#my 'doomed by the narrative' siblings ever

[inluvwcaitvi]

one of my favorite scenes from the vi and jinx vs. firelights fight (ep. 6) is when jinx almost instantly starts shooting at the firelight that attempted to swing at vi.

(it's at 0:53 to 0:58) it's both protective and possessive and i love it lmao.

i also love they quickly stand back-to-back together and the way vi turns to look at/check on jinx before they actually start fighting since she has never seen her fight before and was most likely worried/concerned.

she's such an older sister lol, it's so cute.

[demigods-posts]

something about percy nearly dying at luke's hand at the end of tlt ruffles my bones. because imagine feeling like a burden to anyone who dared to care for you. imagine blaming yourself for the death of your mother. imagine grieving in black and white amid a world of color. and then an older brother sees you for all of your sorrow and pain. your cries for help that go unanswered. your longing for a reason to breathe again. and becoming someone you look forward to confiding in when the dust settles. only to discover that their source of light was merely a flame. and the summer air was always meant to burn you alive. truly haunting.

[epicfirestormer]

I'm so incredibly Normal about these two games.

[placeholdernameerm]

ough man first sksx comic i ever made (u can tell bc they all still look essentially the same) i am a swords and sais fan foreva, if raph and leo have no fans i have died

[loud-whistling-yes]

theyre just a lil guy

[bread-that-draws]

Happy 8th birthday Undertale I’m so glad nothing bad happened to my kids here

[handofmidas-writes]

I didn't hate season 4. Or the love triangle. Let me explain.

Okay. Listen. Listenlistenlisten.

I know everyone is pissed about season 4. I hear you. I get it. I don’t think anyone is thinking that this was a well-executed season. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

But hear me out.

The bones of the thing are good in principle. The arc makes sense at the heart of it. Again, hear me out.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

The entire series is about saving the world by stopping the apocalypse. And as all the Fives in the deli have shown, the apocalypse is due to the Hargreeves siblings’ very existence. Reginald has fucked over every iteration of the kids to bring back his wife who died as a result of her own actions in creating marigold. He couldn’t give her up, and he was willing to rip universes apart to get her back. Five has tried time and time and time again to save his family, ad infinitum. He knows how to solve the problem, but he can’t bring himself to do it. Until this Five. They are, as we here on tumblr love to say, doomed by the narrative.

Five also says the universe loves balance. We saw this in season 3 with the kugelblitz. They were an impossibility in the universe and the kugelblitz formed to solve the problem by eliminating them. Impossibility for impossibility.

One of the Fives founded the Commission to solve the problem. It happens every time.

Abigail’s purpose through the whole season is to ensure the Cleanse, to reset the universe to the correct timeline. She shouldn’t be there. The kids shouldn’t be there. They are a direct result of Reginald releasing marigold into the world to enact his plan of resurrecting Abigail. The universe is trying to return to homeostasis, balance itself. And in every iteration, it needs to rid itself of the marigold, the substance that shouldn’t exist in the first place.

Ergo, the principle is sound, in my opinion.

The execution was shit, as I’m sure we all can agree.  I don’t like that they cease to exist, necessarily, and I think there were other avenues they could have taken to avoid that. But I can stomach it.

The shit storm is certainly in the characterizations. They did almost everyone dirty in some way or another. I think it could have been saved with a few more episodes, but we know that Netflix sucks like that and the season definitely suffered after the strike. I won’t be going into all of the characters just now since I’m apparently a loquacious bitch and don’t have the space. (And I know this is all being screamed into the void anyway. None of y’all will be reading any of this lol.)

Here’s where I’m going to ruffle feathers. I buy into the whole Diego/Lila/Five thing. And here’s why. (Cut here because this bitch got real long. Like 1.5k words long. Oops.)

The first episode is called “The Unbearable Tragedy of Getting What You Want.” Is it a slightly contrived Now That We’re Not Superheroes Our Normal Lives Kind Of Suck thing? Absolutely. Has it been overused in basically everything ever? You bet. Does it kind of work here? Yeah, actually.

These people legitimately don’t know what to do without powers. They’re coming fresh off the heels of trying and failing to save the world 3 different times. That takes adjustment. A lot of adjustment.

Lila and Diego fall into parenthood, which is a huge thing in and of itself. It’s not surprising that Diego turns into the stereotypical suburban dad, the breadwinner because that’s what he thinks his role should be. It doesn’t fully make sense that Lila turns into a housewife, but I can see her trying to throw Diego a bone and trying to make up for how she’s treated him in the past. Not to mention proving herself as a mother.

It makes sense for Lila to want to get out of the house and do her own thing, without her kids and her husband. It makes sense for Diego to resent his low level job when all he’s wanted to be is a badass and a hero.  Their frustration about their family life is understandable. Being a family is a lot of effort. There’s a loss of freedom when people become parents. And these are two headstrong people who have things to prove to themselves, to make sure they show up for their kids. Which leads to breakdowns in taking care of themselves and their relationship to each other.

Now, the sticky bit comes in with the whole love triangle. I know folks hate the subway subplot. Here’s the thing, despite how it was executed, it makes sense, too.

It’s an interesting way to portray the Many Worlds Theory and it’s plausible enough that Lila and Five connect in this way because of their shared knowledge of the Commission. It makes sense that they explore it together.

Which leads me to this: Five is incredibly lonely. He spent 40 years alone in an apocalypse and tried everything in his power to get back. He fell in love with a mannequin because she was the only thing keeping him tethered and sane-adjacent (sweet Dolores, we’ll never forget you, queen). He was desperate and alone and persisted because he had to.

He joined the Commission to try and stop said apocalypse and then inadvertently ended up in another. He’s tired of trying to save his family over and over and now he’s not sure there’s anything he can do to save them this time. And now here he is, stuck in the labyrinthine Subway of Fuckery with Lila and they can’t get out. Lila who has the same training as him, the same knowledge base, who went with him to the remnants of the Commission in season 3 and tried to save them all. Let’s call them frenemies, I guess.

And now here they are. Stuck together and feeling helpless. Enduring every fucking thing under the sun, watching each other’s backs, and they only have each other. And they’re tired. They’ve been searching for a way home for six fucking years. So, they decide to stop running and catch their breath. I won’t say it’s an inevitability, but Five is so lonely and scared. And Lila is lonely and scared and without her children. But they’re safe with each other, and they take comfort in each other, and it’s so easy to blur those lines.

So yeah, they end up together in the now infamous cottagecore greenhouse with the strawberries. And they try not to think about Diego. Is it right of them to do this? Well, no. But are people messy as hell? Yes. And are their actions understandable? Also yes.

So, to me, when Five finds the notebook and keeps it hidden from Lila, it tracks. Because he’s so fucking scared of what’s going to happen now. What if they still can’t make it back? What if they can’t save the world this time? What if it all comes down around his ears again? So he hides in easy domesticity and thinks about the solace they’ve found in each other.

And Lila, understandably, blows up when she realizes Five has hidden this from her. Because for her, this was a way to cope. To survive, as she says. She loves her children. And she loves Diego. She didn’t stop loving them. She couldn’t stop loving them. But she might just love Five, too. And isn’t that scary as hell?

People are many faceted, my friends. Does it make what she did morally right? Of course not. But does it make sense? I truly think it does.

The limited number of episodes is one of the largest contributors to the half-baked-ness of it all. There’s not enough time to flesh out a proper resolution to the whole thing. Which led to Diego’s hunch from episode 2 of Lila cheating with Greek guy/Five accidentally being correct foreshadowing. Which then resulted in a heavy confession from Lila in front of the entire family (which I was digging, just like the siblings, tbh). And then the boys started throwing punches and the whole love triangle thing went completely down the shitter (a dubious and debatable statement, I know).

So, that leaves us with Lila who is now in the middle of two brothers. Said brothers are now physically fighting out bad blood and pent up frustration. And only part of it is due to Lila.

Diego’s character is criminally underdeveloped. He was always halfway between the underdog and class clown and his characterization in this season falls spectacularly flat in all aspects. He’s a character who has fought to prove himself over and over again, and is still trying to do that here, but nothing really lands. Diego and Luther are comic relief mostly. And Diego’s role, unfortunately, ended up being a stick in the spokes of a sloppy love triangle and pretty much nothing else.

Five is obviously the favorite in Blackman’s eyes. Five is knowledgeable. Five always has an idea. Five is the one the family looks to for answers, more often than not. Five is the one who almost always opts to save his family in some way, shape, or form. And this has resulted in Five being sad and helpless, in a way. He has been building this emotional bomb for decades and across timelines without any real release or acknowledgement. So Blackman chose to have Five get his emotional release in the form of “a love story” with Lila. Doing it this way, with the limited number of episodes, left Diego’s part woefully inadequate.

