#Not really. But for future reference purposes

[ghqstwriter]

‘What is this? What’s going on? Who are you working for and where are you taking me?’ Is what Hero wanted to say, to yell in the most threatening voice conceivable in the hopes that their captors would be kind enough to keep them updated. Alas, they were gagged rather firmly, so their intimidation only came out in muffled annoyance. Today really didn’t belong to them, huh.

First, they sleep in on a work day, which not only caused them to miss the entire mission brief, but also meant that their partner had left for their own job already, and they didn’t get to see them off. Second of all, the mission went horrifically South, causing them to have to retreat an extremely suspiscious and crime riddled part of the city. And now, there was this. Kidnapped by someone that Hero couldn’t even identify.

It wasn’t that it was particularly dark, Hero could make out their assailants just fine. The problem was that they were wearing perhaps the most non-descript masks possible, leaving no clues as to who their employer is (something that Hero later realised was probably by design).

The only notable thing Hero could discern was, unfortunately, the sheer competence of the criminals. Instead of the usual large squad of assassins they were used to, this time, they could count the number of attackers on one hand. In fact, it had only taken one before Hero was down within seconds. The rest seemed to be here for transportation purposes.

Either something was wrong with Hero, or they were being apprehended by someone completely out of their league. Their captors had offhandedly mentioned taking the superhero to their boss, implying that these were merely henchman. Henchman who had almost instantly defeated the Hero. Their heart quickened at the realisation.

Their poor heart, they thought. It had already been pounding long before they were caught by whoever these bandits were. A simple mission involving a usually tame villain had turned into a fast paced chase, leaving Hero breathless and unaware of the criminals lurking around the corner. Shockingly, these henchmen didn’t appear to be working for that same villain, for they were quite cautious about avoiding their notice.

At least the captors didn’t seem to be liars. The main one had (not so comfortingly) reassured them that it wouldn’t be long until they got to their destination, and that much was true; it wasn’t long at all until they were hauled up onto their feet and led out of the vehicle. Hero took in the sight of the criminal’s base before them, trying to observe just where they were for future reference. It was then they realised why they hadn’t been blindfolded — even with their eyes fully uncovered, they still had no clue where the hell they were.

The inside was just as unremarkable, too. It was small, though certainly not unpopulated, as many masked people walked by, crossing corridors and paying no mind to the apprehended superhero. Were they told to play it cool, or was this nothing especially notable to them? Hero wasn’t sure which answer they prefered.

Then, the criminals stopped before a large door, locked behind a keycard. Most of them gave a quick, absent-minded salute, before heading off in perfect sync to presumably their usual duties. This left Hero to stand awkwardly now that only the main henchman was left, reaching for some form of identification to open the door.

Their boss was likely on the other side, probably waiting to tear Hero limb from limb. The superhero considered trying to plead over the gag, but they’d learnt this particular criminal was rather fond of silence.

The machine by the doors let out a meagre beep, and then swung the entrance open to reveal a highly cluttered office, full to the near brim with what appeared to be case files, video tapes, and an assortment of strange but clearly significant trinkets. Usually, Hero was keen on observing their surroundings to an analytical fault, but this time, they barely had time to glance around, focus instead transfixed on the seated figure before them.

Villain was the one who had kidnapped them?

The criminal glanced up, face not shifting in the slightest at the sight of Hero before them. Then, as nonchalantly as the first movement, they looked towards their employee, a subtle look of questioning on their face. Clearly, they didn’t even need to speak in order for their point to get across.

“The target refused to cooperate without protest, minimum apprehension protocol was followed,” the lackey spoke in a rather rehearsed manner, which gave Hero the grim idea that Villain seemed to be kidnapping people quite a lot.

“Very well, you may be dismissed, Henchman. I’ll call for you if I need our guest removed from the premises,” Villian ordered casually, as though they were asking an intern for coffee. Henchman bowed politely, and turned to leave without sparing Hero a second glance. Interestingly, the moment the door slammed shut again, Villain’s posture relaxed, and they beckoned Hero over to their desk, gaze already softening.

Hero obliged, strolling up to the desk as the fear of persecution was replaced by sheer confusion. Of all people they expected to be their captor, Villain was not one of them. As soon as they reached the desk, the criminal leant upwards, and swiftly removed the gag, tossing it to one side. The superhero cleared their throat, adjusting, before speaking up.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re back to hating my guts again. Your henchmen were quite firm with me, to say the least,” Hero commented, their playful demeanour returning as they leant their elbows on the mahogany desk. Looking around, they noticed that the entire room seemed to fit Villain’s exact colour scheme.

“Forgive them, they weren’t aware that this impromptu kidnapping was of your best interest. I wasn’t certain if telling the henchmen just why I wanted you here was a great idea.”

“Why did you bring me here, then?”

Villain opened their mouth to speak, prompty stopped themself, and let out a breathless laugh. They internally rephrased whatever it was they planned on saying, eyes not leaving Hero for a moment.

“My superiors refuse to let me interfere with Other Villain’s goals. If I sent my henchmen to deter them, I’m sure they’d arrive at our doorstep, furious. But, if the hero they were persuing just so happened to mysteriously disappear, I’m sure they’d blame it on the agency instead of us.”

“Aww, you were worried,” Hero cooed, taking the criminal’s gloved hands. Even before the pair had become amicable (which then furthered itself into something deeper), Villain had never shown much desire to harm Hero. Any ill will that was present in their initial relationship had all been showmanship. A performance for both the press and their respective bosses.

“When am I not?” Villain cupped their partner’s cheek and rubbed gentle circles into their temple. Hero practically melted at the gesture, feeling their warmth even through the fabric that covered their tender hands. Careful to not push the criminal’s hands away, they maneuvered around the desk, resting the small of their back against the edge so that they were still facing the villain.

“You know, sometimes I forget you’re supposed to be the commanding and callous Villain. You’re too much of a sap, in my eyes,” Hero confessed. It was a simple mistake to make, Villain was perhaps the most gentle person the hero had ever had the pleasure of meeting. They worried incessantly over the safety of their partner, and were more than affectionate when surrounded by the tranquility of four secluded walls.

It was amusing to Hero, most days. Villain was a more than threatening criminal: they headed up a major faction of what most heroes considered to be an unstoppable villainous organisation. There were very few criminals that Hero fought that wouldn’t bow in both fear and respect to them. And here they were, staring up at the hero with an entirely lovestruck gaze. Smitten was an understatement.

“Rich words coming from the legendary superhero who is currently making no effort to escape a kidnapping situation. Sounds much more incriminating to me,” Villain chuckled lovingly. As they spoke, their hands moved down to Hero’s waist, tugging at them softly so that they’d come closer to the point of practically hovering over Villain’s lap in a feather-light embrace.

The hero hummed wordlessly, content with being this close to their partner, adrenaline wearing off from both the encounter with Other Villain and their rather efficient abduction. They were admittedly exhausted and (perhaps stupidly) felt more than comfortable in showing that fact to the criminal before them, wrapping their arms around the unmasked villain and settling into their lap.

The chair wasn’t exactly comfortable to lie on, but that was something they could hardly focus their mind on once Villain started painting strokes of warmth down their back. Hero didn’t need to look at them to know they were smiling, to which Hero beamed back.

“I do apologise that my men were not so gentle. Perhaps I should have found a way to tell them without incriminating us.”

“It’s ok, Vil. At least I got to see you at the end of a tough day.”

For the next few hours, until Villain had finally finished up any remaining work (the contents of which Hero was sadly not allowed to view but was reassured of their nonviolent nature), Hero stayed within their embrace, exhausted from a demanding and entirely unpredictable day. At least, through it all, they’d always have Villain to fall back on when they needed them.

Thank you all so much for 100 followers<33

[drlancaster]

Take some Teru concepts I made while I finish up the last few things I'm drawing!!!

I'm so sorry they're taking so long I have had a really long week 😭

Go read The Forgotten Son pretty pretty please :3 it's by @teruthecreator on ao3 and it's so good. You'll love it I promise

Oh um this is me editing this, I originally forgot to actually tag him when first I posted this. ANYWAYS HE USES THE SAME NAME ON AO3 AS HE DOES ON HERE

[mabsolgirl]

Headphone warning

Transcript below! :3

I made this a while ago, around when I first started making art of the Supernova AU AU. There have been some slight changes since then but I wanted to post this anyway since its been just sitting in my drafts and starting to get dusty. The changes aren't enough to alter anything in the audio in a major way anyway so neeeeh.

It's been a while since I did voice stuff so hopefully I don't sound terrible lol

Obligatory @linxprime ping cause au of their au

Watch me pull world lore outta my ass cause I still don't know what im doing

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

In the ruins of a crashed and destroyed ship, you find a strange audio file labeled "Project Supernova". You made a copy of it and now you have the time to give it a listen...

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

Transcript

Warning. The following video is the private property of [REDACTED]. Any outside or uncertified personnel caught viewing this video will be terminated by any means necessary. Viewer discretion is advised.

Log 1.

I am Dr. Jane Doe and I’ve recently been put in charge of “Project Supernova” after the old one quit. I decided to keep audio documentations of my findings and observations. I find it easier for me to document things by recording them by audio then writing it all out later.

Project Supernova is a study on the abilities of intelligent lifeforms, how they manifest, if different abilities can be manifested in specific situations, and researching the phenomena of Berserkers. Before I came in, an embryo was successfully fertilized and grown into a stable state. There were many failed attempts with this being the only one that has made it this far, living for roughly 12 years as of this recording. To be honest I question the decision to make a lifeform rather than study the cases of people who already have abilities, but the higher-ups wanted to do this rather than the simpler way.

Regardless it is planned to come out of the tube once it reaches 13 years, which is a couple months away. It should be stable enough by then. Until then we monitor it for any changes.

End log.

Log 2.

Right, so I forgot to mention info about the lifeform last log. My bad, heheh.

So, the lifeform is female and it was made with the DNA of multiple organisms with the two primary ones being Human Earthling and Cuixcus. I think I pronounced that right. Cuixcus was used for their adaptability and Human Earthlings to counteract the weaknesses of the former. It has bones, can withstand hotter temperatures, and while it doesn’t need to, it does breathe oxygen. The DNA from other organisms were used to help stabilize it so it doesn’t just die spontaneously. The genetics chosen specifically to see if heritage has an influence on what abilities would appear.

Now the real reason I am logging this. Earlier today it was monitored that specs of light were floating around the lifeform’s tube. They looked so… ethereal. It was like looking at a cluster of tiny stars. I should probably mention that the lifeform is in an unconscious state. It has been like this since its creation and this was the first time these lights were documented. They disappeared before we could study them. Maybe it dreamt them up? We’ll have to keep an eye on it.

End log.

Log 5.

Today it came out of the tube, emphasis on “it”. We weren't supposed to take it out for another week but I guess it had other plans. One second it was in the tube, the next the lights appeared again and it was out and fell face-first into the equipment. It teleported itself out.

Since it wasn’t connected to the machines anymore it woke up quickly after that. Of course we were all freaking out but it didn’t seem too bothered by us. We ran some tests and it was stable. It bruised its head but other than that it wasn’t significantly injured.

It’s a very curious one. It would grab and inspect what we had. We let it for the most part and it would hand us back what it had when it was done. Right now it’s in its own room that we had to quickly scramble to finish putting together. It’s a quiet little one. The team and I decided on the name “Nova” after the project. As per usual we’ll keep an eye on it.

End log.

Log 27.

A lot happened today. Today is the first day Nova went into her Berserker state. The first thing I noticed was that she was much calmer than I expected. I expected a rampaging beast like the other cases of Berzerkers but Nova would just… stare at us. We kept an eye on our monitors to watch to see what she does and then we watched her create light orbs; like the ones from one of my first logs but much bigger. This time we were able to scan them to see what exactly they were…

They’re stars. I am not joking, she was making literal stars, balls of collapsed burning gas, in her hands! From our observations they disappear when she loses focus but still incredible nonetheless! We later figured out the key piece to what her abilities are: a limited form of matter manipulation. She can teleport herself, and those she touches, by willing her own matter into another space and the stars are made by manipulating the matter of gas and dust to collapse in her hands. It is theorized she can manipulate any form of matter so long as physical contact is made.

After a while she went out of Berserker state and fell unconscious. We hooked her up to make sure she’s alright. Right now she’s comatose; we’re hoping she comes back alright.

