#this scene was supposed to go in a completely different direction

[lynzishell]

The Present ❤️ Selvadorada

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Transcript below the cut:

Asher: The sun is starting to go down; we should head back. Atlas: Yeah, you’re probably right. There’s a lookout over here. Do you want to check it out real quick? Or should we turn back now? Asher: We can take a look. A few minutes won’t hurt.

Atlas: Did you mean what you said earlier? That your wish is to be with me forever? Asher: Of course I meant it. Atlas: You know I want that too, right? Asher: I know.

Atlas: The only reason it didn’t occur to me to wish for it is because I’m already yours, for as long as you’ll have me, and I hope that’s forever, but I don’t want it to be because of a wish, I want us to be together because we wake up every day and choose to be.

Asher: I want that too; you know I do. The whole wish thing, it was just a hypothetical.

Atlas: I know. It’s just… Look, I don’t know how to do this, so I’m just going to ask you, okay? Asher: Ask me what?

Atlas: Will you marry me?

Asher: Really? Atlas: Really.

Asher: Hell yes, I’ll marry you!

Atlas: I love you. Asher: I love you too. Atlas: Not to ruin the moment, but we only have an hour to get out of here before it gets dark. Asher: Shit. Okay. Five more seconds and then we can go.

[thankskenpenders]

Thoughts on two specific areas of the writing in Sonic X Shadow Generations

The best new 3D Sonic game in over a decade (or even two, depending on who you ask) dropped late last year. And I didn't write anything about it! Sometimes life happens. Well, I've finally sat down to finish Shadow Generations, and by now everyone has already been singing its praises for three months. This is the rare instance where the entire Sonic fandom, and even mainstream reviewers, are in agreement on something. The level design is the best it's been in a long, long time and the cool factor is off the charts, embracing Sonic's peak cringe era in an incredibly confident way. It's great. If you're even reading this post, you probably don't need me to tell you that. So I won't!

No, what I'm really interested in here is the writing. Because this is me we're talking about. But I actually don't want to talk about the main narrative of Shadow Generations, which is really solid little story about Black Doom trying to mold Shadow into his perfect soldier. No, I'd like to zero in on two other aspects of the writing here: the revisions made to Sonic Generations, and Gerald Robotnik's unlockable journal.

The updated Sonic Generations script

The new package mostly presents Sonic Generations how you remember it. There are some tweaks, but it's not a major overhaul. Graphically, I don't think the game has been touched much, if at all. I certainly can't notice any difference without a side-by-side comparison, despite playing it on a PS5. The most notable update is that the game's script has been rewritten by Ian Flynn.

Naturally, this caught my attention. Generations always had a nothingburger story, so with Ian rewriting Pontac and Graff's lame dialogue there was nowhere to go but up. (I don't like to pin the blame for those games' stories entirely on them, as a ton of it was dictated to them by Sonic Team, but, well, I don't think they're very good dialogue writers.) But it's less a complete rewrite and more like Ian was brought on as a script doctor for some minor touch ups here and there. Many lines of dialogue are completely identical to how they were originally written in 2011, and many others only have slight wording changes. Ian was clearly not allowed to request additional scenes or extend the ones that already existed. He has to match the original beat for beat so that they can reuse 99% of the cutscene animations. Don't expect it to be a whole new experience compared to the original.

Still, I think the new script is an improvement, albeit a minor one. Various things have been tweaked to maintain characterization consistency. Cream calls Sonic "Mr. Sonic" instead of just "Sonic." Instead of calling Sonic "buddy," Rouge uses the pet name "Blue," like she tends to do in things like the IDW comics. Espio doesn't have to remind you in the dialogue that he's a ninja, and he no longer has a line making it sound like he has some kind of soul reading power. I also like that Modern Sonic now actually has responses to what his friends say when he rescues them, rather than being silent like Classic Sonic. They won't blow you away, but they make Sonic feel a little more engaged with everything.

In general, the altered dialogue just seems tighter to me, and some of the more childish or trite wording of Pontac and Graff's script has been altered. Here, let's actually make a direct comparison, just because this stuff is interesting to me as a writer. Here's a couple lines from after the Egg Dragoon fight late in the game, in the original script:

Modern Eggman: Ooooh... I can't believe this! I was supposed to beat you this time. Modern Sonic: Aw, I'm sorry! I didn't get that memo. I beat you every time! [Turns to Classic Sonic] No, seriously, we beat this guy every time. It's like it's our job or something!

This is a simple exchange. Eggman is mad that he lost. Sonic is unflappably confident because he always beats Eggman, and he explains this to his younger self. But the wording here isn't particularly good. Eggman's simple and direct wording makes him come off like a little kid who's mad because his older brother beat him at Mario Kart, rather than a mad scientist who just had his plans foiled. It's making light of the situation.

And I've never liked Sonic saying "It's like it's our job or something!" That doesn't feel like a thing Sonic would say, it feels like a thing an outside observer would say about Sonic. This is a frequent problem with so-called "MCU dialogue," where quips meant to echo the commentary of a casual, somewhat disinterested audience are inserted into the story itself so that the writers can be like "See? We get it. We're genre-savvy, too!" It also just reminds me of bad Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric lines like "Rings! It's like they're made for me!"

And then here's Ian's rewrite:

Modern Eggman: I recalibrated everything! This was supposed to be my time! Modern Sonic: Oh, please, keep dreamin', Egg-head. I beat you every time. [Turns to Classic Sonic] No, seriously, we beat him every time. Our score card's flawless.

Eggman's still mad about his defeat, but the line "I recalibrated everything!" makes it more specific. He put all this work into the engineering side of his latest scheme and got tunnel vision, thinking if he got his creations just right there'd be no way he could lose. "This was supposed to be my time!" also turns it into a time travel pun, which is a bonus. He's still pitching a fit over losing, but it feels more like Eggman pitching a fit, rather than sounding childish.

And then instead of saying that beating Eggman is "like his job or something," Sonic says he's got a flawless score card against Eggman. He doesn't take Eggman seriously as a threat—at least, not to his face. He acts like it's all a game. But he conveys this in a way that feels truer to the character, rather than feeling like the words of a real world observer poking fun at the tropes of the Sonic series.

Is this amazing, A+ dialogue that blows me away? No. Again, it's not a completely different scene from the one we already had. Ian had to fit the beats of what was already there. He couldn't go all out and write an all new story confirming his longstanding headcanon that the Time Eater is a remnant of Solaris or whatever. But the wording here makes the existing story land a little better and feel truer to the characters in subtle ways.

But to me, the main change is that the Sonics and Tailses seem to have a more solid understanding of what's going on with the timeline and the Time Eater, compared to how idiotic they sometimes seemed in the original game. Which is good! No more standing outside Green Hill and wondering why it seems so familiar. Thank god. As part of this, yes, there are a few more references to past games in the dialogue, like Sonic briefly being confused about the fact that they're time traveling without the Time Stones, or South Island and Westside Island being acknowledged as the normal locations of Green Hill and Chemical Plant. Yes, ha ha, insert joke about how Ian loves references here. Look, it's Sonic fucking Generations. It's a game built entirely out of nostalgic references. Just own it! And, again, in this instance Sonic and Tails come off as less stupid when they make it clear that they do, in fact, remember their adventures from presumably less than a year ago in-universe.

Eggman, too, seems to have a better understanding of the powers he's toying with. Where in the original vesion his focus was simply on going back in time to undo his previous defeats and he seemed kind of oblivious to how much the Time Eater was actually fucking up the universe, here Eggman says he wants to use the Time Eater to give himself complete control over the entire timeline. Eggman also makes way fewer references to his own failures and shortcomings. Of course he won't admit that Sonic has defeated him time and time again. To him, he's never truly lost—Sonic just keeps delaying the inevitable total victory for the Eggman Empire.

So, yes. The new Sonic Generations script is better. It won't blow anyone away, but it's better than it was. It's been elevated from "kinda lame" to "fine." No, if you really wanna see Ian flex his ability to breathe new life into old Sonic stories, look no further than...

Gerald Robotnik's Journal

Hoo boy.

The story of what happened aboard the ARK has always been... a bit confusing, to say the least. Fans with encyclopedic knowledge of the script for every route of Shadow '05 may disagree, but it's the truth. We've had all the pieces to understand the story for a long time now, but that info was given to us out of order by a pair of unreliable narrators—Gerald, who became a vengeful lunatic shortly before his death, and Shadow, who was subjected to multiple rounds of amnesia and altered memories. Some of the ambiguity left by Sonic Adventure 2 was cleared up in Shadow '05, but that game also retconned in a bunch of new elements to Shadow's backstory (aliens!) that lead to further confusion. Not to mention the fact that that game had multiple routes and only revealed the truth about Shadow if you sat on the ultimate final boss battle for WAY longer than the fight would normally last. Or the fact that Sonic X made its own tweaks in its telling of the story. Or the fact that none of these things ever had the best English translations. I can't blame anyone who hasn't played those games in two decades for not remembering the truth about these characters and getting some details mixed up.

What we needed was something to piece together all of the info we have into one coherent backstory, told in chronological order. And thanks to Shadow Generations, we have that, in the form of an official journal tying together what we knew from Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow '05, and Sonic Battle into the tragic tale of Gerald's rise and fall.

Ian Flynn was the perfect man for the job here as the guy who started his career by tidying up the mess that was the first 159 issues if Archie Sonic. This is what he excels at: taking disparate bits of weird Sonic lore from multiple different sources, boiling them down to their most interesting elements, and connecting it together in a way that will make the audience see the dramatic potential he's always known was there. Rather than feeling like a cynical exercise in franchise building, going back and explaining things that never needed explaining so that people can add more bullet points to the wiki, he puts a new spin on things that retroactively enriches those past stories. The story here means something to the characters involved and gives us a better understanding of them as people, rather than as plot devices to motivate Shadow.

(And, of course, Ian didn't do this journal alone. He wrote the story, but I also have to give a huge shout out to Evan Stanley, who made the final product. All of her handwritten journal entries, sketches, and "photos" included throughout. The physical damage done to the journal over the course of 50 tumultuous years, passing from Gerald to Eggman to a certain special someone at GUN. The way Gerald's handwriting gets less and less legible as his mental state declines. So much love was put into what could have been a mere text dump in a menu, and it really elevates it to the next level. Congrats on officially getting hired by Sega, Evan, you've sure as hell earned it!)

The main idea the journal conveys is that Gerald was under a lot of pressure from a lot of different parties—GUN, the President, his colleagues aboard the ARK, Black Doom, even his own family—and boy did it get to him. The known incidents aboard the ARK mentioned in previous games are put together here to form a story where everything slowly spirals out of control as Gerald keeps compromising his morals to further his research, thinking he'll eventually find some way out of all this because he's a genius. I won't recap that whole story here (if you haven't already played the game and read the journal entries, I would highly recommend at least reading it on the Sonic wiki), but I'd like to highlight my favorite elements of the story, as Ian tells it here.

1) The Eclipse Cannon

Here's something that never quite made sense in Sonic Adventure 2: why does the ARK have a laser that can blow up the Earth built into it? It was supposed to be a peaceful research colony. Sure, Gerald went crazy and swore revenge on the Earth, but, like... when did he have an opportunity to go back up to the ARK and modify it? Did he have someone else do it? How? The ARK was raided by GUN and shut down! And then they arrested him, held him in prison for an unclear period of time, and executed him by firing squad when he was no longer useful! It doesn't add up. Shadow 'the Hedgehog '05 would give its own answer by introducing the Black Arms and saying that the Eclipse Cannon was always supposed to be a secret trump card against the Black Comet. But, like... we know that's kind of a bullshit answer, right? You don't need enough power to blow up a whole planet just to destroy a comet.

Well, the new journal retains what we already knew, but it paints a much more complete picture.

See, long before Gerald ever made a Faustian bargain with Black Doom, he had already made one with an even greater evil: the military. GUN gave Gerald much of the funding for the ARK, Gerald's personal utopian research station in space, but it didn't take long for GUN to start pressuring him to design them weapons. Gerald tried to get GUN off his back by personally contacting the President of the United Federation, and the President gave him an alternative: how about, instead, you just use your genius brain to figure out the secret to immortality for us, so our soldiers can be immortal? Gerald was initially sickened by the notion and found it completely absurd, like chasing a shadow... but given no other option, the sarcastically named Project Shadow soon began in earnest. (Maria would later put a more positive spin on the name after Shadow's awakening, pointing out that a Shadow can show us the direction of the light, like she says in the game itself.)

Of course, this search for the ultimate life form didn't go very well, and without any results on that front GUN kept hounding him for weapons. Gerald would throw them a bone here and there to get them off his back. His research on Chaos resulted in the Artifical Chaos prototypes, which he worried would be used for warfare but could at least theoretically be used for search and rescue missions in floods, in his mind. But that wasn't enough. So he gave them Chaos Drives to power their mechs. And that still wasn't enough. He's got Emerl. He'll give them Emerl. They're not impressed by Emerl. They'll shut the whole ARK down if Gerald doesn't give them something big.

Fine! GUN wants something big? Gerald builds a huge fucking laser cannon into the ARK. However, as a middle finger to GUN, Gerald makes it so powerful that it would destroy the Earth if it was ever fired at any target on its surface. In other words, GUN now has their ultimate weapon of mass destruction, fulfilling his contract, but they can never actually use it. Oh, the delicious irony. (And also Shadow will blow up the Black Comet with it in 50 years yada yada yada.) Is this perhaps extremely shortsighted and naive of Gerald, to believe that such a weapon would never actually be used just because of the risk? Of course. But hey, that's Gerald for you. And I love this as an answer.

(Also, this, uh, kinda echoes something from real life! Remember the bit in Oppenheimer where he says all nuclear war will become unthinkable, and Edward Teller responds "until somebody builds a bigger bomb"? Yeah, Teller went on to conceptualize a superweapon codenamed Project Sundial that would have been able to kill all life on the planet, as the ultimate deterrent for war. This was never made for obvious reasons, but hey, there's a basis for this sort of thinking outside of heightened sci-fi! There's a whole Kurzgesagt video about this if you're interested.)

