#and vice versa it takes more time to show a fight or battle than like ‘they fought long and hard’ yknow

[crowwithahotdog]

Anytime anyone used to say how the lord of the rings movies were too violent and battle-centric I always thought like yeah okay there are some pretty nasty parts for sure and I hadn’t read the books myself then so I couldn’t really argue but now that I’m actually reading the books I’m honestly surprised to see that a lot of the violence and horror that I had just assumed were added in to the movies for shock value and drama are things that are straight from the text. Like the Uruk hai head on a spike in two towers or the catapults shooting the men’s heads who had fallen at osgiliath over the walls of minas tirith…….that shit is fucked

[majinbangus]

happy birthday little simon

"You're inviting me to the lad's birthday?"

At this point in time, he kind of expects to get a knock on his door more times in a week than he ever did during the entire duration he's lived in this flat. Most weekdays- when you leave for work and drop off your lad at school- the boy likes to make a quick stop to say good morning. It's become somewhat of a routine. Sometimes it's a sleepy greeting, but little Simon is a cheerful child who has taken an odd liking to him, and vice versa.

"If you can make it."

Then there's you. The sunny child's mother. An easy presence to be in. Refreshing like the ocean breeze during a calm day. Something addictive he can't get enough of.

"When is it?"

This is new. You switched up the routine by coming a second time at midday after he returned from the gym, freshly showered. You faired better when he opened the door compared to that one time. Granted, he was fully dressed, but it was a little disappointing; however, you did have a reason for visiting.

He could tell by the tension surrounding your eyes. Focused like you were on a mission. He supposes you technically are on one. Inviting Simon to your boy's birthday.

"Saturday."

He furrows his brows. "This Saturday?"

"Yes."

"That's tomorrow."

"I know it's a bit last minute, but..." You sigh, running a frustrated hand over your face, frowning at the ground. "No one RSVP'd."

"No one?" Simon nearly growls, offended on the lad's behalf. "What about his friends? The little fuckers don't want to come?

You purse your lips, crossing your arms. "We sent out invites to all his classmates, but ever since we moved, Simon's been having trouble making friends."

"He has trouble?"

"It's not his fault!" You snap before grimacing, lowering your voice, "Sorry, it's just... Simon tries to make friends, but kids are mean, you know? They're young, but they already have their established friend groups and exclude him because he's new."

New. Different. Any reason along those lines. It doesn't matter to kids. Or it does, and that's why they're unjustly cruel to their peers. He understands. Simon grew up with many of his schoolmates avoiding him for being 'weird', not knowing his home life. Tommy had 'friends' but they weren't exactly a good crowd.

"So you want me to come?" Simon asks, and he's met with a tired expression he's never seen on you before—not even when you were sick and weak and needed to be looked after. You look as if you hold the weight of the world on your shoulders, about to collapse.

"He tries not to let it get him down, but if no one shows up..." You bite your lip, a flash of pain in your eyes at the thought of your son hurting. "Please? He likes you, and even if you're the only one who shows up, it'll mean a lot to him."

Simon looks at you. Really looks at you and takes in the desperation in your eyes. You look as if you'd do anything to convince him to come. Even fight him. Tie him up. Anything to drag him to your son's party. You'd probably do it, mother bear that you are.

But you don't need to do that. You won't ever have to fight another battle. Not if he can help it. Simon will fight your battles for you from now on.

"I'll come."

You have his devotion. You and your boy.

"Really?" You brighten up, the hopeless look in your eyes washing away.

He nods. "I'll bring a mate with some brats around your lad's age. They're friendly. They'll like him."

"Will they? Are you sure your friend will be okay with it?"

"They will, and the bastard owes me one, anyway."

No, he doesn't, but Johnny will pull through. Him and his seemingly endless amount of nieces and nephews, although he'll only need to bring a few.

A wide smile breaks out on your face, bright like the sun, and oh- that's where your boy got his grin. Without warning, you leap into his arms, forceful enough to make him grunt. You hug him, burying your face into his shoulder with Simon's hands hovering at your waist, fingers twitching.

It's rare to catch him off guard. So many new sensations fill his senses. Your warmth, surrounding him like a blanket; your scent, sweet and calming with a freshness to it that makes him want to bury his face into your neck and inhale. Or maybe he would bite into your soft skin to see if you taste as pleasant as you smell. If he wasn't so controlled, he probably would sate his curiosity right now.

You stiffen, your body tensing as if you're aware of what you've done, and move to back away, but Simon stops you, resting his hands on your hips. You gently melt your body against his again.

"Thank you, Simon," You softly murmur into his shoulder. It's a quiet sound, but he hears it and lets his arms wrap you in a full hug. You melt against his body, sighing. He doesn't think he's ever felt so warm before. "And just so you know... it means a lot to me, too, that you're coming."

-

Simon: > Johnny

Johnny: > Yeah, lt?

Simon: > You busy tomorrow?

Johnny: > Yes? > I have a date with that bonnie piano teacher I told you about > ... why

Simon: > Cancel it > Have something I need you to do

Johnny: > Work related?

Simon: > No

Johnny: > Then why can't you do it?

Simon: > I'm already on it > Cancel your date

Johnny: > Then why do you need me? > I'm not gonna cancel my date you dobber

-

"Cannae believe ye made us come all the way to fuckin' Manchester. Do y'know how many fuckin' hours ye made us drive, Ghost? The wee ones didnae like gettin' up so arse fuckin' early, either-"

"Shut up, Johnny. You owed me one."

"I didnae?!"

A giggle from Soap's bonnie piano teacher. "You're accent thickens when you're upset, John."

"Today was supposed to be our date!"

"It's not so bad. I still get to spend time with you."

"... Guess not, but I'll take you out proper tomorrow, promise."

"See, Johnny? Everyone wins."

"Awa’ an bile yer heid, Ghost."

-

Despite all his complaining, Johnny is a good guest and keeps the children entertained, playing the part of the fun uncle by letting the kids wrestle or play tag with him, not minding the grass stains as they roughhouse in the park. Currently, he's playing an informal football game with them—six vs. one. He's mostly blocking the ball from entering the goal, but it's still fun for all of them.

Little Simon is extra happy with his new friends. He's been smiling nonstop since they all introduced themselves, grin extra proud when he revealed his name.

("Like Uncle Simon's?"

"Yeah, he says it's a fine name!")

You also haven't stopped smiling ever since they arrived. Not quite as big as your boy's grin, but it still hasn't left. You and Soap's date get along swimmingly, too. He can already tell you'll be good friends with the teacher.

"Not gonna join them?"

Simon looks to see you standing next to him under the tree, watching the children as Soap 'misses' a shot from one of his nephews.

"Where's your friend?" He asks instead.

"Went looking for a bathroom." You gesture vaguely in the direction Soap's date disappeared off to. "So, not gonna play?"

He shakes his head. "Johnny's got it."

"Oh?" The suspiciously innocuous tone makes his eyes narrow. "Is it because he's the better footballer between you two?"

Simon slowly turns towards you, glaring with no real heat, but it still doesn't stop your panicked giggle when he takes a half step in your direction, making you back up against the tree. He gets closer and leans into your space, nearly brushing his front against yours. You audibly gulp, and Simon places a palm on the tree, hand right next to your head. He gets close to your face, watching your eyes widen then dart down to look at somewhere on the bottom half of his face before meeting his eyes again. You bite your lip.

"Repeat that for me, sweetheart." Simon growls softly, and you give a sharp, little inhale.

"U-um. I'd rather... not." Your voice comes out breathy, and you place a hand on his chest as if to stabilize yourself.

"I wasn't asking." He doesn't give you a chance to breathe, leaning in closer, and your fingers dig a little into his pec, making his muscles flex under your touch. "I'll say again: repeat that for me."

With nowhere to run, pinned to a tree, you tremble against his body, breathing heavily and barely able to meet his eyes, licking your lips. It takes you a moment to build up the nerve to speak with Simon surrounding your senses.

"I um... I um-"

"Simon, Uncle Johnny said to come play with us!"

Instantly, he backs away from you and turns around to see your boy running over. Behind him, he hears you exhale a quiet, little, "Fuck..."

Fuck, indeed.

He turns his attention to the lad once he comes to a stop in front of him. "Is that what he said?"

"Uh-huh! He said we're giving him trouble, and it'll make it more fair so he's not the only one guarding."

Simon looks over to where Johnny stands with the football held casually to the side between his arm and waist. The man smirks knowingly, glancing between you and Simon before giving a cheeky wave. He glares back. "I'll show him trouble."

"What did you say, Simon?"

He looks back at your boy. "Nothing. I'll come play."

The lad's eyes brighten with a celebratory cheer, grabbing his wrist and leading the way to the field. Simon looks back to see you better composed, if a little disheveled, but smiling nonetheless at the two like they're the only ones who matter.

-

After cake and presents, the children return to playing football with the new football that Soap gave as a present for little Simon, along with your boy wearing a jersey from the Scot's favorite team. A petty move from Soap, in Simon's opinion, but he'll let him have this one. He'll get your boy cheering for Man United soon enough.

The adults hang back in their own pairs. Soap and his date finally getting a moment to themselves, nibbling on cake and talking about whatever it is they talk about at the picnic table, and you and Simon are back under the tree, keeping a respectable distance between each other.

"Kid seems happy," Simon idly notes, watching your boy laugh and play with the younger MacTavish's. "You did good."

"Me?" You glance at him. "You were the one to bring a tiny tribe to Simon's birthday. Look at him. That smile is because of you."

"That smile is because you're a good mum," Simon states in a way that leaves no room for questions. "You were the one who made today happen. You gave your lad the birthday he deserved. He'll remember this."

Like how Simon remembers his mum doing her best to give him and Tommy the birthdays they deserved, no matter how small the celebration was.

You're looking at him as if you can't quite believe he's real, a cute, astonished look adorning your face. He's tempted to make a comment about it until you give a quiet, amazed laugh, reaching for his hand to give it a grateful squeeze. You don't pull away, and he doesn't let go.

"Even so, Simon had a great seventh birthday, and a lot of it is because of you. You did more than you had to- more than his father ever did! Bastard didn't even send a happy birthday text, son of a bitch." You exhale a heavy, calming breath. "But never mind that... What I'm trying to say is thank you. You didn't have to do what you did, and ever since we met, you've been really good to him."

You shoot him a teasing look. "What's your secret? Have a hidden family out there or something?"

A darker part of Simon is tempted to laugh. You're kind of right, in a messed up way, but he doesn't hold it against you. He hums, contemplating. "I had a nephew."

"Had?" The information takes another second to process. "Oh! I mean..."

"Don't have to say anything." Simon stares out to where the kids are playing. He imagines another boy running among them. Both younger and older than the children out in the field. Taken too young with no opportunity to grow. To live. He squeezes your hand. "He reminds me of him. Joseph. Would have been a couple years older than your lad by now, but I think they would have gotten along."

"Think so?" You send him a soft smile, stepping closer to hug his arm. "Tell me more about him?"

Simon looks at you, the warmth of your body pressed against him, and it suddenly feels like there's no one else in the world. There's just you and him under this tree, with your boy's laughter ringing like bells in the air, and that's when it hits.

Settle down... He's finally starting to get it, Tommy.

