#who never had to hide behind a mask since you made all your characters and persona around being against it

[customizablefriend]

Fuck you Wilbur

[shiny-jr]

Get you a guy with thighs bigger than yours.

- Warning: Gender-neutral reader. 

- Characters: König.

- Summary: Thick thighs do not save lives.

- Note: This came about because I was just talking crazy in the dms with a mutual. I originally wasn't going to ever let this see the light of day, but then I decided, why the hell not? If I get smacked with delayed embarrassment, I'll just delete. Yeah, I know this isn't what I usually write and post, but oh well. Anyways, after this, we will be back to our regular scheduled content shortly. Oh, and sorry for minor mistakes, I wrote this like at midnight.

. . .

You decided to put a movie on. Just for a distraction. After about an hour into the movie, the leather couch got a bit uncomfortable since it stuck to your skin. So you slunk down to the floor, bringing a pillow or two down with you to use in case extra comfort was needed. The movie was beginning to lose your attention, but you still watched the screen attentively as if you were still focused on the film's plot.

What ended up catching your attention, was the slight shifting couch. Well, slight probably wasn't the correct word, as the movement was anything but light. It was safe to assume the shifting was from a guy who was well over 200 Ibs and a few inches short of 7 ft, although you didn't know the exact numbers because you never wanted to ask König outright.

It was easier to hear the movement, as the large figure scoot a few inches over. Instead of sitting beside you like he was a few seconds earlier, he had not so discreetly moved to take your vacant spot and sit directly behind you. He tried to stay quiet, he really did, but it wasn't so easy for him given his size. At the very least, he treaded carefully, not bumping your back once with his legs or accidentally knocking the back of your skull with his kneecaps.

You didn't move, but your eyes slowly glanced downward, where you could see the tip of his boots. Custom made, as most department stores didn't carry anything in his size. Most articles of clothing he had were custom-made or bought in special stores, save for that odd black diy mask he often wore over his head like a hood to hide himself from the world. Too afraid to lean back and accidentally make contact and disturb this fragile peace, you remain still despite the slight ache in your lower back that make you want to lean back and stretch. But you don't. All you could do was try to revert your attention back to the movie and not think any unholy thoughts, that is, until you heard more movement.

To not bump his knees against you, Konig spread his legs a bit and leaned down. The edges of his homemade cloth mask brushed against your back as you stiffened up, and you could make out the shape of his head beside yours as he whispered, "Do you, uh, want some...?"

Yes. "What???"

"Popcorn? Do you want some popcorn...??"

Oh.

After deciding whether or not you'd accept his offer, silence ensued, only fueled by the movie playing on the television. You weren't gonna lie, you have no idea what the hell was going on in the story anymore. A solid minute passed when he spoke again, sounding just as unsure as the first time. He spoke, as if whatever thoughts he had on his mind earlier where left to simmer for long enough.

"Scheiße. Sorry, should I have not moved here...? You can still lean back if you want?"

"Oh, okay... I, um, I'll do that."

Your back was starting to ache a little from sitting up without support, so, feeling just as awkward as he was feeling, you leaned your back against the couch. Instantly, as soon as you did that, your peripheral vision was covered by his knees and part of his legs. The movie was pretty much pointless now, as you were currently wondering whether you should thank whatever gods existed or curse them for the fact that König did not have shorts on. Even without shorts and with specially fitted cargo pants, they could not conceal the insane bulk of his legs. Especially his thighs. Good lord. The two pillows you brought down before from the couch were essentially useless now because on each side of your head were his limbs that rivaled the best of My Pillow.

Think of something else, anything else, is what you tried to tell yourself.

That idea would go out the window as soon as you felt something in your hair. Carefully twisting a few strands, you felt some thick and calloused fingers gently try and feel the texture of your hair. But it lasted only for a brief second, as he immediately pulled his hands away and murmured a tiny bit louder from his whisper earlier, "Ah, sorry, I should've asked first. I should not have done that. I am sorry––"

"It's okay, I... don't mind." You shrugged it off, and much to your surprise and contentment, he continued.

The first few seconds had a bit more hesitancy, but as time ticked by, seconds turned to minutes, his boldness increased. It started with his large hands carefully feeling the texture of your hair, then it became slow brush strokes as his thick fingers ever-so-carefully untangled knots in your stands of hair. Until eventually it escalated, and he gathered the courage to do something so bold as to scratch your skull. He could easily take your entire face in one hand and crush your skull, but he didn't. There was no sign of any such roughness. Instead, his fingers and nails continued to comb through your hair, lightly scratching your scalp. At first when he did this, he paused, and waited for any objections or signals of a negative reaction, but after no such thing, he continued and seemed pleased.

It was after about five-minutes and heavy mental debating in your mind that you decided to suck it up and go for it. What's the worst that could happen? Honestly, you didn't even expect to make it this far.

So, after taking in a breath, you let your head fall to the side. It wasn't like those romantic scenes where you watch the character lean their head against a love interest's shoulder. Oh no, you were skipping that part, your ear landed right on his thigh. Which was probably due to the cushion you placed underneath you on the floor that elevated you a few extra inches, or else you might've missed. In that moment, right as the side of your head landed on its intended target, you felt him freeze. His fingers stopping, nails still on your scalp. A second passed, then two, then three, like time froze.

You were almost tempted to pry yourself off and apologize, but you really didn't want to. But you had to ask. "Is this alright...?"

"J-Ja... I mean, yes..."

Your eyes widened, and you were sure you had on some goofy kinda grin but at least you weren't facing him so he couldn't tell. Once you heard his response, your shoulders slumped, relieved of tension you didn't even know you were carrying.

Even with your head against his thigh that wasn't plush but was still definitely comfortable, you realize you were no better than a man as you resisted the urge to just reach out and squeeze his other thigh that had gotten closer without you even realizing it. You had to dig your nails into your knee to prevent yourself from acting on impulse.

It was definitely almost pure muscle from what you could tell with your head on one of them. Firm but somehow still soft. Thick thighs, in fact, do not save lives, because these thighs have ended who knows how many between them in finishing moves on the battlefield. Lucky bastards. Trying your luck agian, you place a shaky hand on his other thigh, but he didn't react. A good sign? Possibly?

Forget goth gfs and thick plush thighs, apparently giant anxious austrian soldiers with thighs as thick as tree trunks and strong enough to obliterate skulls like melons were the new fad.

Movie totally forgotten, your vision was entirely covered when König leaned down a bit from his spot on the couch and you tilted your head to look up and meet his gaze. The masked man stared at you, his blue eyes peering down at you through the two small slits cut into his mask for his eyes to see. His mask partially dangled, but not fully, so not revealing himself to you. When your gaze traveled away, abruptly his thighs got closer, squishing your cheeks and the sides of your face but not enough to hurt. Just a bit of pressure to get you to look up again.

Oh god.

There was literally no space between your face and his legs anymore, and your arms instinctively went to the outer side of his thighs to try and pry them apart a bit. You didn't try much, maybe because you enjoyed it or because you didn't exactly have strength strong enough to rival his, so all you could do was clutch the pockets of his cargo pants that were just above his knees, your nails digging in softly just to get a quick feel.

Once he saw he had your attention again after he applied a bit of pressure, he cocked his head to the side and continued to look down at you through half-lidded eyes darkened by the shadow of his hood. Then he spoke, but this time with no apprehension in his quiet tone.

"You do know I've ruined others that were in a similar position to what you are in right now?"

[myabsurddreamjournal]

Fate

(part 1)

Soldier Boy x Fem! reader

Summary: Reader is a scientist who is forced to work at lab that they keep soldier boy frozen, she talks and cries to him when she is alone, thinking he can't hear her but he hears everything.

warnings: None, im a ace so my character and story is going to be asexual💜

she slowly approached to cryo where they kept him frozen. it has been a while since she had a opportunity to do this. Since she was taken here they always kept an eye on her, watching every move, punishing any sign of disobedience. It didnt take long for her to learn to be silent, be obedient. scar on her arm reminded her to keep her mouth shut every time she wanted to question something they do. She still remembered the pain. It was her second week here, and she made a mistake of asking why they kept him frozen for almost 40 years. She got the scar for her mistake. The sound of her bone breaking... She could still hear it.

Teardrops started to fall from her eyes as she opened the door of cryo, whenever she was alone she was crying now. It almost became a ritual, sitting on floor with her head hanging low while confessing and apologising to him. Who looked like a statue of a almighty god.

"Hello Ben" she opened her mouth. It made her feel weird hearing her voice saying something other than "yes", or "sir"

"its september 19 today, your birthday isn't it?" she was crying harder now. "i read your file other day. It says you had a rough childhood, me too you know, and now we are both prisoners here. What a fate huh?" she looked at his face as she said that. He looked pale, too pale for human. Well he was in this damn lab for almost 40 years...but deep down she liked the thought of him being something other than a human. Humans always hurted her after all.

After watching the torture tapes she learned he experienced pain and anger just like her. (she threw up all night after seeing the tapes for the first time) he had a life once, he was a child, he had a family. favorite food, favorite drink, he even smoked weed which made her a bit shocked when she read it on the files. But in time she found out he was a lot different from what they made him seen. She saw the few unaired interviews where he acted strong and confident as usual until he was asked about his family or childhood. His eyes getting teary for few seconds, Then his hard expression getting back. His mouth twitching every time journalists made a rude remark.

She knew he was a human. But him being alive after all things human did to him told her he was also something other than human.

and it made her feel good.

"i never wanted to be here, i never wanted this, she said. "i wish i could save you. If i had a powers like you, i would burn here to the ground. And kill all of them. But im so weak. Im so sorry Ben. Im so sorry." She waited there for few minutes. Her head between her hands. Until tiny beeping sound from her watch made her flinch. Telling her it was almost midnight. She needed to get up. Too many work tomorrow. Another day as a prisoner here

She cupped his cheek before closing the door of cyro. It was so cold, but still soft. She couldn't help and kept her hand there while looking at his face. His closed eyelids, then freckles on his nose. Still remembering the first time she noticed his freckles, it was one of the days where her legs hurted for being on her feet for so long. She was taking his blood for monthly test. And she saw them. He had freckles on his nose! They were never shown in his movies or pictures, always hidden behind makeup or his green-gold mask. But they were here. She found them adorable. Never showed it of course. keeping hidden behind her cold emotionless expression.

