#i think it's important that he makes the one ring and sacrifices even more of himself in the pursuit of order

[brynnmclean]

I think if Mairon had to acknowledge exactly how fucking messed up he is because of Melkor and everything he did to survive Angband and what he built himself into during the First Age, I think he would-- well. I think he wouldn't, is the thing.

I think he can't allow himself to think about it too hard. What was it Charlie Vickers said about him still putting himself down through the rabbit hole-- he's been moving forward so long that he can't stop and look his own darkness in the eye. None of this can be about him, about fixing him. He utterly refuses the self-scrutiny. It has to be about fixing the world, about finding that perfect peace at any cost. I really don't think he thought about the elvish rings healing him. And actually I think if he put Nenya on and had a moment of-- idk, peace or healing or some distance from the scars Melkor left, I think it would be absolutely agonizing to him.

And you know, if he got to the end of his ruthless pursuit for perfect order and got everything he thinks he wants, I don't even know if he could look at the ruin of himself and what all the means have done to him in pursuit of an end.

I don't know that he could stop! He's been running so long!!!! I like to think that part of his refusal to plead with the Valar for pardon and mercy-- in addition to not wanting to be shamed and beholden to other people for the work of repair-- is that he can't listen when anyone says, you need to sit down and look at the trauma in you, it'll feel so bad, but you need to do it to really move past it, and then you'll need to see the steps you took in His shadow, as His shadow-- he can't, he can't, he doesn't want to, he won't, he'll keep running, there is no stopping--

[utilitycaster]

I feel like the way I think about Ludinus Da'leth is like...the Anti-Vespin. There's the basic actions they performed - both unleashed something long-sealed, but Vespin Chloras intended to destroy what he perceived to be a sealed danger, and Ludinus is using Predathos as a weapon. However, what strikes me is how the two of them have acted so far towards other mortals rather than the existential threats they've tangled with.

I suspect Ludinus is bringing in Bells Hells not because he expects them to join him, but because he really, really wants someone to validate his plan that is ultimately just a monument to his choice to wallow and make Exandria worse for it. No one likes him. He's not Ruidusborn; he can't commune with the Weave Mind and the Reilora the way others can. Liliana is in pretty deep but she's wavering, Zathuda resents him (and it seems to be mutual) and Otohan's dead. The Assembly is crumbling and the Empire's not doing well either, and the world has to an extent united against him.

Vespin chose, in his brief moment of clarity after he had unleashed the Betrayers and lost himself, to do what he could to improve Zerxus's lot, expressed anguish and remorse for his actions and his legacy, and said that he hoped the Ring of Brass would be given more grace by history. He was willing to accept the title of villain, despite being something much more complicated, because in the end he understood that giving the world a chance to survive was far more important than clearing his own name.

Ludinus, on the other hand, is fighting against historical strawmen. His resentment towards the gods is just that: a burning resentment. He could have left his mark by rebuilding post-Divergence Exandria. Instead, his legacy is one of rot, war, hatred, and corruption, from Molaesmyr to the War of Ash and Late to the Bloody Bridge. He could have been an architect of the modern age for the better. He could have tried to revive Aeorian magic and culture, and, as I've discussed, potentially even the people. He instead focused only on a centuries-long goal of destruction out of sheer spite.

Vespin was willing to shoulder any insult, deserved or not, for the rest of eternity because he understood it was less important than doing whatever he could in the few moments he had to mitigate harm. Ludinus is willing to destroy anything to retaliate for an insult.

Ludinus is livid about being robbed of an age he never got to see by the gods; and quite possibly, with the destruction of Molaesmyr, killed some of its last survivors outside exceptions such as himself. He claims to hate the gods' uneven blessings yet his alliance - and reliance - on Ruidusborn sorcerers has always made it clear that was a lie. And none of this will bring back the world he lost, and indeed, may very well set society back further.

He will tear everything apart out of hurt feelings and a desire to be correct when he could have left a shining legacy. It is the opposite of a heroic sacrifice; a petty, small self-destruction. I think he wants Bells Hells to tell him it was worth it. And I don't think they will.

[feukt-42]

Elden ring + Shadow of the Erdtree lore thoughts

Alright, so, first off, obviously, spoilers ahead.

I've been thoroughly enjoying and getting my ass kicked by SotE and what ive seen of the lore so i wanted to ramble about it.

I specifically wanted to talk about how Elden Ring explores power and godhood.

In the base game, godhood isnt seen as inherently bad. Marika's golden order is fucked up six ways to sunday, but the blame mainly rests on Marika's shoulders it seems. She's a genocidal homewrecking war-mongerer who threw two of her children in the sewers bc of racism, she's not a good god, but it doesnt portray the problem as her being a god, just her being a mess. The game provides several "solutions" to unfuck everything :

Ranni's ending has you completely throw the system in the trash. She says, fuck it, godhood's the problem, im out of here. She is kinda right, but the lands remain fractured and the power vacuum left behind is going to be immense. We're on the right track but could be better.

The frenzied flame ending is just pure concentrated nihilism so i think we can move past it for this one.

The bunch of other endings are fairly similar : you beat Marika/Radagon's ass and you impose yourself as Elden Lord to keep her in check and fix the issues you see as most important. This doesnt fix anything long-term, the god in power is still the exact same fucking mess but with a chaperone now i guess.

None of these endings are very satisfying, they all leave you with a sense of "it could be worse i guess" (except the frenzied flame one but you get the point). This is where Miquella comes in :

Everything we hear about Miquella sounds great. He's kind, compassionate, against racism, doesnt like violence, etc etc. Cherry on top, he's even one of the characters with a direct shot at godhood, brilliant ! Why cant we just put him in charge, he'll do much better than the absolute wreck we have right now.

And thats where the base game leaves us, Marika is a fucked up mess of a person, and the obvious solution is to put the much better Miquella in her place.

Shadow of the erdtree, on the other hands, aims to set the record straight. The problem wasnt just Marika, the problem is inherent to godhood in and of itself.

In SotE, we see the land of shadow, the realm where Marika came from and ascended to godhood, and the realm where Miquella intends to do the same. And the more we hear about who Marika was before in snippets of lore, and the more we watch Miquella tread the road to godhood, we realise something :

There is no such thing as a good god

It doesnt matter how kind and compassionate you were, what your morals were, who you loved, who you loathed, none of it matters because you cannot grasp the power to become a god without sacrificing who you were before.

In the dlc we see Miquella shed more and more of himself, his flesh, his arms, his eye, his heart, his doubts, his fears and even his love. Miquella has shorn so much of who he was that he formed an entire new person (St Trina) from it. Some of him remains, he still wishes for a kinder world, but he cant sacrifice anymore of himself for it. Now he has to start sacrificing others.

Miquella was always blessed with the ability to charm others, and he sees it as the least painful path to make others do as he wishes. And so he charms his sister, he charms Mohg, he charms Radahn, his followers, Leda, Moore, Thiollier, Freyja, the hornsent, Ansbach, and everyone he can convince to give themselves up for his dream of a kinder world, regardless of the pain they might cause or feel by being enthralled by him.

And oh boy do they feel pain. Mohg is used and discarded like a ragdoll, and his followers and dynasty slowly crumble to nothing as the last pureblood knight watches helplessly, himself entranced by the one responsible after he failed to kill him. Radahn's soul is shoved in a corpse so that he can play consort to a god that is his antithesis, depriving him of his glory and honour as lord of the battlefield. Malenia is left alone to rot after Miquella has no use or help for her, and she endlessly waits for her brother to return. Every one of Miquella's followers has to grapple with those feelings of betrayal, manipulation, and lost memories returning all at once. It is by no means painless.

And so we end up with a god that is not much better than Marika was. On his path to godhood, Miquella has caused as much pain to those along the way as his mother once did, in this very same land that still feels the scars of Marika's ascension.

The only way to gain power is to take it from everyone else, and that cannot be achieved without pain.

[dulcewrites]

Fire & Desire

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x reader (mentioned) , Aegon ii Targaryen x reader (wc: 2.2k)

Summary: Many sacrifices have been made to get Aegon on the throne. Including ones made by you

A/N: this had been sitting in my drafts for sooo long. I thought I’d revise it a bit, give me a bit of a break from fool me once. Hope y’all like it 🫶🏽🫶🏽. Sorry if there is lots of typos this was sort of posted on a whim

When Aegon becomes King, it is up to us to guild him in the right direction. To have the ear of your husband is ever important…. That may mean giving things up in return.

The words had been ringing in your head all night. Along with the image of Alicent’s uncomfortable grimace. Your instinct was the ask her what she meant by that; play silly and confused. Easily moldable and docile, the way most people like.

But you know your good mother too well for that. She knows all. You should have seen this moment coming.

The next thing you wanted to do was apologize. Tell her that you do not know how you got yourself in this predicament. But Aegon has never been one to apologize for his indiscretions, so why should you. All you can give her a curt nod.

You know she advices you without any malice. The bolstering hate you sometimes saw in Queen Alicent, the kind you see in all her children in different dosages, had cooled to a melancholy resentment over the years. She’s grown older, a bit wiser. Or maybe she is just tired.

The type of debilitating exhaustion that only women would get. Women forced to do the bidding of those around them.

It was never going to be simple. It is never easy with this family. An heir that is never around, a dead King that was never suited from the job, and a circle of scheming noblemen. Recipe for chaos and destruction.

Alicent does not have the hope to be disappointed anymore. Everything is for survival now. So much has been given up for this, and now comes your time to pay the price. Just like Alicent has.

If she knows, you can assume that means Aegon does too. He is more observant than anyone would give him for.

There are days he looks at you, and you think he can tell what you have been up to. He can look right through you and see what his brother did to you that morning, or late the night before.

Does he wonder where you run off to, the way you did with him at the beginning of your marriage. When there was a blinding and painful need to make it work. If he does know, you are surprised he has not said anything to do… or to Aemond. Aegon’s emotions flow hot and wild. Being on the opposite end of it is a sight. But then he levels off, normally numbs whatever he feels with wine or whores. He is simple in a complicated way.

If he has any inkling about what you have been doing, he has not made it known. You don’t know if that is a relief or if it hurts. None of that Targaryen madness dealt out for his wife.

Your thoughts are broken when he stalks in. Freshly washed, slight bruises on his face, and wrapped in despair.

He does now acknowledge for presence, just climbs into bed after blowing out the few candles on his side of the room. The two of you lay in silence before you feel like you will crawl out of your skin if you do not say anything.

“I will stop seeing him… in that way,” you say into the darkness, voice stronger than you thought it would be. “If that pleases you.”

You turn from your back to your side to face him; you are greeted with a eyeful of silvery hair that seems to glow in the dark. His back facing you, rigid and uncomfortable.

“Aegon, did yo-“

“I heard you the first time,” he sighs, interrupting you.

There is more silence. You continue to stare at his back, till he slowly turns to face you. Even in the dark you can see the frown on his face. The moonlight illuminating him It is like speaking with his mother all over again. Does Alicent look at Aegon and get frightened? To give birth to someone who looks so much like you but disappoints you so deeply must be haunting. A terrible mirror to have.

“I am surprised you are even admitting it,” he mutters.

You decide not to tell him that the admission comes at the behest of his mother. There is no need to add to the list of things that splitter that relationship.

“We are going to need each other, now more than never. I am willing to admit… wrongdoing and repent for it. But we both have to do that for it to work.”

Your tongue feels heavy calling whatever Aemond, and you have wrongdoing. The proper term for it does not come because you don’t know what you two are. Lovers, confidants, prisoners. It’s all the same.

The frown deep softens a bit.

“Aenar is mine.”

It comes out like statement, but you suppose it is meant to be a question. Aenar is all Aegon is best and worst ways. Sweet cherubic features and a rambunctious spirit. They even pout in the same way when they do not get what they want. They are so alike that it stupidly makes you wonder at what age he will let you down. The way his father has before him.

“He is yours,” you whisper. “A tiny terror.”

Aegon lets out a short fit of playful laughter. The affection Aegon has towards the kids is something you were constantly taken aback by. When he was around, and in his right mind, he is electric with them. It made you a bit jealous. You pushed your body to the max, and Aenar follows him like he is a god. A Targaryen God.

“But Valaena…” he trials off bitterly.

You do not answer immediately. While Aemond barely even looked at you by the time you became pregnant with Aenar, things were different by the time you had your little girl. Your relationship with Aemond sweet and syrupy. The glow of intimacy neither of you had experienced before.

“No, she is yours.”

It is easier to say that, her features still soft and indiscernible. You think she is his. You hope for his sake she is. Aegon becomes extra warm around her. Baby talk and soft looks of love.

Perhaps you hope he is for her sake as well. If Aemond thinks Valaena is his daughter, he makes no effort to show it. At first, you thought it was him being smart. Knowing that taking too much of a liking would be suspicious. Then you quickly learned he just has no interest in that part of you. Sometimes you fear he sees that extension of you, your kids, as obstacles instead.

Living and breathing embodiments of the duty you put first.

“You would really stop,” Aegon rips you from his thoughts. “Tell Aemond that it is done?”

His voice lifts intrigued. A different conversation you had with Alicent floats in your mind.

Their want for different things keeps them from expressing their love, but it is there.

“Will you stop fathering flea bottom bastards?”

Aegon scoffs at your question, but nonetheless shuffles closer to you. He smells like lemon and roses.

“This is going to be so bad,” his voice wobbles a bit.

You want to agree, because it will; it is going to be blood spilling amounts of terrible. Instead of expressing that you lean forward too.

It is how the two of you fall asleep. Foreheads pressed together, noses brushing, and slow breathes mangled together.

Is that what having your husband’s ear is like?

You know you are staring, unabashedly and grotesquely.

The only saving grace being that you are not the only one. Everyone in the dragon pit has their gaze on Aegon. Small folk watch on in confusion or admiration. Everyone on the stage hold more somber or stoic faces. Everyone accept Otto that is, who looks as pleased as you have ever seen him.

