#tiger mask four

[roundrobinmathematics]

Super Junior Tag League 2022 - Final Standings

Spoilers up to Saturday 10th December 2022:

KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight(4) defeated Tiger Mask IV & Robbie Eagles(4)

SHO & Dick Togo(4) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Clark Connors(6)

Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI(8) defeated Alex Zayne & El Lindaman(12)

YOH & Lio Rush(14) defeated BUSHI & Titán(12)

Ace Austin & Chris Bey(14) defeated T.J.P. & Francesco Akira(12)

With 14 points each, YOH & Lio Rush and Ace Austin & Chris Bey have finished the league in first and second place respectively, and now advance to the final on Day 17.

Next:

Day 16, featuring the the ninth and final round of World Tag League matches:

Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher(14) vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens(4)

Alex Coughlin & Gabriel Kidd(2) vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer(6)

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano(8) vs. Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare(8)

Tetsuya Naito & SANADA(12) vs. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi(4)

Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI(12) vs. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste(12)

Airs live on Sunday 11th December 2022.

[blossom49451]

Mask Masters: Bong's/Borg's Transformation

[sadbenedict]

AU where sukuna is a were-tiger, it can be considered as a cursed spirit, that has become attached to toji.... I imagine his human form without four arms and mask, but tall and in traditional kimono (or without it) do u think toji has many scratches...

[diejager]

Hi! In your Only Human AU what would happen if TF 141 + König and Horangi go into a something like a “rut”? Or is that possible in this universe? If it is would they ask Y/N for help? If possible can it be in the form of a Drabble🥺?

Rut Cw: rut/heat cycles, mention of sex, possessive behaviour, obsessiveness, mention of knotting, implied smut, tell me if I missed any.

Ruts were odd phenomenons, it reduced hybrids and monsters to desperate and horny men, clinging onto the person they considered their mate for relief and pleasure. Some hybrids had ruts, like canid and felid shifters or shifters in general, a monthly cycle that incapacitated them. Others were luckier, having a few ruts per year, sometimes once every few month or once a year; these could range from a dragon to a harpie or from a percht to a gorgon. There, however, were some exceptions, spectral beings and the undead were without ruts, their body long dead and able to function without it, yet they could impregnate and be impregnated as any other hybrid and monster could. They suffered from bouts of occasional arousal, little flares of pleasure when faced with a situation that turned them on or by strong emotions towards someone or something.

You were unfortunately enough to be thrown into a group of rutting hybrids - with the sole exception of Ghost - unprepared and without a forewarning on how to deal with them. You had to deal with a clingy werewolf, howling at the moon and whining in utter heartbreak because you told him off for humping your leg in the rec room, huffing and gasping down your neck. A hissing and possessive tiger, stalking you down the halls and jumping you whenever you were alone to ravage you against the wall, mouthing and nipping at your neck, making sure his scent would stick over the wolf and nagual musk. And a protective nagual, looming over you like a shadow, arm slung around your shoulder and ready to start a fight with the other shifters if they tried masking his scent.

Luckily, their ruts never overlapped, it might’ve been a fortunate coincidence, but one that you wouldn’t take for granted. You had a schedule drawn up in the first year after they accepted you into their pack, Soap’s was always after the full moon, the silver disk being the catalyst to his urge; Horangi had his in the later days of each month, oftentimes beginning on the last day of the werewolf’s rut; and Alejandro took the first week of the month, starting slowly on the third or fourth day and ramping up on the following day.

Unfortunately, you hadn’t put in consideration for the others. Price, Gaz and König also had their moments in the yearly cycle, falling victim to the throes of instinctual need. You thanked your lucky star that Gaz rutted once or twice a year - thrice on rare accounts - with little to no change in his character. He might’ve been more hands, wanting to keep a hand around your waist, to give you soft and loving kisses on your lips as much as he did on your cheek, nose and forehead.

Price and König were a handful, one hoarded you to his office and had you follow him wherever he went, and the other was deathly possessive and deep into his instincts. König was on the extreme side of his type, breaking out nearly six to seven times a year, stuck mid shift with broader shoulders, red eyes and a monstrous appearance, and he had half the mind to stay considerate to other. A danger stumbling on two feet. Price was the medium, a perfect balance with three or four ruts yearly and a the self control to let you go if the situation demanded it. Despite his self-control, he was still a dragon, controlling and possessive, ordering you to come straight back to him whether or not you were knotted to Soap or Rudy was balls deep inside of you.

Despite Rudolfo being considered a monster, he was simply a human with the ability to control cadejos, as vulnerable and as resilient as one. And being human meant that he got aroused, coaxing you into his room for the night and taking care of the heat brewing between your legs. Much like Rudy, Ghost retained his bodily function - human wise - and came back as a monster, but he was a stranger to ruts, scoffing at the neediness and vulnerability of one. That, however, never stopped him from indulging in his sexual kinks and dark fetishes, having you as the subject of his exploration if no one else hit their cycles.

They were a handful, from Soap’s mutt-like character to Rudy’s calm demeanour, they had you exhausted, wringing you dry and panting, always ending up face down or backed against the wall. You were grateful - truly - that the others would willingly jump in and take over for you, helping whoever it was spend his rut. Now, you’d have to redraw your calendar, tired and clinging to your bed to stand up.

Taglist: @craxy-person @crowbird @dead-cipher @iwannabealocalcryptid @iizx7y @mxtokko @yeetusspagheetus @capricorn-anon @perfectus-in-morte @sae1kie @yeoldedumbslut @bvxygriimes @distracteddragoness @konigsblog @havoc973 @angelcakes-22 @cassiecasluciluce @ramadiiiisme @ramblingsofachaoticthinker @ki-cant-spel @im-making-an-effort @love-dove-noora @jinxxangel13 @daisychainsinknots @0alk0msan @mul-pi @danielle143 @virginalsacrifice @beau-min @makayla-666 @urfavsunkissedleo

[demonic0angel]

Part 3 of Phantom’s Royal Court (click for clarity)

Extra notes:

+ I struggled with finding a skull for Dan. Other options were: bear, orca, lizard, eagle, raven, T-Rex, snake, hippo, lion, and tiger. In the end, I chose eels because they were spooky, nicely shaped, aquatic, and cold-blooded.

+ Dan’s design may look a bit slim-fitting and boring compared to Dani and Danny, but that was intentional. He doesn’t get any swishy fabric or clothes bc I wanted him to look different from Dani or Danny (although he’s still considered a prince).

+ Jazz’s design took no time at all lmao. I always associate her with wolves and so everything just fell into place easily. Like Dan, I consider the both of them as Dani and Danny’s darker counterparts, so her coloring is darker than the others.

+ Mourning veils were worn by women, primarily widows, when family, friends, or loved ones died. I mentioned once that the masks were similar to mourning veils or burial shrouds, and that is true. I guess in Jazz’s case, it’s explicitly a mourning veils and for pretty much everyone else, it’s burial shrouds.

+ I’ll probably post extras about the other Ancients like Clockwork, Pandora, etc, and maybe stuff about the other people working in Danny’s castle.

Part one

Part two

Part four

[149panda149]

TGCF: My theory on the inspiration behind the 4 calamities

In some of the oldest Chinese myths and legends, there are 4 guardian gods of the four cardinal directions - the green dragon, white tiger, crimson bird, and black tortoise, and each have a colour, season and element associated with them. I'm not sure if anyone has made this connection before, but I'm writing it down if anyone is interested. There are spoilers about the calamities' identity.

