#“its barely even cold what are you guys talking about” vs “its so cold why is it so cold” (perfect 70 degree spring weather)

[veveisveryuncool]

Do you think Adeline would wear like. Shorts and a t-shirt while it's pouring down snow outside. I think she would do that.

i think she's got a weird dichotomy of being fine in -10° weather and getting random chills from time to time

[struggling-intuit]

at their most perverted

nct 127 || DARK 18+ blurbs + drabbles

vibe || focus x sticker - the third album

warnings || DON'T YOU HAVE SOMEWHERE ELSE TO BE, MINORS?; femme!reader, perv behavior, masturbation, panties panties panties, peeping tom, light stalking, reader is oblivious, non-con touching, cunnilingus, somnophilia, singular mention of a diet, secret photos, 127 is beyond pervy but just cuz it's you

mark || jacking off in your room

or outside your door while you sleep, whatever makes the most sense in the moment. and if it did happen in your room well, that's your fault, you should know better than to leave him all alone. for that long

he thinks he hears you coming and is rushing to stuff it back in his pants. can't have you knowing about his little hobby, you know? you don't

false alarm though, he can continue uninterrupted

smol baby is a bit too shy to grab a pair of your panties. he already feels guilty just being in the room with all those nasty thoughts, so he'll fantasize about cotton and lace and the perfume you were wearing today while thrusting into his own fist against the bed

shit, the sheets

taeyong || peeking up your skirt

not a bad bone in this man's body

eyes don't have bones in them, do they? okay, just making sure

tae doesn't mean to look when you bend over, walk up stairs, sit criss-cross-applesauce on the floor. he's craning his neck out of concern, you see. what if you were exposed? some guys will stop at nothing to get a glimpse of... so it's the strawberry pair today?

you really should wear longer skirts

johnny || talking nasty

out of all the boys, johnny's probably the most guilty of gossiping

what can he say? the man isn't afraid of what he wants, and he's certainly not afraid of talking about the ways he wants it. in detail

and i'm not talking positions. where, when, why, how, what you'll sound like beneath him, the whole fanfiction is on the table

he's mostly this graphic to make mark uncomfortable (or maybe mark just gets uncomfortable on his own) but if he's being honest, you awake something feral in him

and imagine her on that table, nothing but her panties

taeil || peeping tom

similar to taeyong he's watching you in ways that he shouldn't, but his sessions of perversion last much longer than a glance or two

taeil is the type you should expect peeking through a crack in the door. the little gaps between your blinds have never failed him, and he's always waiting for a show

he likes seeing you fresh from your shower, standing around in the nude while you ponder over the recurring jeans vs sweatpants debate. he'll add his two cents: sweatpants today babe, it's cold out

but what he likes even more, maybe even loves, is how adorable you look strumming at your clit, the hand over your mouth barely muffling the tiny gasps and moans

are you thinking about him right now?

haechan || hugging on you nonstop

it was cute at first but now he needs to take a hint

haechan is always right on top of you whenever you're in the same room and texting constantly when you're not

he must've never learned no as a child

it's not like he's even asked you out, he's just always there, holding you tight, pressing himself deeper into your breasts. though you still haven't caught onto that. you're so innocent, expecting any kind of virtue from him

and when he comes bounding to you like a puppy, a leech prepared to suck onto its newest host, you never put up a fight. he attaches himself to your arm like it's an extension of himself

you're his, didn't you know?

jaehyun || going down on you while you sleep

he's such a gentleman with it, even when he's absolutely violating your boundaries. jae just wants you to enjoy every moment with him, even the ones you aren't conscious for

you could be three years married to him and he's still between your legs at three in the morning, witching hour

you better watch out, he's brainwashing you with that sweet tongue

another decade goes by and you just continue waking up satisfied everyday, skin glowing, mind sunny...

that diet he told you not to go on is really working, isn't it?

jungwoo || taking dirty pictures

jungwoo may just be your best friend in the whole group. he's so easy to talk to, and even if he can be a bit awkward sometimes, he's nowhere near as weird around you as the rest of them

he's always wanting to go out too, takes you to all the places in and out of seoul with pinterest-worthy scenery and snaps you from a million angles with the little digital camera he's started carrying everywhere

a new hobby, he tells you, and he isn't wrong. he's using all those expensive trips and rental houses and fancy hotel suites to capture you in ways you can't even imagine

the for-your-eyes-only pink lace babydoll you packed for the yacht trip last summer has been seen by more than just your eyes

lock the door next time, won't you?

doyoung || buying dirty pictures

doie doesn't even talk to you much. he's shy

he has to rely on jungwoo's rapport with you for even the tiniest piece of your beauty

the piece in question? those goddamn pictures

jungwoo didn't even offer to sell them, doyoung just caught him once and maybe kinda blackmailed him into a prosperous business relationship

baby woo gets to keep your friendship and doie gets to keep the pictures. or a high quality copy, at least

night falls and he's pulling them out of their secret hiding place (not telling), studying them over and over. won't even touch himself, you're much too precious to stain with degenerate cum

as if he would jack off and risk ruining his beloved keepsake

yuta || whispering naughty nothings

yuta is so distracting

you'll be minding your own business, getting your work done as usual, and he'll come up behind you

"you're so cute today" right against your ear

it's not necessarily what he's saying that's naughty, but the way he does it? the tone of voice, the half-lidded gaze, the way his fingers ghost across your lower stomach as he pulls away... yeah, he's dangerous

not to mention you're on the job

and he keeps telling you how pretty you look, how good you smell, how tempting you are. comments that would make you blush on their own, but yuta makes a couple words

so

much

more

read more nct headcanons here

and check out the main masterlist here

imagine this yuta and you're his manager or stylist oh my god. anyway, asks are open babes :)

[yuukei-yikes]

it makes me so glad u like my saeru post bc honestly i get so scared sharing my kagepro opinions in this cold world but like yeah it's makes zero sense whenever i see people try to view saeru the same way they view the other characters bc that's seriously not the point😭. saeru is like sad from an objective standpoint but in kagepro's narrative alone he's what is holding the characters back from developing and gaining happiness. like the only thing abt him is that he's a fabricated shallow version of what being human is like and even then hes only the horrible parts bc he was created from despair. he's meant to be azami's, and by extent all of the mkdn and co's trauma holding them back. if someone tries to find any understanding in his actions then it defeats the whole purpose of his character. a true saeru fan wouldnt try to find empathy in his character but that sounds a bit crazy uhm. anyway sorry for the long ask just kagepro's narrative is so special to me so it makes me a bit insane. *closes the door to my cage and locks it*

1. i totally get you. ive been into kagepro for almost 10 years, ive grown up with it but only started sharing my content when i made this blog (like 5 years ago) and while ive always been loud abt my opinions i think im only NOW like REAAAAAALLY letting loose. i know what it's like to be nervous abt sharing ur opinions lol but u should keep doing it even if u think no one is listening bc someone IS listening and even if someone isnt WHATEVER i love living in delusion talking to myself that's what i do best

2. EXACTLY EXACTLY IT IS SO SO REFRESHING TO SEE SOMEONE GET IT SO PERFECTLY AND PUT IT INTO WORDS SO PERFECTLY TOO like i barely have anything to add because u just say it so perfectly. saeru IS a tragic character in the way it is created from despair like u said but the fact is that since it cannot feel anything like love u can never truly feel bad for it when it dies... it never wanted to help kenjirou, or save hiyori, or give haruka his life back. its purpose through and through is to keep killing everyone precisely because it brings tragedy. like sure it wants to live forever etcetcetc but what it wants to do is bring misery bc that's what it is

i think ppl are generally bad with characters like these because they try to give everyone a humanity?? like with alien characters for example. like it's such a pet peeve to me that people always wanna apply human principles and feelings to characters that are not... human. and the whole point is that they don't understand it and have to learn it or they just understand it differently or like in this case are straight up incapable of it. like this is so interesting. it is so interesting to have a character u will NEVER truly understand fully precisely because of your existence as a human vs their fictional non human existence. THAT'S the kind of thing that's so fun and interesting abt fiction and writing stories and characters, i think. srry that's kind of an unrelated rant that could apply to dozens of characters but here specifically it's like... yeah. there is definitely something interesting in humanizing saeru and making it be one of these characters who learn what love is and etc but that comes at the expense of kagepro's message and the question is why do u even wanna do that so bad. saeru is not THAT lovable anyway fuck that guy fr

because in my professional kagepro experience and here i am about to get a little bitter, 90% of the time it comes from being horny over omg posessed sexy anime boy bc ive never seen ANYONE objectifying clearing when its in kenjirou's body‼️‼️‼️ personally, that's also why im so UGH EYE ROLL at ppl sympathizing saeru but that's more personal lmao. *shakes fist* like mamoru miyano was 1000% chosen as haruka's va thinking primarily of saeru, secondarily of konoha, and haruka as the oh well he's here too ig. i am so sure. i am so DAMN SURE. u got sexy anime voice guy???? are you SERIOUS??? AND THE FACT HE VOICES SAERU EVEN WHEN NOT POSESSING KONOHA AND SOUNDS...LIKE THAT... MAKES IT MORE THAN CLEAR. THEY WANTED PEOPLE TO OBJECTIFY SAERU SO BAD. AND THE WORST IS THAT IT WORKED AND I WILL ALWAYS HATE IT FOR IT.

...........anyway. yes. i love long asks ty for writing to me and reading my tags and also for writing that awesome post (bow bow bow bow)🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[hard-technology-rock]

been thinking a lot about my warden emmet au (also known as "emmet gets eeby deebied instead of ingo") where i basically just go ham on hammering in the truth vs ideals differences

obligatory bl/nkshippers dni you guys make me uncomfortable 💚

some thoughts / random hcs under the cut:

emmet still joins the pearl clan and becomes sneasler's warden, but he and the clan have a slightly different dynamic: where ingo was sort of a loner even after becoming warden, emmet at least tries to make friends with people to try and ease the aching loneliness in his heart

he still does the point-and-call thing, as well as make So Many Train References that he doesn't get

emmet and melli are aggressively frenemies. every time they see the other they Have to stop and have a passive-aggressive insult battle for at least five minutes. they are like 5 seconds from throwing hands with the other at any given moment. however they are each other's most frequent source of human interaction and they've spilled secrets to each other that they have told NO ONE else.

emmet is in his mid to late 20s. he does not remember this but he gets offended when people assume he's in his 40s-50s.

melli calls him an old man specifically because he knows it angers emmet. when he eventually finds out emmet's younger than him (only barely), he is So Fucking Shocked

emmet only wears his hat- he keeps his coat folded up and safe. sure, it's what he was wearing when he was found, and is the only thing besides his name and hat that he has from Before, but, truthfully, it's only a coat.

so what he wears is almost identical to ingo minus the coat and shoes. emmet (begrudgingly) put on boots that were better suited for climbing/walking

as i mentioned earlier, emmet tries to be friendly to everyone because he has a aching loneliness. he knows that its probably from Before, and he's admitted to someone (probably irida or melli) that he belives its because he used to spend most of his time around someone, and isnt used to being away from them for so long, but he has no idea who, or what they meant to him. despite his best efforts, that aching loneliness never stops.

emmet doesn't try to remember his past. it would be nice to, yes, but he thinks that the memories will come in their own time. if they don't, well... that's why he is trying so hard to build a new life in hisui

emmet talks more! his sentences are weirdly phrased and sometimes have a weird cadence, like he's unused to speaking in long sentences (because he is), but he's trying. he also talks a little louder

"i think i used to have a partner. we were verrry close, even if it accidentally shocked me frequently. despite looking like a creature of the water, it used lightning with ease."

"i am also beginning to recall a man who looked like me. he used to be called stoic, even though he was very outgoing. he wore black where i would wear white. i remember him being verrry loud. i wonder who he was?"

Jacked Emmet

ok he's not that buff but he's definitely stronger than he was when he was a subway boss

rei AND akari reverse adopt him as an uncle. good luck ingo your little brother is returning with TWO niblings

they're also the main reason he gets his memories back. they convince him that he should know the full truth of who he was instead of just blindly moving foward and also make him admit to himself that he's just. not happy in hisui

emmet gives irida a hug goodbye when he tells her he's leaving. she Definitely Does Not almost cry she Does Not (she is actively fighting tears)

emmet also says bye to melli it is about as awkward as you would expect. melli is just shocked emmet is giving him a personal goodbye. he even gets a weird, extremely awkward half-hug half-back-pat from emmet which just gives melli Even Worse whiplash

emmet, regaining his memories: i am emmet. i abandoned my boy. I Abandoned My Boy!!! (the boy is ingo and elesa. you can pry nimbasa trio as siblings from my cold robotic hands)

this hurts bc in my mind emmet runs into ingo before he fully regains his memory. there is a very vivid scene where ingo hugs his younger twin after like ??? a few years ?? idk the timeline is fucked up. but ingo hugs his brother and emmet, extremely touch adverse to people he doesn't know, tenses. and there's an internal battle where he doesn't know who this is but getting a hug feels like coming home.

but emmet is truth. and emmet does not know who this strange man with his face and a black coat is. so he carefully pries ingo's hands off him and says with a smile "please do not touch the conductor!" and ingo is obviously Devastated

it's okay though eventually emmet shows up outside ingo's door and before ingo can even process who's there emmet is tackling him

i have this happening even in "canon" but even though emmet's coat is in significantly better shape its still a little fucked up so he gets a new uniform. where ingo's coat is white emmet's coat is black :》 can you tell im a big fan of black accented emmet

also in my "canon" but emmet is kept a ""secret"" until elesa ingo and emmet are all emotionally ready to face the press bc that is a LOT of emotions to work through especially on emmets side when he realizes everyone he knew in hisui is long dead. also they want to wait for emmet's new uniform to be finished before they announce he's back

that's the main stuff lol i might post some ficlets/drabbles later though!!!! and it would mean a lot to me if you reblogged this and gave your thoughts in the tags :》

[some-messed-up-writing-for-you]

There's a team of heroes vs one villain in the town and one of the heroes gives the others away when they all decide cover up something awful. Villain applauds the hero for coming forward, showering them in praise and affection, but Hero is apprehensive about everything because under the masks they still were friends with the other heroes- and they betrayed them. With no friends and no job, however, they keep coming to Villain for their needs.

Request #16

Warning: torture, descriptions of harm & wounds.

