#i may be getting the lore wrong sorry abt that lmao

[chirpycloudyrobin]

An AU set at a nebulous, post-canon point in time where they're still searching for kdj somehow and they end up in a parallel universe where they encounter a peculiar hidden scenario : the company needs to rescue a constellation chained within an abandoned mall complex. their reward is SS-class gear and the support of that parallel universe's <Underworld> nebula.

the constellation had taken the form of a horned, winged young man with dark hair and a certain white coat.

the issue ? their modifier isn't <Demon King of Salvation>.

it's <Elysian Prince of Life and Death>

is it really kdj ? or is it something wearing his face ?

The last of the chains disappeared into dust with hardly a sound. The group waits with bated breath as the figure stands up, their movement making ripples on the shallow waters surrounding them.

When the figure opens their eyes, they reveal pools of dark obsidian shining with the light of a thousand stars. A familiar yet unfamiliar smile stretches luscious pink lips. Their starry gaze shoots directly into Yoo Joonghyuk's worn and battered soul.

The figure speaks and it takes every one of them a moment to realise that the voice coming from that face is wrong and right and just a little bit off to the side. It's layers upon layers of the same voice. Young, old, content, anguished, alive, dying... It's someone's voice from different parts of their life condensed into a single instance.

“You wear their faces,” The layered voice echoes. “But you are not them.”

The figure's head tilts. It is then when they realise that a slowly spinning crown of starlight had materialised on the figure's head.

“What's your story?”

[coveholdenmyluv]

Mean Girls - Eren Jaeger

synopsis. Eren's the new kid at Trost Academy and being fresh meat in his senior year isn't easy. Especially so when the only friends he's made yet have managed to convince him to help them mess with "The Plastics". The problem?

He's got the biggest crush on their queen bee, Y/N.

series masterlist.

chapter warnings. Foul language, rich ppl, mentions of vomit, mentions of shitting your pants (what even are these warnings LMAO), laxatives, mentions of giving a character laxatives, hitch is a bitch (I love her I’m sorry I made her like this), drama drama drama, a lot of menstrual product talk (these characters are very comfortable talking abt these things!)

chapter synopsis. From a brawl at the supermarket to a meeting with the Queen bee’s arch nemesis, our trio’s plan preparations seem to be coming together! Though, will learning some lore regarding our resident plastics impede on Eren’s drive? Perhaps the future isn’t looking so bright for our revenge seekers…

chapter 2. Fuck with the Plastics: start

"Bag secured, over." Mikasa spoke in her usual monotone voice.

"And... you're completely sure that this will only make her a bit gassy, right 'kasa?" Armin spoke next, the shake in his voice painfully obvious even through the speaker of Eren's phone. With no answer, he tries again, "Guys? Hello?"

Silence.

"You're supposed to say 'over', Armin!"

"Oh! Over."

"Alright, mine is secured too... over?" Eren announced as he slipped his arm through the plastic bag, doing his best to be inconspicuous, though the hood over his head isn't helping his case. His attire was mostly to calm his troubled conscience.

The three way call had one purpose and a very important one at that.

Phase one of 'Fuck with The Plastics'.

"Good boy," Mikasa purred and Eren swore he could hear the mischievous grin his reply had caused to form on her face. "Now Armin, relax. All this is gonna do is make her tummy a bit upset, a little gas here and there never hurt anyone. She'll get the humiliation she made Eren bear... only much much worse because of her status, plus ruin her chances of winning this highly anticipated game and possibly her entire athletic career. Over."

"Please, stop repeating what could go wrong. I'm getting nauseous again..." Eren groans into the speaker.

"Mikasa, you say that now but, what if she's allergic to it or something? Ohmylanta, what if she dies?!" Armin screeches and Eren fears he may begin to wail soon. "I don't wanna go to jail guys! I can't go back!"

"Geez Louise, Armin." Eren winces as he pulls the phone away from his ear. "My ears are bleeding."

"Oh wait Eren, now that you reminded me, can you get me some pads from the store? My cycle is pretty heavy today." Mikasa asks.

"Uh, T-M-I Mikasa..." Armin mutters as he glances around the student aid center. His portion of contribution to the trio's master plan is arguably the least interesting, though the boy didn't seem to mind. All he was put in charge of was attaining their tickets for the game, which they receive free of charge with their student ID's.

"Mikasa, I'm literally already walking out of the store." Eren says exasperatedly, though his pace has already begun to falter in preparation for his U-turn.

"Well then, go back? If I bleed out all over the bleachers, it's your jacket I'm using to wipe it clean. The ball is in your court."

"Oh my gosh, fine!" Eren relents. "What size?"

"XXL."

Silence reigns over the three, and Eren swears everyone in the supermarket had audibly halted all movements along with them.

"Mikasa, you know damn well..." Armin begins.

"Armin! Shut the hell up, the length helps with my leakage so mind your own business!"

"Zayum, okay geez."

"Wings or no wings?" Eren asks, already having made his way back into the multiple isles freshly restocked.

"Wings, please. I want to be ready for anything." The girl answers ominously.

"I don't even want to know what that means. I'll head back to the academy after I'm done with this, where do you guys want to meet?"

"The restrooms near the cafeteria are right beside the doors that lead to a path straight to the stadium. We can meet there." Armin suggests, already beginning to make his way towards the meeting spot.

"Okay. Actually, since I'm here, do you guys want any snacks for the game?" Eren asks while he grabs a box of fruit roll ups and a bag of hot Cheetos for himself. "How long does a soccer game last?"

"A little under an hour and thirty minutes, and that's if they don't go into over time which they probably will, considering who they're playing against." Mikasa answers, "Oh, and I'll take an oat meal crème pie and a red Gatorade. But! The one with the twistable cap that you can suck on."

"We'll see how long this one will last with what we have planned, though." Armin mutters into the speaker anxiously, "Anyway, I'll take some Skittles, baby Gerber puffs, Teddy Grahams, Hubba Bubba, strawberry Hello Pandas, Scooby-Doo snacks, Gushers, Pirate's Booty-"

Eren hangs up before the other boy could finish, deciding it wasn't worth his weekly allowance.

He had already arrived at the feminine hygiene products aisle by the time Armin had sent him the remaining 27 items on his wishlist for tonight, which Eren promptly ignored. The wall that held most of the menstrual supplies was expanse and slightly intimidating to the teenage boy's eyes, though that was not to say he was taken off guard. Having a close relationship with your mother desensitizes you to a large amount of aspects of womanhood that most immature boys his age would either cringe at or ridicule.

He knows the brand his mother uses is best for absorbing, but they're not the best at being discreet. He wonders which Mikasa would prefer, though he decides that coverage and preventing leakage must have been her priority considering her earlier words. Deciding upon the trustworthy brand he had always picked up on late night pad runs with his mom, he notices how it seems to be the only brand that has yet to be restocked. The one in his hand being the very last one in XXL.

As he turns to leave the isle, a high pitched voice, practically whining curse words, catches his attention. Before he instinctively turns his head towards the sound, he internally prays for there to be no reenactment of his first encounter with Armin, knowing he couldn't bear to handle another stereotypical bully, much less work up the courage to stand up to them once more. 

"They don't have that one today, I swear I've looked everywhere!" The, now visible, person speaks into the cell phone clutched to his ear. "I don't know? Does everyone suddenly use the biggest size available? I know you do not need double X."

It seems to be a young boy, perhaps only a few years younger than Eren himself, with messily styled H/C hair and a few piercings adorning his delicate face.

"The one with the purple flowers on the box or the navy blue one with the stars?" The young boy asks, his impatience slowly making its way into his features.

Wait, purple flowers?

Eren's gaze moves back toward the box in his hands and his eyes trace those exact purple flowers printed and plastered smack dab in the center. Though, he knows there are tons of other brands that use matching floral patterns, perhaps this boy was looking for the one with the green background instead of the pink one Eren held.

"The one with the pink box, right?" The boy asks.

Well, perhaps he was searching for the 7 hour wear edition instead of the 8 hour one Eren got for Mikasa. Surely that was the case-

"8 hour version? Do you need to charge it or something, why is there a time limit?"

