#they definitely still spar for funsies

[chronicallyill-nephilim]

How they met head cannon

There's a ton of ways the dynamic duo run into each other for the first time, I've got a few of my own tucked away in my brain but I think this one's my favorite.

Spider-Man patrols alone, which means he fights alone, no matter how out numbered he is. He can handle it.

So he's a little out numbered today, (pick you're favorite rogue, add a few goons and you've got yourself a recipe for a slightly frustrating afternoon).

He's handling it. Till someone decides to step on his toes.

Deadpool sees Spider-Man and fangirl’s out. He has to meet the man of his dreams (doesn’t matter that Spidey’s in the middle of a fight)

Peter, who assumes everyone who approaches him is trying to kill/unmask him, recognizes the Merc and suddenly he’s fighting 360.

Deadpool’s standing off to the side, at the start fully ignoring the goon squad trying to dog pile a now distracted Spider-Man

Annoyed he’s not getting the full meet and greet experience, thinks to himself that guns are much faster than webs.

Peter’s senses go batshit, cause Deadpool + guns is never a good fucking thing and for some reason he’s point at the goons not Peter.

Queue slow mo stopping bullets with webs and all that good stuff.

Wade is fangirling so hard he’s pretty sure he’s seeing stars

The fight ends quickly, each goon disarmed and webbed up for the super helpful NYPD to find.

Peter can turn his full attention to the bigger problem that is the Merc standing in his personal space. Again he doesn’t meet people often (ever) that don’t want to fight him so that’s what he thinks.

With his full attention now on Deadpool they fight.

Spider-Man wants to know if there’s a hit out on him and from who.

Deadpool is super insistent there’s not and if there was this is super not the way he’d go about it

So ok, not here to on a hit. Peter can roll with that, but DP’s obviously still trying to kill him so it must be a personal thing

They go back and forth like that for a while before either knuckle head decides to stop hitting the other and actually talk instead of quip.

Even then once Wade backs off waving a white flag Peter takes off swinging in the opposite direction.

Time passes, they brawl some more before Wade happens to be eating a ridiculous amount of shawarma a a rooftop all on his lone some when Spidey rocks up.

Sharing is caring ladies and gentlemen and that night Wade cares a lot. As a bonus he learns the way to Spidey’s heart is through his stomach and bad 90’s sci-fi references.

[lamialamia]

We have a problem: expositions and trivial

One of MOTA's writing problems is how it under-utilized its exposition. In this analysis, I'll only focus on one instance to complain explain my point.

In episode one of MOTA. The show tells us that the characters are from many different parts of the US.

Everyone came from different places in the US... which was good for us to know. Now the scene will end and you can immediately forget it ever happens, because ultimately the distinct geographical backgrounds of our characters doesn't matter.

And all of this information never means anything more than a list. Not once in MOTA does this entire scene lends a helping hand to the story in any way possible.

In comparison, Band of Brothers didn't tell us in great detail where the characters came from and yet it managed to make us remember that fact. BoB did it by using their conflict to illustrate the exposition.

From this, we know that wherever Guarnere and Winters came from, those places definitely were very different, especially on the religions front. And thus, Guarnere was wary of him even if he knew Dick's a good man.

And then this

Cue the infamous Liebgott vs Guarnere fight

this is also exposition. We learn that Liebgott is Jewish and would not stand for Guarnere thinly veiled antisemitic bs. More important, this is the basis for their fight, their conflict. And we can infer that Guarnere and Liebgott have two different backgrounds, possibly based on the geographical location of wherever they came; now, that difference led to this conflict between them.

Immediately, the stake was increased. Not only were these men about to fight off foreign enemies in foreign land, they were also fighting among themselves: enlisted man vs officer (Guarnere vs Dick) and enlisted men vs enlisted men (Guarnere vs Liebgott).

Exposition is a tool of story telling, they are not trivial to be put in for funsies. A good story used its exposition, making it actually relevant instead of an info-dump.

In a different case, in the same episode, we have Toye listing out the insane number of things the paratroopers have to carry.

(Sorry the subtitles being hard to read)

Then later on, we saw the scene where the guys are struggling to get on the planes:

The exposition from Toye is there to explain this scene. And in a way, the stake is stacked against the men in an unexpected way: the brass forced them to wear more than they should. Then in the next episode, we saw everyone just lose so much of all these gears as they dropped into occupied France.

Back to the geographical difference. Unlike MOTA or BoB, this isn't made to be a big conflict in TP or GenKil. In fact, when it came up, the possible conflict is resolved immediately to make a difference point.

Ack-ack brought this up, and then they started talking about Sledge's dad and his dad. How different as those men were (a doctor in the south and a textile worker in Massachusetts) yet they both contributed to the US's war effort (treating vets from first world war and making the Marines' greens).

The exposition is here to show how things have changed, how the perceived difference of where Sledge and Haldane came from didn't matter. They are fighting the same fight right then and there. In fact it showed how charismatic Ack-ack is as a leader and part of why Sledge admired and looked up to him a lot, no matter the history of where they were born.

Similarly,

and Ray was like

This scene is all about how Brad and Ray came from different place, both geographically, social and economic class, and religion. But we see no conflict here, not when it's obvious from Ray smiling that this was bantering, not insult.

No matter how difference their background was, Ray and Brad had overcome them together and now also fighting the same war. However, they would still use this as comedic material for their verbal sparring. From established differences, we have organic and very realistic rapport.

But in MOTA

Gale Cleven is the first in the 100th Bomb group to be from Wyoming. This doesn't matter. Because no one made a joke about it besides this very first scene with Crosby called it the "Cowboy State". No one made any kind of assumptions, no one believed Gale should behave in a certain way because of this, no one tried to ask Gale if he has ever ridden a horse.

Everyone in MOTA came from different places yet they never have any kind of conflict about it. Nor did their hometown explain how some characters might behave in a certain way, think a certain way. It didn't set up a twist. It didn't give insight to a character personality.

No importance was made here.

For such a long scene, what we got is trivial and info-dump. Not exposition.

[skyler1290]

Right, I'm bored and it's late in the night, so I wrote down some random stuff about each of the neo-ancients. Also, there may be a few hints (and one outright saying) of some of their powers down below.

Dark Choco Cookie

- Remember how I said Dark Choco wanted to hide any and everything reminding him and the people around him about his father? Well, he once dyed his hair (of course, to hide its color since it looked really similar to his father's hair). He dyed it blonde (it was the only color he could find), and Choco absolutely regretted it the moment he looked in a mirror. After a day or two, he removed the hair coloring and vowed to never do such a thing again. Stormbringer teases him about this from time to time.

- Choco doesn't react very well when his father is mentioned. That's something him and Frigid have in common.

- Every sword he's felt after the Strawberry Jam Sword hasn't felt right. He can still fight well, sure, but it's like his full potential can't shine through.

- Him and Kouign-Amann sometimes switch swords, just for funsies.

- "What do you mean I can teleport, now?"

- Unsure. He's unusure. About what, you ask? Everything.

Kouign-Amann Cookie

- She's not a Paladin in this AU, but she's aware of them. Kouign likes them and holds admiration for the Crème Knights, however. Not like they'd ever accept her with her parentage, though.

- The cult is after her, and though she acts brave, deep down, paranoia has become a recurring feeling.

- "My father's a cult leader disintegrating people. Do you think I'm ok?!"

- She's always up for a spar with her fellow neo-ancients. Sword fighting is one thing she's really passionate about, after all, and a certain daughter of Dragonberry Cookie shares such an interest.

- Ambition is good. After all, she literally holds the Light of Ambition. But, it also serves as her fatal flaw.

- Healing was never something Kouign-Amann thought she'd be good at. That was more of Saint Vanilla's thing, right? Her Soul Jam may have changed her mind on that.

Raspberry Cookie

- Loyalty is her fatal flaw. It's the same concept as Kouign-Amann having ambition as her fatal flaw while being the holder of the Light of Ambition.

- Her and Royal Berry aren't close, but she does worry about her older brother. She also isn't close with Jungleberry, though she definitely finds her as a respectful figure. Princess Cookie is the only one she's interacted with regularly. They're ok with eachother, and Raspberry is definitely glad to also have someone who finds her freedom important. She views Princess Cookie more like a younger sister than a niece.

- Despite not being blood related to anyone in House Raspberry, she's usually counted as part of it anyways. This is due to a few things she has done for them which has helped significantly. She is aware of Raspberry Mousse Cookie, and she's definitely still proud like canon (that doesn'r change the fact she'd never say it out loud).

- Unlike Dark Choco, Raspberry cut her hair right before she ran away from the kingdom, leaving the cut off hair on her chamber's bathroom floor.

- Just to add more onto it, there's a lot of things she wouldn't say out loud. Each reason is either due to pride, hurt, or even both. The topic of Dragonberry Cookie falls under the last reason mentioned.

- "I miss the kingdom. Was this what Dark Choco felt?"

Mercurial Knight Cookie

- Mercurial is the most calm and stoic out of all of the neo-ancients.

- The other neo-ancients are still unaware of Mercurial Knight's original flavor. The cookie himself is still working that out. Does he want to stay with the identity he has now? Or did that imply that he was loyal to Midnight Lily's cause?

- He misses Elder Faerie, deep down. He had been something that filled the void Midnight Lily had left. But now he's gone, and he accepts that. He holds the Light of Detachment, after all.

- Though, he feels guilty. Mercurial Knight Cookie knows what he's doing is right, but that doesn't lessen the fact he may have grown some sentimental attachments. He misses the Faerie Kingdom. He misses his mother. But he doesn't show it. It's all in the past now, and it's time to move on. Surely time will heal everything.

- "My flavor, you ask? My apologies. I'd rather not say."

- He finds the Light of Detachment's voice as something that brings him up and reminds him of his one true goal: to save Earthbread from the former ancients and protect his fellow neo-ancients while at it. This was an oath he took silently. Unlike the last one, he would not break it.

Stormbringer Cookie

- If you want to know her personality, I'll first have to ask you a question. Do you know what 'EPIC: The Musical' is? If you do, she's almost exactly like Hermes.

- Stormbringer is a demigoddess, but she acts as if she was a full goddess most of the time and refers to herself as the latter. One day, she hopes to ascend to true godhood in a good way unlike her mother.

- Her Soul Jam provided her with less powers than the others since Stormbringer already had quite a few to begin with. The witches wouldn't want someone else becoming too overpowered now, would they?

