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uzurakis · 6 months ago

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hi :D can you do jjk boys doing like a tiktok prank and telling reader to shut up but they've a really bad day and either get mad/really sad? angst with or w/o comfort plz

CAN YOU SHUT UP FOR A SEC?!

featuring: gojo satoru. fushiguro megumi. itadori yuuji. geto suguru.

n. some comfort and some w/o comfort lol. thanks for the req babes, not breaking my angst writing stride. if you could understand why i wrote gojo like that, then you paid attention to s2. enjoy </3

GOJO SATORU. you dropped your bag by the door and took a deep breath, hoping to find some comfort in his presence; finding your boyfriend lounging on the couch, his eyes glued to the tv screen.

“satoru,” you said, voice tinged with fatigue. “i had a really bad day today. the higher ups are a fucking pain—“

“shut up, babe, i’m watching tv. see?” without looking away from the tv, gojo cut off your words.

you froze, the sting of his words hitting you harder than you expected. you stared at him in disbelief, feeling a mix of hurt and anger rising within you. “wow. thanks for that. really needed it today,” you said laced with passive aggression.

gojo finally turned his head to look at you, but it was too late. you could feel the tears welling up in your eyes, and you didn’t want him to see you cry. you pivoted and exited the living room, displacing him in the process.

as you retreated to the bedroom, you could hear the faint sound of the tv continuing in the background. the reality of the situation settled in, and you felt the tears spill over, silently streaming down your face. you sank onto the bed, burying your face in your hands.

moments later, the sound of the tv stopped, and you heard footsteps approaching the bedroom door. it opened slowly, and gojo stepped inside, looking all confused and a tad concerned. “babe,” he said softly, “seriously, what’s going on?”

FUSHIGURO MEGUMI. “can’t you see i’m busy? can you shut up for a sec?”

you froze, his words hitting you like a punch to the gut. your shoulders slumped further, and you felt a knot form in your stomach. “i don’t need this today. just leave me alone,” you muttered, turning on your heel and heading towards the door.

megumi’s head snapped up as he realized something was wrong. “wait, hold on,” he called out, but you didn’t stop. “hey, i was just joking. come on, talk to me.”

your pace quickened as you left the dorm room, but you remained silent. you needed to leave before you totally lost it because you could feel the tears starting to burn in your eyes. megumi's voice could be heard calling after you as you went down the corridor; growing more concerned with each attempt.

“please, wait!” he shouted, tone now filled with worry. “fuck, i didn’t mean it like that! it’s a tiktok prank, babe!”

you kept moving, the door closing behind you as you stepped outside into the crisp evening air. you leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths to calm yourself. the last thing you needed was more pain on top of an already unbearable day.

ITADORI YUUJI. anger flared within you and your eyes widened. “why would you say that to me? what’s wrong with you?” you snapped, voice sharp as a knife.

yuuji’s gaze moved to look at you, and he immediately saw the pain in your eyes. his expression shifted from surprise to regret. “wait, wait, baby, i’m so sorry! it’s just a tiktok prank. i swear i didn’t mean it like that. please, forgive me.”

“a tiktok prank? do you think this is funny?”

he scrambled off the couch and came over to you, face earnest and pleading. “no, no, it’s not funny. i thought it would be harmless, but i can see now that it wasn’t the right time. i’m really sorry…”

“forgive me, please?”

you took a deep breath, trying to calm down. the sincerity in his voice and the worry in his eyes made it hard to stay mad at him. “yuuji, i’ve had a really bad day. the last thing i needed was for you to tell me to shut up.”

your boyfriend nodded vigorously, looking like a guilty puppy. “i know. i messed up big time. can we start over? we’ll order your favorite takeout and watch a movie? my treat!”

GETO SUGURU. your frustration, already simmering beneath the surface, boiled over. “excuse me? you don’t get to talk to me like that, geto suguru. especially not today!”

“whoa, hey, calm down. it was just a tiktok prank. i didn’t mean it seriously.”

“and you think that’s funny?”

the guy stood up, hands raised in a placating gesture, trying to approach you cautiously. “okay, okay, i get it. not funny. i’m sorry. how about we forget about it and i make it up to you?”

you could see the genuine concern in his eyes, but you weren’t ready to let it go just yet. “you really don’t understand how bad my day has been, do you? and you choose today to pull something like this?”

suguru sighed, taking a step closer to you. “i do understand. i’m sorry i made it worse. i was just trying to be playful. let me make it up to you.” he dropped his voice to a softer, flirtatious tone, a small smirk tugging at his lips. “you know i can’t stand it when you’re upset with me.”

“you damn flirt,” you huffed, trying to maintain your anger, but the familiar charm in his voice made it difficult. “you can’t just flirt your way out of everything, geto suguru. i’m still mad.”

he stepped closer, gently taking your hands in his. “maybe not, but i can try. let me make it up to you tonight. we can do whatever you want. i’ll be on my best behavior, promise.”

@uzurakis

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warblogs17282 · 24 days ago

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Blitz and self-hatred, plus his self-forgiveness journey.

Aka, watch me try to make sense of the massive lore drops in ghostfuckers. (Long post alert, my first meta post after ghostfuckers dropped)

Section 1: The roots of Blitz's self-hatred.

The circus fire. We know what Blitz's actions were that day, he saw Fizzarolli, and tried to call for help, but then he realized that Tilla was also caught up in the fire, and instantly rushed over to attempt to save her the moment Blitz realized that fact.

We know that Fizzarolli getting severely hurt in that fire affected Blitz very deeply, considering that it was one of the memories in that slideshow.

If you look at this frame by frame, you can see some sort of face in the fire when Blitz is rushing to save Tilla from the fire. The face in that fire looks like a mix of an angry face and a screaming face at the same time. Signaling that Tilla has been consumed by the flames. That she's dead.

There's an interesting detail within the hallucination sequence as well.

"This is your life." The fact that the fire in this sequence starts right at Blitz's hand is really telling. It tells us that Blitz still blames himself for accidentally causing the fire. Blitz blames himself for the fire that severely hurt Fizzarolli, and the fire that killed Tilla. Blitz feels like he hurt Fizzarolli and killed Tilla, his own mother.

Look at Blitz's hand during this memory, you can very clearly see that it's quite badly burned, including some that haven't even fully scarred properly yet, placing this memory very shortly after the fire happened. During this scene, Cash hits Blitz, and it's very clearly a memory that still deeply affects Blitz, a memory that most likely reinforced Blitz's own self hatred, because he's blaming himself for Tilla's death and Fizzarolli's injuries at this point, and his dad is just rubbing that in a lot by getting extremely pissed off with Blitz and hitting him because of the circus fire.

Plus, just look at Blitz's reaction to this memory, look at Blitz flinch, look at Blitz starting to struggle against the chains the moment this memory comes up. Blitz's reaction to this just proves how deeply it affects him to this day, and also proves that Cash hitting Blitz added to Blitz's self-hatred over the circus fire. Also, just how many times did Cash physically abuse Blitz like this over the course of his life so far?

Finally, we have the memory of Cash keeping Blitz from seeing Fizzarolli at the hospital. "But they told me you didn't want to see me.", Cash lied to Blitz and most likely the hospital staff as well considering the 'they' used, saying that Fizzarolli didn't want to see Blitz again, having strong implications to Blitz that Fizzarolli hated him. He also lied to Fizzarolli and said that Blitz never even visited him in the hospital. Further adding to Blitz's self hatred over the circus fire.

Section 2: Everything that has reinforced Blitz's self hatred, and is important on Blitz's self-forgiveness journey.

Let's start with Loona, we see her two times during the memories sequence.

The first having this exchange of dialogue.

Blitzo: Because, I adopted you! And that should mean something!

Loona: Oh, what does it matter?! You're not my real dad! I was almost eighteen!

Blitzo: It still counts!

Loona: Well, it shouldn't! I didn't need you then, asshole! I don't, now!

Notice the word 'need.', it's something that Blitz has internalized by now, Blitz thinks that if the people in his life don't 'need' him, they'll just leave him. Another thing that this shows is that Blitz is worried about if Loona hates him.

And it's very clear that Blitz is still effected by this exchange in s1 e3, even quite a while later. In s2 e2, we see Loona kick Blitz right in the balls, and just look at Loona's face in this scene, what Blitz sees here is his fear that Loona hates him, which is why it's in the memory sequence, and there's also these pieces of dialogue to consider.

Loona: If I'm so terrible, how about you just grow a pair and replace me?

Blitzo: Okay, well, maybe I- Maybe I might.

Blitzo: Oh, Loona, my sweet baby girl! I'm so sorry, I'll never replace you no matter what you--

Blitz is still concerned that Loona hasn't forgiven him/hates him for saying that he might replace her, hence why he instantly says he'll never replace her the moment Blitz sees her again, and that face and kick in the balls definitely fed into Blitz's fear that Loona hates Blitz.

And this fear that Blitz has about people who he cares about hating him seems to be something that applies to a lot of different people.

We see this fear in Fizzarolli, because this is one of the memories that comes up in that sequence. The malice-filled stare Fizzarolli gave Blitz during Ozzie's, and we all know Cash was the reason why Fizzarolli hated Blitz for so long, because he lied to Fizzarolli and said he started the fire on purpose, and said that he never visited him once. Alongside other things like Cash making Fizzarolli the golden child. So even all those years later, Cash is still contributing to Blitz's fear of the people he cares about hating him.

Don't be mistaken as well, just because they made up in s2 e6 doesn't make this fear of Blitz's go away, doesn't make the pain of the malice-filled stare go away, which this memory being brought up proves.

And, as I've said before, Blitz still blames himself for accidentally causing the fire that severely hurt him, also adding to the fear and self-hatred.

Barbie Wire, we can see this fear play out with her as well.

"I never wanna see you ever!"

Looking at both Blitz's face at the time and the fact that this scene made it into the memories sequence, it just shows us that Blitz has this fear for Barbie Wire as well, just like how he had it for Fizzarolli. The fact that Barbie Wire doesn't even want to see Blitz again just confirms that fear he has, that Barbie Wire hates him, and the memory of it also confirms just how deeply her saying that effected Blitz.

"Are you worried I may have enough of it one day as well?"

Truth Seekers, the fact that this is Blitz's subconscious telling him this is proof of the fact he has this fear that Moxxie will get tired of Blitz's behavior, that Moxxie will hate him and just, leave.

And the sequence with all the dead Millies and her appearance in the memories sequence also confirms that Blitz has this fear when it comes to Millie as well. Plus, the sequence with the dead Millies also tells us quite a few things, but I think the main ones are the insecurities Blitz has that he 'keeps fucking people's lives up' and 'leaving them worse and more broken than he found them', which both add to the fear that the people in Blitz's life who he cares for hates him.

The last person, Stolas.

There's three memories in ghostfuckers of him I'd like to bring up here.

The first being the All 2 U song memory, just look at how angry Stolas looks to Blitz in this specific memory, while singing lines like "'Cause I don't think it meant a thing at all!"

This one, Stolas was literally just crying a moment ago with all the makeup streaming down his face, but Blitz doesn't seem to remember that fact, instead, he's more focused on what Stolas said, more specifically, "You! Why are you here? I don't want you here, go home, please! Let me not feel so sad!"

And the final one, Stolas and the BTB guy. It's not jealousy, it's god damn heartbreak, especially considering the 'I mean you're a fucking prince. How could you ever actually care for an imp... Me? How could anybody?' Which shows us that Blitz thinks Stolas deserves a better partner, and then a guy literally with a shirt named 'Better than Blitzo' came in, with them dancing and enjoying each other, something that Blitz most likely wished he could do.

