#manifest your guilt because you killed me too

[xamaxenta]

Sabo shipped off to work on an oil rig, the ? Managing director? quartermaster?

Idk what jobs there are on oil rigs but whoever is in charge, a rough sea dog kindly in that isolated sort of way kind of man named Marco takes him in and tells him the rig shapes you, best, leave what it lures you alone

Which is fine, sabos no stranger to seeing beyond what one is supposed to but on the rig he hears voices and thats fine too because its not uncommon out at sea

Its also not uncommon to see nothing at all durinf the dark pitch black nights

What is uncommon is to see his husband sitting on the railings of the rusty salt eroded rig, radiant and with a smile that lances through his ribs because he misses him so much

Further uncommon is Ace died one summer that feels so fresh it couldve been yesterday, an aching wound from five years past

Sabo ran to the sea to escape him, Ace, fraught with the concept that sabo may forget him, chases after him

Cosmic psychological horror haunting by your deceased lover and seeking the comfort in the arms of the only other soul on deck— marco

Perhaps hes fucking crazy, Marco doesnt feel real either

[bijesperfahey]

Thinking about how Lark and Normal had such different reactions to what they saw on the throne and how ‘Larks’ entire monologue was about how it was all his fault, about how Lark blames himself for everything that has happened, and earlier in the series Sparrow refers to ‘what they did’ but Lark says it’s what he did

Thinking about how when Henry touches Lark on the throne he feels Love, Confusion, Betrayal, Sadness and Anger.

How Anthony says that he looks at Lark and sees sadness and self hatred in his eyes

How in Anthony’s monologue the Doodler specifically feels Lark’s self hatred and resentment. How it’s that that grows into the resentment for everything in the world.

It’s your fault and everything is bad- and it’s obviously not just the Doodler that feels that way

About how the Doodler looks at humanity as it’s dad, but also it resents humanity as much as it loves it and wants it’s validation

These flashhbacks are only a few years post season 1- sure he’s older but he is still a literal child being confronted by the weight of these emotions from an eldritch being that directly parallel so much of what he’s gone through and actively stem from the choices he made

Does he say they have to kill it because he knows what it’s like to feel this way? Because he knows what that rage and resentment feel like to him, a human being, and knows what it grew into for him, and can you imagine how much worse it is coming from the Doodler? They can’t risk not stopping it and the surest way to do that is to kill it?

Does he say it because killing the Doodler is the only way he’ll be able to forgive himself for releasing it? To make sure this can never happen again, by getting rid of it completely?

Or does he say it because he can’t imagine a way to help it? It’s just something he can’t comprehend, there’s no other way to end it, there is no happy ending.

And Normal now is the age that Lark was then, and he’s going through it too but in a completely different way! Normal is also dealing with a lot of incredibly complicated feelings, especially regarding his parental figures. He’s darker than he was at the start of the series, but all he wants is to be loved respected for who he is.

And maybe it makes a difference, but he has a support system that’s not just one person (Sparrow for Lark)! He has friends, and people to talk to and he still has so much hope for himself and compassion for the world, so of course that’s going to extend to the Doodler. This entire time the teens have been saying they need to find another way, that they can’t doom a whole planesworth of people just to save their home

So like. Why wouldn’t that extend to the doodler, now that they know it’s an option??

[paishowhitelotus]

Rewatched book 1 after watching the live action and here is a list of everything that wasn’t in the live action that I think should have been :

Sokkas war paint

Saying the words “hair loopies”

Barely seeing the boomerang

Katara being able to calm down aang during the avatar state

The comet

Importance of mastering all 4 elements

Sokka dressing in kyoshi warrior clothing and learning the strength of women (removing and growing from his sexist beliefs)

Zukos honor /destiny (think it’s mentioned once?)

Mouthfoaming guy

Aang water bending

Roku manifesting and telling jeong jeong to teach aang firebending

Aang trying fire bending too soon and burning katara which leads to him being hesitant on learning firebending in book 3

Katara finding out about her healing abilities

Aang being selfish by keeping location of Sokka and kataras father from them

Aangs crush on katara

Aang doing everything he Can to heal his friends in the swamp

"Miyuki, did you get in trouble with Fire Nation again?”

Rokus dragon

Aang dealing with the guilt of leaving the southern air temple and all his people getting killed and not accepting his role as avatar

Sokkas intuition for recognizing Jets deceit

Sokka being a natural inventor (it’s barely even touched in the live action) Sokka is smart and creative

Katara’s dedication to learning water bending by stealing the scroll

Katara’s jealousy of aang being able to bend and learn faster than her

Kataras fierce determination and her take no shit personality

The cruelty of the fire nation by imprisoning earth benders into work camps (this is just one example)

Katara’s selflessness and bravery by getting herself imprisoned in the war camp and saving all the prisoners shows how much empathy Katara feels for people and always wanting to help those who can’t help themselves

Showing how master jeong jeong and others left the fire nations army because of its cruelty (fire nation people can be good and recognize the evil in their own ranks)

How aang feels upset about the disrespect and condition of the northern air temple/legacy of his people but accepts it in the end knowing they need this temple as their home

Using the fallen war balloon to create a fleet of airships in the final battle with Ozai

Appa being a badass and also fighting to protect aang multiple times

Iroh and his white lotus tile (this is important foreshadowing for later seasons)

The healer in the northern water tribe recognizing the betrothal necklace and realizing it belonged to her friend and kataras grandmother, kanna, who was engaged to master pakku of the northern tribe but left to live in the South Pole

Katara confronting pakku and telling him “I’ll be outside if you’re man enough to fight me” ( the challenge is off screen in live action, dumb choice tbh just glad we got to see the physical fight at least)

Pakku finding the betrothal necklace and talking about kanna and katara saying her gran left because “she wouldn’t let your stupid tribes customs control her life” which in turn makes pakku reconsider and start teaching katara waterbending

Pakku complementing kataras skill saying she’s has advanced faster than any other student he has trained (this shows how great and powerful of a water bender she truly is)

How strong the water benders are at night especially during the full moon

How the moon was the first water bender

Zuko kidnapping aangs body while he is in the spirit world

“You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun”

Not showing emotion to koh cause he’ll steal your face

Zuko talking to unconscious aang telling him how everything always came easy to his sister, she’s a firebending prodigy. Ozai telling Zuko that azula was “born lucky while Zuko was lucky to be born” (another instance of ozai’s cruelty as a father)

Talking about how iroh has been to the Spirit world

Zuko trying to challenge katara during a FULL MOON” “Here for a rematch?” “Trust me Zuko it’s not going to be much of a match” and then her kicking his ass in 5 seconds

Aang showing compassion to Zuko by saving him again despite Zuko kidnapping his body

Iroh staying with katara Sokka and yue after the moon spirit is killed (this shows his heart)

Yues body disappearing and her spirit kissing Sokka and her saying “I’ll always be with you”

The ocean spirit grabbing zhao and dragging him into the sea

Pakku wanting to help rebuild the southern water tribe

Pakku Calling her Master katara and saying she’ll train aang from now on

Azula appearing at the end and Ozai sending her on a task because Zuko is a failure and iroh is a traitor

[neonscandal]

explain to me how bakugo is traumatized. the kid he grew up with was nice to him once and he immediately came to the conclusion that he should die. that's not trauma, that's being insane.

I'm going to start with the fact that, justifiably, there's never a reason to tell someone to kill themselves. Additionally, note that me saying Bakugo is traumatized does not mean that Midoriya is also not traumatized.

Regarding your question, the trauma that I mentioned on a recent ask, (I assume this one prompted your question) referenced the following:

Captured by the Slime Villain, effectively bound and suffocated in front of an audience (doesn't include the fall out after being someone who is publicly assaulted)

Muzzled, bound and robbed of autonomy in front of a national audience at the Sports Festival

Kidnapped and bound by the LOV (the forcible binding is recurrent through all the above)

Don't really have to go into the swath of issues he and Class 1A likely can and do develop from being child pawns in a war of adults but that can be applied as well re: survivor's guilt, PTSD, paranoia from the mole, etc. from the PLF arc and up until current manga events (I didn't feel like a spoiler warning).

Things that people don't tend to capture in the box of Bakugo's characterization:

He comes from a verbally and physically abusive household, demonstrably (you can jump down to the second paragraph of Bakugo's Strengths listed here for my thoughts on that impact)

Forced to defend himself against older kids from a young age and possibly on a recurring basis, as referenced in the above image. We could probably chalk the confrontation up to a consequence of his false overconfidence, sure. But does that justify 4th graders ganging up on what looks like a kindergartener/first grader?

As for Bakugo and Midoriya's relationship, we don't have much to go on. We know they were close and amicable as kids, things likely went to shit when Midoriya didn't develop a quirk, there's some beetle excursion in the woods that Bakugo refers back to a lot which is pending further context for readers/viewers, and then there's a fall in the river which really soured relations as Bakugo misinterpreted genuine kindness for condescension (see home life and such above). Again, none of this justifies the bullying we see at the start of the series or the way their interactions have shocking physical components. But what I do find interesting is that I've previously likened Bakugo's disposition to Endeavors but, in retrospect, I think he's a strong parallel for Dabi too.

Dabi's rage stems from being robbed of what he thinks is his inalienable birthright as the oldest son and heir to Endeavor's legacy. He disproportionately targets Shouto as the usurper of what is rightfully his. Dabi's claim, of course, makes more sense from a traditional and, probably, cultural standpoint. But the reason I mention it is that I don't think Bakugo was constantly telling Midoriya to take a swan dive off a roof. It doesn't forgive the bullying but it contextualizes why, that day, the bullying reached a new height when Midoriya was outed for still trying to get into UA. Bakugo saw this as an immediate threat to his position because, even though he didn't admit it at the time, if anyone could get into UA, quirkless or not, Bakugo knew Midoriya could.

Just as Midoriya has always seen Bakugo as being heroic and capable of being number 1, Midoriya proves time and time again that, even without a quirk, he's got the spirit of a hero and is successful in spaces where Bakugo is not. As the story progresses, we see evidence and the ultimate manifestation of Bakugo's remorse through his apology and other ways he's softened up. I'm not saying he wasn't a little shit but that's also not all he was (IDK if you've met kids but... without healthy socialization they can be little emotional terrorists). As things have unfolded, we see that, internally, Bakugo uses thoughts of Midoriya to galvanize his path forward and we've recently confirmed that when Bakugo spoke to Kirishima about strength... he was referring to Midoriya, you can scroll down to paragraphs around the last picture. I'm just gleeful about calling it. But, suffice it to say they've both been looking to one another this whole time.

There are still periphery pieces of their background missing because the story is largely from Midoriya's perspective. I don't think we'll get a comprehensive backstory but I think there will be some sort of meaningful explanation behind the beetle trip that may inform why Bakugo ultimately misinterpreted things so poorly at the river. I mean, maybe it's as simple as the fact that he couldn't fathom kindness because it's something not typically afforded to those who are perceived as strong. I don't know but I look forward to finding out.