Certainly he couldn't be looking for the same size, not many people would be as paranoid as Mikasa due to leakage-

"Mm, XXL? Oh, cause of leakage, got it."

Run, that's what Eren needs to do. He knows how far passionate boyfriends would go for their lovers, especially ones as young as the boy he is sharing the aisle with. Kids his age will either pay romantic relationships no heed or take them far too seriously.

Though, before he could pivot in the other direction, the boy ends the call and turns to presumably search for the pink floral box in the size XXL. Coincidentally, the exact box Eren plans to buy.

The last box.

Green meets E/C.

His heart drops to his ass and his arm hastily shields the prized object behind his back as visible sweat forms on his forehead. Though, truly his efforts were all for naught.

Silence follows as the two teenagers hold eye contact, one accompanied with worry creases near his brows and the other with an unamused pout to his lips.

"Those are the last double X they have in stock, aren't they?"

"...Perchance..."

The H/C boy sighs and holds his hands up in surrender. "Look, dude. I come in peace, it's fine. What do I look like to you? Someone who would go batshit over menstrual products?" Eren shakes his head hastily, to which the younger boy agrees. Of course, what was Eren thinking? Incriminating a person who looked to be no older than the age of 15 was not cool on his part.

"You're right, My bad."

Letting any past thoughts flee his mind, Eren resumes his standstill with the stranger, neither seemingly knowing what to do next...

...before the stranger juts a finger behind Eren and exclaims, "Hey, look over there, it's TSwift!"

"What?! Where?!"

Eren was tackled to the ground and landed with a coherent 'oof', the assailant clambering on top of his chest and tugging at his arms to loosen the tight grip on the box that remains in his hands.

"That was a low blow, you psycho! I haven't seen her since I was in fifth grade!" Eren whines as he tries to free himself. Deciding that his actions were amounting to nothing, he thrusts the box away from his body and above his head, the cardboard sliding across the tiled floor of the supermarket.

"Morality is non-existent when it comes to the last box of pads, pretty boy!" The younger boy grits as he abandons Eren's body in favor of stumbling to his feet to reach the box.

As the boy steps over his head, Eren grabs onto one of his leather boots, causing him to plummet with his fingers outstretched only inches away from the prize. Eren flips himself onto his stomach and scrambles over the other boy, laying a palm atop his face to thwart his vision. In retaliation, though not after a sharp squawk, the boy chomps on the fingers overlaid his mouth, causing the brunet to cry out in pain.

"Give up!" The boy demands, "I don't care if I have to bite every one of your fingers off, I'll be leaving with that box!" He declares and delivers a torturous blow to Eren's crotch, causing him to wheeze and topple over in pain. "Aha!" The boy proclaims as he nears his victory, emitting a cry of premature success.

Though, before his slender fingers are able to reach the jackpot, his worst fear is born into existence.

"My Prada boots!" He squeals in agony and fear as Eren holds the cherished shoe above his head triumphantly and a pained smirk creases onto his face. "Don't you dare you monster, they're monolith!"

"You rich people are all the same," Eren scoffs as he throws the boot aways behind him, not sparing a glance in the direction as the boy abandons the box in favor of running over to his beloved shoe. Eren limps over to the pink box and swipes it up with an exhausted sigh escaping his lips. "I win." He states in a cocky tone, taking pride over the brawl he emerged victorious from, already preening at the amount of bragging rights he had just earned himself. "Mikasa, you owe me big time- ack!"

Not without a war cry, the unrelenting stranger rams a shopping cart into Eren's body, forcing the brunet back onto the ground and causing the box to slip out of his grasp and slide onto the floor once again.

"Never mess with my Prada boots again," He heaves and delicately steps over to the abandoned box, taking it into his hold and placing a kiss atop the the printed flowers. "Auggie, you're awesome." He then turns to face Eren and boldly upturns his pierced nose at the sight of the older boy sprawled on the floor. "You put up a good fight, unfortunately for you I reign superio-"

"I didn't hear a bell!" Eren shouts as he springs up and tackles the shorter boy, resulting in the two wrestling on the ground once again, just as they had originally started. Scratching, kicking, and biting their way across the floor, though noticeably making zero progress towards the box they both sought out.

An awkward cough acts as the bucket of cold water that halts their movements, both boys craning their heads in the direction of the sound alike deers in headlights.

An employee that hauled a cart filled to the brim with pink cardboard boxes and printed purple flowers decorating their surfaces stood before their tangled ball of limbs, gifting them a critical stare. Leisurely, and hesitatingly so, she tucks the prized boxes where they belong, before scurrying away with her haul of products stacked into her squeaky cart.

An air of silence follows the departure of the poor retail worker, both boys remaining stunned by the sudden appearance. Though, after realizing what a compromising position they had been caught in, the unraveling of their limbs went unspoken as they stood simultaneously.

Another awkward cough, though this one originating from the brunet, filled the vacant space between the two. Eren grabs ahold of one of the boxes that was recently stocked, his head hanging low in embarrassment. "So..." He utters hesitatingly.

The younger boy clears his throat, "M sry." He mutters.

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry! ...I know that Tswift joke was wrong of me."

Eren sighs in resignation, now realizing how idiotic his actions were, especially considering the fact that he seemed to be the older of the two. "It's fine. I guess we were both signed up for errand boy today, huh?"

The stranger shook his head, "Yeah but, to be honest, this is my first time going on a pad run for my sister. I wasn't 'old enough' a few years ago, and even then we don't usually do our own shopping. Our butler handles all of that."

"Oh..." It was stupid of Eren to forget that most people in his city were lathered in riches, but he did. His recent encounter with this new boy only furthered his forgetfulness, because what sort of opulent teenage boy was willing to engage in a full out brawl for a box of pads? "Well, either way. I'm guessing these aren't for you?"

"Nah, they're for my sister's friends. But, she can get pretty impatient real quickly and I'm not in the mood to deal with teenage Godzilla. She'd probably run me over with her convertible."

The mental image of Godzilla driving a convertible, only to then run over an edgy teen made Eren chuckle, "I get it, this size seems to be in high demand."

"My sister says that it's because of leakage, whatever the hell that means. I don't even think I want to know."

Eren smiled sympathetically, little brother ignorance was something he knew about all too well. "So, why are you here instead of your butler? I think I would have stood a better chance against him if I'm being honest."

The boy shrugs nonchalantly, "She says it's an emergency. Those girls can get pretty scary when in a state of panic. For being older than me, you'd think they'd be better at dealing with stress."

"I understand completely." Eren huffed in exhaustion, "My friends and I are dealing with these real popular kids at our school, we've got an ulterior motive of course, but we've seen a fair share of their antics and I can tell we'll have our hands full. At least the pay off will be worth it. We have a whole plan and everything."

The boy cackled a laugh that shook his whole body and clapped a palm onto the older boy's shoulder, "You don't say? What's such a good prize worth dealing with what seems to be a bunch of rich maggots eating away at your soul?" He asked.

"Well, it has to do with this girl..." Eren begun to attempt to elucidate the entire situation to this stranger but in the end only arrived with stutters, before he decided that the effort of reliving his trauma was not worth it. He sighed, "It's a long story."

Unexpectedly, a highly pitched rendition of 'I'm Just a Kid' began to chime in the stranger's pants, causing him to wince and groan in annoyance. "A story that I can't stay for, unfortunately." He muttered before slipping the device out of his pocket. "It's Godzilla." He confirmed his suspicions but made no moves to accept the call. Instead, he offered a jeweled hand towards the brunet.

This hand wasn't like the one that was offered to him earlier today. Instead of diamonds and gold, silver and various colored stones wrapped around this boy's digits, crowning them with luxury and status.

"My name's Augustine, but you can call me August." He paired with a friendly grin, bringing attention to the silver lip ring hung on his bottom lip.

For some reason, this boy struck something within Eren. He didn't know what it was, but there was a sense of reminiscence flooding his senses when he stared at his smile. The reminiscence that creeps up on you when you look at your sibling and recognize that the shirt they have on is in fact not theirs but yours.

