#one thing I will say: even tho this is done without color he isn’t white

[foxgloveinspace]

I’m…. Weirdly hesitant to post this one haha. But I’m kinda proud of how he turned out so…. I’ll post.

He’s is a main character from a novel I’ve been trying to write for sometime now.

[moscnios]

✸  headcanons  %  when you paint their nails.

✸    characters! . . .  jinbei, crocodile, mihawk, shanks, roger, rayleigh, oden & kaido.

✸    cw(s)! . . .  n/a. no pronouns used. not proofread.

✸    notes! . . .  i usually never THIS many characters for headcanons. but i needed my ESDs, emotional support dilfs. they’ve been on my mind.

you originally asked to paint his nails because you wanted to see what a particular color looked like. but then it actually looked really cute on him, so you kept going

your loveable cuddle teddy bear doesn’t mind at all. definitely tries his best to model it for you

is the best model. he’s so precious :((

is very proud of your work and shows them off any time anyone asks

adores when you paint his nails to match his kimonos, especially when you add little designs that match the accents/patterns. he could just smother you in kisses

he loves when you give him sea themed nails. he adores that you want to remind him of his home. no one has done anything like that for him before

you don’t know how much it really means to him

tells you no but lets you do it anyway, only one nail tho he says…until he realizes it looks kinda weird, so he lets you do the whole hand

pretends he’s not interested in the slightest and has better things to do

but in reality he’s watching you the whole time, thinking how cute you are when you’re focused

he only wants black but has broadened his horizon to red. but any other color outside of those two is “not his type”

throughout his day when he’s not with you, he’ll look at his nails and be reminded of you

the type to take offense on your behalf if someone says something about his nails and will definitely over-exaggerate the situation to the extreme for the sake of making a point so that no one ever disrespects you again

you two give each other manicures

he’s probably better than you at it. his nail art is always so precise. he should run a side business if he ever gets tired of the pirate gig

mihawk himself prefers fall colors, your reds, oranges, deep purples, and golds. you know something that looks quite nice holding a wine glass

he doesn’t mind the occasional white though. but he doesn’t think green looks good on him

mihawk takes perfect care of his nails. he is going to make your work last !!

they always look so pretty when he’s holding his sword

mihawk loves matching nails with you. even if it’s a color he doesn’t particularly think suits him well

he asks you to paint his nails. don’t ask him why, because he doesn’t know, he just wants his nails painted

is terrible at staying still, he moves every five seconds, making you mess up. takes you longer to do his one hand than both of yours😭😭

shanks loves colors that pop out, especially ones that do not match his fit at all

he wants hot pink, the brightest shade of yellow around, even neon green

he wants acrylics so bad. he just loves the sound of nail tapping. but knows they’re going to hinder him further because he doesn’t know how to open things with them and will not take the time to learn

he’s too stubborn to. he’ll chip a nail or two for a bottle of beer without regrets

roger only becomes interested when he sees you painting your nails on the deck of the oro jackson

he practically flops in front of you with one of his hands already out. roger has his feet up in the air, kicking back and forth as you paint his nails

he likes all colors. and he doesn’t particularly want his nails to be all one color. plus he likes glitter

just go ahead and give him glitter rainbow nails

roger would like to try acrylics, only because you have had them before and he liked your set. he wants the exact same set you had

of course they don’t last long because he isn’t a fan of how they feel. they are quite pretty, but not for him.

was glad he tried them out though

has had his nails painted many times before, and a few of those times he did it himself

but when you do it, it’s special. and he definitely makes the actual process difficult with his constant flirting

and the way he’s looking at you ?? he’s doing it on purpose

loves wearing your favorite color(s). loves it, even more, when his nails match your outfit

he is another supporter of matching couple nails. he’s the one who suggests it. he paints your nails, you paint his over drinks

or sometimes he’ll just paint yours and massages your hands ( among other things of course ) and let you vent about your day

has had his nails painted before back in wano. izou and kiku did it. back then he definitely hated it. with you ?? oh he loves every second of it. 

his eyes light up like christmas trees. you can without a doubt feel the love and admiration radiating off of him

he usually wants red to match his eyeliner or purple to match his nio-dasuki

after you finish his nails he likes to hold your face in his hands. it’s become a habit of his

is also not good at keeping his nails looking good. when they dry, he purposely peels off paint just so you can do it again just for an excuse for you to paint his nails again

he likes how gentle you are with him <3

he loves it :(((

it’s one of the few moments you get to see him

he loves when you paint his nails. he is as still as a rock when you’re doing your craft because he doesn’t want to mess you up

he enjoys darker colors like black, dark red, and dark purple

but he won’t pass up a cute lighter blue, only because you said it matched his dragon form scales

he’ll do any color you put on him really. who’s gonna make fun of kaido for wearing hot pink nail polish and live to see another day ??

makes little requests for designs he thinks would look nice on him. he wants gems babe. the shinier the better, he wants his nails to be seen

© MANGEKYUOU.

[morifinwes]

wangxian fic rec list!

aka in which i read fics, write some recs down for aamna and share them!! they're all wangxian fics and uhh @yibobibo i hope you'll like them!!

modern

wolf devours playboy bunny by @greenteafiend (5K, werewolf!lwj, getting together, idk if anyone needs to know that but there's nudity just not uhh explicit)

Lan Zhan has wanted Wei Ying as long as he has known him, and the worst part is that he thinks Wei Ying could want him back.

Too bad he could never in good conscience let himself go there—Wei Ying has a debilitating fear of all things canine, and once a month, Lan Zhan is the exact, precise thing that Wei Ying’s nightmares are made of.

Aka, Lan Zhan is a werewolf.

between the lines by @jywait (19K gaming au!!!, i'm always down for a good gaming au, lwj is the best aksks he's such a good boy)

☆yilingpatriarch☆: pls...give me some face, help me fight these monsters...I'm gonna die

Bluetooth: no.

"You have died." The screen said, and Wei Wuxian threw his hands up in frustration.

resonant frequencies by chinxe (15K, college au, fake dating au, tw mention of cheating but it's brief and no one was cheated on i promise)

In which Wei Wuxian decides that the best way to deal with being in love with Lan Wangji is to pretend to date him for three weeks.

It goes about as well as can be expected.

drift compatible by windoworwhatever (5K, poetry, fluff, drunkji, getting together, college au)

"It was just a fact of life. The sky was blue, university stipends for graduate students working in TA positions barely covered rent, bisexuals cuffed their jeans, Lan Wangji had a massive crush on Wei Wuxian, and spent his time pining and writing research papers about gay subtexts in ancient poetry."

OR

Lan Wangji is in love with Wei Wuxian, and everybody knows, except Wei Wuxian.

the bunny next door by detailsinthefabric (43K, this is mostly fluff and very light angst, and they were neighbors!!!, rabbits!!, aka wangxian's bunny children, this is... so cute i just have to rec it)

Lan Wangji did not know what he was doing. He did not know what he was going to say. He was frozen in place, puzzling over the situation. Maybe he had made the man uncomfortable, which is why he wanted to leave? But his tone had still been so friendly—maybe…

“Would…” he paused, swallowed, forced the last words to come out of his suddenly parched mouth, “would you let me pet him?”

-------------------------------------

Lan Wangji, who doesn't know how to socialize and whose icy demeanor scares everyone away, lets down all his defenses when he meets the bunny next door...oh, and also its owner, Wei Wuxian.

leading tone by silencemostofall (32K, everyone is a music student? or something like that akskk, curse fic, tw panic attacks, tw child abuse, small scene of drunkji, wwx has low self esteem, bro this was so painful to read)

The first time you touch someone you're fated to love, you leave a mark on their skin. If they will love you in return, they'll mark you where you touched them. The deeper the color, the deeper the connection.

Wei Ying has no marks at all.

public places, private thoughts by leahelisabeth (for the love of camelot) ( 8K, cherry magic au, getting together with like... immediate upgrade to fiance status, the author is wrong i crave good wangxian cherry magic aus even tho i haven't even watched cherry magic)

Wei Wuxian had heard the story of course. It had made its rounds through his high school and followed him into his college days. He didn’t think there was any possibility it was true. Virginity was a social construct, invented by creepy old men to exercise dominance over women. The idea that a simple lack of sexual activity before the age of thirty could give one magical powers was absolutely ludicrous.

Wei Wuxian believed this until the morning of his thirtieth birthday.

AKA the Wangxian Cherry Magic AU that absolutely nobody asked for.

i'd be all right (if i could see you) by @thirtysixsavefiles (16K, this was nice, i read this at 6am but it was cute, (while writing this post i must admit i don't remember anything but 6am-me said it's good))

The younger Lan brother is something of an enigma on campus; while Lan Xichen can sometimes be seen in the company of other graduate students or conducting a seminar, Lan Wangji appears to spend all his time in class or in the library. He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t smoke. He doesn’t attend social events. He doesn’t do anything for fun, as far as Wei Wuxian can tell, and it’s driving Wei Wuxian just a little bit up the wall.

Or, Wei Wuxian convinces Lan Wangji to come to a house party, and then they're assigned to the same group project. Wei Wuxian tries his best, but he is not in possession of all the facts.

axe on leg by itszero (4K, i still don't get why wwx did that but it was nice seeing him jealous for once, jealous!wwx, lwj i love you....)

Wei Wuxian pressed his face into his pillow and screamed. He paused to take a few deep breaths, partially hindered by the pillow, and listened to the sounds of Nie Huaisang slurping his iced coffee, from his seat on Wei Wuxian's desk chair.

Having caught his breath, he resumed his screaming and did not stop at the sound of his dorm room door opening.

"What's wrong with him?" He heard his brother, Jiang Cheng, ask.

The slurping stopped. "He's an idiot."

"He's always been an idiot. Why is he bothered about it now?"

"He forced Lan Wangji to go on a date," Nie Huaisang replied, shaking the ice cubes in his drink.

"Okay and…?"

"With someone else." The slurping resumed.

Wei Wuxian, in all his glorious dumbassery, convinces his boyfriend to go on a date with someone else.

these two most powerful by @stiltonbasket (4K, amnesia, wangxian with children!!!, aksksk this was adorable, dadji!!)

When Lan Wangji went to bed last night, he was alone in a tiny guest room with nothing but the howling of the wind in the mountains and his own lonely thoughts for company.

 

But when he opened his eyes in the morning, Wei Ying was asleep beside him.

 

(In which Lan Wangji loses twenty years' worth of memories after a night-hunt gone wrong, and his life as a doting father and husband continues without a hitch somehow.)

good things come to those who wait [but i ain't in a patient phase] by @cerlunas (4K, getting together, pining lwj)

Lan Wangji can't take it anymore.

 

“I love you”, he says, and god, it feels terrifying. “I’ve been in love with you for a long time.”

“Lan Zhan…” Wei Wuxian starts, but Lan Wangji doesn’t want to hear it.

He grabs his cup and drinks everything. He doesn’t know what face Wei Wuxian is making at him right now, and it’s okay. 

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian repeats louder, but it’s too late. He is already falling asleep.

Or, even after 13 years, Lan Wangji is still in love with his best friend. Maybe it's time to open up.

wei ying, will you marry m- oh my god he swallowed the ring! by selene210 (2K, marriage proposals, crack, marriage proposals but.. they go wrong)

“A ring?”

And indeed it was. The ring Lan Wangji was going to propose to Wei Ying with. That the man had now choked on.

“You swallowed it.”

“It was in my soufflé! Why did you put a ring in my soufflé Lan Zhan- oh. oh”

of glittery valentine's cards by @soft-fics (3K, valentine's day, this was adorable aksk, a-yuan best boy!!)

Lan Zhan didn't want to know what his best friend had planned for Valentine's Day; his heart would simply not be able to handle it. When his son tells him that he made Wei Ying a Valentine's Day card, though, Lan Zhan decided to bring it over anyway.

of coffee and white tea by @soft-fics (9K, fluff, lwj doesn't like coffee, wwx buys him coffee, then they switch drinks, again and again and again, the staff ships it lmao, tbh jc shouldn't have done that like wtf)

For the fourth time this week a stranger orders him a cup of coffee. Lan Wangji wonders how exactly to tell this man to stop ordering him coffee he doesn't even like. Turns out, buying the other white tea and switching drinks is not the best way to go about it

canon setting

on the importance of restraint (or lack thereof) by nixthothou (4K, in which sizhui snaps, i love that boy, no like seriously he's the best boy)

Lan Sizhui does not usually find himself in the company of Sect Leader Jiang.

Suffice to say, Lan Sizhui's feelings toward him are conflicted.

lan wangji is wei wuxian's baby by lilycs (3K, i was craving fluff while reading this, lwj my beloved, drunk!lwj)

Lan Wangji gets drunk from barely a cup of alcohol, becoming a whiny baby and asking his husband for cuddles.

one of our own by glitteringmoonlight (8K, wei wuxian & lan sect, 5+1 things, in which they learn to love him, they're all part of the wwx protection squad lead by lwj, wangxian isn't the focus but !!! THIS)

Times change, but some people remain the same.

The Lans are nothing, if not aware of this.

For one of their own, they will stand against the world.

Or, 5 times the Lans defended Wei Wuxian, and the 1 time he was there to see it happen.

so why not crack your skull when the mind swells by @greenteafiend (13K, love curse, post cql canon, curses, getting together, fluff, so much fluff, lwj tries to talk about his emotions!, lwj pov)

Lan Wangji detects the curse trying to curl through his heart meridians like smoke. A love curse, then. It must have been cast remotely somehow to have found him in his bed in Cloud Recesses. No matter. Lan Wangji crushes it easily, enveloping it in his spiritual energy, and then squeezing. Curse averted, Lan Wangji closes his eyes and goes back to sleep. He thinks no more of it.

Two days later, Wei Wuxian arrives in Cloud Recesses.

Or, Wei Wuxian is cursed to feel terrible pain when he and Lan Wangji aren’t touching.

i started from the bottom / now i'm rich by x_los (57K, time travel, fix it, jealous lwj, crack treated serious, god this is so good tho, wwx/wrh & wwx/jgs but like as a joke and it doesn't really happen, but it has its purpose!!)

“First, you get the money. Then you get the power, respect - hos come last.”

 

Wen Qing traps Wei Wuxian in the Demon Slaughtering Cave, but Wei Wuxian isn’t interested in being the beneficiary of the Wen Remnants’ noble sacrifice. His efforts to free himself accidentally send him back to the beginning of the Sunshot Campaign. Coreless but armed with demonic cultivation, knowledge of the future and his wits, Wei Wuxian takes advantage of this opportunity to come out on top of both the war and its aftermath—before either has a chance to happen—by marrying and swiftly burying the cultivation world’s worst men.

Lan Wangji is confused, hurt, and uncomfortably aroused by Wei Wuxian’s improbably elaborate series of Sect-themed bridal negligees.

lead me on through by mrsronweasley (55K, they're in love your honor, arranged marriage but they don't know to whom, basically wwx & lwj want to practice kissing which then goes beyond kissing but not the whole way y'know, lxc the best wingman tho)

"Who do you think your betrothed is?" Wei Wuxian asks, sprawling out in front of Lan Zhan and enjoying the prim thinning of his lips at the question. He shouldn't be sprawling—they're in the library, for one, and Lan Zhan is studying, for another—but he can't help himself. Wei Wuxian is a sprawler.

"I do not believe this to be of importance," Lan Zhan responds, without turning his gaze away from his book.

"What!" Wei Wuxian sits up. "How can you say that? Of course it's important! This is the person you'll be with for the rest of your life, Lan Zhan."

[mikalara-dracula]

Rainy days with their s/o

ft. Yuma and Subaru

Warning: 18+ content below; don't read if you're a minor.

Yuma:

Well, since he can’t garden that day, he’s quite bored and out of ideas as to what to do.

He’d be kinda grumpy about it, especially if he was planning to plant something new that day.

“Man, out of all days it has to rain today.”

“You say that every time it rains. It’s mother nature’s way of doing things. You can’t change it.”

“Tch! What does she know?!”

He’d eventually get over the fact that he can’t garden and would sit down and watch a little TV with you, however, he’s always judging everything that’s on.

For example, if a movie or show is on and he doesn’t really like it, he’ll criticize the characters he finds stupid.

“That guy’s an idiot. That’s not how you get a girl.”

“Oh, and I suppose you know?”

“How do you think I got you, little pig.” He’d grin, making you hit him playfully.

On days like this, he tends to get clingy because he has nothing else to do.

Basically, without his garden he’s lost on what to do and will constantly tease and bother you throughout the day.

For example, since it’s rainy outside, you figured you’d make yourself a nice hot chocolate since it corresponded well with the weather.

However, as you were drinking it in the kitchen, he came in and decided to bother you about what you were doing.

“What are you drinking, little pig?”

“A hot chocolate.” You’d smile.

“Oh good, maybe you’ll gain a little and it’ll go where I want it most.” He’d grin while reaching behind to clutch your ass xDD.

“Yuma! Is that all you care about?!”

“Hey, this little pig’s ass belongs to me, so I get to decide how big I want it.”

If you two are cuddling on the couch, he absolutely refuses to let you go. He literally treats you as if you’re his body pillow.

“Yuma, let me go.”

“Fight your way out of it, little pig.” He’d grin, finding your struggle funny.

Since there isn’t much to do on days like this, he might allow you to style his hair any way you want and might even do yours.

Believe it or not, he's an expert at braiding. His favorite style is a fishtail braid and he thinks it looks beautiful on you.

His talent for braiding is so versed that even his brothers might comment as to how pretty it looks on you.

"It looks so . . . nice, Y/N." Azusa would comment.

"Wow little maso-kitty, it looks great on you. Did Yuma do that?" Kou would add.

"As expected, Yuma's known for such styles. You display it well." Ruki would admit.

“Yeah, only the best for my little pig.” Yuma would smirk, a subtle boast in his tone, causing you to blush at his statement.

He likes giving you piggy back rides throughout the house, but he’ll pretend to drop you just to scare you because he’s an asshole.

With all this boredom, Yuma might even get into asking you a few dirty riddles.

"Hey little pig, what's six inches long, goes in your mouth and is more fun if it vibrates?"

"Yuma!"

"Damn, little pig, I didn't know you could be so dirty-minded. I'm just talking about a toothbrush."

"Well it certainly didn't sound that way."

