#he has a transformation sequence and everything

[spilledmilkfkdies]

Sometimes I think about that scene where Ogron and Gantlos (ft Roxy) are reacting to the winx transforming like "Same old song and dance" and "Speak for yourself slut I like it aCTUALLY" or whatever, depends on the dub- Then Believix gets "earned", forcing the wizards to sit through a second sequence. And y'know. It's followed by Duman doing fucking

Probably doesn't mean anything except I've decided that it actually does. Not only did he hear Gantlos mentioning he finds it amusing, he also had his own conversation with Anagan that included a "Why don't you ever give us a twirl". Duman remained unconvinced until the winx made them watch another sequence so he just "This one goes out to y'all <3"d it up *does a lil spin* and you best believe Anagan is nearly pissing himself offscreen as it happens

This was me gaslighting myself into thinking the wizards are more interesting than they are for today mwah time for lunch

[uisceb]

Endlessly baffled every time I see people water down Glinda’s actions in Defying Gravity to “oh she was too cowardly or too selfish to stand by Elphaba,” as if she didn’t spend that entire sequence from Chistery’s transformation onward doing everything in her very limited power to keep Elphaba safe.

Like the second things start going wrong, Glinda’s entire focus switches to “keep Elphaba safe at all costs.” This girl does not have any magic. She does not have any physical survival skills. She probably has no idea how to throw a punch. She can barely run in those heels. Her one power is her charm and her ability to work a crowd. She is desperately trying to get Elphaba to come back with her not because she agrees with what the Wizard and Morrible are doing, but because she thinks maybe if she can just smooth things over, Elphaba will be forgiven, and she’ll be safe. 

In that regard, there’s a very obvious selfishness to Glinda’s actions - she lacks perspective; she lacks scope; she prioritizes Elphaba over what we as the audience would understand as the “Greater Good” and over her own morals about what’s going on with the Wizard’s agenda; she’s visibly horrified by what happens to Chistery but her first instinct is to comfort Elphaba above all else, despite having no understanding of what's happening.

I am the last person who’s ever going to argue that Glinda isn’t selfish, because she very clearly is, it’s one of her defining characteristics, and it’s one of the main things she has to learn to overcome in order to actually become “Glinda the Good.” This is in no way me trying absolve my very selfish girl who very much made the wrong decision.

But it does kinda boggle my mind when I see the argument that Glinda betrayed Elphaba or is a “fake friend.” Especially because ultimately she comes to the conclusion that the best thing she can do for Elphaba in this moment is to let her go. She knows she would only hinder Elphaba if she were to go with her, she knows there’s no happy ending for them if she tries to run away with her (I think in that moment she might even suspect there’s no happy ending at all). Elphaba is going through her own personal revelation which is beautiful in its own right, but it’s also impulsive, and there’s a certain level of unsustainable grandiose fantasy to it. Glinda almost lets herself be swept up in it for a moment, but her rational side kicks in, because, of the main trio, Glinda really is the most grounded in reality.

I’ve seen a lot of weirdly smug people out there proudly saying if Fiyero was there he definitely would’ve gotten on the broom with Elphaba - and honestly, I think they’re probably right. But it’s not because he’s somehow morally superior to Glinda, or that his love for Elphaba is more pure. Our boy is depressed, he’s nihilistic, he’s lost, and truly doesn’t have any attachments to anyone.

He was genuinely moved by Elphaba’s fearless convictions and he fell hard and fast for her, so I agree he’d be on that broom in a heartbeat, he quite literally has nothing to lose, and everything to gain. He’s found himself wanting to believe in something for the first time because Elphaba brought that out in him, his whole world revolves around her. And that’s very romantic, but because of that, the stakes are much lower. For him, leaving everything behind wouldn’t be a sacrifice, it would be freedom.

Glinda’s gone through the world much differently, much more carefully. She doesn’t have Fiyero’s sense of nihilism or detachment, she’s lashed herself tight to the reality of the world around her. Where Fiyero has been regularly kicked out of schools and freely wandered from place to place experiencing new things and getting into trouble on purpose, Glinda has never stepped outside the predictable comfort and safety of her bubble until meeting Elphaba. She lives in constant fear of failure and being looked down on. She is forever clinging to this persona she’s created because she’s terrified of what will happen if she’s anything less than perfect.

