if the roles were reversed, you were his prey and he your predator when it came to your sex life. Neither of you felt weak or overpowered because in those moments you were one in the same. Two animals in love, with the same hopes and desires of sharing that love.

“If it’s too much for you let me know,” he’s referring to your punishment as you give him a quick nod indicating you understood. “Good, now count.” He smooths over your fur before giving it a smack, automatically making you count up to your limit. “T-Ten...” you wince from the last one sinking your claws into the fabric as a reflex. By the time Louis was finished, your ass was red and stinging from soreness. “You take your punishment so well for me, baby. But I’m still not done with you yet...”

You hear the sound of a zipper coming undone and the thud of a belt dropping soon after. He takes out his cock and strokes it softly before grinding himself against your fold with his tip. He’s such a tease... you say to yourself. “If you think you really deserve this, then beg.”

“Please!” You shout a little too loudly mainly out of desperation. Your body can barley take it anymore at this point. “I want your cock buried deep inside my pussy. I want you to fuck me senseless until I’m dripping with cum. I—“

Before you can finish Louis slams himself into you, filling you up just the way you needed, the way you’ve been craving. He holds you steady from behind as a way to guide his erotic movements. Rocking into you with his hips little by little, setting up a steady pace before picking it up faster than before. You move up and down his length, getting wetter as each second passes. “F-Fuck Y/N,” he hisses as he continues to savagely thrust into you.

“D-Don’t stop...” you mewl out breathlessly. Your eyes roll back barley able to see straight, as he rams into you harder than before as each time passes. “I-I’m gonna cum, please can I cum?”

Louis grunts before giving you permission to do so. His thrusts become sloppy and messy meaning he’s on the verge of climaxing right along with you. After a couple seconds, you release with a scream of his name as he follows shortly after. His warm cum spurts inside you, filling you up to your core as his liquid pours down your thighs. You gasped as you try to catch your breathe, your eyes fluttering shut as pure exhaustion took over your body. You plop face down on the sofa cushion to regain your strength as you were too exhausted and overwhelmed to move.

Louis puts his clothes back on and excuses himself, giving you a chance to relax. He returns shortly after from the males locker room with a warm towel in hand. You moaned as he ran the smooth material along your body, slipping it between your legs to clean up the cum and sweat dripping out of you. You thank him with a kiss and begin to dress yourself back to your usual state as he waits by the doorframe.

“Now, come on. I believe I owe you a dance lesson...”

———

Tag list - (just ask to be added)

@starr60

[thotsforvillainrights]

Ok this idea has been living rent free on my mind just hear me out, how about chubby Kai being insecure so the reader just shows him how beautiful he is, the reader being a soft dom and Kai being a sub.

(Pspsps can the reader have a bodyworship and a praise kinks please)

[Not me coming back after a long hiatus with barely reasonable smut lol. You’ll have to forgive me if this one isn’t as good. I feel like whatever ability I had to write smut just disappeared but I’m hoping I haven’t lost it. I promise I’ll do my best!]

~Adoration~

-Chubby!Kai Chisaki smut-

Adoration- deep love and respect

You sighed while mindlessly watching the show in front of you from your spot on the couch. Your eyes were trained on the TV but your mind was elsewhere. The people on screen slowly shifted into colorful blobs and soon your interest in whatever they were talking about began to drown out as well. It was like your body was there but it wasn’t at the same time. Instead of focusing on the shows, you were wondering what was taking so long in the other room. Usually it was the other way around, but tonight Kai was taking too long to get ready. After a while you began to worry, so reluctantly you stood from the warmth of the couch and trudged down the hallway, careful to not step on your dress end/tux pant leg (or whatever choice of fancy clothing reader chooses to wear). When you finally made it to the room, there he was. Kai was standing in front of the floor mirror while scowling to himself. Your eyes trailed to the myriad of clothes that littered the bed. He noticed your reflection behind him in the mirror and turned to look at you, trying his best to hide his discomfort. “Y/N, I’ll be finished in a moment. Go wait for me in the living room.” He demanded quietly while fumbling to unbutton the shirt he was wearing. You chuckled and pushed some of the clothes on the bed out of the way before taking a seat. “I don’t know if you noticed this or not Mr. Chisaki, but that’s what I’ve been doing for the past hour and a half. You don’t suppose we’ll be able to make it to the event within the next 20 minutes do you?” You teased him but your smile instantly diminished when you noticed his eyes were a bit glassy? 