Plus, it had been around 24 hours since Stolas' confession to Blitz, and to Blitz, Stolas is already with someone else, someone 'better' than him. With the moment of the BTB guy kissing Stolas being all the confirmation Blitz needed, that he'll never be enough for Stolas, that Stolas has found someone better than him. That he's unlovable.

With all these three memories just massively contributing to Blitz's fear that Stolas hates him, and his self-hatred in general.

(Obviously Stolas doesn't hate Blitz, and that the BTB dude is a one night stand at most, but I'm speaking like how Blitz sees things rn)

Something else that's also relevant is this memory of Verosika, and the reason why this is specifically in the reel is because this was the moment that Verosika said "A reckless, heartbreaking freak!", all while Stolas was watching, which is something Blitz very clearly noted in his memories of the event, showing how much this effected him as well.

And to show that even more, this is the exact point that gets Blitz's tears flowing.

Another thing I want to quickly mention is that Blitz struggles to understand concepts and such of love, outside of a transactional context. Like, correct me if I'm overthinking this, but the 'unconditional support' card is yet another example of Blitz doing this kind of stuff. Everytime they give Blitz 'unconditional support', Blitz punches a hole in the card, with the one at the end being that Blitz has to leave M&M alone for one date, like, my babygirl, that isn't unconditional.

I also suspect that this has roots with Cash as well, considering that Cash was 100% the type of person to only see their value as 'how much money they can make him', and that the less they make for him, the less that Cash will 'love' them, something that is extremely clear in the difference that Cash treated Blitz and Fizzarolli on multiple occurrences. Like, here for example. Plus, there's also the fact that Blitz was bought by Paimon to be friends with Stolas as a kid.

And well, I think we all know what the biggest example of this kind of relationship has been throughout the show, it being something that only ended a few episodes ago.

Of course, I have to mention "I believe your subconscious is trying to tell you that you simply cannot fathom proper intimacy, but… also crave it as well.", which is something that is extremely intertwined with this subject, and the best example of this is probably s2 e8.

Something else in the memories sequence that this line from truth seekers also heavily applies to are these memories.

It shows us very clearly that Blitz is rather envious of the relationship that Moxxie and Millie have, because Blitz craves proper intimacy, so what Blitz sees is something he wants, but something he feels like he can't obtain.

Finally, the last subject I'd like to talk about is the fact that Blitz, hasn't really been able to see much of the good things he's done for the people he cares about or that he straight up doesn't know, by just being himself.

Blitz saved Moxxie from a life with Crimson and also busted him out of prison, Blitz gave Millie a life, a husband, and a purpose, Blitz gave Loona a home and a loving father, right before she was about to get kicked out the system, and Blitz gave Stolas the courage to stand up to his abuser, to allow him to choose for himself and get that divorce.

But, the sad part is that Blitz doesn't really see much of that.

Section 3: The progress Blitz has made on self-forgiveness journey so far.

S2 E6, the fact that Blitz and Fizzarolli was able to make up after so long removed a huge roadblock in the way of Blitz's self-forgiveness journey. The fact that Fizzarolli no longer hates Blitz. While there are still memories about Fizzarolli that still haunt Blitz, as I've shown in this post, this is still a huge step forward for Blitz being able to repair his relationships.

The first real heart-to-heart Blitz and Millie conversation, a lot gets brought up here, just exactly how Blitz has improved Millie's life for the better, confirmation to Blitz that Millie never hated Blitz and the fact that they're best friends. Of course, there's also Millie's apology to Blitz, with this conversation being something that Blitz desperately needed to hear, and I really hope everyone else eventually tells Blitz just how much he's changed their lives for the better.

And the second conversation between the two, the first thing that Blitz mentions is Millie's best friend comment, and that is huge for Blitz, because it signals the start of Blitz learning that people in his life can care for Blitz unconditionally. That Blitz can just have friends in his life, as the line "I- I've never had a real friend that I didn't want to fuck."

(hit the image limit, so time for timestamps!) Timestamp 24:31

(Timestamp, 24:45) "The bird got to you that bad, huh?", it just means so much to me that Blitz has finally admitted the fact that Blitz has feelings for Stolas, because it shows that Blitz is slowly, but surely starting to open up, and this is gonna be a huge thing for Blitz's relationships, including when Stolitz finally gets back together.

#helluva boss #helluva boss spoilers #tw: abuse #blitzo #helluva boss stolas #stolitz #verosika mayday #helluva fizzarolli #moxxie helluva boss #cash buckzo #barbie wire #octavia goetia #loona helluva boss #helluva boss analysis #helluva boss meta

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sixstepsaway · 1 year ago

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so here's the thing

i've seen a bunch of people say on twitter and stuff how... ed's behavior is very abusive and his anger is dangerous and he isn't romantic lead material because of it

and i get where they're coming from

but to me the main issue isn't putting ed in the position of a romantic lead, but not crafting the narrative around his characterization so that it allows for a spicy romantic pirates-in-love narrative instead of...whatever this is.

i'm going to try and explain this. idk if i'll do well but i'll try

the way she show presents stede is as an innocent baby who isn't really equipped for pirate life. he goes into a fugue/disassociative state whenever there's any real violence, apparently, and needs protecting by other characters when things get too rough - for example when ed is telling ned lowe not to take the poker to stede.

that's fine! it's honestly adorable to see a masc character being so soft around the edges and being protected by other characters this way.

(i'm not going to touch on stede's... eh... not great characterization this season rn)

then there's izzy, who is shown as a bit violent, a bit rough around the edges. he's more likely to draw a sword or throw a punch or hit someone with a chair or take a punch like a champ. violence is just part of life for him and that's okay, it just Is, from small things like smacking stede on the ass to bigger things like being wall slammed, it's not all that big or bad for violence to happen around and with him, he tends to give as good as he gets (there's some nuance here but i'm talking the macro themes not the micro of what izzy does vs is done to him)

and finally there's ed

ed is presented as violent (stabbing knives at guys, telling fang to use the snail fork etc) and used to a life of violence, and then in season 2 he's presented as really violent, his anger coming out in dangerous and terrifying ways

and frankly, i'd be super into it if he and izzy were the main ship and that twisted dynamic from the first two episodes of s2 was explored and fleshed out into something deeper

friends to enemies to lovers who fight and fuck. angry pirates who lay hands on each other, who break the whole ship with each other in the heat of passion.

except instead, s2 gives us... abuse. it gives us izzy cringing and lowering his head and trying to protect the kids crew from ed's angry outbursts.

so when stede comes back and he's still soft around the edges and ed headbutts him and it's deliberate, it's... not a great look, and the vibes are a bit skewed

if stede fought back, if when ed struck out at him he struck back, if they fought rather than it being one-sided, if it was friends to enemies to lovers and not presented as healthy, but maybe they can work their way there, who knows, maybe even more like anne bonnie and mary read because hey, they were doing something very similar?

except they were both into it. they were both enjoying the fighting and the fucking and the burning down the house.

stede's not enjoying it.

i cannot describe how much i hate this sequence just because of the way stede flinches

anne and mary don't!! mary jumps at the unexpected bang but she doesnt flinch, she doesn't cover her face like she thinks the vase will be coming for her not the wall and anne? looks so into it

and the thing is that in real life, no, you don't want to date someone who throws shit around, or headbutts you

but in fiction when it's two fucked up people doing this shit together like anne and mary?

that can be fun.

but instead what we've been given is stede flinching and apologizing to ed and then all of ed's...what, semi-redemption???? is done away from the other collection of people he abused, and then he spends some time on a fishing boat wearing a dog collar and everything is fine because he's good now and won't be doing anything bad ever again

and it's just... poor writing. the vibes are rancid.

i spent a really big chunk of time between s1 and s2 defending ed. i kept saying how what he did to izzy by making him eat his toe wasn't abuse, it was a one-off and abuse isn't a one-off thing it's a pattern, and then s2 made it a pattern.

explicitly. explicitly a pattern.

not just one toe but three.

jim saying "you're in an unhealthy relationship with blackbeard"

and all ed offered izzy was a "sorry about your leg" which might've been fine if izzy survived and they could work on this more, but instead that's all the apology and closure izzy will ever get

ed threw a chair and a vase and made stede flinch in fear and stede was right to do that. what part of any of this implies this will never happen again? that stede won't press the wrong button at some point and be on the receiving end? none of it

and if we'd been presented with a s2 stede bonnet who could handle himself and stand up for himself and fight back, then maybe i could imagine that turning into a weird sexy fucked up anne/mary like thing and maybe that could be why they put that episode in, but instead it feels like that episode was going, "look, see, ed's violence is fine because these two are fine with it with each other"

but stede isn't

ed and izzy or ed and stede in an unhealthy battle of a relationship could be such a fun, interesting and downright sexy thing to watch unfold on tv, and could honestly end somewhere far more down the chill end of the spectrum, but that's not what we've been given here

i cannot argue that ed isn't an abuser anymore, and not just of izzy but of the whole crew. he terrified frenchie.

it's not good writing to try and lean into the idea that ed and the pirates are violent and live a life of violence, so it's okay that ed's been violent, while simultaneously presenting his violence as traumatic and abusive, and then less than three episodes later saying oh it's fine now, he's just a little meow meow who can do no wrong, see?

especially considering they had him murdering people at the end of the season. and sure, you can say the english are just cannon fodder and they dont 'count', but they did before. ed explicitly did not kill before, and that included the english, or the spanish, or anyone else. so either they count or they don't, but flipping him on a dime makes no sense.

ALSO

having ed be the son of an abusive man who threw plates at his mother and made her cringe and then having ed kill his father to protect his mother and then a season later having ed become the kind of man who throws chairs and vases and makes his love interest cringe is, again, not bloody optimal

i want to say again i dont CARE about tv always presenting healthy relationships or tv always giving us aspirational goals. i want messy fucked up dynamics and terrible people making terrible choices, and still, to this day, i fucking love ed teach. i would honestly love to have seen them continue with ed's darkness and bring stede into it and see where they went with that, to have stede kill ned lowe and not just bury his feelings in ed but get off on it, enjoy the violence, and see where that led, but no

and so instead all we end up with is a protagonist who is being set up for a lifetime of abuse from an intimate partner, and a romantic lead who abuses his love interests (and yes. izzy is a love interest, he is set up like one and positioned like one and treated like one), frightens his love interests with his violence, is erratic and most of all inconsistently written. he was so sorry about scaring fang as though he hadn't been deliberately terrifying the whole crew for fuck knows how long? what?!

the whole fandom has spent so long saying, "no no, i know stede bonnet irl was a slave owner, but ofmd is using the names and not any real piracy, it's more disney piracy, you know? so that kind of stuff doesnt exist!" and then they flipped around and went "blackbeard is blackbeard and so he is evil and does all these horrible things" and i dont know how to rationalize the two sides of that because it feels so out of place

i'm getting rambly, this isnt a particularly well constructed thought process, i just feel like we were robbed both of a toxic, violent relationship that could be fun to see explored on tv and a soft and sweet love story between two middle aged men exploring their first loves in one fell swoop and there's no way for s3 to bring either of those things back because they got utterly torpedoed by making ed a horrible person

ugh

#ofmd critical #i hate that i'm using this tag now :c #edward teach #ed teach #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #our flag means death #ofmd spoilers #ofmd meta #i guess #izzy hands #stede bonnet

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maddragon15 · 6 months ago

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Hermitaday Day #14 - Doc

Heh I think you can tell when I hit a favorite hermit because how much it gets rendered lmao. Definitely not an ethogirl and doc fan no siree /sarc.

But no I just wanted to spend a little bit more on Doc's day because it'll help later with finalizing his design in the headcanons. This is pretty close to what it'll look like. Also wanted to test out a theory of lessening details in shadows by combining values together, plus fully rendering metal. Also also this is technically a redraw from like 2022.

Original and Variations down yonder!

