#i didn't bother getting references so he probably looks ridiculous

[xx-j4nu5-c4t5-xx]

picture with grandpa

[mt-oe]

𝙎𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙖 𝙃𝙤𝙩—bandmate mizu

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Hey dears!

I'm so so sorry for not being able to keep up with requests that well. My program is taking a lot of my time and beating the shit out of me (esp. u immunology and serology >:c).

Anyways, here's a sort of prequel for my headcanons because band au Mizu is so yummy.

Enjoy! Mwa mwa:*

warning: not proofread, she/her for mizu, will refer to her as a boy (bc she canonically appears like a man), implied afab reader

"But you're so good at playing the guitar, and you have the charisma too. You should definitely join our band. Even our manager is amazing. She—"

"For the last time, Ringo. I don't want to join your stupid band."

Mizu and Ringo were already getting ready to go home after finishing their term-end project for their elective, which just so happened to be music. She didn't really think it through when she enlisted and just picked whichever she thought was the easiest. Ringo, however, just picked the same elective as Mizu.

She carefully placed her electric guitar in its case, zipping it up and securing the locks before slinging it over her shoulder. "I have better things to do and joining a band is a waste of time," she added as she walked up to the door.

Ringo followed after her, a smile still on his face despite the rejection. "You never know. This might even be your calling," he chimed as they exited the room, making her groan out of annoyance. They headed into the parking lot where Mizu's bike was parked. "We have an audition in a week if you want," he said, waiting for his friend to put on her helmet.

Once Mizu was finished putting on her helmet, she hopped on and leaned forward, pushing her weight to retract the center stand. "Not interested," she groaned out, slightly muffled behind her helmet. Her foot kickstarted the bike on before she revved the engine up a bit.

"Well if you decide to change your mind, just send me a message." Ringo stepped back a bit to give Mizu some space to move. She grunted in response and drove forward, leaving her friend waving and shout goodbyes at her.

What's so great about joining a stupid band anyway?

It's probably just filled with pretentious kids pretending to be as good as their idols but can't even memorize which strings their hammer ons should be.

Another groan escaped her lips the more she thought about the offer. It was annoying. Yet, a somehow, a small part of her wanted to play even more. The desire ringing at the back of her head like an itch she couldn't scratch off.

What if she did join?

What if it was as much fun as Ringo always said it was?

A sigh escaped her lips at how bothered she was by her thoughts. Why was she even thinking about this? She can always play her instruments at home. A crowd wouldn't make a difference, she thought as the wind whizzed past.

Her thoughts continued to race as she drove home. This band thing was stupid. Maybe she shouldn't attend the audition after a—

"Hey goofy boy!" a voice called out.

'What? Me?' she thought, lifting her visor to look around for the source of the voice. Across the stoplight, she saw another woman waving at her enthusiastically. It was almost ridiculous to look at. She raised an eyebrow, looking at her sides and behind her to see if you were talking to someone else before pointing to herself inquisitively.

"Yes you! Across the stoplight! C'mere!" you yelled, signaling her to stop in front of the cafe you were standing in front of, not really caring if other people were looking at you with how silly you were being.

Her blue eyes narrowed at you, clearly suspicious of your intentions. And yet, the way you were smiling and calling her over made her feel...something. Once the light turned green, she drove over to you, pulling up at the lot in front of the cafe.

You walked over to her, letting out a sigh of relief as she kicked the side stands on. "What do you want?" she asked in a low voice that clearly indicated that she didn't trust you even one bit.

"That.." You pointed to the guitar case on her back, making her raise an eyebrow cautiously. What did you want with her baby huh? She was so ready to throw hands.

"What model? And how long have you been playing?" you asked, still pointing to her guitar. Mizu looked over her shoulder being sighing. This was a waste of time. "I'm not inclined to tell you that," she replied, getting ready to kick her side stands off.

You snorted at her cold reply before leaning closer until she was face-to-face with you no matter how much she pulled away. The proximity allowing her to take in your features better and you were quite...pretty?

No. Wait.

Let's focus on how much of nuisance you were being.

Before she could even kick off her side stands, you already blocked her foot with yours. "Join our band," you said in a serious tone, showing her a business card before placing it in her jacket, smile still on your face.

Mizu groaned and rolled her eyes. "No. Now get your foot off before I kick it off," she replied. Yet, you kept your foot in the way of her stands, making her eyebrows knit together. "You look really goofy riding that bike of yours with a huge ass guitar case on your back," you said, eyes glancing at her guitar case before staring into her eyes intently. "You have talent, don't you?"

The smile on your face despite how serious and forward you were being was unnerving. "So what? I'm not going to join your band," she said in a low voice. Indeed, she was quite stubborn, but nowhere near your level. This motorist was the diamond in the rough you were looking for. "Goofy boy, join me in the café. It's my treat."

There was no way she's going into that café just for you to give her your sales talk and convince her to join your stupid unknown band. Not in a million years

—was what she thought.

Yet here she was, helmet off and sitting in front of you with a cup of matcha latte, watching you take a bite out of the cake you bought for yourself. After taking a slow sip, she sighed and narrowed her eyes at you. "I thought we were here talk about your band," she scoffed.

You smiled at her yet again, fork still in between your lips. "You're not going to talk right away, right? So let's take our time." A small 'tch' escaped her lips as she leaned back against the chair.

"Fine. I'll talk," she replied, staring at you up and down. Now that she was able to sit down and relax the tiniest bit, she was finally taking her time to look at you. And you weren't an eyesore at all. In fact, you were really fucking cute.

She's still not joining your band though.

A small giggle escaped your lips as you placed the fork down, resting your elbows on the table and intertwining your fingers together. "What model?" you asked, eyes darting to the guitar case beside your table.

Mizu glanced at it as her hands wrapped around the handle of her cup. "A les paul," she replied before taking a sip. Your smile widened before you took a sip from your cup as well, setting it down when she set hers down. "How long have you been playing?"

"Long enough," she replied, glancing at you, rolling her eyes at how you stared at her with curiosity, as if coercing her to tell more. "Fine, fine...before I started high school. I think. Maybe even longer."

You hummed in satisfaction and took another bite out of your cake. "Any other instruments?" you asked, raising an eyebrow at her. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow back at you. "A bass. A mustang."

Silence washed over both of you as you continued to eat your cake, making her feel a bit nervous. A small clink was heard as you put your fork down after taking your final bite. "What's your name, goofy boy?"

"Mizu," she replied before taking her drink into her hands. She downed it in one go, placing the cup down and picking her guitar case up. "This is pointless. I'm leaving," she said in a low husky voice, getting ready to stand up.

It was clear to her that she shouldn't have given so much time to you. She wasn't even interested in joining. Maybe if you weren't so cute, she wouldn't have tried to hear you out.

Before she can even stand up, you beat her to it, pushing her back down on the chair gently. Her eyes widened ever so slightly as you leaned forward again.

"I'll make you a star."

Huh?

Her clear surprise and confusion made you giggle. What the hell were you talking about? You pulled away and placed your hands on your hips, giving her a confident smile.

"Talent recognizes talent, Mizu. It may not be now, but I'll make you a star," you beamed.

Mizu blinked before scoffing. "That's ridiculous," she sneered before standing up and putting her helmet on. "For the last time, I'm not fucking joining your stupid audition."

Was what she said.

But here she was, a week later, sitting down inside the studio hallway. Her eyes watched as the auditionees chatted amongst themselves. Those who were done with the audition complaining about how strict the judge was, who she learned was just one person.

Her nerves were sending jitters to the tips of fingers, her throat tightening up slightly in anticipation. She closed her eyes and took a deep inhale before exhaling slowly. Just as she opened her eyes, she jumped slightly at the sight of a familiar pair of feet in front of her.

"I knew you were going to change your mind," her friend's voice chimed.

Looking up, she made eye contact with Ringo who was beaming at her, drumsticks tied to his stubby hands. "But how did you know where our studio is?"

This was the band Ringo was talking about? Oh boy.

She grunted and handed him the business card you snuck into her jacket. "The address is written there," she said with a sigh. He let out a small "oh" before his eyes widened even more. "So you've met her before," he replied cheerfully, handing the business card back.

"Who?" she asked, a serious yet curious look on her face. He looked confused for a moment before he replied, "Our manager. The one who handed you that card?" She wanted to ask more questions, but then a voice suddenly called for the drummer. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I gotta go. Bye!"

Upon Ringo leaving, Mizu sat back down and closed her eyes again, resting her elbows on her knees.

Some time later, all the auditionees had finished and yet, it seems that all of them had been rejected. "This is a waste of time. I should have left earlier," she muttered to herself.

Just as she was about to leave the studio, her name was called, leaving her with no choice. Slowly, she entered the room only to be greeted with—

"You came!" your voice beamed.

Her eyes scanned around the room to see you sitting down on a chair, holding some papers, as well as the other band members presumably. "And you're the manager apparently," she said plainly. A chuckle escaping your lips as you nodded. "You can get ready whenever you want to."

Once her guitar was plugged in and ready to go, she looked up at you again, waiting for any further instructions. Despite her mind telling her that there was nothing to be nervous about, her gut was squeezing and churning from anticipation.

Should she do her best? Or should she fuck this up?

Your eyes watched her carefully, observing how she handled her guitar. "Play any song you'd like," you said, leaning forward in your seat as you set the papers down on a chair beside you.

No. She didn't want to be in this stupid band. She's not going to do her best.

Why the fuck would she do that?

This wasn't even worth it.

Nononononononono—

She looked down on her guitar before beginning to strum the familiar intro of Smells Like Teen Spirit. Despite her bobbing her head slightly, it was clear through her body language that she wasn't even trying at all.

The smile on your face slowly disappeared until all that was left was an unreadably neutral expression. Once she was done, she looked at you with a bored expression. "Well?"

You sighed at her, giving her the same bored expression back, making her smirk a bit. "Guess I'm not in, am I?" She unplugged her guitar, getting ready to put it back in the case before your hands stopped her.

"Sit back down. We're not done," you said in a serious tone, facial expression neutral yet your eyes told her that you were daaaaaaaamn annoyed with how little of an effort she put in. The look in your eyes, they way you were gripping the neck of her guitar, did something to her. "I don't owe you a performance," she replied.

You glared at her lightly before snatching her guitar from her hands, causing her to glare at you. She tried to grab her guitar back but you kept evading her as you plugged it back in. Once it was plugged back on, you pushed towards her, making her stumble back a bit from how harsh you did it.

"Now sit down and play. Talent recognizes talent, Mizu," you growled at her. The scene causing everyone in the room to go quiet. It was clear to them that you were pissed. "If not, then sell that guitar. You're wasting it."

