#I’m.. not the only one?.. [SENTIENT WEAPONS]

[ask-a-broken-boombox]

[ any sign of other demons yet? ]

[ maybe your owner? ]

-@sending-2-hell

N-no.. BUT!! I-I have met a Biograft version o-of him! So that must count for something!!

[sewerpalette]

Little rant I might make a video out of:

Edit: disclaimer I wrote this directly after waking up so it’s very awkwardly paced and hard to read I’m so sorry.

AL-AN is not a good person, now I’ll start this off with saying that I looove his character, especially before the rewrite and this certainly isn’t an attack on anyone, just something I’d like to point out because I think the shift of perspective between both games is fascinating.

If anyone remembers the subnautica fandom before Below zero was even remotely announced, there were certain opinions flying around, people believed the architects to be the grand villain(s) in the bigger picture of the game lore for just how messed up they were, they literally hated those guys for being at fault of the sea emperors suffering and there were even theories going around that they made the kharaa to wipe out all other life around them- but it had went wrong.

But now it’s not like that anymore, no AL‘s previous actions are completely ignored because he showed some remorse for being responsible for the deaths of 7 architects specifically, together with messing up before pretty much an audience of billions, it must’ve been embarrassing- but when he apologizes he specifically only mentions the other architects, because he isn’t sorry for the other things he’s done, clearly. I mean dissecting a fetus is one thing, especially with their goal in mind, DISPLAYING it is another, like that’s just purposely gruesome. Together with all the other dissected experimented on animals in the shelves just hung up like prizes (I know the concept itself is not inhumane, but in this case it just wasn’t necessary.) also research specimen THETA anyone? Yeah we know it didn’t die because of the facility collapsing because there’s no injury displayed on its bones that would suggest that, and that part of the facilities insides also didn’t collapse, they just left it there until it either succumbed to the virus or starved to death, same with the sea emperor but they survived, kept alive by unfinished business for the next couple thousand years. Not to mention who the fuck comes up with a quarantine program that includes semi sentient killer machines and a giant gun made to shoot anything down from atmosphere, there were so many better solutions, I get the warper thing, I mean kill anything that’s infected makes sense, but the gun?? Literally why, if they send a signal through the network that this planet is diseased nobody is going to go there (we know that at that point humans weren’t advanced enough to travel space and they knew that so for who was that even for??) it was completely unnecessary to create a giant weapon in wich even more destructive weapons are stored wich let me get into that real quick because there’s also some implied stuff there, appearently AL was so desperate to get rid of his mistake that he attempted to blow up a doomsday device?? (Which would’ve destroyed most of the solar system in an instant.) In the entry it says it malfunctioned so they must’ve tried to use it, and even if they didn’t why would they have it on them anyways? Including all the other weapons. Also let’s talk about the architects in the little sanctuaries in the first game, it’s implied they stored multiple souls in like one of them, literally cramped up all their data whilst AL stored himself in a big ass sanctuary like idk man that’s kind of an asshole move. And those were just the first game events! (And there’s probably even more there.)

In BZ he can’t really do anything except for talk to robin because he doesn’t have a physical form, so there’s less to go off here but even then it didn’t seem like there were other sanctuaries in BZ for the other architects. and sure, you could make the arguement that architects don’t feel at all connected to their physical forms, wich is true, but don’t you think seeing a dead architects body, an architect from his team, a colleague, would illicit some kind of emotion from him beyond “great, now fetch me their skin.” (/j) even if he doesn’t see the attachment to the vessel, if it’s all that’s left from that time and from the crew, there would still be projected attachment onto it realistically. Also he was smart enough to hide himself from alterra because he guessed they didn’t have good intentions- scraping himself off the grid both physically and on any radars they had (presumably with hallucinations), but wasn’t smart enough to distract the critters running around infront of the sanctuary to idk get the help he needed with the failing sanctuary from the mercury, marg, or the alterrans that genuinely wanted to help instead of being eaten by sharks right infront of it.

Like man I love you but that’s just messed up.

And we know he knows he messed up, that’s why he’s so gloomy and does attempt to apologize at the end but like??? He said he wanted to make amends to his people showing that he still doesn’t care about everybody else he hurt, only those he deems as important, not the over 150 people that died on the aurora or the mercury or the degasi or the sunbeam or the research specimens or even the alterrans he’s indirectly caused death to, it is all his fault but he doesn’t see these people as important because he feels they are below him - sure you could make the arguement that he didn’t know about the ships that crashed, fair point. But seemingly he did if he could sense that alterra was there without even seeing alterrans in the first place, especially because Ryley has made contact with the thermal plant and other architect tech before, so he’d definitely know- especially based on the data robin has of the missing sunbeam and aurora incident on her PDA wich he has canonically said he read through.

And I’ll say it again I love AL, next to Bart he’s probably my favorite subnautica character in the whole game series, but I don’t like the portrayel of him suddenly being completely redeemed or being an inherently good person, he still doesn’t understand empathy or morals (you can be a good person without having those, don’t get me wrong.) and acts like a total idiot whilst victimizing himself, like yes, the other architects on the mission died and it’s his fault, they weren’t stored to keep him company and that’s his fault; neither did they like him, wich is very fair in my opinion. He can’t pull all this crap, disobey orders and get everybody killed and then pull the “but I’m sad about it so that erases everything I’ve done” like oh my god. I like him, but I would also like more content showing all this.

Sorry this was a very long kinda pointless rant and I don’t have any images because my phone which has like a whole folder of these is at home and we’re still stuck in England so it’ll have to do without for now.

TLDR: I want more morally dubious AL please and also he killed a fetus (well pretty much borderline newborn at that point) so he’s going into the fictional child murderer category for me.

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

It’s Sonic Gang Disney Movie Night! And it’s the Unstoppable Forces vs Immovable Objects! Let’s meet our competitors:

Knuckles “the last of his kind on a noble quest to protect a gem with trust issues, badass fighting skills, and a water-based spirit most of his lost culture was based around who wants to live out his fantasy of his people coming back and enemies turning into friends via continued applied trust” the Echidna who wants to watch Raya and the Last Dragon

Tikal “the curious and empathetic chief’s daughter who was really close with her now-dead grandma who yearns to return to a culture her people once had but have now abandoned and works to make peace with the dieties of her culture while being best friends with sentient water who wants to live out her fantasy of resolving her daddy issues and bringing her people and gods to peace” the Echidna who wants to watch Moana

Blaze “the heir to an entire kingdom with a lot of huge expectations placed on her by her deceased parents desperately trying to keep her deadly and dangerous powers under control which is an issue because they burst out when she’s emotional and she’s been repressing quite a bit of emotions only for an energetic, bubbly person to bring her out of her shell and prove that she can be herself without hurting anyone else” the Cat who wants to watch Frozen

Elise also wants to watch Frozen so two points for Blaze

Shadow “an alien scientifically created to be a living weapon meant to destroy who ends up befriending a little girl who teaches him to have humanity, after which he begins to appreciate life on Earth and fights to protect both it and the found family he’s pieced together for himself” the Hedgehog who wants to watch Lilo & Stitch

Sonic who wants to watch Wreck-It Ralph because he’s in it and things go fast

Amy Rose who wants to watch Sleeping Beauty because it’s “romantic” and “beautiful” but also so she can wait until the dragon scene and then start blasting “What I’m Made Of” and scare the shit out of everyone

Silver “was left alone in a barren wasteland for far longer than he wants to admit and honestly probably longer than he can remember who ends up finding one last bit of hope and who wants to live out his fantasy of bringing life back to his planet and seeing society grow around him as he finds a family of his own” the Hedgehog who wants to watch WALL-E. he’ll also settle for Lightyear he guesses

Cream who wants to watch Snow White because pretty princess sing to animals and spin around

Sally “the heir to an entire kingdom with some severe dead dad issues who ends up on the run as a child only to return and find her kingdom decimated by someone she once trusted who now has to raise a rebellion with her childhood sweetheart to dethrone the usurper and retake the land before he can destroy the entire environment” Acorn who wants to watch The Lion King

Vector who wants to watch The Great Mouse Detective and say “that’s what we do. we do that”

Shahra who wants to watch Aladdin. do i even have to

oh and Jet wants to watch Aladdin too but that’s just because he thinks stealing things is funny

Merlina actually does not want to watch Sword in the Stone it makes her uncomfortable however she will BITE someone if they don’t watch Coco next

Marine who wants to watch Finding Nemo because oooh water ooh australia oooh look at the fishies go. no she doesn’t have abandonment issues why do you ask

alternatively, Marine will make everyone watch The Pirate Fairy

Tekno who wants to watch Big Hero 6 because look at those robots go

Omega who wants to watch The Black Cauldron cause it has the most death in it

Rouge who would rather watch everyone argue than see any movie

Mighty and Ray just wanna watch Bambi guys

Big who wants to watch Fantasia because it calms him down. Omega does a quick ecosia search of Night on Bald Mountain and immediately likes this plan

Belle who wants to watch Pinocchio for obvious reasons

Charmy who wants to watch Peter Pan just to point at the tv when Tink is onscreen and look Belle dead in the eye and say “that’s you”

Espio who wants to die

Miles “Tails” Prower who can’t decide if he wants to watch Dumbo or Meet the Robinsons or if both will just bring up a lot of traumatic memories

and finally, Sticks the Badger, who wants to beat the TV to death with a wooden club and then burn Disney HQ to the ground

who will win!! vote now on your phones

[sleepyfan-blog]

To Travel

Author’s note: The seventh fic for Nadesir! first. Previous. Next

Tagged: @egrets-not-regrets @kit-williams @bleedingichorhearts @i-am-a-dragon34 @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

Warnings: none? Please let me know if I missed something/if something bothers you

Summary: You have to go see your family. Vanya would like to come with you, but you turn him down for Reasons.

