#what's the point if the feds aren't even gonna follow it

[yulen-the-ghost]

(Unedited) Land of Tender + Post Marriage Hualian interaction

(There's no title either lol)

Fragment:

"M-my Lord!! I have been loyal to you, the rest of my girls just didn't get it!!" She weeps. "My Lord, it's true that I tried to poison you the first time we met, and... Several other times, but I've changed!! You, you, YOU GAVE ME A HEART!!" "Didn't you say I 'broke your heart' just moments ago?" Hua Cheng points out bemused. "WELL IT DOESN'T MATTER, I-- I LOVE YOU!!" Xie Lian turns around with a dangerous expression. His face is full of black lines as he finally steps forward in front of Hua Cheng and slashes with his bare hand. Not an ounce of spiritual power was needed to turn that demon into a literal pulp. Xie Lian shakes his hand to get rid of the substance—that can't be called blood—and turns around to face his husband. "Now I see why this business was so urgent. I'm glad to have come personally." He says plainly, but the detachment makes it sound dangerous.

"Your Highness, you're here." Hua Cheng turns around, making the silver jewelry ring lightly.

"Of course, I--"

"Wait. Cover your mouth and nose. You can use Ruoye." The ghost interrupts.

"Oh, ok but why?-" Xie Lian tries to ask, when Hua Cheng turns suddenly.

His eye shines even in the middle of the dark of the cavern, and his next steps are cautious.

His gaze narrows, and when Xie Lian turns to look in his direction, a field of red flowers is seen ahead.

"Oh, what is-?"

An arm stops him from moving forward.

"Be careful, Your Highness. These aren't regular flowers." Hua Cheng warns through the communication array.

What could possibly be so serious as to warn me through that method? And he's even calling me by my title. Xie Lian thinks.

But his concern is quickly answered when the ground shifts, like something was moving underneath.

Roots rise from the ground, and one of the flowers blooms into a beautiful tall woman.

Her skin is pale and tender, long dark hair cascades like a straight silk all the way to her calves, and she is dressed with nothing but a soft pink lipstick to enhance her face.

Long dark nails adorn the hands that are placed in her hips.

She frowns slightly, her notably sweet voice tampered with irritation. Or fear.

"L-lord Chengzhu!! What are you doing here? We already paid our debt!!" She rages, using an imposing tone.

"Of course, I know. I'm not here for that. But I'm expecting you didn't forget about our agreement?" Hua Cheng replied icily.

Xie Lian had barely ever seen the ghost king speak like that. What kind of deal could they have?

He blushed slightly and shook his head. If he doesn't visit brothels, why would he make THAT kind of deal? He scolded himself. ...Unless that's the reason why he doesn't visit such places.

"Of course I haven't forgotten. We pay our rent, unlike anyone else in ghost City, maintain order, and are forced to stay here to wait until you feed us." Her naturally alluring voice contrasted with the current stern tone, gives her an air of elegance.

FEED THEM!!?? Xie Lian automatically recited sutras internally to erase any impure thoughts about the exchange. Imagining Hua Cheng like that... Xie Lian gripped the hem of his robes.

"And what happened this time?" Hua Cheng arched an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? We have been following your rules, however unjust they are." The woman proceeds to cross her arms.

"Admirable," Hua Cheng sneers. "You can keep that attitude even after one of them snuck to bite my residents."

"SHE'S A YOUNG ONE!!" The flower excuses. "And that wouldn't have happened if you fed us more generously."

"Maybe I'd feed you better if you paid in time."

The woman scoffs. "Are you gonna kick us out?"

"You know the rules. I'm the only one who is willing to shelter you, and the only one that can feed you without either falling for your tricks or running out of power."

The woman winces. Just then, another one of the flowers blooms into a young beauty, and swings her claws towards the prince.

Xie Lian has a perfect instinct for danger, and dodges effortlessly. When the young one swings back for a second strike, the ghost king grabs her by the arm and lifts her up in distaste.

He turns to the first woman and arches an eyebrow.

Her face is finally showing her distress and she kneels to the ground.

"PLEASE LEAVE HER ALONE!! THIS ONE HAS FAILED TO EDUCATE HER PROPERLY AND IS WILLING TO TAKE HER PUNISHMENT INSTEAD!!!" She begs.

"This is the third time, Lady. A couple innocent passerby, the brothel in my city, and attacking my honoured guest." He swings the lady to the rest of the flowers, releasing her without the risk of getting attacked.

She lands lightly on her feet and rushes to hide behind the tall woman.

"You know the Land of Tender attacks in groups. I don't think I can believe your honesty so much after this." Hua Cheng warns, stroking for once, the hilt of E'ming.

"W-well, if I need to fight you to protect my girls, I will!!" The woman snarls.

"I knew it was a terrible idea to believe you had a heart."

"Maybe I'd still have one if you didn't break it." The flower rages.

She jumps forward, summoning a vine to whip at the ghost.

"Nonsense. All you've ever felt has been thirst of lust." Eming flies forward and it's countered by a third flower woman, who uses a thorn-dagger to fight back.

He lets Eming have fun on his own as he snaps his fingers to summon his silver butterflies. In the light of the room, it's revealed the red vastness of the place, who is just a field of flowers. Many more bloom into raging and laughing women.

Some of them lung towards Xie Lian, praising his looks and themselves, explaining that they would be the perfect match.

He fights back perfectly fine, but the sweet words seem to strike a nerve on Hua Cheng.

He turns around just in time to hear Xie Lian saying "Ruoye!!"

Your Highness, remember it's already covering your mouth!! The ghost king warns.

Right. Thank you, San Lang. Xie Lian answers, and a wall of butterflies covers just in time before one of them scrapes the prince.

"You worry too much. Look at how resilient your 'honoured guest' is. He didn't need you to count this as a 'third incident.'" The lead woman rolls her eyes as the vine strikes a group of butterflies shielding Hua Cheng.

"That's not the point. I will not tolerate anyone who disrespects my husband."

The sharp gaze of Hua Cheng strikes her as much as his words, and her already pale face turns into a paper sheet white.

With that reaction, the rest of the flowers seem to lose focus, and the butterflies easily reduce them to sap.

"The only reason you managed to survive this long," Hua Cheng starts, stretching his arm to receive E'ming back, "is because you took my energy. The only reason you're alive is because I allow it."

The flower falls to her knees once more, looking pitiful.

"M-my Lord!! I have been loyal to you, the rest of my girls just didn't get it!!" She weeps. "My Lord, it's true that I tried to poison you the first time we met, and... Several other times, but I've changed!! You, you, YOU GAVE ME A HEART!!"

"Didn't you say I 'broke your heart' just moments ago?" Hua Cheng points out bemused.

"WELL IT DOESN'T MATTER, I-- I LOVE YOU!!"

Xie Lian turns around with a dangerous expression. His face is full of black lines as he finally steps forward in front of Hua Cheng and slashes with his bare hand. Not an ounce of spiritual power was needed to turn that demon into a literal pulp.

Xie Lian shakes his hand to get rid of the substance—that can't be called blood—and turns around to face his husband.

"Now I see why this business was so urgent. I'm glad to have come personally." He says plainly, but the detachment makes it sound dangerous.

"Gege, I--" Hua Cheng's voice trembles.

"Are you immune to their scent?" Xie Lian asks, pointing out that Hua Cheng has nothing to cover himself with.

"No. I just don't breathe."

It makes sense. Xie Lian nods.

"I see." Xie Lian rubs his chin and proceeds to place his hands where his lips are covered by the silk. "How did you transfer spiritual power with them?"

The prince asks honestly, but Hua Cheng can't help but panic. "Not like that!! Gege, there is an array inside this cave. I don't even need to enter to give them the energy they need to survive!!"

Xie Lian hums, and Hua Cheng proceeds to explain further. "They made it sound dirty, but actually, the deal was for them to 'pay for the damage done to their victims and don't attack anyone else.' They had to stay here for me to protect and feed them, and the money wasn't for me. Let's just say... Some of the residents of my city were not originally ghosts."

Xie Lian remains silent for some time, looking up at his husband with what could only be described as an incredulous look.

Hua Cheng proceeded to panic further. All because of some stupid attempt at being merciful to some heartless demons.

Xie Lian turns around and crosses his arms.

Out of respect, the butterflies are already gone, so he can no longer see his face.

The only reason his pulse isn't rushing at top speed is because he deliberately stopped his heart and kept it that way to avoid the poison from flowing in his veins.

Xie Lian snorts. His shoulders are shaking, and then he bursts out laughing.

"!!??"

"HAHAHAHAHA-- SAN LANG, I MEANT IT HAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Xie Lian turns back around to his husband and looks at him in the eye. "I'M GLAD I CAME PERSONALLY!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

"Gege?"

"Hahahaha-- sorry, did I surprise San Lang?" He smiles through the bandages, wiping away a tear in his eye.

Hua Cheng doesn't dare to even move, acting like a real corpse.

"Sorry, I would never doubt you. I did get mad at the flower tho..." He looks at the mess on the floor, guiltily remembering how good he is at stepping on flowers.

"I see. Gege saw an opportunity and took it." Hua Cheng smiles.

Xie Lian's face brights once more, glad about the reception of his husband.

"You deserved it for the marriage joke!!" The god pouts.

"I already said sorry for that!!" Hua Cheng whines.

Xie Lian lets a couple of dice fall and roll on the ground, hugging his beloved. As soon as they're transported into their bedroom, Xie Lian tears Ruoye from his face, and the silk rushes out of the room, sliding beneath the door instead of opening it.

Xie Lian tips on his toes to kiss Hua Cheng. He's greeted back without complaint, and the kiss depends with a sweet scent.

When the god retreats, he asks "San Lang, are you ok?"

"Hm?" Hua Cheng asks innocently. "What do you mean?"

"You're all red."

"Well, I am Crimson Rain Sought Flower."

"No~ this means something else." Xie Lian taps the border of the bed to invite Hua Cheng to sit next to him.

"I am in love with Gege," he says, obediently following his beloved.

Xie Lian blushes and denies with his head. "Yes, but that's not what I mean."

The prince's eyes are dazed and he tugs at the left arm of the calamity, revealing a gash on the skin.

"You're poisoned."

Both of his eyebrows rise. "I already told Gege not to worry. I can prepare an antidote to expel the poison without getting affected."