End log.

Log 39.

Earlier today one of the higher-ups came in and told us that we were not needed on Project Supernova anymore and that in the coming days a new team would be coming in to take over the project. Of course we were outraged. We were consistently giving them good results! We did what we were told! We did nothing wrong, didn’t question a thing. Nothing we said could convince him otherwise. None of us wanted to leave the project. I’ll admit, Nova has grown on us. She’s like family and now for some reason she’s being taken from us. When he left we all decided to look into it ourselves.

The more we dug, the more things began to not add up. Then… we found something. We’re not here to do what we think we’re doing. We’re gonna get Nova out of here. This place is no longer safe. We’ll get her out and we’ll be the whistleblowers to this place.

End log.

Log 40

…I’m… I’m sorry…

Dr. Jane Doe, Dr. Bailey Shindo, Dr. Margoba Entano, Dr. Manbagea Nals, and Dr. Ripley Hedon have been terminated. Project Supernova assets will be transported to [REDACTED] for further completion by a new team effective immediately. End communication.

[kyoupann]

Really looking forward to finally bringing the man, the legend, Ry☆ up in therapy next session. Like, are you really telling me I get to talk about the fucking grip he had on me for like 7-8 years and tell my therapist about how I maintained the hobby of literally categorising 95% of his online presence across multiple blogs and different social media; created a virtual closet based on the stuff he'd sometimes wear (down to the price shipping options overseas) as well as a catalogue of all his roles in stage plays and a video archive of his time as radio host. Like, why am I even paying to get diagnosed at this point. Ry☆ has had the answer all along, the bitch (affectionate)

[captainlavellan]

Hey so my friend @chickiedinner and I started a DA fic if you guy’s wanted to check it out! We’ve got a BIG cast and will be going between Rook and the Inquisitor’s perspectives on this. :)

It’s our first fic so we really hope you guy’s enjoy! ❤️

[gatheringbones]

[“Oftentimes when we think about preparing for penetrative sex, we think about the willingness and readiness of the penetrator: a penis becoming a boner, a dildo being lubed up. And yes, sadly, a phallus can usually make its way inside a canal whether the canal is ready or not. But wet and swollen pussies and rectums and throats are, simply put, better for fucking.

That’s one of the many advantages of fisting for people who enjoy being penetrated: unlike a cylindrical phallus, it requires patience and finesse to get the considerably bumpier shape of a hand inside. It’s easier for most penises to slip into most vaginas or rectums, but “easy” doesn’t necessarily translate to “more pleasurable” for anyone involved. Fisting emphasizes what the fistee wants and needs in order to relax and open, which changes the act of penetration from “let’s get this done” to “let’s take our time.” It’s not that it always requires hours of tantric foreplay: I’ve seen people swallow hands in a matter of minutes. But fisting tops and bottoms do need to be attuned to each other more than in any other kind of intercourse.

Adamczak mentions fisting several times in her piece (“a closed hand around a dildo, of lips around a foot, of a vagina stretched over a fist”). To my mind, getting fisted is the ultimate act of circlusion, even if the term itself refers to the penetrating body part. Fisting necessitates communication, patience, finesse, embodied listening, and active breathwork. This may go some way toward explaining why fisters tend to enter a meditative, trance-like state. Fisting requires intentional engagement from the bottom, because in order to take a fist you really have to breathe deeply, to communicate about slowing down or wanting more, to reach for the poppers, to ask for the lube. And these are all things bottoms could be doing all the time, but fisting takes us out of our assumptions that the bottom is there to satisfy the top’s lust, to simply take it. A fistee must be a size queen, someone who loves to be filled up with something massive. Opening to a fist is a trust fall for everyone involved. When your hand is deep inside someone, you can feel their heart beating back against you. Sometimes when I’m up to my wrist in an aroused, engorged bottom, watching and feeling and listening to and smelling a partner so aroused they’re thrashing and bearing down and grasping back and contracting over and over, I think: Why would you fuck a hole that isn’t turned on? Sure, I take pride in turning people on and driving them insane with ecstasy, but fucking an engorged hole is just more fun, like bouncing on a trampoline or being tossed into the air by a taut parachute, with all the verve that inspires.

It’s not just penises that enjoy being circluded either. Clit heads respond to pressing and smashing and mashing, especially once they’ve been teased into arousal. The suction of a mouth or pump toy vacuum sealed around the vulva can create the feeling that your junk is swollen enough to put inside of something or someone. “What matters is not what parts a body possesses, but rather, which parts are put into action,” concludes Adamczak, and this is a queer manifesto bigger than circlusion, bigger even than fisting. When we reinvent and remap our anatomy for the purpose of pleasure, we leave behind inherited anxiety and shame around what our bodies are capable of, opening wide to engulf the future.”]

tina horn, from why are people into that? a cultural investigation of kink, 2024

[byoldervine]

Types Of Writer’s Block (And How To Fix Them)

1. High inspiration, low motivation. You have so many ideas to write, but you just don’t have the motivation to actually get them down, and even if you can make yourself start writing it you’ll often find yourself getting distracted or disengaged in favour of imagining everything playing out

Try just bullet pointing the ideas you have instead of writing them properly, especially if you won’t remember it afterwards if you don’t. At least you’ll have the ideas ready to use when you have the motivation later on

2. Low inspiration, high motivation. You’re all prepared, you’re so pumped to write, you open your document aaaaand… three hours later, that cursor is still blinking at the top of a blank page

RIP pantsers but this is where plotting wins out; refer back to your plans and figure out where to go from here. You can also use your bullet points from the last point if this is applicable

3. No inspiration, no motivation. You don’t have any ideas, you don’t feel like writing, all in all everything is just sucky when you think about it

Make a deal with yourself; usually when I’m feeling this way I can tell myself “Okay, just write anyway for ten minutes and after that, if you really want to stop, you can stop” and then once my ten minutes is up I’ve often found my flow. Just remember that, if you still don’t want to keep writing after your ten minutes is up, don’t keep writing anyway and break your deal - it’ll be harder to make deals with yourself in future if your brain knows you don’t honour them

4. Can’t bridge the gap. When you’re stuck on this one sentence/paragraph that you just don’t know how to progress through. Until you figure it out, productivity has slowed to a halt

Mark it up, bullet point what you want to happen here, then move on. A lot of people don’t know how to keep writing after skipping a part because they don’t know exactly what happened to lead up to this moment - but you have a general idea just like you do for everything else you’re writing, and that’s enough. Just keep it generic and know you can go back to edit later, at the same time as when you’re filling in the blank. It’ll give editing you a clear purpose, if nothing else

5. Perfectionism and self-doubt. You don’t think your writing is perfect first time, so you struggle to accept that it’s anything better than a total failure. Whether or not you’re aware of the fact that this is an unrealistic standard makes no difference

Perfection is stagnant. If you write the perfect story, which would require you to turn a good story into something objective rather than subjective, then after that you’d never write again, because nothing will ever meet that standard again. That or you would only ever write the same kind of stories over and over, never growing or developing as a writer. If you’re looking back on your writing and saying “This is so bad, I hate it”, that’s generally a good thing; it means you’ve grown and improved. Maybe your current writing isn’t bad, if just matched your skill level at the time, and since then you’re able to maintain a higher standard since you’ve learned more about your craft as time went on

[retrowitchy]

ranking lucy gray's outfits in the tbosas movie as a costume design student ✶✧

quite possibly, everything rachel zegler wears is my favorite part of tbosas. trish summerville is a big personal hero of mine, and tbosas is my favorite hunger games film in terms of costume design!!! so as a disclaimer, i love every one of these looks with everything in me, this is just me ranking them.

8. swimsuit

this really shouldn't be in last place, because crochet swimwear? brilliant. and so beautiful. and so in-universe.

i love how all the covey swimwear feels like it was hand-made by the characters themselves. obviously, nobody in district 12 is swimming for pleasure much (we learn this from the first book, and haymitch and burdie just skinny dipped lol), so naturally the covey would have made their own things to wear by hand.

7. sejanus' execution

the details of the snakes on her belt and the hand stitching/embroidery on her sleeves are so wonderful. for an outfit that never really gets a full shot in the film (most of rachel's shots in this scene are closeups from the neck up), the dedication to detail is super admirable.

6. well i'm not made out of sugar

it's such a good detail how coriolanus' mother's shawl perfectly color compliments the rest of this outfit. it's like she picked it out to match on purpose, which makes the betrayal all the more devastating. i think this scene is also one of trish's stronger uses of color symbolism- the warm, sunshine-y colors of lucy gray contrasting the stark, bare palette of everything coriolanus wears in 12. she's a symbol of hope. he's trying to end that.

5. the covey lake

huge fan of the simplicity here. it's just a dress over the swimsuit. and yet everything about this screams lucy gray and screams covey. look at those mismatched little brass buttons!! the swimsuit peeking out from underneath!! the plum color suits rachel zegler so well- it's just generally so gorgeous.

4. pure as the driven snow

this outfit was one of the things about this movie that stuck in my head the most after walking out of the theater. there's this carefree, thrown-on essence to it, like the flowers in her hair are an afterthought, or maude ivory helped her put them in. i wish i could find better pictures of the vest, because the beading details are so beautiful. the reusing of her boots is a good detail too, because obviously she wouldn't have that many pairs of shoes.

3. the meadow

trish summerville did a great job at building a repeated silhouette for lucy gray. the cinched waist, blousy or sleeveless top, and a-line, flowing skirt is in almost every outfit, and i think this one is the most classic example of that look. i think she looks so beautiful in blue, and i like that she's dressed in such a wide variety of colors throughout the film- always something completely different than the last.

2. the rainbow dress

OBVIOUSLY. hand painted corset are you kidding me? i remember seeing this in the trailer and thinking truly, she could not have more perfectly recreated the dress from the book. it stays true to lucy gray's sillhouette, the ruffles feel bright enough to be a rainbow, but muted enough to still feel in-universe/accurate for 12. one of my favorite details is her boots ↓

they're old, and have a vintage feel, but something about how chunky they are also reminds us that despite the folksy charm, we are also in a dystopian future.

1. nothing you can take from me

my baby. my darling. possibly my favorite costume of any hunger games film. i am IN LOVE with this outfit.

the flower decal trimming and embroidery on her blouse, and the crushed navy velvet that feels like it was found at a 100 year old antique store. the boots are back. lacy top underneath, hand crocheted no doubt. purple in the skirt, but it's subtle- purple is her most repeated color element. it's rebellious, it's royal. the slight 1940s references in the silhouette.

DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE HAIR. ribbons and feathers threaded throughout her curls, giving her the impression of a bird in flight when she twirls??? REMIND YOU OF ANYTHING?????

this is her triumphant return moment, her defiant song against the oppression of the capitol. she's captivated the crowd....just like a certain someone will years and years later.

[alessiamalfoyzabini]

Moondir - 01

Pairing | moondir!OT7 x human!Reader

Word Count | 5,6k

Warnings | +18, angst, dirty and crude language, references to mass extermination, MC is forced to have a gynecological examination, discomfort and humiliation, references to future forced impregnation practices, MC is evaluated as if she were an animal, this is not for minors.

This fanfiction is dark and yandere, if you don't like the genre, don't read and if you are not of age, don't read.

I don't want to hear any complaints in the comments, thank you.

This does not reflect my way of thinking or living at all, it is just a work of fiction, it is like watching a horror movie, many of us love horror movies, but we would never dream of what we see in those movies happening in reality as well.

Simply put, this story was written for entertainment purposes, it should not be seen as a reflection of my values, opinions or morals. I absolutely do not condone such acts.

⤷ Summary | The Moondir, born of the Moon Goddess' love for a wolf, were persecuted and enslaved by humans for merely existing. Moondirian women have been captured and killed in the most heinous ways, men have instead been forced to do dangerous work in place of the humans themselves, and after more than a century, this has virtually brought their race to the brink of extinction. A group of Moondirian rebels have succeeded in their quest to regain their freedom, and not without the use of the crudest violence. Their females are now gone, and it will be human women who will help them repopulate the world.

