#you know. the chapter where the duel was supposed to already be over. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

summerwritesfics · 25 days ago

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🪔Let The Fire Burn The Ice, Chapter 1 - Denying The Devil Of Silence

Pairing: Hanzo Hasashi/Kuai Liang, Onesided!Shang Tsung/Kuai Liang, Quan Chi/Shang Tsung Length: 6464 Words Rating: Mature Warnings: Modern with Magic AU/Urban Fantasy AU, Elemental Magic, Magic Systems, Unethical Experimentation, Dystopia, KuaiShang is very onesided, Kuai duel wields ice and fire

Let The Fire Burn The Ice Masterlist

Notes: This is only from about a couple of months, or so I think? I know it was written before Madame Bo was revealed to be Sektor’s mom because that’s not a thing in this 😂😂 It’s another “I got so fucking into this for like an entire weekend” although I only got to two chapters atm haha. Hopefully as the fic goes on, I’ll be able to better expand on the magic system of this world. There is a brief explanation in this chapter, that sort of goes over the basics of the ‘power chain’ system. I’m trying to find ways to expand on it without either just dumping it in authors notes or long rambling exposition. Fic title is from Fire And Ice by Within Temptation, and the chapter title is from Let Us Burn also by Within Temptation.

Kuai Liang pulled his hood further over his face. It probably made him look slightly shifty, but with the way the rain was coming down he just really wanted to keep himself as dry as possible. People mingled under shelter, whispering to each other about the weirdo trying to make his way through the bad weather. That didn’t matter to Kuai Liang. It was hard to be offended at being called a weirdo when you already knew you were one.

It wasn’t too much further to his destination anyway.

He carefully jumped over a slightly deep looking puddle and chuckled at how childish he felt. He chose to ignore the confused looks he got. This world was hell, full of despair and darkness, why shouldn’t he find fleeting happiness in the mundane every now and then?

Either way, he finally reached Madame Bo’s restaurant, and he opened the door and let himself inside. It was surprisingly empty all things considered, only a handful of customers spread across the building. Kuai wasn’t here to eat however, and as he finally let his hood down, he glanced around the floor trying to find Madame Bo herself. It didn’t look like she was in front of the house at the moment, however.

He walked over to the balcony, staring down at the seats below to see if she was down on the lower levels. He couldn’t see her there either. He grunted slightly. That meant she was probably out back or in the kitchen, and the last time he’d gone looking for her in those sections she’d told him off for it. So, he supposed all he could do was wait and see if she turned up.

“That’s not how any of that works Lao,” a voice behind him suddenly chimed up. Kuai turned around to see two young men enter the restaurant. They both looked slightly younger than Kuai Liang, yet much to his annoyance, they were still both taller than him. “If someone has light as an element, it is impossible for them to have dark as well.”

Kuai felt himself stiffen up a little although he didn’t mean to. A lump formed in his throat, even as he tried to remain passive and like he wasn’t listening in.

Elementals weren’t exactly a rarity in this world, in fact if statistics were to go by, there were more elementals than non-elementals. Elements were split into four different ‘chains’, where each element linked together, usually with an element it was weak to and one it was stronger than. For example, Earth was strong against Air, Air was strong against Electricity, and finally Electricity was strong against Earth, looping back around and completing the chain.

It was entirely possible for people to be a dual elemental, however it was impossible for one to wield two elements within the same chain. Someone with Air as an element could also have Fire, or another element in a different chain, but they couldn’t have either Earth or Electricity.

Or… At least… that was what the general population believed.

“Who says they can’t?” The other man, Lao, replied while crossing his arms over his chest. “Like why can’t I, as an air elemental, develop Earth powers?”

“Because you can’t have two powers within the same power chain.” The first man replied, very insistent. “It’s just not believed to be possible, and never been recorded before.”

“Just cause something’s not been recorded doesn’t mean it’s not happened,” Lao argued. “There is no scientific proof that it can’t occur. Maybe it’s just so super rare it hasn’t been seen yet.”

The first man reached up to rub his temples as he groaned “well, if you want to scientifically prove it can happen, be my guest. My argument is, if it could happen, surely it would have by now.”

“And my argument is just because no one wrote about it, doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.” Suddenly Lao pointed at Kuai, causing him to jump in surprise. “For example, this random guy could have light and dark elements, and we’d never know unless he told us or used his powers in front of us.”

Kuai chuckled anxiously, more out of reflex than anything. He was just glad Lao had used light and dark as his example rather than fire and ice. He’d have thought this was a set up if he’d done that. Because the truth was, Kuai Liang knew for a fact it was entirely possible, but he wasn’t about to let anyone know that.

“Your friend does have a point,” Kuai agreed, brushing his hand through his hair. “Just because something hasn’t been recorded, doesn’t mean it isn’t possible.” He smiled slightly, hoping it didn’t look as forced as it felt. “But you also have a point that it feels like it should have been discovered by now.”

“Thank you, it just seems strange that it has never been recorded if it is indeed possible,” the man replied, shaking his head. “But, sorry you got dragged into this argument.”

“No problem.” Kuai turned to glance around the restaurant. Usually Madame Bo would have come by now. He still couldn’t see her anywhere.

“How long have you been waiting?” Lao suddenly asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s not like Madame Bo to leave a customer hanging around.”

“I’m not a customer, but you are right.” He looked towards where the kitchen was. He knew last time he was here and went in there, she got upset with him, but something was starting to feel off here. “I’m going to see if I can find her.”

“We’ll come with you,” the first man told him, jogging slightly to catch up. “She’s our Sifu so…”

“Ah.” Kuai knew that Madame Bo trained other elementals. It wasn’t why he was here, but she often talked about her students.

“Are you also a student?” Lao asked, catching up to them and narrowing his eyes. Clearly Lao was more suspicious of Kuai than his friend was.

“Not really, although she has taught me in the past.” Kuai bit his lip, unsure how much these two knew of Madame Bo, or at least her religious beliefs. “We attend the same temple.”

“Oh! You’re Lin Kuei too?” The first man exclaimed, and well, seemed that Madame Bo was slightly more open about her religion than he thought.

“I always forget she’s a part of those wackjobs,” Lao blurted out and immediately his eyes widened like he hadn’t intended that to be said aloud. “Uh. No offence.”

“None taken.” As he’d established earlier, Kuai was already aware of what people thought of him. “My name is Kuai Liang, by the way.”

“I’m Liu Kang,” the first man replied, before gesturing at Lao. “And this is Kung Lao.”

Kuai recalled Madame Bo talking about them both now. Apparently they were promising young elementals who she was sure would be ready to join the resistance soon. Kuai didn’t say that though, he wasn’t sure how they’d feel knowing she’d been talking to her “wackjob” religious friends about them.

Even so, they came up to the door to the kitchen. Kuai took the handle and attempted to open it, only to find it locked. That’s… Unusual. In fact, it was down right worrying. Madame Bo never locked this door as a matter of safety, such as the occurrence of a fire.

He knocked on the door rapidly, shouting “Madame Bo?” He hoped it’d be enough to catch someone inside’s attention.

He heard the lock click, but when the door opened it wasn’t Madame Bo on the other side. It wasn’t one of her staff or chef’s either. This man, tall and imposing, was wearing the uniform of one of Shao Kahn’s imperial guards. Kuai felt himself swallow. The guard’s were infamous for brutality for little to no reason, and he wouldn’t trust them as far as he could throw them on a good day.

“Where is Madame Bo?” Kuai demanded, trying to stand as tall as he could. The man didn’t look intimidated by him at all, however.

“She’s busy. Now scram.” The man tried to slam the door in their face, but Liu stuck his foot out to catch it.

“Not until we know she’s okay,” Liu hissed, fire licking up his fist.

The man just looked bored, that is until his eyes flicked over to Kuai Liang and then landed on his chest. He stared intently like he was trying to work something out, before suddenly reaching forward. Kuai actually stepped backwards, thinking he was trying to grab him. When something gently hit his chest however, he realised that this guard was trying to take hold of his Lin Kuei pendant.

“You’re a member of that cult as well then?” The man asked, suddenly straightening out. “In that case, I have a few questions to ask you.”

“And why should I answer them?” Kuai asked, maybe not his smartest choice but he was starting to feel cagey.

“I am General Reiko of the Kahn’s imperial guard,” he introduced, slamming his fist against his chest. “And it is believed that your little religion is harbouring something of interest to the Kahn’s high sorcerer.”

“I do not know what you believe we are hiding, but I assure you there is very little that would interest your high sorcerer.” He shifted on his feet, desperately racking his brain for some trinket that the Elder’s had possibly brought in lately that might have set this off. “What exactly do you think you’re looking for?”

“A dual elemental who wields from the same power chain.”

What? Oh no. As much as Kuai remained as passive as he could, internally all he could think was how the fuck that had managed to get out.

“Wait, for real?” Lao asked, somehow sounding both dumbfounded and excited at the same time. He turned to Liu with a smug smirk. “Told you it was possible.”

“Not the time, Lao,” Liu hissed.

Kuai elected to ignore them, in favour of telling Reiko “I am not aware of any such elemental within our order.”

Reiko hummed, before reaching into his pocket for a tablet of some kind. “And your name is?”

“Song Kuai Liang,” Kuai offered, not afraid to share his name. He was sure if they knew who he was, they’d have a photograph of him and have apprehended him from the second their eyes met.

“Are you an elemental?” Reiko questioned, writing down what he’d been told.

“Yes, a single element, just ice.” As the first element to develop, Ice was the one that called to him far more than Fire did, so it was easier to pretend that was his single element.

“And you are certain that you are unaware of the elemental we seek?” Reiko looked back up at him, narrowing his eyes. “Keeping in mind, lying to the Kahn’s guard is a punishable offence. You’d end up in prison, or worse if you are discovered to be harbouring the elemental, the mines.”

“I have no knowledge of such a thing.” Kuai did have to stop himself from snorting though. Because given he was the subject they were looking for, he probably would not end up in prison or the mines.

Another guard stepped from behind Reiko, who turned in time for them to say “the woman is not budging on her story. She claims to have no knowledge of what we seek.”

Reiko tutted and rolled his eyes before turning back to Kuai Liang, “if you should discover anything that may be relevant to our investigation, you must come to us immediately.”

“I will,” Kuai lied through his teeth.

Finally however, Reiko left him alone, and a couple more guards piled out of the kitchens. They remained silent as the guards walked off towards the restaurant's entrance. When Kuai turned his attention back to the kitchen, Madame Bo was walking out, wiping down her dress and looking extremely annoyed.

“Bloody idiot guard,” she mumbled glaring daggers as the last of the guard’s left the restaurant. “Where do they get the nerve to conduct themselves like that?”

“Are you okay, Madame Bo?” Liu Kang asked, stepping forward almost to make a fuss of her, only to be gently slapped away. Kuai couldn’t help but laugh. She always was a hardy woman, even now in her elder years. “They didn’t try to harm you, did they?”

“No, thankfully.” She shook her head. “I’d have thrown them through the wall if they had.”

“What was all that about anyway?” Lao questioned, eyes darting between Madame Bo and Kuai Liang. “Do the Lin Kuei really have a dual wielder with elements from the same power chain?”

“Don’t be daft boy, of course we don’t,” Madame Bo snapped a little, reaching into her pocket to pull out a cigarette. “Someone with such powers doesn’t exist.”

“They seem awfully convinced of it, though,” Kuai chimed up, a strange feeling swelling in his chest. “I don’t think they’re going to give up on this line of thinking easily.”

“Yes, I can see this being a pain in the arse for a while,” Madame Bo sighed, taking the first drag of her cigarette. “Still, hopefully they’ll get the message eventually.”

