#literally you gonna threaten your superior AND underestimate them

[giftedpoison]

“this will get very UGLY for you if you continue”

Me who is known for sending management a 1200 word email when i got frustrated by the lack of support and is now making a long ass power point covering my bases because I don’t know what the person was actually mad about because they suck at communicating effectively: lol bet.

[mancer-in-the-abbey]

Well I DID say I had more ideas about ghoul combat sooo ERA 3 GHOUL (+Sunshine) COMBAT STATS LETS GO

Link to the previous post!

Alpha: He was Terzo’s personal bodyguard back in the day and for good reason. Alpha is the most physically imposing of all the ghouls, not quite as big as Omega but much more threatening. He and Omega also have a shared advantage in that they are OLD AS SHIT compared to your usual ghoul and have had over 3 centuries to cumulate knowledge and experience. As such, Alpha is highly trained in most forms of combat, from close quarters to ranged affairs, and his control over fire is nigh unparalleled. Dude is the epitome of You Fuck Around, You Find Out, he has killed before and will kill again should the need arise.

Omega: As previously stated, Omega is old as fuck for a Ghoul and has had literal centuries to refine his craft. It would genuinely be hard to point to a Quintessence user as skilled as him given just how long he’s had to grow and expand his power. There is also, of course, his physical brute strength which is also extremely formidable. He really is just a brick wall of a ghoul, you could probably run straight into him full-tilt and he wouldn’t budge an inch. Either way, by hand or by magic, you are straight up fucked if you try to fight this man because unlike Aether, who avoids killing as best he can, Omega has no such qualms. You will likely be dead before you can land a hit.

Mist: Oh she is vicious. Homegirl came to the surface with a chip on her shoulder the size of the Mariana Trench, borderline feral. She’s mellowed out a bit since then but still very much has a “try it I dare you” mentality. Unlike Rain, Mist doesn’t rely overly on her elemental powers, instead opting to use her superior grace and agility to stay one step ahead of her opponent. She has claws she takes immaculate care of and by Beliah she will USE THEM! One thing Mist and Rain DO have in common, however, is their willingness to bite. Must be a water ghoul thing…

Ivy: Earth bending? Earth bending. Quite skilled at it, too! Ivy is a smaller ghoul in comparison to some of the other past drummers, so he’s used to being underestimated by those around him. Surprisingly, this has worked to their favor more than once! There have been times where someone’s tried to mess with him, be it random civilian or other fellow ghoul, only for them to be absolutely clobbered by pieces of the walls and floors. He’s also skilled enough to put those chunks back when he’s done! How handy!

Ifrit: First off. Why would you want to fight Ifrit? What did he do to you? Second off, he’s gonna kick your ass SO badly. He’s similar to how I described Phantom in that he’s either all in on his elemental powers or all in on beating you to a pulp the old-fashioned way. When using his fire power, he tends to keep at a distance and blast his enemies away which works pretty well considering no one likes 3rd degree burns to the entire body and face. For an all-out brawl, however, Ifrit is actually trained in MMA and boxing! What can I say? He likes keeping himself fit and practicing how to knock heads is a great way to do it.

Sunshine: An unholy mix between Cirrus Dewdrop in terms of fighting style, with Cirrus’s agility and ability to keep people off balance and Dew’s sheer speed, ferocity, and underhandedness. Her ability to combine air and fire into nasty combo-attacks plus lightning fast reflexes makes her a NIGHTMARE to fight one-on-one. Her one weakness, however, is that she struggles in situations that require on-the-fly improvising. If you manage to spook her, there is a chance she will freeze mid-fight. She’s getting better, though!

Bonus!

Water!Dew: The Dew we know today is already pretty scary but you should have seen him back in the day. Although he was less hotheaded and less prone to picking fights, dude’s control over water was surgically precise. Have you ever heard of those industrial water saws used to cut limestone and other rocks? Imagine that but on your flesh and bones. Unpleasant.

[kali-fullofwordsnthoughts]

some nygmakins thoughts

Binged/finished Gotham last week. So I was behind on seasons 4 and 5 and I’m tight I waited so long to catch up because Nygmakins literally gave me life and it’s already done and I have no one to share this excitement with because I showed up 15 mins late with Starbucks.

For a ship I never predicted I’d want, I’m blown away by it and how I forreal can’t stop thinking about Ed and Lee. I’m still a Nygmobblepot fan but I realized a while ago that that would probably never be explicitly canon. But Nygmakins! The people who say it seemed forced are delusional. And it definitely ‘didn’t come from nowhere’, as you see their initial reunion being one of hostility and threats. They gradually shift from enemies to allies to friends and almost lovers and it was so sweet to watch.

