#i was gonna say amon but then i realised that's not

[redwitchrune]

you are a "help me" fanfic writer and i would do herculean tasks to read more of rune oh no now i have to put this on anon because i said nice things--

not that you can't tell from my diction but. sh. i am completely anonymous.

point is. "help me" and i hold you gentle until you find that therapist

WAH

CATKISS ANON TY

please force me to write bc i have written Nothing recently and want to but Cannot. also i never beta anything ever and probably should bc i need Input. anyways. my beloved. ty.

[randomwritingguy]

The Myth of Y/N (Korra x Reader UNREQUITED) Part 10

THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY...

Korra's POV

I weakly open my eyes as I begin to awake from my slumber. I'm still so exhausted, I've never felt so tired before in my life. I feel my hand being gently squeezed and I look to its origin.

It's Mako, his face flashing to a warm, gentle smile and his eyes becoming full of life again.

"Hey," he says softly, "you're finally awake."

I hum to his comment. "I'm still so tired...and hungry."

My stomach coincidentally grumbles right afterwards, making the firebender chuckle.

"I can tell." he replies with amusement. "Do you wanna get ready and get something to eat?"

I nod. "Yeah...thank you, by the way, for being with me."

Mako's warm smile grows even more wide. "Anytime. I'm always there for you if you need me. I'll let you get ready,"

I send him a gentle smile back and he walks out. After getting dressed and headed to the dining room, I see Mako, Bolin, Asami, Kyuni, Tenzin, Pema, and Lin already there waiting for me. On the table there is a plate of food already waiting for me and I dig in, hoping to satisfy my hunger. The food is absolutely delicious.

"The food tastes amazing, Pema." I tell her, showing my gratitude. "I'm finally starting to feel like myself again."

Pema sends me a small smile. "We're so thankful you're home safe."

After I finish my food and Asami and Pema come to pick up the plates, I see Tenzin and Lin gazing at me with curiosity and concern.

"Korra," the airbender begins, his eyes full of sympathy, "I realise you've been through a lot, but I need to know everything that happened."

I really don't want to think about last night, but I guess I have no choice in the matter.

"Well, first off. Tarrlok isn't who he says he is. He's Yakone's son."

Tenzin and Lin's face flashes with surprise, their jaws dropped.

"It all makes sense now." the former Chief remarks. "That's how Tarrlok was able to bloodbend us without a full moon."

Tenzin turns to me again, his surprise still evident. "But how did you escape? And where's Tarrlok?"

Oh no...no not this moment again. It's making me think of...Y/N.

Still, I owe them an explanation. I take a deep breath to prepare myself. "Amon captured him and took his bending."

"What?!" Tenzin blurts out, his surprise intensified.

"Yeah." I confirmed, "He showed up out of nowhere. He took Tarrlok...and Y/N. He...he almost got me too."

Tenzin frowns in concern and worry. "This is very disturbing news. Amon is becoming emboldened. Taking out a councilman, capturing Y/N and almost capturing the Avatar. I fear Amon is entering his endgame."

I grimaced at the idea. That monster is stepping up his game all right. It won't be long before he tries capturing me again. I need to find Y/N before its too late. If anything happened to them...

"I had a vision."

I gasp and look back up to Tenzin, everyone's eyes on me now. "Something else happened too. Y/N had a vision."

Everyone gasps in reaction, with Tenzin's eyes widening in particular. "A vison?! What was it?"

"They told they couldn't remember anything other than a distorted voice." I explain to the rest.

The airbending master frowns slightly. "What did the voice say?"

I sigh melancholy. "They were about to tell me but Tarrlok showed up."

Tenzin strokes his beard as he goes silent for a few moments, thinking about the situation. Then he finally speaks up. "Is it possible the vision had something to do with Amon?"

I sigh again as I think about the possibilities. "Maybe. But...I've never seen Y/N so terrified. They looked like they were gonna be sick."

We all stay in silence for a few moments. Thinking about Y/N has gotten me sad again. The guilt has come back, stronger than ever. I can feel tears threatening to spill.

"I'm gonna get some fresh air." I wearily tell the rest and I get up and leave the room.

When I finally reach outside I can finally feel tears stroking down my cheeks.

This is all my fault! If I paid more attention I could have saved them! I'm so sorry, Y/N.

"Are you okay?"

I quickly wipe my tears and I turn and see Mako, his eyes full of concern.

I tell him the truth.

"No. This is all my fault."

The firebender rushes to me and pulls me into a tight hug. "Nonsense. None of this is your fault, Korra. You hear me?"

I return the hug with equal passion. "But if I paid more-"

"-No buts." he interrupts me. "This isn't your fault, Korra. And if Y/N were here, I know that they would be telling you the exact same thing. We're gonna find them, Korra. I promised you that last night, and I'm gonna keep it."

I nod frantically whilst burying my face into Mako's chest. "Thank you, Mako."

I hope you're alright, Y/N. We're gonna save you. I promise.

Y/N'S POV

I awake in a flash as a bucket of water is dumped on me. I ignore the sudden coldness as I look around my surroundings. The room is almost completely dark with the exception of small green bulbs emanating some light into the place.

I look downwards and see my arms and chest are tied up. Dammit. I can't move my arms at all.

"I hope you've had a good rest."

That voice. I know that voice.

I look back up and see Amon standing really close to me, appearing out of nowhere. His eyes are barely visible through the mask, giving him a ghoulish appearance.

I ignore the sudden fear swirling in my chest and put on a tough act. "Mock me all you want, but I'm not telling you anything, you monster!"

Amon doesn't react to my insult. In fact, he's silent for a minute. What is he doing?

"Well?" I bark out, "Aren't you gonna torture me? Interrogate me? Come on, you said you were gonna make me talk! Why aren't you saying anything?"

He remains silent a few seconds afterwards...and then finally speaks up.

"Why are you on their side?"

I lean backwards out of confusion. "Their" side?

"Whose side?" I ask him.

"The benders." he growls out, his hatred evident.

I frown at his choice of words. "I'm not on the benders side. I'm on the side of the innocent lives you're terrorizing, benders and non-benders alike!"

Amon growls again in anger. "Innocent? You think the benders are innocent? The benders who threaten and abuse their non-bending brothers and sisters? The same benders who thought it was acceptable to place a curfew for all non-benders, restricting their rights and freedom? They are innocent?"

I stare at him in bewilderment for a few seconds from his response. He really hates benders.

I frown at the man, glaring at him with all my rage I can muster up. "Those benders you are angry at are the minority! And yes, what Tarrlok and the other council members did was corrupt, but you escalated it to that point! You think you're doing good for non-benders? You think attacking the pro-bending arena and taking bending away is gonna help? You're just making it worse!"

I can see Amon's eyes squint slightly. I think I made him angry.

"This is the only way to make benders listen." the extremist confidently replies.

"You don't know that!" I shout at him, my frustration growing and growing.

"Oh, really?" Amon asks me. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that if my followers and I led a peaceful protest or brought the problem to the council they would have listened."

I stare into his cold eyes. I open my mouth, about to tell him that they would, only for it to close. My mind flashes back to these past few months.

I think about Tarrlok's task force and how all of them were benders when I was with them. If I didn't ask to join, it would have just been full of benders. Spirits, the force is full of benders now.

I think about Lin's officers and how none of them were non-benders.

I think about how the council members besides Tenzin introduced the non-bender curfew without hesitation.

And I finally think about how Tarrlok, the task force, and the police were willing to arrest innocent non-benders without due process under the law.

And I come to my conclusion.

I sigh, and drop my head in shame. "I can't."

I expect Amon to laugh in victory, or mock my defeat...but he doesn't do any of those things.

I look back up and despite only seeing his eyes, I can see...sadness. He isn't happy about my answer either.

He finally speaks up after moments of silence. "Exactly. And the one time the council actually listened was when I told them to cancel the pro-bending finals."

I glare at him. "You wanted them to disobey you."

"True." he admits, "But my sources tell me that if it wasn't for Chief Beifong then they would have cancelled the finals. Don't you see? Violence is the only thing benders understand. I've heard a lot about you, Chi-Blocker. You are an inspiration to many. Which is why I wish to offer you an opportunity."

I tilt my head in confusion. "And what would that be?"

He leans forward until his mask is a few inches from my face. I can see his eyes completely, and the sadness from earlier is gone. Now they are so cold and so lifeless.

"Join me. Join me and become my right-hand. Together we can finally vanquish the evil and corruption of benders and bring peace to Republic City and the world."

Join him? He really thinks I'm gonna join him after what he did to Korra?! How he made her break down and cry right in front of me? How he made the woman I lo-care for feel so helpless, so terrified?

Never. I'll never join him.

I glare right into his eyes, my anger burning inside of me. "If you think for a second that I'm going to join you, you're delusional. You're right, the council is corrupt and many benders take advantage of non-benders, but violence is not the right way to go about this. Stop this and I can help! I'll talk to Korra and her and I can fix this! I'm sorry about what happened to you and your family, but this is wrong!"

He stays silent for a few seconds, his eyes now full of anger and disappointment.

"How unfortunate." Amon finally says, standing back straight.

Before any one of us can say another word, someone else enters the room.

"Amon, we have finally arrived."

Wait, that voice-

"-Excellent, Hiroshi. It is time to take back our city."

Hiroshi Sato.

"Hiroshi." I spit out, sending him a glare.

Sato's lips form a mischievous grin. "Ah, Chi-Blocker Y/N. Long time, no see. How's my daughter?"

I send him a teasing smile of my own. "Better now that she is far away from you!"

The man growls at that and walks closer to me. "Watch your tongue!"

I chuckle without humour. "Let me guess, you telling me that I was "the perfect representation for us non-benders" bullshit must have been really hard for you, huh?"

"Indeed." Hiroshi confirms. "You're not a hero. You're a traitor to all non-benders!"

"Like your daughter, right?" I shoot back. "Do you really think your wife would have wanted this?!"

A split second later and large hand slaps me across the face, my head sent flying to the right and my left cheek burning like the sun.

"I AM AVENGING HER FROM THESE BENDING SCUM!" Hiroshi shouts at, his spit landing on my face.

He moves to strike me again, but Amon grabs his arm before he could land another hit.

"Enough." the extremist commands. "Leave them, we must witness our revolution."

Revolution?!

"What are you talking about?" I quickly ask, my panic rising.

Hiroshi recovers from his rageful moment and chuckles at my confusion. "We are taking back our city. And you will be right in the action."

My panic now at its peak, I lean forward, desperate for an explanation. "What do you mean "right in the action?"

The engineer grins. "Haven't you wondered where we are? We are on one of the airships I designed for the Equalists. You are getting a front row seat to the main event."

NO! THEY CAN'T DO THIS!

"No!" I shout at them. I turn to Amon, completely desperate now. "Amon, please! Stop this before its too late!"

Amon looks at me for a few seconds...and begins walking away.

"You made your choice, and so have we."

Two Equalists enter the room and get close to me.

"Take them to the holding area. We'll take them to the pro-bending arena when we have finally reclaimed our city."

Both of them grab me and begin carrying me, despite my attempts to escape from their grasps. On my way there I hear explosions going off outside. Hearing that their attack has already begun, my attempts to break free grow wilder. Growing tired of my antics, they knock me unconscious. When I finally wake up, unaware of how much time has passed, I realise I'm at the holding area.

I let out a groan of frustration. They didn't even have the decency to untie me. How am I supposed to-

"-You're finally awake. I take it you're talk with Amon didn't go so well?"

Wait a second...that sounds like...

I whip my head to the back of the room, and there I see a slumped back, messy, and tired Tarrlok.

"Tarrlok?" I ask him, my confusion evident.

"Y/N." he shoots back.

We sit in silence for a few seconds, me processing what's going on.

"What...what are you doing here?" I ask him, finally breaking the tension.

Tarrlok sighs. "Same reason as you, I'm getting a front row seat to the revolution. After that, I'm getting transferred to Air Temple Island."

I tilt my head in confusion. "Hold on, I'm being transferred to the pro-bending arena. Why are you going to the island?"

"Because no-one can interact with me while I am there. I am going to be the only prisoner there." the former councilman explains, his head dropping down slightly.

That makes me confused even more. "Why are you going to be the only prisoner there? What makes you so unique?"

Tarrlok looks back up at me with a neutral expression, impossible to read. "I'm Amon's brother."

WHAT?!

I gasp in surprise. Amon and Tarrlok are brothers?!

"Seriously?" I spit out, my brain still trying to process the revelation.

Tarrlok sighs and brings his attention to the floor. "Yes, it's true. Amon is from the Northern Water Tribe. He is a waterbender and a bloodbender, just like I was."

Seriously? If that is true then Amon's entire backstory about his family getting killed and being scarred was a lie! He's been lying to everyone!

"How long have you known?" I ask him. Did he know about this all along?

As if he read my mind, Tarrlok shakes his head. "Not long. I only realised the truth after he captured me. When he took my bending, the sensation was somehow familiar. Soon afterwards I recognised it as my brother's bloodbending grip."

Wait...does that mean?

"Your brother bloodbended you before?" I ask him with horror. "Why?"

Tarrlok sighs again. "It's best I start from the beginning. You already know about my father, Yakone. He was a notorious crime lord in Republic City for years. His bending was taken away by Avatar Aang and he was sent to prison. But with the help of his former gang, he escaped and underwent surgery to change his appearance. He assumed a new identity, and started a new life in the Northern Water Tribe. That was when he met my mother. She was always so loving and caring. Not too long after that, they started a family together. Amon was the firstborn son, where he was named Noatak. I was born three years later. Noatak had a good heart, he was always there for me. They were the good old days so to speak."

I stand up to get closer to him and sit down across from him. "Sounds like you two were happy."

