#plz appear in tags this time you piece of shit

[rninies]

✮ bad actor

౨ৎ diluc x reader. fluff, gn!reader, diluc is so in love w u Lol — wc: 616

notes. first genshin fic dont Flop plz 🙏🏻 tagging @chuluoyi :3

"why are you laughing?" diluc asks as he places your food down in front of you. he sits down, ripping open a plastic straw and handing it over to you.

you take the straw from him, quietly thanking him. "because you're so obvious..." a smile appears once more on your face, barely holding back another laugh from escaping your lips.

diluc raises an eyebrow. “what do you mean?” he starts eating the burger in front of him by cutting it into smaller pieces so it’s easier for him to eat — you still don’t understand why he does that. you find it easier to just bite into it. “you’re not making any sense, y/n.”

“why don’t you just bite the burger? it’s way easier that way you know,” you sighed leaning forward. “also, you’re a really bad actor, diluc.”

he frowns. “i’d rather not dirty my hands with grease and sauce.” he sets the burger down, wiping his mouth with a tissue. “why would i be a bad actor? you’ve never seen me act before.”

you hummed. “well, you are acting right now. and it’s not going well, let me tell you.”

diluc seems even more confused after you’ve explained it (well, more like subtly hint at it). he ponders on your sentence for a little longer but eventually gives up when he finishes taking a sip from his drink. “seriously what do you mean by that? i don’t understand what you’re saying at all.”

“you have a crush on me, do you?” as soon as the words escaped your mouth, diluc choked on his drink, coughing violently making a few other customers look at him with concern. “see, i told you i’m right!”

as soon as he calms down from his coughing fit, he clears his throat, cheeks turning red. “i don’t- i don’t know what you’re talking about.” he distracts himself from the smug smile you’re giving by continuing to eat his burger, eyes looking everywhere except you.

“hey come on, look at me!” you teased him, squishing his cheeks with your hand, forcing him to look at you. “aw, you look so cute all embarrassed.”

he moves your hand away from his face. “no, i’m not. shut up.”

you smiled again, resting your chin on your hand. “my boyfriend is so cute.”

“no, i’m not-” diluc stops, finally processing what you just called him. “you- boyfriend? are you serious?”

“what? do you not want to be my boyfriend?” you teased, taking one french fry from diluc’s plate and eats it, patiently waiting for diluc’s answer. 

diluc looks away before mumbling out an answer. “yes, i do want to be your boyfriend.”

you clapped your hands together, looking extremely happy. “great! honestly, i was waiting for you to confess first, but knowing how stubborn you are with your own feelings, you wouldn’t confess even if it’s been twenty years.”

“wha- why didn’t you make the first move then?” diluc asks, seemingly upset that you saw right through him. “you made me wait instead of-”

you laughed. “i loved seeing your reactions you know? you get all embarrassed every time i slightly touch you. it’s cute.”

“i regret ever having a crush on you.” diluc states, frowning as he takes his last bite out of his burger. “now hurry up and finish your meal unless you want to miss the movie.”

“ah-” you clearly forgot all about the movie ever since you started the topic of diluc’s feelings for you. “shit.”

“yeah. now finish it, dummy.” diluc murmurs, hiding a smile behind his hand as he watches you eat your food, face puffing up as you stuff your mouth. “cute.” he whispers under his breath.

[kharmii]

A small question.

You've shared some art today from a japanese blankshipper and a few pieces got me thinking.

I've seen a few artists that depict Ingo/Nobori having lost his arms and legs with Emmet/Kudari taking care of him... is this some trope I'm not aware of or is this a thing japanese fans think is "hot"?

I'm just curious as I've seen it a few times with different artists and was wondering if its just for the heck of it or something with a "deeper meaning" (quotations not derogatory more in a sense of "is this something I should know" or not)

I actually saw a Japanese artist do amputation fetish before Western artists when I first got into this fandom. The Western Artists made it look ugly -which it is.....there's no way around it- but Western artists tend to make everything ugly.

Side note: First thing that popped up on Twitter this morning on the Geten tag was some gross transgender fkn furry made Geten look ugly af, -like they accentuated his weak chin and gave him gross legs- and I'm guessing it's a way to do a realistic depiction of a girl trying to look like a guy. Usually they're grotesquely obese, but the little guy is the outlier. Extra points for the gross Elmer Fudd hitting on him (probably thinking it's a her). WHY!? Only Western artists do that shit. You never see Asian artists taking a cute character and going out their way to make him/her uglier. They have a way of taking something awkward and making it beautiful. IE: There are some masterful renditions of Chandelure Ingo/Galvantula Emmet.

WARNING: EXPLICIT R-18 CONTENT BEHIND CUT:

Anyway, the first Japanese artist I've seen do this was on the Submas Yaoi tag on Pixiv. They did a whole-ass amputation comic. The artwork was beautiful.

Without taking the time to do an awkward Google lens translation, (I did do one, and it was mostly Emmet mumbling in an insane way) I'd guess that particular one is a bdsm theme. It starts with Emmet waking up from a dream grinding his teeth and believing he's still in the dream. He eventually anesthetizes a sleeping Ingo, cuts off his arm, then later feeds them both the meat from it. Armless Ingo appears okay with it, and he embraces Emmet in his sleep. Are we supposed to assume this was something that happened in the past, and Emmet is reliving it in his dreams? IDK because it made me queasy in my stomach, so I won't bother translating it.

-So my assumption is that with both Western and Japanese artists it's one parts bdsm and one parts that yandere fantasy where a person holds their partner prisoner 'for their own safety' while telling them they will see to their every need. Allowing someone to take one prisoner and have so much power over one they can amputate appendages is the ultimate form of submission (and I'd assume some sort of mental illness is at play).

Since the Train Twins are assumed to be autistic with Ingo being the higher functioning twin, it could also be an abuse fantasy. Depending on how much agency they both have, one or both might be fit to be committed, and Emmet might deserve to be locked up in an Institution for the Criminally Insane.