2) The Biolizard

The Biolizard is, of course, brought up as the initial failed prototype of the ultimate life form, from before Gerald met Black Doom. We don't really learn all that much about it that we didn't already know, but I just love the way it's framed in the story.

As you can see above, we actually get to see a picture of Maria holding up the cute little salamander that would end up mutating into the Biolizard through Gerald's experiments. (Researchers want to figure out how to replicate salamanders' regenerative abilities for humans in real life, too, so this was a natural starting point for the project.) And then, after it grows to a monstrous size and goes out of control, Gerald has to lock it away in an unused sector of the ARK. He needs to keep the poor thing alive for his research into harnessing Chaos Energy, building life support systems directly into it, but he doesn't have the heart to tell Maria what happened. So it just becomes this first dark secret weighing on his conscience. The Biolizard becomes Gerald's Tell-Tale Heart beating beneath the floorboards of the ARK. I love that.

3) Lost Impact was the breaking point for the ARK

Remember the level Lost Impact in Shadow '05? The flashback level on the hero path where Shadow is running around fighting Artificial Chaos enemies on the ARK 50 years ago? Yeah, that wasn't just a random incident. That was important, as we now know due to its placement on the timeline.

See, Emerl's rampage aboard the ARK that was chronicled in Sonic Battle and Dark Beginnings set off a domino effect. Emerl riled up the Artificial Chaos, causing Gerald to lose control of them. They became violent, and so Shadow had to stop them, as depicted in Lost Impact. The thing is, that incident sent an SOS signal to GUN telling them that shit was going down on the ARK. Gerald didsn't fully understand the trouble he was in and assumed that he'd simply be reprimanded by the higher ups, or maybe face legal action. But, well... the next time he heard from GUN, armed troopers were raiding the ARK.

So Lost Impact was the straw that broke the camel's back. I just really like that detail.

4) Maria

And, of course, there's Maria herself. Maria has often been more of a symbol than a character, this perfect embodiment of everything that's good and pure in this world who gets killed to motivate Shadow and Gerald's revenge plots. But I really like the wrinkles this journal adds to her and Gerald's story, and their relationship. This is the most fleshed out they've ever felt.

For one, the journal leans into the idea of Maria's intellectual potential. The rest of the Robotnik family is all geniuses, after all, and she was proving to be a really bright kid. She excelled in her studies on the ARK, and she even helped design Shadow's jet skates and inhibitor rings. When Maria died, the world didn't just lose a symbolic personification of purity. She genuinely could have been a hugely influential scientist who did so much good for the world. That's what Gerald wanted for her. But we'll never know, because GUN killed her.

Speaking of her family, their presence isn't just mentioned for the sake of fleshing out the Robotnik family tree. It's mentioned that as Gerald struggled to find a cure for Maria's illness through his genetic research, he faced mounting pressure from his family. They didn't want Maria to be up on the ARK forever. They wanted Gerald to hurry up and find a damn cure, or otherwise just send her back home to Earth so she could be with her family again. She'd been up on the ARK for so long that Gerald's coworkers started thinking that she had been born up there. Eventually she gains a baby sister on Earth who she's never met. A rift forms between Gerald's two sons, and he's unable to really deal with it because he's so consumed by his work. There's this sense that the family is falling apart, and that everyone is dreading the possibility that Gerald will never find a cure and that Maria will just spend her final years up in space and die far away from her family, because Gerald just couldn't let go. If that happens, it'll break the whole family. But he can't stop now. So he just keeps working. Curing Maria is the only way to win his family back, in his eyes. It can't all be for nothing.

But my favorite detail regarding Maria is this one paragraph:

Maria is growing into a lovely young woman. It breaks my heart that someone as bright and energetic as her is diminished by disease. There are no visible effects, and I've caught my fellow researchers muttering to each other, doubting her illness. It is infuriating. I find all my reason and restraint vanishes when she's slighted.

This is SUCH a great addition to the story! It's always been true that Maria doesn't really seem all that ill, just looking at her in cutscenes. With this one little comment, Ian flips that issue on its head and turns it into a story about invisible disability. She doesn't act like she's in chronic pain, so she must not be, everyone thinks. And this really, really gets to Gerald, as does the pressure from his family. He's dedicating his whole LIFE to saving her, and they think she's faking it?! It's such a small addition, never referenced elsewhere in the journal, but it adds so much flavor to the story, as does the implied family drama. It grounds Gerald and Maria and makes them feel more like real human beings, rather than being pure archetypes. It's just enough info to let my imagination run wild filling in the blanks.

You also get the feeling that Maria being such a walking ray of sunshine was the only real source of joy Gerald had left in his life before Shadow was awakened, and the only thing keeping him from snapping under pressure sooner. All this stuff just keeps piling on, everything's spiraling out of control, but at least Maria is keeping her chin up, right? It makes so much sense that losing her would make him go off the deep end when it's framed like this.

It's just... man, I never thought I'd care so much about Gerald and Maria. But that's the Ian Flynn touch. After years of less than stellar Sonic writing that seemed to be embarrassed of itself, I'm so happy to have new games coming out that fully embrace the history of the series like this, making its world feel so rich and real instead of just serving as an excuse for a string of platforming levels. I don't even like Shadow '05, but I'll be damned if Ian and the rest of Sonic Team didn't make something amazing by "yes, and"-ing Shadow's cringe past here. Sonic has truly reached levels of "we're so back" never thought possible.

[thekhloediary]

What Happens in Vegas

Nicholas Chavez x Reader

It was supposed to be just a girls weekend in Vegas, but a chance encounter with a handsome stranger takes things in a different direction

Author’s Note- I’ve always loved writing, but I don’t do it as much as I used to. Every once in a while I fall back into the writing mood. This was one of those moods, inspired by one of my favorite songs and Nic…because obsessed obviously.

It’s a little long, but really hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing! 💦 😏 🔞

-Khloe 💋

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“We drink to those who love us, we drink to those who don’t. We drink to those who fuck us, and fuck those who don’t!” I shouted cheerfully, raising my shot glass to my three friends. I quickly knocked back the tequila, the familiar burning sensation warming my chest.

This was just the first shot of many. Tonight was all about having fun and feeling free. It was my best friend’s 21st birthday, and to celebrate, me and my girls were in Vegas for the weekend.

“Tonight’s gonna be a good night.” one of my friends exclaimed, her eyes bright with excitement as she scanned the nightclub from her seat. The scene was a frenzy of flashing lights, dancing, and drinking.

“The best night,” said my best friend.

“Fucking epic,” I added, taking back another shot before standing to my feet.

“Come on, birthday girl, let’s dance.” I grabbed her hand, leading her out into the energetic crowd.

The second I hit the dance floor, I came alive, the music and the energy giving me an undeniable rush of exhilaration. If dance was a drug, music was the supplier. I loved how it made me feel. I danced to song after song, losing myself completely in the music.

It could’ve been an eternity I stayed on the dance floor, but the slight ache that was forming in my heeled feet told me to take a break. I stopped by the bar for a mixed drink before heading back to the VIP section.

As I sat and sipped my drink, I looked around the club, my eyes glancing over to the adjacent section where a group of guys and some girls filled the space. There was drunken banter and laughter going between some of the guys, some of the girls were dancing and taking pictures together, and then, there was one guy looking out into the crowd.

I watched him as he watched the crowd. I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t move my eyes away from him. Perhaps it was the way the low lighting cast an alluring shadow over him, or maybe it was the quiet intensity of his focus, but I couldn’t look away, almost like a magnet pulling me in. I eyed the outline of his facial features, my eyes drawn to his strong jawline. His profile was attractive and I found myself stuck, gazing a bit too long, a bit too intently.

Suddenly, he turned his head, glancing in my direction. His eyes met mine, and for a moment, it was like everything around me stopped. I felt a flutter in my stomach. I wanted to look away, to pretend that I hadn’t just been caught staring, but there was something intriguing about him, and I just couldn’t stop.

His eyes glanced over me, a slow smile spreading across his lips. I watched as he suddenly rose from his seat. My eyes followed his movements, taking notice that he was headed towards me, moving closer and closer until he was standing before me.

“I’m Nicholas.” he introduced himself with a smile. The sound of his voice was smooth, deep, and magnetic, immediately pulling me in.

I smiled back, offering my name in return.

“Nice to meet you. Would you mind if I joined you?” he asked.

I patted the space next to me. “Sure, Nicholas.”

He chuckled as he sat down beside me, the scent of his cologne enveloping me like a warm hug.

God, he smelled good.

I took in the handsome stranger next to me as I continued sipping my drink. He had looked good from afar, but now as he sat beside me, I saw just how good looking he really was. My eyes traveled upward from the dark pants he wore to the light shirt that was unbuttoned at the collar. The glint of the gold chain he wore caught my eye and his strong neck. He had a charming smile and alluring brown eyes. His presence was attractive, intriguing.

He noticed me staring again and smirked, his eyes holding a hint of amusement. “Like what you see?”

I took another sip from my drink before answering, a smile teasing my lips. There would be no denying it. “I do.”

“Good,” Nicholas leaned in a bit closer and spoke low against my ear. “Because I like what I see too.”

My body suddenly felt warm, and I had a feeling it wasn’t just because of the tequila. I bit my lip, and at the action, his eyes fell to them. He didn’t try to hide that he was looking. His gaze made my insides clench.

No, it definitely wasn’t just the tequila.

“So what brings you out tonight? Are you from here?” I asked, trying to shift from the sudden way he was making me feel.

“No, I live in LA. I’m just here with my guys for the weekend.”

“Same,” I smiled. “It’s my best friend’s birthday,” I looked out into the crowd. “My girls are out there somewhere dancing the night away.”

“And you’re sitting here with me,” he teased.

“I was minding my business. You decided to sit down.”

He chuckled. “No, you were staring, actually.” he moved a bit closer. “Tell me I’m lying?” And there it was again—that flutter in my stomach.

For two strangers, the chemistry between Nicholas and I was strong and hard to ignore. Everything else seemed to fade away as we sat together completely immersed in each other. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I felt like I could talk to Nicholas forever. He was charming and witty, and he had a quiet confidence that I found so very attractive. It surprised me how comfortable I felt with him and how effortless the conversation flowed. Talking to Nicholas felt natural, easy. It was as if this wasn’t the first encounter and we’d known each other all along.

“No way,” I exclaimed, throwing my head back in laughter at the wild story Nicholas had just shared with me. “He was naked?”

“Bro was ass naked running down the strip.” he laughed.

“Vegas is a wild place.” I said, shaking my head in amusement.

“You’re beautiful,” he said suddenly.

Ever the bold and confident one, and not one to fluster easily, he made me feel like a schoolgirl with a crush. I found myself blushing.

Then, the sound of my friends approaching voices could be heard. I looked towards them as they came into the section, curious looks on their faces.

“There you are,” my best friend began. “I was starting to think you got lost on your way back to the dance floor.”

“I’m so sorry. I guess I just lost track of the time.”

My friends glanced at Nicholas, giving me a knowing look. My best friend mouthed ‘fuck’ and I held back a laugh.

Nicholas offered them a polite smile before standing. “Let me let you get back to your night. I wouldn’t mind talking to you again if that’s cool?” he asked, his eyes hopeful.

I put my hand out and he placed his phone in my palm. We exchanged another smile as I added my number.

“Enjoy the rest of your night ladies, and happy birthday.” he told my best friend before turning to leave.

She thanked him and after he walked away she turned to me, all three of my friends speaking at once.

“Oh my god!”

“He’s fucking hot!”

“Who the fuck was that?”

They all wanted to know who was the handsome guy who had stolen my attention. I knew I had only just met him, but there was no mistaking the connection.

The rest of the night continued on with unending fun. By the time I got back to the hotel, I was floating between tipsy and drunk. My best friend’s birthday had been one for the books. It was always fun times with my girls.

And then, there was Nicholas, who still lingered in my mind. I had never felt so strongly connected to someone I didn’t know. The thought of him made me feel butterflies.

I was showered and lying lazily across my hotel bed, scrolling through my phone when an unfamiliar number appeared across the top. The sight of it made my heart skip a beat in expectancy. I answered, a smooth voice filling my ear next.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Missing me already, huh?” I playfully asked.

Nicholas chuckled. “What can I say…I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”

“Oh yea? Thinking about what?”

“That I would really like to see you again.”

“Tonight?” I asked.

“If you’re up for it.”

I paused, contemplating his invitation. Sure, the rational part of me knew that going to meet up with a guy I had only just met tonight would be going against my better judgement, but mix tequila with the thoughts of a hot guy like him, and what was good judgement?

We only live once, right?

Soon enough, I was making my way across the indoor bridge that connected our respective hotels and found Nicholas waiting for me. He looked even better than I remembered. His scent was still intoxicating as he pulled me into a hug.

“Promise me you’re not crazy and my night isn’t about to play out like an episode of American Horror Story.”

He laughed, placing a small, reassuring kiss to the top of my head. “I promise.”

The ride on the elevator seemed to go on forever as it made its way up to the top floor of The Aria, where Nicholas was staying in the Sky Villas. My heart thumped in anticipation as we headed down the hallway towards his hotel suite. The sound of the door unlocking only heightened my anticipation.

We both entered the room, the door barely closing before his body was pressed against mine, capturing my lips in a kiss that left me breathless.

“Damn…” I said as I caught my breath. “Offer a girl a drink first, Nicholas.”

“Shit, I’m sor—”

I cut him off with another kiss. “Fuck manners.”

My hands gripped his shirt, pulling him closer, my kiss was deep and demanding. There was a hunger in the way I tasted his mouth with my tongue.

Feeling emboldened as I kissed him, I walked him backwards to the couch that was centered before a large window overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. The night sky enhanced the mood of the room, adding to the intensity that was building.

I shoved Nicholas down onto the couch, climbing on his lap, my lips eagerly meeting his lips again in a heated kiss. I wanted him, and he wanted me just as badly. He slid a finger under the strap of my sundress, and then the other, sliding it down, the fabric falling to my waist. He groaned appreciatively as he eyed my bare breasts, reaching out to cup them, giving them a squeeze.