But she often find herself thinking about him when she tried to sleep at night in "room" they gave her. what else he was hiding under all that persona? What made him happy or sad before all this happened? was it true that he never cried? She tossed and turned at night. Sometimes thinking about him and sometimes thinking about her life. The similitaries between them. Humans hurted him just like they hurted her. They stole their life. She usually fell asleep with this thoughts. And in her dreams it was always end of the World. Everything burning in flames and she watching it from distance with smile on her face.

with a deep exhale she withdrawed her hand from his cheek. "see you tomorrow Ben." she whispered. And she was gone. Not knowing that he heard every word.

that night, she dreamed of something else for the first time since she was captured. Pair of green eyes. They were looking at her. Their shade reminded her a small lake she saw everday when she was a little girl. It was on the right side of the road that she used while walking to school. She always loved the way water moved in small waves. After 2 years, for the first time, she woke up with a warm feeling that morning. it felt like gentle morning sunrise.

[nekropsii]

asking you this since you’re the only person who understands mituna in the entire fandom in my perception of the hs fandom

is it okay to headcanon mituna as autistic? sorry if you get this type of ask a lot/have already answered this type of ask

Instead of answering this question, I will give some food for thought: Mituna has a TBI. He has Brain Damage. This is a core element of his character. Probably the biggest one. In fact, it's so important to him that it's an injury that has remained with him in death. His TBI is a huge, huge part of what makes him... Well, him. It's why he's interesting.

So... Why is a need felt to also declare him as Autistic? Assuming this is a projection thing, since it tends to be most of the time - if you relate to him for his already canonical Neurodivergency, which is Brain Damage, why does one need to give him Autism as well?

Oftentimes when people headcanon him as Autistic, they tend to minimize or even outright erase his TBI. Oftentimes, people say he's Autistic as the reason he's canon Neurodivergent representation... Even though he's shown no real signs of it, but instead is fully written as a character with a Frontal Lobe Injury, and is constantly stated to have Brain Damage.

TBIs and other Neurodivergencies are often seen as less palatable than Autism. On Tumblr especially, it's far more "acceptable" to be Autistic or ADHD or headcanon a character as such than it is to have Brain Damage or literally any other Neurodivergency or acknowledge that a character is written with those. Autism and ADHD are seen as cute and relatable - even though they're very complex and at times devastating disabilities that do have the potential to seriously fuck up your livelihood, much like Depression and Anxiety, and I'm saying this as someone who has and struggles with all 4 - and are often used to erase the presence of other Neurodivergencies. Hell, it's to the point where people use "Neurodivergency" as a synonym for ADHD and Autism.

Again, I'm not going to answer this question for you. I think there's a way someone could potentially make the narrative of Mituna having Autism prior to the TBI compelling - the TBI has essentially stripped him of his ability to mask, after all, so one could make it be a situation where some of these symptoms are ones he already had, but is only just now really getting shit for because he's no longer able to hide it, and part of that tragedy is knowing that had he never been good at masking, his "friends" would have never accepted him. You could get some interesting questions about that. Was the repression worth it? Would it have been better if he'd just been himself the whole time? I think it's extremely valuable to ask yourself why you see any character as any specific minority - necessary, even - and how that affects not only the character's writing in its original text, but also your relationship with said character. Consider optics. Consider the way in which this character is meant to function in the source material. What purpose do they serve, and what is the driving force behind this character? Is Occam's Razor applicable? Are there other explanations as to why they are the way they are? Perhaps ones that are more succinct, and cover more ground?

Yesterday, I watched a film that has provoked a response in Tumblr that I think is applicable. I Saw The TV Glow. It's a film about a Trans Girl who never finds the strength to accept herself or come out. It's an incredibly gut-wrenching watch. It made me cry several times, and there are parts that made me feel a deep pain in my chest. I sat through 95% of the film with a pit in my stomach. I had to lay on the floor in the dark for a while after I finished. There's a scene where the main character is asked whether she likes girls or boys. She says she thinks she likes TV shows, and elaborates by saying that every time she tries to think about that kind of thing, it feels like someone's cutting her open and shoveling out her insides until there's nothing left. Not that there was anything in there to start with, of course - she says she knows there isn't, but she's too scared to look for herself and see.

That scene was about how Gender Dysphoria can completely disrupt your sexuality and repulse you from the thought of that level of connection with others, because it is, in essence, a deep disturbance with the nature of who you are as a person. Many people who are Asexual, or Aromantic, or both, related to that scene because it, on the surface, depicts discomfort with romance and sexuality. What they failed to understand by chalking it up to its own sexuality, is the fact that that scene wasn't depicting a Sex-Repulsed Asexual, or a Romance-Repulsed Aromantic, it was depicting a Trans Girl who is at such deep odds with herself and her identity that she cannot grapple with the concept of loving or being loved.

What, functionally, is the purpose of slapping an extraneous label onto a character that is meant to depict a certain thing? What is the purpose of assigning the label of "Autistic" to a character meant to depict the tragedy of a loss of support after gaining a disability, or "Aromantic" or "Asexual" to a character meant to depict a deep internal struggle with unresolved Gender Dysphoria?

Ask yourself these questions, and carry on from there. See where your mind takes you.

[twistedwriting]

Azul Ashengrotto Character Analysis

I have many thoughts of Azul, yet not a single word comes to mind when I try to write them down but I will try my best.

There are certainly a few topics that are questionable or even judged upon the fandom, some also seem to forget that Azul is more than his contracts and his shady ass business. Some view him as manipulative while I believe he just saw stupidity in humanity and took this weakness of mankind and turned it against those who were foolish enough to not ask questions. Azul has never lied in his contracts, not a single time. He provided what he had offered and taken what he was entitled to take. Let's take the main issue of Book 3: The contract Ace, Deuce, Grim and many others had signed: Offering their magic for a study guide - If they'd make it to the top 50, they'd get their magic back. If not, they become the Sea anemones that are to follow Azuls every order. He provided the guide and it helped everyone who has gotten their hands on it - Did he lie? He didn't. All he did was *exactly* what people had asked - Nothing less and nothing *more*. And that is the exact point: He didn't give information if he wasn't asked for it. Or Yuus contract: He took Ramshakle, he provided what the Freshmen needed - He didn't lie. In fact, he offered more than he had to: The Potion. The twins interfered but was it against the contract? It wasn't. As I see it, Azuls contracts are much like the wish of a genie: If you wish, be most specific or live with the consequences. You don't want anyone interfering with your stealing? Should've said so, simple as that.

What Azul made the "Villain" was the naivety of those who signed their name on the contract.

But there's more of Azul than this. I think it's justified of what he does. People are stupid, people are naive but most importantly: People are cruel. Especially kids are worse than any demon from hell. If you're being bullied as a child or even up to being a teenager, you'll be emotionally fucked for a long time, if not forever. You'll become insecure of whatever you've been bullied of for something that'll feel like eternity. You want to avoid this very thing, no matter how important it is supposed to be in your life. It'll cause you to break down at some point just for you to pretend like nothing happened afterwards - Especially if you've built up the very picture of someone who's got it all together like Azul did. While he pretends there's no issue, I refuse to believe that he doesn't have an Eating Disorder. Being bullied for your weight as a child (which is - in his case - not even really justified since you basically compare an octopus to a fish. A comparison that is found in every sense of the equation) leaves a mark. A deep, burning mark. Avoiding mirrors, pictures, tight clothes or being seen by anyone without your clothes. You can't tell me he's willing to get rid of his childhood and not have an eating disorder, that he wants to pretend the little healthy octopus child didn't exist and that he can look in the mirror without suffering. It's Canon that he's strictly taking care of his weight - But it's also Canon that his favorite food is fried chicken, possibly the worst choice for strictly keeping your weight. A diet is all good and stuff but strictly starving your body of certain things will only cause mental distress.

I can see he's a sensitive soul, trying to hide behind the mask of sheer confidence and superiority. His only friends are the two weird guys who didn't leave him alone - Sure, they're not the best choice but having two eels by your side is better than being alone. Whether the relation between these three is toxic or not, they depend on each other - especially Azul depends on Jade and Floyd and by the way the twins reacted to Azuls overblot, I'm confident to say that they also depend on him. After all, they might "Can't stand" each other as they'd say, they still stuck around even though there are many reasons to be "like the others" and turn away.

There was something else I had in mind but it just won't come to me right now, so I'll leave it at that for now. All I'm gonna add is that I'd really like to hug Baby Azul and tell him that he's perfect the way he is. To be his friend and let him know that it doesn't matter how he looks like because no matter how much you Weight, if your nose is crooked or if you're labeled "ugly" by modern society, it's your heart and soul that is meant to be you; not your mortal vessel.

[emotionalmesshooman]

First, my character's name is Yrsa she was a lower-class citizen of the hunter tribe. Her and Viggo have known each other for a long time. She can be a bit reckless (kinda like the dumb ideas that the twins have). Then I was thinking "Yrsa" means she-bear, but Viggo calls her "little wolf" because it's sorta like an inside joke for them, and it's his name for her. Wolves can symbolize chaos and destruction, and Yrsa has accidentally set fire to multiple buildings, so Viggo thinks that part suits her. Wolves also symbolize loyalty and protection, which are both traits Viggo could associate with her. The little part is because she's short compared to him.

I also have a ton of possible small little stories between these two. Like Before Yrsa got Dawnwhip, she always dreamed of flying, but obviously, without a dragon, she couldn't, so when they were kids, Viggo made some prototype to the flight suit or a glider so she could fly safely.

Alright those are my ideas.....this is my attempt. Please tell me if I need to change anything.

Yrsa was many things, but a dragon hunter was never one of them. That's why she ran away when she tamed her monsterous nightmare, Dawnwhip the moment she turned 20. Leaving the dark parts of her past behind her and looking out into the new horizon that her and Dawnwhip would explore.

Only one thing tied her to the hunters, or rather one person. Viggo Grimborn, the myth, the legend, the hunter, the monster, the man, and he rarely asked for help. So when she got the terrormail from him that informed her he needed 'assistance', she saddled up Dawnwhip and left as soon as Dawnwhip's wings would allow.

"Easy there," the lavender purple monsterous nightmare landed on the hunter ship. Viggo had told the hunters not to fire, but it was clear to Yrsa that the poor men were ignorant of who she was or why they weren't firing. She couldn't help but laugh inwardly of how little Viggo changed since the last time she saw him at their yearly meeting. She dismounted Dawnwhip. "Your boss, he's in his cabin?" She spoke loudly so the hunters could hear her through the cloth that masked the bottom of her face, only allowed her blue eyes to be seen under her low hood that her black hair was tucked inside. One of the hunters nodded, and she walked in the direction of the cabin. "Watch my dragon, will you? Don't worry, she doesn't bite all that hard... the last guy had no complaints. " She laughed to herself at her joke but silently nodded to Dawnwhip. Yrsa trusted Viggo, but Viggo didn't trust these men, so nethier did she.

