#they destroy each other they complement each other but most important they loved each other so much

[lovesitcomsandgaystuffs]

what do y'all know about doomed siblings

[moonshynecybin]

bc you asked for it: what happens in the same age au when they get to the premier class?

YESSSSS OKAY. so the thing is. in this scenario they are MUCHHH more codependent right out of the gate. truly like you are the only bitch i can relate to and understand and ALSO the only person i can use as a yardstick for how actually good at this sport i am. and my entire life is about discovering how good at this sport i am. like they both think they’re weird fucked up soulmates created in a lab to complement and destroy each other. and they’ve held the other’s hair back after they puked when they were teenagers AND they’ve been inside each other. WEIRD shit sublimating into their egos and sense of selves.

which means ego really changes here! because if they went up against each other in their primes i’m not sure they would be as dominant as they were in real life… if vale didn’t win 9 titles without going to the gym that would change him as a person. and he’s reacting to MARC as his main rival here so he CANT win at those mind-game psychological warfare tactics he used as a little guy because marc is simply matching him in levels of crazy… idk it has interesting implications top to botttom for how these guys fundamentally view themselves and their lives!! i like to think about it!!!

but. basically. i think the main friction in their relationship, ESPECIALLY when they get to the premiere class, is the injury thing. even more so than normal. it’s not just i love you i’m scared that you aren’t taking care of yourself. it’s I DONT KNOW WHO I AM WITHOUT YOU please take care of yourself because i can’t race when i’m WORRIED about you (we see also how marc gets about alex) and racing is the MOST IMPORTANT THING!!! this goes both ways but vale is notably more anxious about it. like this scenario would add vale to the list of people who can make marc stop racing injured (and who are COMFORTABLE asking him to stop) BUT it also makes him a direct competitor to marc. and his oldest friend. and largest enemy. with no added hero worship BUT a big dose of first-love/situationship naïveté for them both. like knowing how they get on track together, how do they even begin to resolve thatttttt… contradictions on contradictions….. so marc doesn’t race injured as often, but maybe learns to protect himself independently even LESS (he doesn’t have to think about it, that’s what vale’s for !) and it reallyyyyy tears into their relationship because vale cannot be the entire scaffolding for marc’s ability to protect himself (he is also i think not protecting himself so well from injury. anything to beat marc, don’t know where or if sic fits here etc)

ANOTHER BIG TENSION. i also think that vale would NOT be one to want to settle down that young, whereas marc would wanna get soulbonded about it… so even while vale in this au has an easier time conceptualizing how important marc is to him, i think he imposes some distance in order to go out and like. process his parents divorcing/remarrying (SIDE NOTE 2: PIC OF MARC WITH BABY LUCA. THANK YOU.), sow his wild oats, hit up the club and be a little slutty etc (SIDE NOTE 3: UCCIO AND MARC BEEF WOULD GO FUCKING CRAZYYYY HERE) and marc is down to tag along for a lot of that stuff but at the same time. they’re teens/young men living in different countries so it’s not like they’ve ever talked about what they are or asked to be exclusive… and it’s not gonna feel great when vale disappears with a girl or marc has some fling with someone back home! and it’s not like they can come out so i actually think the on again off again vibes get TURBOCHARGED. the jealousy and angst is ratchet up to ten… maybe they don’t get sepang level divorced bc ego is different and they’ve known each other longer, but the little stuff digs more… they break up a lot they make up a lot…. they eventually get resolve it after marc’s arm injury i think… puts some stuff into perspective…

[thedrunkenreadersreviews]

A Review on The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black (SPOILERS)

*Sip, sip* And we're back at it again with that faerie wine!

Now, I know. It has been a hot minute since I posted. The new year has been hectic but I got 2 book reviews coming at you. Let's start with this one.

*Sip, sip*

I knew they would be back and that is why I went to a midnight launch to get my hands on this book. To see the return of my High King and Queen ... ahhhhhh ... but we must have patience and so we shall.

Let's examine this in plot and characters first.

*Sip, sip*

Firstly, let me say that the plot felt a little ... perhaps not as organized as previous plots. For example, the first book focused on the theft of Mab's bones and the creation of these stick creatures which I thought was pretty awesome and enjoyed. Here, that plot goes no further. I wished it was explored a bit more; the power of Mab's bones and the connections it has to the land of Elfhame as a whole. We know Mab was the first High Queen and essentially created Elfhame, so I wanted to see just how interwoven Mab was with the land because, as was explored in The Folk of the Air trilogy, the High King/Queen is immensely connected to the land. That entire part of the mythos kind of fell away to make room for Wren.

*Sip, sip*

Speaking of the whole storyline with Wren ... I'm sorry guys, for the most part, I did not care for it. It's not that I necessarily found it lacking but rather, I found myself disappointed. I had mentioned in a previous post of mine how Holly Black is one of those authors who does not sacrifice the importance or power of one character for another, typically in the case of taking from a male to distribute to a female character. For example, in her novel The Darkest Part of the Forest (which is my favorite standalone faerie book thus far and not just a Holly Black fairy book), never is Severin's status or power diminished for the sake of building up Hazel. It makes perfect sense how, during the climax, Hazel is able to fight as she is. Likewise, in The Folk of the Air, it makes sense that Jude is more strategically inclined while Cardan is more magically inclined, and I LOVED it! I loved how Jude did not possess anywhere near the same magical abilities as Cardan but was rather spectacular for everything she earned. Cardan is a faerie, a descendent of Mab, and the blood High King. It is understandable how he is more connected to the land and thus able to wield it more absolutely than Jude. Jude, on the other hand, taught herself the ways of spying, learned to fight from a vicious redcap, and had to learn to play the game of the folk as she lived in Faerie most of her life. They complement each other incredibly.

*Sip, sip*

Wren, to me, was a bit much. This whole concept of her being able to unmake things made me twist my lips. I understand that hags are the supreme beings of Faerie and how Wren has hag-blood. This manipulation of magic, of being able to unmake things took away, I think, from Cardan, Jude, Oak, and yes, even Mab.

Why? Well, Mab, in a way, is like Jude. She learned how to play the game, she played it well, and Bogdona was upset she got fooled. But, to me, Mab won the Faerie Game fair and square. The land, Elfhame, the crown, all of it belongs to Mab and her bloodline. And Mab gained the ability to create, to bring life. That is the whole Greenbriar thing.

Now, I could work with Wren having the ability to unmake things if it contributed more to the plot of this Greenbriar = Creation, Bogdona/Wren = Destruction. But it doesn't. It just creates a hurtle for Jude. What I think would have been great was to bring this question of Creation vs. Destruction to the forefront. Mab's bones can make things because they are imbued with her power. Great! Can they cure Wren? Can the remark what Wren unmakes? Could Cardan and Jude's power to create block Wren's power to destroy? Could Mab's bones and Cardan and Jude's powers protect Elfhame from Wren's? There are so many questions I wished would be explored but they were never touched on. Could Cardan deflect Wren's spell of unmaking? Could Wren unmake something that Cardan made?

Now to some of you, it may seem obvious ("Well, duh, she can. She has the blood of a hag.") And, you know what, fair. But we should not underestimate the abilities of Mab (who tricked a hag and gained the power of one) and I would have loved it if it played out more.

*Sip, sip*

As for Oak ... oh no.

Readers ... this book made me dislike him. Not hate him, no. And I did not always find myself annoyed with him. Most of the time, throughout the book, I enjoyed Oak but when he annoyed me, my goodness did he annoy me.

*Sip, sip*

As someone who personally detests the whole "ghosting" trend, beating around the bush, talking in circles, and not being direct, I DESPISE the miscommunication/ no communication trope to no end. Anytime Oak even thought about Cardan I slammed my head into the book and seethed past gritted "Just fucking tell him!".

Truly, I had some theories on why Oak may be reluctant to tell Cardan anything. I found no reason besides him being afraid Cardan would tell Jude. Again, fair, but something as simple as saying point blank because faeries cannot lie, "Listen, Cardan, I am not going to ever try to take the throne from you. You do not have to worry about that." Oak's guilt about what he made his sisters endure for him, fine, I understand. But I don't remember a time of him lamenting what he put Cardan through (as I hoped he would) or what he took from Cardan. Rather, he mentions it briefly in passing but does not elaborate. This whole concept of him thinking Cardan wants him dead seems a bit much, even with what he overheard Jude and Cardan talking about in the beginning.

*Sip, sip*

As suspected, though, Cardan is not an idiot.

*Sip, sip*

Jumping back to the plot, the whole ending seemed a little like "Wait, what?" Why is the Ghost done so dirty? Randalian's flip-flop seemed a little Fallout meme "hold on, now." Nacassia and the Undersea were just sort of there (I know she is setting up for an Undersea storyline but as someone who hates cheaters, sorry, I feel nothing for Nicassia so I couldn't care less), Madoc is kind of just pardoned, the falcons who betrayed Elfhame are sort of okay now, someone who literally tried to assassinate Cardan (I think it was twice now) is just sort of free to go. Like, what?

But anyway ... On to the main points.

*Sip, sip*

Oak and Wren.

As much as I found myself annoyed by Oak, I did not necessarily dislike Wren (as I tend to favor villains in books) but found her unforgivable at times. Some of her actions had me pondering, "Oak, how could you have romantic feelings for this girl?" I understand why Wren did most of the things she did. But the way she treated Oak the whole time he was at the citadel, uh, no. Freezing him, starving him, having him in solitary, humiliating him, like ... lying by omission as Oak did, yeah, not cool. Torture via neglect---not cool either.

*Sip, sip*

Do I ship them? I mean ... I don't oppose it but I wasn't really rooting for them through the book. I did not feel the same chemistry as I did with other faerie romances that Black has written. Some characters with great chemistry are Kaye and Roiben, Severin and Ben, Cardan and Jude especially, even Hazel and Jack I felt more pull to. Hell, even Val and Ravius. Why is that? Well, I'll keep this in the Elfhame part of Faerie for those who haven't read the other books. So comparing Cardan and Jude to Oak and Wren as both can be considered enemies to lovers:

Cardan and Jude start off with a mutual hatred.

Oak and Wren do not.

Cardan inflicts his hatred upon Jude and Jude does it right back to him. It is mutual, shared, and practiced on both sides up until they both cave and when they both cave they both cave at the same time.

That's not what happens to Wren and Oak. Their hatred, or rather cruelty, is one-sided. Wren is far more, I guess, negative towards Oak than Oak is towards Wren. Neglect is still a form of abuse; even if the person is not actively being physically, verbally, or mentally abusive, they are still abusing the person via their lack of attention and mindfulness. So when Oak was Wren's prisoner, she was being neglectful and tormenting. Which, hey, he lied and it was a big lie too. So I could fully understand Wren wanting to humiliate Oak because she felt humiliated too. But humiliation is one thing. Neglectful abuse for several weeks is another. Yet, since book one, Oak has had feelings for Wren, whereas Wren harbored a lot of resentment for Oak in the beginning of book 2.

*Sip, sip*

So, do I ship it? As I said before, it is not in my fleet. However, I am not opposed to it. I think Oak does a lot more for Wren than she does for him positively, and I think Wren inflicts a lot more negative things upon Oak than vice versa. Honestly, for this one, I feel as though Wren and Oak would have been better if they ended as friends with the possibility of romance in their future. I think they jumped it too quickly, especially after everything they put each other through. I think having the time to explore being friends again would have been better for their relationship with Black leaving us with a nugget of but you know, they are going to be together in the future.

*Sip, sip*

And now, for the main event.

*Lifts glass*

CUE THE HOMELANDER MEME!

It was perfect. Perfect. Everything. Down to the last minute details.

*Sip, sip*

Yes, my High King and Queen were as fabulous as ever and stole the show every time they were on the page. They were just as in love as ever, still as badass as ever, and both have even matured but not entirely.

Cardan commanding everyone to be killed had me cackling like a Disney witch. Jude's sword fighting is still top-tier. And the fact that Cardan and Taryn still don't like each other had me crying even though Cardan dots upon her son.

Confirmed! Cardan is great with kids as we all suspected.

Him completely ignoring Oriana and her opinions on decorum because he is the High King had me nodding in agreement, one hundred percent. Throwing food into people's wine goblets as a game with Leander, splendid.