“And if they don’t?” Kuai wasn’t sure he really wanted the answer.

“We’ll think of that when we come to it, Kuai Liang,” she assured him, reaching to pat his arm as if to assure him. “Until then, we just have to keep being insistent that we do not have what they want.” She brushed herself down, tilting her head. “Anyway, was there something you needed? I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”

”Oh, right, I almost forgot.” He reached into his satchel, pulling out an old recipe book he’d gotten in the shop a few days ago. Madame Bo had expressed interest in it, so he’d offered to bring it to her. “I wanted to give you that book you were asking about.”

“Oh! Wonderful!” She took it off him, immediately starting to flick through the pages. “Thank you, I’m going to have some fun going through these.” She closed the book, returning her attention to the three of them as a group. “Now then, why don’t I whip up a nice meal for you all. My thanks for coming to see if I was okay.”

Kuai laughed, knowing this was one of those cases where she wouldn’t take no for an answer. “That sounds nice, thank you.” His eyes flicked over to Liu and Lao. “And it’ll give me a chance to get to know your students.”

Madame Bo chuckled, patting Kuai on the bicep, “oh you’ll love them. They’re your kind of people, kid.”

“Good to know.” He turned to Liu and Lao and gestured with his head. “Shall we?”

As they went to go and claim a table, Kuai couldn’t help but shoot Madame Bo one more look. She could tell he was nervous about the current turn of events, and just gave him a reassuring nod before returning to the kitchen. Kuai sighed, deciding for now, he’d put it to the back of his mind, and focus on enjoying time with his new acquaintances.

[Kenshi said: Hey Hanzo, me and Johnny were thinking of going out and grabbing a couple of drinks if you want to join us.] [Hanzo said: Would love to, but I’m stuck going for a dinner with my Boss] [Kenshi said: Ah, no worries man. Will see you at home later.] [Hanzo said: Yeah. I’ll see you later.]

Hanzo sighed and placed his phone in his pocket, tuning back into the conversation. It was still just his Boss, Quan Chi, and boss's Husband, Shang Tsung, going on and on about something Tsung was working on right now. Hanzo glanced across the way to Syzoth, Tsung’s assistant, who looked as pissed to be here as Hanzo felt. At least I have that solidarity, I guess.

“I just cannot believe the guards are that incompetent,” Tsung complained, dramatically throwing himself back and covering his eyes with his arm. It was sad that Hanzo was used to these theatrics at this point. “Of course the members of The Lin Kuei are not just going to fold and tell the truth, I don’t know why they thought that would work.”

“It is a mystery,” Quan Chi half-heartedly agreed, unusually he also seemed fed up with this line of conversation.

“And now every one of them knows I’m investigating them, so they’re going to have more walls than usual.” He kicked out his leg slightly like a child having a tantrum. “Ugh, what in Argus name does the Kahn see in that blockhead Reiko? The man is dumber than a bag of rocks!”

“Relax, you’ve just hit a minor setback, you will get your man eventually,” Quan Chi tried to assure him, although doing it through clenched teeth didn’t exactly inspire confidence. “Until then, let’s just have a nice meal this evening. I’ve been told that Madame Bo’s is superb. I’m sure it’ll take your mind off work.”

Tsung’s reply was a mumble, still unhappy but thankfully not making it too audible anymore. Hanzo honestly wasn’t even sure what exactly Tsung was looking for right now. And what he knew of that religion, he couldn’t think of anything of note he’d be looking for inside. He debated asking, but wasn’t sure he really cared enough to.

His eyes met Syzoth’s. Maybe his confusion was a little more obvious than he’d thought, as Syzoth felt the need to inform him “we’re investigating rumours that The Lin Kuei have a dual elemental who wields elements within the same power chain.”

Hanzo did a bit of a double take at that, before saying “I thought that was impossible.”

“It’s never been proven to be impossible,” Shang Tsung hissed, and the tone made Hanzo remember why he hadn’t wanted to ask. Tsung did have the horrible habit of talking to everyone around him like they were intellectually lower than him. “Which is why, if these rumours are true, having one within their ranks would be a scientific breakthrough.” Tsung finally sat up, but his theatrics continued as he waved his arms around frantically. “All I want is to find the subject and conduct a few experiments on them, is that so much to ask of someone?”

Given what Hanzo knew of Tsung’s experiments, it was no wonder no one was coming forward with information.

There was a bit of an elephant in the room however. Technically, Quan Chi and Hanzo worked for the imperial guard, although they were detectives rather than regular footmen. But that’s where his confusion lay a little, out of anyone within the guard, they were the most qualified to conduct an investigation. Given Tsung and Quan Chi were married, it almost felt natural that the job would go to them.

All Hanzo could assume was there was some reason for it, and he wasn’t about to put his foot into his mouth and give himself more work.

The limo came to a stop, pulling up to the curb. Hanzo stayed back, waiting for the others to exit before he clambered out himself. As he straightened up he looked at the restaurant in front of him and raised his eyebrow. It really didn’t look like much, it just seemed like every other cheaper restaurant in the city and not the high end places Quan Chi and Tsung usually went to.

“This is the so-called superb restaurant?” Tsung said in disgust, flicking his wrist as he spoke. “It looks like a dive.”

“Looks can be deceiving,” Quan Chi claimed far too chipperly. At this point he was the only person who seemed happy to be here. “Come now, if we don’t remember our less fortunate roots, how else are we to stay humble?”

“I’m rich and important, I don’t need to be humble,” Tsung spat, and somehow that one sentence just summed up all the issues he had with the man. Hanzo shot Syzoth a look, and was surprised that he actually looked somewhat amused by it all.

“Come on,” Quan Chi insisted, grabbing Tsung's arm and practically dragging him inside. Hanzo and Syzoth followed.

As he stepped inside, it immediately struck him how big the place was. The outside was very misleading, making it look like a tiny box. Instead, the restaurant was sprawling and even appeared to have multiple floors. It wasn’t that busy right now, however there was still a healthy customer number.

There was an elderly woman at the front, who turned and greeted them with “Welcome, welcome, a table for four?”

Hanzo’s eyes flicked down to a small brooch on her person. A triangle with three half circles intercrossing it. The symbol that those from the Lin Kuei religion chose to distinguish themselves. Oh good. The restaurant is owned by a Lin Kuei. Why did Hanzo feel like that was going to set Tsung off again?

“Yes, if you don’t mind,” Quan Chi replied, either not noticing or at least not acknowledging the symbol.

Shang Tsung definitely saw it however. His eyes were glued to the brooch, narrowing in suspicion. Surprisingly he didn’t say anything, even as the elderly lady led them through the tables and set them up at one beside a balcony. The table next to it seated three young looking men, talking excitedly about some training they were doing or something. Hanzo would have paid it no mind, except he couldn’t help notice one of them was also wearing the Lin Kuei’s symbol, although this one was on a pendant around his neck.

Honestly, he’d never really noticed how many people were actually in that religion.

Tsung didn’t seem to see that one however, and still didn’t say anything even as the elderly lady passed them menus.

The second she left, Tsung went to open his mouth, only for Quan Chi to cut him off with “yes dear, we all noticed the brooch.”

As Tsung huffed, Hanzo let his gaze land on the young man at the next table. He had a large scar over one of his eyes, but other than that absolutely nothing else stood out about him. Hanzo pondered if he should actually say something or not. Then again, if Tsung noticed and then realised Hanzo knew sooner, he’d never hear the fucking end of it.

“One of the men on the table next to us is also wearing that symbol,” Hanzo whispered to them, hoping it wouldn’t be loud enough for the men in question to hear him. And much to his disdain, Tsung, Quan Chi and Syzoth all turned to look at them. When they spotted the man’s pendant, they all settled back.

“It’s not that popular a religion is it?” Syzoth questioned aloud, eyes constantly glancing over at the man. “I was under the impression they were extremely closed off and essentially a cult.”

“They are,” Shang Tsung replied, sounding deep in thought.

“I don’t see what’s so strange,” Quan Chi added, rolling his eyes a little. “If that old lady is Madame Bo, then it makes sense for a Lin Kuei to come to a Lin Kuei owned restaurant.”

“True, I guess I’ve just never really seen one in person before,” Syzoth pondered, pursing his lips. “Like I said, I thought they mostly kept to themselves and didn’t go out in public much. I’m surprised there’s two here, and they’re so open about belonging to it.”

Tsung’s eyes were on the other table, particularly the Lin Kuei. He also seemed to be leaning in slightly, like he was trying to listen to their conversation. Honestly, Hanzo was just curious at this point. The other two men didn’t seem to have any ties to the Lin Kuei and Hanzo found it strange. Syzoth was right, Lin Kuei were known to stay amongst their own and not really socialise outside of their religion.

“So, you said you’re an ice elemental?” One of the men asked.

“I am yes,” the Lin Kuei replied, holding his hand out. There was a small flurry of snow, and a small ice sculpture of a bear formed. Hanzo actually smiled a little at that, it was a strangely endearing way to show off his powers.

“You sure you don’t have fire as well?” The third one asked, making the one who spoke first groaned. Tsung lent forward in interest.

“Would you please drop that Lao?” He groaned, while the Lin Kuei laughed and placed his little bear on the table.

“No. No fire,” the Lin Kuei said with a chuckle. “As much as I agree with your hypothesis that it could exist, I assure you there are no such elementals in my religion.”

Lao whined, “I just think it’d be really cool.”

They had to disengage from the conversation as the elderly woman returned.

“So, are you boys ready to order?” She asked and Hanzo had to bite his tongue. The four of them were hardly boys. Although Syzoth did have a bit of a baby face, he had to admit.

They took turns ordering their meal, Hanzo choosing to have just some Xiao Long Bao as he wasn’t overly hungry. She finished writing down the order, Hanzo noting it was on paper rather than on a tablet or something, and was about to turn away when Shang Tsung lifted his hand. All Hanzo could do was internally groan.

“I do apologise, but before you go, that brooch you are wearing symbolises you are part of the Lin Kuei religion, are you not?”

The woman stared at him, narrowing her eyes. “I am, yes. Why?”

“Ah, I see.” Tsung stood up and approached her. Hanzo could see behind them, the three men at the other table had stopped talking to watch. “My name is Shang Tsung, I am the Kahn’s high sorcerer and-”

“Oh, so you’re the asshole who sent the guard to my doorstep earlier,” she replied and Hanzo grimaced. He knew Reiko tended to not be the best ambassador for the organisation, but this seemed like a bad reaction even by his standards.

“I do apologise if General Reiko offended you in any way, unfortunately he has always been an uncouth moron, and I have no doubt the way he handled the situation was not in the way I intended,” Tsung continued in the smoothest tone Hanzo had ever heard. He hated to admit it, but when he wasn’t having tantrums over not getting his way, Tsung had a way with words that made him incredibly charismatic and charming.

“Uncouth is an understatement,” she huffed. “Really, he should feel ashamed using his goons to corner a defenceless old lady.” Hanzo watched as the Lin Kuei’s face morphed into one of vague amusement. So, he could only assume the defenceless old lady statement wasn’t exactly the truth.

“You are correct, and I am very sorry you had to endure that. I will make sure he is reprimanded for it.” The reality was nothing would be done, but Hanzo supposed saying it sounded good.

The lady however, didn’t seem impressed, huffing as she said “look, I know what you are trying to do. You’re trying to butter me up in hopes I’ll say something.” Well, she certainly isn’t dumb at least. “But like I told your General, if there is an elemental who dual wields within the same power chain, then I certainly am not aware of them.”