The caged dragons line the walls of the hallway. Their roars crawled under his skin and left goose bumps. Not of fear but because she knew she wouldn't be saving them. The golden engraved door-she knew it was just an oak door with gold painted onto it, but it still looked fancy. She didn't bother to knock when she swung the door open. He wanted her here, and he got her. He sat at the desk in the middle of the room, a smirk on his face.

"Hey Vig," She smiled and kicked the door shut, opening her arms for a hug she wasn't going to allow Viggo to skip. She took her hood and mask off to reveal two long black braids that had small bits of hair falling out of the braid and a crooked smile. A thin scar lay vertically on her lips from a game of Hide and Go Hunt that happened when they were kids.

”Ah! Yrsa, I’ve been expecting you, my friend.” He hugged her as well, putting his more business like personality to the side. He pulled up a chair for her to take a seat across from his desk. He went and sat down on his seat. “I did mention in my terror mail that I needed assistance, I know that would make you worry at the slightest, but let me assure you, everything is alright…” his cheerful tone and smile suddenly get serious. “Although I have had some problems with my dragons and my hunters getting along, you know that I don’t trust them at all, the hunters. They can be very hard to deal with, some more than others but the dragons have not been treated to my liking, I was hoping you would help me teach these hunters what it means to take care of a dragon and how to do it.” He chuckles, and lets out a sigh. “Sometimes these hunters are so hard to teach, it might as well be trying to catch a speed stinger.” He looks to the ground then up again quickly. “Enough about me, how was your flight?”

[kourabiedes]

Carmine and Kieran Roleswap AU: Teal Mask Edition

Sweet Arceus do I have a long AU for ya, because I am Very Normal about the Kitakami siblings and definitely don't go out of my way to find new ways to mess with their heads. Long AU summary under the cut! Beware all ye who enter here, for there are Ogres afoot.

There is now an Indigo Disk continuation to this!

So the most important thing to understand before we start is that Carmine and Kieran still retain aspects of their normal personalities.  A 1:1 swap would be kinda boring (specifically, boring for me). However, their life experiences have changed here and that does give us some new juicy tidbits to explore.

Sketches provided by @funakounasoul... except for the Ogerpon sketch. I made that.

Kieran is the older sibling in this scenario.  He's still shorter than his sister, but he's now older than the player character and probably has some devilish good looks.  He's generally goodnatured, and being the older sibling and having to look out for a younger sister has balanced his personality a little bit.  He's more mentally stable and mature than his standard self.  He still has a pretty huge fondness for the ogre in the old legend, admiring its independence and strength.  The major change to his personality here is that he's not as insanely shy, since he hasn't had a big scary savage sister to hide behind all his life.

Younger sister Carmine is shy of strangers and still wary of outsiders.  Her posture visually in the Teal Mask is probably kind of stooped, like she's trying to hide how crazy tall she is.  She has a bratty, slightly spoiled attitude in this scenario, because big brother Kieran is always hovering nearby to keep her out of trouble.  She appears to be the player character's age or maybe a touch younger.  Despite the initial shyness though, she's all aggression when she feels she or her family or really any of Kitakami as she sees it is threatened.  She still dismisses Kieran's ogre obsession, but chalks it up to boys liking scary things.  (You know, cuz girls never go for that kinda thing </massive sarcasm>)

The PC would meet them both for the first time in Mossui and Kieran is welcoming while Carmine glowers at you from somewhere behind him.  Kieran's all about helping your classmate get safely to the community center and probably runs off to help, or perhaps to get the caretaker.  Maybe you battle Carmine then because she's definitely not enjoying having these tourists in her fucking town.  Whatever the scenario, Kieran and the caretaker get the rest of the Random Paldean Students safely to the community center and you get settled in.

Now, for a while, things don't change much in this scenario, except for Kieran not being super emotionally unstable.  The next day, you're being introduced to the Blueberry kids properly and Kieran immediately suggests you and he pair up.  Carmine isn't thrilled but as he points out, it's not like they can pair up together based on Briar's directions to make interschool pairs.  She sulks off to find a Paldean student to deal with.  Your character and Kieran have a friendly battle and he admires your skills.  You go find the first two signboards and follow him up to the Dreaded Den more or less the same way as in Teal Mask.  Then he invites you to the Festival of Masks and you go back to the family home.  Carmine is not overly pleased to see you still hanging around, but she's unbending a little bit since you and Kieran obviously get on so well.  They only find the two masks in the shed, Kieran tries to offer you his ogre mask, Carmine stops him, you get to the festival and do some balloon popping and maybe even beat Carmine's score.

It's Ogerpon's appearance that changes the story dramatically.  At first, you are the only one that sees her, but then Kieran comes looking for you after pacifying Carmine.  Ogerpon spooks, drops her mask, and you both have a moment of shock as you realize this is not a child, this is the damn ogre.  Then Ogerpon bolts, leaving you with the Teal Mask.  Kieran is stunned  --  the ogre was so smol!  And seemed so nonaggressive!  And holy shit this mask is beautiful, except there's a chip in the big crystal!  He's excited as hell to have one of his childhood dreams materialize before him.  He wants to go after Ogerpon, but Carmine turns up at that moment.  She has deeply internalized the ancient Kitakami legend of the Loyal Three, and when Kieran excitedly tells her you just saw the ogre, she insists it can't have been, because you and he are both not fucking dead.  She and Kieran argue for a minute, long enough that once it's over, Kieran has to reluctantly admit you'll never catch up to the ogre in the dark.  He tells you to hold onto the mask and you two can go ask his grandpa about it in the morning.  You do, and it's Kieran who is with you when you hear the story of Ogerpon.  Carmine appears at one point and is shooed off by Kieran, but overhears the majority of the story herself.  Unlike Kieran, she can't believe it  --  the heroic Loyal Three, actually villains??  Impossible!  She realizes that if Kieran believes this story, he's likely to go chasing the ogre again, and probably get himself killed, a prospect that chills her to the bone.  She ambushes you both as you leave the family home and demands that Kieran (and just Kieran, she doesn't care what YOU do) not go chasing monsters, making no effort to pretend she didn't overhear the whole damn thing.  Kieran tries to correct her, but she insists you both go have a look at the final signboard, the one that reminds everyone that the ogre murders anyone it comes across without a mask on.  You go, but discuss with Kieran how the story doesn't make any sense compared to the ogre you both saw and the story Kieran's grandpa told you.  You go back mutually determined to get Ogerpon's mask back to her after gramps fixes it. 

You go off to the community center and Kieran goes home.  Something he says at home will alert Carmine to your resolve, and that kicks off the next event.  Carmine demands you meet her at Loyalty Plaza, where she makes an impassioned plea to her brother not to be fooled into getting himself murderated.  He tries to explain that she's still got the wrong impression and she blows up on him, refusing to listen to reason (he almost certainly points out that Gramps has no reason to lie to his own grandkids, for example).  Truth is, she's afraid, afraid for his life, and that's making her act irrationally.

And then a thought occurs to her, a thought that marks a huge turning point in this scenario.  It's you.  You are making her brother act this way.  You are the reason he's doing these insane things.  She accuses you directly of manipulating her family.  Kieran protests, but she's convinced.

Now, in canon, I am convinced that the venom in Kieran's thoughts is what somehow channeled Pecharunt's energy (or some variant thereof) into the Lousy Three's grave and brought them back to life.  In this scenario, imagine the same, only it's the poison of fear which is rapidly spreading through Carmine.  Her fear is being expressed as anger, but it's still fear, and it's consuming her rapidly.  Before either sibling can argue further, the grave splits open, and the Three emerge.  No one knows quite what is happening, so no one can really react effectively as they take off to Kitakami Hall.  It's only as they're already receding into the distance that Carmine realizes they must be the Three.

You and the siblings rush to the Hall to hear the news of the Three's arrival and retrieving of the other masks before going up the mountain.  Kieran starts to rush after them, but suddenly Carmine blocks the way.  She is going to save him from himself if it's the last thing she does.  You battle her and defeat her, and the idea that you are the cause of all this etches itself that much deeper.  She has no choice but to step aside, but you can feel her furious eyes on your back as you run to save Ogerpon.

Poor little ogre is getting the shit kicked out of her and you save her, driving off the Three.  She is nervous around Kieran because he smells like a local and therefore Dangerous, but while a little hurt, he is not crushed by this.  You take her back to the town (she refuses to enter of course) and consult with Kieran's grandpa.  He promises to fix the Teal Mask for Ogerpon if you and Kieran go get a crystal from the Crystal Pool to replace the chipped one, and suggests you and Kieran go pound the shit out of the Three to get Ogerpon's other masks back.  Carmine is sulking at home and overhears the conversation.  You and Kieran go to the Pool with Ogerpon shadowing you, but Carmine blocks your way at the top, angry at Kieran too now for bringing an outsider to this sacred place.  The standoff is broken by Briar also appearing at the summit, distracting Carmine.  Kieran slips past her and you stop her from following with a battle.  Ogerpon stays near you, and her presence only serves to enrage Carmine more.  Kieran retrieves a crystal cluster during the battle and you both bolt back down the mountain to give it to Gramps, leaving Carmine fuming.  He begins to work on the mask and you turn your attention to finding the Three.

You find the Three with Kieran's help and return the shit kicking they gave Ogerpon threefold, retrieving her masks.  Ogerpon becomes more comfortable around Kieran as you go.  You return to the town only to discover Carmine stole the Teal Mask after Gramps fixed it and left Kieran a message telling him to come to the Dreaded Den.  Gramps notes that she spoke with him about the story of Ogerpon before she left and seems to be disturbed by how the ogre has acted since the whole mess began  --  Kieran guesses her good sense is starting to win out over her fear.  You go back to the Den with Kieran and Ogerpon and find Carmine there.  Kieran confronts her, finally convincing her that the story of the Loyal Three was indeed wrong, and she's been wrong about Ogerpon the whole time (probably aided by Ogerpon with her sweet lil face staring like a sad puppy at her). 

Carmine finally accepts the truth of the matter, and apologizes to him and Ogerpon.

But there's one thing she hasn't let go of.  She hasn't forgiven you.  And Kieran doesn't realize that she's still hung up on that part because, while he's a lot more emotionally stable in this scenario, he's still pretty oblivious to subtle emotional cues from other people.  When Carmine walks away from the Den, it's with a venom-filled look in your direction.  Insert Heart's If Looks Could Kill here.