I really like the first variation because it's just the flats over the finished piece. It works really well by itself but I'm a sucker for colors and hue shifts so the final product will always reflect that. The second one is just me messing with tonal curves then it goes pre-rendered shades and then flats.

Side note: If anyone cares I've gone through the majority of the star wars movies and I'm now on to Etho's s2 of his lets play series. I'm currently on episode 122 and or 17.

Another side note: Yes the little lines on his right pec his inspired from recks au Etho. If anyone was wondering. I just really like how that looks.

Also please let me know if you guys enjoy these more rendered pieces or lineart heavy. I like both but rendered takes like 2-3 days if I'm super busy where the lineart ones I can get done closer to a day.

#hermitaday #hermitcraft #hermitcraft fanart #docm77 #docm77 fanart #par art

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3584-tropical-fish · 1 month ago

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Silt verses reference sheets, part two!! This time for Faulkner

My Carpenter reference sheet is here, and some further notes on these are under the cut!

First Image: Whenever i draw season 1 faulkner it does NOT look like him, and i blame his fuckass haircut. my guy did that while looking at his reflection in the river and it looked awful and he doesn't trust anyone else to cut it for him. I do like to imagine that Paige looked at him, immediately recognized that he cut his own hair, and offered to cut it for him at some point during season 1. This probably doesn't work well with the timeline, but it's real to me and i can headcanon what i want.

Second Image: It was fully not intentional on my part that Faulkner's s2 fit would be so reminiscent of my s1 design for Carpenter, but then I realized that was the case and there's no going back now. It fits so well and is very important to me as a detail. I also imagine he doesn't really want to show off that scar he got from the sentinel, because he sees it as a failure, so he wears the turtleneck, Also, it's practical, because it's probably cold up in those mountains.

I was going back and forth for a bit on how much Mercer fucked up Faulkner's face when she beat him up at the end of season 2. I might alter my design for him so that she fully gives him a broken nose, because she did hit him A Lot. I also don't know how much the glass would leave a mark, but I like the idea of him having very small scars on his hands from the mirror glass for the rest of the series.

I'll make a note here about my thoughts on the fishhooks now, because I've decided I like the thought of them being awarded for successful pilgrimages/other religious victories. Where you get the piercing probably also matters, because fishhooks are also used to mark sacrifices, but it's a concept I want to play around with more. We'll see where I go with this.

Third Image: No particular notes on that first drawing, and honestly not a lot of notes on the high prophet fit either, since that one is basically my closest interpretation of what's stated in text. I liked the idea of his shoes being replaced with less practical, but better looking shoes. or maybe not since shoes dont exist anymore. tragic

Also, I imagine the cope is very very intricately embroidered. I didn't know how to get that across with the scale I was working with, but trust me. I also like the though that on the shoulders, the whole face is depicted, but you can't see most of it because it's covered by that outer shawl-like thing. The shawl/poncho shape has kinda become a staple of Parish fits, so I think I'm going to keep rolling with it. In the second drawing of the second image, you kinda get that shape with his sleeves, and his cassock also has that going on at the top of the sleeves. I don't know, it's something.

I may or may not be missing injuries on my little injuries diagram, but I'm pretty confident ive got the important ones. I did eventually settle on Mercer not breaking his nose (for now at least), but i did like the thought of her knocking out or cracking one of his teeth, like he did to Carpenter in the season 1 finale. cycles of violence or something.

#the silt verses #tsv #brother faulkner #faulkner tsv #tw blood #tw injury #I’ve been working on these off and on for AGES I’m so glad they’re done #Paige is up next I think!!#also my faulkner design might still be fiddled with #I think some of these seem more accurate than others and I’m trying to figure out what I did there #also hopefullyyyy I didn’t miss any major injuries? I was going back and forth on whether Mercer managed to break his nose #fish’s-art #oh my god if this doesn’t show up in the tags I’m going to LOSE IT

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arcanecor3 · 16 days ago

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Sister parallels.

Okay so, this is me trying my best to explain my view of the parallel between these 2 scenes

Firstly, a little thing to keep in mind is that in this parallel, s2 Cait represents s1 Vi and s2 Vi represents Powder

A big fight just happened, s1’s was the Vander rescue mission and s2’s was find Jinx, and both ended up going wrong because of someone who was supposed to help (Powder; s2Vi). After everything goes down at the s1 warehouse, we see Vi screaming and she is angry (i’ll come back to that later), and then Powder shows up with the “my monkey bomb finally worked” line we all know, and on s2 we have Caitlyn being the angry one because Vi didn’t let her shoot.

a little parallel with the lines:

“you did this?”-s1vi to powder

“you stopped me”-s2cait to vi

“i was saving you”-powder to s1vi

“that was a kid! what if you missed?”- s2vi to cait

Now, both s1 Vi and s2 Cait are blinded by anger and grief, so even tho the other person (Powder; s2vi) is explaining themselves (in Powder’s case it wasn’t the greatest explanation, but she does states that it was an accident, and s2 Vi was being rational), they don’t really listen because of all the anger.

then, Vi slaps powder, making her fall, and that’s when Powder desperately asks: “why did you leave me?” to which Vi answers: “because you’re a jinx! do you hear me? mylo was right". Now on s2, basically the same thing happens, just in a different order: s2 Cait says: “I keep telling myself that you’re different. but you’re not. it’s her (Jinx’s) blood that runs in your veins”, then Vi asks her: “then why are you the one acting like her?” and Caitlyn hits vi, knocking her to the ground. AND IN S2 WE EVEN GET A SHOT OF ANGRY CAITLYN LOOKING AT VI CRYING, JUST LIKE S1 VI LOOKED ANGRY AT POWDER CRYING. LIKE HOW SICK AND TWISTED IS THAT.

Then both s1 Vi and s2 Cait walk away, leaving the other one crying alone on the floor.

The thing is that crying is the exactly what we expect from Powder, since that’s how she was during the entire scene, because that’s how her character is. but not Vi. Because during the entire of the s2 scene vi wasn’t actually crying, in fact, Vi barely cries in the whole show, the only time we see her actually sobbing is during the bridge scene from s1e1, when she saw her dead parents. And since then, she has trained and fought to become a person who can protect those she loves. And even when everything goes down at the s1 warehouse, we only get to see her a glimpse of her crying before she tried to go back to powder, but she’s mainly angry, that’s the way Vi usually reacts to these situations. She gets angry. And she tries to do everything in her power to go after who hurt her/the people she loves.

But this s2 scene is different. She simply has nowhere to go. Once again, she lost everything. Her family? dead. you might argue there’s Jinx but as Vi herself said: “my sister is gone”. the last person she had was Caitlyn, and she left, and Vi now feels like she ruined everything again, because that’s how she is, she burdens herself with the guilt and blames herself. So when you see Vi just, on her knees, crying, it’s just so devastating when you think that she is like that because her life is essentially over. All there’s left to her is cry. Just like Powder in the end of s1e3, s2e3 Vi lost everyone.

But that’s when the parallel ends, because it’s when Powder was in that desperate state that silco came, and even though his character divides opinions, you can’t deny that he took care of and loved Powder (who became Jinx).

Vi doesn’t have anyone to come and save her, to wipe away her tears like she had done so many times before for Caitlyn and before that for Powder. She is alone.

thank you to whoever read this entire thing for contributing to my arcane obsession, and shoutout to my amazing friend who helped me put this together @crzytoogetherr 🥰🥰

#arcane #parallels #jinx arcane #vi arcane #caitvi #violyn #caitlyn kiramman #caitlyn arcane #jinx league of legends #league of legends #vi league of legends #oh my god i’m crying #who’s idea was to do this.#MY POOR BABY VI ☹️☹️#arcane s2 #arcane season 2 #arcane league of legends

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dandylovesturtles · 8 months ago

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I should be asleep lol

Immediately post-S2

———

Donnie grew up in the sewers, so maybe he has no room to judge, but Draxum’s apartment is pretty terrible.

The first night - after they defeated Shredder, with their home so destroyed they couldn’t return, Draxum had (only a little begrudgingly) offered them a place to stay - Donnie had been so tired he hadn’t given it a second thought. He’d collapsed in the nest of blankets and sleeping bags they’d made and slept blissfully through the night. He learned the next morning that Raph had not gotten much sleep at all, too keyed up and full of adrenaline, but the rest of them had conked out immediately.

The second night, Raph had joined them in sawing logs. And they’d all slept soundly through the third night, too. But now it’s night four, and Donnie’s finally well-rested enough to realize that everything is very wrong.

The sheets are a different texture. The thermostat is set too low. The ambient sounds of the apartment building are not the ambient sounds of the sewer.

His dad’s snores from the couch and Raph’s deep rumble are familiar, at least. Both of them are out, Splinter the first to fall asleep that evening in front of Draxum’s crummy TV. Even Leo is asleep again, his insomnia yet to rear its ugly head, and Donnie can’t help but be a little jealous.

And of course, Mikey can sleep anywhere and anytime, so Donnie knows without even looking that he’s asleep. It’s just Donnie awake, then, staring at the ceiling and trying to will away the persistent itch of incorrectness.

At least, that’s what Donnie was thinking, until he hears a distinct sniffling noise from the pile of sheets that is his little brother.

Donnie goes as still and quiet as he can, listening closely. Maybe he just misheard? No, but that was definitely another sniffle… and the mound of sheets is quivering, now.

Mikey is crying. Donnie’s little brother is crying, and he may not be the one who usually handles these things, but Donnie is still a big brother, and more importantly he is the big brother who is awake.

He sits up, blanket draped around his shoulders, and carefully scoots himself around Leo’s tangle of limbs. Then he flops down next to Mikey’s mound, reaching out to lay a hand on top.

“Mikey?” he whispers.

There’s some shuffling, and then Mikey’s face peeks out from under his sheets. His eyes are wet, visible even in the dim light of the room, and he keeps snorting. Donnie makes a gallant effort not to flinch at the sound.

“Dee?” Another sniffle. “Did I wake you up?”

“No, I was already awake.” He rubs at the mound, for all the good it will do. “Are you okay?”

Mikey snorts hard, then blinks furiously to banish his tears. It doesn’t work. “I’m fine,” he insists, but it comes out hoarse and stuffy.

Donnie holds up a finger, then pushes himself to his feet. He pads across the apartment to the coffee table they’d shoved aside to make room and retrieves a box of tissues that he brings back, setting it pointedly in front of Mikey.

Finally, Mikey sits up, letting the sheets pool around him. He pulls out two tissues and blows his nose as quietly as he can - it’s still pretty loud, but Splinter’s snoring covers it up.

“Thanks,” he whispers once he’s done, tossing the balled up tissues to the side. Donnie pointedly ignores them (no matter how gross) and focuses on the matter at hand.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, not giving Mikey an out this time.

Mikey chews his lip. “It’s just… hitting me finally, I guess.”

Donnie tilts his head. “What is?”

“That… that the lair’s really gone. That we’re not going back.” New tears spring to his eyes, and Mikey grabs another tissue. “It’s just… I mean, we saw it yesterday, but… I don’t know. It’s l-like I didn’t really g-get it until right now.”

His voice is wobbling hard by the end. He chokes off a sob, rubbing his nose furiously with the tissue. Donnie knows that there’s definitely snot on Mikey’s fingers and probably his arms, too, but he can’t watch this anymore. He offers Mikey a hug, his arms barely open a second before Mikey is throwing himself into it.

As Mikey holds onto him and cries, Donnie thinks about the day before (well, really the day before the day before - it’s after three AM, now). They’d gone to the lair, to see what they could salvage. Everyone had been subdued; even Leo wasn’t managing to joke like he normally would. Only Mikey was still upbeat, able to see the silver lining in every cloud, cheering over every item they found that was still intact enough to bring with them, encouraging them to come back later and look for more.

