#and that mixed with grief is especially damaging

[wewerebornsextuplets]

recently i realized i havent given... any context, really, on kiru's family outside of her being yana's cousin, which is honestly a little shocking because i think about it a LOT and it provides a lot of context for why she presents herself the way she does, both in terms of physical appearance and in terms of actions/character as a whole. i also need to explain the nature of her relationship with yana, so this will be the tell-all on kiru's upbringing, as well as some elaboration on her general disposition! you know the drill! this one ended up being much longer than some of my other long winded posts, which is a little scary. but under the cut we go!

BEFORE I START i do want to disclaim: for the sake of canon compliance, assume anything i say about kiru's parents [particularly her mother] and grandparents' attitudes doesn't apply to yanagida's upbringing or family. as much as i love headcanons and speculating about background characters [theres a reason s1e9 is my favorite episode], i also want kiru's lore to be taken somewhat independently from those headcanons/interpretations if so desired :-)

In order to make things a little less confusing [mostly for myself, because im very scatterbrained], i have a little family tree graphic. thing. mostly to keep track of names + relations and all that! ill be referring to kiru's parents by name for that same reason. but uhhh tada 🎉

OKAY BUT FOR REAL. the actual timeline is like this: kiru's childhood was pretty normal to start. her mother [mayumi] was a bit strict, but it wasn't anything too crazy, though she did prefer spending time with her dad [kentaro] during this time. this was all upended around the time she was eight, though, when her family had to move into her grandparents' home after her dad fell ill. kentaro, a lifelong smoker, had developed lung cancer, and the costly nature of treatments for his condition meant that they could no longer afford to life in their old house. in addition, kentaro's condition meant that mayumi had to essentially take over as his caretaker at home during this time, leaving kiru's grandparents as the ones to raise her.

i imagine this side of her family had a decent amount of social power within the community [this may just be a thing in my town, but you know those families where it feels like theyre kind of everywhere, like the school staff, the local politicians, etc.? theyre like that], which led to her grandparents being quite strict, if not authoritarian to a degree, with a particular emphasis on what behaviors were considered "acceptable". as such, while kiru was greatly encouraged in her academic endeavors, there was near equal pressure on how she presented herself outside of her studies. while the physical aspect of "dress neatly and maintain good hygiene" was part of this presentation, it also included a HEAVY emphasis on her emotional regulation. It reached a point where she began to suppress nearly any strong emotions she had, because she felt that there was never a Right time to feel or express them.

^ it was kind of like this. not really any forceful or outright Mean enforcement of this ideal, but definitely a conditioning that was strong enough to impact kiru, especially at such a young age. past this i think they would be fairly normal as far as grandparents go, just not quite as nurturing.

even in the present day, kiru's calm demeanor is only really maintained because of her belief that sharing her feelings would disgust or embarrass the people around her. growing up, strong expression of any emotion was childish and unsightly, and she still conducts herself with this in mind; its not something she feels about others, but she doesnt extend the grace she gives others in this regard to herself.

BUT back to the timeline. after moving in with her grandparents, kiru got a bit closer to yanagida, who would often visit their home, since yknow. same city and all. during this time kiru was pretty lonely, since kentaro's illness meant she had to spend less time with him, and as a result her and yana spent much of that time together instead. yana particularly enjoyed kiru's knowledge of english, since kentaro primarily spoke bonin standard english in the home + taught kiru the language. in turn, kiru appreciated that yana didnt see her through the same lens of "respectable young girl" that everyone else in the family seemed to have picked up since moving, and they were able to meet each other on more of an equal level of just being friends.

this pattern continued up until kiru was 10, when kentaro passed away. aside from the obvious, this was a particularly stressful time for kiru and mayumi, since kentaro wanted to be buried in Chichijima + have his funeral procession held there. as a result, kiru spent about a month of that summer away from home, on the island with her father's side of the family. away from the eagle eye of her mother, she tried to make the most of the time, but found herself too distraught to enjoy any of it to the fullest. she was too ill-equipped to tell her relatives there how she was really feeling, so they mostly carried on with the impression that a young kiru was being "strong" in the face of kentaro's death and was taking it well, even though it was quite far from the truth. upon her return to mainland japan to start her new school year, most of her family carried on with the impression that all had returned to normal. that is, except for yanagida.

obviously, only being about thirteen at the time of kentaro's death and not really having a strong understanding of the expectations kiru was under at home [not to mention having the emotional intelligence typical of a boy his age-- that is to say, not much], he didn't really understand Why her behavior had changed so much since moving in with her grandparents, or why her demeanor had taken a near 180 in that time. but he didn't really need to understand the why to know that Something was wrong, even before kentaro had passed.

what he wasnt expecting, though, was her breaking down sobbing the second he asked her how she was doing after she got back from chichijima. since yana was Also a kid, and had never put on the same pressure that the rest of the family put on on her, kiru felt a bit safer talking to him with the confidence that he wouldnt berate her for feeling that way or be disappointed in her. he consoled her about as well as he could [or as well as any 13 year old boy could] and assured her she could come to him if she was ever feeling down, but instead she assured him she would be fine.

after this event, yana started worrying about her quite a bit, but he wasnt really sure how to go about Expressing this concern [either to her or anyone else], so he just kind of let it sit there. as time went on, and kiru started to return to a more cheery persona, he let go of that worry for the most part and they returned to their old routine fun for the time being.

yanagida wasnt the only person whose relationship with kiru changed after kentaro's death, though. mayumi, who was wholly unequipped to handle the intense grief that kentaro's passing brought her, was wracked with a mixture of guilt, anger, and resentment; she regretted having ever met and married him, now knowing the pain it would come to cause her, and she even began to regret kiru's birth. its a feeling she was deeply ashamed of. she loved her daughter, but every time she looked at kiru, every time she heard her name, mayumi was acutely aware of the fact that kentaro was no longer there to share these memories, that he wasn't going to be there to see her grow any further. ashamed as she was of this feeling, it never fully went away, even if she made efforts to ignore it. the gap left between them was never fully mended, and though kiru couldn't place it at the time she definitely got the sense that mayumi didn't really want her around. as a result, kiru began to spend a bit more time around her grandparents, whom she had grown closer to since they were the ones raising her for the past couple of years.

as junior high rolled around for kiru, and as yanagida was going into high school, the distance between them grew as well; yanagida was beginning to exercise more independence from his family and spend more time with friends, and kiru was doing the same. they still made time for one another, though, walking home together once in a while when yanagida wasn't in the mood for hanging out with his friends. most of the time, though, they just stuck to their new groups. it was a small period of respite and was actually pretty chill for kiru, all things considered

once it came time for kiru to start testing into different high schools, mayumi became a bit more involved with her daughter's life. more specifically, she became more involved in how kiru presents herself; if youre a daughter [or former daughter] youre probably familiar with the specific underhanded flavor of body shaming she experienced. kiru and yanagida also lost contact during this time, as yanagida was preparing to enter college and they were both too busy to keep up with one another too well. he was definitely a little concerned with all these changes regarding her appearance, though

now, to this point, i want to say that mayumi was NOT being intentionally malicious or even aware of her harm during this time. during her youth, mayumi was ridiculed and ostracized for a more unkempt appearance that came as a result of an intense focus on her academic endeavors and matters other than her looks. not wanting to see her daughter endure the same thing, she tried to encourage kiru to put more care into her appearance. even so, her tactless expression of this concern ended up hurting kiru more than anything else.

high school came and went, with kiru attending St. Hanagaoka's, a prestigious all-girls school in the city. nothing particularly bad happened during this time, but kiru regards this time in her life rather poorly, because she spent most of it trying to Appear a certain way, rather than living how she actually wanted to live. its during this time that kiru became more acutely aware of much of her desires and identity; as femininity began to feel more like a prison, she found herself looking at the boys her age a bit differently. she had a boyfriend or two during her time at school, sure, but she never really felt that it was any different from having a friend. slowly, she realized the feelings she thought were admiration, or crushes on boys, were really just a sense of longing; she longed to dress like them, to be able to cut her hair short like them, even to pursue love with girls the way that they did. though she was still quite confident that she was a woman, she knew she wasn't the kind of woman her family wanted her to be.

as such, when she finally got into college, kirumi cut contact with her mother and grandparents almost completely. her first year of college was a year of rebellion and experimentation; primarily with her appearance. at first she'd wondered if her discomfort for feminine clothing was the result of the KIND of femininity she was portraying, but quickly realized this wasnt the case. so the kirumi futch era was only about a semester long. after this, she started to present as more masculine, and this is around the time when she starts getting more concerned with fitness in terms of strength; she didn't manage to get built like yuko miyamoto just by standing around, after all! its during this time that kiru also began to make actual friends, though her problems with connecting to others emotionally made this a rather difficult endeavor when it came to maintaining those relationships.

during her second year of college, her grandparents both passed, roughly six months from one another, due to old age. while she had mixed feelings on the matter due to her strained relationship with them, she still attended both funerals. at the latter of the two, her and mayumi got into a bit of a fight because of a comment mayumi made about kiru "destroying" herself. this ended up pushing kiru, out of pure spite, to shave her head the second she got back on campus.

it ended up being a mistake.

not one without a silver lining, though! this drastic change in appearance ended up catching the eye of one of her acquaintances, who was a close friend of her roommate. you might know her as keiko :-)

during this time, keiko was just starting her transition, and was still getting a feel for the big city. the two initially bonded over a shared love of terrible movies [as one of kiru's biggest hobbies is watching shitty movies to laugh at them], and kiru gave keiko many of her old clothes + some tips for hair and makeup now that she no longer needed them. but over time, they became quite close. in particular, they bonded over the fact that they experienced pretty strong discomfort towards gender roles and expectations in their upbringing; while keiko's family was much more loving and supportive than kiru's, she still felt an intense obligation to be seen as ""man enough"", mainly to her peers, having been bullied quite intensely during her high school years for her transness.

i could probably write a whole separate post about kiru and keiko's relationship [not any time soon though. jesus.], but the long and short of it is that they became a couple during their third year together at college :-) this is also the year that kiru secured her job at the butcher's shop in akatsuka, having been a bit of a floater before then.

after graduating with her bachelor's, kiru began to attend a veterinary school in pursuit of a doctorate in the field. they lived separately, but visited one another's apartments about as frequently as could be managed.

one summer, when school was out and she was less busy, kiru began volunteering at a local animal shelter, wherein she met and fell in love with a little cat named kabosu. after adopting her that autumn, on one particularly busy night, kabosu broke out of the apartment, and... hey, i've told this part of the story before!

past that, uh... not really a lot to say! i have a whole storyline thought out about kiru and yanagida getting back into contact + how that intertwines with some other family drama on kiru's side of things, but thats an idea that i want to dedicate a different post to since i have. a LOOOOOT of thoughts on that whole arc. ill do that eventually but again, definitely not anytime soon. if i make another post like this too soon i think my brain will explode

BUT YEAH! if you managed to read this far, thank you!! i put a LOT of thought and consideration into kiru's background; i didnt want it to be like. senselessly edgy. since this IS a gag anime in the end. even still i am a sucker for complicated family dynamics so i tried my best to strike a good balance there

[soleminisanction]

Do you think Tim would have been more angry at Steph for starting the war games if she survived/didn’t fake her death? Or do you think the fact that she tried to fix it in the end would absolve her of that blame a little bit in his eyes?