-

soap's piano teacher is something i want to write out, but idk if i'll get to it

[mothiepixie]

Something I'm curious about, do you have any head canons about soulbonding? If so, who would Motti have soulbonded with? 💜💙💚💛🧡❤️

Sorry for taking so long to answer! I hope you enjoy! I kinda got carried away ahaha

Soulbonding is an ancient and intimate affair and rarely practiced in modern day, but it is considered the highest form of trust and some would say it transcends usual bonds. Once soul bonded; the individuals can experience a merge of memories, feelings, etc. It can also extend or decrease one’s life to the corresponding partner who initiated the act, thus the individuals can live their life as long as their chosen partners. 

Although soulbonding is a form of strong magic, it can also be broken. However, the individual(s) will experience a sense of intense loss and an emptiness that may never be filled. The reason being is when the soulbond happens it creates an invisible “string" to the respective partners. If the “string” is broken the merge isn’t completely severed, and the missing specs will constantly call out to each other. It’s one of the reasons why it's not a common practice anymore as the few who have broken the bond cannot stand the feeling. 

If a partner were to pass away by unnatural means, the bonded individual(s) would also experience an intense sense of loss and most do not come back from that. Especially for monsters; their hope would drop to practically nothing and eventually the grief would cause them to dust. Most bonded individual(s) will age and pass away alongside each other. 

Soulbonding isn’t reserved for just romantic partners as many platonic individuals can bond. In ancient times it was a great way for members of armies/guilds/party members to better fight alongside each other, and if ever lost in battle the bond acts like a beacon. This was only done with close and trusted parties though. 

But as monsters were cast underground, and times became more modernized it wasn’t really necessary to continue that kind of practice. (Depending on the AU, monsters became pacifists or many lost trust in others to bond). The history behind soulbonding eventually died for humans as well once the monsters were no longer on the surface. 

Who would soulbond:

Boysen: However, this would be many years down the line and the thought of Motti aging and dying without him would definitely have him initiate the bond. (He would actually dust if Motti were to pass away, his HP just couldn’t bear the loss regardless bonded or not.)

Passive Nightmare: Even without soulbonding he is so deeply attached to Motti, and vice versa, that he could not even bear the thought of losing her. He is willing to let Motti initiate the act, but Motti would rather he do it so they could make up for all the tragedies they suffered. (I guess Motti would become immortal if that’s the case)

Farmer: A country man stands by his partner through and through, and given Motti’s life span being shorter than his, he would think about it for a good long while before having the discussion with her. Mainly it would be because he doesn’t want her to feel pressured into something like that and if she ever would want to leave, he’d like her to have that choice. But boy, he would be over the moon when she agrees.

Blue: This monster loves long and hard. He would not think twice about approaching the subject and offering it to Motti. There will be a discussion of who will initiate the act, but Blue would 100% be okay with either decision. 

Who would be apprehensive:

 Sans: While he would never let anyone know or show it, he is scared by the prospect that if he bonded with Motti and something were to happen to her; he knows he will dust instantaneously. He most likely will never approach the subject to her and would hope that no one ever mentions to Motti about it. 

Dream: He already has commitment issues and is already overwhelmed with his powers of empathy. It makes sense that soulbonding may even be a more exhausting and stressful experience. It took him years to accept that Motti’s feelings were genuine and not a by-product of his powers, so the thought of bonding to a degree could be more harmful to his psyche than good. 

Horror: He actually leans into being apprehensive to not even consider it, but he would be lying if he said the thought never occurred to him. Especially when he is in a good head space, he does fantasize what a nice domestic life would be like with Motti, but he would eventually convince himself that’s just a pipe dream. Although if Motti showed genuine interest/want, he just may be persuaded. 

Who would not:

Big Red: That’s far too intimate and scary, he already cannot handle his emotions as is and his trauma would make him scared to bond with Motti. He may just dust on the spot if something ever happened to her. 

Killer: It’s already hard for Motti to discern if his affection comes from a genuine place to begin with and even for Killer that may be a step he has never considered. 

Dust: He has experienced far too much trauma and his brother haunting him does not help in the slightest. He already knows what it is like to have someone’s feelings and influence hanging over his head and he would never want to subject Motti to his warped mind and soul. 

Ink: He doesn’t have a soul to bond with, but he may play with the idea by using physical strings if Motti were to bring it up. He doesn’t really understand the idea or appeal, but he likes the thought of crafting an idea. 

Nightmare: He doesn’t really have much of a soul to begin with, but even so Motti would not entertain the idea if she knows she’ll feel what he feels. (Him embodying all negative emotions and enjoying it is not a good time in Motti’s eyes)

[tiniedemon]

. . .

poly headcanons

stan marsh & kyle broflovski

— it’s a constant battle

— kyle and stan are always competing for your attention in one way or another

— if kyle gets you a gift, stan has to get you two, and vice versa

— stan takes you out, kyle has to take you somewhere nicer

— you caught on after a little while and started using it to your advantage

— anytime you got into an argument with one of the boys, you’d ‘demote’ them

— “kyle, you’re pissing me off. i’m demoting you. stan’s my favorite boyfriend now”

— your relationship is still somewhat functional, though

— kyle’s a passionate hotheaded asshole, stan’s an emotional lovesick puppy, and you’re like the balance

— anytime the boys argue you have to break it up or they fist fight

— anytime you argue with one of the boys the other one kicks back with popcorn

— when there’s a truce, things are at their best

— there usually aren’t too many problems unless one of the boys feels like you love the other one more

— then you have to comfort them, reassure them that your love is equal, and spend the day cuddled up with both of them equally

— it isn’t really a problem with stan and kyle showing each other more attention than they show you

— you know at the end of the day that their love for each other doesn’t mean they don’t love you just as much

— they’re mostly just equally terrified you’ll leave them

— kyle cooks, you clean, stan gets control over ambience music

— said ambience music is divorced dad rock

— kyle drives, stan rides passenger, you get backseat and aux

— stan plays sad music in the car, not fun music

— so kyle took his aux privileges

— cuddle time consists of you in the middle, stan wrapped completely around you, and kyle letting you lay your head on his chest

— you all take turns choosing content for movie night

— also applies to shows you binge together

— kyle’s a firm believer in acts of service, stan’s more of a physical touch kind of guy

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

What if Xavier's father showed up to parents weekend? maybe he's not nice to his son and reader say something? Or vice versa

This has been in my wips for so long! I miss writing/reading about Xavier...

p.s. I didn't plan on making this 1.4k, but it happened

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

Being the son of world-famous psychic Vincent Thorpe had its perks and many downs.

Getting a lot of toys to play with as a child and living in a big house sounded like a dream, but for the rest, there was nothing to envy. Since he could remember, Xavier always had high standards to reach. He was expected to have the greatest grades and to be on top of all of his classes, always be on his best behavior, speak nothing but highly of his father and mostly, not taint his father's reputation in any way shape or form.

Like any little kid, Xavier admired and looked up to his father. Being world-famous made him sound so cool to his young eyes. But that idolization changed with time. Xavier realized that nothing he does will ever be enough for him. His grades — although considered excellent — will never be good enough to his father’s eyes. He’ll always disappoint him.

As a parent, Vincent Thorpe wasn’t so cool. Xavier always had to fight to get his father's attention. Instead of congratulating him on a test he got an above average grade, Vincent would tell him to work harder next time. He never came to his school plays or other events — unless it gave him an occasion to brag about himself. He never sat down long enough to recognize the talent Xavier had for art or comforted him after his mother lost her battle to cancer at the hospital.

When his powers began to show, people expected Xavier to be as great as his father. Unfortunately, his psychic powers were not as impressive. All he could do was bring his art to life.

He also had occasional dreams that predict the future, but those were more on the scary side — nightmares.

Beneath the balustrade Xavier was standing by, the quad was filled with parents and families greeting and hugging their children. He remembered his first year at Nevermore. He had waited all day for his father to show up on Parents Weekend, convinced he would come visit him like the other parents only to end up crying in his bed because he was the only kid whose parents weren't present.

That day put a further strain to their relationship. The next year, Xavier didn't bother waiting for his father. Nor the year after.

‘’Not sure how much of this family togetherness I can take,’’ Xavier said when you joined him.

‘’Guessing your dad’s a no-show again this year?’’

He nodded, looking down at the crowd of parents with sadness. ‘’Yeah. He hasn’t show his face since I started here.’’

Parents Weekend was Xavier’s least favorite Nevermore event. It was just a painful reminder that his father didn't care enough about him to show up. The man preferred to be on tour and hear a crowd applaud him than spend a day with his only son. Xavier acted like it didn't bother him, but he was deeply hurt.

‘’Shouldn’t you be with your mom and brother?’’

You shook your head. ‘’My mom texted me last night saying she couldn’t make it, she caught a nasty cold and doesn’t want to spread her sickness. That means we can spend the day together.’’ You smiled and kissed him sweetly.

Xavier smiled a half smile against your lips.

‘’We can go into town if you want? Get coffee and—’’

‘’Xavier,’’ the gravelly voice of a man called behind you, rudely interrupting.

You looked over your shoulder, eyes falling on a tall man wearing a long coat cleared. He had a haughty posture and the same green eyes you loved to stare into.

Beside you, Xavier looked like he had seen a ghost — and he might as well have. After years of no-show, his father decided to show up.

‘’D-dad.’’ The young psychic quickly composed himself, straightening up and fixing his posture before his father could point it out.

The exchange was strange and cold. From your viewing point, it seemed uncomfortable.

You subtly rested a hand on the small of Xavier’s back, standing close so his father wouldn’t notice. A way of telling him ‘I’m here’. ‘’Welcome to Nevermore Academy, Mr. Thorpe,’’ you politely greeted, forcing a welcoming smile.

The man completely — and rudely — ignored you, which only added a point to the lengthy list of reasons why you hated Vincent Thorpe. He might be famous, but it didn’t give him the right to be rude to people.

‘’I didn't know you would be coming.’’ Xavier shifted, absentmindedly leaning into your touch.

‘’It was a last minute decision. I was on a flight back from Paris when my personal assistant forwarded me that Principal Weems had invited me to Nevermore's Parents Weekend. My tour is on break for a few days. Why not surprise my son and pay him a visit.’’

Xavier huffed a dry laugh. ‘’So you came here because you had nothing better to do? I’m just a way to fill empty spaces in your schedule?’’

Vincent stared down at his son, then corrected him. ‘’That’s not what I said.’’

‘’But it sounded like it,’’ you said, coming to Xavier’s defense. It wasn’t your place to speak up, but you knew Xavier wouldn’t stand up to his father. ‘’I understand that you are a career oriented person, Mr. Thorpe, but children shouldn’t fill empty spaces in a parent’s schedule. A good parent make space for them in their schedule, cares and listen to them instead of booking appointments with a therapist by fear a bad word under their name ends in the tabloids, calls to take news instead of having their assistant send an email and show up to their school events.’’

Words kept spilling out of your mouth, firing examples of Vincent’s shitty parenting. You could’ve kept going for longer, but some things were too personal to bring up where people could hear.

Like the reason Xavier started going on nightly runs. He didn’t start running out of pleasure; his father had forced him to lose weight because ‘having a fat son wouldn't be good for his image’. Or why he enrolled him at Nevermore Academy. It wasn’t just because it was a school for outcasts. The academy allowed him to focus on his career and touring the world. So instead of putting his career on hold and becoming the parent he knew that Xavier really needed him to be, he sent him to Nevermore instead.

In Vincent Thorpe’s mind, parenting was a chore. He had planned to leave all the parenting to his wife while he focused all his attention on his career, but life had other plans for her and took her away, leaving him with a son he didn’t care enough about to make room for in his professional life.