After all, the only thing you hated more than the equipment suddenly breaking was wasted potential. And Mizu was wasting a LOT of potential.

Your words struck a nerve in her causing her. With a loud screech, she pulled the chair towards her and sat down. "Fine. If it gets you to shut the fuck up."

She looked at you with one final glare as she leaned back, hands beginning to move against her guitar.

She began playing Hotel California, immediately skipping to the guitar rift at the end of the song.

By the normal person's ear, it wasn't anything special. There were more impressive sounding songs out there. But to you, you knew how difficult it was to get the tone of the song right with how slow it was compared to other rifts. If she made a mistake here, a wrong pluck, a wrong drag, a wrong vibrato, the mistake would be so painfully obvious.

And yet, here Mizu was, playing it perfectly with the same angry look on her face. She was damn mad at you for touching her guitar, for pushing her towards your stupid fucking band. And yet, she couldn't help but want to impress you.

Did she really not want to be in the band?

Why was she trying so fucking hard then?

Like her body was moving on its own.

Like her hands were itching to play more.

As she ended the song, she looked down at the ground. Suddenly, the sound of clapping caused her to perk up and look at you. The sight causing her breath to hitch a blush to dust over her cheeks. That was when she knew the answer to her question.

It was you and your proud little smile.

That cute fucking smile.

All the annoyance and anger you held at her melted off during her little performance. You knew you saw talent. The moment you saw that goofy looking motorist with the awkwardly large hard guitar case at the stoplight, talent already hit you like a damn truck.

Although she knew you were satisfied with her performance, she couldn't help but want to try more. She'll try. She'll damn try for the hottest fucking manager she has ever seen. Her earlier hesitations of whether she wanted to join the band or not disappearing.

Call it a gay agenda but she was going to secure this fucking spot. She'll be best fucking guitarist you have ever heard or seen.

Just as you were about to congratulate her, she raised a hand up to cut you off. "Wait—fuck—that was too easy. I... goddamnit. Wait, I'll try doing something harder," she said in a panicked slur.

Her hands immediately went back to her guitar, eyes narrowing in thought. If an impressive guitar rift was what she needed...

Suddenly, she began playing the guitar rift for Free Bird. Eyes glued to her guitar, palms sweating a bit as she hit every chord, every pluck, every fucking bend.

You couldn't place your finger on what it was, but somehow, it felt like she was playing more passionately. Like she was putting her all into this one song. Was it the way she was bobbing her head? Or the way she moved her guitar during every vibrato? Maybe the way her body moved with the music?

Once the song ended, she closed her eyes and let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. You couldn't help but giggle at how flustered she looked, making her blush again.

"Am I in?" she asked, looking at you with hidden desperation in her eyes, making you giggle even more. Her eyebrows furrowed as you continued to laugh, not really answering her question. "Well?"

A gulp went down her throat as you stood up from your chair and picking up the papers you previously held. "Mizu," you giggled out, "You were already in from the moment you tried again."

...

oh

Well that was embarrassing.

You handed her the contract and a pen, humming as she read the content before signing. Looking at her signature, your smile widened. This flustered looking guitarist was exactly what you were looking for and you just hit jackpot.

"You won't regret this, Mizu. I swear." She glanced at you, scanning the big smile you had on your face before looking down at her guitar and unplugging it. "I better not."

Suddenly, you lunged forward at her. Her eyes widened when you suddenly took her hand in yours, intertwining your fingers together. "Talent recognizes talent," you repeated, leaning closer to her, grip tightening with every word.

"I'll make you a star."

She'll be your star.

[h2llish]

⁀➷ ˖ spooky, scary, probably

notes ─── happy halloween i guess. i was hit by a wave of inspiration and wrote this in like an hour.

LEONA KINGSCHOLAR | VIL SCHOENHEIT ─ you want to really lean into the "spooky" of spooky season.

warnings ☆ fluff? (or perhaps crack? it's silly and short), read platonic or romantic, gender neutral, lowercase intended, reader may or may not be yuu

"hey, can you help me with something?"

leona would often times tell you to get lost, to leave him alone and let him sleep. but after peeking an eye open to look at you, that wasn't what came out of his mouth ─ "what are you wearing?"

"it's my costume." you answered simply, glancing down at the clothes that look like you took a pair of scissors and tore at it until it looked shredded and unwearable. (and that's exactly what you did, sort of; it was already old and worn, you just made it even more so with a few extra aggressive tears.)

leona sent you a questioning look, lips curled up in a mamner you knew meant he was judging you, but you weren't all that bothered. "what are you supposed to be?" ─ he didn't let you answer as he sat up and examined you from where you stood at his door, following up the question with another ─ "and what is on your face?"

you knew he was talking about the makeup made to look like gauges and blotches in your face to really sell your role in your costume. it was well done too, you had gotten help from someone you deemed an expert beforehand. it took a while before you made a decison on the look, but in the end, you were happy with the results.

you stared at leona for a moment, waiting to see if he'd ask anything more, and then you answered, "i'm like a zombie. and it's makeup. vil helped me. he's pretty good at it, actually."

leona stared at you, more bemused as he eyed your diy costume from head to toe, "you look ridiculous."

"i look great," you corrected him, as if that's really what he meant, "you think it'll scare people? i was hoping to spook the others, or at least some of them."

leona scoffed, but chose not to comment on your decision to scare your peers as he referred to the reason you came to see him, "what do you want?"

"oh, right," you held up a decently sized bottle of red, what looked like, paint. "i need you to help cover me im this fake blood."

"i take it back, you're ridiculous."

"rude. so yes or no?"

"fine. but not in here."

vil has learned that when you set your mind to things ─ ridiculous as they may be ─ you tried hard to fulfill them. sometimes you failed but, then there times you went through with them, completed your self-given mission.

he was used to hearing about these ideas you just had to go through with (your words). ─ like right now.

"so skeletons are scary right?"

vil glanced at you as you took a seat beside him on the bench, looking to be deep in thought. (and he had to stop himself from sighing.)

"what?" he asked, closing the script he was reading (one written by you for his film research club) with his thumb in between the pages.

"skeletons," you repeated, "they're common for halloween because they're scary, right?"

a rhetorical question, he realized ─ but he answered anyway. "yes. that's right."

you nodded thoughtfully and hummed, bringing a hand to your chin and going silent. vil prepared himself for anything you might say ─ and he knew it would likely be ridiculous, because that's what your ideas often were; ridiculous and lacking sense, but nonetheless, in a way, thought through.

"what about, if it was the muscles?"

"the," he paused, "the muscles?" ─ he asked, as if to be sure he heard you right.

"yeah," you nodded, your face showing just how serious you were in your words, and vil wondered just where you were going with this. "like skeletons are pretty scary. but what if, say, you suddenly just see fully intact human muscles coming towards you. wouldn't that freak you out?"

vil asks himself often where you come to think of such things, and yet, he still does not know. ─ "well, i suppose it would."

you nodded again, "i think i could make it work. with a little help from magic and makeup, i'm sure i could pull off a convincing costume."

of course that's where this was going ─ you were going to dress up as the muscles in the human body, just like one would when dressing up as a skeleton.

"you think you could help me?"

vil sighed, "alright."

─ it's never a dull moment with you, he thinks.

do not repost, translate, copy, or run my writing through ai.

[nelkcats]

Clownmates

Danny and Jason both hated clowns, that really wasn't a secret to any of their friends or family; but for that to be what connected them with their respective soulmate was just ridiculous.

You see, the way you can recognize your soulmate is by the distinctive mark that appears anywhere on your body, since the moment of your birth you receive what will be something significant to both people engraved on you, in Danny & Jason case the mark was in their arm.

That's why after came back to life, Jason wasn't amused that his soulmate had anything to do with clowns, the obviously recognizable smile gave him chills, and for a while he couldn't sleep at the simple thought that the damn Joker was his soulmate.

Something similar happened to Danny, when he was little he loved circuses, thinking that his destined person would be there, but after all the trouble with Freakshow he didn't even dare look at his arm, how could the person destined for him be associated with those vile creatures?

That was the trick that nobody bothered to clarify, significant did not mean positive; honestly they both should be thankful they didn't have some 4, or other reference to death marked on their body.

Because of that reason they both hated Valentine's Day, they didn't dare to look for their supposed soulmate out of horror of discovering them in a circus, it was simply cruel. Danny couldn't stand the reminder of love because he associated clowns with bad things, and he didn't want to think that his soulmate was bad.

So when both Danny and Jason found themselves in Gotham, about to sneak into the clowns dressing room and probably ruin their makeup and decorations out of pettiness, they found themselves looking at each other in concern, and stared before backing off.

Before either of them had a chance to say anything, a clown found them and frowned at Jason claiming his Valentine decorations, Jason grunted and handed them over as Danny watched the scene annoyed "I really hate clowns" he muttered as he watched the scene, when Jason delivered the decorations his shirt sleeve went up a little and Danny noticed a peculiar...smile.

Getting a horrible hunch, the halfa rolled up his own shirtsleeve, revealing the same smile that he had been seen on Jason's arm.

"This must be a joke"

[council-of-beetroot]

pls make a longer post omg

Tolys and his struggles with body Image and Appearance

Alright anon you and a few others wanted me to elaborate so I will!

So in a previous post I said this

"I genuinely think Tolys has issues body / appearance wise and it's probably because of Ivan"

So you know how in quite a few strips Tolys is weirdly overly embarrassed by things Feliks does like how he dresses or when he suggests Tolys try a certain hairstyle?

It's odd to me because Tolys has been friends with Feliks for a very long time, he should hypothetically be used to Feliks' interests and unusual hobbies. Tolys is seemingly used to everything else weird that Feliks does so why does this bother him so much?

Now let's take a look at this panel from 2007 where we have the stripping panel

To which Tolys responds with this before it moves on to the next person.

Now we're circling back to Ivan. This leads me to believe Ivan used appearance as a quite effective humiliation tactic. Additionally it gives Ivan a ton of control.

Now why is this a good tactic? Well for one it gets to Liet, not only is he easily embarrassed it makes him overthink. To him, it's one thing to get beaten to the point of unconsciousness and it's another to be forced into a maid dress. It's over the top and deliberate, it ends up with Tolys "thinking how did I get myself into this situation it's ridiculous, I am a warrior, why is this getting to me?"

And Ivan knows this

He knows that he can make it so Tolys is so in his own head questioning things that his mindset quickly becomes just Tolys and Ivan.

Now here's where it comes back to Tolys having residual issues with his appearance/ or femininity.

