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ruiniel · 2 years

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Another way - VII

Summary: what if someone in the 21st century stumbled upon this stranger during a turbulent storm, narrowly avoiding running them over, and what's more they can't understand a word coming out of their mouth.

Pairing: Alucard x Reader

Rating: Mature / 18+ only

Tags: explicit language, depressive character, character-meets-world, modern AU, fantasy, more to be added

VII.

The alarm rings, humming on the nightstand with a vengeance, and dawn darts through your eyelids via the open blinds you forgot to shut the previous evening. Groaning, you reach for the phone.

To your credit, you were distracted, staying by a distraught someone who kept pacing through the room, back and forth and back again for so long you thought he’d run a hole through the floor.

You still don’t know what to do about him, and the thought hounds you constantly, like a swarm of insects buzzing endlessly between your ears; but as you turn on your side, as you stare at the photo of your parents on the nightstand holding a 10-year-old you between them, something hits you like a brick: so obvious, you slap your forehead.

“Of fucking course… he has to have some kind of ID…” you mumble to yourself, thinking that should help take you forward at least an infinitesimal percent, enough to help get your unexpected guest off your plate faster.

Rising from bed proves difficult, though, which wouldn’t have been the case if you’d remembered to turn off the alarm. But then, many things, many details, seem to escape your grasp lately, and your mind, your sense of recollection, sometimes feels like a ball of unraveling yarn, the threads tangling the more you try making sense of them.

You stare up at the pale beige-tinted ceiling, and thankfully you still have all this time off, so at least there’s no immediate returning to the churn.

But then, there’s Adrian.

Gah, have to face the day at some point, don’t we?

Your feet meet the cold floor as you stand, bringing your arms above your head and rising on tiptoe for a stretch.

The living space is silent when you enter, dusted by a pale morning. Walking towards the kitchen corner, your eyes catch a gleam, a tangle of gold spilling over a pale forearm.

It’s none of your business, it’s not —

Well. Technically he’s in your home (again), which means it kind of is, now?

You throw a glance at the still-sleeping Adrian, lying on his back, eyes closed.

Apparently, he crashed and slept in the end.

With this thought, you walk to the kitchen counter, trying to keep the noise to an acceptable level as you rummage through cupboards and drawers.

The note he wrote yesterday is still on the table, and you remember one thing you said you’d do today.

You drink some water and head over to the bathroom — by the time you’re out, having showered and thrown on an oversized blouse and some house pants, Adrian is awake too.

Still there, still bent forward, staring at the floor.

He raises his gaze as you close the bathroom door, and it’s easy to notice how worn he looks, as though the night has been even less kind to him than the waking hours.

“Hey.”

He only stares back miserably; no surprise there. You smile at him anyway before covering your mouth for a yawn, heading towards the fridge.

“Hope you like pancakes.”

He says nothing to you but stands and goes to the bathroom, where you’d left him a towel and threw his own muddied clothes in the washing machine. By the time he’s back Adrian looks no better, but does come and lean against the counter close to you, arms crossed and staring ahead. You glance at his hair: a beautiful pale-gold mass, and also an utter mess.

“I’ll have to get you a comb,” you say, biting your tongue to keep from laughing at the poor soul’s expense.

After another meal which he barely touches you look at Adrian from across the small, rectangular table. “So, I’ve been thinking,” you say as you reach for your wallet and take out your ID card, tapping it with your finger. “Have something of the sort on you anywhere? Nothing fell out of your clothes, not that I checked, of course, but?...” You don’t continue, half-expecting some light of understanding to dawn on his face, but he looks even more puzzled.

“Oh, come on,” you lean across the table, pushing the ID card under his nose.

Adrian draws back, watching you with some unease, golden eyebrows set in a deepening frown. “Most people have this sort of thing nowadays,” you say. “Unless you lost yours…” and with that, you fall back into your chair, rubbing at your temples. “We’re going down to see Mrs. Mila,” you say, palms set on the table as you rise and take the note he scrawled yesterday.

“We have to be careful not to bump into Mrs. Hawke too often, especially not with you around,” you say, unlocking the door and walking to the elevator. “She’s the landlady, and trust me, while fair, she can be a little too intrusive,” you add. “Having her on my back is the last thing I want.” Useless. He doesn’t understand any of this. Stop it.

You sigh with the closing of the elevator doors, but the next second two other neighbors rush through, smiling with their suitcases in hand and eyeballing Adrian the Tall (he does tower over everyone else here, you noted).

“Now, don’t mind her dog,” you say as you exit the elevator and head for Mrs. Mila’s door. “He’s huge and will not stand still, but he’s a harmless, loving ball of fur and spittle.”

“Who’s there?” asks an old voice with an accent after you ring, and you hear agitation, shuffling and beating against the door, and some fast, scolding words in a foreign language. You smile.

Mrs. Mila has been living here ever since you remember. Some say she’s the oldest resident in the building. You never asked, not your place — but sometimes you walk Miro, her dog, for her, or get her groceries when her leg bothers her too much. She’s glad for the company and often makes what you consider some of the most delicious cakes and cookies on this side of the Atlantic.

“It’s me,” you say, “... with a friend,” you add swiftly, peering sideways at Adrian. He merely waits beside you stiffly, arms crossed and eyes wary.

The door opens, and you see a Rottweiler, excited and wagging his tail behind a frail-looking, white-haired woman with the signs of age carved into her friendly face. “Hello my dear, oh come in, come in — Miro!” she berates, allowing you to enter and you half expect the dog to jump up to your waist as he usually does.

He doesn’t. What Miro does is freeze, then flatten himself to the floor, warm eyes set beyond you — to where Adrian is.

Mrs. Mila stares too, then looks back at you.

“This is Adrian,” you hasten to add. “Adrian, Mrs. Mila,” you stare at Adrian, who merely inclines his head in a very odd yet placid gesture of acknowledgement.

“Why, aren’t you a cutie,” the old woman goes, and you might have laughed at any other time, but…

“He doesn’t… he doesn’t speak English.”

Mrs. Mila’s expression changes. “Pardon, I see! Then…”

“We met recently. He’s traveling through here, um, and from what I gathered, needs some directions.” You’re a terrible, terrible liar. “Anyway, it’s why I came. I was hoping you’d have some answers to help with the barrier.”

“Of course!” Her wide blue eyes twinkle in mirth as the woman turns inside and calls to you both, “Come, come, to the kitchen. I have some Spartak cake made yesterday, and it’s to die for, as people here would say.”

Relieved, you follow, and once you’re all seated (and you’ve both been given a slice of cake) you pull up the note. “I remember you could read Cyrillic, am I right?”

Mrs. Mila looks beyond the door, to the corridor where Miro lies, staring at you and whimpering lowly. “Ohhh, I don’t know what could possibly trouble that dog now! I love him, but sometimes he drives me nuttier than I already am.” She shakes her head, then calls to him, but he won’t come.

Unusual, you’d say, as he’d normally already be under the table, vying for attention. But you’ve got other things on your mind now. “Anyway, this is something Adrian wrote,” you turn to him, “Tell her something,” you make a gesture with your hand implying speech.

He does.

Mrs. Mila squints. “Come again, darling?”

Ugh. “You… don’t recognize the words?”

“I should say not,” her gnarled fingers reach and she takes the note, putting on her large prescription glasses. “This is Cyrillic but—” she frowns, looks back at Adrian strangely. “I am sorry, child. I am Ukrainian, but this,” she looks at the paper again, “...is no language I can speak.”

Your head hurts. “And you don’t… know whether it could be anything else from the same family, or?...”

“No, the words sound strange, very, very strange. They are not Slavic. Or at least I doubt it,” she looks over at Adrian again from beneath her glasses.

He’s not touched the slice of cake, only stares back emptily, then looks absently around the kitchen.

“Wonderful,” you mumble, taking back the note and grudgingly stuffing another piece of cake into your mouth. “It’s just… difficult to help him, like this, and…”

“I know, I completely understand… when we came here, sixty years ago, we were the same, my late husband and I. Not a word of English!” she smiles in memory, rising from the chair. “But is this… the only way your friend writes?”

“How do you mean?...”

“Did you… try having him write using your alphabet?”

“I…” you blink. “I didn’t.” Then suddenly an idea strikes. “Mrs. Mila, thank you!” You rise, cake and all forgotten. “I have to go. I’ll stop by tomorrow for the groceries list, all right?”

“Of course, of course, I’ll be expecting you, as always,” the woman says. “Want some cake for upstairs?” she asks as you walk out.

“No thank you,” you stop on your way to pet Miro. “You’re a strange mutt, did you know that? But then, strangeness seems at home here, lately.”

Miro trembles; you feel sorry for him, hoping he’s not fallen ill. You rush back up to your place, and don’t even wait but head towards your laptop and turn it on.

All the while Adrian watches you, or rather, the large additional monitor connected to the laptop, his eyes wide and mouth fallen open.

You hit a search for De finibus bonorum et malorum since you remember it from your studies. “Come here,” you call for him, and Adrian carefully nears your desk, eyes never leaving the bright screen.

You point at the writing, and as he bends down close to your shoulder to see, you sense a particular scent about him you failed to notice before. You can’t quite put your finger on what it is, but it’s… different. Not in a bad way, not at all. Just… different.

Why are you noticing this?

You shake your head, “Latin, this is Latin. I don’t expect you to understand the language, but this,” you search for ‘Cyrillic’ and pull up a sample, “... this is what you write in, sort of,” you look up at him, finding pure fascination in his gaze, a change from his dour state though the pain in his eyes lingers still.

You open a translator in a new tab, copy and paste a passage of text and set it to translate into any manner of language using the Latin script. “See? I want you to do the same, but write in your language.” You tap on the monitor from one side to the other, but he stops you with a near impatient wave, his bright eyes set on the screen, then on you; he says something.

“What?” you follow his finger as he points at the other tab, “All right, sure,” you click on the tab with the Latin text.

“Non eram nescius, Brute…” he reads.

Your eyes go wide. “You can read?! I mean… I mean, you can read Latin! You can…” you turn so fast you hit him in the chin, “Shit, sorry!” you say as he rubs at it, getting up to bring him a pen and paper. “You get it now, though, right?” You hand him the items. “Write me something, but this way,” you point at the text. “... if this doesn’t work, I don’t know what else to do,” you mutter under your breath but he seems to have gotten it, and lo-and-behold, he pens something that at last looks familiar in that you can read the letters, but still there’s a peculiar amalgamation of them.

You head over to grab your phone and return, take a photo with the translator again as Adrian hovers over your shoulder, curiosity poignant on his features.

“Here goes nothing… please work,” you say as you set it to detect the language. “... here we are, this says… Romanian?” You look up at him, then back to read…

A measure of reprieve pours through you. The translation isn’t perfect, far from it, but it’s enough to make some kind of sense. You read the words — his words, aloud. “... where am I?”

You meet his gaze. Why would he ask this, unless…

You turn and do a quick search, find Romania, a country located somewhere in Europe. “... holy shit. Were you brought here against your will… I wonder? Or lost your memories?” An amnesiac after all, maybe?

You type back in the translator, tell him where you are, and add: “Are you from Romania?”

Adrian looks at what you wrote, frowns and that same, familiar desperation creeps around his eyes, curls the lines of his mouth. You push the phone in his hands but he doesn’t take it, instead choosing to write on the piece of paper.

Fine. You take a photo again, read it. “W… Walhall— … no… Wall-achia? What the fuck is that…” Again, the internet is your crutch, and you find…

Wallachia is an archaic name, technically, for Romania. Very odd, but… maybe he’s just a freak who prefers old names to things?

Still, this is more progress than you expected and looking back into his face, you see a glimmer of something, like a ray of sun through a thick burden of cloud. “This is going to be a long day…” You pick up the phone. “How did you get here? Do you have any friends here? Do you have any family?”

He reads, but seems to struggle with the longer sentences, biting on his lip. He writes something down, and you repeat the process to read his answer. “I do not know.” And then: “Nobody.”

“Well, buddy, that’s not a lot of help,” you rub the back of your head. “Do you have any ID on you?”

What you get back is: “What is this?”

“ID, you know. Identification that most everyone has about their person?” You pull up yours again and he stares at the picture, at the numbers and dates.

He shakes his head.

“...you… you… augh.” He has no ID. He has no money, no possessions as far as you can tell, no knowledge of how he got here? And speaks some weird form of Romanian as far as you can deduce. All you have is a name.

“Do you have another name?”

“I do not know. Cannot remember.”

You rub at your eyes, stare back at him as he bends to write something again. You see something you hadn’t before — he wears two rings, two bands rather, on the fingers of his right hand. They appear to be golden, shining warmly against his cold-toned skin. You look down to his neck, where he’s forgotten to button up the collar of the flannel shirt you’d given him.

There’s a mark (a scar?), thick, ragged like a healing burn wound, the skin puckered and red, winding beneath the material. You look back up and find him staring at you, extending the piece of paper.

Crap. “Sorry, didn’t mean to be nosey,” you look quickly down to read:

“Your language?”

“... seriously?” You type it in either way. “English.”

His expression morphs into something that doesn’t need translating: incredulity.

You turn to search in your desk drawer, pulling up an old, blank agenda you’ve had around for years but never used. “Here,” you offer it to him, then tap into the translator: “Use this to write.” While his apparent wariness of phones is another oddity, this is better than nothing at all. At least, until you figure out what to do about him, which will have to be soon.

Adrian reaches and his long hand takes the small agenda from you, holds it to his chest. He opens it, writes something again in that beautiful cursive.

“Gratitude.”

You meet his eyes, sad eyes glowing like burnished sunlight. “Don’t thank me yet,” you say, though something stirs in your chest, and looking at the time, you see it’s past midday already, the day having flown by while you were both caught up in this.

Not once did you despair about them. Still, still. As much as you want to help, you still don’t know this person, and apparently, neither do they. You stand on your feet, place your hands on your hips, then get another idea. “... come on,” you say, not bothering with translating this time, “First things first. Let’s get some lunch.”

Part I - Part II - Part III - Part IV - Part V - Part VI - Part VII - Part VIII - Part IX - Part X

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MASTERLIST: CASTLEVANIA SERIES x READER

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#alucard x reader #alucard castlevania x reader #adrian tepes x reader #x reader #alucard x you #ruiniel:fanfiction #adrian tepes x you #castlevania x reader #another way

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iscarioted · 2 years

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Andertegra is so funny to me! Like every time he gets all up in her face in the manga. It’s like sir, personal space where???

Oh, anime too! I mean...

