#the fight scene itself pissed me off

[viennacherries]

okay hi sorry i need to talk about the lucanis romance for a moment and why i think it's absolutely perfect. spoilers below the cut ofc

so obviously there are a limited number of romance scenes. i really do believe in the case of lucanis' romance this lends itself to telling his story.

we learn through party banter with him and emmerich that his relationship with rook is his first. and that's not suprising really, he's an assassin. he faces death constantly and aside from the fact that he could die at any moment, being in a relationship gives his enemies a weak spot to exploit. love and the weakness required to accept and give it is a risk he cannot afford in his line of work.

then you add on the fact that he's been in the ossuary for a year. he was definitely sure he was never getting out of there. and then he does but he's possessed.

so here's rook. and they're flirting with him and being all enticing and he thinks they're great. but he doesn't deserve love and he certainly can't risk it. he's an abomination, he'll put them in danger. and what happens afterwards? when he goes back to taking contracts? it only takes pissing off the wrong person once for rook to be in danger. so he mostly just talks around it. tried not to think about it or aknowledge it.

and then spite breaks through for the second time. and there's rook. again. and they're soft and understanding and kind and they remind him that under everything else, all of the trauma and the fear, he's human. they make him feel so safe and he starts to let his walls down.

we can't know for sure why he pulls away in that moment, but i think it's because he reminds himself how dangerous it is for him and for rook. he wants them terribly but it's such an awful no good idea so he drags himself away.

but he still cares for them. he makes them dessert and he keeps them safe and eventually he has to admit to himself that they're not just friends anymore.

and then rook is taken into the fade by solas.

he never tells rook, you only find this out in a bellara romance, but rook is in the fade for weeks.

all that time, lucanis is there and he's just full of regret. because holy shit he's fallen in love with them and now they're gone and he should've just told them. he should've held them like he wanted. because now he can't and he never will again.

and then they're back.

and he comes into their room and his words are so simple.

"i never thought id see you again. i thought id lost you"

and obviously the rest of his dialogue can vary in this scene but all of it is SO weighted if you consider the fact that he really did think they were dead.

"i do. i know how to feel."

"it's one of the things i love about you"

"i'm not going anywhere."

he is in LOVE with them and he's tired of fighting it. he's tired of pretending he isn't. he's tired of denying himself of what he wants because he's scared. because ultimately he did lose them, despite how careful he'd been, and it hurt just the same.

"i know how to feel." because he DOES now.

so in the last battle, before you fight elgernan, he tells you again just how much he loves you. how he'll do anything he needs to to be back in your arms when it's over. because those weeks without you were torture and he never wants to do that again. he wasted all that time terrified to hurt you but you got hurt anyway. why keep pretending? why keep denying himself the person he wants more than anything in the world? he goes from 0-100 because this is so much more real now. there's so much to lose.

"i've assumed you knew my heart because it beats for you. it's been beating... when i wanted you. when i was afraid to want you... tell me this ends with me asleep in your arms and i will kill any god you ask."

this one sentence conveys EVERYTHING. all of his longing throughout the game. how long he has loved rook. he didn't say it because he was afraid. but he's not afraid anymore.

so much of lucanis' romance is about subtext. it's about the things he doesn't say rather than the things he does.

i think it's absolutely beautiful.

[feroluce]

Not to make everything about my ship, but if I don't do it no one will, so today we are making meta analysis of Boothill's faceoff match about henghill, because the differences between Boothill's stand off with Luka and his one with Dan Heng- and what you can infer about Boothill himself and what catches his eye in a person- makes me chew concrete.

JUST. I loved the scene between Luka and Boothill so much. I love how wildly unrestrained Boothill is. He really just shoved the barrel of his gun in his opponent's face and put the fear of death into him as a way to test Luka's resolve. I utterly adore him. I hope he does it again. Anyway.

When confronted with all this, Luka freezes. His stress-induced hallucinations were already bad, but you can see how they really ramp up in this match, because before, they were always something familiar. Previous enemies became Silvermanes, or Belobogian automatons, or even Cocolia. Luka is far from home for the first time in his life, and he's so terribly homesick his brain is making everything familiar, because that is what he's desperately craving right now.

But Boothill.

Boothill is something so new, and unique, and horrific and terrifying, that he becomes something entirely unknown to Luka. His hallucination manifests as Something Unto Death, as the very fear of death itself.

And this stand off (which I love so much that this is how this match progressed, because like that's literally just Boothill's in-game skill; he locks the enemy into a one-on-one duel, so this was extremely in character for him) lasts long enough that Owlbert starts having to fill in the silence over the loudspeaker,

and even Boothill himself starts trying to push Luka into making a decision one way or the other.

Given that Boothill is a hunter by trade and is proven to have all the patience to track his prey and then some, this was more for Luka's sake than any impatience on his part, to try to shove him out of his freeze reaction.

And Boothill isn't really hard to read throughout this whole exchange, he all but says outright what he's looking for.

Boothill wants to see him surpass this test and come at him! You can see it in his face when Luka finally takes a step! And in how he congratulates him!

And then he fucking shot him snxhsjksjsn

Boothill admires courage, and bravery, and decisiveness. He admires a person's ability to put their life on the line and still fight in the face of danger and overwhelming odds. Those are the things that catch his eye.

And Luka does kind of get there eventually, but it is a stalling, halting motion that gets him there, and he fell to pieces immediately afterwards. This is his first time with this, and he's still figuring it out.

Dan Heng, on the other hand.

Boothill's stand off with Dan Heng from 2.2 is so fucking far in the total opposite direction that it is HILARIOUS.

Boothill literally breaks into the Astral Express, ambushes Dan Heng, and Dan Heng still has the balls to not only demand info out of Boothill- like doesn't even ask nicely, demands it- he also just straight up calls Boothill a liar. Right to his face! And he still isn't nice about it!!

By the way, that entire conversation? This is how it takes place.

Boothill, phrasing!!

Boothill has him at gunpoint! Dan Heng does not have his weapon with him! He does not flinch, and even stands there with his arms crossed seeming simultaneously pissed and utterly unimpressed. He looks like he should be irritably tapping his foot and looking down his nose at him. Dan Heng could not give less of a shit.

For that matter, Dan Heng even turns his back and walks away from Boothill- right in the middle of him talking, too! Not a single attempt to be considerate of the man who could decide any moment he feels like decorating the wall with Dan Heng's brains.

Dan Heng is brave and courageous and completely unflappable in the face of danger. He is ruthless and decisive in how he conducts himself, even when staring down the barrel of a gun. And through his efforts in Penacony, he shows the ability to put his life on the line and fight through overwhelming odds to save his once-in-a-lifetime companions.

No wonder Dan Heng caught Boothill's eye the way he did, no wonder the two of them were working together and bantering not even minutes after Boothill pulled a gun on him haha

[kanmom51]

I’ve read theories that Jimin and JK split up at some point in 2018 as well as mid 2019, late 2019/2020, basing this off certain moments in Run BTS, JM travelling without JK in the summer 2019, the rumours, the behind the scenes of ON and Black Swan and the Grammys in 2020.

I know they have tense moments and to me that makes them real, all couples fight. But do you think there is any truth to just how bad it got that they broke up?

Thanks

Hey love.

I will start by saying this is my opinion I am voicing here. Based on full original content I have watched. Full episodes or clips.

I think that these assumptions or conclusions people came to based on a couple of few seconds moments we see in clips are problematic to say the least.

Let's start with that word - split up or break up. That is a very heavy term. I don't know what your relationship experience is (I just mention this because I don't know if you are single, have had a long term loving relationship, are in one or otherwise), but a long term healthy relationship usually does not include multiple break ups. A break up has a finality to it. Parting ways. Calling quits. Dissolving the relationship or ending it. And taking a step like that again and again and again, well that would take a toll on the relationship itself over time.

Also, breaking up, a love as strong as what we think these two have, it would show. Much more than what people think they see as evidence for such a breakup.

And when I say show, I mean more like what we saw back in September 2016 in what people love to call the Manila fight. The level of distance, clear anger and displeasure with the other, unhappiness that you can see in their expressions when they are not on stage or attempting to be professional, and this not being on one day, one clip, one event alone, but spread over a period of time.

And may I add that this happened pretty much in the relatively early days of their relationship, not 3 or 4 or 5 years in. The longer the relationship, the stronger the relationship, the deeper the relationship, the harder and more painful the break up.

And you see, this is the thing.

