#please make use of my largely useless knowledge

[finniestoncrane]

Wearing In

General!Riddler x Fem!Reader, word count: 750 ok so technically this is sort of unnamed goon x reader, but rest assured eddie is sitting on a little seat watching and orchestrating everything 💚 request info • prompt list • send me a request • kofi • masterlist minors DNI!! 🔞 cw: cuckoldery kinda, free use a little bit, sexual instruction, it's hard to describe this lmao

Your partner was nameless of course. They all were these days. The staff turnover within the ranks of The Riddler's henchmen was far worse than any other gang or faction in Gotham. As far as notorious criminals went, he was by far the worst when it came to any semblance of humanity. His workers were merely tools to be used. No loyalty needed, because under threat of an elaborate death, they tended to do exactly as he told them to do. And his extensive banks of knowledge meant everyone they knew and loved were at risk alongside them, should they disappoint him.

Edward Nygma even found it beneath him to have to call out "you there" to whatever poor minion was closest to him. The notion of learning the names of the ill-fated fools on his roster, then, was a ridiculous one. Why should have have to learn something as useless as that when they didn't even come trained half the time.

Training. The bane of his existence. You expected that was why he wasn't wasting any of his own energy on training you. Not when he could command someone else to do the physical part himself, while he barked orders from a seat across from you. Legs crossed, fingers drumming slowly against his knee.

It really could have been any one of them, any number of goons who happened to be walking by him when he decided it was time to wear you in. This man in particular had just happened to be lucky, or unlucky, depending on how any of the parties involved were objectively looking at the situation they found themselves in. You considered yourself the latter, given that Edward had somehow managed to choose one of his larger men to train you up.

As you hissed in pain, pressing your eyes shut tight and staring to the ground, he hesitated a moment. Pulling his cock out of your stretched and sensitive cunt, you let out a small sigh of relief. This seemed to irritate Edward, as he caught your chin with the rounded edge of his cane. He pushed it up, letting your eyes find him as he returned the intense stare past his domino mask.

"Keep your head up, please. As much as I hate to admit it, any hint of pleasure during this exercise may bruise my ego, so I want to be sure you're not enjoying yourself."

As your eyes began to drive instinctively down, trying to avoid his intense gaze, he tapped your chin, a dull pain appearing and quickly dissipating, but enough to have you focused on him.

"He's here to break you in. To make sure you know what's to be expected from you. The pleasure, I assure you, will come much later. When you're finally good enough, practised enough, for me to bother with you."

Edward nodded towards the goon, who eased the head of his cock between your plump, swollen lips, your body tensing as he filled you up once more. Fingers scratching at the floor you knelt on, mouth opening in a silent scream as Edward pulled his cane back and continued to speak.

"I don't need something shiny and new. Something pretty and untouched. I need tried and tested. Provable. Worthy."

How much longer did you have to last though? You could feel, with the exertion, the embarrassment, the feeling of your partner's thick, large cock hitting your cervix as he made you fit around him. Surely now, you were suitably worn in?

"I need to know that I won't be wasting my time with something that isn't good enough for me. Do you think you're good enough for me yet?"

He didn't let you answer, interrupting whatever word you were about to say.

"Np, you're not. You're barely good enough for him, whatever his name is. So. Stay on your arms and legs and let him stretch you out and warm you up while I watch and make sure you're responding the right way."

Your eyes remained open, even past the intense heat in your stomach, the slight clouding of your vision as you prepared to hold back the climax that was about to wash over you.

"Maybe then, you'll get your reward."

He palmed himself, the tent at the front of his pants visible even from where you were, as you resigned yourself to yet more pounding at his command.

[ai-or-not-ai]

Things to know:

I do not think AI art is inherently evil and terrible. I believe that if the art is clearly labelled and that if the generators are collecting their data and operating their services ethically that it is a perfectly fine tool to use. Unfortunately, as far as I know, that is not currently the case.

the true problem with certain uses of AI is capitalism

In that vein, I hate when AI art gets shown around completely unlabelled. If you claim AI art is its own art form it is imperative to label it as such at least in your tags to prevent confusion between digital or traditional artwork that was created manually.

So many of these AI images are stolen from the accounts that originally posted them. I’m not sure whether I personally consider that theft or if it is even legally theft, but in the process of reposting the picture they leave out important details like the fact it was AI generated in the first place.

These are all my personal opinions. This blog is not intended to be a place for me to open myself up to a bunch of discourse. I may reblog posts about AI but I will not engage with you if you are rude and incensed. That will get you blocked.

I myself am predominantly a digital artist (and sometimes a traditional artist when the mood strikes me) as well as a student of art history. This is my point of view as someone with knowledge in both historical artistic movements and the creation of art itself.

If you do not want to come across AI art I suggest blacklisting related tags. They will not always be labelled but many are.

Some tools that are called ‘AI’ have been around for years or serve extremely useful functions that do actually reduce the amount of tedious tasks a human would have had to perform previously. Such as generative fill tools in photoshop when used to edit a flaw from a photo, etc. AI has become a tech buzzword applied to any and every technology (usually for the sake of getting investors excited about it). This blog is mainly focused generative AI. Mainly images, but also sometimes LLMs (large language models) like ChatGPT or video/sound generation. I am not talking about the kinds of AI used by game devs to help NPCs function without coding every single one yourself or how in the Spiderverse movies they coded an ‘AI’ tool to help the 2D lines follow the 3D forms. There are many different kinds of tools called ‘AI’ and it has become a functionally useless term in some instances, as there are many varied forms it takes and often the classic idea of artificial intelligence from sci-fi (being a computer that thinks for itself) is not the actual implication.

If you are worried about energy usage involved in AI generation, please direct those criticisms to the organizations operating the models. They are the ones who are most responsible for that and the ones who can actually make a material change (and some indeed have been trying to).

The best thing you can do to ‘fight’ the negatives of AI is supporting independent artists.

We are all human beings who make mistakes (including me! please, I want you to always use your own critical thinking skills!) Give each other grace.

Post labelling

I will do my best to find the original source, including the original poster and what generator was used if I am able.

I will tag the posts with ‘ai image’, their respective generator (if applicable) and ‘synthography’ a term for computer generated art intended to set it apart from other art forms

I may speculate on images used to synthesize the final artwork if something comes across as particularly obvious to me.

Post submission

Send me posts you suspect are AI generated but unlabelled as such

Send me posts that you know are AI generated but reposted and unlabelled

Do not harass the original poster. If they are a reposter, block and report them. If they are an AI enthusiast and you don’t like AI, block them. If they turn out to be an artist posting their actual art for the love of god I hope you didn’t personally accuse them of generating their art and if you did go apologize immediately and profusely.

Tags to blacklist to avoid AI

Generative Art

AI Generated

AI Art

Midjourney

Dalle 3

Synthography

If I reblog from you….

Sorry

I probably follow you on my main blog

It is not a negative reflection on you if you could not identify an AI generated image yourself. I personally do not just rely on my eyes for these and try my best to find the image source to verify ai generation when possible.

Some AI generated concepts look cool I don’t blame you for reblogging them. I personally just wish people were more obvious about what is AI so that the average person can make better informed decisions about whether or not they want to share it. This is just so you can make that choice.

[dragonsaph]

Jatta Dralee (OC)

Introduction of Character

Name: Jatta Dralee Age: 13 Gender: female Nickname(s): / Alias(es): / Era: Clone Wars Birth Date: NA Status: Alive (Clone Wars) Species: Rodian Blood Type: AB Affiliations/Organizations: Jedi Order Occupation: Jedi

The Character’s Appearance

General Appearance: A green skinned Rodian with short, red-brown hair. She wears beads as the padawan braid. She wears a classic Jedi robe over a dark bodysuit. The hands are protected by fingerless gloves. She also wears light grey boots.

Handedness: Right

About the character

Personality: - Insecure at first, after her former master, Pong Krell, abandoned her - more confident after getting a new master - loyal to the Jedi - cares about the clones

Favorites: - the night view of Coruscant

Least Favorites: - Droidekas

Hobbies/Interests: - studying maps

Phobias/Fears: - not being good enough - making a decision that endangers a mission

Habits: - starts to count if nervous

Mannerisms: - very loyal and respectful to the Jedi and Clones - following orders instead of making own decisions

Skills/Talents: - Can easily remember large numbers after hearing them only once

Best Qualities: - always has some good strategy ideas.

Worst Qualities: - trying to avoid making important decisions.

Goals/Motivations/Dreams: - Wants to become a Jedi Knight (maybe even a master) - ending the war

The Character’s Relationship With Others

Reputation: Many Jedi and Clones (especially the 501st) are sceptical about Jatta after Krell's betrayal on Umbra. She is aware of this and want's to show that they are wrong. There are also people like Kit Fisto, who wants to give her a chance to prove herself.

Love Interest(s): None

Friend(s): - Ahsoka Tano - CC-1227 "Jemsen"

Enemy(ies): - The Seperatists/ Confederacy of Independent Systems

Relationship(s): - Kit Fisto: Jatta's new master. They get along very well. He was chosen since the Jedi Council wanted a council member to have an eye on her after her former master betrayed the Republic. Jatta is very grateful to be treated by him just like a normal padawan.

- CC-1227 "Jemsen": He is commanding the 180th Legion, which was formerly under Krell's control. Jemsen and Jatta got along quite good.

The Character’s Abilities

Jedi Rank: Padawan Master(s): - Pong Krell (former) - Kit Fisto (current)

Color of Lightsaber: Green

Powers/Abilities: - The Force - detecting vibrations with her antennas - seeing infrared

Strengths: - very agile

Weaknesses: - Sensory Overload If earthquakes or heavy turbulence, because her antennas will detect too many vibrations at once

Fighting Style: - Mainly Form III

Preferred Weapon(s): - Lightsaber

Knowledge: 7/10 Motivation: 8/10 Will to Act: 7/10 Agility: 9/10 Force Control: 7/10 Swordsmanship: 7 /10 Hand-to-Hand Combat: 6 /10 Long Range Accuracy: 5 /10 Piloting Skills: 7 /10 Offense: 7 /10 Defense: 8 /10 Social Skills: 8 /10

The Character’s Familial/Biographical Information

Birthplace: Rodia Homeworld: Rodia Family: unnamed parents (alive)

Familial Background: - simple citizens on Rodia

Character Background:

She was the Padawan of the Jedi Pong Krell. But shortly before the events on Umbra, Krell abandoned her because he saw her as weak and useless. The next weeks Jatta was assigned to help out at the Jedi Archive. A bit later, Jatta was assigned to be Master Kit Fisto new Padawan. He is not only teaching her, but also has the order to keep an eye on her, in case she should be following her late master's path. Jatta also reunited with Jemsen, since Fisto also now takes control over the 180th legion.

___________

Yay~~~ Finally finished my Clone Wars OC. I used a template made by VisionaryDame on deviantart.

Feel free to leave any kind of feedback. Please do NOT use this OC WITHOUT permission!!!!

[isawken]

hi hellow Clown Historian here and im about to answer these questions whether you want me to or not!

armand does not have a clown egg. the tradition was started by the founder of Clowns International back in the 1940s. the founder was the one who introduced the egg practice, literally just because it was a hobby of his and he thought it'd be a neat way to register members. any clown pre-1940 who has an egg does so essentially as a form of being grandfathered in to the system. any clown since 1940 must be a registered member of the organization to have the honor. and although i do not know basically anything about henrion's life, i can say with confidence that he was not a performing clown.

as for his choice of makeup- he's actually using a style specific to a type of clown that was popular at the time: the pierrot! nowadays people associate black embellishments with pierrot style face paint but that was not always the case. check out this pic of paul legrand, one of the most influential pierrots, circa 1855 (somewhat contemporaneous with henrion's pieces)

the plain white make up with a colored skull cap was the standard for this type of clown in particular! the pierrot is kind of the ancestral father of the "white faced clown" archetype modern clowns utilize and others may be more familiar with.

and finally, regarding the Clown Code of Ethics that folks seem to regard as some sort of like, national clown anthem that we all pledge to every morning- that is not a widely held manifesto. it was, as far as i can tell, originally laid out by the group Clowns of America International, which was founded in the 80s. that's not to say other clowns do not hold to it and find value in it! but it's not like breaking one of those rules gets you ex-clown-municated from the community at large. it might get you kicked out of that specific org, but i can't speak to that, as i am proudly affiliated with a different organization (the one that started the clown eggs!).

anyways if anyone else has any more clown questions please god send me them i need to use my vast swaths of largely useless knowledge somehow :o)

some of my favorite paintings of all time are the dozens of self portraits this one dude in the 1800s made of himself in clown paint. like, there's so many. and they're all bangers

this isn't even 25% of them. check out armand henrion for more. yes this is all he ever painted hope you like it

[batteredwarriorstillstanding]

I am an intuitive type...it's the way I am. By and large, I'm pleased about this. I can often make enormous decisions without putting forth anylarge amount of reflection and study...and be absolutely confident that I made the correct one, games like Chess...where it is nowhere near possible to consciously consider all of your playable, or even superficially reasonable moves are the domain of those wired in this fashion. I have innate knowledge concerning many problems that haven't yet arisen and how to deal with them....it's not especially rare to be classified as having an intuitive personality trait....roughly 30 percent of the population. There are some so strong in this action that they are designated Intuitors by the same folks who certify psychics, I think. I don't know if it is THAT strong, but is certainly reliable enough for me to often sit through long periods of impatient partners and friends, and ridicule from less friendly types, awaiting an event that I "knew" woukd transpire, but, weeks later, still hasn't. What gives me the stones to confidently tell all sudden naysayers to fuck themselves is not a confident nature or an enormous intellect...it's merely my having experienced similar feelings of similar strength in the past and knowing that the events associated with them will break in a certain direction every time.

But, first if all, I only was ever "told" or clued into the reality that she is dear to me, and I needed to do anything I could in order to facilitate her ultimate transformation....anyone here into butterflys? Profound metamorphosis affecting the homely little caterpillar on such a profound level that it emerges a beautiful (although kinda useless....just kidding.lol) butterfly 3 weeks hence...at least we hope for a butterfly....a moth is unbecoming of her. I was also given all of these suggestions early on to advance our acquaintancship....not as confident in this intuitive angle as later in life, and also fucking TERRIFIED of being simultaneously embarassed and verbally desecrated that I kept attempting to accomplish shit at a distance. It did not work. I think you are actually open to the possibility of us sharing an unexplained (thusfar) joint venture to tackle....but now it is her who insists on trying from a distance....which is disappointing, because Passive Aggressive people (not submissive. I didn't say that) are the worst. They suck. They are dishonest and can't be trusted...I was not really overcome by this a decade ago...I was just frightened. If you are at all unsure, talk to ne. In person. You will be glad you did...whatever r happens. Then I can stop doubting what is so obvious.

The "feeling" I received after meeting the woman I remained infatuated with gor eons afterward was unique in its type, but STRONGER (and more persistent, as it turns out) than any other. One of the potentially troubling aspects of this ending in a manner undesirable to me (and there are several) is that it serves as a huge loss for an inner belief system that has been with me for as long a I can remember. In addition, there were 2 periods of my life more difficult than this one (maybe only I ne, actually) it's probably not going feature many huge changes in my approach to things. Logically, it seems like a wrap...and not even I can ignore this forever.

[jingyismom]

got tagged by the wonderful @mylastbraincql to post 10 Things About Myself, which, are there even 10 things other than cql and writing fanfiction??? let’s find out

1. i don’t want to be one of those people who are like ~i love languages~ but...i do. oops. i’m only fluent in english and french (my college degree), but i’ve put work into at least the basics of...well. this is under a cut so let’s just go: latin (a whole minor’s worth), greek (classical and modern), mandarin, american sign language, spanish, german, sanskrit, and arabic. i particularly love medieval french. i kind of wanted to be a linguist but academia is a hellscape, so i’m just a hobbyist language learner and that’s pretty fun. i need to really work on my spanish and start korean next, but right now my brain is deep in mandarin mode (thanks c-dramas).

2. i wish i had the tenacity and drive to be a musician. i love playing music, my mom started teaching me when i was 4 so i should be super good right? wrong. i still play piano like a 4yo. string bass is my ~instrument but it’s been years since i played it seriously. i am mediocre at guitar and an enthusiastic but unstudied singer. maybe some day i’ll put real work in again but for now that executive dysfunction’s a real bitch, so even thought i am a Music Person, singing in the car is about as wild as i get.

