#is this like a gentleman’s rule esque thing

[this-is-fox-speaking]

WHY DOES LAYTON BRING LUKE EVERYWHERE AND NOT FLORA?? it’s not even something like “oh it’s cause lukes so insistent” CAUSE FLORA IS, TOO!! AND SHES STILL LEFT BEHIND.

[maxwell-grant]

"porous and easy-to-transplant like Spidey's villains" is it just me does Marvel have more of these guys than DC? Like we can just have random buff list villains go after a a variety of different characters?

Oh yes, Marvel absolutely has the advantage when it comes to rogues gallery transplants, it's not even a contest. That's in large part because Marvel existed as a shared universe from the get-go: DC didn't quite jump on that wagon for a while. For most of the Silver Age, there was little to no cross-pollination between Superman and Batman, the existence of the Justice League not really mattering in their titles, where as Marvel was crossover town from day one. They each offer different kinds of narrative real state for their villains to exist in.

The DCU's defining figures, Superman and Batman, live in opposite cities with opposite tones and opposite casts and everybody else has to occupy the space between their two extremes, and most of the other bigger heroes have their own cities: your Star Cities and Central Cities and Hub Cities and Bludhavens and whatnot. Thus most of their villains and villain casts are centralized, and sometimes they even have formal agreements about this kind of stuff. There's almost like a Venture Bros-esque union thing going on sometimes in the DCU where most of their popular villains and heroes are fairly exclusive to one another, with characters like Killer Frost, Gentleman Ghost and Solomon Grundy who transcend this being mostly such due to their heroes being more absorbed and integrated into ensembles than their own adventures.

The major exceptions for these tend to be villains specifically made or set to menace the entire universe, like Superboy Prime or Perpetua or, Amanda Waller this month I guess, and Event Villains are kind of their own thing (and mostly not very good). DC doesn't have a Doctor Doom, in the sense of a big great iconic villain for the whole universe and specific heroes in it who also can and will fight anyone and it will pretty much always be great no matter who he's fighting. They try to make cosmic baddies like Brainiac into those kinds of figures and it never works as well, it always just makes them too generic, there's no spark to the ensuing dynamic. Vandal Savage is probably the closest to one that works and, love the guy, but he's sporadically great and simply not up to the standard this requires.

Marvel, in turn, has been in the business of regularly loaning out bad guys, maybe ever since Sandman joined up the Frightful Four? He wasn't just a one-off thing like that time Daredevil and Doctor Doom swapped bodies and fought, no he was regularly showing up as a villain in F4, in a new costume even. Marvel already started with all of their major defining characters living in the same sandbox, everybody is within a few blocks away from each other most of the time, and so everybody is everybody's problem most of the time, it's the bastardverse and they are all crammed together, and it's not terribly surprising why they fight all the goddamn time. All the major Marvel villains are shooting to rule the same city/planet and destroy more or less the same people and therefore they kinda have to be on a first-name basis with each other, and all the middle-leaguer/second-stringer baddies are getting beaten up by the same people in the same city. Reverse-Flash and Joker going after anyone other than their respective arch-enemies feels fake and perfunctory, but guys like Ultron and Norman Osborn, who also have specific arch-enemies, can transit between individual problems for different heroes and larger-scale problems for everybody just fine. A DC hero will rarely be in Lex Luthor's line of sight unless they are specifically doing something that will piss him off, where as if you are a Marvel hero, it's a fact that sometimes you'll just randomly orbit Wilson Fisk's business and thus you gotta dodge gunfire for it that day.

This especially applies for the smaller-scale villains, not too strongly attached to the hero they may have started out with to the point they become ensemble villains, the ones that easily and eventually become someone else's problem. Your Mr. Hydes and Absorbing Men and Arcades and High Evolutionaries and whatnot, Spider-Man is stuffed with these. Sometimes these characters will click so well with specific heroes they'll achieve wholly different kinds of stardom or characterization (Kingpin in Miller's Daredevil, Brain Drain and Kraven in Squirrel Girl, etc), and sometimes they'll graduate into the position of supporting character or even main character. The peak example of this is Taskmaster, because while the likes of Loki and Venom can claim greater stardom, they did so by becoming anti-heroes and are generally still attached at hip to their heroes of origin, where as Taskmaster is a midcard villain to the bone and it's extremely easy to forget he was an Avengers villain at first, he is just fully A Guy in his own right who will go anywhere and menace anyone for the right price (except Moon Knight, because he is too scary), he'll scale up and down and be everyone's problem until he's not being paid to do so and then it's cool. DC doesn't really have an equivalent to him (they kinda try with Deathstroke but, pfft, please, that guy is a diehard obsessive Teen Titans villain and that's not even the more embarassing thing about him). They have countless midcarders just picking dust within their respective rogues galleries that could easily be migrated elsewhere.

But on the other hand, Marvel doesn't quite have what you'd call a Legion of Doom/Injustice League, in the sense of being able to pair all of it's biggest villains from the biggest corners of the world together in a team-up and have it work. There's been attempts over the years to make things like the Masters of Evil and the Cabal land as such and they never really stuck, the closest you get to an iconic Big Villain Team is the likes of the Sinister Six and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, groups tailored to menace specific heroes or hero teams, or things like The Black Order and the Dark Avengers, ultimately extensions of bigger villains (the Thunderbolts are their own thing). Maybe it's because Marvel doesn't really have a major concentrated dominant heroic force on the level of the Justice League that would demand all their villains to put everything aside to try and stop it (although DC can't really justify the Legion of Doom/Injustice League as an ongoing thing most of the time, they don't exist as a regular thing). It might be a mismatch of priorities, that it doesn't have a Lex Luthor as a a clear-cut Union Chief to properly call in and command other arch-enemies who would be willing to pay union dues and work together to better destroy the specific guys they individually hate. Marvel's major villains are a clutch of arch-bastards all trying to be king of the world who hate each other as much, if not more, as they hate their heroes and the only one who could rise above them to the top leadership position is Doctor Doom, who has no need to be leading or participating in something like this. Loki had to put on a whole charade of pretending to be subservient to each of them in order to pull off the gathering he did in Acts of Vengeance, and that only worked once.

Another obvious immediate answer for why is that, as Acts of Vengeance and other stories have shown time and time again, you kinda can't gather all of Marvel's biggest villains in one place and not include the Red Skull, and thus other villains jumping over themselves to murder him the second he walks into the room. But they've done attempts without him or a significant Nazi villain in the room, and they still largely didn't land. It might be overall that, the point of the Legion of Doom is to force all the separate characters and domains of the DCU to join forces to oppose it and that's why they have to be a threat to the Justice League, with none of it's villains exactly meeting that standard on their own, but Marvel's heroes are already all crammed together in cliques on the same places and fighting/putting differences aside to tackle bigger threats all the time, and so there's not really a point of forcing that through a especially big villain gathering.

There isn't really a unity among the Marvel heroes comparable to the one that demands Lex Luthor to call in all the other arch-enemies to try and break, and the one time Norman Osborn attempted to call in one at the height of his power, it was repeteadly emphasized how stupid he was to expect to be able to gather and control and command said people (and when Namor tried to revive the Cabal for the sake of succeeding where the Illuminati failed, things went even worse for him). In the end, Marvel is just too chaotic for the villains to exist in a centralized ruling body like that, if the heroes can't agree on anything why would their villains be any different.

[daybreakrising]

HEADCANONS - Z.HONGLI VS M.ORAX

this is an important one bc i do feel like i need to stress that the man who answers to z.hongli is not the same as the one who answers to m.orax & if you ask for the wrong one... well, you may be in for a surprise and it may not be a welcome one-

TWO SIDES

z.hongli & m.orax are SEPARATE personalities. they share many similarities, yes, but one is very much a persona that has been adopted to suit a different kind of existence than the other. there are times when z.hongli will "shift" into m.orax (and this is very noticeable) but, for the most part, that side of him is kept well buried unless it is... required.

if one expects m.orax to be the same kindly, warm gentleman that z.hongli is, then they would be sorely mistaken. whilst the archon is capable of such, there is a cold-bloodedness to his demeanour that sharpens both his tongue and his gaze. this is a being far less welcoming, far less forgiving, and his mercy is hard won.

both the mortal guise and the archon share a great love for the people of l.iyue, but it is a love expressed in different ways. for z.hongli, he basks in their company, delights in sharing knowledge, wisdom, and experiences with them. he dines with them, drinks with them. he is fond of these mortals, the way an elder is fond of the children in his family.

for m.orax, his love is of a more distant nature. he watches from afar, keeps them safe from the threats that creep in from the shadows. he is brutal in his defence of the people, merciless in his vengeance upon those who would cause harm to those within his borders. he views himself as entirely separate to them, not one of them in the way z.hongli has made himself to be.

they share a vessel, but they are not the same. where z.hongli feels some remorse for the things he has done, m.orax feels none.

THE USE OF A NAME

before we touch on this further, it is incredibly important to note that only those who are aware that z.hongli is the geo archon should be able to refer to him directly as m.orax. i will not budge on this. and, depending on context and character, calling z.hongli by that name may not garner the result you want.

so - who can use the name m.orax?

friends - of the old variety, typically. those who knew him primarily as m.orax, those who fought at his side, those who have worked with him to build l.iyue and protect its people. newer friends who have learned this information may use the name, though there is little reason to, and he generally prefers to go by z.hongli in his current state.

fellow gods or sovereigns - this one is a no-brainer. he had several names and titles as an archon, and m.orax was one of the predominant ones. therefore, it makes sense for fellow gods, sovereigns, or similar ancient and/or powerful beings/authorities (including any reborn into new vessels) to call him by this name.

the adepti. again, this one is obvious. they fought for him, with him. whether they call him by m.orax or rex lapis, that's their choice.

established dynamics in which z.hongli has entrusted them with this information. though, similar to the 'newer friends' rule, he generally prefers to go by z.hongli. these dynamics can include familial-esque bonds, deeper friendships or partnerships, and romantic relationships.

anyone who witnessed or suffered in the archon war that doesn't fall into any of the above categories.

anyone who discovers this information from an outside source (e.g. the f.atui). though, in this instance, calling him m.orax to his face is not a good idea as he will view this as a threat/challenge until proven otherwise. and this must have a reasonable and believable explanation for how the character learned this information. this is a well-kept secret and not something just anyone can learn.

as stated above, depending on the context and who is using the name, calling z.hongli "m.orax" in his current timeline verse is a risky move. if said fondly by an old friend, it is likely to earn a gentle smile. if uttered by an old enemy, it might invoke sadness and memory, or a cold detachment. if spoken by someone who should not know it as his name... well, that's when it gets dangerous. there will be instant suspicion, a deliberate shift into his m.orax persona until he can determine if this is a potential threat or not. tread carefully - this is someone who once sealed his enemies beneath the ground to rot. he's not above taking extreme measures.

and i stress this because if you ask for m.orax for a character that should not know z.hongli = m.orax, you will get m.orax. and i can guarantee it won't be what you were hoping for.

[edensrose]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ    ꒰❀꒱ 𝒗𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆! 𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒖 ❜࿔ 

─────── .°୭̥ ✿ˎˊ˗ “ 2k followers event ’

( ❀ ) ˙ ˖ ainur⠀〳 reader⠀ ៸៸ vampire themes ៸៸ blood mention ៸៸ biting, so much biting ៸៸ some violent themes ៸៸ dark fantasy ៸៸ royal aspects ៸៸ victorian esque ៸៸ various other tags  to be listed as the au ensues ❜࿔

· ⊰ synopsis. a world where mysterious, terrible creatures of the night rule over the land from the shadows. mere myth to most yet reality to others, it seems that the latter might become more apparent as there is an uproar in the vampire royal court. this victorian esque story follows the lives of the vampire court, the internal divide between kings, the struggle of scientists fighting for humanity. . . and the war between creatures of twilight and the divine hunters that vow to eradicate them. 

꒰❀꒱ please ensure that you have read the vampire legendarium and the character sheet before proceeding 

꒰❀꒱ queue / masterlist.

in celebration of reaching 2k followers, I have decided to run an event that the majority of you voted for in a poll. I would like to first take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have supported me. I have been in the tolkien fandom for over a year and I am so happy with how far I have come. I appreciate all of you and I can only hope for smooth sailings along with greater things to come! I would also like to give a huge thanks to my darling friend @cilil , for she was the one who helpled me massively with this au! at this point, it's our au lol. love you babes<3 anyway ~

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· ⊰ notes

꒰❀꒱ the following event will work on a request system. you can request as many times as you like, however, there are only fifteen slots. depending on my mood, I might open up more slots in the future ( 21 requests — closed! )

꒰❀꒱ anyone can participate, as long as you take my rules into consideration 

꒰❀꒱ requests are reader-insert based, you may request for a total of three characters in one fic

꒰❀꒱ you may request calamórë ( manwë x námo ) as well

꒰❀꒱ please send in a prompt from below and a character. you do not have to provide plot but you can if you so wish

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· ⊰ prompts 

( ❀ ) ˙ ˖  dialogue

 "don't vampires live forever? that's a long time. . ." "you make me sick."

 "for a so-called 'expert', your strategies are kind of weak." 

 "you're everything I ever wanted..." 

"you can run, but you cannot hide. "

"holy water. how original. "

"if you bite me, will I die?"

"please don't be afraid of me."

"your blood is intoxicating. if I start, I don’t think I could ever stop." "I trust you."

"I want you to turn me."

"what are you?"

“you’re hurting me!”

"you are/are not a monster."

"don't come any closer!"

"I don't want to hurt you."

"if you’re going to sit there bleeding, at least have the decency to offer me some to drink."

"please, just give me a chance!"

"what happens if two vampires drink from each other?" "would you like to find out?"

"you're not just the friendly gentleman/lady, are you?"

"scared, darling?"

"hold still and this won't hurt as much."

“don’t you dare lie to me!”

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( ❀ ) ˙ ˖ scenarios 

ʚ A and B knew each other in the past, and A is heartbroken and betrayed seeing that B is a vampire Hunter now. B has to now try to regain this trust. 

ʚ B finally finds A, but after taking one glance at their terrified form, they can't bare to finish carrying out their mission.