Jude resting her head on his shoulder, well done. Jude "threatening" Oak to die for the High King, badass. Jude calling for her good sword, sick! The fact that the sword Severin gave her was not destroyed, big relief (like I was actually sweating when I saw it return, beginning Wren not to touch it).

Them agreeing to Nicassia's stupid little party to keep their people safe, major flex.

Cardan walking off getting stabbed in the chest, giving the order to have people executed to then escorting his people to safety by making a deal with his cheating ex is an I'm him moment.

"Liar," gave me chills and flashbacks to The Wicked King, chapter 15 (hehe ¬‿¬).

Jude acting just like her "dad," put some respect on her name.

Like, if this book was worth reading for any reason, it was them. They did not take up most of the book but when they were there, they were THERE. I loved Jude and Oak's fight at the end, and I loved Oak and Cardan's conversation. I wish they had spent some time talking about how Oak was part of the original plot to put the crown on Cardan's head or how they both fell for vicious women, but the ending was great.

*Sip, sip*

So, was it a good book? Yes, it was. It was an enjoyable read and had that whimsy that all of Black's faerie books have. It was great to see old characters, discover new ones, and expand even more on the realm of Faerie. You know Holly Black loves these characters, especially because of how frequently she keeps returning to them in recent years. It is understandable. These characters are spectacular.

All of the books set in Faerie written by Black so far, for me, from most favored to least, are as follows:

The Wicked King, The Cruel Prince, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories, The Darkest Part of the Forest, The Queen of Nothing, The Prisoner's Throne, The Stolen Heir, Tithe, Ironside, Valiant.

Also, another review is being posted soon to make up for my absence. If you have a book you'd like to recommend for me to read, I'm all ears (or, eyes, I guess lol). I am also on Goodreads (same name: thedrunkenreaderreviews).

Anyway, thank you for your time, enjoy the faerie wine, and with the weather growing warmer, why not go for a swim with the nixies?

Till next time, cheers.

*Sip, sip*

[kyuummie]

I am absolutely insane abt c!TNT duo, and don’t have anyone irl talk to abt them :[. Pls info dump to me abt c!TNT duo and pls bestow upon me any and all c!TNT duo headcanons that u have. It’d absolutely make my day (also, ur pretty cool and I like ur Tumblr)

i am SO mad i had entire PARAGRAPHS OF AN ANSWER to this but it didnt save as a draft. TWICE. Anyways i finally decided to check my inbox..!!!!!!!!!!

And thank you! im not creative when it comes to hcs so heres ramble about metaphors and comparisons that are canonical/headcanon for ctntduo. Would base this on canon divergent interpretations but Nah

1- yin/yang

very obvious. “he is my yang”. recognizable and iconic. Two opposites which bring harmony. self perpetuating cycle of two interconnected sides.

the self perpetuating part is very important. it has always been established that they have a push and pull for everything, because they relish in the other’s reactions and its almost instinct. it all started this way too, their upbringing puts them in a very strange position slash relationship. they “balance” each other out — rather,, they teeter on a tightrope keeping them entertained and enabled . they are sides of the same coin, and complement the other. they always have a quick witty quip ready for the other’s petty insults, so so predictable. they dont keep harmony and peace between them, more so a light to keep them going similar to a smoker lighting cigarettes over and over again (insert the 10000 arts of wil lighting his cig with Qs light and vice versa. my fave ever) its close to an addiction, they need each other to keep running and flowing in the most unconventional ways they can find. if you look carefully, they are always circling enabling balancing each other

2- fire/light/burning

i like the metaphor of cwil being under the spotlight of people's perception .. sure, its cool to finally be able to see and interact with people but Q is different. he isnt and never will be afraid of wil. he is only "unpredictable" to him. freakishly enough this is also entertaining to Q. what will he destroy next? graffiti next? say next? do next? he cant help himself but to react. wil on the other hand will do anything to get a petty reaction from Q, to get his precious eyes on him that makes him burn in the light. tearing each other apart then rebuilding each other is an important component of their relationship me thinks

3- president/vice president

usually, i tjink this is a concept used to try and dethrone the other of their humongous egos and get that feeling of a win lol its all about reaction

their relationship is so interesting and weird because of the fact they wanted to over throw the other in politics — i dont think you see two POLITICAL rivals have that homoerotic tension often … anywhere! but i think its so funny that they became a version of the other further down the line (menace -> president, president -> menace) and it also goes back to the yinyang, over time and under certain conditions one can become the other because the other will always be present in the other. (like yin contains yang vice versa)

4- cannibalism Sorry /j

ok this is Strictly fanon. does this count as a headcanon i dont know.

if anyone remmeberes there was a certain point over on ctnttwt a handful of people were crazy for cannibalism ctnt go read whispers of blood and love. recently its become a not too uncommon/pretty popular characteristic for oc ships etc. of course its usually metaphorical in (ctnt) art and sometimes written but the act of giving yourself up completely to another to become a part of them goes pretty well with the psychology of ctnt/the game they play so i very much see the vision when people use this concept to depict Wil’s “devotion” (i guess? idk Refer back to ‘I am your servant’) to stay w Q in order to keep feeling that feeling of being “alive”.

it also goes hand in hand with quackitys want for power over people/things from beinng deprived of it in his earlier days. biggest stretch ever but also his capitalistic ideals to consume consume consume. and wil is willing to give him that opportunity because it is beneficial to him as well. horrible mutualism psa guys dont eat your boyfriend

these r mostly cwilbur centric mb. i also hate being wrong Which is why i hate having HCs. but why should i when theyre practically my ocs and the whole point of hcs is that theyre YOUR canon but oh well

anyone and everyone add on if u Like. Humble me if im wrong idc

[cyborgdumptruck]

Ofc Samuraiden but also your favourite ship with Desmond Miles! I don’t remember exactly who it was with.

SamuRaiden

What made you ship it? - They both have very strong chemistry between each other - both Sam and Raiden. I just looked at a few pictures and memes on google, and they made me realize that Sam and Raiden definitely should be together. It also became my comfort pairing, so I could distance myself from my own toxic relationship (fortunately, it is over now). Who would have known that in the end, SamuRaiden and mgr fandom changed my life for good? After so many years of feeling pathetic, feeling that I was not worthy to exist, these two blorbos brought me back to life. I have people to share my thoughts and love about Sam and Raiden, I received so much feedback I never had before. Moreover, I met my bf thanks to this fandom and the pairing, it is more than anything I ever wanted. This means the world to me. Thinking about them being together, loving each other helps me to get distracted from my own self-deprecation.

What are your favorite things about the ship? - Their dynamic, the possibilities of various romance scenarios or even mgr2 plot. Sam and Raiden are so different yet have so much in common, including being rivals who try to fight for different ideals. Sam's charisma is very strong, yet I feel that he has a very deep trauma behind it. It is more of my hcs, and I can relate to him in my own way, considering how I love his theme song that basically opens him up as a character who chose the wrong side. And I see him as a protagonist, more than Raiden, about whom, btw I had a very erroneous view. Fortunately, after playing MGR and MGS2 I know him better. He is a broken man, who may never recover from everything he has been through. If his ambitions require destroying the world - he may go for it, that is why I feel that Sam may be the only one who could stop it. Raiden is an anti-hero, who is not easy to "tame" if I may say so. Yet, I feel that Sam could handle that because he has been through that himself (I presume). This ship may be toxic from different perspectives, but I want it to be healthy and so that characters could heal by complementing each other and teaming up to achieve common goals.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I don't really know what are the popular opinions about these two. My take is that I probably want to partially avoid Raiden's "unhealthy and toxic" side that would ruin everything because of him acting like an asshole (not the Ripper, rather just the situations when he acts like this) because it feels threatening to me personally. I want him to work through it and be better than this and reach to Sam as much as he reaches to him. So that he would feel more "human" than an augmented cyborg. In my fanfic I question a lot of what is it like to be a human and feel such simple things as love or sympathy (which Raiden never had). I want Raiden to experience it, to endure it as much as Sam. I also want to see his more soft and vulnerable side, when he lets Sam care about him. And the most important, to put the whole relationship in a more realistic perspective, where it is not perfect, where they both have their fears and problems, but they find the strength to carry on together.

Raiden is strong, but inside he is a scared and broken child. He does not know any other ways to protect himself, he is impulsive, filled with anger and hatred towards everyone and everything. He needs psychological help and guidance.

To sum up: SamuRaiden is a ship that changed my life. I love it with my whole heart and I want to think that the love between these two helped them to overcome their demons and have a healthy and more or less happy life. Like what happened to me.

AlexDes (Alex Mercer x Desmond Miles) - Assassin's Creed x Prototype Crossover

What made you ship it? - It was long time ago. I saw some pictures with both of them and it made me melt. I could never imagine that it is possible to make a crossover with hooded guys :D They also made me play Assassin's Creed series and Prototype. Desmond had to become an assassin against his will. He is sick and tired of running away and he just wants to live a normal life. As for Alex..Well..Alex is not a human, he is a virus that took a form of a deceased scientist (as well as his memories). I thought it would be interesting to see how Desmond actually helps him to start everything over and gain more "human" side (again about this, I think I am into this topic too much). Alex is rude, cold and lacks empathy. He wants to know who he really is. His mystery would attract Desmond. They would have to escape their enemies together. That is what it makes this pairing unique to me.

What are your favorite things about this ship? - Alex getting them both into trouble and Desmond getting them out of it. Both of them looking for their purpose, questioning if they should save the world (AC3 ending) or leave it to die (I am not taking Prototype 2 into account because Alex is a complete antagonist in that game). Alex is entertained by Des, he tries to understand him. Also...He has some tendrils that could be used for different purposes... After overcoming some very hard obstacles, their bond just gets stronger and they fall for each other.

Unpopular opinion about this ship

When I was really hard into this ship, there was a part of the fandom who considered it is cool to put Desmond into horrible situations of being assaulted or "consumed" by Alex (I realize this only after all these years and I don't approve that part, fortunately, I haven't met anything connected with it lately). I hate that people try to portray Alex as a predator, and I would prefer not to see it anymore. Also, I don't see him as a bottom (another unpopular opinion).

In conclusion: ProtoCreed has a special place in my heart because it was one of the first fandom ships I got into and produced the content very actively before the end of 2012. I still have some feelings for them, yet I wanna put this ship into more "mature" perspective and make more interesting and realistic scenarios of their relationship development. Many things changed from that old times and I don't really wanna come back there.

[skimbly-shanks]

People remember Ariel saying "Daddy I Love Him" about someone she's only seen once from afar and then forget that for her, he is the Human World Made Manifest. That she has yearned for the Human World for who knows how long, and feels alien in her own home. People also forget that in response to aforementioned corny line, her dad fucking violently blows up her secret hideaway and all of the things she's collected, and that the whole reason it was secret ti begin with is because she already knew something like this would happen, bc her father's love for her has been pretty damn dependent on her playing the role of perfect obedient daughter with no dreams of her own beyond being a singing ornament.

Then ppl say that "duh of course she's impulsive she's 16" when like. Fjektjekfjs. What a ay to disrespect teens first of all and second of all. If we can agree that the Renaissance movies Ashman worked on are particularly latent with Queer Metaphor. Then in that context this is a bigoted parent finding out their closeted child's true self without the child's consent and effectively demanding, with force, that they stay in the closet or else. All because they got a crush on the wrong person.

There's also just the part where, uh. It's a story. It's fiction. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, she loves Eric because he represents the Human World, and he loves her because she represents the Sea. He's a prince who'd rather be a sailor, and she's a princess who'd rather live a non-descript life on the land. They complement each other; the other is what they most desire. It's a way to quickly and solidly establish their characters and their final relationship to each other. Being that they are fictional characters, Ariel's age is important by what it symbolizes in terms of her relationship with her father. She's 16; not a child, but still under his control as she isn't yet an adult. It's not meant to be an overpowering element of the romance, because it's an element of the familial moral, that being that she deserves to pursue what she loves beyond what her father would prescribe to her.

