#that man had fucking plot armor of the goddamn gods

[delphoxqueen]

Ludicolo. Read the tags.

if yes, feel free to name drop!!! and id love to hear why 👀

[graceful-not]

The fact that they really had a fatherhood arc for the ninja ahsgjahdhd. and also. a childhood arc???? which isn't a thing bc childhood is just a state of being it's not really a journey unless you count coming of age??? oh my god Sensei Wu had a fucking coming of age arc I can't 😭 LLOYD HAVING TO FIGHT HIS DAD AGAIN??? THIS MAN CANT CATCH A BREAK FR also I love how one of the big things that gave him hope and kept him going was the possibility of the ninja coming back home. Lloyd being sooo insanely dependent on his family despite being the all powerful chosen one gets me bro he loves them so much he. he kind of needs them??? bshshs as he grows more independent. but like what would he have done if they never came back. the whole thing was "survive until the ninja get here" (I LOVE HOW THE SHOW STILL EMPHASISES THE THEME OF THE NINJA BEING HIS PROPHESIED PROTECTORS!! THEY ARE IMPORTANT TO THE PROPHECY AND NARRATIVE EVEN AFTER THE CROWNING OF THE CHOSEN ONE WHICH ALMOST NEVER HAPPENS) but what if they never did. like what would he do. also AUAUAUA HIM USING THE ART OF THE SILENT FIST IM!! IM!!!!!!! God. him and his dad are so. they literally did a straight up Came Back Wrong plot!! THE FACT GARMADON HAD TO BE TOLD BY HARUMI THAT HE HAD A SON AT THE BEGINNING!!!! her weird manipulation makes me insane she's. subservient to him but she also is responsible for all of his current goals and his worldview. ALSO THE THING WITH LLOYD WAS SO. SHE DIDNT HAVE TO DO THATTTT 😭😭. wait if garmadon pseudo-adopts her does that make her and Lloyd stepsiblings. or was Garmadon saying "I have no son" a pseudo-disownment. WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS GODDAMN FAMILY!!! I hate how Lloyd nuzzled into her a little bit during the "getting the mask of hatred" scene WHY. AUGH. HOW OLD ARE THEY WHY DONT THE NINJA HAVE A CANON AGE WHAT THE FUCK DOES "GROWN UP TEENAGERS" MEAN??¿????? but seriously the fatherhood arc was so funny. like I absolutely ADORED it (their different parenting styles and the way they meld together and clash and also their unique concern for him as a charge to take care of but also respect as their Sensei but he's also just a kid!!! AUAUAUA. AND THEM TEACHING HIM LESSONS IM SJISHSJS I loved how. bitchy Wu got here??? Like when he went "but you... taught me a lesson as well. You taught me how to lie. Did you really think the dragon armor would control Firstborne? She accepted my father because she sensed good in his heart. what does she sense in yours?" that was badass as hell!!) but if you think Abt it for 2 seconds it's hysterical. Sorry there's too much going on in this season I'm. my brain. I loved the return of the elemental masters they are so💖💖 Karlof Neuro Shade Skylor Griffin my beloveds... ALSO THE BOUNTY HUNTER DESIGNS ARE SO COOL FOR NO REASON??? I LOVE ALL OF THEM LIKE???

[sonofthesaiyans]

This day, five years ago...

Was the day Attack on Titan ceased to be an anime or a manga worth the time of day. 

All because of one certain fucking character who Hajime Isayama insisted on pushing upon us at every turn, and in doing so cemented them as easily the most controversial and most loathed new character in the series.....

Because this little bitch is responsible for one certain fucking scene from the most wretched and most uncalled for chapter in the saga....

One that is easily, the worst bit of fiction I have ever laid eyes on.....

Five years ago today, Chapter 105......AKA Assassin’s Bullet.......the day Attack on Titan ripped away our beloved Potato Girl, Sasha Braus. One of the series’ best, and most beloved, tossed away like trash for a character who failed to justify their very existence. 

I still remember how my heart skipped a beat and subsequently sank when I read the first leaks early that morning........And how sick I felt when the full story came out later. I was FURIOUS when this motherfucking chapter came out, and having to look back at even a single frame of that shit still hits hard now. I never forgave this goddamned chapter, nor have I ever forgiven the BASTARD responsible for it. Sasha Braus was a character with tons of untapped potential and the rest of the manga and season four of AOT with it have been blackened by the shadow that cast by this one goddamned death scene that was neither justified or of any value to the larger plot.  People have gone to insane lengths to justify Gabi Braun, even though the hate for her remains vocal. Her worst defenders have done everything to convince us that Sasha had no other role to play but to die so a character who has absolutely no redeeming qualities to speak of and an absurd level of plot armor could sweep in and essentially replaced Eren Yeager and company as the new main character, with the parallels between herself and Eren having the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the forehead. 

And speaking of plot armor........We still have NO VALID EXPLANATION for why Sasha was the only member of the original squad to not have a breastplate. It’s a plot hole few have acknowledge or pursued with any seriousness, but it should be indicative of how much Isayama did not care how much the integrity of the plot suffered so long as he had his way with a character that NOBODY asked for. 

To him and Gabi’s worst defenders across the web, I say they can all go fuck themselves. 

Attack on Titan really dropped the ball with its final arcs, but THIS was where I drew the line. I was no longer invested in jackshit after that, and all I saw as I followed the remaining chapters was a concentrated effort to annihilate Sasha from the saga, and to reinforce Gabi as the unwanted replacement through a redemption arc that was from its inception, completely insincere and not earned. It’s such a poisonous moment in AOT’s history and I still remain overtly hostile towards those who defend the damage it did.  As far as I’m concerned, they had one simple task, to LEAVE SASHA ALONE.  They should have left well enough alone, and I am not done pursuing those who had an active hand in this. Some of those individuals will likely hear from me in the very near future. God willing, IN person. But, we shall see. 

Assassin’s Bullet is one of the single ugliest things in all of anime, and Gabi Braun, you are still one of anime’s worst characters. Nobody gets points for their part in bringing this hideous scene to life, and you certainly don’t get points for defending its existence. And after that godawful finale, its existence has become even less justifiable. 

This is not a subject I wanted to have to revisit tonight, but not to do so I feel would betray why I even set up this account, and an insult to a character I still cherish deeply. I still want Sasha Braus back, and I’m not gonna be deterred.  I only hope the finale episode of Attack on Titan proves the death knell for Isayama’s reputation, that man has fucked with our heads for so many years, he should not be rewarded for it. For me, the hate is definitely still very much personal.  I should’ve quit the series after Chapter 93 when Ymir was revealed to be gone.....Nothing but regrets to be had after Chapter 105 came out though. For the things I still love from Attack on Titan.......I regret ever watching it in the first place. That for me is Assassin’s Bullet’s legacy.  To hell with this chapter and the episode it spawned.  There is no Attack on Titan without Sasha Braus. 

FIGHT FOR HER........

[chidoroki]

Hell’s Paradise EP9

aka: plot armor vs immortal enemy

“There are too many mysteries to solve. I need to cool my head and review the facts.” And this is exactly how I feel when I watch Heavenly Delusion.

Gabimaru, please.. I don’t think it’s very ideal for you to act on your own, especially when dealing with the tensen.

Oh we got real creepy trees praying and chanting to something.

Damn, Mei followed him all the way out here? I dunno whether to be thankful since she’s apparently strong or scared since she’s still a child.

Fuck, out of all the tensen, you had to encounter the one who killed Tenza?? Only they seem so laid back now?

OKAY Gabimaru, just break their arm while you’re at it! OH! And their neck! Not that it mattered at all because yeah.. it spun right back around.

Goddamn, even his blaze ninjutsu didn’t slow it down one bit.

Yooo look at them both go! Gabimaru is doing quite well at staying alive anyways.

Wait, that kick of his glowed a bit and actually made the tense spit up blood? Did Gabimaru unlock some new ability or is Mei unknowingly helping from the sidelines since that glow sorta looked like what she did a while back?

Don’t just sit around and tank those hits! Move away from them already!

Holy shit, they keep exchanging such serious punches with each other. I know Gabimaru has serious protagonist plot armor but damn!

Flowers are sprouting from the tensen though, so is it actually dead this time? Or.. just turning into some kinda monster. It vaguely looks like something we saw in the OP.

Ah hell, now we got electricity to deal with.

Oh this little dream is so cute, look how happy he is!

Yo someone has to come and help this man, Gabimaru is seriously at his limits.

Mei, your precious child! Thank god!

Pfftt I love how quick Yuzuriha changes her mind about things.

Wait a damn minute.. does Isabella’s va voice all of the tensen when they’re in the lady form? And the males share one va as well?

Ooohhoho Chobei and Toma are still alive! Hell yeah!

No well in hell I’m gonna remember those seven names.

“They all look and sound the same, but their personalities and roles are different.” So they really do just have two different va voicing all of them. That’s kinda cool.

Oh.. so all those creepy trees earlier were actually the villagers originally.

I don’t think Fuchi and Tamiya are the kind of backup Gabimaru is looking for.

[bugcatcherwill]

OHHHH OMG this just reminded me I swear I saw a little comic once of Cece dressing up little bokoblins and being all silly and fabulous with them,,,,,,,,,, even if that isn't gonna be the case here I'm praying please don't make her a bitch to the monsters I will cry /j

I gotta dig up my old loz au because I remember I made my Reede the sweetest old man ever and I want to draw him hitting RAtC Reede over the head with a ukulele KDJFHKJHKJH

this chapter made me experience the entire emotional spectrum oh my god I was so scared Starenday didn't have plot armor yet thank the LORD. I'm beating Reede up. pummeling him in his bum knees

I wonder what the other sillies are up to,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I've been Kobb-deprived for like five weeks I can't fucking take it !!!!!!! /j

obligatory end note because my opinions are unchanged this fic fucking bangs so hard and every single monster ever is rotating in my brain. they are my FRIENDS

ps since I forgor to leave an ask for the last few chapters oiuuuuuh I love Starenday I'm so excited and scared I can't wait to see what everything thinks of another boko,,,,,, especially Kobb because of the whole. Beheading. patting it on the shioulder

ALSO BECAUSE I GENUINELY DON'T KNOW IF I CANT REMEMBER IF I JUST CANT FIND ANYTHING OR IF THERE ISNT ANYTHING THERE?? WERE ALL OF HIGHLANDERS [MINUS SLEDGE] RED BOKOBLINS TOO OR WHAT COLORS WERE THEY ??? I'VE WANTED TO DRAW THEM FOR SO LONG BUT I KEEP FORGETTING TO ASK YOUWHAT KIND OF BOKOS THEY WERE JZDFJKHDK

THANK YOU I ALREADY LOVE STARENDAY SO MUCH AND IT'S ONLY BEEN REAL FOR 2 CHAPTERS

AND I REMEMBER THAT CECE COMIC TOO

THAT ANON MENTIONING CECE MADE ME THINK OF IT AS WELL IT WAS SUCH A SWEET COMIC SHE'S SO SILLY ASHKDFKJHASD

AND LMAO I'm still in the drafting phase for what to do with Cece. There's many routes I could take with her. ESPECIALLY since the Hyrule by the time ToTK rolls around will barely be the Hyrule in the actual games hjlkasdlkjhf

Many ideas, though,,,

Also god I'm also having character-withdrawal. I had SO MUCH FUN writing the Hateno Return Arc but YEAH I miss the other blorbos I miss Wren and the Yiga blockheads I miss Purah and Robbie and their shenanigans I miss Mar'ska being Mar'ska I miss all the visitors in Kakariko right now,,,

Goddamn, that's a lot of characters lkjasdfkadsf

The pain of only being able to have scenes with 3-4 characters at a time with so many characters,,,

And to answer your last question, all of the Highlanders were red minus Sledge! I really wanted to sell that "low rank squad gets freed and is Very In Over Their Heads" vibe with A Moblin's Rock Bottom and I really feel like I captured that well :D

[little-bloodied-angel]

The way I see it this ties in with "it was an ambush. Completely unprofessional".