I always love your analysis btw! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with the world

That's a good question. An interesting complication to the answer being: does canon Tim even know that Steph was responsible for for starting the War Games?

It can be hard to tell because certain people muddled the waters a lot (cough Brian Q Miller cough no-nothing wiki writers cough cough) but near as I've been able to glean from reading the comics, so far as most people in-universe were concerned, the blame for the War Games gang war fell on Batman's shoulders. There was a big publicity campaign during the War Crimes arc that followed that outed Steph as the girl Robin, but it painted her as a martyr and laid all the blame at Batman's feet.

Near as I could tell, the only people who actually knew Steph was involved with causing the war were Bruce, Selina, Black Mask, and Cass; and Bruce also blamed himself. The only person who ever really held Steph responsible was Cass.

So the question is, was Tim only not upset because he didn't know about Steph's involvement? Personally, I like to think that, if Steph had lived/not faked her death, she would've been open about her part, and that she'd continue the arc she showed in War Games of newfound awareness and understanding of how her actions affect others.

And if she did that, I think Tim wouldn't be angry. Hurt, yes. I think the whole mess of emotions surrounding those days, especially the fact that she became Robin in part to deliberately hurt him, would irrevocably damage their relationship to the point where they couldn't date anymore, and they'd need to spend some time apart. Tim would go off to Bludhaven with Cass after his dad dies, and Steph would go... somewhere else, away from Gotham, maybe with her mom, to recover and figure out her own way to move on after everything.

But the parting, I like to think, would be more sad than angry, a mix of remorse and hurt and being glad they're both alive and just... knowing they can't be around each other right now. That they won't be able to stand doing that again for a while.

Eventually, after a few months or years, they might get back to a point where they've worked through the grief and trauma enough to be friends again. And it'll be a different relationship than they had before, but it'd still be good. Or maybe they'd just stay apart from each other and live their own lives. You never know.

So yeah, bit of a ramble, but that's how I figure it'd work. Steph really does show her best character during War Games so I'm inclined to say that people who met her in the immediate aftermath, especially people who knew her before and could see how she'd changed, would give her the benefit of the doubt.

[vinestaffery]

On pleasing demand, I am here once more to deliver more angst. Since I love it so much and so does everyone else. some bits are written from medkit's and broker's point of view at the start, but it will slowly shift to yours!! enjoy!!!

cw/tw: character death, signs of potential abuse/neglect(?), mentions of injury from another proceed with caution and care!

Scythe wasn't taking anything okay anymore, and she's gotten rougher around Medkit and Broker.

Broker would struggle handling her tempers at points where he didn't know what to do.

Medkit suggested taking a break for Scythe.

Good grief. It was a bad take and ended up bad for Medkit.

Thrown out because he suggested it, it ended up with him now staying with Sword more than with the other three.

Broker ended up leaving himself and staying with Zuka for a bit before finding a proper area to take shelter in.

Scythe was becoming more... explosive, dangerous

She was taken out of the gang! Matches a few times because she had nearly harmed Boombox to the point of recognition.

"I'm too tired to fight anymore,"

"Broker."

"We can't do anything to help her, look at her!"

"You wouldn't understand how it's like to have someone walk out on you,"

"But it just… I just can't handle it. She's gotten more worse and we are sitting here and watching."

Broker and Medkit would have long talks with eachother at nights

Their worried, really worried

Your not there anymore to help support Scythe anymore

So what's the point?

You were the light in her world, and you walked out on it.

When Vine Staff told you about the serious injury she had gotten from Scythe

You panicked.

Was she actively looking for you?

Was she trying to harm people you loved and cherished?

Vine Staff reassured you it was nothing like that at all

Infact, it was because she was upset that you had disappeared

"Dearie, you know how much Scythe appreciates you, maybe you should try approach her this time?"

You were surprised!! To see her again?

"Are you joking?"

"[…]…"

"There is barely a person in her anymore, Vine Staff."

You were deny any chances of seeing her again, but it wasn't too long till Medkit was invited over.

God was he relieved to see you

It ended up being more of a nicer talk with him rather than a forceful one

Turns out he found it understanding and that it was okay for you to leave for your own sake

But leaving out of nowhere was a no-go, specifically for Scythe

"It wasn't suppose to go this far."

"You know how she is, especially with news such as that,"

When Vine Staff had come home that one day, with a large wound, you really wished it didn't go this far to hurting a companion

"I'm too tired of this,"

"So am I, just like how I am with Subspace's worthless attempts at capturing me and taking out 'revenge,' but we can't have everything we want."

His blunt attitude always felt like home.

"She can't keep doing this, she just can't."

"Then come home, and then maybe this all can end."

You took that hope, even though you were at your wits end.

The rough sound of sizzling coming from the home was pushed over with clashing. The tension in the air was palpable as you made your way back to the source of the conflict.

The smell of burnt food wafted through the air, adding to the chaos of the situation. You knew you had to intervene before things escalated further. As you entered the kitchen, you saw the source of the conflict - a pot left unattended on the stove, billowing smoke.

"Scythe?" You called out, hoping to get their attention before the situation got any worse. The sound of footsteps approaching indicated that they had heard you, giving you a sense of relief that the situation might be resolved before any real damage was done.

"What." Scythe turned to face you, their expression a mix of annoyance and surprise. "I just got distracted; I didn't mean for this to happen," they explained, gesturing towards the smoking pot. You could see the tension in their shoulders ease as you reassured them that everything was under control.

It had looked like she had completely forgotten who you were; did she not find your presence familiar? The sound of her tail-shaker sensed an obvious threat and danger towards you. She spat with venom in her words. Her hostility grew ever more.

"Scythe, it's me," you muttered. But she continued to glare at you, suspicion evident in her eyes. It was clear that something had changed in her demeanor towards you, and you couldn't help but wonder what had caused it.

"What do you want? I thought you wanted to never see me again." Her words cut deep, leaving you feeling bewildered and hurt. The distance between you seemed to grow wider with each passing moment. You looked away in disdain.

"What? You just going to stand 'der like a lost puppy?" There was nothing familiar about this Scythe at all. She was cold—not the kind-hearted woman you used to know before. You realized that the warmth and familiarity you once shared with her had vanished. She was replaced by a sense of hostility and indifference. It was a painful realization that left you feeling lost and alone in her presence. "Scythe? What happened to you?" Your words were hard for her to comprehend. Scythe's eyes hardened, a flicker of recognition passing through them before being replaced by a steely resolve. "I've changed," She said it simply, her voice devoid of emotion. It was clear that the person you once knew was gone, replaced by someone unrecognizable and distant.

"I've changed, and I'm not even sure who I am anymore. Broker left; Medkit left. Everyone left." She placed a cold cup of alcohol down. Taking a deep breath, you tried to find the right words to reach the person who seemed like a stranger now. But as you looked into her eyes, you realized that this was a battle she was fighting alone, and all you could do was stand by and watch.

You sat next to her on the dusty bar stool. Feeling helpless, you silently offered your support, knowing that sometimes all someone needs is a listening ear. The silence between you spoke volumes as you both navigated the uncharted territory of change and loss together. "We've both changed."

"I harmed you; I broke your promise, Angel Eyes. I broke everything." Her tone spoke of long, restless nights. "We can't change the past, but we can move forward together," you whispered softly, reaching out to hold her hand. "I forgive you, and I'm here for you now." The weight of her burdens seemed to lift slightly as she squeezed your hand in return, a glimmer of hope shining in her tear-filled eyes.

"Ya, promise? Angel Eyes?" Scythe gleamed.

"Promise, Scythe. I'll never leave your side," you vowed, feeling a sense of peace settle between you both. The bond of trust and understanding between you spoke volumes as you both navigated the uncharted territory of change and loss together.

But that was only nights ago. Scythe stared at her bloodied blade as she let out somber tears. The weight of her burdens seemed to return, heavier than before; she had killed you. All because you had decided to protect the flower demon that you considered family. Something she wished you considered her.

"Angel Eyes, oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, my angel eyes." Scythe's voice trembled as she whispered your name, regret and sorrow evident in her every word. The bond you once shared is now shattered, leaving only heartache and a painful realization of irreversible consequences.

RUNS AWAAYYYY

[whatisurspaghettipolicy]

I think it's really fascinating that a lot of the complaints I see about Shadowheart is her to-hit rate because for me that illuminates a very clever bit of character building via her subclass mechanics. Excuse me a second, I've been a 5e DM for about six years now and I've been thinking a lot about each of the BG3 companions in terms of stats/mechanics haha.

Yes, you can go in and rebuild her and make her a light/life domain and optimise either damage or healing. But we can break down two good story reasons for her being a trickery domain cleric:

(behind a cut bc implied/actual spoilers)

1. Trickery and Shar. Shar is an evil goddess, but she's also the absolute embodiment of the Cain instinct; just a constant opp for her twin sister. She's a duplicitous trickster who has even stolen Selûne's identity in the past. Having Shadowheart as a Trickery domain reminds us - the players - that Shar is a primarily a little dickhead who loves to lie and cheat - which stands at odds with Shadowheart's massive penalties to deception.

Early on in her personal quest, just from this surface read, we know: her god lies, her god's domain and followers are all about trickery, and Shadowheart is very bad at lying directly. When you couple this with the initial places where she gets hit with the ouchies from Shar (the Blighted Village when you're reading about children being taken, the Selûne statue in the Blighted Village, finding Kagha torturing a little girl underground...) and it's quite easy to piece together the arc of her personal quest, in a very OH NO way.