Tarrlok nods in agreement. "We were happy. But that all changed when we discovered that we were waterbenders. At first we were excited, I was excited, but our training brought out a different side of my father. A bad side. But my brother still defended me from his verbal abuse, even back then he wanted everyone to be treated fairly and equally. When I was seven, my father took us to a hunting trip where he told us that his true identity was the crime lord and bloodbender Yakone. He told us that we were bloodbenders too, and that we must avenge him and take control of Republic City. It was at that moment Noatak and I realised that the good days had come to an end. Every full moon, our father took us on another "hunting" trip, where he secretly trained us in bloodbending. We never told our mother what we did. A few years later, my father taught us to bloodbend anytime without the full moon at all. We practiced constantly, and I hated every minute of it. I had no stomach for manipulating helpless animals. On the other hand, Noatak seemed to revel in his power. He was a prodigy, in fact by fourteen years old he was able to master my father's psychic bloodbending technique."

My heart breaks as Tarrlok tells me everything and a massive wave of sympathy hits me. "I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you two."

Tarrlok nods at my comment. "Yes. I often faced my father's verbal abuse for not being as good as my brother. And although Noatak was the favourite, it wasn't any easier for him. He carried the burden of all Yakone's expectations and demands. Something changed in him over the years. The loving brother I once knew became cold and detached. Our father pushed us to extremes. And one day, he made us bloodbend each other. My brother bloodbended me, but I refused to bloodbend him. After I told my father I never wanted to bloodbend again, he was about to strike me. But then Noatak intervened, bloodbending him into submission. He told me to run away with him, to leave our father behind, but I refused. I didn't want to leave my mother behind. After that, Noatak ran away, leaving my father and I alone. We searched for days, but we never found a sign of him. We thought he perished in the storm. The loss of my brother changed my mother, she was never the same after that. My father stopped training me, his hopes for revenge withered, and he passed away a few years later."

As he finally finishes, the room goes silent.

He and his brother should have never gone through that abuse.  And I feel so sorry for their mother too. She didn't know what was really going on and one day she is told her son died? Yakone is a monster.

I lean forward. "Tarrlok," I say sympathetically, "I am so sorry for what you and your brother went through."

Tarrlok sighs, and his eyes are focused on me again. "And I am sorry for everything I did to you. I thought I was better than my father, but his ghost still shaped me. I became a soldier of revenge, just like he wanted me to be. And so did my brother. Amon's story may be a lie, but I think he truly believes that bending is the source of all evil in the world."

"And he is going kill the source...with his bloodbending." I add on. "He uses his bloodbending to take people's bending away."

Tarrlok nods in confirmation. "Yes. I don't know how he does it, but then again, I've never encountered a bender as strong as Noatak."

I sigh in melancholy. How can anyone beat Amon now?

Wait.

His whole backstory is a lie, right?

That means...

"We can expose him! We can tell everyone that Amon is a bloodbender! He will lose his support!"

Tarrlok doesn't seem enthusiastic about the idea as he frowns and shakes his head. "That won't work. To the Equalists I'm a corrupt councilman and you're a traitor to all non-benders. They won't listen to us."

That doesn't stop me though, my determination rising. "Maybe, but if one of us tells Korra they might listen to her!"

Before one of us could say anything else, the door unlocks and opens. There I see the Lieutenant. I guess the Equalists busted him out of prison. Dammit.

"We meet again, Chi-Blocker." the Lieutenant mockingly comments as he grabs me and pulls me upward. "You're going to be transferred to the pro-bending arena. Let's get a move on."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." I tell him. I send Tarrlok an apologetic look as we both leave the councilman alone in the room.

We finally exit the airship and enter the arena. Once full of pro-bending posters and equipment now full of Equalist propaganda. As we walk towards to the newly-installed cells, I speak up.

"You're leader isn't who he says he is you know."

"Be silent." the Lieutenant immediately tells me, having no patience for me at all.

Despite his command, I continue with what I have to say. "It's true. Amon's a bloodbender. He used his bloodbending to take people's bending away. He's been lying to you all!"

The Lietenant growls at my claim. "Don't be ridiculous. Like I would believe you, traitorous scum!"

When we finally reach a cell he shoves me right in and I fall to the ground in pain.

"You and the Avatar have lost." he continues, taking pleasure in my pain. "Republic City now belongs to the Equalists. It won't be long before we equalise it, and as soon as that is done we will continue our quest to equalise the world. The Avatar doesn't have the power to stop Amon, and neither do you!"

After his speech he walks away, leaving me alone in my thoughts.

He's right about one thing: I don't have the power to stop Amon.

But Korra does.

I believe in her.

I know she can stop Amon. And she will.

I close my eyes in an effort to get some sleep.

The Equalists may have won this battle.

But Korra will win the war.

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And that's it! Hope you enjoyed it!

Constructive criticism is appreciated!

See you all in the next chapter! :D

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Study Buddy - Reader x Bolin imagine

Imagine being Korra’s brainiac younger sister who accompanies her to Republic city but is the complete opposite of her, you’re introverted, quiet and making friends doesn’t come as easy to you. But when Bolin moves to air temple island he finds your secret hiding spot and soon forces his way into your study routine. You’d usually hate having someone around while you work but for some reason you just can’t get mad at Bolin, the opposite actually happens...

Amon’s attacks on the bending arena left pro-bending in chaos and Korra’s team mates without a place to live or anything to do. Korra’s kind offer however solved that and now you had three more people in an already crowded house. Not that you disliked Tenzin’s family, you loved them all, even Meelo. You just struggled enough as it was trying to find somewhere quiet to read and now the new additions made it almost impossible.

After much exploration of the house you’d finally found a quiet corner and were sat making notes on traditional dialects when Bolin burst into the room chasing Pabu. He barrled into the room but stopped when he saw you "hi y/n". Ever the person to choose a book over a human you hadn’t socialised with Korra’s friends much but from what you saw Bolin was a nice guy, he was always so confident and cheery, but now you just wanted to read in peace no matter how nice he was. You smiled back to be polite, hoping he’d get the message but Bolin was too social for that. He smiled back "what are you doing in here all alone...ow you’re reading? Well I’ll get Pabu and leave you alone". You nodded and went back to your reading but Bolin’s calls made it hard. "Pabu come here" he cried reaching for Pabu who hid under the table. You tried to ignore them but Pabu was fast and scampered around the room while Bolin followed like a bull in a china shop. "What’s wrong with him?" you asked curious and Bolin looked at you still smiling "it’s bath day and he knows what’s coming". You smiled slightly and watched the event continue, giving up reading while this was happening. Finally Bolin had him cornered under a dresser but his arms were too big to reach under. Still bolin tried almost breaking everything on the dresser. "Bolin" you said as he almost jerked it over "let me try". Bolin looked at you and you gestured to your much smaller arms "i can reach under better, my arms are twigs". Bolin nodded "thanks y/n". You nodded "no problem, block his exit...erm is he likely to get violent?". "Pabu? Nah, he’s never attacked anyone". You nodded and leant down cautiously. "Do i just grab him..it seems mean". Bolin appreciated your worry for Pabu but nodded "you have to grab him and hold on tight, he hates baths a lot". You nodded and reached down to Pabu talking to him, telling him what you were doing for some reason. You almost touched him when suddenly he sprang at you and ran up your arm. You yelped as he reached your neck but all he did was nuzzle in it. Bolin knocked him away from you but Pabu tried scampering back up to you. "He seems to really like you" Bolin grinned "you must smell like noodles to him". You looked confused if that was a compliment and Bolin looked at you "sorry he jumped on you, I forget everyone’s not an animal person". "No it’s fine" you told him "I just wasn’t expecting him to do that" you smiled looking at Pabu "he’s really cute". Bolin nodded "wanna hold him?". You nodded and held out your palms. He placed Pabu in them and Pabu immedietly moved closer to you and climbed back up your neck. Bolin went to pull him away but saw you were laughing this time. “He tickles” you giggled "he must like my perfume”. You laughed as when you moved Pabu away he just wriggled back "hes adorable". Bolin nodded proud Pabu was finally getting some well deserved praise.

"Sorry again" Bolin told you backing out of the room. You told him it was fine and Mako entered as Bolin left. You realised Mako probably wanted food and pointed him in the direction of the pantry. He thanked you and paused "just so you know Bolin doesn’t mean any harm". You looked up confused and Mako rushed to explain "It’s just Bolins always been really outgoing and friendly, he doesn’t realise not everyone’s like that so im sorry if he and Pabu disturbed you, he didn’t mean to bother you, Korra says you’re very smart so I’m sure you have a lot of work to do". You blushed shaking your head "Korra exaggerates and Bolin and Pabu didn’t bother me, they’re both very sweet". Mako smiled at your expression, an idea forming in his head but he didn’t want to embarass you by pushing further, instead he just nodded "ill leave you in peace" and left the room.

Bolin had learned that was your hiding spot and found you there the next day. "You read a lot" he told you after  observing you for a bit and unsure what to reply and deep in thought translating texts you just nodded. "Is it school work?". You nodded "history". "Korra said you were smart". You brushed away his comment with your hand concentrating on getting the specifics of the text right. Pabu appeared on the table next to you watching you which put you off. You tried to ignore the fire ferret when you felt a presence behind you and jumped to see Bolin bent over trying to see what you were doing. "Sorry" he cried seeing you jump "i was just wondering what it is!". You shook your head as your heart returned to normal "it’s fine don’t worry". "So...what is it?" he asked and you bit your lip, you’d usually yell at Korra for talking while you were doing work but Bolin was too sweet to yell at. "It’s about an ancient settlement in the earth kigdom". Bolins interested sparked and he looked closer before he frowned "wait but..what language even is that?". "Videz" you explained and bolin nodded "i had no idea you knew different languages". You nodded "i know the traditional languages of all the 4 nations". Bolin grinned "awesome, what’s hello in water tribe dialect?". You told him and he grinned "awesome, what about in fire nation?". You told him and he grinned “what’s Bolin in air nation?". "Bolin" you told him and he blushed "ow yeah...what’s..." Bolin started when Mako and Korra appeared. "Bolin leave y/n alone" Mako scolded him. "Yeah y/n likes silence when she works, she always yells at me for asking stupid stuff like that" Korra said pointedly making you roll your eyes. Bolin blushed "ow sorry y/n i didn’t realise, you have to tell me to shut up sometimes, don’t feel bad I get it a lot". "It’s okay" you smiled slightly and Korra went to argue you never said that to her but Mako hit her gesturing between you both. Bolin saw him do it and frowned "what does that mean?". "Nothing" Mako said quickly "we were just getting food, now we’ve got it so were gonna go". They quickly left and Bolin stood up awkwardly "sorry for annoying you, I’ll leave you in peace". You smiled suprised you actually didn’t want him to go "Bolin if you want I could teach you some of this stuff...I mean if you’re interested". Bolin grinned "really?". You nodded aware the he was bored senseless now he didnt have pro-bending. "That’s amazing! I’ve always wanted to learn the ancient earth language, my father never taught me". You smiled “well I’d be happy to help you learn, although I’m not the best teacher". "I bet you’d be awesome" Bolin told you and you blushed "okay give me time to plan it, come back tomorrow and I’ll be ready". Bolin who never planned anything in his life was confused by the concept but nodded "me and Pabu will be exactly on time" he told you serious faced and him and Pabu saluted you in goodbye as they left the room. You laughed quietly and felt giddy at the thought of your little study date the next day which made you blush all over again. You guessed having more people in the house wasn’t so bad after all...especially if they were like Bolin. 

[writinginstardust]

Drunk In Love

Pairing: Mako x reader

Request: @thats-so-bucky asked “ okay so resending: this was supposed to be the first one sooooo like you got all the promised requests and again, reminder that I really won’t mind if one or two turned a bit or a lot smutty😏👀👀 so the first/last request: drunk/sloppy kiss with ma boi Mako please?? 😍😍 ”

A/N: there’s a version of this that ends in smut but I haven’t quite finished it yet and i wrote this ending in the first place so I’m basically gonna post this fic twice, once with each ending.

Word Count: 837

*

“What a day,” I sighed as I flopped down in my desk chair, bottle in hand, and kicked my feet up on the desk. Mako grunted in response from his own desk. I shook the bottle in his direction. “Care to join me? You look like you need it.”

“Nah, I’ve got a mountain of paperwork to finish.”

“Ah come on, we’re off-duty. Take a break. Relax for once.” He seemed to consider it for a moment before finally wheeling his chair over to me.

“Alright, hit me.”

Half a bottle or so later it was safe to say we were drunk. Slumped in chairs. Giggling over something we’d both already forgotten.

“Did he really try and hit on you while you had him on the ground in handcuffs?”

“Yeah, and all the way back to the station, and through questioning, and while he was taken to a cell. I swear I almost punched him just to get him to shut up.”

“I wouldn’t have blamed you. I don’t think even Beifong would have.”

“Wouldn’t have been so bad if he was cute..”

“Didn’t have you down as the type to date criminals.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me pretty boy.” I winked to make sure he knew I was joking and was surprised to find him blush at the action.

“Well,” he leaned forward, smirking, “why don’t you enlighten me.” This was a side to Mako I’d never seen, and quite frankly didn’t realise existed. I kinda liked it. 

“Oh we don’t have nearly enough time to dive into my…eventful past tonight.”

“Come on, tell me a secret." 

"Alright, how’s this? I have a crush on a co-worker who could never love me back.” I shot him a grin and took another swig from the bottle when he looked taken aback.

“Who?" 

"That’s for me to know and you to figure out. Good luck detective.” I winked at him again. Maybe having him as a drinking buddy wasn’t the best idea I’d ever had if I was apparently going to act like this.

“Why do you think they could never love you back?” He asked, more seriously than I’d really expected.