- "What do you want me to do? Scare them off by sounding some thunder?"

- Connecting to the info above, Stormbringer possesses the ability to sound thunder (but that doesn't mean lightning will strike).

- She often brags how her weapon is the coolest out of all of the equipment the neo-ancients have. They all can't help but agree when it comes to that.

-

Sorry for any typos. I'm tired so I'm not going to be rereading this post. I could've written this tomorrow, but I love the BAAU so much, I couldn't help myself.

Beast Ancients AU by @cuppajj

[found-wings]

also extra silly thought that prob doesn't align with the new au and is legit a throwaway idea just for funsies but- ik damn well that now knowing etoiles history, wilbur would have a damn Heart attack if he looked away from phil for one (1) second and in that second etoiles had convinced him to do a stick fight and wilbur immediately hears sparring in the background and it's just the two of em beating the shit out of each other 😭😭😭 loving him and techno being worried abt their friend who is Unbothered - 💿

HELPP

It‘s very silly and I‘m such a voucher for it, it would probably fit into the new au somewhere. Probably along the lines of after certain silly events I briefly have thought of happening and when Techno & Wilbur are basically okay with Etoiles sticking around but still highly suspicious of him, so hearing that all of a sudden definitely sends Wilbur into a scare and Techno into almost throwing his axe at Etoiles out of instinct.

Phil & Etoiles sharing one (1) braincell and it only thinks about beating each other up with sticks

[marbleheavy]

Ananbeth and Nico friendship 💞💞 I just think it’s so good!!

Although I definitely think that Nico talks to both Percy and Annabeth about Tartarus, I think he just feels more comfortable talking to Annabeth. Partially because half of him is bitter because part of the reason he went to Tartarus the first place was for Percy, so that kind of taints their conversations. (I also have a whole spiel about how Percy and Nico are friends but Nico is still kind of bitter but that’s not for right now lmao). But also because she just kind of gets him more. I mean, no one really understands, but at least she knows what it’s like to feel out of place and unwanted (more than Percy) and how Tartarus amplifies that

They’re both smart and can cause so much chaos!! Nico will just say outright false things about “Back in the day…” and Annabeth just nods along and says “Yeah, that’s true” and nobody questions because like… it’s Annabeth, y’know? Anywhoosies, they spread the idea that forks somehow didn’t exist before the 1950’s

Knives!! They spar together all the time because Nico wants to get better with a dagger and Annabeth wants to get better with a sword. At some point, they’re both constantly armed with 2 or more knives at all times and sometimes they trade (for funsies)

This is pretty overdone but… Annabeth helps him redesign the Hades cabin (and I think a lot of people forget that Nico designed it in the first place but she understands his willful ignorance so she goes along with it, to the point where she will basically gaslight anyone who’s like “Nico… didn’t you design it in the first place?”)

They bond over having smart and talented boyfriends who are also absolute fools

Capture the Flag!! Hades is ALWAYS with Athena and they dominate! It gets to the point where Chiron has to force them to split up sometimes. Nico and Annabeth both want to have a game where it’s Hades and Athena vs everyone else because they’re both certain they’ll still win (and they would)

In other camp activities though, they rarely pair up because they always win immediately and it’s not as fun

Annabeth and Nico trade books! They do the thing there they read and annotate a book and then swap. They tried to start a Camp book club one time but it was just them dominating the conversation and ranting

They both really like studio ghibli movies (Nico for the plot and Annabeth for the art) and they watch them together a lot

They do a lot of movie/book/tv show references together but always completely deadpan so you can’t really tell they’re mimicking anything unless you know what they’re referencing (For example: they do the “don’t say that, please don’t say that” from Black Widow a lot)

There comes a point where Nico (and also Piper) refer to Annabeth as “my wife” which everyone thinks is fucking hilarious for a multitude of reasons. It also confuses new campers because they’ll see Nico kiss Will and ask “But what about Annabeth?” with great concern. Nico always just goes “Uh huh, Annabeth is my wife but Will is my boyfriend.” “But… what?” “I don’t like women, I exclusively date men. But Annabeth is my wife.” (Piper will see Nico and Annabeth talking and walk up and playfully shove Nico and just go “Hey, stay away from my wife” and Nico always says “Your wife? She’s my wife! Just ask my boyfriend, he’ll tell you!”)

[spookycrazyhatboxghost]

Possum brain went hey you did pining yesterday how about some retribution?? Ehh? I don’t know if this is rp compliant but this is just for funsies

The training room mats weren’t the worst; Xók had definitely gotten into scrapes on worse. Still after letting him get a few good hits Calam seemed to enjoy picking him up and slamming him down just because he could.

Xók was trying to get his breathing under control but he was still recovering from getting the wind knocked out of him:

He managed to gasp

“Show off—!”

The dark T visor looming nearby revealed nothing except a slight head-tilt that could have meant anything from smugness to teasing challenge.

Xók attempted to shift back and the sudden grip around his ankle stopped the movement.

Heart in his throat—tries signing TIME OUT with his hands in a T over his chest but they shook too much.

The dark haired man reached up and ripped off his Buy'ce in a panic.

He probably looked a mess at that point; brown eyes unfocused; face red from exertion, hair disheveled—when Xók opened his mouth it sounded too close to pleading.

{Ti—time out}

Xók felt the grip at his ankle squeeze — any harder and he’d definitely feel his pulse through the layers. It stopped and then softened before moving away and he brought the palm out to offer assistance.

He took the hand and was pulled forward ; Xók rested his forhead on his bent knee and breathed for a few minutes.

He felt Calam place his hands over his paularens; slowly let his shoulders relax at the pressure; The Mando’s covered fingers tapping once and then again nine times —he’d be back in ten minutes . Xók nodded in understanding.

Eyes flinty; arms braced on his knees Xók looks around the room as he leaves; fingers playing idly with the vibroblade sheathed in his boot; defenses back up.

Unscrewing the top on his water bottle he pauses: sniffs as it smells different then when he’d filled it a few hours ago—looks around again to the empty room as he lowers it.

He feels eyes on him; not just his paranoia but /truly/

Things had been good— too good.

So it really shouldn’t have shocked Xók that as the bolt of warning rockets up and down his spine; he smells seawater before he hears Khal speak.

“Finally—I thought he’d never leave … Hello Xókore— aren’t you happy to see me? I’ve missed you—“

The peace he’s slowly hoarded from these sparring sessions evaporated so so quickly.

/His old name/

Prepared this time Xók turns and whatever Khal was expecting be it happiness—fear or anger; it wasn’t the neutral expression on his face. Xók had spent days and weeks suffocated by fear but this was just a man—an overconfident man who can bleed—who can die.

Still his green eyes look him over and it feels so much like a physical touch that Xók can’t help lashing out.

{You really are as stupid as you are tall…. What—did I say would happen if you came near me again?Hmm? Worm?}

Xók forced the edge of the small blade up against the apple of Khal’s throat; his previously smug expression flickers as the noise of the vibro-blade hummed louder.

The pressure moved him away from towering over Xók directly.

So the dark haired man stood without giving the other his back. Green eyes flickered down to the water bottle still in hIs other hand and then back up to his face.

“I’ve seen you training so hard recently…it’s good to stay hydrated yeah?”

Disgust rolls through his gut at the thought khal has just been /waiting/ and— /watching./

But more so the comment struck him as odd—/why the fuck would Khal care if he drank—/

Xók narrows his eyes and shakes the bottle closer to his face.

“Why so invested?—Would you like some Khal?”

Xók had to fight the visceral need to gag as he watched the man’s eyes flutter for a second when he’d said his name before remembering himself and shaking his head .

“No it’s yours you have it—”

—flinching when the movement got him nicked and the zing of burnt copper drifted.

When Khal meets his eyes again there’s an earnest zeal in the way he speaks and the way he’s looking at Xók.

“They’ve been keeping us apart— Kode thinks he knows best—stickler for rules but I knew if I could just get you alone you would —”

Xók reacts without thought and cracks Khal across the face with the sealed durasteel bottle.

The taller man goes down and when he tries to blindly grab at Xók— he unscrews the bottle and splashes some on him- on his boots— it gets on the floor.

Khal scrambles

away from it ;and as he watched the man’s movements are getting jerky —uncoordinated.

Xók follows him at a more relaxed pace.

The rage seeming to make his mind clearer then it’s been in weeks.

He leans down and Khal is momentarily entranced by his closeness ; he doesn’t react right away when he pulls a slightly longer blade from a thigh pocket and touches it just barely to the seem of Khal’s pants.

“Now—wait a minute I thought you were bluffing—Xokore please—”

Xók speaks slowly the pleasent tone getting jagged flowing from a Basic to Mando’a as the rage finally found a proper outlet.

”I’m a softy… I can forgive a lot but that is not my name and if I hear it from your mouth again I might just cut out your tongue as well as your balls… I’ll ask you this as simply as I can —{What did you put in my water? Because the only thing you seem to be moving is your head}

Khal’s dissolves into whining — and then.

The smell of piss makes his nose wrinkle on a good day—sizzling piss is a new hell.

Xok wishes he’d kept his Buy'ce on; looking back for it he sees Calam standing watch ; carrying it gently in his hands.Xók has no time to analyze what feeling bubbles up.

—Khal brings the attention back to himself when he finally speaks clearly.

“I love you — it was just so you couldn’t run away— I swear I’d never—I’d never hurt you Xókore—”

His declaration ends in a scream as Xók drives the blade into the meat of his shoulder and into the wall behind—effectively pinning him there as the pained wail slowly ebbed.

Xók hears himself whisper:

{You are —unworthy—}

And like a trance had been lifted at the sight of what he’d done; Xók fell back— stepping carefully until suddenly Calam was there at his back. He had clipped Xók’s helmet to his own belt so he could hold the shorter man’s shoulders to steady him. The water bottle was still in his hand so he clipped the evidence to his own belt.

Warm fingers softly grabbed his wrist and tapped it; Xók nodded and pressed his Comm and hailed Kode.

{Guard Dal-zo— this better be an emergency—}

He stared across at the now unconscious man sprawled out agaisnt the wall; blood pulsing bright against his pale tangerine colored armor. He looked like rotten fruit..

{Khal has attempted to drug me Commander; I hope that is emergency enough — he is alive as of right now— we are in training room W7}

Xók was surprised his voice was so steady; maybe he was too exhausted. To Not register when Kode had cursed and started barking orders at him or maybe to someone in the room with him.