It's simple Ivan knows this: Refer to him as your ex, your wife, call him your toy, call him cute and pretty and compliment his long hair. Eliminate the space between you and him, rub his shoulders, come up to him from behind. Show him off to others and tell him how adorable it is to see him blushing from the attention. Strip him of his privacy, his self autonomy, and safety. Control him so it's only you he can turn to whether you give him comfort or pain.

Now if you've ever experienced that you know in particular how much it can mess with your head when things like compliments are used to hurt you or when someone is cruel one moment and nice the next. And it's even more of a mindfuck when they confide in you let, their guard down, and perhaps you do too.

Hence why I am lead to believe Tolys still is struggling with this. Any comment of his appearance makes the alarms in his head go off. A compliment on a date makes start searching for the nearest escape route. Feliks' comfortability with his feminine aspects and wanting Tolys to join in reminds him of Ivan dressing him up in bows and dresses and telling him he's pretty. Feminine things were used to humiliate him. Appearance was used to humiliate him. It's genuinely triggering for him even though with Feliks, he's just being him and wants to include Liet. For Tolys, it reminds him of being dolled up and paraded as Ivan's cute secretary. Even a genuine compliment brings him back to a time where he couldn't say no and he felt powerless, because it was weaponized against him.

Hopefully I worded this right and let me know if i should add any warnings in the tags

Totally unrelated but in searching for images I found a bunch of HWS lithuania tiktoks and if I didn't refuse to ever download tiktok I'd go watch them.

(I do want to say people often use this especially back in the day wondering why he's portrayed as so weak especially when he's shown to have defeated Prussia. Here's the thing that's important to know, enduring abuse doesn't make anyone weak, anyone can get trapped in abusive relationships even if they think they can't.

Tolys has been under Ivan for a long time this gives Ivan the advantage here to create the perfect atmosphere to isolate, control, and facilitate abuse.)

Also if you wonder why doesn't liet do anything or fight back in panels like this let me explain, you can't survive if you are constantly choosing every battle. Tolys has a lot to lose and he can't afford to lose it all by not being careful.

Yeah it bugs me when people complain that lithuania is protrayed as "weak" he's not.

[4theloveofotome]

I wonder if part of his hair is lighter because the gray is improperly dyed.

Another one who won't dye his hair properly, which is strange since it really bothers him to be referred to as old.

Luke is over 300 years old but doesn't need to dye his hair. He seems to be stuck in a child's body. I couldn't find child angels. Just cherubim. But they usually are depicted as babies.

You know, these guys. Cherubim usually guard things, so that might be why he keeps being referred to as a dog. Well...since he is a guard dog. They are below archangels.

Mammon actually likes his gray hair. But it could be laziness as well. He always appears a bit...disheveled.

Belphie just leaves it partially gray.

And here we have what might possibly be the most vain characters: Asmo and Beel.

Asmo for obvious reasons. Beel seems odd but it actually isn't. There are a few devilgrams of him working out. So he cares about his appearance.

I didn't forget Levi, but he's another special case. He's a sea monster. Some myths describe him as a dragon or as a woman. But I'm already way beyond what this game is trying to do. This is just for my own entertainment. Just ignore it.

Satan is a weird case. Satan really is just Lucifer. But he's the new Lucifer.

Lucifer is an angel, who behaves as an angel. He has to follow rules and has absolute loyalty to those he serves. He still has this behavior even though he is in hell.

But Satan's nature is contradictory to Lucifer, it isn't just his anger. He doesn't see the sense in following rules or being loyal. He thinks it's ridiculous that Lucifer blindly does what Diavolo wants. He usually will act in his own self interest as well.

Otherwise, it's strange Satan wants to tell Lucifer we're breaking the rules. At this point they don't actually get along. But...why wouldn't he tell himself things. That's what would really be weird. But...

He likes to make things difficult for Lucifer...but not completely stand in his way.

Satan is the youngest. He's younger than Luke also. Luke admits he admired Lucifer in the Celestial Realm. Satan didn't exist in his current form until Lucifer fell into hell. So he wouldn't need to dye their hair.

But why does their hair turn gray at all?

Well...these theories are for my own entertainment and the devs probably didn't look into things this much anyway.

[hellscapechrysanthemum]

Alright this time it'll be the last time I complain and then more art (my job is trying to kill me). Warning another poorly constructed rant.

SPOILERS FOR CASTLEVANIA SEASON 3 AND 4

I can't get over how in Castlevania Season 3, the clues about Saint Germain's loved one were actually perfect for building up to them being revealed as Aeon and how of course it was wasted on an original character (if they could even be called that).

You had the whole bar scene with Saint Germain, Trevor, and Sypha, with Saint Germain revealing he lost someone in the Infinite Corridor

--Saint Germain: A long time ago, I lost someone very dear to me in the Infinite Corridor, and I have been looking for a way back ever since.

He doesn't refer to them by any pronouns, or any title specifically. It all leaves room for interpretation of *who* it could be.

Then there's the scene from Season 3 EP 6 "The Good Dream":

Their silhouette is still completely ambiguous and androgynous in appearance, and for those who have played Castlevania Judgment they'd be forgiven for assuming it was Aeon given the stature of the character and the fact that the silhouetted mysterious figure scene sort of resembled this from Castlevania Judgment's intro cinematic:

One could technically argue "But they didn't know about Castlevania Judgment or Aeon!!", but that argument falls apart in Season 4 when this scene comes up:

That's the throne room stage from Castlevania Judgment. Steve Stark from the animation team for the show even confirms it:

Aeon is technically the protagonist of Castlevania Judgment, so to know or talk about Castlevania Judgment without mentioning/acknowledging Aeon is vaguely impossible given he's a key figure in it's storyline (this sounds dumb/ridiculous I apologize).

It's just absolutely ridiculous how if there wasn't necessarily solid evidence for Aeon, then at least there was potential for Aeon to be Saint Germain's loved one. To have Saint Germain's loved one turn out to be some original character was abysmal and is arguably one of the biggest examples of Warren Ellis doing whatever with the story because he *can*. The most insane thing yet with this is the fact that Aeon's name is listed on Saint Germain's wiki page! Even if they had no idea who to use for a loved one, an idea was provided to them already assuming Warren didn't just skim the wiki!

(Image provided by Castlevania Wiki) Of course what could we expect from the writer couldn't even bother to include Grant Danasty?

Anyways I'm so sorry for how negative this whole ramble sounded. It's been bugging me for a long time and I haven't seen anyone on here really go in depth about it. In the end it was probably good Aeon actually was left forgotten because it's safe to assume Warren Ellis probably would have butchered the potential dynamic Saint Germain and Aeon could have had.

I hope everyone is doing okay and is staying safe and healthy!🩷

[coloredscribbli]

I have a VERY vague memory of a friend saying something along the lines of "what if there was a version of The Ride with Pack 10 hosts"

And I got quite a bit intrigued with that idea

EVERYONE'S RE-RIDE DESCRIPTIONS BELOW (please keep in mind this is from someone who has barely experienced The Ride herself)

🌊TOURNAMENT MISTRESS🌊

- Adopted a more human form to 'fit in' with her Re-Ride pals. She CAN change back to the dragon (I HC that she's the dragon) form, but why bother. Also insists the gang calls her Mistress to simplify things

- A very intense hype host who does not know how to really insult you if you got stuff wrong. more so an awkward "oh uh nice try 😅"

- Generally doesn't bicker with the others and just stands in the backdrop waiting to either cancel it out or move on to another question

- whatever their version of The Bottom is? She just hides in a closet instead. No real way to restrain her or stop her from turning back to the dragon (to their knowledge!) to fly back up so she just. CLOSET.

⚡️FIXYTEXT HOSTESS⚡️

- Goes by Lexi (like lexicon? fancy speak for the alphabet?) and just figured a more 'brooding, steampunk look' would fit her well for the Re-Ride

- Definition of >:3. She can and will play up everything that she can to a painful level of ridiculousness (eg. "IF YOU GET THIS WRONG I'M GONNA DIE")

- Starts fights like it's nothing, and takes even MORE joy in kicking anyone's butt that she can find to The Bottom (at appropriate times). The most out of EVERYONE (the order goes her, Jerri, 'Ductor', Mistress and MM)

- Also enjoys fucking with questions BUT just by mispronouncing stuff. You got icicle up there? Eye-sick-lee. Or bread? Bear-e-add. SHE LOVES THE CHAOS

☁️MM☁️

- To quote him, not quite exactly: "It's not my show so I'm not being open". Hence how he actually ONLY has his eyes out? Visible? You- You know? Also couldn't care less about what you call him as long as he can TELL it's him being referred to

- He's the definition of the phrase "Too (trait)". Specifically too formal. He takes everything a little too calmly for his own good and it scares the others (eg. "Hm. She won't be back up for... a while. Let's move on.")

- Probably has some kind of question where he accidentally passes out (PLEASE JUST SLEEP) and the players would need to guess what he was on about beforehand

- Has tried to butt into floors with topics he's interested in quite a lot, fortunately he's both very light and sworn off of his hypnotism antics for everyone's sake

☄️JERRI☄️

- Didn't change her look majorly, but there's a few tweaks. She also thought her side ponytail was an original thing until Mistress and Lexi showed up. she was pissed.

- Will openly laugh at wrong answers. Sure 'Ductor' will, sure Lexi will as well, but Jerri just BELLY laughs. This isn't Timejinx, she doesn't know you, she can be an ✨asshole✨

- Accidental argument fuel. She'll just respond in the strangest ways imaginable to the most obvious things and let that shit fly

- Basically the Re-Ride mechanic as well, when she doesn't host stuff she's basically just making sure you don't fall to a horrific and painful end

🌪️DODO RE MI HOST🌪️

- Goes by 'Ductor' and nobody but MM really cares. I say this because MM only calls him Conductor (GET IT. HA. I'M DESPERATE) and it really gets on his nerves

- Would probably pretend right answers are wrong and vice versa and be the rude fellow he is pretty naturally

- Actually pretty good at mimicking birds and the other Re-Ride's voices, has eagle screeched at the others too many times to count

- Mr. "Most likely to have a censored bout of cursing". Also kind of gets the Buzz treatment (constantly tossed aside) but Ductor? DUCTOR FUCKING FIGHTS BACK. The gang are trying to work on letting him do more stuff