“Oh a few reasons,” I took another drink before passing him the bottle and counting said reasons off on my fingers as I went. “One, his ex’s, I could never compete after them. Two, he is ‘get the fuck out of here’ hot with the most gorgeous eyes I’ve ever seen.” Said eyes narrowed as he tried to puzzle it out. “So, y'know, waaaay out of my league. Three, I work with him like all the time and I know he’ll only ever see me as a friend. Four, I’m pretty sure he’s already basically married to his job. Five, I am the world’s biggest screw up who got captured by Amon’s lackeys and lost my bending. Six, I’m basically useless now because of that and he’s an amazing bender so I don’t deserve him. Seven-”

I didn’t get a chance to finish my list as his lips collided with mine. It was short, messy, and a complete shock. I forgot to kiss him back.

“Did I read that wrong?” He asked when it was over and I’d failed to do anything.

“Nope.” I didn’t hesitate for more than another moment before kissing him again, climbing into his lap with a confidence I’d never usually be able to muster. 

It was as messy and uncoordinated as the first one, the taste of the alcohol thick on his tongue. Even in my drunken state I knew it wasn’t the best kiss in the world but as soon as his hands landed on me it was a thousand times better than any I’d had before. And they weren’t shy. It’s not like mine were either, but it was nice to see and feel the proof that he wanted this as much as me. 

At some point I found myself laid out on my desk, shirt half unbuttoned and Mako’s lips on my skin. Through the haze in my mind one clear thought emerged. We were too drunk to be doing this right now.

“Wait.” He stopped immediately, looking up at me questioningly. I blinked, trying to clear some of the fog from my mind. “Sorry. I just…Maybe we should wait. Try this again when we’re sober and you know this is what you want.”

“I won’t change my mind but we can stop if it makes you feel better.”

“Thanks.” I smiled and leaned up to kiss him again. And he kept kissing me senseless until someone on the night shift came in and kicked us out. 

“You want to get dinner tomorrow?” I asked as we walked down the street to my apartment, arms linked to keep our balance.

“Sure. I’ll pick you up at 8." 

"Sounds great.” I grinned and gave him one final kiss as we reached my door and I stepped into the warm. “Don’t be late pretty boy." 

[hachibe]

Ok, if anyone haven't noticed before, due to the amount of atla stuff i've been rebloging recently, I was rewatching atla after a long time. And now I'm on to tlok. Except for season 1, I haven't rewatched anything from tlok ever. Especially s2, which i hate.

So, I'm gonna live blog. I'm sorry for all my followers that couldn't give a shit about it. But i’m tagging it as #pris rewatches tlok so feel free to block

some thoughts on The Legend of Korra season 1:

- first thought: i love all the ways that Korra is so different than Aang

- I know I learned to love Tenzin with time, and I think is because it took me a while to realised how everything we know about him is what the narrative (and also him, I guess) wants us to think, not exactly how he actually is. We are constantly told how Tenzin is calm and patient and wise but we keep seeing him being nervous and impatient and making wrong decisions ( some of them completely biased and stiffed). And I learned to love him when I realised that he has (and us as an extension) this idea of what a airbender should be, and he tries to be that, he tries really hard to be that, but is not who he is. And I think this is more explored in s2 and s3 (I love his contrast with Zaheer)  but I'm getting ahead of myself. So... to cut things short, I appreciate how the narrative keeps telling us how calm and collected Tenzin is and then keep showing us how he is not.

- Mako, my boy Mako. On the first episode when he appeared I was like "why do I hate him, again?" and then 2 episodes later I'm like "oh jesus Christ will you shut your mouth!!!?"

- Lin, is a perfect human being, never done anything wrong ever in her life. (And I must confess, her voice is so sexy)

- the whole thing with Pema is so 😬

- i recently read a fic where in different occasions Sokka and Toph (or was it 2 different fics? Who knows?) complains that pro-bending is lame, is not truth to the real spirit of fighting or bending or whatever, and that earth ramble was the real thing. And although I agree that pro-bending brought something new to the styles of bending (you can see by the way the characters moves that there is not that clear distinction between the bending elements in their style of bending anymore, not like there was in atla. And I don't know if it was proposital or a mistake/laziness by the team), I must say so that is so cool to watch!!! I would definitely be a fan of pro-bending if I lived in that world.

- Lin sacrificing herself to save Tenzin's family? That's the shit! That scene haunts me in my dreams till this day.

- knowing how this romance plot is going to end is what's keep me going, honestly. Every time I have to see Mako and Korra interact in a scene I just get this nervous laugh.

- we haven't gone through the other seasons yet but I feel like Amon was the dude who had the best plan. The guy thought and planned his moves and I admire that in a villian.

- not to compare tlok to atla but...... I feel like the new avatar team misses a guy like Sokka. The plan guy, the guy with the ideas. And not just a person to have ideas but a person who think things and how to do things. I feel like this new team avatar just reacts to stuff. That's why their opponents are always ahead of them, because they never think things through. And I know that this is particular to Korra's nature, she's impulsive and always tries to strike first. (Alot like Zuko in s1). But they needed someone like Sokka in the group to balance things out. And I don't think any of the new avatar team is like that. Not even Tenzin.

- general Iroh was kind of the idea guy, and a good one, but he also only appeared for 3 episodes and never again. So... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- btw, he deserves the name he was given. That dude never stopped even when the odds were all against him. I never checked for the tlok comics but I think I should. I would love some spin offs of the United Nations forces. Would love some stories with Bumi and him, please and thank you.

- to be honest I don't like how Korra got to airbend in the end. She couldn't airbend because she was never in the face of danger or because someone/something she cared about was in danger. It was always because she never listen, she never had patience. Or whatever it was necessary to airbend. Like Aang, when he couldn't earthbend, he couldn't do it because he was never willing to stand his ground and face things head first. And he was only able to do it when he finally stood his ground. But Korra, Korra only did it because the narrative needed her to.

- not gonna lie, that ending with Tarrlok and Noatak? The saddest thing ever.

[theravenlyn]

atla for the ask thing!! 👀

ATLA?????????? i’m gonna include LOK too

Favourite character: T O P H

Least Favourite character:

5 Favourite ships (canon or non-canon): hmmmmm zukka, sukka, korrasami, zuko and his honour, iroh and tea hahhah

Character I find most attractive: look im demi but

look at this^^

Character I would marry: hmmmmmm suki

Character I would be best friends with: asami?? because she’s an engineer and i love engineering so much

a random thought: im so in love with how there are sub-elements, like earth benders can train themselves to bend metal and crystal and lava and oh my god i loVE

An unpopular opinion: idk???

My Canon OTP: sukka? because suki is such a goddamn legend and im so soft for when sokka’s huge dumbass grin when he realised suki was in front of him, just without her kyoshi warrior makeup

My Non-canon OTP: zukka i guess? i saw a post that compared the zuko’s relationship with mai and katara and sokka, and i can’t stop thinking about it. it wasn’t necessarily shipping them from what i remember, but it was just some Real Good analysis about how well they work together and such and i swear it opened my eyes--wait maybe i just really love sokka

Most Badass Character: i’m gonna go with katara. like, just watching my girl develop over the whole series!!! when we meet her, she can barely control the little bubble of water she caught a fish with. but then at the end she pulls the absolutely Iconic Master Move with azula. and not only was freezing them such a powerful move, she outwitted azula. 

Most Epic Villain: well, aside from azula i’m going to say kuvira. i quite like her. i love her efficiency and her power and her resourcefulness. her bending is so sMOOTH and AHHHH I LOVE. she pulled together an army and she was united her nation, although in an immoral and unorthodox manner i suppose. that’s-- that’s what makes her bad? idk. i think most of korra’s antagonists were really interesting tbh. like amon? the equalist arch was so interesting to me? and i love zaheer and his squad? *looks at smudged ink on hand for book 2 evil avatar water tribe guy for his name and can’t be bothered searching it up* rip 

Pairing I am not a fan of: hmm idk. im pretty chill with it. if i had to put a finger on something, than maybe makorra but eh 

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): i don’t really have any strong feelings about this i think. if anything it might be sadness with atla characters and their relationships with their children. 

Favourite Friendship: I’M BACK WITH ZUKO AND SOKKA BECAUSE GOSH,, THE BOILING ROCK?? DO I NEED TO SAY ANYTHING MORE?????

Character I most identify with: you know what,, i think it’s sokka. is that why he appears almost under every prompt??? like stupid dad jokes? loving suki? stressing out when my assessment groups don’t follow the schedule? feels like im not valuable because i cant do things my friends can do?? unfortunately i do not have a sword master.

Character I wish I could be: iroh, i think. i guess i do want to be able to help people they way he does. i don’t have the answers but if you’re my friend i’d give it a try. i wish i could be as content as he seems to be. to react generously like he does, that literally his response to his son’s death was to help people,, im soft. what i’d give to settle with a lil tea shop. but also be badass enough to break myself out of prison and wise enough to know when to bide my time. 

--

original ask post here :)

[atopearth]

Ikemen Revolution Part 8 - Kyle Ash Route

I loved it when Kyle just passed by her in the hallway and checked her forehead to see if she was unwell since she was looking pale, it was so cute~ Btw, I already like Kyle a whole lot seeing him from the other routes so I’m probably gonna be super biased for this whole route hahaha. It was so considerate of him when he gave her some warm water and then told her to sleep in the infirmary bed when she cried, I love it when guys wipe the heroine’s tears, so that was extra sweet~😍 Nice to see the alcoholic Kyle protect the heroine from Lancelot when she tried to escape, lol at how he’s in charge of her now though. It’s cool to know that Kyle despises people who so readily throw their lives away (heroine thinking she can escape) and yet he continues these alcoholic tendencies that are probably wrecking his health and leading to him throwing his life away slowly. Now she’s his assistant!~

It’s kinda cute how subtly Kyle tries to care for her. She told him she didn’t like the room that they prepared for her because of how immaculate it was, making it uncomfortable since it was so prepared and so close to Lancelot, so he gives her work to do so that she’d stay in the infirmary for a long time and then he’d let her sleep there on one of the beds. Then, when she told him she couldn’t sleep because she’s not used to this place yet, he gave her some whiskey to warm her up and hopefully feel a bit tipsy so she could sleep better haha, it’s nice to see him trying in his own way even if the methods aren’t the best😆 It benefits him though since work gets done and he gets a drinking buddy for a bit haha. I love how the heroine is trying to cook snacks for Kyle at night so that he’d be too full to drink and won’t have hangovers every night. So cute and considerate hahaha. Kyle with glasses looks niceee! Ummm, that was so adorable! Kyle studying to keep up with medicinal knowledge, the heroine giving him soup and then studying about food whilst waiting for him but then falling asleep, and then Kyle carrying her to his bed whilst sleeping on the sofa is just so cute! They’ve barely met each other but they just feel so comfortable and happy with spending time together, it’s so sweet~ I’m happy that Edgar told the heroine how considerate Kyle actually was since he was taking care of her in his own way all this time without her realising. So cute when she said she’d go sleep in her own room now so that he won’t worry about her safety, and he admitted to her that she was lonely when she jokingly asked if he was🥰🥰

I love Kyle~ he’s so passionate about his work that he even does house calls on his day offs for free! No wonder all the people love him and give him gifts of booze loll. I’m happy that the heroine reconsidered running off haphazardly like that and realised that inherently there’s no difference between the two armies, and she understands that it could spark a war if she ran back and they really started fighting over her. Also cool that Kyle understands her perspective and thinks the same about how both armies are part of the same country and are the same even if they handle things differently. They’re on the same wavelength😊 I love how whenever she feels unsettled and burdened with the fate of whether war will break out because of her, Kyle is always there to cheer her up and pat her head haha, I want him to pat mine too!🤣 It was so nice to see Kyle go drink with Oliver and Blanc and even bring the heroine along haha. I didn’t expect him to have an older brother though...so Kyle only became the Red Army’s doctor because the original successor, his brother died… It seems like he really loves and admires his brother, maybe he’s an alcoholic because of this, and because whenever his father and him chat about his brother, they share drinks over it… Sounds tough…

Omgg drunk Kyle telling Loki hands off on the heroine because she’s his was so cuteee~ I don’t really like it when guys say the girls are their possessions but I’m okay with it because he’s drunk right now, and also because he’s Kyle, yes I’m biased😆😆 Too bad he said he meant it as she’s his assistant and so she’s his in that way loll, poor heroine’s heart fluttered for nothing~ Aww he called her cute though! Adorable! Glad the heroine scolded him for getting so drunk that he fell asleep and nearly squashed her lol, he needs to control himself! Hahahah, Kyle’s pet is a piglet that was bullied by other pigs! The poor thing! HAHAHA when he compared her to the pig and said they were the same since they both eat a lot, get a lot of sleep and are healthy lmao. It’s hard to get mad at him when he so lovingly strokes the pig though lol. Ooh so Oliver is a child during the day and an adult at night, sounds difficult. It’s nice that he thinks more of the heroine after talking to her and realising that she can see Kyle past the superficial drunk he is, since he’s actually very kind and passionate. Lmao at Goo (she named the pig for Kyle lol) running off and her going to catch it though haha. It was so cool how Kyle appeared to save her as if he was going to bash the guys up, but then he runs away with her instead, and it’s so funny how he’s actually really weak and a slow runner hahaha. But he was so cool doing all that, he tried his best within his abilities and did what he could and succeeded, it was great hahaha.

