#the silver lining of knowing there's like 5+ major reasons for it is that it's a reassurance when i start getting Anxious it's long covid

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

update: still 90% soup with occasional bursts of brain cells for either fairly simple things, or more complicated things that burn brain out to Get Into, cannot Articulate into Words, or both. ugggghhhhh

brain is half soup and half eating itself. pokes cautiously at some of my closer-to-being-done solo rpg systems/hacks

[azsazz]

Bloody Knuckles and the Songs of Death (Part 5)

Azriel x Reader

Summary: Reader is everything that Azriel is not. Opposite feelings but equal death in the end.

AKA: Half a rewrite of chapters 43-47 of ACOWAR where reader is now there as part of the Autumn Court, excited to meet Azriel. The other half are my own ideas.

Warnings: Major themes of death and torture, ACOWAR spoilers (previous parts), blood, gore, mentions of abuse, (eventual) smut.

Word Count: 1,796

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part 3) (Part 4)

Notes: I forgot how much I bloody love this one 😉

_________________________________________

The alliance doesn’t start well.

Without your ability to assure the others that Beron will come around and join their forces, your word means nothing to the rest of the High Lords.

You’re shown to a room for the night, and are left alone. There’s a platter of food to graze from, sitting on the table. It’s filled with luscious looking fruits and hearty meats to match. There’s a shining bottle of Dawn’s finest wine and a pair of glasses sitting next to the silver platter, as if it were more than just you alone tonight in this larger than large suite.

It’s all well and fine for you, though, because you are finally away from the clutches of Beron. 

As if he knows that you’re thinking of him, the hatred for the male that’s kept you prisoner for so many years, the bargain mark on your forearm begins burning in reminder. You tug up the sleeve of your deep chocolate leathers with a hiss, watching as the palm shaped burn mark flushes red with heat.

Beron always likes to assure his bargains with a handprint. You’ve seen enough of them to go around, even if the High Lord commanded to mark you in a place that could be easily concealed. Backs of necks, biceps, even the occasional palm print across a cheek are all of the marks you’ve seen made by the Autumn Lord.

Gritting your teeth, you snag the bottle and a couple of berries, eating them from your palm as you stride for the armoire. Slugging the bottle on one of the sweater-lined shelves, you strip the clothes from your body, breathing in a sigh of relief from the constricting leather. Your arm still burns with the remnants of your master’s reminder, as it always does, and you hope that the drink and the cool breeze of Dawn will sate your warm skin.

It’s not the burn you yearn for, that heat of a body beneath you while you wring their life in your hands.

The whisper of silk slides graciously across your skin, smooth and soft as you slip the nightdress over your head. The creamy lavender color matches the skies, you notice as you snag the bottle of wine by the neck and move towards the balcony. 

Stuffing the rest of the berries in your mouth, you shove through the heavy wooden doors, pausing on the threshold as the dawn breeze blows the hair back from your face, caressing your hot cheeks.

You don’t know how you’re to convince the other High Lord’s that Beron will join their ranks, don’t know how Eris will convince his father of doing the same. They’re weary of you, that much is obvious, left behind in the wake of the royal family's disappearance like a stray pet.

They don’t know how true that statement is, you think as you glare down at the mark adorning your otherwise unmarked skin. 

The cork of the wine pops with an ease that settles you some. You could only wish that it were the cracking of bones splitting through flesh, hot blood seeping between your fingertips, down your throat like you crave. Your body thrums with need, death calling to you like a lost lover.

You choke down a sip of the wine, hardly tasting it as you shove the thoughts from your mind. There was a reason Beron had enslaved you to him, trapped you beneath his will, because of your powers, your bloodthirsty nature. You sought blood and despair, missed the way it coats the back of your throat, embedding itself into the prints of your fingers and beneath the curve of your nails, the scent clinging to your body for days. 

You itch.

The alcohol is a comforting burn as it goes down, warming your belly, but it will only continue to ignite that yearning within you. 

There’s no chance to slip from the palace, lure someone into your bed, a peregryn perhaps. Surely one missing from this luxurious court would not be missed, or maybe, at the very least, they���d let you cut them open for a taste.

You won’t even kill them, you don’t think, wanting only to bathe in the feeling of a soul on the cusp of death, clinging desperately to life, teetering on that oh-so fine line. It’s the final moments that you crave. The threat of death that makes you feel alive.

You sigh, rubbing your eyes with your fists furiously, as if you’re trying to erase the thoughts from your mind. Your power roils, trying to slip out on the breeze that drifts by, but you lock it down tight, shoving the bottle to your lips again as you greedily drink it back.

“Careful now,” a voice startles from behind and you choke. “That bottle was sent for two.” Deep red wine spills from your chin as you whirl around, searching for the voice.

But there is only darkness…that is, until it shifts, the gravelly voice ripping through the silent night like a death knell. One that makes your spirit stir.

You’re entranced by the way Azriel emerges, as if made from the shadows themselves. His skin gleams beneath the rising moon and his golden eyes glow with fire in the dark. Night-blessed, you realize as he steps closer, darkness sliding from his skin as if he controls its icy tendrils himself.

“What are you doing here, shadowsinger?” you ask, keeping your voice level as you swipe the drink off your chin with your arm. Some has splashed down your front, making you look freckled with blood, the way it coats your lavender gown. You catch him staring.

He doesn’t know why he’s here. He can tell himself it’s to spy for Rhysand all he wants but he knows it’s not true. He’s intrigued by you, wants to know more about your power and how you’d so easily stopped him from snapping Eris’ neck. How you’d slipped past his guard with no resistance and why your eyes lit up at the sight of his blood.

Azriel is drawn in a way that he can’t stop. Like blood to a heart or the sun to the moon. It’s dangerous, him being here, but he can hardly control his feet as they move closer to you, his body aches to be in your presence.

“What are you?” he asks, forcing himself to halt a few feet away from you. His wings are pulled taut behind his back, claws curved inward and backlit by the moon. They make him look like a prince of Hel, horned and handsome beyond belief.

You eye him wearily, even if you do have to crane your neck back so high it hurts to look up at his towering figure. You clench the bottle of wine tighter in your hands so they don’t reach out for him, to wipe that still gleaming bead of blood from his split lip. 

“There is no name for what I am,” you answer simply, “And if there is, it isn’t one I have heard in a long time.”

The corner of his mouth pulls down in a frown and you watch eagerly as the wounded skin tugs. You don’t realize you’re licking your lips until his golden gaze flickers down to watch the motion.

You stifle the burning sensation creeping up your cheeks, taking another swig of the wine to wet your suddenly dry mouth.

He moves a step closer, and you follow in response. You can’t stop staring at each other, only a breath away from each other now, drawn together by an unknown force, cold and warm death meeting again after so long apart.

“Where did he find you?” he wonders, voice a whisper of shadow, as if he had not meant to speak it aloud.

“You think that the Night Court is the only court that holds a prison?” You purr, taking his hand in yours. Azriel does not pull away, if only because he understands how easily you can slip into his mind and wreck him…more than you already are, at least.

His heart aches in his chest but he likes it. Likes the way you caress his scars, looking at them as if they aren’t something to be embarrassed about. Your fingers are warm, and they feel delicious against his own, cold skin. He can see the way that your eyes light with fire as you stare at his torn knuckles and his throat bobs when you fix your gaze on his from lowered lashes, your pink tongue poking out to lap tentatively at his split skin.

It’s difficult not to react to the shiver that crawls down his spine.

Your hand around the neck of the bottle loosens as the taste of him bursts across your tongue. It’s shadowy freshness coats your mouth, awakens your soul as you swallow it down. His reflexes are quick, snatching up the bottle before it crashes to the ground. He necks the bottle back and you watch the bob of his throat as he drinks, a long line of red slowly dribbling down the tan skin of his neck. You shove closer to him. You want to lick it from his throat.

Your power flares, reaching out to him on a sharp exhale. There is no holding it back.

“Deep beneath the oldest oak in Autumn, buried beneath centuries of roots and earth, there is a prison,” your voice is soft, caressing his wet skin, and his breath is trapped in his throat. His fingers don’t twitch to reach for Truth-Teller, instead he wants to reach out, brush the hair from your face, slide his hand behind your neck, and tug you into him roughly, pressing your burning body flush to his night-cold one.

“I saw the way you looked,” he says hoarsely, as if he’s straining to keep whatever darkness lurks within him, clawing its way out to you, at bay. “When Feyre held Beron hostage with her power. That look in your eyes…you’re no longer a prisoner beneath the Oaks, but prisoner to him now, aren’t you?”

You swallow roughly. A curt nod is all you can muster in response.

“You want him dead?” Azriel asks, golden eyes pinning you beneath his stare.

“Yes,” you admit, voice so quiet as if the wind itself will carry your admission all the way to Autumn.

The sweep of his feathery hair brushes your brow as he leans in. Your heart leaps in your chest as if trying to rip its way out of your body to meet his as he lowers himself flush, hot against your frozen body.

His answer is a promise of death, tingling against your lips as he draws himself down to you.

“So be it.”

[tenebraevesper]

Isekai'd As My Past Self (Sonic the Hedgehog AU Story)

Being a fan of Isekai Anime (currently watching Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I'm Not the Demon Lord), I think it was inevitable for me to come up with a story like this.

However, before I start with the actual premise of the story, I first want to explain the setting though. This story is based on the trope of the main character dying or getting executed in some way, only to reincarnate as their past self (think along the lines of 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys A Carefree Life Married To Her Worst Enemy!), but with the caveat of having all of their future self's memories.

In this case, the story's starting point would be Archie Sonic's Mobius: 25 Year Later and Mobius: 30 Years Later storyline, with the main characters featured being King Sonic and King Shadow - or rather, their past selves before the events that led into 25YL/30YL took place. Silver would also be a major character in this due to his time-travelling shenanigans.

Before I dive into the plot properly, I will leave a warning here. If you read my previous analysis in regards to this storyline, King Shadow (The Altered Future & The Altered Character) & King Shadow (The Alternate Story), you would know that I don't like 25YL/30YL at all and therefore, I'm planning on not only deconstruct it, but completely destroy it in this AU story.

So, if you are a fan of the 25YL/30YL, the King Sonic storyline or the Sonally pairing, I'm recommending you to NOT read this AU story. If you do read it regardless of my warnings, don't come crying into the comments about how much you hate it. There is a reason I have warned you at the start and I'm not pulling any punches with this one.

With that said, let's dive into this story, and if you are curious about the additional text, it is the translated lyrics of the opening song of Villaines Level 99, titled LOVE or HATE?, which I was listening to while writing the story (the links lead to the TV Version and Full Version respectively). Honestly, if this were an anime, I'd probably use that song as it's theme song.

The Future

For example, if I let my hair sway a little

Will the voice I hear be LOVE or HATE?

Do whatever you like, no matter what they say

I won't stop walking

The story starts out sometime after the Sonic Universe Issue #5-#8. Take note, Mobius: X Years Later is, going by Pre-SGW canon, a possible ''What if'' future, not the canon future of Pre-SGW canon, which means that the events leading up to it were probably different than what we saw in later parts of Pre-SGW, but the timeline itself would probably similar enough.

The main focus would be on King Sonic, who is actually quite unhappy and bored with his life as the King of Light Mobius, thinking back to his past adventures and longing for the freedom he had, which is basically the core aspect of his character.

Before anyone starts arguing about why Sonic would be unhappy with his current life, take note that he actually expressed unhappiness in canon, specifically saying how he is not fit to be King, with Sally outright dismissing his feelings on the matter. Admittedly, this was also written by Ken Penders, who has no clue how Sonic works as a character and despite raising an interesting character point, quickly drops it like a hot potato.

Still, it is the one line I 100% agree with - Sonic is not fit to be a King.

This is why this AU story exists, as I want to dive in further into Sonic's thoughts on being a King. There would even be one event where another villain appears and King Sonic springs into action, only for Sally to literally stop him in his tracks, pointing out how he has other people that can handle this (this being a callback to a similar argument they had in Issue #134, where Sally basically told Sonic that he shouldn't throw himself in danger, especially since he's her consort and that they have other people fighting for them, meaning Sonic should stay by her side and rule with her - with Sonic refusing).

This is a similar case, with the addition of Sally telling him how he's the King and that he needs to think of his family and his people, how he can't go fighting like this since he's not anymore in his prime, and so on. All of which are valid points, but go against Sonic's core character.

King Sonic would obviously want to do the smart thing and keep Sally happy, but at the same time, wonders if it's really selfish that he also wants to be free from all of his duties as the King and go back to his adventuring lifestyle. Whether he wants to admit it or not, he has come to regret becoming King in the first place, but now that he made his choice, he cannot escape it.