ʚ A and B are in a forbidden romance, as they are either a vampire or vampire hunter 

ʚ A is a hunter and thinks that they are misleading B, a vampire. little do they know that B already knows what they are and is playing them as well 

ʚ A is a human and in a relationship with B, a vampire who is trying to keep them safe from other vampires 

ʚ A and B are on opposite sides, A ends up defending B in a fight when their kin clash 

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( ❀ ) ˙ ˖ action prompts

( angel. ) reader is tricked by the beauty of vampire and is thus lured into a dangerous sutuation. 

( accident. ) vampire/vampire hunter accidentally hurts reader.

( authority. ) vampire / vampire hunter shows their authority over reader.

( awaken. ) reader awakes as a vampire with the one who turned them at their side.

( battle. ) reader and vampire / vampire hunter are on opposite sides, they find themselves in a battle. 

( betrayal. ) vampire / vampire hunter betrays reader ( or vice versa ).

( bite. )  vampire bites the reader on their ( neck / wrist / thigh / body part ) to drink their blood.

( bloodlust. )  vampire has gone too long without feeding, base instincts taking over, the reader finds them. 

( capture. ) reader is captured by vampire / vampire hunter ( or vice versa ).

( chase. ) reader runs from either a vampire / vampire hunter.

( control. ) vampire has to control themselves from draining the reader dry.

( dance. ) reader and vampire / vampire hunter share a tense or intimate dance. 

( discover. ) reader discovers what the other actually is, a vampire / vampire hunter.

( duty. ) vampire hunter has to decide whether to choose duty over love when they discover what the reader truly is.

( gift. ) human reader gifts vampire roses without knowledge of its effects.

( gold. ) reader sees vampire hunter's golden wounds.

( intentional. ) vampire / vampire hunter intentionally hurts reader either out of spite or to obtain information from them.

( interrogation. ) vampire / vampire hunter interrogates reader.

( protective. ) vampire / vampire hunter expresses protectiveness over reader.

( rescue. ) vampire hunter / vampire saves reader.

( reveal. ) vampire / vampire hunter reveals to reader what they really are.

( sacrifice. ) vampire / vampire hunter sacrifices themselves for reader.

( sadistic. ) reader finds themselves in a situation with a sadistic-driven vampire / vampire hunter.

( stake. )  after finding out the other is a vampire, the reader tries to stake them.

( temptation. ) vampire tempts reader with immortality or the idea of staying by their side for all eternity.

( trapped. ) reader finds themselves trapped in the vampire royal castle / the hunters' domain

( turn. ) vampire turns the reader into one of them.

[travalistocata]

(appears many days later) hello. this isn’t a manifesto per se but a relationship dynamic breakdown (it does get nsfw after a few paragraphs sorry)

delenn is the queen of the castle, first and foremost, and that’s kind of a given. john doesn’t even need any words dedicated to how much he adores her. g’kar is just as obviously fond and they have probably the closest Friendship out of the four. hours spent talking about fuck all with the bonus perk that they can do it in a shared language the other two don’t know (this annoys londo due to fomo and makes john feel like he’s being talked about). her and londo have a surprisingly almost romantic relationship, partly because delenn has some kind of catnip-esque thing inside of her that makes londo obsessed with her. the chivalry comes out in full force around her - opening doors, standing when she stands at a table, etc. delenn reciprocates though because being treated like a pretty princess makes her feel funny inside. mutual ego-stroking abounds, and eventual bonding over their shared genocidal phases.

g’kar and john have become closer friends due to the way that his friendship with delenn has brought them in closer proximity all the time. this occured before even “the arrangement” happened, and they have been building up a pretty mutual respect since they’ve known each other. g’kar and delenn’s relationship will sometimes playfully dance between being platonic and romantic more often than not. they say i love you as friends but sometimes they go through phases where they don’t say it because it makes them both feel kind of funny. they can be described best as “a secret third thing.”

john sometimes is made nervous by g’kar, despite the friendship, mainly because they are so similar in so many ways that john worries he will accidentally set g’kar off or offend him in some form or fashion. especially because he’s so used to seeing g’kar as incredibly prideful and a figure that needs to be respected. john would be the most likely out of the other three to join a cult of g’kar like on narn. londo is such an odd entity for john specifically because he has been so front and center in watching londo commit atrocities - and also has seen up close and personal the ramifications of those atrocities. but londo now has been approved by both delenn (who john trusts in any social matter implicity) and g’kar (who was from the group hurt the most by londo) so things are like…cool? now? but when it happens, it happens immediately and they become annoyingly good friends.

londo is enamored with delenn. she activates the kind of cute aggression “i have to hold you and pinch you and-“ impulse he gets sometimes when it comes specifically to women (ie timov, adira). he is first and foremost a gentleman to her, though, and sees the way that delenn is admittedly somewhat enchanted by having an ~*emperor*~ treat her with such respect and love even if it’s just pretend and delenn does actually hate most imperialistic power structures. john, on the other hand, is first and foremost londo’s pet project. john is awkward around londo for a myriad of reasons - such as the genocide and the fact that londo is now such a shameless flirt to both john and delenn. he flirts with john more though. when flirting with g’kar it’s all subtly and things that he doesn’t want others to see. when flirting with delenn it’s chivalry and treating a lady just so. john is the one that londo can really slip into learned social cues from gay centauri male culture - lots of physical touch, lots of jokes, lots of alcohol. and john gets thrilled by the attention so it all works out.

while delenn is the one who rules the social dynamics between the four of them and is usually the epicenter of it all, g’kar is the one who rules the bedroom. of course everyone has their own set dynamics but it will involve g’kar more often than not in some form or fashion. him and delenn have been old pros at their own dynamic and while her form of submission is different than londo’s, it’s just as thrilling to him. john and g’kar’s sex life is sparse due to john’s own uncomfortableness with the idea of being penetrated by THAT (…he may work up to it one day, though) but when they are together it’s as fun as it is awkward. john’s eagerness to learn combined with g’kar’s experience helps even the playing field, and g’kar can be just as gentle in the bedroom as he can be debaucherous and violent.

delenn loves being tossed around like a sack of potatoes by g’kar, quite frankly. john is both uninterested in extreme physicality like that in the bedroom and also worried that he will hurt her in some capacity genuinely. g’kar offers a surrogate for those impulses she has, including language used. londo and her will sometimes go off on their own and kiss, but sex doesn’t happen that often between them, and when it does she initiates it more often than not. but when they’re together and putting on a show for g’kar and/or john it’s like two professionals at work on a stage. surprisingly compatible despite their combined submissiveness.

londo, meanwhile, worries about coming off a certain way with both delenn and john but more so with delenn. she was there for his actual womanizing and random casual sex that ended up spilling out into professional life. he doesn’t want her to view him like that any more, so he often waits for her to make the first move in anything between just them. but she doesn’t often, and he wishes she did more. john is maybe not what londo would want in an everyday partner but that’s almost the point. he thinks the bashfulness is cute, and londo’s teasing and flirting continues into the bedroom. john has been able to rock his world a few times though (sometimes with help from delenn and/or g’kar) and he likes to put on a show and make g’kar feel possessive.

john is out of his comfort zone immediately with g’kar. it isn’t exactly a bad thing, either, and he finds it exciting. he does worry about not being able to keep up, though, and finds himself having to shake off feelings of emasculation when sharing a bedroom. g’kar with him, though, is kind and patient in ways that john appreciates. he likes how g’kar treats him when he gets a tiny bit rough as well, and sometimes when john is more comfortable it turns into john being g’kar’s attack dog he sics on londo and/or delenn. londo is almost pushy and almost makes him too embarrassed in a different way, but he also does love the uncharacteristic attention that londo gives him. londo has been patient with him in another direction as a more bottom leaning individual and john also can’t complain about what happens when a slut in his sixties shows john tricks that he’s learned over the years. john is also just out of his comfort zone with men, a thing he hasn’t done since college probably.

one day i might drop the ot4 manifesto

[chocolatepot]

Sweet Damsel, a genderbent/Rule 63 AU

Ed thinks she can go back to the way things were before Stede, but Stede is determined to find her and make amends. (4102 words, one-shot.)

Something was niggling at her attention as her crew swarmed over the little ship and confronted its men, but she shook it off and continued staring at its mistress, who had backed up to the far rail. She drew her sword, hilt decorated with a multicolored knot of ribbon, and held it before her: high enough to be a threat, but not high enough to really be a threat.

“Sweet damsel,” Ed began. That had been a line in a story Stede had read the crew one night while they all sat on deck together, and it had struck her at the time as unbearably romantic. “I’m afraid we’ve come to ransack your yacht, but have no fear, I won’t harm you.” That had been a line Stede had used one time when Ed had let her try to menace a ship’s captain, and it just felt right.

I wrote so much for an end note that I decided to just ramble here beneath a cut.

Fun with anachronisms! If the show can have Pinocchio in 1717, I can surely represent chemise gowns and big hats as Caribbean fashion in the same period.

I’m a little obsessed with the idea of fem!Stede and fem!Ed because my own gender presentation is ludicrously feminine in such a way that it’s still rather queer and stands out – I wear full skirts with petticoats and have curly hair down to my waist, and pre-Covid I was a big fan of bright Besame lipstick. So while conventional wisdom might be that a cis female Stede would find it easier to fit into her colonial society, I can see how being “too feminine”/falling into negative feminine stereotypes of the period could have been an issue for her (and she’s still autistic anyway, imo), though at the same time she has plenty of “unfeminine” interests that would also be seen as a problem by society. 

Female Ed fascinates me in another way because, just like in canon, liking fine things doesn’t necessarily mean she’s “feminine” or that some kind of biologically essentialist innate female drive is pushing her into her assigned role. She’s a fancy butch who likes to wear nice perfume. I did give her a different pirate name/title, because “Blackbeard” stretched the limits of my suspension of disbelief. “Blackmane” refers to her wild, curly, Natasha Lyonne-esque black hair.

At first I thought I would have Izzy still be a cis man, but that introduces a weird dynamic I don’t like, so she’s a toxic lesbian instead.

It’s amazing how switching the genders immediately triggers the “am I allowed to do that?” alarm in my brain. Oooh, romantic conflict between women, is that sending a bad message? If I make Izzy a femmephobic butch woman, is that implying that I think all women need to embrace stereotypical femininity? It never occurred to me to interpret every single thing related to female characters in my writing as either and only good examples or condemnation until fandom started doing it.

I think this is at least the third reunion I’ve written and I love that it’s utterly unlike the others. I have NEVER speculated that Ed might want to steal some of the Gentleman Pirate’s shtick and impress a potential aristocratic victim with fancy clothes and manners, but it suddenly seemed totally rational, probably because I’m weak for gentlemanly butches. I do read a lot of metas, though, and people have been pointing out that Ed’s not angry about Stede leaving, he’s sad, so I was trying to envision what the reunion might look like if we deliberately avoid the angry!Ed characterization. It’s a lot quicker.

Asjdkljsakldjlsa Stede is the kind of person who desperately loves the idea of having her chin raised with the point of her rival’s sword, she absolutely engineered it to happen and she was hoping Ed would be angry enough to hold her that way for a while. Maybe even to slice open her chemise gown a bit. So there’s an audience, she trusts them all to look away if there’s too much skin to be decent.

I’m casting Juliet Stevenson as Izzy. I think she’d play the role well. Maybe Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell for Ed, although she’s slightly on the young side? I don't know who to cast for Stede yet.

This is not the last of Izzy! I just feel like in canon, we’re going to see something like what happened in Ted Lasso s2 with Nate, i.e. leaving to become more of a villain. And then presumably coming to realize that a huge mistake has been made and making amends. I am actually a proponent of Izzy redemption in the long run, don’t take this ending as my thinking the best thing would be for Izzy to disappear forever. I may come back to this AU ’verse and write her return.

Where is Lucius in all this? Still hiding or something, I don’t know.

[oh-bunny-dearest]

Okay so guys, hear me out: Dangan Ronpa x JJBA AU

Lemme just preface this by saying that this AU isn’t going to be a 1 to 1 kinda thing, Imma switch things around a fair. Also this is by no means a fleshed out AU.

Character Roles that I’m pretty Confident about:

Dio: Of course, he’s the mastermind and Ultimate Despair JUNKO! But he’s also kinda Celeste in a way. (Explanations coming up)

Diego: Mukuro

Pucci: ALSO Mukuro

Vanilla Ice: Nagito

Protags are OBVIOUSLY the one and only JOESTARS! Makoto is Jonathan, Hajime is Joseph, and Shuichi is Jotaro, all of these fit almost perfectly imo.

Erina: Sayaka (probably should let you know there will be a lot of Ultimates switching around.

Speedwagon: Kyoko

Zeppeli: Byakuya (this one’s a bit iffy)

Kakyoin: Either Kaede or Kaito. Leaning towards Kaede

There is NO K*kichi O*ma mainly because I fucking hate him but feel free to have your own ideas for grape soda man if you’d like

General Plot I’ve come up With:

Ultimate Gentleman Jonathan wakes up in a classroom and finds that he’s trapped in school with some other students including his childhood friend and Ultimate Nurse, Erina. The most famous presence there is the Ultimate Chess Grandmaster, Dio Brando(who’s really Diego). Soon, a half black and half white robotic bird with one red eye and beak stretching into a sinister grin on one side, introduces itself as Pet Shop, the school’s ‘headmaster’. Everyone is shocked when the rules are announced and “Dio” steps up to to speak up, furiously kicking the bird as he demands that they be freed only for everyone to be horrified when spikes suddenly impale “Dio”, causing him to slump over and die. Now everyone knows this is serious. Later the first motive is introduced and Erina is terrified that her family is being held hostage and is forced to betray Jonathan and switches rooms with him. Next morning Erina’s body is found…..

Class trials and death, Etc, etc, now the End:

A discovery is made! The first person to die wasn’t actually Dio, but rather his twin, Diego, who was disguised as Dio. Once the truth is exposed, Dio comes out (“I’m bisexual.” “Okay that’s cool but you literally made us murder our friends”). Monologue, monologue, now this is why I also gave Dio Celeste qualities, I feel like they have a lot in common (liars from poor backgrounds trying to present themselves as their idealized versions and having a desire to be rich and powerful and disconnected from their past selves.) Speedwagon or Zeppeli are like “Well, I suppose this is checkmate.” and although Dio is unapologetically flaunting his status as the mastermind and having a whole despairgasm and everything, Dio’s still Dio and being told that he lost pisses him off because NO, HE DIDN’T LOSE, THIS IS ALL ACCORDING TO HIS PLAN. And he has a very Celeste-esque temper flare (“hahaha….HAHAHAHAHA! Don't make me laugh, you idiot! What do you mean, checkmate!?”) and he’s like go ahead and execute me then. He doesn’t actually want to die, unlike Junko, because he prefers others' despair to his own, and like Celeste, he goes through the Ultimate Punishment smiling. Like Celeste, he believes “Until the game's over, you never know what might happen!” and in his head, he NEVER loses, so at the end when the crusher stalls he’s all cocky….until it stops stalling and he is crushed.

