#this guy ends up eradicating the entire world and then just. kills himself. in the bad ending

[sleep-nurse]

btw here's a clearer (old concept) drawing of who i called ''lore spoilers''

[sloowoorants]

Thoughts After Watching Hannibal

About two months ago, I saw some Hannibal fan art on Twitter. It looked pretty cool, and I just so happened to have some free time, so I thought: why not watch the show? It's just a normal crime thriller, right?

I expected the type of show that's relatively light yet still intriguing, filled with sarcastic humor, starring a typical grumpy-but-genius protagonist. (This is vaguely the type of show that I’m generally into: Inside Job, Sherlock, House, Suits, Mr. Robot….)

I was so, so wrong.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, could have prepared me for the bat-shit crazy fever dream of a show that Hannibal is: bizarrely artistic gore, incessant cannibalism puns, completely unpredictable romantic subplots, torturous sex scenes that feel like angry acid trips, a multitude of absolutely unhinged psychiatric conduct, esoteric cryptic dialogue which require five google searches and a whole thesaurus to understand, two lesbian murderers "milking" a guy for his sperm to inherent his family heirloom, long scenes of intense and unabashed eye-sex, clumps of dog fur sticking to sweaty bed sheets…and a literal fucking social worker crawling out of a horse, alive and breathing and everything, covered in whatever acrid substances come from a horse uterus.

I ended up watching all of Hannibal in a week, hastily devouring it in just a few sittings.

In no way am I a professional film analyst or critic, but after having stayed up for nights on end, every single one of them spent under my blanket binging episodes until devilish hours of dawn (and barely comprehending the plot from the sheer speed I was consuming the show at, but also from sleep deprivation), I have cultivated a skull full of thoughts on this blessed masterpiece, and I need to rant about it. Which is exactly what this post is.

I am going to separate this ranty-meta-ish thing (I think a “meta” is what it’s called? I’m not sure, I don’t use Tumblr a lot) into two parts: one, about the representation of morality in the show, and two, about the intimacy between Will and Hannibal. It’s not super well written, my grammar is a bit iffy, but I hope you still enjoy reading this, and remember to take everything I say with a grain of salt. After all, I am just some guy with unrestricted internet access, a keyboard, and a little too much passion for the media I love :)

Part One: Hannibal Lecter’s Morality

Hannibal loves art. There is no episode in the entire show where he doesn’t reference some artistic thing—He plays the piano, he plays the theremin, he frequents the opera, he draws, and he finds peace at the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence. His love for art is why he kills, he transforms people he considers to be “inferior” and “ugly” and elevates them into art. He is acting out his own sense of justice, creating meaning from the meaningless.

In a way, he must have a certain degree of respect for his victims to do what he does. He could have just killed people and disposed of their body in a dumpster, but that’s not his style. Even if he doesn’t “care” about his victims in a traditional sense, there’s this unique honesty and attentive in his murders. Hannibal cares enough about his victims to make them art. And I’m not just talking about the way he displays their bodies, I’m also talking about his cooking, because a big part of art is also cuisine.

He follows a strict code of his own ethics, it’s almost like he’s acting out his “duty” to kill, to eradicate and transform the lesser “scum” of the world. To be killed by Hannibal is almost an honor, like being killed by God personally, skin to skin. Wouldn’t you feel a sense of divinity and fulfillment if God killed you with his own hands, knowing that he respects you enough to choke you himself, then turn you into an elegant display? Every kill of Hannibal’s is filled with passion – Which poses the question, does he kill out of hatred or not? When I think of violence fueled by hate, I think of sex or race based violence. But that’s not Hannibal. He kills victims he considers to be rude, yes, but is it a humiliation? Is it degradation?

This whole "elevate-swine-into-art" thing is also shown through the way that gore is generally portrayed throughout the show, and not just Hannibal’s murderers. It’s very interesting the way gore pretty in Hannibal. It’s often meticulous. It’s meaningful.

These murders are all aesthetically pleasing. For me, it creates a cognitive dissonance: on one hand, I know that these are painful, brutal murders, one the other, they’re kind of nice to look at, which makes me think—Have I ever for a second, while watching Hannibal, considered the crime scene to be beautiful? Have I ever viewed one of those scenes as art rather than gore? As an artist myself, do I understand Hannibal’s obsession with beauty? And if so, what type of person does that make me?

And I love the way this show makes us really think in Hannibal’s shoes, because of how unconventionally it portrays him as a villain. Usually, shows will provide villains with a backstory, but that doesn’t extend beyond just creating sympathy. In Hannibal, the villain is humanized. We understand him. We empathize. And what does that make of us?

Have I ever, in all seriousness, rooted for Hannibal instead of Jack Crawford? Have I ever thought someone deserved to die in the show? Have I ever looked at what Hannibal was cooking, and thought it looked delicious, despite knowing that its human flesh? Have I ever been annoyed at innocent patients of Hannibal, like Franklyn, because I viewed them from Hannibal’s perspective?

On top of that, Hannibal’s philosophy makes sense. I find myself agreeing to a lot of the things he says.

For example, this dialogue from S2e12 "Tome-Wan", when Will finds Mason Verger and Hannibal in his house, and Hannibal asks Will if he should kill or spare Mason Verger:

HANNIBAL: Murder or mercy?

WILL: There is no mercy. We make mercy, manufacture it in parts that have overgrown our basic reptile brain.

HANNIBAL: Then there is no murder. We make murder, too, it matters only to us. You know too well that you possess all the elements to make murder. Perhaps mercy, too. But murder you understand uncomfortably well.

Does Will only have the capacity for mercy because he has the capacity for murder? Does mercy only have meaning in the context of murder? Is our own compassion a reflection of our violence?

With that said, are the things that I believe to be evil still evil when I throw away my moral believes? Is morality only meaningful in my own perception? And if so, how much am I contributing to evil if I am the one judging it? Do I create the evil that I so adamantly detest? Does deciding what is murder and isn’t not murder require the ability to, and intrinsic understanding of, murder? Can the morality of life and death be so clear cut, separated into different categories?

These are the types of questions that the show makes me ask, which is part of the reason I love the show so much.

I also love how the show puts a dark turn on empathy. Empathy is way too often portrayed as one of the best traits of all time, many claim it to be the most important aspect of mankind, but Will’s empathy is what ends up making him go on a downwards spiral: He is drawn to the darkness because he can understand it. He chose to teach at the FBI academy because he gets to feel like a killer without actually killing.

It made Will miserable, being able to understand killers. It gave him all sorts of guilt and self-hatred and confliction, which was why he was so damn miserable at the start of the show. And on top of that, no one really cared about him, Alana only had a whole “professional curiosity” thing going on (yes, I know that Alana’s character is one-dimensional because Hannibal’s female characters are poorly written, but even with that in mind, I still think that a huge part of Alana’s affection towards Will was in fact just curiosity), Jack was constantly pushing Will past his limits, so the poor dude didn’t have any connections to anyone until he met Hannibal.

And after Hannibal clocks him immediately when they first meet with the whole “your  values and decency are present yet shocked at your associations” situation, Will experiences his first kill: Shooting Garet Jacob Hobbs. Ten. Times. Then he confesses to Hannibal that he liked the feeling of killing him.

But Will can’t let go of his morality, it’s the only thing he’s been able to hold on to this entire time. It’s his lifeline. He holds onto it so dearly because he needs to convince himself that he’s a good person, that he’s not a killer, and that he’s doing the right thing. Yet, he knows that letting that morality go would be so freeing. He wants to. Hannibal helps him let go of it, and we as viewers can’t help but be on Hannibal’s side, because Will’s corruption arc is so gratifying. We like it, deep down we root for it. And what does that say about our relationship with our own morality? Does our morality tie us down? Do we crave to be free?

Will’s killing style is different from Hannibal’s, though. He’s passionate, reactive, and he doesn’t care about the process of killing, or the display body (before you say “the firefly man”, I believe he was imitating Hannibal’s style instead of curating his own), as long as the person is dead. He kills them from a sense of righteousness, like a vigilante justice. Was it wrong for him to find a sense of pleasure in killing Garett Jacob Hobbs? Does finding pleasure in killing corrupt his righteousness? Is it worse to kill out of passion, or kill meticulously? Is Hannibal’s style of killing more respectful? Is Will brutal? Just because Will kills out of a more conventional moral judgement and Hannibal doesn’t, does that make him better than Hannibal?

Another way the show convolutes the concepts of good and evil is using religious symbolism.

For example, from S1e02, “Amuse-Bouche”:

HANNIBAL: Killing must feel good to God too. He does it all the time, and are we not created in His image?

WILL: Did God feel good about killing?

HANNIBAL: He felt powerful.

(Shocking that this line was from the literal second episode. This show got intense so fast.)

And Will’s quote from S3e02, “Primavera”:

WILL: God can't save any of us because it's...inelegant. Elegance is more important than suffering. That's his design.

Is God an artist? Does that justify what He does? Are we only creating taboo out of His works to comfort ourselves? What does it mean to view the world with a purely aesthetic vision?

It’s these quotes that really allow me to see from Hannibal’s perspective: To him, there is no ultimate purpose of the world, there is no end goal to achieve, just the creation of beauty, and that’s terrifying to think about. Even as an atheist, it’s hard to digest the belief that there is no purpose to anything. We spend our entire human lives looking for meaning. But Hannibal doesn’t see it that way. Life and death are just futile processes to create art, and there’s no bigger point behind it. The cycle of life is supposed to be art. In a way, he’s like the God (sounding like Hannibal here), giving people meaning by making them into art, just like how God designates meaning onto every creature he makes.

And the show has a lot of art parallels, not just with Hannibal’s murders. Here are some that I’ve noticed:

(Parallels, in order from left to right, top to bottom: Nude From Back by Picabia compared to a shot of Bedelia from the back, The Persistence of Memory by Dali compared to Will’s clock drawing, Le Double Secret by Magritte compared to how Will saw Hannibal after visual overload from light therapy, Ophelia by Millais compared to Bedelia sinking into the bathtub, Portrait of Pablo Picasso by Juan Gris compared to Will’s hallucination of himself falling apart in a mirror, Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan by Ilya Repin compared to the cliff scene.)

I’m not the only one that has noticed these. Here is cool blog that focuses on artistic references in Hannibal, they’ve also noticed some of the ones I noticed: The Art of Hannibal.

Bryan Fuller probably didn’t do these on purpose while directing. But it still unintentionally solidified this theme artistic divinity. So I think Bryan must, to some extent, understand Hannibal’s obsession with making art out of death, because of the way art is subconsciously woven into the show. I don’t know though, just food for thought.

Anyways. Will, at the end of the show, while being cradled in Hannibal’s arms, both of them covered in blood that appears black in the moonlight, says to Hannibal: “It’s beautiful.”

And all that morality fleets and becomes insignificant in the face of aesthetics.

To Hannibal, beauty is moral. To Will, morality is beautiful. Have the lines begun to blur?

Part Two: Hannibal and Wills intimacy

“For [Hannibal and Will], two people who have been wandering their whole lives through a world in which they have not really experienced any viable form of connection with another human being—because they’re two extremely unusual people—and then they meet.”

-Hugh Dancy quote from SDCC 2013

Hannibal loves will. He drew him and Will as Patroclus and Achilles. He was ready to run away with Will in S2. He surrendered himself in S3 just because Will rejected him. And lets not forget the little twitch in his face when Francis attacks will. And when this dialogue happened (S3e12, “The Number of the Beast is 666”):

WILL: Is Hannibal in love with me?

BEDELIA : Could he daily feel a stab of hunger for you and find nourishment at the very sight of you? Yes. But do you... ache for him?

It is my belief that Will also loves Hannibal, although I understand that it’s not as agreed upon in the fandom as Hannibal’s love is. I think Will is just a little bit more reserved with affection, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love Hannibal.

But one thing is for sure—there is a lot of homoeroticism in the show:

So, whether you think the love is reciprocal or not, the show is still, to put it lightly, really gay.

Hannibal’s love for Will is dark, possessive, powerful. Will is the only one that is capable of understanding Hannibal, and Hannibal was willing to risk literally everything just for Will to connect with him. He goes to extraordinary lengths just to make Will a murderer.

But even throughout Hannibal’s ruthless manipulation, which Will eventually becomes aware of, Will still stays for Hannibal. Because deep down, Will was willing to give up his own innocence to have that connection. Because Hannibal was the only person that could really understand Will too, no one else would be able to accept his dark tendencies.

S2e02, “Sakizuke”:

WILL: I don’t know which is worse. Believing I did it, or believing that you did it and did this to me.

(I remember reading a really good post by endlessly fascinated on how Will was actually being manipulative by saying this quote. I can’t find it though. If someone finds it, please tag me!)

Will eventually grows just as obsessed with Hannibal, as Hannibal is obsessed with him. Proof: telling Jack that he wanted to run away with Hannibal, telling Hannibal that he can’t get him out of his head, and that his inner voice is starting to sound like him him, and the “where would I go?” when Hannibal tells him not to leave his side, and the “one could argue, intimately” when Chiyoh asks him how he knows Hannibal, and the “before you and after you” when Hannibal asked him where the difference between the past and the future come from…I could go on forever. Will has never felt so grounded before, not in the way when he’s with Hannibal, with him, Will can see his own reflection, and he’s never been able to see that before.

And oh, the love language between them is violence. Will tries to kill Hannibal (someone tell me how many times, I forgot), and Hannibal tries to eat Will and a plethora of other fucked up shit. But in my eyes, none of those were out of hatred. Both of them trying to murder each other is out of love, out of acceptance, and out of forgiveness.

S3e06, “Dolce”:

HANNIBAL: You dropped your forgiveness, Will.

HANNIBAL: You forgive how God forgives.

And, S3e03, “Secondo”:

BEDELIA: Betrayal and forgiveness are best seen as something akin to falling in love.

HANNIBAL: You cannot control with respect to whom you fall in love.

No one can control who they love, or who they forgive, which is why Hannibal forgives Will and stabs him in the same breath. He is forgiving, not letting go.

Will forgives Hannibal too. He forgives Hannibal way too many times, throughout all the manipulation of Hannibal. Think about just how much insanity he’s endured: drugged, gutted, encephalitis abused, hypnotized, framed for murder, a serial killer was sent after his family, had his brain literally almost eaten, and despite all that, Will still forgives Hannibal—it was not a conscious decision. We cannot control who we forgive.

