#THE RULES ARE SHADES OF GREY WHEN YOU DON'T DO AS YOU SAY WHEN YOU MAKE THE WRETCHED SUFFER JUST TO KILL THEM AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[vaggieslefteye]

YOU DIDN'T KNOW ↳ from Hazbin Hotel Season One (2024): 1x06 - "Welcome to Heaven"

[mariagreenwoodart]

Have I watched hazbin hotel? No.

Have I drawn any of the characters? Not yet.

Do I already have a hazbin oc in my head? Yes.

Do I listen to the entire soundtrack on repeat? Yes.

Do I have a squish on angel dust? ABSOLUTELY.

Will I reblog a crap ton of platonic radioapple posts? YOU BET I WILL!

Did I use Charlie morningstar as the main design inspiration for my fortnite oc Hestia? Yes. I might have some regrets about that.

[thetrashbagswasteland]

Today only from a card carrying member of the Castis Vakarian Appreciation Squad, a refresher on canon since there's a not-zero number of people in 2024 who seem blissfully unaware of how much we know about this man in canon (including andromeda yes the game is canon go cry about it).

He's a cop. Yes Castis works for C-Sec, implied within the same unit/building as Garrus and to the contrary of his son, is implied to be both good at his job and well-regarded for it. (This will be important for later points try to remember it.)

He has alien friends. Castis is canonically one of Alec Ryder's best friends. They're good enough friends that he passes on rumours/heresay about the Reapers to him and reminisces about spending time with him on the Citadel. Any turian old enough to have been an adult during the FCW and who has human friends as of canon prolly isn't a miserable old xenophobe. Whilst no, working at C-Sec doesn't exclude him from having shitty thoughts about Krogan and Quarians, it's a fairly good sign he's not anti-alien on the whole if he'll befriend a human.

He's got a personality. How dare minor characters have those! But more seriously, acting as if Castis is portrayed as nothing but a rule-worshipping automaton is doing him a disservice. If nothing else, his willingness to befriend and hang out with Alec, who's very much of the opinion that rules are guidelines to be circumvented when at all possible, shows that he's capable of nuance and maybe even a dash of line-pushing of his own accord. Maybe he's comfortable within the system and trusts law and order as set out legally above all else but c'mon guys, you don't hang out with a guy who goes on to break AI law and get dishonourably discharged (and then remain friends with him after that when it's made damned clear few others do) without being able to see shades of grey.

He trusts his son. This one I suspect may be more contentious BUT let's be honest here, Garrus isn't an easy person to be around. We hear about the pair of them clashing on the job and within their personal lives about the spectres but here's the thing: Garrus winds up on a secretive mission with a human and xenophobic terrorist group, after running off to a lawless hellscape to play batman. He remains distant until done working with Cererbus and then returns home with a crazy tale about a dead human spectre, genocidal robots from the year dot and half his face missing. Castis not only believes him but does so willingly enough that he does everything he can to help him get the news to the right people, just in case he's right. Equally, whilst we don't have an exact date for when the call with Alec occurs, it's post-start of ME1 at the very least and within that he's already willing to take what Garrus is saying Shepard says at face value. Within that call, it's made patently obvious that no matter what, he still trusts Garrus on some level and is proud of him on top of that trust.

He cares deeply for the people around him. Perhaps this one's linked with 3 but whatever, my post, my rules; in the comics, the picture we're painted by (unreliable narrator) Garrus is that of a driven, cold man who doesn't care enough about his own family. This is why he doesn't come home when Mama Vakarian gets hurt, we're told, and we're expected to take that as face value even when she herself says that by the time he can get away from work and be back there, she'll be mostly healed. Kinda contrasted by the fact that he seemingly retires/takes time off from C-Sec to be with his wife when she's dying. Now, the details are kinda fuzzy on the whys and hows but during ME3, he and Solana escape Palaven together. Maybe the war's going poorly enough that they're able to finagle staying together through the draft, maybe they come across one another purely by luck, we don't know. Either way, rather than attempt to get back to the Citadel and to where he presumably still had a job and/or was needed, he sticks with his daughter. Can't do anything more to help his son but he's gonna stick with at least one of his kids to make sure she survives. As well as all this, the "do things properly or don't do them at all" lesson Garrus struggles with from him is (gasp) not bad advice for their situation. He's trying to teach his son important life skills and whilst there's no denying he's going about it wrong, a key point is in fact that Garrus learns to master the gun he's struggling to fire and it in fact becomes one of his specialities! He becomes an exceptionally good marksman! The lesson fucking worked! He still, regardless of the reasons for it, seems to support and be content with Garrus not fulfilling his mandatory 15 but instead joining C-Sec and (worse still) doesn't have too much of an issue with him consorting with Spectres. Perhaps he's not best pleased but he definitely comes to accept that that's how things are irrespective of his own feelings about them as either a concept or as people (his belief that Garrus being a spectre would be a terrible no good very bad idea is, in fact, backed up by canon as being entirely correct too).

Conclusion/TL:DR. Take a lesson from Castis Vakarian himself here, either write about this man properly or don't write him at all, I'm begging y'all. There's an awful lot more to this character if you think about him and put together the information canon gives us on him, so do so.

[paperclipninja]

An angel, the Metatron and a choice he never had

I know it's been analysed and poured over by many before me, but I am incapable of sitting in the many thoughts and feelings without throwing them out into the ether. And with the entire Aziraphale leaving situation, the thoughts and feelings have been swirling around and recently, upon my completely-normal-teenth re-watch of the final 15 minutes, I feel very certain of one thing: Aziraphale had no choice.

From the moment the Metatron walks into the bookshop and Crowley recognises him (I'll put a pin in that whole thing for another time), Aziraphale is reduced to something between terrified and starstruck, unsure what this unexpected visit signifies. And from the get-go, the Metatron establishes the illusion of choice.

We know that thanks to Crowley, freewill and choice are a part of being human, require the influence of heaven and hell to create the shades of grey and that Aziraphale has grown accustomed to being able to make his own choices, even if they do still subscribe to a set of rules he feels bound by. The Metatron also knows this.

The Metatron knows that the influence of being on Earth and with Crowley has corrupted the subservience expected of an angel, however he also knows that Aziraphale has only ever wanted to be seen to be doing the right thing, be considered a loyal and righteous angel of God.

When offering Aziraphale the coffee, he asks, 'are you going to take it?'', as though Aziraphale has a choice in the matter, yet the Metatron's tone here is rhetorical and it is clear that 'no' is not an option. Aziraphale also defaults to seeking permission and direction, 'shall I...?', and so the Metatron's charade to get this angel back in line begins.