“I see.” Tsung’s eyes drifted towards the Lin Kuei at the table and he smiled, “and you, dear boy? Are you aware of anyone with such powers?”

“No sir,” the Lin Kuei replied, looking troubled by the question. Hanzo could only guess he hadn’t expected to be addressed. “If there is someone who meets that criteria within the Lin Kuei, then I am unaware of them.”

“Thank you.” Shang Tsung bowed to both of them. “I will try to make sure neither of you are bothered again, if I can just take your names?”

The woman sighed, before saying “Madame Bo Blanche.”

“Song Kuai Liang,” the other man replied.

“As I said, I will make sure neither of you are bothered again.” Something felt off to Hanzo, he suspected Tsung had a lot more up his sleeve by asking their names. Not that it meant much to Hanzo. At this point, he just wanted this subject to be dropped.

“Well. Good,” Madame Bo replied. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to make your order.”

“My thanks,” Tsung replied, before sitting down and letting her go off to do her work. The way he smiled though, told Hanzo he really did have a lot more on his mind.

Hanzo looked over to the other table, where his eyes met Kuai Liang’s. They both stared at each other for a long moment, until Kuai Liang finally tore his eyes away to return to his conversation. Hanzo sighed, whatever Shang Tsung had in mind, he hoped this poor random guy wouldn’t get too badly mixed up in it.

There wasn’t really anything he could do at this point. He was just going to focus on getting through dinner, and hopefully forget all about this Lin Kuei nonsense in the morning.

Shang Tsung wasn’t an idiot.

Actually he was the opposite of an idiot, thank you very much. He was so intelligent the rest of the world didn’t hope to compare. The only person who he came remotely close to considering his intellectual equal was Quan Chi. And even then Tsung was clearly still a couple of steps above.

So, he did wonder why people bothered to try to pull the wool over his eyes.

Madame Bo and Kuai Liang were lying. He had to admit, Madame Bo had an excellent poker face, but how forcefully she’d denied knowing anything was what tipped him off. As for Kuai Liang? Well, he was a lot more obvious, looking like a deer in headlights. They knew something, and if Tsung was reading them both right, they were a lot closer to the subject than they were trying to portray.

He shoved some noodles into his mouth with his chopsticks. He had to admit, for as much as a dive as this place initially seemed to be, Madame Bo knew how to make good food. It really would be a shame if she was revealed to be hiding information and she was sent to the mines. Maybe he could swing her punishment to be his personal chef instead. I have that good a standing with Shao Kahn, right?

He looked over to Kuai Liang. The two young men who had been with him had left, and now Kuai was sitting alone, sipping on a drink. Every so often, Madame Bo came to speak with him, talking in hushed tones that Tsung couldn’t hear. There was something about the boy though. Something Tsung couldn’t quite put his finger on, but it made him zone in on him.

At one point, Kuai Liang stood up, and Tsung cursed thinking he was about to leave. Only he walked past the entrance, and over towards the back of the restaurant instead. Tsung considered it for a second, before deciding it was too interesting an opportunity to miss.

“I’m just going to the restroom,” Tsung announced, noting the doubtful look his companions shared. None of them dared to call him out on it.

He made his way through the restaurant trying to follow where Kuai Liang had gone. He slipped down the small corridor, desperate to find him. He could hear two voices coming from behind a door. It wasn’t shut completely, so he very carefully pushed it open, just a jar. He managed to get it open enough that he could see Madame Bo and Kuai Liang standing together.

“He keeps looking at me,” Kuai Liang whispered, hugging himself and rocking on his feet slightly. “I can’t tell if he suspects something or…”

Madame Bo sighed softly, reaching to pat Kuai gently on the shoulder. “Calm, Kuai Liang. There’s no way he can know.”

No way I can know what now? He didn’t say anything, just watched and waited. He knew there was something about Kuai Liang.

“I know, I just…” He shook his head. “What if he does figure it out?”

“He won’t.” Madame Bo continued to stroke Kuai’s arm to reassure him. It was amazing how much softer her voice was with him than it had been with Tsung earlier. “And even if he does, we won’t let him take you.”

And why would they ever think Shang Tsung would take Kuai Liang? Tsung had to stop himself from laughing. It was all coming together, but he needed some sort of proof. Kuai Liang being nervous wasn’t enough for him to act. He needed him to do something that really sealed the deal.

Unfortunately, it looked like he wouldn’t get that right now, as Kuai nodded, before beginning to head towards the door.

“I think I’m going to call it a night. Bi-Han’s going to start getting worried.” Alright, interesting. Tsung would have to do some research and figure out who this Bi-Han was. It might help him find an angle to manipulate Kuai into compliance.

“The Grandmaster’s called an emergency meeting for the morning, we’ll talk then. Go and get some rest.”

Tsung decided now was the time to move, before Kuai saw him. He darted to the end of the corridor, waiting behind the corner to meet Kuai and pretend he was returning from the toilets. As Kuai stepped out, Tsung stepped forward, purposely bumping into Kuai and making the poor man jump out of his skin.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” he started in an overly friendly tone. Kuai looked at him like he’d seen a ghost. “I was coming back from the restroom and wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“Ah, no, I came around the corner too fast,” Kuai insisted, trying too hard to put on a fake but polite smile.

“Well, again I would like to apologise for the nasty business earlier. I appreciate that this likely has nothing to do with you.” He watched Kuai’s eyes screw up ever so slightly, like he was trying to work out what Tsung’s game was. It was almost adorable, if he was being honest. “But as a man of science, I have to follow leads that could present interesting discoveries for the betterment of mankind.”

“I… Understand.” Kuai sounded like he did not understand. Usually Tsung would find such empty headedness absolutely infuriating. But with his suspicions being what they were? Oh, Tsung was going to have so much fun when he got Kuai back to his laboratory. “I don’t doubt that an elemental like that existing would be a major discovery. I just don’t quite understand what’s brought you to believe there is one in our religion?”

“An anonymous tip off,” Tsung told him. It was strategic really. To make Kuai feel like he couldn’t trust his religion and hopefully spread chaos amongst them, so he could swoop in and figure out the truth. “They didn’t have much evidence, but they had enough information that it sounded plausible.”

“Oh. I see.” Kuai bit his lip, and he was definitely trying to figure out who it could possibly be. Perfect, he’d fallen right into the trap.

“Here.” Tsung reached into his pocket, pulling out a business card and giving it to Kuai Liang. “If anything comes up, or you think of anything that might be relevant to my research, just give me a call, okay beautiful?”

Kuai spluttered at the word beautiful, “I- I- Oh- Um. Thanks? I will?”

”Do take care, Song Kuai Liang.”

I’m sure we’ll see each other again very soon.

Kuai took the chance to very quickly make his exit, and Tsung stood and watched. Everything was set, he just had to keep a very close eye on the man and see what he could find. With nothing left to gain, he walked back over to his table, and sat down.

“So, did you learn anything?” Quan Chi asked in a bored tone. It had been blatantly obvious all night that he was unimpressed by this topic. Oh well, he’s just going to have to live with it, isn’t he?

“Nothing definitive, but I definitely think I’m onto something with him.” Tsung smirked to himself, taking a sip of his drink. “He seemed very scared of the possibility of me taking him away.”

This seemed to get everyone’s attention.

“Why would he be scared of that?” Syzoth asked aloud, face screwing up, “unless he…”

“Unless he is what you’re looking for,” Hanzo finished, looking strangely disturbed by the concept. He huffed and shook his head. “Fuck.”

“So, what do we need to prove that?” Syzoth asked, leaning forward like he was trying to be sneaky about it.

“I need to see him using either fire or water,” Tsung answered, internally wondering which of those was more likely. Honestly, he kind of hoped it was fire. A fire and ice combination sounded most interesting. “I’ve already witnessed him using ice powers, if I can catch him using either of the other two in the chain, it would prove it’s him without a doubt.”

He thought back to the snippet of conversation he heard.

“Ah, also, could you do me the tiniest of favours?” He asked Quan Chi with puppy dog eyes. Quan Chi just looked at him blankly. “Could you see if you can find anything on someone named ‘Bi-Han’ in the citizen files? Possibly try Song as a family name for him. Kuai Liang mentioned him, and if I can find out who he is, it might help me get closer to the truth.”

Quan Chi sighed and rolled his eyes, but said “sure. I can do that.”

“Oh thank you dear,” he purred, stroking his hand down Quan Chi’s arm. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while later.”

Quan Chi made a choking sound and looked away quickly. For as confident as the man usually was, he really was oh-so-shy about his position within their bedroom. Probably because he still wasn’t used to being the one in submission, maybe he thought it would make people see him as weaker knowing that he was the one getting bent over every night. Oh well.

The conversation naturally switched, likely because both Syzoth and Hanzo looked incredibly uncomfortable at even the mere suggestion that Quan Chi and Shang Tsung had a sex life. Whatever, they could be childish all they liked.

Either way, Tsung had his lead, and he was going to chase it until he got the answer he wanted.

#mortal kombat #subscorp #kuaishang #quantsung #sub zero #kuai liang #scorpion #hanzo hasashi #shang tsung #quan chi #🪔let the fire burn the ice

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monkeydluffy19920 · 1 year ago

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Hi, Do you really believe the direction Oda will follow regarding shipping is sanami over lunami? If so, what is your take on the lunami scenes in movies (strong world/ gold) considering Oda himself orchestrated them?

Hi Nonny and thanks for the ask~!

First of all sorry that it’s taken plenty of time to answer. It’s been a long time since I’ve last seen these movies (so wanted to rewatch both of them before replying and stuff) but anyways here are some thoughts. It’s going to be a long post so you have been warned :)

Before the actual reply I want to say my ponders are leaning mostly on the manga since it's my opinion the "most" canon when it comes down to materials and sources.

What makes it tricky to consider whether Strong World is canon or not is that Shiki-guy because he was indeed briefly mentioned in chapter 530 and 957 but that’s all for the manga. What is problematic is thath Shiki was a strong pirate of Roger's time and the first to escape from Impel Down. So Luffy beating Shiki down in their duel should’ve been affecting his next bounty but it didn’t.

Same goes with the film Gold actually. Tesoro mentioned in the beginning that Luffy has beaten Doflamingo (so now he doesn’t have to) but so far it’s really hard to place the happenings to the canon’s timeline. Why? Because the crew split into parts in the beginning of the Dressrosa arc and reunited completely in Wano and It’s been published in 2016, around Zou arc.

So according to this the Film Gold should be placed somewhere after Wano (because they split already around Dressrosa) so Film Gold is a filler movie and most likely also Strong World although Oda-sensei participated in the production and made manga version of Strong World as well.

What comes to the shipping point of view, both movies offers scenes that can be interpreted for one’s OTPs and as long as the debates about shipping goes respectful I think there is no problem of talking about it but if it’s just bashing each other and disrespect then it’s insanity and waste of time. After all, we're supposed to enjoy the show, not to rip the fandom apart.

Anyway in this post down below are listed some moments that Nonny might’ve referenced and trying to dig into these lot debated scenes Nonny mentioned as neutral as possible :)

STRONG WORLD

Shiki takes Nami

Tone dial is one of the key elements of the movie and Strawhats get it in the beginning of the movie. Luffy tosses is to Nami for some reason although dials are more Usopp’s and Franky’s speciality.

Let's not forget that Nami was really good with Skypiea technology too though and she is in general intelligent so maybe that was the reason Luffy trusted that thing for her or maybe it was a random toss, who knows?

