#ooc: so people were able to hear of me and then find me via the song to get a bit of needed sugar to keep them going

[nonny-nonny-anon]

It really is, but that laugh catches me off every time, lmao

"What's your music taste?"

It's yes

[fakeikemen]

Katara's Grief

(This is my first attempt at a meta post and I know that this has probably been already done but I just needed to get it off my chest and go on a little rant and it kinda got long so bear with me.)

A lot of the hate on Katara stems from the fact that she keeps on mentioning her mother's death at every chance she gets and invalidates other people's pain to assert that her suffering is the worst of the lot.

And even though everybody is entitled to their own opinions, I'm gonna point out why I think the aforesaid claims are not exactly correct.

First we'll take a look at; Katara's Backstory:

We know that Kya is killed in a fire nation raid and that Katara had been the last person to see her alive before she leaves the tent on her mother's insistence. Only to come back a few moments later and find her dead body. This, in itself is a traumatising event.

So yes, her mother died. Other people in the story go through far worse. You're not wrong when you say that.

But what is more important in Katara's story is the aftermath of her mother's death.

As Sokka says while talking to Toph in "The Runaway" in B3 Ep7:

Sokka: When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a mess, but Katara? She had so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom.

As an eight year old, she had to force herself to grow up to step into her mother's shoes and raise herself and her elder brother and simultaneously look after the entire village after her father left to fight in the war. She had to do all of it by herself.

In face of all her responsibilities, she never really had the chance to simply be a grieving child lamenting the loss of her mother. She habituated herself to caring more about others than herself (We see this trait in the entire series as she acts as the stand-in mom friend for the entire Gaang with an exception of Suki and Zuko). She ended up bottling her feelings of grief, resentment, guilt and rage deep within herself.

She had to give up an extensive part of her childhood where most children focus on figuring themselves out, to become a mature and responsible person who was working as the immovable pillar holding up the family and even the whole village not much later.

She put up a strong front to help others and pretended to be fine even though she was hurting inside the whole time.

She could never find any closure from the situation. She never got over it.

Moving on to the criticisms:

1. Katara keeps on mentioning her mother like a broken record:

Here are the number of times Katara mentions her mother's death (not sure if that's all of it, lmk if there are any others):

1. In her first scene with Sokka

Katara: Ever since mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!

2. A short while after she meets Aang

Katara: Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people.

3. A short while after she meets Haru

Katara: I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. This necklace is all I have left of her.

4. A short while after she meets Jet

Katara: Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation.

5. In the swamp after she sees a vision of her mother

Katara: I thought I saw Mom.

6. In the Crystal Catacombs with Zuko

Katara: I don't? How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through! Me personally! The Fire Nation took my mother away from me.

7. A short while after she meets Hama

Katara: We completely understand. We lost our mother in a raid.

8. Repeated mentions in The Southern Raiders episode

(Most of the episode basically)

The first mention with Sokka is in the middle of a siblings' spat where she tells off Sokka for trying to act as if he were superior when it was obvious that in the face of the gaping hole that was left by Kya's sudden death, Katara had shouldered much more responsibility.

When she tells it to Aang, she uses it as a proof that the Fire Nation is capable of immense cruelty and destruction.

The Gaang travel all around the world and meet different people affected by the war in different ways. So when Haru, Jet and Hama narrate their own stories, Katara sympathises with them and talks about Kya's death in lieu of "I understand, the Fire Nation hurt me too."

After they got separated, Aang, Sokka and Katara each had their visions and after they get back together, they all mention their visions and so does Katara.

When left alone in catacombs with Zuko, whom she considered as the face of the Fire Nation— the same Fire Nation that had her mother killed and forced her father to leave to fight in the war, she has a meltdown where she rightfully accuses him of all the bad things he's done and then breaks down while talking about how the war has cost her i.e., by causing her mother's death.

The Southern Raiders is the episode where Katara hunts down the man responsible for her mother's death. If you think mentioning Kya repeatedly in this episode is uncalled for, then I don't know what to tell you.

In all the incidents mentioned above, Katara mentioning her mother's death is a very natural occurrence is the respective conversations. She mostly talks about Kya's death to either extend her sympathy or to use it as an example of the ruthlessness of the Fire Nation.

Another fact to be noted is that 70% of the Gaang's storyline is followed via Katara from a narrative point of view. Plus, being the mom-friend, she acts as the spokesperson. Considering that Kya's death is a major event that played a huge role in shaping Katara's life and is also the source of her severe, unresolved trauma, which acts as the driving force of her story, it is only natural that she brings up this topic whenever she is engaging in a deeper conversation.

It is us as the viewers who have seen her from the start and already know about her mother's death and we see her talking to multiple people about it. Which is why it might come across as repetitive to some people.

While, Kya's death is not necessary information that everyone needs to know, Katara talking about it never comes across as a forced or unnatural.

2. Katara invalidates others' pain because she thinks she has suffered the most:

First of all, if anything, Katara is the most empathetic person of them all. As the mom-friend of the group, not only is she their constant moral support, she also helps them untangle and sort out their own feelings. She is also able to tap into issues that aren't said out loud.

Instances of Katara helping and supporting Aang, emotionally are uncountable.

She is the first one to notice Sokka's sour mood in B3 Ep4 "Sokka's Master". And even though his insecurities seem baseless, she validates him (by saying "I'm sorry you're feeling so down" instead of something like "That's a dumb thing to say") and knows exactly what to do to cheer him up.

In B3 Ep7 "The Runaway" she has the insight to understand that Toph's unruly behaviour is caused by the mixed feelings she has about her parents even though Toph's herself never talked about it.

She even reaches out to Zuko in B2 Ep19 "Crossroads of Destiny" even though she used to think of him as the face of the enemy.

But then there's The Southern Raiders.

Ah yes, that episode where Katara is extremely OOC and a total b*tch.

Agreed that she said some things that she definitely shouldn't have said. But like, she's just 14?? And has been hurting on the inside since she was 8?? And pretended to be fine just for the sake of other people?? Like, there's a limit to how much she can have her shit under control?? And she did a real good job of Sokka's upbringing and taking care of the village and taking care of Gaang on her own?? Some people out there are really willing to forget everything she has ever done just because she was mean for 5 minutes?? A traumatised 14 yo shouldn't be villianised and called toxic because she got mad and lashed out at people that one time??

But here's my take on the scene anyway:

When Aang gets to know that she's going to go face her mother's killer:

Aang: Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?

Katara: I knew you wouldn't understand. 

Aang is a non-confrontational person who prefers running away from difficult situations as opposed to Katara who firmly stands her ground and is never afraid of confrontations. Katara had approached Aang only hoping that he would understand. But going by his dismissal, he obviously doesn't understand the burning need that she has to confront the man who had single-handedly destroyed her childhood. (Most people infer that what Katara means is that she thinks that Aang doesn't understand the pain of losing people. And so does Aang, I guess)

But things start getting even more tricky when:

Aang: Katara, you sound like Jet.

In all honesty, this is probably the most insensitive thing that she could've heard from anyone right then, let alone one of her closest friends. Hearing herself being compared to a homicidal maniac just because she wants to avenge her mother's killer. (No, I'm not justifying murder but there's a clear difference between homicide and avenging someone's death. And Aang may not be my favourite character but I do love him but this wasn't really a good thing to say either. And he wasn't even mentally distressed in the very least to be completely lacking tact or a filter.)

And then the situation escalates:

Sokka: Katara, she was my mother, too, but I think Aang might be right.

Katara: Then you didn't love her the way I did!

After 6 long years of Katara bottling in her dark feelings and letting them fester inside herself, she is finally letting them out and the first things she faces in a span of few minutes are outright rejection, invalidation of her feelings, comparison to a homicidal maniac and nothing akin to the unconditional support that she has provided to everybody. Her own brother tells her that he is siding with the boy who just compared her to a homicidal maniac.

Yes, accusing your own brother of not loving your mother enough is a very cruel thing to do. But both Sokka and Katara know that she doesn't entirely mean it.

But also, there is one very important factor in here:

In B3 Ep7 "The Runaway", Sokka says to Toph:

Sokka: I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before, but honestly? I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture. 

Katara overhears this conversation just as Sokka had meant her to.

This dialogue lets us know that Sokka's coping mechanism has made him suppress all memories of Kya and replace them with memories of Katara in order to attain a semblance of normalcy.

Both Katara and Sokka had very different ways of coping with Kya's death. Katara pressed down her feelings and tried her best to pretend to ignore them while Sokka partially succeeded in forgetting her.

When Katara first hears these words she is shown to be crying. But if she were to remember these very words while she was justifying herself infront of her own brother and a close friend for wanting to avenge her mother, it would've had a negative impact on her.

In her rage, she would've thought: "Of course he doesn't want to avenge mom. Because he doesn't think it's worth it and that's because he doesn't even remember enough of her to be mad about her death."

And for someone who has spent each day of the last 6 years trying to fill in the shoes of her mother and experiencing her absence everyday, the idea of forgetting her mother is a ridiculous concept to her.

Her thoughts would have quickly derailed to: "He didn't love her enough to remember her."

In light of these thoughts, saying "Then you didn't love her the way I did" doesn't feel out of the blue.

No, I am definitely not justifying what she said, I'm just laying out a possible explanation to why she said what she said.

Yes, she should've apologized to Sokka for this and I think that they definitely should've had a long conversation about their mother's death and how it affected them. Between Katara supressing her feelings and Sokka supressing his memories, i don't think they ever had this conversation.

But sadly we are given neither of these scenes.

Tl;dr: Everytime Katara mentions her mother, it's with good reason and I don't think it's fair to call a character toxic when they lack a mind to mouth filter for 5 minutes and say some mean things. And considering all that Katara has done for everybody, it isn't fair at all.

Peace out!

[firelxdykatara]

I really like hearing your thoughts on ships, so I was just wondering what you thought about the episode 'Seeing Red' from Buffy as a Spuffy shipper. I love the ship too and remember being so uncomfortable watching that episode. It felt like it came out of no where while I was marathoning the show

Ok so, I’ve been sitting with this for a while (my inbox is telling me it’s been 10 days......time plz stop moving without me noticing), mostly because it’s... a really Touchy topic, for a lot of (very obvious, to anyone familiar with the episode or the arc) reasons.

CW for discussion of attempted sexual assault and rape ahead. (I’m gonna talk a bit about Willow too.)

First of all, I wanna state that I understand why Seeing Red was a ‘point of no return’ for many people. There are a lot of people for whom sexual assault/rape is The Thing they simply cannot get past and they could never see Spike or Spuffy the same again, and that’s valid and understandable. For me, personally, I don’t consider it any more or less reprehensible than murder or anything else vampires and demons get up to in the show because they’re monsters and very specifically Not Human, but at the same time it felt gratuitous and unnecessary (like the writers were trying to remind us Spike was really evil right before he went to get his soul back of his own accord, and I’ll talk a bit more about that later), and the episode itself is difficult to watch. (Also because it includes Tara’s death, which wrecks me to this day.)

It’s also been a very long time since I’ve seen the episode in question, mostly because I haven’t done a full rewatch in years, and when I do watch Buffy it’s either starting from the beginning and then losing track of where i was and starting over again, or else jumping to random episodes throughout the show which I enjoy and watching those by themselves (and Seeing Red is very much not on that list lol). So I rewatched it just to refresh my memory and....god there are a lot of other reasons I don’t care for this episode. (Xander was exceptionally horrific to Buffy re: finding out she was sleeping with Spike. Gods I dislike him more and more the older I get.)

In general, it’s just a really hard episode to watch. (And I’ll never forgive Joss for finally putting Amber Benson in the opening credits, only to kill her that same episode.) There’s a lot of ugliness, and the Trio are among the worst villains in the show--not in terms of how they’re written (they feel kind of terrifyingly realistic, although they also seem kind of exceptionally meta in light of how much has come out in the last decade about Joss Whedon’s own attitudes and behavior and treatment of women), but because every other big bad with very few exceptions has the excuse of being a soulless vampire or a demon or a hellgod or some other monster that can’t really help the fact that they were made that way. The Trio are just normal dudes who think they’re entitled to women and money and power and are willing to do absolutely anything to get all three, proving that maybe it isn’t really the presence or absence of a soul that actually makes humans, like, humane.

But that’s me side-tracking. As far as Spuffy goes, yeah, this episode is pretty brutal. There’s no mincing words here--Spike attempted to rape Buffy, and he only stopped and had his ‘oh my god, what have I done’ realization after she managed to kick him off. If she hadn’t, he probably wouldn’t have stopped. And I can almost understand it, from a writing perspective--how do you make a soulless vampire realize that he’s truly a monster and, further, how do you finally get him to want to change that? Make him cross a line he never had before. Except... that really wasn’t necessary. Not for his character arc, nor for his relationship with Buffy, and a part of me thinks that it was really intennded to just drive home the message that Spike was a monster, and that Buffy could never really love him, and the easiest way to communicate that was sexual violence, something that the show never really had its vampires engage in previously. So it would be a shock to the audience, it would throw Spike’s motives into question when he went to get his soul back, and it would make his presence in season 7 a constant question, plus provide a reason for Buffy not to trust him.

I think all of this could have been achieved without the sexual violence. I think the scene was largely done for shock value--again, to douse the audience with ice water and remind them that Spike, no matter how chummy he’d seemed with the Scoobies since getting chipped and eventually working with them, was still a monster. But we really didn’t need that reminder, and I think it would’ve made more sense for him to simply attempt to kill her--still a betrayal, still shocking, still something that could spur him into the actions he would take afterwards (going to get his soul restored), but without the exceedingly uncomfortable attempted rape scene in a season where there had already been serious issues with consent.

I’m talking, specifically, about Willow.

There’s something interesting I’ve noticed in fandom, and it’s that people really don’t seem to want to talk about or acknowledge the fact that Willow raped Tara. Maybe because it was via magic, rather than violence--or because it was never really called what it actually was in the narrative, or because they’re The Gay Ship of btvs, I don’t know. But she did--when she spelled Tara to forget about their serious fight which had been building for weeks, and then went to bed with her. And then explicitly had sex with her the next day. It’s part of why I’ve always had a complicated relationship with “Under Your Spell”--I love the song, but it’s also literally spelling out the fact that Tara’s mind had been violated by the woman she loved and she could not consent to sex while under the spell.

So that moment was already toeing the line in terms of consent and at least Tara was able to talk about how Willow violated her mind and how that made her feel (in song, at that), but Seeing Red was like a slap in the face. Where Willow’s magic addiction and willingness to cross those lines had been building for more than a year, Spike attempting to rape Buffy came out of nowhere. This isn’t a show that explored any really complicated relationship between vampires and consent (in The Vampire Diaries, for example, vampires have an ability called compulsion and compelling humans that they then have sex with is pretty normal and no one really blinks about it, human or vampire; it’s definitely still rape, but it’s not treated as anything particularly beyond the pale, because they’re vampires who can control the minds of their prey and don’t tend to consider the feelings of their food sources to be of any real importance), and while the vampires are hot and have sex, there’s never been any indication that they sexually assault humans in addition to feeding on them.

I think that specific scene in Seeing Red is the hardest to watch in the entire show. There’s really nothing like it in any other episode or with any other villain, and it has a tendency to sit in the back of the mind and sour feelings about Spike and Spuffy because it’s genuinely difficult to forget. I’m not sure if the intention was really to turn people off Spuffy (especially since he got his soul and came back in season 7 and Buffy forgave him and fell in love with him), but that was certainly the effect it had on a lot of people.