If Hannibal is a fallen angel, then Will is God to him. And God is indifferent, sometimes even cruel. Like Hannibal said himself, good and evil has nothing to do with God. Will forgives Hannibal, but that doesn’t mean he still doesn’t want to hurt Hannibal; just like how Hannibal forgave Will, but still gutted him. In that moment, Will forgave indifferently, so he could get back to revenge. They both forgive like blades, they both forgive with pain.

Doesn’t God forgive through punishment? God will forgive you for your sins but you still have to go to hell, right?

Violence is a pillar of stability in their relationship, it’s how they understand each other, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, the smile on Will’s gut a permanent reminder of Hannibal’s hurt, and all of Hannibal’s scars a reminder of Will’s hurt.

I see all of their trying to kill each other is affection. Hannibal doesn’t try to eat Will because he hates Will, he tries to eat to immortalize him, to keep Will as part of him forever.

And through that violence, Hannibal helped Will let go of his morality. Will had spent forever trying to repress himself—Molly was a failed attempt to escape into normalcy. Will definitely thought about Hannibal those years Hannibal was in prison.

S3e13, “The Wrath of the Lamb”:

HANNIBAL: When life becomes maddeningly police, think about me. Think about me, Will.

Will definitely missed the hunger, the violence. We can see this though the passionate way he killed the Red Dragon. He probably held Molly’s gentle hands and desperately wanted to feel something more. To feel something dangerous. Something that could simultaneously revive and ruin him. Molly never understood him the way Hannibal did, and he will never love her the way he loves Hannibal.

He did think about Hannibal when life became maddeningly polite. He probably fantasized about what they’ve done, what they could’ve done, and the feeling of freedom when he’s with Hannibal.

And Hannibal waited for him patiently, staying exactly where he was three years ago. And when Will eventually pushed them off a cliff together, Hannibal showed no sign of resistance, and just let them fall.

“I think [Hannibal]’s feeling that embrace and that’s the first thing that he’s feeling, and even as he’s plunging into the Atlantic, he’s first and foremost thinking about the man he’s holding onto and the man who’s holding onto him.”

–Mads Mikkelsen on Hannibal’s thoughts during the final scene

Their violence is something that we as viewers may never comprehend, but we can all understand their intimacy. Isn’t it what we all want, after all, to be seen?

Anyways...

Hannibal is a great show! 10/10, would recommend. Although, the lighting kind of sucks. Bryan, if there is a season four, please make the show brighter, for the love of God.

Thanks for reading this! :)

[anonymous-dentist]

Somewhere there's a universe where q!Roier is a Federation employee and like. He's obviously still the golden child, the Feds all adore him, but rules are rules. They have to take Bobby away, and they really don't understand why Roier is so upset because he's one of them. He's happy! He's perfect! He's their silly little guy! He should've known better than to get attached.

Nothing seems to cheer him up. Not his assigned partner, who leaves to grieve in her own way. Not his adoptive family, who serve more as placebos than actual family members (everyone in the Federation knows that Agent R0-1-3-R is an orphan, it's why he turned out so well working under them for so long.) Not his friends, who seem to blame him for his egg's death.

But then there's the Federation's literal least favorite person, Cellbit, who so happens to be Roier's literal favorite person. Who manages to make Roier smile in ways that none of the S.M.I.L.E. units have been able to since he was a child.

So, naturally, when Cellbit comes up to S.M.I.L.E. Agent: Cucurucho claiming to have changed his entire world perspective and wanting to join the Federation, the Feds are Very Okay with this. Because Roier is their specialest little guy, and it just wouldn't do for him to be in love with an enemy of the state. And the Feds know that Cellbit is probably trying to trick them, but allowing him to join would make him happy, and it's bound to make Roier happy. Right?

Wrong! Because Roier literally tries to kill himself the second he finds out that Cellbit is 'missing' from the island. And he won't listen when Cucurucho tries hinting towards the fact that the love of his life is currently becoming as perfect as he is. He wants his Cellbit back, and he wants him now. Kidnapping people isn't cool!

But, like. No, you can't just leave the Federation once you've joined. And they're just doing what's best for Roier. They're giving him his friend and his soulmate, and he'll get to keep him when the experiment ends. It's a privilege no one else on the island is going to get! Why is he so fucking ungrateful?

Unfortunately for the Feds, Cellbit breaks free from their control after a few days, and Roier is there to get him. And that night they get engaged and then, once the rest of the island is asleep, Roier storms into the offices demanding that they leave Cellbit alone from now on. He's literally fucked up, okay? Leave him out of things.

Wrong move, Roier. It isn't your place to argue against your superiors no matter how special you are.

So Retired Agent: Codename "Abueloier" is sent to eradicate the problem. If Cellbit is out of the picture, then that's for the best.

...Unfortunately, a certain little bear (coughs Osito Bimbo) saves Abueloier because it can't bear (pun intended) to see Roier this sad.

Roier and Cellbit go on their date, and they get married, and not even Agent: Codename "ElQuackity" is able to break them apart with the elections. Goddamnit.

With literally no other choice, the Federation is forced to accept its newest family member. They can't brainwash him again, because, honestly, there's no point. Roier's happy and complacent again, Cellbit is much happier than he was, neither are itching to revolt or anything.

So Cellbit is brought into the family business, whether he likes it or not. It guarantees a life with Roier after the experiment, not that he knows that. And it's fine! He's even getting along with Cucurucho these days! He's doing good work, and he may not be happy about it now, but he'll get there before too long.

It's settled with:

"What if I'm a Federation employee?" [It's scared, hesitant, because they promised they wouldn't keep secrets from each other, and this is one hell of a secret. [Roier looks down at the floor, already anticipating a negative response, but... [But Cellbit shrugs, uncaring.] "It'll be fine," he says. "I'm already an employee, too, remember? We'll just be stuck together."

A happily ever after.

[thesugarhole]

you know, ive read it twice now, but im still not sure where the leap in logic in "coffee drops, burns servers, annet freaks out and exterminates most of the human race... engie drops bombs finishing it off?"

it would have made heaps more sense to direct the bombs where the skeleton of the structure is to permanently wipe her and whoever survived her fear starts life over. but no he dropped them all over the city.

of course that, if you did so you wouldnt have a story. bombing one, maybe 2 buildings is not equivalent to bombing a city after all (that i think is also an entire planet im not sure whats going on in romac geography)

the paragraphs explaining how she turned to use people as servers and adapters and whatnot and she was technically everywhere to justify it... well, it doesn't really

just like in irl the actual internet is kept in place by the same 4 guys in Antarctica or whatever, and if they stop we all stop, there had to be a central nervous system to that beast (no matter how much the author/the story wants to deny it this is fundamentally how technology works). the gdir hqs if you will. bomb just that and be done with it. traces of her living on in the survivors collective memory would turn her into an old god or something but thats it. all wireless towers and microwaves would shut off without the main, sooner or later (could be 1 month could be 890 years as the surviving stupid object AIs have shown but it WOULD end, all things do.)

maybe he wanted her to stay alive bc he stil loved her or for the fuck around find out parable (wanted her to suffer) idk

also i was gonna be unnecessarily mean about something else here but then my critical reading comprehension skills kicked in so theres some resolution: ij the past i always read engie as a bit of an hipocrite and was going down that road again because of his self pitying "i doomed the world I'm gonna kill it off" and then not placing himself directly under one of those nukes to die along with it. with guilt that heavy i can imagine an "honorable" thought to have is "im gonna kill myself to make up for it", and was surprised not once it crossed his monologue

but the thing is, right. humans want to survive. even the most suicidal ones. disclaimer speaking from experience but something that actually kickstarted my recovery out of the suicide hell hole was reading something like "suicidal people dont hate being alive, they hate the situation theyve found themselves in and ending it all together looks like the only viable solution". no matter how horrid he feels i can see engie having just about enough ego to realize this and deciding quick suicide isnt an option, slow suicide by rotting inside a bunker all alone is. if any of this makes sense i guess

edit: "a city thats also an entire planet not sure whats going on in romac geography" watch my previous confusion being hand waved again as oh its not earth its a hollowed out earth like and her core is deep within and only the nuclear/electric bombs all over could eradicate most of the core and most of people-terminals

raaaaauuuugh i want to pull my fucking hair out

[bonnie17]

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER, episode 4

[evilphrog]

Fullmetal Alchemist: A summary by someone who has never seen the series, but who fell asleep to my husband retelling the plotline based on his recollection from having seen it once over a decade ago

Apparently this is going to continue being A Thing for me. Summary below the cut.

In this world, there is a type of magic called Alchemy.  You draw a diagram on the ground, and then throw ingredients into the center, and that casts the spell.  It is rare for someone to be born with the ability to perform alchemy, and anyone who can do it is supposed to report to the Alchemist Academy for training, so they can fight in the war. 

These two brothers were born in a tiny village, and both of them could use alchemy.  This was unheard of, since the gift is apparently not genetic, and so some folks came to kill the boys.  Their mom died trying to save them, but they survived.  They were horribly heartbroken over the loss of their mother, so the younger brother (about eight years old) suggested they bring her back with alchemy.  The older, wiser brother (about ten years old) said that was impossible, because her body was too badly damaged.  So the younger brother suggested they just make a new body, since they know the spell for that, and put their mom’s soul in the new body.  Older Brother agreed, but something went wrong, and Younger Brother’s soul ended up getting separated from his body.  Older Brother panicked, but was able to think quickly and bind Younger Brother’s soul to a nearby suit of armor.  Because he was now entirely comprised of metal, he was the Full Metal Alchemist.  Older Brother lost an arm in the explosion, and crafted a prosthetic out of metal.  He is a Partial Metal Alchemist. 

Anyways, the brothers go on a quest to join Magic School so they can join the war and get revenge on the people that killed their mom.  They have to fight many bad guys, and make many friends with the people they meet.  Everyone thinks Younger Brother is a giant adult wearing a suit of armor, and that Older Brother is making a funny inside joke by calling him the younger brother.  This is a constant source of hilarious miscommunication.  The brothers are very protective of each other.

One time, they get separated, and Older Brother goes into a rage-fueled frenzy until he rescues him, just like Aang when he loses Appa.  They’re reunited, and everyone is happy! 

Over the course of their journey, they realize the war is unjust, and the kingdom is super duper corrupt. The magic school is mostly set up to indoctrinate the alchemists so that they will maintain the status quo and enforce the oppression of the masses. So they start a different quest, to eradicate the forces of evil in the world. 

(Here is where I may have fallen asleep, so the rest may just be the dream fueled by my husband’s voice)

They get to a point where they can kill the evil ruler, but the brothers disagree on whether or not to go through with it.  Either they end up having to fight each other, or they hesitate long enough for the evil ruler to get the upper hand, but somehow Younger Brother ends up being killed.  Older Brother is heartbroken, and goes right into rage mode again.  He attacks the evil ruler’s army, and is able to wipe them all out, but in the process destroys every other alchemist in the world.  He has saved the kingdom from corruption, and from the evil alchemists that were glorified henchmen for the evil ruler.  But he’s too depressed to go on, and kills himself.  There are no more alchemists in the world now, and there are never any more again, for some reason, because I guess it was genetic after all (????????). The world becomes a Regular World Just Like Ours. 

[aangarchy]

Reasons people have listed for hating Aangs character and me debunking them

1. He ran away from his responsibility as the Avatar and got encaved in ice resulting in the airnomad genocide. A bullshit reason. Aang was a 12yr old monk who only just mastered airbending, found out he was the Avatar sooner than he was supposed to (they’re not supposed to know until they’re 16) and then found out they were planning on seperating him from his mentor. He was an upset child that ran off and because of stupid coincidence he got into a storm, resulting into his Avatar spirit kicking in and protecting him. It’s not his fault that it lasted for 100 years and it’s not his fault that a dictator decided to eradicate an entire race.

2. He crumpled up the note for Bato containing the map to Hakoda’s camp. Katara and Sokka promised to Aang that they would stick by him. They were his new family. They said so themselves. By telling Aang this they not only agreed to accompany him to the North Pole, they agreed to help him save the world. Of course they would want to see their dad, but their responsibility is to Aang first now. Aang was excluded the entire evening at Bato’s. He tried to include himself in the conversation several times and got dismissed. He has a right to be upset by that. Then he hears that the people who promised to accompany him and who promised they were his new family might leave him to go see their father. Once again, Aang has the right to be upset. Crumpling up the note and hiding it was a shitty move, but Sokka and Katara’s reaction was shittier. Instead of letting him explain they yell at him and tell him to go to the North Pole by himself and with that, save the world by himself. They went back on their promise. This situation was a miscommunication on everyone’s part. Solely blaming Aang is not only wrong, it’s bullshit.

3. He pushed his beliefs onto everyone. Show me a scene where Aang forces Katara and Sokka to eat vegetarian. Show me a scene where Aang forces everyone to meditate. Show me a scene where Aang gets upset when people eat meat in front of him. You can’t. Why? Because this statement is simply not true. The only scene you could possibly pull up is Aang begging Katara not to choose revenge. He tries to help by telling her he knows what she’s going through. He tries to help by giving a metaphor that the monks taught him, because it helped him. All of this comes from a place of love, not a place of wanting to force everyone into airnomad beliefs like Zuko suggests. Aang never tells Katara explicitly “I forbid you from going on this journey and executing your revenge.” He even acknowledges that this is a journey she has to make. He just asks, because he knows how toxic revenge is. He tries to relate to Katara by going “how do you think I felt when the sandbenders took Appa.” This is a valid point to make bc he nearly killed all of the sandbenders in a blind rage fueled by revenge. Katara stopped him then, now it’s his turn to stop Katara.

Another point I’d like to make with this one: everyone else was pushing their beliefs onto Aang when they were trying to force him to kill the firelord. They never asked kindly like Aang did, they said “you have to.” Why? Because they believe there is no other way. Aang believes otherwise because once again, revenge is a toxic notion.