Ed and Lee have clear chemistry.  They play well off of each other, shifting from flirtatious to serious as the scene necessitates. They support each other. They uplift each other. Seriously, I’ve been rewatching their scenes and all I keep noticing is how much they compliment each other. And the lengths they go to protect each other. And how they’re constantly giving advice or encouragement. Please forgive my crappy gifs and screencaps, I’m just enamored with these two. [AND I learned some basic giffing for this post.]

That’s Lee and Ed. Let’s talk about the queen of the narrows and the riddler because they are a different pair.

Their relationship starts with as much antagonism as Ed and Lee’s. Riddler's superiority complex mixed with Ed's 'pathetic' love for Lee pretty much sets the stage for her being an object of derision to Riddler. In their first meeting, he spends half the time ignoring her and the other half insulting, saying she's weak, all talk and no action. When he is subsequently captured and tortured, while Penguin runs off to save him, Lee is busy taking care of business. She's the clear underdog, the newcomer, the outsider, and she takes out a bigger, more established boss. Most importantly, she proves Riddler wrong and that is something he can't tolerate.

Their first face off - without the distraction of Sofia, Oswald, or Grundy - comes at the Riddle Factory. The Riddler is already intrigued by Lee and his choice to hold the club in the Narrows is both for attention and retribution. I'm convinced he saw Lee's killing of Sofia as a fluke. She got lucky, he thinks to himself. Obviously, the weakest player can move around, avoiding detection, and get lucky by being at the right place at the right time. So he put his club in the Narrows as a challenge to Lee. When Lee wins the challenge and bests him, proves him wrong once again, his intrigue mixes with fury but you can see his thinking start to shift.

He's beginning to understand not to underestimate her but still his pride insists she won by trickery, by trying to manipulate the love she knows Ed has for her. But when she insists on that love, he cannot abide her attempts to manipulate him in that way and draws his blade on her. Lee is unaware of the danger she’s in up until that point. She's never feared Ed because he never threatened her harm. Riddler is a card of a different color. And the darkness in her reacts to him. Riddler absolutely senses this. He knew she had to be dark to do what she did to Sofia - and Sampson - but since he wasn't there for either event, the first time he glimpses her darkness for himself is with her in his arms, a knife pressed to her neck, and not a touch of fear on her face. And when she brushes the knife aside to kiss him, that’s when Riddler starts to fall in love with her.

Let's talk about the difference in the pairs.

Ed is the more repressed one. You can see it in his body language with Lee.

With Ed & Lee there’s usually a bit of distance or Ed will be standing behind Lee, symbolically watching her back and letting her dominate many interactions.

Likewise, he keeps his emotions for her quiet and to himself.

Riddler is not that constrained. Their very next scene together, following the kiss, they’re shown standing shoulder to shoulder, leaning more casually and closely than we’ve ever seen Lee with Ed.

It was Ed who said, I'm not one to play the sidekick, but it's the Riddler who actually steps up. When he's in control, he's either leading, right at Lee’s side, or two steps ahead of her, anticipating and dealing with danger - Penguin and Butch - before the threat even becomes known to her. He’s grown comfortable being near her and doesn’t pull away when she enters his space.

He doesn't hesitate with verbalizing his feelings either. After the kiss, Riddler is extremely direct with his questions, asking their relationship status, confronting her on what he saw as her teasing behavior, and demanding to know if she was just stringing him along. His bluntness extends to all audiences and we get quite a few declarations of love and loyalty. 

This is a big distinction. Ed doesn’t speak his feelings but Riddler is bold, brimming with charisma and I think that affects Lee. After he promises she’ll fall in love with him, they’re both looking at each other like Christmas freaking morning.

If Ed was a pawn, then Riddler’s the knight. Especially after he proclaimed his love for her and was ready to throw down with Gordon and the GCPD without any thought.

Previously, I didn’t think that Lee was being manipulative. At least not with Ed. I feel she genuinely wanted to help him improve as a person which is why they drew so close after she became queen. He supported and advised her and she recognized him as a friend. But it isn’t until the Riddler shows up that the relationship gets physical. I think with Riddler pulling the knife on her, Lee realized that he was a different Ed, one that would bring harm on her if pushed. So she adopted a new method to combat that - seduction. She cared for Ed but with Riddler she knew she’d need a little more to persuade him. And I think the scene in the bank, with Riddler proclaiming his love for her and embracing her dark side, had Lee realizing that she liked Riddler as much if not more than Ed. She may have started out manipulating him but it would end up being something more genuine.