Leaning forward, he buried his face in my neck. “Damn, you’re so fucking beautiful.” I heard him say against my neck as he kissed it slowly and moved down to my collar bone, trailing kisses along it. My body warmed and got even warmer when he moved down to my breast and his tongue teased my nipple.

“Mmm,” I moaned as his mouth closed around my nipple and he started a slow, gentle sucking. The sensation sent another heatwave through my body.

He gripped my hips and pulled me fully down against him. I could feel his increasing hardness underneath me. I bit my lip as I began slow grinding on his lap. His hands moved from my hips and grabbed my ass. The pressure was building with each roll of my hips.

And then, as his low groans and my soft moans filled the room, a bright light suddenly appeared, the familiar upbeat iPhone melody sounding as his phone went off beside us. Instinctively, my eyes fell to the incoming call, and even in my drunken and lust filled haze, I saw very clearly, the picture of a female taking up the entire screen and one unmistakable word—baby.

“Shit,” Nicholas said in a frustrated sigh, quickly grabbing his phone and pressing the side button to silence it. The now silent phone mirrored the silence in the room.

“Um,” I cleared my throat. “I think I should go.” I pulled up my dress and stood up quickly. A little too quickly because I felt my head spin, and I raised my hand to my forehead to quell the sudden dizziness.

Nicholas reached out to grab my arm, his eyes seeming to ask what his voice couldn’t in the moment.

No, I wasn’t okay.

Reflexively, I snatched my arm away, the reality of what just happened setting in. I looked at him and then left without another word spoken, the feeling of disbelief, disappointment, and stupidity all hitting me at once.

The rest of the day went on with me trying my hardest not to think about what happened with Nicholas. He had called and sent a text asking to talk, but they both went ignored. As disappointing as it was, I told myself that we were nothing more than just two strangers who met and had a moment. It didn’t matter. He didn’t matter.

I pushed away thoughts of him and focused on my weekend, choosing to not let what happened ruin what was left of Vegas. I was here to have fun with my girls, and that’s exactly what I was going to do.

By nightfall, the night pool party I was at with my girls was in full effect. The large pool was centered on the rooftop of the club surrounded by cabanas and neon lights. The night sky casted an illuminating glow against the water making the night feel magical. Music thumped, alcohol flowed, and water splashed around as everyone was engaged in fun.

“Hey, isn’t that your guy over there?” my friend asked suddenly and pointed in the direction of a group of guys nearby in the pool.

It didn’t take long for me to spot Nicholas, and as fate would have it, he spotted me at the same time. I looked away quickly, hoping he hadn’t seen me but knowing that he had. Soon enough, he was making his way through the pool over to me. When he reached me, my back was to him and he had to place his hand on my shoulder to get my attention.

“Hey.” he said.

“Are you stalking me now or something?” I turned to face him, immediately irritated at how good he looked shirtless.

He didn’t respond to that. Instead, his eyes looked apologetic as he told me. “I tried calling you.”

“I know, Nicholas. I didn’t want to talk. Still don’t.”

“But I do, if you would just let me explain.”

“Explain what? The fact that you conveniently forgot to mention you had a girlfriend.”

“I know and I’m sorry. It’s just—” he sighed. “It’s complicated. Things haven’t been good with us for a while now. I don’t even think we’re going to be together much longer.”

I looked at him incredulously. “So, what, things aren’t good with your girlfriend so you hook up with me? I was supposed to be what…your Vegas fling? Your little ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’?”

“No, it wasn’t like that. It’s not like that.” he sighed and ran a hand over his face. “If we could just go somewhere and talk. Please?”

“What more is there to talk about?”

“Everything,” he took a step forward. “Just tell me…tell me you didn’t feel something. Tell me you didn’t and I’ll leave you alone.”

“Nicholas, I—”

He moved in closer, his eyes locked on mine now. “I know you felt it.”

Everything in me wanted to step back as he inched closer, and closer, so dangerously close. I knew it was coming; I could see it in the way he looked at me; I could feel it in the way my breath hitched. I wanted to move, but I couldn’t, my feet frozen in place. And so, when he leaned in, I didn’t try to push him away, and his lips met mine in a soft, tentative kiss.

Before I could even process what I was doing, I was kissing him back. His lips felt amazing against mine again. I wanted to curse myself. It was everything I shouldn’t have wanted but did.

When I pulled back from the kiss, I was sure his lust filled eyes mirrored mine.

“Come on.” I told him, enclosing my hand with his.

It was now or never. I knew if I allowed myself another moment’s thought I would’ve come to my senses and told Nicholas to go away, or better yet, go to hell. And maybe I should’ve, but my body now yearned for him in a way I didn’t even understand. It was like a fire had been lit that only he could put out.

Much like the night before, Nicholas and I wasted no time getting lost in each other again. He kissed me thoroughly. It was a kiss that was slow, deep, and unhurried. He kissed me like he meant it, like he wanted to savor the moment, like it was nothing else he would rather be doing.

I searched his eyes for any hesitation, any uncertainty, anything that said this was a mistake, but all I saw was a man who knew what he wanted. And it was this moment with me, right here, right now.

But I was starting to let my doubts creep in. As much as I wanted it, I couldn’t help but question what we were doing. “I feel like this is so wrong, but I don’t think I can stop.” I told him through kisses.

“Then don’t.” was his rough response, kissing me in a way that said he definitely had no intention to stop.

I wanted him to continue. I wanted him to stop. It felt wrong. It felt so right. I was a whirl of conflicting emotions. But then I felt his fingers moving along my inner thigh, traveling higher and higher until they reached my sweet spot and I transcended. I knew then that I couldn’t stop now even if I wanted to.

Nicholas slid my swimsuit bottoms down and parted my thighs, taking a pause to glance down at the sight of my glistening pussy. He slid his fingers up and down my wet folds. “So fucking wet,” he brought his fingers to his mouth and tasted them. “So fucking sweet.”

He positioned himself between my legs and leaned down to kiss me again before he slid inside. My walls instantly closed around him like a warm hug. The feel of him was beyond words.

So hard. So full. So perfect.

“Fuck…” he groaned, picking up the pace. “You feel good…so fucking good.”

The sound of his voice, the way he filled me so perfectly, the way he hit all the right places in all the right ways, had me already on the verge of rapture.

“Mmm…yes…right there,” I moaned in complete bliss. My moans seemed to be his undoing because soon he was going a bit faster, a bit harder. It was pleasingly rough. It was amazing. It was everything.

Nicholas gripped my thighs and pushed them back towards my chest. The position left me completely open and submissive to him in a way that left nothing for me to do but take it. And he gave it to me. Relentlessly. My moans got louder as I felt him even deeper now, so deep that the pressure was building every time he hit that sweet spot within.

It made an ocean of me.

I ascended higher and higher, each stroke taking me to a place of euphoria I had never reached before. It felt almost sinful. Was sex supposed to be this good?

I didn’t think I could reach higher heights, but then, in a rough voice Nicholas told me to “turn over” and I did, positioning myself on all fours.

He knelt behind me, his hands gripping my ass and spreading it. I felt a wet sensation as his spit dripped down into my hole. His thumb then began to rub teasing circles around it. It was enough to make me come undone, but he wasn’t finished with me yet.

He lowered his mouth to my pussy making me gasp. His mouth was hot and wet, and his tongue skillfully licked and consumed me from behind. It felt so good. It felt better than I could have ever imagined. The sensation was overwhelming, and I was on the verge of exploding. And then, when his mouth closed around my clit and started a slow sucking, I did—like a bomb.

It had me pulsing like a heartbeat and I had barely caught my breath before Nicholas slid his entire length into me in one smooth thrust. I closed my eyes and thought I saw stars as I ascended to another galaxy.

“You still with me, beautiful?” he asked with the confidence of a man who knew he had me right where he wanted. Unable to even speak, I made a whimpering sound as he began a slow rhythm before picking up the pace.

“I’m gonna make you cum again, okay?” he told me. It wasn’t a question but rather a promise that he was about to fulfill. He gripped my hips and gave me long, hard strokes, igniting the fire in my core again.

“Oh my god…I’m so close.” I cried out, and I could tell that he was getting closer too because his strokes were coming faster, harder. I felt the sweat drip off him as he drilled me from behind.

He gripped my hair and pushed my head down into the bed, my back arched higher, as he hit my sweet spot repeatedly. My hand clenched the sheets as I felt the fire inside reaching its peak. I matched his rhythm, giving him everything I had left, and then I exploded again. He was right behind me, pulling out just in time to coat my back with his release.

We collapsed together on the bed, our chests heaving in and out as we found our breaths. I rolled over and as Nicholas lay beside me, I just looked at him.

“What the fuck?” I said with a small laugh. “You’re way too good at that.”

“I am, huh?”

I nudged him in the arm. “Shut up,”

He laughed and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Best night ever, beautiful.”

And it had been.

It had been the best sex of my life, but it didn’t happened at all like I would have planned. He had a girlfriend and had omitted to tell me. He had cheated on her and I had helped him do it. None of it was right, and yet, being with him somehow still felt right. It was an odd feeling. How could something wrong have felt so very right?

As I thought about Nicholas and our weekend in Vegas, meeting him hadn’t been something I expected, but it was something I wouldn’t forget. I didn’t know what would come of it, if anything else would at all—was this weekend just a chance encounter, or was it a chance at something more? I didn’t know. But the one thing that was sure, whatever happens, we would always have Vegas.

[yuurei20]

I just finished the new chapter drop on EN and may I ask why Idia freaks out about Ortho (robot) calling him by name?

Doesn't everybody except Malleus call him Idia? When Ortho (robot) shows up in the dream world he even has this line "And why are you calling me Idia...?"

He doesn't know who Ortho (robot) is, right? So why WOULDN'T he be called Idia? Or am I missing something?

Hello hello! Thank you for this question! 💀🤖

This is just a theory, but I think maybe what has happened is this! ↓

We know from Yana's interview that the story is complete and that she is not the only one who knows what is going on:

"The full main plot that I was to share with Disney seemed linear and uninteresting, so I submitted character details and sub-plots at the same time." - Toboso Yana (2023 Apple Store Interview)

But it is possible that Aniplex USA are not in the know 👀

The English-language translators can only work with what they have, and it's possible they haven't been told what points are going to be recurring, etc., so changes that they make to the localization that would be innocuous in any other situation are turning out to be important later on--and we have seen this before, also with Idia!

Idia has a line of "Leave it to your big bro (nii-chan)," which is extremely important.

We see that he used to say it to human-Ortho when they were children, and it uses the nii-chan variation of "big brother," not robot-Ortho's "nii-san"!

Every time Idia says it, he is invoking human-ortho.

But it seems Aniplex USA might not have known this about the character until the same time as the rest of us: when they got to Book 6.

As a result there are earlier instances (Book 5 and Ortho's ceremonial robes vignette) where Idia says his oft-repeated line and it was either rewritten or just removed entirely from EN.

And this is possibly what has happened with Ortho's "nii-san"!

While robot-Ortho has been programmed to refer to Idia as "nii-san" (and chooses to continue doing so for himself after Book 6), human-Ortho would use "nii-chan," in what seems like a throwaway character detail that is actually so important it was practically a plot point in Book 6.

More here:

That is what confuses Idia in Book 7! A humanoid he doesn't know has appeared calling him "nii-san," which no one has ever called him before.

But Aniplex USA possibly didn't know how important this was going to be! Ortho was localized to say "Idia" every time he says "nii-san," so that is what this scene became: Idia wondering why someone is doing what everyone does (call him "Idia"), possibly making it seem odd that it bothers him.

And unfortunately for the poor translators this just kept repeating in this chapter!

Originally Idia is confused by the three different entities all calling him "brother," but on EN he is just wondering why he is being called his name (which EN itself established as the status quo).

And that is why it seems that Idia is confused by someone referring to him in the same way that most all the characters do ^^

This also seems to have happened with the "boom bada-boom boom boom--hah!" line on EN!

It is a direct homage to the original animated Hercules movie, but while it was recreated faithfully on EN for Book 7 it was changed to Book 6 into "AW YEAH! BOOYAH!"

Did Aniplex USA not realize that it was an homage to that specific line until they reached Book 7?

It is possible that the translators don't know where the story is going and are just doing the best with what they have, ending up in curious situations like this as new content is released that compromises changes they have made, catching them by surprise!

And we have seen this happen before, with the word "imagination:"

"Imagination" was removed from EN until Book 6, which is possibly when the translators realized that it was supposed to be important.

And it seems to be very, very important, to the point that it is possibly being set up as the key to defeating Malleus.

In a line that was retained on EN Ortho explains to Malleus himself, "Magic is powered by imagination, so you can't manifest or defend against what you don't know."

And in the original game it is a concept that was established as early as Book 1!

(I also wonder if that is what has happened with Ace and Epel having their dialogue changed from “Housewarden” to “Headmage.” Did Aniplex USA not know the significance of these two characters having issues with their housewardens, and decide on their own that Crowley made more sense?)

[tikosblogg]

Okay but like….Best friend Noah, becoming all possessive over you, when a random dude stares at you a little too hard 😩❤️

Part Two Here

I was sat up on the kitchen counter, resting my head against the cabinets behind me, tucked into the corner. Noah stood to the side of me, leaning back against the counter top as a handful of friends stood in a relaxed half-circle around us, talking and sharing jokes. It felt intimate and safe, a little bubble of joy amidst the crowd of twirling bodies and laughter drifting through the open windows.

Jesse, with his animated expressions and hand gestures, had snagged everyone's attention with a story from an old touring mishap—something about a raccoon and a dumpster fire.

A gaze was fixed on me, unsettling in its intensity. At first, I glanced around, thinking it was just my imagination, but a quick sweep of the room brought my eyes to a guy I barely knew, standing awkwardly at the edge of the group. His attention was locked on my thighs, an unsettling hunger in his gaze, and my heart thudded with discomfort. I instinctively glanced down and realized my dress had ridden up more than I intended, revealing more skin than it was supposed to.

