#oh so the world around you is alive and full of non-human beings that you can interact with? tell me moreeee
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the-navistar-carol · 8 months ago
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The more I learn about ecopsychology, the more I spy parallels between what I have learned about witchcraft and it is rather humorous
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marcusrobertobaq · 1 year ago
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Top 10 stupidest Detroit Become Human dialogues
(this is my opinion)
10.
[falls on the floor in pure drama] Kara: ALICE! GO, ALICE! Alice: No, I won't leave you! Kara: GO! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN! [i mean, u gonna get what i'm sayin' if u watch a video]
9.
Alice: What are you doing? They’re not our clothes! Kara: We need them, Alice. You need something warm and I need to get rid of this uniform. Alice: But, that's stealing! We can't do that!
8.
JB300: Markus? Is that you?.. I tried to reach you, but the deviant hunter stopped me… Connor [pretending to be Markus]: You stopped him from finding me, you saved me! You saved Jericho. You'll be all right now. I came to take you home. Give me the location to Jericho. We gotta leave now. JB300: The location of Jericho?.. Yes… Yes, of course…
7.
Markus: Humans hate us… They want to destroy us 'cause we refuse to be their slaves anymore… I'm not gonna stand around and wait for them to slaughter my people! Carl: You used to be so calm and thoughtful… Now all I see is anger…
6.
[deviant Connor + hostile Hank + peaceful/neutral Markus] Hank: For a while there, I believed in you, Connor… I thought you might restore my faith in the world… But you just showed me that androids... Are our creation… Creation in our own image. Selfish, ruthless, and brutal… You opened my eyes, Connor. Made me realize it’s hopeless… Hank: Now leave me alone… Go on, complete your mission, since that's all you care about. GET OUTTA HERE!
5.
Kara: Why are you helping us? Most humans hate androids… Rose: My people were often made to feel their lives were worthless… Some survived but only because they found others who helped them along the way…
4.
Hank: When I was hanging off the roof, back at the urban farm, you let that deviant go in order to help me. You put my life above the mission. You showed empathy, Connor. And empathy is a human emotion. Hank: Back at Stratford Tower, when that android was shooting at anything that moved… You protected me… You... Risked your life to save mine. That showed empathy, Connor. And empathy is a human emotion.
3.
Hank: You're a lowlife! You don't feel a thing, do you? A machine! That's what you are! You're just a fucking machine… Connor: Of course I'm a machine, Lieutenant. What did you think I was? Hank: I thought you… I thou-… Fuck.
2.
[shoots the non-deviant Connor] Hank: I've learned a lot since I met you, Connor. Maybe there's something to this… Maybe you really are alive. Maybe you'll be the ones to make the world a better place… Go ahead, and do what you gotta do.
'
Markus: You betrayed me! I trusted you, I don't know how you could turn on me when our people needed me the most! North: I know how you feel, Markus. You have every right to be angry with me… Markus: You’re goddamn right I do.
Honorable mentions
It's just impossible listing only 10 so i gonna add some honorable mentions:
A
Hank: Nothing else matters to you but your goddamn investigation, huh? No doubts, no mistakes, no weaknesses… Human being, just like me… Only perfect…
B.
Kara: I don't care whether she's human or android… She's just someone who matters to me. [30 seconds later she's pikachu-face surprised with another YK500] Luther: You knew from the beginning. You just didn't want to see it. She wanted a mom, and you wanted someone to care for. (...)
C.
[full friend Hank + empathetic Connor + remain a machine] Connor: After all we've been through… I respected you, Hank. I thought we were friends! Hank: Oh, yeah? I was just starting to like you too! But then I realized you'll never change! You don’t feel emotions, Connor, you fake 'em! You pretended to be my friend, when you don’t even know the meaning of the word!
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offorestsongs · 9 months ago
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Wait uhm uhm let me distract you plus rook and lys...
anon how are you so fast,,, but thank you so much for the ask!!
Lysander insomnia time !! woo !!! as you can see, i got a bit carried away.....
(ask game here!)
"I'm so sorry," Lysander said, eyes stubbornly locked on the floor; old, dark wood and a red-brown rug, on the more ugly side of things, just like many other items that were already in Ramshackle when Lysander arrived. Definitely not as pleasant to look at as his boyfriend's face, except if Lysander looked Rook in the face right now, the embarrassment and guilt would eat him alive.
There were few things that Lysander hated more than this. Maybe he was a meek, powerless human without an ounce of magic in his veins, but there were still parts of his life he could rein and and take control of. He didn't like exposing just how little that was. Just exactly how powerless he really was.
And — most of all — he didn't like being dependent on anyone. Not his friends. Not even his boyfriend. Lysander should be the person others could depend on, not the other way around.
"I keep bothering you at night and I know I shouldn't, you should get rest too, I know, and yet I'm still being so selfish and—"
"Oh non, love, I shall not allow you to speak about yourself in that way," Rook cut in before Lysander could finish his guilt-filled monologue; he hooked his finger under Lysander’s chin, gently raising Lysander’s head.
Lysander looked away, cheeks hot.
"You're not burdening me, mon fleur. Do you think I could sleep soundly, knowing my beloved cannot peacefully rest? It would torment my soul as much as yours. And," Rook leaned in closer — even without looking at him Lysander could still hear a smile in his voice. "I, too, sleep better while holding you in my arms. No lullaby could ever replace the beating of your heart."
They've been over this conversation so many times now. Lysander, not able to sleep another night, called Rook. Rook, in turn, showed up at Lysander’s bedroom as if it was nothing unusual. Then Lysander started to get bad, then Rook went to coax him— according to their usual schedule, this was the time where Lysander finally gave in.
How could he not, when his boyfriend was being so impossibly sweet?
He let out a sigh. "You're impossible," he said, not without fondness. He finally looked up at Rook and almost instantly regretted it.
Rook's eyes were so warm and full of affection; Lysander had no idea how to handle it. Was it all really for him? Was he really worth it?
"Shall we get to bed?" Without waiting for an answer, he swooped Lysander off the floor, holding him now like one would a bride.
Well. That certainly did the trick. There was no easier way to wipe every coherent thought from Lysander’s head than to remind him how strong his boyfriend was.
"Warn a boy next time!" Lysander yelped, thought half of his words drowned in his own laughter.
Feeling just a little bit lightheaded and with his arms wrapped around Rook's neck, he allowed Rook to carry him to the bed.
They laid together, limbs wrapped around eachother, Rook's head on Lysander’s chest, just above his heart. Some of the anxiety seizing Lysander’s heart up until now had eased. He felt warm and comfortable and right.
(Rook was still wearing his day clothes, but Lysander didn't comment on it. If his boyfriend felt comfortable sleeping in jeans, who was Lysander to judge him?)
"I am worried about you, thought. Those restless nights, they seem to be happening more often these days. Will you tell me what plagues your mind?"
Lysander pursed his lips. "Not tonight," he said, absentmindedly playing with the choppy ends of Rook's hair.
One day. One day he will tell Rook about it all, about his fears and memories. But that wasn't the day for it — maybe he won't be, for a long time. He was sure Rook will understand. If there was one person in the world who would understand keeping things close to your chest, it was Rook.
"Ah." Rook raised his head to look at Lysander. He was smiling like a cat just about to catch the mouse. "Should I distract you, then?"
Lysander’s cheeks turned a shade of pink almost matching his hair.
"You were supposed to help me sleep, not keep me up all night!"
"Just one kiss, mon cheri, that is all I ask of you. Your lips — non, your face — look too beautiful in the evening light to not kiss them."
Lysander was never one for strong will. "But just one kiss," he said, fully aware it will end up being much more.
"Just one! You have my word."
And Lysander allowed Rook to kiss the breath out of him, kiss him until every bone in his body felt like it was melting, kiss him until there was no thoughts left in his head.
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sakuraswordly · 3 months ago
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Gilgamesh: Oh, another new picture?
Peter: From Maru and Moro...and there is another picture. Er.....these are girl's clothes, right?
Gilgamesh: Hey! Stop looking at me like that! That time because I had no choice but to wear that you stupid!
Peter: Can you explain about Sonic's clothes? Is he okay with it?
Gilgamesh & Punch: He's okay with it!!
Peter: Umm.....okay--if you say so.
Punch: Cream gave Sonic the idea of being a florist. Because Sonic usually goes to sleep outside or runs in Greenhill, Sonic starts to plant many flowers and make Greenhill more alive. However, because he needs to hide from Eggman's view(if Eggman sees him, the fight will begin, and don't worry; he destroys everything in Greenhill again), he dresses up as the florist and sells flowers around the world.
Peter: Hmm.....you still have a soft spot for a kid, Gil.
Gilgamesh: And?
Peter: You are also a dresser.
Gilgamesh: I am genderless you stupid.
Peter: Uh.......why are you red then?
Gilgamesh: Who said anything that I feel embarrassed about, huh?
Peter & Punch: Yeah yeah we know.
Periwinkle: But that time my king was really super pretty even Peter was stunned by your beautifulness.
Punch: Wait, Peter was?
Gilgamesh: ----------
Enkidu: He's silent. Gil must been so embarrassing.
Peter: See?
Punch: There's nothing to be embarrassed about! We are genderless. Remember.
Peter: Your face turning red, Punch.
Punch: I-I am not you stupid!
Enkidu: Punch's dress is also okay, so how's your slumber party with Danny, Punch?
Punch: ------------
Peter: O-Okay okay! You two are perfect! I am so in love with your beauty!
Gilgamesh & Punch: ---------
Enkidu: That's not helping Peter.
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Periwinkle: But on that time when my king dressed like women's cloth in disguise it's to talk with Enlil.
Peter: And to not let anyone know was King Gilgamesh himself.
Periwinkle: But can't believe everyone didn't know my king was actually here.
Enkidu: Yeah.....can't believe Enlil didn't know that was him until I was there. After that, I became friends with Shamash.
Gilgamesh: See that Shamash like that but he actually was the sun god that very jerk and pain me in my butt, even Nammu will be safe with Shamash's help, he's not worth it.
Enkidu: That's how you actually feel?!
Periwinkle: That's kinda so mean.
Gilgamesh: Who's care? He death. That's the matter?
Peter: So how about Danny?
Gilgamesh: Simple, he just wants me to be a normal "girl"---erm---he wanted to show her over and over this world has more----even more enjoyable things, enough to make any hardships seem like nothing. To be able to feel all the normal things as something normal.....he wanted to make Punch's happy and what it meant to be alive.
Peter: "It's true that you're selfish, you don't listen to other people, and you're full of problems. But, other than that, you're pretty normal. You're not broken, you're just like a normal girl." Right?
Gilgamesh: --------
Peter: You red again.
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Gilgamesh: I can't show my weakness because now I am the king. All of this entire world belongs to me like my treasure. I must not hesitate so that no enemies which generations cannot overcome me. I am non-human, yet I cannot be non-human. We're alike, you, Danny, Punch and me. That's why I cannot cut ties together by fate, that link will never disappear. Peter: Gil? Are you okay? This is not like you at all. Gilgamesh: Maybe I'm not....I guess so....it's not like me. Peter: *Turns to Sad face when Peter realizes how lonely and painful PUNCH is*
Punch: ................
Danny: It's true that you're selfish, you don't listen to other people, and you're full of problems. But, other than that, you're pretty normal. You're not broken, you're just like a normal girl. Punch: --------------That's pretty mean. Am I really that selfish? Danny: Uh huh. (I want her to know. There are so many things to do in this world, and although most of it is useless and meaningless, knowing those is part of the fun of being alive. ......I wanted to tell her. Even though she smiles like she's enjoying herself immensely, I wanted to show her that anyone can have that. I wanted to show her over and over this world has more----even more enjoyable things, enough to make any hardships seem like nothing. To be able to feel all the normal things as something normal.....I wanted to make her happy and what it meant to be alive.)
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somebodys-nuisance · 2 years ago
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I've always liked the idea of adding some kind of downside to bringing energybending back into the world, but I always thought the consequence should come about more naturally.
Aang goes to the lionturtle and he asks for a way to defeat Ozai without sacrificing his prinicples. Lionturtle basically spells it out (he can talk in this one lol,) saying that is impossible. Aang's like WHAT, come on, there's gotta be something! Lionturtle says oh, no, you can totally defeat him without killing him, but what you asked for was a way to defeat him without sacrifice.
That does not exist.
Aang's like, I'm twelve and I'm confused.
Lionturtle lets him know that, whichever way he chooses, he will have to make a sacrifice, as that is the way of the Avatar. Aang's like, I understand, but this is a life, a human-being, how can he possibly snuff out a life??
Lionturtle asks him if he understands what he told him. Aang's basically like, sure, why not.
So, lionturtle "gives him" energybending. Though, in actuality, he didn't "give him" energybending. He unlocked energybending, which was an ancient Avatar form that, Aang would come to realize, one of his past lives sacrificed quite a lot to have locked away for good.
Aang uses energybending on Ozai and takes away his bending. But, it's about two million times worse than Aang thought. Turning off vending isn't like a lightswitch. It doesn't just flick on and off. We have a certain level of precedence for this, with Ty Lee's chiblocking. I don't think what she does is the same as energybending, but in order to temporarily stop the flow of chi, it's uncomfortable at least, maybe even a little painful. Energybending goes deeper than that. This would also allow the lore in general to go deeper into where exactly bending comes from (LOK doesn't exist, yet) and how it works.
In order to "take away" someone's bending, you essentially have to cut off access to a person's soul life, which every single human being has, even non-benders. Chi is something everyone shares, it just manifests physically for benders. But, to cut someone off permanently from their own chi flow is basically a fate worse than death.
Ozai is now in constant aching pain that no medicine can cure, but even worse, he has no spiritual connection to the redt of the world around him, essentially robbing him of any humanity he may have had left. He's a pain-wracked shell of a human being, incapable of emotion or compassion. Sure, he can't bend anymore, but any route towards forgiveness or rehabilitation is permanently closed to him. He will live the rest of his life in agony, suffering.
Aang did NOT want this. Part of him is like, well, at least he's still alive, but a much larger part realizes how much worse this is.
The state of their leader causes the scattered Ozai loyalists to band together with even greater fervor, determined to get their revenge. Zuko still becomes Fire Lord, but he has his hands full, trying to quell constant pockets of rebellion. They live this way for many years, with Aang having to help quell the unrest he unknowingly caused, having thoughtlessly brought back a form far more devastating than bloodbending could ever have hoped to be.
Eventually, Tenzin, Aang's only airbending son, is felled by a group of Ozai loyalists.