To be honest, I think about the scene he has her against the wall pinned between his bayonets... far too often for it to be good for me. 💀

I can see it being a power play from Anderson's side tbh. Integra is a noblewoman and rules with a tight fist, I'd describe. Especially when it comes to politics and rivals.

Quite no nonsense and serious. We see how she keeps things as collected as she can, in tight order/gets upset when things go chaotic, and a lot of people (like Alucard and Walter, though not Seras) a professional arm's distance length away. Frankly, total GirlBoss(tm) energies. I would not be surprised if, and honestly easily believe, she's well-known for this. It's a display of her command, power, and status.

So like??? I can easily see Anderson making a point to be in her space (all up in it) to dismantle and step all over that image of her, and use it to establish 'you don't control me/you have no power here'.

But like!!! She takes it in such stride! Pinned against the wall, Anderson literally threatening to murder her despite the treaty and good cause, and she? Insults him, then taunts and smirks at him about Alucard, making him out to be a fool. Then, there's him rescuing her from the vamps in London and again, he's very close to her. Don't quote me on this but in the manga, it sort of looks like his hands are on her shoulders too as he goes into that crazed rant (I'll pull up the panels in a second because I truly can't remember if it is really like that or I just liked and kept imagining his hands gripping her shoulders as he just says utterly insane shit). Again, she just doesn't falter when practically face to face with him. though I'll add this time, she does look... Taken aback (in the anime) iirc. Surprised or perhaps even awed, since his entrance was quite the badass and dramatic one (on top of his respectable reputation in general, cuz even the vamps were in fearful awe seeing him).

And!!! What I think really tops this off is that overall, he is tactful and thoughtful of invading Integra's personal space/letting others do so--- if it seems like it crosses a line. I don't think Anderson gets enough credits for shutting down Yumie+Heinkel/Iscariot members ganging up on Integra when she's so defenseless. His previous careless invasion of her space (as well as calling her a wh*re) still stands and happened and it's not... Good 💀 but he can still recognize, when more level-headed, some of the unfortunate implications and parallels an action would have. Puts a hard stop on it.

TLDR; as an andertegra shipper, I love the close quarters but I also love that ultimately, it's a give-and-take variable thing and Anderson has mindful respect of Integra at his core, so there's nuance to it. He's just... A weirdo lunatic 95% of the time and yet, Integra hardly gives a damn and doesn't budge to him!!!

#mal text.#p: andertegra.#im rambling hardcore. i just have a lot of feelings about this because in context of andertegra #space and giving/invading space is Spicy but also Deep

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twistedtummies2 · 3 years

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Count-Down: Number 3

Welcome to Count-Down! All throughout the month of October, I’ve been counting down my favorite portrayals and reimaginings of the King of the Vampires, Count Dracula! We’ve now reached the Top 3 on the countdown! “The Bird of Hermes is my name, eating my wings to keep me tame.” Number 3 is…Alucard, from Hellsing.

Now, I should clarify something right at the start: I have not read the original manga for Hellsing. And in terms of the original anime, I have only seen a few scattered clips; not a single full-length episode. My knowledge and love of Hellsing comes almost entirely from the OVA series, “Hellsing Ultimate.” Keeping this in mind…let’s talk about Alucard, shall we? The name Alucard has popped up a couple of times on the countdown up to this point. The name, as you may clearly tell, is “Dracula” spelled backwards. The alias originates from a film entitled “Son of Dracula.” In that movie, it was actually somewhat ambiguous as to whether or not the villain of that story – Count Alucard – was, as the title indicates, Dracula’s son…or even Dracula himself. As a result, the name has been referenced several times in media since, with both stances being taken as needed. In Hellsing, Alucard is the alias used by the REAL Dracula in the modern age setting of the show. It’s revealed that, centuries ago, when Abraham Van Helsing and Count Dracula fought, the Count was NOT killed. Instead, he was cursed to serve Van Helsing and his descendants. In the time of the show, “Alucard” now serves one Integra Van Hellsing (why they changed the name to have two Ls is unclear; I guess it just looked cooler) as part of the appropriately named Hellsing Organization: a secret group of monster hunters and vampire slayers who, ironically, have the King of the Vampires as their Secret Weapon. Dracula playing the role of vampire hunter is a bizarre idea, but the franchise surprisingly makes it work, and brings to life a character who has so many of the qualities we’d expect from him by now, while also being wholly original and fascinating. Alucard certainly has an elegance and a sense of authority to him, and he’s very clearly attractive, while also having a sort of constant viciousness. He’s an absolute BEAST on the battlefield, sadistically and gleefully destroying his enemies, often luring them into thinking they can outmatch him before pulling the rug out from under them and brutally obliterating them in ways that are frankly too monstrous to contemplate. On that note, a word to the squeamish: Hellsing, in ALL of its incarnations, is a gory, Gory, GORY piece of work. It’s about as violent and literally bloodthirsty as it gets. If that kind of stuff really gets to you, I’d recommend avoiding it. For me, it admittedly makes me wince and squirm at times…in fact, pretty darn frequently…but I guess the story and characters just enrapture me enough that it doesn’t matter so much. Alucard has his soft sides, too. The reason he draws things out in a fight is not only out of sadistic pleasure, but also a desire to try and find a worthy opponent, and his motivations for what he does are much, MUCH more complex than one may at first recognize. Under the twisted grin and mad laughter, there’s a tortured soul hiding in the shadows. However, I think what I love most about him is that he’s legitimately SCARY. Out of all the Draculas on this list – and I mean ALL of them – this version of the character is, in my opinion, the scariest. Other Draculas have a few scary or eerie moments here and there, but this one is the only one who I’d say is terrifying almost from start to finish. And how ironic is that, when he’s our main protagonist?! I have to give credit to his English Dub voice, Crispin Freeman: Hellsing Ultimate is an example of an anime where I think the English voices are, at least for the most part, better than the original Japanese performers, and Freeman is no exception. At times he’s a little over-the-top, but it actually works for the most part (the Japanese actor, Jouji Nakata, wasn’t exactly subtle, and Alucard and this show, as well as its source material, are not the most restrained subjects). Freeman’s vocals can be effectively disturbing, while also mingling the other qualities of the character’s personality into the mix seamlessly. Whether he’s committing wholesale slaughter or teasing his young ward, Seras Victoria, he is delightfully INSANE in everything he does, but does so with an aura of sophistication as well. He can be chilling and maniacal, or warm and concerned, or even brooding and depressed (which, to be fair, is a rarity for him; a change of pace from many vampires), and it all blends and functions no matter what. Above all else, however, there is one simple point that makes Alucard fit into the Top Three: out of all the reimaginings of Dracula I, personally, have ever seen, this is by far the most unconventional and unique. To be perfectly honest, that, alone, earns the character a TON of points. Tomorrow, our penultimate choice shall be unveiled! Hint: You’ve Gotta Love the Classics.

#count-down #top 31 draculas #dracula #count dracula #alucard #halloween advent calendar #october special #number 3 #crispin freeman #jouji nakata #hellsing ultimate #hellsing #anime

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medu-nefer · 4 years

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A bunch of BoZ things I noticed

What can I say, I like rewatching shows, especially if they have:

a) a gorgeous blone bi legend (Alucard and Apollo could step on me and I’d thank them profusely),

b) a gorgeous boyfriend that doesn’t really do much in season 1 (I’ve loved you since the end credits of S1E1, Ethari, and I love you in your backgrounds too, Hyacinthus).

So. Here we go. (I’ll probably add more as I rewatch the show more and notice new things. Who knows, maybe we’ll get some non-Apollo ones too?)

*~*~*

Apollo’s sad little face when facing Zeus

When Zeus wants to intervene with Electra and Seraphim, all the other gods look quite pissed - but not Apollo. Okay. Duly noted.

*~*~*

Ares riding on Apollo’s chariot before dropping and battling the Giants

As an older sibling, I wholeheartedly understand the need to obliterate your little brother, but c’mon, Ares. Enough is enough, stop kicking his ass and go back to riding into battle together.

*~*~*

Apollo taking after Hades in terms of teleportation

I’m sure the others can teleport too but so far, we’ve only seen those two do that.

*~*~*

Apollo liking to stand next to Poseidon

Poseidon was also at the arena, waving very enthusiastically at Apollo before his three nephews sparred. He also pulled him out of the sea.

Guess we have the favourite uncle, huh.

*~*~*

The earrings

Apollo:

Hyacinthus:

Apollo wears only the right earring while Hyacinthus seems to be wearing just the left one.

Remember the myth of soulmates? Anyone?

Y’know, like when Zeus, fearing the possibility of humans (who had 4 arms, 4 legs and a head with 2 faces) overthrowing the gods and ruling in their stead, split them into two so they wouldn’t be as powerful and their population would be doubled (meaning more tributes to the gods). Unfortuntey, humans were in so much pain and sorrow, they stopped eating and drinking, no longer caring if they lived.

But Apollo couldn’t bear to see them like this and to ease their pain, he sewed them up, reconstituted their body forms and just left the navel as the only reminder of their original form. Humans forever longed for their soul and physical other half.

So yeah. The earring thing kinda made me think of that. Two parts of a whole or something.

*~*~*

Apollo shielding himself when talking about being Zeus’ bastard

Don’t worry, I won’t tell Hera.

I was born out of wedlock, too.

He acts carefree at first, but as soon as he mentiones being a bastard, he turns a bit away and seems to wrap his free arm around himself.

*~*~*

Apollo’s soft smile when he foretells Electra’s pregnancy

And when you remember he’s also a twin... gahhh.

*~*~*

On a different note... Guess whose voice is that of god 2 and 3 😬

When Zeus brings Heron to Olympus, everyone is quite, uh, against the idea. Even Apollo himself - after, y’know, telling Electra and giving her that heartwarming smile...

He does quickly remember what he, his sister and mother had to go through with Hera. But still. That hurt.

*~*~*

#after typing those out i also noticed they're all apollo-related #huh #strange 👀#blood of zeus #BoZ #stuff #apollo #ares #poseidon #hades #electra #zeus #hyacinthus #love me some angst at the end

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maybe-your-left · 3 years

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Pst pst pst. I think my first ask got deleted when you tried to do something XD anyways, some blurb/hc on how the boys treats us/spoils us? I could use some fluff now :<

Special Treatment yooooo...

Clyde Logan: Big Daddy treats y’ somethin’ good... if you didn’t know, Clyde is a bit of a sugar-fiend. he loves to take you out for a nice brunch, a fancy place by the river, with bottomless mimosas and sweet treats you can’t get enough of. gets some sugary syrup on your lips, he will gladly lick it off while you nuzzle into one another. lots of sweet pastries-cakes-muffins-creampies.

Charlie Barber: everything is art, a performance. everything Charlie does has its purpose in his artistic vision, including anything he does for you. when he sees you feeling down, he loves to book the two of you art classes. letting you recharge and retreat back to your roots. watercolor-acrylic-body painting-pottery-silent hours-anything that gets the creative juices flowing for the both of you when you’re in a funk.

Jamie Massey: much like Charlie, his revolve around a getaway for the senses. of course-it will be filmed, it is Jamie. something he clings to from his marriage to Darby is purging the soul every once in a while. for the both of you to reconnect as one-he books you a trip. complete with a tent, blanket, some guitars, and plenty of natures sweet treats. (drugs, he takes you on Acid trips guys)

Rick Smolan: unfortunately, he's away so much. so to make it up to you when you’re feeling down, Rick takes you on vacation! yes, its somewhere he’s been before. but he doesn’t care because he’s there for pleasure. not work, your favorite spot right now is Everest, its taken a few months of preparation but the two of you are determined to make it to the top. sharing the moment of pure-euphoria and human spirit together, thats how he spoils you rotten.

Kylo Ren (Triplet AU): he doesn’t trust women, or men, or animals, or the sky, and definitely doesn’t trust gift giving. if someone tries to give him something that means horrible things are going to happen, so he buys nothing for people. the few times he’s given gifts, they’ve backfired on him. who knew women didn’t like exotic reptiles in an unsuspecting basket? if he’s desperate, he will run to a jewelry store and slap down his credit card, barking at the person behind the counter what your favorite colors are and they throw back a bracelet or ring that he then gives you. usually he’s blushing profusely when he hands it over, saying that it’s not gonna hurt you. trying to push you away when you try and kiss him thank you-thank you-thank you once you’ve stopped crying over the diamonds.

Ben Solo (Triplet AU): can you wear it? check. can he rip it off? check. bonus points if he can eat it too, most of his gifts are based around the four basic Benji needs: Food-Fucking-Frolicking-Frogs, the boy loves frogs. be prepared for horrible frog statues in your yard (like gnomes but-frog)

Matthew Organa-Solo (Triplet AU): he’s not as stupid as his brothers, doesn't have an aversion to gift giving and doesn’t make it all about sex. he wants to give you something that makes you smile, and he finds that when you’re together somewhere new it makes you feel better. so once a month, you and Matty pack the car and go on a road trip! you’re trying to make it to every National Park in America-complete with different kitchy gifts that make you both smile.

Maurizio Gucci: Daddy filled up your credit card this morning, and got you a new baby-pink leather checkbook. anything you want, he gets it for you. exotic wines and cheeses, silks and furs, a brand new purse that hasn’t been on the runway yet. cars-mopeds-motorcycles, even though you don’t drive. Daddy doesn’t let you lift a finger.

Phillip Altman: gifts are no fuckin’ sweat to this gremlin, he knows you inside and out. and what makes you the happiest? spending time with him babygirl, so the best thing he can do is spoil you with days of love making. pinning you to the mattress, lounge chair, couch, counter, hood of the Porsche. until your full of cum and drained of your tears. Oh! and he loves taking you to concerts, the way you get all giddy and squeal when he hands you tickets to your favorite band makes his heart hurt.

Paterson: poetry, that reminds him solely of you and how you make him feel like a different man. flowers, farmers market trips, walking your pet cat together (he doesn’t want another dog), picnic’s in the park, and lots and lots of notes around the house from him so you know how much he loves you.

Adam Sacker: buying gifts is a waste of time when he can do it himself, he can make some wood frame for a silly picture the two of you took at a carnival. or reinforce some furniture you’ve been complaining about, maybe even build a new canopy bed frame for you, stained and everything! being a handyman and a soft soul means he can do whatever and he still gets rewarded.

Toby Grisoni: he doesn’t buy you ‘gifts’, instead he takes you on experiences. including you on his trips around the world for filming, he likes taking you dancing in the lavish cities you stay in, a bit of a hopeless romantic if he is feeling like it. and scarves, lots of scarves for you to tie him up with at the end of a long day.

-------

Trattami crudele, papà.