“Are you sure that I cannot come with you, my moon?”  Vanya asks as he looks down at you, a worried frown appearing on his face as he gently cups your face in one of his clawed hands. 

You shake your head, sighing a little “Most of my family are very… Wary around Space Marines, and while I know that you wouldn’t try and antagonize them on purpose… At least not at first, they would definitely try to antagonize you, and that would get very messy very quickly.” 

Vanya huffs, pouting a little at you “I would be able to keep my temper, no matter what your foolish family members might try to do or say in order to provoke my wrath. I’m sure it’s nothing that I wouldn’t be able to handle. I have dealt with idiots who think that because I am a Chaos-aligned Night Lord, that means that I am a mindless beast, rather than sentient and in full control of my thoughts, emotions and actions.”

There was… A lot about your family that you had chosen not to try and explain to Vanya, in part because you were quite certain that he’d be very, very unwilling to let you near any of them ever again. At least not without being in full armor and with his weapons at him at all times while you stayed at his side, in his wings, or on his shoulders the entire time. 

Yes, many of your family members were dangerous. But they generally did not pose a threat to you, who had taken a civilian job, who lived in a small town in the middle of nowhere, and did your best to keep out of the dangerous circles that the rest of your family ran around in and tried to control. “I know. But I’d rather not put you in a position where your temper is tested over and over again by other people whom I care for.” You had little doubt that Vanya would be able to handle any physical threat that your family attempted to pose at him… But going on the run with Vanya after he slaughtered half your family for deliberately provoking his temper was not something you were interested in doing. 

Especially now that you had been made aware of the fact that Astartes did have their own kind of internal investigative group. Which, really, you should have guessed was a thing, from how rigidly the loyalists (loyal to what, or to whom, none of them would ever explain to you) ran things in town. Still, the brief encounter you had with the Dark Angels had been mildly unsettling, though far from the most distressing event that had happened to you that day. 

Vanya let out a low, unhappy whine and shuffled closer to you, his wings twitching a little, as if he was restraining himself from scooping you up and hiding you in them. His fingers shift as he kneels down to be closer to your eye level. “If you are certain… Then I promise to not follow you to your family. But… Please keep in mind that should you need or wish for me to be by your side, you need only call and I will be there for you as soon as possible.” He pressed his forehead to yours, before giving you a light kiss.

You kiss him back, hugging him tightly. You did not want to go to the family reunion that your sister had half-blackmailed you into going to, but she’d found out about you getting kidnapped somehow - even though Vanya had rescued you and the other kidnapped people before the bastards had been able to get to wherever they were planning on holding yourself and the others. But she’d threatened to tell the family that you’d been kidnapped, and the absolute shitstorm that would occur, should the rest of them find out … Was not one you were interested in weathering. “I’ll keep that in mind, Vanya. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks. See you then, love. I’ll call when the plane lands.” 

Vanya lets out a low, unhappy rumble in his chest, peering down at you with deep, endlessly dark midnight black eyes. Not for the first time you silently wondered if he could see in the dark, and had a reflective layer at the back of his eyes, considering how dark they were. That and his sensitivity to bright light. “Very well… I will take you to the airport at least… Yes?”

“Alright, you can drop me off at the terminal.” You allowed. You weren’t going to let him wait with you in the airport security area… Not only was he far more likely to get antsy and try to steal you away, you did not want to explain about the fact that your family had the wealth to charter you a private plane. Vanya didn’t seem to understand money very well, but even so. It would be enough of an oddity that you suspected that he would mention it to the other Astartes he frequently sparred and trained alongside of them, and some of them understood how the mortal economy worked very, very well. 

Vanya beamed in response, a pleased purr rumbling from his chest as he scooped you up, giving you little kisses on your cheeks and forehead, his wings wrapping around your body securely. “Thank you, my moon! Thank you!” before he started rumbling at you in one of the other languages he spoke. One that you did not understand, though you were trying to learn. 

You can’t help but giggle a little at his enthusiasm, and you kiss and hug him back as best as you can. You’re half-dreading the trip, but Vanya’s fierce love and care for you has been such a wonderful, if unexpected blessing in your life. 

~

Vanya carries you and the suitcase he helped you pack the entire way to the airport that the plane that your family had chartered for you to fly to your childhood home in. The airport in question was one of the three in the large town that was several hours’ drive away from the small town that you’d settled in, and found Vanya in. Given that Astartes can run at the speed of most cars, you weren’t surprised that he preferred to do this, rather than squish his way into a cab next to you. 

The airport is, as ever, incredibly busy with dozens of cars driving up and dropping off people heading to the planes that they need or want to catch. You can see a handful of other Astartes in the crush of people making their way through the different doors into the building itself. Vanya is the only Night Lord you can see, but that doesn’t surprise you very much. It is mid morning, the sun is high in the sky, and there are so many people and what must be a truly cacophonous amount of noise to the highly-sensitive hearing of an astartes. 

You can tell that Vanya is starting to get overstimulated, by the way his body shifts and shakes a little- the way his eyes dart around everywhere and the way that he hovers closer to you. “Hey… Vanya, darling…” You call out, voice quiet but loud enough to catch his attention.

“Yes, my moon?” Vanya asks, eyes wide and focused on you. His wings twitch and his hands are clenching and unclenching a little. 

“Thank you for taking me to the airport. I tried explaining how busy it would be, even at eight in the morning on a Tuesday, but…” You gesture around helplessly “It’s hard to really explain it, if you don’t have the context.”

“You are welcome, my love. I will be waiting for your call once you land.” Vanya rumbled unhappily, bending over to give you a hug. He buries his face into the side of your neck.

You run a hand through his thick, dark hair, turning your head to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I will. Fly free, Vanya.”

“You as well, my moon.” He rumbles, giving you one last kiss before very reluctantly letting you go. He watches as you enter the airport building before he turned away and started jogging at an easy, swift pace that he could maintain for weeks if he needed to. He would rather have gone with you to meet your family, but would respect your wishes… Despite how difficult doing so was for him.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Is there a TTRPG that allows for the “Youths Having Fun Being Fantastic” “genre” of works like Persona 5 and Codename: Kids Next Door combined with the aesthetic of Digimon: Cyber Sleuth and early Bakugan? I’m sorry if I sent this one before, I forgor :(

THEME: Fun, Fantastic Youths.

Hello there, so I had to do a little bit of research to see what kind of tied these pieces of media together. What I looked for was games about kids with something special about them, a lighthearted tone, and an anime art style. I tried to focus on games that were set in the modern day, but not everything in this list matches that qualification.

Shepherds, by AirkSeablade.

Shepherds is a tabletop RPG about young members of a League of professional do-gooders, who strive to protect the peace and safety of ordinary people.  These young Shepherds will forge bonds of trust with each other, grow and mature as people, and possibly foil some evil plots along the way.

Shepherds puts us into a fantasy history where technology is starting to change the world around you. Your characters are young members of a special organization, with special training or abilities to help them protect the people around them. The author describes the genre as “hopeful fantasy”, inspired by the “Tales of _” video games and the Trails/Kiseki video game line.

System-wise, the game is Powered by the Apocalypse, which means that you only need 2d6 to play, and your characters will draw from a series of Moves in order to find out what happens next, with various categories for action scenes, relationship-building, moving through various in-game processes, and using magic.

The Magical Land of Yeld, by Yeldstuff.

Somewhere there is a door to a magical land. A land of secrets and treasure. Of exploration and adventure. Where children can become heroes, discover their inner strength and stand against monsters and magic. And once you enter, the only thing you have to fear is that you can never go home!

The Magical Land of Yeld is a multi-session tabletop roleplaying game focusing on adventure, hero building and shared storytelling. Like the classic console games we love, adventures in Yeld are designed to allow you to explore colorful and strange lands, seek out secret dungeons and temples and challenge powerful boss monsters as your characters grow to unlock new skills and discover more powerful weapons and treasure.

The main features of The Magical Land of Yeld that I think connect to your request is the fact that you are playing children, and that your children have magical abilities. However, the setting is decidedly fantastic, rather than taking place in the modern day - although if you like the secret worlds of Persona, you might find the isekai themes in this game to be adjacent to what you’re looking for. Similar to Kids Next Door, there’s always a threat of no longer being a child - although instead of turning into an adult, you’re in danger of turning into a monster. If you want a game with cartoon-ish threats but high stakes, you might like The Magical Land of Yeld.

Oddity High, by Derek Ehlmann.

You're a high school student that's probably nowhere close to being ordinary. Whether you’re dealing with aliens, psychics, ghosts, demons, eldritch gods or sentient cats is up to you - but whatever it is, you’re in the thick of it. Fortunately, by happenstance or by design, you’ve got a gang of like-minded, equally-abnormal friends at your side - and with their help, you’ve got a fighting chance at surviving it. Just don’t forget that you’re also going to need to survive high school, as well.

Oddity High is powered by the Apocalypse Engine, the system used by legendary and award-winning games such as Dungeon World, Monster of the Week, The Sprawl, Urban Shadows, Fellowship, and many, many more.