I've seen a few artists that depict Ingo/Nobori having lost his arms and legs with Emmet/Kudari taking care of him... is this some trope I'm not aware of or is this a thing japanese fans think is "hot"?

I hope anon wasn't talking about art where one of the twins lost an arm or a leg in an accident, while the caring sibling nurses them back to health in a completely innocent way. Then here I am busting out some disturbing gross shit because that's all I've ever seen. Plz link examples if that's what you meant. :-D

[itsjustwhatfeelsright]

i wanted to touch on something about steven’s behavior in the su movie that’s kind of been mentioned form what i’ve seen but not quite... from this angle? this is bearing in mind that i basically only see what comes on my su dash so you know, someone may have pointed this out somewhere before and that’s okay--plz don’t come @ me.

but i remember when steven had his revelation about his missing piece, i was actually kind of thrown that it was ‘change’ and not ‘empathy/understanding/etc.’ now, i’m not at all claiming this doesn’t make sense in the overarching narrative. before steven would’ve been old enough to communicate, he would’ve been able to change. that was what pink/rose most wanted to impart onto her child. i have no problem with this so please don’t take this post this way.

with that said, it’s worth noting that at no point during the film do we see steven approach spinel like he usually does the villains in the show. even when she first lands, he assumes it must be a misunderstanding because he established peace--pointedly NOT because he’s looking to understand her and that he’s learned at this point that most things are misunderstandings or past traumas that can be resolved. so, already, because he feels his ‘happily ever after’ is being threatened, he tries to jump to talking it out, but doesn’t get to the heartof what i think his best power is, and that’s empathy.

this absolutely PERMEATES through the movie. once spinel has poofed his friends and reset them, he makes no attempts to understand her or her change once she’s reformed, either. in fact he straight-up jumps at her, being accusatory and angry and that’s a rarity for him, really. steven is older, he’s tired of this shit, he just wants to skip to the end and he’s upset that he even has to. his actions are undersandable, but they indirectly build up to the climax at the end of the movie.

next, we see him talk with bismuth, lapis and peridot about her. even after he gets the explanation of what has happened to the gems (and by extension, her,) he really does allow his bitterness towards her and more importantly his razor-focus on getting his friends (happily ever after) back block him from even considering maybe getting to the root of who spinel is and what brought her here. she’s in the background of this scene, referenced in the song, directly talked about in front of her face, and not even really addressed until she says something useful: “what if it’s like a puzzle?”

and then what happens next? steven shuts her up, and is fully prepared to leave her behind. granted, like his mother, he tries to do this kindly, and for a brief moment this brings out her repressed feelings. but this more like startles steven rather than lights up any lightbulbs. he begrudgingly brings her along because it’s the easy solution that keeps her happy and him moving, and then she proceeds to be basically ignored while he looks for amethyst and a third wheel once he finds her.

so then amethyst reforms. remember, at this point, steven knows exactly why spinel doesn’t remember anything. but he doesn’t really explains that she hit them with a rejuvinator and he hit her back and therefore she’s reset. he just says, simply, that she forgot. and he explains it like the frustration that it is to him right now. (and don’t forget, the “gag” of her trying to play tag but being ignored for the sake of catching amethyst up is going in the background of this scene.)

moving forward, we get to the part where the rejuvinator is explained. again, everyone talks about spinel right in front of her with no regard for how that would feel. (really--they’re lucky she’s as goofy as she is up to this point.) here, it’s suggested that steven return spinel’s memories, and although he’s complained about her lack of memory all day, his immediate reaction is “no way!” at this point, he doesn’t like her the was she was. and i think it’s kind of important to call attention to this. once he’s convinced that it’s really his only option, we move on to the rock show.

it’s obvious that this is the final trigger for spinel. she’s been being ignored and pushed aside all day, but being physically “abandoned” by all of the crystal gems so they could “play” on stage without her brought the flood of feelings back to her that obviously hurt like hell. but what does steven say to her once he finds her? “that’s good. i need you to remember.”

this is usually the point when steven would realize, even if he’s been kind of absent-minded the whole rest of the arc/episode, that something is really bothering this antagonist/gem, but here he’s still razor-focused on what he needs. there’s no empathy in this statement. he encourgages her to walk right back into her trauma because he needs her to know how to turn off the injector. (and maybe knowing her backstory would help a little.) and when he finds out it’s another ‘my mom fucked over a gem’ story, steven is just... tired. he can believe it. he’s tired of doing this. he just goes through the motions  but the real emathy isn’t there.  and this is immediately  revealed in the way steven eagerly walks ahead of spinel towards the warp, walks ahead of spinel out of the house, and doesn’t return any sentiment when she calls herself his friend, even after her transformation back.

like, at this point in the story, it’s hsrd not to understand why spinel doesn’t trust steven. he hasn’t been using the one steven power that he knows he has (talking to her) to its full affect because he didn’t just forget about change--he also forgot about “always putting others first”. you know. one of the things the diamonds praise him for in the intro of this very movie.

obviously, by the climax, he does eventually get through to spinel. but it’s more that she tires herself out and realizes that she doesn’t wanna be  this over the course of garnet’s song and steven’s song (which encourage her to partake in self-reflection) and a bit less that gives her the typical steven treatment.

BUT. knowing that elements from this movie are going to matter in the future... i wouldn’t count spinel out of future appearances. i wouldn’t discount the possibility that steven developing a real friendship with this gem would be a plot-point. we’ll just have to see..

really though, i’m not saying all of this to attack steven’s character or anything. it’s refreshing, honestly, to see him make this kind of mistake. he’s the most empathetic character we’ve ever seen, but even he has his limits--he wanted to be done so bad he forgot all of his powers. ALL of them. including this one.  and that only made sense for him at this point in time. i’m excited to see how he continues to change from here.