There’s the sense of dualism with the two of them. Lee is generally light and opts for avenues of nonviolence. Until she’s challenged and injured then she has no problem breaking a hand or shooting someone in the face. Riddler is the manifestation of all Ed’s dark impulses. Both sides compliment their counterpart. It’s not all the way healthy - show me a nonproblematic Gotham ship - but it works for the two of them. Ed has someone who sees the good in him, who believes in him even when he himself does not. Lee has someone who accepts the changed part of her, even the ugly bits that others would rather pretend doesn’t exist. 

Then they go and introduce Gordon and the jealousy plot and I knew that’s where it was going to go downhill. It went just about as predicted. I knew Lee and Ed weren’t going to be endgame but I was still devastated when they took each other out. Lee’s set to leave. She’s changed out of her dark Narrows’ clothes and wears bright blue. Her dark lip is wiped away, leaving a tired woman behind. This is a death scene, even though Lee survives. It’s death to the Queen of the Narrows and Riddler brings it on her. He was trying to free her from her past self and ended up doing just the opposite. (Obviously, I’m very bitter/disappointed with Lee’s reversed personality in season 5. It all felt utterly pointless to have her acting essentially the same as season 2 Lee, especially the marriage to Gordon which was boring and nonsensical. ) But the scene is so Shakespearean, betrayal by your lover’s hand,

a final pained kiss, 

and a joining in death. And their final words to each other.

Just lay me in my grave because I’m as dead as these two. I’m gonna go write an obnoxious amount of fanfiction.

[lethesomething]

A guy walks into a bar... (Haikyuu Space Pirate AU)

Hiya, since you guys seemed rather excited about this in the poll, here is the first of a series of 'Tales from the Outer Rim' short stories set in a Haikyuu Space Pirates Au (if you want more world/au background, you can find the write-up here but it's not necessary, I think, to follow this story).

Small warning: drug talk and swearing

The bar was a squat, windowless building on one of the more infamous moons of Tortuga 7. It violated at least sixteen building codes, and that was just the outside. Iwaizumi had no doubt that once he made it in, he'd find gambling, drugs and more wanted space pirates than he had room for in the hold. But he wasn't here for work. Tonight, he wanted to settle something that didn't involve official business. He was, for want of a better word, going incognito. He pushed open the heavy door and stepped into a thick cloud of heat and smoke that threatened to overwhelm him. A sharp flash of fluorescent illuminated the counter in the back of the room, dropping sharp shadows over everything else. The only other source of light in this godforsaken bar were a few jars of phosphor floating over some of the tables. A jangly sort of music floated through the air, disorienting him as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The sheer amount of smells in the place was baffling. He'd have to be careful about this, he knew. Tracking his target had taken months and he wouldn't get this chance again anytime soon. Navigating a place like this meant precise movements and a clear head. "Ooh," Hanamaki sniffed behind him. "Orthesian Cat Nip! That's the good stuff." "Oh for fuck's sake," Iwaizumi sighed.

He'd left the captain on the ship, of course. That would just be asking for trouble. But he wasn't stupid enough to go to a place like this by himself. Sadly, his choice of back-up had been limited, considering the circumstances. Matsukawa had seemed like a good idea, since he was subtle enough to blend in anywhere, whereas Makki and Kyoutani were legitimate ex-cons. He'd hoped they wouldn't look out of place here, but he may have underestimated what little shits all of his coworkers were. They already looked like they were blending in a little too much. To his right, Kyoutani was glaring at the assembled crowd, ostensibly looking for a fight. Makki, meanwhile, was surveying the room with the eye of a connoisseur and the smug smile of someone who knew his superior owed him one. Groaning, Iwaizumi eyed his lieutenant, hoping for some support. But Matsukawa was grinning widely. "Me and Makki are going to have a chat with that herb seller over there," he said, raising an eyebrow. "I can smell at least three different types of illegal substance and I want to try all of them. We'll keep an eye on you from afar, ok? Don't get into trouble now." With that, he winked. He fucking winked and Iwaizumi was a second away from punching him for insubordination, before he remembered he was supposed to be undercover. "This was your idea… colonel," Makki added, with a grin so wide it could split his fucking face in half. "Yeah, yeah, fuck off you two."