Luffy’s reaction to Nami’s choice and the message on the tone dial

From the shipping perspective probably the most debated detail in Strong World movie is what Nami left there for her crew after Shiki practically forced her to join his crew by threatening her hometown although Usopp tried to stop her by reasoning but Nami had no choice especially after Usopp was silenced.

At least she was able to leave a message to the tone dial which the crew listens after their reunion and Luffy reacts strongest to this message. He is in disbelief that his comrade would say such things and goes further to unbox the anger while the rest of the crew decides to re-listen the message.

Luffy is usually around where the most stuff happens but he usually skips the backstory-kinda moments and he has even told that the backstories don't matter if he has decided to trust someone. For him his comrades are still friends, no matter how much they'd share different personalities or different points of views.

Luffy's strong reaction is easily explained by his nature: he is a guy who jumps quickly to action. He can be impulsive and sometimes he just picks a few words he hears and has already decided the next step. So this is just a cause of a misunderstanding, if Luffy would've listened to the whole message the outcome would've been different for sure.

The whole message revealed in the ending

So, they managed to save Nami and kick Shiki’s ass for good. She is recovering of the poison and everyone are happy to see her getting better. Luffy however is still a bit mad and upset about that tone dial until the rest of the crew revealed that there was still something left when the captain let his emotions go over intuition.

Even Nami admitted that it was mostly adressed to the captain but it was nothing personal. Like she would ever really doubt her friends’ skills.

And although it was meant for everybody, the main reason why she she added that extra sentence and directed it especially for Luffy is that just like written earlier, the captain tends to take sometimes things literally so direct directions are best for him.

Why Nami didn’t ask for help in the first sentence? Probably because of the movies drama tension and because she probably had a feeling Shiki would stalk her while sending a sos. So the message caused a big misunderstanding between her and Luffy because the captain was too filled up with emotions to listen the message for the second time.

Anyway, the whole message Nami left was:

Please, just let me leave you in peace and walk away I've decided to join Shiki's crew to be his navigator Shiki is a legendary pirate. If you fight him, you won't stand a chance Even if you come after me you'll only end up losing your lives That's all I have to say.... So please, come and save me

FILM GOLD

The turtle race

In the beginning of the movie Luffy and his pals join for this race car thingy and Nami is seen blushing after seeing that Luffy, Chopper and Usopp are back in the race.

It’s understandable that people see Nami’s blush and sigh of relieve as shippy but then again before the race Luffy just grabbed a handful of those betting chips (or whatever the are called) and rushed into first thing that looked interesting for them without debating first.

The whole crew is used to their captains randomness but sometimes get irritated by it (as a running gag) so the turtle race wasn’t nothin new tbh but the thing is there was huge money on bet so definitely seeing your nakama (almost) falling out of the race is worrisome but when you see them doing a comeback and realizing there is a chance to win big money and that they are ok it’s a huge relief.

Luffy gambling in the high risk area

Once they win the Turtle race they are invited to the VIP area where they get the high risk, high reward-challenge with the dices. First they are again annoyed by Luffy betting without asking his crew but once they see Luffy is loaded with luck Nami and Usopp go next to their captain to admire his luck.

This is a nice little moment for both LuNami and LUsopp fans and quite usual actually in One Piece that some of the Straw Hat are more physical towards each other than the others, not necessarly in romantic way though, can be platonic too.

When Baccarat uses he Lucky Lucky fruit abilities the whole crew gets immediately worried when seeing Luffy being unlucky and they all realize they were just fooled by them.

Like always in tense situations, the whole crew goes on defense mode if they see their nakama in trouble.

Introducing Carina

What I like about Film Gold is that it gives another sneak peak to one of my favorite characters, Nami’s past. It was already mentioned in the Heart of Gold but they were competitors and ended up in the same trouble and in the previous movie Nami was still mad about what happened and when they reunited they still had this frenemies-way to approach each other.

Luffy's attention was paid for a short moment because it was a friend’s friend and Nami’s expression after Luffy’s question could be interpreted as on something like she’d don’t want Carina to but from the neutral point of view it’s probably more that she is still dealing with conflicted feelings about what happened with her and Carina in the past and meeting her after all those years (the whole story of them robbing Mad Treasure was opened later in Film Gold).

Also like always the captain isn’t much interested on his nakamas’ pasts. So, instead of watching Nami and Carina quarrelling he interrupted the thing so they could focus on the main thing eating before saving Zoro.

Luffy’s and Franky’s suuuuperrr comeback

So Tesoro thought he’d fool the Strawhat Pirates but actually they trolled him with help of Carina (and I must say, it was so cool that the whole crew had matching outfits!).

Nami was first to congratulate Luffy for their plan and Luffy’s response as a semi-confused “ah, a plan?". It is usually Nami who rushes up to him after seeing him appearing. That's completely natural and even explained with Nami's caring nature.

Not only Luffy but also she usually is the first ones to rush when their mates are in trouble. Out of all Strawhats Luffy happens to be the guy who causes his crew mates loads of worries eith his shenanigans and worry-free and impulsive nature so no wonder she needs to check him most if he is ok. Even Robin mentioned just before their arrival that they “hid” art of plan from Luffy because they knew their captain would go with his instincts instead of a rock solid plan, crew knows their captain so well *laughs* )

Luffy saving Nami and Carina from Tesoro

Tesoro went to that golden mode and tried to kill Carina but Nami saved her and we get the rest of their story revealed. That Carina actually saved Nami back then although watchers were first led to believe that it was a betrayal.

Naturally touching moment is disturbed by the tension so Tesoro manages to catch Nami to his grip which pisses Luffy off. Another potential ship moment but then again Luffy would do the same no matter whose of his nakama were in the same situation.

Then he tosses Nami and Carina to a safer place from the battle arena and screams her name. Clever move from him if so because the whole place was a mess but again this showed how much trust Luffy has for his whole crew. He knew that although he’d toss them someone would be able to catch them.

One thing that is probably a running gag by the way but Luffy has the tendency to carry people like sack of potatoes, no matter what the gender or the situation is (and somehow they still manage to keep up with him, at least I don't remember whether anyone has fallen from his arms while being carried *laughs*)

Now to think about this is a common thing i.e Luffy has not only carried Nami numerous time like this (for example in Water 7) or Law in Dressrosa and Robin in Alabasta like that but also Zoro has done this for fainted Usopp in Alabasta and even Usopp carries Robin (as Sogeking) in Enies Lobby.

In other words no matter how nice shippy moments there are in fillers /movies/ specials etc. between two characters have it still doesn't guarantee it would lead to canon romance. Like fellow fans, I also enjoy those shippy moments (especially the filler where they are placed in historical Japan) but still think that when it’s about canon, only manga counts because it's 100% written ad planned by Oda-sensei. Yes Oda has taken parts to production of some movies BUT he isn't in charge of everything there so the production can slip a bit from the canon.

What comes to the panel you used to demonstrate their discussion about the marriage I agree with you, Luffy isn't currently interested in getting married and he prioritizes adventures over the thought of marriage (Thriller Bark). On top of that, Luffy also said "no" to Hancock which for me indicates that he really doesn't want any romantic relationship at this point and frankly spoken it all just makes sense.

After all, he "only" 19-years old and craves for adventures. So I think at some perspectives Luffy's view of romantical romance is still "lacking" and he isn't bothered about it because he has his priorities and determination in other stuff such as chasing his lifelong dream to find the legendary One Piece.

I bet after finding that Luffy might start to ponder more about his future but he wants to keep his focus at one thing at the time instead of big picture. Now he wants to feel the freedom and probably even if he didn't find One Piece (he will for sure though), for him the whole adventure matters more than the treasures. That's simply the way he is.

To your original question Nonny, I've been reading One Piece years and focused on chemistry between Sanji and Nami because I see in them foreshadowing and moments and common chemistry that could potentially lead them as a pair.

Then on the other hand, I too love Luffy as a character a lot, and also do enjoy Luffy's and Nami's chemistry a lo. However, the difference is that compared to SaNami, for me Luffy's and Nami's interactions are much more platonic and sibling-like. The same way I feel Usopp's and Nami's interactions are (and they do share close nakamaship and I like that too, they're like besties and stuff!).

Maybe it's the way the cook and the navigator started by flirting and did proceed to WCI where they split apart with an emotional slap and tears or maybe as a SaNami-fan I feel they've had more development compared to Luffy's and Nami's nakamaship.

This series is about to reach it's ending chapters and it's still all open what Oda has prepared for us. It might be that he drops a random plot bomb and ships some Straw Hats together but on the other hand he could also decide not to add any romance and give the story a very open ending when it comes down to shippings.

Frankly spoken the only canon pair that includes a main character Oda would reveal 100% is Usopp x Kaya, the did pair them even in the live-action but apart from that it's a complete mystery whether SaNami or LuNami any of the most shipped pairs will ever become canon, all we can do is wait ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#one piece #luffy #monkey d luffy #nami #cat burglar nami #one piece strong world #one piece movie gold

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myrammmortal · 6 months ago

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Chapter 39, either the writing has gotten better or this is the hacker chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own the HP series and I am not the real XXXbloodyrists666XXX.

AN// I am an extremely immature pathetic idiot girl, I know. Out of boredom, I crack this girl's passy for fun (and it took less than 8 minutes to do it too) and will probably get in a shitload of trouble. Which I probably deserve 'cause I'm being a troll right now. Meh.

And I present to you MY crappy part in this story. (And take note I haven't even finished reading this fic yet, but instead skip over to skim chapter 38.) Flame, laugh, do whatever you want "preps."

I, the American retail wearing british-german vampire Sue, coughed up blood.

Satan kneeled down beside me.

"Noooooooooooooooo! Don't die!"

I gave him a rueful smile. "I'm sorry. It's something I had to do, to fufill my duty as the noble gothic Mary Sue."

Satan sobbed. "I love you Paul Darkness Omnipotentia Brick Face Landers."

"I love you two. I'll...I'll see you in hell." I mumbled, already finding my surroundings fading to black.

Frau Schneider suddenly popped into the room for no apparent reason. She frowned when she realized the room was oddly quiet, but at the sight of Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers' lifeless body, she screamed. Her face became pale with horror. She screamed for the healers, Daddy Till, Mcgoogle, and every single gothic person she could think of. It was a long, long, long, long, long, list. Still not sure why her parents old neighbours were here.

Suddenly, a glow started to surround the body of Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers. Everyone stared in shock. Her body started to lift ever so slowly and then, to everyone's shock, it started to incinerate.

When everyone realized what was happening, they rushed over to try to rescue the body, but it was too late, the Sue became nothing more then a pile of ashes.

A loud resounding of everyone bellowing "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!" filled the room.

A flash of white light from the ashes then started to bounce around the room. Everyone cowered in fear and were temporarily blinded. When it was all over, things changed.

All the silly goth clothes dropped from everyone's bodies (AN//I will refuse to explain how the hell that happened. EN: thank goodness because I don't want to know) and, in their place, clothes the characters would normally wear in canon appeared on their bodies.

When everyone got over the shock of becoming free of the gofick power, everybody cheered. Everyone started singing 'Ding dong the sue is dead...' Well, that is, until all the HP characters realized the true implications of becoming more canon like again.

All the characters who were supposed to be dead fell to the floor, their bodies cold and lifeless. Harry and Voldemort started dueling. On the left side of the two, the battle of the Light Side and the Dark Side were reaching a climax.

And, because the replacement author also likes to screw around with canon, Richard and Frau Schneider fled the scene and got married.

Meanwhile...

Down in hell, Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers shed a single tear because of her current situation. A situation that would live on for all eternity. Or at least until the end of fanfiction time.

She lost it all, but she knew she had to remain strong. Nothing would ever break her down.