No resolution really takes place here. Diego kind of “wins” insofar as he convinces Lila to take their family to the subway and she takes his hand first when they all say goodbye. Five gets the teary “I hate you for this,” after she ends up choosing self-sacrifice with the others, which we know means “I am so incredibly sad and I hate that you told us the truth because it means everything ends for real this time and I’ve had to let my family go.” Then she holds his hand, too, showing that all is forgiven, here at the end of all things.

There’s definitely not a resolution for Diego, and it can certainly be inferred that he still pretty much hates Five’s guts. I get the feeling that Five is just resigned to finally ending the cycle. He knows he’s hurt Diego badly and I think he does feel bad for it, but it’s not translated into the final scene, which leaves the whole situationship hollow and earned it the well deserved hate for hilariously poor execution.

So that’s it, friends. That’s my unpopular opinion and way too many words justifying it. I surprisingly have more I could blather on about, but I’ll spare y’all from including any more in this post. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

And for a final palate cleanser for those of you who do not care about any of this: I think we deserve a side plot of Five and Derek the Twink from the CIA. The true OTP. (Also Brisket Five, who is the real MVP.)

[localravenclaw]

Fifty OC Questions

1. Describe your OC's physical appearance in detail.

2. Why'd you choose your OC's name?

3. How does your OC feel about their birthday?

4. How does your OC and their parents get along?

5. What's something you'd never put your OC through again?

6. What's your OC's go-to comfort meal?

7. What career path would your OC take?

8. What's something your OC can't do?

9. What is your OC's ideal romantic partner?

10. Does your OC like to spend time alone or with others more?

11. What time does your OC usually go to sleep?

12. Where in the sibling order is your OC?

13. What's the worst thing your OC's ever done?

14. What would it take for your OC to kill someone?

15. What item does your OC hold most dear?

16. How does your OC unwind?

17. What's your OC's star sign?

18. What kind of drunk is your OC?

19. Who does your OC end up with?

20. Who is your OC's role model?

21. Is your OC big on revenge?

22. If your OC ever got the chance, would they go back in time? When would they go?

23. What's your OC's favourite memory?

24. Will your OC ever admit to being wrong?

25. Is your OC doomed by the narrative?

26. Would your OC get along with you?

27. What's one thing your OC will never get over?

28. Is your OC going to make it?

29. Does your OC look their age?

30. What weird pet would your OC have?

31. Does your OC care a lot about their appearance?

32. What's one food your OC can't stand?

33. What animal do people associate your OC with?

34. what's your OC's "thing"?

35. Random fact about your OC

36. Would your OC sleep with a clone of themself?

37. What part of yourself do you love in your OC?

38. What's the lowest point in your OC's life?

39. What's your OC's biggest achievement?

40. Does your OC ever go back home?

41. How would your OC adapt to the modern world?

42. Does your OC have any unique talents?

43. Does your OC exist in canon or AU timeline?

44. Is your OC a people person?

45. Did your OC ever have an alternative name?

46. Does your OC possess any special powers?

47. Is your OC allergic to anything?

48. Does your OC have a lot of uncommon knowledge? How do they know it?

49. Does your OC have any scars or birthmarks with an interesting story?

50. What do you love and hate most about your OC?

I've been meaning to put this list of questions together to get to know more about my friends' OC's/MC's. I've always been very fascinated about other people's character's lore and this kind of helps me flesh out my own OC's as well. There's already an HLMC question list out there, so I tried to list different ones this time.

Many of the questions are from @ocprompts. Please give them a follow for daily questions about your OC's! ♡

[crystallizsch]

uhhh hi so sorta long post about pre-twst yuusha bc i just need to finally get it out of my system

might be all over the place and incoherent (like it's still proofread but it still might not make sense lmao) but uhhhh anyways enjoy the ramblings of a very (in)sane person </3

(also MASSIVE MASSIVE thanks to @0honeybones0 for making me these name headers, it’s SO cool and pretty 🥺💖) (there’s also one for yuuna i can use when i have the opportunity)

reminder that yuusha’s nrc is set in an au where it's more of a university (everyone is 18+ years old)

so pre-twst yuusha takes place from elementary to middle school and high school

i’ve mentioned before (i think??) that i like the idea that there are counterparts of the twst cast in yuu’s original world. as in like regular people and not the disney characters they are based on.

and yuusha’s original world is just present-day earth so-

i imagine pre-twst there’s parallels to her relationship with the twst cast. they all just know each other through being in a fancy school.

(so essentially this is just like a modern school, magicless au for twst fjdhdsj) that’s why some of the twst cast already has particular feelings and opinions towards the prefect that they can’t understand.

yuusha would have a pet cat similar to grim. ace and deuce are her childhood friends <- all three met during elementary when they were all queued up for the principal’s office after picking fights (not with one another, all separate fights lmao). the trio talked and magically clicked and have been inseparable ever since.

as for yuusha herself, she comes from a pretty wealthy/influential family, oldest sibling of 2 including her (insert doomed siblings narrative here 🤌), and she’s considered an academic and some kind of musical prodigy.

playing instruments comes naturally to her and she enjoys it genuinely (her specialty being the violin).

and if you would ask someone, yuusha has the brightest and most loving personality a kid could have. but she’s also stubborn and headstrong and way too confident.

going back to that bit with her first meeting with ace and deuce, yuusha got riled up and physically fought a kid to defend a friend.

since her family cared about their public image, she was punished by being “taught” to control her feelings and emotions. but that just left her masking her genuine personality entirely from then on-- throughout her preteens -> teens. as a result the bright and loving kid was nowhere to be found anymore.

the only place she can show a semblance of her real personality is when she is performing playing music (or in private with the people she trusts the most). outside that, she was simply cold as ice. the ice queen if you will (yes im still leaning into yuusha being somewhat of a twisted elsa 💪)

anyways yes we have jamil and kalim here too hang on-

due to wealthy/influential families, kalim and yuusha just know each other and they hit it off pretty well. they are good friends but the friendship tend to be just surface level despite having a lot in common (being the oldest, the family’s trophy, etc.)

it’s not a fault of their own that they’re not closer. both families care a lot about public image and influence, and their relationship is just a product of being forced into interactions because they were the only people around the same age during fancy parties/meetups.

kalim and jamil are also childhood friends. they get along pretty well but there’s still that unspoken power imbalance bc kalim’s parents are jamil’s parents' bosses. (the slightly watered down master-servant relationship from twst basically;;)

in this case, jamil still has to be aware of that power dynamic bc i also imagine that jamil’s family are not in the position to just get another job if something messes up.

(and let me live in the delusion that they were genuinely good friends as kids and that jamil just grew more bitter when he grew up as he slowly realizes the position he and his family is in)

(also i imagine jamil as a kid had like an aladdin-type of personality. im basing this on jamil’s scalding sands hometown event where there are childhood stories of him being an absolute menace) (honestly just. obsessed with the idea of a kid jamil being the absolute opposite of his present self)

anyways, jamil was the kid that yuusha physically fought ---

jamil was playing basketball with his group of friends. and yuusha was passing by with her friend (which in this case was riddle) (at first i thought of azul but i thought of a better reasoning for it to be riddle instead)

one of the kids playing basketball thought that it would be funny to throw a ball at one of the “nerds” in the school, and so they did. it was mainly intended for yuusha but it hit riddle instead.

it bruised riddle, and yuusha confronted the other kids. at first she tried to be reasonable, wanting them to just apologize, but it just kind of escalated.

jamil had no part in it but stepped in himself anyway, and defended his friends because of course he would believe them more than the “pretentious upper middle class kids”.

since the tension was already high yuusha ended up beating up jamil after something he said which was the last straw. (girl 🧍)

they were pulled away from each other just in time for a grown-up to catch them. riddle and jamil were sent to the nurse’s office and yuusha to the principal’s bc she was the only one who didn’t suffer any injury and was the one who clearly appeared to be the instigator of the fight (the other kids just ran away and managed to escape any punishment).

mrs rosehearts was already iffy with having riddle be study buddies with yuusha. when she found out that riddle was injured, she chastised yuusha's parents and let them know that she will no longer let yuusha associate with her son.

(riddle then got switched to homeschooling and yuusha didn’t see him again until the start of high school)

the rest is history with meeting ace and deuce and yuusha's punishment.

cutting it off here bc it’s getting long enough 😭

not everything here is set in stone so i might change some things and i still need to figure out some specific details so that i can finally write this in a more proper way ;;;

pre-twst middle school & highschool yuusha + jamil and yuusha pre-twst dynamic will be in a separate post!

thank you for reading if you've made it this far <3333

also im down for questions/suggestions if interested??? idk idk bc a lot of this is very vague or prob doesnt make sense dhjdjd

[thief-of-eggs]

HELLO LOVE <3

Brainworms have been worming extra hard since I stumbled upon your Bruce and Jay post (plus the doomed narratives one,, BELOVED), honestly those two make me so fucking ill oh my god. The tags on ur post? So true. Kith ur tags on the head. LO VE LOVE <3333 adding a little to the discussion since I am ill (and if you don't mind!!)