He can't put his finger on it... but August reminded him of someone.

Nonetheless, he excepted his dressed hand with his own bare one. "Eren, it's just Eren."

"Alright, just Eren. I have to go, but hopefully I'll see you around!" August called out as he scampered down the aisle before Eren could have gotten another word of parting out.

What a nice guy, Eren hopes to see him again.

After grabbing the snacks that his newest friends had ordered, promptly ignoring 25 items on Armin's list, he pays the nice woman working the register and makes his departure. By the time he steps back on the pavement, the sun has begun its decent, painting the concrete buildings and vibrant trees in a golden hue.

Trost truly is a beautiful district — the architecture alone places it on a superior level when compared to many other extravagant districts out there.

Eren himself has never lived the kind of life that his new friends or acquaintances were born into. Although having a successful doctor for a dad, it was never an aspect that had ever brought upon wealth for the Jeager family. His mom rapidly rising in her fashion designer career is what has brought him to such a district as this one. Mrs. Jaeger is well on her way to being known for her individuality, and he couldn't be filled with more pride.

Having to leave his old school was pretty easy for him, he had never had many friends there anyway. Sure there were the few he could greet in the hallways, but none that had ever willingly stricken a genuine conversation with him, much less an interesting one. Though, that's not to say the experience of moving out of the blue in your senior year was something he was excited about either, that wouldn't be a nice time for anyone.

It was just his luck that he'd already made a fool out of himself on his very first day. In front of his crush to boot.

Y/N Ackerman.

He wouldn't lie to himself and proclaim that he has no feelings towards the girl. He quite literally puked on her because the amount of emotions she made him feel at a single glance proved to be overbearing to his body. Though, a portion of himself finds itself conflicted. Actually, scratch that - multiple portions of himself find themselves conflicted. As if the little people in his head are arguing against each other, and he isn't sure which side he should be on.

On one hand, the purple person that he decides to name Armeen is arguing that he should hate the girl. Mikasa said that Y/N had surely made it her goal to embarrass Eren in an attempt to solidify her superiority against him and that she was a vicious person with the ugliest soul she had ever seen. 

On another, the red person, Mika Mika, proclaimed that he already hates her. Armin and Mikasa have informed him of her vile friends, the people she willingly surrounds herself with. She condones their actions by mere association. Not to mention the absolute joke she had made of him, which was sure to have cost him a year's worth of ill-repute. Hell, probably even the rest of his soon to be miserable life.

But then, as if he had grown a sudden third hand, there appeared a pink person. This one unnamed, whispered details the other two would surely never approve of. How could she be a vicious person, when she had went out of her own way to not only invite him, but his only friends, to her highly anticipated game AND her own home, knowing that everyone in their grade had heard the abrupt invitation? She was willingly attempting to help him fix his image. How could the person those little people in his head describe as ruthless and callous, ever make his insides light on fire, as if he was a skewered rotisserie chicken on a white Sunday morning? How could the devil herself bring upon him feelings only talked about in movies?

Manipulation.

Gaslighting someone to their wits' end by batting her fluffy lashes. It's an old tactic really, but one that would never die out, nor could it. Eren isn't stupid, he knows the truth of the situation. How dire a messy set up like this could have affected her reputation as well, he gets it. Understands that measures need to be taken to prevail through such a trying time. When you're at the top, tiptoeing a razors edge, everyone at the bottom has a clear shot to shoot you down. Those mean comments and accusations of prejudice are just the paint strokes crafting a precise target onto her back.

But, to bring him and his friends into her little scheme?

To escape that threat, you need to move, and to move, you need stepping stones. Eren won't let himself or his friends be used as stepping stones.

That's exactly the reason why the three of them have developed a plan to knock her off of her prodigious throne. No longer will they allow the Queen Bee of Trost Academy to continue her reign of exploitation.

Instead, she will... shit her pants?

Well, that's the best they could come up with, so it'll have to do.

It was simple in nature really, Eren simply needed to buy her a drink, one that Mikasa claims has always been her favorite pick to drink before a game, though Eren still questions how she even had that information, and then he will offer that said drink to her as a peace offering.

A seemingly innocent gesture, except it's not. Mikasa was in charge of acquiring laxatives which they would infuse into the refreshment, which Y/N would drink and whatever happened next would be left up to fate. Though, Armin had elucidated three paths that which this plan could take.

Probability 1: She'd harbor a stomach ache, forcing her to be benched due to her poor performance, effectively eliminating the captain of Trost's varsity soccer team. Ruining her image, their chances of winning their vital game of the year, and her life.

Probability 2: She'd fart up a storm, or worse, ruining her image of the ideal senior of the year, their chances of winning their vital game of the year, and her life.

Probability 3: She'd pull an Eren and projectile vomit all over her teammates and opponents. Ruining her stellar image, their chances of winning their vital game of the year, and her life.

The third was preferred for their goal of seeking revenge, but they wouldn't complain if either of the other two played out perfectly.

"Finally, Eren! You took so long, we started to wonder if you had gotten lost on the way here." Armin says as the boy approaches their meeting spot.

"I did, three times. There is no need for this school to be so damn huge."

"Well, you're here now so..." Mikasa surreptitiously looks over her shoulder and then Eren's, "You got the goods?" She asks.

"Stop acting shifty Mikasa, you're making me nervy." Eren rebukes, eyes glancing from side to side in paranoia.

"Do you have it or not." She exasperatedly asks. He timidly ushers the plastic bag her way, his back moving to obstruct the exchange from any prying eyes. "Good boy, keep me covered and I'll crush these bad boys and then pour them in."

"Hurry 'Kasa, I don't wanna go to jail!" Armin's nerves get the best of him, and just as Mikasa began to pour the laxatives into the energy drink, his trembling palms latch onto her shoulders and begin to shake her back and forth. Unfortunately, the forcible motions cause her hand to slip and pour more than what was necessary for what they had planned. "Oops..." He breathes.

Eren's jaw drops at the amount, "Holy shit, are you- are you sure that's okay?" A dramatic gasp forcibly rasps his throat, "She's not actually gonna die, right?!"

"Uhm... no... I don't think so."

"What do you mean, you don't think so?!" He screeches.

"Ohmygosh,we'regoingtojailI'mnotbuiltforthatimgonnadie-"

"Armin, chill." Mikasa grits, before twisting the cap of the bottle and giving it a good shake. "She'll be fine, we're not going to jail. All that'll change is the addition of one more possibility, which is shitting her pants for real."

"I thought we were only joking about that? You mean she'll actually shart herself?" Eren asks.

"Yeah," Mikasa declares with no amount of remorse in her irises, simply tilting her head to face him head on, smirk standing proud on her lips. "Even better than we planned, right? Give the bitch the humiliation she deserves."

After a moment of maintaining arduous eye contact with the ravenette, Eren relents, throwing his head back to stare at the ceiling instead and interlocking both hands in his shaggy hair. "You're crazy. Like deadass, you belong in a mental hospital."

"Okay but, wait. The bottle is already open, no one who has a right mind would accept an already opened drink from someone she met yesterday." Armin points out, ever the observer.

"Well, she's gonna have to in order for this plan to work..." Mikasa mumbles, lips pursing in thought. "Oh, Eren! Why don't you be a doll and offer to open it for her, that way she wouldn't even notice it has already been open." She announces with a proud nod, clearly impressed with her solution.

Eren however, isn't as impressed. If anything, the pit in his stomach twists and turns even tighter, bringing forth creases onto the surface of his skin as his face lightly scrunches in disgust. Playing a direct hand in the demise of anyone's athletic career can be catastrophic to the psyche, though he doubts Mikasa's is being affected much if at all.

"Fine."

"Good boy-"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Anyway, we should get going now. Or else, we'd be late. The game starts in 20 minutes, and the walk there is about five, give or take. Though, the introductions take up a good 10 to 15." She ignores the boy.