For me, personally, like I’ve said I don’t like the scene and I don’t think it was necessary, which is why I tend to ignore it as much as possible when I’m thinking about Spike and Buffy and their relationship. It’s a thing I know that happened, but I also know that I don’t think it was particularly fitting from a character perspective, and that makes it easy for me to file it away as sloppy writing and generally OOC, and move on. Again, I can definitely understand why some people can’t or don’t want to do that, but I also know that a lot of people continue to love Spike and Spuffy and I don’t think I’m alone in considering that moment to be OOC for him and generally try to ignore it in my meta and other analysis of the show.

[iamanartichoke]

[please blacklist spoiler tags: #loki tv series spoilers, #loki series spoilers, #loki spoilers]

Yes, I did just watch episode 2 at 5:30 in the morning.

No, I am not sorry. Not at the moment, although when I inevitably crash later this afternoon, I will be.

Just some very, very quick - and scattered and messy - thoughts: That is a straight up lie; they’re definitely scattered and messy but not very quick at all.

Under the cut for spoilers and length.

I’m going to start with Loki’s characterization. My honest opinion is that Loki’s overall characterization feels like a fic characterization. He definitely is not Avengers Loki, like, at all. I don't know if Tom just, like, forgot how to play that Loki or ...?? That, or Loki was so much more mind-controlled than we realized and getting hulk-smashed just completely reset him back to zero but also fucked him up a little bit and affected his personality, kind of like how some people completely develop weird new personality quirks after a traumatic brain injury.

… yeah, I think that’s where I’m gonna land for now. TV series!Loki feels like a more-or-less canon version of Loki, but if that Loki got hit in the head really hard and now he’s just a little bit fucked up but overall no worse for the wear. Which - it may be that it’s so early in the morning, but that’s actually really fucking funny to me, lmao. God, I kill me. It’s not funny.

No, but, that’s pretty much how I feel. He’s ooc but he’s also ic, and the reason I’m not particularly bothered by the inconsistency, for lack of a better word, is because that’s what pretty much every fic Loki already feels like to me? (Including my own, so I’m not, like, saying that in a derogatory way.) Which is why I say Loki feels like a fic!Loki and to try to explain it better - there is always, for me, a little suspension of disbelief that I employ when I read fic. The reason for that is because the context, the plot, and the dynamics of the fic are usually pretty different than what we ever get in canon, so it becomes a matter of taking film!Loki and, like, bending him a bit in order to fit him into the perimeters of the fic.

The result ends up being that I don’t see the exact Avengers!Loki or TDW!Loki, and thus by definition the portrayal is ooc, but the version that I do see feels like a genuine extension of the canon version, possessing enough of Loki’s overall traits and characteristics that he feels authentic, albeit a bit pretzeled for the new context.

I honestly think that’s something that’s unavoidable, just due to the fact that in fic - and now, in this series - there are a lot more variables at play than there are in the films, wherein Loki is not just a supporting character but also the villain/antagonist and is therefore very limited in what he does/what the narrative allows him to do. When those limitations are taken away, what are we going to see? Probably a lot of different things, and yeah, a lot of them are going to feel a little ooc. And, like in fic, even if the characterization mostly lands, there are definitely bits and pieces (some fics more than others lean this way) where the author didn’t stick the landing or got carried away or otherwise probably forgot for a while that they were writing Loki, not their own OC.

That’s the point where it strays into cringe territory for me (and where the ‘heh, he’s Loki but with a brain injury’ aspect comes in), but while I had to consciously decide to just ignore those moments, overall the tone in this episode felt a bit more balanced between the new, the old, and the cringe, and less whiplash-y from the beginning of the episode to the end.

… I have no idea if that makes sense, but what I’m basically saying is that while I am enjoying this version of Loki, I do recognize all of the ways he’s ooc but, unlike how I feel about Ragnarok!Loki, the ooc-ness feels genuine and unavoidable rather than just a fundamental and careless misunderstanding of the character altogether. In other words, I feel like any ooc-ness here is happening despite the writers taking care to do their best, and isn’t just a result of Loki being lazily written by a person or persons who just doesn’t want to bother with him at all.

Again, I don’t know if that makes sense, but fuck it, there we are and I’m moving on.

I liked all of the little details, including again, things that felt straight out of fic, like Loki asking Mobius why he has the jetski magazine. (Also, if any of my thorki friends read this, was I the only one who noticed that when we see Loki reading the magazine, it just happens to be open to a page with a picture featuring a jet skier who looks like Thor? l.m.a.o.)

Loki interrupting things to explain the difference between illusions vs the other power (I can’t remember which one, off hand, and if I stop writing to go look it up I will lose my train of thought and not finish this) was great, but his overall input and contributions to the missions inspired very mixed feelings for me. On the one hand, I loved that the narrative, via Loki, is reminding us of all these things that he’s capable of that the films generally left out or brushed aside or ignored - but, every time he spoke, he was met with eye rolls and sighs and just a general feeling of “someone please shut this guy up” and I didn’t like the narrative treating him that way.

But also, it’s understandable bc none of the people on his team are actually on his team. None of them want him there (story of Loki’s fucking life), none of them trust him, and none of them are particularly interested in hearing what he has to say. So it’s like, I understand why they reacted the way they did, and I don’t think their reactions are meant to support an overall narrative undermining of Loki’s skills and input - but, the tone is hard to read for me bc I am very defensive and protective of Loki. I can’t quite determine the line between the TVA agents being unreliable narrators (ie, they’re annoyed by Loki bc of who he is to them, but that doesn’t mean the audience is supposed to feel the same) and the TVA agents validating that Loki is just being a nuisance (and, thus, the audience is supposed to feel the same).

That is, I know how I am consuming the narrative (that they’re unreliable narrators), but I’m not sure if that’s how tptb are intending for me to consume the narrative - and I guess it doesn’t really matter, but it’s worth mentioning.

In general, I really liked, again, Loki existing in his own space and watching the way he carried himself. I especially found it interesting that his hands were almost always in his pockets - for one thing it's a stance I tend to imagine him taking often in fic, but also it’s kind of a weird choice bc pockets don’t seem to be a thing in Asgardian clothing. It makes me feel like Loki is the kind of person who never knows what to do with his hands but is always conscious of them, as is common among anxious and self-conscious people, and I just find that relatable on a weird level.

I am really kinda torn on Mobius in this episode; when not interrogating Loki, he’s much less antagonistic toward Loki and therefore I’m more inclined to take-him-or-leave-him but I’ll go ahead and take him I guess. Yet at the same time, bc he’s not interrogating Loki he’s also not trying to put on a show for Loki and when you take that away, he really doesn’t seem to like Loki at all. It supports that Mobius only wants what Loki can do for him and doesn’t actually particularly care about him as a person, which is fine and more or less what I figured, but it contributes to me not really being able to decide how I feel about him in general. Idk, though, I kinda like their dynamic? Like I want them to end up friends?

Regardless, Tom and Owen have amazing chemistry and it’s really funny to me bc (not to be a jerk) I honestly didn’t know Owen Wilson could act. Like, I’ve never seen him in a role where he wasn’t just playing Owen Wilson. So for him to not only be playing Mobius so well but also having such chemistry and a sense of holding-his-own against Tom Hiddleston is like, color me surprised but pleasantly so.

I like B-15 a lot, even though she obviously hates Loki, so idk why I like her but I do. I like Renslayer less, but meh. (Side note - when I was in undergrad in Syracuse, I took the Amtrak from Syracuse to Boston and back more than a few times, for reasons that aren’t relevant, and that route always had a layover at Albany-Rensselaer and every single time I see Renslayer’s name, I want to call her Rensselaer instead.) Shout out to the guest appearance by Casey, sorry Loki stole your juice lmfao.

The moments from the trailer that were very cringe were less so in context (though still kinda cringe, tbh). I think we’ve seen most of the content from the trailers in the first two episodes now, though, which means going forward, it’s going to be like 95% previously unseen material (aside from the brief apocalyptic shots and so forth).

One thing I fucking loved was how Loki, reading about Ragnarok, was visibly affected and even teared up a bit, and you could tell he was in his feels about it, but then later when Mobius expresses sympathy, Loki is just like, “Uh huh, very sad, but anyway.” It was a subtle (well maybe not that subtle) but effective way to remind us that what Loki presents to other people is more often than not a mask and he keeps his true feelings close to the chest. It makes last week’s breakdown have even more of an impact, I think, bc clearly Loki was at the end of his rope to allow himself to show that much raw emotion and vulnerability, but also - for me - there’s a niggling little doubt there that wasn’t there before, in that there was probably more performance in it than I thought.

By which I mean, I think his reaction to the film of his life when he was alone was genuine but, while I previously thought his admission to Mobius later was also genuine, I now think was probably half genuine and half performative. I know others already figured that out, but I’m a little slow and, also, I don’t mind changing my opinion and interpretation from week to week.

Along the same lines, I wasn’t exactly surprised to see that Loki is “undercover” in the TVA, but it was nice to see it acknowledged fairly quickly. Not sure I buy that Loki wants to overthrow and rule the TVA - it’s still a little too “Loki only wants a throne” for me, but again, just because that’s what he told the variant doesn’t mean that’s actually what he’s after.

And, finally, I like the variant, I love Loki’s reaction to seeing her, and while I realize that the show has acknowledged Loki’s gender fluidity and we’re meant to assume that Lady Loki (I guess? Not sure if we’re going with that or not here) is Loki, I saw a theory somewhere about how this is actually not Loki-Loki, but - I wanna say her name Sophie but that’s the actress, again I can’t go look it up bc I will lose my train of thought - but it’s a character who is similar to Amora and who was created by Loki and models herself as Loki but she’s actually someone else.

Ugh I can’t remember the details of the theory, but I am kinda going with it bc I don’t think that Loki would look so - not surprised but just kind of “oh, well, I wasn’t expecting that” if he were seeing the female version of himself. Like, he doesn’t seem to recognize her the way I assume he would recognize himself, male or female. Not only does that make me feel like she’s actually someone else, but also not recognizing her as the female version of himself doesn’t necessarily mean Loki doesn’t recognize her at all. He may very well recognize her as this other Amora-similar character and, if so, I really want to see how that character fits with MCU Loki (as I think she’s a comic book character but, again, I’d have to go back and find that theory).

Edit: I found a version of it here.

Overall score, B-. Mostly solid, but needs moar Loki breakdowns and tears. (That's just me, don't fucking judge me.) Also, I really hate that we have to wait a week between episodes. I wish they were following Netflix’s method of dropping the entire season at once but, then again, if they did that, I’m not sure any of us would survive.

I gotta get ready for work and I deleted and rewrote so much of this and it still seems nonsensical to me, lmfao fml. Anyway feel free to interact/send me asks/whatever, it’s going to be a long fucking day with all of this on my mind. I’ll be working my way through my dash as best as I can.

Oh, also! Loki is so fucking pretty in this episode! The TVA suit is ugly, but he makes it work, and his hair's combed nicely and he looks like he finally got an opportunity to sleep and shower and eat something and, yknow, it's working for him.

[trials-by-blood]

Umm...I always see Yautja being paired up with someone strong and skilled and stuff. I was wondering if you could write something with any Yautja being with someone who is shy, meek, and a little chubby. And when they're alone or think they are they sing along to music and dance even though they can't.XD Sorry if I'm asking too much or anything...

Fegris, the dump world where the unwanted are left to rot and crumble.

  This was once a world where the yautja would crash their obsolete vessels so that they could not fall into use by the other space faring races. Ships were not the only things they left behind. Exiles, heretics, or anyone who upset the balance of their society were also left to wither, but not all did.

  In the following ages, other peoples would use Fegris as a place to forget their burdens. The Faceless Ones unloaded their collected specimens here when science deemed that their time of usefulness had ended.

  Now generations of humans, yautja, clade, mind eaters and all manner of invasive species build their cities here, clinging to half remembered mockeries of their mother cultures. Here, all Forgotten busy themselves mining ore, seeking pleasurable escape, stripping precious metals from ancient wrecks, gambling, farming, extorting, building, destroying, breeding, killing.

  One of the few honest livings to be made anywhere, the food service industry, prospers here. Organic people must eat, so this work will never die.

  Heather, an old name from an old world no one can recall, worked for her room and board at what would best resemble a mall food court. It wasn't a particularly hazardous occupation, so long as you don't taste-test the food or stay long after the coalition of retail outlets close.

(OOC: Okay this ran WAY longer than I anticipated and I had to make the choice to cap it off at 2,500ish words. I’m sorry if this TOTALLY misses the vibe you were hoping for, I kinda got carried away. Oops)

  Once, she'd made that mistake. Even her cold hearted rock-sucker of a boss told her not to bother finishing the cleaning if it meant staying after hours, but she hadn't listened. Heather hadn't wanted to leave her work half done and risk losing her job and newly acquired living space on her first day. So she'd stayed to wipe down the counters and load the trolly cart with the leftovers for the cooler. The reward for a job well finished was stepping out into the market spaces abandoned by customers and workers but repopulated by the local Yautja Bad-bloods and their rivals, The Cranium Skaggers. They were working through a territorial dispute.

  The Skaggers were human, but barely. They injected enhancement serums, most barely tested, directly into their brain tissues via an implanted port installed at the top of their shaved heads.

  Heather had stepped out of her safe enclosed little work area into a street brawl, and was pinned between the doors she'd only just locked and the carnal violence of the city. One of the yautja, who's vision was... not like hers, must have mistaken her bright heat signature and rapid heart rhythm for a Cranium Skagger.

  Oh, she tried to run when she saw him move on her with his unhuman, talon tipped hand outstretched to seize her. Heather had dropped her bag, the keys, the silly hat which matched with her uniform, and she ran but he was fast, so horridly fast for something so big, heavy, and grieved with bulky armor.

  It only took him three strides, thud thud thud, to reach her and tangle his terrible claws into the back of her long tunic. She was thrown, landing hard, disoriented and crying out as deep, raw pain shot up her left hip and into her pelvis. Something was broken.

  She saw him, her attacker, and the blades attached to his dominant arm glistening with the blood of Cranium Skagger's, but she didn't even think to cover her face. All she could do was scream for help.

  Her plea was answered. A great clawed fist smashed across the Yautja's mask with such force that his yowling face was revealed as his helm was torn from him. Next, skulls collided with a clapping of flesh so sharp, Heather thought someone had cracked a whip above her.

  One Yautja had begun to fight another. That was when she did the sensible thing, curling her arms over her head and making herself as small as she could.

  She survived that night. That battle resolved itself as she lied on the ground trembling and weeping in terror, but her savior stuck around after all the others had left. He put her things next to her, and waited until her boss came to collect her and get her help. The yautja must have gone through her communicator for her contacts.

  The fractured hip was easily and painlessly repaired but the procedure had completely drained her savings. To her shock and mild horror, someone had wired to her account credits in the exact amount to replace what she'd spent at the Urgent Intervention Facility to fix her leg.

  When she returned to work, who was there at the food court? The yautja who'd stayed that night. He stood out like a broken finger, the cleaned hand bones and torn out skull ports of Skaggers littered about what he wore like grim badges of honor. The sight of him watching her enter her workplace sent a chill up Heather's spine.

  This kept up for weeks, until The Indecent was months behind her. She'd go to work, and he'd be there, just watching. Heather's co-workers weren't fans of her admirer. Yagon, the young clade boy who took the morning shift before her was the least fond of the yautja lingering around.

  Today, as Heather stepped past her bad-blood observer who had decided to lean against the wall next to the employee entrance, Yagon was peeking out from the door to keep a watchful eye on her as she came in for her shift.

  Yagon chittered irritably, antennae vibrating as he took off his smock and hat so he could scratch his double claws at the translator hanging on a lanyard around his the joining of his head and thorax.