This man is a pirate. How the fuck is he so offended (and he genuinely is) at "an ambush"?

He bought the hostages fair and square. The fact that the natives who really really obviously don't want anything to do with white people seemingly have no problem with him suggests that he's been here before and know he's not a threat to them (and no, it's not because of Fang and Ivan, because the same natives separated Olu and treated him well while throwing Pete and Stede in a cage).

It's because Izzy plays by the rules.

The rules of their own world, sure, but the rules nonetheless. The island isn't hostile territory so suffering an ambush there leaves him incensed.

By the same token, I HIGHLY doubt that Israel Basilica Fucking Hands, by word of God "best swordsman in the Caribbean", would fight like this in a raid. That's fair game; expect twists and turns and people playing dirty. He literally would not have survived this long otherwise.

But he challenged Stede to a duel.

In a bout of supreme irony, Israel is the one taking something gentlemen did and following the rules of a gentleman. He's fencing. Stede is just doing whatever. Those noises are of frustration: he's playing fair, and Stede isn't.

There's the plot armor, of course, but it's consistent with Izzy's actions in general, up until he loses his entire goddamn mind after quite literally losing everything he had in the world. He cannot believe he lost the duel on the grounds of being disarmed when he had disarmed Stede already, either. Because that's not how that works.

Izzy's a stickler for the rules to his own detriment, so much so that the extraordinarily convoluted plan to sell Stede to the British, and relying on such a wild card as Jack to get Ed out, looks like a bout of insanity. (He has nothing to say about Ed decking him so hard he skids three feet across, but look at his FACE when Ed puts the pieces together. Ed clocked that Jack was manipulating him, but when Jack explained about Izzy he looked like he could hardly believe it. And he still looks like that seeing Izzy on deck, absolutely bewildered, and Izzy is having fifteen facial expressions at once but they both know this isn't how Izzy operates, and never has been).

Izzy could have killed Stede when they were alone in his cabin. He could have killed him in his sleep or in a myriad other ways. But he doesn't go behind Ed's back, and then he does this. A duel, and surrounded only by Stede's allies. So he followed through with it. He still could have killed Stede when he was pinned to the mast. Or between that moment and the goodbye in the dinghy. But he sets the rules: loser leaves the ship.

His only disbelief, the straw that breaks the camel's back, is Ed. Ed never has a problem breaking the rules; he could make Izzy stay. He doesn't.

(Something something about how when Izzy tried to leave by himself, likely to the Queen Anne, because he felt he had gone too far -"I said things last night that I regret"- Ed swans in with "I need you here" and stops him leaving, but when this happens and he asks Edward if he's going to allow it, Edward basically shrugs, allows him to be kicked out, and the next sentence we get out of his mouth is "Bonnet done something to my boss's brain").

Tl;dr: Izzy lost because he's a stickler for the rules, he challenged a duel and fought like in a duel. And that extends to nearly everything he does.

something that strikes me whenever i watch the izzy-stede duel is that by the end of it, not only is stede practically unscathed up until he gets pinned to the mast, but izzy keeps making…frustrated izzy noises? it just comes across to me like he’s trying to get strikes in but isn’t managing it very well. and ik theres a really easy doylist case for a high-stakes swordfight with some balanced blows between opponents but part of me keeps wondering: did stede get good enough to briefly hold his own against a heavily accomplished swordsman? or—and i remember seeing someone (possibly you) point out that what izzy brings to the crew is his skill with a sword rather than any skill as a sailor—is izzy just…just okay with a sword? bc im not sure atm how many other characters this would insult indirectly and i also feel like it’s a completely insane thing to allege about his character. but it would also be so fucking funny to me

Here's the thing: I genuinely think Izzy is likely to be a good sword fighter - he's just not a creative one, or a creative person in general, as we know. In a normal duel, two guys would fight with swords until one stabbed the other. But Stede runs around, he ducks and weaves and falls and throws gunpowder in Izzy's face - and Izzy gets lead around by his nose the whole way, because he's focused on what he knows and doesn't see the world around him, or the plot unfolding.

Izzy's fatal flaw is that he's not creative. He boxes everything, and that's why he tries to force everyone to stay in a box - he understands the world in the box. He's decent enough at staying on top, when he and Ed are both in the box.

[vaguely-concerned]

a snippet from a Lupin III fic I doubt I’ll ever finish writing but thought I’d salvage some pieces from!

Lupin idly observes: “If you ask me, the god of thieves should be Prometheus.”

Knowing a Lupin set-up line when he hears one, Jigen obliges. “Yeah? How so?”

“He stole only one thing,” Lupin says, and something in his eyes burns brighter than that first flame, however wrought by the hands of gods, ever could have. “But that one thing set the entire world alight. Who else can say they did that?”

Understanding, as always, the plight of the moth, Jigen moves a little closer to him on the bed, thinking not for the first time that the sun has got nothing on whatever’s gone wrong inside this guy somewhere along the way.  

“You do know how that story ends, right?” Jigen asks anyway, as if in a token gesture towards defending the honor of sanity. “Chains, rock, eternity, eagle gets an unlimited supply of Prometheus liver tartare? This ringin’ any bells?”

Lupin shrugs an unworried shoulder. “But don’t you think it would be worth it, looking down at the earth every night while you were waiting for the eagle and seeing the fires being lit all around the world?” 

With a deep sigh Jigen wraps an arm around him and presses his lips to Lupin’s throat, then again, small pecks soft as snowflakes landing all along the course of his carotid artery, like the simple act might put down wards there, make some invisible armor under the skin that would keep out all harm. Lupin shivers appreciatively and tilts his head to the side to bare more of his neck, fingers playing idly with Jigen’s hair. There’s a bit of lipstick on his collar, the same color Fujiko’s been favoring lately. After trailing the kisses all the way up to the edge of Lupin’s jaw, Jigen murmurs: “See, it’s ‘cause you keep saying shit like that I can’t let you go anywhere on your own. I let you out of my sight for five minutes and bam, you’re plotting to piss off the gods themselves.”

“Oh, don’t even pretend to grumble, you love it,” Lupin coos. 

Jigen brushes the tip of his nose back and forth over the soft patch of skin right below Lupin’s ear and smiles. “Eh, I live with it.”

He lives with it, he lives by it; it’s the first thing that’s ever given him the certainty that to live could be preferable to the alternative. Hell, he does love it. He’s loved nothing and no one more in his entire tattered  sorry scotch-soaked excuse for an existence, and he can only hope he never will, because he’s pretty sure that would destroy him.

“Well, I guess it’s not the same thing anyway, at the end of the day, so I shouldn’t worry about it,” Jigen says.

“Yeah? How so?” There’s a grin in his voice. Lupin plays ball too sometimes, when it suits him.

Jigen grunts. “Prometheus never had a partner. I’d shoot that goddamn eagle clean out of the sky before it even got its first beakful of liver, and Goemon could do the whole slice and dice routine with the chains, and then we’d be out of there before anyone was any the wiser.” 

Lupin is quiet for a while — long enough that Jigen pauses in kissing his way along his throat and pulls back to get a look at his face. 

and that’s where it stops, I’m afraid, but it ends in

“Hey, Jigen?” he says finally. 

“Hm?” 

“I love you so fucking much.”

some odds and ends from the same wip that still make me smile under the cut

“Who would you want to be in that particular pantheon?”

“Dionysus.”

“Damn, that was quick.” 

“Free drinks, man.” 

Lupin snickers. “Hey, good point.”  

. . .

“Fujiko would be Aphrodite, obviously,” Lupin says, piously. “The goddess of love, and the most beautiful woman who ever lived.” 

Jigen gives a derisive huff. “As if. She’d be that bitch who threw the apple of disaster or whatever it was.”

Lupin snickers. “That’d be Eris with the Apple of Discord. And I’m so telling Fujiko you said that next time we see her.” 

“Go right ahead. I’ll tell her myself.”

(I have no idea who Goemon could be in this thought experiment; I feel like he’s Too Japanese For This lol. Zenigata is the eagle, obviously.)

[whatthehelliswrongwithme]

Voltron Part 28

Everyone says that S7 and S8 are bad. But at least they dont have this stupid half-season thing going on. Season 6, episodes 5+6! These ones were pretty wild. Let's go!:

The aaangst! So much aaaangst!

Also. Congatulations, it’s a Sheith!

Keith once again went off on his his own because of Shiro...

Colourful Ty Lee, Big Gal! Don’t call Shiro “it”. He’s our fucking space daddy!

Space witch calling Keith the “Red Paladin” is literally me. Like. Guys, you’ve had your new lions long enough! Colour coordinate accordingly!

This entire episode, I'm just that meme, “Hey. Check out how hard I can cry”

Stone Cold Bitch is hesitant to shoot Keith! The brOTP continues!

Is the virus affecting the castle supposed to be created by Shiro/space witch? And therefore it knows what Pidge would do?

Lotor don’t talk to your mother like that. She may be an ass, but you’re the bigger ass

Lotor got his girlsquad back, eventhough he doesn't deserve them

OH FUCK! OH SHIT! OH FUCKING SHIT! OH SHITTING FUCK!

That stupid fucking clone theory got it right!

AND I FUCKING HATE THAT!