TAGGING: @finn-ray-nal-beads @onlykyloscenes @candycanes19 @historyandfandoms50 @caelum-phyriina-vermillon @ghoulian13 @mrs-kylo-ren @millenialcatlady @relationshipwithmybed @dancingmicrobes @wayward-rose @contesa-lui-alucard @daydreamsofren @insufferablelust @ohdamnadamm @mariesackler @caillea @safarigirlsp @jalexunderthestars @shesakillerkween @glassythoughts @zimmermansbrat @not-the-teen-witch @jynzandtonic @roanniom @celestiasin @glassbxttless @cornmousequeen @driversmutbucket @blowthatpieceofjunk

Here is the link to my Mega Masterlist, for all your stalking needs.

#adam driver #adamdriver #kylo ren #ben solo #charlie barber #clyde logan #jamie massey #rick smolan #matt the radar tech #maurizio gucci #phillip altman #paterson #adam sackler #toby grisoni #all the boyd #all the boys

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pate-de-rolo · 3 years

Text

Blood of Zeus thoughts🤪

It’s a shame that Zeus isn’t a villain in blood of Zeus. Why invent a demon that’s spreads faster than chlamydia when you have ZEUS!!

Also they made Apollo so sexy and for what?

Why is Poseidon so old ? Zeus lookin like a dilf and Poseidon looks like the love child between maester pycelle and king triton

The demon king just ain’t it for me. He looks like a piccrew character (also nearly identical to a webtoon character I don’t really like)

Matt Mercer doesn’t get enough dialogue

I like how they have the art in the credits !!

Hera with purple hair is a no from me, I’m so sorry.

Green and blue is such a sexy colour scheme how does hades not get more ladies from that alone

Seriously the gold/purple/white ain’t it Zeus. I’m sorry bud.

The ferryman is what I imagine the hag from CR to look like

Matt Mercer doesn’t sound ANYTHING like himself omg

I mean I know the main characters name isn’t achillies but that’s the filler name I’m using until I figure it out.

The art style is so good.

The villain is pretty hot ngl. Like if someone did a human/mortal(?) au I’m sure he’d be a babe

HERA IS SO SNEAKY omg also “I was the queen of the heavens before I married you” ok girly go off 💅

I’m not loving the scene with the bear. It’s a little weird.

the villain guy was hot as a human. I was right. hehe

I’m so glad that powerhouse animation likes Adetokumboh M'Cormack because his voice is so nice.

They didn’t make Chiron horsy enough.

I know it’s a Greek story or whatever but I wish there were more women and gays. That is all.

“Ramming speed” reminded me of when I sailed we’d fuck around and yell “RAMMING SPEED” and bang into each other.

I love that Zeus basically sits on his patio with binoculars for 75% if the show

Hi my name is Zeus and I’m a little piss baby that can’t handle when I don’t get what I want😡 are these the consequences of my actions?😡

Apollo! A bisexual king!

Apollo looks like Alucard and I’d like to thank whoever on the design team for making hot blonde bisexual men ty ty I owe you my life.

My heart only has room for Kofi and his boyfriend Evios, sorry.

Zeus and Hera are really hashing out their relationship in the middle of a dinner party smh

shoutout to hades for being neutral

Heron being scared of spiders is so cute aw

That’s all for today folks :)

#blood of Zeus #blood of Zeus spoilers #critical role #castlevania #powerhouse animation

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i-prefer-the-term-antihero · 4 years

Note

Additionally, your thoughts on Dracula and Adrian from the Netflix adaptation of Castlevania? I find Dracula really tragic, and the ending scene of Season 2 crushed me because I was not expecting Adrian to cry. He’s usually so stoic and calm that I didn’t think he would weep, I expected him to just shrug it off like heroes usually do, but no, when given time to process everything, the first thing he does is break down into tears. Sypha was right in calling him a brooding teen in an adult body.

Ohh man. If you just take a look at my writing blog (or anywhere I post my fanfiction) it’ll become pretty clear pretty quickly how I feel about them XD So far all my Castlevania fics have been about the Tepes Family. Adrian and Drac are my favorite characters in the series!! (Though I do love pretty much all the characters in it.)

YES YES YES!!

They did an incredible job making Drac sympathetic and tragic. I don’t know if you know anything about the games, and granted, they couldn’t put a lot of story stuff in the games, but (at least as far as I’m aware) in most of them it’s like “ya, he was an evil dude who did evil things because he was evil.” So it actually would have been pretty accurate to the source to make him just an unsympathetic, irredeemable villain, but they didn’t and I LOVE them for it. Playing Symphony of the Night (Alucards game) after watching the series l was almost longing for that Drac I know and love from the series, (though it’s fun to see evil Drac too).

As I’ve said, I adore redeemable villains, and they did an amazing job with him, to the point where pretty much everyone in the fandom adores him, which is extremely tough to accomplish—even if you write a redeemable villain well, often large parts of the fandom don’t see it and hate the character. I knew that the point was that they were going to defeat Drac but I have to say, especially since I originally knew nothing of the games, I was hoping they’d save him by the end.

I think the fact that he liked and was kind to Hector and Isaac was evidence that he wasn’t too far gone. I mean, the only two people he genuinely trusted and liked in his court were human…that’s so interesting, I wish it was at least talked about, either in the show or in the fandom. I think he actually liked humans, partially or especially because of Lisa, he just...was so angry, and needed someone to blame. He probably ultimately blamed himself for not being there to save her, and it was just easier to blame the humans he once hated/didn’t understand, even if in reality he didn’t hate them as much as he thought he did...

Doing more thinking and research into the show for my “If These Walls Could Talk” fic I recognize now that symbolically it made sense even within the show that he died when Lisa died (which I can explain more about if you want but id probably end up going off on a long tangent so I’ll save it)...but I still thought practically, in the show, he could have still been redeemed.

Omg I LOVED that. The longer I take to sit with it, the more I realize just how much I loved that they put him crying instead of shaking it off.

It’s very interesting that Drac and Alucard are more openly emotional characters. I might be totally wrong, but as far as I remember, they (...and Lisa when she dies, and probably Isaac in a flashback), are the only main characters we see openly cry. It’s a pretty bold move to make any of your characters emotional like that, but especially your villain, and your bold handsome hero. It’s sooo easy to get emotional characters and emotions wrong…or just offputting to some people...but more on that later.

I think Adrian and Drac are both rather sentimental, in an odd way. Much of Drac’s motivations in the show and even in the games (the times his motivations are explained) had to do with his wives (yes he was married before Lisa in the games...unless Lament of Innocence was retconned...) which is interesting. So many of his decisions are based on emotion. He lets Lisa in just because he likes her, he goes to war with the world because of Lisa, he sits in his study mourning her loss, he let’s Alucard kill him… I also notice very often he digs his nails into his palms until they bleed, presumably because if he didn’t he’d hurt someone else (in the scene where he hurts Alucard, he does this). His sentimentality doesn’t diminish is power as a villain, which is SO difficult to accomplish.

I am emotional myself so I absolutely love to see emotional characters, but for most people, seeing even a normal character be emotional diminishes them in their eyes, or makes them whiny, so making your villain even a little emotional, and having that not take away from the audiences perception of their power as a villain is sooooooo hard to do, and I applaud them for making a so well-beloved, and still villainous and intimidating, but also emotional (at times) villain.

For Alucard. I don’t see any problem with him being emotional, but it makes even more sense if he’s a teen in an adult’s body—which was indeed portrayed quite well.

Yes that was interesting when he cried when drawing his parents!! I wasn’t expecting that when I saw him drawing them. I was enjoying and intrigued by his story so much, then when he started crying I was caught off guard—but in a good way. It really made me feel for him, and understand that he was still grieving his mother, and that knew the gravity of what he was currently doing.

I think it’s kind of important to show that kind of thing in a situation like this. It’s easy to think Alucard hates his dad, and they need to show the emotion of the situation to make it clear “no he doesn’t hate his dad, this actually breaks his heart, he just knows he has to do this.”

I loved when he was telling Trevor and Sypha about how much the world would lose by killing Dracula. It’s really interesting that he hides his emotion with them, and that Trevor and Sypha are so stoic. The son of Dracula isn’t the guy you expect to be the only hero who cries.

In “For Love” when Trevor’s like “Don’t get weepy about it” I was sitting there, sobbing, like “No, please get weepy about it! Let the boy cry for goodness sake!! Give me some emotion!!” But I too was not expecting him to cry like he did, and in grieving the death of his parents...

I knew the crying scene was coming because I’d seen pictures of it on here and pinterest, but I had no context for it. In the end it wasn’t just the weeping itself that made the scene so impactful, it was everything surrounding it. I didn’t know it would happen when he was completely alone (and would be for the foreseeable future), and in grieving his parents, or about the ghosts/flashbacks before it (cementing his grief), or that it was literally the last scene of the season, or that there would be no music for both the scene and the credits thereafter.

And that was what really got me.

Because, firstly, we never got to see any flashbacks to his childhood, and that was what I was begging for the entire series (and hence why its what I write about). To finally get it, and it not to just be something the audience gets to see, but something Alucard himself is seeing... a happy memory he’s seeing when he knows that is completely gone, he cannot hope to have it again, and for him to now be in his father’s place…that’s heartbreaking. Like just having your character cry—let alone those kinds of full-on sobs—is painful enough, showing a son grieving his parents is a particularly heart wrenching kind of sadness, but showing that he is haunted by memories of those parents he lost—not only lost but one of which he killed, and, if SOTN is canon for the show, the other of which he could have saved—of a happy childhood, and he is alone with these memories for the foreseeable future...that is truly heart wrenching.

Also the scene with Trevor and Sypha in the wagon earlier in the episode was super sweet, they could have easily put the Adrian crying scene earlier, and had the Trevor and Sypha scene be the last scene of the season (and Trevor’s game actually does end with them looking into the sunset, so ending with the last scene of “For Love” would be accurate as well), and left it on a positive note, and the audience would have been left with a completeness. But they made a conscious choice put his crying scene last, and it was so powerful, because it made you remember that at the end of the day, he isn’t just our bold handsome hero, he was a son who lost both his parents, and that, to him, this isn’t really a triumph, but a loss. It also kinda confirmed that Drac wasn’t an "evil guy, end of story". That there was reason to grieve him, and to show his son grieving, and to leave it there because of it. It was a personal gravity too

In the end, it was the lack of music in the scene, and even more so during the credits, so theres only his tears, and all you are left with in the end is this amplified emptiness that really did me in. I think I literally sat there, tear tracks on my face, my mouth open when I hit the credits.

Playing Symphony of the Night after watching the show is really interesting in exploring his character. I knew there was very little story, so I wasn’t expecting much from the story, but I actually found that I was beyond excited whenever there actually was some story, and the few lines they did say are stuck with me.

Maria comments early on that Alucard’s not very good at talking. At first I just chalked it up to...weird translations or whatever. But the more I played the game and the more I thought about him in the show...I think she’s right. He’s not very good at talking, yet if and when he does talk he’s quite eloquent, and precise with his words. (This actually makes him a somewhat difficult character to write). I wonder if perhaps this has some connection to his emotionalness. He’s very careful with what he says, and this may spread to what he does—such as being careful when he shows emotion. I’m curious why he’s like this. It could just be his nature, but I wonder if as a kid he was ever hated because he was a vampire—maybe people made fun of him, and he cried, and they made more fun of him because of it—and he learned both to hide his emotions, and that he had to be very deliberate and show people he didn’t mean any ill will with his words. (And he looks older than he is so people might call him immature for acting his mental age). All very speculative, of course. But it’d be fun to write about!

Also, another thing from SOTN that is related to this topic, there was a fight that really struck me (enough I actually wrote a fic about it (inverted recurrence)). SOTN takes plays 300 years after the events of The Netflix Series (aka Dracula’s Curse). Most of the bosses don’t seem to have a lot of meaning story-wise, they’re just there for you to fight. The other day I (Alucard) walked into a boss room...and there were Trevor, Sypha, and Grant (who was omitted from the Netflix series). They were fake versions of them, of course. And there’s no dialogue in the fight so maybe I’m just speculating, but what struck me was that the fact that Dracula could use them against him probably means he still cares about them, even after 300 years. It probably also means that they’re some of the only friends he’s ever had. Granted, he was asleep for a good chunk of those 300 years, still. It goes back to that sentimental-ness I was talking about earlier.

I few years ago I watched the Gravity Falls commentaries, and from them I got a lot of the writing advice I still think about and use today. Alex Hirsch said something on this subject which I really liked which is “Hold your tears.” When a character cries they’ve broken, that’s as far as they can go. So if you make a character cry when the audience themselves doesn’t feel the weight of the scene, or it doesn’t feel like the character has broken yet, it can feel like too...much/cheesy, and distance the audience. especially with cartoons where the way it’s drawn can actually affect your sympathy for the character (it can look weird or accentuated).

They did such an awesome job with this by literally holding his tears until the very end. I don’t know how other, non-emotional people felt about it, but Ive don’t know if I’ve ever seen tears used so well in a show, pack such a punch. To have it not just be a part of the scene but literally the focus, and at the end...it was powerful.

Sorry for the long response, and more importantly, I’m beyond sorry for taking so so SOOO long to respond. I hope you enjoy my response, if you see it <3

P.S. For anyone else who made it all the way to the end, I actually have a Castlevania sideblog now: @symphonyofthewrite !! I’d be beyond happy to recieve asks like this over there, if you’d like to hear more of my thoughts!!

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lesserfandomappreciation · 4 years

Note

*SLAMS FISTS ON TABLE* Hellsing Alucard with a human fem!s/o (sfw/nsfw) please and thank you

Not a problem!

Hellsing Alucard with human fem!s/o

SFW

Hundreds of years old and somehow, somehow, this man has such limited experience with relationships. Oh he’s a smooth operator. Smooth voice, with dark velvety tones, whispering in his partner’s ear - oof. That man can absolutely sweep a lady off her feet. Using flirting techniques that have been out of date by at least a couple hundred years.

Credit where it’s due, Alucard has been undeniably busy for the past while, dealing with vampires and Hellsing and all that craziness. It’s hard to maintain a love life with that type of schedule (and that’s before you consider all the

Moves at a snail’s pace at the start. He’s surprisingly old-fashioned about courting which makes things slower, but he’s also very aware of her mortality. Loving a vampire is not an easy thing - he would need a lot of assurance and trust in her to really move forward on a real relationship.

Not a massive fan of PDA to no one’s surprise. It would be a very bad thing for everyone if the woman of his dreams was yet again kidnapped by an evil organization and exploited to ultimately bring harm to Alucard and the world (once was bad enough, thank you) so he is very wary about being overly affectionate in public.