First, the 青龙 （qing long, green dragon) --> Qi Rong, Night-touring Green lantern.

The qinglong's territory is the East, and its colour is qing, which means green, or turqoise. Its element is wood, and its season is spring. Closely associated with royalty and the imperial family.

Now, for the similarities with our favourite green goblin. "qing" is literally the colour in Qi Rong's title, and his colour scheme. Qi Rong has a habit of hanging corpses from trees, which may be his relation to the element "wood". He does not have any obvious coleration with the season "spring"- perhaps he was born in spring. He is royalty, part of the imperial family as cousin to the crown prince.

Second, the 白虎 （bai hu, white tiger)--> Bai Wuxiang, White Clothed Disaster upon the Earth.

The baihu's territory is the West, its colour is white, element is gold/metal, and its season is summer. It is the king of all beasts, associated with disease and war, often used as a guardian symbol by soldiers.

On the other hand, Jun Wu's title, alias and colour scheme are all white, and has plenty of weapons that may be his link to the element of "gold/metal". I don't think he has anything to do with summer, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. He is king of the gods, a god of war, and the one to spread the human face disease.

As east and west are considered a pair, the guardian spirits are meant to reflect each other. In Chinese poems and such, symmetry is important, and both Qi Rong and Jun Wu were princes, one becoming revered by the highest of gods, covered with masks and false identities, one becoming the object of disgust by the lowest of ghosts, using his real name and face. There is a certain poetic symmetry to it, don't you think?

To the second pair. The 朱雀 (zhu que, crimson bird)----> Hua Cheng, Crimson Rain Sought Flower

The zhuque rules over the south, its colour is red, element is fire, and its season is summer. It is the king of all birds, more powerful than even the phoenix, immortal and undying. As such, in many places it is also considered a symbol of life.

Now, to the most popular ghost king: Hua Cheng. The english translation of his title is "crimson", and his colour scheme is indubitably red and autumn-y shades. He also re-re-met Xie Lian in autumn ( I think - I mean, the leaves were all red in the donghua??), and has died again and again to return like the zhuque. He is the king of all ghosts, with a great determination to live(sorta? are ghosts alive??) for his love.

Lastly, my personal favourite, the 玄武 (xuan wu, black tortoise)---->He Xuan, Black Water Sinking Ships

The xuanwu, also called a tortoise, is actually the only spirit to be a combination of 2 animals, a snake and a tortoise. It rules over the north. Its colour is black( sometimes depicted as dark blue), element is water, and its season is winter. In earlier legends, he is considered a guide and guardian to the netherworld, of death and of long life.

Thus, to our poor indebted water ghost. He Xuan's name is "xuan", the same! goddamn! character! as the spirit! His title and colour scheme are all to do with the colour black, and he is a water ghost because he died because of the Water Master. He has been marked by death, yet survived and vowed revenge. This, and the fact that his house is called the Nether Water Manor, is probably his relation to the netherworld of the xuanwu.

To the pair of south and north. Both Hua Cheng and He Xuan have suffered and suffered again, yet Hua Cheng chooses to linger on due to hope and love, and He Xuan due to revenge and hatred. But hatred and love are two sides of the same coin. If Hua Cheng hadn't experienced the hatred from his childhood, he wouldn't have thrown himself from the city wall and met Xie Lian. If He Xuan hadn't loved his family, so much, he wouldn't have broken that hard after their deaths to lose himself to hatred and empty vengence.

Aaaaaand that concludes this essay. Keep in mind that this is a theory, and probably even isn't true, but if anybody wants a more detailed description of the guardian spirits, or to know more about the similarities between the mythical creatures of ancient china and tgcf, I will be more than happy to make a part 2.

Thanks for reading!!

[ratwavegamehouse]

Transgender Deathmatch Legend has a few solid facts about your player character (your Face). You're explicitly trans, you're explicitly a wrestler and implicitly you exist in a world that is hostile to you.

Character creation in the original TDL focused on key pick lists to fill in some of your backstory and then pulling cards to create a finisher. Character creation for the sequel builds on that while also adding questions that are intended to guide players towards creating more well rounded, full textured characters.

The ring names you can pick from got an overhaul (basically to keep things fresh for long term fans). The intention of those names is if you grab one from the picklist it's evocative enough you can start to build a whole character around that. If you decide to not pick one and just make your own hopefully the picklist has served as some inspiration. Here's four of the picklists names I think are particurlaly good:

Tiger Masc

“Hot Rod” Trinity

“Flaming” Blu Heatly

“The Consequence” Shelly Theodore 

Dominator 1

The two big picklists then focus on your shoot background and the gimmick you have. Similarly to how you pick a ring name and a gimmick name the character creation in Transgender Deathmatch Legend is reminding you that you are someone who puts on a persona. That persona might be a lot like you, or it might be an escape from parts of yourself. I think this an element where the game reminds you of that a lot and then assumes that someone used to roleplaying games should find something interesting in there.

(There's more explanation on how gimmicks are thought off and an outright blunt question of "how much of your real self is in this gimmick?" in TDL2 to help out people less used to thinking about performance and personas. It's a theme that compels me as someone who's been a wrestler, a comedian, and a teacher; areas where to different extents you're putting on a mask.)

Here's some of the shoot backgrounds:

Started learning the ropes after experiencing a hate crime

Introed to wrestling through an ex-best friend

Wrestling legacy blacksheep

And here's some gimmick starting points:

Flamboyant showboat who frustrates and flusters your opponents

An old-school throwback with a loud personality

A serious shooter with black trunks and black boots and a mean look

A tortured anti-hero who mines pain for pathos 

An in-your-face punk with skills honed in bar room brawls

(These are broad because you can match them up with the implications of the shoot name you've picked or created and that combination brings a gimmick to life)

More open questions in the game include stuff like "Describe your gender, both in the terms you use to yourself and to society." and "Did you realise you were trans before you became a wrestler?" as well as the aeformentioned real self/gimmick question. There's also a picklist for "what people say about you" which is obviously a very different question than what you're actually like. These questions are there to get players thinking about how their characters marginalisation affects how they interact with the world around them.

The drawing cards for a finisher mechanic is back, though expanded this time so there's a unique table for each different fighting style.

At the top of this page you can see that one of the scenarios (Fight Forever) involves doing a mirror image character creation for your rival, before playing out a series of fights through time that defined your relationship. I think the most interesting question there is the open one "Are you trans as well?". Like, this scenario specifically is about fighting/sport as a relationship. I think that question has a lot of repercussions about what that relationship is build on; is it something you have in common and connected over, where you placed together as the only two trans people in a way that feels semi patronising, or is there a tension in that one of you just has significantly more opportunities in the world than their creative partners.

So yeah, that's an overview of character creation. I'll probably do a layout sample of what it'll look like in the book proper sometime. The games launches on the 29th and things have been slower than I'd have liked (I worry that the games content has meant it hasn't been favoured by the algorithms of the world). If you're excited about the game giving the teaser page a pre-save would go a long way to ensuring the launch is successful. There's big exciting things coming for this as a campaign, but to get to any of that I need to hit that initial goal. I'm not down for the count yet.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Hello!! I would like to do some fanart for the ship children for each of the kids of the wukongverse except I can't really find some descriptions for some of them, like keto and rahu who I think were only mentioned once(??) Do you by chance have a link for them or a tag?

Of course! I always welcome fanart of my aus or ideas! ^♡^

I'll try to do decent descriptions for all ze babies/fan children.

