#she gets worse btw

[of-some-writings]

Heaven Wills It

With a gun to her head, It found her. Schematics for an unknown mech, an impossible machine. There was no sender, nothing she could even attempt to trace back. It appeared from the cosmic aether, a miracle, a gift. With this gift came a message; or, perhaps, a declaration.

“To the girl who will journey the Star-Crossed Sea,

Kill them all.

The Chorus cries out for what shall always be done.”

“Your money better hold, P.” crackled from her intercom. She smirked, feeling her heart racing already.

“It will, Rhonda, don’t worry.” It sure as hell better, anyway. She burned through the last of her credits getting this trip together, what she was able to sneak into her private account anyway. Everything else was probably frozen by this point. She staked everything on this working, on this final shot, her only chance.

The woman on the intercom spoke again. “I’ll worry about it until we’re out of here. Hell, I can’t even believe I let you talk me into this, even with what you’re paying. You know I’m not gonna help ya if things go south, right?” “Not expecting you too, you made it pretty clear which of us have the balls to do this.” Snarl to her voice, nerves getting to her, making her antsy.

“P, not now.” There wasn’t any real anger in that voice, just a vague strain. “We both know, the only reason I’m out here is cause-”

“I know…” she cut her off, feeling shame. She didn’t like what all this was doing to her. None of this is what Iphy would have wanted, but definitely not that. “I… I’m sorry, Rhonda. She was your friend. Thanks for even hearing me out.”

Silence.

Then,

“Give them hell, Penny. Make those bastards pay. If you make it out, drinks are on me.”

She laughed. Stars, when was the last time she laughed?

“I’ll hold you too that.”

Without much more fanfire, she heard hissing from the machinery around her. The floor of the hangar began to open, revealing the lush jungle on the planet below. If she remembers right, HA wants to cut it all down, build refineries. World was uninhabited by anything smarter than a golden retriever, so given what other habits the Purview has demonstrated, this one fell through the cracks of outrage. Only a handful of squadrons guarded operations here.

She spent the better part of a year getting ready for this day, making sure she’d catch the One she was looking for. “Waterloo”. All and all, Penelope thought she was being kind.  

Of all the worlds to die on, they could have chosen worse.

She pulled up on the handles of her pilot’s rig, Then pushed forward, one, then the other. Some would opt for the neural interface, Iphy did but she argued it didn’t count, and Penelpe appreciated the pure tactile feel of driving her mecha. She is not her frame; it is something under her command.

With one step over the edge of the hangar floor, she fell. She gasped with excited as she tumbled, freeform in the air, the countless tonnes of her mech making her plummet at terminal velocity. Her readings blared out warnings, heating up and projected impact damage but as she fell, staring at the jungle below, her movement from the ship sending her on a diagonal arc towards her target, she simply allowed herself to exist in wonder. As she was forcefully turned skyward she could not see Rhonda’s ship, it’s cloaking on from the moment they entered this system. She knows where she’s going, where they’ll find her if she survives this. 

The warnings blared again, and this time she listened. With the press of a pedal near her left foot the jet thrusters on her mecha’s back revealed themselves, kicking to life. The machine shook with the force of the change, but with careful steering she was able to maneuver it to land onto one of the many giant trees that block out the sun from low terrain. She grabbed at branches, climbed down the tree on all fours like this machine’s strange anatomy seemed to encourage. With a thud that shook the underbrush and sent alien beasts scattering, The Pegasus was on the ground. It stood on its two back legs, and with a practiced effort pulled the… “gun” from her back. It seemed to fight her, just a little, but she gripped it hard. It knew she was stronger than it, and thus conceded to her. It settled in her hands, then became her hands, the living weapon for now disappearing into the metal of her forearms. She looked at the mech’s hands… at hers. With a deep breath, she pushed “Find Me In The Torrent” along.

Halfway to her target, she received an incoming call. This was strange to her, considering she shouldn’t be getting any calls, shouldn’t be able to. Whoever was doing this knew her encryption, at least decently well. She took the call, waited.

“Penny? Penny holy shit, where are you?”

A man’s voice, more of a boy honestly as far as she’s concerned. She took a deep, deep breath.

“Nice hearing from you too, Nester.” She remembered her brother’s smile first. How long has it been since she’s seen it?

“Penny c’mon don’t do this shit this time, what are you doing?” He sounded so panicked. She couldn’t blame him. He was next in line after all, and he’d never wanted the responsibility. It didn’t occur to her that he’d be worried about something else. 

“Exactly what I said I would. Now get off this channel before you get me killed.”

“Penny, Penny please,” his voice broke. She could feel him shudder from across the universe, how he cried with his whole body yet never his voice. “I’m begging you just, come home. Look I’m mad at Mom and Dad too, its fucked up, what they want from you but this isn’t how you fucking deal with that. This won’t help. Please P, let me help you.”

…

Her jaw clenched, her voice a wisp. “Nes…” 

“If I didn’t think I had to do this, I wouldn’t. But she died, and no one cared. Another name on the casualty reports. Well not for me. That was my wife, and they took her from me. I’ll burn the Purview to the ground if I have to, if that’s what it takes-”

“Takes to what Penny? To fucking what? Fix the hole in your heart? Bring her back? This shit isn’t going to help anyone P, you’re putting us all at risk if you-”

“Tell Mom and Dad to disown me.”