[oktobearfest]

full thoughts on the borderlands movie

yeah the reviews weren't exaggerating this movie is fucking awful. probably one of the worst video game movies in recent memory. pretty much everything about it is horrible. don't know where to begin so i'll just list off my random thoughts about the movie

the visual effects are terrible. this movie visually looks like the VFX team didn't have a budget or didn't have any time to make this movie look even remotely competent. like some of the things in this movie look like a PS2 cutscene. i will say as a positive that claptrap consistently looked great and was thing i thought looked good. that positive is automatically retracted when i learned that the people that worked on claptrap specifically were not credited for their work

i know everyone is saying it but everyone in this is hilariously miscast. kevin hart as roland was ridiculous but honestly he didn't bother me that much in the actual movie. cate blanchett as lilith and jamie lee curtis as tannis were WAY worse. they're both too old for these roles especially given that in the movie tannis is supposed to be like, 30 ish years older than lilith. bitch these two characters don't look that far apart in age??? jack black as claptrap was annoying as fuck. just sounded like he was doing a bad impression of the original VA. another positive is that i thought the guy playing marcus was pretty good. he looked and sounded like the character but he's in like. 2 scenes and then you forget he exists. also i dont see a lot of people talking about this so it may just be me but moxy looked really old for the role as well. she's literally in 1 scene and thats it so it doesn't matter that much but it did stand out to me.

movie is insanely unfunny. nothing else to say. the attempts at "jokes" here were embarrassing

very confused as to who this movie was made for as it doesn't respect the source material in any way but also has a ton of references to the games that non fans would not understand.

not sure if this is true but this movie felt like it was originally rated R but it was trimmed down to be a PG-13 rating. why is a movie based off of a franchise with rated M games PG-13??????

every scene felt super rushed and you never get to know any of these characters or care about them. the writing and character development were very hollow and superficial. i know the borderlands games are not peak fiction when it comes to writing but you still come to like and care about these characters. in this movie, im like damn i dislike all of you lol

this entire movie has "was in development hell for almost 10 years" vibes all over it. it permeates throughout the entire thing. i couldn't stop thinking about how it took almost a decade for this movie to be shit out onto the big screen

w. w. why did they change tiny tina's backstory and why is it 100000000000% pointless.

WHERE ARE MORDECAI AND BRICK. WHERE ARE THEY

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure (Manga) - Vol. 5 (Final volume)

Okay, now that I've finished the manga (or, manhua I guess), I can safely say: don't bother! Reading this was a chore. The only thing I got out of it was the occasional nice bit of art or cheesy dialogue to laugh at. Other than that, they completely butchered the pacing/storytelling/essentially any charm the anime had. It's all par for the course with these kinds of money hungry releases.

Ch. 29

-Pinochimon calls TK "the boy in the ridiculous hat" which made me really look at TK's hat for the first time lol. It actually is kind of weird looking. My brain always read it as one of those winter hats with ear flaps, but giving it a closer look it's more like a hat that a cleric would wear in a JRPG or something. Why does it have a gem on it?

-Pinochimon's gun isn't censored in the manga! They didn't show TK holding a gun though, so I guess the original JP anime is still the most hardcore viewing experience lol

Ch. 30

-I simultaneously dislike the "the group breaks up" part of the story but it also feels necessary. It would be pretty unrealistic if everyone was just blindly gung-ho about being the "chosen children" for the whole series, so I like that it shows the inner doubt/turmoil.

-I had completely forgotten about that "spirit talks through Kari" bit. I don't think they ever fully explain what that is...? Very contrived.

Ch. 31

-Sadly they killed of Pinochimon in like two seconds which means we don't get to see his fight with MetalEtemon. That was like the only good part about Etemon coming back!

-For whatever reason, they decided to call the mecha version of Pinochimon's house "Housemon." Sure, why not. The part never really made sense anyways. I double checked the digimon fan wiki and the house is not considered a digimon in the anime. Continuity!

Ch. 32

-If Leomon can digivolve into SaberLeomon due to being "bathed in the light of the digivice," then there's no reason the kids shouldn't go around trying that on all of their ally digimon. Just sayin'

-In one panel, Machinedramon looked like he had a huge dick lol. I had to google a character reference to realize that it was his knee, oops...

Ch. 33

-This chapter was just one (or rather two) big battles. The action and drama was somewhat ruined by the cheesy dialogue. Tai literally says "Guys, rage against the machine!" and Machinedramon says "deus ex machina, fool!" What is this, an abridged series??

-WarGreymon looks pretty goofy with his armor shattered at the end there. I don't remember that visual being in the anime.

Ch. 34

-This chapter was terrrrible. They shoved like 5 episodes of content into 20-ish pages and nothing had any emotional impact. The whole "Matt and Gabumon in a cave" bit was especially weak. Matt's like "I'm sad," Gabumon says "you're not yourself!" and then Matt's like "Oop, you're right, I'm fine!" in about 3 panels. There's also a narrator textbox being like "we later found out that some evil force made Matt feel that way." Total waste of time. If they're not going to treat the emotional beats with respect, don't bother even adapting them.

-The fact that they gave Pinocchimon little voodoo dolls of the characters and then Piedmon has keychains that look pretty much the same. Pretty redundant...

-We were cheated out of LadyDevimon in manga form :'(

Ch. 35

-Dull, rushed, anticlimactic and devoid of emotion. I sincerely hope no one read this manga before watching the anime, that would probably ruin the whole series for them lol.

-Since this was written post 02 Gennai is like "bye kids, the next batch of digidestined will take care of the rest!" I feel like that goes along with my whole "digidestined have to be a certain age and then they graduate" theory. Either that or the digital world is just nice and doesn't want to trouble the same kids twice? Who knows...

[the-firebird69]

Stone Cold DESTROYS Donald Trump #stonecold #donaldtrump #trump2024 #wwe...

Trump forgets this kind of thing and he's seeing all sorts of dumb things to people singing them and telling them to go to hell and be poor and stuff and he's a bum and a street person and he likes doing it he's a moron. He started trouble with these guys and they're starting to remember him and Vince is cheeseman and they're going to go after him again

Thor Freya

Nobody writes the stupid s*** about me and I know who my character is and it might be Minsk and it is a reference to the Russian submarine and they're calling me a Russian and so forth it's not true and it looks like Lily actually hits me for good and I can see why and I'm saying dumb s*** to her still good boy those two are aggravating has to do simple tasks and they never do it on purpose every time it's ridiculous it's like a broken f****** record

Stan

Actually you're asking us the status and we're telling it to you and you're saying that we didn't and you're annoying him on purpose it's some real jackass stuff cuz we told him what's going on and we're tired of hearing it from you might be picky and stuff but it was happening at work and the workplace always gets screwed up and everything is messed up now and you're doing a lot of it and you're this Rider people don't seem to see it and Trump is going to attack and you don't care and what we say is we kind of need them off us and he's a menace now there's a lot of that and I looked at this and I was wondering I think the guy Jim is Sherry and she has you killed by Lily and Lily gets killed and it's not by Sherry and it looks like Sherry might get hit by a lily badly maybe not permanently but badly and Sherry gets into a fight as the Scarlet witch and ultimately loses but you guys are terrible but this is a terribly hard situation and he needs money just to get by and nobody cares it's a freaking nightmare it's so damn hard and we're making it harder now according to off by you and we are not going anywhere we're going to have a war and you'll probably lose and you say you don't care but you don't think you'll lose and Tom you have to lose too and looks like I might lose as well and I do know where and when it looks like it but I'm sick and tired of this s*** we're going nowhere doing nothing just grinding away to bother one person who's valuable and it's disgusting when we're sick and dumb and melting away

Jason

Speaking of which today they lost another $20,000 originals then went from 100,000 to 80,000 and tonight they will probably lose by tomorrow morning about 15,000 more and that will bring it to 65,000 as we predicted and it will not stop there now there's going to be a lot of issues from this there's a lot of people dying most of them leaders and leaders are dying in the rings and The glades and elsewhere and most of them and you're not going to have anyone telling anybody what to do and you're going to be a mess we think Trump will hit probably 2.8% tomorrow morning and start to nose dive and even on the islands he will start to lose everybody and in the general population is already hurting and he is going to lose those people we think he might lose a third tonight and from that point on it will never stop people will see the money and it's going to be over. We needed to end for him now and yeah he won't renew it unless he's out and he's going to be out meaning gone and we believe Dan does it and he extends and Dan gets hit and they're both out and that's how it works and they come back and fight each other and it's going to happen real soon these pigs really need it they're disgusting. There's going to be a reckoning and it's coming up now. There's all sorts of things on TV that are happening now a lot of stuff the mob movie The godfather is beginning and it is about the mob and how they used to try and make people their sons by somewhat adoption and get them to do things and they're very evil concept and we hate them and we are watching them die in the movie forever and thanking everybody for their help this really needs to happen. Another thing in the movie which is pretty big is Cuba and it exposes it and he was really mad today and he said why is that in there and it was Trump and he is screwed and they're having a war again but the pseudo Empire war is going to Levy heavy hits into him tonight in the west and today in the East it was massive massive hits as you said he's at 2.8 and about 0.3 were hit over there and we think 0.5 will be hit here and he will be devastated in the separated cities in some areas and lose some of them and two other people of course of his cadre and his people will be evacuating regular cities still we heard talk that the 0.5% left in the eastern and western hemisphere about 90% of them are talking about leaving and as soon as they can and they don't care if they die they just got to get away from people and running the money is not doing it they say and they're getting tons of threats and beat up all the time and it won't make it and it's true they're getting whittled away and high numbers a day we anticipate them well the end of the day tomorrow will be the 0.3% but people will be taking over their spots and they're going after the other ones and they'll be pushed out he's going to be powerless by the 14th

Thor Freya

We'll see what the clip is but in starcraft it's Lily and it seems like Sherry and we think it is and yeah you can look like a guy and sound like one it's not that hard and it kind of destroy the guy and he's thinking it's actually Camilla and that makes more sense and she is injured by Lily as a matter of fact it looks like Camilla might destroy her in the end and I'm in Lord of the rings and of what are the stars now well I'm there and I'm trying to go after them that actually explains it and the guy makes is actually Minsk is actually stan and he's horrendous you can hear what he's saying I made you into a monster and all that s*** and it's really Blue beetle the movie and he was there and he was saying he had it done and and our friend here says no because it's not a super bug or anything that don't exist or dinosaur bug it's a genetically engineered bug and he's astonished yeah and that does not mean he made her into anything he may have encouraged it to try and grab the thing and study it but it didn't work that's why he's using the electrical stuff which is really a huge mistake unless he's really trained of nutrients it's really going to back for her and he's a Giants and he should know it and he's trying to drain her he says didn't work and he got charged and dies a bad death it looks like a while from now that people say that these battles are going on right now and we do see that and those ships are Trump's he thinks the stone chips it looks like the clones might come in and start grabbing the ships because the pseudo Empire is just sitting there it's annoying as hell it really is just f****** annoying what these guys are doing but they used to run things like that and it's just annoying it gives you a minute to think about it and all this other stuff but holy s*** different case threatening his wife and everybody's terrorized and other people thinking of it now as a disaster but it's going to be over for Stan and he's not really having anything done over there it is drying and her friend says it has to drive and you have to sit there and now I do understand that and you have to spray it and wait and spray it and wait and spray it in weight the drywall is kind of dry but really it could be dryer and it got very wet it was horrendous and stinks and still stinks a bed and really you know he's right and it's the way it's been here and some people said two or three months but that's to leave those places empty and you come back to them and the mold is gone so we're doing a lot more than the job calls for it it's 100% chlorine not bleach and it works and it will stay in there too it's going to burn the eyes a little bit if it gets moist but then it gets rid of moisture it'll last a little while but really it needs to be because it does get a little bit more sometimes but seriously we're just sitting around waiting and it's not really stands fall really hates him for some reason and we think it's because he's not letting her into the apartment but that's Trump's fault and people thought it might be Dan but he dies as that giant guy and people think it's me who'sdrax it's true I believe it acts like me and I actually toast the guy but who's to know now I know he's just sitting in the damn way who knew that they've just come back it's gross and it says it's probably in water and that's what it was survive and it didn't work so that's how we lose first tell me if wants to torture this kid again and ruin the rest of whatever we have