3. i was a substitute teacher for 4...5? years. 4 years of regular substituting here after 1 year of working as a language assistant/substitute english teacher in france. teaching is excellent fun and i love it dearly but the field of education is currently pretty soul-crushing in the US, so i have been trying to figure out what...to do.

4. the town where i lived in france was where jeanne d’arc was captured (i was already a huge fan, and getting to kneel where she prayed her last free prayer was...something. i’m not even religious), and one town over from pierrefonds, the castle where they shot bbc’s merlin. alas, they had just finished shooting the final season when i got there. but it really does Look Like That. once, when i was bringing some friends to see it, we missed our stop and got off the bus at a countryside cemetery (i am a goth, this is my jam), and walked back to pierrefonds, since it was a sunny day. until it started hailing. we took refuge in a spooky, empty church from the 1100s and got to explore some of its catacombs and reliquary. it was an absolutely perfect day.

5. i have never not been a Big Fan of something. i have an entire shelf of Tolkien volumes that has lived in my room since the 6th grade. i used to go to warped tour and san diego comic con every year. i have slept on the sidewalk in line for things...many, many times. but this is somehow the first time i’m...trying to participate in the fan community? trying to contribute and talk to people? it’s wildly nerve-wracking but also SO rewarding because everyone? is so? nice??? i love you all

6. i’m a distant cousin of George Gordon, Lord Byron, and EXCEEDINGLY proud of this fact. he was so ridiculous, and stupid, and marvelous, and queer. sometimes i’m like, it couldn’t have been wilde? or shakespeare? but i do love my horrible cousin. it was shocking studying in athens where they have actual monuments and museum exhibits dedicated to him...i was like...this guy? this drug-addled sex addict? okay...okay, good for you, cuz.

7. really all i want is to make people laugh. i feel like i come across weirdly stiff on the internet, and i have apparently horribly intimidating vibes with new people, but really...i am basically just jack black. i don’t mean that positively or negatively it is just neutrally true. i am a clown.

8. i wish i had cool physical skills like martial arts or dance or even a sport but...my body is...uncooperative. i am not necessarily clumsy or uncoordinated i am just Too Tired. oh, and also i have a funky little arm birth defect which is mostly unnoticeable, just makes me a bit awkward and painful. instead i do grandma things like knitting and sewing, which are cool in their own way. it’s very satisfying to make something with your hands. i’ve made an entire (simple) ren faire costume and edwardian ballgown, as well as lots of various odds and ends. oh and i’m pretty good at makeup! i did wedding makeup for a friend, and not in a “wedding of questionable taste” kind of way. i did lots of research and several practice runs and it was all a very classy vintage affair.

9. if you ask me to pick between books and movies i Cannot. i just...love stories. i love seeing them and hearing them and reading them and telling them. there’s nothing better or more important than stories. whether it’s pacific rim or hamlet, philadelphia story or dogsbody, i cannot live without it.

10. i used to work as a street character at a renaissance faire. please do not hold this against me. if you want some ABSOLUTELY WILD stories (”baaa means no”), just ask

this was wildly difficult and i feel like it swings wildly from depressing and self-effacing to ridiculous bragging but i would like to see my mutuals do it anyway! i’m just gonna randomly tag @valarinde @milkcrates @universesvisiting @cendiar @habibinasir @fapamir if you want a fun little distraction but seriously if you see this and want to do it, i tagged you! you’re tagged!

[bat-eclecticwolfbouquet-love]

Monster Shigaraki X Female Reader SMUT

Monster Shigaraki needs his mate to get use to him. Shes...not happy (short thirst)

Not Fair

Monster Shigaraki knows you have....difficultly taking him. I mean any human would. Fear not, he isn't some cruel beast. No, not at all. He wants to pamper and take care of his lovely little mate.

Let's be real, no matter how tall or short or how much you weigh you would still be little compared to him, and that just makes his dark heart melt. This cute little being all defenseless and soft and so unbelievable tight is all his.

But he can tell your body isn't equipped to handle his massive cock. Even though it's clear you want him, he can smell your desire, see it pooling between your legs. Taste it dripping from your soaked cunt. They way you wriggle under him, moaning, begging for more of him, even when you're clearly past your limits. Trying desperately to impale yourself on his swollen cock. It's fucking adorable, makes it impossible for him to control himself. Takes every ounce of restraint not to pound mercilessly into your warm depths.

Worry not, he has a plan. He nestles up to you in the nest he made for the two of you, he feels so warm on the cold night. You snuggle back against him, pressing your ass to his groin, feeling him stiffen. He growls affectionately at the gesture, his large claws flex on your hips, keeping you right where he wants you. That's when you feel his growing erection poking between your thighs. The hot tip prodding at your entrance. It's so big, you can feel it pulsing already. Your body trembles in anticipation.

"Please" you whine. You know it will hurt for awhile but you have to have it. If you don't feel him inside you, you won't be able to breathe.

Slowly he slides past your slick folds, you cry out at how wide your pussy must stretch to accommodate his girth. The air is knocked out of you, you struggled to hold back the tears as inch by inch he sheaths his heavy length inside you. His balls kissing your puffy lips.

The pain is nearly to much but the pleasure engulfs you, that's why you cry out. How can anything feel so mind-numbingly good, and yet painful at the same time. It's a beautiful blend, it's ecstasy. Craving more, you grind against your monstrous lover, pleading for him to move but his iron grip keeps you in place. "Shigaraki I need you"

"No" he grunts, a low rumble vibrates in his chest serving only to add to your desperation. The whimpers that fall from your lips make him feel guilty for denying you your desire but it is for the best. You squirm under his hold in an effort to make him move his cock but it's useless. He's throbbing and hot, your walls cling to him, sucking him in deeper, trying to milk him. Your pussy is so hungry for him but he refuses to give you what you're begging for.

"Poor cock drunk mate, look at you, you're a whining, sopping mess for my cock. I'm sorry pet, but I won't be destroying this tight needy cunt tonight. You need.....training. So we are gonna lay here all night and all day with my cock buried inside your too tight little hole, till your stretched out real good and able to take me easier. Then I'll do the same to your cute ass, after all I have two cocks and it's not fair to only be able to get one in you, now is it." The husky tone he spoke with, the knowledge of what was to come, thoughts of getting fucked in both holes had you creaming all over his stationary cock.

"Such a whore, cumming that easily, just wait pet I promise I'll wreck your slutty body." He promised. Arms locking around your waist, keeping you flush to his body but stopping any movement. Ugh he is truly driving you mad. He is all you feel, all you smell, all you want. He could feel you fluttering around him and as much as he wanted nothing more then to thrust in and out of your drenched pussy he stopped himself. This is for your own good.

He's so romantic isn't he. Such a sweetheart thinking of his love like that.

[radiodont]

honestly don't know what's making you mad about what i said 💀 you can't know what you don't know you should look for, and i already said that the moment i learned about the korean war, i was so shaken by the fact that i had no idea about it that i learned about it on my own time.

also, extremely reductive for you to say i'm "blaming a class i slept through in high school". i paid more attention than most kids i know, and i actively seek out knowledge regularly-- that doesn't change the fact that until i was seventeen years old, i didn't know that the us fought in the korean war because no one, in school or not, had even mentioned it to me. it was embarassing and shameful to admit, because i felt like it was a personal failing. it's not. it's only shameful if once you know that there's a gap in your knowledge, you don't work to fill it.

(also, some of us were preoccupied with other things in our lives. i, for one, was busy being sexually abused by peers through middle school, and in my freshman year, i nearly killed myself twice. i didn't particularly feel up to googling for things that i had no reason to think america was involved in. surprisingly, once i was medicated and no longer being abused, i felt a bit more up to things higher up on maslow's hierarchy of needs.)

being educated is incredibly important, you and i already agree on that. but i'm saying that shaming people who haven't shown themselves to be operating in bad faith is a dick move that you'd never do to someone irl. obviously if someone is like, 30 and blaming their high school classes for something they've had more than enough time to get up to speed on, it's bad taste, but saying that EVERYONE ALWAYS has a MORAL RESPONSIBILITY to be up to date on everything once they hit 18 is ignoring a bigger issue. if a large amount of people are coming out of the us education system saying they knew nothing about the korean war, it's probably a societal issue and not a personal moral failing. the PURPOSE of community and widespread communication networks is to lift other people up and spread the word if you find out they don't know something that you do-- it's pointlessly rude and discouraging to make people feel bad for learning about something later than you did. it could've been you, feeling like an idiot for being misled. it's a remarkably unempathetic way to engage with the world and overall less effective than just. telling them about it.

anyway. tl;dr it's important to be educated but some people are given less information, sometimes to the point that they don't know they're even missing any. if this happens, shame is useless and needlessly mean. just tell them, it takes the same amount of energy. next time you're walking down the street, please feel free to quiz any stranger and publicly shame them if they get geopolitical questions incorrect.

anyway. we're mods on the same blog love wins and all that. im gonna go to bed and get ready to go to my minimum wage job to pay the bills with my single parent. i respect your politics overall but i think we're always going to disagree on this because we came from different backgrounds and had differing life experiences that changed us in different ways, i'm always going to have empathy for people who are learning about things later because that was me, and it sucked to feel stupid and be publicly flogged for something i didn't know i had to look for.

Ignorance doesn't hold inherent moral weight. Defensiveness over ones ignorance does. Please recognize that there's not a single country in the world that teaches things objectively. Countries all gloss over their past crimes.

true, however it's reasonable to say that it's not someone's fault if they don't know something exists. i understand that no country teaches things objectively, and i agree that curiosity and learning is a lifelong process. however, it's not defensive to point out that you can't know to look for something if you don't know it exists. the only remedy is to circulate conversation about these events through the cultural consciousness-- i was saying that being a dick to people who are pointing out that it's not "uncuriosity" to not know about something that's been intentionally kept out of education isn't actually the radical pushback they think it is. it's just rude and dissuades people from actually engaging with the communities that would remedy their ignorance.

again. propaganda is meant to be undetectable. if someone hasn't ever heard of a war, it's on purpose, but not on that person's part. you are not immune to propaganda, i am not immune to propaganda-- you undoubtedly have blind spots you have no idea about, simply because you don't know they're there. that's why it's called a blind spot and not "that dipshit ignoring the problem again". it doesn't help to insult people who aren't at your level yet-- even if you can see the issue, and it seems blindingly obvious to you, the solution is to tell them it's there, not shame them for not noticing on their own.

[critleemadness-blog]

Webs of War: Chapter 2.

I couldn't quite see clearly from the faint image through my crown. It was blurry and hard to see through. It didn't matter either way because of the sight.

I was in aww when I saw the purple night sky with the stars twinkling their lights for all to enjoy. The stars glowed as glamorous before my time in this prison. I could stare at it all day.

I will appreciate it more when I see the stars for myself that is.

For now though…

"Kill them all." I ordered the young Crow. In front of them was a group of cultists cornering a purple furred spider. Though from the amused look he was making, he wasn't bothered at all from his attackers, "Spare that one however, he could prove useful to us."

They nodded, making their way to them. With a quick motion, my crown fell onto the young Crow's wing before turning it into a glaive-like spear. Having a running start, they jumped in the air before plunging the spear right into the unsuspected cultist's head. The group scream into terror as my vessel cut them all to pieces.

I watch with mild amusement at the fight. There was a good enough chance that my vessel wasn't a savant on fighting, they probably have never even held a sword before I became their master. It is thanks to the crown that it gave them the knowledge on how to cut down the cultists so fluidly and mercilessly. Not to mention their newly found spells able to rend the flesh off of one unlucky cultist.

In some part of my mind, I was glad to finally see some blood being spilled. It would be more pleasurable to smell the iron from them for myself. 

One thing at a time.

With a final swipe to the neck, the one-sided battle ends as the final cultist tries so hard to keep whatever blood he had spilling out, only to succumb to death. Nary a scratch nor sign of tiredness was onto my vessel. They looked upon themselves with surprise at how easily they could kill, but soon it was replaced with a winning smirk.

I do hope it doesn't get into their head, a cocky vessel is always a useless one.

"My, my, it is always appreciated to have some help," The young Crow turns towards the spider, making them caw at how close the spider was to them. He chuckled before noticing a crawling cultist barely keeping themself alive. He smiled at the bloody fool, eyes narrowing with hunger, "Especially when I get some fresh meat on the table. A moment please?"

The Crow watched as the large spider pounced on the weakened animal, cackling as he covered the poor cultist's body with webs who was screaming for help.

"It will not take long before the dead will report to Narinder about you. It's best that you move quickly," I suggested to them.  They nod in agreement as they approach the cannibalistic spider, "Do not fail me, young Crow."

"And all wrapped up for tonight's dinner." The purple spider chuckled as he finished his webbing as a small scream was heard within. Turning to his savoir, he bowed, "Anyways, my name is Helob, tiny Crow. How can I repay the bearer of the forgotten crown for the assistance?"

/// ///

"The Old Faith has killed off a few species already. Bears, monkeys, sheeps, sharks and currently… well, you know." Helob lists off as they move away from the impromptu camp site that will hold my cult to whatever he's leading the newly made leader, "Though, I'm thankful there is at least one crow still alive, I always did wonder what chicken tastes like."

Immediately, a spear was at his neck with an unamused crow glared at him. 

"I'm joking, I'm joking." He chuckled with a toothy smile, slowly lowering the weapon with a tip of his finger. The Crow scoffed at him as they let the spear turn to the crown before continuing to their path, "Still, their armies have grown incredibly weak at the moment. Genociding villages and your own members does that. A great opportunity for you though, I assure."

They stopped in the middle of a clearing and in front of them were four, large doors that have different colors.

"And this here is the door to the other domains. Rather convenient for what you're about to commit, hmm?"

The young Crow nodded, "Thank you Helob, your help is immeasurable."

"It is my pleasure, especially helping with… 'The One Who Wages War'. Quite a terrifying name. They will fear them." He chuckled a bit before turning away from the Crow, "Now if you would excuse me, I will have to take my leave. I am quite famished from all this, and I practically hear my dinner screaming for my name."

Helob scuttled off to who knows where, all the while muttering about a mushroom addicted friend in Anura he needed to visit sometime.

The crow looked at the four doors with curiosity. They approached a random one, they were about to touch it, "Do not go through that one."

The young Crow instinctively took a step back, wondering why I interjected them so quickly. They look at the one in front of them, seeing that it was green; the gateway to the Darkwoods.

The god of chaos's realm.

"Any other door, but not that one." I didn't know why I was so quick on denting access on that particular door. My vessel will… deal with Leshy either way. So why do I have this churning inside me, "He is… much too powerful for someone like you."

The Crow caught on to my hesitation, yet they didn't question it. Following my orders, they opened the door to Anchordeep and readied their conquest. 

/// ///

"No, no, no! It-it can't be!"

Despite having a hold onto my vessel, Kallamar shakes in his usual fear. His eyes were not focusing on the Crow, but what's on top of them. I sighed to myself, thinking how even millennia after millennia that his cowardice is still with him. It was saddening to see.

"Gods bellow, the prophecies were all true. I thought it was just a jest that they will return. Hell I thought we already derailed it, Narinder made sure he killed you all. So how, how?!"

He continues to ramble on and on as if he was trying to make sense of this. Truly, I had enough of his prattle, "Tell him."

The young Crow smiled, even if they were being choked, "Th-the One Who Wages War h-has come for your head."

Kallamar shudders a hitched breath as he backs in fear. He threw the young Crow away from him before darkness surrounds him.

"Kill that thing! Kill it nooow!" Kallamar screamed as he summoned his loyal followers ready for bloodshed. Like a coward as he always was, he retreated into his portal. 

Quickly recovering themself, my vessel turned the crown into an amalgamation of claws and pincers, ready to crush and maim their opposition. 

Soon, my freedom will be one step closer to fruition.

/// ///

…

"What was that just now?" I shuddered as I repeated what I just saw… a vision. It was a small one, but it felt as important as the ones with my family. Just as the Crow put the final blow onto Kallamar, a familiar flash went through my head. 