…

No reply. She could see him in her mind’s eye, staring dumbstruck. She continued. “They were probably gonna do it anyway, but doing it now gets them ahead of the curve. This isn’t a karakan assassination attempt, its a crazy bitch on a spree. I don’t want anyone to think otherwise.”

… “P, I-”

“I love you Nes.”

She flicked off her communications. Alone again, at last, She locked her eyes on the distant camp.

It rested in a man-made clearing, trees cut away and spartan living arrangements set up in their place. A series of large tents, One clearly a mess hall, a barracks, a conference area. In the near distance she saw a set of drills, boring into the ground to try and draw out the planet’s life blood. Taking stock of herself, she pulled out a small headset, a visor over one eye. As it flickered to life her vision was consumed with a stream of data, internal and external. She turned her {Eye} to them all. The datastream faded, the world outside grew dark. But points of interest revealed themselves as moats of light in the darkness before her. A handful of mecha, of course there were. Two Shermans, a Swallowtail(scandalous)... and a Tokugawa. 

She watched as soldiers moved through the camp. Not just soldiers though; she could see civilians, geologists, botanists , everyone you’d need to strip the planet or all it’s worth.  Pawns of the Purview, but she didn’t give a shit about them. All she needed was to keep them quiet…

She was taught the art of war as a matter of tradition, diplomacy because it was her obligation. But Penelope’s second love would always be tech. Well, it was time to put all that to use. With a tap against the side of her cockpit, her keyboard flicked down. One hand on the controls, the other typing away, On her visor the flow of data, the contours of the dogshit HA firewalls, were laid out before her, fingers tap tap tapping away as one fell after another.

Five minutes later, the base’ comms line was down. She heard the immediate commotion, And just as quick, attempts to keep the civs calm. Her {Eye} fell upon a woman, towering, jumper half pulled down in the sweltering heat. Commander Ajax  She was flanked on either side by a man and a woman, veins of steel running down the sides of their arms as they drew their weapons. Another man, the last member of the squadron, moved towards his Swallowtail, clearly hoping to use his mech’s systems to figure this out. 

Before he could climb in, a voice rang out from the camp’s intercom system.

“Attention, All civilians should vacate the premises for your safety. The members of Squadron Waterloo will remain, as price for their wellbeing.”

The startled crowd looked to the towering woman. She nodded, and like bats out of hell they went, packing up small things before running in the direction of another camp. She wager she’d have, maybe, half an hour before backup arrived.

Still unseen, she spoke calmly into the microphone. “Waterloo. A year and five months ago, a woman named Iphigenia was killed in an encounter with you.”

Ajax remained unmoved, unshaken, while her men got visibly antsy, one inching away to one of the Shermans. The Swallowtail was already coming online.

“That woman was my wife. I have come here to kill you all.”

The frost of her voice blew over the camp, overcoming the sweltering heat of the jungle and forcing the retreating Sherman pilot to freeze in place. There was no hesitation, barely even a threat. It was as if she was simply telling them what had already happened.

“However, Commander Ajax” she breathed away from the mic, not daring to let them hear how she herself shuddered. “If you will surrender yourself to me, I swear not to harm your crew. Your death can save your men.”

…

They turned to their commander, of course they did. She could feel how they looked at her, their bastion; she was a real leader, a comrade. Penny’s heart stirred. But if Ajax had the sense of honor Penny thought she saw in her, it did not factor into her next decision. She turned to her two men, gave them a knowing gesture, and like that– they ran!  Ajax too ran to her Tokugawa, taking one quick look back to see-

To hear Penny’s voice over the loudspeaker, one last time.

“Bang.”

It was force from nowhere, kinetic energy that emerged from the universe at terminal velocity. The Ushabti Omnigun was a weapon to harm mechs.

Commander Ajax saw one of her men atomize in front of her. It was instant, surely painless, but as his bloody vapor filled the air Penny knew that she had left an indelible mark on that woman’s soul.

Good.

She stepped into the clearing, Torrent white as Death, alien in this world of vibrant greens and steel blues. She raised her hands, willing the Mimic into shape- but Penelope was consumed in red, warnings blaring. The flow of data from her visor revealed to her the digital attack that had begun, forcing her to content with the Swallowtail. She grimaced as the war of counterhacking began, Penny knowing that she has become a juicy glowing target on his friend’s readouts. But unlike him, she was willing to push herself; straining Torrent’s hacking systems to slip past the Swallowtail, hostile code rushing towards the Sherman just moments before it’s pilot could reach it. She could see her climb up the mech, try to open it’s hatch. Penny grinned as she saw her strain; it’d take more than that after what she did to it. She tried once again to turn her attention to the commander, but the Swallowtail’s pilot was almost as good as she was. The lapse in focus was enough for it to flood her systems with meaningless junk data that confused her targeting systems. In the moment she needed to recover she saw the commander mount her Tokugawa and bring it online. She couldn’t take a clean shot right now.

“Bang.”

The second Sherman pilot disappeared  as her mist consumed by the jungle. You can’t miss with a gun that did not exist. Once she had cleared her systems, her {Eye} revealed that the Swallowtail remained hidden behind the larger tents, but that was at the back of her mind. Penelope wasn’t stupid, and didn’t come unprepared, she knew who she was dealing with.  She watched in quiet reverie as the Tokugawa pulled a hilt from either side of it, Torch Spears sparking to life In two of its hands while the second set gripped a rifle.