She has constructed her entire existence around being an icon rather than a person - in the beginning, she literally doesn’t know how to be her own self, she’s just barely learning, because of Elphaba. And it scares the shit out of her. 

Fiyero would likely play action hero if he was there for Defying Gravity, and that’s great, but Glinda is weighing a million things in her head, not least of which is “holy shit the person I love most in the world is in imminent danger and I have no magic and no strength to keep her safe, so I will beg and plead and insult and fight her tooth and nail to keep her with me inside my privileged bubble because maybe I can smooth this over, maybe everything will be okay if I just do what I always do and use my privilege to get my way.” She understands the rules of her world, so she’s going to play by those rules because that’s how you win the game.

Elphaba, of course, refuses to play a corrupt game at all, and Glinda gets angry - she lashes out at Elphaba because Elphaba has just put herself in such a dangerous situation, and Glinda is completely powerless to change it. Every little bit of control Glinda is used to having is obliterated.

Her “Maybe you’re not as powerful as you think you are” when Elphaba doesn’t grow wings is so desperate - the words border on cruel, but her tone is both painfully apologetic and above all filled with RELIEF because while her heart hurts for Elphaba, she’s terrified that Elphaba would hurt herself the way Chistery was hurt, and she’s cleaving to the hope that maybe if Elphaba isn’t as powerful as she thinks she is, Glinda stands a chance at undoing the damage, and protecting her. 

Glinda’s selfishness is just so fascinating to me because it’s so rich and so contradictory - she loves Elphaba so deeply and destructively that she fully paralyzes herself when the chips are down and it breaks them both. She fails to be what Elphaba wants her to be, and she fails to be a good person, but there’s no “fake friend” about her actions - she is acting on pure desperation to keep this person she loves safe in literally the only way she knows how, at the cost of everything else, including what’s right, which is something Elphaba could never abide by. Elphaba would never compromise her own morals, but at this point in the story Glinda is willing to compromise everything as long as Elphaba is tucked away in her bubble with her, and that difference in values is irreconcilable to both of them. 

So, realizing this, Glinda does the one last thing she can think of to protect her at this point, and wraps a cloak around her shoulders to keep her warm. That’s all that’s left.

She’s selfish and she’s cowardly and she’s brave and she’s loving and she fails Elphaba and she fails herself and she regrets her decision for the rest of her life and yes I am writing all this with glass under my tongue and between my teeth, she makes me insane.

[thefudge]

Advice for writing smut???

gonna do bullet-points of things i tend to live by when it comes to smut (this is just my opinion):

don't switch styles: the way you write the smut has to be consistent with the way you write the rest of the story, so if your story is more comedic or romcom-y in nature, the way you write the smut should have those stylings. i personally find it very jarring when authors decide to break the format for the smut, almost like the story has to stop for the sex intermission; if you're writing a horror story, the smut must be informed and influenced by that genre, and if you are breaking genre for the smut portion, tell us why you're suddenly switching gears (it has to be an aesthetic choice you're making on purpose). likewise, if your style in that story is more lyrical, the smut has to be somewhat lyrical too, or if your story is more cormac mccarthy-esque-cut-and-dry, the smut can't suddenly involve an effluvia of purple, sappy prose. integrating the smut in the story and treating it like any other part of the story is key to me. too often i've seen ppl switch to this anonymous pornified style when they get to the smut

which brings me to specificity. i'll talk about het sex, since that's what i tend to write most: not all men are going to be fingering or eating pussy the same way, not all dicks are big and they shouldn't be, not all women immediately get excited by fingering, not everyone moans the same way or makes the same sounds. you're writing about particular characters so it has to be particular to them. i know this is very old advice, but i think it bears repeating

there isn't an exact formula or sequence you have to follow, there aren't precise steps, you don't have to go "well, first he has to kiss down her neck, then reach the boob area, then play with the nipples, then put the nipple in his mouth, then slowly go down on her, then prepare her for entering her etc. etc. etc." this can get boring and repetitive and you start thinking of your characters as these mechanical dolls who have to fuck for your audience. and that can be a vibe too, if you do it on purpose. but sometimes you can get stuck in a porn routine (and ofc, having only the guy show initiative can also get boring)

in order to break that, insert some character moments. what are the characters thinking during this? sometimes they might be thinking of something completely unrelated on the surface, but which has a thematic relevance that can make the scene hotter. likewise, maybe they're doing smth that seems unsexy on the surface, but which, within the context of the story might be really hot. sex doesn't just involve, well, sex, but so much weirdness and humanity and creativity. two bodies (usually) are trying to do this really awkward thing together and they might have a lot of baggage and history to inform it. there's a lot you can do with that.