Healthy long term relationships aren't like a soap opera. Their real lives are not The bold and the beautiful, getting together 'love of their lives' style, then breaking up, marrying someone else, only to get back together and so forth time after time. Real life isn't like that. A relationship, a healthy one, cannot survive that constant turn on turn off. And it's even harder to turn on turn off in the speed that people are attributing to them. Love is not a switch you can turn on and off. And 2 people that supposedly love each other and basically can't keep their hands off each other moments before or moments after that supposed few second moment that makes people think they are not together anymore, is not realistic to say the very least.

And as far as I can see, their relationship is not a tumultuous one. Quite the opposite (especially once they got over that push and pull in 2015-16).

Now, with saying all that, couples, they argue, they fight, they wake up one morning in a bad mood, they allow external factors to influence their mood and at times their interactions with their loved one. Life happens. And these are a real life couple, even if they are 2 members of BTS, the biggest band in the world.

Not every argument or fight ends in the finality of a break up. Not every time you are mad at your partner or even pissed to the bone at them, do you split up.

As individuals we can have bad days. And that can affect our behaviour even towards those we love. Human interactions is what it is.

So, could we catch them unhappy with each other on camera from time to time?

Of course we can.

Can we see them being passive aggressive with each other? Mad at the other? Just unhappy or mad period (not necessarily at the other but in a bad mood that effects their interactions with anyone and everyone around them)?

Of course we can.

None of that is automatically proves a break up. None of it.

A couple of examples of instances we KNOW that one of them was pissed at the other.

Summer package 2018, the dream catcher necklace drama.

Basically JM pissed at JK not wanting to wear it as a necklace and guess who had that necklace on a second later...

And what about the NJ live 2019? JK pissed that JM and Jin turned off the live just as he got to Jin's room, starting his own live to show us that JM came to ask for forgiveness after being scolded by JK.

Neither relationship ending differences (although that could also depend on the relationship I guess), but examples of 'arguments' or differences they had that we know of because they either happened on camera or they told us of them themselves.

Another time we see them clearly upset at each other is the Gayo song festival Dec 2016. Clearly something going on, but we don't know what.

And here too, only days after the event, all was well between them, JK making his babe laugh while imitating Rainism's dance moves.

Point being, once again - yes they argue, get mad at each other (and 2016 was peak push and pull between the two, laying the grounds for their relationship), but from there to calling quits... nope.

And there would be many other moments we are unaware of. Cause that's just how relationships are. Loving each other doesn't mean agreeing on every single thing. It would many times mean compatibility (for a long term relationship to last), but compatibility doesn't mean being a mould of each other.

Now specifically to the examples you mention:

2018 Jikook were stronger than ever. This is after their Tokyo trip, which they just would not shut up about. You can see them in interviews, in award shows, in other footage from that time (including BV 3 in Malta). I really do not understand where these rumours of a break up at that time are coming from.

Saying that, I am aware that there are those that think that part of the struggles the members were going through in 2018 that almost let to them disbanding also included JM and JK splitting up. I beg to differ. At least from the content we have from 2018 (I don't claim to have inside info going back to 2018 and the status of their relationship). I actually believe that having each other during that time made it easier for them to deal with the hardships (kind of like how JK being by JM's side helped him deal with everything he was going through in 2020, and JM being there, as much as he could under the circumstances, for JK who was struggling early 2023). Throughout the content (official and unofficial) from 2018, start to end, we see how close and utterly in love they are with each other.

See beginning to mid 2018 Jikook interactions in my 2018 timeline.

And things were no different in the second half of the year.

All this happened in 2018:

Could they have had ups and downs?

Of course they could have. All long term relationships have those, even the best of them. But again, split up or broken up? Nope, not in my opinion.

Then we have the 2019 break up claims.

I think that if JK and JM were not together in 2019 during the time the band were on a break that JM wouldn't have made the effort and flown all the way back to see him for his birthday, nor would JK tattoo that J over the M right after that.

I think that JM going on those trips was them allowing each other that time to spend with their friends doing the things they want to do on their time off. That's what you call a healthy relationship btw. Allowing each other to grow as an individual, spend time with your friends, travel cause that's what you love to do, something that we learnt back in 2018 Malta that isn't something that JK really loved to do back in the day - could have changed, as people grow and change, but at the time didn't really interest him (perhaps especially seeing it wouldn't be the two of them alone).

We know from Hobi and JK that it's not like the two (JK and JM) weren't seeing each other or getting together over the break. It's only that JM went travelling and JK didn't.

And btw, these three were basically the only ones that did see each other over the break. If indeed the two broke up, would they be spending that time that they can together and not apart? Choosing to get together when they aren't obliged to do so being part of the band and having to work with each other?

And again, looking at 2019, before and after the break, the two seem stronger than ever. 2019 muster before, for example.

Damn that pic limit, I could go on with these forever.

And right after we had BV4,

And their final Seoul concerts October 2019.

Next you also mentioned the behind scenes of the Black swan MV shoot as an example used to claim that JM and JM were not together at the time.

Another good example to show you how this conclusion making is so ridiculous. They are literally taking one little moment from that MV shoot and creating a whole breakup narrative, all while from the same MV shoot we have the two full on having a flirt fest in front of our salads. Including that whole JM calling I love you to JK and him turning around all giddy-bashful.

SAME MV SHOOT.

Then you mention Grammy's 2020. First I've heard of them being broken up during that period. But let's look at what we have either from same night or the days before and after.

James Corden carpool karaoke January 2020. JM's excitement with JK's vocals and JK's incapable of keeping his eyes off JM.

Grammy's night

That moment there.

And for those that claim it isn't JM JK is looking at, well who's wittle nose is that turned towards JK?

Nope. No broken up couple detected.

I Heart Radio

Someone holding on real tight to his man.

When exactly did they have time to break up, with all the shit that entails with a break up and then get back together like nothing happened, all lovey dovey and hot for each other?

I will tell you when I find these rumours of breakup happen.

They happen when there isn't much group content and the two of them don't volunteer much, such as telling us about them spending time together or interacting on social media with each other (surprise surprise when two people are together that they don't interact on sm, even more so their public accounts). And god forbid they are seen with others out and about instead with each other. That for sure means they are not together anymore. Eye roll. Eye roll. Eye roll.

Bottom line, you're probably saying "about bloody time"...

In my opinion all this talk about multiple break ups (and btw, same people claiming a break up in early 2022 and then 2023) is a whole load of bs. Arguments, no doubt. Bad day, 100%. We all have those. But breaking up or even, if you wish to soften it a little by calling it "taking a break" - nope. I personally do not believe this to be the case.

[luvvrz]

The Odyssey Fucks Hard [Poolverine, 18+]

AKA: how the movie woulda went if I was at the table

Additional tags: ermmmm very gay 🤭 pain kink most def, lacks foreplay just right into the nasty, also a slight bit of degradation but not much

OTHER WORKS

He's fucking grinning. Logan doesn't know why, there's blood in his teeth and a blade in his fucking abdomen, but he's grinning. Maybe he likes it when prey fights back? Or, better yet, maybe he likes it when someone can keep up.

Wade's still talking - when is he fucking not? You'd think in some bad ass fight scene like this one, the motherfucker would attempt to indulge. You know, less yapping and more punching. Then again, the man wouldn't be able to shut his goddamn mouth if it literally sewn shut. Sources? I won't elaborate.

Nonetheless, Logan's on top of him, and he's got a set of claws tucked neatly into his side. Wade arches up with a hiss, and they're pressed together, and *Christ*, the man's all muscle. Surely it's to be expected, but Logan doesn't enjoy using his brain often. It's not that he's stupid, he just... doesn't care enough to think. Neither does Wade, clearly, his next strained words a testament to that.

"No cup? I mean, you're prehistoric, so I know there's probably not a lot of swimmers left, but it's the principle, you know?"

Logan growls, fangs bared as his other hand swipes up to promptly wrap around the other's throat. He squeezes with a vegence, eyes narrowed and face twisted up in a bitter fury.

"Shut the fuck up. You haven't shut your mouth for one goddamn second since you showed up."

This prompts Wade to smirk, a sight hidden beneath the mask, but the way the eyes of it crinkle up is more than enough proof. Logan hates him. Logan doesn't think he could possibly hate anyone- or anything, more.

"Ooh, fiesty. Watch it, Wolvie, I'm into degradation. At least take me to dinner, first."

Logan snarls, grabbing a fistful of Wade's mask to yank his head to the side, slamming it into the nearest window. The man groans, a sound that Logan all-too happily chooses to relish in. They're still pressed together, chest to chest and hip to hip, and- holy fuck, is he genuinely twitching beneath me?