Alicent’s face is serenely flat. Helaena cannot look at her brother for too long, looking away at times. You do not dare turn to see Aemond’s reaction. Especially not after avoiding him all morning. There was a sinking feeling you got when your lady in waiting told he was outside of the door. Cowardly, you told her to tell him you were occupied. You did not know what to say to him yet.

Now all you can do if stare, and fiddle with the crisp fabric of your mute pink and gardenia dress.

It is terribly quiet in the pit. It only makes the affair even more uneasy.

There is something so devastatingly beautiful about his tear-stained face. You enjoy Aegon like this. Needy, helpless, and metaphorically flat on his back with shock and despair.

When he finally rises, Conqueror’s crown on his head, his eyes darts to everyone on stage. When his large, watery eyes finally get to you, you try to give him an encouraging smile. You are sure it reads more painful than reassuring or comforting. You bow your head expectedly.

King Aegon, Second of His Name. Gods helps you all.

The tides change once he turns to face the crowd. When the cheers start, there goes your meek Aegon. He lifts Blackfyre with a vigor you have never seen from your husband. There is a satisfaction that radiates off him. It’s stunning and terrifying to watch.

Despite everything, your eyes tear themselves away long enough to briefly glance at Aemond. If Aegon’s feeling burn fast and dissipate to light fizzles of hate, then Aemond’s resentment simmers for years, and flares when the flames are fanned.

His eyes never leave his brother’s back. Everyone enraptured by Aegon’s attitude change for different reasons.

The cheers reach their peak, and foolishly you think maybe things will be alright.

Then everything goes black.

This is going to be so bad

It is only in the comfort of his own chambers, where Aemond feels like he can finally let out the breath he has been holding in for days.

His stomach has been in knots for days, waves nausea fluttering in certain moments. It reminds him of after he first lost his eye. He would get such painful headaches that it made sick. 

Now it is not his lack of an eye ailing him, it is you.

He should have known something was wrong when you would not allow him to see you. The necklace was missing too. The sterling silver locket with a sparkling sapphire in the middle of it. You had not taken it off since he gifted it to you… till today.

Aemond knows what it means.

You could barely meet his eye, as if you think your rejection would break him. He would rather gouge his other eye out than give Aegon the satisfaction of that.

The only time you seemed aware of his presence is when you squeezed his arm when they were all face to face with Meleys. The squeeze was surprisingly strong. Though it was not a scared squeeze, it was almost reassuring. You were ready to die. You had told him one night; whispered it in the dark. You knew it would be coming, and sooner than you wanted.

“Of course, we are going to die young,” you smile with little mirth. “Think of family we are in.” 

You had only expressed sadness for your children. That you hope when that time comes someone kind will take care of them and prayed, they would remember you as a gentle mother.

What a way it would’ve been to die at the fire of dragon. You, him, his siblings, and his mother… one big happy family.

Aemond decides not to tell you that sometimes he goes in Valaena’s room and just looks. He waits for the paternal instincts to kick in. One day he expects to look and see flashes of himself. As of now all he sees is your eyes. He supposes that is the next best thing. He already must see his brother, and mini version of him that hides behind your skirts.

He has no desire to take care a child right now, and he is not even sure she is his. But to be bound to you another way would be so lovely. So many parts of him are now yours, and vice versa. What is one more?

Aemond is not mad. He finds the whole idea of a mad Targaryen a bit macabre, even for his taste.

But he sees visions of Aegon sitting the throne with you at his side as queen and thinks it would be ok to see King’s Landing up in flames. Even better if he is the one to light the fire.

He saw the way your demeanor instantly shifted. Tending to hurt small folk, telling guards where to go and what to do. There was not a lick of fear in your eyes when someone addressed you as the queen. In fact, Aemond was sure he saw a flicker of glee run through your eyes. He cannot fault the self-serving side of you. He wishes to devour it the way he wishes to devour every other part of you.

You would have never agreed to marry Aegon if this outcome was not a possibility. Giving up a chance to have your name in the history books as Queen and your son as future heir is not an opportunity you would give up. Certainly not for him. Aemond knows Rhaenyra is coming. If not his half-sister, then his uncle will be plotting and planning. So, he will do what he always does. Sit and wait. One eye firmly on his clever girl.

When the spark is finally set, he hopes you two will burn together.

[katyspersonal]

So, Ymir was full of shit or rather, lost his marbles! I've made some more SOTE progress!

1) So, first I was exploring the various corners I've missed (again, Val's advice since I was despairing to do anything but 'important' points gvghgb) Went in order!

2) I killed the second big red horned bear in this game! And before that, killed two Rune Bears with some success..? Still got hit hard, but I am finally learning to dodge roll properly! Most of it is rolling in, not away x)

It dropped an incantation that is like those dragon head ones.. but like, bear head one gfhhhg And there was another variant of Brave Set nearby (the clothes of bear-hunters)

3) Coincidentally, the very next guy was using this same incantation! It was sending a series of roars that knock the person off! AND he was in the last Mausoleum that I did want to find very much!

AND he also was a Redmane!! They have so many distinct friends of Radahn in this DLC xD

4) The next one was a forge and I was done with running across them orange woods. This is when I finally realized that the big rocky guys needed to be hit while back turned, in the weak spot on their backs, whereas I've been hitting them in the front this whole time... :^)

5) This guy would later become important:

So, they just freeze eventually? It kind of seems like eventual fate of all rock creatures I guess, since they can't age. There are Ancient Dragons in Farum Azula who are just walls now for one

I instantly had a feeling that this would be a good summon seeing how much damage and defence those guys had, and hoooo boy was I right!!

6) OKAY SO I finally did it! @fareehaandspaniards REJOYCE!!! Basically Metyr and Fingers predate Elden Ring/Beast, because it also was a shooting star and Metyr was the first:

I struggled with this boss as you remember, and wasn't even trying to go without summons but just couldn't find the right ones xd THIS guy though staggered her like two times letting me do critical, and lasted ungodly amount of time (until magic attack blasted him since rocks are wear to magic in this game)! But he was SO helpful?

So it was this guy causing ungodly stagger and me stabbing bleed with Mohg's spear jfghyj I also finally realized to NOT, no matter what, get myself caught on the side of her body 🙄 That attack with rapidly moving fingers from her side is NOT survivable nghgf If anyone here makes the same mistake: don't, just always face her.. face, lol

7) Also my idea confirmed! When I first saw this location, all watery and the giant "tubes" going from here to "above", I saw it like the giant fingers so it is some hammerspace version of womb water! Turned out the grace of this place marks location as Finger Birthing Grounds, so yeah!

8) My instant reflex was to go back to Manus Metyr! ...and I got attacked when I had hands full of runes because I forgot to spend them after the boss 🤡 I didn't die, but NEVER forget to level up lol

Jolan first attacked me as an invader, saying we've hurt Ymir so much that he now wished our death, and then Ymir was there as a boss (thankfully a weak one). ?? I was just sitting here like "wait a second, the whole operation was your idea?" because Ymir gave me the map here?

9) So, I started to think about it and recalling what happened before. His last map was captioned "May you join the glimmering stars above" which was sinister, but so was he so I didn't give it an extra thought back then! Now it does seem like he intended for us to not survive that encounter, like same sacrifice thing as with "meeting" Rykard, but there was more

Back when Anna attacked us, I assumed she was sort of enemy. I did tell Jolan about it, but her dialogue was vague:

I interpreted it as Anna getting on the way and Jolan implying that she will or will not kick her ass depending on what Ymir says. But oh boy, seems like I was wrong.. When you kill Anna, the text 'RECUSANT VANQUISHED' appears; the term reserved for Tarnished that hunt other Tarnished! So, knowing that Anna habitually kills people (her own?), and knowing that I was not supposed to kill Metyr despite being sent directly to her, Jolan's reaction to us telling about Anna can be seen as: 'Damn, I started to really like you, but turns out that Ymir wants to sacrifice you (?) and I can't speak against him so pretend that my ally did not try to kill you, okay? :/' but I wasn't aware just HOW right I was!

10) Turned out that Jolan also had the decision split between Iris of Grace (gives Spirit Ashes) and Iris of Occultation (gives her weapon)! Like it was with Queelign! Damn, they made SURE that people either replay this DLC or talk with other players for full lore x) Respect!

11) ALSO turned out that this whole time, there was a secret way to drop atop of the upper section of Rabbath Rise from Shaman Village, where you find a person in the same set sitting in the same fashion as inactive puppets of Seluvis! And it was ANNA, that we could combine with Ashes of Jolan!

frail and WHAT? AND WHAT gdghhgh The text didn't fit, oh my god!!

I asked Val about it, the missing word was 'and pliant'.

12) I also asked him about the 'doll' part, because by all means it should have been 'puppet'! He confirmed that it IS the same term in original because he was confused too and checked earlier: 'doll' here is 傀儡, and is the same used for Puppets in the main game. So, obviously, they were trying to save the letters space! And still failed... XD

13) So, yes, a totally normal thing for Carians to do! Granted, Nox were the ones who started the Puppet dids, but Carians are basically infamous for making Puppets, which Ymir is!

That makes it apparent that Anna attacked us due to him wanting it :^) I assume we were supposed to be food for Metyr, because since he lost his shit over her death he needed her for something. The power to bring Yuri back to life, I suppose.

This made me wonder whether Jolan herself was a puppet? We don't know whether they can still talk and think from the base game, maybe they can! What we do know is that puppets will attach spiritually attach to the master and unquestionably do their bidding (which Jolan does), that they are crafted through blue star shards thus uniting their fates since blue stars control fates of humans (and Ymir and Jolan do affectionately call each other their stars), and that a puppet can be given to someone else despite who made it (since Seluvis can gift his and we now can use Anna).

Jolan is not referred to as a puppet, so maybe her devotion and dependence bordering insanity happened to be her true feelings and not some magic (yet it wasn't the case for Anna, apparently...).. But interesting thing to consider. (LOL I can SEE Ymir simps jumping at me and asking how the heck Jolan's behavior is supposedly magic and not normal reaction gfggnfhhg)

14) Turned out that Ymir's clothes can be altered into... this:

15) I also checked at the Roundtable Hold, for more Metyr lore:

I already read that Greater Will stopped communicating with her, but interesting information! Besides.. the staff to cast sorceries AND incantations sounds SUPER useful! No more switching between seals and staffs xD

The second weapon is simply Metyr's head that mentions there is an eye at the center of it. Yes, I could tell from getting blasted with lasers hfhhjj

16) Also I don't have pictures space left, but if you collect everything like I do, don't forget to check Yuri's grave for a sorcery after Ymir is defeated!

[macsimagines]

THE KISAKI YANDERE POST WAS SO GOOD ?? I NEED TO SEE A PART 2 LIKE WHERE HE FOUND OUT YOU ABORTED THE BABY I NEED TO KNOW IF HE WOULD GET ANGRY OR WHAT ? AND HOW READER REFUSE TO GET MARRIED YET 😻😻 I'm on my knees 😞

YA YOU DO BOO I GOT YOU. I'M HERE FOR SOFT YANDERE KISAKI AND I EAT ANGST FOR BREAKFAST -Ms.Mac

Yandere!Kisaki Tetta

He plays it off when you don't tell him you're pregnant yet. He thinks ok it just hasn't hit yet. He's super suspicious when he notices you're acting strange though.

Ever the thinker he tries to come up with excuses for you. You're probably still getting ready for college. You honestly might still think you're going since you don't realize something waaaaay more important is coming up.

Kisaki has already made deals and prepped everything beforehand. He's got a well paying part time job, and he knows he can balance class work with it. He's also got savings stocked up from his gang days. You won't live as lavishly as he wants but your baby, his baby, is going to be provided for.

This guy is making a lot of sacrifices already you need to be ready to do the same. He know you must have noticed your period is late so why haven't you said anything yet?

Unless...there's no way you're trying to keep it a secret from him right? Or worse yet...

No. He won't allow it. Now he's using even more resources and connections and now he's found out you've made yourself an appointment at an illegal clinic to abort this baby. His fucking baby.

He can't contain his rage. He wants to kill you for thinking you could kill his child. But he knows better. He rationalizes. You just were scared, you made a very dumb decision. You almost made a horrible mistake.

You're dumbstruck to find Tetta at the clinic on the day of your appointment. You were so damn careful, how could he know...

"Just what do you think you're doing, (Y/N)?"

You're crying the whole way to Tetta's big fancy apartment. The one he's been begging you to come and stay at with him. He kept complaining it was way too huge for one person because of course it was. Who the hell needed a luxury three bedroom sound proof apartment all to themselves?

Kisaki doesn't say anything while you cry and try to explain how you're not ready for a baby, how you know how bad he wants to be married and to have a family but you just can't right now.

He doesn't say anything just listen while he helps you take off your jacket, and takes your phone, pulling something from your his back pocket...

It's his own fault. He accepts that he definitely made some poor choices. He really should've just held off until you were engaged. But it's fine. He'll take responsibility.

You feel him rubbing you back whispering how it's gonna be ok. How he's going to make it ok.

Then something clicks around your neck. A metal collar, with a chain leading to the wall. You're so stunned and confused staring at Tetta for an explanation.

"Don't give me that look, Y/N. I wanted to get you a pretty engagement ring, but you're just so fucking stubborn. So godamn stupid.' He explains walking away from you, "But I can fix this. You just need some time to adjust. To get used to the idea. I'm gonna make some calls. You need to settle in."

[winterspiderpurrs]

I want a decently long story of Bucky just stalking Peter from a far and befriending him, just do keep stalking him from close up and convincing Peter that his current girlfriend is toxic just to have Peter. It’s toxic and Steve can see it, upset with Bucky. Gets to the point Bucky is sick of Steve’s nagging and nearly beats him to death. He panics and threatens Steve to keep his mouth shut.