➢ Author's Note | Hi, guys! 🥰 Here I am back with the story I had announced a few days ago, it will be divided into chapters, be sure to always read the warnings in each chapter! I'm very excited because I've been thinking about this storyline for a while and I really hope to do a good job 🤧 Let me know what you think, I love you ❤️

Taglist is open: @katherine-kookie - @btsuga-d - @pantara - @angelicsmilesworld - @lennieharper - @takemeaway5402 - @jiminismine4ever - @m00njinnie - @ke1k029 - @velvet-stardust2002 - @darkuni63 - @douknowbts - @aiiselle90210 - @fewercascade - @mageprincess7 - @get-that-brain-working - @whipwhoops - @dragons-flare - @seokjins-luigi - @pjmsneverland - @jimincrystal - @ajkwww - @ungodlyjoon - @hecateslittlewitchling - @namjoonsbuspass - @xicanacorpse - @btssimplove - @antisocial-mochi267 - @reallygenerouskoala - @dabishou - @themwordsblog - @deluluisme - @justanarchiveforfics - @blackberrywonie - @the-holy-hobi - @justlikecrazy - @herareila - @furioustrashlover - @mar-lo-pap - @dachshunddame - @pantaral81 - @lattejimin - @withmuchluv-tannie - @calmyourtitts7 - @plushjeno - @rafesbunniebby - @rms-expensive-girl - @polnaraffsrack - @rg2108 - @paramedicnerd004 - @jungshaking - @ane102 - @moonstarw

Main List - 01 - 02 - 03

Is it really so strange for you to find yourself at the feet of the man who swore to destroy your family?

Although your brother has downplayed his words over the years, you have now had the confirmation you so feared. Min Yoongi meant what he said and came back to end your existence, dressing as the icy captain of his team.

“I see you're all right,” he murmurs with a smile that does not reach his feline eyes, devoid of any human warmth. He looks down at you, imposing his presence on you, and you find yourself forced to bite your tongue not to answer him curtly. But, in fact, your silence only seems to provoke him.

One step forward from him and you find your chin clenched between two cold, ungentlemanly fingers, “I don't like this look, Y/N... I've always told you that sooner or later I'd wipe it off this pretty face,” his hot breath brushes your face, making you shiver. Mint and tobacco. A typical male smell that he didn't have the first time you met him.

You still don't respond to him, though you can't help but notice how much he has changed. The thin, shadowy young man like a ghost is gone; in his place is a hard, unreadable man. His high-quality jacket sparkles with prestigious medals and accolades, his tight pants highlight the sinuous lines of his athletic legs, and his solid leather boots shake the floor with every imposing step he takes.

You in comparison are just a little mouse who should beg that man.

“Will you die quietly, Y/N?” a question asked in a distant, mean tone. As if he hasn't known you for a lifetime.

You tighten your lips, releasing yourself from his grip angrily before spitting a stream of saliva straight into his face. Some soldiers remain impassive, others widen their eyes, stunned by your audacity or perhaps your death wish, but Yoongi remains perfectly calm and, with one hand wrapped in a dark glove, picks up the trail of saliva slowly creeping down his snow-white cheek.

“Interesting... proud to the end,” he murmurs with an amused grin, his eyes twinkling with interest as they return to scratch your fragile skin, “Yes... pride is a trait I've always detested about you,” he admits, using the same hand with which he picked up your saliva to nod to his men. Suddenly two of them grab you by the arms impetuously, holding you down for their captain.

Your heart speeds up and you can feel the dull thump pushing against your eardrums. A shameful fear grips your stomach as you see him approach further. He slowly kneels in front of you once more to whisper in your ear, undisturbed.

“The women of my race were just like you; beautiful, proud and fierce,” he begins, using a tone so sweet it makes you shiver.

His race. Moondir.

Neither beasts nor humans. Born from the union of the Moon Goddess with one of her strongest wolves.

Creatures born specifically to strike terror among the humans, great enemies of the Goddess, who, however, sought and found a way to enslave the Moondirians and succeeded. But after a century of mistreatment and starvation, the Moondirians have managed to rebel against the dictatorship, saying no more to those chains made of abuse and suffering, succeeding in setting up a rebel group worthy of opposing human power.

Now they have taken control of every country and rule with ferocity, taking revenge not only for the mistreatment they suffered but also for the extinction of their women.

The Moondirians have been forbidden to procreate, and to be safe, every female of their species has been killed.

Guilt compresses your chest when you think that none of those women were given a dignified or quick death, even more so when you remember that your father and brother willingly took part in that carnage.

Yoongi squares you with a new ferocity in his gaze, “Can someone remind me what human practice was when one of our women was captured?”

A faint frantic murmur rises from the soldiers, observing you in turn with disgust.

Another man approaches you, with a cadenced, light step; he is as tall as Yoongi and wears, along with the typical uniform, a stiff, black cap with silver embroidery that lets you know he is a lieutenant. His plump, soft lips are tight in a severe, irritated line, distorting his real beauty.

“When a Moondir woman was captured, they would rob her of all her possessions, proceed with forced undressing, and after a whole series of shameful abuses designed only to humiliate her, they would end the practice with a bullet in the head, if they felt generous enough that day to let her die right away.”

Yoongi nods in his colleague's direction, “What do you want me to do in this case, Jimin?”

Your heart leaps into your throat, peering into this man's furious amber eyes you can already get a taste of what will happen to you. But why is Yoongi leaving the choice to someone else?

“We are not inferior to humans, we should show them that we are capable of worse,” he barely manages to hold back a snarl that makes your skin crawl.

You will die. Like your brother, like your father, like your mother. There is no way they will leave you alive, and perhaps that is the best thing that could happen to save at least some of your dignity.

The Moondirian - Jimin - finally turns to his superior, “But without killing her of course, we need her.”

Suddenly the world comes crashing down on you. What does he mean by “we need her”?

Yoongi's icy bearing begins to chill even your bones, his satisfied grin makes you nauseous.

“What are you going to do?” opening your mouth to give breath to your fears costs you quite a bit of effort, the acid in your stomach begins to churn, clamoring to rise back up into your esophagus.

“We have no more women, Y/N,” he says softly, “You will be one of the many other humans who will help us become what we once were, which is a great and powerful people.”

Some sneer among the soldiers, others turn away to let Jimin, who no longer seems interested in your fate, pass by.

“Will you kill men and use women to bring others of your kind into the world?” at your choked question, Yoongi returns closer.

“Have you regained the use of speech, darling?” you shush immediately, shuddering at the feel of his palm brushing your face, “That's it, good girl,” he murmurs before moving closer to your ear again, “We've already killed most of the men, we'll kill the others we flush out of their shit holes, and as for the women... we're already having a great time fucking them like whores.”

A knot in your throat prevents you from swallowing the tears you are trying so bitterly to hold back, “You're a bastard,” you hiss in his direction, making him burst out laughing.

“And you will soon be a whore with your thighs open and your lap always full of cum, just like all the others.”

Your stomach churns with disgust and you eventually vomit, even putting your soul back in.

Contrary to what Yoongi said, you are not thrown into a cell to suffer the pains of hell, at least not right away.

You are forcibly yanked out of your home by a pair of snarling soldiers, you turn to gaze with tears in your eyes at those old walls that saw you come into the world and grow up. You have nothing left in there now. Your family was never rich, what your father and brother did was for the good of all, but you cannot deny the satisfaction in their faces every time they completed a mission.

The punishment for their sins affected you, too, because you grew up on money made from the skin of many other people.

“Get in, woman,” a soldier rudely shoves you into a military truck, you are practically surrounded by men more like beasts, and a ridiculous squeak escapes your lips as a disgusting taste makes you curl them, it was not a good idea to vomit.

You observe their uniforms and the weapons they hold against their well-placed bodies. You recognize everything, even the men in your family wore those uniforms, the Moondirians took and looted, now possessing what once belonged to humans.

“Where are you taking me?” you ask, trying not to let your voice tremble, and almost no one pays attention to you. Only one turns toward you, reserving a wicked grin.

“Trust me, human,” he chuckles, “You don't want to know.”

Discouragement assails you and you pay attention to the night landscape you see out the window, or at least what allows you to see the large bulk of the soldier standing in front of you with crossed arms.

“Don't ask too many questions,” he grunts, nailing you with an ugly glare, “The stench of your fear is making me nauseous.”

If possible, those words agitate you more; your father had told you about this ability of theirs, but you never really believed it. Other than Yoongi, you never saw a Moondirian in your life, and Yoongi was anything but sociable. He worked in your father's place, and as absurd as it sounds, even the poorest family was entitled to own at least one Moondir wolf. It was just one more way to humiliate them, but you child could hardly have known that. To you he was simply a sullen boy of few words, someone your brother had taught you to ignore for everyone's sake.

When Yoongi managed to escape, your brother and father-although concerned- scoffed at his words of vengeance, words that stuck with you for a good ten years, more than enough time for the Moondirians to create riots, revolts, murders and conquer all there was to conquer.

Mankind, from the height of its arrogance, believed it had everything under control, until little by little the throats of all the most important Leaders were cut, throwing the world into a black crisis from which it was then impossible to recover.

“Hey, human,” grunted another, “We're here, come on down.”

With trembling legs, you are dragged listlessly inside an old building that you recognize as a long unused hospital, inside-despite the long years of neglect-there is still the pungent smell of disinfectant and the neon lights work quite well. Inside, it has been kept clean and tidy, although employees at the front desk are missing and the main entrance is virtually deserted except for a few soldiers posted on guard duty.

The firm grip on your arm is painful, but you dare not say anything to the wolf who is escorting you. Rather you are terrified, wandering with spirited eyes from corridor to corridor, watching the hospital signs without really seeing them. You hate hospitals, you hate everything about them, and you don't understand why they brought you here.

A desperate wail escapes your lips as the wolf stops in front of a metal door with an opaque glass porthole.

"Straighten your feet, you fool! You look like a damn-"

“Hold your tongue, soldier,” the metal door slowly swings open, two blue eyes rimmed with long, thick lashes stab at you from all sides, while in response that soldier stiffens, “We need cooperation, if you treat her that way you will make my job more complicated.”

The man who opened the door is continuing to talk to the wolf at your side, but he does not look away from yours, he is firm and stern, making you petrify on the spot.

It is not just embarrassment or fear what you feel, it is something more visceral, a disarming awareness. Those blue eyes are laden with promises the man has every intention of keeping, a threat whispered gently, your heart beating so hard and so fast you don't question that he is listening with rapt attention.

Then, as if your gazes hadn't just nailed each other, he waves you in.

You try to put one foot in front of the other, aware that you have no escape route in that place, and when the soldier begins to follow you as well, a low growl of warning makes the hair on your neck stand up. But the warning is not for you, it is for that wolf who instantly freezes.

You don't know who this man is, but he must be someone with a lot of power, because up until a few moments ago that soldier was playing up, while now he looks more like a dog on a leash.

Making yourself as small as you can, you walk uncomfortably into the medium-sized room, eyeing the clean linoleum floor, then the light green walls with a few medical posters posted, finally the desk filled with papers and files locked in large binders.

“Have a seat,” the man says, pointing to an examination couch that makes you shudder. You search your eyes for medical instruments such as needles, gauze and who knows what else, but beyond the smell of disinfectant you see nothing else.

As if he has read your mind, the man gives you a sarcastic smile and it is as if a veil is lifted from your eyes, making you see past his blue ones. The first thing that strikes you are the full lips bent in that mischievous smile, the shape of the cupid's bow is enchanting, and smooth black hair manages to graze the base of his neck, while his bangs almost cover the well-defined line of his elegant eyebrows.

“Do you fear medical equipment?”

You tighten your lips at that blatant tease, feeling mixed emotions. You can't even remember the last time you've been to a doctor; you don't even know if this man is one.

“Are you a doctor?” you ask abruptly, almost as an accusation.

“Sort of, yes - not the way you humans understand it, though,” he replies with a shrug, shrugging off the partition to pull out a wheeled cart where medical tools are stored. You pale when you notice a speculum.

You take a quick step backward, toward the door, with every intention of escaping, and the man quickly turns to stare at you with slightly dilated pupils, no need for him to growl to freeze you once more where you are, “No risky moves, human,” he warns you in a deeper voice, “I'm still a wolf,” he hisses, gritting his teeth hard. Then you see it, a deep scar around his neck, which only moments before was covered by the tips of his hair and the collar of his lab coat.

“I don't want to be touched by you,” you murmur, terrified. You've always refused to face a gynecological examination, but you know what a speculum is for and you're uncomfortable with even the thought of him...!