4. He didn’t kill the firelord. Are you seriously wondering why a 12yr old pacifist monk in a kid’s show didn’t murder a man on screen? Really? I’ll refer to number three to tell you exactly why this is bad: it’s other people forcing their ideas and beliefs onto Aang. I’ll also refer to a few other Aang posts I’ve made where I talked about how this outcome, where Ozai isn’t dead, is better than a scenario where he is. His supporters would have used him as a martyr to demonize the Avatar. The same thing happened in the Chin village with Avatar Kyoshi. She killed their dictator leader, and 300 years after that they still hated the Avatar (not just her, all Avatars) and even charged Aang with murder. Killing Ozai would have backfired immensily. The cycle of violence wouldn’t have ended, it would have continued. With Aang showing him mercy and taking his firebending away he broke the cycle and a new era of peace could begin.

5. He’s immature. This is a short one: he’s a CHILD. He’s not supposed to be mature. Think back to how you were when you were twelve. Think back on how twelve yr old boys behaved when you were at school. Aang might have the responsibility of the world laying on his shoulders but he’s still twelve, you should at least expect him to act his age, even if he sometimes has wisdom beyond his years.

6. He lied in the great divide. Lmao pls don’t act all high and mighty here. Everyone has told a little white lie to save themselves once in a while. Yes Aang lied to those clans about that age old ceremony, but it ended up solving a 100yr old fued. Sometimes lying to make people feel better is good. I’m a very honest person but I have told lies to make people happy or to save my own skin. It happens.

7. He’s a bad father. This was started by LoK, when two of Aang’s kids, Bumi and Kya, suggested that they were neglected by him because Aang took his other son, Tenzin (the only airbender) on trips without the other two. At that point Aang and Tenzin are the only two airbenders known to exist. Aang wants to keep his culture alive, it’s why he started the Air Acolytes, therefore he must have been thrilled to finally have another airbender to share his knowledge with. I don’t think we can fully blame Aang for spending more time with Tenzin while trying to teach him about airnomad culture. It’s Aang’s job as the Avatar to keep the balance and without airnomads the balance is disrupted.

Then we have the fact that kids memories are often blown out of proportion, or not reliable bc they don’t have all the facts. For example, I remember several times in my childhood where I was left out by my older friend when she found someone her age to play with. Those are the memories I have of her. But through looking at pictures and hearing stories from my parents, I realized there had been several times where I wasn’t left out by her and that we got along great. I don’t remember those, I only remember when I was left out. There might have been plenty of trips that Bumi and Kya did attend, but they only remember the ones where they felt left out bc they didn’t come. Kya and Bumi are also older, there might have been years before Tenzin was even there where they had Aang all to themselves. But they don’t remember that. And even if Kya and Bumi were to come on these trips, they’d probably be complaining that they were boring bc Aang would only be talking about his culture and teaching them about it. Then the complaint would be “dad would drag us along on these boring trips just to teach tenzin airnomad stuff”.

Let’s all also remember that Aang is in fact the Avatar, as in, one of the most important people in the world. He must be a busy man. And while yes, your children should be your number one priority, the Avatar is an exception to this rule because his responsibility is to the world first. Not to his wife, not to his kids. Aang has struggled with this before (choosing to save Katara over mastering the Avatar state) and probably struggled with this later in life too.

This is a long way to say that you can’t judge someone’s parenting over one scene in LoK where Bumi and Kya aired their frustrations about Aang to Tenzin in a moment of stress. Later on Kya even showed them a happy family picture, and they didn’t seem to think Aang was that bad anymore. People definitely jumped the gun to claim Aang was a bad father after hearing one (1) complaint about his style of parenting.

If you guys find more weird reasons people have given to hate Aang’s character, definitely send me them!

[constellaj]

16

Please talk more about your reboot!

16: If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

okay so how i would re-do CANON is completely different from how i would talk abt a reboot so im gonna touch on a couple things in both contexts! the reason for the difference is canon rewrites imply i can go back in time and introduce dp fresh and new, before anyone knows what it is; but for a reboot, id be working with an audience that has a better understanding of the source material, so i dont need to spend as much time explaining, but i also need to keep everything recognizable

Valerie

REWRITE: i would def make it more danny's fault that her dad lost his job, like danny was intentionally being reckless and shattered some security stuff, and he has a whole mini lesson about learning to not just run in guns blazing. i would probably remove the dating stuff with her and danny (and tuckers crush) too, I think them wanting to be good friends is good enough for freshman year

REBOOT: the fandom already knows valerie exists, so i would actually skip the whole shades-of-gray introductory episode and have her be present as the huntress from day 1-- probably even before danny got his powers. cujo is also HER dog, and her backstory-- we'd find out in like, season 1, that a natural ghost portal (maybe one wulf opened) ripped open on her dog and killed him, and since then shes had a vendetta against ghosts cause of how reckless they are and their disregard for life-- of course, cujo isnt actually dead. cujo is a halfa. a puby halfa. anyway instead of a hoverboard she actually rides cujo around cause he can fly and its big and epic. valerie has BEEN amity parks ghost-eradicating superhero for at least a year (tho shes been in the shadows abt it) and her hatred towards danny actually just becomes really petty, like them flying next to each other chasing skulker just going "I got this. no I got this. no I got this" and they just get in each others' way and its a mutual grudge.

BOTH: i am NOT keeping in vlad giving her the suit to watch danny under any circumstances. it was only utilized half assedly in canon (when vlad couldve just had an invisible duplicate watching him instead) anyway, and I dont have any reason to keep it in a reboot either. instead i want her tech to be a combination of half-stolen and half-gerryrigged stuff and she slowly slowly learns how to build her own.

I also dont want anyone knowing her secret identity, except maybe her dad, and sam or tucker. i think it works better if danny isnt privy to this magic info

Freakshow

REWRITE: i would honestly just remove him. the episodes hes in arent particularly interesting, theyre just generic "we need a plot about x" filler and he's not compelling enough a character (at least in writing) to carry a better plot that another antagonist couldnt. i'm serious

REBOOT: unfortunately in a reboot he's gonna have to pop up somewhere or else ppl will be like "where IS HE" so I'm going to stick with running some kind of ghost circus, maybe a few occult things, but cut out a lot of the spooky magical knowledge and mcguffin stuff. maybe i could make him like, someone from vlad/jack/maddies college who always felt pushed around by them and so he has a vendetta? and theyd be the only reason he even learned abt ghosts in the first place. idk in either way I want to force him into being irredeemable but also include LYDIA (the tattoo girl ghost) way more-- I want to give her an arc that ends in her tossing freakshow aside and running off to be a ghost vigilante.

BOTH: dear god the infinity gauntlet is stupid that needs to GO AWAY. especially for the reboot cause it would exist in a post-mcu world and way too many people would complain about it

Vlad

REWRITE: amp him up to a far more sinister and villainous character. the crushing on maddie isnt enough, I want to show him on-screen performing experiments on ghosts and himself, dismissing everyone else cause he thinks hes smarter than them. i want him to be actively sabotaging the fentons at every turn. i would also clarify that he doesnt actually want danny as a son, but as a trophy-- a line where danny says something along the lines of "you don't want a son. you want a slave". i want to make him a character who wants to destroy the entire planet and put it in the ghost zone so he can be the true ghost king and i want to make this all evident from day one. if i'm writing a series villain you can bet i'm going to write a GOOD one. less petty drama here and more actual stakes.

REBOOT: it seems silly but sense with reboot we have the benefit of hindsight and recognizing that vlad wasn't a big series villain, theres no way i'd actually go back and write him to be such. for starters, of course, theres the fact that anything he does would really be an exaggerated part of the original, and it would bore an audience to see the same story again-- theres also the fact that it doesnt seem right to take a character who was treated as a joke half the time and suddenly make them big and important. no, instead for my reboot i want to lean into the petty gay uncle vibe. he had a crush on jack and now just casually insults him. he moves mansions every now and again by just haunting the family who lives in the one he wants, and taking over-- i mean, who is gonna believe that an actual ghost haunted you. he dislikes danny not because he has some concept of 'evil' and 'good' but bc danny is just too damn active. of course he actually does care about danny and his safety deep down, it's just on the surface they have very conflicting motivations-- not to mention that danny has been raised on legends from his parents of the villainous Wisconsin Ghost, who has to be stopped at all costs.

BOTH: i want jack and maddie to KNOW he's a half ghost and to actively be hunting him down for it, maybe bc they think hes possessed, or been a ghost tricking them this whole time, or the victim of a tragic lab accident who needs to be put to rest, etc. whatever the case it will give vlad actual tangible reason to despise them and genuinely suspect they dont have dannys best interests at heart. i think it would be neat if vlad was cynical and every time danny hit him with the "I'll expose us both. at least theyll still love ME" vlad could be like in the back of his head "oh god theyre going to kill this child"

Dani

REWRITE: cut her out. we don't need her character at all. maybe replace her with a more ominous shadow duplicate / clone that actually looks like danny himself and doesnt really have a name? you could probably combine her and dark dans characters for their arcs

REBOOT: instead of a clone from vlad, she's a guys in white creation using some of dannys dna after he was captured (and vlad broke him out bc he was like "ugh i guess i have to save this child")

BOTH: vlad actually cares abt her (duh), shes nonbinary (double duh), she gets the funny dissolve into goo powers

i had more i thought i was gonna write but this post is already very long and also im running out of coherency for this LUL

[ladyanaconda]

Helluva Dad Vol. 1: Murder Family

"Dad, dad, dad! Wake up, dad!"

Striker grunted as he covered his head with his pillow, but it was no use as the intruder hopped on his bed. "Kiddo, unless there's a wild animal or a homeless drunk inside the house, go away and let me sleep."

"Daaad, you promised that you'd take me along to the living world this time!"

Striker took a peek at the clock on his bedside table. "Not at 5:36 AM, boy. Couldn't you wait until I'm actually awake?"

"What am I supposed to do 'till then?"

"I don't know, use your imagination."

"But dad-" Out of patience, Striker bared his teeth at his son, tail rattling. Jake raised his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, I'm leaving."

Once the door closed shut, Striker went back to sleep… For about thirty seconds, that is, until the door slammed open and Jake jumped into his bed again, screaming in fright and knocking the air out of his father.

"What the fuck, Jake?!" Striker all but shrieked.

"There's a spider in the living room!"

"... What?"

"Spider!"

"And why didn't you squash it?!"

"It's a big spider!"

Striker's eye twitched. With an irritated grunt, he got off the bed, rolled up a porno magazine on his bedside drawer, and stomped his way towards the living room, Jake trailing closely behind.

"I can't believe it, A son of mine is afraid of a tiny, insignificant…" Striker trailed off and stopped in the doorway. A hog-sized hellantula was tearing the couch apart with big, sharp mandibles. "Boy, go get the rifle."

Once the issue with the spider was taken care of, Striker found himself unable to go back to sleep after the fiasco, so he went to the kitchen and poured himself a big cup of black coffee before making breakfast. Thankfully, Blitzo wasn't inside his fridge this time around, though he made a mental note to go get some more groceries.

As he served the fried eggs and wild hog bacon, Jake walked into the kitchen. He was covered in sweat like he had spent an hour lifting five-ton weights. "Dad, wouldn't it have been easier if we cut up the spider's carcass and take it out piece by piece?" he whined.

"And make a bigger mess I'll have to clean up? No, thank you." Striker placed one of the plates in front of his son. Jake frowned.

"Puaj. Tomato."

"Stop complaining and eat, boy. It's good for you."

They are in silence for the first few minutes. Striker would subtly glance in Jake's direction every now and then, smirking internally at the boy's expressions while he begrudgingly ate his vegetables.

"So, ready for today?" he asked casually.

Jake's expression brightened. "How's the living world like? Is it cool? Does it look anything like hell?"

"You could say so. The only difference is that there are humans living there instead of demons."

"Humans? What are those?"

"Well, you've seen the clients at I.M.P, right? They used to be humans during their lifetime. When they died, they came to Hell and became Sinner demons because they did bad things in life. However, some of them have..." Striker toyed with his bacon as he thought of a proper word. "...pending business with someone in the living world. Our job is to finish that business in the client's stead.

"So… The people who go to I.M.P. are dead humans who want to fuck up someone who fucked them up in the living world?"

Striker snapped his fingers. "Bingo. You're getting the hang of it, kid."

"Hey, dad, think I could use the-?"

"No."

"Hey, you didn't let me finish!"

"Sorry, kiddo. I thought you were going to ask if you could use the blessing-tipped rifle." Striker replied, his eyes reflecting off the knife he was using to butter his toast.

Jake laughed nervously. "Speaking of which-"

"No."

"Come on, dad! When will you let me use those?"

"When you're ready, not a second sooner."

"And when will I be ready?"

Striker dropped his fork to place a hand on Jake's shoulder. "We'll both know. Until then, finish your breakfast."

*HB*

"Moxxie, stop shaking. You're gonna shoot our only hellhound!"

"Wow, I feel so loved here."

Striker watched, uninterested, as Moxxie pointed the crossbow with shaking arms at a photo depicting a human family. "If this were real, he'd already been dead."

"You're not helping, Striker," Millie growled before focusing back on Moxxie. "Just take a deep breath, and let it out."

"But it's a family. Under what circumstances would we ever need to kill a human family?"

"Who knows? Maybe if that's what the client wants." Striker said matter-of-factly as he polished his pistol.

Moxxie wasn't convinced. "Maybe like a shitty dad, or a mob family. That's understandable. But to eradicate an entire innocent-seemingly in this instance-upper middle-class family bloodline?"

Loona frowned. "Hey!" You don't know they're innocent! This kid probably sets dogs on fire, maybe this girl gets off bullying Australian kids online, and this guy…"

"That guy definitely watches," Jake added grimly.

"Couldn't have said it better, little guy." Loona shared a fist bump with the impling.

"Exactly! Humans are full of secret nasties. It's why so many of them end up here."

"But-"

Striker had enough. "Allow me, Mildred." he stomped his way to Moxxie and picked him up by the throat. "Look, wimp, guilty and innocent aren't our business. We're assassins, not charity workers. Killing a target," he swiftly aimed his pistol at the photo and fired a clean shot at the woman's face, leaving a hole in its wake. His point made clear, Striker locked gazes with Moxxie, hissing. "Now pick a bloody target before I throw you out the window."

Moxxie fell to the ground with a loud thud. Millie handed him the crossbow again; he aimed the tip of the arrow at the father's face, trying to imagine it was Striker.

"I just think it's a bit excessive and we could be a bit more selective, is all."