Ends with Peter asleep in Bucky’s arms upset because he thinks MJ is awful. Just where Bucky wants him

I’m sorry for spamming prompts, you’re the only one who delivers such beautiful stories that I need more. Your work is so good

" It doesn't have to be like this Buck"

Steve dodges another punch thrown at him, landing a hit on Bucky's shoulder.

" I know. You just need to keep your mouth shut. It's none of your business."

Steve rolls his eyes, and shoves Bucky after Bucky pushed him back against a wall.

" I'm just worried about you. And Peter and MJ"

Bucky now stands a few feet away from Steve, he wipes at his nose, its bleeding a little.

" There is nothing to worry about. I'm just being a friend to Peter. Helping him out with his girl problem is all."

Sighing, Steve runs his fingers through his hair, trying to smooth it back into place.

" Sure, and implying stuff she is doing? Making Peter doubt her?.... Buck... I've seen your office"

" It's my office in my apartment. Its private you had NO business going in there and snooping at stuff that you don't even understand."

Steve waves his hands around and then point to the door leading to the office.

" No snooping needed. That room is covered in hundreds of photos of Peter. And don't think I didn't notice the surveillance camera of his room. This has got to stop before it gets worse. It's already out of hand."

"What's out of hand is you being in my business. Sure I like Peter. I'll admit it. But I am his friend 1st and that isn't going to stop be being friends with him. You know how often he comes home injuried? Almost everytime he goes on patrol. Stark isn't watching him. Gave him that fancy suit but can't even teach the kid basic aid?"

Bucky starts pacing around.

" Someone needs to look out for him. Sure, it's a bit overboard. But in the past 6 months, I've pulled out 3 bullets that didn't go through on him. "

Bucky sighs and then goes to sit down on the couch. He never planned on anyone finding out about his small[big] obsession with Peter. He was just too good for this world. Peter was comfortable with him, and not even Steve fully lets his guard down arouns him like Peter does.

Peter is affectionate and tactical, god does he love the hugs he gets from him. But MJ wasn't worried about Peter, she can't relate to him, to Peter's need to help everyone. She just wanted attention on her, and what she felt was important. He didn't like how she looked at him. Like she was scared and pissed at him. Constantly complaining, never satisfied. She doesn't see the effort Peter tries to put in. Some things are just more important than date night, like saving the city. She just doesn't understand.

But Bucky does. He knows what self sacrifice is, putting others first. After all these years, he finally wants to be selfish. He wants Peter all to himself. He isn't going to snatch Peter up and hide him away. Peter just needs to come to him willingly. He has already opened the door to the possibility to him. Looking down so Steve can't see his face, he smiles faintly. He got so close a few weeks ago.

Peter and Bucky were at the compound. They just finished a routine training session. They were going to stay the night, so they decided on movies. Started a drinking game to Lord Of The Rings. Sure, they can't truly get drunk, but with enough alcohol they could feel buzzed for a few. It was a good bonding moment. And that's when the topic of slash fiction gets brought up by Peter.

" The what?"

Peter flushes. " Well, like... a lot of people online write up these stories? Like fan responses. Like... a lot of fans think Legolas should get with Aragon in a romantic way"

Bucky stares at Peter for a moment, he looks back at the screen and tilts his head before nodding.

" With seeing the actors... that would be a pretty sight to see."

" Right? Cause like they are... wait what... your okay with that? I thought that well..."

" That I would be uncomfortable? I know the stories have me as good with the ladies. But I've never shied away from a good time with a guy. Course, it was illegal then, but I think it's called being Bi now."

Bucky just shrugs and takes another sip of his beer. He watched Peter's reaction. He knows, based on his research, into Peter that he as well was not straight. But he had never said anything to anyone openly.

Peter's eyes widen as he stares at Bucky, and Bucky can't help but feel the warm that spread throughout his chest when Peter gaze goes to his lips and gives him a once over. Before blushing and giving him a shy smile. " I'm Bi too. "

Bucky shakes his head, shoving the memory back before looking over at Steve.

" I'm not going to start anything with him. If he wants to be more then just friends, Peter will have to make yhe move. I promise you Stevie. I'm not approaching him that way. He will have to come to me"

Steve sighs " Thats all well and good Bucky. But if this happens, I can't protect you from Tony again. Its a line you are crossing, and... I do want you happy. You know that. "

" I know..."

And it was a few days after that, and one room overhaul to hide his... extra surveillance of Peter in another location, when Peter called him. He almost got his gun when he heard the teary voice on the line. Peter asked to come over cause he didn't want to be alone right now.

When Bucky opened the door, his shoulders dropped a little. The look on Peter's face was just so heartbreaking.

" Oh Doll... come here"

Peter stumbles into Bucky's arm and wraps him into a hug. Closing the door, Bucky wraps one of his arms around Peter, before shifting their bodies sonhe could pick Peter up and carry him over to the couch.

" I got ya Pete... don't worry I'll take care of you"

Bucky wasn't assassin for nothing. He always gets his target.

[csyched]

Mundane Design Detail of Digital Devil Saga: Tag Rings

(Spoilers for both DDS + DDS2.)

I have a tendency to look way too deep into little details of character designs in media, and when it comes to DDS where uniform designs are common, it gets even more fun for me. One of the things that first stood out was tag rings; the Junkyard invention that is introduced briefly and very early in the game as identifiable objects used simultaneously as trackers for downloadable mantras and can also act as digital wallets. I always wondered though, how much more they can represent for a character's actual design rather than just being a game tool for logging progress.

Rings on different fingers (and hands) represent different ideas on how we wish to present ourselves; these ideas can change from culture to culture, and in observing these differences, I looked both at general Western culture and of course, Hinduism. I was able to find more information in Western cultures with more commonalities. However, in Hinduism, by looking into mudras, you'll find rings on each finger can still hold different meanings. The middle finger is "ego", the pinky is "illusion", the ring finger is "karma". The index finger is Jiva-Atman - the individual soul or self. The thumb is Paramatman - the universal, eternal soul.

And if you've noticed, most individuals of the Junkyard wear their tag rings on their middle finger (on their left hand). In Western culture, the middle finger, similar to "ego" in Hinduism, represents "individuality". And hey, what do you know? That's a pretty important theme brought up later on.

The Samsara Tunnels scene with Lupa is actually what drove me to research further into this. Lupa removes his tag ring before performing an inevitable act of self-sacrifice, and at first, I thought it meant he was giving up his individuality. Until I noticed that no, Lupa wears his ring on his index finger on his right hand, rather than his middle finger on his left hand like almost everyone else. In Western culture, the index finger on the right hand instead represents the "potential for leadership". Fitting, for the Leader of the Wolves, who has offered his own head to the dominating tribe of the Embryon.

And then he hands it to Gale - who slips it onto his left hand next to his other ring, and he puts it on his index. And what does that represent? Comradery. Ohhhhhhhhh man. Let's go, gay subtext!!!

Irrelevant comment: (The funny thing is Lupa's ring literally does not pop up on his hand until the camera focuses on his hand and then it disappears. For the rest of the scene and the rest of the game and DDS2 it is gone. I don't know if that was an intentional choice - I doubt it - perhaps the animators didn't want to make a whole other Gale model with the two rings. I like to think he kept the ring...)

Moving onto DDS2, and Serph sells his tag ring at the Mad Mart to make some cash. Nobody else sells their rings. With the hacking disk, they are no longer needed, so it seems everyone just keeps it for sentiments. Serph himself also wears his ring on his middle finger, so was it a story choice for him to give it away - to represent him giving up his individuality? Of course, maybe not immediately, but eventually, Serph's individuality blends with another soul - being Sera's - in order to become Seraph. And no, they do not wear any rings, because neither Sera nor Serph did at the point of fusing.

Yeah.

Some additional points:

Cielo doesn't wear his tag ring as a ring, he wears it as a necklace. Similar to Lupa and his layers of necklaces with several tag rings. I'm not sure what that means - usually, necklaces with rings represent vows, most commonly found for promise rings. They can also represent deceased loved ones. Which is quite heartbreaking when you think about Lupa's necklaces...

Generally, the right hand for rings is the "action" hand while the left is the "thinking" hand.

If I ever find more information and more opportunities to extend this drabble, I will. I'm not sure how interesting this essay is for others, but some friends were interested in hearing it. I really do wonder how much thought was put into this design aspect, and if anyone has their own knowledge to bring to the table, I'd love to hear it.

[aritsukemo]

Get it together, idiot! | Yuichiro Tokito

Student Council President Yuichiro Tokito x GN Reader

Summary: After Yuichiro's secret is accidentally outted by Muichiro, his twin is determined to fulfill a fantasy of his; getting him and his crush into a relationship together!

Warnings: None. This story is on the longer side so I'll add a cut!

A/N: I'm sooo glad I was finally able to finish this!! >.< I actually started writing this sometime in the summer after getting inspired by an adorable short story game made by Ekkoberry called "Just Kiss Him Already!". I played it for free and downloaded it from itch.io, but if you guys go and check it out ( especially if you like the game as much as I did ), I def recommend giving them a couple of dollars along with your download to further support them! 🥰

Part One | Part Two

Taglist: @drluvsick ( @nursedflowers )

Class ended with the chime of the bell after what felt like forever. The incessant ringing woke you from your nap just in time to hear your teacher remind everyone of the test tomorrow. You drawl out a groan. Right, you were instructed to go over the notes you took during class last week over the weekend so that you'd be prepared. Alas, it had completely slipped your mind. Not that you had any notes to study to begin with.

Slowly, you lift your face, promptly wiping at your cheek which had been covered in slob. You grimace, realizing you also managed to get some on your desk too..

At the sacrifice of your poor sleeve, you wiped up the spit and packed your bag—being slow with your movements as you got up, stretched, and slung the bag over your shoulder. By this time, the classroom had emptied out. Not even the slackers of your class remained which only served as a silent reminder of how late you'll be to your next class for just now leaving the classroom.

Sliding the classroom door open and walking out felt like you were entering a new world. Unlike the previous world that was confined and held a comfortable silence aside from the yammering of your teacher and the students struggling to keep up, this new world was much noisier and way more crowded.

The hallway was always like that with the afflux of both high school and middle schoolers alike speeding to get to their class, skip their classes, meet up with friends before classes, and..yeah, you get it.

To put it frankly, you didn't like the school hallways. Horrible place to snooze.

There was another reason you hated the school hallways. A certain person, as beautiful as he was, always made your two to three minute experience in the hallways all the more insufferable. The beauty in question was a rather important figure in this school as he held the esteemed position as president of Kimetsu Academy's Student Council. Even if that presidency title only accounted for the middle school half of the academy, the amount of responsibility one would have to juggle to sustain their seat is immense.

Maybe that's why the beauty in question, Yuichiro Tokito, was always so snarky when he spoke to you.

"There you are!" Speak of the devil. As if you had summoned him by merely thinking about him for a fraction of a second, Yuichiro emerges from the sea of students. The frown on his face is evident which matches the dip in his brows.

He was obviously irked, that much was obvious. But it didn't cause much of a reaction from you as it was an expression you were forced to get used to.

"What took you so long?" He snapped at you before even making it up to you. Wow, you must've really pissed him off this time, you thought. That thought would've been followed up by an eye roll, but doing that would cost a lot of energy that you just don't have right now.

"Are you trying to ruin my attendance so that I look like some joke? I know you want someone to join you in your underachieving boat, but I, for one, don't," He says, stopping right in front of you—probably so that you can see his glare up close. All it did was allow you the opportunity to gaze at his gorgeous minty hues while they gleam unintentionally under the school's annoyingly bright lights.

"If you care so much about that stuff, why don't you just go to class? I mean.." You cut yourself off, your hand coming up to cover your mouth that had started to hang open as you yawned loudly. You decide to continue after a while, your voice dipped by your drowsiness, "I mean, you don't have to wait around for me and walk with me to class."

"You say that as if I have a choice in the matter," He immediately responds, his arms crossing over his chest as those pretty mint green eyes of his finally relieve you by darting away, "As president, it's one of my jobs to make sure all students are in class and accounted for, that includes the slackers like you."

"Is it really? That sounds more like a job for a secretary or something."

"And once again, you have proven just how stupid you actually are," During the entirety of this lovely exchange, there has been someone third wheeling. That someone is none other than Yuichiro's twin brother and also the vice president of the student council, Muichiro Tokito—although, he'd prefer not to be reminded of the title seeming as it was forced onto him by his brother after he became president.

Unlike Yuichiro, Muichiro always had this sort of blank look on his face. As if he was a walking corpse, there wasn't a single light or flicker of any kind of emotion swirling in his minty pupils. Furthermore, he never seemed to show his emotions on his face like his elder brother did and you'd only really be able to tell how he's feeling by picking apart his tone whenever he speaks. It's what sets him apart from his twin which always made you wonder how some people couldn't tell the difference between them when they had such obviously contrasting characteristics.

"We should get to class. The bell will ring soon," Muichiro also wasn't a boy of many words, or at least, not in settings like this. Having the honor of being one of his close friends, there have been many times where Muichiro has rambled on to you or someone else in your friend group about something that's interested him. Whether that'd be video games or manga or even his hobby of origami folding.

Despite his voice not being the loudest, it was still able to be heard by Yuichiro's attentive ears. He halts, and you could tell he had another insult heavy on his tongue that was just begging to be thrown at you. Thankfully, it never leaves his lips as Yuichiro decides to drop the whole conversation, turn on his heel, and walk in the direction of your next class.

And like always, he turns back around after realizing you weren't moving, latched both hands onto your arm, and yanked you along..

You made it to class within mere minutes thanks to the twins speed-walking and maneuvering skills. It was truly unfortunate, you thought as you stared at the door that lead to hell—panting slightly due to having to run so that you weren't dragged through the halls by the arm.

There was a plate above the door, the kanji reading the numbers of the classroom you had since memorized and had made yourself believe were the cursed writing of the devil, but you suppose going that far would be a little dramatic.

But for a class as bad as biology which was taught by the locally feared Obanai Iguro, the dramatics were necessary in your eyes.