I was still in this accursed cave yet my body looked to be free or what it akins to freedom. Whimpering noises came from my side but I ignored it. Moments later, footsteps were heard from the mouth of the cave. And out came a-

"Master?" As quickly as the vision came, it quickly dissipated. Standing before me was my vessel, bloody and bruised but slowly healing from the crown's power. They were looking at me with… concern, "You have been quiet for a while."

I fixed myself to look dignified to the young vessel, "Just a slight lapse in a moment. Barring that, congratulations on defeating Kallamar and his army, and it only takes you half a month."

A smile graces their beak. Thinking that they were done, they were about to leave when a lingering thought passed by me.

"Wait." I ordered, making them to me, "Let me see it, young one. Let me see his heart." I ordered as I held out my newly freed hand to the young Crow. 

They looked severely confused from that. Not wanting to disobey their master, they took the heart out from their cloak before placing it into my hand.

It was… soft onto my palm. Fresh ichor stuck to the organ while its beat can be heard. It was almost haunting to know that this belongs to Kallamar. The thought of him made me delve into my mind about him before I was imprisoned.

"It may have been a chance for Kallamar to catch onto my madness first. He was always the cautious one. Despite being fearful even with his godhood, he showed both intelligence and battle prowess in and out of the battlefield. Had I trained him more, he could become more confident in his ordeals. The only reason you have bested him was the lack of preparation. Any less and he would scatter your remains in his domain."

A shiver must have run down their spine from how they look away. The heart's beat pulled my focus on it. For some reason, I didn't want to let him go so easily.

"I will return it when I call you again. Until then, rest for upcoming battles ahead of you. The Old Faith will bolster themselves when they find out that Kallamar has been…killed." I hesitated on saying that last word. It was nauseating to even think that my brother was dead and I was the factor of his death. 

And now I'm carefully holding his still beating heart like I did when I found him there on the beach side. When everything was… normal…

The Crow, either seeing as they are not needed or that I needed some time with the organ, disappeared in the goop to their small cult.

I continue looking at the heart with sadness. In some part of my own heart, it tells me to cease this and let the others roam free, but my mind keeps on repeating the same mantra.

Freedom.

…

'The One Who Sinks Islands'

/// ///

"Why do you care for them, even though they trapped you here?"

I took my eyes away from my sister's beating heart to the vessel. They have watched me caress the organ like it's a newborn babe in both a digested but fascinated way.

"Such a question can not be easily answered, young one." I replied through gritted fangs. Their question was fair, yet in my heart there was a churning of anger to the vessel, "Perhaps, it was from the many memories I have with them. The concept of showing respect to them could be another factor."

They furrowed from my gaze though when I took another look to the heart, it made my glare soften. It also gave me faint memories of old.

"Heket was the first of my family. She was so small, yet so determined to survive and thrive in Anura. Strongest willed, and severely destructive. She wanted nothing to do with me when we first met; none of them really. But when a god is both young and alone in the world where they will kill because of their godhood, company is always a welcoming change."

I was hazy and unfocus. I didn't realize I was reminiscing about the past to my vessel. They were quiet the whole time, listening to my sob story. Even with their hatred towards my siblings, it seems the Crow have taken a liking to whatever I say about them.

It was… not unwelcomed.

"But enough of that," I waved my hand at them, summoning a portal under them, "Rest now, young one. The next battle will be more challenging. Narinder, the God of Death, is one not to be taken lightly. I expect him to give you a hellish time in his realm, and I know he's furious."

With a nod, they disappear from my sight. My demeanor shifted when they left. I didn't say a word of vision on how a figure points a weapon. I didn't show fear of them, but somewhere in me knows that the battle is important. 

I questioned it from the life of me. I was beginning to become unsure of all this killing. Yet I knew that freedom was in the cusp of my grasp.

Isn't that right? Am I finally getting my wish?

…

'The One Who Craves Violence'

/// ///

It is to be expected that my vessel will wait patiently for me. They knew I miss my family greatly with the way I was holding Narinder's heart, and they had hoped their presence would ease me. I wouldn't say it so, but the thought of someone being there is… comforting.

I sighed, "I see that you will not leave me." They nodded immediately, "Do crows always have to be the nosey type?"

The vessel nodded again, though a bit hurt from the reminder that they are the last of their kind.

Well… there is no point in denying their curiosity. A little reward in a sense.

"Narinder clung onto me the most, especially when he was young. Always yearning for my wisdom to better himself, to become stronger. He was always like until he fully embraced himself as the God of Death. Such a wonderful time teaching him the very works of godhood." A small smile appears on my face, thinking of all the good memories with him and everyone else. Now though, "The moment I told him that he may betray the Old Faith one day was the moment he and I fell apart. Then it became a domino effect that affected Heket and Kallamar's trust in me…"

"That includes Leshy?"

…

I didn't know if I should answer them or see how long they could survive without the crown's power. Rather than doing neither, I say, "The final Bishop awaits you. Do not keep him waiting, young Crow."

Rather than keeping the heart, I gave it to them immediately. They were confused about me ignoring their question, but nonetheless knew that their visiting hour was up. They give me a small glance before disappearing. 

I was thankful they didn't see my balled up fist when I struggled to answer. It was such an infuriating question with an obvious answer; 'Yes', 'Perhaps', 'Indeed', etc. The answer would be the same. I did lose Leshy's trust. I lost everyone's trust, because of the prophecies. 

And now it comes in again. I still don't get what it is. I was dazed, confused about what the world was going on around me. When I finally focus, a gleam of something comes towards me. Then nothing. 

Nothing…

Why am I feeling dread again…

…

'The One Who Waits'

/// ///

The struggle to break through Leshy's forces was too much for my vessel it seems. Their acolytes put up a strong guard against them that they were forced to retreat. 

I gave mercy to the poor thing, letting them know that they have a few days respite until the next crusade. I was a bit giddy that I'm so close to being free, but patience was a virtue I followed greatly.

My vessel traveled far from their cult. From what I've heard, Helob has found a decrepit area with potential resources to gain without the sight of Leshy's cultists. Seeing opportunity to better their murder of faithful followers, they made their way there immediately. 

I had no objection to it… at first.

"I… remember…" 

Like Helob had said, it was a barren wasteland. Barely any life was there except for the occasional feral spider going about its day. Only rocks, webs, skulls… and a ruined temple…

…My temple…

"Scour any resources you can find, young one, but I forbid you to come back. Just the sight of this place irks me."

They look a bit disheveled by me, wondering about the sudden hate in the destroyed place. They collected whatever they could, whether it be loose silk or usable stones. 

They entered what's left of a bedroom, finding it more regal than most of the temple. They move away some rubble, the Crow sees a ripped paper that had the words 'ura' in it. At first they thought not much of it until they found more papers that bear the letters. Clearly, it was addressing someone.

Proving that the crows do not know when not to put their beak where it shouldn't, they looked for more documents to find the name. It took them quite awhile but their eyes shine when they find a paper that was intact. They read through it, noticing the names of Heket, Narinder, Kallamar and Leshy, talking fondly of them like they were close. Bottom on the written parchment was…

"So that's their n-" Before the Crow could finish their sentence, they felt a disturbance in the air. It was powerful, sinister even. It was like it was a-

"You shouldn't be here." 

The young Crow jumped away from a growth of vines coming out of the ground. They turned the crown into a battle ax, larger than their own body. They readied their weapon to destroy who dares to… attack… them…

"I will make this swift."

My eyes narrowed onto the enemy. They stood tall and all mighty. Despite the front of their grassy face being burnt to crisp and eyes blank, his visage was nonetheless intimidating.

Standing before my Crow was the final bishop, "Leshy…"

/// ///

The battle between my vessel and the god of chaos was astonishing, especially towards my brother. It was eye opening on how Leshy has severely grown over the years. Even his transformation has developed more devastatingly. 

Though it was the same as the Crow beaten him within an inch of his life. Before they could plunge their weapon into my brother's skull, I called out to them.

"Stop." 

The young Crow's ax stopped mere inches from Leshy's head. He held this defying look even if death was staring at him.

"Bring him here, I want to have a word with him."

…

I had no clue how long I looked at my brother. Seconds, minutes, hours, I didn't know. I don't even know how I should properly engage with him. It didn't help that he hadn't looked in my direction once.

It was a depressing sight.

"It has been awhile, Leshy." I broke the silence, hoping that he would acknowledge me,"You have certainly grown bigger, and much more powerful than I imagine. You actually took your leadership seriously for once."

"But I do wonder why you were at Silk Cradle, at my temple. My vessel has been making progress on cutting down your ranks, yet you were there, alone might I add." I lean down as close to him as possible, hoping to get a rise out of him, "Did you truly miss me?"

Again, only silence was met. 

"I am not sorry for killing Kallamar, Heket or Narinder. I will not ask for your forgiveness either. All I wanted was freedom from this prison. That is my end goal."

…

I wasn't sad at him for not saying anything. It was pointless of me to bring him here.

"Fine then, I take talking is no longer between us. If you insist." I drew a claw back ready to strike him down, "Goodbye, god of chaos-"

"You can't get out."

I blinked at him when he finally said something to me. However, the way he said it almost filled me with a bit of dread, "...what?"

"We… made extra sure you would never get out." He points at me, or more accurately the glowing pentagram behind me, "Even if you kill me, the seals will not let you leave this place so easily. There's no guarantee you will actually be freed."

"Hmph, you shouldn't underestimate me."

"I do no such thing." He shook his head as he looked me in the eyes. It was blank, but still holds his contempt, "It's all true, your soul has been bound to this place. If anything, you are to be stuck here… forever."

For…ever? I tried to find any sort decet from their voice. Before all of this, he was a terrible liar; lackadaisical posture or a slight rustle from his leaves were an obvious sign. But there's no trace, and so that could mean-

"No…you mean to tell me… it was all for naught."

"I didn't wa-"

"I'm not finished yet, you insolent worm!" I raised my voice as a burst of rage exploded around me. Never in my days nor years nor millennia, have I felt such a powerful emotion before that I couldn't contain it, "If what you are saying is true, then what I have done was a complete waste. Killing the others was a waste! I am stuck?!"

"I understand now."

"Understand what!? I doubt you know how it feels to be cast aside by your family, to be trapped for hundreds of years, to kill said family for freedom only to realize I can not get out of this damn prison! That is what is called suffering you lack. You will know what it will mean when I order my vessel to burn all of Darkwoods and its camellias as I make you watch. Then you will see true sufferin-"

"The prophecies."

My voice died down as I shuddered when he said that word. 

Seeing my surprised look, he continued, "I understand why you were acting such when we were all together. Seeing the vision over and over again. It was maddening, having it constantly go through your head. If I wasn't so scared back then, I would have help."

"What do you mean?"

He paused for a moment before he explained, "Fate cursed me as well, with the prophecies or vision or whatever it was. It's just that you had it worse, much worse. You actually saw us kill you and each other, I only saw something akin to your vessel battle against our siblings and killing them. From then on out, it only got worse as time went by."

I… I didn't, could not expect that. He's the one that called forth this culling of the people.

"Back then, I didn't even want to imprison you at all. I just wanted it to end before you kill one of us…" He let out a tired groan as he steadied his breath, "If only it did not come to this, and now it is too late to take it all back."

The rage inside me quickly diminished as I stared at him. He was still… naive, yet I could not think of it as such. He truly did care for us.

But he is right, there was no turning back, "Believe me that I am relieved to hear this from you. But this changes nothing, Leshy. No matter what, I will get out. I will find a way out, I lift my claw, "And it will only start with your death…"

"...I know." From the sound of my voice, he knew that death draws near. He was shaking badly, as if he had caught himself a cold. Not wanting to die disgracefully towards me, he breathes in as he closes his eyes, prepared to meet his fate. With his final breath, he said, "I'm… I'm sorry, Sham-"

I brought down my claws to the god of chaos's flesh, and moments later, he fell. Rolling onto my feet was his crown, its green eye staring at me.

My body was shaky as my breaths as I didn't realize the last of the bindings had disappeared. I pulled my hand away to see it was dripping with blood. Slowly and horrifyingly, I have come to the conclusion that I killed everyone.

I finally killed them all.

There in his corpse was the heart, rapidly beating before slowing down. I stared at it for so long that the Crow came back with concern. 

Despite killing my other siblings, I wasn't numb to the pain of loss. Carefully, I pulled the heart out of the body. I felt it drum, its rhythmic melody beating with my own.

"No, I am sorry… brother." I held it close to my chest, feeling tears coming out my eyes, "I'm sorry…"

…

'The One Who Devours Worlds'

/// ///

I sent away my vessel immediately when I gave them Leshy's heart. I told them to put my brother in the Darkwoods so that his cultists would see that he has been defeated. After that, they can celebrate all they want since their revenge was complete. 

The Crow could see that I don't have the clearest of minds at the moment. They wanted to stay with me, but with a wave of my fingers I summoned a portal under and forced them out of my chambers.

…

I was still trapped in this dingy cave.

Even though I have regained some of my strength from the follower's devotion and lack of bishops to keep hold, I could not move a few feet before being pulled back onto the wall. 

If that wasn't frustrating enough, there was the fact that I got my final vision and it isn't a pretty sight. I was kneeling to someone as they held their weapon high before me. In a swift moment, they plunged their spear at me and ended my life.

I realized that the one who used such a weapon on me was my vessel. If I wasn't trying to figure a way out, I would be livid at them for betraying me and taking my crown for their own. I would have attacked them on the spot had I learned this earlier.

But then I would have cursed myself for death if I did so; my dead siblings could attest to that.

The vision will come true if I don't plan this out. Yet, hours upon hours of thinking gain me nothing but a splitting headache and a looming dread in my chest. They're much too powerful for me to defeat and I sense that they will keep the crown for themself. 

But if I don't do anything I will be trapped for all eternity. No matter how I pushed or pulled, I will never escape and truly be forgotten.

My damn indecisiveness will be my literal end if I don't plan something. This is a dilemma I couldn't escape.

"I just want to get out, I just want my freedom…"

While trying to think of anything that could work, my eyes wandered over my brother's crown. I glared at its singular eye, with it staring back because I killed its master. Growling at it, I grabbed the item and I was about to throw it when I felt something coursing through from it.

Power…

That's when an idea popped up in my head.

An idea that will lead me to my wish.

/// ///

The Crow awoke from their deep slumber, stretching out the kinks in their body. Multiple nights of celebration took a lot out of them; ranging from dancing for days on end, to cooking up both food and rituals for the followers to… other nightly 'activities'. They have to stop themself from chuckling at the fresh memory. Yes, it was a fine few nights, but it's time to get back to work.

When they exited their hut however, they immediately knew something was off. Their cult was… empty. There was no life on sight and no amount of searching led them to figure what was going on.

Not liking where this is going, the Crow immediately went to the pentagram to teleport to The One Who Wages War's prison… only to be unable to do so. It was like they were rejected from entering there.

They sighed, a solemn look written on their face, "It's time."

They knew that sooner or later, their master would do something drastic for freedom. Taking their followers was one of those things and apparently they predicted correctly.

They have no time to think of it. Action will be needed.

With renewed vigor, they ran to the cave as fast as their legs could carry, ready to confront their master.

To confront me.

…

The familiar footsteps awoke me of my slumber. I had tuned out the whimpering noises of the murder the Crow has gathered throughout the journey a long time ago.

"You have finally arrived, vessel." They step into view. The cries of the captives caught their attention momentarily and turned a frankly ugly glare to me. I ignored it, "Your revenge has been completed. After a few years of fighting, you have killed all four bishops of the Old Faith. I praise thee for doing such an arduous task."

I moved to the side to show them the pentagram, still glowing brightly.

"Yet, I'm still trapped in this cursed prison of mine. No matter how hard I try, I will never leave this place." If there's any worth, I could see thin, little strings attached to my soul. Like a puppet, I will not let go until I cut myself free. I gave them a wry smile, "But I believe I found a solution to my problem."

With a lift of my finger, Leshy's crown levitated. It was, however, colorless thanks to my musings.

"The crowns. If I take their power, then I can break free."

The cries of followers grew louder, begging for them to be released. Just pure annoyance by this point, but a necessary factor.

"If you wish the freedom of your followers then please, give me the crowns of my brothers and sister so I may be as well."