"Hm, that would work if your blood wasn't rushing again," Xie Lian pointed out, looking at the wound.

The blush on the ghost king's cheeks means that blood is rushing underneath. The poison is moving inside, and soon it'll become a problem.

Xie Lian pulls the arm close to his face, and starts to suck the poison.

The ghost's eye widens at the familiar scene, but he feels as if his soul just left his body when the prince swallows.

"GEGE, YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!!" Hua Cheng cries.

A soft light shines next to him and then, he's pinned to the bed with the sight of His Highness donned in his fine royal attire from XianLe. A particular set that he will never forget.

Xie Lian's eyes are already lewd, and he whispers "My good soldier, I am poisoned with the Land of Tender. Will you help me out?"

Immediately, the ghost king grabs him and turns around positions. Now his own self is wearing the soldier garment from the same kingdom, and E'ming is sent flying out of the room.

The prince rips his robes in the same way he did hundreds of years ago, and lifts his arm to caress Hua Cheng's cheek.

"My beautiful, brave San Lang." Xie Lian whispers.

"Gege."

The hand proceeds to pull the bandages loose, revealing a red eye.

The soldier obeys a non verbal sign to lower his head, and the prince kisses his eyelid.

"My beautiful, brave Hong'er." Xie Lian smiles.

"Your Highness."

They look at each other with blushed faces before kissing again.

Notes:

As I previously said, this is unedited, so I'm going to clarify some things here:

- The Land of Tender (at least here) is all a single entity. Hua Cheng decided to give it an opportunity to prove being innocent, but in the end, it wasn't.

- Xie Lian heard there was an affair Hua Cheng had to handle personally, and decided to tag along as soon as he was available.

- Hua Cheng started calling Xie Lian "Your Highness" kinda out of reflex because he remembers the Land of Tender and Xie Lian being involved as a prince 😭

- The demon had permission to get away, but it would no longer receive 'food' nor shelter from Hua Cheng. Since the resented souls of her victims still lingered on, it didn't want to get out.

I'd like to post this later on AO3, and I might make an extra chapter of the aftermath if this gets enough attention. 😏

- She wasn't in love with Hua Cheng. It was just a trick.

[amazingmsme]

That Was Funny. Laugh

AN: I haven’t forgotten about the rest of tickletober, don’t you worry! Here’s day 24 with Max & the nerds! I feel like he would probably try too hard to fit in with them, & it doesn’t exactly always work. But that’s ok, he’ll make it work! Think we all could use a bit of fluff right now…

Things were starting to look up. They were hesitant to say that the prank worked, but at least Max had stopped bullying them, and that was their main goal, so Pete marked it as a success.

The rest of the jocks started to change their tune, following Max's lead, and it had been weeks since he had a swirly or was shoved inside a locker. Pete and Steph were going steady, and the school play was really starting to come together. The Jagerman himself even invited them to the big game to watch him "stomp Clivesdale into the fucking mud." And what do you know, he did!

So things were honestly pretty great. There was just one little problem...

"Sup nerds!"

They all groaned in unison as he announced his presence from behind. He caught up rather quickly, slinging his arms around Peter and Richie's shoulders, the latter flinching at the contact.

"Oh, h-hey Max," he stuttered, trying to play it cool. Max didn't seem to notice, or he just didn't care. "What's up?"

"Oh nothin' much, practice got canceled 'cause of the rain so I gotta fuckin' walk home. Can you believe it?" he complained. Steph couldn't hide her smirk as she answered.

"Yeah I can, actually."

"Shut it, Lauter," he snapped, but it lacked the usual venom his words carried. "You never have to walk anywhere."

"Actually," she corrected, "I'm walking right now." Peter, Ruth, and Richie all snapped their heads to look at her, silently begging her not to say another word.

"Oh yeah? Where the hell are you nerds going? The fuckin' library?" he wheezed out a laugh, slapping a hand on his knee in amusement, although his laughter trailed off when he realized no one was laughing with him.

Steph merely arched a brow and crossed her arms. "No smartass, we're going to Pizza Pete's to win that ugly little doll Ruth's been wanting." Pleading stares turned to annoyed glances as she spilt the beans. The very act of telling Max where they were going was practically an invitation in his eyes.

"Really? Didn't know Spankoffski had his own pizza shop," he quipped, a smirk stretching across his face. That one was good, he had to admit.

And they still didn't fuckin' laugh! Are they brain dead or something?

"Ha ha, like I never heard that one before," Peter rolled his eyes, an annoyed smile tugging at his lips. At least Max was trying.

"Well if you need tickets to win the ugly fucker, I'm great at skee ball," he offered.

"Don't call him that! He's so fuzzy and cute, you guys are just mean!" Ruth whined, clutching her chest dramatically.

"Ruth, radioactive Cthulhu is not cute, he's just creepy," Richie deadpanned. Ruth stuck her tongue out as he returned the gesture.

"Come on you two, those tickets aren't gonna win themselves," Peter prompted, and they began walking down the sidewalk, dumb jock in tow. They all resigned to their fate of backhanded compliments and obscure sports references for the next two hours. Still, it was better than the way things used to be.

Not ideal, but surprisingly tolerable.

At least when he wasn't trying so damn hard. He would go out of his way to be what he considered kind, but was really the bare minimum at best. And Peter wasn’t exactly sure why he thought he needed to be funny for them to like him. Honestly, it was getting old.

Peter, Richie and Max stood off to the side as Ruth and Steph fed their tickets into the ticket counter. A waiter passed by carrying a pizza, and Max nudged them to get their attention, pointing at the restaurant’s signature dish.

“You see that?”

Peter and Richie exchanged confused looks and shrugged. “I guess…”

Max sported a proud, shit-eating grin. “I’d tell you a joke about pizza, but it’d probably be too cheesy,” he punctuated the joke with a deep laugh of his own as they just stared at him.

“I’m lactose intolerant, what the fuck are you talking about?” Richie deadpanned, clearly not getting the joke. Max rolled his eyes dramatically.

“It’s called a joke, dumbass! And it was funny, so you better laugh!” He took a step closer when Richie didn’t immediately comply. “Laugh,” he demanded, deciding to ditch the jokes all together and go for a more “hands on” approach.

“Mahahax! Whahat thehehe hehell?” he asked, thrashing from side to side as he managed to escape Max’s evil clutches.

“Ha! I knew you’d be ticklish! What about you Soanioffski?” he questioned, catching him off guard.

“Wha- me? Max, wahahait!” he cried out as Max targeted him as well. He scribbled up and down Richie’s side while his other hand prodded at Peter’s ribs. Richie flailed around uselessly, shrill giggles filling the air. Peter slapped at his hand, but Max wasn’t deterred in the slightest.

“How come you nerds never told me how ticklish you were? Think of all the fun we could’ve had!” he cheered, shoving his hands underneath both of their arms, eliciting two different giggly shrieks.

“Thahahat’s exahactly why wehe nehehever tohohold you!” Peter whined.

“We gotta make up for lost time then, don’t we? Don’t worry, I can hustle.” They started protesting, shaking their heads and tripping over their words as he wiggled his fingers closer and closer.

He was just about to really strike when Steph came to their rescue.

“Hey, I think we have enough tickets,” she called for their attention, a fond smirk firmly in place.

Max pulled them closer, ruffling their hair as he did so. “Don’t worry, we’ll pick that up again later.”

Y’know… call him crazy, but Peter wasn’t exactly dreading it.

[moreespressoformydepresso]

I love reading all of your fix it AUs and the funniest thought popped into my mind but - all of them happening at once. The minute the tributes are dropped in things start going wrong. One of the tributes escapes via climbing the zoo enclosure (Treech, Lamina, Sheaf, Circ) (prompting tighter security, stopping Arachne from bringing in a glass bottle and Jessup doesn't get bit) and during interviews, mentors get knocked out and more escape (Brandy, Coral, Mizzen?). The Peacekeepers start really cracking down but everyone sees this. One Peacekeeper is *really* conflicted about this and eventually grabs two (Bobbin and Wovey?) and helps them escape. Otto and Ginnee dip since they know cattle cars best shortly after. Then the zoo gets compromised and everyone's like "Okay tour the arena while we set up the next enclosure" guess what happens next? THE ARENA EXPLODES. Because Otto, Ginnee and Sheaf already dipped, Panlo stands somewhere else, doesn't get exploded and instead escapes with Sabyn, Facet and Velvereen, and because he survives he actually prevents Facet and Velvereen from getting shot and Sabyn from falling. At this point there's like, 8 tributes left, so they decide "fuck it put the tributes in with their mentors while we figure out what to do". Most of the tributes left either have sympathetic mentors (Sejanus, Lysistrata, maybe Dennis?) willing to help them, or mentors who could be pushed in that direction (Lucy Gray, Sol, Reaper/Dill, Tanner). And on TOP of that, the escaped tributes return multiple times to extract more tributes during that whole process. Teslee escapes and blends into a workplace where she gets things done so the boss keeps quiet. At least one person fakes their death and it's pretty easy to when Dill and Hy are both doing pretty badly. Someone dresses up as a Peacekeeper. Tanner 'disappears' when Coral and Mizzen drag him into the sewers. The 10th Hunger Games, advertised as a spectacle for the first time, gets endlessly delayed and postponed until the Capitol public gets fed up and goes 'just skip this ffs' None of the tributes return to the arena, except for Lucy Gray, which is on purpose so that Coryo can win on technicality, (either that or the very few remaining tributes are put in the arena but they all hide, the Games take ages until they realize that the tributes. Aren't in the arena anymore. No one knows when they escaped.) the whole thing is an embarassment and no Hunger Games are held because it was just *that* bad.

!!!!! OMG THAT'S AWESOME!!!!! I love that actually it's hilarious. Here's the order I'd do it in:

Lamina and Treech climb out of the zoo together and end up hiding on the rooftops of the Capitol while they try to figure out a way home. They steal some clothes and clean up a little, after which they're entirely unrecognizable. Coral tells Mizzen to sneak through the bars and hide out somewhere. She'll come get him. Bobbin overhears and Wovey ends up going with Mizzen. When Coral and Bobbin successfully knock out Festus and Juno while the peacekeepers are out of the room and gets out of her chains, Brandy decides to follow. Slamming Arachne's face into the table is very satisfying.