And her friend says it has to be done that way or we can't say goodbye to these complete absolute assholes who make life into this massive Street person from mental patient experience and I've had enough of this stupid s***

Jason

Just saying you're going to move them out and you won't renew and we believe you're going to try and do that so you're f****** out Trump we hate you we get the idea now we should all try and buy these stocks and he wants that so it's going to happen

Tommy f

We see a lot of people getting up to do it and getting ready for tomorrow and they're going to go to the stock market and say that he's a bum and not making the company work and it's a lot of proof even the hotels are disaster and we do see that he is skulking and he is going to try and hide it's going to get beat up and it's probably going to run around to go to the UK and get his ass handed to him he does die and you see him die in the movie A bunch of times and we need it and right now and it does help with the stock market that he's not around and the court cases are going to cycle back in and his population in the general populace probably by Wednesday will be like 0.1% or less and it's going to be small and they'll be getting their asses kicked the whole time and he'll be able to extend it this is going to be a a trial week we cannot stand this guy

Thor Freya

It was me who did it and I'm Dave from westborough BP and I'm not bja but I'm like him and we're smaller group and it worked so I'm getting ready to help out I will tell you that he tried to do the job and he couldn't handle the stress he couldn't believe someone robbed the place in the middle of westboro and this guy can't handle it has Trump and it was a Mac proper and they had him do it and it was so he could study instead of work but he needs money and it's terrible

Dave

We're going to work on the money thing as you know this guy Dennis who's a severe menace for real though he is going to die and he's going away and with such what's a n***** and what you're saying and he helped you a lot and he really did and it was weird cuz it doesn't fit back then but it does fit with your medical condition these guys just kept cramming the medicine to you and that eleph ant and their mean as hell Ella varney and she's evil and she needs to be sued and people will probably pick up on it and her husband threatening person we know who they are and it's actually BG and it's not his sister wife it's another woman

Brock Lesnar

We do know who it was and it's not Chrissy but really this is a b**** this lady Ella varney is horrible and she was on Ella and hates everyone for a linear get cancer and it's gross and we're going to sue her she's wrong and she's doing guess work as medical work saying everyone's complaining but she's not doing it right and poison her son more and we're going to sue the other doctors and with a group lawsuit and we're opening it up now

Thor Freya

We have to get going on these and it's because of the cure side of things and they're fighting really we have to get moving on it. And he said to me I don't think you understand the nature of the assignment and I said why I said it's dual diagnosis and people need actual money there's a scam that these people want to run so you've been healed they want to find us with it and really it's just not going anywhere and people need it now they needed it 10 years ago today and I got an alarm and I looked and I started telling everybody and it's working and we really are getting out there and working but we need this too and we need it now

Bitol and Goddess Wife

Hera mentioned it earlier and Zeus had a right special request for the people to get stuff because he can't get anything either and it's terrible we're going to raise the army with it but people need relief this is a way to do it. He says it ken can actually spearhead it. And Hera is barking barking because he says you could have been doing it and she's going shut up you jerk and really he knows that she's busy but we're full of like watching these stupid things for balloons and other things and I was trying to get this occupying them with hateful things and she said it and it's true. But he's she's going to start working on it because that's the way to do it and people can make money with the pharmaceuticals and Trump is probably not going to be a guy who would do it he's an idiot it might be the pseudo Empire and the Empire wants that and other people there and they might pick it up and they were doing part of the evil side but Trump was doing Prilosec with his son and they kind of got kicked out no but really it's probably the guy to do it and he says it's a scam and stuff and her son says I know about it and people are forced into it and if you suck at it it's not our problem and usually suck at it a few months you probably should try and do something so we heard the guys response but yeah I probably should do something she started working on it and he's going to try and do it and it is for overdose and it's a way to approach it it's not bad he thought about it he said it isn't bad and that's what the guy at the hospital said so he's going to do it for a bunch of medicine just like 10 and her son he has to be on it and things like that and it's going to start happening pretty soon that they're going to start introducing it and it's going to be through the medical community no psychiatrists because it makes people nuts and it's made his army nuts and his dupes and they're easy prey and that's what's doing it hey look at like this I have to do this and it might be this new drug that cheesman is doing and Tommy f is f****** up and his people are on this stupid medicine

Olympus

[neotis]

Having some Nesta Thoughts (tm) so here are a bunch of Nesta quotes (for my own future reference) beneath the cut:

From beside my father, Nesta snorted. Not surprising. Any bit of praise for anyone--me, Elain, other villiagers--usually resulted in her dismissal. And any word from our father resulted in her ridicule as well. (14)

Of us, Nesta had taken the loss of our fortune the hardest. She had quietly resented my father from the moment we'd fled our manor [...]. (15)

But at least Nesta didn't fill our heads with useless talk of regaining our wealth, like our father. No, she just spent whatever money I didn't hide from her, and rarely bothered to acknowledge my father's limping presence at all. (15)

Nesta was prone to leaving [his cane] far out of his reach.

He could find work if he wasn't so ashamed, Nesta always said when I hissed about it. She hated him for the injury, too--for not fighting back [...]. (15)

Nesta rose and declared: "I need a new pair of boots."

[...] I glanced at Nesta's still-shiny pair by the door. Beside hers, my too-small boots were falling apart at the seams [...].

"But I'm freezing with my raggedy old cloak," Elain pleaded. (16)

I noticed the woodpile. There were only five logs left. "I thought you were going to chop wood today."

Nesta picked at her long, neat nails. "I hate chopping wood. I always get splinters." [...] Of all of us, Nesta looked the most like our mother--especially when she wanted something. "Besides, Feyre," she said with a pout, "you're so much better at it! It takes you half the time it takes me. Your hands are suited for it--they're already so rough." (17)

As usual, Nesta was complaining about the villiagers--they had no manners, they had no social graces, they had no idea just how shoddy the fabric of their clothes was [...]. Since we had lost our fortune, their former friends dutifully ignored them, so my sisters paraded about as though the young peasants of the town made up a second-rate social circle. (18)

I sometimes wondered if her unrelenting steel would have helped us better survive--thrive, even--if she hadn't been so preoccupied with our lost status. (19)

Nesta squared her shoulders. "I thought all you wanted was for us to get out of the house--to marry off me and Elain so you can have enough time to paint your glorious masterpieces." She sneered at the pillar of foxglove I'd painted along the edge of the table [...].

I drowned the urge to cover up the painting with my hand. Maybe tomorrow I'd just scrape it off the table altogether. (19)

"Tomas's family is barely better off than ours," I said, trying to keep from growling. "You'd be just another mouth to feed. [...]"

But Tomas knew [...]. I'd seen the gleam of desperate hunger in his eyes [...]. (20)

But we had nothing--absolutely nothing--to entice any suitor to take my sisters off my hands.

"We're in love," Nesta declared, and Elaine nodded her agreement. I almost laughed--when had they gone from mooning over aristos to making doe-eyes at peasants? (20)

"What do you know?" Nesta breathed. "You're just a half-wild beast with the nerve to bark orders at all hours of the day and night. Keep it up and someday--someday, Feyre, you'll have no one left to remember you, or to care that you ever existed." [...]

I'd heard the words before--and knew she only repreated them because I'd flinched that first time she spat them. They still burned anyway. (20)

[...] they hadn't deigned to speak to me after last night, though Nesta had awoken at dawn to chop wood. Probably because she knew I'd be selling the hides at the market today and would go home with money in my pocket. (22)

It was impressive [...] to see Nesta go ramrod straight, to square her shoulders and look down her nose at the young acolyte, a queen without a throne. "Go spew your fanatic nonsense to some ninny. You'll find no converts here." (23)

"We didn't kill anything!" Elain wept. "Please... plase, spare us!" Nesta hushed her sharply through her own sobbing, but pushed Elain farther behind her. (33)

[ottiliere]

we get so much alpha bro being a junkie, why not beta bro? i picture him as a heroin and benzo addict with tracks all over his arms he doesnt even bother to hide anymore

sorry but asks phrased like this rub me very much the wrong way... i think a lot of you would benefit from learning to be a little more respectful in the way you talk about these kinds of topics, i.e. the language you use. it's not a big deal to enjoy playing with these kinds of topics and obviously I'm a firm believer in that. you don't need to meet some kind of standard or whatever to "earn" the license to talk or make art about any given topic. but if you want to do it in a way that doesn't make you look like an absolute tool you should probably learn to talk about it in a way that isn't outwardly unselfaware and disrespectful.

art can be a lot of things but fundamentally what matters is how you treat other people. needless to say, how you talk about them is a part of that. a little tact and half a google search go a long way.

i don't get "mad" at a lot of asks (speaking of: i haven't had a lot of time to answer asks lately but hopefully I'll be back soon... I'm working on projects!) but this one is just inherently disrespectful to a group of real people... is "junkie" in your lexicon? do you regularly refer to people as that in your head? i think it says a lot about your inner monologue, this is the lowest possible group you could possibly be punching down on.

besides all that, I'm kinda scratching my head on this message... because so much of hospital dirks formative life involved the concept of bro being addicted to methamphetamines. pretty sure i talked about that here extensively? to some degree maybe. my memory is quite bad maybe I didn't. personally I don't think he'd use downers... he's an active party, if you look at his behaviors in the comic he's just ridiculously aggressive, flashstepping looks like "tweaking" to some degree, he's always on the move he's always doing something. he would look very, very different if he was on downers. that's a completely different type of functionality, and one that I'm pretty sure he wouldn't enjoy much at all.