After this, Aang makes the same pilgrimage as his past life before him and locks away energybending again, hoping no further Avatars will uncover it.
In the debate between pro-aang-kill-ozai and anti-aang-kill-ozai. Which side are you on and why? If it's the anti then did you like how it was done or do you picture something else?
I think I've mentioned before, but I am not inherently against Aang not wanting to kill Ozai. Some of my favorite heroes have a no-kill policy. I don't even mind the lionturtle solution itself. What I didn't like was how it was handled. There was plenty of time to address Aang's reluctance to kill before the second to last episode. I can think of three points in particular where it would've been thematically appropriate and given Aang's bland, two-dimensional character some depth.
First, right after the siege at the Northern Tribe. Aang may not have technically been the one who killed all those Fire Nation soldiers, but it couldn't have happened without him. You would think that someone who is both committed to pacifism and also the one the entire world is relying on to end a war that people have been fighting and dying in for a century wouldn't just be able to shrug off what happened. Aang did, though. Didn't even cross his mind when he was whining about people expecting him to kill Ozai.
What should have happened was the next season should've opened with Aang grappling with what happened and his part in it. He should feel guilty about it, not because he was actually wrong, but because it should feel wrong to him. Then, Katara and Sokka should comfort him and tell him he did nothing wrong. Build it up that their word are comforting him a little, then drop the bomb when they start talking about how cool it was. How amazing it was to see all those soldiers running in fear for once. How relieved they are that so many of them died. Then have Aang snap on them about the sanctity of life. He needs to be angry and hurt, and this should be the point where he decries the powers of the Avatar. He'd call himself a monster, and maybe he would call Katara and Sokka monsters, too. Then they (probably mostly Sokka) would argue with him that they aren't monsters, they're just trying to survive, and the Fire Nation is a threat to be taken out. This would be the first time it's brought up that Katara, Sokka...the entire world expect Aang to kill Ozai. I think it would be perfect as a season 2 opener. Season 1 was light and goofy, and Zuko was their biggest immediate threat. The siege raised the stakes, and season 2 should continue on that rising. Aang should also have started looking for another solution here. In the library, Aang should've asked Wan Shi Tong if it was possible to end the war without more violence. We should've seen Aang coming to terms with the fact that the world is suffering and he is the one they are looking to to save them. One thing I think the Harry Potter movies in particular did well was that shift from goofy and whimsical to darker and more frightening (as far as kids movies go) as the story went on and the stakes got higher, and the danger felt more real to the characters. Aang never gets that realization. He has moments when the danger feels real, but he's goofy and whimsical for pretty much the entire series until the plot of an episode needs him not to be.
The second place they should have brought up his reluctance to kill was DoBS. This really should've been a no brainer. Aang was loosing sleep over facing Ozai. He had his anxiety about losing- though not really what losing would mean for his friends and the world- but he didn't even consider what winning would take. If DoBS had been successful, there's no way Ozai would've been able to be taken alive. Logistically, killing him would've been the easiest, safest option. You mean to tell me no one brought it up? No one asked Aang how he was planning to take Ozai out? No, instead we get Aang proving he knows what enthusiastic consent looks like and taking away his excuse for what happened later, but nothing about Aang weighing his personal beliefs against the needs of the world. That training montage and confrontation that he has with his friends in the second to last episode should've happened here. This should've been when his tendency to run away should've been challenged, too, because half a season before he was crying about how he abandoned the world again. Now his instinct would be to run, but his friends would challenge him, calling back to that moment. They could demand that he present an alternative to killing Ozai. I don't think any of them would object to him living to stand trial, but Ozai is a rabid dog, essentially. He needs to be put down. Aang's got nothing, but not for lack of trying. When he tells his friends about all his efforts to find a non-lethal way to defeat Ozai, they are unmoved. They are at the doors of the Fire Nation, and now is not the time to be indecisive. He has to go face Ozai. And he's probably relieved when the plan fails. This whole situation would have the added bonus of skipping that first Kataang kiss because no way would Aang want to kiss Katara after her insisting he terminate Ozai with extreme prejudice.
The third place Aang's no-kill policy should've come up is TSR when Zuko asks him what he's planning to do when he faces Ozai if he's so against killing. This should scare Aang, and it should be his focus for the rest of the season. He should be more withdrawn from his friends, because with all the training he's doing (and he would still be training on all the elements because he's not that good at any of them), talks about the most efficient way to kill would be unavoidable. Katara might actually try to teach him bloodbending. Toph would just tell him that a big rock is just as effective as some fancy bending move. Zuko would be warning him about his father's ruthlessness and cunning. This would be where Aang looses his patience with his friends and insists that he's a pacifist and Ozai doesn't deserve to die. This would piss Katara in particular off because by this point, Aang knows what happened to her mother. He would get an earful about how Ozai's plan is to do to the Earth Kingdom what his grandfather did to the Air Nomads and how he's going to let millions of people die because of his refusal to kill one. Now, Aang can take off, only instead of just running away from his friends because he doesn't want to hear them anymore, he could be making one desperate last ditch attempt to find a solution that both ends the war and keeps him from having to kill Ozai. EIP could still happen in this circumstance, but instead of getting mad that he's being played by a girl, he would focus more on how eager for his death the Fire Nation is. That would come up in the argument about killing Ozai.
Now, for the lionturtle. I'm about to blow some minds. I have been vocal about my hatred of the Lionturtle/Rock of Destiny desu-ex-double team, and I do still hate it with a passion. However, as a concept, I don't mind the lionturtle. This is a fantasy adventure. You expect a bit of magical intervention. What I wanted was Aang grappling with this problem for more than half an episode. I wanted him working on a solution the entire time, starting from right after the siege. I wanted to see him take initiative. To actually think about the problem. Maybe have him specifically looking for the lionturtle. Then when it shows it, it could be because it knew Aang was looking and decided he was worthy of a meeting. Aang could still have his meeting with his past lives, and that could still go the way it did. Then the lionturtle could speak up. Instead of poo-pooing the idea of killing Ozai, it could agree that it was the most effective way to make sure that the war would end. Then, when Aang is despairing that he'd wasted all that time trying to find a different solution, the lionturtle could offer the spirit bending. But it would have to come at a cost, and it might not work the way that Aang hoped. Now Aang has to make a choice. Sacrifice something for this spiritbending ability (I'm thinking he loses his airbending, because it seems poetic) that might not have the outcome he's hoping for, or give up his pacifism- one of his few connections to his heritage- and kill Ozai. He chooses the spiritbending. Instead of the conveniently placed rock, Aang would actually have to give up his attachment Katara. I think he would be half-way there, having finally realized how little he understood her. He "loved" her because she was pretty and took care of him, but he's come to realize there's a lot more facets to her that he hasn't gotten to see because they don't fit his narrow view of her. He also understands what Guru Pathik was trying to tell him about one person not being able to replace everything Aang has lost, and he realizes how unfair to her he had been. He still loves her, but as a friend and caretaker. This will actually lead to a deeper friendship between them. Aang defeats Ozai without killing him, but now he has to deal with the loss of his airbending, which only now does he realize was a much of a connection between him and his people as his beliefs. He still has spiritbending. He can still airbend in the Avatar State, but he's effectively cut off a limb to keep his integrity. He will go the rest of his life wondering if it was worth it, especially after Ozai goes to trial and is sentenced to execution anyway. The effects of that on his children could be explored in LoK.
TL;DR I don't have a problem with Aang not wanting to kill Ozai. I just wanted to see him deal with it before the last minute. I think the show would've been better for it, and Aang would've been a more interesting character.
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maranull · 3 years ago
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an unstructured Ranni mess of a thoughts dump or "why I love the demi-goddess doll very, very much and I wanna hold her hand(s)"
First of all. She's trying to actually help the creatures in the Lands Between, and isn't looking for the Ring for her own, or her religion's benefit. All she's after for herself is freedom of choice and she needs that so much that she literally kills her old body so that the Fingers lose track of her.
She's so stupidly stubborn to not put her closest people in danger that she repeatedly tries to shoulder everything herself while brushing off any help and acts all bothered and annoyed when she does gets that help.
She understands her step-mother/ dad well enough to know how to break them and lose faith in the Greater Will, causing the Shattering and all that comes with it (basically the whole game).
She loves her people so much and keeps them close as much as possible:
Iji is kept around as a "war counselor" when her "army" consists of three people plus the Tarnished.
She builds her new body in the shape of her old mentor.
She constantly watches over her mom.
Blaidd is the only one that she seems to don't mind having him roam the world and that's because she trusts him so much that him getting hurt probably doesn't even register to her mind.
She's extremely powerful as the murder scene at her Two Fingers shows. (The only reason she needed the Tarnished to help her with her assassin was because said assassin had taken Blaidd form and she couldn't bring herself to kill what looked like him).
~~~
Having said all that... She is also a complete and utter goof and fails repeatedly at hiding her feelings in the most funny ways possible.
"Oh? A dogged fellow, aren't we? Or is it merely thy habit, to talk to dolls?"
She says, then after you help her she gives you her freaking wedding ring, effectively telling you to marry her.
She stacks books to make herself seem taller, she tries to be fully independent then talks to everyone about her plans, she's all grouchy when she is in mini-doll form and also goes full softy.
She bids you farewell:
"And once all is done, we shall see each other, once more."
and also stays in your pocket to keep an eye on you because she always keeps an eye on those she cares about.
She is an idiot and a master planner at the same time.
She's a horse girl.
She's so alive and human while being a freaking doll- aaaaaaAAAAA
~~~
Her driving force is freedom. Her ending is giving the creatures of the Lands Between agency and life beyond what the Greater Will and the Order allowed.
And she's not simply replacing the Greater Will, she banishes it and then she also leaves, giving the simple, non godly creatures agency over their own lives and I love that so much that already mentioned it thrice.
It's the fact that despite being a demi-goddess, and also ascending to full-on Goddess at the end, she doesn't think herself better than the creatures of the world. Or that she knows better than them how to guide their lives.
AND FOR THE FOURTH TIME: Giving everyone the freedom to fuck up, be cursed, die, live, love and enjoy their moments in the world is the best fucking thing a game ending can be. And it is so fitting that it is an ending for a world that most people see as depressing, pointless and cursed.
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honorarycassowary · 2 years ago
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The @it-its-swag poll has got me contemplating a Murderbot/Venom crossover where Murderbot winds up hosting the symbiote. The actual symbiote acquisition could go basically the same as Spider-Man’s original acquisition:
I had no idea what any of the buttons did, but I needed to look like I was in control of the situation in front of the clients, so I chose two at random and pressed them. (I would have liked to hack the whole system, but we had fifteen minutes worth of power, maximum, and I didn’t trust this alien OS.)
Something whirred deep within the machine, and a set of lights around the rim of the main tray lit up.
“What’s it doing?” one of the clients asked, like I had any way of knowing. I didn’t dignify them with an answer.
We didn’t have to wait long. An ominous thrum sounded, and the machine spat out a black spheroid. (At least, it sounded ominous to me, based on my knowledge of orchestral cues. For all I knew, it was comforting to the ancient designers of this place). The orb-thing hovered a few centimeters over the surface. It was smooth and lightless, and there was no apparent method of propulsion. A strange synthetic.
I was the only one wearing full safety gear, so I reached out to pick it up. The spheroid wasn’t solid; it squished to the touch, which was unexpected, but fine.
What wasn’t fine was how it began to flow over my hands and arms, molding to the contours of my exosuit like it had a mind of its own. I tried to wipe it away futilely while the clients behind me started to shout in alarm. (I hoped they didn’t try to shoot it. That was the sort of stupid thing human clients liked to do.) What really wasn’t fine was when I felt the strange synthetic on my fleshy parts beneath my supposedly impermeable safety gear.
I had just enough time to think Uh-oh. and imagine all the decontamination scrubs ART would put me through before my mechanical parts detected a new presence and I realized what really, really, wasn’t fine: this strange synthetic was alive.
Murderbot would hate being a host so much. It’s grossed out by the idea of eating, so that alone would be awful for it, but the Venom symbiote’s ability to grow new organic parts and worse, take control of the host’s body, are straight out of Murderbot’s nightmares. I think it would be sympathetic to trying to find common ground with a non-human intelligence seemingly out of human nightmares and especially to the symbiote’s specific situation of being experimented on because it had the wrong emotions, but it would be going Get It Out Get It Out the whole time.
The Venom symbiote has the world’s lowest standards and is delighted to have a host that doesn’t want it exterminated. It’ll be an uphill battle to get it to understand the concept of “I want you to be a person, but please go be a person SOMEWHERE ELSE,” though. Historically it’s been pretty bad about that. Maybe one of ART’s crew is willing to kiss an alien For Science! (And Interspecies Diplomacy) though. It sounds like something they’d be into.
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chemicalpink · 4 years ago
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Young Gods ❈ KNJ, JJK
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❈ Pairing: Namjoon x Reader x Jungkook
❈ Genre: smut, f2l kinda, but also s2l, fantasy!au, fluff if you squint, gods!au, wizard/witch!au
➛ Part of the Namkook Moonrise Masquerade hosted by @jamaisjoons
❈ Rating: 18+
❈ Wordcount: 4.2k
❈ Warnings: it is jungkook centric, it does have a somewhat heavy plot, double penetrative sex, magical sex, teasing, slightest corruption kink.
❈ Summary: Legend has it that if you were to walk all the way up to Hallasan, and if the land is welcoming enough, you should be able to see the most beautiful lake where it is rumoured to home the most powerful being the world has ever had the pleasure to meet, so when young warlock Jungkook starts having trouble with his magic, who could blame him for travelling all the way there in hopes of finding answers only to be met with the hottest man he’s ever seen. and really,  who could blame him for fostering the biggest crush on him without saying a word for ages? that is, until y/n, a long lost friend of Namjoon shows up. so really, who is he to blame if he lets the two greatest beings in existence use him for their pleasure?
❈A/N: SHE'S HERE. GOD THIS TOOK A WHILE. Please enjoy! ALSO, banner by @jamaisjoons, I do believe the only thing that keep me writing this was the banner lol. Do tell your thoughts on this bad baby, I was heading towards a larger fic but I didn't have time yet magical au is most definitely there for future fics.
The first time Jungkook realised just how powerful he was, he was fifteen years old, although his mother can recall him being around four and being able to master a potion that most common-born non-royal witches could only hope to get mediocre at once trained at their young twenties. Of course, his magic had soon become taboo around the village, having to hide himself behind years of his father’s training, his lineage a bit closer to royalty, not quite, but just enough for his son’s magic to pass as his own. If his customers notice how better his spell jars or potions get once Jungkook turns eighteen, they sure don’t comment on it. Not that they would be able to tell that the family was hiding a master of the magical arts that could rival the country’s most powerful witch in the blink of an eye. Those were just rumours going around, as far as the Jeon’s were concerned.