Inevitably, Ogerpon wants you as her human, because you're the damn hero.  This version of Kieran is disappointed, but not shattered by this.  He's spent a lot of time over the last couple days with you and the little cutie, and he's had time to get used to the idea.  It's Ogerpon's decision where she wants to go, and he lets go of the long cherished dream with regret, but nothing worse.  He does ask to have a battle with you and her in the morning, after which Briar calls to tell you to get your asses to the community center to finish the actual school trip thingy you'd probably forgotten all about.  Kieran also tells you that Carmine has holed up in her room and won't talk to anyone.

You know more or less how this ends, with Briar yoinking the Kitakami sibs back to Unova to prepare for some globetrotting and the antagonistic sibling swearing to get stronger so they can kick your ass.  In this case it's Carmine, and boy does she hate you right now.  In the end, Kieran came to no harm, and Ogerpon was not a monster, but it doesn't really matter, because rationality went out the window for her where you're concerned a while ago.  She's going to get stronger, and she's going to hand you your ass for humiliating her so often, and she's got a great idea for making that happen...

[noonajoe]

He Protects You From Reporters (Bokuto x Reader)

"I'm always proud of her"

Characters: Bokuto Koutaro x Chubby!Reader

Word Count: 652

©noonajoe (Published on 11 March 2023 - 21:14 Bangkok Time) this story is not going to be sold, modified, or translated in any manner.

He’s a really damn good boyfriend

He met you because you’re the branding manager of his team in order to promote your team to an international volleyball match

When he saw you, you were a little overweight and you were pretty cool when you present her ideas and talk to other members. Upon that, he’s really curious about you, during the process of knowing each other, Bokuto learned that you’re really organized, and tidy, and also you’re always giving him comfort, also some advice when he’s in the bad mood.

Those sides of you make him want to get closer to you when you ask him to accompany you to the gym, he’s getting more *obsessed* with you

Sometimes got jealous because day by that you were not getting skinnier, but just a little chubby and he got jealous sometimes when some boys complimented about your changes.

He’s so proud of you, and in the end, he confesses to you that he’s been liking you since the first time they know each other.

But she worried so much that, ‘she’ dated Bokuto? The most famous player at MSBY Black Jackal? In the end, she asked him to give her more time to think

At first, Bokuto frowned hearing that, but he beamed showing his bubbly side that he was okay waiting for you!

Suddenly, when you both go out of the gym, many reporters and fans already capture pictures of both of you, asking Bokuto about who is this person beside him.

You are shocked and panicked when you realize you didn’t have a mask to cover your face. All you have is a shirt and a hat. 

He quickly moved you behind him so the reporters can't have your picture

“If you make us uncomfortable in the future, you will stand with my lawyer that you had been disturbing someone’s private life,” he said, you hide behind him while he’s grabbing your hand tightly.

“Who’s that chubby girl you hide? Is that your partner?” one fan asked while recording him with their phone.

He remained silent, and said, “Yeah, and?”

You shocked hearing his answer, put a little pinch on his back

“And please don’t use ‘chubs’ like that, she’s just a girl, no need to add that mocking adjective,” he said with an angry expression, he knows how dirty an obsessive fan is.

“One more step and I will ask for gym CCTV recording as proof you were disturbing our lives,” he asked. After that, he grabs your hand and went to your house.

“Bokuto-san, I didn’t give your answer yet,” you said with a little smile.

“Uh- sorry! Okay? I will clarify anything at tomorrow’s press conference! I’m so sorry Y/N that really shocked me as well :(“ he apologizes to you and bowed to you with a funny gesture.

“No! I mean, you… are so cool, Bokuto-san. Thank you, that’s really bold of you” she said, and he suddenly realized he still grabs your hand.

“Ah! Sorry! I didn't mean to” he let go of your hand, and suddenly the situation gets awkward.

“So… for tomorrow…. I will make this right, I will tell them I’m just shocked, and you’re just my friend… and-”

“It’s fine”

“Wha- but… you’re”

“I accept your confession, Bokuto-san”

“Y-you don't have to if it's because of my dumb action beforehand! I'm still waiting even if it takes years, ok?!”

“No, I like you Bokuto Kotauro-san. Your brave side just a minute ago just made me like you more” she smiled, grabbed his hand, and stroke his knuckles smoothly.

Suddenly it gets silent

“You never stop making me happy, you know?” he closed his eyes, really blushing, indicating that he was really happy.

“Thank you for always supporting me, Bo-chan”, Bo-chan, his new nickname from his new girlfriend.

When a press conference happens, he stated, “She’s my new partner and I’m proud of her”

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

I think AFO being the one giving Tenko Decay is just a very lazy way to resolve Tomura's inner conflict about being born to destroy and that he can't create anything just because he has a quirk that destroys. The idea is that the quirks people are born with don't define them, no? And that would nicely parallel Izuku, who believed he's defined by the fact that he was born quirkless. Now, the idea that AFO did something to Tenko's quirk...

I think that the "I'm a villain because of my quirk" storyline belongs more with Toga, in fact.

I don't think Tomura believes that he was born to destroy just because of his quirk. At least as I see it, Tomura doesn't judge people for their quirks at all. He never saw Spinner as weak just because he had a weak quirk. He thought Toga was creepy for her personality, not because of her quirk either.

There's even a point during My Villain Academia when Redestro implies that a person's quirk is directly related to one's character. He insists that it is the same for Tomura, since his quirk is "solely for destruction".

Hmm, I think it's chapter 234 of the manga, on the very first page. Here's how it goes:

Redestro:

" ‹ Good little children don't judge people by their quirks! ›

It's a good message. I was raised the same way. However! One's special ability is directly linked to their character.

‹ Whatever you touch with all five fingers will decay ›

It's the same for you too, isn't it!? "

Tomura's reaction doesn't give away if he believes what Redestro said is true. Actually, I would say that he believes the contrary. He doesn't want to destroy because of his quirk. His quirk manifested because he wanted to kill his family.

His conflict lies in the fact he believes he wants to destroy. He believes he is in total control of his quirk, so he killed his family because he wanted to and not simply by accident.

With Toga, we do have the conflict of the way she was forced to believe she was a monster because her quirk was related to blood consumption. She was made a villain, a criminal. Her storyline tells us that she started to hide behind a mask what she thought were her monster traits, including her quirk. Especially her quirk.

That's why the resolution of Toga's conflict came from Ochako saying "hey, I do not fear your quirk, I believe you are human and not less beautiful for your quirk. I don't believe this persona they made you into".

Decay only defined Tomura because AFO made it so. He even gave Tomura a name that means "to mourn". He renamed him completely, appearance and name. AFO rewired Tomura how he best liked and then convinced the kid it was in him all along.

Tomura's conflict is one that was kinda explored in the Vigilantes manga with an antagonist similar to him. I won't say more, as to remain spoiler free.

The difference with Tomura and the identity crisis that the story expects from him, it's that Tomura has a very strong sense of the self. No matter how many times AFO tried to erase Tomura's identity to take control of his body, Tomura didn't cave in. He doesn't define himself solely for who he was before AFO or who AFO made him into, but for what he feels and what he wants.

The problem is that his conviction is also playing against him. Does he really want to destroy it all because he hates everyone? Or there's something else he feels that he has been protecting, isolating from everyone else?

AFO planting decay on Tomura fits thematically, but I agree that there's something about it that made the story a bit predictable. Common, even.

Who is Tomura without AFO?

First of all, he's not Tomura Shigaraki and that's for sure. The kid we knew before AFO was not the type to obey when people told him to do what he knew was wrong. He resisted Kotaro the best he could by constantly acting as a hero would and loudly proclaiming his dream.

We know Tomura was compassionate too. He'd be punished for his actions, but soon he'd be back playing with Mon-chan, laughing. He would ask a kid to join him to play, even if those kids left him out of their games all the time. He admires and loves his older sister, his mom. He liked sweets. He liked train toys. All of that means that he was not particularly inclined to take revenge on the people who hurt him

If you want more examples of why I believe so, there's the fact that after he got decay, he refused to touch at first the two punks who kicked him. When no one helped him while he wandered the streets, his first thought was that it must be justice acting on him for what he did. Only after AFO made everyone look like a villain for not helping Tenko, Tenko started to resent them.

What else do we know? He was straightforward. Asked his mom if his dad hated him, knew that his family was wrong for telling him to stop crying instead of stopping Kotaro. He knew he would not get a quirk, probably. Knew when he was being excluded. When Hana went to apologize to him, he knew she was wrong from running away from the villain attacking them (what he believed at the moment) instead of protecting him.

A self-centered kid too, in Tomura's words. It's not something bad, but actually pretty expected from a child.

Tomura is also every decision we saw he made after AFO got captured and before he came back. Tomura's attitude with the League of Villains, his commands against Overhaul and Redestro, the moments when he interrupted AFO or the heroes and took control of his body during the War arc and during the big final battle.

This are our options:

1) AFO planted decay on a quirkless Tenko.

2) AFO planted decay after taking Tenko's quirk.

3) AFO messed with Tenko's quirk to repress it until the time was favorable to his plans.

4) AFO messed with Tenko's quirk so to make it awaken that particular day.

I like option 3 because that means the agony of not having a quirk could have been generated by AFO, who had been in contact with the Shimuras for longer than anyone thought. AFO could have done that to generate situations where Kotaro was angry with Tenko and abused him, so as to accumulate hatred within Tenko.

Option 4 means that Tenko could have awakened his quirk in a less violent way. My only problem is that AFO must have expected something to go wrong so Tenko would unleash his quirk, right? Chances are he had studied the Shimuras and he knew Kotaro would punish Tenko for playing hero. Was it enough for Tenko to react so strongly?

It's said in the manga that quirks normally awaken until the kids are 4 years old. Tenko was already 5 years old, but for the way Kotaro spoke there was still a minimal chance for Tenko to have a quirk.

Assuming Tenko was too old and he was evidently quirkless, we must discard options 3 and 4.

Option 2 is particularly evil.

You would think that Tenko having any other quirk could have been better, right? The problem is that having decay sort of saved Tenko for getting more abused by his family. In the worst way possible, but it was an escape and that's why Tenko felt joy when they died. He was free.

There are no guarantees that Tenko would have reacted differently with other quirk. He also didn't know that his mom had finally faced his father to put a stop to his abuse. If Tenko hadn't killed his family that night, would things have been better? Could he have been happier?

