#also ty to maker for help with a line here! o/

[deafeninggardenerpanda]

... clink ...

The broken mask fell to the floor with an especially crisp sound.

" ... Ah ...! " Kirby was unable to move, in shock.

Meta Knight was a knight shrouded in mystery who never showed his true face. That mask, for it to break ... 

Meta Knight immediately hid himself with his cape.

"Meta Knight ...! " Both King Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee were overcome with surprise. King Dedede remembered what he had said to him by the campfire.

"You must have a really weird face."

Meta Knight turned curt without even trying to argue when he made fun of him. He probably didn't want to touch on the topic.

King Dedede didn’t know why. However, Meta Knight’s true face, to him, was a secret that he absolutely had to protect, even if he had to risk his life to do it.

" ... Damn ... it!" King Dedede felt around the inside of his robe. There, there were the two masks—ominous masks that seemed to be filled with the power of the shooting star. 

Even though he felt the terrible power within them, he just couldn’t bring himself to let go and carried them along.

Meta Knight’s secret could be protected with these masks. But he didn't know what would happen.

"What to do ... " He hesitated for only a moment.

It didn't matter what happened. Meta Knight’s true face being exposed like that was absolutely unbearable for him.

"GET IT, META KNIGHT!" King Dedede shouted and threw the mask. Meta Knight grabbed it and put it on.

It was a beautiful mask with horns like the waxing crescent. However, it gave off a sinister air that caused all who saw it to tremble.

"Me ... Meta Knight ... " Kirby reflexively backed away from the overwhelming energy.

Meta Knight’s entire body seemed to be tainted by the evil aura flowing out. King Dedede held the other mask in his hand. This one, with horns like the waning crescent. 

It was obvious what was happening to Meta Knight. These masks controlled the heart and completely took over, giving the wearer the immeasurable power of darkness in exchange.

" ... I won’t let you bear this darkness alone." King Dedede murmured in a low voice and resolutely put on the other mask himself.

Wild power filled his body, and at the same time, his heart was corrupted by the darkness. King Dedede roared like a beast. It was completely different from his usual voice.

"King Dedede ... what’s happened to him!?" Kirby was panicked.

"It's the power of the masks!" Bandana Waddle Dee shouted.

"Huh ... masks ...? "

"The Great King and Sir Meta Knight, the power of those masks are causing them to go on a rampage!"

"That’s ... "

King Dedede shouted out like a beast, approaching while swinging his hammer. Meta Knight swung his sword. It wasn't the treasured sword Galaxia.

Meta Knight’s sword was enveloped in darkness just as he was, transforming it into an evil weapon tinged with an ominous light. Kirby frantically dodged the sword being swung down at him at fierce speeds. It was not the beautiful technique that Meta Knight had so laboriously refined—instead, it had become a violent one full of murderous intent. Bandana Waddle Dee shook as he raised his voice.

"G-Great King! Please take off your mask! That mask is dangerous!" But his voice did not reach the Great King any longer. King Dedede, rampaging because of the power of the mask, threw himself at Bandana Waddle Dee while swinging his hammer senselessly. 

"Watch out, Waddle Dee!" Kirby immediately jumped at Bandana Waddle Dee, protecting him, as Masked Dedede's hammer hit the floor, cracking it with the tremendous impact.

"He’s gotten an insane boost in power!" Bandana Waddle Dee shouted in despair. "What should we do ...!? "

"W-We have to get those masks off them, one way or another! Ei, SWORD SPIN!"

Kirby fired an attack at Masked Meta Knight, however, Meta Knight easily dodged and jumped up. King Dedede also kicked off the ground. They sent shock waves scattering when they held hands in the air while rotating at ultra high speeds.

"Uwaaaaaaah!" Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee ran for cover.

"Waddle Dee, hide! It’ll be o-kay behind that statue!" Kirby pointed to the statue of King Dedede.

"I refuse, I'll fight too!" Bandana Waddle Dee said.

"You shouldn’t, those two aren’t themselves right now. I won’t let it end like this!" 

"But ...! " The two masked opponents dropped while they were talking, plunging into the ground. The earth trembled, the impact sending a jolt so intense that it cracked the ground. However, King Dedede was swaying. His eyes spun dizzily, seemingly because of how fast he was spinning.

"O-kay, let’s get this done asap ...! "

Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee ran over to King Dedede, but Meta Knight stopped them. He came at them with barrage after barrage of attacks with much greater speed and power than usual.

"Aaaaaah!" Kirby desperately protected the screaming Bandana Waddle Dee. Masked Dedede recomposed himself.

"Waddle Dee, get behind the statue, quickly ...! " Kirby shouted. Bandana Waddle Dee nodded, listening to him.

" ... Okay!"

Waddle Dee’s strength could help them no longer. It was best for him to protect himself instead so he wouldn’t trip Kirby up.

He rolled behind the statue of King Dedede. Kirby gripped his sword firmly. "Let’s go ...! "

Meta Knight slashed at him, then jumped up high when—an unexpected thing happened. He split into four while in the air.

"Huaah!? There’s more of him ...!? "

Even just one Waxing Crescent Masked Meta Knight was unmanageable, now he had multiplied. Then, King Dedede took a deep breath and inhaled. "Wawawawa!" Kirby hurriedly planted his feet so he wouldn't be sucked in, but the four Meta Knight’s that were hovering in the air were all sucked into King Dedede one after the other.

"Meta Knight is ...!? " Kirby’s eyes opened up wide. The next moment, Masked Dedede spit the Meta Knight’s out vigorously. Kirby toppled over, overcome with surprise. "Huuuh!? What is that attack ...!? " Meta Knight flew towards Kirby with his sword at the ready.

"Uhyooooo!"

Kirby was able to avoid the attacks by rolling as King Dedede spit out the four Meta Knight’s in quick succession.

"Wah! Yah! Hyah!" He rolled around on the floor. His eyes spun as he just barely dodged the attacks. "N—no good ... I'll be killed before I can do anything ...! "

Being at the brunt of the tag team’s attack was far too overwhelming, Kirby was stuck in a state of hopelessness. Bandana Waddle Dee watched from the shadows of the statue. 

"Give it your all, Kirby! Give it your all, give it your all, give it your all!" But no matter how much he desperately yelled, he couldn’t help Kirby without the pompoms. In a fit of desperation, he thought about jumping out, but he knew that he would be defeated with a single blow. He would just get in Kirby’s way. "Of course ... I’m useless. Kirby would win this if he had a stronger buddy ... "

It was frustrating, so frustrating how powerless he was. Tears welled up in his eyes. Bandana Waddle Dee wiped them away and thought about it.

"This is no place to cry. Think, what I can do for Kirby. Kirby ... Kirby ...! " 

No good ideas, nothing came to mind, however, fun memories of playing with his good friend, Kirby, came back one by one.

"Kirby ... Kirby ...  Kirby ...! " Bandana Waddle Dee joined his hands in prayer and continued to call out Kirby's name.

Kirby was also thinking of Bandana Waddle Dee while fighting. 

(If I lose now, that's the end. Even Waddle Dee will be killed!)

He also recalled the fun days of playing with his friend.

(All the times we went for a walk together, hide and seek, our races. Waddle Dee gave me a bunch of boxed lunches he made, and ... and he was gonna give me that pink and blue striped knitted hat!)