A peacekeeper comes in, notices the mentors aren't even seriously harmed, and starts to have doubts about these kids being violent monsters. Oh well, he's here now anyway. Might as well get some younger ones out. There goes Teslee and Sheaf! That's 9 down, 15 to go. In the cattle car back to the zoo, Otto and Ginnee dip. They offer for the other tributes to follow, but they decide it's probably best to stay in the car because a group of 15 getting out of the car is gonna be a whole lot more noticeable. Besides, if there's any trace of the car being opened, the peacekeepers will know what happened and have a far better shot at figuring out where they are. The longer it takes them to check the cameras, the better. With only 26 people in the arena (not counting peacekeepers) it's even less crowded. Gaius pulls Panlo deeper into the arena looking for allies so he has a better shot at winning the plinth prize and guess what? Both survive. Panlo saves Gaius from death by pulling him out of the way of some schrapnel, which makes Gaius rethink his cringy unfunny district jokes. One of the rebel scum just saved his pathetic ass, maybe he can stand to be a little nicer to and about them. He vows to apologize for being such a dick, but before he knows it Panlo is sprinting for the exit and knocks down a peacekeeper about to shoot Facet in the back. Now the other ones are aiming at Panlo though, and Gaius decides that this is his chance to make up for his behavior a little by bodyslamming the fucker. Marcus takes out another and Sejanus takes the last one, so Gaius' little bout of treason is not remembered by anyone important enough to get him killed. Marcus ends up staying in the arena and is a little nicer to Sejanus. Nobody knows who took out the peacekeepers that were guarding outside... (spoilers: it was Coral, Brandy, Bobbin, and Lamina)

One specific place suddenly has much better tech. Nobody knows why.

The meetings in preparation for the interviews don't go much better for the Capitol's reputation. Somehow, through means still unknown by the supposed superior people, Circ managed to not only knock out Urban (who is both older and stronger than him) but picked several electric locks and escaped the Capitol Academy without anyone noticing until a panicked Urban began running around the building demanding to know where he is. Strangely, he's not screaming about the prize. He's moreso concerned about whether such a young, vulnerable boy is okay and straight up forbids the peacekeepers from using lethal force when they find him. They don't. A business that's partners with the one that suddenly got tech upgrades gets them too. Everyone assumes it must be some sort of secret they shared with each other.

Oh, and the zoo enclosure is demolished before the meetings even end. So that's great. Oh well, only 8 tributes left anyway. Surely the mentors can handle them with some peacekeeper supervision?

Tanner disappears when Domitia takes him out to the market under the guise of needing muscle to carry their groceries. She actually just wants to show him more of the world because he showed interest. When a blond with striking blue eyes and a brown hat throws fireworks from the roof and a flash of red hair swiftly moves through the crowd, pulling Tanner into an alleyway... Well, there was so much chaos! How was she supposed to notice? That was the peacekeepers' job. And anything could've displaced that sewer grate, so putting the cover on the hole correctly is not tampering with the evidence! It's doing her civil duty to keep the streets tidy. When Clemensia sees the peacekeeper guarding Reaper looking a little more... dark-skinned, she decides that it isn't her place to comment. That would be racist! Her giving him as much food as he could easily carry is just her expressing her gratitude for his service. Hy collapsing in public and being dragged out of there by that same peacekeeper isn't anything suspicious at all. Nor is the boy with the familiar trilby causing a ruccus and running in the opposite direction, preventing other peacekeepers from following or checking that Hy is really dead. And she knows this, because Dennis agrees with her. Not suspicious at all. The inhaler Dennis got for his tribute disappearing later that same day isn't suspicious either. Nobody needs to know, and Dennis doesn't even have to mess with the security cameras. They're already looped. Even more plausible deniability, oh joyous days!

When Dill disappears, Felix doesn't deign it important enough to mention that it happened right after he figured out what medication would help her with her tuberculosis. He fully trusted that totally-a-peacekeeper to not let her escape. it's not his fault he ended up "failing". When he points at an actual peacekeeper to take the blame, it's totally a coincidence that it's one who mistreated the tributes the most severely. Who would people believe? Some random nobody or the son of the president? Exactly.

Iphigenia notices her dad is particularly invested in not letting Sol escape. So when she stumbles upon the girl climbing out of a window in the bedroom that conveniently has no security cameras, helped down by a redheaded girl while Hy waits down below, she promptly shuts the door and eagerly anticipates her father's reaction once he finds out.

Lucy Gray, Jessup, and Marcus are eventually thrown into the arena when the Capitol finally relents to their citizens' annoyed outrage over this disaster. For a week, nothing happens on camera. When the peacekeepers finally go in to weed the tributes out, they're... not there. At all. Nobody notices that one of the holes high up in the back wall of the arena was easily accesible from the outside by a skilled climber. Nor did they notice the several fabrics that started going missing a few weeks ago because surely they're not related? Cameras don't show anything, and nobody notices that they were looped to hide a brunet and a redhead scaling the side of the arena to drop in a long rope of stitched-together fabrics in a part of the arena without cameras. There was no way anyone could've seen the three remaining tributes dodging the cameras, Lucy Gray appearing last, and climbing said fabric to be coached down by the two intruders.

Gaul, desperate to keep her show on the road, attempts to get new tributes sent over. Surprise surprise, they're swiftly disappeared too. And again. And again. And again. Next year, there's one more attempt before the president finally decides the point has been made and it isn't worth the trouble. And if several former mentors, including his own son, sometimes disappear without explanation to return some time later looking happier than ever, who is he to pry? Surely nothing that interesting could be happening.

Peacekeepers never really pay attention to the tributes anyway, so of course they forget their faces once the search is declared dead. And the more recognizable ones who show back up on stage? Well, they're entertaining, so... It's probably their twin or something.

[pigeon-behavior]

What's wrong with GLPR? I just found out about them via Instagram and was thinking about adopting a pigeon from them.

Honestly, it's.... a whole bag.

I've heard directly from more than one person who have volunteered there, and the conditions they describe... are... mm.... Truthfully, not really acceptable, even for a rescue.

The biggest complaints I heard were very dirty pens, overcrowding, and birds not being fed or watered every day depending on staff numbers.

That just shouldn't happen. If you've gotten to that point, you've taken on too many animals. Keeping every animal alive at the cost of making them suffer is not a victory. This is why kill shelters exist, as sad as that fact is. If you can't house the animals responsibly, then you simply shouldn't be housing them.

I have also heard about REALLY inappropriate handling of birds, and considering I've actually seen a video they saw fit to be visible to the public that was absolutely appalling, I frankly shudder to think about what they aren't showing.

There's a particularly bad story in my head, but I don't want to out the person who told it to me by saying it, because there are people running that rescue who are insanely vindictive and REALLY love to bully people.

A weaker complaint is that I don't love a lot of their advice. I think their behavior advice is... let's say destined to create a bad relationship with your bird, to be polite. They have some strange views on what is okay to do to your bird at home, medically. Vets exist for a reason - you should be utilizing them! Not... occasional minor home surgeries.

I also wish they didn't tend to shove birds into peoples laps without trying to do any kind of reasonable matching. They won't tell the truth about the bird's temperament a lot of the time. Either they don't know it, or telling the truth won't land the adoption. But that's not fair. You need to be able to know what you are getting into, as much as possible. Expecting a cuddlebug and getting a scared thing that wants nothing to do with you is NOT going to encourage you to keep trying.

I've also seen them push a significantly injured bird onto a minor with no warning of its problem. And that minor should have failed the screening process anyway.

They're very quick to judge everyone else in the pigeon world, but I frankly no longer see good reason to think they've earned that. They get very sensitive if you say in front of them that rescues should be screened just as much as breeders. So everyone should be accountable but them, huh? Interesting.

I absolutely have my personal beef with them. But I'm not the kind of person to drag that out into the open. I kept my mouth shut about their personal shitty behavior for over 2 years because I thought they were doing good work. I definitely have poor opinions of others in the community, but I'm not gonna say shit unless I think it needs to be.

And honestly, I feel it needs to be.

They need to be accountable, they need to be responsible for their birds, and they need to not blow up like a volcano onto the nearest person who doubts them for half a second.

You can't shit all over The Ramsey Loft and then follow the same pattern of behavior about your animal care. You have to be better. I desperately, desperately want you to be better, GLPR.

[lover-of-mine]

https://www.tumblr.com/lemotmo/755647949462274048/i-think-parts-of-that-fandom-are-kind-of-in-a

So this is a post from a blog that’s part of the BT fandom but with the twist (how sad this is considered a twist these days 😭) that the blog owner the anon popped the post from understands Tommy’s role as a plot device for Buddie and as such never allowed Lou’s cameos to influence their view of things which has obviously ruffled some of the more dedicated bt shippers feathers. But it’s just such a well balanced and logically thought out response.

And then this was a follow up they had to that lovely think piece above

https://www.tumblr.com/lemotmo/755657295451521024/i-would-like-to-thank-the-official-911

Which again, well thought out and logical. And extremely true of the situation.

Clickable link to the posts here and here.

Those posts are very well written. I think the hype surrounding the excitement that Buck is bi has died down and numbers are stopping being inflated because the people who were on the fence seem to be back leaning towards buddie. Which was bound to happen anyway, buddie is the relationship that's being set up for a while and they didn't really try with Tommy, so it's hard to keep going to war for him if you stop to think about it, settling for rep for the sake of rep with buddie is right there and ready is hard to justify when they keep making T look worse. I know the scene technically doesn't count as canon, but it is another way to show they are writing T in a very dismissive way, we all know that now having Hen's approval is a bad sign. I think Lou was told to stop the cameos, but I go back and forth on whether I think it was his own team telling him to shut it once things started to get out of control or if it was the 911 team once they realized he had created an actual problem to their marketing because he was literally selling a story that doesn't align with what the show is doing. Things really got out of control because it all led to the way a portion of the fandom is treating Oliver because he's not feeding into what they want. Like the op said, obviously, if it comes down to it Oliver and Ryan get a say, Lou is not even invited to the conversation. Lou was very clearly brought in to make one half of buddie queer so that buddie could get with each other. It has always been about Buck's identity not the relationship, so whatever makes Oliver more comfortable is what goes. Enjoying the relationship for what it is is fine. But the level things reached is not it. It got to a point where they're ignoring Buck and Buck is the only thing that matters in that ship, he's the one the general audience loves, he's the one the creators care about. And the fact that they got fed this narrative by Lou really pushed Buck to the background. This is not what anyone wants. And we're finally seeing that in action, because we're organically making enough noise to drown them out, and we will continue to show the production that we are still in it waiting for buddie and that's what was always gonna happen because we've been in it for years and no one showed me a reason to believe Buck and Eddie aren't meant to be. On the contrary, they made a season that made it seem they are going canon eventually.

