#you admire him cause you literally want him to be your mentor cause he's so caring and strong

[sbd-laytall]

[mezzy303]

So I've been rereading skip beat from the beginning for the first time in uhhhhh almost 10 years and I'm going inSaNE over characterizations and development that I have to write it down

At this point I'm only at the Heel siblings arc so I haven't gotten to the Guam or Saena arcs which are very big for Kyoko and Ren's character development and healing which I haven't reread since those chapters came out

Can we just take a moment to appreciate Nakamura for basing Kyoko and Ren's childhood struggles and trauma on very real things that aren't often, if at all, dealt with in anime/manga and also writing them with utmost care (Not only do the traumas inform their personalities, but their healing arcs aren't just a one and done thing!! It's a very slow process) Like starting with Kyoko, her single mother neglected her so much that she was raised by a family friend. On top of that, nothing Kyoko did was ever good enough for her mother, and both of these things are so apparent in Kyoko's character. She attaches herself to fairytales and magic as an escapism and because she relates to stories like Cinderella. She literally cannot function if she messes up and no one criticizes her. She can't properly acknowledge her own talents and beauty without it being attached somehow to fairytales; she never quite believes shes good enough. Similarly, she didn't want to bother anyone with her troubles, so she always dealt with them alone/in private spaces. Pretty sure she also has lowkey abandonment issues. And this is all parental trauma!! Things she already has before the series starts and she gets so utterly heartbroken she swears off romantic love entirely so she can never get hurt the same way again.

(I don't think I'll ever get over how Kyoko told all this to Kuu and he was literally like I'm adopting you. Your mine now. Sorry I don't make the rules ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ And Kuu going home to his wife like hey we got a new kid 😂 Like Kyoko freezing up when she made mistakes and then Kuu showing her love instead of reprimanding her makes me go 🥹😩💖✨😭💝 Kyoko getting all fluffy from head pats🥹🥹 But on the downside she literally can't bring herself to call him dad unless she's in acting mode sjdfhsf)

When I really consider it, I wonder if Kyoko really loved Sho as a person or like.... the idea of him. Like he was just a convenient guy via proximity bc Kyoko needed someone to be her "prince". We haven't been shown exactly why she fell in love, but it would explain why she stuck with dedicating herself to him despite his terrible personality and knowing he never saw her the same way. It's portrayed like the concept of hatsukoi in anime where its ✨pure✨and innocent✨It seems very idealistic. Whereas Kyoko's love for Ren is more mature. She sees every aspect of Ren and doesn't sugarcoat it, she sees him as he is (she does him up on a pedestal but partially bc she admires him but also as an extreme measure to protect her heart and hide her feelings imo)

And REN. trauma to the max. He had to deal with the hardships of making a name for himself when his parents are already famous, extreme racism from being biracial, his friend/mentor dying from an accident he unintentionally caused???? Like boy hates himself so much he's literally disassociating 24/7 he needs a fucking therapist. I get how being Ren has helped him in some capacity but he needs a professional asap. Though deep diving into this is so interesting because Ren/Kuon compartmentalized his issues and the parts that he hates about himself so much he created its own persona ("Dark Kuon"), to the point he's rarely ever just himself. And he buried it so deep that as soon as he cracked the lid open, those emotions just spilled out. He can't even allow himself to be happy, and when he does feel truly happy, his automatic response is acting nonchalant,,,,,,,,,,,, he didn't even realize he was doing it at first 😢

Also the symbolism with Ren's watch makes me go a little feral. I don't remember if it's originally his or Rick's but it obviously stopped when the latter died and Ren keeps it as a reminder of what happened and why he went to Japan. It's a weird item since it grounds him but also represents his heavy trauma, and I think having those two things in one kinda showcases Ren's unhealthy coping mechanisms (like grounding himself to something traumatic isn't... great...). But that scene where he realizes he took it off and he has a moment of whether it to keep it on as Cain Heel or not??? *clenches fist* it was so good. (To recap it, he had his watch so he wouldn't lose himself in the role of BJ and then forgot it in the bathroom after an unexpected trauma response) Ren narrates his thoughts as choosing between Rick or Kyoko but interpreting this, he's choosing whether to keep himself stuck in his past trauma or move forward and let himself be happy AKA stick with unhealthy coping mechanisms vs try something healthy and rely on people he trusts. Kyoko essentially becomes someone Ren grounds himself to 🥺 He still needs therapy though lmao. He's so mentally unstable in this arc,,,

As I'm writing this I'm seeing a parallel between Kyoko and Ren and how they both had an experience that completely and utterly broke them, and it was this that pushed them onto their current paths in showbiz. And they likely would never have met each other again if those things never happened (they had to lose themselves to find each other?? 😭). It's so funny to me that Ren is all like ThEiR fAtEs ArE iNtErTwInEd with Kyoko and Sho when you have to consider the fact that him and Kyoko meeting again was like. a chance in a billion. It was fate 😂

KyoRen is such a poetic ship to me. The fact that they're different people when they meet and don't recognize the other. How Ren starts falling in love AS SOON AS HE REALIZES KYOKO IS THE SAME GIRL HE MET (Ren being gray/demiromantic.... more at 5). Kyoko lowkey starting to crush on Ren when she witnesses a bit of his real personality. These two things happening around the same time??????? And Ren being SO afraid of being Kuon, his true self, because of his bad qualities, but Kyoko pulling out the good qualities without him fully realizing it?? (I'm 100% referring to Kuon being a mischievous little shit and I live for how he teases Kyoko) tbh they treat each other differently from other people without even realizing it lol. And Kyoko being surrounded by toxic and possessive men pursuing her, and Ren being anything BUT. Like my man is a gigantic green flag. He recognizes that he can't seriously pursue Kyoko bc she's a minor and he really tries his best to only be a friend and mentor in her life and keeping her trust and never crossing her boundaries despite the stereotypes of men being "unable to control themselves." Y'all take point this should be the standard at minimum☝️

I have to talk about Sho bc this boy is so fucking toxic but he makes such a fascinating character. As much as I hate how Kyoko got heartbroken in the way she did, I think it was necessary so that she could leave Sho's sorry ass and cut him out of her life. Seriously,,,, he took advantage of her and used her as a servant. she literally dropped out of school, moved to a different city, and took on two jobs for the sole purpose of helping his career and then he threw her away like a used rag (JUST THROW THE WHOLE MAN AWAY). And then he has the audacity to fall in love with her smh. Anyway the fascinating part about him to analyze is how he's so possessive of Kyoko. Like she was a mere fly in his life, but she was always his. Until she wasn't. And I think those twisted thoughts kinda morphed into feelings for Kyoko. Ig in a way he still cares about her, but it could never hide how toxic he is. Anyone who's like I don't care how this person thinks of me as long as I take up the biggest space in their heart is egotistical and narcissistic. BUT he and Kyoko bickering like siblings will always be funny. Like epitome of two people who've lived with each other for way too long so they know how the other ticks and also get on each other's nerves 😂😂Sho does makes a good foil for Ren though. Like he's basically everything Ren is not: immature, temperamental, possessive, vain, the list goes on. His only redeeming qualities as a character is providing good drama and humor and being an example of what Ren isn't.

Skip Beat is really a story about healing and learning to love yourself and letting others love you and Nakamura is such a good story teller 🥺

[fuxuannie]

Hello! I'm the requester for your last work (the one with the optimistic s/o) and first of all thank you so much for writing it and the concept you went for was very interesting and fun so thanks again, but if you could do another one but just normally like with the ingame au and the characters separately I would greatly appreciate it since that's what I was kinda hoping for, but I understand if you have many other requests you're going through and you can't or don't want to anytime soon I completely understand and respect that! It's your blog and writing after all, anyways thank you alots 🤍🤍

* pairing(s) : jing yuan x fem reader

* prompt : req ♡

* authors note : yahallooo~ i really don't mind at all, i'm happy to redo it for you ^_^ issue is i have no idea how to write blade,, so i give you jing yuan <\3

ּ ִֶָ ࣪✦ JING YUAN enjoys having a partner that gets along well with YANQING.

— he likes seeing you and him together, his wife with his adoptive son,, his heart is so soft for the both of you.

— outside of work hours, he's a very domestic man. willing to do any housework for you since he's well aware that his absence is lonely.

— however, nothing he does can compare to the kindness you give to others. and he admires that abt you sm

— you've always been so gentle and patient, and it was clear with how you'd handle yanqing. the motherly tone and instincts you hold are just so clear when you're with him.

— he's a brat but he's a brat that loves your baking, and baking with you for him makes jing yuan the happiest man in the galaxy.

— with you, he's so very gentle its really cute to see. he'll have small moments where he grabs you by the waist and just pulls you in for a dance cause he knows you'll love it.

— and theres not a moment where it isn't easy talking to you, he goes hours talking or venting about his problems without realizing it because you're an amazing listener.

— you just let him rest on your lap for a while and sometimes he finds himself falling asleep mid rant cause your touch is so soothing it literally puts him to sleep <3

— you're actually in the same line of work as sushang, being her mentor or something similar! so you're both really busy in the day so most of the time you spend with your husband is at night or early mornings

— waking up to kisses on your face ><

— MORNING ROUTINES!! he'll wake up to you making him breakfast and he just feels so loved when you're around ugh <\3

— sometimes he'll catch you waking up early and just keep you in bed cause he's clingy like that, very much a piece of shit who buries his head in the crook of your neck and plant kisses on it in the morning

— in the end, jing yuan is so very inlove with his partner <3 kisses for them always

[f0rlorn]

hi! i literally love your treech fics so much! do you think you could write a treech x mentor!reader where she goes to see him at the zoo the night before the games (a bit like coryo and lucy gray)?

kiss of life → treech

treech!tbosas x reader

notes → in which love and life are fleeting as you say your final goodbye to treech. (i stole dialogue directly from the book for this LOL)

warnings → not edited & uploaded via iphone.

     “treech?” you whispered out into the dark. faint hints of moonlight peeked in through the clouds, becoming the only source of illumination in the pitch black of the night. falteringly, you crept closer to the bars of the monkey house, eyes scanning for a sight of your tribute you had grown rather fond of.

     “y/n,” he answered, and you followed the sound of his voice, which had turned far more gravelly since the last time he had spoken to you. once you had located him, you scampered over to the boy, eyes lighting up.

     “thank goodness you’re okay,” you cried, placing a hand to his face. you hadn’t gotten to see him after the explosion in the arena, and you wanted to make sure that he was alright. “gosh, i can’t believe they’re still making you go in there tomorrow!” tense, heavy air settled between the two of you.

     “i’ll be alright. me and the pack got a plan,” he reassured you as your fingers snuck into his hair, which had become rather matted since his arrival in the capitol.

     “just… don’t trust them too much. keep a good distance, please. i have a feeling they’re just going to use you.” you cautioned him, voice unsteadied by worry. the pair from four scared you the most. they had fierce determination in levels you had never witnessed before. while it was admirable, it was rightfully daunting.

     “thank you. for what you’ve done for me. i really have a chance now, ‘cause of you.” although his expression was blank, you could see in his eyes that he meant what he had said. pangs of guilt struck you, as you felt there was so much more you could have done for him. nonetheless, a tender smile made its way across your face.

     “it’s my job. i can’t let you die in there, you mean too much to me.. not just as my tribute, but you. you matter to me. you’re the most incredible boy i’ve ever met.” you confessed, eyes beginning to brim with salty tears, devastated that you would have to part with him when the night came to an end.

     “don’t cry over me, y/n. especially because i’m going to win. for you.” treech promised with certainty. the immense wholeheartedness of his tone brought you an ounce of optimism, and you couldn’t help but add on.

     “i’ll be there in the arena with you. we’ll win together. and once you’re announced victor and i get the plinth prize, i can buy you and your family a way into the capitol,” you suggested. a rather farfetched idea, but desperation and maybe even love had clouded your vision and infiltrated your thoughts. you shouldn’t allow your fantasies to get the best of you, but they all seemed too real as treech became an honest contender to win the tenth annual hunger games. he humored your idea, even though it may not have been possible, as he reached for your hand, squeezing it firmly. his calloused palm, having seen years of labor and hardships, juxtaposed against your softer one. the feeling truly highlighted the difference in your upbringing compared to his own. never had your living conditions led you to have to get a job, or even consider it. you couldn’t imagine having to do so for years in order to make ends meet. it hurt you that treech was not able to make the most of his childhood.

     you and treech had come a long way since the first time you had met him at the zoo. two weeks may not have been that long of a time, but it seemed like an eternity to the two of you, as each day you grew closer to the boy. he seemed to warm up to you more and more with each gift and lingering touch you had left him. originally, treech was quite cautious of you. he didn’t think he could trust you, knowing you were capitol, supposedly endorsing the very systems that wanted to kill him, while still claiming to want to help him. but over the course of the twelve days treech had spent in the capitol, more vulnerable than ever, he realized that not every citizen there had as much ill intent as he once believed, or at least, you didn’t. you too discovered that the district people were not at all like the animals your family made them out to be. they were humans, like yourself. of course, you had been wary when your parents made claims of the district people drinking blood and turning to means of savagery, but it had always lingered in the back of your mind. that was, until you met your tribute. the boy like quality of his aura diminished any doubt you had left of the children being bestial, replaced by guilt that you had ever felt that way in the first place.

     as his hands entwined with yours, you managed to slip your silver bracelet onto his wrist, something you had been waiting for the perfect time to do. treech looked at you with confusion. “it’s my good luck charm,” you explained, as he inspected the jewelry. “it may just be like a placebo effect or something, but it helps me feel better. i want you to have it. as a loan. you can return it to me once you win the games.” you claimed, ever so confident of your statement.

     “you’re all i’m going to think about in there.” treech admitted. in that moment, your temptations overcame you, and you gave into the desire to kiss the boy. sure, it was rather uncomfortable for the both of you, necks strained as you both tried to reach the other through the bars, but none of that mattered the moment his lips met yours. the feeling alone sent sparks through your body. you felt reenergized, now more than ever as his kiss breathed new purpose into you. when he pulled away, you were left hungry for more.

     “we can pick this back up after the games,” treech promised you, giving you one last knowing glance before the two of you parted ways. the games would commence, but underneath all of your anxiousness, a flicker of hope had sparked.

[humanbug]

I wanna see some more fics with Abby and lev, so could you write teacher!reader x Abby, where reader is a mentor/therapist/friend to all of the kids of the fireflies/kid's they've rescued and Abby and reader meet through Lev (cause Lev and reader are besties) thanks ☺️

Love ya! 💖

Truly Endearing

CAROLINEEEE this was literally SUCH a good request ٩(*•͈ ꇴ •͈*)و ̑̑ you are amazing ily (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)♡i hope you enjoy!!! also yall lmk if you want this to have a part two!!

warning(s): talks about religion, mention of past abuse (seraphites hurting Lev)

You press your palms against the mug you're holding and burrow your toes into the blanket wrapped around you as you listen diligently to Lev as he speaks. Letting out a quiet hum or nodding your head every few seconds. Your eyes focus on the scars on his cheeks and he talks. They had faded since he first got to the stadium, which was very troubling to him. 