  The voice emanating from the little box was monotone and purposefully slow so that it could be heard clearly as he continued chirping and tweeting.

  "You know what that creep does all day waiting for you to come in? He listens to recordings of you singing on your shifts."

  Heather cringed. That was creepy. She'd had a feeling that he'd been able to hear her sing to herself from where he usually hung around, but she never thought he'd record her. It felt incredibly invasive. She briefly imagined confronting him about it, but thought better of it. He could crush her skull between his hands as if it were a brittle little Skitterling egg. She hunched her shoulders and hugged herself a bit.

  Yagon then turned and dropped the claws of his primary arms on her shoulders.

  "I can file an anonymous report for you. Please? I don't want to come in to work one day and find out something happened to you."

  Heather sighed, trying not to vividly imagine how an exiled yautja might retaliate to that.

  "N- no, I think that would just make things worse, Yagon," Heather tried not to whimper.

  Yagon finished folding his smock and hat into his bag and left, but not before offering twice more to file that report.

  A few hours passed and Heather caught herself singing a handful of times as she fell into her work routine but always stopped when she remembered who was listening. It felt awful, being observed so closely and denied the personal freedom do anything without fear of having it recorded for some stranger's entertainment.

  Again, she thought about confronting the yautja watcher, but couldn't help the violent catastrophes imagined with the idea.

  She felt like she couldn't make a noise or do a thing for herself to make this crappy job the least bit bearable without putting on some bizarre show for Captain Cranium Crusher out there! Heather's frustration built and built until she couldn't take it anymore.

  The walk-in cooler. It was sound proof, right? The moment she finished the lunch-rush line of customers holding out their trays for their greasy food, Heather tore off her gloves, tossed them in the general direction of the trash chute and turned on her heel to stomp her way to that cooler door.

  Heather glanced over the counter to confirm the Skull Collecting Jerk was still out there haunting the seating area. There he was, arms crossed against his chiseled chest, ass planted on a chair that could barely hold his weight with his big ugly sandled feet propped up on one of the tables. Bastard.

  She pulled open the thick insulated door and slammed it behind her. First she simply bellowed angrily, stomped her foot, slapped a bag of single serve condiments as hard as she could manage, doing anything to break the severe edge from her frustration.

  "UGH! WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" She tore off her work smock and threw her hat on the floor to stomp on it, "I'M JUST A SHORT, ROUND, NOBODY WHO SHOVELS SLOP ONTO PLATES SIX HOURS A DAY. I'VE NEVER EVEN BEEN IN A REAL FIGHT! I'M NOTHING! WHY ARE YOU WATCHING ME? WHAT THE FUCK COULD BE SO INTERESTING ABOUT ME?! STOP WATCHING ME, YOU ASSHOLE!"

  Then, spitefully, she sang her favorite song, watching the misty puffs of her breath dissipate as her heart pounded.

  Now, she felt cold and her throat hurt from belting out her very favorite lyrics so harshly. It wasn't fair, she shouldn't have to be reminded of that night every afternoon on her shift. It sucked, and somehow she felt guilty for being angry even though none of this was her fault and she knew she had every right to be angry. So Heather curled up and cried in the cooler for a half-hour at the helplessness she felt. It felt gross, and she knew by now there had to be a never-ending line of pissed off customers outside. She was afraid of confrontation and couldn't ever imagine herself actually standing up to anyone. She could already tell that she'd be crying in her apartment after work too. Whob wouldn't after the verbal abuse she'd no doubt suffer at the service counter from customers tired of waiting.

  Miserably, Heather stood and steeled her resolve to go back out there. With a deep, shaky breath, put her smock back on and fixed her hat.

  "I'll get through it because I'm good at getting through it," she told herself to make it easier to reach for that door.

  Chur-clunk. Chur-clunk. It was jammed. Oh no the cooler door was stuck. Heather put her weight into her next push, then her entire being into the push after that.

  "Oh GODS I'm going to freeze to death!" she wailed, pushing at the door again with everything she had.

  Frustration, anger, helplessness, now panic. She didn't want to die alone of hypothermia at work.

  There was a bang and a great dent had appeared in the thick door. Before she could figure what was happening, the door was torn completely from the reinforced hinges. Heather shrieked and fell squarely on her bottom.

  There he was again, who else would it be coming to her rescue and staring coldly down at her through the dead lenses of that helmet.

  In one swift motion he lifted his left arm and clicked away at the keys of his gauntlet computer with those claws. The hologram display showed Heather a collection of files marked with icons she recognized. They were just cropped, slightly fuzzy pictures of her name tag for work. With a few more taps of his claw, all of the icons dissolved. He deleted them. He'd deleted all of his recordings which pertained to her.

  "Oh, shit, you heard all of that," Heather whimpered, clutching her head with both hands in mortification. He must have heard what Yagon said earlier too.

  He said nothing, made no noise. He just stood there like an imposing statue for a few tense seconds before turning to stride away.

  She wasn't fired for the broken door and spoiled food. Before she could even collect herself from the floor in the cooler, her boss was wired a credit transfer for "damages".

  Later as she heard of his generosity, it also explained the mysterious funds appearing in her account after the hip procedure. That had been Him too.

  Her "admirer" didn't come back after that, which was a relief for the first week or two. After a while she found herself over thinking the whole thing. Yautja were notorious for being socially incomprehensible. Heather wondered if he just pitied her so much after one of his own kind damn-near destroyed her that he felt responsible for her continued safety. Or, maybe he was just a stalking sleeze-ball. She tended to flounder between the two conclusions, but one thing was certain, he was respecting her boundaries now and she appreciated that.

  After nearly a month, she decided that the best closure she'd get was accepting that the entire ordeal was some bizarre misunderstanding, totally on his part, and he did a few nice things but that didn't make up for the weeks and weeks of discomfort he'd inflicted.

  More time passed, Heather became more comfortable with her new job, and she very nearly forgot about that Yautja. The only time she remembered him were on cold days when her hip would ache, but it was pleasantly warm out on the afternoon she came in for her shift and found Yagon agitated with his antennae twitching so fast one might expect them to fly off his head. Heather looked around, hoping that the cleaning she couldn't finish the night before hadn't upset him. What she found was... Unusual, and she certainly hadn't left the thing there last night.

  It was a skull, from what she wasn't sure, sitting there on the counter by the check out scanner.

  "The Creep is back. This time he left a name with that." Yagon's translator couldn't read the inflections in his speech, but Heather could tell where the translator omitted expletives.

  "W-hat was it? His name?"

  "Stone Fist was the direct translation. I can't get the translator to say the correct pronunciation in his language and he made a scene about it until I threatened to call security. You know what that thing means, don't you?"

  Heather nodded, she knew what it meant. Everyone did. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the empty sockets of the skull. It was as if it were staring through her being.

  "I can still file that report, Heather," Yagon offered again.

  "Don't, I mean... As long as I don't take it, then nothing happens. Right?"

  "As far as I'm aware? I think that's how it works."

  If Heather didn't touch it, he wouldn't come back. If she took it home, he'd follow her home because accepting an offering like that was an act of giving permission to pursue courtship.

  Working with that lifeless skull watching her was eerie to say the least. She covered it with her hat midway through her shift so she didn't have to look at it. At the end of her shift as she fiddled with the patterned key to lock up before she left, she considered the skull one last time. No, She wasn't taking it, but she'd leave a note. Two notes actually, one to ask Stone Fist if he would consider an actual conversation before anything else, and a second note to apologize to Yagon for asking him to speak with Stone Fist again.

To Be Continued?

[dxctorstephenstrange]

OOC: From the Mun

VERY important!  Please read!!!

// Hello, all!

Earlier today, I reblogged and added my own comments to a post about "guilt-tripping" roleplayers on Tumblr, and it was brought to my attention that I may have been a bit harsh and unclear in my comments.  Looking over them, I'd have to agree.  

So...

First:  I want to apologize for any offense or confusion I may have caused by my comments.  Neither were intentional.

Second:  I want to provide clarity and reasoning behind my feelings on the "guilt-tripping" issue.

The reason I find guilt-tripping roleplayers so frustrating and offensive is based on personal experience.  I had a Star Wars RP blog three years ago, and I encountered two writers that would hound me incessantly for replies, to the point that I could not go so long as a single day without hearing from one, the other, or both of them (more than once, sometimes) wondering why I wasn't paying more attention to them and if I didn't like their writing anymore.  I'd reassure them, I'd get stern with them; no matter what approach I took, it didn't seem to make a difference.  Finally, one got offended over my getting frustrated with them and blocked me (because somehow *I* was the bad guy), and the other wouldn't stop, so I eventually had to delete that blog altogether, and I almost decided to give up on roleplaying via Tumblr for good.

With that in mind, one might be able to understand why I'd feel so strongly about the whole guilt-tripping thing.  People need to remember that this is a HOBBY, not a JOB, and if I'm forced into a position where I have to meet some kind of quota or get back to certain people within any manner of imposed time limits, the fun of this activity is going to drain from my brain quickly and I'm not going to want to do it anymore.

However, with the help of a dear friend I've met through this RP blog, I realized that my hostility might have made people feel too uncomfortable to come to me with any legitimate concerns over not getting replies from me...or ANY other topic, for that matter, and ill will, hesitation, or discomfort are the last things I want to inspire in anyone who writes with me.

So, let me be unquestionably honest and crystal clear:  I ABSOLUTELY want you to come to me if you have any concerns, questions, comments, or anything else regarding a thread we're running, any mistakes I made in a post, any personal concerns...whatever it is, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE to reach out to me on Tumblr or Discord.  I will always, ALWAYS make time to absorb your comments, answer any questions, or fix any problem you may have spotted that I didn't.  All I ask is that you be as respectful and constructive with me as you'd want me to be with you.

Also, please know that there really is no rhyme or reason as to what order I post replies in.  There's no favoritism, no cherry picking.  The closest thing to any process I have when I write replies is that I usually do them in order from oldest to newest.  Sometimes I can write them all in one night.  Sometimes it takes longer.  I work on them for as long as my brain is able to process rational and creative thought; when that stops, I stop for the night.

Keep in mind, also:  I'm a very wordy guy.  I love descriptions, inner monologues/thoughts, background; so I may take longer on certain replies for those reasons.  Please don't misinterpret quantity for any kind of preference.  I care about quality more than quantity, in any case.

Most importantly, I care about all of you.  You've all been so sweet and positive and kind, and I am humbled by your friendliness as well as your amazing talents as roleplay writers.  I am truly in the best company I could hope for, and I don't want to ever jeopardize that.

You're the absolute best.  Thank you for everything you've done, everything you do, and all the things still to come.

Sincerely,

Strange-Mun

[thedreadvampy]

Can you elaborate on the Hamid stuff you were I comfy with? I’d love to hear your take on it

Ehhhh it was like...between Shoin and Hiroshima I really didn't like the kobold stuff and it seemed to be going kind of unexamined at that time (may have changed since, I dropped off early in the Hiroshima stuff largely bc as I say I have struggled to find time for actual play podcasts lately) how Hamid didn't seem to be feeling any particular compunctions around killing a bunch of kobolds then taking advantage of their loyalty, and in itself that's a very valid character choice because like, Hamid ISN'T a nice person and has always been kind of self-centred, that's sort of his whole deal. but what was making me uncomfortable was the degree to which Alex and the party were building a narrative where this didn't really come up as much as I'd like and where people were treating the kobolds as like, it being cute and funny how they were rushing around after the party and I felt like the threads of the, like, kobold self-actualisation and the character consequences of Hamid Cheerfully Doing A Mass Murder had sort of got dropped (and I imagine they've been picked back up since, and I understand the need for some fluff in the immediate aftermath, but it was just kind of sliding me off that those things felt like they were getting swept to one side)

And also tbh feeding into this is a broader issue that had been building for me for a long time, which is that I really don't actually like Bryn's play style as Hamid at all. By which I don't mean I have issues with Hamid as a character, but with Bryn as a player, so this is gonna rest a lot on My Reading Of Bryn As A Performer and My Reactions To The Show, it's not like a Bryn Is Bad And Problematic As A Person thing.

I think Bryn as a TTRPG player is really self-centred in a way that gets my back up - I think he steps on other player's decisions and space a lot and tries to kind of GM from the back, I think he sometimes struggles to let things develop that don't involve Hamid, and I think in particular Hamid very often talks over Azu and Bryn very often cuts off or interrupts Lydia and Helen (and to a lesser degree Ben) to talk about what Hamid's doing or what Hamid thinks or how Hamid can solve this with magic, and while having a loud/self-centred character is a Good And Fun character decision, there's a delicate line to tread IC vs OOC when it comes to being actively engaged and roleplaying out that steamroller character without actually steamrolling other players and dominating every session. and I can't speak for whether the other players feel steamrolled but as a listener I felt like Bryn had been dominating my experience for a long time to the degree that stuff like the Sasha and Grizzop Rome stuff was like...a huge sigh of relief to listen exclusively to characters who Weren't Hamid.

obviously Bryn isn't the only person who gets overexcited and treads on other people's play (James did it a lot, and that annoyed me even though I started listening to RQG because I like James Ross as a comedian) and this is something I do a LOT as a player even though I try not to - it's totally normal to be very focused on your own character and get really hype and jump in on everything you can get your character involved in. But with Bryn/Hamid it's SO constant, like it's been an issue for me since at least Prague but my irritation was constantly building with it especially as the story started being way more about Hamid even when (to me) it felt like it was initially built around Grizzop, Sasha, Azu, Cel or Zolf.

Like for example, I felt like it made sense for Cairo to be focused mostly on Hamid and Azu, but I felt like Alex in Aleppo, Rome and Japan had built in plots to give Azu, Grizzop/Sasha and Cel/Zolf respectively room to take centre stage (like Aleppo had the orcs and goblins which were pretty clearly set up to expand on Azu and Grizzop's backgrounds; Rome had magic dampening which should have given non-magic characters Sasha and Grizzop room to shine and again, was very much framed via Azu's family as well as Hamid's but I felt like only Hamid ended up getting a complete emotional arc wrt family; the Shoin institute was science-focused and provided a space for us to get to know Cel properly and catch up with Zolf who knows what happened in the time skip) and in all those cases I felt like Hamid kept taking up most discussions, jumping in ahead on dictating the direction, and kept Doing Magic At It until things shaped around him. Like I get that Hamid is insistent on Being The Leader as a character trait but again, that didn't feel as much like a Hamid decision as a Bryn decision (which for me meant Hamid's WELL ZOLF I HAD TO BE THE LEADER BECAUSE YOU LEFT speech kind of got my back up because. it had felt for months like both Bryn and Hamid had been very aggressively taking control of the party without giving anyone else a chance to get a word in)

idk it's like...I like Hamid in theory but he was taking up so much of every episode I was feeling a bit 'oh shut up' even when like...I really liked what Bryn was doing with the character? I was feeling very over-Hamided and so by the time we came around to the kobold stuff I was not feeling very charitable.

A big part of it is the dynamic that I feel like I'm hearing between Bryn and Helen specifically. He interrupts or talks over/for her a LOT with the result that Azu often gets sidelined, and that stresses me for a lot of reasons (mostly that even though she's been in the game for years I don't think the podcast really ever saw Helen getting the space to seem equally confident and authoritative about the direction of the game as the other players who've been in from the start, and she also just seems...generally quieter and less brash than the other 4 so she often gets drowned out) and like. I want to be clear I don't know Bryn or Helen and I don't know how either of them are actually feeling, this is about how it comes across to me personally with a big heap of projection. But I've always been really sensitive to situations where I feel like someone who's a bit shyer or more ready to cede space is getting consistently talked over or struggling to get a word in edgeways, and honestly that's a vibe I'm getting from Bryn's in-game interactions with everyone except Alex and James, to varying degrees, both in the main campaign and in minigames/oneshots.