Lego Monkie Kid - Shadowpeach (multiple aus);

Zàoyīn & Bàoliè/"Rumble & Savage" - tiny black-furred baby monkeys with red face masks + Macaque's dark skin. Get into a lot of havoc despite being the size of marmosets. Develop little red "tiger stripes" on their limbs and tails as they get older. Rumble has natural six-ears.

Yuebei Xing - the baby girl herself and star of the SlowBoiled au. Tiniest black furball ever. Big blue eyes (often caused by eating LBD's soul). And a white skull-shaped face marking. Grows to be much taller than either parent. Here's some super cute fanart done by @teatime-at-4 + teenage Yuebei by @soniclozdplove + an older version of her done in the LMK OC Picrew.

Jidu & Luohuo - born shortly after Yuebei, and named for the lunar nodes/phenomena making them the "Nodelets". Furs are a mix of orange and black like tortoiseshell cats. Both have four purple and orange ears. Very mischievous.

Luzhen - technically Wukong's little brother, depending on the au. Looks like a little clone of him, but with deep blue eyes. Loves music.

Ziqi - newest baby idea. Named for the last Lunar phenomena (Perigee/a supposed "shadow planet") not given a character in Journey to the South. Surprise baby. Pure black (like a shadow) with hazy purple eyes, and face marking.

+some lovely human glamour designs made by @soniclozdplovesonic for the Post Jttw Stone Egged au. I praise their work openly, they are amazing.

Monkey King Hero is Back - ReboundedHeroes;

Xiaoyun/"Little Cloud" - born from a mysterious cloud-patterned Stone Egg. Egg was damaged before hatching; causing the right eye, right ear(s), and right arm not to develop correctly. Pure white fluffy fur, like a cloud. Very small and skinny due to being born premature. Very adventurous, gives his parents frequent heart attacks.

Yǔ Sōng & Xuě Bào - Twin girls born sometime into the family's Journey across the kingdoms. Look like little toasted macaroons with six ears each, and violet eyes. Develop their baba's red-auburn when they grow up.

+Shui Lian - Adopted. AU form of the White-Faced Vixen. Due to timeline changes, the "vixen" is rather only a pre-teen kit. Has albinism and is unable to hide her fox ears and tail despite mostly-human form.

Monkey King Reborn - Fruitiedads;

Xiao Qi - Fruitie/Qi Energy reborn as a Stone Monkey egg by sheer willpower. Fur so white it look transparent. Pink skin + pink heart-shaped face marking. Big smiley baby. Looks like a fairytale prince.

Xiao Lü - reincarnation of Yuandi/Primordium created when Nüwa tricked Smokey/SWK into creating a clay figure to house the primordial soul - which became a new stone egg. Pure black fur, light skin, and no noticeable face marking as if yet. Has little grey "shoes" on the fur around her feet - hence the name.

5 False Ginseng Fruit Babies - complete and utter accident on the monkeys part. Smokey tried growing the pit from the Ginseng fruit he ate in hopes that the resulting tree could help reinvigorate the damaged FFM. Liang/LEM watered/tended to the tree while he was gone. It did not in fact bare Ginseng Fruit - but five whole newborn monkey cubs - all named after stone fruits. Current draft of the au places their "fruiting" after the Journey once everyone's come home. More detailed post here.

Lìzhī & Hǎizǎo - Twins. Born at the crux of the Journey. Accidentally delivered inside the Thunderclap Monastery. Look like miniature versions of Smokey, tiny brown furred grumpy things.

+Zhu Yu & Ku Ai / Wood Wolf Siblings - Adopted. The children of Kui Mulang/Revati/Yellow Robed Demon and the Princess Baihuaxiu. After the stray star wolf entity was captured, the Princess wanted nothing to do with her half-wolf children (given that they were conceived in less than ideal circumstances) and the human king wanted them destroyed. The pilgrims take the little werewolves into their group. Older girl and younger boy, both below the age of seven. Mix of brown and grey fur/hair like regular wolf pups. Think the kids from Wolf Children Ami & Yuki.

Monkey King 2023/Netflix - CherryandOliveStones;

Xiaoshi - created when Cherry/SWK wanted to see if he could make "another him" from clay and a pebble after he had learned the story of Nüwa. Clay Egg became a real Stone Egg. Xiaoshi has bright orange fur and light briwn face markings. Rarely doesn't have paint or ink in his fur. Link to some amazing art done by @tsa-smth.

Hǔpò & Zhēnzhū aka "The Pebbles" - natural babies. Look like little clones of their LEM (black fur with white accents) with their dear baba's green eyes.

Luzhen (yes another one) - miniature version of Cherry/SWK. Possible little brother.

New Gods series - Jackpotshipping;

Xiaozhēn - dumpster baby. Possible half-monkey demon. Fluffy brown fur, built like a dad - cus he is one. Is in his 30s demon-wise. Has kids of his own.

Unnamed newborn twins nicknamed "Two Pair" (x) - dark fur and brown eyes. One baby is an attempted changeling - but they aren't sure which one.

Meihouwang 2009 - Peachbuds;

Ketu & Rahu - a pair of twins, one a loose Stone Egg that arrived in a comet, the other an egg formed naturally between the parents (they're all grown up by now ofc). Both have a mix of silver and gold fur, like their parents when they were younger. Rahu has six ears. Here's the post you mentioned!

Smash Legends - FabledConnections;

No definite kids, but I'd imagine they'd be a mix of black and white fur. Like tuxedo cats.

No kids planned for the 1999/2000 Legends cartoon pair (yet)

Thank you so much for your interest in all of this - I try to keep all these ideas under the tag #jttw inspo fan children when I can. If you decide to make fanart for any of these babies (or the parents), make sure to @ me so I can see!

[terrestrialnoob]

Time and Information

She was walked through the halls of Bel Rev Prison by four guards down an unfamiliar passage. She was soon joined by a younger woman with blonde pigtails who was happily chatting to her escort until she saw her fellow prisoner.

“Oh my gosh! A new face!” She cheered in a heavy Brooklyn accent, “Better be careful or it’ll get blown to bits!”

The two were taken into separate rooms and there was a sudden jolt of horror at the chair in the center of the room. It looked far too familiar, straps and gaps for easy access to specific parts of the body – the soft, weak parts. It was similar to something she’d once made when she was younger, dumber, and too scared of the unknown – no, too scared of being wrong about the unknown to see what was right in front of her. She struggled against the guards, but one punched her in the gut and she was forcefully strapped down into the chair. She was warned not to move before there was a sharp pain at the back of her neck. She sat frozen as something was forced under her skin, she could feel it anchoring into bone. After that, she was unstrapped and furiously asked what they’d done to her. “They’ll explain it soon enough.”

She was lead out of the surgical room and into a large concrete room, with 2 metal crates. She spotted the girl from earlier standing next to one of the crates. She looked up at her from pulling on a red and black diamond patterned leotard over fishnet leggings. The girl waved and shouted, “You made it!”

She waved back to the blonde then one of the guards lead her to the other crate and opened it. Her eyes stared to tear at the sight of her old aqua jumpsuit. There were also her goggles, utility belt, respirator mask, and a handful of non-compacted weapons.

She followed the implicit instruction to change into her jumpsuit, and it felt like putting on her real skin on again. It had been so long, she was starting to see silver in her auburn hair that had grown so long her braid went all the way down to her back. But the suit fit, just like it always did.