“Son, I believe it is about time you get some proper practice on your magic” his father mentioned bypassing one Sunday night as they both locked up the store. He turned to hi, somewhat confused.
“Look if this is about Seojun noona’s elixir being more powerful than it usually is I swear it was a rightful mixture, my trial was right beside her actual one and she entered the shop sooner and-”
His dad shakes a hand dismissively at him, rounding the counter into the small storage room, coming back in sight with a leather-bound book in between his hands, calloused fingers roaming the antique-looking pages “I am not quite sure how much truth an old man like your grandfather could hold, but it wouldn’t hurt to try” he turned the yellowing book towards him, fast and almost undescribable scribbles decorating the paper as he squinted down at it, his father handling the energy in it to make the content quite literally come to life, a storytelling spell all too familiar to him from his young age.
“Dad, you know I absolutely love bedtime stories, but I’d say I’m quite a bit too old now for-” before he can even think about finishing the sentence, a mountain comes into view, alive straight from the book’s pages, standing tall and proud dressed in green, almost touching the sky, a magical aura surrounding it, one that he could even feel just by looking at it “What’s that?”
“The old man used to tell me stories about an ancient being, the most powerful of them all, living on top of Hallasan” the pages turn by themselves, the image changing to a faceless man, standing almost as tall and proud as the mountain itself, performing all types of magic, some of them Jungkook himself hadn’t even heard of “Legend says he was outcasted by royalty in fear of revolution, wouldn’t even be alive if it weren’t for he is a child of Earth herself”
“I-I don’t think I’m following”
His father sighs loudly before his magic shuts the book closed, all magic gone on a whim “Jungkook, whatever this man was, if my father was right and he really did exist, you might be like him”
“But-but I was born of both you and mum” he couldn’t quite yet fathom the extension of his own magic, much less think about the probability of being more powerful than any other being that had walked the Earth in millennia. Even if the man was real, would he even be alive still? If he was as powerful as he was presumed to be, would he even take Jungkook under his wing? What if he wasn’t as lucky as the man from the book and word got out and his life was endangered?
“Jungkook just think about it, you might be a child of the Earth”
“What if I don’t want to be” he couldn’t quite face his father, feeling his own heartbreak as the older man deflated. Jungkook knew that perhaps his dad had entertained the idea of his only son being a creature out of a legendary book, could feel how proud it would make him, for Jungkook to be a hero, make history with the power he presumably held within, yet he couldn’t help but feel like a small child again, afraid at the uncertainty that the future could hold. “I- I’m good with just running the shop and helping you and mother out with stuff”
His father sighed before placing a gentle hand on his shoulders, a small act that made him feel even more like a child, one getting subtly scolded by his parents as they prepare him for his inevitable future. “Jungkook-ah, your mother and I- all we really want for you is to live your own life”
His ears perk up, gaze facing forward as he catches his mother standing with her arms crossed over her body, the softest motherly look on her face “And if that means for my baby to go find himself at some faraway place, then so be it” she comes to join his father by his side, both of them bracing each other as the thought of their child growing up simmers down on them. “We just want you to grow up to your full potential Kookie”
.-.-
It had taken quite some convincing for him to completely make up his mind, the negging looks from his father as he helped around the shop, the longing yet scolding gaze his mother held over dinner until he found himself preparing a small bag for the long trip– almost burning inside his mind the map contained in his grandfather’s grimoire from the many times he had read over what he once thought to be a legend out of a children’s storybook.
The trip itself wasn’t as difficult as it was troublesome, having to hike up the highest mountain in the land, the difficult part–if the Jeon’s memories were anything to go by– was having the Hallassan land spirit to like you enough to show itself, even a step further to have the legendary witch to show his home.
For quite some time Jungkook entertained the idea of the immense possibilities on how the wizard could look, every possible image popping up in his head some variation of a wrinkly old man hunched over himself, staff in hand and he couldn’t help but laugh soundly at it, picturing himself getting nagged at by such a figure, perhaps he would end up looking like one of those old scholars that came to his village from time to time. But how wrong was he.
It took him three days, two cold sleepless nights in the woods and running in circles for at least two hours in the nothingness that was the top of the mountain for the valley to show up right where he had started to venture– he could almost hear the forest spirits snickering at him. He really tried to be angry at it, almost went back down just out of spite, yet the clearing before him had him doing a double-take, the space was bright and clear, none of the trees from before on sight, the small dipping in the middle of it leading to a sort of entrance– this was what he came for.
Jungkook had been raised better than what he found himself doing– walking into a stranger’s house uninvited. Was it really uninvited if after knocking for a few minutes the door opened on its own?
He walks inside, small steps, unsure of himself, his past resolve crumbling down completely as he walks further in where he listens to a hushed voice coming from his left, a mop of silvery hair turned away from him, green warm clothes cradling the figure, Jungkook entertains the idea of an old man still, yet not so much hunched over himself if the deep hushed voice and the hair colour was anything to go by. “...Now where did I last see-”
"Hello-"
"Oh! great timing! the pay is where it always is" broad shoulders are still facing him as the man moved around, a couple of won bills on the counter where he had waved his hand dismissively, not even bothering to turn around, for a legendary creature perhaps leaving his home door open was a recurrent thing, what with the whole clearing hidden from the public eye and all.
"Oh I'm not-" he had tried to make himself knows as definitely not the person he was expecting yet the man kept mumbling to himself, apparently in deep thought at whatever it was
""—So then if we are able to move this around we should -" he had started moving around the room, still not facing Jungkook directly, just pointing to places around the spacious room as his free hand busied itself with picking books from the humongous shelf against the wall
"I'm- uh" his hands couldn’t be still, grasping at the bag over his shoulder, knuckles almost white as he clears his throat "I'm not-"
"Did you forget where-" the man turns around and Jungkook feels whatever little poise he had gained leave him in the spot, right in front of him is the most legendary creature in existence, recorded alive for millennia, a god in more ways than one, no old man in sight but the prettiest human he had laid eyes on, fierce sight set on him awkwardly hanging at the entrance as the man keeps blinking at him "uh"
He bows down almost instinctively, 90 degrees, hair falling onto his eyes as he does so "Mister sir- uh keeper of Hallasan"
"You aren't Soobin"
"Uh.. no I'm not"
The man doesn’t even flinch at the information of a stranger setting a foot inside his house, deep voice calm as ever as he asks "How did you even get in?"
"Uh the door was open" he points to the door in a futile attempt for it to not make it seem like he was the weirdo picking locks or something at a magical creature’s home
"No it wasn't" he moves to the door in the most graciously way he has ever seen someone do it, almost gliding across the floor, eyes never leave him except for the brief second where his hand tries the doorknob "huh it was. Weird"
It took the man less than a minute after his initial shock to turn to Jungkook and invite him in, a pair of teacups resting against the table as they seated parallel to each other, him crossing his legs in a nonchalant manner as Jungkook couldn’t stop fidgeting in his seat– he certainly never thought he could come this far.
“So what can I do for you, Jeon Jungkook?” if he absolutely preened at the way that his name sounded in the stranger’s mouth, that was certainly something only for him to know.
The words died right on his tongue. There were certainly a lot of things the beautiful man seating across from him could do, none of them necessarily involving what he had initially come for, yet as the words take meaning inside his mind, he seems to short circuit yet again “I uh- you know- you know my name?”
He smiles a big smile, eyes crinkling into crescents, dimples showing and a heat simmering inside Jungkook’s belly “I know a lot of things, Jungkook” he stares off into space “Social skills are rusty, but they come back after getting a good look at you” Jungkook’s eyes must widen at the implication of his words. Could he read minds? Could he take a look into souls? “Just general stuff about you, don’t worry about it”
The man could definitely read minds.
Blink if you’re hearing this. The man blinks and Jungkook feels like fleeing. Wait. Everyone blinks, stupid. Perhaps some other time.
He somehow finds his voice, remembering the lingering question, the sole reason for him to be there “Mister Hallasan keeper, sir”
“Namjoon is fine”
“Mister Namjoon-ssi”
“Namjoon hyung”
Jungkook is sure this time his brain shortcircuits for real, for this complete stranger. Namjoon he corrects himself, to give him permission to call him so affectionately after only a few minutes of knowing him. After technically breaking- not breaking into his home.
Smile if you’re reading my mind. Namjoon smiles, something doesn’t sit right with him, he could very well be reading his mind, or simply smiling out of politeness at the extended silence Jungkook had caused, again. I’m onto you Mister Hallasan Keeper. Namjoon just smiles more fondly at him.
Jungkook goes on explaining his situation, from his rapid magic learning to being unable to wield his magic, to his father even suggesting that he could have been born from the Earth herself, just like Namjoon did all those millennia ago. The blond man restricts himself to listen to Jungkook speak, gaining a serious pose when he drops the reason for his visit, asking him for help. Jungkook’s almost sure he will deny it as he goes on to explain how his last magical apprentice had been there almost sixty years ago, going on about how he is pretty much a loner, no reason more than a brief excuse of being an outcast for practice differences with the village where Jungkook comes from, giving it a few seconds of thought before he accepts to have Jungkook under his wing, going as far as to give him a spare bedroom to sleep in along with the longest set of rules he had ever heard of.
Months with Namjoon look something more or less like this: waking up at 6 am sharp– something Jungkook had never done in his life, the first few times he had woken up later than that, it was almost impossible to know where his teacher had gone to. Have a rundown on the day’s activities and breakfast until 7. Jungkook was in charge of gardening on the 30-minute window of Namjoon harvesting for the spells he was due to make for the day. An hour of light reading– he knew better than to comment on how a thousand pages book was most definitely not light reading, but he did it anyway. He would then shadow Namjoon on whatever mystical task he had to do for the day before finishing up with him running basic high-level training with Namjoon’s guidance in the clearing– Namjoon had said that the Hallasan spirit would keep him safe and sound if he were to screw up, although so far all the spirit and her friends in the forest had done was laugh at his mistakes.
Five months in it, the whole routine came as second nature, he couldn’t even picture a day without Namjoon on it, not that there was anyone else that could pick up on the energy shift within it, Jungkook had learnt a lot from his teacher, not only in the magic department but about him as a person, couldn’t hide the lingering eyes, the curious touches of skin, every bit of information about Namjoon expanding that fondness feeling inside his heart, Namjoon was a man of habit, a powerful one at that, yet all those millennia living couldn’t hide the fact that Jungkook could see right through him, a lonely soul, as powerful as none other, yet so inherently say. Not even the whole power in the universe could keep him away from his own greatest danger: himself.
If you can read minds, kiss me. The kiss never came so perhaps Namjoon could never even read minds in the first place.
Now here’s the thing, Jungkook might be a mess when it comes to magic, but not so much at hiding his feelings, at least the best he could, Namjoon was as intelligent as men come and he had yet to notice. Namjoon’s friend that just happens to show up on a particularly lazy day– his teacher had said his magic tends to run out from time to time and would rather rest it; perhaps not so much.
Jeon Jungkook is a weak man. A weak man for beautiful things, like Namjoon, or you. Who just happened to walk inside Namjoon’s home like you owned the place– could he count it as his home too yet?
He could feel his heart wanting to leap out of him as soon as you introduced yourself, and perhaps he was imagining the way your eyes grazed over his figure before going to tease Namjoon, not that he stopped having heart eyes for the man when you walked in, he had enough heart eyes for the both of you, even if he had to keep them to himself. You were easier to warm up to than Namjoon if it was anything to go by, smoothly falling into conversation after you three had sat down for tea, walking up to Namjoon’s massive library, picking out books from their shelves as you asked him about his upbringings.
“The Jeon family? Oh, dearest, your grandfather was as good as wizards come” his brain cuts short as soon as the words leave your mouth, just how exactly could you have known the old man? The old wizard was presumably thrown out of the royal house for being unfit for ruling over the land. You playfully push your elbow against Namjoon “And I say this while knowing Joonie”
The blond man groans at your teasing.
“You-you knew my grandpa?”
“Yeh, such a shame he decided to be a mortal” Your initial interest seems to diminish as you turn to face the books yet again, a particular red cover catching your attention.
“What”
Jungkook faintly hears Namjoon standing up from his chair to try and get in between his conversation with you, although all he hears seems to come as if the voices were kept under cotton inside his ears “Y/N you’re overwhelming the kid”
For such a calm and collected posture, he had maintained not only while learning with Namjoon but back at home too, hearing such a word coming out of him really tips the glass “I’m not a kid! Why is everyone always treating me like a child!” surely it did seem rather childish to have an outburst like that, yet his mind couldn’t help but reel in all those other times in his stay where Namjoon had dismissed him from helping, saying it was a rather complicated spell you should wait this one out Jungkook. Or something along the lines of when you get stronger. It did seem the type of things one would say to their petulant child.
“Jungkook waits” Namjoon groans as he retreats to his assigned room, you can’t help the softness inside you at the way that strong independent loner Namjoon reacts to his apprentice being pissed off, certainly a first.
“You pissed off the kid” your remark isn’t that much well digested as Namjoon throws a dagger-like glare your way, groaning as he throws his head back against the couch
“Why am I parenting again?”
You shrug your shoulders as you offer him a tight lip smile, you had heard a lot about Jungkook even before you had walked inside the wizard’s home, like a reader of a slow-burning love story, you knew that ‘parenting’ was most definitely not the dynamic in his relationship with the younger, not with the way Namjoon had described the little mannerisms of his apprentice, or the way that he described his figure as the strongest back I’ve ever seen with such a tiny waist when he sent you a letter asking you to visit him.
The thing with the dynamic you had with Namjoon had been one going on for hundreds of years, feeding off of the magic that only such powerful creatures like you and him could conjure, effective yet dependent as when either of you two was in dire need of a boost, you would have to pay him a visit to work your magic. Jungkook hadn’t appeared after his little outburst, probably hidden in his room, taking only a few minutes of Namjoon glancing expectantly at the place where the younger had disappeared before you dragged him towards his room in an all too practised manner.