The anger on his face gives way to shock, if only for a moment, before that ever-present scowl is returning with a vengeance. Alas, he is a man, a man who is in constant denial of enjoying things simply because he doesn't believe he deserves it. Still, that doesn't stop his own dick from twitching weakly in interest, making Wade's head shoot up.

God dammit, he could practically hear the amusement in his voice.

"Is that a claw, or are you just happy to see me?"

He doesn't even have time to finish his sentence before Logan's claws are embedding themselves deeper into his side, as much of a promise as it is a warning. Wade's head falls back with a throaty groan. He is getting off to this, the kinky son of a bitch.

Still, no one addressed the elephant in the room, both figuratively and literally. Sure, it's been brought up, but the real question is, what is going to be done about it?

Wade's still talking a mile a minute, and Logan's sanity is slipping through his fingers.

"Calm down, baby girl, no need to blow a fuse. Sex is a perfectly normal thing that happens when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much, there's nothing to be ashamed about-"

You'd think a man that was almost 200 wouldn't have the kind of speed Logan does, but then again, Logan is not your average man. He's ripping Wade's mask up with a quickness even light itself would envy, meeting his lips in something of a kiss. Sure, it's all teeth and tongue, and he's growling like a pissed off bitch in heat, but... it's a kiss, as far as Wade's concerned!

As far as Logan's thought process goes, though, he just wanted quiet in the peanut gallery.

For the first time in this history of Marvel Universe, Wade Wilson is quiet. The air itself is silent, waiting on a baited breath to see what happens next - only broken by Logan's growling.

Logan doesn't break the kiss, not even as he begins to undress the man beneath him. The Wolverine is a man of many things, but patience is not a virtue he possesses, nor particularly cares for. A single claw extends to cut Wade's suit off him, resulting in a whine of pure despair.

"Hey, I was fondled like a French girl for that goddamn suit! Careful with the merchandise."

Logan cuts off his yapping with a particularly rough nip to the lip, sending the welcome taste of copper spreading over his parched tongue. The claws are on his own suit now, and for a moment, he's tempted to look for the zipper just to spite the other - but then again, his dick's throbbing and he'd honestly rather skip the formalities.

Unceremoniously, the suit is cut away, and soon enough, the pair are pressed closer together than pussy lips in a g-string. Wade's scars extend far below the collar, Logan's come to realize, and he retracts his claws only to temporarily ghost his fingertips along the divets in his skin. The gentleness doesn't last for long, though - as soon as he finds the hem of Wade's boxers, those, too, are being torn away.

Wade fucking giggles, twirling a strand of non existent hair as his other hand comes to cover his dick - not that it mattered much. If Wade Wilson had anything to be proud of, it was his fucking cock. His hand didn't leave much to the imagination.

"Careful, shnookums, I'm shy."

Now, a better man would've maybe indulged in some foreplay, maybe even prep. But Wade's a big boy, he can take it. Plus, maybe the stretch will give that mouth something else to focus on besides being the most insufferable being on the planet.

And so, Logan rather unceremoniously spits into his palm, before stroking himself. One pump, two pump, three, before he's deemed himself ready. He knocks Wade's hand away, before thinking better of it, and uses his own free hand to grab both his wrists and pin them above his head. The resulting smirk is instantaneous, and Logan can fucking see the gears in his head turning, preparing for another snippy remark.

Logan decides that he simply won't give him the chance.

His hips are pushing forward, brutal and impatient, and the initial stretch has them both gasping like a fish out of water. His grip on Wade's wrists tighten, bushy eyebrows furrowing as his mouth parts in a silent groan. His eyes flutter closed as he tries to focus on anything other than how freakishly tight Wade's ass is.

And Wade, he isn't much better off. If Deadpool is anything, it's a goddamn pain slut, and the sudden burn has stars exploding behind scarred eyelids. It's a strained grunt, more akin to a whimper, and his cock jumps angrily against his belly.

For once, the Merc with a Mouth has nothing to say - and not because he didn't want to, but because he can't.

There's something triumphant in Logan's eyes at that, a selfish sort of victory. A cruel, condescending smirk as he leans closer, tilting his head minutely. The pace he's settled into, it's rough, punishing, and Wade's brain simply isn't working as quickly as his mouth. The man's attempting to babble, but all he can muster is a few broken whines, and a guttural 'Jesus fucking Christ.'

"If I knew that cock was all it took to get that fuckin' mouth o' yers' quiet, I would've stuffed this fuckin' hole hours ago."

The Odssey fucks hard, Wade reckons, but Wolverine fucks harder.

[flammingnachos]

𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 (opla!zoro x fem!reader)

sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs; zoro always felt like he had that deep connection with you every since the day you joined the crew his desire to be completely consumed by this intense experience he gets from being around you

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ; protective zoro, slight cursing, fighting one piece spoilers (ep 8) disclaimer!reader has devil fruit powers precisely she can freeze things with her hands and I also changed up the scene a bit for the character to fit in

“Okay let’s go” Luffy announced as started off our plans ambushing arlong’s grew and bursting threw the door

“Fishmen! Stand by to repel boarders!” A fish men ordered to the rest

Upon hearing that Luffy cracked his knuckles, Sanji and Nami got into their fighting stance, Zoro pulled out his Katana and I got ready to use my devil fruit powers.

“Where arlong?” Luffy asked in a more monotone voice

“He’s probably in the map room” answered back Nami

“Then that’s where we’re going” Luffy said

Nami nodded leading Luffy to the Map room to where arlong was at

They left leaving me, Usopp , Zoro and Sanji to fight off the Fishmen

They all ran towards us and we started fighting them

I had three Fishmen my way throwing hit and punches at me as I dodge them using my devil fruit powers to freeze them and throw some punches and kicks of my own

A Fishmen tried to attacking me from the back in which I didn’t see but zoro had jumped in slicing away his throat

“Thanks” I mumbled out of breathe

He hummed

After finishing some more Fishmen I watched as a more bigger one started chasing Usopp

God no..

I ran away them as the Fishmen started speaking up, I used my ice powers to freeze his legs and run away Usopp

The Fishmen gruffled out stomping his fry and breaking out

“Shit” Usopp said looking terrified

“Shit indeed” I agreed now running along with Usopp

“Your not getting away” the Fishmen roared spitting out alcohol balls toward us as we both dodged it running some more

“All I need is one good shot” he whispered out looking back over I me

He got up about to shoot but one of the balls got him as he tumbled down the hill

I squealed running after him but falling down myself along with him

“Get back here” the Fishmen said now back to running after us

..

𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝑨𝑻 𝑨𝑹𝑳𝑶𝑵𝑮𝑺 𝑷𝑨𝑹𝑲

“You look tired” mocked Sanji and he gave another Fishmen a back kick and sweeper another one off there feet

“Maybe you should take a break” another mock again

This time it got to zoro as he got back up back to slicing away more Fishmen

“You ought to get back in the kitchen” sneered zoro

“Quit screwing around”

“Luffy,Nami and Y/n needs us!” Voiced out Sanji and zoro eyes turned dark at the mention of his crew mates name

“You just got here you don’t know what she needs” Gruffled out zoro

“I know she needs my cooking” prided out Sanji as he smirked over at zoro

“Putting two slices of bread together” mimicked zoro in a pissed off tone

“Ooh someone’s feeling threatened” Giggled buggy as his head was still stuffed in the bag

“then get me back to my body! We’re close I can feel my toes” Buggy continued

“Trust me I can help you guys win this thing” the clown still pleaded

Sanji looked over seeing the clowns body hanged up as he took off the bag off his shoulders

“I swear clown is you screw us over..” mumbled zoro

Sanji opened the bag dropping the clowns head on the floor as the clown groaned in pain attaching itself back onto its body

The clown yelled in joy feelings itself intact again

“oh, it’s so much better than I even remembered” the clown cheered

He looked over at Sanji and zoro

“Hey, so um..I’m gonna get out of here” mocked buggy as he stocked both his middle fingers to them while running away

“Hey!” Yelled zoro

“Sorry kiddos id love to make things right but it’s time to exit stage left” the clown said running along

“Fucking clown” zoro rasped out

𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝑻𝑶 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑷𝑶𝑽

“You okay” I asked out to Usopp as I pulled him up to his legs

“shh he’s coming duck” he instructed to play dead as we both laid down with him dashing hot sauce on us to make us both look dead

We both closed our eyes playing dead, feeling the presence of the fish man coming close

“too bad little one just when we were starting to have some fun” the Fishman whispered

Feeling him walk away we both opened our eyes as we slowly but quietly got back up