It also implies that Tenko's quirk was somewhere within AFO, which I found highly improbable since most quirks left a vestige inside AFO.

Option 1 is the one who better fits the canon.

Tenko was already 5 years old and quirkless. He felt particularly bad that day after the mysterious man took him home. There's that scene of Tenko's hand hurting, to the point he left the ball he was playing with Mon-chan.

AFO could have planted a quirk on Tenko so that it would awaken at a moment of accumulated stress and not before. Something extreme had to happen for it to activate. An insurance, to make sure it'd have devastating consequences.

The parallel with Izuku would then be that Izuku was accidentally found by All Might, while AFO had actively sought Tenko. While Izuku was given a quirk he at first hadn't asked for but wanted, Tenko was forced to take a quirk he knew nothing about. All Might prepared Izuku for months before he gave him OFA, making sure that Deku's body could survive the quirk, that Izuku could handle the effect and consequences. Tenko was young, clueless, he didn't even know it was first causing the damage at first.

That's the difference between asking someone to help you and using someone to your benefit.

Everyone around Deku worried about him and helped him figure out how to control OFA. There are several arcs dedicated to him getting support. In contrast, Tomura had multiple breakdowns and survived because he's too stubborn to die.

Thematically, the protagonist and the main antagonist were in the same position at first, with the only difference being that one got "good" or "bad" luck.

It's also ironic how Tomura had everything to be the chosen one. He was the quirkless grandson of Nana Shimura, who insisted on being a hero even against his family wishes. Meanwhile, Deku had everything to be an antagonist, the boy rejected even by his greatest hero for being quirkless, the nobody no one but his mom would miss.

Idk, I might be overanalyzing it. For me, any of the options are interesting. It's just that I don't agree that AFO giving Tenko decay is such a let down.

[thepixelelf]

Find Me; Fear Me

second part to: Hold Me; Heal Me

genres: soulmate au, vigilante au, angst, another ambiguous ending pairing: reader x woozi words: 2.2k warnings: blood, gunshot, mentions of death, and graphic violence (breaking bones) committed by reader. reader character is a little unhinged note: please seriously consider the warnings before reading!

Though he said months ago that he wanted nothing to do with soulmates, Jihoon finds himself drawn to a certain vigilante.

Jihoon doesn’t know why he’s following you. He doesn’t even know how he managed to find you in the first place, considering you’ve avoided getting caught by anyone else in the almost-year you’ve been sneaking around as Red.

This has to be a horrible idea, he thinks as he peeks at you from around a corner, but god, he just has a bad feeling about tonight. It started as a shiver down his spine when he was walking home from his part-time job, and it only worsened when he spotted a dark figure running through the back alley. He knew it had to be you by the red leather jacket – what earned you your alias the first time a rookie journalist caught your back on camera.

It’s a wonder you haven’t been caught and revealed yet. Jihoon’s eyes follow your jacket easily, constantly drawn to the dark maroon colour.

Or maybe that’s just him.

He follows you all the way to the outer edges of the city, which is a damn feat since you seem to never run out of stamina. Jihoon has to control his breathing lest you hear him. With less buildings around now, he has to keep a good distance to make sure you don’t notice his presence.

You step up to the edge of a big storage facility, climbing the fence with ease. Jihoon hides behind a truck, but he watches in awe as you land and roll on the other side. “Jeez…” he mutters under his breath.

Maybe this is when he should turn back, but the cold feeling runs through him again, and he has to trust his gut this time. If it means your safety…

It’s been about a week since you jumped off his balcony and disappeared.

Jihoon knows he’s the one who drew the line in the sand. He was the one who said he didn’t want a soulmate – still doesn’t, he thinks. But he can’t help feeling a bit guilty now that he knows who you are. The articles on you aren’t strawberries and cream; you’re not out there fighting crime just to come out scot free. Though the night you barged into his apartment was probably the worst it’s gotten, he knows you haven’t had it easy. You’ve been hurt before, but back then, you didn’t have him.

Even though you should have.

You and Jihoon have known about being soulmates for over six months, but in all that time, you never came to him for help. He supposed it made sense while he still didn’t know your secret identity, but now…

Knowing that you’re putting yourself on the line, how can he not feel guilty?

With a touch of his skin to yours, he can do more than a hospital can in hours. Have you ever even gone to the hospital at the risk of revealing yourself?

Jihoon shakes himself out of it. He can’t think too hard right now or he’ll lose sight of you.

The fence looks a lot taller up close. He tentatively reaches a hand out to the chain link, banking on the fact that you climbed it to mean it’s not electrified. It’s a bit tough being silent as he makes his way up, but you have to be a ways ahead by now. He tries to go quicker, but he miscalculates the placement of his foot when he swings one leg over the top of the fence, and with a surprised yelp, he tumbles to the concrete.

A groan escapes his lips before he can stop it, and he curls up a bit in shock. “Shit,” he whispers through gritted teeth.

Jihoon slowly brings himself to his hands and knees, taking in stuttered breaths and trying to get himself together. He isn’t cut out for this.

Before he can stand up, a boot kicks at his side, and he falls to the ground again with a grunt.

You push at his shoulder to pin him down and lean your knee on his chest, eyes widening above your mask when you see his face.

“Jihoon?!” The panic is clear in your hurried whisper. “What are you doing here?”

He can’t speak, the wind knocked out of him, so he taps at your hand on his shoulder like he’s back on the middle school wrestling team.

“Oh.” You scramble off of him, and when you stand up, you hold out your hand to help him up. With your black gloves on, he can’t feel the soulmate connection.

He tries not to think about it.

“Did you follow me? Why?”

Jihoon hunches over, bracing his hands on his knees as he catches his breath. “I…”

He doesn’t know how to answer.

“Look, I don’t know why you’re here, but you’ve gotta go.” You cross your arms, the pose doing nothing to hide the way your eyes nervously flit around. “He’s going to be here any second.”

Straightening up, Jihoon finally looks at you straight on, but you don’t meet his eyes. “Who?”

Your gaze locks on his. “You know who.”

“You’re going to get hurt.”

“I don’t have the time to argue with you right now, Jihoon. You–”

Footsteps.

“Shit,” you mutter. Moving too quickly for Jihoon to react, you shove him behind some crates, pushing him so he’s sitting and as far out of sight as possible. “Stay here. Don’t make a fucking noise, got it?”

Jihoon can only nod. You stand, about to go when you turn to look at him one more time.

“Count to three hundred,” you tell him. “If I don’t come back for you by then, don’t move. Just call the cops.”

You run off before he can even answer.

Jihoon works to quiet his breathing as he scrambles for his phone. The screen is cracked – probably from his two close encounters with the concrete – but he can’t find it in him to care right now. As long as it works, a cracked screen means nothing.

one, two,

He hears your voice in the distance along with another. You’re too far away for him to hear anything clearly, but he can hear the sarcastic tone of your voice, another factor about Red the people love. Maybe he’d appreciate your sharp tongue a bit more if he didn’t know how much trouble it could really get you in.

twenty nine, thirty,

The other voice gets louder, accusatory, and Jihoon resists the urge to cover his ears. It’s just as hard to hold back from standing up, from wanting to help you, but he knows he wouldn’t be any good to you out there. His crime fighting experience is limited to watching his friends play video games, and that’s about as limited as it can get.

one hundred, one hundred and one,

Sounds of a struggle taunt his ears. He can’t tell what’s going on, but he hates it. That awful feeling returns worse than ever.

one hundred fifteen, one hundred sixteen,

God, it’s been less than two minutes, but Jihoon just wants everything to stop. Someone gets knocked to the ground. He can only pray it wasn’t you.

one hundred forty six, one hundred forty seven,

You let out a guttural scream. Whether it’s out of anger or pain, Jihoon doesn’t know. He considers looking, but your words of warning echo in his mind.

one hundred ninety eight, one–

A gunshot.

Jihoon’s phone slips from his hand, falling into his lap. The bang was so much louder than he ever expected a gunshot to be, and his ears ring for a few seconds before he can gather himself. He jumps to his feet, phone clattering to the ground beyond his notice. His brain can’t catch up with his feet because one second he’s safely hidden behind those crates and the next, he’s standing a little ways away from you and the man you’ve got pinned beneath your body.

Another man lays motionless a few feet away, but the one under you is cursing as you shove your knee further into his back. One of his arms is sticking up and out in your hold, the smoking gun still clutched in his fingers.

Jihoon freezes in place.

“Apologize!” you scream. Your voice comes out shrill and broken. Jihoon is too far away to see, but he can tell you’re crying by the way your voice shakes.

The man grunts, his cheek pressed to the concrete. He just sneers at you.

“A kid is dead because of you.” Twisting his arm some more, you move to stand above him and press your boot to where your knee was. At the new angle, the man gasps out in pain. “She died in the hospital today, you son of a bitch. Apologize!”

Jihoon’s breath catches in his throat.

The man groans, and for a second Jihoon thinks he’s going to apologize because god, that looks like it hurts.

But he doesn’t.

An awful, disgusting laugh burns in Jihoon’s ears. The man is laughing – of all things – at what you told him.

“Fuck you,” he spits out.

Jihoon wants to throw up.

You scowl, your entire body shaking with rage. Jihoon can’t tear his eyes away even as dread drops straight from his throat to his stomach. Somehow, he knows what’s about to happen.

With your hand still clutched around the man’s wrist, you lift your foot and stomp down on his arm. The muted snap of the man’s bones travels all the way to Jihoon, and it’s too late to look away.

The man screams, and you finally drop his arm, limp, to the ground. While he’s distracted with his excruciating pain, you grab his ankles and zip-tie them together, then his good hand's wrist to his leg. You do the same to the unconscious man, only his hands are tied behind his back.

Everything is done without a word, and Jihoon can only watch in horror while the man’s wails continue in the background.

When you’re done, you stand up straight, tilting your head back and hiding your face in both hands. Your chest rises and falls as you take in a big, shaky breath.

It’s the longest three seconds of Jihoon’s life.

Eventually, you drop your hands to your side, head turning towards Jihoon’s long-forgotten hiding place. Your eyes widen when they land on him.

“Jihoon.”

He snaps back into it at the sound of his name on your lips. You approach him quickly, and he takes half a step back without realizing.

You notice. Stopping a few feet away, you look down at the ground, hands clenching at your sides. “Did you see… everything?”

His mouth shuts – he doesn’t remember exactly when his jaw fell slack – and he can’t seem to say anything. You say nothing else either, simply standing there and fiddling with your fingers.