[ctitan98official]

Anonymous: Hello, I don't know if you have done this before but think about it, RE8 ladies with a s/o who is a ghost, they used to be human but they died and became one. Sorry for any mistakes, I'm still learning the language. Have a nice day ~

This is cool! (Your english is great by the way!) Let’s get into it!

Note: TW/CW Angst and slight gore (Nothing too graphic)

Alcina:

You lived a beautiful life with Alcina. You had been married to her for more than fifty years.

You always asked if she would help you get the cadou so you could be together forever, but she always said that the risk was too great.

In the end, you were at peace with this decision.

She held your hand as you took your last breaths and wept at you telling her how much you loved her one last time.

Alcina had grieved your loss for months, but one day when she was in her study looking at old photos of the two of you together, she thought she heard your laugh.

She turned around, only to find a ghostly apparition of a younger version of you grinning back at her. This was the Y/N that she originally fell in love with.

She screamed in surprise and put a hand to her mouth in shock. She could not believe what she was seeing.

You told her that you had been watching over her and always would. You held out your hand to her, but when she went to touch it, her hand went right through yours.

You couldn’t manifest for long periods of time, but you visited Alcina whenever you could.

Donna:

You had been living with Donna for a couple of months and you two were madly in love.

You couldn’t bear the thought of ever leaving her alone, so you ventured alone to visit Mother Miranda to see if she would implant you with the cadou.

Miranda was wary at first because you were doing this without Donna’s permission, but she also knew how important this was to you. Eventually she gave in.

The implantation was an absolute disaster. Your body did not bond with the cadou and it ended up killing you with extreme brutality.

Donna wept and fell to her knees when she heard what had happened. She couldn’t lose you.

Later on, Donna begins hearing whispers that sound like you. She walks into the living room one day to find a doll that looks exactly like you!

To her surprise, the little doll walks over to her and speaks with your voice as well!

It seems you were able to place your consciousness into the doll.

Donna is so overjoyed to see you she cries happy tears. You two would now be together forever, albeit in a much different way.

Miranda:

It’s no secret that Miranda has a lot of enemies. She is not scared of threats directed at herself, but when they involve you it chills her to the bone.

One night, a riot broke out in the village and you went out to try and quell the violence. People took notice of your presence and dragged you to the maiden of war statue while you kicked and thrashed.

One villager said: “This is the traitor! They side with Mother Miranda, let’s make them pay!”

The crowd roared as you were murdered in cold blood.

Miranda senses something is not right and flies into the village only to see your lifeless corpse.

She screams in agony and massacres anyone that was involved.

Miranda feels intense guilt that she is the reason you’re dead.

A few days later, you manifest in front of her and tell her that it’s not her fault.

She is speechless. You playfully joke that you’ll keep bugging her until she forgives herself.

Miranda is so grateful to still have you around in some way or another.

Bela:

Bela and you had fallen in love so fast. It’s like you were made for one another.

She couldn’t imagine not having you around and she always worried something might happen to take you away from her.

You had a previous relationship with a woman from the village. It was pretty serious, but not true love like you and Bela shared.

One night, you are asleep in bed while Bela is in the dungeon. Your previous lover sneaks in with a crazed look in her eyes. “Big mistake leaving me, Y/N. We could have been so happy together.”

You startle awake with only enough time to watch her stab you in the abdomen multiple times.

You cough up blood and scream for Bela who immediately swarms to you.

She easily un-arms the deranged woman before snapping her neck, killing her instantly.

Bela returns to your side, but it is too late. You lay motionless on the bed, no longer breathing.

Bela screams at the injustice of it all.

She spends the next few months isolating in her room when she hears your voice softly call her name. She looks up to see you smiling at her and waving.

She is stunned, she runs to hug you, but she passes right through your ethereal form.

You laugh and say you will always be there to talk.

Bela is comforted at having you with her still.

Cassandra:

Cass and you loved to be outdoors and do things together.

One day, she is busy and can’t come with you so you decide to go on a solo hike through the forest.

As you are coming back, you have the strangest feeling that you are being followed.

You turn around only to find a lycan charging towards you.

It starts slashing away at your body with its gnarled claws and you feel yourself losing strength.

You fall to the ground in a pool of your own blood and start to slip away.

By the time Cass finds you, you lay dead on the ground, mangled.

She can’t believe her eyes. She runs to you and frantically tries to get you to wake up, but it is far too late.

Cass then does something she hasn’t done in a long time. She cries. She cries over the fact that she could have effortlessly taken down the lycan herself if she was there. She feels sorrow and guilt for the terror you must have felt out there all alone.

As she cries, she hears your voice and looks down at your body, hopeful that you may have revived somehow.

As she sees no movement, she looks behind her to see your ghostly form.

“All these tears for me?” You smile sadly.

Cass is sure she is hallucinating.

You tell her how much you love her and that you will try to visit her as much as you can. This arrangement makes Cass feel a bit better.

Daniela:

You lived a long and healthy life with Dani. You two were so in love.

Sadly, you were getting older and had developed a few health conditions that would soon take you away from your beloved Dani.

She begged Mother Miranda to use the cadou on you, but you had refused, saying that you were at peace and that this was just the way things were.

Mother Miranda agreed with your decision, saying it probably would not work on your ailing body anyway.

Dani sat by your side and held your hand as she watched the life dull in your eyes.

She was all alone now. You were her constant company and now she didn’t know what she was going to do.

She knew this would happen one day, but it didn’t make it any easier.

As Dani is going through your possessions one day, she hears a chuckle that sounds like you.

“Stealing my stuff now, babe?” You grin at her.

Dani immediately runs to hug you, but you are merely an apparition.

Dani tears up when she sees the youthful version of yourself she hasn’t witnessed in over 50 years.

You tell Dani that if she ever needs to talk you will try and visit her.

Dani is somewhat okay with this arrangement, but you can never stay long enough on your visits to truly satisfy her need to be around you.

Masterlist

[jq37]

Ok, I'm a little horrified that Kristens neglect killed Yes!. That's a downer. And I guess poor Cassandra needs more than two worshippers to exist properly. Hopefully, crisis mode will help Kristen focus up and be NICER TO THEM. It's possible Kristen's crap attitude might be insecurity or guilt. She hasn't been doing the best job spreading Cassandra's gospel and just feels like she's failing them so she's lashing out. And Gorgug and Zelda breaking up bummed me out.

I think D&D is an…interesting but flawed avenue to look at religious trauma. In the same way that X-Men for instance can be used to make some interesting and engaging points about real life prejudice but the metaphor is imperfect because civillians in the marvel universe kinda have a point to be scared of the fact that a random teen with bad self regulation could suddenly manifest the power to blow up people he doesn't like with his mind (even if he doesn't mean to) whereas, irl, Black people or Jewish people or gay people are just people and if you're scared of them then that's a you problem.

Similarly, the religious trauma metaphor goes a little weird in a world where your god is just a person who 100% exists and gives you concrete superpowers every day. I've always felt this way about Kristen's various arcs and it's especially noticible to me right now because I get where she is on her arc, but it hits different when what she's running from is a girl who is emotionally her age and who counts on her for her existence rather than like…the IRL Catholic Church, you know?

She's being very callous in a way that feels very harsh, even though I know she def needs to go to therapy and there probably hasn't been a lot of time for that. And the fact that Cass looks just like her from a year ago really makes it seem like there's some internal, self-hatred or something she needs to work out. Likely some guilt there too--maybe from doing a bad job or for wanting to quit the religion thing alltogether or something else or a combination.

Because of the snippets of interviews I saw, I'm trusting that Brennan and Ally have a plan here, and I see how this could be the setup for something interesting. But yeah, I don't really find it fun to watch Cass get treated so poorly.

And yeah, RIP to Zelda/Gorgug but that's pretty typical for a high school relationship and at least that seems to have ended on good terms.

[s0ft-d3cay]

Terrified

Shigaraki x Male Reader | Dog…this was not what I had planned.

WARNINGS: AFO, Fighting AFO, violence from AFO towards reader and Shigaraki and the other way around, mentions of reader being kidnapped, mentions of drugs being used on reader but not descriptive on what, reader is smart, reader is very self-sacrificing in this one, reader kills AFO, reader suffers from his quirk turning against him, like it’s pretty bad, reader has a panic attack but Shigaraki helps him, cute ending this time! No seriously, they kiss and joke at the end I promise. Reader has an energy based quirk that uses an exchange of any present emotional energy from enemies and alleys, can be used as a power up to manifest his body like daggers and wings as well as power ups and a healing sector to those he's formed an emotional connection to. However, too much consumed energy will result in a black hole like effect to the Reader’s quirk. Reader's body will enter a cycle of healing and destroying itself until it either evolves or another set of present emotions can override the painful cycle. Reader has three sets of wings because why not...

WC: 4,412

The media was in a world wind of their own, cameras and reporters blocking a high security hospital. Tomura felt an unexpected wave of panic and anxiety when he read the news. With deep uncertainty and doubt, he walks towards the place where Y/N was currently being held, ready to save the healer.

Tomura walks up to the high security hospital, his heart is beating at a pace that makes him feel nauseous. Not afraid for himself, he knows very well that he is powerful enough to deal with any situation. But he's afraid for Y/N… Glancing over at the guards surrounding the entrance, and decides to make his way inside.

Red eyes stare passed the guards, analyzing each guard's position without moving. A powerful burst of his Quirk, ridding the guards of their duty. He then opens the cell door and enters. Finding Y/N strapped down to a hospital bed in a dark room with no windows. Moving fast beside the bed, gently caressing his face with panic in his eyes. "Y/N…healer it's me..." He whispers, his eyes glossing over in relief. Y/N instantly leans to the villains touch. "Tomura…?" The man whispers out, voice hoarse and cracking. Eyes heavily open, exhausted and hazed over. "You…you can’t be…" Y/N quietly utters out, his exhausted gaze turns straight to worry. "It's me, Y/N…I’m here. I’m right here..." Tomura whispers, smiling and caressing his face. Hands shaking in his presence makes him extremely happy. The person who never gave up and always believed in him and his own freedom. "...You know I couldn't just leave you here..." Voice breaking a few times.

Y/N's eyes began filling with tears, head shaking back and forth in your caress, the cuffs around his wrists and ankles clank as he moves. Brows lower in guilt, realizing what he’s done. "Tomura you…you need to get out of here." He warns in an almost silent voice, how could the villain not see that this was a trap.

Tomura shakes his head. "No, healer…I won't leave you by yourself anymore." Bringing his face closer to the healer. "Y/N…my Y/N..." He whispers, his voice almost inaudible. "Can you please, forgive me?" Tomura stares with deep sincerity, wanting Y/N to understand that his heart was good. That his own belief in the villain's goodness was always right. That he never wanted to kill anyone…he wanted to be loved and cared for, just like Y/N always wanted for him. Y/N's eyes soften as he leaned in closer.