Here you go! 💖💖

~~~~

Hero couldn't believe what lay before their eyes. While they were out on patrol, their teammates had called them, telling them to get back to base immediately. Apparently, they had caught one of Villain's henchmen and were in the middle of interrogating them.

This, however, was not how Hero imagined their 'interrogation' would look like. Henchman's bruised and bloodied body was lying on the cold stone floor, shaking, their breathing dangerously heavy. "W-What happened?!"

"Oh, yeah, they didn't wanna talk, so we had to uh... get a little rough, ya know?" - Second Hero answered, calm and unbothered, Third Hero and Fourth Hero equally unconcerned.

"Anyway, where were we?" - Third Hero asked no one in particular as they moved closer to the fallen henchman. Calling forth their power, they continued, "This bitch still hasn't said a word."

Henchman tensed up, preparing for more pain, before Hero suddenly interrupted, "Hold on, uh- How about you let me take a crack at 'em, ay? And you guys go take a break; it looks like we're gonna be at it for a while."

The third hero considered their suggestion for a moment, not noticing the bead of sweat going down Hero's forehead, and then responded with a grin, "Aight, leave some for us to play with later, though."

The three blood-covered heroes exited the room chuckling, leaving Hero and Henchman alone. As the hero neared the beaten-up crook they tensed up, jaw locking tight.

They did flinch, however, as Hero's hand gently landed on their shoulder. The henchman dared a glance at them, and their confusion only grew as they saw the worry on the other's face. "Are- Are you alright?"

"..."

"Right, okay- you don't want to talk- uh... here." - Hero continued the one-sided conversation, carefully lifting Henchman into a bridal carry. The criminal tried to fight against them but only hissed as pain shot through their entire body. They rested their head against the hero's shoulder with a groan, letting them do as they pleased.

Hero called upon their power, their eyes glowing in the dimly lit room. Henchman was ready for pain, but to their surprise, the hero did not use their power to hurt them. Honestly, they weren't even sure what their power was, as they've never seen them use it.

The faint sound of pitter-patter caught their attention. The room's door opened, and through it came a... spider-shaped machine...? It was quite odd-looking, a short cylinder with some pointy legs attached to it, alongside what was probably cameras going all around its side, giving it three-sixty vision. The contraption was big, too, and apparently sturdy enough for the hero to stand atop it with the henchman still in their arms.

"W-Wha...?" - Henchman tried, but the Hero quickly cut them off, "I can control machines with my mind."

With a surge of power from the hero, the odd metallic spider moved again, taking them out of the interrogation room. It skittered along the ground before suddenly climbing onto the wall. Henchman yelped as they expected gravity to drag them to the floor but were surprised yet again as both humans and the robot moved horizontally to the ground without issue.

The henchman didn't even bother asking as they moved along the ceiling, traveling upside down; they just assumed it had something to do with magnets. They were very high up. The heroes' base had some awfully tall ceilings, but they supposed it was convenient in this scenario, as the two wouldn't easily be spotted. Upon looking up- or down? Whatever it was, they noticed they were currently in a lounge room, the other three heroes chatting amongst themself below them.

Both Henchman and Hero kept their mouths shut tight as they passed over the team and slithered into another room. Once the human chatter faded from their ears, they both let out a breath, the hero's machine speeding up, crawling to a nearby window.

As the cool outside air hit their face, the henchman let themself relax a bit in the other's hold, still confused but now more convinced that they were being helped. The sun had nearly set, and nighttime's darkness was slowly enveloping the city.

As the moon began rising into the sky, Hero and Henchman moved across rooftops and between alleyways, headed straight for Villain's lair.

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

"You know, I probably should've asked earlier..." - Henchman began. The two were standing atop a building, looking down at the villain's lair. " But why are you... helping me?"

"..." - Hero was silent at first, a pained frown taking over their face as they thought about their teammates, their friends. They never expected the three would do something like this...

"I... I couldn't just let them hurt you like that. It- It wasn't right..."

Without another word from either of them, they descended down the side of the building and moved closer to the guards stationed outside. Before entering the henchmen's line of sight, Hero moved off their machine, hiding it nearby, and walked closer.

They immediately became surrounded, power-enhanced guns pointed right at the hero. They stood still as a rifle was pressed against the back of their head, and Henchman was carefully taken from them. Their arms were then forced behind their back and put into power-suppressing cuffs.

As the henchmen dragged them along, they could only ponder whether this was a good idea or not. Hero should've thought this through a little bit better, shouldn't they have? It was a very rash decision on their part, but they couldn't just stand by and let the poor henchman get tortured!

They- They were a hero. Their teammates too! All four of them were, or rather, they were supposed to be. And heroes- Heroes weren't supposed to hurt people...

Lost amidst their thoughts, Hero failed to realize that they were already standing before the villain's office. The doors swung open, and they were thrown inside, falling to their knees. Villain looked unsurprised; their henchmen had no doubt informed them of the intruder as soon as they had appeared.

The doors closed and locked, and Hero was now alone with the enemy. The villain was staring down at them, arms crossed and a calculating look in their eyes as if they were trying to figure something out.

Villain was the first to break the silence, "You brought Henchman back."

"So I did."

"...Why?"

Hero went to answer, but a frown returned to their face, the memory of seeing their friends being so casual about hurting someone... It... It just...

"It wasn't right..." - they muttered, the villain barely understanding their words. "They were hurting them... Torturing them..."

"And even though they're your teammates, you still went against them and saved one of my henchmen." - Villain said, a grin taking over their face as they knelt down to the other's level. The hero grew confused as the villain took hold of their chin, locking their eyes.

"I must say, Hero. This was very unexpected but brave of you."

"H-Huh?"

"So, what are you going to do now? Do you have any... evidence of what your little friends did?" - Villain continued as they undid their restraints, letting them stand.

Hero's eyes widened both at the villain's actions and as they realized that they did, in fact, have something, "The security footage..."

"Well, there ya go!" - the villain exclaimed, giving them an oddly reassuring pat on the shoulder. Why were they suddenly being so friendly to the hero? Not to mention they just... uncuffed them like it was nothing!

"Hey, uh... Villain?" - Hero started, uncertainty clear in their voice. They watched as the criminal moved to their desk and sat down. They trailed after them and continued, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but um... why the sudden... friendliness?"

"You saved one of mine and returned them to me. Is it bad that I'm grateful?" - Villain responded, tilting their head to the side and observing the hero curiously. Hero seemed a bit shocked, if not flustered at their reply.

"Ah, well, no- it's not a bad thing! I just- uh-" - Hero attempted a reply, but the villain's chuckle ended their ramble. They stood there unsure of how to proceed and just let the other talk.

"Why don't I repay you, hmm?" - Villain asked with a smirk and a look that made Hero's face hot.

"Uh- Repay me h-how?"

"I'll help you bring your friend's misdeed to light." - they answered, adoring the slight embarrassment the hero couldn't hide. They obviously knew where Hero thought that was going to go; they made them think that on purpose. Villain just couldn't help themself; the hero was always so adorable when they tried to avoid their gaze in that shy manner of theirs.

"O-Oh, right."

Giving Hero an amused look, the villain stood and went for the door, motioning for them to follow. Together, they went to expose the hero's teammates.

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

A few weeks had gone by, and the footage of Hero's teammates torturing Henchman had gone viral online. Millions of people had seen it already and were raising hell, demanding answers from Organization.

The hero had also stepped forward and spoke about it. They thought that this was the right thing to do. They thought that the higher-ups would be pleased with them for bringing such a crime to light. But instead of praise, Hero was met with hostility and threats. They had no choice but to leave behind their heroic work and go into hiding.

As the days went by, they became more and more paranoid, terrified that the organization would find and catch them. Luck, however, seemed to be on their side. A little while after they had gone off the radar, the villain had found them and offered them their help.

Hero was very apprehensive about taking up their offer but nonetheless found themself regularly coming back to Villain's lair. With no job and no friends of any kind, the villain was now, ironically, their only ally.

You'd think that Hero could just find a new job, right? Something normal for a change, but no. That was unfortunately not an option; not only did their teammates know what their face looked like, but so did the rest of the world now. Organization had exposed their face to the globe, and now there was no going back.

They pondered over all of this, questioning what to do. At first, Hero had been living off of whatever scraps they could find, only occasionally coming to Villain for help. But now? They were practically living in their lair, and they hated it. It made them feel like a leech.

Another thing that bothered the hero greatly was that not only did the villain supply them with food and shelter, but they also, at some point, started to take care of their more... emotional needs. Reassuring them, praising them, holding them, it- it was confusing but... welcome...

And it was actually happening right now. The two were currently in Villain's courters, lying on their bed. The villain was on their back, with the hero on top of them, their bodies facing each other. Hero's face burned hotter than the sun as they cuddled, the other's arms wrapped around them, one hand petting their head. How they got into this situation, Hero did not know.

"You know my other offer still stands, right?" - Villain asked softly, breaking them out of their thoughts. The hero snuggled their face deeper into their chest, too embarrassed to look at them before muttering, "I know..."

"Then why not take it? I'd love it if you joined me." - the villain whispered in their ear, making them shiver a bit. Hero had to admit, they have considered the offer quite a few times now. They just... weren't sure if they'd be...

"Would I even be good enough for this...?" - the hero questioned, slightly tilting their head so that they could glance at the other. Villain's hand moved from their head to their chin, lifting it and locking their eyes.

"Oh, of course, you'd be good enough! You'd be even better than that!" - the villain reassured, a gentle look overtaking their features.

"R-Really?" - the hero was still unsure, but they couldn't help but relax under the criminal's gaze and touch.

"Yes, really. After all, you saved my henchman so exceptionally! Sneaking around those heroes and through the city like it was nothing!" - Villain praised, and Hero found themself slowly believing them.

They lay there silently for a moment, Hero battling internally before finally deciding, "A-Alright, I... I'll join you!"

"Marvelous~." - the villain purred, and a new chapter began for both of them.

[the-beskar-alchemist]

Alright....*cracks knuckles*.....I have things to SAY 

- Okay Din having the baby help him fix a part of the ship he can't reach? That's fitting honestly. He's tiny, he can crawl into the area Din needs to reach, but can't because they're still in space and he can't very well access the particular spot from outside (I'm assuming it's one of those areas only accessible via a hatch from the roof or something). - Also......OMG THE BABY HELPING DIN AND DIN BEING SO PATIENT HE'S SUCH A DAD - I have to wonder about the baby's pain threshold, he seemed only mildly inconvenienced from getting electrocuted (and for some reason I kept thinking about Tito from Oliver and Company fucking around with the wiring in the limo and getting shocked) - CHIN ACTION CHIN ACTION CHIN ACTION......(I truly do NOT understand the fuss over it being Pedro VS Brenden Wayne in the suit, does it really matter???? You're only seeing his chin, not his whole face, calm down) - Din honey broth/soup can only take you so far, TRUST ME, you can't make meals off of flavored liquid, you'll just be hungry again an hour later. It's NO WONDER that kid kept inhaling the eggs lol......BUT....at the same time it's only logical that Din's resources are stuff that's easily frozen/stored and can just be heated without any prep work.  The stuff the baby seems to crave tends to be things that would require a way to preserve/store large amounts of food and the Crest isn't built for that sort of thing (I'm thinking about making a slight analysis post about the ship at some point) - The fact that the old covert hideout is empty (save for black-market dealers) tells me that the Armorer is long gone and it's unlikely that anyone would know where she went (I noticed people bringing this up, that neither Cara/Greef checked on her), let's be real: They probably thought it wasn't their place to go poking around a Mandalorian covert just because they're friends with one of them, ESPECIALLY if the mutual friend isn't even around to vouch for their presence - Even though G*na has ruined any chance of me enjoying her as a person, I still appreciate her character as a separate thing. She continues to be badass, and I loved the fighting techniques she implemented in the sewers. - Yeah that crest is sputtering like an old beat-up pickup truck, just barely running - I really love that Karga spoke in such an affectionate manner to the baby. I know that Din tries to talk to him, but the way he does it is reminiscent of two adults talking. Karga actually talks to the baby like he's a child, no baby-talk but definitely with a higher pitch in his voice (the equivalent of the customer-service voice when you think about it) - SOMETHING FISHY ABOUT BEADY-EYED ALIEN DUDE. NO ME GUSTA - ONE OF THE SCHOOL CHILDREN REALLY DOES LOOK LIKE LITTLE REY - I felt like Din was experiencing separation-anxiety about leaving the baby, but I also feel like part of his hesitancy was an immediate reaction to the children whispering and laughing at the baby. I'm sure they weren't trying to appear cruel or anything, but it makes me wonder if he was having a minor flashback of having an experience like that and how it affected him - YODITO YOU PRECIOUS LITTLE SHIT YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE SOMEONE ELSES FOOD - I truly don't think that Karga/Cara see Din as anything less than a good friend, but I really wish they wouldn't treat him like his presence is only valid so long as he's helpful (LET THE MAN TAKE A BREAK) - WHY DOES THE IMPERIAL BASE LOOK LIKE THE PORT FOR A CABLE ON A CPU?? - I really don't like G*na's approach to acting where she thinks she has to sound as tough as possible in order to make her character more appealing/stronger - There are two separate comparison discussions you can take from the infiltration scenes: 1) It's a contrast to S1E6 where Din infiltrates a prison ship with the mercenaries and he's forced to follow their lead, OR 2) Din was awkwardly following the other Mandalorian's in the last episode, but with Karga/Cara he's confidant and even takes the lead - Imperial architecture be like: OSHA???? NEVER HEARD OF HER - I think it's important to note that, while Din is ready and willing to hunt down the Mythrol again if necessary without remorse, he still thought of him enough to keep him from falling down the lava shaft - Din's "I don't like this" had me in my feels a bit, usually he's so nonchalant in trying to act like nothing bothers him but he felt comfortable enough to express his unease in front of his friends - Okay the fact that they're vaguely referencing midi-chlorians, and it looks like this lab is a branch in Palpatine's cloning scheme, makes it seem like they're starting to tie into the movie franchise, but not outright.....it's a "just the tip" situation it seems. I'd honestly prefer they didn't delve to far into the movie canon, I feel the show will lose it's heart if they do. - Pershing mentioned "the volunteer", which has me curious about the kind of person that would allow themselves to be tested for what Gideon has planned. It's possible we're getting another major/unique character in the works.  Pershing could've just referenced test subjects in general, but he mentioned a specific one, so that has me wondering what other players are on the board. - That whole chase scene was nerve-wracking - DIN TO THE RESCUE DIN TO THE RESCUE - OMG THE BABY WAVING HIS ARMS LIKE HE'S ON A ROLLERCOASTER - DIN BABY YOU MAKE FLYING THE CREST LOOK SO SEXY - Din was all "Look what I did! Did you see that???" wanting to show off to the baby.....and then baby went BLEEEEEEGH.......AND THEN DIN WIPED IT WITH HIS CAPE???? He's such a DAD - The scene with Cara and officer talking about her losses was kind of emotional. G*na's acting is so wooden, it was honestly a combination of the music and the other actor's performance that seemed to get me, but more importantly its the fact that Cara is such a 3-dimensional character, that has so much potential, but she's being made superficial because of the portrayal - Also......she says she's not a "joiner", but she's eyeing that badge very closely, like she's contemplating a career switch. Perhaps there's a chance we may get revenge-driven Cara joining the New Republic in the future? - I'm glad they didn't actually show where the device is planted, it really adds to the suspense, I prefer a little mystery over having too much explained - Moff Gideon standing amongst the dark troopers like Saruman in the basement of Isengard where they bred the Uruk-hai army in LotR, this guy is pulling out all the stops to be ready to take on a singular Mandalorian and his friends. Does he think that Din will get Mandalorian reinforcements and therefore he needs the numbers? Are they stormtroopers or some form of droids, like the battle droids in S1? They're build kind of "human", and the attendees were using blasts of cold air like what would be used in a cryo-chamber, but what if they're not human? What if they are humanoids? Cyborgs? - It's interesting to think about what types of vessels/hosts Gideon would rely on for midi-chlorian testing. Obviously not just anyone can handle the transfusion, so would he require modifications to some extent to make the host more susceptible? Until next time!!!

[fruitcoops]

I NEED TO SEE THAT LUPIN VS GREYBACK FIGHT HOLY SHIT THE WOLF IS A N G R Y ALSO- sirius’s reaction after the game 😏 maybe if you feel comfy with that if not it’s fine i just feel like sirius would go buck wild if he saw remus fight lmao. o r——— remus being vv bossy and dominating and- you get the idea lmfao. work your magic, love, ill love it regardless of what you do with it ❤️

Anon, this ask made me laugh so much when I first saw it. If anyone has computer skills, please record a live reading of this and send it to me so I can giggle for all eternity. I love you.

As requested, Sirius’ POV! It’s almost 2k words again and some of the dialogue is the same as Remus’ POV, but since he was in an......unreliable headspace the first time around there have been some changes. I hope you like it! Credit for Coops/ Sweater Weather goes to our savior @lumosinlove

TW for a panic attack, fistfighting, and scabs/ bruises/ minor blood

Sirius was so gone for Remus Lupin it wasn’t even funny. The whole game, he had been a force to be reckoned with on the ice as he dodged checks and slammed two goals in without breaking a sweat. Remus had gone to bed anxious and awoken with a determined set to his mouth that was incredibly attractive, though Sirius had been unable to properly appreciate it at the time.

Then Leo got hit, hit by Greyback of all people.

Sirius hesitated at first, torn between rushing to Leo’s side or going to beat the living shit out of Greyback for what he did. Finn crossed the ice with Talker and Kuny on his heels and they carefully pried Leo off the posts—oh, god, he looked like he was in so much pain—while a flash of black and furious red slammed Greyback down. Remus?