As King Sonic thinks about this, he learns that King Shadow is back once again to cause chaos and, with other characters being conveniently absent, he goes to confront him despite Sally's wishes. King Sonic learns that King Shadow is on the search of some Mystical McGuffin Crystal (placeholder name, think of it like the Paradox Prism from Sonic Prime) that would help him once again to assert his rule over Light Mobius (as he tried to do with Tikhaos previously).

The two end up in a battle, with the Fake King Shadow sneering at King Sonic for not standing up to him and wondering where Sonic's fighting spirit had gone. This is the last straw for King Sonic and he tackles Fake King Shadow into the Paradox Crystal (not very imaginative, but hey, better than the actual placeholder name), causing it to shatter and the two getting engulfed in a bright light before everything around them turns dark.

The Past

Unstoppable news

They'll forget it tomorrow

Today is better than yesterday

Believing leads to a big victory

Sonic awakens suddenly, standing on a stage surrounded by the royal family and the people of the Acorn Kingdom. He is in a daze, wondering what had happened, with the first thing he notices is that he is much younger, being a teenager once again, and wonders if his battle with King Shadow and the whole Light Mobius future was just a dream.

He is then suddenly addressed by Sally, who asks him to finally make their engagement official to the public, but Sonic, still confused and baffled, and unable to comprehend what had just happened, just utters the following:

''No... I need... Shadow.''

He then leaps off the stage and quickly runs off to find the Faker and get the answer in regards to what had happened.

He eventually finds Shadow, who is equally baffled by what had just happened, although he managed to get an understanding of the situation faster than Sonic, and the two get into another fight, just to take out their frustrations on each other.

During the battle, they come to the conclusion that they somehow time-traveled back into the past, awakening as their younger selves right before the events that would set up the Light Mobius story had happened. In this past, they had just a major victory against Dr. Eggman and, as part of the celebration, Sonic and Sally, who had just made up and started dating again, wanted to make their engagement once again official - at least until Sonic ran off to find Shadow.

In other words, while one could argue that they pulled a Silver, this isn't a situation where they can just change the past and travel back to their own future. Instead, they got the opportunity to relive their past while also having the memories of their future selves. In other words, they are free to do whatever they want with the knowledge they have.

As they process this realization, Sonic accuses Shadow of becoming a tyrant again, and Shadow responds how the only reason he had done that was because even after Dr. Eggman was gone, other villains attempted to take over his place as the Big Bad and Shadow was the one who dealt with them to ensure peace. Had he gone too far in his mission? He did, but he felt that there was no other option for him left. There was power vacuum and he filled it by becoming a tyrant.

Sonic also realizes that, with him being back in the past as his younger self, he also got his own wish granted. He is not King Sonic anymore and he could easily go back to the adventuring he always wanted, enjoying the second chance, the freedom he had been granted. At the same time, he feels guilty because this would mean that the future he knows might not exist anymore, and it is through his own fault, even if he doesn't know the details.

Therefore, Sonic's main inner conflict here would be that he is torn between his desire for freedom and the duty he had towards the Acorn Kingdom as the future King, while Shadow's inner conflict would be his desire to protect the world through any means necessary and whether he should temper his more violent and cruel tendencies.

To make things more complicated, they are suddenly joined by Silver, who came from his own future to inform them about a looming danger that is threatening to tear up reality, with Sonic and Shadow realizing that they're responsible for this and have to work together now to fix their mistake.

This would be the main premise of the story.

The Present

Sync with the rhythm

I want to be swaying

But the outsiders are noisy

Noise canceling

As the story resumes, further details are revealed about Sonic and Shadow's current situation and the true nature of the shattered Paradox Crystal.

Through Silver's investigation, they learn that he Paradox Crystal was a powerful artifact that had the power of bending time and space by granting the user their innermost desires. This explains why Sonic and Shadow have returned back to the past as their younger selves, as Sonic's desire was to have his freedom back, while Shadow's desire was to have the power to protect the world in his own way. Not only that, but the shattering of the Crystal had also tampered with Sonic's own Chaos Energy, putting him in a similar state of agelessness as Shadow, which would allow Sonic to always remain in his prime so he could protect people and keep the world safe.

The three hedgehogs also learn that, before Sonic and Shadow, there was a different Entity that sought out the Paradox Crystal, but got trapped inside it and the Crystal getting shattered released it, which resulted in the Entity gaining the power to slowly fracture reality. To fix this mess, Sonic and Shadow would need to find the pieces of the Crystal that have scattered across the world like the Dragon Balls and bring them together. The reason why it is them who have to do this is, aside from personal responsibility, they're the ones among very few people who can actually detect and handle the Crystal's power and presence.

Sonic is excited to go on this adventure, only to get startled by a furious Sally calling for him and promptly hiding behind Shadow, as he doesn't want to confront Sally's wrath, yet. Shadow, in response, just rolls his eyes, while Silver is confused about what is going on. Basically, by Sonic saying ''No'' and running off earlier, Sally believed that she got shot down again and wants to give him a ''What the hell, dude?!'' speech about Sonic not caring about her feelings or even thinking about the situation for that matter.

Sonic attempts to explain himself, but is interrupted by Shadow, who tells Sally that reality is in danger and that's why Sonic ran off. This way, he also stops Sonic from accidentally revealing that he has memories of his future self, later explaining to Sonic that he doesn't really trust Sally with using any of that information. He points out that, while she can be proactive, when he started his tyrannical rule, she literally did nothing to undermine him, meaning that she still lacks some of decisiveness on her part.

Sally figures that, if things are that bad, then they should call the Freedom Fighters for help, although she would also have to discuss the matter with the Council of Acorn, as per the current rules, they cannot really act without getting the Council's approval.

Sonic, having enough of the Acorn Kingdom's politics and bureaucracy, decides to set out on his own, with only Shadow as his companion. He refuses to be anymore under the control of the government, be it the King or the Council, making the decision to work on his own.

He is here to protect them, not to be controlled by them, and if they don't like it, he can leave. He can do more good for the world if he doesn't have to wait to be told what he is supposed to do.

While there would be people protesting against this decision, Sonic and Shadow are already off on their adventure, traveling all over the world for the Crystal Shards Sonic Unleashed-style.

They would also face several opponents who would want the Crystal Shards for themselves, like Dr. Eggman, Ixis Naugus and Geoffrey St. John, and Scourge and the Destructix (perhaps even meeting Anti-Shadow and Anti-Silver if they have to travel to Moebius).

Oh, and one more thing - the engagement with Sally is off.

The Freedom Of Choice

For example, if I trace my finger a little

Will your choice be LOVE or HATE?

Do whatever you like, make your cheeks turn red

And spitting, boy

As I had mentioned before, the main inner conflict for Sonic would be the choice he would make in shaping his own future.

The expectations from people in-universe, as well as the reader, would obviously be that Sonic follows all the steps that leads up to the Light Mobius future (e.g. marrying Sally and becoming King), as that is the selfless thing to do, something that is expected from the main hero. Set right what was done wrong and follow the path to the anticipated happy ending.

But, is that really the ending that would make Sonic happy? This is a question Shadow would ask Sonic, wondering if he would really be happy to stay at one place, figuratively shackled to the duties of a King and abandoning who he is at his core.

In this story, Sonic would ultimately refuse to give up his freedom.

He will admit that, in the previous timeline, he did it to make Sally happy, but not himself. As a matter of fact, that was something everyone expected him to do, as they were the power couple and all that stuff, and he tried not to look back on the ''What If''. For him, there was no ''What if''.

However, now that he got a second chance, he decides to be selfish and do something for himself, especially when he experiences this sense of freedom once again by travelling all over the world, meeting new people and go on adventures.

The future itself is regarded as a huge ''What If''. Sonic has already experienced a future where he is the King and he wasn't happy about it. The question is, should he continue sacrificing his own happiness for the sake of others or actually be a bit selfish for his own sake? He doesn't even know how he ended up back as his younger self, so is he even allowed to change the present and the future? Would he be the villain because of that?

After all, it is not as if he would immediately return to the supposedly set Light Mobius future even if he fixed the Paradox Crystal. He was brought back to relive his past as he sees fit and he will be stuck in his teenage body with no way to jump into the future. So, either he can live through the whole experience again or just choose a different path.

Sonic would instead use the memories of his future self to help people, preventing any bad event flags from being triggered and protecting the world his own way. These changes in the present would obviously lead to the Light Mobius future not even being a possibility by default, allowing Sonic to live without regret.

Nevertheless, it won't be an easy choice to make and Sonic would keep doubting himself, which is why he would benefit from Shadow's presence.

Speaking of which...

The reason Shadow became a tyrant in the former timeline was to protect the world, ultimately losing himself in the process and feeding into his own delusions. When he returns to the past, he would still be in the mindset that he needs to protect the world by conquering it and eliminating any opposition. Sonic insists that he would be there to stop him, as he knows what Shadow is capable of.

Suddenly, Shadow gets furious, snapping at Sonic because the latter never saw just how bad it got before Shadow took over as a tyrant. As stated before, there was a power vacuum when Dr. Eggman died, leading to many other villains trying to take over, which basically made this whole situation a world-wide Game of Thrones. Shadow had to take over, because if he didn't, things could've ended up much worse.

Shadow also admits that he understands that everyone hated him, but he had to choose the ''ends justify the means'' option because he felt that there was nothing else left. Sonic, having gained a better understanding of Shadow's motives, would stop their fight and make an offer instead. He would tell Shadow that they could protect the world together as a team, especially since they have knowledge of the future and can use that to their advantage. Shadow would accept his offer.

The part that follows would focus on Sonic and Shadow's adventures across the world, where they would from time to time be aided by their friends, but ultimately, the story would be about them working together and developing a strong bond.

Now, that bond can be purely platonic... but if you are in any way familiar with my blog, you should already know that this would spiral into a Sonadow story.

If you don't like the ship or aren't a shipper yourself, you are free to skip the next part and resume at LOVE or HATE Story.

Sonic & Shadow - The Ultimate Duo

Differences in hobbies, differences in peace of mind

Even if I confuse you

My path is shaped by

Just LOVE or HATE

I'm certain that some don't like where this is going. Why should I write down such a story if one of its conclusions is a non-canonical ship? Well, if you still think the same, then you seriously should have skipped this part.

I had stated before that the story focuses on the concept of freedom and what it means to Sonic, and in this case, this choice would split off into three different paths. The first path would be following the set story, leading into the Light Mobius Future, aka the one this story will avoid. The second path follows a simple adventure plot, albeit going against the beliefs and expectations of the reader, with everyone gaining a happy, but platonic ending, which is where non-shippers should've stopped their read.

The natural conclusion would be that the third path follows the Sonadow Ending.

As stated above, in this path, Sonic would ultimately choose freedom over duty, which would make him ending up with Sally impossible. If he marries her, he becomes King and the Light Mobius future happens, which he wants to avoid in this life. So, distancing himself from any romantic relationships that would result in him being tied down, without him having any say in it, would be the next logical step.

If Sally questions Sonic about their engagement, he would tell her something along the lines of having thought about their future together, and he cannot see it happening anymore. He knows that a future with Sally means a future without freedom, and he knows that, the way he is now, they're incompatible.

Yeah, Sally (and the Sonally shippers) wouldn't be happy about that. After all, their relationship works on the idea of ''Opposites Attract'', which is probably one of reasons why people find it appealing. No offense to those who like the ship, but the issue that I personally see here is that ''Opposites Attract'' cannot work if the two sides are too opposing to attract each other.

In other words, Pre-SGW!Sally is too devoted to her kingdom and people and has stated time and time again that she prefers to settle down once this whole deal with Eggman is over.

Sonic does not work like that.

Sure, maybe Pre-SGW!Archie!Sonic would work, but I'm certain that by now, you have noticed that I'm writing Sonic's character with his Game!Self's characteristics in mind (and some helpful suggestions from Ian Flynn in regards to how he would approach Sonic being in a relationship).

First and foremost, Sonic is free as the wind. He would not settle in one place, even if he would visit it just to see his friends. He would keep travelling. He is not fit to be King (or even a father for that matter, even if he would try his best). His strengths lie in being an adventurer and he wants to fully embrace this side of him over the course of the story.

It has been a repeated statement in the shipping community that if you want to pair Sonic up with someone, this person should be a character who wouldn't warp who Sonic is at his core, but be able to keep up with him and accept his lifestyle. I have seen a debate about Sonamy, and while I find the ship cute and agree that Amy is someone who works hard to be recognized by Sonic, she too would be someone who'd prefer to settle down rather than always be on the move.