(This could be a whole other stat/build conversation - as a half-elf, Shadowheart should be naturally better than average at social rolls like deception because half-elves receive an automatic +2 to their charisma score at creation...but living in a cult and having your personality shackled to a divine shock collar would absolutely affect that. And her high elf ability [firebolt] relying on intelligence to hit??? The fact that as a half-elf high elf she's likely half moon elf????? I love these little mechanical details.)

2. How trickery clerics are best used. This is where a lot of people who haven't DM'd DnD for the life of a small child fall down I think. But here's the thing: trickery domain clerics are best when they do not fight at all. They're decent healers, but it's more than that; they are advantage bots.

Blessing of the Trickster gives your allies advantage on stealth checks. Good for them.

Guiding bolt has a 70% chance to hit? That's why you use Channel Divinity: Invoke Duplicity. You add an illusory version of yourself to the field to distract and disrupt, giving advantage to your allies.

Your teammate's social encounter not going well? You can add either a quick guidance or charm person (again, giving them advantage) to the mix.

Time to sneak? Good thing you get Pass Without Trace. Let's go lesbians! That's a +10 to stealth checks for all your allies!

Each of these things is an action; she sacrifices her own action in a turn to support and aid another. Unless she has Healing Word up, she's left choosing whether to help or heal; actually fighting likely won't be super up in priorities, especially with her to-hit rate.

We know from the House of Grief that she was trained as a healer. It seems odd that she'd be in a subclass that doesn't focus on that - like the Life Domain. But this subclass gives us the greatest indication of all that she was raised as a tool for both Shar and her Mother Superior, making you, as a player, try to balance her ability to heal with her disrupting spells and abilities, meaning a sacrifice in her ability to hit any fuckin thing at all.

Anyway, chef's kiss, I love the secondary story about each companion the game tells via mechanics.

[hottpinkpenguin]

Reasons, Ch.6 - Cassian Andor series

Female reader insert Summary: You're a droidsmith on Ferrix when a handsome stranger walks in one day with a hopelessly damaged droid. You agree to take on the repairs for the stranger, a decision that will change the direction of your lives forever. Word Count: 2,260 Content Warnings for: canon-divergence; cursing Taglist: @mithicakurogo @nonniecannie @freerangesweets @zbeez-outlet @chicken-fifi @queerponcho @theatergirlmgm @oh-yeah-i-exist @shakespeareanlead @idontevenknow1359

The sound of waves licking the sandy beach below had become a steady soundtrack that pounded around your head all hours of the day and night. You’d at first been mesmerized by the planet Niamos - to think, its inhabitants lived within full eyesight of an ocean at all times - but now, almost three and a half months after your frenetic arrival, boredom mixed with fear had gotten inextricably mixed with the sounds and smells of the ocean and you realized that you hated it here. Especially without Cassian.

He hadn’t stayed long, maybe two days. He’d dumped you in this beautiful, empty house and left with barely a word…

“I need to see my contact on Coruscant.” His dark eyes were red-rimmed from lack of sleep and cold. “Need to sort out safe passage for you. Get forged papers, new documents. It’ll take a while.”

You’d breathed in a heavy, long breath. Exhaustion had settled deep in the center of your bones, but what choice did you have? You were a fugitive now.

You nodded numbly, looking longing out through the perpetually-open wall of glass at the ocean stretched out to the horizon line. 

“I’ll go pack,” you replied, sliding out of the chair you were in and heading towards the bedroom you were staying in. “Won’t take long.”

Cassian caught your hand as you turned away. His touch sent electricity ricocheting up your arm, stealing your breath. You turned back to him, wondering if you looked as hopeful as you felt. 

“I’m going alone,” he clarified. His voice sounded sad and far away, but those dark, bottomless eyes revealed nothing. 

You didn’t know what to say. What to ask. Where would you stay? Here, you supposed, only because there was nowhere else to go. You’d realized very quickly that the Galaxy was massive, and you’d never left Ferrix before. The only person that you knew out here was Cassian, and laying claim to ‘knowing’ him felt like a lie. You felt that now more than ever. You didn’t really know him at all. 

You felt yourself give a shrug. Half resignation, half confusion. Cassian watched you quietly as you slid back into the chair, your eyes returning to the waves. Each time a new wave boiled up from the ocean depths, crested, and then crashed in a spray of foam on the seashore, you felt a new emotion rise up and crash open inside you. Grief. Rage. Despair. Terror. 

You don’t know how long you’d sat there, staring at the sea. After a long while of sitting still and thinking, you said the only thing that really mattered to you anymore. “Don’t forget to come back for me.”

Cassian hadn’t said a word after that. He’d simply slipped out the door without so much as a backwards glance. Leaving you to the empty house that looked out over the empty ocean…

The realization that Cassian wasn’t coming back for you had hit you somewhere around week seven. He hadn’t left a way for you to contact him, or vice versa. He hadn’t sent anyone to check on you. He hadn’t squirreled away a secret note or some small token of his remembrance. It was like he’d never been here at all. And that was by design. He was covering his tracks. Sure, you were on the run. But so was he. 

You wondered where in the escape things had gone sideways. He’d seemed so deliriously guilty about getting you tied up with the Empire when he’d broken into your home on Ferrix. He’d been tender in taking care of you after hyperdrive sickness, and then he’d brought you here. To safety. Because he cared… right?

There was one moment that everything had pivoted. You could barely bring yourself to think of it. Your cheeks burned with embarrassment (and desire, if you were completely truthful) each time you relived that kiss. It had to be the kiss. You’d crossed a line, you told yourself. Cassian was just trying to save your skin, and you’d gone and made it some sort of tragedy-romance mashup of bad luck and bad decisions when you’d slapped your lips on his. I’ve always been a good actor. You’d never forget those words. He’d been acting as the good guy, trying to make up for his wrongs by pulling you out of Ferrix. But that’s where it had ended. You’d fallen for his show, and you’d ruined everything. And now, you were alone. Just you and the ocean. 

Three and a half months was a long time to be by yourself. You’d managed to get by on the credits you’d had the sense to pack before fleeing your home, but that supply was dwindling. Pretty soon you’d have to make a choice: go home, or set up shop here. You’d have to fix droids. It was all you knew. But setting up shop somewhere new was bound to be fraught with challenges. You didn’t know the market, didn’t have a customer base. There were bound to be other droidsmiths on Niamos, so you’d be making enemies while you were bowing and scraping, taking whatever anyone would throw at you, all in the name of buying trust and goodwill and maybe, hopefully, a repeat customer. 

But worst of all, setting up shop here felt final. Setting up shop here meant that you wouldn’t be leaving. That this was home now. And, at the end of the day, that meant that Cassian wasn’t coming back. 

You hated him for leaving you, but not enough to give up all hope. Not yet. You counted the credits you had left. One more week, you thought to yourself. If he’s not back by then, I’ll start looking for shop space. 

An empty promise, you knew. You’d made the same one for the last four weeks.

* * * * * * * * *

Cassian felt fire burning in his veins as he held Senator Mothma’s gaze, her last words hanging heavy in the darkness between them. 

“I cannot afford to wait another week,” Cassian growled through gritted teeth, his hands trembling at his side. “It’s been almost four months already, Senator.”

Senator Mothma fidgeted uncomfortably with the large hood that obscured her face from the ambient light of a Coruscant night. They were quite alone in the rancid-smelling alley that Cassian had chosen for their meet-up, but the hum of the city-planet rang in their ears. A reminder to be quick, and be on their way. 

“I’m sorry, Cassian, I truly am, but I simply canno-”

“Senator, with respect, I am tired of your apologies.” Cassian was pacing now, his voice breaking free of the constraints of whispering. His temper was fracturing with impatience. “My contact on Niamos is in constant danger, and you’ve kept us waiting for four months for papers!”

“Cassian, please.” The Senator cast a shifty glance around. No one was listening, but the last thing either of them needed was to make a spectacle of the exchange. A Senator caught in a clandestine midnight meeting with a known Rebellion agitator would do neither of them any good. To say nothing of the warrant for Cassian’s arrest and the bounty price of half a million credits on his head. Or the Senator’s deeply scrutinized allegiances and alleged ties to the Aldhani incident. 

Cassian tried to calm himself, but he was beyond reason. All he could see was your eyes, the way you’d crumpled when he’d told you he was coming to Coruscant alone. It had nearly broken him to leave you there, but the brutal calculus of life as a wanted criminal demanded the utmost adherence to scruples. Cassian couldn’t risk your life just to keep you near him. It would have been easy - too easy - to delude himself into thinking that the safest place for you was by his side. Right where he wanted you. But he’d already proven himself near-fatal to you, almost getting you good and shot on Ferrix just by trying to pay off his massive debt with some traced credits. And all that had been before that goddamned kiss. After that, he was sunk. Totally enraptured. He knew it from the instant he felt your lips on his. No, he was in far too deep. If it was the last thing he did, Cassian Andor meant to make good on his promise to you: he needed to get you set up somewhere safe and then make it so that you never saw him again. It was the best way - the only way - he could see to keep you safe. And as badly as he wanted you, he wanted you alive. More than anything, that was what mattered. 

He reminded himself of all of this, one painstaking bitter pill at a time. Slowly, incrementally, he felt the fire begin to burn off as his mind cleared to reason. When he finally felt calm enough to speak, he rounded on Senator Mothma.

“Senator, it gives me no pleasure to do this, but I simply cannot wait any longer. If I don’t have the papers I’ve requested - and paid for, mind you - by tomorrow, I’ll have to take matters in my own hands.” 

Senator Mothma inhaled, her chin jutting out proudly as her eyes simmered. “And just what does that mean, Cassian?” Puffed up and haughty, but Cassian saw a flicker of fear in the back of her eyes. She knew a threat when she heard one. And Cassian had been honest about one thing: it really didn’t give him any pleasure to play this hand with the Senator. She was a noble woman, strong in her beliefs and an astoundingly deft political operative. Smart and confident. Cassian respected her immensely. But, when all was said and done, she was proving to be a hindrance. Cassian had promises to fulfill. Or rather, promise. Singular. Your safety. He was determined that nothing - not the Senator’s delicate political situation, not an outstanding warrant for his arrest, not an entire garrison of Imperial Storm Troopers - would stand in his way.

“Let’s hope you don’t have to find out, Senator.” 

For a few tense seconds, the two of them sized each other up in the hazy darkness. Cassian’s gaze was steely, his resolve never stronger. Three months, three weeks, two days. His internal clock screeched like a tea kettle. Too long. 