"Plus, we still need to find seats. Hopefully we won't have to sit on the opposing team's side, or else we'd be royally fucked." Armin adds as they exit the school building.

The pathway that leads them directly towards the stadium is beautiful and cleanly. The school itself is exceptionally cared for, with vibrant green bushes that looked as if they were clipped with the utmost precision. Marbled vases for various other plants and polished benches littered across the lawn oozed a luxurious aura.

"Who are they playing against?" Eren asks.

"I think it's Stohess Prep." Armin answers.

"Oh, that means drama~" Mikasa adds, "10 bucks Levi chokes out Coach Nile?"

"Mm, nah. 20 bucks it's Ymir and Hitch." Armin replies, pointer finger prodding at the fat of his cheek in thought.

"Oh, I forgot about those two. 30 Y/N is forced to step in either way."

"40 bucks she joins."

"50 that they recreate that one Euphoria scene from season 2."

"60 someone yells plus ultra."

"70 bucks Y/N gets hit by a bus and dies."

"..."

"..."

"Okay, you need an exorcist." Armin quips.

"I've been wondering, why do you hate her so much? There's gotta be history you're not telling me." Eren asks the girl.

It was true, he can feel the animosity she seemingly reigns in 24/7 and he wonders if it was at all reciprocated. Though, he has the feeling that it's heavily one sided.

"Mikasa and Y/N-"

"Armin, shut it." The girl grits before her friend could have thought to utter the remainder of his statement.

Eren groans, "Armin, don't shut it. Open it. Open it wide."

"Don't word it like that, Eren..."

"I just don't see the point," Mikasa admits, though her face was telling to how difficult the situation seems to be for her, "What's in the past should be left there, why open up that can of worms?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but it's pretty damn obvious that those worms have been out for a while now. You don't think I've noticed how personal this seems to be for you?" Eren rebuts.

"Oh, and I'm not supposed to notice how personal this is for you? As in, more than just some revenge brought upon by petty high school humiliation?" She challenges, and her piercing gaze bore into Eren's own. "You've made your little crush pretty obvious, the addition of this information might change more than you think it would, Eren."

"Who I have a crush on is none of your business. Besides, yeah, I'll admit I'm not blind, I can tell Y/N is an attractive girl. You can't blame me for admitting so, but a silly little school crush is just a silly little school crush at the end of the day. I don't get how your past with her had anything to do with something as minuscule as that."

Mikasa's arms crossed before her chest in frustration, and she kept her head forward, not relenting at unsealing her lips. Though, Armin, being placed in the middle of both teens, hates being a quiet middleman.

"Y/N and Mikasa are cousins." He blurts.

Eren's jaw drops, "What?!" His fingers thread through his hair once again, this time gripping at the roots because what the actual fuck. "You're fucking with me, right?"

Armin shakes his head vehemently, "Deadass. They even have the same last name! You'd have never guessed, right?"

"Well, not really. Like, at all."

"Trust me, I wish it wasn't true either." Mikasa sighs.

Eren's arms flail before him defensively, "No! It's not that I wish it weren't true, it's just that it's hard to believe considering how you guys are like polar opposites. I mean she's so... y'know-" He awkwardly shrugs his shoulders, expecting the action to speak the words he couldn't find in himself to utter out loud. "And you're... y'know..."

Armin coughs, "Emo."

"I'm not emo! As a matter of fact, I'm not even a goth, contrary to popular belief. I'm just edgy, how hard is it to look up, people?!"

"...what's the difference?"

"Oh, shut up, Armin! That's why your balls haven't dropped!"

"You promised you wouldn't bring that up anymore!"

"Armin, your balls haven't dropped?"

"Oh, look! We're here!"

As Eren looked before them, he was met with the front of an impressive industrialized soccer stadium. The words 'Home of the Scouts' were engraved above the entrance in proud bold letters. He notices that they are currently standing in the middle of the massive parking lot, containing multiple first class busses bearing the titles 'Stohess Stallions'.

Guessing that those belong to the opposing team, and that team was no where to be found, Eren concludes that both teams must be inside already. Which begs the question, how late is this trio?

"You're in the way."

Eren nearly jumps out of his skin at the sudden stern voice, and the freight was not limited to himself. Armin squeaks and hides behind his two friends, using them as human shields, though Mikasa simply whips around with a nasty scowl at her face because, who would have the audacity?

Oh, that's who.

"Hitch." She grits.

Coming face to face with a group of girls clad in forest green shorts and jersey's, though their matching team jackets obscured the latter, was intimidating, to say the least. The one standing with the most pride, right at the front and center, wore a smug smirk on her face that her short and wavy dirty blonde hair framed beautifully.

"Well, well, well, would you look at who we have here." She drawls with a laugh. "This is such an interesting trio you guys have going on."

"Mikasa who is this, and why did she come up to us like an anime villain?" Eren whispers towards the ravenette.

"Just our luck." The girl mutters under her breath, not at all a just answer in Eren's eyes, but he was not about to voice his thoughts.

The stranger eyeballs Eren in a way that a certain Ackerman did just a few hours earlier in the day, though this time it did not have him weak in the knees, instead an eerie shiver ran down the length of his spine and caused him to gulp down a yelp.

"Come lookin' for a barf bag, new kid?" She decides to single him out directly, "You know, it's almost funny. I always have the same reaction you did when I see Ackerman as well! I don't blame you, hell, I'd even praise you if it wasn't so disgustingly embarrassing." She jests. "You are new aren't ya? Man, the balls you must have to pull that stunt on your very first day. Oh, the look on her face was enough to have me in tears, I've got to tell you."

"It wasn't on purpose." He mumbles with an eye roll.

"Oh, be careful Hitch. You'll make him mad and we just had our jerseys dry cleaned." Comes a voice from beside her, one of her teammates presumably. This draws out many more chuckles from the group of girls, causing Eren's cheeks to heat up from the jab at his poor stomach.

That voice, low but smooth, causes both Armin and Mikasa to stiffen, as if they had recognized it.

"No way..." Armin mutters, his eyes widening in surprise as the owner of the voice made herself visible.

Another blonde, though this one a paler tone, with glacial blue eyes and a sloped nose emerged from the group, a large bag slung over her shoulders and purple cleats hanging from her fingers.

She had an aura about her, one familiar to Eren. One that wrapped itself around every throat and forced the people around her to pay her heed.

"You're right, Annie. Coach would bench us if we happened to sully them and he can't afford to bench his star players." Hitch agrees, though her eyes are not on her apparent teammate. Instead, they seemed to be inspecting Armin and Mikasa's faces, clearly amused by their starstruck expressions.

"Kasa, do something..." Armin whispers.

"What do you want me to do, hex her?"

"Mikasa, long time no see." Annie continues. It seems that the two know each other, perhaps they are old friends? What a heartwarming reunion. "How's it feel living in your cousins shadow?"

Or, perhaps not.

Mikasa's eyes darken and she begins to fumble in her bag for a pair of scissors, "I quite like the shadows, it gives me a place to properly plan your downfall. Maybe even your murder."

Hitch gasps and feigns a frightened expression, "Oh shiver me timbers, small emos are so scary."

"I'll show you scary cunt-"

"Hey hey hey! What's going on here?" Connie unexpectedly appears from behind the trio, his arms making their way around their shoulders. "You guys will be late if you keep loitering around."

"You could never be Bokuto." One of the girls murmur.

"Oh, Connie, I'm so glad you're here. Bend down a little will you? I feel like I have something stuck in my teeth." Hitch jests as she rubs a finger across her pearly whites.

"Aha, funny." Connie grits, "Hey, how's Marlowe by the way? I imagine he's better since he left you for, who was it again?" He asks with a false pensive look.

"Her mom." Armin declares with a proud grin.

The girl clenches her jaw and scowls, "Fuck you, Connie. Isn't yours chilling upside down on a roof?"

"Wrong AU, hitch."

"At least my hair doesn't make me look like I call corporate." Connie retorts.

"Yeah, well at least-"

"Hitch, we don't have time for this." Annie interrupts, holding her wrist out and allowing her teammate to glance at her watch... is that a Rolex? "We still need to warmup."