Greyback seemed too shocked to fight back as Remus landed hit after hit on him, pinning him to the ground with one hand wrenching the front of his jersey until it nearly tore. Sirius had made the foolish mistake of thinking yesterday’s emotional breakdown would be the end of his nerves, but no; no, this was the culmination of years of looming terror.

By the time Sirius got his arms around Remus and tried to pull him off, Greyback was a wreck. His lips was split and both eyes were already swelling with purple-black bruises as he stared up in shock. “Let go!” Sirius shouted over the stadium noise. “Re, you have to let him go or you’ll get in trouble!”

“—fucking let me go—”

“Stop it, this isn’t you!”

“—if you even breathe on them again—”

“Remus, sweetheart, that’s enough!” Sirius heaved backward and Remus came with him, writhing in his hold like a cornered wildcat. His threats were low enough that Sirius could only make out every third word, but the pure, unbridled venom in his voice was palpable. “Just—just stop fighting me, love. You have to breathe, Remus, take a deep breath.”

“Get off me, I’m not done with him yet,” he spat, struggling to break free. Remus was strong, but Sirius was stronger—his arms didn’t budge as he leaned back against the boards and nearly lifted Remus off the ice.

“Yes, you are. Leo’s going to be fine.” Sirius grunted as one of Remus’ sharp elbows caught him in the side. “Greyback’s going to get kicked out but you need to stop.”

Remus’ sudden weight as he slumped was a surprise; Sirius nearly dropped him. His whole body shook for a second and he grasped at Sirius’ hands. “Leo—around the goal post—“

Sirius wasn’t entirely sure what reassurances came out of his mouth, but they must have been good enough, because Remus listed to the side and stopped thrashing entirely. “Lupin!” Coach barked as Sirius pulled him off the ice. Please don’t be angry, please don’t be angry. “What the hell were you doing out there?”

“ ‘m sorry, so sorry, Coach,” Remus wheezed, leaning all his weight into Sirius, who scrambled to catch him. His face had gone from flushed to alabaster pale, almost gray in the bright lights. His pupils were so dilated there was barely any of the warm amber Sirius’ loved around the edges and every breath was shallow. “Fuck, wasn’t thinking, ‘m sorry.”

Coach visibly rocked backward, his gaze flickering to Sirius’ face. “Alright, Lupin, why don’t you head back into the locker room for a bit. Black, make sure he’s okay.”

Thank you, Sirius mouthed as he wrapped one of Remus’ arms around his neck. Coach nodded silently and he felt his eyes follow them as they headed for the tunnel. “You’re okay, sweetheart, just hang on for a moment—”

Remus mumbled something and dropped like a stone.

Sirius’ knees smarted with pain as they hit the ground, but he was too consumed with Remus to focus on that. He couldn’t seem to decide what to do with his hands, grasping and grabbing at the walls blindly. “Remus, look at me. Come on, you’re okay, just open your eyes.”

“Bad. This feels bad ohmygodIhithim.”

“You did—”

“Sirius.” His voice cracked and Sirius’ heart broke. “Sirius, I hit him. ‘m not scared, just angry.”

“I think you’re a lot of things right now,” Sirius murmured under his breath. “Can you open your eyes for me, love?” Remus sucked in a few harsh breaths as tears slipped down his cheeks, but soon frightened amber met grey and Sirius reached out to hold his arms. “It’s just us right now. We’re in the tunnel.”

“So much happening. Can’t stop shaking.”

“I know, Remus, just take your time. Let it out. I love you so much, you know that? You’re okay now and you can just hang on to me. I’ve got you.”

“Why do I feel like this?” he asked in little more than a whisper as he desperately reached out for Sirius.

“You just worked through a lot of trauma in under a minute, honey.”

“It is, it really is.” Sirius frowned; he started to wonder what Remus was talking about when he began…laughing? He was laughing. Okay. That was new. It wasn’t really laughing, just short, broken-off wheezes that were a cruel imitation of the little down-up that happened when Remus read a funny passage in a book or Sirius made a pun.

And then he cried, and cried, and cried.

So Sirius held him.

“I hate him, and I feel better,” Remus mumbled into his shoulder on the tail end of a heaving exhale. It was the first coherent thing he’d said since the ice.

“Ride it out, sweetheart, you can do this.” Sirius pressed a kiss into his hair as cold hands tangled in his jersey and strong shoulders shook. The guilt was eating him alive—how could he have missed this last night? Just how long had Remus been bottling this up?

“Pads?”

Sirius looked up at the end of the tunnel but never relinquished his hold. “Hey, Pots.”

James’ eyes flickered once to Remus and his heartbreak was clear. He had always been an open book like that. “How is he?”

A pause. “He’ll be better soon. We’re just gonna head home, I think. Any news on Leo?”

“Bruised ribs, no major damage.” James raked a hand through his sweaty hair. “Three weeks and he’ll be good as new. I’ll let the guys know you left, alright? Do you need a ride?”

“I’ve got it, but thank you.”

“Sirius.” Remus’ strangled voice made them both wince and Sirius rubbed his back gently as the sobs abated into trembling breaths.

“Keep me updated?” James asked, resting one careful hand on Sirius’ shoulder.

“I will.”

“Drive safe, Sirius.” And then it was just the two of them, twisted together as Remus slowly came back to himself.

Sirius didn’t say much as he led Remus to the car, both in their socks with their skates in his other hand. The drive home was quiet; Remus curled up against the window and closed his eyes immediately. The worst of it was behind them.

Even Hattie seemed to understand something was wrong, because she nuzzled Sirius’ thigh once and licked Remus’ hand before laying down in her bed and watching them leave. “Good girl,” he said softly.

Remus managed to get two whole buckles undone on his pads before Sirius stepped in with careful fingers and lifted the heavy gear away. The scabs and bruises on his knuckles had been hard to see in the darkness of the tunnel, but they were stark in the gentle light of their bedroom. Sirius took his hands and stepped into the shower, then turned the water on hot.

A slow ripple worked its way down Remus’ back as the steam rose and fogged up the mirror. Sirius reached for a bar of soap—not mine, he says it’s toothpaste on steroids—and smoothed the suds down his spine. “Is this okay?” he asked as the muscle jumped under his touch.

Remus sighed. “Yeah, it’s good.”

He worked his way up to his shoulder blades. “Are you okay?”

There were a few heartbeats of comfortable silence before Remus spoke again. “I think so? I feel lighter. I don’t know yet. Did I scare you?” His voice was fragile, but not laced with panic, just exhaustion.

“What?” Sirius laughed a little in surprise. Of course he scared him, what kind of question was that?

“Your voice was shaking when you pulled me away. I was worried.”

You were having the worst panic attack of your life and you were worried about me. Sirius’ knees nearly gave out with how much love flooded through his body. “You scared me a little, yeah, but mostly because you didn’t seem like you,” he admitted, sliding his hand up to wash the nape of Remus’ neck. He had been so tense on the ice, so viciously angry and vengeful in a way that Sirius would have never expected. He spat and snarled and flailed like he was going to die if Sirius held him a second longer.

“You were fighting me like I was going to hurt you, and then in the tunnel you just kind of dropped. I was expecting something to happen once the adrenaline wore off, but it was really fast.” He poured some shampoo into his palm and began working it through Remus’ curls.

“It felt fast. That’s nice.” Damp, soapy skin slid against his chest as Remus leaned into him, then turned to face him. His face was cast in shades of pink and gold again, and his eyes went soft as he looked at Sirius. “Hey.”

The breath rushed from his lungs. “Hey.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Do not cry, do not cry, nobody else gets to cry tonight.

“Are you…using my soap?”

“It does have an intense smell.” Remus looked up at him and smiled. “You make it work.”

“Thanks?”

The pre-laugh hiccup made the lump in Sirius’ throat return and he closed his eyes against the burn, only for a feather-light kiss to touch his nose and make him freeze. One pressed to his left cheekbone, then his right, then one to his jawline, and finally, finally, the lingering pressure of Remus’ lips on his own. Lean, strong arms settled over his shoulders and Sirius held his hips like the world would come crashing down if he let go.

“Are you ready to go to bed?” he asked, leaning in once more.

A wry smile, one that was so Remus it hurt, flickered over his features. “I’m not tired yet.”

“Okay.”

And as Remus dragged him into the bedroom by the hands, laughing at Sirius’ antics and lighting the whole damn place up with his smile, Sirius knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life right here. 

[good-rwbyaus]

Can we get Pyrrha's reaction to Professor Ruby?

Becoming AU:  [ Piece 1-5 ] [ P: Weiss ] [ P: Yang ] [ Piece 6 ]

logo-comics asked: What about an AU where everyone had somehow been under the mistaken assumption that Ruby was a professor at Beacon? For a laugh, Ozpin rolls with it whenever he's asked about it.

// Yes you can! Here ya go. Also, Happy Thanksgiving for those who celebrate it! Also Cardin vs Ruby. Yes. - lilac

Perspective : Pyrrha

The pairing system had picked Ruby and Cardin to fight in the sparring ring, which was a shame because she really wanted to give the guy a second beating today. However she wasn’t feeling too much loss, because she’d finally get to see how the girl who stole all the spotlight from her would perform.

Not that she was jealous or anything – well, a tiny part of her that had gotten used to the adulation might’ve been, but for the most part, she felt relieved and grateful. She wasn’t the one who had to carry the weight of people’s expectations anymore; it was Ruby who bore it instead. Despite how grateful she felt, she still wanted to fight the other girl – wanted to experience how the presumed professor-in-training fought.

Beyond their brief interaction in the Emerald Forest, she didn’t really know Ruby – the girl who’d been the center of rumors since her arrival, and it was hard to distinguish truth from lie. Maybe this spar, Ruby’s first public debut against another Hunter-in-training, would help elucidate things.

Now Cardin wasn’t a bad fighter by any means – a bad person, yes - but he knew his strengths and could leverage them well. However, her own strong points coincidentally met Cardin’s strong points perfectly; his strength and tenacity might’ve matched hers, but she had far more agility and flexibility. Combine that with subtle uses of Polarity to magnify the strength of her strikes, it was easy to turn a parry into both a disarming blow and quick surrender.  

However the strong points that served Cardin well countered Ruby’s strongest point, her speed. And the sparring ring was not suited for long range combat; it would be a tightrope walk if the younger girl wanted to employ guerilla tactics.

Yes.

It’ll be interesting to see how Ruby would approach this.

-----

“Are you sure you’re a professor?” Cardin taunted as he swung around aggressively, Ruby darting side to side to avoid his crater-creating blows. Their chase had lasted for over several minutes now, neither gaining much ground against the other.

“Are you sure you’re not an idiot? Weren’t you there when the Headmaster made the announcement?” The girl growled back at the clearly touchy subject as she fell back, creating distance and retaliating with sniper fire. The bullets pinged off Cardin’s armor for the most part, and the ones that headed for his uncovered extremities were deflected by his mace instead.

“The school’s still talking about you being one. And well I’m not impressed,” he posed with his mace on his shoulder. Several quiet cheers came from the audience. An inevitable thing honestly. Cardin was the perceived underdog in this situation, a student versus a professor-in-training. The only odd thing was that Professor Goodwitch hadn’t told the class to quiet down.

Ruby’s reply was a shot to his nether regions, one that he quickly deflected but the resulting clang still made a good portion of the class wince.

Incited, Cardin charged forward with a rage-filled yell, and their game of tag begun once again.

Ruby’s movements were always efficient and purposeful. Instead of constantly stepping back, she staggered her motion diagonally, never allowing Cardin to fully use his gathered momentum. However, the rare times she’d be forced into melee combat, they’d exchange a couple blows, never actually hitting each other, but then Ruby would always be the first to disengage, limbs trembling.

For a while, she thought the trembling was due to Cardin’s blows being heavier than what the younger girl could handle. But that wasn’t right. Ruby would never fully block a hit; she either parried a blow cleanly or avoided it entirely. If she were forced to directly block, she didn’t resist the blow’s momentum at all and allowed herself to fly away like a petal in a breeze.

It was those rare blows that made it seem like Cardin was winning, even though their Aura levels were equally low. She couldn’t help but feel like the younger girl was holding back some, though that didn’t make sense. Ruby didn’t like Cardin, especially after he messed with Jaune a couple times. Of course, Cardin didn’t do these things where Ruby could see him; Cardin was after all a bully and still afraid of the girl’s potential authority.

In any case, holding back was only if you wanted to spare the person embarrassment or if you wanted to hide your trump cards. But from the irritated look on Ruby’s face, she clearly didn’t want to do either of those. So why hasn’t the younger girl won yet? Everything was in her control, so why did she continue dragging things out?

Cardin cornered Ruby again, and it looked like they were again going to physically clash. Cardin swung for the girl’s shoulder, but Ruby had already swung to parry like everything was preplanned.

But what would happen if she….

… if she took away that control for just a moment...Pyrrha’s finger twitched.

The swinging mace suddenly acquired a slightly higher, slightly faster arc, enough to bypass the scythe that was swung to meet it. The young girl’s silver eyes rose in panic, and her feet were already pivoting and stepping back in an attempt to absorb the bl-

Crack.

...That wasn’t what she intended.

The blow struck the young girl cleanly against her shoulder, her red aura flickering as though it were about to disperse. She could see Cardin’s lips open to declare his triumph, but the younger girl swiftly spun with the momentum Cardin imparted to her. The moment Cardin finished out his swing, the muzzle of Ruby’s weapon already slammed straight into his throat, silencing whatever he was going to say.

That wasn’t what caught her attention though. It was Ruby’s eyes, previously angry and colored with emotion – now calm and calculating and empty. Were they always that cold shade of silver?

She saw Ruby’s finger press against the trigger of her weapon.

There was about to be an accident.

No. What has her meddling done?!

But the gunshot she expected never occurred.

Instead, Cardin stumbled backwards onto the ground, his mace clattering by his side. Choking noises came from his figure. His hands were clutched around his throat as he struggled to breathe, eyes bulging out in pain.

Ruby meanwhile shakily stood, her entire body trembling and barely keeping herself upright using her weapon as support. She kept her head lowered as she panted, her eyes covered by her bangs. No one could see the girl’s expression.

Cardin’s fear-filled eyes said it all though. Pyrrha wasn’t the only one who knew how close he came to dying; he also saw how close Ruby had been to pulling that trigger. Cardin might’ve still had Aura in reverse, but after a blow to the throat like that, even if the subsequent sniper shot didn’t outright kill him, it likely would’ve left him hospitalized for months – if he got out all.

Professor Goodwitch’s voice broke through the sudden chatter that erupted in the classroom.

“Miss Rose’s aura is in the red zone. Mister Winchester is victorious.”

================================

================================

The fight haunted her. Not only did she nearly cause an accident, she led Ruby directly into a loss against someone she didn’t like. All she wanted to do was make the younger girl panic a little to see what’d she do, not directly take a mace strike with her body. For over a week, she saw the girl tentatively rub her shoulder on occasion and even wince when accidentally jostled.

Maybe that was why when the Weapons Club started, she volunteered to be Ruby’s assistant as a means to atone, and it was through this that she got to truly know the other girl. First of all, Ruby knew her stuff when it came to weapons, even more so than fighting. The girl was a genius in this area, able to figure out how a weapon generally worked within a few seconds of manipulation and then determine the areas where it needed improvement a couple more seconds after that.

Honestly, Ruby outperformed most diagnostic machines in both time and accuracy, and that expertise really cemented Ruby’s reputation as a professor despite all her vehement denials.

It also rooted the impression that Ruby, despite being bubbly and generally friendly, was a strange and weird girl. For one, she rarely remembered people’s names, but she’ll remember your weapon down to the type of metal, its style of smithing, and whatever dust options it had - oh, and the name you gave it too. Also when she thinks no one’s paying attention, she’ll talk at the weapon she’s holding as if it were alive.  

She couldn’t help but feel that Ruby was lonely at Beacon. Apart from team JNPR and RWBY, she didn’t really have anyone else. When she spoke to her team about it, Ren had put it quite nicely. The girl’s perceived position made it hard for her to have friends outside of those who already knew her well: you could certainly be friends with a teacher, but there are always something things you’ll feel more comfortable telling your peers than an authority.

And the more she interacted with her, the more she felt like Ren was correct. Ruby denied being a professor so aggressively because the girl clearly knew this reasoning deep down inside, and all Ruby wanted to do was to live a normal student life. And it was sad because if there wasn’t this rumor going around, a lot more people would be unofficially adopting an adorable younger sister to their team.

Pyrrha glanced over at Ruby, sleeping over a bunch of well-marked papers and documents: books on leadership, documents on practical marksmanship, and pamphlets on basic dust usage. A hint of drool was hanging by the corner of the girl’s lips.

“Why do you try so hard?” she couldn’t help but ask to the sleeping girl.

What made a fifteen-year old work this hard? Maybe only Ruby knew the answer to the question. 

...All that hard work that she nearly managed to completely sabotage. Guilt struck her once again – she’d been meaning to apologize, but she just didn’t know how. How could she explain it to her friend now?

‘Oh sorry Ruby. I manipulated things to make Cardin win. But I really don’t hate you at all. I just wanted to see what would happen.’ Ugh. She guiltily glanced over the sleeping girl – Pyrrha still couldn’t figure out what had gone over her.

She probably would’ve cared less if she didn’t like her – she’d still feel guilty, yes, but it’d bother her less. But now that she’d gotten to know Ruby – became close friends with the lonely girl that’s always full of bubbly energy and the occasional snarky comment – she could feel the guilt eating away at her inside.

She’ll atone. Even if she couldn’t bring herself to tell her, she’ll pay the price through her actions instead. She’ll stand by her side no matter what, because in the end Ruby was one of her best friends. She owed this much to her.

Speaking of, it was getting late, wasn’t it?

Shaking her head free of the morose thoughts, Pyrrha smirked mischievously and quickly pinched the girl’s cheek before pulling.

The younger girl immediately woke and yelped, hands flailing and sending papers askew.

“whatthehellareyoudoing?!gidoff!”

================================

================================

They were alone now. Jaune had cut down the Ursa and in the process saved Cardin; with any luck, the bully would stop bothering Jaune about his transcripts now. 

But in the process of doing so, she revealed her Semblance to both Weiss and Ruby. And from the way Ruby stayed back, she was now going to pay the piper.

“So you did it,” Ruby said quietly, “You were the one who interfered with my fight.” The girl turned around with a betrayed expression on her face. “The Executioner didn’t move that way on its own.”

“I…I’m sorry,” Pyrrha quietly said, hand against her arm and slightly squirming against the shorter girl’s laser-like gaze, “I’m really sorry. I-“

“Do you know what could’ve happened?” the girl cut her apologies off, throwing down her arms angrily.