"My god! How could you think such a thing?” He said, acting oh-so innocent, a smirk soon appearing on his face, showing his true colors. “Oh, I get it, you wanted it to be something else."

“What are you-,”

“C’mere, little pig.” He’d say, tackling and pinning you to a nearby couch, starting to tickle you.

"No! Stop!'' You'd squeal, Yuma still continuing to tickle you as you laughed beneath him.

At one point he might grow fed up with the rain and decide to go outside anyways.

"Y’know what, this is stupid. C'mon, little pig. We're not gonna let a little rain tell us what to do." He’d say, taking you by your wrist and dragging you behind him.

"Yuma, wai-,"

He’d continue running and drag you outside in the pouring rain, making you get soaking wet as he picks you up into his arms and spins you around, his lips melding onto yours as he’d hungrily kiss you. He’d soon pull away and put you down, a scowl on your face due to him getting you drenched in mother nature’s tears.

“Yuma! You got me all wet!”

"Damn, I tried to make this romantic and you're complaining about getting wet?"

You’d sigh, “Getting romantic doesn’t mean getting wet!”

“Oh really?” He’d smirk. “Then how come my little pig gets wet every time I-,”

“Shut up!” You’d say, hitting him playfully, causing him to laugh.

Subaru:

Doesn’t care if it’s rainy or not since he doesn’t really go out.

However, if it’s raining at night time and he wants to go in the rose garden, he might be a little irritated about it.

And since he doesn’t have any hobbies, this is a little hard on him.

Plus, since he’s a tsundere, he'll act pretty annoyed in general, even going down to being a total ass.

Compared to Yuma, he gets clingy in a different way--that is, he secretly hopes that you’ll spend time with him since he can’t go out to the garden.

If you’re busy doing your own stuff tho, he’ll attempt to get involved but will act like he’s disinterested in doing so.

But it’s not like you mind him getting involved--that is, if he’s being genuine.

For example, you were once sitting down at the table working on your homework late at night, finishing up the last thing for your assignment when he walked in and came up behind you.

He placed his head in the crook of your neck, being curious about what you were doing as his gaze traveled to the assignment you were working on.

“What are you doing?”

“Homework.” You’d answer.

“Tch! What a pain.”

“It’s not so bad, I’m almost done.”

“Why don’t you just take a break?”

“Subaru, there’s really no point since I’m close to finishing.” You’d say going back to your work, but of course, the white-haired vampire had to persist.

He lifted up his face from the crook of your neck and took notice of your exposed bra strap. A smirk grew on his face and being the tease that he is, he’d take his fingers and use them to pull on it and have smack against your skin just to annoy you and throw you off guard.

“What the hell?”

“It’s not my fault it was right there, you should hide it better next time.” He’d smirk.

If the atmosphere is quiet and he sees you’re busy but doesn’t want to bother you, he’ll just watch what you’re doing whilst you’re busy working and shuffling around doing your stuff. With watching the way your body moves and the look of concentration on your face, it builds up a lot of sexual tension as he'd stand by with his arms crossed in hopes that something intimate happens or is initiated.

Oh the things this bby car imagines xDD.

He’ll also try to get involved in other things you’d be doing as well, such as crafts.

After finishing your homework, you decided to do something a bit more productive, so you decided to go work on a painting you had been working on. You’d get pretty focused and concentrated, that is until Subaru came up behind you and decided to intervene.

“What are you up to now?”

“Painting.”

“Tch! Lame.”

He’d just continue to stand there, his figure still looming over yours. An idea soon hit you. You knew he was bored, so you decided to make painting time a little more fun.

Turning to him, you’d ask, “Hey, why don’t you help.”

“Huh?”

“Help me with the painting.”

“Do I look like Picasso to you?” He’d sarcastically remark.

“Subaru, it doesn’t matter what it looks like in the end. What matters is the fun you have when painting.”

“Tch! That’s stupid.” He’d retort.

“Alright, then. Suit yourself.”

Since he didn’t want to, you turned around and began painting again.

Deep down, Subaru secretly found your offer to be sweet since he really didn’t mind helping and wanted to spend time with you, but because he has a hard time expressing his emotions through his tough exterior, it always came off as if he didn’t care.

The white-haired vampire sighed, feeling torn between the feeling of wanting to do something memorable with you versus him getting caught doing something crafty by one of his brothers, but because you were more important, he decided to help.

“Alright, where do you want me to begin?” He’d say picking up a brush and sitting down next to you.

Taken back by his sudden decision, you’d say. “Oh, um, you can start over here.” You’d say, pointing to a blank space on the canvas. “Just paint it blue for now and then I’ll tell you what to do from there.”

He said nothing and began to do what you asked him, both of you working hard on the masterpiece.

While working, you’d occasionally sneak a few glances at him, seeing how his progress was going.

You honestly had to admit how attractive Subaru looked when he was concentrated on something, the way his eyes angled themselves as they narrowed in on the area he was working on, a few stray locks being in his face, his lips being ajar and lurid in the lighting as he continued to work.

To be honest, you definitely had to ask him to paint more often with you.

He definitely looked busy, an idea striking you again but in a more playful aspect. Since he looked so concentrated, you dipped your finger into the paint and smeared some on his cheek.

“Hey! What the hell?!”

You honestly couldn’t help but laugh, leading him to grin, “Oh, you think that’s funny? Then how about this?”

He’d be quick to dip multiple fingers in the paint and smear it all over your face. Accepting his challenge, you were quick to dip your hand in paint and smear it all over his face as payback, but this was far from over.

This ended up becoming an entire paint war, you and Subaru’s laughter echoing as you chased each other about the room and continued to smear and splatter paint on each other, both of you becoming a colored mess as the walls became vandalized in the process.

“I’m gonna get you, Y/N. You’re gonna look like a rainbow by the time this is over.” He’d grin, his hand fully loaded with paint being ready to rub it on you.

“Catch me if you can!” You’d tease sticking your tongue out, whilst running away from him.

It was all fun and games however, until Reiji came in and saw the mess, leading him to scold you two.

“What is the meaning of this?”

You both would be quick to blame it on each other as you’d talk over each other in unison, but Reiji didn’t care to hear excuses.

“Please see to it that this is cleaned up, otherwise I’ll have to discipline the two of you thoroughly.” He’d say, quickly taking his leave as you both laughed about what happened, soon cleaning it up together.

On rainy nights, he might show a bit of a soft side.

However, bear in mind that he will be quick to lean back into his tsundere side if he thinks the moment is getting too soft.

Likes to lay in his coffin with you if you both want to relax. He’ll act annoyed the entire time due to him being a tsundere, but secretly, he loves the fact that you’re next to him.

Likes to have you sit in his lap, while you’re reading, having a blanket draped over the both of you, whilst he’d rest his face in the crook of your neck. He honestly loves being so close to you, but he’d never admit it.

Here, he might take the opportunity to either place a soft kiss on your neck or bite your shoulder if he’s feeling thirsty.

He likes to cuddle and lay on top of you, but won't let you leave to do anything else because he's so clingy.

"Subaru, let me go."

"Not a chance."

When he’s not being soft, you two are bound to bicker about the stupidest things--like heights, for example, leading him to become a total mess.

"You're not taller than me, Y/N. We've been over this."

"Oh no?" You’d sass, stepping onto his coffin, being slightly taller than him now. "How about now?"

He scoffed, a grin appearing on his face as he’d playfully grab you and pin you onto a nearby wall, giving you the greediest and lustful kisses as you both kept laughing in unison.

Might let you style his hair, such as putting it up into a ponytail or style it in some other way.

You once put bows in his hair and he was so annoyed by it at first, but he eventually started to find it funny and began laughing with you, but that was all until Laito came in and took a picture of him with his new style.

“Fufu~, love the new look, Subaru. I’ve gotta say it suits you.”

“Why you!” He’d hiss, quickly running after him to make him delete the photo and beat the living crap out of him for doing that and seeing him in such a state.

On rainy nights, be prepared for a lot of fun and games because apart from paint wars, Subaru can take things to a whole new level.

Since it was raining and you couldn’t go anywhere, you decided to try out a new makeup style.

And of course, he’d have to get into your business and tell you he finds it stupid.

"Tch! Why do girls even wear that shit?!"

"Oh shut up, you boys like it. Don't lie.”

“Whatever.” He’d retort, saying nothing else.

You sighed knowing he was bored, so you asked the unthinkable once again to help him cope with not being able to go out because of the rain.

“Do you want help?”

“Help? With what?”

“With this new makeup style.”

“Tch! Seriously?”

“All you have to do is add the eyeshadow and lipstick. I’m not asking you to do anything crazy.”

Sighing and knowing it was better than doing nothing, he’d say, “Fine.”

He’d turn you to him so he could have better access to your face to apply the makeup.

“Just don't make me look like a clown.” You’d warn closing your eyes, allowing Subaru to put on the eyeshadow.

This is when he was struck with a mischievous idea, an infamous smirk twisting on his lips as he applied the makeup to your face.

And after what seemed like quite some time, he finally finished.

“Okay, it’s done.”

You’d sigh, “Finally, I can’t wait to see it. I’m sure it looks amazing.”

“You bet it does.” He’d mutter under his breath, it not being loud enough for you to hear.

Opening your eyes, you looked at your reflection in the mirror and screamed. The makeup looked so bad, maybe worse than a clown.

"Subaru!"

“Ha! What a face!” He’d scoff.

“Ass!” You’d hiss, chasing him around the room as he’d laugh.

Now because you couldn’t let him get away with what he did, as payback you decided to draw a mustache on him while he was sleeping.

When he woke up and saw his reflection in the mirror he grew shocked, and instantly knew it was you who had done it.

(Ik vampires typically can’t see their reflection in a mirror, but I’m not sure about DL here, but let’s just assume that he can considering it hasn’t been mentioned (maybe I’m wrong here??); and also because Reiji implied that some human-made vulnerabilities don’t apply to them, so this might not).

“Y/N!”

“Payback's a bitch isn't it?” You’d giggle, standing a few feet away from him.

“Now, you're gonna get it!” He’d say, chasing you around to no end, only leaving you to laugh as he kept running after you.

[melo-yello]

✨Self-Care Day✨w/ 💥🪨KiriBaku HeadCanons💥🪨

Off Day

💥🪨 You’re hanging upside down on the couch in your shared apartment with a boyfriend on either side of you. Kiri’s hand in yours while Baku’s had one hand on your thigh and the other scrolling on his phone as some cartoon drones on the tv

💥🪨 This is not how you envisioned your first free weekend into the last two weeks going



💥🪨 You sigh loudly before poking out your bottom lip “Suki? Eiji? I’m bored.” you pout dramatically as you throw a hand onto your forehead before you continue “Can we do a self-care day?”

💥🪨 Baku just grunts in affirmation as he stretches before standing. Kiri just smiles “Of course, Pebble. Whatever you want.”

💥🪨 You pop up pecking both guys on the cheek as you bounce off to the kitchen with Kiri’s hand still in yours “Thanks you two are the best!I’ll make tea!!!”

💥🪨 “And don’t you forget it!” Bakugou smiles popping your soft ass as he follows behind most likely to micromanage

💥🪨 You three chat about your week not having much time outside of courses to really talk. Between studying, training, and hero work you guys just didn’t have a lot going of free time.

💥🪨Per usual you and Kiri really carry the conversation Baku only chiming in ever so often to offer up things that he hates

💥🪨 You pop up remembering one of for favorite parts of a good ole fashioned treat yo self day. The cute headbands for you and Kiri to push your hair out of your faces. You return with a pink bunny one, a brown Teddy Bear one, and a plain black headband. Baku takes the black and Kiri takes the bunny.

💥🪨 “How do I look, Peb?” Kiri smirks flexing to show his broad ass built ass frame after putting on his bunny headband. “Ridiculous.” “-ly Hawt!” You laugh correcting Baku

💥🪨 You film in absolute awe as your Manly bf’s pierce Suki’s ear with ease after the off handed joke you made sipping tea. Cue Baku voguing it up with pride and a freshly pierced ear. Bakugou is slightly leaner and a couple inches shorter but just as toned

💥🪨 “Suki, Eiji, you are too manly!” You hype your man up as you post the video to your IG story

💥🪨 It’s your turn now!! Kiri easily pierces your ears with a red stud in your right and an orange in your left. Adding a second set of holes right above your first ones

💥🪨 Next comes high quality and novelty animal face masks Bakugou buys online to compliment his vigorous skin care routine. It rivals half of the YouTube Beauty community’s

💥🪨 Niether of you have any idea of where he buys them or where he hides them for that matter. He stores them away so you guys can’t steal them when he’s not around. Bakugou allows you and Kiri to use his masks on special occasions tho

💥🪨 “Mr. and Mrs. Dumbass.” He smirks handing you a frog and Kiri a tiger. Earning him a playful jab from you and “A Thanks, Babe.” from the red head

💥🪨 You suggest nail 💅🏾 polish next and Kiri is automatically on board. “Oooooo can you make them Red, Babygirl? Because they’d be so manly!” Kiri beams bouncing up and down. Baku will only allow his middle fingers painted. “I want white with bombs or just F U. Whichever is easier for you, Teddy Bear.” Bakugou nods scrunching up his nose from behind his own red panda face mask.

💥🪨 Kirishima’s nails are a simple sparkly red that say 🤍BITE MANLY in white while Bakugou’s middle fingers are white with black bombs with an orange F U on each one respectively

💥🪨 After you peel off your masks, you and Kirishima squeal in nearly perfect sync “Oooooooooooo! Sooooo Soft! Aren’t we hawt, Bakubro! Seeeeeeeeeee!” Both of you placing his hand on your faces

💥🪨Bakugou will just roll his red eyes into the back of his head as you two wrap him in a tight embrace “I’ve told you idiots a thousand times the importance of regular skin care with quality products.” He shrugs nonchalantly even thought he loves when you two are touchie with him. He hates to admit it

💥🪨 As you begin to search you nail kit for your preferred color, Kiri grabs your hand and presses it to his cheek “Can we do yours, Pebble?” He pouts. Bakugou follows suit grabbing your other hand “Pretty please, Teddy?” He whines firmly pressing your hand to his heart.

💥🪨 You buckle so fast it’s not even funny. “Bbbbbbbut...😤😖😞fine.” You concede

💥🪨These two really know how to put on the charm. Especially if Bakugou Kasuki is calling you Teddy instead of Dumbass.

💥🪨 “Great! Y/n, pick out a show to watch before we start.” Baku barks handing you the remote. “Why?” You question snatching it and putting on Criminal Minds. Simply thrilled you were getting to pick (Typically there were mini competitions for such a privilege)

💥🪨 “You’re judging, Bighead. You can’t look til we’re done.” Kiri hums thoughtfully trying to pick a good color combination. Baku already had his colors hidden in his lap before scouting so his hip was against yours sure to obscure your view of your own hand from you.

💥🪨 “Yea, no bias. When I win it’ll because I’m the best! Isn’t that right, Shitty Hair!” The ash blonde smiles cockily at the red head across from him. “In your fucking dreams, Spark plug!” Kiri spits backs just taking all the colors and copying Bakugou’s positioning

💥🪨 “If either of you fuckers, get those polishes on my favorite jeans there’ll be hell to pay.” You warn with a sinister tone to rival even Katsuki’s and the widest smile. The boys shiver at the seriousness behind your smile. Your threat is far from empty

💥🪨 You pretty much figured your nails would probably look terrible with each of your vividly different boyfriends competing with each other. “What do you, dorks, even get for winning?” You muse leaning into Kiri’s broad ass shoulder

💥🪨 “The next date plans and solo cuddles with Teddy Bear for the rest of the night seems fair to me. Huh, Eijirou?” Baku looks up from his work with a self assured grin blowing one of your nails. Vermilion irises float from you to Kiri.

💥🪨 Knowing damn well niether of them could keep you their hands off you. “Deal.” Kiri nods without giving Baku the satisfaction of meeting his gaze.

💥🪨 “Oh and I get shitly painted nails.” You sigh rolling your eyes. You’d be lying if you didn’t find it kinda hawt when they got like this

💥🪨 “There.” Halfway through the 2nd episode Kiri says and finally caps his last polish. Blowing gently across the surface of your nails.

💥🪨 By this time Baku has placed your arm on his lower back and his head in your lap. A firm grip on your wrist so you couldn’t checkout his work until Kiri finished. Your fingers make light circles there despite being held hostage. “Bout time, slow poke.” Baku huffs releasing your arm as you brought both hands side by side.

💥🪨 They had somehow managed to pick colors that didn’t totally clash. Kiri’s hand were mix match rose gold and pink with the teeniest (not to mention even) little white hearts in the middle of each nail.

💥🪨 Baku’s hand was very simple and clean. Black French tips with one red to orange nail with a black X on top as an accent.

💥🪨 You weren’t expecting anything this good. You could barely speak. You hadn’t been this lost for words since they had asked you out. You sniffle a lil bit. Your eyes glass up a little too.

💥🪨 God your partners are so great sometimes. The fact that they genuinely gave a fuck still manages to catch you off guard at times. After so many terrible relationships, effort, in and of itself, is kinda baffling

💥🪨 “Damn Pebs, it’s not that bad if you squint.” Kiri laughs nervously squeezing your shoulders. “Woah there, Teddy Bear, I’ll get the remover.” Baku stands ruffling your curls before you grab his wrist stopping him in his tracks.

💥🪨 “Suki. Eiji. Don’t be mad but I can’t pick! You guys both did really good! Fuck! I couldn’t ask for better lovers. You assholes are so much better than I deserve!” You gush before hiding your face in your hands. A little ashamed you let your boyfriends doing something as simple as your nails make you emotional.

💥🪨 “But Baby you deserve the world.” Kirishima immediately scoops you into a bear hug as he stands spinning you with ease and peppering you in kisses. Kiri places you back down even more gently than picked you up

💥🪨 “Princess, you’re a bad bitch! Don’t you dare forget it!” The shorter ash blonde says unwaveringly lifting your chin so you’d meet his eyes. He softly bops your forehead before kissing it and both cheeks. He pulls you close right as he yanks you up to straddle his waist

💥🪨 “Eijirou, I think our Babygirl needs a reminder of who she is and who she’s with.” His already deep ruby eyes darken lustfully. With no hesitation Kiri is right behind you in seconds

💥🪨 “I know just thing to jog our Pebble’s memory, Katsuki.” He whispers licking the side of your neck just as moves to capture Katsuki’s lips with his own

💥🪨 “Promise?” You moan softly lacing fingers into Kiri’s loose kitchens and trailing a cool hand across Baku’s abdomen stopping only at his joggers waist band

💥🪨 With that the three head to the bed room for some much needed group physical therapy

[impossiblelibrary]

Today's rant brought to you by: Queer Eye Japan, can we all just try to be as kind as they try to be?