Now since my brain is tired, here’re some bits and pieces:

Joseph is the SHSL Anthropologist

Jotaro is the SHSL Marine Biologist

Mukuro is split up into two characters because I just felt it fit better that way. Diego is the “sibling Mukuro”, he doesn’t really vibe with what Dio does but helps him nonetheless because they’re brothers and Pucci is the “100% Devoted Would do Anything for Dio'' who's the one dtl (down to lobotomize) and looks up to Dio affectionately (basically Anime Mukuro?). They have a significantly less toxic relationship than Mukuro and Junko because Dio doesn’t berate and constantly try to kill Pucci (they’re fwends 🥺🥺) and uh none of the weird incestuous undertones??)?!! Seriously wtf animeronpa…

that’s all for now lmao thanks for coming 2 my TEDtalk

[mjfass]

I have two ideas for a gimmick as a Wrestler.

1. Hitman esque character. Like your Hitwoman character, my character would be hired by clients in the WWE to take out certain targets, as long as the client can afford me. In matches, in backstage segments. There would be no promos. I would not talk. My face would be stone cold, remorseless and without emotion and I would dress in the finest suits just to look my best when I take out the targets and after the match is over, I would take a piano wire to choke out my opponents.

2. The Devil. The premise for my Devil gimmick is The Devil is a gentleman and the judge of the wicked. He judges the heels, stupid babyfaces and the authority figures.

“I’ve been called many things: the chaos in the story, the anarchy in your thoughts, but for you, I am the excuse you give when you cannot follow the rules.”

Disrupt the natural order and I will be there. The guilty and sinful will be punished, but if I see an opportunity, I will take power and unleash hell upon the world of wrestling.

And as for how the character would look, it would look something like this(but in red)

or this

These ideas are so freaking great, my friend! I particularly love The Devil character. The mask is so freaking cool and intimidating. What I adore about The Hitman character is that they would be no promos and no emotions at all. That’s pretty cool.

[faunusrights]

if it’s a gentleman’s sport then why am i, ruby rose, so good at it? - snooker au

i straight up started writing this at like 11:45pm on my phone directly onto tumblr before i passed out for the night. is this garbage. yes. do i care. no. this is a part of the snooker au i’ve joked about before, which is a winter/ruby Sports Anime-Esque adventure into one of my favourite niche sports, up there with professional air hockey and rally. snooker is good! you should check it out! it’s like pool but more confusing, and you have to wear a waistcoat whilst you play it. i don’t make the rules, i merely enforce them.

///

“I never thought I’d say this,” Blake says out of nowhere, and their eyes are going sort of wide with the realisation, catching on the golden lights of the hall and glimmering a soft amber, “but I actually think I’m compelled by this horseshit.”

Weiss sighs so hard that it sounds more like a wheeze, but Ruby’s already overjoyed, turning towards Blake and Weiss with her cue held overhead, readying a cheer. “I knew it! I told you! Snooker is so good, right?”

Weiss had known coming to Patch’s single snooker hall to watch Ruby practise had been a bad idea for myriad reasons, the chief of which was that Ruby is almost certainly on a crash-course with Weiss’s older sister as she climbs the precarious ranks at an almost flippant pace, but the second was that the last thing she needs is for her datemate to find literally anything interesting in a sport about knocking balls together. Tragically, Weiss has always been somewhat adjacent to snooker given its status as the Gentleman’s Sport and its broad appeal in Atlas, and she’d hoped vaguely supporting her sister’s career whilst also strategically moving herself to Vale meant Weiss would never have to interact with it or any of its players again. Alas...

“It’s deceptively simple,” Blake muses aloud, and Yang tuts from where she’s stood at the opposite end of the snooker table, waiting for Ruby to take her turn.

“Yeah, and deceptively slow when your opponent needs to take five minutes to brag about it between shots. Chop chop, Ruby, we’re not hanging around here all day.”

Ruby pouts, making a show of rounding the table to eye up her angles. “But it’s so fun to talk about! It’s, like, ASMR the sport! And what with all the strategy and the thinking ahead, it’s like... it’s like... ball chess!”

Weiss facepalms. “Maidens have mercy.”

“I’m not wrong,” Ruby insists. “It’s exactly like chess. Ball chess.”

“It is a lot like chess,” Yang admits, and Weiss is glad she looks about as glum about it as Weiss feels. Blake, unfortunately, still looks horribly captivated. What a disaster.

“Ball chess,” Weiss repeats, and it hurts her to even say. “My sister would tie your spine in a knot for that one.”

Ruby snorts, but she finally leans over the table, eyeing up the distant black that Yang had missed. It’s a long pot — Yang had tried to get the cue ball to safety and had failed that endeavour, too, managing the distance but not the snooker — but Ruby doesn’t even hesitate before lining herself up, eyes focusing between her target and her goal before striking true, the cue ball sailing smooth down the table... before it catches the angle just so, the black knocked into the corner pocket with such ease she may as well have picked up the damn thing and dropped it in herself. The cue bounces off the foot cushion before rolling to a calculated stop for an angle on the next red, and Ruby nods appreciatively before turning back to Weiss with a grin, Yang quick to replace the black onto its spot at the bottom of the table.

“Yeah, but she’s gonna have to be nice to me. Way I see it, we’ll first meet in the hall during, like, semi-finals or whatever. Gotta have manners, Weiss.”

“She’ll obliterate you,” Weiss fires back, because she might not care for snooker but she’s Winter’s number one fan hell or high water, and that means tossing out the threats. “As soon as you miss, she’ll clear the table and wipe the floor with you.”

Yang makes a wriggly hand gesture at that. “I dunno. Your sister’s pretty fucking methodical, but I’ve yet to see anyone put Ruby in a position she can’t cheese her way out of. I don’t think you can actually, like, snooker her in a way that matters.”

“It’s trajectories,” Ruby cuts in as she lines up her next shot on the red — there’s only two remaining after this, and Yang’s score is lagging dangerously behind with Ruby’s determined focus to keep herself centred on the black. “Even then, you just have to get fancy with your curves. A snooker is just when your shot isn’t a hundred-percent chance, but I can do a lot with ninety.”

At that, she sinks the red, the cue ball puttering its way back around to give her another straight shot on the black to the opposite corner pocket. Yang’s already losing the will to live, it seems. Weiss can’t blame her. Blake, however, seems more interested than ever. “So, Winter’s methodical and you’re... what, spontaneous?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Ruby answers, shaking her head. “It’s more like... since we’re calling this ball chess—“ (“No we’re not,” Weiss interjects to no avail) “—it’s more like Winter’s one of those chess players who knows all the strats, right? Like, uh, Queen’s Gambit or Fool’s Mate or whatever the shit they’re called. So long as every move goes to plan, she’s pretty much unstoppable. Me? I’m like one of those kids who gets a Rubik’s Cube and then completely ignores all the instructions. Like, I totally mess it up before I solve it anyway.”

“Which Ruby has done before,” Yang adds solemnly, and Ruby grins.

“Which I have done before! So, with Winter, as long as she doesn’t miss the pot or fuck up her safety, it’s her game. But I like the unexpected! I like being jammed into a new situation and figuring it out from there. It means I adapt a whole lot better then I fuck up and miss my shot, or the cue doesn’t end up where I planned.”

Blake nods, doing that thing where they sit up straight and cross their arms because they’re getting really quite engaged with the matter, and Weiss hasn’t yet found the inner strength to tell them it makes them look like a carbon copy of their father. “Polar opposites, then?”

“I guess,” Ruby shrugs. “Like, if you give her an inch she’ll take the mile, but if she screws up, she’s gonna have to work hard to put me somewhere I can’t crawl out of again.”

This is why Ruby’s nickname in these halls is The Escape Artist, and it’s the entire reason Weiss absolutely does not, in any capacity, want Ruby and Winter to play against each other. It’ll either be a match that’ll end in as few frames as physically possible, or a match that goes on until Weiss crumbles into fucking dust, and the odds are so 50/50 that she doesn’t like the look of either of them.

It would help if Ruby stopped being so fucking good at snooker, potting the black again with such ease that it’s like breathing at this point. Yang hisses between her teeth, and Ruby raises a brow as she stands up again.

“It’s ungentlemanly conduct to quit a game before you gotta do snookers,” Ruby points out, and Yang scowls.

“Ruby, I have done the maths, and there is not a chance in hell I’m winning now. The day I manage to get points off you missing is the day hell opens up and swallows me whole,” Yang says, though she doesn’t move to quit just yet, still holding onto her cue despite the knowledge it’s no good to her now. “Just clear the table so we can go and get lunch.”

“We could do that,” Ruby agrees. And then, she swings her head around to look at Weiss with an obnoxious grin. “Unless...”

“Ruby Rose,” Weiss snarls, “if you intentionally miss this final red just to keep this game on life support, I will end you.”

[spaceskam]

92 or 98 for malex? 💗💗💗

92. “I want you to be happy.” & 98. “Take a deep breath.”

ao3

For a king who had been hailed as a genius, Alex found that Michael was a goddamn idiot.

“What is wrong with you?” Alex breathed, tears already covering his face as he stared at the man he loved more than anything. It was late and the rest of the castle was asleep aside from a few guards, leaving them stuck with speaking quietly over candlelight.

Alex Manes had been found as a toddler, abandoned and hungry with an infection on his leg. The queen at the time had taken pity on him and brought him home, letting a doctor do what he needed so he could learn to walk again. With a specially crafted leg funded by the royal family, Queen Nora gave him to her staff as sort of a side project. He grew up inside the castle as the son of 20 different women who doted on him like their own and 20 different men who thought it was their duty to teach him to be a man. It made him skilled in a vast number of trades as the king and queen watched. 

By the time he was 10, they realized how intelligent and capable he was and began letting other, higher staff members teach him things like how to read and write. He was 15 when he was granted tutoring sessions alongside Prince Michael where they became close friends, but things didn’t start becoming complicated until they were 16.

King Heinar died, leaving the throne to Michael who was panicked and sad, but he took on the duty. Alex took it upon himself to help him to the best of his ability, but they soon found that their attraction ran deeper than simply friendship. They talked through royal plans while naked in bed most nights, sharing thoughts and ideas and it never bothered Alex when Michael passed them off as his own.

At 17, Queen Nora suggested that, for appearances' sake, it would be best if Alex officially became a Gentleman of the Bedchamber. It would explain why they were so close without stirring the wrong kind of gossip. There had already been publications of drawings with Michael as a giant baby with Alex spoon-feeding him political ideologies. People were already assuming, so he agreed.

Alex’s duties for the last five years as Gentleman of the Bedchamber was to be Michael’s closest companion, to help him dress, to wait on him when he ate, to guard his chambers when he was most vulnerable. He quite typically did none of that. His sword and prosthetic leg usually laid beside them on the bed for easy access, but no guarding or servent-esque duties took place. Alone, they were equals. That was their rule.

Which worked quite fine until Michael had to begin courting a young princess. He needed heirs after all and that was something Alex couldn’t provide. It made it harder to steal time alone with him, harder to show affection, harder to stop his heart from aching in a way he couldn’t heal. Because as of tomorrow, Michael would be married and he would need to begin working to provide heirs. Loyalty was no longer an option.

“What is wrong with you?” Alex repeated, feeling disgusted not for the first time as he stared at Michael. He looked sad and lost like he did most days lately. “How dare you ask that of me? I know you are a king, but I am not your plaything. I never have been and I refuse to let you treat me as if I am.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Michael insisted, struggling to keep his voice down, “I just need you there, beside me, to give me strength.”

“Do you hear yourself?” Alex scoffed, “What we have is ending tomorrow morning for good and you want me to stand beside you as it happens? You want me to stand in front of everyone as you rip my heart out of my chest?”

Michael stared at him, bottom lip quivering as he let his tears flow freely. Alex assumed he didn’t have any control over them. He gasped a desperate little breath and wiped at his face, but Alex didn’t back down from staring. He knew he had no right to be angry, he knew what he was getting into when he first laid with a king, but, God, he was.

“It’s normal for kings to have mistresses,” Michael said weakly, the same argument he brought up every single time they’d spoke about this since it came apparent that he would need to get married, “It’s normal. We can still be together. I don’t love her, it’s pure politics. I’m sure she’ll have her fair share of men as well.” 

“You don’t understand,” Alex said, shaking his head, “You simply don’t understand. Mistresses are normal because you have power. This is all power. The fact that I am forced to have a title simply to be close to you is all power. And I don’t want a love that has any sort of fucked up imbalance in it any more than I’ve already accepted. I refuse to be some sort of mistress. You either have only me or you don’t have me at all. That’s how it’s been for years and that’s the only way I’ll take you.”

“Alex,” Michael begged, coming closer. Alex took a step back. “Alex, this isn’t an option for me. I have to produce heirs.”

“I know,” Alex said, sniffling as he wiped his eyes, “Which is why I can’t stand beside you at your wedding. I’ll attend, I have to, and I’ll take up duties as the Gentleman of the Bedchamber, but I no longer can be anything more. I can’t take it.”

“Fine!” Michael said, falling to his knees and taking Alex’s hand to place over his heart, “Fine! I won’t touch her! I’ll marry her for appearances and I’ll only touch you. Fuck heirs, fuck it all, nothing matters without you.”

“And what if people find out that your marriage hasn’t been consumated? What happens when she asks you won’t touch her? And what happens when she is publically and ritualistically shamed by your people for not producing heirs? She doesn’t deserve that either,” Alex said, “The only way is to stop. You marry her, you learn to love her, you have children with her.”

“I don’t want that! I want you!”

“Michael,” Alex said, resting his hand on his wet cheek. His face was a wreck from crying and Alex assumed he couldn’t look much different. Still, he looked in his eyes and told him the truth. “I want you to be happy. For that to happen, you need to let go.”