Tl;dr aside from the kobold issue, Hamid's story makes me uncomfortable because Bryn's storytelling makes me uncomfortable, I don't think he's able to easily share control or cede time in the story to other players, I think he rides over other players and characters a lot, and as a result Hamid's story has (/had) taken centre stage increasingly throughout and so anything I found discomforting in that story was magnified in importance.

I also think Bryn is struggling to not be defensive of Hamid and like. that's a problem because Hamid is an interesting character to exactly the degree the story can make space to engage with the fact that he's kind of headstrong, spoilt and selfish to the detriment of those around him. Like I LIKE that I LIKE a flawed character but I need his player to be doing that with an intentionality and critical view that I just wasn't feeling there during/after Shoin and was starting to suspect might be partially less an intentional choice and more a reflection of the player (especially when Bryn seemed to be really struggling to NOT play those character traits in the Rome sidequest when he was playing a character who was Not Hamid)

and like. while the interrupting/steamrolling was the case with James as well, I think this is why it bothered me less - James HATED Bertie as a person so while both James and Bertie were both loud, domineering and tended to interrupt, it felt like I could separate IC//OOC in a way I was increasingly struggling to with Bryn and Hamid

[darkpoisonouslove]

More GxV Headcanons for the Soul (and Mind)

@ the anon that said they’d like to hear more of my Griffin and Valtor thoughts - I have some more that I just remembered. Hot from the oven even though I have had some of these ever since I first came back to this fandom last year.

I see Griffin and Valtor as complementary opposites if that makes sense. She is the water to his fire so to speak. Now we haven’t been told what element her magic revolves around and have only been given some general magical abilities she has so her element could as well be water, though I headcanon her magic is more related with space bodies and draws power from the cosmos. I look at the fire/water duality in a metaphorical way. We’ve seen Valtor’s temper on the show. He is definitely quick to anger and explode while he also can give you anything you want to warm your heart so to speak. And what we’ve seen from Griffin definitely places her temperament under the symbol of water for me in all of its states. We’ve seen her get angry much like boiling water turning to vapor, we’ve seen her be cold and calculating like ice and we’ve seen her being adaptive towards the shift in circumstances. To me she is the perfect embodiment of water as an element and the perfect complementary part to Valtor as she can both hold him back by being the rationality to his recklessness and she can match his temper to match him in his thirst for victory.

Now even though I don’t think her magic actually has anything to do with water, I headcanon Griffin as coming from a realm that is heavily water based and fares on producing crops. It’s what made her so good with plants as she knew all about them from a child and her specialty are herbs in particular. I like the idea that Griffin is actually pretty good in healing magic but she refuses to utilize her natural gift because she is tired of people reacting like it’s unheard of a witch to have healing powers. She got a lot of shit for that when she was younger so she’s suppressed that side of her powers even if it is her best and destructive magic requires a lot more effort than the healing spells that come naturally to her. Now all of this works to make her even more an opposite and simultaneously a complementary reflection of Valtor since his Dragon Fire is the thing that created all life but he is using it for destruction instead. Btw in one of my “drabbles” I wrote that in Griffin’s realm they didn’t have fireworks and all usage of fire was closely monitored due to the production of crops. You know, just for the heck of it as it made her partnership with Valtor an even more interesting dynamic. I even headcanon that she was wary of his fire powers at first just for the fact that it was fire and she was not exactly used to having someone so explosive around her at all times.

Also somewhat on the same topic, in 3x25 when Valtor used the spell of the elements against the realm of Magix, he sent water to CT and fire to Alfea which has been interesting to me to dig into. It may not have held a lot of significance as a choice to the writers but I think it rather makes sense because Valtor was so mad at Griffin about her betrayal that he thought she didn’t “deserve” to be ended by fire which is his element. And on the other hand, he was pretty pissed at Faragonda and there was already one unsuccessful attempt at permanently getting rid of her when he trapped her into the tree (unlike Griffin who he only imprisoned) so he wanted to make sure he’ll be rid of her once and for all and what better way to do that than fire? Also, of course, sending fire to Alfea aka Bloom makes sense and the Alfea/CT opposition of fire/water could have been based on the opposition between fairies and witches. Either way, I like to tie this to my personal headcanon about his and Griffin’s relationship on a symbolical level as well as his rage over the betrayal. I think it makes sense whether that was intended or not.

Speaking of CT, I have a fun question to ask right here right now (that I have actually been asking for over a year and a half now but never shared). Where does Valtor sleep in CT? We all know that he wanted to take everything Griffin had as revenge for leaving him which was why he chose CT as his new headquarters when he relocated. He’s mostly been shown to reside in her office after he took control of CT and only ever left it if he had to attend to something else (which I blame on the fact that the show was mostly like “We’ll make the villains so evil that you can’t even imagine them sleeping because that would imply a level of vulnerability that seems OOC.”) Hell, even his entrance during the confrontation with Griffin supports the idea that he wants to take her place since he made himself comfortable in her chair instantly (and Icy called him the new headmaster later). So after all of this, it would be logical to conclude that he sleeps in Griffin’s room and in her bed which I think has so much deliciously irresistible potential for angst on both parts. Like, it’s her space, her very personal, very private space that he has invaded. There is nothing sacred that he won’t touch in his quest for vengeance against her. But on the other hand, it is her space and everything in there will remind him of her and of the life she’s had after she left him for dead so to speak. Just think about the tragic implications that this set up has, soak them in, let them drown you in angst. I hadn’t shared this headcanon because I wanted to write a fic about it but that derailed and I haven’t found a good way to bring it back on track yet so I decided to finally talk about it because I just need it to be out there in the world. JUST. THINK. ABOUT. IT!!!!!!!

Another headcanon I have about them is that because they were partners and so close (it is strongly implied in canon that they did convergence together and that it was super powerful) and they were also in love and spent a lot of time together, Griffin got a feel of the Dragon Fire and can recognize the vibe it gives off so to speak. She just got attuned to the magical presence of the Dragon Fire and she can sense it even if she’s never had it herself. She’s felt it flowing together with her own magic and tangled so deeply with it that it’s almost entering her veins so many times that she’s learned how it feels and can recognize it instantly. And that is not true just about Valtor’s Dragon Fire but also about Marion and Bloom’s as well. In fact that is my explanation about her behavior in 1x06 when she attacked Winx in the library of CT. Her reaction is too overexaggerated to be normal in the situation (she legit tried to kill them for heaven’s sake) and I like to think that it was because she instantly noticed the similarity that Bloom bore to Marion and Oritel’s lost daughter but she didn’t sense any Dragon Fire coming from her because Bloom’s powers were still pretty dormant after not having been used for 16 years. Griffin thought the girl was an impostor so she attacked because she was mad about the painful memories of both Valtor and Marion and Bloom being invoked by this obviously fake “heir”. And one last thing here that I’ve already written out but it will take ages to find the post - Griffin got so used to Valtor’s fire that is was hard to be without it later so she literally conditioned herself into having a resistance to cold because she refused to be left shivering in the stead of his loss.

(I think I might have bitched about this already but I have more rage to spare and some new points to bring to the table so let’s have at it again.) Now is time for a little rant I have had ever since I rewatched s3 for the first time in the beginning of last year. It has to do with my last point in that regardless of whether Griffin can sense the Dragon Fire specifically or not, she can still sense other magic. We’ve seen it in 1x25 when she and Faragonda both sensed the Army of Decay even though it was still too far away for them to actually perceive it via any of their other senses. And we’ve seen it in 2x16 when she knew Lucy was eavesdropping despite the door that was in the way. That second one especially pisses me off so much because Lucy was a student - aka much weaker than Griffin - and she wasn’t using any magic while she was eavesdropping and Griffin still sensed her even though Ediltrude was talking to her and distracting her at the time. But then Valtor - literally the most powerful individual at the whole realm and possibly the universe at the time AND someone that she has closely worked with for years - teleports in her office which means that he used his immense power and she didn’t sense that and was surprised by him showing up. How does THAT make any sense? No, please, this is just ridiculous. She should have sensed him at the very least. I have no illusions that she stood a chance against him either way but it would have been good if they hadn’t made her look totally incompetent and had also let her throw a spell his way at the very least. They had a good opportunity for a battle there that they totally disregarded and I will be forever salty about that.

We all know that magic comes from emotions, right? Well, I have had an interesting idea which I have already included in two of my fics. What if you can read emotions through magic? We’ve all seen those moments when a character is so mad that they literally start glowing in a magical aura and their rage is tangible to everyone around so that had me thinking that perhaps the magic carries the emotional charge that powered it. And if you get attuned enough to it, you can start reading the emotions tangled in the magic. If they spawned it, it would make sense that there are traces of them left in the magic. And it could make perfect sense when it comes to convergence as the binding element in the spell. Like, we know Winx all have different elements but are able to pull off convergence seamlessly  because of the harmony in their feelings. The emotions could very well be acting like the common thing between the different sets of powers that ties them together to allow them all to flow towards the same goal and the spell to be completed. And since I have a headcanon that Griffin is pretty good at reading magical auras and we know that Valtor was literally carved from magic, it would make sense that the two of them would be able to read the emotional charge that a spell carries. I actually like to imagine it was Valtor that taught Griffin how to do that but she got even better than him at it with some practice because she is more in tune with her own emotions and has higher empathy. Also headcanon that they have done that with each other and it helped strengthen both their romantic relationship and their partnership. It was what made Valtor especially mad after she left because that was undeniable proof that she hadn’t been faking her feelings for him which he wanted to pretend was what happened so that it would hurt less. It’s not something anyone can fake.

I also like to think that Valtor taught Griffin a lot about magic and he did it in the way in which he understood and practiced magic. Aka he taught her a more instinctive approach to magic rather than the more academic and removed approach that the magical schools teach. Formal magical education looks at emotions as something that powers magic and thus has to be controlled because it can be dangerous. Magic itself is treated as a weapon or a servant to the magic user which to Valtor seems ridiculous since he is literally made of magic. He was magic before he was a person so for him the two are inseparable. It was exactly what he taught Griffin - that magic is not some tool you use whenever you need it. It is a part of you that you need to accept as equal to your other parts and your consciousness. If you do that, it unlocks a greater potential for power due to the closer connection you have established with your magic. It sort of has the magic user and the magic become one and it is hard to tell who is controlling what. It’s a more dangerous approach because instincts can take over and steer things in uncontrollable directions which is why it isn’t taught in magical schools. Griffin was bitter at first when she learned how much more there was to her magic that her education didn’t teach her about but the more she used the approach Valtor taught her, the more she realized why that was. And especially when she became headmistress of CT, she knew it would be irresponsible to teach young and inexperienced witches that kind of approach to magic. Still, she feels like she takes away from them by not teaching them about the full extent of their powers so she has been looking for ways to include more about getting in touch with one’s own inner feelings for better access to their magic in her lessons so that the witches can use more of their powers.

[risingmoonyue]

Batman/P5 Crossover

-Sometime before Akechi but after Futaba or Haru

-Damian is sent to Tokyo to check it out for whatever reason (maybe they had a fight, or he’s going stir crazy, or he’s just the only one they can send at the time and didn't bother with all that "you're not old enough" business)

-Dami is younger than Futaba by a year or three or four

-He is baby

-He is transferred to Shujin as a child prodigy where he also immediately joins the "outcast" community because of his attitude and intelligence

-Talia goes too, manages to cut off all his communications with the Batfam, and is planning to take him home in a month whether he likes it or not

-For whatever reason, Batfam doesn't realize this??? (Like, either she's faking reports or they're too busy (think fight or chaos in Gotham scenario maybe???))

-Anyways, obviously Dami doesn't want this

-Somehow the Phantom Thieves hear about the situation

-Maybe he was assigned to shadow Makoto for a while, and they managed to overhear a phone conversation either to Talia or Dami trying to get in touch with the Batfam and nothing really working

-And eventually they outright see him fighting with his mother with him at some point (either in person or over a phone call) mentioning that she already disowned him, he's happy with his Father's family, and that he will head her family business over his dead body—and oh would you look at that, you already managed that, care to try again Mother?

-The PT's are understandably alarmed

-And learn her name from Damian (from Makoto maybe or someone else he bonded a little with) (MORGANA) (THEY GAVE HIM MONA FOR A DAY AND NOW THEY KNOW EVERYTHING FROM HIS MANY PETS TO HIS LEAST TO MOST FAVORITE SIBLINGS STARTING FROM TIM TO DICK TO HIS FAVORITE FOODS TO EVERYONE IN HIS FAMILY’S NAMES TO HOW STUPID HE FINDS EVERYONE AND WHY THEY'RE STUPID TO HIS FAVORITE MUSIC TO WHY ANIMALS ARE SUPERIOR TO HUMANS AND MONA’S LIKE OMG TMI BUT LOVED IT THERE BECAUSE HE WAS PAMPERED LIKE NO TOMORROW GOT ONLY THE BEST FOOD AND THE BEST BEDS AND TOYS THAT HE GOT TO TAKE WITH HIM BACK TO LEBLANC AND NOW AKIRA AND SOJIRO ARE LIKE DUDE WHY AND MONA’S LIKE IM KEEPING HIM THIS HUMAN IS GOOD SORRY AKIRA YOU’RE DEMOTED)

-The palace is basically a fortress full of assasin ninjas and clones

-Dunno what her keywords are tho

-Or her what her palace actually is

-Help?????????

-Cognitive Bruce, Ra's, Damian, Dami clones, and Jason (maybe rest of batfam??? Idk)

-Long story short, the traps are so assassin-y that they need someone who knows the actual Talia because egads, this is the closest they have all come to actually dying

-And they didn't really want to do it and were just gonna power through

-But Dami manages to find out and get in and of course uses his background to help out whether they like it or not

(-he's slightly off put by Joker's name, but then decides to just solely call Gotham!Joker "The Clown")

-At some point they are captured by the Shadow Talia who is decked out in super fancy traditional Arab clothing and probably every conceivable hidden weapon known to man

-Talia says Damian won't and can't ever change from who he "is meant to be", referring to him as her Alexander and basically brutally addresses all of his insecurities concerning the batfam and people and society in general

-And all this is kinda killing him cause he still loves Talia despite the fact that she killed him and had a violent citywide custody battle with Batman but he also loves the batfam too even if he would absolutely never admit it (except to maybe Grayson)

-Joker does his emotional kick-start thing and/or Dami is like Makoto and just gets so mad he triggers it himself, but either way, lo and behold, Damian is now a persona user, usurping Futaba's place as the baby of the team

-The outfit is kinda inspired by his future adult league outfit with the top and bottom and gold jewelry, but has a raggedy cloak with dull gold edges, a Robin mask and gauntlets, and his main weapons are batarang-sword hybrids

---acknowledging his past and moving on with his present

-Persona: Aladdin, Tsun Zu, Ali Baba, somone else???? Need ideas plz help

-Probably the fastest member of the group

-His small body makes his hits not as strong, but hoo boy can that kid move around

-Hits a lot and dodges most

-Most of his Persona abilities are physical and have high crit and/or are status affects

-Downside is he has not a lot of SP (compared to the rest of the group)

-And he has pretty good HP

-Those good ol' “superior genetics” have to be good for something after all

-Anyways they escape to find the treasure another day

-And Dami is all smug because HA you definitely can't stop me now

-And the PTs are just resigned to keeping an eye on the extremely competent snotty assassin/vigilante child

-They do like him though so it's not too bad (comes with learning all his darkest secrets via his mother and thought processes that tends to accompany watching someone at their lowest get a persona)

(-They do manage to temper him a bit and help him adjust better to actual society too that's nice)

-As such, they also know about Batman and Robin and his whoooole family. Both sides.