NO!!!! THAT'S DUMB! I DON'T LIKE THAT

Okay. First of all: How did people think of this theory? I only knew that it existed because of old Voltron-fandom videos on YouTube. Did I miss so much foreshadowing?

Second: I absolutely hate this. I want MY Shiro. Not some stupid clone

Third: That discovery scene was really well done! Kudos to the people responsible

(Fourth: There probably exist a Sheith Gangbang fic on AO3 based on this scene. And i will find it)

It’s time for more ANGST!

That fight scene is SO anime

Tam Voltron, don’t fucking mistrust Shiro (even though you now know that the virus is his doing)

Did Keith just have goddamn yellow eyes? It’s probably a Galra thing, but I just wanna send him to an optometrist

“Shiro”, honey. That “Your parents abandoned you”-thing won’t work on Keith. He basically just had a 2 year pep talk with his mom

I know it’s an animation thing, to show that Keith's breathing heavily. But the Paladins armor must be really shitty if it just bends like that

Keith said “I love you”. I repeat: Keith said “I love you”

(I know it won’t be canon because apparently !No! shippers were happy with the ending. But just let me have this)

And their backstory is so cute!!!

Is Shiro good again? Because of the power of love, or something like that?

God. This episode was just an emotional roller coaster...

.-•-°-•-.-•-°-•-.-•-°-•-.-~☆

Hey, it's the spirit realm where Shiro fought Zarkon!

It's good-haircut-Shiro!

God. Him telling Keith he died broke my fucking heart...

Sooooo. What are you gonna do with "Shiro" ?

~I predicted it~ ~It's time for some Allura-angst because of this whole situation with Lotor~

Is it bad that I don't feel that sorry for her? Because, like. Lotor was obviously still an evil ass

And being a Leader, she should have a better judge of character

But. At least we got a good Allurance moment out of that

Big Gal and colourful Ty Lee are suprisingly okay with siding with Lotor again. That's either non-developed character motivation. Or part of some greater scheme(?)

Moustache man, sorry but I do not care about your b-plot of trying to fix the castle.

(But also: Good for you, for living this ~Disney princess life~ with all these animal companions)

Lotor. I don't think that anyone still believes that you're a good guy

Does Allura get to kill Lotor?

His reaction to being compared with Zarkon sure was something. Dude got some serious daddy-issues to work through

Wow, Lotor you're such a great guy~♡. Talking about, being the Altean's great leader and erasing Allura+her dad from history. Such a good guy~ ^^

And the girlsquad abandoned him again. Nevermind

Why did Lotor decide to have his 99cent-version of Voltron be a scalie?

It's kinda sad that Keith has to listen to his friends potentially dying.... But I'm also pretty impressed that he's still getting signal all the way in space...

Shiro said his line! "Patience yields focus".

And now Keith had his magical-girl transformation sequence with the black lion!

So the final episode gonna be an epic mecha battle? Again? Like in season 2?

Is Allura gonna "die"? Again? Like in every other season-finale-episode?

Also they still have to figure out, what to do about this entire Shiro and "Shiro"-thing

[shachihata]

rating bsd characters on whether i could beat them in hand-to-hand combat

atsushi: probably not. i think i could take him if he didn’t shift but like. The man is literally a weretiger if he was using his ability i’d be gone. What else do i have to say

ranpo: i think so but just because he'd lose interest really quickly like if i put something sweet in the general vicinity of our fight he'd go for it immediately and i could just tackle him and go from there

kunikida: i think the sheer force of his belief in his ideals would knock me the fuck over even if he didn't have his little poetry diary. i think i could get like a hit or two in on him though. it'd be a fair loss

dazai: deceptively strong. also like, a former mafia member. i think the only way i'd win is if he was letting me win but also i'd place pretty good bets on him letting me win

kenji: r u srs

tanizaki: i could if he wasn't using his abilities but i wouldn't because naomi exists

naomi: see above. tanizaki would beat my ass if i touched her

kyouka: i care about her too much to try to beat her up but also she's a trained assassin and she'd win without breaking a sweat

yosano: i think i have less chance of beating her than kunikida just because unlike kunikida i don't think she'd hold back. yosano would for real like kill me and i'd let her because how dare my hubris actually let me think i have a chance of beating yosano

fukuzawa: he's old but on god have you watched that man fight? i would be on the ground. Amen to this gilf

katai: the man is literally a shut-in redditor. say no more

mori: i would just because i hate him so bad. i think elise would be on my side as well. literally sheer force of will would carry me through this fight

chuuya: on god bro chuuya could do it single-handed and blindfolded i respect chuuya too much to even challenge him. Not a fight i'm willing to take

kouyou: like chuuya, i Do respect this milf, but not enough not to challenge her. i think i could beat her but only if i took her by surprise like if we were in a fair match i think she'd win but i'd put up a good fight

ace: god this guy is fr a stickbug like hello? he is so fucking bougie i would snap him in half without his stupid little gem collars he has Nothing

karma: yeah this is just a normal guy and a normal fight i’d give us equal chances at success

akutagawa: this is contingent on whether i beat dazai earlier or not. if dazai had let me win akutagawa would be too catatonic to even enter the ring. if dazai had beat me akutagawa would also put me in the grave just to prove a point

higuchi: yeah i think so. this would be a fair fight for sure higuchi doesn't seem like the type to bend the rules. if she saw akutagawa on the floor she might try harder to defend his honor but i think it'd still be at least a good 50/50

hirotsu: like fukuzawa, this is a deceptively strong old man. like he leads the black lizards. i don't have a chance

gin: would give me a fighting chance out of mutual respect but i wouldn't beat her. she's too capable for that

tachihara: hmm this one's tough. maybe? like he's a trained hunting dog but also he's holding a LOT back yknow. i think i could win if i played dirty and started waxing philosophical about "who's your real family" before tackling him

kaiji: ok you saw him in the fight with yosano, without his bombs he is Nothing. also though he looks like he would literally launch himself at me like a feral animal. i'd give myself like a 60% chance on this one

yumeno: This Is A Child. not to mention that their ability is scary as fuck. yumeno would be the one challenging Me to the fight and i would let them win without asking any questions

sakunosuke: i wouldn't fight this dilf literally on moral grounds. he would tell me to step up and i would just forfeit the match. sakunosuke come back to me i miss you pspspspsps

ango: corrupt government agent desk worker? sign me up. i think he'd definitely get a few good hits on me but i'd knock him out just on principle alone

fitzgerald: i would win. he might be a capitalist who literally gets his superpowers from spending his money but i have a special ability called "i am communist" and with it i would knock fitzgerald off of that fucking whale a second goddamn time

alcott: once again i would win but morally? imagine the cost.

poe: man maybe the guild just isn't a physically strong team yknow. poe looks like he would fall over in a stiff breeze. Poe looks like i could punch him in the arm as a joke and they would feel it for a month

hawthorne: hawthorne looks like he'd call me a slur and if he wasn't using his ability i would pummel this fuddy duddy bitch to kingdom come

mitchell: same vibes as hawthorne ngl i'm pretty sure i could take her. she's a milf though so i'd give her a fighting chance

steinbeck: i think this would be a fair fight. also though i would let him win because he hasn't been in the manga since chapter fucking 44 and i miss him so fucking bad steinbeck PLEASE come back and beat fitzgerald's ass for me

lovecraft: tentative yes? like he doesn't look very PHYSICALLY strong, it's mostly just his "eldritch being" thing that makes him a threat, right? if i played it dirty and like, distracted him enough so he's comfortable and not in a state where he'd want to activate his powers then i think i could get at least a few good hits in on him

lucy: yeah easy as long as we're not in her room with anne. if she wasn't using her ability i could take her down easy but if she was and i had to deal with anne too? no thanks

melville: this is an old man but i don’t think this is a Deceptively Strong old man like fukuzawa and hirotsu. i would feel bad fighting him because he does seem like he’s just chilling but i’d do it

twain: he’s a sniper. hand-to-hand i’d knock him out. look at the way that fruit wears his shirt i’m winning this one

dostoevsky: fuck this guy i could and would choke him like the kermit meme. anemic rat bastard would die in one hit. i just have to get him started talking about god or humanity or some shit and then i would go in for the kill

pushkin: he’s a coward i just have to look intimidating and i already have a leg up on him i could take him out and i would enjoy it. he ADMITS that he’s not that physically strong. he’s gone

goncharov: simply based on dedication alone i don’t think i could win like... the minute he thinks about dostoevsky he powers up like a super saiyan. i would take great pleasure in fighting him though

mushitaro: yeah he'd be no problem. what is he, a writer?? he looks like he lives at his desk in shrimp posture for like 16 hrs a day i could knock him out

fukuchi: this old man would fucking murder me without blinking and also at this point in the manga i'm pretty sure he's functionally immortal because of "plot" "armor." if i fought him there would be a dramatic scene where i think i'm going to win before he pulls some bullshit like he has a multidimensional punch or something that killed me the day i was born and retconned the whole fight out of existence

gogol: i would win but only on the condition that i convinced him beforehand that "winning" is a social construct that he is falling prey to and his "want" to "win" is really a loss of free choice. this is more of a verbal battle, not a physical one

stoker: he is a head impaled on a sword. next question

sigma: augh. i wouldn't fight sigma they've gone through enough. if i HAD TO i would win but only if there was absolutely nothing on the line like this is just a friendly spar between friends because the minute sigma gets desperate they go bark bark bark feral and that'd lower my chances significantly

teruko: trained soldier. i would lose and she would enjoy sucking every last ounce of youth out of my shriveled body. freak

jouno: he might be blind but his ability would let him sense me from like a mile away and he's obviously pretty capable in an actual fight. i think i could give him a black eye before i went down though

tetchou: physical embodiment of no thoughts, head empty. in a fair fight? no. if i took him by surprise, then proceeded to distract him by talking about his weird habits and gossiping about the latest hunting dog drama while slowly wearing him down? maybe. 8 times out of 10 though he'd beat my ass i think

shibusawa: funniest man on the fucking planet he is NOTHING without his stupid little feminine-trait crystals i would break his nose hands down and everybody will clap

[tartagliaxx]

hi. i only got to play in inazuma today so here's me live reacting to the archon quest. it's a lil out of context tho so have fun trying to figure out which parts im talking abt. also, this is the only time i'm going to be talking abt spoilers for at least one week so... 🤷‍♀️

swordfish ii? cute.

Jesus Christ. and here i thought it was my lowest settings that made his hair grey… this poor kid. teppei i admire your determination but no… just no...

SCARAMOUCHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

IF EVIL WHY SO HOT

you know.... scaramouche could stand still and the air would get electrified. and yknow,,, that's p... that's p attractive

ugh im disgusting myself. and here i thought i still had an inch of sanity left in me.

of all people it had to be this little jerk

scaramouche is so fucking evil. i’d like ten of him, please.

man,, they expect me to dodge this shit? that’s the biggest l i’ve heard today. none of that shit. i’m bringing out my zhong and my sweet madames skrrt

sayu is adorable… i remember when i had hopes of growing up too… alas, it has come to this.

OH MY GOD AYATO CRUMBS. I AM LICKING THAT SHIT UP. PLEASE— HE HAS A SECRET UNIT. THATS SO HOT WTF. AYATO MY DEAR, PLEASE DONT BE A REGULAR ICKY NPC BUT WHITE HAIRED…

SNEAKY SNEAK. SNEAKY SNEAK.

THOMA OH MY GOD MY MALEWIFE. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN? also, sayu’s sleeping again. this girl’s got talent. is her circadian rhythm okay?

pains me to be the bearer of all bad news and no good news…

WAIT THOMA IS LEAVING NO DONT LEAVE YET I WANT TO LOOK AT YOU MORE

oh nvm he’s still in the background.

EYY WHATS UP AYAKA. YOU’RE AS FINE AS EVER.

i… i don’t like where this is going… i refuse to be the bait. i’m too hot for that. so spicy they’ll spit me right out

DONT VOLUNTEER YOURSELF LUMINE— GIVE ME AN OPTION OR AT LEAST AN ‘OH SHIT HERE WE GO AGAIN’ LINE

YES FIREWORKS THAT WOULD WORK RIGHT? PLEASE TELL ME THAT WOULD WORK-

oh thank god… wait... they… they wouldn’t ask me to be the one to set off the fireworks right?

UNFORTUNATELY NO. AFTER YOU BECOME A FREE MAN, YOU’RE IMMEDIATELY MARRYING ME THOMA ANJKFHAIGHLANGKLAHOFJLKAB

oh crap… i’m… i’m in deep.

HE’S BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING US AGAIN EVERY DAY SINCE HE GOT THERE ANFLaglvbajlfblabvljabefva;bfalLJBLJDABVBAALSNADL tumblr user @tartagliaxx is broken. she is now irreparable. she has no regrets. goodbye.

ehem… what if… you and i… and hotsprings… together?? JUST KIDDING. PG-13 OVER HERE. NOTHING INDECENT WHATSOEVER MOVE ALONG NOW

poor thoma,,,

oh come on ayaka… cut us some slack… i just watched lumine wheeze bc of evil purple mist only to be dragged into 2 timeskips and an entire training arc. dont let her be yet another traumatized shounen manga protagonist… altho, it might be uh… too late for that…

oh dear… is thoma going to get another round of diarrhea?

OF COURSE. OF COURSE IT’S ME DOING ALL THE WORK. OF COURSE IT’S ME WHO’S RISKING MY LIFE ALL OVER AGAIN. GOD! GIVE LUMINE A BREAK. BEING A TRAVELER DOES NOT MEAN IT’S FREE REAL ESTATE.

hello yoimiya… still looking as bomb as ever i see……… mhm… gonna see myself out rn…

HELP MY SHITTY GRAPHICS COMPLETELY ERADICATED HER BROWS

oh god… are we dying because of fireworks? forget getting caught by the patrol… we’re about to light up an untested firework that was made to be a billion times more explosive….

NO. SHE SAID IT. SHE SAID THE CURSED SENTENCE. WHATS THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN? IDK YOU TELL ME. YOU JUST SENTENCED US TO DEATH YOIMIYA GREAT GOING still love you tho.

man… these patrol guards aint shit… i literally walked an inch behind their backs and they did nothing… its a surprise the rebellion still hasn’t won when they place guards like this in their ranks………. ok that was kinda mean i’ll apologize in a bit.

SAYU OMG… DONT WORRY I’LL SNEAK YOU OUT AND RISK MY LIFE willingly JUST TO RESCUE YOU. ILYSM HONEY YOU’RE DOING SO WELL

no, paimon. it’s not but we’re doing it anyway 🤡

NO ONE TOLD ME WE’RE GOING TO RUN. I WENT COMPLETELY OFF COURSE. first try tho 😏

HELLO THOMA. HELLO AYAKA.

HELLO SAYU. HOW DID IT GO? IM GUESSING IT WENT WELL BC YOU’RE STILL ALIVE?

oh no….. she’s worn herself out…. man,,, this is why you dont make convicts out of kids….

WE ASKED SAYU FOR AN INCH AND SHE GAVE AS TEN THOUSAND MILES. SAYU MY CHILD YOU EXCEED EXPECTATIONS

god, don’t remind me. as hot as the shogun trying to kill us w her blade was, i don’t appreciate almost getting murdered on screen (even if we most certainly have plot armor)

awwww is thoma worried about me uwu owo? dw i have like… a lumine w 6% crit rate by my side

sigh… i dont want to leave yet… cant i just stay by thoma’s side and not go to war for a change?

it was at this moment that tumblr user lei saw the wonders of being a housewife.

oh sara… my stars… i’m so sorry. i feel so bad for you but at the same time… this oddly makes me want to write a song for you ABJFJKABJABCABVABVKA I KNOW JACK SHIT ABT SONGWRITING WHY AM I THINKING LIKE THIS

well… there she goes…

oh…. oh….. yae is stealing my heart. WHAT DO I DO WHAT DO I DO (i have an alt for a reason heehee)

DEAR LORD. PLEASE STEP ON MY NECK SARA.

these guys got guts to say ‘i’m sorry ma’am’ to THE kujou sara.

oh old man… you’re dead. you’re so dead.

man… this old man is a simp? sheesh.

YES. GO TELL EM PAIMON. PREACH THAT SHIT LOUD AND CLEAR.

oh my god… is that dude dead? i probably should’ve uh apologized b4 he flopped down to the ground ig…

MAN,, SARA’S DOWN FOR THE COUNT?? tbf i didnt expect much but…. also, AYE SIGNORA’S SO ICY.

she’s calling me out for being a simp ;-; heart been broke so many times or smth

OH SHIT LUMINE SPOKE. MAN,, WHY IS SHE SO COOL.

oh… i love this part of the vow… im suddenly inspired to write… how about a wedding au? an angsty wedding au?

goddamn… it’s been nice knowing you all…. i dont think i’ll come out of this alive if signora went out like that…

WHATS HAPPENING? ARE YOU SAYING KAZUHA WENT THROUGH THIS BS? IS LUMINE OKAY-

DID THEY REALLY JUST STORM THE ENTIRE FUCKING CAPITAL?? THEY HAVE SOME NERVE.

FUCK OMG KAZUHA AHHAHFHAFHAHGKJABKASBGA IM TEARING UP WTF WHY AM I GETTING EMOTIONAL- HONEY BUN THATS SO HOT OF YOU TO DO

oh… oh it’s time for round two? haha… time to… say my goodbyes….

yo… there are actual tears in my eyes… like… idk why… but that cutscene? shit man… that hit me…

hm… i feel bad for the shogun… ultimately, there is reason behind every act no matter how horrid. no matter how unreasonable, the reason one thinks of is always justified on their end. whatever everyone else thinks pay little effect on whether the act is fulfilled or not. also, her little laugh? i’m extra deceased.

the animation's fire as always wtf

oh but my kokoro... oof... my kokoro... ugh...

I’M SO FUCKING DONE AJKFHAKJBVAK- WE BEAT A HARBINGER AND FOR WHAT? she should’ve just tossed that gnosis into the ocean or smth...

HAH OMG SCARAMOUCHE. WHAT A MAN. I’M- I WAS RIGHT OMG. I HAD A LIL THEORY AND ITS JUST SMTH I HAD IN THE BACK OF MY MIND. I NEVER THOUGHT IT’LL ACTUALLY COME TRUE DEAR LORD. so now ig i have to admit i think abt him a lot and he has a soft spot in my heart 🥺 he’s evil you see and you know what my type is? evil men or at the very least, men with the potential to be evil. ugh so annoying.

scaramouche banner when

bc i sold everything worthy of money in me (read as my organs) for albedo, i'll sell my soul for him how about that?

EYE- makoto huh… well… fuck…

it’s day 400 of being ayato less even if he’s like… teased a million of times (jk it’s like… a grand total of seven but thats still p high)

im so… sigh…

i wonder if i’m still alive by the time sumeru releases… at the very least, i know my brain wouldn’t be.

....we were literally a captain for like... one second. that is so sad.

[mrsalwayswrite]

Say You’ll Stay- Chapter 1

Fury/ Band of Brothers Crossover Fic

Summary: Don "Wardaddy" Collier just wanted his crew to make it through the war. He carried no expectations for himself. But as each day passed, he worried he would be unable to keep his promise. When fate (or more accurately- Boyd Swan) places a woman in his path with a soft touch and softer heart...perhaps he has more of a motivation to see the end of the war after all.

Hey so I’m back with this series! I posted the first chapter awhile ago and then realized I did not have my plot and characters as “polished” as I wanted. So if you read the first chapter already, I would recommend rereading it. 

The first chapter is shorter compared to the others so to make up for it, I will also be posting the next chapter! Two in one! 

Our beloved Easy Company will come into play in a couple chapters. Patience, my friends. I have a plan...

Warnings: Swearing, some mentions of wounds/blood

Tag List: @happyveday​ @evelynshelby​ @god-of-dramatic-death-scenes​ @alwaysindecemberfeels​ 

Series Masterlist // Next Chapter

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Sweat dripped down the back of his neck. Dirt and grime covered his skin and clothing. The sound of the Sherman's tracks rolling over the muddy ground encompassed them. Patches of ice and snow still lined the feeble road. He stared ahead blindly, trusting Gordo to get them to the camp safely. The looks on those around him mirrored his own feelings. Everyone was exhausted. Everyone wanted real food. Everyone was tired of watching allies killed by fucking Tigers. 

 Everyone was sick of this shit. 

 They approached the camp. The cesspool that it looked like from far away became even more evident the closer they got. Half-demolished buildings with a dusting of snow were the only standing structures left of what used to be a quaint little town. Soldiers in grubby gear, rifle over their shoulders, ran around. From far away the sounds of artillery fire echoed. Don wondered who was dying now. 

"Boyd." He looked over at his gunner. "When we get parked, you go find an aid station. Get that hand looked at."

 "Yes, sir." The gunner held his injured hand against his chest, wrapped in a makeshift bandage. 

 After getting directions from a lieutenant, they found the tank squad on the other side of the town. Seeing the three other tanks gave the staff sergeant some hope. 