Maybe they’d been a little too complacent that Mikey was going to be okay, after all that. But of course he isn’t; he loves their home as much as the rest. Sewers and all.

“We’re homeless, aren’t we?” asks Mikey after a minute or two. Donnie hasn’t really thought of it like that, but now that Mikey has said it, he knows he can’t refute it.

“In the technical sense, yes,” he says, and regrets it when Mikey bursts into a fresh round of tears. For the first time in his life, he abhors technical correctness.

But while it may be correct in the technical sense, what about other senses?

Donnie pulls Mikey down onto the sleeping bag, then works the sheets and his blanket over the both of them. Finally, he snakes a hand around to grab another fistful of tissues for Mikey, passing them over without dislodging Mikey from his hug.

“Do you know what I think Dr. Feelings would say, if he were here?” Donnie asks, once they’re both settled.

Mikey blows his nose again, then peers up at Donnie. “What?”

“I think he would say that home is where the heart is. As long as you’re with me, and Leo and Raph and Dad, you can’t be homeless.”

He delivers this with a great amount of conviction, so he can’t help but be a smidge irritated when Mikey laughs.

“Hey! I’m trying to help!”

“I know!” Mikey giggles, burying his face against Donnie’s plastron and lightly head butting into his chin. “That was a really great Dr. Feelings, Dee. Thank you.”

“…Hm, well, I was just passing along his recommendation.”

Mikey hums. There’s still a bit of a wheeze from breathing through a stuffy nose, but he sounds like he’s stopped crying.

“Hey, Donnie?”

“Yeah?”

“Love ya.”

“I love you, too.”

Sleep doesn’t find Donnie that night. But it finds Mikey, and he considers that a win.

#rottmnt #dandy fanfiction #rise Donnie #rise mikey

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writersblockedx · 1 year ago

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Dependency Problem

Pairing - Conrad Fisher x Fem!Reader Summary - When you return to Cousins this year, you find that Conrad has picked up similar bad habits you once had. Warnings - Use of drugs and alcohol, good bit of angst, NO SPOILERS FOR S2 Words - 2.6k

A/n - Possible part two if people want? Let me know!

Masterlist

Every Summer was spent in Cousins. And every Summer, it was spent with the Fisher and Conklin clan. It was always refreshing, that slow drive back up to the house. The air was sprinkled with salt and the skies seemed always clear, a blue-painted ceiling that you could bathe in all day if you so pleased. But, the most important part of the drive was the reunion.

To see them little differences that had changed in everyone in between the last ten months. For Susannah, she had chopped a good bit of her hair off as her golden locks hung close to her shoulders. Laurel had started wearing less make-up, settling into a more comfortability with herself. Your mom had been the opposite, she was experimenting with makeup and style like she was a teen again; you blamed it on a midlife crisis. Belly had hit puberty, no longer plagued by a pair of glasses. Steven even more relaxed that he had been the year prior, and slightly taller. Jere's hair had grown, giving his curls the space to spiral over his forehead. And then there was Conrad - you noticed it instantly.

It was a familiar essence that was loitering over him. The unironed hoodie he had crowded his more lean figure into. His eyes were dragged down by the black bags, irritated with patches of red within the whites of his eyes. His posture was low, tired, aching. And his expression, while uplifted with a smile of welcome, was a facade. You caught it in a moment.

"Finally!" Jeremiah called as he rushed over to his friends, capturing Steven in a bro-hug first, then Belly and leaving you for last. "Good to have you back." He told you as his head sat on your shoulder before pulling away.

From there, you met Conrad's gaze.

You ignored the way your heart felt heavy. You weren't sure what had happened between now and when you had last said goodbye, but you felt far than enough sympathy. "Hi," You breathed, trying to not let out your surprise at the changes the boy had made.

He greeted you in reply with a, "It's good to see you." And took you into an embrace. It was loose and short-lived, leaving you desperate for more once he finally pulled away.

As the first day back went on, it soon all started coming out. Conrad had left football, barely sailed anymore and, as of this moment, wasn't doing anything at all. Compared to Steven and Jere who already had part-time jobs lined up. Something was wrong and you were beginning to wonder about would you could do. Such was confirmed after dinner came to an end. The boys rushed to play video games and Belly went upstairs to catch up with her friend, Taylor.

Which left you and the mums, clearing up the plates from the dining room table and taking them into the kitchen to be washed. For a moment, you stood alone at the kitchen sink while the others grabbed what was left at the table. And there, your eyes wandered to the window which looked upon the pool. There sat Conrad, legs dangling in the flickering water that reflected the moonlight. His eyes were down, his back facing you but even so you caught the cig he placed between his lips, lighting it and letting his lungs inhale the smoke.

It was there you felt that sympathy, that desperation with the lingering feeling of betrayal. The same exact thing Conrad had felt all of last Summer; it was a role reversal.

"He could really use you right now, you know?" That sweet voice almost made you jump.

A part of you felt flushed as you turned to face Susannah who was standing in the doorway; you'd just been caught staring at her son. "Hmm?" You resulted in responding.

The blonde let a smile grace her lips for a moment, "You two bring out the best in each other." She stated like the wise woman she was. "I think he could really use that right now."

You nodded in understanding, "I'll talk to him." That was a promise.

Once the table was cleaned up, the moms travelled towards the living room, wine glasses and blankets in hand. It hadn't taken them very long to get comfy as they switched the tv on. Though, it was made for only background noise, as their chatter rose above it. It left you with that nagging curiosity, the question that you hadn't stopped asking yourself since you had arrived: what had changed?

Before you could stop yourself, your feet were dragging you to the outside, where Conrad had thought nobody was watching. He didn't care enough to jolt when he heard the back door rattle open. Rather, he simply turned his head and huffed before looking back at the pool and the joint in his hand.

You didn't say anything. Not for at least two minutes as you occupied the space next to him, dipping your bare legs into the water below, almost close enough they could brush along Conrad's. "Theres about a hundred things I could repeat that you told me last year." You didn't look at him when you spoke, you didn't dare glance at the expression you were sure painted his face.

"But you're not going to?" He questioned, brows raised, plucking at his never-ending wonder when it came to the girl he had grown up beside.

You shrugged, swallowed the lump that was growing in your throat and finally looked over at the boy you had known since childhood. "What's the point?" You said, almost with a laugh you ended up suppressing. "You know it's not good, you know everything wrong with it. You're making the decision to do it anyway."

His expression was blank. It didn't seem as if there were many thoughts being processed. "Then what are you doing sat here?" There was a snap in his tone, a way to protect his bad habits from any helping hands.

The answer for you was simple: "Because I care for you, Conrad." As easy as that.

But such statement had prompted an incentive you hadn't meant it to. Rather than something thoughtful in reply, Conrad had started leaning in. You were too close and he was too fast for you to stop it. Within a moment, the sentiment you had just said had been cut off by the boy's lips as he met your own in a deep, yet rushed, kiss.

One hand reached his shoulder, tearing his lips from you. You breathed like you had been gasping for it and looked him in the eye. All that stared back at you was a regret that wasn't fading. "You're high." You reminded him.

"I didn't mean to-" Your other hand took the joint that was still caught between his fingertips. An action which made him shut up as he followed your hands quickly. "What are you-" Once in your grip, you chucked the substance into the pool, making it impossible to smoke again. "What the hell Y/n!"

When you stood, so did he. "Please, just go to bed." You advised him. Though, you highly doubted he would listen. You never did.

"You're not my mother!" His voice rose.

And you didn't step down, "No, but I'm sure she'd tell you the same thing." You took a breath to fight off the fury that was bubbling within the pit of your stomach. "If you can't go the rest of tonight without smoking the rest of that joint, then maybe accept you've got a dependency problem."

He scoffed as he took a step closer. "You can say all you want, I'll just call you what you are: Hypocrite." His tone was laced in more than just a snappy manner, now it was toxic, it wasn't a tone you ever saw Conrad use and it pained your heart to have it aimed at yourself.

You sucked up the tears that were brimming at your eyelids and made your last statement of the night, "What have you turned into?" You left him with that, turning your back before he could spit any more insults your way, making a B-line for your room again.

There, you let the tears fall. You wondered yourself, who had replaced the gentleman, sweet boy you once knew? You wondered if he was okay, if he would go back to normal? Truth being, you couldn't be sure. The year before, Conrad asked himself the same things. You had been just as angry, just as snappy, with a bad temper that could blow at any given moment. It was like living with weights on your back that tired you into a shell of a person until you felt utterly transparent in this world.

You didn't much talk to Conrad after that encounter. To be fair, Conrad hadn't really been talking to anyone other than the odd grunt if you were lucky. It wasn't until Belly's birthday when things got shaky again. This year, the birthday girl had taken the decision for everyone to go to Nicole's party. Nicole who also happened to be Conrad's not-girlfriend.

As much as you lied to yourself, being in her home felt wrong. Being on her territory knowing what Conrad had done two nights prior. The lingering ghost of his lips had never felt more prominent than right in that moment as you stepped foot into her house. You felt guilty being there. And not just because of the kiss, but because you had been yearning for Conrad to kiss you for a long time now. You just hated the fact such a big moment was ruined by the stench of weed on his mouth that soon caught onto your own.

Steven budged your shoulder, "You alright?" He asked, a sweet smile hanging from his lips, breaking you from the oblivious stare you had been making.

You nodded forcefully, "Yeah, yeah I'm good."

Steven wasn't convinced but a feminine voice broke him from his concern, "Steven!" His head spun around and his lips twisted even further upright like a Cheshire cat.

"Shayla." And like that, the boy was gone.

With a sigh, you followed in Taylor's footsteps to get a drink. She filled herself a cup of some red beverage and then grabbed one for you too. She huffed and you watched as her eyebrows raised, "Well look how quickly we've been forgotten." You would have been annoyed if she hadn't been right. Belly had left her for Nicole as had Conrad left you for her too.

You raised your red solo cup, "Cheers to that." Your tone was flat but Taylor clinked your cup anyway.

You weren't sure what the night had planned, but you could tell something was brewing.

Three or four hours later, a good few drinks down (you had lost count) and you were on the hunt for another one. The night was still lively, music blaring through the house, struggling against the volume of eccentric, drunk teenagers. When you reached the kitchen, you became hungry for something that wasn't tequila and juice. Thinking the kitchen was empty, you waltzed in. Only then to find yourself face-to-face with the one person you were avoiding.

You came to an abrupt stop as your gaze clung to one another. He was leant against one of the counters, his own glass in his hand, so casual in his checkered shirt and wavy hair. A thousand pictures ran through your head. You almost became nervous that Conrad could see you replaying that kiss in your mind. It was all you had been able to think about all night with the booze and having him dancing around you all night.

It took resilience for you to tear your eyes from him as you continued around the kitchen, searching the cupboards for something that suited your tastes better. It took a minute of you shuffling through cereal boxes and plates before Conrad spoke up. "Top right." He nodded to the cupboard he was talking about and you dared to catch a glimpse of him.

You nodded and pushed yourself from the floor to your tip toes as you opened the cupboard. A selection faced you of liquors and beers. You took the bottle of your choice and poured it into your red solo cup. Conrad didn't let his eyes leave you. "You're not gonna say anything this time?" He pushed.

You thought about whether it was best to reply or whether he was just picking another argument. "Why? So you can yell at me?" You raised your brow at him, and let your hip fall to lean on the counter as you faced Conrad, a good three meters between the two of you. But you cut it short, taking a step as your eyes narrowed with your next words, "Or so you can kiss me again?"

As if he were scared of the very word, he stepped from the counter, "Don't-" His finger was lingering towards you as he bit down on his tongue.

"What? Scared your girlfriend's gonna overhear it?"

"She's not- my girlfriend." He almost couldn't say it. "I didn't mean to do that." Once again, you found you lied to yourself thinking you weren't hurt by that fact.