He couldn’t fail now. He had to fight.

For Waddle Dee.

Meta Knight JUMPED up high.

"Multiplying again ...!? " Kirby took a stance in preparation for the attack, however, it was a different move this time. Waxing Crescent Masked Meta Knight swung his sword, unleashing crescent-shaped shock waves.

Those Crescent Shots were Meta Knight’s specialty. Kirby slid, moving out of the way, and dodged the shock waves. However, King Dedede swung his hammer up and hit back the flying Crescent Shots coming at him one after the other. The Crescent Shots split into smaller splinters of themselves and rushed towards Kirby!

He couldn’t avoid being cut as the countless sharp, blade-like shock waves flew at him. 

"Uwaaaaah ...! " Kirby screamed. Bandana Waddle Dee, forgetting the danger, jumped out from behind the statue.

"KIRBY—!"

—And at that moment.

A strange object tumbled out in front of Bandana Waddle Dee. It gave off a mysterious blue light, so strong and intense it was difficult to get near. Bandana Waddle Dee faltered for a moment, squinting, but that light was so beautiful it seemed suck him in.

He timidly extended a hand. "I wonder what this is ... No way, a piece of a star ...? " He slowly tried lifting it up.

Even though it was about the size of a person, it was very light. He felt warm light fill his entire body.

"Uh ... huh ...? What ...?" The light that overflowed from the strange piece filled his whole being with power. "This is ..... this piece is ...? "

A nearly identical piece had also appeared in front of Kirby. Kirby approached it, staggering. 

"Wh ... at ...? This ... is ...? " It gave off a pink light. The piece that Bandana Waddle Dee had picked up was exactly the same shape, but flipped. "Wh ... at ...? " 

Kirby had no power left to lift the fragment anymore. He put his hand on the piece limply, completely exhausted. Bandana Waddle Dee ran over to him, holding the strange piece with both hands.

"Kirby! With that piece ...! " The weakened, cut up Kirby closed his eyes with his hand still on it. Bandana Waddle Dee desperately raised his voice. "Give it your all, Kirby! Lift that piece up! Combine it with mine!"

"Huh ...? " Kirby cracked open his eyes. "Piece ... what ... is this ... piece ...? " 

"I don't know. But I can feel something. Kirby, lift up the piece!" 

"Y ... eah ... " 

"Please, Kirby!"

"A ... alright ... "

Kirby mustered all of his strength and lifted the pink piece as he was told, and Bandana Waddle Dee’s blue piece and Kirby’s pink piece fit together perfectly and became one. 

One glittering shooting star.

Suddenly, a bullet flew out of the center of that star. " ... Wawah! What!?" Kirby was surprised.

"With this, we can now fight back!" Bandana Waddle Dee shouted. "Kirby, aim and strike true!"

"Aim ...? "

"First, Sir Meta Knight!"

Meta Knight, again, tried to launch a Crescent Shot, but Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee fired a star bullet at him.

"EIYAAA—!" The bullet struck Meta Knight straight-on, throwing him into the ground.

"Next, King Dedede!" They aimed the star at King Dedede, who raised his hammer.

"TAKE THIIIIIS—!" King Dedede also toppled over after receiving the bullet. 

"Amazing power ...! " Kirby said.

"Be careful, Kirby. It's not over yet!" 

Bandana Waddle Dee jumped on top of the star. Kirby also climbed atop it with pained breaths. It floated up softly when the two were on board, increasing in brightness more and more.

King Dedede and Meta Knight were held captive by intense rage after being hit by the bullets. They raised their voices in a roar and came rushing in, swiftly attacking.

Bandana Waddle Dee and Kirby quickly looked at each other and nodded in unison. The two shouted as one.

"GOOOOO—!"

The bullets fired by the pair became two beams that entwined and increased in power, hitting King Dedede and Meta Knight dead-on. Their weapons were sent flying and spun about in the air, and the two masks shattered into small fragments.

At the same time, the star Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee were riding on disappeared into smoke, causing a dense cloud of dust to rise. They couldn't see anything. 

"Kirby ... are you okay?" Bandana Waddle Dee said while coughing.

"Yeah, I’m ... o-kay ... You, Waddle Dee?" 

"I'm also just fine ... "

When he said that, the floor shook dramatically. The pillars cracked and the ceiling crumbled, raining down.

"This is bad ... " Bandana Waddle Dee shouted. "The tower is starting to collapse!" 

"Huhh ...!? " The two’s feet shook as they spoke. "Let’s get out of here, Waddle Dee!" Kirby took Bandana Waddle Dee's hand.

"But the Great King and Sir Meta Knight are still ...! "

Then, something appeared and quickly disappeared over the two’s heads.

What the pair saw when they looked up was Meta Knight’s form flying away from the window with King Dedede in his arms.

Meta Knight's true face was in shadow and could not be seen. King Dedede seemed to be unconscious.

"I'm glad! Both of them are safe!"

"Let's get out of here, quickly!" 

Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee ran down the stairs with held hands.

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[miraizu]

Hiii! May I request some general dating headcanons for A-ya, if that's alright? P.S. Your kitten Killua is very cute!

five years later

Thank you so much, and I'm so sorry for the delay! I kind of forgot about this blog until really recently, when I ran into some ShuuenPro cosplayers at an anime convention haha. Here are some general headcanons for our fave resident rumor maker!

General Dating HCs for A-ya (GN!)

First off, please prepare yourself to hear some outlandish shit about yourself. You thought just because you're dating A-ya, he'll spare you from his mischief? LOL. If anything, it might be even more annoying. A-ya loves your reactions, but at least it's never anything serious!

Also, uhhhh, GL with C-ta lmfao. He's acting sweet, but if you can see through that facade, it's game on. He is not having it.

Bring it to A-ya's attention, he'll probably brush it off as C-ta being C-ta, so long as the brunet doesn't do anything sus.

Dates are going to be super lowkey. He gets weird vibes at his own house a lot, so he'll probably be over at your place rather his own. Expect movie marathons going late into the next day.

Probably a fan of the terrible B-rated movies. I'm talking Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Critters, Rubber, The Gingerdead Man... Bonus points if you still get scared. He thinks it's cute.

Please help A-ya get a healthier sleep schedule. He needs it.

NOT a fan of PDA. Like, at all. He's more than happy to give affection in private, though! Might hold your hand or allow you to lean on him during club activities, but that's really about it.

Not super possessive, either. Out of the five Occult Club members, he's probably the most chill S/O, almost tying with E-noru.

When the game is going on, he's going to be worrying over you and wanting to stay at your house. It may be the first time you see him worried, honestly.

A-ya's... Not super expressive. You'll have to learn to read between the lines with his words and actions. He does care for you, but doesn't always express it well.

If you two sleep together, he is not a big cuddler in bed. Chances are, he's going to be up wayyy longer than you, anyways, but he's okay with holding your hand as you sleep. He just needs his space when he's sleeping himself.

In general, not a super cuddly boy, but will give you cuddles in private if you pester him enough.

In terms of the type of S/O A-ya might prefer, definitely somebody who reacts well to his shenanigans. He finds your reactions interesting, as long as it's not too dramatic, because then it just gives him a headache.