“Kai? What’s wrong?” He scoffed at your concern and tossed the shirt he was wearing onto the bed with the others. He went to the closet to search for something new but he paused when he noticed it was nearly barren, save for but a few ties hanging up. “Perhaps you should go without me...I’ve...changed my mind.” He spoke quietly, his back still turned to you. “What? Are you being serious with me right now or is this a joke?” You furrowed your brows. Suddenly he turned to look at you with a touch of anger and desperation in his eyes. “Do I look like the type to kid around?” You sighed and stood up to approach him. He was confused for the most part when you made it over to him and gently grabbed the sides of his face in your hands. You smiled and nuzzled your nose against his before planting a gentle kiss upon each cheek. You managed to diffuse his anger but the mood shifted when you saw his eyes glisten with water, tears threatening to fall but he was too stubborn to let it happen. “Kai please talk to me, you know I’ll listen if you tell me how you feel.” He sighed at your words and looked everywhere but into your eyes as he started to explain. 

“None of my clothes look good on me anymore. I’ve gained so much damn weight in the past few months that I don’t recognize myself in the mirror anymore. I can barely stand to look at myself anyway...Aside from that, I can hear some of the men at the very lowest rung of the Hassaikai make fun of me behind my back. Surely I killed them off but it doesn’t diminish how their words made me feel. My quirk can easily be used to get rid of this issue but I feel like that’s the easy way out of things. I’d like to become much more active but between work I just can’t find the time. I’m a disappointment and far beneath what you deserve to be seen with.” He finished ranting to you and quickly reached up to wipe a tear away but you beat him to it. When he looked at you with wet eyes, he expected to see you agreeing with him but instead you met his gaze with adoration, love, and support. “Kai I can understand how you must be feeling right now. Gaining weight like that must’ve felt drastic considering its only been a few months but you shouldn’t be caught up comparing yourself to the past yknow? We’re humans, and our bodies grow with change. It’s good you want to work out instead of just using your quirk, but you should know that working out could be done to make yourself feel better health-wise instead of changing your appearance to change others. Personally I thought you were handsome before and I still think you’re handsome now as well. No matter what appearance you take on you will always be Kai Chisaki, young head of the Shie Hassaikai. If I can love you, then you owe it to yourself to love you as well. Got that, my capo?” He rolled his eyes at the nickname and rubbed away more tears. “I suppose...but now what will we do? I’ve made us late to the entire damn event and I’m sure Pops and the others are waiting on us.” He scratched his chin in thought and stared off at the wall while trying to figure out a game plan. Meanwhile you had much more devious intentions wrapped beneath all that fluff you laid on him. “Angel???” You caught his attention immediately when those hands of yours fumbled with the rim of his underwear. His ears and cheeks quickly turned pink/red from the shock of it all. “What are you doing?” 

As if he had to ask.

You smirked at him and flashed mischief from those half-lidded eyes. “What do you mean what am I doing? I’m simply showing my husband how beautiful he is and how much I appreciate his body. You can’t honestly expect me to give up this opportunity when you’re right here in front of me.” You feigned innocence and he could already feel himself hardening up...especially with the way your free hand gripped him and teased him from the outside of the underwear. “Angel, but we’re already late. What if we-” He paused and sucked in air from his teeth when you slipped his cock out from the confinement of the underwear, and your tongue took an experimental swish at the tip. His hands clenched at his sides, trying his hardest not to grip your head and guide you. He was trying to deny it, keep his composure but you were too much to handle sometimes. “C’mon Kai, since we’re already late to the party, why don’t we have our own fun here, hmm? Be real good for me and let me taste that cock of yours? Maybe if you’re really a good boy, I’ll let you cum. How does that sound hmmm?” You voice may have seemed sweet, but he wasn’t dumb enough to fall for it. He knew of your dominance sometimes displayed in the bedroom when you were up to it. The temptation to bend to your will was all too strong so he obeyed. “Fine, j-just make it qu-quick.” He pouted and looked away from you, his face cherry red by now. You smirked in triumph and wasted no time on him. Taking his entire member and shoving it into your mouth at once may have been the closest thing to heaven on Earth he would ever feel in his life. In all honesty, he almost came right then and there, but he wanted to hold out for you. He needed to be good for you or else your punishment wouldn’t be nearly as soft as you were treating him right now.