"Of course I forgive-but you don’t have time…you need to go." He whispers desperately, his forehead to yours as he tries pushing you away. "What do you mean?" Tomura whispers back, red eyes of fearful abandonment stares through Y/N. Red eyes filled with confusion, and he's not sure what the other man meant by 'not having time'. "I have nothing but time…we have nothing but time." He declares, voice starting to shake and falter. Fresh tears fall down Y/N's cheeks as he trembles. Eyes so full of self-blame, knowing he was the cause of their fates. "Why did you have to come back..." The healer whispered, sentence breaking in between his words.

"My...how heartbreaking…" None other than All For One enters the small cell, suited up in his black new suit and breathing mask. Tomura's heart skips a beat at the sight of All For One entering the cell. His expression changes rapidly, ready for his master’s heartless brutality. He holds Y/N tight, still stroking his face and the tears that fall down the healer's cheeks. "What a pleasant surprise... I was worried that you might come after me..." He says, looking at All For One with an groundbreaking stare. He knew that All For One was expecting it, but Tomura knew that he had to stay behind to help the healer escape, regardless of the consequences for himself. "Lucky for me, you came right where I needed you to be." All For One predicted, taking a few steps inside the room. His presence so thick the air became still and cold. "I thought we destroyed all your childish endeavors?" He questions in a disappointed tone.

Tomura chuckles softly, in an almost vile way, and he answers to All For One. "Destroying all my childish endeavors is easy...but...destroying my connections with the league…with him. You could never.." He remarks in a serious tone, his eyes still staring at All For One's without showing any emotion whatsoever. Hands continuing to caress his healer’s face, wanting him to feel comfortable despite the situation. "You may have destroyed everything I cared about...but you could never destroy who I am." He says, his jaw clenched.

Silently watching the two, Y/N tries to formulate a plan to get both of them out safe. His wrists and ankles were still cuffed, leaving him immobile. He needed All For One to throw him, plan and simple, the man was already agitated enough. He tries to lean closer to whisper in Tomura's ear. "Stall for me, I have a plan…" The drugs they'd gave him were still circulating in his system, he only needed a little more time to create a portal. Slowly but surely taking in the thick disappointment that waved off of All For One, body shaking from the overwhelming pull of indulging on the evil man’s very being.

Tomura nods, keeping his dangerous gaze at All For One with a smug expression, confident that he can help. "I knew you wouldn’t kill him. It wasn’t too long of a wait until he practically fell in my hands. Now that we’re all here, you can watch as I kill him instead." All For One uses a sound wave quirk, effectively breaking the hospital bed. Throwing both men to the floor side by side, Y/N facing away as Tomura kept his eyes on his master, All For One strides toward Y/N first.

Tomura's face changes immediately as he crawls in front of the healer. He places himself in front of you, trying to shield you from the worst possible outcome. "He has nothing to do with this!" He warns to All For One, his tone being firm and commanding. All For One laughs manically, the anger and blood-lust utterly adorable to him. "You’re wrong Tomura..." The man’s quick to use his Rivet Stab quirk to shove the blue haired villain against the opposite wall. Blunt force pushing the white haired man against the wall, unable to move. Widened eyed in fear as he looks back at Y/N, heart beating out of his chest. He can feel the panic rising inside his chest, the need to protect his healer took over like a primal instinct. Both hands placed on the wall behind him, decay slowly cracking the floor and surrounding walls towards All for One.

"He has everything to do with this, he’s taking away everything that you are. I’m only doing this for your own good, Tomura." All For One said, now holding a limp Y/N by his neck as he pulls him to stand. The healer claws at the man's hand tightening around him, eyes closing as his ability to breathe was slowly being taken. "Let him go!" His voice being filled with desperation and rage, he clenches his hand to the wall in anger. Tomura’s quirk quickly spread over the room as All For One mockingly laughs, watching as his young protégé struggles to save his healer. Y/N on the other hand was now in the process of gathering the last bit of energy for his plan, the controlling manipulation and magnetic dread absorbing within himself.

Y/N opens his glowing eyes, glancing over at you, smiling softly. His expression turns smug as he winks at Tomura. "Meet you on the ground." He whispers before both All For One and him disappear into though a glitchy red portal. Tomura immediately dashes out of the building, following the sounds of fighting. Eyes are determined and heart is racing, knowing that this could truly be the end for his master.

Hit after hit, Y/N continues to endure; his body sore and bloodied from being thrown around like a rag doll. Planning on keeping All For One's attention on him for as long as he could. "You and Tomura are weak, you’ve completely destroyed my successor. He was perfect and you ruined him." All For One relays with each attack of his air cannon quirk.

Remaining hidden from All For One's view, Tomura takes a deep breath as he enters the battlefield to help. All For One was too distracted with Y/N to see the real threat behind him. "Master!" Tomura shouts, calling the supervillain's attention. All For One turns his head, and the moment he sees Tomura, his face changes with a hint of shock and malevolent aura. "So, you’ve finally decided to fight against me…how predictable Tomura." He says, arrogance tracing his words.

The healer takes the chance to plant two punches to All For Ones face before pushing him into the building behind Tomura. The white haired man smirks at seeing Y/N's attack hit hard, and decides to take this opportunity to also strike at All For One, firing a powerful stream of decay towards him. All For One counters back with his own force, managing to push Tomura against the near by wall. Focuses his attention at Y/N, ready to deliver the fatal strike.

Y/N sprints to the both of them, his anger at All For One begins manifesting over his body in purple orbs, sending a wave of daggers towards All For One, carefully missing Tomura. Red eyes fill with worry again when he sees Y/N getting closer without any source of protection from All For One’s next attack. The older man raises his hand up to the healer, air canons shooting at him.

"Healer, look ou-" Tomura tries to call out, but is abruptly cut-off by All For One's foot hitting him in the stomach, throwing him out of the building. His body meeting the brick wall across from the two. The white haired man rolls to the floor to catch his breath. Y/N continues charging All For One, his intent to make him suffer fills his veins. The healer’s pain transforming his quirk to manifest three pairs wings on his back. His speed now even faster towards the supervillain, a blade in each hand as he swings at All For One.

Tomura watches as Y/N charges at All For One, and can't help but marvel at the speed and strength of the healer. All For One slightly impressed at the reveal of his power up, but not impressed enough to counter-attack at full force. Tomura can only watch in horror as he feels the ground shaking under his feet. Rushing over to the man, his eyes wide in fear. Y/N spins himself in midair as All For One’s counter attack nears him, his wings glowing turquoise at the impact. All For One’s quirk was not only shield from Y/N, but mirrored off his wings, ricocheting back to the old man. Sending him flying back across the street yard. Y/N's eyes full enveloped in black as dark discolored tears ran down his cheeks. He breathes heavily as he struts over to Tomura, his eyes still on All For One with a look of disgust.

Tomura, relieved at the healers success can't help but smile when his previous master gets hit by the reflected attack. He steps closer to Y/N, "How are you holding up?" He asks, in a heavy pant. His gaze on the man’s back and wings as he awaits a responds. "I don’t know how long I have in this form." Y/N answers, voice now a mix of deeper and higher pitches. He unnaturally stands tall as he throws his blade at All For One, stabbing the tall villain in the hand. The man from a distance doesn’t flinch or cry.

"Let’s make this quick and get out of here for good." The healer declared softly towards Tomura, even within the inky blackness of his eyes his usual warm gazing into the white haired villain. Tomura's eyes fill with hope after hearing your words, and he nods firmly at your words, "Agreed, I know I have been a coward in front of All For One in the past, but I will not run anymore." He says, voice filled with intent to kill. Looking back at the man he used to call master, throwing a powerful Air Blast. "Go, I'll take care of this." He calls to the healer, gesturing for him to escape the fight.

"No, I’m not leaving you. Not this time…" Y/N insisted, taking a step closer. Wings fluttering as his closeness brought a new warmth and add energy to Tomura. Unbeknownst to Y/N, his quirk turning into a healer sector to those near the man. Tomura stares with surprise as soon as he feels the warmth and extra energy within his body. "Y/N are you…healing me right now?" Unsure of how to react, he's thankful for the extra boost yet at the same time he is afraid that the healer is weakening himself in the process. "No, I’m not." He answered back with a look of confusion, his black eyes turn to his hands in question, then back up to Tomura. "Am I…healing you right now?" Looking back at the other villain, noticing how the wings on your back thrum with a familiar beat. He thinks to himself, 'Is he using all of his remaining energy on me?' "I think so..." Tomura says, his eyes dwelling on Y/N with concern.

Still, he can't help but be thankful for what Y/N is doing for him. He feels the pain in his body dissipate, even with the knowledge that his love is doing something incredibly brave and risky right now. "I.." The healer looks back at All For One as he throws dagger towards the old man, hitting his kneecap. A realization hit him, "I have an idea, I need to get close to him again. I can reverse my healing properties and turn them into a black hole, I need you to be ready after." He asked.

"Black hole…?" He repeats under his breath, eyes wide and unsettled. "Don't tell me you're going to absorb him…" The healer doesn’t answer, his wings seemingly drooped over him in guilt. Wordlessly, Y/N sprints to All For One with a few flutter of his wings.

Tomura's heart races, as he watches Y/N run towards the supervillain. He feels a sudden rush of dread fill his stomach, as he realizes how terrible this could go. "Healer, please..." He whispers softly, his tone filled with desperation and panic. "...be careful."

With no weapons in his hands, Y/N collects his healing energy and twists. Aura changing as he reaches All For One, a burst of light emanates from him forming a large bubble around him and All For One. Unlike his usual wards, this one had an electric pulse to it, like a heartbeat. Tomura's eyes widen in sheer shock, the air around him feels suddenly stagnant, the weight of dread heavy over Tomura as the reoccurring thought of losing Y/N enters his brain. All For One soon falls to the ground in agony, writhing and squirming in pain. Y/N, with open palms facing up allows All For One’s essence to flow through him freely.

The white haired man's heart races as he watches the scene within the bubble, eyes filling with relief once he sees All For One being robbed of his stolen quirks. The bubble begins to waver as the healer becomes wobbly with the amount of energy he’s in-taking. Y/N's face shows a moment of pain before the pop of the bubble, trembling on his feet as All For One lays almost motionless in front of him. The healer stands in one spot, afraid to move with all the energy stored within him.

Tomura's eyes fill with distress as soon as he sees how exhausted and weakened the healer now is. Feeling extremely anxious about facing All For One directly one last time. He takes in a deep breath, getting ready for what is yet to come. "...Stay behind me" He whispers protectively. The healer stays in place as the man stepped in front of him, eyes boring on All For One. He lays on the ground in shock, every quirk he’s collected over the plethora of years…gone. Energy nearly depleted and taken. "You…you two-" Trying to speak, his voice strained from his screams of protest. Tomura takes a step closer to All For One, his fists clenched in anger. "What's the matter? Is it frustrating, having to fight with only your words?" He asking, a sadistic smile forms on his lips.

All For One grits his teeth in frustration, trying to stand up and fight again. Luckily, he was too weak to get up. "What…how you done to me…give them back now!" The man demanded at Y/N, he turn to Tomura in anger. "I’m gonna make the both of you suffer for this…I am going to make you suffer the worst Y/N, you hear me?" He threatens in a low tone. The now quirkless man glares at both of them with pure hate.