“Gotcha” whispered Usopp as he looked over at the hot sauce he used

“Hey, Neck flaps” I yelled out

“Where you going?” Continued Usopp

“You haven’t even tried my hot sauce” Usopp smirked

“ that still won’t save you my skin is tougher than bullets” prided out the fishman

“Maybe you should try one of my new patented fire rounds” Usopp suggested pulling something from behind his ear

“I’m a fishman I don’t catch fire” He said again

“ maybe you don’t but alcohol does” Usopp said

“Special attack, exploding star” he yelled again

now throwing the ball at the alcohol and watching as it exploded on the Fishmen in agony 

“Yeah, Ha! Take that”

“ the great Captain Usopp fells another notorious villain” Usopp sang out looking over at me in victory

We both jumped up giving each other a hight five

“The great captain Usopp did it again” I encouraged

“And no one’s around to see it but my fellow crew mate” he breathed out

“It’s okay.. they’ll belive me, your here” he convinced himself as I nodded

We both ran back to the park where Sanji and zoro were at

Once we reached over there we saw that they both were right one fish men

“Your crew mates are fools to have faith in such weak compatriots” mocked the large Fishmen

Usopp and I looked at each other

“Should we..” I asked out peeking over at Usopp

“Nah they’ll be fine” Usopp whispered back

We looked back over at them

“You and eve Badmouth Nami” Sanji grumbled taking off his blazer

“Yeah you don’t ever badmouth Y/n and the crew.. Now you’ve done it” Zoro said tighting his bandana

that’s so sweet

Sanji started giving him some lethal kicks calling out his moves as he does it and then finally sending the fishman flying into a shop

“Mouton shot?” zoro asked walked away

“all great Fine is called out they’re finishing moves” Sanji answered back

“Yeah, your gonna fit in just fine” Zoro said

I looked over at Usopp as he signaled us to go in and be prepared for any attacks

“Never fear Y/n the great Usopp with protect you!” Usopp yelled out running infront of me to inside the park

I followed behind him chuckling

“Oh. You guys did pretty good in here” Usopp exhaled out looking over at me while smiling

I looked over at zoro and Sanji nodding in approval

“Good job guys” I expressed out walking over to them

“You okay” zoro asked me examining me as Sanji looked over at the now talking temple

“Just fine, thank to Usopp” I answered in which made Usopp Beamer even more and Zoro rolled his eyes keeping his hands attached to his sword

Right then we saw Nami making her way down the falling temple

“Nami!” Sanji yelled in happiness holding out his hands

She ran past him and to us, hugging Zoro, Usopp and I in happiness

“Your all okay” she pointed out hugging tighter

Ouch

She let go smiling while out of breath

“Where luffy” asked Sanji

“He’s still inside..” she answered back

“Fighting arlong”

We all looked over towards the temple watching it continue to collapse

“He’s gonna be all right”Usopp said

“Right” now he sounded a bit more unsure

Just then the whole temple collapse, I gasped out in fear as felt zoro’a hand holding mines in protection

“He’s gonna be fine” zoro whispered into my ears rubbing his thumb over my fingers as he held them

I nodded my head

Silence it was after the whole temple dropped down

That’s when we saw luffys whole arm stick out from the pile of dust he was under

Phew

And he then jumped out I could finally let go of the fresh air I was holding in

“Nami!, you are our friend..we are your crew” Luffy cried out

Sanji laughed as I did too and so did the rest as luffy only smiled

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for killing a mosquito on purpose? 🦟🦟🦟

My (22M) roommate (23M) were school friends before living together (friendship almost 10 years long!), but last year he developed a huge thing for animal rights and asked me politely to not kill even a single fly in our house, because he thinks it's hypocrisy to only avoid hurting "big" animals.

I didn't mind it at first but it started bothering me last summer when I couldn't sleep at all because of the noise the mosquitoes were making. He just used weird scented products and said that they would keep the mosquitos away without killing them (they didn't).

Somehow I survived the summer (I admit I killed some when he wasn't home and then cleaned up the murder scene) but now that we're back from the winter break he started talking to me about how I should be vegan as a new year resolution.

Two days ago we had a fight because of this (he mentioned he was sad that it was too late for me to do veganuary and I yelled at him), and he said that if I keep hurting animals he won't be my friend anymore. I thought he was crazy but the fight ended there.

Yesterday a mosquito was slightly bothering me and since I was still mad at him, I decided to kill it right in front of him, mainly to piss him off but also because I didn't want to live by his rules anymore.

I thought he'd be angry but he started crying instead, since for me "hurting animals is more important than our friendship and I'm not trying to understand his point of view and his beliefs". He left all his stuff here and went to (I think) his parents house. He hasn't texted me or anything yet.

I'm feeling guilty for throwing away our friendship like this, especially since this was his only flaw and he was always an amazing person, always thinking of helping others. I don't feel like apologizing either though, because I wouldn't be actually sorry for the action itself.

AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[akemiiya]

pov first person (flowey) - luckypatch - vengeance route axis fight - 768 words

part of a fic that I scrapped because I got bored of writing it. but I remember being really proud of this scene when I wrote it so I'm letting it out of the drafts by itself. this was written a few months ago and unedited except for a single sentence that pissed me off too much to ignore.

content warning: minor unintentional self-harm

We reach the end of the Steamworks in record time… If the record was for the slowest time possible. We could’ve gotten here so much faster, but no, Clover just had to go out of their way to shoot every robot in this place to bits, even though they don’t even give any EXP!

And it's not only that! They even robbed the salesman for all his G! Which they don’t need, because there's nowhere to spend it on now that all the shopkeepers have evacuated! And they know it! They’re just going on a power trip for the sake of it, this infuriating brat!

We reach the furnace. Clover encounters the robot they’ve been chasing down the whole facility. It seems like the robot is finally going to fight them. He takes the lid from the trash can next to him to use as a shield, and the battle starts. 

The shield proves to be an impenetrable wall, blocking everything Clover throws at it. I would be offended, because those are my friendliness pellets it’s blocking, and they couldn’t be so weak as to be blocked by a flimsy trash can lid! But every pellet blocked enrages Clover even further, so I suppose I can overlook it.

The fight continues to drag on and no progress is made. Clover keeps dying, too. Ah, it’s so satisfying to watch them die. 

After the latest revival, they spend a few minutes forcefully pulling on their hair and scratching at their arms before they collect themself and proceed to confront the robot again. As they move, their sleeves ride up a little, allowing me to see the ugly rashes underneath. I watch it all with a placid smile. What sweet karma.

This time, the fight goes on for long enough that the robot starts to talk. He begs for his life, while Clover keeps shooting. The trash can lid still deflects all their bullets. 

Clover trembles violently. Fury is painted all over them – their harsh breathing, the way their fingers clench and unclench around their gun… I didn’t give Axis enough credit before this. He’s setting such a wonderful show for me, it takes everything I have to keep from laughing.

And then, he says, “I WAS FORCED TO NEUTRALIZE THAT HUMAN.”

Clover stops twitching.

All is still.

I feel a wild increase in Clover’s killing intent. I know it’s not directed at me, but regardless, a primal fear fills me from my petals to my roots. 

“W-WAIT. WHAT’S GOING ON?”

Clover’s face is normally inexpressive, while their body language does all the talking. But now, their usual poker face is gone. The expression on their face right now… terrifying is the only word I can use to describe it.

Their SOUL rotates to become upright, just like a monster’s. The tip faces Axis. It emanates a bright yellow glow, and power surges from all around, converging around the floating heart in their palm. One second, two… they release the energy in a powerful blast that knocks Axis’ shield away.

Yet again, more magic swells up and reaches a crescendo. A blinding flood of magic is released, dead-center for the robot.

The light of the beam renders my eyes useless for a few seconds. A deafening screech engulfs my hearing as it makes contact with its target. When my vision clears, all that is left of Axis is a gruesome hunk of metal.

…

My ears are still ringing.

My stomata open all at once. Plant respiration doesn't work the same way breathing as a Boss Monster does, but even still, my leaves desperately attempt to capture more air for my non-existent lungs.

I am speechless. Even I, with all my boredom and effort, find it extremely difficult to create destruction of this level in just one hit. This is simply… too much.

After a moment, I remember the company I’m in and pull myself together.

“Um, okay. No, this is fine. This can be very useful against the Ki–”

Clover walks away without acknowledging me.

“Wait, where are you going? I’m still talking!”