Eren doesn't think he has ever seen Connie's eyes darken as much as they did then, shooting daggers at the blonde on par with the ones Mikasa fires at her cousin. "You finally decide to talk, Annie?" He calls the girl out.

Without even sparing him a glance, she states a monotone, "I have nothing to say to you." And walks away from the group in pursuit for the entrance.

Following her departure, Hitch scowls at the fact that she too should follow. "Whatever, I'll save my energy for your little friends on the field. You better watch your captain, it'd be a shame if she forgets her place and mysteriously finds herself on her knees where she belongs."

"Don't dish out what you can't take." Connie asserts.

The girl simply rolls her eyes, "Let's go." She says and takes her leave, taking her army of followers along with her.

"Saweetie did it better!" Armin yells after her, to which Mikasa agrees and waves her hand daintily at the group.

"Man, you are having the worst of luck today, aren't you, Eren?" Connie says with a guffaw.

Eren groans and holds his head in his hands. "Trust me, I know."

"I'm surprised you held your own, Connie. Considering that was literally Annie... and she's with Stohess." Mikasa says.

The boy sighs, "Yeah, I know. Fortunately, Reiner found out yesterday, so we weren't as blind sided. Though, we still haven't told the team, and that's been a topic of discourse amongst a couple of our friends." He answers, and the pained expression on his face almost forces Eren to feel sorry for him.

Almost.

Shaking his head lightly to disperse his frown, he instead returns his attention towards the brunet once again. "Anyway, don't worry about Hitch. She's always like that. It's petty school rivalry shit that we used to have with Marley till they shut that school down. Now Stohess thinks they need to step up and claim the spot as our rivals." He explains, though Eren laughs at the ridiculousness of his joke.

They're in high school, clearly it wouldn't actually be that serious, right?

Why is Eren the only one laughing?

"No literally, look." Connie says and juts a finger towards the busses they had spotted earlier. Eren hadn't spotted it before, but right under the school name seemed to be the words, 'Trost Academy rivals! Fuck Marley and Fuck Trost!'

"Oh..." Eren utters breathily, "We're too old for this shit."

"Anyway, we should really get going or else we won't find good seats." Armin ushers his friends with his hands.

"Oh!" Connie exclaims with a newfound grin, one that Eren thinks fits him better than his previous frown. "Don't worry about your seats, you can come chill with us. We've already saved some for you guys."

Armin gasps dramatically and his eyes nearly bulge out of his skull. "Y-you mean, your VIP section? We get to sit in VIP?!" He screeches. Even Mikasa seems taken aback, her jaw slack and her brows hiding behind her bangs, though she didn't dare voice it.

"Yup! Though I had no idea it was called that, Sasha is gonna freak when I tell her!" The teen buzzes with anticipation. "I'll lead the way, come on."

As they begin to follow him, Eren leans into Armin's ear to ask, "Why are they called the VIP seats?"

Armin sputters, "Why else, Eren? They're the best seats in the stadium. The plastics are the only ones to ever use the space, but today we're making history."

"We haven't even told you about the rest of their clique." Mikasa adds.

"The rest? There're more than the eight we've talked about?"

"Oh Eren... there are levels to this shit, okay? Not to mention, lore." Armin says whilst his fingers wiggle before Eren's face to build suspense.

"For instance, remember Annie from earlier? The blondie with blue eyes and a tongue as sharp as a dagger?" Mikasa asks.

"Yeah?"

"Well, she might not act like it, but she's a retired plastic."

"What? You mean she attended Trost at one point? Also, you can retire? Why would she retire?"

"She didn't just attend Trost, she was a founding member of the plastics. A true OG. She helped run our halls. In fact, I'd go as far to say that she was once closer to Y/N than Jean has ever been." Armin said.

"Then, what would make her willingly give that up?"

"Something so simple and obvious, yet achingly torturous that you wouldn't help but sympathize with her. Especially someone like you, wearing your heart on your sleeve like that." Mikasa lightly jabs at her friend.

"Just tell me, 'kasa. I'm not as soft hearted as you think I am." Eren grumbles.

"Unrequited love."

Eren's breath catches in his throat at her words, for he couldn't believe what she was implying. "W-what? You're telling me..."

"Yup," Armin decides to finish his sentence, "We're not sure which way it went or how exactly it went down, but...

One of those girls loved the other far deeper than just mere friendship."

Taglist: @idreamitski @str4wberrylover @jesus-son-of-god @hoejosblindfold @caycaysblogg @simpingmyassoff @youatemylollipop @enouche @longestline [comment to be added, dm to be removed!]

A/N: im sorry this took so long, its shorter than the last but twice as long as my first draft 😟

[brightgoat]

Hey hi! I’ve been an avid follower of yours for awhile for your Pucci art but, this green child au has me hooked more and more lately! Your art is stunning by the way, thank you for posting!! The final metamorphosis panel has me excited for the next installment you share ngl.

Anyways, I was wondering if I could ask a few things about it? Specifically, what has happened after O-moon came into the picture, and the buildup to part 13 and 14? Of course if you wish to keep things vague or don’t know, there’s no need to answer! I’m just curious.

When did Jotaro get alerted to the incident and decided to finally come around? Did he encounter Pucci first or Jolyne? After the revelations that O-moon revealed to Jolyne, how did her perceptions of her father and Pucci shift? Did Jolyne ever figure out what Pucci was most likely about to do to FF while they were cornered by him? Have you thought about how Weather Report factors into this AU at all (since he’s probably in prison at this point)?

Sorry for the bombardment, and again no pressure to answer these if you don’t wish to!

- Kimera

Greetings! Thank you very much for the compliment, hope the payoff to that comic was satisfying haha

So, I wanna keep things vague with this AU, telling the main story beats through images and short comics- not only cuz I like it that way but also cuz... I haven't decided a lot of the details hahaha-

Answering this via lore dump, hope you like reading, this can be just one of many ways it could've happened:

I imagined that while Pucci and Jolyne were out getting souls, Jotaro was studying whatever is left of Dio's followers, and eventually tracks down Pucci, and travels to the US. Perhaps he finds out Pucci has been tutoring Jolyne from Jolyne's mum (who knows maybe they reconnected).

Oh and yes, Jolyne's mum knows abt Pucci, but of course not who he really is.

During this, Jolyne has awakened the Green Baby and fused with it. Jotaro may even sense that something is wrong through their family psychic bond thing.

Jotaro, realizing Pucci is a step ahead of him by already taking in his own daughter, tracks Pucci down to the church and confronts him there, sparing no time and going straight to beating answers out of him, where's Jolyne, what happened to her, what's your plan etc.

I had this thought, that once Jolyne fuses with the green baby, she inherits a bit of Dio's knowledge, and it helps her realise she's been getting used by Pucci all along. Not only that, she inherits the will to go to Heaven, and it drives her to complete the plan, she's strung along by fate now.

Now obviously she feels betrayed by Pucci, but still sympathetic to him, and rescues him from Jotaro. She's conflicted, she's angry, the only reason both Pucci and Jotaro reached out was because of some bigger-than-her plot, and not because of herself. She doesn't know how much of what Pucci gave her was genuine or because of her use to him.