[jitterbugjive]

I hate that people can easily find the stupid and shitty things I said and did over 5 years ago and jump to the conclusion that that's who I am, and there's no easy way for anyone to see all the efforts I've been making since then to NOT be that person. It's hard to find all my apologies and explanations because I didn't tag them all properly. I've tried time and time again to explain that I was mimicking the behavior bad adults gave me when I was growing up and that no one really called me out on that behavior until it was too late. I've tried to explain that since then I've been going through extensive therapy to separate bad learned behavior from who I want to actually be. There's so much more to this whole story than what one small chunk of the internet is making it out to be. People who actually know me know that this has been eating me up constantly and that I am always living in fear of losing everything to this drama.

especially since some of that info takes quotes out of context, jumps to conclusions that aren't true, or flat out lies about what certain artworks are depicting or meaning to convey (Like claiming a grown ass adult is a child even tho I have proof the character looks totally different as an adult than as a child, or claiming that a shock piece meant to make people reel back in horror was a fetish when it was not at all that)

It takes clips of things without the full picture and puts words in my mouth.

Here's a little something about how I used to talk about sore subjects: I would make a controversial sounding statement, but then I would explain myself in a way that would show the statement wasn't as bad as I was making it out to be. A lot of the time they just take that bad statement and paste it for the world to see, without giving any of that context of me explaining why I said that and why it's not what it sounds like.

I wish people were smart enough to spot cherry picking when they see it, but they just aren't. They'll see one sentence, and someone saying "look they're supporting this bad thing" and that's all they need to think that's what it is. People aren't smart enough to really ask questions and try to understand a situation, all they want is face value to tell them how to think and feel.

People aren't going to bother to listen to me because I'm "the bad guy" and I'll "say anything to cover my ass".

Listen, if I was really that horrible of a person, don't you think there would be more evidence out there that is very clear and blunt and not just making assumptions on what a thing means?

I'm never gonna sit here and say what I said and did wasn't wrong, it was, but it was not done because I was trying to be a terrible person or prey on anyone. It was because I was insanely misguided by someone who groomed me for 5 years since childhood and then abused me for another 3 in a really toxic relationship. And then I never got HELP for it, I never got therapy to cope with it, I never even realized until way later that 'holy shit this person was 7 years older than me and was taking advantage of me the whole time'. Like I knew they were abusive but adults being friends with children was so normalized in my head, and throughout my life many adults or older kids exposed me to things I shouldn't have been and it skewed in my head what was appropriate behavior or not. Or what was okay to draw or not. And a lot of my opinions were formed around this adult who convinced me things like loli/shota were fine as long as they were strictly made up, and he fed me a lot of nonsense about what does and doesn't make a predator to cover his own ass. I was seriously fucked up almost beyond repair for a long time.

I have a warning on my blog now that minors shouldn't be following me, I make it a point to not ever work with minors on projects or talk to a minor in any capacity beyond a fan to artist relationship. I understand now that it is my responsibility as a NSFW artist that I simply cannot have minors as friends. And being much older now I don't even want minors as friends anyway. When I was in my early 20s the age gap didn't feel as bad but I'm definitely feeling it now and I just don't want to deal with minors any more.

I'm not a danger to anyone, I'm not spewing apologetics for horrible people, I've been doing my best to be a much better and more informed person

And I have no easy way to prove any of it in a way that will matter

I'm only talking about this now because once again I was kicked out of something because someone found that old info and that was all it took. No one cares about my side of things.

And I don't know if this will ever go away

I don't know if I'll ever find any amount of comfortable success because I can't get rid of this shit and on the internet it doesn't matter how long ago you did something or how much you've changed, you did it and therefor you're bad forever.

I hate this shit so much.

[unpopularvivian]

Incorrect Ttte Quotes 253:

(This quote right here is inspired by @wysteriaisapenguin's ttte cafe au. You should go check out her post, it's amazing)

*In the cafe. Sidney Hever orders a Crovan's Coffee. He tries to grab the cup but it's too hot*

Sidney Hever: Ow! The cup is hot!

Toby, the main chef: Sidney, I can't do meals and drinks at the same time!

Percy, the cashier: Dad's freaking out.

Toby: I'm not freaking out!!!

Gordon, the shift supervisor: Toby, are you sure you're not stressed out?

Toby: SHUT UP!!!!

Toby: *Realization* Hey... *Points at Percy* You screwed up... *Points at Thomas* And you.... *Points at Mavis* And you!!!

Gordon: Okay, calm down. Stop the finger pointing. We were all fed up when a karen tried to harass Thomas because he got her order wrong.

Toby: *Sighs* I'm sorry. Sometimes, I forget how horrible you all are at your jobs! YOU'RE ALL HORRIBLE!!!! Sorry... I mean you are horrible but I shouldn't have said it so loud...

Gordon: Alright, that's enough already. For the love of Lady Toby, you're even more pissed than Edward on a bad day!-

Toby: BUT YOU ARE!!!!

Gordon: Okay, okay!!! Enough!!!! Just stop-

Toby: HOW BAD CAN EVERYBODY BE?!?!?

*Thomas, the server, hands Sidney Hever his Frying Kipper and Chips.*

Thomas: Order up!

Sidney Hever: *Takes a bite out of the fish fillet*

Sidney Hever: *Looks disappointed and pushes the plate away* Ehh...

Toby: What? Something wrong with the fish and chips?

Sidney Hever: N-Nothing! It's just- Maybe you missed the mark with this one. Tastes overdone and dry...

Toby: Overdone and dry?.... Really? you're just quoting the reviews!

Sidney Hever: I know but, it's just now I have words to put my tastes.

Toby: Can you get a mind of your own?!?!? I mean seriously, with your dead eyes!!!

Sidney Hever: What??? My eyes aren't dead....

Mavis, the sommelier: The only eyes that are dead are the karen's eyes...

*Outside, two random bystanders are looking at the logo of the cafe shop*

Random bystander 1: Hey, how about this cafe?

Random bystander 2: *Shakes their head*

Toby: :(

Toby: >:(

*Toby then marches towards the window and begins yelling at the two*

Toby: Oh yeah? Well your haircuts are overdone and dry!!!! *Points at Random bystander 2* And you!!!!! YOUR PANTS ARE OVERDONE AND DRY!!!! LOOK AT YOUR DUMB FACE!!!! IT'S OVERDONE AND DRY!!!!

*The two bystanders then began leaving as Toby runs towards the door*

Toby: GET BACK HERE!!!!!

Thomas: Roasting random people? Hell yeah! I wanna join!

*Thomas then follows Toby as he furiously opens the door*

Thomas: WHERE YOU GOING?!?!

Toby: I WANT TO REVIEW YOU!!!!

Thomas: YEAH!!!!!!

Toby: I'M GONNA REVIEW EVERYONE!!!!!

Thomas: YOU'RE GETTING IT!!!!

Toby and Thomas: *Starts pointing at random people* OVERDONE AND DRY!!!! OVERDONE AND DRY!!!! OVERDONE AND DRY!!!!!! OVERDONE AND DRY!!!!!!! OVERDONE AND DRY!!!!!!!!!!!

[inariyazaki]

2 - Unexpected Reunion

Previous | m.list | Next

Warnings : Mentions of a corpse !

( Text may look glitched LMAO also may seem rushed n like the story line is kinda boring , js lmk if u want cold reader back dho , maybe I will change reader back !! who knows what I have in mind )

You ran to the direction where you heard Lumine scream, "[Name] [name] [name]! Does that thing bite?!" Lumine says as she points as a fox, "It's a fox..?" You say panting, "Yeah but does it bite?!" Lumine asks again, "No.. She doesn't bite, she's my fox." You say, "Oh. She's your fox..!" Lumine says as she calms down, "Whoops!" Lumine adds, "Hi there little fox!" Lumine says as she waves to your fox, "Her name's Rena." You say, "Rena! Rena. Hi Rena!" Lumine greets her, "I thought something serious happened.. Dear god." You say, "Ahaha sorry.. Oh! Do you know a place that has a good view?" Lumine asks, you nod, "Follow me. Just be careful of your surroundings." You say, Lumine nods, you turn around to go to the cliff side you just came from. "Woah.." Lumine says in awe. "It's really pretty, huh?" You say, "It really is! It's so beautiful!" Paimon says, you smile. You smiled, finally. After so many years.. You never knew you were capable of smiling anymore, nor feeling any emotions. You thought you'd be as straight faced as ever, but you actually smiled. Years and years of suffering, of holding the responsibility of being a leader, "Be careful, watch your step. You might slip, I won't be there when you do." You say as you walk away trying to avoid whatever you're feeling, "Why? Where are you going?" Paimon asks chasing after to you, you shake your head, "Don't worry about it. You can find me somewhere if we ever meet again." You say, "Wait you're leaving permanently?!" Paimon says as she flies towards you, you simply nod your head, "Not as in permanently, I'll still be here roaming around. Unless you go to a different forest, then I won't be there." You explain, "Why though..?" Paimon asks slightly hurt, "Nothing. I just think you guys can do it alone and you don't need any help. Plus it'll benefit from me too." You say, "How?" Paimon says moving closer to you, It'll benefit from me by hurting less when you go. You say to yourself, "I can finish my job without slowing you all down. Plus I won't have to think of anything else." You say, "Then we'll help!" Paimon offers, "Right.. We can help you! We're friends after all." Lumine says, "Yeah yeah, what Lumine says! I mean.. We're enough people right..?" Paimon says, "How do you trust me so easily?" You ask, "Because you basically saved our life! You guided us to your camp, your camp! And we were strangers! You even fed us, hunted for us, gave us time to rest, do you think we aren't gonna trust you after that?!" Paimon says, "Alright alright.. You can save the lecture." You say, "I'm glad you want me to stay and all, but I can't stay with you." You say, "Why not?" Paimon asks, "I just can't. I can't explain it myself." You say, "This is my forest anyways, so it's a high chance we'll meet again." You say walking past Paimon, "We'll go to every place we've been then! We'll continue finding you!" Paimon yells as she watches you walk off to the distance, you just raise your hand and wave it, "I'm looking forward to that." You mumble while smiling.