After watching the Queer Eye Japan super short season, I wanted to google to see the overall reaction to the show, make sure that my western eyes were correct in seeing the care that was given to the culture. Were cultural taboos, other than being outwardly gay, crossed? So I find this article in the top results and other than the perspective, why tho? Tokyoesque.com had an article with a higher reading level, with surface level appreciation but at least better written.

I can't get over this hate article though. Unfounded, dumb, wrong and incorrect. Do not go forward unless you like that blistering kind of anger from me.

But the reasons just get weaker as the article extends: "Hurts the country it set out to save?" Looking for white savior much? They did not go to save Japan, they gave some free shit to like 4-5 people, think smaller.

Their culture guide wasn't gay enough.

You want to suggest any lgbt insta models or celebrities, use your platform to raises some up?

"There is a growing sexless culture in Japan for married and unmarried people, and it is perilous watching Queer Eye present this without any context behind what is driving this behavior."

Sexiness is what the fab 5 embrace, unfortunately and it was probably discussed behind the scenes of how much talking about sex was allowed or polite and the conversation of not having sex is closer to the tip of the tongue rather than the feeling of sexiness. The West is not the ones blasting that information. It is across multiple Japanese printed newspapers and online stories by now and the "context" is still being discussed and debated amongst Japanese. So I don't think any outsiders should be weighing in or "explaining" this phenomenon. We can repeat what we have been told but guessing at the reasons is not our place. The reasons illustrated by the author of the article seem lacking, a take but not the only one, but who am I to speak on that being in a sexual relationship with someone who pulls from that culture?

Kiko begins to lecture Yoko-san on how she “threw away her womanhood” (referring to a Japanese idiom, onna wo suteru) by going makeup-free and wearing drab, shapeless clothes.

The mistranslation by the subtitles fixed by this author was necessary information. But Kiko didn't lecture her on it, it was brought up by Yoko before any of them arrived, that was her theme, that was what she had decided to focus on. Meanwhile, if you watched Jonathan, he understood there was no time to spend on makeup and skincare so provided her a one instrument, 3 points of color on the skin to feel prettier. That and the entire episode being the 5 treating her like a woman on a date, not trying to hook her up, which is what they did in American eps.

"In teaching a Japanese woman, who already struggles to find time for herself, how to make an English recipe, Antoni is making great TV and nothing more."

So Antoni shouldn't have taught her apple pie because it's too exotic for a Japanese woman. (Can you smell the sexism?)

He didn't make an apple pie, altho Yoko did mention her mother made that for her when she was a kid. He made an apple tartine after going to a Japanese bakery who makes that all the time. Then highlighted the apples came from Fuji in true Japanese media fashion. Honey, American television doesn't usually highlight where the ingredients come from. A Japanese producer told him to do that. So all worries handled within the same ep. She got Japanese ingredients, had the recipe shown to her and then made it for her friends in her own house. Did the author actually watch this show or nah?

"beaten over the head with his western self-help logic. “You have to live for yourself,” he says."

The style of build up the 5 went for was confrontational but in a "I'm fighting for you" way. It's hard to describe, but the best I can say is, a person has multiple voices in their head, from parents, siblings, society, and maybe themselves. By being loud and obnoxious, American staples right there, they are adding one more voice. You deserve this, you are amazing, you are worth it. I know this is against most Japanese cultural modesty, but maybe it shouldn't be.

Sarcasm lies ahead:

Apparently: mispronunciation is microaggressions, not just someone who had a sucky school system. Yea okay, They're laughing at the language not at how stumbling these monolinguals are with visiting another country. Mmhm. Japanese don't say I love you and don't touch and that should stay that way instead of maybe, once in awhile, feeling like they can hug. Yeah, let's just ignore Yoko's break down that she had never hugged her lifelong friend after hugging strangers multiple times. Maid cafes are never sexualized in Japan ever, just don't go down that one street in Akihabara where the men are led off by the hand sheepishly blushing. Gag me. And Japanese men love to cry in front of their wives and would never break down once the wife leaves. I have never seen a Japanese movie showcase that move. Grr.

"I identify as many cultures."

So you're a Japanese man when it's convenient for you to get an article published? Are you nationally Japanese or just ethnically or culturally?

Homeland is an inherently racist word?

"After the Bush administration created the Department of Homeland Security after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a Republican consultant and speechwriter Peggy Noonan urged, “the name Homeland Security grates on a lot of people, understandably. Homeland isn’t really an American word, it’s not something we used to say or say now.”

Yes, let's use a Washington Post article rather than a etymology professor. Yes, the google search results increased after 2001 Homeland Security was used but the word has been around since the 1660s and I've read multiple turn of the century lit on white people returning to their homeland, i.e. the town off the coast they were born in.

"But" is not disagreeing. I think the repeated offender for the author is the not acknowledging the makeover-ees feelings. But, that is how LGBT have decided to deal with the inner voices that invade from society. They are just that, not our own, they are the influence of society, and we can choose, we have to choose, to be influenced by someone, anyone else.

Karamo can't speak about being black when an Asian is speaking about being Asian, even though the Asian gay man was feeling alone. It's called relating bitches, and I'm done with people saying that is redirecting the conversation, it's extending the conversation. That's how we talk, the spotlight is shared, especially when someone's about to cry and doesn't want to be seen as crying, time to turn the spotlight.

The gay monk wasn't good enough, you should have invited the gay politician.

Yeah, causes I'm sure a politician has all the time in the world for a quick stint and cry. They picked a Japanese monk who travels to NY because they had a guest who travels to the West too. Did you want him to stop traveling back and forth? Did you want a pure, ethnic and cultural Japanese gay man who has no ties to the west to talk to this Western educated young man? Seriously?

This is just not how it works in Japan.

Being in a multi-cultural marriage between two rebels, discussions on facets of culture are plenty in my household. Culture should be respected enough to be considered but not held on a pedestal like we should never adjust or throw some things out. LGBT being quiet and private for instance. "Being seen" was Jonathan's advice, and a good one especially for a Japanese gay man that was called feminine since he was a kid. Some gay men can hide, but as Jonathan said, he couldn't hide what he was, he couldn't hide this. So fuck it. Don't hide. It's actually more dangerous for a feminine man to come off as anxious rather than gay and proud. It makes you more of a target if they think you won't fight back. Proud means, Imma throw hands too, bitch.

This is also from the civil rights playbook going back to Black America: never hold a protest or a fight without the cameras, without being seen. LGBT have found the more seen they are, in media, in the streets, the better off we are. When LGBT Americans were being "private" about our lifestyles, we died, a la 1980s. They won't care if you start dying off if they never saw you to begin with.

And hence why I think the author's real anger is from these 5 being seen dancing flamboyantly in Shibuya, in Harajuku, afforded the privilege of doing this safely because of their tourist status, cameras and very low violence rate in Tokyo, loud and obnoxiously. Honestly, they wouldn't have been invited or nominated if they didn't want that brash American-ness coming into their home, just for a taste, at least.

Here's my real anger, my own jealousy: Japan's queer community currently does not have marriage or adoption rights. US does, so we have progressed further. But we are also not that many years from being tied to cow fences with barbed wire, beaten with baseball bats and left for dead overnight. If things are so bad over there, maybe take a few pages from the civil right playbook we took so much time to perfect and produced by the Black Americans who fought first. But so far, I only hear loss of jobs and marriages, which we still have here too. Stop trying to divide us, we are one community, LGBT around the world and we are here to try to help. Take it or leave it, it's not like we're going to go organize your own Pride parade for you.

Rant over? I guess. Is this important enough to be put in the google results along with his. Hell no, anyone with half a mind can see he's reaching more than half the time. And any argument about: this wasn't covered! There are a shit ton of conversations that are not covered in the 45 min they have. They are not a civil rights show, it's a makeover show, doing their best in that direction anyway. Know what it is.

Next blog post, what research I would guess was happening behind the scenes for each of the 5? I'm pretty sure I saw Jonathan doing Japanese style makeup there...

[jiikyu]

Taste of Marigolds In Bloom

Herb of the Sun — Or Marigold was often used during the Middle Ages as a love charm. Carrying one of these brightly colored flowers was thought to bring love. Though be warned for they are also poisonous. Chapter V. It’s becoming painfully clear you find comfort in the wrong things. Like the smell of the ocean. A smile that’s far too blinding. In the way calloused hands always seem to find their way back to you. Despite everything — Can you really be blamed for falling? ∘◦ ✿ ◦∘ All characters are 18+ Yandere!Mirio x Fem!Reader(AΩβ) Y/N = Your Name F/N = Your Full Name E/C = Eye Color H/C = Hair Color Warnings: Yandere / Unhealthy Behavior / Delusions / Angst / Possessiveness / Manipulation / Breaking & Entering, tho we don’t really elaborate on it this chapter? First Chapter Here❦ Previous Chapter Here❦ Next Chapter In Progress... Taglist. @missyredbean @yandere-romanticism

∘◦ ✿ ◦∘ You’re fading or — At least that’s what you’re starting to suspect. Time seemingly has escaped you. Who knows how much time has passed with you holding of the bathrooms door handle. The metal resting loosely against your skin is now warm from the shared contact and it’s beyond disappointing because — It’s the farthest you’ve been able to will yourself. Motionless you find yourself stuck at standstill. You hate it. You hate the invisible thing stopping you from opening the door, like you would have if it were any other day. It’s not the dry clothes that stick uncomfortably to your skin or the wet droplets coldly clinging to you. Something familiar yet foreign. Settled in the pit of your being, it claws and begs you not to abandon the shelter these thin walls provide. You know what’s taken hold of you and god, does that make it so much worse. You just want it gone. But, how do you kill fear? There is no reason for your hands to be clammy or for the hairs on the back of your neck to stand raised. All you’re doing is making the situation worse, for yourself and — For Mirio. He’s probably worried. Plus, it’s not like you can stay locked away forever. Right? Only when you’re able finally gulp down the passing mania and turn the handle do you realize that you’re alone. Light pours from behind you, spilling into the empty hall. Your E/C eyes take a moment to adjust but it’s clear that Mirio is nowhere in sight. How long had it been? The stillness is broken by the familiar ding of your microwave from the kitchen. “Just in time Y/N!” And just like that the shame eating away at you disappears as quickly as it appeared, lulled into submission by the voice calling out to you. It should probably frighten you. How fast your troubles seem to melt away with the sound of his voice. Leaving the bathroom you forget the jacket still hanging from the tubs edge. Your footsteps are muffled by the carpet underneath, it’s then that you notice the sweet scent dusting the air. You follow the faintest hints of sugar and — milk? Rounding the corner you spot the familiar silhouette standing under fluorescent white light. And it’s hard to miss just how comfortable he appears to be in your kitchen. The jug of milk has been removed from the fridge, garnished with paper towels littering the back counter and a lone spoon sitting forgotten... Oh and one of the cupboard doors has been left hanging wide open. You’re really not sure what he’s done to cause such chaos. The last thing you notice are the two steaming cups, filled to the brim. It’s so faint but, you swear it smells like honey — “Sweetheart I don’t know how you do it!” And suddenly all the thoughts buzzing around your head just stop. A total short-circuit. He just called you Sweetheart. And the bastard doesn’t even bat an eyelash, he just lets it slip past his teeth without any repercussions. Though, if you’re being honest — You’re not even sure Mirio realizes he’s said it. It’s fine, really, it’s not that big of a deal. There are plenty of people around the world that use nicknames. Something as simple as a title of endearment shouldn’t have your heart doing backflips and cartwheels. But it does. You’re absolutely screwed. “There’s barely enough room in here for one person!” His words have you more than a little confused. To demonstrate what exactly he means he lifts his arms in the air. From one hand to the other he practically touches the walls that represent the beginning and end of the kitchen. “See, it’s no good!” Huh. You suppose Mirio’s right in some sense of the word. But it’s him that makes the space feel small. “Well...” You can’t help but chuckle between words at the man T posing in your kitchen. “I guess for you it might be a bit much.” “Nah I think I’m onto something. You’ll just have to move in with me!” It’s hard to tell sometimes when Mirios joking because he always wears a wide grin. But there’s no way it’s a serious offer. Maybe your missing the point, but you don’t see the problem at hand. Sure your dorm might not be as uh — spacious — as the ones meant for rising star heros. But you’re nothing if not appreciative, the space had came with all the basic necessities and for that you couldn’t be more grateful. You’re lucky enough to even have the opportunity of sleeping under the roof of your dream school. “Now you’re pushing it.” Your tone is lighthearted. “My place isn’t that bad.” Though your smile brings warmth to his little heart the moment is soured. He cannot help but stare at the puffiness just under your eyes, from where tears had fallen and stained. A reminder that has the blond to biting into the meat of his cheek. Mirio would be lying if he said felt comfortable with your living situation. It’s far too small — Let alone for the both of you. But most importantly, he couldn’t help but notice the lack of heavy bolts on the front door. He doesn’t like it one bit. Maybe it’s just the itch of anxiety from what happened but he’d much rather see you someplace safer. Somewhere you weren’t forced to be alone, preferably someplace he could stay by your side. Like his dorm. “What’d you make?” Freed from his thoughts it takes Mirio a second to process the question, his eyes follow your stare — The two cups cooling on the counter, the steam vanishing as it rises. He’d almost forgotten! “Oh! It’s honey milk.” Suddenly one of the cups is pushed across the smooth counter surface, till it sits within your reach. “My dad used to make it for me when I was a kid, usually when I was upset or had a bad day.” His smiles softens when he ends with. “I thought you might like it.” What he can’t tell you is that he made it in desperation. A distraction from what he’d done. “Thank you.” Blue eyes watch your fingers wrap around the heated smooth surface of the ceramic. “Really, it means a lot.” He can’t help but stare as your lips part to take the first sip. “Anything for you.” Those words are your wake up call. You’d got caught up in his antics... Are you really that weak around him? Because, now you understand there’s a deeper promise there. One you almost wish had remained in the dark. Almost. “If you want we can watch a movie, or —“ “I think.” You stare into the swirl of milk and honey before continuing. “Maybe we should sit and... Talk about what happened.” Your words always seem to have an effect on him because his pulse begins to race. It’s fear. “Yeah.” ∘◦ ✿ ◦∘ You’re in trouble. Even with the suppressants dulling your senses they’re not strong enough to block the scent of seashore and sandalwood now permeating the walls. Not strong enough to hide the fact that your dorm is already starting to smell like Mirio. If people knew you allowed an Alpha into your home, let alone an unmated one, you’re reputation would tarnished. You know this, it’s been drilled into your head since presenting as an Omega, but... It’s Mirio Togata that’s seated next to you in your kitchen. The one exception — Or at least that’s what you hope. The cheap material of the barstool digs into your back and there’s a constant drumming of fingers against the laminate countertop, a harmony of tension. The thing that held you captive in the bathroom is back and whispering in your ear. It doesn’t use words, no, instead you’re haunted by awful unintelligible garble. Of blood filled lungs struggling for air. This is a bad idea. You can already feel your mouth becoming dry, but there’s no going back — “What happened during the fight?” It’s the one question that could’ve caught Mirio off guard, and his smile falters, if only for a split second. “Oh you mean —“ A hand rubs the skin of his neck sheepishly, as if you caught him redhanded in the cookie jar. “I guess I did go a little overboard on that guy, didn’t I?” He says half jokingly, he wants so badly to be able to sweep the whole thing under the rug. A little overboard? “But don’t worry! From here on out I’ll make sure no one ever hurts you.” Even without his quirk, he’ll manage. “I promise.” Even if it means he has to get his hands dirty. He reaches an arm to wrap around your shoulder, so you know your hero will always be there for you and — You flinch at the touch. ... Mirio blinks a few times because he’s not sure what happened. You hadn’t meant to flinch. You really hadn’t meant it. But it’s too late. It’s clear as day, he sees it in your eyes. And you know it when his smile begins to fall, it’s plummeting. There’s fear in your eyes. Somewhere in your subconscious you must’ve been praying. Stupid, so incredibly stupid. Praying that you were strong enough to hide it from him. And it makes what comes next all the worse. “Wait you’re —“ Blond brows knit together, still grasping the change in atmosphere. “You’re not afraid of me... Are you?” There it is. The air is suddenly tens times heavier, like breathing through a straw. Your throats so dry you’re not even sure you have the ability to speak. When Mirios only answer is deafening silence does he become hyper aware of the situation. You literally see the moment it clicks. It’s in the way his mouth opens and closes in disbelief, in the way his blue eyes widen in realization. It’s like watching an incoming car crash in slow motion , you know it’s going to be horrible but there’s nothing to stop it. You have to tear your eyes away before the inevitable collision and when you do... Mirios panic truly sets in. He had been afraid of you to thinking less of him. But never in a million years did he think that you might see him as a potential threat. This is a nightmare. He’s sweating bullets. “Sunshine I know — I know I messed up.” Another nickname. “I never meant to scare you. I’m sorry — I don’t know what took over, you know I never would have let it go that far but the guy, he —“ Each word more unsteady than the last, more desperate, because you won’t even look at him. And it’s killing him. He can’t take it anymore. Mirios scarred hands find your shoulders, slowly — Like you might crumble away from the touch but this time you don’t recoil from the fingers pressing into the material of your shirt. “Will you please look at me Darling?” Having averted your eyes you don’t bare witness to the pain carving his face but god, do you hear it. It’s absolutely heart wrenching. And despite it all, despite having watched him beat a man within an inch of his life, the last thing you want is to hurt Mirio. So you give in. And you look up to see a man on the edge. It’s worse than you imagined. You see the wild storm of blue, one that could easily ravage everything within its reach. “This is all some sort of misunderstanding right? I was just protecting you that’s all, you know I would never hurt you.” One of his hands has left your shoulder to snake its way to cup your face, thumb stroking languidly over the cherub of your cheek. Desperate for contact, for anything he can get from you. “Please just — Say that you’ll forgive me.” Everything. 