“Awooga!” The girl cheered and shouted, “I’m not usually a MILF kinda gal, but you look tight.”

She almost laughed at getting catcalled by the other woman and even flexed her arm to show off her prison muscle. The two were soon lead to a new room and she saw three other non-guards in the room, all in their own colorful costume. A large man had on a bear-skin cloak over body armor while another seemed to be dressed up like an airline pilot. A humanoid tiger creature was also there, they were already wearing a sleeveless Chinese-style martial arts uniform.

“Boomer!” The girl shouted and waved at the airline pilot and he smiled and greeted her in turn.

“It’s good to see you Harley,” He said with an Australian accent, “who’s your friend?”

Before she could answer, a door slammed open. A woman entered; thick and sturdy who held herself like a pillar of The Acropolis, like if she fell, the whole of civilization would fall with her. At her side was a man dressed up in his own custom red, silver, and black body armor.

The woman stopped and glared at the prisoners like they were less than human and took time to memorize all their inhumanity before she spoke, “Ladies, gentlemen. For those who don’t know, I am Amanda Waller, head of Task Force X, an off the books strike team of convicts used as expendable agents working for the U.S. Government. You are now members of Task Force X. Succeed in your mission, and you’ll get time off your sentences. Any questions?”

“A few, ma’am,” She rose her hand.

Waller raised her eyebrow and nodded, but before she could ask, the man in the bear skin shouted, “The Bear fight for Mother Russia, not U.S. Pigs!” His accent was thick and he stomped his heavy boots up to Waller, towering over her in an attempt to intimidate. “I will not work for you.”

Waller glared up at him and waved at the door behind her, “Be warned, there’s a small explosive in your neck, and if you do any little thing I don’t like, your head will be blown clean off. Take one step out that door, and you’re dead.”

The Russian growled at her, then pushed past her. He took one confident step through the door - the explosion was bright but quiet, and eviscerated the man’s head in seconds.

Waller turned back to the others, “Did that answer any of your questions?”

“A few yes,” She smiled and gently rubbed her neck where the small lump was indicating which of her questions had been answered. Then she continued, much to the horror of the Australian. “Are the terms of this – arrangement negotiable?”

Waller answered before she even finished, “You can’t refuse.”

She nodded her head, “I assumed as much. But, there’s something I want more than time off my sentence.”

“Oh?” Waller gave her a scrutinizing look, the kind that a woman who’s always looking for a better deal has.

“It’s about my son. Last I saw him, he was being experimented on in a government lab. The thing I want is unredacted copies of the files. I want to know Every. Single. Thing. any research lab anywhere has ever done to my son. And his current location.” Her voice shifted from relatively polite to absolutely deadly; almost like she now blamed everything the government has ever done wrong on Waller as a representative. The man next to Waller seemed to flinch, but the two women didn’t break eye contact.

“Might be difficult, given that most of the facilities that would have that information were destroyed. But I don’t have to tell you that, do I?” Waller stared her down, or at least tried to. There was silence, and for a moment several people in the room expected a head to explode. But then Waller said, “Do the mission, and I’ll see what I can get from the guys in white.”

The woman who stood up to The Acropolis smiled dangerously as she said, “I’m sure a woman of your standing and reach can get her hands into any government office.”

Waller smiled back, “You flatter me, Ms. Fenton.”

“Doctor Fenton,” She corrected, “One doesn’t lose their education simply because they’re imprisoned.”

[thebrookesnook]

Here's the discussion for Umemiya's deity representation as seen in the latest chapter. If you haven't seen my thoughts on Takiishi's yet then I've provided a link to that post as well.

(I hope you appreciate the better quality & organization of the post from my well-rested brain cells)

Part 1: Takiishi Chika and the Karura

Spoilers for Chapter 150!

In my last post, I discussed my theory that the bird-like deity depicted for Takiishi was a karura. With Umemiya, I believe the deity to be Fudō Myō-ō (不動明王, ふどうみょうおう) who is also known as the Immovable Wisdom King (Skt. Ācalanātha).

[Fudō Mask was sourced from the Japanese Buddhist Statuary: A to Z Phot Dictionary; (Wooden) Seated Fudō Myō-ō Statue by Kaikei created in 1203 sourced from Isumu (360° view available)]

Fudō Myō-ō is THE central deity among all of the Myō-ō (warlike or wrathful gods) groupings, but is most prominently featured among the Godai Myō-ō (五大明王, Five Great Kings) who are manifestations of the Five Transcendental Buddha. He was given the title as the Immovable One due to his unwaivering commitment to the protection of Buddhist teachings.

Orginating as a pagan deity from India, Fudō's conversion to Buddhism began with humble beginnings. He was assigned as a servant and messenger of Buddha himself and later achieving higher positions—becoming a manifestation of the power and virtues of Dainichi Buddha, one of the 5 Transcendental Buddha I mentioned previously. (Source: MetMuseum)

In regards to their appearances, Fudō shares a remarkable resemblance to the deity depicted in Chapter 150. From his adornments, eyebrows, hair style, the prominent scowl etched into their faces and the long side braid (?) to the left of the face.

Aside from looks, let's talk about the prominent parallels between Umemiya and Fudō Myō-ō:

Origins. Both Ume and Fudō had to start over with their lives, with Ume losing his family due to a car accident and Fudō being stripped of his former godhood after converting to Buddhism. Despite these, they were able to work their way up so they'll be strong enough to protect what they valued the most.

Their roles. According to Schumacher in his page about Fudō,

"Fudō converts anger into salvation..."

- Schumacher, M., "Fudō Myō-ō"

"converts anger into salvation", that seems familiar- Oh wait.

Fudō and Ume are guides to enlightenment AND protectors. They themselves are symbols of safety in the eyes of those under their care.

Connections. While the Godai Myō-ō (Five Great Kings) aren't closely related to the Shitennō (Four Heavenly Kings) as the former rank far above the latter, there are similarities to be found. One is that both groups are in charge of the five directions, and yes five. The Shitennō is commanded by Taishakuten (帝釈天) who is the Lord of the Center. Relating this back to Ume and his Four Kings, it's interesting to note that the mangaka choose a higher ranking god to represent Ume rather than use Taishakuten. Perhaps to differentiate the power gap between Umemiya and his Four Kings?

Conclusion: I'm confident that Fudō Myō-ō is definitely the god representing Umemiya with the evidence I have gathered as well as several others have come to similar conclusions to the fact. It was really fun deep diving into this research for both Takiishi and Umemiya and with a clear head than the previous post, perhaps I'd like to make another one but of Tomiyama and Togame (The Hare & The Tortoise) or Sakura and Sugshita (The Tiger & The Dragon). No promises though.

(P.S. I am not Japanese but I have been deeply interested in the culture and history. I do my best to use credible sources (both ENG and JPN) and give credit accordingly. However, I'm prone to slip ups so if there is anything that requires correction, notify me throught the post via reply/reblog.)

(P.S.S. I have a blog specifically made for wbk content for further post like this so feel free to visit me there @transient-winds )

[eijirousbestie]

“I want you.”

requested pt 2 of “I’m done talkin”

________________________________________

Talking wasn’t always easy. Sometimes it straight up drains the life out of a person. And you could understand that. You could understand him. Could understand that when life gets to be too much, he’d need the time away to sort things out.

It was only a matter of time before he felt comfortable enough to even be in the same room after what had happened. So he makes his way to the one place he can think.