don't make it glossy and clean, where everyone smells of strawberry shampoo and there is never anything out of sync. the most boring smut tends to be the kind where no one makes any mistakes and everything is super efficient. i imagine it feels like using an industrial pump to milk various farm animals.

and you know what? you can make that hot too. you CAN write a kind of robotic efficient smut and make it really interesting based on the context. let's say you're writing a 1984 AU fic where ppl are forced into intimacy only to procreate and their sex drive is diminished. you can play with that premise and lean into the dehumanizing industrialization of sex, but you have to mean it, aka your narratorial voice must be conscious of these factors.

if you're writing dubcon, make the dubious part present, make sure you draw out the ambivalence and ambiguity. if you're writing noncon, the character whose consent is being violated has to be transformed by this in some way. it can be forced pleasure, for instance, but not only. it has to be a journey for them too, some kind of spiritual pit, or a form of access to terrible knowledge. i know this is a personal thing, but noncon doesn't work for me if the character being noncon'd is just sort of *there*, suffering passively. i think that sort of dead passivity can be done very well too, but the narratorial voice has to persuade me.

that being said, don't be afraid of fear in consensual sex. terror and vulnerability are a part of consensual sex too, imo, and again, depending on the story and the characters, there's a lot you can explore there

i personally find it really hot when the narratorial voice starts discussing some of the ideas that the story wants to convey during the smut. so like, you can characterize person A and outline their worldview and their plans while they're ramming person B, and the thinking & fucking are thus entwined. idk, i dig that

speaking of which, smut can convey world-building details and social/philosophical ideas, not just emotions and character beats

not all smut has to end with mutual orgasm or even one-sided orgasm, it depends what you want to do or where you want to go. again, you don't have to follow a sequence. plus, it's fun (and hot) to write about frustration and failure too.

if you want to mix up the descriptions, resort to the story & characters. you'll find it's easier to describe someone fondling a boob in a new or at least interesting way if you're thinking about that particular character in that particular story, and not just Man X from planet porn (sorry to be snarky, but mainstream erotica is soooo guilty of this)

screaming & really intense reactions are cool but they have to match the characters and the situations

sometimes, it's hotter if an effect is mild or negated, if the usual outcome doesn't happen; mix up the order of events, toy with the usual reactions. it's not about being original, it's about finding out what works for your characters. writing about sex is, in a way, a performance of it, an attempt to go through the sexual motions, to find out what works and doesn't, to engage with the erotics of text (roland barthes entered the chat)

if you are bored by your own smut, that's a problem. i know we all talk about how hard we find writing smut, and IT IS hard, and sometimes it's not enjoyable, because writing itself is often not enjoyable, but even when it's painful and annoying, it gives you that little intellectual kick like "huh, i'm creating this and making these people do this, and ohh look, i can maybe put this unnamable thing into words". but if you become bored, that's a sign you have to look at the language & characters and figure out what's not working for you

last thing i'll underline: pay attention to your narratorial voice. in this ordeal, you are the seducer. not the characters. you have to seduce us with words and context. your voice matters the most. you can persuade us of anything. but you have to be confident in your weirdness and particularity. this is your bedroom (so to speak), so invite us in.

[hyperballart]

art has the shortest refractory period you’ve ever witnessed—and while it is a blessing most of the time, you need a break. he and patrick had just finished fucking you, one in your ass and the other in your pussy. you love taking them both but it drains you, so much so that when art gets hard ten minutes after such a strong orgasm and starts humping at your thigh from where you’re squished between him and patrick you whine at him. “leave me alone”, and art grumbles a bratty response without halting his hips, “need to cum again, please let me just one more time—“. patrick is watching in amusement but it’s cut short when you tell art to just fuck him instead, you’re too tired.