"Kill him." Tomura commands simply. Y/N steps over to the older man, rolling him on his back with a kick to his side. Watching the supervillain groan in pain at the hit, the healer then manifests a scythe from his hands. Setting it near the man’s neck before raising it above his shoulders and swinging down. One fluid motion left both Y/N and more importantly Tomura free from their shackles.

Before Tomura gets to the point of feeling satisfied with his late masters well deserved death, his eyes fill with worry for the healer again. The man drops the scythe on the ground as a heavy wave of exhaustion crashed into him. "Y/N..." He says quietly, slowly approaching the man with caution. "Are you alright?" He asks, a bad feeling developing about what his partner's answer will be after using so much of his energy.

Y/N’s head turns to Tomura, his eyes no longer glimmering and bright, but distant and hazy. His body then goes limp as he crashes to the ground, beyond the point of exhaustion. "I…I can’t..." The healer tries to speak, his voice cracking between his normal one and his new combination of pitches. The feeling of his healing and warmth was no longer emitting from him. Tomura was quickly to his side, arms moving the man to rest against his shoulder and neck. Feeling the lack of the warmth and energy that he felt not even a second ago. Something is definitely off and he knows that he has to do something, fast. "Y/N, stay with me. Please..." He begs, a hint of desperation behind his words.

His arms cradling Y/N in his lap, as if holding the man was the only thing he could think of. The healer’s breathing was sharp and quick, eyes frantically focused on the healer’s scrunches ones. Fear written all over his face, his body shakes in pain and overwhelming energy. "I…I don’t…I-" Y/N whispers out, terrified of what’s happening. His body was quickly turn back from his awakened state into his normal body. With no energy to heal himself, actively pulling his body apart.

Terrified at the healer's condition, Tomura’s vibrant eyes gloss over as he begins to panic. He knows Y/N needed help, The villain needed to do something and fast. "Tomura…I-I’m scared." The man whimpered, his shaky arms tight around the white haired villain. Desperate to feel something other than the pain of his body eating away at itself, tears falling down his cheeks in droves. "It h-hurts.." Tomura feels worst by the second, feeling the man embracing him so tightly. He wants to take away that fear in the healer's eyes.

Mind racing as he thinks quickly, trying to think of what might help you heal, or at least ease your pain."Y/N...can you feel me?" Tomura questions, his tone full of urgency, needed the healer's answer to know if he can try something. "F-feel you?" Y/N repeated, trying to focus on the man embracing him. The familiar tranquility and essence within, wanting to comfort the healer and sooth his pain. "You feel safe and-d so so warm and…" He answered after a moment, still clinging to Tomura. Head placed against his chest, sighing in relief when he hears the man’s answer, gently holding Y/N’s head against his chest.

"Good. I'm gonna try something, alright?" Tone filled with the hope that his words will encourage the man."I'm going to share some of the energy with me, so you can use it to heal yourself." Tomura explained, thinking back to all the times that Y/N shared his aura and warmth to him and felt how the man used it to heal him.

Y/N’s blood runs cold at Tomura’s words, squirming in his hold. Even in his weakened state…he still fights back. "No, no please, no more energy I don’t want that again please!" The healer pleaded trying to push away and pull himself away, even with Tomura's warming aura helping. It then clicked with Tomura, taking All For One’s quirks and energy came with his own emotions and memories that made their way through the healer. Completely overwhelming the man in his arms.

"Look at me." Tomura gently begs. "...we don't have any other choice. If you don't take my energy you’ll..." Trying to explain the situation. "Please take my energy, I'm begging you, Y/N…" The healer’s eyes stare up at Tomura, melting against his embrace again, only the slightest jolting of his pain was keeping him from fully healing.

In a state of exhaustion and desperation, Y/N questioned. "…Promise no bad energy…" He whispers in painful conflict, he wanted to pain to go away, but he feared in feeling anything that wasn’t warm and comforting. "Promise?" Tomura feels his heart aching at the need of his touch, his heat, his comfort. He feels how the healer is trying to use what remains of his energy to fight, but it is clear to him that Y/N has grown too weak to stop the pain that is flooding his body. Tomura nods at the request with determination. "No bad energy, I promise."

"…okay." The healer whispered, head moving to rest on Tomura’s chest. Allowing himself to be exposed to all that Tomura could give and feel for him, raising a shaky trembling hand to his chest as he takes small amounts of energy. Tomura places a loving hand on Y/N's back, reassuringly. Glad that the healer was finally accepting his help. In turn, he does what he can to give Y/N more ease. He feels how intensifying and stronger his energy flowing to the man.

Y/N took small portions of energy, healing himself while replenishing the villains own injuries. After a few minutes his body settles from trembling and relaxes fully against Tomura. His breathing now normal and full, the healer staying with in the confined energy of love towards him before he returns his own loving energy back. Feeling how Y/N gave back his energy back, fills Tomura's heart with relief. "Y/N…you had me scared." He utters with a smile on his face, tone filled with admiration.

"…I didn’t…we didn’t have anything else to use and I thought I’d be able to do it…" The healer admitted apologetically, hugging back. Arms and hands no longer shaking as he hugs back firmly. "I’m sorry I scared you…" Y/N whispered honestly. "It's fine." Tomura replied back softly. "...All that matters is that you are safe and well right now and I’m so relieved to see you back to normal." He adds with a light smile.

"...just try not to scare me like that again, okay?" Tomura chuckles softly, trying to get the mood to a light and humorous one. Y/N nods into his shoulder. "…did I at least look cool with the wings?" He asked muffled, lightly up the mood with his partner. Tomura laughs at the healer's words, smile widening. "You know that you always look handsome, even with wings." He kisses his cheek gently after speaking. "I feel like I haven't kissed you in years." He commented softly, tone playful and teasing.

"It’s only been four days since you’ve kissed me, silly." Y/N replies back, his own tone mirroring the villain’s playfulness. His exhaustion only a hint within his body, but no longer in his voice or expression. "I know Y/N, I was just kidding." Tomura chuckles again, still holding him tightly in his arms. "But I sure need a couple more kisses to make up for those days without your sweet kisses." He adds with a mischievous grin and adoring red eyes. "...my sweet healer." He adds, as he strokes your forehead with a soft touch of his fingers.

Y/N’s heart swooned at Tomura's chuckle and mischievous grin. Visibly melting at the nickname, he giggles. Indulging himself into the other man’s touch and affectionate love he’d always had for Y/N. "How long have you been keeping in that pet name in for, sweetheart?" He asked before pressing his lips to the villain, lips pressing tenderly and slow against Tomura’s chapped ones.

The white haired man groans happily at Y/N’s kiss, enthusiastically moving his lips in sync. "I've been thinking of it for a while..." Tomura chuckles out, gently kissing Y/N again in the same manner. "You know I enjoy giving you nicknames, my sweet healer." He adds. The healer breathes out a chuckle, pressing his lips softly to Tomura's in a longer kiss. Conveying his appreciation and love towards his partner.

"I've missed you so much, Tomura."

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights of any of the characters I write about, all the rights go to their respective creators.

[right-there-ride-on]

Deciphering the Civil War Arc

I will openly admit that even on my third readthrough of SBR this is probably the arc I had the hardest time grasping. It's clearly thematically rich, but what, exactly, is it trying to say? This is my attempt to better understand what the hell is happening in this stand battle.

I'll start off with a little bit of Hot Pants and Johnny, because their parallels fascinate me.

HP revisits the idea of 'sacrifice', one of the most prominent themes in SBR (brought up even in a light way during the very early chapters, when we see Gyro must choose between what to carry with him into the race, tossing aside whatever he decides not to take.)

Notably, Johnny and Gyro just had another arc dealing with the idea of 'sacrifice': Sugar Mountain. Johnny has already sacrificed the corpse parts to save Gyro (quite a few times, actually). The difference here is that the sacrifice is no longer governed by an equivalent exchange.

We know HP began collecting the parts for the Vatican in order to try and do something that would earn them 'forgiveness' for the death of their brother. Now, under the effects of Civil War, it's shown that the 'sacrifice' of the parts (to a supposedly 'larger cause' (namely Valentine, though this could be substituted with the Pope)) demonstrably did nothing to alleviate their personal guilt. How awfully Christian. HP advises Johnny to hold on to the corpse - if giving up the corpse parts to a larger cause did nothing, then perhaps holding onto them will unlock the path to forgiveness - but before the conversation can continue HP's guilt quite literally begins to suffocate them.

We now introduce the idea of not only 'sacrifice', but 'sins' and 'purification'. Guess the Christian influences aren't only aesthetic after all.

Of course, it's 'pure water' (holy water) that can purify one's guilt (guilt being the end result of committing a sin).

Now the idea of 'sacrifice' is being correlated with the ideas of both 'sins' and 'guilt'. A sin here is, essentially, the idea of 'sacrificing' for an unworthy cause (e.g. killing someone for a selfish reason).

Chapter 56: Civil War (Part 1)

We cut to Gyro encountering Axl Ro and Civil War. These are Civil War's first words, which tells us something about the theme of the arc. The question being posed is, put simply: Are your sins ('sacrifices') worth the guilt you now carry?

SURPRISE STARPANTS PARALLELS:

HP too is seeking the corpse parts to find forgiveness (to bring their 'negative' up to 'zero'!). There are some differences worth noting: HP kept the cause of their brother's death a secret, while the cause of Nicholas' death was quite literally shouted to the entire staff by Diego. The guilt ate at them inside, so they turned to God to find forgiveness. Johnny, meanwhile, pretended not to give a fuck about anything to avoid being constantly told to his face by George that his brother's death was his fault. HP hid among the holy while Johnny drowned in debauchery. But both of them seek forgiveness and some sort of return to normalcy, which they both believe can be achieved through the corpse. Through the corpse, all 'sins' can be forgiven - even sins committed in the corpse's name (think of all the people killed in the corpse's wake, noted by Valentine in Chapter 86: Ball Breaker (Part 3) - he literally calls Johnny a sacrifice!)

HP's backstory is immediately followed by the return of Johnny's own ghosts - he himself says that he's haunted every night by his guilt, manifesting inside and outside of dreams as Danny. Yet, even though Johnny claims he can shoot it (put his guilt behind him), we see that he continues to waver. Johnny, like HP, is caught between selfishness, guilt, trauma and redemption.

Johnny's illusion via Civil War is literally Nicholas parroting back the rhetoric about his death that George and Johnny believe about Johnny himself.

Chapter 57: Civil War (Part 2)

Ok, manifestation of trauma and guilt is here. How do we beat it? Jesus Christ himself gives Johnny some extremely cryptic hints.

We'll round back to this. I'm not even sure my interpretation is correct, but hey, that's what this whole exercise is for.