Blitzo slammed the door open at that precise moment, startling Moxxie into firing the arrow. It bounced all around the room, hitting the computer, making a second hole on the photograph, and striking the bottom of the eel tank. Moxie jumped into Millie's arms while Striker quickly picked Jake up from the eel tank when he noticed it wobbling.

"Daad, I nearly had it!"

Blitzo caught the arrow just before it struck the client's skull. "...our newest client!"

The eel tank fell and shattered, spilling its contents all over the floor. The eels burst into electricity, setting the entirety of the room on fire.

Striker frowned at Jake, who was stunned into silence. "To think that could have been you."

"Damn it, Moxxie! I just bought those eels!"

They were forced to evacuate the building as the firefighters arrived and did their job. Striker was sure that this little incident didn't leave a good impression on the client, but surprisingly she didn't cancel. Guess she really wanted that person 86'd.

"Way to go, jughead," Jake told Moxxie sarcastically as they watched the firefighters carry the eels into their truck.

"Shut up, you little brat," Moxxie murmured.

Millie frowned at him. "Mox, don't talk to Jake like that!"

"He started it!" Striker rolled his eyes. Moxxie is 'supposed to be the adult who shouldn't stomp down to a child's level.

Wait a minute. "Did anyone save the fancy book?"

"You mean our only ticket to the other side?" Luna slipped out the blue, fancy-looking tome from her clothing without bothering to look up from her hellphone. "Yeah, got it."

"And that's why you're my favorite, Loonie!"

"I thought my dad was your favorite." Jake pointed out.

"Who says I can't have two favorite people? Your dad's my favorite employee and Loonie here's my favorite adopted daughter. You get a tweat now!"

Millie drew the chalk pentagram on the nearby wall. The lines glowed an eerie red color as the circle expanded and the area inside transformed into a forest. The portal was open.

"Cool! Can I draw it the next time?"

"Maybe. Let's get this over with."

Striker would never admit it out loud, but he found these trips to the living world… relaxing. The air smelled cleaner, like trees and nature instead of sulfur, ash, and lava-like Wrath. Its landscapes were more varied, prettier, and calm, at least compared to Hell's ecosystems. This place was particularly breathtaking; a wide lake surrounded by forest and mountains with the sun setting, giving the sky reddish colors that reminded Striker of Bombproof's mane.

Jake seemed to be having similar thoughts. The impling was looking all over the place, eyes wide. "Whoah…"

"Hey, hey, hold your horses!" Striker picked his son up by the shirt before he could dart into the woods. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I wanna look around, dad! This place is so neat!"

"It's your first time on the surface, right? Don't worry, Jakey!" Blitzo pulled Jake into a hug. "Just stick close to uncle Blitz and everything will be fine!"

"Sides, you and I got a very important job! We're going to keep an eye on... Well, the house, just in case something goes wrong!"

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Millie, I might be a kid but I'm not stupid."

"Oh, I know you aren't, Jakey." Millie chirped, ruffling the boy's hair.

Blitzo, Striker, and Moxxie silently moved closer to the house and leaned against the wall. The former two peeked through the window. It seemed like a normal-looking household with a mom, dad, and two kids. The target was coming out of the kitchen, platter in both hands.

"That's gotta be her." Blitzo chuckled darkly. "Ready to do your cowboy thing, Striker?"

As he was about to point his rifle, Striker glanced sideways to Moxxie. The cowboy sneered. "Actually, Blitz, this one's far too easy. We should let Moxxie have her."

Moxxie blinked. "Me?" he asked hopefully.

"Well, I don't see another Moxxie around here, do you?"

"He's right, Mox. This one's simple enough for you to handle."

Moxxie's face fell after peering into the house. "It's just a happy mother who just got out of the hospital."

"You snooze, you lose, Mox."

Striker readied his rifle, taking a few steps back to aim. He set his eyes on the blonde human female, licking his lips in anticipation. "I've got you, bitch."

"Wait, are we actually killing a family?" Moxxie asked.

"No, don't be a puss. We're just killing a mother." Striker positioned the rifle as it clicked.

"Yeah, we're ruining a family," Blitzo added cheerily.

"B-But… hold on, hold on. Let's just think about it."

He was pulling the trigger when the rifle was suddenly pushed upwards. The movement made the bullet miss its target by a few inches, hitting a mirror instead.

"Why, you-!" Striker grabbed Moxxie's throat, hissing and rattling his tail.

"What the fuck was that, Moxxie?!" Blitzo snapped. Moxxie seemed to go into a panic attack of sorts, prompting Striker to release him.

"I'm sorry!" he cried, tears in his eyes. "They just seemed so wholesome and happy, I panicked!"

Striker rubbed his temple, murmuring under his breath while Blitzo facepalmed. "Get the fuck over it, you baby dick-!"

PAM!

Striker roared in pain as a bullet blasted through the wall, hitting him in the arm. He gripped the wound as blood scurried out of the wound. Fuck, and on his aiming arm!

"New hole! Scatter!"

"Dad!"

Jake's voice brought Striker out of his daze. The last thing he saw before something struck his head was Millie picking his son up and fleeing the scene. Everything went black afterward.

…

As consciousness returned, Striker felt as if he had been trampled over by a stampede. His head hurt like hell and his wounded arm was no better. He tried to move but found himself unable to. Something was binding his hands behind his torso.

"Striker! Wake up, partner!"

"Wha…? Moxxie?" As his eyes got adjusted to the darkness, Striker realized he was tied up in a bizarre chair, hands tightly bound behind his back. Moxxie was in a similar dilemma on the chair to his right. "What the fuck?!"

"Thank satan you're awake! We're in deep shit!"

"You think?" Striker hissed. "Moxxie, I swear, if those bloody humans don't kill you, I will!"

"Hey, you can't blame me for us getting caught!"

"Oh, really? None of this would be happening if I had hit the target and been done with it! God damn it, Moxxie, I had a clean shot and you made me miss!"

"H-How can you kill a mother and leave orphaned children when you have a kid yourself?!"

"Because that's what we were paid for, for Satan's sake!"

They could have continued to argue if it weren't for the two presences in the room. As they looked around, they saw the two kids from before. He might have confused the little shits with implings if they had horns and red skin; their glowing red eyes and devious sharp grins would make the sadistic smirks of the Princes of Hell look like nervous smiles.

Moxxie chuckled nervously. "Well hello there, little ones. Aren't you cute?"

The children spoke simultaneously in a low, almost inhuman voice. "It's nice to have new critters to play with."

If he didn't know any better, Striker might have thought they were in the Cannibal Colony back in Hell. The entire room was adorned with human heads, limbs, and even organs. The 'food' on the table consisted of a roasted fully-grown man with livers and kidneys as side dishes.

"Moxxie, when we're out of this ordeal, I'm going to fucking pummel you." Striker hissed.

They struggled against the ropes, but the kids had made a surprisingly good job with those knots. They were good enough to impress even Striker himself, and he was an ace when it came to tying up knots. Sadly, there was little he could do with an injured arm and Moxxie's wimpy little arms were hopeless. Striker growled. If only he could reach his knife…

A light outside the window caught his eye. Then a second appeared, then a third, fourth, as if someone was lighting up torches. Striker paled.

"Jake!"

"Millie!"

Both imps shared a concerned glance. The girl pulled out a serrated knife on Moxxie; to Striker's surprise, the wimp pushed the chair backward and fell on top of her. He took advantage of the distraction, using his tail to pull his knife out of his boot and expertly slice through the ropes. Once free, Striker sent the boy flying against the wall with a kick. Moxxie, too, had managed to free himself with the girl's own knife.

Striker tipped his hat with his good arm. "Not bad, wimp."

"Can you move?"

"I'm not limp, it's just a scratch." Striker wrapped his red bandanna around the wound and pulled out his pistol. "Now let's blow a hole through that bitch's skull."

*HB*

Jake had never been so frightened in his entire life. Well, maybe that time when he nearly got eaten by a serpent, but it was different. At least his father had been there to save him. But this time it was him who got hurt and there was nothing Jake could do to help. He tried to save Millie when she got K.O.'d, but he stood no chance against a fully-grown human and was knocked out as well. When he regained consciousness, he found himself tied to a stake in-between Millie and Blitzo.

"Striker had that fucking shot. Goddammit, Moxxie."

The crazy woman was cackling evilly as she held up a torch. "Satan! We return your filthy creatures back to the pits of Hell! May the root of evil remain honored as we continue thy work!"

The torch landed a few feet away from the logs, setting them aflame. The fire rose up around them as Martha laughed maniacally… until she realized they weren't screeching in agony. Blitzo snorted.

"Yeah, that's not exactly how it works, lady. Sorry, your fire doesn't actually hurt us, but I mean I could fake it if that'll get your dick hard."

Jake blinked. "She's a dude?"

"Grown-up stuff, kiddo. You should ask your daddy about it."

"Well, I'll just shoot you in your smart ass mouth!" Jake gulped as Martha pulled out a rifle on them.

"That would be more effective."

"Blitzo!"

Jake closed his eyes shut, whimpering as he heard the familiar click on the rifle. There were two gunshots, but he heard no screams from Blitzo, Millie, or his own throat, and no searing pain. Jake opened an eye warily. There were two smoking holes in the sockets where Martha's eyes once were. Her body collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

A few steps back were none other than Moxxie and dad, both holding their pistols.

"Moxxie! Striker!"

"Dad!"

"You're not getting your god damn paycheck for this one, Moxxie!"

As Moxxie untied the ropes, Jake jumped right into his father's embrace, wrapping his arms around his neck. Meanwhile, Moxxie and Millie hugged and nuzzled each other affectionately.

"I'm sorry, sir. I compromised our objective and put us in harm's way. It won't happen again. I promise."

"Apology accepted." Blitzo pulled Moxxie into a hug, but Striker noticed he was whispering something threatening (apparently), judging by Moxxie's expression.

He waited until Blitzo let go to punch Moxxie with such force that he fell to the ground.

"What the fuck, Striker?!"

"I keep my promises, Mox."

*HB*

Striker wasn't very fond of parties. Frankly, he just wanted to go home, fall to his bed, and sleep, but Jake begged him to stay a little longer to eat cake. After what the boy just went through, he didn't have the heart to say no, so he conceded. Besides, the look on Moxxie's face was fun to look at. He had no idea what put the wimp in such a mood, but he had the feeling it had to do with what remained of the target's bloodline.

"You sure you can ride back home with that arm? I wouldn't like to lose my best shooting asset!" Blitzo protested as he climbed onto Bombproof's saddle, Jake seated in front of him.

"Big deal, it's just a scratch. Nothin' to worry about, Blitz." Striker grabbed the reins with his good arm, the injured one resting on a sling.

Bombproof moved at a slow pace, so it'd take them longer than usual to get home. Millie had once suggested that he and Jake move to Imp City; there was a vacant apartment in the building she and Moxxie lived in and she'd be thrilled at the idea of being neighbors (Moxxie, of course, didn't share the sentiment). Striker regretfully declined the offer (to Moxxie's relief). He was a country person at heart and would rather stay in Wrath. Besides, he wanted his son to experience the ups and downs of rural life.

A loud yawn made him look down. "Tired?"

"No, just resting my eyes," Jake said simply, but the exhaustion in his voice said otherwise. Striker chuckled.

"How about you 'rest yer eyes' for a while, then? I'll wake you up when we get home."

"Really, dad, I'm not tired…" Jake trailed off as he leaned back against his father, resting his chest against his chest.

Striker smiled a bit as he ruffled the boy's hair. "Surely not, kiddo. Surely not."

[empty-dream]

Yuuji is actually my most favorite JJK character and also one of my fav shonen protagonists. (Long babbling. Huge manga spoiler)

I think one of the charming points in JJK is that there is nothing actually new regarding plot points or characterizations, but they are slightly tweaked and played in an interesting way here and there. I could name a lot, but for starters, let’s begin with Yuuji himself.

Yuuji is basically your everyday shonen protagonist: Not straight-up pretty, kind-hearted, super friendly, has a specific girl type, rather dumb but genius at the physical stuff, usually rowdy, kinda underdog, and whose history is deliberately never talked about until faaaar later. But something about him and the nature of the series makes him rather different compared to other series’ main characters. First off, his goal. The stereotypical goals of popular shonen protagonists are usually to be the best at what they do, to eradicate whatever evil they face, or both. Sometimes the ambition may have underlying motifs such as wanting to be acknowledged or not being lonely, sometimes it does not. Yuuji, however, does not have that kind of wish.

His grandpa tells him to help people so he won't die alone before passing away. Borrowed ideal or not, for Yuuji that's already a solid goal. The goal itself is soon questioned as early as chapter 3 by Principal Yaga, and from there on the quest of helping people gets even more complicated. And since Yuuji's got noose on his neck, the goal becomes his stool to stay sane and move forward.

He admits that he is prone to be lonely. It's not some grand ambition. Yes, he’s the only one who can do it - become both Sukuna’s host and Jujutsu sorcerer - , and yes, if he doesn’t do it people will die. But at the core he moves because of the plain fear, of being alone and of guilt when he's all that's left. And this is established even before he swallows Sukuna's finger and gets pulled in jujutsu world, when he is still just a normal person. Those feelings, in fact, are why he ends up doing it and kickstarting the entire story.

So in a way you can speculate that while he obviously does think helping people is right and good, it's not that he finds helping people in itself as his #1 goal. Rather, it is a means to achieve his true goal: Not being alone in his death. His end goal is the way of which he will die, or in short, his death. I don't think the majority of people that age, or any age in fact, would answer that as their goal. The contrast of his sunny-dumb disposition and his rather sad wish really catches my eyes.

And the entire thing also becomes really interesting when Yuuji, who values people over everything, has to face Mahito, who disregards people as things. Then at the end of their fight in Shibuya, it is where Yuuji turning truly chilling. (It’s my favorite scene and panels btw, that’s stone cold. After Junpei, Nanami, Nobara and the countless humans that Mahito has cruelly transfigured and toyed with, there is no more reason or doubt needed. Yuuji accepts that what he’s doing is probably meaningless now. But whatever, killing Mahito is already as given as eating when hungry. Second factor is the relationship between the host and the demonic thing inside. In many typical shonen stories, the relationship tends to be bearable or even amicable in the end. Yuuji and Sukuna's, however, is played horrifically realistic. As mentioned, Yuuji is your generic naive guy. And Sukuna, the demon inside him, is an ancient, all-powerful, manipulative, ruthless demonic king. It’s made clear that Sukuna does not give a shit about Yuuji and will seize any and every opportunity to gain control and bring forth catastrophes. I knew that compared to more standard monster-inside-you in shonen manga, their case is bad. But holy shit it is THAT bad. Every time Sukuna fights, he enjoys causing destructions. Especially in Shibuya arc, where the fights are played painfully realistic with all the normal bystanders getting killed here and there and the whole district razed. I was like "God what will happen if Yuuji wakes up and sees this? He's not gonna be able to live with himself after this."