and they’re good boys, so they listen. in a sequence of events patrick is face down on all fours while art ruts into him from behind. you pick up a book and mindlessly let them go at it, carding through patrick’s thick curls while he moans lewdly. you act like they’re not even there on the same bed, like the headboard isn’t slamming against the wall. art keeps spitting out small curses and mentioning how tight patrick is, and of course he’s too smug not to respond, “come on donaldson, stop being a pussy and fuck me right,” and it riles him up just enough.

in a minute art starts thrusting him more vigorously, pushing his head down on the pillows and then gripping his hips to pound into him. what had started off as just quick humping of art’s cock into patrick had transformed into this animalistic scene. patrick’s arms had long given up on him, he’s just moaning nonsense loudly with his eyes closed smushed against the pillow. you continue petting his hair for moral support while art takes everything out on him, “this is what it takes to shut you up, huh?,” patrick makes out a loud uh huh, fuck yeah and art laughs, “look at you, can’t even speak. all fucked dumb on this dick—that’s right, take it.”

patrick’s limp hand trails down to stroke himself frantically , “fuck, fuck—keep going right there. that fucking spot—oh shit—art i’m gonna—“ and even after he spurts out his release art isn’t letting up. he doesn’t care how much whining the boy under him is doing, he needs this.

so for the next two rounds art has in him, you’ll just have to pet and wipe tears off of pat’s blissed out face, you’ll worry about the puddle under him later.

[avelera]

Going along. with my theory that, "Both Jayce AND Viktor think the other guy is out of their league, which is why they never officially dated." I think one of the misunderstandings that keep them from hooking up sooner stems from how we, the audience, and Jayce see his first encounter with Viktor.

We, the audience, and Jayce see a sequence of events where Jayce met Viktor at his absolute lowest moment. His life's work just literally blew up in his face. Then, when he tries to pitch it to Heimerdinger he's immediately shut down, his future hopes are dashed by his expulsion from the Academy AFTER Mel goads him into talking about magic which turns the rest of the Council against him, his patron (Cassandra Kiramman) abandons him, and his mother calls him mentally unwell in front of everyone in the Council chamber and disavows what she's seen with her own eyes about the magic that has inspired him ever since.

Jayce has lost everything and is ready to end his own life in response because he sees no hope for himself, no purpose in living.

From that perspective, Viktor extending a hand, saying he believes in Jayce's work enough to dedicate his life to working alongside him, is a literal godsend. This senior classmate who is smart enough to earn a spot as the Dean's assistant throws all of that away just to give Jayce at his lowest moment his vote of confidence?

I don't think it's an understatement to say that Viktor saved Jayce's life and from that moment, the moment Viktor gives Jayce back the gem bracelet which was a symbol of Jayce's life and life's work, he is literally giving Jayce back his life and Jayce is determined to dedicate that life to saving Viktor's and making him proud with Hextech. He starts with Viktor on such a high pedestal above him as a result.

Ok, so that's all pretty obvious from the show itself. But what about Viktor's perspective?

From Viktor's perspective, Jayce saved his life, or rather, his career and all his ambitions for this world. When we meet him, Viktor had traveled as high as he can as a poor kid from the undercity, with all his disadvantages, using his own ability. He's assistant to the most powerful man (yordle) in the city on just his smarts alone. But now his life is stagnant.

His ambition was to discover a scientific innovation that would change the world and, possibly, cure himself. And here he meets this scientist, who is younger than him who through an independent study, on his own, has created the miracle which will actually transform this age. And he did it without going through the system (yes he had the Kiramman patronage but he was not telling them what he was working on), without telling anyone what he was working on, without the blessing or assistance of Heimerdinger.

Not only that, but this man is willing to stand up to the most powerful people in the city and say his research was groundbreaking. Then, when everything is stripped away from him, he's prepared to die for his convictions rather than live in a world where he can't advance his research.

I can only imagine this was incredibly humbling for Viktor, to see someone else coming up with the world's most life-changing technology while he was fussing around being an assistant. He takes the leap immediately from, again, working for the most powerful man (yordle) in the city to throwing his entire lot, his career, everything he's earned up to that point, in an all-out gamble to support the invention of Jayce's mind.

And then Jayce is generous enough to let Viktor come on board with him. To call Viktor his partner, even though he wasn't the originator of the idea (and oh BOY is that gonna become a time paradox in and of itself later, did Viktor technically originate the idea when he inspired Jayce with that stone? Where does it actually begin??). Viktor might be an assistant again, but at least he's an assistant to the most important and revolutionary work of this age.