Without much hesitation, they dropped the crowns in front of me. I knew immediately that they were brimming with power, I hope it will be enough to break the seal.

I bring the crowns near me as I begin the process. At first, it gave me an odd sensation in my body I could not describe. It was dizzying and made my mind all muddled, yet I still knew one thing.

It was working.

I cackled as my strength began to grow tenfold. I felt as powerful during my reign when I was just the only god of the land, perhaps even more so. The Crow backed away as they felt the sudden surge of power from me. The pentagram was still there, yet it glowed softly as it was ready to be broken at any moment.

Soon, my absorption was done, though with a cost. The crowns dropped carelessly on the ground, their signature colors drained and turned colorless. It was saddening to see, but it needs to be done for what comes next.

I put my full focus towards the vessel, who was absolutely disturbed from my new found power.

"Now the final part," I held out my hand to them, "Give me my crown, and give me your life."

Their eyes were wide from the proposition. Their faces tell me everything; unsure,  scared, desperate. They look at the trapped followers, seeing them shake and cry for them not to do it.

They gulped as they took off the crown from their brow. I was a bit surprised that they actually took it off, perhaps the visions were wrong. They looked into the crown's eye solemnly, perhaps thinking the amount of things they have accomplished from their revenge fueled quest.

Then there was a spark in their eyes as the glare returned once again. Their eyes glowed purple as the crown turned into a spear. They point it at me, "I will not."

I scoffed at them, of course it wouldn't be easy, "I'm not surprised by your answer, young one, I expected it to be so." My body burns brightly as I stand before my traitorous vessel, "Even then, for betraying me Crow, just like my brothers and sister did so long ago, your suffering will be slow!"

…

I have faced many battles; most were like chores to me, and very few made me put effort, as for one led me here. But this battle was the most important thing in the world.

I had the advantage over them. But every time I rend their flesh, they keep on their assault. The desire to win burns as bright as mine does.

We were both weak, but I knew my victory was finally ripe for the taking. They were on their last legs, just a push and a shove will finish. 

So, I charged in recklessly. They were stunned for me to do an idiotic attack. My mind is running completely full of adrenaline. When I was about to crush their bones and reclaim my birthright…

…that's when a familiar pull caught me off guard. Instantly, what's left of the pentagram's power pulled me into it and on the wall. My head collided on the rocky surface, making me dazed and confused about what just happened. 

That was the one and only opportunity for the Crow needed to end it all. They ran at me and leaped with everything they got. Right as I recovered, I saw them with their spear heading right for me. Doing whatever I could to win, I threw a purple ball of fire right onto them. It connects with them making a small explosion. 

Their batch of murder gasp in horror as  sigh of relief. Now time to collect my crown and-

In the smoke, something gleamed and before I could react, it shot right to me.

A gasp escapes me as all the pain from the Crow had afflicted on me conglomerated into one. I cough out ichor from my mouth as I struggle to look down where all the pain has resided. On my chest, full front and center was the accursed spear. Its shine gleamed at me, almost taunting me as I remember the vision I had after Narinder's death.

"Oh…" was all I could say as I fell on my knees.

My body convulsed from the overload of my sibling's crown. With what little strength and power my body could hold, it expunged me out of it. My head rings when I land on the rocky surface. It didn't help that the cries of joy from the Crow's cult worsened my headache.

I groan as I shake away the blunt force from my head. I placed a hand on the bruise to soothe it before I did a double-take.

I look upon my hand with unbelievable shock and horror. I have changed; no longer the almighty form I have so used to, but a smaller, much weaker one.

I was… so vulnerable. 

The Crow walked up to my defeated state while collecting their blade. Their cult made of troubled souls crowded behind them and gave them praise for saving them once again. I turned my eyes away from them as I didn't even want to look at the ex-vessel.

I felt the blade of their spear rest onto my neck. It nicked me ever slightly as a mixture of blood and ichor fell on the steel, showing how weak I am in this new form. Slowly, the new permanent crown-bearer raised my head with the weapon, forcing me to look at them.

They gave me not a look of triumph or sadness, but rather an impassive face. No longer endangered, they were breathing calmly. I can see that they were thinking, perhaps a punishment fit for me or just outright executing me. They were bruised front and back, it is surprising how my last attack didn't kill him. 

One thing is clear in both our minds.

The Crow has beaten me at my own game.

It was an embarrassment. A god of war; made by the stars to battle and conquer, to survive countless crusades, to dare anyone and anything to cross their path only to be met with oblivion. And there was the fact that moments ago, they were empowered by their adopted sibling's crowns to a strength of new heights…

…and now they are kneeling, defeated by some usurper who wanted petty revenge…

It was so embarrassing that I started to chuckle to myself. The cultists backed away immediately as if I'm capable of killing them, yet the Crow held firm. My chuckling turned to a full on laughter.

I laughed so much that I didn't realize I was puncturing myself on the spear, and yet I couldn't care less about it.

Soon, my voice became hoarse as the laughing turned to a pathetic whimper. It was all a waste. The prophecies of false paradoxes, my family dead by my own hands and soon to be forgotten, and now this. Everything was a damn waste.

It was too much for me to handle anymore.

"Kill me."

There's no point in continuing this abysmal turn of life. 

I felt their hold on the spear wavered on my neck. Their followers watched if they were about to do so, yet only I saw the struggle with them. It almost made me angry at their hesitation and yet I didn't have the energy to be so. I was just tired.

"Breath in." I whispered to them, surprising them greatly.

They did as they were told, finally more focused. Pulling away from my neck, they lift the spear high onto the air. They held their weapon with both wings firmly, ready to pierce my body and end it all. My heart beat fast, but my mind was calm. I close my eyes and await my just reward.

My wish for seeing the outside world again will not be granted.

"...Thank you… Shamura."

With a grunt, the new almighty ruler of the Old Faith thrust…

And there, I finally…

…

/// ///

…Saw the purple night sky and its stars…

[strangelysamantha]

cheerleader ❀

rafe cameron x plus!reader.

warnings: swearing, flirting, slight angst in the beginning (barely)

words: 2,365.

summary: rafe was intrigued by you, he wanted to get to know you. he thought that task would be easy, but your distaste for him was apparent. despite the overwhelming amount of setbacks, he knew he would get you to crack.

request? no :)

a/n: please like and comment if you enjoy! thank you, ilysm <3

my masterlist

part two

——————————————————————————

most things rafe wanted, he easily got. it was a known fact. his parents were financially stable so they could afford to throw money down the drain for useless items that wouldn’t be used more than once. his popularity and name allowed him to get away with most things. except you. you seemed to not care about his wealth or his looks. you didn’t even care to give him the time of day. he took this as a challenge. he was destined to get you to like him if it was the last thing he did.

the first time he talked to you was during school. he thought his charm and popularity would make you swoon. instead, it was quite the opposite. he approached you at your locker, his smile bright. “hey. i’m rafe.” he extended his hand out to you. “hello, rafe.” you shake his hand back, before retreating your hand to your side. you stare at him in confusion. “uhm am i in the way of your locker?” you question, he shakes his head. “oh no, actually. i just wanted to introduce myself to you.” you nod your head. “well rafe, it was nice to meet you, i guess. but i’m running late for class.” you shut your locker, speeding off to class.

rafe stayed by your locker in awe. you really thought rafe was just waiting to get to his locker? it’s halfway through the school year, if his locker was by yours, you would have known by now. he embarrassingly walked away, heading to his first class. that awkward moment was lingering in his head, stuck on replay. your facial expression that showcased confusion stayed still in his mind. by third hour he was over it, not as embarrassed. he shrugged it off, excited to try again.

rafe actually didn’t know that much about you. he saw you in the halls occasionally. his interest in you peaked when he saw that you talked to topper a lot. since you were heavily associated with topper, he believed that it would be easy to befriend you. it’s clear to him now that isn’t the case. he can’t help but feel surprised at your lack of knowledge for him. everyone knows of rafe, and you should especially know because of how well you know topper.

regardless, rafe knew what he had to do. he needed to see topper, and investigate him. rafe pulled his phone out, texting topper to meet him.

topper met rafe in the boy’s bathroom before fourth period. they scoped the bathroom, ensuring to themselves that they could openly talk since they were alone. rafe didn’t hesitate, he immediately bombarded topper with questions about you. “what’s with the sudden interest?” topper asks, confused.

“i don’t know, i keep seeing her in the hallway and she stares at me.” topper nods, “well she does good academically, i know her because her family is friends with my family, she’s on the cheerleading team, i don’t know man. what info are you wanting?” the cheerleading team. rafe smiled to himself, you are a cheerleader. “that’s good enough, i just needed some info so i could know if i want to meet her or not.” topper laughed, “alright man. i gotta go.” rafe nodded, “see you later.” topper fist bumped rafe before walking out the bathroom.

you were a cheerleader? he had no clue. it dawned on him, if he had no idea of who you were, why would you know who he was? he shook his head at the thought, instead heading to class.

on the other side of the school sat you, fidgeting with your pencil as you struggled to keep up with the current notes. the interaction you had with rafe was confusing you. why did he suddenly want to meet you? it didn’t make sense. the whole class period you tried to wrap your brain around his actions, trying to figure out what his intention was, but you fell short.

at lunch time you sat at a table, you usually sat with friends but they were absent. it didn’t help they were absent the one day someone popular randomly takes an interest in you. you sit on the chair, pulling out your math homework. if you knocked it out at lunch, you had a high chance of not having homework. you start the first problem, but immediately halt when your family friend, topper, taps on your shoulder. “hi tops.” you smile softly at him, setting your pencil down and turning your attention to him. he smiles at you, “hey.”

you pick up a goldfish, plopping it into your mouth. “how have you been?” you question topper. he shrugs, “same old same old. family is still upset with me, per usual.” you nod, soaking up what he said. “dang, that sucks. it’s so annoying how people hold grudges. they don’t know how to forgive and forget.” you shrug, smiling up at him. he returns the smile, “i know right.” you place your homework back in your bag, assuming you wouldn’t be able to finish it during lunch.

“what did you even do?” you ask him. he smiles, “uh i accidentally pissed a pogue off so they got revenge by sinking my new boat.” your eyes widened, “what! holy shit you must have fucked up bad.” he frowns, “i didn’t really want to do it, you know how tricky it is with our reputation and who we have to associate with.” you laugh, “oh i know all too well of what that’s like.” topper rolls his eyes, assuming you’re talking about him.

“hey! i’m not too bad.” you laugh, “it wasn’t about you. you aren’t bad at all.” you look up, seeing rafe take his backpack off. you glance at topper to see he is confused as well. “hey rafe, what’s up?” topper questions rafe, who had just sat down at our table. “nothing much man, saw you over here and decided to join.” you laugh sarcastically, “inviting yourself to our private party?” you question, slightly joking. rafe felt an unexpected twinge of jealousy when you grouped yourself and topper together.

“i’m just kidding rafe… kind of.” you grin, topper joining in by chuckling with you. rafe awkwardly laughs along. he pulls himself together, thinking of things to say. “are you going to the football game tomorrow?” rafe waits for your response. you smile slightly, “yeah, but i’m a cheerleader so i’ll be on field.” he nods, “oh, that’s cool.” you nod awkwardly. “yeah.” he smiles subconsciously, excited to see you in a uniform. his smile disintegrates when topper confronts him. “what are you smiling for bro?” rafe stared at him, unamused. “nothing.” topper scoffs, “alright then.”

you steal looks between rafe and topper, still confused. you don’t ask any questions, you just continue eating your food. the bell rings, indicating that lunch is over. you gather up your trash, standing up. you notice rafes eyes lingering over your body. his eyes fixating between your thick thighs, and hips. you feel self conscious under his stare, so you quickly stand up and walk to the trash can. rafe follows after you, quick on his feet. he comes up to your side, much to your dismay.

“will i see you at the game tomorrow?” you turn your head to the side, “are you going to the game?” you return. he nods, “yeah.” you smile, “then you’ll probably see me.” he grins, “okay, cool.” he quickly turns around, leaving you by yourself. you were confused still, but hey, maybe having rafe as a friend would be good.

you got through the day quickly, heading immediately home. you work on homework, chores, and finally get ready for bed. before bed you prepare your uniform. you set it out, along with a jacket so you weren’t on full display at school. you wake up the next morning, putting on your uniform, along with a bow in your hair. you head to school, slightly nervous for your possible interaction with rafe.

when you arrive at school, you don’t see rafe. you only saw topper, who was eagerly heading in your direction. he smiled, standing still in front of you. “hey, good morning!” you smile, “hi tops.” the two of you talk for a bit, him walking you to class. “can i pick you up before the game?” topper asks. “sure, it has to be a little earlier than the fans. i have warm ups and stuff i have to do before the game.” he grins, “okay! just text me tonight when you want me to pick you up.” you put your hands in your jacket pocket. “okay, thanks topper!”

he walks away, and you walk into your first hour class. you go through your classes as usual, rafe not showing up. you couldn’t tell if you were disappointed or relieved, but either way it didn’t matter, you had a game you had to prepare for. you do your make up, and touch up your hair. you chug water, and began stretching. you text topper, saying he could pick you up now, if he still wanted to drive you. his response was quick and enthusiastic.

topper pulls up to your house, his music loud, and a large smile plastered on his face. “game day!!” you laugh along, repeating his words. “game day!” you open his door, hopping inside. “let’s go!” you playfully roll your eyes at his eagerness, “to the school!” topper smirks, stepping on the gas, and speeding out your driveway.

the two of you sing along to the songs on the radio, before it abruptly ends due to you two arriving at the school. he decides to stay in his car, planning on joining right when the official game starts. you skip down the field, joining your teammates. you stretch with them, before you practice the chants and dance numbers.

at six thirty, they start allowing people in. you immediately see topper hunched over the fence, him waving frantically at you. you wave back, jogging over to him. “you ready?” he asks, you bite your lip, “i guess.” he laughs at your nerves, excited for you. you glance over and see rafe. he hadn’t seen you yet. your breath gets caught in your throat, slightly scared and self conscious to see him.

topper gives you reassuring words, and out of the corner of your eye, you notice rafe had found you. rafe slowly makes his way towards topper, keeping his cool. rafe stares at you in your cheerleading uniform. his breath gets heavy, he stares, watching you talk to topper. jealously fills his chest, of course topper was here first. rafe quickly approached the two of you, eager to break the conversation up.

“hi rafe.” you smile softly, looking up at him. he smiles, “hey. good luck today.” you fiddle with your fingers, “thank you.” rafe stays silent. you hear the coaches whistle. “i got to go, i’ll talk to you when i can!” you quickly turn around, jogging back to the cheerleading circle.

rafe watches as you jog away, hes mesmerized by how well the uniform fit. he knew you would look good, but damn. he looks over at topper, who makes eye contact with him. “what’s up rafe?” topper stares at rafe, waiting for an explanation. “she is so hot.” topper scoffs, “bro, already whipped?” rafe rolls his eyes, but grins. “for her, yeah. i’d willingly be whipped.” the two boys sit on the bench, topper watching the game, and rafe watching you.

after sitting in silence, rafe speaks up. “do you think she likes me?” topper quickly glances at rafe, trying to see if he was joking or if he was serious. when topper saw he was serious, he genuinely contemplated it. “id say maybe, i mean she doesn’t shrivel up in disgust when you are around. that’s a pretty good sign.” rafe shook his head, “that’s true. that is a good sign.”

rafe admired you, you getting his full attention. on break you rush to the fence, excited to see rafe and topper. “hey!” you look up at them, “you are doing great!” topper reached down, highfiving you. “thanks!” you look over at rafe, something took you over because he actually looked hot. you bit you lip slightly, you were going to say something, but rafe beat you to it. “you look good.” rafe smirked slightly, causing heat to rise to your face. “thank you, rafe.”

you return to the group again, your heart racing. the idea of rafe made your breath heavy. you continue to chant, and preform. you occasionally looked up rafe, his eyes always focused on you. you had a low chance of being able to go to the fence again, so you focused entirely on perfecting the choreography. the crowd was cheering loudly, your hometown winning the game.

at the final quarter, your hometown won by one point. your team jumps up and down, ecstatic. you preform a final show, before you break apart. you chug water. you rush in line with the other cheerleaders, going in a straight line to high-five the football players. you smile brightly at them, telling them congrats for winning the game. most of them returned a smile, and thanked you.

after the bleachers started to empty, you decided to meet up with topper, and possibly rafe. you look around for topper but he was gone. you turn around, accidentally bumping into rafe. “oh i’m sorry.” he stares at you, “hey, by the way topper left, said he was going on a date with a girl from the cheer team.” you frown, “oh. he was my ride.” rafe smiles, “you can ride me- i mean ride with me.” you laugh lightly at his switch up, “okay. i’ll ride you.” your heart is racing, the after game adrenaline flowing through your veins, which was causing you to be bold. he smirks at you, “okay, i’d enjoy that.” you mimic his smirk, following him to his car.

he turns around, “are you sure?” you nod, “i’m sure, are you?” he is shocked by your question, “so fucking sure.”

part two will be steamy <3

[pan-ick]

Golden Child Pt. 1

I literally can't remember where I found it but I read a headcannon for an angsty SBI +Reader and I loved it so much that I had to write something similar to it but I think I might have forgotten to like it, so if you know what the original is please tell me so I can credit them I was partially inspired by@helliontherapscallion's "Adrenaline Junkie" series, simply for the fact that because of them i haven't stopped thinking of inventor reader. Also let's just pretend that uh my human biology degree isn't going to waste by me writing blindness incorrectly ha ha. This is a purely fictional way that blindness works.