Also can I just say I see ppl say that she got off easy/without consequences abt making a deal with Ursula when uuuhhhh....Ursula was always going to cheat her, we saw that. Ursula is Not someone to trust. The impact of the Deal on the familial plot is that Ariel only turned to Ursula after it was clear that home was no longer a safe option for her. It was because her father refused to even hear her out, and then, need I remind you, violently destroyed her hideaway of things she loved, that she made the deal to begin with. And we see in the finale that he literally had the ability to turn her human the whole damn time. He's the reason she felt the need to make a fixed deal in the first place; by allowing himself to be transformed, he is finally taking accountability for his role in this outcome

[theclosetiswonderland]

What about us?

You know what really breaks my heart about this scene? It’s that Caitlyn and Vi’s relationship was never “meant to be”. In a sense that they come from total different worlds, totally different lives, and upbringings. Caitlyn always had everything, except she never had the freedom to know anything beyond what her parents allowed her to, despite her mom being in such power position in their society, she never knew or understood what really went on between the people who were in those positions. Something that only came about when she met Vi, when she saw the other side. She could finally see and understand all the things that were kept from her ever since she was a little girl. All the truth of how broken her society actually was. (What are you shooting for, Caitlyn?)

On the other side there's Vi, someone who had no reason whatsoever to trust someone like Caitlyn. Her whole life has been chaos because of people who come from the same place and society as Caitlyn did. People who didn’t give a damn about people like her, people who took her parents life, who destroyed everything she ever loved. Who gave her no support in her times of need and that instead, separated her from the only family she had left. They took away her freedom, her power of choice, and the most important responsibility that she had, to take care of her younger sister. To spend all these years in the dark, building her walls up to protect herself from anything that tried to break her again. (You’ve got a good heart. Don’t ever lose it, Violet.)

All of that is precisely what makes Vi and Caitlyn’s relationship so important to both of them. Although the trust they built was something so unlikely at first. They could finally see through each other, that they were more powerful together. And what they have goes beyond where they were raised. Instead of clashing, they complement each other. Caitlyn got the chance to understand all the wrongdoings of her society, all the people they’ve hurt and left behind and she was not willing to do the same mistake with Vi. And Vi got to have, after all those years, someone who genuinely cared about her, about her needs, who wasn’t there to just take something from her, but that wanted to be with her and help her no matter what. Someone who saw all the pain from her people, and all the healing that was needed and someone that cared to act in their favor. 

So yes, their relationship was never meant to be. But that’s mainly what’s magical about them, because every reason they had to hate each other, to mistrust and to be apart, actually brought them together. They might not be the same, but that doesn’t matter, because they are what they need.

Truly the “misfits” of their society.

Gif sources: Top, Mid, Bottom.

[thewertsearch]

When two individuals find themselves in the flushed quadrant together, they are said to be MATESPRITS.

D’aww. What are Mom and Dad even doing on Skaia, anyway?

Dad might be looking for John, but Mom’s motivations remain unclear. She’s a mother who’ll do whatever is best for her children, but I don’t even know what she can do any more. The Battlefield has been destroyed, and the game is lost.

Does Mom know something we don’t? 

When a pair of adversaries delve into this quadrant, they become each other's KISMESIS. As one of the concupiscent quadrants, it plays a role in procreation as well.

Jack and the Queen are sort of obsessed with each other, aren’t they? 

Let’s not forget that this is from a scene where she’s dressing him up for her own amusement. Who else have we seen doing that? 

For instance, human players would never be able to adequately diagnose the relationship between the queen and her archagent. But troll players could immediately place it as a dead ringer for kismesissitude.

Looks like carapacians can experience black romance, too.

This type of romance plays a role in reproduction - and it would make sense for carapacians to be able to reproduce. They’re meant to rebuild societies, after all, and once they leave the Medium, they won’t have the Veil to clone themselves. 

There is no particularly good human translation for this concept. The closest would be an especially potent arch-rivalry.

I can think of at least three relationships that seem to fit the bill. Admittedly, two of them are from The Locked Tomb, a series written by a Homestuck fan. 

Hey, did I just crack the code? Is this where Taz Muir gets this stuff? 

The need to seek out concupiscent partners comes with more urgency than typical reproductive instincts. When the IMPERIAL DRONE comes knocking, you had better be able to supply genetic material to each of his FILIAL PAILS. If you have nothing to offer, he will kill you without hesitation.

No Bitches is a terminal condition on Alternia. As if the place wasn't bad enough!

The genetic material - WITHOUT GOING INTO MUCH DETAIL - is a combinative genetic mix from the matesprit and kismesis pairs, respectively. The pails are all offered to the mother grub, who can only receive such precombined material. She then combines all of it into one incestuous slurry, and begins her brooding. In the slurry, more dominant genes rise to the fore, while the more recessive find less representation in the brood. Especially strong matesprit and kismesis pairings yield more dominant genetic material. The more powerful the complement or potent the rivalry, the more dominant the genes.

I’m a little confused about what is meant by ‘combined’, here. Is the slurry just being mixed, preserving each matesprit/kismesis pair, or is all the troll DNA being merged somehow, breaking these pairs? 

The answer to this question is pretty important, because it tells us how many parents a troll has - which has implications for their ectobiology. There are two possibilities, implying two different Veil configurations. 

Trolls have two parents. Each nascent larva is formed from a specific pair of trolls, and the stronger the pair’s relationship, the more frequently their larvae are spawned. 

Trolls have many parents. Each nascent larva is formed from the DNA of a large number of trolls - but stronger matesprit/kismesis pairs contribute more of that DNA than weaker ones.

If it was the former, and each troll had two parents, then Karkat’s cloning wasn’t any more ‘complicated’ than John’s - so I think it’s the latter.

Trolls have many parents, but their ‘main’ parents are the ones who loved and hated each other the most. 

[thephantomessoftheopera]

Erik and Christine - The Seduction of the Soul

Ever since I first saw (and then read) “Phantom”, I - like many others - have been fascinated by the relationship between Erik and Christine. There was something incredibly touching, moving, earth-shattering about them in both their ALW and Leroux portrayals. Both narratives are comparable in the degree of ambiguity they afford to their relationship. But why exactly are Erik and Christine so compelling as a couple? They probably mean different things to everyone, but I have tried digging a bit more into the reasons why I personally love this tragic pair so much…

One of the reasons their relationship holds such a huge appeal for me lies in the deep symbolism it carries. Throughout the narrative, Erik and Christine are presented as opposites - angel and demon, black and white, beauty and ugliness, underground and aboveground. They represent the dualism of the human condition, embodying extremes that complement each other. Just as there is no light without darkness, either is incomplete without the other. That symbolism brings a universal, almost transcendental quality to their relationship. Visually, the „yin and yang“ symbol sums them up perfectly:

They are not only opposites - they also mirror each other. It is no surprise that the mirror is such an important symbol in their story, literally turning them into mirror images of each other. They are two sides of the same coin, both representing a part of dualistic world. And just as Erik shows Christine her own darkness, she brings out the light in his soul.

They also have quite a few features in common: Both have a past of being travelling performers. Both are each other’s „angels“. They are also both enormously talented and passionate musicians. The soul-deep connection they share through music is incredibly intimate, passionate and spiritually erotic - and it is the core that lends an almost otherworldly quality to their relationship. Through music, Erik and Christine seem to unite as one being, creating their private world where nothing matters but their hearts and souls:

„Music has the power to abolish everything in the world except its sounds, which go straight to the heart.“ (Christine Daaé)

Emotions are heightened and pushed to the limits here, resulting in what Christine repeatedly describes as „ecstasy“. This transcendental experience of going „beyond themselves“, of transcending the limits of their own being to connect with another, is a deeply Romantic concept.  But just as too much passion can become overwhelming and consuming, resulting in a loss of control, Christine’s connection to Erik becomes both necessary and terrifying as she fears losing herself in it, both fascinated by him and equally afraid of his potentially destructive power. Erik and Christine are in equal parts moth and flame to each other. They are helplessly drawn to each other despite knowing that the other holds the power to destroy them.

But perhaps the most important reason why I love Erik and Christine together is the fact that Erik is so utterly, completely, head over ears in love with her. What might appear as just an obsession at first glance is proven to be the truest kind of love in the end - a selfless love that puts Christine’s needs first and makes Erik sacrifice everything for her, “calmly cutting his own heart to pieces”. His love is like a searing light in the darkness, beautiful and pure. In the end, it does not even matter if Christine returns it because his love for her is so powerful that it alone redeems him. It also helps him grow and become a better person. He recognizes that his behaviour has been wrong, that love mustn’t be forced, and that he must give her up if he really loves her:

„In the end, most of the Phantoms, including Leroux’s, sacrifice their desires for a woman‘s and honor her choice. […] This sacrifice is the true aphrodisiac of most Phantom narratives: women‘s desires are upheld, no matter how conventional. It is this moment that earns the Phantom narrative its audience‘s loyalty, not the unseen „happily ever after“ promised to Christine by her conventional Raoul.“ (Ann C. Hall, “Phantom Variations”).

It is not certain though just how happy the „happily ever after“ will turn out for Raoul and Christine because we never even get to see it. Both Leroux (with his allusion to Christine’s „solitary singing“ and her return of the wedding ring to him) and ALW (implying that a solitary Raoul seeks closure by buying the Phantom‘s music box for Christine as an old man) insinuate that the loss of Christine’s almost symbiotic artistic relationship with Erik means that her soul will be missing an important piece for the rest of her life. And this is the extended tragedy of it, because Raoul also really loves Christine and would be willing to give up his life for her - the difference between him and Erik being mostly that Raoul is never required to go through with that sacrifice.

And even if Erik‘s love for Christine might not be entirely unrequited, it still remains unfulfilled in life. It is no surprise that Leroux links them to Romeo and Juliet - they are, in a sense, also star-crossed lovers whose love is doomed, both by wrong choices and by circumstances outside their control. Raoul, who is quite perceptive, sums it up in his fateful question in „Apollo‘s Lyre“:

„If Erik were handsome, would you love me?“

Christine’s reply of „ Why tempt fate? Why ask me about things I hide deep within my conscience, the way one would hide a sin?“ was not included in the widespread de Mattos translation - possibly because it is the most telling expression of her harbouring deeper, forbidden feelings for Erik that she can’t admit, since she is clearly unwilling to answer Raoul’s question. In Leroux, the narrator also implies that after Erik‘s death, Christine returned to him and put the gold wedding ring he had given her on his finger, ultimately fulfilling their impossible love in death.

If things were different, if Erik had been born with a normal face and lived a different life because of it, Erik and Christine might have had a chance at happiness. But this is left to the audience‘s imagination and wishful thinking, perpetuating the fascination with their tragic tale of unfulfilled love.

Artwork by @elfinmirror

[harfanfare]

When your Prince Charming arrives || First Years x Reader

What if someone from RSA seemed to be your dreamed lover?

Ace Trappola

It isn’t easy to make Ace seriously worried, about something that wasn’t caused by his friends, wanting to get revenge on his poor—as they defined them—jokes.

From the first sight he knew, that a boy, who “accidentally” bumped into you, was a danger. Some kind of.

He seemed just… too perfect: tall, muscular, with beautiful hair and natural charm, charisma. His clothes complemented the colour of dark as cosmos eyes, and his manners were impeccable. Ace started doubting that even Vil Schoenheit himself could point out anything to him, but he wouldn’t bet on his arm.

With each trait, something was pushing Ace away from the boy more and more.

If he hasn't paid much attention to him, then you definitely did. By the time the day was over, you managed to tell him ten times how he helped you get up—"You fell because of him," Ace replied while rolling his eyes—and characterized the boy verbally, so that no teacher would complain about not enough words on your opinion essay.

“Agh, enough-!” Ace got upset when, even while playing cards, you didn't talk about anyone else but that handsome hero who helped you get up faster than Ace did. He got up from the floor. “Marvel at him in his face! He will certainly want to hear all these compliments in person.”

He stormed out of the room before you could stop him.

His arms were shaking once he got out of the dorm, to the Rose Maze. He emanated with anger and grief; he swore to himself, that he will kick this guy from RSA the time he sees him. Though he wasn't sure... would you be mad at him...?

“Wait, Ace!” you had to run as fast as you could to catch up with the boy and bump hard into him. You hugged his waist tight, worried that he would run away as soon as you loosened your grip. “Sorry. I really didn't mean to upset you.”