You shake your head, but the man is not intimidated by your statement.

“It's going to happen what needs to happen, girl,” he replies, disinfecting his hands and putting on sterile gloves, “Now lie down on the table, after the examination we'll talk a bit so I can register you in the system.”

You didn't understand half a word he just told you, but his voice is enough to convince you not to take any steps.

The man snorts slightly, bowing his head and squinting his unusually blue-colored eyes.

“You should listen to me, I'm not going to hurt you... I'll probably also be the only man who will touch you gently enough not to make you cry” his words hit you like a violent slap, a knot tightens your throat and suddenly your eyes fill with tears.

“I didn't do anything wrong, I don't deserve such treatment,” you murmur swallowing the pain, the man stares at you with an impassive expression.

“Many of us have said the same thing, yet humans still played God by hunting us down, killing us and enslaving us” his harsh words make you realize that he will not listen to you, he may speak to you with an unusual calm, but the hatred is always there, ready to burn you, making you guilty of actions you never committed. Violence only breeds more violence.

“What will really happen to me?” you ask fearing your fate.

"If I deem you eligible, you will be escorted to one of our procreation centers, our staff will complete your genetic tests, and you will be assigned to the right males."

You will be raped, and not just by one man, but by many.

“Like a beast,” you blurt out angrily, incredulous and disgusted. Yoongi did not lie.

“Yeah, like a beast,” nods the man, “But you always have a choice: Are you going to lie down on that exam table, allowing me to figure out if and how healthy you are, in the most humane of ways, or do you want those soldiers to take you one at a time - or even more together - so that you remain pregnant in the most inhumane of ways?”

A shiver of terror squeezes your gut, making you want to vomit again.

Silently and with a lost look you begin to take off your shoes, “Wise decision,” he nods, beginning to arrange a gray monitor, “You can leave your underwear on, if it will appease you.”

You swallow bitter tears with each layer of clothing that leaves you, you feel humiliated as it is, but what other choice do you have?

When only your bra and peach-colored cotton panties remain on you, you slowly reach for the exam table and being very careful not to brush against the man who is now waiting for you sitting on a wheeled stool, you lie down with an insane urge to cover yourself from head to toe.

With a satisfied murmur he picks up a bottle, spreading clear gel on your lower abdomen, the icy sensation of the gel giving you chills, making you wince.

“What's your name?” the doctor asks, focused on the monitor-apparently able to read the strange shapes that appear between the grayscale image as he slowly moves the probe across the area of your abdomen. He pushes the probe across your skin for greater visibility and you stiffly murmur your full name

“My name is Kim Seokjin, and if you come back into the program, I will follow you as a doctor for a long time,” he replies, pushing the probe toward your lower abdomen, “Lower your slip a little.”

The request fills you with discomfort, but you do as he tells you, the fabric drops a little more with a slight rustle, and the probe reaches down to touch your pubis. You remain rigid as a statue, scrutinizing Seokjin's expression, but never once has the man looked at you with strange, slimy eyes. He is absolutely professional as he creates freeze-frames, occasionally asking you to take deep breaths and other times to remain totally still.

“Good, now place your legs in the stirrups, I will proceed with an internal examination.”

You widen your eyes, staring at him pitifully, “D-Do I have to?” you hate yourself for the tiny, terrified tone you used, but fear and shame are eating you alive.

The man - Seokjin - freezes for a moment, staring at you with a strange shadow in his blue eyes.

Finally, he sighs, “When was your last period?”

You think for a while before answering, "I think -- about two weeks ago? I guess have a regular period...?" you answer a little unsure, you haven't exactly kept track, because...

“Have you had sexual intercourse recently?”

At his question your skin heats up, turning redder than a tomato, “I-I... no, I mean... I haven't had any, ever” you bite your lips in embarrassment. You know very well that at your age it's strange. Your father always complained that at over 20 years old you were still not married, but it simply didn't happen, you never forced yourself to do anything, although there was no shortage of opportunities.

Seokjin's eyes shine for a single moment, but it is enough for you to catch his amusement.

"Basically I have no reason to proceed internally, but I still ask you to let me continue with my examination, I will only touch you superficially, I will go no further. Is that enough of a compromise for you?" you breathe shakily, nodding slowly.

You slip off your briefs and with a courage you don't feel you have position your legs on the stirrups, spreading them apart. Your heart pounding in your ears as you wait for the exam to end, you stiffen when the man touches your intimate area, going so far as to do something you've never allowed anyone else to do.

“What are you-” the words die in your throat, you feel the sensation of latex gloves against the entrance to your vagina, and two fingers checking its elasticity and shape. Your stomach clenches in raw shame, but you remain still, acknowledging the gentle, shallow touch, just as he promised.

“Right now I am checking the appearance of your vulva and the general elasticity of your entrance, to make sure there is no redness or sores, but everything seems to be okay,” he announces as he walks away, “You may wear your panties again, but remain lying down,” he announces, leaving you confused.

If the exam is over, why would you stay lying down? A wave of panic turns you pale; it is so intense that Seokjin turns in your direction with a stern look.

“Your smell is steeped in fear, woman,” he scolds you, tossing the latex gloves into the bin next to the monitor, then handing you some Kleenex to remove traces of gel, “If I wanted to do anything to you, believe me, I would have done it by now.”

You swallow before nodding, accepting the Kleenex and lying back down.

“Now I'm going to check the general state of your body,” he informs you as he returns to your side, in awe you watch as his hand rests on the soft skin of your abdomen, claws you didn't notice before glisten under the neon light of the room, but the touch is so gentle that the claws don't even reach out to touch you. The Moondirian's blue eyes slowly clear as a gentle tingle invades your body. The sensation reminds you of a lover's lips lightly brushing kisses against your skin, causing delicious shivers throughout your body, you find it quite natural to close your eyes, relaxing against your gloomiest expectation.

Seokjin continues his examination minutely, your blood flowing like peaceful waves inside your body, with the palm of his hand he moves closer to your chest, until he touches the curve of your breasts covered by the cotton bra. Although he has reiterated that he has no strange intentions, the sensual movement of his hand along your most sensitive skin makes your throat contract, a movement that immediately attracts his attention.

He thus begins to murmur something in a language unfamiliar to you, a song as sweet as a bird's song. You feel welcomed into a big hug and find yourself instinctively sighing, your heartbeat finally beginning to calm.

After another two minutes, the words stop and the warmth of his hand leaves your body, rousing you from that brief respite.

“You have excellent blood circulation and your vital organs are healthy, you are healthy,” he announces, “Now you can get dressed.”

You blink quickly, still with a foggy and confused mind about what exactly he did, "What happened? I felt strange," you whisper more to yourself.

“Do you know what the people of Moondir are like, Y/N?” he asks you, sitting down at his desk as you quickly get dressed, shake your head in denial, and Seokjin crosses his arms.

"We came into the world through a Goddess; our father was a wolf. We are connected to nature in more ways than one, and every Moondirian is born with the ability to rule an element. My element is Water, and with it I can control any kind of fluid, including blood, and through blood I listened to your body," he explains as if it were something very easy to understand even for someone like you.

When you sit in front of the Moondirian doctor, you can't help but ask, “Why are you so kind to me?”

His pointed smile leaves you breathless, and not positively.

“I know what you're up against, that's all,” he replies, igniting a flame inside.

"Are you doing this out of pity? I don't need it!" you growl, trying to retain some dignity, but Seokjin shakes his head.

“You are more stubborn than a puppy,” he sneers, before lowering the collar of his lab coat, finally allowing you to see the scar around his otherwise pale, sculptural neck. The mark is deep, but it is so old that it has lost the bright color of blood, blending in with the rest of the skin, “Do you know what this is instead?” he asks you.

You don't know exactly why such a devilry had been invented, but you remember that Yoongi, when he still worked for your father, always wore a thick electrified collar. The memory sends shivers down your spine, because you witnessed what that terrible object could do-it took at least a whole day for Yoongi to recover from those horrible shocks.

When you don't answer, Seokjin chuckles, “Of course you know, I can tell from your smell that you are aware of it, but maybe you don't know the reason behind its use.”

“Was it to punish you?” you ask, but the man shakes his head.

"Worse, it was suppressing our sexual instincts. “ he reveals with gravity, ”They exterminated our women to prevent us from procreating, and to prevent us men from feeling desire they designed a contraption as small as it is powerful and useful for their purposes.“ in his blue eyes you see a shadow drop, and when he resumes looking at you, there is no amusement, ”Out there you will find many of my kind who will not mind taking you by force, they have endured over a century of sexual deprivation, there is no one left to keep them on a leash, Y/N."

The world seems to be collapsing on you, you know the people of Moondir are not human, you know they are part wolf - beast - so you also have reason to think that you will be dealing with unscrupulous men, “Will I die like this?” you whisper with trembling lips, unable to believe that such a thing is happening to you of all people.

"No, you will not die. You are healthy and your body is mature, you are perfectly eligible for this task, and you will be cared for by experts at the procreation center, every kind of relationship will be followed, documented, and if there is a need, someone will step in to rescue you."

“That doesn't me-” but whatever you would like to say is interrupted by another man who opens the door wide without knocking.

You petrify like a marble statue, returning alert and anxious, how long has it been since the visit began, an hour? More?

He entered as if there was no one inside the room, if you hadn't dressed in time would he have had the horrible opportunity to look at you?

“You're early,” Seokjin does not seem pleased with the newcomer, who does nothing to apologize.

“You took too long this time, and I was wondering if you finally gave in to your instincts,” shrugs the other. He is a perfectly fit Moondirian specimen, his clothing similar to that of Yoongi and Jimin except for the camouflage color.

His deep green eyes nail you to your chair with vivid, eerie interest, his brown hair pulled back allowing you to peer into his face without any problem. His elegant features almost hide the madness behind those cheerfully cunning eyes. He reminds you more of a fox than a wolf.

"Stop it, Hoseok. I'm working," the other picks him up harshly, beginning to sign and stamp papers with a strange red, pungent-smelling substance.

"Oh, yeah? And here I thought you were examining these women for another reason,” he laughs lightly, approaching you with an all too confident stride, “One that involves very little words and more the body."

You move imperceptibly away from him, your survival instinct is warning you this Moondirian is different from Seokjin. Definitely. He seems more dangerous, more driven by his baser instincts.

“You're rambling, as usual” Seokjin unceremoniously hands over a freshly compiled file of documents, “She's eligible, don't damage her” Hoseok's smile turns meaner as he teams you from head to toe.

Then he takes a long breath, appreciating something, “I can't smell that other weird gel you use when you dilate them, you haven't examined her inside and it only means one thing,” he sneers alluringly, Seokjin's blue eyes light up with irritation.

“It means you won't touch her, she'll get safely to the center and you'll stay away from her after that, got it?” he asks with a certain amount of patience.

There is something unspoken in the air, you speculate that this Hoseok did something to one of the women and that Seokjin was not particularly happy about it.

“A hundred years of abstinence and you're acting like you're not feeling the effects, they fried your brain in that shithole and now you don't work anymore?” but the wolf's clear provocation - Hoseok - falls on deaf ears, Seokjin's attention is back on you, watching them both wordlessly.

A hundred years?

Can a Moondirian really live that long? That would explain Yoongi's youthful appearance. Aside from his more trained muscles, he hasn't changed a bit.

“Hoseok will take you to the nearest procreation center, he will see to it that you arrive safely, no matter how unreliable he may seem, I can assure you that with him by your side, no one will dare touch you with ill intentions.”

You nod as if intoxicated, casting a nervous glance at the man with the incredible green eyes. As unbelievable as they are disturbing.

“Yes, little flower ... you won't have to fear any one except me.”

‘You filthy bastard, try touching me and you will find that you are not the only one who can bite.’

Keep that furious thought to yourself, tightening your arms around your body protectively.

“One more thing,” Seokjin resumes, blatantly ignoring his colleague's response, “As I told you at the beginning of the visit, no rough movements, they excite us more than you think,” the doctor's warning hovers in the air like a gunshot, and you don't know if you will end that long day with all your limbs in place.

You leave the hospital with a weight in your chest; you are eligible.

Before you left, you asked Seokjin one last question, you asked him what would happen to you if he didn't find you eligible for their new repopulation plan, the doctor's glazed look was more than enough of an answer, then had come Hoseok's whisper at your side, amused.