In private it’s another story entirely. He’s no cuddle-bug, but for a moment, imagine with me. You’re together in private, perhaps by a shelf or a wall. He comes up from behind, wrapping you in his arms and darkness while he whispers, deep and slow. This little corner becoming a secret oasis for the both of you, warm, enveloping, inescapable. Fingers or wisps of darkness go through your hair slowly as you lean into his strong chest, his voice by your ear as he lulls you into ease.

Thank goodness he doesn’t do that in public. You wouldn’t be able to survive.

A damn good kisser. Chaste kisses are some of his favorite - they feel more innocent when coming from his partner. But a deep kiss? A good, strong kiss from him would turn anyone to the dark side. In the best of ways, of course.

Is the asshole who will use his vampire powers to an unfair advantage and try to make you lose it in the middle of a meeting.

NSFW

Limited experience? Yes. Does he need to come up for air though? Nope. Reach your own conclusions on that. He’ll help you reach yours too.

Powers stay out of the bedroom. Mostly. Alucard is aware of how... overwhelming he can be, so many of the first nights are spent in his almost human arms, with him making his partner whimper and moan into a mess.

Once they have been together for a while though, oh ho, powers are slowly going to start being used in bed more and more often. He’s aware that finding someone okay with all of his kinks is nigh-impossible, but the ones he can get away with he’ll gladly do. Shadow bondage anyone?

Vampire stamina. His partner is not getting out of that bed for several hours and by the end of it, he’s only just breaking a sweat while they lapped that point at some point when the rounds weren’t at double-digits yet.

Related to his stamina, Alucard is not satisfied until she’s barely able to even wheeze between his thrusts, just breathing when she can as her mind unravels to the pleasure.

Out of all the people in Hellsing though, he’s the one most likely to blush (if he could) should someone make mention of overhearing them. Dork.

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mystech-master · 3 years

Text

Blazblue rewrites Part 1: The Age of Origin and beginning of the Looping World.

(put this on my Reddit may as well put it here)

As we all know, the Blazblue series is one of the most convoluted and over-complicated pieces of media ever. Mainly due to its quantum physics talk and very chuuni dialogue and a lack of good explanation for a lot of points. Naturally, one good thing about being a fan is that through the power of hindsight we can look at the entire series and basically fix what we think was messed up. Of course, we have this freedom since we are usually individual people, don't have a massive writing staff and marketing we need to appeal to, and pretty much the entire skeleton and pieces are there, they just need to be rearranged and/or be tweaked a bit.

I remember getting into Blazblue around the end of high school/beginning of college, almost 5 years ago. I thought the setting was neat and I am into anime action BS. Of course, the story was bonkers and made no sense until I started looking deeper but the main thing that has bugged me were the characters. There is just so much Bullshit that the characters do and brush off that just irritates me, especially when it comes to Ragna. This series has made me rethink the meaning of life, of showing kindness to people, or if "doing things because it's right" is a good enough excuse, how much should you desire your own happiness? All sorts of existential questions that Blazblue has made me think, not from the plot, but just from the BS character interactions.

If you check out my Ragna the Bloodedge tag, or have just been following me for a while, you will see/know how much I will defend this guy to the fucking grave because of all the bullshit that this guy is expected to take and deal with and it being seen as"inspiring" or "heroic" when it is really just sad to me. It isn't me liking the character, it is just a massive amount of pity and feeling sorry for him, to the point where I kind of have a massive bias towards him and end up making him an all-powerful unstable badass in most of my fic ideas with him. But I am getting ahead of myself.

I wanted to lay out my ideas for how I would make a Blazblue rewrite. If anyone wants to use these in their own fanfic, feel free. I don't give a shit about credit.

Starting with the timeline, we have the XBlaze series, Bloodedge Experience, and the core C-Series (ft.

the Phase Shift Novels, and Remix/Variable Heart Manga). In the actual story these are all separate “Possibilities”, or Timelines/Universes. That is dumb and I think that we can tweak things to make it all one linear timeline.

XBlaze takes place in the year 2050, 50 years before the Dark War is stated to begin, and 149-150 years before the main games start. This is plenty of time to make things different. We know from the backstory that Takamagahara, the god-supercomputer that mankind made, was not completed in this possibility due to Touya’s mother iirc. In my idea, all this does is delay the inevitable, Takamagahara will be made, just at a later date now. (edit) There is also the Mitsurugi agency, which was kind of behind the Wadatsumi incident in XBlaze's backstory. With their connections to the Mage's Guild, the Amanohokosaka Clan, and their desire to get the Azure, we could say that this is the agency that discovered the Susanoo, the Boundary, and did most of these experiments to the Prime Fields.

I do not know the exact year when Bloodedge Experience takes place, but I am going to estimate around 10-15+ years from XBlaze, putting it at 2060-2065+, since they do mention Mei as the head/leader of the Amanohokosaka Clan. I am not too sure what the branching-off point is here, Valkenhayn mentions Clavis having killed Naoto in the core C-Series Possibility so maybe it was during their initial meeting. But is Naoto surviving gonna change that much? The only other detail that would need addressing would be Raquel’s relationship with Rachel. According to the wiki bio “Raquel was created when a user of Soul Eater went havoc and killed hundreds upon thousands of people. Clavis Alucard stopped the user and killed them, but was forced to take the lives of 128,932 people in order to do so. When this happened, he held an Embryo. Three years later, the Embryo became Raquel and she was born. Maybe sometime later Raquel could end up being killed or something and another Embryo results in Rachel. I mean we never see or hear mention of a mother, or maybe it’s some reincarnation thing? IDK. We see how stern Clavis was with Raquel, so maybe seeing his first “daughter” die he ends up spoiling the next one rotten, leading to the kind of haughty holier-than-thou Rabbit we know today.

However, all of this needs to be put in perspective of the Origin and Terumi. I may mess up some of the finer details.

The plot of Blazblue started when Susanoo ditched his body, the Susanoo Unit, and then mankind discovered it underground. They excavated it, dug deeper, and found a Cauldron which led to the Boundary, within which they found the Master Unit, the God Computer that would allow them to control reality, and beyond that, they found the Azure, basically the primordial absolute force of the Blazblue Universe. However, the Master Unit can only respond to something anthropomorphic/humanoid and humans can’t survive the Boundary. So they made the Prime Field Devices, Androids meant to go into the Boundary. Pretty weirdly specific criteria that results in robot girls but I don’t see how I can mess with this.

One of them manages to reach the Master Unit and upon touching it she gains the Eyes of the Azure which gives it the power of the Azure and basically becomes not only sentient, but basically a god. The Humanity, freaked out about her new free will and the power she now has, tosses her back into the Boundary. Within the Boundary, the PFD, the Origin as we know her, sees her “sister” units all being tortured. Most likely to break any souls they have so the scientists don’t have to deal with their “free will” getting in the way of their plans. Maybe to bring in Terumi telling Noel that they became weapons, other groups heard of the guys making the PFDs and them getting god power and obviously would be trying to stop them/take this power for themselves, so they decided to make the PFDs into mindless robo-soldiers to fight them off. Origin gets mad and ends up making all of them sentient. Probably by Observing them as sentient, like she sees all of these things “like her” so obviously they must be sentient or at least have the potential for sentience. Kind of like Jotaro going “It’s a similar type of Stand '' to DIO and then getting Time Stop.

Anyways now mankind is fighting these robot girls who want revenge for being treated like tools, all humanity sees is all these in-human weapons killing them for no reason, just because destroying is what a weapon does, and with the Master Unit’s Phenomenon Intervention, they can just rewrite all of their failures into victories. Mankind sees the Origin and the Master Unit as basically the same thing, an evil machine god. His leads into why the Origin and Amaterasu can’t just be separated so Ragna doesn’t have to sacrifice himself to stop the time loops, the world sees The Origin and Amaterasu as one, there is no distinction. This is also apparently the time period when Clavis Alucard helped mankind make the Izayoi, with its Immortal Breaker and ability to resist Observation to fight against the Origin and the PFDs. Ironic that it eventually became known as the prototype for the Lux Sanctus: Murakumo, but I’ll talk about that later.

So what does mankind do? Make a Black Beast to destroy it. I mean we are told to believe that a Black Beast is the result of Azure Grimoire (or just a piece of the Azure) + Murakumo Unit = either a Black Beast if the fusion is imperfect, and a powerful Kusanagi God Slayer is done right. But tell me, why the hell would they build ANOTHER Prime Field Device to fight the PFDs? I will be getting into the exact nature of Black Beasts later. Mankind is apparently cool with the Black Beast destroying the world because so long as they can get the Azure and plug it into Takamagahara, which is basically a manmade Master Unit supercomputer, they can just reset time. But due to a bug or something, the Master Unit stopped this and when the world was destroyed she just made a new one based on her memories. This is the world the characters live in now. And since the last thing she remembers about the world is the Black Beast and obviously she doesn’t want the world to hate and try to kill her, the Black Beast enters the world with everyone having no context to its existence and no other enemy to fight, leading to the Black Beast going from a weapon of Mutually Assured Destruction, to the new Ultimate Evil Enemy of the World.

A few things we need to take note of here.

XBlaze and Bloodedge Experience would need to take place during the Age of Origin, between mankind discovering the Boundary but before the Prime Field War starts. I mean the two things needed for that part to start would be Prime Fields and Takamagahara, and while there is Es who is sort of a PFD, you could simply say that her model isn’t suited for full Boundary Exploration. I know I am really glossing over the Embryo stuff about her but I haven’t seen XBlaze stuff in a while and I would need to find a way to connect it with the Embryo in Centralfiction.

Apparently, there was some off-screen war in which Hihiirokane (the Soul Cutting Sword protected by Jubei’s clan, used by his brother Tomonori to fight Terumi, then put in Clavis’ grave) was used to fight some enemy, “Outside of logic”. I have no idea what this is and it feels like something that shouldn’t be glossed over.

Mankind made a Black Beast on their side to get the Azure and fight the Master Unit, which A. means that in a weird way the Black Beast was sort of on mankind’s side at first before the Origin retconned it into being the destroyer, and B. mankind would have needed to make a Murakumo Unit to fight the Murakumos, knowing that the Origin is making them sentient and turn on them, which kind of feels like a dumb move. But again, I will get to this later.

This will all lead into the Looping World. Now, this is weird because of the main thing which the loop revolves around, The Black Beast. It is either A. as Terumi says in CS, a Cauldron that went batshit (which is precedent by the short story That Which Is Inherited where Sector Seven tries to smelt a Nox but everything goes tits up and a Black Beast forms from the Cauldron (no souls or prime field required), or B. a Time Displaced Ragna and Nu. The Black Beast is a Self-Observing weapon. Observation in Blazblue basically means “deciding if/how something exists” by Observing itself, the Black Beast declares its existence in this time period, which means that no matter what time paradoxical BS you may try to pull, it will always appear (Kind of reminds me of the Time Medallions Clockwork gives team Phantom in Danny Phantom). But a less mind-mushing way to look at it could simply be that, no matter what, this will always happen. Like, say the Assassination of Kennedy is Observed as an event that must ALWAYS happen, then even if you find and stop the sniper. He is gonna still die. Maybe there is another sniper, maybe the sniper gets a good hit on you and manages to make another shot down the road, but anyway you slice it, Kenedy gets shot. That event is permanently locked in history and no matter what you do, this event is inevitable.

But suggestion A is weird because it could either mean that 1. He is talking about the first Black Beast from the Age of Origin, or 2. Since that part of the story probably wasn’t written yet and they are talking about this specific Beast, he is talking about the Dark War Black Beast, in which case there actually was a bit of time before the time loops started, or at least the very first loop, so then there was a bit of time before shit went sideways.

Maybe the Origin didn’t make a Black Beast war and it was all Terumi’s idea. The world would’ve continued as normal but since Terumi hated the Master Unit and mankind wanted power, they tried to make a Kusanagi but it fucked up and made a Black Beast, but without a publicly known Prime Field War to justify it, mankind doesn't see this as a necessary evil which will get the Azure and then reset the world better for them, it’s just a big evil monster.

Okay, that is my interpretation of the Age of Origin for my Blazblue rewrite idea. Not many changes since this is all pretty self-contained and not much needs expanding on. Just make sure to justify some actions and connect the three timelines. I probably missed out on a lot of finer details but I think I got the broad strokes of it. Feel free to correct me.

Next time I will cover the Dark War and hopefully go into explaining how I would make the Powerset make a bit more sense (Ars Magus, Grimoires, Nox Nyctores, the Azure Grimoire, and the Black Beast).

#blazblue #blazblue rewrites

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chicagocityofclans · 4 years

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Vladimir Draga → Peter Facinelli → Warlock

→ Basic Information

Age: 614

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Straight

Powers: Aerokinesis

Birthday: February 17th

Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

Religion: Hellenism

Mark: Draga

Generation: 1st

→ His Personality Vladimir, who prefers being called Vlad, has developed throughout his years. He was once erratic, immature, impulsive, and intense. A man who craved power. Vlad was extremely unpredictable, violent, and had horrible impulsive behavior due to the rejection and abuse during his early childhood. He shunned his feelings, he was emotionally erratic and paranoid, and easily found weakness in those who wore there’s on their sleeves. As he grew with his anger towards the world the more he lost and the more he started reevaluating his outlook on life. Especially, when his powers turned against him and Vlad remained invisible for 68 years, 3 months, 22 days and 19 hours. Young, untrained and unable to control his powers, Vlad watched as his family, friends and the world moved on without him; the majority of them were happy that he was gone.

It changed him. It developed him into the man he is today. Vlad is a logical chess player that watches the world around him quietly before speaking, calculating, being able to look ahead and anticipate others. He wants the most out of life; experiencing love and fatherhood as he developed for the better. He has done a complete 360. However, when angered or under stress, he quickly returns to his self-reliant and suspicious old manners; being distrustful and fearful of what others will impose on him. He will be harsh and judgmental. It took a lot for him to grow and fulfill his need for love which is often upset with a snap of a finger when annoyed and drowning under pressure.

→ His Personal Facts

Occupation: Translating Spells

Scars: None

Tattoos: A feather on his left front shoulder and they’re 8 birds escaping from it onto his chest. He also has a triangle on his right back shoulder.

Two Likes: History and Pointillism

Two Dislikes: Bourgeois People and Plastic Surgeries

Two Fears: The True Meaning of Life and Losing a Limb

Two Hobbies: Painting/Sculpting and Translating Spells

Three Positive Traits: Responsible, Courageous, Intelligent

Three Negative Traits: Impatience, Dry, Stingy

→ His Connections

Parent Names:

Aldee Meago (Mother): Aldee died nearly in her 100s and gave Vlad the best years of his life. If he could he would bring her back to meet her grandkids.