From the way Mirios voices wobbles weakly to the way he looks at you with desperation. It’s enough to crush every last bit of reason within you.

You break. This is the man that little voice inside your head screamed and begged you to stay away from? The man who lost everything to save a little girl from some madman? The man who rescued you and is now pleading for forgiveness in your kitchen? That man? Life is cruel. You’re finally able to find your voice. “Mirio. What you did was horrible —“ His heart just about stops beating right there. It hurts. Having his name associated with something so terrible in your eyes, even if to him it was something he’d done out of devotion... It’s a stab to the gut. “And despite everything.” Is this how it ends? You’re going to break up with him. “I — I can’t find it in myself to be upset with you.” Those words leave your lips and Mirio can finally breath. The blond hadn’t even realized he’d been holding his breath till now, the lack of oxygen straining his lungs. But you’re not done yet — “I’ve never met a person quite like you. You are the sweetest, definitely a little dense.” By the end your lips have started to curl upwards, it just comes naturally. “What I’m trying to say is that — I still care about you, and this isn’t the end —“ It’s like the worlds gone silent, your words are going in one ear and out the other. All he knows is that. You’re here. You’re smiling. And you’re not leaving him. It’s all Mirio needs to understand. The swell of emotions is just too much for him. It just sort of bursts out. “Though, you’re —“ “I love you.” ... The last — What? Six hours of your life have been nothing but a rollercoaster, one you’d like to get off of now. You don’t need a mirror to know you’re wearing the most wide-eyed expression of your entire life. But you couldn’t care less, because you’re far too busy replaying those magic words over and over in your head. You’re not sure you heard right. Maybe your skull was smashed against the pavement at some point during the fight and this is all some weird fever dream. That’s right. You’re probably in some hospital with IVs hooked to you. “Mirio —“ Pinching your inner arm before continuing, it’s almost concerning when the tinge of pain feels real. Very real... And you’ll be damned if you can’t find the reason for the sudden lack of common sense in the room. “Did you hit your head?” “I — What no? Y/N I’m being completely serious here.” “Are you sure? M-maybe you should you lie down, just incase?” You’re starting to panic because — Dear god, what if he needs medical attention and he’s here because of your own problems? As if reading your mind he understands. His heart skips and stutters because it’s him you’re worried about. He hasn’t lost you yet. And as much as he would love to tease you about how cute you are — He’s having none of it, because he just admitted his true feelings and your too worried about a stupid concussion! Suddenly he’s no longer seated next to you but standing and... He’s taking a few steps back? Once far enough away he outstretches his arms forward so that his thumbs mirror each other. “Could someone with a concussion do this?” In one swift motion his hands are planted to the floor with both legs kicked to a point in the air. A handstand. “One, two, three —“ Of course, nothing can be easy when it comes to Mirio. Show off. “— Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen and twenty!” Twenty seconds. Your jaw would’ve hit the floor if it were physically possible. It’s impressive. More than that. “I can go longer if you want.” When he hops back to stand on his own two feet the floor trembles. “But, I’m not sure you want to watch me do a handstand all night.” He’s smiling and laughing. It makes you feel small and irrational, that you’ve been overthinking everything. That you’ve made something out of nothing. The panic starts to settle, like a layer of soot waiting for its next opportunity to suffocate. But you gotta ask one last time. For your own sanity. “So... You’re really okay?” If he’s fine then that would mean — “Never been better! Because — Here, let me say it again.“ He says stepping closer, like there’s a magnet between the two of you, he closes the gap. Before you know it large hands find yours, with the outmost care. You can only describe it as being bathed in sunlight, warm and glowing, your digits are dwarfed in Mirios own. It’s slower this time, softer. “I love you.” Has your heart ever flown this high before? “It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not but, you’re the only person that’s made me feel this way — The only one for me.” You know there’s no way for you to come down unscathed. “I was being serious earlier you know? That... We could move in together.” His thumb maps the tiny hills of your knuckles. “So, won’t you please consider moving in with me?” Really now, it’s got to be one of the most ridiculous things you’ve be asked in a while. Hadn’t you only just admitted your feelings a few hours ago? Doesn’t he care what others will think? Why are you even entertaining the idea? Even as the list continues to grow, reasons on it’s unrealistic, why — Sitting perched atop the stool your feet dangle, support-less. You’re helpless because those blue irises are looking down upon you like your the only one in the world. It’s too much. “I —“ Why won’t the butterflies stop swarming you? “I need to sleep on this Mirio — This. It’s just a lot.” You’re certain now, now more than ever before. You’re in far deeper than you ever could have bargained for. Because you still haven’t said no yet. “Of course!” Voice soft and lighthearted, Mirios hands give yours a squeeze. Whether in reassurance or in fear of letting go he doesn’t know anymore. “Take all the time you need.” ∘◦ ✿ ◦∘ The night ends with you helping bandage-up Mirios knuckles. Rubbing alcohol, cotton balls and Hello Kitty bandaids. The ugly futon you found at a garage sale and a few spare blankets are included in the five star Hotel experience. The springs groan back to life when Mirio unfolds the furniture. You don’t know how long you stand in the doorframe of your bedroom, there’s just so much — Why’d he have to pile everything on you at once! You just need time, that’s all. Time to think. Once you get your head out of the clouds you’ll be able to let him down gently, because it’s a childish idea after all. One you’d never agree too. Right? And maybe if you hadn’t succumbed to a night of stress you wouldn’t have failed to notice the bottle of pills missing from your nightstand. ∘◦ ✿ ◦∘ At some point sleep overtook you in your exhaustion, because your phone now reads 10:12AM. After laying in bed for an extra twenty minutes you finally sit up and only when your feet touch floor are you startled fully awake. Something touched your left foot, and it rattled at you. Your eyes adjust enough for you to see the culprit, it’s your bottle of suppressants. They must have rolled off your nightstand while you were out. It’s quiet. If you didn’t know any better you would say it felt like any other regular morning, besides the lingering fatigue. That’s why when you open your bedroom door it takes you by surprise, the lumpy, vaguely looking human shape on the futon. Mirios sleeping form barely fits the ancient pullout. One of his arms hangs off the side with his fingers resting against the floor. Only with the glow of the television are you able to make out his sleeping face. Whatever miraculous hair gel he buys no longer keeps the mess of blond together, bangs of gold hang over his soft features. A normal persons heart probably wouldn’t flutter at something so simple. From under the blanket peeks the same t-shirt he’s been wearing for at least a day now. The same one you cried into. In a few days the scent of calming sea waves and citrus will fade. And you’ll be all that’s left behind. It’s a realization that leaves you feeling, empty. You find the more time spent mulling over the situation the blurrier everything becomes. It doesn’t matter how hard you try to convince yourself, no matter how many hours you spend staring at your ceiling in the dark of your bedroom — It won’t change the way your heart beats wildly whenever you’re around him. You can’t help but wonder. Is it really such a bad idea? 

And you know you’re a terrible person because the curve of your lips is real as you gently place your hand on his shoulder. There are roots that have already taken hold of you long ago. 

[lucidpantone]

It's seems like balloon squad is done filming for today...

Plot spoiler (after the cut). TW: Racial Bias

modified anon: How is it confirmed? Extras saw it happening? Do you think that's why in wtfock s4 (rip) they had Yasmina talking about her brother and friends smoking weed? I hope they do, get it boys, roll that one, don't let racists like 🌵 discriminate MOC because they smoke but keeping quiet when white boys do the same. I dunno but I'm actually excited for this rivalry between the boys, if Jens catches some hands I will close my eyes to that, sometimes violence is needed and Jens could actually use a punch or two 🙃

similar anon: Oh boy that doesn’t sound good. Let me guess, our pocs are being treated like garbage again?! 

You know how we kept saying we want wtFOCK to address some of the racially charged topics in s4? Well they are definitely going there in S5. I have so many feelings right now because in a way I want them to explore and talk about racial bias and profiling against men of color but latterly I don't trust wtfock and their writing for shit to explore this topic without fucking up the entire season. So here is some context the fight between the broers & 🎈 squad is because Aaron goes up to Elias to ask to buy some weed. Here is where I cant get a strait confirmation but what is making me nervous. I am getting two opposing leaks one is that the reason Aaron ask to buy some weed from Elias is because Elias had sold some weed to him before implying that he deals. However, listen to this exact conversation from s4 here. I am getting a deeper connect saying no Elias isn’t a dealer its an elaboration on the S4 talk which is just cause you sell some weed to your friends doesnt immediately mean you deal weed and implying that a brown boy who sells weed to his friends is just doing his friends a solid. Thinking anything more then that is demonstrating racial bias. Thats it, no one is dealing. Also I was told that this profiling and bias is something that Nora’s contributed to in the writing because her family has experienced this type of profiling. Maybe not the weed part but people assuming something about men of color. She does talk about this in an interview about her brother being stopped by cops for no reason so I do believe this is somewhat influenced by Nora’s experiences. HOWEVER, if we hadn’t had s4 happen I could read these plot points and be like okay I get what they are trying to say here about racial bias but S4 did happen and Kato’s whole arc was literally implying that Moyo was a pothead, dealer, and criminal without any context or actual recognition of racism. These plot points have now been transferred to Aaron and they are being frame similarly but from my understanding they are adding more nuance. As in of course Aaron was wrong to assume Elias is a dealer because he hooked him up with some green a couple of times. There is also a plot where Aaron being the idiot he is invited by Elias to an event I guess to make amends for the original falling out/fight and Aaron offends Elias concerning Islam and alcohol intake. Once again I don't have an issue with these plot points if wtfock wasnt writing them because their writing concerning anything racially or religiously charged is written like crap and always comes off as strait up racism/ignorance instead of a study on how everyone can demonstrate bias or lack education. I don't know guys am so weary now...... I got told by a deep connected, “You guys said you wanted to get more context and the writing to actually call things either racist or religiously ignorance. So this is that. They are doing their best” and once again I would feel better if it wasnt coming from wtFOCK’s writing team but since it is I just expect them to fuck everything up again. Maybe am being pessimistic but ughhhh. I will say tho, one thing the balloon squad does have an entire arc as a group so they arent just Even’s friend in this remake their plot is very expansive in s5. Covering a few plot points.

[chessdaze]

OKAY SO TODAY-

I’m going to ramble about chess symbolism - specifically with the Savanaclaw trio but also a couple of other characters (mostly pomefiore characters in detail but I list some others out aswell) I made the mistake of mentioning it on twitter and it got attention so now I’m posting it here because it’s way too long to post in a twitter thread.

It’s also going under readmore for that reason too:

For those unaware, the black and white on the chessboard have a meaning as well. Not so much ‘good’ and ‘evil’, though that’s one interpretation - White is normally associated with good and Black with evil. And that’s a valid conclusion! But another symbolism having to do with the board is the war between the inner and outer self. Between Ego and Values. Pretty much the chessboard can represent any kind of eternal struggle. A struggle that continues and doesn’t particularly have an ‘ending’ as chess is a game that can be played more than once, the struggle will always come back eventually.

Relating this to Night Raven in general- of course the struggle with overblot can be related to chess as well. Because it’s a constant struggle, one that most aren’t even aware of as there’s clearly ways to prevent it (resting, de-stressing, etc), but still a constant problem people of this world have to face.

Now moving onto the characters I want to speak about. Starting with Ruggie cause he’s my favorite.

Ruggie: The Bishop

The Bishop traditionally represents the church and religion, and in Medieval Europe the bishop was second in line to the king and queen. Now going back to how the chessboard could represent an internal struggle - the bishop can also represent a belief structure of some kind. The morals, the thought process. This is said to be why the bishop starts and stays on the same colored square (white for white and black for black), moving diagonally but never cross over another color. They move as far as they want, under the limits of their ‘belief’. They must rely on others to protect them or stay out of anything that could threaten them on the board.

NOW WILL SMITH ARMS TO ALL OF THAT ????

Ruggie doesn’t have ‘good’ morals. He only thinks about survival of the fittest, he believes that a strategy that you can win is worth it no matter the methods, he doesn’t pick fights he can’t win –

BUT his morals and methods align with Leona’s, who’s objectively the ‘king’ in this situation. He stands next to the ‘king’, (Like the bishop is next to the royalty on the chessboard) Leona, he moves according to his wishes but doesn’t sacrifice his own beliefs and methods in the process. He relies on Leona for protection and guidance, but will run away if he feels like he must (the chase scene with ace and deuce comes to mind. they didn’t have any proof but to keep himself safe 100% he left anyways).

Not to mention ‘second in line to the king and queen’ - Ruggie is the vice leader of Savanaclaw - Leona’s own little ‘kingdom’ as it were, so he already fills the role of second in command in canon.

He also could be considered an ‘overseer’. He watches over the dorm, does basic chores and errands for Leona, is someone leona trusts to carry out certain jobs - not to mention a good spy in general.  

I suppose one could argue that Ruggie is a pawn aswell. Besides the obvious ‘oh he’s considered a pawn to leona lol’, people forget that the pawn is the only piece who can turn into a Queen - aka the most powerful piece on the board. And Ruggie had that quote during the commercials that ‘even a hyena can become king at this school’. But that’s just it - he specifically says King. The Bishop is second in line to the throne behind the king / queen. So, if anything happened to Leona then he would be the dorm leader / the king. I just feel as if Ruggie doesn’t fit the Queen symbolism at all.

Not that I doubt Ruggie’s abilities or anything. His powerful will to survive above all else, his magical ability, and his sly nature definitely make him a powerful force - but I still don’t think it fits.

I also like the idea of Ruggie being a kind of ‘adviser’ to Leona. Hear me out. In Leona’s SSR he’s the one to stop Leona from going all out during the fight against his own dorm leaders, he offers legitimate advice to Leona at some parts of the main story and the SSR, and is able to sway his decisions and offer legitimate solutions to problems (for example, convincing Leona to let the MC and Grim stay at the dorm during Episode 3 - it wasn’t a solution they liked but it was still one they could all agree on).

Ruggie to me just embodies the bishop so perfectly.

Leona: The King

OBVIOUSLY so I still want to go into this even tho the King is probably the most obvious choice for Leona.

Going back to the chessboard as a whole- the white king is meant to represent a person’s being while the black king can represent the ‘beast’ within us all. The beast is said to represent the intelligence hidden inside of all of us. Now willsmith arms to Leona. This guy is smart, it’s almost scary. Scar was practically considered a tactician and Leona is the same. He comes off as lazy and uncaring but he has a deep understanding of how things work and uses the smallest of details to work things to his advantage. 90% of the time, Leona is the smartest guy in the room - but you wouldn’t think he is at first.

Now, the king is often referred to as the weakest piece- if only for the poor movement of it being that of a pawn (and even then the pawn can move two spaces on its first turn - giving it advantage over the king in that sense). But it’s also the most important piece. The one that the entire game is fought for. The king can make or break the game - but it barely moves.

Even a real king isn’t seen much by their subjects. They stay stay and wait for something to become important enough for them to leave their kingdom - and until then a king relies on those around him (in this case, the other pieces on the board) to fulfill his orders. He’s far too important and that’s why he barely moves from the back row on the chessboard. 

If you think about it - Leona doesn’t do much for his own plan in chapter 2. He relies on the magift team (mostly Ruggie) to execute the plan. The only time he really had a hand in what was going on was during the dorm leader meeting when he convinced the headmaster to keep Malleus on the field because it was essential to the plan with Ruggie causing the stampede- Malleus needed to be there to get caught up in it all. But that was something only he could have done, no one else could have filled that role for him. So again - the King doesn’t step out of the back row unless absolutely necessary.

Before anyone argues about Leona’s SSR and him stepping in then - I’ll take more of that into account during Jack’s section. But keep in mind he also mostly did that to have Jack indebted to him so my point still stands that the king doesn’t move unless he needs to.

And no, despite his power level I don’t believe he’s ‘queen’ material. If only because he holds himself back so much (with his laziness, lack of ambition, etc). It’s his lack of drive but also his reliance on others that has him leaning more towards the King rather than the Queen.

Jack: The Rook

Onto Jack - I struggled for a bit nailing down if he was the knight or the rook, if I am honest. His morals of fair fights and not owing people could definitely fall in line with a knight - but in the end I decided to go with Rook. For a number of reasons.

In Leona’s SSR story, he specifically calls Jack a ‘pup who charges ahead without thinking’ - similar to how a Rook can only move forward or to the side. It can go until something stops it - much like Jack was willing to keep fighting in the SSR story until Leona physically stopped him and stepped in himself.

Now the rook is also called the tower or the castle - and it traditionally represents the castle walls - the things that protect royalty and others. The rook is supposed to protect those on the inside of the board (as it is placed on both edges of the board) and protect those instead. The rook could also represent observation - watching the whole board and taking the best course of action to protect those it can. There are two kinds of observation, if we relate it back to the chessboard representing the inside and outside self. These are self reflection, orientated towards the interior / when the rook moves further into the board or side ways, and then moving forward as a kind of outward observation. Now Leona SPECIFICALLY mentions that Jack seems like he’s good at self reflection - that’s what really had me start thinking of Jack as the rook.

Jack is reckless and stands up for what he believes in no matter what, but also knows when he can’t handle a situation. He is good at observing a situation and making an honest call - even if it makes him sound blunt and rude. He knows exactly what he’s capable of, likely after a lot of his own self reflection, and is able to observe other’s skills in a similar fashion (as he calls out his seniors during leona’s ssr as being lesser magift players, clearly stating he’s superior than them when it comes to the game).

The rook is also the only one who can preform a move with the king called ‘castling’ - meaning the rook can switch places with the king in order to help the king move further away from danger or just to get more space into a move. This is also a type of observation where the rook is moving inwards and switching places with the overall being, the ultimate self reflection and cooperation with oneself.

^^^ THIS is the part I mentioned in Leona’s section. The king and rook are the only pieces that can preform the castling move. This is EXACTLY what happened in Leona’s SSR. He switched places with Jack. While in chess this is normally done to move the king out of danger - this is an exception considering Leona is....Leona. But I can see this as a way for their relationship to grow over the course of the story. Jack still obviously has an admiration for Leona even after the events of Chapter 2. And Jack definitely has the means to help Leona when it comes to fights, and in other capacities, so he is becoming very much a ‘castle’ around savanaclaw. Someone who can be trusted to observe, to protect, to fight.