Ace turned around to see your eyes. The corners of his mouth quivered before twitched into a weak smile.

"It's alright," he said, but his voice slowly cracking. “The better one wins, right?”

"Of course," you tightened your embrace so that your cheek was pressed tightly against Ace's body. “I won't be with any guy who can't destroy a chandelier with friends.”

The boy took a deep breath before finally wrapping his arms around you.

The warmth he felt from you and the one inside him caused a strange feeling in his stomach and chest. He didn't know exactly what he felt, but he didn't mind at all.

“Out of my advantages, you chose this particular one?” He said, his face showing a mischievous, a bit mocking, but still friendly smile. "I guess it was at the top of such a long list as ‘Advantages of Ace’"

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎

Deuce Spade

Deuce didn’t know what feeling was responsible for twisting his stomach, once he saw you and a boy from RSA, introducing him to some NRC classes.

Does his dark, rebellious side finally want to see the light of day?

Not as much as he wanted to hit that boy, he’d rather preferred to take you somewhere far away from him. From everybody.

“Someone's jealous!” Ace laughed when Deuce told him about his worries.

“Again, why did I come to you with this...?” The dark-haired man sighed, placing his hand on his hair and tightening it tightly. "You really think I'm, uh, jealous?"

“And not?” Ace tucked his hair back, laced the fingers of his hands together, and blinked several times. “Oh! My hero!” He said in a squeaky voice. “I will have to give up my lovely Deuce for you because you helped me up. A~aah!”

Deuce snorted and slapped Ace on the forehead. He fell onto the bed. The redhead burst out laughing as he looked at the nervous, sulking Deuce.

“Go Deuce,” he said, sitting down on the bed, still with an amused sparkles in his eyes. “Fight!”

Without waiting for any further words of encouragement, Deuce ran out of the room, towards the school. He went through all important, busier spots in the school before he found you in the cafeteria.

Of course, with that RSA guy.

He felt his body tighten like a tight string as you spotted him between the heads of the other students and waved at him.

"This is Deuce, my boyfriend," you introduced the boy to your dinner companion, and the dark-haired man looked away. So what if you guys were dating for months? The title "boyfriend" always made his heart run wild. “And this is [Boy's Name], a student from RSA.”

"Nice to meet you." Deuce reached out his hand and squeezed the boy's hand. He did it with such force that you could almost hear the crunch of bones and a soft gasp as the student jerked his hand away. “Now, I'm so sorry, but I have to take [Name] with me.”

He felt a twinge of guilt as you walked away, and the RSA boy was massaging his hand. However, now-not-yours prince charming will definitely go to the nurse, and on the way, he will surely run into one of the most beautiful students in NRC. It’s always like that in fairy tales.

You have to fight for your true love, right? They both have to find and keep the love of their lives.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Epel Felmier

Just give him a chance, and he'll definitely try to kick that fop in the knee so hard he won't get up again.

"Fight fire with fire," Vil advised him during their usual dinner at Pomefiore. Even though Epel had said nothing about his worries, Vil could still sense a depressive aura from him that was definitely ‘not beautiful’.

The Pomefiore leader was also not very happy with the arrival of some students from the RSA. But until they were more beautiful than he was—not that anyone like that existed—their presence did not irritate them that much.

Of course, you didn't forget about Epel—you felt so drawn to your new acquaintance's aura that you sometimes lost track of time, but you make sure not to skip your meetings.

He felt like a pawn in a game of chess, not a player. He was attractively dressed, and now standing next to that RSA boy who had attracted your attention all too often. He took you with him a lot, that one day he almost offered to take you with him to the RSA. It would only require some paperwork, wouldn't it?

“[Name]” Epel turned to you, his voice trembling with anxiety and anger. He took a deep breath but didn't feel any cooling down. “The final decision will always be yours. But I want to say something about it here.” He pointed at the visitor and glared at him.

He felt a sudden need to straighten his hair and his clothes as silence fell around him. All the witnesses waited for his next move, and even though no one was saying anything, he felt like he was the new hot topic of gossips.

He went over to you and locked you in a hug as if he didn't want to watch all those onlookers.

"I know you may not believe me, but I really am not sure if he can bring you the happiness you expect," he blushed here. “I-I mean… I don't know if I can offer you a life only filled with happiness you want, but… I will try… So, uh, please don't go with him…!”

“Huh? There's no way I'm going with him,” you said, tearing away from him. "I'm addicted to apples and a certain apple boy, and I won't survive without this combination."

Epel breathed a sigh of relief, feeling his cheeks flush with shame, and memories of words that even sounded too serious for him.

Even though he felt terrible in this elegant garment, he couldn't think of it as his feelings exploded in his body.

Ah, yes. He couldn't want to love anyone else that much.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Jack Howl

Jack never wanted to stop at anything other than "true love".

When you two started dating, he saw no other way than planning his future with you... But this RSA guy was never included in your plans.

"He's joining us," you told your new friend, pointing at Jack. He had his arms crossed and he was at least a head taller than the boy, so the boy had to raise his chin to see Jack's ears. “He offered to help us with cleaning.”

"Ah, yes," [Boy's Name] cleared his throat, trying to remain indifferent. He felt overwhelmed by Jack's presence and Jack made no effort to make it easier for him. Because what was he supposed to do? Squat down so that he doesn't feel trapped like surrounded by tall rocks? "We'll definitely need someone strong."

Everything went very agile and neat.

Even if you and the RSA student previously thought it would take a long, long time, in half an hour you managed to do more than you were allotted to. Maybe it's because your loved one didn't allow too long conversations between you and [Boy's Name]?

It would certainly have been hours if the two of you were left for each other. Ideally, a lot of time to make another appointment, exchange phone numbers, cancel your joint vacation plans with Jack and change your school, right?

“Thank you for your hard work” you put the broom in the storage box. Cleaning with magic was definitely simpler and easier, but as long as you can clean, magic can feel a little sloppy while comparing the cleanliness of rooms.

"Thank you for your hard work," [Boy's Name] replied, dusting his hands of the fluff. "Maybe... you'd like to go together, just the two of us," he stressed the last words, "to the cafe?”

"I'm sorry," you smiled apologetically. You looked at Jack who was just coming back and started walking towards him with a smile on your face. “You may not see it, but this one needs a daily dose of hugs because later he will be very sad.”

Jack silently denied as he turned his head to the side out of intimidation as you hugged him tightly.

… For moments like this, the existence of people like [Boy's Name] is needed.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Sebek Zigvolt

“We need your assistance, [Name]” just after taking the left corridor, Sebek appeared in front of you and a student from RSA. The green-haired man had a stoic expression and his hands were behind his back, what made him seem much more composed than he thought himself. There was so much going on in his head that it would be easier to talk about what he wasn't thinking about. “It's urgent.”

Without further ado, he grabbed your wrist, knocking the RSA student's hand off your shoulder. He gave him a frightening look before he turned on his heels and you and you walked far, far away from this place.

"Hey, Sebek," you broke the silence that had been with you since you stepped out into the uncrowded corridor. “Something happened?”

“What do you mean?” He replied in a gruff voice and picked up the pace.

"For example," you panted, trying to keep up with him, "you're almost crushing my hand."

As if on cue, Sebek immediately let you go, doing it as quickly as if he had touched hot coal. With a surprised look, he glanced at your wrist, which turned slightly red from his tight grip.

"Ah, uh, forgive me," he muttered, rubbing his temple. "I still feel sick to see that human from the Royal Sword Academy."

“You mean [Boy’s Name]?” you asked, and Sebek made a face at his name. For him, this boy will always be "human" in the worst tone and sense of the word. "Some have described him as ‘so sweet that he is so bland’”

“It suits him.”

“You don't like him too? Too cute by Diasomnia standards?” you guessed jokingly. “Or were you jealous, hehe?”

“T-that's not the point!” He growled, feeling his face flush red. You looked at him in shock, now sure, you guessed it, and Sebek felt even more exposed by it. "It's just that this human looked at you so... so strange! I didn’t not like this.”

"There is a way," you said, smiling frivolously at him. “You can invite me to tea and vice versa, and then we will not see him anymore.”

[deleteddewewted]

Hey, I just read your Kurogiri omega and was wondering if you could do a part 2, but with Kurogiri remembering his time in the AU when he was Obroro and how he met the alpha reader until the day of his "likely" death?!

I've been trying to find an excuse to continue that, so thank you for being that excuse, anon!

Omega! Kurogiri Part 2

🚨spoilers🚨

Kurogiri x M! Reader

Omega! Kurogiri Headcanons Part 1

TW: Angst, Death, Unhealthy Coping Mechanism

You couldn’t tell him he was your mate. It would place you and him in danger.

You kept going to Tartarus to visit him but decreased the frequency of them.

Kurogiri did not take this lightly.

You were leaving him again.

You both had built something meaningful and you were leaving.

Kurogiri laid down on the bed he was given and stared blankly ahead of him.

The world became dimmer as the time passed. Eventually his eyes closed and he drifted away to the lovely abyss of sleep.

“Shirakumo!” The blue mist haired boy turned around and spotted his two friends call out to him.

Yamada, the loud blond, was dragging the dark hair Aizawa with him. He looked eager to tell him something.

“Hey man! Uh, something going?” He asked. Yamada was way to energetic for it to be his usual and Aizawa didn’t look all that annoyed either.

“You won’t believe it man! One of our classmates is super hot!” Yamadas face held a small blush to it while Aizawa turned his head around to ignore them.

He was also blushing.

Shirakumo laughed at the two and wrapped his arm around Aizawa's neck.

"Oh really? Tell me more." He teased.

Yamada gave him an entire speech about how their classmate was hot as fuck and how the guys name was really pretty. He was fanboying over someone he barely knew.

Shirakumo thought it was cute how affected Yamada was by the new student so he couldn't wait to meet him.

When he did meet you, his inner omega purred.

Everything about you was perfect and beautiful to him.

He wanted to get to know you better.

Thats what allowed a friendship to bloom between you both.

He smiled a lot throughout the day but it became brighter when you would walk into the room.

His omega purred at him, begging him to get closer to you so he could take your scent in. Look at your beautiful eyes and your beautiful face.

You would catch him staring at you, the lingering trail of smokey blue hair giving him away every time.

You also liked him, a lot actually.

Easy on the eyes but with a big personality.

Welcoming, comforting, everything you would ever want in a significant other.

You found it endearing how he took the initiative to keep Aizawa away from rude and mean people.

You could also see how your guys friend, Yamada, would falter. His smile dropping for a moment when he thought no one was watching.

That always happened when Aizawa and Shirakumo were together.

You were all young, so it didn't matter who was dating who or what the future would hold. The now was more important then anything else.

Shirakumo contemplated what he could do to court you.

He jumped to the conclusion of courting instead of asking you if you were wanting to try a relationship with anyone.

He told Aizawa and the black haired boy just looked at him. His eyes saying something that his mouth wouldn't.

Didn't matter how well Shirakumo knew him, he didn't know how to read his eyes.

"Should i get him a bouquet? Maybe his favorite foods? Ah, i dont know what to do! Aizawa help me!" Aizawa recommended he just asked you out.

"You're so not romantic, but i still love you." He missed how much his words affected Aizawa. The black haired boys face was tinted red, his neck taking most of the blush he couldn't show on his cheeks.

Shirakumo made up every possible scenario inside of his own head and instead asked Yamada for some help.

"Yo! You should totally make a dramatic confession!" Shirakumo and Yamada planned everything out.

It did not go well.

You made it clear to him that you weren't looking for anything at the moment and that you just wanted to be friends with him.

Shirakumo and his omega became upset. His spring like scent became muddled, dirty water and a harsh smell overlaying itslef in a thick blanket.

His personality didn't change around you, he was still smiles and laughter.

When class would finish he would walk with Aizawa back to the train station and vent about everything you did that day.

"He looked so handsome eating that pudding and the way he leaned on his arm. So hot." Shirakumo sighed.

Aizawa felt very conflicted. He was happy for his friend but something else made itself present when he spoke about being with you.

Shirakumos pinning wouldn't stop and it finally got to a point were he would openly flirt with you.

You didn't mind it, in reality, you were as much of a flirt back.

This game between the two of you played out with him complementing you with big charades.