(REMINDER YOU IDIOT, FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS STORY: Wilbur is 26, Techno is 20, Tommy is 16, Phil is 32, SO READER IS 22, GET IT RIGHT AND STOP MESSING UP)

As soon as Y/N's wings started developing, they were instantly the favorite child. Philza still showed his love to Wilbur, but nowhere near as much as he did to his winged child. If he had to choose between spending time with them or Wilbur, he'd pick them in a heartbeat. Wilbur was usually upset when this happened, but he had gotten used to it and had learned ways to cope with it.

This was until Techno showed up. On their doorstep. Next to a freezing Philza who had sacrificed most his warmth to the young piglin. Wilbur had his thoughts on this, yhough he kept them to himself. But Y/N couldn't be happier! This meant a new friend, AND they were right when they said that Phil was just a nice person, there wasn't a favorite child! Right?

They quickly realized that Techno wasn't their friend, as the first interaction they had together was them getting a claw to the face by the piglin. Philza just simply sighed and made sure the wound would stop bleeding before tending back to the scared pig.

Y/N was only eight at the time, they didn't know what they were feeling. But whatever it was didn't feel good.

Since that day, Y/N was the new Wilbur and 'Technoblade' was the golden child. Y/N wanted the spotlight back, so they tried hard at everything. Nothing ever worked. Nothing was better than what Techno could do. Nothing was more amazing than Techno's knowledge, or his skills in fighting, or his odd way of speaking, or those stupid things that he did, or the fact that he'd always blame it on some 'voices' in his head. That he had a God complex. That he was better than Wilbur. He was better than Tommy. He was better than you...

He was always better than you. Of course. Thats what you felt when you first met. Not amazement, not the happiness of having another friend. Of course not. It was overwhelming jealousy. But he was your brother, so you had to suck it up just like Wilbur did.

But soon enough, they came to peace with this. They moved on and worked on what they actually enjoyed, not what Philza enjoyed. Mechanics. Phil would have killed you if he learned of all the dangers that you put yourself through to consider yourself an inventor. Or.... Would he?

One day your older brother approached you with his idea to create "L'manburg". At first you couldn't help but laugh. But when it was realized that Wilbur wasn't joking and that he had already recruited Tommy, they agreed to join the fight for freedom. It was a way to pay Wilbur back for being there for them, afterall.

Y/N never imagined the true horrors that they would have to go through so they could say a 'thank you' to Wilbur. They never even truly said it to him, L'manburg was already exploded and he was killed before they could say it to him. Not even saying it to Ghostbur was good enough.

Y/N was forced to suffer through watching her loved ones go mad. Sometimes, they would try coming up with inventions that could help her friends out, and some that could help some regular problems in the world for other people. Most of them didn't work, they were only able to produce goggles that could just barely help fully blind people see. But it was a step in the right direction.

Then doomsday came. Y/N didn't want to be part of it, they didn't want to even try hurting their father and younger brother. They aren't even sure how they came to that point.

Before they knew it, they were begging the man who once gave them anything in the world for him to stop. The whole server was one big family especially everyone in the homes he was about to destroy. But what they wanted didn't matter anymore. It's what Technoblade wanted, and he wanted blood.

At the last moment, Y/N remembered Friend. Ghostbur would be devastated if Friend died.

Falling down to the ground from the small warning of TNT, Friend flooded their mind.

If they couldn't save L'Manburg, they needed to save Friend. Ghostbur wasn't the same, but Ghostbur is Wilbur. They still never said thank you. They have to show their gratitude through the miracle of Friend surviving.

And so that's what they set off to do. With no mind to their own self-preservation, Y/N got up and flew as fast as they could to save Friend. But before they could reach the sheep, a large pile of rubble fell on one of their wings, almost snapping it right off. Y/N tried to get it off but to no avail, and their whole body wasn't safe. As they saw more rubble they crouched down while covering their head with their hands and covering the undamaged wing with their body, they prepared for impact.

The last thing they could speak out was almost incomprehensible.

"Wil..... Will...... Ghosbu.............. Tommy.......... Dad............."

And then everything went black. Y/N couldn't see or feel anything. Not even after her youngest brother, the ghost of her older brother, and the three fiances of the SMP untrapped them. There was nothing.

After what felt like years for the brothers, there was finally a glimpse of Y/N waking up. But they continued to drift in and out of consciousness and whenever someone tried communicating they were completely unresponsive.

During this amount of time, it was agreed that it was in their best interest for their wings to be removed. They were both utterly useless now after being crushed and would just be extra weight with unnecessary pain that can be avoided the sooner their wings get removed. Just in case Y/N was still aware of everything going on, they were put under amnesia to lower the chance of them feeling the agony of a wing removal surgery.

Slowly Y/N began more responsive to people, but never to the same amount. Everyone that took care of them were absolutely heartbroken when they figured out part of the rock that fell on them damaged a vital organ that allowed a person to see. Luck was in fact on their side for damaging their eyesight instead of the brain, however most people didn't see it that way.

Ghostbur took it upon himself to become Y/N's seeing-eye dog. He missed having Friend nearby and Y/N was the thing he connected to the most after Friend's death.

After a few months of trying to get used to no longer having sight or wings Y/N was finally allowed back in their lab with a large amount of supervision from Ghostbur. While carefully running their hands across some unfinished inventions, Y/N comes across the goggles that they made at least a year ago. It immediately smarked a memory deep within their brain, the closest thing they had felt to seeing something ever since doomsday.

"Ghostbur, what color are these?" "Oh, they're blue. Blue's a really nice color, it reminds me of Friend. Do you remember Frien- Why are you looking down at those like that? Would you like some blue, it takes your sadness away! Wait dont put them on, the glass has cracks!" Y/N snickers as the ghost tries to take them away from them without being super forceful, "I'm already blind, what's the worst it can do?"

"Dont say that!" Ghostbur gasps, "We will find a way to get your vision back, those goggles might make it impossible!"

"I made these around the time you first showed up. I ran multiple tests with them and I was able to help a blind person see the world again. Sure, it was very blurry, hard to distinguish a lot of colors from each other, we have a different kind of blindness, and its been more that a year since I last tested them, but they might still work." Y/N explains, then they turn their back to Ghostbur and put the goggles on. This time, Ghostbut only makes a sound in protest.

Blinking, Y/N could feel the stimulation in their brain that they lost along with their eyesight come back. They moved their hands from the position they were in to put the invention on to Y/N's line of sight, and they could see their hands again. Fuzzy, shapeless, hands with a few bandaids and many scars on them.

"So, are they working?"

The voice of your brother brings Y/N back to reality and they turn to look at him. They had completely forgotten what Ghostbur looked like, only remembering vaguely what child Wilbur looked liked and a brief description of how Ghostbur's appearance differed for Wilbur's.

Y/N wraps their arms around the Ghost, not actually hugging but just doing the motion to where they would hug a person they could actually touch, as they tried to not cry in front of him.

(WOOOOOO THIS ENDED UP A LOT LONGER THAN I EXPECTED AND I'M NOT EVEN DONE YET, SO I SEPARATED IT INTO TWO PARTS)

[peach-astrology]

Mars in the houses

Mars in the first house:

1)A very strong and brave person.He can be quick-tempered,but due to his perseverance and strong character,he wins competitions and is a good opponent.

2)Depending on the position of Mars in the sign and its aspects,but in any case,a person(karmically)must work hard in life- both in the external world and in the internal,and especially devote a lot of effort to the formation of his personality.

3)People often fall in love with you.You are very inspiring to other people,please don't give up,you are really cool.

4)I noticed that people in this position have unusual facial features.For example,they have thick or unruly hair, freckles,or a sly and strong look.Most often they are high.

5)They value honesty and realism.They don't like to think much about philosophical things.

Mars in the second house:

1)Hardworking and very fond of money.They like to build a successful and long-term career.

2)This arrangement indicates people who are talkative,it is useless to argue with them.They are skilled in mathematics,earn money through real estate,are interested in politics and say frankly what they think.They sing or have the ability to work on the radio.

3)Bad aspects can indicate frequent financial and property crises.A person spends as quickly as he earns.He needs to learn to control his spending.

4)If a person has Mars in Capricorn/Scorpio/Aries,then he is guaranteed monetary success.He is enterprising,active,sees a large number of opportunities around him and uses them one hundred percent.

5)The good aspects point to the comfortable and favorite work of humans.It works not only for money,but also for pleasure.He is proud of himself and his position.

Mars in the third house:

1)Person is impatient.The last thing he likes to do is wait a long time for a response to his messages.Such a person can show pressure in business situations,and often achieves what he wants through courage and a natural gift of persuasion.

2)By the way,often Mars in the 3rd house has a great interest in technology,and therefore can fix a lot himself in the mechanism of a car,motorcycle or bicycle.

3)Good aspects indicate a strong and inquisitive mind,bad aspects indicate poor memory and learning problems.

4)You are witty and completely outspoken,and sometimes tactless.Active intellectual work is suitable for you.

5)If you have a brother or sister,they may have Scorpio/Aries placements.They can also be hot-tempered,get involved in boxing or make a permanent mess at home.

Mars in the fourth house:

1)He knows how to cool his ardor at the right time.They often want to be in charge of the family.They like to do the renovation and decoration of their home.

2)In 99% of cases,they have problems with their parents or family.Their characters are too different.

3)You may have been brought up in harsh or unpleasant conditions,so you have little trust in people and comfort is very important to you.You don't want to repeat the mistakes of your parents,so you can seriously get carried away with books about parenting and going to psychologists.There's nothing wrong with that!

4)With bad aspects,mental disorders and deep mental suffering are possible.Good aspects increase strength and energy,activity and enterprise and create an opportunity to acquire real estate and implement ideas,plans and goals.

5)I often noticed this position in people who worked hard and studied hard to support their families.They are very caring and loving,but they may not show it because of stress or fatigue.

Mars in the fifth house:

1)You love competitions,arguments and adventures.If you are the captain of the team,then you will definitely win.You are able to maintain team spirit and you are comfortable working in a friendly team.

2)The 5th house sometimes points to our children,so I just wish you patience.Your child may be too active or disobedient,try to teach from childhood to love to learn,otherwise there may be problems in the future.It can also be a Sun Aries or Scorpio.

3)In general,you are not boring.Positive aspects indicate that you are the soul of the company or you are often approached to get acquainted.Bad aspects indicate risky and dangerous actions.Think a thousand times before you do something.

4)I'm sorry to frighten you,but my book says that giving birth to such people is very difficult.Carefully monitor your health.

5)You are a sensual and passionate nature.You flirt well,which makes you even more attractive.

Mars in the sixth house:

1)Perfectionists,so they can be trusted with difficult and responsible work.They may be too lazy or too hardworking.They love to thoroughly understand complex mechanisms and processes,they like to process and analyze information,put everything on the shelves,optimize their activities.

2)Their main goal is not money and career growth.It is more important for them to get satisfaction from achievements and results in order to feel happy.

3)This is a born analyst who logically approaches the solution of problems and tasks.Relies on the brain,not the heart,to make decisions.He is a practitioner all the knowledge that he receives in the process of life,immediately applies.

4)He will try to create the most comfortable living conditions for his family.It is important for him to feel stability and be confident in the future.

5)With bad aspects,such people tend to be picky and grumpy.

Mars in the seventh house:

1)An unpleasant position,there is a possibility of a toxic or aggressive partner.Their partner can be a little brash,rude,or rebellious.On the other hand,it often indicates a partner with a lot of energy and plans.He is stubborn and always achieves his goals.

2)His opponents are strong and assertive,and fights with them often end in serious injuries physical or financial.He often gets into trouble and easily gets involved in quarrels.

3)The bad aspects point to divorce.

4)He was used to acting quickly and confidently towards others.Sometimes he shows excessive pressure and strong-willed influence,which is perceived negatively by others.With soft and sensitive people,such a person is not on the way.

5)You are a great competitor,so you can work in politics,sports or business.

Mars in the eighth house:

1)You are very sensitive to the topic of money and probably want to have more of it than you have now.You reach out to people who already have money or obviously want wealth.

2)For bad aspects,I sincerely recommend not taking out loans or spending property or huge amounts of money.There is a high probability of not paying back the debt and spending money on the wind.Read the contracts carefully.

3)Good aspects create a sense of benefit.Such a person knows who to make deals with,he has a profitable and active job.

4)Monitor the health of the genitals.Avoid fire and cutting objects and treat wounds carefully.

5)They like to explore theories and riddles.They are very curious and they like mysticism,they can like detectives.

Mars in the ninth house:

1)You may have been disliked by your teachers because you tend to express your opinions.You are the kings of discussion and know how to defend your point of view.

2)Such people love to learn.They have a broad outlook,but their brain doesn’t immediately understand the explanation,so they often learn in their own way.Sometimes this position indicates self-taught people.

3)Negative aspects indicate short temper and stubbornness.Such people argue for the sake of argument.Positive aspects indicate fairness.Such a person is interested in the opinions of other people and tries to expand their knowledge.

4)Often such people work according to their own regime.They can be freelancers or have a night job.

5)Very good position for businessmen.A person with such a position has good managerial abilities,purposefulness and great vital energy.

Mars in the tenth house:

1)He is very independent and responsible,knows how to make decisions and is not afraid to take the initiative.

2)He can quickly become successful,and then also quickly find himself at the bottom.His life is an endless series of ups and downs.

3)In the negative aspect,Mars makes a person conflicted,aggressive.In a positive aspect,it indicates success.His career is very important to him.But family and personal relationships often take a back seat.

4)Such a person may have a problematic relationship with his mother.

5)They know how to work in competition.In life(with bad aspects),almost all people are seen as enemies.Maybe there was some kind of psychological trauma.

Mars in the eleventh house:

1)You work well in collaboration with others who share your goals,ideals,and intentions.You can inspire people to work towards a common goal.

2)If he is passionate about something,he strives to bring it to the end and get a concrete result.

3)He's friends with all sorts of people.Nationality,level of education and status in society are not important here.The main thing is to have common hobbies,aspirations and desires.

4)Positive aspects indicate the qualities of an excellent organizer.It inspires and appeals to other people.Negative aspects create problems with people.He is often betrayed or deceived.

5)Such a person never adapts to someone.If you have different views on life or different characters,that such people will say goodbye to you.They don't fucking need to change you.

Mars in the twelfth house:

1)Watch your feet very carefully.Wear comfortable shoes,play football carefully and don’t overdo it with the stretch.

2)He doesn’t give the impression of an active and active person.Others often underestimate him.

3)He has a good imagination.He does a lot of his work intuitively.Such a person can’t always explain in words how he came to this result.

4)Very good position for astrologers,fortune tellers or psychics.Their work is often associated with something mystical or creative.They like detective stories and psychology.

5)You may have quite a lot of energy and energy,you lack confidence or just the desire to put yourself and your interests first.Love being alone at work.You like to help.