Xók wasn’t sure what he looked like or what possessed him to lean back— look up at his silent friend and ask;

“Do you think I should stay and see this through or should I do the same thing as last time and go home to lick my wounds?”

Calam moved his hands slowly

^Are you injured?^

Xók shook his head; then he thinks.

“Well —nothing Bacta can help with—Where-” Xók feels himself sag a little more against the man.

He starts again; dark brows pinched slightly.

“Where did everyone go?”

Xók hated the lost cast to his question.

Haltingly Calam signed.

^When we finished . The place was empty—I didn’t see him —I am s—^

Xók turned and grabbed his hands shaking his head.

{Thank you for —staying}

Xók wasn’t sure what he meant exactly but Calam squeezed back.

The shorter man looked around and pulled them to a bench; as standing for much longer would result in him passing out .

When Calam sits; Xók fallows, resting stiffly dispite the overweening need to shut his eyes.

Calam gestures to the future corpse; hand movements slow.

^They are taking their sweet time— he will die ^

Xók’s voice is rough.{I hope he does—}

Calam offers him his water bottle and he takes it after a moment of hesitation; tipping his head back and pouring rather then putting his spit all over the spout. Xók can feel him looking long after he’s handed it back and he doesn’t know why.

Ten minuets turned to twenty—twenty five; the pool of blood is excessive.

Kode steps through the door and stops at the sight of them. Then slowly more file in and pause for a second before the med team breaks into action.

The futile effort ends in blood spread boot prints tracked all over the floor.

Unclipping the bottle Xók grins at him, waving him over; not currently caring the picture they make, him blood speckled and tired sitting next to his silent friend.

{Commander— he put something in my water bottle— by the way he was after I splashed him with it I would guess a mild paralidIc—I’m not an expert though}

FIN?? Mostly cause I’m sleepy also but I’d like Calam to meet Syril that’s the true test of character idk

[a-problematic-writer]

For a writing request, how about Jesse and Aiden sparring for funsies? Maybe after Season 2 when he's trying to make amends?

I was saving this request for last as a treat, but I've decided to just write it because my head is filled with nothing but Aiden and Jesse. The brainrot is real </3

Aiden has two favorite days of the week. Saturday because the bookstore gives out free volumes of old classics and Thursday because he gets to hangout with Jesse.

That was still new; hanging out with Jesse.

They weren't friends, per se. Though, he supposed two people who see each other on a weakly basis must be something more than mere acquaintances. She was still a dork. That hadn't changed, not much at least. He could tell the 'hero-in-residence' thing was dragging her down. She seemed more tired now then he could ever remember.

That's why they did this. Every Thursday Jesse got a well needed break and Aiden got an excuse not to stay at home alone.

[Home didn't know of his deeds in Sky City. Many didn't remember him at all. Some knew him as an old friend of Lukas' but nothing more. Still, Aiden wanted to stay to himself as often as he could. The last thing he wanted was attention.]

Today, Jesse had wanted to do something different. With Petra off on her own, she had lost a valuable sparring partner and had recruited him as her new one to keep herself from 'growing too soft'.

[He doubted Jesse could grow soft. She'd built up a lot of muscle during the New Order's heyday and was far stronger then he was even before prison.]

He agreed only because of Jesse's insistence that it would be fun. That she could show him the ropes. Aiden was a fair swordsman but admittedly was better at running then actually fighting.

He walks into the order hall and finds Radar sitting at the desk. He smiles at him, waving him forward.

"Hey! Jesse was just asking for you."

"She was?"

The younger male nods, pushing his glasses up. "She's in the training room. Go on in."

Aiden nods and walks past Radar and through the door that leads into the orders main living quarters. The place is still a bit daunting, but he knows his way around enough to only get lost once.

When he enters the training room, he finds Jesse there testing out a new sword she'd been gifted by Stella. It's an intricately forged blade of iron with jewels in the hilt. Definitely more ornamental then functional, but Jesse isn't one to burst someone's bubble like that. She's able to wield any sword with a finesse that is hard not to admire.

It occurs to him that he should have announced his presence right after she looks over her shoulder. A smile graces her features.

"I thought someone came in!"

She sets the sword in the weapon rack and crosses over to him. She's dressed in a loose-fitting t-shirt and sweatpants. Dark brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail. Her eyes have dark bags under them. He wonders if she's slept at all this week.

"How are you?"

Aiden shrugs. "I'm alright. How about you miss 'hero-in-residence'?"

"I'm fine," she answers. "a little tired but I had to finish the budget for the new apartment."

"We could do something more chill than train?"

"Absolutely not!" she jabs a finger into his chest. "You're not chickening out of sparring with me."

Aiden frowns. Perhaps his motives aren't entirely all based on care for Jesse, he's already certain his ego will be bruised, but he also doesn't want the woman to overexert herself.

"I just want to make sure you're~"

"I think you just know I'm better than you."

Her eyes are a light with a mischievous glint Aiden hasn't seen before. That usual spark lights in his chest. He will not be called second rate when he hasn't even given it a try.

"You think you are, but I'm pretty sure we both know I can hold my own."

Jesse grins. It's warm, no trace of malice in it. "Come on then! Show me what you got!"

She grabs his hand and tugs him towards the weapons rack grabbing two training swords. Aiden can feel his mouth growing dry already. He grips the sword tightly. It's been so long since he held one...

Jesse readies herself wooden blade drawn. Aiden frowns at her. He couldn't get himself out of this now. He mirrors her stance. They circle each other momentarily. Neither quite sure whether they should be the first to strike.

Jesse makes the first move slashing towards him. Aiden barely blocks the blow, stumbling back just slightly. He steadies himself and tries to remember the pointers he got from Gabriel so long ago.

Stand firm, move unpredictably, and never yield.

He knows Jesse's going to take advantage of his stumble so he cuts to the side. It only confuses her a moment but by the time she's turning on him he slashes at her. She parries it just barely.

"Cute trick!"

She swings and their swords catch. He puts as much strength as he can into pushing her back. She stumbles and he lunges forward swinging once then twice. She blocks both.

Aiden's breath is already becoming stilted. Jesse looks fine. If not a bit stunned. Aiden can't help the smirk.

He slashes at her again, she parries, and their blades lock again. Her gaze is firm and doesn't move from his. This is familiar to Aiden. Too familiar.

The training room gives way to the rain slick cobblestone extension of Sky City. He can smell the smoke in the air, feel the electricity that sizzles with each lightning strike, the cold rain that dampens his hair and makes it fall into his eyes. Ghasts screech, people scream, his own heartbeat pounds in his ears. Anger flashes red hot.

He freezes. Horrified.

Jesse pushes him back and he loses his balance, landing hard on the floor.

The training room bleeds back in. Aiden tries to even his breathing. Jesse approaches and kneels next to him.

"Hey, you alright?"

He meets her gaze and her brow furrows. He manages a nod.

"Yeah-yeah, I'm fine. Sorry."

His voice is barely above a murmur and cracks around the edges.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I just got dizzy."

She looks him over a moment before extending her hand. She doesn't believe him but they'll deal with that later. He takes her hand and she hauls him up.

"Dizzy, huh? Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

She frowns. "Aiden~"

"I'm fine!" his voice is a bit too harsh and he regrets raising his voice as soon as he sees Jesse wince. His mouth is far too dry. He feels like he can't take a breath. "I-I need to go."

Jesse frowns. "Wait~"

He doesn't; making a beeline for the exit. He can't be around Jesse. Not right now. He's too afraid of what he might say or do. He can hear her calling after him, but it doesn't stop him. He just needs to get away. That's all he wants to do; run away from Sky City. From Jesse.

Radar says something as Aiden brushes passed, but he doesn't catch it. The air outside feels grating against his skin. He doesn't know where he's going but only one thought screams at him:

You'll never be able to escape what you did.

[tartagilicious]

Random idea just popped up while I was in the shower and making my shampoo bottles wish I left. How would the MLQC bois fare with an MC whos evol is water manipulation and loves being in water? Honestly if I could chose chose an evol it would be that? Stay safe!

shsdfkjgh the shampoo bottle detail 😭 I would probably pick that as my evol too! though, for a little spice, I’m gonna upgrade this headcanon to the boys in a relationship with an mc that has a water evol.

—  

Gavin:

- eyy elemental type evols gang 

- wind and water are two very strong forces that can be easily accommodated by the other, making you a pretty badass battle couple

- fighting side by side. trusting the other completely. trying to protect the other. working well as a team because of it. sparring with each other. getting angry when the other is hurt and kissing each other when they win 😫

- if the mc had this evol, I have no doubt in my mind that gavin would be a lot more willing to let her fight things out with him, though of course, that wouldn’t stop him from being his protective self

- gavin would definitely be up for making combos with your evols so you’re quicker and more prepared on the fly. he loves that you can work together and connect on things like that.

- in a relationship, you literally don’t leave the other’s side. it’s partly because of loyalty that’s built up over time, but also because wow, after years, this is finally happening. 

Victor:

- he’d think it’s incredibly badass, but still be really worried. like, in this scenario you can protect him just as well as he could you, and it makes him proud but still very anxious

- he doesn’t know what he would do if you got hurt protecting him again :(

- while powerful, victor’s evol isn’t psychical, so he doesn’t really know the specifics of your evol and the dangers it presents. but, he’ll try his very best to understand it, and also be ready in case anything ever goes wrong (if your evol ever goes out of control, he’ll always be there to help)

- really, you could be the most intelligent, capable person on the planet, but if you’re in the mc’s place, he will never stop worrying about you. 

- I can imagine arguments about this, much like chapter 11 of the actual game, how you feel caged by efforts to keep you safe when you can handle yourself, when victor is plainly just so anxious of something happening that he can’t help it.

- what happened when you were young traumatised him, he can’t help it :/

- but he trusts you more than anyone, and will honour your wishes

- and honestly, after getting past all of the nasty insecurities, I could see you and him becoming a really healthy and effective team. between his assets and intelligence (not to mention his evol to stop time), and your powerful evol, you’d definitely be a power couple in my book

Lucien:

- would probably copy your evol just for funsies lol. and for dumb reasons, like to manipulate the water in the sink to wash the dishes so he doesn’t have to, then accidentally break a plate because he doesn’t know how to use the evol very well T-T

- he thinks a woman that can protect herself is hot. not to mention useful when literally everyone is after you. seeing you beat up someone with your evol is just a rejuvenating sight for him

- like 😍 ‘yall that’s my girlfriend omg’ when you wash someone away. but of course not like that, more teasing and smooth, yknow lucien-like. 