“I…yes.” Pyrrha nodded her head, looking straight at the ground and unable to meet Ruby’s eyes. She couldn’t help but wonder if Ruby gained that oppressive demeanor from Professor Goodwitch.

“Then why?” Ruby nearly all but screamed. It was then she knew that day had left its mental scars on the Huntress: how close Ruby came to ending the life of a fellow student, both of them knew. It was clear the girl wanted an explanation now, and she definitely deserved one. The only question was if she could accept it.

“I was stupid,” Pyrrha admitted. “I saw you were holding back. You kept the fight completely under control to the point no one in class noticed… And I wanted to see what you’d reveal once you lost that control.” She shook her head, “I never... expect all that to happen.”

“You. Just for that stupid reason.”

Ruby was right. It was a stupid reason. She kept her bowed down low, the guilt weighing her down. “Yeah, I was being stupid. I promise you it had nothing to do with you specifically. I just wanted to see how well a good fighter would adapt.”

“…I’m sorry that I put you in that position. I’m sorry that I got one of my best friends hurt,” Pyrrha sobbed, “I…”

Ruby glared at her and then shook her head. The girl turned around and started walking away, the sight leaving Pyrrha cold inside. She lowered her head once more, watching her tears fall to the ground. She’d just lost a good friend this day. She wanted to say more things, but it was clear that Ruby had nothing else to say to her. 

The younger girl didn’t want anything to do with her now.

---

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Huh?

Pyrrha lifted her head. A crimson blur was the only thing she registered before it slammed straight into her. Immediately, she bowled over and cut a course through the dirt. Her body felt sore after the collision, and she managed to get enough of her bearings to see the younger girl that just slammed into her stand up.

Stepping to the side, Ruby crossed her arms with a frown and declared, “Okay, I’m still mad at you, but now we’re even. ” Ruby paused briefly, probably having noticed the confusion in her face, as she further explained, “We weren’t friends then, but we’re friends now…”

“Right?”

Pyrrha, slowly sitting up, nodded her head, “I… Yeah.” Her tone became more confident and empathetic. “Of course.”

Ruby offered a hand to her, the corners of the girl’s lips curling up slightly despite her clear intention to maintain her frown.  

“So yeah, we’re even,” the girl repeated.

Taking up the offered hand, Pyrrha felt herself being lifted up before Ruby’s grip suddenly slackened, and she fell back down on her behind with a plop.

Somewhat shocked, Pyrrha looked back up at Ruby and couldn’t help but choke at the sight – whether it was a laugh or surprise she didn’t quite know.

The younger girl was hobbled over, holding onto her now red hand and opening her mouth in silent agony.

Before she could apologize, Ruby was already speaking.

“Ow! Ow. Ow. Pyrrha, how much milk do you drink to make your shoulder so hard?” the younger girl accused.

“Uh. Sorry, Ruby. But after working with Pumpkin’s Pete’s, I don’t really drink milk anymore.”

The affronted look on Ruby’s face was priceless.

It was there that she knew that everything was going to be okay.

Everything was going to be okay.

[46inpm]

The boys vs MC with nip piercings

MC with Nipple Piercings (Slight NSFW)

Victor

It was during the Doomsday Date that you had to share the bed with Victor because no hotels were available

Like any normal girl who feels comfortable with no bra on as they sleep MC didn’t wear one under your pajama shirt

Perfectly fine if you sleep with a bra on

Victor could hardly sleep anymore when he realized his arm was against your bare booby, you didn’t notice because you were out like a light

The feeling of the poking and being able to see it through the alarm clock’s light he realized you have nipple piercings

You was the last person he thought would have it... I mean you weren’t all that confident other than talking to him and eating

Victor had to snap himself out of staring at your pierced chest because Little Vic was growing

He slowly pulled her shirt down and tucked the bed tighter so your shirt couldn’t ride up

Then he went to the bathroom to take care of his body

After they started dating he didn’t care when you told him about your piercings when they maked out

He even bought you fancy piercings because it made her look so sexy

“Victor, was that you that tucked the bed so tight?”

“Yes. A certain dummy kept moving around last night.”

“And that went to the bathroom? You must have been in there for awhile. The trash can is full of tissues. I got a runny nose too from the cold.”

“Yeah...my nose...was clogged.”

Lucien

When the two of you got a little too kissy-kissy that’s when Lucien’s hands began to roam your body

As his hands cupped your bra, you put his hands down to tell him something

“There’s something you should know. You should know this before we...”

“What could there possibly be that would make me stop touching you?”

“I’m not ashame of this but I know most don’t really like the idea of doing something to their bodies.”

“Show me then.”

His smile with his eyes and his SMOOTH VOICE

You took off your shirt then bra to reveal pierced nipples

Lucien’s smile became even more seductive and sly like a fox

He pressed his body against yours not waiting any longer

It’s your body so you can do whatever you want with it obviously he won’t let you do something that would put her health at risk

...Well that was easy but Lucien isn’t bothered or surprised by much so it’s understandable

For each anniversary he would get you a new set of piercings but he had to change because you had too much

Now you have a collection that you try to wear a different one each month

When you get dressed in your pajamas, he’ll watch your boobs and gets turned on by it so much (your not going to bed anytime soon)

Kiro

Kiro practically kidnapped you to go to the Bahamas with him

Honestly who in the right mind would complain

When the two of you go snorkeling he realized that there were two dots visible through your new swimsuit

Does she have four nipples??

Kiro wouldn’t say anything until you caught him staring at your chest

“You want to see them?”

“What?! I didn’t mean to stare it’s just...”

“Never seen pierced nips before?”

“...Yeah...YOU DO?!”

He was surprised by it and had so many questions for you to answer

Does it hurt when you lie down on your chest? What would happen if you had a baby, where would the milk go? Does your nipples get itchy?

Actually Savin had to yell and give Kiro a lecture to not get nipple piercings, sunshine boy just wanted to be like you that’s all

Make sure that after sex that you don’t let your nipples touch his because boy just got more stamina

Kiro just wants to feel you as he whines like a puppy, grinding against you to at least admire your boobies in all its glory

At night you would find him sleepy spooning you as his fingers would trace circles around your nipples

Gavin

Gavin has his ears pierced because he’s a cool guy😎

He found out that you have pierced titties be a you drank a bit too much

You have never seen a man blush and try to be cool as his mind was trying to think rationally

“Have you took a shower and got dress in your pajamas?”

“Yes, Officer Gavin! Did-did you know that...I have pierced nippies?! See! Look! Hey, you’re not looking!!”

“MC, p-please put down your shirt. You need to drink some more water to sober you up.”

Waking up the next morning to Gavin trying to slip in a question about your nipples at first you were confused then you remembered yourself flashing him

Now you were the one blushing as you explain the story of when you pierced your nipples

Anyone with pierced nipples tell me the story of why you wanted piercers nipple and if it hurts to lay on your chest

When you have sex he would arch his torso to get your nipples to touch because it turns him on so much

Now he can’t help but look at your boobs

Gavin you know I would like to get more attention than my boobs but it’s kinda funny how you don’t even realize where you’re staring

Your boyfriend also makes sure that you don’t wear a tight shirt or a un-padded swimsuit so no one else she’s what only he should see

At times you do have to remind Gavin when you feel like he’s overstepping his control what you wear boundaries because he doesn’t mean to be harsh it’s that he doesn’t want men staring at your chest

[colonel-kira-nerys]

More Thoughts on “A Matter of Perspective”

Content Warning: Discussion of Attempted Rape and Domestic Violence

Since my list of episodes with themes of sexual assault and other upsetting content has been making the rounds again, “A Matter of Perspective” has been weighing on my mind. 

Even all these years after watching this episode for the first time, it still upsets me more than almost any other episode in the Star Trek canon, so I just wanted to expand a little bit more on why it’s so distressing, while there are still people possibly interested in hearing my thoughts.

The following is an in-depth look at “A Matter of Perspective,” which may be upsetting to some people, so I’m putting my analysis beneath the cut. Please let me know what you think, because I still feel the need to scream into the void about this 30 years after it aired.

“A Matter of Perspective” (TNG: Season 3, Episode 14), at first glance, has an incredibly intriguing premise. The opener is Data critiquing Picard’s sub-par painting skills (talk about tone problems... Jesus) and then Riker beams back to the Enterprise after spending the night at an alien space station, where he was supposed to be checking up on the progress of a scientist named Dr. Apgar. 

But upon beaming back, the entire space station explodes. Riker acts surprised and clueless as to how this would’ve happened. Whenever he’s asked about what happened on the station, he gets cagey, even before the trial starts.

It’s clear he’s hiding something, so when an alien Inspector beams aboard asking for Riker’s arrest and extradition, the audience is prepared for it, because we know that something must’ve happened.

Then, when he’s accused of murdering the scientist and blowing up the station, there becomes the issue of who has jurisdiction over the crime. Does the Enterprise have the right to hold the trial on board, or should Riker be released into the custody of the Tenugan Investigator, Crag? 

It’s important to note that I’m not coming at this from a place of hatred, in the sense that I wasn’t looking for something wrong. I thoroughly believed this was about to be a BRILLIANT episode, with lots of moral ambiguity and intrigue.

Boy, was I wrong.

The two sides (Starfleet vs. Tenugan) eventually settle on recreating the events of Riker’s time on the station via the Holodeck. THIS WAS SO COOL. I wish all crimes were able to be recreated, down to the tiniest detail, through a simulation. I thoroughly looked forward to seeing the detective work being conducted through simulations, but only because I had no idea that Riker was also going to be accused of attempted rape. I went into this completely blind. 

Riker gets the first word in the trial, which I think was a gross miscarriage of justice, because he is the one being accused of the crime--of course he’s going to deny it!!! Why would you let the Defense make their case first...?! 

It prejudices Captain Picard to see Riker’s story first, because he’s already more likely to be believed and protected by his own captain. It also prejudices Deanna Troi--whose presence/function during the trial, by the way, is never explained. As far as I can tell, she’s there to be a lie-detector, which is hilarious in its absurdity, because she can “sense no deception” from either Will or Dr. Apgar’s wife, Manua.

I guarantee you if the attempted rape had been shown first, this episode would’ve had a completely different tone, and that is part of the problem.

Manua, after all, is the one who requires justice, not only for her husband, but also for herself. Although, at this point in the episode, we don’t even know that she’s accusing him of sexual assault, because the Inspector didn’t charge him with that crime from the beginning.

In a way, this was a great tactic to get Riker to hang himself with his own words---with his own testimony---but because every Starfleet officer in the room is already prejudiced, that’s not how the episode plays out. 

In Riker’s version of events, he is cold, robotic, and professional to a fault (as in, he seems completely uninterested in pleasantries, or, you know, doing his job with any sense of diplomacy). He makes it very clear from the beginning that he’s uninterested in Mrs. Apgar’s hospitality and just wants to get to work. 

Note: why would it be important for Riker to assert with his whole heart from the very beginning that he wasn’t interested in Manua, unless he knew that Manua was going to make a claim that in his view ‘wasn’t true’?! He acts SO SURPRISED that Manua would view his advances as attempted rape, and yet, here’s the thing: we know that Riker is a fan of the ladies, so what some might see as  “innocent” sexual banter could’ve been attributed to his personality, if he’d shown us his usual charm in his version of events. We expect this of him--to be a bit cocky and sensual. We might not like it, but we know that he’s a playboy, in the kindest interpretation of the word. So, as you’re watching his version of events, most people would find it strange that he would refuse hospitality from someone, because Riker has always been “up for anything” as they say. 

Instead of admitting that he might have given Manua the wrong impression by flirting with her, he makes himself out to be cold and unfeeling, in order to preserve an image of cool professionalism that we as the audience know isn’t true to his character.

So, any attempts at hospitality on the part of Manua are immediately spurned by Riker, even those that seem to be genuinely a part of social graces that are indigenous to populations everywhere, not just this alien one. “Can I get you a drink?” isn’t meant to be sexual, in most cultures. This is the bare minimum requirement of a hostess, to ask if anyone needs a refreshment, and yet, Riker makes it clear that this was the start of her sexual overtures... because he needs to cover his tracks. Manua explains later, in her own version of events, that she was worried her husband’s antisocial behavior might negatively impact Riker’s report, and so it was important to make him feel welcome--hence, the drink.

According to Riker, he made hotel arrangements down on the planet for Geordi and himself, but Manua insists that they stay in the guest bedrooms instead. I know Geordi is needed for the science fiction subplot, but why isn’t he in the room to confirm or deny at least this part of Riker’s story? Can’t this specific assertion be easily fact-checked? Even alien hotels presumably have a record of reservations. Like, if Riker was telling the truth, this bit is easily provable, though I would argue that just because he made other arrangements doesn’t mean he didn’t change his mind when he saw the opportunity to have sex. My point is, why is no actual detective work done to confirm the facts of Riker’s story...? 

Anyway, according to Riker, Manua then tries to seduce him once they’re alone in his guest quarters. Mr. Apgar walks in on them in a compromising position, and here’s something I failed to address in my earlier breakdown of the episode: At first, Apgar isn’t angry at Riker; he’s angry at his wife. 

He says: “I knew I’d find you with him. Did you think I didn’t notice how you looked at him? I’m not the fool you take me for.” AND THEN HE BACKHANDS HER, HARD, ACROSS THE FACE.

Her husband attacks her, by Riker’s own admission, and then, only after doing that, does Mr. Apgar try (and fail) to hit Riker, too. But it’s clear his wife was the person he wanted to spend his anger on.

In all versions of this story, Mr. Apgar tries to hit Riker. That’s 100% consistent. But in Riker’s version, Apgar makes a point to “punish” his wife first. Why? This is important, because no matter which of the three versions is true, Manua is either a victim of domestic violence or of sexual assault. 

Now, you can argue that Tayna wouldn’t have included Apgar hitting his wife in her statement, because Mr. Apgar is her boss, and you can also argue that Manua excluded the fact that her husband hit her from her own testimony in order to appear as though their marriage was better than it was, but why on earth would Riker feel the need to add this, if it weren’t true? Why add the assault of a woman by her husband, unless to show that this man was a “bad guy” compared to his much more “honorable” actions...?

Why isn’t this addressed? In all versions of events, Manua is physically assaulted, but only in Riker’s version does her husband slap her hard enough to nearly make her fall. I believe Riker over Tayna (the Assistant) on this specific count, because, frankly, her version is hearsay, told to her by her boss, and it’s very clear that Mr. Apgar was lying to Tayna when he claimed to beat the crap out of Riker. 

So, it’s more than likely that Mr. Apgar did indeed hit his wife, if we look at it from the lens of what it makes sense for Riker to lie about, and what it doesn’t. The “beating” was taken by Manua, and not Riker, in the truest version of this story, which has to be somewhere in the middle of all of the versions, apparently.

Apgar might’ve changed this part of the story when telling it to Tayna to save face with her. Also, I don’t know who, besides her, could possibly believe that Apgar won a fistfight against Riker. 

Regardless, why would he insist his wife and assistant be transported off the space station unless 1) he believed Riker was a sexual predator and/or 2) he wanted no witnesses to what he was about to do next.

[Note: This episode was heavily inspired by Rashomon, a Japanese film which explores the retelling of the same events by multiple characters, in which everyone shows their “ideal self” by lying. In that story, however, the wife is actually raped. Like, there’s no “matter of perspective” claiming she didn’t get raped. The “perspective” change only offers different ways the rape could’ve happened, and how the characters involved all acted after the rape changes from person to person. The murder is treated as the more important issue in that movie, too, because misogyny.]

Why bring up Rashomon? Because the writers should never have changed this part of the story to imply the attempted rape didn’t happen. They shouldn’t have adapted it in such a way that the main goal is to cast doubt on the assault of the woman; they should’ve committed to the assault happening, but three people telling it three different ways, so that at no point is the story trying to tell us that rape is “a matter of perspective,” but rather that the undeniable rape itself was seen by three different people in three different lights.  

I think this episode could’ve been a meaningful exploration of the issue that men often don’t perceive their dogged pursuit of women as predatory, especially when the woman in question eventually “submits.” This could’ve been a story about how Riker didn’t realize he had as much power over Mr. Apgar’s scientific research (and by extension, Manua’s life) as he did. Manua and Apgar were completely dependent on Riker’s glowing report, and it’s made very clear in Manua’s version of events that she felt she couldn’t just excuse herself from the situation entirely, because her husband’s research was at stake.

This episode could’ve shown us how a “good” man, with a somewhat oblivious understanding of his power, could still abuse his power over a woman with regard to her ability to consent... but no. They immediately try to paint Manua as a lying seductress rather than a rape victim.

Here’s the thing: Manua’s version is the only one where her character has a clear motivation to testify against Riker. If this were only about her husband’s death, her testimony would be mostly irrelevant, because she obviously wasn’t there when it happened. And, if she had tried to seduce Riker, she wouldn’t need to “cry rape” to solidify Riker’s motive to kill her husband--he already had motive, which was Apgar’s threat to report his promiscuous conduct to Starfleet. Making a false accusation of rape doesn’t benefit her in any way. Not to mention it clearly traumatized her to recount it. She had to excuse herself by the end of it.

Another reason it doesn’t make sense for Manua to lie about the attempted rape is simply that she didn’t know the true nature of her husband’s research. The show missteps here, too, by making it so clear that she was in the dark about it, because if they hadn’t done that, they could’ve argued that she lied as a red herring to distract the Starfleet officers from discovering that her husband was making a weapon. But no!! Both she and Tayna had no idea that Dr. Apgar was making a weapon, and therefore that had no bearing on the rape accusation. So, the writers make absolutely no effort to explain what possible motivation Manua could’ve had for lying---because there isn’t one!!

Even in the original script, it says that Manua’s version of events characterizes Riker in a much more believable way:

(And it’s important to note that in this take on the story, Riker’s attitude is less aloof and formal. He's relaxed and charming. In fact, in some ways he is more like the Riker we know and love.)

Moreover, Deanna Troi, who canonically is supposed to be able to tell when people are lying, can sense no deception from Manua. Not that you should need an empath in the room to believe a woman when she says that someone tried to rape her. But putting that aside, the fact that there is an empath–who is compromised to begin with because of her relationship with Riker–and she believes Manua’s presentation of the events... that alone is some pretty damning evidence. 

If Manua feels as though Riker tried to harm her–feels it so strongly that Deanna empathically senses that she is telling the truth–it shouldn’t matter what Riker thinks of the accusation. Assuming Riker really does believe his version of events, and Manua believes hers, why are the writers making such an effort to both discredit and support the truth of Manua’s testimony at the same time...?

And, just in case your blood isn’t boiling yet, there’s this: 

Michael Piller recalled that the episode was "probably the hardest story to break. It was a technical nightmare for the director. I was very, very, happy with the script and I thought the show was disappointing. I guess it didn't translate properly. It was very ambitious, but the casting was off. If you had put Lana Turner in the role of the woman in that show, you would have understood it all – but I don't think it played as it was intended. 

Y’all... this FUCKING ASSHOLE claims that the real reason the episode didn’t work was because of the casting of the wife. He believes that people would’ve “understood it all” if Lana Turner, a sex symbol and famous pin-up model, had played the role. 

What he’s saying is: if the wife had been sexier, a walking pin-up, the audience would’ve understood the episode better, but because the actress playing her was... what? too average-looking? too demure? people “didn’t get it?”

This has the terrible implication that he thinks the rape story wasn’t as believable because the actress playing Manua wasn’t hot enough. Think about that for two seconds and tell me you don’t want to shoot this guy in the balls. 

This could’ve been a meaningful exploration of how Riker didn’t realize he took advantage of Manua; in his mind, she was willing, but in hers, she thought she had to have sex with him or else it would negatively effect his report on her husband’s research. It could’ve been a commentary on how a man can abuse his power without meaning to--without even realizing he has it--and that, if the woman then feels violated, it’s still an assault, even if she eventually gave in and appeared to “consent.”

This episode should’ve been about Riker not realizing he’d coerced a woman, and so he truly believes he’s innocent. But no, instead it becomes a situation in which there is no possible way there was a middle ground between the two accounts. Manua’s testimony is so clearly an assault, there could be no way Riker interpreted her begging him to stop as seduction.

In conclusion, this episode goes out of its way to make it seem like rape victims are liars who can’t be trusted. Keeping in mind this was 30 years ago, I just want to end by saying: according to the United States Justice Department, only approximately 2% of all rape complaints are false, while almost three out of every four rapes go unreported. We need to stop perpetuating the lie that women often “cry rape.” Statistically speaking, they don’t. 

If you made it through all of this, I would love to know your thoughts on my analysis, if you have a moment to spare to share them.

[botwstoriesandsuch]

Just me rambling about Breath of the Wild’s opening cut scene because it is masterfully crafted and just a really good display of fantastic game design and story telling...Welcome to my TED Talk. 

[And spoilers for the end game, of course]

The first five minutes of game is a master class in foreshadowing and developing the tone that is set for the rest of the game. 

The very fist screen that you see, besides the simplistic title screen, which is genius by the way. Having a super unassuming and small logo really puts into perspective how Nintendo doesn’t need to amazing with it’s title right away, the gameplay speaks for itself. Anyhow, the first screen is that of light and darkness. Obviously, it can be interpreted as Zelda’s awakening power, and in a broader sense, the small silver of hope everyone has that the Calamity could be defeated. Most of all, it’s framed in a way similar to how one would open their eyes for the first time, squinting in the light. (Yeah I know all that is kinda obvious...but still, I just think it’s neat) 

[more below the cut]

It also perfectly parallels the end of the game in its framing and lighting. Even the opening hum, is the same sound as the Bow of Light being drawn and Zelda appearing out of Dark Beast Ganon.

Ok back to the opening scene. Now the act of Link actively opening his eyes, we’re greeted with this frame, Zelda now clearly telling Link to open his eyes, and we get this blue shape (which is the glow of the shrine) but it’s in the shape of an eye, mimicking Link’s own blue eyes.

Now I get that most of us are used to it by now, but just imagine, or remember the feeling of waking up in here. Most loz games start you off in a cozy home, a forest, or at the very least somewhere medieval. But waking up in this futuristic bath tub immediately places you completely out of your comfort zone. Whether you played every Zelda game, or this was your first, this setting is completely foreign and you have no idea what’s going on. And that feeling of not understanding or grasping where or when you are, immediately puts you in the same shoes as your playable protagonist, Link. Nintendo has already made you sympathize or at the very least find comfort or familiarity in Link.

Now does this look familiar?

It will...

(Also the parallel with the Great Plateau,overrun with the beauty of nature, vs the complexity of a man made castle. Plus the Calamity being portrayed more as a disease that festers upon Hyrule rather than just some tyrannical guy? *chefs kiss* I love my narrative parallels.)

Anyhow, next we have the Sheikah technology. There are a lot of references to blue in the game. From Link’s blue eyes to the Sheikah slates blue eyes, to the Champions tunics and the royal blue shared by the royal family. Blue is the least common color in nature (other than the sky/water. You don’t see a lot of blue trees, grass, animals, or rocks, do you?) so the rarity of it in the vast natural land of Hyrule, emphasizes it’s importance right away. Blue = power/importance. Through out the game, you’re drawn to the blue glow of shrines and towers (although initially orange, but after they are blue, more explanation later...), along with the blue of the water, in which Nintendo intentionally places civilization/treasure across. Plus, the opposite of blue, is the purplish/red glow of ganon. Mmmmm color coordination. 

The layout of the Shrine of Reserrction is a straight line, leaving no room for player error/distraction. It’s forcing you to go down it’s desired path. (At least initially...*cough cough* speed running and wall clipping *cough cough*) So the straight forwardness emphasizes the artificial nature of the place. 

Now, when exiting the Shrine, the artificial glow of the Sheikah lamps is now replaced with the warm orange sunlight. (See what I did there? Get it? It’s another parallel with the Sheikah technology colors, with the unused technology glowing orange, but when actively used by Link is glows blue? Therefore kinda giving blue an association with technology and power again, and orange with nature and exploration?)

Also more parallels with light/hope

Exiting the Shrine smoothly teaches you how to interact with objects, walk, and climb very naturally. It also teaches you the importance of the Shrine pedestals, an attraction towards chests, and ingraining you with the desire to explore, as the setting give you no information whatsoever. Even Zelda’s dialogue is vague, just saying “long slumber” and not how long, or “that [Sheikah Slate] will show you the way” giving no specifics. And that’s why its all the more satisfying when the vastness and detail of the outside world hits you. You are starved of information, making you more susceptible to the game’s theme of exploration.

The cold, artificial, dark enclosed space of the Shrine, gives way to this shot.

Do I even have to say anything? The way the music swells as Link runs out into the field, and the camera pulls out to really show the vast scope of things. The center piece of a dark castle in the distance, the symmetrical framing of Death Mountain and the Hebra peaks? The lush green shade in the foreground shifting into darker shadows and silhouettes when nearing the horizon hear the Calamity? The way the ridge to the side obstructs the view of Medoh and Naboris, with the natural angles of the mountain ranges hiding Rudania and Ruta? The fact that the sun is just rising, symbolizing a new morning. AND the stark contrast with the artificial, straight line Shrine you just went through, now your new path is more open. Even the path you take to the Old Man is curved, and at a much steeper decline. Also, notice how you’re declining, moving down and out of the Shrine, might not be a stretch to say it’s like you were descending from heaven as the savior of Hyrule. You’ve come back down to the ruins of a fallen kingdom. Although you don’t know that yet. 

The opening shot gives no big signs of civilization, the castle being too far out into the distance, and the trees obstructing any destroyed ruins. So when panning to the much closer and reachable Temple of Time, it really grabs the player’s attention. The framing of the Temple of Time is in such a way where it still looks intact. The gaping hole in it’s side faces in the other direction. All it seems to imply is that it’s old. No ruined guardians, or clear, distinct destruction can be seen yet. Also, the point of the Temple’s tower is in line with the Duel Peaks, almost perfectly. Both have stood the test of time, but it was the construction of man that did not last, where as nature has stood strong. 

Then, pan into the Old Man, a mysterious figure, you don’t know if they are friend or foe. But given your circumstance your eager to explore and investigate. Especially with how he is placed in front of an warm orange fire, because yeah more color coordination. Orange, serves a similar purpose as the color blue for attracting the players attention, but it’s symbolism is different. One, for it’s association with nature as previously state, but now here in the context of familiarity. Throughout the game, when you see a campfire, that either means enemies or people. All the same, it means company and you’re drawn to it. 

The camera zoom and focus of the scene barely shifts at all. When you first exit, Link is at the low center of the screen, even with the pan to the Temple of Time, and the Old Man is also in the low center of the screen. This anchor point allows for a smooth transition with the players attention, and adds to the natural environment and tone of the scene. 

So here you are, heading east, towards the sun, an old man, a camp fire, and the Temple of Time. No coincidence they are all in the same direction. 

Just look how much story and tone you are able to grasp in the first five minutes????? It embeds the feeling of curiosity and the desire to explore by starving you of information and freedom, before punching you in the face with the openness of Hyrule. It foreshadows a conflict with Ganon, a disease that ravage the world of man, and will next take on nature. The themes of technology and civilization, of time moving on. COLOR COORDINATION. And just the overall wonder of opening your eyes to an beautiful world waiting to be discovered. All this is conveyed to you whether subconsciously or unconsciously. 

That’s five or less minutes in to a game you can very well pack hundred of hours into.

Ugh, I love this game.

[gigglewaterart99]

Ruby Vs. Kuma

As said in my bio I’m working on a graphic novel, so in addition to being an artist, I write too. I’m not the best but I try. Which is actually why I’m posting this short excerpt from my story. Idk if this is the best way to get feedback or critique but it can’t hurt to try.

I know y’all don’t know much about my story, so here’s the general tl;dr : four high school superheroes (with elemental themed powers) become friends, fight villains, go on adventures, explore their abilities, and have some chaotic fun.

This particular excerpt features Ruby, who has earth powers, and she gets into some trouble. POV shifts twice, from Nightmare to Ruby, and then back to Nightmare at the end, in case anyone is confused. It’s also a bit ?spoilery? but I figure y’all don’t know enough context for it to even matter so eh, here we go.

words: 2411

CW: blood, gore, injury (graphic descriptions)

“Hurry up Heath!”

“Quit worryin’, I’m coming!”

Nightmare lets the door slam behind her as soon as the second Heath brother is through. They made it out of the bank with seconds to spare, and minutes before any law enforcement arrive. Nightmare smiled under her mask, this was too easy.

She spoke too soon.

A flash of blue and orange drops from the sky and lands heavily in the middle of the alley way. The Heath brothers are too stunned to react before two columns of earth rise at blinding speed and knock both brothers into opposite sides of the alley. They slump to the ground out cold, their bags of cash rolling out of their lax grips.

“A bank heist on such a fine Friday evening? What a great start to my weekend!” The little hero exclaims avidly, her chest puffed out and her arms spread wide, a toothy grin the only thing visible on her masked face.

Kuma, who had been ahead of the brothers, turns around at the commotion, “Little brat! I’ve seen you around the city but never up close, until now. I’ve been looking forward to destroying you!”

“Destroy?! Whoa there, I just took out two of your buddies in two seconds flat. No offense but I don’t think you and your…” She turns to look at Nightmare, who was starting to advance, “uh, shadow mask friend are going to be much of a problem. Unless of course you were Flairs.”

“You’ve miscalculated,” Nightmare advances full sprint, “We are.” She vanishes in a flash of black mid-leap and reappears with a dagger extended at the hero, who barely manages to lift a gauntlet in time for the dagger to bounce harmlessly off. Nightmare had to give it to the little hero, she had some sharp reflexes. But she was going to have to be quicker than that to catch her--”GAHK!” Nightmare tumbles out of her shadow jump with the hero in tow, who had grabbed onto her tail with a painful grip.

“Oh, did that huwt your wittle tale?” The hero ducks as Nightmare spins around with the dagger slashing dangerously close. “Woah! Someone needs a chill pill! Here, big guy, why don’t you give your friend a talk!” Pain flashes up Nightmare’s spine as the hero yanks her tail and launches her at Kuma, who had been advancing slowly. But Kuma, the damn brute, does nothing to break Nightmare’s fall and instead swats her to the side.

“Not friends I take it? Acquaintances maybe?” Ruby watches as the masked Flair slumps to the ground.

“I am here for the money, but I am going to enjoy ripping you apart.” Kuma lets out a roar, a roar? As his clothes begin to rip and his form rapidly grows and darkens as if a shadow had suddenly overtaken him. Ruby takes a step back, nervously eyeing his hands as they sprout enormous claws and...fur? Her eyes flick back up to his face, which was no longer bearded and angry, or human for that matter, but was covered in thick black fur and elongated into the long, thick snout of a bear, with a matching set of sharp white fangs.

Ruby was glad her visor was heavily tinted because she could feel her eyes stretch wide in a mixture of astonishment and fear, as the man reared back to his full height, which had gone from something like 6 feet to a dizzying 8 feet. He was, without a doubt, a big black bear. But not a full bear. The proportions weren't quite right, almost like a human wearing an extremely realistic and frightening bear costume.

Ruby had read about Flairs like these. They were called Zoo Flairs*. They had the ability to rearrange their whole physical structure which meant that they could take on the physical prowess of the animal they copied, and could even amplify said abilities. But such power came at a cost; most can only shift into one type of animal.

And this one had to be a big friggin’ bear. Ruby’s muscles tighten as the man-bear lets out a roar and charges. She crouches and leaps over the mass of black. But her flight is cut short as a giant paw wraps its claws around her leg. How the hell did he turn so fast? A body with that much mass shouldn’t be able to--”OOF”.

Ruby’s thought is cut short as she’s slammed into the ground. Before she can even force air back into her lungs, she feels herself lifted into the air again. A moment later she crashes into a wall. Somehow she lands on her feet and her legs, albeit shaky, hold her up. She looks up to see the bear--uh--man-bear charging again. She throws a left hook, sending a chunk of brick wall straight at his ugly snout. Bullseye.

She jumps to the side as the man-bear collides blindly with the wall right where she had been standing, but not before a stray claw can slice through her exposed shoulder. She winces and takes a moment to breathe and glance back at the other goons. The blonde dudes were still out cold but the masked Flair was moving again. Not good. She had to put this man-bear down, quick! Or at least hold out until some backup arrived.

Ruby winces. Vincent was still recovering from a recent fight and in no condition to come to her aid. Laurel was grounded for the weekend and Sam had swim practice today. She’d forgotten she wasn’t going to have backup today and had promised herself only some light patrolling. Nonetheless she felt her stomach drop as she realized the situation was quickly going south.

She whips her head back to the man-bear as he frees his head from the wall with a grunt. He turns to Ruby while giving his big head a shake to free any lingering chunks of brick, although a light dusting of red still clung to his fur.

“What’s the matter, tubby? Too temperamental to fit in with the circus and too ugly for the zoo?”

“GRAAHH!” He charges at her, who advances as well. Before he can take a swing, Ruby drops and slides feet first between his legs, simultaneously digging a heel into the pavement to spin herself around to face his back as she comes out the other side. Using her momentum, she rolls backward, planting her hands on either side of her head and coiling her legs into her body. Satisfied with her hold on a chunk of earth between her and the beast, she releases. Her legs extend up towards the bear, a large chunk of asphalt following the line of her feet and colliding explosively with the man-bear’s face, who had twisted his upper body around to follow her movement.

As debris rains down, Ruby continues her momentum and flips onto her feet, a fist ready for a close body shot. Before she can even brace herself, the man-bear’s paw slams against her chest, smashing her back into the ground and pinning her with a crushing weight. Her head flies back into the pavement with a thud and she silently thanks her brother for the extra thick padding in her helmet.

The man-bear shakes his head and glares down at Ruby, a growl rising from deep inside his chest. Ruby curses under her breath; she’s made a mistake. She let her fear cloud her judgement; she’d let her pride turn into recklessness; she should have known that the asphalt was too crumbly to provide any serious damage, and that getting so close to an enemy with such intense strength and speed was foolish.

She could hear her sister already yelling at her; her eyes pointed with disappointment. “What the hell was that?!” The older girl walked toward Ruby, her head raised high and her movement graceful and powerful. She stands over Ruby, staring down at her with frustrated but tired eyes, “You know you have the upper hand when it comes to battling in such small quarters,” She gestures to the rusted steel walls surrounding them, lined with old pipes and grated catwalks that extended indefinitely into the shadows, “Not to mention we’re on ground level, literally your area of expertise.” She squats down next to Ruby, who’s covered in dirt and grime, and bruises. “So why do you keep making these mistakes?” Ruby looks away, the shame too strong to answer. Her sister sighs, “You’re strong Ruby. And smart, crazy smart, but you let it get to your head, and that’s what's going to get you in trouble, understand?” Ruby nods. Her sister extends a hand, “C’mon, I know you’ve still got a little fight left in ya’.”

The crushing weight on her chest brings Ruby back to reality. She wants to yell out but it’s getting harder to breathe. She tries pounding against the beast’s forearm, but her strength is beginning to weaken as well.

“That’s not going to work, little bug.” The man-bear lets out a rumbling chuckle, or was it a growl? He peels his lips back to expose his big white fangs dripping with drool, “I’m going to--”