Groups POV :

Paimon faces back to the group with a frown, "I liked her presence.." Paimon says, "I'm sure we all did, Paimon. Don't worry, I'm sure we can still find her!" Tighnari says trying to comfort Paimon, Paimon nods solemnly, "However for now we need to survive on our own. So let's all stay sharp and look for a place to camp at. Or do we want to stay at [name]'s?" Tighnari says, "I suggest we stay at [name]'s camp. It's the closest here and where we first came from. I'd say it's the most safest spot." Xiao suggests, "Good point. Alright, it's set then, [name]'s camp and who'll find the food?" Tighnari asks, "How about me and Lumine? Since we're used to fighting and traveling to different worlds." Aether asks, "Sure. Alright, for the others.. Cyno, Xiao, and Wanderer will stay on guard together with me. Paimon you can go with whoever you want." Tighnari says, "I'll stay at [name]'s camp, maybe I can try finding her in the distance!" Paimon says, Tighnari nods, "Alright. For now we all rest." Tighnari says, everyone nods and the group proceeds to go at [name]'s camp.

Your POV :

You aren't leaving. You're just merely taking a break. You just want to scare them a bit, you know, play! Like friends do. You won't leave them alone, of course since your responsibility is to protect the people in your forest. You overheard their plan, and so you won't be showing up to your camp anytime soon. You'll visit as a kitsune though, hopefully they won't notice. You'll bring them food as a kitsune. Your coat has a rather unique pattern, one you won't see a lot in a forest, so you're quite worried. Of course, you wouldn't want to be seen in those acts of yours, it would be quite embarrassing, at least for you. "Unbelievable, they think they can kill these kitsunes by themselves? Well, I shouldn't be talking. I can't really underestimate them." You say to yourself, "That's correct." You heard a voice say replying to your sentence, your eyes widen, "Whose there?!" You say drawing your weapon, "Now now, what have I taught you? Never draw out your sword at a stranger." The unknown voice said, "What?" You ask, "What the hell do you mean 'taught'?" You ask aggressively, "You don't remember me?" The voice talked again, you thought hard as the voice did not seem familiar, "Ah right I forgot. I wasn't there when you grew up huh? My apologies, hun. I thought you were your bother." The voice said as you see a tall figure come out from a shadow, weird. You never seen a kitsune summon a shadow to hide themselves, "How do you know Kitsuyo?" You ask tightening your grip on your weapon. "Calm down, I'm someone close to you and your brother." The male figure said walking closer to you, "Do not take another step. I won't hesitate to injure you in some type of way." You say looking at him, the male smiled, "You have grown, [name]. It makes me so proud to have a daughter like you." The man said, and after that sentence your eyes widen in realization, "Dad..?" You mumble.

After that day, a week passed. Nothing much has changed with the forest, it was peaceful as usual. Multiple birds were roaming around, some were still sleeping quietly and peacefully, and some were chirping. The group woke up, well, surprisingly, Paimon woke up first to see a familiar figure sitting beside her, Paimon blinked her eyes twice and her eyes widen to see who it was, ''[Name]!" Paimon called out, you turn your head at her direction, "Hi Paimon." You greeted her with a cheerful smile, Paimon rushed to your side and hugged you, "I missed you so much.." Paimon says, "Me too, Paimon.. Me too. I promise I won't leave anymore." You say, "Woah woah [name]?!" Lumine shouts, "Hi there Lumine." You greet her as well, the others woke up to the sound of Lumine's voice, Tighnari sat up rubbing his eyes, once he looked up he saw you. ''[Name].." Tighnari mumbles your name, "Mhm. I'm back." You say quietly, Lumine's smile widens and tackles you in a hug *Maybe feeling happy once in a while is fine..* you think to yourself as the group is laughing. "Ah that's right." You say sitting up, Lumine looks up as you stand, "My father." You say pointing at the male leaning on a tree trunk, "Great to meet you all! I'm Kagero, [Name]'s father." Your father introduces himself to the group, "Hi Mr. Kagero! Your daughter is such a nice kid! I'm Lumine." Lumine introduces herself, "Did you have to add that first sentence.." You say dead panning her, "Yeah! You are a nice person." Lumine says, "The first days we met says otherwise.." You say scratching your neck, "Right. I apologize for my daughters behavior. She isn't used to groups such as you guys, so she has a tendency to seem quite rude at the first times you meet her. But I can assure you she gradually gets nicer. I can speak from experience as she was quite hostile to me when I met her last week." Your father explains, "Oh come on! I only drew my weapon because I didn't know who you were." You say, "You threatened your own father." He says, "I didn't know who you were. I thought you were some stalker that knows my family!" You say crossing your arms, your father chuckles, "Fair enough. The last time I saw you was when you were first born." Your father says, "What happened to Kitsuyo though? Why isn't he with you?" Your father asks, your breathe hitches, you swallow. "He.." you stop thinking about the words to explain to your father, "It's alright [name]. Take your time thinking there's absolutely no rush." Tighnari says, "Hah. You're good at reading body language." You compliment him, "Thanks." He says smiling at you. You take a deep breathe, "Dad, Kitsuyo, he uh.. died." You say as your voice starts shaking as you recall that time where you saw your brother's deceased corpse, "I see. I apologize for making you remember that memory." Your father apologizes, you shake your head while looking down, "No it's okay." You say. After that the group went silent, "Well this is sad.. uhm would anyone like to play a game?" Paimon suggests, "Sure." Aether agrees, you look at her, "Can I trust you to hold a game?" You ask, Paimon scoffs "Of course you can! I can be responsible when I want to!" Paimon says, "Mhm sure.. But what game is it?'' You ask, "Good 'ol Hide n' Seek!" Paimon says, "Seems fun. But I'll be watching to prevent any accidents." You say, "[Name]." Your father calls out to you, everyone looks at your father, "You don't have to do that anymore. I'm here, go have fun with your friends. You all can go to the main part of the forest, they have multiple hiding spots and it's pretty much the safest place in this forest." Your father says, "Yeah! It's alright [name]. You don't have to stress about your forest's safety for a while!" Paimon says, you slightly smile and nod, "Follow me then." You say walking to the main part of the forest.

Multiple hours has passed, you all played with the foxes until the sky turned dark.

"Phew! I'm beat!" Paimon says, "Right! It was so fun chasing the foxes. They're so full of energy! And to think [name] has the same blood with them.'' Lumine says, "What's wrong with having the same blood as them? They're Umi kitsunes as well." You say shrugging your shoulders, "Nothing! It's just you almost have no energy." Lumine says, you slightly tilt your head "Fair enough." You say, "It's just these kill joys! You guys are no fun." Lumine says pointing at Wanderer, Xiao, and Cyno. "Come on, Lumine! That's all child's play, what's the fun in that." Wanderer says, "A lot of things actually. You should try it one day, Wanderer.'' Aether suggests. "See? Even Aether agrees." Lumine says putting both her hands on her hips, Wanderer simply rolls his eyes. You fondly sigh at the bickering of your friends, however all things come to an end, and you had to leave. "Well then, I'll leave now. Aren't you all trying to go back to Teyvat though? I'm shocked why you're still here." You say, "Uhh, right, why are we still here?" Paimon says, "Well me and Aether can stay here, I don't know about you guys though." Lumine says, "Honestly speaking I feel at home here!" Tighnari says, "Probably because you're surrounded by foxes. You know! You're ears." Paimon says, Tighnari chuckles, "Probably." He replies with a smile, "Then, hopefully we can all meet tomorrow. Good night." You say walking away, "Good night, [Name]!" Paimon says, "G'night!" Lumine says as well, the others were waving at you, you come back to your father, "Let's go back home?" You smile fondly at him, "Let's go back home." He says.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taglist [open] - @xiaos-wif3 @riabef @klementime @swivy123

( highlighted w blue means can't tag )

[sugarpsalms]

💞🤡✔️?

💞 Who's your comfort character?

Hmm if we're talking of all time, it's Armand Vampire Chronicles 😅 he's been caught in the spin cycle of my mind since I was 14. Honorable mention to Grell Sutcliffe tho. I got deeply into Black Butler after a breakup 12ish years ago and imprinted on Grell HARD. Like to the point that the next time I needed new glasses, I got red ones and just. Have continued to do so ever since. Now and then people are like "oh, red ones again?" and I literally start sweating because I FEAR they will ask follow up questions lmaoooo

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

Oooh it's got to be one from Won't You Come Out Tonight? (a lil 'i have too many stars in my eyes to realize you're flirting with Me' Barto/Luffy fic I've been working on for a while). Greater context for this scene is that Barto has been on the Sunny all day, missing signals left, right, and center, and for the last couple hours specifically has been trying to play it Very Cool whenever Luffy touches him.

Nami frowned. “How much?”

“More than usual, given that this is a local festival month. Prices for everything have gone up across the board, but,” [Law] held a hand up, cutting Nami off as she started to argue, “you’ll be happy to hear that lodging is taken care of."

“Taken care of,” Zoro repeated. “As in?”

“Free. I cashed in a favor.” When the swordsman’s brow quirked, Law added, “It won't be luxurious. We'll be sleeping four or five to a room, but the bedrolls will be clean and we’ll be fed and watered. With a few hours’ notice, we’ll also be allowed to use the host’s private bathhouse. What’s more, they’ve graciously agreed to house us for two weeks.”

“Two weeks?!” Luffy leaned around Barto, practically falling into his lap. The hand that wasn’t plastered to Barto’s side latched onto his thigh. “Oh man, how’d you pull that off, Torao?”

Trafalgar glanced aside, opened his mouth, then clicked it shut again. He took an uncomfortably long look at how Luffy was sitting. Barto flushed from his cheeks to his chest, watching Law watch Luffy’s fingers grip him.

“It’s like I said,” Law responded eventually, “I cashed in a favor.”

Luffy snickered, not worried about how he was sardined against Barto, or about what Law must be thinking, or anything at all. Figuring he was worried enough for both of them, Barto risked looking around the table, relieved to see that no one else was paying attention.