The Persona games are one of the many inspirations behind this game, about teenagers with abnormal powers. You combine your high-school type playbook with another, stranger playbook called your Other-Life playbook. Many of these playbooks are nods to various tropes in anime, such as masked superheroes, kids with the ability to re-write reality, or someone in control of another entity that is vastly more powerful than any human being.

Judging by the references for this game, Oddity High might lean a little more to the serious side than the goofy side, but if you want really larger-than-life anime hi-jinx, you might want to check out this game.

Clash! Shounen Battle Roleplay, by Sabrina Hawthorne.

CLASH! Shonen Battle Roleplay is a Tabletop Roleplaying Game about dramatic fights and the dramatic emotions those fights represent. It’s a game inspired by classic anime & manga like One Piece, Bleach and Naruto. Play as big, bombastic characters with all sorts of cool powers, facing off against pirates, monsters, and other powerful people just like you.

Shounen manga feels very fitting for games and media like Bakugan, Digimon, and Persona 5, which is why CLASH might have something of what you’re looking for. Your characters will all have cool powers and you’ll be constantly jumping into fight scenes, sinking your emotions and beliefs into the conflict. This is a game meant to be colourful and bold, with an emphasis on teamwork and being heroic.

Right now the game is in play-test, so there isn’t really any art to accompany the game. However, the game is pay-what-you-want while it’s in play-test, so you can check it out for free to see if the themes of the game resonate with what you’re looking for.

Cosmic Ray Kids, by Hedgemaze Press.

Cosmic Ray Kids is a single-page (front and back) atomic-age adventure roleplaying game for all ages. Play as superpowered youngsters who fight the forces of evil with heroics and heart! If you like The Powerpuff Girls, Fantastic Four, or Teen Titans Go!, you’ll love Cosmic Ray Kids!

Cosmic Ray Kids emulates the goofy, over-the-top mood of Saturday morning cartoons, with simple rules and a push-your-luck system that always has you trying to balance how much you want to risk. This is a great game for villains as goofy and gonzo as Father or The Delightful Kids From Down The Lane from Kids Next Door. It’s not necessarily styled in the same way as Persona 5 or Bakugan as - written, but I think it’s a light enough game that you could create your own setting that matches closer to what you’re looking for.

You might also want to check out….

Vibe Check, by Ostrichmonkey Games.

Powered by Cereal, by bismuth.

Teenagers with Attitude, by CardboardHyperfix.

Under the Neighbourhood, by Quest Friends.

[spacexseven]

sorry for the late reply! And to answer some of your questions in the tags, it’s actually all three. A “final girl” is a basically a trope that means a character (usually protagonist) that is “pure, feminine, and the victim” during a horror film. They’re usually a victim of chance or have a distant past connection to the killer. Be it their intelligence, connection, or simply pure luck, the final girl is able to avoid death until the end where: 1) they survive to the end and defeat their killer 2) they escape or 3) they die regardless. I was thinking of killer! yan bsd, but I was also intrigued with a victim/final girl! bsd. An example of an idea that’s currently plaguing my mind is Final Girl! Nikolai. I liked the idea of a serial killer targeting magician/or whimsical (maybe ability users) people and choosing nikolai as target. cat and mouse chase, and they end getting the drop on him (how? idk). Its kinda a slow burn horror, but regardless nikolai fights back. this is a gist and example. Tuna, i’m so sorry about throwing this ramble dump at you. 🙈 this is just an idea, nothing you actually have to do. im just happy sharing this with you - 🦄

ahahahaha....there was a lot i had to say about this, but i kept it as brief as i could because i Might...might do a series/oneshot w this au. Maybe </3 thank you for sharing this gem of an idea i am very excited to dig in nomnomnom. tagged under 'sk reader au 🐟'

gn! reader, is a serial killer & implied to have an ability that can 'collect' other abilities. can be read as a yandere reader.

cw: stalking, murder, violence

ability users are fascinating little things.

especially when they try everything in their power to stay alive. it's a wonderful sight, to see those that always stood above regular people, to see those regarded as gifted, desperately attempt to survive. there was something intoxicating about holding power above the same ability users that were feared by all.

but your interest was less in the users and more in the ability itself.

there was a lot you hoped to learn about abilities, regardless of the type. there must be a reason as to why some were sentient, why some were so much more powerful than others, why some were uncontrollable, and the best way to learn, was of course, through the ability itself. you were willing to do anything to satisfy your curiousity, even if it meant the user had to die for their abilities to join your collection.

you had fond memories with all of them; flawless made for an exhilarating fight, always a step ahead until you sunk your claws into the frightened figure of a dark-eyed ability user, rashōmon was unique, the dark mass almost besting you, but, in the end, you stood victorious over a sickly body—even if you hadn't gone after it, this was an ability that wasn't meant to survive for long, and you liked to think that it was for the best that it joined you instead of disappearing with its user. and of course, discourse on decadence was unforgettable. you remembered it belonged to some goverment agent who was hot on your trail—it was the closest anyone came to stopping you—and your most recent kill.

usually, you didn't like picking favorites. each ability was fascinating and unique in its own way, but it was undeniable that one in particular stood out to you.

the overcoat was an interesting ability. at first sight, it appeared quite simple, but you had viewed it in action too many times to know just how frightening it was. how easy it was to turn it into a lethal weapon—to reach in and twist out a limb or to drain out the blood from a vein. the seemingly unlimited potential of the ability, however, was only one of the aspects that intrigued you.

generally, you've never cared for the users as much as you did their abilities. while you enjoyed the brutal torture you made them suffer, and you liked hunting them down, they always came secondary to their abilities. you didn't care to know their names or their personal stories. despite all that, a name—nikolai gogol—had made his way on your list of targets, scrawled next to his ability.

it'd only take you a minute to identify nikolai in a sea of people.

whether he had the scar over his eye showing or hidden, whether he was wearing glasses or colored contacts, no matter what wig he wore or how ordinary he tried to look, you would immediately be able to point him out. no disguise, no false identity could hide him from you—you know this because he's tried, many times now, to fool you. but you've always known it was him, from the slightest strain of his voice when disguised, the unsettling blankness in his gaze when he looked at you, the subtle upturn of his lips when he approached you. you knew it was him from the way he titled his head when asking you a question, the way he said your name, and even the syllables he stressed when he spoke.

he approached you first as a police officer, then as a detective, a local politician, and even an assassin. You had already noted down each encounter you had with him, the details of each false identity, and what you had learned from it. it was a feat in itself that nikolai had survived so many encounters with you. perhaps it was because of your growing obsession with him,

(somehow, you always knew that your last victim would be nikolai. he'd be a fitting end for your legacy, as the ability user who had been watching you from the very start. the only ability user you could see as more than a shell for his powers. the only one who escaped you once.)

initially, you believed that nikolai followed you around for self-driven justice, to punish you for your crimes. (the policeman getup convinced you of that much), but instead of lunging at you, he watched, enraptured, as you stole the perfect crime, and he followed you closely as you stalked the user of falling camellia, doing nothing to stop you either time. and every time after that, be it walking past him in the busy streets of yokohama or meeting him as your taxi driver, nikolai had yet to try and expose your crimes and exact revenge. he never held a blade up to your throat, never used the very frightening ability of his on you.

his passivity, however, did nothing to quench your bloodthirst.

it was you who attacked him first.

you're no stranger to hunting down your prey. it was something you anticipated now, the sound of footsteps making their way around corners, the sight of shaking shoulders and trembling hands as they hid behind walls, the way fear consumed them when you finally cornered them; you relished in the hunt as much as you did the result.

nikolai doesn't make it much of a hunt. he's quick, with his coat fluttering around him. his footsteps, you remember, are light and quick, his breathing staggered as he laughed wildly. he snatches up your gun with a hand through his coat, and shoots blindly. there is despair consuming his mind, no panic climbing up his spine. his heart rate accelerates not out of fear, but out of thrill, and he looks at you with unrestrained elation. this was no hunt, nikolai wasn't hiding from you—this was a chase. just as you approached a dead end, and you think you can finally, finally, shove him into a corner, nikolai turns to smile at you one last time, before disappearing into a flurry of his coat. as you stand alone, a dark glove laid on the floor ahead of you catches your attention; his glove might have caught on a jagged end and fallen, you think. after cleaning up his mess, you silently pocket it, still haunted by that uninhibited look and that devilish grin.

nikolai is everywhere after that, taunting you.

he sits across you from the train, he takes your order in a restaurant, he applauds you from a distance, after watching you drag away yet another body, congratulating you on another successful kill.

"next time," he smiles at you, all coy and enticing, "i hope it's me."

you hope so too, but you don't let him have the pleasure of knowing that. the scowl on your blood-streaked face sends him spinning away in giggles.

it wasn't the next time, but after a few more dead bodies and many more warnings about your work are played on the news, you meet nikolai again. nikolai gogol is no easy prey, but you're not one to be bested twice. this time, you don't let him run. you're finally on top of him, blood pooling out of where your knife was stuck in his thigh, his coat ripped off him and abandoned somewhere else. it would be so easy to kill him now, so easy to watch him bleed out and claim his ability as yours, but for the first time, you hesitated on delivering the killing blow.

this time, it's not the ability you're after, is it?

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Ello! It's me again I want to thank you again for doing my Hantengu request, I wanted to come by again to request the ror x akaza reader

Where Akaza reader is fighting against an god and they give off a good fight so it makes reader get excited for this fight giving everything that she's got, ending it in an tie since they have big wounds and they end up getting romantical with each other possibly leading to something

You can choose the pairing :>

Akaza Reader

-When offered, you took the chance to enter Ragnarok, hearing that you could fight some strong opponents. That’s all you wanted, you wanted a fight- a real one.