This poor kid has been through the wringer and he’s only thirteen. The biggest cause of his anxiety is the ‘Prophet’ and his severe confusion regarding religion. It was a fair cause of anxiety and was one that even you struggled with sometimes and was the reason he confided in you so often. He was a sweet kid and you didn’t mind him seeking comfort in your character. 

Lev had been found collapsed about a mile from the stadium about a year and a half ago, his frail body battered and bruised. He had been dumped by the scars for shaving his head. An eleven-year-old boy…beaten and dumped, for shaving his head. He was rushed to the stadium and Isaac had permitted his stay. It had taken some slight convincing but the patrol that had found him was able to get Isaac on board with it, apparently it was someone who was high-ranking in his eyes. 

You had met Lev when he was finally healthy enough to begin attending classes. You taught a horticulture class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and you would almost never take assignments that led to you leaving the stadium. You knew it was a useless moral to uphold given the world you lived in but you heavily frowned upon war and violence, an opinion often kept to yourself. You often wondered if the kids could sense that in you and in turn, sought comfort in you. Lev, however, had stuck around the longest. He had told you about his guardian but you had yet to meet her, she was often on assignment, sometimes for days on end. And so, any time not spent with her, he spent with you, either in your classroom, the canteen, the garden, but usually the library. The latter is where you currently found yourself. 

Taking a sip of the tea in your mug, you mull over how to reply to Lev’s ranting, “You know Lev, religion is a complicated thing, for a lot of people. My mother would often tell me that even before the outbreak, religion was a source of anxiety for a lot of people. Everyone wanted – no, they needed answers.” 

“It was?”, he folds his legs up to his chest, resting his chin on his knees, “How did…people learn how to deal with it?”, his voice is small when he speaks, you can tell he’s getting tired. How long had you two even been down here? It must be getting late…

Biting the inside of your cheek and pursing your lips you hum, “Well, they would do exactly what we’re doing. Talk about it, about their fears. They asked questions just like you’re doing. There wasn’t always an answer but that’s okay.”, you give a warm smile.

Lev sighs and his face twists as he thinks. You let out a small laugh in the form of a puff of air from your nose. His expressive eyes raise to meet yours and his brows furrow in confusion. 

“What? Did I say something funny?”, he asks.

You chuckle as you speak, “No, Lev. You didn’t say anything funny. You are just very expressive when you think and I find it endearing.”

Tilting his chin in confusion, “Endearing?”

“It means to look at someone with admiration or to find something – or someone – very likable. I find it very sweet how expressive your face is. It’s a very authentic trait that not a lot of people possess anymore.”, you take a sip of your tea and observe his reaction over the lip of your mug.

You bite back a smile as you can see the gears turning and he processes your words as the compliment they were intended to be. He opens his mouth to give you a response when his attention is snagged by someone calling his voice from behind you. 

“Lev! Jesus there you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. What’re you doing down here so late?”, a smooth voice speaks from behind you, worry and relief intertwining as they speak. 

Not wanting Lev to be in any trouble, you tilt your body around and look up at the person the voice is attached to and speak before you can truly look at them, “Oh! It’s my fault! Please don’t be mad at Lev. I am usually better at paying attention to the time.”, you look up and see a pair of blue eyes. Oh…oh my god. Is this Lev’s guardian!? Ohh boy. 

“Abby, this is the horticulture teacher I have told you about.”, Lev introduces you to Abby and reminds her of your name.

You offer her a hand to shake, the angle only slightly awkward since you’re still sitting on the loveseat, “Hi! It’s so nice to meet you!”, your hand lingers and for a split second you fear she won’t shake it. However a beat later her hand clasps yours, her hands are rough and calloused from years of combat. They are also a very warm contrast to your freezing hands and it causes a small shiver to flow through you. 

“It’s nice to meet you too. I uh– I’m sorry for interrupting. I just– I stopped by Lev’s room and got nervous when he wasn’t there.”, a slight blush rises under her freckles and she shifts on her feet. God, she’s cute. 

“Oh, it’s okay! We’ve been chatting for a few hours and should probably head up anyway.”, you shift your attention to Lev, “You ready?”

Lev’s eyes are heavy with sleep as he nods his head. You chuckle and rise up with your now empty mug in hand and wrap your blanket around your shoulders. As the three of you walk out of the library you shoulder off your blanket and wrap it around Lev’s frame, the blanket practically swallowing him whole. Sensing Abby’s eyes, you look over Lev’s head at her and offer a warm smile. She offers an awkward smile in return. 

–

You wave ‘bye’ to Lev as he walks into his room and Abby shuts the door, bidding him a good night.

“I’m uh– the floor above so…”, you shift on your feet, suddenly feeling like a shy teenager, “It was nice to meet you Abby. Have a good night.”, you smile and take a step back. 

“I’ll walk you to your room!”, she rushes out and then clears her throat, “It’s late…you shouldn’t walk back alone.”, she runs a hand on the back of her neck and you can’t help but glance at the way her arm flexes. 

Biting back a smile you speak in a quiet voice, “Okay. Thank you.”

Turning on your heels you begin walking and she falls in stride with you. 

“Lev’s a good kid. He didn’t deserve what he had to go through.”, you say in an attempt at small talk. 

“Yeah…he– I wish I could do better by him. He deserves–”

“Hey now. You’re doing your best.”, you cut her off in a stern voice. Head turned to look at her with a serious expression, “I mean it, Abby. He– that kid loves you so much. You are doing just fine with the resources you’ve been given. Don’t discredit yourself.”

Her cheeks flush at the unexpected praise and she runs a hand along the back of her neck, “Yeah…I guess I never thought of it like that. I– thank you…that means a lot.”

Giving her a smile as she holds the door to the stairwell open for you. Your shoulder brushes against her on “accident”. You feel your face flush at the firmness of her body. Jesus christ what are you doing…you don’t even know this woman, take it easy.

As you climb the stairwell and walk down the long hall you make pleasant small talk with each other. You arrive at your door and your hands fiddle through your jeans in search of your keys. Doing your absolute best to hide the slight shake of your clammy hands you slide the key into the door. 

Your eyes drift over to Abby as she leans against the wall, watching you. A small wave of confidence washes over you and you let a hand gently run over Abby’s forearm as you speak, “It was really nice meeting you Abby. I hope I’ll be seeing you more?”, you tilt your head slightly. 

Your ego blooms at the vibrant shade of pink that blooms under her dusty freckles. She clears her throat before she speaks, “Y–yeah. It was really nice meeting you too. I’d– I’d like that.”

“Good night Abby”, you say quietly and step into your room. Body resting against the door once it’s closed. You grin at nothing in particular like a silly teenager. “Jesus Christ, do I have a crush!?”, you mumble to yourself as you slip your shoes off. You haven’t had a crush in…well…years? This’ll be interesting.

[progenycursed]

what’s the pale kings relationship to each of the dreamers? I kept re-reading your comic and noticed how friendly PK and Lurien are, like really friendly like when PV first eats or in the first enhancement (?) to PV. And it got me thinking how PK and Lurien see each other and that lead to how the Dreamers see PK and how the PK sees them. uhh sorry if my wording is weird lol

At long last! Wall of text be upon ye! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Since the comic is still a fair ways from the dreamers being chosen, this information might change in the future. ┐(´～｀)┌ At this point in the comic(chapter 16), the dreamers have not been chosen. With all the set backs with the vessels, the Pale King hasn’t been able to figure out what all the Hollow Knights bindings would look like. He needs to know what the final product is going to be and how the void behaves so he can make the bindings as secure as possible.  Can’t make a trap without knowing what materials one is working with. Can’t make a prison cell if you don’t know how the biddings are set up. So at this point, the eventual dreamers, are just people living their lives. Each with their own relationship with the Pale King. 

Lurien: 

Mentor mentee. Pseudo friendship 

Lurien idolizes the king. Coming from an ant colony, a strong devotion and non romantic love for their leader is common place, expected, and instinctual. From this base point, his admiration only grew after the king healed him, gave him his dream job, and extended his life.

So how the pale king acts around him, throws him through a loop. Lurien expects a regal leader, calm, composed, with the highest of manner and indifference to the individual. But instead, he gets very enthusiastic god that sees no reason to hide his emotions or interests, sees no reason to use something as trivial as manners, and genuinely cares about all his people. Lurien wants to try to match that energy and casual nature, but he can’t throw away natural instincts and a lifetime of social training. So he can never really relax to the degree he wants. He is a very well spoken individual that always knows what to say, so when he tries, it’s not uncommon for him to forgets all of it when he talks with a literal god king. 

For the Pale King, Lurien is the closest thing a mortal can get to being a friend. Which doesn’t sound like much, but for a being that outlives every mortal he comes across, and with higher beings tendency to hate one another, friends are few and far between. So to him, Lurien is one of the most important people to him. He enjoys his company, but he is well aware that Lurien will always sees him as a god king. So he can’t be as himself as he would like around. 

And for those wondering, neither of them have romantic feelings for the other. Lurien has never even entertained the idea. If he ever did, the idea would be appalling to him. The king is his leader, not some romantic crush. As for the Pale King, wyrms are not designed to have romantic feelings. Cause if two fully grown wryms stuck together to raise their young, they would decimate the local ecosystems to feed them, and their offspring would still starve. So the Pale King, doesn’t really experience romantic love. So sorry-not sorry to the shippers on this one, there is no romance between these two in this comic.

Monomon: 

Science buddies. 

There first meeting was an accident. She needed to talk to the king so she went to find him. In his lab, fixated, working on kingsmold and wingsmold. Not knowing better, and slightly intrigued at seeing void, she approached, and learned first hand what happens to anyone in the lab with him. Unlike other impromptu lab assistance thought, she enjoyed it. She offered advice, suggestions, feedback, and knew when to duck out of harms way. Leading to engaging discussions, new breakthroughs, and not a fixation-breaking dead body. It was only when the fixation ends, did the pale king realize she was there. Sure he was talking with her, working with her, having full discussions with her, but he was fixated. Steps are skipped when you are fixated. For example, the steps to meeting people:

Step 1: Consciously acknowledge there is a person 

Step 2: Can talk, interact, and work with said person

He just, skipped step 1. Onto how they see each other. 

To her, the pale king is another hardcore science nerd like her, and an untapped resource of knowledge. Few others can keep up with her intellect, curiosity, and drive to learn more. Sure he is the king, but he is another scholar first in her mind. So she is known for just dropping in to see him if she has a new discovery or all her assistants have fallen asleep during one of her multi day science experiments. Her only issue with him is his tendency to keep some things hidden or abstract. He won’t explain anything about the void aside from it’s dangerous for mortals. And when she asks about his experience as a higher being, he explains it in a way that no-one could understand. 

For him, she is the only mortal that has a level of intelligence, knowledge, and scientific enthusiasm that is any where near his. She can keep up with his fixations and science/engineering spirals. She can keep up with his ramblings, doesn’t hate them, engages with them, and is willing to act on them with him. And she is smart enough so as to not die or get hurt during any experiments. The age difference does cause problems though. She is a fraction of a fraction of his age, and their are many times that becomes apparent. There have been many a conversation where it becomes clear him and his experiences are alien to mortals. She also lack political grace, so she doesn’t understand there are some things that are better left unknown to mortals. 

That is where it ends for the both of them. They don’t have any sort of relationship outside of being science buddies. They never make small talk, neither care to talk about their personal lives with each other. Not for any negative reasons, but because they would rather talk about science. Neither want to risk changing their relationship, so they are never interested in trying. 

Herrah: 

Political leaders. 

When she first went to meet him after her spouse died, she expected a fight. To prove she was the true deepnest leader as she had done with her own people that questioned her. She had all her arguments prepared, and even weapons if it got heated. Instead, when she introduced herself as the new deepnest leader, he just accepted it. No argument, no protest no questioning of her skills. Just Okay, so about the trade agreements. It was with that one sentence that she realized that maybe, just maybe, all the stories she heard about the pale king may have been biased. So she decided to make her own opinion. 

Most of the politics between Hallownest and Deepnest are handled by ambassadors. The two of them rarely meet. Usually only doing so in the most serious of political situations. As he isn’t allowed in Deepnest as he is to bright for all the night vision people creatures living there. And she hates going to Hallownest, because it is to bright, clean, and uppity.  

Herrah is a smart and cunning leader of the beasts, and show knows better than to pick a fight with a civilization that vastly outnumbers hers. Especially since their standing with the Mantis tribe is, rocky at best. That paired with their well established trade relationship, she plays nice. For the most part. She will still poke at their boundaries to see where the line is with the Pale King. To her, he is a leader that sits behind his walls of luxury and never involves himself with the lower class. A pompous, dainty leader that knows little of the world around him. Just like the rest of the Hallownest upper class that infest the palace. So she likes to try and push his and Hallownests boundaries to test him. To her great irritation, he rarely reacts in a way for her to get a good handle on what kind temperament he has. And he treats her like a common citizen which pisses her off to no end. 

For the Pale King, he both likes and dislikes Herrah in different ways. He doesn’t know much about the Deepnest culture, and never understood the whole ‘bloodline’ thing that ran the leader position for so long. To him, she is just another mortal leader. So he treats her like everyone else. When she speaks with anyone, she is blunt and straight to the point. A trait he wishes many of his citizens would have. So many of his citizens talked in long winded political speeches with hidden meanings and requests sprinkled throughout. Making it very difficult for him to respect their privacy and not read their minds just to get to the damn point! 

For the dislikes, when she has to get involved in a political conversation instead of her ambassadors, she will barge into the palace and demand to speak with him. Refusing to leave until he shows up. Even the other Deepnest leaders didn’t do that. But it is well within the behavior the spiders employe in their political practices. ‘Poking the wyrm’ as they all liked to call it. Testing the limits of his patiences by pushing the borders between the lands, harassing his citizens whenever they are in the city for negotiations, and the constant threats and posturing that is their ‘trade negotiations.’ He knows how to deal with them, and unlike the other Deepnest leaders, she is far more willing to work with his kingdom and actually think instead of just playing tough. Unlike some other political leaders he has to deal with. 

And because I know this question will be asked after all that:

White Lady

Best friend and platonic soul mate. 

As a wyrm, he doesn’t really have romantic feelings. It’s not advantageous for his species, so there was no reason to evolve it. Very similar to the White Ladies’. Keeping the mate around would lessen the offsprings chance of survival. So neither of their species is designed to feel romantic love. But the White Lady does feel lust.  