[puffberries]

Dating Sirius Black whilst on the Gryffindor Quidditch team would include:

‘

Request: hiii can you plz write sirius x reader headcanons where the reader is on the gryffindor quidditch team? (you can decide whether he is or not) thank you love! - Anonymous

A/N: Ya girl is back with the headcanons. Seriously though, headcanons are my favourite thing to write because I can have so much fun with them. I’ll probably do a bunch of these today because you lovelies sent in a TON of headcanon requests, strangely, they’re mostly for Sirius Black. I’m sensing some intense Sirius love here.

You and Sirius knew each other mostly through James

When you first met, you can fucking bet there was a pickup line

‘Sirius, this our seeker, Y/N’

‘Seeker, huh? Well, are you seeking my heart?’

It took all of your will power, and all of potter’s strength to keep you from hitting him over the head with your broom

On the days where you would hang out with James, Sirius grew quite close to you

I mean, he was cocky AS FUCK, but over time the urge to drive your fist into his face softened

And you actually started coming up with witty responses to his flirtatious, cheeky behaviour

‘Was that an earthquake or did you just rock my world?’

‘The only natural disaster around here is you.’

Eh, you supposed he was okay to be around

You weren’t the best of friends to begin with

Like maybe you’d tag along with James one day and you and Sirius would hang out

THIS BOY BE PERSISTENT THOUGH

You’d be casually walking down the hall with your friends and then BAM

your friends would be gone and LOW AND BEHOLD SIRIUS BLACK HAS JUST APPEARED

James and Remus leading your friend away through a different hallway, telling them that you have some urgent business with one of the professors

Sirius would do stuff like this every day until you finally asked him out

It’d be shortly after a game, and he and Remus would race down the Quidditch pitch to congratulate James on the match

You’d catch Sirius’ eye as you were walking off the field, your broom dragging along your side sloppily

‘Hiya there, L/N, you’re looking like shit’

To be fair, you did have sweat and dust and dirt through your hair and on your skin

‘And you look like shit always, Black, what’s your point?’

‘Drive a stake through my ego why don’t you?’

A light chuckle from you, a hearty laugh from him, and the atmosphere between you two changed within seconds

HELLA QUIET

HELLA SORTA AWKWARD

COCKY SIRIUS TO THE RESCUE

‘By the way, what were you doing out there today? I mean, I know I’m hot, but you don’t have send glances at me every 5 seconds. Almost cost us the game.’

You scoffed. ‘You’re such a flirtatious piece of work, Black.’

‘Ya love me.’

Atmosphere changes once aGAIN

I THOUGHT THIS BOY WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SMOOTH JESUS CHRIST

‘Just shut up for once, and go to Hogsmeade with me, okay?’

You sped off

And poor Sirius

Like seriously, he didn’t even know what was happening

He had been trying for months, FOR MONTHS, to get your romantic attention

And it happened, now? Like, WTF?

He was confuzzled, but also really happy, but also really confuzzled

Okay so

I’m going to start off by saying that Sirius is the proudest boyfriend ever

PROUD BOI

ATTENDING EVERY MATCH

I mean, you know, his best friend is playing too BUT HIS GIRLFRIEND OOOH LORDY 

THIS MAN IS STRUCK

Dates by the Black Lake

Dates in Hogsmeade

Dates anywhere

He will literally slide up to you in the middle of breakfast, hand you a piece of toast, and say

‘Happy Date Night’

James and Remus teasing him about how cheesy he gets around you

But don’t get me wrong, just because you’re dating, does not mean that you will stop teasing each other

Guess who sent you an howler on valentines day?

‘AND I STILL LOVE YOU EVEN THOUGH YOU ALWAYS HAVE DIRT IN YOUR HAIR AND YOUR FEET ALWAYS STINK AFTER QUIDDITCH PRACTICE’

So guess who gave him a cup of tea the next day?

It was a cup of tea, so Sirius was really suspicious of what you might’ve slipped into the hot liquid

He was so busy being suspicious he didn’t even notice when the tea cup grew upwards and clamped onto his nose

You may or may not have served tea in a nose-biting teacup

HIS SCREAMING WAS PRICELESS

If you ever injure yourself during a match, Sirius is the first one to panic, followed by Peter

He practically breaks down the doors of the hospital wing

‘Mr Black, please, Miss L/N needs some rest-’

‘I COUNT AS REST’

Remus has to drag him out by the collar

He’d be so hesitant to watch you out on the Quidditch pitch again

But you do fantastic, as always, so it kind of eases his mind

James ships it 

100% takes credit for the relationship

‘This was my doing I gave birth to this relationship’

‘No James stop please’

[anxiety-trademark]

The week in review:

Raw 11/02 NXT 11/04 NXT UK 11/05 Smackdown 11/06

Raw:

Alexa just says, “he could be here,” then starts laughing. She’s like a walking red flag.

Love the difference in ‘play’ and ‘pain’, and I love how she’ll wave with either one depending on her intentions. Interesting to note that she’s left-handed, so every time she uses her right for ‘play’ it is absolutely a conscious decision.

Great editing to have Alexa disappear.

Randy’s got a hard life rn lmao.

Mandy and Dana’s gear looks fantastic.

Wow Lana is hella ballsy coming out there during their tag match.

Mandy Rose trying to use Octopus stretch? What an interesting world we live in.

I understand that Dana and Mandy might want the tag titles, I’m just not sure it’s wise to be fighting your future teammates ahead of SvS :/

Dana and Mandy do good team work, I just wish they’d work on the timing for their synchronized cartwheel + kick combo.

Pretty suplex, Shayna. Shayna’s probably the nicest most harmless bull you’ve ever seen. I become more and more of a fan every week.

Damn Mandy plays perfect defense but Shayna kicked out. Good teamwork though.

So Lana’s a face now because Nia and Shayna are assholes who have been tormenting her for like 7ish weeks? Do I have that right?

Oh sad, Lana accidentally screwed Dana and Mandy out of winning the titles. Ahhhh this is why Lana has no friends.

Lmfaooo. “What cuz [Lana’s] a little butthurt that I put her through a table?” “You put Lana through six tabl--” “I TOLD you NOT to say her name in my presence.” pffftt bye.