For some reason, Jihoon can’t move. His instincts tell him to run. Everything screams danger, like your red jacket means poison, stay away, but he doesn’t move.

After a moment, you look up again, stepping towards him. You slip both your gloves off, stuffing them in your pocket before reaching out and taking his hands in yours.

You hold his hands out palms up, and he finally notices that they’re scraped from when he fell over the fence. The blood is partially dry by now, but with your bare skin on his, the scrapes start healing over.

He’s healed you before, but being on the receiving end is completely different. The soulmate connection washes over him, and even though you just maimed some guy, Jihoon feels calm.

You rub your thumbs over his wrists, mirroring the way he did that to the back of your hand that night in his apartment. Your voice comes out soft and quiet. “I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“I wasn’t scared,” he lies.

Snorting, you meet his eyes. “Whatever you say, big guy.”

There’s a moment where that playful, joking glint is back in your eyes, but it doesn’t last. Soon, your lips press into a line and you drop your head again, eyes screwing shut. A small sob escapes you, and Jihoon’s heart trembles. Not caring about his scraped-up hands anymore, he moves his arms around you and pulls you close.

For a while, he just stands there with you.

Eventually backing away, you shrug Jihoon’s arms off, faking a smile as you dab at your eyes with the base of your palm. “Thanks.”

“Are you okay?”

“No.” You laugh a bit at the way his lips twist into a frown. “But I’ll go home and drink some hot chocolate. Then I’ll be okay. Now–”

You bring your hands up to Jihoon’s shoulders, taking the hood of his sweater and flipping it up over his head.

In the distance, sirens blare.

“–we gotta get out of here before shit really goes down.”

[normal-sea-urchin]

Casey Jones Fucking Dies: Chapter 3

i have already started on chapter 4, W my brain for actually giving me the motivation and focus to do this. also @builtlikeastickofcelery

It had been about four weeks since the... incident. Raphael was sitting in the kitchen in the lair, drinking coffee. It was around 2 A.M. and his brothers and father had yet to wake up; so he sat at the table staring at his reflection in the dark coffee. In all honesty, he was doing more thinking than drinking. He was thinking about how April had been friends with Casey. Casey who he had killed. He was thinking about how he could never tell his family. How disappointed and disgusted they would be.

"Is something troubling you my son?" the turtle's father asked, walking out of the shadows, startling Raph.

"Aah! Uh, no Sensei, I'm okay." Raph replied, lying through his teeth, hoping the eyebags on his face wouldn't rat him out. He hadn't been getting great sleep after the whole situation with that Casey Jones kid. Even if he tried, his nightmares wouldn't let him sleep uninterrupted for very long.

"Are you sure, my son?" the rat questioned, glancing down at Raph's eyebags. 

Crap. Looks like there really wasn't any hiding his lack of sleep. "Well Sensei, I guess..." Raph trailed off, trying to piece together a lie that would sound convincing to Splinter. "I guess I just feel bad for April, she's taken this death so hard." Raph lied.

"Hmmm," his father hummed, "so that is what ails you. Do not worry Raphael, April is very strong. It will take time for her to come to terms with her friend's death, but she will push through."

"Mm, thanks Sensei." Raph said, taking that speech as his cue to leave.

                _______________________

And while April mourning her friend definitely made Raph feel guiltier, he had noticed some other strange happenings in this four week period. Nothing super weird, at first it was just his action figures falling over, or a particularly cold gust of wind blowing past him during patrol.

Raphael's things started to simply, go missing as well. A sai couldn't be found right before training sessions, or his drumsticks got misplaced. Nothing too bizarre, but misplacing things was a bit out of character for the red-masked turtle. Maybe it was all a prank by Mikey, the big question was how he got into Raph's room. 

Either way, pick your poison. It wasn't too much of an inconvenience. Until the occurrences got more...peculiar. It wasn't until one day while he and his brothers were walking through the sewers, setting up security cameras for Donnie.

It was all going well, nothing weird, nothing strange. Raph was setting up a camera in one of the sewer tunnels. Further down the tunnel was his younger brother, Mikey. The red-masked turtle was attaching one of Donnie's security cams to the mossy walls of the sewer, setting it up in the corner. After turning it on he turned behind him to grab another from the bag Donnie gave them. 

The only problem was the fact that the bag wasn't behind him anymore. He looked over towards Mikey who was still fidgeting with the camera from before, but it also didn't look like he had the bag. He turned to his left, down a different sewer tunnel, where he found the brown satchel. 

"Huh, weird." the turtle muttered to himself. he found it a bit strange that the bag had moved seemingly on its own, but then again, he'd been having strange things happen for the past few weeks. He walked over to pick up the bag, but for whatever reason, he decided to look up at the tunnel before reaching for the satchel. The tunnel seemed much, much, longer than it should. He couldn't seem to pull his vision away from the end of the tunnel, or at least where the end should be. In its place seemed to be a white haze, with a bit of a green glow surrounding it.

It was during this state of paralysis that the turtle heard something calling him, if you could call it that. Whatever was calling him wasn't exactly a voice, but something wanted him to walk down the tunnel, past the bag full of cameras that he was looking for only a minute ago. His legs began to move on their own, which could now be considered a habit of theirs. He put one foot in front of the other, walking deeper into the tunnel, following the sense calling him there.

"Uhhh? Brochacho?" Mikey interrupted, shocking Raph out of his state. Raph snapped his neck around to face his younger brother, now back in control of his mind and body. "You ok man? You seem kinda out of it dude." Mikey remarked. 

"Ugh, I'm fine, Mikey!" Raph lashed out, trying to cover the slight fear in his voice from the previous experience. "Let's just put the rest of these cameras up." he growled. As he turned around to pick up the bag he glanced up to get a second look at the sewer tunnel. Now, instead of the white haze with a greenish glow, there was the usual darkness. He grabbed the bag the turned back to face his younger brother, speed-walking out of the tunnel and past his younger brother.

                 _______________________

After that experience, Raph decided to stick around his brothers more often, hoping that would prevent anything like that from happening again. He hoped that they wouldn't notice, ever since the teenager was found dead how he lashed out less, how he tried to pull his punches, how he went out of his way to be mean less. But with all the time he now spent around them, he began to figured they would eventually notice. Unfortunately for raph, not every waking moment could be spent with his brothers.

But it was just a shower, nothing too bad could happen a shower, as long as he kept it short, right? 'Just keep it short' he reminded himself stepping into the shower. But when he turned the warm water on, all his worries were washed down the drain along with the water. Guess showers really are good for your mental health, or whatever is it that Donnie was saying earlier that day.

It was so warm in the shower that Raph figured that staying in it for a bit longer couldn't end too badly, nothing had happened so far. He felt the warm water run down his shell. Yeah, he could stay here a bit longer. This train of thought repeated for quite a while until Leo yelled from the other side of the door that Raph was hogging all the warm water and needed to get out of the shower. Raph begrudgingly turned off the warm water and stepped out of the shower. The cold hit him like a brick. He turned to the mirror, which was now covered in condensation. Donnie always got mad when there was condensation on the mirror after one of his brothers took a shower. Something about the water causing mold. Not wanting Donnie to yell at him, Raph took a towel and wiped the water away. After clearing most of the condensation off the mirror he was greeted with his face...and-

There was a second face. Staring back at him.

Chapter 1/Chapter 2/Masterpost/Next

[thygoddessouijathicc]

Dr. Henry Miller is a frog.

Remember a long time ago in a faraway land when I made a low quality theory that claimed Henry was in fact a frog?

I’m not sorry. In fact, fuck you, fuck your mom, fuck your long lost twin hidden in the attic who creepily plays piano when the house is quiet and wears a mask of Merida from Brave to hide their deformed face.

I fucking stand by it.

Henry is a frog, we know this much by now. His hue is one frogs can have and he seems to lack features like ears and a nose. Rather frog behaviour if you ask me.

But now I ask YOU… do his teeth look real? No right, far too big they basically hold the poor guy’s mouth open by force implying need for severe dental intervention. I believe these teeth not to be real teeth at all but simply cartoonishly large dentures he got from a joke shop. We know he’d attend such a place because while he is characterized rather serious he was known for blowing up urinals causing Freddy’s bathrooms to have cams and of course just loving to laugh at all things especially dying people. He seems to have a rather good sense of humour!

So no ears, no nose, no teeth, probably no butthole ei- yeah you know what doesn’t have these things? A fuckin frog. Now I ask you does he not appear moist? He looks grimy, sticky even. Frog.

Now my last theory argues this was normal HOWEVER I have since come to believe that Henry is in fact not natural… to our world. No I’m not calling another DSAF character an alien bare with me.

See if this was normal it would change a lot. We’d see frog people. We’d see noticeable change to history as frog people grow around humanity, new inventions, fuck, new frog racism. I’m not even kidding here if frog people existed I am sure humans would be racist towards them we can’t handle people having a different dominant hand than us for fucks sake humans kinda just suck like that. There would be frog politics. Frog moistening rooms. And most of all Henry would feel no need to disguise himself with something as silly as fake teeth.

No our frog man came from another world entirely. But but but let’s be clear it’s not like with Dave who seems to have just come out of nowhere Henry interacted with people, he understands his inhumanity and actively hides it almost as if he was taught how. He has knowledge of reality far greater than that which is normal as if… otherworldly.

My dear poor stupid reader, Henry can only come from one place and once place only.

Amphibia.

Even more than that Henry is a pink frog with a sense of humour and the knowledge of how to disguise himself as human. Friends, comrades, giant enemy spiders, Henry is Sprig.

A Sprig from a tragic world where Anne never comes back from death who leaves his home and family behind in order to try to get Anne back after Hop Pop becomes an alcoholic to deal with the grief. He finds himself transported into the human world but… in the past, forced to bide his time and search for a cure to the big dead getting both medical and spiritual knowledge, taking part in the war where he looses his tongue and hat via arrow to the knee. He tattoos his eyes black and takes Dave to start Fredbear after the circus proves useless and the rest is history.

Henry is Sprig from Amphibia it all lines up it all makes sense who else would be able to create such war crimes but a guy with a slingshot, a slingshot being the earliest signs in a child of psychotic tendencies. “Sprig has hair” you say? He lost it in the war and due to stress. “This is stupid” you say, I say any other answer is madness. “The frogs in Amphibia have teeth and in proving they are fake you prove-“ FAKE. TEETH. The government is lying to you to hide this great truth.

Henry Miller is Sprig, this is fact. It had been in front of us all along we were just too blind to see it.