Ajax

Mech: Achilles

Penny crushed the grips of her handles. What remained of Waterloo saw as liquid metal peeled itself from her arms, coalescing in her left hand as an oversized pistol, barrel wider than Torrent’s arm itself. With the flick of a switch, a series of metal plates flicked out of her right hand. As Torrent tightened it into a fist, twin streams of plasma poured forth from the plates.

The Tokugawa charged first, flourishing with the twin spears as the rifle began to spray in her direction. Low priority warnings went up as the molten shells buried themselves into her chassis, Penny winced at the imagined pain but did not yield. The Pegasus held its ground under the rain of lead, waiting, waiting for-

Achilles lunged with one of the spears raised, a wicked jabbing motion that aimed for the heart. Penny was almost relieved, the action telling her in no uncertain terms that her rage had been reciprocated. Ajax was trying to kill with the first strike.

With a yank on her rig Penny forced the charged blade up, twisting to catch the plasma weapon before it could hit its mark. The two mechs strained against each other, another series of warnings telling Penelope that this was a contest she’d lose–if she was trying to win. All she needed was to keep her occupied, just long enough for the frustrated Commander to move her second spear away to wind up an attack. In that moment Penny placed the Cannon directly against the abdomen of the mech. With a hiss, a hiss,  Penny saw an eruption of metal viscera from the back of the Tokugawa. The Mimic fed from her anger, it felt like a live wire in her hand but at least for now the Commander was its target. Achilles stumbled back, the shot leaving a gaping hole in the Tokugawa’s side. Penelope attempted to use the moment to step back, but it seemed the commander was not as stunned as she’d hoped, finishing the wind up fast enough for the spear to connect with Torrent’s right shoulder. The inertia of her movement instantly ripped the plasma spear out, But Penelope could feel through her haptics how the arm grew stiffer, slower. The heat must have fused some things together, goddammit. 

Again her visor was flooded with information as the Swallowtail launched another assault, just as the Tokugawa began to stab at her again. Penny could already feel the headache forming as she tried to keep up a war on two fronts. As the spear drew close Torrent was able to duck under it’s path, in a fluid continuation attempted to jab at Achille’s heel with the charged blade. But the data attack slipped through again, throwing her systems off again, combined with the slowed arm allowing the Tokugawa to aim a kick directly at Torrent’s head. The force of the blow knocked Penny flat on her back, looking up to see the Tokugawa aiming its rifle straight down. Penny quickly lifted the Mimic up, but it twisted and snarled in her grip, refusing to relent to her rage again. Penny felt a twinge of fear through her heart as she saw the Tokugawa pull the trigger,

Think 

Think!

“Bang!”

An omnigun shot aimed directly at the left rifle hand, knocking it ajar from Achille’s grip and tilting the gunfire to the side of her. She jumped up, slamming the pedal for her jets that caught light just a moment fast enough to curve Torrent away from another spear thrust. Just as she caught a second to breathe, another blare of warnings from her left. 

A thread of gunfire punched straight through her chassis, through Torrent, Penny seeing stray bullets whiz past her head. Her {Eye} followed the invisible thread back towards its source: The Swallowtail had joined the physical confrontation, a machine gun from it’s back aimed expertly towards her center. As it was reloading, Penelope heard more gunfire, barely jolting out of the way of Achilles rifle fire. With the Mimic still unresponsive she couldn’t return fire; but she had more than just that. She could feel her reactor strain under the invasions and plasma strikes yet she pushed it harder as she bifurcated a hacking stream towards both mechs at once. Her visor showed the data fire like bullets to the cores of these machines. The Tokugawa gave to her hostile code immediately, laughable HA computer security is how she found out about Waterloo’s newest deployment in the first place. Suddenly the plasma spears half receded into their sheathes, while Ajax’s gunfire went pointlessly wide. But the Swallowtail proved more difficult; moreso than the Pegasus it was designed to be a proficient hacking mech, and the pilot had proven her equal at each point of this fight. And that thought ate away at Penelope, feeding a deep seated rage that, if she had the time to think, would scare the girl she was just a few months ago. This worthless piece of shit was not her equal. She needed him, both of them, to know she was better than them. Dedicating her sole focus to the attempt, regardless of whether Ajax managed to clip a couple shots, puncture the fuel line of one of her jet thrusters, Penelope could feel through the war of hack and counterhack, the pilot’s panic, the growing sloppiness in his strings. Finally, finally, she punched through, and she watched in delight as it’s rifle went limp, its perfect aiming systems down. No thought from there, deep down Penelope knew she needed to capitalize.

Pedal to the metal, she turned her jets on to max, wincing as one of the auxiliary thrusters exploded and broke off. But gritting her teeth she remained on course until she could safely turn them off and let inertia carry her at max speed. The Swallowtail pilot tried to scutter away, but-

“Bang.”

One of its legs collapse under it, long enough for Torrent to fly past it at max speed, clotheslining it with the base of her charged blade.