The rooftop is wide and about ten stories up. The perfect view to overlook the city. The perfect view to think. The area is littered with thriving plant life and budding flowers alike. The rooftop garden is home to the Botany Club at the university but also open to the community.

He’s not crazy about flowers but he doesn’t necessarily hate them either. After all, this is the only place on campus where he could get some much needed peace and quiet. The library was suffocating, the dining hall was a mess and the dorms were a definite no.

You were there. It was Monday. You always got back to the dorms early on Mondays. So he made sure to be gone before you came back. It confuses him really, why he’s so avoidant with you. It’s not like he holds any resentment towards you, there’s just so much going on.

He passes a few of the hydrangea tables with slow steps. His fingers glide on each tabletop he passes, making sure not to bump a flower pot with his fingers. Tiger lilies, chrysanthemums, zinnias and asters rest at each of their designated tables. Some fresh greens hang from thin rope in reach of the four corners of the roof’s open walls.

The billowy wafts of the flora ease his nerves like a superpower. He stops in front of a pot smaller than the rest. The tag resting just before the plant reads “Canna Lily.” The petals a highly saturated red. They almost look fake they’re so bright.

He gets lost in his thoughts, staring idly at the flora. His hands ball up into fists at his sides. Why is thinking about you so hard? Things between you both were always so easy. At least that’s what he’d like to think. He knows he shouldn’t have blown up at you the way he did. There was no rhyme or reason for it. And it feels like such a shit excuse to say he did it because he was “under pressure.”

His fists tighten the more he thinks about everything. Why he’s stressed in the first place has nothing to do with you. He shouldn’t have let his own emotions drag you into it. The last bit of sun peaks through faded clouds that resemble stretched cotton. Soft pinks and oranges tone the sky as the large star begins its slow descent to night.

He lets go of a breath he didn’t know he was holding. The issue lies within himself and he knows that. He knows he should be man enough to own his mistakes and rectify all that he’s broken. He turns his head, no longer looking at the small flower, but over his shoulder at the person who had just stepped onto the rooftop.

Pausing at the door, you look at the figure in front of you. The man you hadn’t seen in nearly three weeks. The feeling is sudden and visceral as your heart feels as if it’s dropped into your stomach.

His eyes are hardened and yet so, so sorrowful. Like he’s trying to mask as much as he can. Without a single word, he tears his gaze from you and walks to the edge of the rooftop, propping and crossing his arms on the railing. His left foot crosses his right at the ankle as he puts his weight on the cement railing, gazing out at the view of the city.

The perfect view to think.

The perfect view to talk.

He doesn’t have to look to know you’ve followed close behind, position the same as his but you’ve put yourself at a wider distance. He can see the intentional space between you both in his peripheral. A displeased grunt rumbles from deep within his chest.

“Why’re you so damn far.” It’s more of a statement than a question. He clasps his hands together, still resting on the railing, hanging loosely from the wrist onto the other side.

“Wanna give you space.”

Your voice burns in his ears. A sound he’s missed although he’ll never admit it. Soft and yet so unsure. As if you’re not even convinced the words you say are the words you mean. He’d waited so long to hear from you. But not like this. Not with this dejected tone.

He swallows the budding lump in his throat and takes a deep breath before exhaling. If there’s anything he’s taken from his time with you, it’s the newfound habit of self-soothing. Calming his nerves so he can express himself properly. He hadn’t done it before and that’s what got him in this mess. So he’s sure as hell gonna do it now.

“I don’t want space.” He clenches his jaw tightly, a vein just under his jaw twitching with strain.

“Then what do you want?” What does he want?

“I want you.” A beat passes. “Us,” he corrects. He props his elbows up and cups his face in his hands and slowly slides them down over his eyes, nose, and lips before they’re gripping onto the railing for dear life. “The shit I said before—shit—I shouldn’t’ve took it out on ya. Had nothin’ to do with you and shoulda stayed that way.”

He clears his throat as he’s met with your silence. It only fuels him to express more. “I wasn’t lying to you though. About not being good at expressin’ my emotions and shit. M’ not good at it… but I’m tryin’. And I think as long as I’ve got you in my corner I’ll keep tryin’. So,” he takes another deep breath, “I guess what I’m sayin’ is… m’sorry.”

A long, lingering silence envelopes the two of you with an unmistakable chill. He finds the will to turn his head to look at you only to find that you’re already looking at him with a gaze so intense it leaves him confused. Are you mad? Upset? Both?

Well, that is until he sees a stray tear slip from the corner of your eye. His eyes zero in on it and he feels something in his resolve break. It’s the first time he’s ever seen you cry (if you can call one tear crying). He’s seen you pissed, agitated and annoyed but never this.

You wipe the rogue tear away and look back at the fading sky as night begins to fall.

“I miss us too Katsuki.”

________________________________________

fin.

[roundrobinmathematics]

Super Junior Tag League 2022 - Scenarios After Day 13

Spoilers up to Wednesday 7th December:

T.J.P. & Francesco Akira(12) defeated KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight(2)

YOH & Lio Rush(12) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Clark Connors(6)

Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI(6) defeated SHO & Dick Togo(2)

BUSHI & Titán(12) defeated Tiger Mask IV & Robbie Eagles(4)

Alex Zayne & El Lindaman(12) defeated Ace Austin & Chris Bey(12)

Eliminations:

None.

Final Junior League Win Conditions:

Five teams remain, four of which will have their final league matches against each other.

1. TJP & Akira will advance to the final if they defeat Austin/Bey.

2. Yoh & Rush will advance if they defeat Bushi/Titan.

3. Zayne & Lindaman will advance if they defeat Kanemaru/Douki and either Yoh/Rush or TJP/Akira fail to win their last match.

4. Austin & Bey will advance if they defeat TJP/Akira and either Yoh/Rush or Zayne/Lindaman fail to win their last match.

5. Bushi & Titan will advance if they defeat Yoh/Rush and either Zayne/Lindaman or Austin/Bey fail to win their last match.

Next:

Day 14, featuring the eighth round of World Tag League matches:

Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI(10) vs. Alex Coughlin & Gabriel Kidd(2)

Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare(8) vs. Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens(4)

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Toru Yano(8) vs. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi(2)

Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher(14) vs. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste(10)

Tetsuya Naito & SANADA(10) vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer(6)

Airs live on Friday 9th December 2022.

[ficwritersretreat]

FIC WRITERS' RETREAT 2024

Registration Now Open!

WE'RE BACK TO ANNUAL, EVERYONE!!! Seventh Ontario Fic Writers' Retreat, first held in 2016, coming once again in 2024.

To Register, Click Here

When: August 8-11 2024

Where: Blue Mountain Chalets, Collingwood, Ontario

What is it? Four days spent with other fic writers, at all levels of experience. There will be a mix of workshops (Topics TBA and open to suggestions), prompts and challenges, and plenty of independent writing time for your own personal projects. (This year there's also a hot tub and an optional trip to the beach!)

It’s also an opportunity to make connections with people who share your interests and passions, and where you can focus on your own goals and creativity.

Cost (in CANADIAN DOLLARS): $450.00 

(approximately $332 USD as of this posting)

Here’s what you get for it:

Food Costs (with all participants helping with prep and cleanup - see note below)

Accommodation (Shared rooms but NOT shared beds - sorry)

Use of a hot tub and sauna at this year's venue (New this year!)

Daily workshops and writing sessions (2+ per day)

Registration fee included in the price

Registration Process:

Click on the Registration Link, above.