'Pure water' (holy water) only works for a while. Guilt (in the form of Danny) continues to hound Johnny, while HP and Gyro are literally being suffocated by their own. Furthermore, even once Johnny confronts what he perceives to be the source of his guilt (manifested via Civil War), we see that killing Axl Ro does nothing but strengthen Civil War, because in order to 'purify' himself of his 'sins', Johnny has sinned once again (by killing selfishly). The guilt thus compounds, unloading Axl Ro's guilt onto Johnny while Axl Ro, through the 'sacrifice' of his life (generally seen as the most selfless act one can do - think Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, which I'm sure the location of this arc is a reference to), is the one actually purified.

This is not a condemnation btw I think Johnny should be allowed to kill whoever he wants.

Chapter 58: Civil War (Part 3)

Axl Ro, through the 'sacrifice' of his life - or, more accurately, through having the resolve to sacrifice his life - is the one to achieve purification. Someone committed the ultimate sin against him, leaving him 'purified'.

He even spells it out for us:

The pursuit of the corpse has caused countless casualties. Those who were 'enemies' to Johnny and Gyro were 'allies' to Valentine. It really does come down to perspective. Anyway, the point is, Civil War has now condemned Johnny as the ultimate sinner. 'His' guilt (Axl Ro's) begins to quite literally start tearing Johnny apart.

Jesus again warns Johnny:

Jesus essentially guides Johnny through his trauma, helping him understand that he’s worthy of forgiveness and thus deserving of healing - but only if he himself has the resolve to move forward (and fight for the corpse). It's quite interesting that Jesus appeared to Johnny instead of, you know, the person of faith in the next room. Could it be because, as Johnny implies in Chapter 56: Civil War (Part 1), HP hasn't 'truly' devoted themselves to God, but rather is using religion to try and alleviate their guilt (because it turns out they were not actually gathering the parts purely for the Vatican, but also for themselves)? I can't say. I'm not well enough versed in theology to even begin unpacking that. Anyway, Jesus helps Johnny understand the truth of his trauma, and the 'sins' he supposedly committed against Nicholas and his father. Prior to the confrontation with Axl Ro and his vision of Jesus, Johnny even states, "I didn't throw him away! You threw me away! You didn't even come to my races! You didn't even come to see me in the hospital when I got shot!" (Chapter 58: Civil War (Part 3))

Some part of Johnny already understood he was unfairly blamed for Nicholas' death, but that's still guilt (his greatest 'sin') that he's carried with him up until this point. His heart is wavering because some part of him doubts he's even worthy to have the corpse parts - doubts he's worthy to be forgiven. But with Jesus' final warning, Johnny finally understands that Nicholas' death is not his burden to bear, and he no longer wavers on what must be done. He resolves to complete the corpse and be 'purified', even at the 'sacrifice' of his life.

Still, we're in the middle of a stand battle. Johnny is still under the effects of Civil War, but this guilt isn't his. Axl Ro is the one running from his guilt, his sin, his sacrifices. He allowed a massacre to occur in exchange for his own life - hardly an equivalent exchange. He's in the one in possession of the corpse, but he is unworthy of it.

Axl Ro becomes so enraged at the thought of someone like Johnny touching the corpse that he 'sacrifices' Johnny in order to keep the corpse to himself - thus committing the ultimate sin and condemning himself once again.

Chapter 59: Gettysburg Dream

Johnny, however, has been purified. We see through Axl Ro's comments and panic what kind of person he really is. He looks down on Johnny, calling him 'trash' and cursing him out (while holding the Holy Corpse!) This is a common theme is Steel Ball Run. We see it with Blackmore and later Valentine too - each of them proclaims themselves the only ones worthy of the corpse. Why? Well, their goals are loftier than Johnny's, better by default simply because they claim it's for a noble cause. Their sins should be forgiven because they did it in the name of good.

Yet, from what I know of the Bible, Jesus wasn't the sort of person who would have accepted that argument. In fact, Jesus was well-known as a miracle worker and man of the people. He probably would have much preferred healing a disabled man to helping a man kill a young girl (Blackmore), aiding a Confederate soldier (Axl Ro), or making one people's superior over others simply according to which nation they belong to (Valentine).

SBR ended with the corpse locked away, everyone left alive concluding such a thing shouldn't be in the hands of anyone. So, despite Gyro and Axl Ro's protests - is Johnny threatening to destroy the corpse truly a bad thing? Does anyone really 'deserve' the corpse at all?

Should anyone truly have the power to decide who deserves to be forgiven? To decide which causes are just and which ones are not? To decide what peoples deserve the right to good fortune?

To decide who has worth and who doesn’t?

Final notes:

In the case of Nick's death, Johnny was not guilty. In the case of collecting the corpse parts and being willing to kill to keep them? A little blurrier, but by examination of the text we see that, a majority, if not all of the time, Johnny and Gyro only kill in self-defense. It's not really a 'sacrifice' (sin) then, but an equivalent exchange - someone attempted to take their lives, and that person's life was taken instead.

Notably, self-defense (or rather, the protection of another) is the same excuse Valentine uses at the end of Chapter 59: Gettysburg Dream, and we see that he is free of the effects of Civil War.

I think (and this is a pretty big I think), Civil War's themes culminate in this: You cannot earn forgiveness as long as you deceive yourself about your sins. Whether the guilt is yours or forced onto you by somebody, you need to understand it. Forgiveness will not be achieved through sacrifice and sinning, but by being able to look yourself in the mirror and be okay with what’s happened to bring you to where you are.

To put it simply, don't run from your guilt / ‘sins’ (as HP did through the church, and as Johnny did when he shot anyone but himself) and don't blame others for your mistakes / guilt (Axl Ro). The only way to be truly ‘purified’ of your guilt is to have grace with yourself and find the resolve to move forward.

Civil War, the arc and the stand, is about overcoming trauma, forgiving your mistakes and accepting redemption.

I am totally open to discussing this further, as even now I am not so sure about this conclusion. This was just my reading and I'm very open to hearing that of others!

Thank you for reading.

[imminent-danger-came]

WAIT HOLD UP

When talking about Mei being like Monkey King. There was a really strong parallel in season 3!

It was kinda mentioned already? But I don‘t just mean thematically, in the execution too! The scene Wukong was willing to kill the host child and Mei was willing to burn him, because they felt they had no other choice.

(I think she even mentioned that this is what Monkey King would do. What a hero would do.)

They both even had that small confrontation of "Are you really willing to sacrifice a child/friend?". And both make the tough call that this is something they HAVE to do. Maybe with some guilt, yes, but always without question.

GOD YOU'RE SO RIGHT ANON.

Lady Bone Demon: "Stop! Have you forgotten? Destroy me and you destroy the host. Have you become so desperate to end me that you would sacrifice this blameless, innocent, child?"

Sun Wukong: "You're giving me no choice! All the time you spent locked away and you haven't changed a bit! I'm going to finish you, like I should have done a long time ago! I told you—you should have stayed buried."

(3x11 This Imperfect World) (Always manifesting this scene for eamk)

-

Lady Bone Demon: "*laughs* You think whatever happens to Wukong is of concern to me? He is a vessel—nothing more. You would really destroy your own friends to save yourself?"

Red Son Voice Over: "Harmonize the wild energies and emotions burning within us and focus them!"

Mei: "Wukong knew the risks, it's what he would do if he had to. That's the hard part of being a hero!"

(3x12 The Corrupted King) (Omg hi hand motif! Hi!!!!)

-

Bonus Secret 3rd Parallel:

MK: "I'm not gonna let you win!" Lady Bone Demon: "In your thirst to destroy me you used all your powers!" MK: "Not all of them."

(2x10 This is the End!)

-

Some extra thoughts under the cut!

What interests me the most about this parallel is the fact that Mei would totally sacrifice Wukong and Wukong would totally sacrifice that little girl—it's a simply trolley problem for them—but if that person were MK?

I don't think either of them could do it.

Here's where I get into more speculative territory, because personally I think Wukong killed Macaque, and I'm also a believer in EAMK, so I'm going to be plastering a lot of red string!

SO. Would Wukong willingly sacrifice someone who meant so much to him?

You could argue he already did so with Macaque—I think that's what they're setting up anyways. I think Macaque's death is going to fall into place with our continuing "do you sacrifice one person for the many" conflict we have going on here, one that was definitely built upon in 4x13:

Yellowtusk: "I know full well what would happen should Azure fail but- but he is my brother. I owe him my life!" Sandy: "We get it! I'd do anything to help my friends! But at the cost of the world?" Pigsy: "I'm sorry pal, but NOTHIN' is worth that price!"

(4x13 Rip and Tear)

-

So it seems clear: You sacrifice the one person for the sake of the world.

I think looking at this conflict and using it as a lens to look at Samadhi Fire Mei brings up some interesting points. If Wukong's had pulled off his plan without Macaque or Ne Zha's interference, and then hadn't been able to safely extract the Samadhi Fire from Mei...would Wukong have sacrificed her?

Everyone in 3x10 was willing to sacrifice Mei in a way, to leave her—except MK. MK refused to abandon her, risking himself and the world if he wasn't successful and the Samadhi Fire continued to burn out of control. But in this situation...choosing one person over the world was the right choice.

((Just wanted to point out that both Wukong and Mei are very willing to sacrifice each other which fascinates me. Moving on!))

Wukong himself isn't won't make that sacrifice if he feels there's another option: "You're giving me no choice!" (which I think echoes Mei's "We don't have a choice!" from 3x02)

All of this is a long winded way for me to say that at some point MK is going on the chopping block, either next season or beyond. It's going to be either him or the world, or at least it's going to seem that way, and our protags are going to have to make a very hard choice (omg hi "They will destroy you, harbinger of chaos!").

BUT, BRINGING THIS BACK AROUND TO EAMK.

Wukong won't destroy the one life if he feels he has a choice. This is where baby MK steps in: "all the time [he] spent locked away", and he changed EXTREMELY. To the point where he's basically not the thing that was sealed away in the stone, and very much just a "blameless, innocent, child"—meaning Wukong had a choice.

SO. Basically it's my hope that Wukong already chose MK over the world once, and him and Mei are gonna do it again.

[genericpuff]

Cait comp'd her book to The Locked Tomb. THE LOCKED TOMB COMBINED WITH LORE OLYMPUS. NO. NO NO NO. IN WHAT WORLD ARE THESE TWO IN THE SAME SENTENCE. I NEED TO SCREAM.

Apologies in advance, but these are two polar opposite series and it's a joke Cait thinks she can combine the two without Gideon Nav manifesting in her apartment and throwing hands. Oh my god.

I won't try to do spoilers here because I think you would personally vibe with the series, it's right up your alley and I highly recommend the audiobooks, especially while drawing. It's currently three books and the last one (the fourth book) should be out in Fall 2024. The Locked Tomb is starkly gothic and dark (gruesome death, resurrection, body horror, weird twins, turbo cancer (an actual quote from the books), and so much more), full to the brim with horror, sci-fi, and modern-day political commentary, and is apologetically queer as fuck. I'm talking lesbian enemies to friends to lovers, I'm talking Maori-coded rugby player who loves to talk about her porn magazines while trying to keep her homeless chihuahua of a girlfriend from getting herself killed (said chihuahua controls skeletons), I'm talking using clever ways to sneak in memes, I'm talking loving the side characters as much as you love the leads and the author loves them all too, I'm talking Catholic guilt but make it sexy and gay, I'm talking a literal ghost shows up with a fucking gun. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's a series you need to re-read multiple times to try and figure out every little detail and people to this day are still finding out foreshadowing from the first book alone. There is no random lines or dropped ideas, every little detail is planned out and connects. It's great.