Luffy: *touching pawing playing with Barto's coat sleeves falling into his lap like a cat*

Barto, sweating bullets: oh man...he doesn't know how this looks....poor guy, someone's gonna think...not ME though, I would never think 👀 but someone might...hope they aren't looking...

Law: 👁️👁️ <- bearing merciless witness

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

BIG fan of mutual pining, so that almost always features. Also, if I can sneak in letters I absolutely will. High stakes trust exercises also; oh, and sudden flips of power dynamics. Short list of things that make me dizzy and so I subject everyone else to.

[butmakeitgayblog]

Do you have any advice for fan fiction writers who aren't getting many readers etc? I feel like giving up some days but I love writing and find fan fiction my personal therapy if that makes sense. I'd love any advice you can give or any suggestions. 💕

Well, honestly I'm not any kind of authority so take whatever I say with a grain of salt. Because honestly, I never really thought I'd get any kind of following to begin with 😕 this surprised me, and still does to this day, more than anyone. When I started posting my first fic (very nervously and through the feeling like I was going to throw up) I thought "well, I'll just write a few chapters and probably no one will ever read it and I'll get bored and it'll be out of my system." And now here we are, and I have no idea how that happened 😳

What advice I can give is, you can't write for the sake of other people. I know that sounds cheap as hell because the whole point of sharing fic is to get feedback and interact with others in the fandom, but really at the heart of it you have to just write stories that you like and you want to read above everything else. Keep writing. Keep growing. Keep refining your work and your style so no matter what the view count is, you know you're becoming a better writer regardless. And truth be told, you never know what idea or fic will hit with readers and what won't. You may write something and think oh no one is gonna gaf about this and then out of nowhere, that's what people love. It happens more than you know.

Another thing is - and this is going to sound harsh at first but bear with me please - in this day and age sadly you have to manage your expectations. Not because you don't deserve more readers or comments or because your work isn't good, but because the culture of fandom and fanfic/fanart is changing, and not for the better. There's dozens of posts that make the rounds on here passively warning people about how a lot of writers and artists are getting burned out and fed up with the lack of reciprocal community from their audience. Tiktok and IG and all that shit has kind of ruined the landscape of fandom because now everything is seen as just consumption based. More and more people read a fic and move on, binge a show and move on, burn through a fandom's entire AO3 content in 3 months and move on, and it sucks. I mean when you look at fandoms of old, the days of Xena and Buffy for example, a lot of those fans are still around and still participating and still creating work even though the show/fandom/ships are long gone. You don't really see that loyalty much anymore, and it becomes a cycle of the fandom shrinking and then the feedback and comments and support grinds to a halt, and then creators stop feeling like wasting hours of their life to pour themselves into work that gets maybe a handful of comments even though they see hundreds or thousands of people have read it. It just sucks all around. So expecting to see the numbers that a fic did even 3-5 years ago, sadly, just isn't going to happen.

BUT

I do also know this, the Clexa fandom has been one of the best fandoms I've ever been in, both as just a fan on the outskirts and someone who tries to contribute. I've found Clexas to be funny and welcoming and we have a core group of fucking awesome and loyal, supportive readers, but the thing is you have to keep going. Sometimes building an audience and a regular group of readers takes time. Name recognition matters. Yes there are writers out there that are just synonymous with the fandom, but there's other writers (hi yes hello me, I mean me lol) who came late to the party and it's taken some time to get people to see their work. Tagging things and reblogging, talking in tags, reaching out to other people in the fandom and making friends who want to help you with your work because you help support theirs. All that stuff. It makes a difference. Damn near every week or so I get a new reader saying "wow idk how I hadn't heard of you before/read your stuff before but I'm glad I found it, keep going!" And that 100% will never have even the possibility of happening if you stop writing!

In the end, you just have to decide what's best for you. If this feels incredibly unhelpful I truly am sorry, I wish I had better advice to give you but I'm as clueless to this all as you are. But 2 things I do know for sure without a doubt? One, there is a place for you in any fandom, and your work does matter. There is an audience out there who want to read what you have to write and they'll love it. And two, in the end just be kind to yourself. Love yourself and be proud of yourself for trying, and for being creative and growing your work. Fanfic is supposed to be fun, writing about your favorite blorbos is meant to be fun, even if more often than not it feels like the equivalent of just dancing alone in your kitchen. Ya get what I mean?

[hisuianhellion]

(Just want to be clear, this is an ic-thing, not an actual critique. Feel free to ignore it if you want)

Not to say the clans aren't misguided, but consider this: Progress takes time. It wasn't that long ago the diamond and pearl clans were. at. war. over their religious beliefs. It'll probably be a few more generations before they bury the hatchet legitimately, and probably several more before they accept the historic truth, but throwing your hands in the air and going "they're all children" is absolutely the wrong way to appreciate progress, no matter how small.

M'kie I'm gonna just. Throw my two cents in here. Let me explain that I am specifying that it's Adaman and Irida being children. And that the Wardens, arguably secondary leaders in each clan, prove my point.

Mai and Lian are the newest generations. Both of them are actually quite friendly with each other and speak about one another in terms that you can see a mutual respect in. The warring might've been recent, but they do not seem to have been all that affected by it. It could've been a cold war of sorts the last few decades until a treaty was made. Lian is even an actual child, yet he acts witb the maturity necessary to be a Warden.

Caleba, a woman who has been in the Pearl Clan for a full century of time, was fed the Sinnoh Of Space propaganda her whole life, and needed me to do what she wasn't willing to get off her ass to do to restore an ancient tablet's original message? She was the first to realize that Adaman was being too hard on a subordinate of his, Arezu, and the first to realize Arezu was trying very hard to help the whole of the region, not just herself. Caleba had to have been there during the war. A woman that set in her ways could bury the hatchet once she was shown, point blank, she was wrong.

Iscan and Palina. I don't like them. But they are not bad people. They are straight up a couple despite being from separate Clans. Iscan saved her despite his fears, and Palina's loyalty is unmatched. She herself admitted Irida needed guidance past what her misconceptions could bring.

Ingo and Melli are the outliers. But the former is from the future and simply has no interest in the politics. He only wants to assist people and battle. And Melli might be an asshat, but you wanna know the kicker?

It's because he looks up to and emulates a lot of what Adaman does and thinks.

Three out of five of their wardens, possibly four if the ones in Alabaster are any similar? They are working towards peace and coexistence. Genuine effort being out in, even if it's only in recent months. Even if the two remaining wardens AREN'T friendly, it's still a fucking majority!

And yet both fucking Leaders bicker, argue, snap, bitch and mumble under their breaths about the other?!

I will say this again.

Irida and Adaman are being fucking children. Even moreso than the ACTUAL CHILD of a Warden!

Progress takes time? Yeah. It does.

BUT IT NEEDS THE LEADERS TO ACTUALLY LISTEN TO THE OPINIONS OF THEIR FOLLOWERS TO HAPPEN IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND IF THE LEADERS ARE THE ONES SPEWING THIS SHIT, THEY NEED TO STOP SO THAT PROGRESS DOESN'T HIT A FUCKING WALL.

[moxleys-darlin]

The Real Man's Man

Pairings: Bryan Danielson/Wheeler Yuta, Bryan Danielson/Wheeler Yuta/William Regal, implied Shield/BCC/Renee

Summary: Bryan shows Yuta the Real Man’s Man

Sequel to Do You Still Love Me?

Disclaimer: I don't claim anything but the idea; characters (unfortunately) and gifs aren't mine.

(Gifs aren't mine)

Yuta holds the phone between his shoulder and ear as he unlocks the door, and he can hear Roman laughing at him.

“I can hear you struggling baby boy.”

“How about you shut up, Roman.” He chuckles and can hear the twins in the background laughing at them. 

“How is everything going since your birthday?” Roman asks suddenly and it makes Yuta pause. “Yuta? Please tell me he’s not being an ass again.”

“No! No Ro he’s been really sweet actually.” He says as he kicks his shoes off and putting them and his bag away in his cubby by the door. “And I don’t mean he’s overdoing it. He’s just- it’s like it used to be and that’s how I want it. We train, we cook together, and we just do things with each other again. I love it.” He sighs happily and smiles when he hears a rumble from Roman. 

“Good, I’m glad to hear and I know Seth will be happy to hear it too.” Yuta stops in the doorway of the living room, and he knows he has a dumb smile on his face. “Baby? You still there?”

“Can I call you back, alofa?” Bryan lets out a small chuckle and pats the sofa cushion next to him. 

“Everything okay?” Bryan waves his hand for the phone as Yuta sits down and puts the phone on speaker. 

“Everything’s great Big Dog but I’m gonna steal him for the rest of the day. Is that okay with you?” Yuta laughs softly when Bryan places a kiss at his temple. 

“Yeah, you two have fun and text me later. I love you both and tell everyone else I love them too.”

“We will! We love you Ro and tell Seth the same. I’ll text you definitely before bed.” Yuta calls out and Bryan says the same before hanging up the phone. “So, what’s all this?” He asks as he looks at the blankets and snacks.

“Well, I figured that since we have some time to ourselves with Mox and Claudio being gone and Regal taking care of some business with MJF, we could spend some time together.”

“Where’s Renee?” He asks as he lays back against Bryan.

“She decided that since she’s not needed at AEW until Wednesday she would go meet with Seth and surprise Roman.” Yuta smiles when he feels Bryan kiss his cheek. 

“What are we watching?” He turns his head to look his Dragon when he starts to laugh.

“There’re some episodes of WWF that I’ve wanted to show you. An old lumberjack/working man gimmick of William’s that he’d never let me show you if he were here.” Yuta leans forward to grab the remote and one of the snacks from the table, handing the remote to Bryan. 

He settles back against his boyfriend and covers them with a blanket. “Oh! Mox has talked about this before, but I haven’t looked the episodes up.” He says excitedly as he holds some popcorn over his shoulder for Bryan to take and blushing when he eats it from his fingers. 

They get comfortable as one of the episodes start only making noise when they laugh. After a few episodes they decide to move to when Regal came back to the WWF and follow their older lover’s career at the Fed. He even jokingly changed William’s ringtone to the Real Man’s Man entrance song.

“That’s your gear!” Yuta points out and it makes Bryan laugh. 

“I’ve never told you about that?” At Yuta’s head shake, Bryan jumps into the story of how Regal gave him the gear and Yuta can’t help but be mesmerized at the happiness in his boyfriend’s voice. 