-Damian decided not to tell batfam because he does agree with the whole "most adults suck" mentality that the Phantom Thieves have; despite his deep, deep respect for his father and mother and Grayson, they all do kinda suck

-And he’s rather not get pulled out as he surely would if he told them

(-On a side note, he likes Sojiro

-The man gives him coffee, curry, and leaves him mostly to his own devices

-Instant win)

-He is dubbed "Mockingbird" apon return to the metaverse because of his freaky talented vocal skills in mimicking anyone and everyone's voice

-Eventually, they beat Talia

-She doesn't publicly confess to all her sins unlike everyone else

-PTs don't realize it worked until Damian came into school with a genuine smile on his face, and more relaxed than he'd been since he got there

-PTs are confused until Damian's like, this works out because hey, don't want to have several people assassinated and draw the entire freaking league to Tokyo

(-Which was probably why Talia didn't)

-They agree

-But she does break down to tears in Dami's arms and promise to ACTUALLY TALK CIVILLY with Bruce to try and make up for everything and try to fix up the league

-He stays for the rest of p5

-But steers all his reports very much away from the Phantom Thieves

-If anything, he downplays absolutely everything, and makes it seem like it's nothing super big but he's gonna stay a while to keep and eye out because y'alls are busy and I like it here and I haven't gotten expelled so there

-The PTs like to add funny stuff on there just to see if they’ll notice

-Like, Akira likes to have Dami describe his day in excruciating detail. Like, recounting the entirety of his nine or so months to Sae during police interrogation, excruciating

-Mona is pushing for the shiny stuff

-Yusuke just likes to put in bursts of randomness (Dami once mentioned that an acquaintance made another acquaintance T-pose in a church for art lol)

-Ann loves to rant about food

-Haru is always insisting on about feelings

-Ryuji likes to complain about everything and puts in ridiculous requests

-Futaba is just putting in every gen-z thing ever

-Makoto is actually responsible and tries to get him to talk about his progress in school and his social life

-And Akechi is absolutely nowhere near any of this and doesn’t know it exists

-When they have the Tokyo/Japan-wide calling card, Batfam sees it too because let's face it, that's totally the sorta thing that they would keep an eye out for even if he didn't look at the news in the entirety of the time Dami was in Tokyo

-And they send a message to Damian (the first actual communication they've had since before Talia) saying "WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON OVER THERE????"

-And with the entirety of the Phantom Thieves looking over his shoulder, Damian's just like "Chill dudes, everything's fiiiiiiiiiine"

-And they're like "UH WHAT PART OF THIS IS FINE????" because they've dug around a bit and found every news report, and oh hey, this isn't anywhere near as calm as Damian described and he’s being super OOC and what’s going on?!?!?!?!?!

-And Damian, being egged on by the most of the PTs, just sends a winky face

-Just

-😉

-And he's smug, because it's still chaos over there so they can't actually come get him and try to pull him out because he's being super ooc

-Which means he's free to do what he wants/needs in the meantime

-Cue the end of the game

-And Dami is going with them on their summer road trip and cackling because the batfam is scrambling to find him in Tokyo but lol nope he's in a van the Japanese government tried and fail to follow

-And he found all the trackers like, a year ago

-Every

-Single

-One

-They eventually track him down to Akira's house where they're calmly eating dinner (and they've been expecting this for the past week so Mona was keeping watch just so they could pull this off) and talking about how uneventful the school year was

-Cue mass confusion in the batfam

-As the PTs enjoy just confusing them so much

-By talking to Mona

-Talking normal then crazy then normal again

-And just generally being their normal selves lol

-They explain absolutely nothing beyond gushing about how much progress socially and academically he’s made (gotta embarrass the baby of the group somehow) and making sure that if Dami absolutely has to go home that he's able to stay in touch

(-Later, Damian forms his own hero persona outside of Batman and Robin)

(-He names it Mockingbird)

(-Batfam proceeds to have a brain aneurysm while the PTs dab their happy proud tears out of their eyes on their regularly scheduled tea time at the Wayne Manor)

(-Damian sends a private plane every week or two lol)

(Bonus: ARTTTTTTT)

(Psst if you guys have ideas for art, outfits, interactions or scenarios, let me know)

[soren-bleu-kun]

BnHA Fics I’ve Read This Week 2

Here are my notable stories that I found and read this week. Some of these contain manga spoilers. 

Confined By My Own Mind (I’m Not Fine) - This is a Dadzawa fic that, despite the title saying that it must be, takes place from Aizawa’s perspective and not Midoriya’s. During this fic, the homeroom teacher of 1A realizes that something is wrong with one of his students and pulls him aside during class. 

Aches and Pains - Another Dadzawa fic, this time from Midoriya’s side of things. Unable to sleep because of the old pains in his bones caused by misusing his Quirk, Midoriya heads out of his room and runs into his teacher in the dorm kitchen. 

Disowned - This is not the most realistic Shouto Todoroki fic that I’ve ever read, but I like the idea of him losing control of his power and himself after being kicked out of the Todoroki family. I wish this fic went a little more into the “why” of things, and the aftermath, but still a good little story. 

Angel’s Egg - THIS IS NOT COMPLETED YET! Usually I don’t read, much less review, incomplete stories, but this one - only at three chapters so far - is a great story so far. Basically, what if Izuku was left on All Might’s doorstep, but instead of a baby, he’s an egg that has to be incubated? It sounds weird but it’s actually really cute - and baby Izuku has little wings. Honestly, give this a read and encourage the author, it is so good. 

Day 10 - Wait No, Aww Crap, Here We Go Again - This long titled fic is the first Kaminari Centric fic that I have read, but it will not be the last. In this story, Kaminari gets upset about something that Monoma said to him, and his friends make sure that some adults takes care of it - like they should in canon but don’t. 

Pretty - This is a fic where Monoma and Shinsou are an established couple, and Monoma goes off to visit his boyfriend in the middle of the night. No smut, I don’t review any of that. Honestly, this was cute, even if I don’t really ship it. 

Spare Scares? - This is clearly going for ShinDoriya, and they really make this a cute story, but this is more or less before any relationship that they could/will have. Basically, Shinsou only came to this UA Halloween party to find Hatsume and pick up something he needs for training, and runs into Midoriya, who is here dressed as a ghost. 

The Road That Went Forever - Would you like to utter despise Hisashi Midoriya? I know that I wasn’t planning on it when I read this fic, but that is what happened. Basically, after he finds out that Izuku is Quirkless, he starts trying to find a way to get rid of him and he does. 

A Routine Affair - This is the second Huyumi fic that I’ve ever read, and I still see it as a bit of a crack ship more than anything else, but this story is cute. Basically, Hawks brings Fuyumi coffee before work every day and it takes her a very long time to realize that he likes her. 

Float - Now this is an interesting one. Basically, Midoriya is trying to unlock Float, which is Nana Shimura’s power. It turns out the only way that he can do that is to let go of the things he’s been feeling that are weighing him down and talk about them. This is very much a “fuck Bakugou” fic, which is my favorite. I love that Midoriya finally gets to feel and talk about all of the things that were done to him in this one. 

Savior - Basically, what if everyone told Bakugou to stop being an asshole to Midoriya on the first day of school instead of condoning his behavior? 

Uraraka’s Guide to Crushes - This is a TsuChako fic, which I think is a cute ship but don’t read about often. In this one, Uraraka is so sure that this will be a quick crush and then it’ll be over. The thing is, it doesn’t go away, which means she might actually have to confront her emotions... terrifying. 

The Sparkling Hero : Aoyama Yuuga - I have never seen a fic entirely dedicated to Aoyama, which made this an interesting read. Though not canon to the few things we do know about his background, it is still an interesting take on one of UA’s most sparkling future heroes. 

The Second Prince - This is a “what is AFO were Midoriya’s dad” fics, in a royal fantasy AU. Although some of the characters are OOC, this is a look at what Midoriya’s life would be like if he lived in a little castle where he can’t get hurt and still tried to help people anyways. I was surprised by how much I liked this fic. 

First Try (Not the Last) - In this fic, Midoriya has a Quirk, something that he only discovers when he tries to launch himself off of a building like Bakugou told him to. This is the first fic in the series, and I haven’t read it all the way through yet. Pretty good though. 

Like Light Through a Window - In this Aizawa and Hagakure Centric fic, the teacher finds the young hero in training after she’s been almost crushed under a building. He’s able to see her face for the first time, but only because it’s covered in blood. 

The Deaf Hero: Deku -  Basically, what if everything were the same but Midoriya was losing his hearing during it? Forty chapters, worth the read. 

I See You - In another fic where Midoriya is missing one of his senses, this blind successor of All Might wants to be able to see his mentor. The only embarrassing part is asking him if he wouldn’t mind Midoriya touching all over his face. 

Remember From Here on In - This is a fic where the author comes up with the six Quirks that Midoriya is going to get because of OFA. Although not canon, it was very good and fun. 

Remembrance - Throughout the course of these three chapters, Midoriya gets blasted back through time and lands in a world pre-All Might. Or at least, not the All Might that he knows, since he’s still at UA. 

Shout & Mute - In this EraserMic fic, the two of them are stuck in each other’s bodies throughout the course of the fic because of a villain. While staying at Hizashi’s apartment in his body, Shouta realizes just how much he loves him and knows that he’s going to end up confessing even if the feelings aren’t reciprocated. 

How Not to Enjoy the Weather, an Article by Kaminari Denki - The story toys around with the idea of this electric boy getting overpowered during thunder storms and him isolating himself so that he doesn’t end up hurting anyone that he cares about. 

A Deadman’s Gun - Throughout ten chapters, we get to see what would happen if Midoriya never got a Quirk and instead fell in league with Stain. 

See No Evil, Hear No Evil - A Bakugou and Kaminari friendship fic. Turns out that on the day that Kaminari forgot his contacts that he hasn’t told anyone about, and Bakugou forgot his hearing aids that he needs because of his Quirk. They decide to depend on each other throughout the day. 

Pictures, Posters, and Tender Beauty - During this fic, we get to see exactly what Midoriya thinks about his mentors weakened state. Dad Might fluff ahead. 

Electric Connection - This is a story where Kaminari can’t sleep - thanks ADHD - and so the entire BakuSquad comes into help. Shinsou is his boyfriend in this one, but it isn’t the focal point of the story. 

Caught Up - This is a Shinsou Centric fic where he fights through all of the not-quite-comments about his Quirk, and is thankful for having Aizawa in his corner. The last scene is Shinsou and Aizawa working together with the capture weapon. 

How To Ask Out a Guy in 2000 Words or Less - This is a ShinDoriya fic, and it features exactly what you think it does based off of the title. A very cute little story. 

Ghost - This is a story that actually features Shinsou and Shigaraki, the two of them having met at a toy store when Shinsou was just a little kid. Honestly, I wish there were multiple chapters of this because the idea is really interesting. 

Eyes On Me - Throughout three chapters, we see how Aizawa deals with his own panic attacks and the reasons why he feels the need to help his students through theirs. 

For Blood and Wine are Red (and Blood and Wine Were on His Hands) - Despite having a very long and Oscar Wilde inspired name, this is a short one-shot about Vigilante!Midoriya breaking into Aizawa’s apartment, looking for a first aid kit. 

Schrödinger’s Cat - This is a an extremely beautiful and painful story where Midoriya is found, months after going missing with a new powerful Quirk, white hair, and no memory of how he got there. This story was translated by the author from it’s native German, where is got less than five hundred hits. I think that everyone should read this fic and give the author a lot of love. 

Around and Around We Go - One of those “Five Things + One” things, this time with EraserMight and hair ties. A very cute story. I don’t get the chance to read a lot of EraserMight but I’m glad that I took the time to read this one. 

Playlists - Useless lesbians Momo and Jirou pine over each other and don’t realize that their love is requited until Jirou makes her crush known via a playlist. 

Nothing Cuts Like a Mother - In this Inko Midoriya Centric fic, we have the mother going to UA to tell Aizawa about the troubles that he has, with his Quirk. She also tells him about the bullying that Izuku Midoriya went through, and tells his teacher that these mistakes cannot be repeated. 

Team Player - This is a fic about Dabi not wanting to be redeemed from his sins. That was for Touya, an old him. He isn’t that guy anymore. 

Helping Hands - Primarily from the perspective of Kirishima, this is a fic that deals with an AU where Midoriya never got into the Hero Course, and is instead a Gen Ed course student at UA. Cue Bakugou attacking him on the second day, telling him that he doesn’t even belong at the same school as someone like himself - and then see all of Class 1A get angry for Midoriya because “Dude did you just fucking attack a dude because he’s Quirkless?” 

It’s Hurt Denki Hours - Now, I don’t really like the way that this one ends, but in this story the BakuSquad is convinced that Kaminari is the traitor and refuses to talk to him. This really hurts Kami, because he was actually really, really worried about his friends and this hurts him deeply. There is also a bit of a misunderstanding about how Shinsou’s Quirk works, but I will overlook it for the angst. 

Optimistic Friendship Association - This fic features Midoriya accidentally texting Shinsou instead of Yagi, asking how to get OFA to stop breaking his bones. When he’s asked what that is, he panics and says it’s a school group. Now he just has to find a way to explain why a group around optimism is breaking bones... 

Lichtenberg Figures - Another Kaminari Centric fic. In this one, Kaminari accidentally hurts a civilian after panicking during a villain attack. Not wanting to hurt anyone else, he starts refusing to use his Quirk, which does nothing but hurt him in the end. 

Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n Roll - This is a fic that has nothing to do with intercourse, drugs, or music. No, this is an ADHD Kaminari fic, where his RSD makes him not want to fill out a test that he doesn’t remember any of the answers to and he draws all over it. As someone with ADHD, this hit close to home but was really good. 

Kiss Away All These Thrills - A short ShinKami fic about the two of them playing the Pocky Game. Spoilers: it ends with a kiss and a confession. 

[robobiitch-archive]

Mobile Rules;;

Mun Info

name: Moe Loogham

age: 21

birthday: September 25th

pronouns: She/Her

faceclaim: Deadpool, Death from AMOLAD, Rose Quartz from Steven Universe, Loki from MCU

rp experience: 8+ Years

discord: Available to Mutuals on Request!

HELLO!

I'm Moe! It's great to meet you. After taking a very long break from the tumblr rpc, I've decided to dive back in, because why the hell not. I'm a freshly graduated college kid who's trying to find her place in this world lmao.

I'm from New York, I have two beautiful guinea pigs named Sage and Rosemary and I'm a witch, that's just about everything you gotta know. In terms of RPing, I've had several muses over the years, from a few different fandoms, and Connor's brand new but I've had a lot of fun experimenting with him among friends and I wanna let him run free out here in the dumpster fire that is tumblr dot com. College has been a big part of why I drifted away from tumblr RPC, just because of time constraint, but I'm excited to be back!

My Rules have been broken up into sections. I will try to keep each section as brief as possible while still informing you of everything you need to know about how I like to run things.

Blog Etiquette + Following

This blog is PRIVATE, SELECTIVE, and MUTUAL'S ONLY and 18+.

I do not follow for a follow, and I do not follow back unless I am interested in threadding with you. If I follow your blog, it means I have read your rules and bio at the very least! I do not send in passwords, but if you have a post that you would like to direct followers to when they've read your rules, I will like it.