While keeping my composure, I shifted to adjust the fabric, tugging it down, but my mind began racing. Jesse’s story faded into a murmur as the weight of that stare pressed down on me. My pulse quickened, and in a moment of anxious fidgeting, I considered climbing off the counter entirely, but I didn't want to cause a scene or draw more attention.

I looked over to Noah to give some lame made up excuse to leave the group, until my words died in my throat. I noticed his eyes set in a hard stare to my left. The look on his face was serious, his stare cold. I slowly turned my head in the direction he was staring, to see him eyeing the guy, that was still currently, burning holes through my thighs. Noah suddenly stepping into the guys line of vision.

He moved in front of me, positioning himself between my thighs, his back facing me like a shield. The warmth of his body radiated towards me, and I felt an immediate sense of relief washing over me.

Noah leaned back, slightly into me my chest softly grazing his back, and turned to shoot the guy another cold, piercing stare that spoke volumes. My body shuddered at the sudden possessiveness Noah displayed toward me. His voice suddenly filled the air, making everyone around go silent. “Got a problem?” His voice was calm, but held an eerie edge to it.

Without a word, the guy took a step back, eyes wide, and then another step, shaking his head quickly retreating from the kitchen entirely. I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding, my shoulders finally relaxing as I leaned my forehead against Noah’s back in whispering a “thanks.” The tension slowly slipping away.

He turned his head slightly over his shoulder, revealing a small, reassuring smile. "No problem, sweetheart." he said, his voice steady and low. It sent a jolt of warmth through me, weaving a complicated mix of emotions in my chest. I knew Noah had my back, always—yet this was different. There was a possessiveness in that simple act, a reminder that I wasn't just a friend to him; I was treasured.

I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, glancing up at him with a sheepish grin, feeling the rush of camaraderie morphing into something deeper. As Jesse resumed his tale, I found myself fully in the moment again, but with a newfound warmth that lingered just a little stronger than before..

Instead of moving back to his spot next to me, Noah relaxed deeper into me, his back completely pressing against my chest. A delightful heat spread through me, igniting each nerve ending with that rush of adrenaline. I couldn’t help but feel a tingle of excitement at having him so close.

I knew it was wrong. To think of my best friend this way, the one I sought solace in during rough patches, the one who many people saw as just a bestie and nothing more. I shouldn’t be feeling this way about him. But as he laughed with the others, my heart raced at the thought that maybe I wasn’t the only one who felt the tension between us.

My thighs unconsciously tensed around his hips as I tried to ground myself against this newfound sensation—the thrill of intimacy wrapped up in friendship. He must have felt it too, because his laughter stuttered for a split second as his hand reached back. Slowly, reverently, his large hand slid down the side of my thigh, making me shiver from the touch. His fingers were warm, gentle, but there was an underlying strength in his hold, like he could both protect and consume me if he chose.

I swallowed hard, my breath hitching in my throat as his hand traveled further, down my calf, until his fingers lightly but deliberately wrapped around my ankle. It was an entirely innocent gesture, maybe, but it sent fireworks through me. I could feel his heartbeat against my chest, steady and alive, matching the rapid beat of my own heart in a chorus of tension.

Noah turned slightly, just enough that I could see the smirk gracing his lips, that perfect smile deepening. "What's the matter?" he teased, his voice low and playful, not quite matching the serious tension in the air around us.

My pulse quickened further. Did he notice the way I was feeling? Was he teasing, or was there an underlying truth to his words? “N-nothing,” I replied, trying to maintain a facade of calm while my insides twisted with a mixture of desire and uncertainty.

His fingers tightened slightly around my ankle, and in that moment, the laughter of our friends faded away until it was just the two of us—the space around us pulsing with unspoken words and hidden truths. The air felt charged, electric with what lay between us, each heartbeat echoing a question that had lingered unspoken for far too long.

I finally said fuck it, and leaned in slightly closer, pressing my lips to the edge of his shoulder, feeling him stiffen just slightly at the unexpected contact. The initial shock was quickly replaced by more tension, and I could almost feel the struggle within him as I watched the playful spark in his eyes change into something deeper. Something more.

“You should be reeaal careful,” he murmured, barely above a whisper, his eyes locking onto mine with fierce intensity. All I could see or focus on was him.

I felt a rush of confidence, emboldened by the heat of our connection. “Or what?.”

[burst-of-iridescent]

The Choice of Compassion: A Scene Analysis of Aang vs Zuko

should aang have killed ozai?

the age old question. the discourse secondary only to the infamous kat.aang vs zutara ship war. the argument that's been raging for sixteen long, long years and inspired dozens upon dozens of thinkpieces on either side.

so naturally, i'm here to add one more that no one asked for.

now, this debate keeps getting mischaracterized as The Side That Respects Pacifism vs The Side That Wants A Preteen To Commit Brutal Murder when, for the most part, i don't think anyone is really staking their life on the homicide hill. the real issue most people take with aang's arc in the finale isn't him sparing ozai, but rather the deus ex-machina mechanism through which he's able to do so. i agree with that, but i would also take it further to argue that the real problem is that aang's ending is not thematically and narratively consistent with the rest of his arc as set up in the show.

to illustrate this, let's take a look at another scene that plays with similar themes: zuko choosing to save zhao in the siege of the north.

the basics of both scenes are the same: both boys choose, against all logic and common sense, to spare someone who would never show them the same mercy. when it comes down to compassion versus violence, they choose compassion, even at risk to themselves.

but where the siege of the north differs from sozin's comet is that zuko choosing to save zhao is thematically consistent with his arc in season 1, and aligns with where it will go in seasons 2 and 3.

zuko's journey throughout the show is one of rediscovery. he has to find his way back to who he used to be, before his family and his nation warped his perception of right and wrong, and forced him into believing he had to become someone he didn't want to be. it's clear as early as the storm episode that zuko is fundamentally kind, and the person he is now is as a result of being indoctrinated in a culture that perverted violence and cruelty into honour and strength.

in trying to save zhao, the personification of the fire nation's worst qualities and most twisted teachings, zuko turns against the values he's been raised with most of his life and instead chooses to remain true to himself and what he believes is right. it's a triumphant moment because it's zuko returning to the heart of who he is, and who he's truly supposed to be.

and even though his decision may be logically unsound (why risk yourself trying to save someone who tried to kill you?) you don't see anyone complaining that zuko shouldn't have tried at all, because his choice here is a direct - even if brief - resolution to the internal conflict the show has previously established for his character. the narrative consistency of the set-up and payoff allows the audience to recognize the thematic cohesion of this moment in zuko's arc - which is what makes it so powerful and satisfying.

so, the question is: does the same apply to aang's choice not to kill ozai?

the argument supporting aang's decision is usually something as follows: "aang sparing ozai is his way of remaining true to his people and making sure they aren't forgotten. it's a powerful symbol of how he's keeping their culture and beliefs alive even though the fire nation tried to wipe them out."

now that's not a bad argument, in theory. the problem, though, is that if this is the resolution of aang's arc, it has to be a direct response to a conflict established in said arc... and remaining true to air nomad values is not a struggle the show ever set up for aang until the finale.

not once in any of the previous seasons does aang seem to be forgetting his people's ideals, or losing his identity through assimilation, or struggling to reconcile his air nomad beliefs with the ideas he's encountering in this new, changed world. there isn't a long-term, sustained arc about him being worried or concerned about air nomad culture dying out completely, or about taking on the burden of keeping it alive. in fact, the only episode that does reckon with this theme in any capacity - the northern air temple - seems to push the opposite message: that aang should move on and adapt to this changing world instead of remaining mired in the past, and protecting the culture of a people long gone.

(note: i don't like how the NAT episode handled this theme, but for the purposes of this post, we will take it as it was written.)

both zuko and aang are characters whose arcs revolve around change, but if zuko's arc is about moving back to who he truly is, then aang's arc is about moving forward. it's about going from the last airbender to the avatar - about drawing wisdom from different places, about immersing himself in the practices, beliefs and cultures of the other nations, and learning to value them as he values his own.

it's the classic want vs need: what aang wants is to be nothing more than a goofy, peaceful airbender but what he needs is to become a fully-realized avatar, the embodiment of four nations in one. and this conflict is established and re-established repeatedly over three seasons, most especially in his struggle to learn earthbending and firebending, both of which called for him to adopt new perspectives and beliefs contrary to his own.

this is why aang refusing to kill ozai feels so narratively unfulfilling, because it's the complete antithesis of what the show established for aang's narrative over three seasons. the plot point of his absolute pacifism not only comes out of left field (where was this problem when he was going to battle ozai during the eclipse?), it's also incongruous with the depiction of other air nomads in the series (both yangchen and gyatso don't seem to practice absolute pacifism) and with where aang's own arc appeared to be leading.

additionally, it also conflicts with the thematic clash that the aang vs ozai fight is supposed to represent: what was meant to be balance and harmony vs dominance and supremacy now turns into... air nomad beliefs vs fire nation beliefs, which runs contrary to the fundamental message of the entire show. not exactly what you want for the final battle between your protagonist and antagonist!

all of this is not to say that aang should have gone turbo avatar state on ozai and singlehandedly yeeted him into the spirit world. but there were a dozen other ways to handle ozai's end: give him a disney death, let aang learn energybending of his own accord and incapacitate him the way katara took down azula, or - my personal favourite - bring in the spirits in a neat parallel to the book 1 finale, and have ozai's death be a consequence of the imbalance he propagated in the world (i've always felt the avatar being the spirit bridge was a plotline that kinda got shafted in book three, and bringing back someone like koh, for instance, would've slapped).

the point is that for the resolution of aang's arc to be thematically consistent with the established narrative (the validity of this narrative, and whether it should have been different, is another point entirely, but it cannot be denied that this is what the show chose to go with), he needed to place the values and beliefs of the other nations on equal footing with his own, and win because of this willingness to draw from all nations instead of relying solely on his own.

ultimately, remaining true to his compassionate, peaceful nature is not a struggle in aang's narrative the way that it is in zuko's, which is why him choosing to spare ozai doesn't have anywhere near the emotional resonance or satisfaction of zuko reaching out to zhao. meanwhile, the conflict that does characterize aang's arc - being forced to become the avatar - never comes to a meaningful resolution the way that zuko's does. rather, it's thrown out the window in favour of a last minute plot point that robs aang of both agency and development, and destroys the thematic cohesion of his narrative for nothing.

[thechekhov]

Hey Chekhov! How do you start converting an AU idea from character sheets and mini comics into a plot outline for a full, continuous comic? Especially if the series you're basing it on isn't complete?

I've been following your white diamond Steven comics for years, and frankly, I love how it builds and continues the scaffolding canon laid to be something that is thematically still the same but also very unique. And I never thought I'll ever say this, but now I'm working on a canon-divergent AU with someone that's I think aiming to do something similar(continue the themes of canon but different). So I'll just like some advice, I suppose!

You might've answered something like this before, honestly, but I tried to dig a little and couldn't really find it.

Thanks, if you do answer this! I just want take the opportunity as well to say also that your comic and blog accompanied me through parts of my late teens, and I'm very grateful for you being a stabilizing influence during that time.

Thank you! I really appreciate you saying that, and I appreciate you respecting me enough to ask for advice.

As for your question...

Well, to be frank, I don't START with character sheets and mini-comics. In fact, for WD!AU, I didn't have any character sheets until I started season 2.

Think of your story as an aquarium. Your characters are fish.

Yes, they're important, but having a whole bunch of fish without any substrate, tanks, feed and WATER..... will not really make for a memorable aquarium experience.

The reality is that all stories should start with an end.

That's my personal approach, anyway.

What I mean is - you need to know the general idea for your story before you begin to write or plan it.

Let's try this:

1.Tell me about your story in THREE sentences!

Just three. Not long ones, just regular ones.

For my AU, @ask-whitepearl-and-steven, it would be:

"A young orphan runs away from home with a mysterious lady who seems more cryptid than human. He realizes that he's not human either - he used to be the ruler of an alien planet! He and the other aliens he meets decide to (REDACTED) (REDACTED) (REDACTED) and he (REDACTED) (REDACTED) (READACTED) (READ ANDCTED) (READ AND FIND OUT)."

YOU should know how YOUR story ends too! Even vaguely.

It helps if you know at what point you plan to lay down the pencil. Because if you DO know, you are always going to know which direction to walk in, even if the end is so far away it's beyond your line of sight.

It's true that when I began WDAU, I didn't have much information about White Diamond and white Pearl, because they had literally ONLY been introduced. I had to guess a lot of the details (like WP being Pink's originally) and what White would be capable of. And thankfully, my original intent for the story's end fit pretty well with what was later revealed!

But don't forget - you could also just fuck around with stuff! It's your story, after all.

And don't forget... to also look back!

2.Tell me WHY the story is happening in the first place.

There's a reason that the beginning of your story happens when it does. If there is no reason to start somewhere, then find a different place to start.

You should be able to tell me "We're picking up the story here because something significant has happened... and that significant thing happened BECAUSE...."

That 'because' is your main background information that should be revealed slowly throughout the story. In WDAU's case, we only have a few pieces of the puzzle. We know Greg's side. He know Earl's side. But there are still little bits and pieces missing! And they're all important for finding out WHY Steven ended up an orphan and WHY he is being followed by White Pearl (Earl) at the very start of the comic!

3.Tell me what the coolest and most interesting things to happen would be....and then write them!

I think this may be something that's rarely said out loud, but I will speak on the behalf of the people...

We should write the scenes we want to read. If you don't want to read the scene you're writing, then DON'T write it!

If you feel like you "have to" do a page and a half of 'lore' because you think it's traditional to have that 'explanation' about the location of your story, or the history of the species or whatever, you're simply wrong. There are other ways to reveal information aside from just forced paragraphs upon paragraphs of information that would make an SAT Reading Section sweat.

Instead, I recommend that you find the most exciting or hilarious way for the characters to discover the most important bits of info. Find a dramatic twist. Shove it into the narrative. Then, figure out what needs to happen to get there.

Ultimately, though, remember this: When you're taking advice from me or from others, don't forget to take advice from yourself, too! It's your story, after all. You know it best, and only YOU can figure out how to get it written.

I hope that helps at least a little bit! Writing it never easy, but it should still be enjoyable!