Which is exactly what happens. And get this, Sukuna specifically wants Yuuji to see the ruins, knowing full well his host would fall into despair. Earlier, Yuuji said he’d feel guilty for people whom Sukuna killed if he hadn’t been there to save them instead. Look at what happens. I cried when Yuuji just curled up all alone and wished for himself and himself only to die. This, when all he wants is to not die alone.

Third is the ‘memories that do not exist.’ Very sexy of Akutami to display Todo having made-up memories of him and Yuuji being brothers as a gag, then make it happen again with Choso but this time revealing it as a real issue: That those are literally made-up memories, implanted by something related to Yuuji, if not it being his own power. Yuuji, a not very brainy but very physically-inclined fighter, a cheerful guy who wishes to die surrounded by beloved ones, has something to do with inserting himself on people's memories. This is like if Naruto has the power of Bleach's Tsukishima. There is something very intriguing, and imo a bit disturbing, about that mixture. Fourth, by the way, why does Sukuna look like Yuuji, extra appendages notwithstanding? Is it simply because that's his host's face, or does his own face actually look like that by default? If it's the latter, doesn't that mean there is something deeper about their relation? Why is Yuuji of all people able to host Sukuna? And remember when Yuuji's grandpa wants to talk about Yuuji's parents before he dies? Who and where are his parents, anyway? How did they give birth to a guy who is so physically gifted he can actually run like a car without magic? And in the first place why does Yuuji's grandpa die alone? Who really are the Itadoris? Akutami-sensei opEN UP I HAVE QUESTIONS. Tl;Dr So yeah, it's not that Yuuji's so inherently different from other shonen protagonists, or he stands out like a sore thumb. It's just that the few existing differences do make him somewhat off compared to everyone else. And the more I think about it, the more I have questions about Yuuji, because as of this writing (Shibuya arc aftermath, Okkotsu appointed as Yuuji’s executioner), not much is known about him. But in contrast to the looming mysteries and the gloomy wish, the guy himself is naturally a cheerful, goofy and a very good person. The juxtaposition is just ... *chef kiss while crying*

[buffyversefanfiction]

Slayer of Slayers

Warnings:I do not own, nor do I claim to own any of the copyright or characters within the Buffyverse which includes but not limited to the television shows Buffy and Angel, as well as the Darkhorse comics series’ continuation.

15+ Strong to moderate violence, Graphic to mild descriptions of gore, and torture, sexually charged scenes, sexual innuendos, mild to strong language, and practices of witchcraft.

M/M, F/F, M/F, GEN, OTHER +

PART NINE LINK HERE

Part Ten: Prophecy's Boy

Theo Frey’s affiliation with the first slayer was a strange one, his entire life mission was to become a slayer to eradicate all slayers, especially his birth mother Buffy Summers, and yet during a prehistoric time when everything and everyone was stripped away from him he had reluctantly formed some form of friendship with the primeval Sineya, bonding through their chaotic creation and so he joined her on some of her adventures in slaying until he was brought back to the present time, back to his current grievances, and surrounded by those ready for him to take his revenge. Theo never realized how deeply Sineya impacted her life until he saw her spirit on vampire island, her serving as a reminder to him of a simpler time where he lived his life without vengeance and how that led him to do good alongside the first slayer until he returned to evil crutches of vampire Drusilla and as the vampire/slayer hybrid stood right next to the unopened Hellmouth in the caves of vampire island, being surrounded by an undead army, he couldn’t help but think of the time he spent with Sineya. “They only call you a king because they do not truly know what you really are neither do you yet,” Sineya said to him through her telepathic ways, her words piercing his mind as she appeared as a spirit only, he could see, standing next to him. “Slayer of slayers is just another name, Theo, nothing but a name but none are what you really are…this is now what you truly are.” Theo looked around at his undead army to see if anyone else could see the first slayer knowing deep down that she was only appearing to him, appealing to a good side of him he thought he could bury forever, as she urged him to not bring about the end of the world, to change his ways, and accept his true destiny. “They need to pay they need to all pay!” Theo shouted, grabbing the attention of his fellow vampires who instantly cheered him on, believing that his words were words of war before he would proceed to open the Hellmouth. “They have paid the price already, as have you, and even her…there’s nothing left to pay except your destiny, and this is not it!” The primeval one replied to him telepathically with her cryptic words being said in his mind. “Your blood and your blood alone will open the mouth of hell, but you are so much more than your blood, a prophecy has been calling you long before your birth it is up to you if you want to continue ignoring it for a mission of vengeance or if you want to become what you were truly created to be.” Suddenly, Sineya’s spirit disappeared once again as Buffy, Faith, Angel, Spike, Illyria, Xander, Ruby, and Giles ran into the caves to meet Theo and his army, all equipped with weapons and ready to go to war if needed to stop Theo from opening the Hellmouth, as the slayer of slayer realized that one way or another, he was not making it out of Vampire Island alive…

Theo and his dedicated team of vampires fought against Buffy, Faith, Angel, Spike, Illyria, Xander, Ruby, and Giles viciously as Theo himself went head to head with the blue-haired goddess Illyria, the one who killed his undead lover Tobias, throwing a series of punches and kicks at the old one, making little to no impact, before Illyria proceeded to fight back against the slayer of slayers gaining the upper hand with ease as she showed her superior strength while beating Theo into submission as he fell to the ground, ready to be killed by the same woman who had killed the love of his life, but Angel quickly left his ongoing fight to rush over to his son’s side, eager to save him from being killed by Illyria. “He is my son Illyria, please do not kill my son.” Angel pleaded with his friend, who reluctantly began to walk away from both Angel and Theo before taking to fight in the ongoing war surrounding them. “I may have your DNA or whatever but you’re not my father, you never raised me as my dad did, you weren’t there like he was, and you will never take his place.” Theo snapped at his undead father as he slowly got back to his feet, bruised, and bloodied from injuries he had sustained in his fight against the blue-haired goddess. “You look pretty beaten up; she really did a number on you huh?” Angel replied, choosing to ignore his son’s cruel words. “I know you a slaypire or whatever now but somehow you managed to keep your soul, I’ve never heard of a vampire doing that before I mean I have a soul, but I’m cursed…literally. Yet again you are also the first male slayer, which is another mystery.” “We’ve come too far to stop now my army will not stop until my blood opens that Hellmouth over there…unless there is no blood to be spilled,” Theo responded, as he began to realize that he still had the chance to do the right thing, something which was only validated when the spirit of the primeval slayer appeared to him once again, this time standing next to Angel, who was oblivious of her presence. This time Sineya did not have to communicate telepathically with the slayer of slayers because the look on her face told Theo everything he had to know, her look told him that he had forced a destiny on himself that was never truly meant to be and now all he was left to do was decide whether he let that same destiny lead to him destroying the world or if he was able to do the right thing for the first time, as he suddenly began to finally feel his own humanity beginning to creep back in, as he felt all the pain and suffering he caused to his many victims, through his many evil deeds, as he concluded there was the only way to make up any kind of penance for the monster he had become. “You are right,” Theo admitted to the spirit of Sineya, confusing an unknowing Angel in the process. “There’s only one way my blood cannot be spilled and that is if there is none.” Theo quickly grabbed the wooden stake he spotted in Angel’s jacket pocket and plunged it into his own chest knowing that turning to dust was the only solution out of the hell he would otherwise cause onto this world, leaving his biological father Angel in a state of pure shock and horror as he screamed out “No” with the strength of all his voice, catching Buffy’s attention who turned away from her fight just in time to watch alongside Angel as the son they shared together turned to dust before their very eyes. Suddenly, a red smoke, like the one that had turned Theo into a slayer, formed above Theo’s ashes before it began to spread itself throughout the cave growing bigger as it did so, proceeding to attack, ingest, violate, and turn Theo’s undead army into bursts of flames before they eventually turned to dust leaving Buffy, Angel, and their friends stunned by their bittersweet victory, one that came at a great cost.

The End…NOT

“Hello?” Theo called out as he walked into a darkly lit rundown bar, before noticing a sign saying Willy’s Place, as he proceeded to walk over to the bar counter noticing the place was completely empty, the vibe completely dead, as he began to wonder if this was hell, heaven, or something in-between, when suddenly he felt a warm feeling rush through him, that which felt like love in its purest form and as he turned out he was shocked to find a woman stood behind him, with the softest smile he had ever seen. “You may not know me but I’m your grandmother, from your mother’s side.” Joyce greeted her stepson, the two have never met before. “I know this all must be very confusing for you but I’m here to help while I can.” “Not to be rude or anything but are you not supposed to be like dead or something?” Theo replied as he struggled to get his head around whatever the hell was going on. “Well yes, but then again so are you.” Joyce laughed off innocently. “You know you look a lot like your father, but you have your mother’s heart, no matter how much you try to hide it and that smile of yours is truly beautiful I just wish there were more opportunities for you to show the world that smile.” “They are not my parents; my parents died a long time ago and I am sorry, but you are not my grandmother either.” Theo snapped at his biological grandmother, although his snap was nowhere near as bitter as it once was. “Is this hell?” “No honey it is not hell nor is it heaven, consider this your second chance,” Joyce informed him cryptically. “You walked a path you were never meant to walk and the powers that be are just trying to get you back onto the right path, instead of fighting for another destiny why not try embracing the one that’s already yours?” Theo had no idea what Joyce Summers meant by her words but before he could ask her, he found himself magically being transported from Willy’s Place in the now non-existent Sunnydale to the rundown Hyperion Hotel in Los Angeles, where he walked into the lobby to find a beautiful dark blonde-haired woman stood behind the reception desk with a bright smile on her face that told him she was expecting him. “So, you are my guy’s second son I get vampires normally do not have to worry about you know condoms and stuff, but you’d think after the first son tried to kill, he’d wrap it up from there on out but then again if he’s not worried about losing his soul then he’s probably now worrying about impregnating people.” Cordelia Chase said, greeting Theo as he walked over to her. “You’re all kinds of messed up perhaps more so than Connor and he was raised in a freaking hell dimension by some unhinged hunter who very rudely blew up my friend’s club with us in it nonetheless but hey at least you’re not as bad as Angelus now that is the part of your father that you do not want to take after!” “So, which ghost from Buffy or Angel’s past are you then? Are you Angel’s mother?” Theo asked Cordelia, much to her own disgust, which was clear on her face, making Theo realize she must have been a former lover. “Oh, so you’re not Darla which I doubt because Connor’s her son…leaving you being none other than pretty little rich girl turned high being broke bitch miss Cordelia Chase. I must admit of all the stories I heard about the infamous scooby gang, yours were always the most amusing!” “Well, I guess you got your daddy’s brains, and his looks tell me which part of you is Buffy?” Cordelia wondered. “None I hope!” Theo quickly responded, making Cordelia cackle. “Good one sniveling little cry Buffy is more than enough for my liking.” Cordelia joked with the son of the man she once loved, before going on to hand Theo a room key. “A little friendly warning this guy is no friend of your mum or dads so be wary also his face is all kinds of yuck but hey we’re supposed to give you the full unbiased experience but seriously his face is not going to be easy on your pretty little eyes.”

“So, you are the son of the slayer and Angelus…I have been expecting you, my boy.” The Master announced as Theo walked into the hotel room to find the legendary vampire stood waiting to introduce himself. “From your actions, you are more of Angelus’ child than Angel’s which pleases me immensely to know the girl who slew me now has a beast within her own bloodline. However, I hope there is some of the slayer's DNA in you too after all she was the only one to ever beat me.” “You must be The Master, Dru mentioned you once or twice there sure is a lot of hype about you in your heyday you know before Buffy beat you like some newbie vamp,” Theo replied, mocking the master of vampires. “Tobias bought into all that hype but me not so much…so why the hell are you the latest stop on my supernatural soul train?” “You have this arrogance about you that most definitely reminds me of your mother but unlike her you have been beaten time and time again, therefore, making this arrogance of yours truly unearned.” The Master responded, taking a swipe at the son of the slayer in the process. “Mummy spanked you so hard you turned to dust, I think it’s about time you lose the attitude when in the presence of someone who earned their legacy in this world and the next!” “Now don’t start talking about spanking unless your intent is to turn me on.” Theo recklessly flirted with the infamous vampire. “You have what I call a pillow face, but I can work with it if you want to get freaky…” “Right!” Anya Jenkins shouted before storming into the hotel room, The Master quickly vanishing out of sight the moment Anya entered the room. “I’m taking into this appointment because that is just seriously unsettling, and I’d rather not metaphorically spew all over Buffy’s boy as I try to knock some sense into you.” “Oh, great another bloody ghost from their past!” Theo complained as he turned to face the former vengeance demon, quickly becoming tired of whatever the hell was going on around him. “I’m Anya formerly known as Anyanka formerly known as a vengeance demon, one of the best vengeance demons actually then I almost married your mother’s friend Xander until you know he ditched me at the altar and long before he knocked up the little brat we used to babysit,” Anya answered him, clearly unamused with Xander’s choice of partner to co-parent with. “Now I’m just Anya an ally to the powers that be, who’d have thought it…certainly not me anyway.” “Here’s the thing, I’m growing really tired of this bullshit, and after sacrificing myself for I guess the greater good I could really just do with a nap or something. I am so not in the mood for whatever is going on here nor do I give a damn that your man dumped you for someone younger it happens love get over it!” Theo quickly dismissed the former vengeance. “Sorry that your dead but I’m dead too so how about you go haunt the living? I suggest that knucklehead builder who broke your heart especially considering he has a thing for building prisons now and needs a good little scare for that alone.” “Listen here you little snot-nosed slayer, vamp, brat! I am over a thousand years old, and I will not be spoken to that by someone who is technically an error on human history.” Anya snapped back at the slayer of slayers. “Go get yourself a drink or something! Let someone else deal with you, I’m asking for a pay raise…come to think of it, does money still smell as good as it used to?” As Theo became more and more convinced that he was in hell, Anya took the look on his disapproving face to say he wasn’t going to answer her question, and instead of sticking around to force it out of him, she proceeded to leave the hotel room eager to get back to her own afterlife knowing that the next person to visit Theo would definitely be able to put up with his attitude better than she could, or rather was willing to.