The conversation that we see opens with the Metatron asking Aziraphale who should take over from Gabriel, with our favourite angel extremely surprised to learn that he is the no. 1 pick. 'You're a leader, you're honest, you don't just tell people what they want to hear...', the Metatron fills Aziraphale with praise in order to entice him to the role, talks about all the projects, 'and I will need you to run them'. Now here's the thing, usually one would expect (and the Metatron would DEFINITELY expect) this would've been enough. If the Metatron, whose power likely includes casting angels out of Heaven and God knows what else (literally), says I need you, that's it.

But Aziraphale is used to choice and up to that point, the Metatron is engaging with Aziraphale as though this is a discussion, until the angel declares, 'I don't want to go back to Heaven'. And that is when the Metatron shows his hand, the illusion of choice the Metatron has carefully crafted is ended the moment he says, 'I've been looking back over a number of your previous exploits...'

It is then that Aziraphale begins to realise that this is not a conversation, his discomfort growing as the Metatron continues with, '...and I see in quite a few of them you've formed a de-facto partnership with the demon Crowley...', at which point we see panic flash across Aziraphale's face as he understands it's all a ruse. The Metatron made a point of telling Aziraphale he's honest before calmly letting him know that he's looked back over his previous exploits carried out alongside Crowley. Friends, that right there is blackmail. Aziraphale panics in that moment because he realises that the Metatron is basically saying, 'I know all the things you've done and as long as you come back and do my dirty work, you will remain an angel'. The coffee, the 'offer'. It's not an offer, it's a command. He has enough to cast Aziraphale out of Heaven or burn him in a hell-fire tornado, but most importantly, he has enough to force Aziraphale to do as he says and for him to stay in line (spoiler alert: he won't).

So the Metatron tells Aziraphale that he can reappoint Crowley because he knows that Crowley would never go for it, it's a false offer. And whether it's because our beloved Aziraphale is eternally optimistic and thinks that perhaps Crowley will go for it (in which case maybe returning to Heaven would be ok) or he is trying to convince himself that this is what he wants because he is still torn between his duty to God and desire to be with Crowley, I am not sure.

Perhaps he is hoping Crowley will believe it's what he wants and come so he'll be safe, because he knows Crowley likes to give him what he wants. Or if he acts happy about it Crowley will want him to be happy and support it somehow. Perhaps it's none of those or all of those. If Aziraphale can't convince Crowley to come with him he can't protect him, so he pushes him away. It's self preservation as well as trying to keep Crowley out of harms way, because he never wanted to go and he certainly didn't want to go without Crowley. But he has no choice.

The absurdity of it all is that right until the very end, the Metatron is still behaving as though Aziraphale has the option of opting out:

"You don't have to answer immediately, take all the time you need"

"I don't know what to say' 

"Well, then go and tell your friend the good news".

There was no need for him to answer immediately because, as confirmed by the very next sentence out of the Metatron's stupid celestial mouth - 'go and tell your friend'- the decision has already been made. Because THERE IS NO CHOICE.

And viewing it through this lens makes Aziraphale's, 'I think I...' split second reconsideration, as Metatron leaves the bookshop after asking Aziraphale if he needs to bring anything, even more heart-wrenching. Because if you consider that he has no choice but to go, in that second he was willing to risk everything to stay.

I don't doubt that the system of Heaven and the impact of his time there still has a hold on Aziraphale and some of his excitement about being in charge and making a difference is genuine, but it is the product of a system in which he had no choice. Choice has shown Aziraphale what's possible in a way the binary thinking of Heaven is incapable of and while he may be forced back to Heaven through no choice of his own, I believe his ability to choose, to operate in the shades of grey, will ultimately grant him his freedom.

[nocturnowlette]

It seems like one of the biggest and most common mental hangups I find in almost everyone is a failure to adapt to superseding concepts.

That's to say, sometimes, earlier on in life or in understanding of something, you will be told a simplified version of the truth, often a black and white silhouette of an idea. However, the more you learn, the more you're meant to find the shades, the blurriness, the nuances of everything. It seems like many people don't understand this, or more accurately, are never rewarded for doing this.

The issue seems to be that on a rhetorical level, the most easily transmissible ideas are those black and white statements, the ones that punch the best. Most people don't attempt to engage in concepts on a deeper level out of their own interest, so if all they are surrounded by is surface level statements, their understanding of the world will never advance beyond a surface level.

This is what happens with bigots when they are confronted with actually interacting with the people they choose to hate on a more personal level. To even speak to someone is to treat them in some way as a person, and so, while they almost never budge on anything that doesn't directly affect their life even after these sorts of learning experiences, they are forced to add shade on something they desperately want to be black and white. Obviously, many people's delusions win out even with direct contact, but still.

This also most certainly affects leftist spaces. It feels like there are two different kinds of leftist spaces, ones where the solution to differences is to put up harsh walls and outlines between everything and police those rules strictly, and the other where the solution is to let them intermix and talk it out. It's sadly difficult to simply cast away that first one, the silhouette, when it comes to politics, because even progressive groups need to consolidate together to push on a rhetorical level for cultural acceptance and systematic changes, but the internals cannot reflect this idea, because it simply isn't how anything should work. It's a defensive reaction to difference, drawing lines around yourself so everything makes clear and simple sense.

Absolutism is a philosophy for children, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It just means that we're meant to graduate from that eventually. Allow yourself to see the grey, and you might find that there's a beauty to the shading.

[niafromheaven]

You Didn't Know? (Reprise)

Sera:An angel only gets one chance, so go down there and glance

See who you find when you

Go down to exterminate them

Lute:Emily?! What are you doing here? Let me get this straight, you sent me down here to take my girlfriends poor soul?

Emily:You didn't know?

Lute:No!

Sera:Guess the secret is out now

Lute:Sera, tell me why I didn't know?

Sera:I thought since you love her, it's too much a burden to shoulder

Lute:No!

Sera:You have to listen, it was such a hard decision!

I knew you'd want to save her

And that would prevent you

From doing what was required..

Lute:I am done fighting for you! I don't need your condescension! Emily is mine, and I will protect! Was this talk of saving her just a cover up? Were we all fools for thinking that you'd

Keep your word of protecting her?

Charlie:Now you see what we've been saying?

Lute:Fuck! If she belongs in hell, then I know for sure that Heaven is a lie!

Sera:Lute..

Lute:Emily did nothing wrong, why the hell isn't she in the sky? I see the rules are shades of grey, you didn't do what you say! How could you make Emily suffer and expect me to kill her? I'm done!

Lute:Take away my wings and halo...

Sera:What? No!

Lute:You did it to her, it's my turn now.

Sera:Watch your tongue, you're too high and mighty. Did you ever think that Emily might be a liar?

Emily:Don't, Sera, please!

Sera:Emily, hush. Why hide the fact that you betrayed all of us?

[i-gwarth]

oh this was phenomenal

"The rules are shades of grey when you don't do as you say"

This? THIS, IN WINTER 2023-2024? An animated show cutting right down to the core hypocrisy of liberal institutionalism? Swinging for the throat of a rules-based order?? Now, of all times?