[certifiedlovergirlsstuff]

"Maybe someday I'll be that guy for you" this line just broke my heart. Why did he have to be so nice about it lol. Can you write a part 2 where he actually start noticing her like that? Like really starting to like her?

steve’s pov (might not be exactly what you asked for)

he still feels his heart lurch whenever he notices that dulled look hiding in your gaze. you try to hide it with a smile in his direction but it doesn’t properly meet your eyes. you don’t go out of your way to find his company you let him come to you, keeping a distance for either of you or just your heart.

it’s not like you’ve completely iced him out, but it’s different now. and steve really fucking hates that, but what’s he supposed to do? he didn’t want you to get your hopes up and so he told the truth, you deserve someone thousand times better than him. and that’s now caused your friendship to sail on rocky waters.

“stop staring at them, it’s creepy.” he startled slightly from the voice behind him, looking over his shoulder to see robin with her eyes stuck in a book at the small break table. he pretended to busy himself, “i wasn’t staring, just zoned out.”

robin hummed, “you seem to be doing that more then usual these days. got a specific thing on your mind? like, oh, i don’t know, breaking y/n’s heart.” she tried to sound nonchalant, but steve could hear the bitter rage spilling through her words.

he sighed as his chin dipped to his chest, “i-i didn’t mean, or try, to break their heart. i-i just wanted to be realistic with them, and also, you don’t think that hurt me to do? i never want to hurt them, it fucking sucked to see them curl away from me. i-i just want my friend back.” he whispered the last part to himself.

“steve,” robin called his named and he looked over his shoulder to see her book closed and tapping her palm on the table. he slowly pulled the second chair closer and rested his elbows on the table.

robin rubbed both palms over her freckled face, “okay, what i’m about to tell you is doctor patient confidentiality. i will give you the worst haircut if any of this information slips from your mouth, got it?” her blue eyes widen. steve just nodded along, planning to lock away all sharp objects.

“they have liked you since freshman year, so it’s been like four plus years of them just gazing at your passing figure in the hall to now working along side you. they were the first to mention to me how you’ve slowly changed in the last year and a half, from being king douchebag to ice cream sailor. they could not stop gushing about any little interaction the two of you had, dissecting the scene until there was nothing left to inspect. so they came up to me the day after the… incident, with tears welling and wetly laughing as they said, “i think i like him more than i expected. probably just felt my first experience of mild heartbreak.” and i’m pretty sure it was more than mild. so what i’m trying to get at is, they’ll need time to heal, and i’m not sure whatever is going on inside harrington land. but just make sure you properly evaluate and think through before taking any further steps.”

then robin had the gull to leave steve in the back room with his screaming mind and pounding heart, and if things couldn’t get worse, the saloon doors pushed in to show you entering with a bag from hot dog on a stick.

“oh… hey,” hesitant. he saw the way your conversed shoes shifted and bent, debating if you wanted to stay or make a run for it. steve made the decision for you and stood from his seat, “uh, i-i should probably-“

“no, no. stay, if-if you can. i got you some fries, figured you’d be a bit hungry before your actual lunch.” your fingers curled tight around the white paper bag, the crinkling sounding like lightning.

steve was sure he had a bit of a surprised expression on his face, “you-you didn’t have to do that.”

you took robin’s spot while shrugging your shoulders with a twisted smile, “we do it for each other all the time. just thought of you and figured you didn’t eat anything before coming into work.” sliding a cup of medium fries and even a small coke can.

a smile lifted the corners of steve’s lips, “robin’s right.” he noted the way your brows twitched at that, “you’re a saint from heaven meant to be the one good person on this shitty earth.”

“that’s must explain why i get hurt so much.”

steve squeezed his eyes shut, fuck.

[novelmonger]

I am now (finally) embarking on the last of the LotR audio commentaries I never listened to before: the Production/Post-Production one, with Barrie Osborne (producer), Mark Ordesky (executive producer), Andrew Lesnie (director of photography), John Gilbert (editor), Rick Porras (co-producer), Howard Shore (composer), and Jim Rygiel (visual effects supervisor). A lot more Americans in this group than the previous ones have been. I feel much more out of my depth with this one in terms of figuring out who's talking, but let's see what new stuff they have to say for FotR!

The sound from when Sauron explodes comes from a bunch of sounds they recorded both inside and outside ships in the harbor, as well as the sounds of WWII airplane propellers.

The scenes with Gollum in the prologue were actually some of the last shots they filmed for FotR.

The farmers around the area where they filmed Hobbiton would warn them when people would turn up who weren't supposed to be there, with cameras and whatnot, as well as warning them when planes or choppers would be overhead, so they could prevent (as much as possible) from footage leaking before the movie was released. That warms my heart :)

They used the analogy of a "shell game" when talking about all the different techniques they used to keep the proportions of characters correct with their different sizes. Because they would switch up the techniques between shots, it helped sell the overall effect, because you're not just always looking at a scale double or a bluescreen or what-have-you.

In the scene with Bilbo and Gandalf in the kitchen, they used forced perspective, with the table cut in half so that everything is small for Gandalf and the right size for Bilbo. When Bilbo pours the tea into the teapot, Gandalf handles a small lid on his side, putting it on a little rod that holds it in the right position so it looks like it's sitting on the teapot. Meanwhile, the actual teapot is on Bilbo's side so he can pour the water into it. Also, when Gandalf is first sitting down at the table and turning to get his legs underneath it, if you look closely you can see that when he bumps up against it, the half of the table closer to the camera jiggles a little, but the other half doesn't because it was actually some 5-10 feet away.

In the shot at the party that pans down from the fireworks and the tree, the actual party with all the dancing and everything was shot in a set, so they had to go back to the Hobbiton location (which had already been cleared of the set at that point, I think) and match up that shot to get the tree, and then they composited it together.

The direction for that shot of Minas Tirith when Gandalf goes to research the Ring was to make it look like "Constantinople in the morning." This may be my favorite part of this commentary :)

They needed to scan actors' faces so they could have their digital doubles to work with for certain shots. When they brought in Ian McKellen to scan his face, they said, "We just need to scan your face in a neutral position." He said, "Neutral for me or neutral for Gandalf?" And he demonstrated his own neutral expression, and when he switched to neutral Gandalf, he looked completely different, pursing his lips and furrowing his eyebrows and sucking his cheeks in more. Truly the sign of a gifted actor who knows how to ply his craft.

In the scene where Frodo and Sam are trying to sleep on the road for the first time, originally they were going to end with some sort of animal sniffing around them. First it was a deer, and they also tried a rabbit and maybe some other animals (possible fox appearance???). But that part didn't even make it into the Extended Edition.

Something I never thought about that they had to pay attention to was, because Orthanc is made of shiny material, they had to consider the color and quality of the light reflecting off it. So when they filmed the real location, they would take the camera and pan around the location, then print out stills and put them up around the miniature when they filmed that part of the shot, so they could get the right colors to match each shot they would composite over it, so it would look like both were in the same place. Now that's what I call attention to detail!

On the night they shot the little chase sequence with the Nazgul in the forest, it was actually raining off and on, even though you can't really see it in the movie. That made the ground very muddy, so the Hobbits actually had to be carried back to their first position for each new take so they wouldn't get too much mud on their feet and clothes.

To get the sounds of the trees' "voices" when the orcs in Isengard tear them down, they actually used several animal sounds like whales, moreso than sounds recorded from actual trees.

Bob Anderson, the swordmaster for the films, said they needed to have five copies of every sword for every actor every day they were going to be fighting with them, because that's how likely it is for them to be broken (since the swords actors use for hitting each other are lighter and not made like a real sword). But Richard Taylor wanted to find a way to make the swords more durable, because there are a lot of swords in these movies. So Weta developed a technique to help the stunt swords redistribute the shock from hitting them against each other. They took polyurethane, which Mark Ordesky notes is the same material as skateboard wheels, and they made a sort of sheath of that under the surface of the hilt. None of the swords they made like that ever broke.

The tree that gets thrown down into the chasm in Isengard had to be a miniature so they could get it high enough to drop it as far as they wanted to (and so they wouldn't have to cut down a huge tree). But they had to add little springs and things to make the branches bounce and jiggle properly, rather than just break off, as they would if you just made a little model tree. Little details like that really sell the scale.

In the Nazgul horseback chase scene, they cleared a path for the horses to safely run through the forest. But then they would also get branches and put them on the car or whatever vehicle had the camera, so it would look like they were pushing through more dense foliage, while still keeping the actors and horses safe.

The Council of Elrond was the final piece of the sound mix they had to finish for FotR, and it was down to a matter of hours. One of the things they mentioned having difficulty figuring out what to do with was the moment when Frodo sets the Ring down on the plinth. Originally, there was going to be a murmur of the crowd watching, but it didn't seem to have the gravitas and stunned awe necessary for that moment, so they had to play around with a lot of things before Peter Jackson was satisfied with it.

When Gimli smashes the Ring with his axe, John Rhys-Davies was actually only holding an empty handle, and the axe head was added digitally later so it could shatter.

Barrie Osborne (I think?) commented on something at least Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, especially Dom, started to do in order to make it more believable that the primary actors and the scale doubles are the same people. He noticed that their scale doubles tended to move and walk in a certain way (I assume partly because most of them were Little People, so their physique and proportions are a bit different), and so instead of leaving it up to them to mimic his movements, he started changing the way he moved to match them. That's just really cool.

Originally, they were going to do a bit of a flashback when Boromir asks Aragorn, "Have you ever seen the white tower..." etc. It would have been shot in the same place as the scene where Aragorn is visiting his mother's grave, and would feature Elrond talking to Aragorn about how he's the only one who can wield Anduril and how he needs to take his place as the king of Gondor.

For some of the close-up shots of Gimli in the scene where they first head into Moria, they actually had to use a double - not a scale double! an actual guy who was the same size as John Rhys-Davies! - because John had such a bad reaction to the facial prosthetics that he had to go a few days in between each time he put it on. But he'd had the prosthetics on the day before, and they didn't have time to wait until he could put them on again. So they had to find a double, put on the prosthetics and costume, and then John stood out of frame and spoke the lines, and the double mouthed the words along with him. I would never have guessed!

THANK YOU TO WHOEVER WAS TALKING AND I'M SORRY I COULDN'T RECOGNIZE YOUR VOICE FOR SURE, but someone was talking about "cinematic dark." In other words, how to light a scene so you can see everything that's happening even though you're in a place with hardly any light sources, like in Moria where the only light comes from the torch and Gandalf's staff most of the time. Instead of making it all really dark (*pointed stare at too many movies these days*), they shot it as if there is a source of light, but always very far away, like it's filtering through miles of rocky caverns or something. What that meant practically was that they would only light the characters in silhouette or from the side, never the front. So it would still give the impression that they're in darkness, but you don't have to strain at all to make out what's happening. They also desaturated the colors so everything looked muted, similar to how your vision kind of goes black-and-white in the dark.

One of the fundamental elements for the Moria goblin screeches was an opossum screech. There was some kind of opossum research facility in Wellington that they went to to record what became the foundation of the goblin sounds. Then they took them and re-recorded them in some WWII tunnels to get the right echoey reverb effect. And then for the sounds of them moving, they took sounds from insects like grasshoppers, as well as rattling seashells from the beach against the walls of the tunnels to get a scuttling sort of sound for when they come pouring out of holes in the ceiling.

You know that one shot where Legolas fires an arrow at a goblin archer and the camera follows the arrow all the way into his forehead? I always assumed that whole thing was all CG, but no! Even that had a practical element to it! They set up a camera on a sort of zip line with a bungee cord and sent it down as fast as it could go towards an actual stunt guy in costume! Now that's what I call above and beyond.

They shot a scene that didn't make it into even the Extended Edition of the Fellowship arguing about what they should do next after they leave Moria, with some members having misgivings about going to Lothlorien. I wish we could see that, even though I understand why they needed to keep things moving. They didn't mention if they actually shot this or if it was scrapped by the time they got that far, but there was also a mention of the entry to Lothlorien being much more frantic, as they're chased by orcs and then rescued by a sudden volley of Elven arrows.

There was also once a longer scene between Boromir and Frodo as they're waiting to see if Haldir will let them into Lothlorien. He tells Frodo a story of him getting over the death of one of his comrades. Um...I wanna see these extra scenes!!!

They wanted Lothlorien to feel ethereal and maybe almost slightly in a different universe, because of the Elves and especially Galadriel, who can see into hearts and minds. One of the ways they did that was by diffusing the light on the set so everything seems kind of dreamy. Another way they tweaked things was by bringing out the blues and edging them towards lavender. Yes, yes, Lothlorien is supposed to be golden, but after hearing the explanation about how lavender is actually one of the hardest colors to get to look right on film (the word used was "fragile") and to look good against skin tones, and therefore you don't see it very much in the movies, I can appreciate the subtle ways they tried to make Lothlorien feel distinct.

Originally, they were going to have a scene where the Fellowship goes through some rapids on the Anduin and get ambushed by orc archers. Ultimately, they decided they didn't need that as a story beat at that point, and it would have been very difficult to shoot anyway. Makes me wonder if that influenced the infamous barrel scene from the Hobbit movies, like they dug up some old plans for that....

Except for one wide shot where they used a scale double for Frodo, the entire confrontation between Boromir and Frodo was shot just with Sean Bean and Elijah Wood, no special effects, just strategic blocking and using the slope and different angles to their advantage to always make it look like Frodo is smaller than Boromir.

If I understood Howard Shore correctly, he was inspired to use a boy's choir for Boromir's death when he saw Boromir, after falling to his knees from the first arrow or two, looking up at Merry and Pippin. Boys singing at his death gives a sense of lost innocence, which is appropriate both to Boromir trying to take the Ring as well as to the lost innocence of losing the Hobbits. So it's not just a lament for Boromir, it's also his lament for (as he thinks in the moment, because he knows he's dying) failing the Hobbits.