- he’s extremely proud of you. 

- from how you were as a little girl, to the times he was only with you to keep an eye on you for black swan, he’s witnessed you grow immensely. he’s glad that he can be apart of it, especially while standing at your side as your lover. 

- the day you finally made everything official was one of the best days of his life, and now, he gets to spend every day at your side, working with you and doing everything he’s always wanted to

Kiro:

- his miss chips is capable of protecting herself :’) watching you grow over time as both kiro and helios has been an entirely rewarding thing, because he takes pride in knowing that he helped you get to where you are now

- you aren’t the same timid woman he met at the convenience store that day, who insisted on letting him take the last bag of chips. now, you’re this strong individual that while feared, is still one of the kindest people he knows

- your evol is cool and insanely practical, he thinks. easy to manage but hard to learn

- in this au, you’re able to do a lot of things yourself. and he likes that he can leave things to you and not worry — that’s how strong you are, and how much he believes in you 

- the mutual strength even just this little tweak gives you is life changing. 

Shaw:

- water and electricity? mhm. that goes pretty much as well as you’d expect. you’re naturally a bit incompatible and occasionally butt heads, but you usually you get along with the expected banter as neither of you are really adamant arguers

- before the relationship came a ton of sexual tension

- just this. playfully arguing every time you see each other? kind of annoyed by each other but still friendly with each other nonetheless? the blueprints are already there

- I’d say it was healthy when that was finally let out (which is a plot that might go to my ‘to write when feeling blocked’ list tbh 👀)

- in a relationship the amount of banter is still pretty much the same, if not more. shaw is a little shit to say the least, and his favourite excuse/topic when he challenges you is that you’re just ‘so incompatible’ that he doesn’t know ‘how you even managed to get together in the first place’

- well, no psychical contact for him that day :) petty revenge feels good

- but in all honesty, your evols can actually work really well together. want to knock out some enemies real fast? our mc just manipulates water from underground to pool at the surface, and our boy makes it lethal with electricity. shaw LOVES working with your evol, though he would never tell you that.

[dweetwise]

Hello! Could I request some headcanons on the other survivors opinions on quentin? Thank you!.

i love quentin he’s my son ;w;

Quentin & other survivors headcanons

Dwight finds Quentin's dark humor a little unnerving. In general he thinks Quentin is too cool and edgy for him, but secretly he really wants to befriend him.

Meg sees Quentin as an annoying little brother. Where the others give him a lot of leeway because of his troubled past, she's not afraid of giving him a piece of her mind. Quentin appreciates her honesty even if they bicker a lot.

Claudette constantly worries over him, but has more tact than most of the others, causing him to seek her out for advice because he knows she won’t patronize him. They also bond over both of them having a knack for healing.

Jake vibes with Quentin's non-conformist attitude and morbid humor. Quentin always seems to calm down in his company, sometimes even falling asleep mid-banter, and the two have a pretty wholesome bromance.

Nea brings out a rebellious side of Quentin and loves his hyper side. They would have gotten along splendidly even before the fog, their friendship shallow but lots of fun. Sometimes they swap beanies for funsies.

Laurie and Quentin are almost like siblings. Their personalities contrast a lot, but they bond over similar trauma and losing their friends in the most horrible ways. Laurie is his best friend and the only one who knows the full story of what happened with Freddy.

Ace likes the kid and worries from afar. He’ll do his damndest to laugh at Quentin's morbid attempts at jokes when everyone else is just silent and uncomfortable. He somehow seems to know exactly when Quentin needs a distraction with a shitty pun and when he just needs space to mope in peace.

Bill is protective of Quentin no matter how much the teen tries to dissuade him. He'll throw himself between Freddy and Quentin every time, even if he's injured and on death hook. Quentin has never told Bill about his history with the killer, but the veteran has his suspicions.

Feng likes Quentin when he's being a little shit (to someone other than her) but hates that sometimes he just gives up in trials. She's left him to die several times but it doesn't impact their friendship, because at least she doesn't coddle him.

David and Quentin both have hot tempers and have thrown fists on multiple occasions. They have an unspoken agreement where Quentin can take out his frustrations on David, be it verbal or physical. Eventually David teaches him how to spar properly to get rid of some of the pent-up energy. David wants to help and this is the only way he knows how to.

Tapp immediately labeled Quentin as a problem youth junkie. He felt really bad after hearing about his forced insomnia, so he tries to make it up to Quentin and always goes easy on him compared to the other youngsters.

Kate likes everyone, and Quentin is no exception. She gets a little exasperated at his self-deprecating and sarcastic humor, when she's just trying to stay positive and keep the optimism high in camp. If Quentin’s being especially morbid, she’ll just grab his cheeks and force his mouth into a smile to get him to shut up.

Adam gauges him like a teacher would a student, and thinks Quentin is a smart kid, if a little misguided. He’s flattered when Quentin is the first to approach him to learn to use Diversion, but is fondly exasperated when he sees Quentin use it solely to throw rocks at the killer’s face.

Jeff is chill as fuck. He trusts Quentin to know what's best for himself, and when some of the others are too persistent with getting him to sleep or whatnot, Jeff will politely tell them to fuck off and leave the kid alone.

Jane takes on a mother role whether Quentin likes it or not. She feels like he's still a child and needs someone who is stern and will tell him off if his moping gets out of line or if he refuses to sleep for days on end.

Ash tries cheering up Quentin with shitty jokes. He does feel a little bad for the kid, but wants him to get through it and come back out on the other side; like Ash himself did.

Steve thinks Quentin is definitely someone he would have hung out with back in high school. He brings out a more playful side of Quentin, and Quentin in turn makes Steve's snark multiply tenfold.

Nancy kind of accepts Quentin as Steve's friend and unconsciously keeps a distance. They're on good terms though and he's weirdly protective of her for reasons she doesn’t entirely understand (his Nancy).

Yui, like Meg, sees Quentin as an annoying little brother. Hers comes with more of a protective streak, where she’s running after the killer and trying to get Quentin to wiggle free while calling him out on what a bad play he made to get caught.

Zarina sees many similarities between herself and Quentin, mainly their curious nature. She asks a lot of questions the others are too scared to, especially about his research on dreams. Even though her prying sometimes strikes a nerve, most of the time Quentin is happy to share his theories with someone.

Cheryl is quick to befriend Quentin because of his vibe that's much like to hers. They have a similar sense of humor and coping mechanisms and grow close really fast. Cheryl and Laurie also get on splendidly, and the three are very tight friends.

[newvegascowboy]

Hi!❤️ if you want, could you do 8, 18 and 20?

thanks! 

Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

thats tough honestly. i like to read what i write, but sometimes i read stuff that i have no interest in writing. im not a huge fan of AUs and don’t really enjoy writing them unless it’s just like, canon divergence, but if one piques my interest, i’ll give it a try. i suppose there’s overlap, but not much. 

Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them.

there’s definitely stuff i’ve written for ten months that i never used (for better, honestly) or at least used in different ways. i think in an original draft, klaus ended up getting a nickname way earlier. there was also stuff i left out on accident that i honestly want to go back and edit in at some point. 

i think i ended up cutting out a scene where klaus and dave are sparring and both of them have a gay moment about it. i still have the draft saved and i REALLY want to go edit that one back in because it’s funny. i cut it because length, which is like, lmfao honestly. 

i also have a bad habit of just being like “well i COULD do this instead” and then i end up with 4 or 5 alt versions. im currently picking at a bnha fic and i realized i could end it completely differently than what i had drafted, so i wrote a happier ending just for funsies. 

Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

huh. well. it’s been a long time since i’ve looked at ten months, but i know one thing that ive tried to do is make Rivers a much more somber character beneath the surface. he’s a lot like Klaus in the way that everything is a joke to make it okay, but in reality he’s Going Thru It, as the kids say. he’s going through as much of a character arc as the rest of them, it’s just supposed to be a lot quieter than the others. 

OH also there WAS a hint in month five that was SO subtle that im certain that nobody caught it, but after they get out of a firefight, it’s mentioned that both of Rivers’ legs are bandaged with minor wounds, which in my mind, was a reference to both of his legs getting blown off later. worth it to mention that chaz had a leg wound, too. 

when klaus falls down the hill at the end of month eight / when he’s talking to the ghosts in the jungle, several of the ghosts mention that they thought he’d died and that’s because the implication was that he HAD died due to the blow to the head, and he just had to take a lil bit to revive. If Rivers could touch things, he absolutely would’ve been poking his body. Also, in the same chapter, there’s a moment where he does get to touch something! Because Klaus unknowingly did it! it’s glossed over and not mentioned again because Klaus never noticed and Rivers had other things to think about at the time, but it definitely happened. 

other than that i honestly cannot think of anything. i should probably go back and give my own fic a re read lolll. if i think of anything i’ll give this an rb with some added commentary. 

thanks for the ask! it was very fun :) 

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z Super Broly 4: The Quest for Peace

I don’t know what image to use to start this off, so I’m gonna go with this shot of Bulma, because it’s pretty non-spoilery, and I thought she looked cute hiding back there in her li’l snowsuit.  

I’m not sure how to organize my thoughts on this, so let’s start with just a general overview of the movie.   It was really good, and I think this movie proves that Akira Toriyama still has a tremendous talent for storytelling.   I think he’s taken a lot of lumps from critics over the years, but personally I prefer to lay the blame on the other creators who work with him or for him on these types of projects.  The filler scenes I’ve been covering on my Dragon Ball Liveblog sort of bear this out.   The stuff adapted from the manga has very clear characterization and plot continuity.   Point A always leads to Point B and the loose ends tend to get tied up later on.    But whenever the other guys at Toei get involved, things get a little wonky, and the details don’t always add up.    The worst parts of the Dragon Ball Super anime have a similar feel to the dopiest filler scenes from Dragon Ball and DBZ, so I don’t think I’m lionizing Toriyama too much in this.   He’s not perfect, but he knows how to make these characters work. 

The best evidence of this is how he took a glorified monster heel like Broly and made him into a sympathetic character.   The Movie 8 version of Broly had a very similar origin story to this newer, greener Broly.   For the sake of discussion, I’m going to be calling them Broly ‘18 and Broly ‘93, all right?  