The whole environment was always on the calm side whenever you two get to it, something along the lines of strictly business, yet an undeniable connection between the two. Namjoon had you against his door, a dimly lit lamp on his desk, strong hands holding you in place at your waist as he leaned down to connect both of your mouths, eyes fluttering shut as he did so. Your hands found themselves tangled in his blond tousled hair in no time as he deepened the kiss, moving the both of you towards the bed as magic started glowing dimly within you two, connecting and feeding off of the spark of the situation, magic so profound and delicate that only immortal beings could hope to master. Namjoon placed himself against his elbows as you straddled his hips, your figure teasingly humping his growing bulge inside his pants as his breath started to become ragged, his own magic reaching forward to yours, just the way his lips chased yours. Yet there was only so much ominous Namjoon could handle. His hands were quick to undress both of you in between hot caresses and messy kisses as both of your bodies seem to move on their own accord, the magic itself doing the most out of the tantric experience, moans slowly but surely filling up the room as Namjoon positioned the tip of his hard cock on your entrance, teasing your folds for a few seconds before you settled on top of him in a familiar manner, sinking down on him as he throws his head back, letting out a groan. You are almost sure Jungkook could hear you both, yet your mind so clouded you wouldn’t have given it a second thought with Namjoon’s cock filling you up so nicely as you moved up and down on his length, that is until out of the corner of your eye you catch the casted shadow outside the dimly lit room.
"Your puppy is outside," You say as you stop moving on him, not quite removing yourself from the situation, yet you feel the magic in the room flickering faintly as if going dormant.
"What" Namjoon’s eyes are surprised as he lets reality sink in, his magic safely sated from the small act
"The kid that has an obvious crush on both you and me?” you state matter of factly as Namjoon’s jaw goes slack “He's watching us from behind the door"
As if on cue, there’s a rustling behind the door, feet rapidly resounding against the floor "No I'm not!"
Namjoon sighs loudly "JK just come in, I know this might seem.." the door opens and you could swear Jungkook’s eyes are about to leave his skull at the image he’s present with "weird"
"incredibly hot," they say at the same time, rendering both of them speechless
"huh kid's horny" you start removing yourself from Namjoon’s cock as your magic starts tingling, now reaching out for the younger "i like it"
"Y/N please"
You gesture by raising your hands as if surrendering, yet you know just how the night had taken a turn, willing to satiate your magic’s needs “He doesn’t like your PG training, let me handle this”
Jungkook is still sporting his Bambi eyes as he feels himself pulled into the room, closing the door softly behind him as he can only stare at you as you make your way towards him, lips ghosting over his “So tell me Jungkookie” your hand trails down to bring him closer to your naked body, taking his hand in yours and guiding it to your ass “Just how much are you willing to render of yourself for me and Joon?”
“All of me”
Jeon Jungkook might as well had been an erotic wizard like yourself if by the way he manhandles you and surrenders you to Namjoon like a loyal apprentice would to his master was anything to go by. Namjoon’s stare alone has the young man pliant as he caresses tan skin under his fingers, achingly curious as the youngest takes turns to kiss the eldest and yourself, Namjoon’s fingers playing with his nipples, your own hands working his length to life after your magic had completely undressed him, feeling both your and Namjoon’s magic reaching for Jungkook’s in a way you didn’t know was possible. A few kisses and lingering touches in, minds clouded with lust, kissing noises and moans taking over the space, Jungkook takes no time in positioning you on top of him, back to his chest as his length stretches you deliciously, long fingers playing with your clit as his own legs separate your thighs as if offering you up to his master, Namjoon looking like a man starved as he positions himself against Jungkook’s cock, his tip meeting no resistance as he glides in and nestles next to Jungkook, stretching you like no other time you could fathom, groans and ragged breaths of the men under and above you working you to your own climax, babbled words coming out of the youngest’s lips along with a promise of becoming yet another young god under your spell.
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stillness-in-green · 4 years ago
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No, Re-Destro Is Not Destro’s Literal Son
and
Yes, I Will Die On This Hill
I have a number of small, persistent quibbles with some of the widespread misapprehensions I see included in BNHA fanfic, quoted as fact in meta posts, even cited on the wiki. Quirk cancellation restraints, what the 20% quirklessness data point means in practice, when Kurogiri comes into existence relative to the time of the Shimura Family Massacre, things like that. My biggest one, though, is as the title suggests: the idea that Yotsubashi Rikiya is Yotsubashi Chikara’s son.
I don’t entirely know where this confusion comes from. As far as I can tell, the early scanlations didn’t get it wrong—one rendered the line in Chapter 218 about Destro having a child he didn’t know about as being children, plural, but otherwise, they were all accurate enough. It seems people just assumed that the child mentioned in 218 must be Re-Destro, who was, after all, right there on the panel. Even though the scanlations never said it, even though the official translation never said it, even though ample evidence in the manga disproves it, the idea still got around that Rikiya is Chikara’s son.
I have and will maintain that this is obviously wrong if you stop to think about it for even a moment, but unfortunately, most people don’t. The error can be found on less well-tended parts of the fandom wiki[1]; it’s in tumblr meta posts about the villains; it’s in fanfic.
And now, god help me, it is on the official anime website, too.
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“Stillness-in-green, maybe you should consider that you might just be wro—”
I will face BONES and walk backwards into hell.
But if you want, you can come with me, and I’ll explain on the way. Hit the jump.
Dialogue + Narration
There are two places where the relationship between Chikara and Rikiya is explicitly addressed—the lead-in to the dinner scene in Chapter 218 and the fight between Clone!Shigaraki and RD in Chapter 232. If you include the Ultra Analysis databook, the number goes up to four: once each in Re-Destro and Destro Classic’s character blurbs.
Let’s take a look at each of those places, shall we?
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The relevant Japanese text here is in the first narration box: 子ども, kodomo.
Kodomo is not gendered. It literally just means child. The key kanji is 子, ko. Like most kanji, it has a lot of potential readings, and you can add other kanji to it to modify it. Add 息 and you get musuko, son. Pronounce 子 as shi instead of ko, and you get a term that is frequently, though not exclusively, used to refer to boys. Add 女 to that reading and you get joshi, woman/girl. 子 is in a lot of words, many of them gendered! Used for kodomo as Hori does here, though, it does nothing to indicate a gender one way or the other.
Also too, it does nothing to indicate that Rikiya is the child in question; it simply states that there was such a child, somewhere in the world. Now, the natural assumption for anyone who knows how the graphic novel medium works and who understands basic literary analysis would be that the significant character we just met is, in fact, the child in question—except that everything else we learn about Destro and the original Meta Liberation Army here makes it entirely impossible.
I’ll do a full breakdown on why that is in the next section. In the meantime, here’s the next reference:
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Here, we’re looking at the phrase the Viz translation renders as, “His blood runs through these veins.” The literal Japanese there is, Desutoro no matsuei chi o tsugu mono! In a literal translation, chi o tsugu mono means, “one who inherits the blood,” or, more loosely, “blood successor.” It’s matsuei—末裔—that’s the key word here.
Japanese has several words to express the concept of “descendant.” Matsuei is one word; the data book uses shison. So what’s the difference? Well, I’ll talk about shison in a moment, but I had an inkling of it just from looking at the kanji in matsuei—“end” and “descendant” respectively, leaving me with an impression of something like a final descendant or the terminus of the bloodline. Further research confirmed it: shison can refer to any lineal blood tie, but matsuei refers to a bloodline’s final inheritor, the person at the end of a long line of many, or even countless, generations. It’s the difference between being able to point to a grandparent and the kind of painstaking genealogical research that lets you[2] point to a famous royal from eight hundred years ago—matsuei is a word that very much assumes the existence of those countless generations.
So not only does Rikiya’s line there not imply that he’s Chikara’s son, but his specific word choice also tells us that he cannot be Chikara’s son. That’s, uh. Pretty conclusive, I would say.
Lastly, though, there’s also the data book. This is, perhaps, the actual closest you’re going to get to a manga equivalent of those character blurbs on the anime website, at least until such time as Hori deigns to give the MLA types character profile pages. (I live ever in hope.)
There are two relevant bits of text, one in Re-Destro’s entry, and the other in Destro Classic’s. The first describes how Re-Destro organizes the MLA as Desutoro no chi o tsugu mono: the same phrase he uses for himself in the manga, minus the matsuei. @codenamesazanka (the one who told me about the databook references among other citations, bless) rendered it as “Destro’s blood successor”; I have also seen it given as “the successor of Destro’s bloodline.” Note again, the lack of reference to a father/son bond.
Chikara’s entry uses that other descendant word I mentioned before, 子孫, shison. Notice that the term uses that ko kanji from kodomo before? As it does in joshi, 子 here reads shi. The other kanji, 孫, means grandchild. Thus, literally, grandchild-child—or, in the vernacular, simply descendant.
And then we have the anime website.
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So, for comparison’s sake, the anime website uses 息子—the same combination of kanji that I said earlier gives you musuko, son. Heck, it even uses 父, chichi, for Destro—father. It’s as explicit as it’s possible to be, and I just don’t know why or how the anime website could fuck that up so bad when absolutely nothing in the manga describes the two Yotsubashis that way, and, indeed, one specific word choice actually rules out the possibility.
So, that’s all the manga says directly. It’s not the only evidence there is, though. In fact, the next piece makes it even more clear how colossally and impossibly wrong a father/son connection for Destro and his modern successor is.
Timeline
The long and short of this section is, “Since Harima Oji was Sako Atsuhiro’s great-great-grandfather, there is no possible way that Destro—who pre-dated Harima—can be Re-Destro’s father.” If you read that sentence and nodded your complete understanding and agreement, feel free to skip ahead to the last section. If you’d like the full explanation it takes to reach that sentence’s conclusion, though, read on.
So, aside from the word matsuei, the timeline is the most telling piece of evidence to my eye. I address it secondly rather than firstly because it’s less direct than the explicit narration; it relies on drawing conclusions based on things we’ve been told elsewhere rather than on the immediately relevant text. Oh, Mr. Compress’s relationship to Harima is explicit enough, but on what am I basing my claim that Destro predates him?
Regarding that, there’s no explicit year relative to My Hero Academia’s current events given for when Destro and the original Meta Liberation Army were active; the same is true for Harima Oji’s escapades. However, we are given some broad-strokes information, relative not to current events, but rather to the history of heroism as a legal institution in Japan.
We know that there was a widespread, lengthy period of chaos following the rise of quirks—called meta-abilities in those early years. At some point, however, people began to search for a way for meta-humans to live in peace with non-metas. The compromise that was reached was the foundation of professional heroism in Japan—while the use of meta-abilities would be legal in private settings, it was only by becoming licensed by the state as “heroes” that people could use their quirks in public.[3]
The legislation curtailing the use of meta-abilities—and the appropriation of a dead woman’s language to popularize a law establishing exactly the opposite of what she used that language to call for—is what catalyzed the rise of the original MLA. Thus, we can position Destro as being alive and active around the same time that heroism as a legal institution was being formed. Since we further know that he committed suicide in prison, we can assume that his child was conceived at some point prior to his capture. Ergo, Destro’s child, were they alive today, would be as old as Japanese professional heroism itself.
Next, consider Harima Oji, the Peerless Thief, a criminal who targeted the riches of “sham heroes.” We’re specifically told that he was active in the days in which the current system was settling into place—e.g. he only became active once the Hero System was established enough to have produced corrupt heroes. We’re told he preached reformation—he wasn’t just some pre-existing criminal who saw a shiny new target in heroes; he had specific grievances which he wanted addressed by the system, and which the system was not addressing.
The earliest Harima could possibly be active, then, is concurrent with Destro—Harima fighting against the corrupt people who had found their way into the new heroic institution, and Destro fighting against using the institution of heroism to oppress non-heroes. What I think is more likely, though, is that Harima came after Destro—Harima needed to have had time to realize what kinds of fakes had been drawn to this shiny new career path, maybe even to spend some time trying to change things the legal way.
I don’t suspect they were separated by very long—I would imagine Destro was easily within Harima’s living memory, and might well have influenced why he chose the path of protest that he did—but I do think they were separate.
Moving forward, then, Mr. Compress is four generations distant from his famous ancestor. Thus, even if you assume that Harima is of the same generation as Chikara, that’s what you’re looking at for Chikara’s child: someone who, were they alive today, would be old enough to be the great-grandparent of a thirty-two-year-old man.
Re-Destro’s probably a few years older than Mr. C, sure,[4] but that man doesn’t have Ujiko’s slow-aging quirk. Unless you want to start pulling theories about cryogenic stasis the story for some reason never saw fit to mention out of thin air, Re-Destro is in no way old enough to fit the bill.
This is backed up by one other piece of the timeline as well, and one more place we can look at language:
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The small child at the center of the image is Rikiya, so young that he’s in schoolboy shorts for a meeting otherwise so formal that he’s been made to wear a tie. He’s, what, six to nine here, tops? And the adults speaking to him say that they’ve been in hiding for generations—代々, daidai, the kanji for generation followed by a kanji that just means, “See that kanji written right before me? Yeah, just read that one again.”
The original MLA was active for only a handful of years, and, per Chapter 218, they didn’t dissolve until Destro was captured. Thus, we can assume they have been in hiding since then, but not before then. With that in mind, this is another line that renders a father/son relationship impossible.
Remember, Chikara already had a child in the world circa his capture. If Rikiya were Chikara’s son, then Destro’s capture and his army’s subsequent dissolution could not have happened any farther back than nine months plus however old Rikiya was in this exact moment of his youth. Rikiya, who we see here as a child of less than ten.
Ten years in hiding doesn’t make one generation; it damn sure doesn’t make multiple ones.
Now, you could make theories about cryogenic statis that would explain this ludicrous discrepancy, sure. You could also theorize about e.g. artificial insemination,[5] or time stop quirks, or any number of other possibilities in the vast panoply the HeroAca world offers. The point is, though, that you don’t need to. There was, in the manga, no discrepancy that needed to be explained. It is only fanon misinterpretation and a glaring disinterest in the series’ villains from official sources that have presented this issue.
I’m praying that it’s all just a misunderstanding on the part of whoever maintains the website, and that the anime itself will render the relevant bits of dialogue correctly. Given the extreme cuts and alterations that My Villain Academia has been subjected to thus far, though, I’m sure you can appreciate my being concerned.
…So that’s the meat of it. The idea that Rikiya is Chikara’s son is wrong simply on the basis of what’s said in the text, and it’s doubly wrong on the basis of the timeline. There is, though, one other thing I think points towards Re-Destro being exactly the descendant he says he is, not a son playing down the connection out of humility or something. This one is a lot more headcanon-y, though, so I saved it for last.
MLA Social Dynamics
It’s quite simple. We have, in the MLA, a group of people that venerates Destro’s bloodline to an obviously unhealthy degree, putting up portraits of him wherever they can get away with it, tagging his successor with a “Re-” as if to invoke reincarnation or miraculous return, entirely willing to throw their lives away for what they think was his cause, and others’ lives if those others say anything too scathing about the words Destro wrote, quite as if they treat Destro’s memoir as some sort of holy writ.