You swallowed that pain and looked him right in the eye, "I'm not gonna argue with you if that's what you want. But, if you ever just want to talk, you know where I am."

You stared at him, waiting, willing, for him to say something. To do as you had offered and talk to you like a human being, to open up about whatever was driving him to make all these reckless decisions. The moment fell and you realised he wasn't going to say anything. You accepted it and went to leave, "Okay, I'll see you around Conrad." Said so disinterested.

You were almost out the door when his voice stopped you again, "Wait." It was hesitant but, somehow it was sure it was the right decision to make. When you met his eyes, they were like a child's. Somehow filled once more with innocence, but mostly, desperation. "I don't wanna talk, I just-" His gaze flickered to the floor for a second. "I just want you to be there...please." This time, he was the one on the edge of tears.

Once that left his mouth, you were in front of him, taking him into your embrace. He had never hung on so tightly to you like he didn't dare let go like you were keeping him afloat. Partway through the hug, you heard him sniffle, causing you to rub his back. "It's okay," You soothed. "It's okay."

"Conrad?" The voice cut through your's and Conrad's bubble like a blade.

You spilt from one another, turning to the doorway to find Nicole standing there. There was a familiar look on her face; the same one you had been wearing all night. You could only imagine what she must have been thinking.

Nicole left, taking half the girls with her. And, not long after, so did you and Conrad. Maybe you were drunk and he was drunk, or high, or both, but it didn't matter. He had let that shell open only slightly and because he had asked for you to be there, you would be. That night, you found yourself in his bed, soothing him as he fell asleep in the crook of your neck. It pained you to see him with the same habits you had once plagued yourself with. And, as tonight had shown, it had only gained him consequences. Ones of which you would worry about another day. For now, you would be there for him.

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blueikeproductions · 3 months ago

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The Trigger collab animation came out and it’s the best thing Transformers has done in the current decade.

Truly a love letter to Transformers from G1 to EarthSpark, it squeezes in everything it possibly can from most media. However the catch is that it’s only animated media and the live action movies, the comics (any assorted manga, Marvel, Dreamwave, IDW & Skybound) aren’t referenced, while some Japanese exclusive stuff gets a lil’ bit more attention (understandable since it’s, y’know, Japanese fans being nostalgic about the anime they grew up with).

Transformers Go, Q-Transformers, and the Beast Wars anime got particular attention.

This shot of Liger Megatron and Green Lion Lio Convoy is especially cool.

I think initially I was expecting a Trigger animated greatest hits from select moments from each show, and while they still technically do that in spots…

It’s mostly a mega crossover with different characters interacting otherwise.

And it’s all the better for it.

I mean where else are you gonna find TFA Optimus about to smash Masterforce Overlord’s face in?

There’s no real narrative, it’s just random cool shots though the closest thing to a framing device is the PV opening with Vector Prime looking down on Cybertron across all time lines.

Regarding EarthSpark’s contributions to the short, they’re minimal. The Terrans and Mandroid don’t appear at all, which is a little bizarre.

ES Megatron appears among the other Decepticon leaders instead of being with ES Optimus on the Autobot leader side.

You’d think Mandroid would be there next to BWII Galvatron instead, but I guess not. Sadly they omitted RiD15 Steeljaw too, instead using RiD15 Megatronus Prime’s floating head.

SatAM Robotnik voice: Ah well, life is not perfect.

The main ES rep are the Maltos.

This just reinforces ES needed to be 2D, because they actually look good. Roche’s style doesn’t work in 3D.

Anyway the human cast they chose for this final shot amuses me.

Love seeing my favorite Clays being included. The lack of RiD Steeljaw (G1 Steeljaw did appear with Lio Junior and RiD15 Aerobolt though) is forgiven.

Anyhow, the specific use of the Clays, the (S3) Witwickys, the Maltos and the Onishis (this is especially funny since Koji’s mom never met her universe’s Optimus) is somehow very random, but also kinda appropriate. Like I get Spike and Dot’s families, since it serves as bookends, but the Clays and Onishis still feel a bit random. Still, including both Robots in Disguise families is a nice touch in my book!

The short ends with a different bookend as mentioned.

What starts out as G1 Prime & Megs transitions to ES Prime & Megs shaking hands. The old with the current series. It works~! I admit I’m surprised they didn’t include TFONE somehow. I know it’s technically not out yet, but there’s enough material to have had Orion and D-16 have some kind of tussle. It would’ve been an interesting way to tie it into the above scene and this one:

When it comes to general rep, the stuff that gets the most focus is G1, Beast Wars, Animated, & Galaxy Force. Cyberverse doesn’t really get anything beyond the leader shot, but there is this awesome but very random shot of Croaton over looking Holi’s Rescue Patrol walking on a beach littered with the dead bodies of the generic Decepticons from “War Dawn”.

Sucks to be you guys.

It also occurs to me the Rescue Bots cartoons appear to be omitted along with BotBots, but that might partly be due to them not having Japanese releases? I’m not sure, but it’s funny how Q-Transformers is acknowledged of all things, but not Heatwave or Burgertron. Maaaaybe that’s for the best on the later…

Still the PV is a blast and is pry the most earnest passion project that GETS Transformers vs what we’ve been getting post Aligned cartoon wise.

I still hope this leads to a proper TF anime series made by Trigger, like what happened with Gridman. We need a return to good 2D animated TF shows and not more CGI slop like WFC or S2 ES. That Beast Wars and Machines are still superior despite being retro by today’s standards says something…

The catch however is the original video is region locked…

but some fans have ripped it and posted it on their YT:

youtube

So go check it out while you can! It’s pure Energon-y goodness!

#maccadam #transformers #blueike #blueike productions #studio trigger #Youtube

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marvel-starwarsfangirl · 4 months ago

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The Impact of Tech's Death: Was it necessary? Was it in vain? Why did Tech have to die?

Disclaimer: This will be a very emotion fueled rant and I'm sorry if my personal feelings get in the way. I love my boys, but there are times when I just sit there and shake my head. I do my best to understand their circumstances, but sometimes the Crosshair girlie in me really can't make sense of things.

The short answer: NO, it wasn't necessary. With S3 now behind us and my rewatch of S2 at its conclusion, it hit me just how little weight Tech's death had on the overall plot.

Let's breakdown the finale a bit:

The lead up: Tech found out that his long-lost brother Crosshair was captured by the Empire and sent to a shady place where no good was to come. He also discovers that Crosshair sent a distress message, warning his brothers to hide. Realizing that Crosshair was in danger, Tech decided to rally the others on a mission to find and track Hemlock's ship, hoping it would lead him back to his brother. The mission is a complete failure, with Tech being forced to sacrifice himself in order to save his family.

The Aftermath: the Batch is discovered by Hemlock, Omega is captured, Hunter cuts his losses, and Crosshair remains a prisoner

Here's the part that really messed with me: Tech's death DID NOT affect Hemlock's capture of Omega and it DID NOT change the ability to track the ship. The only impact it had was that Hunter decided to cut his losses and pull an early retirement. And even when Hunter is like "we're going to get Omega back," he doesn't mention Crosshair once.

Tech died to save Crosshair. Period.

(and the others I know, but this mission wouldn't have happened if Cross wasn't in trouble)

Which brings us to S3 where Tech is hardly mentioned, Crosshair himself is never shown on-screen learning of what happened, and there is no moment where anyone (except maybe Cross) processes their feelings about it. Why kill off a beloved character when their demise has almost no impact on anything? The only thing it really impacts is the speed of which things get done and Crosshair's mental health. It makes no sense. I think there was an interview where DBB said they tried to keep Tech alive, but couldn't write a script where that was the case. Ok? Then go back and talk some more about the plot. Or if you can't avoid killing him off, then show the characters processing it or why Tech's death mattered. The cynical side of me says Tech died in vain. I'm being brutally honest here. Tech could've survived and Cid would still sell out the Batch and Saw's detonators would still destroy the ship and tracker. From a story POV, it's pretty bad when a main character's death barely leaves an impact.

In CW, Fives' death enabled Rex and Ahsoka (and Maul by extension) to all survive Order 66. Satine's death led to Mandalore being thrown into chaos, thus leading to the Siege of Mandalore.

In Rebels, Kanan's death crippled Thrawn's Tie-defender project, made Pryce look bad, and taught Ezra important lessons about sacrifice. For Hera, we got to see her grieve the loss of her lover. Kanan's death mattered. Also, the buildup to Kanan's sacrifice was him becoming Caleb Dume again after everything he went through.

The buildup to Tech's death was great too because it was about the Batch trying to find Crosshair. And while the mission is a failure, it showed that they were willing to go back for someone they lost. They hadn't given up on him. But everything after falls pretty flat and only makes Tech's death even sadder.

Why did Tech have to die? Because he probably would've found Tantiss a lot quicker than everyone else. I really think that's the case and that's pretty bad writing if you ask me. I still love TBB immensely, but I'm willing to call it out when it falls short.

It also really pisses me off as a Crosshair fan that Hunter just completely throws him under the bus. I will let my biases speak for me because it really bothers me and I'm sorry if you disagree. I value your opinion too. I don't know if Hunter subconsciously blamed Crosshair for Tech's demise, but I would've felt a whole lot better if he decided to honor Tech's wish of saving him. Hunter was always going to go after Omega, so why not add Crosshair to the mix? Was it because he still thought Crosshair could be lying? I understand cutting his losses in the moment due to the pain of losing Tech. I get that 100%. But after, he just doesn't bother to think about Crosshair. Would he even have gone after Crosshair if the original last-minute retirement plan came to fruition? Crosshair suffered immensely and who knows what would've happened if he just got left there with no one coming for him. Tech was the only one who supported Operation: Rescue Crosshair. No one else suggested that idea except him. (I know Omega also supports it, but I'm talking about the boys). Yes, I know I'm being harsh and perhaps unfair, but it hurts ok? I know Hunter has no clue what's going on with Crosshair.

But here's why it bothers me so much outside of Crosshair getting the short end of the stick again: It makes Tech's death feel even more in vain because the reason for why Tech died is just forgotten about.

Let that sink in. Tech's death doesn't leave ANY lasting impact on the plot post-incident.

It makes even more frustrated and just heartbroken because of how cruel and unfair losing Tech really was. Had we gotten more time of the Batch processing emotions or taking something meaningful away from it, then that's different. But no. That's not what we got and I am heartbroken by it. At minimum, we should've gotten one scene in S3 where Crosshair (or anyone really) talks about it in a meaningful way. (No, "CF99 died with Tech" doesn't count). Yes, Tech's legacy can be seen through Omega's actions but that's not enough.

All and all, the only real weight Tech's death had was on Crosshair's mental health. And even then, it's only implied instead of said straight out. If Tech hadn't died, then Crosshair probably wouldn't have decided to enact Plan 99. (Or he would've due to other reasons).

In conclusion: Tech never had to die nor should he have died.

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb crosshair #tbb omega #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #tbb meta

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warblogs17282 · 1 month ago

Text

Still thinking about the Truth Seekers line where Loona said,

"Blitzo was using a total of zero euphemisms, innuendos, or swears. That means it was serious, which means I don't open it until--"

And now, I'm thinking about all the different emotional and heavy-hitting moments from Blitz, but from the lens of that statement, and I'd like to explore that in a little more depth.

Because I feel like looking through some key moments of Blitz through the lens of that statement helps to add another layer of depth to what Blitz has been saying.

S2 E9:

Blitzo: No, I just- This was the final stop on the apology tour I've been on today.

Stolas: Oh, yes, I recall. Everyone but me is getting your cheap apologies tonight, hm? Well, you certainly have your work cut out for you.

Blitzo: Look, how I acted this morning... It was fucked, okay?