Are you fucking kidding me?? This is so perfect it makes me think it's divinely ordained. They couldn't have hit the target any better in a million years.

Maybe this isn't a surprise to everyone. I joined this bandwagon late in the process. I never followed the show's creator or the development process prior to NDA's shutting down character details or any indicators of where the narrative might go. I didn't know what to expect or what Viviene Medrano thinks about things.

Mainly I saw a very pretty show with a very blatant and unique tension at its core: How can the concept of redemption (or even any definition of sin) exist as a legitimate thing under authority of a Heaven that sanctions regular, coordinated genocide? Who writes these rules, anyway? How aware are they of what's going on? How real are the rules at all?

Turns out Hazbin Hotel chose the most compelling answer it possibly could: the rules are as real as everything else - they're a fake pretend make-believe of accountability and righteousness designed to sanitize realpolitik, prevent the upending of the existing order and keep the people already at the top at the top. You know, just like in real life.

Just like how the global system of international law can condemn one violent genocidal assault from a fascist regime but condone another, even longer-lasting one just a few parallels away.

This thing! It's just like that other thing!!

[calisources]

A   SONG   OF   ICE   AND   FIRE   &   HBO'S   GAME   OF   THRONES.   sentence   starters   taken   from   both   the   source   books   and   the   hbo's   adaptation   of   a   song   of   ice   and   fire   from   george   r.r.   martin.   change   titles,   names   and   pronouns   as   you   see   fit.

 "Tell them the North remembers. Tell them winter came for House Frey."

"Leave one wolf alive and the sheep are never safe."

"I'm not a lady. I never have been. That's not me."

"Nothing's more hateful than failing to protect the one you love."

"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground."

"An unhappy wife is a wine merchant's best friend."

"What good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love?"

 "So we fight and die or we submit and die. I know my choice."

"I thought if I could make something so good, so pure, maybe I'm not a monster."

"Power is power."

"I'm not going to stop the wheel, I'm going to break the wheel."

"Do you understand? I'm no ordinary woman. My dreams come true."

"It's not easy to see something that’s never been before: A good world."

"I believe in second chances. I don't believe in third chances."

"As long as I'm better than everyone else I suppose it doesn't matter."

"When enough people make false promises words stop meaning anything. Then there are no more answers, only better and better lies."

"If you only trust the people you grew up with, you won't make many allies."

“Winter is coming. We know what’s coming with it."

"It is a big and beautiful world. Most of us live and die in the same corner where we were born in, never get to see any of it. I don't want to be most of us."

 "I wonder if you’re the worst person I've ever met? At a certain age it's hard to recall. But the truly vile do stand out through the years."

"Know your strengths, use them wisely, and one man can be worth ten thousand."

"Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you."

"I try to know as many people as I can. You never know which one you'll need."

"No one is very happy. Which means it’s a good compromise."

 "Men decide where power resides, whether or not they know it."

"Give us common folk one taste of power and we're like the lion who tasted man—nothing is ever so sweet again."

"But it's you and me that matters to me and you. Don't ever betray me."

 "I want to be the queen."

"Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king."

"The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword."

"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention."

"Chaos isn't a pit. Chaos is a ladder."

"A ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is." 

"Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word." 

"If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. "

"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives."

"People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it's served up."

"Every man must die, Jon Snow. But first he must live."

"We look up at the same stars and see such different things."

"I need you to become the man you were always meant to be. Not next year, not tomorrow, now." 

"It's a neat little trick you do. You move your lips, and your father's voice comes out. "

"Tell me something, Varys who do you truly serve?"

"They’re dragons, Khaleesi. They can never be tamed."

"Love is the death of duty." 

"Thousands of men don't need to die. Only one of us. Let's end this the old way."

"I Am not beholden to my ancestors vows."

"Robert's rebellion was built on a lie."

"We're children playing at a game, screaming that the rules aren't fair."

"With respect, Your Grace, I don't need your permission. I am a King."

“The world is one great web, and a man dare not touch a single strand lest all the others tremble.”

“Black and white and grey, all the shades of truth.”

“In the songs all knights are gallant, all maids are beautiful, and the sun is always shining.”

“There is no creature on earth half so terrifying as a truly just man.”

“Every man should lose a battle in his youth, so he does not lose a war when he is old.”

“I prefer my history dead. Dead history is writ in ink, the living sort in blood.”

"The war continues, Davos Seaworth, and some will soon learn that even an ember in the ashes can still ignite a great blaze.”

 "He has a song. He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire.”

"The only time a man can be brave is when he is afraid."

[siriusblack-the-third]

Headcanons for Sirius black?

YES YOU CAN HAVE THEM

Smart. Like, really fucking smart.

Has silver eyes. Not grey. It's the brightest hue of silver you have ever seen, and he has this habit of staring straight into your eyes that makes him absolutely terrifying.

Intimidating as fuck. He's six foot four and built like a fucking tank, and has the most intense Resting Bitch Face™ ever. People literally scramble to get out of his way when he's walking down a corridor.

French. I know I've posted about Indian Black Family, but I have a soft spot for French Sirius.

Has the best poker face ever. The only time you will see him fazed is when James is hurt, insulted, or in danger. The whole school learnt very quickly (as early as the marauders' second year, in fact) that going after James is a Bad Idea™. Sirius could and would kill them slowly and painfully if they dared.

Gets annoyed easily, but almost never gets angry. He's scared of his own anger, because it's so similar to his mother, and the only times he has ever gotten truly angry was once when he saw Regulus being tortured by Walburga and the second time at Peter on the Samhain of 1981.

The exact opposite of reckless. Contrary to popular belief, he hates jumping into situations before thinking shit through, and has stopped James from making impulsive decisions way too many times to count. Even when people think he's being reckless, he knows exactly what the fuck he's doing, what the consequences are going to be, and how to deal with said consequences.

Wears black and emerald green the most, but also likes sea/sapphire blue shades. Surprisingly, he hates wearing red, because the colour reminds him of the deep red velvet drapes and cushions in Walburga's room.

Plays the violin, and enjoys it. He's good at it, too. At Hogwarts, people will form a silent gathering in the common room to listen to him as he plays in his empty dorm. It's become a thing. Everyone thinks Sirius doesn't know,but James told him the first time it happened. Sometimes, he plays on the first day of school after the summer, winter or Easter holidays, as a form of comfort to the children who don't really feel at home in their own houses.

Absurdly competent. He's outstanding at everything, even if he doesn't work at it— one of those people who don't need to work to get excellent results. James is the same, and it annoys the fuck out of Remus and Peter, but they help everyone out with schoolwork a lot so nobody actually has too many negative feelings about it (ahem- except for one Severus Snape)

N E R D. Seriously. Will talk nerdy shit with James for hours on end, because both of them are Nerds™. I will die on the hill of Nerd!Sirius Black, and your opinion is invalid if it's not the same as mine bc my opinion is actually canon I don't make the rules.