If we are not mutuals, you are still free to interact through asks and ask memes. i reserve the right to delete/ignore asks from mutuals and non-mutuals alike! this is mostly out of precaution, and would only be done in cases that violate privacy or cause discomfort.

I will only thread with other Roleplay/Ask blogs. Sideblogs are fine, but if your main blog is a personal, please let me know and tell me your sideblog url! If you RP off of your personal, I will not follow/thread with you. This is mainly to keep my dash organized. That being said, I will not unfollow someone just because they post OOC a lot. I know I have a tendency to do the same sometimes.

But I am not okay with personals reblogging my threads. Feel free to like them, but reblogging anything that isn't a drabble or anything with my "do not reblog" tag, it will result in a soft block. Repeated offenses will result in your blog being blocked. Reblogs make it difficult to keep track of post history.

Once again, in case it wasn't clear: I do not rp with muses via personal blogs. Things can get hectic very quickly with keeping track of threads. If you have a muse, please create a side-blog for them at the very least.

Just as a general note, I am a relatively busy person and so sometimes I will have periods of low activity. I try to be active at the VERY LEAST once a week, and sometimes I'll be able to crank out like 10 replies in one day. But real life always comes first, for me AND any of my rp partners. RPing is a hobby for me, and I don't let it stress me out. Of course, if it's been a week or two since I've replied, there's a very good chance that I've just forgotten to respond. If that happens, do not be afraid to poke me about it.

If I ever want to drop a thread, I'll let you know, and I'll very much appreciate if you do the same, but it's absolutely not required. I don't mind at all, if anything I'll usually ASK if you want to drop it and if you do, that's completely fine. The other option I have for threading is ARCHIVING, for when we have a thread that we want to put down for now, but maybe pick up again later. If you'd rather Archive a thread instead of drop it, just tell me. :)

Also!

All Icons on this blog are made/screenshotted by me or RK800ISALIVE, and my post banners were made by DENICDLIFE Please do not take them or use them!!

Shipping + Exclusivity

this entire section is very important. please read it carefully, and feel free to ask me if you don't understand something.

This isn't my first rodeo. I love shipping. I am perfectly open to shipping. HOWEVER, that is not the sole purpose of this blog. Regardless of canon, fanon, personal preference or otherwise, unless we have spoken previously about it, Connor will not be automatically shipped with your muse. This blog is OCxCanon friendly, and canon ships are fine too. But for ANY case, I ship chemistry If your muse doesn't click with mine, that's totally fine. But please don't try to force a ship on me, and do not follow me if shipping is the only thing you're looking for out of our threads.

On that note: Original Characters. They're great, I love hearing about them and seeing their depth and complexity. But if your OC has little to no history, or if their sole purpose is to flirt with Connor, please do not ask to interact. I've had too many experiences in the past with OCs whose existence is based around wanting to bang my muse and it really grates on me. It's nothing personal, I know writing only gets better with practice, but if you come to me asking to be a detective who works with Connor and that's all the information you have, I really ask that you go find another Connor to interact with.

I will only ship with your muse after discussing it out of character. IC flirting is the only exception to this, but do not get angry if Connor does not respond the way you want him to.

I don't want to have to put that there, but it's happened to me too many times before and it's an uncomfortable situation for everyone involved. Please don't do it.

This blog is NOT Exclusive, but I do practice Maining with other muses. What that means is if we have previously discussed it, and have had enough interaction, my muse will refer to yours in conversation or in terms of relationship depending on circumstance. Once I have created mains, they will be posted in the Navigation tab. Occasionally I may post a mains call, which invites anyone interested to discuss becoming a main with Connor.

TRIGGERS + NSFW

I am 20+ years old, and NSFW can and will happen on this blog, however I will always keep anything that contains NSFW under a "read more" cut for the sake of any followers who are not comfortable with seeing NSFW content.

I am comfortable with most NSFW topics. I absolutely WILL NOT write about pedophilia or incest, and definitely WILL NOT rp sexual situations with minors or people who I have not shared consent with. This is for my safety as well as those who I interact with. I'm trying to get into grad school, not jail.

I will try to tag triggers accordingly as they appear. Triggering content that MAY appear on this blog include:

Abuse

Child/Character Death

Disease

Drugs/Drug Use

Alcohol

Execution/Murder

Gore

Nudity

Self-Harm

Suicide/Mental Health Issues

Verbal/Physical Violence

Torture

Important: mun and muse are mutually exclusive. I am not Connor. Connor is not me. Actions performed in threads do not reflect me or my personal beliefs, unless otherwise explicitly stated by me.

If you've made it this far, I would really appreciate if you could like this post to let me know you've read and understand all my rules. If you are not comfortable doing so, that's fine! It's really just to help me know people cared enough to go through the whole list. :) It's not at all an obligation, but it would be really awesome.

Despite the fact I am comfortable with NSFW, I prefer to be comfortable with the other mun as a person before agreeing to write these topics with you. I am not obligated to write NSFW with anyone.

[zarfm]

» • * — ( benjamin wadsworth , cis male , he/him ) . i think i hear underdog by kasabian coming from apartment 2104. doesn’t balthazar ros live there ?? i heard they are a twenty-two year old chef from chicago , but they’ve been living in the apartments for two years . they come across a bit - wrathful and - rude , but they also seem like they could be + compassionate and + hardworking . whenever i see them , i think of denim jackets, guilty cigarettes, searching for a hug in a fist fight. oh , and don’t forget to follow them on instagram at tsar.zar ! ooc . ally, 22, she/her, est

hello y’all!!! i’ve been eying this rp for so long but have been. waiting until my mental state was Ready Enough to do it justice ! anyways, hello, my name is ally, i live in canada, i just got a job at walmart and i just learned how to french braid. those are my two biggest achievements during quarantine. anyways, this here is zar, he’s an emotional mess, please enjoy. there’s a quick novel-length introduction under the cut, but for more details, please click the following links. like for me to beg you for plots on discord !!!

full statistics. full biography. pinterest. wanted connections.

tw scars, emotional neglect, child abuse, physical abuse, 

statistics. 

full name. balthazar eduardo ros. nickname(s). zar. occupation. chef. age. twenty-two. date of birth. november 8th, 1997. nationality. american. ethnicity. mexican, iranian, english, ukrainian. orientation. bisexual/queer. gender & pronouns. cis male; he/him/his. religion. atheist.

height. 5’7”. weight. 145 lbs. eye color. brown. hair color + style. dark brown, curly, either styled haphazardly or pushed over his forehead. dominant hand. right-handed. distinguishing features. the scars on his face, that smirk, pretty boy eyes, and his plethora of tattoos.

biography. 

had a... pretty shitty childhood honestly. sure, both of his parents were wealthy, but his mother, who he lived with at first in los angeles, was not only constantly busy but also emotionally neglectful. when his nanny from basically birth to age three was fired without any notice to him, for example, he cried for days. and his mother’s solution was to only keep the same nanny for a month so zar wouldn’t get attached. 

he started to act out in school, because he, y’know, wasn’t getting any affection? and when therapy proved to be futile (meaning none of the therapists gave his mom the answer she wanted), she did the logical thing: blackmail your son’s father to taking him in or else she’d tell the whole world about their affair, and then put your six year old son on a plane to his father’s place alone without warning him or even telling him that he was going to live with his father. 

he still has nightmares about the flight attendant pulling him onto the plane while his mom walked away, impassive. no biggie. 

TO MAKE THINGS EVEN BETTER he was thrown straight into the lion’s den, living with his wealthy father and his picture-perfect family with five sons in chicago. of course, zar didn’t know that this man was his father until he was thirteen years old, but his stepmother figured it out almost immediately. and his brothers were all... spoiled brats, so she basically let them do whatever they wanted with him. i won’t get into specifics but imagine if you lived with five of your school bullies. 

it’s also around them he finally looked his mother up on facebook only to find that she was now married and pregnant with another kid. he’d been replaced. this is high-quality parenting 101, folks. 

food became... something of an important escape, for zar. he stopped eating with his family when he was about eight (it was basically a game of see how much we can abuse zar while the parents pretend he doesn’t exist), and started making his own little dinners. he associated dinners with the family meals he always saw on tv, portraying something he so yearned for; love, and family. to zar, cooking himself dinner each night became a way of practicing self-love. 

he also developed a habit of picking up strays; he fed one stray dog, she curled up in his lap and slept, and he was hooked forever. it was the most affection he’d ever received. no matter how long it took, be it hours or months, no matter how angry or antisocial the stray seemed, he’d do anything he could to win their trust. (in fact, he kind of liked the angry ones; they always turned out to be the sweetest.) 

he still acted out at school, had been diagnosed with conduct disorder and then oppositional defiant disorder. maybe he bit a psychiatrist or two who knows. and when he discovered who his father was and that everyone had been lying to him forever, well, he saw no need to hold back, now. he fought back. 

he became a bona fide Bad Boy, passed from boarding school to boarding school, expelled for a laundry list of reasons. public drunkenness, assault, sucking the housemaster’s son’s dick in the showers. his parents tried military school; he spat in his drill sergeant’s eye. 

finally, for his junior year, he was just put into public school in chicago. there, he was lucky enough to stumble upon the hospitality program, there, and fell back in love with cooking. this was the first thing in a long time he realized he could really do. sure, in an attempt to avoid his brothers he was now living in the attic, but still. life was looking up. 

with a shining letter of recommendation from his instructor and a killer portfolio, zar was able to get into the culinary institute of new york. it was during his senior year that he moved into ten 23, and he decided to stay for a while. this apartment is probably the first place he thinks of as a home. 

tl;dr abused son becomes a bad boy, learns to love via food and animals, moves to new york for school and career, 

personality. 

burnt marshmallow: smoky and crispy on the outside, ooey gooey on the inside. 

but theres a lot of smoky/crispy; he can be very rude and blunt, and he still has a hair-trigger temper. he’s working on it, though. 

honestly, he fits right in as a chef. even at the four star restaurant he works at, gideon’s, the entire cooking staff still swear like sailors. 

to keep his temper intact, he smokes (he hasn’t even tried to quit) and he also does amateur mma in his free time. 

sarcastic af. please someone tell him to shut the fuck up. 

still will stop everything if he sees a stray. the only thing that will maybe dissuade him is work, and even then he’ll show up a little late after he makes sure the dog has water. keeps cheap doggie bowls, a water bottle, and little ziplocs full of kibble on his person at all times. 

volunteers at the animal haven weekly. he still loves all the animals there. 

he also has four dogs and one cat that thinks she’s a dog. does ten 23 not allow pets? doesn’t matter. he still has illegal pets. rip his roommates. 

if he wants to make you feel better, he will cook for you. if he thinks you’re eating like shit, he will cook for you. if you’re hungry, he will cook for you. again, food is his way of showing love, and underneath it all he is a very loving person. 

vegan, but. has to handle non-vegan things as part of his job. but still a big vegan. 

horny 24/7. bi but only tops in emergencies. again, rip his roommates. 

never really had a real relationship because he. gets jealous enough as it is. is constantly paranoid that people will leave him. 

mom friend underneath it all. but like... an angry mom friend??? like he’ll nag you and tell you you shouldn’t have hooked up with your ex you basically asked for this but he’s doing this while making you cookies and peanut butter hot chocolate. 

lowkey highkey hates himself and although he pretends otherwise he has the self esteem of a thirteen year old at their first high school dance. 

[deivorous]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm. image:

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO. Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. Are they underrated?  YES / NO. (he is overrated as all hell, fuck this dude... but i love him so...) Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO. (In the grand scheme of it all? He’s really irrelevant. But I’m glad Kubo didn’t kill him off like was originally planned). Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO. How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. (I think its pretty neutral post canon?) How strictly do you follow canon?  — I prefer not to RP canon events. There are a few exceptions though. though i will write a lot of post canon (which I have free reign to do considering Kubo never even let us know if he survived Askin!) I’m very headcanon based and I try to fit as many of my headcanons into my writing as possible. That being said, I do use canon to support my hc’s.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  — Grimmjow comes from a life of continuous unrelenting trauma and horror. He’s a survivor and will never feel ashamed of the things he needed to do to ensure he stayed alive. The most important thing about my Grimmjow is that he is not a good person, but he wants to be. Becoming an Arrancar gave him a lot of agency that previously eluded him and he’s trying to use it to carve a place for himself in this world. He’s aggressive, rude, and downright mean sometimes, but he’s also curious, and willing to make a connection with other people if they give him a chance.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  — They guy is an asshole. He’s hostile. Stabs as a warning. And once his trust is broken its nearlly impossible to build back up. He’s naturally suspicious and it can make it very difficult to get past his mask of contempt. Furthermore, he canonically not a very involved character. He’s had very few interaction with others. He’s NOT a romantic and shipping with him is incredibly difficult and I keep my foot down about it.

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  He’s the only bleach character I really relate to. I started making a whole bunch of hc’s when I started writing fanfiction and decided to use them in rp (after I struggles to get an OC onto the scene. Grimmjow is much easier to work with.)

What keeps your inspiration going?  —   I’ve been in the fandom for over a decade. I’m not leaving now. All of the wonderful people I write with keep me motivated!

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO. (My version of him, yes. Canon? Meh, not so much) Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO. Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO. (I have many fics - find me on ao3 lmaooooooo) Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO. (im im in the zone and not doing other shit) Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO. Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO.  Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  — No. My characterization is personal to me and I very explicitly stated that I don't write Canon Grimmjow. If I did I would happily take feedback, but because eat this point hes very much my character I don’t appreciate criticism. Y’all are welcome to criticize my writing though! I love that and it helps me grow : )

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  — YES YES YES! I absolutely love head canons and questions that make me think about what my character would do or think. I welcome them all the time and I don’t care how silly or obscure they may sound so send them my way!

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  — Hmmmmm, yes! I’d say so. Everyone has different hc’s and I love hearing other peoples thoughts, and often I’d liek to be able to incorporate some of them. That being said, some of my i will not change under any circumstance, so as long as you are happy to compromise I’m happy!

If its a hc on your character though, that's all you! I’ll never pressure you to use a hc that isn’t your own for your portrayal.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  — I mean, everyone is entitled to their opinion and I certainly don’t believe everyone has to like my way of writing Rukia. If they don’t like it, I would probably just say they can ignore it or unfollow (because why would you follow me if you don’t like what I write? I mean, come on.)

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  — Just... don't follow me? If you make your dislike really know I’ll probably block you. RP is fun for me so I don’t want people putting me and my muse down.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  Go for it I guess? If its an error I make consistently It would be nice to know that I’m doing that wrong. If its a one of thing and your confused about what I meant also go for it! If its like... a typo? I probs wont change it lmao.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  Yeah! But I can be a bit shy on tumblr and I really only use my Grimm for ooc friends of mine, so It can take a while to get to know me via tumblr. Ask for my discord tho and Ill chat your ear off!

That’s about it, congrats for filling out! tagged by @rukia-kuchiki-divided Tagging: @ivory-insanity​ @heavenxpiercing​, @shambledsurgeon​ @its-captain-hitsugaya​

[holylangdon]

Little Hell (Michael Langdon x Reader)

Request: “Hey! I wanted to ask if you could write some smut for Michael Langdon. Maybe he is with his lover and she’s riding him. I am so weak for him.” - Anon

Warnings: Fem!Reader, actual sin, so much sexual tension, slight choking, oral sex (reader receiving), unprotected sex, rough-ish sex, dominant Michael but willing to be a little submissive, hair pulling, reader on top, Michael calls the reader babe a few times, maybe OOC Michael 

Word Count: 2.1k

A/N: Shoutout to the BDA groupchat for putting up with me while I wrote this. Also I ran out of steam at the end but let’s pretend its good pls and thanks

(I love my friends so I gotta tag em real quick: @cupkayyyke @jana-banana-fana @binxee @cherryruin @justanotherfandomjunkie)

“I’ll tell you how this process works.” The taller man began, letting his sinister blue eyes roam over you. “You’re tell me the truth. Not the truth you think I want to hear, not the truth you might have deceived yourself into believing, but the complete honesty that we both know you’re capable of telling.”