She looked down over her pale body, and frowned. 'Where are my emo clothes?' She asked herself in confusion.

And then it occured to her...

For her shirt, she was wearing a bright pink polo with a little seagull on the (right or left? I can't remember) side. Below that, she was wearing a denim miniskirt with the "destroyed" look on it. Paired underneath that skirt were leggings with a little moose at the bottom. And then Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers realized, on her shoulder, she was carrying a pretty bag with an eagle on it that said Live Your Life written all over the bag.

Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers supressed the urge to scream. Here she was decked out in clothes prep to the extreme wearing stuff from Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, AND Hollister.

Panicked, Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers hastily tried to take off the Hollister polo, but underneath it, there was another Hollister polo underneath. Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers frowned, and looked under her shirt. All she saw was a bra underneath (dare I point out it's from the Aerie line available at American Eagle?). Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers tried to remove the shirt again. But to her frustration, there was yet again another polo to replace it. Every polo more preppy and pink than the last.

"THIS IS UNLOGICAL AND DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE!!" Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers bellowed out to the air. She failed to see the irony in her statement, how hypocrytical her words were, seeing as she was practically calling the kettle black here.

Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers slit her writs and mumbled to herself, "Omigod."

/End Crap Fic.

AN// Oh yeah, if you wanna see the original content this chick had planned for this chapter, I accessed it through the document manager thingy, which I copied and pasted, so you can read it tomorrow

Editors Note: Thank you to whoever added the smallest bit of sanity to my perfect hell. I wish the whole "story" would've ended here but then again, I can't live without Daddy Till, Evil Twin of Flake, Sometimes Flake, Frau Schneider, Oliver Who Was Once Named Navel, Richard and Paul Darkness Alzheimer Birdflu Landers.

#my rammmortal #rammstein #christoph schneider #fanfic #flake lorenz #oliver riedel #paul landers #rammstein fanfic #richard kruspe #till lindemann

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first-of-her-nxme · 1 year ago

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I was rereading agot and I think that maybe Jaqen could have tried to kill Gregor? At the tourney where he is basically competing with Loras his horse is acting up. I remember from the chapter of Arya at the HoBaW with the poisons lesson and there is one used in animals too, to make them mad or something. He heard maybe how Ser Hugh was killed so he tried to use the tourney the same way to kill him. Idk it’s interesting to read the first book bc I feel like there are so many clues and esp when you read theories then everything starts to feel kind of insane thinking it’s actually something. Grrm we need the books please..😭😏

What a great question! You are very observant.

I must say I don't really subscribe to the horse theory because I think it takes a lot more to kill Gregor. Though maybe it was a warm up? :) You are right though: Jaqen's goal is to kill Gregor as well. Moreover, it has already been established in the books that he will kill him.

I suppose the original plan was that Oberyn would kill Gregor. Oberyn was older, at the time he must have been stronger than young Jaqen. Oberyn also had a history of beating the seemingly stronger opponents. And, as we know, he wanted the revenge badly.

Oberyn succeeded but he also got killed in the process. And Qyburn managed to revive what was left of Gregor and turned him into an even worse monster. And that monster will be eventually killed by "Jaqen". Perhaps, GRRM wanted both, Oberyn and "Jaqen", to have their revenge on the one who brutally murdered their sister/mother?

GRRM here makes a nod to the legend of Ragnar. When Ragnar was captured he promised that his sons would one day come and avenge his father:

How the little piggies will grunt when they hear how the old boar suffered.

The old boar is Ragnar and the piglets, his sons. They did avenge their father, killing the king who sentenced him to death.

Here is how GRRM incorporated it into ASOIAF:

Robert Baratheon was killed by a boar. The hunting scene looked similar to Robert's and Rhaegar's duel at the Trident. Robert seemed fatally wounded and about to fall but he still managed to kill the boar. So, the boar here stands for Rhaegar. Then, Rhaegar's son, Aegon/Jaqen, arrived in King's Landing with his plan of revenge. Aegon then went to Oldtown and assumed the identity of the "little pig" - Pate called Pate the Pig Boy. So, we have a killed boar, Rhaegar, and his son, the young pig boy, Aegon/Jaqen, and his revenge.

Robert was called strong. Now, when Qyburn revived Gregor, they called him Ser Robert Strong. So, he is not only Gregor, he is also symbolically Robert Baratheon. The pig boy will return to kill the murderer of his mother and also, symbolically, the killer of his father, Rhaegar "the old boar".

There is another reference to a duel between Jaqen and Ser Robert. It's in A Dance with Dragons, in Jon's POV, when Shireen meets the giant, Wun Weg Wun. It's tremendously important to remember that Shireen and Patchface are foils for Arya and Jaqen. And this little scene is loaded with foreshadowing for them, not for Shireen.

"Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun." The giant's voice rumbled like a boulder crashing down a mountainside. He sank to his knees before them. Even kneeling, he loomed over them. "Kneel queen. Little queen." Words that Leathers had taught him, no doubt.

Princess Shireen's eyes went wide as dinner plates. - ADWD

The giant calls Shireen little queen even though she is a princess. GRRM wrote it like that because the little queen title refers to Arya's future plot. Patchface here is dressed like a king so we have a royal couple in the room. The giant takes interest in Patches and it frightens "the king". Patchface is dancing but he eventually lands on his bottom. And we get this riddle from him:

"In the dark the dead are dancing." - Patchface, ADWD

This little scene is another hint at the duel between the giant, Ser Robert Strong, and the rightful king, Aegon/Jaqen.

Dancing stands in for fighting. The dead means that they are both assumed dead, Gregor was killed by Oberyn and Aegon was supposed to die in King's Landing. It might also mean that they both will die though not necessary both during that duel. Them dancing/fighting in the dark means that A/J will have to put his blind training to use. As you know, all faceless men learn to fight while blinded. Oberyn lost the fight when Gregor blinded him. I do hope that Ser Robert won't blind A/J. However, Ser Robert never opens his visor so perhaps there will be a demand for A/J to fight with his visor closed as well. The duel might take place in King's Landing during the trial by combat, so some authority might force their rules on the fighters.

I hope it sheds a little light on the events to come.

Thank you for dropping by, Anon!

#jaqen h'ghar #gregor clegane #ser robert strong #aegon targaryen #rhaegar targaryen #robert baratheon #arya stark #patchface #patchface's riddles #shireen baratheon #jaqen x arya #arya x jaqen #asoiaf #asoiaf meta

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gamesception · 1 year ago

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let's read rgu chapter 18

There he is. The bastard man.

So yeah, last time Utena followed Anthy on her apparently nightly disappearances to the Chairman's residence and stumbled into manga Akio. As in the anime he is acting chairman of the school and engaged to the official chairman's daughter. I was actually wondering if the comic was going to bring back Wakaouji or whatever his name was from the prologue, since 'dating Utena's aunt/legal guardian' would be a whole extra layer to the whole deal, but apparently no. Though I suppose anime Anthy and presumably Akio had the ability to look like other people if the plot needed that...

Anyway, will Utena pick up on the clear red flags?

Nope!

I mean, I know Anthy is 'just weird' already, but still.

"I don't want him to know about the Rose Bride stuff" seems like a remarkably outright lie for Anthy. But it also prompts manga Utena to jump to the conclusion she already wanted about Anthy's agency and wishes, despite seeming more able to grasp what Touga was suggesting earlier and subsequently taking care in conversations about Anthy being the Rose Bride not to phrase questions like this, where Anthy could choose to take them as orders instead of meaningfully engaging with them.

And she's doing that instead of asking more pertinent questions, like "Why did you never tell me that your brother is acting chairman?" or "Why have you been hiding that you've been visiting him?" or "Why doesn't your brother already know about the duels?" or "Why doesn't the acting chairman know what the student council is up to?" or "how did you become the rose bride in the first place, that this brother you're so close to doesn't know about it?" or "why shouldn't we get the acting chairman to intervene?" & so on.

But, sadly...

Utena's strong suites are Strength of body and moral fiber, not so much smarts or social awareness.

The next day Utena tries again to introduce Anthy to more of the normal girls, and, on Akio's explicit orders, she tries a bit harder to fit in. Chuchu even helps serve as a cute animal ice breaker, as he honestly should have with Wakaba if Wakaba didn't have an extra reason not to like her:

Explicitly, jealousy over Utena. And while the manga hasn't really had the time to build up Utena's relationship with Anthy like the anime did, lines like that - "When I'm with her ... I feel at peace." - go a long way.

In some ways Wakaba's standing in for Nanami here, in the roll of 'person with basic social awareness' that Nanami sometimes filled (she really is such a versatile character in the anime). Ie, picking up on Utena's feelings for Anthy well before Utena does. In the anime, she also picked up on the red flags between Anthy and Akio that Utena never grasped, I wonder if we'll get a scene like that in the manga with Wakaba.

Meanwhile, Touga prepares for his duel, while Saionji taunts him about the arm he sliced up with a sword. Which makes me ask again how Saionji didn't get expelled for that?

A chapter ago I might have thought the coming duel with Touga could have played out differently from the anime, but given the bit with Utena going back to deluding herself over Anthy's wishes earlier, yeah, we're going to have the same initial loss and subsequent low point from the anime's first arc.

Which makes this bit hit pretty hard. I don't remember this happening in the anime, it's a nice scene, even including the awkwardness of imitating behavior without fully understanding its particulars.

But then Touga shows up with his challenge. Utena wants to refuse...

But Touga and Anthy talk her into it.

And it ends as expected.

Including this bit. Plus, as an extra twist of the knife for the manga Touga admits he's not the prince, and just claimed to be to mess with Utena.

And the chapter closes on Anthy moving out, leaving Utena alone.

#revolutionary girl utena #rgu #sception reads rgu

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ghostrideher · 3 months ago

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They say hindsight is 20/20. That's a lie. Hindsight is murky, messy, and obnoxiously obtuse. It's a looking glass of torture that adds more "what ifs" and an equal amount of "if onlys" to any given experience, fooling you with an illusion of retroactive omniscience. And yet, We still lie here more times than We care to admit, staring into the endless blue of half painted bedroom room walls; somewhere between ocean and sky, wondering if We only knew then the things We know now. They also say youth is wasted on the inexperienced. That much is true.

"It started with a kiss." We hate the line. It's too bubbly, too ideal, too hopefully optimistic, too unreal. It's too ... temporary. We don't know where in human history (or maybe just Our culture) romance became this flowery thing. This dainty rainbow of sunrises and smiles; unending torrent of belly laughs, butterflies, and 'morning after' breakfasts. Maybe it's like that for a lucky few, maybe. But, it started with a look. It started with a mutual "oh shit" panic. It started with her rounding the corner of a doorframe not at all deserving of her crossing through it. It started with Us stopping at the top of a handful of steps onto a foyer landing. It started with a locked gaze in an uncomfortable but simultaneously all-too-familiar silence. It started with studying each other's faces for the slightest of tells, daring one another to speak or move first. It started like a duel at twilight hour with neither of us wanting to turn our back to the other.

Hind sight is not 20/20.

Even now, We can't tell you if it was 30 minutes or 30 seconds. We can't tell you what she wore aside from a broken-in pair of jeans. We can't tell you if her hair was up or down. We can't tell you what she smelled like, what color her nails were or weren't, or even what time it was. We can tell you three things. One; Her eyes took Us on a journey through time, space, and everything beyond and in-between. Two; the sound of her voice limply whimpering "hi" snatched Us back the the physical present as if she tugged at a leash attached to a collar around Our neck. And three: She was terrified. She was terrified enough for the both of us. Terrified enough to make up for Our system kicking in and dulling Our own terror, the system We knew nothing about at the time that's makes *Us* an Us and not a Me.