Long, wavy hair. He had short hair up until the end of fourth year, but then puberty hit and he realised long hair went better with his developing features. Makes him look so much like his grandfather that he has been mistaken for Arcturus several times.

School heartthrob, but didn't actually date anyone/have sex with anyone in school. He found out he was on the ace spectrum in fifth year because asked James to kiss him. He liked it, but the thought of going further didn't excite him like he thought it would. So he asked Marlene, and the outcome was the same.

Biromantic. Sex positive asexual.

No man at Hogwarts is straight, simply because of him. He's ridiculously handsome, and has people fawning over him and falling over these to get into his good books. Unfortunately for them, Sirius knows the names of like seven people out of the four thousand students that attend Hogwarts during his school career, and can't be bothered to remember the names or features of the rest of them.

Rude but polite, if ykwim? Gets called mean a lot, but argues that rudeness is not the same as mean. Rude is when you can't be bothered with pleasantries, he says, and mean is when you're cruel just for the sake of being cruel.

Him not being mean does not negate the fact that his cruel streak is wider and deeper than the Grand motherfucking Canyon. He has a particular talent for weeding out your insecurities, and will not hesitate to use them against you if you piss him off too much.

Prefers verbal sparring rather than a duel, but any fight he gets into, he wins. He has both intelligent quips and powerful magic up his sleeves and he will use them to his advantage if need be.

Absolutely loves mint dark chocolate, for some odd fucking reason. James and Peter always give him shit for it, and he always laughs in their faces before taking an even bigger bite out of the bar.

Nobody knows how many languages he speaks. So far, people have heard him speak English, French, Ancient Greek, Old Norse, Gaelic, Latin and Italian. James gets asked the question "how many languages does your best mate speak?" and he breaks into silly giggles. Refuses to tell the answer, says he likes to keep people on their toes. (Sirius speaks nine languages.)

Wears eyeliner sometimes. It's bold and winged and perfectly done, and has caused multiple fainting incidents because of the way it makes his silver eyes stand out even more than they already do. He says it makes him feel powerful when his eyeliner is perfect, and James answers that he is more than powerful enough, he doesn't need any more.

[604to647]

The Mando Roll

(A Safest with You Valentine’s Day Special)

1.6K / Modern AU Retired Mob Enforcer!Din Djarin x fem!reader

Summary: You and Din have a low-key Valentine’s Day.

Warning: None! Mainly fluffy although things get suggestive, lingerie, impractical boxing attire, new/established relationship, pet names as usual (Pretty bird, baby, etc.), description of and made up boxing moves by a person that knows nothing about boxing (me)

A/N: Happy Valentine’s Day, my loves! (If you celebrate that is, otherwise Happy Wednesday!) Can be set anytime after Ch. 10 "The Afterglow", or in any future year of the relationship. Don't worry if you don’t read Safest with You - you can read this on its own, just know that Din used to be a boxer when he was younger and now he’s a retired mob enforcer that owns a boxing gym 🥊Kisses to you all! 😘

Series Masterlist

Reaching into the oven with both mitts, you pull out the pie and inspect it before setting it on the cooling rack.  Once you’ve satisfied yourself with the golden-brown colour of the crust and confirmed your heart shaped cutouts on the top crust have maintained their shape, you take off your apron to get ready to go.

With this year’s Valentine’s Day falling in the middle of the week, you and Din agreed not to do anything extravagant as you both needed to work most of the day.  Committing to celebrating in a lowkey manner, you also agreed that no money would be spend on gifts, but you were each allowed to ask the other person for one present.

Din had asked for a cherry pie.  You love that Din has a sweet tooth and try to indulge it as often as you can; while prepping the dough and organizing the ingredients for the pie filling the previous evening, you had baked some extra strawberry strudels to bring to him today as well.  You figured if you said they were for the gym and he would have to share them, it wouldn’t technically break the one gift rule.

After you and Din had enjoyed a quick but delicious meal that you picked up on your way over after work, he headed back downstairs to the gym for the closing shift, and you had begun your work on his pie.  You’re fairly pleased that the baking of the pie has been perfectly timed to the closing of the gym, so you don’t have to wait any longer before meeting Din and collecting your present.

Dressed in your own custom set of Mando’s warm up gear, you head downstairs.  The grey zip up jacket and tear away pants with ‘Mando’s Gym’ emblazoned on the back are the same as the ones the boxers from the gym wear, save for the embroidery on the front that reads “Alfredo’s Mom”; Din had given it to you earlier in the week, saying it was technically part of the one gift you asked for so it didn’t break any rules.  You had decided to let it slide since you already knew you were baking the extra strudels, but you had a sneaking suspicion that Din wasn’t going to stick with the one present/no money rule, and you had been right.  Working on your laptop, chipping away at your inbox, you were delighted when a gorgeous bouquet of peonies had arrived at your office; a breathtaking arrangement made up of three different shades of pink that put the flowers you had received from the girls earlier in the day to shame.  The card simply said, “To my pretty bird” but you knew who it was from.  You love flowers, and Din knows this, so you weren’t upset with the extra gift, but you knew you had to even it up with a sneaky present of your own.

Din is waiting for you in the empty gym, sitting on the edge of the boxing ring, flashing you his devilishly handsome smile, “Are you ready, pretty bird?”  Nodding, you jog over to him and mime a few punches, making him laugh.  When Din had asked you what you wanted for Valentine’s Day, without missing a beat you had said, “Teach me the Mando Roll.”  Multiple people have mentioned it to you as the boxing move that Din had made famous during his career, and even though you’re still a novice when it comes to all things boxing, you’ve had a deep longing to know this particular move better; to intimate yourself with this thing that’s so closely associated with Din. 

Din gently and lovingly wraps your hands and helps you put your gloves on; it takes longer than you think it should because he keeps stopping to kiss your hands, “Is this how you wrap all of your boxers’ hands?” you tease. 

“Maybe,” Din shoots back with a grin.

“Making me jealous.  Remind me to have little chat with Jimmy,” you counter right back, grinning big.

Helping you up into the ring, Din starts you off with a few light drills to get you used to him calling out the punches.  Right hook, jab, jab, jab, cross punch, left hook, upper cut, upper cut, jab, left hook, right hook, cross punch.  Every time your gloves make contact with the pads he’s holding up, he praises you, encourages you to hit harder and when you do, he calls out “Good girl!”  Your heart explodes with affection and you get warm all over.  After the punches, he teaches you the basic defense moves: slipping, bobbing and weaving.  When he accidentally makes contact with your head with the side of his pad when you don’t duck fast enough, your training session is temporarily put on pause for him to lovingly dispense hugs and kisses to your head.

“You do this to your other boxer too, coach?” you joke.

“Maybe,” Din smiles wide, glad you’re not hurt.