Sibling Names:

Viktor Draga (Brother): Viktor shares Vlad mark. He is Vlad's younger brother. Vlad took on Viktor’s last name and has made it their official mark name.

Vara Sookram nee Draga (Sister): Vara is Vlad's younger sister and closest friend. They have their powers in common and a similar personality.

Villard Draga (Brother): Villard is the youngest of them all. Vlad does care for his youngest brother but Villard is too immature for Vlad’s liking.

Vaughn Draga (Brother): Vaughn is Vlad’s oldest brother by two years but the last to be found and added into their family. They get along well enough.

Children Names:

Fallon Draga (Daughter): He doesn’t know where Fallon gets it from but she is the wild child his mother cursed on him when he was young and growing up.

Alucard Draga (Son): Alucard is much like his replica. He’s quiet and enjoys solitary. Vlad finds himself connecting with his son more easily as he ages.

Romantic Connections:

Rhiannon Draga (Wife): Vlad has been with his wife for nearly half of his life. He is sure she’s the piece that he was missing before.

Platonic Connections:

Fenrin Gustafsson (Good Friend): Vlad and Fenrin have known each other for many years. Their shared histories on the high seas drew them together but a more solid friendship has grown out of that over the years.

Arianna Garcia (Mentee): Ari shares the same powers as Vlad and Alucard. Since Ari and Alucard are close in age it has been a breeze training them both together.

Alyss De Silva (Mentee): Alyss is interested in spells and painting. Vlad is fine with mentoring her on both until Eric Lasiter has a mentee position open.

Hostile Connections:

None

Pets:

None

→ History Since the day Vladimir was born, he had been fighting with himself and the world around him. His mother did the best she could and tried to raise him right, but Vlad fell in with the wrong crowd at a young age. He was pulled into piracy at the age of 8. He was scrubbing decks, assisting gun crews and was the aid of the cook. He was treated harshly, rarely paid and Vlad knew he was expendable. He was surprised when he made it to the age of 12 years old and the crew kept him around. He was sure it was because of his relationship with the sailing masters who were officers in charge of navigation and piloting. Vlad had always had a great sense of direction and feel for air movements. He had helped them out of a storm when he was only 9 years old and had earned their respect. By the time he was 14 years old they allowed him to disembark with them as they battled over treasures, raided governed towns, gathered cured meats and fermented vegetables for their journey and pillaged lawless villages. He was also allowed to eat, drink and be merry with the crew, which was a great come up from fighting with the other younger boys his age for crumbs off the floor when the crew finished eating. As the years onboard continued, Vlad had worked his way up to gunmen then junior officer when the captain requested that he was trained as a sailing master. His mother didn’t approve and refused to use his blood money for her living, but she was always happy when he made port and came home.

Vlad was a senior pirate that had been on many ships and well into his mid-30s when he noticed he had abilities no one else had. Mostly everyone called it luck and wanted him on their ships, but Vlad was uneased by his nearly ‘supernatural’ abilities. After plundering the wrong village, Vlad’s ship was attacked hundreds of miles from land, yet he was the sole survivor. He held his breath as the rough seas took him under repeatedly as he made his way home. He swam when he could and floated on his back when he couldn’t. While his mother was happy to see him and have him home, the other villagers counted him as a traitor and abandoner. He lost his street and sail credits and not even the whores would see him. He grew angry and bitter, turning to rum and stalking in his home. It was the one-year anniversary of the death of his crewmates when some of the villagers thought it would be fun to burn down his home and drag him to the sea to die. It was fun but not for them. Vlad was enraged that he had survived and was being punished for it. The air left the area surrounding his cabin, those villagers and a few undeserving animals, and they all choked to death as Vlad yelled in anger and frustration.

He was on the run with his mother when she commented on his skin and him aging well. Vlad was nearing 40 years old and still looked like he could be in his twenties. That’s when he remembered stories about witches and warlocks from one of the ports they visited. They were hundreds of years old and still looked young, they were able to kill with one word or a snap of a finger, and they were hard to kill themselves. When they finally settled on the outskirts of France, they had been traveling for months and Vlad had been testing his theory while his mother slept. Not fully trusting society, Vlad chose to purchase a plot of land with what money he had saved up from his days of piracy. As he built, the neighboring farmer's daughter caught his eye. He needed a wife and he knew nothing would make his mother happier. They were married within the fortnight but she and his unborn child died during a plague years later.

When Vlad's mother died at the age of 97, he was devastated and his world was dark all around. He still looked like he was in his twenties but he was 83 years old. He knew nothing about himself or whatever power he held. Vlad decided to sell his land and restart his quest for answers. He ran every loose end, hunted down every tale and sought out to kill posers who wanted to trick him out of his money. Vlad was 211 years old when he gave up on his search and was considering taking his life when he went invisible. Vlad remained invisible for 68 years, 3 months, 22 days and 19 hours. He was found by Ambrocio Ee (Lee), who taught him how to change back and explained that he was just like him. He was traveling from Nagasaki to England for a potential tutoring job when he noticed Vlad cold stares into nothing. When Ambrocio heard of Vlad's story he offered his sincere apologies and offered to mentor Vlad instead of continuing to England. Vlad offered to follow him on his journey, wanting to leave that part of continental Eroupe behind him.

Apparently, Vlad had mastered deoxygenation and aerokinetic creation during his time as a pirate and while he was on the run. Ambrocio focused more on his invisibility, of which Vlad was hesitant in the beginning but quickly caught the hang of turning himself and objects around him invisible. Ambrocio was a hard teacher and tried his hardest to get Vlad caught up with not only his powers but spells, charms, potions and more. Vlad worked day and night on learning his basic and advanced powers. It was during a day trip to Wales when Vlad met Viktor and Vara. They shared the same mark and the two of them lived off of the land like nomads. Viktor was only two years younger than him and Vara was five years younger. Vlad was skeptical at first but Vara showed him that she could manipulate storms and tornadoes, both of which Ambrocio had yet to mention to him. Vlad said his goodbye and gave Ambrocio his gratitude but followed after his siblings.

Vlad had stopped counting but he was in his 300s when he met Rhiannon. She reminded him so much of his deceased wife and Vlad couldn’t remember the last time he was willing to skip a lesson to spend time with someone he barely knew. She was 400 years his senior but they formed an unbreakable connection from the start. He eventually started to court her and they were married just as quickly. Vlad continued to practice his magic with his siblings' help and was grateful for Rhiannon understanding that he wouldn’t want to have a child while he still learned to control his powers. Rhiannon removed them from their nomadic life and reintroduced them to the finer life once again after many years. It wasn’t long before they moved overseas to America. Vlad loved the culture and could easily find work since he had picked up over 14 languages in his travels; now he’s expanded to 267 languages that also helps with his job. They eventually settled in Chicago. To Vlad’s surprise and to the surprise of his family he had quickly mastered all of his known powers and had the opportunity to mentor Audo Wilhelm for 20 years. It was about 77 years ago when they discovered Rihannon was pregnant. It came as a shock to both of them that she was carrying twins, one boy and one girl. → The Present Vladimir has had a tough life. Remaining stationary in Chicago is slowly getting under his skin. Vlad has been thinking about possibly vacationing in Hawaii, Tahiti, Bora Bora and Fiji. Especially since he and Rhiannon are nearing their 300 year anniversary. He wants a break away from the busy city life with a full month of lazing around on beaches and eating tropical foods. He cannot remember the last time his family vacationed on an island or away from big inner city tourist attractions. He has made comments about leaving for vacation but Vlad is sure that his family is taking it as a joke. He has already let some of his major clients know that he might not be available in the future and is planning on bringing his proposal to Rihannon and letting her decide whether now is a good time since they’ll be leaving behind her mentees and also removing their own kids from under their mentors for a period of time.

→ Available Gif Hunts (we do not own these)

Peter Facinelli [1][2][3][4][5][6]

#Vladimir Draga #Vlad Draga #Peter Facinelli #Open #OMWR #OWR #OM

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duhragonball · 5 years

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Dragon Ball Z 201

Last episode, Gohan started attending high school in Satan City, but Satan City is riddled with crime, and Gohan’s afraid if he beats up too many criminals with his super powers, it’ll make his social life awkward. I really don’t understand why he’s so worried. Everyone thinks Mr. Satan has super powers, and he seems to do all right.

Anyway, he goes to Capsule Corp. to consult Bulma on the problem, and she mulls it over while smoking a cigarette. This is one of those little details that you don’t really think about much, but it’s something that you just don’t see in modern anime. I’m pretty sure Bulma’s only smoking here as a callback to her father, Dr. Brief, who often smoked and had a similar hairstyle back in the day. I mean, he still does, it’s not like he died or anything. My point is that you never see Bulma smoking in the 2010′s, even though those episodes and movies are set only a few years after this one.

I’m pretty sure that’s because Japanese television adopted stricter rules between 1993 and 2010. Did this scene make it into Dragon Ball Kai? I bet it didn’t. The only recent example of a smoking anime character is Jotaro Kujo from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and they obscured it with shadow every time he lit up. Then again, Lisa Lisa smoked in full view, so maybe it’s just because Jotaro was a minor? Nonetheless, I feel like smoking has been heavily de-emphasized in media throughout my lifetime. It used to be commonplace, and now it seems like creators will avoid smoking altogether. I don’t know if it’s because they just don’t want to use it, or if there’s external pressure to avoid it. It’s a good thing, either way. I remember watching an “I Love Lucy” episode once where the four main characters all just sort of stopped talking so they could light up and get their cigarettes started, like that was a perfectly acceptable use of airtime.

Bulma’s solution is to make Gohan a disguise that he can change into at the push of a button. Gohan is amazed that such a thing is even possible, but she says she can knock it out in two hours.

While she works on that, Gohan goes to hang out with Trunks. Not the one from the future, but the baby we last saw in Episode 193.

Trunks just started training with Vegeta, who feels he’s old enough to learn from him. So naturally he puts in an appearance and chastises Gohan for losing his edge in peacetime.

This episode was a big deal to me when I first watched it in 2001. By then, I was invested enough in DBZ that I couldn’t wait for Cartoon Network to air the post-Cell Games stuff, so I started buying the tapes. I think this episode would have been on the third one I got, and it serves as our first look at the cast seven years after the Cell Games. Until now, all we’ve seen are Chi-Chi, Gohan, and Mr. Satan.

Also, I was genuinely fascinated to see what Vegeta would say or do in a scene like this. He and Gohan never interacted much in the first place, and he was a huge dick during most of that time, and the last time we saw Vegeta, he seemed to be at a crossroads. He declared that he’d never fight again, but what would he do instead? In this episode, we finally get a semblance of an answer. He’s been living here, with Bulma, training the whole time, and now he’s planning to train Trunks. As far as Gohan is concerned, he seems to regard him with a certain degree of respect, warning him that he can’t afford to get flabby.

Later, Bulma finishes Gohan’s super-suit, which includes gloves and boots from Vegeta’s wardrobe.

Gohan’s thrilled with it, but Trunks isn’t. Earlier, he asked if Bulma could make him a costume, but now he’s taking it back.

On his way home, Gohan passes through Satan City again and decides to give the outfit a test run when he spots a reckless driver. Look, if I had a muscle-car that was bright yellow and the number 69 on it, I’d drive like a madman too. This is why I’m not cut out to be a judge.

The guys ask Gohan who he is, since his ridiculous outfit doesn’t tell them anything, and he pauses to consider what his superhero name should be. At last he settles on “The Great Saiyaman,” and he does this elaborate pose to emphasize it.

Hearing this, the two men laugh hysterically, until Gohan gets upset and stomps the roadhard enough to break the pavement. They quickly apologize and promise to drive safely. Score one for justice.

Gohan returns home and Chi-Chi hates his outfit. Is it really that much different from what anyone else in this show has worn so far? I mean, Chi-Chi used to wear a cape and a helmet herself. Does she just think Gohan’s suit doesn’t show enough bare skin?

But Goten loves the Great Saiyaman outfit, so that’s something. Wait, who?

As Gohan flies to school the next day, the narrator fills us in. Basically Goku got Chi-Chi pregnant right before he went off to fight Cell, so nine months later she gave birth to this kid and named him Goten. Of course, if you’re only watching the anime, you would have already seen the boy by now, because he’s all over the new opening credits.

With his new costume, Gohan can just fly to school under his own power, land on the roof, and change back to his normal outfit with the touch of a button on his watch. He says this will save him from having to use Kinto’un to make his commute, but why was he ever using it in the first place? It’s not like he could let people see that either, right? Or did Gohan think Kinto’un wouldn’t be that big a deal?

In class, a couple of students are already talking about the new superhero, although they get his name wrong. I guess “Tireman” does sound a lot like “Saiyaman” if you pronounce it “SIGH-a-man”, like they do in Japanese. I don’t know why the dub changed it from “SIGH-an” to “SAY-an,” but whatever.

Anyway, Gohan angrily corrects them on the proper name, and then he has to make up some story to explain how he would know this. The story here is that Gohan’s so wrapped up in playing a superhero that he keeps forgetting why he wanted the secret identity in the first place. What does he care if people get the name wrong? As long as they’re not calling him “Son Gohan”, it works.

Later, Videl gets a call on her wristwatch, because everyone has a magic watch, apparently. There’s a hostage situation on a tour bus, so she has to excuse herself from class to go deal with it.

Gohan doesn’t understand, so Sharpner explains that Videl assists the authorities in crises like these. She’s basically following in the footsteps of her father, Mr. Satan, and Sharpner assures Gohan that she’s about as strong as her dad is, so she’s more than capable of handling these situations.

But Gohan doesn’t buy that, because the last time he saw Mr. Satan, he got beat by Cell in one hit. Okay, yeah, but Perfect Cell is a long way from a gang of busjackers, you know. I’m not sure Gohan fully appreciates that distinction, though the irony still shines through. It seemed harmless at the time to allow Mr. Satan to take credit for defeating Cell. Gohan clearly never waned the accolade. He’s worried about people finding out he foiled that bank robbery in the last episode. But Mr. Satan’s faux heroism has now inspired Videl to try to become an actual hero, and she might not be as lucky as her father.

So Gohan excuses himself to go to the restroom and decides to back up Videl as Great Saiyaman........ except he doesn’t know where the bus terminal is.

Meanwhile, at the bus terminal... HAHAHAHAHAHA WHAT IS WITH THIS GUY? Why is he covering his entire face with his bandit mask? How does he see what he’s doing? What’s with the chicken hat? This is insane, and it’s great.