This brings me to the only person who not only recognizes Sonic's adventurous spirit and desire for freedom, but has immense respect for him, is capable of not only keeping up with Sonic, but even get ahead of him, and even if they argue, it is clear that both have the same goal in mind, even if their methods differ.

Look, I was never interested in shipping, so if you want me to like a certain pairing, you need to really convince me that it works and that the characters have chemistry and a charm to them.

Sonadow does have that chemistry and charm that makes me go ''Yeah, these two actually work together well.''

As for Sonic and Shadow, this adventure would definitely explore just how well they click together. To note, both Sonally and Sonadow are a case of ''opposites attract'', but with Sonally, they're just too different to work properly, especially when one is chained to duty and the other desires freedom.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Shadow are literally two different sides of the same coin, both never really settling anywhere and driven by their desire to protect their world, even if their methods differ. Both easily balance each other out and even them arguing, or just talking for that matter, sounds like them flirting more often than not. The only thing that needs to be added to their existing relationship is them becoming more vulnerable and open around each other, as it doesn't change what they already have or who they already are.

By spending so much time with each other, they would eventually realize that they have something going on and decide whether they'll fully embrace it or not, especially given their initial reservations about being in a relationship.

Sonic doesn't want to be tied down by anyone or anything and fears that he might lose his freedom again, while Shadow would be anxious about getting this close to someone again due to his own fear of losing someone important to him.

However, considering who the person is they're attracted to, they would realize that there really isn't anything to fear. Shadow would not take Sonic's freedom away from him, and Sonic basically has Main Character Syndrome, so there is no chance that he would die easily, at least not without a fight, something Shadow is well aware of by now.

Not too sure about how their friends would react to them being together, although I'm certain that they would be supportive.

Well, most of them.

LOVE or HATE Story

I did not intend to go this much into detail with this AU Story (which I came up with in a day, mind you), but once I started writing down the idea, I couldn't stop. Sure, there is probably more to write, but I would then have to start the story properly to add even more details of events and interactions.

While I'm somewhat interested in writing this out, I know well that this would end up in a very long story, and I already have other projects I'm working on, so this will remain as just as an idea.

I am open to discussing this story and what else can be explored and I'm eager to hear your opinion on it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

I simply wanted to put this out in the public to hear other people's thoughts on it. If you love the story, than I'm glad to hear it. If you hate the story, well... *shrugs* I had warned you that I'm not pulling any punches.

I'm curious about your response!

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

[butthead7]

UPDATES ON MY TMNT AU THING

ok, so, first of all, im renaming it to the Revolution AU for reasons that will be made clear l8r. YES, im still making the songs. No, you will not be hearing them any of them soon, due to the fact im working with my voice, memorising the tunes, and writing the lyrics down in a notebook that is currently falling apart.

second of all: my art has improved since i have last posted. im trying to get to a place where i can use a camera and post things, but im figuring it out.

so, i figure i should tell you about the characters i have SO FAR (besides the brothers and splinter). remember, this is subject to change.

April O'Neil: has wanted to be a journalist since she can remember, but she wants to be behind the scenes. she has stage fright something awful, and can hardly speak when looking into a camera. this, however, doesnt stop her from shooting proof that mutants are NOT dangerous; she'll do anything to help out the boys that have become her family. she always has a kind thing to say, and can always find the silver lining.

Irma Sanchez: shes the opposite of April in most ways. Irma always has a sassy remark, and is never short of witty comebacks. she wants to be on camera, she wants to be the face of the news. having grown up with 5 other siblings, she's had to share the spotlight all her life, and she'll be damned if she has to share it on her job.

Baxter Stockman JR: he takes after his dad, Baxter Stockman SR, in many ways. he loves to invent, he always has to know what makes things tick, and most of all, he loves breaking the law. but Jr's way of doing it is just sneaking into junkyard for old microwaves and scrap metal, and Sr's way of breaking the law is conspiring with aliens from another dimension. Jr, unaware of his dads unlawful activities, wants so badly to impress him, but it just seem like his dad simply doesn't care.

Casey Jones: have grown up on a reserve all his life, then suddenly having to move to the big city has been hard on the poor kid. he just can't seem to stop getting into fights, his grades are simply awful, and his temper is short. but by GOD, does he love his mama. he needs a better way to let out his anger, and hockey doesnt seem to be cutting it. he cant get into another school fights, so he takes his anger to the streets fighting crime with hockey sticks and pucks.

Renet: from an awful future where the Kraang take over the earth. Renet was engineered to be beautiful, softspoken, and harmless, to easily manipulate people and mutants to surrender to the Kraang. but they made a grave error: they made her intellegent enough to know that what she does is wrong. so with the help of a very, very old mutant turtle named Lita, she is sent back in time to prevent this future. she faces a major problem though; the chip in her brain makes her blind when she disobeys the Kraang. she has to learn to fight, teach people to fight the Kraang, and help lead the revolution while learning to be blind.

Karai: all her life, she has been taught that her real father, Hamato Yoshi, killed her mother, Tang Shen, and would have killed her too if not for the heroic rescue from The Shredder, the man who raised her. now, she has to put aside everything she knows and has been taught to team up with the Hamato clan, and save the world- then change it for the better afterwards.

[monzabee]

wip ideas that might never see the light of day

rules: tell me about 1-5 ideas that you’ve not written a single word for yet. (notes don’t count)

tagged by: thank you to @curiousthyme for tagging me!!

tagging: @lorarri @softtdaisy @sebscore @thatsdemko @f1version @formulaforza @vetteltea @silverstonesainz @lxnceclercs @ofsaintandsinner @fernandoswarcrimes @goldsainz @percervall (please feel free to ignore, no pressure to do this at all!!)

fair warning, most of the ideas i get, i get from songs, so most of these will be relating to songs - you've been warned, love you🙃🩷

the first idea i have is for carlos and the title for it is 'we are not really strangers' (yes it comes from the board game), and it is basically childhood friends to strangers to friends to lovers, but for some reason i always envisioned with with a sad ending where both characters realise they want different things from life.

this one i literally thought of this morning on the bus, but i was listening to i can see you by taylor swift (of course), and i thought i could do a mini series with the lines from the chorus, no idea about who it would be with, but a secret relationship plot always excites me.

i feel like at some point i should write something smutty and spicy and totally not sfw for fantasize by ariana grande, do i know who to write it about? nope. do i have any idea about the plot? not at all. but i definitely should.

a while back i got a request for age-gap angst with either seb and daniel, and what's better than angsty daniel? also very much based on dear john because i love torturing myself.

i blame the grey's anatomy episodes that pop up on my fyp for this one, but basically it's based on an ask i got like a few months ago where it's a college!au, and charles is this scary ass med student - and being the delulu person i am, i really wanted to pair it with a reader who is a law student, but they just keep running into each other. major grumpy x sunshine vibes.

mark my words, I WILL be writing something based on silver springs by fleetwood mac. I WILL, and it will be very very angsty.

i have to work on a the nanny retelling at some point. or the parent trap. or both to be honest with you.

OKAY THIS WAS ALL, THANK YOU ALL FOR LISTENING TO MY TED TALK!!

[alyshiba]

IRON FLAME CHAPTERS BREAKDOWN: 1 to 3

Since I'm re-re-reading Iron Flame, and thime annotating, I thought, why not sharing my rambling madness with everyone ?

I envision this a bit as a book-club reading, so you can comment-reblog and add your thought, opinions, theories etc..

I already have red multiple times this book, so to make thing fair to those who might be reading it now for the first time, I'll divide this post in two parts: part one will be readable by all, while the second part will feature the theories, foreshadowing, and miscellaneous that include spoilers for the events who happens later on the book.

Of course, as always under the cut there will be spoilers for Iron Flame (in this post from chapter 1 to 3)

Chapter one

In chapter one we deal with a lot of confusion, and we do not get a lot of weird quotes and informations (or at least that I noticed).

The first thing that I noticed is the name of the scribe who is quoted in the Epigraph: Cerella Nielwart. Who's surname is oddly similar to Jesinia's (Neilwart), maybe it's a typo, or not, but I found it odd, and I would like to know more about Cerella, if they're actually related to Jesinia.

In page 2 we discover that Brennan now goes with a different name (for obvious reason) with is Brennan Aisereigh. I know on the web you'll find that the surname means resurrection, which totally fits, but on the Learn Gaelic webiste you'll see that the spelling for "resurrection" is a bit different (Aiseiright, with an extra I). Maybe again it's a typo, or maybe not idk.

In page 3 Violet tells us two very interesting pieces of information: the first is that Riorson house has been sieged 3 times (that she knows of), one of them being ofc during Fen's rebellion. It would be interesting to know when the other two sieges happened and who was on either side. Then we get a reminder that the rebellion relic that the marked one carry masks them from Melgren's signet. I don't know Codagh, but it's odd for one dragon to dimish the power of their rider, no ?

In pages 4 to 8 we get the first glimpse at the Revolution's leadership. During the first read I found it a bit confusing to make sense of who they are and how many are present, so I'll bullet-point them for you:

Major Ferrish (whom Xaden is talking to), he's the Hawk-Nose that responds to Xaden's question. He's described as "an older man with an eyepatch and hawkish nose [...], tuft of thinning grey hair [...] lightly tanned, weathered skin, his jowls hanging, [...] thick hands and a round belly."

Trissa, who is described as a "petite woman with glossy black hair like a raven"

Felix (whe learn the name in page 7), who is described as "large, [...] with ebony [skin] hand tugging at his thinck silver beard"

Woman #1, described as " older woman built like a battle ax [...] with blond hair brushing past her square alabster skin."

Suri, a "brunette with olive skin and a single streak of silver in her hair", she also as a giant emerald ring.

We know from page 4 that the Assembly, which would be leadership, is composed by seven people in total, but only 5 are present in that moment ( the ones above ), so Xaden and Brennan in this moment are not part of the assembly, they must have other roles. And, we need to meet 2 more people.

All of these people are dressed in rider black, Violet notes, so it's safe to assume that they are bonded riders, with signets and all.

In page 8 we also get an interesting line from Brennan: "Knowing that she [Violet] is bonded to Tairn, whose bonds get deeper with each rider and whose previous bond was already so strong that Naolin's death nearly killed him?" So, from this line we know that the rebellion knows that Naolin is dead, just as leadership, and that either Brennan thinks this as well, or is lying about it.

Chapter 2

In this chapter we get a lot more informations, most of which are summarized in a map I made:

The first noteworthy lines are in the epigraph: we learn here that above Riorson House lies the original hatching grounds of the black dragons line from with Tairn and Codagh descend. The first thing we can assume is that Riorson House, and Aretia, sounds now a lot like Basgiath, with a fortress and a vale with hatching grounds and all. So it made me wander if there might be more places like these around the continent. In this line we are also given the name of the family line of both Codagh and Tairn: Dubhmadinn, which is a composite word of 2 scottish gaelic terms: Dubh (black, blackness, darkness, pupil of the eye, ink, dark, sad) and Madainn (moarning).

We then get to the first weird thing we encounter, in page 11 Violet spots "a rune shaped scar or his [Brennan] hand", we then cut to Tairn saying that he will no longer speak of his former rider and that "Naolin didn't fail, but that it cost him everything". I think Naolin is dead. I mean, at the end of FW Tairn promised to always be truthfull to Violet, so I don't think he would hide this from her. But the fact that he died doesn't mean he couldn't have turned Venin. Maybe to save Brennan he channeled from the source, and then either he was killed or he died from the power usage (maybe Tairn killed him to sewer the bond).. Either way I don't think he'll come back in the present. In this scenario it would be possible that the rune on Brennan's hand would be some sort of protection, something that prevents him from tapping in the source, or using the venin power siphoned in his body from Naolin.

So far one of the most interesting information we get in chapter 2 are from pages 12 to 14.

The first line of information we get is that Dragons used to live in what is now called the Barrens, until General Dramor (he's the villain who faught against the first 6 riders) ruined the land in the Great War. It is safe to assume that General Daramor was a Venin, since we know the first 6 fought them. And that if dragons lived in the Barrens, maybe there was an hatching ground there as well ?

We then get an updated, real, situation of the continent by Brennan. I don't know about you, but I need to visualize what I'm reading, expecially if it involves battles, travels etc. So here's a map with the current situation which I'll update every time we get more news.

Here's what you need to know to read it:

Castle Icon = Basgiath;

Dragon Icon(s) = Dragons og hatching grounds, every color of dragon icon correspond with the dragon breed;

Light Blue stain = Navarre's wards (which does not cover Aretia & Tyrrendor);

Small orange flags = uncofirmed locations of most recent venin attacks;

BIG orage flags = most recent venin attacks in confirmed locations;

Small red Flags = old venin attack in non confirmed locations.