After a few breaths, Senator Mothma deflated slightly, her head sagging on her proud neck. The way she crumpled, like a kite that’s lost its breeze, reminded Cassian of the way you’d looked as he’d left you alone by the seashore on Niamos. The memory brought the threat of tears to his eyes. 

“I’ll get them to you,” the Senator agreed. Her voice sounded stretched and thin. Cassian felt a pang of guilt for having to push her to this. He knew what she was risking - her career in the Senate, her daughter’s and husband’s safety, her own life - to get these forged identichips. Ever since the Empire had assumed power, identichips had become mandatory for Imperial citizens to carry at all times. Forged chips had quickly flourished as one of the most lucrative corners of the black market, but the Empire had expended considerable effort on quashing that enterprise in its infancy. Those willing to alter identichips were few and far between now; those willing to forge entirely new ones, even fewer. Only the very wealthy had enough credits to realistically purchase such a service, but forgers made themselves extremely scarce in efforts to avoid Imperial imprisonment. Not that Cassian blamed them - wasn’t that the fate he was trying to save you from, after all? - but their secretiveness had proven an unexpected time suck on his plans. Months had dragged by before Senator Mothma had even made contact with one, and now her order hadn’t been delivered on schedule. Cassian wasn’t sure what it would cost her to extort the identichips tonight, but he couldn’t allow himself to backtrack now. 

“Thank you.” He exhaled heavily, unsure if he felt relieved or more terrified than before. He’d been focusing for so long on getting the identichips that he hadn’t let himself think too hard on what would come after. Were you still on Niamos? Would you still want his help? Had the Empire found you? Were you still alive at all?

Unwilling to follow those thoughts any further, Cassian simply handed Senator Mothma a small strip of paper with a ship’s name and docking location scribbled on it. “I’m leaving at midday tomorrow,” he told her as she crumpled the paper and slipped it into the pocket of her robe. “Make sure my chips are on board by then.” 

She nodded again - a sad, completely exhausted acquiescence - and turned on her heels, vanishing into the foggy street. Cassian watched as she left, listening to the sound of her retreating footsteps. She was walking away with the power to make or break him, Cassian realized. If she didn’t deliver those chips, and Cassian couldn’t get back to you… 

He wasn’t sure what that would mean for him, except that his heart turned to ash in his chest whenever he thought of that possibility. Steeling himself against the mix of dread, relief, and adrenaline sitting on his shoulders, he turned the collar up on his coat and turned in the opposite direction from the Senator. He threw up a silent thought for you - all alone by the seaside in a beautiful, empty house - hundreds of thousands of miles away, but somehow still the closest thing he had to home.

*more chapters coming soon! please let me know if you'd like to be tagged for future chapters

[kikanawj]

Spoilers ahead

Spoilers for Godzilla Minus One

Okay, so I loved it, it was a great movie, so amazing.

I want to talk about an aspect of it that I noticed while watching. Specifically how Godzilla never looks directly at any of the humans, not even the main characters. Not even when a normal movie would do a shot/reverse shot to establish that two characters are looking at each other.

It came through especially well in the scene in Ginza, with the news reporters on the top of the building. We see Godzilla slowly march his way towards them, and the audio mixing is great. we hear the sounds of the destruction below, but the reporter's voice comes in clear over it. And they line up the shot as Godzilla comes closer to have the reporters at almost the same height as Godzilla's eye line.

The reporter is yelling about Godzilla, right towards him. He screams about how close the monster's head is to them. But Godzilla never turns towards the loud human, never looks in his direction. He actually turns away and destroys the building they are on by clipping it with his leg and tail.

And on the boat chase scene! He looking at the boat. But Godzilla never focuses in on the humans on the boat, or what they are doing. He doesn't even seem to notice the large metal mine they drop, it floats into his mouth without any sort of reaction from him.

The only time we actually focus in on Godzilla's direct line of sight/direct point of view, is when he's aiming and firing his atomic breath. And the only time we get the typical shot/reverse shot treatment for that with humans is at the very last instance of it, with EVERYONE on the boats reacting to being in the crosshairs for the blast.

But in that scene, Godzilla's eyes are damaged. They are all white and milky and bloated from the rapid decompression.

We never get a true Godzilla looking at a human and the human looking back scene in Minus One. Which I feel helps Minus One Godzilla be less of an antagonistic character and more of a antagonistic force/narrative device. He's a curse, an embodiment of vengeance, grief, despair. He is consequences, unfinished business, unrealized destruction.

I love several of the movies where Godzilla is a character and even the hero. But it was wonderful to see him in Minus One as a metaphor and a narrative tool first and foremost.

[alevolpe]

Hi :) How are you? (This is going to be a lengthy ask lol)

You mentioned in one of your posts that you would like to see the relationship between the senshi and the normal everyday people and perhaps the humans turning against the Senshi.

What do you think about the enemy working with the human government to take down the Senshi to fulfill their goal of forming their empire or whatever and what your headcanon might predict of how it's all going to go down?

I wish the SM franchise would explore more with the outsiders perspective and relationship between the senshi's.

Hi! Sorry you've prob waited a while for this one, my bad.

But yeah, I've mentioned before that the public has an active and rocky relationship with the senshi.

It's a very mixed bag! But overall, to grossly generalize, most younger people are in favor of them and idolize them, while older people and parents tend to scrutinize and antagonise them.

They are unknown beings, who just pop in out of nowhere and at best cause property damage and at worst, well cause some casualties (in my hc, sometimes they fail and people die, it's unfortunate, but it's a reality they have to live with).

Say you're a parent your child turned into an otherworldly creature, a group of 'defenders' shows up and leads you away while promising you they'll try their best to save your child. Next thing you know, one of them walks to you with simply a bag of dust in their hands and a devastated expression, but no words spoken, and they leave.

This is what I see a few people experienced, parents, friends, siblings.. they can't really see past their own grief to understand that these saviors aren't just perfect immortal beings who can just decided who gets to live and who doesn't. They're human, like them, but not quite.

On the other hand, I see people adoring and respecting them, on the more superficial side cause they are superheroes and why wouldn't you idolize a person with super powers, furthermore on the more emotional side, people have been saved or have had other people saved by them. They're grateful and compassionate.

I can totally understand both sides, at the end of the day, people are scared of the unknown, you can't totally blame them for not trusting the senshi, no matter how many justice speeches they deliver.

Going more into the lore aspect, I don't really see the government working with the enemy, it's a neat idea, but I wouldn't really fit in my narrative.

I was thinking more along the lines of a subtle influence by the enemy. Pushing the public to hate the senshi more and more, to the point that they can't even show up by themselves without risking getting attacked by mobs for people.

After a particular deadly explosion, the public perception of them has hit an all time low, and the new enemy strives to dig that even deeper and deeper.

It starts with news articles after rumors and interviews, all these factors fueling a never-ending machine of paranoia. The senshi show up on missions like they always do, all of a sudden, stones get tossed, along with insults and threats. It gets so bad that they can't even transform without informing the others, they can't travel alone, they are just in a form of hiding, powerless to help people without putting themselves in massive danger.

Small note, but I think this situation in particular is very compelling. Seeing how differently the girls take on the issue of not being able to help the public cause the public does not want to be helped. Especially for Mina, she basically has to make the very hard decision of prioritizing the safety of her girls over the safety of innocent people and this could cause a lot of super interesting clashes within the group.

Going even further, it gets worse and now random girls start getting attacked and so forth. You kind of see what I'm getting at. This is the plot of one fo the seasons in my narrative.

It's not really government vs senshi, but the actual public is against them. I think it's very interesting, but I'm still very much in writing limbo, so that's how far I'll say about

Thank you for the ask! Hopefully this is the answer u were looking for.

[periwinkla]

You know, whenever I need to lift my spirits, I like to remind myself that I actually almost lost an eye once. And there are few things worse than that for me I reckon- I mean, I guess losing both eyes would be a bit worse, but yeah. Basically: During my very first year of art school, I accidentally punched myself in the eye with an umbrella. Yeah.... right into the eye socket. I had just gotten to an event at art school (a watercolor workshop - would love to give a review, but alas I didn't end up attending), and I was sitting down and putting everything back in my bag. It had been drizzling, just a bit, so I had my umbrella to put back. And well... You know those push-the-button-to-open umbrellas? The ones who shoot up right as you push the button??? Yeah. Accidentally pushed the button as I was putting it back. It shot up. Punched me right into my left eye. And you know, I'm bizarre like that, and didn't emit a sound, I was just kinda. shocked. As I got my bearings, I just left the workshop room and went to the bathroom to assess the damage. I think literally no one noticed. Anyway, I couldn't open my eye very well... and I could only see white, like, completely white. Nothing else. Anyway, eventually I went to ask for help to the receptionist, and later a few of my coursemates eventually noticed, and also one of my professors, which seeing me bawling desperately at the idea of never being able to draw anything ever again, had the brilliance to remind me that 'there are one-eyed artists too, don't worry!' and then 'Also, for future reference, please remember to put your hand on top, like champagne bottles, ya know?' ...I'm not even joking. I mean he meant well, that earned a chuckle even - I have a weird sense of humor and he knew. I think I went through all stages of grief at that moment, although very out of order. First shock, then complete desperation, then anger at myself, and suddenly denial mixed with bargaining and I was like 'yea it's no big deal, I'll just go back home in a bit, no one has to know, my eye doesn't need to know either for that matter, it'll get better this is just a bad dream perhaps and I am being overdramatic'.