The bus they’ve taken over is full of old people, who seem unconcerned about being used as hostages. I think the deal here is that these guys just got done robbing a bank, then fled to this bus when the cops came after them, and now they’re hoping to use the bus to escape.

I feel like this is some sort of anime trope, with senior citizen tourists being completely unworried about what’s going on around them. I’m mostly thinking of that episode of Hellsing Ultmate where Alucard and Father Anderson were about to throw down in a museum until Seras led a tour group between them to defuse the situation.

Anyway, this lackadaisical attitude irritates the crooks, but they still pose for a photo when asked.

Then Videl arrives in the air vehicle she uses for these situations.

So basically, Videl doesn’t have super powers OR a costume, and she just flies into a situation and starts whooping ass whenever she gets a call on her watch. What exactly is she doing that the cops couldn’t have done? I mean, at least they had guns.

So Videl jumps on the bus and crashes through the wndow and starts opening up a can of whoop-ass on these guys. She’s basically Batman without the suit, which is pretty awesome.

Then one of the old people takes a photo of her, and she blushes. Awwww.

Unfortunately, Videl was so busy kicking butt that she failed to notice no one was driving the bus as it rolled off a cliff. But Gohan’s here in time to catch it, and everything’s okay.

And I guess this puts Videl’s character into perspective. A lot of critics point out that she never really got any development as a fighter. When she appears in video games, they usually have Gohan or Great Saiyaman show up to help her as part of her finishing move. I think a lot of fans, especially female ones, wanted to see Videl train until she got strong enough to hang with the Z-Fighters, and it just never happened.

But, I mean, this is her second appearance, and the debut of the idea of Videl as a crimefighting heroine, and she’s already gotten in over her head. She’s not nearly as goofy as Mr. Satan, but she’s more like him than the audience might care to admit. As impressive as she was on that bus, she nearly got herself killed.

Gohan introduces himself as the Great Saiyaman and she’s as put off by his costume and poses as everyone else so far. Then Gohan addresses her by name and flies off.

Videl’s all like “How does he know my name?” But doesn’t everyone in town know Videl? The people on the bus recognized her. The crooks recognized her, which was why they opened fire as soon as she landed on the bus. Why wouldn’t a new superhero know her?

So Gohan’s pretty pleased with himself, and the narrator assures us that Gohan’s secret won’t be exposed, right? Right? You’re shaking your head, why is that?

#dragon ball #2019dbliveblog #great saiyaman saga #gohan #videl #vegeta #bulma #trunks #chi chi #goten #erasa #sharpner #mr satan #cell #perfect cell

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wheremytwinwatches · 5 years

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[Where My Twin Watches]: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 10

Alright, where did we leave off… oh yeah, Kyoko sacrificed herself to take down Witch-Sayaka, leaving only Homura and Muggle Madoka against the SuperWitch that’s coming. So in other words, everything’s terrible, as per the standard state of affairs.

Abridged!Alucard: “But enough focusing on the past. Instead, let’s focus on the past!”

But now, Homura backstory, if I understood the last credits teaser right! Finally, we get to see her in the previous timeline, how she became a Magical Girl. Let’s get to it!

I Won’t Rely On Anyone Anymore

A girl in a school uniform fiddling with a black ribbon-

…

...what.

No, seriously, what?

That is not Homura.

This girl, with glasses and massive pigtails and nervous fiddling, stammering through an introduction to the class? Who’s getting back to school after a hospital trip, and is behind on her studies? You are not Homura, you are-

Madoka! I see Madoka in the classroom! Hey, Madoka!

Ahem. As I was saying, this little meek girl? This is Homura, the Mysterious Transfer Student, the Magical Girl, the Time Traveler?

...what the hell happened to her? What is Urobuchi going to do to her to turn her into the Homura I thought was the villain at first?

This is going to be a painful episode, isn’t it? I was all braced for analytical Homura, not someone even meeker than Madoka. I’m already trying to find the Incubator and punch it, if it’s responsible for turning this quiet girl into the Vulcan.

Oh, hold up. I remember this! This is the first episode all over again! Homura’s surrounded by classmates like before, but instead of cooly sidestepping their questions Homura’s all flustered and nervous from the attention.

Whoa, Madoka for the save! Our Protagonist swoops in and makes the excuse that Miss Akemi is supposed to get some medicine, and acts as the Nurse’s Aide to get her out of the questioning.

My god, it is the first episode again, but they’ve switched positions! Now Homura is the uncertain follower, although Madoka is being much more talkative than Homura was when she tried to give a warning.

Jeez, I don’t know what to do with this outgoing Madoka. I mean, she’s nice and savvy enough to help Homura out of an uncomfortable situation, but it’s a jarring change from the shell shocked Madoka we’ve had the past few episodes. A good change, don’t get me wrong, just odd.

Madoka says Homura should just call her by her first name, and asks if she can do the same to Homura. Homura stammers out that she doesn’t get called by her first name that much, and she thinks it’s weird. Madoka is quick to exclaim that having a name meaning “flame” isn’t weird, it’s cool!

...her name means “flame”? I’m trying to reconcile “flame” and “cold calculating Mysterious Transfer Student”, but I’m not seeing it.

In the face of Madoka’s enthusiasm, Homura mumbles that she must not be living up to her name, which causes Madoka to spin around- Hey, it’s the Hallway Scene! It’s the “spin around and say something shocking” scene from the first episode, only instead of a warning, Madoka’s trying to encourage Homura to live up to her name!

I just want to say for the record that I love this reversal of the first episode, Madoka trying to encourage Homura to change rather than Homura trying to discourage Madoka from changing.

The reversals keep coming, like Homura struggling with math because she’s been out of school for so long (and practically crying from embarrassment in front of all the class, it is so weird to see Homura like this) and apparently getting light-headed from basic exercises and mocked by the other students. Jeez, bedridden for half a year? What the heck happened to Homura to put her in the hospital that long?

It’s evening now, Homura’s walking along a bridge thinking about Madoka’s encouragement that she become cool to match her name… and dismissing it because she “can’t do anything right”. Aw jeez, seeing her without confidence…

AW HELL NO! Another voice just popped up saying it’d be better if she died right now, and the art’s going all weird. Labyrinth! Witch!... but this is the previous timeline, so we know she’ll get out of this. But how?

Wait. Wait wait wait. I know that gun! I KNOW THAT GUN!

She’s back. Our Lady Mami, the Girl With A Thousand Guns, is back. Hell. Fucking. Yes.

Wait, glove? Bow?

Heck yeah, the awesome music is back, and the Witch’s minions just got bound by thread. And we finally get to see-

What. Mami’s there, and… a girl in a pink dress with pink hair.

That is Madoka. That is our Protagonist, with powers. I am both in love with this and sick to my stomach at the knowledge that Madoka has Contracted.

And yep, there’s the little jerk! Homura’s in shock over seeing these girls suddenly show up and stop the monsters, and now there’s a little Bunny-Cat, spouting off some exposition. Madoka jokingly says Homura’s discovered their secret and asks her not to tell the rest of the class, and then starts shooting light arrows again. Witch goes boom.

Mami’s place! I missed this apartment and the extravagant cakes. Homura’s asking about what the heck she just saw. Madoka says that Mami’s the veteran of the duo, and that she just made her Contract with the Incubator last week. Homura’s quick to question if they get scared, and Madoka responds that of course she gets scared. “But the more witches we slay, the more people we can save.” Aw, it’s the old idealistic view of Magical Girls, before the Incubator’s true nature showed.

Homura perks up at Madoka’s hero talk. After all, if a magical hero like Madoka says that she can live up to her name, then maybe she has a chance…

Wait, I just realized. Where’s Sayaka? Does she show up after Homura in the baseline?

Oh, crap. Mami’s talking about training Madoka up before Walpurgisnacht arrives. Ok, let’s-

Wait, gears? Floating buildings? Flying thing- what the hell?! Walpurgisnacht is here already?! (The shot’s from a distance away, but it looks like an upside down woman in a fancy blue dress, underneath a large gear) But we just saw Homura learn about Magical Girls, Sayaka and Kyoko haven’t even shown up yet. Geez, did the two of them only show up in the later timeline? Are we just going to skip right over Homura contracting?

Madoka? “I’d better go now.” Madoka?! Homura’s crying, afraid to see Madoka fight Wally- oh. Oh hell no. Mami’s dead, again?! But she only just got back a few minutes ago! Don’t do this to me, Urobutcher! Argh argh argh, Madoka’s going off to fight Wally because with Mami down, and apparently Sayaka and Kyoko don’t exist in baseline or got offed offscreen, she’s the only MG left.

And when Homura cries that if she fights alone she’ll be killed… Madoka says that even then, she’s a Magical Girl. She has to protect everyone. Even as Homura cries that there’s nothing they can do, that they should run away… Madoka thanks Homura for becoming friends, and says saving her from the Witch on the bridge is one of her proudest accomplishments. So she’s happy that she became a Magical Girl.

And now, Homura’s crying over a body in water. No. No no no, I refuse, I refuse to accept that that is Madoka dead. It’s all a prank, she’ll jump up and yell “Got you!”, they’ll laugh and go back to class… ok then, I guess this explains why Homura is so standoffish. After seeing a friend die, who would want to put themselves at risk of feeling that pain again? Better to be distant than suffer.

INCUBATOR. FUCK OFF.

Wait. Aw damn, it makes sense now. This is the chance for Homura’s Wish. To prevent Madoka from giving her own life protecting Homura.

“I want to redo my meeting with Miss Kaname. But this time, instead of her protecting me, I want to become strong enough to protect her!”

Ooh, a good wish. Not just another chance, but power enough to protect another Magical Girl. For someone who just saw her friend die, pretty well thought-out. And with that, Homura becomes a Lich.

Hoo boy. Well I guess this explains Homura. After seeing that happen, she’s gonna want to try and make the most of this next attempt. Madoka says she should live up to her name? Unbraid her hair and act like ‘cool’ kids in TV shows. Mess around with this magic to make up for her shortfalls in baseline. Since Madoka hasn’t Contracted yet, try to scare her off and prevent Mami from becoming her mentor.

Man, it’s going to be interesting seeing the other episodes from Homura’s view.

Alright, Take Two! Time to save the Protagonist!

Homura wakes up in a light and breezy hospital room, a calendar proclaiming it’s the 16th of whatever month, a “New Student Guide” on the table… and a Soul Gem in her hand. Welcome to the present, Homura. Now for the first episode again!

Wait, what? Why does she still have her pigtails and glasses? I definitely don’t remember seeing those, or a smile on her face. This isn’t the present we saw, so what? She goes back more than once? Did I misunderstand the Wish? “I want to redo my meeting with Miss Kaname.” That’s singular, it doesn’t imply repeated time travel. How would the Wish result in that? And why?

Although… there was a second part to that Wish, wasn’t there? “I want to become strong enough to protect her!” Now that I think about it, all the Wishes I’ve seen so far have been completed on the MG’s end. Mami didn’t die, Kamijo’s hand was healed, Kyoko’s father got people to listen to him. Is it an aspect of Wishes that they must be answered in full? So if Homura doesn’t become strong enough to save Madoka… would it send her back again?

That’s so cool!... but also horrifying when you think about it. I mean, knowing that this is not our timeline, and the Wish can cause her to go back again if she isn’t strong enough… how many times does she go back?

Homura gives a much more enthusiastic greeting to the classroom than last time. And then, as the Teacher starts giving her introduction Homura rushes forward and grabs Homura’s hands.

“Miss Kaname! I’ve become a magical girl too!!”

Flute music’s back! Under an overpass while it’s raining, looks like Madoka and Mami are training this new Magical Girl. Homura’s testing out her time-freezing ability and swinging a golf-club at a barrel… with varying effectiveness. Homura definitely needs more exercise, but you can’t fault her enthusiasm.

Time magic: powerful, but tricky to learn how to fight with it. So what does Homura do? Start making bombs!... Huh, looks like I get to quote one of my favorite Time Loop stories.

On a much more practical note, I’ve also learned about a dozen ways to mix household cleaning supplies into small explosive charges. For the record, I wouldn’t really recommend learning explosive making via trial and error. The error parts tend to be as painful as they are visually impressive.

As I don’t know what exactly causes her to travel back in time, if it’s a fixed point or whatever, I’m running on the assumption that her dying would qualify as “not being strong enough to protect Madoka” and would revert time.

So, now she’s got time travel and pipe bombs. Let’s go fight Witches! This Labyrinth looks laundry-themed, blue skies and shirts on wires. And falling chairs? Homura’s clutching a wire and shrieking as Mami and Madoka easily do Extreme Funambulism, fighting… a bunch of arms in a dress, with ice skate-wearing legs falling from the skirt. Right, can’t forget Witches are weird.

Mami ribbons up a bridge for Homura, who Timestops and jogs forward, throwing a bomb right up the Witch’s… well, the Witch explodes. Good for you, Homura, you killed a Witch! Oh yeah, just remembered that Witches are fallen Magical Girls, because the Incubator is a dick. But for now, Madoka gleefully hugs Homura while Mami grins. Hooray!

Oh go to hell, Urobuchi. So yeah, we go straight from that victory to Madoka lying dead aga- wait, she’s alive! Wait. Wait wait wait. No. NO! Oh god damn it, she’s Witchifying. Yup, our Protagonist just turned into a friggen huge Witch. Homura is understandably in shock.

And it looks like it’s recall-point time travel, after all! And the point is “Madoka dies or becomes a Witch”. Guh. Homura wakes up in her hospital bed. Again. Sees the calendar. Again. And when she looks at her Soul Gem again, it’ll be knowing that it’s the seed of another Witch. Guh!

“Kyubey’s tricking all of you!” Aw, Homura. I know that you know the truth, but how exactly can you prove it? Oh hey, Sayaka’s here! I was wondering if she was only in our timeline or not, seeing as she didn’t show up the other times. But unfortunately, she’s in the pro-Kyubey camp, asking what the Incubator could possibly gain from telling such a lie.

Aw damnit Sayaka. I love you and all, but this suspicious, “I bet you’re just trying to turn us against eachother, newcomer!” attitude is my biggest beef with Paladins. Yep, Sayaka thinks that Homura is working with Kyoko, who I guess is here now. Thankfully Madoka’s the voice of reason, although Sayaka… actually raises a good point. A bomb-user is all well and good with the other team members are ranged, but Sayaka’s stuck in melee as the high-explosives fly past. Looks like Homura needs to upgrade.