Red Stain = Venin territory

In this map you notice, like Violet does, that the Venin are moving towards Navarre and following the stonewater river (the rivers close to Braewic provice), and that both Resson and what we can assume is Jahna (from Brennans lines) are on almost the opposite side. We also learn from Brennan that in both of those locations were found lures, that were of Navarrian craftmaship.

So, is someone in Navarre working with, or exploit the Venin ?

Brennan then tells us that the hatching ground of Basgiath have enough energy to sustain the venins for decades, so that appears to be their short time goal.

Violet then reminds us in pages 14 - 15 that 400 years ago (so 250 years after the unification & og battle against Venin) the scribes (and the ones who ordered them to) deleted every knowledge of Venins (& who knows what else) from public records. It is interesting to note that it happend way after the actual battle against Venin happened, in a moment where Navarrian should have felt protected and forgot about the monsters they faught. Why 400 years ago ? Why not immediately after the unification ? What happend that pushed an entire generation of leadership to delete history ?

Then I'll just remind you that we know it happened 400 y.ago because Violet's dad wrote it a note directet to Vi that he hid in the "fables of the Barrens".

The last two important pieces of informations we get in page 15 are: Brennan telling us that "he thought dragons were the only key to power wards" (weird, is there something else that can be used to power up the wards?) and that "something killed the venin off 650 years ago", which is debatable, considering that there are still Venins I'm starting to think that they just weren't defeated, but just banished, somehow. Which then makes me wonder why are they back now?

In page 17 we close off the chapter with the revelation that Sgaeyl kind of hates Brennan. Maybe she senses the Venin power used to revive him (to connect back with the Naolin channeled from the source to bring Brennan back). Note that Brennan has been around Sgaeyl since Xaden bonded her, so roughly 3 yars ago, and 3 years after his resurecction.

From here on there are spoilers for the rest of the book.

Chapter 1 - page 2: Considering the Rune talk we get later on, I think it's obvious that the reason why the marked ones are masked from Melgren's signet is the rune Liams (and Sloanes) mom made rather then Codaghs doing. It would also give leadership one more reason not to teach runes at Basgiath, I mean, one non-dragon-related power just countered what's considered the strongest signet ever. If I were in Melgren's shoes I wouldn't want that knowledge around.

Chapter 2 - pages 12 to 14: Considering that the same lures were found in Basgiath before and during the battle, it is kind of obvious that at least someone inside of Navarrian leadership is working with the Venins, or maybe using them for some other reasons. I'm not straith up saying some is venin inside of leadership, simply becouse so far we have no evidence of it.

Then it's obvious that in Resson the lure was used to try and kill Xaden (an the marked ones), but the one in Jahna ? Maybe they needed to see if it would work? Or were there another reason?

Chapter 2 - page 15: on this re-read I stopped by this page, because we'll later learn that by using dragon power to raise the wards venins and gripphin riders can no longer wield magic. Which is debatable since in FW Jack Barlowe uses Venin power on Violet (Rebecca confirmed it in an interview, clip is here).

This bring us to two issues: there might be a way to raise a ward using gripphin (or venin) powers, which would solve the Aretia and Poromiels wards problem, or ruin us all, AND that there must be a fault in Navarre's wards if Jack channels Venin power in fourth wing, when Basgiath's wards are still strong.

In Chapter 2 - Page 17 we also get a very important reminder: the poison that the Venin used on Violet @ the battle of Resson cut her off from her bond with the dragons and her powers.

Doesn't it sound familiar? How would the leadership be able to develop (we later learn that it's something they develped this year) a poison that works in the same way of another one the Venins actually have ? I mean, the only difference is in the administration...

I'm more and more convinced that the real enemy of this book are not the Venin alone, but a coalition of some of Navarrian Leadership and the Venins (if they are cooperating or using eachother I don't know).

In chapter three - page 22 Tairn gives an interesting information: " The First Six Riders were desperate to save their people when they approached the dens over six hundred years ago. Those dragons formed the first Empyrean and bonded humans only to protect their hatching grounds from venin, who where the bigger threat." From this phrase we understand that the first six bonded dragons were one from each breed (they bonded only to protect their hatching ground). So what of Andarna ? So Andarna's breed either refused to bond with a human rider, OR bonded with a rider who already had another dragon. Like Violet.

Note that we already kind of know the Venins background story: a brother bonded a dragon (the first six - or who came defore them -), a brother bonded a griffin, an another, jelous, turned to stealing from the source. The jelous brother was then vanquished by their sibling who commanded the sky to realease it's power.

We already have a lot of paralles that refers to Violet. So I find it very likely that one of the six might have bonded 2 dragons, and that it was the one who bonded two dragons.

[acourtofthought]

Okay, scandalous idea: I think SJM will write Elucien’s book next and Gwynriel will be in the last book but will not get as much page time because she will give even more characters POVs as it is basically a series finale book. Like ACOMAF was Feysand’s book but mostly Feyre (the entire trilogy really), Silver Flames was Nessian’s book but mostly Nesta, Book 5 will be Elucien’s book but mostly Elain and finally Book 6 will be Gwynriel heavy but also a series finale with a lot of story threads being tied up, characters getting their closures, etc etc so not necessarily Gwynriel’s book. Does that make sense? It might piss off some people who support Gwynriel though for a book’s attention to be so divided. But hey I support Gwynriel and I’d be cool with that. What do you think?

I feel like SJM loves these couples but Elain’s story has been waiting a long time and she’s always prioritized the Archeron sisters above Cassian and Azriel or any of the IC let’s be honest. The sisters are the ones getting their own books right? That’s not to say that Gwyn is not an important character because she is! But she’s a very NEW character. She will get her own POV and story soon but it won’t be as pronounced because SJM will have to do a lot of series-wrapping in that final book. This is all of course under the assumption that Elucien’s book is next and I really really hope it is.

Thoughts?? Also, love your blog!!! 🥰🥰

Thank you!! And Happy Thursday 😊

In regards to the Spin-off series, SJM said this in a few interviews:

"The new books will be set up as more traditional romances. Each of the books going forward will feature a new / different romantic pairing as the protagonists."

So it sounds like an Elucien book would only have an Elain / Lucien POV and a Gwynriel book would only have a Gwyn / Az POV. BUT......

I sort of agree with what your saying in a bit of a different way. The last book in the series will probably feature the major battle scene and we know that final battle will pay attention to all the characters (just as we saw in ACOWAR). It wouldn't just be what Elucien was doing in the war or what Gwynriel was doing in the war, SJM would need to find a way to mention what Nesta and Cassian are doing at different points, who Rhys and Feyre are battling, the Valkyries, other courts, etc. Also, in the lead up to the war, we're going to need to see the courts come together in their planning so we might have on page time dedicated to those characters (but from the POVs of whoever the book belongs to).

It would make the most sense to me to have all of that come from a Gwynriel POV as they'd be the warrior couple who are most strongly tied to the IC (and their perspective during the actual battle would be valuable) and I'd think the politics end of things would come in the book before but regardless, I imagine the final book will mention more characters from across all of their world(and maybe other worlds if anyone joins the battle) whereas the second to last book would be somewhat more contained.

It wouldn't necessarily effect the main characters individual journey's or romance though, SJM could just make the last book the longest.

There's a lot of reasons an Elucien book being next makes the most sense to me and one of those is in line with what you were saying. Elain and Lucien's journey has been building a long time. I have no doubt Gwynriel's will have a lot of reveals and threads to tie up but at this point, they've only had one book of real buildup (Az has more than that but Gwyn and they as a couple have only had SF). It doesn't make sense to me to once again postpone the mystery of who Lucien's father is, whether Elucien will accept their bond, having another full book trying to convince us that Elain doesn't belong in the NC, another book where Vassa's time is close to running out, another full book where they need Spring up and running, another book of what the extent of Elain's powers are, another book hinting at the Day powers Lucien has without Lucien being aware of them. It starts getting weird to continually tell us these things are unanswered without actually answering them.

[delphiniumarchangelmoon]

How do you use map icons in totk cause mine are:

Leaf: foraging area for rare/useful materials (fun fact you can get hearty bass at that low gravity island with the mirror puzzle, the water never refills but the fish still spawn and just around on the floor. It’s part of my “post blood moon rotation” of foraging points and enemy spawns.

Skull: enemy I can’t reliably defeat yet (I finally got all mine off my map! TAJE that silver lynels you fucking suck ass)

Sword: mini boss/tough enemy I can reliably defeat

person looking one: Addison sign or backpack korok to return to later

Crystal tower thing: depths ascend point

Cooking pots: overworld cooking pots in useful locations so I don’t have to rely on portable ones all the time

Hearts: korok puzzles or areas I think are going to be used fir a side quest later

stars: anything else, usually related to whatever I’m working on at that moment

Bonus content: my material grinding routine for every blood moon as a paranoid newbie to this franchise who is not going into the final fight until I’m considerably over prepared.

Immediately go to the Lanayru Promenade and teleport to the O-ogim shrine, ascend up and defeat the three lynels that spawn in a line heading northwest from that point. This is both farming for weapons and fuse parts AND practice with dodging and flurry rushes (it took me a Long Time to figure them out and I’m not going to stop until I can get 5 in a row)

Then I open my map again and teleport to two locations where Gibdo’s spawn (gibdo bones my beloved) generally the underground cemetery then the ancient altar ruins, it’s generally worth putting a travel medallion down in a Gerudo cave of your choice cause desert travel is awful and most of the caves for some reason don’t have shrines

Then I teleport to several sky islands rapidly:

Ga-ahisas shrine in the North Tabantha Sky for aforementioned fish

Josiu shrine in north Necluda sky (then to the island north of it with the pond) for a big radish + everything else those islands grow

And finally the water temple, as it’s my preferred location for farming Construct parts. I like combat in low gravity im a sniper at heart just let me have infinite bullet time

(my current plan for Ganondorf is a full inventory of rocket shields + multi shot bows + gibdo bones. everything else is a backup plan. I hope I don’t need the backup plans cause they’re not very good. One is literally to look up on YouTube how to build an indestructible car and just run him over till he dies)

Then I stop off at Sturnida Springs Cave (north + a little west of Rito Village) aka the crazy mushroom cave. Also a decent place for a travel medallion tbh, it’s fairly far from any travel points.

Then its Hateno to harvest from the school field and set the new crop (I’m usually rotating between endura carrots and hearty radishes) and buy out anything useful at the store, mostly pumpkins. And arrows. I consider anything under 150 to be running low.

If I’m running low in cash I track down a rare stone talus or two, there’s two fairly close to the Gerudo Canyon tower.

Then I spend the remaining time either defeating gloom spawn/boss rematches in the depths/more Lynels depending on what I’m running low on, or farming parts from a dragon (I try to rotate but. It’s usually Dinraal cause she’s my favorite dragon)

And when I inevitably get bored of this I switch to collecting poes in the depths to buy bomb flowers.

And yes. My link does have a severe addiction to speed elixers. That’s none of your business. It gets the job done. Gan won’t know what fucking hit him (it’s bones and bombs. He’s getting hit by bones and bombs)

And anyway I don’t want to do the final boss until I’ve done the majority of things to do in the game, it feels like the finale should be… final, yanno? I’m not gonna find every korok seed or anything but I do want to get all inventory upgrades, get every armor piece and upgrade most of them, do all the side quests, fill my compendium most of the way, etc.

but even then I’m still REALLY close. I’ve got like… three shrines, five quests, 4 wells, and maybe 2 armor pieces left and SURELY more m close to getting all the Addison signs I mean I never slacked on those. I already have plans lined up to get upgrades for the armor pieces I already have (fuck the goddamn star things I just want to upgrade my own damn canonical armor and you want falling stars AND dragon parts? Literally fuck off) so. Im running out of things to do to avoid the ending 😬

[onlygirlasia]

Why Content Creation Is In Demand In the Next 5 Yrs

Do you know who said the classic line, “Content is king?” Names like Gary Vaynerchuk or Logan Paul might pop into your head, but it was actually from Bill Gates in 1996*.* This was the title of an essay in which Gates predicted that in the future, much of the money generated by the internet would come from content creation.

In the current state of now, we can say that each individual has used the internet for information gathering. There is a study that in the next 5 years or beyond, there will be a predicted user estimation of around 20 billion. The rise of on-demand content creation is changing the way content is created especially for the people who have more engagement in their social media accounts. You might not have noticed but a lot of people are in transition from traditional working hours 9-5 jobs into content creators.