Theo didn’t hang around for long before he decided to search for this infamous hotel bar that Anya had suggested to him, wondering if there was even a bar within this rundown, seemingly abandoned place, but after going up and down several floors he finally found the bar the former vengeance demon was referring to as he opened the door, walked through, and suddenly found himself transported to the dive bar he shared with Tobias, only Tobias was not behind the bar, a mousy blonde-haired woman was, a bewitching beauty. “It’s funny the places you wind up when you are not even going in that direction or at least so you thought. It’s hard to accept new paths that are laid out for you but sooner or later you just got to, or you spend forever unhappy and forever’s a very long time.” Tara Maclay informed Theo as he walked over to the bar counter, trying to work out who this bartender was and why they were in some dream-world version of his home. “I much prefer this bar to the last one I’ll give you that,” Theo admitted as he sat down on a barstool and waited for Tara to pour him a glass of whisky on the rocks, to which he quickly downed in one gulp upon being served it. “Which ghost of Buffy and Angel’s past are you?” “I was once Tara, now I’m something else entirely, I am no longer her, and yet her memories remain. It’s funny how they don’t tell you about that when you become a higher being nor do they tell you that despite how much you want to you can never truly reclaim your past, you can never truly get back to where you really want to be.” Tara revealed to the slayer of slayers, as Theo remembered a conversation, he had with Willow about a woman she had love and lost, and how her name was Tara. “I know she feels the same way,” Theo reassured her in a rare act of kindness, as he reached out to hold her hand to comfort the clearly saddened spirit. “See that’s the kindness, that’s signs of your soul, one that was too powerful to be destroyed by demons or anything else that has been thrown at you.” Tara genuinely replied as Theo took his hand back, uncomfortable by showing what he considered to be a weakness but was actually just plain old sympathy. “You have been fighting on the wrong side for all the wrong reasons Theo and I know you know that now even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself you want redemption, more than that you need it.” “Even if you were right, I’m dead now all done and dusted far too late to even try redeeming myself for all the terrible things I have done,” Theo replied, not wanting to admit to the former witch turned higher being that she was right, that he did want redemption, that he wanted to amend for the things he has done, that he had finally seen the error of his ways, and his hatred was placed in all the wrong places. “Oh, sweetie you’re not dead you’re just on a time out, which is sort of over now,” Tara replied before Tristan found himself being transported one last time, only this time he had been transported back to vampire island, to the very spot he had staked himself, standing in his own leftover ashes as he looked around the abandoned caves more confused than ever before as he tried to work out what he had just experienced, why he was back on that island, and what would happen next. “I told you there was another destiny for you, my friend,” Sineya revealed telepathically as her words once again pierced their way into Theo’s mind after her spirit appeared in front of the former slayer of slayers. “And now it has begun…you are no longer the slayer of slayers or the vampire with a soul intact, now you are at one with the very demon itself, this is your destiny!”

The End…of Volume One

Volume one - Slayer of Slayers Master List Link Here

VOLUME 2 COMING SOON...

[im-bakugous-bitch]

Izuku Midoriya - Attack on Titan AU

Your heart pounded as you looked at the towering figure in front of you.

Your 3DMG gear had run out of gas long ago, resulting you to have to make your way through the Titan-infested city on foot all alone.  You'd lost your friends soon after the invasion began.  You had tried to take shelter in a destroyed building when you heard the footsteps approaching you.  You hid under rubble and ash and tried your best to conceal yourself, but it was no use.  The roof you had hidden under was shortly lifted from above you.

Above you stood a Titan, to no surprise.  It was so much larger than the rest, though.  It stared down at you as you crawled backward in fear, not making any move to take you but also not moving to let you go.

You fearfully looked up at the Titan, into its eyes.  Its green eyes.  You couldn't help but pause for just a second as you stared into its eyes and it stared back into yours.  You also took notice of the matching green hair that framed its face, and a strange calm ran through you for a second.  It looked so much like Izuku...  If you were going to be eaten, at least his likeness would be the last thing you saw.

Then the panic set back in.

You didn't want to be eaten at all.  You pushed yourself up off the ground and turned to search for an escape route.  It was no use, though.  It had you cornered and you were on the third floor of this building.  If you jumped, the fall would kill you if the Titan didn't.

You had to take that risk, though.  You'd rather die as a splatter on the ground than by being bitten in half by a monster.  Your focus returned to the Titan before you; it was still studying you.

You had to make a run for it.  You had to escape before it finished sizing you up.

Without wasting another second, you ran.  You bolted to the nearest broken window and jumped over the shards of glass that remained on the windowsill.  You watched the ground as it got closer and closer, until it was all black.

You closed your eyes.  It had happened.  You hit the ground, and it launched you into the void of nothingness that you supposed came after death.  You felt warm, and it seemed like the world around you was shaking.

Wait, this doesn't make any sense.  You were dead...but you could still feel.  You could still move.  

Light suddenly flooded your vision, and you rubbed your eyes as you noticed the fleshy hand you sat on.  Your heart raced as you turned and traced your arms up the arm, to see the Titan was holding you in the palm of its hand.  It had cupped you between its hands when you tried to jump.

Tears streamed down your face as you stood up in its hand.  It didn't make any move to hurt you or throw you into its mouth.  It just continued staring at you.

You choked back a sob as you opened your mouth to scream, "What do you want?!"  You tried the buttons on your 3DMG gear one last time, though you knew it was useless.  This monster literally had you in the palm of its hand.

You reached for your last blade.  If it wasn't going to let you jump, you only had one other option to not become Titan-chow.  You raised the blade above your chest as you locked eyes with the Titan once again.

You couldn't help but think of Izuku.  Your fearless, determined, beloved Izuku.  The only person you had trusted since your parents died in the attack on Shiganshina.  The only person you had truly connected with.  The one you loved with all your heart.  You just wished you got to say goodbye to him.

You threw your arms down to shove the blade into your chest, but they were abruptly stopped.  Two large fingers held the end of your blade, keeping you from stabbing yourself.  Its strength overpowered you as it ripped the blade from your hands and dropped it beside you.

Its hand began moving towards its face, and you knew it was time.  It was going to devour you.  Why, why wouldn't it just let you go out on your own terms?  

You couldn't hold it in anymore.  Bile rose up in your throat as you approached its face; you threw up all over its hand.  It didn't bring you to its mouth, though.  Its open hand rested beside its enormous shoulder, and it looked at you from the corner of its gigantic green eyes.  

That was when you realized its eyes were different.  They didn't look empty like all the other Titans.  No, this one had feelings.  This one had emotions.  It understood you.

Was it possible it wanted to save you?

You slowly walked forward on its open hand, down its fingers and onto its shoulder.  Once you were on its shoulder it shook your vomit off its hand then grabbed a strand of its hair and held it out to you.

You grabbed the strand of hair.  As crazy as it seemed, this Abnormal was probably your only chance of survival.  You felt the hair between your fingers, and the all-too-familiar texture sent memories running through your mind.

Long days after training, Izuku's head on your lap as you ran your fingers through his soft hair.  Sleepless nights after nightmares, his face pressed into the crook of your neck and the scent of his hair right below your nose.  

That's Izuku's hair.

Your eyes widened, and you held onto the strand tighter as he began moving.  You wrapped your arms and legs around it tightly to make sure you didn't slip off.

How was this even possible?  Could Izuku possibly be a Titan?  How?  Why?  Why did he keep this from you?  Had he been lying to you the entire time?

More memories filled your brain.  Stolen kisses between training sessions, racing to see who could cross the barracks first simply because there was nothing else to do.  The passion in his voice when he spoke of his dream - your shared dream - to eradicate the Titans.  

It couldn't all be fake.  He couldn't just fake that.  He couldn't do that to you.  He wouldn't.  You had to believe that until you got your answers.

Your eyes squeezed shut as Izuku punched another Titan.  You had spent this entire battle slaughtering these monsters, but watching it while you rode hidden in the hair of one of them filled you with a new sense of fear you never thought possible.  You squeezed his hair tighter and stuck your face between the strands to block your vision.

The sweet scent of his silky hair calmed you ever-so-slightly.  You began to feel ridiculous for thinking Izuku would lie to you - he was fighting Titans.  Even as one himself.  This was your Izuku.

Your eyes opened when you felt wind in his hair, and you realized you guys were flying.  Your heart raced.  You were going to get crushed by his Titan body.

His hand reached up quickly and grabbed you in a gentle fist, holding you up so that you didn't hit the ground immediately.  When his head smashed on the ground and his grip loosened, you slammed down on his gigantic chest.

You picked yourself up and ran up Izuku's body so you were standing right beneath his chin.  "Izuku!"  You reached your hands up and pushed at his chin, trying to get him to respond.  He couldn't die.  Not like this.  "Izuku!"

When no response came, you climbed off of his body and stood beside his head.  You grabbed his hair and climbed it like a rope so you were right beside his ear.

"Don't leave me!" you cried into his ear.  You grabbed the pointed cartilage and held it tight so you wouldn't swing away on his hair.  "Izuku, I need you!"  Tears began streaming down your face, but for a new reason.  You weren't fearing for your life, but his.  He couldn't leave you like this.

You heard a scream in the distance.  People were getting hurt, people were dying.  Izuku had made it his mission to make it all stop.  He couldn't quit just yet.

"Get up, Midoriya!" you yelled into his ear as you furiously wiped your eyes.  You wouldn't let him quit.  You weren't done with him yet.  No, he couldn't go until you'd killed all the Titans together.  

"Do it for me!  I believe in you!"

Your tears dripped down your face, and you furiously blinked them away.  You began pulling at his ear with both of your hands, legs wrapped around the hair to keep you in place.  You pulled it, you punched it, you even bit down on it - anything to get him to wake up.

You took a deep breath.  "GET UP!" you cried with everything you had.

You heard a loud stomping sound and turned to see another Titan approaching you.  It was already so close, hand outstretched and only about ten feet from you.  You tried to hide behind Izuku's hair but it was no use, its fingers wrapped around you and gripped you tightly as it raised you to its mouth.

A loud cry escaped your lips, and you couldn't help yourself.  You wet yourself.  It just happened.

It held you over its open jaw, and you closed your eyes.  This was it.  This was the end for both you and Izuku.  You'd failed.  You were overrun with shame, you felt you deserved this.  You'd been useless.

Its grip on you released, and you felt yourself falling.  Your heart raced as you mentally said goodbye to the world, and when you landed on something solid you were so sure it was the Titan's tongue - but then you realized it wasn't slimy.  Or dark.

You opened your eyes to see Izuku holding you in the palm of his hand again as his other hand gripped the head of the smaller Titan.  He squeezed it and squeezed it, you saw the muscles in his wrist clenching as a crack was finally heard and Titan brain flew between the cracks in his fingers.  A little bit landed right beside you, and you almost threw up again.

Izuku's head turned to look at you.  You gave him a nod to tell him you were alright, and he gave one in return before placing you on the ground.  You wondered what he was doing as he began to step away from you.  He couldn't be leaving you there, right?

Your eyes widened when he punched a hole into the ground.  A crater formed where his fist met the earth, and he turned back to you.  He motioned for you to approach as he ripped the roof off of a nearby house.

You slowly walked over, eyeing him cautiously.  When he placed his hand beside you you didn't hesitate to climb onto it, and he placed you into the crater.  He placed the fully-intact barn-style roof over you so you were covered, then began to surround it with rubble.

He was making you a hiding place.

Once the roof had been completely hidden and you were submerged in darkness, you sat down with your knees pulled to your chest.  You took a series of deep breaths as you took in everything that just happened.  Izuku...was a Titan.  Your love...was a beast.

You didn't know how long you were stuck beneath the rubble for.  It felt like it could have been days, but it was probably only a matter of hours.  Your heart raced again when you saw a beam of light poking in from the rubble moving, and you jumped to stand up.  You had nowhere to go this time.  You hoped it was Izuku coming to rescue you again and take you to safety, but you knew that was probably too good to be true.

Once more of the rubble had been cleared out, you saw Captain Hizashi Yamada looking in at you.  "y/n y/l/n?" he asked, eyes peering into the darkness.

You stepped forward into the light and nodded.  "Y-Yes.  Where's Izuku?"

He held his hand out to you.  "Don't worry about that right now.  Come with me, we're gonna get you somewhere safe."  

You didn't have the strength to fight against you as he held you in his arms.  "Is Izuku okay?" you asked as you stared up at him.

He didn't look down at you as he replied, "He's fine."

You nodded, relaxing ever-so-slightly into Yamada as he carried you.  You hadn't realized how mentally and physically exhausted you were until you laid in his arms.  Your eyes slowly fluttered shut as you whispered, "He saved me."