«In that case I would have taken care of it, little flower.»

In a sports sedan that attracts far too much attention, you observe Hoseok, who drives in a relaxed and cheerful manner. As if he were a normal civilian and not a Moondirian trained to kill.

The profile sculpted with an almost aristocratic grace unnerves you. He is an animal of the worst kind, not deserving of that beauty, much less all that freedom.

“If you keep staring at me like that you're in danger of wearing me out, little flower,” you gasp, taken aback and appalled by the pointed smile he turns on you, “But I can give you a picture of me if you like me so much.”

In response you avert your eyes, pointing them to the clean but unusually empty streets. The razing has stripped the city of its soul, the once colorful and brightly lit stores are closed and empty, others have broken windows with obvious signs of struggle.

A frightening thought begins to creep into your fragile mind.

“You have killed the men and are using the women for your own purposes, but what about the children?” you ask in a hoarse whisper, your eyes lost in nothingness.

Hoseok snorts slightly through his nose, turning onto a highway.

“We are not so cruel, little flower,” he says almost bored, "Children have purer and more elastic minds. They have learned to fear us because of you adults, now they will learn to live with us, nowadays it's called a ‘reset’."

Children are not to blame, he does not say but that is what his words imply and you sighs relieved. Apparently, Moondirians have animal instincts in every respect, just as they love to hunt their prey when they run away, they also tend to take care of cubs, regardless of species.

“Don't be so relieved, woman,” his sharp teeth gleam under the flickering light of the road lights, “I would think more of myself than of others if I were you.” There is something true in his words, you can feel it in the way he utters them. Hoseok must have gone through hell, and you are sure he will put you through it too. Like a personal gain.

[a3rosp4ce]

katsuki is trying really hard to maintain his nonchalant act throughout the day.

as soon as it hits 12am, he frowns at being woken up by texts from many of his friends wishing him happy birthday.

in the morning, his parents video call him to show the embarrassing childhood pictures they've kept. "congrats brat, you're old. let's have a proper celebration during the weekend," mitsuki grins. katsuki flips her off before ending the call.

walking through the halls, he hears "happy birthday, senpai!" "happy birthday, bakugou!" every few seconds. he merely grunts in response.

in the afternoon, he's stopped by all might, who asks to eat with him. they spend their lunch talking about katsuki's progress and well-being. "i'm very proud of you, bakugou-shounen. i wish you a wonderful birthday," all might utters softly. katsuki nods and excuses himself first.

he's the first to stand up when class ends, about to leave when he suddenly feels someone ruffle his hair. "happy birthday, problem child," aizawa sighs. "take better care of yourself, huh?"

when he reaches the dorms, he's surprised by confetti and cheers from class 2A, 2B, some students from shiketsu, and some of his alumni. they bring out a big cake and sing really loudly on purpose to embarrass him. everyone comes up to him and thanks him for all he's done and how much they've inspired him. katsuki leaves barely an hour into the party.

he rushes to his room and locks the door, ignoring denki's complaints of him being a 'party pooper'. he turns around and jumps at seeing izuku sitting by his bed with a present.

"oh," izuku blinks in surprise. "hi! i didn't expect you to be up here so early."

"izuku," katsuki jolts. "what the hell are you doing here? weren't you just downstairs?"

"well, i wanted to give you my gift personally," izuku laughs, "and your room seemed like my only chance of finding you alone." he walks up to katsuki, gives him the box, and envelops him into a tight hug. "happy birthday, kacchan. we've been through a lot together, haven't we?"

katsuki pauses before hugging back just as tightly, his vision clouding. "a bit overwhelming," he mumbles.

both of them know immediately what he's referring to: the genuine attention, affection, and admiration he's getting today. in the past, the wishes he'd get would be along the lines of 'you're going to grow into someone with the strongest quirk,' only ever noticing his capabilities and future potential, but never him.

this was his first birthday after the war, and also one of the first birthdays in a while where he's around people who truly care about him.

"everyone's just happy they could spend kacchan's birthday together like this," izuku hums, closing his eyes with a grateful sigh as he rubs katsuki's back soothingly. "me too. i'm really, really happy."

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

fellow + gidel ssr time fellas

(This bastard took an entire soft pity :(( but hey, I got a Dorm Uniform Jade dupe and finally FINALLY my first Dorm Uniform Floyd on the way, so I ain't too pressed about it.) RISE UP FELLOWIVES NOW’S YOUR TIME

***Character profile, voice lines, Groovy, and vignette spoilers below the cut!!***

First off! His official profile, coffin, and candy (Fox Candy):

(School) Grade/Class: None

Birthday: May 17 (Taurus)

Age: 26

Height: 181 cm

Dominant Hand: Right

Hometown: ???

Club: None

Best Subject: Mathematics (specifically Arithmetic)

Hobby: Watching theater

Dislikes: Saving money

Favorite Food: Apples

Least Favorite Food: Potatoes

Special Skill: Sewing

We finally get confirmation of Fellow’s age! (He had previously said in Playful Land that he was 20-something.)

I love that Fellow’s best subject is math Deuce is jealous/j; it makes so much sense given that his inspiration, Honest John (and Fellow himself) aren’t good at reading. It’s that whole “kids are either good at math or English” stereotype. In Japanese, the phrase 算数 is used. 算数 refers to arithmetic, or very basic math taught in elementary school (adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing). That specific phrase explains Fellow’s elementary level of understanding. His dislike being saving money is also related to numbers; he spends the money he has right away to get by in the moment. Fellow doesn’t really have the skill or the luxury of financial planning, he has to focus on the here and now, looking out for both himself and Gidel.

OMG, his favorite and least favorite foods???? 😭 Playful Land has apple (core) flavored candies and popcorn… and again, this is a reference to Honest John and Pinocchio’s first encounter! He takes the kid’s apple and eats it, lol cnsvwiwguwkw Potatoes being his disliked food… Maybe it’s because it’s the “poor” man’s vegetable? Because potatoes are so versatile, keep for a long time, and are filling because of the starch content, Fellow might resort to eating them a lot, so perhaps as a result he got sick of the taste.

What I find most interesting about Fellow’s profile are his listed hobby and special skill. He largely comes off as despicable and a slimy scammer (which he is, don’t get me wrong), but we can see different sides to him in these details—both the inner child that had his dreams trampled but remains hopeful about the future and the big brother figure/guardian to a child. Gidel is actually formally referred to in Fellow’s profile as his (non-blood related) brother, which made my heart melt 🥺 TWST must know I have a thing for beastmen who act shitty but are actually excellent mentors to the children/j

Fellow enjoys watching theater. It’s a way of transporting you away temporarily to new worlds with crazy stories and emotional performances. When words aren’t enough, you sing. And when singing isn’t enough, you dance. It’s an area that’s so full of life and joy, at least from the audience’s perspective. I’m thinking that watching theater must have been a form of escapism for Fellow, especially with how accessible it is (think of like street performances). Watching theater might also serve a dual purpose of teaching Fellow how to come across as amicable and friendly, which says a LOT about his character. He’s resourceful and able to learn from unconventional sources, then is able to apply those skills to real world situations.

Fellow’s special skill being sewing is surprisingly very cute! If you’ve taken one look at his and Gidel’s designs, we may have already spotted some of his handiwork. There’s mismatched fabric patches on their clothes!! The stitches look so clean too. The patterns not matching is probably because Fellow just used whatever scraps he was able to get his hands on, but I also like to imagine that he tried to make the best of the situation by incorporating the mismatched fabrics in a fun way (like the diamonds in his pants).

Next, can we talk about the composition of that GROOVY????

It’s another reference to the same Pinocchio scene! Fellow’s holding his book like Honest John did and it looks like he’s trying to teach Gidel the alphabet from words scratched on the sidewalk. Notice how the C is written backwards too 😂 He even wears glasses like when Honest John was trying hard to act like an intellectual.

And Gidel!!! Pencil and pad of paper in hand, he looks so interested to learn (something which was hinted at in Playful Land). Gideon in the film is also shown with a pen and pad of paper, scribbling down nonsense as Fellow pretends to diagnose Pinocchio.

Gidel glances up at Fellow with an expression of admiration. I love how wholesome their relationship is depicted as, it leaves a warm feeling in the heart.

The framing of this Groovy is very interesting. We have Fellow to our left—a direction has historically been associated with evil (in Italian, the word for left is even sinistra, as if to imply something sinister) and in the darkness. Gidel is the one to our right and in the light. It presents Fellow to us as someone who has given up on his dreams—but not completely, since we see some light touching his hat, gloves, and highest features + he is currently teaching Gidel and still has dreams of opening his own school. Gidel is shown in the light because he’s still a naive child that doesn’t understand how the world works. His dreams haven’t been destroyed yet, and there’s hope for him to have a better life since Fellow is looking after him and instructing him.

CHECK THIS OUT, GIDEL FOLLOWS FELLOW TO CLASS LIKE MARY'S LAMB OR SOMETHING????? Gidel pops out from under the desk or out of/behind Fellow's cape! Gidel also joins Fellow on the homescreen.

Some of Fellow's expressions are so priceless... For example, look at him in Flight! There's an unsure face and a little bead of sweat. (He makes a lot of pathetic accompanying sounds too, lol) Flying takes magic, so he's probably not confident or powerful enough to maintain flight for long stretches of time--though when he does nail it, he looks ultra smug.

ADGKVAVFOOEFIEQOfsl HIS SHOCKED FACE

How uncool, Fellow-san...

His attack sprites are very similar/identical to what we saw in Playful Land--Fellow's just playing for the opposite team now.

Gidel hops into battle to assist, so I guess they count as the first two-character card. It's been a while since I've seen these animations, but I think I can appreciate them a lot more now. I'm noticing new little things like how Fellow adds a bunch of showmanship into his attack, little flashy flourishes and even presenting Gidel with his arms splayed, as if welcoming a star to the spotlight. The attention to detail really is crazy for these.

If you want to read his voice lines in full, you can find an excellent fan translation of them here! I'll just be remarking on things I noticed while combing through the voice lines myself:

First off: bro calls himself Fellow Hones-SAMA???????? OKAY, KING 😭 Love that confidence you got goin' on there...

bifabsiyofbefe Love how he just reads a textbook and then flat-out admits he has no clue what the heck it's saying. Hey, honesty is a virtue.

Ace 💀 He has the balls to play a prank on an adult... I kind of want to know what the prank was, but at the same time I feel like I should be shaking my head and telling him off for doing it in the first place. I do appreciate that Ace being shitty brought out Fellow's true personality there for a second though, I live for it when Fellow gets real steamed and starts shouting that the NRC students are brats or that they should drop out if they have no motivation in school.

The way Fellow automatically clocked that Kalim is way too trusting and would surely be in danger even if he wasn't the one to come for him... Fellow, watch your back. Jamill WILL come for your sketchy ass for what you did back then.

I didn't find anything super interesting in Fellow's comments about Ortho, but I do think it reveals that there is value in him coming to school. It's only at NRC where Fellow can see such a curious thing like Ortho, and that speaks to the value of really going out there and being exposed to different things. That's part of Lilia's own growth arc too, and a large part of why he now spreads that same rhetoric.

Fellow remarks that Ramshackle is "pretty sweet", which means one of two things: either this is the refurbished post-book 6 dorm OR it's still the shabby pre-book 6 dorm, but since Fellow and Gidel have never really had their own stable housing, even run-down old Ramshackle seems like a massive upgrade.

Fellow and Gidel must have been so happy to see that lunch at NRC is free and served buffet style (so there's no limits to how much you can take). On top of that, they got dead chefs from 5 star restaurants staffing the kitchen! Those two really hit the jackpot, I hope they eat well.

AVUSDGVUADOVIAISDBIDAS THE DIALOGUE IMPLYING FELLOW CASUALLY BYPASSED THE SCHOOL'S BARRIER AND OTHER SECURITY MEASURES... So Chenya-core of him, really. Fellow may not have magical might, but he's seriously street smart to have found a way in like he has.

Small detail but I appreciate how Fellow has lines which call attention to Gidel. It doesn't just remind us that Gidel is there too, but it also demonstrates to us that Fellow actively tries to include him in the conversation despite Gidel's muteness (a condition which may lead others to outright ignoring him or talking down to him).