Muichiro, being the brave warrior that he was, didn't hesitate to slide the door open and walk inside. Yuichiro was to follow, but you were more hesitant. In the end, though, you were dragged in just as the bell chimed throughout the halls..

Lunch time takes forever to approach but eventually does with another chime of the bell. Unlike during morning classes, slackers and excelling students alike rushed either out of class or across the room to clique up with their friends to chat.

Yuichiro didn't seem to fit either bill, going about packing his things at a more average pace and all while his eyes remained glued to the front of the classroom where Y/n sat at the front of class before their masked teacher.

They had once again got caught dozing off and, although Mr. Iguro was merciful enough not to strap them to one of his rockets this time, he thought it'd be fitting to use the lunch period to reteach all the material he went over in class.

His view of Y/n is suddenly blocked and Yuichiro blinks, as if snapping out of a trance. He looks over at the culprit and his face is what he's met with. Muichiro gestures to the door, silently asking him if he's ready to go, and Yuichiro nods.

Like Y/n, Yuichiro would also be skipping lunch, albeit his reason isn't because he was dumb enough as to try and nap in class. No, he'd never. It was actually because he had some business to attend to in the Student Council room.

..And so, slinging his bag over his shoulder, he and his twin waltz right past the desk there friend was sitting at and walks out of the classroom, not sparing them so much as a glance of pity. Maybe Muichiro did, but certainly not Yuichiro.

Upon entering the janitor's closet they had a nerve to call a student council room, Yuichiro's met with the sight of burgundy hair and a large stack of paper work. His twin is met with the same, but his reaction is much more visibly positive than his; a large smile beginning to split across Muichiro's face—an otherwise foreign expression for everyone aside from a select few people to see.

"Hey, Tanjiro! We're here!" Muichiro barely managed to spit out as he made quick strides over to the older boy..

"Sorry if we kept you waiting."

Tanjiro looks up to meet his gaze, a friendly smile already etched on his face, "Don't worry, I just got here myself."

"Thanks again for offering to help us out with this. At first, I felt bad since you'd miss lunch because of us, but Yui' woke up early this morning and made all of us homemade lunches!"

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that while we're at school?" Yuichiro grumbled as he walked up to one of the four desks they pushed together and called a meeting table and sat his bag down.

"Sorry.." His younger twin apologized and he nods as he took a seat besides Tanjiro, grabbing a couple of papers from the top of the pile and immediately taking notice of the neatly-written characters that spelt out 'Archery Club'.

The school festival was fast approaching and since many people who were to attend the festival will be news anchors, popular alumni, and either elementary schoolers, middle schoolers, or high schoolers looking to become apart of the academy the following year, everybody wanted their time to shine and show off their clubs in order to attract more members and attention.

And as one of two of the presidents of the student council, it was Yuichiro's priority to go over each and every request and idea and either approve or disapprove of it. There was also the task of deciding which of the sports teams should get the spotlight this year, interesting games that would interest the majority, and food—the last two having to fit very closely with this year's theme.

Basically, it was all one, big headache. Not that Yuichiro wasn't used to headaches with having to deal with stuff like on top of having to constantly interact with that annoying fanclub that formed soon after he was appointed to be president..

Spreading out the papers on the desk, Yuichiro's eyes skimmed through each one before suddenly pausing, choosing a form he just knew he'd reject.

Yeah, that's how he'll go through this stack. He'll get rid of the obvious rejects before focusing on the remaining clubs he'll have to put more thought into.

"So, what's the name of the theme this year?" Tanjiro questioned, his eyes never leaving the paper infront of him as his eyes slowly took in each word on the otherwise blank sheet of paper.

"The name is still being decided by the upperclassmen, but the theme itself was chosen to be centered around Valentine's Day since the festival will fall on that day," Muichiro explains cheerfully—a stark contrast to his movements which are harsh as he ruthlessly crushes a paper in his hand and tosses it in the trash bin in the corner of the room.

Who knows what kind of rubbish was on that paper to gain that kind of reaction.

"I'm hoping that it'll give Yui' the courage to finally- Ow!" At the harsh bump that sounds through the room, Tanjiro's eyes immediately leave the paper.

He looks up, blinking almost owlishly at the sight of Muichiro now being hunched over and visibly gritting his teeth. His hands, which were previously sorting papers, were now slapped over his knee and the scrunched up expression made it obvious of how much pain he was suddenly in. Yuichiro, who Muichiro was sitting across from, was staring his younger brother down with a glare that would make even Mr. Shinazugawa shrink into himself. It made Tanjiro's own expression scrunch up out of confusion of what he just missed.

"Enough idle chatter. We need to get these forms sorted out and decide who our top picks are before lunch is over," Yuichiro said, but his gaze never left Muichiro and his tone dared the younger twin to speak another word. Alas, Muichiro, being as fearless as he is, spoke anyways.

"You could've just said that instead of kicking me.." He grumbled, visibly pouting while rubbing his knee. The comical sight helped Tanjiro gain the courage to ask, "Why would you need courage to do anything, Yuichiro? And what does that have to do with Valentine's Day?"

"It's none of your—" "It's because he's had a crush on our classmate Y/n for forever now!"

Silence filled the room. Well, not immediately since the papers that had slipped from Yuichiro's suddenly still hands had made a loud, wavy whoosh as they glided to the floor.

Tanjiro's eyes were wide, cheeks dusted a light pink from the shocking news. Muichiro kept glancing at his brother, eyeing his reaction and waiting for his surprise to die down so that he could determine whether he needed to run for his life or not.

And at last, Tanjiro decided to speak up and quell the quietness, "You..have a crush on Y/n, Yuichiro? As in Y/n L/n?" Tanjiro wasn't particularly close with them, but there were times where they'd stop by the bakery. They were pleasant to talk, albeit a bit overly relaxed in his opinion. Tanjiro would've never imagined someone like Yuichiro would fall for someone like that..

"Yuichiro likes senpai?"

Muichiro and Tanjiro turn in unison at the sound of someone entering the room, both of which already aware of who it is before they're able to see them. Sure enough, it was the youngest member of the council, Senjuro Rengoku, who the twins completely forgot was coming in today to fill in for their classmate Makomo, who's been at home sick for the past couple of days.

Great. Just fucking perfect. It was bad enough that his brother blabbed to one of their upperclassmen about this, but now one of their underclassmen knows to? And of course it had to be the one who possibly interacts with Y/n the most!

This was all too much to handle. He was just supposed to be going through forms today. Possibly going on to write down a few of his ideas for entertainment for the festival before having the lunch he made for himself where he may or may not be interrupted by a student in need of his assistance with something. A secret he swore to take to the grave being outed by none other than his twin brother was not something that should've happened. Ever.

As the gears began turning in his head once again after momentarily being shut off, Yuichiro was dragged back to reality and as soon as he was, he stands to his feet. The rest of the papers in his hand are quickly tossed onto the desk haphazardly and everyone there watched as he pushes past Muichiro and speedwalks out of the room without a word, head hung low..

Muichiro had to walk home alone that evening—something he hasn't done in years.

Yuichiro had went home early, deciding to skip their shared afternoon activities at the shoji club which, understandably, concerned many members. After all, Yuichiro has never missed a day like that, not even when he was swamped with work from classes and the student council.

His absence made Muichiro's heart sink in his chest. He knew he messed up today, but he never expected it would be to this degree..

Muichiro made it home later than he usually did. The orangish pink blush of the evening sky that he always loved to look at had disappeared and had been replaced by the starry blue sky he liked just a little less. He walks up the stony path that led up to the front door of his home, slowly reaching out to grab the doorknob, twist it, open the door, and walk in..

His father was the first one to greet him. His burgundy eyes closing as he presents his son a wide smile. Muichiro took it in slowly. It took him a while to notice, but his father and Tanjiro had a lot in common—their smiles especially.

Maybe that's why he always acts so..childish when the boy's around. He's come to realize that maybe that childishness was part of why he made the mistake he did today..

"Welcome home, Muichiro," His dad greeted as he stood up from where he was sitting at the dining table, walking up to his son. His larger hand coming up to the boy's smaller head and ruffling his hair gently.

"I'll be honest, you don't usually get home this late so I was scared something happened. Especially since Yuichiro came back so early," He said, his relief so clearly etched on his face.

That's another thing Muichiro noticed about his dad. Just like Tanjiro, he could tell just what he was thinking and how he was feeling simply by looking at his face. They were both so easy to read. Not that he found that a bad thing.

"Did something happen today?" He heard his mother ask. He turned to look, and there she was, cooking at the stove.

"I noticed that Yuichiro seemed upset earlier. I assumed that it had something to do with the shoji club cancelling, but since you're coming home so late.." As she transfers the food in the pots to the plates on the counter, Muichiro notices the way her brows scrunched. It was obvious that she was worried. He didn't like seeing that look on her face as it made her look almost as if she was in pain.

"Nothing serious happened," Muichiro quickly said, "It's just some things that happened today regarding the student council. No need to worry."

Technically he wasn't lying. The whole ordeal did in fact happen in the student council room because of him, who is a student council member. He just wasn't giving them the full story. That's not lying. Hiding the whole truth, possibly. But it certainly wasn't lying. He'd never lie to his parents.

"I see.. I hope they aren't being too hard on him.." His mother said. She then sighes as if she was huffing out her anxiety, before finally smoothening out her expression and flashing Muichiro a smile, "But I'm not too worried anymore then. After all, I trust that you'll look after your older brother," Muichiro had to refrain from wincing aloud. Her words, although delicate and full of care, felt like sharp knives tha ran straight through his heart with the situation at hand.

With his heart bleeding out in his chest, Muichiro watched as his mother walked up to him with a plate in both her hands and slid them into his own.

"Yuichiro hasn't left his room since he's arrived home so I guess whatever's going on with the student council must really be getting to him. With that said, do you think you could talk to him? Give him his dinner too?" She gently requested, and how could he possibly refuse her?

With a nod of his head, he was already making his way out of the kitchen and over to the stairs. He's quick, making it up the steps in under a minute and speedwalking down the hall where, luckily, the door was cracked. Thank goodness. He didn't feel like putting one of these plates down just to open the door..

The door to their shared room opens with a small creak that Muichiro doesn't take much mind to as he walks into the room. Upon entering, the loud scratching of wood against paper is evident and draws him to their desk where his twin was hunched over.

Yuichiro had a pencil in hand which was swinging back in forth a little every time he wrote a letter or a number or whatever he was writing. Muichiro didn't care much for the specifics. Right now, he had a goal he need to accomplish and that was to amend for his mistake today.

"Hey, Yui," He started off gentle. Deciding to take a page from his mother's book and using her soft tone as he approached him, "I brought you dinner."

Yuichiro doesn't respond nor does he spare his younger brother a glance even when he sets his plate on the desk which produces a loud clanking sound against the wood. It makes Muichiro frown as he realizes that his brother was using his least favorite tactic to use whenever Muichiro did something to upset him; the silent treatment.

This is going to be way harder than he wants it to be..

"About earlier, I want you to know that I'm really sorry. I only meant to tease a little and I never meant for that conversation to go down the way it did.." There we go, Muichiro. A simple apology paired with a sincere, remorseful tone gets his parents every time he gets in trouble! Yuichiro stands no chance against a combo like that!

..Or so he thought. After saying that, Yuichiro lips remained sealed. Unlike other times, where he'd at least scoff or grumble under his breath, Muichiro's heartfelt apology got absolutely no reaction from his twin. As if he wasn't even there, Yuichiro kept his back turned and continued writing in silence. He pauses for a moment, but only to flip the page of the textbook on the other side of him.

"Yui', are you listening? I said I'm sorry."

"I'll never do something like that again. Promise."

"Tanjiro's pretty trustworthy and I can always talk to Senjuro so if you're worried about Y/n or anyone else finding out, don't be. I'll make sure they never tell a soul."

Silence. Wow, he must've really did himself in this time. Muichiro's shoulders droop as the thick, looming feeling of defeat fills his chest like oil. How is he supposed to get himself out of this pit his brother's put him in if he won't listen to a word he says?

And then it clicks. He just has to find a way to get him to listen! With a sudden plan forming, Muichiro takes quick strides over to his nightstand where he sets his plate down and walks back over to the desk..and flicks Yuichiro's pencil out of his hand.

Yuichiro freezes just as Muichiro expected he would. After all, it's common knowledge that, although the president's brain works a mile a minute, his reaction time is slower than a turtle's whenever he's surprised. It's a little mean to use this against him, but he has to make sure he listens to his next words!

With that said, he reaches over and grabs his textbook, closing it and slipping it under his armpit before slipping the paper away from up under his hands.

Yuichiro stares down at the now clear desk for a while before everything finally sets in and he found his brows dipping and scrunching up and his eyes twitching from irritation. He was like the physical embodiment of a ticking bomb right now and the last thing Muichiro wanted was to be anywhere near him when he finally explodes.

And so, while praying that the situation will diffuse itself by him saying this, Muichiro blurts out, "I'll get you and Y/n together!"

Tick. Tick. Tick. Yuichiro pauses again, but it doesn't last nearly as long as the first time nor does it seem to quell his anger one bit. He gets up, and Muichiro finds himself moving the textbook in front of his chest and backing away.

"Stop saying stupid things and give me my stuff back before I—!"

"I'm serious!" Muichiro cuts off, "If you're willing to forgive me and give it a chance, I promise I'll help get you and Y/n into a relationship!"

"Muichiro," Yuichiro grits his teeth. He despised whenever his brother got like this, "Give me my stuff back. Now."

"I will if you just hear me out—!" A knock on the door rings throughout the room and both boys fall silent. Glances are exchanged between them—Muichiro seemed especially confused as he looked over to his older twin for answers.

But his unspoken questions are not answered by Yuichiro, but instead by the sound of their father's voice, "You two alright in there? Me and your mom heard noises and screaming from downstairs and were wondering what was going on."