Would like a chill S/O, and probably doesn't care whether you're introverted or extroverted so long as you don't force him out of his comfort zone.

Love language is quality time and acts of service. He's not good at gift giving, clearly not affectionate, and his words tend to be barbed. Probably loves receiving quality time and words of affirmation though :)

[animeyanderelover]

Hi first of all I'm sorry for not thanking you enough for the last two shots you wrote for me the child s/o and main four was unique and adorable and the Leorio one was absolute gold I've been having a rough time my laptop broke and my instructor is mad b/c of falling behind so I didn't have the energy to talk . Anyway if it's ok I'd love a Kurapika shot with a snarky stubborn s/o who makes trouble after capture thought it go well with prompt 81 the hard dark stuff helps me process my grief

Hard and dark, huh? I will always prefer soft and desperate. But who am I to decline my darling’s wishes?

Warnings: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, aggressive and vicious behavior, threatening, violence, self-harming behavior

Prompt 81: “The more you struggle now, the heavier your punishment will be later on.”

Kurapika didn’t know if you were either just stupid or incredibly stubborn, feeling his already strained string of patience run thin more and more with each passing day. He knew that you could be very thick-headed, but currently you were balancing on a very thin and dangerous line. And you had to know that too, didn’t you? From the look in your eyes he guessed so, fear visible in your face, staring with a scared yet defiant look on your face at him, clearly not wanting to show him how afraid you really were. But who wouldn’t if someone with scarlet red eyes was towering right over you, looking like a demon staring right into your soul? You had to know that you had crossed his line, didn’t you? So why were you still so determined to get on his nerves? Why were you still fighting? You reminded him somewhat of a cornered animal, scared and anxious, but still struggling and fighting back. And to be honest, right now the term “predator and prey” seemed to fit almost too well, you quite literally being pressed into the corner of the bathroom with Kurapika looking like he was about to snap someone’s neck, jaw clenched tightly together that you almost feared one of his teeth would break any moment, the nails of his fingers digging tightly into his hand that you were sure at any moment he would cut his palm with it.

“So what? What are you going to do now?”, you sneered at him, glaring angrily up at him. “Why am I still going?”, you asked yourself silently. You knew that he was too close to losing it and you knew that there was the possibility of you getting hurt. So why? Why were you still continuing to push him over his limits? You hated this, hated that you could never shut your mouth for once. As soon as a thought entered your head, you had to say it out loud, no matter how much trouble it would bring you later on. Small habits were indeed very dangerous. But no matter how much you had tried to keep quiet, your stubbornness had always gotten the best from you, earning you not exactly the best friends or many friends to begin with. You had always been a trouble maker and the more you were stressed out, the more you always found yourself getting harsher and bolder with your words and actions. So this had been destined from the very moment Kurapika had kidnapped you, that you two would end up in such a situation. It would have been to pretty to be true to find someone who would be able to put up with this thorny character of yours, keeping you in check. You guessed Kurapika had either underestimated your savage side or overestimated his own limits. Or maybe it had been both, but that wasn’t the important thing now.

Since the very first moment you had been stuck in this house, you had only caused troubles, rebelling in hopes that he would let you go. You had thrown away everything he had gotten you, had attacked him several times, had thrown things after him and had also caused quite the damage in the house, often hurting yourself in the process, but you hadn’t cared, knowing that it would make Kurapika go crazy. No person would have been able to endure this for too long, not even the most patient person. And so you had witnessed Kurapika getting more forceful and mad with his actions and behavior more and more, his grip when you were about to throw something at him getting tighter and tighter, bringing him to the point where he left bruises on you. He had resorted to restraining you, tying you up and locking you in your room which had only lightened the fire in you even more. So for whatever he had hoped to reach with this, it had only brought him the opposite effect, causing you to get more beastly and sarcastic with each passing day. And you didn’t know how to stop, but in such moments you didn’t care, only caring about giving Kurapika a hard time. For what had you even hoped? That he would get so feed up with you that he would end up kicking you out? It was a rather stupid hope, even though you had to admit that this was what you had hoped for a bit. But you guessed the main reason was that you had wants to bring a point over. That you wouldn’t be carved into a submissive lover from him who would play the role of the housewife.

“(y/n). Stop. Now.” Low and dangerous, you knew that one wrong word now could der him off. His eyes were telling you everything you had to know. For a moment you became quiet, glancing around the mess you had made. All tubes filled with cream, shampoo and soap were scattered around randomly, some were open and completely destroyed, the liquid that had been once in them being smeared all over the place. A pool of water had formed itself in here, causing you to sit on the wet ground. You had freely broken the shower head, water still tickling down on it. If you looked closely, you could also see the shards glittering in it, the light illuminating the fragments of the now broken mirror. And around you a light shade of red had started to taint the transparent water, your knuckles still bleeding from punching the mirror. At least you weren’t the only one who had hurt themself in the process, on Kurapika’s face being a few scratches visible too. But this had been only luck though, Kurapika being too shocked when having first entered the room to realize you throwing pieces of the mirror at him. It wouldn’t be wise to anger him more. You knew that too well. You knew that you had to keep your mouth shut. You knew that you should just apologize or even say nothing if you wanted to get out unharmed from this situation. You knew it so well.

“Or what? What will you do? Tying me up again? Starving me? Locking me away? Do you seriously think that this will work?” So why were you still continuing with all of this? Was it really that hard to keep quiet for even a short moment? At least a few minutes? It wasn’t that hard to shut up. All you had to do was closing your mouth and not opening it again. But why seemed such a simple thing to do suddenly do hard to master? It was almost like an impossible thing to do for you. You could only pray that you would magically go mute, ridiculous to think about since this impossible. “What do you even hope to reach with this? Disciplining me? Pathetic.” Your tone sounded like you wanted to pick a fight, but in reality you just wanted to run away, wanted to hide somewhere and tape your mouth with something. Everything to make you shut up. “Do you really think that this will help you reaching your goal? Bending me according to your will? Do you think telling me that you just want to protect me will work? What do you think will happen to me if you keep me isolated in here? Do you hope to break my mind? To make me think that the world is really a dangerous place? Good grief, you really are messed up, aren’t you? Why don’t you just look around once in a while to get this sense thing into your head? The only dangerous thing for me here and in the entire world. Is. You.” The last two words were hissed by you, clear spitefulness dripping from your voice.

Kurapika didn’t say anything, making you question whether to worry or not. But then he slowly kneeled down, his movements terribly slowly, putting you on high alert. He didn’t say anything, just staring at you, giving you the feeling that he could melt your skin with this intense gaze of his, the red eyes awakening the impression that his eyes were burning. Keep quiet, keep quiet, keep quiet, keep quiet. “What? Did you swallow your tongue or something like this?” You gave him this kind of smile that basically screamed fake, sending him a short glare afterwards. But Kurapika didn’t react, at least not visibly, keeping a strange stoic expression on his face. This was concerning. Instead his gaze wandered to your knuckles, skin ripped open and exposing the sensitive wounds to his eyes. For a short moment you thought that he would make a fuss about it again, preparing to throw another line at him. But before a word could left your lips, you suddenly hissed painfully, Kurapika suddenly pressing your hands tightly in a not comforting manner, making you yelp when he yanked you up back on your two feet, fingers pressing exactly on the spots where your fresh cuts and wounds were. And with a dreadful feeling you realized that he did it on purpose, knowing that he hurt you, but not stopping. He wanted to hurt you right now. Why would he do that? And why were you surprised? You had been the one who had brought this upon yourself.