But he doesn't see Jayce's rejection by Heimerdinger in the prison cell, or know what the strategy to survive the trial was supposed to be without the fuck-up of falling for Mel's goading, or his subsequent rejection by Cassandra Kiramman outside the gates, or his mother's rejection of the magical event they saw with their own eyes. He doesn't see Jayce's lowest moments, only the two ideological stands he took both in defending his work to the Council and being willing to die when it's taken from him.

Basically, Viktor could very well see himself as second-fiddle to Jayce in accomplishment alone, then throw in everything Jayce has just naturally, like his looks and his background, and you begin to piece together why both of them might have thought the other was out of his league, and why Viktor fought so hard to create innovations to match Jayce's, or seen himself as flawed and a work in progress until he had such independent accomplishments, and why he would hesitate to confess his feelings to Jayce until he felt he had something to offer in return, not realizing he had already given Jayce the world and literally given Jayce back his life.

[fuckyeahisawthat]

What is Mage Viktor doing?

So it turns out I do have a take on what's going on with Mage Viktor, why he's messing with timelines in the way he is, and what he hoped to achieve by bringing Jayce to the torment nexus dimension and then sending him back to his own timeline armed with facial hair, trauma, and the ruthless determination to somehow stop his own Viktor.

Of course this is just my own reading; there are many ways you can interpret the reveals of the final episode. But it's become my preferred reading because it makes Mage Viktor come off as absolutely BATSHIT. The apotheosis of all Viktor's best and worst qualities. As he would be.

First we gotta lay out some fundamental principles about how I understand Viktor that will inform this reading.

Viktor was never being controlled by the Hexcore. This deserves its own whole meta, but tl;dr, I think it is directly antithetical to the core themes of the show to think that Viktor wasn't making his own decisions all through s2.

Over and over again in Arcane, we see characters become "monsters" and do monstrous things, and every time the thematic point is that this is still the person you love. When Vi says that her sister is dead because she is Jinx now and when Jayce says "my partner died in this room" THEY ARE BOTH WRONG. The person they love is different now but they're still in there and they can still be reached.

Viktor is transformed by something terrible happening to him (like many characters in the show!) but all his decisions are still his own and to me they seem like perfectly consistent--if extreme--extensions of what we know about him as a character before he gets a Hexcore heart.

So my analysis starts with the premise that Mage Viktor is not trying to free his past self from an outside influence. He's trying to hack his own character traits to make a different version of himself do what he wants.

Viktor is BOTH genuinely altruistic and compassionate AND deeply arrogant. This is such a banger combination and I think turning down the dial on either trait makes Viktor less interesting. I think Mage Viktor has genuine remorse about what he did in his timeline and he is, fundamentally, trying to find a way he could have stopped himself from killing everyone (within certain constraints; we'll get to that). When Jayce is able to show main timeline Herald Viktor his memories of what Viktor is about to do to their world, the first thing Viktor sees is not dead Jayce, or himself left alone in an empty world. It's all the ordinary people who are going to die terrified because of him.

I do not think any version of Viktor wanted this result. But Viktor is so convinced he is always right that his arrogance carries him right past the point of no return before he realizes oh actually I haven't freed everybody I have killed them.

So I do think Mage Viktor is trying to find a timeline where this doesn't happen, but he is not timeline-hopping in order to preemptively stop other versions of himself from making the same mistake. If he wanted to do that, he would just leave all the many many timelines where Jayce dies in a blizzard as a child alone. No Jayce who grows up obsessed with magic, goes around Academy rules to get the hex crystals, invents Hextech and gives Viktor the power to fuck everything up. Easy peasy.

But no. Instead, Viktor is actively going into other timelines and changing them at the point where Jayce would have died.

He is doing things that appear to make the sequence of events that leads to his world-ending magic blast WAY MORE LIKELY. And that's because...

Viktor is obsessively selfish when it comes to Jayce.

Mage Viktor wants to find a timeline where he doesn't doom the world but not at the expense of meeting Jayce and spending years doing science with him.