It was so sweet and oblivious of Kyle to apologise to the heroine loll. He thought she was sad/mad that they had to abandon her shoes when they escaped the other day and bought her a new pair! He even noticed that she likes those frilly ribbon types haha. She’s just noticed her feelings for Kyle but he’s always so physically close to her, and always checking if she’s ill whenever she acts weird hahaha, everything that used to be normal became embarrassing haha. I thought it was kinda refreshing when Kyle agreed to bring the heroine with him to the field of the war to treat the injured, and said she’s not allowed to leave his side, because he wants to be immediately there to treat her if she gets injured. He’s not saying stuff like he definitely won’t let her get hurt (although I’m sure he’d protect her to the best of his ability), but he’s being realistic that she might get hurt and I like that😊 I have to admit that it’s so cute how Edgar always gets to see either the heroine embarrassed or Kyle spilling his feelings, it’s so amusing for him to witness it all happening hahaha.

Omgg, I didn’t think Kyle’s brother was involved in that incident where Ray’s magic went out of control (trying to protect the people getting kidnapped by the Disciples of Magic) and people died… It’s saddening that Kyle was there and did his best but couldn’t save his brother with his skills. His kiss was so sudden, I don’t even know how to react haha! It’s great that Ray and Lancelot are working together😊 Lmao at Kyle writing a note on his hand to remind him to tell the heroine he likes her after the war hahahah, it’s so cute and silly, but also serious of him haha. Btw, I’m also glad that Kyle understood what happened with that incident well and didn’t blame Ray for what happened, and instead is happy that he has become the person he is today. Can’t blame Kyle for feeling unqualified as a doctor when he hesitated to save Amon. He has always tried his best to save whoever and anyone he could, and yet at a crucial moment, instead of focusing on saving the guy, he thought about leaving him to die to save other people. I’m happy the heroine told him that anyone would have hesitated and that it doesn’t change the fact that he stuck to his principles in the end. What makes someone worthy is not someone who is perfect, but someone who can get through conflict like this by contemplating, yet still keeping to their principles and thoughts. The way Kyle confessed was so sweet! I loved how he told her how much he actually appreciated her sincerity as his assistant this whole time even though he just kinda pushed it on her, and how earnestly she worked and cared for the patients, and how serious she was on constantly wanting to be even better. I do think it was really cool and admirable of her to do all that. It was also really cute when he admitted that he did get lonely after she stopped sleeping in the infirmary near him because he really liked hearing her voice and her talk about stuff the moment he wakes up. So cuteee~ It was so cute how none of the Black Army guys believed the heroine was dating Kyle until Lancelot said so, since he doesn’t lie about such things😆 LOL at Kyle abstaining from alcohol because he wanted to do it with her tonight and “perform” well hahaha, Kyle you pervert! Well, I guess that romantic ending was more cute and lusty than romantic since they literally just kissed and did it hahaha. 

Overall, I quite liked Kyle’s route. It was nice, but it did kind of lack…impact? It was kind of like, the heroine went along with Kyle with everything he did, slowly came to admire him, whilst he slowly came to appreciate her and her help as his assistant, and they fell in love! The end. The romance was cute, and it was nice to see how shy she was against how oblivious he was until later. But the story did lack substance tbh, it was very…basic? You just kinda see Kyle do basic doctor things and why he became the doctor for the army, and it’s nice to see all that, but yeah it just lacked something to make the route feel more intriguing or emotionally gripping. Their chemistry is all right but not great, I’d say the heroine was more enraptured by his determination as a doctor. I feel like compared to my favourite routes, Sirius had a cuter relationship with her, whilst Fenrir and her got along so well that they were like both best buds as well as best romantic partners, so yeah, Kyle’s route was nice and everything, but not the best, I still enjoyed it a lot though.

[k-kuja]

which are hirako's most important relationships and why?

Relationship, singular.

I’m joking, but I’m also not joking because every single relationship he did have, he was prepared to sacrifice without hesitation for one (1) tall glass of sad.

He was profoundly affected when Arima told him, “You’re like me, you have that same emptiness,” I imagine for two main reasons: first of all, it was an admission of weakness on Arima’s part (the unstoppable shinagami is human after all!) and a way of bridging a gap in their personal relationship, allowing them to speak openly and honestly about their individual emotional struggles ( —I mean, that never actually happened, but there was at least a foundation there); on top of that, another human being tells Take that they relate to him. Someone he deeply respects, someone from whom he desperately needs validation, someone who he sees as the opposite to himself - charismatic, skilled, useful, with a strong sense of purpose - sees themselves in him.

And then in addition to that, Arima genuinely trusts him. Like, a lot. He trusted him with his blindside, with his past, with his peers (the Garden kids), with his plan… Arima sort of provides for him posthumously in a sense too, at least in Take’s mind, by offering him an objective and… kind of a surrogate family.

For the record, I’m aware that that’s a little bit of a stretch but (!) I do think it’s an interesting thought when you consider his decision to appoint Akira (who was always coded as cold and distant) as a ‘parent’ to Haise, esp after losing Kureo, Seidou and Amon. She developed more maternal characteristics and formed genuine, positive relationships with him and the Qs; I like the idea that he wanted both Hirako and the Garden kids to experience a similar sense of family, and it’s super sad that that never materialised.

So whatever sense of purpose he eventually finds comes from his relationship with Arima, and the trust Arima places in him. We’re never given any real glimpse into his personal life but, in terms of work, he doesn’t care about promotion (it seems that both he and Arima actively tried to remain paired for as long as possible), he doesn’t care about CCG protocol (he challenges his superior officer, Hachi, twice) and he isn’t particularly interested in killing ghouls either (he suggests imprisoning Irimi rather than killing her and, when Haise says he wants to apologise to Hirako for letting Orochi escape, Arima straight up says, “I don’t think Take cares.”)

There’s a reason why he never wrestles with his decision to defect like, say, Akira does - his loyalty was never to the CCG. It was solely to Kishou.

To be clear though, he’s loyal to a fault and it’s a big part of what negatively affects his contribution to Goat/the Dragon War. 

Aside from Arima, I think the relationship that’s most important to him is with Koori, and forgive my incredible laziness here but I’m gonna direct people to this great meta by @linkspooky because it perfectly explains how the two foil each other in their pursuit of Arima’s legacy. They share a mutual respect for one another and they’re established as equals, but for competing reasons.

His relationship with Kuramoto is really interesting bc Kuramoto kind of inherits two of Take’s biggest weaknesses: (1) he believes he’s only useful as a follower and doesn’t believe he’s capable of assuming a position of leadership (a fear that’s immediately realised when he loses almost his entire squad during his first mission as Sq Leader). Obviously Take does assume leadership of S0, but he constantly defers - even after Arima’s death, he describes himself as “merely an underling”; any 'decision’ he does make is just an earlier command from Arima, and, other than that, he simply responds to Kaneki’s directions rather than co-operating with him to make more practical decisions.

Anyway, Kuramoto’s lack of self-belief is the result of (2) never having received the validation he requires from his superior (sounds familiar wow), to the point where he becomes depressed after Take’s defection and seems to blame himself for some reason (”I thought he believed in me”). In spite of that, Kuramoto remains as steadfastly loyal to Hirako as the latter does to Arima; there’s never a conversation about how hurt or confused Kuramoto was. He makes a few friendly jibes but he happily accepts Take back and re assumes his position as subordinate without any issue.

It’s proof of Hirako’s painful lack of self-awareness, as well as his inability to understand the needs of anyone around him other than Arima, I think. Where Arima consciously distances himself from his subordinates and deliberately withholds praise (or whatever) from others in spite of their need for it, Take is completely oblivious to those needs.

I also think the relationship between Take and Renji is kind of rewarding, even if it is really brief. [Yeah, I know, yawn, Áine likes Homo.]

First of all, it underlines once again that Hirako doesn’t have any deep-rooted hatred for ghouls and, in fact, he’s quite comfortable talking to one as an equal. He’s friendly and complimentary, even. It makes me wonder a lot more about his past and why he enrolled in the Academy in the first place.

Their conversation in the café is… super muddy, and it’s both good and bad in a way that reflects the moral grey that carries through to the end of the manga imo. Hirako listens to Renji as he explains why he’s hurt and angry and struggling to come to terms with this new alliance. Cool. And then responds by basically saying “what’s done is done, your sister’s dead, my boyfriend’s friend’s dead, we just have to forget about it and blindly move forward based on our single commonality”, which is... not really very productive, and absolutely not Good Détente, like that’s… not how conflict resolution works. But it’s something I guess, and an uneasy alliance that they both agree too, which it’s indicative of how the ghoul/non-ghoul conflict is handled (or not handled) right up until the end of the story..

I think there’s a general perception that Take buries his thoughts/feelings and doesn’t speak because he’s repressing them, so I think it’s refreshing and interesting to see him communicate very openly and directly with a total stranger about lacking a sense of purpose in life, desperately seeking validation, honestly admitting to now knowing where to go from here...

As someone who is incredibly open about pretty much everything but uncomfortable putting themselves at the centre of a conversation, and also needs space to actually gather whatever thoughts need to be expressed before being able to actually communicate them to others, it was weirdly relatable to see him suddenly so comfortable and frank. It’s more of a personal reading I guess, I think a lot of people prob read that as a little out of character.

[future-circuit]

For the ask thingy 001: yugioh gx!! :O

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:

Favorite character: yubel partially because i can project and also just because i love em man i don’t know what else to say, how to put it into words. austin’s a close second, that boy deserved better

Least Favorite character:amon- what a little bitch

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): well the first to come to mind are:SoulshippingSpiritshippingLow-key like… Austin and Maiden of the Aqua? Y’feel? I dunnoPossessshipping (had to look up the name for this one. it’s yubel, johan and judai)Tigershipping (which is apparently the ship name for Misawa and Tania? huh)

Character I find most attractive:legit i love Maiden of the Aqua though. i don’t know if i like her design or i think she’s attractive but either way she pretty

Character I would marry:tough fucking question jeez uh. fuck i haven’t a clue. 

Character I would be best friends with:just one? uh. to be completely honest probably like johan? thinking personality wise? i gravitate towards dumbasses but i think judai would be a bit too much of a dumbass. i’d parent him too much. 

A random thought: so like all those missing students did no one ever do anything? like the ones from the blue dorm were covered up we know that (i don’t know how they kept that under wraps from the families but i mean. they go to nerd school so i guess their parents don’t care) but i guess i mean more like. the island is fucking dangerous. there’s an active volcano that isn’t barred off, a fucking lab? that just sorta exists? like it came in for the fucking goddamn monkey episode and then it kept just popping up? and no one cares that a ton of illegal stuff just goes on there? do students use it for anything? they must, they’re teenagers; maybe its like a meth lab or something at some point i dunno. you can really tell the parents don’t care cause kids go off the grid, judai went missing (cause he was in s p a c e), shou tried to sail himself back home on a fucking shitty ass raft that one time, the entire FUCKING SCHOOL goes missing alongside the entirety of the staff and students and then the school finally returns and then kids go missing again, they come back except for one who just kinda. shows up in a pile of smoke and no one’s like ‘what the fuck?’ oh yeah and then like. god shows up right in the schoolyard or something. so uh. hey who’s watching this island? does anyone care? there’s no one responsible on the entire island. 

An unpopular opinion: i don’t think the cast is too bloated. at least, not to the extent that everyone else seems to think. like yeah i think that more time to flesh out certain characters would be great but with what we have i think everyone’s handled relatively well? misawa’s deal is clearly intended (or at least in the way that the writers realised they’d not been using him and decided to keep it like that cause it was funny- which it is by the way) and he got a good ending i’d say. asuka’s deal was never gonna be great being like the one main female character til rei became main in season three but she wasn’t too badly done either i wouldn’t say- she was there for her arc and her moments, and it’s not like she didn’t do anything in season four (even if a lot of what she did was there to further judai’s character, she wasn’t out of character for any of it and exerted her annoyance reasonably). like. i think everyone forgets that a lot of characters show up and have an arc then leave or linger and are there when needed after their arc’s over. i don’t want to ramble too much and it’s a bit hard to try and explain what i mean. everyone has their part and they’re there when it’s important to their character or it’s generally in-character for them to be there even if it’s not important to them. i also think it’s interesting though  that there’s some off-screen development. i think that may annoy some people but i think it’s cool. lets the audience know that these characters have lives that exist even when they’re not on screen. 

My Canon OTP: i don’t think yugioh knows the concept? i mean you could (and i might) argue that soulshipping is technically canon? but also you could very much argue not so. whatever.

edit: i realised misawa and tania’s pretty much canon so uh. that one if y’all ain’t accepting soulshipping.

My Non-canon OTP: depending on what you’re arguing it’s soulshipping

Most Badass Character: austin and jim both deserve a medal guys c’mon you can’t say they don’t. there’s a lotta badass gx characters (depending on your definition i suppose) but those two fucking rocked the dark world

Most Epic Villain: yubel because i’m biased and also they produced one if not my absolute favourite duel

Pairing I am not a fan of: fianceshipping(?). you can like it if you want, i’m just not here for it. not here for most asuka ships honestly? but y’know. it is what it is. my views on asuka’s sexuality aside i don’t think any chemistry really had the chance to build up between them. asuka was there to be the level-headed one which can work as chemistry but they never had time to talk together properly so it never had time to build up, y’know? i’ve said y’know a lot in this ask huh. anyway. i think season four’s a good show as to another reason i don’t think they work well together. asuka’s not only stubborn but she can get really annoyed really easily at people who have no regard for her feelings and i understand that judai had a lot of hang ups at that point but even before then, he never was that mindful about feelings. that’s literally how season three went. on judai’s side she’d be more of a dead weight to him in terms of how he is. he’s someone who leaps before they look and asuka’s not enough of a ‘mum friend’ character to hold him back i wouldn’t say. she’d watch to make sure nothing bad happened, but she’s not a good fit for him when you try and really nuance it. they work as friends because they don’t work romantically, i think, in a weird way. if that makes sense? i rambled but i have a lot of thoughts on the nuances on ships. like i’ve talked a lot about how asuka doesn’t fit well with judai because of her responsible nature which may seem hypocritical considering i love soulshipping but again. nuances. i digress. 

tldr; fianceshipping cause of nuances. i have too much time on my hands.