The two collapsed into each other behind the tent, momentarily out of Achilles’ view. The Mimic slithered up her wrist, both of Torrent’s hands reaching down to pin the Swallowtail below it grabbing at the rifle and with a satisfying snap ripping it from its mount. Her {Eye} could see that it’s reactor was on the brink of giving out, even worse than hers was. Immediately she tried to strike for that digital heart, but the pilot tried to hold her back. Another war of datastreams erupted between the pilot, but something undeniable separate Penelope from this man: she was not fighting to survive. Smoke poured from the Pegasus, and she did not care. He did. Thus, in that war of wills, he lost. They were both quietly thankful when the machine merely sputtered to an agonizing death, and did not immediately meltdown. Penny climbed up, pulling a lever to open the vents to full and clear Torrent of its heat. She regarded the downed mech briefly, and then turned away.

The tent next to her exploded.

Achilles stood there, spears now bursting with life. As they ripped through canvas she saw how they grew, able to reach her from even there. The Commander was going all out.

Finally she thought.

Penny looked down to the Mimic; to Find Me In The Torrent, her cosmic miracle. To them, she whispered.

“I… don’t care what happens after. I don’t care what it costs. Just… help me kill her.” She couldn’t believe what she was saying, the way her voice twisted into a snarl. She couldn’t believe that she meant it. But she did, and if… the machine, or the Mimic, or something, was listening…

It answered.

The Mimic coalesced around Torrent’s hand; warping the metal now, twisting the steel flesh as the fingers bent, the palm opening to now form the barrel of a massive cannon. 

Penelope took a deep breath; she spoke, slow, quiet.

“Heaven Wills It”

Immediately her visor’s view was overwhelmed with new data, systems adjustments, a cascade of errors as something that should not be able to happen nevertheless occurred.

Penelope starred down Ajax. Close behind her were the untouched Shermans, the rest of the camp. Penny struggled to stare Ajax down fully. If she thought too hard, she’d remember what she heard of Iphigenia's last fight.

Her comrades called it an honorable clash between warriors. And she could tell why some found comfort in that kind of self-deception. But Penelope could not care about honor, or what lies she’s been telling herself to get by. She could not be objective about this: this is the woman that killed her wife.

“Bang.”

She took a step back, then sprinting, barely skirting around the exterior of the Tokugawa’s ridiculous range. A dent in the armor around its chest formed.

“Bang.”

The dent grew deeper. Hostile data flowed from her mech with every breath; she flooded pilot’s chamber with excess heat and shut off her life support. The first spear wavered, but the Commander adjusted, of course she did, and plunged the second deep through Torrent’s stomach. Penny felt the burning heat directly below her, could feel it begin to melt deeper and deeper into her heart.

She remained on the retreat. Her {Eye} revealed how the Tokugawa’s reactor was burning hot, but she knew it could stand to burn even hotter. Her thinking mind valued her own safety, but she could feel (how… could she feel?) the Mimic getting antsy.

“Fine, dammit.” she snarled, Taking a bold step forward past another thrusting spear. She cursed, she could throw off their targeting as much as she liked but this close?

The Tokugawa rushed to meet her, the two mecha colliding at the edge of the ruined camp. Using her charged blade she held back one of the spears as she tried to lift the cannon upward. 

She could feel the shudder as the Tokugawa’s second arm wrapped around them, as a jolt like lightning ran through them as Achilles buried the Torch Spear deep into Torrent. Penelope heard the shriek of tearing, heating metal before she saw it; the spear punched straight into her cockpit, a scant few inches from her body. The plasma spat and licked at the edges of the room, Penny almost instantly feeling the burns that, if given any time longer would never heal. She looked onward, but the damage broke her {Eye}, screen barely visible. She ripped off the visor, looking out, as she twisted the Mimic up, she could barely keep her eyes open, but, but, Heaven-

“Bang!”

This time it screamed, it roared As Find Me In The Torrent pressed the cannon arm against the side of the Tokugawa. An overwhelming upheaval of visceral metal punched straight through the mech, mere second later Penny could feel the plasma spear go inert. She panted, exhilarated by the fight, by the pain; by the site of the Tokugawa fall on the ground, almost all of it’s right side blown to pieces. Penny flexed the cannon arm, watched as the Mimic reformed, seemingly gorging itself on the scrap metal it just helped create.

A request for communications came from Ajax. Penelope accepted.

“... I… I surrender. Just please, leave him out of this. That’s what you promised in the first place, right?”

…

“Yeah. Get out of your mech. It’s over.”

Penelope crawled out of her cockpit, out onto an outstretched arm of Torrent that reached town to the Tokugawa. She saw Ajax, bleeding, coughing, do the same, clutching a wounded arm as she walked up Torrent’s. Penelope had her pistol, of course, but she had not drawn it. Between Ajax’s towering height and low position, and Penelope standing above her, the two were able to meet at eye level.

The commander was professional, she had to give her that. Stared her death down with a militant stoicism, that could almost ruin the moment. Almost.

Penny began to speak, but her voice caught in her throat. She tried to twist herself into that snarling version of herself she just was but… she couldn’t. Her chest tightened.

“She was the world to me, y’know. After a lifetime of nothing, just pure obligations, having her… made that future one I wouldn’t mind. And you took her from me.”

The commander did not emote, much anyway, breaking eye contact with Penny as she sighed. “Look I’m not going to apologize for… wait, who was she even? Who the hell am I dying for?”

Penny, too, looked away. “...An atlas pilot.”

Ajax’s brow furrowed, sorting through a year of memories, flashing before her eyes in greater detail. Then, suddenly it all snapped to focus. She laughed.