If the goal was only to prevent Jayce from dying in the blizzard, he could have done it quietly, waiting for Jayce to collapse in the snow and then transporting him to the base of the mountain, leaving before Jayce had any idea who saved him. Instead he makes SUCH A DRAMATIC PRODUCTION of it that Jayce remembers and can repeat the steps of the action years later, well enough that he actually produces a working spell from a barely-tested Hextech prototype. Mage Viktor wants that shit burned into baby Jayce's brain. He wants to make sure he fundamentally alters the arc of Jayce's life, bending it into a trajectory that collides with his own.

Viktor also (as far as we see) doesn't go the route of going back in time and killing his younger self, or steering the course of his own life along a path where he never meets Jayce. He doesn't even go for a timeline where he and Jayce meet each other but they don't invent Hextech. Now maybe it's the case that some time before our Jayce arrives in his timeline, Mage Viktor tried all that, and has figured out that none of those options work. (Maybe in some of those timelines Jayce is the one who goes Machine Herald, and there's no partner there to talk him off the ledge of ending the world.) But I think it's also possible that, now that he's gotten the experience in one timeline of spending years with Jayce making once-in-a-generation scientific breakthroughs together (which I truly believe is just as important a part of their relationship to Viktor as any romantic or sexual element might be)...he can't bear to deny any version of himself the chance of having that--even if the price is the rest of the world. Because a world where Jayce isn't his partner isn't a world worth saving.

So what I think Mage Viktor is doing is sitting there with his stubborn engineer brain and the husk of his dead soulmate, fiddling with the timelines like a Rubik's cube, going Not meeting Jayce CANNOT be the only option. There MUST be a timeline where Jayce and I meet each other and entangle our lives in an alarmingly codependent way AND we dodge the apocalypse at the last minute, I don't end up killing him, and we do not doom the world together. And I'm going to fucking find it.

So he's been hitting timeline after timeline, trying to find the combination of factors where everything works. He is not trying to preemptively save every timeline from himself, he is trying to prove to himself that meeting the love of his life doesn't doom the entire fucking world. It's devotion that is SO PROFOUNDLY SELFISH that he is willing to doom timeline after timeline, but driven by someone with enough compassion and pride that he doesn't want the guilt and shame of knowing he can only have this one life-changing thing if he ruins everything else for everyone, and enough arrogance to still look at this as a problem he must be smart enough to solve.

At some point in this process, I think he also figures out that Jayce is the only person who has any chance of reasoning with any version of himself. I think it's worth paying attention to the exact wording of his "in all timelines, in all possibilities" speech, because it's not just a love confession (although it is that).

"I thought I could bring an end to the world's suffering. But when every equation was solved, all that remained were fields of dreamless solitude. There is no prize to perfection. Only an end to pursuit. In all timelines, in all possibilities, only you can show me this."

And while this is some hella romantic cosmic soulmate level shit, it is also Viktor saying I need you, because you are the only person I have ever trusted enough to save me from myself.

It's the Hexcore promise all over again. Viktor knew he couldn't destroy his own creation. I read this not as Viktor being physically unable to destroy it because the Hexcore had some power over him, but not having the will to destroy it. Because this huge leap in Hextech technology was his big breakthrough and not (as I think he saw it) him supporting Jayce's dream. He knew he couldn't do it. So he asked Jayce to do it for him. Please, save me from my own pride, my desire to leave a legacy. I can't do it on my own.

It's a huge extension of trust, for Viktor to admit such a need. And now he's doing it again when the stakes are MUCH MUCH higher. I need you, because you are the only person who can show me the horror of what I am about to do and have me believe it.

Of course, the deep irony is that really the only person Viktor trusts to tell him he is wrong is HIMSELF FROM THE FUTURE. Astral plane Machine Herald Viktor is standing right behind Jayce, watching Jayce's memory of Mage Viktor telling him what the consequences of his actions will be, and that is the moment the horror sinks in and cracks him fully out of his machine shell.

But of course Jayce is the only person he would ever trust enough to carry such a message (from himself!!) to somewhere close enough to reach him.

It's not clear exactly how much of a detailed plan Mage Viktor has when he sends Jayce back to the main timeline, or how much of that plan he shares with Jayce. But I think he has figured out some broad strokes which affect how Jayce behaves.