“No,” Michael said, shaking his head, “I can’t be happy without you.”

He dropped his head forward, resting on Alex’s stomach as he wrapped his arms around him. He didn’t seem to have many intentions to let go. It was times like these that Alex realized that, although they’d grown up at the same time under the same roof, they were taught many different things. For example, Alex was taught that all good things come to an end eventually. Like when Sir Aubrey, the only other man he’d met with an artificial leg, died the night he told Alex he had a surprise trick to teach him at his next sword lesson. Years later, Alex still wondered what it was.

And, years from now, he’d wonder what it would be like to have had Michael to himself for eternity.

“I’m going to sabotage my own wedding,” Michael said into his stomach. Alex huffed a humorless laugh, losing a bit of inhibition as he dropped his crutch and combed through Michael’s hair for the last time. Michael held him upright easily. “I-I’ll insult the priest. I’ll forget what I’m meant to say. I’ll trip and need a doctor.”

“Your new wife doesn’t deserve that. Give her a nice day,” Alex insisted. Michael squeezed him.

“Stop it, you’re too kind. If you must push me away like this, you’ll have to make me hate you,” Michael stated firmly. Alex laughed softly, closing his eyes as he slowly started to get to his knees. Michael helped him, eyes still full of sadness as they found themselves face to face. Alex wanted to kiss him, to grab him and run away, to go somewhere that they could be together without consequence.

But Michael was a good leader, the best they’d had in years, and Alex played a crucial role in making that happen. Neither of them could leave for the sake of their country.

“I’ll make you hate me,” Alex promised, taking his face in his hands, “Just you wait.”

“Good luck,” Michael said, chin raised and jaw set in determination despite his wet eyes, “Nothing you could do would make me hate you. I lo-”

“Shh,” Alex said, shaking his head as he put his thumb to those lips that he’d kissed daily since he was 16 years old, “Take a few deep breaths. You need to calm down before you go back to your room.”

Michael shook his head. 

“I’m not leaving until I figure out a way around this,” Michael stated, “We think best together, we always have. If anyone could come up with a way to make this work for everyone, it’s us.”

Alex’s shoulders dropped as well as his hands, scared to touch Michael when he was speaking that way. It was too easy to fall into habits he hadn’t had the chance to break quite yet when he did. He still wanted to touch him, still wanted to find a solution, and it made it harder to stand his ground when Michael wanted to do the same.

“Michael, we’ve already tried. We’ve been trying,” Alex said weakly. Michael looked at him for what felt like an eternity and Alex stared back. It was easy to get lost in his face again and just think about what could’ve been.

But then Michael’s eyes widened.

“We haven’t tried one thing,” Michael said. Alex, refusing to get his hopes up, eyed him suspiciously. “We haven’t tried talking to her.”

“What do you mean?” Alex asked hesitantly.

“I mean,” Michael said, already moving to get to his feet. He grabbed Alex’s crutch on the way before holding out his hand to pull Alex up as well. “We need to talk to my soon-to-be wife. Maybe she has someone I don’t know about that she had to give up for me. Or maybe we can have her fake a pregnancy and adopt. There are other options, but if she’s going to be my wife, she’ll need to be included. And I want to keep you, so we need to ask her. Come on.”

“Come on? Michael, it’s the middle of the night,” Alex said, though his heart was beating in his chest. He knew telling this woman would be a very risky thing and she could easily confirm the suspicions of people, but she was their only option. 

“Yes, and our wedding is in the morning. We’re low on time,” Michael said, pulling him just a little bit closer, “I refuse to lose you, Alexander. You are a gift from God himself and I don’t intend to give you back.”

Michael kissed him to seal his promise and Alex was couldn’t say no. This was their last chance to have a future and if that meant doing something reckless, well, it wouldn’t be the first time.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much to stand beside him as he married someone else if he knew he was still all his.

[ithappensoffstage]

about your recent post: please do ramble 🥺 i want to hear what you think about those parallels and protag and protagoneil in general so much! please just write whatever is on your mind because we really need it 🤍

Alright, let’s do this!! Answer and--obviously--film spoilers under the cut! I’m flattered that you’ve asked me to do this and hope I can articulate this well; if I don’t, and even if I do, please feel free to ask any follow up questions/clarifications.

The subject of this rant is why some dialogue parallels are Backwards Boyfriends-esque.

In London, at Shipley’s, we have this scene between Kat and The Protagonist. (Note: I’ll shorthand him to Protag from now on). 

KAT: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s a lot of work before any kind of valuation - provenance, microscopic examination, X-rays…

PROTAGONIST: But what does your heart tell you?

This is their first meeting. Protag approaches her with an offer, blackmail, and all with the intent to use her as a means to meet Sator. Still, Protag treats her kindly. Not gentleman-Bond, sauve-seductor kind, but with human interest. He’s ostensibly asking about the forged drawing here… he’s really talking about if she believes him, what her heart tells her about HIM. Because he is about to test her faith. He is about to reveal to her that he’s brought a forgery and needs her simply to meet her arms-dealing husband.

(I don’t think this is a “heart” thing like “love.” Protag and Kat, to me, never approach romantic entanglement. That’s another ramble for another time, though.)

Now, in Tallinn, we have this exchange between Neil and Protag.

Neil: It’s unknowable. If you’re there to make a change, you’re not here to observe its effect.

Protagonist: What do you believe?

Neil: What’s happened’s happened.

Once more, ostensibly, Kat’s wound, the car chase, and briefcase. Protag here, though, is asking “Do you believe in ME? Do you believe I can accomplish or change this based on what you know of me, have seen of me, [love about me]?”.

I think it’s important to note how, in the first scene, what dialogue I haven’t included in this text is Protag asking, “What’s it worth?”--you can see it in the photos on this post. Subtextually, let’s regard this as, What is involving yourself in this scheme worth to you? Is your freedom worth it, etc. Again, that belongs in my why-I-fucking-love-Kat’s-arc rant, so we’ll just leave it there as something to consider moving through this next bit.

The most vital distinction between these scenes is the dynamic behind the reaction from Kat versus the reaction from Neil. Kat is bothered, worried, distraught: negative emotions. She caves, though, under that pressure. And is subsequently powerless to stop the story from happening to her.

Neil is frustrated: negative emotion. But he’s also teaching Protag how to be the Protag he knows, and is really the one leading the interaction here, because he gets to decide how much to tell Protag and when. Yet, he’s also giving rules given to him by the Protag in the future. Regardless of how I view their relationship, that’s extraordinarily significant because it’s this circle of deciding for one another when the other can know--a circle of giving one another power. It’s Neil’s entire thing about not giving himself an excuse to do nothing. Every decision he makes controls Protag’s future and thus also Neil’s own. So his hesitation is not, I think, that Protag might screw this mission up--what’s happened, happened and all--but that he could harm himself or Kat by doing this thing that Neil wasn’t aware happened before/yet.

Anyway, also, the framing of this dialogue. Holy shit. Didn’t I tell you this would be a ramble? This set-up is the same, and not because Nolan is a weak writer by any fucking degree. This is so purposeful.

Protag: question

Kat/Neil: answer, plus an issue with the posited next step in Protag’s plan

Protag: What does your heart tell you/What do you believe?

“Believe” being in italics really gets me. ESSENTIALLY, THEN, HE IS ASKING NEIL IF HIS HEART BELIEVES IN THE PROTAGONIST. Not in physics or some shit, but, if I go out there right now, does your heart tell me I’ll live? But Neil’s not sure because the Protag in the future, the man he knows (and loves) hasn’t died, didn’t die, but is this different? But it can’t have--and Neil is lying quite a lot in the movie, balancing what he’s aware of so he doesn’t muck up the Protag’s trajectory--so he calls it “unknowable” when what he truly means is “I know you and Kat live through this so of course I believe you live through this.”

Protag also isn’t interested in science or art, which is SO FASCINATING. Like. He doesn’t care about the x-rays; he wants to know if Kat thinks it’s (he’s) real (honest/good) at the start. He doesn’t care about the theory; he wants to know if Neil BELIEVES. THINGS. CAN. CHANGE. FOR. THE BETTER. Or at least to a degree where everyone lives. Which is why at the end he asks if they can change it so Neil doesn’t die?? Like what the fuck aNOTHER dialogue parallel to the final showdown because the two people we see Protag care most about in the film have parallel scenes (the two above), then both are put in danger, and Protag wants to protect them even though he can’t change it but he WANTS to? I’m going insane.

So, why is this Protagoniel and not Protagonist/Kat romance? For one, oh-ho, I said I wouldn’t get into this, but Kat’s whole arc is about finding her own freedom. Why the FUCK would we add a romance to that. Her relationship with Protag is beautiful because it’s about betraying Andrei in a real way, not in some gross, male-macho ownership over Kat way. MORE ON THAT IF YOU WANT IT BUT I’m going to attempt to control myself.

The Neil and Protag scene is more romantic, even without the intimate setting (Shipley’s) and the word “heart” because they make it intimate? Car chase just happened, there’s just been an inverted round shot into Kat, Wheeler and Ives are there, and Protag takes Neil aside to ask him what he BELIEVES. Here, tell me this crucial thing about yourself, what makes you into you, your beliefs and values, and tell me right before I go put myself in danger, and also, you’re the person I trust most to give me this information. Wow, wow, and more wow.

UM so I do hope this makes a modicum of sense? Thank you for your ask and please, if you have more questions, throw them my way for more messy answers!!

[talesofsonicasura]

Thief's Ambition

Velvet Dilemma

Every thief needs the right tool for any sort of job. But what would happen if one of your resources isn't what they seem to be? Long post. Warning: Suicide Attempt, and mentions of abuse

They say reality and imagination are two sides of the same coin. Reality being ruled by laws and sciences to present what one calls 'normal', a limited perspective. Imagination however, is without restrictions if someone has the willpower to create or dream, limitless potential.

Information or to be specific, Digital Code' held both treats of reality and imagination. Rules to stabilize the unlimited potential of someone's creativity and what could be created is endless. Sometimes, one's design could break those boundaries. The results are determined by the creator. Whether it will lead to paradise or pure ruin. Only they can decide.

Le Blanc, a small but humble shop located in Yogenjaya, Japan. This cafe owned by Sojiro Sakura, is quite famous for their delicious curry, extraordinary coffee and friendly atmosphere. It is also the temporary home of a specific teenager. A young man whose choices can affect the world around him in large ripples. His name was Ren Amamiya.

The boy was around 15 years old, hair was a pitch black nest of curls, eyes a mysterious obsidian that shone brighter through the lens of his false glasses, a soft balance built with some growing muscle to his form, and stood about 5'7 in height. A pure black gakuran fitting snugly on the young man's body paired alongside black pants and nicely made boots as he carried his slightly large gray school bag over his shoulders.

His destination was Le Blanc, taking his time by walking down the sidewalk and glanced around to take in any important details. It didn't seem that anything would catch the boy's eyes since Yogenjaya was more of a rural area. That was until an abnormally tall structure crossed his line of sight.

Not too far from where he was, Ren could make what had to be a hotel. Around 5 stories in height and from how clean it seemed, the place was obviously new. Halfway down the large infrastructure was a soft magenta sign that read: Hotel Nexus. The name rings some bells in his head.

It was a new hotel that recently opened up before he came. Great service, fair prices and quite a selection of accommodations for anyone's price range. He heard some of the teachers and even students at his school raving about it.

Ren didn't really notice that he entered his destination until his nose was greeted to the bitter scent of coffee beans and spice of curry. His caretaker Sojiro Sakura, a rough looking older man with dark brown eyes, black hair in a man bun and beard, was in the middle of serving a few customers. Thus, the teen walked up to his room which was in actuality, a spacy attic.

Placing his bag on the bed, the raven was about to start on his homework when a voice spoke out. "Thy trickster." A soft, suave yet slightly distorted male's nearly made the boy jump if he didn't know who this voice belonged to. Not even the first few days in Tokyo did the teen come across the path of the supernatural.

"We need to have a discussion. Thee might have a problem." The voice explained much to Ren's utter confusion. If by instinct, the raven took off his glasses and held it out. Blue flames suddenly manifested on the frames, sparks spewing out to the attic floor in 5 different spots before the fire extinguished.

Each spark burned brighter as they grew in size but didn't spread across the wood surface like any normal fire. The smallest stood barely a foot in size while the largest being a shocking 15 ft all around. Suddenly, the fire sputtered out as five different creatures now sat before the young boy.

A large black horse that had two long teal horns, crimson eyes and white mane, a small brown haired pixie with butterfly wings wearing a blue one-piece and gloves, pink skinned imp with small wings and wore a belt with a large stinger positioned at an inappropriate place, and a jack-o-lantern headed creature wearing a dark blue robe, witch's hat, and white gloves holding a lantern.

The last being was not only large but vastly different from the others. Sitting slightly uncomfortable on the floor was a dapper gentleman-esque black and crimson demon.

Black leathery hide, pitch black mask for a face as fire highlighted the long spindly devil horns than just painting fiery eyes or the wicked smile, razor sharp black claws and angelic ebony wings that spawn from his lower back. The demon's clothing consisted of a black corset tuxedo held tight by red strings, white fancy cravat, a short crimson coat with long sleeves, collar and coattails, red armor mimicking dress pants covered the legs which ended with knife blade heels, and a tall black top hat stitched at the back with red strings.

Despite the five demons sitting before him, Ren wasn't afraid of their presence. After all, why would he be scared of his own Persona and one of the reasons he is still alive? From the information given by various sources, these beings were born from thoughts of man and assist those who awaken or earn their power.

His current Persona team consisted of Bicorn, Pixie, Incubus and Jack-o-Lantern. Ren couldn't forget his main Persona either, the one who answered his call and shared the same rebellion in his soul, Arsene. Seeing all five here meant there was something going on especially from the looks on their face.

Bicorn looked very irate, well, more than he usually was, Pixie was a mixture of concern and worry, Incubus had his arms crossed alongside a large scowl on his face and Jack-o-Lantern looked like he wanted to disappear. The only one who didn't seem upset was Ren's dapper devil, the flames of the mask were in a soft simmer, almost if he was sheepish. Things had to be wrong if the Legendary Phantom Thief didn't have his signature grin.

"Is everything ok? Arsene said you guys wanted to talk about something." The raven politely asked, it may not look like it but Ren did care for his Persona. Although, not all of them were on the same level as his rebel heart but… Out of the bunch, it was Incubus who spoke up.