…

BAIIIIIIIIII

[eaturheartout2021]

Playing Rough (König x Fem!Reader)

Warnings: mild adult language, personal descriptions of MW2 characters, AFAB!reader, descriptions of fighting

Summary: König and Reader get to train for the first time and he gets to see what everyone’s been talking about.

It’s early when you waltz into the training hall, empty apart from you and König. He’s wearing a pair of dark gray sweats, loose tank top, but opted to skip his usual mask with just a plain black medical one. His usual hidden face was on partial display and this made you stop in the doorway. You catch his gaze, captured in those blue eyes as he stared back into yours. Blushed bloomed across his cheeks as he turned away, hiding under his shaggy strawberry blonde hair. You had never seen this side to him, the shy man in front of you was a stranger compared to the ruthless killer on the field you’ve heard of.

“Guten morgen. You must be Phoenix. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” He spoke so quietly that you seriously doubted that the mountain of a man standing in front of you was the German killer they all feared, almost as much as Ghost.

You gave him a gentle smile and extended your hand. His warm, calloused hand gripped yours firmly and gave it one small shake.

“I am. It’s good to finally put a face to the name König. King, if my German isn’t too rusty, right?” His eyes flicked up to yours and something of curiosity and admiration ran through.

“Ja, du hast Recht.” His voice was thick with his accent, almost as if his body relaxed into it. You smiled up at him. His face blooms in scarlet one again and he turns away shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweats. You chuckled to yourself at his shyness, finding his blushing rather cute but wouldn’t admit it aloud.

“Aye, König, ready to see what the big fuss is about this little she devil?” Soap’s voice boomed through the training hall like a canon causing König to jump like someone had shot him. You turned and groaned shooting daggers at Soap who strolled through with Ghost and Gaz on his heels.

“Was meint er?” König turned to you brows raised in question. You threw your head back and let out an exaggerated growl. You could kill Soap, actually kill him for not letting König know about the extent of the training session today.

“You could’ve let him know, ass hat.” You flipped him off and put you hand on König’s shoulder.

“I’m one of the best sparring partners the 141 has,” Ghost cleared his throat in a rather loud tone, “aside from Ghost. Since you’re new to the Task force, Price wanted you to spar with us today. Get you into the swing of things.”

His brows shot up and he looked back at the trio. “Ist das alles? Ich komme damit klar.” He shrugged his very large shoulders.

“König, we don’t hold back. We don’t yield.”

“She’s broken my nose more times than I can count, doc’s say it’s a lost cause at this point.” Gaz quipped from behind you in a careless tone causing König to look over your shoulder.

“What’s the point of training if we only stop when best the other. We have to survive out there so we have to survive in here. Price and Laswell give us hell for it but this has saved our asses in more ways than one.” Ghost didn’t falter in his little speech to König and no one else stopped him. You had gotten the same one when you had joined all those years ago.

“This is a smart tactic. Fine, I’ll train with you.” König replied crossing his arms across his broad chest. You could practically see the evil smile creeping across Ghosts face when he pointed to the large red circle on the floor behind him.

“Good, because you’re going first. Phoenix, give us a good show.” Soap and Gaz we’re giving each other slips of cash and Ghost just stood with his arms crossed watching you as you shed your hoodie leaving you in a sports bra and a pair of leggings. König left his mask on which made you smile, you could use that to your advantage.

You entered the circle and bounced on the balls of your feet and then quickly settled into a slight crouch. Fists drawn close to your face, you eyed König, the extremely tall, 6”10 man was a mountain. He would use his height as his main strength and try to over power you with it. But you were smaller and faster. You waited until he lunged to you before you moved. He striked with a fast right hook. Faster than what you expected from him. It’s like a switch flicked inside him.

Gone was the shy, bashful man and before you was the soldier everyone whispered about. You dodged his fists, weaving away in short bursts as he played offensive, pushing you into a corner. You grunted and swore loudly still dodging his flying fists.

“Phoenix get on him!” Gaz yell from the side. You looked down and saw that König’s footing wasn’t grounded properly. You crouched low, missing a hit that was aimed for your face and swung out your leg. Your shin made contact with his and a sharp pain rang through causing you to bite your cheek to keep you from crying out. He stumbled and left an opening for you to take on the defensive.

You brought your fist up and met the bridge of his nose with a teeth chattering crunch. He took a few steps back clutching onto his mask but you didn’t give him the chance to progress to you. You grabbed what you could of his shoulders, pulled him down and rammed your knee into his stomach, causing a groan to tumble from his lips. While he was bent over you tried to over power him and bring him to the floor but his elbow met your nose with such force that it knocked you back and onto the floor.

“Oh shit. Get up lass!” Soap’s voice rag out to you as you stood up and met König’s bare and bloody face, mask now gone. You felt a warm trickle run down your lip but you just advanced to König, ducking as he swung towards your face. You ducked under his arms and threw a heavy punch to his now exposed chin causing him to growl at you with fire in his eyes.

He grabbed your arm and pulled you to him, holding you close as he wrapped a muscled arm around your neck, cutting off your air supply.

“Wie weit ist zu weit Phoenix?” He whispers into your ear, a chill runs down your spine, you refuse to tap out, you’d rather faint than yield. But you still had fight left in you. So, you leaned down and sunk your teeth into the meaty portion of his arm, hard. He pulled back with a hiss. You took the opportunity to slam your head back into his face hitting his nose once again. His let out a scream, dropping you from his grip and you scrambled away. You got your footing, turned and football tackled him to the floor. Using his size to bring him down.

His head hit the floor with an audible thud causing Soap and Gaz to physically wince away. You crawled under König wrapping your thighs around his neck. You twisted your lower body and squeezed so that it would cut off his air supply. You had his arms pinned away from him so that he couldn’t grab at your legs to try and break free.

His face was a bloody mess, his nose was most definitely broken. But when he gazed up at you, you seen something shining back. Something you couldn’t place.

“Ich gebe nach.” He whispered. You gawked at him. Still having him between your thighs.

“What?” You didn’t move. “That’s not how it’s done König.”

“I know when I’ve been beaten.” He ever so gently tapped your thighs and you reluctantly relaxed. He stayed laying between your legs gazing up at you, with that same unknown expression until Ghost’s deep voice cut through your shared gazes.

“König, go get checked out in Med bay. She’s officially welcomed you in.” He didn’t say anything as he sat up and walked out the doors leaving you sitting on the mat wondering what was swirling in those eyes of his.

[bg3screenshotdump]

Don't know if you have done it on your blog but can you introduce us to your Tavs? Like a Character Profil Template. :)

This has been in my inbox for ages, and if i wait until I have everything perfectly set up like i wanted before answering i believe i'll never answer :'D

so perfection and fear of being cringe and seen be damned i'm doing it it now !

so far the only things i have for my tavs on this blog is their respectives tags you can find in the sidebar of my blog :')

so i'll just list them here and i'll make them more detailed pages later, when i have time and feel confident enough to share more of the backstories i imagined :')

( warning, piss poor writing in coming i suck at writing in my native language and it's even worse in english )

Delsys - My 1rst Full release Tav, half wood elf orphan, beastmaster ranger who ended up serving as a guardian of the druidic order that found and raised her. she's a big introvert and has piss poor social skills, litteraly her only friends are her owl companion, Verbena and Trilli ( even if she feels disconected from her two very extroverted and playful friends ) she's been following the orders and lead of the druids for most of her life so she's really not confident in her new role as the leader of the bg3 party, ( she's not confident about a lot of things actually, tbh the only thing she's not insecure about is her archery skills ) and unfortunately for everyone she tends to hide those insecurities behind a tough and apathetic mask

Trilli Bumbleroot - archfey warlock/bard forest gnome - lover of music, dancing, nature and village festivals, she's just a little gal who loves traveling, i'm still not entierly sure of who i want her archfey patron to be, but she took a contract when she left her village in order to have enough power to protect herself on the road. During her travels she eventually came across Delsys ( who wasn't born yet ) and Verbena's druidic order and she's been bestie with Verbena ever since and unfortunately for the other druids when the both of them put their mind together tomfoolery ensues

Verbena Ferngrass - Wood elf druid - high bimbo of the same druidic order that raised Delsys ( and she kind of sees her as a little sister ) she's a big extrovert, a big flirt, she values her personal freedom and fun above all else, she thinks with her vag and is always pulling Delsys into all kind of situations™ She considers Trilli to be her best friend ( and they kiss sometimes )

Vetra - Githyanki war cleric of Vlaakith - soft and curious soul who's been battered and hardened by her training as both a warrior and a priestess, now that she's in faerun she starting to feel a bit more free to be explore and connect back to the parts of her personality she had to hide behind her now no-nonsense tough persona

Kastyn Firebeard - warrior/maybe paladin ( haven't decided yet) - mercenary coming from a blacksmith family, don't have much of a backstory for her yet :') just that she was disatisfied about her life in the mercenary group she was a part of, mostly because she had no control over the missions they took, and those missions sometimes went agaisnt her moral code

Healstra Ssiwin - lolth drow Sorceress - Bit on the fence about her story and personality :'x i'm not sure why exactly she chose to go to the surface,i initially made the Astromancer robes mod for her, so i had in mind that she wanted to see and study the stars but idk, i'll think i'll need to document myself on drow a bit more to get better ideas :'D

Cyn Clarilieu - my EA tav, basic noble human turned paladin ( is now tall and buff thanks to the full release Bodytype 3 ❤️) good aligned, annoyingly too self-righteous at times

Shani Cotton - Halfling rogue - Street urchin turned criminal in Baldur's gate lower city, magpie brainded if-it-shiny-i-want-it ,quite loose morals so she doesn't care if she has to kill or maim to obtain what she wants

Oriann Aleviir - my co-op tav, half drow - cringefail 8 dex blew-her-own-face-off-with-fire-spell wild magic sorcerer, terrified for her life 24/7 and will make every bad choices out of fear and gullibleness ( highly manipulable, will probably end up a squid as a result )

[whatwouldvalerydo]

Summary: Jin Watanabe is used to saving everyone, but what happens when the curse says enough is enough and all possible positions are filled within the circus? How can a director who had never sacrificed one of his own break the curse?

Warning ⚠️ : mentions of death, weapons, suicide

Characters in mention here belong to: @kc-and-co @cursebreakerfarrier

A year, Jin lamented once more as he wrote inside the journal he kept just like every other director. It was all that Angela gave him, so she could walk him through it, teach him. Teach him what? He was far more intelligent and well read than she was. However that did not matter.