 "Boyd, medic. Gordo, fill 'er up. Grady, check that suspension. I don't like the way it sounds. Norman, find us some ammunition and where the hot chow is." Don barked out orders as everyone jumped off the tank. Replies of "yes, sir" made him nod, silently proud of his crew, before stalking towards where he assumed HQ was. 

 Soon enough he found the building, soldiers scurrying in and out, making the place look like an overturned ant hill. The glass on the store-front was still intact surprisingly, but the door was busted down leaving a gaping hole to walk through. Sliding past a private who looked barely eighteen coming out, he entered the HQ to see a table set out in the middle with maps laid out, paper weights and bullets strewn about. 

 "Who you?" 

 The gravelly voice made him turn to his right, eyeing up the man sitting on a wingback chair. "Staff Sergeant Don Collier, commander of Fury, 66th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored Division."

 The man exhaled, smoke slipping between his thin lips, cigarette hanging precariously. "Ah, Wardaddy, eh? Right, come on." He stood up and waved Don over to the table. "Captain Evans. What's your status?"

 Don eyed the man, he seemed far too relaxed for being in a war zone. Then again, his greying hair and beard and those sharp eyes made him briefly wonder if this Captain Evans had been in the Great War. Maybe this was easier compared to trenches? Either way, it was nice to see someone in charge for once that looked like they were actually old enough to shave. Fuck knew too many kids were running around with rifles now, having just gotten out of bootcamp. Don wanted nothing to do with them. 

 "We secured the town here," he pointed at the map, "left 86th Infantry to hold. Then my guys and two other tanks were sent here."

 Captain Evans stared at the maps, mind clearly seeing how best to utilize them. "You and two tanks, eh?"

 "Yeah. Ran into a tiger though. Now it's just my guys."

 His bushy eyebrows shot up, even those around the table quieted down with the news. "Just you?" At Don's nod, the Captain tapped his fist on the table. "Damn those tigers. Alright, good to have you here, Don. We're waiting on some intel before sending you out. You and your guys get some chow and rest. Come back and see me in the morning."

 "Yes, sir." Don nodded and walked out of the building, relieved they were not being sent out right away. 

 As he walked down the filthy, cobbled street, he could feel the shakes beginning in his hands. Quickly, he stepped onto a side street, hoping no one would notice him. Leaning back against the brick wall of the building, he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets before anyone could see them shaking. Memories of the fight from yesterday replayed in his mind without permission. The tiger easily destroyed the rest of his platoon. In a matter of minutes, him and his crew were alone. Ten men. They had lost ten men. Good men...well mostly good. There was that one asshole in Edward's squad no one would miss.

 War took the best and worst; death it’s equally possessive lover.  

 Hands slightly fumbling, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The lighter took a few clicks before catching. With the inhale, the nicotine and smoke settled in his lungs beautifully. He closed his eyes, letting the cigarette help calm his nerves and try to erase the memories of his platoon. They were dead now. It did no good to dwell on it. 

 After several minutes his hands finally stilled. Running a hand through his hair, he pushed off the building and headed out to find his crew. He glanced around wondering the likelihood of finding a roof and real beds for his guys tonight. They deserved it. Especially after all this shit. His own back cried out for a reprieve from sleeping on the hard ground. 

 Yeah, he would figure out something. Even if he had to toss some goddamn young Privates out into the stained snow. 

 *****

 "Nurse Cooper! You can handle this!" 

 She pushed the flyaway strands of auburn hair out of her face as she walked past the injured, following the voice of Doctor Erickson. The cries, screams and whimpers of the injured and dying no longer affected her. Or at least that was what she told herself. At least this field hospital had separate areas based on severity and a roof over the top.

 She had worked in far worse conditions before. 

 She nodded to the tall, blond doctor who barely gave her a passing glance as he shoved past her, away from injuries he deemed lesser than what he should be focusing his attention on. 

 A man sat on the edge of a cot, cradling his hand in his lap, which was wrapped up like a mummy. He was not screaming or swearing, so she took that as a good sign. His eyes were closed, lips moving silently like he was praying, a thick mustache twitching with every movement. He looked like he could only be a couple years older than her own twenty-three years.

 "What's your name, soldier?" She stood in front of him, wiping her hands on the stained apron she wore over her equally stained dress. Once they had both been white; now, the apron and dress were a patchwork of stains from blood, dirt and other questionable fluids she chose not to think of. 

 He looked up, his brown eyes meeting her blue in surprise. "Boyd Swan, ma'am. Those in my crew call me Bible though. " 

 "Well, Boyd, mind if I take a look at your hand?" She perched on a stool as he offered up his hand. Quickly, she unwrapped it to see the damage with a gentle but methodical touch. A long laceration bled across the palm and past the wrist, thankfully not deep. Honestly, looking it over, it was kind of a miracle it was not worse. 

 "Well, you're lucky, Boyd. Any deeper and you might have lost use of your hand. You might have some nerve damage; I do not think immobility is a concern at this point. I think we can get away without stitches if you can promise me you'll keep your hand bandaged and try not to use it."

 "It's not luck, He's looking out for me and my crew." He pointed a finger on his other hand skyward. 

 "Yes, He certainly was. Let me grab some new bandages." She grabbed some cleaning solution and bandages for the man. The sooner she finished with him, the less likely there would be concern for infection. If she guessed, it would appear the injury happened at the earliest maybe yesterday. More than enough time for it to become infected. Though her training had taught her to ask and determine when the injury occurred, lately she found herself hating that question. It always led into a story and hearing even more of the horrors these men faced. Her mind had enough memories of blood and guts to fuel nightmares for a hundred years. If she could refrain from hearing others’ memories, she found herself choosing too.

 The other reason she wanted to finish with him soon was to open up the bed he currently sat on, in case a worse injury came in. Luckily there had not been a large-scale fight in a week so they only had trickles of men coming in instead of waves of dying men. 

 "You a religious woman?" 

 She looked up from cleaning his hand to meet his earnest eyes. "I guess. I don't pray like I used to."

 He hummed. "I can respect that. I suspect you've seen plenty of death."

 Not wanting to remember all the faces of young men she had slaved over, only for them to die under her care, she changed the subject. "Why do they call you Bible?"

 "I'm always reading the Bible... I reckon that's where it started. I stopped trying to convert those heathens in my tank. I pray for their souls though. Always will." His voice trailed off quietly, but the fondness in it was unmistakable. 

 "You're a good man, Boyd."

 He nervously chuckled, looking away for a moment with the sound of his foot tapping repeatedly on the ground. "No, I'm just doing the Lord's work. That's all."

 "Well, I'm done." Smiling at him, she pushed back slightly. It was nice to have a patient not screaming at her or leering. There were too many of those men as of late. "Do you know your orders yet?"

 "No, ma'am. We just rolled in an hour ago."

 "Alright, if you're still here tomorrow I'd like to take a look at your hand again in the morning."

 "I can do that." 

 "Good. Go rest up now, find some food. You earned it." She stood up, holding the soiled cloths, ready to move on to the next patient or task. 

 "I will.” He rose along with her, clearly understanding the dismissal. "Oh ma'am, what's your name?" 

 For a moment she hesitated to share her name. Normally she preferred the men to call her Nurse Cooper. From past experience, if she told them her name, they seemed to think she was interested in them. Yet with this man, she found herself wanting to share her name. He was kind and respectful. There were no gut feelings scaring her away from him. "Anna. I'm Anna Cooper."

 "Pleasure to meet you, Anna Cooper. You need anything, you let me know, right?"

 She was unsure how he could help her. Depending on his orders she might never see him again, but she nodded to humor him. "Sure. It was lovely to meet you too, Boyd."

 With a parting smile from both, she hurried to the back of the building where they kept the large tub for boiling cloths. She grimaced when she noticed how low the water was. That meant she would have to go to the river soon. A shiver shot through her at the anticipated cold awaiting her outside. Thankfully most of the snow had melted already but winter’s chill still clung possessively to the air. Plus, it did not help how easily cold sunk into her bones. Back home her family would tease her about that fact. Here, on the edge of the front lines, it only made her life more difficult.

 Before Doctor Erickson found a reason to yell at her, she headed back out to assist in whatever way possible. Her conversing with Boyd was her first positive interaction in a few days besides with the few others nurses stationed at the field hospital. She hoped he was not sent away too soon. 

[stina-is-a-punk-rocker]

madeline miller’s ‘the song of achilles’

Achilles Lamenting the Death of Patroclus (1855) by Nikolai Ge

What I loved about The Song of Achilles: this and this and this. 

My interest in classics began circa 2005, with Disney’s animated series based off of their rendition of Hercules. Fast forward to several years later, to when I stumbled across one of my grandad’s books; several of my rose-tinted childhood memories would be tainted by the knowledge that the actual Heracles had very little in common with Disney’s adaptation of him. 

The historical period that I was really invested in for most of my preteen and early teenage years were the Dark Ages, and Medieval Europe in general; so my Greek mythology phase was short-lived, and my knowledge of it is… well, I know Dionysus fucked himself with a wooden dildo to fulfil a promise he made, and that he’s perhaps the only decent bloke up there on Olympus (I’d tell Zeus to go fuck himself but he’d probably go through with it), and also that Dionysus is BTS’s best song since Boy Meets Evil, and that Stray Kids did a bangin’ cover of it late last year. 

In other words: vague and superficial. 

But I know enough to tell you that Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles is one of the best books I’ve ever read, hands down. 

The story of Achilles and Patroclus and the Trojan War is pretty common knowledge, I’ll warrant, but just in case: SPOILERS AHEAD. 

Retelling a story almost everyone knows isn’t easy; you’ve got the plot down and how to get there, but you’ve got to write it in a way that doesn’t read like a middle school book report you scrapped together a night before the assignment was due (… not that I know what that’s like, haha). And Miller does an excellent job of it; her diction? Brilliant. Her prose? Incredible. Her characterizations? Completely not ever been done before. 

The Song of Achilles is told in Patroclus’s first-person point of view; most of it is about his early years with Achilles; Patroclus’s banishment to Phthia, meeting Achilles, befriending Achilles, and then both of them being tutored by Chiron (a far cry from Disney’s funny little goat man). The Trojan War takes up less of the book than I thought it would, at first (which, of course, I’m infinitely grateful for- since we all know how THAT ends) (#RIP). 

Which brings me to one of the biggest questions I had up to the last few chapters before the end of the book: how will the story go on after Patroclus dies, since it’s in the first person? (The first-person POV threw me off at first; it’s been a while outside of contemporary YA that I’ve read anything in that POV, and it was a bit jarring- but the further I read, I realized that it was the best option for the book; it gave the story a depth, a level of emotion you couldn’t’ve achieved in the third person.)