Broly ‘93 was born with a really amazing power level, and King Vegeta had him killed because he might become a potential danger some day.  Paragus tried to intervene, and ended up sharing his son’s fate, but they ended up saving each other’s lives and Paragus raised him in exile, dreaming of the day they could take revenge against King Vegeta. 

Broly ‘18... pretty much everything I just said, only King Vegeta shot him into space instead of trying to stab him.   That makes a huge difference, because it allows Paragus to run off and find him instead of getting condemned to death for defying King Vegeta in person.   One of the plot holes in Movie 8 was that Baby Broly ‘93 managed to survive getting stabbed and Paragus ‘93 managed to survive taking an energy blast from King Vegeta, and then they both survived the planet exploding.  

Watching this movie, I could really tell that Toriyama went over the 1993 film with a critical eye.    Not too many people watched Movie 8 and felt much sympathy for Broly, even though he kind of deserves some.  Broly ‘93′s dad controlled him with a creepy device, and tried to use him as a weapon of revenge against people he’d never met.  The trouble is that Broly ‘93 never got the spotlight to demonstrae why he might deserve some pity.   He just stood around and then he went bonkers and destroyed those aliens’ home planet.   Toriyama watched this and realized it’d be a more compelling story if the audience felt sorry for the big guy.  

And so you have scenes of Kid Broly trying to survive on his own.    You have new characters introduced who befriend Broly ‘18 and confront Paragus for how he treats him.   And when it’s time for Broly ‘18 to fight, he’s actually at a disadvantage.   Vegeta really works him over good for a long time before Broly starts building up enough power to defend himself.  It was rather shocking to me to see this character being treated as a weaker fighter, even temporarily.   This was probably something Movie 8 lacked.   Broly ‘93 looked pretty pathetic in his base form, but no one ever picked on him or anything.   Later, when Gogeta is finally turning the tide against Broly ‘18, it becomes clear that Broly ‘18 is definitely losing, and he’s going to be killed, and it’s not right, because he never asked for any of this.  

There’s a definite Android 8 quality to Broly ‘18.    It’s not quite the same.  Broly ‘18 isn’t a pacifist and he’s not afraid to fight, but he’s in that same boat where he’s a character introduced as this enormous threat, and then it turns out he’s pretty gentle at heart, and he’s only on the front lines because he’s been coerced into it.   I think Toriyama looked at the 1993 version and said “Okay, he’s way stronger than Goku and Vegeta.   That’s his gimmick, so he has to keep that aspect.   But there has to be some trade-off for that.   He has to have a great weakness to balance out his immense strength.” 

That’s pretty much true for all of the Dragon Ball characters.   Master Roshi is introduced as an invincible fighter, but he’s consumed with lust and other carnal desires.   Goku’s the great hero who always rises to the occasion, but he’s really naive and careless about a lot of things.   Bulma’s a technological genius, but physically weak and also very self-centered.   Vegeta is powerful, but often blinded by his ego.    Most of the movie villains lack that balance.   Broly ‘93 is a great example of a movie villain who’s just sort of unstoppable until the end of the movie, when Goku finally punches a hole in him and he explodes.  Broly ‘93, Bojack, Super Android 13, none of these big galoots are brought down by a fatal flaw.   They’re just really strong until it’s time for them to not be really strong any more, and then they get wrecked.

Improving this single aspect of the Broly concept opens up a world of possibilities.    For one thing, it makes all the fights in this new movie distinct.   I saw clips of Broly fighting different guys in this movie, which made me wonder how this was supposed to work.    Well, it’s actually pretty simple.   Broly steps off the spaceship, fights Vegeta, and then he starts losing.    Then he begins to learn how to keep up with Vegeta, and things get dicey.   Before it gets too tough for Vegeta, Goku decides to cut in and he fights evenly with Broly for a while, until he finds that he can’t keep up with him even at Super Saiyan Blue.    Then Goku and Vegeta tag team him for a little bit and pawn him off on Frieza.    By this point Broly’s gone so bonkers that he can’t distinguish one opponent from another, so Freiza becomes the object of his wrath while Goku and Geets take a breather to learn how to fuse.   Frieza can’t win, but he doesn’t need to, he just has to not die until Gogeta can return to close this thing out.    Then Gogeta fights Broly.  At this point Broly seems almost powerful enough to keep up, but Gogeta eventually wears him down, and Broly on the verge of defeat.  

It’s a beautiful thing.   You couldn’t do that with a 1990′s movie villain, because most of them were big dumb brutes without enough personality to function this way.    Broly ‘18 isn’t just an underdog who becomes and overdog and then becomes an underdog again.   What makes this formula work is that Cheelai and Leemo feel sorry for him on the sidelines.   On top of that I think Paragus truly does care about Broly ‘18, even though he’s a pretty lousy parent.   In the end, Paragus finally recognizes that King Vegeta had been right to exile Broly ‘18 all along.    He’s simply too dangerous for a combat situation.

I also really like how Goku tries to befriend him at the end of the movie.   It shows that Gogeta was only using lethal force as a last resort.    Once the battle is over and Broly’s no longer a threat, Goku wants to make things right and reassure Broly that they can be Saiyans and not have to kill each other or isolate themselves from the rest of the universe.   They could spar for funsies, like Goku and Vegeta did at the start of the movie.  

In particular, I’m very fond of the line at the end where Goku tells Cheelai his name, but adds “But Broly... Call me Kakarot.”   I love that because it’s like Goku is embracing this Saiyan custom of addressing each other by their Saiyan names.   He doesn’t call himself Kakarot, but all the other Saiyans do, and he wants Broly to feel like he can as well.    He can relate to Broly as a fellow outsider who had to grow up on another world.   He’s trying to give Broly a piece of the Saiyan culture, even if it’s a very small one.   It’s a big change from back when he angrily demanded that people not call him that because he was Son Goku.   After all these years, Goku’s comfortable being a Saiyan.   He doesn’t have to choose between being Goku or Kakarot.  He can be both.   He wants Broly to know he doesn’t have to choose either. 

It’s definitely a great Dragon Ball film.   The animation is well done, the writing is solid and on point.   There’s never really a place where things get dull for any appreciable length of time.   Even the space travel scenes are interesting, despite being rather low key. 

Is it better than Movie 8?   Well yeah, but I’m reluctant to say so, because I sort of have a soft spot for Movie 8, and I hate to just turn on it completely.    This new movie is superior in every objective way, though.   The characters are more developed, the action is more balanced, and the visuals are more compelling.   It’s forty minutes longer than Movie 8, and it shows.   There’s a lot of plot points that get breezed over in Movie 8, probably because there simply wasn’t room to explain how Piccolo got to the South Galaxy so quickly, or whatever else didn’t get explained.  The DBS movie actually used the Dragon Balls in the plot, which is usually a plus as Dragon Ball films go.   Call me stupid, though, but Movie 8 had Future Trunks and King Kai in it, and that makes a bigger difference than it really ought to.  

Is DBS: Broly a better movie than Fusion Reborn?   Hell no.  Fusion Reborn is friggin’ fantastic from start to finish.   Better plot, better music, cooler villain, beter visuals.   Yeah Gogeta got more time to shine in “Broly” but I’ll take a few seconds of Gogeta one-shotting the bad guy over ten minutes of Gogeta showing off.   Sometimes less is more, you know?   Fusion Reborn is untoppable, the end. 

Is it better than the Bardock TV Special?   Definitely, because the Bardock TV Special has some problems.   Is it a better Bardock/Destruction of Planet Vegeta story?  I’d have to give that some thought.   I don’t hate Dragon Ball Minus, but I don’t necessarily love the Father of Goku TV special either.   DBS: Broly pretty much adapted the entire Dragon Ball Minus story and just added in scenes of Paragus and King Vegeta.   Honestly, I’m not sure any of these really gets it right.   Each of them seems to treat Frieza’s betrayal and Goku’s trip to Earth as boxes on a checklist.   I’m not sure I can explain what I mean.    Best to save that for later.  

I’ve got other thoughts on this movie, but I think I’ll call it here for now.    If you want me to go on about a particular topic, shoot me an ask and I’ll talk about it.  But definitely, you should check this movie out.    It’s a really fun experience.

[esseastri]

Megan Reads Oathbringer (part 4)

sometimes I wonder about labeling the parts of the liveblog with “part 1, part 2, etc” ‘cause like...that doesn’t mean it’s part 4 of the book. just part 4 of the liveblog? idk, I jUST realized that might be confusing in a book split up into five parts, but it’s too late now...

I’m still in part one, for those keeping track.

Part 4 encompasses pages 240-326 (previous parts)

I genuinely cannot imagine Dalinar marrying someone quiet and shy and it’s just. wild.

“his bracer clocks” bless Navani for inventing wrist watches and calling them something delightful instead

nooooooo don’t bring Taravangian here!!!! Don’t let him see the center of your power!

crap, now we’ve got, like...all the factions together, right? Taravangian and the diagram people. the Ghostbloods. Amaram and whatever he’s doing. And us....everyone who knows stuff about the end of the world, all in one convenient place. What could possibly go wrong?

Oh, except Jasnah. She’s out there, somewhere. When will my love return from the war

seriously, it’s been 240 pages, where is Jasnah.

“He’d been a friend to Gavilar and that was enough for Dalinar.” like. okay. sure. but you know your brother was trying to end the world to bring back the gods, right? like? ARGH.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm hey do we have a way to tell Radiants from normal Shardblade holders?

I’m not saying I don’t trust Taravangian and his “newest Radiant” Malata, but... I DON’T TRUST TARAVANGIAN AND HIS NEWEST RADIANT MALATA

seriously, what is in Kholinar that all the parshmen are headed there? or...being driven there by their weird glow spren?

“Men of blood and sorrow don’t get an ending like that.” DAMN STRAIGHT THEY DON’T, YOU MURDEROUS CURMUDGEON

mmmmm she’s a Dustbringer? Our first one... “I don’t like how she smiles.” same though? I’m. concern.

oohh, I didn’t even think she might have an honorblade. where would Taravangian have gotten another honorblade. I remember reading something about there being more honorblades out and about in the world, but we don’t know whose, do we?

I. Am. Concern.

...........it’s not the bond. #confirmed by the stormfather. so there goes my theory about the the stormlight healing Dalinar’s memories.... hm

Taravangian getting all self-righteous about the Shin “murderering all those monarchs” like. even on a not-so-smart day he’s clever enough to deflect blame, to reinforce the idea that he’s just a harmless old man, would never command an assassin to kill off everyone’s kings. He’s terrifying, tbh.

mmmm, everyone thinking Dalinar is gonna attack them, I mean...good assumption but for once, you’re wrong!

omg

Dalinar, please, please do not go to war with the whole world all at the same time. Please.