“What the heck?! You moron! You’re hurting me! Let go of me! Weren’t you the one who told me a few weeks ago that you would protect me from any danger?! I don’t know if you know this with the narrowed knowledge of social acts you have, but currently you’re doing exactly what you promised to protect me from! I guess now I need someone to kidnap me so they can protect me from you!” It was your fault! Why couldn’t you accept that? “Just shut up?! Do you want to die?!”, you screamed inside your head, wanting to punch yourself or slam your head against the wall. But the most terrifying part was that despite tightening his grip on your hands, Kurapika didn’t say anything, just dragging you silently out of the bathroom. Oh yes, that was it. His silence that clearly didn’t fit the aura surrounding him, a feeling thickly painted with frustration and anger. Like the silence before a heavy storm that would destroy anything in it’s way. That was the feeling you were getting from him, causing you to react panicked, kicking and pulling desperately, trying to free yourself from his by now iron-like grip, ignoring the warm blood trickling down from the freshly reopened wound. “Let go of me! Are you deaf?! Seriously, are you really gonna hurt me?! Wow, you’ve really sunken low, haven’t you? No wonder you’re such a loner. No one wants to be befriended with such a violent and cold-hearted demon like you.” What was with you? You had been a loner too.

“The more you struggle now, the heavier your punishment will be later on.” And all it took for Kurapika was one sentence, one sharp look to paralyze you. Gosh, you were such a loser, talking almighty, but in reality not even be able to hold your own mouth. You saw all the bottled up emotions on his face, all the anger and madness swirling inside of those glowing eyes. And somewhere down there you also saw something similar to regret. And you pitied yourself in that moment too, knowing that you had just caused someone to snap who had tried his hardest to show patience with you. And he had endured it for weeks, setting a new record. No one had ever been willing to put that long up with you. And you had just pushed all of his wrong buttons and you could read from the look in his eyes that what was about to come wouldn’t be pleasant in the least bit, the sudden darkness clouding his eyes telling you that a very violent lecture was awaiting you. You could have accepted it, begged for forgiveness, tried to apologize in hopes that he might go milder on you. But you did the complete opposite. Cutting your own tongue out suddenly looked very appealing.

“Congratulations for just reaching a new kind of low. I feel glad that your clan is already dead.” And suddenly Kurapika stopped, grip on your hand tightening to the extent that you were sure that only a bit more pressure would be needed to break it. Not only that, but all of a sudden the air seemed to change, you feeling like every moment it would crush you into tiny pieces. Stop it!! “If they would see you right now they would surely turn around in their grave!” STOP IT!!! “I guess you should feel glad as well that they’re all dead by now. They would have been so ashamed of you, surely not accepting you as a clan member anymore. I mean, who would after finding out that someone from their own flesh and blood would sink that low to kidnap someone? Where’s your honor?” He had started shaking by now, the air feeling like many invisible daggers, ready to plunge into your whole body at any moment. WHAT THE HELL WAS WRONG WITH YOU?! WERE YOU A SUICIDAL MANIAC?! SHUT YOUR STUPID MOUTH?! “And now you really tell me that you try to restore those clan of yours? Give up on your silly little dream. They’re dead and you’re the last one. You want revenge? You want to bring your clan back to life with my help? You wouldn’t have to do this if you would have just been there to protect them back then. Or if you would have just died with them. Then I wouldn’t have to endure all of this. You can pretend to be my “guardian” as much as you want, but in reality you just see me as an excuse to help your own guilt, right? You try to justify your behavior by telling yourself that you want to protect me when in reality you just don’t want to live with the guilt of your failure years ago. And I’m the perfect balm for your wound. That’s so lame, you know that right? You’re so-“

“ENOUGH!” His sudden scream made you jump back, followed by a sudden crashing sound. You remained frozen, staring shocked at him. Kurapika himself seemed shaken up, returning your gaze, eyes wide and staring with a wide variety of emotions inside of them. Tears started gathering in your eyes, slowly shifting your eyes to your hand. Blood was freely dropping down from it, the whole skin having bursted due to him suddenly crushing your hand like this. But that wasn’t the most gruesome thing. It was the way your hand had suddenly twisted, the numb pain somewhere in the back of your mind helping you realize very slowly what had happened. He...had broken your hand. And the moment you finally processed what had happened, the whole impact suddenly hit you. And for a moment everything turned black in front of your eyes, the sudden pain causing you to drop to your knees, and letting out a pained and shrill scream. Kurapika himself looked like he didn’t believe what had just happened, letting shocked go of your hand which you quickly pulled to your chest.

You sobbed harshly, the pain being too much to handle for you in that moment. It was to a certain extent your fault, you knew that. But that didn’t stop you to let your tongue get the better of him. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?! You just broke my hand!! You’re a monster!! A demon!! Do me the favor and die somewhere alone and painfully!!” Kurapika had taken a few steps back, staring shocked at your hunched over form on the ground, regret an disbelief visible on his face as well as hurt when hearing your words. And just for a short moment you had the feeling that he wanted to apologize before it happened. The dark expression returned to his face, glazing his eyes and all of a sudden it was like his life spark had been turned off, his red eyes suddenly appearing more dull, causing him to look emotionless, cold to look down on you. “It’s your fault. I’ve warned you several times to stop. So don’t blame me for this. The only one you have to blame now is you.” Hot tears flowed down your face, your whole body feeling like it was on fire, not only because if the pain currently cursing through your entire system. You also burned up because of your feelings. You knew that he was right, self-shame and frustration as well as dread filling your entire mind, leading to even more tears spilling from your eyes. But what was your response?

“F-fuck you, you bastard. I hate you, Kurapika.”

[solidburnreturned]

by popular demand, here is my oc chatter regarding stuff like relationships n random character traits. its rly long oops but i divided it by character at least lmao,, these are all things that i think id also wanna use if i ever use these characters as humans (which i def will at some point honestly)

- i thinkkkk i want toad and pike to date. toad would come across pike in their lagoon one day while hes wandering around on another wonked exploration and pike is like hey lol :B with their pointy teeth and long ass hair and toad is like :0 he just sits and talks with pike for hours and comes by a few times a week to hang out with them. they fall in LOVE

- fred and lani are def gonna date too. two butches who use he/him pronouns fuck yeah? they have a powerful relationship. mega BDE. power couple. not a lot of pda but alone together theyre both very loving and tender, its a vulnerability thing for both of them. like lani is very cool and can be either stoic or borderline obnoxious while fred is punkish. fred is very head over heels for lani tho 

- mardi n berg.....complicated....i gotta figure out how they actually end up together. berg is a jogger and mardi is a piercer/tattoo artist so that doesnt....make them line up very much in that department. ill think about it more and figure something out. itll probably have something to do with berg’s nose stripes and eye rings

- also side note on mardi......i want his backstory to include a grey period set off by his brother being eaten when they were both young at the troll tree. like he becomes angry and depressed, sorta like branch, his tattoos that he gives himself the only color on his body, until he learns to let go and his colors come back (high key this was inspired by 21 savage, mardi’s voice claim, and the line in his new song A Lot “my brother lost his life and it turned me to a beast”). ill develop this idea further but i just wanted to get it written down

- bismuth.......unsure. they had a crush on pepper and kept trying to ask her out until she came out to them as a lesbian, then they were like :’) but theyre ride or die theyre not gonna be an ass to her because they cant date her. they just care a lot about her. its like icarly

- gazpacho and jupiter CUTE two small trans trolls in That Love. i need to develop them more but. theyre just cute 

- talia is still a little too new for me to develop her......but im thinkin about it...