Before you, the tall man’s face twisted, immediately taking offense. ‘’How dare you speak to me with that tone. Do you know who you are speaking to, young lady?’’

It should have made you feel small, but you weren’t intimidated by him. To your eyes, he was just a man.

‘’I do, and I do not care. Being famous does not give you the right to treat your son like a forgotten toy on a shelf that you only spare a glance at and remembers exists every couple of months. Xavier should be your priority, but he’s not. All you see and care about is the tabloids and if a bad word about you or your name gets out, not if your son had a bad day or if he won his fencing duel.’’

Vincent drew his eyebrows, shifting his gaze to his son. ‘’Fencing? Xavier doesn’t do fencing.’’

‘’Yeah, I do,’’ Xavier replied. ‘’I told you in an email two years ago, but you probably had your assistant read it for you like you do with all of my emails.’’

‘’I don’t—’’

‘’Yes, you do!’’

A few heads in the quad had looked up at the loudness of Xavier's tone, catching their attention.

Mr. Thorpe's jaw tensed, shooting a quick look beneath the balcony. ‘’Xavier, please lower your voice,’’ he hissed, more worried about the possible gossip than Xavier’s anger toward him. ‘’Have you been seeing Dr. Kinbott? I thought she was helping you with your anger issues. Do you want me to call her?’’

How dared he talk about Xavier anger issues? He wouldn't have anger issues if he wasn't such a shit father. Couldn’t he see that it was him who put him into this state?

‘’I...I think it’s better if we just don’t do this family thing today,’’ Xavier decided, his voice much calmer. ‘’I can’t spend more time in your presence.’’

‘’But I came all the way here?’’

Xavier shrugged, giving him a tight lipped smile. ‘’I’m sure you’ll find people to kiss your feet and flatter your ego. I’m done.’' he said before walking away, leaving you and his father behind.

''Xavier!'' Vincent called after his son, but Xavier didn't look back.

—

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[dayables]

It was never about the prank

Or the 3rd life Grian and Scar are in love essay.

Grian and Scar’s alliance, friendship, love affair, early in the game is based upon Grian owing Scar his first life as an apology for the prank that killed Scar. Grian sets the deal as, “I am in your service until I lose my first life. I’m your teammate. I’ll do whatever you want to do.” Grian is also, a terrible teammate in many respects. He tries to ruin all of Scar’s deals, he kills three people when Scar just wants to steal BigB’s cookie. Grian is, a truly terrible at “being in Scar’s service.” and “doing whatever he wants to do.” Grian is staying around Scar because he likes Scar. If Grian did not enjoy the deal, Grian would find ways around the deal.

Before the prank, Scar only proposed taking over the sand biome to Grian. Grian doesn’t say no either. He only proposes they monopolise dark oak saplings instead. Desert Duo’s alliance was never about the prank. It’s about loyalty and passion and just like all romances, it ends in either marriage or death.

If there’s one thing about desert duo, it’s that their loyal to a fault. There are so many quotes I could pull to prove this point. One example, in episode three following Scar’s death. He offers poppies and lilacs and asks: “Can we still be friends?” There’s uncertainty in the question. This would make sense considering the fact Scar’s the first red life on the server. By the rules of the game, the answer is no. The one time Grian cannot justify breaking the rules of his own game, is accepting his place by Scar’s side as a friend not as a debtee. Also to mention the flowers again, lilacs mean: Do you still love me?, grief and optimism. Poppies mean: eternal love, sacrifice and remembrance. The flowers say many things Scar does not say: I still love you, I hope you love me still but I think you don’t.

In the finale, Grian asks Scar at the battle of Dogwarts, “Is this it? Is there where we show our true allegiance too each other and that’s it? We turn on everyone?” Every alliance before this fight was temporary. Scar and Grian only ever cared for each other and pizza. While they knew Scott, Jimmy and Joel were on their side there was never a care in their alliance. Just the knowledge they had a common enemy before they turned on one another. All of their allies were brought together by war. Scar is Grian’s “True allegiance.” Scar is the only one Grian cares about and vice versa. They were recluses who others had to seek out. Desert Duo never had the opportunities for friends because they had each other they never left that desert.

So let’s talk about the desert. The sand land, the fallen kingdom was a desolate and expansive. There was no desert village, there was no pyramid. The sand land was nothing more than Monopoly Mountain, Pizza, Scar, Grian and cacti. There wasn’t a single sign of life besides the prickly cacti, not even a singular dead bush. It slots right in with their isolation. There was no reason for anyone to come to the sand land unless to see Grian and Scar and as I said before, Grian and Scar only left it to gather resources. Everything was always about the sand lands and Grian and Scar and Pizza were the sand lands.

Finally, you have the betrayal. When Scar threw everything he and Grian had over the pieces of paper Grian has been calling useless the entire series.  In this moment both Grian and Scar’s worlds tilt on their axis. Grian has been betrayed by the man he pledged himself even when he no longer had too. Scar stops basing his actions over the pieces of paper. Bdubs had the ‘no kill pass.’ But Scar “didn’t know what to do” after Grian. Scar had a plan to kill Bdubs when Grian returned. Scar didn’t want to take Grian’s final life and when Scar didn’t fight? Neither could Grian. Scar asks if they can, “fix our sand castle.” And Grian asks, “Can we win together?” It’s in the very fabric of their characters: Grian doesn’t want to kill Scar and Scar doesn’t want to kill Grian. They just… have to kill each other… to figure that one out…

Then it ends. It ends exactly how it began. Grian killing Scar. It ends with just the two of the. It ends in the desert because they could never wash off the sand. It ends beside Pizza’s grave. It ends in a fight with fists and a fight on their own terms because they never cared about the rules which dictate they should be fuelled by bloodlust.

It doesn’t end with a prank because the prank was nothing more than a prank. The tragedy, the end and the beginning lie in the fact its Scar’s blood on Grian’s hands and he never wanted it there. Except the second time round, there’s a weight heavier than guilt on Grian’s hands. There’s loss as well.

In conclusion, they loved each other. By my fucking god, Grian and Scar loved each other. It’s weaved into their story so deep it’s impossible to uproot it all. They were fated to die by each other’s sides, that there would only ever be one victor and they chose to love anyways. They chose each other, were loyal to each other, never doubted each other in the face of a death game and yeah.

[chubbyheadquarters]

Getting with Red Son

Genre: Romantic

Pronouns: Gender Neutral

TW/CW: None

Character(s): Red Son

So my man sees you and, for a moment, his heart skips a beat. He takes a step back and is confused by his quick change of emotions, but he gets back to fighting. Still, it bothers him when he gets home and he thinks of you. Like, why are you so pretty? You and your stupid smile, your dumb, cute eyes-

You're alignment with MK and his friends doesn't help either. You're his enemy! Working with MK, who's working under Wukong, the damn buffoon who trapped his father under a mountain! He should be thinking about defeating you! Not smooching you!

But instead of you two fighting to the death and what not, it's more...like sparring? Like, he's not out to kill you, and vice versa. It's like you're both training with each other, and everyone else kinda just...disappears.

It absolutely does not help when you're nice to him, even after everything him and his family have done to you and the city. With you trying to offer him emotional support and compliments, along with some useful advice, he unconsciously becomes a bit softer with you during each meeting.

When he catches himself, he's so conflicted because he starts to realize that he's in love with you. He can't love you! You're his enemy! And ally to Mk! Besides, he's so used to working on his machines, helping his parents achieve their goals and becoming stronger. He'll eventually take a seat in his room, and begin pondering if it's YOU he likes, or if it's certain qualities you have.

The next time he confronts the team, he's solely focused on YOU. In his head, he's trying to pinpoint what it is about you that he likes. You're obviously confused with the amount of attention, trying to keep up. At one point, you and your friends have to leave and you just-"You were a lot faster today! Can't wait for next time!" And when you smile at him before leaving, he realizes it's YOU. No one else can have the same traits as you cause they can NEVER be YOU.

His parents noticed a little while back, and at first, they weren't really on board with it, with you being on the good side and all that jazz. But when they see how much you care about Red Son and how you've never really shown any hate towards him, or them for that matter, they ease into it and accept it a lot quicker than their son.

After HE finally accepts it, he'll try to find out how to ask you out. He'll take into consideration human courting traditions, but he'll keep demon ones in mind as well. A blend of both, if you will. He just wants everything to be perfect.

Oh my god if Mei and MK EVER found out, it'd be all over for him. They'd make it more chaotic, throwing all sorts of random ideas at him. "No, I'm NOT going to do that Noodle Boy!""Dragon Girl, that is the dumbest idea I've ever heard." They truly mean well, but their ideas are a bit...too dramatic and far fetched.

When he does ask you out, it'll most likely be after the battle with LBD. Whether you joined in on the fight or were trapped in the city, you're gonna be right by his side, eating Pigsy's Noodles with him and talking about everything that happened and what the future may hold.

When he confesses, he's so nervous, hoping you'll accept, which you do. Even after you accept, his heart is still beating so fast, thanking you for giving him this chance to be with you. It doesn't truly set in until later that night, and he'll be so embarrassed, refusing to come out for a little while.

This dude really be bringing out the graceful and majestic nicknames. "Darling" or "My Dear" with a hint of "Beloved". You try to do your best to match it, like "My Love" "Sweetheart" "Handsome". One time you called him Hot Stuff and he refused to look at you, face absolutely red. It was really cute.

This dude is touch starved, and it shows. When you hug him, he'll hold onto you, wanting you to stay like that for a bit longer. When you kiss his cheek, he'll place his hand there and close his eyes, as if to engrain it in his mind. Holding his hand and him not wanting to let go, even though he knows you'll be back.

He'll start initiating once he gets used to your affection. He won't really say anything, but instead, he'll usually just kinda lean against you, easing himself into it. Sometimes he'll hold your hand and gaze at you for a bit longer. He'll give subtle hints that he wants to hug or cuddle, and you catch onto it, which he appreciates.

Loves receiving your hugs when he gets home or goes to your place. They're just so comforting, and the fact that you're so warm and soft literally makes it all the better. When he's REALLY tired, he'll just plop onto you, wrap you in his arms and listen to your heartbeat as it lulls him to sleep. You'll run your hand through his hair, take his hairband off and massage his head. Unknown to you, this is the safest feeling in the world to him.

A thing you both like to do is each other's hair. It's kind of an intimate thing between you two. You started brushing his hair when you noticed how messy it would be, what with him working on stuff and being too tired to do so. He didn't mind it at first, but quickly began to look forward to it. He eventually started brushing your hair and even learns how to braid it, which you would keep throughout the day/night. It boosts his ego, especially when people see it and compliment his work.

He's definitely the type of partner to be all like "Look how amazing my partner is!" "Too bad you'll never have anyone like them." "My partner is obviously the best, it's not my fault I'm speaking the truth!" He absolutely thrives when you also talk about him to others, telling them that "Red Son's the best partner ever!" and "They're such a cool guy! Why would I want to date anyone else?"

Literally, if anyone makes fun of you, even with a one off comment, they're dead. He's charging in, flames hot & absolutely burning the place. You've gotta calm him down with hugs and back rubs. He's still pissed at them, but he'll leave them be for now. He can find them later. No one talks negatively about you and gets away with it. Not on his watch. (•ˋ _ ˊ•)

If they try to flirt and they're just some random weakling, he's not worried! But if they're seen as a threat, he'll act all confident and suave, but deep down, he'll be worried-scared that you'll leave him. But you always deny them, telling them that you only have one love, and that it's "The one and only Red Son, the best partner I could ever ask for."