“Her? She fought like a demon, y’know. I saw her throw a Barbarossa, real scary bitch. That… you a solider, miss?”

“Not by trade.”

“I figured. A soldier wouldn’t think like this. Cause, imagine if everyone acted like you. People die in wars. It’s just the way of things. If you were hoping for some deathbed apology, sorry; it was a good fight, and I’m glad I won.”

Penny’s face twisted, just a little.

“I… I know, this isn’t reasonable. But I, I-” “Because it happened to you? Arianne, Tora, they both had people who loved them too. Siblings, partners, parents. Me? Got two partners and a kid back home. Are any of them entitled to revenge?” 

“I, I, look-” She said, starting, stumbling, feeling something twist in her head, in her heart. She needed it to stop, if she was going to go through with this.

 Without ceremony she kicked Ajax down into the palm of Torrent. She stopped on her chest, suddenly not thinking about the pain she’s causing, or what may happen to her after this.

“I… don’t care. I really can't say I give a shit. I don’t care if this is right, or if your friends hunt me down ‘cross the Star Cross sea. You hurt me. I want to hurt you.”

Something began to crack, ever so slightly, within Ajax’s confidence in death. Suddenly, she was once again staring down a demon.

“Kid, look. The Purview isn’t going to let this slide, y’know. They’re going to find you. You’re going to die.”

Penny… laughed. It was wicked, empty, poisonous on her breath. “Yeah, I’m sure they’ll have an easy time with that. Hell, let them try; if they even care. I mean, really, think your little squad is worth that much attention?” She flexed her hand, pointer finger pressed against Ajax’s head as she cocked her thumb

“You’re nothing. And me?

“I’m Nobody.”

…

Bang.

…

…

When Polyphemus cried out in pain, the cyclops replied,

“Polyphemus, what ails you? Why do you cry, breaking the silence? Surely, nobody is hurting you.”

And yet he cried again, “Yes, yes! Nobody is hurting me, is killing me!”

Silence.

Then, “If Nobody is hurting you, then Heaven wills it. There is nothing to be done but pray.”

[valentimmy]

sephiroth but this time he did an oopsie :(

[scriblesandbits]

me when I meet up with my rival after a solid perigee of not hearing from her and she’s missing half her face and her eyes (eye?) lacks the same mischievous gleam

(wwhats been happenin in your wworld

heard that you fell in lovve or near enough)

(Bonus doodle and like. Pinterest quote dump under the cut sorreyyyyy)

Goofy textposts

and the more serious ones that live in my pinboard

[spicyraeman]

Lae'zel doodle with some post zaith'isk hcs

[dyketennant]

sorry to everyone who knows me but that last reblog has me thinking about taz balance SPECIFICALLY taako and lup. like. imagine you’ve already had to live through hell and ruin your body and your perception of yourself through a literal suffering game. and then just as you’re probably longing for some sort of comfort or release you Remember. you remember and you suddenly realize that there has been an emptiness in you all this time that you didn’t even know about, but god it’s so gaping wide and encompassing and how did you live? hell, how can you live with yourself now? your sister, your family, your heart, Your Person, the one you’ve shared everything with your whole life. and one day she was gone with only a hastily written note in her place. you never got closure. and worse than that, you didn’t even get to keep her memory. you forgot her. you fucking lost her twice and you couldn’t even mourn her the second time because you didn’t know what you had lost. like. no fucking wonder he told lucretia she took everything from him by removing lup and her memory from his life he LITERALLY LOST EVERYTHING!!! fuck dude i’m gonna be sick. wtf

[nyatbinary-81]

so if the experimental cures based on shadows dna gave maria black and red eyes like eggman used to be depicted with and she used them to take the fall for shadow allowing him to live on earth where he grows up with/raises eggman and they have a very strained semi-mutual-interests-based relationship until SA2 where eggman unearths maria in a G.U.N. bunker would that be fucked up or what

[autisticrosewilson]

So do you guys actually think that Jason's entire story, relationship to the others, and philosophy amounts to him being a rebellious teen who wants his dad's attention? Like are you 100% serious? I thought you were joking about that but too many of you are saying it with your whole chest.

And what the fuck is this "Bruce antagonizing Jason is fanon!" Shit I've been seeing? You guys are aware that a parent can love their kid and still be a shit parent right? I know you guys don't want to fathom the thought that maybe your blorbo might also occasionally have to face responsibility for consistently endangering children but let's not start being delusional now.

Bruce does love his kids, that doesn't mean that he hasn't hurt them. And I'd also argue that for the most part he feels in the right for it, and he's said multiple times that he believes it's for their own good, so you can't even argue that he's sorry about it. It's okay for you guys to admit that your PERSONAL INTERPRETATION of the character wouldn't do that but don't sit here and pretend that it's not a facet of the source.

[sidesteppostinghours]

ok. question.

ortega ended up hallucinating sidestep after they "died", but sidestep doesnt know about that. they know it got bad, but never the full extent of how their death affected them. so if your sidestep Did learn, if they found out ortega looked for them in every little piece they could, would that change anything for your sidesteps? would their relationship with ortega be any different?

[willyhoos]

you know for someone who loves metamy so much. i gotta say having it be fully unrequited is honestly fitting with metal's whole arc (or rather his LACK of arc)

he wants what he can't have. he's not anything or anyone, he doesn't deserve it. what would he even do with it?