More timestoppage, as Homura rifles through a locker room of smoking guys in suits. Some sort of gang, or something? Isn’t the big organized crime thing in Japan the Yakuza? Anyways, Homura’s busy sticking pistols and friggen shotguns in her Hammerspace Pocket. And I so want to see what’s going on behind the shield as she puts the weapons away. Or is it one of those things where it only works if you don’t look directly at it, otherwise she’d just drop it? Give me rules for these magical powers, damnit.

Aw man, and it looks like Sayaka turned into a Witch this time around, too. Although Kyoko’s on their side now, Madoka’s still getting knocked around as she tries to reason with the Witch, Homura actually manages to save her by stopping time and shooting all of the train wheels. And then apologizes as she primes a bomb.

One explosion and destroyed Witch later, the Labyrinth collapses. Looks like they all made it out- oh hey, Mami! She survived this time! Awesome! Still, bad feelings all around, Kyoko’s expressing her grief through frustration and Madoka is flat-out crying. Homura’s- wait what’s that glow

Ribbons? Mami, what are you

Gunshot?! KYOKO?!

NOT AWESOME! NOT AWESOME AT ALL! MAMI WHAT THE FUCK?!

Kyoko’s dead. Kyoko’s dead because her Soul Gem just got shot by Mami, who is crying and shakily pointing her rifle at Homura. “If Soul Gems give birth to Witches, then we have no choice but to die, do we?!” Holy shit, Mami’s lost it. She-

...Madoka just put Mami down.

“I don’t want this! I can’t take any more… of this…!”

And then there were two.

We’re back to the aftermath of Walpurgisnacht. And this time, both girls are battered, power spent. No more Grief Seeds to clean their Soul Gems. Just lying in the rain waiting for the end. All Homura can do is joke about becoming monsters and mess up the world. Just keep destroying “until there’s no more evil, no more sadness, nothing left at all.” Aw, Homura.

“Let’s just break, break, break it all to dust..!”

To which Madoka- oh, you liar! You said you were out of Grief Seeds! You adorable little liar, you! Homura’s distraught, but Madoka says she wants Homura to do something that only she can do. She asks Homura to go back and save ‘Stupid Madoka’ from being tricked by the Incubator. Homura swears, she will save Madoka. No matter how many times it takes.

And then Madoka asks for one more thing.

…

Once again, Homura wakes up.

“No one will believe me about the future.”

Glasses off, burst of magic on eyes.

“No one will accept the truth about the future.”

Bows undone, hair let loose.

“Then, I…”

Homura has arrived.

Wait, no. Homura has walked up to Madoka’s room, warns her against accepting miracles while holding a dead Incubator body, and walks off.

Timestop again. “I won’t rely on anyone anymore! I don’t need anyone to understand me, either!” Homura appears to be grinding Grief Seeds with heavy weaponry. If she finishes every last Witch herself, then there won’t be anyone for Madoka to fight. And she will defeat Walpurgisnacht on her own.

Aw crap, it’s the Vision. We’re finally here. And although I’ve seen this before, now that I know the meaning, it’s heartbreaking to see Homura trying so hard, only for that little jerk Incubator to trick Madoka at the eleventh hour. And now we see and hear Homura, trying to warn Madoka to not listen to the Incubator…

“If she gives up, it’s over. But you have the power to change fate itself… All this inevitable destruction and tragedy… You can change it, if you want. The power to do so lies within you.”

“Can I really?”

“Don’t let him trick you! You’re falling right into his trap!!”

“Can I really do something to help? Could I really change this ending?”

“Of course you could. So make a Contract with me… and become a Magical Girl!”

“Nooooooo!!”

Later. The Incubator is remarking how amazing Madoka was when she transformed. It estimated that she would become the most powerful MG in the world, but to think she would take down Walpurgisnacht with a single shot…

So that’s how powerful Madoka the Protagonist can be. Able to destroy the thing that Homura has spent timeline after timeline fighting.

But as the strongest of all magical girls, she took down her greatest enemy, and then turned into the wickedest of all witches.

Ok, hold up. Witch-Madoka’s going to destroy the entire planet in 10 days? But- but-

“Oh, well. What happens next is mankind’s problem, not ours. We’ve got all the energy we need now. Our quota is almost met.”

*snap*

You hear that, kids?! That’s the sound of the Incubator reaching a whole new level of stupid! Congratulations, you little dick. I honestly thought you had reached your limit, but nope!

Wasn’t the whole point of all this to harvest humanity’s emergy to counteract entropy? That humans were the only emotional species, that fueled the rest of the universe? But when that fuel source gets wiped out, your only reaction is to smugly say that your quota is

almost

met?! Newsflash, Incubator: “almost” does not equal “100%”! You either have it or you don’t! And if you don’t, and your one fuel source gets wiped out, then you’ll never have it! You just lost! Game over, the universe is gonna end! And you’re so stupid that you think this is a victory! Argh!

Homura doesn’t even give the Incubator the time of day, just turns. The Incubator asks if she’s going to fight the new Super-Witch (because hey, if humanity is doomed, might as well snatch up any remaining Soul Gems, amirite?), but Homura’s got places to be. And finally, the Incubator catches on that Homura is a time traveler, just as she travels again.

“I’ll do it over. As many times as it takes, I’ll keep going back…”

We get an ever-so-satisfying shot of Homura blowing the Incubator up… only to see it run across the screen, unharmed. She gives chase, blasting away… and catches up just as a young pink-haired girl picks up the injured Rabbit-Thing. And from this angle, this time, we see the sadness in Homura’s face, watching her only friend protect the trickster. And the resolve, as she swears that she’ll stay in this time-looping maze forever if it’s for Madoka’s sake.

End credits. Or rather, the stereotypical intro sequence. With the addition of Kyoko and and Homura on the Radio Tower of Lies.

After-credits teaser, over a stylized picture of MG Madoka in the center, Homura lurking off to the side, and silhouettes of Mami, Kyoko, and Sayaka in the corner:

“After all the time you spent watching over those girls… Do you really feel nothing for them at all? Did you never try to understand how much they were suffering?”

#wmtw #where my twin watches #ranubis #pmmm #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm 10

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muses-darling · 5 years

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Fire & Fury - A Star Wars AU - Ch.3 Turned Around

“What do you know of your family before you came to the order Kit?” Gabriel asked.

“Only that I was born on Alderaan, that at the tender age of three I was brought to the temple and from there I was raised in the ways of the Jedi.”

“Mmm, yes, that is true, are you aware of how you were brought to the temple? Of what lead to us discovering you and your force abilities, deciding that you were to be raised a Jedi?” Gabriel asked as they sat in the Jedi Council chamber.

“I am not aware Master.” Kit sat frowning.

“It was no accident your discovery. We had been in pursuit of a group of dark Jedi that had left the order, we tracked them down to the planet of Alderaan where they had chosen to hide away when we came upon where they had hidden we discovered you.”

Kit listened his face serious, “We? You mean you?”

“I was but one of those on the mission yes,” Gabriel nodded. “We entered their hideout. While searching through the rooms I found yours, you were asleep in your bed. So peaceful, so uncorrupted by the dark side unlike your parents.” Gabriel admitted. “I was given permission to take you so I did.”

“You took me?” Kit asked.

“It-It was for your own good Kit, you parents were becoming Sith Lords.” Gabriel assured him.

“You took me? STOLE ME FROM MY PARENTS!” Kit stared at the man horrified. “You stole me!” There were tears.

“Now Kit I know you are upset but you don’t know them.”

“You took that from me.”

“They were evil Kit.” Gabriel said. “All Sith Lords are.”

“But they could have been saved.”

“They were too far gone.”

“So they are dead?” Kit looked horrified.

“I know not, I was only a knight then. I would assume so as I have heard nothing on the matter since. Kit, I- I only did what I felt was right at the time, what I still feel is right.”

“Stealing children from their homes?” Kit asked. “How many Master Gabriel? How many have you stolen?”

“Just you.”

“The Order?”

Gabriel said nothing.

Kit shook with rage, standing up, “As Lord Ignis is a Sith perhaps he will have some insight on what happened to my Family. On what happened to my memories.”

“Kit you should honestly-” Gabriel began but fell silent when Kit turned upon him.

“I’m done taking your advice Master.” He glared before turning and leaving.

Gabriel watched the closest person he had ever had to a son leave. “Oh Kit I’m so sorry.”

________________________________________________________________

Glittering lights shone above the mingling of the fabulously wealthy, the scum of the underbelly of society, and everyone caught in between. Here one could gain the fortune of their lives or gamble it away. If one was careful then one could make an excellent score, here if one was polished enough, had connections, and an exceptional woman with breathtaking capabilities each one unique involving all manner of weapons one could easily find the sweet spot of any mark.

While he could have his eyes on the many beings that surrounded them he could only keep his eyes off of her for a moment. She was so elegant her dress was one that left very little imagination to the simple onlooker, but his imagination ran wild with it.

“Keep your eyes on the prize darling,” Honey told him pressing a kiss to his ear as she spoke adjusting his bow-tie. “You can ravish me on a pile of credits when we are done here.”

“You know me too well.”

“I know us too well. Now then it’s all in place, I’ll seduce the mark, you come looking for me and then we’ll get our credits.”

“A bit more than that but yes,” Alucard smiled. “We will get what we came for.”

“Then leave all the richer for it.” Honey smiled before she pulled away with a careless laugh.

Drac lead her to a table where they played one of the games. As the losses came Drac pretended to get frustrated before Honey made a snide comment leading him to raise his hand to her. It was all for show and something they had rehearsed, it was his least favorite part of the whole thing.

Honey let the fake tears well up into her eyes as she left the table.

Drac drained his glass before leaving in a huff to go to his position waiting for his next cue.

Honey sobbed until she got out to a balcony noticing that she had been followed.

“A pretty lady shouldn’t have so many tears to shed.” The man said. “Not when I can make her so happy.”

Honey turned and felt a smile come to her face, easily rehearsed so that it came naturally. “Oh thank you.”

“Why don’t we get a drink?” He suggested to her.

Honey grinned. “Oh of course.” She took his arm letting him lead her to the bar flashing her dazzling smile letting her eyes look at him up through those lashes of hers.

At the bar he got them drinks and they went to a alcove to drink. While taking her drink she heard the commotion of Layla knocking someone out turning but recognizing where her hand was she slipped the thin dissoluble land in his drink. It was gone by the time he looked back as she sipped her own drink. “What a night.” She shook her head.

“All the better with you in my company sweetheart.”

“Oh I’m sure.” She said watching him down most of his drink.

He coughed and she looked alarmed. “Oh, these bartenders and their mixing drinks. Why don’t you come up with me to my room? I can mix you something exquisite.”

He set the drink down and followed her to the room he was out by the time he entered the room. Taking a look through his pockets she smiled as she found his information. “Thank you for your contributions.” She patted his head. “Not that you’ll notice, so wealthy you could spend a million credits and use another to clean up your spilled drink.” She transferred the credits to an undisclosed account that would slowly transfer the funds to other accounts then theirs before erasing all paths that lead between the two. Ripping off the man’s pants she undressed leaving her clothes here and there before dressing in her getaway clothes.

“You know, we really need to come up with a new gambit.” Alucard told her in the waiting speeder. “I really don’t like it. I know you came up with it but-”

Honey leaned in and kissed his cheek. “does a million credits help?”

Alucard looked to her. “It isn’t about the money, I don’t want to hurt you Honey I never have and I never will again.”

“I’ve had worse. It works so well in our favor.”

“That isn’t the point Raelia.” he never used her name, never. “I love you and raising a hand to you even if it is your idea never sat well with me.” He drove as he spoke. “I love you and I was raised to never hurt the woman I loved.”

“I know that, but if it helps after this we won’t ever need to.” Honey rested her head on his shoulder before they were made to come to a stop. “What’s-” An explosion cut her off as the speeder crashed to the ground sending them both from it.

________________________________________________________________

The dark and dank cell was the only thing he had seen for the last few weeks especially the ceiling for most of it as he was left to lay there breathing, twitching and drooling. His body ached, and his mind wandered to the sunny golden haired lover that he continued to protect, his Kit. His mind drifted searching for even a glimpse of him in the force and found little trace of him. Something wasn’t right. Was his Kit in a coma? His hand slowly agonizingly reached for the kyber crystal around his neck, fingers lovingly wrapping around the green crystal. Where was he? Where was his Kit? These were the things that he wondered until sleep claimed him.

Sleep did come for him, not the kind blissful sleep like when his arms wrapped around the gentle frame of his love, as he nestled his face among the dense ringlets, breathing in the soft floral scent the man wore. Lips pressed in a kiss to the man’s head as he let bliss come to him. No such comfort was here for him, and he found no similar fondness in the force. He had to get free. He had to find Kit. How? Every movement was a trial? His body needed to recover or he would be of no use to Kit. Hades lay there struggling to stay asleep to heal, Kit had taught him such a thing within the force, healing. It was odd, a year ago he would have scoffed at the idea of using the light side in his efforts to save the one who was most precious to him, or that he would have someone so precious to him for that matter. Having Kit in his life was so great an influence that he couldn’t ignore, the man had truly brought him back from the darkness shown him a new path.

Dreams filled his mind and none of them helped him. Sitting up he came to the realization that no sleep none that was worth having was to be had. As he reached a sitting position he ignored the protest and plea coming from his body. He focused his mind instead on the force the lighter side drawing on it wrapping himself in it. His eyes faded to their hazel blues that they naturally were away from the twisted ones he wore as a Sith. Closing them he began using the force to end the aching, to heal, he had to, not for his sake, for Kit’s sake.

________________________________________________________________

Echos, thumps, groans, creaks, all other manners of unsettling sounds filled the air around the ship as Crowley helped set up a perimeter around them.

“Master Crowley I don’t really like this place,” Ben said watching something shift in the trees above them. “It feels gross.”

“My thoughts exactly dear boy,” Aziraphale glared at Crowley. “See even Ben doesn’t like this place.”

Crowley sighed, “Well I didn’t hear any ideas from you about where else we could hide from them. Until we can establish a connection to Kit, I think for the time being we should hide here.”

Ben walked to where a piece of the ship had landed and picked it up noticing another he followed it picking up the trail till he looked up and realized how lost he was. “Masters? Masters Crowley and Aziraphale?” Arms dropping the items falling to the ground. “Hello?’

Harper came down, the ramp sensing something was wrong. Looking she knew it. “Guys? HEY!”

Both men ceased arguing and looked up at her.

“Where’s Ben?”

“What?” They asked looking at each other, her, then around them. “BEN!”

Harper felt panic but pushed it down. “We are not resting till we find him.”

“Someone has to stay with Juliet.” Crowley reminded them.

“I’ll stay with her,” Aziraphale said. “It was your idea to come here.”