Weak finish to that promo. Hella rude to threaten to end someone’s career though, Nia. Hella rude.

I love Alexa’s enthusiasm when she’s the Firefly Funhouse version of herself.

Bro what the fuck. Christ these always have so much to digest.

I don’t... I don’t know what exactly her trick is... was that blood? Are we going for blood? That didn’t look like blood. It looked like melted fucking organs or something (or melted down candy/licorice/gelatin but let’s not get meta and ruin the fun)

I love the contacts. That’s an interesting look that I wish she’d carry on in her present day matches once she transforms into her evil, alternate self. Also noted that he used his ‘heal’ hand to turn her into the blood spitting, warped version... and I think it was the same last time, right? Was it his ‘heal’ hand last time? What does that mean in his eyes??

These are such a mindfuck ever since she joined his Funhouse. That’s not a complaint.

Why are they having Nia fight in 2 matches tonight? Why couldn’t they push this off a week?

First off, I really don’t like Lacey and Peyton together, and I’m actually quite fond of Lacey. She’s not the best worker, but she’s a fantastic entertainer, and that deserves much more respect than a random tag team with Peyton Royce.

Second, LOL at Shayna immediately clearing off the announce table. This is gonna be tragic and unfair. If I’m Lana, why the hell would I accept this match? Ego? WHAT EGO DOES LANA HAVE lol. This should be pointless in her eyes.

Lana your bravery isn’t gonna get you shit. Is Asuka gonna come out? Cuz that’s the only way you survive this.

Normally you won’t hear me cry about no selling like the dumbass iwc, but Lana did a pretty fucking high worked kick and should’ve nailed Nia in the side of the head/neck. Why wasn’t there a reaction to that? Lame. That should’ve stunned Nia at the very least. Made her flinch? Anything??

LMAO Nia just called her a pathetic piece of crap. Rolling.

Nia breaks up the pinfall attempt on Lana herself x2. Fantastic heel work. Don’t see that enough.

Peep the red marks on Lana’s back. Sad.

Fuck man, table number 7. That’s... that’s sad. Pretty bummed that NOBODY will come help her. 7 fucking times, whew.

Having a lot of the women appear multiple times tonight. Looking at how the Raw women’s division is being booked, I gotta say, SD is kinda over-bloated.

Oh cool I can actually see Alexa’s white tattoo on her shoulder blade in this lighting.

Nikki I’d advise you to not speak ill of the fiend. Also lesbireal, you iced her out the second you didn’t win the title against Bayley all those months ago.

Fucking LOVE those contacts why weren’t they a permanent part of her look as this version???

Highlight: Firefly Funhouse

---

NXT:

Ahh I love Dakota and Raquel’s matching colors.

Tbf, Dakota is a stepping stone, she just SHOULDN’T be cuz she’s way too good for that.

Dakota is so fucking scrawny. I really hope she isn’t just deemed a jobber on the MR. She needs to keep that speed up or bulk up a little.

lolol you know what Ember, you fucked around and ate a ringpost. Serves you right.

Nice armbar, Dakota. Now sit up and lock in the dis-arm-her (she won’t)

Dakota’s leading this match, peeped that call.

Ember’s suicide dive is so vicious. Like a missile straight up impaling her opponent.

LOL Dakota dodged the second. Again serves you right, the double suicide dive is Seth’s move.

Damn Dakota fucking NAILED her with that kick upside the head. You seeing stars Ember? Cuz you should be seeing stars. That was NOT a thigh slapper, that had an audible pop.

Yeahhh Dakota is absolutely the face in this match and you cannot tell me different. Ember’s arrogance is infuriating. Girl legit failed on the MR and she comes down there with an ego (in kf) tf outta here.

Love how people in nxt are constantly trying to use the Bank Statement but it NEVER looks as good as Sasha’s. Take a hint.

Love how Dakota utilizes these arm bars, that’s so random to me, has she always used submissions? Probably.

Why are we showing Ember dramatically hulk up like I care?

“This is Ember’s law” WHAT IS EMBER’S LAW FFS

HAHA atta girl Dakota, atta girl. That’s the homie, good for you. Fuck Ember’s law.

Shotzi PLEASE I could actually like you if you didn’t make me want to punch my 27″ monitor every time you fucking howled.

Also why you’d ever choose to face Toni over Rhea is beyond me but whatever.

This is not a whole new Toni Storm. You’re the friggin same. Ember has changed more than you and she didn’t even have a heel turn.

And why is the term ‘stepping stone’ being shoved down my throat this week?

Interesting that Io has chosen to tie things up with Rhea, but that’s to be expected. See now, if I was wwe, I would’ve called up Rhea immediately after this title match took place, but I already know that doesn’t happen.

Odd that they never show footage of Charlotte when they play back clips of In Your House. Triple h really that salty that she beat Rhea? Fuck man, Rhea needed that loss. Did her good.

Io: “I’m not afraid of Nightmare” I liked that.

“2020 has been complete trash,” what a babyface line by Rhea tbh.

Rhea idk when you’ll get to hold the gold again, but it’s not gonna be anytime soon. Your best hope is that you’ll win the Royal Rumble. Your second best hope is that they’ll move you to Raw and at some point in 2021, you can potentially make the Raw women’s championship meaningful again... what with it being devalued to hell since Becky left. Your realistic hope says maybe you can hold it by the time SummerSlam 2022 rolls around.

oof Shotzi’s big mad lmao. At least we skipped her lengthy entrance and that stupid howl.

Ohhhh nooooo Shotzi botched a vault like 20 seconds in. Oh man that wasn’t even just ugly, she fucking wiped out. Yikes. Yikes. Go back to the pc hun, practice that a couple dozen times more, cuz that’s the type of shit that’s gonna keep you down in nxt.

“you gotta wonder where [Shotzi’s] mind is” sure... sure...

Oh the tank’s a nod to her cousin in the military, interesting.

That cannonball was way too high anyway, Shotzi. You were never gonna make impact with that.

Holy shit Shotzi looks sloppy as fuck tonight. Usually it’s her ring work that I compliment, but good lord. Out here looking like the low card.