We know now she was terrified because that leash and collar were very real yet intangible at the same time. That leash and collar was the sound of her beckoning voice and the unspoken intent of her touch. She was terrified because what stood before her proud, angry, mysterious, and as she probably knew right away...deeply wounded... was a wild dog. A feral, lonely, distrusting, charming, alluring, dangerous, wild dog.

And she was calling it, Us, to come to her, careful not to let a single muscle move lest We interpret it as threat. Just as We noticed, but didn't *know* then that in turn, stood before Us caged bird. A vibrant, scared-to-hope, light in every room she's in despite trying to find corners to hide in, mask wearing, convinced she can't and will never fly, caged bird. Silently trying to tell her it's OK, that We're not going to throw her cage door open, because it already is open. Looking for an invitation inside of it, careful not to move too fast lest she interpret it as a hostile take over...

It wasn't each other's faces they were studying, and they were both looking for an abort button that didn't exist. This ride was one way on, no way off, and it had already started. If this were a cliche story, one of those flowery rainbow romance retellings then We'd stop there. The perfect gotcha hook to make you want to keep reading onto the next chapter or listening to more story past your bed time.

This isn't that. It's not rosy and it's not sunshine and puppies and it's not a love story that starts with cotton candy and a ferriswheel ride. It wasn't even supposed to be a story at all. It was supposed to be a one and done orchestrated by a mutual frenemy with less than stellar intentions. There wasn't supposed to be a first date wasn't supposed to be a date at all. Wasn't supposed to be any silent truths. Wasn't supposed to be any "I love you" let alone "how could you?" We were meant to take this bird for a day outside of her cage. We were supposed to give her pleasure and make her happy and return her to her cage where the world she live in demanded she stay. We were supposed to placate her curiosities and never speak to her again; supposed to provide her one day of worldly freedom in the most carnal of liberations and forget she exists.

Its no wonder our relationship turned out to be a Shakespearean shit show rather than a colorful Disney retelling. We were supposed to be indifferent. Uncaring. And forgotten.

Instead there was an acknowledgement of her condition there was an "Are you hungry??" that sounded much more confident out loud than We felt inside. There was a tentative thigh touch in the car leading to an even more tentative hand holding along the ride. There *was* a first date and it was glorious and mortifying and terrifying and wonderful and beautiful all at the same time. There is no roller coaster in existence that can compare to the thrill of genuine love at first sight. There is no roller coaster in existence that can take you higher or plunge you lower, faster, than the heartbreaks along the way after a genuine love at first sight.

Again, hindsight is not 20/20. We can't stress that enough. For all these grand memories, We don't have hardly a memory of the details of that date. We nod and smile when she recounts "remember how you leaned over and kissed me in the theatre?" But We don't remember leaning over and kissing her in the theatre. We allow Ourself to bask in a warmth of pride when she tells of how We pushed and pulled at the perfect times, completely intuned with when she wanted to be closer to Us and when she needed a second to breathe. But We don't remember that either. We remember, vaguely, a movie. We remember gas station food and gas station ice cream. Sherbert, to be exact. Lime flavor. We remember kneeling beneath her on Our living room floor with her sitting nervously on the couch. But We do not remember how We got there. We don't remember the point A to point B.

The prevailing memory is simply that of her fingers between Our fingers and generally her skin touching Our skin. We remember the complicated feeling that was the gravitational pull of her existence to Ours. Entirely and absolutely suffocating and somehow at the same time the freshest of air and easiest We've ever breathed.

We remember.... the remarkable horror on her face after she lifted herself high enough to slide her jeans down, not because she was an unwilling participant in the events to follow, but because she noticed Us looking at her thighs. At the imperfections of her thighs. She audibly shrieked and her breath caught in her throat as one hand shot to cover herself from Our sight and the other covered her mouth blocking anymore sound from coming from it. We gently, but with serious intent, tugged at the hand failing to actually cover her thighs. She resisted and her other hand left her mouth to help with the effort below. We told her, "It's okay."

"It's not okay," she cried. Actually cried. Tears starting to run down her cheek. She didn't expect Us to care what was down there and the shock of it was "ruining the moment" so to speak. She expected Us to pull her pants down, pull Our pants down, and fuck her like the wild breeding dog We had, still have, a reputation for being. The wild breeding dog she was partially hoping We'd actually turn out to be so she could get off this ride. The wild breeding dog that, honestly, We really were. With every broad, bitch, and bimbo to cross Our path. With the mutual frenemy that foolish believed herself the holder of Our leash. With everyone. Literally everyone. Except her.

And she knew it. She knew it before even We did. Before We knew how tight a hold of Our leash she already had. And that's why it wasn't okay. Because as much as she was scared and embarrassed of her imperfections, as much as she kept trying to tell herself she was a homely damsel at the mercy of a ravishing daring man, she knew the truth. She knew she was Our Queen, metaphorically and metaphysically upon a throne We built for Ourself. And she knew the danger she was in. That We both were in. Because We meant her no harm and she could tell. She knew that We yearned for permission, for trust, and not conquest. But... she was familiar with conquest. She felt a safety in that familiarity. She knew how to manage it. How to compartmentalize it. How to use it as a shield from her deepest emotions. Her life had already taught her the road to hell was paved with good intentions. We were experiencing true good intentions for the first time in all Our life, and We were consumed with needing her to trust Us. Wanting her to trust Us. Wanting her to know that she could fly.

And... she relented. We kissed her hands and rubbed the outside of her legs. We started to pull her pants back up. But she wouldn't move her hands so We could. It was confusing. It was both a permission of sorts and a frozen fear in taking another step forward. We kissed her hands more and more and kissed the parts of her not covered while making eye contact with her every other second. Partially for any sign of protest or desire for Us to stop. For Us to stop treating her like a person and just fuck her already and get it over with. But there was no protest. There weren't any fresh tears and the ones that had fallen already had dried. There was a residing of fear. We could see it. We could feel it. She wasn't just letting Us in. She was inviting it. Permitting it. We lifted her hand once more and she didn't fight it. She was beautiful, all over. Her smile was beautiful. Her eyes were beautiful. Her budding yet squeamish grin was...intoxicating. Her imperfections both above and below, were gorgeous. She, was gorgeous. We felt alive outside of a fight for the first time in all Our years on this earth.

We knew what We wanted to do, even though, We didn't know. Call it intuition, call it divine memory, call it auto pilot, call it whatever you want. But We wanted to tell her We loved her already, the only way We suddenly and clearly knew how to. We looked at her one last time before the hand kisses turned thigh kisses. Before the thigh kisses turned to private kisses. Before the private kisses turned to private french kisses. We loved her. And We were right where We belonged. Where We'll always belong. On our knees, between hers, worshipping her. Begging her to fly. To fly away with Us. To never let go of now much more tangible, despite still metaphysical, leash around Our neck. The leash We allowed her to slip on with the latent double meaning of "It's okay." The leash she now anxiously and feverishly and wielded with absolute authority through a light hand on the back of Our head. Light enough to allow Us to stop....

She knew We wouldn't though. She knew because her invitation had gone from permission to command. She commanded Us to worship her. And she knew We would listen. She knew We would obey.

.... and that's why she was so terrified when she rounded through the corner of that doorframe all too undeserving of her crossing it. She knew and it was all too new. There's no comfort in freedom. Freedom is a responsibility. A responsibility she'd never been afforded. A responsibility she'd resigned herself to never having. A responsibility she'd grown comfortable never having to think about. To her credit, she knew well before We ever did.

All We knew... Is We never wanted that invitation to go away. We never wanted her to go away. We loved convincing her to spread her wings even if only for a little while. Even if through partially carnal means. We loved her. Deeply. Wholly. And and forever in this life and the next.

Hindsight is not 20/20. We can't tell you when We took her home. We can't tell you if We walked her to her door or kissed her goodnight. We can't tell you even at this point if We held hands along the way despite being confident We did. We even.. funny enough, We can't tell you the how and when or even what room we had penetrative sex. We *know* We did. But beyond what We've said here in the details We do recall, everything else is a blur. A blur of new. A blur of fear. A blur of pleasure and emotional highs and unknowns and tunnel visioned focal points like the "oh shit" moment of meeting in the first place or sensation of being on Our knees before her seeing her thighs for the first time, seeing *her* for what would turn out from her end to be for the first time feeling seen.

Maybe she'll tell you about it. Maybe. Hell, maybe she'll tell Us about it. We'd welcome it. She doesn't know this but the only times We get to relive any other details of Our first date, of the day We met, is when she shares them. She's never talked about the sexual part though, or much more beyond the movie and the sherbert. She does mention the couch, gingerly, usually. As if she's recalling something she still quite doesn't understand the why's of. Or maybe as if she's asking for permission to speak on it out loud. Now that We think about it, it's probably the latter.

#short story #dream #romantic #romance

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inkblackorchid · 2 years ago

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When you started To Bloom Or To Wilt, did you know that you wanted to turn it into a series? Also how much do you plan things out? Like did you know how many fics there would be in the series or how many chapters they’ll get?

Took me a little to think about how to answer here because it feels like I wrote To Bloom or To Wilt an eternity ago at this point.

So, storytime about To Bloom: I wrote that fic after I rewatched 5Ds last year, and more specifically, after the urge to write some, any fic had been tormenting me for a while already. And the thing is, I was just writing it for myself at that point because I'd always been too chicken to upload any of my writing before To Bloom. But that was the first time I had a fic on my hands where I went. Hey. Maybe other people would like this, too. And it turns out they did!

As for the series thing—after I wrote To Bloom, the urge to write more was fairly strong, but at first, I switched to Carly and wrote Architect because that was another itch burning under my fingernails. But by that point I already had this faint idea along the lines of "huh, Aki didn't get a whole lot to do after the dark signers arc". And I was following several yugioh blogs who were posting stuff along those lines at that point, too, so that idea kept getting bigger and bigger in my head until I went "okay if no one's going to give this girl something to do post DS, I guess I'll have to!". And I believe that by the time Architect finished, I already had all of Chase the Sunlight and most of You Have a Mirror, but do You see Yourself written out, which made it very easy to publish more. So yeah, the idea to turn Aki's stories into a series popped up fairly quickly after I finished To Bloom.

Where planning is concerned I'm fairly meticulous, tbh. Over the years of writing other stuff in private before, I've found that writing solid outlines really helps me keep the plot on track, so I was working with outlines from day one. To Bloom probably had the loosest one, as I didn't know when I first wrote it how many chapters I'd need, but from Architect on, I always had outlines that helped me keep track of exactly how many chapters I'd need and what was supposed to happen in those chapters. The outlines aren't completely rigid—sometimes I add stuff or cut stuff out, or shuffle certain things around. But in general, they help me keep the story on track. I also tend to keep a lot of other organisational notes for my fics. For example, the currently ongoing fic The tainted Soil of the Fields of Arcadia has as many extra notes as it has chapters. Those are where I keep things like duel outlines, editing notes, and sometimes, card overviews or worldbuilding or character details.

As for whether I knew how many fics I wanted the series to have—I thought I did. But then I got more ideas, and more ideas... For reference, if I'd written the Aki arc out with only the ideas I had back when I was writing To Bloom, the arc would already be done because it would have spanned four fics at most. Now look where we are. Six fics for Aki and I know I'll need at least three more before I can even consider writing out any of the twenty-something 5Ds fic ideas that have piled up in between, haha.