"Here's the problem boss, none of us are getting fused!" And the teen's train of thought came to a stop like a broken record. "What?" The word just came out of his mouth as if he was on autopilot. Quite a reasonable reaction for when you considered Ren's current situation in full.

Stuck on probation in a foreign place, his future walking towards a foretold path of ruin, the twisted desires of his gym teacher manifesting as a cognitive place and these very creatures before him holding a key to his salvation. That also included fusing them to create a more powerful Persona.

"Normally we don't have any opinions when it comes to fusion. Previous Wild Cards before you had done the process thousands of times. However, this time there's two issues that we cannot accept! And no amount of bribery will change our opinion!" Bicorn huffed, scraping a hoof across the ground.

That actually convinced Ren even more to listen to their problem, especially when he considered the new information given. If there had been others like him, why wasn't he notified? And what was different about the process of Fusion if Persona used to not have an issue?

"Alright. Can you tell me these reasons for omitting fusion from the Velvet Room?" His inquiry seemed to relieve some of the tension for the group of Persona. The teen could only guess it must be rare for Wildcards to tend to their needs. Or it must have been quite a long time since a Persona User like him appeared.

"Sure dee-doo, bossman! First off is the Fusion Methods! Persona are fused in many different ways, some by dancing or even tarot cards. Executions aren't one of them. Despite some Persona being created from evil legends, the fusion tools were always humane and fair for all participants." Jack-o-Lantern spoke up, the fire in his lantern burning brighter with each word.

Ren easily agreed with that reason. His first time actually being able to use the Fusion was a very unsavory experience. At that time, he only had just Arsene and Pixie. To see Igor and his assistants unveil those large guillotines made him feel like he was back at that Palace thing.

Seeing shadows of people being tortured like slaves already made him a bit uncomfortable but the 'Fusion Tools' were enough to leave the room with a poker face just to hide a grimace. "Yeah, I can see your point. Don't know how a guillotine isn't even supposed to do that."

That also raised another question as he had a feeling what the second reason really was. Pixie only solidified that very thought. "Our second reason is the Velvet Room itself, to be precise, Igor himself. You see, out of many Personas, I am usually the one Wildcards tend to acquire first." A look of nostalgia sparked in her eyes.

"This means that I am often fused quite a lot so I've been around Igor. Despite looking a bit crooked, the man has an aura of a gentleman and has this mischievous but kind air around him. Something that makes the Velvet Room comfortable for both Persona and Wildcards but…" A nervous and saddened look was quick to mark the fairy's face.

"...that isn't the Igor we know. This one is cold and has this aura of cruelty hidden underneath. And it's not just him but both Velvet Room attendants feel off too. It's almost if both girls are like broken dolls, scraps of a toy remade into two different copies."

The room went silent for a bit as Ren processed all this information. Persona who's been summoned or recruited a lot, Veteran he'll call it, could feel when something is off with the Velvet Room. It would explain why Arsene didn't seem that bothered unlike the others, since he was new to the whole thing.

Now that the teen thought about it, Igor and his attendants seemed very quick to introduce the Fusion mechanic… too quick. If something was indeed wrong with the Velvet Room, then it would be best to limit his usage. Ren couldn't just stop using it altogether and none of them had issues with the Register/Summon option.

"Alright. I won't use the Velvet Room for fusion. If you guys think the place is off and Igor can't be trusted, then I'll trust your judgement. Problem is, how can I perform Fusions now?" The Persona he had now, excluding Arsene, can't really grow powerful enough to deal with any future Palaces.

Stronger Personas were needed if he was going to avoid this 'ruin'. His main Persona then spoke up. "How about you search for a mage? Thou passed one earlier today." Wait what? Ren looked at the Curse Type with a mixture of disbelief and surprise.

There's a mage, someone who practices actual magic, in bloody Tokyo. Pixie spoke upon her User's look of befuddlement. "Practicers of magic do exist, master Ren. They are rare and tend to stay hidden amongst the locals. You can easily guess why. Some even treat Fusing or Summoning Persona like an exam to know if one is ready for the next level of magic."

The raven haired teen let out an intrigue hum from the explanation. If he can find the mage Arsene sensed earlier then they should be able to help with his Fusion problem. "Where did you sense them anyway?"

Ren couldn't believe the stroke of luck he got. Apparently the person he was looking for happened to be in Yogenjaya, specifically the new Nexus Hotel. Once school was over for the day, he quickly made his way towards the place. It was honestly bigger in person than seeing it from Le Blanc.

Various trees with interwoven branches formed a path to the hotel similar to a green red carpet, two fountains paired with benches on each side of the fountain and the centerpiece was a peculiar statue. An 8 meter giant of scrap metal carefully melded together to form a lizardman wielding a large microphone stand like it was a guitar and on the plaque it stood on read: Welcome to Hotel Nexus.

There are even a few stalls set up for local vendors to rent and sell merchandise. 'This hotel feels like a homey place to stay in. No wonder a lot of people Shujin talk about it.' Ren thought while looking at the large statue with intrigue. He could see a lot of work was put into it from the V shape horns, beak like snout and even intricate design on the stand.

Even a non-artist can see all the work, effort and dedication put into it. "What do you mean it ain't for sale?!" A brutish shout immediately ripped the boy's attention. Obsidian eyes soon look at a scene forming to his side between a large portly man and someone around his age.

The girl had cyan hair with a silver frohawk at center, emerald green eyes bearing black v shaped marks underneath, and a thin elegantly curved body around 5'6 in height. Her clothing consisted of a black shirt, short red long sleeved jacket, dark blue cargo pants and white high tops.

What got Rens attention was the peculiar device hanging around her neck, it looked like one of those pocket pet toys but merged with a walkie talkie. Pure silver with red buttons and a black strap for string. She honestly looked very annoyed.

"It's like I said to your boss a million times before. Hotel Nexus isn't for sale! My family and I worked hard to make this place so no way in hell we're giving it up. I don't give a damn how high the food chain your boss is, the answer will be no!" Ren could practically feel the venom in her words from the fifteen distance.

Something that amused Arsene since the Curse Persona was laughing. 'It seems that fiery young lady is the mage that thou been looking for. Such strong rebellion radiating brilliantly alongside her magic.' The raven continued watching the scene unfold.

He had to agree with Arsene on the fiery term since the girl literally growled at the man before her. "Get outta here and tell your boss he can choke on his own balls!" The poor employee went running off in seconds with his tail between his legs. Adjusting his fake glasses, Ren decided to approach the cyanette once she took a few deep breaths.

Now that he was closer, the young man could see flecks of gold and silver in those emerald eyes as the girl saw him. "Hey there. Sorry if ya saw the commotion. I'm usually more professional but guys like that tend to grind my gears." She then put on a polite smile.

"My name is Hokuto...Shoutmon! One of the owners of Hotel Nexus. What can I do for you?" Ren couldn't lie, that was the oddest last name he heard in his life. Or the fact that her teeth were razor sharp just from the smile given. Knowing it was rude to stare, the raven haired teen spoke.

"My name is Ren and I happen to be new in the area. I was hoping you can answer a few questions for me." Best to have some honesty if he was going to even get the cyanette's trust. Hokuto merely kept a polite look on her face and stayed professional to even her posture.

"Sure, what questions do you have? Need any help finding a room or are you interested in renting a stand? Or is it more personal?" Childlike curiosity brimmed in the emerald eyes of the Nexus' heiress that made Arsene laugh in his human partner's head. 'Might as well answer her, dear Trickster. Can't keep a young lady waiting~'

Ignoring the obvious flirt, Ren decided to be a bit straight forward in his response. "Can you help me with a little school project of mine? I'm supposed to ask people a set of words and how they felt about each one for my psychology class." He even pulled up a pen and paper to make it more convincing.

If she was really a mage, then he had a feeling Hokuto would be more comfortable with masking a risky topic such as this. Plus one class did ask for a Do-Your-Own assignment for homework today. The Shoutmon woman tilted her head a bit, mild confusion crossed her face before shrugging. Didn't seem that bad to her so why not oblige the boy?

"Sure, I don't mind. It's honestly a bit refreshing but I get to choose a few words too. That way it'll be more like a game, and who knows, ya might get some extra credit." Ren nodded his head and had a smirk on his face from Hokuto's unexpected reply. He even had a good word to start with.

"Alright. My first word or to be precise, words is 'Velvet Room'." The cyanette hummed a bit hearing the word. An inquisitive look on her face as she mulled the two words over in her head a bit. It took a few more seconds before she gave an answer.

"Intrigue and wonderment comes to mind but oddly also caution. Something as fancy as 'Velvet Room' has to have something dark or sinister in the undertone. Kinda like the story of Hansel and Gretel with the witch's house being made of sweets." The teen and Persona understood the reason behind that, even if the 'caution' part sounded more instinctual.

Not everything that glitters gold meant was good. "Alright, my turn. The word I choose is Tamer." Hokuto said with a cheery tone. It was his turn to tilt his head at the suspicious pick. Being a Wildcard did fit with the word since Ren had to befriend or 'tame' multiple Persona than just one.

"Adventurous, enlightening and carefulness. Being a tamer means you are potentially risking your life at befriending a living creature that can do harm if you aren't careful. Achieving a bond is also a reward in itself from how much you learn and grow with the experience." The raven haired teen could feel the warmth of his Persona's happiness and admiration blanket his heart.

Hokuto also seemed really happy about his response too, almost if checking something off in her head. "That's one way to say it. Now it's your turn again." Ren already knew what he was going to ask for this round. "Okay. My next word is Persona with a capital P." The cyanette mulled over the peculiar word in her head.

Something about it felt odd, like a primal instinct of sorts but she couldn't really guess why. Placing a hand on her chin, the young woman gave the boy an answer. "Since it sounds like a living creature, I would say wonder and bewilderment. Unknown life tends to bring tons of questions alongside the possibilities of their uniqueness."

Ren hummed at the answer while writing it down on paper. He would admit that he didn't see the next word coming though. "Your next word is Digimon!" Confusion immediately covered the raven haired teen's face. Did he hear that right? Digimon? Was it short for something like 'Digital Monster'?

"Taking a random guess here but the only thing that comes to mind is curiosity. I've never heard of a term like Digimon before and it makes me wonder what the concept truly is. A game or maybe a brand series that's focus is around collectible creatures under the same name."

It was the only reasonable Ren could actually think of. He'd never heard of 'Digimon' before and would have done some research later on. The teen was ready to ask his final question when the sound of a ringtone went off. Hokuto had pulled out her phone, a look of mild horror crossing her face in seconds.

"Seriously?! I'm sorry but I have to cut this conversation short. Got to close off one of the guest bathrooms and call for a repairman!" She quickly turned on the heel of her feet before taking off into the hotel. All Ren could do was blink as his objective was now out of reach.

'An unfortunate setback. However, thou at least have the mademoiselle's location. We would just need to visit another time.' Arsene whispered in the raven's head, the young man let out a sigh. He'll have to make do with the Persona he had for now.

The next day… Ren was sitting in his seat like usual. Getting stared at by most of his classmates and teacher with the appeal of a convict. An irritating normal when you had your criminal record and reason for being transferred thrown out to the entire school as if it was a newspaper.

It also sucked that his teacher, Mr Uchimaru, was an asshole who likes to harass others when they answer one of his surprise questions wrong. Ryuji texting him in the middle of the class and Morgana talking in his bag either. Even if no one could understand the not-cat, they could still hear his meows.

His mind however went to a grinding halt upon the words of his classmates. "There's someone on the roof! Is she going to jump? Suzui Shiho?" Dread immediately filled his heart upon the name. Suzui Shiho was one of the upperclassmen who was being sexually harassed by his current target, the gym teacher Kamoshida.

He was out of his seat in seconds and ran straight for the hallway window for a better look. A better view was needed to see if it really was Shiho. Obsidian eyes widen in absolute horror upon the sight of the brown haired teenager standing at the ledge of the building.

'No… Dear god, please don't…!' The girl jumped off the roof, Ren's heart dropped to his stomach while his classmates screamed. Shiho was about to hit the ground when familiar light blue hair came into sight as someone caught her falling body in time. Ren immediately ran down the halls of the school, to get outside and see if his senpai was alright.

The teen caught sight of Hokuto Shoutmon holding the girl tight to her chest, Shiho was nuzzled into the hotel manager's neck in tears. "Shh. It's alright. Just let it all out. I don't know who hurt you but there are people in this world that still care about ya. Think about them, not ya tormentors."

Hokuto's strong upbeat voice was now a soft comforting whisper while she rubbed the suicidal girl's back gently. Emerald eyes looked into Ren's obsidian ones with mild surprise. It was probably the fact she didn't know he went to school here either.

"Shiho." The raven turned his head to see one of his classmates running towards the two girls. Ann Tamanaki, the platinum blonde girl with green eyes and her hair in two ponytails who was also Shiho's best friend by what he saw from their interactions. The hotel manager turned her head over to the blonde.

"I'm guessing you are a friend of hers? Do you know her parents' numbers? This poor girl needs all the support she can get right now and I need to call the suicide hotline. We were lucky enough that I was able to catch her in time." Hokuto let Ann hold Shiho but not before the pigtailed girl said a grateful teary 'Thank You'.

The cyanette then looked at Ren. "I don't know who broke that poor girl's will but I do know one thing. If that fucker shows their face, I'll do everything in my power to knock em off their pedestal. No one deserves this for another bastard's sick pleasure. They say eyes are the window to one's soul, her eyes are that of a victim on their last string."

Shiho's parents immediately came over along with an ambulance and a few cop cars to check on the frazzled brunette. Hokuto had left after they questioned her on how she even found Shiho. Apparently the hotel manager was heading towards one of the markets nearby, a coincidence that managed to save his classmate's life.

It also meant that Kamoshida needed to be dealt with before someone else breaks. There is the expulsion deadline too, since confronting the man in righteous anger was a dumb idea. Whatever the case, the perverted PE teacher needed his heart changed. And the only solution was the man's castle, nestled in the school's Metaverse.

The Metaverse was a physical plane created through the unconscious cognition of people, a place between reality and imagination. Palaces were an area created from the large distortion in a person's heart, something that reflected a dark mindset. Kamoshida's Palace was that of pure unadulterated lust.