“Shotzi Blackheart just has not been herself so far in this one,” no this is practically a carry.

Yikes these restholds. Awful match. Do a Storm Zero and call it a night.

Christ and Shotzi fumbles on Toni’s Northern Lights Suplex. Mk.

“This match has certainly lived up to the hype” wow then y’all have LOW expectations.

No she didn’t get all of the ddt, and she could’ve ended her damn career with a dumb move like that for some throwaway tv match. Holy shit she’s such an extreme indie performer.

WOW so we sit through this long ass dreadful fuck up of a match, do a potential career ending move, then the ref just... stops counting cuz ???? and Candice pops up on screen just to get Shotzi’s attention. Hello? WHAT IS THIS TRAINWRECK. Negative 8 points to Shotzi and Candice (just because I don’t like Candice) and plus 3 to Toni for having to deal with this bullshit on her second match in nxt.

Dumb. Toni should’ve been counted out, and she should’ve been allowed to hit Shotzi with a finisher. Dumb.

lmao fuck that tank. I don’t even like Candice, either. gg. Plus 2 points.

I thought Toni was a heel? Lame. Negative 2 points for continuity.

If Xia says the letters from her family are personal, then they’re personal. Leave her the fuck alone, tmz.

Xia vs Raquel?? Lol good luck man.

Highlight: Dakota vs Ember

---

NXT UK:

Ah a squash match for Jinny, mk.

This girl looks ridiculous.

Nice impact on the Irish Whip into the corner.

Lol no selling Jinny’s stomps, ooookay.

Jinny has this aggressive wrestling style, but I feel like Bayley could toss her around lmao.

Someone give me a dollar every time Jinny calls her ‘stupid’ so I can buy a new car.

Kay so this James girl is hella athletic, that’s nice.

Rolling lightning kick? That’s your finish?? A recklessly blind heel kick while somersaulting??? Alllright, anyway.

lol plz, you’re no queen.

Ah yes a match I have ZERO interest in: Piper vs Jinny. Give KLR a squash match, I’m bored.

SPEAKING OF MY UK QUEEN

Jeeze look at KLR’s arms. Whew.

She’s so much more entertaining than the rest of the division, holy hell.

LOL KLR. Look at her sell that fear. What a fucking performer, goodbye. All the points to KLR.

Piper, KLR’s hair is way too fucking gorgeous for you to be pulling her around by it. The blatant disrespect. And you dare touch her title? Rude. RUDE.

Highlight: KLR existing

---

Smackdown:

Great video package but I have to highlight the way Sasha just sat there against the ropes staring at Bayley for what, 2 minutes? Before even acknowledging she had won the title. That was fantastic.

What’s funny is I watched their hiac match live cuz I wasn’t sure Sasha would actually win, but I never bothered with this one, because I KNEW Sasha’s curse had been broken. I knew it’d be against Bayley that she’d retain her title for the first time.

kekekek Bayley’s so fucking obnoxious.

Beautiful opening sequences. Not often can people do that particular sequence with Sasha, I think I’ve only seen Becky do it on the MR (could be mistaken)

Nice baseball slide while pulling Bayley’s ankle off the apron. Smooth af.

Jeeesus Bayley launched Sasha into the air just for Sasha to smack the apron and crash hard on the floor. Points to everyone.

Bayley playing gassed as if she’s actually tired, when we all know this girl’s stamina is aces above the rest.

Beautiful elbow drop to Bayley as she’s hanging off the apron.

Bayley sort of no sells the backstabber and goes for a messy Bayley to belly as Sasha counters into her Bank Statement. The idea for that sequence was there, the execution was not.

Oh shit Bayley hit her with the Eddie Guerrero swerve that didn’t pan out, and then popped a backstabber on her. Lmao nice.

Sasha kicks out of a Bayley to belly and flying elbow. Guess we’re showcasing her resilience as a champion. Solid.

Bayley’s so fucking fast. I love watching her wrestle when she’s not spending all of her time on the defense, holy shit.

Lmao now Bayley has her in the Bank Statement. Nobody does it like Sasha though, and there’s why.

Great match, great match. Real treat. Le curse is finally broken.

Peeped Sasha kicked her in the face on the apron, just as Bayley did when she turned on her. Nice storytelling. I enjoyed the in ring stuff with these 2, but holy shit I’m glad this feud’s over.

Man oh man do I hate Mella’s lipstick lol. I do, however, like her as Sasha’s first opponent.

Nattie: “I shouldn’t have been put in that triple threat match,” Also Nattie: “I think we should do a triple threat match,” Is ‘crazy cat lady’ ALWAYS going to be Nattie’s gimmick?

I really hate seeing other women besides Charlotte wearing Gucci, and I know that’s fucking insane but it is what it is.

This should’ve been on the show, wtf wwe. 

Do the commentators not know what’s fucking happening lol?

The speed of this is as if they were told they have 3 mins, make everyone shine.

Just watched a match where Charlotte hit a Natural Selection on Nattie while Nattie had the Sharpshooter applied to someone, and she bumped it perfectly. Why that Running Bulldog looked atrocious, I’ll never know.

Should’ve given me the video explaining why this match is happening. Did Sasha and Bayley go over time? Dumb that this was so rushed.

hahaha Nattie got fucked out of 2 svs team qualifying matches in a row. That’s hilarious.

Highlight: Bayley vs Sasha

---

*Raw shined the brightest as a whole, but Bayley vs Sasha was the star segment of the week.

[iamthechocobabe]

A True Nightmare

I figured after the Episode Ignis trailer, we all needed some Ardyn getting his ass kicked a bit (though keep in mind there’s only so much poor Mallory can do). Don’t be put off by the creepy vibes at first of the chapter, Mallory’s gonna show this asshole who’s boss by the end (and NO, not in that way guys-NOT AN ARDYN LOVE STORY, ‘member?) 

Sorry that it’s a little long, but it’s been going way too slow for me and I wanted to get the story going already. Oh well, what’s done is done, I guess. 