"We're fine, dad," Yuichiro quickly replied. As mad as he was, he didn't want his parents to be brought into this and making this a bigger thing than it's worth. Muichiro seemed to be on the same page because he followed up with, "Yeah, don't worry! We're just..uhm, playing video games!"

Yuichiro's head turned to his brother, making a face as to silently say 'really?'. After all, when was the last time Muichiro seen him touch a console? His brother gestures at him as if saying, 'Just go with it'.

There's silence on the other side of the door initially and the next time their father's voice is heard, it's doused in confusion and slight disbelief, "Er- Really?" Yuichiro rolls his eyes, even their father knew how farfetched it seemed.

"Well..what are you guys playing?"

"Ah- Legend of Zelda," And this time, it's Muichiro's turn to look at Yuichiro strange because..really? When has he ever seen him play something like that? Yuichiro urges his brother to just go with it.

"Sounds like fun! Well- Alright! I won't bother you two anymore then. You two should get back to your game, but don't stay up too late!" Their father says and they both reply in unison, "Alright!"

Silence is kept between the twins as they careful listen, both of them taking their own breaths of relief when they finally hear the distinct patter of their father's footsteps retreating from the door.

..And as soon as those footsteps fade, Yuichiro snatches his textbook and paper out of Muichiro's hands. Muichiro open his mouth to protest as he begun to trail after him only for Yuichiro to speak first.

"This conversation is over. Just eat your food and get ready for bed."

"No!" Muichiro yells only to immediately cringe at both the volume of his voice and the glare Yuichiro shoots at him after he shouted.

"No.." He repeats, this time much softer, "I won't. Not until you agree to work with me on this."

"I thought you just wanted me to forgive you?" Yuichiro questioned as he reopened his textbook and set it down at an angle on the desk, "Look, I forgive you, alright? You've got what you wanted so just drop this already."

"Come on, Yui'. You've liked them ever since we met them in elementary school. Aren't you tired of pinning after them? I'm tired of watching you do it so I know you must be exhausted."

"Muichiro. Shut. Up."

"Don't you want to hold their hand? A- And go on dates with them? Don't you want them giving you stuff for Valentine's Day instead of those people from your fanclub?" Muichiro continues anyways, a smile beginning to grow on his face as the moon shines down on him through their window, making the optimism shining in his eyes all the more apparant. Yuichiro notices out of his perhphral vision, but tries his best to pay it no mind.

"If you don't act, they'll never know and you'll spend the rest of your years in school sad and regretful that you never took the chance. Or worse! What if they end up falling for someone that's not you and they get into..a..relationship."

A sharp sigh from Yuichiro has Muichiro's suddenly enthusatic rambles trail off to a stop. No words are exchanged for a moment and Muichiro begins bracing himself for the inevitable screaming and snapping..but it never comes.

Not a scream or a irritated rant leaves his brother's lips, not even onece. It's surprising, but that surprise is quickly overwhelmed by a different kind of surprised that's caused as he watches Yuichiro prop his head up against his fist, his face growing an uncharacteristic shade of red.

"Okay, I get it.." He mumbles. He glances over to his brother out of his phrephial vision before suddenly growing too bashful to even do that and adverts his gaze.

"I'll.. I'll give it a shot. Just..stop saying embarrassing things and leave me alone for the rest of the night."

Muichiro beamed, his smile returning as he nodded his head, "Deal!"

That following morning during their walk to school, Yuichiro had gave his brother a deadline. He's willing to cooperate with any sensible plan he comes up with until the day of the festival. Muichiro found that reasonable. After all, that gave him a full month which is more than enough time in his eyes!

..Is what he would like to say. Using the rest of the walk to think, Muichiro had come to realize the most inconvenient thing by the time he reached the school gates; he has zero idea of what to do. After all, Muichiro's never had a crush on anyone.

Hmph, guess he'll need some help..and what better help is there than Tanjiro, the best upperclassmen in all of Kimetsu Academy?

Unfortunately, Tanjiro was just as clueless on the subject as he was..

"Sorry, Muichiro, but I never had a crush on someone," Was his exact words when he asked him at lunch. However, his response did catch the attention of the others at the table.

"Why are you asking anyways?" The archer prodigy himself, Genya Shinazugawa, asked. His question spurred on the blonde beside him, who gasped dramatically as if realizing something.

"Do you have a crush on someone? Are you going to put those looks of yours to use at last? Finally! It's honestly infuriating that you waited so long with how many girls are fawning after you!" The boy shrieked Muichiro has to bite back a mean 'Shut it' that forms on his tongue upon hearing that. He can't be mean, Tanjiro doesn't like it when he's rude towards people..

So, even though the older male deserves the venom pooling in his mouth, he keeps it walled off behind his lips and shakes his head.

"I don't have a crush on anyone. It's for someone else," He states. A mistake on his part, an easily avoidable one at that. One by one, he watches his answer reach everyone's ears. They all turn—well, everyone except Inosuke, who found his meal much more important than the discussion at hand.

"Who is it?" Genya asked, "Is it someone we know?" Kanao nodded along, silently wondering the same. Zenitsu gasps again, but this time, he turns to the pink-eyed beauty that sat across from him.

"Is it you, Nezuko..?" He drawled, his voice pitching to a point that it made Muichiro cringe immediately upon hearing it. Nevertheless, Nezuko didn't seem to mind it. As she stuffs a piece of bread in her mouth and began to chew, she simply cocks her head to the side.

Zenitsu squeals. Muichiro's urge to stuff his lunch down his throat increases.

"Whoever Muichiro is talking about, I'm sure it isn't Nezuko," Tanjiro jumped in, his brows scrunching together in disdain, "And you shouldn't pry either! I'm sure whoever it is wouldn't..want.."

Tanjiro's words slow as his lips come to a stop. His eyes began to widen, and as the realization struck him, his face changed to match it. Looking as if he just watched lightning strike a tree.

It had only just dawned on him who Muichiro was referring to. It's truly unfortunate that it seems like everyone else had caught onto his realization before Muichiro could say something to direct their attention away from him.

"Tanjiro," Zenitsu said, voice suddenly deepening, "Do you know who it is?" And Muichiro finds himself gritting his teeth as Tanjiro stammers out his response, his face already beginning to twist and contort..

"W- What? No! I dont- I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Liar!" Zenitsu screeches, pointing his finger at his best friend, "You're making that dumb lying face!"

"I- I'm not making a face!" Tanjiro shouts back and this time, Zenitsu gets up and zips over to where Tanjiro sits, immediately clasping his hands around his neck, squeezing down as he began to shake him violently.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" He screeches, eyes wide like a bug's, "I know your lying face when I see it! Now, tell me who has a crush and if that crush is Nezuko so I can deal with them!"

"Hey! Chill dude!" Genya reaches to intervene only to immediately get punched dead in his nose with lighning speed. A small, surpise yelp leaves Kanao's lips as she gets up, crossing the table and over to Genya, who's blood was everywhere from his nose now.

Meanwhile, Zenitsu yells, his voice booming and soaring across the large cafeteria, "Don't give me that! This is a serious matter! A serious offense deserving a thousand deaths!"

"Hey, are we boxin'?" Inosuke said. His wide grin revealing his teeth, which are stained with the food he has yet to fully chew and swallow.

At this point, half of the cafeteria was staring at them. Most leaned over and whispered to their friend next to them while others, ones who found the sight more common, quickly stopped caring and turned back to their lunch and or conversations. It was irritating—everything about this was.

But it's fine. Everything is still okay as long as—

"It's..ack..Yuichiro..! He likes Y/n..!" Muichiro's face pales as that choked confession falls from his upperclassmen's lips.

Zenitsu pauses. In fact, everyone at the table does albeit for Inosuke, who went back to eating.

All of their faces held similar expression of shock which held strong, shaped silence until Genya decided to break it.

"I- Is that really true?" He questions, voice lowered for the sake of keeping this damming secret at the confines of this table. He then turns to his tutor—who's face was slacked from disbelief.

"Tokito, did you know? Is that why you asked Tanjiro.." He trails off, his face darkening in color as he finds his own thoughts too flustering to say a loud at this point—or maybe it was because he's just now realized that Kanao's leaned against his back, her soft hand cupping his face as her other hand wipped at his nose with a napkin.

Either way, his question spurred everyone on to turn to Muichiro for answers.

He was stuck, like a cornered animal. And it was a due to his forgetfulness. His own foggy brain that forgot that Tanjiro is a god awful liar.. And now, he has no other choice now that the truth is out. No lie or story could help him out of this situation..

All he can do now is pray. Pray that when this all gets back to Yuichiro, they'll both be at the one place he'll be safe; home. After all, Yuichiro can't kill him and bury his corpse with there parents around..

Dividers were made by me, pictures used are from Pinterest, post formatting is inspired by @xxsabitoxx

[bettsplendens]

Hello and good evening, may I kindly ask for some orollow propaganda pretty please I'm curious 👁️ (anon bc I'm shy but we interacted earlier I'm following up on my words)

Important author's note: check the notes in a bit for a reblog on my writing blog, ft. first kiss.

hello yes you've activated my trap card (the trap is that now I talk about bugs)

(unfortunately I have my own trap card tripped. namely: headache. hopefully there is coherence.)

First, some background. I swiped a headcanon from author NurgleTWH that Oro was some flavor of battlefield/wartime medic, and I then brought him into my post-canon longfic to be useful in two capacities: a good deal of experience with severely injured bugs, and being large enough and strong enough to easily move, say, the entire Hollow Knight.

He shows up in chapter 3, is introduced to Hollow, and proceeds to pick them up to move them. Hollow, who is reeling and deeply confused at being rescued, on a great deal of pain medication, and being bridal carried, manifests a large number of question marks at the entire experience. He then gets a proper look at the place where their shoulder, part of their flank, and a bit of their lung should be, and immediately swears about it. Cue solidly over a chapter of careful examination, involving him handling them as gently as he can, talking to them, and helping to get the gunk scrubbed off their everything. Very confusing for our favorite sacrifice.

I then had two people in my comments mention that it seemed like there was a spark of something between them. Now, they're both too preoccupied for that something to be romantic, but there is definitely something.

And then I thought about the ship idea, and, oh no. That's really good actually.

So! Propaganda.

There's so much potential for that first meeting. Hollow gets probably about the first gentle medical attention and respectful handling they've had in their entire life, and Oro gets to meet the most terrifyingly stubborn bug-thing he's ever met in his life.

A lot of potential for how that evolves, too. Hollow gradually coming out of their shell, getting more of that gentle care, and Oro finding to his surprise that this incredibly traumatized, terribly injured warrior likes and trusts him.

They get along well, once used to each other. They both have a tendency to socialize like cats- they quietly sit near whoever it is, probably doing their own thing. Hollow ends up leaning on him a lot.

(Oh, that's another bonus of Beetle Big, beyond him being able to pick them up. He stays warm a lot longer than a small bug would.)

Important to this ship, I think: at some point in the future, when they both start to realize they've been mutually wandering towards something more than quiet companionship, it's Hollow who makes the first move. Oro doesn't dare- he worries about inadvertently pressuring them, and he also doesn't entirely think they like him entirely this much. He's a cranky bastard with nothing much to offer. Probably why it takes him a bit to realize what they're up to when they keep quietly bringing him things. He works it out somewhere around about the second live orchid, I think.

They're both idiots, a little bit. Hollow doesn't entirely think to inform him that they're trying to court him, and he goes "well. that can't possibly be what it looks like." for a somewhat entertainingly long time.

They also find each other's prowess in combat to be extremely attractive. Vessel observation pro tip: one can easily tell whether the large beetle in the sparring ring is Mato or Oro based on whether Hollow, watching, looks either mildly interested or like they're about to pounce on him. (My angle on Hollow is demi. Mato is also an impressive fighter, but they don't have enough of a relationship with him, or anything near the right sort, to find him attractive.)

Another stolen headcanon: Oro embroiders. Extension: Hollow picks up on his (canon!) liking for small, pretty things and brings him assorted live plants about it, Oro quietly embroiders matching flowers on things for them to wear. It's very sweet.

Neither of them is overly expressive in most circumstances, but Hollow does routinely go to exchange affectionate little head-bonks regardless of if there's an audience, and Oro hasn't turned that down yet. He also, very rarely, approaches them for quiet public affection, and they light up every time. (there's a lot more affection in private. Hollow likes to pour themself into his lap when given the opportunity.)

Basically: grumpy bastard loner with a soft squishy center under all the armor meets lethal eldritch creature who's learning how to exist without the chains they were born into, somehow they wind up being sweet at each other. Woe betide anyone who threatens either one of them, because they both know the other is able to handle themself but like fuck are they not going to react anyway.

Mildly/moderately NSFW bit below this cut:

Hollow, post discovering their libido (mainly by means of picturing themself and Oro in the place of the characters in a smut novel they're reading), turns out to be much less wary and much more enthusiastic about sex than expected. Yes, their body is doing new things and sort of inventing genitals from scratch, but they're thoroughly enjoying themself and they trust him entirely. They're done with fear and shame, they've got a few years practice under their nonexistent belt and are very firmly done with fear and shame about their reactions and desires, they're just going to enjoy.

Oro, first time: I need to be careful and gentle. It's entirely possible they're going to not like this at all, or need to take things as slowly as possible. Hollow's libido, revving up: pin me down and bite me please

(Wyrms that choose to find a mate only to breed will often battle for who has to carry the eggs, as they all produce both sets of gametes but generally prefer not to spend the resources required to carry a clutch instead of siring it and leaving. Whichever wyrm ends up the egg partner typically also ends up being wrapped in coils and bitten as a sexy-for-wyrms method of restraint. Hollow comes already wired to find this sort of thing hot, stacks their enjoyment of Oro's strength on top of that, and adds their own biting kink to what came with instinct.)

Hollow deeply needs many opportunities to shut their brain off and let someone else do all the thinking and worrying about things, Oro likes to have a partner relax for him to give all the attention to. Lines up perfectly- they get to lay back, purr, and have nothing to worry about except showing what they like, and also to make use of their lack of abdominal organs for size queen purposes, and he gets to have this unearthly, beautiful creature squirming and purring for him.