You would be more tactile. Occasionally touching his arms or running your hands threw his smoke hair.

It was pleasant. His hair parting into tendrils and at times having a mind of its own.

It would wrap itself around your wrist preventing you from removing your hand.

Enough time had passed that you felt like pursuing something more with him.

Something more romantic.

Shirakumo dragged you to the roof top one day.

All he said was that it was important.

"I like you, a lot. You're just so...handsome and pretty and beautiful and everything else thats good really." He stopped and began to walk around the roof top of the school.

"My omega is going nuts with your scent and it honestly drives me crazy too." Shirakumo danced around you.

"If you only knew how much i want to hold you and kiss you every time you help Aizawa out. That one time you helped that omega by fighting those meat heads off of them. Purring for you, baby!" Shirakumo got close to the roofs edge.

"Everything about you makes me and my omega want you. I-" Shirakumo slipped from the edge and fell.

You ran to catch him, maybe you could save him.

Shirakumo would most likely die, you wouldn't get there on time to catch him.

Your heart pulled with dread and dropped when you heard him scream.

Then, a peak of mist made itself seen from the edge of the roof.

“Shirakumo!” You yelled at him as he floated above you.

He flew around in his cloud, circling around you laughing.

“Was that intentionally?” You asked once he got down from his cloud.

His face became red as he watched you look at him expectingly.

“Ah, yeah?” You laught at his response and pulled him towards you.

You ran your fingers threw his smoke like hair and cupped his cheek in your hand, thumb gently caressing his face.

“You know? You should really stick to just two word phrases. I don’t think you have the mental capacity or brain cells for anything more.” You teased.

He gave you a goofy smile while he practically melted into your touch.

You were heaven and safety for him.

His inner omega begging him to ask you to be his mate. To bond. To do everything with you.

To be yours and you be his alpha.

His mouth a body moved on their own. He couldn't stop himself from getting closer to you and wrapping his arms around you.

"I'm sorry,” He stared at your eyes and admired them more a moment, “but you’re to perfect to just put into two words.”

Shirakumo closed the gap between you two and kissed you.

Both you and him, and your secondary sexes, we’re overwhelmed and overjoyed.

It was a thrilling emotion that coursed through you. The giddiness of being able to say that this was someone you would like to invest all of your time on.

You both loved each other so much, nothing in that moment or the ones to come could ruin that.

Then in your second year, Aizawa brought you Shirakumos speaker.

It was battered and broken. Wet.

Destroyed.

Aizawa said nothing to you, the other alpha walked away from you without batting an eye or even acknowledging the blond beta running after him.

You felt your legs give way as you fell to the floor. Vision becoming blurry and warm streaks falling down your face.

“So what should we do? We both want to mate but we can’t risk our careers.” “Don’t worry about Y/n. You’re already my mate. My omega is telling me that you’ve already been accepted and naturally, I’m always glad to call you mine. Fuck the rules!” “Sure, whatever you say, my mate.”

The happy memories and the planned out future you both had with each other was now just a dream.

It was delusion you had set yourself up for.

Your mate was gone.

“So that’s who you are.” Kurogiri spoke into the empty cell. The dream having woken him up.

He turned to lay on his side and stared at the invisible cell door.

He didn’t attempt to fall back to sleep.

You laid awake in bed, face pressed into an old jacket that was clearly worn down.

It was faded in color and no longer had that signature scent you adored so much.

It no longer smelled like spring.

Or like fresh air.

It smelled like you and your laundry detergent.

Your mate was dead and you both never got the chance to make it official.

Would never have a family of your own. Never have your first anything together.

Never have another moment with each other.

He was gone and yet still here.

Your mate was a terrorist who found no issue in killing others.

“Goodnight…my omega. Sweet dreams, Oboro.” You drifted off to sleep once your eyes closed.

[aspoonofsugar]

Hi if its not too much trouble, would you mind writing a meta on Nora and her semblance?? Shes my absolute fav and kinda underappreciated imo

Hello anon!

I love Nora as well! I think she is the most emotionally intelligent character in the series, to be honest. That said, I am waiting for her story to reach its climax before writing a meta on her semblance. This is because I think we are still missing the heart of her arc to be honest.

That said, I have talked a little bit about her here and here. Moreover, you can find some general thoughts under the cut.

It is clear that Ren and Nora’s arcs are strongly intertwined. What is more, I think the Atlas arc has clarified how they are structured and what their role is in the overall story.

First of all, Ren and Nora’s story revolves mainly around each other and their relationship. They are introduced in volume 1 as a set. They are a couple of opposites that complement each other:

As the series goes on, it is revealed that they share a traumatic past event aka Kuroyuri’s destruction. That night they meet and they both receive a weapon:

Li’s dagger becomes the basis of Ren’s StormFlower, while the toy hammer becomes the basis of Nora’s Magnhild. So, Ren defines himself through his dead parents and his destroyed village, while Nora defines herself through Ren. Not only that, but Ren’s rudimentary weapon being a real one, while Nora’s being just a toy highlights that by that point Nora’s sense of self is frailer than Ren’s.

This all creates an asymmetry in their relationship:

Nora: I don’t actually know who I am… without Ren. Pretty sad, huh?

This asymmetry is explored and commented on throughout volume 8. Basically, Nora is clearly in love with Ren, but their recent conflict makes her understand how she has depended on him too much and how, if they want to have a healthy relationship, Nora needs to discover who herself wants to be.

Volume 8 really marks a shift in their relationship, not just when it comes to them in-story, but also structurally when it comes to their arcs. Up until volume 8, Nora has been Ren’s helper. Volume 4 is really Ren’s arc with Nora supporting and helping him. In volume 7, we see Nora working hard for their relationship, while Ren puts distance between them. Finally, volume 8 has them struggling separately. In this volume, we probably see Ren finishing his personal arc (or a major part of it) and Nora starting her own. I am expecting Nora’s arc to reach its conclusion in Vacuo with Ren as the helper this time around.

Still, what is Renora’s arc role in the narrative? As for now, I think their struggles have offered a commentary to some major themes.

In volume 4, Ren’s arc ties into the theme of the arc of knowledge. You should not let your fear or anger stop you from doing what is right. He overcomes the fear that paralyzes him (Raven and Leo) and the anger that blinds him (Jaune).

Volume 7/8 is instead Ren exploring the theme linked to the arc of creation. You should embrace your feelings even if they are hard and make you feel vulnerable.

So, what about Nora?

Nora’s journey in volume 8 explores this motif:

Blake: When you’ve been at someone’s side for so long, after a while they become a part of you. But that’s just it, they’re only a part of you. Don’t forget about the rest.

Penny: But there is a part of me... It's making me...

Nora: It's just a part of you. Don't forget about the rest.

Penny: I won’t be gone, I’ll be part of you.

It is the idea that people are complex, made of several parts. In order to be yourself you must accept all your parts, but without letting one of them define yourself. Similarly, to have healthy relationships you should aknowledge that others have also different sides and you might not like all of them or agree with all their choices. Still, this does not make loved ones less loved:

Vine: Then perhaps Clover was wrong too.

Harriet: Don’t you dare! Clover was… He was…

Vine: …Important to you.

As for now, the “it is a part of you” motif has been used to explore different concepts: grief, relationships, trauma.

Each one of these themes are explored through the same motif. The conclusion is the same.

-The people you lose will stay with you forever, but you should not let yourself be defined by grief (Harriet and Qrow’s arcs, Penny’s death).

-Trauma and abuse are not something that can be cancelled, but you do not have to let it define you (Penny’s virus, Yang’s arm).

- Loved ones are a part of you, but they are not you. They are people you choose to stay with because you want to, not because you need to.

So, in volume 8 Nora’s story ties into this specific concept and it comments Penny’s arc. This fits because deep down both Penny and Nora’s arcs are about identity... Who is Nora? Who is Penny? Are they worth something just as themselves? Penny has finished her arc, while Nora’s arc needs to be finalized.

We do not know what her story will be about. As for now, I think it will thematically comment the main story and will tie in one of the themes of the Vacuo arc. I also wonder if we are going to discover more about her past:

Nora: Oh, got shocked by lighting, didn't die. Crazy Thursday!

Personally, this phrase has always sounded suspicious to me :’’’) so I wonder what the story behind it is. Considering the strong connection she has with Ren, I would not be surprised if Nora managed to activate her semblance in order to protect him, just like Ren did with her. Alternatively, we may discover more of Nora’s past before meeting Ren and her ability to turn electricity into strength might be related to turn trauma and pain into a resource. This is a motif shared by many characters, Yang (positive), Cinder and Mercury (negative), for example.

Anyway, I am curious about the thunder symbolism, specifically in relation to her lightening heart symbol. As for now, I can see two meanings to it.

a) A symbol of a heart hurt by trauma (thunder).

b) A symbol of Nora being thunderstruck as if in she having fallen in love with Ren.

Both meaning may apply given what we know about Nora (and both could be true). Surely, thunder is probably going to be important for her character :’’’) given it is a huge motif for her and something even present in her emblem. Nora’s emblem is basically a combination of her weapon and her semblance. Still, we know where her weapon comes from (Ren), so I wonder if we will know more about the thunder motif. Does it tie with her feelings for Ren (thunderstruck) or with her family (Valkyrie)? Or maybe with both?

What’s sure is that the meaning behind it is clear:

Ren: You put everything you have into what you do. You support everyone around you, you help without worrying about how it might hurt.

Nora would do anything in her power to help others, even if it means hurting herself in the process.

Thank you for your ask!

[maplecornia]

chapter 7

𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔱: 2.04K

𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔯𝔢: romance | slice of life | fluff | angst | bts x female!reader | ot7

𝔰𝔲𝔪𝔪𝔞𝔯𝔶: You watched them from the sidelines ever since you were a young teenage girl. Now you’re grown up, they’ve returned after 2 long years and everything has changed. What happens when you pull back the mask and find the darkness within? What happens when you see that they’re broken?

𝔞/𝔫: so yeah, i've decided to start uploading every day for this story until i'm caught up with the chapters i have. i'll tell you guys when i'll go back to posting once a week.

𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰: cliffhangers | angst | fluff | slight mentions of self hatred | depression | mental health illness | self harm | occurs in the year 2024 | set in a timeline where BTS went to the military together | slight language

tags:@kookaine |@fangirl125reader |@kookiebbyxx |@taradevonne

You almost faint in disbelief.

It's him, it's him.

Jeon Jungkook.

That's his face, those are his eyes, and that is his body.

Real, and right in front of you.

Heart pounding in your chest, you find yourself unable to breathe, your chest constricting and your mind going blank. You're faintly aware of the towel crinkling in your hands, and your feet propelling you backward, away from him. If he notices, he doesn't show it, seeming almost as frozen as you are.

You would know him anywhere.

The golden maknae of BTS, the one who’s made you laugh over and over multiple times before, the one who's good at everything, the sweet and handsome Jeon Jungkook.

Even after all these years, he still looks the same.

As he looks up at you, his hair falls in strands across his forehead. It's his natural color, a deep midnight black, with brown undertones. It looks as though he tried to do it in the morning, but a little too much dance practice has destroyed his efforts. There’s a slight sheen of sweat on his skin, complimenting the smooth soft complexion and making him shine as though he were a drop of moonlight befallen on the earth.

As he blinks, long feathery eyelashes cast small shadows on his cheeks, complementing the dark brown color of his irises. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words form, the same curve to his lips making it seem as though he were smiling even the tiniest bit your way. In the back of your mind, you recall how those lips would spread whenever he smiled, transforming his sweet face into one similar to that of a bunny.

As he moves even the slightest bit, your gaze travels to his jaw and you swallow hard.

Even his body is the same.

He's still tall and strong, sure and trained muscle rippling beneath his slight build. The coffee has even helped in this aspect, his shirt sticking to his chest and accenting his toned pectorals and sculpted abs beneath. You can see it in the muscle of his thighs, showing through his jeans, and the strong structure of his forearm. It even shows in the veins on his hands.

He looks the same as the day he left with the rest of BTS, leaving you behind.

At the thought, you sadly look away.

You had forgotten those days, forgotten the emptiness you felt in their absence.

You had forgotten about them for a while.

Perhaps that's the worst part.

What are you going to do?