He always thinks about how lucky he is to have you in his life. Always supporting him. Loving him. Even with all his flaws, you wish to stay by his side. He loves and adores you, and you're his first love. He wants to make this work and, hopefully, spend the rest of his life with you. Please don't break his heart.

[neonscandal]

Manga With Me: Obscure Head Canons (and Hypotheses) You’d Probably Develop When Reading the JJK Light Novels, Pt 2

Same as before, hypotheses at the end in case you want to keep it light and tight!

Part One

⚠️ Spoiler Warning for Jujutsu Kaisen Thorny Road at Dawn and season 2 of the anime (manga spoilers are vague at best).

Head Canon: The Moral High Ground is Going to Cost You

There's something to be said for sorcerers who operate in secret, careful to not evoke chaos with the existence of their strength and power and that of curses. Moreso when, in the heat of battle, they still factor in the greater good and weigh it against those in immediate danger. We saw it in Shibuya as Gojo used his technique in the presence of countless civilians which still came at a great cost to them. He was a bit more cavalier but the first story focused on Inumaki and his monk-like discipline to never use words carelessly lest he curse those around him.

Curses and curse users are shown to be morally impudent and his careful existence is juxtaposed by a curse user with a similar technique who employs it freely and without giving it a second thought as he tries to capture and subsequently traffick Nobara. Even when backed into a corner, Inumaki is taking hits to avoid accidentally causing harm to Nobara and it does him no favors. This is obviously indicative of a larger theme we see wherein the primary antagonists of JJK are regularly seen frolicking on the beach, playing soccer, playing board games, etc. Meanwhile, the limited stock of sorcerers are regularly having their asses handed to them for the sake of doing the right thing. Another stunning example of this is Nanami Kento when compared directly to Mei Mei.

Head Canon: Perhaps, More Specifically, Emotional Ties to Others Are Going to Cost You

What's funny about this is the fact that this is shown multiple times in a novel that only has five stories. We've already seen it countless times in the anime/manga:

JJK 0 - Yuta's inability to part with Rika curses her.

Season 1 - Megumi saves Yuji or vice versa and it brings about Sukuna and the killing curse upon Tsumiki.

Season 1 - Junpei's mother is used as his breaking point just as Junpei himself is used as leverage against Yuji.

Season 2 - There's something to be said about Riko Amanai and the hopelessness and turmoil her death inspires, whether you want to say Geto was emotionally tied to her or not.

Season 2 - In the story's biggest reveal, we come to realize that Gojo's inability to properly dispose of Geto's body creates a vulnerability Kenjaku is able to exploit.

While the story with Inumaki also ties into this, I think his relationship with Nobara is more proximal and subsequently, his story more or less shows that he is earnest regardless of whose safety is on the line. Emotion being a sliding scale and all, it makes sense that Mechamaru's story is the best example of how, even when there wasn't a physical risk to him, he was still grappling with how best to win a fight against another shikigami user. Mechamaru is uniquely qualified for the fight since his robot body is the only thing that can go into a gas infused curtain. While this is another example of technique matchups, ultimately, it's a far better insight into Mechamaru's presumed pragmatism when weighed against his affection for Miwa. He'd rather potentially gamble a strategic loss than jeopardize a friendship bracelet she'd given him. As for it's impact on the larger story, this heat of the moment desperation to maintain this connection to Miwa is perhaps what later inspires him to be greedier down the line in seeking a new body from Ken!Geto and Mahito and... we see how that turned out.

Head Canon: Gojo is Far More Sentimental Than His Flippancy Suggests

Gojo is constantly on his bull shit. The duality of the strongest sorcerer capable of processing everything who is constantly spouting Digimon references, binging sugary sweets and asking about his colleague's kink satisfaction is my favorite thing, honestly. Gojo cavalierly addresses his responsibilities as a sorcerer, one could argue he's kind of a bad teacher, but he goes out of his way to protect people even if his manner is rude. He point blank told Ijichi to not become a sorcerer lest he be killed which was disrespectful as hell but... the man had a point. Ijichi falls under the purview of Gojo's concern (whether that be as his once kohai or given how useful he is to him now, I won't say) and Gojo pulls strings to make sure that he too is taken care of. Ijichi, the backbone of operations at Jujutsu Tokyo carries that weight unyieldingly because he assumes "it's the least he can do" even though we know that managers actually pave the way for a lot of the goings on in jujutsu society. It's a symbiotic relationship but Ijichi carries every loss, like Yuji's death on a mission, excruciatingly personally. To the point where it wears him down. In the last book, we saw that, following Geto's defection, Gojo recognizes the delicate nature of a person's heart. It's why he entrusts Yuji's mentorship to Nanami. What's interesting about all of this is, if he can see Ijichi's stress and exhaustion, how did he miss Geto's? Maybe that's a burden he also carries. Ironically, I think this harsh way of caring for others is maybe the way of the sorcerers because we see it with Megumi and Nobara in how they treat Yuji.

Head Canon: There's an Obvious Sacrifice of Youth in Jujutsu Society But There's Also Nowhere for Girlhood to Exist

With what we don't see of Mai in the main story, the story that centers on her deciding to go against orders and take on a curse much stronger than her is actually so heartbreaking? Let's start off with the fact that she chose to unnecessarily exorcise a flyhead which is ultimately what forges a connection between her and Yuu, a girl who later became a window for sorcerers. Seems like a small task considering Mai's relative competency but as the story progresses, we get a deep insight into the fact that, the terror Mai had for curses as a kid is still alive and well within her. Whether she can defend herself or not, she is still fearful but she pushes forward "alone" because that's the only choice Maki left her with.

What's interesting about Mai and the Kyoto students is, 1) the sheer volume/concentration of female students compared to Tokyo and, 2) their propensity to attack as a group with the exception of Todo. In JJK 0, Maki remarked that those who are weak tend to have to stick together. I don't mention this as an assessment of the relative strength of Miwa, Nishimoto or Mai (especially since I still think Miwa will get a power up). But this story demonstrates their pack mentality when they were just idling in a cafe like students should but even in not allowing Mai to go after Yuu alone. Their success was because of their reliance on one another but, from what we've seen in Shibuya and what's to come in the culling games... that doesn't bode well for fighters who can't defend on their own.

Mai is a product of one of the big 3 jujutsu families, the Zenin clan being incredibly misogynistic to boot. As such, she is still downtrodden and runs the risk of being admonished even when fulfilling duties in line with what a sorcerer should do. She (and the other girls) are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Additionally, I assume the Kyoto school's tendency to fight as a group is from the influence of Gakuganji (which leads me to think Gojo might be pushing his students a bit more recklessly for the sake of making them stronger). But where there are many characters, specifically adults, who have an outright desire to protect their childhood, I think it's interesting that Mai, Miwa and Nishimoto are doing all they can to hang onto whatever sense of girlhood they can muster. It makes them catty and they seem to espouse some misogynistic ideals of what girls should look like and be but the basis of it is still desperately grasping at something that keeps them soft in the face of terror which, in their own mind, is probably a rebellion to what they know. That and, I think Mai is hyper aware of her weakness. That coupled with her dissatisfaction as a sorcerer ultimately later guides her steps in the resolution of her character arc.

Hypothesis: There's a Reason Gojo is Always Pondering the Figures and Politics of Periods Long Gone

I frequently question what goes on in the mind of Satoru Gojo. He has, for all intents and purposes, all the time in the world to process and compute all the mysteries of the universe. Instead, he asks his coworkers about whether they're caught up on Jump Comics at bars. He's so unserious. But at the same time, he'll immediately follow this silliness with a deep cut like -

"Our precious present rests atop the deeds of our forebears." - Gojo Satoru

He absolutely gets clowned for his random pop culture references and, any time he calls upon a historical reference (of which he seems to be really knowledgeable about), it seems shocking to most of those around him (Shoko notwithstanding). The girls who get it know that Gojo is just as traumatized as Geto. He's just traumatized ✨🤪 where Geto is traumatized 🔪. So this veneer of goofiness belies what is ultimately a really contemplative person and one who holds a clear grievance against jujutsu elders. We know that Gojo telling Megumi about their ancestors locked in battle is obviously something that becomes a critical plot point later (hello, Sukuna showdown which we're not getting into here). It told Megumi he could have power that rivals Gojo's but it was also critical exposition for us as readers. We've also seen that Yuta, a distant, distant Gojo relative is similarly OP and this was established by his ancient connection to Gojo as well. Again, critical exposition into how things fall together when Gojo is no longer on the board. But what I'm hypothesizing is... suppose Gojo had tangential knowledge of Kenjaku this whole time? Kenjaku was clearly wary of Gojo, for good reason, but was Gojo already aware of the existence of the body snatcher? What a reveal that would be.

Hypothesis: There Are Bad Match-Ups But The Best Way To Beat a Cursed User Is With A Stronger Version Of Their Own Technique

So this isn't a comprehensive hypothesis since I know it's only half true. Por ejemplo, in the first two stories Inumaki fought a cursed speech user and Mechamaru fought a shikigami user. The victorious combatants happened to have stronger versions of the shared technique (and maybe a strategic edge). This, of course, lends to the idea that the resolution to this story may lay in the hands of Yuta Okkotsu. Okkotsu can summon immeasurable cursed energy and copy techniques. Who's gonna check him? BUT, in reality, we also know that there are also, canonically bad matchups. For instance, Yuji and Nobara are bad matchups for Mahito - Yuji's soul is protected in a sense and Nobara's technique allows her to strike spilled blood or discarded limbs/extensions of one's body to injure the main body.

We know Sukuna, at this point, is the big bad that will require taking down but we don't know how at this point. Nobara would of course be helpful given the still outstanding fingers but is tentatively off the board for now (this is a hill I will die on). But, are there other allies who haven't been revealed that will help in taking Sukuna down or will it all come down to Yuta? At this point, Gege wrote themselves into a box they are trying to course correct with the in universe power scale but I'm curious how things will fall.

What do you think? There's a fifth story that is super heartwarming and too sad to write about given the conclusion of season 2 so go read the novel for yourself and let me know your thoughts!

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

🌕 Blood Moon: Chapter One

Blood Moon: Blood Moon: You have been defying nature, and perhaps, even the Gods. After returning to life because of Tony Stark’s sacrifice, all humans now have a designation: alpha, beta, or omega. Angry at the fate you’ve been given, you decide that you will do anything to ensure that your fate is in your own hands. You’ll soon find out that it is never a good idea to tamper with fate, especially when one man makes it his mission to ensure that you understand that you can try to out-fly your destiny, but fate will eventually catch up to you.

Warnings: Language.

To Note: A/B/O Universe Post Snap, Zemo x NAMEDFemale!Reader, Timeline Of Events Is More Spread Out (Weeks Rather Than Days) To Fit Plot Line.

Word Count: ~4.0k

Masterlist | Next

When the snap happened, you were one of the ones who dissolved to ash. It was hard to decide if you were the unlucky one, or if you were lucky that you hadn’t spent five years knowing that half of human life had disappeared. Time hadn’t passed for you when you had been gone. But something had happened in that blink of an eye, and when you returned, everything had changed, even human biology.

You had known you were fighting a losing battle, but perseverance had pulled through before, so you had stood by your friends. Standing by them was the least you could do after everything they had done for you since the ousting of Hydra in Shield. You had been a simple chemist, working on different types of chemical compounds and conducting research for Shield.