Sooner or later Hollow arranges for some entirely unobserved time in the sparring ring, riles Oro up enough to get him to actually handle them roughly and pin them to the wall, then convinces him to continue handling them roughly in an entirely different faction. They're gonna claw the hell out of that wall, and fall over afterward on discovering that their knees temporarily don't work.

Hollow has about five essentially-prehensile tongues. No further words needed, I think.

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

What piece of flesh do you think each Divine Warrior (other than Irene and Shad) sacrificed for godhood?

I have some guesses but I feel like you, the cannibal coniseur, have a better understanding.

Menphia - Her tail, as a meif'wa it is both her pride and joy and something used to keep balance.

Enki - His left ring finger. Magick is all in the hands so removing a finger is the same way as losing a wand. Can possibly limit control?

Esmund - At a loss, though maybe simply losing his humanity to become a God is enough for him? Maybe one of his kidneys.

TW, cannibalism. also, castration.

it really depends on WHO becomes patron of their godhood. I have answers for Shad and Irene, but not so much for gods outside of them two. it doesn't just depend on the ascending, but also their patron. And there are other gods.

With Irene as their Patron:

Menphia, the tail does work very well. It's an incredibly important aspect of how Mei'fwa move, and a big part of their identity. As a warrior, menphia would rely a lot on movement, and Irene would love to just... make that a little harder for her.

Enki, I think something a little more personal. Something that still impacts his magic, but is slightly more... invasive. Some brain matter, perhaps? A human can survive with only one hemisphere of their brain, and even learn to exist the exact same way they did before... but Irene would certainly love to watch him try and adjust to missing such a large part of his hippocampus.

Esmund, Loss of humanity, hm? Irene is a sucker for a metaphor. Whilst she isn't as centred on heart-consumption as Avra, why not indulge in a little bit of poetics? The Protector, who desires to retain his humanity, being literally heartless? That's amusing. maybe not my most creative idea, but... hm.

With Shad as their Patron:

Menphia, the tail thing probably wouldn't work. Shad is very centred on wanting to be able to exist as he is, he wouldn't go ahead and remove a notable non-human trait from someone. If she sacrifices it with Shad as her patron, that was a self-made decision. Shad also wouldn't eat her eyes, though, due to... meif'wa cat eyes and all. He'd settle for a thumb, perhaps. Giving up her ability to punch or hold a weapon in one hand, so that she may have a better ability to do as such in the other.

Enki, going along with the finger trend, yeah, he'd be the one to take Enki's finger. Shad is not overly cruel with his sacrifices, but he does know they need to have an impact. He prefers extremities to internal guts, when it comes to his friends at least.

Esmund, wouldn't have Shad as his patron, idk what to tell you. They don't mesh well, for a number of reasons, and Irene would prefer to keep Esmund. Who better to patron the Protector than the faux-sweet child-murderer? so... nothing.

HOWEVER--

(since i have Xavier in my divine warriors in LR, and he was the original SK)

whilst shad wouldn't Patron Xavier's godhood (considering Xavier being a sort of paladin type, sworn to a god - Irene - but not one himself), he would make a bit of a joke about being the Patron to Xavier's knighthood. He would ensure that the sacrifice would keep in line with a knight's most valuable vow... his vow of celibacy.

[goodday-goodmorn]

Todays work is of @ghouljams Cowboy141 au! Featuring the nasty boy himself- König! Told from the lovely perspective of Murphys (an OC of Ghouls for those who don’t know) granddaughter!! Go check out Ghoul they have some amazing COD stuff over there (the demon darling AU is one of my fav’s but they’re known for their fae and cowboy stuff!- odd niches i know-)

You had been thinking about this day for months now. Today would finally be the day you earned your honorary, ‘I sold cookies to Birdie’ badge.

And of course, all good plans begin with a pack of markers, paper, and a whiteboard that you borrowed from the back of your pappy's shop. (He wouldn't miss it, besides if he got grumpy you would just pull out the puppy dog eyes until he relented.)

Using some magnets you pin various torn out notebook papers to the whiteboard. It isn't quite like the movies where they use push pins and red sting but well- that would be inconvenient for your purposes anyway.

Face furrowed in deep concentration you stare at the board as if doing so for long enough would solve all your problems.

“Are you still planning?” A familiar voice rings out beside you, your fellow girl scout and current best friend, Alexis. She sits on a beanbag, sipping on soda as she stares at your mess of plans. You frown, clearly she wouldnt understand the intricacies of how important this was. After all, she already had her Birbe badge.

A perk she got of being the one to make the things, meant that the first year they were implemented, she got to sell to Birdie with no competition.

(You remember standing on the sidelines and watching her turn and hand Birde a box of peanut butter patties with a smug look on her face. It had been painful to have to stand there with your fellow troop members.)

The rewards were worth the sacrifice however, because now there's more at stake than the bragging rights of selling to everyone's favorite teacher. Now, you get an unofficial badge for it, made every year by the crafty hands of Alexis.

This year’s is sitting just over there on the coffee table, nearly finished. All it's missing is the border around the bird in the center, mostly because Alexis ran out of the thread she needed and has yet to ask her grandmother for more.

You sigh, grumbling out something as you continue to stare at the board.

She shakes her head and goes back to playing Minecraft on her older cousin's well loved Xbox. Trying not to die by the hands of a spider, she says, “Look- if you’re so serious about it why not just find a way through Goose?” You frown more, shaking your head. As much as you do get along well with your pappy’s favorite customer…

“Nope, not possible. Birdie’s friends are banned ever since Moon started complain’ bout it… Plus after Jordans stunt last year of getting in the good graces of Birdie’s momma- we aren't allowed to do stuff like that.” You explain, using a marker to scribble out more ideas and add to your current map of where Birdie might be when you all get access to the cookies.

She tends to be out during it, likely to make it harder for people to earn their badge by camping out on her front porch.

How she knew when you all got the first cookie shipments, you weren't sure. Probaby Moon. Yeah- definitely Moon.

“Besides,” you continue, switching your marker to a purple color, “Even if I did- that wouldn't be me selling to Birdie- it would be me selling to Goose. So it don’t count.”

She hums, “Tough luck.” You sigh dejectedly, nodding. She finally kills the spider and then turns to you, from the depths of her very filled pockets she fishes out a lollipop. She offers it to you like she's offering you a hit after a stressful day at your 9 to 5.

Gratefully, you take it, green apple, nice.

“Well, I wish ya the best of luck. If you fail, offers open to go selling with me later.” You nod, waving her off, “Mhm… i reckon ill get it this year though.”

She shrugs, pointing to the nearly finished badge which sits a few feet away. “Well, if you do, then that badge is as good as yours.”

You stare at it longingly, vowing to yourself that this year you would finally-

———————————————

“You didn't do it did you?”

You frown, a sour look on your face as you try and fix your now messed up braids. Alexis sits beside you, the two of you back in her grandmother's basement. She's got a bag of frozen peas against your jaw, trying to prevent the bruise you know is coming. You say nothing, instead just sitting there with a pout, normally you wouldn't be this upset but…

“So who did manage it this year?” She asks, leaving you to hold the peas while she goes to grab the first aid kit under the coffee table.

“Susie May.”

Alexis bumps her head on the table as she pops up, looking surprised. “Again?” She sounds as incredulous as you are upset.

“Yeah!” You cry angrily, throwing your free hand up.

She whistles, walking over to you and tending to your scraped up knees. It's something that happens so often you don't really feel it, but both you and Alexis know that if your parents, or her grandma, sees you all banged up and bruised, they won't be happy. “How’d she manage that?” She inquires, cleaning your scrapes and pulling out bandages.

“Playing fuckin’ dirty thats how.” You parents would also not be very happy with your use of swears but it's just Alexis and you right now. Plus you are rather pissed off at the manner in which Susie happened to win the race this year.

“Yeah I can see that…” Alexis mumbles, taking in your dusty clothes, frazzled hair, and scraped up knees. You decide to make it worse by opening your mouth and showing how your tooth is now loose and barely hanging on by a thread. It's a baby tooth, luckily, but still.

Alexis blinks, “How in the hell-?”

“She pulled on my braids just as I was about to get there. I tried to not fall but sending all my weight forward meant when she let go-”

“-You fell flat on your face?”

You nod, grumbling under your breath. The reason you're so upset is because well- Susie May already has her badge. And she was also the one to sell cookies to Birdie last year. Which means this is her third time selling.

The general polite thing to do after getting your badge is to either A) back out of the race to sell entirely, or B) if you’re gonna participate, give it a year or two after you earned your badge, then continue with much less vigor.

Alexis seems rather irritated herself, grumbling about how she's not gonna make a badge for someone who already has one.

There wouldn't be a point, plus it's such a waste of her time and supplies. And because Birdie only buys a box from the first girl scout to reach her- that means no one gets a badge this year.

Safe to say the troop is not gonna be happy about this. Not one bit. And you are eagerly awaiting the next time you all meet up and Alexis gets to break to everyone that the reason no one gets a badge this year is thanks to Susie.

After Alexis has finished patching you up, you huff, resting your chin in your hands as you drop the pea bag.

“Well- that was a bust.” Alexis says with a sympathetic shrug, flashing the Birdie badge, “Guess you’ll get it next year.”

You groan, flopping over to lay on the beanbag. She in turn, grabs her own girl scout sash and uniform, “Well since you failed-” You glare at the reminder to which she puts her hands up in surrender- “Since you…didn't get it. You wanna go with me to try and outsell her?”

You think it over but it really isn’t a hard decision, “Alright. But we’re stoping at pappy’s place, i need to fix my braids.”

“Cant you just do it yourself?”

“Yeah but he can do it with ribbons and considering Susie's got the Cherry with her, we’re gonna need some extra charm.”

Alexis pulls a face, “Since when does Cherry hang out with Susie May of all people?”

You shrug, waiting for your friend to finish getting ready. “Dunno. Though, I'm kinda hoping Cherry finds out what happened and punches her.” Out of your little trio of friends, Cherry could hit the hardest. She was smaller and shorter than both you and Alexis, and looked like a little angel, (hence why you and Alexis used her to make a bunch of sells), but you both knew she was a proper troublemaker.

Course- none of the adults did, which made things very useful for both her, you, and Alexis whenever you three decided to get into trouble.

Alexis grumbles, a bit upset by the news, understandable, she didn't have many friends other than you and Cherry so she probably wasn't taking the news that Cherry was hanging out with someone else very well. You decided to make it your mission to cheer both yourself and her up.

“It's alright, I reckon we can handle it without her.”

———————————————

“You sure we’ll even find anyone out here?” Alexis asks, skeptical. Fair,

considering the two of you have been riding your bikes for a while now.

You nod, reaffirming for what feels like the hundredth time, “Mhm! Look I'm telling ya- I saw some newcomers at Pappys shop a few days ago! And they certainly ain't in town, which means they gotta be out here somewhere.”

She frowns, “This doesn't feel worth it though.”

You shrug, “Well we already got everyone in town that we could for now, and they aren't gonna want any more cookies till at least a week so…”

She makes a face, knowing you’re right. “Fineeee. But once we find a house and sell we’re leaving. If we don't then we might not be back before dark.”

She glances up at the sky and you scoff, “You’re such a worry wart. We’ll be fineeee.”

She raises her eyebrow, “That's what you said last time and we ended up having to race home.”

You pull your lips into a thin line, and before she can say anything else, you see a ranch in view. “Oh look! A place let's go-!” You say quickly, racing ahead and leaving her to quickly pedal after you.

You stop on the road and hop off your bike, tugging your basket of girl scout cookies off the backseat. Alexis does the same, unclipping her helmet and letting it hang on her bike handle. “Huh, those horses are big as hell.” She comments, making you turn your head to see the draft horses.

You are overtaken with the urge to ride one of them, if only to be able to see how high up you would be.

Alexis cuts you off before you can even consider, “Don't even think about it. Your momma would be pissed if you tried.”

You huff, of course you weren't gonna try. That would just be a plain stupid idea, you have no idea what temperament those horses have. Still would be cool if you could though. “Whatever, let's go!” You run off towards the house, leaving your friend to scramble after you.

In the process you accidentally trip over something, but as per usual you simply get up and keep going. When Alexis does finally catch up to you, shes huffing and holding up something small and light in her free hand. The other is gripping onto her cookie basket. She calls your name and then suddenly stops, looking past you at…

Huh. That guy’s nearly as big as his horses. Once more you are overcome with a similar urge to ride on his shoulders. He kinda looks familiar actually…

Alexis comes up to your side, fussing over you and you quickly realize why. There's blood in your mouth, and that's when you realize the thing she's holding just so happens to be one of your front two teeth.

The big man seems even more concerned by the sight of blood, he slings the shotgun he was holding over his back and awkwardly bends down to you speaking in what you assume is german. “Geht es dir gut, Kleiner?” He talks weirdly soft for such a big fella.

At the absolute blank look you give him he blinks, and then translates, “Are you alright?”

“Oh uhhhhh” You ponder the question, are you? Yeah, mostly anyway. You can't feel any pain, but the taste of blood isn't exactly something you enjoy and its quickly overtaking your mouth. You spit to the side, smile, then give him a thumbs up with your free hand. However, when you’re missing a tooth and your teeth are stained with blood- it doesn't serve to reassure him.

Alexis takes hold of your shoulders and pries your mouth open, (in the process temporarily setting down her cookies), looking at the gap in your teeth intently to make sure you’re alright.

She frowns and turns to the big fellow- (who oddly enough seems more nervous of her than she is of him, he stiffens) -with a scowl. She isn't meaning too, you know, she just happens to have a resting bitch face, but the man doesn't know that. “Can we borrow your sink?”