A medieval castle filled with statues of himself or various girls around the skin that displayed their innocence in a perverse manner, echoes of male students were seen as slaves that were beaten meticulously, and the distorted version of Kamoshida flaunt through the castle as it's disgusting lustful king in nothing but a crown, heart shaped boxers and a fluffy red cape.

Through these halls was the key to stopping this man's twisted heart and the consequences to follow if they failed. Within one of the hallways, a large cluster of knights were gathered in a tizzy. Empty blue masks staring at a pile of molten gold, various statues of the Palace's Ruler melting into a golden soup in front of the culprit.

The suspect's body was shadowed by the large blaze behind them. "How dare you destroy the visage of our King Kamoshida?! You'll pay with your life wench!" One of the knights howled as all brandished their large blades. Feminine laughter came out of the figure alongside their appearance, emerald eyes glared down at the mass.

Ren was running as fast as he could, the teen helping a tired Ann with assistance from two others. The clothes the four of them wore were very different from what they wore in the real world, an attire created through the power of their Persona and rebellious souls.

The raven had a white domino mask bearing a black flare around the eyes, long black leather jacket paired alongside a bulletproof black vest, crimson gloves, black Italian leather pants, and black leather boots. Ann's entire was a full red leather blend suit that displayed her elegant lithe form, a red mask with cat ears, red stilettos and even a fake cat tail that seemed to move on its own.

Then there was Ryuji Sakamoto, a spiky blonde with brown eyes and Ren's first ally he made. His outfit was a metal skull shaped mask, a black suit bearing a metal spine plate along his back, red tie to a black bulletproof vest, black Italian leather boots and red gloves bearing metal knuckles.

Ren couldn't forget their odd party member Morgana either. A 1'6 ft tuxedo cat-like being with a form comparable to a bobblehead. Slightly large head with black fur on the top half of the head imitating a mask to the white bottom part, a yellow bandana scarf around the neck, a black body with white paws, white feet and white tip tail, and a brown fanny pack around the waist.

The two males were helping keep Ann steady, the platinum blonde was exhausted from summoning her main Persona. "We're almost at the exit, just need to go past this hanger." Morgana stated, his childlike male voice stern and strong. Smell of burning metal hit everyone's nose, all eyes were on the growing smoke that began to seep from an adjacent hallway.

"What the hell? Is someone else here because I don't think Kamoshida's knights are stupid to burn the castle to the ground?" The blonde was right but who was it. Getting into the Metaverse, much less a Palace, required the Metanav app. Without the mysterious phone app, no one could enter this place unless brought here by accident.

A familiar voice then reached Ren's ears. 'Thy Joker, that sounds like young Hokuto. It appears our acquaintance is making good on her threat to Madame Shiho's abuser.' Arsene spoke within the raven's head. It was an odd coincidence that the hotel manager was in the same corridor leading to the exit.

The group of four turned into the hall to see an army of Kamoshida's knights cornering Hokuto. None of them were blind to the gold statues of the Palace ruler burning behind the young woman, a sight that made Ren's main Persona purr in delight.

"Ain't that Shoutmon-san?! Did she get dragged in by accident like I did?!" Ann couldn't help the worried tone within her own voice. The not-cat of the group whistled at the destruction. "That girl isn't normal. It takes extreme heat to melt solid gold like that."

Ryuji guffawed at the amount of damage that the cyanette did by herself. "Talk about a one woman demolition crew! Maybe she can help us after we help her." The group was taken aback when Hokuto began to laugh at a guard's execution threat.

"A King you say?" The cyanette scoffed, her hand grasping the device around her neck. Morgana quickly notices the peculiar device. "I'm getting weird vibes from that gadget. Whatever it is, that thing is letting out a lot of power!" All three humans looked at their smaller teammate in surprise before facing Hokuto.

Something big was about to happen. "All I see is the evidence of a pervert who loves to harass those more innocent than him. It's time these trophies of sin burn and I'll light them ablaze with the fire of my soul!" A light purple aura circled around Hokuto's opposite hand.

The peculiar sparkled and moved in an inhuman but familiar to digital code if given a physical shape. The next words Hokuto said proved to Ren and his friends just how unique she was. "Let's do this Shoutmon! Biomerge!" Pure gold fire burst forth upon Hokuto swiping her hand across the device.

All of the guards had to jump back upon the massive blaze that now engulfed the teenage girl, her shadow growing amongst the wall of flame. For a second, the masked raven saw something familiar move within the fire. The visage of the Hotel Nexus Statue crossed Ren's mind.

"Hope you're ready!" Hokuto's voice boomed from the blaze but it was very off. There was a mechanical tone to it and all of Ren swore he heard another voice overlap, a scratchy, growlish young male one. A large gold armor leg and boot with a silver stripe going down the center alongside a back spike heel stepped out from the blaze.

What followed was a giant 16 ft armored beast, a golden dragon man that looked vaguely similar to the statue back at the hotel. Giant V shaped horns adorn the head alongside the golden tusk on the cheeks to form a pseudo helmet to the silver beak like muzzle of the dragon, a rounded chest plate that held two holes on opposite sides of the flat front, curved pauldrons leading to black wire hose that connected the slimmer arms bearing three fingered hands.

On the upper back was a helm very similar to the statue and that gold alloy went down the slim waist except for the silver circle on the stomach. And the part that showed this was once Hokuto was the bright emerald eyes burning with righteous fury.

"Cause OmniShoutmon is going to bring the house down!" Hokuto or OmniShoutmon bared her two fists in a boxer's stance as she let out a battlecry. Her eyes then flitted over the group of four, a look of surprise crossing the dragon's beakish muzzle. Something one of the guards noticed as he turned around to see the small group.

"The intruders are still here?! This rebellion will be squashed before it can grow!" Every knight began to shudder in an unnatural manner, their bodies immediately collapsing into streams of black and crimson shadow. The shadowy streams immediately rose up to form various Jack o' Lanterns, Incubus, Bicorn except for one.

One had transformed into a large knight in silver armor, ruby red angelic wings sprout from the back, their red skin face held a solemn stare as they held a large broadsword in front of them in a religious manner. Ren recognized that type of Shadow from a previous encounter, it was an Archangel.

"Mona and Skull, protect Ann!" With a flair, Ren pulled off his mask as blue flames swallowed it and Arsene materialized from the fire. The sight of the Curse Persona made a wild smirk run across OmniShoutmon's muzzle. "Knew there was something special about ya! Let's get to know each other after we toast these suckers with the melody of our burning souls!"

Orbs of pure sun yellow flame ignited the draconic being's claws, emerald eyes burning bright with something akin to passion. "Hard Rock Soul!" Both small suns doubled in size and with a howl OmniShoutmon tossed them with incredible force as if they were baseballs.

A large blast of fire exploded forth upon the two projectiles hitting one of the smaller Shadows, the intense heat burning groups of the ones that held no resistance to ash. Ren took the opportunity to strike the twisted monsters with their guard dropped by the blast.

His boot struck an Incubus from a high jump kick, he used the Shadow to spring towards a Jack O' Lantern stabbing his razor sharp straight into the pumpkin demon's skull. The raven then spun midair to send his hooked opponent straight into a small cluster of Pixies and quickly turned to a group of Bicorn.

"Eiha!" Red tinted black energy manifest between Arsene's claws, the Curse Persona morphing it into a short lance. The personification of the gentleman thief quickly threw into the head of one of the black stallions. The beast let out a painful neigh in response before exploding into a redfish black bonfire that grasped a few other Bicorns.

Some enemy Jack o' Lanterns lob multiple fireballs with a swing of lanterns, Pixies shot out bolts of lightning from their fingers and a herd of Bicorn went into a stampede covered in harsh wind magic. All of them were aiming for OmniShoutmon, who smiled maliciously at the attack.

"I am an inferno born of passion, baby!! You can't extinguish my soul that easily!" The draconic being leapt off the ground, arms spread out whilst her golden body flew through the air almost if riding on an invisible current. Hokuto swept past the lightning in a barrel roll, weaved through the onslaught of fireballs before going into a condor dive whilst bearing her horns.

"Mach Rush IV!" She picked up more speed as OmniShoutmon went straight to the herd of Bicorn with the intent to run them down. Looks of shock crossed the horn horses as every single one quickly found themselves bouncing off of the dragonoid then crash disgracefully to pieces. What was worse were their green horns easily shattered then sent off into rapid fire sharpnel, whatever wind magic on them now struck down multiple allies.

The only three non-combatants watched the scene in utter shock. "Holy shit! Hok- I mean OmniShoutmon completely wrecked that stampede like it was nothing!" Ryuji remembered how much of a pain those specific Shadows were but to see them being wiped out so quickly was insane.

"I think it's because of that weird armor all over her body. Doesn't seem like any kind of material that can be found in the Real World or even the Metaverse." The not-cat has seen very peculiar things in the metaphysical plane before but he didn't think whatever material that armor was made from one of them.

"It's not just that. Before she changed, she said 'Let's do this, Shoutmon.' What if Hokuto-san wasn't saying her last name but someone else's?" Ann's words hit her two companions like a truck. Joker had also caught what the platinum blonde and things started to click in his mind.

The thought swirled in his mind whilst sliding under the large blade aimed for his head from the boss Archangel. She wasn't really alone when they had conversed earlier. Hokuto had someone or something alongside her, a Persona perhaps? Could it be…?

Joker glanced at the once human, his eyes widened in mild horror when he saw the Archangel spread out their wings. A warning signal for a powerful attack. "Look out OmniShoutmon!" The dragonoid immediately spotted the aforementioned threat and her response was surprising.

OmniShoutmon stood her ground, a burning yellow aura burst from the brilliant gold armor. "Hamaon!" The angelic shadow pointed his blade at OmniShoutmon, a large blast of bright light erupted the steel straight at her. It was at this point that the observers realized an important detail about the former human's armor.

There was a purpose to those two holes on the chest. "Flamethrower, yeaah!!" Fire burst forth from the chest holes alongside OmniShoutmon's war cry, large golden streams that clashed with the blast of light. Both attacks struggled to swallow the other, a battle of attrition in physical form. Letting out a loud roar, the fire from OmniShoutmon doubled in size as she put more power into the attack.

In seconds did the two blazing streams engulf the light in its entirety before swallowing up the Archangel and their allies in a massive bonfire. With the last bits of fire out of her chest, OmniShoutmon fell to her knee panting roughly.

"*pant* Damn did that asshole have some power. Using Flamethrower like that just takes the air out of your lungs. *whistles*" The dragonoid pants, her eyes now settled on the group of familiar faces. Ren had run up to the former human with Arsene offering his hand so the Persona could help her up.

OmniShoutmon took the assistance without hesitation, a smile on her beak like muzzle. "Thanks big guy. I have a feeling you aren't a Digimon, but I do know that I like those knife heels." The Curse Persona raised a non-existent eyebrow before letting out a hearty laugh.

Ren couldn't help shaking his head albeit agreeing with the statement. That definitely solidified this was indeed Hokuto among some other things. "As much I love to continue this chat, I believe it's best to move it to outside the confines of this castle." Arsene's suggestion didn't go unnoticed to everyone.

It made no sense to stay any further in their current state, plus there were a lot of questions that needed to be answered about their draconic ally rather than just their next possible move. Ren did know one thing, he had a feeling his life was about to get flipped over once more. For good or bad was up to debate.

And that's it. Felt Digimon would suit more into this considering DNA Digivolution, Biomerge and Spirit Evolution is a thing. Hokuto's last name isn't Shoutmon if you hadn't noticed. Last name is undecided at the moment. I did add some personal headcanons than just giving the Persona actual personalities. Persona is in personality after all.

Until next time folks!

[bigskydreaming]

Okay but X-Men heist caper movie about Ororo and Remy as teens who are initially pitted against each other by shady immortal backers manipulating them into going after the same artifact.

On the one hand, you have Remy, who is vying for leadership among his Thieves’ Guild and is trying to secure the backing of their immortal patron Candra, the self-proclaimed mutant goddess of thieves.

On the other hand, you have Ororo, who is blackmailed by the Shadow King threatening to expose the Morlock-esque group she lives among in Cairo.

The prize: the Heartstone of Candra, a repository she placed a good deal of her power into centuries ago, in order to ‘hide’ her power signature while keeping her head low cuz idk, Selene or Gideon or one of the other Externals was gunning for her because Reasons. Candra’s still got plenty of power in the meanwhile, and uses the Thieves’ Guild that she rules as much by reputation as anything else in order to fill in the gaps where she can no longer accomplish something on her own, so she’s been content to keep the Heartstone safe and hidden for a couple hundred years and make use of her low profile instead.

But its still very much HER power and she won’t have anyone dipping into it, so when her ear to the ground alerts her that one of her rival immortal mutants, the ancient telepath the Shadow King has found out where she hid it and seeks to claim the power she put into it in order to fashion himself a new physical body rather than just jump from host to host, she’s like HE SHALL NOT HAVE IT.

And so sets up a ‘trial’ of sorts, for the would-be claimant of the New Orleans Thieves’ Guild’s throne to pass, if Remy wants to prove himself the clear choice to wear the crown.

With this trial by fire, of course, just so happening to be retrieve an allegedly priceless treasure from where its been hidden and protected by all kinds of traps and mystical and mutant guardians both. Before anyone else can.

Candra just happens to leave out the little tidbit that the treasure is hers, she made the traps and set the guardians herself, and she made them deadly enough that even she would have trouble retrieving the Heartstone. (She miiiiight have underestimated just how much power she was giving up and what her capabilities would be without all of it, but nobody needs to know that).

Remy assembles a few of his friends and allies to aid him in what’s one part treasure hunt, two parts retrieval job. An ocean away, Ororo handpicks a few of her Morlock friends and allies to do the same. 

Both groups end up racing against each other for secret maps whispered about in the alleys of Majipoor and into Otherworld itself, where Candra hid it in a land of eternal night populated by vampires and other creatures of darkness, who are all still annoyed that she very much did not ask permission.

Eventually, both groups come head to head while vying for the prize, and realize wait, YOU’RE only doing this cuz a shady immortal is making you because Reasons but really all you care about is protecting your people? That’s so weird, I’M only doing this cuz a shady immortal is making me because Reasons but all I care about is protecting my people. Hey, we should totally just join forces and fuck over the shady immortals cuz we know better than to think they actually give a fuck about protecting our people.