- kinda same with ernie and olive. they kinda mostly just exist as cute babby characters right now? if anything olive is a trouble maker and ernie is a chatterbox

- clem and thursday also fuckin cute as hell......clem was a nervous wreck asking thursday out but theyve been together like ever since, which is more than a few years. they have a rly cute gentle lovey dovey relationship. thursday is usually hanging around up on her gf’s shoulder giving her kisses on the cheek

- bea and crystal.......adorabl relationship......crystal is another character thats kinda nervous but bea is so chill n confident is helps calm her down. theyre both trans and love the hell out of each other. rly slow n steady relationship, bea is very patient

- pj and marcus!!!! dumb mlm rep relationship. pj is so so gay for marcus he can barely comprehend it. its a dumb ego boost for marcus but hes also very in love with pj, he just expresses it in a weird cocky way idk marcus is a nerd. i need to make more content for them i think about these two way more than it seems

- dwight!! he has a boat. he lives on the boat.....ive thought about maybe pairing him with toad and pike. deciding on his voice claim has been the most difficult thing ever

- kass and current HELL yeah buff gf and tol gf......they spar with swords and wrestle for fun and hang out at the beach a lot. kass fuckin loves the gem on current’s back. i gotta make more content for them 

- celia......i wanna do more with celia. friends with berg probs theyre both sporty. shes just a sweet giant troll who loves mushrooms. i gotta pair her with someone whose palette goes nicely with her pastels 

- carrot and harriet are literally cricket and tilly from big city greens just older. yeehaw siblings. havent thought about relationship stuff with harriet yet.....i think she also needs ANOTHER redesign her colors are just too heavy still. maybe if i can make her colors compliment celia’s that could work as a pairing? hm hm.....carrot tho is dating ford’s oc rye theyre gentle country gays

- rainer. hm. i dont think theyre rly the dating type......theyre just chill with being them. they just wanna swim and be funny

- hammond and andromeda are probs two of my least developed characters.....hammond still needs a redesign. he might be cute to pair with walter, theyre around the same age. andromeda tho i have no idea. she might be a nice pairing with eve? if i ever feel like pairing her with someone...who knows. eve is very carefree and might find andromeda’s energy too intense

- radish i wanna make more content for!! i rly like her a lot....i think shes another troll who isnt interested in dating. shes very focused on being a chef instead. loves her friends a lot!

- mack and pepper 2gether 4ever obvs......they have a relationship that gets richer with age for sure

- im just gonna ramble about mack. i thinkkkkkkk i wanna make her half latina? columbian specifically. she doesnt quite read as white and i didnt make her with the intention of making her white. anyway i love mack a whole lot and should really develop her backstory more. its not rly as like...””tragic”” or whatever as pepper’s i know that but she def has layers. i wanna give her whole family more depth. she has a very complicated relationship with her own feelings and motivations that i need to think about more fully. my powerful femme tho i lov her

- mack’s parents, robin and champagne, i need to like....think about them more. they have kinda a comedic relationship thats sorta inspired by roger rabbit and jessica rabbit. robin is a very caring, gentle troll who’s very smart and cares a lot about his nursing responsibilities in the village. champagne is very relaxed and the “voice of reason” character of the family. she loves a good party and has her party planning down to a science. both are very successful power parents. kickass family

- i already talked about topaz and marney in a separate post but i still love them both so much. big wesbiabs

- pepper....pebber. im gonna talk about her the most obviously gfhjdkrs i wanna talk about her mental health i feel like i think about it a lot but i never write about it explicitly? this is gonna be long oops hgjfksd she has depression and ptsd stemming from the trauma of her crash...im thinking she also has adhd and thats just something shes always had. her depression rly got heavy during her recovery and right after like...she hated being bed/housebound and felt rly powerless to her situation and just let it eat at her until her personality had actually changed considerably. like extroverted wild child rebel to introverted, soft-spoken sulker. this got better with time but she still is pretty introverted, just turned her moodiness into chill energy. 

- she has bad depression habits like letting dishes, old food, laundry, or just stuff pile up in her room until it gets overwhelming and she spends like two days just manically cleaning; or staying in bed for way longer than she should and messing with her hygiene; or eating way more or way less than she should eat in a day. just stuff thats hard to completely break out of when youre recovering. her color is pretty consistently the dark red but if shes having a particularly rough day she might look a little paler, or like a muddy brick color at her worst. thats kinda rare tho

- her ptsd is the thing she hates the most. for a while it made her feel very weak and she’d beat herself up over being traumatized by the crash which was obviously not helpful to her mental state but she was really all over the place during her bodily recovery. its part of the reason why she started working out, she wanted to reclaim some sort of feeling of strength and power that she felt she’d lost completely. she still gets really frustrated with this feeling of loss but she gets a lot of support from loved ones which has helped her not self-blame so much. her ptsd manifests mostly as nightmares/insomnia, chronic headaches/stomachaches, intrusive thoughts and sometimes flashbacks. the nightmares are what rly get to her, she really doesnt get a lot of good sleep and it can get to the point where she just doesnt want to sleep sometimes and she’ll stay awake until she crashes hard

- her scars used to be a big trigger for her ptsd, which is why she has her bangs covering the one on her face and wears long pants (her knee braces are too bulky for pants and would force her to wear shorts which would force her to expose her scars). she just. really really hates them. this is something she struggles with for a majority of her life

- once she and mack start going steady with their dating and start consistently sleeping in the same bed, pepper starts to sleep better. she still has nightmares that wake her up at least weekly, but having mack there to comfort her (whether she wakes mack up accidentally or if mack is already awake) helps a TON with getting her back to sleep soundly. it also just helps her sleep in general to have that comforting, loving presence in her bed snuggled up to her ;w; mack is a big help in general with pepper’s mental health, pushing pepper to make better, healthier choices and get out in the village more and have fun. mack for sure does not “”cure”” pepper of anything but shes a very positive light in pepper’s life that helps her pull thru tough times!

- i love all my goofy trolls so much. its so fun to just chill and blab about them to relax between working on big projects ;o; ty if u cared enough to read this whole thing ur so rad

[promptosbouncybuns]

Can we please not tear ships down or character bash because of our agendas?

This somehow became super long...sorry.

Wanna know what Mai and Aang have in common?

They are normally the two biggest recipients of, honestly, really stupid accusations.

Aang is apparently abusive in that he kissed Katara once while she wasn't very consenting to it at the time.

He's 12 and does stupid things but please hold him accountable for all time despite how disappointed in himself he looked right after. He didn't even pursue her after she stepped back. He saw his error and pulled away.