LOVE THE DOOMED NARRATIVE because their reconciliation is never possible imo. Grief is a wretched force that has twisted Jason's memory from the image of his beloved son into a detached, reckless amalgamation. Bruce compartmentalises to such a degree that if he has to keep functioning (both as Batman and as Bruce Wayne) that he can't possibly face the fact that his actions killed his son. His mission born out of the death of his parents couldn't have killed that bright child who was albeit a little angry at times but so full of compassion and life, right? Right?

But he has to continue. And because he does, he has to, on an internal level, make himself believe that Jason was doomed from the start. That he was too reckless. That he was too much of a mess. That he should've never been Robin (which is true in a different sense, but this line of reasoning is not it) and was destined to die. Bruce's messy cycle of grief has concluded. Acceptance comes in the form of his cherished son now being seen as 'his greatest failure, a reckless Robin, a good soldier.'

And unfortunately, the whole thing about Jason is that he is continually trying to communicate with the Bruce he remembers before he died. They're both on completely different pages in this conversation, and Jason is so mentally ill—oh my god, PTSD?—and he's trying to communicate with someone who doesn't remember him as he was. Plus, Gotham is such an intrinsic part of him that he can never pull away from it. He just gets stuck in a cycle, continually pulling away and then reaching out, and then pulling away—essentially in Limbo.

SJSJOSAOSKSOS I DO LOVE THE BRUCE AND JAY RECONCILE NARRATIVE 😭😭 THEY'RE BOTH NUANCED CHARACTERS, I BELIEVE IN THEM BUT GOD... the amount of growth they'd have to show from both their sides for that to ever happen??? YEAH. NO. 😭😭 AaaaaAAAA

ANYHOW. RANDOM WORDDUMP. U HAVE COOL AF POSTS !!!!! much love !!!!! Thank u for appearing on my tl :D !!!!!

HELLO HELLO!!! WELCOME !!

PLZ add on omg RAHHHHHH !!! Nothing makes me feel more loved as a writer and poster than seeing people get inspired by my silly little words and seeing them expand on !!!!

Also yes yes YES Jason Todd is one of my favorite muses for doomed narratives!! Every single goddamn relationship that kid attempts to have is destined to fail. From his mom to his short-lived time as Bruce’s apprentice/son, to his fragile and tense relationships with his almost-but-not-quite siblings.

Jaw on the floor, first off. Do you write??? Please do you write???? I need to read more of your words if so bc you understand these characters on SUCH a deep level UGH

“-he can’t possibly face the fact that his actions killed his son” - THIS THIS THIS !!!! Bruce is an immovable wall with Jason because he CANNOT accept the accountability. It’s like Jason is having a completely different battle with him, because Jason sees things for as they are, if not a little tainted by his own begrudged feelings, but meanwhile Bruce is seeing things through a clouded lens of denial. Bruce doesn’t understand the pain he caused Jason because he cannot even see it. It does not exist in his mind. Because to accept the pain is to accept WHY the pain is there, which in turn would just spiral out of control and Bruce is forced to accept that his no-kill ideal ended up digging his son’s own grave.

Ugh LOVE the idea of Bruce gaslighting himself into thinking this was how it was always fated to be. Putting the blame not on himself or Jason or the Joker, but on some higher being that he doesn’t even believe in. It’s such a Bruce coping mechanism. Sweeping everything under the rug bc now he can’t see it. IM UNWELL

YES YES THEY ARE ON SUCH DIFFERENT PAGES!!! YOU GET IT!!! They literally are having two separate conversations and neither understands why their words aren’t sinking in to the other. They may as well be talking to their own hallucinations at this point- Jason at the memory of his father and Bruce at the doomed ghost of a boy who once was.

And YUP that’s why I write little “good dad bruce” fics and read so many too, because I WANT them to reconcile but… in the actual real world reality? I think the best they could do is an uncomfortable middle ground. Where Jason is no longer antagonized, but not exactly welcomed either. He’d have an expected seat at the table, but he’d never come. He’d be on every place card, every invite, but he’d never show up. He’d be included, but would choose to stay away. And that breaks my heart but also I truly don’t think either of them can go beyond that. In an effort to cling to familiarity and sanity and a guilt free life, Bruce pushed his biggest regret away. He could have had his son back, but instead he chose to believe it couldn’t be true. And like the greatest self fulfilled prophecy, he made it true.

ANYWAY THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY AND BLESSING MY INBOX !!! seeing so many words made my itty bitty heart so happy. biggest MWAH to you <33

[silverraes]

10 BL Boys I Want Carnally

10 BL Boys That Make Me Feel Things™

(not sexual, not romantic but a secret third thing)

okay so I wasn't exactly tagged in this but I saw several people doing this and I'll take just about any excuse to scream about my favorite characters so I'm just going to very sneakily join in on this trend 👀

there is absolutely no ranking to these bc I couldn't rank them if I wanted to

(also I changed the name a little bc my ace ass is literally physically incapable of wanting anyone carnally but I still have lots of thoughts lmao)

1) Tharn (The Sign)

I mean. is literally anyone surprised that this is where we're starting?

he's the nicest person out there. he can kick your ass if he wants to. he lost his parents at a young age and is absolutely convinced that everyone he loves is doomed to die and he keeps seeing visions of people dying and he's told again and again that those he has wronged in a past life - which he doesn't even remember - are still out to get him and yet he has so much kindness left for the world??

also he can be such a little shit and knows exactly how to tease Phaya back I love him so goddamn much.

(also that mole-)

2) Kim (Kinnporsche)

was he also on my characters I'd hit with my car list? maybe. and what about it.

I love him so much. he's such a badass but he's such a loser. famous singer who falls for a fan he was supposed to be investigating but is too emotionally constipated to admit it. badass son of a mafia family who can kick ass but only if he wants to. who does it like him honestly

(it also helps that he's played by just about the prettiest man alive)

3) Babe (Pit Babe)

did I start watching this show ironically? yes. is every mention of alphas and mpreg and that mama/papa thing hitting me like a brick and causing me 9000 psychic damage every single time? also yes. did I absolutely fall in love with the show and just about every character in it? you bet your fucking ass I did.

but I especially love Babe. he's just so babygirl. special alpha man who has to act tough and strong but just wants to be babied by his dumbass loser (affectionate) alpha boyfriend. like, he's actually so goddamn soft?? I love him.

4) Guy (Bake Me Please)

I think we all knew this was coming. I was literally gushing about him for half of the episodes. Guy my beloved. that show did not deserve you.

he spends the entire show supporting his crush's every decision and trying to make sure he's okay literally how could you not love this man

(yes he was a petty bitch for like 5 minutes there but he immediately apologized for it the next episode. properly. unlike certain other people-)

5) Sprite (Twins)

he's so himbo coded. himbo of all himbos. the himboest. not a brain cell in that head. he's my little dumbass I love him.

he deserves so much better than what he's being put through. someone please just love and support him for who he is. and also take him away from that family

(please talk to your boyfriend tho I am begging)

6) Wei Wuxian (The Untamed)

MY BELOVED. I could write essays about him. he's such a great character I love him so fucking much. if you ever had to bear witness to me talking about him.. I am so sorry.

sassy emo bitch with a flute and a tragic backstory who's seen as evil by just about everyone but only ever had the best intentions. absolute fucking dumbass. kicks ass. always smiling despite the circumstances. loves his siblings so damn much. doomed by the narrative. what more could you possibly ask for

7) Zhou Zishu (Word of Honor)

I'm trying so damn hard to keep this list to one character per show and it really took me a while to decide if I wanted to include him or Wen Kexing but ultimately it was Zhou Zishu for me

just.. god. him. assassin sect leader just trying to retire who keeps getting dragged into the biggest bullshit but doesn't really mind bc the bullshit comes with a mysterious pretty man. also that whole god damn nail thing. I have so many thoughts and feelings about that but this post would get too long if I got started on those-

(also actually pulling the "I'm literally dying" card to get out of chores is so fucking valid of him. more characters should do that)

8) Milk (Choco Milk Shake)

he is quite fucking literally a reincarnated cat, of course I love him. I could list reasons for why I love him but it would be the exact same reasons just about every cat person on earth lists for why they love cats so. but here's a quick summary, just in case:

petty. dramatic. knocks over glasses. silently loves you so fucking much.