Without thinking Ruby slams her elbow into the ground and raises it in a weak punch, sending dirt and grime into the beast’s mouth.

He spits and lets out a deafening roar, “I’M GOING TO TEAR OFF YOUR STUPID ARM!” He wraps his claws around Ruby’s right arm with a painful grip, and pulls. She screams.

There’s not much air left in her lungs but the pain is too much. “STOP!” She kicks her legs out in an empty attempt to connect with something, anything. “NO, PLEASE STOP! YOU -- *GASP*” A loud pop at her shoulder sends pain rolling through her body. Her hand has gone numb.

The beast lets out another grumbling chuckle and continues to pull, slowly. Ruby can feel the tendons and muscles in her shoulder weakening and ripping. She couldn’t think straight anymore, panic flooding her brain. She began pounding with her left hand at the hairy arm pinning her. Her fist hit so hard that it recoiled back hard enough to hit the ground and her brain cleared just enough for her to realize that the shock of the impact allowed her to get a feeling for the composition of the ground just beneath her hand. It was solid and surrounding something even harder: a stray piece of rebar. She had an idea. It was crazy, but considering her right arm was about to get ripped off, crazy was all she had.

She pushed her fist against the ground and willed the earth to slide up into her hand, carrying with it the piece of rebar. Without hesitation she plunged the rebar reinforced shaft of earth deep into the beast’s forearm. He let out a roar but Ruby almost didn’t hear it amongst all of the adrenaline inducing white noise in her head. She could just see the tip of the rebar poking out the other side of his arm. She gave another push and her hand slipped into the wound.

The man-bear still hadn’t released her arm, so she wasn’t going to release his. Using the last bit of her strength she grabbed onto what felt like a stiff bundle of muscles, and squeezed. They popped; blood gushed out of the wound. He roared again and finally let go of her arm. He lifted his wounded arm as well but Ruby had latched onto another group of muscles. The beast growled and shook his arm, throwing Ruby off like she was nothing but a pesky bug.

She landed with a thud, the little air she managed to get back into her lungs knocked out again. She lay for a moment gasping, trying to focus her eyes as pain ran through her body. Despite everything, she was just happy she didn’t lose an arm. But the relief didn’t last long as she heard the man-beast walking back towards her. She managed to raise her head just enough to watch him approach, grasping his bleeding forearm. The rebar was gone which meant he pulled it out.

He stops beside her and glares down with a hmph. She’s reminded again of her sister, which is odd because her sister never tried to kill her, unlike this beast who fully intended to. Ruby is too weak to scramble out of the way as he reaches down and collects both of her arms into his one good hand and lifts her into the air.

Ruby can’t remember if she screamed or not, only that she was fighting to stay conscious from the flood of pain. He lifts her to eye level and she manages to focus her eyes as he lets out a rumbling growl, “I’m going to kill you.” She believed him.

He pulls back his arm, despite being injured and not 100% functioning, Ruby had no doubt those 4 inch long claws could slice into her like butter.

“Kuma STOP!” He pauses and turns to look past Ruby. She can’t turn her head but she recognizes the female voice, it’s the masked shadow Flair. “We don’t have time for this!” He frowns and pulls back his lips into a sinister sneer. But the masked Flair continues, “Listen! The cops are almost here and you’re making too much noise! We have to leave now!”

The man-beast, Kuma as the other Flair had called him, pauses and turns his head, his ears pricking up at the faint sound of sirens. Darkness was closing in on the edges of her mind but Ruby could hear the sirens too, and she realizes that although this fight felt like it was lasting an eternity, in reality it had only been a couple minutes, if even that.

Kuma lets out a low, dangerous growl as he turns back to Nightmare, “Fine.” With one swift move he launches the barely conscious hero into the far corner of the alley, where she collides with and disappears behind a large pile of trash bags.

Nightmare turns to Kuma with a frown, “C’mon, grab those two, I’ll get the bags.” She slings them over her shoulders as Kuma heaves the Heath brothers under each arm. Nightmare steps forward and wraps her tail around the arm of the younger brother, “Ok, hold on.” And with a puff of black smoke, they’re gone.

[milkbreadtoast]

Hey so! I’ve been wanting to share one of my Kurama(yu yu hakusho) headcanons for a while, but have been too lazy(and scared) to put it into words and share it w/ my followers ahah. But i’m finally gonna share it..! This is one of my headcanons that’s most crucial to how I interpret his character... and I want to preface this with saying that everyone has a different interpretation of a character, and that’s ok; u don’t have to agree. Interpretations can feel very personal sometimes...this one means a lot to me personally haha. Anyway, here goes: (BIG SPOILER WARNING!!!)

Basically... I think the current Kurama, “Shuichi” Kurama with the red hair, is LITERALLY a different person than he was in the past, due to the unique way he escaped death by merging with the unborn child of a human woman, and that his current personality makes a lot of sense if you think of him... as a fusion, in a sense... kinda like a Steven Universe fusion(not exactly, but hear me out)...

The present day Kurama is shown to be a really different person than the legendary thief Yoko Kurama. This difference becomes starkly apparent when the Yoko Kurama of the past makes his appearances in the dark tournament, and he’s very sadistic, cruel... very different from the Kurama shown until then. 

Although the current Kurama has the same memories and consciousness, intelligence, etc. and is still fully “Kurama”, and a 1000+ year old demon, he also seems to act...like a normal teenage boy. He giggles, jokes around, cares a lot about his friends, and of course, loves his human mother... 

Hiei describes Kurama in an internal monologue in ep 47, and it’s very interesting...

Kurama also describes himself in this way, in the same ep:

Although not in the manga, Kurama also says this in ep 108:

When Kurama talks about how he’s changed since being reborn, and how he’s become a different person...  I think... it's more than just a change of heart. He's literally a different person, because his soul merged with that of the boy who would have been born as Minamino Shuichi.

And moreover, Kurama himself seems to be aware of this? in the way he describes himself...the whole “we’re merged,” “while I am Kurama, I am also Minamino Shuichi,” “no longer the same Kurama that I used to be”... And perhaps most convincingly, in this line he delivers in “Two Shots”: 

Specifically describing himself as having a “human side”, despite also explaining to Yusuke in his introduction that he is fully a demon, despite his human appearance. 

Given his wisdom and intelligence, retained from his past as Yoko Kurama, this--his self-identity--is surely something he’s thought hard about over the years, and this is the conclusion he’s come to... Even though he is classified as a demon, this is the way he describes himself... as a fusion of sorts, as being part “human”... (and Hiei’s description is mostly likely influenced from what Kurama has told him, along with his own understanding of Kurama). 

The current Kurama shows a profound duality, and it makes him such a fascinating character... in certain moments, he shows a coldness, a brutality, a willingness to take lives, and wisdom and intelligence that certainly goes far beyond his human years. Yet... stuff like how he giggles and jokes, and how he outsmarted Kaito by making a funny face... to me, this is something new... something unique to his current self...something the old Yoko Kurama wouldn’t do. 

The way Kurama acts in the present day...  the way he's 100% a demon, yet distinctly...human... makes so much sense if you think of him as being like a fusion?? When “he merged with the body of the human who would have been born as Minamino Shuichi”, I think their souls also merged. (edit: This also makes sense if you consider that in his severely wounded state, Yoko Kurama was essentially reduced to a bare soul, disembodied and dying--If this fusion between his dying spirit and this fresh, living human soul did not take place, he would not have survived. The unborn baby is not yet conscious, so Kurama’s concsiousness took over completely, but the fusion still occurred...)

Kurama is still Kurama-- but there’s something added, something more.  I think the human who would have been born as Shuichi would have been a very gentle person... so some of that got absorbed into Kurama's soul when they merged... and so his current, softer personality is not JUST a cruel demon who got touched by human kindness and had a change of heart... but a fusion of the original yoko’s personality, and the personality of the human boy he merged with. He did have a change of heart, but this was facilitated by him gaining... a new capacity for feelings? in a sense? due to this fusion. 

This interpretation I have of him... it makes me feel so much for him...b/c even tho he's...not the same person anymore, he still has the same memories and consciousness; he both is, and isn't, the same person.  I think it probably contributes to the guilt and self hatred he feels on some level, which is evident in what he tells Yusuke in the beginning...

It’s true that he said he tried many times to leave throughout his life, to return to his previous life in the demon realm, but it’s also true that he was never able to. His mother’s smile, her sacrifice for him, her genuine warmth and love for him... it moved him, and he decided to stay, and to protect her and the things precious to him now. And I argue that the “human” side of him, the result of a fusion of souls, enhanced his capacity to be moved, weakened his resolve to return to his past life...

When other yokai accuse him of "going soft"... that's not quite what happened...it is, in some ways, but not the full story. Although he is still the ancient, 1000+ year old demon Kurama, and retains all his memories and sense of self... there is still a part of him, a new part, that really IS as young as he looks... one that is gentle, empathetic, kind, and constantly haunted by his past.

In some ways, this added layer of softness can be seen as a fallibility, an exploitable weakness... how convenient, for the cruel and merciless, cold and calculating thief to become “soft”... a soft point, a weak point, where there was only hardness before. But,

Kurama himself believes it is a strength. Although I do think he harbors some level of hidden self hatred, he doesn’t hate this side of himself. In fact, he embraces it, is proud of it, and will fight to protect what he has now with his life on the line. He has found people and things he wants to protect... he’s come to see the beauty of the human world around him, even the mundane... he’s come to see the beauty and power in something as simple and fragile as a rose. 

And the important people in Kurama’s life(e.g. Hiei), unlike the yokai who jeer and mock him, also see this part of him as a strength and not a weakness, and accept him as who he is today. 

Kurama has a war in his heart... and this inner conflict and duality makes so much sense with the fusion interpretation. Itsuki makes this observation:

“affection” and “carnage”... two sides of himself, at war... consistent with his past life of violence and cruelty, and the gentle human soul he merged with that literally made him a different person...  But again he’s still “Kurama”; he’s 100% yokai, not a human, and he remembers everything.

This headcanon of mine is why it doesn’t really feel right to me when I see people joke that Kurama’s just an old guy hanging out with a bunch of kids (like that steve buscemi meme lol). Again, in my interpretation... in some ways he IS just a teenage boy... even though he’s 1000+... which is why it makes sense that he genuinely enjoys having friends his “own age”... it’s more than just a facade of pretending to be a kid, I think. 

And I mean...just look at him. HE...... IS BABIE 🥺🥺🥺

TL;DR I see the current Kurama as literally being a fusion of souls, literally “not the same Kurama” as before, and this colors the way I interpret him haha,,,

.............................

OK THIS POST IS ALREADY LONG AS ASS, WHY NOT MAKE IT EVEN LONGER BC THERE’S SMTH ELSE i WANTED TO POINT OUT

This might be unique to the anime, but it fits in nicely with my headcanon... In the original Japanese cast, Kurama(as Shuichi) is voiced by Megumi Ogata, and the Yoko Kurama of the past is voiced by Shigeru Nakahara (i.e., when he appears in the dark tournament, and in subsequent flashbacks to Kurama’s past). However, when Kurama transforms into his yoko form on his own in the Chapter Black arc, not by the influence of the potion that literally turns back time...he keeps his Megumi Ogata voice even in that form... whereas in flashbacks he's consistently voiced by Shigeru Nakahara.  ITS A REALLY NICE TOUCH....and it confirms what he says when he's like i haven't actually reverted back, my body just transformed due to my heightened yoki.

And not only his voice, he even looks different... his yoko form is given a slightly different design in Chapter Black arc. In the dark tournament, his outfit is sleeveless, he has frayed eyebrows, and his ears are smooth. 

In black chapters... for some reason they started giving him sleeves

and more solid eyebrows...

and raggety ears? vs smooth

(SO CUTE I LOVE THEM...) 

These differences are shown in this production note from the anime, indicating that this was a conscious design choice in the anime: 

(I can’t read the text, but I see that episode #90 is specified in the right pic, which is the ep Kurama transforms into his yoko form in Black Chapters)

Anyway, these are very subtle details, but to me they’re another indicator that even in his yoko form he's not the same Kurama as he was before...!

OK THAT WAS LONG AF BUT I’M DONE NOW I THINK......... enjoy these kuramas before u go ^_^

[twiistedgalaxies]

Genesis: Chapter 8: Holly Jolly Christmas

How two brothers can take two opposite paths. How a man can be made into a monster and how the other must pay the ultimate price to save everything he knows and loves.

Or, alternatively:

The origins of All for One and One for All.

Previous Chapter

First Chapter

        Tomura woke to the excited chatter of his peers. He sat up in his bed with a groggy groan, squinting against the morning light. One of the meta-human kids he’d befriended, Emrik, was gesturing emphatically with his gleaming, metallic hands.

        “Buuh?” Tomura said intelligently, not awake enough to process what he was saying. A large hand ruffled his long hair.

        “It’s Christmas, goober,” he heard his brother say, smile in the teen’s voice.

        At this, Tomura felt a jolt of excitement rush through him. He bounded out of bed, only to regret it a few seconds later when his joints screamed in protest. Luckily, Hisashi reached out to steady him before he could fall backwards onto the unforgiving steel-framed bed.

        “We’re all out in the mess hall having breakfast!” Emrik chattered, “If you hurry up, you might be able to get some sausage rolls from the cook before they’re all gone.” The boy grabbed his arm and began dragging him out to eat, despite Tomura’s squawks of protest. Hisashi just looked on at the situation with amusement. Traitor. 

        The mess hall was crowded and loud as everyone gossiped about the gaudy Christmas tree that loomed over them at the end of the room. Tomura found himself cringing at the volume, feeling a headache building behind his eyes. His other friends, Jonah and Finn, waved them over after they got their food. Soon, he was wedged between Emrik and another clique on the bench across from the duo. The two were as thick as thieves, and often he and Emrik felt like they were just an accessory to their dynamic. 

        “So, what do you think you got for Christmas, ‘mura?” Finn asked, features brightening to a light green.

        Tomura shrugged, “I’m not sure, honestly I’ll be amazed if I get anything. It’s not like we have money to spend.” Really, he was shocked he could pull together enough for Hisashi’s present.

        Emrik bumped his shoulder into Tomura’s own, “Yeah, but with all the toy donations we got this year, at the very least you’ll have something, even if it’s dumb.”

        Jonah’s eyes took on a mischievous glint, “One year, Finn got a hot pink doll house.”

        Said preteen turned red and black with indignation, “I thought we agreed not to talk about that!”

        “I made no such promise,” Emrik chirped. Finn slumped in his chair with exasperation, turning a light blue.

        “There, there,” Jonah said while patting his back with a scaly hand. Finn let out a groan. Tomura smiled at his friends’ theatrics, at the very least it would be nice to have the day off of school and chores to hang out with them.

        “What about you guys?” Tomura asked, digging into his eggs and sausage rolls.

        “I’m hoping for some lotion,” Jonah replied, mouth full of food, “my scales are getting dry from the cold, it’s really itchy!”

        Finn cuffed Jonah on the back of the head, causing the reptilian to shoot him a puzzled look, “Joan pleeease don’t talk with your mouth full, it’s gross.”

        Jonah just smirked and chewed with his mouth open in an exaggerated manner. Finn leaned away from him, making disgusted noises. Meanwhile, Emrik and Tomura found themselves laughing at their antics. 

        “I want a muzzle to make Jonah chew with his mouth shut,” Emrik quipped, dodging a stray piece of scrambled egg launched at his head. 

        Suddenly, Tomura felt something cold and wet be poured over his head, drenching his clothes in something thin and sticky. Baffled by the sudden rush of freezing cold, he glanced around for the culprit, only to be met with the shark-like eyes of the orphanage bully, and contender for butthead of the year award, Bruce. He flushed bright red at the kids around him (minus his friends) bursting out into laughter at his expense. Tomura had never considered himself to be the type to actively hate other people, but man, if Bruce wasn’t the sole exception to that rule. The thirteen year old, held back a few years to be in their class, was a pudgy, mean-looking - ugh! Tomura had many, many, not nice words to describe him. It was Bruce and his cronies that were disrupting his now friends’ marble game a little over a week ago. In his left hand, Bruce held a now empty pitcher that seemed to have once held orange juice. 

        Tomura was about ready to deliver a scathing insult (or lunge himself at Bruce, whichever came first), when the matron’s familiar, shrill voice filled the air, “Settle down, settle down children.” Abra waited a moment for them to do so, fiddling with the megaphone in her hands, “As I am sure you are all aware, it is Christmas. You have the day off, yes, but any horseplay or mischief will not be tolerated,” she sent a pointed look towards a bunch of teenagers squeezed together at one of the tables, “Those of you who have chores are still obligated to do them today.” At this, a bunch of people groaned with protest. The matron looked displeased at their response, “That being said, for those of you who have finished eating, feel free to retrieve your presents from under the tree, and do so in an orderly fashion.”

        They did not get their presents in an orderly fashion. A tidal wave of children flooded to the end of the room, finally breaking apart into cliques once presents got distributed. Tomura was thankfully able to pick out Hisashi’s familiar mop of white hair from the crowd. 

        “Hisashi!” he called, and his brother walked towards him, several presents in hand.

        “Merry Christmas,” the teen said, and handed him two presents, one from donations and the other from Hisashi.

        “Thanks,” Tomura replied, eyes darting around as he looked for an exit, he didn’t want to have their gift exchange somewhere so crowded.

        “Why is your hair orange?” Hisashi raised an eyebrow, “And why are you soaking wet?”

        “Don’t worry about it,” Tomura said, shrugging the questions off, “Let’s just head back into the dorms, okay? I need to change out of this.”

        His brother nodded and gestured to him to lead the way. 

        It seemed that some other people had the same idea they did, because there were a few cliques clustered in the common room and the dorms. Once they got to his bed (where his stuff was), Tomura hastily changed out of his ruined clothes into something warm and dry. Finally, the pair ended up sitting on opposite sides of the stiff bed, presents between them.

        “Well?” Hisashi began, “What are you waiting for? Open your gift.”

        Tomura carefully ripped open the bright red wrapping paper, labelled as being from Hisashi. 

        “One of my friends owed me a favor, and he works at a comic book store, so we got you this,” His brother said, a fond look warming his face.