You just bumped into Jeon Jungkook, probably the most beloved and adored member of BTS. Spilled his coffee all over him with not so much as a drop falling on you, and then proceeded to gawk at him.

You can't get all starry-eyed over an idol.

Especially not now.

Inwardly, you remind yourself that he’s just another person. He's just another human being, just someone else who lives on the same planet as you do.

Yeah, he's just another globally renowned person.

Half of the world's population is either in love with him or wanting to be like him.

Not to mention he's incredibly talented, with a great personality and heart of gold.

Nothing to worry about.

Glancing up at him, you can see he seems to have forgotten about you and is currently trying to rub the coffee stains off with the edge of his sleeve.

Smiling softly, you remember the towel you had retrieved moments ago and look towards him, swallowing hard.

“Mr. Jeon Jungkook?” your voice is soft, almost inaudible, and you silently curse yourself. Seriously, how much further are you going to embarrass yourself? Nevertheless, it draws his attention and he immediately looks up. At the sight of his eyes on you once more, your heart skips a beat.

“Here, you might need this.” Noticing the towel in your hands, he takes it from you, your fingers brushing against each other for a split second.

Almost as soon as he takes it from you, you snatch your hand back, trying to ignore the rapid beating of your heart and the faint blush rising in your cheeks. He smiles at you, politely, before nodding his head and murmuring what you think is a thank you, but you can't tell.

Looking away, you spy the mess on the floor.

Eyes widening, you immediately drop to your knees, pulling out another towel and starting to clean up the marble tile. It’s the least you can do after making a mess such as this. As you scrub up the floor, you can hear people whispering behind you and are faintly aware of a janitor in the far corner gazing at you in amazement.

You don't care, this is keeping your mind off of him.

This is distracting you from reality, at least for a moment.

But Jungkook has other plans.

You don't notice it when he pauses from cleaning his shirt and stares at you on the floor. Nor when he kneels and peers at you almost curiously. You don't even notice as he waves away a few staff members who inquire if he’s okay, or if he needs any help. You don't spy the faint smile playing on his lips as you dutifully clean up your mess.

Nor do you see when he takes the towel you gave him and cleans the floor beside you, setting the empty coffee cup to the side.

When you glance up from your work, and his face is there, just a few inches away from yours, you blink, startled.

His eyes meet yours, just like before, but this time they aren't as scared. This time, they’re friendly, almost nervous, but welcoming as they hold your attention once more. He smiles, softly, before reaching forward and taking the towel from your hand.

Inhaling sharply, you flinch away, surprised by the touch.

At the movement, his eyes falter in confidence and he looks away, shutting down once more. Only, you don't want him to shut down again. Frantically, you search for words, anything to say to him.

“I...” As he looks up at you, it's as though all your butterflies are gone and your mind is no longer blank. Things become clear and you know what you have to say.

“I’m sorry.”

At your words, he seems taken aback, as though he weren't expecting that. He blinks, surprised and you continue.

“I didn't see you behind me, and I should've apologized earlier or at least said excuse me or….” Trailing off, you sigh. Rambling won't do you any good now.

“The point is, I’m sorry.” You murmur, softly, before bowing your head to him.

You can't see his face or the way he looks at you tenderly, completely awestruck by your behavior. You don't see the soft, kind way he smiles before he playfully knocks on your head, and you raise it.

“It's alright, you don't have to apologize.” He reassures you and you flush deeply at the sound.

Jungkook’s voice is soft and almost melodic, as though he’s always ready to break out in song, exactly how you've heard it on videos and during concerts.

And yet, now that you're hearing it in person, it's a bit different.

You can hear the soft rumble in his throat as he speaks, a tiny hint of his Busan dialect mixing in with his words. Every syllable is straightforward and clear, every word having a purpose.

It's slightly raspy but refreshed, like the feeling after you've just had a good workout or have just accomplished a really hard dance you've been practicing for a while.

But what's most important is that at the sound of his voice, unexplainable emotions run through your heart.

You have to look away or you're afraid he would surely detect the rapid beating of your heart, the chaos in your mind, the way your body has suddenly gone weak.

Looking away, you spy the discarded cup on the side and lunge for it, startling Jungkook a bit. He dodges you, his eyes widening slightly. Pulling back you smile a bit sheepishly before standing and giving him a small smile.

“Wait here.” You instruct before turning and hurrying to a trash can.

As you look up after throwing away the coffee cup, you notice a vending machine and spy a canned coffee cup on one of the slots.

Glancing back at Jungkook, you watch as he offers the soaked towels to the janitor who has come behind you and is currently mopping up the mess.

Turning back to the vending machine, you pull out your wallet, taking out a couple of won and inserting it into the slot. Pressing the numbers of the coffee can, you receive your change, bending down to retrieve your prize and turning back to Jungkook. Taking a deep breath, you pocket your wallet and hide the coffee behind your back before walking back over to him.

As you reach him, he greets you with a friendly smile, and you return it, almost nervously.

“Here.” You say, and he takes it from you, peering at it in slight confusion. “To replace the other one.”

“Thank you.” He murmurs, opening it and taking a drink. As soon as he tastes it, he pulls back, overdramatizing how delicious it is. At the sight of his expression, you snort, chuckling softly.

“It's really good!” he exclaims, and you laugh, covering your mouth with your hand. He laughs as well, a soft chuckle that warms you from the inside out and makes your smile grow wider.

You open your mouth to say something else, but a voice behind you cuts you off.

“Jungkook!” at the sound, Jungkook looks behind you, and you turn around.

A staff member is standing near an elevator, holding it open. She frantically points to her watch, a phone held desperately between her shoulder and ear. She seems distressed as though she’s late for something, and as you think about it, you realize she probably is.

You couldn't meet with Kim Namjoon due to a meeting he had with BTS, and Jungkook happens to be a member of BTS. He was probably on the way when you bumped into him.

“You should probably go.” You mutter, a bit disheartened at seeing him leave. “It sounds important.”

As you say the words, you turn to him and he seems a bit down himself. He nods to the staff member before looking at you and smiling once more. A bit bashfully, he holds out his hand, grinning that bunny smile as you take it.

“Thank you for the coffee, miss. It was nice to meet you.” He says politely, shaking your hand softly before bowing his head to you.

“You're welcome, I’m sorry again, by the way.” You chuckle softly, and he shakes his head at you almost in disbelief.

“I thought I told you,” he murmurs, letting go of your hand and starting to walk past you. However, as he reaches your side, he pauses, whispering in your ear...

“You don't have to be sorry for anything.”

At the feeling of his breath against your skin, you shiver, a slight blush exploding on your cheeks. You refuse to meet his eyes, unwilling to let him see your blush.

So you don't see him smirk at your reaction before turning away and heading to meet the staff member who has started to pace in anticipation and worry.

As soon as he leaves your side, you turn, watching him as he walks away. When he reaches halfway to the elevator doors, he pauses. As though he could feel your eyes on him, he turns his head, glancing over his shoulder at you.

Smiling, he meets your eyes, raising his hand in the air to say goodbye. Letting out a small laugh, you roll your eyes before doing the same.

After a moment, he turns once more, completing the distance and vanishing behind the elevator door, your eyes unable to break from him the entire way.

And once he’s gone, you hold the same hand you waved goodbye to him with, close to your chest.

As though that would calm the rapid beating of your heart.

𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔢: pretty spoicy no? (¬‿¬)

chapter 8 here

check the Infinite Stars masterlist for more chapters

check my BTS masterlist for other BTS content

check out my masterlist for other kpop fanfics

[my-name-is-dre]

Mettaton is a False Prophet [OLD THEORY]

To start things off and make sure we have a reference, we need to list off the eerie yet superficial similarities between Mettaton and Asriel:

They both have multiple forms, with Mettaton having his normal form at the beginning, his EX form during his fight, and his NEO form in the No Mercy run. Asriel has his flower form throughout most of the game, his child form at the end of the True Pacifist run, and his “God of Hyperdeath” form also at the end of the True Pacifist run.

This is a minor detail, but they both possess the power to change the application’s name, with Mettaton turning it to “Undertale The Musical” during the track Oh! One True Love and Flowey turning it into “Floweytale” during his boss fight at the end of a neutral run. With the ability to change meta elements like this being traditionally associated with possessing determination in fan theories, we can conclude that there’s a case of overlap here. Another minor detail is that they’re the only two characters who can audibly speak, with Flowey’s creepy “that’s a wonderful idea!” and Mettaton’s famous “oh yes!”

One big similarity is that they’re both products of Alphys, with Mettaton being an attempt to purposefully enfuse a monster soul into an inanimate robot initially with the purpose of being efficient at killing humans, while Flowey was an incident caused by injecting determination into an inanimate object that had the remnants of a monster soul within it.

This is a bit of a stretch, but both characters are artificially inserted into your journey in an attempt to please an ulterior motive, with Flowey enacting his agency at the level equivalent of a player to toy with the same experiences and reconnect with whom he believes to be Chara while Mettaton was conscripted by Alphys to set up an elaborate stage play where she can rescue from him to feel better about herself, acting only at the level of agency as a monster.

The biggest emotional similarity is that both possess a mournful attitude towards a lost sibling, with Asriel on an endless quest of ironic spite against Chara for severing their old friendship by dying while Mettaton leaves Napstablook behind to pursue hedonistic dreams of fame and beauty, destroying the potential they had as a performance duo. Both rectify the holes these relationships left in them, with Asriel destroying the very thing that led to Chara’s death and Mettaton humbling himself reconnecting with Napstablook.

Goal-wise, they both obsess over humans but for very different reasons: Asriel has an obsession with only one human, and the reasons for this are very deep-seated and personal. Mettaton’s obsession however is more vain and is concerned with growing his audience beyond the borders of the Underground and being seen as a sort of vanguard for monsterkind among humanity. Or more insidiously, he feels as if he can assimilate into them. Both seek a form of transcendence that comes with obtaining a human soul: Asriel, as Flowey, seeks one so he can restore a bit of what he lost when he became a flower. Mettaton wants one again for vain reasons; those being to deprive Asgore of the opportunity and claim the title of the “Savior of the Underground” to himself.

Despite this being the most superficial similarity, it’s likely the most important: Both of their ‘ultimate’ forms—Mettaton NEO and God of Hyperdeath—have some interesting similarities between their designs. The most obvious is that they have these large wings jutting out, with Asriel’s having intricate color patterns while Mettaton’s flash between a brighter and darker shade of grey. Other similarities include excessively large shoulder blades and heart patterns on the chest area that are also shared with Undyne the Undying, indicating that this design motif is a trend among all major bosses considered to possess determination. Finally, this form also vaguely resembles the Delta Rune symbol, which I will elaborate on what they mean later. Despite all of this, it’s mainly the wings that are the contentious point of comparison, which I’ll get into later.

Lastly, they both seek a form of integration outside of themselves, with Asriel seeking once again the fusion of their soul with Chara’s, while Mettaton seeks total unification of their soul with their new body, and this is represented in the designs of their ultimate forms, with Mettaton’s ensignia featuring two hearts (one empty and one a monster soul) opposing each other, while Asriel’s features an empty soul within another empty soul. This is likely a metaphor that, despite all of the power he possesses, he’s still empty because he doesn’t have his friend with him. Conversely, this can apply to how Mettaton, despite achieving everything he basically dreamed of (as written in his diaries), feels empty because he abandoned Napstablook.

We’re finally done with comparisons to lay down the evidence for the main point. Now, we’ll get onto the Deltarune prophecy and what it means:

As most of you probably know, the Delta Rune is an emblem that represents the Kingdom of Monsters and is seen on the garments of every Boss Monster. In Waterfall, there are glyphs that describe a prophecy: “The Angel… The One Who Has Seen The Surface… They will return. And the underground will go empty.” If you ask Gerson to elaborate on what this means, he says that some monsters believe that this refers to a bleaker outlook: That the angel prophesied is actually a harbinger of death, and that this freedom actually refers to death.

If you connect the dots, you end up with two conflictingly obvious solutions: The first is that the player is the prophesied angel who appropriately fits both outlooks, being able to destroy the barrier and free monsterkind or free them mortally by attempting to slaughter all of them. However, another conclusion that can be drawn is that the angel prophesied is actually Asriel, and that you’re merely a vessel for his unwitting divine plan. While both are valid interpretations, the second is far more relevant to my point.