[divine-motion]

i’m having more of my tmnt au/2012 rewrite-ish thing so i’m gonna post this doodle of Karai and Leonardo bc it also summarizes one problem i have with 2012 and then the rest of my thoughts will be under keep reading

if you can’t read my handwriting/the quality of the phone picture is too bad: Karai: You ever think about how we’re in this mess just because our dads were fighting over a girl? Leonardo: ...... Y. Yeah. All the time.

yeah so obviously i don’t really like the reason for The central conflict of the series and shredder’s motivation to begin with, especially when they put in a much better reason in his backstory but still focused on “gorl didn’t like me back :(”

like really this guy devotes his life to revenge, kidnaps his niece, tries to murder several children, allies himself with colonizing aliens, and literally dooms the earth to destruction all because... he’s an incel. like i do like how crazy devoted he is to his revenge bc i love that stuff but with this it’s just kind of funny when it’s not supposed to be. so! i would change his motivation to what it should have been and is actually in the show, namely: the whole thing about the Hamato Clan taking him in as a baby after they launched a devastating assault on a Foot Clan village, where they found him.

they do add in a little bit of it but. it should’ve been his main motivation, not just an extra thing! it could’ve even made him something of a sympathetic villain! like how i would’ve done it, he finds out about his origins as being part of the Foot Clan and the fate of his home village, and is enraged that he’s been lied to his whole life. he questions the honor of the Hamato Clan since they clearly attacked civilians - this was a village, and there were clearly kids there, he wonders if he really was the only child there and how many were not given the same mercy he did - and his family were apparently killed in the attack. so he confronts his brother yoshi about it (not sure if i’d have yoshi know about it or not but his reaction remains the same). saki expresses his desire to have revenge, tear the Hamato Clan down since he doesn’t believe that it deserves to continue to exist, but that doesn’t mean yoshi has to die too, and asks yoshi to join him. of course, since saki wants to kill yoshi’s dad as revenge, yoshi refuses, the two fight, tang shen jumps between, house burns down, big ol’ domino brick effect.

i think he still has feelings for tang shen and while he’s jealous he leaves it be and remains best friends with tang shen, and her death at his hand drives him further off the edge. he takes in miwa/karai partially as a way to make it up to tang shen, though he knows it’s not enough. oh and also as a dramatic irony/more revenge against the Hamato Clan since that’s exactly what they did to him.

while he is entirely dedicated to eradicating the Hamato Clan he gets more and more obsessed with revenge as the story goes on. like i’m thinking of having leo and karai suggest a truce between the Foot and the turtles with the Kraang threat afoot and shredder actually ends up accepting bc he agrees they can’t let the Kraang win. maybe more bc he genuinely cares abt karai in his own way and wants there to be a world for her to grow up in (even though at this point she’s been trained as an assassin for her entire childhood but. well. he’s still a villain yanno. “this is how my adoptive parents treated me when i was growing up, i don’t see what the problem is.” “your parents who you hate?” “yeah. what of it.”). but then, later on, he would become entirely obsessed with revenge and not care about anything else that happens, probably after killing splinter and finding it brought him no peace or satisfaction

seriously what’s up with 2012 allying with the Kraang. how do you see that working out for you sir. sure he was expecting a betrayal but. still.

of course he takes opportunity of the truce to steal mutagen and Kraang tech while they can and makes sure to make use of the fact that the turtles can’t interfere in his business to make more weapon deals and gain more territory.

... hmm... i could... have tang shen live... potentially surviving the wound... and she and yoshi both believe that miwa perished in the fire, and they either get divorced or they both move to usa together and then yoshi gets mutated and tang shen is left alone, not knowing that her husband turned into a giant rat... i mean that’s just a potential thing. it sounds a little bit melodramatic and contrived but i think tang shen should get to survive sometimes and making splinter Epic Divorce Man would be funny. i dunno just a thought!

while we’re on the topic of Foot Clan stuff i might as well talk a little about other Foot Clan goons

bebop and rocksteady join way earlier. i care them ok. not sure if they’d still be anton zeck and steranko... idw and bay movies are peak bopsteady ok, and i like them being friends from the start! also for design changes i just don’t agree with bebop being skinny. he’s fat :)

Xever doesn’t get mutated, i like his human design more and there are, what, three major black characters in 2012 and they’re all villains and all get mutated? let xever be human!! he’d also be a bit more of a major and respected villain, a very Neutral Evil type, and makes a point to show he’s out for himself and for his own survival. if possible he’ll try to talk his way out of situations when he can and speaks in support of the truce i mentioned earlier because he’d prefer it if the earth was still inhabitable. karai proclaims that he is her favorite among her dad’s cringe henchmen but the only thing they bond over is their mutual disdain of bradford. he just thinks karai is kind of a brat, if a very skilled and dangerous brat.

while bradford/rahzar is a fairly formidable threat, there would be more emphasis on how pathetic he is. he’s chuck norris so he deserves it. also he’s like a 50 year old guy who acts so entirely devoted to shredder who’s. what. 39 years old? 40? he deserves to be dragged more

i’m thinking mr baxter stockman wouldn’t be mutated either, i like his human design a lot too. he would also be much less of a loser in this rewrite since bradford would take that role. instead, he’s just... an absurdly normal genius scientist/engineering guy who happens to be part of a really evil crime organization full of evil ninjas. he’s polite and eccentric, happy to have someone who finally funds his many inventions and experiments, even if that someone happens to be someone literally called The Shredder. however, while he is a nice man, he is rather impatient when people rush him with inventions. whenever shredder tries his usual “if you fail there will be consequences” it just doesn’t work bc baxter points out that failure is part of the process and that shredder absolutely needs him to make the inventions shredder wants.

karai is weirded out by baxter the most bc he just seems so normal

later on when karai goes double-agent to try and take the Foot Clan down from the inside: i trust baxter the least leo: it’s the sweater isn’t it karai: it’s just so pink, i can’t stop looking at it whenever we’re having an Evil Ninja Crime Organization meeting! do you know the tonal dissonance of seeing him next to The Shredder? and listening to shredder speak in grunts and growls while baxter just keeps a chipper tone?? i don’t think i’ve ever used the word chipper to describe someone before but with him, it’s the only word i can think of!!! leo: he is disarmingly pleasant. karai: right!!! he looks more like someone’s wacky dad!! the other day he literally told me a dad joke. i felt like i was light-headed

i don’t think i’d change tiger claw very much, if at all. maybe make him a little less invincible at times, and a little more regretful of the outcome with alopex.

i have more thoughts but this is. already several walls of text so i’ll end this nonsense post here

[hiro-gari]

Because I've been missed my boi Badd, can I ask for a headcanon/oneshot (whichever do you wanted) about him after Badd was awoken in hospital and decided to pursue Garou? Like, you could write his inner thoughts or his new curiosity about Garou. You could make it shippy or not, it's your choice. I just love Batarou, be it them being romantic or platonic. Thank you so much, I hope you have a good week! 😘💕💖

I’m sorry this took me nearly a week to respond to!! I missed this boi too 💞😭Here’s a little oneshot of Badd’s internal reflections after fighting Garou, a monster like none he’s faced before, during his hospitalization post Super Fight Arc.

It turned out a little more angsty than I wanted it to but I hope you like it still

Gray Areas

“We're so quick to go to make things black and white, and to put things in their box. But everything is this mixture - and that's what this world is - is this blend of different things.” -Matisyahu

Warnings: Injuries, cursing

The sky was a dark, condescending gray. The cool wind brought a welcome rush of fresh air to the man who leaned up against the stairway railing, taking in the sight of the city from the roof.

Though hardly recognizable with his tousled hair and battered body, it was S-Class hero, Metal Bat.

To his relief, he had finally convinced his younger sister, Zenko to go home and get some sleep for school the next day. Though she initially vowed to stay by his side until he was released, she had finally conceded. After ensuring she was well on her way, Badd seized his chance to escape the sterile blandness of his hospital room and tenderly made his way to the roof.

-

None of the other heroes in the hospital had dared to confront him about his fight; not since he had lashed out at one of the injured martial artists from the Stadium that had questioned him.

“You call yourself an S-class hero? Then how is it that you’re here and the hero hunter is reportedly unscathed?”

Badd had sent a cart of empty dishes flying into the wall, causing a crash that hushed the other patients in the cafeteria.

“What kind of guy goes bashing in heads in front of his kid sister?! You expect a hero to kill someone in front of a little girl? You don’t know shit!”

The murmurs began amongst the onlookers as one of the nurses tried to calm him down and escort him back to his room. Some of them reacted in disbelief. Many echoed the speculations of that martial artist; the notorious Hero Hunter just walked away when confronted by child? No, Metal Bat must have been outmatched, or worse, he’d lost his resolve when faced with a human enemy.

Not a human enemy, Badd brooded to himself, he’s a hero hunter, a stinking monster like all the rest.

-

Despite several days passing since the ordeal, he could hear his name being spoken in hushed tones behind closed curtains, almost inevitably followed by “hero hunter”. Hardly any of them would even make eye contact when he saw them.

If Zenko hadn’t shown up before the finishing blow, I would have ended that monster right there, he reminded himself again.

But there had been a moment, just a fraction of a second after he’d frozen mid-swing at the sound of Zenko’s voice, when Garou had stared up at him. The sight of his face in that instant still lingered in Badd’s mind, gnawing at him no matter how hard he tried to forget it.

-

To make matters worse, the press had just announced to the world that the executive’s son he had been guarding had been taken hostage by the Monster Association. Of course, Zenko had been with him when the news broke.

“They’re holding that boy captive to lure in heroes? Why doesn’t he just stand up to them?” She said indignantly, as thought it was the obvious solution.

Badd sighed, remembering how the pampered little brat and his father had shrieked and cowered at the mere sight of a monster.

“Not all kids got guts like you, Zenko. And even if he managed to confront 'em, they’re monsters. They don’t care if it’s a kid, as long as they’re gettin’ what they want.”

“They don’t care if it’s a kid…” She grew strangely silent after that, seeming deep in thought as the news anchor prattled on about the Hero Association’s failures.

Shit, I can’t be talking doom and gloom around her. She might be fearless, but this ain’t somethin’ she should be worrying over. The news channel replayed the clip of Elder Centipede swirling through the air, reducing entire streets to rubble in seconds. I gotta get back out there. For her sake, for everyone’s sake-

Zenko turned to him, interrupting his thoughts.

“Big bro, that guy you were fighting in the street,” she started, with an inquisitive look, “was he really a mon-”

“H-hey look!” Badd exclaimed with false excitement, pointing to the TV. “They brought Amai Mask on!”

“Sweet Mask!!”

-

Badd was snapped out of his reflective trance by a sharp sting.

“Goddamn it,” he grumbled under his breath. He’d been picking idly at a bandage that had started to peel off his arm, tearing at the forming scab underneath.

She’s so damn perceptive for her age. Yes, Garou ended the fight once she stood between us, but there’s no way in hell it was for her safety. Monsters like him don’t think like that, unless...

Unless he’s a damn fake.

Badd was no stranger to fighting villains and monsters. He’d already eradicated hundreds in his few years since joining the Hero Association. He had grown familiar with the crazed ramblings of beasts lacking any sanity, and the delirious grins of the sick maniacs who attacked people for the joy of it. It was part of what made smacking a bat in their face so satisfying.

Why can’t I get the look of that bastard’s face out of my head? If I’d killed him in that instant, wouldn’t it have been for the best? After what he did to the Tanktop brothers, even poor Mumen Rider!

Badd groaned exasperatedly as he felt the first misty droplets of rain hit his face. He slid down to sit on the top step of the staircase, unwilling to resign back to his room. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand and stared into the dimness of the hall.

That look on Garou’s face, it wasn’t like a monster at all. In those gold eyes, there’s the same look I see in the mirror.

Just a human being, risking his life to fight for somethin’ he truly believes in.

The door to the staircase opened unexpectedly, startling Badd into standing at once. He gritted his teeth at the pangs in his leg after the sudden movement. The nurse who had started up the steps was wringing her hands together anxiously.

“Metal Bat! What are you doing up here? It’s going to rain! You need to keep your bandages dry!”

“Tch, don’t get all motherly on me,” he responded sharply, “I was just heading back anyways.” She gave him a wounded look as he rejected her offered arm to help him down the stairs.

Nice goin’, Badd. Very hero-like. He scolded himself.

He grumbled an apology and brushed past her down the stairs. He forced his face to remain stony to ease her concern, ignoring the shooting pain each step sent up his leg.

He got me good, damn bastard, I don’t care what he is! He concluded firmly.

Once we bash that Monster Association into the ground, I’ll make sure I’m the one to teach him a lesson about heroes and monsters.

-

[anime-alyssa]

once more, thank you so much for the love. if you’d like to leave me a tip you can do so here and as always, this is cross-posted. 

be’jetii masterlist.

t h r e e.

It had been twenty-four hours. One full day since this storm took over, leaving you trapped in your house with the Mandalorian who wanted to throw your ass in carbonite still and his force-sensitive foundling. Leia and Han had tried to holo you but there was no way in hell you were picking up with this guy staying in your guest room. Once you got rid of him you’d go to them on Chandrilla and tell them it was the sandstorm. But until then you had to figure out a way to deal with your house having two extra people in it than you were used to.

You discovered the kid didn’t know how to control his powers, mostly. He was levitating things left and right, stressing the Mandalorian out. Eventually you got the Mandalorian to confess that he was trying to find his people, but had hit a dead end. He told you that he actually wasn’t looking for you, but that the kid had told him to come here. Thus he found the necklace, found you, and were in your current situation.

You were sitting cross legged on your couch, the Mandalorian taking residence up by the window, staring out it as if that would help the storm stop. The kid had waddled his way over to your feet and reached his arms up towards you, a sign of wanting to be picked up. At least, that’s what Ben would do when he wanted to be picked up. Babies are babies, right? All the general same actions, right? You leaned over and picked up the little thing, placing him next to you.

“Don’t touch him.” the Mandalorian said from the window. You glared at the back of his helmet - you swore he had eyes in the back of his head. You felt the baby crawl into your lap and smirked.

“Tell him to stop asking then.” you mumbled back to him. The baby smiled up at you from your lap, holding his hands out to you. The little thing had been obsessed with you since he saw you, much to the dismay of the Mandalorian. You held your palms out in front of him and he smiled bigger, putting his little hands into your palms.

You felt the force flowing through him. It was a lot of raw power, power that wasn’t in control yet. It was no wonder the kid was floating everything he touched. You could hardly believe the force flowing through this little tiny creature - and then he started to show you images through the force.

Flashes of things like being on the ship with the Mandalorian, how much the tin can cared for the little thing, how they’d play… it almost warmed your heart. He looked up to the Mandalorian like his father, it was obvious. Even when he would get annoyed at him for levitating things he was not supposed to.

You tried to imagine how he would be if he was in control of his powers. Right now he was a typical youngling, new to this and clueless as to what was going on and you could sense it from him. He didn’t know what he was doing and how to control it.

Maybe you could contact Leia and see if she could get a hold of Luke to help train him - but no. Luke was still a sting in your heart, someone you didn’t want to face. Plus, you had a feeling this bounty hunter wasn’t going to give up his kid. He was a softie for the little thing, you had discovered.