[koushisatori]

if you can't believe in others, at least believe in us

kyoutani x gn!reader

genre: as ordered: a bit of angst w a touch of comfort

warnings: one (1) big jealous idiot, miscommunication

word count: 5.4k

note: this is smth an anon asked me to do (but like...nearly a year ago, I'm not sure if anon is still there or if they remember and my dumbass deleted the ask so I just beta-ed through whatever I had but I know they called me out on enjoying jealous characters so here we go) I'm sorry, mysterious anon, I'm stupid </3 Anyway, that's that. I don't remember if reader was supposed to be female or not so I made it gn!reader (but if I forgot to change something, pls tell me so I can fix any errors c: It's also my first attempt I apologize in advance)

In the beginning, you weren't sure why your boyfriend is ignoring you

You can't remember doing something that would annoy him, nor do you remember an instant of anger in his eyes that would give you a hint about his reasoning to stay away from you

He explained early on that sometimes he just needs a day of distance because Kentarou could feel the anger simmering right under the surface, enough that something small could tick him off already, and he would hate if you were on the receiving end of this unexplained fury

Both of you also made sure to promise each other to clearly communicate, the relationship between the two of you would not last long if you're not properly telling each other what might be bothering or hurting...just in general cross a boundary

Communication probably was one of the most important aspects of your relationship

cue to the actual situation: your boyfriend avoiding you

So, Monday evening you think maybe it's this overwhelming sensation of unexplained anger and that something at morning practice ticked him off completely

But then Tuesday comes and goes, and your boyfriend had avoided you all day long, did not even bother to read your messages,

on Wednesday, you try to talk to him, but all he does is glaring at you with a look that leaves you speechless and kind of heartbroken,

Thursday is the day you're replaying everything you did on Monday, trying to find something that he could have misunderstood, yet no matter how hard you think about it…your brain won't come up with a reason that explained why Kentarou was so upset with you!

So you decide to make him talk to you on Friday

Enough is enough, right? For gods' sake, he is your boyfriend! You miss him and his strong arms that give hugs so warm that you melt right into them

You don't get a second alone with him until school ends

you practically sprint out of the school building over to the gym, knowing that he had a free hour, which means that he is probably the first person there - your only chance

There he is, sitting with his back to you, aggressively chewing on a bun filled with chicken - his usual that reminded him of his favorite dish - glaring holes into the ground

After taking a deep breath to calm yourself, you carefully aks: ''Kentaro…Ken…?'', slowly stretching out your hand, wanting to rest it on his shoulder to maybe help to soothe him a bit

he flinches instead and his heated, agitated gaze meets your eyes, making you recoil in return

''…will you talk to me, I miss you…'' you say softly, realizing how it hurt being ignored by him

''Ah, suddenly you miss me…'' he spits, narrowing his eyes ''…didn't fucking seem like it the last time I saw you…''

''Kentaro, baby, I have no idea what you mean,'' you plead, keeping your voice low to hide the desperation lacing it, confusion written all over your features

all Kyoutani does is growl, hopping down from where he's sitting while shouldering his gym bag

''...shouldn't have been so flirty with Shittykawa like that then-'' he grumbles - ''Ken, I didn't-'' you insist, but he continues ''twirling your hair, batting your pretty eyelashes at him, fuck you Y/N, if you want him, then feel free to take a fucking leave" Kyoutani cusses, not even listening to you

You shake your head, ''Kentaro, no, you totally misunderstood the situation,'' you follow up, panic seeping into your voice now that you knew what he referred to, ''I love yo-''

''Tsk'', he moves to leave

you try to take his hand but, instead of turning around, Kyoutani just rips it away from you, tucking it into the pocket of his jacket

from behind you, you hear Yahaba and Oikawa approaching (talking about Volleyball and Captains duties)

once they guessed what must have happened, they offered you their help (they both swear that Kyoutani will never ever find a ''cute s/o as you are, y/n-chan, I'm worried for my little angry pomeranian kohai'' )

Usually, you would try to talk to him, but after enduring a week of radio silence and now this treatment, you were tired of upholding something that seemed like a lost cause

you just wave both setters off and leave the school grounds, a frown plastered onto your lips and tears swimming in your eyes

Kentarou had not listened to you, did not even really look at you, and the few seconds he did, his eyes were filled with rage instead of the warmth he had usually reserved for you (and only for you)

If your boyfriend thinks avoiding you for a week and blaming you for something ridiculous without hearing you out is how you handle a relationship…maybe you would have to consider not pursuing it any longer

Which is easier said than done

The whole night you wait for a message, anything, and then all Saturday morning

you still had hope left

You get one from Yahaba, who tells you that Oikawa tried to clear up the situation as well after the reason for your fight dawned on him (Kyoutanis piss poor mood and behavior towards him a strong indicator) but Kentaro, again, just ran off

The future team captain even called you after your lackluster answer, listening to you getting the frustration and sadness out of your system

It didn't matter, right? Your boyfriend decided to unofficially call it quits by implying that your feelings for him were not genuine instead of using his mouth to talk to you and disregarding everyone involved

as if he wanted to ignore the truth as a convenient excuse to get out of your relationship

that's the conclusion your brain came up with

You softly sniffle in the privacy of your room, clutching a pillow to your chest (which has seen more tears in the last two days than in the past three years), deciding that it would be a good idea to go into the city to treat yourself

knowing that your mother has a hair-dresser appointment somewhen today, you go and announce that you would join her to finally buy the latest season of your favorite series

once there, you additionally get microwave popcorn, chocolate, and ice cream, as well as a pretty shirt you saw on a mannequin while window shopping

you feel a lot better after spending some money and ignoring the lingering sadness of your presumable break up with Kyoutani (who you love ok, it is not that easy)

In between your stops, you meet Iwaizumi and Oikawa munching on fatty burgers (celebrating your cheat days like a holiday and indulging in whatever your heart desires, is what makes it easier to stick with healthier habits the rest of the time was the questionable explanation coming from the brown-haired setter, pointing at you with a soggy potato fry)

after a moment, the setters eyes turn sad, a frown replacing the smile on his lips

he wraps his fingers around your wrist to stop you from going just yet, apologizing for being the cause of your fight and for being unable to talk some sense into him

(you assure him that it is not his fault, knowing that your friend will probably brood over it otherwise, which wouldn't be fair)

Iwaizumi adds that Kyoutani will come around and that his cooldown time is just longer than those of other people (and if not, he will give him one of his famous volleyballs to the head and use his status as only truly respected senpai to talk some sense into him) but you again decline their suggestions

after saying goodbye (and seeing Iwaizumi give his best friend an assuring gentle pat on his shoulder, the secret softy in the usual harsh ace shining through)

If Kentaro was willing...able to throw away your relationship this easily, he can't possibly really love you, and you'd accept this even if it's hard and painful

Now remembered of what you had attempted to forget about, you feel your eyes sting with unshed tears (you thought there was no possibility of you having more tears to spill, yet the impossible seemed to be the case) you look down at your phone to text your mom and frown

Kentaro 🥰: we need to talk. Kentaro 🥰: meet me there [location]

For a second, you hesitate, biting your lower lip harshly…you really want to go and talk to him but…

The tears still sting in your eyes and blurring your view reminded you of what you had gone through the whole time, and that it was his turn to finally come to you

break up or makeup, the ball was in his court now

so while walking to where your mother would be waiting for you, you begin to type

You: No.

You: I waited for you all week, even though you ignored me, and now you expect me to run the moment you choose to stop being a childish idiot?

You: if you decide to speak to me then comqjdkn

Kentarou wouldn't say he feels particularly bad. Not at all! If someone was to ask him, he would probably answer fucking peachy, what the fuck are you asking for or growl angrily. No one would bat an eye and further question him, nor guess that maybe he wasn't as great as he pretended because he missed his gorgeous better half, but…it was his fault, wasn't it?

Of course, he originally thought he had a valid reason to be upset. And if he had just spoken to you about it, everything would be solved now. Instead of being a decent boyfriend, though, his pride overtook his thinking processes once he realized that his behavior wasn't even the slightest bit justified. Not that he knew this when he saw you speaking with Shittykawa right before school. All he could see was his gorgeous s/o shyly fiddling with her fingers, conversing with a leaned forward, very involved Oikawa Tooru. He would have fetched you away from the brown-haired setter. He had no qualms about showing his possessiveness. God, Kentarou wouldn't have hesitated to growl at the tall, brown-haired boy if not for the question he heard coming from the Captain.

''Y/N-chan, how is it that you, an adorable, charming individuum, is with a brute like Mad Dog-chan? I really-'' Well, that's where he decided to leave you with the setter. He didn't need to hear your answer. Didn't want to witness an excuse or maybe the truth. If both of you were so fucking smitten with each other to flirt this blatantly, why don't you just go and cheer for him, hold his hand, and kiss his cheek goodbye? It was his choice to distance himself.

Kyoutani couldn't help the feeling of betrayal and hurt washing over him. Maybe you just used him as a stepping stone to get closer with Oikawa, and Kyoutani has been too blind to see it. He never doubted you or your relationship before, but it's not a secret how eruptive Kyoutani could be. It has always been beyond his imagination how someone so cute and sweet like you could love a person like him. Your friends thought so. The teachers. The whole school! Everyone questioned your poor judgment. And when you came running up to him, you're cheery voice calling out for him, everyone present looked at you like you grew a second head. It's the reason why seeing you with Trashykawa ticked him off so bad. It catered to his biggest insecurities and fears. He knew that all those skeptics would be delighted to see you, everyone's darling, with the schools' star setter. They all would agree that the pretty, handsome young man is a better fit than the always hostile-looking troublemaker.

While Kyoutani didn't take Oikawa seriously in most cases, he undoubtedly was one of the most devoted people Kentarou had ever met. If Oikawa wanted to get a new serve right, he wouldn't stop trying and repeating it until his legs gave in, and Iwaizumi dragged him out of the gym. When he wanted to find more advanced players to practice with, so he could, in return, give this new knowledge to his team, there was no way he would not manage to make it happen. Even if his ideas, wishes, and plans cost him blood, sweat, and tears (like getting Kyoutani to actually train), Oikawa never backed down. Kentarou had heard that Oikawa's last girlfriend dumped him because of his passion for Volleyball. Yet Kyoutani couldn't help but think that, in you, the ambitious setter would have found someone that would be able to handle it. You usually came over to watch the team when you knew that Kyoutani was there to play. You sat on the stands with your homework in your lap and a Seijoh-coloured pencil wiggling between your fingers, not bothered by the noises coming from the court. You play with your earlobe while you frown at whatever problem you came across. You patiently wait for practice to finish. Kentarou was sure that you'd be someone Oikawa would actually try for. You weren't one of his squealing fangirls, hanging from his arm on every opportunity, but his friend. You didn't pester him to take selfies with you while pushing cute bentos into his hands. When you bring food to practice, then it's for the whole team to share. If he wanted you, Oikawa would probably have to win you over and make sure that you'd stay. Courting and all that jazz. In all seriousness, Shittykawa would be a fucking idiot if not.