Also mentioned in those glyphs is the fact that not a single human soul was taken in the war between humans and monsters, alongside this is the missed opportunity to uncover that one can achieve godhood if they combine a human and monster’s souls. This implies a type of dualism as to whether or not the angel symbolizes the player or Asriel, as it’s more accurate to say that both the player and Asriel—the fusion of their souls—is the angel. This makes sense in both the contexts of the True Pacifist and No Mercy runs (and technically neutral), as both are attempts by Asriel to integrate with Chara again, with the former favoring Asriel’s determination while the latter favoring the player’s.

Now, what if I told you that Mettaton’s character in the story is his attempt to fulfill this prophecy artificially, thus making a false prophet of himself?

It seems hard to believe at first, but considering all the weird similarities between the staging and capabilities of both Asriel and Mettaton, it seems to imply that there’s some similarities between them in the context of the fate of monsterkind. Not only is it common knowledge among all monsters to speak of the prophecy, we also know Mettaton grew up in Waterfall alongside Napstablook and Shyren, meaning that this prophecy could’ve had more meaning to him specifically.

Now, it’s unknown whether or not the intentions to save monsterkind came about because of his hubris or because they were suggested to him by some higher command like Asgore, but considering that he states directly that he wants to kill you to prevent Asgore from taking your soul, it implies that Mettaton’s attempt at fulfilling the Delta Rune prophecy is entirely selfish.

One point of evidence in the camp that Mettaton was intentionally made to fulfill the Delta Rune prophecy is that Mettaton was made to impress Asgore according to Catty and Bratty. If this is true, then his position as a celebrity implies that he was made to be a beacon of hope that could be predictably grown and made to accomplish a purpose that fulfilled everyone’s collective desire. But the hair covering his right eye and its further concealment in his NEO form tells that, if he was created to fulfill the prophecy, then he wasn’t finished for this task and still required further tinkering from Alphys.

It may be entirely coincidental that Mettaton’s motivations as a character parallel and complement Asriel’s, but I find that hard to believe especially given the similarities of being separated from a lost sibling, seeking an integration of souls that’ll grant extraordinary power to embrace humanity to a degree, and possessing soulless objects. What I think really drives it home for me is the similarities between Mettaton NEO and the God of Hyperdeath, both of which are depicted as being angelic with prominent wings, which I’ll go on record to state are the only two boss fights in the game that feature wings prominently.

If Asriel is fulfilled as the angel of death, then the depiction of Mettaton NEO is given a newfound authenticity as he serves as the image of a guardian angel meant to stop you in a place where there is nobody to onlook, forcing him to act in authentic spirit. He now has the duty of protecting both monsterkind and humankind from you, even if he utterly fails at it.

One thing that’s hard to answer is how Mettaton is able to perform actions that imply metatextual awareness of the game and other similar actions Flowey does despite never being implied or hinted at possessing determination. Does this imply that, like Flowey, the process of integrating monster souls into inanimate objects grants them some form of determination? If so, it would grant greater proof as to why Mettaton has such a vested interest in fulfilling the Delta Rune prophecy beyond merely hearing about it. Yet, we know from the True Lab logs that Flowey was injected with determination while there’s no such implication that the same was done with Mettaton. However, we can gather from Napstablook being able to avoid being absorbed into Flowey as he transforms into Asriel that ghosts, as a type of monster, are seemingly immune to things other monsters aren’t. Perhaps this implies that they have metatextual powers like monsters with determination?

Now, here comes the really fun (and fortunately last) part where I draw parallels between these characters and the real-world mythology that may have inspired them:

Now, it’s a factoid among some that Asriel’s name may be inspired by Azrael, who is described as the angel of death in Judaism and Islam, and as part of that title, he separated souls from their bodies. His appearance has been described as being cosmically large, having an insurmountable amount of wings, and possessing a body formed of an amount of eyes and tongues representing every human being. Right away, we can see parallels to the God of Hyperdeath, who also has very large wings that appear to project a cosmic pattern within them. While its appearance may not correspond literally, he is a being composed of every human and monster soul in the Underground, eerily matching the description. Not to mention that Asriel absorbed Chara’s soul into them, equivalent to Azrael’s job of severing souls from their bodies.

Another factoid is that Metaton’s name is possibly inspired by Metatron, another angel of Judaism that, unlike Azrael, isn’t found in the Tanakh but is mentioned briefly in the Talmud. He has a similar job to Azrael in that he records the sins and merits of men, similar to how Azrael was able to see which names were blessed or damned. However, Metatron holds an even more lofty title in Kabbalistic mysticism as God’s mediator between men, being described as one “whose name is like that of his master”, even going as far as to be called “the lesser YHWH.” This is obviously a heretical dualistic proclivity in an otherwise monotheistic Judaism. Further, Metatron is related to Enoch, being described in Jewish apocrypha as the name Metatron used to have before he was transformed into an angel. Now, for all of that backstory, it parallels to Mettaton specifically in transformation: It seems as if Mettaton’s obsession with human reciprocation and the very humanoid appearance of his EX form imply that he wants to integrate into humanity similar to how Enoch entered angeldom.

The hot topic is whether or not Metatron’s power compared to that of God given the texts stating he was a secondary power in heaven with YHWH, but the answer most Rabbinistic scholars give is that he obviously wasn’t despite that it was written that all other angels bowed before him. However, this idea of there being dual power in Heaven is what later laid the groundwork for understanding the nature of Christ in Christianity. But in most Jewish sects, this doesn’t fly and is seen as a dualistic heresy, implying that there’s a falseness to Metatron’s power. Just like how there is a falseness to Mettaton’s power and intentions in all runs of the game. Another neat thing to note is that, as part of accepting Metatron as a real angel, one believes that any time a human believes God has directly spoken to them, it’s actually Metatron acting as his vessel. Perhaps this is parallel with how Mettaton is the voice of the Underground and it’s desire to be free despite himself possessing relatively lacking power?

The angel required a fusion of both a monster and human soul, and while Mettaton is the fusion between a monster soul and a soulless object akin to Flowey, it wasn’t enough to fulfill the role of the angel, falling short of his lofty dreams of being a savior. However, this disillusionment isn’t cruel, especially when you spare Mettaton and he receives a call from Napstablook (implied) that reminds him of his importance to monsterkind, making him reconsider his lofty ambitions to appeal to humanity. This is telling Mettaton that he is not a mediator between monster and humankind that he thought of himself as, for he never had the ability to combine both human and monster soul like Asriel. Perhaps he had the determination to be able to foresee the realization of the prophecy but not enough to put it into effect?

That’s just about everything I have to potentially support this theory, including referents to Jewish mythology. I firmly believe that Mettaton’s presence in the story was to serve as a false prophet to fulfill the prophecy of the Delta Rune, and that explains why his character and origin is so similar to that of Flowey.

[collisiondiscourse]

on the wonder duo (part 1)

(BNHA Analysis Post Ahead! This isn’t explicitly romantic, but it is an analysis of the relationship between the two most popular characters in BNHA--Katsuki Bakugou and Izuku Midoriya. Split into two posts because I realized that this was gonna be long as HELL)

yall ever think about the fact that the wonder duo is perfectly set up in so that bakugou and deku together are the better version of all might?

bc like. ive been thinking.

everyone knows the win to save and save to win parallel. How they are supposedly two halves of a whole perfect hero (which, previously, was defined as all might)

but ever since bakugou and deku started working as one—growing together to win AND save and continuously reminding each other that they shouldnt try to do things alone, ive realized that its BECAUSE theres two of them that they surpass all might. its not a case of deku and bakugou both being 50% of an ideal hero, but rather i think that they are 100% of what all might SHOULD HAVE BEEN from the very beginning.

as early as the AM v AFO battle in kamino, we see the effects of all mights flawed existence. the fact that he, the greatest and supposedly infallible symbol of peace, was destroyed—society had begun to collapse. there was suddenly no pillar to hold people together and the impacts were so severe that even in the latest chapters of mha it keeps on getting worse. the truth is, all mights biggest mistake was the burden he placed on his own shoulders

with bakugou and deku... its different.

its different for them because down to their attributions, they seem like two halves of a whole person.

i think that the wonder duo are going to surpass all might because of the fact that they work together.

@bakugoukatsuki-rising @svpercraigus @tybee​ @isaustraliaathing​

(batshit crazy and conspiratorial essay under the cut !)

1. Complementary Colors

I’d like to first preface literally everything I say by the fact that I am not an expert analyzer or literary major in any way. I am literally just some random fan on the internet who has wayyy too much time and looks wayyy too deep into things, but here we go!

A common thing we see when we talk about bakugou and deku is the way they are... sort of an inverse of one another.

Down to the design of their features and the way they move, Deku is the obviously softer of the two. There’s an intentional contrast between the two of them, in the way that Deku’s drawn with round shapes and curvy hair and the way Bakugou is literally all spikes and half-mast eyes and rough muscles. Bakugou’s movements too are languid and showy, with the way he leans when he walks and splays his legs and kicks open doors. Katsuki, in a casual sense, is loud and dramatic. 

Deku on the other hand s finicky. He jitters when he walks and he’s often fidgeting and mumbling. Comparatively, the aura he radiates is energetic and frenzied, even self-conscious to a point unlike Bakugou’s calm and confident movements.

the point is, there’s a clear difference in how either of them are designed and what exactly they are supposed to represent. They utterly complement each other down to the way they behave and even their main colors (red-orange and blue-green) being literal complementary colors.

Now, moving to my more ungrounded points, this is quite a bit of a stretch so I’ll try as much as possible to make sense of these with hyperlinked sources because. yeah.

Down to their names, I think Deku and Bakugou both symbolize something deeper. I think that the way Hori expresses characters and what they’re meant to do is something that we have to pay close attention to when we talk about the Wonder Duo’s rise to success.

Izuku Midoriya (緑谷 出久), as some of us may know, does have an interesting meaning when broken up. According to a lovely fan translation of his name, ‘Izuku’--while not an actual name used commonly in real life--means to ‘Come out’ or ‘Long time’. ‘Midoriya’ on the other hand means (Midori) ‘Green’ and (ya) ‘valley’. The translator further pointed out that his first name ‘Izuku’ could be a reference to him being the first legendary hero to come out of the long-running All Might Era. (or, if you’ve been reading @/bakugoukatsuki-rising’s posts, the first significant anime protag in a long while to come out as queer, ppfft)

but that isn’t my focus right now.

We know that Hori LOVES telling stories with names, and more often than not in the BNHA universe, names alone tell us a lot of things about the characters. When referring to Izuku’s last name, Midoriya, it’s important I think to step back and realize that hey, maybe there’s something more to Green Valley than just the fact that his motif is all green.

After searching for a lil on the specifics of green valley, I’ve found out that across many cultures, the colour green and valleys in general tend to represent life. From dream analysts, to Christianity, and even old Taoist teachings, valleys are seen as areas of fertility and escape. They are seen as safe havens and often escapes for people to come to after running away from bad circumstances.

(Sound familiar?)

Deku, in essence represents life and peace. He represents being the “salvation” that the world in BNHA needed. To me, it sounds like Horikoshi is trying to say that he is the long-awaited hero in the sense. The one that people can feel will create a society that feels safe for everyone after years of All Might just saving people from themselves as a band-aid solution.

On the other hand, we have Katsuki Bakugou (爆豪 勝己), who’s name we commonly know means (Katsuki) Winner and (Bakugou) Explosion Master. He is essentially, the champion. The power. His name means success and power and all the things that make up winning.

When putting them side by side, it then becomes increasingly... interesting to me how their names almost perfectly slot into All Might’s save to win and win to save mantra, and how they are both quintessential parts to what made All Might as a hero.

2. Hero Too!

Now, I’m not even gonna really TOUCH much of what happens in canon. If you want me to do a step by step breakdown of their arcs in regards to the plot of manga and anime, feel free to send me a gratuitous ko-fi tip so I can pay for the headache I get after trying to organize my thoughts into word vomit.

What I WILL talk about on the other hand, is the subtle shift both of them slowly have in regards to how they look. Bakugou and Deku, while growing up, seem to have MANY many parallels--but before I elaborate on all of that, I wanna talk about something else.