The man seems to clearly have questions, namely why the hell you’re here, until he notices your sashes. “Pfadfinderinnen...?” He mumbles to himself, then upon being blankly stared at by the unwavering gaze of Alexis he nods, guiding the two of you to the house.

Not by leading you there, but rather by standing behind you and ushering the two of you forward like you were little mice. Mice that bite apparently, because despite ushering you forward he keeps a wide berth, as if scared to get too close and frighten you.

(Which you thought was strange considering out of you and Alexis, he was the more nervous one.)

Normally you wouldn't care too much about your missing tooth. Cause well- now you could get some extra pocket money from the tooth fairy! But right now, you do wanna go inside and rinse out your mouth. As much as you could suck up the taste of your own blood- you would rather not pedal all the way home with it. Also you wanna get a good look at where your tooth is missing. Plus maybe you could pull sympathy points and get this guy to buy a bunch a’ cookies, considering you tripped on his property, It was worth a shot.

He seems so weirdly familiar, that you can't help but stare. Oddly enough, this only makes him even more awkward. Does he recognize you? Once the three of you are inside, before Alexis can shove you off to the bathroom mirror and sink, you bluntly say, “Do I know you? You’re weirdly familiar…”

You frown, trying to figure out where you've seen him before. He stiffens but before he can respond, Alexis is pulling you into his restroom. Predictably, the counters are built for him and therefore tall as fuck, so she has to help you climb up there so you can comfortably rinse your mouth out without struggle. Now sitting on the countertop, blood washed down the drain, you inspect your mouth.

“Hahah! Alexis look- look-!” You say excitedly, pointing to the gap to which she just sighs. You turn on her, leaning forward excitedly, “Wait-! Wait wait wait- did you get my tooth?”

She looks at you blankly, saying your name.

“...Yeah?”

“Of course I picked up the tooth, why wouldn't i?” She fishes it out of her pocket, accidentally pulling out various random strings and threads it was tangled in. In the process, pulling out a few pebbles and other assorted nicknacks. They clatter to the ground but she pays them no mind.

You hold both your hands out for her to place the tooth in your open palms. It's covered in blood, dirt, and pocket lint.

“Its beautiful.” You say with a large grin to which she nods seriously, “How much you think I'll get for it???” There's excitement in your tone.

She ponders for a moment, “Well- for my first one I got 15 dollars. My first front one was worth a pretty penny too… I heard that Maxie got 20 for his first tooth.” She shrugs, you both grin, matching smiles that say, ‘Oh we are so going to the candy shop later.’

You hop off the counter and then the two of you are speaking to each other in hushed but excited tones, leaning into each other and swinging your baskets. When you walk back into the living room, you find the man awkwardly standing there. It's then you nudge Alexis.

(Mostly because she doesn't get to make sales often, she never was very good at talking to people. Some could say her personality was an acquired taste, she was blunt and awkward, however, luckily for her, the man in front of you both seemed even more awkward.)

(Typically cherry made all the sales, and if not her, than you. So- you wanted to give Alexis a chance to shine.)

“Oh yeah.” She blinks and then turns to the man.

“Uh- Hey mister.” She looks him directly in his eyes, he seems uncomfortable at the direct attention. “You want cookies?”

He blinks.

She blinks.

“...Cookies?”

“Yup.”

…The man is silent after that. So is Alexis. They both just stare at each other awkwardly. Well, you were proud of her for trying and that's all that mattered-! “Sure.” Wait what? That worked?

Alexis blinks, seemingly just as surprised as you. She shuffles with her cookie basket, “Okay.” She says, and then more silence ensues. You nudge her gently and she kickstarts again, “Uh- what flavor do you want?”

“What is good?” He inquires, tilting his head slightly to which Alexis looks at you at the same time you look at her. The two of you share a glance with meaning behind it. And then you’re pulling out boxes and doing what you did best: talking.

With your sales pitch, combined with the genuine occasional comments of Alexis, you end up talking for a whole 20 minutes. By the time you are finished, the man now has an armful of different cookie boxes. Everytime he would so much as make any sort of positive comment, or hum or “I see…” Alexis would silently bring him that flavor and hold it up to him. Too awkward to refuse, he simply took each box.

“Uh- kleines Mädchen- you gave me two of this one…” He says almost timidly at Alexis while you ramble about Trefoils. She stares up at him, unblinking.

“That ones my favorite.” She says simply, as if that explains everything. Konig can't find himself to protest against her absolute deadpan as she settles the box of Adventurfuls in his arms with the rest.

At some point he sat down in his armchair, making it much easier for Alexis to slowly yet surely add to the growing pile of cookies he holds.

“-It's a classic, these are based off of the original girl scout cookie recipe! You just gotta try em Mister- i mean the texture is just to die for-” You let Alexis take the Trefoils from your hands and replace it with a box of thin mints. She slowly and calmly goes to add the Trefoils to the pile.

“Oh! Now this one- lemme tell ya Mister- this is like the girl scout cookie, everyone loves a good thin mint!”

You don't even have to say more about that one before Alexis takes it and puts in his arms, patting the top of the box gently. Then she walks back over to you and holds her basket in both her hands, silent. She's pulling out a sheet of paper from her basket, and a pencil from her pocket, scribbling away as you finish your spiel.

“-And that concludes all the flavors!” He blinks, looking relieved to finally be free, alas you continue, “-Lets see for all that, that’a be…”

You turn towards Alexis who was calculating on her paper and cuts in with a casual, “372 dollars and 46 cents.”

To your delight, he simply shuffles, careful not to let any of the boxes fall as he dejectedly gets his wallet. He pulls out four 100 dollar bills and softly tells you to keep the change, you and Alexis’s eyes are wide as you stare at the money now in your hands. The two of you share a glance and then with your sweetest (now gap toothed) smile, you thank him.

Then with hardly any more words you and Alexis book it out of there, waving goodbye and leaving him stunned. Alexis is just staring at the money with wide, amazed eyes and you are excitedly chatting her ear off.

“Look at that! I can't believe you managed to get such a good sale- oh my god Cherry is gonna flip! You probably got us halfway to our quota already-!”

“I… I did that?” She says in slight amazement, technically you both did, but you'll let your friend have the win on this one.

“Yeah!”

“Yeah…” She says, a small smile growing on her face as you playfully shove her.

“See- i told you this would be worth it.”

She blinks and then looks very concerned all of a sudden. She says your name with a growing horror. You tilt your head, urging her to continue. She gestures to the sun which is starting to fade. Shit. And then the two of you end up frantically pedaling back to town, panickedly laughing all the way. It isn't until you are home and in bed that you remember why the large fellow was so familiar.

He's the guy you threatened to ban from your Pappy's shop a month ago!

[e17omm]

The value of the Threat of Death. A Songque example.

This will be a long post covering what I like about the Threat of Death, and why I think that Hoyo has completely and utterly destroyed that threat while continuing trying to use that to less and less success over and over again.

This will cover what I like, dont like, and regarding if a story even needs the Threat of Death or not.

Some spoilers for: Honkai Impact 3rd. Genshin Impact. Honkai Star Rail. That time I got reincarnated as a Slime. Code Geass. Lord of the Rings. The Incredibles.

Lets start with what I consider as "the Threat of Death"

The Threat of Death is when I feel tension and fear that I character can die. This is the strongest when another important character has already died prematurely to the completion of their arc (aka, "I lived my entire life. My whole purpose is to die at this moment" isnt a "Threat of Death" moment.)

For example: Himeko (HI3). After Himeko's death, Kiana putting a loaded gun to her own head with the intention to shoot has made everyone I've seen (including myself) hold their breath. Because the Threat of Death is real and fresh and Kiana might actually just shoot herself.

Another good example is Songque (in isolation). When she thinks she is ready to sacrifice herself, only to start panicing and realising that she could still have a long life ahead of herself. There is so much she still hasnt done! The Threat of Death is strong. Songque is possibly mere moments away from having her life taken away and she herself is realising more and more how much living means to her.

That is good examples that strengthens the Threat of Death, because it feels like that character might be moments away from their certain, early, death.

What are bad examples?

A character previously not in a scene suddenly appearing and saving a character. Genshin Impact does this the worst.

Xiao in the Chasm sacrifices himself in order to push everyone else back into reality. Letting himself be grabbed by the strange space they were in. But suddenly! Zhongli was in the area and he uses his powers to bring Xiao back into real space. Now, while its reasonable to understand that Zhongli could do that, in isolation to just that scene, Zhongli is a Deus Ex Machina that comes out of nowhere to save Xiao.

Another example is Navia in pretty much the same exact situation. The bridge collapses beneath her feet and she plummets into the Primordial Sea and is being absorbed by it. But suddenly! Neuvillette appears and pulls her out. And again, he was not previously in the scene. And again, it is reasonable to assume that Neuvillette could save someone from the Primordial Sea. But in isolation he comes out of nowhere to save Navia.

Then we have Firefly, who is depicted as if she is impaled and in great pain and we are left to assume that she died for an entire patch. Unlike the other two bad examples, this one is a cliffhanger. And the solution? Ah no, the thing that stabs, impales, and kills people - that's actually just how it transports people to another area.

All of these examples diminish the Threat of Death by showing characters in situations that should result in their death, and then just saying that they didnt actually die.

A character can just come out of nowhere to save the day, or the "death" is not actually a death, even if it is 100% depicted as killing off a character.

Songque is also an example that diminishes the Threat of Death, but I'll get back to that later.

Making the Threat of Death feel real isnt even necessarily moments that kills of characters, but rather the moment right before a possible death.

Diminishing the Threat of Death usually involves characters in situations where they would have realistically died, or someone inexplicably comes out of nowhere to save them, or their death is straight up undone.

Now;

Does a story need the Threat of Death to have stakes?

I would say "No."

Lets look at That time I got reincarnated as a Slime. Its a pretty chill anime. Basically the entirety of the first season is just Rimuru building up a little town of his friends. He is incredibly overpowered and he can make all his friends more powerful as well. When facing the Orc Lord, the only tension is if Rimuru and co' can get there in time before the orcs destroys a bunch of stuff.

In season 2 however... Like 300 monsters dies. They get slaughtered. They were weakened stripping them of how powerful they had become to where normal humans can run them down.

Aaand almost right away, as soon as we and Rimuru learns of the massacre, we get a story of how someone else was able to bring back the ones closest to her back to life. And the story immediately goes to working towards reviving everyone that died.

But while we get low chances of success, the story never paints it as an uncertainty. They only have 3.14% chance to succeed, but everyone is optimistic about making it work. So we aren't really worried as viewers either if they are going to be revived or not.

Lets look at something else. The Incredibles.

I would not say The Incredibles has much in terms of the Threat of Death. Sure we hear about a bunch of people dying, and we even see some corpses. But did anyone ever believe the family of superheroes would die? I didnt and I dont think the movie is meant to make it feel that way.

Yet the finale isnt boring even if we dont doubt that they'll find a way to stop the big bad robot.

Because they are unsure how to do it and if they are even strong enough to stop it. The tension comes from how they will stop it, rather than if they will stop it.

I want to look at the Lord of the Rings next.

Gandalf dies and its a big emotional moment that last for SEVERAL minutes, and Gandalf remains missing until the next movie with no hint of being alive until he comes out of nowhere and reintroduces himself.

This actually harms his "death" scene. Quite a lot actually. It doesnt make it that impactful on rewatches. But this doesnt really hurt the Threat of Death either. Why? Because its Gandalf the Gray. And now he wears white and is Gandalf the White.

Who else is a wizard that wears white? Sauroman. And they are the only wizards in the story. This does 2 things for the Threat of Death. 1; it might be that wizards can only "die" once. They go from Gray to White wizards. Maybe White wizards cant come back to life after dying. We dont know that. And 2; no other person that dies comes back to life. Its only Gandalf, who also insinuates that Sauroman has also died once by association of them both wearing white.

Gandalf's death and revival is possibly a one-time exception specific to wizards.

Onto Code Geass next: its a futuristic war anime. It has a lot of death. But did anyone really fear for Lelouch's life, like, ever? Or Suzaku's or Kallen's lives after the first like 2 or 3 episodes?

And yet it doesnt feel like they are immortal. They get shocked, lose their shit, a lot of people close to them die, they get injured and someone could just come up and stab them and I'd believe they would die from that.

Because the story doesnt constantly throw them into situations where they are in mortal danger (outside of being combatants in a war). No one gets shot in the heart and then comes back a few episodes later. Suzaku doesnt die and Lelouch grieves for his lost friend. No one dies or is depicted to die only to show up half a season later.

Except Jeremiah Gottwald. He's just built different.

But he starts off as a side-character that gets turned into a joke character and then turns into a side antagonist and then into a supporting protagonist through the repeated augmentations he goes through.

And he never explicitly dies. He just collapses and is then off-screen for half a season.

But for the main cast, over 50 episodes, they are rarely put in sitations where they would die. Code Geass keeps the Threat of Death by not constantly putting the main characters into situations where they realistically would die.

But finally, we can go back to Hoyo.

What is so bad with Hoyo not killing characters any more?

The way they do it. And I have a little Songque here to perfectly show what I mean.

So, Songque defeats Perception and is then completely missing, and the only assumption anyone can have is that Songque died when she threw the Sun at Perception. That is reasonable.

We have 15+ minutes of characters missing Songque and mourning her death. Its all great.

And then she returns. She just woke up and is alive and happy.

Now, the argument for why this is fine: Its a perfect ending meant for Entropy/Dreamseeker to "beat the level" and get the best possible ending while that ending wasnt real.

My counterargument: Then why was Songque dead at all? Why was she missing at all?

What would have changed if Songque was alive and happy from the get-go after defeating Perception?

Story wise? Not a lot. We could still meet everyone now after the shadow calamity has been solved and Songque could be there by our side from the get-go. And then have the twist that it was actually all fake.

The big difference is the Threat of Death would remain. By not killing Songque and thus not bringing her back from the dead, the Threat of Death is actually strengthened. Or at the very least maintained.

By not killing at all, you can strengthen or at least maintain the Threat of Death.