“Mmmm, you’re certainly tasty Chisaki~” You spoke after slowly moving your mouth from him. You spit on the tip and used your thumb to spread it around, taking delight in the way he shivered under your touch. “Are those knees of yours getting weak, capo? You can’t really be giving out on me already can you?” You teased him and he groaned lowly. “C-cut it out and just suck it already.” You frowned at his demands and shook your head. “What are the magic words, handsome?” He blushed lightly at your compliment and uttered a soft ‘please’ while looking away. You smiled and began swirling your tongue around the head of his cock while using your hand to gently massage him. You only pulled away to occassionaly speak praises on him. 

“You have such a lovely body Kai, it’s just right for me. I love your tummy, I love your cheeks, you shoulders, back, arms, all of it. I adore most of all the way it react when I’m touching you like this while we’re alone.” He shuddered at your words and only began quietly moaning when you went back down on him. With each bob of your head and hand, it was getting harder and harder to contain the sounds he was making. By the time he was nearing his finish, he was a moaning mess. His legs were shaking and standing was barely an option anymore but he held on so as to not appear to weak during your show of dominance. His face was a brilliant red/pink, and it was coated in a sheen of sweat. He couldn’t really find the words but this wouldn’t be good enough for you in the moment. You needed him to understand all of this was out of love, lust, and adoration for him so you made him beg.

“Kai speak up for me. All those moans are just a garbled mess and you know it.”

“Angel please...”

You smirked and worked your hand a bit faster than before, spitting on him again to keep the slick lubrication on his cock. “Beg harder for me handsome. Tell me you need this.”

“Please Angel, I can barely take anymore. I’m so close I’m-”

“Beg harder.”

“ANGEL PLEASE! I want to cum so badly, I’ll do anything!”

“Hmmmm, anything?”

“Yes, GOD YES!”

“Then admit it. Admit that your body is beautiful no matter what. Admit that you’re worthy of love from my, others, and most importantly yourself. And promise that you’ll stop being so hard on yourself. Do it Kai, if you wanna cum.”

“YES, I PROMISE...I’ll !!!” He gasped loudly and came without much of a warning, with you accidently getting caught in the crossfire. You pouted and he quickly looked away while trying to catch his breath. Slowly he fell to his knees on the ground in front of you and lowered his sweaty head to your shoulder. “Ugh, you make a mess of me every time...” He quietly gasped out between breaths. You wiped the cum from your face and pulled him into a tight hug. “Making a mess out of you is fun. I’m the only one that can do it, so I take a lot of pride in that.” You teased him lightly and he sighed. “Let’s go take a shower. This is disgusting you know.” 

“Agreed.” You kissed his neck and joined him in the shower. After preparing for bed, you shot a text to Pops and the others letting them know that a matter of business came up last minute and that was why you and Kai couldn’t make it. After the little white lie, you cuddled up into bed beside him and he pulled you into his chest, placing his head on you so he could inhale your sweet scent from the body wash. “Y’know I meant everything I said back there, about loving yourself and how you were worthy of it. I just wanted you to know it wasn’t just the heat of the moment.” You spoke up after a long comfortable silence. You felt him kiss the top of your head as he began rubbing gentle and loving circles into your hip underneath the covers. “You treat me too well, Y/N. I love you, and I suppose I’ll make better attempts at your wishes. Now please go to bed.” You chuckled at his words and rolled to face him. His eyes were full of gentleness and appreciation for you. “Okay, mochi tummy.” You teased him with a smile and planted a gentle kiss on his lips before nuzzling into his neck and chest and falling asleep. “Pshhh, such an annoying nickname.” He lied before following shortly behind you to dreamland.