9) Tew (My Dear Gangster Oppa)

I really did not expect to love him this much? greenest of green flags (except for the plot line we shall not talk about). can and will kill people and is fine with it (seriously it is so refreshing to see a mafia character not having a huge moral dilemma about being in the mafia). both a badass mafia man and a gamer guy who doesn't know how to talk to people and is absolutely whipped for his gamer bf.

also scars make a person just about 110x more attractive I don't make the rules. even if the scars are weird and yellow, it's the thought that counts.

10) Tian (A Tale of Thousand Stars)

I? love him??

I just love how he sets out to do something for someone he didn't even know because he feels like this person deserves that much at least and how he ends up genuinely loving and caring for those kids and the village and this inner conflict he's having the entire time but hiding oh so well and how he actually calls out his parents on their rich people bs and-

tagging everyone who reads this far and wants to do it. seriously. I mean it. if you want to do this, please go ahead and say I tagged you. I love reading everyone's thoughts.

[the-copycat-hero]

Villain Monoma: thoughts?

what do you think he'd be like? how do you think he became a villain? or just generally, any thoughts on Villain Monoma? 👁️

initial thoughts: YOOOOOOOO

longer thoughts: tbh as it stands in canon i could never see Monoma becoming a villain because of just how determined he has been to stand out as a hero - and also because he is a Kind Boy who i can't imagine would ever be willing to harm innocent people. that said, there are a few AUs where i could see him fighting for the other side, and i think that the general concept is SICK AS HELL.

(going to put the rest of this under a read more because as i am typing this i can already tell that this is gonna be a long one)

HOW MONOMA BECOMES A VILLAIN

Option #1 - Classic Case of Kidnapping: an AU where All-for-One isn't a massive dumbass and realizes that acquiring a kid who can literally copy quirks like a smaller, less lethal version of himself would be a Very Good Idea. he yoinks small child Monoma soon after his quirk manifests and raises him like he did Tomura. not really my favorite AU though, since Monoma would likely be a very different person were he raised to hate hero society from the start.

Option #2 - Siblings (Doomed by the Narrative): Monoma and Toga are related, and he defects to the villain's side because he cares about her and is stupidly loyal to those that he cares about. the problem is that he also cares about his friends at UA, so he generally has a terrible time of it all. (this is basically the plot of Blood the Color of Pomegranates).

Option #3 (my favorite) - the League of Villains Adopts Another Child: kind of like option #1, except someone else from the league (maybe Compress?) takes Monoma in after some traumatic event in his life and treats him better than his biological family ever did. i may actually make a separate post about this AU (or at least a similar one) because the idea haunts and vexes me.

HOW MONOMA BEHAVES AS A VILLAIN

it really depends on the circumstances that lead to him becoming a villain, but in any AU i'd write, i think he'd behave a lot like he does in canon. just like... 20% more unhinged.

very loud and dramatic at his baseline, but occasionally drops a line that is so serious and borderline heartbreaking that it gives pause to whomever he is fighting. ("Surely, you've felt that way before... how the hopes and dreams of childhood now grow heavy as burdens. It's as if we are cursed." WHAT KIND OF HIGH SCHOOLER SAYS SHIT LIKE THIS? WHO HURT YOU???)

loves monologuing, but is incredibly smart about it; he never gives away any information that could help the heroes, but he does occasionally drop misleading clues / red herrings that they inevitably waste their time pursuing.

fantastic strategist. sometimes, he'll copy a hero's quirk just so that he can study it and figure out its weaknesses.

still provokes his opponent during fights, but he gets even more personal with it somehow. he reads the heroes to filth, and unlike in canon, he genuinely means every word that he says.

i like the idea that Monoma can use a diluted form of someone else's quirk as long as he has access to their hair, so as a villain, i could see him cutting a chunk of hair off of anyone that he's downed.

incredibly OP and lowkey terrifying because he has access to the most busted quirks ever. imagine how nightmarish it would be to have two Shigarakis on your ass. TWO ALL-FOR-ONES. (Monoma steals quirks and then they disappear with his copy of AFO.) the heroes are so cooked it is not even funny.

would not endorse targeting young kids, even as a villain. if there is a little kid in the vicinity of a fight he's involved in, he WILL relocate. (it's easy with Kurogiri's quirk at his disposal).

wanted to be a hero at some point, and sometimes wishes that things could be different. but once he's found his place in the league, he'd be far too attached to ever consider abandoning them.

POSSIBLY COULD PLAY THE ROLE OF UA TRAITOR? (food for thought).

stopping here but i will be plotting

[honimello]

Doomed by the Narrative

Papa Emeritus iii/Terzo fic (terzocentric but still x reader)

Summary: Terzo copes with the afterlife, and tries to comfort the people in his life after his passing. (2,003 words)

Warnings: ANGST, detailed violence and gore, sadness, guilt, loneliness, murder, MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, introspection

A/N: I'm doing a drawing for this currently lol, I'm super in my Terzo melancholy feels so this is the fruits of that labor lol. I really hope you guys like this and I would love some feedback!

He should’ve seen this coming, he thinks. The whispers, the disdainful glances, even the sheer amount of secret meetings between Sister and Nihil. There was no other explanation. As he stands, spectorally, over his now lifeless body. His head lay still at the feet of that disgusting, dreadful woman. He can see his father wringing his hands far away at the back of the room, trying desperately not to look at the act that has just been committed. The Nameless ghoul they had forced to enact the deed is cowering in the opposite corner of Nihil, the tears stream down their silver mask and the whimpers echo through the pews. Sister turns her nose up at the smell, the mere sight of his blood dripping from the headless body in front of her, she steps back and pulls a handkerchief from her pocket and crouches down. She brandishes his head by his hair, only the Mark of Lucifer stares back. He should’ve seen this coming.

Ever since he was little, Sister has had it out for him, insulting him, belittling him and his brothers. His brothers, his brothers that are gone as well. Where are they? Are they in this state of inbetween and yet still here, just as he is? Suddenly, the doors to the chapel are whipped open and a scream rips through the previously silent room. His fratellino, the only one of them that is left standing. Sister turns around as the poor Cardinal runs up and lands at the body of his dear brother, Copias face is wet with tears and his voice grows hoarse from the sobs that wrack his body. He begins screaming at his mother but for some reason Terzo begins to lose his senses, everything begins to be too much. He can't hear anymore, he can't see, he can't feel and yet everything is so cold. Where am I? Is all he can think. 

He doesn't know how much time has passed in the strange state of overstimulation but when he comes to, his body is gone and the room is bathed in darkness. He is alone, not even his lifeless head is with him anymore. He tries to move, tries to leave this wretched chapel of his untimely beheading, but he cannot slink through the pews. There is no leaving this eternal damnation. The fugue state that he stands in currently should terrify him, but he can't bring himself to think or feel or even remotely understand. Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?

The massive wooden door to the chapel creaks open. A Sibling of Sin shuffles through and slowly mopes their way through the pews, only to kneel just before his spector. His spector which he only now realizes, quite vaguely, that where he stands is exactly where he used to  lead sermons. He looks down at the top of the siblings head. They are kneeling with their hands clasped together, they sob and they sob and he's not sure why. What troubles you so? He wants to ask but his lips cannot move, he can only watch as they shake and tremble. They cry, and they cry, and they cry, and he's not sure when but he slips back into the void. Senseless and alone, locked in his chapel of unrest. Time passes slower this time, he watches as the sun rises outside of the stained glass windows and he watches as it sets. It begins to rise and set infinitely, like a flickering light. Yet, it is like an eternity of standing and watching. 

Sermons are held, he watches as siblings filter in and out of the pews. As his brother stands impossibly close, and shivers at the cold thought that Terzo stood exactly where he does now. That his body lay dead at his feet every time he leads the congregation, there is no rest for either of them. Terzo watches as more wrinkles, more fine lines and dark circles grow upon his fratellinos face. He watches him as time passes. He watches him when he lingers in the chapel after all the siblings have left, he watches as he cries and asks Terzo for guidance. Guidance he wishes he could give, but he cannot speak and he cannot cry.

It is a long time, he thinks, before the chapel doors creak open once more, and this time it is very late at night. Terzo has completed another bout of senselessness as a vaguely familiar Sibling of Sin walks in. They cry again but not as hard as they did the first time, and as he watches them he feels a different familiarity in their features. Does he know them? Did he know them… Before? He can’t quite remember but regardless of their tears and snot, he finds them rather beautiful in their grief. He can hear them sniffling, hear them whimper and whisper. They are the only thing he has been able to hear in a long time and he is struck with the realization that they look older than before. How long has it been? He hears them whisper once more and he can barely make out his own name, his title even. A title that no longer belongs to him.

“Papa..” 

“Papa…”

“Papa… Are you there?”

His finger twitches at his side, his muscles convulse. Call my name, he thinks, Call to me.