“Ok, I’m poisoning their muffins next week,” you scrunch up your face in mock fury.  Adorable, thinks Din.

Finally, it’s time for the Mando Roll.  The Mando Roll was a move Din would use to tire out his opponent while simultaneously disorienting them into not knowing if they were on the offensive or defensive.  He would deploy it when the opposing boxer was on the offensive; Din would bob and weave, alternating outside and inside bobs, evading his attacker’s punches, and once his opponent thought he could predict where Din would emerge, Din would punctuate that weave with a powerful punch.  Any punch would do but Din tended to favour a hard cross punch.  You practice this sequence slowed down: you bobbing and weaving under Din’s outstretched arm, then at a time of your choosing, adding in a hit when you pop up.  On your fourth go around, you clip Din in the chin with an uppercut and he deems you ready to try it in real time, a devilish glint in his eye.  You decide this is a good time to even the odds and give Din his secret present all at once. 

“Hang on, it’s hot,” you breathe and start unzipping your Mando’s jacket.  When you take it off, Din’s jaw goes slack – no t-shirt underneath, you wearing only a pink and peach satin and lace bralette, perfectly molded to your tits while showing off your soft curves.  In the front, there’s a big pink bow in the centre, completing the picture of you wrapped up like a present, ready to be gifted.  You smirk at him and his drooling as you slowly tear away the Mando’s gym pants, revealing a matching pair of lace trimmed shorts.

“There,” you exhale in a dramatic manner, “much cooler.”

“Doesn’t feel cooler,” mutters Din.

You tap your gloves together, bouncing on the balls of your feet, “Okay, let’s go.” Din has to bite down on his lip to keep his tongue from rolling out of his mouth as he stares at your jiggling breasts.

Boxing is fun, you giggle as you watch Din try to keep it together.

Swing.  Duck.  “You’re not fighting fair, pretty bird.”

Inside bob. “You’re a nine-time weight division champion.  I have to use what assets I have to even the playing field.”

Jab.  Duck.  Outside bob.  “Your assets are distracting.  They’re playing dirty.”

To this, you shift your weight from one foot to the other, side to side, making sure your tits and ass sway along with your body.   Din audibly groans, “Keep you hands up, baby.”

You put your gloves up as you and Din circle each other, dancing, “I thought you might consider this a gift.”

Cross punch.  Duck.  Inside bob.  “You’re only allowed one gift, baby, and you baked me a pie.”

You duck Din’s lightening fast jab and when you bob to the outside you attempt an uppercut that Din slips easily, “You sent me flowers!”

Swing.  Duck.  Inside bob. “You brought those strawberry strudels, sweetheart.  You broke the rules, too.”

Jab.  Duck.  Outside bob. “You broke them first when you gave me the personalized warm up suit.”  Cross punch.  Duck.  “Which I love, by the way.  Thank you, Din.”

Inside bob. “My pleasure, pretty bird.  You look good in Mando’s gear.”   

Jab. “Don’t I look good out of Mando’s gear, too?”

Duck. “You know you do, baby.”

When you go to bob to the outside again, one of the straps of your bralette starts to slip down your arm, pulling the flimsy triangle cup along with it.  Din, captivated by the downwards journey of the fabric and what it’s revealing of your breast, doesn’t notice that you pair this last weave with a cross punch and it stuns him when your glove lands right on his jaw.

“Din!!!” you cry as he staggers back, scrambling over to him and throwing your gloved hands around his head to look at where you hit him, “I’m so sorry, baby!  Are you okay?”

To your relief, Din is beaming, “You did so good, pretty bird.  A perfect Mando roll.”

You swell with pride at his praise, and lift up onto your tip toes to kiss his lips and then his jaw tenderly, “I have the best teacher.”

Din wraps his arms around you and reaches down to palm your ass over the soft satin, “Happy Valentine’s Day, pretty bird,” done with all the teasing, he descends on your mouth, immediately parting your lips and slipping in to stroke your tongue with his.

Letting out a soft moan, you deepen the kiss by licking hungrily into Din’s mouth, pulling away only when he starts to walk you backwards towards the ropes, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Din.  Are you ready to go upstairs and have some pie?”

“Dessert first, then pie,” grins Din, giving you a spank on your rear.

You squeal, happy, “You got it, coach.”

[toaarcan]

Every now and then I see the Capitalism Ruined Tieflings post float past and my brain just goes "Skill Issue."

For context, this is a popular post that states that in D&D's second and third editions, Tieflings had a huge variety of appearances and then in 4e they were homogenised into generic devil-people because Hasbro was calling the shots and demanded that Tieflings all look relatively the same because that way it was easier to sell minis of them, and now Tieflings are ruined forever because you can't make one with greasy skin that smells like farts.

But here's the thing: You can absolutely still just do that.

"But the book says-"

Fuck the book! This hobby is 50% improv and the highest authority you'll ever have to deal with is most likely going to be your friend Jim, when it comes to pure roleplay things, there is literally nothing stopping you. The D&D Police aren't going to kick down your door and haul you off to RPG Jail for the crime of not playing a Tiefling like they're described in the PHB, because there is no D&D Police.

The PHB is great for telling you what you get mechanically (or the "crunch") and can be entirely ignored for everything in terms of lore (or the "fluff").

I've been playing 5e for something like seven or eight years now, and during that time, across all those groups, we've used vanishingly small amounts of official lore, one official setting, and precisely zero Hasbro miniatures (largely because all of those games have been online).

If I had gone to any of those DMs, both the good and bad ones, and said "I wanna use the Planescape Tiefling tables for my character's appearance", I don't think any of them would've said no. Now, that's not something I personally would ever do (I'm not leaving my character's design up to the RNG that hates me), but I don't doubt that the option would exist if I wanted it.

Additionally, people have always broken from the official limitations of the books with these things, and a few really obvious ways.

Per the books, Tieflings have the full range of human skin tones, plus varying shades of red. Now, how many people actually keep to that limitation? I've seen blue, purple, orange, green, yellow, bone white, grey, black, pink, etcetera. Even the Planescape table only gives you red, green, and blue, random 5e players going "What if it was purple!" and disregarding the PHB is fully and openly accepted.

Hell, two of the most prominent Tiefling characters in the current era of D&D are Jester and Molly from CritRole's second campaign, who are blue and purple respectively. "Tieflings are just red" says Hasbro, and "No they aren't" says literally everybody else. Even Hasbro themselves don't care too much about it, there's an official Lego D&D Tiefling minifigure coming out this year, and they're orange, not red, when Hasbro could easily have demanded that Lego make them red.

Additionally, the book says Tiefling eyes are a single, solid colour, with no visible iris, pupil, or sclera. Yeah that one gets ignored a whole lot too. In fact, that one gets ignored more than it gets followed. I've made at least ten of these fuckers and one of them followed that rule, and only did so after her Sorcerer bloodline activated, and nobody, DM or player, has ever called me out on it.