Complete the form and submit it.

Select a payment option: a) e-transfer (Canadian residents only) or b) PayPal (link in registration form)

Make your deposit of $225 CAD (50% of total cost) to complete your registration

Second payment is due on July 9, 30 days before the retreat begins.

Space will be allocated on a first-come, first served basis. There are 24 spaces available, after which names will be placed on a waiting list (no payment will be required unless you are offered a spot).

Travel to Toronto is not included.

However, since several participants (and the organizer) live in the area, we have always been able to arrange ride-shares from the Toronto Airport to the various venues. These connections will be arranged after registration.

Contact me with any questions! Or see the FAQ Page

***A note regarding meals: They'll look a little different this year - we'll be making our own! The venue is a pair of summer chalet/cottage spaces with full kitchens. All participants will be asked to take part in making meals happen - either for planning, picking up groceries, preparation or clean-up. The cost of the food is included in the price.

Tags under the cut. Let me know if you want to be tagged in this. If you’re not tagged it’s because I didn’t know you were interested. (Or I used an old list and forgot, or I thought you'd asked to not be tagged - correct me if I was wrong!) It's not because we don't want you! Please come.

@totallysilvergirl @blogstandbygo @addictedstilltheaddict @onwallsjcfwrites @amindamazed @fearlessdiva930 @cirquedereve @antheiasilva @inevitably-johnlocked @pippn-frodo @stellacartography @muaddib-iswriting @keirgreeneyes @missdaviswrites @nautilicious @otter-von-bismarck @mydogwatson @pipmer @aquabelacqua @may-shepard @pippn-frodo @weneedtotalkaboutfilms-blog @shirleycarlton @daringlydomestic @quesarasara @laughing-at-the-darkness @ellipsical-elle @fluffbyday-smutbynight @kettykika78 @vulgarweed @hellonewsletter @atlinmerrick @podfixx @stellacartography @1-800-get-sherlocked @thegildedbee @letteredlettered @inexplicifics @storyshark2005 @tiger-in-the-flightdeck @seriouslymarythough @anyawen @topsyturvy-turtely @noadventureshere221b @gay-pirate-anime @simpledontmeanpeachy @helloliriels @hopipp @masked-alias @doctornerdington

[rokishimizu4]

Orphan almost breaks a Bat rule

(I’m gonna focus more on my second blog when I’m done with Cass, Bruce, and Damian, because I’m in a TMNT faze and want to write some 12! Casey x Turtles) I do ship Cass and Steph and in my AU they act like they are married, but Steph treats the Wayne brothers like her brothers-in-law)Mostly because they are fucken cute together and honestly, Steph isn’t adopted by Bruce. (Cass is because her and Damian, Jason, Dick, and Tim are sister and brothers, don’t @ me)

It wasn’t uncommon for Cass to people watch and targets a certain person, either because the person in question was a BatFam villain, just a threat in general, or did something to her family.

But, the person in question checked none of the marks and she found it almost strange with how often she finds herself following the person in question when she is not on patrol, spending time with family, or on her dates with Steph.

Cue Cass silently following a woman that reminds her of a field of flowers and trees on a warm summer day, with bees and birds relaxing, just listening to the songs that the wind writes.

She keeps the target’s car in sight as she jumps from roof top to roof top, in her full Orphan outfit when she notices that something else was tracking the same car as her from across the street.

The other person seems to notice her, but focuses on the car and even jumping onto the moving, at full speed down the busy street, car without hesitation.

Cue Cass jumping onto the same car and hanging onto it along with the stranger, only to realize that the person is wearing a dark red/purple oni mask with glowing gold horns, and a screaming mouth full of white tiger-like teeth.

However, before she could figure out if the person is a human, demon, spirit, or something else, the car jerks to a full stop and threatens to buck the her and the other person off.

Four armed men pile out of the car and starts trying to shoot at her, in the middle of the still very busy street with a shit ton of innocents to protect.

“Get the kids and take off!!” One man screams at the people still in the armored car as the masked men surround the outside of the car with guns pointed at Orphan and the strange person.

Orphan quickly jumps off of the car and attacks the first man with a batarang and hitting another man’s gun out of his hands with a kick.

However, as she focuses on the men around her, the guns going off near her and the innocents around her, that she barely notices the car trying to speed away from the scene. At least until the car splits in half, horizontally.

The battle freezes for that moment as the strange person slowly pulls a razor sharp electric guitar out of the severed armored car, that was built like a smaller version of an armored bank truck, with ease.

The person then plays a few cords the electric guitar, which was not plugged in anything, and the front part of the car starts to crumble onto itself like a paper ball.

The men surrounding Orphan drop their guns and put their hands up, begging for the person to stop, to let the two men in the car go, that the two men were the only ones of the group to be forced into kidnapping the kids.

The men start to crumble under the invisible forces of the stranger’s playing as Orphan watches in shock and growing horror as the people around her start to crumble as well, grabbing at their ears and begging the person to stop.

But the stranger continues to play, playing note after heavy note until the bad men ears’ start to bleed from the sound.

Orphan slowly starts to hear the music from the stranger’s electric guitar, like first a soft whispering that continues to grow in volume and tone until it starts to sound like a banshee’s song on full blast.

Orphan silently screams in pain as she uses one hand to cover one of her ears, and uses the other to pull out her katana and rushes the stranger, unconsciously aiming for the middle of their throat.

However before her blade could make contact with the stranger’s neck, a black/purple goop rushes out of the severed back end of the car to quickly cover the two of them completely.

Next thing Orphan/Cass remembers, she wakes up on the roof of the Gotham City Police Department with Stephanie shaking her awake and crying her eyes out.

“Cass! Cass wake up!!!”

After returning home with Steph not leaving her side, she learns that the kidnappers and around 50 people were hospitalized for ruptured eardrums, and at least two of the six kidnappers suffered from broken legs as well as ruptured eardrums.

”Oni, Banshee song, ears hurt. No more electric guitars, please.”

[pjblob]

OC time! Prolly a bit early considering I made this tumblr alive again like a week ago but yk what i dont care.

Meet my PJ Masks OC Kitsu! To be honest, she was my first OC ever made… back then I was still trying to find a nice art style and I was too shy to make OCs. But yeah I saw other people making OCs so i was like “yo why not try it myself!”, so i made her back in 2017? 2018? Somewhere during season 3 of the show. She has gotten so many redesigns, but i’m pretty chill with this one for now :]

Her personality:

She is cunning and mischievous, always trying to find new ways of entertaining herself. She’s sharp-witted and a quick thinker, but can make very stupid decisions sometimes, especially when she’s full of herself. She normally can’t take criticism and will most likely take it as a joke, if not insult you back. She does love to tease people, trying to push them to their limits for the soul purpose of entertainment. She rarely takes anybody seriously, which is why she sees herself as higher than others. But below that, she’s very loyal and does care for the people she trusts the most.

She doesn’t know what her purpose is in this world, so she tries to just make the best of her experience by doing anything she wants. And the best way to do that is by causing conflict between everyone else. She’s not on anyone’s side really,, She will change sides depending on how fun it’ll be for her. Which does make her quite lonely at times. girly just needs some friends 😭😭💔

So her powers:

Kitsu has shape shifting powers, can take the form of anyone and anything she wants, but won’t inherit the powers of the one who’s trying to mimic. She can hold the form for as long as she likes. Her second power is Agility. She’s quite fast, can climb easily and dodge with no problem.