-You enjoyed watching the fights, seeing all of the strong opponents in both gods and humans that came before you, a grin on your face as your eyes seemed to sparkle, hoping your fight was going to be just as intense!

-You nearly sprinted to the field when you were told it was your turn, you felt almost like a kid again, antsy and vibrating with anticipated excitement!

-Your opponent looked strong, but you had faced so many in your past that looked strong and you beat them within moments, so you held back in your excitement for a fight, just until he was able to prove himself.

-He was able to take your punches and kicks with no real problems, blocking them pretty easily and when you blocked his first return blow, one that had you skidding back in the field, a bright grin appeared on your face, “So you are strong! Let’s have the best fight ever!!”

-Your opponent seemed amused by your enthusiasm and you both treated the crowds to one of the most exciting fights of the tournament, trading blows back and forth, you had gotten pretty badly injured, and so did he, but a little bit of pain did little to deter your joy.

-Your opponent had never seen someone so excited to fight before, especially a woman, but he didn’t see you as a woman in that moment, he saw you as a warrior.

-You awoke in the infirmary, not really remembering what had happened, confused as you mumbled out, “Did I lose?” a chuckle to the bed next to you had you looking over, seeing (Love) there, “It was a tie, we knocked each other out with that last attack.”

-You pouted lightly, your gaze returning to the roof before you sighed softly before turning to him with a grin, “Wanna have a rematch?”

-Raiden- He boomed with laughter, finding your enthusiasm to fight refreshing, flexing the one arm you didn’t break, “Sure thing! But let’s get healed up first and get some food first. My treat!” you were surprised before grinning yourself, “Is that how you ask all women out, fighting them then asking them to dinner?” he laughed again, giving you a boyish grin, “Only the ones who can kick my ass, which so far is only you.” You then flirted back, chuckling, “Good, then I’ll keep you all to myself then! I’m not losing the one person that I can go all out on.” The two of you went back and forth and by the time you were both discharged you were already holding hands and discussing battle techniques.

-Buddha- He grinned warmly, removing the lollipop from his mouth, “Never met someone so hungry for a fight before.” You sent him a grin, your eyes sparkling, “It’s hard to find people that I can go all out on and they can face me with equal strength.” Buddha smiled over at you, tossing you a lollipop of your own which surprised you, but you didn’t eat it, instead asking him about his prayer wheel weapon, curious about how it worked, because the way he made it seem was that it was almost sentient, and you wanted to know more so you have an even better battle. Buddha smirked over at you, “So is this how you flirt with men, by talking about fighting?” you froze and he couldn’t help but grin, watching your whole face flush red, as you hadn’t meant it in a flirting way, but he was quickly laughing, telling you that he was teasing you. Your cheeks puffed up in a pout which made you look even cuter before he grinned, sending you a wink, “Don’t stop now, Y/N, you’re making me fall for you.” He laughed even harder when you whole head seemed to be bright red, but you were opposed to the idea.

-Hajun- He immediately agreed, “Once we’re both out of here we can go and have as many rematches as you want, little demon.” You pouted at the nickname, but he saw your elation at his agreement to fighting again, “Maybe I’ll win this time, big demon.” He flinched lightly at your sass before snorting softly with laughter, realizing what you had done, “Careful now, beautiful one, I might have to discipline you.” You stuck your tongue out at him, giving him a playful wink, “Is that a threat or a promise~” he was stunned at your flirting, you were so bold and confident, but he couldn’t help but like it, chuckling as his voice seemed to drop, eyes piercing into your own, “I can assure you- it’s a promise.” Brunnhilde whacked you both on the head, leaving steaming lumps, telling you to stop flirting and there was to be no fighting until you were both completely healed.

[feverdreamsandlucidnightmares]

I’m having too many thoughts about about Trigun Stampede and it’s probably nothing, but here we go (beware some very heavy handed religious comparisons/symbolism)

This is somewhere between actual meta/character analysis and fanfic, but whatever:

Nai

You are a child and to the best of your knowledge you are one of the only two beings like you in existence. You are a child and you are told that your creation was miraculous, that you are perfect and the future itself. You are neither Human nor Alien, you are simply Other. You are better than either. Unflawed. You are a child and you see the species from which you were created, a species that was artificially created as a means to an end, live out their entire lives in captivity, in servitude. You are taught they are non-sapient, perhaps even non-sentient, and without free will. You exist to serve too, but you resent this. You resent that you are meant to be like the humans, to pretend that you are one of them. You find humanity contemptible and resent their endless wars and conquest and enslavements and pain (you have had a relatively painless childhood). And you read their scriptures and feel confident in your knowledge of humanity’s failures and inherent depravity. Their religious histories are teeming with injustice, with pain, and war and famine. You are a child, but you are intelligent. If this is what they believe in, what can you do? What Good can they really do? You begin to Doubt.

You discover another of your kind, a third, and she has been taken apart and studied by these humans. You are being raised to love them. You don’t. They love you like a dog loves a bone. You can only destroy them before they destroy you. You are intelligent and full of what can only be righteous fury, and you make them Fall. Your brother resents you, resents the deaths, is terrified and hurt and you have to Save Both of You.

Some of the humans survive. You twist them into their own downfall. You take their scriptures and turn words to weapons. It is an honor to serve you, you are an angel, a god, salvation and creation at your fingertips. Death, too. You are owed this for the depravity you and your kind have been subjected to. (You don’t realize, or maybe you no longer care, what you are subjecting them to.) If your brother will not join you on your mission he will die for it. For the greater good. (Who will survive your greater good?)

Wolfwood

You are a child and you aren’t raised to be nice, but you try to be kind. You protect your little brother. You are smart and strong and independent and you care too much. You are raised to believe in a very present god. No one tells you if he is a loving god or not. His angels and priests take you away and it is an honor to be chosen, to be god’s child of blessing. (It is a relief to be taken so no one else will be.)

You go through hell, you live in purgatory. Maybe it is still hell, your skin no longer feels like your own and your hands are bloodstained and fit only around the grip of a gun. You are not allowed to die. You find out your little brother isn’t either. He’s in hell too, but not with you. The god you serve is not a loving god, nor are his angels kind. You are god’s righteous man and you bear a cross and all of the weight of the blood spilled on it, by it.

You are a weapon and any morals you might have grown into are collateral damage. You would do anything for your family. You have done Everything for your family. They don’t mourn or look for you, the blessed chosen one.

You have free will. There is also a gun to your and everyone you’ve ever loved’s heads.

You aren’t sure if you’re a person anymore. (What greater good requires monsters like you? What god would create demons?)

You follow orders. You don’t believe in anything. You could fill oceans with the blood you have spilled. You are told if you follow this last order you will be free and your family will be safe. You aren’t even supposed to kill him, just lead him to his death. You’ve done so many horrible things, this pales in comparison. And you’re already in hell.

You find him. He’s the kindest person you’ve ever met and he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He takes on as much hurt as he can, sometimes more. He saves your family without even knowing, and he saves them again when you sell him out. He doesn’t hold it against you.

The first thing you do as a free man is try to save someone. You have decided you care enough to try, just this once. The world still ends. And you still aren’t allowed to die. Better people have already died for you. For your sins.

Vash

You are a child and you love your family very much. You aren’t as special as your brother, as useful, but you love learning and exploring and people. You see the good in everyone. You are terrified when you discover another being like you and your brother, terrified by how she has been treated, by her being a secret, by what else the person you see as a parent might be hiding from you. But you trust her and love her and inevitably mourn her. You are taught to love and serve humans and it is your life’s work.

Your brother makes your world end and says you helped. Everyone you’ve ever cared about except him is dead. You are terrified and you spend the next century atoning for not knowing better. For loving, to continue loving. You are not loved in return.

You do your best to help everyone you can regardless of species. You are special too, it turns out, and bring hope and peace to your people and to the humans, at least for a little while. And you try not to be dangerous. You want to be harmless and you never quite pull it off. You don’t tell anyone the whole truth, but the secrets aren’t enough to keep you safe forever.

You make friends and you don’t have long together. You think you must be bad luck, and you forgive your friend for leading you to your biggest fear. You have to confront it anyways, it’s not his fault. He’s cares about you, but it’s not his job to protect you.

You confront your brother. He destroys everything again and he uses you to hurt people. Again. Your people, humans, what could survive his greater good? You fight back, you win. Kind of. Maybe. A Pyrrhic victory. You are alone and the world hates you for the destruction you tried to prevent. They always do. Why are you the devil when you just want to help?

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Thoughts I had during TGCF S2 Ep 7

One more half left to go!

Previously on TGCF…

-He’s squeezing his fist tight 

-Honey, the reason he’s not demanding requital cause he knows you never meant to cut him with E Ming

-What’s wrong is both man and sword are still upset for that mistake

-E Ming: No let him pet me!

Hua Cheng: Leave it!  It’s fine

E Ming: No I’m not! *sobs more*

-*Hua Cheng smacks E Ming*

E Ming: OWWWIIIEE!

-Hey that’s sentient mystical weapon abuse! I’m filing!

-Hua Cheng:Because it’s always crying!

E Ming: Because you don’t want to be vulnerable in front of him!

Hua Cheng: Useless

E Ming: NO I’M NOT!  

-See, there’s the sensory overload I was talking about to me that would be pain in your ears

-He still has the dice!