        The wrapping paper was torn to reveal a manga, on the cover the title read ‘Ultraman vs. the Demon King, Volume 1’ Tomura looked up, question unspoken.

        Hisashi shrugged, “It’s some sort of shonen, apparently it’s really popular in Japan right now, I thought you’d like it.”

        Tomura threw his arms around his older brother, touched by the gift. “Thank you,” he breathed.

        Hisashi chuckled, “Yeah it’s no problem, squirt, now open your other one. I want to see what the orphanage randomly gave you.”

        He released his brother from his death grip and tore open the other present. Tomura grimaced upon seeing what it was. His older brother doubled over laughing.

        “It’s not that funny,” Tomura grumbled, feeling his ears heat up.

        “You’re right,” Hisashi shot back, “It’s hysterical.”

        The randomly assigned present was a princess costume meant for toddlers. Tomura found himself looking up at the ceiling, silently railing against whatever deity was up there. “Maybe one of the younger kids will find it useful,” he sighed, placing the accursed gift to the side for now, “It’s your turn, ‘sashi, I worked really hard to get you your present.” He truly had, running errands for the matron to get spare cash wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.

        Tomura watched his older brother open his gift with a baited breath. Whether or not he’d like it was hit or miss, it came from an old antique shop, and Tomura had barely enough cash to buy it. Hisashi’s face lit up once he removed the wrapping paper and opened the velvet box within. It was a watch, already calibrated to the current time. “Wow, I..” his brother began, only to cut himself off with a frown, “Where did you get this?”

        “I did some tasks for the matron and she gave me some money, combined with some of my savings from before, I was able to go to an old antique shop. I thought you’d like it,” Tomura replied, feeling a familiar buzz of anxiety in his stomach. Had he made the wrong choice?

        As if sensing his thoughts, his brother placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, “I do like it, thank you.”

        “Of course,” Tomura laughed awkwardly, “Though this is your birthday present too, I know it’s coming up soon and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get you anything.”

        Hisashi grabbed the other present, the one from the orphanage, “It’s fine, I didn’t even expect a Christmas gift this year to be honest, it’s not like such things come by easily these days.” He opened the gift, and Tomura watched his face fall into something between deadpan and profound irritation.

        “What is it?” Tomura asked, leaning over to get a glance. He immediately burst out into laughter, much like his brother had earlier. In Hisashi’s hands was a spiral notebook covered in glitter. On its front was a kitten dangling from a tree branch with a caption that read ‘Hang in there!’. 

        “As tempting as it is to set this on fire,” Hisashi placed the book next to his watch, “Maybe it’ll be useful later.” 

        Once Tomura recovered from his laughing fit, he said, wiping a tear from his eye, “Merry Christmas.”

        Hisashi smiled, something he seemed to be doing a lot of today, “Merry Christmas.”

                                                -@~*^*~@-

        The bus ride up to Beverly Hills was quiet, and given that it was the dead of night, Hisashi wasn’t surprised. The meta-humans were generous in the equipment they gave him. He was clad in black bloc, an earpiece was nestled snugly in his left ear. Inside of his hoodie was a handgun with a silencer attachment, and in his jeans was his ever faithful switchblade alongside a nice set of lockpicks. For once, he wore gloves. A dingy, failing Gamestop was one thing, a high profile target was another. He checked the watch on his wrist, 1pm, Markov and his family should be asleep by now. 

        The bus screeched to a halt before a dimly lit bus-stop. This would be as close as he could get to the Hills, the rest of the journey would need to be on foot. He disembarked and secured his face mask before making his way down the few blocks between himself and the target’s neighborhood. Christmas at the orphanage had been… interesting to say the least. He spent most of it playing a new board game Rafi had gotten for Christmas. Sorry! It was called, but Hisashi felt no remorse when his opponents faced crushing defeat. He hadn’t been in the hallway when Jose, rather stupidly, used the basketball he had gotten. While doing so, Jose had slammed it at top speed into one of the fluorescent lights, shattering it and nearly taking off the entire ceiling panel in the process. In all honesty, Hisashi was a little impressed, the thrashing Matron Abra gave him must have been legendary.

        The gate to the miles-long driveway towards Markov’s mansion was tacky to put it kindly. It was bleach tinted iron and gold-leafed, prominently featuring the pharmaceutical company’s symbol entwined in vines. Hisashi sneered at the sight before devising a way to break in. This would be easier than expected, as Markov had so kindly made the brick wall attached to the gate only shoulder height. Granted, Hisashi was significantly taller than most people, but regardless, all it would take was a few simple footholds to scale the thing. He walked a ways from the front gate (no need to alert any cameras after all) and climbed over it without much fuss. Finger on his earpiece to activate its microphone, he spoke, “I’m in the front yard.”

        “Cool,” he heard Amy reply, she sounded bored, “I disabled their security system. Do you need me to go over the floor plan again like a dumbass or are ya good?”

        Hisashi scowled, even though she couldn’t see it. Of course he didn’t need a refresher, he practically had the map burned into his eyelids with how much he’d stared at the thing. “I’m fine,” he said, short and to the point.

        Amy hummed, “The target and his wife are in the master room, out cold last I checked. Their little imps are also in their rooms. If you don’t make a ton of noise like a one-man circus you should be able to pull this off. If anything comes up on the security cameras I’ll let ya know.”

        “Alright,” Hisashi said, and removed his finger from the earpiece, shutting off the microphone. 

        He crept across their lawn (which was so long it was ridiculous) and paced around the mansion’s perimeter until he saw what must have been the cellar window. It was a small, narrow thing and he found himself mentally cursing both Michael for recommending this route and his past self for not planning for contingencies. He stood there for a moment, trying to think. Above the cellar was the kitchen, he could probably pop open a window and crawl through that way. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a set of sliding glass doors. He had forgotten about the sun room. That would be much better than reliving his many adventures with a narrow window dueling with his lanky stature. Mind made up, he headed towards the sliding door and realized that he lacked anything to pry it open with. Hisashi cursed under his breath, window it is. He nearly jumped out of his skin when vicious growling and barking filled the air.

        “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” he repeated under his breath as he backpedaled from the door. Hisashi reached up to his earpiece, “You never said anything about a dog!”

        “Eh, I didn’t know they had a mutt,” the brat said, in a tone that made him very much think she had known, “Besides, it’s kenneled, just give it a minute to calm down and you should be able to get in from somewhere else without a problem.”

        Hisashi retreated to a group of hedges and waited in its shadows, both for the canine to calm down, and to see if it had woken up the mansion’s occupants. Once everything settled back into peaceful silence (apart from the ringing in his ears), Hisashi snuck towards the kitchen window. All it took was some fenangling with his pocket knife - really, you’d think they’d have better security than this that wasn’t reliant on the internet - and he was able to get it open with a satisfying pop. 

        He quietly climbed through the window and gave his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. The kitchen was large, almost industrial grade, clearly meant to hold some sort of staff. If he remembered the floor plan correctly, there was a sitting room up ahead, and then a set of stairs leading to the second floor to the left. Despite there being three floors, Markov and his family had their rooms on the second. It was likely they didn’t want to bother themselves with climbing an extra set of stairs. Hisashi set out on the route, sneering at the extravagant decor in the sitting room. If nothing else, Markov deserved to be erased from this Earth for poor taste. No one in their right mind needs a giant taxidermied tiger. He winced as the stairs creaked underfoot and paused, heart in his throat. He didn’t need their hound having another fit. Nothing seemed to happen, so he continued forward.

        Finally, he reached the master bedroom, and opened the door slowly. Markov and his wife were sound asleep in their bed, cocooned in silk sheets and rose petals. Hisashi felt his nose scrunch up in disgust when he realized they were most likely nude. Briefly, he considered searching the room for anything Matt would find interesting, but decided against it. Surely the head of a prestigious pharmaceutical company wouldn’t be so foolish as to hide something incriminating somewhere easy to access. His gaze made its way to their night stand. The man’s smartphone, however, perhaps that could prove to be promising. Hisashi slinked towards the night stand and made sure the phone was off before pocketing it. There was no need for GPS to track him down after all. The handgun was cold and hard when he pulled it out. He flicked off the safety and pressed it to Markov’s temple. This wasn’t the first time he’d had to kill someone for a favor or for cash. But never had it been someone so… prominent. Hisashi would never admit it out loud, but he was nervous, butterflies raised hell in his stomach like they had the first time he’d done something like this. He pulled the trigger. It was now or never.

        “What are you waiting for?!” Amy hissed in his ear.

        He released the trigger, and the bed’s sheets were painted in crimson. A sigh of relief. Even the most untouchable in society bled and shat and died like mortal men. Just to be certain there were no witnesses, he turned the barrel of his gun on the wife and ensured her death was clean and quick. Or at least, as much as it could be. (His mother sitting upright in their bed, face frozen in a fearful expression, brain matter covering the headboard like a Rorschach painting-)

        Hisashi swallowed and spun on his heel to make his escape. There was no room for remorse, or pity, or reminiscence. All he had was the path forward, and the drive to keep his little brother safe, no matter the price.

A/N: Happy Imbolc/Candlemas to those who celebrate it! May your hearth be warm and blessings bountiful. This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated. Though, granted, I got distracted with another project and that slowed down my writing a lot. In other news, I'm going to be putting out a three part Witcher!Jaskier fanfiction at some point soon (within the week if all goes well), though it won't have a consistent update schedule like Genesis does. As always, feel free to leave a comment, feedback is my heroin.

AO3

Next Chapter

[ardent-musings]

The Girl Who Vanished (Part 1)

Chapter 8: “Take Them, Blondie”

Getting thrown into a wall by a teacher might've been the most beneficial beating Ana had ever received, because the twins never bothered her once. She was surprised; she figured they would have gone harder on her since her guard was down. But anytime the twins had ever given her a speck of attention, all they did was give her a cheeky wink and point to their wrists, signifying that she was on borrowed time. She'd take what she was given.

With the weight lifted off her shoulder she was able to focus on things that she had been neglecting. She had been spending more time with Professor Sprout in the greenhouses and even had seen Professor Snape about a few of the spells she read about in the book she borrowed. Of course Alex and Calista weren't going to know about the latter; they would have given her a hard time about being so invested in the book. Snape wasn't the most cheery person to talk about, but even Ana had to admit that the man knew what he was doing when it came to defense against the dark arts.

But one of the biggest events that Ana was able to focus on was the Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw match that Lucian had ben hounding her for days on. The last game Ravenclaw played resulted in the loss of one of their players, the boy that Ana say in the hospital. She got released far before the injured boy did, and from what she could see of his damage, he wasn't going to be leaving the infirmary anytime soon. Because of that, the stand in for their keeper was rumored to be pretty terrible on the broom.

"I've seen this kid before!" Lucian hollered in excitement as he scrapped at the bacon and eggs on his plate. "First year, he could hardly stay on his broom and now he's the alternate? We've got this game in the bag. And when we win, we'll be in the finals!"

The boy took a big gulp of his pumpkin juice looking awfully proud of himself. But none of the girls were convinced. It wasn't like him to be bragging about winning a match, especially before the match even begun.

"Lucian, you need to cool it or else your big head is going to cost you the game," Alex laughed at him. Calista and Ana exchanged similar looks, meanwhile Lucian glared at his sister.

"Look, I'm just excited," he justified, his excitement dwindling to zero so he began to take it out on his food. His knife was nearly cracking the plate in half as he was attacking his breakfast with a sudden burst of irritation. "You guys would be too if you knew you were about to win a game."

Alex and Calista huffed loudly at the boy, which didn't make his expression falter. If anything he looked more upset. Ana remained quiet though; whatever high Lucian was on was bound to end one way or another.

"Just, don't try to jinx it," Calista brought to his attention while she took a spoonful of her extremely sugary cereal. "We want you to be excited, but not conceited. Sure, the Ravenclaw player may not be good, but you can't guarantee a win."

Lucian's downtrodden look only got worse as he got up from his seat, leaving his meal half eaten. With a sad glance at his friends, he left them alone without another word, stomping loudly out the Great Hall. Ana, Alex, and Calista all looked at each other guiltily. Ana hated seeing the usually upbeat and cheery boy look so dejected.

"Guys, I'm gonna go talk to him," Alex said as she grabbed her waffle in her bare hands and began to stand from her seat. "I don't want him going into the game upset."

Both the girls agreed, knowing that Alex would probably be the best person to talk him down from his high horse. That or she'd make it worse by instigating him even more. Either option seemed possible at the moment. All Ana knew was that she hated seeing Lucian so upset; what they said was honest but she understood why he took it to heart. "Want us to come with you?"

The girl shook her head, "No. I can handle this. Make sure you save me a seat though!"

And with that, the younger Bole sprinted out of the room. Then there were two.

Calista began twirling at her twists; she had taken out her extensions to give her hair a break and Ana found Calista's new look so fun.

"Do you think I was too harsh?" she asked Ana with a saddened look.

"What do you think, Kane?" Aeron said as he slid next to Ana. He had the most incredible ability to pop into their business whenever he wanted. She couldn't help but shift a few inches to the side in order to put distance between her and the boy. "You saw his face, of course you were too harsh on him."

Ana hated to admit it, but Aeron was right. Anyone could see that their reaction bothered the boy and it pained her that he was off somewhere pouting in the castle. "Cal, unfortunately, he's right."

He looked at her disapprovingly, "Unfortunately?"

She gave him a half smile, hoping he would look over her comment, it was habit for her to be a bit snarky with him. He had been rude for the longest time, so if he took her reply as rude, she wouldn't lose any sleep over it. "We've got to make it up to him somehow."

"Like what?"

"Well no matter what you birds choose, you guys better hope Slytherin wins the game. Or else he'll be in an even worse mood." Aeron warned them as he slid away from the girls and bounded out of the Great Hall looking as stern as ever.

Ana and Calista's faces reflected one another; they were concerned. And their only saving grace was in Alex's hands. The incoming sound of owls hooting filled the room, distracting them from their current problem. Packages were falling, nearly hitting some kids in the head, but thankfully the post that came for Ana was just a tiny envelope. She took a bite out of her cinnamon roll and tore open the letter. Her favorite little guy had sent her a letter.

Dear Ana,

I can't wait for when your holiday break starts! The manor has been so boring without you. And quiet. I miss hearing you bump into things and then yelling at them for hurting you. Dobby says "hi" by the way. He wanted me to tell you that. I miss you a lot. Halloween wasn't the same without you baking brownies with Mum. She tried, but she didn't put little sprinkles on them like you do. Either way, have fun the rest of this term!

- Draco :)

Ana glowed as she read the letter from Draco. She was missing her little brother terribly. He was a clingy pain in her side, but he was her best friend. The manor was dull and quiet, but he was always the silver lining. There was life because of him. And it had been months since she had seen him last. She wondered if he got any taller, of if he was still a little ball of energy and eye rolls.

"What's got you so happy all of a sudden?" Calista asked, offering her a half smile; she felt too upset to give Ana anything peppier.

"It's just Draco," Ana sighed happily while she held the card up to her chest, as if that would bring her any closer to her brother who was cooped up in the manor. It didn't, but it felt right to do in Ana's mind.

Calista simply nodded at her friend, as she went about poking her cereal. Neither of them were super hungry anymore. The game was going to start soon.

~

Ana and Calista were standing outside the pitch waiting for Alex to return from speaking to Lucian. It had been radio silent from Alex's end and the two of them were beginning to worry. Both of the girls were shaking uncontrollably, not only because it was freezing, but because their nerves were getting to them.

"And what are you two snakes doing out here?" A familiar voice shouted from behind the girls. They turned around to see Fred and George giving them identical smirks. It was almost scary how perfect the twins mimicked one another. They were all snuggled in their matching monogrammed knit sweaters, their long Gryffindor scarves, and fluffy mittens. Ana momentarily wished she had one of those sweaters as another blast of cold ran through her. Her winter robes were stylish due to the Malfoy need to be in only the finest looking clothes, but they were terrible at keeping out the wind and the snow.

"We're waiting for our third snake," Ana replied with a challenging smirk. "Why aren't you two cubs in the stands yet?"

Calista was snickering behind Ana, as she watched one of the twins and Ana stare each other down. She looked over at the other twin who appeared to be entertained just by observing Ana and his older brother.

"Just wanted to root on the Slytherin team as they came from the changing room," Fred joked with a twinkle in his eye. "Ya know, being a good fellow Quidditch player. It's in the name of sportsmanship."

Ana rolled her eyes at his ridiculousness and she took a step closer to the red heads. Fred always had something to say. "And what exactly do you mean when you say you're going to 'root them on'?"

"They mean absolutely nothing, right boys?" Charlie Weasley turned from around a corner to grab at the shoulders of his younger brothers. Despite him being a seventh year, their older brother was not much taller than the twins, but he was far broader and stronger than they were. Ana assumed that if he went against the Hogwarts Express, the train would tip over on its side before the boy even noticed he'd been hit.

"What possibly-"

"-do you mean?" George finished his brother's sentence.

Calista chuckled at the two twins folding under their older brother's mere presence, and by Charlie's white knuckles, he was probably putting the boys in a little bit of pain. They never backed down from anything, but Charlie seemed to hold more power than the quiet boy let on.

"Oh, it's alright," Ana chuckled, as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She was freezing and the game didn't even start yet, but she was not going to turn down the opportunity to give the twins a hard time. And it seemed like Charlie was game, "I can handle these boys."