Disgust.

You had been disgusted with yourself upon learning that everything you had been working towards was being used by Hydra. You were young, inexperienced in the work field, and fresh out of college, but you knew chemistry. Hydra exploited that.

So, when you got back and were thrown into a world that had advanced in age and now worked under a new biological society, you took matters into your own hands and refused to follow any other fate than what you decided. No one was going to take the power of choice away from you.

No one.

Your micropipette was as steady as your gaze while you pressed half a milliliter of compound into the base of your latest experiment. Batch 336 showed promise of extending the effects of your OS-163 serum. At the moment, the OS-291 suppression lasted eight hours. Compared to how you first started out, it was pretty impressive considering you were doing this all by yourself.

Initially, the side effects had been mood swings, weight gain, nausea, headache, and migraines. Clinically speaking, it was pretty bad. While the serum lasted several days, and at one point, an entire week, dealing with the side effects was too much to handle, considering you were hiding this project from everyone.

The physical effects were terrible, and your friends were bound to notice.

So OS-71 had been scrapped for OS-80, a more reliable serum that reduced the treatment time but lessened the side effects. But you were a perfectionist and wouldn’t be satisfied until you had the perfect serum. It was a give and take project.

If you reduced the side effects, the treatment didn’t last as long, and vice versa.

Treatment every twelve hours wasn’t the end of the world. It was like taking pills or vitamins… you just couldn’t run the risk of forgetting. Missing a dose wasn’t the end of the world, but noses were a lot sharper than they used to be.

Taking a deep breath, you grabbed a stirring rod and mixed the base and compound together until the mixtures slowly dissolved into one clear one. Further progress. You just couldn’t get rid of the acrid medicinal smell that wafted from the seemingly harmless liquid. It was far from harmless and, if injected into anyone other than its intended group, could do a lot of damage.

Setting the stirring rod aside, you grabbed the beaker and brought it near your nose to take a whiff. Still smelled like chemicals with a hint of progestin, but not nearly as noxious as it used to. Further testing would see if the treatment time had been extended. Taking the beaker, you rolled over to your vent hood and stoppered it before moving the vent hood closed.

You glanced at the clock; it was after seven in the evening. Few people would be out and about in the building, but the city nightlife was only just starting. Your stomach was telling you that it was hungry, so dinner was your next plan.

Cleaning up your lab from the day’s work, you put everything away and turned off the lights before switching your lab coat for your tailored jacket Tony had insisted he buy you. Well, if you were to be honest, he had insisted on buying you everything after Shield had fallen. He had taken you in like you were a little sister to him, and had even set up this amazing lab for you so you could use your skills to do good.

Now you used the lab to honor his name, and as much as you disliked the brand names on your clothes, you couldn’t help but wear them because he had gotten them for you. It was all sorts of messed up, considering the secrets you had kept from him and the fact that you had harbored Bucky, Sam, and Steve when they had been on the run.

You had been a terrible sister to him, but he had never kicked you out. You knew you disappointed him with your close relationship with Bucky, but Tony had seen you as family.

Walking out of the lab, you meandered down the silent hallway of your lab and stood in front of the elevator. It was a Wednesday night; Bucky was probably at that restaurant with Yori, having dinner as usual. As private and gruff as he was, you don’t think he would mind if you popped by for a visit.

You went and found the nearest subway and rode it across the city and to Brooklyn before popping up on the streets and walking the rest of the way to Izzy. Upon entering the restaurant, you waved at Leah, the server who seemed to live in the restaurant, before walking over to Bucky and Yori, who were already at their seats.

“Room for one more?” you questioned lightly.

“Diana! Sit, sit!” Yori called cheerfully. You flashed him a smile before pulling out the seat next to Bucky.

“Brooding as usual, Bucky? It won’t kill you to smile, you know,” you commented to him while boosting yourself up into your seat. Leah came over with a cup of tea, and you thanked her before turning back to Bucky.

“Hello to you too, Di,” Bucky grumbled, flashing you a wolfish smile before resuming his naturally vacant face.

“That was not a smile,” you huffed at him before looking him up and down with a raised eyebrow. “When was the last time you got laid?”

Yori snorted and slapped Bucky on the back.

“Too long!” you received another bitch face from Bucky as Yori chortled.

“You know I’m serious about that, right?” you reminded him. “You’re an alpha. That sort of thing is supposed to be a stress relief, isn’t it?”

“That’s a lot of talk coming from a beta who doesn’t have to deal with the hormones. What do you have to worry about? Betas don’t get the hormonal fluctuations alphas and omegas do,” Bucky snorted, grabbing his beer and taking a drink. “I get headaches from the concentration of hormones.”

“You have to be the only alpha in the world that actually complains about being an alpha,” you said dryly, ignoring the comment about not suffering from the hormonal effects of a heat. “You have the pick of the pack, and probably the entire attention of every lone omega in the city…”

“Which isn’t that many since they’re so rare…” Bucky chipped in. You ignored him.

“Why are you still punishing yourself?” He gave you a look that was full of self-loathing and didn’t counter your words. “You still seeing Dr. Raynor?”

“You still using medicine as perfume? How many times do I tell you to spend less time in your lab…” You glared at each other.

“Okay, you two, don’t argue,” Yori interceded. “But Diana is right, James, you should go on a date.”

“No, no—“ he and Yori got into it while Leah dropped off a bowl of your favorite soup. While you quietly ate, your two friends provided comic relief from the daily stresses of your life. Bucky’s comment about you always smelling like medicine wasn’t unusual, but it was a painful reminder of how far you would go to live a normal life, a life Tony said he wanted you to live.

Slurping up the broth of your soup, you heard a noise of triumph from Yori, and one of Bucky’s signature sighs. Sounds like Bucky now has a date.

“Pot meet kettle James?” you quipped underneath your breath. Bucky glared at you.

Batch-336 was a success, so it was now OS-336. You were down to two injections a day and feeling more confident about your work. You were close to figuring out how to extend the treatment times, but more research into that had to be put on hold. You were once again being asked for assistance.

Sam was not happy that Bucky had shown up, and when you appeared, he was livid. But you had also gotten good at dishing out resting bitch faces. You simply fluttered by with your bag over your shoulder and ignored the protests pouring from Sam’s mouth.

It had been a long flight to Munich, especially with a man who had a staring problem and another who was in denial that Bucky and you had tagged along. In your defense, you were going after terrorists who were way too strong to be regular humans. Sam wasn’t happy with you, especially with you tagging along since you weren’t the most skilled with weapons and hand-to-hand combat.

It was probably his alpha personality. They were protective and instinctually tried to work alone. Having two working on one problem was bound to cause problems, and at the very least, cause them to butt heads like they were.

You just sat back and crossed your arms, looking between the two of them in amusement as their passive-aggressive comments and ignoring reached an all-time high.

“How long could they keep that up?” Joaquin asked as he came to sit next to you. He was a beta that worked closely with Sam and was helping him track down the Flag Smashers.

“Longer than you might think,” you answered in amusement. “What exactly were we doing out here?”

“Intel on the Flag Smashers,”

“I figured as such, but why so much effort?”

“We think they might be Steve strong,” he explained. Your face darkened, and you chewed your lip. Someone had cracked the serum to make more super soldiers?

“That would pose a problem, and one Sam wouldn’t be able to solve by himself.”

“Then how do we solve it?” You leaned back in your seat, your brain working over the possibilities.

“I don’t know.” You responded, before closing your eyes. You then tacked on one last word. “Yet.”

Several hours later you were flying low over Munich, and by low, you meant like two hundred feet from the ground, the belly of the plane just hovering over the treetops.

“Are you two just going to stare at each other?” you asked, your arms crossed over your chest. Bucky and Sam didn’t move a muscle from their staring contest. Sam finally got up and went to grab his goggles.

“So what was our plan?” Bucky asked as he followed Sam. Sam continued to ignore Bucky.

“Of all the juvenile things…” you muttered underneath your breath.

“Great. So no plan,”

“Thirty seconds!” Joaquin called from where he was standing at the jump door.

“Enjoy your ride, Buck,”

“Nah, you can’t call me that,”

“Steve called you Buck,”

“Steve knew me longer, and Steve had a plan.” Huffing at how petty the two alphas were being in the moment, you stood up from your seat and made sure that your jetpack was secured around your body. Then you pulled out your navigation glasses and slipped them on your face.

Even at that point, the two were still arguing, so you walked over to Joaquin, who was looking at you with wide eyes.

“Leave a job to an alpha and nothing will get done,” you told him before glancing back at the arguing men. “Are you two eggheads coming?”

At your words, and that the sound had come from the back end of the plane, Sam and Bucky glanced at you. They did double takes.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Sam erupted. “Di what are you doing!?”

“Getting shit done while you two are arguing!” you snapped before stepping out of the plane and dropping through the air. The jetpack picked up your fast rate of descent and fired up, slowing your fall down until you were hovering in the air.

“Friday, set coordinates and pull up on view screen.” A blinking line appeared on the screen of your glasses.

“Done. Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss Phillips?”

“I’m set, thanks Friday.”

“Of course, have a good day.” From there, you twisted and angled your body, shooting in the direction of the line. There was a building in the distance. That had to be where you were going. You started slowing down and descended to the forest floor.

Your boots hit the forest floor and while you turned off the jetpack with your watch, Red Wing floated down to where you stood and let out a trill.

“I’m fine, Little Red,” you told the small machine before turning in the direction of the warehouse and following the blinking line on your glasses.

“You were supposed to stay on the plane, Diana,” Sam’s voice chirped from Red Wing.

“And we were supposed to be covert,” you sass back, stepping over a rotted log. Red Wing flew up close to you and let out a beep. Then a small compartment opened to reveal an earpiece. You took it and slipped it into your ear. “Finally coming around?”

“Don’t have much of a choice at this point,” Sam growled in your ear. “You jumped out of the freaking plane! If you weren’t a beta, I’d spank your ass for putting yourself in danger like that!”

“And if I was an alpha?”

“I’d still spank your ass!” So spanking either way, you could take that, since he had no discrimination over your designation.

“Face it Sam, if this is what we think it is, you need me… unless you or Bucky went back to college and got an advance degree in Chemistry.” You shot back.

“I get it, stop sounding so damn smug,” Sam answered. “I don’t want you in the crossfire, Di.”

“I’m not here to be turned into Swiss cheese, Sam. I’m here to do what I’m good at, nothing more.” You explained to him as you picked your way across the forest. “Super soldiers—they shouldn’t exist. They can’t exist.”

“… Meet me at the back of the warehouse,” Sam muttered.

“Copy,” you answered, your eyes settling on the building. “Is Barnes here or did he not jump?”

“You jumped out of the plane, you think he was going to stay on the damn plane knowing what you had just launched yourself into?”

“May I remind you that while I am not as well trained as you two are, I am far from defenseless?” You retorted while continuing your hike. Red Wing seemed to be content to keep watch.

Stealthily making your way to the back of the warehouse, you climbed through a broken window and dropped to the concrete floor. Your glasses automatically did a scan of the surroundings and you could see several people walking around at the opposite side of the warehouse. They were carrying big boxes that no human was strong enough to lift like they weighed a feather.

While you were further scoping out the activity, Bucky and Sam started bickering to themselves. Rolling your eyes at the two men who, might you add, were grown adults and alphas, continued their quips, you slinked your way over.