[itsclydebitches]

The Bad Batch: A Crosshair Analysis

Hello, Star Wars fandom! I have just completed watching—and loving—The Bad Batch, which you know means I now need to dump all my thoughts about the first season into the tumblr void. Specifically, thoughts on the complicated drama that is Crosshair. I have no doubt that the majority of what I’m about to say will be old news to anyone who watched the show when it came out (I’m slow...), but I’m writing it all out anyway. Largely for my own sanity enjoyment :D

I want to preface all of this by saying that the above is not an exaggeration. I love the show and I love the entire cast. My enjoyment in each of the characters is directly connected to my enjoyment of the season as a whole, which I say because I’m about to get pretty critical towards some of the characters’ choices and, to a lesser extent, the writing choices that surround those. Does this mean I secretly hate The Bad Batch? Quite the opposite. I’m invested, which is presumably just what Filoni wants. I’m just hoping that investment pays off. 

But enough of the disclaimers. Let’s start with the matter of the inhibitor chip. I’ve seen fans take some pretty hard stances on both sides: Crosshair is completely innocent because he’s definitely been under the chip’s control this whole time, no matter what he might say. Crosshair is completely guilty because he said the chip was removed a long time ago and he chose to do all this, no moral wiggle room allowed. However, the reality is that we don’t know enough to make a clear call either way. The audience, simply put, does not have all the necessary information. What we have instead is a couple of facts combined with claims that may or may not be reliable. Let’s lay them out:

Crosshair was definitely under the chip’s control at the start of the series.

He was able to resist it to a certain extent, resulting in a pressure to obey orders coupled with a primary loyalty to his squad. See: telling Hunter to follow the Empire’s commands—which includes killing kid Padawans—but not turning his team in as traitors when they did not. It’s an in-between space.

Crosshair’s chip was then amplified to an unknown extent. I’m never going to claim I’m a Star Wars aficionado—I’m a casual fan, friends. Please don’t yell at me over obscure lore lol—but within TBB’s canon, no one else is undergoing that experimentation. The effects of this are entirely unknown, which includes Crosshair’s free will, or lack thereof.

Crosshair then becomes a clear tool of the Empire, hunting down innocents, killing on a whim, the whole, evil shebang.

In “Reunion” he’s caught by the engine and suffers severe burns to his face. One leaves a scar that covers precisely the place where the chip would have been extracted.

Removing the chip leaves its own scar behind. If Crosshair’s was removed, we can’t see that scar due to the burn.

After these events Crosshair seems to mellow a bit. He does horrible things under the Empire’s orders—like shooting the senator—but is still loyal to his squad—killing his non-clone teammates to give TBB a chance, saving AZ and Omega, etc.

Crosshair claims that his chip has already been removed. However, Crosshair is arguably an unreliable source if he’s been lied to or if the chip is still there, encouraging him to manipulate the team.

Crosshair claims it was removed a long time ago, which is incredibly imprecise. As we can see from just some of the events listed above, precisely when the chip came out—if it came out—makes a huge difference.

Hunter realizes this and presses for clarification, but Crosshair dodges giving it. Again, a legitimate belief that it doesn’t matter, or evidence that he can’t say because something else is going on? We don’t know.

Hunter checks Crosshair’s head and finds the burn scar which proves… nothing. As stated above, they wouldn’t be able to see the surgery scar one way or another: its existence or its absence. It’s useless data, as Tech might say. I’ve seen a few fans claim that Hunter was also feeling for the chip with his enhanced senses, but 1. I didn’t catch any evidence of that in the scene and 2. Even if we assume Hunter did that anyway, the chips are notoriously hard to spot. Fives and AZ couldn’t find the chip at first when examining Tup. Ahsoka had to use the force to find it in Rex. TBB themselves couldn’t find it at first in Wrecker. If machinery consistently fails to find the chip on the first couple of tries—it’s meant to be a hidden implant, after all—why would we believe Hunter’s senses could pick it up instantly? Maybe he missed it, or maybe it wasn’t there at all. 

Crosshair appears to be struggling with a headache in the finale, just as he was at the beginning of the season and just like Wrecker was for the first half.

The point of listing all this out is to emphasize how ambiguous this whole situation is. I don’t want to use this post to argue one way or another about whether Crosshair’s chip is really out. I have my preferred theory (the chip’s still in, but only partially functional), but at the end of the day none of this is conclusive. The writing takes us in what I hope is deliberate circles. Crosshair says the chip is out? Crosshair is not a reliable source of information until we know if the chip is out. What other evidence is there that the chip is gone? A scar? We can’t see if there’s a scar. Hunter’s abilities? He only checked once for a canonically hard to find implant—if he actually checked at all. And why would the Empire want the chip out? Well, maybe it has to do with that push towards willing soldiers, but if that were the case, why leave Crosshair behind and have the “clones die together”? By that point he was one of the most willing, chip or not. Did they have to take it out because of the engine accident? Pure speculation. We just don’t know and THAT is the point I want to make.

Because it means the rest of the Bad Batch didn’t know either.

The core issue I have here is not whether the chip is in or out, or even how long it may have been in if it is out now. The issue is that TBB spent 99% of the first season believing that Crosshair was under the chip’s influence… and they didn’t try to do anything about that. They abandoned him. They left a man behind. Does this make them all horrible monsters? Of course not! This shit is complicated as hell, but I do think they made a very large mistake and that Crosshair has every right to be furious about it.

“But, Clyde, they couldn’t have gone back. It was too dangerous! Hunter had a duty to his whole team, not just Crosshair.” True enough and I’d buy this argument 100% if Hunter hadn’t spent the entire season throwing his team into dangerous, seemingly impossible situations to save other people. Crosshair became the exception, not a hard rule of something they had to avoid. They went back to Kamino for Omega, a kid they’d only had one lunch with, despite knowing how dangerous the Empire was. They went into the heart of an occupied planet to rescue not just a stranger, but one belonging to the Separatist government. They helped Sid when she asked and there was plenty of compassion for the criminal trying to take her place. Most significantly, there wasn’t the slightest hesitation to go rescue Hunter when he was under the Empire’s control, in precisely the same place. Every explanation I’ve seen fans come up with—Kamino is too fortified, they don’t know where Crosshair is, they can’t risk Omega being captured, etc.—also holds true for Hunter, yet there wasn’t a second of doubt about needing to at least try to help him. And his rescue was arguably far more dangerous given that TBB knew they were walking into a trap. Going after Crosshair would have at least had some element of surprise.

I think the problem with these justifications is most easily seen in “Rescue on Ryloth” and, later, “War-Mantle.” In the former, we do watch Hunter decide that going on a rescue mission is too much of a risk, only for Omega to talk him into considering it.

Hunter: “It’s a big galaxy. We can’t put ourselves on the line every time someone’s in trouble.”

Omega: “Why not? Isn’t that what soldiers do?”

Hunter: “It’s not worth the risk.”

Omega: “She’s trying to save her family, Hunter. I’d do the same for you.”

The arguments that sway him are ‘Soldiers should help people’ and ‘Soldiers should specifically help their family.’ So… what does that say about their feelings for Crosshair? They’re willing to put themselves on the line for the parents of a girl they met once at a drop site, but not their own brother? That’s the message the writing sends. “But, Clyde, the difference is that they had an advantage here. Hera’s knowledge of her home planet tipped the odds in their favor.” Yeah… and Crosshair is stationed on TBB’s home planet. Even more than them collectively having the same knowledge that Hera does, “Return to Kamino” reveals that Omega always had additional, insider knowledge of the base: she has access to a secret landing pad and the tunnels leading up into the city. That knowledge was given and used the second Hunter’s freedom was on the line, but it never once came up to use for Crosshair’s benefit. 

“War-Mantle’s” mission puts this problem in even sharper relief. Another claim I’ve seen a lot is that TBB only took risky rescue missions because they needed to be paid. The guys have got to eat after all. Yet Tech makes it clear that going after Gregor will lose them money. They’re meant to be on a mission for Sid and deviating for that won’t result in a payment. He explicitly says that if they decide to do this, they won’t eat. They do it anyway. No money, no intel, a huge risk “on a clone we don’t even know.” But that’s not what’s important, the show says. All that matters is that a brother is in trouble. This time it’s Echo pushing that message instead of Omega. When Hunter realizes that they’re about to try and infiltrate an entire facility and they don’t even know if this clone is still alive, Echo points out that they took that risk once before: for him. “If there’s a chance that trooper is being held against his will, we have to try and get him out.”

Yes! Exactly right! So why doesn’t that apply to Crosshair?

“Because he tried to kill them, Clyde!” No, that’s the easy, dismissive answer. A chipped Crosshair tried to kill them. AKA, a Crosshair entirely under the Empire’s control. The only difference between his enslavement and Gregor’s is that Gregor’s chains were physical while Crosshair’s were mental. And again, the point of everything at the start of this post is to show that no one knows when or even if that chip was removed. TBB definitely didn’t have any reason to suspect that Crosshair was working under his own power until Crosshair himself said as much. We might have been able to make that case at the start of the season, but “Battle Scars” removes any possible confusion. The entire team watched Rex reach for his blaster when he learned their chips were still in. The entire team watched Wrecker become a totally different person and attack them, just like Crosshair did. The entire team forgave him instantly and had their own chips removed. So why in the world didn’t anyone go, “Wow, Crosshair has a chip too. He was no more responsible for attacking us than Wrecker was. We need to try to get him out, no matter how hard that might be, just like we had to try for all these other people we’ve helped.”

But they didn’t. No one even considered rescuing Crosshair. They only went back for Hunter and, when they realized Crosshair was there too, they didn’t change their plans to try and rescue him as well. He’s treated as a particularly threatening inconvenience, not another team member in need of their help.

The problem I have with how this all went down is that the team treated Crosshair like an enemy despite all evidence to the contrary. Despite Omega outright saying that this isn’t his fault, it’s the chip, the group seems to decide that he’s gone crazy or something and that there’s nothing they can do. “It’s fine,” I thought. “They don’t really get what the chip is like yet. They don’t understand how thoroughly it controls someone.” But then “Battle Scars” arrives and Wrecker is treated with such compassion (which he deserves!) only for the group to continue acting like Crosshair is somehow different. It’s easy to say, “But Crosshair shot Wrecker” and ignore the easy pushback of, “and Wrecker nearly shot Omega.” Up until Crosshair’s own accusations and Omega’s ignored comments, TBB’s understanding of the chip’s influence and the lack of responsibility that accompanies mysteriously disappears when the show’s antagonist becomes the subject of conversation. This is seen most clearly in how Hunter tries to frame things during his talk with Crosshair:

“You tried to kill us. We didn’t have a choice.”

“Can’t you see that they’re using you? It’s that inhibitor chip in your head.”

“You really don’t get who we are, do you?”

Hunter mentions the chip, but he acts as if it’s Crosshair’s responsibility to overcome it: “Can’t you see…” Of course he can’t see, that’s the entire point of the chip, the thing he currently believes Crosshair still has stuck in his head. But Hunter and the others—with Omega as a wonderful exception—never seem to have accepted this like they did for Wrecker. When Crosshair “tried to kill us” it’s seen as a deliberate act that he chose, not something forced on him like with Wrecker. When Hunter talks about their ethics, he subconsciously separates the team from Crosshair: “You really don’t get who we are, do you?”, revealing a pretty ingrained divide between them. Even Wrecker gets in on the action, the one brother who truly understands how much the chip controls someone: “All that time, you didn’t even try to come back.” What part of he couldn’t try is not hitting home here? Again, for the purposes of this conversation it doesn’t matter whether Crosshair was chipped this whole time or not. The point is that TBB believed he was chipped… and yet still expected him to somehow, magically overcome that programming, writing him off when he failed to do that. He’s consistently held responsible for actions that they were told (and, through Wrecker, saw) were completely outside of his control. Even when we factor in his claim that the chip was removed, TBB has ignored all the evidence I listed at the start. No one, not even Omega, challenges this super vague and strange claim, or seeks out proof because they don’t want to believe that their brother could willingly do this. There’s just this... acceptance that of course Crosshair went bad. Why? Because he was an asshole sometimes? Taking it all as written, it doesn’t feel like the batch considered him a true part of the team. Certainly not like Wrecker or Hunter. As shown, the batch will go out of their way, risk anything, forgive anything, for them. They have a level of faith that was never shown to Crosshair. 

“Severe and unyielding,” Tech says and he’s absolutely right, but I’d seriously challenge this idea that any of the others would have automatically done better if the situations were reversed. It stood out to me that each batch member has a moment of doubt throughout the series, a brief glimpse into how they think the Empire isn’t that bad, at least when it comes to this particular thing. Basically, a moment that could lead to a very dangerous line of thinking without others to stomp it down. Wrecker announces that he’s happy working for whoever, provided they give him food and let him blow things up. Tech finds the chain codes to be an ingenious strategy and is clearly fascinated with their development. Hunter initially wants Omega to stay on Kamino, despite knowing that this Empire has already, systematically killed an entire group of people: the Jedi. Doesn’t matter. She’s still (supposedly) safer there than she would be running with the likes of them.

There’s absolutely no doubt that those three made the correct choice in defying the Empire, but I believe that their ability to make that choice is largely dependent on them having each other. They survive together, not apart, and it’s their unity that allows them to make the really hard calls, like setting out on their own and opposing such a formidable force. But if Tech’s chip had activated and he’d been left behind, would he have muscled through to escape somehow...or would he have gotten caught up in all the new technology the Empire offered him, succumbing to both his chip and the inevitability that if his squad no longer wanted him, why not stay? Would Wrecker have escaped, or been easily manipulated into a new life of exploding things? Would Hunter have been able to push through without his brothers, or would he have become devoted to a new team to lead? Obviously there’s no way to ever know, but it’s always easier to make the right decisions when you have support in doing so. Crosshair had no support. His team left him and yes, they had to in that specific moment, but the point is that they never came back. As far as we saw throughout the season, they never planned to come back. They all talk about loving the Crosshair who existed when life was easier, but they weren’t willing to fight for the Crosshair that most needed their help. When he says “You weren’t loyal to me,” he’s absolutely right. The same episode, “Return to Kamino,” gives Omega two powerful lines that the group rallies behind:

Omega: “[The danger] doesn’t matter. Saving Hunter is what matters.”

AZ: “You must leave.”

Omega: “Not without Hunter.”

The key word there is “Hunter.” Danger, stakes, risk, probability… none of that matters when Hunter needs help. Crosshair did not receive that same level of devotion.

Which creates a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. The group is upset that Crosshair isn’t rejoining them, but they fail to realize that he has no reason to trust them anymore. He’s not joining the Empire because he’s inherently evil and that’s that, end of discussion. He’s joining it because above all Crosshair wants a place to belong… and TBB has made it clear—unintentionally—that he does not belong with them. The horrible actions that Crosshair took under his own free will (theoretically) came after he realized that doing bad things while under the Empire’s control was, apparently, unforgivable. If it wasn’t, his team would have come back to rescue him. They could have at least tried. But they didn’t, so Crosshair is left with the conclusion that either what he did under the Empire’s control is something the group can’t forgive him for, or they can forgive that (like with Wrecker) and he’s the problem here. He’s the one not worth that effort.

“The Empire will be fazing out clones next,” Hunter says. To which Crosshair responds, “Not the ones that matter.”

He wants to matter to someone and events show he no longer matters to his brothers. So why not stay with the Empire? I mean, we as the audience ABSOLUTELY know why not. Self-doubt and feelings of isolation aren’t excuses for joining the Super Evil Organization. Crosshair, if he is under his own control, is still 100% in the wrong for supporting them, no matter his reasons. So it’s not an excuse, but rather an explanation of that very human, flawed, fallible thinking. He needs to be useful. He needs to be wanted. Crosshair is an absolute dick to the regs and I have no doubt that a lot of that stems from the harassment TBB has experienced from them (with a side of his inflated ego), but I’d bet it’s also due to Crosshair’s intense desire to be valuable to someone. He keeps pointing out the regs’ supposed deficiencies because it highlights his own usefulness. When Crosshair fails to find Hera, the Admiral says that soon he’ll get someone who can, looking straight at Howzer at the door. It makes Crosshair seethe because his entire identity is based on being useful, yet no one seems to need him anymore. TBB seems to no longer want him. The Empire no longer wants clones. Now even regs are considered a better option than him, the “superior” soldier. Everywhere Crosshair turns he’s getting the message that he’s not wanted, but he’ll keep fighting to at least be needed in some capacity, no matter how small. Even if that means overlooking all the horrors the Empire commits.