Iwaizumi squinted into the dim room while his companions sidled away. He was sure his intel had been correct. The target had to be here somewhere. With a short nod of his head, he motioned Kyoutani to follow him to the bar. “Two beers,” he grunted at the barkeep. “Import or native?” the woman asked, not looking up from where she was washing glasses. She was tortugan: tall, wide and strategically scaley. She could probably kick the ass of anyone in this room, too, by the looks of her armoured tail. “Import,” Iwaizumi said “Whatcha got?”. Tortugan native beer was only 'beer' because they changed the definition of the word for marketing purposes. The tortugans didn't so much brew, as drink rocks. Literally. They dissolved minerals into water to get high. Unsurprisingly, it tasted like dirt. “Just Stellar,” the barkeep said. Iwaizumi made a face. 'The galaxy's most popular beer' was overpriced and tasted like piss, but at least it had some kind of plant in it. “That's fine,” he said, dropping the credits on the bar. When he turned around to hand Kyoutani his drink, he found the boy staring at a dark corner near the back door. He'd found them. Iwaizumi nudged the man at his side. "Stay close," he said. Kyoutani growled softly in response.

His target was sitting at a table in one of the further corners of the room, playing cards. Judging by the stack of credits by his arm, and the look on the faces of his opponents, he was winning. "Captain Kuroo, I presume?" Iwaizumi said when he'd made it to the table, taking off the hood of his cloak. The guy tilted his head and the single eye that was visible behind a mop of black hair widened for just a fraction of a second. He took one look at Iwaizumi's face, the scar running across his eye, the slight hint of a holster under his cloak and the soft growl of Kyoutani at his side, and gave him a lopsided smile. "Colonel! Care to join us in a game of space poker? Or are you here for something else?" The salutation was enough to put several of the surrounding crowd on edge. A short man next to Kuroo raised his eyebrows, hand inching into his coat. Iwaizumi held up both hands. "I'm off duty," he said. "Stand down, Kyoutani," he added, when his companion bared his teeth. This was the cue for Kuroo's opponents to take what little money they had left and quickly vacate the table.

Iwaizumi sat down heavily in their place. "You just lost me a thousand credits," Kuroo said, amused grin on his face. The short man next to him rolled his eyes. Iwaizumi recognized him from the reports as a man named Yaku, and he was said to always carry a massive shotgun. How he'd be able to smuggle something like that into a bar like this, Iwaizumi didn't know, but he'd rather not find out if it was true. The only other person left at the table was a tall white-haired alien who hung in his chair, giving a decent impression of a dish towel. "Something wrong with your friend?" Iwaizumi said, nodding at the lolling man. "Lev? Not really. He's been experimenting with drinks," Kuroo said casually. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow. "Turns out the turian gargleblaster was a bit much," Yaku added. There was a smirk on his face, but his eyes hadn't left his opponents for a second. Iwaizumi would bet anything that the dude also knew about Matsun and Makki. But he was off duty, so he kept telling himself. He was not here for a fight. At least not that kind of fight. "Take a seat, bud," he told his companion, and Kyoutani tensely sank into the chair next to him.

"Now then, to what do we owe the honour... Hajime," Kuroo smiled, voice smooth and sharp like acid oil. He lingered on the name, lapping at it as if he wanted the taste to last. "I'm here to settle something," Iwaizumi said, resisting his natural urge to scold in the face of so much impertinence. "I heard you've never lost an arm wrestling match." Realization dawned on the pirate's face. "I hear you've never lost one either," he grinned and there was a deep, burning glow in his eyes that lit up his entire face. Smiling, Iwaizumi leaned forward and placed his elbow on the table. "Let's find out who's the best, once and for all, shall we?" “Give us a count, Yaku,” Kuroo said, laying his palm in Iwaizumi's. Sighing, Yaku laid his hand on the knot above the table. “Ready?” he said. “Go!” And he let go. Immediately, the pressure on Iwaizumi's arm was enormous. “Well, well, and here I though you were just hot air and military pomp,” Kuroo said. “And here I thought I was gonna crunch that piece of rust you call an arm to pieces,” Iwaizumi grinned. Neither of them moved an inch while the atmosphere around them turned thick. Iwaizumi's face was red from the effort and heat was starting to build in his arm. He hadn't had an opponent like this in a while and the strain he put on his muscles fucking hurt. People were starting to take notice, too, patrons gathering around to see who would win. Somewhere in the crowd, a small alien was gathering bets. “Go on then! Beat that cheating cat bastard!” one of the bystanders shouted. “Takes balls to take on Kuroo. Try not to break your fucking arm!” another said. The pirate captain across the table grinned, but his face had lost a lot of its natural calm. He was getting red in the face and his breathing was irregular. But then, Iwaizumi was not feeling much better. He could feel the sweat dripping down his neck and he was sure a vein had popped in his forehead.