-That explains a lot

-“Hello Again” HAAAAAAAAAH

-“Oh come on Hua Cheng, teleport into Heaven.  *Tosses out soggy carrot* Sweep him off his feet, carry him off in style.” - Little John, Robin Hood (1973)

-And then the brain cell starts getting tossed around like a volleyball

-Well you know as they say, Heaven’s got a lotta stuff, a pair of dice ain’t one of them.  Also, pair of dice = Paradise, props.

-It’s the transmutation technique from the Fullmetal Alchemist series

-And then Feng Xin literally just went, ‘YOINK!’

-It’s a four!

-In they go

-There go the eardrums

-Could’ve told ‘em that earlier Qingxuan

-And four is the Chinese number for ‘Death’

-When you accidentally stumble into the opposite gender’s gym locker in junior to high during a tournament

-Not in the sauna!

-Try a badger mole’s tunnel

-Still could’ve told ‘em that earlier

-Now Mu Qing rolled a four

-That hair flip Mu Qing just did

-What are you doin in my swamp?!

-Gator boys!

-That lizard just blasted off

-Hadouken

-They’re just tossing swamp water at each other, that’s mature

-And even the gator people got scared

-Literally all the junior officials sneaking into the telepathic matrix:  FIGHT!  FIGHT!  FIGHT!  FIGHT

-Also:

NAN YANG!  NAN YANG!  NAN YANG!

XUAN ZHEN!  XUAN ZHEN!  XUAN ZHEN!

-And every other official just started another betting pool

-Qingxuan’s the only sane god in this pickle

-Just imagine the Gaang rolling the dice

-Yeah that’s pretty

-A water droplet

-Hey no interrupting!

-The same dark sword

-He does

-His huge ass goddang sword

-Round 2!

-A sword fight that could have the energy of Sokka vs. Piandao

-Hua Cheng gasped!

-The wind

-“Forget the forgotten” what Jun Wu told him in Ep 1

-His eyes glowed

-Ruoye just evilly grinned

-A.  Yeah I was wrong on the fight comparison with the sword duel in Atla book 3

B.  THAT’S IT!!!

-He spared your life be grateful 

-“All’s fair in love and war.”  Was that one of Sun Tzu’s teachings?

-Like the Crimson Rain Sought Flower

-“The perfect being you crafted in your mind is only just that.”  Well that’s a good lesson because in reality nobody’s actually perfect.

-“I never was that person.  Believing I was will only disappoint you.” That last sentence is also great advice for how we revere certain famous people.

-That old conflict and prejudice

-Scapegoats are never good

-Thank you Mengyou

-Another genocide prevented

-Mengyou wants to move forward instead of staying in the past

-It’s official, Mengyou is the MVP of Season 2

-Power is also knowledge aside from duty.

-He smiled as Fang Xin

-Thank you Fang Xin and Mengyou

-He was a good ruler

-He lied!

-Why did he kill the previous king and queen of Yong’An

-Literally any of my TGCF OCs witnessing Xie Lian laughing and then crying: Is he ok?

Also I heard about Xie Lian being indecisive on laughing or crying and another TGCF OC will be like: Laugh or Cry?  Just pick one!

-Hua Cheng knows he is not ok

-It’s like a Matryoshka doll and a punching dummy had a small ancient Chinese uptight baby

-That 3D dice toss and teleportation

-A cave

-He took his sword

-There’s no where to hide

-The orcs from Tolkien’s fantasy novels

-He doesn’t have the will to fight

-Smurfs

-Ghost disguise Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are instant sketching inspiration!

-They look awesome!

-Qi Rong mention

-In other words, Qi Rong sticks a blue candle on all his ghost goons and calls it a day

-Dumb as a sack of stones

-He’s got fangs!

-Who’s he gonna meet?

5 episodes left! 2 more acts left in chapter 1 of The Scrap Immortal and the Avatar

[bridgyrose]

Alright new prompt idea:

Everyone's weapons suddenly became sentient and gained the ability to talk.

(We'll start with one and work our way around.)

“Be careful where you’re swinging me!” 

Ruby stopped for a moment as she heard the voice ring out from next to her, eyes glancing to try to find who yelled out to her. It didnt sound like Weiss’s or Penny’s, a bit more like Yang’s, but… she knew that couldnt be right since Yang was back with Blake and Jaune at the village. Though, there wasnt anyone else around her to talk to her. 

“Ruby, watch out!” 

Ruby took a quick step back as Penny blasted a grimm that rushed at her, heart pounding as she realized she had almost let her guard down. “T-thanks Penny.” 

Penny rushed to Ruby’s side. “Your heart is beating rapidly. Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” Ruby answered back with a small smile, aware that Penny had scanned her before coming over. “You dont need to worry.” 

“And its not like you to get distracted in a fight,” Weiss said as she let go of the glyph that created an earthen wall around them. “Are you sure you’re okay?” 

Ruby nodded and folded up her scythe once she was sure the grimm were taking care of. “I thought I heard someone yell out to me.” 

Penny looked a bit confused. “But there is no one else here with us.” 

“I know.” Ruby put her scythe onto her back and sighed. “Maybe my communicator picked up someone else’s frequency. I doubt we’re the only huntresses who were sent all the way out here in Anima.” 

Weiss shrugged and sheathed her rapier. “In that case, it might be best for us to use Penny’s scroll as a relay. That way we can make sure its only us that we hear.” 

“I’d rather keep everything the way it is in case Yang needs to reach us.” Ruby pulled out her scroll and removed one of the markers from a map. “Looks like we have two more areas to check for grimm. Then we can return to the village for the night and leave in the morning.” 

Penny smiled. “Lead the way.” 

Ruby nodded and started to make her way through the forest, eyes peeled as kept an eye out for other grimm that they might’ve missed. Though, her mind was still distracted by whoever yelled out to her. Penny was right, there wasnt anyone else with them, but she could’ve sworn the voice came from right next to her. She turned off her communicator for a moment to let it reboot as she walked deeper into the forest, watching as the sunlight almost seemed to disappear when leaves got thicker. 

“The next time we fight grimm, make sure not to hit the plating on them,” the voice spoke up again behind Ruby. “I know I can cut through it, but it still hurts to do that.” 

Ruby paused in her step and readied her scythe, looking behind her. “Who’s there?” 

“Did you hear something again?” Penny asked. 

“I-I thought I did,” Ruby said as she lowered her scythe. “It sounded like someone spoke to me right behind me.” 

The voice spoke again, but this time quieter and sounded more like it was in Ruby’s head. “Because I was on your back. But now that I’m in your hands, can you please check my blade? I’m pretty sure its dented from our last fight.” 

Ruby almost felt her heart stop as she looked around for where the voice came from again. Someone had to have been messing with her. Fox had telepathy that let him speak to others in their heads, so it wouldnt be too far-fetched to think that another huntsman would have a semblance similar to his. Though, as she looked down at her scythe, she swore she saw a reflection that wasnt her own in the metal of the blade.  

“You see how my blade is dented, right? Can you please fix that?” 

“Who are you?” 

“Crescent Rose,” the voice answered, its tone starting to become a bit sarcastic. “You were the one to give me that name.” 

“Crescent Rose.” Ruby whispered under her breath, still staring at her scythe. Normally, she’d been thrilled to find out her weapon could talk, but right now, it seemed like a nightmare. Another voice to listen to, one that she couldnt tell was real or not. “I’ll check your blade after we have a moment to rest. Until then, I have to keep fighting.” 

“Fine,” Crescent Rose answered. 

“You have been staring at your weapon for a while,” Penny said. “Are you sure you are okay?” 

Ruby jumped a bit as she felt Penny’s hand on her shoulder, quickly folding up her weapon and placing it on her back. “Of course I’m fine!” she lied. “Never felt better! We’re almost to the next recon point, so I think its time for us to start moving forward!” 

Weiss put up a glyph. “Oh no you dont.” 

Ruby stopped just before hitting the glyph, turning around to face Penny and Weiss. “Look, what’s going on with me doesnt matter right now. What does is finishing our mission to make sure this new settlement  is able to survive. If we dont then it’ll get overrun and-” she paused for a moment as she watched Weiss unsheathe her sword and look at it. “Weiss? Are you listening?” 

“Y-yeah, I’m listening,” Weiss said as she sheathed her rapier. “You’re right. We need to finish this mission before we worry about anything else.” 

Ruby nodded slowly, not sure why Weiss had a sudden change of heart but not really willing to argue with it. Afterall, it meant that they could start moving forward for the moment. Though, the way Weiss glanced at her rapier looked the same way she did. The look of confusion on her face, the sudden change in how she acted, all familiar to what she just experienced. 

“There’s been a change in plans,” Yang’s voice said over the communicator. “I need you, Weiss, and Penny back at the village.” 

“What for?” Ruby asked. “We’re still tracking down the last of the grimm-” 

“It’ll be easier to explain once you get back. I’m not sure how much you’d believe.” 

“What about the grimm? If we dont take care of them, they’ll come back again.” 

“That’ll be a fight we’ll take care of when it happens.” 

“Understood,” Ruby said with a sigh. “Looks like we’re going back to the village.” 

Penny paused for a moment as she looked out towards the direction they had been heading. “Are you sure that is a good idea?” 

“No, but… Yang said it was important.” Ruby sighed and started walking to the village again. “Worst case, the grimm attack again and we’ll be ready-” 

“Grimm to your left,” Crescent Rose interrupted. 