Despite her not leaving a shred of darkness behind, Jin felt as if he had lost count of the years he had spent as the head of the circus, despite diligently documenting them.

However he carefully took steps and made choices, each planned, his crew reaching the maximum number and even then he tried to help and accommodate those who sought him out for help. But despite his impeccable reputation there were times when no one dared to question him or deny the darkness that he tried so hard to hide.

His touch left its mark on the performance, each wearing masks, hiding behind the demon like faces as if the lights could blind them, as if by one glimpse of their faces the world would know of the shame the curse brings to each generation.

Then there was the affair of his key that refused to come and show itself, at one point even the seer becoming concerned. He saw nothing but darkness in the upcoming future and slowly Jin also started losing hope.

A soft knock on his door tore his attention away from the journal “Come in.” watching her cross the threshold, Jin turned his attention back to the small desk in his caravan “What can I do for you today miss Hellebore?”

“Need I remind you how many years we have known each other by now? Have I not earned at least the courtesy of being addressed by my first name especially considering I am your wife.”

“Just a habit, apologies Clarice, how can I help?”

She slowly approached him, reluctantly placing a hand on his shoulder “Why did you marry me when there is another out there for you?”

She felt him tense upon contact, Jin providing the same reply he always did “To save you.”

“Saving me is one thing, making me your second in command and wife another affair altogether.”

“You are loyal, cunning and strong. That is all I require from you. Now what is the real reason behind your visit?” he felt her removing her hand, Jin turning a page, waiting.

“They’re back, demanding the same as ever. Do you want me to deal with them?”

Shaking his head, he closed the journal “No need. Thank you.”

Traversing the terrain, heavy mask against his face, Jin’s eyes searched the crowd of people. All the same, never changing despite the multitude of faces looking back at him. They were all colorless, false. Reaching the gates, he stood in front of a couple, their faces just the same. He knew them yes since a few times each year, they would appear at the circus asking if they had any openings.

“The situation has not changed.” He spoke, attention being caught by a third member further back, concealing himself in the shadows, smoke rising from a lit cigarette “I have not even a single position, not to mention three. Your son?”

“Yes.” The woman nodding, Jin tilting his head.

“Why would you subject your next of kin to the circus?”

“Mister Watanabe…” the husband spoke, Jin lifting his hand to silence him.

“Let me make some things clear so that we all stop wasting each other’s time. First and foremost, do not use my name since you did not have the curtesy or telling me yours. Secondly, I will not be taking in a couple even if you wish to join out of your free will. There are no slots available. Lastly, if and I am speaking theoretically, something were to happen to you two, your son would be called upon to join. I do not believe that is something you want.”

“Nothing will happen to us. We will work hard and earn out keep. Please, my wife is sick.”

Jin chuckled, hands digging inside his pockets as he started laughing. Of course, they must have heard something “Are you here to replace me?” he asked drily.

From the shadows, the man stirred, moving closer to his parents “Let’s go.”

Jin stared at him, one leg crossing the circus threshold, a jolt of pain reminding him to fall back, yet he stared at the man that approached his parents. He had seen many humans, but never one with such darkness in his cold eyes. Scars across his face told stories, of violence and more than likely brutality “Who are you?”

“Akira Crane, since you were so curious to learn a name, director.” He spitefully spoke out. Nodding his head, he ushered his parents as Jin fell back in line behind the invisible threshold.

He needed to sleep on it, think about how to approach the situation. If Orion saw nothing but darkness in his future, he was certain he had just stared into it and the darkness finally stared back at him. Morning came accompanied by screams, Jin rushing inside the main tent to witnessed his trapeze crew strung up from the very props they used during the shows.

And with death comes a thicker darkness, the ground as if shaking underneath Jin’s feet, the sound of his heart hammering, growing louder. Clarice extended a shaky hand towards him, the dark swirls as if lashing out at her before Jin marched outside of the main tent.

And outside of the circus stood a single man, looking back at him.

“You will never be welcomed here. And even if by some tragic twist of fate you and those you love shall cross inside, it will be torture, it will be loveless, it will be so lonely. That I promise you.”

Lifting his brows slightly, Akira just shrug his shoulders “Fine by me, I never did wish to join.”

So let there be thick fog and silent sobs. Let there be echoes of screams, everyone hiding from the director for fear of what he might do. And Jin detested it. He wanted to claw at his skin for he felt the evil lurking in his veins. He could feel the darkness grip his heart, a painful breath leaving his lungs. Helpless, that’s how he felt. Unable to save them, any of them.

And the circus responded in full.

Paint appeared to chip in certain places. Vibrant colors turning dull little by little. The wind howled as Jin stayed in the main tent lamenting over his loss, his crew, his life.

“Clarice!” he yelled, the woman appearing shortly after, trying to make herself as small as possible as she approached “Bring me my gun.”

“What?”

Grabbing her arm, he breathed heavily “That is an order. This has to end, if not I will destroy this place, I will bring to it more darkness. Can you not see? There is no light.”

She shook her head, the forces whispering in her head to obey “Please, I can’t do this without you. I can’t be the next director.”

“Then you have but a few minutes to find another to replace you.” Letting her go, she retreated in order to fulfil her command. Looking down at his hands, he screamed as he saw the darkness creeping up on him “Stop it. Stop it!”

“Stop what sir?” lifting a pair of startled eyes he looked at Oliver Gerard.

“Does not matter. What can I do for you?”

Smiling, he approached “I was wondering if we will be closing today due to the…” he stopped himself, searching for the proper words “Do you want me to put up the posters announcing we are closed for the day?”

Jin’s eyes widened, before he just nodded, Oliver turning around to leave “Mister Gerard, may I ask you something? Why are you not afraid right now?”

He turned back around, soft eyes looking at Jin “I am. But despite the tragic loss we suffered I know that we can make it out of this. The show will go on and we will continue to perform.” Approaching him, Jin inhaled, holding his breath for a few seconds “Sir?”

“You are in charge of the rides, but I have seen you dancing and singing for the children and ladies. How would you like to become a part of the main act?” he saw Oliver’s eyes light up at that prospect “Better yet” as Jin spoke he felt as if the fog was lifting from his brain “how about I make you even something better? The second in command, yes.” The darkness as if retreating for a moment to the shadows, lurking, waiting “That is it, you shall be from now on my second in command.”

“Me sir?” he could not believe his ears, Oliver looking around the main tent as if waiting for the rest of the crew to come out of the shadows and tell him it is all a prank.

“Yes. Your heart is not contaminated. You have the ability to make this right, to make this place great again.”

But when the next day dawned on the circus, two more spots were opened when the sound of two gunshots were heard. Inside Jin’s caravan, him and his wife laid in a pool of blood, a single note left behind with instructions for the new director, Oliver Gerard.

As he picked it up with shaky hands, his mind foggy as knowledge he had never carried before made its way inside his brain, words about not allowing Akira Crane or his family inside the circus were scribbled down. And if by any way they managed to coax him in accepting them, he needed to be careful as they wished to get to the top.

Walking close to him, Orion placed a gentle hand on Oliver’s shoulder “It will be alright, there’s hope yet for you. Welcome director.”

[pianostarinwonderland]

You guys have no idea how much Azul’s new SSR means to me.

There are things I’m going to be losing from this. Obviously, I’m going to see my gem and key count dwindle because I have no idea if I’m going to be lucky tomorrow. I have exams next week, and this event is going to really affect my concentration horribly. I really can’t afford to not get low scores on these exams since my grades are horrible.

But this card… It’s everything that I’ve been dreaming of for the past two years.

I’ve gone through two whole years of eating crumbs, and maybe that sounds entitled since Azul got his story and SSR really early on. But it’s because his story was concluded really early on that afterwards, I don’t get to hear much from him. I really only look forward to February, I have to seek food about him from other characters (especially from Jade and Floyd), I have to feed myself every day with my own thoughts. Some days, I’ve considered on looking for new fandoms to join because I’ve gotten bored of even myself. But I still stay because of two things: (1) I have friends who still love this game very much, and (2) Azul means so much to me that it’s enough of a reason to stay.

And now, here we have him. A beautiful SSR in the most gorgeous outfit. There are so many things I want to say about this card because it is every single fantasy in my head coming to life.

Like, the setting? I once had a Honeymoon Un Deux Trois phase back in 2020-early 2021. There was something about dancing a waltz with Azul that really made me feel so giddy for months. I would always imagine us under the moonlight, on stone streets and bridges with lamps on, and dancing to that song. I never cared if it was graceful or not, because it was a dance with Azul.

Babes, besties, and bitches, the setting of that card art is exactly the setting of that imagination. Even the lights of those buildings are the same. It’s like Yana read my mind and put it on a digital canvas. The only thing different is the gate behind Azul, but otherwise, it’s everything that I’ve seen in my dreams.

Then Azul’s outfit! I’ve long entertained the idea of Azul in a masquerade outfit since last year. It was so appealing because he hides behind a mask all the time to seem more pleasing to others. It pushed me to plan out and write a (work in progress) fic where Azul is a masked pianist. He’d be decked in black and purple, mostly purple. He’d have a hat with a feather, and he’d be wearing a mask with that same shape you see on the card.

You know in fact, I always imagined since late last year that the next Abema stream was going to be me seeing Azul getting a masquerade SSR. And then I would be screaming.

And 😭 I got it. I got the masquerade card, and his outfit has similarities to what I envisioned for him. I now also know that his hat is called a tricone, and that is really awesome to know.

And to top it all off? His tailcoat. I always loved tailcoats even as a kid. There was something about how simple it is yet the way it billows in the breeze as it trails behind you creates a certain aura about you. It looks classy and almost authoritative. It catches your attention.

And guess what? Azul Ashengrotto comes in with at least 6 tail ends on his tailcoat.🧍This mcfucking octopus.

Anyway, I’m just… I am just so happy right now. 😭 Sundays have recently been my worst day of the week for certain reasons, but I had such a great day today because of Azul.

The gacha is coming tomorrow, which is really exciting but also anxiety inducing xD! I really want to stream for everyone, but I don’t think I can :( I think my stream would end up lagging horribly. But I’ll definitely share what happens here.

This post is really different from how I’d usually scream about Azul. I’ll admit, much of my energy is gone because I have melted down in a vc with friends xD but mainly, I just feel so tender about this card. It’s two years of my dreams put on a screen for the world to see. It’s two years of all the times I thought about him, talked about him, wrote about him, bringing me to a time when I can actually for the first time freak out about his event SSR when I could not do that for Beans Day. It’s two years of loving him, and now I’m here. 🥲 And I’m so thankful and happy right now.