My head cannon for their relationship is different than what a majority of the fandom thinks. I don’t think he pursued her. I think she pursued him. It’s cannon, from her mouth directly, that she has a “voracious desire” to breed. (◯Δ◯∥) So I image the moment he was within line of site, she was on him, flirty up a storm. Leaving him, just, absolutely baffled. This was not a behavior he had ever seen from another higher being, let along it being directed at him. 

That was how it was for the first hundred cycles or so. Her, trying various ways to seduce him. Him, trying to ignore the horny tree as he learned how to build a kingdom. But as the cycles went on, they slowly began to learn about each other. Whether they wanted to or not.

For her, this was the longest another higher being put up with her flirting without either teller her to ‘f*ck off’ or attack her for being annoying. When he didn’t chase her off, she just started talking with him. Asking him what he was doing. Confused that he was trying to help bugs that weren’t his. He didn’t make them, they weren’t his offspring, why did he care? It was baffling, but intriguing to learn what it was he was trying to do. 

For him, it was the longest another higher being had been around him and not attacked. She was persistent, and wouldn’t take ‘I’m not ready for kids’, ‘I don’t even think that is possible,’ for an answer. But she never threatened him or his budding kingdom, so he put up with her. When she started asking questions, he shared his plans to at least placate her. What he wasn’t expecting though, was her actually listening. Which was a new experience for him. Sure some of his new people tried to listen, but his goals were far beyond what they could comprehend. Their eyes always glazing over shortly into the explanation. 

With each new interaction, they learned more about the other. She began to see him as something besides a way to procreate. He began to see her as something besides a pushy plant begging for a drink. They would talk for days with each other. Both learning what it meant to be able to relate to another being. They began to enjoy each others company. Getting to a point where they could enjoy each others company without having to say a word. 

They became friends, not only enjoying each others company, but actively seeking it out. They began to build the kingdom and rule together. When he cast off his shell, she followed shorty after, spreading her from so far that her main body shrank. They were each others best friend. The only person who understood them on every level in every way. They could vent to each other, bounce ideas off each other, joke with each other. They were always interested in the others newest fixation and would always ask questions. Knowing how much it meant that someone was interested enough to want to know more. 

It was’t long until their people started calling them soul mates. A concept neither of them fully understood, but it was accurate enough they never refuted it. Going so far as to confirm their union to the people of Hallownest by solidifying it with each other. The titles of king and queen no longer just symmetrical titles, but official in the strange customs of the mortals. Swearing their commitment to the other with a medallion, then each taking a piece to always keep with them. 

Those are, at least at time of writing this, the relationships between the dreamers and the pale king. With a bonus ship thrown in. Again, not sorry about not being on the Lurien/Pale King ship. That will be a running theme in this comic. Loving relationships that don’t end with fucking. Because I want some variety dammit! (ﾉ｀□´)ﾉ⌒┻━┻

[fanficfanattic]

Win and/or Road

You know not what you have wrought. Cause both of these are dark.

Warning for some homophobic bullshit from James Tartt. And literal lashing.

Win:

“Gonna give you a choice, son-o-mine. You’ll get the buckle end-“ “Wait, what?” “-or you can earn getting the leather end. I know how much your pretty boy appearance is to you, and the buckle ain’t like what you’re used to. It’ll scar.”

“Why are you doing this, da?”

“You know why I’m here, ya cunt. Been gone for a couple of months but less than one with the American clown and suddenly you’re all soft again. Don’t know what he’s said to you, or promised you, but I ain’t raised you to step down from a fight, did I?”

He waited before grabbing Jamie by the barely longer front of his hair to yank his head back.

“Asked you a question, boy.”

“No,” and for a second his dad was visibly preparing to strike at the denial, before Jamie desperately rushed the rest of the sentence, “you ain’t raised me to be a pussy”.

“That’s right. And ya done that in front of cameras. Half of Manchester is laughing at the Tartt name. At my name. So you understand why I need to guarantee you’re sorry. Don’t you?”

You could barely hear it, but Jamie quietly whispered “yes” back at him. Normally he’d say something about mumbling. But he had more important things to consider.

“You want to hear what will let you avoid the buckle?”

“Yes, da.”

“Mind your fucking manners with me.”

“Yes, please, da.”

“I know how much you admire Kent, for all that you yap at him like an overeager pup. You coulda had him out of that game in moments, I taught you how to fight well enough.

Which means you didn’t want to actually win that fight. Don’t matter if it’s because he was your childhood footie hero” and his dad spit on the floor at his feet, “or you felt sorry for him. Or you’re more soft than I thought, eh? Got a crush, boy?”

The lines of Jamie’s back go rigid. Before he can respond, his dad just chuckles.

“Always so sensitive about that. I know you ain’t a poof for all that you dress like one. Like I said, it don’t matter why you keep putting up with Kent. Only that it’s got to stop. What am I always telling you Jamie?”

“That I’m too stupid to think so I should stop trying?” His dad let out a bark of a laugh.

“I do say that, yes, but I meant how I keep telling you that getting attached to the other players will only drag you down. Propping them up makes you look mediocre, and that won’t get you proper minutes when you’re back with City, will it?”

Jamie knew better than to stay silent this time.

“It won’t, you’re right.”

“This Richmond loan was your chance to really see what it were like without all the other players having hooks in ya. Not your fault that you grew up with first team as your mentors. But they ain’t your friends you stupid boy. And neither are those Richmond lads.”

He didn’t ask a question so Jamie kept quiet but the anxiety just built and built. Right before it boiled over, his da gently brushed his hair back into place from when he’d grabbed it.

“You know I don’t like doing this, Jamie. But I do because it’s for your own good, yeah?”

Jamie’s breath hitched because that was a lie. But one too dangerous to call out.

“Course da. I know it.”

He got a brisk pat on the head as a reward for keeping his voice from breaking.

“Good, good. And you can prove you know it by doing as I say. That’s what will earn you the leather rather than the buckle.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Admit to me, now, that you know Kent don’t belong on the pitch no more. And that you’ll help him realize it.”

Jamie’s voice sounded faint. “What?”

And in turn his dad’s voice got firmer.

“Kent. The one what we’ve been talking about this whole time? Your hero worship school boy crush? I kid, I kid. But your favorite player nonetheless.

He’s past his prime and I wouldn’t care if he were just holding back that bottom of the table joke of a club. But your name is attached to it, which means my name is attached to it. They need to put him out to pasture so you can actually keep them in the Prem. You’re the only fucking shot they have at it, ain’t ya.”

“I…what? No?”

“Did you just disagree with me? After saying yourself you aren’t smart enough to bother with thinking.”

“It’s Roy fucking Kent, da. They’d be mad to release him just on the strength of how it’d depress the team.”

“Jamie, my poor Jamie, this is why you’re only good for footie. None of those lads matter, and if they’re too big’a emo little bitches to lace up their boots? That don’t matter neither.” He picked up the belt. The metal clinking as it tipped over before swinging into the air.

“Last chance, son. You going to accept that I know best. Or you gonna fight me on it.”

“I ain’t saying that about Roy and I’m not going to sabotage his career!”

“Suit yourself. If you don’t care about your own career, why should I?”

And the belt came down buckle first.

Road:

This is the only use of “road” I had that wasn’t just referring to Nelson Road. And it is firmly in WIP territory because this whole snippet is a monolog/diatribe without any of the scene setting to make it actually readable.

“And I was learning it while the four of you were in the office saying that I was a diva and a fragile little bitch. While making jokes after I pointed out that you were the ones who had all invested in us being a team that supported each other, that you had sold me on that too. And then threw it away with the promise of something else. Something better.

I weren’t even saying it about meself! By that point I had learned. I was talking about the team as a whole. Because it turns out you were right, when we had each others backs, it was better. But everyone else had stopped. They didn’t even have their own backs, giving it all to Zava, with me trying to cover everyone else.

Not just first team, like 10* wasn’t hard enough. But everyone. Cause you shunted Colin off to the side like he were nothing. And I wouldn’t leave Jack and Declan and Jeff to fend for themselves. No one in this room alone, right coach? It’s what you said after I were already gone. So maybe you didn’t ever mean it to include me.

Good thing that at least by then I’d learned that trusting means people can still fuck up. That it means you just know they’ll find their way again. So I kept doing what was right, regardless of the fact that you didn’t care about what were right nomore. No way you could and also had given up thinking it wasn’t about the wins and losses.

Didn’t help that even as he called me names, not the fun kind where we say Colin is a menace on the road, but the kind you want to give someone you think would make the world a better off place if they died, that Roy was the only one who heard what I said. Made the jokes, sure, but then actually listened.

Richmond only got through Zava doing exactly what he were always going to do because Roy decided to diversify your strategy. To invest in making sure that anyone who wanted to still grow as a player, despite the official party line being to give fucking Zava your all, could actually develop instead of stagnate.

The real fucking joke is that I were the only one who wanted that. Because I never, even when I was the prickiest prick to ever prick, gave anything less than my absolute best. Me, the person you spent that same time talking down to and about to each other and ignoring that even at my worst? I was never that fucking cruel.

I was the only player who had taken every word you ever said to heart. Because it was important. It changed fucking everything for me. And so I put me head down and did the fucking work. So that when Zava fucked everyone over -as he absolutely did because he told the whole world over and over exactly who he was- we’d at least be no worse off than when I first came here on loan.

And Roy was the only coach who did the same fucking thing. Who took what you said and let it change him. For the better. He was the only one who saw, and cared, about the fucking club.

He fucking hated me and still saw that I was trying to be what we needed here. Despite no one else remembering what we’d built. Together. Despite no one else caring that I was drowning right in front of you just trying to keep us afloat. Just trying to make sure there was something to even come back to once Zava left us high and dry.

The person here who had the most right to enjoy me spiraling was the only one to notice it at all. Then did something about it! And I know it were only because he cared about the club, not me, but I cared about it too. More than I cared about meself. So we finally had something to agree on.”

Jamie had laughed bitterly several times over by then. But none so dark and full of self hatred as the one he couldn’t hold back at the thought of Roy and him only agreeing that Jamie’s worth was solely his ability to take hit after hit in the name of Richmond.

“I were dumb enough to think that being one of eleven meant sharing the burden as well as the benefit. Didn’t I? Got out of practice for having to carry it all. Got lazy. Got complacent. Forgot that I shouldn’t pass to someone who hadn’t even attempted to score in months. Made us both look like fools when they just turned their head looking for Zava to make the play for them.”

[the-zapped-part-timer]

Penn Zerothon Day 9

I'm Still Super🦹🏻‍♂️

My Ramblings: The first zap-back episode, as I call them.

Phyllis is missing? Sashi's has idea! SMASH THE WALL WITH A MALLET! To check to see if she's hiding in there of course.

What kind of party was going on down there? Phyllis? Anyways, Penn freaks out because, you know, Superhero World! I didn't need to see that much muscles...

That regular-sized Giant Old Lady has a name, it's Suzanne. Finally Boone gets to use that mind--reading of his! Revealing that Suzanne wants to destroy them and every other superhero, but why? See all of our favorites, the Super Janitor, Speedster, Spatula Man, the Hotdog Seller and Super Dog! It's funny when the Trio are like: "why do they want to kill us?" Anyone remember how the last episode they were there ended?

Captain Super Captain delivering a devastating blow to Suzanne that causes a WILHELM SCREAMER! Penn, don't be rude to him! He's hasn't doen anything to you and literally just saved your life!

Again, they assume it's Rippen hypnotizing the heroes. "Just follow the scent of failure." Gosh, that's gotta hurt if Rippen was listening.

Still calling your evil twin brother drop-dead gorgeous is weird, I get it's because you look alike but still. No wonder Penn thought you were talking about yourself for a second, who says that about their brother? How he's animated when he says "brother" is satisfying.

Dammit not you to Professor Evil Professor! Who says these things about their siblings!? We get it, your both pretty! Very much so.

Remember that team-up I brought up earlier in "Number One Number Two"? Well, here it is! Rippen is totally on board and PEP points out his failure from last time, but Rippen isn't insulted, he agrees. I think he really admires the Professor, like a mentor.

I wonder if Rippen could get a PHD in Villainly like PEP where he's from, I don't see why not. I'd be funny if he failed to get one. The Professor also has a "most likely to take over the world" and "taking candy from a baby" on his wall, along with cool trophies.

Larry really sensitive armpits... do with that what you will. PEP tells him there's a cream for that, nice of him.

Rippen really needs this kind of friendship or alliance, he has some to laugh like a manic with, it's sweet. He is so ready to make his new mentor/villain buddy proud! He delivers the best "PROFESSOR EEEEVILLL PROFESSORR!" Do I kind of ship them? Sometimes.

"And if we do screw up, that's why tomorrows were invented." Wise words from Larry. Also he has a jetpack- no, jet feet? No, rocket nub? I don't know the word for it but he has it.

"The Professor's hideout" That's a whole ass building with his logo on it! That's not a hide out!

Upgrades people, upgrades! Rippen's got them. Missle launchers, rocket feet and OCTO-ARMS! That has to be a reference to Doc Ock, who Alfred Molina (Rippen's VA, in case you forgot) has played in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (and No Way Home).

What a tragic weakness to have, adult contemporary music. How does CSC live with this devastating debility? We may never understand his struggles.

Rippen and Larry's expressions when Penn casually twists up the octo-arms and just leaves. Faces of "Oh shit."

"Is this a bridge too far?" Destorys a bridge, almost killing hundreds of ducks, kittens, babies, and pigeons, I'm sure. Tehe-ing to himself.

Instead of helping, CSC teaches Penn the importance of an agonizing "noooooo!" The valuable stuff.

I need context for this, please:

Rippen: Larry, you promised you weren't going to put bunny ears on my things anymore.

Larry: Who said it was me?

He almost sounds devastated, as if Larry fell back on an addiction or something. Also, hear me out... bunny ear lingerie?

Oh no, the music. I'm getting flashbacks to the Meat Circus.

EPIC SUPER-POWERED TWIN FIGHT!

PEP's reasoning for using his advanced degree in evil is reasonable, money.

The overcomplicated funhouse of doom is extremely fucked up, like, Rippen did you come up with this? Have you just been itching for the day you can use this concept from your sketch book or something? Are you overcompensating to impress your new ally/friend? Or did he make this? Or did you both make it!?

Wow, Boone. Sashi is being so self-sacrificing for you and you just agree with her? Damn, that's cold.

But here's where the real pain is, the third option: Penn can kill Rippen (and Larry), thanks to PEP. An utter betrayal to Rippen's alliance with the guy, it's such a good twist! He's a cunning business man, kill Rippen and he will set his friends free, with a little encouragement from his hypnotizing medallion. As much as Penn despises his art teacher, that's not the hero way! I'm so happy that not one (good) person objects to this decision. No one questions Penn.

And then the audacity of the Professor to just ask Rippen to kill Boone and Sashi right after that!? Honestly? Slay. But, we know Rippen, he screws it up. So many damn buttons, can't fault him.