The original mix for Boromir's death had all the sound effects at full volume, which made the moment even more brutal. Mark Ordesky was saying that he (and probably some others) was thinking it might be better if they pulled back on some of the sound and let the music be louder. Peter Jackson said, "Well, let's try it," and as soon as they turned down the volume, the entire room basically agreed immediately that's how they needed to do it. It's meant to sound and feel almost like you're sinking underwater as Boromir is dying, because that's how it would sound and feel for him.

Oh my goodness, further proof that studio execs shouldn't have a say in the story of a movie. New Line wanted the movie to end with Frodo and Sam paddling across the river, and then an Uruk bursts up from underwater and grabs Frodo, pulling him out of the boat. The Ring somehow comes off the chain, and the Uruk is so enamored with it that he ends up drowning while trying to grab it. Then Sam somehow gets Frodo (and the Ring) back into the boat. Thank goodness they came up with the much better ending we all know and love. Because the people actually involved with writing the movie and telling its story knew that the ending of FotR needs to be about the breaking of the Fellowship, about love and loyalty in the face of great evil. So that's why they went with the ending they did: Sam falls into the water and almost drowns, Frodo saves him, and that paves the way for the incredible emotional high of Frodo leaving the Fellowship, but Sam going with him. And just like Frodo is thinking about how Gandalf talked about how he was meant to find the Ring, Sam is thinking about how Gandalf told him not to leave Frodo. It all ties together so much better.

The last shot for the film was Boromir going over the waterfall. It was in the final cut of the movie just as a previs shot, and Barrie Osborne said he assumed it was going to be a CG effect or something. But finally, while Peter Jackson was in London working on scoring the film - so pretty late in the production - Barrie called him and asked when they were going to shoot that scene. Peter Jackson had forgotten about it! So Barrie had to shoot it, and since they didn't have the actors in New Zealand at that point, they had to get Weta to make a silicon dummy to shoot instead.

[viktorthinker11]

Has anyone else realized just how much this gear symbolizes Jayce and Viktor’s relationship? Gears are meant to be linked together, they’re supposed to be in pairs as they help the rotation of a machine.

The first time we see it is when they are together, forming their new found partnership, and discovering the true magic of Hextech. They pass the gear to each other to emphasize this connection and synergy.

The next time we see it is when Viktor discovers another one during his talk with Jinx and Vi. Viktor keeps this gear and when Jayce kills him, it rolls out of his hand and falls flat on the ground.

At this point, Jayce and Viktor are seperated from each other. Jayce ending his life shows that their relationship is over, that they’ve broken apart. This is why Viktor releases the gear and it comes to a complete stop, because there is no longer any traction in their relationship. They are not together, so the gear no longer has any meaning.

The final time we see it is in this scene.

Jayce is in the room alone without Viktor who is usually always by his side. He touches this gear shaped table and has flashbacks about when Viktor was almost killed by Jinx’s rocket.

He feels guilty about the direction things have gone in, that he couldn’t save him. If Viktor was spared that day, none of the events that took place afterwards would have unfolded. This is why he lashes out at Mel, asking why she didn’t save other people in the room, meaning Viktor.

The gear here is at a complete standstill as it truly solidifies that he and Viktor’s relationship is no more. They can’t go back to the partnership or connection they once shared. It is not only because they are apart, but it is because they are not on the same page, they are not connected. Viktor is a completely different person from when they first met. This is why Jayce tells Viktor during their fight that his partner died in that room.

To sum it up, the gear stopped moving over time as their relationship began to fade.

[lostsyren]

Hey, I’m doing thin anonymously because I’m quite ashamed of my own thoughts, but in the beginning I was quite bitter Rafe got (very beautiful and lovely!!) girl but now I’ve forced myself into shock therapy and binge every poste about this ship and I have to thank you for helping for getting out of this toxic almost fictophillic (?) relationship. Now I’m actually quite happy to see them together, so yeah. Quite stupid I know but thanks for the ice cold bucket full of Sofia and Rafe content that helps me to overcome this stupid, irrational (‘I hate her because I ain’t her but I won’t admit it’) thoughts.

So I’ve got a small question, could you maybe write something about Rafe being completely scolded by Sofia when he talks shit about pouge or whatever?

Love!! ❤️

⟡♡ pogue princess ──୨ৎ──

{a/n: hi lovely! i’m so glad you’re now a rafesofia truther!! welcome!! <3 honestly it’s the best thing you can be with all the screen time and scenes they got in s4!! i’m glad you like my work! and don’t be ashamed, i don’t care, people have different opinions and that’s ok! i hope you enjoy and thank you for the request!}

{summary: rafe and sofia go to a party where rafe crashes out and sofia is not impressed and makes her concerns known}

˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚

Sofia entered the party, her arm wrapped around Rafe’s, eyeing the rowdy crowds of kooks all drunk or on their way to it. She instinctively tightened her arm around her boyfriend.

The sun was settling as Kelce’s house party started to set in motion, the heavy bass thumping and the drinks continually flowing.

Sofia quickly scanned what the other girls were wearing, making sure she didn’t stick out. Her slip dress held on by flimsy straps was something she’d worn before– she hoped no one would notice.

It was funny to her how she cared more about what Rafe’s friends thought of her than what Rafe thought. She supposed it was because whenever it was just her and Rafe, those insecurities never used to bite. It was always when she’d hang out with Topper, Kelce and Ruthie the anxiety began to eat at her.

Spotting Topper in the crowd, she gave him a small smile, before Rafe dropped her arm and went to embrace his friend.

“Hey Top!” He laughed, smile wide and words loud. Sofia always felt so small next to him– both in size and importance. With Rafe’s arm no longer there to hold, she felt unmoored, drifting in a sea of unfamiliar faces. But of course she did recognise a few: the people she’d serve at the bar. And she knew they recognised her too. It always stung when she’d see the gears slowly turn in their head, glancing from her to Rafe. They were always so… confused– what was a pogue doing with Rafe Cameron?

The party was the same as all the parties before it. Rafe, Topper and Kelce being loud and obnoxious, Sofia sticking with Rafe when he was away from them, and when he’d leave her, she’d stick with Ruthie, who’d always ask weird and invasive questions: So how are you and Rafe? He giving you any trouble? You’re always together, do you not get tired of each other? You guys moved in yet?

Sofia would give short, vague answers, never calling her out on her shit, because she knew how ruthless Ruthie could be– she’d never want to be on her bad side.

So that’s what she was doing, sipping at her drink whilst listening to Ruthie bitch about some other girl, (after she’d interrogated Sofia about her love life of course), when she heard a loud commotion come from the kitchen.

Sofia watched Ruthie’s eyes gloss over with glee, darting in the direction of the clamour. Sofia tagged along, leaving her drink on the mantle piece, only to see her boyfriend yell like a crazy person at someone she didn’t recognise with Topper behind him, trying to rein him back like he was a feral animal.

“This is our Homebase!” Rafe yelled, his voice making Sofia’s body squirm. “Get the fuck off our property, think you can just freeload like the good for nothing pogues you are?”

The group of guys rushed out the party, a crate of beer slotted under their arm, which they presumably stole, leaving Rafe enraged. Whenever he got like this he looked like he enjoyed it, his eyes glistening with a manic sheen, his lips contorted in a sneering smile. It disturbed Sofia.

Ruthie skipped over to Topper, swinging her long arms around his neck, whilst Rafe continued to let off steam.

“Coming from the Cut and stealing our shit? That we earned. It’s not right, they need to be taught a lesson.” He yelled, drinking straight from the vodka bottle.

Sofia’s stomach pooled with shame. She sometimes wondered if Rafe thought of her like that– like a freeloading, good for nothing pogue.

Rafe spotted her sidelining the uproar, his face breaking out in a smile as he approached her.

“Baby! There you are!” He greeted, voice still suspended in a yell. He draped a heavy arm around her, dragging her into his body heat. “How you finding the party?”

She looked up at him, as he swung back another swig of alcohol.

“I want to go home.” She said, looking up at him with wide eyes.

His brow furrowed, nose twitching in confusion, “but we just got here?”

“I don’t care– I’m leaving.” She untangled herself from his grip, weaving her way through the throng of people, grateful to finally exit and inhale the sharp, cold night air.

She waited for Rafe outside, knowing he’d follow, wrapping her arms to shield herself from the wind.

And like clockwork, he slipped out the house a moment later, running around to face her. “Sofia? What’s wrong huh?”

She was angry and she knew he could tell, from the way his demeanour shifted from the cocky, slick, drink swinging guy from inside to the now twitchy and confused Rafe who was scared of pushing her too far.

“You yelling to everyone about how much you despise pogues while I’m standing right there? You know how stupid that makes me look?” She said, tone harsh.

Rafe glanced around, checking if anyone overheard, “let’s go home yeah?” He suggested, leading her to his car, his hands on her shoulder.

Sofia wanted to scream at him, let all his kook friends see him get shouted at by a pogue instead, but deep down inside she didn’t want to embarrass him, wanting to live up to the impossibly pristine expectation of being Rafe Cameron’s girlfriend.

So she let him open the car door for her, helping her get in, slipping into the drivers seat a moment later.

“I don’t understand why you’re upset,” Rafe said, turning to face her once the car door was shut.

Her eyebrows furrowed, “when you insult pogues you’re insulting me. You’re calling me a good for nothing free loader, you’re calling me a thief, you’re calling my family scum. Don’t you understand that?”

Rafe’s confusion only proliferated, his nose turning up, his lips screwing in disbelief, “baby they stole our beer– I was shouting at them, not at you or your family.”

“Yeah they did, but not because they’re pogues Rafe, there’s some kooks who are just as bad.”

“I know that, I wasn’t being serious Sofia.”

“Yeah well sometimes it feels like it is serious.”

“You can’t be for real right now– I treat you so well and you think imma disrespect you?”

“It’s not about that, it’s about you disrespecting my people. This, them–” she said gesturing to the house and its occupants, “it’s not mine, it’s yours.”

Rafe let out a sigh, eyes scanning Sofia’s “what’s mine is yours, you know that right?”

“Rafe, just stop with all the pogue talk ok? I don’t like it,” she said, tone dismal and exasperated.

“Ok ok it’s done. Anything for my girl, ain’t that right?” He said with a smirk, swooping his face down to hers. It was hard for Sofia to remain angry at him, not when he smiled at her like that. She rolled her eyes, lips curving into a grin.

“What d’you say, you wanna head back to the party? Or shall we go home?”

“What do you wanna do”

“I say we should go home and I’ll make sure you’re not a free loading pogue.” His tone was playful as he brushed the hair off her neck, his breath hot against her pulse point.

“Oh yeah? How are you gonna do that?” Sofia murmured in his ear.

“You’re gonna pay me back of course. Gonna teach you a lesson for stealing my heart.”

Sofia erupted into laughter. “That was terrible Rafe.”

Rafe also began to chuckle, eyes crinkling at the sides. She could tell he was relieved their little spat was over. Despite always being involved in many fights with others, Rafe seemed to hate whenever they’d fight with one another. “yeah well you’re blushing so it wasn’t that bad.”

Sofia pressed a kiss on his cheek, “come on, let’s go.”

“So demanding, quite the pogue princess aren’t you?”

“Pogue princess? Really? That’s even worse.”

Rafe cocked his head with a smirk, “whatever you say, princess.”

˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ ˚⋆𐙚

[justanerddummie]

You know what, after all the talk about Caitlyn tyrant arc I cannot unsee all the parallels between her and Silco.

It always left me a little baffled how Cait was one of the few character who didn't have a clear parallel with another one, yes, there's Grayson, there's Jinx and even Marcus if you will, but at least to me they never quite clicked right. But when you overlap Silco and Cait, the amount of shit they do the same is insane, especially with all the new stuff from s2.

It's not about her simply becoming a villain, it's like a circle with Caitlyn moving forward to reach the point of no return and Silco going backward after reaching the point of no return, meeting just for a moment - at the mad tea party - having different directions.

But let's start from the beginning.

We have a bunch of scenes where we see Silco tell Jinx about how he used to be different, how he had to cut out the part of him that made him soft in order to become the leader of the undercity and at the same time we get to see Caitlyn's entitled ass dissolve as her heart of gold starts making appearances, like when she refused to kill Sevika or when she gave her rifle away for Vi without batting an eye as she starts trusting Vi more and more considering how she just exchanged her only weapon for shimmer to cure Vi. Then in the other episodes they both come clean about the real reasons they are in the undercity and they start really trusting each other, two peas in a pod, just like Vander and Silco back in the day.

But then in oil and water during the rain scene when Vi leaves Cait, I think we can see the first the first seed of betrayal being planted, it's the you don't believe in me anymore, which I think can be connected to when we see Vander strangle Silco, I think that scene is supposed to go after the bridge scene in ep3 it's the aftermath of the battle with enforcers and I can totally see Silco refusing to give up on the dream of Zaun and Vander seeing no other option but to kill him in order to protect his people. I know it's a long stretch but as for Vi and Cait the rain scene is the first rift, for Silco and Vander the scene at the river is the last straw, it also ties very well with Silco being handed Zaun on a silver plate in exchange for the last piece of his heart and refusing (Cait is still not there but I think there will be something like this in s2 at the very end) just as Cait is taking the first steps into not trusting Vi.

(I'm trying to talk about how I see Caitlyn's point of view and not trying to blame Vi, I really do think that Vi had every right to make that decisions in that moment)

And then there's the mad tea party, that in no way can even be compared to the scene on the bridge in ep3 but I would still say that I think Caitlyn has processed the tea party in a similar way Silco has processed the bridge scene and what came after, the betrayal of the people they trusted the most as they watched their respective loved ones die one by the hands of the enforcers and the other by the hands of Jinx.

And as Silco's rage grew he wanted another fight with Piltover and Vander stopped him, Vi stopped Cait from taking the shot on Jinx, making that little seed of betrayal bloom and grow a little.

So by the end of s1 we see Cait is almost in Silco's starting point as he has completed his lap of the circle.

And now I dive into the more speculative section of this long-ass rant, where I'd like to put to comparison Silco's deal with Singed with Cait's alliance with Noxus. And for as much as it pains to admit it, I don't think Cait will fall for Ambessa manipulation, she's too smart, I think that she'll sacrife her morality to achieve what she's set herself up to, same way as Silco did with shimmer. The base violence for change.