Ruby stopped and looked to her left, watching as a few of the bushes started to shake as a pack of beowolves jumped out at them. She quickly grabbed her scythe, unfolded it and smirked as she sliced at the closest grimm. Maybe having a talking weapon wasnt going to be too awful. 

[legobiwan]

So I was prompted to write my own take on the Luigi jailbreak scenario via someone's tags :D I'll probably cross-post this to ao3 sometime later today.

I've definitely taken a more comedic bent with my interpretation, which I feel is in more in line with what the movie will be like. But there's some smidgens of angst. And a fair amount of silliness. And yes, the brothers will reunite at the end :)

And so, I give you, "Jailbreak." A comedy in two parts.

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

“Speech! Speech! Speech!”

“I’m not really much of a speech-giver…” Luigi protests as the Penguin King’s burly aide pushes him towards the center of the gathered escapees. 

The chamber, or the evil rotunda, as Luigi thinks of it, is a circular room punched through the middle, a series of chains descending from a large, wooden crank set high in the rafters. Bits of armor and weaponry are strewn about the floor, spears and hammers and something resembling a megaphone that shoots fire, which was definitely the first thing Luigi clipped to his belt after they had thrown the remaining guards into the pit. The interior design can only be described as ghoulish, stone busts of various Koopas, as he had learned they were called, inflicting violence on various species - penguins, birds, some kind of mushroom people, and a green, happy-looking lizard wearing boots and a saddle. 

The Penguin aide continues to push him bodily through the throng, which is smushed together near the entrance doors, careful to keep far, far away from the menacing cavity in the middle of the room. Luigi takes stock of the strange group, wondering how in the hell he went from checking out a warehouse leak in Flushing to shimmying up a chain dangling over a pit of lava to knocking out an armed, sentient turtle with a well-placed pitch of one of those ghastly busts.

“Gathered friends,” the aide begins, having caught the attention of the murmuring group. “Fellow penguins, goombas, birdos, and…” he trails off, glancing over at Luma, who gives a high-pitched, broken giggle, the effect of which is like nails drawn across a chalkboard. The penguin’s expression crumples into folds of distaste. “And psychotic star…things…”

“Weeeee!” Luma exclaims helpfully, bounding across the ceiling rafters, setting the chains off into a chorus of tortured groans.

The aide clears his throat. “Yes, well. As I was saying. We’re gathered here today - or tonight. Or maybe this afternoon. You know, it’s honestly hard to know being stuck in the bowels of a lava castle…” Off to the side, the Penguin King is making cutting gestures across his throat. 

“It’s two thirty-seven!” one of the Goombas calls from the back.

“Afternoon, then! That’s lunchtime!” a Birdo exclaims from the other side of the room.

“I could eat!”

“Me, too. Think they have any turnips down here?”

“Weeeee!”

The aide slaps a fin to his forehead with a deep sigh. “Can we please focus here?” he yells over the growing din. Luigi chews on his lower lip, fingering the trigger of the fire gun hanging from his belt. This is the ragtag group of rebels he's supposed to be leading to the gates of the Lava Castle?

He’s definitely going to die here.

“As I was saying,” the aide begins again, deepening his voice into a royal solemnity. “In our darkest hour - “

“It’s still two thirty-seven, Mr. Penguin!”

“In our darkest lightest hour,” the aide hisses. “A hero arrived from another world. Beaten but not defeated, he liberated us from our imprisonment with his courage, intelligence, and most importantly, his opposable thumbs. And now, this hero will lead us to storm the gates of the Koopa Castle and aid us in smiting our enemies to take back what is ours!”

“Friends, I give you - “ the penguin flings his fins open, whacking the Luigi in the shin. 

“Our hero - Loogi!”

The crowd erupts in a high-pitched cheer, raising an assortment of cobbled-together weapons over their small heads. Even the ridiculous, toothy Goombas are hopping up and down, chanting Loogi! Loogi! Loogi!

Luigi pulls at his collar, giving the odd gathering the kind of half-smile, half-grimace he usually reserved for school pictures and his brother’s cooking. 

“Uhhhhh…..” Luigi begins when the clamor dies down. He gives a small wave in all directions, adding, “Hi?”

Fifty or so pairs of eyes, and some other appendages he couldn’t even begin to name, stare at him wide-eyed, expectant. He wonders if they see him as some kind of action hero, or trained assassin, or even a mercenary soldier of fortune, like that one movie he and his brother watched all the time back in Bensonurst.

What the hell is he supposed to say? He’s a mechanical engineer-turned-plumber from Brooklyn, a street kid and a science geek, not some kind of war hero. Not to mention, he still doesn’t know where the hell he is, surrounded by talking penguins, birds with cannons for mouths, and whatever those weird little Goombas are supposed to be.

Luigi clenches his jaw.

He thinks it’s been about three days since he was dropped unceremoniously into whatever incarnation of hell this place is supposed to be. And in that time, he’s been chased by skeletons and tied up by a bunch of miniature red monks with gasmasks. He’s had his moustache hairs plucked out by a giant, firebreathing turtle bent on taking over whatever world this was. He’s been magically levitated and thrown about by a dinosaur wizard in a goofy hat. And to top it all off, to put the crap cherry on the crap cake, he was tossed into a cage like some old lady’s pet bird and dropped over a pit of freakin’ lava. 

Screw speeches. I want Bowser’s kneecaps.

“You guys want a speech?” Luigi growls, tightening his grip on the gigantic hammer in his hand. “Here’s your damn speech.” Luigi raises his weapon over his head, yelling, “Let’s kick some Koopa ass!”

A raucous cheer rises from the gathered motley group, Luma zooming around the chamber, shouting “Meat for the grinder! Meat for the grinder!” between fits of maniacal laughter. The penguins dance awkwardly, their weapons twice as large as they are and Luigi hopes what they lack in stature they can make up for with enthusiasm. Off to the side, the collection of Goombas bounce up and down. Without any discernible arms or hands, Luigi has no clue what help the Goombas could be, but who knows? Maybe they can bite somebody with those fangs.

He has no plan, no knowledge of where he is, and he prays to every deity he can name that his brother is safe, that whatever world he got pulled into is treating him better than this one has Luigi. But watching the ragtag group celebrate in front of him, he feels something akin to hope.

For the first time in three days, Luigi smiles. 

Maybe, just maybe, he can be a hero after all. 

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

Epilogue

“Watch to your left, Loogi!”

Luigi spins, hurtling his hammer at a charging spiny-shelled Koopa, sending him flying into the general fracas of the first floor antechamber. Towards the middle of the room, Penguins and Birdos and little mushroom people armed with spears are battling it out with Bowser’s minions, shell, fur, and feather flying as his ragtag band of rebels pokes and swats and, in some cases, bodily hurl themselves at the gathered Koopa forces. 

Luigi sprints to retrieve his hammer, intent on throwing himself into the fray when the large double-doors to the throne room boom open in a rush of blinding, white light. It takes Luigi a minute for his eyes to adjust, so long has he been trapped in the gloomy castle chambers. There’s something coming from the light, some kind of shadow hurtling forward. Luigi squints, raising his hammer above his head, ready to strike at whatever newest enemy he'll be certain to pound into the ground.

“Luigi?” An all-too familiar voice yelps from across the chamber. “What in the - “ his brother stammers, rushing towards him, stopping short a few feet away. “Why the hell do you look like Duke Murdock?”

Luigi smashes his hammer down on one of those stupid skeletons, sending splinters everywhere. He turns to his brother, suddenly very aware of his tattered overalls, his soot-stained cap, the dark bags beneath his eyes. "What do you mean?” Luigi counters. “It's a great movie!"

"That's not the point, meatball head! What are you doing?" Mario gestures at the wild chaos unfolding between the escapees and the Koopa troops.

"I'm trying to run a rebellion here, big bro. You could stop standing there and help, you know."

"A rebellion, I - " Mario chuckles, jogging to his brother's side. "Why am I not surprised?"

With the arrival of Mario and his allies, the melee turns decidedly against the Koopas, who, sensing victory slipping through their claws, launch one last offensive of spikes and shells. Luigi and his brother get to work, slamming, punching, and pounding their enemies. It strikes Luigi that Mario looks like he knows what he’s doing, almost as if he’s had some kind of combat training, like he's the one trying to be Duke Murdock. He’s about to ask his brother about it when Mario stops, pulling, of all things, a flower from his overalls.

“Have you gone insane?” Luigi yells.

But he’s left speechless as his brother is enveloped by two quick flashes of light, his overalls changing from blue to white. Luigi's jaw drops open. He has seen a lot of weird crap in the last few days but his brother, performing real magic?

What is this place?

A moment later, Mario winds up, as if he were pitching for his high school baseball team again, letting loose a series of fireballs from his palm, which barrel into the Koopa forces, sending them flying like a set of ten-pins.

"Holy hell, bro!" Luigi exclaims. "You have got to teach me how to do that!"

"Oh no," Mario rockets another flaming missile towards a group of Spinys. "You remember the flambé incident that one Valentine's Day." Luigi groans, slamming his hammer into one of those gas mask monks who kidnapped him. "And the Benson burner in high school." Luigi groans again. "And the fuel injector in the van - "

"That one was not my fault!" Luigi exclaims over the whine of a spiky projectile which whizzes past his head, knocking his cap to the ground.

Mario’s eyes widen as he pulls Luigi towards him, spinning him around so they’re back-to-back.

"You're not going near fire," Mario says over his shoulder.