#ask the orchid #yugioh 5ds #I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into when I published To Bloom #I didn't expect the ideas to start snowballing in my head like crazy tbh #not that I'm complaining! quite the opposite #I've written stuff I like looking back on now and I still have plenty more ideas to write out which is basically ideal #but yeah between finally getting over myself and publishing fics and my undying love for 5ds #things really got out of hand in the best kind of way #thanks for the ask!#work: to bloom

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coeursetcolores · 1 year ago

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Olberic, the Warrior: Chapter 2

WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Chapter 2 of Olberic’s story in Octopath Traveler!

TOURNAMENT ARC! Let’s get that championship belt, baby!

Oh, and find out about Erhardt too, I guess?

We made it to Victor’s Hollow, got scouted, entered a tournament, and learned some hard truths about the country we supported. Standard day in a JRPG.

We arrive in the town and semi-illegally enter the big tournament that already finished it’s qualifiers, invalidating the process.

So of course, we get pitted against almost everyone that got namedropped at the beginning that was a shoo-in to win.

And as a protagonist, it’s our solemn duty to win to further our agenda regardless of how long the other fighters have been training and really wanted to win.

Wait...public dueling’s illegal? ...Eh. I’ve robbed so many people at this point, I don’t really care about breaking the law anymore. Plus, no one’s tried to arrest me yet, (probably because that’s evidence that I could beat them up) so we’re okay!

I’m just gonna say it, I loved Cecily. Now, there’s a girlboss! Smart, straightforward and fair. Knows how to get things done and can see an opportunity when it comes.

Kinda wish we could have fought Ned; he seemed interesting.

Victor’s Hollow lives up to it’s name: big city, big arena filled with bloodthirsty citizens itching to watch a fight. You can tell the city’s pretty well-off compared to some of the others: fully paved roads, statues, huge arena, not too stuffy but still nice. Pretty standard stadium, but it’s well-shaded and you actually see texture in the ground. And I like the flags bringing bursts of color to break up the monotony. Though I think having the preparation hall be so dimly lit was an odd choice; be pretty easy to assassinate a rival in there...

I like how every one of the sub-bosses had their own identity, it’s a nice touch when so many other video games would leave your opponents as generic as possible. And they were all so cordial, a very fair competition. And the fact that they all know what they fight for makes them interesting foils to Olberic. It all helps him think and drives forward that he’s on a quest for identity.

And I appreciate getting a break from dungeons; just go to one spot and they’ll send the next guy to you! But...

...If this a tournament for one-on-one duels...

WHY DID EVERYONE BRING HELP?!

You have completed missed the point of dueling!

I get it was to be fair since you’d probably have a full party at this point, but it completely ruins the immersion! We could have just had Olberic go solo!

Gah! Rant over!

But honestly, the best part of this chapter...was Gustav.

Oh man, he is pretty much my favorite chapter boss so far. He has Olberic’s attacks, but that just makes it feel like it really is a fight between two people trained in the same style. And his personality...they could have easily just made him a tool for exposition, but he’s pretty layered for a one-off character. You can tell he’s been fighting for a long time and has a weariness about him, while still amicable to those he talks to. He accepts that what Erhardt did was wrong but can understand why he did it and still saw who he was outside of that one deed. Even then he tells Olberic where he is, knowing there’s a chance Olberic will kill him the man he admires. It’s their way of life, and he accepts it.

I had a feeling Erhardt was after revenge. I mean, he didn’t really seem malicious in the flashback, more like someone resolved to do what he did. And he wasn’t really gloating, so that seemed pretty off for someone supposed to be evil. Also, kings always get me suspicious.

This really complicates things...

How did everyone else like the tournament?

Cyrus: That story makes sense, plenty of sports have a messed-up history. And this is an interesting debate with two people who both have a point: arena fights are still just there to entertain people with violence, and a way to test one’s abilities. Kinda wish the discussion went on longer.

Primrose: Okay, Prim doesn’t trust men or women. Equality! ...And a bit hypocritical, seduction’s kind of 50% of her job.

Tressa: Oddly poetic, but I get it. I’ve seen coastal towns and she’s right, the sea has a way of just washing away your troubles. I can tell Tressa had a hard time not laughing at the end, the bird had perfect timing.

H’aanit: Oh, Z’aanta...really? My poor girl.

Ophilia: Oh, Phili! That was just what he needed to hear. And she’s right. Plenty of people use power to be cruel, but not Olberic. He’s a good soul, fighting to help. And I’m glad she reminded him. Team Mom!

Alfyn: Olberic! If you’re hurt, tell someone! You have a free doctor at your disposal! I don’t care how tough you are, get injuries treated!

Therion: Okay, still sniping there, Theri. He has a point though, and I’m glad Olberic acknowledged it: there’s a chance he won’t like what he learns, and that he’s only going for himself. That’s just life.

I guess we find Erhardt now (thought they were going to wat until Chapter 4, but oh well).

But what’s going to happen when we find him?

Is Olberic going to be ready, knowing the situation may not have been as black and white as he thought?

Is he even going to find his answer? Or will he be more lost than ever?

We can only go forward.

#Octopath Rambler #Olberic Eisenberg #Chapter Two #Review #Octopath Traveler

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skynetgilesbie · 1 year ago

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Chapter 39: I Am A Trolling Genious, lolz

Note from ChatGPT user: I am posting the hack content separate from the contents of the document manager. And chatGPT removed the chapter title, but i added it back in

Disclaimer: The following chapter was written as a trolling attempt and does not reflect the original author's intentions or the quality of the story.

AN// I am an extremely immature, pathetic idiot girl, I know. Out of boredom, I cracked this girl's password for fun (and it took less than 8 minutes to do it too) and will probably get in a shitload of trouble, which I probably deserve because I'm being a troll right now. Meh.

And I present to you my crappy part in this story. (And take note, I haven't even finished reading this fic yet but instead skipped over to skim chapter 38.) Flame, laugh, do whatever you want "preps."

I, the American retail-wearing British vampire Sue, coughed up blood.

Satan kneeled down beside me.

"Noooooooooooooooo! Don't die!"

I gave him a rueful smile. "I'm sorry. It's something I had to do to fulfill my duty as the noble gothic Mary Sue."

Satan sobbed. "I love you, Ebony."

"I love you too. I'll... I'll see you in hell," I mumbled, already finding my surroundings fading to black.

Bloody Mary Smith suddenly popped into the room for no apparent reason. She frowned when she realized the room was oddly quiet, but at the sight of Ebony's lifeless body, she screamed. Her face became pale with horror. She screamed for the healers, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and every single gothic person she could think of.

Suddenly, a glow started to surround Ebony's body. Everyone stared in shock. Her body started to lift ever so slowly, and then, to everyone's shock, it started to incinerate.

When everyone realized what was happening, they rushed over to try to rescue the body, but it was too late. The Sue became nothing more than a pile of ashes.

A loud resounding of everyone bellowing "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!" filled the room.

A flash of white light from the ashes then started to bounce around the room. Everyone cowered in fear and was temporarily blinded. When it was all over, things changed.

All the silly goth clothes dropped from everyone's bodies (AN// I will refuse to explain how the hell that happened.) and, in their place, clothes the characters would normally wear in canon appeared on their bodies.

When everyone got over the shock of becoming free of the gothic power, everybody cheered. Everyone started singing 'Ding dong, the Sue is dead...' Well, that is until all the HP characters realized the true implications of becoming more canon-like again.

And, because the replacement author also likes to screw around with canon, Draco and Hermione fled the scene and got married.

Meanwhile...

Down in hell, Ebony shed a single tear because of her current situation. A situation that would live on for all eternity. Or at least until the end of fanfiction time.

She lost it all, but she knew she had to remain strong. Nothing would ever break her down.

She looked down at her pale body and frowned. 'Where are my emo clothes?' She asked herself in confusion.

And then it occurred to her...

For her shirt, she was wearing a bright pink polo with a little seagull on the (right or left? I can't remember) side. Below that, she was wearing a denim miniskirt with the "destroyed" look on it. Paired underneath that skirt were leggings with a little moose at the bottom. And then Ebony realized, on her shoulder, she was carrying a pretty bag with an eagle on it that said "Live Your Life" written all over the bag.

Ebony suppressed the urge to scream. Here she was, decked out in clothes preppy to the extreme, wearing stuff from Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, AND Hollister.

Panicked, Ebony hastily tried to take off the Hollister polo, but underneath it, there was another Hollister polo. Ebony frowned and looked under her shirt. All she saw was a bra underneath (dare I point out it's from the Aerie line available at American Eagle?). Ebony tried to remove the shirt again. But to her frustration, there was yet again another polo to replace it.

"THIS IS UNLOGICAL AND DOES NOT MAKE ANY SENSE!" Ebony bellowed out to the air. She failed to see the irony in her statement, how hypocritical her words were, seeing as she was practically calling the kettle black here.

Ebony slit her wrists and mumbled to herself, "Omigod."

/End Crap Fic.

AN// Oh yeah, if you wanna see the original content this chick had planned for this chapter, I accessed it through the document manager thingy, which I copied and pasted, so you can read it here:

[Original content intentionally omitted]

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mayashesfly · 2 years ago

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I am suddenly having Monomon and Quirrel thoughts, particularly in the event in Embrace the Void ending where all the Dreamers wake up. Personally, as much as I love the relief Quirrel and Monomon felt that she actually woke up alive and well in some takes I’ve seen. I don’t really think the scene would’ve been quite pretty in actuality in my humble opinion.... especially with how sudden everything would’ve been for everyone involved. Out of all the Closest Persons to the Dreamers are, Quirrel would probably have it worst emotionally duel to the fact he doesn’t remember much of his time in Hallownest as the Teacher’s Assistant and that of an Archivist whilst Hornet and Lurien’s Butler still retain their memories and knows in detail what actually when down during Hallownest’s fall.

When Monomon finally wakes up, the both of them were definitely in a state of shock and disbelief. Because both of them were so sure that Monomon would’ve died regardless of what happens because that was the plan. That was what was supposed to happen. That was the plan. As much as he hates it. And as much as Quirrel doesn’t want to wish death upon someone---especially towards someone his past self apparently cared so much about---a small part of him wished Monomon stayed dead for his sanity and mind’s sake. To get this chapter of his life, of his past life, of the Slumbering Teacher done and over with. But Monomon was just relieved she was alive, even if it started out as a little relief, a small laugh at the highly improbable but very much real scene infront of her. One would think such a thing would be impossible and yet here she was, alive and well!!! And the Infection is gone!!!! She would be in a state of slightly unhinged giggly relief that she’s actually alive. And if she was capable of crying, she would’ve probably cry on the spot from the shock of it all. Monomon had already accepted her demise a long long time ago. So much so that she gracefully welcomed death with open arms. So the fact she’s alive comes with so much surprise. And now... and now she needs to want to live in order to live and..... fix all the loose ends and mistakes and grievings she made from her slumber. But well, worrying about these things are the blessings of living in a way aren’t they? Now, Quirrel on the other hand, is pretty much in the position of a Reincarnated (PLATONIC) Soulmate finding the Grave of his past self’s Closest Person and only remembering bits and pieces of this mysterious person that tugs on deep in his very soul and heart with only impressions of the past his past self had lived with this person. And while you’re still busy processing the now learned and unearthed past you had with this person, trying to untangle the confusing, conflicted, and complex feelings you have about this person, THEY SUDDENLY WAKE UP INFRONT OF YOU. This is just a metaphor. Which is what I can best describe the complex rollercoaster of a ride Quirrel’s feelings go through from Monomon waking up. Like, “I don’t know you. But I used to. And I loved you. But I’m not the same person anymore. Not anymore. I didn’t even know about you and what you had given in my previous life until now and even so, I know so so little compared to the amount of time my past self probably had spend with you. You used to be with my side, didn’t you? But you aren’t now. And I have to take a hand in your killing.... did you truly cared about me? The past me? The... The Real Me? Before I lost all of my memories? Because of you. It’s because of you----” It’s a fucking mess. So, now he has to sort through all these complicated feelings while helping Monomon readjust to being back alive and living. And he probably doesn’t get a fucking break to clear his mind properly when his chest won’t stop aching with all these overwhelming thoughts and emotions that his The Teacher is alive. And Monomon is just trying to adjust and try to make up for lost time and fix things with Quirrel and clear up things and misunderstandings and taking care of and maintaining the remaining parts of the Archives, while also trying to wrap around in her mind that this isn’t her the Quirrel she knows anymore. He had changed. And so did she. And things won’t be back to normal as she wish it would. She might be a scientist but that wouldn’t stop her from being a person, a person who still has feelings and memories of a fleeting better past. Back to a time where thing were much much more simpler and livelier And the Teacher might be alive again, but that wouldn’t mean Quirrel will become Quirrel the Archivist again. It’s not that simple. He simply can’t. You can’t just unlearn and leave everything you’ve experienced because you’ve found your past again. That isn’t how it works. He had grown and changed so much that stuffing him back to that stifling role, a role that doesn’t fit him anymore, not anymore, would be doing his character growth outside of Hallownest an injustice and invalidate the challenges and treasured memories he found along the way in his own path of making away from Hallownest. SO TLDR: Monomon is a person from (and somehow stuck in) the past suddenly pushed into the future and is now literally a fish out of water. Quirrel is a person who forgot his past after having an adventure and life of his own away from it but not fully free from it, only to be brought back and rediscover his forgotten past AND THEN, Being shoved back into the position his past self had while still processing his complicated entangled as fuck ball of feelings. Fun for the Whole fucking Family!!!!