Well, the thing is, no matter how much you delude yourself, if you suddenly can't see, you can't very well exit a building and go back home like it's nothing, especially if your home is 2ish hours away... Even if it was just one eye, I wasn't able to open the other one very well, because of the pain. Also, even with the very little bit I could get open before it shot back closed on its own accord, I couldn't see well with the 'good' eye either. Anyway, at some point I realized I had to necessarily phone home, so that my mother could come and get me to my eye doctor (I had one because I had worn glasses till the year before when I got eye surgery). My doctor was miraculously in the area (he has multiple offices so thank the lord he was in that particular area). Tbh I have no idea what hour it was, on account of the fact I couldn't see and check the time, I only know it got to the evening (the event was in the afternoon). My doctor, my savior bless his soul, received us at the office at his apartment (I think it wasn't even a work day for him, but I dunno) checked the eye, gave me medicine right there on the spot, gave me other stuff for me to take at home and told me to let him know how I would be doing until a checkup we scheduled. At the checkup a few days after, he told me my eye looked greenish when he examined it the first time (tbh he didn’t appear to be worried about that fact but to be fair I couldn’t see so I can’t assess his bluffing skills to well) but he didn't tell me because he knew I would panic. Good call, he knows me too well. Anyway that very evening/night I was already doing much better. Not perfect, still had a white haze, but the pain had mostly subsided (suppose it was the medicine he gave me) and could do with at least the good eye open. It was good enough that I distinctly remember playing Pokémon UltraSun to distract myself and doing the wormhole minigame (I swear I remember the most useless facts about that day like it was yesterday). Couldn’t read a thing though. The day after, I was drawing again, my eyesight had gotten mostly alright and I just had some difficulty opening it completely on account of the black eye I got (it was. a very very black eye. goth makeup levels. A few days later, a classmate joked saying ‘you could say you got into a fist fight!’ ...I mean I kinda did. With an umbrella though. And the opponent wasn’t the umbrella really but my carelessness.) Anyway....point is… When you almost disable yourself for life of the organ you most care about because you're a careless dum-dum it puts things into perspective. I mean... I need to count my blessings, let’s be honest. If my doctor hadn't been in the area that day, I most certainly would be partially blind today/have very bad eyesight. I haven't owned any push-the-button umbrellas since then. Just to be safe, you know. As for champagne bottles, I don't drink, so there's no risk. Thanks for the warning though, teach. Moral of the story: Don't use push-the-button umbrellas.

[totk-headcanons]

Headcanon(s)

Link and Zelda talk about the her time as a dragon, specifically how link would sometimes just sit on her head as she flew about to feel close to her, he would show Zelda the picture of her Dragon form he put up in his Tarrey Town house (I did in my game), and Zelda would be fascinated by Link's leftover Light Dragon materials.

I also imagine that Link feels regret that he couldn't protect her again.

Thanks guys!

"Link, what are you doing?"

Opening his eyes, the Hero of Hyrule glances up from where he was sitting, just outside the front door of Zelda's home in Hateno. Link smiles up at her and it somehow only emphasizes his tiredness. "Good morning, Princess."

Zelda frowns. "Don't tell me you slept out here. You know you need to take better care of yourself."

"I take plenty good care of myself," Link says, shrugging as he gets to his feet. "And besides, I didn't feel like going back home to Tarrey Town just yet."

Her frown deepening, Zelda jabs a finger into Link's chest, nearly knocking him over. "I can tell when you're hiding something, Link. You know I can. Out with it."

A sad look crosses Link's face, his eyes turning down and away in a mix of grief and embarrassment. "It's... it's nothing."

"Don't you 'It's nothing...' me!" Zelda groans, exasperated. "Not after everything we've been through together. I deserve more than that and you know it. The truth, Link. What's wrong?"

Tears well up in Link's eyes as he nods, trying his best to regain his usual stoic composure. Pushing open the door, he takes Zelda by the hand and leads her inside to the dining room. With her questioning eyes watching closely, he reaches into his bag and begins placing items on the table.

A cutting of coarse, golden hair. A brilliant scale. A few pieces of hard material that seemed to shine with every color.

Zelda runs her hand over the collection. "Link... what is all this?"

His composure mostly restored, only his glistening eyes betray Link's feelings as he explains. "This is all you. The you that was not you. A clipping of your mane, a loose scale, loose bits of claw or horn that had been damaged by Hylia-knows-what." He takes a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. Any who knew him would be astounded to hear so many words from him at once.

"Zelda, when i woke up and you were gone... I was desperate to find you. I scoured all of Hyrule but all I could find of you were... memories. Impa called them Dragon's Tears but I somehow didn't make the connection until I saw the choice you made. Your sacrifice."

On and on he went, describing seeking her out in the sky, the days he spent up there with her. How he worked all the tangles from her mane, climbed the length of her body to tend damaged scales and remove stray bits of broken spike. More than anything, he stayed to spend time with her.

"When I think about the choice you made and those hundreds of thousands of years you spent... alone..." Tears streak down Link's face, his composure failing under the weight of his emotions. "My heart aches."

Zelda reaches her hand up, brushing aside a tear. "Oh, Link... You know I don't remember any of that time, don't you?"

Link shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. Just because you don't remember the loneliness doesn't mean it was any less real. Those tears were shed for a reason." His hand reaches up to take hers as he leans his head into her palm. Lifting his gaze, his read eyes meet her concerned gaze. "Nobody should ever have to go through that. Especially not you. You'd already done as much once, during the Calamity."

Memories of the hundred years she had spent restraining Ganon while Link recovered his strength buzzed in the back of Zelda's mind but she shook her head. "That's all in the past, everything will be okay now."

"I know. I can't stand the thought of you being so alone. And from here on out..." Rising to the balls of his feet, Link stretches up and presses his lips to hers in a kiss, "... I vow you never will be again."

[Mod Lonely Voe]

[sirenium]

Being late diagnosed autistic does horrible things for your mental health, especially when you find out that professionals SUSPECTED it much earlier but did nothing. I think I went through the five stages of grief on my mom's floor when I caught sight of 'rule out autism spectrum disorder' in my records. I was, what, four? When they suspected but didn't do a damn thing further? These fucking clowns just brushed that off and left it to me to eventually figure things out and request an assessment, which I finally received at 18 YEARS OLD.

Now that I think about it, the fact that I'm black most likely had something to do with the suspicions of autism being brushed under the rug. I don't like claiming to be the victim of racism often, because I am also mixed with white and am beyond light-skinned; I feel like it's not my issue, and my past experiences could not have possibly been racially motivated, but... I would be lying to myself to claim that racism didn't have a hand in this. Looking at the facts, black and AFAB people are among the most overlooked when it comes to autism diagnoses. It is possible that that is my story as well.

Regardless, the lack of a diagnosis led to years of not knowing what was 'wrong' with me, why my peers pushed me away at every turn. I didn't know why my mom claimed I was such a likeable person, while people my age hated me. I didn't understand why I needed more time for things that others didn't. I didn't understand why people suddenly 'liked' me at 13 (I was masking, unbeknownst to me). I understood nothing about myself. That is DAMAGING, and what was even more damaging was finding out that the answer was inches from my grasp all those years ago. Rule out autism spectrum disorder. I'm not sure I'll recover from that, not really; to learn that the professionals didn't care enough about you to finish their job leaves wounds, it makes you wonder what you did wrong for them to hate - or be so indifferent about - you enough to withhold information so crucial. It deepens existing wounds their negligence certainly didn't help.

I truly was left to die.

[greentrickster]

Loving the Hopeful Hybrid’s Househusbanding System, and wondering if you have any further thoughts regarding LBH wingmanning for MBJ, or the matchmaking shenanigans LBH and LQQ get up to (or if I’m remembering correctly MBJ gets involved at some point bc why not?)

Thank-you so much! ^U^ And, for starters? After Liu Mingyan's latest work comes out after Binghe's return (suddenly involving characters with some very interesting and elaborate tattoos), Binghe uses his 900 IQ to put two and two together and figures out who wrote it. Then super calmly doesn't tell anyone he knows. Then even more super calmly starts feeding Liu Mingyan a few stories about spicy forbidden romance that he encountered while in modern Japan and, once he's established his cover as a fellow connoisseurr of the finer things in life (aka spicy p*rn with lots of romance thrown in for flavouring), he mentioning that, hey, wouldn't a human-demon love affair be romantic? With lots of tension and potential for betrayal, but really neither of them want to betray their homes, they just want to be together, only the world won't let them? Think of the drama - think of all the opportunities to get excitingly spicy!

And boy howdy does Liu Mingyan think of them. Three volumes of a new series worth in the space of six months worth of thinking of them.

So anyway, that's Liu Mingyan and all her devoted readers set up to play spin doctor/damage control/shut up-it's-so-romantic arguments for when the Mobei-jun/Shang Qinghua romance eventually comes out in the open, because Shizun likes Shang shishu, so keeping him in the sect is important.

(For all his intelligence, Binghe does not at any point realize that Shen Yuan is an avid reader of Liu Mingyan's work (especially since it doesn't currently involve him), and has a strong hunch who it's about and is just waiting for the right opportunity to give Airplane so much cheerful grief over it. Mostly because he knows nothing spicy has happened with him and Mobei-jun yet and it will absolutely kill that shitty author to know that his fictional double is getting it when he isn't.)

Beyond that, Binghe’s primarily giving Mobei-jun some quick remedial courses on human romance and dating culture, while also slipping Shang Qinghua a few tidbits on demon courtship habits, especially for the Northern realm. Thanks to his exposure to modern media, he’s gained that most dangerous and OP of powers - levels of genre-savvy! He can spot a miscommunication plot when he sees one now! So he’s working to clear up the miscommunication, and he’s using the simplest methods possible to make it harder for them to go awry by mistake.

His modern experiences with the dating scene does get a little jumbled with his memories of his home dimension’s practices, though, meaning Binghe absolutely sets his most loyal bro and his shishu on a tea date (since coffee isn’t an option). It doesn’t go very well since Mobei-jun isn’t really into tea and Shang Qinghua is still confused out of his mind at the mixed signals he’s getting at the moment. (Though, ironically, he absolutely uses it as coffee-date fantasy fodder after the fact, because an author-god can dream, you know?)

This having not worked, Binghe switches tactics and finagles Sha Hualing into creating the xianxia version of an insulated travel mug (“Okay, but why should I waste time making something that won’t help me destroy my enemies?” “...it’ll keep your hot drinks warm longer so the blood doesn’t congeal if you forget about them while you’re in your workshop and you don’t have to waste time yelling for someone to bring you more when you want it now?” “Oh dang, sold!”) Binghe then ensures that Mobei-jun gets ahold of one and tells him to give it to Shang Qinghua, since the guy drinks so much tea while trying to get all his work done, and to tell him that, since he won’t tell Mobei-jun what sorts of things he wants, Mobei-jun’s just going to have to start guessing (with an addendum to start paying attention to what sorts of things Shang shishu likes so that he can do a good job of it - paying attention to what sort of things your beloved likes and doesn’t like is important in a good relationship).

Mobei-jun is skeptical, but follows Binghe’s plan to the best of his ability, and it bears shockingly good fruit. Shang Qinghua is stunned, not his usual loud, flustered stunned, just... this is such a nice, useful gift, and it’s something he’ll be able to use with minimal explanation for how he got it, just say it’s something he found on a trading expedition, and dollars to donuts he’s missed having a nice, big travel mug with a secure lid and- oh, oh it has a little flap you can flip up to drink from it without taking the lid off. And it’s in An Ding blue. He’s a peak lord, he’s used to certain people trying to pander to him or buy him off, but this is a really thoughtful gift, and he’s not used to those in any of his lives. He’s absolutely touched. He’s making an expression Mobei-jun’s never seen before and it’s making his heart stutter.