Tagging the Senpais: @roses-and-oceans @bespectacled-girl @nifwrites @cupnoodle-queen @themissimmortal @gladiolus-mamacitia 

A True Nightmare

~Chapter 4~ SFW Word Count: 3,885

Mallory was trying her hardest not to appear cynical as Noctis looked at the car with a forlorn look; obviously, this car meant a lot to the crowned prince and his friends seemed to understand that, but Mallory was having a hard time fighting the urge to go up to him and yell 'it's just a CAR'. 

Boys and their cars, I guess-Mallory thought. 

A far off explosion lighting up the night sky got Mallory's attention and the realization hit that they had absolutely no idea where they were. Mallory had to drive a different route to get into Gralea and she only knew the one route, but how were they supposed to find their way through Gralea without a map? Mallory cursed herself for not going with instinct and packing a map with her, telling herself that she knew the way and that it was just a waste of space. It was a fucking piece of paper, Mallory, you had room. 

"Where to now?" Mourning was over, apparently and the three joined Mallory as she stared at a street sign, trying to get her bearings. As if sensing her confusion, Ignis spoke with a slight tilt of the head to better focus his hearing. "You do know where we're going, correct?" 

"That is an excellent question," Mallory mumbled, wanting to kick herself as she tried to piece together the last time she had been to Gralea and to Zegnautus. A piece of FUCKING PAPER, Mallory, what the hell is wrong with you?

"You didn't bring a map? What kind of an 'assassin' are you?" 

"Shut up for a sec, yeah?" Mallory didn't glance at Gladio as she fished out her disposable flip phone from her backpack, shooting a quick text. Got lost, am at Crysallis Ave., how do I get to Z. from here? Closing the phone, Mallory waited, hoping and praying that the response would be quick, partially because Mallory knew if it was that she got out all right. 

"You're texting? Who are you texting?" Noctis sighed exasperatedly and tugged on a few ends of his hair. "That's it, we're dead," 

"She's a friend, and if you want to go die in a corner somewhere, by all means, please do," Mallory was beginning to lose her patience with these guys (minus Ignis, who didn't really seem too judgmental of Mallory, just observant), but ignored it when her phone buzzed and a little mail icon showed up on the front screen where the clock usually was. 

Wait where r u plz dont tell me ur in Nflhm. 

Relief flooded through; the knowledge of one of Mallory's closest friends being safe was like a thousand pound weight being dropped off. But when Mallory read the words, a bad feeling began to grow in her stomach as she responded. Didnt u get my txts

No wait There was a short pause before the texts started flooding Mallory's phone, so fast that Mallory didn't have time to read a text before another one popped up on her screen. 

mal get out serisly shits bad u need 2 go chncllrs gone crzy mts & daemons evrywhr ppl r missing

Well, this was bad-people missing and MT's roaming the streets? Mallory sensed this was a bit more than a coincidence, blowing a piece of hair from her eyes and typed as fast as she could with the old fashioned phone. cant exactly get out now am stuck need 2 get 2 Z. help me out here

A few seconds went by, Mallory tapping her foot impatiently the whole time, when the phone buzzed again. 

u die on me Mal I swear 2 Gods go on crysallis til u get 2 casey dr. go right til u get 2 train tracks follow train tracks military entrnce thre

Mallory sighed, stress and oncoming panic dropping from her shoulders as she looked at the three with new found confidence about where to go. "Head down the road," She explained the directions before they all started following, Ignis occasionally faltering as they maneuvered the road designated for shipping containers. When they reached the railroad tracks, practically destoryed with train cars and shipping containers that laid askew around the tracks, Mallory shot a quick text. Thx Ky owe u

u wont owe me if ur dead b carful

Snickering, Mallory put the phone in her backpack just as they reached a stray train car carefully and barely propped on some debris with a small gap underneath that would give the four enough crawling space. Despite how the thing looked like it was the tiniest nudge away from collapsing, Noctis was already half way under there and Mallory quickly reached forward and pulled him back. She didn't necessarily mean to make the crown prince fall on his butt, but he glared all the same. 

"What?" Noctis stood up, dusting the dirt from his pants like a little kid with a grumpy face to match. 

"MT's are probably guarding the fortress," She didn't mean to sound snippy, but this was basic shit 101 and Mallory was starting to feel more and more like a babysitter every minute. Tired and irritated, Mallory went over to a broken side ladder on the train car before gesturing to Gladio. "Give me a boost and I'll see what we're dealing with here," 

"Isn't that dangerous?" Gladio asked the question, but maybe he figured there was no point in arguing with her because he just bent down and linked his fingers together so Mallory could boost herself up to the ladder and start climbing. 

"When are you assholes going to figure out that I can take care of myself?" Grumbling was always a thing Mallory hated to do, she hated sounding whiny and grumpy. People already thought she was a grouch because of the way she looked and her naturally stern eyes, she didn't need constant bitching to help her in that department. Working with these three, she was starting to remember why she preferred working assignments and stuff by herself, only occasionally teaming up with Aranea. 

Still, Mallory had bigger things to worry about, especially when she reached the top of the traincar. 

"How many are there?" Noctis called up, but Mallory couldn't find an answer. Confusion clouded her brain as she processed what was easily the most popular entrance into the fortress, aside from the main entrance. "Mallory?" 

Shaking her head, Mallory forced herself to respond, though it came out as choked as she was trying to piece everything together. "Nothing. There's no one here," 

No one. One of the most used entrances into Zegnautus, and not a soul was in sight, no one to guard the most heavily guarded megafortress in the world. The whole thing reeked of wrong, something definitely off, but what could it be? What reason could the fortress have to possibly leave itself defenseless? 

"What's going on?" 

She was so focused that she barely noticed Noctis popping up from under the train car-just as she shouted for him to get back, Noctis had accidentally knocked into a bar, which was apparently the only thing holding the train car up, as the moment it was loose the car decided now was the time to fall. Failing to keep her footing, Mallory soon tumbled down the side of the car, winding up stuck on the ground, separated from the others by derailed train cars and shipping containers. 