»—————————–———————————————————–✄

Instagram: @pastelbattydraws & @pastelbattystore

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRNMJH7vHL7APNobUykhK4w?view_as=subscriber

[lovee-infected]

twisted wonderland theories part 3 : Opening explanation and parallels

Well well , hope you guys enjoyed reading the previous two parts of twst theories so far

Anyways , this is the third part . I decided to go through the opening and original disney animations and also black Butler anime references one more time so this is the combination of all I've found this time , together with some stuff you might've missed

Twst's official opening was pretty mysterious and is most likely giving us hints of the upcoming adventures during the storyline . Well here's the link to opening with eng sub and also the summary of the main character references that were given to us:

1) Ace and Deuce's rivalship : We talked about this one a lot back in (part 2) so let's skip this one

2) Leona's sadness and pain : Leona's tearn falling to the ground and the Ruggie and Jack coming for him ; that's just how he always is : mentally sad and broken with a horribly frustrating past , but will avoid expressing himself and letting anyone see his pain anyway . Not really weird that these two are always around him , Leona does really need to be looked after ...

3) Azul's seek of power : He just looked...mad in this scene . Ursula's shadow on his fave and that creepy smile totally freaks anyone out. It really explains how great his desire of power is . His neglected self in the childhood and pretty poor talent got him to this point...

4) Jamil's cold and kinda confused self : Well this one isn't really clear yet since ch 4 isn't out . But perhaps depression has this guy... spending his whole life serving the the nasty Kalim he might've grown the same characteristics as Jafar , who was so long sick of being the second one in everything . But still his ideal of life is much different from Jafar's . We saw him hypnotizing Kalim in order to make him force students to do better at school . He's trying his best to leave up to his promises as the vice dorm leader but still , having the nasty Kalim as the dorm itself is making it a lot harder for him so he's got no choice but to hypnotize him...

5) Idia's severe anxiety and his protectiveness toward Ortho : This one was mentioned in s rather old re blog but here e go again : Well with how the rumors of the "cursed Shroud family" , Idia's anti-society self might be a bit explained . This guy's overblot is surely going to be EPIC ... we just know very few about him and yet that's more than enough for him to overblot at once . Also the mention of the process of bringing Ortho back to life was a bad hit...His family curse might've been the reason of whatever thst has happened to Ortho

6) Vil's anger of not being the fairest and breaking the mirror: This one's been pointed out a lot . His anger being the same as evil queen's and also the fear of him actually poisoning someone to become the fairest one more time....**

7) Malleus' isolated self and his hidden evil aura : This one's being shown too obviously . The lonely dark prince exposing his evil side under the full moonlight . All alone , beyond the forest of thorns (Lol how ironic) while the others are running to save him before it gets too late...***

(note : **,***: Vil and Malleus' description will be continued undercut)

Very well these were the general hints found on the opening , but don't miss the final seconds which included the biggest hidden facts you could've missed

Firstly , the splitted ink (This one was previously discussed on part 1 but still...) : We talked about how in the "Epic Mickey", Mickey accidentally splits the magic ink over the kingdom and which led to the creation of "shadow blot". This sight seems to be much similar to what we had here in the epic mickey

Well this parallel might be more than just an accidental one and finally and it might actually be that overblot is kinda Crowley's fault , too

Crowley crosses the mirror , turns into an actual crow and flies away...(DaMn YoU bIrDiE wHERe ArE yOu gOinG I'M noT doNe YeT-)

Well the reason he suddenly runs away isn't clear yet but being a fan of black butler for years , I was suddenly reminded of how Undertaker disappeared all of a sudden at this scene from the movie :" Book of Atlantic "

pretty similar , aren't they..?

In Book of Atlantic , Undertaker revealed his original identity as a reaper and the mastermind behind the "Bizzare dolls' " project after pretending to be a just a crazy cookie lover for so long . And at once , he comes up with his stunning sudden self-reveal , leaving everyone in the room speechless

Now now , what do we have with Crowley?

A principal who keeps hiding his face (remember that Undertaker hid his eyes , too?) , telling everyone "how kind he is" many times ... also:

1) In the opening , he was standing smiling in the mirror hall while the seven dorms were burning through seven mirrors

2) He didn't ever try to stop anyone from overbloting ; even Riddle whose overblot occurred right in front of him

3) In the beggining of the game, he asked the mirror to choose the right one and then! and MC was chosen ! MC took the hand of the one appearing through the mirror (seemingly Dire Crowley) and came here. With all said , so why did the mirror reject MC afterwards?

Also , how couldn't he help MC return to Their own world and didn't know about it if he himself brought MC here..?(Could it be that...MC doesn't remember how she/he was brought here?)

4) If he literally is THIS useless and can't ever stop or help anything, then why would he be the principal.....?

Sooooo enough with Crowley ; but what's with these two....?