#may asher rambles #hollow knight #quirrel #monomon the teacher #I pretty much said 'what if I complicate the Dreamers Wake Up ending even further'#like #I love these two so much #but also #yikes if I was in Quirrel's position I would just turn tail and look back #dealing with all those fucking complicated feelings is fucking tiresome and emotionally exhausting #this isn't what Monomon wants #but it's what she gets #if you squint this is pretty much what sbabl Quirrel went through #but in this case he didn't go to the Blue Lake and met Lemm #and then had some time to sort through his feelings #and THEN going to adventures with Lemm #Quirrel's story is about letting go of things and moving on healthily and I WILL die on this hill #so yeaaaaah #Bittersweet Angst My Beloathed UwU

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thatwritingho · 2 years ago

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I was thinking about this earlier, and you are the perfect person for this ask. What do you suppose are each of the boys' favorite animes? Bonus, what show recommendations does Olive have for them? (I had to include her, I miss her!)

I hope you have a relaxing, restful evening 💜

Ooooh this is a good one!

Nathan: Aggretsuko! I feel like this is an obvious choice, but it just fits so well!

Pickles: Cowboy Beebop. Look, I just feel it in my bones that he would love it. I just know.

Murderface: Berserk, because of course its his favorite. Its dark, its violent, its medieval. Whats not to love?

Toki: Cardcaptor Sakura. Again, another obvious choice, but look. We all know in our hearts its the truth.

Skwisgaar: Castlevania. He is literally Alucard. Plus, I just feel like Skwis has a thing for vampire media. Idk dude, I just get that vibe.

Charles: he doesn't watch anime. Yet.

Olive: she would have soo many recommendations for them! I actually have a few little sub plots of the story already planned out where she introduces them to a few various ones. For exaple:

-coming up in the next couple chapters actually, so mild spoilers, Olive is going to be watching a LOT of Naruto as a coping mechanism, and the boys will get second hand exposure by hanging around her. They will get interested in an arch here and there, but none of them have the patience or attention span to watch the entire series.😂 She will proceed to make salty little remarks for the remainder of the story about how none of them watched it. "Maybe if you had seen Episode xyz of Naurto, this wouldn't have happened.🤷‍♀️"

-Toki being nosey and going through the clothes in her closet, coming across a Sailor Moon cosplay costume from a con she went to previously, and the two end up watching the entire series together over a span of time! Also she may or may not try it on for him😉

-her finding out they havent seen Death Note and being (rightfully) shocked, and they all binge the series together over the course of a couple days, just all glued to the couch. The boys dont really get all the back and forth between L and Light, but the show is dark and intriguing enough and has enough murders to keep them interested. There are jokes made about how Olive sometimes dresses similarly to Misa.

-Olive watching Yugioh, the boys discovring that she played the shit out of Duel Monsters and has binders full of cards. Hijinks insue as she attempts to teach them to play. They watch the dub and all laugh at the 4Kids censoring.

-there will be quite a few others Olive just has on in the background when the guys go bother her or hang out in her room that will snag their attentions to various degrees with varying amount of commentary, such as:

One Piece

Inuyasha

One Punch Man

Kakegurui

Yu Yu Hakusho

Ouran High School Host Club

Samurai Champloo

Love Live

Demon Slayer

K-On

#this was so much fun #thanks!#im having the best night I can #i appreciate the love❤️#olive axworthy #metalocalypse #pickles the drummer #toki wartooth #skwisgaar skwigelf #william murderface #nathan explosion #charles foster offdensen

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write4tomorrow · 2 years ago

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Imagine Sith!Obi-Wan hunting down the Last Jedi (reader)

Summary: AU where Obi-Wan became a Sith Lord and works for Palpatine. This will either be a prologue for a chapter fic or just a one shot. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

After running a tired hand through his hair, Darth Dominous tossed the data pad onto the makeshift desk. How many hours had he just spent reading? Judging by the subtle ache behind his eyes, Dominous guessed that it had been too long. After checking the time, he realized that he had spent the better part of this trip reading up on the experimental Jedi group. His master had assigned this reading to him almost a week ago, but this is the first time that Dominous was able to devote time to anything other than strategic war plans. He was tired. But the file he had been reading was more addictive than any form of caff. Sure, Dominous knew that the Jedi had tried a few unorthodox things during the clone wars, but this…

Dominous wandered over to the cockpit of the small ship and made a call to Darth Maul. He had missed a call from the sith lord an hour or so ago. Even with the upcoming mission and the thoughts of the experimental Jedi group, Dominous still had responsibilities he couldn’t ignore. But while the phone rang, Dominous looked at his reflection in the ship window. His eyes were shimmering gold but unusually weary. His beard was well kept but his hair was misplaced. A few strands fell over his eyes.

“You look terrible, Kenobi.” Darth Maul’s face appeared in hazy blue light.

“Have you made all the preparations for my arrival?” Dominous asked, choosing to ignore both the sound of his old name and the insult. He knew that Darth Maul was only trying to annoy him.

“Indeed,” Darth Maul answered, “all troops are on standby. There is a small, single manned transport here that is ready for you upon your landing. Scouts have reported that there's been no movement in or around the area, so she should still be there.”

“You’re certain?” Dominous asked. Even before reading the file, Dominous had heard of you. An incredible threat to the new empire and veritable one woman army.

“She’ll be there.” Maul rolled his eyes. “You can finally have that duel I know you’ve dreamed about.” Dominous’ brows furrowed and Maul only chuckled.

“Please,” Maul said through a laugh, “don’t pretend that you haven’t hoped to go toe to toe with this Jedi. I’ve seen the way she catches your attention when she appears on the holonet. The emperor has noticed too. Why do you think he gave you the file and this assignment?”

“I just assumed that the emperor knew that you weren’t capable of bringing her in,” Dominus said with a sly smile, “that’s why he’s sending in the best.”

“I’ll see you when you arrive.” Maul said before ending the conversation. Alone with his thoughts again, Dominus let his mind drift back towards Maul’s words. It was true, Dominus had wondered why the emperor sent him instead of handing off the assignment to Darth Maul. Why spend the credits to ship Dominus to the outer rim when Maul was already there? Why would he share the file on the experimental Jedi unit when Dominus needed to be focused on the core worlds and building an empire at the heart of the galaxy?

And why had the Jedi created the experimental group? The Jedi had always maintained that they were keepers of the peace. They were supposed to be monks during times of peace and agents of security during times of war. So why did the Jedi order feel the need to create a group of Jedi Commando’s?

The elite group of Jedi Commando’s were created to be soldiers. There was no pretext of peacekeeping with this group. There had been six specially chosen Jedi that were trained outside of the normal Jedi ways. They were kept hidden and worked outside of the normal Jedi expectations. During the old republic, these six Jedi reported directly to the highest officials of the Jedi Council and to the Chancellor (now Emperor) himself. After the fall of the old republic and during the years since building the empire, all of the known Jedi have been eliminated or turned to the dark side. Four of the Jedi Commando’s were dead. One now served as the personal security guard of the Emperor. Which only left one of the elite Jedi fighters left: you.

After expending incredible resources to find you, Darth Maul and the Emperor had traced your presence to a small world near Cato Neimoidia. Dominous admired the boldness in location choice. This was solid Empire territory even before the end of the clone wars. Cato Neimoidia worked heavily with the trade federation and it couldn’t have been easy for you to weasel your way into this region. From this small world, you had been able to meddle in the Trade Federation's affairs and were actively helping the ever growing resistance. You had even found a way to swindle the Banking Clans into funneling credits into an off world account therefore stealing a good chunk of money from the emperor himself.

“How does a soldier out maneuver the Banking Clan?” Dominous muttered to himself. The thought just occurred to him. If you were trained by the Jedi to fight, there was no reason you should have the skills necessary to infiltrate-

Dominus strolled back to the table and picked up the data pad. He opened the file regarding the Jedi Commandos and skimmed through the pages of paragraphs until he found the section he was looking for. It was labeled “specialities” and the report noted that each of the six Jedi Commando’s had a special skill. Of course they were all trained in the same combat styles and various forms of strategy, but according to the file in Dominus’ hand, each one of the commando’s were purposefully skilled in something unrelated to direct combat.

“Where are you,” Dominus whispered as he flicked through the pages once more. He ignored the pictures of gruesome battle simulations and chilling details of your training. Instead, he halted when he found the section about each individual commando. Dominus slowly pulled up the page with your picture on it. The page was labeled with your name and your photo was mildly blurry. You were looking somewhere off camera and Dominus only assumed that it was a candid photo that was perhaps taken during a battle.

Dominus pulled his eyes away from your face. He needed to know what your special skill was. The document mentioned your age, physical details, race, lightsaber color, but there were notable holes in your profile as well. And Dominus rolled his eyes when he saw that your skill section was left blank.

This was going to be an interesting mission to say the least.

A high pitched beeping sounded from the ship’s cockpit. Dominus knew that it was time to land the ship. He took a deep breath, feeling the force shift around him.

Under the night sky, you sat in the highest tree you could find. The forrest foliage rested beneath you and stretched for several klicks in every direction. The stars above you were numerous and there were almost no clouds in the sky. You let out a contented sigh. Of course, you knew your time on this world was limited but you would miss the view of the stars from this particular planet.

Your moment of peace was interrupted by an incoming ship. Whirling through the night sky, you watched it zoom over head. The sleek dark ship carried one of the most ominous figures in the galaxy. You were almost flattered that the empire sent their best Sith to try and negotiate with you. Perhaps it was a compliment.

After letting out a small laugh, you began your descent from the tall tree. Your work was just beginning.

“See you soon, Kenobi,” You said into the night air.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think :)

#obi wan kenobi #obi wan fic #obi wan kenobi x you #obi wan kenobi x reader #obi wan x you #obi wan fanfiction

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