I...don’t think that’s a spren...I don’t know what it is, but I don’t think it’s a spren. unless...can cities have spren? There are enough people, right? Can they manifest an incarnation of themselves? That’s basically what spren are, right? forces of nature made manifest, so...why not forces of civilization, too?

oh god

how long has it been alone?

this......is another story I wrote because it was sad, not because I wanted it. oh god. ooohh god. Urithiru...

OH ROCK!! ARE YOU OAK--okay, he’s okay.

wait

so it’s not just murders...it’s any sort of violence? the copycat is copying...all violence? or...just the criminal kind? surely it’s not copying all the violence of the army training or sparring. But...why? what’s to be gained from repeating the same crime a second time?

how long has this spren been alone and how mad is it?

does it think...violence is the way to be more human? to remember more? I’m...concerned and confused and. aaahhhhh

“Let me be stronger than those who would kill me.” punk!Dalinar, pls. you can pray for better things than that...

Dalinar keeping Navani’s prayer in his pocket like...my dude u r gettin married. the pining is. wow.

umm. #y i k e s

no wonder Kadash goes and joins the ardents...

Dalinar just...murdering a hundred people including some of his own men? is? really...like, okay, here’s the thing: We knew from the previous two books that Dalinar had done some bad shit. And we were told repeatedly that he’d changed dramatically. But being told and having it spelled out in...child murdering and unthinking friendly fire is...something else. The character development of this man is wild. and mildly uncomfortable. Like...his bad shit wasn’t just a few battles and some brutality of conquest. this was. really, really bad shit. And to see how far he’s come and how much he’s trying to atone for is. sure a thing.

and somehow people DIDN’T figure out that the Thrill is bad before now???

“This is a mercy” ARE YOU SURE?

AND THEN HE JUST GOES AND KILLS SOME MORE, JUST FOR FUNSIES

BUDDY. MY DUDE. YOU NEED TO STOP AND RECONSIDER YOUR LIFE AND YOUR CHOICES. PLEASE.

seriously, how does anyone think the Thrill is a good thing here.

Shallan really needs to look into her budding multiple personality disorder.

OKay, but are they siding with “the enemy” or are they siding with some parshmen who are now in workform and just want to be treated as real people instead of slaves? ‘cause like...you guys are all basing your strategy on the idea that EVERY parshman went stormform and started rampaging about killing everything in sight. And that definitely hasn’t happened yet.

Why hasn’t Kaladin mentioned this to you guys?? like?? oh, I guess he got his spanreed stolen, right? I just....... there’s a lot going on here, but there’s a certain amount of...maybe consider what the negotiations with the parshendi/parshmen/whatever they are now really are before you just...write them all off as evil?

Then again, these are Alethi lighteyes, who don’t really understand the concept of not generalizing a population they consider below themselves.

this is why the whole dudes not writing thing is ssooooooooo stupiiidddd. Kaladin can’t tell you guys ANYTHING unless he finds a nice lady to scribe for him. God, Vorinism is so stupid sometimes.

“Spark” is a good name for a spren tho, maybe she’s legit? I still don’t trust her. at all.

a flying bridgeman, Shallan, PLEASE

he’s a flying captain of the guard, at the very least.

nooo

NOOO

NO I DON’T WANT THIS

NOW I HAVE TO DEAL WITH FUCKING AMARAM THAT RAT BASTARD ALL THE TIME????? NOOO

NOOOOO

IALAI NO. YOU COULD HAVE JUST TAKEN OVER YOU’RE SMART ENOUGH YOU COULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST HIGHPRINCESS AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AWFUL BUT ALSO AWESOME BUT NO. NO YOU HAD TO JUST DRAG FUCKING AMARAM THAT RAT BASTARD INTO THIS.

I DON’T WANT THIS TAKE IT BACK, BRANDON.

“Highprince.” “Highprince.” “Bastard.” GOD BLESS ADOLIN, BOY WONDER.

oohhhhhh Adooolliinn. babe, you can’t just--okay. there is is. The Thing.

Shallan. “Oh.” UH HUH. OKAY THEN. SO MUCH FOR THAT SECRET though it wasn’t really a secret. just a miscommunication. but still. I sort of wish that Kaladin had been able to tell Shallan himself about Helaran--though, he still didn’t know it was Helaran.

But there would have been something satisfying in that being just...between the two of them. Them working that out and him probably apologizing and her probably not forgiving him and there would just be. delightful angst before they eventually decided to be friends. But Adolin telling her gives her time to prepare, I guess? for seeing Kaladin again? I still don’t think she’s going to forgive him which will make for veerryyy interesting dynamics when he returns.

Listen, I just really wanted Shallan to pull her Blade on Kaladin, and have him trying to avoid her attacks while apologizing a lot even though he was perfectly in his rights to defend his at-the-time commanding officer from a threat. That would have been delicious angst.

Hopefully she doesn’t hate Adolin for being the messenger, though...

“Everything would have been better off if he’d just let Amaram die.” TRUER WORDS, ADOLIN. tbh, how much do you think Kaladin thinks about that very exact same thought? The answer is: A FREAKING LOT

well, shit. destroying the Oathgate seems a reasonable option, but also it’s gonna make saving the world a heck of a lot harder...

I wonder...if they’d had literally anyone else do the negotiations, if this would be going differently. People know Dalinar, they know he’s the Blackthorn, or used to be, and they don’t know him well enough to know how much he’s changed. If the Blackthorn had come to me and been like, “yo, I want to open a portal to your city center and send you soldiers to help you rebuild” I would ALSO assume he was going to invade my city and try to conquer me and I would also refuse him. But like...if Shallan or someone completely unconnected had tried, I’d be a little more likely? to agree? Idk I feel like they are definitely being hindered by Dalinar’s reputation here.

Just don’t let Taravangian do it. Don’t let him do anything. Oh god.

“a unified Vorin coalition” OH GOOD NOW IT’S A RELIGIOUS WAR. or an Inquisition. Nobody expects the Vorin Inquisition.

I love that Dalinar just....knows how to do shit. Like, Kaladin and Shallan have been practicing and had training sessions with their spren to figure out their powers and even Lift is REALLY BAD at Friction, and Dalinar’s just like. Adhesion. Got it. No problem.

aaaAAAHHH Dalinar holding Oathbringer again and it’s...not screaming it’s whimpering and I’M. SAD. ABOUT A SWORD. DANGIT.

DON’T GIVE HIM THE SWORD. AMARAM DOESN’T DESERVE A SWORD. DON’T DO THAT

okay, but Amaram calling Dalinar a hypocrite is like... POTS AND KETTLES, MY DUDE.

Taravangian: “I sound like a madman, don’t I?” No, you sound like a man for whom the ends justify the means.

Here’s the thing: I see the practicality in Taravangian’s stance. There’s always a practicality in sacrificing a few good ones to get rid of all the bad ones. And yeah, Dalinar’s desire to always save all the good ones, even if it means sparing the bad ones, is just a tad idealistic. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Idealism is never something that we should give up on, is never something we should ignore or stop working towards. We shouldn’t always have to settle for practicality.

hoooo cool. The Stormfather can just...send Dalinar to other people in visions wth that’s really cool. Like a Kyprioth/Aly situation except the destination person knows they’re there.

“Shallan had nothing to do, but Veil was useful.” No, Shallan. You’re useful. You are Veil. It’s not. It’s not a different person. It’s just you adsfghjkl just. YOU’RE ALICE, PARKER. GOD.

“Veil liked watching people. She shared that with Shallan.” THAT’S BECAUSE YOU’RE THE SAME PERSON. YOU ARE ALICE.

omg, I love that Pattern just...brought both Kholin bros and all of Bridge Four.

“go do something stupid without letting me watch” OMG PATTERN, BBY.

I have missed Bridge Four, hello darlings

THEY’RE JOKING WITH RENARIN AND HE’S SMILING AND THEY’RE FRIENDS AND I’M SO HAPPY AAHH

THIS IS SO CUTE I LOVE THEM AAH

omg, I didn’t realize there was a staircase, I thought they were just going to be jumping into a void.

dear god, roshar has a Sisyphus equivalent that’s delightful.

sooo, I’m assuming that’s...Odium, Honor, and Cultivation in those mosaics? I’m genuinely amused that Shallan thinks they’re “pagan symbols”

Bridge Four took point even though there were two Shardbearers and an extra Radiant and MY BBYS I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

NOPE

NOPPPPPEEEE

NOOOOOOOOOOPPPEEEEE

DON’t DIE?

DON’T DIIIIIIEEEE

I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS HORROR NOVEL SHIT

NOOOOPE

ADOLIN NO! YOU STORMING FOOL DO NOT CHARGE THE DARKNESS UNMADE EVIL THING WHAT THE FUCK NO

NOOO

I’M OUT

BYE

if any of Bridge Four die, so help me, I will drive back to Utah and yell at Brandon personally. To his face.

NOOOPPE THIS IS CREEEEPPY AS FUUUCKK WHAT THE NOPE

ooohh Renarin’s a good, he’s healing them, that’s my boy

okay, the illusory army is preTTY DANG COOL GET IT GIRL

but also the Unmade thing is freaking terrifying and I’m nope

...I’m assuming that since Dalinar saw nine shadows and the champion that there’s one Unmade for each of the ten orders of Radiants? LIke, this one, the Midnight Mother can be directly countered by Lightweaving. So maybe another one is designed to be defeated by Windrunners or Elsecallers or whatever. And it’s one for each?

I genuinely love that the new Radiant’s don’t call their swords Shardblades. It’s Sylblade, Glysblade, Patternblade. I love it.

“Adolin [...] charged into the room, bursting right through the middle of an illusion of his father.” Well, ain’t that just storming appropriate. How beautifully poetic.

also, Adolin and Renarin fighting back to back is A LOT AND I’M LOVE THEM

ooohh my god, it’s trying to bond with her?? trying to rip Pattern away and bond with her that’s... YIKES.

oohhh shit....corrupted creationspren. ooohhhh my god.

Odium, why you gotta ruin everything good in this world, you jerk

ooh...it was...bound. by a Lightweaver. bound like the Parshendi’s gods? like the parshmen? how are we binding people? I’m getting the idea that maybe binding people is bad.