I really do think that the similarities will get way stronger in s2 with the seeds of betrayal blooming by the end of s1 especially considering how both Silco and Cait's story revolve around taking control and in a certain way becoming the leaders no one asked for.

They both never wanted to be leaders as Silco was more than happy to let Vander be the face of revolution and Cait couldn't give less of a fuck about politics and spent most of the time in s1 trying to not start a war between Piltover and Zaun and wooing Zaunites women.

But at the same time both of them never shied away from the power, they both kept their heads held high in the face of people who hated them, and both were always arrogant enough to believe they could change the world single-handedly.

With that I conclude this long-ass post both wanting s2 to come faster and dreading the moment it finally comes and honestly hoping that Cait's story doesn't end the same way as Silco did. With some form of redemption arrived a little too late.

[phantomarine]

Hey what were you trying to say in your “it gets good at page 1001” post

Was it more of a comment directed at yourself ( self degradation), is it satire about perfectionism,

Is it supposed to be inspirational for Beginners webcomic creators, or we’re you just in a bad mood?

More of a warning against self-sabotage, because I see it so much. Sometimes it's tied to perfectionism, sometimes it's the opposite - people surrendering to imperfection when they don't really have to.

Creator chat incoming. I'll put it under the deelybob for anyone who wants to read it 👇

I've been in the webcomic sphere for several years now and I've seen so many people introduce their comic with 'I know it's very long and not easy to read, and I won't be going back and changing anything about what I've already made - but please critique it so I can make the rest of the pages better and attract a bigger audience from now on.'

And that's a hard thing to respond to. If a reader can't get through all those existing pages without being confused or bored, then how can they get to the good stuff that lies past them?

So much of gaining an audience is about actively making it easy to 'fall into' a work. Without that easy entry point, it's always going to be an uphill battle to build an audience, no matter how good the later chapters get. There are outliers, but most webcomics won't be those outliers, especially with thousands of them available nowadays. Some people love the grind, but most people will jump to a new tab and try to find something less frustrating.

And webcomic creation is particularly cursed by its very nature. Creators are hesitant to go back and edit pages, even once they've figured out more details about their craft or story structure. It's mostly because of the seeming permanence of it all - the art takes ages and the words feel unchangeable if even one other person has read them. To go back and edit is to publicly admit your failings, right? That's how it feels. What do you MEAN you didn't get it right the first time? You were supposed to do it live, and do it PERFECTLY!

But ideally it shouldn't be any different than prose writing, which is ALL ABOUT finding the story in those edits. And because your story is digital, you can go back and change things whenever you feel like it. A webcomic is fluid.

And if you're thinking 'I should just redraw my whole first chapter' - NO! Hell no, old art can be a part of the appeal! It's far more about finding little tricks to convey your story/characters more clearly. I have read some first chapters with janky art that made me fall completely in love with the story and cast. It's not about the art - as with all things comic-related, it's about conveyance.

Examples I've seen and some I've used myself: A single extra page with a meaningful interaction can solidify the theme of a character's arc. One additional 5-to-10-page scene can help add visual context for an offscreen event where there was none before. Adding a map can tell people where the characters currently are. Changing a character design can help if they get often confused with another character. Redoing your lettering to make it more legible is a huge one too.

In the end, I just don't want people to be afraid of small edits. When I got feedback about the bad clarity of my own work, I knew it would take some time to fix those problems. It wasn't fun to think about or to do, but I'm glad I did it in the end - because it would have limited my audience tremendously. With just a bit of extra effort, I opened a door that wasn't there before, and it now leads more people even more easily to 'the good stuff.'

tl;dr You started your webcomic for a reason, and you're learning more things about its characters, story, and craft every day. Don't be afraid to go back to old pages and inject some of that wisdom through editing. Even a little can go a long way.

***Caveat: If your goal is to just create chaotically, with no goal of gaining an audience, you are a wild and free little thing, and I am in awe of you. This whole rant doesn't apply to you, and you are stronger than me.

[qiqi-media]

The Villain was Mal: The century long Did I mention debate.

To this day Audrey and Ben are being pitted against each other in the Did I mention scene when neither of them were at fault.

Ben was the direct victim, he was unable to control his actions and did something he wouldn't even had done had he not been drugged and NOBODY out of all the people who knew him for years found this out of character or stood up for him. They didn't pull him aside afterwards to ask what the hell he was doing or if he was okay, knowing he was pretty much completely unprotected from magic and the VK girly is walking around with a spell book.

Audrey was the indirect victim, she was publicly humiliated by her boyfriend and watched people she was friends with cheer him on and the girl he's doing this with is the daughter of your family's enemy. You were visibly destressed and the same thing with Ben, nobody cares, nobody asks. So you do the only thing you can do to try and save face and find another date. She's got her heartbroken, she'd probably feel more humiliated even trying to ask Ben about it and it doesn't help all of her friends are cheering them on. She at this point doesn't even know what was really going on.

Ben ends up in this borderline abusive relationship where he's afraid to say no to his girlfriend/fiance and everyone including his parents holds her opinion of more value than his as king. Whenever he's being abused by magic, which happens in all three movies nobody (D1-D2) Sticks up for him they either don't care or blame him for actions he had no control over.

Audrey is shunned from Auardon and is blamed by her family for failing to secure the king as if they didn't have a genuine relationship and she doesn't have feelings. She falls into a depression and has fallen behind in school and questions her self worth because all of the people who were her friends or looked at her in awe were now asking "What is she doing here?" for showing up to a birthday party that in any other circumstances she would've been invited. How was she not supposed to tie her self worth in dating Ben when people started treating her like a waste of space when she wasn't with him?

In conclusion, after years we need to realize that this situation was neither of their faults, they had been used and manipulated in a plan that was barely undone because nothing was every clarified between the two. The ending of their relationship was forced onto them and consequently the destruction of any friendship they could've had. I don't want to be like "blame it all on Mal" but if we're going back and forth between blaming Ben and Audrey, then yes we need to blame Mal. She created the direct situation for it to happen, benefited from it entirely, lied about what actually happened (saying she spelled Ben for love) and she herself never tried to make amends or actually explain the situation. Mal spelled him taking away his right of action and she clearly wasn't sorry about what happened to Audrey because she insults her right after the did I mention scene when at this point she doesn't know anything about her. She further in my opinions shows a lack of actual remorse when she continues to try and spell Ben later on and when she gives up on magic gaslights him into doing what she wants (she doesn't take no for an answer.) (That's a whole different conversation but okay Mal, Audrey is the shallow one and Evie is better even though everybody knew Evie was only interested in Chad because he was a prince.)

[backwardsbread]

CHRIST! your writing is absolutely gorgeous, i love it so much <3

i was wondering if i could request a husk x reader angst, where it's extermination day and reader gets severely injured while protecting husk? kinda something like an executioner lunges at husk while his back is turned so reader saves him from dying but in turn ends up dying instead? as the reader is dying they're also trying to comfort husk, telling him that they wanted to save him. probably a scene where husk is shaking the readers dead body begging them to wake up, that they were supposed to be the one who died and not them????

(i am a sucker for husk angst, and there isn't enough of it ; ;)

Oh my- oh my gosh- LISTEN- I KNOW IM USUALLY A FLUFF WRITER

But this is awesome and I’m a sucker for angst. Yall have no idea. >:)

Ask and you shall receive~

Husk x GN!Reader ANGST

~Live Happy~

Warnings‼️:Angst, gore, blood, heartbreak, descriptions of death, descriptions of grief, not a happy ending, the author is TERRIBLE at writing fight scenes, swearing, Pentious’ is mentioned but barely acknowledged.

~Semi proofread~

Extermination day was here.

The hotel was prepared, armed with the hotel’s residents and Rosie’s Rebellious Cannibals. The sky split, golden light pouring down on Hell’s dark cities. The sight would’ve been beautiful under any other circumstance, something you had hoped to see when death crept up on you. But as villainous angels swooped down from the portal to the golden realm, reality struck like a knife.

As much as you wished to be living afterlife comfortably, with no threats or potential harm to come,

You weren’t completely alone.

“Now! For yours souls!” Vaggie shouts, causing you to grip your angelic weapon tighter. Adrenaline pumps through your veins making your heart quicken its pace. Your hands trembled slightly against your hold on the weapon. The moment didn’t feel real, how had it come to this? You had tunnel vision towards the direction of the portal.

“You ready for this, hot shot?” You hear to your side, making your head snap in the direction where it came from.

There you saw Husk, offering a grin to you. Of course he was nervous, equally as nervous as you were. Husk’s eyes shook wildly with anxiety, gripping some explosive dice in his palm. You felt a boost of confidence, knowing that whatever was to happen, Husk would be there.

Your relationship with Husk only started when you found the hotel on a whim. You had ‘joined’ the princess’ team when you just needed a place to stay and keep safe. So much that did for you when war was about to commence.

But you wouldn’t have traded your impulsive decision to go to the hotel for anything. Sure, the reason the Hazbin Hotel existed was for redemption, something that felt so unfit for you. However, through your stay, you made friends and memories that put your old life to shame.

Husk being one of the most influential players in you staying and fighting for the hotel. At first Husk was tough, hard as nails and sharp as a knife. You shared a few drinks with him on late nights, not really speaking much until you were too tipsy to comprehend words leaving your mouth. It was something Husk was used to. Sinners coming to his bar, getting drunk, and spilling their guts to him.

Husk found your company different than the rest of the hotel members. You were oftentimes quiet, which he could appreciate. But you had a way of being able to sense his emotions. Anytime he was frustrated, he found you somehow just knowing and trying to find a way to calm him. Your company was more intoxicating than any liquor he could get his hands on in Hell.

Did Husk gain certain feelings for you just because you were willing to listen to him? Highly possible.

Was he ever going to act on those feelings? Not in this afterlife, maybe the next.

He couldn’t bear the thought of you guys growing distance all because he couldn’t get a grip. He could put on a brave face and stayed mature, never willing to ruin the bond you both shared.

Unaware of the effects Husk had on you by his little comment, a smirk works its way on your lips. You chuckle, twirling the angelic weapon in your hand.

“As I’ll ever be, whiskers.” You comment back, letting Husk roll his eyes at the nickname you called him. He had no time to come back with any witty banter.

There were more pressing matters at hand.

Surviving.

Battle started, angels swooping down with weapons at the ready. Aimlessly swinging and stabbing at demons ready to rebel. You were never a fantastic fighter, but if meant for your soul, for you to see afterlife better than this, you’d fight until your legs couldn’t carry you anymore.

It didn’t take long for Alastor to form a shield around the hotel and its rebellious sinners. His laugh echoed loud against the shields walls that formed, causing the angels trapped inside and be slaughtered. The sound of explosions, the smell of dirt and angelic blood, it was intoxicating. Revenge felt so sweet as you plunged your angelic weapon into an angel’s gut, letting them fall from grace. You yanked your weapon out, the silver now coated in liquid gold.

When the angel’s movements came to a halt, you couldn’t help but grin. It felt so freeing, all those years in Hell you stayed scared and hidden. Now it was the angels who looked weak by your hand. Your senses filled with empowerment, hope for the future as you continued your slaughter.

With a loud boom, the ground beneath you shook. Hell’s red skies got brighter as Alastor’s shield slowly cracked away, broken by Adam who wore a sinister grin. Your eyes widened, as more angels found the opportunity to swoop down and attack. You took a few steps back, pupils beginning to shake.

There were so many of them.

Your shoulder collided with Husk’s as you backed up. You stumbled a bit, looking over at Husk, gripping your weapon tighter in case he was an enemy. Husk put his hands up in defense. You relax once you see who you had bumped into, seeing no threat. Husk sees the panic in your eyes, how your body started to freeze in fear of any movement that would cause attention to you. He gently grabs your forearm. Despite how unsure he was about how this was all going to play out, he wanted- needed- to keep you safe. And part of that was making sure you were not frozen in fear, waiting for an angel to come attack you.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay.. we’ve got this. Just stick with me, okay?” Husk held your forearm, pulling you closer to him. Your body, like a dog to a dinner bell, instinctively relaxed under his touch. How long had he had this power over you? Even in war, Husk’s presence felt so warm.

Your eyes catch something behind Husk, making them widened. You pull on Husk’s arm, dragging him behind you. With a need to protect, you plunge your angelic weapon into an angel’s throat, that had just been behind Husk, ready to strike. The angel falls limp against your weapon, falling to the ground. Golden blood sprays out of the angel’s neck as your rip your weapon out. You wipe your face with your sleeve, looking back at Husk who looked shocked yet amused by your sudden attack.

“Stick together.” You say, a new sense of accomplishment running through your veins at Husk’s silent approval.

And that is how you fought, making sure you had your friend’s backs whenever they needed. You weren’t alone. You were all fighting for a cause you weren’t sure you really believed in. This wasn’t just a fight for Charlie though. It was to prove that despite how something beyond you decided you were demonic, you weren’t helpless.

Holy light struck the ground, making it shake once again. You looked up to see Adam, shooting rays of golden light down at you and your team. Where was Alastor?? Wasn’t he supposed to be fending off Adam-

Realization hits like a freight train. It got harder and harder to fend off the angels, especially now with Adam’s brutal attacks. You watch Pentious’ ship suddenly start to fly its way right towards Adam.

“That crazy motherfucker..” You hear AngelDust mutter, watching Pentious’ ship head straight towards Adam, its death ray lighting up. In the blink of an eye, the ship disappeared with a single shot of holy light towards it. Your eyes widen as your heart shatters a bit.

Charlie falls to her knees, Vaggie moving down to comfort her. You hang your head low, swearing under your breath and wiping away the tears that threatened to fall. You didn’t even have time to grieve the loss that just happened. You hear Charlie growl under her breath, losing control of herself over the loss of someone she had promised to protect.

She called for Razzle and Dazzle, the two once small rams turning to dragons as Charlie let her true colors show. Vaggie and Charlie flew off towards Adam, a thirst for revenge of a fallen solider evident.