He’s quick to protect others - as he is protective of ruggie during the main story and even his own SSR. He struggles a lot trying to win Ruggie and Leona over during his personal SSR and goes through ALOT of trouble to help Ruggie stay out of trouble with Leona. He didn’t have to do this, but he saw it as beneficial to the greater good, to help one of high standing, to protect him from a possible rage from their ‘king’.

Now for some reason i really thought into pomefiore too so here’s there analysis-

Rook: The knight

I definitely didn’t want to fall into the trap of thinking he was the rook just because of his name. But thinking on it, he definitely fits a knight - at least from what we know of him so far.

For overall Knight symbolism: The knight represents the professional soldier of medieval times whose job it was to protect persons of rank, and there are two of them per each side in a game of chess. Knights in a game of chess are more important than pawns, but less important than bishops, kings, or queens. Their purpose in the game of chess is to protect the more important pieces, and they can be sacrificed to save those pieces just as pawns can.

The Knight might not be the most powerful or most willing to follow his leader around, but its skillset makes it unique. Their eccentricities allow them to succeed, often passing over much more talented Bishops.

The knight can also represent Divine Law, which everyone has to take in account for their actions.

NOW WILL SMITH ARMS TO ROOK HIMSELF.

I can definitely see him as being a knightly figure not just because of how he acts on his own but how he acts with Vil specifically. He’s not an adviser of any kind like Ruggie, Vil even states in Jade’s SSR that Rook could be a better Vice Leader. But he’s also not like Jack and rushes ahead without thinking. out of the three pieces in the back row that aren’t the royalty, he fits the knight the best.

Not to mention I feel like the ‘protect the more important pieces’ fits Rook aswell as he proves to be very loyal to Vil and very proud of being a pomefiore dorm member - he would do anything for this dorm.

The knights of society are also people who are only really good at one thing - and Rook has a specialty for hunting. Even to the point of kind of being stalkerish, as seen in his Lab Coat SR and Jade’s PE uniform R. Also “ Their eccentricities allow them to succeed, often passing over much more talented Bishops. “ Him getting the jump on Ruggie a lot of the time would like literally translate to this and I didn’t mean for that to happen but it did.

When it comes to ‘divine law’ I’m just kind of connecting that to Rook being a hunter aswell. He knows the boundaries / laws of hunting and while he sometimes pushes those boundaries (like with Malleus and insulting him during Rooks PE uniform story) he doesn’t cross them because he knows the chain of command / circle of life if you will - laugh track -

With the above point, the knight’s overall moveset is fitting to Rook as well. The knight moves in an L shaped patter and is able to easily skip over lines of defense / offense to get where it needs to go. The knight is the ONLY PIECE that can actually jump over other pieces.

Rook is good at figuring out strategies, getting around rules and just barely touching the lines of being too invasive. Rook is a hunter, clever and patient, and with a knight’s moveset he can go back and forth between enemy lines and not - planning an angle and slipping in when he sees an opportunity.

Vil: The Queen

AGAIN ANOTHER OBVIOUS ONE- and this one will be kind of short as we don’t know a lot on Vil just yet (or at least I don’t, I haven’t read much of his card stories).

Vil obviously has status and power. The way he’s able to get the monstro lounge tons of customers without even knowing it - all by posting one picture with a hashtag? He becomes ambassadors for certain fashion brands, he keeps up with being a dorm leader, and giving practically his entire dorm etiquette lessons? Like shit this dude never slows down.

The Queens of society are often the closest to being in command, and arguably work the hardest. Considering Pomefiore was specifically advertised as a dorm that’s very foundation is ‘hard work’, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Vil is the queen in this situation.

and cracks knuckles theory time - if Vil overblots it’s gonna be BAD cause i mean - what happens when you lose your queen in a chess match?? You lose the most powerful piece on the board and a lot of your other pieces are sitting ducks. So yeah Vil overblotting is gonna be TERRIFYING that’s all I can say.

Epel: The pawn

Another small blurb but I just wanna say that being the pawn isn’t a bad thing!!

The pawn can represent a few different things - from everyday workers and laborers to simply how we are everyday - our attitudes and how we present ourselves. Both of these things are present within Epel, him coming from the countryside and mentioning farming and not to mention that he puts on a bit of a mask infront of everyone else.

The pawn has the ability to become another piece on the board and I think that there’s that kind of potential for Epel too. He is struggling a bit with self image (which could be represented by the board itself as well - inner and outer self), but I think he has room to grow and I’m honestly pretty excited to see what the pomefiore chapter does with his character tbh.

OKAY I’LL STOP WITH THE EXPLANATIONS THERE BUT HERE’S A LIST OF WHAT CHARACTERS FROM OTHER DORMS I THINK FIT WHAT PIECE AND IF SOMEONE WANTS ME TO GO INTO DETAIL ON THEM I CAN LATER-

Heartslabyul:

Riddle: Queen / King kind of a toss up Trey: Bishop Cater: Knight Deuce: Rook Ace: Pawn

Ocatvinelle:

Azul: King Jade: Knight or Bishop Floyd: Rook

Scarabia:

Kalim: King Jamil: Knight

Ignihyde:

Idia: King Ortho: Pawn

Diasomnia:

Mal: Queen / King toss up again Lilia: Leaning towards Knight Silver: Pawn or Knight Sebek: Rook

[rexcoatlarchive]

Such a thing as too much love (rewrite)

After receiving some criticism and advice and taking a look back at Quetz in game I've decided to rewrite this story. I'm leaving the other one alone for comparisons sake.

Palingenesis was a unique ritual chaldea used to help improve the servants and help them reach their fullest. The process caps out at what would be considered lvl 100 but it was never said whether or not that was truly the maximum.

Rex, in his deep love for his wife, had already helped her achieve the maximum for both her rider and ruler forms. But he always considered the possibility of going further. He wanted his goddess of a wife to go even further beyond her limits in this fight to save humanity.

Quetzalcoatl on the other hand saw the idea as him picking favorites. She thought it wasn't right and would rather prioritize grailing others to help. He wasn't afraid to admit that he really was biased, but that it only made sense, she was his wife so why shouldn't he treat her better.

Eventually after enough convincing she finally agreed on the condition that he only use 1 more grail, and any others would be used for other servants. Rex was fine with this, since she would go beyond 100 but others would still cap off at 100.

Quetz: mi amor, I understand that you love me very much. But it still doesn't feel right for you to spoil me in this way.

Rex: I understand mi corazon, but what kind of husband would I be if I don't spoil you once in a while.

Quetz: even if you did, I rather other forms of spoiling. Like setting up another lucha match like before.

Rex: we can do that another time. Now it's time for you to go beyond!

The ritual was being done in the couple's room rather then where it was traditionally done, as it wasn't allowed to try to go beyond the maximum. It also took a large amount of concentration, which was not Rex's strong suit.

Quetz: since you're doing it anyways, make sure you concentrate as hard as you can. You know you're not that good at it, your mind wanders too much.

Rex: I understand, and I will make sure it goes without a hitch!

He would be unable to do this however. As he was focusing, he couldn't help but get excited at the idea of a stronger Quetzalcoatl, this would cause him to botch the ritual and lead to the creation of something very interesting.

Rex: here goes nothing!

As he said this the grail glowed a bright white color and then light filled the room, before subsiding revealing the couple to be left on the floor.

Rex: oooohh, Quetz are you good?

Quetz: si. What about you mi amor?

Rex: I'm fine, what happ-

But before he could finish this thought the two noticed the new presence in the room. Another female servant, who looked remarkably similar to the floored sun goddess.

Quetz: eh?! Who are you?!

The other Quetzalcoatl stood there, with a more aggressive demeanor. Her smile was far more toothy then the original, her skin a pale snow white. Her headdress consisting mostly of feathers, her clothing colored an obsidian black and her choice of weaponry, a large spear rather then the sword the original wielded.

???: I'm you, pendeja!

Her words felt different from how the original would've spoken. They felt like the words of someone trying to start a fight. Her eyes shined a sharp gold color, and were slit like those of a snake's. When she opened her mouth a forked tongue could be seen, flickering like a snake's.

Quetz stood up, ready to fight if need be, but prioritized protecting her beloved master. She stood in front of Rex to keep him safe.

Quetz: mi amor! Stay behind me! We don't know who she is or what she'll do

The other one was clearly annoyed by this, when she looked at the original Quetzalcoatl her eyes stared daggers, she clearly wanted to start fighting the original. But when her eyes met those of the master they dilated like a cat seeing their prey, she seemed to harbor genuine affection towards him. It seemed to be something that carried over from the original.

???: you trying to keep master away from me is really irritating other me. Things would go smoother if you learned to share.

Quetz: I don't know what you mean by "other me" but I do know I won't let you get to my master.

???: isn't it obvious? Do you not remember Christmas? Or do you need another lucha match to help jog the memories?!

The other goddess spoke in a very aggressive manner. She was like a heel wrestler in WWE, or a Ruda as they would be called in lucha libre. She wanted to fight, she loved the idea. Especially with the original. Perhaps it was a way to show dominance.

Quetz: are you telling me you're Black Quetzal mask?

???: close enough, I have the memories of her from that Christmas. But I'm so much more this time around.

Rex: so did I end up splitting you like before?

Quetz: I don't think so, I don't feel any different. Maybe that's what she means by more?

???: exactly! Now you're getting it other me! I'm the new aggressive ruda Quetzalcoatl! Tho I guess another name would be more fitting? Hmmm, how about Kulkucan!?

Rex: the mayan feathered serpent? The one far more ok with the sacrifices and acted more like a war goddess?

Kuku: that's exactly right! My how smart mi amor!

She spoke to Rex in a far more kind manner then towards the original, she almost felt like the original gentler version when speaking to him. It was clear she seemed to want to be with him, but Quetzalcoatl wasn't having it.

Quetz: you don't have the right to call him that! Es mi esposo! Not yours!

Kuku: I knew you'd be like this! I was ready for a fight! Now we can have a real lucha match, no holding back!

Quetz: fine by me!

Rex: wait! Not here! You'll wreck the room!

Quetz: he's right, we're better off doing this somewhere else.

Kuku: fine by me! Anywhere's fine, I'll kick your ass regardless!

But as this was being said, the door opened

Mash: hey senpai! Da Vinci needs to ta- what the!? Whose that?!

Rex: it seems we've stumbled upon a Quetzalcoatl alter.

Mash: how do you stumble upon an alter in your room?

As she said this she noticed the grail on the floor

Mash: senpai! Did you try to use palingenesis more then what's allowed?!

Rex: ...maybe

Quetz: wait is that why?! Did you not concentrate?!

Rex: I was trying to but I guess my mind wandered. I didn't think this would happen tho!

Mash: it seems like you accidentally did the same thing Gilles and Medb did in their respective singularities.

Rex: not sure how to feel about those comparisons.

Mash: now what do we do?!

As this was happening Kulkucan took the opportunity to try and steal away the master, but Quetzalcoatl managed to grab him before she could make off with him.

Quetz: please let go of him! *she says as she starts to pull*

Kuku: I don't think so! He's mine now! *she pulls in her direction*

Quetz: like I'll let that happen! You're hurting him anyways so stop!

Kulkucan reluctantly conceded, if there was one thing she didn't want to do it was hurting Rex.

Kuku: ugh fine! *she says as she let's go of him*

This action lead to Rex and Quetzalcoatl falling over.

Mash: senpai are you ok?!

Rex: I'm fine

The alter stared daggers at the original again, annoyed that she had to let go

Mash: I think we need to get the others involved.

Later the group were in the command room. When Da Vinci was informed of what had happened, she was annoyed.

Da Vinci: you see stuff like this is why we cap it off at 100. And why we have a special facility for the ritual in the first place!

Rex: I'm sorry!

Quetz: ...si, I'm sorry too.

Da Vinci: what the hell are we going to do with the 2nd Quetzalcoatl.

Kuku: there's nothing to do! Just let us have our lucha match! Winner takes Rex!

Quetz: like I'd ever agree to those terms!

Kuku: ha! Afraid of losing!?

Quetz: I won't risk my marriage on a single lucha match! Regardless of how confident I am of victory!

Kuku: that just proves you don't think you can handle it!

Rex: that's enough you two! Please stop this, you don't need to fight so much!

Quetz: I'm sorry mi amor! I guess the idea of losing you riled me up too much!

She says this while hugging Rex, though it seemed that Kulkucan had something to say about this.

Kuku: don't hog all the love for yourself!

Now she started to try and hug him, leading to pushing and shoving from the two goddesses.

Da Vinci: cut it out! You might hurt him!

This lead to the two to stop what they were doing. It seemed that their master's safety was of the utmost importance to the both of them.

Both: sorry.

Da Vinci: Rex, you have to decide what to do. You caused this so now decide how to resolve it.

Rex: I mean, I'm not sure what to do. I know Quetz doesn't like Kuku. But she's a lot like Quetz, just more aggressive, so getting rid of her sounds wrong too.

The two goddesses didn't like that the situation frustrated their master, so they did the unexpected.

Quetz: ...well, I guess I can deal with her for your sake.

Rex: are you sure?

Quetz: si... I don't Ike sharing but you don't have to get rid of her.

Kuku: and I won't try fighting her so much, for your sake. It's the least I can do.

Rex: well I guess that's fine.

Da Vinci: well another servant joining isn't too bad.

Mash: what's her clas anyways? Is she a rider?

Kuku: I'm actually a Lancer! If you couldn't tell from my spear.

Rex: now we have 3 classes for Quetz! Interesting.

There's the rewrite. Hopefully I did a better job of keeping the original Quetz feeling more like herself and Kulkucan feeling more aggressive.

Tagging again

@panyum @hasereshdoneanythingwrong @haspaulbunyandoneanythingwrong @gxymlky @hasishtardoneanythingwrong @grievouslyxorvia @hasabbydoneanythingwrong @castlecsejtespeakertechnician

[miss-sleepdeprived]

Im gonna level with you the vast majority of this was written at 3 in the morning and I’m too tired to deal with it any more so let’s hope for the best

Also this is the first part of the prologue \/

“Ah Welcome! How can I help you little lady?”

Alana just about jumped out of her skin, the people here were so friendlier than the ones at her kingdom despite the cold. It was odd.

The smith was an older man with a round face and body, he appeared a jolly fellow who she imagined wouldn't question her specifics.

“I need a sword, something that can cut through bone.” she said pulling her cloak tight around her shoulders.

“ Well alright I have something or did you have plans for it?”

“ I had plans but if it's not possible I understand.”

“ Well let me see ‘em before we say that.”

Alana smiled before pulling out her book, it was dark brown leather bound with a scarlet A on the front as her initials. Flipping to the correct page she handed the book to the smith who took it with surprising gentleness handling it with care looking over the plans before handing it back.

“Well I can do it for sure but its gonna be a hefty price little lady.”

She jumped “Right.” pulling the bad of gems and gold from her belt. “Would this be enough? I can get more if it’s not this is just what I brought with me.”

Handing it to the man he took it with the same gentleness he took her note book, opening it carefully to examine it’s contents.

“Hunny this is perfect, I imagine I can have it done sometime next month butif that works for you, just drop by anytime and have a chat if you want as well, I love the company.”

Alana smiled nodding her head before replying. “Next month is perfect, and if I have the time I may come for a visit thank you.”

“Any time little lady, now you be careful out there I think a storm is a brewin.”

The weeks passed and when she had the time Alana did come to the smithery and visit even well after her sword was made. While there she learned the name of the smith Arther and that Arther had a daughter by the name of Layla whom she met about her 3rd visit to the smithery and was now well acquainted with and could reliably consider her a friend.

Putting her trust in this new friend she told Layla of her plan and who exactly she was, Layla had been less then surprised as she had heard the horror that was king Reed understanding Alana's wish to rid the country of the tirant.

“Hey Lana?” Layla asked, grabbing the blonds attention.

Alana made a noise of acknowledgement moving her head towards her friend. “What is the hierarchy like in Iceland? Cuz here the oldest and second had to fight it out to figure out who’s the heir but I imagine it’s different where your from,”

Alana thought on the topic before giving her decision as it had never crossed her mind. “Well it’s mostly circumstantial, so let’s say that the current ruler died of natural causes then in their will whoever was stated would become ruler in my case my sister despite me being older. However let’s say that he were to get killed via assation then whoever killed him would be dubbed the new ruler despite the people's opinion.”

“Why is that?”

“Because of the crown.” Alana started. “I’ve spent my entire life learning about my country and by far the most interesting thing is the crown of the royals, it is made with a frame of black stone with three pillars in the front, the two on the sides used to have glow stone imbedded in them however the current king had them removed and replaced with coal. And the one in the middle has a good sized netheright that is enchanted to stay on the head of the royal regardless of force if the royal doesn’t want it off it won’t be coming off. The only exception being if they died.”

“Okay so let’s say that someone that wasn’t in the bloodline killed them, what would the crown do?”

“It would attach to the person who killed them although it isn’t normal for that to happen because of security precautions, we are called the most war efficient country for a reason. The people there are rough, ready to fight at any moment. It’s kind of sad if I’m honest.”

“Really?”

“Yes, think about it, wouldn't you be sad if all the time you had to keep a solid face always preparing for the worst because who knows when your king is going to declare war on a country and you're going to have to leave everything to help. I’m sorry I fell down quite the rabbit hole didn’t I?” Alana said with a shy smile

Layla put her hand on Alanas arm.” No no it’s okay that’s how you feel things are you see things from the villagers perspective it’s a sign of a great ruler! And why I thought Willbur would have been a better one.”

Layla mumbled the last but tho it was clear Aruther heard her as he was quick to scold her.

“Layla, you know it’s none of our business what goes on at the capital. And besides, Technoblade still has a time to mature all those boys do and will with time just like you, I remember you once tried to “storm the capital” because you didn’t like the color of banners they put up.”

“GREEN IS THE WORST COLOR TO PUT IN AN ENTIRELY WHITE AND BLUE AREA!”

Arther simply laughed at his daughter's childishness shaking his head as he went back to cleaning and sharpening tools.

Huffing and falling back into her chair Layla noticed something under Alana's cloak.

“Hey Lana?”

“Humm?”

“Come out back with me for a sec?”

“Sure.”

The two girls walked around to the back of the store where it was much warmer then the rest of the outside considering the walls meant to keep the wind out and the active fire that Arther used to reform tools.

“Okay cutting right to the chase do you have wings?”

“Uh..”