“Kuro.” A bored sounding voice spoke up to their right, startling Iwaizumi enough that he nearly lost his grip. A small drone was whirring next to the pirate captain's head. It flipped up a screen to show a young man with badly dyed hair. “Kuro we have trouble.” “What is it?” Yaku asked. “Imperial troops.” “Really, Iwaizumi?” Kuroo huffed. “You asked for back-up? Low blow, friend.” And he made a sudden move to throw Iwaizumi off. “I didn't ask for shit,” he grunted, pushing back. “I swear if this is some ruse to get out of a loss, I'll kick your ass.” “Shiratorizawa,” the boy on the screen clarified. “Why would they come here?” Yaku frowned. “Ha! That means your guys are also going down,” Kuroo said, before inhaling sharply. “How long till they get here?” Iwaizumi asked the drone. “Three seconds. Two.” With a sharp bang, the door to the bar shot open. “Now,” said the boy on the screen. “Oh, good job, very helpful,” Iwaizumi groaned.

“Alright, everybody freeze. I have a newtonian ice gun and I'm not afraid to use it!” a high pitched voice drawled from the door. There was a small giggle, before the man continued. “The honorable nation of Shiratorizawa has lost some precious, precious cargo and we'd like it back. As long as everyone sits tight and turn out there pockets, no one gets hurt.” He may as well have set off an explosive. In an instant, the whole place erupted in chaos. People started screaming, drinks flew across the room and the music stopped abruptly. The pressure dropped from Iwaizumi's arm. Next to him, Kyoutani shot up with a heavy growl. When he looked back across the table, Kuroo was gone. Blinking, he found him already halfway to the back door, one unconscious Lev over his shoulder. Yaku was by his side, aiming a massive shotgun at anyone who dared come close. “Looks like we'll have to reschedule,” the captain said, “have your people call my people and we'll have a rematch.” He saluted him with a wink and a grin before he disappeared into the dark. Iwaizumi swore under his breath. “We need to go,” he said, tugging Kyoutani's sleeve. The kid was by now a barely restrained ball of nervous anger and if this lasted much longer, he'd just jump straight into the brawl erupting all around him. They'd have to spring him from jail again, and Iwaizumi wasn't feeling up to it.

A flash bang went off somewhere, causing even more panic. A throng of people stormed the door. “Lovely place, this,” came the soft voice of Matsukawa near his ear. “What the fuck happened to 'we got your back' asshole?” Iwaizumi barked, whirling around to face him. His lieutenant just grinned. “We caused a diversion,” he said. “Mass panic is not a diversion, Matsukawa,” Iwazumi sighed but the guy just shrugged. “Either way, we may want to leave now,” he said. “Yeah,” Hanamaki added, popping out of the crowd, “I don't think we want to explain ourselves to the venerable commander Ushijima at this point.” Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes. “Why....” “Because,” Matsukawa leaned in conspiratorially, “I know where at least part of his precious, precious cargo is.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Wait. Did you? Are you....fucking?” Iwaizumi frowned, momentarily baffled. “Seriously?” The grin on Hanamaki's face was enough to clear up any confusion that, yes, they were indeed very serious, and also that cargo was very much not legal. “We're doing important research on other nations, colonel,” Makki said, “We should be commended for this.” A tinny smell and a flash of cold air wafted by. It seemed the Shiratorizawa agent by the door had started making good on his promise to freeze people. “Later,” Iwaizumi said and the others nodded. He peered into the gloom and found Kyoutani in the middle of a large bar fight, pummelling a man twice his size. The boy was winning by a large margin. Iwaizumi stepped in and yanked his protesting subordinate back, out of the crowd, hauling him along as the four of them slipped out the back door and into the night.

“So, did you win?” Matsukawa asked when they had reached relative safety. He was huffing slightly from the long jog, and he patted his coat to check if all his 'evidence' was still present. “We got interrupted,” Iwaizumi grunted. “Does that mean...” Hanamaki said. “It's a draw,” Iwaizumi said, stressing the last word to make it clear that they'd better drop this particular topic. They walked in silence until they reached the gates to the port where their ship was docked. “So...” Matsun asked, almost casually, “were you winning?” He was looking away, almost innocently checking a nearby sign while his friend grinned from ear to ear. “It was a draw,” Iwaizumi repeated. And with that he shoved his hands in his pockets and ducked through the doors, into the bustling space port.