The book says nothing about them having weird legs, I've still seen plenty with varying forms of digitigrade gait, whether it's with hooves or something else at the end of them.

If you want to make your Planescape Tieflings, then you absolutely still can. And if your DM says no, then they're probably just still in their Rules Stickler phase. Give 'em a little time and they'll loosen up, it happened to most people in this hobby.

That's the great thing about playing D&D. Most of the time, you really can just do whatever the hell you like as long as it doesn't futz with the mechanical side of things (and sometimes you can do it with that too).

Capitalism didn't ruin Tieflings. Sure, you can argue that it tried, but the only thing letting it succeed is a lack of imagination and an unwillingness to go "Hey, can I just do X instead" on the part of the players.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go make a character that's mechanically a Tiefling and lore-wise a completely different species, because nothing can stop me doing that.

[chaosandthe-deadblog]

Sunny's unnofficial rendering tutorial because idk why but people say they like how I color

Hey kid. So you got your drawing, right? And you have your flat colors, now you gotta render 'em, right? Then you find that BAM, you have no idea how to make it look cool? Neither do I! But here's what I do (I've been told that my coloring is cool)

1. Place your flat colors

Imagine these are your flats. A few things: you want your base colors to be all around the same hue, that way they look better together. See how all the blacks, greys and whites are purple/blue-ish? That's on purpose babey! But how do you acheive this? idfk. jk, you have to stay on one (or two) areas of a hue wheel.

This way, all the colors look like, nicer around each other. You're not FORBIDDEN from going outside an area you picked, but you should still try to make sure everything is in the same hue so you have to do less overlay layers later.

(FYI: I do this because it saves me time on rendering. I don't think it's mandatory, there's no rules to art. Go crazy!)

2. Shading

I think shading makes or breaks a drawing. Personally I don't have a lot of rules about it, but there are still tips I can give.

So here's what you gonna do. You're gonna pick a color that's somewhere on the opposite of your main hue, alright? Here, my hue is mostly cold colors, so I'm going to pick a warm tone. You're gonna make sure it's dark enough so it's like, a shade, but not enough so it becomes black when you set the shading layer to multiply.

(Note: I never get this right on the first try)

(Another note: as you can see, I have the entire drawing, including the lines, inside a group. Don't worry! I'll explain this later)

Personally I like to use a paintbrush-esque brush because I like the look of it being hand-painted that it gives my art. Mine is the default paint tool sai brush, but I'll leave the settings down here just in case.

I don't. Really know how to explain the way I shade, I mostly follow the lines I already placed in the lineart phase, and give them depth. I guess my biggest tip would be to FOLLOW THE CLOTHING FOLDS!!!

Idk how to explain this. But people always tell me that they like how I shade the clothes, it's because I follow the fold lines I place on the lineart phase! Not only does this give the clothes depth, it also makes shading a lot easier. Follow your lineart, idk what else to tell ya.

Now you're gonna set the layer to multiply...

And lower the opacity as much as you want until it looks good. No real rules to this, it's kind of depending on the vibe you want your piece to have.

Now, and stay with me here, grab a blending tool, okay? This is the one I use, I have a textured version for when I'm feeling brave, and a regular, flat version (the one I use the most) Here I'll use the flat version.

And. Stay with me here. I want you to blend the FUCK out of this. Just absolutely destroy those borders. Okay? Trust me. If it looks messy you're doing it right. You're gonna want to follow the shape of the shadows tho, this way you don't lose the shape of the objects you're shading.

Woah! Suddenly everything has depth! Let me go back to the clothing folds, because holy shit, the clothing folds.

See how I'm adding depth to the shadows I placed by kinda. Following the line I drew and blending the outside? Idk how to explain this. You blend whatever isn't touching the line, okay? Trust me.

3. Lighting

Ok. I'm holding your hand gently. You have to do lighting on your art, okay? You have to. It adds depth to the shapes and also is sososoososo easy. Here's how. It's so easy.

Grab your airbrush tool. Yes, that one. Hear me out okay?

Pick a light, warm color between yellow and orange.

Stay with me. Make a new layer, set it to whatever lighting mode you prefer. I use luminosity because I live dangerously.

Now.

Airbrush everything that the shadows aren't touching. Yes. I'm serious.

It's gonna look ugly as shit. DON'T BE ALARMED. This is part of the process. I want you to take the blur tool. And blur the ever loving fuck out of this. Just go fucking ham.

Good. You're doing so well. You're being so brave. Now lower the opacity as much as you want, until you like the way it looks.

Like so. I also like to add a few brush strokes and blend them on an up-and-down motion for the hair and certain details, but this is optional. Same as before, you're gonna take a (slightly warmer, but still bright color) and make a new layer on luminosity mode.

Take the blending tool and make it small, only slightly bigger than the brush strokes, and blend these lines until they look nice. Adjust the opacity, and voila!

Now, I could stop here. But I'm extra so I keep going.

4. The pizzazz

AKA, "Ah fuck the colors don't look the way I wanted them to!"

Do not worry! I have a solution that's almost never failed me.

Overlays. Just a whole fuckton of them. I don't really have a method to this, I just kinda try colors and layer modes until something looks good.

For this one, I felt like I wanted the colors to be warmer, so I picked a warm color and overlayed it on multiply. Then, I noticed that the darker colors came out darker than planned, and you couldn't really tell them apart, so I picked a light warm color and overlayed it on screen.

Voila! We're not done! There's one more thing I like to do, and here's where the layer folder comes in!

Remember how I said I keep everything, including the lines in a folder? This is why!

Make a layer that's on top of everything, like this. Pick whatever color you want, make sure it's bright. (Personally I like using pink). Take the airbrush tool again and airbrush whatever edges you want to give a little more pizzazz to.

Blur it as much as you'd like...

And adjust the opacity and layer mode however you like!

5. And done!

Sometimes I add white highlights. Sometimes I add more shading, or more lighting. It depends! But this is the method I use in a nutshell.

Hope you enjoyed it, or at the very least realized idk what the fuck I'm doing!

[jennathearcher]

"IF HELL IS FOREVER, THEN HEAVEN MUST BE A LIE

IF ANGELS CAN DO WHATEVER AND REMAIN IN THE SKY

THE RULES ARE SHADES OF GREY WHEN YOU DON'T DO WHAT YOU SAY

WHEN YOU MAKE THE WRETCHED SUFFER JUST TO KILL THEM AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[dobnny]

@ladiesofhpfest

monthly mini for Ginerva Weasley

Summary: Ginny is being interview by Hannah from Risk-and-Taken, but someone interrupts their conversation.

The interview?

"So, Ginerva-"

"Please, call me Ginny." She corrected the interviewer, with a smile that didn't fully reach her eyes.