LAST THING (though it's not in MysteryShopTL's linked post): in his birthday greeting to the player, Fellow says that both you and him don't have talent for magic, so you should get along. I didn't think the game would acknowledge the player and Fellow's similarity in that sense, so it was very nice to be proven wrong.

And to finish off this post (which ended up being way more massive than I thought it would be), a quick summary of the vignettes!! If you want to read them in full, please check out MysteryShopTLs’ post!

In vignette 1, Fellow and Gidel are putting on a street performance in Silk City. Fellow collects fees from the onlookers and then tries to milk more out of them by spinning a story about how Gidel is a puppet that can walk without strings. Buuut Gidel moves like a normal living being and sneezes, which ruins the ruse and leads to the crowd getting mad at them. The duo run off, but Fellow reveals that while the locals were looking at Gidel, he used magic to steal some of their precious metals and jewelry. In the next vignette, Fellow and Gidel have moved on to Fairest City. It's said that they live a nomadic lifestyle and hop from place to place, never staying for too long in any one location because word of their scams may spread and cause a situation where they cannot reasonably make money through their lies. (Cute detail: Fellow listens to Gidel's suggestions on where they should go next and even praises Gidel's smarts.) This time Fellow's trying to auction off a magestone that he claims will allow anyone who holds it to use magic. The people of Fairest City don't believe him and give him the cold shoulder, which upsets Fellow (since he really hates it when others look down on him). He ends up using his UM to get his audience to be more pliant and manages to sell the magestone for a pretty penny. At the end of this vignette, Fellow drops a line about how he and Gidel are so free, how they can do whatever they want since they have nothing holding them back. I really love that thought~

AND IF YOU THOUGHT VIGNETTES 1 AND 2 WERE FUNNY HAHA TEEHEE CUTE, WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE VIGNETTE 3 💀 VIGNETTE 3 FELT LIKE IT WAS A TARGETTED SNIPE ON MY HEART

The setting is Sunrise City! Fellow and Gidel are being chased off by an angry person they tried to rob. It looks like they're unsuccessful today and will be going hungry. Gidel tries opening a random can of OIL in search of food, so Fellow scolds him and tells him to leave it be. Apparently Gidel does this a lot when he's hungry (just grabbing random shit and trying to eat it), even though Fellow has tried teaching him how to read. THIS IS WHAT THE CONTEXT OF THE GROOVY IS, FELLOW SQUATS DOWN (like we literally see his 2D model lowering) AND DRAWS IT ON THE GROUND FOR GIDEL TO SEE. O is for orange, I is for ice-cream, and L is for laugh. Fellow realizes that L is the only non-food word, but he couldn't come up with anything else. I wonder if like... this is some common game they do to distract from hunger. They have to imagine the food they could have but can't. And L being "laugh"? That can't be a coincidence. Fellow could have used any other L word as an example, even if he couldn't come up with a food that starts with L. It makes me think he picked "laugh" on purpose in an effort to lift Gidel's spirits and to try and distract from their circumstances.

Aaaah, as I was saying! Fellow gets upset that he doesn't know as much as your average 26-year old would since he never went to school. Gidel seems to sense his frustrations and reassures him with a pat, which reenergizes Fellow. He says he'll try to find some food, so Gidel should focus on making a fire. While gathering wood to burn, they come across a job posting by a shady rich man that Fellow and Gidel supposedly did another job for in the past. Fellow suggests that they check out the job and if they don't like it then they can leave. ADSKJBBSLDIADBLUBAB These are the events leading up to Playful Land... meaning that Fellow’s showmanship is wasn’t something he developed at the amusement park, but as a general coping and survival mechanism to get by day-to-day.

I uh. May or may not have cried a little at Fellow and Gidel's really wholesome interaction 😭 I MEAN YEAH OF COURSE I'M A SUCKER FOR BIG BROTHER CHARACTERS (and we certainly see that in how Fellow scolds Gidel and looks out for his wellbeing, both in the vignettes and in Playful Land) but also???????? ? ? ? ? ?? ?????? ? ? ? ?? I love Love LOVE how Gidel is shown to be supportive of Fellow as well. Fellow as the older person, the adult, and the able-bodied one of the duo is pulling most of the weight when it comes to getting resources and handling communication. However, Gidel plays an important role in their dynamic as well. He's the heart and the emotional support that Fellow needs when he's down in the dumps and being hard on himself. Gidel not only serves as a "reason" for Fellow to work hard (to support a child), but he also gives Fellow motivation and hope that tomorrow can be another day. YOU CAN REALLY TELL HOW MUCH THESE TWO CARE AND LOOK OUT FOR ONE ANOTHER OTL

OOOOOOOoooOOooOOGGHHHH MY HEART *clutches it* I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE, I CAN'T HANDLE THE ONII-SAMA OF IT ALL

[crescenthistory]

Ok not a request but I loved the recent regulus fic with “where is she?”. I can just picture snape showing up in the infirmary the next day just fully bandaged and in casts all thanks to Barty and Evan

THANK YOU i really loved writing that one, hurt/comfort is my shit, especially with someone wound so tight like regulus. something about losing control you know?

and absolutely – as soon as you are out of the infirmary, your bed is taken over by snape for his egregious crime. as is the next one over by avery, for being involved in the situation. beside him is mulciber, for trying to protect his "friends", and any others who got in the way.

regulus is barty's oldest friend; any turmoil he feels must be avenged. reader is the one barty treasures perhaps most; any violence against them must be reciprocated. as for evan, he has that quiet, simmering, unwavering loyalty, both for reader and regulus, but of course, above all else, barty. even if he didn't particularly care for you, he would have followed barty on his almost-murder spree – but when you, someone who always holds space for him and understands him, is all but gutted on school property by buffoons? and not even with a purpose or methodology, just out of pure stupidity? he is not just supporting barty nor satiating some twisted fascination, he is revelling in the opportunity to protect you after-the-fact.

say what you want about those two, call them unhinged, maniacal, disturbing, but they are and will remain pack animals. they protect their own.

they do wait, though. not with the threats, nor possibly the restraining or light maiming of the offending parties, but with any level of repercussions that require immediate medical attention. because there is no way in hell they are going to let those sods near you anytime soon.

i also think you have to keep insisting and reminding them for the next foreseeable future that you did not die:

"when snape killed y/n" is a common point of reference for barty.

"i want nothing to do with that murderous bastard" "he didn't murder me, barty" "you don't know what you're talking about"

"i'm literally sitting here, breathing, right now" "i still hear her voice sometimes"

evan would always position himself between you and snape in a room, even if he genuinely never had anything against you specifically nor would risk the injuries himself

while you roll your eyes affectionately at their theatrics, it actually does unnerve regulus

he is still largely affected by the whole thing, the thought of losing you a sore topic (sorer than it already was, that is)

only when you give evan and barty a look before nodding inconspicuously at regulus do they quiet down

though they never truly let it go

barty would definitely reference your "death" in his best man speech at your wedding sorry

[lady-quen]

A list of some of my sylvari headcanons and interpretations of canon, but delivered in extreme hodgepodge style:

- they have human-analogous internal anatomy, meaning that they are plant matter mimicking animal functionalities, inside and out. This is further supported by Mordrem possessing specialized organs such as brains or kidneys (Mordrem Researcher quests) Since the Pale Tree grew on the graves of Ronan's family, she grew her roots into what remained of the bodies, taking nutrients while also learning their anatomy and establishing a scaffolding for the future sylvari. You know how if you bury a body under a tree and later dig up the soil, the roots are shaped like a human? Something similar happened here.

As such, sylvari hardwood skeletal systems are very accurate copies of human skeletons, but soft tissues are more their own thing due to the Pale Tree having less of an accurate frame of reference (since the bodies would have begun to rot) and going with a mix of her knowledge of human anatomy and "instinctive" Mordrem anatomy.

- The wiki states they don't have hearts and a pulse, but relying on purely osmotic gradients for circulation in an ambulatory creature that is stated to have high energy needs and therefore is even unable to rely solely on photosynthesis and other typical plant processes seems implausible, so I changed it to give them some sort of pump organ, positioned more or less in the center of the chest.

- The sylvari don't really have names for their own organs, so they approximate using human vocabulary.

- Sylvari tend to sleep deeper, but can train themselves to have a lighter sleep if required (such as, in dangerous field jobs.) The extra deep sleep sometimes causes nearby sylvari to synchronize their dreams and even "meet" in a hazy dreamscape, a faint remnant of the actual Dream.

- Sylvari sap does not contain platelets, but injury stimulates phloem cells and/or skin cells to swell and constrict, then release a substrate which reacts with certain substances contained within the sap to create a clot-like resin.

- Given enough time, sylvari resin exposed to outside conditions could potentially turn into amber?

- The fact sylvari breathe with their lungs (since they are unable to rely solely on diffusion) implies they possess blood cells and some sort of chromoprotein to carry oxygen? Further supported by the existence of the Mordrem Spleen. Alternatively, they utilize natural magic to speed up diffusion..?

- Sylvari most likely do not possess adaptive immune systems and rely on innate tissue-level strategies to fend off pathogens, like other plants.

- Sylvari awaken with shaper magic, as in the ability to magically and empathically influence other plants. Some specialized Shapers train this ability to use in plant sculpting and architecture, and creating various purposed species such as turret plants. Wardens find it useful to train themselves to read and use other plants as early warning signs for incoming danger. Very rarely, certain sylvari, particularly necromancers, can awaken with little to no shaper magic.

Shaper abilities can be used to alter one's own body, to the point of completely changing one's appearance and even gender if desired, though such a process takes some time. (Perhaps months?)

- Mordremoth, possessing vast amounts of control over plant shaping, can rearrange a sylvari body completely in a matter of hours to days.

- Considering real-life plants rely predominantly on hydraulics rather than electric signaling, logic-ing out an internally consistent and plausible anatomy for ambulatory plants is very difficult (impossible?) thus sylvari must at least possess predominantly electric pathways, essentially mimicking a human nervous system. Many processes would also likely require "it's magic" as an explanation, which makes sense if we consider they are dragon minions, which were probably originally meant to help process and store magic energy at least to some degree.

- Science of sapient walking plants, what the fuck.

- Thank you Tree Mom 🙏

[deeplyshalllow]

An in depth study of the Lion Cub Scene in the Wicked Movie

Elphaba and Fiyero's meeting

Dancing Through Life

Sorry it’s taken a little longer than I expected to come out with this essay, I’ve been busy general pre-Christmas stuff and then recreating the entirety of Heather the Musical with Funko pops – you know, the usual. In any case, in a way I’m glad that it’s taken slightly longer as it’s meant that the movie screenplay has come out in the meantime so I can make the odd reference to that.

[Elphaba practices her ‘toss, toss,’ Fiyero notices.]

“You’ve been Galindafied.” [smiles at her fondly,] “you don’t need to do that, you know. Come on, let’s get to class.”

This is essentially the same line as in the musical (though my best friend was quick to point out removed Fiyero imitating the ‘toss toss’ and I’m pretty sure she nearly walked out of the cinema in outrage), and I think it serves the same purpose. The idea that Galinda is indeed continuing on her mission to make Elphaba popular and Elphaba is somewhat receptive to it. Fiyero, though fondly, kind of thinks the whole thing is a little ridiculous and finds Elphaba fine the way she is.

This scene is actually the one most impacted by what was cut from the screenplay. In the screenplay version we do not have the “Let’s get to class” line as it’s actually set a considerable amount of time (potentially a few months) before the Lion Cub. I go into much more detail here but basically there is a montage between the “toss toss” scene and the Lion Cub scene that shows time passing and  Elphaba, Galinda, Fiyero, Nessa and Boq becoming friends.

Elphaba is wearing different clothes when she enters Dillamond’s classroom than in the “toss toss” scene, so I am going to take this as canon that there is still the same time jump, as it makes a lot more narrative sense (otherwise there’s very little time before Elphaba goes to the Emerald City for anyone to become friends). Therefore, by the scene in Dillamond’s classroom we are to assume a few months have passed, and Elphaba regards Fiyero as somewhat of a friend that she’s comfortable enough being around, if in a bit of a superficial “my best friend’s boyfriend” sort of way.

The scene continues mostly as it does in the musical, Doctor Dillamond tells the class he’s no longer permitted to teach, Elphaba is cross and tries to stop it, Doctor Dillamond is taken away. All this is expected and as expected of Elphaba’s character considering her previous scenes.