Now her backstory:

It’s pretty hard to talk about her backstory, because it’s very similar to munki-gu. Again, she was created wayy before him and it just so happened that the writers came up with the same idea. So I was kinda forced to change it 🥲

So in her verse, before mystery mountain was a floating island above the city, it was a part of a different universe. The mountain was on a land, where there was a village protected by 4 mountains, all on different sides of the land. The Dragon mountain of the East, the Vermilion Bird mountain of the South, the White Tiger mountain of the West and the Turtle mountain of the North(yes this is a reference to the four symbols, look it up). In the middle of these mountains was a town, which was protected by these mountains. An Yu lived on the dragon mountain. Since she was born of the “dragon blood”, she would be trained to become the protector of the mountain. (yes i have made designs for the other protectors too >:3)

There were loads of magical creatures living amongst the humans, most of which were harmful to them. So An Yu’s ancestors, having so much power and control, decided it would be best to imprison the creatures to prevent further harm. (hence why Munki-gu was imprisoned too) Kitsune’s were a big harm to society however, that their magical box prisons weren’t enough, considering they could shapeshift. So they decided to exterminate them all. An Yu witnessing all of it, decided to secretly save just one (that being Kitsu).

Years later, there was a war between the mountain guardians and ninjas, who wanted to steal their powers (I thought Night ninja and his ninjalinos could be descendants of them). It ended up in the universe getting completely destroyed, with An Yu having to sacrifice herself to save her mountain, getting imprisoned in the gong as a result. An Yu, after getting rescued, still held the burden of her ancestors imprisoning Kitsu’s species, so ashamed of their past actions, that she never tried to set Kitsu free. She was too scared to confront her, since she thought her and other magical creatures would rise against her and blame her for everything.

A few days after the PJ Masks rescue An Yu in the show, one day, they decide to give her a visit. While An Yu was showing the PJs around the pagoda, Catboy becomes a bit too curious and finds the box where Kitsu was imprisoned, accidentally letting her out in the process. When Kitsu was set free, she needed to give herself a new physical form, so she chose to mimic the first person to let her out, that being Catboy. But since she can only mimic the physical appearance of someone and not their powers, her “PJ Mask” suit didn’t include an animal symbol on her chest. Her suit can still light up when using her own powers though. Finally let out, she fled into the city, until she was ready to start causing mischief. After that, An Yu forbid the PJs from entering the mountain for a while, but still blaming herself for letting her guard down and letting Kitsu free.

so that’s what I have so far, the rest will be decided with time since the show is episodic annd literally anything can happen xd

hope u enjoyed reading this paragraph 🫶🫶ndhdhdhjd

[kepnerandavery]

My favourite quotes from When He Was Wicked..

1. “Francesca turned to Michael, her eyes startlingly blue, even in the candlelight. Or maybe it was just that he knew how blue they were. He seemed to dream in blue these days. Francesca blue, the colour ought to be called.”

This is the first moment that makes you realize just how deep Michael’s love for Francesca is ❤️

2. “When she smiled at him he couldn’t say no. And he certainly wasn’t strong enough to deny himself an hour in her presence. Because her presence was all he was ever going to get. There would never be a kiss, never a meaningful glance or touch. There would be no whispered words of love, no moans of passion. All he could have was her smile and her company, and path. All he could have was her smile and her company, and pathetic idiot that he was, he was willing to take it.”

Sigh.. My poor child. I wish I could give him a hug and tell him he’s going to get everything he deserves (soon-ish) 😅

3. “He turned and looked at her, his strange, silvery eyes catching hers with an intensity she knew he didn’t often allow to rise to the fore. “And then it was gone, and he was himself again”

Little does she know, that the Michael that she thought she saw here for a second is his real self. It’s just that he’s pretending to be someone else in front of her to mask his feelings 😢

4. “Francesca?” he gasped. “Frannie, Frannie, what is—”

When he called her “Frannie” for the first time, my heart exploded ❤️ I also noticed that he only calls her that in "somewhat" serious situations 😭

5. “She was still there, and she was still the Countess of Kilmartin, and even if he was the earl, with no questions attached to the title, she wouldn’t be his countess, and he just didn’t know if he could take the irony of it.”

My man really had to go through all seven stages of grief about three times over before she fell for him huh? 😢

6. “He didn’t try to finish the sentence for her. She wished he had; for years she wished he had, because maybe then he would have said the wrong thing, and maybe then she wouldn’t have leaned into him, and maybe then she wouldn’t have allowed him to hold her.”

I feel like this moment is so important for them both. It’s the first time where they stepped out of the familiarity of their relationship, and failed to figure out who they were to each other. And that’s pretty good news, for Michael. Down the road, I mean, cause right now, it really sucks 😂

7. “He was a brave man; he’d proven that countless times, on and off the battlefield. But he was an honest man, too, honest enough to admit that the prospect of facing Francesca was terrifying in a way that no French battlefield or toothy tiger could ever be.”

Ahhhaa 😭

8. “Do you have any idea how long it takes for mail to reach London from India?” “Five months,” she answered promptly. “Four, if the winds are kind.”

Are we really gonna gloss over the fact that she knows this? 😏 Frannie, you’re not coming across as indifferent as you’d like to seem 😂

9. “He’d needed her to step away, to move out of his reach. She was going to have to set the boundaries. Because he wasn’t sure he’d prove up to the task.”

Sighh.. I can’t understand how he kept all of his feelings to himself for six years 😢

10. “There was something different about her, something entirely unexpected. Something that shook him down to his very soul. It was a sense about her—all in his mind, really, but no less devastating. There was an air of availability, a horrible, torturous knowledge that John was gone, really, truly gone, and the only thing stopping Michael from reaching out and touching her was his own conscience. It was almost funny. Almost.”

God, Micheal really is an angel when it comes to her. The fact that he doesn’t even ponder the possibility of a relationship with her is just so.. 😭

11. “You, my lord, need a wife. Immediately.” “Oh, really? And why is that?” “Because in your present state, you are clearly a danger to unmarried women everywhere.”

Is he a danger to other woman, or to you Francesca? I’m pretty sure it’s the latter 😋

12. “She had remembered how he took it—milk, no sugar. For some reason this pleased him immensely.”

Gahhhh 🥰 Small victories for him 😊

13. “But soon. You’re not getting any younger. Michael just stared at her in shock. “I can’t imagine permitting anyone else to speak to me in such a manner.”

Haha 😂 He’s such a sweetheart, and no one can convince me otherwise

14. “And then of course there was the small matter of his skin crawling, which was his general reaction to the thought of Francesca with another man.”

How much more could he take? 💔

15. “He was Michael. He was… well, it seemed difficult precisely to define what he was to her, but they had an unbreakable bond, they two, and it seemed that four years and thousands of miles had done little to diminish it.”

YES!!! 🙌

16. “And even in those early days following John’s death, when she’d hated him for leaving her, even when she’d been so angry with him that she wanted to cry—she had taken some comfort in the knowledge that he was alive and well, and would return to her in an instant, if ever she asked it of him.”

Micheal was living with a broken heart in India, but little does he know that half the work to make her fall for him has already been put in by his past self 😋 All he had to do was be himself 🥰

17. “She reached out and took his hand. “We will get through this,” she said. He nodded, and then he closed his eyes. But just when she thought he was asleep, he whispered, “It’s better with you here.”