Stolas: This morning? Ugh, why did you show up there? Why'd you show up here?

Blitzo: You already asked that, but look, I-I just really need to... To talk to you, to- to explain.

Stolas: Oh?

Blitzo: I've always been real shit at sorries, 'kay? They're for pussies and no one fuckin' deserves them anyway, but I felt maybe you actually needed one.

Stolas: Ooh, lucky me!

Blitzo: Oh, shit. Okay, what I mean is, I said sorry a lot today and, honestly, didn't really mean any of it. Because the only one I wanted to say it to... Was you, Stolas. I just... This whole thing we had going... I'm- I mean you're a fucking prince. How could you ever actually care for an imp... Me? How could anybody?

Stolas: Blitzo. There is a crowd full of people here, who cared so much, they'd throw an entire fucking party about hating you, every year! Do you know how much you have to care to do something as stupid as that?

Blitzo: Stolas, you are better off without me. 'Kay? You deserve so much... I don't even know why you would want to be with me.

'I mean you're a fucking prince.' Blitz is technically correct here, but if we consider the Truth Seekers statement, I believe it tells us that Blitz, at least subconsciously, sees Stolas as more than just a prince during this scene, he sees Stolas the man here, not just Stolas the prince. And honestly, that probably makes it hurt more to Blitz, since he's still in disbelief/denial that Stolas has these feelings for him at this point.

Especially considering what it's followed up with, which I'd like to mention doesn't have a single swear word in it whatsoever, telling us even more just how sincere Blitz is when he said that final line.

Verosika: How do you think I felt? When the fun guy I was dating decided to just bail on me because I made the shitty mistake of saying I love... Ugh! It was the most embarrassing feeling. To be vulnerable for once and... you really just know how to send a message in the shittiest, fucking way.

Verosika: The worst part is you still make me feel like a bad person for being angry at you now.

Verosika: But, hosting this party, for everyone else you've dicked over? At least I can help others cope with the shit you did. What? No snarky comeback?

Blitzo: No. You're right. I actually am, ya' know... sorry. I-I don't want to be this way. Not forever.

Verosika: Looks like Stolas is having a good time.

Blitzo: Yeah, well. He needs it.

Again, just pay attention to the fact that Blitz didn't swear once during the part of the conversation I just showed, showing once again even more just how sincere Blitz is being here, to not be the way he is forever, to let Stolas have his good time at the party.

S2 E8:

Blitzo: What?! FUCK you, Stolas! You spring this feelings bullshit on me, are you fucking kidding? Can I get a FUCKING minute to think after everything you put me through, you pompous, rich ASSHOLE?!

Blitzo: Treat me like one of your little butler imps?! You can't just dismiss me like that! I mean, you royal fucks think you can do this EVERY TIME, like you can just play with our feelings because we're smaller and not as IMPORTANT! Well, I'm not letting you, BITCH! LET'S GO!

Stolas: Blitzo... I think so very highly of you... I didn't realize you think so low of me...

Blitzo: Stolas, wait! I'm s-

You know, the amount of swearing in that part of the episode tells me something, that what Blitz said during the peak of his outburst was exaggerated a little. Does Blitz make some completely valid points during that outburst? Yes. Is what Blitz said during said outburst a bit exaggerated because he was in the heat of the moment? Yes. Both of these can coexist, and I do completely understand why Blitz said what he said during that argument. (I'm not choosing a side on who was in the wrong in the full moon argument here, btw)

And, the lack of swearing when the realisation hits to Blitz of what he's just done, right as he tries to apologise to Stolas just further tells me that Blitz did genuinely mean that 'I'm sorry', he said right before Stolas teleported Blitz out.

S1 E8:

Blitzo: Fuck, Fizz was right. I'm gonna die alone, aren't I? Just a wrinkly, old, withered, waste. Will you be there, Loonie?

Loona: Be...where?

Blitzo: I dunno, jus- ...lonely... Die alone...

Loona: I'll be there, Dad.

Loona: Now go the fuck to sleep... okay?

Blitzo: Millie... Moxxie... Stolas...

Again, pay attention to the lack of swearing in that part of the conversation, minus one 'fuck' at the start of it, it just adds to showing us just how raw and genuine Blitz's emotions are during this scene, showing us that Blitz genuinely believes that he's gonna die alone, and also showing us just how much Blitz still cares about Fizzarolli, Loona, Millie, Moxxie and Syolas.

S1 E7:

Stolas: You know, I have some more wine in the house. Octavia's with her mother this weekend. So, we could--

Blitzo: I'm not fucking you tonight, okay? I'm really just I'm really not in the mood, Stolas.

Stolas: We could talk, or... watch a movie, or... maybe cuddle?

Blitzo: Stolas, don't act like what we have is anything but you wanting me to fuck you, okay? You make that really clear all the time. But, I just, I-I can't do it tonight, okay?

Blitzo: I'm sorry.

Stolas: Okay. Goodnight, Blitzo.

Blitzo: Night.

What I find interesting here is that the two times the word 'fuck' is used throughout this scene, it's used to replace the word 'sex', so thinking about this scene through the lens of that statement, it shows us even more just how much Blitz believes in what he's saying, especially when he says "Stolas, don't act like what we have is anything but you wanting me to fuck you, okay? You make that really clear all the time."

Finally, S1 E6:

Moxxie: Do you remember what you said to me after my first day with the company?

Blitzo: ...Not really.

Moxxie: I remember. You told me I did a good job and that you were proud to work with me. I feel like you wanted to say something more judgmental, but... you said that because I needed it... And it helped.

Blitzo: Look, I'm hard on you, because I know what you're capable of, Mox. You care too much about what everyone thinks except for... me, because, y'know, my opinion is correct, but just... keep doing a good job. 'Kay? You shoot 'n kill good, you escape things easy... you can be strategic and cold-blooded when you need to, aaaand don't expect any more compliments; I'm maxed out.

Moxxie: Thank you, sir.

Blitzo: You know my name... Use it.

Moxxie: Thanks, Blitzo.

No euphemisms, innuendos or swears, showing us that when Blitz was talking to Moxxie in this scene, that he was 100% being serious in what he said.

So in conclusion: I have shown multiple examples where if you think about them through the lens of the statement "Blitzo was using a total of zero euphemisms, innuendos, or swears. That means it was serious, which means I don't open it until--", you start to see more depth within those examples I have shown in this post.

#helluva boss #blitzø #blitzo #stolas #stolitz #helluva boss stolas #moxxie helluva boss #helluva boss verosika

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echobx · 6 months ago

Note

Protective!Rafe

Rafe saves reader when her dad hurts her in public and he drives her home back to his and looks after her, he cleans her cuts and she kisses him. The shower and cuddle together!

Don't hurt her or else... - Rafe Cameron × fem!reader

warnings: angst, hitting, talk about abuse, fluff, spicy talk, making out

word count: 1.2k

author's note: I tried to dabble in the post!season3 Rafe a bit, because I got so much hope for him to get better. (although I don't mind s2!Rafe either)

“That's how you're treating me? You're a brat, y/n!” your dad screams at you, and before you can brace yourself his hand meets your cheek. Your skin burns and tears threaten to stream down your face, but you are trying your best to not falter.

To your surprise, he doesn't swing out for a second hit and instead composes himself as if nothing had ever happened. As if he was being watched…

“Mr. y/l/n, if you don't take a step away from your daughter I'm gonna call security,” someone says from behind you before you feel a hand on your shoulder, his thumb rubbing soft circles on your skin. Your dad takes a step back, clearing his throat.

“Mr. Cameron, this is a family matter. So, if you please-”

“I don't. Leave. Go, before I start thinking about calling the Sheriff,” Rafe hisses at him and your dad takes his leave, but not without shooting you another glare.

It feels like you're finally able to breathe again once your dad is far enough away from you. But as soon as you stop fearing for your life, the pain kicks in. You take your hand up to touch your cheek, but Rafe stops you, wrapping his long fingers around your wrist and turning you around to face him.

“Don't, we gotta clean this first,” he speaks softly, unlike you know him. Well, you don't know him, actually. You never once talked to him, only ever seen him around at the Country Club or at parties.

“I'm not gonna hurt you,” he whispers and smiles.

“You don't scare me,” you whisper back. Somehow you know he would never do to you what your father did, what your father had started doing and kept doing since you were twelve years old.

“Is it okay if I take you home to me? Just to make sure you're alright. Clean that wound, maybe you can call a friend or…”

You shake your head. “I don't really have anyone who I could stay with,” you admit and he nods.

The drive up Tannyhill is quiet, and you're somewhat glad about it. You never liked people asking questions.

“Oh no, that bruise is just ‘cause I'm clumsy.” “I slipped while using a knife.”

You have a thousand lies in your mind, every one as believable as the other. Especially considering how everyone else looks at your dad. The charismatic, wealthy single dad. A guy like him would never hurt his only child, especially his darling daughter that he loves so much. All of it bullshit. None of them have a clue about who he really is, and a part of you is glad they don't, because at least you have enough money to drown your sorrows.

“We're here,” Rafe notes and turns off the engine. He gets out and helps you, guiding you inside and up the stairs into a bathroom.

“Fuck,” you hiss while looking in the mirror. Your father's ring has left a sharp cut on your cheekbone.

“Might leave a cool scar,” Rafe quips and you snort.

“Got more than enough of those.”

“Sit up,” he points at the vanity, and you hop up, letting him clean the cut with a warm, damp washcloth. All the time he takes to patch you up you watch him carefully.

He's handsome, blue eyes, nice jawline, the way he furrows his brows when he concentrates. His lips look soft, and for someone who is still in severe pain you really shouldn't be thinking about what it might be like to kiss him.

“Everything all right?” Rafe asks, and you snap out of it, shaking your head and collecting your thoughts.

“Yes. Yeah. Everything's fine. Thank you,” you mumble and try to get up, but he holds you in place.

“Y/n, I need to know. Does he do this often?” Rafe is whispering, and you try to smile.

“It's not a big deal. You'd think I learned my lesson by now,” you huff a quiet laugh.

“What lesson would that be?”

“To not talk back. To do what I'm told and not what I want,” you reply and his face contorts as if he's in pain over your words.

“I should drive you home and kill him,” Rafe hisses after turning around, his hands tugging at his hair.

“You don't even know me. Why would you risk prison for me?” you ask and he spins around.

“One, I do know you, we went to the same school for a while. Two, because you deserve so much better.” He steps closer again, cupping your face in his large hands, gently holding onto you.

“I never thought anybody noticed me,” you hush.

“I did,” Rafe breathes, his eyes darting down to your lips and a moment later he kisses you. His lips are just as soft as you imagined, and he tastes like lemon cake, which amuses you.

“What?” he chuckles and smiles at you.

“I like lemon cake too,” you giggle, and he kisses you another time, pulling your legs apart to stand in between them.

The soft kisses quickly turn into a sloppy make out session that leaves you both in nothing less than your underwear, but when Rafe looks down at you, he feels almost sorry again.

“Don't look at me like that, please,” you whisper, trying to cover the old bruises and scars with your hands and arms.

“Please, don't hide from me,” Rafe begs quietly. “Look,” he takes his arm up and shows you a burning scar. “I got some too. Not so pretty past here either, shortie.”

“Hey!” you exclaim at the new nickname, but he just laughs and kisses you again. His lips travel down over your neck and farther down, ghosting over every single bruise on your body.

“You didn't have to save me if all you wanted was to fuck me,” you giggle.

“Oh, I'm not fucking you today,” he rasps from below before standing back up and whispering in your ear. “I wanna hear you beg for it, and then I'm still not gonna. At least not today.”

“Who says I'm gonna beg,” you whisper back at him. You take a few steps towards the shower, dropping first your bra and then your slip before walking inside and turning on the steam shower. Rafe follows shortly after, but instead of trying to get a move on you, he's just holding you close.