"i don't think i have anything. i don't think i can have anything. i don't know how to have something." (src: 17776)

whether or not you subscribe to the roboticized metal theory, it doesn't change that metal's goals are not aligned with reality. ironically it's the robot that is unable to logically analyze his situation. he wants to be sonic but it doesn't change the fact that he isn't. he wants to win but it doesn't change the fact that he won't. his desires are narratively and morally unfulfillable because what he wants is wrong (factually and ethically.)

and so if he, in theory, wanted amy rose how could he ever actually have her?

the most she would give him is "you're more like him than i thought."

because he's Not sonic. all he can be is sufficiently Like him (sometimes). whatever metal claims he is (and honestly whatever he ACTUALLY is) is irrelevant because he can't MAKE himself sonic. he can't make himself the version of sonic that amy loves. amy loves sonic for WHAT he is (good) not what he's named. the most she could ever do is passively appreciate the traits of sonic that metal is able to imitate. emulate. simulate. fabricate.

sonic's role (in the meta story and in-universe) is so unique and treasured and irreplaceable. the only way to kick him out would be to, idk, replace him with an identical copy and put the old sonic in a lose-lose situation where he could not possibly be believed or sympathized with. or something.

say he gets "rehabilitated," rebels against eggman... you know those metamy fics. what is he then?

-> another job well done. another good deed for team sonic (y'know, the real one).

because it's not just that he's Not Sonic. (and he isn't. even if you believe he once was, he's not anymore in any way that is relevant to the narrative. the narrative, as you know, is the real sonic's pov.) it's that he's not even really a person anymore.

he's been forcibly depersonalized, dethroned, removed from his role (+ promptly replaced with something canonically better!) and isolated from any semblance of humanization. he doesn't even have a mouth. either it was taken from him or he was never given one. and we are not given any glimpse into his thoughts. (they're not important.)

like. this is a dead end. he is a dead end. there's nowhere to run.

he won't "get the girl" (pardon the term) not because he's evil not because he's not sonic but because he is not a "person" in any sense. not literally not socially not narratively not practically not really

idk. whether metal falls in love with amy genuinely, or if it's just out of jealousy/desire to want what the real sonic has/instinct to emulate the real sonic's emotions... it's doomed. he's just a ghost from a doomed timeline and everything he will ever do is destined to fail. he can't kill sonic. he can't hold amy's hand. he can't do anything but lose.

in that sense, metal "losing" amy to the real sonic (as if metal was ever even a contender, as if he was ever real enough) is just another failure in a long, long string of mostly unpleasant memories of a character who doesn't even get to go by his real name. because someone more important took it already has it.

[bean-spring]

Mel haters are so funny to me because they quite literally have nothing to say against her besides "nooo she used Jayce for hextech!!" well, it's what happens when that's your fucking job

[deadrlngers]

oc deep dive

i was tagged by @devilbrakers and @ruvviks thank you both soso much <3

tagging (no pressure): @marictheirins @mojaves @lucaanis @faarkas @kibellah @risingsh0t @pawnguild @baelavelaryon @ncytiri @tethrras @aezyrraesh and anyone else that would like to do this!!

What common/uncommon fear do they have?

Abandonment. Her own mother left her when she was nothing but a child so it got ingrained into her system that something about her isn’t right or enough, or both, to make people stick around in the long run.

Forgetting or in general losing her memory. This is mainly a repercussion of what she went through with the relic and Johnny. Basically the idea of missing pieces and bits of her life terrifies her. That leads to the fear of losing her identity, losing herself basically. Who am i? Who was i before this? Am i still myself? etc etc

The ocean. She’s not exactly scared of water (she actually has no problem with swimming or pools for example) but very large bodies of water that she can’t see the end of unsettle her. Also needles don’t really make her feel...relaxed.

Do they have any pet peeves?

Vesper HATES being bossed around, she’s the one bossing around others and she likes to keep it that way lmao

Slow drivers make her road rage explode which is already hanging by a thin thread in a city like night city. Loud chewing/people who eat with their mouth open irk her, it might even make her too disgusted to keep on eating herself.

Being touched by strangers and people she doesn’t know well. Being lied to grinds her balls into dust, especially when the other person knows she’s aware of their lies but they keep on playing the part (this is basically Fenix, sorry).

People that are too passive and don’t take action and sit on the possibilities for too long; she hates waiting around and prefers action to inaction.

Dare i say rich people? But more in the sense of...she’s annoyed by very big displays of wealth. She grew up almost into poverty so she’s very prejudiced towards anyone that instead grew up wealthy (<her own brother for example AND step-siblings). When she hears people mindlessly talk about money Vesper is very quick to judge them as “out of touch with reality”.

What are three items you can find in their bedroom?

Cigarettes, empty packs included because she forgets to throw them away and sometimes she stores things inside the packs like lighters and other small objects (and forgets about them too...)

At least one gun near her nightstand, just to be safe.

Lots of polaroids, mostly taken by someone else and gifted to her. Some date back to her teenage years, some are with old friends no longer in her life, others see her and Fenix back when they first dated. She cares about one that portrays her and Daniel during a dinner most of all: since they grew up separated, that's the very first photo she has with her brother.

What do they notice first in a person?

Demeanor and...their ego, if it makes sense. If their self-esteem or sense of self-importance is sky high she will notice immediately (and already settle on disliking them). Vesper likes confidence, she’s attracted to it, but overdoing it breaks the spell.