Reason Content Creation Is A job Of The Future:

Growing Demand

You may have heard that the content creation industry is saturated and very competitive. However, there is a silver lining: Although the content creation and entertainment industries are increasingly filled with creators, the demand for creators is also growing at an unprecedented rate. Additionally, the continued growth of the digital industry means that more people are consuming digital content than ever before.

The Content Creation Industry Is Worth A Lot

The content creation industry is now estimated to be worth of billion. With this significant amount gives content creator enough reasons to get out of their comfort zone and use their content ideas to explore to this industry. Content creation has given jobs and growth to those who want their idea to be discovered.

Businesses Need Content For Growth

Content creators, such as writers, actors, musicians, and comedians, use their talent to market products and services on social platforms. This is because they have the power to influence people to buy certain products or services.

In today's digital age, most consumers conduct online research before making a purchase. They rely on the information they receive from online sources, such as content creators, to make decisions. Content creators are a major part of the online information sources that buyers rely on to make purchase decisions.

Here are some specific examples of how content creators influence people to buy products or services:

A beauty influencer might post a positive review of a new skincare product, which could lead her followers to purchase the product.

A fashion influencer might wear a new outfit in one of her videos, which could lead her followers to buy the same outfit.

A food blogger might post a recipe for a delicious-looking dish, which could lead her readers to try the dish at home.

A travel blogger might write a positive review of a new hotel, which could lead her readers to book a stay at the hotel.

Content creators can influence people to buy products or services in a number of ways. They can:

Share their personal experiences with products or services.

Provide honest and unbiased reviews.

Create visually appealing and engaging content.

Build trust and rapport with their audience.

Use social media platforms to reach a large audience.

Content Creation Is Entertaining

People are always looking for new and exciting content to consume. Content creators who can create funny, heartwarming, or thought-provoking content are always in demand. Because the entertainment industry is going nowhere without you, fully relying on content creators to keep going!

Join Us In Creating The In-Demand Content Creations!

At OnlyGirlsAsia, we have a variety of Asian girls content creators who specialize in different niches. You can pick from cosplay, gaming, sports, modeling, cooking, and many other entertaining content. Sign up now and get the best offer from our talented creators.

[trendingfashionupdate]

How To Identify If Opal Is Real Or Fake

Overview

Opal is a colourful gemstone that is sometimes referred to as the queen of gems. It is a pearl-like white gem with glossy lustre. Opal exhibits a charming interplay of vivid colours throughout its entire surface. It is an exceptional gemstone that produces stunning Birthstone Jewelry. During the month of October, opal is the birthstone. Opal, October Birthstone, looks stunning on display as an Opal Ring, Opal Bracelet, Opal Necklace, Opal Earrings or Opal Pendant.

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Continue Reading...

[tickldpnk8]

So you may be wondering how I would rank these artists in a top 3. I’ve been pretty quiet on my own picks throughout this event. Partially to try to be impartial as I reblogged everyone’s excellent additions. But also partially because I planned to share my tops picks here at the end. So without further adieu:

My ranking for the Grand Finale

1) Mike Dringenberg: look, it’s no secret that Season of Mists is my favorite arc. And while Jones did the majority of the issues, I just love all of the art history references we got in the whole arc. Some of my fav art history panels from Dringenberg include these:

2) Shawn McManus: look, I’m a simple girl. So while I don’t really care for just how cartoony some of his A Game Of You character designs are, I do really appreciate panels like this:

3) Jill Thompson: look, if we were just going off of overall art alone, Jill would be much higher on this list. I loved Death’s Door and her art there. And I also really love how she draws Del in Brief Lives. But the bracket is all about the best Main Series Dream…and the way she’s drawn Morpheus in Brief Lives just feels too stiff for me at times. (@tryan-a-bex, you gave me a lot to think about for the next time I reread that arc, but it’s still not my favorite depiction of Dream.)

So that’s my ranking for this poll, but honestly none of these artists would be in my Top 3 representations of Dream. That honor would go to…

My All Time Top 3

1) Marc Hempel: I seriously love his design for Morpheus and Daniel. I’m a sucker for highly stylized illustrations in general and his drawings hit the sweet spot for me. Look at these!

2) JH Williams I mean, the range of Morpheus’ facets that he shows in panels like this is just incredible:

I know the color is down to Dave Stewart, but these panels are just lush. And they work so well because of William’s pencils.

Finally, 3) Yoshitaka Amano for gifting us Morpheus absolutely dripping in jewelry. And just generally allowing Dream to channel Bowie’s Labyrinth look.

I would round out a top 5 with P Craig Russell for all the reasons @marlowe-zara has already laid out: I especially love his costuming. And also Jon Muth for how well he utilizes line work to show how similar Morpheus and Daniel really are.

So there you have it! Just a couple hours left before we crown these artists with their gold, silver and bronze medals. So you still have time to share how your own rankings would net out!

The Grand Finale!!!

We’ve made it, everyone! Today’s the day, and we will all vote for the artist we want to see as the winner. But to say it quite frankly: Every single one of them is, because our goal was to bring all artists back to our memory, post their best (and also funniest/weirdest) art and shower them with our appreciation. That’s why we’ll bring the whole bracket back for you—get up from your seats and give them all a round of applause!

But over to our finalists:

Shawn McManus, Jill Thompson and Mike Dringenberg

All wonderful artists who have given us the biggest, most beloved arcs and wonderful depictions of Dream, and it is so, so hard to make that final choice.

If you need a little refresher how they got here (it’s worth checking out the links, people have posted great art and thoughts):

Round 3:

Shawn McManus (51.7%) vs Jon J Muth

Jill Thompson (90%) vs Miguelanxo Prado

Mike Dringenberg (86.8%) vs P. Craig Russell

Round Two

Round One

What we’d like to know from you in the reblogs today is:

Why are you choosing your favourite?

How do you rank the final 3?

And who is in your personal final 3 (it’s okay to shower your favourites with love even if they didn’t make it to the final)?

And without further ado, here comes our last poll—make it count!

Thank you so much to everyone who has participated and posted/reblogged, and please keep on doing so for this final poll! We want to hear all your thoughts and see all your favourite art, because this is the most important one of them all!

Event organisers: @writing-for-life and @tickldpnk8

[dzpenumbra]

5/7/23

Yet another "wake up halfway through my sleep cycle to go downstairs and sleep in the comfy chair" night. The reason this time? Neighbors again. This time two females talking and laughing really loud right above my bed at around 10AM. I got to sleep around... 5:30ish.

I swear, being a parent of an infant really doesn't feel like it would be that much of a challenge at this point. I mean... it obviously would... but not when compared to if I didn't have extensive experience being woken up in the middle of my sleep cycle for weeks at a time. And, at least with that there would be some payoff from being woken up, I get to bond with my child. Here? I just go "what the fuck is it this time?" Oh. Must be a sister or a friend or something. And they want to be loud again. And I can't fucking complain because it's "normal people awake hours" so... I just suck it up and roll over and hope they find something else to do.

They didn't. So I went downstairs, got some cereal and passed out with the AirPods in. That still vexes me - I can sleep with a YouTuber commentating a fast-paced RTS game directly in my ears... but I can't for the life of me sleep with two living, breathing people a few feet above my head.

Welp, that frustration aside... I did a yoga routine that kinda kicked my ass a little, then went and cut my hair and showered. This is a big deal because I haven't touched my hair or beard since my doctor's visit over a month ago. He told me that he thought this infection thing I'm dealing with was because I was shaving my head with my clippers without the guard and the bacteria on my skin was getting in little micro cuts from it. I... don't know how he explained them being in my beard though... Where I clearly did not use the clippers... So, going with his theory... I didn't cut my hair or shave once in over a month. And it didn't make it go away, didn't even seem to make much of a difference. He also prescribed me a steroid cream which I didn't pick up until my big nature walk day last week. So, I've been doing that a few times a day. I don't know if it's making a difference or not, it's really not noticeable. But doing that cream with hair was really annoying and difficult, I have very thick hair, so I just buzzed my head again with the lowest guard I have. I'm really just tired of dealing with this stupid skin condition, I've been putting up with it since November 2021; it's itchy, it's painful, it makes me self-conscious and I'm just fucking ready for it to go. So if there isn't a remarkable improvement in the next week, I'm getting set up with a dermatologist and that's just fucking that.

Now that I have the stress out of my system, check this out. I finished the hoodie backpiece. Yep! :D

I decided to go with black sharpie to fill the spaces where the houses are represented. The markings that were there already were in black sharpie, and it is a slightly different hue than the black fabric paint, a bit warmer and more subdued. It may fade a bit quicker, but that's totally fine, better even. I marked the cusps in white with a bit of a glow fade effect around them. And on the inside, I labeled the houses 1-12 in Egyptian Demotic numerals. Then I added in some (somewhat) equal sized circles lined up on the outermost edge of the zodiac ring, painted them silver, painted the planet glyphs in black and black-outlined all of it. It took the majority of the night but it was well worth it. I think it's safe to say the backpiece is done, I'm satisfied with it as a final product.

I'm a bit distracted eating rice. I'm trying to make sure I have food in my stomach before bed. I sleep much better when I have food in my system.

So yeah, it's pretty crazy to think that the backpiece is actually finished. But since I have really big plans with this hoodie and I still have at least one full sleeve left to do... it definitely doesn't have the same feeling of finality and accomplishment as The Path did. But it's always nice to cross something off the list. And, for the first time in a while... I don't actually know what my next project is going to be. I mean that. I really don't know.

The skull has been calling me, in some ways. I don't have any idea what kind of design work I'm going to do on it, but it keeps popping back into my head. I'll get to it someday, I swear... I guess it just kinda brings back some difficult memories, with my dog and all. I still miss her a lot. Life has been so different without her. I can't believe it's been almost a year.

I can do beads, that's always a thing. I can polish stones, I have a bunch of new ones I got from the National Park I visited. The ink drawings I was doing are kinda... an ongoing thing I want to do parallel to my main project. And, if I wanna keep going with the clothing... I can try to do the painting on my shorts. The only thing holding me back from that is... I am supposed to iron this stuff on. And I don't have an iron. So... I haven't yet. And that works okay with a hoodie, you know? But pants? I kinda need to wash them. Especially when this is one of two pairs of shorts that I own... XD Kiiiiinda important to wash those... And washing before ironing the paint in? I just don't want to ruin it.

So yeah, idk, that's kinda where I'm at, I guess. Oh shit, I could paint my grip tape too. I had that planned for a while. Fuckin hell, I have so much stuff backlogged, it's just... none of it is a one-day project, it's all several day sessions. Hmm...

Besides work shit... my plants are growing really well. The cherry tomatoes are getting pretty big, almost 3" now, I'll give them a couple more days before thinning down to the biggest one. The chili peppers sprouted and I thinned them, they're about 1" now; they're a bit behind but they're actually doing great. And the moss I got from the park is still doing wonderful, healthier than when I harvested it, it seems. I just have it in a plastic container somewhat in the shade. It's crazy that it can do that well in such a spartan environment, like literally just water and plastic. I ordered a set of plant cuttings off Etsy the other day, too. They're all different varieties of Pothos, which I heard are good for beginner growers, and good hanging plants, which is exactly what I'm looking for to put up in the loft. I can see it in the future in my mind's eye - long vines hanging down from the second floor, adding a bit more life to this place.

Yeah, I think that's about it for now. We'll see what tomorrow has in store.

[pugs-cats-bb-8]

Persona Thoughts Part. 3

P3-FES-

I watched a Very supercut ver. I don't have a PSVita or old PlayStation and my computer can't handle an emulator. The only max links I saw were Aigis, Yukari, Pharos and SEES. I will buy Portable sometime in the future.

I've seen a bit of 3 (S links {Girls}, Makoto). I don't like his personality, but we'll see if he gets better.

I've also seen the first bit of 3P and I have to say I don't care that P doesn't have cut scenes.

I love his old MP3 Player.

God, I fucking hate Pharos! Are you supposed to like him? Because he's just a fucking creep. Also signing rando contracts/pieces of paper without reading and or consulting a lawyer. I know it's to put your name in but; it feels like if it wasn't a game thing. You might get bad end if you signed.

I know some of the story (more the big picture, less details).

Does Yukari think she can summon her Persona right in the dorms? Wait, would that work? Also, she was going to pull a gun (albeit a non-shooty one) on a random guy? Jumpy much. Why were the lights off? I guess Yukari's this games "scared of ghosts" person.

Gotta be cool to ride a monorail to school. What's with the teacher's 80s hair and outfit? She looks more at home in 1/2 than 3.

So, Dumbledore is your principal? How much of a part does he play?