“...”

“...”

“... Terzo?”

Instantaneously, he regains feeling throughout his entire body. He stumbles forward before falling to his knees directly beside the Sibling. Why now? Why has he regained his consciousness now? He is so close to them and yet he cannot bring himself to match their gaze, so he stares past them and raises a hand to their shoulder. He thinks to himself that he recognizes them now, his amore… How could he forget? He wants to scold himself but can't bring himself to focus on his own feelings as he watches them shiver at his touch and begin sobbing even harder than before.

He opens his mouth and tries to speak to them, but alas any words that come out turn into the air of the chapel and all it serves to do is make the Sibling shiver once more. They begin whispering again, their words stilted and wavering.

“Papa, it’s been almost six years since you’ve been gone.”

He is stunned. Standing here for six years. Six years, does anyone remember him anymore? Has he been completely forgotten? Is he obsolete? 

“Papa IV is retiring… The holidays have passed and I find myself thinking of you once more, why has Lucifer doomed me to such a life? Have I not been faithful? Have I not been dutiful? Papa, I am lonely.”

His voice is like ice as he opens his mouth, the wind begins to whisper to the Sibling. 

“I am always with you.” 

Your body begins to shake, you cry out like you've never cried before, the melancholy that's made a home in your bones rears its ugly head and you fall to the steps below your knees. You reach your hands up and the breeze caresses them like your lover did once before, long ago. His presence is like a whispered promise in the air, and in a way, it is. Your tears smack against the stone of the steps but his voice calling to you is all you hear.

As the sun rises through the window, and you make your way back to your dorm room, Terzo leaves his spot in the chapel for the first time in six years. He follows you to your room and watches as you settle into bed to catch up on your lost night of sleep. Once he believes you to be fully sleeping, he makes his way out of your room and into the halls. He wanders for a long time, watching siblings he recognizes mingled with new siblings make their own way through the halls side by side with him. There are places around the Ministry that have changed, a specific archway has been remodeled and painted over with His Majesty in mind. It makes him smile, but it also brings him great pain that he could not have seen it built. 

Soon, he finds himself outside of an office. An office with raised voices emanating from the other side of the door. He slinks inside and finds his little brother and Sister Imperator. They are yelling, waving their arms, huffing and puffing. She is trying to convince him to rethink his retirement, she threatens him but it has no real weight to it. Terzo watches as his fratellino sits down in his chair with a groan and falls silent. Sister’s voice begins to trail off and she asks him: What is wrong, bambino? 

“His gaze has been haunting me, Sister. The Mark, the same Mark that stares back at me from inside the mirror. His head in my hands. I am haunted, and I miss him.” 

Sister Imperator rolls her eyes. You are still on about that? She says vindictively. That was six years ago, C!

“I do not care. He is my brother and I have wronged him, not only in life but in death as well. The cold stare in his eyes, the look on his face resting in my hands. I cannot wash that away. You have forced me into a place that not even Lucifer could forgive. This is not what I wanted, it is not what he wanted. Let me go in peace… Please, Sister.” 

She has turned her back on him, staring with an empty gaze out the window. You have disappointed me, C. I hope you are happy with yourself. She stalks out of the office, leaving both Copia and Terzo in silence. His brother begins crying, holding his own head in his hands.

“Could you ever forgive me, mio fratello?” He whispers into the icy air of the empty room. 

Terzo makes his way to stand behind the hunched over form of his brother, he sighs and rests his hand on his shoulder. Copia relaxes with the breeze that makes its way through him, a shiver and a shuddering breath wrack his body. It is a while before Copia regains his composure, but soon he is off to another meeting, his rushing and bumbling demeanor reminiscent of his Cardinal days. 

Terzo remains in the room, staring out the window as siblings rush by in the gardens. He thinks of his other brothers once more and wonders where they are. Could he find them here in this purgatory, or are they in Hell with their Lord? Have they been rewarded for their efforts? Why couldn’t he be with them, why did he have to haunt the halls of the Ministry alone?

He is not sure he will ever get the answers he looks for but for the time being, he is content to watch the new siblings admiring his late brother's hard work, the beautiful flora and fauna outside of the Ministry. He watches as two siblings water and trim the hedges and plants as needed, and he feels a sense of gratitude and pride in them. He is jealous of their life and their laughter but he is glad the Ministry continues to thrive, and has a new generation willing to care for it just as he and his brothers did.

Maybe this is his reward, his true retirement. There is nothing he has to worry about anymore, all he has to do is watch over his amore and his fratellino. Maybe he could be content in that, in having a purpose in this afterlife. A purpose that will not eat him from the inside out like the papacy.

The sun filters in and lights up the dust falling through the air, Terzo watches as it gently glides its way through the air like a leaf falling to the ground. He breathes a sigh of relief and begins to relax.

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

hii 📓

Okay so the thing is that I wanted a “the Zenin raised Megumi instead of Gojo” fic but the thing is that I’m absolutely convinced that if the Zenin were the ones that took Megumi they wouldn’t actually take tsumiki too. The fandom consensus I’ve personally seen has been that she would have been taken and mistreated by zenin for being a female non sorcerer but I personally think they would have just straight up left her behind.

They only bought Megumi. They keep non sorcerers and women as servants in their compound but all of them are Zenin themselves. Tsumiki isn’t related and I couldn’t really see any reason why they’d want her. Which turned this into a fic where Tsumiki loses her brother, but she’s trying to find him again, she swears. I think of it as my “siblings doomed by the narrative desperately try to write a new one where they can be together” fic.

The thing is that Tsumikis mom was one of those people who thought love and consumption were synonymous. She had a habit of getting caught up with assholes and just… having both of them chew on each other for a while until it turns into this horrible fucking bloodbath.

Tojis just another loser her mom got caught up in, but he’s Tsumiki’s favorite out of all the losers, because he gave her her brother. Her mom marries this random guy she barley knows and Tsumikis pretty sure she does it so they can both ditch their kids twice as much, secure in the knowledge that there’s supposedly another person checking in. It works out great for them, because they both stop coming entirely. It’s fine, because Tsumiki has Megumi and Megumi has Tsumiki and they don’t need anything else.

It’s one of those things where they were in really unhealthy circumstances and it made their relationship a little bit unhealthy but not necessarily bad. They both had to grow up way too fast and deal with way too much too soon and become codependent on each other because they are, in the most literal way possible, dependent on one another. Neither of them know how to love in a way that doesn’t involve sacrificing themselves for their sibling, mostly because they don’t have a way that doesn’t involve that.

They’re in a sinking ship and tsumiki knows it. Their parents aren’t coming back. The money is going to run out sooner or later. Their problems are stacking up.

Megumi has confessed to her that he sees things that no one else does. When she asks him how he knows no one else sees them, he explains that they’d say something if they did and won’t say anything else. And she doesn’t know what to believe but she refuses to call him crazy. He tells her that monsters cling to her back and he fights them off for her. She patches up his bruises and cuts and tells him he’s brave and tries to figure out if she’s just imagining that her back feels lighter after. He tells her that there are dogs that only he can see that have started following him around, and she tells him she believes him and can never remember, later, if she meant it or was just saying it.

The last time Toji came by, he left them more money than tsumikis ever seen in her life, took them to ice cream, told them that he was sorry he was so shit at this and that the money was Megumi’s share in a payment. It was for something he was going to help daddy with later. Tsumiki and him were to use it to take care of themselves and be healthy, because Megumi couldn’t help him later if he wasn’t. And tsumiki was always afraid of what he meant by that, but in the end, she let it slip her mind. After all, Toji hadn’t been by in ages. He probably wouldn’t come by at all.

And he didn’t. But others did. Two men she’s never met before are waiting outside their building one day, and when they see Megumi, they laugh. But the thing that Tsumiki can never get out of her mind later is that she swears they weren’t looking at Megumi directly. They were looking at his dogs.

Tsumiki basically tries to get Megumi and powerwalk past them, but they’re a lot bigger and a lot stronger and there’s nothing she can do, really. They have a brief conversation about whether they should take her too, before one decides that Toji only sold him his kid and to leave the other behind. This makes both of them try to run, but there’s nothing either of them can do to overpower the men, and the men say that “Naobito would go ballistic if they left the ten shadows behind” so they take Megumi and leave her.

They put Megumi in a car and shove Tsumiki to the curb outside of it, and she tried to hold onto his hand, she swears. She grabbed at the car door even when the car started moving, and she banged on the windows, and she watched as Megumi kicked and punched and screamed inside, until one of them hit him and he went still. She ends up falling and hitting her head when the car picks up speed, and when she wakes up again, the cars gone and she has no idea where it went.