What is new is Fiyero’s reaction to Doctor Dillamond being taken away, he also stands up and shouts “hey!” he’s clearly not the only student distressed, but aside from Elphaba he appears the most distressed. It’s immediately clear that “Nothing matters but knowing nothing matters” is not as true as he makes it out to be. In my opinion, this is a very good change from the musical, as it sets up his actions later in the scene, he’s on Elphaba and the Animals’ side, he’s always been on their side.

Fiyero, however, does not react like Elphaba. After the initial outburst, he is silenced and sits down like the rest of the class (albeit he is one of the last to do so) and does not respond to her challenge to the class of “Are we all just going to sit here in silence?”  

Elphaba, never one for staying silent, like her musical counterpart, continues to challenge the teacher and get increasingly distressed through seeing the Cub in the cage (the premonition of seeing Dillamond in a cage here is, obviously, new to the movie and I think mostly serves to show how distressed she is – I don’t think she’s really realised what she’s seeing is the future, but it may haunt her later).

“Can you imagine a world where Animals are kept in cages and never learn to speak. This Lion Cub seems so frightened. What are we going to do?”

“I’m sorry, we?”

And here we see the dichotomy between Elphaba and Fiyero, both care, both are upset, but Fiyero is not one to spring to action in this situation without outside provocation – again, he’s sung an entire song about how he’ll get less hurt if he pretends not to care. While Elphaba wants to do something no matter what the cost, Fiyero is stuck on the practicalities of the situation: they are powerless students, they will immediately be stopped so, at least for now, he does not try.

“Well someone’s got to do something,” [Elphaba slams her hand on the desk, causing poppies to float in the air, putting everyone to sleep]

[Fiyero, stares around, not falling asleep but somewhat bewildered, Galinda falls asleep on his shoulder] “hey, hey, c’mere,” [lays Galinda’s head on the desk].

The spell going from making everyone crazy dance, to poppies putting everyone to sleep is a change for the movie, and I think a good one. I don’t think the crazy dance would have worked as well in film format, and the poppies is obviously a lovely reference to the Wizard of Oz – ultimately though, I don’t think it changes much about the narrative.

What I do find really interesting about this scene is the inclusion of Galinda and Nessa. In the musical, neither are in the class, so the casting of Elphaba’s spell seemed to imply that she didn’t magic Fiyero because he was the one person she liked. In here, the two of them are present, and are spelled too, so Fiyero being left out has got to be for a different reason – I read somewhere on Tumblr that apparently they’ve said this will be explored in part 2 and I hope so, because my reading is that it’s another sign that Fiyero alone cares as much about this as Elphaba.

“What is happening?”

“I don’t know, I got mad and...” [Elphaba notices that Fiyero has already got up and is heading towards the Lion Cub] “Fiyero, what are you doing?”

[Fiyero, having already got the Lion Cub out of the cage like the amazing, kitty saving, hero that he is]

“Well, are you coming?”

I love this. I love this so much. Script wise this is not very much of a change from the musical, in fact only one line of Fiyero’s is cut, “Alright just don't move! And don't get mad at me!” but the fact he moves the beat before, that the moment he realises there now is something they can do, which won’t get them stopped or in more trouble than the good they can do, he springs into action – does so much for his characterisation. It’s so very clear from this that he’s doing this because he cares about the Cub too, he’s doing because he wants to himself rather than to help Elphaba, I also like that the removal of this line takes away any idea of blame or frustration at Elphaba’s powers – Jonathan’s Fiyero never really judges her for being unusual.

This scene, both in show and film, is always excellent at showing why Fiyeraba suit each other. Elphaba is all passion and fire, she cares and will fight, but will also go in headfirst without thinking of the consequences. Fiyero, meanwhile, needs the spark of passion and push to act, but when he does act he is careful and tactical, he gets what he wants but in a way that smoothes the consequences of Elphaba’s rash actions and gets at least the majority of them out safely (see also: Throne Room Scene, Corn Field Scene).

There’s nothing particular to note in the bike scene, but I appreciate the cute reference to Mrs Gulch and Toto in the Wizard of Oz (that reference alone made me pleased I watched WOO a few days before I saw Wicked).

[Madame Morrible enters the classroom and sees everyone asleep] “What in the name of Oz?” [immediately writes a letter to the Wizard]

Not Fiyeraba related but I think it’s important to note what’s going on here. Madame Morrible has seen not only that Elphaba has cast a spell, but what she has cast the spell to do (to free an Animal). She’s not writing to the Wizard because she sees Elphaba is already talented enough to see the Wizard (as a first time viewer is led to believe), she’s speeding up the process so Elphaba is safely at the Wizard’s side before she can become any more pro Animal rights. It’s another great addition to canon, showing how much Morrible is in control even in act 1.

Also, Fiyero, who is also not in class, is completely overlooked, because being seen as a himbo often puts him beyond suspicion (she probably assumed he was just skiving off).

We have a few lines cut from the show here:

Elphaba: Careful! Don't shake him!

Fiyero: I'm not!

Elphaba: We can't just let him loose anywhere, you know. We have to find someplace safe...

Fiyero: Don't you think that I realize that? You must think I'm really stupid or something!

Elphaba: No, not really stupid.

These lines are in the screenplay so they’re a recent cut, but I think it’s still important to see the impacts of them being taken to. Again, we see the Fiyeraba relationship being a little less antagonistic than in the show. They still wind each other up a bit, because they defend themselves from the world in such radically different ways that they don’t quite understand the other at times (which we’ll see later in this scene), but they’re not actively sniping at each other in the movie. It’s times like this where we see their similarities, they are supporting the same cause, they have the same end goal in mind and, when they are both sure what they’re doing is right, they’re both very focused on getting it done.

It’s probably important to note that from here on out the musical and movie script is almost identical, so this becomes more of an analysis of the scene in both works, though I will point out where I think the movie particularly differs.

[Elphaba puts Lion Cub down so he can drink water] “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Why is it you’re always causing some sort of commotion?”

“I don’t cause commotions, I am one.”

“Yeah, well that’s for sure.”

Now the Lion Cub is somewhat safe, and resting Elphaba and Fiyero are finally given some time to think and interact.

These are musical lines, but again they hit differently with the meeting scene in the movie. Fiyero constantly uses derogatory humour about himself/his persona, so offhandedly that I’m not sure he even realises he’s doing it anymore. So it’s natural for him to think that Elphaba’s response is the same semi-joke at her own expense as he so frequently does to himself, so he plays into it.

“So you think I should just keep my mouth shut, is that what you’re saying?”

Elphaba, however, does not share quite the same self derogatory humour, any time she insults herself she truly means it. While Fiyero is desperate for people to see him for who he pretends to be, Elphaba wants people to like her for whom she really is. So she doesn’t see Fiyero’s reaction as him laughing at her joke, but instead as him also insulting her and, again, she goes on the defensive.

I get a feeling this also harks back to Elphaba’s relationship with her father, and the general reaction whenever she talked back or accidently did magic. Elphaba is used to being told to shut up, used to be seen as lesser and it’s just happened again with a boy she’s beginning to like and trust.

“What? No, no, I’m saying-”

And, again, Fiyero answers back, because he didn’t mean that – Elphaba puts him on the back foot once again when interacting with her – for all his smooth talking and easy charm Elphaba cuts right through it, because she simply will not let him act like that with her. If she is to trust him she needs to see his true feelings.

“Do you think I want to be this way?”

“I th-”

 “Do you think I want to care this much?”

“I mean-”

“I know that my life would be much easier if I-”

There’s so much self loathing in Elphaba’s feelings about herself, so much of an assumption that everything she does is the wrong thing, that she could be better. Fiyero has basically said nothing against her, even less than in the show. This is all her criticising herself.

But it’s interesting what she says. It’s not the usual “no your opinions on why I am green are stupid” stuff, it’s vulnerable stuff. It’s her admitting that all the things people say to her, and the way she’s treated hurt, that she would dearly like to just be normal. Without really realising it, she’s allowing Fiyero to see a lot more of herself that she usually lets on.

“Do you ever let anyone else talk?”

This is a mask slip for Fiyero. Not in a big way, but it’s him suddenly having to be direct and real with her. Elphaba makes Fiyero have to express real feelings and emotions (even if at the moment it’s mostly frustration).

“Sorry.”

Fiyero letting his mask slip breaks Elphaba out of her rant. Again, it’s the same in the musical, but I do think there’s an added part in the movie where it references Fiyero calling out her defensiveness in the first scene. It gives Elphaba a second to reassess and realise it wasn’t an attack. She apologises, she’s also out of her natural comfort zone of unrelenting defensiveness.

“I just-”

“But can I just say one more thing?”

[Fiyero motions for her to go ahead]

“You could have walked away back there”

The realisation the Fiyero isn’t attacking her has allowed Elphaba to rethink, and for it to sink in what Fiyero has actually done, that he didn’t just freak out and run away, that he cared, that he helped her. And I think this sobers her up a little, to question and to see Fiyero in a new light.

[Fiyero shrugs] “So?”

I always find this line so interesting, because Fiyero hasn’t noticed yet that his mask has slipped. He acted on instinct to help Elphaba, to save the Cub, we see here that Fiyero’s natural instinct to care about things has never been very well hidden (which is why the mask is completely off by the time we hit Act 2).

“So, no matter how shallow and self absorbed you pretend to be.”

“Um, excuse me, there is no pretence here, I happen to be genuinely self absorbed and deeply shallow.”

I love this line. Obviously I love this line. I’ve loved it for 15 years. Have you seen my username?

But anyway, now he’s been made aware of what he’s been called out for Fiyero pulls himself back, tries to put his walls up again.

It’s interesting, because this line is obviously an old one, but it fits very well with Jonathan’s movie Fiyero persona, it’s more self derogatory humour, it’s more deflection, but it’s also something so dumb that someone genuinely dumb probably wouldn’t say it. It’s not really up to his usual standards of charm, Elphaba has, once again, put Fiyero on the back foot.

“Oh please. No you’re not, otherwise you wouldn’t be so unhappy.”

[awkward silence as they stare each other down]

Elphaba is not buying Fiyero’s words. She tells him straight out that he’s more than that, completely rejecting his happy, carefree, persona. She’s seen that he wants more out of life than this.

Again, such interesting parallels to Fiyero calling out Elphaba’s defensiveness in their movie meeting.

“Fine, if you don’t want my help.”

Fiyero is scared. And for the first time we see him react in anger. His normal act of charm and stupidity has not worked at all, so he falls back to having to try and push her away without this.

“No, I do.” [Elphaba grabs Fiyero’s hand]

I mean obviously there’s supposed to be some kind of electricity here, but I think it’s more than that. I think it’s Fiyero and Elphaba having realised they’ve found a kindred spirit. That both of them have suddenly found themselves vulnerable, without masks, and really seeing each other for the first time. They have let each other into more of their feelings than they expected to and it’s both elating and terrifying.

[Back in the classroom Galinda wakes up, notices both Fiyero and Elphaba are gone]

I feel like this is supposed to be the first niggling hint Galinda gets that there are feelings between Elphaba and Fiyero, especially because the “I’m not that girl” chords in the background start here rather than in the background of Fiyero and Elphaba’s scene. Like nothing right now enough to truly alarm her, but something she’ll look back on and realise this was the start.

“What did you mean to do back there? And why was I the only one you didn’t do it to?”

[long silence]

“You’re bleeding.”

Suddenly Fiyero is the one challenging Elphaba, asking her questions she’s scared of answering. And she, like Fiyero, isn’t quite ready to face what it means, so she changes the topic.

“Mhmm” [Elphaba reaches out to touch Fiyero’s scratch, at first Fiyero flinches, but then lets her], “there. It must have scratched you.”

“Yeah, or maybe it scratched me or something.”

This change of topic does not work at all, just ends up bringing them closer. Although, I must say, I miss how much it was an almost kiss in the musical. I feel like this version had a bit less chemistry, which was a shame. Still, it is the pinnacle of the sexual tension, where something more could happen and they both know and want it.

 [Fiyero retreats] “I’d better get to safety, the Cub.”

With this line and the last we see Fiyero go back to full on saying dumb shit when Elphaba flusters him (we saw it when he first met her, and will see it again in the throne room). Fiyero is often very smooth with words so it’s always telling when she renders him unable to use this.