Clarence? What a name for PEP. Also, him and CSC are Jewish. That's pretty neat!

Hmm, weird, the "destory heroes" button was pretty big and obvious, even had a label. There's no way he could have missed that... right? No, Rippen wants Penn utterly destroyed!

~The Characters~

Penn Zero: Bet he'll question the button thing for a while, and the possibility that he could've killed Rippen (and Larry)... yeah. Kudos to him for doing the right thing! Yes, it would be easy to get rid of him, but technically, it's not gonna solve anything. It won't bring back his parents, and Rippen will just be replaced. Everyone, clap for our boy.

Boone Wiseman: Still wish we got that mind-reading gag idea I had! Anyways not much to say since he's a SIS, a Super in Stress!

Sashi Kobayashi: Again, a SIS like Boone.

Rippen: It was beautiful watching Rippen be so gleeful and empowered by new evil buddy until the backstabbing. I could feel his heart grow ever more coal-like, he was starting to trust more and look what happened. But, hey, at least his nemesis didn't straight up kill him! That's a plus. Now for the button thing, we all know he did that on purpose, of course he would! Clarence really thought that he was gonna be a good lap dog and listen to him? No! This could've been an interesting route to take if they wanted to reform Rippen. If! I wonder if he thinks about this decision a lot.

Also a random headcanon of mine: When PEP got mad about the wrong button, Rippen got defensive and talked a bit fast. So I like to think that when he gets defensive and talks faster, he's lying. A tell.

Larry: Didn't help like last time. But parted some wise words.

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

Balls!🎾

My Ramblings: Penn comes off like any other American president to be honest, vague and wanting blind voters. He even did the Nixon "V" signs! And he also voted for himself, Alex, the other presidential candidate, voted for him too. Not Boone or Sashi, which, yeah. Totally understandable, really.

ALSO ALEX! Hey buddy! Also hello, Bi-Boone?

"Better than dead person." I don't know about you, Penn, but I'd feel good about myself if I was a better leader than a dead person.

Context? Who needs her?:

Penn: Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm having a-

Sashi: Please don't say "ball."

Penn: I was going to say "baby."

Sashi: You're having a baby?

Penn: Maybe. We don't know what our mission it yet, okay? Check the specs.

Wait... how do babies work... oh god.

Hehe, hunters, because they're hunting for sport..  and they're sports equipment, they're hunting balls... complex, I know.

My dumb subtitles (I bought these, I didn't know how to pirate back then) tell me that Rippen said: Who's ready to bat some balls?" When I definitely hear himself saying: "Who's ready to bash some balls?" Which is way funnier and correct. It's ball-bashing time with the boys!

My favorite reactions to Penn telling everyball their gonna be wiped out:

"Sacreballs!" Thank you, French Rippen voiced ball!

"What the dingo is he talking about?" Clearly Australian, but, uhm, how does he know what a dingo is?

"What is going on? I don't understand." The bestest little German ball, I love his delivery. We must protect him.

8 Ball, my beloved Italian stereotype. Such a diverse group of balls. I get Mary's- wait her name is Mary? Anyways, I get Mary's design of her mouth but oh boy, is it unsettling. Just, you see ○ half the time. Is bowling a southerner thing? I'm not southern.

Flashback Wilhelm!

The hockey sticks are Canadians! Just goes to show that Canadians can be evil too. Beach Ball Grandpappy is a hippie and now he's dead! Ball murder in a kids show for goodness sake!

Ball skulls.

BROCK AND VONNIE! YES! I love them so much! Always great to have them on screen to embarrass Penn. Also, Boone sniffs Penn, which is weird, but keep that in mind, put a pin in that.

LITTLE GERMAN BALL, NOOOOO! Fweh, Billard (8 Ball) saved him... oh shit, BILLARD!

I can't get over the French ball, I know it's you! You cannot hide from me.

"Okay, time to pump up some balls." Very normal sentence that Penn has just uttered. Right, uhm, good speech, lots of ball talk.

"Thinks he's ball that." Oh my god, that kiss Mary gave Billard, burn her. Burn her now! What was that whispering when Mary striked? Who said that? What did they say?

A Lacrosse guy got hit in the "balls" by a ball. Now that's writing at its finest.

Rippen just put Billard in his mouth... gross. Remember that pin for later.

Oh my god, ball corpses! OH MY BALLS!

How is Rippen even alive after that? His face was ripped off.

Mary... you're not a good character. You're fickle.

This whole episode was totally an excuse just to say balls over for its entirety.

~The Characters~

Penn Zero:

Boone Wiseman:

Sashi Kobayashi:

Rippen:

Larry:

Dimension(s): Cool looking world. Like all the spots stuff and how it's structured. I don't think about all weird implications.

Forms: They're balls and equipment, what do you want from me!? I will say, whoever suggested the Penn be a tennis ball and Rippen be a tennis racket? Genius.

[firendgold]

okay @kazuza-art I’m back on a separate post because tumblr apparently has a fucking character limit for text posts. trust my rage.

last time we covered why for me personally gr*ndeld*re has more holes in it than swiss cheese. now we’ll cover why I think time travel harrydore is superior and respects both characters.

                                                               🗲

harrydore

the tl;dr of the below is the following sentences: I don't believe in 'opposites attract' at all, but I do believe that your partner should be similar and different enough from you to keep the relationship fresh and inspiring and romantic. An Albus who's years post-Ariana's death has the emotional capacity and maturity to appreciate Harry as a partner that he didn't have at almost-eighteen.

oh yeah uh, since this is time travel!harrydore we'll put this on the playing field of 'Harry is somehow in a time period where Albus is alive and well and post-1899 stuff'. I have to obviously take canon into account where Harry's a kid growing up and Albus is very much an adult for my arguments, but like... what can you do. I'm not asking That Woman to write me a canon harrydore story. She's a TERF hanging with fascists these days, and also she would fuck it up.

here's why harrydore screams 'solution' to me:

Harry and Albus care deeply about each other, despite their own best efforts, and this is shown consistently. Even when the fandom has been wildly inconsistent and flat-out wrong about Harry and Albus and what they mean to each other, That Woman has kept their bond consistent even through works she didn't write like Cursed Child. Harry comes from an abusive/neglectful environment and his relationship strategy boils down to 'abandon them before they abandon me first'; Albus is allergic to showing his entire self to anyone after being betrayed and left behind, so he talks above people's heads and leads them astray with batty humor. Despite all that, despite coming into their initial headmaster-student relationship with their walls up higher than China's, they eventually became fond of one another to the point where they are constantly re-affirming their loyalty and devotion to one another beyond the cause of defeating Voldemort. It’s to the point where Dumbledore literally dies and Harry, seventeen years old and in danger of dying every thirty seconds in Deathly Hallows, spends a significant amount of time wondering why his mentor wasn’t open and honest with him about his personal life beforehand.

Harry and Albus can (and do) make each other better, physically and emotionally. Albus has an astounding amount of faith in Harry almost from the moment they meet; he talks to and treats him with a lot of respect. This only grows as he gets to know Harry better through their annual “post-Voldemort-tried-to-kill-Harry” conversations. Albus comes to see Harry as a “better man” than he was as a young person, and later in the series he constantly mentions how admirable and unique he finds Harry’s insight, compassion, incorruptibility, and capacity for forgiveness. On Harry’s part, Albus is one of the few adults who treats him kindly from their first interaction—Albus listens to Harry, he teaches him without being condescending, he believes Harry when others don’t, and he shields him from threats of all kinds (Voldemort, Death Eaters, Rita Skeeter, the whole frigging Ministry of Magic). He admires Albus as the kind of man he might want to be someday—someone powerful who isn’t afraid to be a bit whimsical.  In return for Albus’ high regard and protection, Harry freely gives Albus a lot of trust and unconditional loyalty. There are obviously pitfalls in their relationship that happen due to lack of trust and/or communication from both, but both of them are able to acknowledge and admit that withholding things from each other is wrong and only leads to more pain. 

Albus and Harry use their interactions with each other to smooth over their character flaws, instead of exacerbating them. Albus has spent a century being extremely secretive and distant, partly because of his relationship with Gellert, to the point where even characters he knows as ‘friends’ do not know his entire backstory (with Minerva McGonagall being an exception). Harry has spent so long being ignored that he gravitates toward any who are kind to him, but is just as quick to cut people off if he thinks for a second that they are inauthentic or about to betray him. He also has trouble seeing the ‘grays’ in a person’s character: his view of Ron changes drastically depending on whether they’re on the outs or not, and his view of Snape is extremely negative until almost the end of the series, even though he knows the man is spying for Dumbledore for almost three years. But when Albus and Harry spend time together, or share their thoughts and feelings after Voldemort’s latest attack, they take on one another’s better traits. From Harry, Albus learns (to an extent) to be more open with his thoughts and feelings; from Albus, Harry learns how to read people and predict what they’ll do, and how to put himself in others’ shoes before passing judgment.

Meta reason: in the fandom (unlike an uncomfortable portion of gr*ndeld*re fics and fans) the majority of people who either ship Harry and Albus or appreciate their platonic relationship actually love or at least like both characters. Where other ships involving Harry or Albus sometimes involve one or the other being bashed or diminished to prop up the other partner, most depictions of Harry and Albus in harrydore are respectful to both men and try to be as accurate and in-depth as possible. While, you know, understandably sticking up the middle finger at canon for not letting them be together in any way, shape or form thanks to book 6. There are just not as many bash sessions-disguised-as-fanfics or blatant mischaracterizations of Harry or Albus in time travel!harrydore as there are of either man in alternate ships like gr*ndeld*re, h*nny, dr*rry, t*marry/h*rrym*rt, sn*rry, etc.

Albus and Harry change over time and their relationship changes, too, without dissolving. Harry goes from being a bright-eyed innocent with a sharp tongue to a fierce young man with a temper, and then again to a calmer, insightful young adult with a deeper understanding of the world. Albus goes from a cheerful-but-distant headmaster to a more compassionate, hands-on mentor. And although they fight sometimes, although they don’t always make the right decisions for one another or themselves, both wordlessly resolve to keep working on their relationship. The two of them have had significant disagreements (about Snape, Voldemort, and the prophecy among other things) but have never thrown in the towel. The only reason it ‘ends’ is because Dumbledore passes away and unwittingly leaves Harry alone.

Some might argue that Harry gives a lot in harrydore and Albus takes. I would counter-argue that the giving and taking is almost even between them. Albus sacrifices just as much and more than he does with gr*ndeld*re: his time, his family, his reputation, and his life; but with harrydore he actually gets something back. Harry’s devotion is notable in the series for not being blind hero-worship, but rather a deep appreciation of Albus Dumbledore as a human who makes mistakes but has good intentions. Harry consistently gives Albus tangible (information, the Sword of Gryffindor, random Horcruxes) and intangible (trust, support, faith) things in return for the constant risks Albus takes to keep him safe behind the scenes.

Finally, Harry as-an-adult is to me personally a golden opportunity for Albus, who constantly talks about the value and importance of love, to experience it for himself. We do get some of this in canon through their platonic relationship, but romantically Harry has a lot of traits that a post-Ariana, post-Gellert Albus would appreciate and find compelling. Harry’s very straightforward and says what he means; he may not be a genius or a prodigy, but he’s pretty smart and powerful in his own right; and he values his bonds with others, and will do anything for the people he loves and/or considers family. A wounded Albus who lost his family and the love of his life would be pretty well-served by someone who would remain faithful to him and would not leave his side, no matter what.

In summation: time travel!harrydore is peak in both fandom and meta and it easily clears. gr*ndeld*re could never

[brooklynislandgirl]

1: Kitchen Counter, Couch, or on top of the dryer?2: Your last sexual encounter: Good or Bad and why:

Things That Make You Squirm || Accepting

"I said you could aks me a question, an' dat's technically two.” Of course she’s ribbing him, and will continue to do so because she’s trying to make him laugh. She never sees him do that. “First answer…depend on wha’ I’m doin’ right? Kitchen counter for makin’ san’wish, or salad, or openin’ a can of cat food for a particularly greedy boy who know beddah dan t’ jump up on it. Couch f’ watchin’ tv, playin’ games, readin’, knittin’, nappin’. I mean dat really is da mos’ versatile. Also, no tell da dryer, but it makes beddah place t’ fold laundry, too. Speakin’ of which, you should go pull yours out of it. So I can put mine in. An’ dryer is bes’ place t’ get naked cause ya don’ wanna wear your scrubs for one more minute an’ heaven f’bid you strip out of dem once you get inside because your braddah will start screamin’ at you like you’re guilty of committin’ war crimes. An I mean…if you’re inside ya own hale, den who cares if ya in ya underwear?” She half grins but then it dies, not only on her lips but in her eyes and she hides it away by picking up the laundry basket with the sheets and towel, padding barefoot down the hall toward the laundry room. Her loft is the size of literal mansions, the whole place takes up the entire fifth floor of the six story building that she and Andy own. Her only roommate is her brother. They’ve mentioned maybe letting him take one of the open units below, but first they want to make sure there aren’t any legal problems. Her already small voice is even softer now. “Las’ sexual encountah legitimately was…almos’ ten years ago. I uhm…I was in med school. I’d managed to match at my teaching hospital, an’ was lucky enough to have my favourite teacher be my mentor. Now in my own defense, he was probably da first man who wasn’t Andy an’ wasn’t a shark, dat I ever fell in love wi’. An’ after spendin’ so many years at his side, learning an’ growin’ an’ becomin’ friends…I had a fantasy. I…I tried to explore dat fantasy on my own…” Her normally preternatural grace is lacking as she drags things from the washer and putting it in a second, empty basket. It’s almost angry. What it really is though is embarrassment. One stupid mistake that changed the entire course of her life and only managed to make the Admiral disdain her further. “I dunno if it’s because I did it wrong, or if I’m jus’ not capable of actually uhm…you know. What happens when ya done…doin’ dat… But I made da mistake of writin’ it down in my journal. An’ next time I had t’ present my notes to a room full of med students and doctahs? Someone had slipped in da wrong slides into my presentation. I stood dere talkin’ about kids wi’ cancer, an’ behind me, every feelin’ and every uhm…physically romantic thought I had about his hands and his mouth…right behind me in big bold lettahs.” She laughs but there’s something very broken about it. “An’ dat is da day I quit medical school t’ become a nurse somewhere away from him, an’ how I decided sex is not somet’ing I really need or want. And discovered dat Africa was a very beautiful an’ culturally diverse place.”