And it becomes a foundational moment for who she is. I think she was just intensely lonely before Megumi and poured a lot of herself into this idea of a family together. Tsumikis never able to shake the moment of her being outside the car and Megumi being on the inside, and not being able to get into him. She can never again get what she felt in that moment out of her head.

She goes to the police and tells them that it’s her little brother, his dad sold him but she wants him back, and they’re like “…”. The issue is that apparently her mom can pick up the damn phone if the police call and she shows up, spins some lie about how her and the stepdad split up and he took the kid with him, they never adopted each others kids so it was within his rights, Tsumiki was taking the separation hard and acting out. She lies, basically, because toji hadn’t kept up his end of the deal and dropped in to check in (neither had she) and his kid wasn’t her responsibility, he could do what he wanted with him. She doesn’t want the police poking around the way she lives. Just let the kid go because he’s probably dead and not her real brother anyway.

Tsumiki refuses to give up on him. They were both kids who no one cared about but they cared about each other and that had to be enough. But she’s seven with no support and zero idea on how to find him. She starts skipping school to look for him in random streets, puts up flyers, can’t go outside without looking for him. She gets held back a year in school because of how much she skips and she can’t bring herself to care. She buys him gifts on every birthday and writes him letters she can’t post because she’s going to find her brother and she’s going to prove to him that she never once stopped looking for him. She just. She needs him to know that she never stopped looking for him. She needs to find him and be able to honestly tell him she never stopped trying.

One day her mom comes back in clothes she can’t afford and comes with movers they shouldn’t be able to afford and announces a move they definitely can’t afford. Tsumikis absolutely opposed to going because if her brother comes to look for her, she needs to be in their old apartment so he can find her. She doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter. They have mysterious new benefactors who are setting up a trust to take care of tsumiki with a very generous stipend for her mom but they have to move to Sendai as a stipulation of getting the money.

It’s not until the attorney who’s managing her trust hands her a set of glittery blue butterfly hairpins that tsumiki realizes her mom sold her brother a second time.

The thing is that tsumiki had this one cheap set of butterfly hairpins she’d always stopped to look at in the store when she took Megumi to go grocery shopping. Shed never buy them, because they couldn’t afford it, but it was the thing she wanted most openly in front of him. She was always secretly really insecure about her hair, because they were the kind of poor where bar soap was a luxury they could only sometimes afford and kids at school made fun of how her hair was dirty and frayed. Megumi was the only one who ever saw how badly she wanted those stupid hair clips. If they had to give her a set of butterfly hair clips, it’s because he demanded that they did.

It’s basically implied that the Zenin are the ones paying for her care and upkeep due to an unspecified deal they cut with Megumi, but when they approached her mom with it, they added the caveat that Tsumiki had to be moved to a new city entirely and there could be no forwarding address left anywhere.

The zenins stance on tsumiki is, effectively, that she’s a weakness Megumi needs to be weaned off of. They honestly assumed he’d just like, forget she ever existed and he. Did not do that. He actually pitched a total bitch fit. Tried to scale the compound walls. Bit multiple people including the clan leader. But he’s got the ten shadows, he’s heir to the clan, and he can’t be caught up on some random non sorcerer who isn’t even a Zenin. They end up agreeing to pay for her to live very comfortably if he starts cooperating more but they want to make sure that he can’t ever find her again if he does ever succeed in running away.

Tsumiki is at once full of hope and hopeless, because on one hand, the butterfly clips prove that Megumi still loves her and remembers her, at least in her mind. But at the same time, she’s being moved to Sendai and doesn’t know how they’ll ever find each other again. She doesn’t honestly know if they’d recognize each other if they saw each other again. She wears the butterfly clips every day, even when she gets too old for the style, because she’s more confident about her brother recognizing them than her.

The thing about tsumiki is that she doesn’t understand hate. She just doesn’t. Her mom and toji always got caught up in these perceived slights and revenge and never once let go of the past. They’d destroy themselves if it meant taking down the people they hated with them. She never wanted that. She wanted to live with the people she loved and she’d happily turn around and forget everything, all the pain, all the searching, if it just meant she could go back to being megumis sister.

This isn’t about hate. This is about that moment outside the car, where her brother was inside and she couldn’t get in to him. This is about how helpless and small she felt when they shoved her to the curb and ripped megumis hand out of hers. She needs to make sure that when she finds Megumi, she can take him home again. So she decides she needs to learn how to fight.

Itadori Yuuji has the constitution of an ox and the strength to match it, and he is known for getting in fights with bullies and trouncing them so thoroughly that it’s never a question of who wins when the fight starts. He’s insanely physically capable and can hold his own in a fight with ease. He’s also nice and kind and Tsumiki’s comfortable enough asking him to teach her how to throw a punch or two.

She is bad at it.

So fucking bad at it.

But she never gives up, and Itadori is nice enough to keep teaching her despite how embarrassingly horrible she is at it all. He always asks her why she wants to learn so bad, she doesn’t seem to like it all, and she never answers his question honestly.

In their last year of middle school, their class has a trip to Kyoto. She, Itadori, and the rest of their group walk into some random restaurant in the city and have barely sat down when someone comes inside, starts searching every booth in the restaurant while shouting Tsumikis name.

And oh. They could recognize each other after all.

She looked for Megumi in every crowd she was ever in, but she didn’t consider that he was doing the same. Or that he would see her first.

Her brother grew up without her seeing it. Hes older, dressed in strange, expensive clothes, has a slightly bruised up face and split lip, but his eyes are the same, and he looks like the brother she remembered.

But a lot more nervous than Megumi ever was. He was a tiny, stoic child who didn’t take any shit and never showed fear, even when there were monsters that only he could see. But he’s nervous when he tells her that she probably doesn’t recognize him or remember him, but when she was a lot younger, he—

Megumi. He’s her little brother. Of course she remembers him. She’s been looking for him everywhere.

Megumi didn’t smile much as a child, but he smiles at her then. He tells her he doesn’t have a lot of time and she tells him that they can leave out the back, and he never let her hold his hand as a child but he takes her hand so easily in that second. And just for a second, she’s his sister again, and it’s everything she wanted.

They never make it out the back.

Two men come in. Megumi calls one of them uncle, and he goes stiff and flat the second he sees him. His uncle apologizes for his nephew, tells everyone that he always makes scenes when they’re out in public, tells him to apologize to the nice people and leave. Megumi was mistaken.

Tsumiki tríes to keep ahold of his hand. Really, she does. She tries to tell people to call the police. But megumis “uncle” steps towards her and Megumi slams him into a table, and then suddenly Megumi’s the one insisting that they leave immediately. They can go. It’s fine. They’re leaving. She loses ahold of his hand.

She tries to follow, but the other man restrains her. She learns that she’s better at slamming plates into peoples heads than she is at punching, and at this point itadoris Friend In Danger Override has been triggered and he fucking tackles the dude, which gives tsumiki the clearing that she needs to chase outside after her brother. She gets out just in time to see him be pushed into a car, and she’s had years to think about the last time this happened and figure out what to do differently. She throws herself in front of the car and refuses to move.

See her entire stance is that she’ll sooner get run over and killed in the street than let them do this a second time, but she also can see Megumi trying to fucking punch the drivers head in from behind because he’s about to hit his sister. His uncles trying to restrain him, and just for a second, she sees his hands make the shape of the shadow puppets he used to show her as children. Something invisible slams her out of the way just as his uncle knocks him out.

She picks up a rock and tries to smash in the fucking window with it, and itadori has to pull her out of the way to keep her from getting her feet run over when the car finally tears out of the parking lot. She goes ballistic on him for stopping her because her brother was right there and she lost him again and she didn’t even get the license plate. He was right there.

The police basically do jack all again. There’s no license plate, no names they can follow up on, and they’re still half convinced this is a settled custody issue even though tsumiki insists her brother was sold by his dad and is very plainly getting hurt wherever he is. Itadori is now a devoted advocate of finding tsumikis brother and reuniting them, and both basically kind of end up becoming really close to the other? He’s taking care of himself and his grandpa alone, she’s alone while her moms awol again, and they both become the others support system.

At one point, there’s this random girl and boy who doesn’t speak who shows up to their school for indeterminate reasons. The girl is bored and twirling her glasses in one hand while the person in a suit that they’re with asks the principal questions, and when tsumikis eyes catch at the right angle, she sees an invisible monster clinging to a classmates back through them. She realizes it’s exactly what Megumi always talked about and still remembers that the people who took him could see his dogs. She corners the two others in a room and tries to demand information about the invisible monsters or see if they know her brother or the people who took him, and immediately gets blown off. The fight escalates until the girl tells him that actually, yeah. She knows tsumikis brother. He is a very special person to some very powerful people, and the only way she can ever help him is to tell him that she’s let go of him and that he needs to do the same to her. That’s the only message that the people who have him would ever let get through, and his life would get a lot better as soon as he got it.