"Guys?" Mallory shot up to her feet, checking around her for enemies with her gun while calling out. "Anyone?" 

There was no answer, but Mallory swore she could hear vague yelling and running feet, so she continued to yell, hoping her words would reach someone. "If you guys can hear me, head into Zegnautus-on the thirteenth floor is a common area with a cafeteria. Meet me there!" 

"On the thirteenth floor is a common area with a cafeteria. Meet me there!”

Ardyn heard his own breath inhale rather than feel it-the same thing had happened when he saw Aryelle appear on top of the train car, hearing himself suck his breath in rather than feel it. The little trick he had when he showed Aryelle the memory of how they met didn't seem to phase this Aryelle, other than seeming to confuse her, but he was determined...of what, he still wasn't quite sure. Every time he saw her, despite how she was much more stern than the Aryelle he knew, he wanted to see her, to know her, to make her see him. 

And as he stood up to head to the common area in the megafortress, his promise of so many years ago rang in his ears. You will know my redemption. 

A furious kick to the stubborn vending machine gave Mallory what she wanted, a simple can of Ebony. While she hated coffee, despised the bitter taste, the past days of being on a train to Gralea with little to no sleep due to nerves was making her exhausted. She figured she needed the extra caffeine to keep herself on her feet, she just hated the fact that the stubborn machine ate up the last of her gil without giving her what she wanted. A little kick showed that machine what, though the stinging in Mallory's ankle was making her regret her rash decision. 

The bitter taste made her want to gag, but Mallory forced it down her throat before crumbling the can and disposing of it in a recycle bin (why there was a recycle bin in the most industrial place in Niflheim, Mallory would never know). She scooted up onto a picnic bench style table and tried to force herself to relax, though the blaring red light and the rustling of daemon feet in the hallways outside was making it difficult to do so. 

She had managed to clear out the common area fairly easily, as there were only a few daemons in the room when she got there. Mallory left the big metal doors to the common area unlocked, but she would still tense anytime a scurry of feet would approach the door, then sigh with relief as the feet scurried away. But it had been almost three hours of waiting and Mallory was starting to get worried. 

More footsteps-this time, though, the foot falls were different-rather than being hasty, or sloppy (depending on the daemon on the other side), these were careful foot steps and they were definitely human. But Mallory could feel, almost know that the prince and his entourage would not have been walking so lazily down the hallway and stop casually in front of the door, neither opening it nor locking it. Just stand there-whoever this person was, Mallory had a feeling they knew she was in there. 

Reaching for her gun once again, Mallory scooted off the table and carefully placed her feet on the floor. 

Only the floor was different-the common area had grating all throughout the floor, but the floor was now suddenly smooth, like marble. The texture (or lack thereof) from the floor caused Mallory to look down, only to see grey marble flooring versus the common areas grating that looked to some of the prison cells below. 

Naturally, Mallory looked up-only she wasn't in the common area anymore. 

Red blinking lights and sirens were replaced with a peaceful and calm hallway exterior, with the same grey, old fashioned marble decorating the walls. Paintings and ceiling high windows gave the place almost a homely look and now, Mallory couldn't help but feel panic growing in her stomach. 

Mallory had been so on edge, so on the run since the train that she honestly hadn't even had time to think of the weird vision of the barn and the red haired man. Now she was forced to face the reality that maybe the stress was making her lose her mind, maybe years of taking care of Ari and constant close calls with death had finally made Mallory's mind snap. 

Foot steps-again, only behind her. They brought Mallory out of the panic and she whirled around to aim her gun behind her, only there wasn't a soul in sight. There was only the peaceful hallway and...Mallory could hear it again. The humming. A four note lullaby, the same four notes hummed over and over again and it might have been peaceful in different circumstances. 

Walking carefully down the hallway, checking behind her back every few feet to make sure no one was behind her, Mallory shouldn't have honestly noticed the paintings. But there they were and the sight made Mallory stop, partially in awe and partially in fear. 

The paintings on the walls were all the same and they were all of...Mallory? 

No, it was someone who looked just like her. Mallory's hair was the same shade of dark black, but the woman in the painting's hair was longer, stretching down to her waist in long waves. Her facial features were the same, though, with her slightly pointed nose, her heart shaped lips and high cheekbones. Of course, the eyes-the same, mysterious and deep dark green, an almost unworldly color that had been in her family for years and years. 

Mallory instinctively backed away, the woman's eyes almost following her as she tried to leave when something stopped her dead in her tracks. Eyes widening, Mallory leaned forward, positive she was seeing things. 

On the woman's wrist was what looked like a soulmate mark...but it wasn't any mark. 

It was just like Mallory's on her left shoulder, the same shape with the same points, just in a different spot. 

"Aryelle," 

That name again...looking over, Mallory saw the same red haired man again coming down the corridor, only this time he looked a little older-a little meaner too, with a confident and smug look versus the man from the barn, who was young with an easy smile who seemed almost naive. But when he met Mallory's gaze, his golden irises almost softened, though the smug smile he wore was still bitter and cold as he approached. 

When he came within five feet, Mallory instinctively back up and aimed her gun at the man, though he just chuckled at the sight of a gun aimed between his eyes. 

"How different you are now...I suppose it doesn't matter, does it?" With a long and deep sigh, the man turned to the painting and gazed with a wonder and love that only his eyes shown at the woman in the painting. "She was just like the soulmate mark on her wrist...a star. Beautiful to look at, but unattainable to the human touch," With the same look of fondness in his eyes, but still not in the rest of his face, the man touched the back of his fingers gently to the woman in the painting's face, gently stroking the canvas. 

Mallory shivered, swearing she could feel icy cold fingers against her cheek. "What's happening to me?" The whisper was more of a question for herself than anyone else, but the man turned his attention away from the painting to focus once again on her. 