They venerate Destro that much, and you’re trying to tell me that they wouldn’t just call a spade a spade and acknowledge RD as the son of their great leader? Come on.
Since long before I turned up the matsuei factoid in researching this piece, since long before Mr. Compress gave us such a helpful generational comparison, I’ve held the opinion that, given a group that holds their leaders in such high esteem, with such particular regard for bloodline, the only reason Rikiya does just call himself a descendant, rather than citing the specific term for what he is, is that the specific term is distant enough that it actually does sound more impressive to just say “descendant,” rather than something like, “great-great-great-grandson.” That kind of thing just begs the question, “What took you guys so long?” or, “You and how many other people, buddy?”
Mr. Compress may have the panache to carry off a line like that, but Rikiya’s a different story. If he had something so amazing up his sleeve as, “I am the son of the great Destro,” I have to think he’d just say it proudly, not fall back on the impressionistic vaguery of something like chi o tsugu mono. Even if I had no other evidence to work with, I’d think the same—all the evidence you need is right there in the character writing of who Rikiya and the MLA are and how they talk about the man whose dreams Re-Destro was raised to carry.
A closing note: I will allow that Rikiya is being overdramatic when he uses matsuei and its connotation of countless generations. There are a few other things we can use to trace the history of heroism—Ujiko’s age, and the 18-years-or-less periods that One For All was held by its pre-All Might bearers—and running those numbers leads me to believe that it is, in fact, entirely possible to count the number of generations between Rikiya and Chikara, and the number, while higher than one, is probably not all that high. Certainly matsuei is being more dramatic about it than is entirely warranted, hence the poetic flourish of the official translation’s, “His blood runs through these veins!” The theatricality only makes me fonder of him, however.
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FOOTNOTES
[1] It was changed and reverted on Re-Destro’s page at least twice before it finally stuck in January of this year. Chikara’s page took until July to be corrected, and it’s still wrong on various other subpages.
[2] Or your kids, if you have those. Only the last generation in the bloodline is the matsuei, but that’s a moving goalpost as long as the bloodline is still propagating.
[3] This summary of events combines what we know from both My Hero Academia proper and the Vigilantes spin-off, which I recommend to anyone who’s at all interested in finer-grained worldbuilding on Hero Society Japan than the main series makes time for.
[4] I personally headcanon him as 42.
[5] To which point I would refer back to the word kodomo, and note that that word choice indicates that Destro had a child in the world. Not a sperm sample kept in a freezer somewhere, waiting for the right would-be mother: an actual child. Some quick research on my part says that the farthest that term stretches is in using it to refer to yet-unborn children, fetuses still in the womb. Seeing as Japan doesn’t even allow inmates conjugal visits in real life, much less in a setting where villains are so dehumanized that Tartarus is an acceptable punishment for them, the line about Destro “having a child out in the world” takes us right back to a date of conception no later than Destro’s final night of freedom.
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bubbleteaimagines · 4 years ago
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You Can Rest Now
Levi Ackerman Oneshot
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Summary: People often wonder why Levi’s so cold. For a man that’s lost everything, it’s not so hard to see
Pairings: Levi Ackerman x Reader
Warnings: Ansgt, gore, death
Authors Note: I got this idea suddenly and decided to break my heart
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there was speculation. there was always speculation, but none more about levi ackerman.
the short man had a notorious reputation. he was cruel, nonchalant and just generally didn’t seem to care.
he was different. cold. so cold in fact, that death didn’t even seem to faze him. he could watch someone die and be fine the next minute.
but was he? it seemed so.
all the recruits admired his bravery and strength, but they feared his attitude.
what had made him so cold, exactly? so...closed up? who or what had turned his heart into stone, causing him to shut out the world around him so easily?
how did he do it?
why did he do it?
what had caused him to snap?
it was simple, really. levi had made a mistake. long ago, when he was foolish enough to still believe in love and happiness in this retched world. long ago before he realized that love made you weak, he make the mistake of loving someone in this cruel, cruel, world.
-
flashback —
“shit! y/n, they’re gaining on us!”
after three years in the survey corps, you could safely say that those words were anything but a good sign. scratch that, those words were the worst thing to hear out in the field. an omen of death, if you will, but you tried not to think about that as you furrowed your eyebrows and gripped your horse’s reigns tightly.
“how close?” you made the mistake of asking your comrade. a lump grew in your throat as you guys trekked across empty land. no trees, no buildings, absolutely nowhere to even think about using your 3dmg gear.
“i...,” he was at a loss of words. neither of you dared to look back, so he had to go off of the thumping footsteps that were getting closer and closer. “i reckon in the next minute or so they’ll be...”
“got it,” you pursed your lips together, not wanting him to finish that sentence. you knew what was coming. you both did. the very ground beneath you shook due to the titan’s footsteps. the monsters that you had been battling your whole damn life. “you ready to kick some ass, then?”
“always.” his voice was weak, his hands trembling as he reached for his swords. but his spirit had not yet been broken. neither had yours.
the footsteps were getting closer.
“i say we stay in rank but finish this thing off. then we’ll speed up and catch the others in case some more come,” you told him
anxiety pooled in your stomach as you thought about the rest of the soldiers. wrong place, wrong time, you knew that. but you couldn’t help it — your mind flashed images of him and you couldn’t help but feel scared for him, wondering if he had made it back to the wall safe or if he was still stuck on the ground, like you.
levi was a much better fighter than you. he was fast, efficient, and a valuable fighter. humanity needed him, and he had to be kept safe to fight another day.
that was the only reason you guys had been split up. he was on the special forces team, you weren’t. a damn good soldier you were but you were needed on the outer side of the formation, you were needed to protect levi.
after two years, he still hated the idea of you risking your life to protect him. he had fought tooth and nail with you and just about everybody else to keep you safe, to keep you next to him at all times. but commander erwin wouldn’t allow it. he couldn’t, levi was needed to save humanity. you weren’t.
you guys had had this argument time and time again. and time after time, you had reassured him that you would make it back. that he would always find your tired but yet still smiling face waiting for him on top of the walls.
why should this time be any different?
“let’s move!”
before you could even think, you had a ten meter titan lunging at you causing you to yelp and yank your horse out of the way. the beast whined in terror, it’s fear possibly rivaling your own. unfortunately though, that didn’t cause it to go any faster. you were gonna be forced to take it down yourself — you wouldn’t be able to outrun it all the way back to the wall.
“y/n!” your comrade yelled as you were swiped at again. this time though, you stood up on your horse and launched yourself at the titan, your gear lodging itself in it’s shoulders.
“keep moving! i’ll take care of this!” you yelled out to him.
letting out an angry cry, you whipped around the creature at astonishing speeds and aimed straight at the back of it’s neck.
a routine kill, that’s all this was.
fire danced behind your eyes while the creature moaned and swatted it’s hands at you. 36, that was your number of solo kills. and soon, it was 37.
“take that you fat bastard,” you yelled and sliced it right in the weak spot, never missing a beat as you carved up the flesh. blood splattered everywhere from the fatal wound and steamed as it got on your face and clothes. the titan went limp, and soon you propelled yourself back to the ground and back on your horse.
“well, looks like petra and me are tied. can’t wait to tell her,” you grinned as you carried on riding, your partner sighing in relief.
“you really are one of the best, you know that? you totally just saved our asses,” he grinned back at you.
“yeah, and you’d do well not to forget it,” you chuckled. “next time there’s cake, i want-”
“Y/N LOOK OUT!”
there was a scream, and then there was a sudden pressure as an abnormal came leaping out of nowhere and hit you dead on.
you didn’t have time to react. you barely even had time to scream before everything went to shit, your horse flying away from you and you — oh god. your comrade screamed as you flew through the air, and appeared again only as you were clutched in the titan’s mouth.
“w-what?” you couldn’t move. your vision was blurry from the hit but what you could feel was it’s breath. blindingly hot, and rancid. you had a first row seat as you hung from the monster’s jaws, everything from your waist and below clutched tightly in it’s teeth.
“y/n, no!” the strangled cry of your fellow comrade was all too familiar. it was a helpless cry, one you had heard many times from many different people. it was a cry of death, a cry of sorrow if you will. it was the type of sound people made when they were face to face with death.
“son of bitch,” you moaned as you lifted your head up, your (e/c) eyes meeting the bright blue ones of the titan. “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
of all the ways to die, of all the times and situations, this just had to be it. with your luck, you were gonna be split in half by the ugliest goddamn titan you had ever seen.
“fuck me.”
dread pooled in your stomach.
as you stared down your killer, as you stared down death itself, only one thought crossed your mind.
“c-comrade,” you glared as the titan opened it’s mouth to devour you. “g-get out of here! you don’t need to see this!”
“y/n no! i’m coming!” he desperately clung to his gear, standing on his horse and preparing to take down the monster that was gonna kill his teammate. he couldn’t let that happen. he wouldn’t.
but you weren’t gonna let him die either. not whilst you were still alive.
“comrade! i said go! i’m the leader of this team so that’s an order!” you screamed at the solider causing him to freeze in place.
“no,” he whispered, watching as the monster’s jaws came down.
it was as if it were in slow motion. the universe dragging it out just so he could witness every detail. the moment you screamed profanities at the titan, promising that you’d see it in hell one day. the moment you ripped off your cape, letting one last piece of you remain on this earth. the moment you screamed for levi, yelling one last time how much you loved him.
the moment the titan’s jaws finally came down, cutting you in half.
everything stood still after that. time stopped completely, and your comrade couldn’t even scream, couldn’t even cry out for you as your eyes finally fluttered closed and your body went limp.
you were gone.
-
levi paced anxiously as he stood on top of wall maria. he had his hands behind his back, but his eyes were on full alert, searching the terrain in front of him for any signs of life.
for any signs of you.
levi didn’t understand. it had been well past an hour, and everyone had made it back except for your squad.
it wasn’t even a squad, really. just two people — so how could two people possibly be taking this long?
“captain, you should calm down. i’m sure y/n is gonna be fine,” petra placed a gentle hand on his shoulder but it did nothing to sooth levi.
“if they were fine they’d be back by now,” he snapped, his eyes darkening.
he didn’t want to admit it but levi was starting to lose hope. being gone for this long usually only meant one thing — but he refused to think about that. he refused to even let the thought cross his mind, shoving it so far back it was practically non existent. levi couldn’t think like that. he wouldn’t.
because it was no question whether you were okay or not. you had to be, there were no other options. no other scenarios other than you coming back alive and safe.
“captain—”
“silence!”
levi strained his ears as he heard hooves in the distance. he perked up.
it was the sound of a horse, most definitely. in fact, it was the sound of two horses, and in the distance he could see them galloping towards the wall, a titan right behind them and the lone rider.
levi’s heart swelled with hope.
“y/n!”
he was breathless as he ran towards the edge of the wall, igorning his fellow soldiers protests. extracting his swords, he quickly cascaded down the wall towards the person, hoping beyond hope that it was you.
commander erwin held out a hand to stop anyone from following him.
“don’t,” he warned, seeing how levi’s squad was gearing up. “this one’s for him.”
levi had never felt more eager in his life to escape into titan territory. quickly, he flew towards the rider and practically tackled them as he reached them.
“y/n, you—”
levi stopped dead in his tracks. confused, he tilted his head as he saw the grief-stricken face of your partner, but not you. in fact, you were nowhere in sight as the titan’s footsteps got louder.
“soldier, you had someone with you, yes? where is y/n?” levi demanded, completely ignoring the haunted and agonized expression of the solider.
“c-captain...i...,” how did he get the words out? how did your comrade look his captain in the eyes and tell him that you were gone — lost to the titan on a simple mission.
“well? we don’t have all pissant. spit it out,” levi snapped, becoming irritated at the lack of response.
where were you? if you hadn’t come back with your partner, then where the hell where you?
the soilder’s mouth moved but levi barely heard anything he said.
perhaps it was because he wasn’t standing close enough. or perhaps the titan’s thunderous footsteps drowned it out. or perhaps...it was because levi heard something he didn’t want to hear.
“dead?” levi tilted his head as if it were a foreign word. as if he had never heard the word before, when in reality it was probably the most used word in his vocabulary. “what do you mean y/n is...dead?”
the pieces didn’t fit. the word ‘dead’ and ‘you’ were apart of two completely different puzzles; they didn’t fit together. it was too wrong, too confusing for levi’s brain to pick up.
“t-they’re gone, sir,” the solider spit out painfully, letting out a wail. “w-we were on flat ground...the titan came out of nowhere...the abnormal...”
“shut up,” levi held his hand up as the pieces began to mold themselves. slowly, they transformed to fit each other.
“i-i’m sorry sir,” the soldier stammered, “t-they’re gone. they left this behind...but their body—”
“I SAID SHUT UP!” levi growled as anger began to flow through him, his fists twitching. the solider flinched back as levi’s death glare settled on him, burning holes through his skull.
“where do you get off on this? HUH?” levi yelled as he grabbed the man roughly, yanking him off of is horse. the beast whined in fear as the titan approached, but levi ignored it. instead, he focused on the red spots in his vision, pushing away the pain. pushing away the imagery that followed the solider’s words. all that was left of you was a cape...
“i’ll have you executed for this you bastard! you lying piece of shit—”
“CAPTAIN LEVI!” levi’s attention was diverted as commander erwin yelled out his name. briefly, he turned his attention to the wall where his fellow comrades and commander stood, horrified, “YOU HAVE A SITUATION!”
levi tore his gaze away from erwin and glanced over his shoulder. fast approaching was the titan that had followed the solider to the wall. an abnormal by the looks of it, with blood splattered all over it’s mouth.
levi felt his heart stop.
in the moment, it suddenly became real. he glanced at the solider’s terrified face, the cape in his arms that had your initials printed on it, and then back at the titan.
everything hit him at once.
and levi snapped.
“YOU BASTARD!”
he retracted his blades, squared his shoulders, and then zoomed off to battle the titan that that had murdered you. the love of his life.
levi saw red as an animalistic scream left him, his entire vision clouded with crimson as he made his target and slashed. levi slashed until there was nothing more to slash, the titan long dead and already dissolving by the time he was done.
“YOU ASSHOLE! YOU TOOK THEM! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!”