“Alright then,” Crowley nodded. “That’s fair.” He looked to Harper. “Stay close last thing we need is both of you lost.”

Harper nodded grabbing her lightsaber and Ben’s. “In case he needs it when we get to him.”

“Good thinking.” Crowley nodded.

“One of us has too.” Harper said dryly.

Crowley gave her a look but said nothing as they went into the forest beyond.

#Ch.3 Fire and Fury #SeaCoastCity SWAU #SW:F&F

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callunavulgari · 6 years

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TOP 25 FICS OF 2018

1. A Cornstalk Fiddle by @notbecauseofvictories | Devil Went Down To Georgia | The Devil/Johnny | 17k

Where Johnny goes, the Devil follows; where Johnny goes, the Devil is already there.

Heather Says: So. I never thought that my favorite fic of the entire year would be a fic written about a song - and one that I don’t even particularly like - but here I am. I read this fic the same night that I finally broke down and watched Moonlight, and ended up listening to Moonlight’s End Credits and Hello Stranger by Barbara Lewis on repeat while I finished that first chapter on my back porch. This is that perfectly atmospheric fic that you’ll find maybe once every ten years and could probably sustain you on its memory for just as long.

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Heather Says: This story blew my entire mind. It was lovely, and tragic, and hilarious, and everything that a good novel should be. The parts of this fic that map out the unseen lives of Imelda, Hector, and Ernesto, that hidden backstory that a movie can only hint about, were exquisite to the point that I was afraid getting to the point where, well, they die, would be a letdown. It really wasn’t. If anything, the story managed to get richer as it went along, until suddenly you’re in a room sobbing into a pillow at four in the morning and have to be awake in four hours. No regrets.

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Steve is (maybe) a little bit still in love with Nancy Wheeler and (maybe) trying to figure himself out-- between the night terrors and the babysitting and the general weirdness that is Hawkins, Indiana-- before he graduates.

Billy Hargrove fits in there somewhere (probably).

Heather Says: Under the Covers was the first Harringrove fic that actually kicked me over the edge from ‘eh this ship looks like it would have good hate sex’ and into full-fledged believer. It’s an intricately crafted look into the world of Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington post-season two and it is absolutely glorious.

4. Bloody Ruin by esama | Castlevania | Alucard/Trevor | 37k

Vampire hunter and a vampire try to get along.

Heather Says: Written before season two came out, this was one of those fics that I clicked on because the pairing interested me and I wanted to see how it worked. It did not disappoint, and even after I delved through the tag on ao3 after I marathoned season two, this is still my favorite.

5. a road less traveled and a life less led by Azzandra | Dishonored | Billie & The Outsider | 9k

She took him out of the Void, as promised. And then she kept him, she supposed.

Heather Says: You know all that fanart that started cropping up after Death of the Outsider came out? The ones where Billie and the Outsider crept around Dunwall or Karnaca stealing fish and safes and graffiti-ing buildings? The ones with that found family vibe? Yeah. This fic scratches the same itch that all that art did.

6. But I’m Not There Yet by sarahyyy | Yuri On Ice | Yuri/Otabek | 71k

“Are you not going to read the article?” she asks, flopping onto his bed. “Look who ranked second, just after Phichit Chulanont.”

Otabek reluctantly scrolls down, and oh. #2 - Yuri Plisetsky

In the embedded Instagram photo just under that subheading, a very grumpy Yuri is cuddling a very grumpy-looking cat. The caption reads: I found the cat version of me at the shelter today. #iknowisaidnomorecats #canyoublameme

Heather Says: And here, in the stupid cute category we have teenagers navigating love through social media. What’s more, there’s a companion fic.

7. flowers start to bloom in every different hue by orphan-account | Coraline | Coraline/Wybourn | 1k

Coraline grows up, gets a tattoo, and falls in love. In that order.

Heather Says: I read this fic on a slow day at work, often in quick bursts while I was waiting for the kitchen to finish my table’s food. It’s short. It’s sweet. It’s perfect. And honestly? It’s everything that I was looking for when I ventured into the Coraline tag on ao3 because I was curious.

8. Victory Conditions by @astolat | Transformers | Megatron/Optimus Prime | 37k

“Do you want me to tell you a story?” Megatron said mockingly. “You won’t like it, Prime. It’s not a very nice one.”

Heather Says: Fun fact, I’m not even in this fandom. I haven’t touched the Transformers fandom since the first movie came out in 2007 and I spent a very confusing week shipping a boy and his car. But Astolat has literally never lead me wrong, and I was having one of those bored days where nothing quite itches the right spot, so I sat down on the couch and spent two hours reading this. Worth it.

9. just in it for the game by grim_lupine | Thor | Thor/Loki | 6k

“It's excellent rehabilitation for my image,” Loki says, widening his eyes. “They love you, and because of that they'll trust me. You wouldn't ruin this for me, would you?”

Thor glares at him.

Loki’s mouth twitches. “Also, it's the funniest thing that's ever happened to me.”

Heather Says: The Thor/Loki bug never really bit me until after Ragnorak came out. I mean, sure, I read it and it was good, but hella’s Frostiron fics basically destroyed me for any other Loki pairing. HOWEVER. Ragnorak happened and screwed that all the way up. Also, you know, this fic is absolutely lovely and was just what the doctor ordered.

10. so this guy walks into a bar by MasterOfAllImagination | Pacific Rim | Newt/Hermann | 2.5k

“Bourbon,” Hermann says, hooking his cane on the edge of the bar and sliding by degrees onto a stool.

“Straight up?” the bartender asks.

“Please.” Does he look like the kind of man who enjoys having his nostrils fumigated by undiluted whiskey? “On the rocks.”

Heather Says: I coped with Pacific Rim 2 by reading a couple AUs and a couple very, very long fics full of tragedy and math. Weirdly, the AU of a chance meeting in a bar was the one that stuck.

11. cherry pie by @brawlite & @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 133k

Billy Hargrove lives for summer. Endless sunshine, heavily chlorinated pools, roaming ice cream trucks, and unencumbered freedom? There’s nothing better.

Even being stuck in Hawkins can’t ruin the summer for him. He eats it up, devouring every day whole.

Heather Says: Yeah, okay, but this is the fic that made summer worth it. Highly recommend reading at the pool or with your feet hanging off the back porch. Every piece of this fic was dripping in summertime nostalgia. It was fan-freaking-tastic.

12. the ghost and the good queen val by Wildehack (tyleet) | Thor | Thor/Valkyrie/Loki | 27k

“What,” she says, her heart racing, “was that.”

“What was what?” Korg asks, frowning up at her. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Valkyrie squints suspiciously at the ship.

“Oh my god,” Korg says. “You did! You saw a ghost!”

Heather Says: So, remember how I coped with Pacific Rim 2 with copious AUs? This is how I coped with Infinity War.

13. For Better or Worse by DragonBandit | The Bright Sessions | Mark/Damien | 22k

All Damien ever wanted was someone who wanted him. All Damien deserves is to die alone, stripped bare of any of the comforts or affections of humanity, a title he willingly shed.

Mark Bryant seems to be the Universe's compromise.

Wherein Damien and Mark are soulmates, and this changes enough.

Heather Says: I think I’ve read this one three or four time this year? It’s 22k of well-written fic for a fandom that has a max of like 100 fics all with lengths that tend to vary between a couple hundred words to 2 or 3k, max. This fic is the one that really catapulted me into the fandom.

14. in waves by @lymricks | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 38k

It’s March and it’s too cold for Billy to be shirtless and wearing shorts, but he hadn’t noticed until Harrington appeared and made him hold still. Harrington can’t seem to stop looking at the bruises. “What’s it to you if I miss a little school, Harrington?” Billy asks. He feels goosebumps rising on his skin.

“I don’t know,” Harrington snaps back, looking uncomfortable. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other. Plant your feet, Billy wants to scream at him. I’m going to bowl you over.

Heather Says: And here we have the first fic that wasn’t written by either @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger or @brawlite that made me realize that this fandom was gonna be a good one. So fantastic.

15. the cure by aquaexplicit | The Flash | Cisco/Harry | 43k

“I guess I don’t really get what you need to fix? Harrison Wells is a hot, rich genius that pays you to make cool stuff with his daughter and is totally into you. If you guys boning is the biggest problem you have, I think this officially qualifies as your best relationship ever.”

When Barry puts it like that, everything sounds so simple and not at all as angst ridden as Cisco has been suffering the past few months.

Cisco hangs up on him.

Heather Says: I remember a couple years ago, I fell absolutely head over heels for this one Sterek fic where Derek had twin toddlers and Stiles was the hired babysitter. So I think there’s something about dad + babysitter fics that get me, even if this one in particular the ‘baby’ in question is a fifteen year old genius. Still. Dad + babysitter. I don’t even know, but apparently it works for me.

16. pull out the insides by SpineAndSpite | The Bright Sessions | Mark/Damien | 3k

“Stop,” Damien says again, more insistent this time.

“I’m not doing it on purpose.” Mark's heart pounds in his ears and he sees Damien’s hands shaking. God. They shouldn’t have started talking about sex. Shouldn’t have filled in the colors and shadows to this pencil outline of a sketch forming between them. They shouldn’t have given it a name.

Heather Says: This year seems to have had a theme when it comes to fics that I’ve liked and it seems to boil down to: people who are bad for each other have sex and catch feelings. Mark/Damien is not the healthiest ship. But it also hurts in this stupidly tragic way and hell if I didn’t fall head over heels for it.

17. tell me, get my shit together by paperclipbitch | Star Wars | Han/Lando | 5k

“I thought we were actively avoiding each other after the Trandosha Shitshow,” Han says.

“We’re actively avoiding each other after the Iridonia Shitshow,” Lando corrects him, “the Trandosha Shitshow is That Which We Do Not Speak Of.”

Heather Says: So, guess what I did in the two to three hours after seeing Solo? If you guessed: ‘combed through ao3 until you ran out of fic’ ding ding ding, you are 100% correct. This one was very, very good, which makes sense, because paperclipbitch has some good shit.

18. chases, escapes, true love, miracles by pepperfield | The Flash | Cisco/Harry 55k

Just because the timeline has been restored, doesn't mean things are back to normal. Cisco's got 99 problems, and Harry Wells is approximately 38 of them.

In which Cisco makes a bunch of plans, fails most of them, narrowly avoids being disintegrated, receives a hug or two, finds his groove, and gets his man. More or less in that order.

Heather Says: This one was long and wibbly wobbly, because it was basically what season 3 should have been. But it was also really great, and had some super quality Harrisco interactions.

19. Your Pretty Little Heart by Ever-so-reylo | Star Wars | Reylo | 64k

Modern day AU in which Ben is an Alpha, Rey is an Omega, and they are way better at having sex than at communicating with each other.

Heather Says: Speaking of people who are probably a little bit bad for each other... This particular fic was new to me, not because of the um, extensive sexual content, but because I’m usually not a fan of A/B/O. But this one was extremely good, enough that I actually liked it for a/b/o aspect rather than in spite of it.

20. Draconia by perceived_nobility | The Bright Sessions | Mark/Damien | 4k

"So I was driving. One ex wife and one ex husband later, stopping at the same fucking gas stations you and I stopped at."

Heather Says: This fic actually prompted a 3 hour long conversation on the ‘adult’ Mark/Damien discord where we basically outlined an entire fic that I never got around to writing where Damien is raising a child, has a farm, and runs into Mark ten years down the ride. One day, I might write it, because vaguely domestic, meet-again-ten-years-down-the-road fics always bowl me right the fuck over and just. There needs to be more fic like this one in the world. But until then, the world can marvel at the beauty that is this one.

21. Artifice by buttpatrol | Wolf 359 | Hera/Eiffel | 23k

A story told in parts about colour palettes, identity, robot uprisings, sensational trials, space, and messy love.

Heather Says: As I’ve recently finished relistening to Wolf 359 I have a fresh appreciation for this fic, which is one of the only longer fics on ao3 that just grips you by the heart and squeezes the same way that the series does. It might have been written before the end of the series, but it’s honestly just as perfect.

22. (shoot the lights out, hide) till its bright out by lipgallagher | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 93k

The most dangerous thing walking around Hawkins goes by the name Billy Hargrove.

And he fucking knows it.

Heather Says: I’m kind of cheating here, because this is a series rather than a single fic, but I’m not picking just one part. I read the first four or so parts of this fic when I was visiting my family in South Carolina and spent the next few days wandering around the place half-in Steve Harrington’s headspace. It was an incredibly surreal experience, which lead to a pretty strong combination of mania, depression, and an indescribable craving for ice cream. So like, maybe don’t read this fic if you’re in a bad head space? But also it’s very good and features one of the most fucked up and intriguing Steve’s that I’ve seen yet.

23. Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches by Reiya | Yuri On Ice | Yuuri/Viktor | 197k

‘…Of all the rivalries in the world of sports over the years, perhaps none has become so legendary as that of Russian figure skater Viktor Nikiforov and his rival, Japanese Yuuri Katsuki…’

Heather Says: I actually read this one on the plane ride down to South Carolina, and kind of didn’t like it at first? I’m not sure if it was just the act of putting Yuuri and Victor into the position of rivals that made me uncomfortable or the goddamn delays that turned half a day of travelling into a full one, but eventually I was able to get into and enjoyed it quite a bit. I really like the rivals to lovers trope, so I’d been looking forward to this one a lot.

24. Traveling Far by @astolat | Game of Thrones | Jaime/Brienne | 24k

Three weeks into their delightful slog across Westeros, during yet another charming day of shitting in the woods, eating half-raw squirrel, and trudging his feet bloody, the single most dour and uninteresting woman Jaime had ever met in all of Westeros stopped in the middle of a field, drew a deep breath, and said, “When I was seven, my aunt came to visit with her son. My father told me that as the daughter of the house, it was my duty to show hospitality to my guests and to be gracious to them. I wanted to make him proud. So for three weeks, I let my cousin follow me around and talk to me about spiders.”

Heather Says: I’ve become very fond of astolat’s Jaime/Brienne fics, and I think this one is my favorite yet. Featuring Starks, found family, and a whole lot of walking.

25. lilies of the valley (cover me with kisses, make my garden grow) by diasterisms | Star Wars | Reylo | 8k

Every girl is entitled to the mistake. That one colossal fuck-up that permanently alters the terrain of who you are. You'll either learn from it or you won't, so might as well have the time of your life.

Heather Says: I just. I really like flower shop AUs, and the idea of a Kylo Ren who owns a sleek flower shop being menaced by a tiny gremlin in a leather jacket just. Kills me. It was really sweet and all kinds of wonderful.

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