[secretagent9]

ok but hear me out

ginga densetsu weed x mp100 crossover

here's a fun little summary for those who don't know what the heck gdw even is: basically the most shonen shonen to ever shonen from the early 2000s, but with dogs in it instead of people. there's a puppy named weed who finds out he's the son of this AMAZING dog named gin, who's the leader of all the other dogs (and has his own prequel manga/anime, but this ain't about him) that live in the wilds of japan, so weed goes on a quest to find him (gin doesn't even know he has a son until someone tells him, he's been out getting dog milk for a few... months? years?). then he meets a bunch of other dogs, ends up making lots of friends and turning them into a small-ish army to take down some Bad Guys who want to ruin the paradise that his dad fought so hard to make (it's a really cool, really big pile of rocks that means a lot to everyone). there's a lot of gruesome dog death and the animation quality is pretty inconsistent, ranging from pretty good to amusingly shitty, but it's near and dear to my heart and i'd recommend it to anyone who likes obscure-ish anime/manga (for some reason, it was popular in like, Finland but nowhere else, lol).

alright, onto my scattered thoughts about how something like this would even make sense:

weed and mob are both kids with incredible power (weed literally has a Special Move that only his father has, and it's the key to defeating the Big Bads), thrust into a violent world of adults (Claw and all their shit for mob, feuding dog factions for weed), and both wind up turning most of their enemies into friends and allies (the power of friendship is quite the potent one, except for when it doesn't work, which is sometimes, lol)

reigen's kinda like a fun fusion of GB and jerome; both are weed's guardians/mentors, but jerome's got the skills of a professional (he's an ex-assassin) while GB is a big bumbling goof who occasionally does something helpful (and tends to notice how weed is feeling before anyone else, also i think he's the only one who ever really remembers that weed's a kid? everyone else is just kinda like "hey, you're the leader's son, act like it! we expect so much from you even though you're only a few months old and ridiculously small!"); combine the two and i'd say you've got a reigen, but he's like... a shiba inu

KYOSHIRO AND TERU ARE PRACTICALLY THE SAME PERSON. no but seriously, kyoshiro's this other kid (an actual kid, like weed) who's gained this reputation for being ruthless and having a bunch of loyal followers, so weed goes to meet him and get him to join his cause, but then he sees how cruel he is enacting his own personal brand of "justice" on dogs he hates, and is like "alright actually you're a dick and i don't want your help anymore"; also he and weed fight and kyoshiro tells him that his father used to beat him so now he HATES adults and ESPECIALLY hates when they beat their kids (teru's got some fun ideas about adulthood too, don't he?), and all his followers are kids that would quite literally die for him; his fight with weed isn't so much of the same "reality check" that teru's is with mob, but they're both forever changed by these encounters with these kids who they're surprised (and annoyed) to realize are Just Like Them, in some ways, and they wind up admiring them and wanting to follow them and better themselves, while also repenting for their past shittiness

there's a Big Bad toward the end of the show that surrounds himself with these strong dogs that he's specifically chosen because of their superior abilities (they might as well be espers; seriously some dogs in this show can do CRAZY shit), and if that doesn't sound like toichiro and the ultimate five then i don't know what does; weed and friends promptly fight, defeat, and convince all of them to renounce their wicked doggie ways, but not before the Big Bad tosses one of them out like trash and he has his own little character arc where he comes to like weed's group and wants to help them; and he's a big, BIG dog, so... it's serizawa, toube is serizawa, he learns to be more than a tool for an overpowered asshole who doesn't actually care about him through the powers of kindness and compassion and then he becomes protective of his new friends and we can ignore what happens to him in-canon because THE GANG'S ALL HERE, NOW, TIME TO KICK SOME DOG ASS

there are no cats, but dimple can be one... like a dead one. or, well, an undead one. something something nine lives

if i had more brain cells bouncing around in my head right now, i'd come up with dog breeds for everyone (all the characters in gdw are different, distinct breeds, which is a neat thing), but I'm sure someone else has done it already; might do it anyway thought, could be fun (i mean we already know that serizawa's a st. bernard, reigen a shiba inu probably; weed's canonically an akita inu, which are special dogs, but hmmmmm)

ritsu being jealous of mob inheriting the battouga (special move) and being touted as the next leader of ohu when as far as he's concerned, he hasn't done a single thing to earn it. or something. honestly i'm not sure how the whole leader thing would work, since mob wouldn't be into it (just like he wasn't into becoming a god with dimple). come back to me on that.

what's the dog equivalent of spirits and such? spirits DEFINITELY exist in the gdw-verse (auras, too, i kid you not), but not the malevolent kind that haunt and curse people... unless that's suddenly an issue, y'know, because of all the dead dogs. ohu's haunted, send help

that's all my thoughts for now. i may have just made this because i want more people to watch this silly show, LOL.

[katsukisbimbo]

Then and Now | one

✯pairing: ryōmen sukuna x reader x gojo satoru

✯summary: where gojo’s best friend is the reincarnation of sukuna’s former lover.

✯wordcount: 4.3k+

✯warning: fem! reader, she/her pronouns, swearing

✯note: omg i’ve literally been sitting on this for 3 weeks but here it is!!! i’ve fallen down a jjk hole and i don’t think i can ever get up

✯playlist

part two

“Satoru! Where’s Megumi? You said he’d be here? Something about looking for a special grade?” you bounced around, grasping his arm and shaking it along with you. You loved annoying him. The two of you had always been close. As a child, Gojo was still as bright and cocky as he was today, he had many proclamations of being your protector. Though, as you two aged, you learned how to protect yourself, becoming a jujutsu sorcerer whilst staying by his side. Of course, you were nowhere as talented as Gojo, but you never let that stop you, and he never used that fact against you.

You were still high in the rankings, a grade 1 to be exact, and you worked hard to get there. Not because you wanted to catch up with Gojo, but because you wanted to make him proud. He was the only one who had supported you through it all. Your parents weren’t much help, but Gojo was there for you when your world was crashing down, when you had broken into pieces he would be the one to put you back together.

Always.

There had never been a time where you had doubted Gojo. Until, maybe now.

“I dunno, I got souvenirs!! Kikufuku Mochi! They’re really good! You gotta eat some with me!” his mouth quirked up into a boyish grin. Gojo never lost his childishness and that was something you had always admired, even if his personality constantly irked you during your tween years. Nonetheless, you both stay loyal to one another.

You couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Why’re ya smiling like a weirdo? You got a crush on me or somethin’? He teased, using his free hand to boop the fluff of your cheek with his pointer finger. He never failed to ruin the moment. Typical Gojo. You sighed, running a hand over your face. “Shut up Gojo, let's go find Megumi before something bad happens to the kid.” you huffed, earning a laugh from your companion.

___

“You didn’t tell me the cursed object was Ryomen Sukuna’s finger.”

“You never asked.”

“You little-”

“What’s the situation?” he suddenly spoke, cutting you off whilst catching the attention of both Megumi and the strawberry haired male. You knew in an instance that this male was the vessel of Ryomen Sukuna. He emitted the curse energy of Sukuna himself. You always felt a connection to Sukuna and had helped find several clues and his fingers, resulting in the higher-ups permanently putting you on this case. 

 “Gojo-sensei! Why are you here?” Megumi exclaimed, his eyes soon darted to your figure right beside Gojo. “Y/n-sensei too?” he gaped. It was obvious that both you and his mentor were close, though, lately, it felt like there was something deeper going on between both of you. 

“Hey! How are you Megumi?” you chimed, approaching his wounded figure. “I don’t think he’s good Y/n. He’s all beat up!” he responded, fishing his cell phone out of his pocket. “I should show the second-years!”. He laughed as he snapped a few embarrassing pictures to send to his other students, causing Megumi to turn and hide his shame, along with his injuries. 

 “The higher-ups wouldn't shut up with a special-grade cursed object missing, so I stopped by while doing some sightseeing.” he huffed, knowing Gojo, he rolled his eyes. You did understand his dislike for the higher-ups. They tended to be more traditional and strict with their ways, while Gojo was...not. Of course, you would always stand by Gojo, even if it meant going up against your superiors. It was all or nothing with him. 

“Then Y/n showed up! I don’t even know where she came from!” he loudly exclaimed, as if he wasn’t that skilled to the point where he could sense you the moment you step into the vicinity. You rolled your eyes, whilst the two boys sweatdropped. “So, did you find it?” he queried, staring directly at his student. 

“Um… Sorry, but I ate it” the strawberry-haired male awkwardly chimed in. 

A pause. 

“For real?”

“For real.” the two replied in unison.

Gojo moved to observe him, leaning in close to his face. His chin propped onto his right hand in contemplation, a little pout forming onto his lips. He leaned in close with a laugh before pulling away from the male. Sometimes Gojo forgot that boundaries existed. The thought made you sigh, your mind suddenly recalling the time Gojo had tried to convince you to take a bath with him while still being in the tub, the bubbles barely covering what they needed to cover. Of course, Gojo enjoyed teasing you, along with being able to see your cute flustered face. You were pulled out of your daydream as he suddenly spoke, not realizing that you had completely missed their conversation. 

“Then give us ten seconds. Once ten seconds are up, come back to us.” Gojo demanded as he stretched. You stretched your hand out towards him, taking his souvenir to protect it. You knew Gojo was craving to fight Sukuna. You could feel it. You were aware that he was stronger since he had only ingested one of twenty cursed fingers of Sukuna, but that still did not ease your anxiety. 

Megumi, knowing how much of an overthinker you are, gently grasped your hand hanging on your side, lightly squeezing it in reassurance, as if to say ‘He’ll be okay, he’s the strongest.” You proceeded to nod at him and return the gesture. You pulled out a clean handkerchief, moving to slowly wipe the blood away from his face, aware of the fact that it would take some time to get him the proper medical attention he needs. 

“But…”

“Don’t worry, I’m the strongest.” he cheekily responded. That eased your anxiety even more. You rolled your eyes once more at his cockiness. A small part of you hoped that Gojo would be graced with the opportunity to get his ass kicked, but a bigger part of you was aware of how strong Gojo was, and knew how quickly he would be able to defeat Sukuna’s vessel. 

You slowly sat beside Megumi, straightening the short length of your skirt while stretching your legs. You had a love-hate relationship with your jujutsu uniform, love because you looked amazing in it, and hate because a certain someone made your skirt length a tad bit too short. Of course, you wore shorts underneath, but it was still irrational to force all of the females to wear something as revealing as a skirt. 

Technically, it wasn’t mandatory for you to wear the uniform but Gojo insisted as it would raise “morale”.

As Gojo continued to ramble on, a dark figure was already ascending, aiming for Gojo himself. 

“Behind you!” yelled Megumi, frantically reaching for your hand to pull you away but you just brushed him off, patting his knee to reassure him. “Don’t worry Megumi, I got you, just let Gojo have his fun.” he slowly nodded, still listening to his mentor ramble about mochi. 

In a split second, Gojo was sitting atop of Sukuna, whilst Sukuna was crouched between your thighs, his arms on either side of your legs, the skin of your thighs barely brushing against his forearms. You laughed at his incredulous expression before raising a hand to pat his cheek and mockingly pouting before blowing him a kiss. Leaving him stunned, he quickly snapped out of his daydream before continuing to attack Gojo. 

___

Your eyes fluttered open, the bed of flowers soft underneath your fingertips. You glanced around, hoping to find something, someone, anything familiar within the vicinity. Panic engulfed you, bile steadily rising in your throat. Tears began to gather in your eyes. Being in unfamiliar places had always given you a large amount of anxiety, especially since you’d just been sitting beside your pupil while watching your best friend fight the king of curses. 

“What are you doing just sitting there dumbass?” a gruff voice called from behind you. You whipped your head back, hoping to find someone you know, but no such luck. The person behind you was quite intimidating. They emitted straight power and confidence. Unable to say anything, you stood there gaping at the stranger.

“What? Why’re you staring at me Y/n? You like me that much?” he teased, stepping closer to your figure to brush the stray leaves that had fallen onto your head. Even if he was a stranger, you felt no need to flinch or run away from him. The air around him had a sense of familiarity. As if he were a warm blanket amidst a harsh winter. You wanted to wrap yourself in him, feel him and his warmth. His love.

“Come on, let’s go princess. I don’t need you getting sick ‘cuz you were being a dumbass.” he sighed, wrapping his arm around your waist before pressing a kiss on your forehead.

At that moment, everything had faded away, leaving you with nothing but butterflies and the tingling sensation left on your forehead from his loving kiss.

___

You glanced at your shocked pupil. His eyes are wide with his mouth agape. “Y/n-sensei… Have you finally lost it? Y-You just patted Sukuna’s cheek!” he loudly exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. You laughed before avoiding his gaze, concealing the visible traces of shock etched on your face with a smile. 

That vision. You have never had something of that sort ever occur in your lifetime. Your mind was completely muddled. Barely registering the next words that leave Gojo’s mouth. 

“Both my student and my future girlfriend are watching, so I’m going to show off a little,” he smirked, leaning back onto Sukuna. They continued to fight, not that you were paying attention. You felt Gojo’s stare land on you a couple of times, yet your mind was still occupied with what you had seen. 

You suddenly shot up, carrying Megumi as Sukuna’s vessel came skidding towards the both of you. You ran behind Gojo, knowing that it would be safer for Megumi. You sighed once more before sitting Megumi down. Dusting your skirt, you dug into Gojo’s bag of treats before munching on a piece of mochi. 

“You jujutsu sorcerers are always trouble, no matter what era!” Sukuna growled, pointedly staring at you as he launched another attack at Gojo. “Though that doesn’t mean much to me.” he continued smugly before his eyes widened, seeing as the three of you had come out fully unscathed.

Megumi sighed as Gojo continued to count down, Sukuna’s vessel returning to his body once more after ten seconds, just as Gojo had instructed him to do so. You droned out for the rest of the conversation, lost in your thoughts on who the male could be. It couldn't be Gojo, the male's voice had a gruffness that Gojo didn’t have. 

“You can really control it.” Gojo mused, stepping towards him. 

“He’s kind of annoying though, I can hear his voice. He keeps mentioning this girl. Her name is Y/n I think? He keeps cursing her out! Saying things like ‘After almost a millennia she shows up!’ and ‘I’m never forgiving her, no matter how pretty she looks in that skirt.’ and--” he paused, scratching the back of his head. “He just swore at me for exposing him.” 

Both Gojo and Megumi turned to you, eyebrows raised in curiosity. You froze. You weren’t sure of what these two wanted to hear, as you are just as clueless to the situation as they are. Contemplating how to answer, you ended up shrugging your shoulders, stuffing your face with even more mochi, resulting in Gojo sighing before knocking out and carrying the male. 

___

You sighed, throwing yourself onto your bed before glancing at the cursed object currently on the palm of your hand. Sukuna’s severed finger was long while his nails were sharp. You traced the skin of the fingers, your curiosity getting the best of you. You studied his fingers from time to time but never got tired of looking at them, feeling the immense power it held. 

“Why are you still up?” 