And- oh, oh, I bet gifting is one of Mobei-jun’s big love languages, he’s just never learned how to do it properly, and it’s also part of why it’s so frustrating that Shang Qinghua never freaking asks for anything. Binghe teaching him how to spot what would be a good gift without having to be directly told is going to be invaluable to him! So by the time Tianlang-jun arrives at the Sect, Mobei-jun and Shang Qinghua are actually doing pretty well for themselves, it’s been... let’s say a year since Binghe got back?, everyone knows, no one can do much about it because half the sect shipped it even before they knew it was a real ship, Shang Qinghua’s gotten some slap-on-the-wrist punishments because 1) he does 64% of all paperwork in Cang Qiong and it would collapse without him and 2) he’s besties with Shen Qingqiu and Yue Qingyuan is still simping hard. And Binghe’s only had to use his extra-special ‘oh no, I’m such a clumsy shidi’ technique to ‘trip’ and ‘try to catch himself’ by grabbing onto Shang Shishu only to ‘accidentally’ just grab his clothes and absolutely shred the top half of them by mistake in Mobei-jun’s presence twice.

Binghe, with big, dewy eyes full of (false) unshed tears: “This Luo Binghe is so sorry, Shishu, he’s still learning to master his demonic heritage and suddenly having claws is so confusing-!”

Shang Qinghua: Ah-haha, it’s okay, shidi, we all make mistakes! (internally swearing because how much do you think these robes cost, and do you really think this author can’t see through your crocodile tears, why are you humiliating me in front of my king like this-?!?)

Mobei-jun: (can see one (1) entire nipple on Shang Qinghua’s chest and would like to get to know it better, maybe if he’s good he’ll get to see the other one too...? Also why is this so exciting, he’s a demon, from the demon realm, he sees people wandering around half-naked/all naked all the time, so why is it different now-?!?)

Mobei-jun is learning how tantalizing things can be when you don’t get to see them all the time, and he’s very confused and also rather aroused. And he’s going to take this knowledge and accidentally melt Shang Qinghua’s brain by showing up one day wearing his robes at a level of chest coverage that humans deem appropriate, then shuck an outer layer partway through the visit and loosen the ones underneath to show usual levels of chest again. Congrats, Mobei, you’ve accidentally gained two levels in seduction and have ensured that incident is all Airplane’s going to be able to think of for a week.

(Note: this probably wouldn’t have worked on anyone else, because Mobei-jun’s starting out with a -1 in seduction, he just has the home field advantage with Shang Qinghua.)

As for Liu Qingge and Mobei-jun meeting up and the resulting shenanigans as all three of these goofs get up to as they try to match-make for a sect leader and once-demon emperor? I think I’ll put that in another post at a later time - this one’s already gotten pretty long!

Thanks for the ask!

[blueookashi]

FREN I HAVE SEEN YOUR QUESTIONS!! :D

okieokie I'm gonna answer them best I can!! :D Max: (Mistake) What's the worst mistake your OC ever made? What led to them making it? Have they been able to fix it? How have they moved on? OH LORD WHAT HAS HE NOT DONE LJ;GKADS god there is so much shit this boy will do but the worst ones I cannot completely share, however! I can give you a lil nudge in the right direction on one of them! :D (Cause this boy has done a lot of really bad shit that leads to more bad shit that its just, oh boy SALGKJ I sadly cannot talk about) BUT remember this? I know this doesn't show/say much but! This is the aftermath of one of Max's fuck ups

Again, I know this doesn't show much, but this is specifically after a Max fuckup, one of his biggest ones. He did a VERY BAD THING. Very traumatic for Grey too not good Just think, in the first chapter Grey is in the orphanage, but then finds herself later in the woods by herself? (Until Blue comes along of course) SO how and why is she in the forest?? Hmmm :3<

What leads Max to make these mistakes? I cannot get too deep into it but its definitely grief and anger mixed with some "help." He's not the only one here that has put a target onto Grey (Yea the orphanage is not good place for Grey at all get her out of there please.) Grey did kill two people, it was an accident, but two people did die from her and those two people meant a lot to Max. With the grief, anger and "help" he just gradually turned on his own sister, even tho shes hurting as much as he is. Max thinks its some sort of justice and this shit is something he should do, even if he feels some guilt about it later. (Tho the guilt doesn't last long, but its there sometimes!) Has he been able to fix it? So far no. Usually its other people *cough*Logan*cough* that have to fix some of the damage he's caused. In the future tho! I guess we'll see!! It's gonna take a LOT for him to really see and think about his actions; there is gonna be a LOT of consequences for the shit he's done! :D Also how did you know the thing I'm writing is the aftermath of one of Max's super shitty events, what? how? I cannot believe this /lh /j LKJ;SDF

Grey: (Midnight) What keeps your OC up at night? Do they have nightmares? Fears? Anxieties? What do they do in the small hours of the morning when they should be sleeping? OH BOY a lot of things keeps Grey up at night!! There is the fire that happened when she was a little little baby (well kid, she wasn't baby baby but she was a small child) she cannot recall specific details about that one but it certainly messed her up!! That is a recurring nightmare she's had since she came to the orphanage, well- found and brought to an orphanage, but yesyes DLGKAJS A lot of things happened that day- what happened? Wouldn't you like to know weatherboy Then there is also the accident (yes there were two, this and the fire LGKJSD) where she killed two people and, unlike the fire, (if she tried hard enough she could probably remember more about the fire, but it hurts too much so she's very avoidant of it) Grey cannot remember ANYTHING about the accident. Other than all of the blood, there was so much blood guys (she gets sick at the sight of it now yea.) She was already fucked up from the fire all those years ago and now this just adds to her trauma! So yes she has MANY MANY NIGHTMARES she is absolutely not ok, sleep is hard but she sleeps anyways!! As for Grey's fears, since the accident, she has feared that she is a monster in some way. Even though they told her all that was likely caused by her Element, so she became extremely afraid to use her electricity! Which is why its super super out of control and frantic. One example of this is her own electricity turning on her whenever she uses it! (It shocks her aswell basically)

But on top of that, Grey fears storms aswell!! Especially thunder and lightning, but especially thunder, the loud noise makes her panic! Sucks that storms happen pretty much all the time huh Theres a lot more to Grey fears but idk if I can get into them sadly :( AS for what Grey does when she cant sleep or when she wakes up early, it honestly depends on the time! Like she'll try to draw or read but if its too dark then she'll play with Snowdrop for a little bit! Grey has some books on forests and wildlife (like those books that'll show the different forests/biomes in the world and the animals and plants that reside there) and she's got some books on deer specifically- if theres enough light she'll read those! :D And Snowdrop is her lil stim toy! She likes to touch it and play with it! :D (it also smells like hyacinths and lilacs which is very important both as a sensory thing but also symbolism- I'm not going to say what that means hehehe) This lil plush helps Grey calm down, especially after a fucked up nightmare! It is very very very important to her!! It just helps ground her :) She definitely holds it whenever she reads or draws too! It is with her at all times! But also, there are a lot of times where she just lays in her bed, just thinking. Whether this thinking is good or bad, very depends!

Christoph: (Alone) How does your OC deal with loneliness? Have they ever been completely alone before? How do they act when there's no one around to see them? OH JEEEZ this goes a little into his past but ooo ooo I am willing to talk about it!! :D When he first came to the orphanage, he was very much willing to be alone! He was a super lonely child, since before he was not allowed to interact with other people, especially other kids, his best friends were plants. But, with the lack of interaction, he didn't do so well with other kids and was this very anxious lil guy. I don't think he had any hate, definitely frustrated at himself for "being such a bad son to end up here" but he doesn't hate anyone. He's just not used to all these other kids. Later on, he DOES NOT like being alone. When he's alone, it makes him think a little too much of the horrors he faced before he was dropped off at the orphanage. He always ends up crying at some point when he's alone so he HATES IT!! It makes him think and it really fucks him up!!

He'd greatly prefer to be around one of his siblings! Grey pretty much latched onto him (when she came to the orphanage, Christoph was like a sense of familiarity to her so she just followed him around a lot ADLGKJ) so it was usually him and Grey! :D Being alone makes him think a little too hard about his situations, which were obviously not good at all, so having someone there makes him focus on them instead! :D So basically at first, being alone didn't bother him too much, but later on it really really dug into him. Makes him feel that emptiness he felt back at home. Hell, if he can't find his siblings he will just go to a populated part of the orphanage or find Logan and just stick with them! Just anything is better than being alone for long periods of time!!!! Has he been completely alone before? YES. YES, MANY MANY TIMES. As I mentioned before, his only friends were plants for a while! So he'd be at home, completely by himself and the only things he could talk to were the plants, so he'd talk to the plants! Other than his mom, that was literally all he had. And he'd prefer the plants than his mom. How does he act when no one is around? I have definitely answered this earlier DLKAJSG;DGKS but again, he completely breaks down! It makes him think about himself and the horrors so he just, breaks down from it all. He will bawl his eyes out, and if someone comes by he will quickly clean himself up and try to find some excuse on why he looks like he just cried! He wasn't allowed to cry before so he always feels worse afterwards too, just overall shitty situations with this guy. :(

Blue: (Skin) How comfortable is your OC in their skin? Do they grapple with anything that lives inside them—a beast, a curse, a failure, a monster? How do they face the smallest, weakest, most horrible version of themself? Are they able to acknowledge it at all?