Charlie looked down at the tiny blonde girl who was shaking like a leaf and couldn't help but laugh softly. But when her eyes laser focused on him, he could tell that she was dead serious. "You know what, kid. I believe you."

Ana smirked at the boy's admission and the twins groaned in frustration.

From around the corner, Alex finally met the group but she was heaving so hard that Ana thought the girl would cough up a lung. She began blubbering, trying to talk through her labored breaths, but nothing coherent was coming out.

"I'm going to take her to the stands," Calista told Ana as she wrapped her hand around Alex's arm, dragging the gasping girl away from the Weasleys.

When she turned back, the boy's faces were redder than they usually were and she wondered if it was from the cold or their embarrassment. Charlie was putting them in their place without even having to try that hard.

"Let's get to the stands. Yeah, boys?" Charlie began squeezing their shoulders which made the boys twist in even more pain. All the while Charlie was grinning charmingly at the young girl. The twins squatted in order to escape their brother's vice grip which made Ana chuckle.

"Okay, fine. Merlin, Charlie you didn't have to grab our shoulders like a damn snitch!" Fred hollered at his brother while George laughed at them. George conceded and began to follow his older brother who had begun walking closer to the pitch and away from Ana.

"Ya coming, Freddie boy?" Charlie nagged, quirking an eyebrow which had a scar that ran through it. Ana wondered if he got the scar from being tough and wild like the boys or clumsy like her.

"I'll be right there," Fred replied, not looking as smug as he did before. The older Weasley and his twin turned and left the two of them alone. He brought his full attention back to Ana who was cradling herself in her own arms, trying to preserve as much heat as possible. The boy's face quickly turned serious as he peered down at her, "How are you feeling?"

Ana's eyes widened at the quick change in tone.

"I'm cold," she hoped that would be a good enough answer.

"No," he took in a deep breath. "You know what I mean, Malfoy."

Fred was not joking anymore. He was waiting patiently for her answer with a gentle curiosity. It wasn't off putting, she just wasn't sure why he was so concerned.

"How much of that night did you see?" Ana mumbled quietly, taking a few glances to make sure no one was watching them.

His eyes suddenly turned from a warm honey shade to almost looking black, "I saw enough to know that your head and shoulders are probably killing you, right about now."

She looked down at the ground. The idea of him seeing her in such a situation didn't sit well with her. Being roughed up was not new to her, but Ana found herself hating the sorry looks everyone gave her when she injured or hurt at school. She wasn't used to receiving pity, "Well, I feel perfectly fine."

Fred scoffed at the shivering girl, "Yeah, okay. You feel perfectly fine? Even after what Trelawney said to you?"

The boy's laugh wasn't meant to mock her. But he knew that any person who was slammed into a wall and screamed at by a nearly demonic teacher would not be feeling the best. She may be hard to read, but she wasn't impossible.

But the more Fred pushed her, Ana's heart sank further and further, "Oh, fantastic. You heard that, too." She chuckled dryly as her teeth started to chatter a bit as she hopped up and down.

"Yeah, I heard that," Fred confirmed. "But I'm sure she was just put in a trance or something. Charlie has said that she often blurts out random stuff all the time."

She offered him a weak smile, but Fred could tell that she was unnerved by the whole thing. He also couldn't stand that she looked like she was about to freeze on the spot, so he ripped off his mittens and offered them to the girl.

Before she could hide it behind her trembling hands, Ana's face broke out in a tiny smile. If Fred wasn't looking so hard he would have definitely missed it. But he saw it. Clear as day.

"Take them, blondie," he ordered, as he waved them in front of her, like a steak to a dog. "C'mon snake, take the mittens"

"Alright! Alright, fine," Ana blurted out as she took the offering and covered her frigid hands.

Fred nodded approvingly, "See? There's no need to be difficult."

"Oh, says the most difficult person I know." Ana scoffed.

"You know you could just say thank you and be on your way." The boy crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for the girl to come back at him with some snide comment like the smart aleck she was.

"I could," she giggled as she rubbed her newly clothed hands together.

Fred turned from the girl with a smirk as he followed the direction his brothers went. Godric, she was so stubborn, but it wasn't something that he entirely hated.

"Fred!" She called after the redhead.

He whipped his head back so fast at the sound of her voice, his body was half out the door.

"Thank you," Ana dipped her head as she waltzed past the boy and began heading where Calista and Alex went. Fred smiled as he watched Ana walk away from him; his hands were cold, but he couldn't care less.

"You're welcome, Bibi," he whispered when she was out of his sight.

~

"LUCIAN! LUCIAN! LUCIAN!" The three girls were all sitting in the stands cheering on their favorite beater, who kept his focus on the game. That was what he was supposed to do, but it hurt the girls to know that he wouldn't even look at them.

"I ran around the whole bloody castle!" Alex wailed over the sound of the heavy winds, "A whole hour, I ran trying to find him! He just disappeared."

The three girls were cuddling together underneath a blanket Alex brought to the game, which Ana was incredibly grateful for. Why Alex didn't think about bringing one was beyond her. Ana thought it was cold before when she was standing outside the pitch, but being outside and against the winds was a whole other story. The rain mixed with the frosty winds made her hair turn into little icicles; if she were to bend her locks she'd predict they'd chip off.

"Flint is racing towards the Ravenclaw goal and," Lee paused as the play was going on before him. "And Slytherin makes the point! That brings the score to 110 to 80."

Despite Lucian being in a horrible mood, he was zooming across the stadium like nothing ever happened. Ana hoped that his good performance wasn't because of his anger, because she didn't want to see him upset like that again.

Every twist and dip Lucian made on his broom made Alex holler in support. At one point Lucian did look over, and his scowl softened a bit. Ana tried her hardest to focus, but the heavy snow and winds made her want to dip her head in the blanket and burrow away. When she looked up she saw Fred and George from across the pitch. The two boys waved their hands tauntingly, showcasing how one of them was without their mittens. Ana's face heated up and she tore her focus away from them and back to the game.

After a grueling three hours in the snow and the wind, Slytherin defeated the Ravenclaw team 260 to 130, securing their place in the finals. Even though Slytherin won, the boy who stood in for the injured keeper proved himself to be a pretty good player. It was amazing how well he stayed on his broom even with the harsh weather. And because of that, before the teams got off the pitch, Lucian gave the boy a handshake, giving him the respect he deserved.

[world-of-horrors-au]

Horrors AU - A Jealous Hand [Pruning Roses Ch 3]

Part 3 of the Briar vs Proxies series Part 1 Part 2 Ao3 Mirror Wattpad Mirror

TW: Violence, burns, drugging [though not fully detailed], torture [I guess?],  mentioned eye trauma, just... fucking Toby man. What a terrible person he is.

The door opened. Briar’s head jerked up.

She’d lost track of time. Maybe she’d even fallen asleep. There was no time in this closet, only a silent darkness, low scrapings in the wall and loud, distant laughter. Maybe this was punishment enough, trapped like an animal until her thoughts drove her insane.

Behind the figure was darkness, allowing Briar to see the woman without pain. The proxy, Kate, stared back at Briar, and it was impossible to tell if the dark circles under her eyes were natural or some kind of paint. Her hoodie was different, not like Jeff’s infamous one now, but one that zipped up. Still white, though, and left open, revealing a pastel blue shirt that said ‘invincible’ in all caps. Briar’s eyes fell to the woman’s hands, and the item she held.

Without a word, Kate tossed the plastic bag, bearing the name of a long vanished grocery store chain, into Briar’s lap. Briar looked into it. Her stomach rumbled. Food, still warm, in little plastic baggies.

“Eat all of it,” Kate said, and her voice held no emotion.

Briar looked up at her. Her mouth was watering, but her mind worried.

“What is it drugged with?”

Kate placed a hand on one hip. “Weakeners,” she said. “So you can’t fight back or break out of here until we’re done with you.”

A shiver went up Briar’s spine. “How do you know they work?”

“They worked on your boss Jeff,” Kate said. “And you’re a younger Horror than he was when we caught him.”

Swallowing, Briar looked down at the bag and its contents. Her stomach ached, like it did when she was a refugee during the War. She’d never wanted to feel that way again.

“If you don’t eat willingly,” Kate said, “I’m allowed to do whatever I want to make you.” She tilted her head back, her eyes cold. “What’s it gonna be?”

Briar exhaled. She looked at the bag, and ate. Wherever the drugs were in the food, whether in the sandwich or the fries, or in the bottle of water, she didn't taste anything. Actually, she barely tasted the food at all.

When she finished, Kate pushed away from where she leaned against the door.

"Don't bother throwing it back up once I leave. The drugs work fast and we won't feed you again if you do. Leave the bag on the floor, we'll pick it up after we move you."

Kate turned away, only to look over her shoulder.

"You're lucky Hoodie gave you to Masky," she said with a grim smile. "If it were me, I'd spend tonight seeing all the colors that pretty face of yours can turn."

The door shut, and the lock clicked. Briar listened to the footsteps until they faded away. She looked down at the bag in her lap and picked it up. Squashing it into a ball, she threw it as hard as she could into the wall across from her. It was better than nothing.

Briar pulled her legs into her chest and wrapped her arms around them. The darkness suffocated, she closed her eyes so she didn't have to see it. She let out a shaky exhale.

"I want to go home," she whispered.

If the guys were okay, would they come rescue her? If they were free, and intact, would they track her down? Would they find out who took her? Would they even be able to find this manor to take her back? Briar set her teeth. There was no telling how long the Proxies would keep her here. What if they never let her go?

She shivered. Her clothes weren't meant for temperatures like in this manor. She was dressed for summer nights spent around campfires, listening to insects and the laughter of loved ones. She didn't even have a jacket. If she asked for a jacket, would they have enough pity on her to give her one? Or was this just another form of torture?

Stop thinking, she told herself. Worrying won't save your life. You've been cold and hungry and desperate before. You can handle this.

I can handle this, she thought.

Pulling her arms into her short-sleeved shirt, she wrapped them around herself like she did as a teen. The rags smelled like dog as she laid down on them but they were still softer than leaves and grass. Closing her eyes to the darkness around her, Briar counted backwards from 100, picturing the shape of each number in her mind. Sleep didn't come easily, but it did eventually come.

Something cold wrapped around her wrists. A soft click reached her ears. Briar grunted, a similar chill wrapping around her heart as she awoke. Handcuffs, she thought. Her blurry eyes looked between her wrists, the door left half open, and the vague, crouching human shape in between her and the door.

Someone chuckled. Briar snapped awake. Toby.

"Morning," he said, and in the darkness she saw the smile on his face. "Did I wake you? Course I did. I thought you'd wake up when I opened the door, but you were sleeping pretty hard. Guess you haven't developed your war instincts yet."

He reached out a hand. Briar winced back, cringing as he patted her head.

"You'll be sleeping even better once Masky gets done with you," Toby said. "If I let him."

What was that supposed to mean? She really didn't want to find out.

"Wh… why are you here?" She whispered.

"What a good question!" Toby said with false approval. "Didn't say you could speak, though, but whatever. I'll let it go this time."

Toby reached into his pocket. Briar braced. Instead of a weapon, he pulled out a single cigarette and an old pewter lighter. He placed the cigarette between his teeth, and lit the end. Toby took a deep breath, and coughed, hard. He pulled the cigarette from his mouth as he coughed, Briar's eyes widening with alarm. After a deep breath, he laughed.

"He's gonna kill me when he finds out I took one of his cigs," Toby said. "Fucking whatever though. He owes me."

He shifted his legs, sitting cross legged on the floor. Toby tilted his head, and looked down at her. Briar swallowed

"I came because I wanted to see what Jeff sees in you," he said. "You know you're not the first Horror he's trained, right?"

Briar nodded. His lips curled up

"So he talked about me? That's good. I hope he's said nice things about me."

The man took another drag of the cigarette.

"I bet it's nice having a girl around, for Jeff and his gang. I haven't seen a girl Horror in… ages. A different perspective, a different hole…"

Toby lifted his head up and exhaled the smoke into the air. Briar's eyes watered at the smell.

"But let's be real here, Briar," he said. "There's no contest. Between you and me, I'm the better one. The better hunter, the better forager, the better lover. He's too stubborn to see it."

Sucking in a breath, Briar pressed back into the wall. No conversation that started like this was going to end well for her.

Leaning back on one hand, Toby sighed and took another breath on the stick. "He's so damn proud. He doesn't know it but he is. It gets in the way of everything. If he'd stop fighting God, everything would go great, for all of us. But he won't let go. He thinks he can fight God and win." He laughed lightly. "I used to find that arrogance attractive, but now, I just want to lock him up somewhere until he sees the light."

He looked down at her. "You get me, right?"

Briar shook her head. They'd told her Toby was insane but she never thought this was how it showed.

Toby rolled his eyes. "Kids. Can't expect too much out of you. You're, what, not even two years old yet? Pathetic." He tapped the ash off the end of his cigarette onto the floor. "If Horrors weren't sterile you'd have a use, but right now? No way. It would be better in the long run for Jeff to kill you."

Tears formed in her eyes. Briar grit her teeth against them and looked away. Jeff would never…

"He doesn't need another useless mouth to feed. You're two years old and you're a complete unknown. No track record, no enemies, no urban legends about you. Have you even killed ten humans? Five? Get real. When I was your age, I'd killed fifty. Well, give it take. Who was counting?"

"I'm not useless," Briar said, looking up at Toby. "Just because I don't have a reputation doesn't mean-"

His hand whipped out. Briar cried out in pain as his hand slapped her cheek. Her head hit the floor, sending more pain through her skull, and she bit down a desperate sob.

"Did I fucking tell you to talk?" Toby said. She heard him take another drag on the cigarette. "Anyway, like I was saying: people like you are better as compost. You'd grow great roses."

Briar closed her eyes. Maybe she could just shut him out…

"But I'm not allowed to kill you," Toby said. Briar's eyes opened. "Nobody is. God wants you left alive."

She looked back at him, hoping her eyes would say enough. The Slenderman wanted her alive? Why?

"I don't get it either." Toby tapped out the ashes again. "Far as Hoodie can tell, you're a part of some big plan. Or maybe he's gonna turn you into a proxy later." He shrugged. "Who knows?"

Her, a proxy? She shuddered.

Toby laughed. "Yeah, I hope not! That's gonna make all of this-" he waved the hand holding the cigarette around. "Really awkward, eh?"

He looked down at her, his smile turning into a predator's grin.

"Really, really awkward."

His hand snatched out again, digging into her hair and yanking her head back. Briar cried out, twisting. The rags she laid on curled into knots under her, and the slick floor didn't give her any help. She looked up at him, at his sharp smile, and her eyes widened. He was bringing the cigarette towards her face.

"No-" Briar said.

"Shut up," he said.

The cigarette was still red on the end, heat burning through it. Oh god, she thought. He's trying to put it out in my eye. Briar squeezed her eyes closed, jerking her head as much as she could. She felt the heat of it just under her eye and twisted her head up-

She screamed.

Toby twisted the cigarette into her cheek, putting it out on her skin. He pulled the butt away but she couldn't see what he did with it. Tears streamed down her face, hot liquid burning the singed flesh under her right eye. She sobbed. It hurt.

"Aww, I missed," Toby said. "That would've made you a lot more interesting as a person."

He dropped her hair and she hit the floor. Briar tried to swallow her cries. It hurt. It hurt worse than any burn she'd ever gotten. Worse than any stabbing she'd ever received. It hurt. It hurt.

"Oh, whatever," Toby said. "Not like I'm here trying to improve you anyway."

The punch rattled her teeth, pain shooting through her jaw. Briar opened her eyes. She thought, if I were human that would've killed me. It was the only thought she had before another punch followed.

Blood spilled from her nose, coating Toby's bare hands. He laughed and the sound pressed against the walls of her skull. Another punch, pain spilling through her upper chest. She gasped for air but it was too late, the next punch hit her lungs. Briar sucked in as much air as she could, and began to scream.

He didn't tell her to stop. If anything it felt like her screams encouraged him. The bruises formed moments after his fists landed. Her gut, her chest, her face, her neck. Briar screamed through the pain. She raised her cuffed hands to protect her face but he yanked them down, bruises forming under his fingers, and punched her nose until she heard the crunch. Pain merged with her mind until there was nothing left. Until there was nothing but her screams and the muted crack and crunch of breaking bones.

He's going to kill me, she thought, but she knew it was worse than that. He wouldn't disobey the Slenderman. He was getting her warmed up for the rest of her stay.

Her throat gave up. Briar slumped onto the ground. Through the darkness she saw Toby raise his fist again.

Another hand caught it.

"Toby! What the fuck are you doing?!"

Her head was full of blood, but she recognized the voice. Briar watched, gasping for air as the second person threw Toby back away from her.

"Oh. Hey Masky," Toby said, impossibly calm. "You're back early."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Masky shouted. "What the hell did you do to her?"

"Don't be so pissy," Toby said. "I wasn't gonna kill her. I was just having some fun. What, don't you like your meat tenderized? She'll probably be healed up in a week and it'll be like nothing happened."

"You bastard," Masky hissed. "You waited until I was gone to break in here. You wanted me away so you could fuck her up, and for what?"

Toby didn't answer. Briar looked at the ceiling.

"For what Toby?" Masky shouted. There was still no reply. "... Are you jealous?"

"Fuck you!" Toby shouted, anger in his voice. "Fine. Fine. I'll take my cuffs and get out of here. But you should know better than to get attached. We're not keeping her."

"I don't want her as a pet anyway," Masky snapped.

Toby grumbled something, but she heard him stand up. Briar closed her eyes and lay limp. His fingers were sticky with blood from her nose, but they forced the cuffs off anyway. Toby made a sound like he was going to say something to her, but he seemed to change his mind.

Briar opened her eyes and looked up as he walked away. Toby vanished through the door, but Masky lingered. She couldn't see his eyes through the mask even without the tears still falling from her eyes. For a moment, she almost thought Masky was going to say something. But he shook his head and closed the door behind him.

In the darkness, alone, Briar closed her eyes again. She sobbed. Oh god, it hurt it hurt it hurt. The pain burned through her, throbbing and aching and swelling. There wasn't a single part of her that didn't hurt, even her legs.

The tears came again, flowing fresh down her face. Briar tried to pull her limbs into her body, but doing that just made it all hurt worse.

"Eyeless," she whispered. "Jeff. Guys. Help me."

I miss you, she thought. I miss you all so much. I wish you could hear me.

But no one could hear her. No one but her.