“Are you two princesses done flashing tiaras or should I come back another time?” you questioned them, giving them both looks. “There’s multiple people, and they’re jacked on something. I’m going to head in for a better look.”

“What? Di— get back here!” Ignoring the hissed calls from the two men, you took a side route and peeked around a metal wall to get a look at the truck. They were loading something onto it, but the question was what.

You got a chance to get closer when you heard metal clatter across concrete. What were those boys doing!? No time to contemplate why they had their heads up their asses. Darting forwards, you slipped underneath the carriage of the semi and got a hold of the pipes and chains. Feet ran past where you were hidden and the truck started up.

“Di, there’s an eighth person, hostage, we’re in pursuit. What’s your status?” Sam questioned.

“Hanging around,” you spoke as the trunk started trundling along. You glanced down at the ground as gravel and dirt passed. “What makes you think it’s a hostage?”

“They’re hidden in the back, hunkered down.” Sam answered. You could hear the wind flying by him as he flew. “Buck’s in pursuit.”

“You know he hates it when you call him that.”

“He has a general hate for everything.” Well, that was mostly true. Adjusting your grip on the truck, you heard Bucky let out a swear and then crunch of metal.

“Bucky?” you called, hearing the sounds of fighting and grunting.

“I’m a little busy right now!” He yelled back. Leaning your head back, you could see several shapes standing on the roof of the truck, holding what had to be Bucky.

“Clearly,” you muttered before carefully moving yourself further down the underside of the carriage. “Need some bac—“

“No!” Both Sam and Bucky yelled. You huffed and then saw Red Wing zip in and fire several rounds at one of the people. The little flying robot didn’t get very many rounds in before being snatched out of the air and broken in half.

You watched pieces get thrown and reacted. Your jetpack flared to life and, twisting out from under the truck, you snatched the pieces of Red Wing out of the air before they hit the road. Shooting back into the air, Sam passed you and dove straight for the person who snapped Red Wing in half.

“Good of you to join the fight, Sam!”

Holding the pieces of metal and machinery to your chest, you kept an even pace as you flew along the two trucks barreling down the road. Bucky and Sam were getting their asses handed to them, since every single person they were fighting had extra strength.

“Bucky, single out!” You called before angling your shoulders and shooting down towards the truck. Bucky, who managed to get free, kicked one of the people away from the fighting. You shot downwards and with a hearty kick, nailed the guy in the chest, sending him flying off the side of the truck and onto the road to be left behind.

Spiraling upwards, you circled back to fly with the trucks once more, and noticed that a helicopter had arrived, and John Walker of all people, was hanging off of it.

“Who invited egghead and baby duck!?” You shouted over the chaos as the two men joined the fight. Bucky was knocked off, but managed to catch the side of the truck, his vibranium fingers digging into the metal.

“Hell should I know!” Bucky snarled back as the second truck went to smash him against the one he was clinging to. Sam dived and swiped him out of the way, but the two hit the ground and started rolling.

“Alphas,” you snorted, turning your head back to the two men that joined the fight. You were losing this one, and fast. One of the two men got kicked off the truck, so diving, you grabbed the back of his tact shirt and stopped him from hitting the ground.

Since you had Red Wing tucked underneath your other arm, it was hard to stay stable, and you dropped. Managing to hold the weight distribution, your feet hit the ground, and you both stumbled at a run. You let him go and continued to run before jumping back in the air, hearing a ‘thank you’ from behind.

Backtracking to where Bucky and Sam had fallen, you found the two walking along the road, bickering once more.

“Is it even possible for you two to spend five minutes together without bickering?” you questioned them as you let your feet hit the road and turned your jetpack off.

“No,” they both replied. Sam glanced at you, then at the wrecked pieces of Red Wing you still held, but said nothing. The three of you fell in line and continued walking.

“How did they do it, Di?” You glanced at Sam.

“Someone had to have cracked the code, it was bound to happen. People want to be strong, they want to have security, and in this world, with that serum, they can,” you answered as a car carrying Walker and Lemar pulled up beside you.

“So that didn’t go as planned, huh?” Walker stated. The three of you ignored him and kept walking. “Okay. Let’s keep going. Look, at least we know what we’re up against now, huh? And we’re pretty sure it’s one of the Big Three, so…”

“Aliens, androids, or wizards?”

“That’s a universal thing now?” you questioned with your nose scrunched. Bucky grunted at you.

“Pretty sure.”

“There’s no such thing as wizards.” Bucky spoke up.

“Then it’s aliens, or androids…”

“Or Super Soldiers.” Sam interjected.

“Shit. Super Soldiers, for real?” Lemar questioned as Walker took a moment to think about what that meant.

“Yeah, why do you think Rocket is with us. For shits and giggles?” you snorted and rolled your eyes.

“Wow. All right, well, then we gotta work together.” Walker finally chipped in.

“That’s not happening.”

“I think we stand a much better chance if we all just…”

“Just ’cause you carry that shield, it doesn’t mean you’re Captain America.” Now they were getting into it with Walker and Lemar? Was picking fights with other alphas all they were good for?

“Look, I’ve done the work, okay?”

“You ever jump on top of a grenade?”

“We really gonna go there?” You asked Bucky, giving him a look.

“Yeah. Actually, I have. Four times. It’s a thing I do with my helmet. It’s a reinforced helmet. It’s a long story, but, any… Look, it’s 20 miles to the airport. You guys need a ride. Guys. Gary, stop. Get in. I don’t think you need to be dragging a beta all over the back country of Germany.”

Your eye twitched at the mention of your designation and insinuation of being a female beta who, in theory, was weaker. Sam and Bucky looked at you and you shrugged at them. They relented to the offer of a ride and you ended up sandwiched between Bucky and Sam.

“Okay, so we’ve got eight Super Soldiers on a bulk supply run. Why?” Walker mused out loud.

“They say their mission is to get things back to the way it was during The Blip.”

“And how was that exactly?” You questioned, leaning back and crossing your arms.

“Maybe they’re just trying to help.” Sam added.

“They had a funny way of showing it.”

“Don’t start,” you huffed, raising a finger at each of them.

“That serum doesn’t exactly have a great track record.” Walker said before inching his head at Bucky. “No offense.”

“We need to figure out where they’re going. How’d you track ’em here? The Flag Smashers?” Sam broached.

“Uh, no, we didn’t track them, we tracked you, uh, through Redwing.” Lemar spoke up from where he had been sitting quietly.

“You hacked my tech?” Sam said, obviously hurt that they would do such a thing.

“Sorry. It’s not exactly hacking. It’s government property. Kind of the government.” You stared at Walker, your gaze matching Bucky’s. “Do they always just stare like that?”

“You get used to it.”

“Are we making you uncomfortable?” You queried, keeping your face devoid of emotion. Walker’s blue eyes met yours.

“Actually, you kind of are.”

“Get over it.”

Date Published: No idea.

Last Edit: 4/29/24

Masterlist | Next

[marukrawler]

if you wrote NV what would you change in the script ?

just listing a few points to fix my major gripes:

the bakugan did not appear on vestal because of dr. michael's portal shenanigans. dr. clay came upon new vestroia during his research, and found an entirely different species which the monarchy could exploit in different ways. they colonized the bakugan's home planet under the guise of "finding a solution to the vestal overpopulation problem," captured the bakugan and brainwashed them into a primal state similar to that of the bakugan who were corrupted by the minus power in s1. this would serve to prove to the vestals that bakugan are mindless and aggressive beings that are too dangerous to roam about.

the vestal colonies settled on new vestroia a year prior to the start of season 2. during this time, they captured numerous bakugan and brainwashed them, set up tournaments to find worthy vexos candidates, and had these vexos members hunt down the six legendary warrior bakugan (who had started to fight back) while also entertaining the vestal populous with bakugan death matches in order to further distract them from the truth.

dan, runo and alice go to nv. runo and alice are more relevant to bring into the resistance than shun and marucho. dan can also be omitted while baron and ace switch to pyrus and aquos respectively and the ventus spot would be left open. as for their bakugan, alice would be reunited with reaper who had yet to be captured and i like the idea of runo using rabeeder who has become very vengeful after failing to protect tricloid from the vexos.

the vexos don't start out the season by constantly losing to the brawlers. the alpha city tournament should really be their first major loss while the first couple of battles in s2 have the resistance struggling against the vexos, to really show how formidable our new antagonists are.

there's not just a focus on destroying the dimension controllers but also spreading the truth to the vestals about what the monarchy is doing. i imagine that the resistance has a hard time doing that at first because they're wanted in all three colonies and thus have a hard time getting the truth out to the people but after the fall of the first dimension controller, enough vestals are convinced that word starts to travel and the seeds of distrust towards the vexos have been sown. public opinion slowly but surely switches in favor of the resistance as the plot of nv1 progresses but the resistance has to prioritize getting the truth out alongside their goal to destroy the dimension controllers.

the sibling rivalry between mira and keith needs to be emphasized. mira eventually realizes that the brother she used to look up to is a lost cause and that she needs to stop him to protect the bakugan and her home. keith as spectra would be quick to dismiss her as an opponent because he has always bested her in the past, always been the smarter one, the stronger one. but mira proves through her tenacity and courage that she'll be the final obstacle in his way, that she can be the shield that defends new vestroia and vestal from his tyranny. she will force him to take her seriously. more attention should be given to the dynamic of these estranged siblings, each leading a faction diametrically opposed to the other, to the fact that mira knows keith's tactics and vice versa, that keith has always had the upperhand in previous battles but that mira is slowly growing and getting better.

more focus should be given to how spectra plans to conquer vestal and less should be on making helios the ultimate bakugan. at a certain point, spectra's only goal seems to be upgrading helios and defeating drago at any cost. i'm well aware that spectra needs drago's perfect core energy to become truly invincible but there are only so many times spectra can battle dan before it gets tiresome. his plan to take over vestal ends up being put on the backburner as a result and that's an issue. spectra and gus have the perfect opportunity to seize control of vestal after zenoheld and the vexos have been ousted for their crimes on new vestroia.

the creation of the bt system and spectra's rise to power in vestal allows for both the resistance and the battle brawlers to be relevant to the story of nv2. the attribute energies can be given to the original six brawlers while the vestal battle brawlers will focus their energy on the spectra and gus situation on vestal. this way mira will deal with spectra and dan will deal with hydron and zenoheld.

volt defects during the bt system arc and lync defects much later. don't think the alternative will need to be a thing.

i don't wanna get into the finer details of a potential rewrite so that's about the majority of what i'd change.

[slavonicrhapsody]

Apologies if you're already answered, but why do you think Radahn fought Malenia? It seems pretty easy to assume that Malenia came to Caelid to retrieve Miquella from Mohgwyn palace, but why did Radahn oppose her? Is it just because Malenia came in without knocking or was he trying to protect Mohg, or was there another reason?