“All you’ll ever be to [the Empire] is a number,” Hunter says and he’s absolutely right. But to TBB recently, Crosshair hasn’t even been that. He’s been nothing. Nobody worth coming back for. To his mind, at least being a number is something.

I hope that all of this resolves itself into a conclusion that is kind to each side (preferably without a Vader-style death redemption), especially given the still ambiguous state of the chip, but from a writing standpoint I’m admittedly a bit wary. We’re obviously meant to believe that the batch all love each other, but as established throughout this entirely too long post, this season did a terrible job imo of proving that they love Crosshair. Or, at least, proving that they love him as much as the others. If this was really meant to be just a matter of miscommunication, with Crosshair making terrible life choices because he only thinks he was abandoned, then we as the audience would have seen the batch trying and failing to get him out. Or at least establishing a very good reason why they couldn’t take that risk, hopefully with entirely different side-missions so the audience isn’t constantly going, “So you can risk everything for Gregor... but not Crosshair?” I’m VERY glad that Crosshair was allowed to air his grievances to the extent he did, but the end result of that—Hunter continually denying this, Omega walking away from him in their rooms, neither Tech nor Wrecker actually sticking up for him and acknowledging the chip’s influence during at least some of all this—is making things feel rather one-sided. It’s like we’re meant to take Crosshair at his word and accept that he’s this garden-variety antagonist who joins the Empire because yay being on the winning side… despite all these complications that clearly have a huge impact on how we read the situation. It doesn’t help that the show has already embraced an inconsistent manner of portraying chipped-clones. We know every clone has one, we know only a couple clones are aware of the chip’s existence (and can thus try to get it out), we know they enter a “Good soldiers follow orders” mindlessness once activated… yet towards the end we see a lot of side character clones thinking for themselves. Howzer decides that he’s no longer loyal to the Empire, giving a speech where a couple other clones throw down their weapons too. Gregor was arrested because he likewise realized how wrong this all was. But how is that possible? Do the chips completely control the clones, or not? Are these clones somehow exceptions? Are the chips beginning to fail? All of that has a bearing on how we read Crosshair—what were his own decisions, how much he was capable of overcoming the chip, whether that changed at all during certain points—but right now that remains really unclear.

It’s details like that which make me wonder if all these other questions will be answered. Will the story resolve all those ambiguous moments surrounding the chip, or brush them off with the belief that we should have just taken Crosshair at his equally ambiguous word? Will the story acknowledge Crosshair’s points through someone other than Crosshair, allowing it to exist as a legitimate criticism, rather than the presumed excuses of an antagonist? I’m… not sure. On the whole I’m very happy with TBB’s writing—despite what all this might imply lol. Until my brain picks over the season and discovers something else, my only other gripe is not allowing Omega to form a solid bond with Tech and Echo, instead putting all the focus on big brother!Wrecker and dad!Hunter. I think it’s a solid show that does a lot right, but I’m worried that, unless there’s a brilliant answer to all these questions and an intent to unpack both sides of the Hunter vs. Crosshair debate with respect—not just falling back on, “Well, Crosshair is with the Empire so everything he says is automatically bad and wrong” take—we’ve just gotten the setup for a somewhat messy, ethical story. For anyone here who also reads my RWBY metas, I’m pretty sure you’re not at all surprised that I’m invested in going, “Hey, you had one of the heroes suddenly become/join a dictatorship and do a lot of horrific things, but within a pretty complicated context. Can we please work through that carefully and with an acknowledgement of the nuance here, rather than throwing the ‘evil’ character to the proverbial wolves?”  

God knows TBB is leagues ahead of RWBY, but I hope things continue on in not just a good direction, but one that tackles the aspects of this situation that many fans—and Crosshair—have already pointed out. As much as I adore the cast—and I really, really do—it was discomforting to watch a found family show where 4/5th of that family so completely wrote off one of the members and crucially have, at least so far, refused to acknowledge that. I want complicated, flawed characters, but that’s only compelling when the storytelling admits to and grapples with those flaws. We have quite firmly established Crosshair’s flaws in Season One. I hope Season Two delves into the rest of the team’s too.

Aaaand with that meta-dump out of my system, I’m off to write TBB fic. Thanks for reading! :D

[space-lynn]

For an Amphibia AU request, how about like a few brief snippets to provide a glimpse into the girls kind of accidentally becoming more less multiverse goddesses after tapping into the full cosmic, ethereal, and interdimensional nature of their gem powers following the defeat of Andrias and his master? Particularly, all while trying to figure out how to get back to SOME sense of normalcy between Earth and Amphibia, being thirteen year olds with unexpected reality bending powers, and accidentalling a religion or two if that’s okay with you?

This is by far, one of the best AUs I've ever seen for Amphibia. Thank you so much for this. I laughed for a good 5 minutes at the numerous possibilities in this AU. Calling it Unintentional Gods AU, if you don't mind! Enjoy reading!

~~~~~

None of this was supposed to happen.

They were only meant to defeat Andrias and his eldritch master. They were only meant to save Amphibia and Earth, and fix the damage that had been done. They weren’t meant to become gods. And they weren’t meant to save exactly 438 other planets because fuck you Andrias, for trying to invade other dimensions and worlds apart from our own.

But that’s what happened. Because apparently, having full access to the powers gifted to someone by a prophecy, to kill one very dangerous and powerful god, made them a deity. Which is what had happened to the Calamity Trio. Thirteen year old girls who were -- cursed? -- blessed with the true nature of their powers that, more or less, made them immortal beings.

They couldn’t be killed nor could they be harmed with mortal weapons, but rather themselves or others of their kind.

And of course, there was a huge shift in their powers.

Sasha was the god of energy and space. Anne was the god of creation and life. And Marcy was the god of knowledge and wisdom.

Furthermore, the fact that they were revered as gods in a lot of the worlds they’d saved and somehow, somehow, creating religions that worshipped them made things worse.

In what way? In the way that they could hear whatever prayers or requests have been said in their real names, no matter how far apart they are in the damn multiverse!

Just like now, with Marcy Wu. She was sitting at her desk in her room at Amphibia, fingers twitching at the little voices in her head.

She was only trying to write a couple of essays and suggestions that would help Olivia stabilize and support Amphibia’s new form of government. But the numerous “prayers” flitting around her mind distracted her.

Lady Wu, our enemy will not yield until we agree to their offer. But the price is too high! What do we do?

A huge winter storm is coming, goddess. I fear that our usual preparations will not suffice. Please, grant us the wisdom to make the right choice.

Mother says I should be doing this on my own, but I’d rather ask you m’lady. Do you know the answer to number 3 in my Advanced Calculus homework?

Marcy inhaled sharply at the last one, then smacked her head on the table in exasperation.

“Your mom’s right, kid,” she muttered. “You should do it on your own.”

More voices whispered in her head, their requests and prayers a mix of important things like strategizing a war, or unimportant ones such as the answer to their own damn homeworks!

She stood up, sighing and walking out of her room and to the building’s main hall. If she wanted to get some work done in rebuilding Amphibia’s government, she’d need to deal with the other worlds first. Out of the three of them, Marcy’s fortunate enough to have lesser planets that worship her compared to Anne and Sasha. Despite 103 planets being a large number, it was nothing compared to Anne’s 139 and Sasha’s 196. No planet worshipped 2 of them or all 3, what with each of them individually saving that much and accidentally creating a religion in each world.

She winced at her friends’ misfortunes, worried that it would be proving too much for them.

-----

She arrived at the hall, in time to see Anne walk through the door on the opposite side. She had a tired frown on her face, but it eased up into a smile at the sight of Marcy.

“Hey, Marshmallow.”

“Hey, Anna-Banana!”

“Just got back from another dimension?”

“Yup!”

Marcy smiled, but it dropped a little, “Sasha’s still out?”

Anne sighed, rubbing her arm, “Yeah… It’s been 6 months.”

“She hasn’t contacted you, too, huh?”

Anne chuckled humorlessly, “Mhm.”

“Hey,” Marcy said, walking towards the brunette and placing a hand on her shoulder, “it’s Sasha. She’ll be fine.”

“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right.” Anne smiled at her. “Heading out?”

“Yep, couldn’t focus on work with all the voices.”

“Understandable, it’s the first time in days that I’ve been free from them, and it’s so…” Anne waved her hands around.

“Refreshing?”

“Yeah.”

Marcy chuckled before wincing, another dumb prayer crossing her mind.

Anne noticed and smirked, “That bad?”

“You have no idea,” the shorter of the two grumbled,the taller laughing.

“Well, I’ll let you get to it. Stay safe out there, Mar Mar.”

“I will.”

-----

She visited ‘her’ planets, aiding them and telling their respective religious leaders some ground rules. Thankfully, they understood her busy schedule and had agreed. She knows it won’t work, but it’s the best she could do right now.

She came back to Amphibia by the end of the day, slipping into her room. She smiled upon seeing Anne asleep on the bed, and went to work cleaning up some of the mess on her desk. She changed her clothes into something more comfortable, slipping into the bed beside Anne and wincing as a couple prayers made their way into her head. She sighed as she lay there, staring up at the canopy of her bed.

She really needed to find a way to manage all these requests. She already had a lot on her plate, traveling back and forth between Earth and Amphibia, being Olivia’s advisor, supporting and stabilizing the new government, being Newtopia’s ambassador of peace whenever they had to deal with the human government, and being a goddess who knows everything that had happened and will happen.

It was exhausting, having so much to do. She rarely visited Earth, dropping out of school (useless now with her infinite knowledge) and opting to avoid her parents who left California without her.

But she’ll manage. She’s come this far, so she will manage.

~~~~~

I hope y'all enjoyed reading! Will be posting 2 more based off of this AU for Anne and Sasha, so stay tuned for that! Have a good morning, afternoon or evening. Until the next snippet!

You could request for more if y'all have ideas.

[sunnyrosewritesstuff]

Hey hey! First, congrats!! ❤️❤️ Just met you so I'm one of them \0/

For your prompts, I absolutely love the 17!! Would love to see you making something for it 👀

Thank you so much @stardryad-random for both the prompt and joining the blog! 😊 I hope you enjoy this little take on the quest.

Please enjoy "Bilbo teaches goblins the game of golf". (I knew my useless knowledge from college golf would come in handy one day...) Feel free to use the link to read and comment on AO3.

Do You Play Golf, King of the Goblins?

Rating: T

Warnings: N/A

Words: 2632

As soon as Bofur noticed the blue glow of Bilbo’s blade, everything fell to pieces…literally. The best he could do was curl into a ball as he fell through the twists and turns of their trap before landing on Bombur’s stomach. Bilbo gasped as they were preyed upon by goblins. Being small and easily overlooked, he had tried to escape, but these goblins weren’t fools. No, pushed into the middle of the circle by his companions, Bilbo could only tremble in despair, his teeth set on edge by their awful song. They were searched and relieved of their weapons, and Bilbo found him watching his little sword being added to the pile with great longing for the comfort it brought him.

The Goblin King (he had yet to introduce himself, it was quite rude) demanded to know their purpose, and Bofur started to tell a story in such circles, Bilbo found himself getting dizzy. Of course, it wasn’t like the environment was helping on that front either.

“If they will not talk, we’ll make them squawk! Bring up the mangler, bring up the bone-breaker. We’ll start with the youngest.”

At this, the grotesque goblin pointed one of his large sausage-like fingers directly in Bilbo’s face. Bilbo felt his jaw drop as the surrounding goblins seemed to leer at him. Now, through an in depth conversation with Fili and Kili, Bilbo learned that in number of years, he was the youngest. But the goblin seemed to be under the impression that he was a young dwarfling, and his next words cast out any shadow of doubt on that front.

“This whelp hasn’t even grown in a beard yet! How long before he’s screaming for him dam!”

Dori took half a step protectively in front of Bilbo at the same time he felt Dwalin’s large hand come down on his shoulder. However, Bilbo also felt the spindly fingers of the goblins ghosting the sleeve of his jacket, and a cry broke free before he could stop it. He needed to get a grip. He couldn’t fall apart right here even when the fear of what they would do to him seemed to be trying to physically claw its way out of his chest. He shut his eyes as tight as he could, begging with the Valar to be back in Bag End where it was warm and safe, when a voice spoke up in protest.

“Wait!”

Silence fell upon the underground hive as Thorin Oakenshield stepped first in front of Bilbo before moving towards the Goblin King. Bilbo could only watch in awe and confusion. What was he doing?

“Well, well, well.” The goblin mocked. “Look who we have here! Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror! King Under the Mountain. Oh! But I’m forgetting you don’t have a mountain, so you’re not a king, which makes you…nobody really.”

Bilbo found himself aching for Thorin. His relationship with the dwarf thus far had been…complicated to put it kindly. He seemed to relish in pointing out his annoyance with the hobbit or how useless he was at what were deemed ‘simple tasks’. Then, there were moments like in Rivendell, where he opened up to Bilbo about life in Erebor and how he had mistaken fireflies for stars as they watched the same little bugs light up the balcony before Gandalf and Elrond interrupted. Or just before they started their climb into the Mistys where Bilbo had been complaining about his walking stick leaving splinters in his hand, and Thorin stayed up to sand it down when he thought Bilbo had been sleeping. Now, he was stepping into Bilbo’s defense once again, after having just dismissed him as never belonging. Bilbo wished the dwarf would just make up his mind, and quit yanking Bilbo’s heart around. Of course, that was completely his own fault. He was the one who fell hard for a pair of blue eyes and sad, proud voice that seemed to have been carved from the very mountain itself.

“I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head.” The goblin threatened softly, freezing Bilbo’s very soul. “Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak. An old enemy of yours. A pale orc astride a white warg.”

“Azog the Defiler,” Thorin spat. “Was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago!”

“So you think his defiling days are done, do you?” The king taunted. “Send word to the Pale Orc. Tell him I have found his prize.”

It was as the smaller goblin wheeled away on his little contraption, that Bilbo found he could take no more. He may not be a great warrior, but he had already proven once before, his proficiency with words. Having not but a vague idea of a plan, he could only hope that goblins had as long of memories as hobbits.

“No! Stop!” He demanded stepping quickly before any dwarven hands could grab him.

Thorin hissed through his teeth as he attempted to latch onto Bilbo’s arm, but the hobbit danced away standing alone before the monstrous king.

“And what do you want?” The goblin growled, narrowing his eyes.

Bilbo felt his breath catch in his throat, as his mouth opened and closed a few times before a whisper of a voice escaped him.

“Do you play?”

“What was that?”

“I’m…asking…do you play golf, oh Mighty King of the Goblins?”

“Golf? What is that?” He asked suspiciously.

All eyes were on Bilbo and he could hear the grumbles of confusion from his companions. Please Yavanna, don’t let them be thick enough to try to stop him this time like with the trolls.

“It’s quite the popular sport back where I’m from, out west.” Bilbo continued, slowly finding his confidence. “You take a…oh! Pardon me, my good sir.”

He took a wooden club from the slackened hands of a nearby goblin, too stunned by Bilbo’s stunt to do much to stop him. Merely squawk in surprise at his audacity.

“You take a club, just like this.” He demonstrated getting in a proper stance and started swinging. “Now a lot of folk tend to think that you need to have a lot of strength yourself to generate power for the swing. But truthfully, it’s all in getting your wrists to roll back so the club hits the target square.”

The Goblin King, who seemed so perplexed by Bilbo’s stalling tactic, was actually starting to copy him. So Bilbo took the opportunity for what it was.

“No, no, no.” He corrected gently. “You want a loose grip. Too tight, and you’ll crank it right.”

“Just what is this?!” The king demanded. “You dare make a fool of me, little dwarf!”

“Not at all.” Bilbo answered as innocently as he dared. “And I’m afraid I’m not a dwarf.”

The goblin blinked at him, and Bilbo knew he was going to have to play this delicately or everything would go to shit very quickly.

“Do you know why we named the game golf, Your Odiousness? It was actually named for one of your own…a Golfimbul if I recall correctly.”