Character I feel the writers screwed up: uuuuuuuhhhhh… i don’t know? i don’t think there are any i can think off the top of my head that makes me actively annoyed at their end game. they all had their ups and downs. echo maybe? she got fucked, she deserved better. 

Favourite Friendship: hard in a different way. i love them all. pretty much everyone with judai, shou and kenzan, that weird thing edo and ryo had going on, asuka and ryo is slept on (i wish we got to see them be more friendly), as is ryo and fubuki for that matter, rei and martin is especially slept on i love those two stupid fucking kids, that weird thing shou and ojama yellow had going on (man the dark world was a bit weird for the marufujis huh), manjoume and his cards in general (but yeah mostly the ojamas of fucking course), kenzan and rei, austin and jim, edo and saiou (slept on again. so many are slept on)… everyone. i love all their friendships. friendship pile.

Character I most identify with: i couldn’t really say? i relate with different characters in different ways. i think that if you fused austin and johan together you’d get closest to me. that doesn’t make sense but it also does. think about it- don’t, actually

Character I wish I could be: none of em. have you fuckin seen those kids? traumatised, the lot of em! if i had to choose maybe hayato? y’know, there for some fun, made some good friends, got to experience a mild threat to the world, grew some, got a good paying, stable job. that’s the life. wonder what he was up to while all the shit at duel academia was going down.

[clown-cult]

Hey you….Inuyasha avatar au…elaborate?

OKAY SO—

The dog demon family are fire nation royalty. I feel like that kind goes without saying. Inuyasha is perfectly suited to being a fire bender with his look and personality. Instead of Tessaiga with all its crazy abilities, Inuyasha gets to be the avatar instead. Much like getting Tessaiga, Inuyasha only realises he’s the avatar and begins to learn other bending after meeting Kagome.

Kagome is an Airbender. Tbh I feel like there would be a lot of airbenders in this series cuz there’s a lot of characters with air/wind related abilities but airbending also has the most spiritual roots. Possible other contenders for airbending include Miroku, Kikyo, Koga and Kagura.

Kikyo could also be a waterbender cuz I get kinda waterbender vibes from her but I get only airbending vibes for Kagome. She’d absolutely master it in really practical small ways to make her day-to-day life easier.

Sango is an earthbender. She’s really strong and capable and works with her hands a lot so I feel like Sango would have figured her bending out very young and gotten to work learning to fight and make weapons sooner.

Kohaku is a waterbender. His weapon and fighting is quicker and more precise so that’s the vibe I get. I think Kohaku wouldn’t have learned as quick as Sango cuz he’d feel bad that his bending style isn’t seen as strong as hers. Also, water bending can be used for healing and I think Kohaku would secretly practice that more than using it to fight. If we’re going with waterbender Kikyo, she probably helped teach him.

Sesshomaru is a fire bender, has blue flames, can generate as many bolts of lightning as he likes, is learning to manipulate lava, can use combustion bending if really needed…yet Inuyasha gets to be the avatar and not him and he is PISSED about it.

Jaken doesn’t get bending cuz I said so. Rin is a water bender and she uses it to make flowers grow bigger. Kohaku teaches her how to heal with it.

The wolf demons are all pretty evenly split between air and earth. Shippo is an earthbender bc I think he’d really utilise his creative magic through it. Sango and shippo also know how to metal bend but they’re chill about it.

Kagura is an Airbender with no wish to have any connection to the spiritual side of it until she meets Kikyo and falls in love with her and I feel like Byakuya would be a super chill, unassuming fire bender just to fuck with Sesshomaru further.

Naraku pulls an Amon and for a long time, no one thinks he has any bending at all until his hand is forced and he’s revealed to be a water bender who’s particularly skilled in blood bending, which is how he keeps people under his control. He also has no issue in using blood bending to take peoples power away and absorb it. Again this would work well with Kikyo’s power being the only thing that stops him if we’re going with waterbender Kikyo.

Moroha doesn’t have any bending but she’s completely capable without it and never even worries about it bc her parents were never taken away from her and they were always there to be completely supportive and loving of her anyway THE END.

Okay it’s 2am so I’m gonna sleep but yeah I need to flesh this out more.

[grahamstoney]

Musique Concrète and Other Experimental And Electronic Music

New Post has been published on https://grahamstoney.com/music/musique-concrete-and-other-experimental-and-electronic-music

Musique Concrète and Other Experimental And Electronic Music

In the subject Creative Music Technology at university last semester, I was asked to listen to a collection of experimental and electronic music to stimulate my creative imagination, and to write what I liked and didn't like about it. Here's my rather cynical take on the genre.

Musique Concrète

Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry – Symphonie pour un Homme Seul

This piece reminded me of Strauss’s Symphonia Domestica; only less musical. I’m a Homme Seul (single man) and my life doesn’t sound anything like this. In his book La musique concrète, Schaeffer described the work as “an opera for blind people…”. Haven’t they suffered enough?

Edgard Varèse – Poème Électronique

The audio equivalent of Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali’s Un Chien Andalou.

Does to my ears what the asbestos coating on the walls of the Philips Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair for which it was commissioned, would do to my lungs.

György Ligeti – Artikulation

George Lucas must owe Ligeti millions in royalties for R2D2’s sound effects. Initially I thought I was joking when I first wrote that, but I’ve since discovered that he was actually trying to create a sort of phonetic speech in electronic music, which pretty much fits R2D2’s dialogue. Plus, the title is German for “articulation”. That should have been a giveaway.

I thought this piece might make more sense to me if I played it backwards, so I dropped it into Logic Pro X and reversed it. I couldn’t tell the difference. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I listened to it in the original quadraphonic. I’ll just end noting that Ligeti abandoned electronic music after composing this piece.

Iannis Xenakis – Concret PH

2 minutes and 44 seconds of breaking glass to my ears. I think I’d rather listen to Kraftwerk.

Karlheinz Stockhausen – Kontakte

It’s long. It’s too long. I think this is how Jacob Collier learned to play piano in his mother’s womb; but look at him now. The title is German for “Contacts”, which I think Stockhausen interpreted as “Just hit the things.” Maybe it sounds better in the original quadraphonic.

Stockhausen was evidently a pioneer of the extended dance remix, as the work exists in several versions: “Nr. 12”, “Nr. 12½” and “Nr. 12⅔”

Bernard Parmegiani - Accidents / harmoniques

Parmegiani had studied mime before turning his hand to electro-acoustic composition, and in this piece it really shows. From the album De Natura Sonorum (the nature of sound). I felt like there were Martians in my head listening to this. Surely he’s just playing a joke on us.

Pauline Oliveiros – Bye Bye Butterfly

Bids farewell to the institutionalized oppression of the female sex while also providing inspiration for the sound of the Theramin. Gave my new monitor speakers a good workout; I hope the neighbours enjoyed it too.

Tape Loops

Steve Reich – It’s Gonna Rain

I’ve got this pervasive feeling that it’s going to rain. I’m not sure why. I liked the way the meteorological message panned left and right. More like It’s Gonna Have An Acid Trip.

Halleluiah Part II is over. I’m not sure how I lasted the full 18 minutes.

Terry Riley – Mescalin Mix

Parts of this sounded to me like an industrial version of native Australian bush sounds. I felt like I was on a camping trip in the 23rd century.

Brian Eno – 1/1

From his album Music For Airports/Ambient 1, which apparently coined the term Ambient Music. Brian Eno has a lot to answer for. However, this track put me in a relaxing state, ready to fall asleep on the plane; so I liked it.

Sampling

Luc Ferrari – Ronda, Spain, June 2001

After being jolted awake by the sound of a loud sliding door opening to greet the day, I was drawn into this by the sweet sound of a French woman’s voice. I imagined she was Ferrari’s lover, speaking to him in bed after awakening on a warm Spanish summer Sunday morning. I wanted to know what she was saying, but my French isn’t good enough. In my mind’s eye, they head to a busy market together to buy some croissants for breakfast, where we hear a man’s voice repeating “numero quatro”, which I assumed is Spanish for “number 4”. As the voices fade, the sound becomes more musical and we return to the soft sound of Ronda speaking to her beloved back in their villa together. I quite liked it.

My interpretation, however, is not what the composer had in mind. According to him, the point of Les Anecdotiques (The Anecdotals) is to dispense with the story altogether. My busy market was, in fact, the sound of Spanish tourists in a museum. While he describes the woman’s words as “Spontaneous and intimate”, in this context they are simply words in a foreign language with no narrative purpose. Just another one of Pierre Schaeffer and Michel Chion’s sound objects, if you will. My narrative interpretation of what was intended as an explicitly anecdotal work is testament to the human brain’s tendency to make meaning out of nothing. It turns out Rhonda is a village in Spain, not a woman.

Still, I enjoyed my little fantasy, thank you Luc.

John Oswald – Manifold

Wow, this was short. I didn’t even have time to eat breakfast while listening to it. It was only about as long as the Spotify ads, but certainly more fun. I recognised a couple of songs, like U2’s With or Without You and Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares To You. Artists who use samples liberally often sample obscure works, sometimes affording them attention they would otherwise have missed; but in this work Oswald went mainstream. It sounded to me like the soundtrack to a sample-abusing hip-hop artist from the 1990’s being beaten up in a boxing ring by all the artists who reckoned he’d ripped off their work.

Tod Dockstader - Water Music: Part III

I quite liked this piece. The cuteness of the sounds and the stereo effects bouncing between the left and right channels really drew me in. I’ve recently got myself some decent monitor speakers for my home studio and this piece really worked on them. Pretty amazing for something released in 1963.

Dockstader started out in the 1940’s, prior to the invention of magnetic tape, editing his steel wire recordings with a lit cigarette. That makes me realise how much I take the piece-of-crap Logic Pro X File Editor for granted. Listening to this, I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next, like I was watching a soap opera on TV; only with no actual story.

Synthesis

Karlheinz Stockhausen – Studie I

I found this quite disorienting to listen to. I guess it was revolutionary in 1953 but I reckon now you could whip it up in Ableton in about 5 minutes using the Random MIDI Effect and some automation.

Eliane Radigue – Jetsun Mila (Pt.1) / Birth and Youth (Excerpt)

I liked how the pulsing ambient drone sound in this grew over time; it drew me in and had me wondering what was going to happen next. Unfortunately the answer was: not much. Gradually a rhythmic element with some high pulsing tones which grew over time came in. It was a bit like listening to a very slow EDM dance track from underwater in a diesel-powered submarine going at full throttle for 12 minutes.

Laurie Spiegel – Appalachian Grove: I

I liked the pulsing stereo effects in this piece and the way the tonal characteristics of the sound varied while the pitch changed. It’s much more melodic than the other tracks we’ve listened to and that made it more enjoyable to my ears. It got a bit harsh in the middle though. This piece puts the musique in musique concrète.

Morton Subotnick – Silver Apples of the Moon – Part A

Perhaps the sound designer for Star Wars had this in mind when creating the sound effects for R2D2. I kind of lost the flow of the conversation without the witty English-accented retorts from C3PO though. Morton Sobotnick is described as The Mad Scientist in one interview, and I think if I listen to this too often I’ll end up fitting one of the DSM-5 diagnostic categories I’m learning about over in PSYC1002.

Suzanne Ciani – Concert at Phil Niblock’s Loft

This piece had some funky sounds that I liked. The start reminded me a bit of Kraftwerk but without the rhythm and melody; although it did get more melodic later. I’d probably give it a Distinction for its use of technology given it was made in 1975, but only a Credit for musicality.

Barry Schraeder – Lost Atlantis: Introduction

At first, I thought this sounded a lot like a modern ad for KFC; then I realised I was hearing a Spotify ad.

I liked the ambient sounds in this piece and the way it surged in and out with its “mysterious tone colors”. It slowly builds to a crescendo until we get the drop that EDM lovers crave, and then built more quickly to the ultimate drop at the end. I kept wondering what was going to happen next; I’d still rather listen to Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp or Queen though.

Contemporary Examples

Amon Tobin – Foley Room

DJ & producer. Retain percussive quality through sounds. Horsefish & Esther’s. Create beauty and delicate textures from sounds. Pitched percussive material. Fast loops. New textures. Funky beats. Check out the Foley Room Documentary.

Aphex Twin - 1ST 44

Acid house DJ in rave scene. Intelligent Dance Music. More complex sampling, polyrhythms, rhythmic patterns. From Collapsed album. Polyrhythms sounded funky. Lots of variation.

Holly Herndon – Chorus

Intersection of humanity and technology. Recorded web browsing. Stereo ping-pong effects. Here’s a talk she gave about her creative process.

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Riparian

This was my favourite out of these three, largely because it sounds the most musical to my ears. I liked the pulsing beat in this track. I can hear a bass line for instance, melodies played on the synth and lyrics, although I can’t tell what they are saying. I also like the way the soundscape swirls around when listened to with headphones. It feels ambient, immersive and musical all at the same time. I get the sense that she’s using the electronics at her disposal in service of the music rather than the other way around. There’s even a great video about how she uses modular synthesis.

Graham Stoney - Foster le Concrète

"How hard can it be?", I asked myself. And since I had an assignment to do, I wrote my own musique concrète track based on the drum rhythm from one of my favourite songs, Coming of Age by Foster The People. I even made a breakdown video showing how I did it; because that's what the assignment required.

Conclusion

I didn’t take too easily to some of the more experimental musique concrète pieces we studied at the beginning of this semester. The weekly listening tasks felt harsh to my untrained ears and I would think mean things like:

“Didn’t the Geneva Convention ban cruel and unusual punishment?”