I’m getting the idea that Ishar is bad. but that’s a theory for another time.

okay, so...the pashmen weren’t...going to Kholinar. they were going to a tiny city a week’s walk from Hearthstone...to...besiege it? why

what. is. happening.

also omg Kaladin’s never been to a real city, someone take this child on a sightseeing vacation, asap.

how...did they take the city and what...are they gonna do with it?? I’m all for giving them land and lives but I’m worried about stormform. and voidbringers. and a lot of things.

the parshmen calling him Kal is murdering my soul

oooh noooooooooo there’s a highstorm coming and the people are all outside and the parshmen are camping, and I...am worried.

Yixli? that’s a terrible name. though I guess she’s a questionably evil spren of odium, so.

Fused? okay, that’s a fun word for Stormform.

Kal, babe, you need to get out of there.

Ah. Good choice.

Syl whacking at the gloryspren and telling them “Mine!” about Kaladin is FRIKKIN ADORABLE HI I LOVE SYL

of course it’s all perception, Kaladin, everything is different if you change your point of view. That’s what makes being a person so difficult.

“Treat them better than they treated you.” AMEN. THAT’S THE ONLY WAY THINGS GET BETTER.

it’s hard and it sucks a lot, but it’s the only way.

oh shit

oh sHIT

what. dark stormlight? what the?

SHIT

THERE’S LIKE, THREE OF THEM?

okay, only two. buT STILL

Why can they do Lashings? do sotrmform voidbringers whatever the fuck they are have Radiant orders too? WHAT IS HAPPENING

“You can’t save all of them.” BUT HE’S DAMN WELL GOING TO TRY

HE’S SO GOOD

SO GOOD

WHAT

WHAT

THAT’S?? MAGICAL. WHAT. MAGIC WINDSPREN SHIELD????? CAN HE DO THIS NORMALLY OR IS THE STORMFATHER HELPING OR?? WHAT

omg, just...deposit him in front of Urithiru. That’s convenient. Why thanks.

YAAAASSSS

SHE’S HERE!!!!!

SHE’S BACK!!!!!!!!!

SHE’S HEEERRRREEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YEESSSSSS

me: can I squeeze the interludes onto this part of liveblog? also me: *scrolls up to the top of this post forever me: Maaayyybe not.

[undertaleimaginationland]

How would UT,UF,US,and SF react to their S/O being a roller derby queen but hiding it from them because they didn't want them to worry about them? Bonus points if they manage to catch a game of them being amazing, DOUBLE POINTS IF THEIR DERBY NAME IS BONE RELATED!!!! I mean if you want to...

I would love to answer this! I imagine that I wouldn’t be very good considering my horrible balance and brittle bones, but imaginary me would kick some major butt!!

Undertale

Sans-

“wait,” Sans is taken aback. “really?”

Once you admit to this lazy bones again, he leans back in his chair, bemused. “huh…” He trails off, nodding his hid coolly. In all honesty, he’s mostly shocked that you were actually able to hide such a significant detail from him for so long. “so that’s how you roll, huh babe?”

Oh, and don’t forget the puns that come with your pastime. He’s always racking his skull for new content.

When he attends his first match of yours. he absolutely nervous, buying two large containers of stress popcorn to chow down on. “what if you get hurt? oh asgore, please don’t get hurt.”

He watches you skate out and almost chokes as he reads the name on your back:

BONE TO BE WILD

For some odd reason, this comforts him just a bit and he has to keep eating in order to stop his laughter.

Once the match actually starts, its like he’s watching a completely different person. You’re plowing people down left and right, and with every person that fell before you, he would relax more and more and actually start to focus on the game. 

You’ve got this smol skele’s support and he’s definitely treating you to Grillby’s afterwards.

Paps-

“SO… IT’S LIKE ROLLER SKATING, BUT WITH A LOT MORE VIOLENCE?” Paps is pretty confused when you first admit this fun fact about yourself. Sure, he’s heard of the usual roller skating and heck, even figure skating. But roller derby?

It doesn’t ring a bell.

Once you explain the basic rules of the vigorous sport to him, jammers and all, he seems a little concerned. So that’s where all the bruises came from, huh?

“NOW S/O, I’M ONLY GOING TO SAY THIS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU.” He sucks in a sharp breath. “WHAT ARE YOU S/O?! CRAZY?!!”

You startle. That’s one of the loudest volumes you’ve ever heard him use. It takes a bit of calming down and reassurance of your skill in the sport to ease Pap into the subject. After a bit of coaxing, you even manage to convince him to go to one of your matches just so you could assure him of your safety.

“W-WELL,” Pap fiddles with his gloves, still a little embarrassed from his last outburst. “IF YOU SAY SO.”

When the day of your match arises, Pap is a nervous wreck. Like seriously, the poor tol brought a first aid kit and everything. He wants to be prepared IF and WHEN you get hurt. As much confidence he has in you, there’s an even bigger part of him that just wants to protect you.

So the instant you plow some poor competitor out of your way, his jaw literally drops. What. Just. Happened??? As you skate around the rink, he finally notices your name, ‘THE GREAT S/O’, and his mind = blown.

He profusely apologizes afterwards for ever doubting you and treats you to heapings of his famous spaghetti. Bless him.

Underfell

Red-

“aw. you wanna go roller skating with me? how cute.” Uh, I think he misheard you.

When you tell him that 1.) You said roller DERBY and 2.) You didn’t want him skate with him, rather have him watch you, he freezes up.

“what?” He chortles. “y-you’re fuckin’ joking, right?” The laughter is taking over him as your anger does to you. He really doesn’t believe you, does he?

You huff angrily as you sweep your duffel bag of gear. “I’ll be at the rink. Don’t follow me.” And with that, you’re out the door. Your offer for him to watch has officially expired.

He sniffles a bit of his cry-laugh tears away, still recovering from his laughter fit. Once he realizes you’re gone, he stiffens up. “crap.” Maybe he shouldn’t have been such a dick.

He teleports to the rink just to make sure you didn’t get yourself killed. His eyelights scan around and as he passes by the concessions, he overhears a particularly interesting conversation.

“Yo dude, hurry up!”

“I’m trying, I’m trying!”

“That Skull Slayer girl’s probably ambushed like, 5 girls while we were here! Hurry up!”

Red grins at the name. His curiosity has been peeked as he enters the crowded arena. Being the little cheater he is, he managed to shortcut his way to the front. Just as he’s about to settle himself in a seat, he has to dodge an oncoming player.

His glare instantly burns from the girl to the shover and in an instant, the prophesized Skull Slayer skrts by. Oh god, that’s one angry skater.

Oh wait, its just you.

His sockets are widened immensely and he has an awful impulse to laugh at how oddly things were playing out. A part of him also feels a little guilty for ever doubting you, but he ignores the feeling and settles with watching you do your thing.

Before you could see him, he vanishes. This is a secret he’s keeping to himself.

He’s also a little titillated, but shhh.

Edge- 

Edge places a gloved hand on his chest. “ARE YOU SERIOUS?” He asks with a gasp.

When you nod your head in affirmation, he gives you an odd stare as he does a double take. He scans you up and down. Is your body type suited for that sort of vicious activity? BY ASGORE IT WAS!! The resilient bones, the stubborn attitude, and that spunk in your eyes…

HOW DID HE NOT NOTICE THIS BEFORE?!?!?!

“S/O!! I DEMAND THAT I ESCORT YOU TO ONE OF YOUR MATCHES!!” You were going to invite him anyways, but it looks like he’s already put it upon himself to do the ‘asking’.

The big day comes quicker than anticipated, for Edge at least. He had been prepping your body with nutritious meals and vigorous exercises, but a self-conscious part of him felt like that wasn’t enough. A week wasn’t enough to mold you into the perfect roller derBEAST and that made him absolutely nervous as he watched you.

Well, at least he got you to change your stage name to ‘THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE S/O’. That gave him some sort of solace.

The thing about Edge was that he wasn’t necessarily nervous about your safety. Hey! You should’ve known about the dangers that came with stepping into the rink. What set him off edge (hehe) was the possibility of you making a fool of yourself, thus making him look foolish.

His ego suddenly overflowed as you smacked two skaters out of your way. A big childish grin slapped across his face as looked around at a few visibly disturbed fans from the opposing team. “HA! DID YOU SEE THAT?! YOUR PUNY FIGURE SKATERS NEVER POSED A THREAT AGAINST MY GREAT AND TERRIBLE S/O!”

After the match, for some odd reason, Edge seems a bit more clingy. He won’t let your spunky self escape him as he keeps referring to you as “THE RULER OF THE RINK”.

Underswap

Blueberry-

“SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT; YOU PUSH PEOPLE ON ROLLER SKATES WHILE SKATING IN CIRCLES FOR FUNSIES?” Blueberry is still trying to piece this all together.

You nod, giggling at his odd use of the word ‘funsies’.

“OH…THAT’S COOL, I GUESS?” Gosh, he feels so awkward. He wants to tell you something like, ‘THAT’S SUPER DANGEROUS!!�� or “HEY DON’T DO THAT!!’, but he wisely figures that something so passion filled must mean a lot to you. “C-COULD YOU INFORM ME ON YOUR NEXT GAME OR MATCH OR WHATEVER THEY’RE CALLED? I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU PLAY!” He manages to play off his concerns, albeit in a not so subtle way (to him at least).

The day of your next match comes and golly, he’s not ready. Like Tale! Pap, he’s got his whole diaper bag of medical supplies, but he takes it a step further and has 9-1-1 on speed dial. Never has Blueberry sweated so much sitting down, like seriously, I think he’s burning more calories here than he ever will in his entire life training with Alphys.

His fingers are crossed and he’s praying to whatever stronger force there is out there to keep you safe. Sure, he’s sparred with you before, but he takes it easy on you. For someone as “GREAT AND MAGNIFICENT AS HIMSELF” would be too much to handle at full force. But what about these random beefed up ladies?? They don’t know that they should be gentle with-

He flinches as you zoom by a flock of opponents, making them all fall with a single swipe. 

what.

WHAT.

I think you broke him?

When the match is finally over, you have to shake him back to his senses. Like really, the place’s empty already. Once he breaks out of his shock, he is showering you with praise and skelekisses.

Such a sweetheart.

Stretch-

“its always the sweet ones with the oddest hobbies, isn’t it?” Stretch wonders aloud as he reclines in his seat.