Collectively, the entire hive shrieked and took several steps back from Bilbo. The king himself was nearly cowering against his throne.

“TOOK! YOU ALLOWED A TOOK IN MY MOUNTAIN!”

“Direct descendant of Bullroarer, himself!” Bilbo declared, hands on his hips hoping to instill as much fear as possible even as he lied through his teeth.

“NO!” The king cried aghast.

Well, this was working out better than he thought. He pretended to be surveying the horde of goblins when he caught Thorin’s slack-jawed incredulous look. He couldn’t help himself, giving the dwarf a little wink.

“Now!” Bilbo declared when he faced the Goblin King once more. “You are going to release me and my companions or you will regret it indeed. For us hobbits are getting a little bored of golf, and I’m sure my people would be very encouraged should I decide to invent a new game for us.”

For the first time, it was completely silent. All stood in waited breath, save Thorin who was discreetly passing weapons back to the company under the goblins’ very noses. Then, as if the suspense became too much, one of the goblins rushed Bilbo. Almost instinctively, he swung the club like he had just shown moments ago, and the goblin cried out as he flew off the ledge and into the inky darkness of the depths below. Bilbo felt his face drain of color as a morbid sort of fascination seized him. Maybe there was something to that story after all.

“SEIZE THEM!” The king roared. “SLASH THEM! KILL THEM ALL!”

Bilbo cried out as what he hoped was merely leather bit deep into his back. A second hit brought him to his knees. Before he could even consider fighting back, the king’s monstrous paw had him around the neck, nearly wrapping around Bilbo’s form completely. As it was, his arms were pinned as he was lifted in the air, unable to take in a single breath. He squinted, blood roaring in his ears, as the goblin shook him like a limp doll.

“As for you, Took. I’ll crush you with my very hands. None will ever think to mention your shameful game again.”

Bilbo felt the pressure against his throat increase, and then…blissful nothingness as a bright white light overtook him. If this was what dying felt like, it wasn’t so bad. Bilbo had assumed it would be less fuzzy and the burning in his body would stop.

“Master Baggins. Get up, Hobbit.”

A voice was calling for him. It sounded so far away, but so lovely. He could listen to it forever.

“Master Baggins…BILBO!”

Everything clicked back into place as Bilbo opened his eyes to Thorin’s determined yet crazed stare. His body convulsed in his coughing, and it didn’t seem it was possible to get enough air in his lungs. Thorin hauled him up into a seated position anyways, with a hand on his back.

“Get up, Bilbo. We must go. Now!”

Bilbo shook his head, tears in his eyes, but Thorin wasn’t about to accept this. Bilbo found his sword had been placed back in his numb fingers, and he was leaning heavily on the dwarf as he pulled him effortlessly to his feet. Then they were running. It all was mostly a blur for Bilbo as he somehow felt faint, nauseous, and sore all at the same time. When Thorin had to release him to slice through some goblins, there was always someone to take Bilbo for him. Whether that was him being scooped in Dori’s arms or over Dwalin’s shoulders like a sack of potatoes. However, he was very aware that the dwarf king always stayed within touching distance for some odd yet completely acceptable reason.

At one point, Bilbo looked over to see Gandalf had found them! When the grey wizard appeared, he was uncertain, but thankful nonetheless. It was as he had been tossed back to Bombur this time that things went wrong. Bilbo felt himself get tackled right out of the dwarf’s arms, and then he was pinned to the wooden planks below, a rusty blade in his vision. His last wish? That he had been able to put up more of a fight. However, just before he could contemplate his ending any further, there was Thorin, Orcist embedded in the goblin’s chest as his hand yanked the blade out of Bilbo’s immediate danger.

“You. Don’t. Touch. Him.” The dwarf growled.

Maybe Bilbo really had died. Because the ferocity Thorin Oakenshield was displaying, for him, was almost too good to be true. Not wanting to be a burden anymore, Bilbo decided to get up on his own, and rolled himself over onto all fours. The only problem being there was no more walkway to roll out onto.

“BILBO!”

There was a sharp tug on his arm as Thorin latched onto his sleeve, but the stitching held for only a moment before he was plummeting through the dark. His last vision being Thorin’s heartbroken blue eyes.

***

He was gone. It had been minutes, what felt to be hours, since they escaped the caverns below the mountains. Yet, Thorin’s mind was fixed on the frightened face of the hobbit as he fell over the walkway. He had been too late. It didn’t matter that he had told the little hobbit he shouldn’t have come, warned Gandalf that he wouldn’t be responsible for his fate, because he was gone.

The clever hobbit with the silver tongue who convinced trolls he knew the best recipes for dwarf. Who instilled fear in an entire mountain full of goblins with nothing more than a few swings of a wooden club!

“Thorin, lad…” Balin’s soft voice carried to him as he became aware of his friend’s hand on his shoulder. “We can’t linger here. By night, these hills will be crawling with goblins.”

He was right. Thorin knew he was right. And yet…

“Bilbo Baggins…was a fine fellow.” Gandalf began solemnly.

Thorin spun around to yell at the wizard, only to see his head bowed and his face grave. In fact, the entire Company was either weeping openly or had their heads bowed in respect. Even Bofur had removed his hat. Thorin remained frozen even as something deep inside him rebelled at the idea of mourning the hobbit.

“A curious sort with a knack for trouble, Bilbo knew better than most the value of a good pipe and a comfortable armchair. Yet, it was his courage I shall remember most. The same courage that had him racing outside his door after a Company of dwarves simply because it was within his power to help. May you find peace in the afterlife, you dear, dear friend.”

There was nothing but silence. Silence and a gaping hole left by the most unexpected member of their group. And Thorin couldn’t help but blame himself.

“How could anyone find peace…with you lot carrying on?”

Thorin nearly gave himself whiplash at the speed he craned his neck around. Gasps and cheers were already filling the air at the sight of the hobbit leaning heavily against the cedar tree. He could barely stand, his sword dragged the ground, and his throat was already beginning to blue and purple. Yet, he was alive, blessedly alive.

“How?” Thorin breathed in awe.

Bilbo looked him straight in the eye as he rasped out the words Thorin would never forget for the rest of his life.

“I know you doubt me. I know you always have…”

Thorin took one step, then two, slowly approaching the hobbit as he became mesmerized by his words and the strength hidden behind those unassuming dark eyes.

“...But I will help you take it back if I can.”

Mere inches from him now, Thorin had the strongest desire to kiss him. Right there. And he probably would have followed through too, had it not been for the call of a warg on the hunt. However, even as they were tossed out of the frying pan and into the fire, he found he couldn’t let the hobbit go. Cradling his hand in his as they ran through the pines. He swore right then that they would make it through this, and when they did, he would make Erebor a home. A home fit for the bravest, smartest, most troublesome hobbit he had ever met. And then…there was Azog.

[asexual-abomination]

Plat!Yan!Chrollo x Autistic!Reader x Plat!Yan!PT - Soulmate AU Part 1

This is largely self indulgent writing, as I know that very little of this niche exists, if any. The reader here is largely based on myself and my own thoughts of the world, but I hope others enjoy my writing. I have no formal education in writing, so if you have any advice for my writing style, please feel free to send it in.

This idea was largely inspired by the lovely @kiame-sama, who wrote this concept with a romantically yandere Chrollo, though I am aro-ace and changed it just slightly for my own writing. I hope to continue this series with more parts, but they may not all follow the same story thread.

This part just includes the body swap.

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You were never going to make the best impression on your soulmate. Or at least, you could never make the best impression on their friends, and that was what mattered largely to you. Talking to people would never be your strong suit, but at least on your end you had many months and other friends to keep your soulmate entertained. Waking up in a stranger's body, talking to other strangers about all details of their life? Horrible.

It should have been a comfort that there was a small yellow flower tattooed just below the date on your back, indicative of a platonic soulmate, but the idea that you would likely be expected to spend time not just with your soulmate, but with their friends as well threw you off so incredibly. Your soulmate would surely need the patience of a saint to deal with you, at least according to most people you speak with about your soulmate.

Your preparations for the switch were over now, all things embarrassing put away for now, some good food prepped, and a letter you had written taped to the inside of your bedroom door. For now, you were going over the final rules for your friends who were under strict instructions of exactly what they could and could not speak about with your soulmate. Even though they chuckled under their breath about your extreme caution, at this point you had to trust that they would follow what you said, since your switch was just minutes away.

Your closest friend, Jo, assured you that they would keep the rest in line. Knowing their authoritative personality and intimidating aura, you were much more reassured that things would go well. Even as you got up to leave, they were giving everyone their famous evil eye to keep them quiet.

Heading into the bedroom, you laid down, only to realize that your breathing was coming short and there seemed to be not enough air getting in your lungs. Were you seriously having a panic attack just before your switch? You tried to calm yourself with the breathing exercises you had been taught, but there was little you could do, which only made your panic grow faster.

You had only seconds to spare, and the reality of the situation hit you with the force of a freight train. Keeping your eyes open, you took one deep breath to hope you wouldn't ruin everything on the spot.

Everything changed in an instant, the position of your body, the tension of your muscles, the temperature and smell of the room. And the last thing to hit you, the fact that your soulmate decided to switch while driving on a highway.

Internally, you felt a massive surge of panic, outweighing the mild anxiety you had been feeling by a landslide. Until you realized that the body you were in appeared to be functioning on its own.

It was common knowledge that during the switch, there was no change to the body's ability to understand and speak languages, though you wondered if you were among the first to find the same thing applied to driving skills.

Slowly, you brought your breathing back to a calm, knowing that a meltdown right now could spell things much worse than humiliation. Once you felt ready enough that you wouldn't cry the second anything moved a moment to fast, you looked up to the rearview mirror to take in the inhabitants of the car.

Seeing the body you were in -- your soulmate -- was jarring, but he didn't appear immediately scary in the mirror. He had slicked black hair, wide eyes the color of granite, and wore a black trench coat with white fur that was open to show his bare chest underneath. But your attention was quickly drawn from his reflection to the fact that there were others accompanying you in this car.

Sat next to you in the passenger's seat was a woman with bright pink hair and a stony face, staring straight ahead at the road, who didn't appear to have noticed that there was any difference in her driver's behavior. Taking up the back seats were three men, one blond with a babyish smile, another blonde much taller than the first with a toughened look about himself, and a man with long black hair tied back looking grumpily out of his side window. All of them gave off intimidating vibes, almost putting you off of speaking at all.

After a few moments of quiet driving, it became apparent to you that these people weren't going to notice you until you spoke up. You were grateful for the time to prepare your first words, but with the menacing energy all these people gave off, you had to put your minimal understanding of conversation to its maximum.

"Ah... This wasn't quite what I was expecting..." Not the best opening line, but at least you had begun to announce your presence.

It was the pink-haired woman next to you who first responded with a questioning hum.

"I'm not sure who this is, but whoever they are, I'm their soulmate." That seemed to incite a reaction from the entire car.

"Soulmate!?" The black haired man jumped from his position, his grumpy mood dissipated and replaced with confusion mixed with excitement. The two other men were looking between themselves, while the woman's face somehow got even tougher, glaring towards you with something that you assumed was suspicion.

"Hah... I'm about as surprised as you are!" You tried to add some joy to your tone, hoping that matching their excitement would somehow dispel the situation faster. However, they continued to glare at you, and you began to wish that you could sink away into the seat, though there was very little that would help with at this point.

It's almost deathly quiet in the car for just a few moments, before all hell breaks loose. The others in the car were yelling questions at you, and yelling in general at each other.

"Would you lot calm down!?" The woman seemed to be your ally here, "If you keep this act up, we're gonna scare his soulmate off before the switch is even over!"

"Why wouldn't the boss have told us about his switch? This isn't like him in the slightest!" The black-haired man was clearly upset, though you weren't sure if he was angry at 'the boss' or at you.

The woman hushed him by saying that 'the boss' likely meant this as a test, which only served to confuse your perception of these people further. After a few moments of whispering between themselves, they finally turned back to you.

"So, who are you?" The rougher looking blond asked, not exactly setting a good tone.

It took you a few moments to even notice that he had even spoken to you, as the realization that your soulmate made seemingly no preparations for your switch hit you hard. Even though the day he would switch with you was embedded on his body, he had let you wake up in some random moment of his life, while you had spent months working around this day to get the best outcome possible.

"My name is (Y/N)," you introduced yourself carefully, not quite sure if you wanted to give your full name away to these people, "And who might you be?"

The four looked between themselves, completely ignoring your question. "No-one we know by that name."

They went further into their suspicious act, but were kind enough to also give their own first names before continuing their own interrogation. It was the baby-faced boy in the backseat, Shalnark, who asked the majority of the questions, he seemed to be very pushy and tricked you into giving answers multiple times.

The conversation was very one-sided, as you tried every trick you had ever been taught for keeping interactions equal, only to eventually realize that all four of them were working against you, using tactics for talking that you had never thought of before.

You were quick to become frustrated with their incessant questions. There were no spaces for the others to talk, leaving you feel like bug under a microscope as they stared at you. Eventually, it seemed that they were happy with the information they had gotten from you, which was a lot, including the full name you hadn't wanted to give them earlier, your home nation and your line of work.

Whoever these people were, they were good at interrogation, Shalnark especially good at tricking you with simple questions that he insinuated much greater answers from, which worried you for what these people could do for a living. If your soulmate was their boss, could he be even better at this type of talk? You didn't think you could handle conversations with a man that potentially intelligent.

Now that they were being less interrogating, you tried to take the opportunity to add your own questions, but you could only glean a few things from the way they answered. For one thing, the highway that you were currently on was on the same continent that you lived on, but a few countries over. For another, there were many more members of this group that worked for your soulmate.

Asking questions about your soulmate got a strange reaction each time, all of the passengers of the car taking a moment to look between themselves before giving you vague answers. His name was Chrollo, and as their boss, they didn't feel it was right to tell you too much about him, or so they said. You found that he was well-read, though they still refused to tell you much about precisely what he read.

It felt useless to try and pursue the conversation further, as you were nowhere near their level of smarts in conversation. To try and alleviate some of the tension you were feeling, you attempted to bring up lighter topics, asking them for funny stories, which they somewhat complied with. Although their style of telling stories seemed odd to you, as they left out a lot of details without prompting, but you were at least happy that the focus was off of you.

They told you stories of traveling around the world, and how they saw some of the worlds most gorgeous sights and expensive luxuries nearly everyday. You had to assume that they were embellishing most of it, but they made their lives sound rather fun, and you wondered if your own friends were giving Chrollo anywhere near as good an impression back home.

It had to have been at least an hour before another fear hit you, one that plagued you nearly everyday. From your perspective, everything was going well, they were laughing and telling stories not just to you but with each other, which indicated that they were happy with how how you acted. However, the fear that plagued you from inside told you that they weren't happy, that you had done something wrong and now they were laughing at you. Looking back on every word you had spoken, you felt almost physically sick, seeing every flaw in your word choice and tone in hindsight.

The passengers were looking and laughing between themselves and talking, so they didn't notice right away that there were tears gathering in your eyes, for which you were grateful. Just as suddenly as you were sat there, surrounded by happy voices with tears in your eyes, you were back home, sat amongst your own friends, who laughed perhaps even louder.

Once you came to and realized that you were no longer driving, and in fact were sitting on your own couch with your own friends, the tears really started to run. The letter that you had spent so much time carefully writing was clutched hard in your hand, but not so much that it would crumple or bend.

You quickly stood while mumbling an excuse, rushing to your room as your friends called after you. It felt odd to be back in your own body, the smells and sounds of everything hitting you horribly clearly. There was very little you could do to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed.

Your friends had already been prepared for what to do if you were overwhelmed coming back from your switch, but that didn't stop their concern for the way you were acting.

"Hey, (Y/N)? You okay in there?" Jo's voice came through the door, and you were grateful that your closest friend was here for you. "The others are all gonna start heading home now, but I'm gonna stick around. I don't want you to feel alone at the moment."

With a quick confirmation from you from behind the door, Jo headed to get some rest in the living room. Practically falling into your bed, you pulled the weighted blanket you had gotten as a gift over yourself, staring up at the ceiling as all of the feelings of excitement and fear finally crashed down on you.

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Thanks for reading!