My brain is doing the elmo stare at you rn /lh SO UH, you are trying to get me to talk about that giant damn thing and I'm sorry I cannot /lh DLGKAJS; (I only mention it cause it I have shown it on my animations so LIKE YEA LKAJSG) but yea that giant rabbit creature is surely a thing that exists around Blue and yes she does acknowledge and knows of its existence *frantically sweeps it under the rug* SO UH I would say that Blue is very much not comfortable in her skin! I mean people do in fact consider her an aggressive monster cause she does kill people (god forbid women do anything /j DLGKAJS;) but she's been led to believe that she has to kill people to survive. Does she enjoy this? NOT AT ALL. Blue's first actual kill deeply traumatized her, it fucked her up, but she was specifically told thats what she was going to have to do to protect herself and her brother. Now she's just very desensitized to it, its just something she has to do now. But god man, she's so underweight, hungy, and just overrall tired. She is so god damn tired of fighting people all the time. Then pile the abuse on top of all of this, cause she's been surrounded by that shit too. She just doesn't very much like herself!! Her life sucks!! idk if any of this fits the question I'm just rambling about Blue cause I'm hesitant to talk about the creature in the room LKAJS;G

How do they face the smallest, weakest, most horrible version of themself? Avoid it. She knows, its just her life now, can't change a damn thing about it. She's very avoidant of all the terrible things about herself, this includes all the trauma. She's already got so much going on man. It's just her life!!! She cannot change it even if she tried! Because NO ONE allows change for her at all! She'll still get attacked by people, she still will face near-death situations (cause some people will try to kill her even if they aren't supposed to), and people will continue to come after her! She literally cannot change her lifestyle cause she cant escape it! I do think she would consider herself a failure in a way too, cause like, clearly her family didn't really like her (she is considered very ugly and a runt even though she is not small guys not at all), and then her first relationship was very very bad so, she does think there is something wrong with her! Um uh hmm I really don't know if this all goes with the question I just cannot talk about the giant rabbit cause like, thats a, wowie thats surely something that would fit this question really well and WOWIE LOOK AT THE FUNNY BLUE!!!

Roseberry: (Wound) How does your OC handle being wounded? Are their wounds mostly physical? Mental? Emotional? What's the worst wound your OC has ever experienced?

How does Roseberry handle being wounded? Honestly? Thats a normal occurrence to her. A lot of fights break out at the campsite, a lot of people challenging others, a lot of tension; there is just a lot of fights. Roseberry being a leader is basically one of the highest ranks there (next to the adults in charge, the one in charge of Roseberry and some others is this white lion Felkin, still working on a name but shes a lady who takes no shit), even so, certain people *cough*Sydney*cough* will still fight her on shit. She's constantly challenged. Roseberry has been in many fights, but for bearfolk, they actually have a high pain tolerance!! (Mix it with some adrenaline and sometimes these guys can actually fight to death, its pretty rare but it CAN happen.) I'm sure you may be asking because of this pic!

This is one of the fights she gets into! Its kinda old and I changed up a few things BUT!! This fight still happens so yesyes ASDGKJL; that fight is a brutal one and honestly she walks around afterwards as if she's gotten like the smallest scratch. The most annoying thing was not only that a fight of course broke out, but that she had to go to the doctors afterwards, just "yea yea, give me a bandaid and let me go please" like no girl you are bleeding everywhere and covered in bruises LKJASDG Its not like she cant feel pain, the pain tolerance yes, but also that this is just a normal occurrence, just "fuck, now I have to go to the doctors you bastard." Does she want to fight? Not really? She'll do it if she has to, but she'd rather stay on track and do her job???? This girl is trying so hard to track down Blue but of course somebody has to be a dumbass and try to pick a fight (because they disagree with her theories) "Blue doesn't keep hostages" "Nuh uh" "The fuck you mean nuh uh" /j LKJSDG

Roseberry's wounds are mostly physical and mentally??? (I keep looking that up and it keeps going to emotional so idk if this counts at all but I'll talk about it anyways.) Ok like, Roseberry is a leader, she's supposed to lead a group of her choice/making and go out and track her target (which is Blue), over the years this has become very very stressful. There are so many expectations put on her, like she's got to do this, she's got to find this, what happened at this scene, whats her progress on Blue, STATUS REPORT NOW!! Like good god this shit is so taxing to her, she is constantly stressed out even if she doesn't show it- sometimes she loses sleep over it all. Physically? Oh yea she fights a LOT, not that she really wants to, but they come to her quite a lot! So, she does get a lot of physical wounds, not only from fights tho- all that hiking and the different terrains definitely cause some accidents sometimes but its mostly the fights LKAJSDG;

Whats the worst wound Roseberry ever got??? WELL.... I'd count the near-death experience she had a while back, like, she was nearly choked to death so! I think that'd count! At least count in what I can say. But! I would imagine that would hurt a while and hurt her mentally AND emotionally! Girl nearly died!!!! ABSOLUTELY going to have an effect on her, she has not forgotten that but also she's not gonna stop what she's doing, even if it kills her

Bullet: (Mask) Does your OC wear a mask, literally or figuratively? What goes on beneath it? Is there anyone in their life who gets to see who they are under the mask?

MY BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! Yes! He does mask, both literally and figuratively! Like Bullet does have a plague doctor mask that he sometimes puts on when he does his lil doctor thing!! I still need to draw him with it (I tried once but I wasn't liking how it was turning out oops DLGKAJS; I will absolutely draw it eventually tho!!) He doesn't put it on every time he treats someone but! He still wears it from time to time! :))))))) but yea he wears one of these things for sure LJSK;DG

(since I am mentioning it, no, he does NOT wear it to hide his scars or anything, absolutely not) Figuratively tho, I think Bullet is keeping a lot of things on the inside. He rarely talks about his past or the things that has happened to him and doesn't really try to focus on it that much. It definitely has affected him, but he avoids it as much as he can! Seriously, if anyone even tries to ask or point out his scars all he'll say is that he "got them when he was very young" and completely change the subject! He's a goofy lil guy!! He wants to stay goofy!!!!!!! He's more comfortable telling Blue about that stuff, but usually he doesn't. And Blue doesn't mind, she doesn't push nor even think of pushing Bullet to talk about it. (If Bullet wants to talk about it, he'll talk about it! And Blue will listen) The other thing he really keeps to himself, even though it stresses the hell out of him, is the stuff with Blue. Like, his sister constantly has been sneaking out at night and sometimes she comes back injured, its that or she's shaken up in some way; and she does NOT talk about it at all. Just "got into a fight" and thats that, nothing more is ever said about it. But whatever it is, it keeps happening and his sister has been dissociating and distancing herself more and more and its stressful to see his sister be like that!! He doesn't try to pry, he does slip from time to time and gets a lil confrontational, but whether she does talk or not he just keeps taking care of her injuries.

She's the only family he's got! He doesn't like seeing her hurt, so it does stress him out! But since Blue is a very private person, he does not talk about it to anyone really Basically Bullet more of masks his stress and anxieties, he completely internalizes it. There is much stress and anxiety in this lil rat boy like you wouldn't believe (probably why he's extremely impulsive at times LKAJSDG)

Is there anyone in their life who gets to see who they are under the mask? There is only two people who get to see who they are under the mask and its his sister Blue, and his boyfriend who I cannot name LKAJSDG but even then he is wayyyy more open to Blue about his issues than his boyfriend, hes just grown up with Blue and again, that is his sister. He's very used to talking to her if his stress becomes severe. For his boyfriend, if he goes to see the Boy then he wants it to be a good time!! Again he'd rather be silly!! A lil goofy guy!! If his boyfriend catches onto Bullet not doing the greatest however, then Bullet will talk to him about it! I like to think that Bullet isn't the greatest at masking?? Like, if he's being a silly lil guy then you prob wouldn't notice (unless its Blue) but otherwise? I think the mask definitely slips from time to time.

I also think he'll open up to Grey once they met, for reasons I cannot say, but basically he sympathizes with her! :D

AND THERE WE GO!! :D FINALLY WRITTEN EVERYTHING DOWN ALKJSD;G and on Valentines Day too! WELL HAPPY LOVE DAY LKAJSDG;

also fren you in your cave vs me in my rabbit hole ASLGKJV;DGJLK /lh KLJDLKJSGB

(Me whenever someone mentions ocs) LKJSDG Don't ever be afraid to ask me questions!! :D It's always fun! And I super appreciate the oc questions LKAJSDG;GJ

[legolasghosty]

Robots & Androids ‎AU plus Small Town AU

OKAY I AM FINALLY GETTING TO THESE I'M SORRY I'M SO BEHIND!!!

Okay. So.

Humanity kinda developed a LOT of health issues in the mid-late 23rd century. It was all a long time in coming, but it was a bit of a shocker still when people started breaking down. And there just wasn't enough people to keep up with the demand for new organs, tissue, blood, etc. The human race was basically failing. So, in a semi last ditch attempt to keep people alive, cyborg technology was put to work. Scientists had been messing around with the theory of it for years, since robots and androids were getting decently advanced. But they never had the support to actually try a clinical trial. Until now.

Some of it worked better than others. And it was HIGHLY controversial. Though maybe less than it should have been, considering the lengths the research team was permitted to go in order to get this stuff sorted out... Mainly that they were given legal permission to try it out on patients without their express consent, mostly in situations where the person was in a coma/on life support with no real hope of recovery.

Towards the end of her life, Rose was offered the chance to try getting a cybernetic lung transplant to replace the one that had been damaged beyond repair by her cancer. She refused, as it would be super risky and be more likely to kill her than help. She would rather die in her own whole body than risk losing her last few weeks with her family.

After she passed, the remaining Molinas moved out of the city, to a small town a few hours north, to escape the grief and the terrible air quality that had been a part of Rose's quick decline in health.

Unfortunately, they just happened to pick the exact tiny town that the government had picked to dump their cyborg... pet projects. The ones who hadn't actually consented to their surgeries but had ended up surviving. Best to keep everyone with those stories contained while they championed the cyborg advancements. Especially since there were plenty of side effects...

Julie meets a lot of odd people on her first day at the local high school. These include a dude that never lowers the hood of his pink hoodie, a bassist in a leather jacket who never seems to stop smiling, a skater with a rather odd limp, and a boy with shaggy hair who never seems to hear what people say to him, always grooving along to some music no one else can hear. There's also a few other adult oddballs around, but I don't got the energy to write all those out.

Under the cut, it gets a little more specific about injuries and alterations to specific characters, so read at your own risk!

Turns out that all four of those odd boys are unwilling cyborgs who were a part of some of the first rounds of tests. Hey, they were all gonna die anyways, the government decided they might as well use them.

Willie was in a nasty car crash that smashed both legs and a few ribs. He has pretty good prosthetics now, but they don't always function properly. And if he keeps his hair long to cover the incision scar on the back of his neck, that's no one's business except his own.

Luke, Alex, and Reggie all nearly died of food poisoning back in LA, but due to a combination of slightly different reactions to the battery acid/food poisoning and scientists wanting to test out different tech, they all have different issues now.

Luke got some synthetic tissue repair on his organs and around his throat. But there was also some damage to his airways cause of throwing up so much, so there's some wiring stuff in there so he can still sort of smell... however that got a bit mixed around and so his hearing is pretty weak and the music he has stuck in his head tends to sound like it's coming from outside to him.