The people who have him would give him anything in the world, except for her. He could be a lot happier and healthier than he is right now if he just agreed to stop trying to find tsumiki. If she really wants to help her brother, then she needs to let him go.

Tsumiki nails her in the back of the head with a milk carton when she tries to walk away. It sloshes out on her. Tsumiki did not intend this. She cannot admit that fact. There are some actions you just have to own when you do them. She tells the girl that he’s her brother and she’s never letting go of him. She’s going to find him. They can’t keep him from her forever. She doesn’t care how long it takes her.

For a second, tsumiki really thinks this girl is going to kick her ass, but she doesn’t. She wishes her luck and tells her she’ll need it, and it’s only later that tsumiki realizes she slipped the eyeglasses into her pocket.

And as it turns out, her brothers monsters were real all along.

There was a knife that toji left in the frame of his bed. Tsumiki confiscated it from Megumi as soon as he found it, and it was odd and strange and gave her bad feelings when she held it, and it can kill the things that gather on her back. When she follows Itadori to their local high school and joins the occult club in an attempt to find more people involved in this world of invisible monsters, she wears the eyeglasses and keeps the knife hidden in her bag.

It comes in handy when her senpais are trying to open this thing and suddenly there’s like a fucking portal opening and Actually Let’s Not Oh Too Late Let’s Run Let’s Fucking Run.

They run.

Meanwhile at the hospital Megumi found out in very quick succession that his sister has fucking sukunas finger and also that there’s a very over enthusiastic himbo who is the self appointed vice president of the Find Fushiguro Megumi And Bring Him Home Club who absolutely fucking refuses to leave his side. Sorry who are you. Why are you so enthusiastic about finding him. Megumi sort of was the one doing the finding there was a whole tracking situation and him waiting dramatically in the shadows like they just did it.

Anyway they run very very quickly to tsumikis school where she is dodging she is serpentining this is a fuckton of monsters oh holy fuck is that her brother?

The fight goes bad.

Tsumiki manages to follow itadori and her brother out at a much slower pace because she’s not a freak of nature like itadori and shows up just in time to see her brother shouting at itadori to not eat the fucking finger while itadori is absolutely trying to eat the fucking finger.

She chucks her shoe at him. The finger goes flying.

Then the monster eats it instead.

Tsumiki: :o

Yuuji: :o

Megumi: fuck

Now there’s a bigger monster and the fight goes even worse. There’s a lot of shouting. Itadori ends up with her knife. Then he ends up getting eaten and they’re down both a knife and itadori, who’s probably fucking dead. Then megumis insisting she run and she’s insisting he shut the fuck up because it’s sort of taken a decade to get this close to him again and she’s not fumbling the bag now because of a monster on the rampage. Have a sense of fucking priorities here.

Then itadori bursts out of the monsters stomach with the knife like the fucking Kool Aid Man and the fight is suddenly very over. Good job, team.

Gojo rolls up to his most stoic and eternally pissed off student having a dramatic and emotional reunion with his sister.

Yuuji, in a very bad whisper: no no so like she’s been looking for him for years but he saw her in the restaurant

Gojo: :o go on

Yuuji: and then he got caught by like, I don’t know, he said he was his uncle or something but the dude acted so weird and creepy and they put him in a car and Tsumiki tried to stop the car but they got away

Gojo: *gasp* what no

Yuuji: I know! Anyway then I start helping her look for him but we can’t find him anywhere until I’m at the hospital and he just walks up to me right?? And I’m like “dude I have been looking everywhere for you” and he’s like “I have no idea who you are, I’m here about that fucked up demon finger” and I’m like—

Megumi, really trying to have a moment here: we can both hear you

And megumis like “this is uh. My new teacher. I guess. I am his only student. And he is uh. Enthusiastic. Do not linger in conversation with him.”

Tsumiki is lingering. She needs fucking intel so he can’t disappear again. Where does he go to school and can she transfer there. It’s fucking wizard school? Will they take her even though she’s not a wizard? She cannot emphasize enough that she will study any fucking subject they want so that way she can be close with her brother again she does not care if it’s applicable to her education or life. She can throw things at people itadori tell the man tell him how enthusiastically she will throw things at monsters for their weird fucking wizard school.

Itadori: she hit me in the face with her shoe like five minutes ago

Tsumiki: see???

Megumi keeps trying to forbid her from wizard school but she’s technically the older sister so she has override rights. She will go to wizard school. How does she get wizard school to accept her.

And Gojos just really weird and off and keeps looking at Megumi and saying that he “didn’t know he had a sister.”

He really didn’t know that Megumi had a sister he wanted to stay with.

And then suddenly it’s like a switch is flipped and he’s back to his normal self telling them to leave everything to him, because he’ll make sure tsumiki can come back with them. And uh? Itadori? Weirdly physically capable kid who will apparently eat anything? Is he going to be good getting home after all this?

Itadori: actually if it’s not too much trouble can I go to wizard school too my grandpa sort of died half an hour ago and I don’t have plans for the rest of my life. Tsumikis kind of my best friend and I’d like to make sure she’s all good at wizard school. I’m a really good fighter and I stabbed the last monster so like can I come too because you know. Dead grandpa. No family or future to speak of. Haha.

Gojo:

Megumi:

Tsumiki, softly: dude

There’s more after they make it to jujutsu high but this is already really long so we leave it here

[actual-bill-potts]

A question I’ve always struggled with when writing about the First Age is: how did the non-Fëanorions (particularly the Arafinwions) react to the first Kinslaying?

Alqualondë has an outsized impact on the narrative - it’s responsible for the ban on Quenya, for most of Thingol’s hostility towards the Noldor, and of course for the Doom of the Noldor, which is arguably one of the over-arching conflicts of the story. But we don’t really get to see anyone’s reactions to it (besides Thingol’s), and - oddly - in-text, no one performs any action in response to it. Finarfin explicitly turns back after the Doom is pronounced, not after Alqualondë itself!

Isn’t it odd that no one saw all the dead bodies and stayed behind to help? Not one of the Arafinwions - you know, the kids of Eärwen, Teleri princess? That it was never even under discussion?

In my opinion, the only way you can justify this without making most of the Noldor completely morally bankrupt (and you can certainly argue that at this point in time, they’re already remorseless killers - but I think there’s some moral difference between a fight that got out of hand in the heat and desperation of the moment, and coming upon the aftermath of a fight where people are lying dead and dying everywhere, and completely ignoring it) is if the Teleri basically kicked them out. And I think what’s ignored in a lot of readings of the Arafinwions’ decisions is the agency of Eärwen (understandable, Tolkien doesn’t really mention her at all, nobody ever said the Silm was a feminist text lol).

Here’s one plausible interpretation of what happened, feat. Eärwen making actual decisions that help drive the plot:

To the Teleri, the idea of leaving Aman to honor Finwë would be insanely disrespectful. Finwë pled with the Valar for years to bring the Teleri to Aman! Finwë led his people through great danger to Aman! And now that he is dead, they want to immediately undo his actions and abandon his life's work? No way! Fëanor will do what he wants, but surely the rest of the Noldor won't go along with it...?

Eärwen is of like mind with the Teleri - of course she grieves Finwë, along with Finarfin, but in her mind the best way to honor him is to stay in the place of safety that he gave his life for. To leave would be a grievous insult.

But Finarfin won't abandon his brothers, and their children are also set on going, for all the textual reasons: Finrod for Turgon and to see Beleriand, Aegnor and Angrod for Fingon, Galadriel for new lands to rule. Orodreth doesn't want to leave, but he's the consummate middle child and doesn't want to be left out by his siblings either. Eärwen is furious: from her point of view, her husband is choosing his insane brother over her (as he's probably done at many points during the relationship if we're honest...), and he's taking her children with him!

But she's also the daughter of Olwë: she knows how hard it is to travel between Valinor and Beleriand. She doesn't think they'll make it. So she just says, come to me when you've come to your senses, and goes to take refuge at her father's house.

But then! The Kinslaying happens. oops :)

From the Teleri point of view: the Noldor tried to steal their ships, they fought back, and they were slaughtered. From Eärwen's point of view, the brothers that her husband and children chose over her killed her people. Her sons and daughter betrayed and murdered their childhood nursemaids, their swimming teachers, their friends, their people. She declares to Olwë: I have no husband, and I have no children.

Olwë says: all right then, there goes my one remaining reason to play nice with the Noldor. He decrees that no Noldor will be allowed within their city, on pain of death. Maybe a slight overreaction? But if the Noldor are allowed to be insane in their grief then so are the Teleri.