And call me a masochist, but Patroclus’s death and the aftermath ended up being my favorite parts of the book. I’ve read stories that have given me actual, physical pain (one of my top two Harry Potter ships is Wolfstar, go figure), but this is the first time I’ve actually read something that made me cry (despite the numerous Ao3 comments I’ve left that are variants of ‘omg I’m crying’). Like, actual, physical tears welling up in my eyes. 

There’s this particular scene, in the ninth chapter, where Chiron is telling Patroclus and Achilles about Heracles, and how he, unlike Disney’s well-intentioned, bumbling himbo, goes insane and kills his family. Achilles, my sweet summer child, is quite reasonably agitated by this; how it was unfair, how Heracles’ wife and children paid for the gods’ tiff with Heracles with their own lives. And Chiron says: 

“… Perhaps it is he greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.” 

Go ahead, Miller; twist the goddamn knife. It’s not like I needed my heart, anyway. 

Also, unrelated, but I find it interesting how countries that are continents apart end up having quite similar legends. My roots are from an entirely different continent than Greece, but we have a folktale quite similar to the legend of Aesclepius. 

But I digress. 

Character-wise: Achilles; half-mortal, hero of the Trojan war, the greatest warrior among men. And despite his demigod status, he remains so human. And this might be controversial, but… he comes off a lot more fleshed-out than Patroclus himself. Which is perhaps my sole gripe with this book. 

Patroclus is… well, he exists. He’s the son his father never wanted. He kills a boy. Falls in love with Achilles. Spends a concerning amount of time describing Achilles’ feet. 

Honestly, up until the chapters in Troy, he doesn’t have much of a personality. And maybe it’s because Miller wanted to remain as true to the Iliad and Odyssey, and, if my memory serves me correct, neither of them give a lot to Patroclus in the way of character development; but still, he comes off a bit- bland. Of course, towards the end, his character gets a bigger role than ‘loves Achilles’; especially seen in how he defies Achilles to spare Briseis, and then dons the armor and subsequently gets himself killed (#ApolloIsOverParty), but up till then, he’s pretty meh. 

Briseis is another one of my favorite characters; it was a bit difficult for me to divorce my perception of her from Emily Hauser’s For the Most Beautiful. Her friendship with Patroclus (and, by extension, Achilles; even if he did screw her over afterwards) was perhaps the only good to come out of the war. 

And then we have the obligatory: fuck Thetis and FUCK Agamemnon (thank you, Clytemnestra).

Achilles and Patroclus’ love was wonderfully written, and I love how them being queer wasn’t the central focus of the story (admittedly, the ancient Greeks were markedly more casual about homosexuality than the bible-belt world we live in today). A lot of the (non-fanfiction) queer lit I’ve read tends to make everything revolve around, “bUt I aM bOy,,, aNd I LiKe bOy,,, bUT hOW???”, and homophobia is the biggest obstacle to their relationship. And those stories are realistic and need to be told- but we need literature with more variety. 

My final verdict: a work of art. I’m going to read Circe and Galatea.

[moonvalecrossing]

Hot Probably Unpopular Opinion on Xenoblade Chronicles

Just reached the post mechonis core of Xenoblade Chronicles storyline. Imma rant a bit so I’ll put read more to help people avoid spoilers but holy shit, I hope the rest of the game makes up for what I’ve played so far.

tl;dr or to avoid spoilers: I hate the plot so far. Characters are problematic. Please for the love of god I hope that the rest of this game makes up for what I hope was the first 75% of it. I’m not gonna read replies to this until I finish the game though because I don’t want spoilers. Unless you wanna non-spoiler tell me it does get better. Because god this game’s become a chore to get over with already.

Man this story went to shit around Prison Island. I really wish Fiora had died and we got a Machina party member instead. She’s literally nothing more than a plot device with tits. She is important to the plot solely because of Shulk she has no agency of her own just BE WAIFU FOR SHULK YES and that’s fucking WHY she was chosen to be the only female (AND ONLY SURVIVING AS WELL- THAT’S RIGHT ALL THE MALE ONES GET KILLED OFF FOR PLOT HURR) face so she could be Meyneth’s body avatar. I swear I might go insane if I hear Shulk yell “FIORA” one more goddamn time.

All the non-party characters I’ve really liked so far? Fucking killed off because CRAZY MACHINATIONS OF ZANZA. The fact that there were so many High Entia of pure blood that could turn into telethia is FUCKING STUPID AS SHIT like what in the ever loving fuck? I get it, racist elves gonna be racist and not breed with the homs or whatever. But the fact the fucking emperors had two wives one of which had to be a high entia just proves they’re all dumb as shit because THEY KNOW THEY TURN INTO TELETHIA, as the awesome prince guy reveals right before he blows himself up to let the party survive. (Like Face-Gadolt did. Both my favorite non-party main npcs died in teh same damn way).

My other favorite NPC so far turned out to be evil. Should have known they wouldn’t name someone Dickson without the dick part being important. I swear to every fucking god if Alvis is also evil in the end I will never touch this game again after I beat it. He’s literally the only one left. All the other main npcs are insufferable asshole military men, or Juju, the fat machina dude I can’t remember the name of, or Mayor Nopon man.

And don’t get me started on the female characters. They could be likeable, but literally every single female character (save Linada but she doesn’t do much more than be doctor lady making her another tired female character staple: HEALER) has main motivations tied to a fucking man. Even the party characters. Fiora’s entire existence is Shulk. That’s literally all her character. The first control you get of her is TAKE LUNCH TO MAH MAN hurrrr. Sharla’s is briefly Juju and once he’s no longer holding the idiot danger ball its Gadolt, and once she joins the continued journey, its avenging Gadolt while also hinting her and Reyn will hook up. Then Gadolt’s back again and she picks up the idiot wife ball until he blows himself up again. Can’t wait for her to get back on the ‘gonna end up with reyn’ path. /s And Melia. Poor Melia. She could be great. Unfortunately the designed her with the unlucky pining for the hero idiot ball. When not sad she’s not gonna get to date shulk she’s angry her father died. And now her brother blew himself up to, so now all her strong male role models are currently out of comission until Shulk wakes from his plot coma.

The only other female NPC of any merit that isn’t a villainess and evil is sexy so far, Vanea, screams ‘brother’ when she’s not being a plot information dump. I swear you could change her from being Egil’s sister to his lover and there would be absolutely no change in her character. God damnit, Japan. Also damnit translators. Any of you girls out there with a male sibling? Start calling him ‘brother’ and see how long it takes to feel awkward. People don’t talk like that stop writing characters to talk like that especially female ones.

Why all the female characters have to be chained emotionally to a male one. Also why the fuck is almost every one of Sharla’s armor’s designed to show off her tits or ass. Also the design of fucking Meyneth has a goddamn hold in the dress so you can see the crotch area of her panties. EVEN THE GODDESS GOTTA SHOW OFF DAT SHE GOT THE PUSS HURRRRRRR.

I liked the world building. Then the gods got into the plot. And it all went downhill from there. Zanza’s a bullshit character. He’s up there with Aizen from Bleach with all this one step ahead bullshit. If this were an anime I’d have dropped it at this point. Funnily enough just like I did bleach when Aizen became the badguy. It’s almost as if always winning chess masters are bullshit writing.

[plasticnightmaredoll]

The full-length trailer for "Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 2" DLC has been released and

AHHDBGHGAHGFFF!!!!!!

😍😍😍🤩🤩🤩😲😲😲😭😭😭🥺🥺🥺😁😁😁

id Software, why are you giving the fans what they want?!

Why does this look SO DAMN GOOD? 😫😫😫😫

I don't know if anything should be this epic?

But "The Ancient Gods Part 2" looks like iconic af already.

And with that, I have some thoughts!

My experience with "The Ancient Gods" and Doom's reboot game series

While I have played "Doom Eternal" and "Doom" 2016 a few times each, I haven't played "The Ancient Gods Part 1" yet. I do know some of the key plot points, though, namely the Dark Lord regaining his body so the Doom Slayer can kill him once and for all. I just haven't had the time, energy, or patience to play the DLC, mostly because my current job is kicking my ass, I'm super stressed, and I feel like I'm rushed on my days off. I don't have much time after work to do anything save for exercise (on a couple days), showering, and eating. It's not prime time for gaming. At all.

Also, I have been kind of hooked on survival horror games as that is technically my favorite genre of games.

I'll play "The Ancient Gods," both parts, at some point in the near future, but not sure exactly when.

The end?

Something I noticed in the trailer is it seems to indicate that "The Ancient Gods" is the conclusion to the Doom reboot story.

But that can't be right, can it? As far as I know, the Doom reboot games have done very well, and, also as far as I know, id Software hasn't pissed off a good chunk of their fanbase by doing dumb shit (like NRS and MK11)

I'm guessing this isn't truly the end. I mean, at the end of "Doom Eternal," it was said that the Doom Slayer's fight is well....eternal. And can you really destroy hell? Banish it for good? I have my doubts 🤔

They could do spin-offs, too, I suppose, since they have created a Doom Universe for the first time ever. It's a thought 🤷‍♀️

And, uh, id Software may respect their fans and their creation, but they in business to make money, and if Doom is bringing in the cash then the logical thing to do is...make more Doom. 💲💲💲💲

The Dark Lord is here!

Why the hell is this bitch hiding inside a robotic armored suit???

Get the fuck out of there and fight me like a (demon) man!

But seriously, this is the Dark Lord of Hell, so why is he not fighting the Slayer one on one WITHOUT the robotic armored suit????

HE SCARED OF THE SLAYER?

HE WEENIE?

I can't say I'm very intimidated by the guy....not after seeing this. Doesn't mean I think the game is going to be bad. I think it's hilarious that the Dark Lord is appearing in battle like this.

Lord of the Rings?!

I can't be the only one who thought of "Lord of the Rings" here.

Asgard?

This reminds me of the Bifrost Bridge and Asgard in general. I mean, it's a place that seems to be floating somewhere with waterfalls running over the edge into the air below.

I am MCU Trash and ...

The final battle for "The Ancient Gods Part 2" reminds me of the final battle in "Avengers: Endgame."

I MEAN, AM I WRONG?

Now, I know what some might be thinking:

"But this is so derivative! id Software just copied 'Endgame's' epic battle instead of making up their own 😑"

Well, here's how I see it:

Marvel hasn't placed a copyright/trademark on "Endgame's" final battle, so if anyone wants to style a fight/battle based on it, it's not illegal.