Which they do then.

And Candra and the Shadow King are both like nooooooooooooooo, and also curse you little teenage delinqueeeeeeeeeeeeeents and also there’s maybe something about ugh, uncouth hooligans and whatnot, because I really feel like Candra’s the type of character who says stuff like ugh, uncouth hooligans.

And for no particular reason other than Its Important To Me and I Said So, at some point, Ororo goes up against Candra and just lightning blasts her through a wall. And then Remy leans through the hole and peers down at where Candra’s smoking on the ground looking decidedly Aggrieved and he yells down to her “Y’see, now THAT’S what a goddess looks like.”

And blah blah blah plot climax, etc, etc, look the point is both Candra and the Shadow King get unceremoniously booted from their positions of power and they run off to lick their wounds while shouting something about damn you meddling kids and your stupid dog too, which is weird, cuz like, they don’t even HAVE a dog but whatever, I might be mixing media here. 

And it ends with both crews united and having a totally extra and unnecessary party together and celebrating their victory over the shady immortals and then Remy and his shiny new this is MY Thieves’ Guild now, these are MY connections, like, helps Ororo get her group of Cairo Morlocks out of the city where they’ve been living in the shadows so they can all go to the village where she grew up and live out in the open among the villagers who welcome them with open arms. 

And then Remy and Ororo say their goodbyes and are like be careful and take care of yourself, stay safe, and Remy’s like aww, Stormy, now you know that’s just not realistic, I gotta be me, and Ororo rolls her eyes fondly and is like get out of here, you scamp. And Remy’s like, umm j’scuse, that’s KING of Scamps now, miss almighty goddess. And they both laugh, roll credits.

And then there’s an after credits scene where they’ve both been recruited to the X-Men and Cyclops introduces them to each other, and Ororo’s just like “Hello, little brother. Have you been keeping out of trouble?” And Remy’s all “Now why you want me to lie to you, Stormy, you know I don’t like doing that. Hey, that royal gentleman caller of yours still treating you right?” And Ororo just lifts an eyebrow and smirks at him like “Why, what are you gonna do if he isn’t, steal his cufflinks?”

And Cyclops looks back and forth between them and is all “I take it you two know each other already.”

And Remy’s like “No, this is just how we greet random strangers.” And Ororo laughs and goes “Oh, we may have collaborated on a joint saving the world venture when we were younger.”

And Remy leans in towards Scott and winks. “And we did it by STEALING things.”

“I did tell you I had an eventful childhood,” Ororo adds helpfully.

Scott blinks, not that either of them can actually see that. Its just. Implied, kinda.

“Oh no, I hear my girlfriend calling me to come back inside,” he deadpans. “I have to go now.”

“Oh yeah,” Remy nods as he and Ororo link themselves arm in arm and stroll casually after him. “This is gonna be fun.”

[cinnaminsvga]

Hi hey hello, new follow here!! I just finished Body of Mine, and I’M STILL CHORTLING!!! This piece was SO charming and unique. You have a very YOU style of writing that has your signature that I very much enjoyed. First of all, I thought the roommates, magic, and shifter aus blended very well to create a unique and memorable world. Second of all, “lucky for you, Yoongi had the arm span of a toddler.” HAHAHA I’M HOWLING. You had me cackling throughout the entire piece, making BOM so enjoyable.

[cont.] “I don’t want that vermin to gain the ability to speak. I can just tell no one is going to enjoy what he has to say.” “Whoa… I didn’t know yoongi has a fucking eject button.” HAHAHA she is hilarious and the way she handles him as she tries to find his “eject button” and he gives her the wide-eyed look with his mouth agape… I can’t stop seeing the shook hamster meme HAHAHA and I loved the scene with his first transformation. The “poof” and pink smoke, how fitting haha “He was incredibly wide; it

[cont.] almost made no sense that he was a hamster just a few seconds ago. What did he do, bench press sunflower seeds all day?” and “C’mon, human! Bring me your finest garments because my handsomely sculpted testicles are starting to shrivel up from the cold.” HAHAHA THE WAY YOU HAVE ME ROLLLING THOOOO!!! The humor in the fic just keeeeeps comin, “… prompting you to grad the small rodent and squeeze him like a squeaky to. (And what do you know – he even squeaks like one too!) OMGGG poor Jin HAHAHA but

[cont.] when he realizes she’s forgotten his birthday, I could feel how disappointed and hurt he was :( and the way she tries so hard to make it up to him has me endeared. You can tell she cares a lot for him, even tho he’s a rodenty brat. The scene where they’re sitting on his bed going over the rules for the 10 wishes was one of my faves. The fact that she already knows he’s going to ask for world domination and uh… bodily enlargement really alludes to just how well she understands him. Also, that

[cont.] piece of dialogue is really fucking funny HAHAH “Seokjin looks down at his crotch dejectedly.” Is he trying to tear a woman apart or something?!?! And when he makes his first wish- I about died laughing. So unexpected, but also, makes so much sense. “That little bunny bitch! Thinks he’s hot shit… I want him to finally get a taste of his own medicine! HAHAH ok, I think I’m on my third point rn, but it’s about Seokjin’s characterization. He’s SO chaotic, SO jin-esque with a dash of narcissism. You

[cont.] You killed it with his personality in this fic, bravo!! Like I know he’s the sweetest, most caring man, but will act like a him-bo to put a smile on your face and I love it! “My balls are where the ladies get their babies” HAHAH I’M CRYING WHY IS HE LIKE THIS “pink is for happiness, right?” ohhhhh boy things are about to get iiiiiiiiinteresting. And I HAVE TO ASK but… what happened that one time she penetrated his asshole with her finger?!? Lastly, that smut scene tho…. PHEW with or without that

[cont.] horny juice, I feel like seokjin would’ve delivered!!! I appreciated how attentive he was towards her pleasure, eating her out (re: appetizer HAHA) and making sure he wasn’t hurting her upon penetration. Overall, you had me laughing throughout this entire piece until the smut and then I was horny laughing. Last thing I gotta ask, but since jin’s a hamster shifter… how’s that libido tho ;) hope you are well, thank you for sharing them with us!! Pls accept all my love!! ps interesting that his

[cont.] that his transformation scent is caramel and mint.... given he has such a disdain for mint choc chip ice cream HAHAHA

WOOOOOW THIS IS SUCH A SWEET MESSAGE?? HOLY HELL THIS REALLY PUT SUCH A BIG SMILE ON MY FACE AHHHH YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH YOUR COMMENTS MEAN TO ME 😭

im so happy that i was able to make you laugh a lot with this fic!! that was pretty much my biggest goal when i was writing this (i’m not a very good smut writer, so i thought that if i could focus more on the humor aspect of the fic, i could make up for what i was lacking in HAHAHA) 

thank you also for saying that i nailed his personality 😭 i love writing jin so much, mostly because i can have so much fun making him this chaotic and over-the-top character and it makes me laugh just thinking of him doing/saying these things that i write... you’re SO RIGHT THO about him acting like a himbo just to make you smile... honestly, in this fic, he was mostly just acting stupid bc he knows it makes the oc smile... deep inside, he’s an incredibly sweet and caring person (oc even mentions that he takes care of her whenever she’s feeling stressed) which just makes him even more lovable?? idk i just love him so much you have NO idea...

and thank you for horny laughing at the smut HAJSDHAJS I REALLY TRIED MY BEST AND I HOPE IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH WAHHHH SERIOUSLY THO THIS ASK GAVE ME SO MUCH LIFE THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY DAY/WEEK/MONTH/YEAR!! I LOVE YOU

((and yes, as a hamster shifter... he’s got a sex drive like NO ONE’S business... idk how he survived months living with the oc without jumping her... just shows how much of a gentleman he actually is *sob* and yes i made his transformation scent caramel bc he’s sweet but mint bc... idk i always associate mint with old people?? HASJDHASJSAKJD NOT SAYING HES OLD BUT he do be acting like a cranky grandpa sometimes... i love that part of him tho LMAO but then again i also hate mint choco chip so... hmm... idk my brain works in mysterious ways HAHAHAH))

[curejunereblogs]

An Extensive List of Phantom Thieves (怪盗)

but first the criteria:

The boundaries for what makes a thief a phantom and whether it's different from a gentleman thief are wobbly

We can't really just allow everyone who calls themselves "kaitou" to qualify, because there's Kaitou Sai from Nogami Neiro who is a serial killer which is A Very Bad Thing. most good examples of thieves have a "no kill" rule

If we set that they have to steal for Good Reasons, we cut off Kaitou Joker, who is very much a phantom thief, so we have to allow "thrill of the chase" as a valid-ish reason for stealing. no bonus points though, it just not instant disqualification

I found that "sends a calling card" is a good rule to stick to so I trimmed my original surprisingly long list based on whether I know for sure they send announcements or cards or letters or such. If you don't say "come and get me" to your target, you're pragmatic, a realist and also a coward

Which led me to a conclusion that to be a proper phantom thief, the main thing you should be after is the spotlight. You have to steal the show. Otherwise you're just a thief, maybe a gentleman, but not a phantom. Contrary to the name, you have to be seen. Good phantom thieves have a give-and-take relationship with their audience - they take the treasure, and give back a performance or some other form of entertainment (or purpose in life in some cases).

The following compilation doesn't include: books, hentai, eroge, BL, things where i couldn't translate the title into English, the ones that don't send calling cards(as far as i know) and in general a bunch of media i most definitely missed

Phantom Thief Hall of Fame:

- Kaito Kid(1987), Kaitou Saint Tail(1994) and Kaitou Joker(2007) are all brilliant examples of the genre, and if you don't know any of them, they all have a bunch of passionate fans each and they can all be googled really easily

- Joker and his gang from Persona 5(2017); i'm consiously placing him in the second/fourth place because even though he's really cool, very popular and is The phantom thief to a lot of people unfamiliar with the genre... he doesn't have a tophat (his persona is not enough)

- ... I'll just mention that Lupin the 3rd(1967) exists and go on

- and of course, Lupin III and about a quarter of all phantom thieves are in some way based on Arsène Lupin(1905) by Maurice Leblanc

- ex. there was a french-canadian cartoon about Lupin called Night Hood(1996)

- Cat's Eye(1981), cited as an inspiration for Saint Tail, is about a trio of sisters who steal stuff in order to get closer to their dad and it's epic

- Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne(1997), like Saint Tail, doubles as a magical girl series and is about magical stealing and the clothing is eastern and the manga swerves into weird territory in the end but it features one of the precious few phantom thief & phantom thief romances

- King of Bandits Jing(1995), while doesn't have the aesthetic, has the weirdness, the charm, the calling card (i think) and is generally cool enough to steal his place on the list whether he’s a phantom or not

- The Acrobat/Man of Twenty Faces(1990), also known as Akira Ijyuin; charming child somehow without most of the problems the CLAMP protagonists tend to suffer from

- Phantom R the titular Rhythm Thief(2012), a great example of a dancer show-off, has a dog

- The Black Rose from Ashita no Nadja(2003) is a tuxedo mask-esque character

- Kaitou Kiramekiman(2000) is a cool retrofuturistic-looking duo trying to save the world in a show that is tragically more about their police counterparts Doing Absolutely Nothing because the villains tend to be more popular in that franchise

- Pacricon(1999) takes place in a world where money has been cancelled(?), has a hella cool calling card

- Shadow Lady(1995)... well, there's a lot of fanservice - like, a lot, and it's tiring and i warned you - but there's also some genuinely funny twists like cancelling her heist on live tv just because she didn't feel like doing it. it also got very unceremoniously axed

- Kaitou Alexandrite(2006) owns/co-owns/frequents a bordel so there's some nsfw to be seen on occasion but it's tolerable and could be described as tasteful i guess. she stole someone's voice once. it also features one of the best identity reveals

- Chat Noir from Granblue Fantasy(2014) is a fighting unit; he has a "calling card" skill and i think that's beautiful

- Phantom Skye from Harvest Moon DS Cute(2005), a not-very-secret character, is an absolute cheese but it loops right back into being charming

- Kaito Rousseau(2006) for Nintendo DS, where a tiny thief boy is horrible at going unnoticed unless he disguises his face as whatever you draw on your ds screen

- Mask DeMasque from Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations(2004) is a thing?

- Sly Cooper(2002) is known as Kaitou Sly Cooper in Japan so he fits the bill

- PxP(2006), short manga about a girl thief in high school

- Sweet Kaitou Vanilla Moon(2010), pastry-themed phantom thief? hell yeah!

- Kaitou Reinya(2010), a short comedy that is not to be taken seriously but you might get a few chuckles from it and i don't regret giving it a second chance (warning: cartoonish animal abuse)

- Cat's Eye(s)(2010), a remake of the original tale of three sisters with different PoVs

- Kaitou Jack from Nishikida Keibu wa Dorobou ga Osuki(2013); it's a gag manga about a cute phantom thief boy and an old man detective that acts like a schoolgirl around that boy. ... I'm only mentioning it here because I like Jack's costume and "i'm-SO-done-with-this" faces and it's mostly intended to be funny. mostly.

- Kaitou Okami-Zoku Shonen(2013), a oneshot about a werewolf who eats people's hearts (metaphorically! through kisses) but is really stylish about it. Think P5 protagonist but alone and a werewolf

- Phantom Thief F's Scenario(2013) is a vocaloid song about a diamond heist on a luxury liner

- Kaitou Le Vin(2014) is about six people stealing wines and it's epic but they can't shut up about wine for one second

- Gaitou Alice(2015) is about a guy looking like Kaito Kuroba going into people's hearts to steal stuff before P5 made it cool. Features amazing artwork but kinda gross stuff closer to the end so it's kind of understandable why it got axed but it has a kind of weird charm to it

- Mystic Thief X from a mobile dating game Miss Detective's Undercover(2017) (i'm scraping for phantom thief content) is honestly excellent at his job. he might only be showing off for one person but damn it's romantic af and i love him

- Kaitou Shounen Jokers(2017) is a sequel to Kaitou Joker, and is directly about the previous protag's kid going to a phantom thief school (i have no hard evidence he sends calling cards but if he doesn’t take after dad i’m-)

- Kaitou Saint Tail girls!(2018), a sequel to Saint Tail, is very cute and has two new Saint Tails working together! i wish i knew more about it

- Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger(2018), live-action series that is a must-watch for anyone who loves phantom thieves because it's a masterpiece of a tv show; besides the three thieves it also features the best police officers in the genre (it kind of has to since they're protagonists too but boy does it deliver)

- Secret x Warrior Phantomirage(2019) is also a live action and it's all about girls stealing enchanted hearts! i actually don't know if they send cards but it feels right placing them after lupinrangers and they're definitely show-stealers

- Kilroy(2018) is a western comic about a guy who broke an unconventional mirror and has to do unconventional repairs

- Kaitou Kamaitachi(2018) has a cute reporter boy and a lot of butterflies

- Destined Memories(2019) is another mobile dating game, there are thieves (called the Crows) in victorian england and they send notices and it's way better at being a phantom thief story than an actual phantom thief story by this company that i'll maybe mention later if i get to compiling a list of thieves that don't send cards

- I really want to put Majo Kaitou Lip☆s(2019) in this category, I want her to send calling cards, but there's like two chapters out so there's still time. The artwork for this series is GORGEOUS and the idol imagery is amazing and i love it so much I just want her to be popular

i might've ignored some phantoms you may have heard about, but 50% i've checked and they don't send calling cards. If they do, additions are welcome!