“YOU DO!? CAN YOU FLY!? CAN YOU TAKE ME FLYING!?”

“That’s what your wondering?”

“Uh duh, I mean come on I find out my best friend has wings and you think I’m not gonna want a ride?” she gasped before continuing. “ CAN I SEE THEM!!!??”

Alana jumped before putting her hands on Layla’s shoulders and covering her mouth to keep her quiet.

“Okay okay you can see them if you promise to be quiet.”

The brunette nodded frantically before watching Alana move her cloak allowing the massive white wings to stretch and the bones to pop from being stuck under the cloak for so long, ruffling the feathers to put them back the their place before turning back to Layla rolling her eyes slightly to see her practically jumping in her spot before nodding and allowing her friend to run her hands threw the small feathers along her back all the way down to the big ones that allow her to fly all the while checking with Alana to make sure it was okay.

“Why do you keep them under your cloak?” Layla asked with a quizzing look in her face.

“Well my parents don’t like them too much I’m not sure why but they truly just don’t want to look at them if they can help it. I think mother would cut them off if she could if I’m being honest.”

Layla stood still before opening her mouth again.

“That’s bullshit! Your wings are beautiful if I’m being honest it’s hard to see you without them now they are just so you anyone that says any different need to pull their head out of their own ass and I have half a mind to give that king of yours a piece of my mind from that!”

Layla had now moved to Alana's front. Alana simply looked at her stunned before pulling her into a hug burying her face in her shoulder.

Layla hesitated for no more than a fraction of a second before returning the hug to a bone crushing degree as if trying to desperately reassure Alana that she wasn’t going anywhere.

A moment later Alana pulled away covering her wings once again and smiled at Layla.

“If I accomplish this, would you be willing to be my advisor? Because I’ll be damned if Regionald is going to tell me what to do.”

“Always just let me know what to do.”

The two had another hug before parting once more.

“I need to head home, come on.”

Alana said pulling her friend back inside, saying goodbye to Arther, and walking out with wishes of good travel.

Getting to the edge of the dock where none ever sailed she spread her large wings allowing the large mussels to pull her into the air and lead her back to her home.

Have a nice night folks get some sleep

[sidespromptblog]

Snowden: Part 2

One, Three

Warnings: Mentions of freezing to death, Virgil freaking out, and Remus freaking out. 

Summary: Virgil was supposed to be relaxing. This vacation wasn't becoming very relaxing...

Word Count: 2700

AO3 LINK

Virgil was supposed to be relaxing.

Sitting on the back porch with Deceit’s empty cup in his hands as he stared out to the direction of the woods, all while pondering his past mistakes and anxiously muddling over what he could have done differently. Well… it wasn’t exactly what he would call relaxing. His own words twisted around in his head, reminding him that this situation was very much his fault, and he had only made it that much worse by not immediately going after Deceit and trying to make it better. He could have… but a part of him had thought that the other side would come right on back, and that… maybe he just needed a little time to blow off some steam or think to himself. 

But after so long of waiting and waiting and waiting…

The churning in his stomach only got worse and worse as the seconds ticked on by.

What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if? What if?

The crunching of a combination of snow and leaves snagged and jerked Virgil’s mind out of the spiral it had been walking itself or rather free falling down into. Snapping his head, up Virgil couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face as he went to lock eyes with Deceit. Relief sweeping through him at the very thought of the dishonest side having come back alright and unharmed, just for Virgil’s eyes widened at the sight of the other side that he had hardly ever seen. Even when he had been living with Deceit and Remus, he had hardly ever seen the side that was stalking right towards him from the entrance of the woodland area that Deceit had disappeared into.

The other side’s name was no more than a whisper, or at least what little that left him was no more than a whisper. 

“Char-”

Before Virgil even saw it coming, Charon’s fist sank heavily into his stomach, leaving the anxious side wheezing and gasping as he fell to his knees. Pain radiated through his middle as he curled up into himself only able to watch as Deceit’s cup rolled helplessly away from him and down the steps of the back porch. Just to peacefully sink into an inch of freshly fallen snow, well out of his reach especially as Charon loomed ominously over him like a nightmare in the shadows. 

“Now,” Charon darkly hissed rage brimming in the eyes hidden behind his cracked glasses, as he seized the anxious side up by the back of Virgil’s hoodie leaving him to hang there like a kitten being held up his scruff. “I don’t know what it is that you said, that has made Deceit fully willing to sit out in the middle of a snowstorm knowing that it could kill him. But quite frankly…” The orange side seized Virgil’s face, turning it so that they could meet eye to eye. “I don’t fucking give a damn. I don’t think that he’ll go through with it, but you better watch what you say around him you understand me? Because if we get a repeat of this…” Charon’s eyes darted over to the other side’s that were all crowded around a board game of some kind, making his threat VERY clear to someone like Virgil. “Then I already know where your heart is, spider…” 

With that having been said, Charon dropped Virgil like a limp bag of potatoes, and without even having to look up Virgil already knew that Charon had gone back to the mindspace to continue his sleep-fest. He wouldn’t risk getting seen by the others, let alone Thomas had it not been for something important... 

A snowstorm… Deceit…

Deceit!

Previous pain forgotten, Virgil scrambled up to his feet. He didn’t even bother to offer the others an explanation to where he was going or even to when he’d be back. Deceit had only left… not that long ago, right? He hadn’t been gone that long, and he hadn’t turned or walked off of the path from what he could recall. So it would take him no time at all to get to Deceit before the storm hit…

Right?

“Deceit?” Virgil cupped his hands around his mouth as he called out for the other side, his feet were starting to ache and by now the worry had steadily drained out of his voice only to be replaced by annoyance. “Come on Deceit! This is getting old, just come on out and we can head back inside! Deceit?” He tried again, with only the crunching of his own footsteps in snow answering him back as he called out again and again. By now, he could see his breath misting out in front of his very nose, the temperature was dropping more and more the longer he spent out here.

 It was getting too cold for even him, someone who wore a jacket all year around, he could only imagine how cold it would be for Deceit… if he was still ali- 

“Dee!” He called out again, terror coloring his voice as he picked up the pace at his own spiraling thoughts. “Dee come on, please!” He begged as more and more trees passed him by in a blur of reds, yellows, and browns, as he started running down the well-worn path of the trail. His breathing was coming out in quite terrified puffs, obscuring his sight for little moments as his feet darted under him propelling him forward. “Please, this isn’t funny Dee! It’s getting dark, and you know how you get with the cold! D-” 

His feet skidded on a sheet of ice, and everything turned cold. 

There was a feeling of something crushing his lungs, he couldn’t get enough oxygen in them despite the fact that he was surrounded by nothing but open space and plenty of air to breathe. The sound of his own breathing was even disconnected from the rise and fall of his chest, as the sharp wheezing sounds made him internally cringe. He... He couldn’t move. All of his muscles painfully seized, his knees shuddering as his body forced him to remain standing, locked in that one position unable to do a single thing. 

There laying on the ground, curled up like a dead squirrel at the base of a tree stump was… Deceit. 

His lips were blue. His. Lips. Were. Blue. His lips were fucking blue. 

He looked almost frozen.

You should have done better. The voice in his head that sounded all too much like Charon chided vindictively, and with the sharpness of a knife. You could have stopped him before he walked off into that forest. You could have been nicer to him. You could have told him that you wanted him around. Look at him! LOOK AT HIM! He’s dead because of you! Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. YOUR. FAULT! 

Like a broken and janky marionette Virgil’s limps finally moved, sending him scattering towards Deceit’s lifeless blue-lipped body that felt absolutely freezing to the touch.   

“Dee?” The nickname of the dishonest side leaves Virgil in a rush of hot air as he cradles the other, “Dee please.” He openly begs as he clutches the other, desperate to feel any kind of warmth in the other’s skin or to feel… anything at this point coming from the other. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry… Please… Please don’t go.” The hot tears escape his eyes in a scalding waterfall down his cheeks, completely smearing and ruining the presentation of his eyeshadow, but at this point, he could really less than care about that. “I… I was wrong. I was so wrong. Please..please.. Please!” The words wheeze themselves past his lips at this point, barely more than a whisper but not quite as silent as he initially thought they were. “Please…” 

Deceit’s hand falls limply from his chest, like a puppet whose strings had just been ruthlessly cut by the puppeteer. 

And it’s with that one singular action that Virgil clutches Deceit’s body even tighter, practically seizing the dishonest side and placing him right on his lap as he sobs desperately into the other’s hair. It hurts… god does it hurt. It hurts so much more than he could have imagined that it would, its the kind of pain that makes every movement ten times worse and the kind of pain that strikes him through the middle. It’s… impossible to even imagine standing up and taking Deceit back to the others, just as it’s impossible to imagine the looks on Remus’ and Charon’s face when they see Deceit... when they see his body. 

Everything felt frozen, like time itself could have stopped and he wouldn’t have known the difference.

He could still remember watching Deceit out of the window this morning, as the other side sipped at his warm drink just watching the new scenery after Thomas had taken all of his luggage and groceries in. Deceit who hadn’t done anything, who had just been minding his own business and not hurting anyone. He… he’d never get to see it again, just as none of the others would get to see it again either.  

But he had to… that was the kicker, wasn’t it? 

Looking down at Deceit’s face and feeling his heart crack open even more… he knew. “I need to take you back,” The anxious side whispered, his trembling shaking fingers so very carefully brushing aside a lock of Deceit’s hair, as if touching him any harder would cause the dishonest side to shatter to pieces in his hands. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I just left you here, and… you don’t deserve that. You.. you…” Emotions clogged Virgil’s throat, and yet… he went on. “You deserve so much more, and you always did… I..” Teardrops plopped against Deceit’s near-white as snow skin, “I will always apologize for that.”

He would.

Brushing away the tears that had dripped onto Deceit’s face, Virgil carefully curled his arms under the other side’s chest and legs before easily lifting him. It took a conscious effort to not let another choked sob out as Deceit’s head lifelessly thumped against the anxious side’s chest, where it remained as he started his long and arduous walk back to the cabin as his heart weighed heavily with the guilt that he was sure to carry with him through the rest of both his and Thomas’ life.

What would happen now? 

Would there be a new Deceit? If there was, Virgil didn’t know how he would be able to react around him. Would Thomas be unable to lie now? Would Deceit’s body just fade away? That thought alone filled him with an instant pain that clutched ruthlessly at his heart, despite the fact that he surely deserved such an agony for how he had treated Deceit. He didn’t want Deceit to fade away. To be gone as if he had never existed in the first place. To.. to… just be gone… He couldn’t handle the thought of that happening, he didn’t WANT to be able to handle it, let alone for it to even happen.  

Before he even knew it… Virgil had walked back to the cabin. 

What had once been a long trek that had left his legs and feet aching and sore… had now been way too short as he stared at all of the others through the backdoor window. They were all laughing, having a grand old time, while being completely unaware of the bombshell that he was about to drop on them. They were ignorant of how things were going to change now, they… they had no idea on how this was going to hurt. Honestly… Virgil didn’t even know if it was going to hurt them at all, sure it would hurt Remus and Charon. But Patton and the others…

Would they even care? Would they even mourn him?

Virgil would, he’d mourn enough for all of them. That was for damn sure.

It took less than a second. It took less than a second for Remus to look up from whatever game he was playing against Roman, it took less than a second for Remus gaze to meet his through the frosting window, and it took less than a second for the creative side’s face to rapidly shifting from glee, to concern, to understanding, and then finally and worst of all… to horror.   

Everything that happened next, felt like it was happening disconnected from Virgil’s own reality. Like he was nothing more than a paper boat on a string, floating haplessly in the messy currents of an ocean that would soon overwhelm him. 

“DECEIT!” None of them… none of them had ever heard Remus scream like he had then, and none of them had ever seen him run like he did. Throwing open the door, just for Roman’s arms to seize him around the middle, stopping his twin from practically throwing himself at Virgil and doing who knows what. “No!” Remus caterwauled, his makeup a steady stream down his face, matching Virgil’s own state. “Let me go! Let me go! LET ME GO!” He fought like a wild animal against Roman’s impressive grip, “No! Nononononono! DECEIT! DEE! NO!” 

Everyone’s ears rang with Remus’ heartbreaking screams as Roman physically pulled Remus back so that Virgil could actually walk into the cabin and not get mauled to death by Remus’ bared teeth.   

Static rang in Virgil’s ears as he shuffled past them all, his eyes mindlessly staring ahead as he gingerly laid Deceit on the couch. 

“I didn’t know what else to do,” He scarcely whispered, as he tucked his jacket around Deceit. Everything felt as if it were suspended on a razor-thin wire, but even that didn’t stop the tears that ran down his cold shocked face as he stared back at Patton and the others. “I didn’t know what else to do other than to bring him home…” 

In that instant, Patton’s expression broke and within a few seconds he had Virgil gathered in his arms. “Oh, Virg…” The moral side whispered, allowing the other side to bury his face into his shoulder. “Oh kiddo…”  There weren’t any words that Patton could even say to make the situation better, he couldn’t lie and say that things would be okay, because… well… They wouldn’t be, Deceit was dead, one of their own was dead and Virgil had been the one to find him. They all had a hand to play in this, no matter how much they would have liked to pretend that they didn’t. 

Because they very well did.

“Get away from him!” Remus snarled viciously, fighting even more ruthlessly to get out of Roman’s iron grip as soon as Logan had laid his hands on Deceit. He snapped and snarled like a savage beast, his feet digging into the ground in order to give him just the slightest inch forward, “He’s not just some science experiment for you to play with once he’s dead!” 

“He’s not,” Logan bluntly and quite startlingly state, his own eyes widening. 

“What?” 

“He’s not dead…” The logical side whispered, pressing his fingers against the underside of Deceit’s jaw again just to be certain, and he was… “There.. There’s a pulse!” He blurted out before he could stop himself, it was small but it was most certainly there that was for certain. “In his panicked state, Virgil must have forgotten to check and must’ve assumed Deceit’s fate once his breathing had gotten too low. It’s likely… that Virgil’s own body heat was the only reason that Deceit even had a pulse to speak of. If he had gotten there a moment too late…” Logan snapped his mouth shut at the looks that were reflected back at him, “I uh…” He floundered for a moment, “Get me blankets! We need to gradually raise his internal temperature! Turn the heat up, Remus add some more fuel to the fireplace!” 

With something to do, they all got to work. 

[trensu]

Episode 23: the One where JYL Captains the Ship

Alrighty, so battle stuff is happening

Nothing major going on 

EXCEPT wen ruohan leaves his evil lair to confront wwx about how he took control of his puppets!

Wrh: where did you get the Plot Device?? Did xy give it to you?? HOW ARE YOU MAKING IT WORK??

Basically just Angry Ranting that Bad Guys do

Wwx mouths off, as usual

Lwj’s eyes are glued on him this entire time bc when isn’t staring at wwx?

(I understand lwj, I too cannot tear my eyes away from wwx when he's onscreen, that beauty mark just under his lower lip is so goddamn distracting...)

Wwx: hey, wrh, i just finished making his nifty thing and haven’t shown anyone yet, wanna see it?

And tah dah! We now have Plot Device 2 (aka stygian tiger seal/amulet whatever)

Pay attention to Plot Device 2, guys, it’s gonna cause us some angsty wangxiantics in the future (BRACE YOURSELVES)

Pausing here to point out how freaking cool wwx looks, levitating the pieces of Plot Device 2

OH NO, WEN RUOHAN IS NOW CHOKING WWX

THAT’S NOT ALLOWED!!

STOP HURTING MY SUNSHINE BOY

And wwx is smirking in victory?? What the heck wwx

Oh, it’s bc since wrh and wwx are wrapped up in their confrontation, there’s no one controlling the puppets so the puppets all collapse. That was part of his plan, maybe?? Idk, doesn’t matter

What matters is that this frees up LWJ to fly to wwx’s side

WHICH MEANS THAT LWJ IS THERE TO CATCH WWX ONCE WRH DROPS HIM!!

Lwj: Wei Ying! *catches his soulmate*

Wwx: *passes out in the arms of his very dashing soulmate*

Lwj barely even acknowledges that Meng Yao kills Wen Ruohan bc who cares about the big bad villain getting killed whEN YOUR SOULMATE IS PASSED OUT IN YOUR ARMS??

Lwj: Wei Ying

He says again! As his eyes stay glued onto wwx’s beautiful unconscious face. HE HOLDS HIM SO CLOSE

I mean, he could totally hold him CLOSER but that would be too much for the censors maybe??

Ppl are cheering. I was cheering. I don’t think we were cheering for the same reasons.

I was cheering bc lwj was ~tenderly cradling~ our beautiful sunshine boy

I think the other ppl were cheering bc the bad guy died? Weird.

LOL, DEJA VU MOMENT HERE

Lxc is cradling an unconscious Nmj

I guess the lan bros ARE pretty similar lolol

Boring stuff. Plot stuff. OMG I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY MENG YAO, SHUT UP.

Ahhhh, this next scene!

WWX is waking up in a bed and jyl is at the bedside.

Jyl starts bringing out the wangxian pie~! Maybe i should start using soup metaphors since Soup is her Thing…

Jyl is so happy that wwx is awake now!!

Jyl: you’ve been asleep for three (3) days!

Wwx: THREE DAYS??? What about jc and lwj??

HE IMMEDIATELY ASKS ABOUT THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT GUYS IN HIS LIFE, I LOVE MY SUNSHINE BOY.

Jyl: both jc and lwj have been very worried about you! 

We find out that even sect leader jin has been visiting which is disgusting, so we’re ignoring it

Oh, jyl is trying to get wwx to stop moving around so much

Jyl: LWJ says you need to rest more. He says you used too much spiritual energy

LWJ HAS BEEN KEEPING TRACK OF HIM THIS WHOLE TIME

JYL TRUSTS HIM TO TAKE CARE OF HER LITTLE BROTHER!!!

Jyl: also don’t use Plot Device 2 all willy-nilly. LWJ says it’ll hurt you!!

Wwx: LWJ, LWJ, why do you keep talking about him? He’s so boring and he doesn’t talk enough!