"I promised that day that I would show you and everyone my redemption...at last, that day has come," With a grand sweep, the man knelt before her, his warm and loving golden irises in the cold face gazing at Mallory. She tried to shake the foggy feeling out of her mind, but she couldn't, couldn't fight the odd sense of longing in her stomach and the race of her heartbeat. She knew logically that none of this made sense, that she didn't know this man, but she still found herself crouching down beside him. She still felt her heart flutter like crazy when he grazed the back of his cold fingers along her cheek. 

"Aryelle," he whispered, inching closer and closer with each word he spoke. "My soul...my half...my star...my life..." 

He was so close that she could smell a bitter stench of cologne, could feel the hot stinking breath on her face, but she couldn't force herself to stand up. Couldn't force herself to think as he slowly closed his eyes as a single phrase chanted in her head. This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong. 

But she still felt her eyes closing, but was somehow able to fight the draw to close her eyes when a brilliant blue object appeared just over the man's shoulder. 

A blue feather? 

A biting cold and snowy wind almost knocked Mallory off her feet and onto her bottom, but she steadied herself with the palms of her hands as she stayed crouched. The man and the peaceful corridor was gone, but it was replaced by the whiteness of a snow storm, the cold biting into her skin and if she wasn't questioning her sanity, Mallory would have been relieved that she was wearing her winter coat. 

"What's happening to me?!?!" Mallory didn't even hear her own scream over the wind of the storm, but she was too frozen and panicked to care at this point. 

Because the image of Ari, alone in a cold and sunless world with no one to protect her, flooded Mallory's mind. The image of Ari panicking as daemon's surrounded her wouldn't leave Mallory and she screamed with no one but the wind to hear. Her sister, unable to function, now alone in this world, unable to defend herself...

Because of Mallory-her lack of sanity. While she always knew that her missions were dangerous, she always had the confidence to come back home to her sister. She figured if she did die, it would be because of a shot to the head. 

Not because she had lost her mind. 

Through the white blanket of snow and sleet, a sudden image appeared. The image waved and moved, almost like a window curtain flapping in the wind, but Mallory could clearly see snippets of something happening in the image. Almost like watching a TV, Mallory watched the red headed man make grand flourishes to King Regis, making promises of peace and tranquility, but going back to the Empire to signal the attack on Insomnia. Mallory cringed as the man bent down by the oracle with a cold and cynical look, sinking a dagger into her stomach as Lady Lunafreya's eyes went wide in pain and fear. Mallory wanted to claw her own ears out at hearing Ignis Scientia's screams of pain at being blinded by the man, his cold and smug look never once going away as he smiled like he enjoyed bringing so much pain to someone. She wanted to cry as she watched the man taunt and mock a young blonde boy as he sat on the ground and practically sobbed, though she didn't know over what. 

All that pain and misery...brought on by this man. 

A hand grabbed onto her left wrist, squeezing so tightly that the bones might snap underneath as the snow storm melted away and somehow, Mallory knew she was back in reality. The man was back, only he now appeared angry as he tightened the hold on Mallory's wrist. A blue, ethereal glow made his eyes look almost black as he tried to yank Mallory beside her, despite her resistance as she placed her palm on the cold, metal grating of the floor below her. 

"Aryelle," The man hissed, his voice dripping with the venom of a snake as a dark, oozing blackness started to appear from him. "Come to me," 

It was at that moment that Mallory realized that this man, the person from her visions, was a person of pure and horrific evil. She didn't know what he wanted with her and she didn't care, she only knew she had to escape. With quick reflexes she had learned over years of dangerous missions, she grabbed the switchblade out of her back pocket, flipped it up and sank the knife into the man's leg, right beneath his knee cap. A simple twist and pull popped the knee cap out of place, though the man didn't roar like others she had performed the trick on had. But he did flinch and hiss through his teeth, clearly in pain as Mallory left the blade forgotten in his knee and stood up to run away. 

"Mallory!" Gladiolus, Ignis and a young blonde boy, the one from the snow storm vision, appeared behind her, all of them out of breath as they looked at the man pulling the knife out of his knee. "Where's Noct?" Gladiolus asked her. 

Mallory shook her head, sure confusion was as clear on her face as it felt. "I thought he was with you guys," 

"We sent him on torwards the crystal," Ignis explained with his eyes cast ahead, not really focusing on anything due to his blindness. "We were surrounded-has he absorbed the power from the crystal yet?" 

"He's gone," 

The four turned their attention to the man as he straightened up, looking almost un-bothered now despite his knee being severely damaged. He turned and focused his smug gaze at the group, but he focused on Mallory, his body framed by the blue glow from the crystal behind him. "I'm afraid you won't be seeing your friend again for quite sometime," 

"What?" Confusion and whiplash from being jerked around from so many places in the span of what felt like less than ten minutes clouded Mallory's mind, but she didn't have time to react as Gladiolus summoned his broadsword and swung it at the man with a roar and the blonde boy shot him twice in the back, the man falling with his hat rolling casually away. 

"Die, motherfucker," The blonde boy whispered, his voice choked with tears. 

"He's not dead," the words left Mallory's mouth before she really understood them, not sure how she knew he wasn't dead. And sure enough, he wasn't, as he stood up with his fedora and placed it casually on his head before turning and looking at Mallory and she almost wanted to scream at what she saw. 

The man was almost daemon like now, the whites in his eyes now inky black and oozing, making the bright golden irises stand out in contrast. His face and skin was now pale and cracked in several places, like a broken china doll and he now looked as evil as he was. 

"You will know my redemption, Aryelle," The words were fueled with anger and bitterness, but he didn't stay to explain what it meant as he simply strolled to the elevator, leaving the four alone in one of the capitals of magitek industries. 

It felt like the air returned to the room the minute the doors to the elevator closed and Mallory gasped and began to pant, not realizing before she had been holding her breath. As she collected herself, she realized she felt something wet and thick on her hand. 

Mallory prided herself on being calm and collected even in the grimmest of situations, but when she saw the man's daemon like black and oozy blood covering her hand from where she stabbed him, the scream she let loose practically echoed throughout all of Gralea.