To compare a series made by an insanely smart and openly queer woman (who is also from New Zealand, shout out to Tamsyn Muir) to a series that obsesses over a straight couple down to making it a Blue Boy and Pink Girl, a series that acts like putting in queer characters are a chore, a series that treats sexual assault like a minor inconvenience at worst, a series that can't even plan a week ahead much less years, a series that is written by an immature woman-child like Rachel, is so offensive to me.

Well damnnn I'll take this as a glowing recommendation! It def sounds like something I'd enjoy. I've been wanting to get more into audiobooks so maybe I'll make The Locked Tomb my first stop ;3 If/when I do get around to it, I'll definitely let y'all know my thoughts! <3

[linkspooky]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Hot Take #1

My Favorite Ships from each Yu-Gi-Oh Series!

Yu-Gi Oh: Prideshipping (Atem X Kaiba)

Funny thing about prideshipping, I did not ship it until I read the manga and watched Dark Side of Dimensions which is an official continuation of the manga. That won me over by showing how tied Seto's narrative is to Atem. If you travel to the afterlife to duel your rival, you're not rivals anymore, you're just gay.

My favorite ships are the ones with the potential to destroy each other, or save each other. Atem and Kaiba manage to do both. Kaiba has an obsessive desire from his first loss against Atem to destroy him and that manifests in Death T his lowest point. Atem however, chooses to spare Kaiba by just shattering his heart to give him the chance to put the pieces back together. That's development for Atem too, because he had been a low key serial killer by that point, but instead of revenge he's learned empathy.

Kaiba at Duelist Kingdom tempts Atem into killing him just to win a game, but it's not Atem who stops Yugi has to stop him. It's a show how scarily similar the two can be.

When Atem helps save Mokuba their relationship shifts in Battle City. In their final duel, Atem saves Kaiba from destruction one final time when he tells him the past isn't something you should completely destroy. Atems so important to Kaiba that he saved Kaiba from his worst impulses multiple times and Kaibas rivalry with Atem represents a desperate attempt to stand as equals with them.

GX: Soulshipping (Judai x Yubel)

Speaking of destroying each other and saving each other, Yubel and Judai completely tear each other apart only to both rebuild each other from scratch into something new.

Kaiba and Atem good and all, but Atem is just always the moral support to Kaiba. I prefer it when both members are just as bad as the other. When they drag each other down. Hand in unlovable hand.

Yubel and Judai, or "I can make him worse."

What makes Yubel and Judai my favorite ship of the franchise is the beautiful symmetry of their journeys, and how they separate, get lost, and find their way back to each other. They share the same soul, no Yubel is Judai's soul.

The entirety of season 3 is thematically about empathy. What people can do when they're alone and in pain. The way people can be saved by the act of sympathy and showing they're not alone. How a show of kindness goes much further than a quick and easy act of cruelty, Jim's action to save Judai inspires Austin to be better and overcome his fear, Austin's sacrifice breaks Judai from his downward spiral, all leading up to Judai making the choice to save Yubel. There's a much simpler narrative that exists where Judai just puts Yubel down like a mad dog, and maybe Judai feels a little pity that they couldn't reach Yubel before they went past the point of no return. However, Yu-Gi-Oh takes the more complex and nuanced route with empathizing with a victim like Yubel who's messy and gone on to hurt others. Judai and Yubel are very much like, they drag each other down, and keep each other afloat. They do both. It's like you're not allowed to die to and disappear to escape your guilt and neither am I. They're crucial to each other's atonement once they became inseparable tied together.

For all the pain they cause each other though, there's something beautiful about Yubel who as Judai's shadow representing all his worst traits is so, so in love with him. Yubel is blatantly aware of what a flawed person Judai is, and unconditionally in love with that mess of a person. It's kind of like an expression of accepting and being loved for the worst parts of yourself for both of them.

5DS: Scoopshipping (Jack x Carly)

Carly and Jack is the embodiment of "We could die together, but what if he lived together?" There's so much romantic drama wrung out of these two that you forget you're watching a shonen anime.

Carly is so fundamental to Jack's development that I joke to Comun that the reason Jack experiences so much character regression in Season 2 is because he needs his wife Carly around.

There's just something about a chance encounter with someone that Jack under most circumstances would have overlooked is what uplifts Jack at his lowest point. How Jack turns from a Kaiba archetype from someone who works the rest of the series trying to make up with his friends. The way that as Carlys laying there dying her only thoughts are that she wants to see Jack again one final time, and sells her soul for the chance. It's just the way that Jack when facing Carly duels to save her because he knows deep in his heart that Carly isn't a cruel person, and he's right and he reaches her. How when he realizes he has to kill her to stop her he doesn't intend on living past it. It's just the way that Carly is the one who ends the duel because she's already dead and she doesn't want Jack dying for her sake. As much as she wants to be together with Jack even in death, Carly wants to see Jack happy, because it makes her happy to see him trying his best, because his happiness is her happiness

It's just the way they both come back and get the chance to try again.

Its just all the little Jack and Carly things.

Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal: Foilshipping (Yuma x Vector)

I tried to like Astral and Yuma but I need a little bit of zest. The angst of one enemy desperately trying to kill, and the other desperately trying to save adds that extra spice.

As I said Prideshipping is good, but as much as I love when love redeems and saves you from your worst self how about when love doesn't redeem?

Yuma is the sweetest of cinnamon roles, but that means Jack and Shit to Vector. Yuma thinking it's his job to redeem vector and reach out a helping hand is the biggest thorn in Vector's side.

It's convenient that it's called Foilshipping, because Yuma is so in love with the person they thought Vector to be, projected themselves onto Rei Nagisa, assigned themselves to the role of protector they can't accept who Vector really is. They keep trying to see some good. Yuma tries to see themselves in Vector and it is just not there.

Vector's the ultimate challenge of Yuma's pacifist philosophy, and Yuma fails and falls flat on his face on multiple occasions. Not only that but Vector trolls him too - occasionally pretending there's something redeemable there only to flip the trap card and go PSYCHE! It's funny every single time.

If Judai's arc is about failing multiple times and having a complete breakdown until they flip, Yuma's arc is about failing multiple times, having breakdowns and then staying true to themselves. After never once succesfully reaching Vector, Vector self destructs and is being dragged to his death by Don Thousand and decides to do a taking you with me to Yuma. Yuma's only reaction is "Sure, I'll die with you" and it's the most romantic thing ever.

Then vector's like gross and throws him away.

Also this scene happens between them:

Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V: Mockingbirdshipping (Shun x Dennis)

This is a ship that I love more for it's potential then anything else (like most things in Arc-V). Their setup is great, Dennis the spy that infiltrated Shun's world, and stole his sister away from him ends up infiltrating the Lancers.

Shun who spends 90% of Arc-V hungry for revenge has the person responsible for his sister's disappearance, right next to him and in spite of his suspicions (Shun is suspicious of everyone) he's forced to work with him. When they're working together they make a great team too.

Dennis or as I call him the only character that has a finished arc in Arc-V is aware that he's a bad person, that he's going to destroy the lancer's the same way he destroyed Shun's sister. He's also a genuinely friendly guy, and it's actually precisely the guilt and self-awareness of what a bad person he is that stops him from trying to change.

The setup was great, and the duel where Shun forces Dennis to use his Antique Gear deck is my favorite duel in all of Arc-V. The setup was all there, but the more interesting version is where Shun doesn't get a satisfying revenge and they're still forced to work together - and there is a version of that story where that happens but it's IV and Shark in Zexal.

Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains: AiBallshipping (Ai x Yusaku)

Everyone compares them to Soulshipping and they're right for that. They both kill half of the main character's friends in the third season. They both steal a sexy body to try to impress the protagonist. They're both characters themed around the concept of "love." They both serve as the Jungian shadow to their main protagonist.

They both intentionally inflict pain on the protagonist out of love rather than hate.

However, the way they are different is more interesting to me. Yubel and Judai start their season separated with Yubel absent the first whole seasons. They start with their relationship in the worst place possible and eventually reunite and improve.

Yusaku and Ai start united. Ai literally came from Yusaku. From the first episode they're always together. Even when Ai attempts to leave twice he always comes back. After two seasons of their relationship slowly growing however, Ai turns into the third season antagonist.

Ai seems more selfless than Yubel in their motivations. After all, Yubel acts out of a desire to monopolize Judai. Yubel sees everything and everyone as merely tools to getting to Judai, and will hurt them to get what they want. Yubel forces Judai through a complete mental breakdown to drag them down to the same level, all because of Yubel's selfish desire to not be alone.

Ai on the other hand is sacrificing themselves. When they attack Playmaker's friends, it's just playing the villain to provoke Playmaker to stop them. Ai is motivated by a simulation that told a future where Playmaker dies protecting them, and if the choice is between Playmaker and themselves then they'll choose Playmaker. It does seem like it's all for Playmakers sake, especially since Yubel would never choose a world where they can't be together with Judai.

However, Ai takes away Yusaku's choice in this scenario which Yusaku hates the most. Forcing your best friend to murder you in a supposed "sacrifice" for their sake is a pretty messed up scenario. Yubel and Judai reunite, while Ai and Playmaker suffer from a tragic separation, and since Ai is Playmaker's shadow he can't actually live without him the way Ai assumes. The epilogue we get is playmaker abandoning his real life to deep dive into the net for the faint hope of getting Ai back. As stated above if Ai knew the pain of losing all his friends, then he should have known that forcing Yusaku to kill his friend would hurt him in the worst pay possible - but he did it anyway because he can't help being yubel coded.

[riacte]

Part of the weirdness about m/f ships feels like this kind of performativity from insecure queer teens? At least I think so based on my own experiences. I've always been a big multishipper who likes f/f m/m m/f and any other kind of ship equally but there was awhile where I felt kinda ashamed if I liked a m/f ship "too much" bc I felt like I wasn't gay enough. Like I wasn't queer enough if I didn't ship gay ships enough. Even now (tho I've gotten better) I still feel this obligation to keep the ratios of ship fics I read "even" so I can prove I'm still a good queer. I think in my case it's probably part of my internalized biphobia (since I feel a similar obligation to make I prove I have attraction to all genders and am really bi "enough" in my actual daily life) and it's a similar feeling of stress at having to constantly police your own identity/attraction/interests.

It's unfortunate that this kind of insecurity in how queer we are seems so common in queer people especialky those of us who are young one w/out much actual dating experience (who make a large part of this fandom. This sort of "who even ships m/f lol gay ships only" I've seen others in this fandom doing feels very much like a way of coping with that insecurity, by proving you're gay enough through your ships. I'm sure there are plenty of people who simply are just not interested in m/f but I'm sure there are also others like me, trying to prove we're queer enough by carefully curating our fandom interests.