Reggie mostly got away without any organ damage, but his face got kinda messed up. Now he looks pretty normal, except his jaw and lips can't move a lot. So he's stuck with a permanent semi-smile. It's not creepy usually, just kinda sad. He tries to stay upbeat to match his face.

Alex got the worst damage to his digestive system. The connections between his organs and brain are mostly man made now, whether that's wires for neurotransmitting or fake tissue on the lining of his stomach. However, when the scientists realized they had someone with a diagnosed anxiety disorder, they... well they might as well try, since he's probably dead anyways. So there's also a metal panel on the back of his head. It didn't work, and the hair won't grow back around it. Hence the hood.

Somehow they all become friends and help each other kinda come to terms with their lives. And also play lots of music. Though the shadow of the head researcher, Dr. Covington, looms over them all... OKAY that's what I got for tonight! More thoughts may come later, but that's my rough idea! I hope you enjoyed!!!

[m34gs]

Rollo Flamme in the TWST Saw AU: Victim or rival apprentice? (can imagine him in a trap after the events of GloMas)

Alrighty, time to answer this ask! Thank you for your patience, anon, I just finished the Glorious Masquerade on Sunday! I talked with @kimium (co-creator of the Saw AU; see her fics here) and we had a good discussion about Rollo!

So, what we know about Rollo is that his actions were fuelled by his despair, anger, grief, and survivor's guilt surrounding the death of his younger brother. But, part of him doesn't want to believe what he is doing is wrong. He has twisted his own morals to justify trying to rid the world of magic for the good of others. You could even say, because of the way he is so desperate to convince himself that he's doing the right thing, that he is doing this *because* he values life. He's a complex and interesting side-character and it's fun to discuss him. I think, if he was in the main story, he also would have been one of the overblots...which makes this an interesting case.

That brings me to what Kim and I came to as a conclusion. Rollo is not an apprentice, neither is he a trap victim. Not because he is somehow right; no. Not because the Housewardens don't care; Malleus in particular wants to chuck him in a trap. It's a mix of things keeping Rollo "safe":

Division of the Housewardens. While they are all independent apprentices, Kim and I have established with each other that there are times where they work together, make agreements, and set guidelines/rules together for themselves to follow. When playing through the event, the Housewardens at Fleur City had mixed feelings about what Rollo did. While they all did work together to stop him, Idia in particular felt a connection to him. I mean, how often is it that someone else's diary gets Idia Shroud to *willingly* climb stairs? I'm certain it hit really close to home for him, and I think it would make him hesitate to put Rollo in a trap; because it would be very personal. Azul probably would weigh pros and cons of putting Rollo in the trap, so that will depend on his use to Azul. Riddle might want to put him in a trap, but he would probably consult Jigsaw first at the very least. What about the Housewardens not present at the scene? Well, we've already established Kalim doesn't like putting people in traps to begin with (and he'd probably fight with Jamil over trapping Rollo if it came down to it). Leona would find Rollo annoying, but if the problem's been dealt with he isn't about to waste his time and energy going after him. Vil is one of the most compassionate Housewardens in my mind; he is another we've established does not enjoy putting people in traps if he doesn't feel he has to. What about Malleus? He has fae powers, right? And we've established that he more or less follows John's rules out of courtesy and not because he is afraid of breaking them. That kind of brings us to the next points.

No Actual Harm Befell Yuu. We've established that the Housewardens, especially Malleus, will consider throwing anyone in a trap if they've harmed Yuu (though there are some times where they don't think traps are appropriate or are too easy a punishment, they still consider it). Aside from dropping the floor out from under Yuu (where they were saved by Professor Trein), Rollo didn't actually try to do anything to Yuu directly. The firelotuses don't affect Yuu since they have no magic. If anything happened to Yuu, it would have been collateral damage, but I would argue that he might have been trying hard not to harm Yuu (or anyone without magic); based on the discussions he had with them where he was pretty much trying to feel out whether they thought magic was evil as he did. There was potential for harm, and some would argue that's enough, but you wouldn't find all of them convinced.

Yuu Knows Rollo. This isn't some asshole in the street who they'll probably forget in a month or two. They know Rollo personally. They've talked to him at length. They may not be a fan of what he did, but they have been through something similar with each of the Housewardens and showed a remarkable ability to understand and make peace with people. It is reasonable to assume they could do the same with Rollo. If he ended up dying in a gruesome manner from a trap they would probably be sad. None of the Housewardens want to make Yuu sad. (Note: I have hinted before that Jigsaw would have put the Housewardens, and potentially their dorm mates, through traps too; this is different. The assumption is John did not know Yuu at the time. He knew of them but had not met them. He did not know what a sin it was To Make Yuu Sad. He also did not ever have a Housewarden trap another Housewarden; he did those ones himself. John eventually tries to make up for risking Yuu's sadness when he trapped the Housewardens by finding ways to make Yuu happy and allowing the Housewardens a looser leash when it comes to people who harm/disturb Yuu).

Potentially the strongest argument we have: The Gargoyle's Promise. In the event, when the gargoyle is losing its ability to move and speak, it tells Malleus, Idia, and Azul, to take care of Rollo. Look me in the eye and tell me Malleus will break that promise ever. Look me in the eyes. and Tell Me. He would never break his oath to a talking gargoyle. Even though he desperately wants to. He really wants to. He thinks about it every time he sees Rollo get too close to Yuu or give them presents (my little headcanon; I like to think Rollo tries to befriend Yuu and maybe even win them over). But the Gargoyle's promise is a powerful thing. It would take even more extreme acts to get him to consider breaking it. For now, Malleus just grumbles like a disgruntled housecat who has seen another cat sit on the sidewalk across the street, from his favourite vantage point in the window.

So, Rollo is safe for a few complex reasons! (That doesn't mean Malleus isn't watching him like a hawk though. He is. He definitely is.)

Of course, this is just what we've decided for our Saw AU; if you want to test Rollo through a trap or think he would make a good apprentice, I highly encourage you to build that AU as you see fit and have fun with it!

Thank you again for sending this ask, it was fun to discuss and answer! I liked it :D feel free to send more if you ever feel inclined; and feel free to send asks about this au to @kimium as well! Also, Kim, if you have anything further to add from what we've discussed, please do!

[deathsbestgirl]

I'm so curious why people wanna anon beef with u. maybe I just don't follow enough people but I have never seen this before following your blog. at least not at this frequency. and at first I didn't get why u seemed so brassed about them but finally it's kicking in like... why would u send a clearly argumentative message to a person u do not know? ESPECIALLY with it being anon like okay why r we arguing and ur not even gonna face up to it? I am also sending this in anon but y'know I'm not trying to fight here. just thought it was a little insane

ahaha i wouldn't care if there were a mix, but i think they're bots. i saw someone else get a very similar one and my friend says she gets them periodically.

but these trauma ones bother me because having trauma doesn't mean you can't love someone or be happy. losing people doesn't mean you can't be happy. being human practically means experiencing trauma & loss and living with grief. and i love that mulder & scully help heal each other, and let the other have their own healing journey. like to me, that's the heart of the series. the first seven seasons are all about samantha, and mulder wanting the truth about what happened to her but not being able to face it. and the moment he is, scully is there to find the answers. s8&9 are a shift to scully. losing mulder while pregnant, giving up william — and while william is both of theirs, scully carried him for nine months, was raising him alone, trying to keep both william & mulder safe, and she gave him up alone. i don't mean to devalue mulder's pain, but i think he takes on as much as he can. he's the one talking her down consistently in the revival. questioning her dangerous choices, telling her not to do the thing, getting caught so she can do the thing. and he only loses it when she isn't around.

idk!! trauma & grief don't devalue a relationship. the people who stick around & help you through it, don't you leave you alone in it...those are your people!! and i hate this myth that you can't be happy, you can't be loved if you're "damaged," if you struggle, if you've been through a lot. it's a trap, it's cruel, and it's a lie.

[docexe-mx]

So, for the final arc of the first season of X-Men ‘97, they indeed adapted “Operation Zero Tolerance” mixed with some elements from Bastion’s later appearances, which is what I expected. However, they also combined that with a condensed adaptation of the final part of “Fatal Attractions”, something that I wasn’t expecting, but that was thematically fitting considering Magneto’s character arc during the season.

Honestly, the final episode was fantastic, and the show overall was excellent, easily among the best X-Men media ever produced. I’m definitely looking forward to the next season, especially considering all the hints and teases they planted regarding what’s coming next.

The thing that surprised the most of the show, however, was how they managed to make you feel so much empathy for most of the characters, even when they were doing things that could be considered ethically or morally questionable. It’s something that, frankly speaking, the comics have often failed to do.

This was evident early in the show’s run, with how they handled the whole kerfuffle involving Scott Summers, Jean Grey and Madelyne Pryor in the third episode. In marked contrast to the comics (where Madelyne was turned into a recurring villain while Scott was honestly a scumbag), the episode actually ends with all three characters coming across as extremely sympathetic and the tragedy that befalls them ends feeling even more devastating and heart wrenching as a result.

Then there was Magneto’s overall arc, showing that he genuinely wanted to honor Xavier’s dream of co-existence with humanity, only for Bastion’s actions and the attack on Genosha to push him into the path of vengeance, being effectively “the straw that broke the camel’s back”. While the show still showed that he was going too far and doing extremely destructive things that endangered the entire planet, it was still possible to understand where he was coming from and to empathize with his anger and grief.

In addition, once Magneto crosses the final line by ripping off Wolverine’s adamantium, almost killing him in the process, Xavier doesn’t just wipes his mind in retaliation like he did in “Fatal Attractions”. Xavier makes one final plea to his former friend to stop his rampage, only uses his powers forcibly after Magneto refuses, and afterwards proceeds to repair the damage caused to his psyche even at risk to his own personal integrity.

Honestly, the versions of Magneto and Charles Xavier depicted in this show might be the most sympathetic iterations yet of both characters in any X-Men media, and I frankly welcome that.

Hell, even Bastion, the central Big Bad of the season and a thoroughly irredeemable piece of work in the comics, gets reimagined as a more tragic figure here, even having a couple of sympathetic scenes in spite of all the carnage and pain that he causes.

It all feeds into one of the central themes of the season: How empathy is necessary to combat fear and bigotry, and to prevent anger and grief (even the ones that could be considered righteous) from becoming thoroughly destructive and senseless.