Their disrespect has me reaching my limit. But a small, growing part of me… it is relieved that they aren’t paying me any mind. For some reason, I get the feeling that they could make me meet the same fate as the robot if I pushed too hard, and there would be no coming back from that.

But that’s ridiculous. I quickly SAVE the file. Right. They couldn’t permanently hurt me, even if they tried.

I’m still the one in control here.

I’m still in charge.

[ceoofhelaegon]

I'm so pissed off about this shitty show. How much do you want to bet that Maelor will be Aemond's son? God, I've never seen this, the showrunners not wanting to make a CANON couple, the actors fighting for their MARRIED characters to have scenes together, what a joke. GodAnd I'm not even going to talk about the chances of Daeron being a bastard. Can we please fire Rian Condal and Sara Hess?

Well, I am not as invested now…the only thing that keeps me here is TGC and Phia and their talent.

The way they are making Aemond into an evil villain, and how the locals are siding with Aegon of all people is very telling.

If Aemond is Maelor’s father, it won’t be a romance at all.

So picture it, Aemond has just tried to kill his brother over him laughing at him for sucking on titties and he just injured the only other available dragon in his camp because he thinks his senile dragon will be able to take on all of the other dragons by itself…and now he will turn to Helaena?! The grieving Queen? Yeah, that won’t be pretty at all.

And all of that just to abandon her with a bastard? To make another one? Okay, I knew he wasn’t a good guy but this is just psychopathic.

And Aegon and Helaena will be seen as his victims, the bitter second son that couldn’t take his brother having his birthright, and his Targaryen Queen, when he is supposed to be betrothed, mind you.

[athanza]

Starlett - Part 2

Cooper Howard/fem!OC (not self-insert)

Tags: Hurt/comfort (sort of?), non-allowed romantic connection, lots of tention, pre and post war drama, some Cooper dad fluff because why not ♡

Warnings: Mentions of domestic abuse and (no graphic scenes or descriptions of that nature), angst, canon wasteland violence

This branches out from canon but I thought it was a cute story idea so I had to write it. Enjoy! ♡

Part 1 | Part 3 | Final part

2296

The harsh sun was setting now which meant he needed to find somewhere to settle in for the night. The rickety second floor of one of these buildings would be the best option so he'd have a good vantage point if something were to happen.

As he searched for the right building he began to hear muffled screaming coming from further in the crumbled town. At first, he couldn't give a rat's ass, but he needed to know if it was a big enough threat for him to keep moving.

It didn't take long for gunshots to begin ringing out through the ruins, but they were only from 3 separate guns...then 2...then 1.

As he reached the area where the shots were coming from, the sounds of a pissed off Yao Guai became apparent, and there was one singular person left to fight it off but she looked like she was badly injured.

"You son of a bitch!!" She yelled when her gun jammed and the wounded beast readied itself for another charge.

As it lunged at her one more time a shotgun shell slammed into the side of it's head and it went down, a pink mist left in the air for a moment as the rest of it's brains splattered to the ground.

The woman turned to where the shot came from to see Cooper walking casually towards her, unable to see his face very well in the dark. She pointed her now un-jammed rifle at him just in case.

"Those things'll kill ya." He quipped.

"Yeah, no shit." She replied, wincing at the pain from a gash on her side.

He cocked his head a little. Her voice sounded familiar.

"Why don't you put down that gun so I can cut myself some bear hide and be on my way?"

She scoffed. "So you can shoot me in the face and steal all my shit? No thanks cowboy."

That was it, the confirmation he didn't think he'd get.

"Irene?" He said.

The woman paused briefly, then aimed her gun properly. "How do you know my name?"

He stepped a little closer so that the light from the lantern on the ground could illuminate his face.

It took her a moment but she recognised his eyes and immediately lowered her weapon.

"Cooper?"

2077

A scream woke Cooper up in the middle of the night and he instinctively got up and ran to his daughter's room.

"Daddy!" Janey cried when she saw him.

He came over and hugged her tightly. "Hey, hey, it's ok, it was just a dream, you're ok."

She cried into him for a moment before spluttering "Why don't you and mommy love each other anymore?"

That caught him off guard. He had no idea what to say and it hurt so much hearing her say that.

"It's not that we don't love each other honey, it's just..." He tried desperately to search for the right words. "Well...your mom and I just disagree on somethin' really important and we tried to figure it out but it was too hard."

"What did you disagree on?"

"Well...that's grown up stuff baby girl."

She sulked quietly, putting her head back on his chest.

"We still love you very very much, that hasn't changed at all."

"Is it my fault?" She asked and his heart broke.

"No baby girl, no, not at all. None of this is your fault."

"I know I haven't been doing my homework, and I don't always feed Roosevelt when I'm told and-"

He cut her off, kneeling beside the bed so he could look her in the eyes. "Janey," he held her hands. "None of this is your fault. Your mother and I loved you since the day we found out we were gonna have you. And when you were born, we looked at you and we just cried and cried.

I have never been prouder or happier than I was in that moment. And you know what? That hasn't changed a bit, not even a little."

Janey smiled, her face still wet with leftover tears.

"Really?" She sniffed.

"Yes." Cooper chuckled, scooping her up and hugging her again and she giggled. "Now, how about a hot chocolate, with double marshmallows?"

She smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

She hugged him as he carried her downstairs. "I love you daddy." She said.

His chest burst with warmth and happiness and he smiled. "I love you too sweetheart."

The next morning, Janey was watching cartoons on the TV while eating her breakfast and Cooper sipped greatfully at his cup of hot coffee, having not gotten much sleep.

He smiled as he heard his daughter giggle at the TV, her mouth full of cereal, and sat down at the dining table with his newspaper.

But just as he sat down the loud ringing from the telephone rang out through the kitchen and he sighed heavily.

"I'll get it!" Janey yelled and ran over, hoping it was her mother. Her face dropped when it wasn't her mother's voice she heard on the other end of the line. "Yeah he's here, I'll put him on."

Cooper looked up at her tone and she held the receiver out to him. "It's for you dad."

He walked over and took it, kissing her on the head before she went back to her cartoons.

"Hello?" He said.

"Mr. Howard, it's Irene. I'm sorry to call you at home but I need your help."

Her voice told him it was serious. "What's wrong?"

"You were right. About Frank. I know we barely know each other but I need somewhere to stay for the night before I go to my mother's up in Sacramento. Lee...Lee doesn't know."

"I uh..."

"...no, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you." She said.

"No, no, it's ok. I'll make up the guest room for you."

He could hear a faint sigh of relief in her answer. "Thank you, so much, I owe you one."

He gave her his address and they hung up.

"Who was that dad?" Asked Janey.

"A friend from work. She needs a place to stay tonight so she's gonna stay in the guest bedroom. You'd like her."

She kind of shrugged in an uninterested way and took another bite of her cereal, her attention back on the TV.

He hoped no one sees Irene at his house, that's the last thing he needs in the papers, especially now.

Part 1 | Part 3

[skrunksthatwunk]

ok sequel post to the it's cool how obvious mako's crush on ryuko is from day one post from a couple hours ago bc I wanna talk about them more

ryuko takes a bit longer to warm up to her, but honestly? not by much. ryuko has a protective streak in her that lets her befriend people who need her pretty easily, and she's endeared to people relatively quickly if they don't piss her off (i.e. the mankanshokus, senketsu, maiko, eventually satsuki). she really does like people, even if she can be a little standoffish at first

ryuko's a little taken aback by mako's immediate strong affection, but she quickly adapts (very clear in how her approach to mako trying to tackle her changes from dodging to catching her and setting her down gently in only a few episodes). she doesn't get mako at first, but figures her out pretty quickly and adjusts. that's just mako, y'know? plus mako's just very kind to her in a way most people aren't. ryuko, too, wants company. she wants a family, she wants friends.

plus, her protective nature is fed a lot by the other students kidnapping mako so much and mako's dependence on her in those moments. mako is something precious to save and ryuko's weakness, but she also gives her strength. her support means a lot to her and mako comes to her rescue often (in the bathroom with tsumugu, de-monsterifying her, standing up to her family and fighting her demons in the fight club episode, etc etc). ryuko's fight against satsuki is one that feels very solitary. it's emphasized a lot just how many people satsuki has willing to fight for her, and there's just one ryuko. she has backup via mikisugi, mako, and senketsu, but what they can do for her is often pretty limited by their circumstances. again, mako's the one who calls her back from the edge multiple times. she's the key to calming her down. she's the one she staggers home to, the one she celebrates with, the one she spends her free time with. she chooses her company because she likes it. a lot.