Sighhh ❤️

18. “He had never seen her wake up, he realised. He wasn’t certain why he found that so strange; it wasn’t as if he’d been privy to many of her private moments before. Maybe it was because in all of his daydreams, in all of his fantasies, he’d never quite pictured this—the low rumbling from deep in her throat as she shifted position, the small sigh of sound when she yawned, or even the delicate ballet of her eyelids as they fluttered open. She was beautiful. He’d known that, of course, had known that for years, but never before had he felt it quite so profoundly, quite so deeply in his bones.”

Michael Stirling deserves the entire world, and this is precisely why. No one could ever love her as much as he does 😭😭

19. “It was something in the way she moved. Something in the way she breathed. Something in the way she merely was. And he didn’t think he was ever going to get over it.”

And I will never get over how he feels about her 😫

20. “I have no wish to hear about your amorous exploits,” Francesca said stiffly. “Funny, you used to ask about them all the time.” He paused, watching her squirm. “What was it you always asked me?” “I don’t—” “Tell me something wicked” he said, using his best trying-to-sound-as-if-he’d-just-thought-of-it voice, when of course he never forgot anything she said to him.”

The fact that he tries so hard to pretend like he doesn’t care about her too much 😭 Also I love that he’s slowly starting his to let down his guard and use his charm on her 😏

21. “I knew there was a reason I loved you so well,” he said dryly. “One really needn’t worry about falling into the sin of vanity with you about.”

Look at him, casually throwing in the world “love” concealed in a joke. I see you Michael 🥺

22. “Where’s that new earl of yours?” My, she was blunt. “He’s not my earl,” Francesca pointed out. “Well, he’s more yours than anyone else’s.”

Lady Danbury knows best. Come on, Francesca! We know this!! It’s best not to argue with her, and go along with whatever she says 😂

23. “It was like a sickness with him, a sixth sense. He couldn’t be in a room with Francesca and not know where she was. It had been like this since the moment they’d met, and the only thing that made it bearable was that she hadn’t a clue.”

I just.. 😭😭

24. “A man would have to be a fool not to want to marry you.”

Oh my god. My child, I can’t even be mad at him for not telling her how he feels because of how respectful he is 😢

25. “Michael snorted with disgust. Anyone who took the time to really look at Francesca’s eyes would have realised that they were quite their own colour. As if the sky could even compare.”

Haha, what an adorable lovesick puppy 🥰

26. “How did you know I was in the garden?” she inquired. He didn’t say anything. Or maybe he would have done, just not quickly enough to suit her. “Were you watching me?” she asked.His lips curved, not quite into a smile, not even into the beginnings of a smile. “I’m always watching you,” he said grimly.”

Damnn 😏 This, right here is the moment that we all knew it was about to go down. There will be no more facades from this point forward. We’re about to witness the charming, smooth-talking Michael Stirling in all of his glory 😍

27. “Good God, he was staring at her toes. Her toes. What had his life come to?”

*screams internally* 🤣

28. “Now that it had finally happened, now that he had tasted perfection, he was in more agony than ever before. Now he knew exactly what he was missing; he understood with painful clarity just what it was that would never be his.”

Oh god. Someone get this man a whiskey, or a hug, and maybe a therapist 😢

29. “You do realize, Kilmartin,” Colin said, his voice so soft it was almost chilling, “that there is no reason you can’t marry her. None at all. Except, of course,” he added, almost as an afterthought, “the reasons you manufacture for yourself.” Michael felt something tearing in his chest. His heart, probably, but he was growing so used to the feeling it was a wonder he still noticed it.”

Colin Bridgerton, what a godsend. I honestly don’t know why he bothered with becoming a writer when we all know that matchmaking/counseling is what he was born to do 💁‍♀️😂

30. “He might not ever have all of her—her heart, he knew, would never be his—but he’d have most of her, and that would be enough.” “It was certainly more than he had now. And even half of Francesca—Well, that would be ecstasy. Wouldn’t it?”

He’s waaaay too good for this world. Am I biased? Maybe. Do I care? Not one bit 😋

31. “I will give you children,” he said softly. “Or at least, I will try.”

Ohhh GOD 😭❤️

32. “Who would have thought, after all his years of bad behavior, that he’d emerge such a hopeless romantic?”

Pstttt. As if he hasn’t been a hopeless romantic since the day he met her 😂

33. “There was nothing she valued more than a cool and clear head, and Michael had managed to steal that from her with a single kiss. And then he’d done more. So much more. She was never going to be the same. She was never going to be sane.

“You look distressed,” he said. She wanted to strangle him. He cocked his head and smiled. She wanted to kiss him.”

Haha. Cuties 🥰🥰

34. “Dream of me,” he said softly.”

Aww ❤️ I’d be very surprised if she was able to dream of anyone else 😋

35. “He told her about India, and she told him of her childhood. She gave him her opinions about political matters, and he actually listened. And he told her devilish jokes that men were never supposed to tell women, and women certainly weren’t supposed to enjoy. And then, once the bed had stopped shaking with her mirth, his mouth would find hers, a smile embedded on his lips. “I love your laughter,” he would murmur, and his hands would curl her to him. She’d sigh, still giggling, and they’d begin their passion anew.”

This is my favorite part of the book. It sums up their relationship to a single paragraph, and it’s just so beautiful ❤️❤️

36. “Why? It’s because I love you, damn me to hell. Because I’ve always loved you. Because I loved you when you were with John, and I loved you when I was in India, and God only knows I don’t deserve you, but I love you, anyway.”

Oh god, finally! I can’t get over how he told himself that he was never going to tell her any of this, but he just absolutely had to do it when he thought he was going to lose her forever. It’s so tragic 💔

37. “If this is to end, you will have to do it. You will have to walk away, Francesca. Because now… after everything… I’m just not strong enough to say goodbye.”

If my future boyfriend isn’t even remotely anything like him, I don’t want him. Who cares if it’s irrational? From now on, Michael Stirling is the gold standard of men 😭

38. “Six bloody years, all lost in a single moment. All because he’d thought he might actually have the right to feel happy.”

*screams* You do deserve to be happy!! 😫

39. “I don’t care if you’re barren,” he said, his voice hot against her ear. “I don’t care if you deliver a litter of puppies.”

I can’t. How can he be this.... perfect? 😭

40. “His heart had always skipped a beat when he saw her across a crowded room. Anything more, and he didn’t think the organ could take the strain.”

Sighhhh 🥺 I swear, the number of times I sighed while reading this book is striking 😅

41. “It’s not nothing,” he murmured. “When it’s you, and when it’s me, it’s never nothing.”

Oh my god ❤️

42. “This thing between them, this bond—it wasn’t just passion, and it wasn’t wicked. It was love, and it was divine.”

Hallelujah!!! 🥳

43. “She didn’t have to love him. But she did have to feel free. Free to be happy. Because if she wasn’t happy… Well, that would kill him. He could live without her love, but not without her happiness.”

He’s so damn perfect. It’s almost infuriating. Almost! Does Julia Quinn actually think that we won’t be stupid enough to look for this in the real world? Because I will. I am certainly just that dumb 😅

44. “You have to say it,” he said. “If you feel it, then you have to say it. I’m a greedy bastard, and I want it all.”

YESS ❤️

45. “For the rest of my life,” he vowed, “I will love you. For the rest of my life. I promise you. I will lay down my life for you. I will honor and cherish you.”

What a perfect ending to a beautiful book. I was rooting for him since the first chapter. He finally got his happy ending 😇 And Francesca deserves every bit of his love 🥰