Also going from 5 where people think you're going to stab them to "oh, look at the new kid. They look cool"! Is very jarring.

Did a dude who doesn't even know you ask if Yukari had a boyfriend? How about he grow some balls and ask her himself?

Also, how did the teacher know who was talking? Does he have all the names of every class memorized? *rolls eyes* He should mind his own business, Dumbledore ain't saying nothing anyone needs to know.

Oh my God, what is with the facial cut ins?

Also, Junpei looks like the local pervert.

Yukari isn't as bad as I thought.

What is that mad/confident portrait of Akihiko?

I don't trust Ikutsuki. (I also hate spelling his name). He just seems untrustworthy. He's also old Igor. Why does Ikutsuki look like Katsuya?

Major privacy violation I hope Japan is not that lassiez faire about spying on children. What was he going to do if you turned into a coffin?

Does this game have a dictionary, or do they like highlight keywords for no reason?

Can someone make a mod that takes every Pharos scene and replaces him with Elizabeth and also edits out the voice lines? I'd rather see her.

It feels like you had a strange dream... Fuck it, school time.

The highlighted words cause weird spacing issues.

Do you get sleep when you get dragged into the Velvet Room? My HC is that you get no sleep. Does he sleep in his uniform?

Hardcore shadow crawling up the side of the building while holding 6! Knives. No wonder Yukari had trouble summoning her Persona. I would too if I shot myself point blank in the head.

Ikutsuki was ready to serve your ass up on a silver platter. Cool entrance, go coffin boy. I love how Orpheus bashes shadows with his harp.

Ah, the velvet elevator. Or, as I call it, motion sickness. Why does Igor say Orpheus was the one who headed your call? The text makes it sound like there is a random pool and you got whatever was picked

Yeah coma!

A cat!

Is that monk smoking a cigar?

Ikutsuki telling you everything right after you wake up from a coma

The creep is in your room Why?

I wish we could've seen Junpei's awakening.

Yeah, you get to break into your school. I think we're 3 games too early for breaking and entering.

I think your whole team should be able to come into the velvet room. It keeps your teammates from looking at you weird.

Is that blood on the floor?

You portal back?

I don't like the old S Link rank up thing.

For some I want to fast forward through the dialoge, even through I haven't seen this game.

Buying weapons from the police feels wrong. Like I hope I'm not buying evidence.

A. That is one big bed you have and B. You need creep be gone so Pharos can't get in.

Elizebeth gives the fountain 1 mil yen?

I like your coat. It's a mix of the shape of Akechi's coat and the dark colour of Shujin's uniform.

I love how there's blood stains everything.

Man, you're short.

Just what I need time limits *rolls eyes*.

Nice suggestive pose.

How the fuck do you know how to stop a train.

I think Ikutsuki's jokes make more sense in Japanese.

5 has it easy, only 3 days of selecting answers, 2-3 questions and 4 days of tests.

I like Yukari's flared sleeves.

I love how the creep hasn't told you his name, yet he stills breaks into your room.

Yukari could be a leader if she needed.

Did he just headbutt him? What is with that group of people?

So, we're breaking into the school? I hope the school doesn't have a morgue.

I like Fuuka.

Mitsuru learns about teenage boys.

So, we have pale moon hippie man, man who belongs in the first soul hackers and victorian lady, going around killing people?

That is a giant vat of soup. You took Elizabeth back to the Velvet room and went to puke.

That carpet is ugly.

Why does Ikutsuki speak so slow?

Nice eyepatch.

Is Yukari wearing jean shorts?

Doesn't Mitsuru own normal shoes?

I don't think it's easy to walk on the sand in those nice shoes.

Is it ever explained why Aigis wants your ass?

I hope Aigis is waterproof.

The Fool ranks us fast.

My man just walked in a circle.

Aigis is a cat.

Aigis looks like she has hooves.

Oh, I see soul hacker dude and hippie are nobodys and need something to make them feel special.

Summer classes that's only if you fail school.

Elizabeth's going bankrupt the Velvet room.

What the fuck is that jungle gym? It looks more like a torture device.

No wonder Igor's bald, he has to deal with Elizabeth.

Akihiko's saying that a dog has more balls than Shinjiro does 🤣🤣. I love him.

Mitsuru could just text instead of coming to your door.

Ken's going to get us killed.

Koromaru wants to go to school.

Yukari's the jealous girlfriend in this game.

The teacher does not get paid enough to deal with this.

Shinjiro is going to get us killed too.

Is that blood in that fountain?

They're making the students clean up?

Are you even needed, since everybody evloves their Personas on their own?

That thing looks like something out of Silent Hill.

Does the 5 enemies per battle rule apply?

You can't target up? What do Personas only target straight?

I glad Mitusru's rich.

Ikutsuki's better in Japanese. Is he dead?

Is Chidori 3's Akechi?

Why is everyone's voice acting kinda flat? Except for Akihiko, Junpei, Aigis, creepy cult dude and Ryoji.

I like how Ryoji hits on anything that moves.

I like Ryoji, then again maybe I just have a thing for guys in suspenders.

I feel bad for Soul Hackers dude.

Akihiko sounds like he's asking for directions.

Nyx is creepy. After seeing Nyx, I'll never complain about Maruki again. I take 2 shit phases, 1 normal phase, 1 scripted phase and fist-fighting your therapist over 20! Phases.

Movie 4- So, is that bridge gone now?

Hot takes-

Junpei kinda sucks. Like hate Yosuke and Ryuji all you want. I'd rather have both of them. I do like him and Chidori.

Yukari's kinda a bitch at times.

Makoto is better in Japanese and the movies.

Ikusuki's a fucking creep and I hope he's dead.

Koromaru is best boy.

Shinji is boring. Like you don't get enough time to get attached to him. Yeah, it's sad he dies but past that *shrugs*. Honestly, Akihiko's reaction to his death was way sadder.

As the story goes on it gets boring. (Towards the end).

Outside of the movies and when you sacrifice yourself it doesn't seem like anybody really cares about you. (Minus Yukari).

I hate those armbands. They just make you stick out, which is not good if you're trying to keep your "club" a secret.

Cult leader was a creep.

I like how you shoot yourself in the head. It's very metal/badass.

Fav charcters- Akihiko, Aigis, Koromaru (Not surpringly two are my fav paths in Arena).

I liked the movies better than the game.

I've never seen a group of people care less about each other. They're like work colleagues, not friends.

JunpeixChidori

MakotoxRyoji

MakotoxAigis

[bluejayblueskies]

ao3 year in review 2022

happy new year!! 🎉 with 2022 done and gone, i wanted to take a quick moment to look back on the fic i wrote last year 💜

Top Fandom: Malevolent (15 works, including anonymous fics and fics on my separate nsfw account)

Date of First Fic Posted: January 2, 2022 (it's my party and i'll cry if i want to, Encanto, 5.6k words)

Top Multi-Chapter Fic: ten thousand flowers in spring, The Magnus Archives, 47.5k words

I finished this one just a few days ago and I had such a good time writing it! It also may very well be my last major TMA work (unless the TMA muse returns to me at some point) and I'm happy with it being the capstone on my multi-chapter TMA experience 💜

Top One-Shot: The Cube Rule of Food Identification, The Magnus Archives, 1.6k words

This fic surpassed 1.5k kudos recently and I never expected it to 😂 it's the silliest fic I think I've ever written, given that I usually trend towards angst and whump, and I'm glad that people enjoyed it!

(more under the cut!)

Fic I’m Most Proud Of: whisky old fashioned sour, Malevolent, 58.5k words

I love whisky 💜 this fic is my baby at the moment, ngl, and I'm so excited to wrap it up in the next month or two (depending on how fast I write). People have made some truly spectacular art for it that continues to blow me away every time I see it, and the community has been so wonderful and encouraging over this AU that I thought nobody would really find interesting other than me 💕

Fic I Wish Had Gotten More Attention: cicatrix, Malevolent, 4.7k words

I get why this one didn't get a lot of attention--it's a niche AU (a daemon AU) that's rather whumpy, and I posted it at a weird time. Still, it was (and still is) a concept that really excited me, and I still wish it had gotten a bit more attention. Oh well! That happens sometimes. I like to think that I've gotten more resilient about writing weird niche things that will get like 5 comments and 20 kudos max XD

Fic That Challenged Me The Most: Fata Morgana, The Magnus Archives, 41.7k words

I wouldn't necessarily say that any of the things I wrote this year were particularly challenging (unless you count the HTML stuff in whisky 😂). However, I did have a super rough time starting this fic. It really did not want to get off the ground for whatever reason, and it fought me hard for the first couple of chapters. It was pretty smooth sailing after that though, and I'm proud of the final product!

Favorite Quote/Passage: I always struggle with this question because I forget what I've written beyond what I wrote like. Yesterday lol. So I think I'll just pick a selection of lines I enjoy!

from whisky old fashioned sour:

This close, John can count every single one of Arthur’s freckles—or he could if he had the time, which he immediately adds to his to-do list. Does Arthur have freckles on his shoulders as well? His back? The inside of his thighs? John has never needed to know something so badly, so desperately.

from pov you're an arkham taxi driver:

The last glimpse you catch of him is in the bright white of a lightning strike, high above in the clouds. He looks … taller, somehow. Like his shadow has peeled away from the ground and now looms ominously above, an unholy specter of darkness that winds around him like it’s trying to consume him utterly.

from merry and bright:

There was a choir somewhere else in the festival, and the faint sound of Christmas carols mingled with the jingling of bells and the crackling of fire and the ever-present crunch of snow underfoot. The sounds, along with John’s descriptions, painted a brightly-colored picture: vendors adorned with reds and greens and silvers, children with one hand clasped in a parent’s and the other clinging to hand-carved wooden toys or big round lollipops, people with handcarts peddling candied orange peel and apple cider and warm roasted chestnuts.

from do the stars gaze back?:

Then, Jon reaches out a hand and traces a finger along the curve of Martin’s cheek. “You have constellations within you as well,” they say softly, mapping out the spaces between Martin’s freckles and leaving a warm, tingling sensation in their wake. Their finger reaches the bow of Martin’s upper lip, and they hesitate before shifting and cupping Martin’s cheek in their palm. “They’re lovely.”

from live wire:

They’re beautiful, Jon thinks. In the same way that poison dart frogs are beautiful and belladonna is beautiful and a knife is beautiful right before it buries itself in your lungs.

Total Words Posted: 253,945 words

I suppose I did write two full multi-chapter works and one almost-full multi-chapter work this year, but wow that's still more words than I expected! I'm super happy with the progress I made last year, and I plan to continue writing and posting in 2023 🎉 Thank you SO much to everyone who has commented, kudosed, reblogged, chatted with me in DMs or discord servers, and otherwise supported my writing--I appreciate all of you 💜

Some things to look forward to from me this coming year 👀

Malevolent

The last few chapters of whisky 🥃

Episode 20 time loop fic with themes of whump and heavy angst

Some assorted oneshots, including a Christmas PWP I really meant to have done last year and an exchange fic!

More selkie AU 🦭

TMA

Some assorted oneshots via the bunnies in the archives event that I'm participating in

A oneshot where Tim and Jon quit the Institute together in season 4 that I'm planning on finishing and posting!

A magic AU featuring magician Martin who may or may not have accidentally summoned a Jon by writing sad poetry. Featuring hurt/comfort, sickfic vibes, and a happy ending 💜

[zepskies]

Ooh, you know, SPN diverges sometimes with their "canon creatures" and actual mythology. You're right, I've read skinwalkers depicted as creatures that lure people into the woods by mimicking a baby crying (Native American mythology).

There's also overlap with the Czech boogeyman, the "Bubak." Whereas in Smallville and Harry Potter, a skinwalker was basically just a person capable of changing into a wolf at will (not a werewolf, normal wolf). It kind of varies on these shows depending on what they're trying to achieve narratively, taking creative license. (Sorry, I love talking about mythology!)

[Dean unknowingly saving her]: YEP!! Lol And he's 100% running away from the connection. He's in his early 20s at this point. (Horny-ass motherfucker indeed.) Commitment isn't really Dean's strong suit at this point. 😅

[*laughs in Australian* 🇦🇺]: LMFAO yeah, yeah, yuck it up. I mean, who's gonna know in the privacy of your own home, right? And there's still a lot of underage drinking at college for sure, but being able to legally drink in the U.S. is still 21. My friend almost got kicked out of college because there was a "surprise" room check for drugs/alcohol.

[Mutual history buffs]: I love history too!! I almost minored in it in college. (I majored in English, minored in Screenwriting.) I did take a Russian history course in undergrad and a mythology class when I was doing my master's. Both were so fun!!