there's a lot of moments where ryuko's like yep that's mako :) she's sillyyy. she brightens up immediately around her and often sours when other people enter the picture. she's the one good thing about honouji academy, y'know? she gives in to her a lot, letting her come along on her return to the ruins of her house, letting her come to honouji for the cultural festival, etc. she has an "aww i can't say no to you" thing going most of the time. mako's resolve and persistence is what bores through ryuko's walls and lets her get close to her. it's what she mentions when, after the wedding scene (and we'll get to that, trust me) she says mako and senketsu are more than friends. mako's surprised at her inclusion (again, she tends to slot herself as #2 to senketsu, her sunday best) and ryuko cites that persistence. mako was not only there for her, but stuck around, even when ryuko pushed her away, and that means something to ryuko. ryuko who people always misjudged or sent away or avoided or fought. ryuko who was lonely, whom no one fought for but herself. mako was there, and mako feels the same (as she says running in the naked sol's generator very near the end which. the sheer joy with which they say each other's names there is just. waaaaaaa)

ok the wedding scene. the wedding scene. not gonna go too crazy here bc I don't wanna detail the post but I'll say this: junketsu is frequently referred to as a wedding dress, and the fantasy/hallucination it forces upon ryuko (as the kamui itself was forced on her) is one of a normal-girl, average kinda life. one where she has a mother who's always there for her, she grows up normally, and she's happy. and she's happy because she has a family. she's not fighting all the time, she's in her place in society, she's having a wedding. of course, who she's marrying is irrelevant, even to junketsu. the man is faceless and unacting. he's not what makes this fantasy appealing. it's the assimilation, the acceptance of her by a greater society and authority structure (in this case ragyo). when mako and senketsu burst through the door, its handle flies off and knocks over the groom, stiff as a board, and he is forgotten. mako walks down the aisle to her, to call her back to her senses. ryuko says this is what she needs to be happy, that she'll kill mako to get it. mako says this isn't her or what she wants, pulling the "the ryuko i know" thing from before. but she's always been right. she knows her well. ryuko thinks she hurts mako/senketsu, and that realization lets her break out, lets her flay herself ripping junketsu off. she says she's getting out of that damn wedding dress even if it kills her. this is all to say that that scene is one of the most lesbian-coded things I've ever seen. mako's like you don't need to conform or marry a faceless groom or have a normal life to be happy, and i don't think you're truly happy or yourself like this. and ryuko realizes she's right. she doesn't want to marry a faceless groom, she feels trapped and changed by the wedding dress, by its ceremony and expectations. it's something that has a lot of similarity to a lot of lesbians' experiences of the expectations the world puts on them to marry men, to fit into this role. the joy of having a wedding vs the indifference to actually being married to someone. it's something that resonated with me a lot, having figured out i was a lesbian only a few months prior to seeing it for the first time.

it's after this that she says mako and senketsu are something more than friends. the exact nature of her and senketsu's relationship is unclear to me and debatable, but her and mako's take a very definite romantic shape by the end when mako asks her out, her hallelujah moment featuring them kissing and holding hands, with ryuko in a boy's highschool uniform, evoking heterosexual imagery to imply romantic intent ("I want to go on a date like a boy and a girl would go on a date" is kinda the effect). I think ryuko kinda figures it out then. she wants to go out with mako. she wants to be something romantic to her, something romantic with her.

ryuko lets her in. it's clear to everyone that mako's managed a closeness with her that no one else has (they don't acknowledge senketsu as a person/friend for a long time). they'd move mountains for each other. ryuko, who always had to fight everything alone, finally has someone who's willing to wade through all the bullshit life and ryuko herself give her because she believes in ryuko, because she thinks she's worth it.

my point is ryuko's into mako as much as mako's into her, she's just a bit quieter about it

[emilywaters]

So I just finished watching arcane season 2 act 3 and I have Thoughts.

Act 3 spoilers below

(I apologise for any spelling/grammar mistakes and if it all sounds wack. It's like late and I needed to empty my brain)

So I'll start with what I absolutely loved.

Seeing that Vi is actually the 'jinx' bcs in the timeline she dies, everyone else lives. And along this line is her saying, "I always choose wrong."

Lesbian Sex.

Canon Lesbian Sex.

The JaVik space marriage.

The casual representation of a very huge amount of demographics (queer, disabled, POC, etc)

The art style, animation, soundtrack, voice acting, character designs, set designs, fight scenes, the casual representation, all of those were absolutely beautiful. It was clearly a labour of love, and I have so much respect and appreciation for every single person involved.

Next, I do have some neutral points, where there are questions I'm not sure were answered, but it could also be me missing something.

These include,

The actual motive of the black roses,

What Ambessa did to piss them off,

Why Maddie was with Ambessa,

The consequences of going beyond the 4 second limit,

And potentially more. If there are answers to these questions that I have simply missed, please do tell me and disregard any points I make surrounding them.

Okay, so if nearly everything was perfect, where do I find fault? Tragically, the plot.

I watched season 1 quite a while back, so I'm drawing on my murky memories of it when I reference it.

In season 1 our main conflict was the undercity, with Jink, Silco, Sevika, versus the rich and affluent Piltover. Rich girl realizes the people of Zaun are suffering and two scientists try to solve problems in their own way.

This theme carries over into the first act of season 2, and somewhat into the 2nd act as well. However, this storyline, which has been a very important one, seems to almost be completely discarded for the Hextech-arcane plot line.

The undercity Vs the rich feels like it was solved too easily. How does a city that has suffered immensely at the hands of the rich and successful turn around so quickly to help them. And how does a city sending polluted air into an already crumbling city, ignoring their poverty and calling them filthy animals, simply turn around and accept them. It feels like that theme was shoved into a drawer, with having Sevika and others joining the council added as a consolation prize. There was no justice for their dead. And those in power suffer no consequences.

As I so crassly put it in my fervent texts to my friend, "Season 2 looked like it was going to be rich bitches Vs poor on steroids with police brutality." That's how the first act started out. We were going to see how the effects of grief, manipulation, hatred and privilege so quickly blur out all the innocent collateral of your rampage.

Then these seemed to minimize within the second act and vanish almost entirely in the third act. Additionally, the other minor plots feel underdeveloped, with a lot of potential, but too many spread too thin.

I saw some people talking about how Arcane was rushing the plot too much at the start of season two, and I do see what they mean now.

The inherent theme of the story, which was about liberation, equality, the guilt of the rich, felt like it shifted in act 3 into, again, as crassly put by me, "true peace is hive mind oh wait no imperfections are good thing."

Of course, I could be completely wrong and missing the mark entirely, so if I am please do enlighten me, preferably without insult, as I've been known to be careless.

The Undercity's rage requires more justice and I feel like it was discarded for a flashier prize.

I feel like the first arc and some of the second could've been a season by itself. They could've tied up the undercity Vs rich plot, with some form of stalemate or some other conclusion, and shift the focus to the Hextech-arcane plot line, with Jayce's whole speech about unity.

Then the latter half of act 2 and the third act would be a season 3, giving more time and weight to that battle and the factors surrounding it, while also showing the results of the previous parts.

I do wonder if there was an ultimatum where we get one season with lesbians or no lesbians and more seasons, where the former was chosen, but that's just conspiracy and speculation.

All in all, it's a beautiful show that had a lot of potential, but rushed and botched something they could've milked for one more season, for the money's sake, if not for good plot. If my points are dissuaded by any things I missed, please do let me know.

I did enjoy the show immensely and it was a good time overall. I'm in love with the characters and their dynamics and the setting and the art and animation, the soundtrack, it may have not made sense, but by god was it beautiful.

[crystalrainfall]

Dear Izumi Curtis,

Maybe stranding kids on an Island, with no survival tools other than a knife and forbidding the use of alchemy, their only real reliable source and means of survival to make things easier, since these are children, might've been a mentally deranged decision.

I do not care that an employee was there to take care of the children, if said employee's only purpose was to fight the already weakened, and vulnerable, hurt children and steal recourses, such as hard earned food, from them in order to "train" or "toughen" them up...

The real risk of that wound Ed obtained from a WILD fox is nothing to scoff at.

The wound could've been infected if not treated properly, which I don't think a couple of children could've done easily, regardless of if they are geniuses or not ...

It's still highly irresponsible.

That's not to mention the diseases that fox could've carried.

This scenario could've ended in such tragedy which is only caused through pure negligence.

I do not care that Izumi herself was trained in a much harsher scenario, she was clearly an adult during her training in Briggs and thus could probably asses the situation and consent.

Which children just can't, no matter how much a child thinks they know an 10-9 year old just isn't mature.