It occurred to you suddenly that the reason the baby seemed to be attached to you so much was that you think he could sense you and your connection to the force - even though you had cut yourself off from it for the most part. That one little sliver you held onto just incase was what the thing could sense. Maybe it was a good thing? You weren’t entirely sure anymore, but what you did know was that the Mandalorian’s gaze was burning through you right now as he watched you and the kid on the couch, in silence.

“You’re very special, little one.” you said to him, running your hand over one of his ears, earning a giggle. That made you melt into a little giddy puddle right then and there at the cuteness of it.

“What is ‘force-sensitive’?” the Mandalorian suddenly asked you. You arched a brow as you looked up to him, starting to sweat a bit. He was never gonna believe you, but you were stuck here with him so you might as well explain it.

“Force sensitive is when you are in tune to the Force, an energy that surrounds all living things. Some people are able to use it stronger than others, manipulate it.” you said to him. The kid cooed up at you as if he was listening, wanting more. “It’s a lot more complicated than just that, unfortunately.” you added.

“I got time.” He said, pulling a chair up across from you and sitting. He titled his helmet, urging you onward. You sighed as you gathered your story in your head, moving on.

“It’s been around since the beginning of time, the Force, the light side and the dark side. The people who are able to use on the light side it are called the Jedi. Long ago the Jedi were the keepers of the peace and everybody lived by a strict code. They tried to find ways to solve problems as peacefully as possible, but were also trained warriors. Their numbers ran in the thousands, long ago. If you were a Jedi back then you were proud to be one, and honored. It meant that you mastered the art of the Force and were able to use it to your advantage.” you started, taking a breather. The child was looking up at you with wide eyes, absolutely enthralled as if he understood every word you were saying perfectly - The Mandalorian said nothing. Sighing, you continued.

“Of course, with anything good most times comes out the bad. There were a group of Force users who weren’t on the side of the light but on the side of the dark were called the Sith. They’d mishandle their power, use it for bad. They’d find ways to cheat death, to come back that were unnatural. But eventually, the Sith went extinct because of the Jedi, or so everyone thought.” you took another break, trying to fight back emotions. You were now going into territory that involved your father, something that was still hard for you. You hadn’t told this story to anyone in a long time, not since you told it to Luke.

“During the age of the Republic and the Clone Wars, the Jedi started to get cocky. They were on top of the world, thinking they had everything under control. Unfortunately due to their egos, they allowed Darth Sidious to operate right under their noses in the most powerful position the Senate held, Chancellor. Palpatine executed everything so perfectly, as much as it pains me to say it. Every win that the Republic and the Jedi had was just a pawn in his game, a piece of the biggest puzzle of all; the rise of Darth Vader. Vader was a Jedi, drawn into hate out of fear. And in the end, he ended up winning. The Jedi were eradicated and killed off and he ruled the galaxy, for many years.” you explained to him. The child’s hands slapped your palms in an urge to go on, to continue the story. You didn’t know if you could, it was going to get personal. You didn’t do personal anymore.

“Seems like the Jedi aren’t as all-powerful as they thought.” The Mandalorian finally piped up after that. You gave a small laugh and an eye-roll. You did have to agree with him, it was the whole reason why you gave up your title of Jedi Knight and cut yourself off.

“Definitely not. However a few Jedi survived - two Jedi masters and a padawan who left the order before it got ugly. They fled and went into hiding after the rise of Vader, fearing that he’d come for them one day.” you added to him. He took a moment to think it seems, humming in response before he spoke up again.  

“But isn’t there a new one out there somewhere? I heard rumors after the fall of the Empire.” Your heart skipped a beat and you couldn’t hide the shock on your face. It was too obvious - but you couldn’t let him know. You didn’t fully trust him yet. Nor did you want to dig into what really happened.

“Yeah - there is one. The son of Vader who rose up on the side of the light, he took on Palpatine himself and that’s what lead to the fall of the Empire. He trained with the two old masters before they passed. Now he’s somewhere in the galaxy, rumor has it he’s trying to start a school of his own, bring it all back.” you concluded. The Mandalorian observed you for a moment and if he thought you were lying or trying to avoid the truth, he didn’t say it.

“My mission has been to try to find someone who is the people for the kid. Either someone of his kind or someone like him. I’ve been searching for a year - nothing.” he said, standing up and walking over closer to you. “You just told me more information in ten minutes than I’ve found in a year. How do you know this?”

“My father - he was obsessed. Told me all the stories.” So it was a little white lie, but you weren’t going to tell him that your father was the Master to Darth Vader before he turned to the dark side. You weren’t going to tell him that your father also trained Luke Skywalker and you in the ways of the Force. You hoped you were convincing. “I think the idea of bringing the Jedi back is ridiculous though. But that’s just me.” you said to him.

“Why is that?” he asked with a helmet tilt.

“I mean, you’re a Mandalorian. Sure you’ve heard the stories about the Jedi being these horrible people to your people.” you said to him. He gave you a grunt in agreement.

“I was told they were warriors that did more harm than good.” He said to you. That was the understatement of the century, but he was right.

“Well, it wasn’t wrong.” You said back, agreeing with him. “Plus, I think some of the rules are ridiculous. Don’t interfere with wars, don’t help people that might be in need - it’s ridiculous. Plus, Jedi are forbidden from having personal attachments of any kind. You get taken from your family as an infant and groomed to be this peace keeper and you can’t even get married either.” you ranted, shrugging your shoulders. “I just don’t agree with it, personally. Darth Vader rose out of fear of losing someone close to him, and he couldn’t go to the Jedi for help.”

The kid had fallen asleep in your lap now, over the conversation that was happening between the two of you. His head rested soundly on your stomach as he had curled up in between your legs, out like a light. You wondered what the Mandalorian was going to do next - he seemed to believe most of what you had said, if not all of it. Was he going to ask you where to find Luke? That was something you didn’t want to do.

“Who is this person that’s making this school now? Where is he?” It’s like he could read your mind. You took a big breath in and sighed, averting your gaze away from the Mandalorian.

“He’s an old friend. We grew up together here but - things changed after he learned his powers. I don’t know where he is now. After the Rebellion won the war he sort of just became distant, or so I heard. He hasn’t been back here in years, I haven’t seen him in years.” you told him.

It was the truth. You didn’t know where he was and you hadn’t seen him in years. The last time you saw Luke was after the fall of the Empire - he came back to Tattooine to ‘rest’ after the war. He said he needed to find his purpose now, since Darth Vader had fallen and his training was complete. He lived with you during that time period, when you were still at least trying to practice Jedi beliefs.

But things had already changed - you knew that. You think Luke knew that too, which is why he left the way that he did. He could sense it - he knew what was going on and what you felt and were going to do. It was painful for you to look back on it - you couldn’t believe that he had changed the way he was. You hadn’t seen him since he left your house that day six years ago, nor did you want to any time soon.

You could tell the Mandalorian was a little frustrated by your answer - hoping that you would have more. You did - you could tell him to go to Chandrilla and talk to Leia and have her contact Luke. But you didn’t want to do that - you knew what Luke would do. Luke would take the kid away from him, and that wasn’t going to be what was best for either of them. The Mandalorian relied on the kid too much if he liked it or not and the kid wouldn’t understand.

“Thank you for the information.” he said, coming closer to you and lifting the kid out of your lap, leaving you in your living room alone and going into the bedroom.

You were left to your thoughts, flashbacks of your time as a practicing Jedi plaguing your mind for the rest of the night.

taglist: @waiting-for-motivation @domino-oh-damn @theocatkov @killtherandomness @mrsparknuts @wolf-lover74 @the-sparkism @jedi-dreaa

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Skull Face

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

The Metal Gear franchise is well known for its complex, deep philosophies, and the antagonist of Metal Gear Solid V is absolutely no exception to this. Skull Face, while definitely on the more shallow end of the villain pool in terms of the series, is still one of the most intriguing and even pivotal villains the series introduces. Why is that?

In short, he is responsible for much of the bleakness that plagues Solid Snake’s adventures. But you’re not here for the short version, you’re here for the long one. So how exactly does the mysterious Skull Face fit into the incredibly dense and convoluted mythology of Kojima’s masterpiece of a franchise?

Motivation/Goals: Skull Face has a pretty surface-level motivation at first glance: he wants revenge against both Zero and Big Boss, as Skull Face previously worked for the covert project XOF created by Zero that cleaned up messes left behind by Big Boss during Virtuous Mission and Operation Snake Eater, XOF being the shadow of the FOX program, so to speak. After FOX disbanded in the 70s, XOF became the strike force for Zero’s Cipher. Of course, during all this time, Skull Face became resentful of both Zero and Big Boss alike, weary of being left in the shadows cleaning up the messes of men who would gain more honor than he did. This is the guy who assassinated Stalin in the Metal Gear universe, so it is understandable he’d be a bit miffed.

Of course, as any Metal Gear villain is wont to do, he takes his anger too far, and decides to play Cipher and MSF against each other, and sets into motion the events of The Phantom Pain by kidnapping, torturing, and possibly even raping Paz before having those bombs implanted in her as well as kidnapping and torturing Chico (and perhaps even forcing him to rape Paz). He then destroys Mother Base, which leads into Big Boss going into a coma when his helicopter explodes due to Paz’s bomb.

His ultimate goal from all of this chaos is this: he’ll create nukes only he can stop from detonating and distribute them around the world along with the Metal Gears needed to fire them, upsetting the global power balance in the process while also keeping Skull Face in control. Then, he would unleash the English parasite that kills its host whenever they speak English; when the world is liberated from English, the new world language will be one of nukes and Metal Gears, and the world will be at peace through mass nuclear deterrence, a sentiment similar to that of Hot Coldman of Peace Walker. And if that doesn’t work? Just kill everyone. The plan is ludicrously complicated and seems like it could easily be thrown out of wack by even the slightest of variables, which makes Skull Face a perfect Metal Gear villain.

Really though, everything boils down to his desire for revenge against the sleights he feels Zero and Big Boss dealt against him, be they real or imagined, which fits very nicely into the game’s deconstruction of the idea of vengeance and how ultimately seeking revenge can utterly consume a person and cause far more harm than good. This makes Skull Face thematically gel with the story while also being someone to root against and to, in the end, help Kaz and Venom realize how utterly futile their thirst for vengeance against Skull Face was and how destroying him does not bring back the years of suffering they suffered or all that they lost.

There’s also an element of the fear of being forgotten to his motivations, erased from history by his enemies in an attempt to eradicate any and all legacy he may have; however, in this regard he is far more successful than in his main evil plain, as he managed to pass on his vengeful, nihilistic philosophies to his enemies. Even though his body is burnt away due to housing parasites and even though the Patriots eradicate his existence, and even though the true Big Boss never acknowledged Skull Face or his existence, Venom, Psycho Mantis, Skull Face, Diamond Dogs, and even Cipher are forever warped by his philosophies and in part plays in to how Outer Heaven was created. Even worse, he actually does get his revenge on Zero, causing him to fall into the state he is seen in right before his death at the end of Guns of the Patriots. As special tapes show, Zero truly was remorseful for how things between he and Big Boss had turned out and truly wanted to communicate and reconcile… but because of Skull Face’s desire for revenge, he ended up preventing such a reunion from ever occurring.

“Poor communication kills” is another strong theme in the game, and Skull Face weaponizes such a thing, inadvertently ensuring all the tragedies that would follow in the Metal Gear timeline, all because of his thirst for revenge against two men who never intentionally wished to screw him over… perhaps if he had communicated, things would have turned out a bit better for all parties. Instead, he turned one man into an immobile, barely functioning shell and warped another into someone just like him: a monster who lives only to lash out in anger and vengeance at those he has perceived as wronging him. Even though Skull Face died, he still ultimately was victorious in the sense that Big Boss and Zero were both twisted and destroyed by his actions.

Performance: James Horan does a wonderful job voicing Skull Face, making him sinister, creepy, and hammy whenever the scene calls for it. In fact, his scenery chewing skills are nearly unmatched; Skull Face goes whole hog when it comes to hamminess. He’s certainly not Armstrong levels, but Horan knows what kind of series he’s in and is definitely having a lot of fun.

Final Fate: When Mantis hijacks Sahelanthropus, Skull Face ends up caught in the crossfire and crushed, so Kaz and Venom come up and blast his limbs off as payback for the limbs they lost. But then they realize that killing him is a pointless, hollow victory that won’t bring back their dead comrades or give back all they took from him, so they toss him his gun as he begs them to kill him and tell him to do it himself as they walk away. A powerful moment in the series…

...That Huey immediately ruins by going over, killing him, and then shouting “REVENGE!” in the stupidest manner possible, despite the fact that any grivance Huey could possibly have against Skull Face is petty at best. For such an important villain in the grand scheme of the franchise, he deserved better than being shot by Huey of all people.

Best Scene: It’s pretty hard to pick, as almost any of his disturbing tapes from Ground Zeroes could qualify due to their fantastic voice acting and horrifying content that cements Skull Face as one of the franchise’s most twisted villains. But if we’re talking in-game onscreen appearances, the scene in “Hellbound” where Sahelanthropus is revealed in all its terrifying glory while he poses and gestures in its hand, hamming it up for Huey and Snake, is just a truly golden moment.

Best Quote: “Who is doing this? Such a lust for revenge… WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!??!!?”

Final Thoughts & Score: Skull Face is a really cool villain, even with that dopey face mask. It may be because he continues the proud tradition of ridiculous, over-the-top bad guys that the series is known for, but gives one suited to the Big Boss era of the franchise; Volgin and Hot Coldman are not nearly as hammy or enjoyable as Skull Face is. And much like any great Metal Gear villain, Skull Face has some awkward moments, such as that uncomfortably long car ride and the fact he’s wearing a mask that makes him look like an edgy reimagining of the Hamburglar, but frankly these things just endear him more to me. The whole fun of Metal Gear is that these games have so many poetic, beautiful, poignant, and philosophical scenes juxtaposed against over-the-top absurdity and ridiculous levels of narm; Skull Face fits right in.

Truly this man earns his 9/10. Ultimately I keep him from the perfect score due to being killed by Huey, which is insanely embarrassing for any villain, as well as the fact that he’s a little underutilized and never really beaten in a meaningful way because, again, Huey is incapable of not ruining something. But none of that changes how thematically strong the guy is. He’s a lot of fun, and while it’s a shame he’s killed only about halfway through the game, the shadow he and his actions cast on not only the entire game but the franchise as a whole more than make up for his shortcomings.