“Fuck you Satoru. I hate it when you sneak up on me like that you bastard,” you grumbled, shoving your face even further into your pillows to avoid seeing his cheeky smile that you adored. “Aw. You’re so mean to me,” he fake pouted. “I just wanna be… appreciated,” he yelled in tiny, quoting that one lady. 

“Come here. Take off your jacket and go change into proper nightclothes, assuming you’re staying the night again.” rolling your eyes. Satoru had made a habit of sleeping in your room, leaving his quarters almost always vacant. He basically lived with you! Even when both of you would see each other almost every day! Excluding the days when you are both on missions. 

He smiled before rummaging through your drawers and silently made his way into the bathroom, shutting the door with a soft ‘click’”

When he came back, you were already fast asleep. Your fluffy sheets enveloping your whole figure, making you look so small in the mess of sheets you peacefully laid in. So beautifully peaceful. He smiled, leaning down to give your forehead a small peck, then situating himself beside your figure and pulling your body into his arms, knowing how well you slept when you were held. 

___

You inwardly groaned, feeling as if your head was about to be split into two. You looked around, stuck in an unfamiliar place once more. This time, it was real life. You could feel it. You were able to control all your actions unlike during the first occurrence. Meaning that the vision you experienced may have been a memory, maybe from your past life. 

This place had a menacing aura, a silent force pushing you to bend to its will. You knew better. Being an experienced sorcerer yourself. You grasped the holsters located under your skirt, silently clutching the pair of your guns before walking forward. You were able to enclose your cursed energy into your guns, shooting them out whenever and however you pleased. 

“Nice guns. I remember when you didn’t use any weapons at all. Only using your cursed energy to fight. You were a much better fighter back then.” a voice drawled, a shiver going up your spine. You whipped around, eyes widening at the King of Curses sitting on his rightful throne. “What are you talking about Ryomen Sukuna?” you growled, clicking the safety off of your weapons. 

“So formal. You used to call me Su-chan, you know?” he smirked, greedily enjoying your facial expressions. “That was then. Before you fucked me over,” he growled, his face contorting into anger. “You don’t remember what you did to me. Do you? You’re selfish. Then and now. You’re so fucking selfish. Get out before I lose my patience with you.” he growled, fists balling. 

Your jaw dropped in shock. You didn’t expect his personality to flip so quickly.

“Fuck you, man. I don’t even know you. You don’t even know me like that. Stop acting like you do! What do you mean ‘back then’? You’re swearing at me without even telling me what I did!” one step. “You’re a bitch!” two steps. “You’re a pussy!” three steps. “Fuck you!” you were running now. “You’re a fucking dick! Suck my dick!” you spat right in front of his face, leaving him stunned. Who was crazy enough to curse out the literal King of Curses?

One, in his domain. Two, when he’s no less than a foot away. And three, to his actual face. Only an absolute mad person. It was a fitting description. You angrily peeked at his expression. Waiting for him to obliterate you. His hooded expression is dark. You stilled, unsure of what to do. He… He wasn’t moving nor speaking. Could you just leave? You weren’t even aware of where you are or how you even got here. 

“Hey... Are you okay? You haven’t moved in a while. I’m sorry for swearing at you, but you kinda deserved it, not gonna lie.” scratching your head. You continued to stand awkwardly, hoping that he would just stop tormenting you with the silence.

“He-Ah!” you screeched as you were pulled into his lap. His arms wrapping around your waist to constrict you from moving, his hands entwining behind your back. You positioned one of your pistols beneath his chin, forcing him to meet your gaze. He smirked, placing a kiss on the barrel of your gun, further flustering you, warmth spreading to your cheeks. 

“You still don’t know how to listen. After a thousand years.” he chuckled. “You’re still the same. Disregarding my anger, even though you’re aware of what I’m capable of.” he softly smiled. An unfamiliar sight. “You never liked listening to me in the first place did you?” he queried, tilting his head up to face you. The grip on your gun faltering. You leaned into him, your weapons falling down your side, clattering down the floor. Sukuna licked his lips.

You moved to kiss him. Your arms wrapping around his neck and pulling him closer to you, your lips fully pressing against his. The feeling of his lips hot and familiar on yours. You moved to clutch his hair, wanting to pull him into you, only for your world to break apart, plunging you into darkness. 

___

You jolted awake, flying off of your bed and into the bathroom. Startling Gojo in the process. You splashed water onto your face in hopes of somehow calming your heart down. You remembered your dream vividly. Heavy footsteps made their way to you. You turned to face Satoru, tearing stinging your eyes as he automatically opened his arms and pulled you in.

“What’s wrong kiddo?” he cooed, pressing soft kisses onto your forehead. ‘Kiddo’ had been a childhood nickname bestowed upon you by your childhood friend himself. Seeing as you were younger than him. You clutched him tighter, wanting to feel him surround your whole body. 

“I don’t know bunny. I just don’t know anymore.” you continued to sob whilst Satoru continued to hold you, his concern evident through the crease of his eyebrows, his bright cerulean eyes piercing through you. You didn’t understand what you were going through. Were you upset because of your affiliation to Sukuna? Were you upset because of the kiss? How were you going to tell Satoru about the kiss?

“You don’t have to tell me what’s going on. Even though I might already know. But, just try to calm down okay? Can you take deep breaths for me kiddo? Come on, you got this. You’re a good girl. In. Out. Yeah, that’s it baby.” he continued to comfort you, the sound of his voice soothing all your negative feelings and thoughts. 

After another ten minutes of standing in the bathroom wrapped in his arms, your cries have finally ceased, your soft sniffles and puffy red eyes the only proof of your sadness. “Come on kiddo, wash your face for me. It’ll fix the puffiness.” rubbing your arms before making his way out of the bathroom, giving you time to gather yourself. 

 Your mind drifted back to Sukuna. Your fingertips unconsciously drifting to your lips, the kiss plaguing your mind. He had spoken quite a bit about how you never listened. Very accurate but how would he have known? It wasn’t as if he knew you. The possibility of knowing Sukuna in one of your past lives was close to impossible. He must be playing tricks with you, trying to bend you to his will. You may have had a moment of weakness last night, but it was going to be the first and the last time you let yourself go in front of him. 

___

“Eat my ass Satoru!”

“Well, I’ve been trying for years bu-” he yelped, clutching the arm that you mercilessly attacked. He had a nasty habit of making too many sexual jokes. Of course, you weren’t going to deny the fact that you’ve shared similar thoughts, but you would rather jump out of a moving car than admit it to your best friend. Knowing him, his ego would triple and nobody had the time or patience for that. 

“You are so mean!” he pouted. 

“I am not! You’re just a little piss baby.”

“I’m filing for a divorce. I can’t tolerate this slander anymore.” he huffed, walking away after absolutely destroying him in Mario Kart. His pride took a hit. He had taught you that game! You couldn't be that much better than him, the screen displaying fifth place while you came second. You giggled as you followed him, clinging onto his arm as you peeked at his sour expression. 

“Don’t be a sore loser Satoru. It’s not cute.” you chastised. Pointing your index finger at him, resulting in him playfully biting at you. “So what I’m hearing is, I’m cute the rest of the time.” he flirted, lowering his sunglasses to wink at your steadily heating face.

“Sure, but we both know who’s the cutest.”

“Of course you’re the cutest kiddo.”

“I was talking about Nanami, but sure. That’s good too.”

His jaw dropped. Did you find Nanami cuter than him? The Gojo Satoru? He was visibly stressing, running a hand through his soft snowy locks before letting out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. You’re not cute. You can go play with Nanami. I don’t like you anymore.” he pouted once more, shaking you off of him. “Noo-” you tightened your hold on him, pulling him to the exit of the arcade. “Let’s go get ramen. My treat since you’re so cute.” You teased.

You smiled at him before facing forward, missing the way Satoru’s lips parted in awe, a light blush dusting his soft pale cheeks. His wide eyes are full of love hidden behind the lens of his sunglasses. He turned away from you, placing his vacant hand on his chest, a futile attempt at calming down his racing heart. 

“Okay.”

___

“Oh. You’re back.” he deadpanned, eyes boring into your figure. The setting was different today. Instead of being in what you had assumed what his domain looked like, you were sitting beside him on the engawa of a quaint traditional Japanese home. You scowled, furrowing your eyebrows as you scowled at the nonchalant male.

You lunged at him, hoping to pin him down to press for answers. Not realizing that your attire had also changed, tripping on the length of your floral patterned yukata, resulting in you landing on top of Sukuna himself. His eyebrows almost flying up to his hairline. 

You peeked at him. His hair dishevelled, a rosy blush adorning his cheeks. Your eyes trailed lower, unable to look him in the eyes. A mistake on your part. His white yukata had slightly unravelled, exposing his tan, golden chest to your wandering eyes. Your mouth is drying up at the sight. Unconsciously licking your lips. 

His shocked expression replaced with his usual smirks, his fangs making an appearance. “Didn’t know that you wanted it that bad, princess. What’s wrong? Your little friend isn't enough for you?” he sneered, gripping your waist with his hands, his razor-sharp nails slightly digging into your sides, causing you to squirm uncomfortably. 

“What is your problem you freak?” you growled, fisting the fabric of his clothes. 

“Me? I’m not doing shit babe. It’s you who has a problem.” he scoffed, sitting up, inching his face close to yours. Your noses lightly bump into each other as you felt your cheeks heat at the contact. 

“Why so shy princess? I remember when you used to make me eat my words. You were so cute back then. Thinking that you owned me, thinking that you were in charge of me. Learn where you stand. You are nothing to me” 

Lies continued to spew out of his mouth like vomit. He knew he was lying. He knew that you had him wrapped around your finger that moment he saw your face once more. The anger of the past dissipated. Only you left. It wasn’t his fault. You were his only love and you left him. Well, that's how he saw it. 

The pain of losing his love had left an ever-present scar on his nonexistent heart. You had been the only person to ever stay by his side, no matter how much he tried to push you away, to insult you, make you hate him. To no avail, you bulldozed your way into his life and his heart. 

“Stop lying to me. I know you’re lying. I can feel you lying Sukuna. I-I don’t know how to explain it...but I just know. I don’t know you, but you feel so familiar. Your habits, your personality. I keep getting flashbacks, or memories. I’m not sure. Though, I do know that they aren’t mine. At least… not in this life…” you trailed off, avoiding his piercing gaze. “But I know that the guy in those visions are you. It just… feels like you. Your warmth, your words, your voice…even your touch” you gently placed your forehead against his, closing your eyes for no sole reason. Only wanting to feel his energy. Feel him. 

He sighed. 

“Still the same as ever, princess. Always find your way into my heart” he heartily chuckled before continuing, placing the warm palm of his hand against your cheek. Your eyes flutter open at the contact. “I’ll explain since you asked so nicely” he winked, patting your cheek almost mockingly, reminding you of the time you once did the same. Heat rose to your cheeks. 

“So…” he started.

████████████████

What.

████████████████████████████████

What was going on?

████████████████

You saw his mouth moving though no words escaped. You tilted your head in confusion, causing him to pause before cupping your cheeks.

████████████████████████

No words were heard. You were even unable to hear your cries.

████████

“I’m sorry.”

Then black.

© katsukisbimbo 2021 — all rights reserved. please refrain from modifying, translating, reposting of any kind. plagiarism will NOT be tolerated. please be kind and enjoy! ALL CHARACTERS ARE AGED UP!

[thesoulspulse]

Danny Phantom Randomness (Vlad’s Reversal of Fortune)

Ok, I just had the most brilliant idea I had to share. Now, we know canon Vlad has a LOT of serious issues that only got worse when the new timeline started after Danny defeated Dan and was given a second chance by Clockwork. But what about Vlad? Well, in my fanfic “Nowhere To Run” I address a lot of them because I feel like it would take something really big for Vlad to admit to himself he still cares about Danny and doesn’t want to lose him so I had to come up with a way to redeem Vlad before he was too far gone imo...

Anyways, as far as this new idea goes I love the twist where through some sort of cunning reality manipulation the Current Vlad ends up in Future Vlad’s body and vice versa. This could be amazing for some character development because one, the more selfish Vlad has to get used to his mortality again as well as see the aftermath of a disaster he caused on a global scale when he created Dan. He has to live in a world that was destroyed by Dan because Vlad’s the one who twisted him into an uncaring monster after Danny lost everything and everyone he loved. It’s like Vlad has to see exactly what could have happened if he continued on this selfish path that corrupts the only person he had left to care about since Maddie no longer existed in this world.

As for Future Vlad, its more like a miracle because for one thing he can walk properly again without a limp and can finally make things right before it’s too late. Admittedly this part is a bit inspired by the Doppelgänger comic just because I also like to think of a Vlad who has suffered a lot of loss too and was finally humbled enough to admit he did a lot of bad things in his life. That’s why, rather than get greedy and slip back into old habits now that he had his powers back, the first thing Future Vlad does is track down Danny.

And then Vlad sees him, the same little badger he used to admire and want for his son smiling confidently while slinging clever insults at his enemies. Vlad didn’t realize just how much he missed that. Missed seeing the real Danny that used to annoy him to no end with his goodie-two-shoe ways instead of the kind of ghost he became when he absorbed his ghost half and went mad with power.

Obviously Danny notices Vlad watching him and rolls his eyes, scoffing. “Ugh, not you again fruitloop. Can’t you see I’m busy?”

His eyes welling up with tears when he hears the real Danny’s voice, the voice of the kind, brave, naive boy Danny was before his world fell apart both figuratively and literally, Future Vlad teleports to Danny and suddenly wraps his arms around him in a trembling but gentle embrace. Danny is confused obviously, wondering what the heck is up with Vlad and deeply suspicious these are just crocodile tears, but then Future Vlad cradles the back of Danny’s neck and sobs.

“I’m so glad you’re still you, little badger. That means it’s...it’s not too late to make things right! Forgive me, Daniel. Forgive me for being such a fool...” Taking in a deep shaky breath Future Vlad continues. “You were right, all this time I should have been helping you instead of fighting you at every turn! If I had just taken better care of you and been the mentor you deserved, then you never would have become that monster. It’s my fault. It’s all my fault! I...don’t deserve to have my powers back or to see you again like this when you were still an innocent child and I-”

I’ll leave the rest to your imagination but as you can probably guess this is basically Future Vlad getting a second chance while the Current Vlad gets a reality check so to speak to hopefully scare him straight before he royally screws up that bad with Danny and creates a threat to the entire world that far surpasses him in every way. Feel free to borrow this idea for a fanfic or oneshot, I just had to get it out of my system before I forgot.

[cosmicjoke]

Ah, chapters 113 & 114 of AoT, and I’ve only got one thing to say.

Zeke, am I supposed to be feel sorry for the bitch?  Well I DON’T.

No, seriously, fuck this guuuuuuuuy, I know I keep saying it again and again, but God damn, if these two chapters didn’t just solidify my hatred for the bastard.