From the Arafinwion point of view: they came upon a battle already done, and the ships gone. They saw Noldor and Teleri bodies mingled together, and probably couldn't get a clear answer out of anyone about what happened. Then they're chased out of the city at spearpoint when they try to help. Finarfin, without fully knowing what's happened, tries to play the peacemaker bc that's his automatic response, and says, "is there any way we can make amends/make this up to you?"

Olwë hears that and assumes that Finarfin participated in the Kinslaying. He's like "HELL no, get the FUCK out and your children with you!"

Finarfin and his kids ask to see Eärwen. They're vehemently refused.

From there, what can they do but go forwards? They can't help the Teleri, or do anything to make amends; the Teleri won't let them. Finarfin&co can't even see Eärwen! They have no reason to go back to Tirion, and every reason to go forward with the host - they still don't know what happened, and they can at least help the Noldor, who were also killed in droves.

But then they get the full story out of the Nolofinwions, and they're horrified. No wonder Ammë didn't want to see me, Finrod says miserably, I wouldn't want to see me either.

But they still can't go back to Alqualondë. And all the reasons they had for leaving Tirion are still there: friendship, the desire to see Beleriand, wanting vengeance for Finwë and to regain the Silmarils (which are, remember, the only remaining source of light they have besides the stars). And besides, pretty much everyone besides a few assholes and Fëanor is torn up about the Kinslaying, and regrets what happens.

At least some of the Arafinwion host is still on fire to go on - if Finarfin and his kids turn back, they'll be leaving their people to the leadership of Fingolfin and Fëanor, who are both completely insane with grief and rage currently. And they'll also be leaving their cousins to the responsibility of....all that...alone. Finrod and Galadriel decide to go on. Orodreth wants to turn back. Aegnor and Angrod are undecided. Finarfin is so torn up he doesn't know what to think.

Then the Doom is pronounced. And I think the response from the Arafinwion host would be: what the fuck?!

Remember, the Arafinwions (and at least some of Nolofinwions) have done absolutely nothing wrong besides express a desire to leave. And now they're being told that the wrath of the Valar lays on them just as much as on the bloodthirstiest of their Kinslaying brethren. Maybe, they think, Fëanor had a point about the Valar. Maybe Olwë was in the wrong to not let them have the ships. Maybe the Kinslaying wasn't so bad after all! Most of the Arafinwions are now completely enraged with the Valar and totally ready to follow Fëanor.

But Finarfin - Finarfin cannot believe his brothers. He cannot believe what they have condemned him and his people to, in their rage and pain. They have lost him his wife. Their people killed many he counted as close friends. They have placed him and all his children under the wrath of the Valar.

For the first time in his life, he gives up on peacemaking. He tells his children, "Let's go home."

But they won't go. They're as furious with the Valar as anyone else. They're angry with their mother, for refusing to see them, for believing that of them; and they won't let their cousins face their doom alone. Besides, Finrod at least still doesn't want to abandon their people.

Galadriel and Finarfin get into a screaming fight, the first of their lives. Finrod tries unsuccessfully to mediate and ends up snapping at his father and leaving. Orodreth is weeping in the background. Aegnor and Angrod, angry with their father, turn heel and go to stand with Fingon.

Finally, Finarfin just...gives up. He takes those who are willing to go, and leaves without a word to his children or brothers.

After he has received a pardon, he eventually reconciles with Eärwen. Apologies are made on both sides.

But Finarfin's biggest regret is the way he parted with his children - and he won't get to see his youngest again until three Ages of the world have passed.

[allol12]

Songs from The Oh Hellos that would work well in Arcane fanfics:

I'm doing The Oh Hellos first just because I've been listening to them more recently. Buckle in, this is a long list.

Dear Wormwood:

Bitter Water: About a toxic relationship!! Great for angsty pairings.

Lyric Spotlight: “Even now you mark my steps, lovely bitter water, all the days of our delights are poison in my veins, I know I shouldn't love you, I know”

Exeunt: About a toxic relationship!! Great for angsty pairings. Especially if one of them leaves the other.

Lyric Spotlight: “So, my little dove, I'm afraid I am leaving” “I will not abide all your raging and reaving, I have set my mind and my will, I am leaving.”

Dear Wormwood: About a toxic relationship except it’s not a romantic one it’s about a human telling a demon to screw off basically. In the wise words of Maggie and Tyler Heath, the singers and songwriters, this is a Screwtape Letters fanfiction. Great for fics where a character is battling with their own metaphorical demons, looking at you Jinx.

Lyric Spotlight: “I know who I am now, and all that you've made of me, I know who you are now, and I name you my enemy”

Through The Deep Dark Valley (If I’m being completely honest here I struggled to not put the entire album because very song in this album fits at least one character.):

The Valley: According to Genius, “’The Valley’ is a song about the struggle and confusion caused by being born into wickedness.”There is one very simple reason why I included this song in this list. It feels like Piltover vs. Zaun from the point of view of Zaunite children. The whole song is about a generation of people having to pay for the decisions and crimes of those who came before them.

Lyric Spotlight: “We were born in the shadow of the crimes of our fathers, blood was our inheritance, no, we did not ask for this”

Like the Dawn: This one is about Adam meeting Eve. It’s pretty interesting though cause it’s sung by a woman (Maggie Heath) from the perspective of Adam. It’s a pretty romantic song so it can be for any ship, especially if it’s one that’s doomed by the narrative.

Lyric Spotlight: “You were the brightest shade of sun I had ever seen” “And you will surely be the death of me, but how could I have known?”

Second Child Restless Child: This one has too much lore so I won’t go too much into it. Think of it as the troubled younger sibling anthem. Looking at you again, Jinx.

Lyric Spotlight: “See, I was born a second child, with a spirit running wild, running free, and they saw trouble in my eyes, they were quick to recognize the devil in me”

The Lament of Eustace Scrubb: This song is once again C.S. Lewis fanfiction. Idk much about Narnia so I can't explain this much but think of this song as another instance of battling inner demons. Looking at you for a third time, Jinx. And honestly? Viktor too.

Lyric Spotlight: “Father, have mercy, I know that I have gone astray, 'cause when I saw my reflection, it was a stranger beneath my face”

In Memoriam: Yet ANOTHER song with too much lore. It can be interpreted as romantic, but I don’t think the original version was romantic by any means. Nevertheless, it’s very good for fanfic especially for smth like caitvi, you’ll see why in the lyric spotlight.

Lyric Spotlight: “But I've never been a wealthy one before, I got holes in my pocket burned by liars' gold, and I think I'm far too poor for you to want me”

Notos:

Constellations: According to genius, “’Constellations’ explores what it feels like to have your own perception of the universe challenged and ultimately fall apart” If I’m being honest with myself… I put this here for Jayvik, skyvik, or literally any ship regarding the hextech team.

Lyric Spotlight: “Like constellations imploding in the night, everything is turning, everything is turning, and the shapes that you drew may change beneath a different light, everything you thought you knew will fall apart, but you'll be all right”

Eurus:

O’ Sleeper: Genius only tells me where the name comes from so if I’m being honest I have no idea what this song is truly about, but it does have a very nice domestic opening scene.

Lyric Spotlight: “While the weary nations weep, awakening me from a dream, I see the moonlight steal across my sheets, my love is lying fast asleep, chasing its beams, she stirs, and then she turns her back to me”

Boreas:

Rose: This song is about the change that needs to happen within Christianity. If you look this song up on genius, do not be fooled by the first commenter explaining what this song is about. They are wrong. ANYWHO, this song has banger lyrics that can work for angsty ships.

Lyric Spotlight: “No, love’ll get you slaughtered, like a ram at the altar, what is safe ain’t the same as what is good”

Zephyrus:

Soap: In my own personal interpretation, this song is about a couple who although may be different, and although may have their own personal issues, are still trying to make it work. Look me in the eyes and tell me this isn’t caitvi. The song literally has oil and water in the lyrics. I rest my case.

Lyric Spotlight: “I've heard, since I was younger, that oil and water don't mix, they're polar opposites, with a molecular rift you can't fix”

The Oh Hellos Ep:

Hello My Old Heart: According to genius, “The narrator of “Hello My Old Heart” addresses his broken heart.” Great for any angsty ship/character especially those who guard their heart.

Lyric Spotlight: “Hello, my old heart, how have you been? How is it being locked away? Don't you worry, in there, you're safe, and it's true, you'll never beat, but you'll never break”

Lay Me Down: According to genius, “’Lay Me Down’ is a song about leaving the beliefs you grew up with and pursuing the truth.” One specific lyric does intrigue me though, as it makes the narrator sound like an adventurous child who wants more than the cards they were dealt.

Lyric Spotlight: “See, I was born a restless, wayward child, I could hear the whole world calling me outside, of the masses I routinely sat behind, and Lord, I had to see with my own eyes”

These are just some examples! I highly recommend listening to The Oh Hellos, they are amazing!!