Perhaps these tracks will never be my preferred go-to pieces for chilling out on a Friday night, but when I look back at some of my cynicism-laced early comments in these discussion threads, I cringe. I just didn’t appreciate the historical significance of these pieces and how they might have influenced later electronic music that I do enjoy, like Kraftwerk say.

Then in Angharad Davis’s Music Colloquium Series talk on George Antheil’s Ballet Mécanique, when she played a snippet of the work I heard sounds reminiscent of musique concrète. Sure enough, they were roughly contemporaneous, and Antheil had been living in Paris at the time musique concrète was just getting started. You never know when something you study in one arena will pop up elsewhere.

Another thing I’ve learned in this subject is about taking creative risks and learning to follow my gut instincts without worrying whether a concept will work, or other people will like it. This has been an opportunity for me to explore that. My Formative Skills Assignment piece Foster le Concrète was in part a reaction to my frustration at the lack of discernible rhythm in some of the early pieces we studied. However, I really didn’t know whether the concept was going to work, and that was a little anxiety-inducing; especially given that I was doing it for an assignment which would be graded. I was quite touched to hear other students say they liked the end result, and I feel more confident about following my gut instincts in future and seeing what I end up.

Finally, I’ve been really inspired by the creativity of the other students in this subject. It’s been a weird experience studying online this year without ever meeting them in person, but I’ve really enjoyed hearing the creative works everyone came up with. They’re all so distinctive and amazingly different, it’s incredible; yet they were all products of the same brief. I can’t wait to hear everyone's works on the radio, TV, movies, video games, Spotify, or whatever audio technology is around when we all graduate: live streaming direct to our neurons perhaps?

[nitsuki-baka]

Exit game - Secret Santa ‘17

Happy Christmas to all of you, but especially to @j-and-a. This fic is for you! Hope you like it. You can also find it on ao3. 

Hugs and kisses from your secret santa Nikki ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Exit game

If someone were to ask Kaneki to list the things that he wanted the least to happen, he would have made one and underlined this specific situation. From all the punishments that he had taken for the past week, scratch that, for his whole life, this one topped all of them.

Kaneki had woken up from what he only could remember as a state of paralysation, but at the same time he was sitting on the first row of experiencing the damage being done on Tokyo. After his awakening, he wasn’t given a lot of time to get a glimpse of the people applauding for him, to see Hinami, or Tsukiyama, or Banjou, or… or even Touka for the last time before being taken away with force by the CCG, getting locked up and being instructed to wait for his trial.

A week later, Kaneki was sentenced to death.

It wasn’t like he had expected to be treated any different after becoming a mass murderer. No alleviations for him for being called a hero. Those who still called him a hero had to wait for some more years before their opinion would be worth anything. It didn’t matter anyway, because at the end of the day, Kaneki still had hundreds of innocent deaths to his name. All he deserved was to die and rot away.

Yet, Kaneki did not wish to die, despite of having begged for the sweet salvation in the past. But to be able to slump down on a couch, get lost in one of his novels with a steaming mug of coffee and forget about time. To only get back to earth when his eyes started to hurt without the sunlight helping him recognising the words. To go to bed and think about his plans for the upcoming day, maybe having a drink with Hinami or something silly like that. To be able to do that all for one, last time, that would make Kaneki stop wishing for death. That was all he ever fought for. A quiet day.

He hated it that he had messed that up for himself so badly. Kaneki hated himself for it.

Only, apparently death wasn’t the worst that he could get. If the CCG had let him choose between being chained down a chair and torturing him until his body would give up on him or this, Kaneki would have chosen the first one.

It started with the door of his private room opening for the time since he had learned about his fate.

‘’It’s visiting hour. And this time you actually got visitors.’’

Kaneki sat up from where he was lying on the bed, his heart stopping when he recognised the faces of the people standing in the doorway. The little Saiko and Urie were blocking part of the light that slipped through the doorway.

This was the worst. Being seen as the ugly truth that he was and had tried so hard to hide, that was. Kaneki wanted to run away, crawl into the deepest hole and never have to look at anyone’s face again.

‘’Maman…’’

Yet, as much as he tried, he just couldn’t ignore her crying for recognition. Kaneki looked up, straight into the eyes of the shaking girl who was doing her best to stand tall. He was so proud of her. Of them, for still coming here, even if it was to beat him to pulp.

‘’You’re gonna leave us for real now?’’

The old Sasaki was twitching to take his kids in his arms and comfort them. Kaneki wasn’t sure if he was still the right person to do so. But he still did.

His offered embrace was taken, Saiko folding her short arms around Kaneki, breaking the act of braveness. It took a little effort to put a hand on her head and stroke her hair softly. ‘’Yes, I am.’’ A high pitched sob came out.

‘’I don’t wanna lose my maman.’’

It hurt. That was why living was a curse. That was why this was the worst. Even if he was on the edge of the end, he was still living and breathing now. Still hurting over little girls and other people that he didn’t want to say goodbye to. He was shaking with her when he felt Urie’s presence coming closer.

‘’I know.’’

The rest of the visit was short-lived, and Kaneki was alone all over again, or so he thought.

‘’Are the troops safe?’’

‘’Yes. We are working on finding residence for everyone to reduce the chance of riots breaking out in public.’’

‘’No one is set for trial?’’

‘’No, that was one of the conditions your people asked for before agreeing on working together with the CCG.’’

‘’That’s… good.’’

‘’Sure it is.’’

Kaneki’s second round of visitors brought less of a heart attack, yet had the same shock level. He didn’t understand how Amon Koutarou could have gotten permission to visit (it were probably the same people who had kept the ’We will not slaughter all the ghouls after this’ promise alive), and Mado Akira, well, they didn’t part with the best words, did they?

It felt almost comical to Kaneki. The whole visit was about practical stuff: News from the outside world, how Tokyo was working on getting back to the normal life, how the people he had promised to protect had ended up, and more non-romantic stuff. To be working when he was living his last moments, it made Kaneki laugh. How to take life by its throat at the last moment and show it that you had not given up yet.  

Amon lead most of the conversation, Akira only let her voice out once. Somewhere at the end, when the two were ready to leave, she looked Kaneki into the eye as she would do with Sasaki. Everyone who had visited yet had come to see Sasaki, not Kaneki. How disappointed must they have been.

‘’Are you going to be okay?’’

She was letting go of her own student. Akira was telling him to walk on his own from now on.

Kaneki huffed out a small sound that could have been a laugh.

‘’Surely I will.’’

There was nothing else then counting down the days until he would be met with his death day. How could he be counting down? He hadn’t seen daylight ever since being locked up, so there was no way the Kaneki could keep track on the days passing. Maybe he was counting minutes, but then how would he remember how many times he had reached sixty to start all over again? It was at least better then thinking about all the people that couldn’t come here and all the goodbyes he still had to say. Soon, it would be

It was the night before his death penalty, that Kaneki was woken up from his daze by immense vibrations that shook his whole room. An earthquake would have been the most logical assumption, but it was not the case.

Kaneki was scared. The whole world was falling apart, and he would be buried under all of it before he was even dead. He wanted to scream for help, but stopped himself when he thought about how everyone had probably already left the building if this was an earthquake. Also, who would save someone who had a dead flag on his name?

It took Kaneki some seconds to realise it was awfully quiet again. Relief relaxed his muscles. He wasn’t dead yet. It was over, yet Kaneki couldn’t help but crawl to the nearest corner and make himself as small as possible.

He cried when the second shock came with a horrible boom. That made Kaneki think for a moment. Did earthquakes sound like… explosions? Could a epicentre change that quickly, because he was so sure that this one felt so much closer than the last one.

Then he heard the sound of doors being kicked open. Kaneki turned towards his door and light seeped into his room together with a lot of dust. Kaneki almost smiled because he thought he was saved, because the idea that people would still want to save him from whatever was happening made him feel utter happiness.

‘’Kaneki.’’

A voice that sounded like it had been recorded with a device that had had its best time was constantly calling his name. Kaneki wanted to say something back, but he was interrupted by another explosion, this time more far away.

‘’Kaneki, where are you?’’

Clouds piled up in the room, and it felt suffocating. It was enough for Kaneki to push himself up and follow the sound of the voice. He had nothing to lose.

His orientation was a mess. Kaneki didn’t know where he was and the person had stopped calling. He felt a sob pushing up his throat, and he let it. Crying out of pure frustration, he stayed where he was. More ugly noises escaped his mouth. He was all alone again, with the ground shaking and a hellish peep in his ears that gave him a headache. Kaneki was only able to handle so many incentives.

Two arms hooked under Kaneki’s armpits before he was able to hit the ground. Kaneki let himself lean into the stranger’s support, looking up to try to give the person a face. He startled a bit by how close the other was.

The lower half was covered with a scarf, but Kaneki could see the rest of the face all to clearly. Kaneki gave an easy smile. He must be dead by now.

‘’Kaneki, can you hear me?’’

Very slowly, the arms went around his back to lift him up. Another explosion went off.

‘’Shit. We’re behind schedule, Kaneki. We’ve got to go, like, right now.’’

Kaneki was being pulled towards what was probably the doorway. He wasn’t trying to resist. Not when he was being dragged down the dark halls or when they were climbing stairs to get to the outside world. He was dead and he knew for sure, because that was the only place possible where he could ever see Hide again.

The terrain was as good as empty, except for two young boys who ran over the hardened roads to the exit. Hiding in the shadows, keeping low when having to go over open areas, it made Kaneki twitch in excitement. To him, this was like a careless act of playing Capture the flag. Adrenaline pumping through his veins for no reason, and the worst thing that could happen was if they got caught and tagged before they could reach their goal.

No one was in their way. Hide took a hold of Kaneki’s hand when the latter began to slow down. They sped up and went through the gates, turned left and made their way out of the facility’s terrain around the walls of the Cochlea. They ran and ran, industrial landscapes changing into meadows and mountains as far as they could see, asphalt giving place to uneven muddy roads. They kept running until Kaneki started to stumble over his own feet.

Hide stopped and turned around to give Kaneki some extra support and not fall down. ‘’Ho there buddy. I think we took too much from you.’’ He let Kaneki go again and shrugged off his backpack, squatting down and zipping the bag open as he put it in front of him.

Kaneki stared down as Hide was searching for something in that bag. The blonde made a sound of victory when he took out some black hoodie, jeans, and shoes. He handed them over to Kaneki with an apologizing look. ‘’I honestly forgot to take socks with me. Sorry man.’’

Taking what was given to him, Kaneki turned around when Hide did it too. He was thankful for the soft temperature that April brought. It was somewhere around midnight, and the sky was clear from clouds, but the air didn’t feel uncomfortably cold on his naked skin while he changed from his clothes he wore in Cochlea to a more casual wear.

‘’Keep the hoodie on your head. You’re like a lighthouse without.’’ Hide stood close as he carefully put the hood over Kaneki’s head, teasingly pulling it over his eyes at the end. He took his bag from the ground and with Kaneki behind him, they continued their walk.

It was mostly silent, neither spoke and the only sound that could be heard was the wind whistling every now and then. Kaneki didn’t feel the need to ask where they were going or if there was even a specific destination. It would break the vibe of not having sweat over anything. Kaneki felt better than he had in years, maybe the best he ever had. Just strolling behind his friend, not worrying about consequences that would come with doing nothing.

After a while, the unending road was disturbed by train rails crossing it. Hide stopped walking. Kaneki did the same. ‘’We can rest a bit ‘till the our train comes, and that’s in about…’’ Kaneki couldn’t see it clearly since Hide wasn’t facing him, but he got the idea that he was checking his watch, ’’twelve minutes.’’ Hide plumped down and sat down in the soil. Kaneki did the same, leaving a small distance between them.

‘’So we’re taking a train.’’ There was no station to be seen, so did that mean they were going to jump one? It wasn’t a first time, but this one got a different context than the previous one. It excited Kaneki.

‘’Yes. It will bring us to the Yokohama harbour.’’ They had been there once, for their school trip somewhere in middle school if Kaneki remembered correctly. The weather was bad and Hide had almost fallen into the water when he thought it was a good idea to walk close to the edge of the boulevard while gusts of wind were being harsh. To think back to a day in his past and not feeling down afterwards felt freeing in a way.

‘’Why Yokohama?’’ If that scarf wasn’t in the way, Kaneki would have seen Hide’s smile for the first time in years. The way his eyes crinkled that Kaneki knew so well gave it away. ‘’Because that’s the place that will take us to the land of opportunity.’’

With widened eyes, Kaneki stared at his friend. ‘’America?’’ The nod made it official, and like so many firsts that this night had brought, Kaneki started to laugh. The idea was so silly, something he would never have considered taking seriously if this were real.

‘’Uh, Kaneki?’’ Hide gave him a confused look, so when Kaneki was able to breath normally again, he took Hide’s uncertainties away. He smiled the biggest he could. ‘’Yes, let’s go.’’

Hide sighed out of relief. He must have thought Kaneki was making fun of his idea. ‘’You know, I thought I would have to put much more effort into convincing you to come along, but you’re acting abnormally calm.’’ Hide stood up again. It must almost be time to go. ‘’Did they drug you or somethin’?’’

‘’Ha, no. It just doesn’t matter anymore.’’ Kaneki gazed at the stars. Absorbing, they were, just like the boy in front of him. Kaneki adored him and these moments he could still spend with him. ‘’Since I’m already dead.’’

Eased smiles turned into frowns. ‘’What… what are you saying Kaneki?’’ Everything changed so fast that Kaneki couldn’t understand. The tension that was so unwelcome, yet so familiar, returned. ‘’I’m dead.’’

Panic came next when Hide looked him straight into the eye. It must be his mind playing games with him. ‘’I died back at Cochlea when there was an earthquake, or something,’’ Kaneki stuttered, ‘’I’m dead and because of that I’m able to see you, Hide.’’