The spindle wheel & the poison apple ; Sleeping beauty and Snow white

Well it seems that Diasomnia and Pomefiore are going to play a greatly important role in the storyline . We were kinda sure of Diasomnia's but Pomefiore's...? What's so special with it?

(A few hours earlier)

(Me : Hmmm ... the black mirror...where have I seen this before..? *googling - searching Snow White- going to the magic mirror scene* Me : Uh...)

Well... here it is : The Crowley's beloved flower of evil , back at his days with evil queen

feeling old yet ...?

Btw , just how important is being "the fairest one of all "to him ? How 'far' would he go to be the fairest...? With the bitten apple in the last few seconds of opening , it most likely seems that he IS gonna 'kill' to be the fairest again ...Who would he kill ? We don't know . But how about our pretty small guy Epel? Could it be him ? The stubborn freshman who refuses following Vil around and is usually mistaken with a girl......?

Also , why would the original mirror be so important to Crowley? If Vil's supposed to represent evil queen , why isn't 'he' the one owing the mirror...?

And now , the spindle wheel .Great maleficent's legacy , in the hands of Crowley...Well well this is 'too' much . Malleus' family treasure being kept hidden in NRC... pathetic

Also , the mirror which Vil broke in the opening . Well well seems like he isn't having the original magic mirror , afterall....

But wait , if there's the spindle wheel , who's gonna be the evil witch to pull the sweet princess to eternal sleep..? Right , there's only one who might be...

Well we talked about all we'd got so far , but what about Grim ? Isn't anyone going to mention his importance or why he was also mentioned in this chaotic final seconds of opening ???

So... this is what we had in the final seconds :

1)The apple

2) Crowley

3)The black ink

4)Grim

5)The spindle wheel

We talked about all of them except nu 4 . But before that , I've got the same question as before : Why is it "Sleeping beauty" & "Snow white"..?

We discussed the "overblot Grim " hints in (part 2), but here's another thing :

Very well , ever heard of "Grimm brothers"...?

In the case that you don't know who they are , here' the point : They are the authors of 'original' versions of sleeping beauty & snow white; two of the darkest , deepest and possibly creepiest stories of their own throughout the history

I believe that most of you are familiar with the original versions , but you may like to take a look at these two if you haven't yet heard of them check the two of these stories out : (note: I'm aware that there are darker , deeper versions of these too but I'm not gonna mention any of them because : 1)They aren't written by Grimm brothers & 2) They include overly sensual and inappropriate content which has no place in my posts . If you care to know about them , check them at your own risk)

Alright , if you ever wondered who was Grim named after , I guess we've got it now . Mentioning Grim , Snow white and Sleeping beauty together at once is too direct to be a coincidence ...but it's also terrifying ...

Thinking that Disney is actually referring to the original books written by Grimm brothers is a bit too dark... Original stories are really horrible and a great way to ruin one's childhood , but all these hints fit each other way too great and now , they may no longer be just a coincidence...

[archangeldraws]

Explanation why Shadow Chaser is like this

So, I had a conversation with @jazzthemusician, talking about Shadow Chaser and his insanity and I really liked how I explained why is he the way he is, what happened to him and why he is so hellbent on killing his own son, King Ghidorah.

Including some possibilities of Shadow maybe, “maybe”, being able to reconsile with his family.

Maybe prepare some tissues, I actually cried myself typing this (copy pasted out conversation here)

jazzthemusician

Now it makes me wonder what would happen if crimson let him you know 

Like because of him being sick or suffering from being in the egg to long or something

 archangeldraws

If she had let him kill Ghidorah and try again?

jazzthemusician

Yea…pretty much

Because he was sick or something like that

I don’t see her just letting him kill him just because he was weak

But see might

*she

 archangeldraws

Well, if she had complied, I think... Shadow might still not be ok

 jazzthemusician

Sorry it’s like 4 am here and my mind is racing

 archangeldraws

He would tell himself that it was the right thing to do, to free the cub of it's misery

 jazzthemusician

Would she try and help him? Or would it end in…death..

 archangeldraws

But he would feel so guilty for ending his own baby's life. He would feel guilty for the rest of his life. Maybe he would be cold towards the next cub. OR he would be so attached to it and spoiling it, as an apology to the first one, since the first didn't get any of this