“CAPTAIN! soldier, you need to restrain him and get back over the wall, NOW!” commander erwin shouted.
more titan’s were approaching. too many people were standing by the walls. too much prey.
but levi didn’t care. he was angry, hurt, and beyond the levels of revenge. his blades were stained with the blood of your murderer. he wouldn’t be able to rest if he didn’t end them all, right then and there.
“CAPTAIN LEVI! WE NEED TO GO!”
levi ignored the solider’s plea and stood his ground, hatred burning behind his eyes. he’d kill them, he’d kill every last one of them for what they did to you. his life be damned.
in that moment, it didn’t matter that humanity needed him.
he needed to avenge you.
“FALL BACK! DO NOT ENGAGE! I REPEAT, DO NOT ENGAGE! EVERYBODY STAND BACK!”
levi braced himself for the attack. he was running on pure hatred now.
he was dangerous when he was calm. but he was unstoppable when he was deadset on getting revenge for the one person he had left to care about.
“holy shit—”
“no way—”
“did he just?—”
all around levi was blood. crimson red soaked him to the bone, pouring over every inch of his body. it rained on him, like a sadistic waterfall carved out by levi’s sword.
but it wasn’t his.
none of it, not a single drop of the blood was his.
levi sheathed his now broken swords and leaned down to retrieve the only thing not soaked with titan blood. the only thing that wasn’t stained or reminded him of their treacherous, godforsaken existence.
“i did it,” he whispered, clutching your cape tightly. he held the fabric in his trembling hands, holding it over his heart as a way to hold you close— one last time.
“i killed that thing. you can rest now.”
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clockworklozenges · 4 years ago
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So, a good five or so years back, I played in one of the best worst DnD games I have ever been in. The DM had bought the Libris Mortis book, which, if you were unaware, was a 3.5 splatbook adding in a lot of undead stuff, including some monsters and undead player races and stuff. Wanting to try it out, me and my gaming group decided to play things from it, our then DM deciding to run a completely homebrewed session. This proved to be a...
Terrible Idea™
(for the uninitiated, never homebrew something you do not fully understand unless it's just cosmetic. If you want to make all elves worship the god of garlic bread, Ultimo-Metatron-Omega, go ahead, but unless you know how the game works, don't make mechanical changes). So we all picked stuff from the books-one player played a skeleton Sorcerer who in life was a tribal shaman, but an attempt at healing went wrong, turning him undead as his life energy was replaced with negative energy, explaining why most of his spells were necromancy and suchlike.
Another player played Krug, an antipaladin in very spiky full plate. He was a zombie made by a necromancer of a paladin who was fighting him, but his allies killed his would-be master before he could assert control, and not wanting to just off him, his allies just...yeeted his body into a portal and hoped it'd re-kill him. It did not kill him hard enough. It did, however, explain his stats which...oof. He had already got debuffs to some stats due to being a zombie, and rolled abysmally. Fortunately for the player, he played mostly to socialise, so didn't much care.
I played... Count Nox Feratu, the Campire. As in, a vampire with a very camp German accent, which I did not break for the whole time I was playing him. To the point where "ach, nein, I haf bin heet! Heal me, meine freunde!" was par for the course. My overly camp vamp was a wizard, but due to level adjustment was a bit of a shoddy one. For backstory, he'd been ousted from his clan for ineptitude, and had sworn revenge. I was going for a swordmage build but never got there. All his spells were utility or just necromancy spells.
Our last player played...sigh...Damien Bloodmoon, cleric of Nerull, God of murder and undeath. He was one of the clerics from the book's murder Domain, meaning that he got buffs to damage. He was a vicious arse both in character and out of it, and was so dripping with edge compared to the paladin with the same IQ as a horse after its trip to the glue factory, the shaman who thought killing fixed people and the Campire that if you gave him a pat on the back you'd have finely diced your hand into a red mist. Not going too outlandish with his backstory of wanting to dominate the world as his undead thralls, Damien F***ing Bloodmoon had only taken spells which either charmed live people, dealt negative energy damage or messed with ability drain and suchlike, which he used with aplomb on townsfolk on our way to our objective. He was also, importantly, playing an elf of some sort, I forget which kind. Meaning that of the party, only one was alive.
So, just as an aside, for those of you that haven't played 3.5e DnD or have only played 5e, in Libris Mortis, undeath was gone over in detail, and had a litany of pros and cons. For one thing, undead had only the HP they had-folks like Damien F***ing Bloodmoon could be 'dying', and had some time to be stabilised before meeting the reckoning of Papa John and dying proper. Undead did not, it was just how much you had and if you ran out, poof, you're dust, bones and fertiliser again. You were also harmed by positive energy, so healing spells hurt you, as did potions of healing. However, undead were kind of hardy - poison immunity, some had resistance to non-magical melee damage, stuff that drained your ability scores and levels didn't work on them, some crits wouldn't do extra damage, and the best part- negative energy healed undead. Meaning all the spells our party had which damaged others like the living Damien Bloodmoon were curative ones for us. Keep this in mind.
So, we began our quest, learning of a necromancer a nearby town was plagued by. After using our skills (to whit: Damien Bloodmoon charming and drawing the life force out of random villagers and the only potion seller in the town whilst we went shopping. Krug got a snazzy hat, which we put on top of his helmet, and we chatted to townsfolk as I looked alive enough to pass as human and the shaman had a fake beard and toupee that people were too awkward to point out was fake so went along with it) we learn that the necromancer has a base of operations in the cemetery. "Oh ja, zo original, dahlink. Ve vill need to educate zis guy on vhat is chic and vhat is just shabby!"
So we head there and the nightmare begins. Damien Leads the charge, using all of his knowledge to deduce that the shambling horde moving towards us were stronger-than-your-average-bear undead, and he was right. These were powerful armoured zombie mages of some sort, casting ability draining spells, negative energy ray spells and even having auras of negative energy that dealt damage on a failed Fortitude save. Even their punch and quarterstaves did negative energy damage as well as the usual bludgeoning or unarmed. However...only one of us was really in danger and the DM's face fell when the squishy casters walked up and began shanking their super-special homebrew zombie wizards, being healed by the damage of their attacks as we cut them down.
Like I said, one of the benefits of undeath is that negative energy actually heals you. So the strikes of the magic staves and punches that hit us did some basic damage. Which was then immediately healed by the negative energy their weapon strikes and spells were doing.
However, you'll recall that Damien Bloodmoon was an elf. And not dead. Being a Cleric of a death god doesn't mean that you have the abilities of an undead. That meant that even with the DM being merciful, by the end of the first fight he was covered in blood, mud and withered away to just above half his original strength and constitution. More were patrolling, so we had to run. But that posed a problem.
Remember Krug had heavy armour? And recall his awful stats? He in fact, hadn't got enough strength to wear the armour he'd been given for backstory. He didn't, according to the DM, have enough to remove his own armour. And we attempted to, but also failed our checks according to the DM. And Damien Bloodmoon refused to help, simply blaming Krug and his player. Krug's player thought it was hilarious, and Krug only had enough Intelligence and Wisdom to say his own name, so saw no problem. And Krug, Nox Feratu and Shaman realised that there really...wasn't a problem.
For us, at least.
We slogged through three combats dragging Krug and wading through the mud with him. His speed was so slow that for every step he took, we took about ten. The DM was confused and infuriated that his encounters weren't working, but refused to change them. So we had fun role-playing. Or at least three of us did.
Damien Bloodmoon refused to roleplay, and none of his ranged spells could affect the zombie mages. When he went into melee, he came out wounded as all hell. He went down twice, and it was only the healing supplies of the shaman that saved him.
All the while, he was... Let's say not best pleased. Damien Bloodmoon was getting increasingly wounded, exasperated and longing for the sweet embrace of death as reprieve from the humiliation. His player was getting increasingly redder and rage-filled as time passed. Each fight ended with our characters stronger than ever and his a bloody pulp on the floor, with poor in-character knowledge (and terrible rolls) preventing him from realising why.
Eventually, we reached the final boss, pausing only to paint Krug's armour in contact poison just in case, and to find a stick to help the now-partially-crippled Damien Bloodmoon, cleric of death and murder, walk after being beaten up by angry zombie wizards for hours. And it had, indeed, been hours. Among us, only Damien had a bonus to strength, and we had two swords, a mace and a staff between the four of us. Meaning it was re-death by a thousand cuts for the enemy and a slog and a half for us.
We reach the necromancer and, having taken so long due to dragging the oblivious Krug with us, his big ritual is complete- he raises a fist-sized black onyx egg aloft, crackles with arcane power and causes the bones around him to coalesce into one massive creature - an undead, giant-sized rust monster, radiating an Aura of pure negative energy. Krug opened his arms wide, eager for the metal-eating monster cockroach to free him from his poison-painted metal prison. It ignores him as he's still very far away. Me and the others have our weapons and armour devoured.
Our DM was very much a stickler for note-taking. So because Damien Bloodmoon hadn't written 'clothes' on his sheet, his armour being eaten by the monster left him naked and afraid.
It became clear that the DM had done another f***y-wucky. See, the Aura of negative energy healed me and the Sorcerer by more than its other attacks did. So whilst Damien Bloodmoon was naked, soaked in mud and bleeding to death almost crushed to a pulp in the fetal position, rocking backwards and forwards as his player seethed with hatred, the Shaman and the Campire set about beating the thing to death with our bear hands and a stick.
The session ended once we killed the necromancer, or rather when Krug walked up to him, closed his arms and just crushed the noodle-armed bad guy to death with the weight of his ridiculous armour and poisoned him with its paintwork.
We never revisited the game afterwards. We were told later on that the DM wanted us to use the non-undead races. But at no point had he said as much, even when we asked him about our characters and the restrictions on them. We also learned a valuable lesson. DM for the players who are there, not the ones who you have an idealised mental image of. Tailor your game, otherwise you'll get a sitcom featuring a camp nosferatu, a shaman with no healing, a paladin who could barely move and a Cleric of murder who was ironically the only one at risk of actually dying.
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sideblogformindtrash · 3 years ago
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Hey you know that trope in TV where a character loses their memory after getting their head hit by a heavy object and later regaining the memory when hit again with the same object, well I was just thinking what if something like that happened to Blue while he's with orfeus? Like blue gets hit by comically absurd object and now he suddenly regained all his memories before he became a pet (obviously this would all be non Canon I just think it'd be funny seeing orfeus reaction, like imagine you've been trying weeks to months trying to scrub away layers upon layers of conditioning only for a fucking potted plant dropping from the sky to fix everything) anyways have a nice day
cw: memory loss/recovery; past abuse; head injury; pet whump;
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Before his vision even cleared enough, he felt the pain on the back of his head, that seemed to have shaken his entire core, turning his brain into some sort of echo chamber, full of ghosts.
As he blinked away the dark… he didn't quite recognize the two people around him, who stared at him with concern. He almost flinches back, his hands instinctively searching for Bonnie…
Oh, that's right. Orfeu. Master Orfeu. And Haru, his brother. He blinked a couple more times, touching the back of his head. It hurt and it was swelling, but there was no blood that he could feel. It should be fine.
Except right now, Blue has found a set of new, disturbing memories, as if he had just broken the surface of a dark murky sea. So many of them are from pain and torture, isolation and white lights. And what isn’t… is beautiful, and nostalgic, and it hurts.
"Blue, blue darling are you okay?" They brush blue hair off of his face, and he blinks, trying to conciliate all of the new information on his head with the life he has been leading the last couple of years.
"I… re-re-remember…" he whispers. He didn't have such a bad stutter before, did he? That’s one thing that changed.
"What?" Orfeu asks, fairly confused.
"B-be-before. I remember… being hu-human. Being Ce-Cecil'' he whispers. Being because with memories or not… Cecil still feels like a phantom, a memory of a memory that can't be reached nor fully exists anymore, in a world that was twisted and sprinkled with obnoxious shades of blue.
He lifts his hands slightly, lips quivering as he stares at them, as he did so many other times, seeing how it’s incomplete.
"You… do?" They help him sit, Haru scrambles to make them some tea. He almost wished he hadn't remembered, because what did this bring him, other than sorrow and more grief? Is like finding a corpse he is now supposed to mourn.
He nods, making himself tiny, wrapping his arms around Bonnie. She looks…a hell lot more like a plush, now, but he loves her, he always always will. She kept him alive, and sane, as much as possible. But right now…
“I want my mom” He says softly, tears forming in the corner of his eyes “P-p-please I- I want my mom”
Orfeu nods, reaching to touch him, and he leans into it, as a trained movement. He can recognize what it is now, at least. Still he appreciates the affection.
“We’ll take you to see her, okay? We’ll go there. Take it slow now, deep breaths”
But he can barely breathe. He can only sob, sniffs that shake his entire chest, his entire being. He had a life. And thinking about that, only makes what happened to him more cruel, more unbearable. He had friends, and a family, he had a home and he had goals. He wanted to travel places, and he wanted to meet someone and get married someday.
Now he might never. The thought scares and hurts him. He falls towards Orfeu’s chest, half sobbing, half screaming.
Unfair. So fucking unfair. He’d rather forget.
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volterran-wine · 3 years ago
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So this is thing that haunted my mind for a while now.
Do u think The Volturi would let Renesmee join them? Cause I believe that she would want to after some time but please let me explain a little further.
After the big confrontation all were super duper happy and everything was oh so perfect for the Cullens but especially for Bella, Ed, Jacob and Nessi. All were alive and save and they all showed the world how dangerous and monstrous the Volturi really are. They were the winners ( even tho I very firmly believe that The Volturi let them get away with it and a lot of other shit and were just too tired and weirded out to argue ) but after some time I think the Cullen Family would start to slowly fall apart.
Like Carlisle is the only one who really wants to help humans. Jaspers only there for Alice and Alice only really likes and gets along with Edward. Edward hated Rose and Jasper and only thinks of Emmet as the funny big dumb one. Emmet doesn't give a flying shit about humans and is only there for Rosalie. Rose doesn't care about humans either but doesn't want to be a monster and doesn't get along with Edward and doesn't really like Alice cause of the non existent privacy. And Esme is... just there. Bella doesn't see any of this. Nessi has parents who doesn't give a shit for her and only set her up with Jacob, he's probably getting more and more creepy cause he wants to marry her and get into a relationship.
I think she only would really have a tight bond to Carlisle and Carlisle slowly will notice that his family ain't all that. He sees Nessis side of things through her talent. The neglect of Edward and Bella, Jacob being creepy etc. Rosalie and Alice only view her as somewhat of a toy to play with and dress up. And this would lead slowly but surely to Nessi wanting to get out of there. Away from everyone since she isn't happy there and I think Carlisle would notice that he isn't really happy either.