"Oh, of course. Ginny, as I was saying how excited are you with the upcoming Quidditch season? Do you think the Harpies has what it takes to win the Quidditch World Cup this year?"

"Well, Han-Han, I definitely believe that-"

"Erm, please call me Hannah," the interviewer from Risk-and-Taken, a new prophet company that was competing with the Daily Prophet.

"Of course, Hannah my apologies." Ginny replied, "I believe that this season the Harpies are certainly going to take a risk and come out victorious at the end. Yes, the odds are certainly stacked against us but there's one thing that we have that the other Quidditch teams lack."

The interviewer leaned in closer, intrigued by the determination in the young Quidditch star. Ginny could tell she was about to ask what exactly makes the Harpies stand out amongst all the other teams. When suddenly the living room became dark, and an unfamiliar muggle song started to play all around them.

Before the lights turned back on, instead of a soft white light, the room the light changed from red to pink. Thick smoke began rising from the ground, quickly spreading throughout the room.

"You don't have to be rich to be my girl. You don't have to be cool to rule my world. Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with. I just want your extra time and your kiss."

"Shit." She muttered, her face burning scarlet....damnit. Why now out of all times. She thought to herself, why couldn't Harry take Dobby with him?

Ginny stared at Dobby, who was wearing- wait was that little butter wearing her favorite jersey? She quilted her eyes, and realized that not only was Dobby wearing the jersey that she wore for her first Harpy match, but he was also wearing a pair of Harry’s grey joggers. It was magicked to fit the house elf, yet it didn’t suit him at all. In fact Ginny noticed how Dobby had to continuously hold onto the sides of the joggers in order to keep them up as he danced in a slow circle.

Merlin’s saggy left-

“Oh, it seems as if I’m in the middle of something intimate….I can reschedule this interview at a later time?” Ginny heard Hannah ask from besides her, almost in a strained voice.

Before she could reply to the reporter, Ginny noticed how Dobby had turned around and was staring at her. His eyes were extra wide open and he was watching her like a hawk, he had the audacity to wink at her as if saying, “you like the show?”

“Dobby, what in Merlin’s name are you doing?” She asked, through clenched teeth.

“Ms. Ginerva-“

“It’s Ginny.”

“Oh, yes sorry!” Dobby squeaked out, his face turning a shade of murky green. “Ms. Ginny, I wanted to show my gratitude for letting me serve you.”

She closed her eyes, willing herself to count to ten before reaching for her wand and firing a bat bogey hex to the house elf. After a few deep breaths, Ginny opened her eyes and spoke, “there isn’t a need for all of this, Dobby. Please can you leave? I'm in the middle of a very important interview.”

“But, Dobby needs to express his gratitude! Dobby has been practicing for hours, and this time the socks are clean,” the house elf squeaks out as he gestured to his feet. The pair of “clean” socks that Dobby claimed were a mixture of brown and green. It was also emitting a foul odor from the longer he stood there in front of them. Ginny tried her best to push down the bile in her mouth. Nope, she doesn’t want to even think about what the “dirty” socks even looked or smelled like for the matter.

Another silence stretched between the three occupants, that was until Hannah had decided to break the silence.

“You know what, maybe I should get going. Yes-I will send an owl to your manager and we will fix up a different date.” The reporter spoke with difficulty since she was doing her best to hold in her breath.

“No, it’s fine, I’ll ask Dobby to leave-”

“No! I mean, it’s fine….I’ll make sure to keep in touch with your manager and hopefully we’ll set up another date.” Hannah said as she gathered all her things quickly, “Besides, I believe Donny…?”

“It’s Dobby, Miss,” Dobby replied while attempting to give a lopsided smile to the reporter. It seems as though he tried to get that out of her brother’s Ron’s arsenal, because he would always smile like that to Hermione to get his way. Which worked practically all the time, but the way that Dobby is doing it, it just wasn’t pleasant to see. Ginny wondered if Hannah would end up sending in a restraining order against the house elf, just from the way he was trying to smile.

“Right. Dobby, I believe you two have some sort of conversation to finish, and I truly don’t want to interrupt,” Hannah replied and with that she was already rushing to the floor and before Ginny could even call out to her, Hannah was gone.

“So now that we are alone-”

Ginny pulls out her wand quicker than ever and stuns Dobby into the next realm. That buggering little shit.

[enough-spider-noir-stuff]

Writing from Hobie's perspective about ATSV is actually super interesting because he has like, zero of the context we do from ITSV. Like, about the dynamics between the characters.

Like, Peter B? Wonder what Hobie thinks about him. Like, okay. There's Miles and he hasn't been allowed into the Society yet because "canon" and these people he's very close friends with haven't deigned him important enough to contact anyways. Okay. That's not looking good.

Now, Gwen Hobie has some context for. She's stayed over with him canonically, he probably knows she was kicked out and her dad tried to arrest her. She doesn't have options outside of the Society. Frankly, they have a concerning and incredibly messed up amount of control over her. (Also that's a perfectly valid reason to hate Miguel, especially since Hobie has a predisposition against authority figures like that. How much Miguel's motives are understandable is also entirely irrelevant in this case.)

So, Gwen didn't contact Miles. Or she did, but only very recently and it immediately spiralled out of control. But it makes sense why she didn't try to reach Miles. It makes sense because she literally did not have a choice.

Peter B on the other hand? That's the only other OG ITSV-gang member Hobie gets to know, from what we see in canon. He's obviously also close to Miles and they mean a lot to each other. But he, too, kept Miles in the dark about everything. He's trying to stop Miles from saving his dad.

Peter B isn't a special case within the Society. Basically everyone is ready to put canon over saving actual lives. But this guy here should have another motivation. And he has nothing stopping him, really. He isn't dependant on the Society. He doesn't rely on them, he can live without them. And still he chose not to visit Miles.

Now it's a bit more complicated than that (and also we're moving into headcanon territory).

"It's not that simple" is easy to say. Peter B has a baby and has to take care of her first of all. He has responsibilities. He's acting according to what he thinks is the right thing, he believes in canon, so why shouldn't he wait a few months and then comfort Miles and help Miles and do all the proper things to do without endangering an entire world or even the multiverse? It's not good, it's not easy, but in the grand scheme of things it's the only right thing to do. Right?

But now we have Hobie, who thinks a lot more than he lets on. He literally built a dimension watch, okay. He's a punk. This guy is smart as shit and he questions everything, especially when it's portrayed as a universal black-and-white truth, especially when going along with that universal truth keeps you in line and just following what the power structure - in this case Miguel - wants you to think.

He's an anarchist. He's a punk. He fights the system. He fights against societal norms - against the society of his home world just as much as the Spider Society. It's a horrible place he comes from, we know that, and community, the punk community, leftist community, whatever, it's the only thing he can likely actually rely on. Okay, headcanon territory, but we're still very close to ATSV and comic canon, I think this is more than reasonable. "If you don't control your government, people want to kill you." (- Anti-Flag). He has canonically killed cops and in the comics it was also the literal president.