And his relationship with his mate would be strained, since he killd her son

 jazzthemusician

Dang makes me see him in a whole new light

 archangeldraws

The only thing that would have changed all this, would be if San had never been stuck in the first place. That was the trigger

 jazzthemusician

Ah

 archangeldraws

A father's fear of losing his child before it had a chance to live and it made him tear himself apart because he couldn't handle it 

It is not San's fault, it never was

 jazzthemusician

Yea don’t blame the head he wasn’t the fault here it was shadow’s mental health that kinda put him into a spiral

 archangeldraws

Shadow is a monster, yes. But no one fear hims more... than himself

 jazzthemusician

Yea

 archangeldraws

Strong emotions can do weird things to someone's psyche

Like a parent having such a strong love for their child, it can be a negative thing sometimes

 jazzthemusician

Yea I remember scaring the crap out of someone and they did better because of it lol Yea never letting them leave the house and stuff like that

 archangeldraws

The fear, the pain, the anger, the love. All those things mixed together into a toxic cocktail. Both parents felt lost at that moment and both acted differently

If anything, Shadow was the weak one here

 jazzthemusician

Dang he is isn’t he

He was drinking down that cocktail like no other I’m sorry

 archangeldraws

Empress wanted to fight for her cub's life, at least try to get it to love. Shadow was so scared of her getting hurt if it didn't work, of himself getting hurt, he just couldn't see the possibility of it surviving anymore

 jazzthemusician

He should have had more faith in his son

Because he probably would have been probably unstoppable

 archangeldraws

If Shadow could have a clear moment while with Ghidorah... he would crumble at his son's feet and cry

 jazzthemusician

Aww and ahhh at the same time

 archangeldraws

He would cry and apologize and accept that that his son maybe could never forgive him and it's ok if he doesn't want him in his life. Shadow would promise to stay away, but please Ghidorah, please, just stay alive. He doesn't want his child dead, he wants him alive and healthy and happy, that's all he really wants for his son

 jazzthemusician

Makes me wanna cry

 archangeldraws

That's what his FATHER wants, not the monster he's become

Dude I am crying myelf right now X'D

 jazzthemusician

We a good dad arc 😂

 archangeldraws

His last words might be "I always wanted you. But I couldn't bear the thought of losing you, so I lost myself instead. I'm sorry, my child. None of this is your fault. Just mine"

 jazzthemusician

Sorry this is the one I meant 😢

  archangeldraws

So sad, isn't it?

Man, I do wish I could make them have a father-son relationship. But would it be possible and logical?

 jazzthemusician

Hmmm

Maybe

But probably would have to have him breaking down in front of his son like you said

 jazzthemusician

But it’s still has the possibility that ghidorah would kill him

 archangeldraws

If they meet, they would fight. Shadow, in his insane state, is out to kill Ghidorah. He is the source of their misery. He thinks killing Ghidorah will free him. Since that was the goal from the beginning

Maybe, if Shadow is losing the fight but clearing his mind in the process, maybe he can tell his son the truth before he perishes

That, or, if there was an attack from another kaiju or from humans and Ghidorah is already weak from their fight.... Maybe he'll try to protect his son instead, taking the killing blow

 jazzthemusician

Yea….but what if he comes back like ghidorah? Ooo probably mess him up more

Oooo

I like that one

Mines a little slow on reply’s lol

 archangeldraws

Or maybe he survives, sees his son fight, she's Ghidorah, really SEES him.... alive and strong... that maybe this dark curtain that has been blinding him for so long fall from his eyes. Ghidorah is alive. He's strong. He lives! His child lives! He's not dying, Shadow doesn't have to fear that anymore. They are both alive and free!

 jazzthemusician

Awwwww yes

 archangeldraws

That's alright. If you're too tired, you should go to sleep

No no I’m alright

I fell asleep early

It just shows it up right after I send it

 jazzthemusician

Oh that going to make me cry a little more

 archangeldraws

So I guess you could say.... Shadow Chaser is stuck. Stuck in the moment where his son was on the brink of death. And his wish, his desire to kill Ghidorah is, because in his twisted, twisted mind, his son, his BABY, is still suffering and dying

 And he wants to end his misery. Kind of a dark version of trying to safe him?

 jazzthemusician

Man

It makes sense

Sadly enough it makes sense

 archangeldraws

Kinda, right?