And I think after a while they would both leave together and where would they go? Volterra. I think Carlisle misses his Aro more and more and Nessi just wants to have her own life without having Jacob around grooming her all the time. I think they both would be not sure at first but would after all be very happy in Volterra with the Volturi.
The Cullens would definitely break apart someday and Jacob would definitely get too creepy.
This is the shortest explanation I could deliver and I hope u get what I mean and I kinda want your opinion on that? If u want of course.
Dearest Anonymous, you bring many excellent points; ... yet I cannot give you my full honest opinion on this. I will instead direct you towards this little fanfic that I did in December, here I hint at certain things that will happen in my stories.
For I fully intend to explore what happens post-canon in Twilight. Hopefully there are no hard feelings between the two of us.
What I can say is that Carlisle currently resides in Volterra, and no other Cullens are with him.
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hawkland · 4 years ago
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(Mostly) Destiel Fic Recs #5
This is a LONG recs post because it’s been a while since I did an update and I fell hard into reading one author’s work (DeanRH). In fact I could easily do a rec post just of their fics alone, but for this round I’m just going to pick out a handful of my absolute favorites so far, the ones I’d recommend to start out with, along with more other authors’ works I’ve especially enjoyed lately.
Absolution at the Five-and-Dime by DeanRH (125k)  - this is perhaps THEE DeanRH fic to start with if you want a good, long read with a little bit of everything (Roadtrips! Intriguing casefic! Americana! Tasty Dean/Cas pining! Wing!kink and unique angel lore! Kinky soul fisting and tentacles!) It’s kind of two of parallel stories in one: the first, a flashback to Dean and Sam's first year hunting on their own (as well as trying to avoid hunting, and John in general); the second on how Dean and Cas finally get together during an unusual case and when Dean is able to really let go of his past trauma and accept himself/accept love from Cas. 
What I love about DeanRH’s work is that they write from the unique point of view of a drifter, so they understand living on the road, traveling place to place, and the highs and lows of that life like no others I’ve encountered in SPN before. (The author’s notes are often as much fun to read as the stories themselves). They also write a kickass angel!Cas and never lose sight of his non-human traits and background. Their writing style is unique - almost poetic in nature, and I know some readers have found it difficult to get into. But it works really well for me in their SPN fic...gives it the flavor of oral story telling as might actually happen at a drifter’s camp (with one story written exactly as such). Be warned this particular fic does play up the idea of John Winchester being mentally abusive and Dean having to turn tricks when he was younger in order to support him and Sam, so there is some dark stuff. But as someone who grew up with mentally abusive parent, reading this was extremely cathartic to me and believably written (unlike some stories that go too over the top with abusive John, or just don't understand how that kind of abuse leaves lifetime psychological scars.)
The rest of this round’s recs below the cut.
Carnevale by DeanRH (18k) - Actually the first fic by this author I read, because I just couldn’t resist a story set in my favorite place in the world, Venice, Italy. Castiel is the Angel of Venice, banished there for so long he does not even know or remember the reasons why. But Carnevale season is the one time a year he can let his wings out - figuratively and literally. And during this particular Carnevale season, he meets an intriguing masked young American tourist there with his brother and their one night stand turns into something far more powerful than either expected. This one’s hot, romantic, and achingly sad at the end as it all ties together unexpectedly with canon-verse...though with a hint for the future so it’s definitely not totally sad. I loved how DeanRH clearly understands Venice as a fellow lover of the city, the side of it most tourists never see unless they spend a long time there. This story made me cry just from wanting to be back in Venice again.
Ice cream was sweeter, food more satisfying, everything was an epicurean delight. There was just something magical about Venice, and he had lived here in the city for hundreds of years, so the shine should have worn off by now.
But it didn't, and there was always something more, something wonderful to discover around the next corner. The painted eaves of a church. The beauty of two women dancing with flowers in their teeth across the Piazza San Marco one day, overcome by the sheer joy of just being there. The way the university students still created Venetian masks, like Castiel's extravagant volto mask and Dean's humble servetta muta, with crafts that had been handed down across the generations. The morning silence that lay against the stones.
Hard Landing by DeanRH (26.9k) - A bit similar in theme to Carnevale. A pre-series Dean and Sam are sight-seeing in Spain when an angel, struck by a babel-spell, crash lands right in front of Dean. A strange yet seriously hot encounter with the angel turns into something much more complicated when the brothers return home and realize something more serious is afoot and they are both trapped in the middle of it. This is another story where things are very much not as they seem at first (as fun as that is!) It features master strategist Cas at his best, with a side helping of delightful trickery care of Gabriel and Balthazar as they deal with Lucifer, Michael...and a few others along the way.
The Sacred Band of Thebes by DeanRH (14.5k) - The last DeanRH fic I’m gonna allow myself to include in this round up, because it’s just very soft and sweet and beautiful - for a story about Dean & Cas being magically transported back in time to ancient Sparta! This is another story infused with a great knowledge of place and history, with some wonderfully delightful original characters added in that make it all the more enjoyable to read.
And now on to some other authors, I promise!
IPAMIS OL OLPRIT by emmbrancsxx0 (56k). A really wonderful fic that take a different look at what might have happened with a temporarily resurrected John Winchester during Season 14. Dean & Cas are in an established relationship here, and John here isn’t too happy about it — though mostly because he sees Cas (and Jack) as monsters, the kind of monsters he spent his lifetime hunting. This is a great fic for the emotional complexity of how John, Dean and Cas are all handled. John isn’t a cardboard evil dad, Dean is struggling between his loyalty to his father and to Cas, and Cas is increasingly bitchy/frustrated at Dean still being so desperate for his father’s approval (and all the more complex for not just being a quietly suffering perfect supporting boyfriend.) There’s some great action sequences in this too along with the emotional angst and a delicious dose of hurt!Cas if that’s your thing (as it is for me :D)
Abrenuntio by Neonbat (51k). A very dark but compelling AU take on the/a apocalypse universe. Dean, Sam and John are all alive in this post-angel war-apocalyptic world. They are part of a group of human survivors fighting against the angel army when they manage to capture “Blue” — a particularly feared angel of death. Dean is tasked with bringing Blue in for interrogation and he becomes a prisoner in their camp after John is killed. As mentioned, this is a pretty dark/sad fic (with some rather gruesome torture scenes) but I still found it quite compelling as a look at how things could have gone in some other parallel universe. And somehow the author manages to make the Dean/Cas relationship come together despite them starting out as complete enemies. This is one of those AUs that works for me because the core of the characters really shine through despite the differences in the setting.
if it all fell to pieces tomorrow by spocklee (37k) - a gorgeous post-Empty rescue fic that takes an approach I haven’t really seen explored in detail before (despite being something I’ve actually thought about as something that could’ve happened.) What if Cas has spent so long denying himself happiness, and then trapped in regrets and false-rescue scenarios created by the Empty, that he can’t trust that his rescue is real? And so he runs off to be on his own - literally stealing the Impala because he can’t handle being in Dean’s presence one moment longer - and only slowly comes to terms with the idea that it’s over now and he can be happy with/around his friends and family. This one’s both deliciously angsty and at times funny/sweet, looking at Cas’s relationships not just with Dean but with Sam, Jack, Claire, even Eileen. It does some fun stuff with other returned angels and demons who now find themselves back on Earth (and human), and...I just really enjoyed this one a lot.
Both Saved and Lost by angelfishofthelord (13.7k) Gen Cas character study, absolutely gorgeous and sad and one of those fic I couldn’t stop thinking about the day after reading it. AU where Apocaverse!Cas isn’t immediately killed by our Cas during 13x22 but instead hitches a ride back to the main ‘verse. Dean and Sam want to keep him alive for information on Michael; Cas is torn and trying to figure out just how similar—or different—they really are. Some great angel stuff here (I also highly recommend this author’s Jack & Cas “dadstiel” fics, they’re equally lovely and heartbreaking at the same time.)
flesh of the mighty by Mudprophet (2.7k) - THEE “What exactly did Dean eat in Purgatory, anyway?” fic you’ve probably already heard about. *cough* I’ve been trying to work up the courage to read this one for a while and finally gave in and OH MY CHUCK I’m so glad I did. It’s perversely disturbing and beautiful at the same time, Cas is wonderfully DERANGED and ALIEN in that way that I love it when fics managed to convey just how much angels are NOT human. Do heed the tags.
Full of Grace by ilovehowyouletmefall (11k) - Another one for the weird-as-fuck-angel!Cas lovers’ list. Heaven/canon-compliant fic where Dean knows he should feel happy and at peace but he just...isn’t, even with Cas and all of his friends and family there. He finally goes looking for Cas when he’s been absent for a time and, for the first time, gets to not just see but experience his true form. Another one that hits some kinks I knew I had and others I didn’t...until now. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
don't ask me where i've been by saltwound / @1x06 (8k) - I can never resist a good 09x06 fiction gap fic! What makes this one really stand out is how well it captures Cas’s internal voice - his struggles adapting to human senses, limitations and emotions versus what/how he experienced things as an angel. The longing and feelings between Dean & Cas here are so achingly beautiful and I just wanted to cry when Cas says he misses hearing Dean’s prayers, so Dean, he...oh, I’m not going to spoil it. *happy sigh* Just read it.
this room is wrong by DarkHeartInTheSky (12k) - Sometimes I like torturing myself with some good 15x03 divorce arc angst and this fic hit that button just so. It’s an alternative take on where Cas might have ended up after leaving the bunker and features some great Cas & Sam friendship feels, when Sam sets out to try to bring Cas home. It’s all the stuff you’d wish the writers would’ve let them talk out in canon.
Well that’s more than enough for this round! Go forth, read and give some great writers some kudos & comment love!
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archaxwii · 4 years ago
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Through Diamond and Flesh
Warnings: This fic involves safe, soft, consensual, non-sexual vore, as well as g/t content.
This is just a silly Skeppy and Bad vore fic, I wrote it like a week ago but what better time to post it than now? Also Skeppy and Bad's relationship con be interpreted as romantic or platonic as you want. This is a little outdated now as of the last lore stream but we’ll just say this takes place in a world where everyone on the SMP makes it out safe and alive. (Also I’m a bit rusty so apologies if the writing or dialogue isn’t great)
Skeppy and Bad have been friends for several years now. They had grown very fond of each other in that time. Especially after a...certain incident with an egg and maybe getting possessed and Skeppy nearly dying to said egg...multiple times...However, that was a couple years ago, the egg was gone and the duo had been saved. It had taken a lot of time (and therapy) but they were now closer than ever before.
Sometimes Skeppy thought maybe too close.
Now, Bad and Skeppy had grown up very differently. Skeppy was a diamond golem, he didn't exactly have parents he had a creator, who had basically left him alone to his own devices, which is why he had come to the smp.
Bad, however, was a demon from the Nether. He had actual parents, who had raised him and loved him until he was old enough to decide to move to the Overworld.
They talked a lot about how they'd grown up, and there were a lot of things Skeppy found weird about how Bad's parents raised him, but there was one thing in particular that he kept getting stuck on.
"I still don't understand how you don't think it's weird your parents used to eat you as a kid." Skeppy said, exasperated.
Bad groaned, waving his arms around." I don't get why it weirds you out so much, it's honestly not that big of a deal!" He protested.
" Besides...I don't remember it being that bad." He mumbled, looking away with embarrassment.
Skeppy shook his head." You're such a weirdo." He said giving Bad a light shove.
Bad huffed, immediately shoving him back." Maybe I am, but I honestly don't think it was as bad as you're making it out to be." He paused, and turned to Skeppy with a cheeky grin." You know, I could show you what it was like?” He offered.
Skeppy actually, physically jumped back." What?! Are you crazy?!" He shouted." No, I don't wanna be eaten, how would that even work that's not even physically possible!" He really shouldn't have said that, because that just opened the gateway for Bad.
Bad crossed his arms." No, I'm not "crazy". And really, it's not that big of a stretch, I'm sure that at my full height I'd be able to do it." He reasoned.
He really, really hated that that was probably true.
Bad is a size shifter, with four different sizes he could choose from, and at his tallest he was somewhere around 15 feet. Probably definitely able to eat someone.
Skeppy shook his head." I think you might be forgetting one important detail here, Bad, I WILL DIE IF YOU EAT ME." Despite being almost 3 feet taller than him, Bad still winced from the loud noise.
"What makes you say that?" He had the audacity to sound genuinely confused.
Skeppy flung his hands in the air." Uhh, I don't know, maybe because things get digested in burning acid when they're eaten?!" He cried with less vigor, but still sounding upset.
Bad stared at Skeppy with an seriously embarrassing amount of confusion. After a few seconds it finally seemed to click." Ohh, no no no, Skeppy, that's not how it works. Did I never give you a lesson on demon anatomy?"  No, he hadn't, and Skeppy was kind of hoping to keep it that way.
"See, demons like me have two stomachs," he pointed at an area slightly higher than where a normal stomach would be," this one is for storage purposes, it doesn't have any digestive fluids or anything like that. Everything I eat has to go through there before I manually send it into this stomach," he pointed a little lower," That one does actually digest all my food and stuff." He explained.
He gave Skeppy an odd look." How did you think my parents were able to...eat me?" He asked.
Skeppy sighed, not making eye contact." I dunno man, I just thought it happened with some weird demon magic or whatever." So it was actually possible for Bad to eat him, and for him to be completely safe.
" I don't know Bad, this is still really freaking weird, I don't think I wanna do this." He said uncomfortably.
Bad sighed, a bit dejected." Ok, Skeppy, I won't make you do it if you don't want to. I just wanted to explain why I wanted to do it." Why did he sound sad?
Skeppy tilted his head." Why, exactly, do you want to do it? I still don't see what's enjoyable about it." He asked genuinely.
Bad scratched the back of his head, looking awkward." I- I don't know. I just remember it feeling very nice. Even as a demon the Nether is still a scary place, I felt...safe whenever they did it. It was just...nice and warm. Like nothing could hurt me." He admitted quietly.
Skeppy gave him a soft smile." It sounds like you wanna get eaten more than I do." He joked lightly.
Bad brightened, giving him a wide grin." Oh my gosh, would you eat me, Skeppy?" He asked hopefully, tail wagging like an oversized dog.
Skeppy very quickly shook his head." What?! No way, dude! That would definitely kill you!" He yelped.
Bad grabbed his hands, linking them together." Not necessarily! I think I have some potions that can make me immune to acid!” He explained excitedly.
Skeppy gave him a skeptical look." You just have those lying around, huh?" He deadpanned.
If Bad were human, he probably would have blushed." Well-I, you see-... shut up." He sputtered." Look, will you actually do it now?"