(had this idea for a scene that right after Jolyne rescues Pucci, all three of them are still in church and Pucci realises she's transformed, he yells for her to stay still so he can get Whitesnake to take whatever's inside her out, but as soon as Whitesnake reaches out, a hand bursts out, he thinks it's Stone Free and suddenly JUMPSCARE O-Moon jumps out at him and the reversed-gravity throws everyone away from her-)

The only friend she has left is FF, and yes she finds out what Pucci did to them, furthering her anger. So she drags FF along with her, they are eachothers' only allies here, and although FF doesn't fully understand what's happening to Jolyne, they'll stay by her side (cue the uhhhh 'oh jolyne gave me so many memories and memories make up my intellect so i owe her yadda yadda-')

Aaaaand as for Weather, yeah mf's still in prison lmao I haven't thought too much about him. I wanted this to focus on Jolyne and Pucci, though if I did turn this AU into an entire actual story, Weather would probably come up at some point. God knows how though lmao-

[bonnvivre]

A Funny Thing- Ch 22 word dump

shortening the title cus it’s a pain to write over and over, full title in the tags, link to chapter below cut (as if ppl other than the author themselves will look at this but hey)

very much a word dump i have no idea what’s going on below this cut it’s 4am im tired

————————————————

i read every single chapter out loud to myself- i like to pretend i’m an english teacher reading the assigned story of the quarter to their students and then i give an oscar worthy performance with the dialogue

ALSO GOSUKU TAG HAS BEEN ADDED FOLKS WOOOOOOOOOOOOO

yeah dr sato as you should lmao honestly i’d dedicate my entire work hours to these two mfs

“After all, she has a feeling their story is still far from over. Who knows what else may be lurking beneath the surface.” girl this is 16 yrs of LORE of course it’s not over 😭 they got BAGGAGE

4 yrs old, born 2007, we’re at 2011 now, gojo is around 22 yrs old (note for me)

OH RIGHT YUUJI WAS MANIFESTED THRU MAGIC LMAO OFC HE DOESNT HAVE DOCUMENTS

“Yuuji doesn’t have a last name.” A

oh my gkd giggling sukuna having beef w the cheater, got into indoor cycling just to best her love that for him 

also love chismosa ‘kuna, telling gojo abt the tea, kettle and all, even giving him a real time show 

“In a feat of superhuman strength-“ LMAO

god im cryimg are those full coherent sentences ??? OJ GODKM GONSN FCRUY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA YUUJIIIIIIIIIII a hundred billions hours oh ur so silly

teehee their son, our son, such subtle changes in the writing but it says so much 🥹

AWHSGAFAHAGDIS I KNEW HE WAS GONNA GET THE ITADORI SURNAME IM SO HAPPY FOR WASUKE HE DESERVES HIS SURNAME TAKEN BY HIS GRANDSON OH THE JOY 

god im sorry i just bursted out laughing while i was reading i couldnt help but think of the memes WHAHSDJ dad i frew up 

damn he didn’t return the handshake that’s actually so crazy

YUUJI THROWS UP ON HIS DESK OH SHITTF AAAAAAAA DESERVED SCREW YOU PRINCIPAL IVE BEEN GIVING A SINISTER BRITISH ACCENT TO

i initially thought it was mainly about sukuna’s “tattoos” that the first two schools were wary about, but i forget that, to others, they’re a queer family and definitely back then, it still wasn’t socially accepted. not sure why it didn’t cross my mind, especially with a conservative country like japan, but i’m glad there’s some light to it as a part of the challenges they go through while navigating their relationship and their lives.

HELLO WE’RE NOT JUSY GONNA BRUSH OVER THE FACT THAT THERE WAS A SECOND TIME THEY KISSED WITHIN THOSE 4 YEARS WTF DID I FORGET THIS ???? (after chapter note: OK COOL I WASNT FORGETTING THINGS LMAO oh please i gotta see what this infamous incident may be pleaseeeeeeee)

oooooooh the romance is really slow cooking goodness my favorite om nom nomnomnom

ohhhhhh my heart….what are you doing to me, weiserr……wholesome cute family moment…….my cause of death indeed

AWWWW AN ADMINISTRATIVE BODY THAT ACTUALLY CARES FOR THEIR STUDENTS’S WELL BEINGS LETS GOOOOOOO

after chapter thoughts:

MY MOM HAS A PELOTON BIKE TOO AHAHAHAHA LOVE MORE OF ‘KUNA IN HIS MOM ERA

imagine if they came across toji dropping off megumi at school or smth (yknow if mamaguro is still alive and their lives are good), i cant even imagine the animosity gojo and sukuna would have towards him

“heyyyy guys sorry i tried to kill you and your son back then crazy times huh”

his new friend is junpei bet (watch me be wrong)

[ac-liveblogs]

I accidentally deleted the more coherent ask so this is me trying to frantically remember what it said adjhgsj sorry in advance, I'm going to be unbearable abt Dan Feng for a bit <3

Dan Feng sounds like a hilarious clusterfuck. Dan Heng being screwed over by his actions being a purely backstory event kind of sucks, honestly.

It'd also have the nice bonus of introducing the hcq and why exactly you should care about them much more naturally, bc honestly if well executed their story could have made me cry lol I'm an easy crier. the way they did it just doesn't hit as hard as it should.

But Yes!! Dan Feng was SUCH a molotov cocktail of a person, it really is amazing. Identity issues electric bugaloo (with bonus body dysphoria and hallucinations!) + powers that make him dissociate the f out + trying desperately to ground himself by thinking abt his friends + the fact that in all his appearances he's ALWAYS with this permafrozen resting bitch expression. So when I read DH•IL's dreams of what Dan Feng was like as a person I immediately went "oh god the resting bitch face is a lie he's a fucking MESS" which was fun lmao. Sir that's not a dignified high elder that's millennia of trauma stuffed in knee-high boots and cool gloves

ALL THAT and it's mind-boggling that they just. poke it vaguely with a stick on-screen when there's all that cool stuff in the promos and stories?? "In different people's minds Dan Feng may have been an avatar of Long the dragon, a hero, or an immense evil, but never a person with feelings and emotions." that's great buddy how about you now SAY IT ON SCREEN. It even ties into his character story abt DF struggling to feel emotions through the dragon god mindset! It'd have been so easy!! ughh. I know this is a genshin staple, but belobog was rlly good at bringing up everyone's backstory in the quests so I thought hsr would be different :( here's hoping for penacony

Tbh XL's greatest sin is, imo, always focusing on the exact wrong thing. The High Cloud Quintet isn't explained until way after the fact, we learn what Dan Feng did too late and why that mattered too late… BLADE… etc. etc. We did get a lot of focus on the Hunt vs the Abundance, but I kinda wish Dan Feng's sin had been tied into that more solidly than it was

I've been thinking a lot abt how I'd do it, bc I'd also want to do the DF vs DH fight ichor of two dragons style, but trying to put it in Dan Heng realising that the narrative abt DF that he was taught is a lie at the same time he's trying to establish himself as his own person could muddy it up a bit... but it Would have to be at the story's climax...hmmmm. How would you do it?

According to the judges DF craved the power of abundance but I have a hard time believing them when they fed so much bullshit to poor Dan Heng like

Dan Heng: I was initially kept in the Shackling Prison after reincarnating, and received a thorough education on that person's life and crimes. According to the judges, Dan Feng craved the power of abundance and created abominations, therefore as his reincarnation, I had to bear his punishment. As for what kind of person he really was... to be honest with you, I can't be certain either.

According to Vidyadhara custom and the agreement made with Caelorum Venti Dan Heng was SUPPOSED to leave Dan Feng's sin behind w his reincarnation, so excuse me if I give a side-eye to the rest of what they say lmfao. So much hope for more luofu so we can go and punch the dragon-elf elders instead..

I had SO much fun in the Arlan-Asta quest, Herta being the annoying boss caught me completely by surprise even though it rlly shouldn't have jshgdjs

*squints* it's a stupid hour and I just came from a writing binge and 24 hours w no sleep so hopefully this is coherent lol, I probably got some of the lore wrong. Your long asks are always so nice and clear how do you do it?

Haha np, I delete responses to asks and whole entire posts by accident all the time…. (clicky back button on the side of my mouse my beloathed)

It'd also have the nice bonus of introducing the hcq and why exactly you should care about them much more naturally, bc honestly if well executed their story could have made me cry lol I'm an easy crier. the way they did it just doesn't hit as hard as it should.

I think what gets me is, like. It would've been easy enough to do it? It's beyond me why Blade never just… attacked Dan Heng prior to their team-up. It would've been a good way to establish his beef with DH AND, if Kafka's present, that she a) has hypnotism powers and b) uses them to control Blade outside of … that one scene where he just quietly sits in a room and Kafka promises she's doing something interesting. Also like. The effects mara can have on someone outside of Blade and Jingliu promising they're definitely affected and having ~scary eyes in their Ults.