I know you've mentioned that Radahn seems aligned with both Godfrey and the primordial Crucible, but does that have anything to do with the Omen? Godfrey seemed to show love for Morgott despite his being an Omen, meaning that Radahn may have been more considerate towards Omen in taking after him, but that feels like a leap. That also assumes that Radahn knew about Mohgwyn Palace underneath Caelid, which feels unlikely

Personally I think Malenia might have just squared up Radahn (and/or vice versa) because he was in her way, to prove herself as a warrior or something, but I'd like to know what you make of it

Again, apologies if this is already known or something

literally who knows! we never get an answer! all we can do is speculate… I don’t think that Radahn and Malenia fought because of Mohg, though. To try to get an idea of their motivations during the Shattering, I looked at references to their movements during the war:

We don’t have much of a timeline of the Shattering, nor a good idea of the war strategies of each participating demigod. What we do have are small scraps of info that tell us where a demigod and their army was at a point in time, and which battles they participated in. Of all the info regarding the Shattering war, Radahn and Malenia crop up the most in sword monuments, dialogue, art, and cinematics, which tells us they were often on the move and participated in the most battles. Regarding Radahn’s movements during the Shattering, we know from Kenneth Haight’s dialogue that Godrick hid from him at Stormveil. There is also the art from the intro cutscene that shows what is certainly meant to be Radahn in combat with Morgott — it’s debatable how literal this art is supposed to be, but I think it’s very likely that it means Radahn attacked Leyndell.

Malenia has a sword monument that marks her southward march through Liurnia, and we know (also from Kenneth) that Godrick challenged her in battle and lost. These snippets tell us that Radahn and Malenia’s war campaigns have been quite mobile, putting them in conflict with other demigods.

Of the rest of the demigods, we know that Ranni was in hiding, and Miquella was probably encased in the Haligtree for the majority of the war. The only battle we know to have involved Rykard is the assault on Volcano Manor by Leyndell’s army, which tells me that he was probably stuck under siege since the beginning of the Shattering. We know Morgott stuck around to defend Leyndell, and Mohg only surfaced to abduct Miquella. Godrick had a few conflicts (with both Radahn and Malenia, and he was probably allied with Godefroy before he got captured after the First Defense of Leyndell) but he obviously lost all of them. Sad! The main takeaway from all of this is that it makes sense why Radahn and Malenia were called the mightiest demigods of the Shattering — they were pretty much the only ones actively going out on successful war campaigns.

Now, what we have to ask ourselves is not only why they fought each other, but why they were fighting in general… I get the impression from their war campaigns that both Radahn and Malenia were simply fighting for control of the Lands Between in order to enact a new order. It’s definitely possible that Malenia marched across the lands because Miquella had been stolen, but I lean more towards the idea that she was out fighting for control on his behalf so he could usher in his new age, and he was swiped from the Haligtree while she was gone (it makes more sense that Mohg would try to steal Miquella while his scary sister was away). We know less about Radahn’s idea of a new order than Miquella’s, but I think it’s safe to say that he saw the Haligtree as a rival. The three Carians seem to more readily collaborate with each other than with their half siblings, and regarding Radahn’s war effort, we know that Rykard was supplying him with weapons (his abductor virgins). Whatever Radahn had planned, it did not go hand in hand with the Haligtree.

So to answer the main question, like you said, I simply think that Radahn and Malenia fought because they stood in each others’ way, and their conflict was inevitable. I also think that fighting Malenia was something Radahn was looking forward to, as she is famously undefeated and would be the perfect test of his strength.

[traumxrei-archive]

【 book 6 pt. 2 thoughts ! (3) 】

i got through a good chunk of the story methinks, and it's probably bc there were more battles in the chapters i hit just now ^^

[ spoilers for 6-55 till 6-65 under the cut ! ]

✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦

[ about : VIL UM SPELL !! ]

"I lose naught, and fear naught. This shining crown was made for me. Fairest One of All." RRAHHHH his unique magic is so good, he's so good, i love vil, and his big beautiful brain.

[ about : guy in the room at the end of the hall ]

grim...? would explain why leona found his magic familiar, but holy hell how did he absolutely desTROY the door ??? he blew it off its hinges quite literally hhh

[ about : uniforms and magic pens ]

it's interesting how much lore book 6 is giving us about nrc as well as simple things like dorm uniforms. we never would've known that dorm uniforms have magical defenses on them, or that they're all able to summon their magic pens from afar if we didn't have book 6.

CRYING I WISH I HAD THIS TEAM.... i wanna have the dorm leona n vil duo, and the scarabia dorm duo too :'))))

[ about : overblot gang fight !! ]

[ about : THE SERUM ]

I SEE. i knew there was something suspicious about the serum, but i didn't think that rook could cast arrow afar on inanimate objects too !!!! arghhh and vil noticing the fact that rook's UM was on the bottle from the first time he saw it, and him taking it along so rook knows where to find him,,,,,,, why are they both so intelligent wtf, rook hunt i want your brain rn !!!!

(also the way rook was able to open the emergency door release in one pull vs idia almost breaking his back to open it,,,,,,,rook hunt why are you so perfect wtf)

[ about : mirror ?? ]

WE'RE HAVING A DREAM SEQUENCE N O W ???? w h a t ??? did yuu get knocked out from the magic blast that was thrown at them ?

also it's funny how hercules and idia have similar dreams to each other. like how they both want to be like everybody else, but in different ways. whilst hercules was revered for his strength, idia and the shrouds are shunned by those that remember them, and others don't know them at all. and it's all because they were given a blessing/curse. i remember how idia said before that a blessing or a curse is dictated by a person's will, so every blessing can become a curse and vice versa if a person wills it to be.

[ about : EPEL UM !!! ]

OMG HIS UNIQUE MAGICCCCC !!! it's so fitting !!!! the fact that he's the "poisoned apple" and the fact that his UM can put others into cases of glass, just like the one snow white was put into after she was "put to sleep" by the poisoned apple. wahhh that's so cool !!!

and it's pretty versitle too, bc you can use it to encase enemies, aka make them fall asleep and stop attacking. but you can also use it to encase your allies, in order to protect them from attacks, just like what epel did earlier. and it fits epel !! like he does pick fights with others sometimes, but his strongest urge is to protect others from harm, and to be a shield, so the spell fits perfectly <33

also the spell itself,,, "your eyes will close, your breath will still, crimson slumber" aghhhhh !! i think it's 10x a better name than sleep kiss, bc the thing that woke snow white was a kiss, and the thing that put her to sleep was the apple hence "crimson slumber" ^^ well played on the localization team's part >:D

[ about : poor staff... ]

[ about : og ortho... ]

mans is out here fighting for his life meanwhile leona and azul are like "let's save him, rob him, and make him show us the way >:D" jSKJFKSDJF and vil's like "smh,,,,,but also yes let's do that" HAJFHDJSF they really ARE all dirtbags this is so hilarious

[ about : jamiazu and their never ending beef ]

your honor, i just find them funny sbdhdhfj like guys yall are about to get killed by automated robot armor, why are you fighting each other :')))

it gives me the creeps how og ortho always uses "we" as a personal pronoun. it's actually terrifying. bc no matter what is left behind of og ortho, he's already become a part of whatever creature exists in the underworld rn.

[ about : overblot gang's rejection ]

vil... the way he takes their side and sees it from their perspective first and foremost. like he commends ortho for changing his thinking, and trying to take a chance for himself and idia. but he also knows when to be strict, bc he doesn't want to give up on his own dreams.

and leona ^^ obviously he has a lot of grievances with the current world, but the reset that ortho's planning has too many uncertain variables, and not enough certainty that the world will be remade in a way that would favor him, so ofc he would refuse.

jamil, obviously he doesn't like being ordered around. if he was going to remake the world, it would be by his own hand, and not because someone more powerful is trying to get him to do it out of fear.

azul of course is thinking about the economy, he can't do business in a world that's overrun with phantoms,,,,he would lose his 10-year-business plan if all phantoms start invading the world.

and riddle, as always, talks about rules. it makes sense, bc ortho's trying to make new rules for the whole entire world that would only benefit two people, and riddle being the guy who lives by rules to help protect and guide people wouldn't accept that.

[ about : POME REUNIONNN ]

AAAAAA THE WAY EPEL RAN ALL THE WAY TO VIL AND VIL WAS LIKE "EPEL" LIKE AHHHHH DAD SON MOMENTTT !!! they're so cute i love pome sm sm sniffsss the way rook runs as well and vil taking into stock that everyone's okay !!!! so happy !!!!! (also the other dormleaders being stock still bc what. why are there here.)

[ about : grim's power ]

i fucken knew ittttt— last book 6 thoughts i pointed out how maybe grim's "full potential" was being hindered by his curse. maybe his curse is activated in the presence of blot density. bc he only went berserk after eating 5 blot stones, and then he went berserk again in STYX because the halls started filling up with strong blot fumes. so the curse might lift when he's surrounded by blot and he can access the normal magic reserves that direbeasts usually have.

OR grim can naturally digest blot...? maybe he can use blot like a mage can utilize their magic pool when he's berserk, which explains why he hasn't overblotted yet after eating 5 blot stones. and it lines up with them being unable to figure out his blot accumulation rate.

[ about : leona's wager ]

HELP ??? i mean. deserved. BUT ALSO HELPPPP— time to grab a bag of popcorn before they start beating idia up sjfkdsjfk

[ about : rook hunt :")))) ]

NOT ROOK WANTING TO DO A HUDDLE I'M CRYING JSKFDJSKF the way that every single person hates it other than epel ToT this is so funny i love rook so much

not them huddling and then...standing in silence ??? i'm about to start crying real tears bc of these clowns sjdfksfks

[ about : FUCK ]

THE JUMPSCARE I GOT FROM ORTHO'S VOICE HOLY SHIEETTT,,,, idia's voice as well, are they getting corrupted by the blot...?

lowkey kinda nervous about the fights but wish me luck y'all hhhhh

never have i been more terrified by ortho before iN MY LIFE.

[ about : the elusive 6-66 ]

ok i'm gonna keep playing, but i'll leave off here and make a separate post for 6-66 and 6-67 bc i know those two chapters will be long asffff

[jaigalorad]

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐉𝐀𝐈𝐆  𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒  𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓.

𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙤  :  it’s  not  spoken  anywhere  in  regards  to  rex’s  canon  upon  how  he  had  recieved  the  mandalorian’s  jaig  eyes.  so  here  is  both  my  prediction  and  headcanon  on  how  he  had  earned  them.  so  i  will  discuss  the  official  star  wars  definition  of  the  jaig  eyes  and  who  exactly  has  the  authority  to  bestow  it.  fun  fact  before  i  scuba  dive  into  this,  i  got  inpsired  to  write  this  becuase like  in  real  life  hindu  symbols,  they  are  often  taken, missused,  abused,  and  misunderstood.  i  wanted  to  recognize  and  emphasize  that  rex  uses  a  symbol  from  a  culture  not  his  own  and  thus  carries  the  meaning  with  a  educated - based  pride  with  it

𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣  :  a  simplification  of  jai’galaar’la  sur’haii’se,  translating  as  “shriek - hawk  eyes”   in  Mando’a,  and  more  commonly  reffered  to  simply  as  jaig  -  were  a  Mandalorian  sigil  bestwoed  by  clan  leaders  as  a mark  of  honor,  awarded  for  particular  acfts  of  bravery.

𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤  :  rex  was  a  FIRST  generation  clone  soldier,  therefore  must  have  been  trained  b  mandalorian  warriors  that  volunteered  in  the  kaminoan / republic  project  of  engineering  a  cloned  army  ⎯  at  least  those  that  might  have  been  around  at  the  time.  despite  on  how  many  i  see  others’  view  on  rex,  he  is a little more  older  than  we  usually  think.  as  per  the  first  2D  animated  clone  wars  show,  captain  fordo  was  technically  the  first  clone  soldier  on  screen  to  bear  the  sigil.  next  was  captain  rex  who  in  fact  is  a  different  character  but  was  literally  based  off  of  fordo  (  i’m  taking  this  from  an  interview  with  dave  filoni  himself  i currently don't have a link )  initially  wanted  alpha / fordo  but  didn’t  want  the  ‘A’  alliteration  with  anakin  and  ahsoka,  so  he  created  rex.

rex is not just . . . brave. he's far more stoic, firm, and speaks with conviction. he's not some happy go lucky guy who loves his bros. his brothers just like him are a tool, and this is CRITICAL to understand the reason how he was able to earn this sigil. this is never to say he can't empathize, but why should he if that would just bring more emotion and drama? this is war, and he and his men alike all clones understand this resolve. emotions are a luxury and it's not something worth fighting for. this allows him to committ actions, such as saving ahsoka by killing his own men after his chip removal. ahsoka was the one to order rex to only stun them, she didn't want to kill them, rex wouldn't give a damn at this point in their situation.

𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮  :  rex  was  taken  separately  from  his  squad  by  astute  observation  done  upon  him  for  his  military  tactics  and  leadership  and  put  into  a  rigourous  trainging  group  with  captain  fordo  into  becoming  realiable  leaders  within  the  army.  rex’s  first  official  battle  in  the  books  after  his  commander  training  by  mandalorian  warriors  was  the  first  battle  of  geonosis.  yoda  blazed  into  the  arena  where  general  obi  wan  kenobi,  anakin  skywalker,  and  senator  amidala  were  marking  the  severity  of  the  separists  crists  against  the  republic  and  vice  versa  on  22BBY.  this  was  the  first  entry  of  the  clone  army,  the  captain  hadn’t  et  earned  his  title  until  becoming  spedicially  involveed  with  senator  amidala  herself  once  anakin  had  embarked  on  the  chase  with  kenobi  to  capture  dooku  for  commmitting  terrorism  against  the  republic.  it  was  rex  that  assisted  her  and  secured  her  saftey  until  dooku  had  espcaped  yoda,  and  thus  marked  the  beginning  of  the  clone  wars.  anakin  selected  rex  to  be  his  first  in  command  of  the  501st  torrent  company  and  was  soon  gifted  the  jaig  eye  sigil  by  his  trainers  back  from  kamino  -  high  praise  from  the  chosen  one  had  demonstrated  rex’s  resolve  and  dedication  based  on  the  lenghts  rex  would  go  through  in  order  to  acheive  the  jedi’s  orders  and  priorities.

𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩  𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚  𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙨  :  he  continues  to  bear  the  sigil.  but  the  mearning  as  to  whom  it  was  meant  to  express  as  a  whole  changed  once  the  execution  order  66  was  implemented.  technically,  clones  are  republic  propert  and  he  understands  that  if  that  was  one  of  the  man  uses  he  and  his  brothers  were  meant  for,  it  still  held  true.  his  dut  was  to  the  republic.  however  his  allegiance  changed  back  to  the  jedi  after  ahsoka  removed  his  regulation  chip  after  the  seige  of  mandalore.  his  view  upon  the  endowment  is not  so  defined  simply  beause  the  change  of  his  allegiance  was  not  his  choice.  [  more  on  this  later ]

𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣  :  rex  out  of  any  of  the  many  well  trained  commander  clones  it  was  rex  anakin,  the  chosen  one,  selected  (  from  a  clone  wars  novel  i  forgot  but  vidly  remember  ).  anakin  is  paramount  to  rex’s  character  and  is  why  he  took  importance  in  the  clone  wars  show.  i  refuse  to  believe  anakin  wouldn’t  pick  just  anyone,  and  thus  saw  something  in  rex  that  would  fulfill  anakin’s  role  as  jedi.  and  later  even  became  as  close  as  brothers.  which  is  another  reason  why  i  think  the  clone  wars  season  7,  the  partnership  and  dyad - like  duoship  between  rex  and  ahsoka  was  atestament  to  that  relationship  with  anakin.  the  two  closest  friends  had  to disconnect  from  the  very  conflict  that  brotught  them  all  together  ⎯  and  ultimately  their  demise

rex  will  serve  as  a  reminder  to  me  that  this  man  had  been  through  it  all  what  made  anakin  who  he  really  was  later.  and  he  would  never  dare  question  the  darkness  in  him,  and  that,  is  true  bravery  of  a  soldier.

[jankwritten]

You can say tsats has bad writing but you are purposely being obtuse when you say nothing from will’s narration shows how much he cares for nico. first of all why are you limiting attraction to just physical features? (and will does compliment on Nico’s features btw 🙄). will mainly compliments Nico by who he is as a person but is horrible because he didnt talk about nicos hair? And how was will there to “baby” and “heal” nico when the majority of the time they were in the underworld will was weak/suffering and NICO was the one having to help him?? Nico LITERALLY took care of Will more than vice versa. And when did Will ever say he is not comfortable around nico di Angelo?? WHAT?

1) I haven’t personally finished the book yet, so most of my interpretation on Will’s narration is from the people around me who have finished the book/made it further than I have. I’ve only made it through 1 of Will’s POV chapters. Could come out of this agreeing with you, though I don’t think I will.

2) I didn’t mean to say that Will’s narration makes it sound as if he doesn’t care about Nico AT ALL (if that is actually something I said). From what I’m hearing from those around me who have finished the book however, it often feels as if Will is insensitive to a lot of things about Nico, which is strange considering they’re a couple meant to be a year into their relationship. I didn’t say Will was horrible for not talking about Nico’s hair, I meant it’s strange that Will seems to constantly step on Nico’s toes and doesn’t seem to have a lot of care for Nico’s feelings with some of the things he says (which, I’d the book was going for that, then fine, but I don’t think it was)

3) Nico di Angelo should not be struggling this hard in the environments this book puts him in, even in the context of him struggling with his mental health and reliving his traumas. A specific example of this is how the demon who was cursing him and Will with nightmares when they first enter the underworld somehow manages to COMPLETELY render Nico useless during their fight, meanwhile Will randomly unlocks an ULTRA POWERFUL new ability that lowkey doesn’t make sense. Nico is an extraordinarily strong demigod who has proven time and time again he can hold his own against gods and titans, a demigod who doesn’t run away from a battle, and yet in TSATS, as far as I’ve seen, he’s not had that same Vibe.

4) the PJO series is based around the characters and their disabilities. For Nico’s powers and trauma to have been dialed ALL the way back to what it was in TSATS, it starts to feel like the narrative is purposely weakening Nico to make him seem more “damaged” and traumatized. That’s infantalizing.

Also - Will babying Nico can be seen in his reluctance to let Nico use his powers, as if he knows what’s better for Nico than Nico knows himself. When I say babying, I don’t mean “who is taking care of the other more”, I mean who is treating the other more like that person can’t take care of THEMSELF. And, from what I’m hearing from those I trust, Will (and largely the narrative itself) is CONSTANTLY making it seem as if Nico can’t take care of himself.

5) isn’t the literal whole premise of the book Will coming to terms with being uncomfortable in the underworld, which is a MASSIVE part of who Nico is? Isn’t the whole thing based around the idea of Will having to come to terms with the fact Nico has “darkness” in him, and that Will has some of that darkness too? Will is explicitly uncomfortable with parts of Nico that make up a big chunk of who he is. Like that’s a HUGE part of the book.

(Apologies if this is incoherent, I just woke up and am writing this on my phone. If I get further in the book and realize I’m wrong, 🤷 cool. However, from what I’m hearing, I don’t think I will be)

[cresvalkyrie]

📘💙💎 for Orion and Hauyne?

📘          »        what    is    a    memory    that    makes    your    character    feel    proud?    describe    the    memory.

Hauyne: There's a few contenders for this. One is when she and Kali worked together as (reluctant) partners for the first time, managing to defeat a rampaging Garchomp using an improvised move combining Aura Sphere, Ice Hidden Power and Drain Punch. It's this event that made her develop a keen interest in move creation, hence her specialty.

Another one is when Shiva won her first battle, when she was still an Alolan Vulpix recovering from a life of abuse. She had a lot of potential, but her growth was stunted from neglect and abuse at the hands of her previous trainer, leading to her poor self-esteem and subsequently her subpar performance in battle. This is why Hauyne was really proud of her when Shiva finally built up her self-confidence enough for her to fight to her full ability, allowing her to win.

Orion: Hmm... I would say when Artemis started to walk and talk? Being a parent figure to their absentee, neglectful father did cause them to become more invested in raising their sister, so little milestones like these would make them immensely proud of her.

💙          »        name    3    things    your    character    is    grateful    for.

Hauyne: Being alive, surrounded by people who genuinely care about her and vice versa, and whatever peace times she can get. Pretty much the little things that make life worth living.

...She's just really tired and depressed, trying to find a reason not to end it all.

Orion: Same as Hauyne's, but for different reasons. They're just a simple person with simple desires, so they're happy and grateful for the simple things in life.

💎          »        does    your    character    feel    they    have    passed    up    chances    that    they    presently    regret?    describe    what    they    were.

Hauyne: She does have a lot of regrets in life. She regrets not telling the Phoenix Academy Gang just how much they meant to her when she had the chance, regrets not being able to save her mentors from their grisly fates despite having a window of opportunity to do so, regrets not being able to prevent Nancy's death even though she had the ability to do so, etc...

It's a lot. And it's crushing her. Hurts her more than she cared to show or admit.

Orion: Their biggest regret? Taking their mother for granted, even though she was the only person keeping their father from becoming the abusive tyrant that he is.

If they could turn back time, they would have told her how much they loved her... and how remorseful they were of not truly appreciating all the good she'd done for both them and their sister until she's gone for real. And perhaps also telling her not to worry about her children, because they'll find a way on their own.

They always do.

[thatgirl4815]

Will Pete cave or will Vegas cave? 

Up to this point, I have been operating under the assumption that Vegas will submit to Pete’s lightness and at least try to redeem himself for all the sadistic manipulation he’s pulled so far. But Vegas seems so utterly irredeemable while Pete seems so comparatively susceptible to corruption...I can’t help but wonder if maybe I’ve been interpreting it all wrong and Pete really will be the one to sacrifice his lightness for the darkness of Vegas. 

I’ve said before that I don’t think Pete is a masochist--or, at least, I don’t think there is enough evidence to prove that he is up to this point. But there is likely some psychological battle that Pete is already fighting that will make itself known next episode. And over on KP Reddit, I’ve seen some discourse about who exactly will be changing who. Since Vegas is so blatantly sadistic with remarkably few, if any, redemptive qualities, I wouldn’t be surprised if Pete is the one that gives in because Vegas shows no sign of turning towards the light side. If there were glimmers, maybe I’d think differently. But I see no glimmers.

As someone with fairly little knowledge of the book plot, I predict that Pete’s inner turmoil will revolve around a strange—perhaps even overwhelming—pull to Vegas that he can’t reconcile with his own morals. He’s said in the past that there are no good guys or bad guys, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a greater ethical question surrounding Vegas. Pete knows Vegas is evil at his core, he knows he likes to manipulate people, he knows he enjoys watching other people suffer. But when you’ve seen all the darkness inside of someone, when you’ve been the target of that person’s ill-intentions, how do you make sense of the obsessive pull you feel towards them? He’s conflicted, even more conflicted than Porsche felt towards Kinn (and vice versa). There will be a fair amount of traumatic fallout from the torture itself, but the majority of Pete’s dilemma will be about his feelings.

If they had more time, maybe Pete would take more time working through his psychological trauma. But there isn’t much show left, so I don’t think that will be the focus of the conflict.

Lots of speculation here, so please disregard if none of it turns out like I thought. 😶