Then their intentions–are they here to talk? Attack? Flirt? Ask questions? Basically she’s already scanning for hints that will tell her why they decided to approach her. Body language is a big one as well. Then eyes and smell, if they are close enough.

A beautiful, charming smile catches her eye immediately.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how high is their pain tolerance?

Physically: 9. She wasn’t called the iron maiden for nothing during her boxing days. She can take one hell of a hard beating and still stay on her feet. It doesn’t help that she gets very careless with it at times and she pushes her body to the limit even when she’s already bleeding and in pain (the infamous Akira vs Vesper fight during Hanako’s kidnapping is a good example; Akira is a special trained soldier and has very expensive cyberware that specifically focuses on enhancing their physical strength. Suffice to say Fenix was K.O after a few hits while Vesper stood her ground and even inflicted a few serious hits to Akira. They might be enemies but Akira developed a sense of respect for Vesper after that).

Mentally: 8. Composed, resolved, focused–she doesn’t give a fuck about what you will say to her, quite honestly. Good luck trying to get through her. Vesper is pretty confident, the most you might get out of her is a scoff or a mocking smirk. Bark like a dog you are below me moron type of deal. Plus she went through some Shit her whole life, she’s kind of used to it by now. Also she firmly believes that she needs to be the real strength to her loved ones, too many people look up to her and she can’t allow any weakness.

Emotionally: 4. She tries to hold it together, thinks she’s not showing how upset or hurt she is but it’s very visible on her face. Her main issue is rage–and her first emotional reaction–so she tends to lash out very quickly. She tries to keep in control with the people she loves (and often fails when pushed too far) but she’s a complete tornado with the rest of the world. It’s hard to break through her shell and she doesn’t allow many to get to the core, her heart. Giving someone that much power over her emotions is something that scares her. If hurt by a loved one she will feel that deeply and for a long time…and she isn’t very fair with the making up afterwards.

Do they go into fight or flight mode when under pressure? (Or freeze or fawn?)

In a hostile situation it’s fight, no doubt. She doesn’t shy away from a fight and prefers a physical resolution to mediation.

In any other situation i think maybe freeze, start a verbal fight most likely. She’s not really the type to fawn. More than freeze she shuts down completely and grows this incredibly thick second skin that doesn’t break under any pressure or hit, she will simply go silent and unresponsive.

What animal represents them best?

This is a difficult one for me but i’m going with an otter! A bit uncommon maybe but otters are fairly peaceful animals, some more solitary, but they can be aggressive when necessary and some tend to be territorial which is exactly how i perceive Vesper. Not a danger if you don’t bother her, but show yourself as a threat and she can get very hostile. Also i read somewhere otters love to cuddle, idk if it’s true but it would fit. Also Fenix has her contact saved as otter girl and sends her photos of otters and says “you” so i’m picking them.

How would a stranger likely describe them?

Intimidating. She’s 1.84m with wide shoulders and muscular arms, plus her expression (even when relaxed!) doesn’t look very friendly or approachable. Standoffish, stoic, distant, maybe a touch apathetic. Basically if you approach her you will feel like you are doing the mortal sin of bothering her and for that you will be sentenced to death. This idea can be quickly proved wrong, just please don’t bring to her stupid, time-wasting inquiries.

Interesting but reserved. And a presence that exudes safety also. If you are into the stoic type who doesn’t express much at first you will be naturally attracted to uncovering more of her.

Appearance wise people notice her physical presence, then the few scars on her face and the star tattoo right below her right eye. Also when she was younger she used to have gold fangs that naturally caught people’s eye. It’s not uncommon to see Vesper sporting a few bruises here and there so she’s either perceived as a troublemaker or the “too cool for me to approach” type. Depends on the stranger.

It’s very unlikely that she’d smile at a stranger but her smile would be described as beautiful. The little star tattoo makes the smile look all more warm when it reaches her eyes, the sensation is akin to looking at a twinkling star!!

Do they have any hobbies?

Partying (she’s surprisingly the right company you’d want to have fun with), dancing and specifically ballroom dance (latin mainly; bachata, cha cha cha etc etc), playing her bass guitar, listening to music, tinkering around with her motorbike and boxing. Even if she left that life behind her, Vesper still keeps exercising–both for its usefulness on her line of work and because it’s a great outlet for stress and anger.

Daniel is trying very hard to drag her into gaming, still a work in progress.

[thistledropkick]

So uh... Immediately after Wrestle Kingdom, the big show that brings in both new and lapsed NJPW fans, and Wrestle Dynasty, the AEW crossover show that was intended to bring new overseas fans to NJPW... New Japan management decided to take the only commentary staff member who speaks any Japanese at all off commentary for two months? So the only remaining English language commentator will just not have any clue what anybody is saying during the entire show? Right when a large influx of new English speaking fans is expected? And they're doing all this just as Kidani, who owns NJPW's parent company, was complaining to Tokyo Sports about how NJPW isn't getting enough overseas fans? Have I got that right?

[anonymocha]

if you are still doing requests, can the nation see tooth fairy examining vila's teeth (girl probably has them shark teeth or something)

ANON…. THAT BRAIN OF YOURS………. 🤫🧏

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

I feel bad for Starlo.