‘’Okay Kaneki, don’t go nuts on me, but this all,’’ Hide spread his arms and gestured around him, ‘’is real, and you have to believe it. I’m still alive, and so are you.’’

‘’No… it can’t be.’’ But the whole idea of being dead seemed so much more illogical now. He had experienced almost-death situations in the past, and those felt like dreams. He wasn’t feeling that at all.

But if he was still alive, then that meant that he had just escaped his death, was a fugitive, and that Hide who was standing before him wasn’t dead. Kaneki wasn’t dead and that meant that he would still have to continue living.

‘’Hide, that’s not true.’’ Kaneki shook his head violently as his voice broke together with himself. ‘’You’re lying. You’re dead because I killed you!’’ He couldn’t handle it anymore. Every single time when he thought he was done, all his problems would come back and beat him up all over again.

Hide took his wrists before Kaneki could rip out his hair. He made him look up, and to Kaneki’s most ugly nightmares, Hide had taken off his scarf.

‘’Kaneki, please calm down and listen to me.’’ Hide tried to quiet Kaneki’s erratic breathing, with little success. ‘’You didn’t kill me, or hurt me against my will. I chose this myself and I knew the consequences.’’ He took a hold of Kaneki’s face, smiled as much as his face could manage.

‘’Now the most important thing is to get on that train and get the hell out of here.’’ Kaneki pulled himself out of Hide’s hold. ‘’I’m not going on that train, Hide.’’ Stunned, Hide looked at him as if he just had gone mad.

‘’I don’t- How fucking stubborn can you be?’’

The sound of an incoming train, somewhere far away. Hide was losing his nerve. Kaneki made no movements. ‘’If I’m still walking around in this poisonous world, then I should go back to my people since I left them, and they need me-‘’

‘’The last thing they need now is you, Kaneki.’’

‘’That’s not true!’’ Hide was wrong. All Kaneki had were the ghouls, to defend them and to protect them.

‘’You’ll only be a danger since you’re face is everywhere over Tokyo.’’

‘’But where else can I go if they don’t even want me?!’’ Kaneki sobbed. Hide was being so cruel, because he knew that the other was pointing out the truth, but who had given him the right to shove it into his face?

It was probably he himself begging for a hit.

Hide drastically turned around, seeing a freight train appearing. ‘’You can be with me, Ken. Just get on that fucking train!’’

The plan to escape this world seemed farther away than earlier. ‘’How are you so sure that this all is going to work out Hide?!’’ Kaneki tried to shout over the noise the train made. It made him sound futile.

Hide started running with the train, hopping on and holding himself steady by grabbing the handle of the door. He opened it after fumbling with the lock. Kaneki saw Hide disappear into the boxcar, and he began to run. He didn’t want to left alone.

When he reached the car, Hide held out his hand, yet Kaneki hesitated. There was something holding him back. Unsureness. Hide saw it too.

‘’I don’t know if this will work out. Hell, we could be dead in a week, but why not giving it a try?’’

Hide was not wholly convinced of himself either, and that was the push Kaneki needed to take Hide’s hand.

‘’Fuck you Hide.’’ Kaneki pushed himself away from Hide when he got into the car. He felt played, forced to open up and spill everything. Hide wasn’t fair.

Hide said nothing back, walked to the opposite side from Kaneki, sat down against the wall and watched Kaneki cry out.

After some time, Kaneki got tired from all the mixed feelings making a mess of his head. He let himself fall back against the wall, his legs spread before him. He noticed Hide staring at him, and he looked back, but chose not to jab at the other.

Anger was making his heart burst, together with relief and worry. He hated Hide for having control over him, even when he had disappeared on Kaneki and played dead. It was the same for his relief, as Hide was still alive, which meant he never killed his friend. He had still hurt him, the nasty scarred tissue that Hide had desperately trying to hide under his mask told him that. And still, Hide was willing to get into unknown waters with him. That was a bliss.

Kaneki was only scared to death that, now Hide wasn’t dead, there was a chance to see him get hurt all over again. Was it by himself or someone else, it didn’t matter.

‘’Did Kosaka-san make it out alive?’’ Kaneki didn’t know if Hide was familiar with the name, but it wasn’t like he was asking him directly. Just filling the silence with his thoughts.

‘’She wasn’t where she should have been the last time someone checked. Also, while you were in full attack, apparently Kuroiwa ran for it. At least that’s what I’ve heard.’’ Hide broke their stare-session and looked outside. The moon gave off a white light that shined through the opening of the car.

One good thing Kaneki was able to do. Touka must be happy if she knew about it. Now Kaneki wanted to tell her, but he couldn’t. He didn’t even get to say goodbye to her.

‘’Hey,’’ Hide interrupted him before Kaneki could get too deep into his thoughts, ‘’You might hate me, and I can totally get that, but let’s start all over again and… be friends. Let’s forget for a bit.’’

Kaneki saw that Hide was tired too. He must’ve left behind people too to do this. People he cared about. People Kaneki didn’t know because they’re the ones who comforted Hide when he himself wasn’t there to do it. Stupid to think that he was the only one suffering under this.

‘’Yes, let’s forget.’’

The tension subsided, and Kaneki felt himself relax against the wall, eyelids fluttering close. Hide didn’t let him, though.

‘’I don’t know about you, but it’s getting a little cold now we’re not walking.’’ Kaneki lifted up his head to see Hide gazing at a corner.

Let’s forget, is what Hide was heavily implying here. He wanted the hatred gone and a new beginning to settle in.

Without much more thought after that, Kaneki crawled up to the other side, where Hide was. He lay himself on Hide’s chest and both of them lower down, using the backpack as a pillow. Their legs tangled and Hide gave a satisfied sigh.

Kaneki didn’t close his eyes just yet. He looked outside and thought about the people who were going further away by the passing second.

‘’Do you think everyone will be alright?’’

‘’They are now somewhere on the line where they have the chance to unite both sides, so I think they’ll do fine.’’

‘’And if they don’t, will I be at fault?’’

Hide laughed. ‘’No one will blame you for setting up a whole revolution. You were the start of it. It’s not a problem to hand the work over and let someone else finish it.’’

An arm folded around his shoulders. ‘’Have some faith, Ken.’’

‘’I really tried Hide,’’ Kaneki sobbed, ‘’I tried so hard to make everyone happy. But did I do enough?’’ Hide’s thumb brushed away his tears, and Kaneki knew he was still listening. ‘’Was I able to make them happy? Will I make them sad by leaving them?’’ Nonetheless, he was leaving his wife and child. Would Touka tell their kid that his or her father was a coward who had made untruthful promises?

‘’That’s a tough one.’’ Hide took a deep breath, fingers gliding through Kaneki’s hair. ‘’I think they will be sad for some time, but if they hear that you were able to beat death again, I’m sure they’ll be proud of it.’’

‘’Really?’’

‘’Really.’’

If someone were to ask Kaneki to list the things that he wanted the least to happen, he would have made one and underlined this specific situation. From all the punishments that he had taken, this one was the worst. The guilt poisoning his body, leaving behind what could have been a family he never had, friends he had made through the years, kids he had let go. Yet, it was also a new beginning, which was also something Kaneki never had.

He still had a lot of questions for Hide, but for now he let it be. No problems would get in their way when they were heading towards Yokohama, and there, both of them would start anew.  

It was terrifying, and Kaneki hated Hide for pulling him with him. It was a new adventure, and how scary the unknown it could be, Kaneki knew that his friend would be beside him. That’s what made him love Hide.

fin

[scumtrout]

agnetasteam

I must read it again in chronological order because i read it chapter after chapter and did not realize the order

Sorry for the delay in replying to this!

I'm ambivalent about stories written told non-chronologically, which is why I cheated and put the seasons/years in the chapter titles just to spare my sanity.

There are 3 plotlines: Tarrlok's, Noatak's, and the Lieutenant's. I will refer to these plotlines as Team Douche Chills, Team Specialist Snowflake, and Team Swearwolf.

Chronologically, the story so far is:

(and this recap is partially for my own benefit as much as it is anyone else’s because long fic hurts my brain)

TEAM SWEARWOLF: The Lt. wakes up at the Arena with the terrible awareness that he has just lived through the worst breakup of all time. He makes a fast escape from Republic City along with a few other Equalists (the two notable ones being Lan, their medic/chemical weapons specialist, and Gansukh, an airship captain who is kind of a turd even by the standards a terrorist organisation).

TEAM SPECIALIST SNOWFLAKE/DOUCHE CHILLS: Elsewhere, Noatak and Tarrlok wash up on a beach with less skin and fewer fingers between them than they had previously, probably smelling like gasoline and failure.

TEAM SPECIALIST SNOWFLAKE/DOUCHE CHILLS: Noatak and Tarrlok mope around for a while.

TEAM SWEARWOLF: The Lieutenant et al travel by airship to a rendezvous point on an island where they have some kit and fuel reserves stored in case of emergency. However, Varrick is waiting for them there, because Varrick has financed them in the past and been keeping tabs on them ever since. (Varrick is basically Macavity. Varrick already does so much sketchy stuff in canon that financing terrorists is probably an amusing hobby for him.)

Varrick wants to use the Equalists to find the Artist Formally Known As Amon, because Noatak's ability to permanently removing bending would be super useful for, say, the prison industry. It's just a matter of replicating it... And if it works using a physical process - i.e. brain damage - then replication should be possible.

The Lieutenant hates Varrick and would not pee on him if he was on fire (Varrick is motivated by money and novelty, the Lt. is motivated by ideals, really fucked up ideals but still ideals). However, the Lieutenant grudgingly allows Varrick's goons take him back to the mainland due to lack of other options.

Fortunately (for the Lieutenant, if no one else), he manages to escape, and he flees into the nearest forest.

(Also, offscreen, the Equalists' medic/explosives/chemical weapons specialist - Lan - splits from Varrick's people and the other Equalists, though we don't see this from the Lieutenant's POV at the time.)

Without realizing it, the Lieutenant leaves behind items that can be used to track Noatak, so offscreen, Varrick probably gets right on with that.

Anyway, while the Lieutenant is stumbling around a forest like a dipshit, he runs into a foxy little spirit named Jing. Jing ensures that the Lieutenant is dragged into the Red Room from Twin Peaks uh wait i mean the spirit world, because Jing has a predator's knack for spotting an easy mark.

Jing tells the Lieutenant that... he? she? whatever... are also interested in finding Noatak, because: 1) Noatak knows a few things about bending that Jing would find handy for Certain Reasons, and 2) Noatak misrepresented the spirits for his own gain, and Jing isn't going to stand for that nonsense. (Jing also states that something big is about to kick off soon, though Jing keeps it vaugue.)

Jing wants the Lieutenant's help with finding Noatak, although Jing's reasons for this mainly boil down to 'finding Noatak involves visiting the physical world, and the physical world is dangerous for spirits, so the Lieutenant is an excellent meat shield'.

The Lieutenant isn't crazy on the deal and he knows Jing is sketchy as fuck, but he's like, 'ugh, fine, whatever'.

Jing possesses the Lieutenant.

Jing then knocks the Lieutenant out cold, and takes his body on a joy ride to do exciting things like... visit a healer and get a shave. Allegedly. At least that's what Jing says, anyway.

SPECIALIST SNOWFLAKE/DOUCHE CHILLS: Noatak probably dumps Tarrlok at a temple around this time.

Tarrlok mopes at the temple and gets adequate medical care.

Noatak mopes across the countryside while festering.

SWEARWOLF: After about a month, the Lieutenant's body is back in fighting form again, and Jing gives partial control of it back to its original owner. Jing states that they aren't interested in having full control of the Lieutenant's body 100% of the time, as bodies require constant maintenance and can be kind of a hassle.

The Lieutenant is not thrilled by the whole 'possession' thing but ehhhh what's a guy gonna do.

The Jingtenant goes on a road trip to find Noatak. On the way, the Lieutenant discovers that Jing is pretty useful, although sometimes his thoughts and perceptions get mixed up with Jing's (and visa versa).  Side effects include: vomiting, stress nosebleeds, temporary unconsciousness, hallucinations.

SPECIALIST SNOWFLAKE: Noatak wanders across the land while trying to ignore the nagging feeling that he's being pursued by Amon, who may have taken up the role of Big Fat Cliched Personification of His Conscience, which is something that Noatak finds cheesy because Noatak is a very cynical guy who has a good grasp of how ghost stories work.

Noatak settles at a town by the coast and decides to fester there for a while.

SWEARWOLF: The Jingtenant locates Noatak at the coastal town, and he has the perfect opportunity to tag him and bag him, but the Lieutenant can't bring himself to do it, because 1) he doesn't trust Jing and 2)  the Lieutenant's brain is still too fucked up for him to make decisions. As the Lieutenant has the temperament of an overstimulated toddler around that point, the Jingtenant temporarily abandons their revenge mission to find booze.

SPECIALIST SNOWFLAKE: Noatak definitely has the feeling he's being watched, but Noatak is also aware that is festering and crazy.

Shortly after Noatak's near miss with the Jingtenant, Zhu Li arrives on the scene, acting as Varrick's envoy. She catches up with Noatak and offers him a job as a... medical researcher, of sorts. Noatak agrees due to lack of better options, and deigns to board a sketchy unmarked shipping vessel that belongs to Varrick.

SWEARWOLF: By the time the Jingtenant gets his shit together and resumes the task of finding noatak, Noatak is already at sea, en route to an indisclosed location.

The ship is only a few miles out, so the Jingtenant says, 'hold my beer, I'm going to steal a speedboat from the local harbour patrol, draw aggro from one of the dark spirits that are currently in these waters, and ram this shit into that ship so I can grab that bloodbender, and no I don't care if this plan sounds stupid'.