*****

“I can’t believe they got away with this crap!” Yuta states wide eyed and shocked. “I mean I get that it was like the Wild West and no holds barred but what the fuck?” 

“Yeah, they pushed a lot of limits back then. I think Hunter once said that he almost got fired because of some the stuff DX did. They edited out the really awful scenes, but it was pretty bad.”

They both hear the door open and close. “Darlings? I’m sorry I’m late but I’m home now.” Yuta smiles happily as their English lover appears in the doorway and he hops off the couch to greet him. 

“Welcome home!” He leans up slightly and kisses him before helping him out of his jacket and belt. 

“Thank you, Sunshine.” He takes the jacket and belt upstairs quickly and comes back to see Bryan and William kissing, watching them pull away when they notice him back. “Are you two hungry or are you full on snacks and such?” 

“We have snacks William so why don’t you just come join us? Mox and Claudio won’t be back until tomorrow and we have plenty of snack food to fill us up until breakfast tomorrow.” Yuta doesn’t give him a chance to say no as he grabs his hand and pulls him to the couch. 

“I believe I have not been given much of a choice, have I?” Yuta gently pushes him down into the nest of blankets and sits in between Regal and Bryan. 

“Hm, no I don’t think I’m gonna give you choice, your chest happens to be one of my favorite pillows and I feel like I haven’t gotten to see you in forever so I’m going to take advantage of our time.” William opens his mouth to speak but Yuta cuts him off with a deep kiss and pulls back to situate himself and William so that he can lay on his chest. 

“I think it’s just best you do what our Yoots says William and lay here with us.” Their Dragon says as he puts Yuta’s feet in his lap and rearranges the bigger blanket over all three of them. 

Yuta purrs as Regal runs a hand through his hair and he cuddles deeper into the Englishman’s chest. “What are��you two watching?”

“2001 of WWF, Mr. Commissioner.” Yuta and Bryan burst out laughing when Regal yanks on Yuta’s hair for the statement. 

*****

“Have any of you seen my phone? I had to use Bryan’s phone last night to call Roman, but I still can’t find it.” He says as he looks around where they were laying the night before.

“Don’t worry my Sunshine, I can call it.” Yuta’s eyes widen and Regal’s already pressing his name as he tries to stop him.

“Wait-.” His face turns beet red as the Real Man’s Man ringtone blares out from the couch cushions and Regal just stares at him as Bryan is dying laughing from the kitchen. 

“I-is that my old entrance music, Sunshine?” William asks as he’s trying not to smile.

“And if I say no?” Yuta asks as he finally finds his phone and shuts it up and puts it on silent. “I’m not changing it.” He says as he passes William and gives him a quick kiss before hurrying into the kitchen with Bryan, listening to his oldest lover burst out laughing. “Shut up, Bry.”

Bryan puts his hands in the air. “I didn’t say anything.” He states in between laughter. 

I'm alive! I just forgot to post two of my stories lol! This is the sequel to Do You Still Love Me? My darling big polycule and the light of my life 😍

Thank you for reading and I hope you like it! 😘

Alofa: love

[wasteofbandagesxx]

Bsd x reader

The hunting dogs in a nutshell

"Tecchou, was it really necessary to cut down the tree's?"

"The quickest way to our destination is going a straight line, jouno."

Tecchou and Jouno are members of the hunting dogs who are apart of the government organization. Y/n is one of them, she joined the team 2 years ago. Y/n's ability Is teleportation, they can teleport at least 5 people, no more than that.

The hunting dogs never failed their missions, not even once. That's how good they are at doing their jobs. They are unstoppable.

"Now, let's eat while we wait." Tecchou pulls out a boiled egg, but just not any boiled egg. "You know. Out of all the hunting dog members, your the one I hate most." Jouno is very judgmental when it comes to Tecchou, but y/n wouldn't blame him. Tecchou does have weird taste in food. "Hate me? Why's that?" Tecchou asked, y/n couldn't help but just stare at the two idiots. They make y/n wish they were never born, that's how fed up y/n is with their bs.

"Here we go again." Y/n mumbles. "It's because your soul is entirely lacking in artistry!! You'll put shichimi spice on strawberries just because you think similar colors pair well. You put sugar on rice, and then soup base on youkans." Tecchou just looks like he's fed up with Jouno's shit that he doesn't care anymore. He sent him a glare before stuffing the boiled egg in his mouth, a sudden gasp came out of Jouno's mouth.

"Now your eating a boiled egg with the shell on!! I wish you'd just die!!!"

"Oh my God, Jouno shut up!!!" Jouno let out a dramatic gasp as he turned to Y/n. "But y/n! This man is not normal!! He is a devil that eats weird food combinations!!" He shouted, shakily pointing a finger at Tecchou who just continued muching on his meal.

"Your heat rate and breathing is annoying Tecchou, please try to stop it." Jouno said as he used his ability to locate the detective agency. Tecchou and y/n held their breaths while Jouno was detecting the enemies location. "They are in a car, about 4 to 5 people in it. They aren't far away." He said with a smirk. "Well what are we wating for? Let's go!!" Before Jouno could even stand up, y/n stepped on his head and bounced off, Tecchou following behind. "Owww!! Guys wait for me damn it!!!"

Y/n stood on a rock and looked around, until they spotted the car. "Found them! Alr Jouno, do your magic or whatever." "Not only do I hate Tecchou, but you as well" Jouno stormed towards the two with a bump on his head. "Uh huh, I love you too. Now go get them tiger!" "You guys are gonna be the death of me." Jouno mumbles.

..........

"What's taking him so long?" Y/n asked. "I don't know, but he better hurry up." All of a sudden we hear a scream coming from the car. The 2 hunting dogs immediately looked at the cars direction and saw a blond blow getting kicked out of it. "That must've been Jouno, let's go." Y/n jumped off the road, along with Tecchou. An unknown red head made the car invisible and jumped out of the car, taking Jouno with him. "Run for it!!" The red head shouted. Jouno kicked him off and did a back flip before landing back on the ground by his other team members.

"Impressive! You erased the car and messed up my sense of location. Pulling out of the car along with you. But I let you catch me on purpose, illusions don't work on me." He said, smiling at the 2 boys. "I was hoping he would eat shit." Y/n whispered l. Tecchou nodded in agreement as we both watched what was happening.

"Do I kill them?" He asked. "Yes, we'll start with them before we continue to hunt. Please make yourself useful, therefore you are the best swordsman in our team." Jouno said. Tecchou held up his sword and got in a fighting stance, "Get ready."

"What's that noise?" Y/n asked, the boys didn't listen as they were too busy getting ready to kill the enemies. Suddenly a car appeared and bumped into Tecchou hard, everyone looked at him in shock as he went flying. "What the fu-"

To be continued ->

[figula]

this evening was a bit of a :|

a few hours after clare left benno told me that tmr we're gonna have to have a pub lunch w/ his family so i immediately freaked out bc this additional Thing on top of seeing boops & his gf last weekend + having clare this weekend (after like, 3y of nothing, bear in mind, so EVEN THO i was so happy to see them both it also took a decent amount of time to like stop being anxious + come down from that spike. like im still a little keyed up now. they both follow me on here btw + none of this is news to them i hope lol. i love u both im just insane x)

i got so angry (not at ben but at the situation, through fear) that i juts stopped talking and went away upstairs to lie in my bed to try and calm down alone

a few mins later ben came uptsairs + i immediately was like "i really just want to be alone actually" then realised he was crying so i was like ...ok come in (crying trumps general rage in terms of Need i think)

we think it's a long-term mental effect of the pandemic where he gets rly emotional after a social event ends bc it reminds him of like the 3y where it was just us in this tiny little universe + he panics bc i think he goes like straight to that place in his mind where he's just never gonna see anyone again? like every goodbye feels like it's gonna be forever

so anyway he tried to get me to talk about MY feelings during this time + i was just like sry i cant lol. you know when you're hollowed out inside through a combo of rage / general madness / having to remain compos mentis for someone else who needs you. AINT GONNA HAPPEN

so after that settled down i did message him on discord like "love u, not angry, will talk to you later this eve about MY feelings" (+ did stick to this obvs)

think the general sticking point is that while ben seems to have been a bit traumatised by lockdown + the social isolation i found it incredibly incredibly easy + stress-free, + have found the slow transition to normal life v difficult (and still do find it both difficult + incredible to watch in the sense that we're all just pretending covid is over bc like it's easier ig??). ill just c/p what i said to ben here: "if you found the lockdown unexpectedly traumatic I found it lovely and have found the return to normal really difficult & think people are just pretending we're back to pre COVID times when we aren't and I find that cognitive dissonance very hard to deal with, I also can't stand gatherings based around food anyway as you know and it seems to literally be all that is ever on offer and it struck me in the same way as the pret in Portsmouth or you being invited out for the meal when my sister was here etc busy couple of weeks that filled me with huge levels of anxiety and stress, thought tomorrow might be a bit more low key but no, got to to do something else I fucking loathe just very fed up and tired"

he asked me again to talk to him more about my feelings instead of just suddenly crashing when something slightly unexpected happens - i said yes - i think im just confused by how much he wants me to talk to him about LOOOL like if i told him every single anxious thought or w/e id be talking to him 24/7 and it just feels like i dont know which thoughts are the ones to share + which aren't???

anyway w/e it got sorted out w/ solid communication i think tbh like ben says we wont do the lunch. i said that he could do it if he wants but there's not a chance in hell im stepping foot into that pub lmfao like there are so few things he wants to do that i actually refuse (hopefully if u read my blog regularly you will understand that this is true) but i have reached my limit on Events Not In My Comfort Zone, and idc if he wants to do it, he's welcome to, but i will walk around the village during that time he was like "ok that's not gonna happen sweetie bc they'll think you hate them" so we're just not doing it. i do feel bad but also i literally like cannot do it? like i am just fully comfortable in the knowledge that i cannot do it, will not do it, and am simply not doing it. so if that means ben isnt gonna do it either that's just gonna have to be how it is. like not to be dismissive but ... this is how i am + he picked me knowing that so like.