He gave you a second to process his lengthy explanation. Langdon was relaxed in his seat across the desk, one knee crossed over the other. He had a lurking aura of authority that loomed over the room. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t find the long-haired man attractive as you watched his every move in anticipation.

“Things you may feel will be helpful might be hurtful. Things you may feel will compel rejection may be exactly what I’m looking for, your saving grace. If you omit any detail, no matter how small, I’ll know. If you lie to me, I’ll know. If you try to deceive me, this interview will be over and you will die here painfully. And make no mistake, if you expect to walk out of this room thinking you’ve got me right where you want me, you will be punished.

“I will do my best to deduct whether or not you will leave this Outpost alive or be eaten by the scavengers. Am I clear?” 

“Yes sir.” 

You tried to hide all signs of nervousness, but you were almost certain he could see through the poised exterior. A soft smile crossed Langdon’s lips as you leaned back, crossing your legs underneath the long purple dress you were wearing. It was one of the most simple ones you had in your provided wardrobe, but it still seemed to suffocate you in the warm room.

“What are you most afraid of?” 

Honestly? In this very moment, it was him. Your fate rested in his hands. “The hell that waits beyond the gates.” You said lightly. The lie came with its risks, but you decided to jump the gun and say it. He didn’t seem like he cared as he skipped to the next question.

“How do you feel about your current... Predicament? How did you end up here?” He asked. 

You continued to watch the man across from you as he spoke. He seemed odd, almost, but you weren't sure why. Everything about him demanded respect, but he cloaked himself in a vaguely sexual, familiar aura. His outfit was dark black, his eyelids painted bright red. You wondered if that was the Cooperative’s work or his own, the eyeshadow. Ultimately you decided it was his own doing.

That was, by far, the most difficult part of being here at the Outpost. It was so different from any part of the outside that you’d ever known. A closely monitored closet of pre-Victorian dresses and undergarments, candles being the only source of light, a single jelly-like cube for breakfast and lunch. A class system of greys and blacks and purples. A leader who’s darkness you could feel from a mile away, and her perfect little followers who obeyed every single one of her orders, no matter how disruptive to the society. 

But you still missed the old world. The 2018 America you had finally gotten on decent terms with until you were rudely yanked from your and your boyfriend’s apartment at three in the morning. The two armored people offered no explanation other than you having “perfect DNA.” They told you that you and a select few were chosen via various tests that you were the most genetically fit to survive the oncoming apocalypse. But truth be told, you weren't sure if living through it was even truly worth what it would take to get there. The thought was depressing, but it was the truth, and that’s what you told Langdon. Albeit in a far more condensed form.

"You don’t sound grateful.” He observed. His long brown hair fell to the side as he tilted his head, bringing his hands together to rest it on. “You, Y/N, are here, safe and sound from what killed more than seven billion people. You didn’t die by the blast, you’re not poisoned by the radiation, you aren’t being eaten by cannibals. You’re being fed and dressed with a roof over your head. This would’ve cost one hundred million dollars for anyone else.”

“Oh, I’m thankful.” You said, licking your lips. You knew your tone sounded a bit sassy, maybe sarcastic, but you didn’t care. “I got a free ticket to survival of the fittest. I’m just not sure I deserve it.”

“Why do you say that? I mean, you’re surrounded by people who paid their way in. Look at the Saint Pierre girl and her friends. Does that bother you?” He stood from his seat slowly, walking to the other side of the room. He admired the small fireplace beside him for a moment before coming back to you, taking a seat on top of the wooden desk. “Surely you’ve thought about it.”

“I haven’t.” 

He went quiet as he thought for a moment before leaning forward, mere centimeters away from your face. You felt his icy hand on your cheek, his rings resting against the soft skin. You expected to feel his lips pressed against yours, but instead, you felt his cold breath as he whispered into your ear.

“I don’t think I believe you.”

It felt like some primal urge to break the connection he had to you. To stand up and be released from his grasp. But when his hand slipped down your cheek and to your neck, ghosting over your pulse, you melted underneath him. He locked his hand around your throat as he hummed quietly, simply watching your face. Your eyes were closed and your eyebrows lightly furrowed together as you tried not to show pleasure at the sexual touch. But God, it felt good. 

When he pulled away, you finally opened your eyes again only to see his. They stared over you once more, but this time, his gaze was different. Something fiery burned behind the bright blue. “I like you. You’re different.” The light in the room went dark, only a few lit candles still remaining. For some reason, that didn’t even faze you as he stood before you, your heart beating a mile minute.

"It’s getting late. We can pick this up in the morning.” 

And with that, he released you from the room.

Later that night, you were laying in bed as you replayed the scene in your head. Was he intentionally toying with you like that? Surely so. He was so certain of himself and his actions as he watched you squirm. He loved it. He found his pleasure in being able to manipulate you so easily.

It was only an unexpected, quiet knock at the door that interrupted your thoughts. Was it Venable? Were you being taken somewhere else again? Had the Cooperative selected you? Had you done something wrong? Your mind raced with the possibilities as you crept over to the door. What stood behind it shocked you.

Langdon. 

He was dressed casually, sweatpants and a t-shirt. It was vastly different than what you had previously seen him in, and suited him a bit more than his usual formal wear, if you were honest. His reddish hair was tucked behind his ears, and he wore a blank expression on his face.

He wasted no time before snaking his hand around your waist, pulling you in for a deep kiss. He walked the two of you backwards as he kicked the door shut, letting it fall closed with a small ‘thud.’ Quickly, he leaned backwards to lock it.

The kiss was hungry. Passionate. Lustful. Slowly, he began to play with the hem of your nightgown, carefully moving closer and closer to the heat that pooled between your legs. You couldn’t help but moan against his lips as his thumb gliding over your panties, letting him break the kiss only to lift your nightgown above your head, letting it fall on the floor.  

“That’s one way to make an entrance.” You mumbled, helping him strip his own shirt off. He smiled, letting you look him in the eye. The beautiful blues sent a chill down your spine while he just admired you. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Michael.” He muttered. It wasn’t angry, or hesitant as you’d expected. He seemed glad, almost, to let you know his name. For you to call him something other than ‘sir’ or by his last name. “Michael Langdon.”

It was a blur how you ended up on your bed, Michael hovering over you. He planted a soft kiss to your collarbone, your breast, your stomach... Meanwhile his hand played with the waistband of your panties, pulling them down, down down, and tossing them away. You moaned softly as he rubbed your clit with his finger, a small swear falling from your mouth. 

Suddenly, he removed his hand, and moments later he comfortably rested between your thighs. He reached for your hand, sliding his rings onto your smaller fingers with ease. You didn't know why, but that simple action was so, so sexy to you. Maybe it was because he trusted you to keep them for him, a simple show of affection to you.

Recently, you had learned that Michael didn’t like to waste his valuable time. That was during the interview, and it was happening now. He liked things to be fast-paced, very straight to the point. He was confident about it, almost as if he had been used to doing it his whole life. 

He licked and sucked for a moment before stopping, presumably to gauge your reaction. That annoyed you. Gently, you grabbed a fistful of his hair, keeping him in place. You felt him groan lightly in pleasure. Had you just discovered his kink?

Michael continued to lick between your folds, slicking his fingers over you. You moaned loudly when he pushed two digits into you, letting you shiver with anticipation. The two of you were perfect together, with you tugging and pulling on his long, silken hair, guiding him easily. He followed your gestures like a lost puppy, focusing his attention wherever you directed him to. It seemed like the harder you pulled, the more submissive he became, melting under your fingertips. He held back small moans each time your grip tightened, his pace not slowing.

It wasn't much longer before pleasure washed over you as you came on his tongue, which he didn’t mind at all. In fact, the eager-to-please expression on his face told you that he enjoyed it.

When he finally pulled away, your eyes locked on his swollen lips and wet chin, which were dripping with your juices. Pulling him up your body, you hesitantly pressed your lips to his to taste yourself. You felt his excitement growing against you. That drove him wild in ways you could never understand. 

You pulled away from him a few moments later. “You’re so impatient. Didn’t anyone ever teach you that patience is a virtue?” 

“Do you think I would’ve helped you if it wasn’t?” He cooed, meeting your lips with another kiss. “What are you going to do about it, babe? Hm?”

You gave him a look as he rolled onto the bed, letting you climb on top of him. A newfound surge of confidence pulsed through your body as you untied his sweatpants, sliding them down his leg. You were in charge now, and Michael knew it. The way you kissed him as you guided his long cock into you only confirmed his suspicions. 

He gave your ass a small squeeze when you took him in, a small groan exiting his lips as he felt your warmth clasp around him. With a small thrust, you adjusted to his size quickly, leading to harder, deeper ones. The two of you fell into a nice rhythm soon, your hands resting on his bare chest. Every time you slid down, he'd buck his hips to meet you, eliciting a small moan from you every time. God, how he wished he could let you scream his name. If you wouldn’t be punished, even the corpses outside would know who was fucking you.

Neither of you lasted too much longer before you both reached your orgasms. His name and a string of curses fell from your lips as you came for the second time, and not but seconds later, light moans escaped the man in front of you as he finally, finally got his release. The two of you were both pleased as you sat on the now-messy bed together in silence, each of you trying to comprehend what had just now happened. 

Did you really just have late-night sex with a member of the Cooperative? Yes, yes you did.

You could tell that Michael wasn’t the type to stick around after he got what he wanted. He preferred to sleep on his own in his bed, his previous lover nowhere in sight. But somehow, some way, he couldn’t say no when you asked him to stay just long enough for you to fall asleep. That turned into “just a little while longer” and “I don’t want to wake her up,” which, in turn, resulted in the two of you being curled up together in the dark until morning came.

And that was good enough for you.

[manjimelody]

The Only One

Pairing: NaLu  Word Count: 2396  

*This was meant to be written sooner, but better late than never! Prepare for lots of fluff and some brotp moments. I apologize if anyone seems ooc.  

“So Natsu, when are you and Lucy going to tie the knot?”

Wendy’s pigtails bounced as she abruptly turned her head towards the fire dragon slayer and ice mage seated at the table beside her. Gray’s question piqued her interest.

“I don’t know. We haven’t really discussed marriage,” Natsu replied before taking a bite out of the pastry he was holding.

Gray leaned back in his seat and raised his eyebrow. “Do you want to marry her?”

Happy’s eyes sparkled and a mischievous grin appeared on his face. “Yeah do you, Natsu?!”

Natsu remained silent for a second before speaking up. “Yes I do, but I don’t know if she does.”

“Um...I think she does,” the dark blue haired girl shyly spoke up. “I saw her staring at a wedding dress that was on display at a shop.”

“I saw her too.There’s no way she is not thinking about settling down with you,” Erza chimed in, taking a seat next to Wendy.

“She really loves you,” Happy teased, chewing on a fish.

“I agree. You should propose to her,” Gray suggested, nudging his elbow against Natsu’s arm.

“Okay I will!” Natsu exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

“How are you going to propose to her?!” Mirajane asked, joining the conversation. Her excitement cause Wendy to giggle. Mira was always passionate about knowing the details of everyone’s love life.   

The grin immediately vanished from Natsu’s face, and he rested his chin against his hand. “I don’t really know. Should I just get a ring and ask her?”

Mira’s eyes sparkled. “You should do something unique and really romantic!” she squealed.

“Lucy would love something romantic. I’ve read some of her short romantic stories,” Happy giggled.   

“Like what?” Natsu questioned.

“Hmm I have an idea, but I will need some people to help me,” Mira said, looking around the guild.

“I can help! Anything for Lu,” Levy offered.

“So can I!” Lisanna spoke up from behind the bar.

“Count us in,” Gray said with Juvia nodding beside him. A few other guildmates agreed to help as well.

“Jellal and I can help Natsu pick out a ring,” Erza offered.

Mira smiled widely. “Awesome! I have a great idea.”

Natsu stared at everyone in amazement. “Wow thank you everyone!”  

“What if Lucy walks in while Mira discusses the plan?” Lisanna asked with worry etched on her countenance.

“She’s busy writing right now, so she’ll probably not come. If she does, I’ll be able to smell her before she arrives,” Natsu explained.

“Alright! We’ll need someone to keep Lucy distracted while we set up the guild,” Mira said, placing her hands on her hips.  

Wendy raised her arm. “Carla and I can go shopping with Lucy!”   

“Yeah that will be fun,” Carla agreed.

“Perfect! You could get her to wear a nice dress or something,” Mirajane suggested.

Everyone huddled around the table Natsu was sitting at while Mirajane explained the plan.

***

Wendy waited outside Lucy’s apartment, feeling anxious about the plan. She had to keep Lucy away from the guild until she got the telepathic message from Warren. Wendy didn’t want to mess anything up. She wanted everything to work out perfectly. Her friends deserved it.

“Oww Wendy. You’re squeezing me,” Carla groaned, looking up at the dark-haired girl.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, Carla,” Wendy apologized, relaxing her arms.  

“Relax. It will be fine. I’m here with you,” Carla assured, rubbing her arm.

Wendy smiled at the exceed. “Thank you, Carla!”

Wendy heard the sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs before the door opened. “Sorry for the wait,” Lucy apologized, adjusting the bag on her shoulder.

“It’s fine. I didn’t have to wait that long,” Wendy smiled.

Wendy and Lucy started to walk to the clothes shop, chatting about their lives. “So why did you want to go shopping? Is there a special occasion?” Lucy asked.  

Wendy panicked for a second, attempting to find a believable reason. “Y-you’ve just been really busy with writing and going on jobs, so I just wanted you to relax and have fun.”

Lucy blushed. “Thank you Wendy! That means a lot to me!”  

“Anytime!” Wendy exclaimed and quietly sighed in relief.  

Once they reached the shop, Lucy let out an excited squeal. A lot of clothes were on sale. Wendy giggled at her excitement. She knew that they definitely won’t be leaving for a while. “I might as well get a new outfit,” Carla spoke up, transforming into her human form.  Wendy, Lucy,  and Carla spent the next hour trying on different outfits they liked.  

“How do I look?” Lucy asked, stepping out of the dressing room. She wore a light blue off-shoulder lace dress that ended slightly above her knees. It wasn’t extremely fancy, but it was really cute and accented her curves perfectly.

“You look beautiful!” Wendy exclaimed.

“It’s the best dress in my opinion. You should buy it,” Carla commented.

Lucy admired the dress in the mirror. “I do really like this dress and it’s on sale. I guess I’ll buy it!”

“Perfect! Natsu will love it,” Wendy giggled.

Lucy walked back into the dressing room and changed into her normal attire. Afterwards, they purchased the clothes they wanted to buy and headed out the store.

Lucy stretched out her arms and sighed in relief. “That was fun! Do you want to head to the guild now?”

Wendy froze. She still hadn’t received the message from Warren. “I actually wanted to-”

A familiar smell caused her to stop talking and turn around. She saw Jellal and Erza walk out of a jewelry store. Lucy had unfortunately noticed as well and started to wave and yell out their names. “Hey Erza! Hi Jellal!”

Erza’s eyes widened and she whipped her head towards Jellal and whispered in his ear. Wendy was able to hear her thanks to her enhanced hearing.“Go back to the store to keep Natsu from coming out.”