BUT HE SAYS THIS WITH A CUTE LITTLE FOND SMILE

BC THINKING ABOUT LWJ MAKES HIM HAPPY

BOYYYYY

YOUR CRUSH CAN BE SEEN FROM PRESENT-DAY NON-FANTASY CHINA (but, uh, discreetly, bc of censorship)

Jyl: while you were comatose, lwj came by every morning and evening to play his guqin for you. To relax your mind and spirit

Jyl: you probably wouldn’t have woken up so soon if he hadn’t done that

AHHHHHHH THIS NEXT SCENE!!!!!

JYL IS JUST SPOONFEEDING US WANGXIAN PIE NOW

SHE’S GIVING US A BIG OL’ HELPING OF WANGXIAN PIE HERE!! WHICH IS GREAT BC I AM STARVING

Here comes lwj, with his guqin strapped to his back!

Lwj actually brings himself to knock on the door this time

SEE, THAT WASN’T SO HARD, WAS IT LWJ?? WHY COULDN’T YOU DO THAT BEFORE??

Jyl: oh, that must be lwj~!

ohhh, wwx's face when she says this! He looks all nervous and flustered

bc he has a ~gentleman caller~ and he’s not decent!!! 

HE’S ONLY IN HIS ENTICING RED UNDER-ROBES!! IN BED!! AND LWJ IS VISITING!!

Okay, that’s probably not why BUT IN MY HEART THAT’S TOTALLY WHY

So jyl goes and answers the door

Lwj bows so respectfully to her (he knows she’s wwx’s precious person!!)

LOL, I LOVE HOW JYL DOESN’T MENTION THAT WWX IS AWAKE HERE

THAT’S MY CAPTAIN!! Lxc wishes he could captain as good

she just greets him like usual and lets him in

HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT’S WAITING FOR HIM INSIDE

IT’S AMAZING, JYL IS THE BEST

She leads him to the bedroom aND OH GOD, THE MINUTE LWJ’S EYES LAND ON WWX

HIS LIPS PART AS IF HIS BREATHING HITCHED IN HIS THROAT

HIS EYES NOTICEABLY WIDEN IN SURPRISE 

THERE’S A SLIGHT PAUSE IN HIS STEPS!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HE’S SUPER EXPRESSIVE HERE GUYS 

(...well, by lwj standards anyway)

And ooooh, wwx’s reaction is adorable!!

His eyes catch lwj’s gaze for half a second before they skitter down to the side as if seeing lwj in person (in his bedroom!!) is too much to take in all at once!

HE’S SO FLUSTERED?? HIS EYES ARE FLICKERING TO AND FRO TRYING TO LOOK AT ANYTHING BUT LWJ. 

HE’S SO NERVOUS IT’S ADORABLE I CAN’T HANDLE IT

(i may have rewound to watch this scene 3x, DON’T JUDGE ME)

(there was so much happening! Lwj’s beautiful plush lips parted, wwx was acting cutely bashful)

(WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT, HUH? JUST WATCH IT ONCE AND MOVE ON?? I DON’T THINK SO)

And you know, jyl leads lwj like, right to wwx’s bedside and WATCHES ALL THIS GO DOWN

YOU KNOW SHE NOTICED ALL THESE THINGS TOO

I’M NOT A CRAZY PERSON HERE

Jyl: thank you, lwj! Without you, wwx would not have woken up so soon!

Jyl: you two go ahead and talk now

Jyl: i’ll just go tend to the other wounded

Jyl: and leave you both here ~all alone~

Jyl: in this bedroom

Jyl: with wwx just in his under-things

Jyl: still on his rumpled bed

Jyl: okay, byyyyeee~!

(LXC AND JYL NEED TO HANG OUT AND TALK ABOUT THEIR LITTLE BROTHERS AND HOW HOPELESS THEY ARE AROUND EACH OTHER)

(THIS IS A THING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN)

Okay, and now not only do we get MORE wangxian time, we also just get the most beautiful scene ever?? Like, aesthetically? THIS SHOW IS A BLESSING

Lwj is playing his guqin in the communal area next to wwx

The music is gorgeous (it's the same Magic Music from before! it sounds like warm morning sunlight on a calm spring day)

And the set is beautiful, all reds and whites to match our boys’ colors, and it’s all emphasized with equally beautiful lighting

Wwx: lan zhan, actually, i--

Lwj: quiet. Concentrate.

Wwx POUTS and taps his nose and then SULKILY crosses his legs

HE’S THE MOST ADORABLE BOY IN THE WORLD AND I LOVE HIM

IF LWJ WOULDN’T MURDER ME IMMEDIATELY, I’D GO AND PROPOSE TO WWX RIGHT NOW

ACTUALLY I’D PROBABLY DO IT ANYWAY

I’VE LIVED A GOOD LIFE, I PROBABLY WON’T ACCOMPLISH MUCH ELSE WITH IT. IT’S TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Ahem

Back to the utterly breathtaking wangxian scene

No seriously, EVERYTHING IS SO GORGEOUS?

ALL THESE BEAUTIFUL SHOTS

THE CLOSE UP ON THE FLOWERS

THE UNFOCUSED SHOTS THROUGH THE HANGING SCREENS

THE LIGHTING THE COLORS THE MUSIC

LWJ IN HIS PHENOMENAL WHITE OUTFIT AND WWX IN HIS INDECENT RED ROBES

IT ALL ADDS UP TO THIS SYRUPY DREAMY SCENE THAT’S JUST, UGH, DRIPPING WITH TENDERNESS AND ROMANCE

IT’S TOO MUCH IT’S TOO MUCH

Okay, i’m done geeking out over the aesthetics

Oh, wwx is breaking his meditation pose and flexing his wrists excitedly!

Wwx: lan zhan, i’m all better now!

Lwj stops playing and calmly makes his way to the bed where wei ying is and checks him

Lwj: three more days are needed

Wwx does not like this answer lol. He leaps up from the bed all affronted

Wwx: but i’m totally fine now, look! *starts flexing his arms around*

Lwj is not budging on this tho

Lwj: exorcise evil, ease the mind. Do not be neglectful

Wwx: exorcise evil? I don’t need an exorcism!! I just used too much energy

Cue awkward silence (lwj’s eyes never waver from wwx tho)

Lwj: wei ying (you know, i think he just likes saying his name...)

Wwx: lan zhan, do you really think that Plot Device 2 is evil? Do you really believe there’s an undetectable something that can change someone from good to evil?

Ooooh, wwx is getting all philosophical on us!!

His brow is all furrowed here; he’s hurt that lwj doesn’t trust him with Plot Device 2!

And that’s the end of that MOST DELICIOUS SLICE WANGXIAN PIE

Other stuff happens

Screaming, the murder of innocent people, sect leaders debating on said murder of innocent people

You know, boring stuff.

There was a fun bit here tho

Nmj: maybe it’s okay to kill innocent civilians…

Lxc: *sad face*

Nmj: uh, maybe we can NOT kill defenseless people this time?

Ahhh, if only lan zhan’s sad face was effective on wei ying as lxc’s is to nmj…

Plot plot plot Jgs being an asshole Plot plot plot

MORE plot plotty plot plot

OH NO

WE’RE ON A CLIFF IN NIGHTLESS CITY

THAT CLIFF WE DON’T LIKE

THAT REALLY REALLY HORRIBLE AWFUL NO GOOD CLIFF

AND WWX IS STANDING CLOSE TO THE EDGE OF IT GET AWAY FROM THERE WWX, GET AWAY RIGHT NOW

And now lwj joins him

Wwx: lan zhan, what do you think of the people here? Who is good, who is evil?

Yeesh, getting right into the heavy stuff aren’t we

Like, nbd, i’m just gonna compLETELY CHANGE YOUR WORLDVIEW AND TEACH YOU SHADES OF GRAY (AGAIN)

Oooh, but as he says that, he starts clutching at his chest and swaying on his feet! Bc the resentful energy is hurting him!!!

Lwj grabs his arm to steady him

Lwj: wei ying, concentrate

Great, it’s about to get real hurt-y now

Lwj: wei ying, do you want to learn how to play Magic Music?

Wwx: lan zhan, you want me to learn that? Do you doubt me, too?

And the way he says it!! It’s a tone that says “please don’t let this be true”

BUT LWJ LOOKS AWAY AND FLASHBACKS TO WHAT WRH WAS RANTING ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EP

WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT LWJ. WHY.

So instead of answering wwx, he just questions him on why he made Plot Device 2???

THAT IS THE WRONG APPROACH LWJ

THAT WILL NOT GET YOU WHAT YOU REALLY WANT 

Wwx: lan zhan, if i told you i got a Screaming Sword of Resentment from the Murder Turtle would you believe me?

Lwj keeps answering questions with questions and the whole convo is devolving horribly

Lwj: if you already knew the sword had Plot Device stuff in it, why did you refine it?

Wwx: LAN ZHAN, ENOUGH

he snaps at lwj

he raised his voice at lwj

Lwj: you promised you’d let me help you (he says calmly)

Wwx: if you don’t believe in me, how can you help me?

OUCH

Lwj: Plot device 2 isn’t safe, you might lose control!

Wwx: you’re scared i’ll be like wen ruohan, but i’m not him! And Plot Device 2 is not the same as Plot Device!

And then before we can get too emotional about our soulmate boys being at odds (AGAIN), we get to witness the murder of innocent people

How fun

Jin Zixun shows us he’s scum of the earth by trying to shoot down a Wen mother carrying her child as she flees

Thank goodness lwj guqin’s the arrow away

There’s a confrontation but lwj doesn’t let wwx tear into jin zixun even tHO HE CLEARLY DESERVES IT

And everyone leaves but not before wwx comments that there’s gonna be a lot of resentment here where the innocents were killed and that the place needed Magic Music 

Oh, turns out lwj didn’t leave

Lwj stays at the scene of the crime and plays Magic Music on his guqin.

As soon as wwx hears it, he starts playing counterpoint on his flute!

I love it when they play music together, Magic or not!!

We cut away here to watch lxc, nmj, and jgy become Official Bros™

BORING

Now Jgs and jgy are hosting a banquet

STILL BORING

Political posturing happens

SO BORING

Wait, something interesting just happened!

We see lwj just up and leave the banquet the moment he realizes wwx isn’t there

Bc wwx is out on the steps getting drunk

(wwx, we’ve talked about this. Drinking is not a Solution)

Wwx: lan zhan, it’s you! How about playing some Magic Music? (I'm detecting some sarcasm…)

Lwj: i’m learning a new score

Wwx: *scoffs* you haven’t given up yet? You’re really stubborn *mocking snort*

STOP BEING MEAN, WWX

That’s the last bit of wangxiantics we have for this episode

JYL GAVE US SUCH A GREAT MOMENT AND WE ENDED UP AT ODDS AGAIN

IT’S A WHOLE "ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK" SITUATION

I DON’T LIKE IT

Return to Masterpost

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

this DLC has me FUCKED UP and i keep screaming

spoilers for Bounty of Blood under the cut, keep reading at ur own peril. Also some Guardian Takedown spoilers for anyone who hasn’t beat it yet

tl;dr: a comparison between something taken from BL2 and a thing taken from Bounty of Blood. more spoilery tl;dr below the cut.

also the siren thing is not spoilers so i’ll share it here for anyone curious, it’s just this: siren tattoos are blue but when lily absorbs eridium in 2, they turn pinkish/purple. just like how vaults do from bl1 to bl2. they’re white/blue in bl1, then purple-pink in bl2 (and tps), y’know, after Eridium begins erupting from the ground. just a neat little detail i noticed that im not entirely sure was intentional but im gonna believe it is.

tl;dr: Gythian Blood = Core and the Ruiner is of Eridian Origin even tho everyone in the DLC likes to say it was created with Jakobs’ bioengineering. disclaimer: idk if I’ve found every hidden ECHO so I may be missing a few things but I have done every side quest and took ample screenshots of all important dialogue in the DLC : )

“man i just sat here for like 15 minutes staring at my keyboard mentally comparing core and eridium like the dumb bitch i am. 

it's not like we can do an actual comparison because we have no idea what the natural fauna of gehenna was like before jakobs came and mutated everything with core unlike pandora where we know what skags and rakk and shit were like BEFORE the eridium crust erupted. 

altho!!! there's a neat comparison between joey ultraviolet and rose. like obviously he wasn't getting tattoos and was just doing lines of crushed up eridium but the point stands they both have glowy eyes and unique powers so i don't necessarily think this means rose is a siren just because she has magic powers especially when we know she got the whistling passed down to her from her grandmother. 

especially because we've never seen a siren interact with core before. altho that leaves the question we have seen core tattoos now what are eridium tattoos like? actually rose's tattoos were on her right arm obviously she isn't a siren as we know them right now (I saw a post on reddit where people thought rose was a siren) 

of course that brings up the point perhaps siren tattoos ARE eridium tattoos. but then we hear the general's log about how the devil riders were tattooing a man with core and blood so obviously they're not ‘naturally’ occurring unlike siren tattoos. so odds are they're probably not equivalents but something interesting i thought of while thinking about this is how well siren tattoos compare to the Vaults from borderlands 1 and borderlands 2″

anyway. this is all ive been thinking about. yes yes i know guardian takedown post but! >:( im still salty even tho this update has been lovely (outside of Blane not getting his correct damage scaling ‘till today......). so i’ll do that at my own damn pace. now let me elaborate so i can sleep at night lmao

Eridium

refinement produces slag, which weakens people and can mutate things

has mutating properties, mostly with imbuing elements into shit- possibly causes insanity

seems to be connected to another dimension, likely the one the Eridians are from

Core

has a secondary form of Infused Core

has mutating properties, mostly regarding a thing’s body and mind

apparently radioactive

there are some things i wanna note

1) People throughout the DLC say the Ruiner was created by the Jakobs corp (the company) thru bio-engineering but I’m 99% sure that’s not true. The paperwork seems to me like they found the egg somewhere on Gehenna and decided to roll and experiment with it like all corporations do when they find weird alien shit. so maybe they experimented with whatever was inside the egg, but I don’t think they actually created it entirely

“Excavated from [REDACTED] ... Local legends speaks of a [REDACTED]. This theory is not endorsed by our research personnel.

2) The Ruiner’s design reminds me a lot of the Warrior.

3) Core immediately reminded me of Gythian Blood from Guns Love and Tentacles and I don’t think that’s coincidence to have 2 back-to-back DLCs where the big bad is focused on green death juice. I think Gythian Blood and Core are of the same stuffs.

4) Therefore, I think the Ruiner is (mostly) of Eridian origin (if you haven’t already guessed). 

This gives us an amazing look into how the Eridians actually create their beasts!!! And I’m so happy they showed us this.

(side note, Interitus Regina (the long name for Ruiner) literally means Destruction Queen and I think that’s beautiful <3)

i mean the idea that they plunge them from orbit to create an explosion similar to a nuke is fucking horrifying (but holy shit I love it so much ahhh it’s so cool!!!!)

the one side line from Oletta about how the company couldn’t control the Ruiner deffo makes me double down on this theory. I’m not entirely sure how Rose’s grandma knew about the whistling (I don’t think I’ve found every echo log in that area YET), but I would bet it was part of the testing given how many fuckin’ tape players they have throughout the facility. The Warrior was controlled by verbal commands via Jack, so it’s possible that the Ruiner was intended to be controlled similarly, but Jakobs intervention (or something like the way Rose hatched it) fucked it up.

now we know the Warrior was created to protect the Vault of the Destroyer (hmm.) so what the heck was the Ruiner created for? Ruiner is a name given to it by Jakobs/the people of Gehenna so we can’t really assume, but then again the monster names are pretty apt in this series even tho they probably technically shouldn’t be. 

it was only an egg, so maybe it was another test of Core? A Vault Monster incubating until it was ready to protecc and attacc but was never hatched because the Eridians ‘sacrificed’ themselves before it could? (I’m still not convinced the Eridians are the good guys. Listen. LISTEN. The guardian takedown is something to think about, BUT it doesn’t disprove that theory and I’ll stand by it because I 100% trust the Overseer more than bitchpants mcgee over here who thinks he’s soooo special for no reason fuck you and your dumb ‘I did what the Watcher could not’ bull you haven’t done shit.) ok sorry im done he just angers me. stupid guardian man. your whip is stupid and you should feel bad. oh also I totally called us actually being Guardians thru Guardian Rank before the game came out aha yeah.

I definitely think Gythian was a test/use of Core from the Eridians. We see in Bounty of Blood that core seems to mutate more the physical (and occasionally mental) parts of people, like with the crew challenges u do for Juno with all the weird hybrid people and whatnot. Gythian had the whole ‘the heart still beats’ thing going on (which is definitely a physical mutation if i’ve ever seen one), plus the whole, you know, mind control and shit. Which is p similar to what the menta gnats can do when charged with Infused Core. And keep in mind in BLaT we see DAHL notes on what happens to test subjects when injected with Gythian Blood. They mutated physically and went insane.

What im saying is Sirens and Eridium and Elements are connected, so what does Core equal? body/mind sure but are there unique creatures for core (yes holy shit I’m not talking about h2o au for once and FINALLY they gave us a canon name for the green stuff!!!). If not, I’d love to see a Siren interact with Core to see what it does to them. seriously why hasn’t tannis interrupted us yet. horrible excuse for a science lover (kidding kidding, I love her). I’d also really love a fuller rundown on what the hell Rose’s powers were. Because the whistling thing seemed to just be her grandma’s thingie passed down to her from her mom

but the core stuff

her gun seems to be infused with it. So did her sword thing. I didn’t really get a good look at it i was too busy trying to see thru my blurry tears of LOVE for this DLC.

Strangely while her tattoos are (mostly) green I actually don’t know if they’re core infused bc look at this

n look back at hers. hers aren’t very lime.

anyway

her eyes

I’d love to know if the core gives her immediate future sight or just increased perception or reaction times. there’s a huge difference but she seemed to be able to shoot the gun outta the sheriff’s hand near immediately and it seems kinda implied its because of the core (or at least because her eyes are glowing green)

there’s a possibility she has some unique core powers/possibly implants because of her relations to the project in the first place, or as leader of the devil riders after looting the facility. it’s really hard to say without more info and like i said im not sure if i missed an ECHO or two or not regarding her backstory :( 

Her hair is also green which I just noticed. Maybe she has core powers bc her grandmother got suuuuuuuuper irradiated/influenced working on project horizons and it passed down thru her n Rose’s mom, to Rose. Tannis does have a line about Sirens having unique hair colors and, if Sirens are linked to Eridium, perhaps those linked to Core also have unique hair color. Could also explain why only Rose seems to have those whistling powers. That said we don’t really see anyone else trying that whistling thing out afaik and idk if it was, like, a special ability or a certain tone/ditty or w h a t. 

i know being vague with everything gives them more creative freedom to create amazing characters and scenarios, but dammit I want A N S W E R S.