People copy each other's works all the time. Well, it's not like people copy stuff ALL the time. Sometimes, a creative idea references a previous creative idea. Writings inspired by other writings, art inspired by other art, movies inspired by other movies, songs inspired by other songs...So, this is nothing new.

If id Software wanted to have an epic final battle against the forces of Hell, it makes sense that, instead of making the Doom Slayer do EVERYTHING, there would be forces coming to fight alongside him. I'm sure plenty of beings have beef with Hell, and when someone stands up to fight against it, then it would be time to rally the troops to join the guy and kick some goddamn ass. I can't think of any vastly different ways to style/choreograph this fight. I mean, yeah, id Software could have been a little less obvious with their references/inspiration, but, I don't think it's a big deal.

If you're going to make a fictional epic battle modeled after another fictional epic battle, then "Avengers: Endgame's" final battle IS that battle.

I know some people see the MCU as trash, but I strongly disagree. I have enjoyed the vast majority of it so far, and am excited to see more.

Some people think "Endgame" is overrated and doesn't deserve to be in the top 5 highest-grossing films. Well, that's just your opinion, Guys, and I disagree with you. 🤷‍♀️ It's a 3-hour movie that feels more like 2-2.5 hours, which is an accomplishment in and of itself! I have seen movies 2 hours long that felt 10 hours long -- and not in a good way. I have seen movies 3 hours long that felt like 3 fucking hours. So, I think "Endgame" deserves some credit here.

Some think "Avatar" and "Titanic" are more worthy, especially since they have won various awards, including Oscars, and "Endgame" didn't win much. Ok, so, the Oscars are fucking bullshit anymore, just political garbage and barely anything to do with quality or talent. Winning awards doesn't always mean the world, either. "Avatar" and "Titanic" are both HIGHLY overrated in my opinion. Amazing visual effects, terrible stories. I won't go into detail because y'all wouldn't like my thoughts anyway.

"The Ancient Gods Part 2" has a fucking amazing final battle and I don't care what anyone says! It's DOOM all the way to the max! I mean, we're taking part in a massive assault on Hell for the first time in the Doom franchise. How is that NOT awesome?

The release date is what?!

As far as I know, id Software didn't advertise the release date for "The Ancient Gods Part 2" until the official full-length trailer was released on March 17th.

And we find out in said trailer that this DLC is coming out TOMORROW.

MARCH 18th.

WHAT OMG AJJHSAHAahgAHFAF?! 😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲

How....is id Software allowed to be this fucking LEGENDARY?

Final Thoughts

I really hope this isn't the end for the Doom reboot series. I mean, they took the time to build a little universe in Doom Eternal, so it seems like a real shame to end the story now.

I can't get over the final battle between Hell and... The Forces of Good? Not sure what else to call them. But it's pretty much what I would expect of such a thing in a Doom game. It's grand, epic, cinematic, awesome, incredible, insane, brutal, chaotic, and pure carnage.

I seriously wonder how "The Ancient Gods Part 2" will end.....will there be a teaser/hint at future installments?

[stormears]

AO3 Author Tag Meme

I’ve used FFN since 2005 and still do, but lately it’s almost entirely to update 1 Naruto story that’s also cross-posted on AO3. For this, I’m using my newer, more frequently used AO3 account, which has the Naruto story and a handful of others.

AO3 Name: UmbreonLy [Umbreon if it was an adverb?] 

Fandoms & # of Fics: 4 Fandoms, 7 fics 

Naruto (link) 3

Haikyuu (link): 2

My Hero Academia (link): 1

Star Wars Sequel Trilogy (link): 1

Final Fantasy VII Remake (1 coming soon I swear to god) 

★・・・・・★・・・・・★・・・・・★・・・・・★・・・・・★

Fic you spent the most time on: Chasm (Naruto, Sakura-centric, pretty dark) has technically been going since 2015, though I didn’t post it till 2018! I started it as a oneshot for MadaSaku week 2015 and it became far too big, which is my most common fanfic problem. I adore it though.

Longest Fic: Chasm. 4 chapters and about 75k words. Chapter 5 is in progress and has about 2k. Chasm has always had very long chapters which I love, but the disgustingly slow updates are making me consider chapters in the 6-8k range instead of 11-14k.

Shortest Fic: Dragoneyes. About 5k. I saw a MadaTobi aesthetic/moodboard post with dragons in it, made by a total stranger, and decided to write fic about it, because I love those characters and I love dragons. It felt fun to write something random, unconnected, barely structured...made me feel like one of those peeps who write 500 word prompts on a whim. Even though it took two weeks. 

Most Hits: The Long Walk, about 7400 hits. Chapter 1 of an MHA fic I’ll never finish, where ABO is a worldwide epidemic that caused mass panic and destruction before people started to settle into the new ways. Pro hero and newly minted alpha Bakugou comes across quirkless(????) Izuku in a random danger zone, but quirkless Izuku acts deeply suspicious. Written because I hate PWP ABO, wanted to put a plot into that trope, and wanted a tense and evenly matched fight scene between an alpha and omega. The fic is mostly Bakugou and Midoriya stepping awkwardly around their bad past relationship and beating each other bloody with ABO trimmings, and I think people appreciate that mix. 

Most Kudos: The Long Walk again. Every day I check my email eagerly for chapter updates on stories I like, replies to reviews I’ve written, reviews/comments on my own stories, but three out of every four AO3 emails I get is a kudos alert for this story. 

Most Comment Threads: Probably Chasm. 

Fave Fic you wrote: I love Chasm...but Darcia (Haikyuu fantasy AU) makes me proud in a way that feels unique and so worthwhile. I rewrote this thing 8 or 9 times across 6 months, struggling, succeeding, failing, hating my work, actually crying at least once because I felt so inadequate...and at the end came away with Chapter 1 of a story that read like a crown jewel to me. It has JUST the vibe and words I wanted. It’s a piece where the struggle was actually worth it.  

Fic you want to write: Gonna write a FFVII Sefikura fanfic where legitimate SOLDIER Cloud Strife comes to Midgar and slowly, with trepidation and confusion, gets close to respected General Sephiroth, who, at the point of gaining Cloud’s trust and love, begins to drop larger and larger hints that he had evil machinations all along and will now possess and keep Cloud like a puppet. 

Share a bit of a WIP or share a story idea you’re planning:

Excerpt from wip possibly titled “Day of the Navigator” , a Haikyuu horror/space AU. Iwaizumi Hajime is an astronaut, or “navigator”, who was preparing to help evacuate Earth from incoming predatory aliens when the aliens came early. He is forced to flee Earth alone but is soon followed by a party of different aliens who bear a strong resemblance to the Seijoh team and alien Oikawa is going to break in and fuck him. 

Tried to write with a “distant, vague” POV because I thought it might help cover more events in less time/paragraphs. This was a good idea because at first this was a oneshot for IwaOi Horror Week. In October 2019. It’s still not done, goddamn me. I don’t love the writing of this scene but MEHH

-

They stalked him.

He tracked them by their body heat and by the vibrations they emitted. They floated around the solar panels like eels through coral. Their claws tapped along the hull, their heads butted it. When they came too close or when a careful maneuver of the controls was possible, the navigator pushed back. With drills, hammers or projectiles, he punished them for their bullheaded pestering by mauling them.

Once their bodies were torn, they floated limply away—for a while. Even when he shot wires into their flesh and electrocuted them till their flesh started to cook, they returned. Once two of them drifted into range of extraneous thrusters that burned them till they cooked entirely. Their crisp bodies floated end-over-end into space. Two more of them whirled frantically about them as they floated away. 

Godspeed, cunts. Hope you die.

They never did.

Each part of the body crushed or torn returned, even if it took weeks. Even bodies ripped in half grew back or stitched together again. And after one period of many weeks, he could not put off a walk to the water filtration tank any longer.

He kissed Tory the tyrannosaurus and set him on an elliptical to wait for him. Iwaizumi would find him happily in the gym once he was done. He suited up for a spacewalk from the midpoint of the ship to the aft end. 

The airlock door opened. There was nothing around but a drifting comet in the far distance, silent and white. He was safely alone in the infinite dark.

The journey was quick, unfettered. Past the soldier-like battalions of solar panels, past the engine block and heavy storage armor. Three-quarters down the ship by the aft was the main water filter. Its panel came unlocked easily, dispensed easily, took a replacement receptor easily. From this view, the ship’s many dents and scars were visible. Nothing had ever come close to rupturing, but there were dozens of minor dents from impacts with debris and—and predators. His skin crawled under his suit.

A sudden alarm in the helmet told him to run for his life. The predators were coming.

Iwaizumi followed the route faster than ever before: hand over hand on the handholds, nearly requiring the air jets to realign himself when he missed one and nearly floated off. None of the creatures were in sight yet.

Take me to victory, Ushijima had said, so he did not stop.

Iwaizumi instead took himself off the usual route to a different airlock entrance than usual. It was closer, but with a longer code required for entry. While he punched digits into the panel, the alarm in his suit sounded quadruple signals of four unique heat signatures.

He foolishly spared a glanced up. One of them was crawling between the forest of solar panels above. Atop its head was brunette-colored hair. It was the outcast attacking first, pupils shrunk to nothing.  

The airlock opened and Iwaizumi pushed inside with a helpless cry that fogged his helmet.

Over his head there was metallic clattering and bumping as the being crawled down the hull to him—no, two of them did. One of them grabbed at his suit as the door automatically closed.

Iwaizumi’s mind quit all efforts, longed to faint. It left him to protocol instead of thought—he twisted in the thing’s grip, executed a lean maneuver to flip and kick the attacker in the chest. There was a harsh vibration pulsing into him like an indignant scream near his head. 

He rocketed into the airlock foyer, unable to breathe. He struck a wall. The door closed and sealed but he still wasn’t breathing.

Air was evacuating the suit through a horizontal tear in the arm. Pressure was returning to the chamber at the same time, beating on his ears and throat. Iwaizumi collapsed to the floor. The helmet fell off and hit the tiles with an undignified clank-clank-CLANK.

Outside the little window in the door, a man’s face looked in: the red-mouthed outcast, now with narrowed brown eyes and an open, conniving mouth with lips. It was a face he’d seen as a boy many a time when he had time for play, when he cared about sports. It was the face of a rotten bastard looking at him through a net, who’d almost seen a cheating plan to fruition. And it was the knowing smile of a man plotting. Finally the navigator, too, became knowing.

How foolish to label this one an inept outcast. How shortsighted, to not see that it danced with danger first and most often, received the most wounds and that it led its pack in these hunting parties in pursuit of him. It had followed him and brought the others to follow him. It knew how to smile. It was truly intelligent life, almost human in its persistence. Its humanity made the animal nearly able to capture and destroy him.