If you don't look after your people, your friends, your community, then what are you doing? That's all you have. Community is the core principle of everything. Survival in a world that tried to kill people like you. Being strong enough to fight against that system and bring about change. You can't do any of this alone.

So, whether a rule from above makes sense or not - and this whole canon thing feels dodgy as fuck anyways - friends go first. Friends before government, before absolute rules with no room for any shades of grey.

I think, with what Hobie was able to think and see in ATSV, he wouldn't trust Peter B. At all. This guy chose the rules over a friend. He chose conformity over community. That's the people who enforce the government's rule even without being cops themselves. That's the ones who make the world worse through inaction.

If Hobie was in Gwen's shoes, I think he'd have gone after Miles regardless, but - and this is headcanons based on the comics, but it adds up okay - but Hobie never had the chance to fit into a system in the first place. He never would have been accepted, never could have kept his head down if he tried, or he wouldn't have ended up the face of a revolutionary movement. Comics Hobie evidently didn't give a shit about consequences when they stood up against Osborn and the Venom cops. "I'm a radioactive suicide machine" - he wasn't in a good space of mind, but I think the attitude fits. Fuck consequences, fuck the future you might never even see, what matters is that you do the right thing for as long as you can, and that might be just now and never again. ("That's the way I like it baby, I don't wanna live forever.")

Gwen doesn't think like that and she's scared and drifting and dependant on the Society. It's not the right thing, maybe, but it's somewhat understandable. She's a kid who just lost everything.

Peter B has no excuses.

I mean, every character acts in accordance to what they think is right. They all have a point, in their own ways. That's honestly the beauty of the spider-verse films - there's no paper cutouts, all those characters have their own motivations (all understandable in their own right), and the conflicts are natural.

And it's so so so fun to actually get really deep into Hobie's perspective to explore all of this.

(Also anyone, feel free to add on or anything really, i just pulled this out of my ass but it's so interesting sdkjcsncdhbaks)

[hinatastinygiant]

3 | Դուստր

Pairing: Uzui x Fem!Reader

The Emptiness You Left

"Suma, you're in charge of taking care of her," Ubuyashiki instructs.

"Yes, sir! She can stay with me at my place," Suma nods her head profusely.

"That's a good idea, Suma. I will notify Uzui of the situation," Ubuyashiki replies as he holds out his arm to the side. You find it odd for a moment, until a black crow comes swooping down and lands on his arm. He then whispers something in the crow's ear and the bird flies off.

"Woah," you can't help but gasp.

"Thank you again, Master," Suma nods before leading you out of the room.

Suma then leads you out of the estate and the two of you walk to another, similar-looking building nearby.

"Well, this is it, Y/N," she beams over at you. "Your new home!"

You look up and admire the architecture of the house. It's very modern and sleek. The outside is a light shade of grey and brown while the roof is black. The windows are long and thin, stretching all the way down to the floor.

Suma leads you up a gravel path and slides open the door to the first room. She walks you over to the kitchen where she hands you a glass of water and tells you to wait.

While she's gone, you examine the place. It's so clean and spacious, it's almost intimidating.

"Hey," a familiar voice says from behind you. When you turn around, you see Suma again. However, this time she is accompanied by a man with two thick, golden rings around his large upper arms.

"Hello," you say quietly, not knowing what else to say as you scramble to your feet.

"I'm Tengen Uzui," the man greets you, holding out his hand.

You shake his hand and introduce yourself. His grip is strong and confident, just like his personality.

"How did a cute girl like you end up here?" he then questions, taking a seat on the couch.

"Oh," you start, "I, uh-"

"You already know the answer to that," Suma chimes in, shaking her head.

"That doesn't mean she can't tell me the story herself," he retorts.

You take a deep breath and recount the events from earlier. You tell him about your sister and Doma, but decide to leave out the part about your brother for now. Thankfully, Suma doesn't bring it up, either.

"Okay," he nods once you finish explaining everything to him. "You may stay here until you get back on your feet."

"Thank you, sir," you nod.

"This is great!" Suma cheers.

Uzui sighs, "Now, for some ground rules. You will take care to keep your room spotless and maintain proper etiquette. There will be no eating or drinking in your room. You must clean up after your own messes. And you must address me as Lord Tengen or Master Tengen."

"Yes, Lord Tengen," you nod your head slowly. "Um, may I ask what it is that you do for a living?"

"I'm a hashira," he answers, which means nothing to you. "I fight demons."

"Demons?"

"Does she know nothing?" he sighs, looking at Suma with a defeated expression.

"She just arrived here today, Master Tengen. Don't expect her to know anything about demons," she says, shrugging.

"Fine. Y/N, that thing that ate your sister was a demon," Uzui explains. "We are a group of demon slayers who are fighting against these demons. There are twelve hashira and we are all assigned certain areas. My area happens to be right where Suma found you which explains how you ended up at my door."

"My sibling said something about demons before..." you mutter aloud. "But I just thought they were playing one of their weird games again."

"Demons are certainly no joke," Uzui shakes his head. "Especially the one you were able to escape from. It's quite impressive, I do say."

But his words mean little to you as all you can think of is poor Inosuke hiding in those vents.

"Do you want to sleep now?" Suma then asks.

"Actually," you whisper, "can you tell me more about the demon slayers?"

Uzui nods his head slowly, "Yes, of course. Suma, why don't you go see to Y/N's room?"

"Yes, sir," she bows before walking out of the room.

Uzui then begins to recount stories about his past and the different hashira he knows. He tells you about his three wives and how much he loves them. And he tells you about the different demons he has destroyed. Everything about him makes you so inspired to follow in his steps. To become a demon slayer.

"Alright, Y/N, I think it's time for you to get some rest. I'll go call for Suma," he then says after he finishes speaking. However, the second his back is turned to you, your arm reaches out and you grab him by the wrist.

Uzui looks at you with a puzzled expression.

"Can you teach me?"

"Teach you what?" he asks.

"How to become a demon slayer. I want to be like you, Lord Uzui," you say with stars in your eyes. It feels so good to finally know a way for you to protect someone in your family- your last blood relative left.

He's taken aback, but he quickly gathers his composure and clears his throat. "No. No, Y/N, I will not teach you."

"What? Why not?! I want to help!" you plead.

"It's far too dangerous for you. You've barely lived past your last encounter," he tells you, his tone getting rougher. "Suma! Come down here!"

"Then teach me how to fight and live through the encounters!" you try once more.

"No. This is the end of the discussion. You are to stay here and mind your own business," he orders, and you are immediately silenced.

Just then, Suma walks into the room. She can quickly tell the atmosphere is tense and she looks between the two of you with wide eyes.

"Suma," Uzui calls, looking at her once before glaring back down at you, "show her to her room."

The Emptiness You Left