First of all, he is just... the most whiny, delusional, self-pitying pathetic loser, just... he really is.  I feel like a character in a Peanuts comic strip every time he opens his mouth.  All I hear is “whaa, whaa, whaa”.  And his delusions of grandeur would almost be funny if they weren’t so pathetic.  

Here’s the thing, alright, and I’m sorry if I’m going to offend any Zeke fans with what I’m about to say, but too bad, I guess.  

Everything out of this shitheads mouth is a lie.  And just because he’s convinced himself of his own bullshit doesn’t make the lies coming out of his mouth any more true.

He turns Levi’s fellow soldiers into Titans.  He does this without remorse.  Don’t try to tell me Zeke felt bad about it.  He didn’t.  You know how I know he didn’t?  Because in his private moments in the immediate aftermath, he mocks Levi over having done it, gloating about his supposed master plan of using Levi’s compassion against him and utilizing it to ensure Levi’s own demise.  Zeke’s entire attitude here is sickeningly unbothered, unburdened, uncaring, and smug in the EXTREME.  He mocks Levi’s compassion, literally makes fun of it and lambasts it as a pathetic sign of weakness when he says “I know you’re a caring leader.  Your soldiers haven’t done anything wrong.  They’ve just grown a little bigger.  You wouldn’t, say, slice them to pieces over that, would you?”.  This is Zeke making fun of the fact, finding AMUSEMENT in the fact that he’s just murdered 30 people who have never done a single thing to him, and reveling in what he thinks is a victory that will lead to Levi’s own death, reveling in having taken advantage of and weaponizing a better man’s kindness and compassion.  Zeke is ENJOYING this moment.  Just like he enjoyed killing all those soldiers in Shinganshina.  And then, the kicker, and this is a particular point about Zeke that just makes me absolutely sick, he pretends to himself as if he didn’t want to do it.  He PLAYS at his own regret, saying, “I didn’t want do this either,” and yet in the very next breath, continues to treat what he’s done with grotesque flippancy, saying “Still, how sad... There wasn’t even a battle or skirmish.”  Gloating over how easily he’s bested Levi and his men, before going on to sink further into his insane delusions of grandeur, blaming their inability to trust one another on Levi’s inability to “understand”.  I’m sorry, Zeke, but no.  You didn’t even TRY to help Levi understand, too wrapped up in your own egotistical god-complex to consider it a possibility.  ‘Oh, only I could possibly understand, along with Eren, the great task we two special beings have been burdened with.  He makes assumptions about Levi’s life, about the kinds of things he’s seen and experienced, and convinces himself that they couldn’t be anything like what Zeke has (which, hilariously, is all wrong, since out of everyone, Levi knows better than anyone else in the SC what it’s like to be treated as a second class citizen).  Zeke just assumes Levi couldn’t possibly ever grasp the complexities of the outside world, and so that’s why Zeke didn’t even bother trying to talk to him.  Blah, blah, blah.  No, Zeke, you didn’t share your stupid ass plan because you wanted to continue to feel special, like you’re the chosen one who gets to decide the fate of an entire race of people.  The most hilarious part of this entire sequence is when Zeke is thinking Levi couldn’t ever understand the concept of all the world’s militaries bearing down on Paradis at once, and what that means, couldn’t grasp the urgency of the situation, as if ZEKE HIMSELF isn’t completely fucking responsible for that situation in the first place.  Zeke literally engineered it.  He created the problem, and now wants to position himself as the savior.  He’s just such a loser man.  The God damned definition.  

And as if all of that wasn’t bad enough, when it turns out Zeke’s plan to take Levi out failed miserably, and Levi comes after his sorry ass like a bat out of hell, Zeke continues to mock Levi, to laugh at what Levi’s just had to do in order to survive and pursue Zeke.  He says “Where’d your adorable little men go!?  Don’t tell me you killed them all!  The poor things!”.  Are you fucking serious?  Zeke’s behavior here is one of the most sickening things in the entire story, bar none.  The way he laughs at Levi here for having to cut down 30 of his friends and comrades, the absolute display of sociopathic glee and disregard for the severe, horrific trauma he’s just caused this man, is honestly shocking.  Man, I’m sorry, but anyone who sympathizes with Zeke over Levi after this display maybe needs to reevaluate their moral compass, because it’s damned broken.  And just as an aside, Zeke’s cowardly fear of Levi is also pretty damned funny.  He’s just such a bitch./

We go from this perverse display of psychopathic megalomania into Zeke’s backstory, and again, I’m sorry if I’m gonna offend any Zeke fans here, but to all of that, I ask, so effing what?  Oh, boohoo, Zeke’s mommy and daddy didn’t shower him with praise or spend any time playing catch with him, and somehow, I guess, this is meant to excuse his attempts later in life to commit mass genocide.  Poor, poor Zeke.  Yes, his childhood was sad, he experienced neglect from his parents for two whole years, was used by them as a pawn for their idiotic plans, and ended up disappointing his father when it turned out he had no real talent.  And again I ask, so what?  This sort of experience isn’t exactly what one would call unique, or even extreme.  There are countless children in the world who go through the exact same thing in various forms.  Parents who put too much pressure on their kids to succeed, parents who try living vicariously through their children, parents who make their disappointment known and even punish their children for failing to live up to their expectations (something Zeke’s parents never did, by the way).  The point is, this isn’t even what one would classify as extreme hardship.  It’s a sad story of a child being neglected and not receiving enough love from his parents.  This isn’t to undermine the very real pain one experiences from those things.  Not at all.  That pain is real and legitimate.  But it’s also fairly common and pedestrian, as far as childhood trauma is concerned, and it doesn’t even remotely begin to justify the extreme lengths of megalomaniacal, sociopathic, genocidal tendencies he later displays.  Also, Zeke also had his grandparents, who did love him and spent lots of time with him.  He had Mr. Ksaver, who played with him and acted as a mentor to him.  It wasn’t like Zeke had no one and grew up with zero connections.  That’s BS.  

Levi calls this bitch on his shit later in chapter 114, as Zeke’s muttering away in his delusions about how he’s “saving everyone”.  He asks Zeke “That was your plan?  Mercy killings?”.  Levi’s asking Zeke here who the hell gave him the right to decide who lives and who dies?  Who gave him the right to decide who’s life is WORTH living?  When Levi says him getting to die by being eaten by a Titan is pretty merciful, considering he stole the lives of so many of his comrades, Zeke’s reply speaks volumes about just how warped and demented his thinking is, when he says “I stole nothing.  I... saved them.  Them and the children they would have... I saved them all... from this cruel world.”.  He’s literally justifying murdering countless people by trying to redefine that murder as “saving” them.  It’s not murder because it saved them from ever having to suffer again!  He’s absolving himself here of his sins by casting his actions in not just a favorable light, but trying to sell them as heroic and admirable.  He takes no, actual responsibility for what he’s done.  He removes himself from that responsibility by pretending he was doing a good thing, an honorable, noble thing, by murdering a whole bunch of people who’d never done jack shit to him.  Yippee for Zeke, I guess.  He’s the very definition of an ego-maniac, of someone suffering from a messiah complex.  He’s insane, and morally depraved.  The very fact that he’s the one who comes up with the idea of eradicating the Eldian race by rendering them infertile is only further proof of this.  What teenager comes up with a plan to exterminate an entire race of people and thinks it’s a good idea?

Right before he blows himself and Levi up, he screams “I’m hope you’re watching, Mr. Ksaver!”.  He’s indulging in his own, fanciful notions of himself as the “chosen one”, as a unique person who alone is capable of delivering humanity to salvation.  He’s showing off, asking Mr. Ksaver to watch him as he “saves the world”, because all he cares about, really, is making himself feel special, of fulfilling what he’s deluded himself into believing is his destiny, his right to decide the fate of the world. 

And then he almost kills Levi in the process.

I swear, I wish Levi had just chopped his shitty head off right then and there.  No one can blame Levi for chopping the bastards legs up like he did, for being so angry.  It wasn’t just that Zeke had killed so many of his fellow soldiers by turning them into Titans, or tried to kill Levi by turning them into Titans, it’s also how Zeke laughed about it, and laughed at the pain he’d caused Levi, treating all of it as if it was worth nothing, and then having the unmitigated gall to cast himself as the hero bestowing his benevolent mercy on all.  Give me a fucking break.

Fuck you Zeke.  I hope you rot in hell, you dumb shit.  

Also, fuck you to Floch too.  I hate that bastard almost as much.

[mandoalorian]

Borrowed Time [Din Djarin x F!Reader]

ੈ♡˳‧₊*: • Chapter 6: The Proposal ✩࿐ ˚.✧

Summary: You are the princess of Mandalore, held hostage on your own planet by Moff Gideon and his army of Imperial troopers. Left with no choice, you send out a distress signal; a plea for protection— and who comes? None other than Din Djarin, a foundling of The Death Watch. He, by creed, is your sworn enemy. And where you have asked for his protection, he has been told by his mentor that he must marry you and gain the ability to restore Mandalore to its former glory.

Word Count: 3000>

Warnings: arranged marriage mention, childhood trauma mention, food mention

Series Masterlist

Why was he so nervous? He shouldn’t be this nervous. Din was subconsciously pacing backwards and forwards, the weight of the beskar wedding ring pulling him down with every step he took. You were sitting in the corner, cradling Grogu in your arms and cooing sweet nothings into his ear. Grogu looked up at you with complete adoration, his big, dark eyes gleaming with admiration. Din could understand why he was so fond of you. You were so easy to love. 

“I’m hungry,” you announced with a small frown. You had been stuck in the covert for around four hours and it was already well into the evening. “And so is he.” you said, smoothing your hand over the little green bean’s wrinkly forehead. Din omitted a small ‘hmph’, simply acknowledging your comment but choosing not to do anything about it. Everytime he looked at you, the butterflies in his stomach only became more erratic, and his heart swelled with yearn and anticipation. He was actually going to ask you to marry him.

There was no telling how you’d react. But rather than manipulating you into believing he loved you in order to gain the throne of Mandalore, like he had initially planned on, Din had gained far too much respect for you to do such a thing. Besides, how could he possibly pretend to love you when the chances were, he was already falling. So he had opted to be honest, and it would be brutal. But he had no other choice. It would be foolish for you to refuse his proposal considering everything that was at stake. 

“We need to talk.” Din announced, taking Grogu from your arms and settling him down into the hovering cot. Taking a handful of sourberries from the sack in his pocket, he dropped them into his son’s claws and used his gauntlet to close the crib, offering a sense of privacy. 

“We need to talk,” you quoted him, your frown only deepening as you stood up. “That doesn’t sound good.”

Din shuffled around awkwardly. He’d never imagined marrying anyone. He was a lone wolf, and always had been. But now he was with the most beautiful princess in the entire galaxy, and you looked like something straight out of a fairytale his mother would read him when he was just a child. You were too good for this world. You were filled with care and compassion and unconditional love, but not only that, you were a warrior and a fighter. You knew what you wanted and you wouldn’t stop until you got it. And it was his duty, as a Mandalorian, to protect his Manda’lor. 

“We’re surrounded. By Imps… hunters… people who want you dead. People who will turn you in for a reward. You’re safe, here, in the covert. But we’ll have to leave eventually, and it won’t be easy.” Din confessed, shaking his head. He sounded uneasy, and the tone of his voice wasn’t lost on you. Just for once, you wished he’d remove that helmet of his so you could take a look into his eyes. It would help you gauge what exactly was going on.

“But the Mandalorians here will protect me, right? That’s what you said?” you asked, and Din wanted to curse himself. You were right, he did promise that, but as it turned out, not everything was as it seemed.

“On a condition…” he exhaled, trying to hold himself together. You furrowed your eyebrows in bewilderment, waiting for him to spit it out.

It annoyed you, slightly. Din hadn’t mentioned anything about conditions before. As far as he and the other Mandalorians were concerned, you were the Manda’lor, and so you expected the warranted protection from them without question. And honestly, Din had thought that too. 

Din squeezed his eyes tight shut and tried to compose himself. He felt guilty, in a way. He could ask you this and even if you agreed, you could still hate him. And he really didn’t want you to hate him. He’d grown attached to you, and gained feelings for you, and it wasn’t ideal for a man of his nature, but it was just the way it was. You’d come into his and Grogu’s life and changed it completely. 

Maybe marrying you wouldn’t be so bad. You were kind and gentle and absolutely beautiful. And Din had considered settling down before. Maybe this was his moment. He just had to suck it up and go for it.

“They will protect you only if you join the creed… our creed,” Din informed you, taking a deep breath. You stiffened up, wondering what exactly this implication was. You could never join his creed. He was Death Watch, responsible for the war and murder of not only Mandalore’s civilians, but also your mother. “Since you were born into another creed, and you are not a foundling, the only way you can join the Watch is through eloping.” Din continued and you couldn’t contain the small gasp that fell from your lips. You watched as the Mandalorian fished out the beskar wedding ring and held it before you between his gloved fingers. 

“Are you… are you proposing?” you asked, feeling the tears well in your eyes.

“This is the way,” Din replied softly, and you had to force yourself to look away from the silver ring. “Please, please understand.”

“We… I…” you were speechless. Asking you to join his creed who you had spent your whole life despising (and for good reason) was one thing, but then asking you to be his wife as well? Those were two very separate ordeals that you were not expecting when you woke up this morning. “We’ve only just met…”

Din closed his eyes and sighed, preparing to face the rejection. “I know.”

“And I-- I can’t join your creed. I can’t. I can’t do it Din.” you pursed your lips together as you tried to hold back the tears. “Please don’t force me.”

“Hey hey, no, I would never force you,” Din shushed, stuffing the ring back into his pocket and taking a step closer to you, breaking any distance. He wrapped his strong arms around you and pulled you into his chest. “I wish there was another way, but there isn’t. The Armorer has made that very clear. If you refuse, then you’ll have to leave, and I won’t be able to help you anymore. I-- I don’t want you to leave…” Din admitted quietly and you swallowed.

“I don’t want to leave either.” you confessed, wiping away your tears and looking up at him. 

“It’s your call. But you have until nightfall.”

It wasn’t necessarily the marriage you had a problem with -- but how could you join a creed that you spent so long hating? A creed that had caused you so much distress and dismay. 

“The Watch has done bad things, and I can’t… I can’t. Din… you must understand.”

“I do,” Din said, taking your hands and sitting you back down. “My parents--my real parents--were killed by Separatists. It’s been thirty years and I still can’t think about it. They are my enemies, and to be asked to join them would feel like treason to my own bloodline.”

Obviously, Din had no idea why the Imperial’s had targeted a bounty on you. He had no idea why they wanted you so bad. But you knew exactly. The burden on your shoulders of being a runaway princess who was also pretending to be the Manda’lor was unbearable, but the knowledge of you being the Manda’lor was the only thing keeping Din by your side. If he learned the truth, he’d have no reason to protect you anymore. He’d leave you, just like everyone else had. And you couldn’t even blame him.