And obviously, I get that whatever Luocha was doing was a set-up for later, but having Jingliu show up just to go to prison… that's four separate factions each with one of the HCQ and most of them with different goals. You'd THINK that would be A Thing? A big dramatic showdown? The four can meet up again afterwards to get drinks because despite everything they're still friends?

Genshin has poisoned me against reading character bios if I can help it (just look how annoyed I got after reading DH and Blade's!) so I hadn't read DH:IL's until just now, but… you're so right lmao??? How come the most I ever learnt about Dan Feng was from Jingliu's melancholic loredump? The elder ghosts bitch about him, sure, but?? On-screen drama?? That one trailer?? Did HYV think that supplemental material was enough to avoid writing the hard part???

(Unironically I think that's it. The Herta Space Station and Belobog were VERY simple. Stuff like Blade and DH are much harder to get right so, characteristic of HYV's writing over in Genshin, they've avoided it as much as possible by relegating it to trailer animations, bios and Jingliu's lore dump.)

I've been thinking a lot abt how I'd do it, bc I'd also want to do the DF vs DH fight ichor of two dragons style, but trying to put it in Dan Heng realising that the narrative abt DF that he was taught is a lie at the same time he's trying to establish himself as his own person could muddy it up a bit… but it Would have to be at the story's climax…hmmmm. How would you do it?

Complicated question. Running on the assumption that we are returning to the Luofu, or at least will be dealing with Luofu-based characters again at a later point in the story, you probably don't WANT to have wrapped up too much of Dan Heng's potential growth by the third world, right?

So if anything, I'd want him to be more unsure of himself prior to canon so that you can get more development (and types of interactions with others he used to know) out of him during the actual game. Assuming that you will return to the Luofu later, or at least run into most of those characters again (based on the alliance with XL and Trailblazer not having The Hunt yet), I'd probably base it like this:

1) Pre-canon: Dan Heng genuinely isn't sure who he is or how to feel about what he knows of his past. He's pretty sure he's meant to be his own person, but he was never treated that way, lived his life on the Luofu in Dan Feng's shadow and, most damningly, has flashes of Dan Feng's memories every now and then but has no context for what they mean. Also Blade seems pretty sure. And as you say - the High Elders still holding him responsible for Dan Feng's actions, alleged or otherwise, may have caused some damage. He's only one of the Nameless to get away from Blade/his past, basically.

2) First visit to Luofu: Dan Heng learns exactly who Dan Feng was, what he did/why and meets the High Cloud Quintet. You should be able to use Blade and Jing Yuan at the very least to get some Identity Drama and add more stakes to figuring out DF's deal outside of Dan Heng's own feelings. Doesn't necessarily come to a conclusion but is more informed. Meet Bailu etc.

3) Second visit to Luofu: Ichor of the Two Dragons goes here as the climax of some plot where Dan Heng definitively rejects Dan Feng and affirms his own identity. Spending time on the Express helped him figure out who he was/what he wanted and such. Dan Heng cleans up what he can and moves on from the Luofu. He stays on the Express because he loves the crew/for his own reasons, not just to run from his past, something like that.

I think you could pace out other characters' development connected to DH along these stages as well - particularly Blade and Bailu. The result of 3) should be Blade absolutely losing it once he realises Dan Feng really is dead (and whatever that might mean for him which then leads into Dan Heng having to resolve THAT situation in a Dan Heng-way (not necessarily on the Luofu, but around or afterwards), as well as wrapping up Bailu's storyline (which hopefully involves punching some elderly dragon-elves).

It'd also be fun to have a window of time to squeeze a little tension out of March 7th and Dan Heng - because, like, as far as March who wants to know who she was is concerned, a whole world that knows all about Dan Feng AND a bunch of DF's old friends and acquaintances being able to fill in the blanks… that's the dream for her, right? Meanwhile for Dan Heng this is all one big turbo nightmare and he'd be much happier with a clean break and no need to ever come back. Maybe there's some jealousy on both sides there. Trailblazer awkward go-between.

I had SO much fun in the Arlan-Asta quest, Herta being the annoying boss caught me completely by surprise even though it rlly shouldn't have jshgdjs

RIGHT??? For some reason I thought Arlan was having trouble saying no to PEPPY (dog too cute, can't refuse giving peppy too many treats) but then. Herta. OBVIOUSLY

squints it's a stupid hour and I just came from a writing binge and 24 hours w no sleep so hopefully this is coherent lol, I probably got some of the lore wrong. Your long asks are always so nice and clear how do you do it?

Hopefully you got some sleep!!! And uh. I don't know. I naturally ramble a lot and have to trim myself down. My response to how I'd handle DH up there is my third draft and the original was several much longer paragraphs. I'm trying to work on readability… I still need to get better at it, but glad it's helping!(?)

[lovelypieceofjade]

Long post about Sekiro lore and Isshin

Sorry im on mobile so i cant put a "read more", just scroll a lot if you want to skip it ig sorry

So I've been thinking about Sekiro religiously because I'm Obssessed rn (and i need to distract myself from the mag finale). I've been scrolling through the tag and there's something I was thinking about that hasn't been talked about very much or at all from what I've seen and that is: Wolf is at least partly responsible for the fall of Ashina, and Isshin almost gives you his explicit consent to do so.

throughout the first half of the game, we're forced to fight our way through Ashina's first lines of defense against the Interior Ministry, in 2 different entryways into what seems to be Ashina's last and most heavily defended stronghold, the Castle. The first real threat is General Naomori Kawarda, a strong man versed in the Ashina artstyle and in charge of the farthest reaches of the currently free territory, which you cut down. Next is the Chained Ogre, a beast placed there probably to deroute the Red Guard, which would let General Tenzen Yamauchi and his men have a chance to push them back. You effectively destroy that line of defense and let one of the main entryways into the castle (the destroyed bridge which is quickly replaced anyway) free for the Interior Ministry.

The other main entrance to the Ashina Castle, the main gate, is guarded by (MY NAAAAAAAAMMEE, IIIS) Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa, a fearless warrior completely devoted to Genichiro if not the land of Ashina. He's alone in this task, and the boss stage littered with Interior Ministry corpses serves as proof of his ferocity and efficiency. But he's no match for a Wolf desperately trying to reach his lord. With him gone, only the Blazing Bull guards the Castle entrance, a desperate effort to keep the Red Guard at bay should Gyoubu fail.

Once in the Castle, you not only take down General Matsumoto and his squad of gunmen, you also eliminate one of the Seven Spears of Ashina in the reservoir, and once in the Castle proper, Jinsuke Saze, a master of the Ashina arts (and, since we find him in the dojo, probably not only a high-ranking member of their dwindling military but also a teacher for the soldiers and Samuraï. Killing him may have an effect on the overall mood of Ashina). Finally, you force Genichiro to flee, consumed by his desire for Kuro's immortality which he thinks will give Ashina the much-needed edge to win this war, even if their walls hadn't been systematically torn asunder by the Wolf.

What interests me is that, through all of this, Isshin has obviously kept a close eye on you. Not only that, he seems to give you the all-clear to tear down Ashina by giving you the secrets to his own school of sword-fighting! The first time you meet him is in his Tengu of Ashina disguise, right after killing Gyoubu, so you're obviously no match for him at this point. If he didn't want you to go through his own defenses, he could have given us knowledge of other entryways or ways to get around them and to Kuro, or simply kill you right here (which he won't, since he believes his own grandson to be in the wrong about immortality). Why would this man, who invented his own school of fighting and bathed the lands in blood for his ambitions, let you destroy the efforts of a lifetime?

I think the answer comes from his dialogue once you give him Ashina sake. During this interaction, the Wolf asks about the rebellion that happened in his youth. Isshin then reminisces about the past, and the land of Ashina. Paraphrasing: "It was a place where the (probably rejuvinating) water flowed straight from the source. We loved our land dearly, but we were heretics, and weak, so we were overrun. Amidst the chaos of war, we took our land back." Here, in few sentences, we get a snapshot of Ashina's history and of their people, people who worshipped gods that weren't aknowledged in the rest of Japan (probably the Divine Dragon and the Serpent God). During a time of intense war in all of Japan, Isshin Ashina cut through everything and everyone to free the land of his ancestors and take his rightfull place as not only a Lord, but a Sword Saint, someone who mastered fighting to a point his name alone struck fear in all of his enemies for decades to follow.