Zipping along on a stolen speedboat, the Jingtenant acts as bait for a dark spirit and draws it over to the ship, which the dark spirit promptly wrecks.

SPECIALIST SNOWFLAKE: During the ensuing fracas with the dark spirit and the ship, Noatak gets knocked into the water, making it easy for Jing to drag him to the spirit world. However this is written from Noatak's perspective, so we just see Noatak fall off the boat while thinking, 'you know what can go fuck themselves? Boats'. (Never get on a boat with Noatak. Something horrible will happen.)

SWEARWOLF: Jing meets Noatak in the spirit world, and tells him he's a loser.

Jing is then nice enough to step back and let the Lieutenant and Noatak have a little heart-to-heart.

The Lieutenant is still too mad at Noatak to let him do something nice and easy like die.

The Lieutenant requests that Jing let Noatak live after they're done with him, because he wants Noatak to suffer, and Noatak can't suffer if he's dead.

Jing then tears through Noatak's memories like a raccoon in an attic, chomps off the relevant bits about how human brains work re: bending, bites a chunk out of Noatak's soul/spirit/mind/what have you in the process, then kicks Noatak back out into the physical world.

SPECIALIST SNOWFLAKE: Noatak (who was in terrible health even before Jing got him) wakes up back on the material plane feeling like he's just attended the worst party of all time.

Noatak stumbles around wondering why he can't think properly. As his memory is now fucked and he Does Not Feel Right, he's inclined to blame himself for his current state (which isn't an unreasonable assumption given all the terrible things he's been responsible so far).

Noatak is mid-stumble when someone starts shooting arrows at him, because there still are plenty of people other than the Jingtenant who are after him.

Noatak runs away.

SWEARWOLF: After Jing has finished with Noatak, the Lieutenant remains in the spirit world. The Lieutenant realises that he can't return to the physical world alone. The Lieutenant continues to be a shitty, hateful person, but he's a shitty, hateful person who wants to redeem himself by making things up for the other Equalists who were fucked over by Noatak's bullshit. So the Lieutenant asks Jing for further help.

Jing's like 'eeeeeeeehhhhh okay'.

The Lieutenant and Spirit perform the fusion dance. BY THEIR POWERS COMBINED, they make a relatively functional adult.

SWEARWOLF: The Jingtenant ventures back to the physical world and catches up with that medic/weapons specialist named Lan who I mentioned earlier. She quickly realizes that he has... been somewhere and come back different (his favorite food is raw liver, which is on par with him wearing a t-shirt that has 'NOBODY KNOWS I'M A KUMIHO' written on it), but hey, his fashion sense has improved and his skin is flawless, so hey, nobody's perfect. Also he has spirit powers now, which he demonstrates.

MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE:

DOUCHE CHILLS: Tarrlok has spent the past few months moping around a temple, but someone gives the White Lotus a tip off that he's there. Korra and Lin show up to escort him to one of Katara's safe houses, where Katara can question him. Katara is interested in finding Noatak herself, because she's Katara and her #1 pasttime is benevolently meddling in other people's business.

Tarrlok overheads Korra and Katara butt heads over something, although he doesn't get the details.

Korra and Lin then eventually Tarrlok to another White Lotus compound, partly for his own protection.

Tarrlok resigns himself to having a very boring life from that point onwards.

Korra then shows up the middle of the night and kidnaps Tarrlok, because Korra does not give a fuck.

Korra forces Tarrlok to go on a road trip with her. She states that she intends to find Noatak herself (against Katara's wishes), and that she'll start by following Katara's route across the Earth Kingdom, as it seems like Katara has picked up a trail.

When Korra and Tarrlok reach the area that Katara is currently investigating, they are waylaid by Ty Lee, who is an absolute beast. Ty Lee demonstrates that Korra and Tarrlok are both pretty vulnerable and would get their asses handed to them by a seasoned chi blocker. (Though thb this is pretty unfair as there isn't a single Equalist who'd be at Ty Lee's level.) Ty Lee is working with Katara, who turns up so she can give Korra A Talking To. Korra does not take this well.

Everyone goes back to Ty Lee's house for yum chai, even though it's probably about 2 in the morning.

Katara and Korra chill out and reach a middle ground. Katara signs Korra up for chi blocking lessons as chi blocking is 'an area for development'.

Tarrlok gets placed in Katara's custody.

After that, Ty Lee teaches Korra Chi Blocking 101. Tarrlok is made to make himself useful within Ty Lee's household by doing some some gardening.

Tarrlok has a word with Ty Lee where Ty Lee points out that Noatak actually trained under her. (He looked pretty good in pink.)

Korra pesters Tarrlok into letting her use him as a study aid by teaching *him* some chi blocking. Tarrlok's like, 'oh you want to teach me the martial art that my shithead brother used in order to commit terrorism. That's fine Korra. THAT'S FINE.'

Katara goes off on some Katara Business.

Tarrlok gardens the ever loving fuck out of a vegetable plot.

Then later, while Tarrlok is gardening, another old lady turns up to watch, and she is *mean* to him. Fortunately Tarrlok is too depressed to try murdering her with a trowel. The old lady also says some things that infer she knows a lot about... everything, but this is less important than the fact that she is mean to Tarrlok. He is a sensitive boy.

Tarrlok puts 120% of his effort into gardening and practicing what little Korra has taught him about chi blocking. (Tarrlok only has 2 modes of being: Arrogant Indifference and OVERCOMPENSATING AS HARD AS POSSIBLE.)

Later, while Tarrlok is trying to sleep, Korra comes into his room in her nightclothes and angsts at him. He wishes she would angst at him while wearing more clothing.

Tarrlok tries to give her some sensible advice. Korra ends up trying to use a low-key version of the Avatar State to find Noatak, but gets the spiritual equivalent of a 'network connection lost' error.

Korra decides to sleep on things, while Tarrlok asks if he can try petitioning the spirits at the nearest temple. Because, you know, spirits are so helpful in this fic.

[pinkiepiebones]

For the song ask! 11, 22, 38, 49 🎵🎵🎵

-- 11. A song that reminds you of your best friend

Oh man... “Do You Realise” by The Flaming Lips?

-- 22. A song that motivates you to work/helps you focus

“Twilight of the Thunder God” by Amon Amarth! If Viking metal can’t help me get pumped, nothing can

-- 38. A song that you think is underrated

Another tough one! I don’t really know how to gage what is underrated... Maybe, like... A lot of Monkees songs? I know most people know of “I’m a Believer” because of that Smash Mouth cover at the end of the first Shrek, but their whole catalog is so so good, and I’m not just saying that because I grew up listening to them. “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “Daydream Believer,” “Saturday’s Child,” “Take A Giant Step,” “(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone,” “The Girl I Knew Somehwere,” “Mary, Mary,” “Your Auntie Grizelda,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I Want to Be Free,”  their latest album, there’s some fun b-sides like “Gonna Buy Me a Dog”... their TV show was also super cute and silly!!

-- 49. A song whose lyrics you have memorized

Every song from The Nightmare Before Christmas (hush)

[scenarios-on-ice]

“Alright, Luna-senpai!”

Thus the technically-smol and not-so-innocent Evans was saved from a brutal, feelsy death by Queen Luna’s common sense.

If only we could say the same for Philip Hamilton. R.I.P

Ah, it is true that I am professional feels-murderer. However, when it comes to me being a cinnamon roll…that remains to be seen :)

Aww, I didn’t mind the basement thing, really! That isn’t something I’d see as a major spoiler since you didn’t tell me what was actually inside of it ^^ as for AoT, I forgot to mention that I’ve caught up with the manga now! I got so irritated at falling behind all of my fandoms and then going on tumblr like “wth new chapter already now I’ve got to avoid the spoilers but I WANNA SEE THE SPOILERS but I WANNA APPRECIATE THE TWISTS” that I went and binge-read Black Butler, AoT and TG almost all at once lol

Like you, though, I don’t know if I’m appreciating what’s going on in AoT right now. Isayama’s doing so many POV switches and focusing on so many new plot twists and info dumps that it almost feels like he’s abandoning all the old plot threads he hasn’t tied up yet. Also, he’s pulled off two time skips in quick succession now, which makes things even more confusing.

If he has a plan and knows what he’s doing this could turn out OK, but if not, well…it could become a complete and utter trainwreck.

YOU POSSESS THE POWER OF AMVs I BOW DOWN TO YOU

Seriously, if you want to and you have the time, I’d love to see that actually happen (though if you can’t that’s fine too ^^). I actually wrote down a whole plan for this MMV/AMV thing because the more I listen to Wait for It the more it reminds me of TG…

(More feels: for the line ‘My grandfather was a fire and brimstone preacher’, Amon and Donato. And then 'but there are things that the homilies and hymns can’t teach you’ Amon’s first encounter with Kaneki.

Then 'My mother was a genius’ possibly Eto and Ukina? or Matsumae?

'My father commanded respect’ Juuzou and Shinohara

And you know how the chorus echoes 'respect’ after that line? Sasaki’s face shows up during that echo (he did have the Q squad’s respect in his own way). Or maybe Yoshimura. I considered Arima but I have another line I want for him…

'When they died, they left no instructions’ Ryouko’s (Hinami’s mother’s) death

'Just a legacy to protect’ Hinami saving Sasaki in the auction arc. Cinnamon roll is making her parents proud.

'Death doesn’t discriminate’ anything with Arima. Maybe his death scene? The Grim Reaper never hesitated, not even when it came to his own life.

Also, the scenes with Nutcracker’s death and young Arima reaching out the window in his flashback might fit well with the last chorus (“Life doesn’t discriminate”). In fact, I feel like the most emotional scenes or the ones that show characters going through hardships would fit with the last chorus, since it’s about how hard life can be no matter who you are.

I know I want the 'Let’s go home’ scene in here somewhere but I’m not sure where it should go. It should be in a powerful, meaningful place, probably in the last chorus like the above scenes, but I can’t decide where it would have the most impact.)

I just went back and checked out some discussions in the fandom, and I’m really, REALLY sorry! But apparently the 'I’ve forgotten their names’ was an April Fool’s joke…? I’m kinda glad that there’s no deeper, more tragic meaning I could dig out from that line now, but also kind of disappointed because I was liking the contrast with Naki.

The line that was actually there is no better when it comes to feels.

“If the people you lost somehow returned to you…how would you feel?”

“It’d be frightening.

I’d worry that they might just disappear again.”

coupled with this lovely panel of Kaneki, his eyes closed and head tilted upwards, with a vaguely melancholy expression on his face.

Ishida Why

Also, remember Furuta’s touching declaration of love?

“I’ll have Rize bear me a bunch of children, 101 dalmations style~”

Yeah, well.

He got his wish…? Sort of…?

I love Hinami more and more. Despite everything that’s happened she’s made it clear since a few chapters ago that she has no grudge against Akira or even Kureo Mado, and in fact, she’s the one who pulls Akira into her arms (Akira just stands there and soon starts to cry for the first time since the Anteiku Raid).

Those names do sound a bit weird XD but I’m definitely gonna watch all of those when I can! And I’ll let you know when I do!

OMG.

There’s something weirdly exciting about knowing that we’re this close (like one of us could literally jump on a plane and meet the other in around a couple of hours) :D I really hope you have fun in Japan! :) I’m almost kinda jealous lol…but CONGRATS!

The amount of times I’ve died and risen from the dead is astonishing. 

Phillip needed an Evans and a Luna to save him from his demise. Too bad he didn’t have any. 

Your feels-murdering skills are over 9000 *breaks eyepiece*

Ah, that’s amazing! I’m glad you’re all caught up now ^^ We have a lot (A LOT) to discuss, especially about Black Butler. To sum up my feelings about it: I am dead inside. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY(Did he have to say goodbye). 

I am this close to giving up on AoT as well. However, I wish to see how my precious ray of sunshine (Armin) will fare, so I’ll have to bear with it. Hooray.

Fun facts, my amvs are horrible. Since I use a free program, they have huge watermarks and I don’t know how to add effects at all, but there’s always youtube to help hahah I’ll work on it quite soon, but I can’t guarantee how well it’ll turn out ^^ 

When thinking about how to pull it off, I was realised that using manga panels for everything would be the best way to go, as not to confuse people or make it weird. As for ‘Let’s go home’, it could probably fit well with ‘death doesn’t discriminate’, but we already have Arima for it... Oh, oh, maybe with ‘it takes and it takes’. Finding all the right panels will be a pain in the ass ;-; I’ll probably ask you a few times if you know the approximate chapter of certain scenes ^^;;

Oh thank god. I mean, it was quite out of character, even for Sasaki. Jeez. That was mean ;-; (Not mean from you, but from the fandom T_T) The alternate line is so much better and fits him more. And it’s actually just as sad. Gdi Ishida, you’re evil.

What What What What What No Please no Oh dear God and I’m not even a religious person WHYYYY I believe Ishida is made out of 5% cinnamon roll and 95% pure evil.  Also, I just happen to stumble upon the last panel of the latest chapter, aka Mutuski being creepy af, holding Kaneki and going ‘sense <3′ whaT’D I MISS?? Lots and lots of things

WHAT IS THIS???

((Don’t mind me, I’m just searching for the panel of Kaneki and his what if everyone came back. I WILL FIND IT))

Whoops, found it

Well, shit

On to lighter themes!

Japan was absolutely amazing! We did so many things and saw lots of new places! It’s a completely different world, that’s for sure. And my Love Live loving ass was in heaven. Seriously, I bought 4 figures (bc they’re really cheap there) and one plush toy, and they’re all related to LL. I might need help. Aaand, after watching the 4 eps of BnHA season 2, I recommend it even more! It’s a mix between serious/dark and humour and imo, it was pulled off very well ^^

I hope school’s going fine for you! Cause mine isn’t :’) Well, it’ll get better now, since this week was the hellpoint hahah