Detour: Deku’s Red Shoes 

We all know the iconic symbol being Deku’s red shoes. For all his life, save for some outfits like his hero one, we see Deku more often than not wearing his signature red sneakers which have become a running joke in fandom.

But the funny thing is, in Japan, red shoes seem to have an interesting connotation.

In 1922, a popular Japanese nursery rhyme was written, called “Red Shoes”. The interesting part to me about this song was the symbolism that, in my tiny pea-sized brain, I could connect to the story of BNHA.

The story goes that there was a little girl with red shoes named ‘Kimi’. She was from Shizuoka prefecture (which, if you didn’t know, is most likely where Musutafu supposedly is) and was raised by a single mother. When she was young, her mother had to entrust her with a foreigner under the impression that they would give her a better life in America. The stranger is a man named Charles Hewitt (who was described to have blue eyes) and supposedly took her away. 

The singer of the song (supposedly the mother, but some argue it was written from the perspective of a childhood friend) believes that Kimi is happy and living a better life away from them, when the reality of the situation was much worse. The young girl with red shoes in actuality had Tuberculosis, and thus the foreigner whom she was entrusted to had left her to fend for herself and eventually left her to go to America while she died alone and orphaned.

“When I see red shoes, I think of her.”

A very interesting story with very interesting implications indeed.

-

Anyway, moving on to the more... “nuanced” and connected parts of this section, I have every reason to believe that Bakugou and Deku were simply MEANT to be working together down to how they dress. Now, I’d like to discuss their hero costumes.

At the start of their series, using these godawful pics for reference, it’s clear to see that neither of them seem alike in any way--reflecting the dissonance in their relationship at that point in canon.

ough. deku why. (yes we know why its because you love your mom you stupid little bunny <3)

Anyway, we see an immediate gap in how the two of them are. Deku’s first costume is one that reflects how he treated his dream of being a hero. He was still in that childlike idolization phase, the one where his dreams and aspirations were hinged on pure feelings and inspiration from All Might. Katsuki on the other hand was a lot more tactical--professional to an extent. The gap between their respective development with their quirks is something that is clearly felt in every fashion decision they’d made.

(Notice how Deku’s green is a lot brighter and less like the green accents Katsuki has all over his costume.)

As time progressed however... their costumes changed. The colors, the silhouettes, the practical functions, most things.

(Deku’s Gamma Costume and Bakugou’s Winter Costume used respectively)

we begin to notice a few similarities.

As the show goes on and we see more evolutions of their costumes, it almost seems like they begin to look like a matching pair. Deku’s green grows darker and almost teal in nature, while Bakugou’s orange is veering towards red territory. This is important to note because red-orange and blue-green as I said earlier were complementary colors as compared to simply orange and green. The minute shift is something I really wasn’t quite sure was intentional, but something I find interesting to pick up nonetheless as the colors they used to accent their costumes begin to match up.

Secondly, I think and important thing to note is silhouettes. The way that both Bakugou and Deku’s costumes are designed follow a lot of parallels that typically we don’t see with the rest of 1-A. For one, they both have a combination of tight long-sleeved tops with a bulkier set of bottoms. They also share the use of utility belts and metal pieces typically worn around their necks. Deku has his bunny-eared hood that mimics All Might’s hair, while Bakugou has his orange and black explosion ear-pieces that mimic his own quirk.

i don’t think any other people in class 1-A match each other as subtly yet strongly as these two. Uraraka and Deku and Bakugou and Kirishima do come close however.

“But Codi, you fucking knob!” I hear you plea. “This is such a reach and tells us practically NOTHING!” And yes, I’m inclined to agree with you! You’d be sort of right in the idea that this is a reach. Maybe I am looking too much into this, and maybe it really isn’t that deep--but I do think that them subconsciously matching outfits means something quite brilliant.

In the way that their costumes are designed, each aspect of either outfits have a very logical explanation. The changes were strategic and made with their fighting styles vividly in mind, so what that tells me is that BECAUSE these costumes are so complementary or similar in nature (Bakugou’s reinforcing his arms while Deku reinforces his legs), these two are implicitly showing the audience that their combat styles are complementary as well. 

The evolution of their design choices and similarities tell us that even unknowingly, their minds line up in strategy on the battlefield--a clear exhibit for why they would be INCREDIBLY POWERFUL as a Hero Duo to begin with.

When I look at their hero costumes side by side, I see a mirror. I see the way that these two are reflections of each other and are strong where the other isn’t. The point I see in BNHA repeatedly is that EVERYONE HAS A WEAKNESS. Nothing is infallible, regardless of how hard you train or how powerful your quirk is. Everyone will always have a weakness, but the significant difference I see when fandom discusses the future of Pro-Hero Society is that the new generation is finally raising itself to be RELIANT on each other. 

Observing their fighting styles and the simple use of their quirks, its obvious that they are indeed two parts of a whole hero. Bakugou, who’s quirk emphasized his arms and hands and the power that comes from it, while Deku who’s quirk now emphasizes his legs and lower body and the way he’s always running to save people.

IN CONCLUSION:

As they become heroes, it is easy to assume that if nothing else, Bakugou and Deku will cover each other’s weak spots (especially when you consider the way Deku probably won’t be able to keep using his arms with the way both the anime and manga are going...) (also chapter 285, anyone?)

-

Part Two: Interactions, OfA

kofi || commission details

[linkspooky]

This is kinda random, but what is your top 10 favorite otps?

Sure.

#1 of All Time SPUFFY

Spuffy, it wrote the book on both beauty and the beast archetypes, and enemies to lovers. For me the most important thing in a ship is the character development it brings about. Spike's redemption doesn't work without Buffy, because it's meeting the one person who expects better than him and won't put up with his selfish crap, that forces his character arc. Buffy's development is also nothing without Spike, it's meeting Spike that makes Buffy confront her dark side, and realize that being a good person isn't something you are, but something you work towards for the sake of your loved ones. The ideal ship should inspire this permanent character development and chane (Unless it ends tragically), they should be an inseperable part of each other's character arcs.

#2 Kumagawa / Ajimu

This is what I was talking about when I said "unless it ends tragically". Sometimes you ship two people who should never end up together, because they probably won't accept their differences. However, even in a failed relationship, two people can be important to each other. There's not really a hapyp ending for Ajimu and Kumagawa, despite their similiarities when they're together they just seem to make each other worse. In Medaka Box they are the anti-Zenkichi and Medaka. However, for Ajimu Kumagawa represents her only human connection, and for Kumagawa Ajimu represents the first person to be "good" to him even though their relationship soured at one point. Therefore I find the ship interesting because despite the fact that they are permanently separated they are still an incredibly important part of each other's identities and who they are now.

# 3 Matsuda / Junko

Basically for the same reason as what I said above. There is no universe where Junko and Matsuda end up in a happy relationship, as long as Junko is still Junko. However, Matsuda and DanganRonpa Zero as a whole add so much to Junko as a character. As long as Matsuda exists, Junko's more than just a black hole that only cares about despair, and I think together the side materials like IF and Zero show that Junko actually is capable of caring for people outside of her natural tendency to want to throw everything into despair, however, humanizing Junko in this manner doesn't actually make her a better person. She can have feelings like romantic, and familial love, and she still chooses to destroy those things and the people in her life. It just adds so much to Junko as a character, which is what I like ships as, an extension of characterization through character interaction.

#5 UIHAI

I love Ui and Hairu because it's like a broken fairy tale. It was a love that could have saved Hairu, but it didn't, because for Ui he always realized his feelings too late to save anyone. Hairu was obsessively chasing after Arima for the smallest amount of approval, when Ui was right there, and already in love with her. They seem like the perfect couple that could never get together, because Hairu is too fixated on Arima, and Ui is too fixated on his job. They are perfectly suited to giving each other what they wanted, and even in lots of side materials and sketches they seem like a pair, or Ui's feelings for Hairu come across as pretty clear but it never came to be in canon.

#6 ZACK / AERITH

Once again for the same reasons as above, it seems like a fairy tale romance of a knight, and a girl he wants to protect, but it fails completely to live up to that story. Zack and Aerith is a tragic story of first love for both of them, and it's also really formative for who Aerith is now as a character. Zack tried to be there for her, and he tried to be a hero to Aerith, only to very consistently not be there for her, and then disappear from her life all together. Much later on, Aerith is incredibly isilated, unable to fall in love with the real cloud without projecting Zack onto him. It's a relationship where in a better world they could have been there for each other, but also the failure of the relationship develops them as much as characters as them getting together might have. Zack and Aerith are one of those relationships that seems ideal on the surface but they are very different people with different wants, Zack wants to be a hero, Aerith just wants to be a person first.

#7 LINK / MIDNA

The best zelda ship period. Once again the most important part of a ship interaction is the change that both characters inspire in each other. Midna begins not caring about Link at all, never referring to him by name, only seeing him as an object, an old legend, a hero to be used instead of a person. Midna's a manipulative freak, and Link breaks through to her because he actually isn't interested in being the hero of legend, he just wants to save the people closest to him at the village because he feels indebted to them, and Midna inevitably becomes one of those people. Link and Midna's partneship makes the game, because it's Midna who pushes him and makes him into a hero, but it's Link through his unfledging acceptance of her who inspires her to be a person once more, and not just the twilight priness.

#8 Morrigan / Warden from DRAGON AGE ORIGINS

This and Spuffy are like the only two on this list who actually end up together, so let me just have this. Once again my favorite aspect of a ship is the transformation the relationship brings baout in a character. The warden is a non-character, but for Morrigan herself, her relationship with the warden is what allows her to escape an abusive household, and beyond that decide not to repeat the cycle of abuse with her new family. What made this ship an all time fave was in witch hunt when the Warden gets to ask her what she wants, and she's just completely confused. Even with her mother dead, Morrigan is still a tool of her mother's ambitions, it's still all about her mother wants. It's her love with the warden, either through friendship or romance that awakens Morrigan to the fact she's allowed to exist as a person with wants and needs outside of what her mother wants her to be.

#9 Kaine / Nier

It's the Most Humanizing Ship Ever Between Two Mass Murderers. As a story, I think Nier is about finding the life, and love, in a story that is ultimately, fatally doomed. Nier only worse and worse as the game goes on but that doesn't mean there was never any love in his life. For every bad thing Nier does, he was not bad to every single person, specifically Kaine, it was Nier's love and belief in her that allows the wounds in her heart to start to heal. As Nier and Nier gets worse, Kaine's own shadow self says, that her feelings in her heart are no longer hatred, or even revenge, there's just a pure white light of love left. In a game where everything only rots, Kaine has healed to the point where she can love again when she never thought it was possible. It's why I like ending D the best, because it's Nier knowing he can never escape his own sins, but he can use his last action to heal Kaine fully all the way and allow her to live on a few more years.

#10 SATOSUGU

Once again, there's no universe where they end up together, and yet still on opposite sides of a conflict they remain each other's closest friends. The most important thing about a ship is the character development it leads to and Gojo would not be who he is today without Suguru. I generally get the sense that Gojo's idea of a good person isn't himself, but rather who Geto used to be before he broke. Gojo actually relied on on Geto for a lot more than he realized, considering it was the one connection he had that seemed to humanize him. Geto provided the chosen one who can do literally anything in the world with his powers, support and guidance. He was the jade, and the foundation of their two person friendship, and then the jade broke.

Gojo and Geto's broken relationship is not only the most emotional thing in the series to me, it's also an incredible part of who they are ten years after the fact. Gojo straight up didn't bother to make friends for ten years later after the fact even though he could have, Geto still told his daughters that Gojo and him were best friends, they just had a fight. He couldn't comperehend in Volume Zero that Gojo would still regard him as a friend after everything that they had done.

It's like one of those "Can't live with them, can't live without them" pairs. They want to be each other's one and only but it just won't work because they don't understand each other, and neither of them is willing to compromise. They are also each other's perfect yin / yang complement. Gojo is the opposite of Geto, and still carries a part of Geto within him, and Geto even after becoming the enemy of the sorcery world while Gojo is the savior, still carries that friendship with Gojo inside of him as well. While their relationship is a failed one, it's also a past I hope that the next generation Megumi and Itadori both learn from, even if Geto never truly comes back.