He strokes his chin, immediately getting himself lost in thought. “now that i think about it, that actually makes a lot of sense.”

You tilt your head. What kind of reaction was this?? “What do you mean?”

“what?” He seems quite amused at your question. “you didn’t think i was oblivious to all those bruises, didya? plus, the skates in your room were a dead giveaway.”

Welp, you kinda suck at hiding things.

You figured you might as well invite him to one of the darn matches to make up for your obliviousness.

“sure i’ll go, honeybun. i’d skate to see you go alone.”

Dumb puns aside, he does attend your match. For some odd reason, he’s the least concerned of the skeles. He sits up in the stands with a bundle of lollipops and is pretty content with the environment, save for the loud set of opposing team supporters beside him.

“Oh yeah! That other team is fucked!” One man yells.

The man besides him notices Stretch and grins, making full eye contact with him.”All they have going for them is that Femur Fever bitch! That’s it! We’ll win for sure!”

Stretch’s smile tightens. That was the same name he had laughed at the whole car ride up here. He doesn’t say anything. Instead, he continues watching you do your thing.

‘please do something cool.’

‘please prove these asshats wrong.’

As if the stars above had aligned in his favor, you overlap the other team with ease and the opposing fans go silent.

Now its Stretch’s turn to smile like an idiot. He has that face that only the smuggest of bastards wear as he stares at the men who had pulled some passive aggressive BS on him

‘yeah. how do them apples taste, asshole?’

Like UT! Sans, he’s very supportive of your interests and treats you to a bite at Muffet’s afterwards.

Swapfell

Blackberry-

You had him at derby. That would imply that its a competition.

“REALLY? YOU HURT PEOPLE FOR FUN, TOO?!”

Uh okay, you’re going to pretend you didn’t hear that.

“BUT OF COURSE YOU DO! YOU ARE THE DATEMATE OF THE TREACHEROUS  SANS AFTERALL!” Oh stars, he’s rambling again.

“SO TELL ME, S/O. WHAT DO YOU DO IN THIS SO CALLED ‘ROLLER DERBY’??” He inquired with a quotation of his hands.

Once you explain to him the jist of the sport, he’s beaming at you. Actually, that’s probably one of the happiest faces you’ve seen him make.

“VIOLENCE AND HIGH SPEEDS YOU SAY?” No, that’s not what you said. “I DEMAND THAT YOU SHOW ME THIS INSTANT!”

You let out a confused ‘huh?’. “Really? Like right now right now?”

Blackberry is a little disgruntled at your hesitance. “YES! LIKE RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW!”

Before you had a chance to respond, he’s dragging you out to the car with your gear in hand. “WE MUST LEAVE NOW OR YOU’LL BE LATE FOR THE MATCH!”

“Wait, what match?”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT MATCH?? I MEAN THE ONE I SIGNED YOU UP FOR RIGHT NOW!” Oh lord, he has his calendar pulled out and everything.

And so, you had to mentally prepare yourself for the derby match he had instantaneously  signed you up for. Fortunately for you, it was an amateur match he had thrown you in. Afterall, what organization would’ve accepted you so quickly?

“YOU HAVE YOUR KNEEPADS?”

“Yep.”

“ROLLER BLADES?”

“Check.”

“HELMET?”

You knock on your covered head. “Definitely.”

“ALRIGHT THEN.” He’s about to turn you loose when you suddenly see him go all fidgety. He seems to be contemplating something.

“Sans? You oka-” He stops your concerns with a kiss to your cheek. His skull burns a bright purple and he quickly looks away. “D-DON’T HURT YOURSELF TOO MUCH, S/O. SOMEBODY REALLY CARES ABOUT YOU.”

His words stick to you as you speed by a group of competitors. What? They don’t call you Askeleration for nothing.

Meanwhile, Blackberry is yelling in the stands and is clinging for dear life onto the seat in front of him. “GO S/O! FIGHT THEM WITH YOUR UNDYING FURY AND PASSION! SHOW THEM WHAT IT TRULY MEANS TO BE THE ALPHA SKATER!!”

Once you’re done absolutely obliterating the others, Blackberry has this grin on his face as he marches you over to the car. He won’t stop recalling the match play-by-play.

Stop him now or surrender your sleep.

Rus-

“roller derby, m’lady? really?!” Rus stares at you with amazement.

The sudden level of praise made you blush, but you stutter out a ‘yes’ anyways.

“oh boy,” His wonder quickly washes off his face as he takes your forearm. “you’re not hurt, are you love?”

You shrug. “It’s a part of the sport, but I really am okay.”

His smile is tight as he drags his phalanges across a few old bruises. “oh no,” It sounds like he’s talking to himself. “well, at least these look older.”

You start to feel a little guilty for making him worry. “Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” Bringing your arm up to your face, you place a gentle peck on his knuckles.

He seems flattered by this gesture. “s’fine, love,” His other hand makes his way to your face. “jus’ a little concerned about you, s’all.” As he cups the side of your head, you lean into him.

“Does this mean you’re gonna watch my next match?” You look up at him with innocent eyes, a smile creeping on your lips.

“next match?” He deflates. “oh love. i don’t think i could ever handle watching all those people attempt to hurt my mistress.”

“Its just a game, Rus,” You huff. “I’ll be fine. Trust me.”

Rus eyes you up and down. He’s never been so unsure of something so…spontaneous. One one hand, you’ll be able to do what you love, but risk the chance of getting hurt. On the other hand, he declines and you’re mad at him for 5ever.

“i…” Rus scrapes his skull for an answer. “i-i guess i’m watching you then, huh?” Oh stars, he’s already regretting his answer.

But that excited expression you made silence his protests.

On the day of your match, your coach’s protest fall on deaf ears as Rus seats himself on the team bench. After a while, your coach stops her nagging as she starts to use his 6′8 presence as an intimidation tactic. He was silently refusing her demands, so why not use this to the team’s advantage?

Rus has this unreadable grin every time you sweep by him and he’s absolutely humored by your stage name: Skullface.

Its so suave and skeleton related. Its so you.

And he’s only further elated as you dodge and parry every charging opponent, yelling out commands to your teammates at 100mph.

Afterwards, he takes you out to a restaurant with bountiful amounts of food. I mean, how else is he gonna keep his little jammer healthy?

The tol only falls further for you.

GOSH! I’M SOOOOO SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN STUFFS! I SHALL GET ON TRACK ONCE MORE!

[doridoripawaa]

this is such a long tag

tagged by @linkito 

1. do you have a good relationship with your parents? yeah! sometimes rocky but usually very good

2. who did you last say “i love you” to? my mom

3. do you regret anything? I shouldn’t but I sometimes do

4. are you insecure? lol heck yeah but I’m working on it!!!

5. what is your relationship status? single as always

6 .how do you want to die? I haven’t really put much thought into it? o.o

7. what did you last eat? currently eating butter pecan ice cream <3

8. played any sports? soccer and gymnastics as a kid (briefly) then taekwondo

9. do you bite your nails? nope! 10. when was your last physical fight? probably sparring in tkd lol

11. do you like someone? lillie

12. have you ever stayed up 48 hours? no

13. do you hate anyone at the moment? nah

14. do you miss someone? my family but I’m seeing them this weekend!

15. have any pets? a dog and some fish!

16. how exactly are you feeling at the moment? pretty content bc I’m eating ice cream and drinking strawberry milk

17. ever made out in the bathroom? no

18. are you scared of spiders? YES I’M SO BAD WITH SPIDERS

19. would you go back in time if given the chance? I’d do it for funsies

20. last place you made out with someone? nowhere... I’ve never done it bahaha

21. what are your plans for this weekend? go see kimi no na wa with my family and then go out to dinner!!

22. do you want kids? how many? yeah, ideally 2! A daughter and a son named Lucina and Morgan <3

23. do you have piercings? how many? nope. :( I’ve tried to get my ears pierced countless times but something always goes wrong and I end up having to take them out

24. what is/are your best subjects? foreign languages

25. do you miss anyone from your past? my friends from high school who I don’t see too often anymore, I guess

26. what are you craving rn? more ice cream bc I just finished mine

27. have you ever broken someones heart? I sure hope not ;A;

28. have you ever been cheated on? that would require me to be in a relationship, buddy

29. have you ever made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? n/a

30. whats irritating rn? a certain person who I shall not name bc that’s rude (don’t worry, it’s not anyone with whom I interact on tumblr, so it’s none of you lovely people <3 )

but I should probably put an answer here so I’ll say the fact that I’m still in school for the first half of the altador cup! I haven’t played at all today :(

31. does someone love you? my immediate family, if no one else lol

32. what is your favorite color? purple!

33. do you have trust issues? WOOO BUDDY I AM THE POSTER CHILD FOR TRUST ISSUES

34. who/what was your last dream about? I honestly don’t remember, which upsets me

35. who was the last person you cried in front of? my mom, probably?

36. do you give out second chances too easily? nah I’m harsh tbh

37. is it easier to forgive or forget? forgetting is probably easier but I do neither so :’) 38. is this year the best year of your life? hard to say, but it’s definitely better than the past few years have been <3

39. how old were you when you had your first kiss? let me ask future me hang on a sec

40. have you ever walked outside completely naked? ew no

(WHERE DID 41-50 GO?)

51. favorite food? ICE CREAM

52. do you believe everything happens for a reason? yeah

53. what was the last thing you did before you went to bed last night? prayed

54. is cheating ever okay? no >:(

55. are you mean? lol am I? idk I hope not

56. have you ever been in a fist fight? does sparring count

57. do you believe in true love? yeah uwu

58. favorite weather? sunny and warm! a slight breeze is nice, but not too much or I can’t wear a dress

59. do you like the snow? I guess

60. do you wanna get married? yeah

61. is it cute when a girl/boy calls you baby? no... I find it a little creepy/derogatory tbh??? as a linguistics major I over-analyze everything ahaha

62. what makes you happy? pokemon, love live!, and I’d like to say hunter x hunter but the chimera ant arc is hurting me right now

65. your bff of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? “that’s rough buddy”

66. do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around? yeah he’s p cool

67. who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to? the TA who took my exam lol

68. who is the last person you had a deep conversation with? my mom

69. do you believe in soulmates? I’m not sure tbh

70. is there anyone you’d die for? why is the last question so intense

I tag @beneaththefells @chariotdunord @kawaii-chebba-chan @dorsalfinnick @elenathea if you guys are feeling it