["Cramming" for an exam.]: To "cram" basically means to do some hardcore studying very shortly before an exam. The subtext is, you may not have been preparing the way you should have leading up to the test, so now you have to "cram" as much info into your brain as possible. 🤣

[He's the skinwalker!] Your tits were 100% correct. 🤣🤣 Dat silver ring on her finger doesn't lie!! So glad you caught that lol.

You did it again 🥺

I did, I'm sorry, love. 😂😂

[Australian coffee]: There's actually an Australian-owned restaurant in my city and I love going there!! They have an espresso martini that's absolutely to die for lol. And they have Australian coffee and their food is delicious and fresh! I think of you whenever I go there. 😂

IM SORRY WHAT??? Five bucks??

Well, this fic is set in the early 2000s, so it's gotten better since then. But I'm pretty sure min. wage at the time was around $5-7.50 per hour, depending on what state in the U.S. (And this is South Dakota, the Midwest.)

[John Winchester’s A+ parenting]: Yeeeeah. 🙃 I mean, he has his reasons for giving Dean this advice, and he even admits to himself that it's "not exactly right," but he thinks it's justified, considering the way they live and the vendetta he has. He's just assuming that his sons should have the same vendetta to avenge Mary, no matter the cost. Hence the “Nobody should be waiting on men like us to come home bloody," line.

Ouchie that hurt! That really fucken hurt oh god my heart needs stitches 😭🤚

I'm so sorry, my friend! 😂 Sending you virtual bandaids! ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 The angst is real in these beginning chapters, but I promise there's a lot of fun and fluff to come! 😘

Never Say Goodbye - Part 2

Pairing: Dean x Female Reader

Summary: The first time you and Dean sensed each other’s thoughts and feelings, you were just kids. It would take years to realize that you both were bonded for life, and even longer to finally meet. [Soulmate AU] (Rated M for eventual scenes – 18+)

AN: Real quick, just want to say I’m so happy that so many people seem to like this little story so far! Here’s a longer chapter for ya.~

Word Count: 4,300 Warnings: Mentions of anxiety. Language.

Part 2: Connection

Dean honestly didn’t remember that snowy day when he was seventeen with much clarity. Or that sad, anxious feeling in his chest.

Not until six years later, anyway.

It was only a few months after Sam left for college, and left his older brother behind. Well, he’d left John too, but he was the one who gave Sam the ultimatum in the first place.

If you leave, don’t you dare come back.

So Dean struggled to be okay with that while he and John were on another hunt in South Dakota. There was a short but significant string of murders in Vermillion, about an hour away from Sioux Falls.

“Too bad Bobby couldn’t make it,” Dean said. He and John were researching the case at the closest library—over at the University of South Dakota. This one was huge, with multiple floors and new computers.

I guess this is what nerds like Sammy dream about, Dean thought.

“Yeah, could’ve used the manpower. But he’s got his own hunt over in South Carolina somewhere,” John said. His voice was gruff with tiredness. They’d driven for about a week straight, slowly but surely getting farther from the west coast.

“So this thing eats hearts. That could still be a lot of things,” Dean said. He gestured at the small pile of books between them at their table. John had been jotting something down in the autopsy report they’d stolen. He then turned it Dean’s way and tapped his finger on the puncture wounds.

“Those look canine,” John said.

Dean’s browed crunched. “Werewolf? It’s not a full moon.”

His dad shook his head. “Similar, but different. If I’m right, all we need is a couple silver bullets. After we track this thing down.”

“Okay, I’ll bite.” Dean grinned at his own pun. “What is it?”

John smirked. “It’s a skinwalker.”

That rung some kind of bell, but Dean would be hard-pressed to remember what made a skinwalker different from a werewolf. He hadn’t encountered one before, but after he killed it, he’d be sure to remember.

John explained how skinwalkers were actually a lot like werewolves: they could infect people with a single bite, they liked their burger meat raw (as in, fresh human hearts), and more importantly, silver could kill them.

Though unlike their lunar-dependent cousins, skinwalkers could shapeshift into their animal form whenever they wanted. And that didn’t limit to canines.

“But in this case,” John said, pointing again at the autopsy pictures, “I’d say we got us a dirty dog.”

Dean nodded. “Okay, so how do we find him?”

“What do the vics have in common?”

They started pouring over the police reports of the five victims. John took out a map of the city and made notes on the location where each body was found.

This was the part Sam was hella good at. Dean enjoyed the Magnum P.I. aspect of it, but sitting here in a dusty library for hours was going to be a severe test of his patience.

He tried to focus on the reports, and he actually noticed that one of the victims was a college student—here at South Dakota University. Another one was a bartender, and the bar was only a couple of blocks down the road.

Interesting.

He shuffled through the papers to find the third victim and felt something nagging in the back of his mind—an annoying buzz that made his brows knit together. He was already feeling a bit restless sitting here, his knee bouncing in place and rattling the table a bit.

John looked up at him. “What’s the matter?”

Dean blinked in confusion. “Huh?”

“You’re shaking the table.”

Dean forced his knee to stop. But that was when he felt it—a growing sense of frustration and anxiety blooming in his chest.

What the hell? he thought. He was perfectly fine a few minutes ago. Why did it feel like it was getting hard to breathe?

“Dean.” John looked at his son a bit harder. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Dean answered quickly. “Fine…I’m gonna find a bathroom.”

He tried to be normal as he got up and left the table, but at soon as he was out of eye-shot of his dad, he made swifter strides towards the nearest bathroom. He went to the sink and splashed some water across his face to wake himself up. God, why’m I so freakin’ tired?

He took slow, deep breaths to calm down. Even though his mind was racing with what the fuck, what the fuck.

He wiped his face with some paper towel and realized his hands were shaking. Was he sick or something? He knew that Taco Bell breakfast burrito was too good to be true—

That’s it. Wake the hell up. I can’t fail this damn final!

That. That was not his thought.

“What the fuck?” Dean couldn’t help saying it out loud, just to make sure he could still speak normally.

He stared at his own shocked face in the mirror.

Then finally, he knew.   

He knew what these symptoms were, because while he’d ignored that chapter of social studies, Sam had always been an avid student. Truth be told, Dean hadn’t really wanted to learn that subject. It was the reason he didn’t like thinking about their mom. And the reason why their dad barely spoke about her.

But Dean knew what happened when soulmates started getting close to one another for the first time.

Dean was feeling his freaking soulmate, and it was scaring the hell out of him.

Suddenly he could feel the bond. It was like a humming thread in his mind, an itch he wanted to scratch. If he just reached out the slightest bit, he could touch it. He could connect with whoever it was on the other line.

He could…or he could just leave it for a while until he figured out what he was even going to say, let alone do if someone answered him back.

So he did what most twenty-three year old men would do when faced with a potentially life-changing bond of commitment and…feelings.

He shoved it down and ran.

Well, not literally ran, but he was quick to leave the bathroom and return to his dad.

“Finally. What the hell took you so long?” John asked. He was already gathering their stuff together to leave.

Dean felt pinned by his dad’s gaze, but he did his best to play it smooth.

“Uh, sorry. Breakfast burrito hit me sideways. Then there was no toilet paper in the stall and I had to climb under and—”

John grimaced and held up a hand to stop him. “All right. Let’s just go.”

Dean let out a relieved breath. He hefted his backpack onto his shoulder and followed his dad out of the library, back to the Impala. He climbed into the passenger seat and took a swig of an old soda to steady himself.

He still felt her anxiety in his chest (at least, he hoped it was a her). Maybe she was having a rough day…but once he remembered what she’d said in his head, he wanted to slap a hand to his forehead.

You idiot. She’s studying for a test, he thought. She’s probably a student here.

That realization made him smirk. Aw, yeah. College girl, huh?

Though that thought was followed by a dousing shower of reality.

Oh shit. The thing we’re hunting just ate a college freshman.

“Dean, what’s the matter with you? You lost in space over there?” John asked. It punctured the bubble of Dean’s internal world and made him sharpen to attention.

“Nah, I’m fine. Where’re we headed?”

John scrutinized him a bit longer, but at Dean’s stubbornness, he seemed to let it go for now.

“To find this thing,” he said. “I narrowed down its hunting grounds and called the local animal control. They’ve been getting reports of people hearing a stray dog barking, but no one’s seen him.”

Dean nodded and settled back into his seat. Just focus on the hunt, he told himself. Deal with the rest after.

You were having a phenomenally shitty day.

Well, you supposed that was nothing new. You were twenty years old, still not old enough to legally drink but old enough to have adult bills and adult stress to go along with it. So you were also broke.

And you were halfway through a degree in history. A degree that your father repeatedly told you was “impractical” to earn a decent living with. Which wasn’t even true.

…Okay, maybe that was a little bit true. But you liked history, and you could easily fall into Mom’s footsteps and become a teacher.

You could work for a museum. You could become a world-renowned historian, or write an award-winning historical fantasy like Game of Thrones and make millions off the TV deal!

…Okay, most likely it was probably going to the teacher thing, but at least you still had dreams.

Your dad only believed in what he could see right in front of his narrow-minded face.

Your dad was a dream killer.

Maybe you shouldn’t have told him that on the phone just now, but you were fuming, damn it. This wasn’t what you needed on finals week. Especially because you had an insane Calculus final to cram for, and only a few hours to do it. You needed to get back to your part-time job at the coffee shop by three. Unfortunately, you were closing tonight.

First, you needed a pick-me-up before you headed to the library.

Sighing, you rubbed the silver ring on your right hand absently as you waited in line at the university’s café. The ring had been your mom’s, and now it was yours. On most days, it gave you comfort; just that little bit of extra support to get you through.  

Eventually, you got to the front of the line and rattled off your coffee order while still looking up at the menu board: extra-large black coffee with a turbo shot, four sugars. When your gaze slid down and met the guy ringing you up, your brain stuttered to a halt.

“Okay, got it. One ‘Turbo Cram Session’ coming up,” he said. He gave you a charming, friendly grin. With his hazel eyes and tan skin, he was a rare find in a midwestern town like this. His brown hair was long, brushing past his shoulders. He almost reminded you of a character from the cheesy vampire book your teen cousin Lily was obsessed with.

Regardless, he was attractive.

A nervous flutter in your stomach made you smile back. “Thanks.”

You paid the overly expensive bill and watched him make your coffee.

“Finals week, right?” he commiserated.

“Yep.” You sighed and nodded. “Three exams tomorrow, one at eight-in-the-damn-morning.”

He whistled sympathetically. “Yeah, it’s a killer.”

He put the lid on your steaming coffee and handed it to you. His fingers brushed your hand when you took the to-go cup from him, but he hissed a bit and pulled his hand back.

“You okay?” you asked in concern. He glanced at your hand. You toyed with your ring in a nervous habit.

“Yeah, some coffee spilled. No worries,” he said. He flashed you a smile. “If you need to pull an all-nighter, just come back. I can help you mainline the espresso machine.”

He tapped the inside of your wrist and you laughed, playing along. “You’d do that for me?”

“Just for you,” he said with a nod. He pressed a finger to his lips conspiringly. “Keep it quiet, though, or the whole school will be cramming in here like stray cats.”

You laughed again. His nametag read, James.

“Got it. Thanks, James.”

“Call me Jimmy,” he said, giving you a more flirtatious smile.

You left the café with a full-on blush warming your face. When your hands hand brushed, you felt tingles on your skin…but you hadn’t heard his thoughts.

He’s not the one.

Disappointing.

You continued on your path to the library.

You were a bit introverted, mostly keeping to yourself. Your friends were back home in Sioux Falls, so you didn’t really have anyone here, and you didn’t put yourself out there as much as you could. But even when guys did notice you (however few and far between that was), you just couldn’t bring yourself to entertain them. Not if you couldn’t feel them.

Maybe that was a lonely way to go through life. Your friends had certainly told you so. They encouraged you to have fun and explore in college, and part of you wanted to. Another part—the more sensitive part—thought that was just setting yourself up for disappointment.

You wanted something real. Something that would last. Like what your parents had, before…

Whatever. Enough of that. You shook your head to clear your thoughts as you approached the library, but it was hard.

Juggling a full-time college schedule, two part-time jobs, and commuting over an hour every day to school was hard. And your dad wasn’t making it any easier.

All right, stop it. Anxiety was starting to well up in your chest, and you couldn’t afford to battle with it right now.

You went into the library and found your usual spot, practically buried behind the reference books. Finding your favorite work desk, you settled your things there and sipped your coffee. You willed yourself to calm down—to power through that voice in your head that wanted to focus on your problems instead of solutions.

You only had a few hours to plug several complex math equations into your head.