My thoughts on m/f ships is that the end of the day, shipping is just shipping. It doesn't actually necessarily say much about your sexuality or what you actually want in a relationship and certainly doesn't mean you're less queer.

(Obviously there are other factors too in the weird attitude ppl in the mcyt fandom have about m/f ships, but this is one that has affected me a lot and I've never seen anyone else talk about it so I wanted to bring it up. Idk I hope I made sense)

Thanks for the ask! It was really nice seeing this as a bi person who heavily mains m/f and sometimes feels bad for it (I also main friendships but I mained m/f reallllly hard pre 2020 aka. before this fandom).

Yeah, I feel like it could also be like "we see so much m/f in real life so we should go hard on the other options to even it out". This fandom specifically there's been problems of irl truthing in comments so I completely understand why people shy from it, but it's 2024, we're quite developed in the character vs cc divide, shipping m/f isn't the end of the world.

I do feel guilt over maining m/f (then liking f/f and m/m, in that order, yes Treebark is the exception and my first m/m that I really got into), like for a looong time I was pretty sure it was just terrible heteronormativity that I needed to kill, but now I feel like it's a mix of heteronormativity (which I fight like daily lmfao) and just. being attracted to men and women both. Because when I write m/f, I can write about being attracted to women and men all in one neat package. And it feels "equal" to me. I do tend to prefer pieces of media with an equal gender ratio, or at least the leads are (eg. Miraculous Ladybug (my ex fandom lmao), Kagerou Project (ex fandom, stares into the distance), Spy x Family, Assassination Classroom) so I can love male and female characters. When reading fics, I like reading about loving a man from a woman's pov and loving a woman from a man's pov. Even in HC with its highly uneven gender ratio, this manifests in the corner I've tucked myself into (False, Ren, Stress, Iskall, etc). Although I do also like media with mostly female characters - Love Live (another ex fandom lol), Precure, Madoka Magica, Nikkiverse - and I do read stuff, I just don't really write for them because I wanna write about girls AND guys. Shippy or not. And this leads me to main m/f a lot. That's my personal taste.

Side note: as a kid, I was frustrated by media aimed at boys which had like a whole cast of boys and one token (cardboard cutout) girl AND media aimed at girls which had a whole cast of girls and almost no boys. 9yo me in co-ed school was like "well this doesn't feel very pro gender equality, I want books with the same amount of boys AND girls :((((( oh wait. I can just write it." And.... it ended up defining what I write now? Even outside of shipping, I like m+f friendships a lot. Because I still get to write about a guy and a girl even if they don't kiss or whatever. Idk. Am I cursed with an extreme case of heteronormativity and / or internalised homophobia or am I bisexual. Maybe both. Idk.

Maybe I do have boring stupid milquetoast hetero taste whatever but I'm having a good time in my fandoms and my ships / dynamics. I like writing about my guys and girls and I'll keep on doing it. And I am queer. I am bisexual. This doesn't change.

Anyways watching HTTYD at a young age changed me. Hiccstrid you will always be my origin story <3

Thanks for the ask again! We don't have to prove our queerness because we are queer. Everyone has different tastes. And m/f does get a bad reputation in queer spaces because oftentimes it's done badly and ofc the enemy.... heteronormativity [evil].

Final note re sibling fanon: if you have to turn friends into siblings just to show you're not shipping, you are coming back to heteronormativity. Why can't a (straight) man and a (straight) woman be friends only. What assumptions are you making?

[pzyii]

Refrence sheet (aka an excuse to talk about details and scars)

all the details are under cut (tw for small self harm mention)

First just short. Yes she’s a lesbian, Idc that if btvs was made today they would’ve written her as bi, that’s not how it is, she’s written as a lesbian, she’s just comphet.

Secondly, I hc her as enby because well I want to, she likes using the trans flag too cause she thinks it’s pretty. (Tara’s a trans woman btw. And Dawn is transfeminine, a hc I can talk about a lot too if prompted. They are a family of trans lesbians)

And she goes by she/they/it with no special preferences cause I say so, tho I only used she in these rants for simplicity.

And yeah she's autistic but we all already knew that.

gonna go by detail by detail for these closeups

Chest scar: so personally I headcanon that Willow (without thinking) took Tara’s pain as she died. Partly because of how she describes being shot to Warren so- personally. And just cause historically she haven’t been the best at controlling her powers. So that combined with everything that happened during her Dark Willow arc combined and I guess manifested a scar. It partly represents just how shattered and broken her heart became when Tara died.

Stomach scar: pretty self explanatory, she got it from the Gnarl in Same Time, Same Place. Because I think when you heal something using nature-healthy magic it leaves a scar cause it’s really just a sped up version of the natural process. This is especially true for when Willow heals herself cause of guilt that is always in her head trying to convince her to not heal. Also just like- she had strips of her skin eaten, that’s bound to leave a scar. And just the whole episode is so great and everything about it is so important so I think she needs a reminder of it.

Thin scars: a few are scratches she’s gotten over the years but most are sh scars. There’s not much to elaborate with that for now, I just think it’s something she did/does.

Big forearm scars: these are from when she resurrected Buffy. She has 2 alike ones on her other forearm. Another headcanon I have is that when wounds are caused by like really dark magicks, like the ones Willow used, scars don’t tend to heal normally, so they took a lot longer to heal than normal wounds their size, and also left clearer scars. Also yknow more scars that work as reminders for her guilt.

Rings: she’s gotten them from a bunch of different people, I don’t have the specifics for that, but the one with green is one is Buffys (in Who Are You? Willow is wearing one of Buffys rings that she and Tara uses for the spell)

Braclets: there’s nothing special about the beige one but the blue one is one of those braided friendship braclets. Dawn made it for her.

Burn scar: it is what I just said. She got it in Gingerbread (she screams like “Buffy I’m on fire!” During it). Not only is Gingerbread one of my favrouite MOTW episodes but it’s really important in understanding Willows character because of her relationship with her mom. So I thought if I had the opportunity to give her a physical scar to remind her of the time her mom tried to kill her i just had to take it. In my personal headcanon of the show she walked with crutches in Helpless (since that only takes place one week after Gingerbread). (Also funfact, in my mlp au i haven’t posted here(if anyones interested send an ask) the burn caused chronic pain and she uses a pony-wheelchair)

Hair: her hair used to be fully the same mid ginger colour but after Dark Willow it was permanently darkened at her roots.

Eyes: her eyes used to be green but turned pink because of the Buffy resurrection spell. And this is very much partly cause I’m an artist who just wants to have fun with my design. But it’s also the complementary hue to the one I use for Buffys eyes. Plus to me when you resurrect someone your soul and essence is kinda torn apart cause you need to kinda go to the afterlife to get them back in a way. So yeah her physical body was put through trials but so was just her psyche and well soul i guess, and because of that her soul is weirdly connected to Buffys, which also was torn apart and put back together. So complimentary!!! (Buffy didn’t notice the the change in colour until their conversation on the curb in Gone, she thinks they’re pretty)

Scars under eyes: these are also partly cause of stylistic choice (to be fair all are). But my design of Dark Willow has veins under her eyes, like tears. So they left scars, scars that also in theory looks like tears.

[butterscotch-goat]

Your oc lore, please give it to me, I arrived very late and am rather confused but also incredibly intrigued! (Also side not idk how to explain it but your art is very comforting! Says the man who has seen 2 drawings. But my point still stands lol)

This means so much to me 🥹🥹 Im glad ur interested!!! I'll give u some quick summaries (quick as I can be bc once I start talking about my silly little blorbos it's hard for me to stop-)

IF YOU EVER HAVE QUESTIONS PLS ASK IM DYING TO TALK ABOUT MY GUYS

SO! First group of OCs is a project I'm currently calling "Escapism" which takes place in 1890s England. (Check the #buttersketch-escapism tag for content of em)

Okay so I started typing and realized I included WAYYY TOO MUCH info but I worked hard on it so I'll still include it, bUT

TLDR: Aster (tired, anxious, hopeful) is magic (plant magic) and is being used for experiments and tests by Charles(friendly guy, stubborn, cheery) and Beatrice(joyful, caring, passionate) until Beatrice herself becomes and experiment when Charles wants to find out what would happen if you attached wings to a human being. Also aster and Beatrice are girlfriends. Charles accidentally kidnaps Martha (extroverted, curious, peppy) because her magical(healing magic) girlfriend Grace died and Martha has info about her magic. Eventually Aster kills Charles and is haunted by her guilt, which is manifested in a character I call Ghost!Charles (self-explanatory)

Here's uhhh escapism for ya!! Sorry,, you don't have to read it there's a lot of text I know-

Second story which I haven't posted about as much as one I'm calling "Dawn" which takes place in the modern day, and is about demons & angels, heaven & hell & earth type stuff. Simpler than escapism, thank God- (check the #buttersketch-dawn tag for some content of dawn!!!!!)

Here's the cast!! Refs are somewhat outdated but do the job. (Sorry for the last image I don't have a ref for him yet)

I'll keep this short, for real this time!!

In 2019, Chigs accidentally falls off the edge of heaven and misses earth so they fall straight to hell. They didn't have any evil intent so are still an angel, but they need to find a way back to heaven. They stumble into Dawn's office and Dawn reluctantly agrees to help them. Frappe also barges into Dawn's office to hide, as she's on the run from the police. Gene comes around to check on Dawn and finds an outlaw and an angel. Dawn, Chigs, and Frappe run away to earth. Gene recruits Ronnette to help him track down the trio. The trio accidentally gets separated on their way to earth; Frappe and Chigs find each other but Dawn is left to navigate a modern day earth on her own. HIJINKS ENSUE!

time for some lore that's BARELY plot relevant!

Gene and Lucy used to be boyfriends but Gene broke up with Lucy in the 1920s because Lucy was so drowned in his work and wouldn't care about anything else. They get back together eventually tho :3 I make a lot of Lucy & Abigail content even tho he only shows up in like one flashback scene maybe??? Sorry about that.

Anyway THANK YOU FOR ASKING ABOUT MY GUYSSS I tried to keep it short, also bc it is getting late and I have school tomorrow OFBSHHDHFHDHSJ.

my inbox is ALWAYS open for questions of any kind so hmu if you ever have any!! Sorry again for all the info!!

[colorfuldream]

Watched a really nice video about Island of the Slaughtered and in order to free my mind from it, I'll rant about it and give some headcanons

TRIGGER WARNING for death, torture, ghosts/malevolent spirits, light SA mention/talk at the very end (it'll be in bold to be easier to notice! It starts after "Based on your thoughts about Heather, the text will take on new meanings yet work").