Take me to victory was such a fucking stupid thing to say when he had nearly been pulled away from his escape and into an open mouth. The smiling thing twitched its fingers by the round window to catch his attention. Its hand briefly seemed to be inside the glass.

Iwaizumi squinted his eyes and recognized that he was beginning to hallucinate, that his heartrate was lightning-fast and nauseating. His arms and legs shook so hard he could not control them. He gritted his teeth and tried to move them anyway, watched by the leader of the hunting pack. He rose by grabbing the nearby staircase railing and pulling forward. With it, he began a stiff, horrible walk up the short metal stair steps to the hall beyond.

The walk was short and then the railing was gone and then he could no longer stand. After turning the corner, he fell onto his knees. He sat just out of sight of that window, shaking for hours and then days.

-

[pabotofus]

Nothing’s changed in the past millenia.
For the first time, Hades considers that maybe it should.


(A retelling of canon events from Hades’ POV, focusing on his relationship with Persephone.)


Notes: This was based off of the plot/lyrics from the NYTW run and only includes Hades/Persephone songs on the live album (I’m sorry @How Long).


Fic also under cut

Persephone’s voice carries loudly in the empty halls. She’s angry.

At him, presumably.

“I don’t know, why don’t you ask my husband?”

Hades knows the term is supposed to be far more endearing than she makes it out to be. Persephone wields the word like a weapon, pinning it to him with sharp glares and a derisive scoff.

Maybe her voice carries because she wants him to hear it, Hades thinks. But then again, she’s always been particularly loud.

Hades wonders who she’s talking to. He wonders what he’s done for the term to roll off her tongue the way one would say the name of an enemy.

He keeps walking, almost relishing in her expression of shock as she turns the corner and nearly slams into him.

“Wife,” he greets. There is no emotion in his voice.

Persephone’s nostrils flare, and her lips twist into a frown before she stalks past him. Hades sighs through his nose, almost inaudible, and continues walking.

He builds his armor thicker against her words. What else can he do?

That night, another factory springs up.

That night, the pale lily on his desk wilts.

-

The workers in Hadestown call him “my lord”, bowing their heads and barely veiling their contempt with respect.

Persephone does not bother with pretending.

Hades walks around his factories, watching his workers’ shoulders stiffen and the clacking of machinery quicken as he nears.

“My lord,” they say as he passes, their voices blending into a low murmur.

He opens the door and sees Persephone about to enter, a suspiciously wrapped bundle tucked under her arm.

“What, refreshments for me?” Hades’ lips stretch into a thin imitation of a smile. “How thoughtful.”

Persephone narrows her eyes.

“Of course, my lord,” she grits out, and shoves the bundle into his chest.

Before he can even open his mouth, she disappears, leaving behind the faint smell of strawberries.

Hades carries the bundle with him as he completes his rounds. The further along the wall he walks, the more that the sweet smell sours into the familiar tang of decay.

When he finally opens the bundle, the fruit is rotten, apples spotted and soft to the touch.

Useless things, not really meant for him anyway. Maybe Persephone is right to stop pretending. There is no warmth to be wrung out of forced gestures.

He throws them out.

The next morning, the apples are gone from the trash bin.

The next morning, Hades sees the cores badly hidden among the machinery. A single apple sits on the doorstep where he had bumped into her the day before, mockingly ripe.

-

Hades is familiar with the things that his workers call him behind his back.

They’re neither bold enough nor stupid enough to say it to his face, but Persephone is, and she makes up for it in spades.

“This place is a rotten fucking dump and I can’t wait to see the day it crashes down on you,” she screams. “To hell with your goddamn factories and power grids. Unnatural, shitty excuses for the harbor you claim them to be!”

He knows he shouldn’t, and in another world he might not have, but this time—and like every time before—he responds in kind.

“Ungrateful woman,” he snarls. “I give you all I have to offer and you throw it all away?”

Persephone laughs and the sound grates into his soul.

“If you call this ‘trying’ you have hell of a lot to work on.”

“You want warmth, I give it to you. You complain about the atmosphere, I put stars in the sky for you and-”

“You say warmth and set enough fires to burn this place alive,” she sneered. “The so called stars are bright enough to blind, and don’t even try pretending you give a shit about anyone.”

Hades is slipping under her rage and they both know it.

Persephone huffs and crosses her arms around her waist. “Things used to be better, you know. Before you built this hellhole and that damned wall.”

“Things are just fine and you would see it if you bothered getting off of that high horse of yours. Don’t you see I’m doing all of this for you, because I care-”

“Ooh, does the big powerful king of the Underworld have emotions?” She mocks. “Could’ve had me fooled, you know. I’m sure the workers would agree.”

“You’re the only one who complains about this,” he deflects, grasping at straws and half-truths. She was the only one who made a fuss—as well as the only one who knew she could do so without retribution. “What, do you have higher standards because you’re an almighty goddess of pollen and hay fever? If the workers are fine with it-”

“If the workers are fine with it,” Persephone spits, “then you can drag another one of them down into this dump!”

“Maybe I will!”

“Maybe you should find a better wife while you’re at it, if you think I’m so horrible!”

“Oh, I don’t believe that’ll be too difficult,” Hades snaps.

Persephone levels a glare at him and bursts into rose petals and sharp briars that crumble into ash not even seconds after she disappears.

Any way he looks at it, Hades is trapped between not doing anything and doing what she says, and neither of those are good options.

Hades is a man of habit.

The next day, Hades tells the Fates to keep everyone in line and goes up to the human world.

The next day, Persephone slams open the doors just in time to see the life flicker out of the eyes of a young girl.

-

Persephone does not speak to him for the next few days.

Somehow, no names are worse than horrible ones.

The first time she deigns to look at him after their fight, she smiles too sweetly and tells him, “You fucked up.”

Hades scoffs, breezing past her.

“Don’t believe me? See for yourself.”

He turns around and sighs. Persephone has draped herself over her throne, feet dangling onto his.

“You-”

“We can have our little chat later,” she says, and he tries not to roll his eyes at her nonchalant tone. “It’s incredibly rude of you to ignore your visitor.”

The throne room doors behind Persephone creak open, and he tears his eyes away from her to glance at the mortal boy standing there.

“Who is he?” Hades demands.

Persephone smirks at him and repeats her previous words, stretching her feet further onto his throne.

“You fucked up, darling.”

Hades hates the way the word is tacked on to the end, like she put it there just to rile him up. Hades hates the way he knows it’s only there to annoy him.

Suddenly, he isn’t so sure he likes being addressed again.

That night, he sneaks out to the factories.

That night, he finds his newest recruit and the mortal boy kissing underneath the electric stars and smoky clouds, and doesn’t understand why they would risk so much for something as fickle as love. Persephone, spotting him as she leaves, doesn’t understand why he wouldn’t.

-

Sometimes Hades feels like he and Persephone are going around in circles.

She doesn’t talk to him or mention him at all, not since the “darling” incident. But she speaks, and when she speaks, he listens, and as he listens, he understands.

He hears her speak to the mortal girl, just as he’s been talking to the boy. He hears her talk to the mortal girl and only hears Hades, Hades, Hades.

Like Hades, I wish to the gods that you were dead.

Hades, don’t you remember; why did you have to change?

And Hades… do you still love me?

But Hades is a man of habit, and his habits have the unfortunate effect of ruining things for everyone. His old rhetoric is the one that sits the most comfortably on his tongue, and it’s the one that leaves his lips, sickly sweet and rotting.

His words are directed at the boy, but the meaning for the woman he calls his wife. He punctuates his sentences with the shrieks of metal on metal, attacking her with every way he knows how.

That day, he wins the battle.

That day, he realizes he’s not even sure what war he’s fighting.

-

Hades doesn’t know what he expected.

He owns the workers’ souls but Persephone holds their hearts, and it’s all too clear which one really matters. Now, the boy threatens to take even what little Hades clings on to.

Hades is desperate, and he’s spiteful. He’s the lord of the underworld, king of the dead, and yet Persephone sympathizes with the mortal and his stupid emotions. Worst of all, he doesn’t even understand why.

He finds himself not understanding a lot of things these millenia. He doesn’t understand Persephone, he doesn’t understand the boy, doesn’t understand love.

Hades is an old god, and he is a tired god. Tired of fighting too much and trying too hard and doing everything just to fail in the end. Tired of the same things that happen every spring and every fall, tired of dancing around in circles. Tired of being stuck.

Because on one hand, he’s the king of the Hadestown, the man of habit, who would crush the boy with an iron fist and send him back up to the world above with a broken guitar and a broken heart.

On the other hand, he’s also an old soul; an old, old soul hopelessly in love with a woman doomed to leave him again and again and again, who would give the boy the chance that he himself never got.

But the name of Hades has a reputation to protect and an empire to build, and Hades cannot afford to be either of the two.

The Fates sing in his ear, a cackling cacophony of fear and doubt and he knows he has a choice to make.

That night, listening to the boy pour his heart out, Hades makes a choice that could save them.

That night, listening to the echoes of his own heart, Hades makes a choice that could save himself.

-

“You think they’ll make it?”

Hades answers truthfully. “I don’t know.”

Persephone keeps her voice surprisingly neutral. Forcefully neutral.

“Hades, you let them go.”

He hasn’t heard her say his name in a long, long time. He sighs, staring at their retreating forms.

“I let them try,” he corrects.

“And how about you and I?” Persephone challenges. “Are we going to try again?”

It is in that moment that he realizes what she wants.

“It’s almost spring.”

Persephone’s expression shutters and twists into a scowl. His hand, growing ever closer to hers, is met with the cold chill of absence as she snatches hers away.

Hades does something he hasn’t done in centuries. He reaches out to her.

“We’ll try again next fall?”

Persephone’s expression softens, and lets her fingers slip between his.

“Wait for me?”

In this moment, Hades hears an answer.

In this moment, Hades hears the softest whisper of a question.

Hades remembers when they were younger gods, when they danced in the sun and snuck behind Demeter’s back. He remembers when she came down and the factories were not factories but fields of gemstone flowers that bloomed the whole winter through. He remembers when she let him call her Kore, when she wove him flower crowns that did not wilt until the next spring. He remembers when they loved each other.

He remembers when they tried.

Hades looks over at Persephone and squeezes her hand.

“I will.” 
____________________________________________________________________
Special big big thank you to my bff and just generally amazing human being, Inara!! Thank you so much for putting up with my bs and helping me with a bunch of stuff related to this fic (go follow her at biorpheus.tumblr.com you wont regret it)
Also- title is from Just Give Me a Reason by P!nk