“What are you doing?” you ask, because you truly have never met a guy who would rather comfort you than fuck you while both of you are completely naked.

“I don't wanna make you feel like I'm using you,” he replies, leaning his head against yours.

“Didn't think you'd be a guy like this. Always thought you were more of a frat bro,” you admit, and he pretends to be offended.

“Oh, that hurt me deeply. How can you think so low of me, y/n?”

“Guess I got that bi-ass,” you giggle, and he kisses the top of your head.

“And she can joke. Impressive.”

Later you find yourself cuddled up next to him, your body covered in nothing more than one of his shirts, which looks huge on your figure. While Rafe has turned on some boring comedy movie to distract your mind. Soothing words and soft kisses slowly lull you into a deep sleep, and you wish you had actually met Rafe sooner.

taglist: @ijustwantttoread @spideysimpossiblegirl @redhead1180 @princessmaybank @kys4-20 @drwstarkeyy @immyowndefender @julczimozart

#rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron x you #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron fluff #obx fanfiction #obx #my writing #outer banks #~fanfiction #~prompt

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shinjisdone · 10 months ago

Text

Two Humans in the Demon Realm - Fantasy And Nightmare

What if by the time Luz Noceda the human emerged into the demon realm...some other human did, too? However, instead of being joyful of being surrounded by all they love and taken in by a kind and openhearted witch...they are terrified of this place, taken in by the ruler of the realm?

[Basically I watched TOH again and dammit HUNTER SHALL HAVE A FRIEND I SAY NOT UNTIL S2 but NOW I SAY NOW]

BECOMING THE GOLDEN GUARD'S/HUNTER'S HUMAN FRIEND BECAUSE I SAID SO

The ground was red.

You swore you heard something akin to a growl from the plants.

The sea seems to be boiling and there is no way out, no matter how much you twist and turn.

There is no escape.

And as your fears turn into reality as raindrops hit your skin and burn your flesh away as you read in the book back home, you run and cry.

This is a nightmare.

This isn't earth. Nowhere this place could be, could be earth!

And if what that book said was true...

There are no humans but just one. From decades ago.

Perhaps you heard of the demon realm - through stories, gossip, theories, relatives that are aware of magic and witchcraft.

Maybe you believed in it, or maybe you thought it'd be humbug. The few magical instances in your life you witnessed - those were just show, right? A trick of the mind?

Or real magic after all.

But it did not matter. The moment you opened your eyes, you were stuck here.

On a rotting, red, boiling island that seemed far, far too familiar in that book you've read. Either out of interest or boredom. Maybe someone wanted to prove it to be real or you wanted to know if it was really fake.

Yet here you are and the smell, touch, sight and taste you sense were accurate to that stupid book.

And if that were the case, then certainly the rest of demons, magic and curses was real, too.

Being all alone in a strange place, stuck in it, is definitely going to be hard for you. No friends, allies or family around with only this stupid, stupid book in your hands that got you trapped here in the first place. As much as you hated it, it did give insight of the many qualities of the isles and therefore saving your skin a dozen times.

"The rain seems to be toxic. I have seen none indulge in its coolness but rather, hide from it. Witch and demon alike."

"The ground is very...solid. Almost bone-like...I do fear the entire island may be nothing but a macabre graveyard."

"I was not quite welcome here...nothing and no one hunted me down but I presume if my curiousity pushes for it, they will begin to."

The impressed yet depressing writing of the author did not help but they always managed to decribe things objectively with great detail that saved you again and again. Especially the pages including magic spells.

The many complicated and confusing glyphs written in it daunted you at first. Magic, you believe, is what got you in this mess in the first place but after careful thinking, procrastination, blocking it all out and finding yourself in a situation that forced you to cast magic - such one that could cost you your life - you've grown to be a bit more accepting of the concept of these...glyphs. Little by little, though.

So after some time, you finally, finally gained enough courage to...enter their society.

The market seemed to be fine for now. Hiding your ears behind a cape and hood YOU HAD TO MAKE YOURSELF USING THIS STUPID BOOK (which actually turned out quite impressive even when you did have to use magic) you entered. Turning into the wrong directions though you ended up in a even sketchier part of the night market.

The constant bellowing of...demons wanting to sell you things was familiar enough from earth (even when their...four eyes and gills decorated from their chin down to their chest where you can...see their heart beating...was a not so familiar sight) but the constant showing off of magic was not. You did not know everything and this (stupid) book did not detail everything either so you did your best to avoid anything magical. Which was harder than imagined considering this is a market for amplifiers and potions and whatnot.

Avoiding it all let you to an dead end of an alley...and right in the middle of a criminal act!

'Wild witches' as they were called and a red light engulfed all of you quickly from above. Figures clad in dark and masks that you recognized as that of guards of this realm appeared, those that you often had to run away from as well. Desperately tugging the book under your cloak you hoped you could use th scuffle to get out of there as fast and quietly as possible. These 'wild witches' and guards could thrash each other as much as they like, you won't stop them!

Yet from above, a cold gale with a flash of gold swept up from behind you, shoving a staff into your face.

"I wouldn't do anything stupid now if I were you."

Damnit!

Fine, the potion you begrudgingly needed three days to make had to come in handy now!

Whisking a flask to the ground, you made a run for it. You could hear coughing and cursing as the vapor ingulfed them, followed soon by another echoing sound before the same golden mask appeared in front of you again.

In a mere blink of an eye, they swung their staff and a biting wind knocked you to the ground. You quickly clung onto your book as the guard rose their staff above their head.

"One more of that trick and you're ash." They lowly let out, "Can't believe there are still wannabees out there that-"

They halt and you freeze, a shiver running up your spine. Even when all they did was stand still as a statue, the very fact that they were clad and gold and white with real, heavy armor and with a staff compared to the local guards around the isles was enough to leave you frightened.

This one means business. It must be.

But what are they? Nowhere are these people ever talked about in the book!

"...Human..."

You jerked up. Even their whispers were threatening.

Slowly but surely, the guard lowered their weapon. Though their face remained hidden by the mask resembling an owl, there was just a feeling, and underlying but undeniable feeling that made your stomach churn that whatever expression they might be having, their intentions are not in your interest.

"You're a human."

Your breath hitches. The cloak had fallen off from their spell, leaving it damp and abandoned further down in the alley. You didn't this would happen, you followed the instructions bit by bit. It felt like time stood still as the person before you hummed.

Finally, they raised their head again. "...You don't want trouble. Surely you don't?"

You shook your head.

"Then you're lucky you ran into me. Either you come with me or its the Conformatorium for you." They pointed the glowing tip of their weapon at you before playfully swinging it around, "And then, you know, zapped to dust, thrown into the sea to boil alive or petrified - there isn't much use for humans here."

Finally, you manage to speak. "You're not serious, are you?"

They sigh and motion for you to get up, doing so more threateningly when you did not obey the first time. "I'm not known for playing around." The red glow of the staff zapped towards your body, slung around your wrists like a snake before they jabbed you to keep walking out of the night market. "The Golden Guard can't afford to play around."

The next events were something you could only describe as hectic. Put on some kind of zeppelin (though it looked like a ship with wings) with magical...ropes(?) on you and head off to somewhere. Somewhere this guy claimed to be better than the 'Conformatorium'.

You had asked him what the point of taking you was but he was a bit too nonchalant for your taste.

"Oh, you'll see", He let out, "The Conformatorium is for witches and demons useless for the covens. But lucky for you, you might end up being useful, human."

It's all he said as he turned his back to you, controlling the ship with an carefree tune.

"I have a name, you know."

You spat out, couldn't take his attitude anymore. What is wrong with people in this realm?

The Golden Guard halted for a moment, stopping his melody abruptly. He waved his hand. "And?"

In turn, you scoffed out your name and telling him he might as well use it instead.

"What, does everyone also go around avoiding your name and calling you 'Golden Guard' instead or whatever?"

Once again he halted, longer than you anticipated. It was one request, a mere question but it left this guard guy guessing. He tilted his head absent-mindedly. You wondered what he'd need to ponder about for so long.

"...I do my job well," He started softly, "Well enough to be the only one worthy to be called the Golden Guard."

The trip was short and you did not know what to think of it. Glad to not bear this guy's attitude any longer or fearing for your life as a mere human in a place full of witches.

And covens? Use? Use for what? What is this...giant building, seeming more grande than anything else you've seen on the isles?

The rest followed by command. The Golden Guard shooed you to an different entrance than what you assumed tha main one was. The staff pressed against your back as you had no choice but to obey. With what could you defend yourself anyhow? An ancient book and bound hands?

The interior was akin to a palace of the medieval times, you noted. Individuals masked and clad in similiar white and gold worked routinely like soldiers in the hallways though your Golden Guard guy made sure nobody saw you. None of this was written in the book and though you have heard a few mumble in fear of the 'Emperor's Coven' you thought none of it. As long as you stayed away from it, you'd be safe. Yet here you were.

With a jab to the back, your oh so sweet companion ushered you up hidden stairs. Once entered the door behind you closed shut (with magic. Of course. Even in movies you never liked it when doors unexplainedly closed) and you went up ahead. The guard seemed to speed up more and more - along with getting ever so closer to a bright light ahead, you grew more anxious. This was it, wasn't it? You were going to die.

This would be your end, thrown into an hellscape away from family and friends. Treated like something worse than trash before your inevitable death.

Your companion rushed ahead of you, stepping into the room and immediately kneeling down. He moved his staff, causing you to tumble next to him, the magic ropes around your wrists tightening. "My Emperor," He let out in the most reverant voice you've heard him speak, "I apololgize for the sudden intervention but I have found something that might be of great interest to you regarding...the plan."

Looking up the dimly lit room, following the golden floor and walls, clad in immaculate red carpets and a set of stairs lied a throne. Tall and towering and on it, a man even more frightening.

He leaned his masked head against his armored hand, comfortably sitting on gold. His pale blue eyes glowed like that of a predator, you swore it at first sight.

"Your little friend will help accomplish our plan?"

"It is not anyone, sir." The Golden Guard pushed you forward and exposed your ears, "It is a human."

The exchange was scarier than anything else you'd seen on the isles.

The man on the throne was as swift as the wind as he stood up and approached you. He'd examine you, ask you question on who and what you are.

"Where do you come from, child, and when was that?"

He'd tilt his head and hum at your answers but did not make it known that he noticed your shaking and stuttering. However, his eyes lit up even more when he saw that book tightly hidden in your bag.

"Oh? What's this now?" With a flick of his finger, the book floated up to his eye level, pages after pages turned as he read them ever so quietly.

He'd definitely would ask you from where you got this book.

In the end it did not matter. Found it at a library, abandoned at a bus stop, given by clerk or friend. However, the man would raise a brow if you said that this book had been in your family for years.

Only if that were the case, though.

"Interesting. Well, welcome to the Emperor's Castle. Do make yourself at home."

...Wh-what?

The Golden Guard was just as confused as you. Stammering, he got up. "U- Emperor, what, here? Wh-what do you mean 'make yourself at home'?"

"It is what I said. Have you never had any guests, Golden Guard? You don't keep them prisoner," The man lifted his hand and the ropes around you vanished, "and you certainly take care of them. Like preparing a room for example." He put his arms behind his back, staring down at the younger man expectantly. He in turn, bowed and helped you up.

The...king of this castle you presumed, waved you goodbye. "We'll see what we can do for now. I'll gladly keep you here in my castle, safe and sound from the wilderness outside as long you can help me, little human."

Your companion excused the both of you and hurried you out of the throne room. Discreetly leading you inside an unused room, he shut the door.

"You're really lucky." He sighed, "...Anyone else wouldn't get...this treatment."