[wardog-of-the-endless]

Wardog’s Fic Masterpost

You can find nearly all fics through my AO3 account, but here’s a list of links!

MARVEL

IronStrange- Tony Stark x Stephen Strange

Wishes (Better Left Ungranted)

General-  Tony makes a few wishes, but some are better left ungranted.

‘Till Then

Mature- Stephen Strange is trying to work at Kamar-Taj when his boyfriend texts him... from his Malibu bed. Stephen opens a portal to talk to him about it and they wind up, not really talking about it. ( Tony Stark Bingo Explicit Card A4 KINK: Masturbation)

The Theory of Magic (Series)

General- A get together series in which Stephen Strange has a crush and actually makes a movie. Stories are Complete but the Series is Ongoing, available for expansion via prompts when open.

Remind Me

Study and Practice

Burden of Proof

Absence Makes the Heart

Time Heals All (Series)

General- Stephen Strange and Tony Stark are married. A little Team Cap antagonistic. Part 3 is a little Dark!IronStrange.

What the Doctor Ordered

Cloak and Dagger

Break Rules (Not Oaths)

IronPanther- Tony Stark x T’Challa

Hot Chocolate

General- (Fluff and Flirting)- So a combination of a prompt and a ship. From jacarandabanyan "Hot Chocolate" and bash-it-all's "IronPanther".

WinterHawk- James Barnes x Clint Barton

Nesting On Knives (Series)

Teen- Tumblr Prompt: 1.“Would you ever write WinterHawk?<3″ . Birthday Fic + Tumblr Prompt: All Avengers, clock, poking (+ Tony Stark) 1. Well-Armed (To Hold) 2. A Meddling Affection

WinterIron- James Barnes x Tony Stark

Children of Light

General to Teen- Slowbuild to WinterIron. Deals with the Death of JARVIS, the first activation of FRIDAY, and JARVIS’s eventual resurrection. (Note that J is the “Major Character Death” referenced.) This is angsty because I have FEELINGS about the loss of JARVIS and the fact that we never mourned him in MCU. Stories and Series ongoing.

Son of Stark

To Lose a Child

A Child’s Initiative

I Will Always Find You

General- Tony as Snow White, Bucky as Prince Charming in an AU snippet of OUAT.

Collision With a Dream

General- Bucky's walking along arguing about Russian Lit when he literally runs over his dream guy. Tasha does what she usually does, she makes it worse. That's alright, Tony's apparently the forgiving sort.

(You Wanna) Date My Dad

General- Featuring Harley Keener! "Would you ever write a fic where Bucky meets Harley?"

To Cure a Hangover (You Need Espresso and a Date)

General- Prompt: "Would you ever write: WinterIron with age difference? Like teacher!Bucky with Student!Tony? :P"

I Was Promised a Flying Car

General- Prompt: Would you ever write a fic where Tony and Bucky is bonding over being nerds/loving science? (And doing all kinds of wacky, mythbuster-esque experiments that Tony whips up any time Bucky begins a sentence with "I wonder what would happen if...?")So it's not "science" driven, but science nerd Bucky did spend his last night before deployment at the Stark Expo, staring at a flying car...

Mechanics, Millionaires, Models & More

General- Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne are friends from childhood. When Tony as a single dad catches the eye of the model James Barnes, there’s some mutual Instagram-Stalking and a lot of flirting.

Tony’s First Friend

Coping for An Age

(Walk Walk) Fashion Baby

Milkshakes and Motorcycles

Teen- Bucky, second to the Captain for the Howling Commandos, hears a scuffle around the corner and finds himself with an armful of just about the prettiest little lost lamb he's ever seen. Since Tony don't seem too keen on his now-ex, Bucky's gonna buy him a milkshake, wrap him in a leather jacket, and hopefully show him a good time.

Coffee, Curses, Kisses

General- Tony Stark drags himself out of his workshop on a regular Thursday morning. Well, mostly a regular morning. Except for Clint Barton lying on the breakfast bar in themed underwear. The theme is new, the rest is depressingly familiar. Ok, so maybe the rose petals are new too. (What the hell, Clint?) It's enough to make a billionaire grateful for the Avengers Alarm. Wait a minute, magic too? Fuck, this is just not Tony's day. (Until it really, really is.) (This is a Fill for Tony Stark Bingo 2019 S4: FIRST KISS)

Riding Roughshod

Teen- The Heroic Captain America wakes up in a world that is integrated far beyond what he would have dreamed of when he went into the ice, though he never expected to be a part of it. A pioneer of mixed-race teams back in his own day, the last thing he expects is to be called upon to do so once again, this time gathering a group of heroes from some rather unlikely places. If that weren't enough to worry about, there's a wild-card Soldier with a familiar fighting style making trouble at top-security bases all over the world... and a shiny red and gold suit that doesn't seem to answer to anyone. That's to say nothing of the kid genius that's supposedly behind it. ( This is a Fill for Tony Stark Bingo 2019 R4: Centaurs / This is a Fill for Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019 K3: Tony Stark/ Iron Man)

Love Like Knives

Mature- Winter wakes up Tony when he wants someone to play rough with.This is a Bingo Fill for Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019- U4: [Image: Winter Soldier holding a knife.]

California Dreamin’ A Beach Bums Verse

Teen- Note: A Special Collaboration Series! This is a WinterIron get together with puns, angst, fluff and more! Note that some fics may include Losers crossover characters! Also make sure to read my partner maevee’s stories!

Don’t Tell (Secrets) -Losers Crossover Fic

(Everyday Is A) Winding Road - Losers Crossover Fic

Mai Tai (Offer You A Drink) 

When You Wish Upon A Stark -Maevee

We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Bucky -Maevee!

Adorato

Teen-James Barnes, the Winter Soldier, has been out of the ice and Hydra’s hands for a month the first time he hears a familiar voice. (A SoulMate AU)

True, Strong and Brave

Teen- Bucky Barnes moves into the tower and receives help from an otherwise elusive Iron Man. But when the team gets called out and things go wrong, Steve gets a reality check as to what has been done in his name. Bucky steps up, he's one of the few who can. (Team Cap Critical; Anti-Wanda)

Tired

General- From a Prompt on Tumblr: Random Sentence- “I’ll do it for you.”

(Were) Whisperer

Mature- In a world where Aliens rain destruction from portals through space, ancient Gods arrive on beams of light, and a certain Billionaire Philanthropist darts around the world in a metal suit: there really is a very high bar for what is considered "weird". Shapeshifters hardly register, having been long known. You’re either a Human, a Were, or a Whisperer. Most people can prove whether they’re the first or the second, a few will lie about being the third. Alternately, there's Tony. Tony Stark is one of the few people pretending the first and burying the third, and he’s more or less in the clear with it until Steve Rogers catches up with the Winter Soldier, and brings him home to Avengers Tower. Tony doesn’t have to say a word, the Wolf knows differently.

An Attraction

Jurassic World AU-  Write... a crossover/au of the last non-marvel movie you saw and marvel (if ships, winteriron?). Essentially Jurassic World & Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Snippets with WinterIron. Originally Posted on Tumblr: Expansion Pack for AO3 Rolling Out Now!

Next Year Will Be Better

General- Just a quick story for Tony’s birthday. Pre-Slash Tony Stark/James Barnes, and Tony acting as IronDad to the Spider Son and his Potato Gun Son.

Let’s Go Dancing

General- This is a Marvel Universe-Center Stage Fusion AU that no one asked for and everyone is getting anyway. Tony dances for the American Ballet Company as their featured ballerino, performing under the name Antonio Carbonell. James and Steve are two of the ABC’s newest students, and James gets a chance to meet his crush on his first day. Just his luck, Tony is even better in person. (Natalia may have been setting them up all along.) This is a Fill for Tony Stark Bingo 2019- S1: Dancing

The B Team

Teen- Pepper Potts has had a long day that isn’t over yet, as Phil Coulson has just arrived on the doorstep of Tony’s Malibu Mansion to discuss Iron Man joining a new team. In most instances, it wouldn’t be enough to let him in the door, except he’s brought James Barnes along with him. Of course, he was probably expecting that James would be helping them talk business… But all the Soldier seems to want to do is get busy. (WinterIronWeek Day1/ TSB S2: [Image: Tony Stark working on IM in Workshop]) 

Done

General- Tony has just started prep work to remove the old arm and install the new one he's built, and already James is impatient. Or maybe he just wants to needle his boyfriend a little? Tony gets pretty cute when he's annoyed. (WinterIronWeek Day 2)

A Second Take, A First Impression

General- A drunk Tony Stark meets his Soulmate at a college party, but James is a gentleman (and Rhodey is scary) so nothing can happen until they’re sober. Tony wakes up at an ungodly hour of the morning, confused at his current predicament, and meets his (very attractive, very shirtless) Soulmate all over again. (He wishes he could forget all of this.) (WinterIronWeek Day 3)

Hunting For (You)

General- The Soldier has cleared the last of his required therapies, been gifted a new arm, and turned loose. The first thing he wants is to show Tony, up close and personal. Of course, there's a certain winged pest that is going to interrupt. (WinterIronWeek Day5)

WinterWidow/RussianRoulette- James Barnes x Natasha Romanova

No Fics Currently

Stony- Steve Rogers x Tony Stark

A Guardian of Light

Teen- a.k.a. that time Steve sank the Valkyrie in the Arctic and became a spirit-walking wolf to guide Tony, at Frigga’s suggestion.

Shield Studios Ltd.

General Audiences- All the Avengers in a non-powered voice-acting AU for an animated show called "Assemble" staring their Marvel counterparts. Tony/Steve have a mutual admiration/crush but it's not actually romantic and can be read as gen.

Assemble!

Phil’s Failed Plan

You’re Welcome to Try

The Vague & The Unmistakable

General Audiences- Looking back on it, there are several things that should have tipped Steve off that today was his Birthday. (Starting with the fact that it's suddenly clear Tony engineered every one of them.)

Stucky- Steve Rogers x James Barnes

No Fics Currently

Stuckony- Steve Rogers x James Barnes x Tony Stark

On The Wing

Teen- A Wing AU for Stuckony. Stories are Complete but the Series is Ongoing, available for expansion via prompts when open.

Fluttering

Turtledove

(I’ll) Be Good

Mature- So when the tumblr prompt "Would you ever write...ABO winterironshield with alpha Tony?" meets my Kink Card S2 Square "Alpha/Beta/Omega Society" this is where we end up.

Allergic to Coddling

From the Prompt: "Would you ever write Tony Stark having an allergic reaction to something and the rest of the Avengers babying him to the point of ridiculousness because they just love him so much?" Sort of Stuckony, sort of Everyone is Poly Because Avengers? Your choice.

Poly Avengers- Everyone Loves Everyone

Everybody Loves Me

From the Prompt: "Would you ever write a TonyXEveyone fic? Not exactly everyoneXeveryone, but everyone *in love* with Tony only?" Note this is a Partial Fill which may be expanded on later. Featuring Tales of Suspense Hawkeye/Comic Clint Barton, aka deaf and a dumpster kid until the end.

Non Romantic- No Shipping

Shut UP, Bucky!

Teen-  From the hellscape of Discord Discussions I bring you: QueenWuppy: "During World War II condoms were not only distributed to male U.S. military members, but enlisted men were also subject to significant contraception propaganda in the form of films, posters, and lectures. A number of slogans were coined by the military, with one film exhorting "Don't forget — put it on before you put it in." "guys i was doing research and and steve and bucky were subjected to this". AKA Bucky makes SO MANY COMMENTS about Super Soldier Sized Protection. So many.

The Most Powerful (Pillowfight)

General-  In which Carol and Tony (aggressively) support each other and then do battle (with pillows) for their honor. Or each other's honor? It's unclear, things got out of control. (James Rhodes loves these idiots way too much.) (This is a fill for the TSB 2019 Square: T2: A BATTLE/FIGHT/CONFRONTATION)

We Can’t Plot Murder All The Time

General Audiences- From the Prompt: "Would you ever write Deadpool/Tony (IronPool? DeadMan? IronDead? Dunno their ship name :b)" AN: I don’t ship them so this is a non-romantic.

The Losers

A Touch of Grace

Gen to Teen- Cougar has a bad feeling right before the Fadhil operation, and he admonishes Jake to be careful. Jake mostly pays attention, but Cougs is pretty distracting. (Slight D/s tones and Subspace.)

If I Touch You, Will You Listen? (Cougar’s POV)

If I Listen, Will You Touch Me? (Jensen’s POV)

Tag (You’re It)

Teen-  Jake hacks a new system for the express purpose of getting the Losers prank dog tags printed and delivered. Mostly because his Unit is full of people that make bad decisions, himself included. And also? To flirt with Cougar. Jake is willing to do stupid, stupid things in order to flirt with Cougar.

You And Tequila (Make Me Crazy)

Teen (and Up)- Fortalvarez Tequila is a family business that's been in operation for a hundred and fifty years. Currently, under the management of the family matriarch Constanza, the business will soon be passed to her beloved grandson Carlos. The problem is, Constanza does not care for modern technology or the fact that all of her grandbabies (but especially her favorite) are single. Her solution is a single advertisement for a new Social Media Expert, which is about to be answered by the very handsome (and rather impulsive) Jake Jensen.