Instead of having Zhongli come out of nowhere, have Zhongli at the start of the quest investigating the Chasm from the surface. That way we know he is around.

Instead of having Neuvillette come out of nowhere, just have him with our group. That way we know he is around.

Instead of having Firefly die in our face, just imply it. Have us follow her signal and make it disappear right as we turn around a corner and have Dormancy float away from where Firefly last was at.

Instead of acting like Misteln will be dead for a long time, just... just dont. Or dont bring her back so soon. She really wasnt needed for the fight against Sa they could have easily just had Hua fight it.

Instead of killing off Songque... just dont? Those 15 minutes of "Songque is dead" didnt do anything for the story. Its not long enough to have a lasting impact and how all the characters would feel about her death is undone because she is back to life.

"But it was all a simulation!!" that just adds to my points:

Why wasn't Songque just, alive? What did bringing her back to life add?

What did it add, but another moment where a character overcomes death, thus diminishing the Threat of Death.

A story does not need death to be tense. It does not need death to have the Threat of Death.

But if you constantly put characters into serious situations and into situations where they are depicted to die or just straight up "dies", with the purpose of making me feel bad or sorry or mourn them or wish they wont die.

If you keep showing characters not dying, then all those moments of "oooh no! this character is about to die!" will stop having meaning.

You can write a story without death in it. But then dont put characters into situations where it looks like they are about to die.

Songque's scene where she realises how much she still has to live for - that is an excellent scene with a strong sense of the impeding Threat of Death. In isolation.

Because I was not surprised at all when Baiji didnt go through with it and killed her. I did not react (except for a sigh) when Songque returned from the dead because that has become the norm.

Because Hoyo has destroyed the Threat of Death by repeatedly and consistently having characters surpass Death in their Honkaiverse games.

Yet they keep having those moments.

They keep writing scenes that would be incredible strong with the Threat of Death, but by repeatedly not acting on those scenes, it diminishes the Threat of Death for the next one.

You can have Xiao be saved by Zhongli coming out of nowhere in the Chasm, but then dont do the same for Navia.

If that Kiana scene happened today, after what is it, 6 years of Hoyo doing "this character is about to die!" and not acting on it. If Kiana put a loaded gun to her own head, a tear rolling down her cheek as she tightens the finger on the trigger - if that happened today, I would not believe for a single moment that she would pull the trigger.

When I saw that scene for the first time, I though, "No. She wouldnt." in disbelief. Was she really about to pull the trigger? It wouldnt be pointless, she would take out the Herrscher of the Void as well as herself. Has she reached that desperate point where shooting herself seems like the only option forward to safeguard the rest of the world from the Herrscher of the Void?

But if I saw that scene now, I'd raise my eyebrows and then move on as Fu Hua shows up 3 seconds later.

Because Hoyo has overused the Threat of Death for 6 years without acting on it.

Keep the Threat of Death passive by not constantly having characters overcome it, or dont have the Threat of Death at all.

That time I got reincarnated as a Slime doesnt have the Threat of Death at all any more and I'd say its better because of it. All the characters are overpowered and its more about how they live their lives and the trouble that comes their way rather than if they will survive or not.

Hoyo keeps asking "are they going to survive or not?" and the answer for six years has always been "yes they will" and by now I want them to stop asking it. Or for the answer to be "no, they wont survive."

[innocentimouto]

Snk ending was beyond awful, but are you satisfied with how Levi's story was concluded?

Ooh boy

No way.

Levi saluting his comrades and being the one to care for their sacrifices was so important, especially to those who think he doesn't care about anyone. His story about being the strongest and thus being cursed to watch everyone die except him followed him to the very end. There's much to explore about his self loathing, his upbringing that imprinted in him to believe he was only useful in strength----something that was always reinforced throughout his life---and to lose that strength, and lose purpose for that strength, when that was the only way of life he knew, and anyone who he could have tried to live a normal life with was dead----Levi fulfilling his promise to eradicate titans, his role as a hero and humanity's strongest actually ringing true---

Except it only makes sense if we ignore all the themes and plot points and just focus on trying to aesthetically end each character's story while ignoring the amazing writing that was there.

Why did no one else care about all the other scouts? Many died saving them. These characters only made it this far because the scouts gave their lives. But they only care about Sasha? What about Marco? You find out how he died but you can't see his spirit reaching peace? Wonder why...

Focusing more on Levi (I've delayed this so much because I keep drifting off into ranting about everything wrong with the ending), how could that be a satisfying ending for all of those deaths?

The scouts wanted to rid the titans from the world to SAVE THEIR HOME. To have a chance for the future generations. They died for nothing with that ending. How hilarious that at the end of it all it's Paradis that's stuck with a horrible history they need to atone for and not Marley who could have just left them.

Moreover, majority of the world was wiped out as well. How could they be happy?

Now the anime has never been that happy and has always been darker so the ending could still have been dark. Sometimes people die for nothing. But the way the fandom perceives this ending as "perfect" as in everyone would be content is just no.

They tried to have such a happy ending too! What was the point? Why not have kept it sad if you wanted to wipe out 80% of the world? What we got was Paradis turning completely evil and being a threat to the world.

Oh yeah the scouts died for nothing a hundred times over. Why was it necessary to make Paradis end like that? Why do animes always have genocides and then sneakily give reasons or try to give reasons that justify it?

Paradisians really were monsters. Now they want to wipe out the world. You could have kept Eren wiping out 80% (still doesn't make sense) but made Paradis good.

Of course that would remove the "both sides have done bad so there's no real villain here to punish war is war I guess" that is always used to justify removing consequences from oppressors. Both sides have evil and both sides can do wrong, but this anime went out of its way to make both sides do bad things even when it wasn't necessary.

If Paradis regretted or wasn't on Eren's side, and obviously after the Rumbling the whole world would fear them, we would see the racism and abuse against Paradis. And for some reason Isayama thought it was a mature theme to not paint anyone as a victim.

Anyway no way would Levi be content with it. He does have some sort of inner dialogue about it. But it contradicts his words to Eren in the manga about the world outside being hell. It also seems very unrealistic that he would think an ideal world would exist, especially since he probably had a rude awakening once getting out of the Underground.

Also it was hinted at for the longest time that Reiner and Bertholdt were sent from outside. So they have an enemy outside who's capable of taking down their walls. Obviously the world outside would have challenges.

Also it was Levi's job to take down Eren if anything went wrong. So many people seem to forget this. He also delayed in killing Zeke multiple times! Yes, for good reasons (I'm looking at you---people who say he was so obsessed with revenge yet would never kill Zeke for the sake of giving his side a better chance at surviving!), but that took Levi out of the game for a while, whereas if Zeke had been killed the Rumbling wouldn't have started.

How can Levi be content when his body count is much higher than Kenny? (so many thoughts on him too and how the fandom casually calls him a serial killer)

The problems go way back for me, though. The ending is just a product of all the writing issues until this point.

Levi's ending is decent what with all these issues, but I can't stand the ending in general. None of the emotional beats touched me at all. I was left upset and in shock of just how bad it was watching it.

[666writingcafe]

We Meet At Last

MC

I have no idea where exactly I got teleported to, only that I appear to be standing in a field at the edge of a forest. My captor steps away from me, sliding the dagger that was in my hand mere seconds ago into a barely-visible sheath.

"What in the world were you thinking?" I recognize that voice. "Honestly, MC, why do you feel the need to sacrifice yourself at every opportunity?"

"It's not like I had any other choice!" I yell. "I wasn't about to kill any of those men! Their lives are much more important than mine."

"That isn't true!" Thirteen runs a hand through her hair and sighs. "I saw the way they looked at you, MC. They were completely under your control."

"But I didn't even do anything to them!"

"Not overtly, no. But there is something about you that has captivated them in a way that no other human--or being, for that matter--has ever managed to achieve. It may be your power, sure, but it could be simply that you're you." Thirteen pauses as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a simple black band ring. "There's only one other person that's had that effect on others, and they wore this very ring. If I am right, you are their successor."

"You're not talking about Lilith, are you?" Thirteen shakes their head.

"No, not her." She reaches down and grabs my hand. "Someone you know rather intimately."

Before I can reply, she slips the ring on my finger, and I immediately find myself surrounded by white light.

"Hello there, MC," a disembodied voice greets. "At long last, I finally get to see you, although I wish it could be under better circumstances."

"Who are you?" I ask.

"My name is Michael." Oh shit. It's the Michael. The one that the brothers are terrified of.

The one that Simeon showed my list of dates to.

"You're not here to punish me, are you?" Michael chuckles.

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On your answer to this question: what motivates you?" His inquiry catches me off guard at first. Why would he ask something straight out of a high school career assessment?

But it's not that simple, is it?

He wants to know my intentions. He wonders if he can trust me.

And suddenly everything in my mind is replaced by one simple word.

"Love."

"Love," Michael repeats. "All this time, you've made decisions based on love?"

"Yes. As long as the people I care about are safe and sound, I don't care what happens to me. I have to--"

"--protect them." His voice sounds softer, almost like he's smiling. "Very well. The ring is yours. I pray for your happiness and well-being, MC."

The white light disappears, leaving me stunned. What just happened?

"Take the ring off." Right. I'm with Thirteen.

"What?"

"Just do it." I try to remove the ring from my finger, but it appears stuck. No matter how much force I use, it's not budging. It's not like my finger's swollen. No, it's something else.

Did the ring fuse itself into my skin?

"Good." Thirteen smiles. "I was right."

"I swear, if you don't explain what's going on--" I get interrupted by Thirteen placing a finger on my lips.

"Relax, MC. I was just getting ready to." My silence satisfies her, and she removes her finger. "What you are wearing is referred to as the Ring of Light. Its sister is the Ring of Wisdom. Michael once wore the Ring of Wisdom, but he passed it down to Solomon a long time ago."

"Who wore the Ring of Light?" Her smile grows wider.

"Why, Lucifer, of course." I have so many questions. Unfortunately, Thirteen starts walking away from me before I have the chance to ask any of them.

"Where are you going?" I shout. She stops and turns around to face me.

"Well, we can't exactly teleport back, or you'd end up passing out. The human body needs time to recover." She beckons me to follow her, and we walk to the other side of the field, where an empty road awaits us.

"Please tell me we're not making this journey on foot," I tell Thirteen, who laughs.

"Of course not, MC. Don't be silly." She unclips a keychain from a belt loop and hits a button attached to it. Instantly, a motorcycle materializes in front of us, seemingly out of thin air. A helmet rests on the seat. Thirteen grabs this helmet and sticks it on before mounting the motorcycle.

"There's a spare in the trunk," she informs me. Too stunned to argue, I soon find myself seated behind Thirteen, my hands rested on both sides of her waist.

"Hold on tight, MC. I like to go fast."

[alovelyburn]

Random Berserk thought moment:

I was thinking about the answer to that Ask I did earlier, and the symbolism of the child with the broken soldier doll as regards Griffith's innocence, and then I thought...

If that child is symbolically Griffith's innocence, his purity of spirit, etc, then that moment in the Eclipse mindscape sequence where he tells the child he can't bring [the child] with him because the child is already dead has... even more bite. It tells us what he's given up to get as far as he did, and also foreshadows what he's about to give up in order to keep going, and....

The thing is I think a lot about the way the Eclipse/Sacrifices in general are framed. Because the direct rule is that you sacrifice the person or people you most love - people like to debate this because they have a hard time with it I guess, but this seems implicit because when the Count states he could kill anyone except his daughter, they’re straight up like yeah that’s why it has to be her.

It must be "someone important to you, part of your soul... someone so close to you that it’s almost like giving up a part of you.”

This is backed up by say...

 the way Slug Count's wife is referred to as half of himself.

So the rule is, Someone or someones so important to you that they are part of your soul, and losing them is almost like losing part of yourself.

But if you juxtapose that with the mythos of the crimson behelit:

"Whoever possesses this is destined to obtain the world in exchange for (their) own flesh and blood.”

So that contextualizes what is going on there right like you're cutting parts of yourself out, that’s the sacrifice on a metaphorical level - you carve your heart out and so it is replaced by yada yada.

But really, the rules of the sacrifice are almost certainly designed specifically to support Griffith’s character and provide the context for Guts and Griffith’s connection to the reader.

So bearing that in mind, when you contextualize it in Griffith's character specifically, we can see that this is just the most extreme form of what he’s always done: he cuts pieces of himself out and trades them for the tools he needs to keep going. And as a result of that he loses more and more of himself until we arrive at the Eclipse, where he just has nothing left to give. That’s why it happens at that time (or, well, more specifically, that’s why this point is reached at the time when the Eclipse was predestined to occur).

Because he's out of options (including just retiring in relative contentment since the one thing he needs to do that is leaving him again) and he's out of things to trade away from his own body or his own spirit and so he trades out his heart - his metaphorical heart, the people who mean so much to him that losing them is like losing a part of himself, and most significantly the man to whom he is explicitly the other half.

It's like the third night in Rumpelstiltskin - this miller’s daughter ends up in an impossible situation where she has to keep giving away the things she values in order to survive. Then she arrives at the third night, when she’s already given away her ring and her necklace - now all she has left is her child. It’s that kind of moment because like the girl in the story, all he can do is give up that last thing, the one thing he has left, the people who are part of his soul - “his own flesh and blood” - because if he doesn't then everything was for nothing and all the sacrifices he’s already made are meaningless.

...even if his current self is completely empty and evil, which I don’t think he is but lets suppose for a moment... even if he is, the fact that he exists because of all this - because this strong, brilliant, determined and well-intentioned person just gave away more and more pieces of himself until he had nothing left, and then he broke -- makes him tragic anyway.

And the thing is, even though he obtains all this power, he ultimately loses what made him such a magnetic and beloved person in his human life to begin with. He loses that spark that made him the White Hawk. Because yeah, Griffith as he is now has supernatural charisma but its....supernatural.

As a living human, Grifith had the same impact just because of who he was.