That’s it. Wake the hell up, you thought sternly. I can’t fail this damn final!

With a shaky breath, you cracked open your Calculus book, put on your headphones and some music, and started studying.

A few minutes later, the men’s bathroom door opened with a loud crack and someone quickly walked out of it—right past your table.

You were too deep in your studies and your music to notice. 

Father and son were on the hunt.

John was pretty sure they’d found the skinwalker (in a coffee shop of all places). They just had to wait until the bastard came out.

He and Dean waited in the Impala with Reuben sandwiches to tide them over for the stakeout. John discreetly shot his son a glance.

The boy had been off his game all day, but he couldn’t put his finger on why…

“Hey Dad, where’s Zeppelin IV?” he asked, around a mouthful of Reuben. A smile twitched at John’s lips. He wordlessly retrieved the cassette from the compartment on the driver’s side door and held it up in his hand.

“Hey, why d’you keep it on your side?” Dean asked. “You don’t trust me with your tunes by now? Just like you never let me drive?” 

He was mostly teasing, but maybe there was a thread of truth underneath. John scoffed.

“I don’t let you drive the Impala ‘cause you’re a punk,” he said. He offered Dean the cassette, but just as he was about to grab it, John took it back and popped it into the cassette player himself. He smirked. “Driver picks the music.”

Dean gave him a look, like he wanted to snipe a comeback, but thought better of it. He sat back into his seat.

John took a satisfied bite out of his sandwich.

Oh shit!

You sprung up from your desk in the library, wiping drool from the side of your cheek.

Tell me I didn’t fucking fall asleep!

Sure enough, your Calculus book was cracked open, your half-drunk coffee was cold, and you had all but missed your shift at work. No, no, no!

You dashed around like a mad person trying to collect your books, pens, your phone—everything into your backpack. You had walked here from your dorm, so you were just going to have to run to the coffee shop on foot. You were too broke to take a taxi and the bus would take too damn long.

It was only, what, a mile or two?

Lord help me.

You didn’t have a choice. You just had to run.

“Coffee boy’s clocking out,” Dean observed. He and John climbed out of the Impala. By then it was evening, almost night. The sun dipped behind the clouds and the streetlights were about to come on. Rush hour traffic was heavy here at a four-way intersection.

Dean focused on their target. The guy looked normal—dark hair, tan skin. I guess that’s the idea, Dean thought. Look normal, blend in by slinging watery, overpriced coffee, get your filet o’ human hearts on the side.

When the guy came out of the café, he didn’t walk to a car parked on the street. Instead, he dipped between the café and the university library and went through a back alley.

“Let’s go,” John said, and with their guns loaded up with silver (hidden in their jackets), they hurried across the street and ducked into the alley.

But they didn’t see any trace of the guy. Both retrieved and cocked their guns, moving through the alley slowly.

Dean was usually good at this part. His ex-marine dad had trained him well, and he was focused. Alert.

Until something nagged at the back of his mind. A low hum as that connection flared to life. 

Oh fuck. His lips pursed. A persistent feeling of worry (that wasn’t his own) prickled in his chest, like fire ants across his skin. He tried his best to shut it out.

Not now.

You rushed out the library doors and inwardly bemoaned that it was practically nighttime. You were lucky if you still had a job by the time you got to work.

Damn it! Frustration and worry warred for dominance, but you couldn’t focus on that.

Not now.

You hesitated a moment. A weird feeling fluttered in your chest just then…

Ugh, whatever, you dismissed, shaking your head. I’m insane, it’s fine.

You ran to the street intersection and waited impatiently for the walking light to turn green. 

You looked both ways on the street. It was still red, but there was a window of opportunity in a short lull of cars. You could make it if you hurried.

So you did. You took your chance and ran halfway down the street, making it past the first wave of oncoming traffic. You just didn’t account for the truck that was turning the corner—from the opposite direction.

You had time to utter a scream before you dove for the sidewalk. A woman walking her dog helped you up, asking if you were okay.

You were and you weren’t, really. You were shaking, but you thanked the woman with a trembling smile. At this point, you didn’t care if you were fired. Five bucks an hour wasn’t worth getting splattered on a dusty pavement. 

Damn. Guess I’ll have to apply at Starbucks.

It was intense.

Your fear was like a searing hot knife ripping through Dean’s heart, and it tore a ragged sound from his throat as his knee buckled.

John’s head swiveled to him with wide eyes. “Dean—”

That was the opening their prey was waiting for. Or rather, the creature that was hunting them.

A large dog leapt from the roof of the café—behind and above them. It went for Dean first, biting into his arm through his jacket. Both of them went down as Dean struggled and the animal growled and tried to shred his arm. Dean almost didn’t feel the pain, but he felt panic of his own as he tried to pry the creature off by his canine ears. 

“Dean!”

He looked up at his dad, who stood with his gun aloft. Dean trusted him. He helped give an opening and moved his face away.

Three shots rang out.

The first two killed the skinwalker. The third was just for insurance, and maybe vengeance.

John helped Dean out from under the creature’s body, and they watched it transform back into its natural form. Coffee shop boy.

James, Dean read on his nametag.

“Rest in peace, Cujo,” he quipped, but by now the pain was finally registering. His arm wept with blood through his jacket, and he hissed in pain when his dad put firm pressure on the wound.

“What the fuck happened, Dean?” John demanded. “You got shit between your ears, or a working brain? Because whatever’s got you distracted, that’s how you get killed.”

His father’s anger wasn’t pleasant, but his disappointment was crushing.

Dean swallowed the pain, both physical and…and the rest. He just nodded and apologized.

“Sorry, Dad.”

John shook his head, but he continued leading Dean back to the car.

Back at the motel, John was able to stitch Dean up and wrap his arm. They had planned to leave after the hunt to save money on another motel night…but John agreed to give it one more day to let Dean rest on a real bed.

His son wasn’t just in pain. He was melancholy.

It was unusual for Dean, who normally kept up a decent attitude. And it wasn’t like him to slip up like that on a hunt. John could admit, things were different now without Sam. John was different.

Not that he’d been a picnic before. He knew that much. But maybe Sam leaving was harder than John cared to admit.

After he and Dean were showered up, John brought them back some takeout and beers. He gave Dean one, but before he turned on the TV, he hesitated. A twinge of sorry was at the tip of his tongue.

Instead, he asked, “What’s wrong, Dean?”

His son opened his mouth, a denial ready to fire.

“Don’t lie to me, son,” John said. “Just…tell me what happened today.”

It took a while to pry it out of him. He was resistant, and John expected that.

Dean, for his part, was trying to figure out what to say. How to say it.

Just then, he also remembered something Sam told him when he was only in sixth grade.

“Dean, did you know this? Human souls are really complex, and they’re unique too. We learned about it today in school.”

“Good for you, Super Geek.” 

“They found out that connected souls subconsciously try to find each other. So when you start hearing someone’s thoughts, it’s because the souls are trying to bond together, like molecules.”

Like molecules, huh?

Speaking of, Dean hadn’t heard your thoughts since that terrifying moment when he felt you…

For a moment, he’d thought you’d….

Though deep down, he knew you weren’t gone. He knew the bond was there, like an idle TV. Either you lived really close to this motel, or this HBO connection was getting a wider bandwidth.

“Dean?” John pressed.

Dean looked up, breaking from his thoughts. John didn’t often ask him to open up. But Dean figured if anyone would understand, it would probably be his dad.

He was forced to contemplate the question that had been scaring him all day.

Did he want the same soul bond his parents had, even if it nearly killed John after she died?

“…Dad, how did you and Mom meet?”

The question took John by surprise…but maybe it shouldn’t have. His perceptive gaze washed over Dean.

“It was after I came back from Vietnam,” John said eventually. “We ran into each other by the old movie theater.”

Dean smiled. “Aw, both of you were in line for Jaws?”

A resigned smile quirked at John’s lips. “That was ’75, genius. And no, we…literally ran into each other. Full speed. I went to help her up, but she was already doing it herself. Plus picking up everything that fell outta her bag. All I could do was stare at her like an idiot, ‘cause…I heard her say, God damn it.”

John had been lost in the memory for a moment, but here he looked at Dean.

“But she didn’t say it. She thought it,” he said. “And I knew it was her. She was it for me.”

“And she did too?” Dean asked, somewhat hesitantly.

“No,” John laughed a little. “She took some convincing, if I remember right.”

“What, she couldn’t hear your thoughts?”

“No, she could. But that…connection. It’s different in the beginning,” John said, with a heavy sigh. This was harder to talk about than he thought. For Dean, he would do it. But just this once.

“You don’t have so much control over it. It just kinda…happens.”

“And…how did that work, exactly?” Dean asked.

“Why do you want to know?” John returned. Dean quieted, looking down at his beer.

That was all the confirmation he needed to finally know what was going on. He sighed again.

“Son,” he started, then hesitated. He knew what he was about to say wasn’t completely right, but it was the truth. One day, Dean would understand.

“Son,” he said again. “Unless you’re prepared to hang up your gun, and stop hunting, don’t open that door.”

Dean’s brows knit together, a silent question that he almost didn’t want to ask. John answered it anyway.

“Nobody should be waiting on men like us to come home bloody,” he said.

Dean took those words to heart. He reminded himself that his dad had seen blood and war long before he met Mary. Maybe his dad had more regrets than just not being able to save her.

So the next morning, Dean slid into the Impala’s passenger seat. John drove them away from the college town, out of Vermillion, South Dakota.

Dean felt relieved, and also guilty. Then, the farther they got, he just felt wrong.

Soon enough, the warm tendril of connection in his chest dissipated.

AN: Phew! Okay, one major step closer to you and Dean finally meeting. I definitely drew on some of my own experiences at college here lol.

Read on to: Part 3.

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Is Terry Silver is Dying? ( Major Spoilers for Seasons 4 and 5)

When we first see Terry in Season 4, he’s got this old-man hippie thing going in. The lifestyle of a long haired/vegan/yoga/meditation/piano playing eccentric billionaire. But what if he’s turned to a more natural lifestyle and is doing all this if modern medicine isn’t working to heal him? And he wants to try a more holistic approach?

Because as Terry is having a PTSD flashback over breakfast, his butler asks him if he should send for the doctor. Terry declines, then proceeds to not eat. Given how casually and quickly his butler asks the question, it makes me wonder how frequently this happens.

Then, when he’s reminiscing in front of the mirror as he ties his hair back, there is a bottle of pills on the counter which he puts away. Could they be for his mental health problems? (PTSD, manic depression? Etc.?) They could be, but they could very well be for something else..

Come season 5, Terry shows up when Johnny and Carmen go to the hospital. Why is he there anyway? What’s he doing? There is absolutely no reason for him to be there, it’s not like he’s stalking Johnny. Terry’s also surprised to learn that Carmen is pregnant; his reaction seems incredibly authentic, suggesting he’s telling the truth, and does not know why they’re there. The only thing that makes sense is that he is in hospital because he has an issue that needs to be frequently checked up on.

Over dinner with Chozen, he talks of never having children, how his legacy is Cobra Kai. And how youth is the one thing money cannot buy. Why all this reminiscing all of a sudden? 

When he and Chozen fight, Terry says he’s not afraid to die. Later, he says he should have died on the battlefield, and to just “do it” (kill him). Sounds pretty defeatist for a man who went to such great lengths with all the Cobra Kai stuff thirty some years after a local tournament.

And then, when he gets his comeuppance at the end of the season, the whole way he is caught is damn sloppy for a man who is shown repeatedly to be incredibly cunning, shrewd, and highly intelligent. Is he unhinged? Probably. But he could have been distracted by his failing health as well. 

Terry’s actor, Thomas Ian Griffith, has been seen without his signature ponytail/longer hair. Some people are claiming it is because he’s not in Season 6, but what if the cropped look is due to him going through some sort of treatment that makes him lose his hair? 

Kristian Harloff had an interview with Thomas Ian Griffith where they talk about Terry. It’s an excellent interview (come on, it’s TIG so it would be!) but there is a moment where Thomas talks about an important subplot that explains the line “l’m not afraid to die” being cut from Season 5. That could add more backing as to why Terry wanted to go out like a warrior in top shape instead of just withering away to a slow-killing disease. After all, choosing how and when you die is the ultimate form of control. Terry Silver is all about control, and he is all about power. And what’s more powerful than controlling how and when your life comes to a close? 

It makes sense to me that Terry Silver was dying at the beginning of Season 4. That’s why when Kreese met him, Terry very quickly and easily decided to throw away his life of relative peace that he’s maintained for 30+ years, and go out in a blaze of menacing karate glory with the legacy of Cobra Kai. After all, what does he have to lose?