The dyed-blond wing spiker had been so sure that he was rightfully mad that he didn't stop to think twice before he reacted this coldly towards you. But, and this made it even worse, Kentarou knew that he was wrong the moment you asked what happened after an entire week of enduring his silent treatment. The second he heard your shaky voice and saw the tears welling up in your eyes, his brain rebooted, and suddenly he wasn't so sure of his own reasoning. You two were together for about half a year. Kyoutani - by now - was confident in his ability to identify most of your expressions. All he could decipher in your eyes was pain, paired with a need to understand, but…if he was in the wrong…it would mean that he had hurt you the whole week, which in conclusion implied that Kentarou had been the world's shittiest boyfriend. Fuck, he thought, I don't deserve y/n.

His situation didn't get any better the moment Oikawa entered the gym. The person Kyoutani thought he had a real reason to despise now tried to mend the rift between the two of you.

''Mad Dog-chan, I think you misunderstood something there. Well, no, you decided to not listen-'' The taller male says, hands gesturing wildly. While his voice still had that annoyingly cheery tone, it had something commanding hidden underneath. And oh, how Kentarou hated when someone demanded something of him, even if it was for his own good. ''Don't want to hear it.'' the blond mutters, already aggravated. The brown-haired setter resolutely puts himself in the way again. ''Oh, but you have to! That morning, Y/N-chan literally declared her love for yo-'' - ''I don't fucking care.'' Kentarou barks, not looking Oikawa in the eyes.

After another fruitless attempt to get properly into the gym, he growls and turns to leave. Already on his way to grab his stuff and take a leave, he hears Oikawa yelling. ''You answered and justified why I asked Y/N-chan to begin with!" And then louder, even though he could make out Iwaizumi trying to wrestle his childhood friend back into the gym, "APOLOGIZE, YOU IDIOT! YOU BETTER GROVEL FOR Y/N'S FORGIVENESS! THEY DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS SHOW YOU'RE PUTTING ON, AND YOU KNOW IT!"

This happened on Friday evening, and the guilt was gnawing away on him ever since. On his way home, Kyoutani had automatically taken the detour to your house. Kentarou enjoyed bringing you home (and more often than not, you pulled him inside with you, making him cuddle you!). It makes him feel like a good boyfriend, and he knew that you arrived there safely. He would never tell anybody and deny it if you ever decided to share this, but Kentarou relished in the feeling of your hand holding his all the way while going on about your day. He admired that you'd pet every cat and every dog you meet on the trip home together with him. You were perfect for him…why again did he act like this?

What caused Kyoutani's attempt to apologize - in his usual overly blunt and partly aggressive kind of way - was Yahaba, though. Both boys denied being remotely something beyond 'not really enemies'. But his future team captain was definitely one of the very few people that could and would tell him to his face that he fucked up without real repercussions. He would presumably even help Kyoutani to get it together.

After Yahaba had called you and listened to your heartbreaking rant, the setter realized that you, his friend, and his 'not really enemy' needed to talk ut out. Totally immersed in your tirade, you accidentally let slip that you couldn't endure Kyoutani's treatment any longer. That being pushed over by your boyfriend with brash and hurtful words after handling the cold shoulder was too much. That you expected Kyoutani to break up with you on Monday either way. In-person, if he had mercy on you or continue his treatment as a silent method of doing so. While you told Yahaba about your planned ''get over it-self-care'' weekend (involving tons of ice cream, movies with crying guarantee, lots of blankets, and no smartphone), the setter had already put on his jacket, shooting a message to Kyoutani.

From Yahaba: get your stupid fucking ass outside to meet me, or I'll bench you the complete season next year

Even though the wing spiker was sure that Yahaba's words were nothing but empty words, Kentarou allowed himself to accept this threat as an excuse to put his pride aside. Because, even though Yahaba annoyed him to no end - not as bad as Oikawa but still - Kentarou was also aware that you and he were friends. If someone could help him gaining your forgiveness, Kyoutani had to accept and admit that it was Yahaba. Meeting his light brown-haired teammate was kind of awkward. Kyoutani was unsure what he had to expect, though he should have seen the rough treatment coming. Yet, getting told that you, the person Kentarou was undeniably in love with, felt so neglected and hurt that you deemed this relationship to be as good as over allowed the guilt monster in his chest to grow. Shitty Oikawa was probably right ordering him to grovel and beg on his knees for you to even hear him out.

Your answer to his message was partly unlike you. Well, the last sentence. You usually were pretty forward with him to avoid miscommunication and uncalled-for moping around. And while you sometimes send keyboard smashes to express the chaos you felt, they were always in a separate message and not so…random. The text definitely meant something like ''then come to me'' but somehow, Kyoutani had an uneasy feeling about the whole thing.

Besides, he couldn't just wait till Monday and hope that you'd accept his apology! You may send him away today already, but he still had a teeny-tiny bit of hope. If he let the thoughts of him leaving you or the other way around fester in your mind for two whole days, though,…you'd probably realize that leaving him wasn't that bad of a decision. You'd come to the conclusion that all your admirers could treat you better than Kyoutani did. And he was too selfish to let you leave. Even though all he did the whole week was being self-centered and stuck up, he would be damned to begin being a saint now and let you go. That you at least were willing to talk to him was…a relief, to say the least. Kentarou hoped that this translated to you being willing to put up with him a little longer if he apologized correctly. That you're not opposed to giving him another chance to make things right.

At your house, he was greeted with darkness. Not even a single light illuminating any of the rooms he could see from his spot on your front lawn. And the ones he saw were your and your mom's most-used rooms. Your room window, your mothers' workroom, and the living room area with an adjacent kitchen. All of those rather significant rooms and the lack of light in them seemed to be a dead giveaway for Kyoutani that no one was home. Kyoutani guessed that you were probably out with your mom, glancing over to the empty spot in front of the garage.

Oh god, your mother had been the only supportive person of your relationship. Maybe it's in your family to see the best in everyone, even in shitty people like him. But if you told her about his behavior, she'd most likely not welcome him with a smile ever again, no matter if you forgave him.

There weren't many things Kyoutani could do in this situation, but it wasn't as late as nature let it on, and after a few seconds, he had decided to sit down at the front door and wait for you, hoping that it wouldn't take too long for you to come home. As if fate wanted to tell him something, the wing spiker had put on the jacket with the half-full power bank. He had worn it to the shelter when he visited it this week while distracting himself from your absence in his daily life. You had gifted him the piece of clothing, which is probably why he unconsciously had decided to wear it to everything he did after school in the first place.

Kentarou passed the time by snarling at people eyeing him for a moment too long to not be judgmental, petting the neighbors' cat wandering over to him, and watching videos. Every time he thought ''Y/N would like this'', his heart stuttered guilty.

To Kentarou, it felt like an eternity until your mother's car finally drove up the entry. To avoid your mother's potentially deadly stare, he nervously checked his mobile, realizing that he had waited for a little more than 3 hours. Yet, the wait had done nothing to soothe his nerves. They instantly spiked up again while his heart threatened to jump out of his throat.

She will hate me. Your mother would hate me, she'll hate me, she'll ha-

''Ah, Ken-chan! Good evening.'' Your mother greets him with a tired, yet still gentle smile. Oh. The blond blanches. He'd never admit it, but he enjoyed the treatment he received from your mother more than he should. Being spoken to without suspicion and receiving a warm smile every time without fail was a welcome change to his daily life. Your mother didn't listen to people trying to bad-mouth him. To her, he simply was the boy that - normally - treats her child the way a mother wished for. Even if he pulled a face as long as a fiddle.

''I didn't know you were coming, Ken-chan, or I would have messaged you…but now that you're here, maybe you can assist us out and help Y/N inside? It would help a lot.'' His gaze immediately flitted over to you on the passenger seat. With your arms crossed in front of your chest and that stubborn but endearingly cute pout on your lips, he nearly missed the tiredness your body emitted. Kentarou wanted to rush over to your side immediately but was stopped by your mother again. ''I don't know what you two are fighting about…but please talk to each other. I don't want my baby to be this sad. Especially now, and…'' she rests a hand on his shoulder, her eyes kind and comforting ''…I also don't want to miss you here, alright?'' He stiffly nodded and watched your mother carrying in plastic bags filled with various medicine packages and food.

After coming back to his senses, Kyoutani finally stumbled over to your side, practically ripping open the car door. This new perspective revealed a plaster cast wrapping your whole left leg and a removable wrist brace on your right hand. ''Bab- Y/N…what the fuck…happened?'' His honey-brown eyes continued to wander over your injuries, and with every second, he found more. Scratches and scrapes, bandaids and bandages peeking out from underneath your clothes. ''I'm so sorry,'' he whispered, hanging his head low.

All your intentions to fight his helping hand and limp over to the door by yourself disintegrated into nothing. You never witnessed such a devastated, beaten expression on his face before. Instead, you settle for ''Will you help me?''. A question asked quietly to your fingers picking at a loose band-aid edge on your arm and pressing it back onto the irritated skin.

After you loosened your seatbelt, he waits for you to carefully place your arms around his neck. It is followed by Kyoutani lifting you out of the car so gently as if he was afraid you might break. This whole situation in itself already contradicting his brash appearance and usual behavior. It would give whiplash to all the people pretending to know him. But he was always caring in his own way when it came to you. It's why you loved him after all. Because you usually knew that he loved you, too.

For a few moments, the atmosphere between the two of you felt awkwardly tense, both of you unsure how to interact with each other. The mostly blonde wing spiker breathed out a sigh of relief when you fully leaned into his chest once he stood upright, resting your head against his shoulder. A bit of maneuvering through the front door eventually lead to Kyoutani passing through the hallway and taking you to your room, where he was gently lowering you down on the bed.

It was a now or never kind of situation. For the both of you. While Kentarou was trying to find out where to begin his apology, he took a few steps back in case you wanted space until everything was cleared up.

You unconsciously helped him making a decision by impulsively grasping onto his shirt the moment he started to withdraw, stopping him in his retreating movement. Kentarou saw your lower lips wobbling, teary eyes looking up at him pleadingly.

''Please stay,'' you say weakly, which is enough for him to throw the whole thinking process away and simply sit down next to you, intertwining both your hands. ''I'm staying. I'm not leaving. Not now nor this relationship if you still want...an ''us''. The wing spiker took a deep, shuttering breath. '' I'm sorry, Y/N…'' he finally manages to say, honey eyes locked onto your linked your hands. ''I have been fucking stupid all week. 've been a fucking terrible boyfriend, the worst to ever exist.''