“Of course.”

“Get the Cub to safety.” [Fiyero grabs the Cub and runs away]

[Elphaba gets up and shouts after him] “Fiyero!”

Fiyero chickens out, scared by his feelings. Elphaba calls out after him. Both of them are changed by the day and the challenge to their personas but both end up, in their own ways, talking themselves back into them. Fiyero goes back to Galinda, who loves him for his dumb playboy persona, while Elphaba sings a song essentially saying she’s not good enough for him because of who she is and how he’ll like Galinda better. But we know for the future that it is obviously something that sticks with them and will alter their actions and perceptions of each other going forward.

Fiyero and Elphaba have always been a story of two people afraid to show the world who they really are, who dislike the other’s persona but who discover that they both love the other for the traits they hide from the world. While this scene isn’t necessarily that different from its musical counterpart (which is also excellent), I do think the softening of Fiyero and some of the antagonism from Elphaba, puts a little bit of a different spin on things. It makes it very clear that they are two people that share ideals and, while they hide from the world, both, when push comes to shove, will do anything to make it a better place. I think the movie does an excellent job to show why they suit and are attracted to each other, and also a good job of foreshadowing that neither of them will ultimately shy away from giving up everything to do what is right.

An In Depth Study of Elphaba and Fiyero in the Train Station Scene

[icearts]

Nobody is talking about how Angeal and Sephiroth are exact opposites in EC and it's making me unwell so I'm gonna dump it.

Have some pictures of their 2D renders for fun

Prepare yourself, this rant is a little long (but don't worry there's visual aids)

There's more obvious tells out there, like their body language and overall postures, Angeal is generally more open and Sephiroth is generally more guarded.

However, notably, this carries into how they hold their weapons throughout all of their appearances, even in Crisis Core

Fair warning, my source is multiple Google articles so prepare for some inaccuracy and uncertainty. Feel free to correct me.

Sephiroth carries his sword in an ox guard, which has the purpose of intimidating your opponent while also having the sword protect your vital organs.

Angeal's sword is held in a plow guard, which operates a bit like a fool's guard (I actually thought it was one at first), making yourself look more open to attacks to Provoke an enemy into coming in. Unlike the fools guard, the plow guard gives you a quicker maneuverability to strike first once the opponent comes in.

This is really important for their fighting styles, as Sephiroth is quick and deadly, meanwhile Angeal (i think the game refers to his character type as a Provoke Tank) always stands somewhat in front of Seohiroth and tries to draw in hits, acting as a shield. They have the sword and shield dynamic

BUT ITS ALSO RELEVANT TO THEIR PERSONALITIES you see Sephiroth acts cold and bitter, trying to keep people at arm's length, especially raw after EC Part 1 where he and his past friends had a Not Great Time (I won't give the recap sorry it'll take too long and I'm laser focused rn). Anyways, Sephiroth, much like his stance, tries to intimidate people into staying back. He will not let himself look vulnerable to attacks.

Meanwhile, Angeal is more open and friendly, taking Sephiroth's briskness and impoliteness in stride. He's open and welcoming even when Sephiroth's defense is his offense.

They're also both well trained with swords, so they can probably infer a lot about each other's personalities through how they hold their blade. Angeal seeing Sephiroth as someone who is guarded and closed off, avoiding getting hurt by being the first to lash out. Sephiroth views Angeal as being too open and vulnerable, and may even have a presumption that, like his fool's guard, Angeal is baiting Sephiroth into getting close enough that he can attack him the second he's open. It's good shit.

Next up: the weird purple-vignetted dreams they get in EC

So there's some spooky shenanigans going on in this story. I have my own predictions as to what's going on, but for future's sake, at the time of writing this is am only 2 chapters in. I'll try to be more direct to context and then provide my future game predictions at the end. Cool? Cool.

So we know based on canon that Sephiroth's dream isn't a memory, or an event or anything like that. So by process of elimination, Angeal's is the same way. Plus

Little confirmation here that Angeal always felt unable to care for his parents, which hurts me so bad btw. Anyways, analysis time.

Sephiroth fantasizes about being cared for and reassured. He wants to know what it's like for someone to love him unconditionally, he cannot even imagine the possibility. This dream shows him exactly that, his mother making him food and telling him she's always been there for him and they've always has this. In the dream, he believes it although is confused by conflicting memories. She's momentarily able to convince him that he is cared for and loved by her. In reality, he's never met his mother (her name isn't Jenova either, but that's a story for another day).

Angeal fantasizes about being to care for others. He wants to help his village, create a strong community, care for his parents and make it so they do not have to work so hard. He wants everyone to feel safe, secure, and rested and he is willing to carry all of the work on his shoulders to the best of his ability. His dream shows him doing exactly that, which based on the falsehood of Sephiroth's dream, means it's a false memory and he never was able to care for his parents for whatever reason. Really hopeful the game will tell us soon. Maybe he did try but it wasn't enough. Maybe he was weak because they didn't have enough food. Who knows.

Also, for context, Tetsuya Nomura (FF7 director) did confirm that Angeal's father has a chronic illness and died shortly after Angeal joined SOLDIER, after having worked himself to death. So Angeal dreaming of these memories of helping his dad to support his grateful but guilty mother is likely very much influenced by a sense of grief or guilt.

Then in the next chapter, these dreams happen again.

The Banorans obviously either did not make this promise or did not act on it, seeing the state Angeal's family is in in Crisis Core, his dad having worked himself to death when he was a young recruit and his mother being in a very grief-stricken and detached state.

So this plays into how they view the world. Sephiroth longs for someone to protect him from the world he's observed to be cruel and cold. He mentions this in dialogue talking about how they world views anything different as a monster. Even SOLDIERs to which Angeal promises himself that he'll help Sephiroth see that people are not all like that.

Sephiroth is jaded and distant to protect himself, as he thinks the world will turn on him in a moment's notice. Angeal, however, holds an optimistic worldview. He believes people want to help each other and everyone wants to help each other to the best of their ability.

So they're very much opposites, but they're also exactly what each other needs. Angeal needs to feel needed and helpful, protecting people who trust and depend on him. He is friends with every SOLDIER, able to recognize them at a first glance (ironically he does not do this for Alissa but I may wait to share my theories about her). Sephiroth is guarded but secretly longs to be cared for. See where I'm going with this?

So based on how these dreams are going, they're definitely being influenced by some kind of force or another. Personally I think it's Jenova itself, as Jenova has the power to do this and to transform things into projections of loved ones in order to garner their trust (much like Kadaj does in The Kids are Alright). My prediction for where the climax of this story is gonna go is that Angeal is going to have to protect Sephiroth from these visions, and Sephiroth learns that unconditional love can come from friendship and camaraderie, not just maternity. It's gonna be great. I have entire scenes mapped out in my head about this.

They're a sword and shield, Sephiroth being quick to strike and Angeal always being there to defend. It's one of my favorite dynamics ever. Their appearances also contrast, most notably in their hair color.

They both have a resigned acceptance about the implausibility of their fantasies. Sephiroth does not have a mother to care for him, and Angeal cannot save everyone. The foil of their dynamic is so magnetic it hurts. I will scream if I see Angeal make pumpkin soup for Sephiroth in the future.

My rants getting distracted so I'll cut it off here. Merry Crisis

[christnarr]

jeb and phobos relationship interpretation/analysis

sorry if its a bit aimless its rewritten from several discord messages from the past few years

all of this provides screenshots of canon evidence to back it up

overall warning for abusive situations and heavy themes

first i want to get into the way nexus scientists as a whole were treated:

theres a few things that stand out to me here, on what scientists are expected not to do:

"-any interaction with outsiders", implying nexus scientists are either heavily monitored when they interact with people outside the nexus or theyre just not allowed to at all

-they cant have "unusual feelings of rage, hostility, depression". pretty self explanatory

the tower guards also have no problem using physical force against you in the cutscenes

if employees are fired or quit, they are killed:

phobos only refers to jeb with his first name in the professional setting rather than christoff, adding to the lack of respect phobos has for him

(as much as this often goes both ways with jeb using "phobos" when hes mad, i bring this up as a point in the piling evidence suggesting the dynamic between them is built on control, disrespect, and dehumanization. if you ask me the contexts of phobos using "jebediah" vs jeb using "phobos" are completely different in their own way, but i wanted to say that anyways to clear it up)

just from the science tower cutscene alone we see how much degrading language phobos uses towards jeb too

^= if you want to get into theory territory, theres also the flavor text for postfall jebs labcoat:

"ablating damage from harsh language" huh

another two lines that are super important to me:

1. phobos says that jeb does as he says until the day phobos releases him to the other place, essentially saying jeb is under phoboses control for life, until phobos decides to kill jeb himself.

2. phobos says he picked jeb up from the wastes of nevada and set him on his path. this line will be brought up a lot later for different reasons

this establishes the amount of control phobos really has over jeb and the other scientists, the way he treated/punished them, and what working at the nexus means; its a lifelong commitment thats meant to be your purpose, and for a lot of people it wasnt even a choice. its implied that ultimately this was the case for jeb, given that employees are killed upon termination of employment. jeb may have been passionate about his work, but he still wasnt allowed to leave. he deserved the choice, regardless if he would have taken it or not.

with this in mind i imagine that jeb himself was labeled as "defiant" given how much of a control freak he is, how he speaks up about his grievances with phoboses decisions and any idea he doesnt agree with;

thus making him much more isolated from the general society than the rest of the scientists. in my mind this is why we dont see him in nevada central during arena mode like we do crackpot and hofnarr. jeb has more restrictions placed on him since hes perceived as more likely to reveal company secrets, rally people against the nexus, etc.

so this amount of control, pressure, isolation was particularly harsher for him. which gets into my next point:

phobos played a hand in shaping "the savior"

i think phobos in some way planted the seeds for the future motives of every head scientist we see. he plays a very strong narrative force in mpn even after his death, which is what i like about him.

in jebs case its the expectation of being nexus city/nevadas savior. his intentions from the very beginning were to save the world:

jeb and the other scientists were put on a pedestal in the form of propaganda to the city

he genuinely feels above people and that its his purpose to save them because thats what he was told his entire life.

and jeb was given significant pressure to be perfect and not to make any mistakes

"do whatever it takes, jebediah"

i like to think that outlook stuck with him

jeb had this idea that his purpose is to save the world instilled into him for years. not only that, but he found out that it was all for nothing. being the person he is, of course he would want to take matters into his own hands. be the savior he was always meant to be. trying to claim hes broken free of the past, when subconsciously hes shaping his identity around it. whether he likes it or not, his time at the nexus clearly carried into his present worldview. he still holds onto the belief that his purpose is to save nevada.

and with all the pressure he had, he has this aversion to accepting criticism or accepting that he failed. you can hear this directly in his death voicelines. if he fails, he has no purpose anymore. to this day jeb is averse to criticism and deflects it. when doc tells him project nexus is still alive, he refuses to believe his efforts were for nothing and he snaps at them.

jeb also takes after phobos in his mannerisms and speech patterns. even uses of specific phrases like calling the main three "gentlemen" and using the same animations.

hell, jeb even has the binary sword, which he took from phobos, as his main weapon. he literally uses something belonging to phobos to enact his self-proclaimed purpose. that in itself symbolizes how deeply intertwined jebs newfound purpose is with what phobos expected of him. you just cant separate the two. jeb now embodies someone he swore to destroy.

and with the way jeb uses hofnarr and sheriff to further his goals, whether theyre good-intentioned or not, it can be seen as a trauma cycle. once jeb spirals into this savior mindset, other people are just gears in his plan to save nevada. jeb very often reflects the actions and mannerisms of phobos, and with the context that jeb was under phoboses control for most of his upbringing, it becomes clear that phobos was the one who imprinted on him. it obviously doesnt mean jeb isnt responsible for his own actions, he most certainly is. but its fun to shed light on where this all could have stemmed from.

overall to me jebs a pretty interesting example of how unhealed trauma and abuse can shape you into a bitter, terrible person if left to fester (definitely not always the case, of course v_v;;). jeb doesnt want to heal and refuses to look inward and see his flaws because of his bad experiences with making mistakes, so he only gets worse as the series progresses. its cool to explore what that does to someone and theres a lot of potential on the dynamic between jeb and phobos that i really love. i hope you like my post too, its been years in the making ^_^