He bent his knees to look Skeppy in the eyes.
Despite the fact that Bad was a 9'6 demon, it was still impossible for him to not give into the puppy dog eyes.
He hesitated for several seconds, and took a deep breath.
"Show me what to do."
Well, here he was. With a tiny, potioned up Bad in the palm of his hand.
"Are you ready, Skeppy?" Bad asked gently. He was willing to go as slowly as possible for Skeppy's comfort, even if he was incredibly eager. Especially since he'd taken off his robes in exchange for an easier T shirt and shorts, making him much colder.
Skeppy shifted nervously." I don't know what to do." He admitted.
Bad tilted his head." Do you wanna let me inside your mouth?" He asked calmly.
Skeppy's anxiety skyrocketed, but he tried not to let it show. He delicately brought Bad closer to his mouth. He really didn't wanna do this.
Bad smiled calmly, sensing his nervousness." Would you like me to just climb in myself? So you don't feel like I'm being forced?" Skeppy nodded and wordlessly opened his mouth.
He slowly climbed in, trying not to startle Skeppy too much. He very patiently sat on his friends tongue. It sadly wasn't as warm as he'd like, but it was better than outside.
"Now, I know this may sound weird, but I need you to lick me, like, a lot." He guided.
Skeppy whined, and Bad reassured him that he was fine and ok with it.
Skeppy reluctantly obliged and began running his tongue across the demon, coating him in a thick layer of saliva. He had a very smoke-y taste to him, which made sense seeing as he was from the Nether. Eventually Bad told him he'd done enough and, to Skeppy's dismay, moved closer to his throat.
"I'm ready when you are, Skeppy." He shuddered, Bad was putting his complete trust and faith into him. He was willing and excited to let Skeppy eat him. He didn’t want to let his best friend down.
He tilted his head back, swallowing thickly. He tried not to panic over the unusually large lump that was traveling down his throat. It was such a weird sensation, yet to his surprise it wasn’t as horrible as he thought it would be. He swallowed a few more times, and eventually the warm weight that was his best friend settled into his belly.
Immediately he began asking," Are you ok? I didn't hurt you did I?"
Bad didn't respond for a few moments and Skeppy now had to deal with the startling sensation of something moving in his stomach, as Bad pawed around like he was trying to get his bearings.
Finally, he responded." Yes, Skeppy, I'm ok. That was a little disorienting but I'm perfectly fine." He paused for a moment." Are you ok?" He inquired.
He wasn’t sure how to answer, he was still processing that he’d just eaten his best friend alive.
He pressed a hand against his stomach, feeling where Bad was. He felt a bit of shuffling and soon a hand was pressed against the inside as well. Bad was...safe...inside him. Skeppy was now the sole protector of him. Protected by layers of flesh and diamond, no one could hurt him. Now he was beginning to understand why Bad wanted to do this so desperately. He wanted to be able to protect his best friend like this all the time, and he was certain that's how Bad felt as well.
"I think I'm ok, actually..." He said softly, gently rubbing circles against Bad's form.
Bad was quite happy about his current situation. The walls around him were very soft and, if it weren't for the layers of slime he was coated in, felt almost like a bed. He didn't have much room to move but he didn't feel like he was being suffocated. It wasn't as warm as he'd like (aka as warm as sitting in a fire) but it was warm, and that was very pleasant. He could hear the gurgles and growls of the organs surrounding him, as well as the gradually steadier heartbeat and whoosh of Skeppy's lungs as he began calming down. Loud, but not too intrusive.
The best thing about it, though, was that he hasn't felt this safe in a long, long time.
Ever since his time with The Egg he had become a very paranoid and closed off person. He was afraid of talking to the other members of the server, either out of fear that they still harbored some hatred for what he'd done, or that they would be corrupted as well. Even though he knew that The Egg was gone now it had woven itself very deep into his brain, and a small part of him still believed that one day it would erupt from the earth and devour the world with its vines.
Bad harshly shook his head. He wouldn't let thoughts about The Egg get to him. That was for Puffy’s therapy office, not for here.
Truthfully, though, he hadn't really felt safe since the day he'd stepped out of the Nether portal for the first time. Far from his family, his home. Not even being with Skeppy had made him feel as safe as he did now.
But now, he was at the very core of his best friend. Nothing could hurt him. He was safe, and he was with Skeppy, he couldn't ask for anything better.
He grinned a little to himself, giving the wall he was leaned against a little pat." I told you it wasn't as bad as you thought it'd be." He said only a little smugly.
Skeppy sighed with faux frustration." I will admit, I didn't expect it to feel...like this." He laid down on his bed, placing a hand on his stomach.
“ I guess it's not that bad." He said, rubbing small circles where he could feel Bad's form.
Bad grinned a little, beginning to rub circles with both of his hands against the walls of Skeppy's stomach.
Skeppy practically melted into his bed at that point. He'd definitely never felt anything like that before, it made him feel very warm and content.
They stayed like that for a couple more minutes but he was starting to get tired, and he knew Bad must be tired as well.
"Are you gonna be ok if I leave you in there? Will you be safe?" He questioned softly.
Bad nodded out of habit despite the fact that Skeppy couldn't see." It'll be fine, the potion’s got a long time before it wears off," he paused,"...I kinda planned for this." He said with only slight embarrassment.
Skeppy lightly chuckled, he would have to remember to tease him about that in the morning but for now he was too tired, instead just settling on giving his belly a light pat.
They both drowsily exchanged their good nights before slowly dozing off together, finally feeling safe and content at last.
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katytheinspiredworkaholic · 4 years ago
Text
WIP Wednesday Thursday
Title: Extraordinary
Pairings: HotchReid (side pairings Morcia, WillxJJ, others in flirtation)
Summary: League of Extraordinary Gentleman/Vampire AU;
Within the FBI there is a specialized team full of an elite selection of people. Unique individuals with very particular skill sets. And their job is to take the unusual cases: the ones that need to not only be solved, but are undetermined if the unsub is human, or something else entirely.
In a world filled with Vampires, non-human creatures, and subspecies unknown, there is only enough information to have them vaguely regulated. Rules that are so easily, and violently broken, all while hidden in plain sight among the unsuspecting public. Unrivaled for eons.
That’s where the BAU comes in.
Official Posting Date: Now posted on tumblr and Ao3, Click Here
Links: (Masterpost) (Snippet 01) (Snippet 02) (Snippet 03) (Snippet 04)
(TW/CW: This is pretty tame, Emily is just a little intense and eager because Spencer is... well, Spencer, and when she realizes all he can do? Oh she is chomping at the bit. Some trance-like things and witchy stuff and Hotch being territorial without being able to admit it.)
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(the story so far/what you need to know for this clip at least: this takes place in chapter 02, what you will all see on Saturday evening, and this version is insanely unpolished (I’m about to go through and fix it up and give it a good make-over) but basically this is the first time Spencer is meeting Emily Prentiss and it makes... an impression. Also, Emily has been at the BAU for about 0.2 seconds and Hotch is already done with her. The sibling energy I love to see. It’s also hella long, as an apology for missing last week and being a day late. All you’ve missed is Spencer about ran into Emily turning a corner and she saved him from spilling his case files and coffee all over the floor. Now they are talking)
.
“I apologize, I thought you were an intern or still in the academy.”
“It’s alright, everyone does,” Spencer says without taking offense. He wouldn’t have gotten where he was or lasted very long if he did; however, if he had a nickel for every time someone had been surprised by his age, he’d be as rich as Father Rossi. His full hands actually aids him as he mentions, “I don’t usually shake hands with people, so don’t think me rude. I’m Dr. Spencer Reid.” He offers her a smile in exchange, and it is mirrored on her face just as her surprise kicks up another notch. 
“Doctor, my my I am in for a trip on this team, aren’t I?” she laughs, and it’s a melodic thing that stretches over an expanse of time and history. Ballrooms in Russia and palors of France, Elizabethan and the roaring 20’s and everything in between all rolled into one. He’s not sure how he sees it, an impossible thing, but he can read it like a book and that must have something to do with what she is. “Emily Prentiss, it is a remarkable pleasure to meet you Dr. Reid. Now, I have to ask--” her tone is so charming and playful and probing he barely notices the nuance, “And I’m sure it’s taboo around here, but I have to know -- your regeneration process. Tell me what it is or what you do. You look so young.”
“I am young,” he states simply, finally stunned by a question he’s not usually asked. 
“Yes, yes, we all can’t be a thousand years old like your fearless Vampire leader,” she waves off and Spencer’s eyes widen because… he hadn’t known Hotch was that old. Sure he’d said he’d been alive for the better part of a millennia, but he always said it like a hyperbole. A turn of phrase that’s off by a couple centuries. But --
 A thousand years old. 
That would put him… 
God, that would put him alive, as a human, just before the start of The Crusades. 
“Oh, did he keep that to himself? Oops, my bad. Pretend you don’t know. Anyway -- so are you a Shifter? Or use a particular spell? Oh, or is it a curse? I’m fascinated by curses, I don’t use them often myself but the rigidity of terms using a power so chaotic is just such a fun juxtaposition that I--”
“No, no, I’m… normal, human,” Spencer interrupts her, still the smallest bit shell-shocked, but now connects a few dots himself as she speaks. Realizes very suddenly that Ms. Prentiss appears ageless because she is ageless. She’s also a Witch. One of the broadest terms for subspecies categories, which really doesn’t do it justice. A Witch could be a number of things. Someone who uses magic and science and the very Earth itself paired with the spiritual planes to do impossible things. Witches are beings so powerful they should be uncategorizable. Something Spencer is fascinated by as well. He’s never met anyone like Emily. “I look young because I am young. I’m 27, I’ve only been with the BAU for the past three years. I’m a little excited to not be the newbie on the team any more,” he tries to joke, but Emily’s gaze has gone distant and sharp all at once.
“You’re only 27? And you’re a doctor?” She asks in clarification, Spencer nodding along each time. “You’ve been a doctor, since becoming an FBI agent?” 
“Um, well -- I’m not a medical doctor. I do have three doctorates, though; in mathematics, chemistry, and engineering,” he finds himself shrinking a bit under her intensely interested gaze. “What?”
“Chemistry?” she asks, vaguely more distant.
“That was my first doctorate,” he murmurs back, not sure what has her looking so contemplative. 
“You’ve achieved all of this: three doctorates, FBI agent, BAU -- in 27 years?” she questions, a grave yet wondrous sound.
“Technically I did all of that in 15 years. I graduated high school when I was 12,” he manages to do more than mumble, and Emily’s wide-eyed stare has him spewing forth information like it requires an explanation. “I have an eidetic memory, and I can read 20,000 words a minute, and my IQ is 187 so by human standards yes -- I’m a genius, and borderline on the advanced brain developments scale. But I’m still human. Nothing paranormal or extraordinary.”
The pause that follows is palpable.
“Oh,” she says in an exhale, “Oh, you young soul. You have no idea, do you? What you are capable of...” She tilts her head as she steps closer and Spencer is very suddenly aware that he’s not sure she’s blinked since they started speaking about his qualifications. What he can do, how he got to where he is. No one usually shows this much interest, he makes them uncomfortable for reasons he doesn’t always understand. 
Emily doesn’t look uncomfortable, she looks… hungry. 
“You are so very, very extraordinary. Exceptional, really. Look at all of what you’ve accomplished with just 15 years of life.” That astonished sound again, like she can’t believe her luck--
And then she’s in his space, gaze boring into his, and Spencer can see galaxies in the depth of her eyes. His breath stolen from him and feet rooted to the floor. So he doesn’t step away as she leans just the smallest bit closer, words resonating with echoes across ages.
“Imagine what you could do with a thousand.” 
“Prentiss,” the deep voice of Hotch’s monotone (edged in something vaguely aggressive, and more than a little aggravated)  breaks through their moment. The trance fading like a fog from Spencer’s eyes. “No recruiting. It’s in your contract.”
“You have such a gift, it’s a shame to waste it,” Emily whispers in a rush as Hotch approaches them from down the hall. More earnest than intimidating, now.
“Prentiss!” 
“Think about it,” she winks, and then turns to give Hotch a smile that’s all teeth so sharp she resembles a shark. “Oh, what a sour face. What’s wrong? Were you planning on asking him first? You snooze, you lose.” 
“Conference room,” he instructs, pointing the way Spencer had just come. “Team meeting in 20 minutes. Try not to summon anything between here and there.” She sticks her tongue out at him childishly as she leaves, and sends a quirk of a smile Spencer’s direction that shifts her whole expression into something comically entertained. He’s never seen Hotch interact with someone like this, like they were… familiar, even exasperatingly so. The closest in comparison is probably Father Rossi. But this is less like old friends and more like sibling rivalry. 
The space Emily had just vacated is suddenly filled with Hotch, an overwhelmingly welcomed presence and it eases the tension out of Spencer’s spine and shoulders that he hadn’t even realized was there. 
“Are you okay?” he asks, low and quiet. They’re the only ones in the hallway, but secrecy is a hard habit to break.
Spencer nods, still gaining his bearings once more. “I think so. That didn’t feel like hypnotism. I don’t know what that was.” 
“Prentiss doesn’t manipulate minds or the wills of other people,” Hotch tells him, which is soothing if not for the foreboding question of what just occurred. “She doesn’t need to. She can do a lot of things: change her face, her voice, make illusions and talk circles around anyone -- even you.” Spencer looks up to him at that, aware that his level of intelligence is the only thing that keeps him safe from JJ or Hotch’s influence. His mind can’t be bent, or tricked.
“Then what was she doing? I felt compelled but… not against my will. What was that?” he asks, also quiet but much more high in pitch as his confusion turns his voice to a winded sound.
Hotch’s thin, stern frown does nothing to alleviate the apprehension caught up in his chest like a bad cold. 
.
“Possibility,” he states, grim and not liking that Spencer had fallen prey to such a short moment with Emily Prentiss and her promise of what her craft could do for him. Hotch is well aware that Spencer’s gift of soaking up every speck on information he’s given like a sponge isn’t something to let wither and die like so many before him. There’s so much he could do with an infinite life, such as his and Emily’s, but the curse of living forever alone is not something to be taken lightly. And not to be decided by someone who still has so much more life to live unaided by other forces.
However, Emily was right about one thing. Hotch can’t deny that he’s thought about it. More than considered it as a definite possibility. 
An offer, all his own.
Tagged list so far: @physics-magic​, @thaddeusly, @ssa-noa, @ssa-sarahsunshine, @tobias-hankel, @reidology, @mintphoenix
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