But that left you, Husk, Angel, and Cherri down alone, with the army of cannibals whose numbers were quickly falling. You were exhausted but had no time to pause, each exorcist attacking right after another. As you stabbed through another exorcist, each breath made your lungs feel like fire, unable to get a real breath in.

“Agh—! Fuck-!” You hear Husk swear, causing you to turn in his direction. You watch an exorcist pull him down by his ankle out of the sky. The exorcist yanked Husk to the ground. Husk was quick to regain himself, reaching into his pocket for more explosive dice. Before he can grab it out, the clever exorcist stabbed their spear through Husk’s wing.

Husk cried out in pain, now being pinned down on his stomach. The spear had gone through the base of his wing and now dug into the ground below him, making him unable to move without tearing his wing in two. Husk panted, also out of breath from the intense battle. He tried to get up, but the exorcist’s boot shoved into his back, keeping him down.

The exorcist chuckles in sickening amusement. They reach down towards an angel’s body, grabbing a dagger. Husk’s eyes widened as he found no escape from the angel. Heart pumping hard in his chest as if it was the last time it would be able to.

Your legs burned, your chest heaved with unsteady breaths, and all you could see was red. Your feet carry you, your body moving before your mind can keep up. Gripping your weapon, you stab it through the exorcist who had Husk down. Stabbing where their shoulder met their arm. The exorcist cried out in pain, looking back at you. The exorcist made a sloppy swing with their dagger in your direction. You catch their arm, swinging them back behind you. The exorcist landed on their injury, a loud snap making them scream out in agony.

Husk barely saw what you did, his vision fuzzy from the adrenaline high. He tried to move, but yelped when his wing started to tear because of the exorcists spear. Your attention falls back on Husk, panicking when you saw the spear keeping him against the ground. You bend down, grabbing the handle of the spear, you hesitate. You look down at Husk apologetically.

“This is gonna hurt.” Giving Husk no other time to process, you pull to spear out of his wing. Husk swears at you loudly, wings shrinking in towards his body as blood pours down his wings, the crimson color blending in with his feathers. Meanwhile, the exorcist who had you had tossed to the side, weakly got to their knees.

“You fucking-..” Husk growled out, shooting a glare at you. His harsh eyes turn to confused ones as he watched you go over to a fallen exorcist, ripping their shirt. You’re quick to move back to Husk, wrapping the thing cloth around his wing. It was barely able to stay due to the size of Husk’s wings, but it would due until the battle was over. The bloodthirsty exorcist made a weak attempt to crawl over to you and Husk, gripping their dagger tight.

“Thank you..” Husk mutters, eyes softening towards you as your tightened the cloth around his wound. You look towards him, offering a small reassuring smile.

“No problem, pussycat.” You shoot back, standing to your feet. Husk rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the grin on his face. You take in a deep breath, holding your hand out to Husk.

“Now let’s-!” Sharp. A pulsing sharp pain in your gut that twisted violently before being yanked out. Blood sprayed onto Husk’s face from the harsh stab.

Warmth. Warm blood that gushed from the fresh open wound, coating your skin, making it shine like rubies. Hot tears involuntarily fell from the pain that coursed through your body.

Shock. All you could hear was ringing, all you could see were tears. Your knees gave out as the angel behind you lifted their weapon to deliver a final blow to you. With the sound of a muted gunshot, you felt the angel fall against the back of your legs.

Cold. Your body chilled in Hell’s fiery atmosphere. It almost felt refreshing if the pain wasn’t sitting beside it. A hand came over your gut, where your stomach split, hand getting soaked in blood. You leaned forward, hand that wasn’t over your wound catching you so you wouldn’t face-plant. Lifting your hand, you saw pretty red liquid running down your arm.

Blank. You couldn’t move, you couldn’t speak, you couldn’t hear. Letting out a breath felt like torture as you coughed painfully, blood spitting out of your mouth. You barely even felt strong arms lifting you and sprinting out of lines of fire. Black patterned wings acting as a shield to you and..

Husk.. you look up, seeing Husk with panicked eyes. He looked to be shouting, but despite his close proximity, you couldn’t seem to hear his words. Husk ran to the side of the hotel, panting as he did a quick glance to make sure no angel’s were following him. He bent down with you in his arms, your eyes staring blankly back at him.

Adrenaline stopped pumping, causing more intense pain to shoot through your body. You back felt like it was on fire. It felt like your guts were being ripped out slowly.

“Hey! Don’t you do this! No no no no, come on now!” Husk’s voice finally made way to your ears. Your eyes darted to his. He was frantic, looking at your injury then around as if someone could come help. He pressed his palm down on your injury, making you scream in pain.

“I know I know I know— shit!” Husk shielded you with his wings. His weak attempts in stopping your bleeding felt hopeless.

God- his eyes still seemed to draw you in. Even while frantic, you felt nothing but love for Husk. Love? Geez why did death always have to interrupt. Why did it always make you realize things a little too late? You didn’t want to die. You weren’t ready to find out what was beyond afterlife. Was there nothing? Was it light? Was it dark? Was it the heaven you always wished to see? In the back of your mind you knew it was the end, but your life felt less important than Husk. You couldn’t just leave him, not like this.

Your bloodied hand reached up to hold his cheek, letting him look down at you. You felt his breaths coming out fast and shaky, his hand pressing down harder as your blood pooled around his fingers. You hissed in pain, grip tightening on him. Your breath came out slow and labored, trying hard to keep strong in the last moments you’d have with the one soul you didn’t want to leave.

“It’s okay..” You managed to whisper, immediately regretting speaking from the way it made your body move. Husk shook his head quickly.

“No, no. Shut the fuck up, okay? Don’t go saying anything, we’ll fix this..! I’ll fix it, just give me time, please.” Husk glanced towards where your friends were battling. Now that they were down two more people, heavy hitters at that, they struggled to keep the angelic army at bay.

As if you could read Husk’s mind, like you always did, you spoke, “They need you, Husk.. don’t leave them..” you mutter, your thumb moving shakily to rub Husk’s cheek. Husk shook his head again at you, pulling you close to his body.

“It— it can wait. I’m not leaving you here! Are you crazy?? Just wait and I’ll-!”

“Husker.” Husk’s eyes dart down to you. Looking you up and down, his heart dropped. Your eyelids and body felt like dumbbells. A weight on your body that made it slow. His hand covered in your blood as the wound only spilled more. But despite it,

You smiled.

Husk couldn’t take it, he couldn’t keep losing people. He couldn’t lose you, not like this. Not for this cause you seemingly were dragged into. Why were you smiling at him??

“Stop it. Stop, no- quit it! You’re not doing this to me!” Husk was desperate for any salvation. He’d repent, he’d quit booze, he’d do anything to keep you here and breathing. He watched you blink heavily, trying to stay awake for him. You leaned your head into him.

“I’m sorry, Husk.. I can’t..” your body felt so heavy. Everlasting slumber approaching, making your body feel numb. You couldn’t even feel the pain anymore, only Husk’s arms around you, desperately trying to keep you here.

“Stop! What am I supposed to do??” Tears pricked at Husk’s eyes and were quick to stream down his face, “How am I supposed to live this Hell without you??” He asked desperately, as if the guilt of dying would somehow convince your body not to give up.

You smile to him felt like a taunt. A tease of the future ones that could’ve been. “The same way you did with me..”

“Happily.”

Husk felt frozen at your words, tears falling from his face and onto your body. How was he supposed to.. no not like this. He couldn’t. Not without you there. Your absence would be a void he would never be able to fill. He slowly shook his head, sobs wracking his body that he desperately tried to keep back. You did nothing but close your eyes, pressing your face against his stomach.

“Eternity is too long to suffer for its entirety..” you mutter, breath shallow as your grip on Husk loosened. “Don’t let me.. make you suffer..” you mumble, voice barely audible.

Warmth. Comfort. Soft was the last breath you let out, all strength leaving your body as your body relaxed to rest. Your heavy eyes drooping nearly shut as all life behind them faded to whatever was after this Hell. Husk watched your body fall limp, his grip on your growing tighter in false hope you would hold him back.

Words unspoken. Husk kept his wings around your body, letting out choked sobs while he whispered how sorry he was. How he couldn’t protect you. Hell had taken his pride, his soul, and now his heart. Hell tore everything away from him.

Whatever made him deserve it, he’d go back and do it over and over again to get it right.

If it meant you could’ve been there.

——————————BONUS———————————

Husk flipped a light switch, the sudden harsh light making him groan and squint. He rubbed his eyes, walking down a memorized path just outside the entrance of the hotel. He never was a morning person, he hated getting up so early just to be met with a raging headache from the prior night. He grumbled to himself, going over to a bench at the side of the hotel. He sat down with a huff, setting down the extra mug of coffee he had made next to him.

“Mornin’..” He mumbled, taking a sip of his own coffee that, the warm liquid making his body relax. His greeting was met with silence, something that felt all too familiar ever since the last extermination day. He sighs, leaning back against the bench, and looking up at the wall.

Where a portrait of you was hung right next to Sir Pentious’.

“So you’ll never believe the night I had..” Husk started, going on about last nights quarrels in the hotel. Keeping you updated on any events you were missing out on. Just how it used to be.. the gossip you would share with one another. Quietly judging the other hotel attendees, ranting about your day, or whispering sweet words to another.

An effort to soothe Husk’s grief at the loss of you.

“..and because Lucifer is stayin’ I keep finding these fucking rubber ducks everywhere..! The guy seriously has a problem, I tell ya.. you’d get a kick out of it.” Husk finished off his little rant, sipping the last of his coffee. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the lobby lights inside the hotel flick all the way on, showing someone (most likely Charlie) was up as well. Husk sighed, looking up at your portrait again.

A painted smile on the canvas, one he missed the warmth and comfort of. He held his knees, slowly getting up. He stretched his arms over his head, before reaching down and grabbing your cup of coffee, still full but now gone cold. He gently raised the glass a bit towards your portrait.

“Live Happy..” he muttered, a motto he now followed ever since your dying words. As much as the words made his heart feel heavy, he would try. Try and live happy.

[millaaster]

Nanami and the cold wind - Jujutsu Kaisen

Pairing: Nanami Kento x Reader

Summary: Quick fic about Nanami, who has taken a liking in feeling the cold morning air after experiencing Jogo's hellish powers. (Takes place after the whole Shibuya arc; he's alive and recovered, but has lost his left eye, his left arm and has the burn bruises over his body).

Words: 816

CW: Angst; Comfort (?)

AN: I’m not sure I managed to put all the emotion this whole idea and this scene had in my mind, but I thought I’d give it a try.

Please, do not repost or translate.

You stir out of sleep in the early morning, lifting the covers away from your eyes, and reach out to Nanami's side of the bed to cuddle up to him. You only feel the cold sheets and the remains of his scent flowing from his pillow, and you hum in displeasement.

When you turn your head towards the end of the bed, you see a glimpse of your husband behind the white curtains that flutter slowly by the open glass doors. He's standing on the balcony of the bedroom, looking out to the sea in front of him. After going through a long process of recovery and rehabilitation alongside Shoko, Nanami had finally been feeling better and getting a hold of how to live his life with the changes he had been through. That was enough for you two to decide it was time for a new start, all the way over in Malaysia, the paradise of his dreams.

You get up from the bed, shake your hair, grab your silky robe, and leave in his direction. Even though he hears you approaching, he stays still, a bit arched on the rail, supporting himself on his right arm. He was only in his pajama trousers, letting the defined muscles of his back at the mercy of the gust of wind, messing with his blonde hair and blowing it in every different direction.

"My love...", you start in a hoarse and sleepy voice,"it's cold". You hug him from behind, hands feeling down from his stomach up to his chest, slowly. That makes Nanami leave a content soft sigh and close his eye.

"Mhm, I know", he says in a teasing tone. "You should stay in bed a little longer, no?"

"How am I supposed to enjoy my morning cuddling with my husband if he's missing from bed?"

"Miss, you are way too spoiled", he remarks with a chuckle.

He turns around to lean against your shoulder and spins you, pressing your lower back in the rail now. Minutes go by as you hug each other, relaxing to the sound of the waves and basking in each other's warmth.

You're the first to break it.

"Kento...you've been getting up quite early these days, right? Is everything okay, my love?"

It has been puzzling you for a while now. Every once in a while you'd catch him staying out on the porch until late or rising up at dawn, just to step outside, barely enough dressed - not that you'd complain, but that did raise your curiosity and your fear he'd catch a cold.

After some silence, he answers. "Nothing's wrong baby. It's only that...I like the cool air running down my skin sometimes. But it's quite hard to get that over here, I need to wait for the right time. I guess there's a downside to a tropical wonderland afterall", he snickers, as you feel his breath on your ear "Didn't mean to worry you".

You caress the place where his scars end and turn into skin on his back.

“Does it not make them hurt?”, you ask softly.

“A little…not always. Either way, it all makes me feel–”, he holds back. 

“Hm, what is it?”, you ask.

Drawing a breath in, he responds, “My dear, we both know that I’m completely open in talking to you about the incident. But, when I tell you that I don’t want to worry you, I mean it. You’re not obliged to keep on recalling the pain of that memory because of my selfish and stubborn way of dealing with it”, he says in a wavering voice. “I’ve hurt you enough. I don’t want to pester you any longer with my pointless thoughts and silly habits, when I should probably have gotten over them by now”.

“Kento. It’s not selfish, nor silly. It’s not simple”, you exclaim with a grieved expression. “And it’s not an obligation. It just..is. It’s part of our life - together. Even if we are not one body, it is also my memory. Of hoping, and loving and…waiting for you”. You say as you hug him tighter. “If you need to share the journey of letting it go or of embracing it, I’m here for you. Always”.

“I know…I know, my love”, Nanami presses you more against his body. He drags you inside the house and into the bed, your two forms interlocking, as you nuzzle up his neck.

When you were almost asleep, you hear him whisper “The cold wind. It makes me feel alive. That’s what I was going to say before. It reminds me I’m alive. When the scars hurt. When you hold me. That’s the further sensation from what I felt back then”.

The sounds of the sea invade the bedroom as a feeble tear escapes the corner of your eye and rolls over to the heartbroken smile on your lips.

Interactions are always appreciated ☆* have a lovely day!