So, it's rare for writing to scare me. However, for some reason, this did give me a fright. Maybe the way the YouTuber read it, or perhaps the music and ambiance he added, is why I was hyper-vigilant while showering but the concept itself is terrifying when you think about it. 15 people died! You'd think that the kill count would stop, that they would survive for longer, but they don't. Even smart or athletic characters get caught... And for the dumbest reasons. Exactly like teenagers. They all make mistakes yet, somehow, this is barely their fault. They couldn't have planned it. They couldn't have known. The killer is almost omnipotent, it's like they can smell whenever there's an opportunity. They don't seize the simple moments of weakness (like how they didn't keep watch or, at least, only had one person which is exactly how Harold managed to sneak out and get killed), they wait until they can get that perfect chase or opportunity to torture the campers.

I feel like the sheer number of victims is what gets me. It's so easy to assume that they're all competent enough to survive a little longer. What makes it hit harder is that the last footage of those poor teens is the beginning of TTI up to Ezekiel's death. Imagine seeing the beginning of a horror movie composed of your loved ones and not knowing how it ended or, worse, learning that they were a victim, brutally killed, and you can't even have the body back. A whole month. That's how long it took for someone to go help them. Everyone knew. And no one did anything. Fucking Chris McLean ended up doing it. The same man who abandoned them, got them into this mess, and refused to say where the island was located.

Now, some headcanons before I overthink two of the deaths:

The canon serial killer and the one in this AU cohabit in the island. Maybe on good terms too. Our buddy with the hook and the chainsaw is just chilling, maybe helping out a little his mate, but enjoying the show. The chainsaw used for Heather might even be his! What a good pal.

The ghosts see each other as they were before their deaths. Be it that they're imagining it or that they can manifest a not-scary look. Owen and Geoff are forced to stay close but they really don't mind!

They don't really care for Chris's helpers. Sure, they were angry and disliked them, throughoutly tormenting them, but they weren't the target. They likely could have killed them, as the helpers probably accidentally broke some rules, but they were pawns to torment and scare Chris further. At some point, they begin to leave them alone as they realize that the helpers are their age... They're like them. Chris brought two more teenagers on an island with a serial killer, a monster who dismembered Ezekiel, with no experience and no actual weapons. Fuck, they're normal teens. What are they doing here?! This just angered the ghosts even more and cemented their desire to take revenge against Chris.

As long as Chris doesn't realize that he broke some rules, they let it go. Those are only here to scare him and make him squirm. To make him know that they're here at all times, watching, waiting for him to slip, loathing him.

While it's canon that the ghosts are fine with the survivors unless you've slighted them, they won't impose their rules and haunt you. They'll maybe taunt you and be here, reminding you that they died partly because of you, but they won't do much. For example, Trent will simply check in on Gwen. Her guilt is already enough and he doesn't have it in him to cause her more remorse. However, the sound of his voice as he sings into the night, kills her inside. He doesn't mean to but she's being eaten alive at not being able to get him out —even though she would have died with him if she stayed or manager to free him and they both know it. Noah, on the other hand, will glare at Duncan and make snippy remarks whenever he's trying to give out instructions. He'll question his choices and at every hint of annoyance, simply raise an eyebrow and in his classic tone say "really?" which guilts Duncan enough for his taste. He also chirps in when Duncan inevitably realizes that he was right about some of the directions, the bitter realization that they were both wrong and right about some things, that this was a misunderstanding and they were both too stubborn to work it out, that Noah could have survived if he hadn't been a jerk. All Noah had to say was "told you so" and Duncan would dig his nails into his palms at the cruelty he had displayed.

The reason why the ghosts didn't get the killer immediately is because they didn't know the limits to their powers and they were scared. Simple as that.

To add onto that, they used Chris as bait to make sure everyone else got out safe. They made Chris's death longer and more painful than anything they had gone through before immediately killing the murderer. That or they then tormented them until they died, either of natural causes or of fright.

Time for me to overthink two of the deaths!

My choice is Ezekiel and Heather. Ironically, they're the beginning and the end, both pictured as innocent and young.

Quick note for both of them but the ghosts may look like that because that was their last state as living. Yeah, I'm implying that they were dismembered alive.

Ezekiel:

I LOVE the writing for his discovery. It comes across as child-like, even when it comes to his corpse. You could say I love it to bits.

It's easy to forget that he was a sheltered kid after everything that happened in the canon. Here, he's portrayed as sweet and so, so much like a child. Someone who didn't deserve it.

He was an easy target. He might not even have noticed that anything was amiss until it was too late.

It would take time to find every part of his body. Did the crew search for him before setting off? I doubt it. They likely put things together quick and bailed, never finding his every piece.

A small detail that came up was that the hole Katie hid in might have been the one where his arm was. I like to think it was and she had to bite back her scream. The killer could have thought that they didn't need to search for her, she'd abandon her friend and get back to safety or if she didn't, she'd have screamed her head off at finding a rotting arm as she tried to hide.

His rule is the most interesting part to me. Chris will have to search for his body once but then he will simply have to run to them every time afterwards... And that's the last thing you want to do when there's a killer on the loose! It's also very, very fun for a video game. All the rules are! The art not being too scary either would make it very good. Anyhow!

If Chris needs to bring them back together, it's even more horrifying. Would he need to carry them with him in case Ezekiel wants to bother him? Do they go back to their original places and he needs to do everything every time?

Picture his voice. It isn't scary. Yet it would make it so much more eerie and unsettling. While true for every victim, his ghost doesn't even look scary. Again, it's child-like. And with everything else, it makes a wonderful picture.

Heather:

I love EVERYTHING about this one. The reference, the call backs to the canon... The writing!

I'll keep the latter for the end as it will tackle more sensitive content.

God, the way she's the last warning. Threatening. Vengeful. Exactly how she was in canon and how Chris perceived her.

The fact that she was found by the two most important people to her character! Iirc, Gwen found her head which is a shame since it's a reference to when Leshawna (sorry for the spelling guys) stuck her inside of the fridge.

The way she was grabbed by her ponytail! It's the way she wore her hair in latter seasons.

Off with her head for the queen bee. The stereotypical mean, popular girl.

Now for the writing: This was a straight-up call-out to her haters. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way it directly calls Chris, and us, out. She was a kid. She was terrified, begging, small and alone as she was killed. It makes sure we get that. We know her as a mean girl but she was a girl. She didn't deserve it. The way her suffering was highlighted, showing that she was crying like a young kid, compared to the others' was well-written and hit harder than the rest. It can even imply that Heather pretended to be meaner than she was for the show. It's a valid theory for the canon, she was cunning and she knew it made her memorable. But that meant that Chris truly thought she was. Based on your thoughts about Heather, the text will take on new meanings yet work.

Last trigger warning for SA:

"She was pretty". Amazing. Perfect. That, by itself, tells me that the creator is a very good writer and knows how horror works.

Listen. Listen up well. The SA headcanon isn't bad. Is it gross? Yes. The entire AU is. SA is. However, we've grown desensitized to murder and gore. Not SA. It still feels horrible and outrageous. That's why it works and makes for good horror. BUT! The thing is not to overdo it. Not say too much, not use it too much. Especially not as a fetish.

Here, it's done perfectly. Yes, she's a minor. They all are and most got brutally murdered. So a creepy murderer isn't that bad.

The implications that he kept her head because he found her pretty are amazing. It makes her fate so much more tragic. It brings a new level of cruelty and disgusting to her death. We know that he doesn't have pure intentions. Just staring at her frozen head is horrible enough. We know the way he looks at her, how he sees her. It also raises the question why. Why her? Canonically, most of the girls are pretty. Lindsey, in particular, was the most beautiful. Was it because Heather cried and begged? Was it because he had disfigured the others before he could notice their looks? Is it because he found that "submitting her" made her better? (Which is incidentally a real thought process r*p*sts have. Some like to bring some people down a peg by doing those awful things, hating how they felt inferior because their poor victims didn't look at them or at the world "right".)

It's a real question and worry that this simple like brings. It brings a real, scary subject we aren't desensitized to just yet into this and enhances the horror. It doesn't say too much, it isn't insensitive. We won't ever know what the killer would/will do. We just know he's a vile piece of shit on every level.

It's also a huge contrast to how child-like Heather was described as and how it was hammered into our heads. It's said so simply, almost like another child would say. "Oh she's pretty". It isn't said in a gross way! That's very good writing. It keeps the same tone. It's almost eerie with how simple and factual it is.

That headcanon exists (and might be popular, I don't look at the fandom) because the line and implications are there. Horror should make you uncomfortable and that's what this does. Of course, personally, I wouldn't say the killer did anything. But, he might have planned to. He might have after the body was discovered. It wasn't like the campers had the time to bury their friends or would fathom that this monster thought Heather was pretty.

It all depends on the delivery and of course some edgelords will be insensitive and approach it terribly. I think the actual AU did it exactly how it should be done.

The entire Heather section was done as best as it could ever be.

[bluegekk0]

I know this is often seen as a Meme in the HK-Community but this is a serious question! Why all the Buzzsaws in the White-Palace? I assume they were ment as extra Security but were they they already before FPK transported the whole Palace into a DreamRealm or did they appear afterwards?

And how are your thoughts on the Path of Pain inside of the White Palace? I personally see it as a deep rooted Secret that FPK tried to lock away for nobody to see (which is why it's so hard to reach the End of it to actually see the Memory)

Yeah this is definitely a meme I actively dislike, I hate when fandoms strip characters of their complexity and nuance, and turn them into caricatures. The whole meme of PK being a buzzsaw obsessed child murderer is so irritating to me because of how much it dumbs him down and misrepresents what his actions actually were. Murder implies malicious intent, not the last resort of a desperate man who then despised himself for it so much that he gave up on everything. And yet, people still happily portray him as someone who gleefully throws his babies down a pit. It annoys me so much I never talk about PK outside of my AU, I even hesitate sharing stuff about the AU in places like Discord because of all the comments that assume FPK is also a freak who happily killed his kids. Augh, sorry, I got a little carried away. I think it's safe to say that I'm not the biggest fan of how the general fandom sees him (and other characters too, but with PK it feels the most apparent to me). Also please don't take this as me being upset that you mentioned it, I'm not, it's just a general frustration with the fandom haha

I answered a similar ask to this before, but I suppose I can mention it again. I don't think the buzzsaws were ever in the actual White Palace. Instead, they were a manifestation of his guilt and anxiety that only appeared in the dream realm version. He would never allow them in the actual palace, not only were they too dangerous, but he would hate the loud, sharp noise.

The same goes for the Path of Pain. It never actually existed in the physical palace, and my view on it is similar to yours. It was a locked away memory, hidden behind buzzsaws that represented all that anxiety and pain that he not only inflicted on others but also himself. That being said, he never saw the actual memory as something to be ashamed of, if anything, I think he wishes he showed the vessel more affection, maybe then he would've changed his mind and spared them all the suffering. The shame comes from the fact that he didn't, that despite the voice in the back of his mind telling him that this was his child that he was about to sacrifice, he still continued with his plan. And I think that was why the memory was so well hidden, it wasn't that he thought he ruined the plan by showing Holly affection, it's that he did that and then still allowed for them to be sealed away. All he thinks of whenever he remembers that moment, is that he should have stopped there and looked for a different way to stop the infection. But he never did, and he'll never forgive himself for that.