Jellal nodded and rushed back inside. Erza regained her composure and smiled at the blonde. “Hey Lucy! How are you?!”

“I’m fine. I went shopping with Wendy and Carla today. There was a sale today! We had a lot of fun. What are you guys doing?”

“That’s great! Jellal and I are on a date. He forgot something inside, so he rushed back in,” Erza explained.  

“Oh I see,” Lucy said. She turned her head to look at the store, but Erza quickly stepped in front of her in order to block her view.  

“Can you show me what you bought?”  

“Sure!”

Wendy noticed Natsu sneak out of the store before he ran off in the other direction while Lucy was distracted with showing her dress to Erza. Jellal walked out afterwards and tapped Erza on the shoulder.  

“Your dress is so cute. You should wear it to the guild later,” Erza suggested.

“Okay that’s a good idea!” Lucy exclaimed.

“Anyway, we’ll get going. I will see you later,” Erza smiled, waving at them. Jellal waved them goodbye and wrapped his arm around Erza’s shoulder before they walked away.

Wendy sighed in relief. It was a close call.  

“So what do you want to do now?” Lucy questioned, snapping Wendy out of her thoughts.

“I wanted to try the cake at the new bakery,” she said, pointing at the building at the end of the street.  

“Sure! I would love to have cake right now!”  

The three of them enjoyed a plate of cake and tea at the bakery until Wendy finally got the message from Warren.

“Everyone is ready. Bring Lucy to the guild,” he informed her via telepathy.

“Alright. We’ll be heading out now,” Wendy replied in her mind.  

“That was delicious! Let’s go to the guild now,” Wendy said, trying not to sound too excited.  

“Alright! Let’s stop by my apartment first, so I could change into this new dress,” Lucy grinned, grabbing her bag.

Lucy immediately changed into her new dress once they reached her apartment and slipped on a pair of matching heels.

“Should I keep my hair down?” Lucy asked, reaching for her hair tie.

“Yes! It’s so long and beautiful,” Wendy replied. Lucy smiled and took her hair out of the ponytail. She gently brushed it and stood up.

“Let’s go!”  

***

When they reached the guild, Lucy’s eyes widened. The guild was suspiciously quiet, causing the blonde to wonder what everyone was up to. Her guildmates were quietly sitting at the tables. Natsu and some of the others were nowhere to be seen. She glanced at the young girl beside her, and raised her eyebrow when she noticed the huge grin on her face.

“Wendy...what’s going on?” Lucy asked suspiciously.

The blue-haired girl didn’t say anything and looked up the ceiling. Lucy’s eyes followed hers, causing her to gasp in surprise. There were red heart-shaped balloons littered on the ceiling. Lucy looked back down and realized that the guild was decorated with red and pink streamers. Wendy guided her to the table right in front of the stage.

Lucy saw Mira emerge from behind the curtain on the stage along with Levy and Lisanna. Mira was dressed in a long yellow dress and was carrying a guitar. Levy and Lisanna wore matching white dresses. “This song is for my lovely friends, Natsu and Lucy,” Mira announced, winking at that blonde.

She started to sing a touching love song in her angelic voice. Levy and Lisanna danced behind Mira, singing back-up. Lucy didn’t know what was occurring, but she was amazed by her friend’s performance.  

Towards the end of the song, Gray and Juvia walked onto the stage and combined their powers in order to create sparkles. The sight was breathtaking.

“Thank you everyone!” Mira exclaimed, bowing to the crowd as they cheered. Lucy’s eyes widened when she noticed Natsu emerge from behind the curtain. He was dressed in a black tuxedo. His bangs were down instead of being spiked up as usual, causing Lucy to internally squeal. Lucy noticed that he appeared to be nervous.

Natsu walked off the stage, headed towards Lucy’s table, and leaned forward, extending his hand out to Lucy. “Will you join me?”

Lucy blushed and took his hand, allowing him to guide her to the stage. They stood at the center of the stage, and Natsu turned to face her.  

“Lucy…” he began speaking in a serious tone. “I never really thought about love growing up. I was always focused on fighting and eating. I didn’t think I would ever fall in love with a woman and settle down with her. That was until I met you. I will never forget the day we met in Hargeon. When I unknowingly saved you from the trance of that bastard, Bora. When you fed me and Happy in order to thank us.”  

Lucy felt tears prick in the corner of her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand, having a feeling that she knows where his speech was going.

Natsu scratched the side of his head. His cheeks were red. Lucy knew that Natsu was a man who used his actions to convey his feelings rather than his words, so this was unusual for him. Natsu looked back into her eyes and smiled before continuing. “Even though you can be weird sometimes, you are really sweet. You formed a team with me. Put up with my shenanigans. Stayed by my side no matter what happened. Before I could realize it, I was falling hard for you. You know how I told you that we will be together forever? I meant it. I can’t imagine life without you. I want to wake up to your face every morning. I want to see your beautiful smile every day. I want to hear your sweet voice before I go to bed and when I wake up in the morning. I want to settle down and start a family with you. You’re the only one for me, Lucy.”   

Natsu took out a small box from his pocket and got down on one knee, causing Lucy to gasp. “Lucy Heartfilia...will you marry me?”  

Lucy stood in silence for a second in order to comprehend what Natsu just told her before she burst into tears and engulfed him into a hug. “Yes! Yes! Yes! Of course I will marry you!”  

Everyone started cheering and congratulating them. Natsu and Lucy stood up, and he put the ring on her finger. Lucy marveled at the sight. It was beautiful.

“I love you so much Natsu. I want all these things too. You’re also the only one for me, and I’m never letting you go,” she cried and wrapped her arms around him once again.

Natsu chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “There’s no way I’m ever letting go of you. I love you too, Lucy.”

Natsu cupped Lucy’s face and kissed her passionately, causing their guildmates to cheer even louder. “Look at these love birds,” Happy teased while making kissing noises.

Lucy reluctantly let go of her fiancé and wiped away her tears. “Did you plan this?”

Natsu laughed. “I decided to propose to you, but this was Mira’s idea. She wanted this proposal to be unique and romantic.”

“There’s no way Natsu could have planned this himself,” Gray chimed in, smirking at the dragon slayer.  

Lucy laughed. “Makes sense. Thank you everyone for planning this. This means so much to me. I am so touched.”

“Let’s party!” Cana cheered and started to drink out of the barrel of beer. Everyone else cheered and started to dance.  

“Congratulations. I’m so happy for you two!” Wendy exclaimed.  

“So this shopping trip was part of the plan huh?” Lucy pointed out.

“Yeah, but I had a lot of fun,” Wendy smiled.   

Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu from behind and extended her arms out towards Wendy, gesturing Natsu to do the same. “Come here!”

Wendy giggled before launching herself into their arms to form a group hug.

“You played a major role in this. Thank you so much Wendy. Couldn’t have done it without you!” Natsu said.  

“I’m so happy to help out,” she beamed before she let go of them and ran off to join the exceeds.

Natsu turned around and rested his forehead against Lucy’s. “We’ll be together forever,” he whispered.

Lucy closed her eyes and grinned. “Forever and always”

[saey-bae]

I have another one lol. The RFA falling in love with their childhood best friend? I saw that you’re wobbly with Baehee so it’s okay if you don’t want to include her!😊

o man bless this childhood friends are The Best™

thank you for your lovely request, darling, and i hope you like this (i will be answering the other one at some point)~

edit: i’m sorry how troll-ish yoosung’s turned out to be ;; and apologies if jumin is ooc this was actually so hard to write what the heckle

under the cut because it’s pretty long

check out my masterpost here

Yoosung:

your parents were good friends and the two of you were born within a month from one another, so the two of you were friends since birth, really

he had always been the person to stick up for you without any if, buts, or doubts he was always defending you blindly first and asking questions later, which got him into quite a bit of trouble

you were always the one who stayed by his side through thick and thin and you taught him how to do cool tricks like riffle shuffling cards or magic tricks he really liked those

and the two of you were inseparable throughout elementary school and high school and, in some ways, neither of you could live without the other; you were the yin to his yang

even after you moved away for uni, the both of you stayed in contact via skype, calling, and texting. every. single. day.

aside from his family, you were the rock in his life which made you family, even if it wasn’t legally or by blood

because your families were connected, he always took that fact for granted and never really acknowledged that you were family

but he never felt that so deeply until rika’s funeral

you flew back to attend the funeral, dropping everything to be there for him

and he relied heavily on you

it was the best of times, it was the worst of times is this considered plagiarism if i cite it in mla

it was during one of those 4 am phone calls when he found out he had fallen for you

one of those badum-badum moments, where he could hear his heart pounding and if it was a manga, you could see it too !!

he still distinctly remembered it– it was a little embarrassing because he recalled that it was the night after rika’s funeral and he was crying poor bby missed her so much

and he called you blindly, not really expecting you to pick up because you were probably dead tired and wanted to sleep before your flight at 9 am

but you did, and you answered in a sleepy, “hey yooyoo, do you want me to come over? i can bring some ice cream”

he said yes

you brought ice cream over

the two of you sat side by side on the couch in the den, eating ice cream from the tub

you whispered comforts to him in the dark and he reached over to take your hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze

your smile, illuminated by pale moonlight, lifted his heavy heart

yoosung knew he would be okay as long as you were with him, and by the way his heart constricted when you gave a squeeze back, he also knew that he had fallen for you at some point

and he would tell you someday

Zen:

the two of you met shortly after zen ran away from home

you went to the same school, and he just happened to catch you playing the entertainer on the piano in the music room during lunch while he looked for an empty room to practice his singing

you played it ridiculously faST HOW DO YOUR FINGERS MOVE THAT FAST WAT

was very impressed

you taught him piano and, subsequently, learned the musical pieces he performed so you could help him practice

while his love for music and acting were shunned at home, you encouraged it– heck, you were a musician yourself, having grown up at home with a father who was a conductor and a mother who was a pianist

you even tried to take up acting with zen, though you were terrible at it and quit shortly thereafter

you were there with him through his struggles

best friends 5ever

he found comfort in you because you never paid much attention to his looks

while you didn’t deny that he was handsome, you were more interested in his music and his projects, and he appreciated that more than you knew

and he never judged you for being a music geek because he was an even bigger music geek

he spent a lot of nights at your home, and he found a family in you and your own family

even after you found a career as a professional pianist and you were a fairly renowned musician, you still found time for him

he swore that your dedication to him was what first made him realize his feelings for you, but that was when he was dating another girl

zen dated countless numbers of girls, but none of them ever seemed to hold a candle to you

why?

when he finally realized he loved you, it was hard for him to hold back… but he did for the sake of your friendship

if you didn’t love him back, it would break his heart and ruin the most meaningful relationship in his life

but during one practice session, you were playing a new piece you learned for his new musical, rent heck yes it was seasons of love, and you were so close to him

he could smell the delightful scent of your shampoo and feel your warm body pressed against his side as you taught him how to play it

your hands were all over his as you tried to position his fingers right like an apple, zen, your hands should look like you’re holding an apple

his heart was pounding in his chest and he couldn’t stop his cheeks from flushing

when the lesson finished, his hands were clammy and he had never felt so unnerved

and in the spur of the moment, he leaned over and kissed your cheek

froze up when he realized what he had done

“huh?” you blushed heavily

“i… uh…” for an actor, he wasn’t very good at acting “thanks for the lesson”

“of… course”

then you kissed his cheek ohgod his face was burning

his eyes searched yours, unable to fathom why you would reciprociate until he saw your gaze dart to his lips briefly

slowly cupped your cheek and leaned in, pressing his lips against yours in a sweet, chaste kiss

when you parted, the two of you professed your feelings in rushed words, lips still brushing against one another’s

and he was quite sure you were his fate

Jaehee:

I will be able to write all the lovely headcanons for you one day, Jaehee– I swear it. That day is… just not today.

Jumin:

jumin never had many friends as a child

sure, his father’s associates had kids and he was forced to mingle with them

but aside from v, he was pretty lonely

until he met you, another rich man’s child

you were so different from all the corporate children– you were unruly and dressed sloppily and you came to formal functions with paint stains on your fingers and cheeks

somehow, you were all smiles, your small frame full of boisterous laughter that he had never heard before

and he found himself curious… drawn to you, even at the age of ten

you were an engine of chaos, a tornado, sucking in all those who got close enough

the two of you became good friends, but he found that there was still a barrier you put up that prevented him from getting closer

he always wondered why, but knew better than to bring it up

though he did find out several years later, when he saw you and your father talking in closer proximity down a deserted hall during a function

it was more like him shouting at you, telling you to behave and stop embarrassing him, while you listened

he waited until your father left before coming to comfort you

and he found that, under your chaos and unruliness and happy façade, you were broken and depressed

you hated yourself and you hated your life

you purposely disobeyed your father and refused to fit the mold of a perfect corporate daughter, and he hadn’t quite realized that until he found you like this

the shame jumin felt was only matched by his fierce need to protect you

in his trade, you were unique– an eccentric flower that bloomed against all odds

and he was going to protect you, his flower

under his nurturing care, you did continue to bloom

he took care of you, and you soon moved out of your father’s house to live with him

somewhere along the way, you brought out the playful parts of him that he didn’t know existed

and while he knew his wealth of feelings for you were profound, he couldn’t bring himself to tell you

you brightened up his life like the flower he considered you to be, and he couldn’t bear for you to leave if you didn’t feel the same

aside from his hidden feelings, everything was going fine until the two of you were in your early twenties

that was when your father was caught participating in inside trading– he even went to jail briefly for it

your reputation and family name was irrevocably damaged, but jumin was there to help you through it, despite his own reputation being on the line

and when he stood up to his own father about the issue, he realized he was prepared to lose face and name just to save you

he was going to do anything to protect his flower, anything to keep you in his life because he couldn’t live without you

he loved you

and unbeknowst to him, you loved him, too

Seven:

he was locked away for most of his childhood, and didn’t have any friends as a child, aside from his twin

leaving home tore him into two– and it left him utterly alone

seven longed for proper human company, for friendship– god, he just wanted to stop feeling so lonely

while he perfected his hacking techniques, he found chatrooms off the grid, specifically made by hackers for hackers

although he never spoke, he watched a specific chat on the side– the people there seemed friendly, though he was too nervous to participate

after a year of watching, he had a a good sense of the personalities of the people who frequented the chats

and there was always one username that caught his eye: x

whoever it was, the person was kind, but sarcastic, and had a dry sense of humour

he found himself logging in at all kinds of hours just to see if x was around

and one night, he caught x alone in the chat, spamming computer science memes that the other members would surely appreciate

feeling a surge of courage, he said hello

“hey :)” your smile emoticon made him smile involuntarily, too

there was another human! a living, breathing human somewhere in this world –who he admired– talking to him!

their conversation was brief, but entertaining, and seven found himself wishing he could talk to x again

after a few more late night chats, he voiced the desire

you offered to write an algorithm for a private chat, which he hesitantly agreed to, but only if he was allowed to work on it as well

the two of you ended up writing your own code for a private chat –again, off the grid– and you spoke often

often became all the time

throughout the years, the two of you exchanged info that he was never meant to be speak about– names, numbers, addresses

he found out that you were a university student around his age who learned programming and hacking for fun

you showed him other things you learned in high school– fascinating things that he regrets not having learned, like biology and chemistry

in exchange, he created small robots for you and promised that one day, the two of you would meet so he could give them to you

at one point, he grew bold enough to watch you on cctv with your permission

you waved at the camera you knew he was watching, and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of your smile– he’s never seen something so blindingly beautiful

he knew at that point, he would hack anything just to get another glimpse of you