 jazzthemusician

Right and all o can see is shadow crying their eyes out saying ‘that’s my son’ to themselves as they use their wing to hid themselves as they be proud of they’re son

 archangeldraws

He'd be so proud, yes. It wouldn't matter to him anymore that his's son's nest isn't terraformed. As long as he's alive and happy

 jazzthemusician

-Nods in agreement- yes!

 jazzthemusician

I’m sorry but I thought of something funny 

Do you mind if I tell you?

 archangeldraws

Go ahead

 jazzthemusician

Now let’s say that shadow is on the path to be a good dad

Now ghidorah probably still doesn’t trust him enough to be around his own kids so…

In comes the practice kid

Void

 jazzthemusician

Ghidorah being like ‘ one hour! With this kid and he better not be dead! Then we might maybe let you see your grand Cubs from two islands over if you have good vision

 archangeldraws

So Ghidorah will just push Void towards Shadow, see how that goes?

 jazzthemusician

Yea pretty much

 And Nido is the only one that’s not scared of him

 archangeldraws

Hmm, could be a win-win for them

 jazzthemusician

Lol

 archangeldraws

They get to see if Shadow really means it AND get rid of Void

 jazzthemusician

At the same time!

 jazzthemusician

Bruh shadow teaches them how to be chaotic

 archangeldraws

Maybe

 jazzthemusician

They come back the island is completely disappeared into the ocean and all you hear from shadow is how to destroy crap

 archangeldraws

Or Shadow will just... mellow out and become really docile after billions of years of fear and rage

 jazzthemusician

Yea probably that too

 archangeldraws

Maybe he'll become super quiet and lounge all day, doing nothing at all

He must be really tired from all that

I mean, that was a real strain on his psyches and he could really use some rest to heal from it. Might take another million years, who knows?

 jazzthemusician

Void would probably follow them for a while just watching them

I forgot about that

 archangeldraws

I guess Shadow could teach them something about their species and all that

But the most logical thing that could happen after becoming "free" again is to rest. Maybe hybernate, let his minds heals until he's ready to wake up again and be ok

 jazzthemusician

Yea

Still I thought it was a funny idea

 jazzthemusician

But the old guy needs rest

 archangeldraws

Yep, that's an old man

 jazzthemusician

‘Get off my lawn’ old man or the closed off one or the one who give out hard candy and words of wisdom😂

 archangeldraws

The lonely silent man that just wants to sleep but likes watching others have fun through his window

And wishes his family would visit more often

 jazzthemusician

Aww

That would be sweet

 archangeldraws

Yep

 jazzthemusician

But this is your au you can do what ever you like to happen lol it is sweet tho

Wait!

Would crimson and shadow get back together??!??!

 archangeldraws

Maybe

She still loves him and he still loves her

 jazzthemusician

Gasp

I like the maybe lol

 archangeldraws

And technically, since he never died and she didn't oficially leave him...

They are still mates

 jazzthemusician

Aw.. she probably won’t believe him ahhh 😱

But it’s still cute!

 archangeldraws

Well, Mahri and Isah are open to the possibility. They do miss their mate. It's Rana who can't easily forgive

 jazzthemusician

Aww sorry I just think they’re a cute Chaotic Couple

 archangeldraws

They are ^^

 jazzthemusician

Would shadow not like realize that they’re technically still mates and in like the dead of night he’s like wait a min almost Immediately goes to go find her

 archangeldraws

Oh he knows it the whole time. But he doesn't want to return to her until he freed his son from his misery

 jazzthemusician

Oooh

 archangeldraws

Like, how could he go to his mate and ignore their suffering baby like that? No no, he has to kill him and free him first. And then they can attempt to have a cub again

 jazzthemusician

Dang

Hmm 🤔 what if he tries to explain himself to her like how he thinks that ghidorah is suffering and all that

And her being like he’s not suffering!

 archangeldraws

That would only end up in a fight again

You can't reason with him in this state

 jazzthemusician

Yea no not even himself

 archangeldraws

Nope

Even if one brother is of clear mind, the other two will just suck him back into their madness

 jazzthemusician

He feels like he could actually save ghidorah from suffering he’s just slowly killing himself from the inside out

Dang

 jazzthemusician

It’s sad to see

But angst

 archangeldraws

Pretty much, yeah