All THAT said man I’m so glad magic is real in the borderlands universe. oh, sorry, “magic”. It’s magic. Science it, tannis, I dare you. either way, I win. Either it’s magic and H2O AU is canon, or it’s science and I finally get my goddamn answers. Hey gearbox can you make a book just explaining all the science and eridian stuff. please. I’d love you forever. please. pleaheheheheaaasseee it’s all i’ve ever wanted.

oh also can i just say, suuuper disappointed we didn’t learn anything about anshin. Really wish non-fan favorite corporations would get the spotlight/lore for once. Like, I like Jakobs as much as the next guy, and I get WHY they did it (can’t have a corporation looking too good!!!) but they now have 3 DLCs (Jakobs Cove, GLaT, and Bounty of Blood) and also a hefty chunk of the main game. Like... we all know Jakobs fuckin sucks, look at what they did on Pandora. I really just want info on a medical corporation 😭 I have to do everything my damn s e l f. but SERIOUSLY IMAGINE the possibilities that could come from a medical corp getting its hands on eridian tech. like, yeah obviously the weapons corps are gonna use it for weaponry and stuff BUT WOULDN’T THE MEDICAL CORPS MUTATING PEOPLE MAKE MORE SENSE??? ldfhgldfshg I have to do everything my damn self...

anyway all that aside, this is definitely by favorite borderlands dlc by a LONG shot. Nothing comes close. Ahhh the lore, the nuclear aspect, the a e s t h e t i c (seriously, have I mentioned how much I adore Trigun???), the art, the music, the cryoslinger, the fact I can bust out going beeEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAans like Ray Chase at any time and it will MAKE SENSE. I love all of it.

oh, also, Rose is totally not dead. C’mon, they couldn’t find her body. She pulled a Lilith. “Are you sure she didn’t just suffer a wound that LOOKS fatal, only for her to come back in a blockbuster sequel...?” is a line from mr Jones himself (the movie guy)

I just hope when she comes back she gets to meet Captain Scarlett. I’d love to watch their interactions plus pirates and or ninjas. That’s 2 DLC villains now that have vanished without a trace. And I like Captain Scarlett way more than Rose (seriously I spent the entire beginning of the DLC complaining about how her voice bothered me- I was so happy she was a villain, I was hoping that was the case).

oh yeah, reminder, the people of vestige were living next to highly radioactive egg for likely years. i feel really bad for them :(

also!!!

this made me smile

[toughbookie]

7 Books in 7 Days

I Stumbled across a few YouTube videos about this “7 Books in 7 Days” challenge going on on the internet.

I got curious and after absolutely no research or further preparation, I decided to do that as well; I would have read seven books in a week.

Aaaaand here’s pretty much how it went.

DAY 1: The book I couldn’t find in English

Title: Storia di una balena bianca raccontata da lei stessa

Author: Luis Sepúlveda

Pages: 107

Rate: 5/5

Having started in the early evening, I had to pick a book that was short enough for me to finish on the same day. The choice fell on this tiny masterpiece by Sepúlveda, whose literature I wasn’t familiar with (boy, will that change during this reading challenge) aside from The Story of a Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her to Fly, read years and years and year and years ago.

What I thought I was going forward was a nice, cute little novel.

I.

Was.

Wrong.

This actually kind of broke me.

Based on the story of Moby Dick - which in turn is based on the true story of the Essex, a whaler that left the island of Nantucket in 1819 only to be destroyed by the giant sperm whale the crew was after to acquire the oil to power lamps… Look, life sucked before we got electricity - this book is narrated by the giant white whale in the flesh. As you might have guessed by now, we’re not talking about the happiest story ever.

What starts as an observation from the young whale’s eyes of the resourcefulness and curiosity of mankind, quickly transforms into a condemnation of its cruelty and disrespect for nature.

Beautifully written, I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves angst and can speak Italian or Spanish (I couldn’t find an English version).

I really had a good time with it. And also a good cry. I’m fragile.

DAY 2: The book about a murder

Title: The body in the library

Author: Agatha Christie

Pages: 215

Rate: 4/5

For the second day of this challenge, I’ve decided to throw myself into a novel featuring Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple.

In this crime novel, the body of a young woman is found in the library of Mr. and Mrs. Bantry’s house. The problem: nobody knows this girl or how she got in there. It’s going to be up to the police and, naturally, to Miss Marple, to find the truth.

I have discovered Agatha Christie only recently but it’s undeniable that she deserves all my love. It’s been fun to read this book and develop theories to find out who the murderer was and how and why they acted. It was like piecing a puzzle together. This is my first reading featuring Miss Marple, and I found her quite impressive. Unlike her “colleague”, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple is not a detective, she’s just people smart, and it’s delightful to follow her around on her adventures.

Unfortunately the finale didn’t satisfy me that much, but it was still pretty good. Definitely recommended.

DAY 3: The long one

Title: The temptation to be happy

Author: Lorenzo Marone

Pages: 268

Rate: 3.5/5

Note: The more I think about this book, the more I feel like it doesn’t fully deserve its 3.5 rating. Consider it as an “almost 4”, please and thank you.

On the third day, I faced the longest book of the ones I had chosen. And, since life happened and I had other things to do around, I risked not finishing it on time (no worries, I managed).

The story is one of a cynical 77 years old widow: Cesare Annunziata. He doesn’t really care much about the people around him, except his daughter and son whom he loves even though of course he doesn’t know how to show it. Up until here, it’s honestly pretty standard and it has its cliches.

Everything changes when Cesare realizes that his new neighbor, Emma, is a victim of domestic abuse and lives in fear of her husband. The old man and the woman form an improbable friendship aaaaand I don’t want to get into spoiler territory, even tho the story is actually quite simple and sometimes predictable.

The best part about this, however, is not the story. The characters are what really brings the book to life, with a perfect balance of goofy and more serious personalities. It’s people we could meet every day, and that’s what really makes it good. Not full of plot twist, but it’s not meant to be.

Reading Lorenzo Marone was a pretty nice way to spend the day.

DAY 4: The other book about the murder

Title: A Caribbean mystery

Author: Agatha Christie

Pages: 230

Rate: 4/5 

Another day, another Agatha Christie’s novel. In this sunny and colorful environment, new murders have happened and new assassins have to be found.

Miss Marple, on holidays in the Caribbean, is having quite a good time, except not much is going on around here. Lucky for her - and honestly, only for her… I mean, good for you that you have a hobby but you should really not enjoy dead people so much - old Major Palgrave is found dead in his room. What looks like a natural death to most is actually a deeper mystery, and it’s up to Miss Marple to dig up the truth and save the day before the assassin strikes again.

Again, making up theories and analyzing the characters is a lot of fun, and I actually found out who the assassin was, which is pretty rare because I’m dumb at mysteries.

At the end of this book I started to feel a bit tired and I got a bit of a headache. I loved reading it, but with work I never really have the time for long, intensive sessions that go on for multiple days in a row.

Still, the pleasure of reading this book made everything more bearable.

 DAY 5: The big fail

Title: Loving sabotage

Author: Amélie Nothomb

Pages: 62 out of 124

Rate: 1/5

God, I hated this book. Pretentious, boring, just bad. It didn’t even seem like there was a plot or the author was talking about anything in particular, just words put down one after the other without any true purpose.

Really felt like a waste of time. It was awful to get though. So I didn’t. Which, given my holiday was over and I had to go back to work, gave me a bit of a time problem.

DAY 5: Sepúlveda strikes back

Title: Patagonia Express

Author: Luis Sepúlveda

Pages: 127

Rate: 5/5

To save the day at the last minute, came Luis Sepúlveda with this short account of his travels in Patagonia.

Starting in Spain and exploring the very edge of the world, this collection is filled with wild characters and hilarious episodes that made me enjoy every single page. 

That is, after getting past that one chapter about lamb castration.

That was a weird one.

I’ve never liked this particular literary genre much, but Luis Sepúlveda gives an incredible description of the places he visited, the people he met and their own stories, which are particularly bizarre and told with incredible talent. It’s a pretty short book, so I don’t want to spoil anything, but you get the drill.

Possibly my favorite book out of this challenge, Patagonia Express is a delightful quick escape from the ordinary.

 DAY 6: Guess who’s back

Title: The old man who read love stories

Author: Luis Sepúlveda

Pages: 135

Rate: 3/5

So, Sepúlveda wasn’t originally supposed to stick around for so long, but here we go again.

As for The old man who read love stories, it’s possibly the book I liked the least from Sepúlveda. Which isn’t saying much, I still like his work a lot.

The story is one of old Antonio José Bolívar Proaño, and guess what: he likes to read love stories. 

That makes two of us, buddy.

He’s also an expert of the forest nearby the small town of El Idilio, and forced to hunt down a female of ocelot, along with a group of men from the town.

Through some flashbacks we also find out the story of his life and how he became to know the forest so well. That’s my favorite part of the novel, by the way.

While the book started well, it felt like it got lost somewhere around the second half, which was supposed to be the important, life-lessons-packed part. You know, the part you don’t want to get lost at.

By the last pages I was almost falling asleep, and thinking back a couple of days later I don’t really remember much of the story as a whole.

In total honesty, a lot of it might have been because it was the sixth book in as many days, and my three brain cells had been up to a lot more than they can usually stand. Plus, long work hours got in the way.

DAY 7: Because it’s Christmas

Title: Hercule Poirot’s Christmas

Author: Agatha Christie

Pages: 209

Rate: 3.5/5

A millionaire asshole. His children and their wives. A nephew and a family friend. A murder on Christmas night.

It would have been offensive to read so much Agatha Christie without any Hercule Poirot, and so here comes my dear detective, ready for the grand finale.

Also, it’s Christmas!! Christmas book!! Christmas spirit!! Quite literally I mean someone got killed -

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas is an interesting novel, full of well done characters and mystery. I had a good time reading it, as I always do with this kind of novels.

But I do have to say - it’s probably just me and other readers liked it fine - the finale really ruined it for me. It feels pulled out of nowhere at the last minute, and even though it was certainly a big surprise, it felt added like a second thought just to make an even bigger plot twist than what could have been.

Aside from that, it’s a good book and given the settings I dare say it’s the perfect reading for when it’s cold outside, maybe snowing, and you’re cuddling under a blanket with a nice warm cup of tea.

Or hot chocolate.

Pick your favorite, I won’t judge.

Conclusions:

So finally we’re at the end of this 7 Books in 7 days Challenge. It was very enjoyable, but also towards the end it got pretty draining and sometimes stressful to keep up with the reading schedule while squeezing into the day everything else life throws at you.

Doing that on a week of holidays instead three days, when I could have focused only on the books, it would have probably gone differently, maybe even attempting to tackle longer novels. But you know, we’re talking about reading 1139 pages in a week, which is not something I thought I was capable of doing.

So overall I’m proud of how I did.

Not sure if I’ll repeat this but I’m glad I’ve done it, at least this once, and I honestly recommend it.

Also I don’t want to read anything else until 2022.

Bookie, signing out.

[jamesmarlowe]

『ANTON THIEMKE ❙ CIS-MALE』 ⟿ looks like JAMES MARLOWE is here for HIS SENIOR year as a FINE ARTS student. He is 21 years old & known to be CLEVER, INVENTIVE, UNRELIABLE & EGOTISTICAL. They’re living in NOLAND, so if you’re there, watch out for them. ⬳ SLOTH. 25. EST. SHE/HER.

hi hello welcome 2 my twisted mind ☺️ marlowe is a character i’m still fine-tuning bc he’s brand-new, so this is unfortunately.... a bit of a mess.... and mostly made up on the spot.... c’est la vie!!

(a late addition but u can also peep his weheartit collection here 4 some vibes)

his government name is james marlowe but he only goes by marlowe & only introduces himself as marlowe like he’s madonna or sting....  most ppl who know him (apart from like close friends) probably don’t even know what his first name is. maybe he doesn’t have one!

hails from Appalachia, specifically a trailer park in a poor-as-dirt stretch of Virginia where he was born n raised, baby. he’s Appalachian white trash and not afraid to admit it. marlowe’s very casual about his upbringing and his dumpster fire of a family (no less than three relatives are currently incarcerated, one of which is his older brother who’s probably serving a minor sentence for whatever dumb shit Tim Riggins got got for in FNL or like, selling illegal fireworks out of his trunk :/ ). the only thing he’s a little self-conscious about is his twang which he’s mostly suppressed by now, but other than that, he’s got no shame in where he comes from bc lbr no authentic artist ever came from money anyway!

born sandwiched in the middle of five siblings, marlowe’s always been wild and creative and impulsive, a loud-mouthed kid with too much to say for his own good, prone 2 getting in trouble but learning absolutely nothing from it. it was his mission in life to be Different from all the other kids who grew up where he grew up, with the way he talked, dressed, acted, because he knew that he was destined for bigger n better things so it was just a matter of getting other ppl to believe it, & then seeing how far a little talent and a lot of charisma would take him >:)

from age 8 onwards, he told people he was an “artist” and that became his primary identity. when he was 16 he completed an independent sculpture project (called “Skyscraper”) where he constructed a 20-foot tower made out of junk collected from around the trailer park and then glued Barbies n other dolls all clawing over each other to get to the top, smack dab in the middle of Main Street and refused to take it down even when the local fire department showed up 2 threaten him with fines. it did eventually get taken down bc it was ‘structurally unsound’ and someone nearly got concussed by a falling mannequin head, but at least it got some attention from local newspapers and w/ that as the crown jewel in his portfolio, marlowe got into a few different art/liberal arts schools the following year. radcliffe was the only one who offered a partial scholarship and the east coast sounded nice n far from home, so anyways lets go ✈️ college 

FAST FORWARD its senior year babey and marlowe’s been making the most of his time here at radcliffe. he’s a fine arts major but specializes in mixed media sculptures (and probably is really shit at most of his other classes, like art theory where u actually have to read textbooks? still life drawing? boring. yawn. won’t do it.) his entire profile as an artist i’m cribbing from Rachel Harrison bc I saw her exhibition at the whitney a little while ago and her sculptures made me go ?????¿¿¿¿¿ which i think is exactly the kind of bizarre nonsense that marlowe is going for with his “art”. feast your eyes on these masterpieces. the joke of it all is that marlowe is the first to admit that his art isn’t like.... good. but his philosophy is that if people respond to it & praise it like it’s art, then by definition, it’s art. and if it gets him places (like it got him onto Cultured Magazine’s “30 Young Artists To Watch This Decade″ list), then yeehaw!

When he’s not busy creating new monstrosities, marlowe takes one fat nap per day (usually at a time when he has class) and is otherwise a very social creature who needs constant attention. he’s got a lot of friends and is always looking to make more, not in a #fake way but just as a person who genuinely likes being around people. he very quickly gets bored if left on his own, so he’s prone to following people around campus like a stray cat regardless of whether or not they tell him to shoo. he dorms at Noland but is almost always found in other houses, often crashing in other people’s rooms (needs to be close to his friends or He’ll Die), and he definitely frequents parties, bc marlowe never passes up an opportunity to drink other people’s booze and get a lil messy and Chaotic. he’s [jim halpert voice] not a slut, but who knows? he’s kinda a slut! he’s also definitely pulled another stunt similar to Skyscraper by taking over the quad for a guerrilla art installation with his sculptures (and without the school’s permission oops) which may be the basis for some connections if ppl know him from that particular exploit!!

in summary..... marlowe can be a bit up his own ass at times, but being around him is generally a Good Time bc he’s easy-going and friendly and always down for anything, always. litcherally zero impulse control so nothing gets in the way of a dumb idea that might potentially make for a good story. perhaps he’s not the most reliable person, so don’t expect a prompt text back if ur in a life or death situation, and he doesn’t care very much about anything, so ur setting urself up for disappointment if you do expect him to care about something (the fact that he’s never been in a long-term relationship... very telling). all he wants to do is just have! fun all the time! he’s trying to scam his way into the American Dream with his dumb art, so that he can live a good life and maybe get rich and famous and eventually party at Art Basel in Miami with Frank Ocean! is that really so much to ask!

appearance: marlowe’s very vain and a lot of thought goes into his appearance even when (especially when) it doesn’t look like he’s done anything but roll straight out of bed. all of his outfits are as outrageous as his sculptures are ugly. think mismatched prints and loud colors, silk shirts gaping open like he got tired after the first three buttons, a pawn’s shop worth of jewelry, weird dangly earrings w/ feathers or tiny charms, tinted yellow or pink sunglasses, sometimes a bandana around his neck, just for extra flavor. his hair always has to look perfectly tousled; u can catch him checking out his reflection in pretty much every mirrored surface. at least half the surface area of his body is covered in tattoos & he’ll suggest getting more during every drunken night out, which... is why he has so many by now!

connections: to be quite honest its 2 am and i feel all of my higher brain functions shutting down so i’m gonna make these very simple n straightforward, but we can always workshop!!!! pls feel free to message me even if none of these strike ur fancy :0)

peers in the arts - friends, acquaintances, rivals, probably some former group project members holding a grudge....

fellow party animals who don’t mind sharing when marlowe inevitably mooches off their alcohol and drugs :)

unlikely friends!!!!! it’d be fun to have a friendship dynamic with someone who’s very different from him!!

a roommate in Noland... possibly one he’s not on good terms w/... even tho marlowe hardly EVER sleeps in his own dorm room, he uses it as a storage locker for all his “found” art materials. i can imagine that living in that mess would try the limits of anyone’s sanity :)  

enemies - they can hate his whole Genius Artist shtick and they’d be valid :/

fellow insomniacs! marlowe is very much a night owl (regular naps during the day may be 2 blame but oh well) so he needs a fellow nocturnal to hit up the late-night McDonald’s drive thru with him and then lay on the grass lookin at the stars and contemplating life’s great mysteries while eating chicken mcnuggets 

exes - idk if u can even call them tht when his past “relationships” have all had a lifespan of six weeks or less, but hey there’s drama in that too!!

fwb - i don’t think marlowe’s the type 2 be juggling too many fwb/hook-ups at one time simply because That’s A Lot of Work. that being said... he never likes to sleep alone ;)