But then, he follows with (direct quote from the english translation): "But now... it's a place of death... it's a bitter thing indeed." He might be referring to the Interior Ministry cutting through his people, at least that's what I first thought. But there may be another meaning, coming from "bitter thing". My guess is that he's talking about the obsession with immortality that has taken hold in every part of Ashina, rotting away what made them proud in the first place. He has a distaste for the curse of the undying, that's made very clear by his implicit help given to the Wolf in multiple occasions to end Kuro's divine heritage.

So, I think that while Isshin doesn't want Ashina to burn, in his eyes, maybe it is worth burning anyway. The Buddhist priests of Senpou Temple have long since forgotten their original teachings, replaced by the search for immortality. Mibu village is controlled by the nobles of Fountainhead Palace (who were once human, at least some of them, before they craved the vigor of the young) and are now undying, corrupted. His own adopted grandson and head of military drank the Rejuvinating sediments, slowly corroding his humanity away. The only people not consumed by this quest are the inhabitants and protectors of the Sunken Valley and even then, immortal beings live there (the Guardian Ape being an example). Isshin Ashina may not want to see his work turn to ash, but if it eradicates this thirst for ressurection, the price may be worth paying. He will fight to the very end but never sink so low as to shed his own humanity.

This probably also ties in to how Isshin himself never became Shura despite the atrocious amount of killing he did to create his techniques, but that post is already way too long lmao I'll maybe try to dig my brain abt this later.

[blackicedragons]

Bro I must get the lore on Cyril and Ignitus. How did they get together? Why did they decide to have a kid (specifically for the prophecy if I read right)? When did their relationship start going wrong? And, most importantly, is there going to be a parent-trap style subplot to try and get them back together?

OH THIS IS A DELICIOUS ASK THANK U OMG

okay so i actually, admittedly, have way more of this thought out than i should bc i dedicated hours of my time to daydreaming about this........//////MAJOR SPOILERS for some elements of the rewrite btw!!

our four main guardians have, in my canon, been incredibly close for many years. ignitus was always known as the wise-man and the voice of reason, and despite cyril's bad attitude, he was always honest and kept up with tradition to a fault. ignitus was good at difussing the bad situations cyril caused with his rude comments, but cyril often stood up for ignitus when the red dragon found himself to be a bit soft-spoken. the two had a deep respect for one another and they spent alot of time together as close friends.

when the year of the dragon was drawing close and the prophecy reared its head, ignitus and cyril were asked by a council of elder dragons to make the egg that would become their savior (yes, it is because red and blue make purple. im incredibly creative, i know!!!) the council figured that two heavily respected guardians that had excellent handles on their elemental abilities would create an ideal purple dragon for the future. the two initially weren't very keen on the idea, but they understood that they were only being asked to do so for the sake of their fellow dragons. eventually, they accepted the plea. ignitus was the sire and cyril was the dame in the situation (in the rewrite, spyro is mentioned specifically to have ignitus's horns and frills while also having cyril's eye shape and scale patterns)

intially, the two of them only did this because they saw it as their duty as guardians. yet, ignitus found himself fretting over cyril often. he would guide him around carefully, making sure he didn't stumble around given the weight of his belly during pregnancy. he got cyril food, groomed him, cleaned his room, and spoke about how he wondered what their egg may be like. though cyril was a bit bratty about everything, he was incredibly grateful for ignitus's diligence and patience. cyril would ask ignitus to stay in his nest for the night, and exclusively sought out ignitus for comfort and care. for the first time, cyril was being fairly polite and even seemed to be happier, and ignitus had come out of his shell. they spoke for hours about their egg's future, and then about their own. volteer and terrador jokingly referred to them as the "new pair of love doves". after some time, cyril was actually the first to confess that he loved ignitus (he was always a little too honest), having said "no one has ever chosen to put up with me for so long" and, despite being a little surprised, ignitus reciprocated, telling cyril that he "could never really grow tired of him". despite not knowing what the future held, the two decided they would do everything they could to raise their child together, and to be with each other through whatever the coming year would bring.

and then the raid happened. the temple was destroyed, chaos was everywhere, and the eggs were all shattered. cyril was injured, and ignitus, feeling frightened and panicked, sent their egg away to hopefully find a safer place to hatch. the war began not long after. although ignitus cared for cyril and stood beside him in battle, his guilt only grew as the war waged on. he couldn't help but blame himself for everything that had happened. cyril tried to talk him out of it, saying he was being irrational, saying that none of this could all possibly be his fault, saying there was nothing more ignitus could do. ignitus refused to listen, and put the blame for the war on his own shoulders, feeling that it was the only way he could properly take responsibility. the two of them fought harshly. ignitus couldn't come to terms with his own self-loathing and grief, and cyril couldn't find his softness and reasoning in a time when things were so hard. after their last fight, they didn't speak again, and cyril was captured a few days later. of course, ignitus entirely blamed himself, and lamented that the last words he ever spoke to cyril were words of anger and sadness, and cyril lamented the same in his cage.

when spyro arrives and frees the guardians, ignitus and cyril are intially very tense! they both never imagined seeing each other again, and they don't really how to apologize to one another and how to make up for all the negative energy and time between them. they barely speak to each other unless they have to, and they refuse to be in a room alone together for more than a few awkward seconds. spyro, ember, and flame can obviously see how weird they're acting, but terrador won't explain anything. the three kids go to volteer who, of course, literally can not keep his mouth shut about it. he tells them that ignitus and cyril were once together and deeply in love, but the war tore them apart. ember, seeing a touching love story in the making, decides "HEY!!! LET'S GET THEM TO MAKE UP!!!!" and literally drags spyro and flame into her plans. the kids do anything they can think of; sending the two guardians flowers from """"secret admirers", throwing around mushy-gooey poetic love notes, lighting candles everywhere, decorating the temple, and trying to set the "perfect romantic mood" for the two sad-sacks. eventually, they get caught, and cyril and ignitus bring them into the training room to reprimand them. not having the courage to speak up, ember and flame are silent, but spyro eventually confesses that volteer told them everything, and that the kids just want to see their guardians happy again. taken aback, the two send the children away, and are alone in the training room for the first time. after a bit of silence, cyril speaks up first. "you never apologized to me.." he mumbles, the air around him feeling cold. ignitus counters that cyril refused to speak to him. the two begin arguing, and it seems like this is just going to be another horrible fight, but the two war-torn dragons break down. ignitus admits that he feels its his fault because he sent spyro away, and he could never make up for all the pain the war caused those he cared about. he couldnt accept that it wasnt his fault because he was the head guardian, he needed to be better, he was SUPPOSED to be better. and he wasn't, and now it was all too late. after hearing this, cyril, for the first time in many years, found his softer side. he spoke gently, telling ignitus that no one expected him to do this on his own, and that he needed to learn to count on the others instead of expecting everything out of himself alone. cyril told him that, even though their future wasn't a happy one, at the very least, they were both there. and spyro had come home. after a bit more talking, there's definitely like, a super passionated lovey-dovey kiss and make up scene, and it closes with the two stupid boyfriends deciding theyre going to tell spyro the truth

AND YEAH BASICALLY THATS ABOUT THE GIST OF IT i am soooo fucking sorry this response got this fucking long but i genuinely adore this plotline and it makes me soft and fuzzy inside!!! and yeah basically their relationship is gonna go thru some ups and downs but itll develop alot more as the story goes alone and i think itll be alot of fun to show u guys!!!!! anyway ajfjfjjfd thank u for asking me this bc i was looking for an excuse to gush abt them lmao BUT if u have any other questions abt my rewrite or anything go ahead and ask!! thank u thank u thank u!!!! <3