He sounded surprised and slightly melancholic but you didn't care - instead you can bombard him with any questions you like but he won't answer. Instead he shook his head and rose his open palm. "Listen, human. We're going to see how much of use you're going to be to the Emperor. But right here and now, the two of us are going to make some rules that he doesn't need to know of."

You can complain as much as you like but here you are in no position to refuse.

The Golden Guard listed each rule he abided to you.

'Do not leave the the castle, let alone the room. No one but him and the Emperor can know of your existence.'

'Tell each and every little secret you have to him first.'

'Don't cause trouble. He can get permission to stop treating you like a guest if you do'.

And lastly: 'Obey the Emperor.'

Your expression sours. This isn't what you wanted.

None of this was supposed to happen.

"Well, you'll get by. After all, as long as the Emperor allows it, you'll be kept safe. It's, ugh, my duty now too, to protect you. But be sure to stay in line because I can easily withdraw that priviledge."

Here you were. In this room.

It did have a bed, closet and desk with a chair. Much better than taking shelter in the rain under a firm bone or illegally breaking into someone's basement or shed. However, it was much more barren than any shed you broke into.

The Golden Guard would come in two to three times a day (WITHOUT KNOCKING) and bring you food and water. Either sternly ordering you around or playfully degrading you with a tap on the head with his staff. "Don't worry, the food is digestible for your human organs!" His enthusiasm didn't make the food taste any better though.

Aside from this, he'd ask you questions which you could only refuse or answer vaguely. He'd remind you of the safety the Emperor is providing you...but you can't admit that this 'Emperor' man felt sketchy to you. The book you always had with you was something you kept only for your eyes to see. It was your key in getting out of the demon realm and not matter what, you swore to yourself you wouldn't give it away or lose sight of it.

However, one day you had a request of your own.

"You remember our rules, don't you, human? No leaving this room."

"You can't expect to keep me here - thats keeping me prisoner, not as a guest!"

"I can tell you all about the great Emperor's Coven here. Besides, the Emperor plans to have a talk with you again."

You sigh. What's the point of escaping the room and getting lost in this giant castle right after? As well as risking being kicked out into the deadly outside of the isles?

But staying here would make you mad. Stuck in a system that you know nothing about...and you're supposed to just obey and take it?

"Can't you at least...show me around? I'd leave the room, yes, but you'd be with me. We wouldn't leave the castle and you can just keep an eye on me if you must. It's just...tiring to be here and not know what the rest of everything looks like." You looked out the window you were prohibited from opening. At least light went through, something akin to what you could deem a sun. "I still don't like this realm...but knowing nothing of it doesn't put me at ease even when I'm safe here."

Looking back you reckoned the Golden Guard was pondering about your request even behind the mask. You couldn't believe you were about to beg.

"Please, Golden Guard?"

Something about that look on your face felt too familiar.

With a heavy sigh he looks away - yet quickly regained his usual vigor. "Well, it would be a shame to be stuck in the great Emperor's Castle with the Golden Guard as your host and not see any of it."

He waved you over his shoulder to follow before swiftly spinning around with a stern voice. "But don't stray out of my sight. Disobey once and you're back in your room, human."

Hoooh boy, it worked.

Although a cloak and a mask was shoved into your hands, you gladly wore it if it meant getting out of the barren, same old room. As he said, the Golden Guard did not let you out of his sight but did insist on leading you. After all, you are pretending to be a newbie covenmember and the Golden Guard can't be seen walking side-by-side with someone beneath his status, hah!

He blabbered on and on about the many sights and objects you face with every turn of the hallways, some more interesting than the other. Your guard however, explained in great detail and with much vigor himself. "To the right we have the Healing Hat and if our guest were to turn to the left, they can admire the Oracle Sphere..."

He continued on with great detail as he waved his hand around as if that information was swimming carefreely in his brain. "Uhm, Golden Guard?" "Yes, newbie?" You ignored the sarcasm, "You witches can do magic because of that heart-addition-gall-thing-" "A sac connected to the heart filled with magical bile, which you lack." "Right. Then why do you need these magical items?"

He sighed. "They can be seen as amplifiers. They're made out of ingredients from the isles which can exceed magical abilities far greater than of any witch, besides Emperor Belos of course. It's easier than to train forever in a coven, so a short cut in a way." He shrugged.

You pondered about his answer, pursing your lips as you somewhat hesitated to ask again.

"...What are covens?"

In an blink of an eye the Golden Guard spun around and you could just imagine his dropped jaw. He let out something of a chortle. "Are you serious? You don't know anything of the Boiling Isles, do you, human?"

You sure were sick of his insults.

"If you were thrown into my realm, you wouldn't know a thing about my home either, would you, witch?"

Taking a step back, your companion hummed. "Hmph, fine. Then I'd better teach you about things here you should and shouldn't do before you get yourself killed. Can't afford to have you walk off and do something stupid, that'd be getting in the way of the plan...so follow my lead, human! I can show you the ropes."

So here you were, taking a longer patroul than planned as your teacher told you all there was to know - which was already a flood of information to take in and remember and you only started with the Emperor's Coven.

As witty his remarks were and how much he loved to throw them at you, the Golden Guard was truly a great teacher. He had a way to inprint each little trivia into your brain and even when you struggled to understand something, he managed to teach it to you in a way that you could grasp. The guy was quite knowledgable himself and it seemed his thirst for magical knowledge couldn't be easily quenched. He had an high opinion on both the Emperor's Coven and magic itself.

At the end of each day you made sure to write each new knowledge down in your book. It brings a smile on your face to see the book continued on from the detailed drawings and pretty, cursive writing to your little doodles and quick notes. It weirdly felt like being back in school and studying and while the change of environment and subjects weredaunting, the familiar routine brought you a bit of comfort.

The instances that brought no comfort were the 'meetings' with the 'king man'.

The Golden Guard drilled it into your head that he shall be adressed as 'Emperor Belos' yet no title could cease his suspicious aura. The man in question never seemed to take offense however.

He began with easy questions. Name, age, where you're from specifically and your time here in the demon realm. Often he found interest in your book but you hesitated to share its contents. The ruler always backed off when you refused.

It was also always very strange when the powerful witch emperor used your name and the Golden Guard didn't.

"Thanks for your time. It's always interesting to hear your perspective from your realm and how you perceive ours. You're really lucky you ended up here in my castle."

Belos also always reminded you of how safe you are in his domain.

If you show any disdain for the demon realm he surprisingly understands. A poor human like you couldn't survive out there for any longer...he can imagine the struggle.

He'd also be interested how far the human realm is on it's moderness. Is it the same as in the demon realm?

His number one question is how you got here in the first place though. You genuinely do not know nor remember but you do keep the secret that it had something to do with the book. Even when you did not know how.

Nevertheless, no matter how much Belos tries to win your favor and trust to look into the book and how you got here, you cannot bring yourself to trust him. The mannerism, the way he talks and walks and knowing he is an emperor just did not sit right with you.

It was never pleasant to meet with him even when he pretends it is.

So the routine stayed the same for a while until something happened.

How it happened is up to you. You snuck onto the airship to finally get out of that castle, the book or some magical item led you to it, you needed to see the Golden Guard for whatever reason or you accidentally got on it. The how doesn't matter, the fact that you are here is what would drive Belos' right-hand man mad.

"What- are you doing here?!" He squeaks out but no explanation would actually calm him. This is an mission he's on and no matter what he cannot let Belos' guest get involved in it! Think about the danger! "Oh, no, no, this isn't good. I already wasn't supposed to show you around the castle but this - this is inexcusable! No, I can't...you aren't supposed to be here, human!"

You back off. This is the first time you've seen the Golden Guard so...anxious.

As quick as it came however, he was able to shake it off and put on the mask again.

"No, it's fine. I can fix this before it even becomes a problem. But you, "He grabs your wrist, "You're staying by my side, got it?"

The outside was dangerous.

You landed in a part of the isles that was unfamilair to you. A few plants and forages were drawn in the book but that was all there was to it. Trotting after him, danger was quick to follow. It took him first and with the book always on your person, you swiftly drew a glyph in the ground. Creating a few more and dragging the guard back to the ship, he panted out his panic. And what you actually did.

"That...that was magic. I think. Picto - Picture - I don't know that part is hard to distinguish in the book." "That...that was kinda amazing...how did you-!"

Another wave of danger came and you drew another glyph onto ground. The guard steered the damaged ship to safety while you threw every trick you had up your sleeve. Finally arriving close to the castle in safety, your companion caught his breath and approached you.

"How...how did you do that? I thought humans can't put any spells on anything! I've never seen magic casted like that before!"

You can't help but smile slightly, seeing him genuinely flustered. Seems like he wasn't really this all-knowing teacher.

"I just copied what was in the book...it's easier than you think." Yet at that moment, your heart dropped. Someone as inquisitive as the Golden Guard who is still your captor even if he doesn't see himself in that way, would then want nothing more than to look into your book. You caught him reaching out for it before he stopped.

"Wait...those were various magic spells used from all kinds of covens...wild magic. You can't use that." You raised a brow and pressed the book further into you and away from him. "Why not? It's just usual magic, isn't it?" "You don't understand," He sounded serious despite being roughed up, "Of course you human wouldn't understand. You could get hurt if you aren't careful. Wild magic can..."

Retracting his hand, a sigh escaped him and he halted for a few moments. You weren't sure what he'd do next.

"...I am not giving you the book."

"You should! In fact, you gotta if you don't want to end up hurt!"

"These spells saved us! I saved you!"

Your glare soured again into a small frown. You took a step back and looked up at him, lips pressed into a thin line. You didn't really wanted to have him as an enemy.

You didn't want anyone to be an enemy. You didn't want to be here.

"I'm not fond of this magic either, Golden Guard, but I've got to use them. If I don't, I won't survive. If I didn't use this book back when I first got here and just now, I wouldn't have survived this place at all."

The guy was unusually silent. Only the flat breaths hitting his mask filling the silence.

Finally, he spoke up just as soft as you.

"...Why did you save me anyway?"

You rose a brow. You could understand where he came from with that question...but it still came out of nowhere. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you have no reason to. I...I am your host and you are welcome in the castle but you...you still didn't have a reason..." He trailed off for a second before starting again, "You could have steered the ship and got yourself back to safety. You could've left me behind."

Again, you only looked at him puzzled. "...Why would I?"

You stared at each other in silence.

- Before you broke it with nervous laughter. "I don't know how it is with you but from where I come from we...don't usually do that. You needed help and I could help you with these glyphs," You pointed at the book, "So, I helped you. I...couldn't just abandon you, Golden Guard."

The second wave of silence that ensued truly made your nervousness rocket.

A breath was taken, as if he had held it the entire time he was staring at you, and with it let out mumbles under his breath. "That's...so weird." With an unsure gait he passed by you, grabbed your wrist and lead the both of you to the castle.

Without looking back he adressed you with his usual stern voice. "I will not be confiscating the book. But I want to know what other forms of wild magic you can do...for research and safety. I won't tell Emperor Belos anything of what happened today."

The days grew less mundane at least, beside the one misadventure.

The Golden Guard visited you more often with more interesting intentions. You shared with what you were comfortable with and though it did annoy him at times, he found this new information more than helpful. You discussed many variants of magic and his excitment of the topic was quite infectious (but you'd never tell him that). In turn, he showed more around the castle and introduced you to many things but would not take you with him outside the castle barriers.

He still did not thank you for saving his life. It seemed he did not know how.

But you've come to grown to his company and vice versa.

#the owl house #the owl house hunter #the owl house x reader #toh #toh hunter #x reader #platonic relationships #hunter the golden guard #the golden guard #toh hunter x reader #but its kinda more platonic #i just need him a friend #YOU #YOU WILL BE HIS FRIEND #ACCEPT YOUR FATE HUMAN #the golden guard x reader

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