He apparently doesn't care about Katara? Despite literally giving up his chance to take full control of his avatar state just to go save her from a vision that may or may not have been real. I mean he could have just been like...ok...meh...Idc. Avatar state yip yip!

Then in LOK he just used her as a baby maker...never mind that apparently Katara had enough power or sway to outlaw bloodbending. Plus...guys...she's old when we see her in that series and has always been more family centered.

Not saying she became just a regular housewife after she married Aang but as stated before, she old! She's been through enough and if she wants some peace and solitude after dealing with the loss of her Friends, her Brother, and her Husband than...let the woman be pls. Even Toph didn't really want to fight anymore since old age had finally cought up with her and she's younger than Katara! If she doesn't want to fight but instead heal, let her do as she pleases. Plus you all sound like being a housewife and taking care of your children is a death sentance. Not all fighters are in the battle all the time.

Somehow Aang is also depicted as only seeing Katara as a trophy...Honestly I don't see how this got so convoluted but anyone who saw the series can say he doesn't think or her that way. He loves her, sees her as his best friend, and as probably one of the best masters to ever teach him. He's shown her tremendous respect as a friend, pupil, and love interest. He's listened to her and has grown from her wisdom.

Its also just crapping all over Katara as a character when people have this line of thinking. She's stronger than that, and would never be a prize to anyone, not even the avatar. If she wants to be with him she will. Kinda like how in the last episode when Aang walks out, she follows and is the one to kiss him.

I've always seen them as opposites, not in elements but in personalities. Also their similarites tend to correlate too!

Katara is at times a stick in the mud and Aang helps her have a childhood with the fun he brings her. She's had to grow up fast and undertake a lot of chores around her village. She's strong and outspoken, at times very loudly. She's passionate, even in the face of supposed peril, where there is no way she can prevail. She's strong and cares for others, almost to a fault since she took up precious days till the eclipse to help firenation people she didnt know.

Aang is a playful soul that hates being tied down. He'd rather have fun, and has been raised to seek leisure instead of responsibility. Its because of this that makes him so childish, until he meets her and is shown that his destiny is to bring balance to the world. He may not be physically strong but like Katara he isn't weak willed. He's passionate about protecting people and bringing harmony back to the four nations. While his passion isn't quite so loud, he can inspire people.

She's helped curb his childishness, and has helped instill in him responsibility. She won't let him shirk things off or procrastinate. She even was willing to let Aang learn waterbending without her because it was for the greater good.

Through these actions she's helped Aang embrace his old soul vibe and have it feel justified. He sees through her that what he does now will have an impact on the world and he best be getting to it.

I've always seen them as a couple that is silly, cute, and can get things done. I can see them being older and being more familiar with each other and it can lead to them having very intense intimate energy. I mean in the series, they're kids so...not really into thinking about them that way at that age. They can communate well so, there will be less fights and a lot of understanding. Definitely not boring.

As for Mai well...apparently people just don't understand her sense of humor and personality. She's got dry humor and is very direct in a lot of things. She doesn't sugar coat things and shys away from expression a lot of times.It somehow comes off as abusive?

Her telling Zuko to never break up with her again is supposed to be a joke, seeing as the last time he did, she literally had to save his bum from being boiled alive...

Then you have the infamous scene where they were together again after season 2 and while Zuko angsts, Mai tries to redirect his thoughts from such dark depths. Honestly, what do you say to that? Should you say its going to be ok? Because that just seems empty amd shallow.

Plus Mai, being emotionally stunted, doesn't really know how to navigate emotional waters. You also have to keep in mind that they finally get to have a conversation after all these years so obviously they aren't going to really know one another and how to communicate well.

So her not coddling and not letting him angst over things neither of them can know or deal with till it actually happens is dismissive of his abuse? I don't thinks so. Its honestly saying we will have to wait and see how things have changed once you are actually back home, so lets not dwell on them so much.

Of course, then you have her bringing up what happened last time Zuko was in a war meeting which is somehow abusive too. You know, its the same thing Iroh brought up in season 1 Ep. 3. So Iroh is abusive too now. It feels like people are saying don't bring up someone's abuse, ever, even if its to help them from potentially repeating the same pain.

She's trying to stop him caring and in her very direct way says that its not worth the pain of what could happen again if he attends. She's genuinely worried about him and doesn't want him hurt more physically or emotionally.

Then they like to say Mai doesn't care about Zuko really and that she just likes his status. They also say she's abusive with how she doesn't like anything he does for her. The biggest scene used is from the Beach showing Mai non-plussed by him giving her a shell and ice cream.

For one, Zuko wasn't acting like Zuko at all that first bit of the episode. He didn't take into account what Mai liked as apposed to what other girls liked. I mean while Ty Lee may like the shell, does that mean every girl has to like it otherwise they're a complete bish? Also...who here likes having ice cream fall on them? Honestly Mai could have made a huge deal about getting it on her but chose to crack a wry, but as always, dry joke about it.

Also please note that in this same episode Mai deals with an abusive S/O very correctly. Zuko's been acting off and it culminates with him pushing a guy back who happened to be talking to her. He makes a scene and insults her in front of everyone once she calls him out on his actions. Does she get even and call him worse? Nope. She simply says that their relationship is over and thats it. Though she looks conflicted by this, she stands firm despite Zuko trying to get handsy with her twice later in the episode. She holds him accountable but says she still loves him. I'd have an issue with this if they didnt have Zuko tell her and everyone whats been eating at him so long.

If she didnt know whats been making him act so hostile and crazy then how can she know that Zuko's not just an abusive jerk showing his true colors after all this time. Not saying that it made his actions right, but I feel her knowing the why instead of leaving it a mystery helped Mai reason through forgiving him.

As for her just wanting the power of his position, thats just really, really, really, lazy. She's from a noble family and is friends with the firenation princess...or as I like to say, unfortunately trapped in Azula's orbit. She'd be well off as it is if she kept her connection to Azula, but she didn't. She chose to go against a firebending prodigy, essentially turning her back on the firenation and her family to save the jerk who dumped her by letter.

Nope! Mai doesn't give a Flamio about Zuko himself. She just wants his title.

Opposites seem to attract and in this case its definitely with personalities since...ya know...Mai can't bend elements.

Zuko is passionately driven to a scary degree. He's hyper focused on finding the avatar despite the 100 years no one's seen them. He can be hot tempered and easily set off. He cares for people even to the point he'd rather starve than rob pregnant couple for food. He's brash, and doesn't think things through.

Mai is quietly, but strongly passionate for Zuko, even if its detrimental to her as with challenging Azula. She has learned to keep her temper and other emotions under lock and key, and is not easily set off. She cares about those she's put time and energy into. She's fairly classy, choosing her words wisely and she's definitely done a lot of thinking about what she wants or needs to do as far as her actions.

Zuko's shown that its ok to be expressive, and that its ok for her to do so. He wants to see her free of her parents emotional abuse so that she won't be so guarded.

Through Mai's personality, she's helped temper....Zuko's temper. He won't be so quick to flip his lid and do things without thinking them through. Like fire to a knife Zuko's helped make Mai burn bright and she's given him a sheith for his wild emotions.