Too bad his fire gun gave out three levels ago, Luigi thinks, slashing his hammer into the gut of a large Koopa Trooper.

"Electricity, then," Luigi says as he makes a second parry with the hammer. The Koopa Trooper falls back, grunting.

"Wait, what?" Mario shoots him a look, throwing another fireball into the fray.

"Electricity. If you can shoot fireballs, I get to shoot electricity."

Mario gives an aggrieved sigh.

"I - no. First of all, that's not even possible. Second of all, no. And third of all…” Mario trails off, his features softening. The battle is on its last legs, penguins and mushrooms giving chase to a small group of Koopa stragglers, who scurry towards the nearest exit. 

Mario turns, taking Luigi by his shoulders. 

“You're taking this all really well, Luigi."

Luigi gives a wan smile, gaze finding the floor. "Bro, I've led a prison escape gang consisting of penguins, walking mushrooms, and one really messed-up star. We broke out from cages hanging over a pit of lava, stole weapons, and have fought our way up here ever since."

He doesn’t mention being chased through a nightmare hellscape by a pack of hungry skeletons. Doesn’t mention being kidnapped, hands bound, led by a rope through the Dark Land to meet almost certain death. He doesn’t mention the moustache. 

His brother doesn’t need to know about all of that. It’s enough - more than enough - that he’s here. 

Luigi’s chest tightens. "Nothing short of ghosts is going to surprise me at this point, bro," he laughs. It’s a wet, croaky sound.

Mario stares at his brother for a moment. All at once, he grabs Luigi, enveloping his brother in a fierce hug. 

"Pasta brain,” Mario whispers, ragged, into Luigi's shoulder.

The tension from the last few days - the constant alert, the self-preservation, the seemingly never-ending threat of death - it all seeps away in the safety of his brother’s arms. So what if they’re marooned on some other world, other universe, far away from anything resembling Brooklyn? He’s got Mario and that’s all he needs.

"Pizza breath," Luigi replies softly.

Mario grips him tighter. "I'm so, so glad you're safe, bro."

I've missed you so much. Luigi returns the hug with equal intensity. "Me, too, Mario."

[ask-a-broken-boombox]

(It seems to try agian to sit up into a sitting position while it waits for its sudden new companion to contact more gears that are in the same situation as them. It gives another hiss of pain but it dosnt let that drag it back down agian, it’s… weird that now it can feel pain. Glowing lime blood was already soaking though the outfit, it also has a few scars here and there mimicking the scratches in its gear form)

(The eyes on its visor look over to the laser gun, it seems… pristine compared to the boombox. It dosnt seem out of the ordinary for it however, Hyperlaser always takes great care of his gun)

[drgmissioncontrol]

Hello, this is Goras from Management at Nature's Galactic Protection. We recently noticed that you are not only commiting mass genocide on Planet Hoxxes IV, but are also exploiting the planet for your own benifit. This is simply unacceptable and we hope that you change this. Also, on one of our expiditions on Hoxxes IV, we met one of your dwarf teams and they kept calling us "Leaf Lovers". Please notice that this behaviour is just plain rude, and unnecessary. Under further inspection, we noticed that they were also incredibly drunk whilst still wielding weapons. I am telling you this because at this point, you are just sending them to their death.

P.S: Please remove the leaf lover's special, or atleast rebrand it. We Elves do not drink beer like you Rock Dwellers and prefer a fine Wine.

Thank you. -Goras

I’m drunk and angry and now you’ve done it, elf. Firstly, the Glyphids are not sentient. They’re pests, like any other common fly, spider, or greater flesh-chewer. Calling pest removal genocide is intentionally strong language meant to polarize audiences, and I’m calling you on it.

Second, exploiting a regenerative mineral-rich planet for profit isn’t immoral, it’s just economy. You live here too, you know.

Also, we have an employee permanent mortality rate of under 5%. Death is a mere inconvenience here- hell, it’s a point of pride!

We’re out of your jurisdiction. Stay to your sanctuaries and let us work.

[autistic-ben-tennyson]

Could Ben have cured Malware?

The completed Omnitrix has the DNA repair feature unlike the ultimatrix and like the prototype. Ben was able to use the prototype to repair the genetic damage to the Highbreed by mixing their DNA with genetic codes from the Omnitrix. In UA he tried to do this again with the arachnichimp DN-Aliens but found that the Ultimatrix didn’t have this feature.

Since the new Omnitrix has this feature, could it have helped Malware? It seemed like Azmuth was going to offer it to him just before the probes attacked Malware in Showdown Part 2. I’m still a bit salty about how Malware was acknowledged as a victim but still given a brutal death and never even allowed peace in death due to being made a museum exhibit then having his corpse made into a weapon for Vilgax. Azmuth promised to cure him but then he went into exile on Xenon until SOTO for who knows how many years only to come back and be made the Galvan equivalent of president. Malware being impatient and angry at that is understandable even if him going on a rampage isn’t. Albedo ended up sabotaging the helix to kill him which only corrupted him further. Albedo making buggy tech that causes suffering is a reoccurring issue (the sentient ultimates) and one that isn’t focused on enough.

It seemed like the writers forgot that the Omnitrix isn’t just a weapon but can be used as a tool to help those in need. This applies to the way bads as well who were also victims and Psychobos took normally peaceful beings and corrupted them into weapons. They were just dumped in the null void instead of given help. Ben using the Omnitrix to cure Malware would have made the story more powerful in my opinion as he could emphasize with wanting to feel whole with feedback and wasn’t that the whole point of the Omnitrix? To let the wearer walk in the shoes of other beings. Malware did a lot of horrible things no doubt but he was never really given a chance to do better. He deserved redemption and so did the way bads. Glad the fanfic Ben 10 Guardians did give Malware a happier ending. I don’t really agree with the idea that Ben 10 is fascist but some of the writing especially in OV definitely gives off a pro punishment, pro cop feel. This isn’t me hating Ben, just the writing but isn’t he the one who once said “it’s in my interest to help anyone who needs it” to someone who wanted to wipe out all humans?

[giggly-squiggily]

I'd like to request smth from Jujutsu Kaisen, I'd like to request switch yuta and gojo, i find their relationship cute coz they're distant relatives and all hehe

Heyo! Oo, I love this! You know who I need to write more of? Yuta. He's a doll. And Switch!Gojo? BELOVED. I've gotcha covered, anon! :D

CW: Spoilers for JJK 0, angsty- but just a touch,

Cloud 9 (Taglist Peeps):

@thatbigbisexual29 @duckymcdoorknob @gladdygirl18 @baby-tickles2022 @cupcake-spice13 @rachi-roo

Things were…odd, after the whole Geto situation.

Rika was gone- at least; her soul was anyway. The curse form she’d taken was Yuta’s now- a sentient vessel that doubled as his technique. It was something both painful and comforting at once- she was gone, but no longer trapped.

Then there was the whole school thing; where exactly do they go from here? The first years were told to return to their usual business, but with most of the remaining curses being special grade, they were left to train and train and…train some more…

His body hurt all over- both from recovering and from the new training program Maki instilled upon them.

And then there was Gojo…

“Good work, you guys! Keep it up!” He called out, grinning behind his new blindfold as the four carried on routine. At a glance, he seemed perfectly fine- joyous even. He laughed at Panda’s jokes and sparred with Maki, gave out little missions to Inumaki and answered basic questions regarding various techniques.

He seemed unfazed.

“He was my best friend. My only friend.”

There was no way he was fine. While the students weren’t told what happened to Geto- the answer was pretty obvious. The way he spoke about him- that untouched softness in his voice with the vaguest hint of grief.

He cared about him- really cared. The pain must have been unbearable.

“There you are! How’s my new favorite distant relative?” Of course getting anything out of Gojo was near impossible.

“New favorite? Do you have others?” He asked, yelping some when Gojo slung an arm over his shoulders, pulling him along. “Who was the last favorite?”

“Jealous?” Gojo snickered, dragging him along as they headed towards one of the indoor training rooms. “To be honest- I don’t really know. I guess that makes you my default favorite. Anyway- you said you wanted to train today?”

“Uh- yes! Yes, I did! Yuta nodded, wiggling free when they got there. “I eh- I train so much with Maki, I’m worried I won’t be ready to fight others, you know? She’s talented, but her way of fighting is just one of many. I want to experience all kinds of techniques!”

“Ah, I see now. Alright- I suppose I can play with you for awhile.” Gojo snickered as he rolled his shoulders, shaking out his hands. Yuta gulped, patting himself down to find…he had no weapon. “O-Oh…”

“That’s fine, we need to work on your hand to hand combat anyway. Tell me- can you throw a punch?” Gojo was on him in seconds, teleporting right before his eyes. Yuta went to block his face-

“GAH!” He gasped when a foot connected with his stomach instead, sending him stumbling back a few feet. He thought Maki’s kicks were bad, but this?

Oh, this was hell.

“Oops- and that wasn’t even that strong of a kick.” Gojo tilted his head at him as Yuta fell to his knees, choking and wheezing. “Hm..maybe hand to hand combat isn’t the best right now. You’re still recovering-”

“I-I can do it!” Yuta got up, straightening his shoulders with a determined glare. “I was just caught off guard, that’s all. Please- let me try again.”

Gojo hummed. Then he smiled, nodding. “Okay, but I’m not gonna go easy on you, Mr. I Can Handle It.”