All you had to do was retrieve the darksaber once more and regain your right of passage to the Mandalorian throne.

“How can you just sit here and let them do this, let your creed do this? I get that they’re traditionalists but their actions have caused the onslaught of millions. They’re a danger.” you shook your head.

Ever since you had told Din of what his creed had done to your home and family, he’d thought about it, a lot. The process of leaving the Watch was never an option. They had brought Din up, trained him, and protected him. He owed it to them to stay. But if what you said was true, could he really stand and represent such a harmful community? He had a son to look after, and you. The last thing Din wanted was to get unbeknownst wrapped up in some terrorist organization he once called home.

He was grateful for the Watch, and the Armorer, but they had blackmailed him and gaslit him. He’d been so blinded by it all this time, brushing off their actions as ‘the way’ and knowing to never question it. But now it was all becoming more clear, especially after telling him that your protection relies on you joining their creed.

He understood how great it would be for the Watch if the literal Manda’lor became a member, but that didn’t mean it was right. Din’s delay in a response prompted you to speak up again.

“I’m sorry, this isn’t your fault.”

Din looked back up at you and tilted his head slightly as he admired your delicate features and tear stained cheeks. “Look, I shouldn’t say this, but as long as you pretend that you’re part of the creed and pretend to follow our rules, then there shouldn’t be much of an issue. We can utilize our warriors and get off Nevarro in one piece, and that should be our priority at the minute,” You nodded your head in understanding. He was right. “But we still need to elope. If you agree, the Armorer will bear witness and marry us tonight. And we can head out first thing tomorrow morning, before dawn.”

You bit your lip as you contemplated his suggestion. It wasn’t a bad call at all. It was simply just a negotiation. Din began to prepare himself to face another bout of rejection, but instead, you reached back into his pocket and took out the beskar wedding ring. Examining it carefully in your hands, you slid it down your wedding ring finger and held your hand to the candlelight, admiring the way it sparkled against your skin.

“Okay.” you hummed, not tearing your gaze from the ring. It was a symbol of commitment, although you certainly weren’t happy about it. What other choice did you have?

“Okay?” Din repeated incredulously. 

“Okay,” you said, eventually looking up at the Mandalorian and offering him a shrug of your shoulders. “I’ll marry you.”

An air of silence filled the room, but, just like always, it was comfortable.

“I’ll go tell the Armorer--” Din said eventually, straightening out his posture. He couldn’t get the image out of his head. You were going to be his wife.

“--Din?” you said before he could leave the room. He paused in his tracks but made no effort to turn around and face you. “Thank you. For everything.”

The guilt was eating you alive. You had been lying to him. He’d taken you in, done everything in his power to protect you, and even trusted you with his kid. And this entire time, you had been lying to you. He was going to marry you because he believed you were the Manda’lor.

And you weren’t.

That was going to be an issue.

When Din returned from his conversation with the Armorer, he informed you that the ceremony would take place at midnight. And that you were both to exchange vows.

“With all due respect, we barely know each other. Vows might be a problem,” you giggled, feeling a blush cross your cheeks from his presence alone.

“We’ll do the traditional Mandalorian vows, then.”

You weren’t really surprised, with his creed in particular being such traditionalists. It wasn’t a bad option, though. “Do you think… uhm… before the ceremony, we could spend some time together? Learning about each other? In the midst of all this chaos, I think it would be nice to just… talk.” 

Why were you so nervous? Clearly, Din was a man of a few words. He wasn’t one to just ‘talk’. But after this sacrifice you’d made, Din thought it was the least he could do. You were going to be his wife, after all.

“Okay.” Din mumbled, sitting down next to you.

“Uhm…” you felt your voice trail off as you wondered what you could ask him. “What’s your favourite colour?”

“Don’t have one.” He answered quickly.

“Everyone has a favourite colour.” you retorted, narrowing your eyes at him.

“Not me,” Din responded, and he was thankful in that moment his helmet shielded you from seeing the smile that graced his lips. He loved it when you pulled faces like that. He thought it was adorable. “What’s yours?”

“Uhm…” you thought for a moment, and then remembered the colour of your favourite and most delicious fruit. Sourberries. You hadn’t stopped craving them since the morning. “Pink.”

“Okay…” Din replied, storing that piece of information to the back of his mind as he pondered a question to ask you. “What was it like, growing up in a palace? Being royal.”

You and Din had led very different lives growing up, there was no doubt about that.

“It was all I’ve ever known. I recognise my privilege but… it wasn’t always easy.” you replied. You had never really talked about your experiences simply because you had no one to talk to them with.

“I remember when Duchess Satine died,” Din said, his voice quiet knowing that the mention of your mother might still have been sensitive. “Were you alone, after that?”

“Not really. My aunt looked out for me. And… there was this one Jedi Knight.” 

Now that was certainly something you had never expected to talk about. In fact you had been warned by Bo-Katan to never mention the relationship between your mother and that one particular Jedi. You couldn’t remember him clearly, but still to this day, you felt some kind of attachment to him. It was hard to describe. It was a type of unconditional love. He was always there for you and Satine, protecting you both. Similarly, it was just like how Din protected you and Grogu.

He never spoke to you, but when you needed him, he was there. You could always rely on him. You weren’t sure where he was now, or if he was even alive. It had been many years.

“A Jedi?” Din questioned, his curiosity piquing. He remembered what the Armorer had told him when he took in Grogu -- about his ‘kind’ being Jedi. About how they were enemies. Sorcerers. “Wasn’t there a war between the Mandalorians and the Jedi?”

“There was, yes,” you said, looking down at the floor. Din pulled off his gloves and took your hand. The skin on skin contact was enough to take your breath away. He rubbed comforting circles into your wrist as he waited for you to continue. “But my mother, like the Jedi, was a pacifist.”

“I wouldn’t say the Jedi were pacifists…” Din uttered a little too quickly.

“You have a point,” you replied after a brief moment of silence. “But this Jedi in particular… he was a good man. I wish I could’ve met him in my adolescence. I wish I could thank him.”

“Do you remember his name?” Din asked, his mind immediately thinking about the prospect of somehow locating the Jedi. If there was a way he could bring his parents back and thank them for all they had done, he would. This man was clearly a parental-like figure to you, and if he was important to you, he was important to Din.

“I don’t,” you shrugged helplessly, biting back more tears. “A few years ago I asked my aunt. I know she remembers but she just chooses to withhold that information from me. She tells me that she’s doing it to protect me.”

“I’m so sorry.” Din whispered, smoothing out your hair and pressing a keldabe kiss to your forehead. The coolness of his beskar helmet stung your forehead and, in that moment, you found yourself yearning for more.

You yearned to feel his body heat and the warmth of his lips. You yearned to see his face and memorize every detail. You yearned to tangle your fingers in his hair… you assumed that he did, in fact, have hair. 

At least now, you wouldn’t have to wait so long.

“I should get ready for the ceremony, and you should too,” Din declared, eventually pulling away from you completely. He dug into his pocket and pulled out the small sack of sourberries that he’d gotten earlier. “These are for you.” he said, putting the sack into the palm of your hand.

You loosened the straw ribbon and took a peek inside. It was the pretty pink fruit you had been craving for so bad.

When you told him you didn’t like the bone broth, he’d gone out and found you sourberries.

Even though he said they were far too expensive.

He’d done it for you.

Because he loved you.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

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[phoenixtakaramono]

So I'm here to say that I really love your Bingyuan fic! The research you do for it and share with us is just amazing! I also have a q regarding LBG. From SV we know that he felt admiration for his Shizun so do you think that if SJ wasn't cruel to him LBG's admiration would've grown into love and attraction like it did in LBH's case for SY? Which then also raises a question: would LBH/LBG fall in love with any Shizun who was kind to him? Or was he just drawn to SJ's type of personality. WDYT?

Hi there, Anon! I’m glad you’re liking the Untold Tale! Thanks for reading! I think it lowkey helps when the story I’m writing (in general) is from a culture I’m familiar with and that I know some of its language nuances (just general Mainland dialect; I’m unfamiliar with Shanghainese, the Beijing dialect, etc etc). So fortunately for me, as someone who is Chinese but was born in the Western side of the world speaking Mandarin to family and friends, emulating the Chinese aesthetic and atmosphere in TUT comes a little bit easier to me than someone who did not grow up with this culture. I bet if I had been raised in China, I would be able to write something even more multilayered and deep but, alas, the youthful rebellious me of the past hadn’t taken my pinyin and Chinese character writing lessons seriously so I can only communicate verbally and understand audibly 😫. It’s very special for us writers in fandoms to be able to write a story of a culture that we actually know and can identify with. But high key it’s been immensely fun injecting some references of things I’ve come to notice from watching period C-dramas and the C-novels I’ve read, and I’ve come to learn interesting things about Chinese history and mythology even I didn’t know! So the story really writes itself.

Shen Jiu (OG!Shen Qingqiu)

To answer your question 🤔, to be honest this is why the SVSSS fandom is great—because there’s so many interpretations of the original source material. That’s why we have our headcanons and fanfictions to explore these many different possibilities. So for me personally, I can see it happening both ways: *1) LBG does develop a crush/falls in love with SJ, or 2) no matter how SJ treats him LBG regards him respectfully or coldly. I think Possibility 1 is more likely, since SY transmigrated into SQQ and we saw what happened with “Bunhe.”

Now, mind, for Possibility 1 to be more likely to happen, the SJ in PIDW will have to undergo a massive personality change/ a change of heart/ develop a good conscience and will need to clean up his image aka clear up the massive misunderstandings from PIDW canon (like him being mistaken as a pervert for Ning Yingying, visiting whorehouses, killing LQG, etc). It’ll be difficult though considering who Airplane has changed SJ into for his stallion harem novel (reading through SVSSS, my impression of PIDW besides it being the harem stallion novel is that it sounds similar to a “dog blood plot,” where audiences tune in to see how the villains are brought to justice). I literally have a line from TUT in a future chapter where SY says this about SJ since I will resurrect SJ and bring him into the story for closure:

People like Shen Qingqiu naturally had a set of deeply-rooted values. If one wanted to change them, it’d be easier to just have them reincarnate. (—TUT, ch???)

At his core, he’s a flawed man (which makes sense with the underlying cycle of abuse theory, considering his upbringing and backstory). He’s jealous and petty and prickly. His image is that of a proud and cold immortal. In Chinese terms, he’s the type of character archtype who I can see being àojiāo (definitely not canon characterization; this is just a stray thought that amuses me) in a romantic relationship.

LBH will have to recognize that^, or be in a position where he finds SJ’s caustic side endearing instead. He will also have to be extremely patient with him (although, since the joke in SVSSS is that LBH is an incurable M, it shouldn’t be that hard).

A fun thing about OG!SQQ is that he’s the cannon fodder scumbag villain of PIDW. He’s the reason LBG blackened from a white lotus. And, as you know, villains aka antagonists aka bad boys resonate strongly with people for a reason. That’s why we see a lot of Enemies to Lovers tropes, etc. It squicks me to use this phrase but “the allure of dating a ‘bad boy’ is strong.” SJ is that type of bad boy we could identify as a “fixer-upper project” (ugh, that phrase)—even with the red flags and warning signs—especially for those said to have a troubled past with rejecting neglectful parental figures/ family members/ friends and have have not outgrown their wish to convert that sort of person into a loving, accepting person. When we want something we can’t or shouldn’t have, our desire for it grows exponentially. In fanfiction this is a concept writers and readers can explore safely in a world of the imaginary.

From a Meta Perspective

Although, if we look at it meta-ly, the cold and proud and/or knowledgeable Shizun (teacher/ master) character who comes to know love and “is redeemed” by whomever is the love interest (typically a cute and quirky girl who may or may not have started off as naive to the innerworkings of the Cultivation World and therefore needs an established and mature mentor to guide them) is a very well-known archetype for a reason in Chinese fan culture.

Seeing a terrible person change their ways and try to become a better person because of the influence of the one they love is also a popular depiction for a reason.

It’s almost like gap moe. The crueler and aloof one starts out as (arrogance is a staple), the more impactful the shift is when we see such characters soften their edges.

The draw of the sacred master/disciple relationship is that it’s taboo, so I think it’s fair to say that such a relationship in fiction is a popular trope precisely because of this aspect. From a writer’s perspective, the main appeal is to show that there is someone out there who can cause this respectful figure to lose control (undergo emotional change) and go to great lengths to protect his/her precious person. That precious person also has to fall into the “not like other girls” trope (so they can show the ML a different world he would not have seen the beauty of before). On the other side, we look forward to the point of the story where the love interest has their “Oh” moment and realizes their admiration has somehow shifted into love and attraction over the course of events.

Other Romantic Possibilities

It’s very likely. I personally like the fanon headcanon where anyone with Heavenly Demon blood running through their veins feels a compulsion to “obsessively fixate on one person” (TLJ —> SXY, LBH —> SQQ). Personally I don’t recall if this was canon or fanon, but someone had written something about LBH imprinting on one person in his lifetime on the account of his demon nature. And I like that theory (I think it’s likely more fanon than anything but it’s an intriguing idea full of possibilities!).

For him to fixate romantically on one person, I personally don’t think the prerequisite is just by being kind to LBH (but it probably adds to the person’s appeal). There’s probably other factors that go into this to capture the male protagonist’s eye, such as him finding someone attractive (or passes his own personal standards) and/or having good chemistry with that person. So I could see him being into other Shizuns and whomever else. Personally I also think there is appeal in the unobtainable. It’s one thing to have someone’s affection (see LBG and his harem of 600 wives who definitely aren’t shy about giving him affection), but it’s another to know you’ve earned the affections of someone you really like and respect (especially if it’s someone thought to be unobtainable).

As long as the writer can provide a plausible justification for me to suspend disbelief and they set up events to justify it, I can swallow just about any ship possibility. It doesn’t necessarily have to be SJ’s type of personality. (For example, I read a very good fanfiction before where the writer paired Luo Binghe with Ming Fan. Ming Fan, people!!! And they actually pulled it off! What a madlad! Mind, it’s Shen Yuan who had transmigrated into MF in that premise, but the writer set up events that showed how these two characters came to bond and develop a deep friendship which inevitably had LBH developing a crush on his shixiong. I use this as an example because this is the type of unexpected (crack)ship, but because the writer did their work trying to make it seem plausible, we can only admire their hard work and effort at pulling it off.)

As the saying goes, there are plenty of fishes in the sea! As the protagonist, LBH/LBG can have many OTP possibilities with just about anyone as long as the writer can make it plausible. It’s all about the character development and the story/ central themes they wish to tell with the ship!

(Note, these really aren’t hot takes, lol. I’m just having fun answering to this casually from the perspective of a writer. Thank you for your Ask, anon!)