I've always seen them as the quiet but intense love kinda couple. They may not have the best communication skills and this could lead to a lot of arguments but their love for one another is stronger. Eventually the sands of time will smooth them, break down walls and allow them to understand one another better.

I'm all for pretty much any ship in atla, and I love how fanfiction can actually help strengthen my love for it more than the actual show. The creativity and OOC that some writers pull off can be amazing and help you really like a character in a certain way or open your eyes to a new pairing.

However, if you wanna like ships, like them because you can, but don't go and take obviously innocent things and blow them out of proportion.

Here is convoluted, misconstrued, out of context information to say person X is evil and shouldnt be with person Y. W shouldn't be with person Z....therefore, Person Z and Person Y should be together because their partners are obviously abusive.

The...What? Three to maybe five episodes of screentime together as begrudgingly budding friends is enough to show exactly how they will be if they got together. Which these episodes can bring about interestingly creative ideas, however people act like that this is the definitive reason Z/Y should be together and any other pairing with the other two is completely abusive.

Just to be clear...if you like Zutara, thats great, I do too. I can imagine them in any number of ways. Them being enemies to lovers, or knowing each other before becoming star crossed lovers, or everythings all good in the univers and they love each other so so much!

However, in none of these headcannons do I see the need to bash Aang or Mai. I don't need to come up with stupid reasonings for Zuko and Katara to be together. If I want them to be together in a story or piece of art, I'll do it and be classy about it. I won't have Katara say Aang assaulted her and fly into Zuko's arms, pushing Mai down saying she's a manipulative bish. Because...she and Aang aren't.

At all.

Im just tired of the mental gymnastics shippers go through to spread hate for one ship so they can have another. Half the time its not even true facts but just people seeing it from an angle that aligns with their agenda.

If you like something, you like it, but don't crap on other ships or characters wrongly to justify it.

Sorry if this is a mess but god, seeing most of these accusations against Aang had me honestly cringing. I thought it was mainly against Mai because...she got Zuko and isn't bubbly, motherly, and...well Katara. So when Anti-Kataang reasons somehow showed up on the old dash, I felt my faith in humanity plummet.

Like...I hope you guys can sleep well at night knowing you've literally slandered a cinnamon roll who's in touch with his feelings, something most of you would protect if it where for any other ship. Like people just starting the series potentially arent going to be too keen on Aang himself at all simply because of this misinformation. But no...just to have one ship you equated this kid to a sexually abusive monster. Good job. 10/10. Slow 👏 for you guys. Be proud.

[nebris]

Macroeconomics in Germany: The forgotten lesson of Hjalmar Schacht

Despite facing many of the same challenges, Germany’s current macroeconomic policy is substantially different to those of other countries, in part due to the economy legacy of Walter Eucken. This column considers the economic policy of Hjalmar Schacht, whose ‘MEFO-bills’ monetary solution ended the years of economic struggle caused by the Treaty of Versailles’ reparations commitments. By tying the bills to output, Schacht was able to stimulate output, and eliminate unemployment. This historical implication has clear modern-day implications, with parallels to ‘helicopter money’ policy and Italy’s recent ‘fiscal money’ proposal.

By Biagio Bossone, Stefano Labini 01 July 2016

In a very enlightening Vox column, Bofinger (2016) explains why the macroeconomic debate and macroeconomic policy in Germany differ so widely from other countries, despite the same academic textbooks and models being used as elsewhere. Bofinger traces the root of the difference to the deep influence the paradigm of macroeconomics developed by Walter Eucken (1891-1950) has had on the German formal theoretical apparatus, and to his living heritage. Eucken’s focus on balanced budgets, price stability and structural reforms, and especially his neglect of aggregate demand explain German economic policy in Germany as well as at the European level.

As Bofinger well characterises it, Eucken’s vision of the German economy was – and remains – one of a relatively small-open economy which relies on the rest of the world to sustain its aggregate demand. But what is rational for a small economy may turn out to be irrational for a large one.1 If Eucken’s vision epitomises the economic success of Germany, its underlying fallacy of composition exemplifies as much the failure of the Eurozone – a large economy that, thinking of itself as small, refuses to use its internal potential to propel growth, and yet it is too large to piggyback on the rest of the world, especially when the latter gets weak and slow. As a result, the Eurozone has deprived itself, and the world, of the full use of its very powerful economic engine, most notably when using it could prove beneficial to all.

Eucken’s paradigm – antipodal to Keynes’ – grew out of (and found support in) the dramatic experience of Germany with Nazism in the years 1933 to 1945. In displacing that experience from the collective psyche of the country after the war, and in the process of re-establishing the country’s political and intellectual foundations, it was natural for a re-born Germany to accept Eucken’s negative message on a supposedly direct line, running from the ‘full employment policy’ of the 1930s to price controls, rationing, a corporative structure of the labour market, and central planning.

Unfortunately, removing the Nazi experience and all that was associated with it also caused the complete disregard of another major German lesson, that of Hjalmar Schacht, the maker of the formidable German economic rebound from the depression of the 1930s. While initially a supporter of Hitler and the Nazi Party, and serving in Hitler’s government as President of the Reichsbank and Minister of Economics, Schacht eventually developed serious concerns about German re-armament policy and its effect on the economy. He clashed with Hitler and was thus dismissed from his duties just before the beginning of the war. After the war, Schacht was tried at Nuremberg and was acquitted and cleared of all blame for rearmament and inflation. However, he was later tried and sentenced by a German denazification court to eight years in a work camp. Since then, nobody wanted to remember him, let alone rehabilitate his name, and his great lesson was all but forgotten.

Time should help us tell the good from the bad, out of even those very bad times. In any case, it is not our intention here to come to a judgement of Schacht’s political conduct, but simply to consider his policy programme for an economy trapped in deep depression with no fiscal space.

The economics of Hjalmar Schacht: A needed re-evaluation

In 1921, in the aftermath of the Treaty of Versailles, war reparation obligations upon Germany amounted to $33 billion. Keynes (1920) strongly criticised the Treaty. It did not include any plan to revamp the economy, and the punitive attitude and economic sanctions of the major powers against Germany, as he predicted, would lead to new conflicts and instabilities, instead of seeking to secure long-lasting peace. The reparations were in fact at the origin of the cataclysmic events that followed – from Weimar hyperinflation (1921-1923) to the dramatic austerity of the Bruning government (1930-1932). The resentment that all this created in the German people manifested itself in the huge support that Hitler’s National Socialism received in the whole country (Ruffolo and Sylos Labini 2012).

As Hitler rose to power, in January 1933 the economic situation in Germany was dire. Stocks of raw materials had been depleted, factories and warehouses lay empty, and about 6.5 million people (about 25% of the domestic workforce) were unemployed and on the verge of malnutrition, while the country was crushed by debt and its foreign exchange reserves approached zero.

Yet, from 1933-1938, thanks to Schacht, the economy recovered spectacularly (Figure 1).2 Schacht’s objective to jumpstart the moribund economy required money. But money was not available, since savings were inexistent and production was so restricted that savings would not accumulate (Schacht 1967). Neither could money be printed, since lending to the government would have put the Reichsbank at risk of losing control of monetary policy.