Star has a point, idk what the four were ticked off about, there is like 99% chance everyone willingly participated in the trolley problem, based on what we've seen of his behavior thus far it's not like Starlo to be that big of a jerk/drag them by force/yell at them to do it. Ed's words:

he does it because Star asks NICELY

clearly jealous

It genuinely seemed like a fun time/fun roleplay, especially since every day is the same. Like, the five are supposed to be a rowdy and adventures bunch, what exactly did Starlo do wrong, I'm genuinely confused and curious. Except taking a big liking in Clover (his posse should know that this is a big moment for him, according to Blackjack they've known each other since high school and had the same liking for westerns. So they were basically a nerd gang.) Starlo was kind, patient and considerate towards Clover the whole time, even warned Mooch about them not being bandits, taught Clover gun safety, wanted to bring his posse along for a fun time, thanked Ace for telling him about getting Clover a new hat...

Sure, at first he only liked Clover for being a human, but as Ceroba says, that changed and he grew to genuinely care about them, plus I can't help but think Star saw himself in Clover and that's part of the reason he was so proud of them all the time even when they messed up (I'll talk more about this at some point)

What exactly made Ace want to leave the gang? He even said how he doesn't mind "getting run over by the fake train"

he's so nice. says sorry for forgetting the safety goggles even when he was scatterbrained due to his excitement. I love him so much

The only real "faults" (I'll call them temporary faults) I saw in Star during the Wild East section was that he was even more enthusiastic and more proud than usual. But how couldn't he be when he met a member of the species that he has admired for so long because they have real cowboys and sheriffs on the surface (who are seen as brave heroes who deliver justice, while Star canonically feels like a nobody farmer). His posse should have realized Clover wouldn't be there forever and just let their boss enjoy himself with his "deputy who'd have to leave sooner or later anyway"(or be more patient with him/ask him why he feels this strongly towards Clover/if there's a deeper reason for that). His friends including Ceroba just turn their back on him so quickly instead. The moment he's gotten the chance to feel valued for once and put himself first and not have to take care of this whole town and everyone in it and live his dream of meeting a real human, suddenly "his personality is damaged?"

Star's literally built this whole town, organised everything, he worries about everyone, Ceroba (plus was the one to give her emotional strength before and after Clover's sacrifice), Kanako, the monsters, his family, struggles with feelings of worthlessness yet never wipes that smile off his face, always does his best to be hopeful and optimistic and make others laugh, gave his posse a nap time so they don't become exhausted, gave Ceroba a free home, didn't act upon his feelings towards her and was a 110% supportive, caring friend instead. THAT'S who he is. He's the papa bear of this friend group, the glue holding everyone together.

He was just *really* excited. Y'all know he's insecure and just wishes to escape who he is and yet y'all blame him for liking Clover so much. Yeah, the four are very clearly jealous. But why won't the four of you control your feelings for a while? As mentioned, Clover WILL HAVE TO LEAVE EVENTUALLY. They won't be Star's "deputy" forever (the kid who's just as into westerns as he is, who values justice just as much, who also values doing the right thing. Someone he clearly felt understood in the presence of, whom he loved; just look at the way he talks about Clove during Showdown). Star seems genuinely confused of what he did wrong poor guy just wanted to live his fantasy for once and feel important:

Even at the beginning Moray's like "oh no Martlet is upset" Mooch replies "don't be a buzzkill nothing exciting ever happens around here" and Ray's like "Yeah you've got a point"

If you all agreed to have a little fun with a human who will very soon leave forever why is Starlo's enthusiasm such a big problem? If the posse weren't into this after all (unless they were simply too jealous which could have been solved with a honest talk and a little patience) why are you doing this "rowdy" job with Star in the first place? Do you want your boring routine day to day life so much back? Or just for Clover to leave (which they will soon enough)? You, western enthusiasts, literally met a real human, A HUMAN FROM WESTERNS YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PASSIONATELY INTO (clearly not as passionate as Star but passionate ENOUGH to understand where he's coming from).

... okay.

[quietwingsinthesky]

the problem with a lot Generic Het Pairings isnt that they’re straight, it’s that the fact that they’re straight-passing means the writers use that as an excuse not to do anything interesting with them because the romantic angle is a given so who’s going to waste time exploring why these two would actually get together

[cherry-treelane]

I find it so ironically funny when hardcore Debbie defenders use the defense that she was just a victimised teenage girl (agreed) and then proceed to slander Fiona and express their hatred for her character and lack of sympathy

as if being an adult magically absolves an individual of the horrifying trauma that precedes them and screws up their mentality and actions

funnily enough these people get mad at others for "expecting Debbie to be an innocent angel and hating on her for acting out as a result of trauma" (also agreed, debbie does deserve more sympathy, she can't be expected to grow up to be a perfect saint when she's been through so much) yet seem to hold Fiona to the same unattainable standards and put her on a pedestal as if she wasnt a child that was forced to intensely grow up while never actually being raised

like lets put this into perspective and remember that fiona grew up surrounded by corrupt morals and insanely screwed up behaviour yet still emerged as messed up, yes, but surprisingly good considering the situation she was in??? she had to navigate basic things such as morals and being a good, responsible person on her own. imagine how difficult it must be to lead a bunch of kids, including yourself, with no previous role model or good example of your own to follow. most of the time, she always tried to do what she thought was best and would have the most desirable outcome