Another teleport, Gojo was to his left. He went to block-

“AH!” This time instead of a punch or kick, it was a finger- a finger! Pressing right into the soft part of his side. Stumbling back, he covered himself, cheeks pink. “G-Gojo-”

“Yes?” Gojo asked from his other side. Another finger poked him once more.

“EEH!” Yuta all but flailed forward at the touch, tripping on his feet. His knees hit the mats, but not before more fingers attacked his ribs. “Aheahhahahhhahaha! Hohohohohld on! Gohoohoohohjoohohohohoho!”

“What’s wrong? I thought you said you could handle it?” Gojo cooed, kneeling over him as Yuta kicked and squeaked, laughing like a child. “Come on, Yuta- tell me why you're laughing? Is it me?”

“Yohohohohou knohoohoohw whhihihihihihiy! Aheahhahahhaha, Gohoohohohojohoohohoho! Stahhahahp tihihihihihckling mehehehehehehe!” Yuta swatted at his hands, feet kicking up a storm as he tried to squirm away. No matter where he went, Gojo was right there with him, kneading his sides and tasering the soft parts of his belly. “Plehhahahahhahahhahse!”

“Aww, look at you begging! Come on- this is a training day! Use some of those fancy curse techniques you’ve been working on.” Gojo moved to his belly, tapping his fingers along it as Yuta squealed. “Oh man- you’re just like Gumi! Hey- I wonder what would happen if I did this?”

“Whohohohoohho’s Guhuuhu-MEHEHEHEHHEHE!” Yuta never got to ask his question. He arched like a victim of an exorcism as fingers shot into his armpits, clawing at the skin beneath. “GOHOHOOHOHOOHJOHOHOHOHO!”

“Oo, this is really bad, huh?” Gojo cooed, snickering alongside him. “You and Gumi- what is it with kids like you two being so ticklish here?”

Yuta was gonna die. He was gonna die and die and die some more. There was only one way to get out of this…

“Hm? Yuta, whatcha gonna do-whoa!” Gojo was suddenly pulled off, “Rika”’s hands grasping his biceps and adjusting him until he was properly trapped. “Not bad, Yuta. Rika’s vessel has it’s uses.”

“Ahehehe…hehehehe…heh…” Yuta groaned as he sat up, rubbing his belly to alleviate the ticklishness. “Rika…keep him still…”

“Oh? What’s this- Yuta’s gonna get revenge?” Gojo sounded impressed and something else Yuta couldn’t quite put his finger on. “I’m so scared! Oh someone help little ol’ me!”

“Oh, you’re gonna need help alright- here I COME!” Yuta lunged, grabbing onto Gojo’s sides to…nothing. Not even a peep.

“Oo, good move. Now actually tickle me.” Gojo grinned, absolutely unfazed.

“What-but-” Yuta narrowed his eyes, tickling more. He moved to his hips, his waist, his belly- nothing! Gojo meanwhile was lounging as best he could in his trapped state, humming a happy tune. “You have to be ticklish! You have to be!”

“Sorry Yuta- I guess I’m not.” He snickered. Yuta glared before going for ribs, kneading them gently. That’s when he saw it- the slight tension in Gojo’s easy smile.

“Oooooh…you got tickly ribs?” Yuta grinned as he attacked, scratching along his ribcage. Gojo’s easy pose stiffened, his smile tightening as he struggled to remain composed. “I knew you were ticklish! Come on- laugh! You need it.”

“N-Now wahaht gave you thahat idea?” A few traitorous giggles escaped Gojo’s lips, much to Yuta’s delight. “Yuhuhuta, wait- wahahhait not thehehehre!”

“Why not? Does it tickle?” Yuta teased, tapping his way down until he was hovering over his lower ribs. “Is this your most ticklish spot?”

“N-Nohohohoohoho?” The lie was so obvious. Yuta could barely fight down a grin.

“Hehehe~”

“Yuhuhuhuta- YUHUHUUHUHUUTAHHAHAHAHHAHA!” Gojo all but exploded when Yuta prodded his lower ribs, going right for that dreadful spot along the lower third. Squirming his best within the confines of Rika’s grip, he cackled and howled with mirth, head thrown back as his legs did a little jig against the mats. “OHOHOOHOKAY OHOHOHOHOKAY YOHOHOOHU WIHIIHIHIHN!”

“I-I do?” Yuta pulled his hands back, amazed. Rika’s grip loosened…

“HA! You believed me!” Gojo cackled before tackling him to the mat, resuming his tickles.

“AHEHEHE! G-GOHOOHOHOJOHOHOHO!

~~~

“Eh…eheheheh…heh…” Yuta ran his hands over his face in exhaustion, his body like jelly but his chest strangely light. “Thahat…was kinda nice.”

“Heh, yeah.” Gojo was a picture of relaxed. You wouldn’t have known him and Yuta had a full blown tickle fight just from his appearance. That is the way of Gojo it seems. “So- feeling better?”

“Huh?” What was that about?

“You’ve been looking at me like a lost puppy for the past few days. I figured you were stressed about everything that happened. Sometimes, we just need a distraction from it all, you know?”

Yuta stared at him, the words sinking themselves into his skin. “You…you were worried about me?”

“Yeah. You are my student, no?”

“Yeah but- Gojo! Everything that happened! Geto- your best and only friend! The fight, his war declaration- his….” Yuta couldn’t bring himself to say it. “You’ve been through hell and yet- here you are worried about me! You shouldn’t have to put everything away to comfort some kid like me! You….you…” Tears blurred his vision, and Yuta found himself staring up at the ceiling as he willed them down. “God..Gojo…”

The other man was quiet, letting the room fill with the sound of Yuta’s soft sniffling. Then a hand reached out, squeezing his shoulder.

“I’m not gonna lie…I’m a mess.” Gojo laughed, voice a touch choked. “You’re right- everything you just said was right. Minus some things.” Gojo pushed up his blindfold so he could meet his eyes properly. “You’re not just ‘some kid’. You’re my student. Not only that- but a distant relative. I know that probably doesn’t mean much to you, but to me it feels kinda special. Probably some sentimental part of me, you know?

“Geto...I've accepted what he became. I accepted it long before any of this happened. Sure- it hurts. It hurts that this is how it all came to an end, but…I got my closure. That’s all that matters to me now.” Gojo moved his hand up to Yuta’s hair, ruffling it some. “Thank you though. It’s nice to know someone cares about what’s going on with me.”

Yuta couldn’t bring himself to speak, instead smiling through watery eyes as he nodded. The curse faded away, leaving just them side by side against worn down mats.

“I do feel better. Thank you.”

Thanks for reading!

[enkisstories]

"Would you tell me about Hosnia from your perspective?"

Hux sais it with more words, but that's what it comes down to. And he hadn't been sure up until this very moment whether asking this was really a good idea, but the nod and sigh Rose replys with seem to indicate that he has passed a test he hadn’t been aware of parttaking in.

Rose: "It's not about the lives lost, or anyway not ONLY about them. The feeling of helplessness, of hope dwindling."

Armitage: Yes, that was the intention, what the weapon was for. And it worked, my approach worked, so how do I stop myself from being proud of that?!

Rose: "Also the realisation that we were facing something so unfathomably different from us. That the First Order would stop at nothing to get their will, no matter how atrocious. That our hopes and fears meant nothing to them, that we were not even people to you. Stains on the world order at worst, things to organize and put in line at best."

Lost for words, for the ones his fiance yearns to hear still don't come up, Hux simply listens.

Rose: "You didn't have it easy by a long shot. But then you managed to inflict your pain billionfold on the galaxy. On your victims and on those who had to watch. There wasn't a corner of the world that you didn't broadcast the attack to."

Killing, when it hadn't been that handful of very personally motivated murders, is such an abstract thing. Easy to fade out, easy to justify, easy to file as victories. Killing, for a General, is unreal.

And even if it was real, Hux holds science in high regard and everything the sentients of the galaxy know about death points at your spirit merging back into the Force, where you came from, what your natural state is. As such, the process may be uncomfortable, but the prospect isn’t scary.

Pain, to the contrary, of body or mind, is something to be avoided. Switching his perception from having rid the galaxy of a few pests to having caused pain, something he knows and actively avoids, makes all the difference.

Armitage. "I'm beginning to see. I... erred. Starkiller was just a reaction... to pain... and to the feeling of inadequancy. To things I had believed to have left behind with my childhood. It was a testament to me letting the imperials push me around and shape me into their tool, not to my greatness. As such it was NOT my greatest achievement. That one is still in the future."

The words are sincere, as is the realisation that he had been driven by an invisible whip, when he had been under the impression to be the one holding it. A former source of pride suddenly tastes wrong. But this change of perspective is not the end of the world as Hux had feared. He can go on, even after admitting he had been wrong.

No more “inventor’s pride” over his doomsday weapons (some of which the public has never even learned of). No more inappropriate jokes about the Republic’s end.

It's not much in the grand scheme of things, but it's a start.

Rose: "Still in the future, you say? Oh, I don't know. Trackerless hyperspace tracking seems pretty ingenius to me."

Armitage: I know, right? They worked on that since the Old Republic, but nobody saw how everything fit together!

Armitage: “Want it? I know you worked out a counter, but with my full patent documentation, you could use the method yourself.”

Because why not? Now that the past wasn’t looking as glorious anymore as it had looked half an hour ago, working towards a peaceful future was even more important. As long as the peace lasted, so did the hope for a better future.

---

I couldn't figure out how to make them cuddle on the same bedroll, that's why I had to place the camping cot. Imagine he moved onto Rose's bedroll.