And I don't even think pinako, the legal guardian for the two boys at the time knew of this, because if she did she rightfully so wouldn't have allowed it....

I hate that this is played off as a joke, that the two were trained in an absurd way...It's so easy to forget that fma is an anime when it's usually very grounded in reality and tries to explore deep conflicts... But when similar serious topics get ignored, the handling of the other topics fall flat and almost ignorant...

Slapstick in 2003 doesn't work.

It doesn't when the show tries to tackle extreme topics and tries to take itself serious...

Edward fearing Izumi and being physically hurt by her isn't funny because it feels out of place in a show that's meant to tackle trauma...

It feels like these issues are ignored and undermined.

Like I get this part was supposed to be a joke but it just comes off as not funny... Because you're just left asking yourself "is this actually trauma or just a joke?"

Which I think is the wrong message.

Just that it unintentionally comes off as extremely manipulative, having someone who's supposed to be a maternal figure for Ed and Al show this much violence...

And mind you, this is exclusive to Ed and Al. No other kid has ever been hit or treated that way, yelled at?, sure, but even then it was mild. Tf kind of messaging is that? It's okay to harm the ones closest to you? You're doing it for their own good? As long as the person treats you good afterwards it's okay to be hit?

Like I know this is probably unintentional, because these issues just aren't addressed in the show, so it's not meant to be taken literally but damn did they miss the mark hard!...

Like this entire sequence just pisses me off, there's already a post on this site which discusses the harsh flinch that Ed had when Mustang approached him after Nina's death in the alleyway...

The 5th picture of him just expecting to be hit again and accepting it... Just is wrong...

Like is this kid just used to it? Being treated like dog shit by authority or adult figures in his life, by anyone that isn't his deceased mother?

And the entire scene is flat, no music no nothing... This is just painful to watch. The hug afterwards just comes off as empty, damage control, to apologize after hurting someone, but doing it again.

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Dude I loved the headcanons they were so good and also I’m glad to find out other people aren’t big fans of Zeus attacking Athena cause I was so confused when that happened I’ll be honest it just didn’t seem right to me for his character lol I just like the idea of her siblings being protective ngl

Also I read your fic and it was sick I love it!!! I loved the little detail of Athena raising his hand to her forehead also the little scene of Athena meeting baby Telemachus is just AAAAA I love it “There were more things worth fighting for, not just fame and glory.” Is such a good line

Keep up the good work man! Your stuffs amazing :D

Thank you so much for enjoying my headcanons and fic <333

So, a little rambling about the fic.

I love the Zeus' Beast Mode animation and Luke Holt's performance, but not so much the scene itself. Epic!Zeus never strike as an easy-to-piss-off father to me, more like he always sees things as game (like in Thunder Bringer) because he is above most matters. But I also want to incorporate the stern but educating father aspect to Zeus.

I imagine in their battle, Zeus is teaching his daughter self-sacrifice. Zeus spooked Athena with a false charge to push her into a dilemma (like he did with Odysseus): would Athena choose her pride and possibly Zeus' favor or give them up to save her mortal friend?

I decide to keep the Athena meeting baby Telemachus flashback scene because it's like a final and biggest drive for her character development, going from a selfish goddess only fighting to be known (as seen in My Goodbye) to realizing that "there were more things to fight for".

And so in the end, Athena chose to risk her own reputation for Odysseus and his family. Zeus would be proud of her for her righteous decision but was taken aback she took it a little bit too far at the kneeling, holding his hand, and almost crying stuff 😅

I want to put in the 2nd gen Olympians' reaction in the fic too, but I fear it would be too much POVs :')

Anyways, thank you again for reading my little rewrite!

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Ok, I'm going to say something a bit dodgy, do take into account that my beef is with Rick and not Annabeth.

I might have been tempted to read The Chalice of the Gods (as opposed to anything after Staff of Serapis, which I've given a pass) if I didn't know that, as long as Annabeth is there as well, Percy won't be well-written. More specifically, he won't be written as himself.

When Rick wrote HoO, he had to figure out how to include Annabeth in the seven without having all these other powers dwarf her out. He did this by establishing a strict division of labour, according to which she was the strategist, and no one else. That has never been the case, at least not in such an exacting way.

Percy's saved their butts with his plans at the very least as often as she has. He's outsmarted his opponents, he's manipulated them, he has like a signature move that he pulls in almost every single book that basically goes "forget you're an almighty entity who could probably just ignore me without any problem and get down here and fight me at my level!" (tlt: Ares, Luke (unsuccessfully, since he refuses). som: Luke again (successfully, since he plays on his need to control his army's opinion of him). botl: Antaeus. tlo: Kronos. technically Gaia in son), he's been the one to figure out what they needed to from the prophecies (som: that they needed to send Clarisse to camp. ttc: the thing with Atlas's curse. botl: that Nico was the ghost king. I don't include tlo bc Annabeth figured it out first), he often comes up with the winning plans, like how he was the one who figured out how to get past Cerberus, even if it was Annabeth's expertise that allowed them to pull through (just like it was Percy's skill and weapon that allowed Annabeth's plan for Medusa to succeed) or tangling Antaeus on the ceiling chains. The scene with Chrysaor? Perfect blend of knowledge of myths, strategic genius and pure labia. For all the times we see him lose his cool or speak impulsively, we also se him go "wait, this person is trying to provoke me, I have to chill". I saw a comment a little while ago that Percy should've been dragging Giants to the gods feet for them to finish off -- that's what he did! Only he didn't physically drag them there, he planned them there. He tricked Polybotes into following him to Terminus, into pissing Terminus off so he'd agree to help, then killed him. While it was far from complex, he's the one who came up with the strategy to beat Otis and Ephialtes, so they only had to wait for Bacchus to step up.

I'm not saying Annabeth isn't smart. She has an impressive store of knowledge, which in itself is a clever thing to store, because it matches with her style of managing resources -- be they mental, like her facts, or physical, like her hat or things she finds in her surroundings, like the glass balls in Medusa's lair. Annabeth is probably the best at looking at a situation and going "okay, let's look at what we have. Ah, yes, a limitless credit card. Ah, yes, a store-full of clothes that no one's going to want back. Ah, yes, those weird-ass proteins that Hermes gave us, just like Hermes gave someone else food for a place just like this. Ah, yes, knowledge of how to fly a helicopter."

Here's the thing, though. When I read the phrase "Athena-like chatter", I almost broke something laughing. She's good with lies, hers are better and more believable than her friends'. When it comes to chatter, though... I couldn't even tell you how good she is, because I don't think I've ever seen her do something like that before MoA?

But, you know, okay, Rick has to spend more time in her head, she's been elevated in status to one of several protagonists instead of a deuteragonist as she was in PJO (he has to solve this oopsie - I don't agree with everything here, like how, except for her intelligence, Annabeth's other skills are "dump stats", but...), so he has her expand. Good for her. I think it worked alright in her fights in MoA -- a little bit of the old (impressive expertise in certain areas, management of resources), add a little bit of the new (a perceptiveness and gift of gab that she's rarely shown before, if ever, although you could argue she might have taken the "talk your enemy into beating itself" from Percy just like she learned to simplify from Frank).

That's not my real problem. It's this, from when they're fighting Akhlys:

Percy wanted to give her more time. She was the brains. Better for him to get attacked while she came up with a brilliant plan.

... What. Of everything that we've seen of Percy. That I've described just now. Makes sense with this? And please don't give me crap about "it's because his self-esteem is so low!" because 1) this isn't just about what he's thinking, it's about what he's doing, which is pretty much nothing while he waits for Annabeth to save them. He's never lacked initiative like this. Even while thinking, "wow, this absolutely crazy and dimwitted plan is so bad that it's going to get us all killed!" he still did it. ( 2) I've heard "it's bc of his self-esteem/ he plays dumb on purpose" to justify fandom's constant underestimation of Percy's smarts too many time to let it fly now.)

"It's because he trusts Annabeth's judgement more than his own, and he lets her do what she does best when she's available. Other times he's been forced to come up with a plan, it's because she isn't." Did he wait for Annabeth to shoot her shot with Ares before going in with his own plan? Did he keep quiet his misgivings about her level of preparation for the Labyrinth in BotL? Did he leave her to organize the battle plan in TLO? Did he give up after Chrysaor beat him twice in a sword fight and wait for her to come up with a plan? Absolutely not.