As if to encourage him...to show your boyfriend that his apology was not for nothing, you shuffled around until the last bit of distance between the two of you was closed. You hum, acknowledging his words while leaning your head on his shoulder.

''I didn't think you're cheating or something, …'' Kyoutani immediately assures you. There was no way he would allow you to think that he would accuse you of something like this. ''I had no reason to be jealous, but I was insecure. Let it get the best of me. Despite our promise to communicate, I was sulking. 't was easier. I'll do whatever the fuck you want for you to not give up yet…'' he says, taking his time with every sentence.

With a sigh, you squeeze his hand. ''It will probably take a lot of cuddling and attention from you...'' you say thoughtfully ''...but I forgive you…if you promise to not do this again…'' you murmur, tilting your head upward to press a chaste kiss to his jaw. ''Otherwise, I'll accept Iwaizumi-san's offer to get your thinking process restarted.'' For a moment, your voice had its usual joking edge. But you knew talking out everything was necessary. ''But, in all honesty, 'Tarou....please, never do this again. I am honest. I will not endure this a second time. When you tell me that you need a day or two for yourself then that is totally fine. If you feel yourself giving into whatever insecurity, talk to me about it. I am sure there will be an explanation or a solution but don't leave me in the dark. Don't treat me like that. I love you. Only you and no one else. But the time love can withstand straight-up ignorance by your partner is limited.''

Slowly, your boyfriend nodded, squeezing your hand to tell you that he understood. You would probably cling to him for a while but were sure that he would survive the extra closeness. Not even half a second later, his head leans onto yours cautiously.

''…and try being nicer to Oikawa-san, Tarou, he hasn't done anything to you.'' You add humorously before small giggles started to erupt from your lips. ''Also...Baby…'' you start, being interrupted by choked-up hiccups and giggles. By using your nickname for him, you take away another persistent fear of his. What he does not miss, however, is how you wince in pain before you continue, ''…who helped you put this into words? I mean…I loved it, but…,'' You leave unsaid that words usually are not his strong fort.

Biting back a smile, he frowns, huffs, and puffs…, but the way you are looking up at him, eyes shining with relief and adoration, allows him to admit defeat. He sighs ''…it's how Yahaba said I should say it…'' It usually would be an odd enough statement to make you throw yourself all over him with laugher. As a slight replacement, you squeeze his hand a bit, still shaking with suppressed laughter. ''I promise…that I will talk to you. Can't promise the Shittykawa part.'' Another soft chuckle leaves your lips before you look up at him again. ''I hope you try nonetheless. You should not let Iwaizumi-san hear you calling Oikawa-san that, though, I don't think this would turn out well for you…so...maybe stop this at least.'' Kentarou rolls his eyes at you, but in the end, he nods.

You wait for another second to clearly distinguish the two topics before you continue. ''…Thank you…for coming and finally speaking with me instead of break-'' A hand on your lips muffles your words.

''Don't say these words. I'd never break up with you,'' Kentarou grumbles, a light, uncharacteristic light pink settling on his cheeks. You stick your tongue out, which leads to him taking his hand off of your face with a surprised noise, rather dumbfounded that you had licked his hand. It gives you the chance to lean up and finally press your lips against his. ''I'm not leaving you either,'' you murmur, feeling his lips twitch upwards slightly. You decide to leave the teasing for another day.

Moving back into your previous position was enough of a hassle to hiss in pain. It brought back Kyoutani's awareness of the second problem at hand. ''What did happen to you?'' Kyoutani asks in an attempt to tamper down the excited, happy beating of his heart.

''Oh, this...uh, when I answered your text, I got driven over by a dude on a bicycle,'' you casually drop. It was kind of entertaining to watch his expressions change at an unequaled pace while processing your words. In the end, it settled into something akin to passive-aggressive worry. The way he was immediately fretting over you while cursing and cussing out the bicycle dude was his own way of caring. As you watch him retrieving the food your mother bought, while mumbling about how you're a dumbass for not paying attention to your surroundings, how he'd come over every day until you could go to school again to bring and teach you the stuff you would miss and how he would fucking murder the bicycle idiot if he ever finds out who dared to drive you over, you can't help the smile forming on your lips.

Once again, you are proven that loving him - while occasionally troublesome and demanding - was everything but wrong.

[i-want-my-iwtv]

it’s nice to hear a different perspective book store worker, but for the record i wasn’t solely referring the under 25 demographic. i know this may be difficult to understand for tumblr users but our lives don’t stop after 25; we don’t curl up, die and suddenly become boomers. sad as it may be, we’re just past prime vampire turning age.

here. i made a funny. am i still young kids?

no but for real there’s exactly one infant in my family and friend group right now, otherwise we’re all 25+. i understand some people don’t think you’re worth anything past that age, as a person or a fan. it sucks.

[Library/book store worker comment here]

it’s nice to hear a different perspective book store worker, but for the record i wasn’t solely referring the under 25 demographic.

Sorry, I'm not sure which anon you are, if you're returning from a previous ask on this topic [1, 2, 3], or are just now coming to the conversation.

This anon seemed disappointed that "people read less and less everyday. i don’t know a single person among my friends or family that bothers to read books of any kind... idk about [the AMC TV series] [bringing] new blood to the fan groups", but they didn't specify what age group they perceive isn't reading, just that "actually i don’t think i’ve met anyone who reads for pleasure since maybe high school."

This anon responded to the previous one that "I think the idea that the show wont bring in new readers is a little ridiculous tbh. Like when a new season of the Witcher TV show comes out the books are always on a waitlist at the local library," which, again, did not specify the age group of the people seeking the books.

I thought it was great to hear from the Library/book store worker anon that people under 25 do read books! They split the demographic to show that both people over & under 25 will read the books:

➡25+ demographic: "Fans of the show will read the books, even if only adult fans enjoy them." - Library/book store worker anon is speaking to the anon's negative feeling that people don't read, reassuring them that older/adult people will read the books. ➡Under 25 demographic: Library/book store worker anon also added, that from their perspective: "over half our customers are under 25," to provide evidence that younger people do read books.

i know this may be difficult to understand for tumblr users but our lives don’t stop after 25; we don’t curl up, die and suddenly become boomers. sad as it may be, we’re just past prime vampire turning age.

here. i made a funny. am i still young kids?

Lol, well, I mean it depends on the vampire media, but there are VC vampire characters over 25 who are turned: Marius, Gabrielle, David (well, technically he's over 25). In other media, probably most of the What We Do in the Shadows TV and movie cast, other than Nick from the WWIDITS movie.

no but for real there’s exactly one infant in my family and friend group right now, otherwise we’re all 25+. i understand some people don’t think you’re worth anything past that age, as a person or a fan. it sucks.

Yeah that does suck, when people say that, it's ageist and narrowminded, people will take low hanging fruit to bully each other on the internet.

So looking back through the conversation, maybe you can point me to where someone said that people who read the books and are over 25 aren't worth anything, I didn't get that impression from any of them...

But YES, people over 25 exist in fandom, engage and contribute in many ways, offering some of our perspective of fandom from our experiences ("what were zines like? what was strikethrough like?"), the questions about canon/characters that people debate over time ("Could Nicki have survived?"), as content creators with the skills we've developed over our lifetimes, offering comments/Kudos on fanart/fic, Likes/Reblogs, etc.

Overall: "Beauty companies will sell you aging is a curse, when in fact it's a blessing not given to most"

[WWDITS/IWTV mashup by @eosphoroz]

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Still on the wrong chosen one au. OK, first there's nothing saying the couple NEEDS to be British, you know?

So imagine this Italian couple who defy an Italian Dark Lord and once the dark lord is defeated...well, they had this lil girl named Antonia.

Antonia is born with this super duper power. Dumby and Voldy find out and Dumby has to face reality. This girl is the chosen wrong.

Ok

How Voldy and Dumby react to that?

OP is referring to this post.

And... I feel like I have to give my general disclaimer again. You guys can ask questions all you like, but there's a chance I may not give you the answer you're looking for. If you have something very specific in mind, then it's honestly best you go and write your own meta or your own fanfic. Only you can give yourself exactly what you want.

I just tell you Bella gets eaten by Edward again.

With that, your question

Why Would Dumbledore and Tom Ever Find Out?

Antonia can be born with super powers all she likes, she's in Italy. From what we see of Wizarding Britain it's an unbelievably insular community. There's some crossover with other nations (Charlie gets a job in Romania, Bill travels to Egypt, Fleur is French) but it notably doesn't cross Harry's radar that often.

Dumbledore is so focused on Harry/Britain/Tom that I doubt news of some ridiculously talented Italian girl would even cross his notice. Not British? He doesn't care.

Similarly, Tom might hear of her, think "maybe recruit" but he doesn't seem to be all that international and as of canon is trying to crawl out of his own grave. It's not even on his radar at that point and has nothing really to do with him, this girl's parents presumably didn't defy him three times and if he's not the dark lord then so much the better.

Basically, I see no reason for them to ever conclude that Harry's not the chosen one. Even in canon, there were many more talented than Harry right in Hogwarts/Britain, didn't bother them.

God Smacks Them On the Head

But alright.

Somehow, these two are given irrefutable proof that Antonia is the chosen one, not Harry Potter.

I imagine Tom cheers. The prophecy hanging over his head is null and void: he is not the dark lord. He didn't even know this girl existed until two seconds ago, didn't do anything to her parents, and her parents were murdered by some Italian hack. This has nothing to do with him and thus he is not doomed to failure.

As for Dumbledore, I... imagine he tries to refuse to admit it. However, your ask forbids this, Dumbledore must admit the truth the power of God (who is me).

Well, he panics, that's what he does. He dumps Harry like it's hot (who cares if he lives or dies, he is no longer of use) and makes a mad dash to bring this girl to England and have her use her mighty power to slay the dark lord (praying to Merlin the girl doesn't become a dark lady herself, which seems all too possible).

I imagine this doesn't go well. This girl's a foreigner, has no reason to go to England, only has vague awareness of Voldemort, and sees no reason she should fight Great Britain's battles. Not to mention I imagine Tom gets there first to bribe her into not going to war with him on Dumbledore's behest.

Harry probably does something very stupid in his UTLIMATE RAGE at Dumbledore suddenly ignoring him/not being the boy who lived anymore. This may or may not get both him and his friends killed.

Dumbledore will go horcrux hunting sooner or later, curse his hand, and die. Only as he focused all his attention on Antonia, he fails to recruit anyone to continue the horcrux hunt. He has to leave it to Snape: this probably gets Snape caught and murdered.

Tom wins.