(1) Jayce has to immediately go and kill commune Viktor. Squishing Salo is maybe a bonus side quest, but Jayce doesn't even take time to fucking shower before he heads for the commune. (I would love to see the part of the conversation where Mage Viktor is like yeah you know that pit you just climbed out of? Yeah the first thing you gotta do is go right back in there, all the way to the bottom, and find me looking like ethereal cyborg Jesus and blast a fucking hole through my chest.) Maybe this is because if Jayce waits around at all, commune Viktor finds a way to get to him and he folds and joins the cult. Maybe this is because there are just fewer variables involved in forcing Viktor to speedrun his own villain arc by Jayce repeatedly turning him down in one "perfect" form after another. Maybe Mage Viktor knows himself well enough to realize "yeah if you say no to me even ONE TIME but ESPECIALLY when you are HOT and SUFFERING I will go fucking apeshit and we can use that to our advantage."

(2) I think Mage Viktor has realized that he can only be stopped at the very very VERY last minute. He has to be able to see the direct line between what he is about to do right now and the arcane-blasted hell world he's about to create. Otherwise his ego will get in the way and tell him he is smart enough to figure out a way to somehow not kill everybody. Yeah Mage Viktor fucked that one up obviously, but I, main timeline Viktor, will be smart enough and well-intentioned enough when the time comes to simply not do that. I think this is why, for example, Jayce doesn't go to the commune trying to get Viktor to see the error of his ways. It won't work until it is allllmost too late.

Main timeline Viktor stops literally seconds before the point of no return. The arcane corruption spikes that we see everywhere in Mage Viktor's world are already starting to appear.

I think Mage Viktor knows that Jayce has to let him get right up to the edge, close enough to be looking over into the abyss, before he'll be able to pull him back.

But he knows Jayce can do that. That's what they do for each other, right?

This is why I think it was always the plan for Jayce to fight him all the way to the top of the Hexgate, and then surrender. Jayce has to survive until the end of the fight, and maybe for magical physics reasons he has to wait until Viktor sends the anomaly into the sky above the Hexgate. But once they get to the top of the Hexgate tower he stops trying to fight Viktor altogether. Maybe Mage Viktor told him exactly when it had to happen or maybe he just realizes this is the exact same place where he died in Mage Viktor's world; this is his last chance. But in any case, Jayce lands on the top of the Hexgate on his knees and he doesn't try to get up.

He waits, and when he senses Viktor behind him he doesn't try to fight or run away.

I think he knows, either because Mage Viktor told him or through his own intuition, that he has to let Viktor pull him into the astral plane if he wants a chance at reaching him.

How exactly he was going to get through to him and/or get close enough to share the memories before Viktor assimilated him...ehhhh I don't know if either of them had that figured out. The "you were never broken" part of Jayce's speech, while important from a character perspective...very crucially DOES NOT WORK. IT DOES NOT WORK AT ALL. Viktor is assimilating Jayce the whole time. You can see Jayce's astral body changing from the unique version that's still him (like his hands on the left, when he first enters the astral plane--which still look more or less human even though Viktor has already erased "imperfections" like the scrapes and cuts from his time in the pit and the arcane corruption that's spreading up and down his arm from where the rune is embedded) into a featureless gold blob like the other assimilated people.

You can watch the gold light creeping up his body steadily during those lines until it reaches his eyes.

The ONLY thing that stops this timeline from ending the same way Mage Viktor's does...is EKKO.

I think you can make the case that Mage Viktor sent Ekko to the no-Hextech timeline intentionally. But it is such a complex chain of causality for Ekko to get to the point where he's chucking a time machine at Herald Viktor's face that there is no way anyone--even a remorseful demigod with lots of time on his hands--could control every possible factor.

However elaborate Mage Viktor's plan was, and however determined Jayce was to keep his promise to him, it all would have failed if not for factors outside their control and random fucking chance.

Arcane is FULL of near-misses and what-could-have-beens and characters who are trying their best to do something getting knocked off course by consequences they never could have foreseen. Season 2 in particular introduces a persistent thread of chaos and the sense that even events that have understandable root causes are now spiraling out of characters' control. So it feels fitting that such a moment factors into the show's ending.

This is Jayce right before Ekko blasts through spacetime right above Viktor's head.

Yeah that guy was cooked.

The only thing that stops Jayce from being assimilated is Ekko breaking time to throw the Z drive at Viktor's face.