OK loads more shit happened in the hour i took away from this post, benny thinks it might be worth postponing the woods trip just bc he's worried how to spin the lunch thing (whereas im like if you want to tell them im insane just tellt hem idc) but we had a good chat in bed + i love him a lot lol. i do like how good we are at emotionally comforting each other. i think we should 100% go tmr but he's a bit fragile (see above lol) so ill just defer to him on this one, im not exactly in a position to be like "JUST POWER THROUGH!!" hahahhaha anyway we'll see how he's feeling tmr. he's more cheerful now anyway bc we had a nice chat + committed to making some post-wedding plans as well so he wont feel that giant post-event freakout that seems to be plaguing him atm

[numbaoneflaya]

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii can I get 6, 11, 19, 22 for riley and 17,22,35,45 for andros 👀

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOO TES LAD TIME BRING IT ON

Riley

6. Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams?

-He frequently dreams that he's young again, back in Hammerfell with Espira and their parents at the water farm, and he's sitting on warm sand playing with magic. His parents' faces are always blurry because he doesn't remember what they looked like, only the sound of their voices. His nightmares are that he's trapped inside a wardrobe, banging and screaming on the doors but no one hears him or notices he's gone, and it slowly starts to fill with sand until he's encompassed in it, and it's scorching and fills his lungs and all his senses, and it sinks beneath miles of sand never to be found and hes trapped alive forever suffocating while the world goes on above him.

11. In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

-When he was a kid and the place was overrun by undead and he didn't know wtf was going on. Being thrown into a wardrobe so he couldn't help kill the undead but hearing all the screams and zombie sounds from the inside where it was dark, not knowing where his parents or sister are or if anyone was coming to save him or let him out.

19. What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

-Inability to take things seriously and a tendency to make jokes when uncomfortable with vulnerability, which is all the time. Reverts to childish behavior and pettiness when he feels he's being ignored or shown up. A compulsion to put himself in dangerous situations just to feel adrenaline/ to make himself the center of attention. I wouldn't say it's absolutely destroyed relationships but it's certainly soured more than a few. 

22. What does your character like in other people?

-Dangerous people, a good sense of humor and a sense of adventure. A willingness to try stupid things just to see what'll happen. People with thick skin who aren't afraid to give as good as they get in terms of roasting and pranks.

Andros

17. What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

-He had no shortage of toys growing up, though his favorites were luminescent marbles, toy soldiers and a set of generational dolls showing the lineage of his house. They were made of fine silk and linen with real elven hair and jewels for eyes- he probably misses those the most, and is saddened thinking about how he will never have a doll made of his own likeness added to the set and passed on to his own children :/

22. What does your character like in other people?

-Stoicism, intelligence and keen eyes for detail. Anyone who he feels he can talk to for more than an hour without either getting fed up with them or them fed up with him (mission impossible). People who argue and anyone who isn't a pushover. Yell at him. Do it. Hell be mad as hell but you'll get some approval points.

35. How does your character behave around people they like?

-A bit pathetically puppylike in the sense that he kind of follows them around and tries to copy things they do that he likes. More willing to follow orders and be told how to do things (even simple things like "this is how you wash a dish”) without throwing a fit or refusing. Asks more questions that he'd usually be too prideful to ask or admit that he doesn't know something. Puts up less of a front and is more comfortable being ‘seen’ when he's sure they aren't going to tear into him for doing so.

45. What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

-He always believed he would go to the halls of Empyrean in Aetherius as Altmeri religion dictates, but due to his less than proper standing in his people's eyes and his werewolfism he's not really sure where he's gonna end up and it freaks him out. When an Altmer of higher standing brings shame to their family they are simply erased in the history books and by society to the point where they are pretty much never spoken of again, and when they die the belief is that instead of passing on to Aetherius they simply cease to exist. Hes not sure what would be more terrifying, being simply wiped out completely as if he never existed in the first place, or spend eternity in the hunting halls of Hircine, but either way he is less than fucking stoked.

[waheelawhisperer]

Once more unto the breach, with my impressions of Volume 9 Episode 3 of RWBY below the cut. I liked this episode more than the last 2, but I'm frankly not sure how I could've liked them less, so I'm praying that the only way we can go is up.

Welcome, everyone, to the continuing adventures of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yang Xiao Long, and the shambling corpse of what was once Blake Belladonna, hereafter referred to as Blek. Last time, Team RWBY set out to find a way to return home, Blake's characterization was brutally massacred by the writers, and the gang got Yang's arm back from a raccoon whose name sounds like a slur. Next up, we're off to visit the Red King in the hopes that following the path of a story that we know very little about and wasn't properly set up or foreshadowed will allow our protagonists to make it back to Remnant (please go back to Remnant, the sooner the better).

The episode actually starts out by raising an interesting question: what happened to the Red King? Was it something to do with humans? Is this something Alyx did somehow?

That said, the Red Prince is annoying. I think someone should punt him like the football. I do like the way they've conveyed so much of his personality through his movements and gestures and body language though.

"Did I used to be this unbearably pompous?" No, Weiss, you didn’t. At least I enjoyed it while you were on screen.

Honestly, Weiss, I feel your pain. Best character of the Volume so far.

On the one hand, I feel like our heroes should’ve done more than stare in horror as two guards were beheaded on a whim. On the other hand, I don’t care about the guards either, so I can’t blame them.

Ruby is kinder and more diplomatic than I am. I someone had thrown away my only memento of someone I was incredibly close to like that I would’ve thrown hands and to hell with the consequences. I would’ve done anything to get that sword back. I wasn't expecting her to let go of the last piece of Penny she had. She just seems so... defeated.

Honestly this token protest isn't doing a lot to sell me on her grief for Penny or their supposed closeness/importance to each other, like I'm buying into it because of what we got from earlier Volumes and all but it's not really coming through in this scene. I think the writers are trying to show how powerful Ruby's depression is, but it's not really landing for me.

I wish Ruby had cared more about Penny’s sword in this scene but I do like that she’s being a bit of a guile hero. It’s a reminder that she’s supposed to be clever, even if sometimes it doesn’t really feel like the story remembers that.

I’ll say this for the Ever After: it’s visually impressive. The people in charge of the art part of the show really went all out.

Ruby’s reaction when the Red Prince mentions her friends being available to play is interesting. She very much does not want to lead, it seems.

Great. WBY are small now. I hope this is a temporary thing. I'm steadily getting more and more fed up with this Volume's gimmicks.

Of course everyone gets to look good but Yang here, who punches herself in the face and then faceplants. Was this really necessary? Stop trying to be funny. Please. Not only is this not the time for it, but your jokes aren't even good. I've given up all hope of these writers treating Yang with any kind of respect at this point, not gonna lie.

“No one’s going to get hurt, right?” I like this line. It’s very clear now that Ruby’s struggling with the burdens of leadership and the consequences of making decisions. We’re finally starting to see her insecurities come to light.

Between the way the Red King’s pawns look bigger and tougher and the little nod he gives the white pawn, he’s obviously not playing fair. Time for Ruby to cheat? I sure hope so, she is supposed to be a leader and a tactician. Show us some clever stratagems.

Looks like WBY are going to carry here, something I predicted the moment it became clear they'd be competing.

When I saw Yang get cocky I fell in love all over again holy shit she’s exactly my type

Like not to be a heterosexual but oh my God Jesus Christ

Watching the Bees cheer for each other was cute, honestly. Unfortunately, I’m not as delighted by Bumbleby moments as I normally would be after the shitshow that was Episode 2.

As I watch the Red Prince throw yet another temper tantrum, I really want to know what happened to his predecessor, inasmuch as I want to know anything related to this setting. Please give us the Red King back and not this obnoxious little prick.

Oh shit. Eyes in the shadows.

Okay that got a reaction. Humans are not welcome here, it seems. Is this related to something Alyx did?

Love the reminder of just how damn good Team RWBY are in a fight after a Volume or so of them not really getting to show that. Love the decision to have Blek job a lot less. Of course she's the first one to take a hit in this fight.

I feel like there’s no tension here, Ruby can flatten all the pawns with one foot lmao and her friends have Aura, what is she even getting worried for

I guess this is following up on her fears from earlier and her struggle with the consequences of leadership but it just feels silly as things stand and I don't have enough faith in the writers to be confident that they'll do anything with this later

Blek why do you look terrified you've faced (lost to) better foes in your sleep

Was hoping Ruby’s heroic resolve would be accompanied by a display of tactics on her end where she maneuvers individually superior forces to defeat a large group of lesser opponents but instead WBY just kinda do it on their own. Maybe this will feed into Ruby’s insecurity about leadership somehow?

It was pretty badass seeing Weiss pull out (part of) the Nevermore and amplify Yang's combat capabilities. Good reminder of how valuable she is as a team support.

Give a pansexual a sword and she'll want some bloodshed to go with it.

This is how Bee’s Schnees can still win.

That’s it, Ruby. Get mad. Nice to see you invested in something.

I still don’t feel worried for WBY, they all have Aura and can double-jump.

Well, this certainly feels like Alice in Wonderland. Glad they’re finally doing something visually interesting with the setting.

Ruby’s gonna feel even more like a failure after this. RIP girlie.

Kitty's feeling just a biiiiiit sinister to me.

Little is sleeping again. What is the point of this character?

Go off, Weiss, tell them all how much this sucks.

WBY are still small. I hope we don’t have a whole fucking sidequest that involves getting WBY back to normal size but I’m 100% certain we will. I hate this Volume.

I agree with you, Weiss. No one here can be normal. Please let us go to Vacuo. I’m begging you.

Did they really have to make “Rubes” canon? I have genuinely never liked that bit of fanon. Including it here is too late to make it feel organic. It just feels like something thrown in for the fans.

I like how, again, Blek and Yang are the ones who know the story. I am not overly fond of Blek being so upbeat when Ruby’s clearly hurting and the gang just lost a major battle (Atlas), but I feel like if anyone’s going to be this peppy, it does make sense for it to be Little Miss Bookworm.

Shut up, Little. All you do is nap. You’re about to go back to Emergency Rations status.

Oh shit Neo in the house

And her Semblance evolved. Either we get to see how dangerous the Jabberwalker really is, or Neo’s being set up for a big fight later in the Volume.

Or we get literally nothing. What the fuck?

RIP Jabby I guess

Overall rating: Mediocre/10

Overall, this episode was better than the two colossal turds that preceded it. Hopefully this trend continues. If I didn’t hate the setting so much, this would probably be decidedly average, a stunning endorsement by Volume 9 standards.