"Well, he still beat Akhlys, so I don't see what you're complaining about, it's not like he's useless or anything." True. It wouldn't be the first time he has to resort to brute force to get past an enemy he couldn't outthink (the telekhines come to mind) or that he never even bothered trying to outthink (Hyperion comes to mind), because it's not like strategizing is something that's essential to Percy's style, even if it does come up a lot. I said before that it's his actions that bother me and not what he was thinking, but there is some of that, too. That he wasn't thinking "I can't figure out what to do" or even too busy fighting to start to wonder about what to do, but "there's nothing I can contribute here but my fighting skills". It's sadly a dynamic that Rick has tried to encourage between them.

Sure, Percy only ever gets more powerful, but, even without Annabeth around, he loses any of his braincells. Look at his underwater fight with Polybotes. He starts off in the ship with an impressive display of power -- holding the ship together in the middle of a supernatural storm. Then he gets underwater and immediately loses to PB. The guy he would've one-shotted several times if he could kill him without a god's help. "He doesn't have experience fighting underwater," water not only gives him a strength boost, it gives him a skill boost, as we see in TLT. Besides, how much skill do you need to not swim directly into a cloud of poison? And really, he doesn't get to do anything but that.

Compare it to SON. He's fighting an almost-whole legion of dead people, with a mix of sword fighting and a whirlwind, and he might have won if they hadn't been able to reform. Recognizing that he was about to lose and to give Frank and Hazel a chance to fight Alcyoneus without having to worry about the army, he brings a whole end of the iceberg down to drown them all. And yet, you know what really struck me of all this? How smart Percy was, because he didn't just fight the legion. He aimed for the eagle, realizing that that would be the best way to keep them focused on him and not Frank.

If he's this capable, though, where does that leave Annabeth, who's a skilled warrior but whose most distinctive trait is thinking?

The whole power/smarts dichotomy is also the actual context of that line about Annabeth being the most powerful demigod. He's just spent two weeks teaching Magnus how to survive at sea, when it suddenly occurs to him that the most helpful thing for him to learn is how to "use what you've got on hand -- your team, your wits, the enemy's own magical stuff." Which is how, despite how often he's done just that, he concludes that Annabeth is the most powerful demigod and the best person to teach him how to survive. (Which is, sadly, all that that comment amounts to. Annabeth doesn't then get a chance to strut her stuff, teach Magnus, show off her smarts, play a part however small in his quest, give some insight into her mind -- nope! She says it was sweet of him and then just leaves with Percy.)

With a bit of luck, RR reread pjo to nail down the feel of it in order to write a book that's supposed to be a tie in for a tv show set in the early days (that's a lot of subordinates!), so he might've rediscovered the characters and found a way to balance that with the... way that he writes them now. I'm not optimistic, though.

(Also, if I have to read more of Percy being always afraid of Annabeth getting angry at him or her looking angry at the smallest of things and this being played as her being a girlboss, or how you "have to keep your boyfriend on his toes", I'll claw my own eyes out, but that's another topic.)

[foccaccia]

listen. im not saying the Avatar Yangchen duology is the most serious, heartbreaking, well-written, or adult story ive ever read. it isnt. but it also took me by fucking surprise. the torture scene? yangchen's successive breakdowns? jetsun's death and fate? all the deaths?? that one dead kid? (and all the other dead tortured child army kids??) the slow endless horror of the avatar cycle? being literally haunted and fucking lost in the countless incarnations of yourself and the knowledge that you have to dirty yourself for eternity with guilt, failure, death, and sin to save a bare few in the face of a world that will never stop trying to kill itself? having to make peace with that?

yangchen is so compelling to me. everyone loved her brief moment in the Avatar show, because of her stark "You have to abandon your own spiritual needs for the betterment of the world". but the novels drive that home in an interesting way.

yangchen is faced with greed on an unparalleled scale, and it is tearing the world apart. she is so desperate to do some good - shes so haunted by her countless past lives and desperate to at least not have regrets the same way they all do. she builds a spy network from nothing before she's even a teenager because she cant trust anyone, and at every step she is betrayed over and over by literally everyone she cares about, every choice she makes hurts or kills people, she spends almost the entirety of the second novel hopped up on enough drugs to would kill an ordinary person just so she can stay awake bc shes so terrified of hesitating for a single second. i cant figure out if haunted or chronically ill is a better term for whatever is happening in her brain but its. its fucked.

in a lot of ways she is objectively terrible at both avatarhood and being a spy, but she is exactly what the world needs. she so desperately loves her people, her culture, mercy, pacifism, and systematically cuts every tie to these things, no matter how much it hurts. she gets her hands so fucking dirty, she abandons her principles in every circumstance but one (the last Unanimity), she lets murderers and torturers go free and takes immediate economic control of half a world to abuse it.

and its the right decision. i know she gets flak because of how hard kuruk had to invisibly work the next cycle to fight the spirits yangchen pissed off, but yangchen's whole character is about balance, even more than aang's ever was, imo. aang gets a nearly perfect happy ending (which is good! there were good morals and a great story about culture and peace and genocide in the show, im not criticizing it) but yangchen's story really is wholly about balancing the world and the sacrifices you make to keep it even. for all that shes not a great avatar, shes actually a perfect avatar. she fixed it.

alao, kavik is fascinating. im putting him in a terrarium and shaking it. and the stark criticism of the white lotus the entire time... the implication they caused the platinum affair... ayunerak and do flatly admitting they will let (and even help along) the nations crash and burn in an apocalyptic war without fighting to stop it if it means they have control and can pop out of a bunker at the end to reshape society.... augh.

[cressthebest]

Crimson Rivers thoughts pt. 33

chapter 52:

1. why is the title “boggarts” …. i’m so worried

2. dorcas just put lucius in his place 😌

3. 😐 laser eyes at mcgonagall. i know why she’s doing it, but this boggart is pissing me off

4. nothing is a more powerful motivator than wanting to beat your siblings

5. NOOOoooo ELI! NO! i had hopes he’d last till the escape

6. once again, making connections. the horcrux hornet venom is like the cruciatus curse

7. that boggart to marlene was CRUEL

8. omg that boggart is getting worse. pulled out vanity and hodge. imma catch hands with someone

9. 😦 if marlene doesn’t make it out of the maze i’m gonna fucking lose it

10. “Like the person [Sirius] fought in his last games where he quite literally bit their finger off. A whole finger. Blood and muscle and bone. He bit right through and spit it out. Didn't choke, didn't gag, didn't even slow down.”

😦😦 also canon peter pettigrew reference!!

11. NARCISSA!! MY GIRL!! she has to make it out plsss

12. reg saved marlene ☺️☺️☺️

13. 😐 i am not amused by the james boggart at all

14. i am in fact PISSED at the james boggart

15. james boggart dying and regulus crying like he never has before has me SOBBING

16. james is both upset that reg thinks he’s dead, and so so pleased that he’s loved so intensely. and i- yeah. yeah, he’s right about that one, i’m afraid

17. reg even in his head is so casually like ☺️☺️ my fiancé

18. shit SHIT NO!! AUGUSTA!!

19. the augusta and alice scene is HEARTBREAKING and the fact that frank has to watch and can only touch the screen and AAAAHHH

20. “Now, this—oh, this is fucking brutal, and Sirius relishes in it.”

that fight with bellatrix was long coming yet i’m so scared for it

21. bellatrix has a spear and literally all sirius thinks is “Well, great. Just great. There she goes, and—yep, she has it. Lovely.” 😭😭😭 he sounds so british like “pip pip how unfortunate”

22. 😧 bellatrix admitted to having attempted to murder sirius by pushing him down the stairs. yo, i don’t think that’s how you treat a kid

23. holy shit holy shit, sirius just caught the spear as it was thrown at him. bro that’s wild

24. … um wtf. actually. sirius got pulled into the hedge and the cannon sounds. but like… pov??

25. nobody listens to reg. like my man was literally like “if you kill sirius, i kill you” and yet they’re somehow surprised when he kills them

26. “Regulus' very sense of identity is stamped with Sirius' signature. He is who he is because of Sirius, and he can never be anything else, and he doesn't even really want to be.”

um actually that’s the sound of my heart shattering into a million and one pieces

27. reg: I THOUGHT YOU DIED??

sirius: lmao no?

28. “"I'm not scared of anything," Regulus croaks, because he is scared of too many things to even count, because is scared of everything and everything itself.”

this is sad but like so so so relatable of him

29. when augusta dies and frank breaks down sobbing around everyone, i’m so fucking pissed that he had to witness that, that others had to witness his breakdown, and that he’s in the position of knowing she was in the arena for him. i’m so angry at riddle

30. fuck YEAH james is about to get recruited. thank fucking god