Schacht then contrived a brilliant unconventional monetary solution. For payments, state contractors and suppliers received bills of exchange issued by a company called ‘MEFO’.3 The MEFO-bills were state guaranteed, they could circulate in the economy and could be discounted by their holders at the Reichsbank in exchange for cash.

Figure 1 GDP growth and inflation in Germany and the Netherlands, 1922-1939

Schacht believed that the duty of the central bank was to make available to the economy as much money as necessary to facilitate output production. The issuance of bills of exchange was instrumental to this end – as each bill stood against the sale of newly produced goods, and each issue of money was based on the exchange of the new goods, central bank money issuance against bills could not be inflationary. Indeed, the employees of MEFO checked that every MEFO-bill issued was tied to a quantity of newly produced goods, and only bills issued against the sales of these goods were granted. This way, the circulation of money and the circulation of goods remained in equilibrium.4

The Reichsbank undertook to accept on demand all MEFO bills, irrespective of their size, number and due date, and to exchange them for money. The bills were discounted at a 4% interest rate. As such, they were given the character of interest-bearing money, and banks, savings banks, and firms could hold and use them exactly as if they were money. If all MEFO-bills had been presented for discount at once, inflation would have resulted. But this did not happen – making the bills both re-discountable and interest-bearing allowed for much of them to be absorbed by the market without going through the Reichsbank.5 Also, output responded remarkably well. State purchases fed into a growing demand for labour, and firms restarted investments using MEFO-bills as collateral for borrowing. Investments put additional manpower to work, and incomes and savings increased as a result, raising fiscal revenues (Guillebaud 1940).

In 1938, Schacht strongly urged terminating the MEFO programme, as full employment had been reached and the closing output gap was raising price tensions (Toniolo 1988).6 He clashed with Hitler on this, and on 19 January 1939 the Führer removed him from the Reichsbank.

Modernity of Schacht’s lesson

Such was the economic policy that allowed Germany to regain monetary sovereignty and finance its reconstruction in the interwar period – an ante litteram case of unconventional money-financed fiscal expansion. It enabled a national economy to exit a long and deep depression, and to attain non-inflationary full employment in a short span and with no use of price controls or rationing (Stucken 1953).7 In only five years, Schacht’s programme transformed a bankrupt state into Europe’s strongest economy (Emry 1982).

It is quite unfortunate that Schacht’s lesson was lost while Eucken’s paradigm carried the day. Schacht’s programme resembles a variation of the ‘helicopter money’ policy and its free-lunch effects (Bossone 2016), which several economists today consider an effective demand management tool for fiscally constrained economies trapped in deep depression.

The ‘fiscal money’ proposal launched in Italy by Cattaneo and others,8 whereby special Tax Credit Certificates would be issued by Eurozone crisis countries (in line with the EU fiscal rules) as quasi-money, claims that it would add to the economy’s purchasing power, stimulate output and employment growth, and raise fiscal revenues. It draws inspiration from Schacht’s MEFO-bills (although it also features important differences).

Bofinger’s (2016) contribution offers an excellent opportunity to contrast two important economic lessons from Germany. One – from Walter Eucken, still celebrated – has served Germany well but has proven dramatically unfit for Europe. The other – from Hjalmar Schacht, removed from memory – was a success, and should inspire Europe as it deals ineptly with its worst crisis since the 1930s.

References

Blanchard, O (2016), “How to Teach Intermediate Macroeconomics after the Crisis?”, Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2 June

Bofinger, P (2016) “German macroeconomics: The long shadow of Walter Eucken,” VoxEU.org, 7 June

Bossone, B (2016), “Why Helicopter Money is a “Free Lunch”, EconoMonitor, June 6

Bossone, B, and M Cattaneo (2016), “New ways of crisis settlement: fiscal levers as tool to fight stagnation,” forthcoming

Bossone, B, M Cattaneo, E Grazzini and S Sylos Labini (2015), “Fiscal Debit Cards and Tax Credit Certificates: The best way to boost economic recovery in Italy (and other Euro Crisis Countries)”, EconoMonitor, 8 September

Bossone, B, M Cattaneo, L Gallino, E Grazzini and S Sylos Labini (2014), “Free fiscal money: exiting austerity without breaking up the euro”, Associazione Paolo Sylos Labini, 26 November

Emry, S (1982), “Billions for the Bankers, Debts for the People,” Lord’s Convenent Church, America’s Promise Broadcast

Read also:Signs of a French Spring

Guillebaud, C W (1939), The Economic Recovery of Germany from 1933 to the Incorporation of Austria in March 1938, Macmillan and Co.

Keynes, J M (1920), The Economic Consequences of the Peace, New York, Harcourt Brace

Mahe, E (2012), “Macro-economic policy and votes in the thirties: Germany (and The Netherlands) during the Great Depression”, Real-World Economics Review Blog, 12 June

Ruffolo, G, and S Sylos Labini (2012), Il film della crisi. La mutazione del capitalismo, Einaudi, Torino

Schacht, H H G (1967), The Magic of Money, Oldbourne, London

Stucken, R (1953), Deutsche Geld- und Kreditpolitik 1914 – 1953, Tübingen, Ed. Mohr

Toniolo, G (1988), Central banks’ independence in historical perspective, Berlin, De Gruyter

Endnotes

[1] “I was struck by how many times during the crisis I had to explain the ‘paradox of saving” – recalls Blanchard (2016) – “and fight the Hoover-German line, ‘reduce your budget deficit, keep your house in order, and don’t worry, the economy will be in good shape’”.

[2] In the initial phase, the recovery was not driven by the military industry and the output response was particularly strong. The leading industries were in the construction, automobile, and steel sectors. Thanks to the launch of large public works and the building of the country highway network, constructions recorded the fastest absorption rate of employment (209%), followed by the automobile industry (117%) and steel (83%).

[3] MEFO stood for Metallforschungsgesellschaft (Metal Research Company), a private empty-shell company with paid-up capital of 1 million marks. It was co-owned by Siemens, Gutehoffnungshutte, Rheisenstahl and Krupp, in whose names the bills were issued, so as not to weigh on the fiscal budget.

[4] Under Reichsbank regulation, the bills had 3-month maturity and could be renewed 19 times for a 5-year period. This was necessary since economic reconstruction would require a number of years.

[5] The bills became a sort of fiduciary money flowing between firms. They were used for 4 years and reached a volume of 12 billion marks by 1938.

[6] Schacht’s decision was also due to the fact that the conversion of MEFO-bills at the Reichsbank was putting pressure on the money supply, since banks were facing higher demand for loans while savings were drying up.

[7] The money created against the MEFO-bills issued did not produce the inflation that classical theory – then as much as now – would have predicted. Supply and demand grew in parallel, leaving prices unaltered.

[8] See Bossone et al. (2014). For a concise description of the proposal, see Bossone et al (2015). Fiscal money can be defined as “any claims, private or public, which the state accepts from holders to discharge their fiscal obligations either in the form of rebates on their full value (tax discounts) or as effective value transfers to the state (payments). Fiscal money claims would not be legal tender, and could not be convertible by the state in legal tender. However, they could be negotiable, transferable to third parties, and exchangeable in the market at par or below par with respect to their nominal value”. (Bossone and Catteneo 2016).

Published at https://voxeu.org/article/macroeconomics-germany-forgotten-lesson-hjalmar-schacht