Which startles Viktor enough that he takes his hand off Jayce's head in the physical realm (ETA at first I thought it looked like he did, but upon closer rewatch I don't think their physical connection ever breaks; the assimilation link in the astral plane does though), and also breaks a piece of his machine mask off in the astral realm.

As he always does when one of his "perfect" bodies gets damaged, Viktor withdraws and tried to hide, enough that he lets go of the assimilation connection with Jayce.

Jayce starts to regain his own identity/autonomy.

And he gets a do-over. Exactly the same way Ekko used the Z drive to get a do-over with Jinx when he was trying to talk her out of suicide. Jayce gets another chance, and that's when he goes for "all I want is my partner back" and "because I promised you." Which works.

Mage Viktor's plan, I think, was for Jayce to help main timeline Viktor realize what he was doing before it was too late, and then give him the runestone, which allows him to release all the minds/souls that are connected to him before this becomes some runaway chain reaction of arcane power that swallows everything around him. (How the runestone does this exactly, and how the anomalies play into it, is stuff I am still thinking about. But tbh I am less concerned with the details of made-up magic physics than I am with the character beats.) Mage Viktor had accepted that main timeline Viktor was probably going to die in this process and he'd made peace with it. That's what "should" have happened anyway, if Viktor never found a way to forestall his illness, right? As long as this Viktor got to spend the best years of his life with his Jayce, it was okay.

I don't think Mage Viktor ever expected Jayce to stay there until the end. His goal was to save the world and spare Jayce from himself. And why would he plan otherwise? We know why Jayce stays, but Mage Viktor never got that part of the story. He schlorped up his own Jayce's consciousness with everyone else and maybe he only understood the depths of what Jayce felt for him in the moment that he was killing him. And main timeline Viktor certainly does not expect Jayce to stay. He's shocked when he realizes Jayce has no intention of leaving. No, that wasn't part of any master plan. That part was all Jayce.

[tiramiiswu]

ੈ✩‧₊˚ indomitable

⋆⭒˚. invincible x green lantern!reader ⭒˚.⋆

✦ masterlist || next ✦ imagine: local delinquent girl acts as the one and only green lantern of earth and who just so happens to have a distinct disdain for a certain half-viltrumite she has the displeasure of meeting ✦ pairings: mark grayson x reader ✦ warnings: n/a ✦ a/n: reader is a sort of magical girl inspired green lantern in the sense that i keep picturing her hero costume to be reminiscent of the pretty guardian sailor moon sailor senshi outfits, specifically sailor jupiter’s since she’s already green. her personality is bit of a mix of makoto kino from pgsm and kyoko sakura from puella magi madoka magica when it comes to inspiration because i love my bastard daughter, but i think it definitely evolved in a way that doesnt really align with that as well anymore ✦ originally this was meant to be longer but im not super used to the like? headcanons bulleted list style of formatting this imagine is in and i tend to like ramble and get off my initial thought so hopefully this cut version is readable enough, i might make multiple parts to this just to get some of my other headcanons out because i did really like some of the extra ones i just didn’t think they fit that well with the main ones (i also just want to write about gl!reader and her beloved punching bag ^^;; )

edit: I FORGOT THE OTHER HALF OF MY DRAFT FUCK.

✦ mark grayson was a fucking loser

✦ that was something you were sure of

✦ he’s some stupid dweeb with a dorky interest like seance dog who’s not even worth looking at over the gum stuck to your shoe

✦ you’ve known him since you were kids, when he was an annoying little boy with a gap in his teeth

✦ your parents trying to set up playdates with him and his family after moving into the neighborhood some time before you developed your powers

✦ before everything went to shit

✦ at twelve you were sought out by the green lantern’s ring, unsure as to why it chose you or how you were considered worthy

✦ maybe it was due to your childish belief that evil could be thwarted by the power of love and justice, like the pretty guardians and magical girls in the boxsets your mother let you read with her and the old vhs tapes you watched sitting in her lap growing up

✦ maybe it was your stubborn resolve when it came to protecting your friends on the schoolyard from snotty little boys who tried to pick on them (you were sent to the principal’s office due to your quick response to slug your tiny little fists at some stupid brat’s mouth enough to be on a first name basis with them, much to your father’s dismay)

✦ whatever it was, you were over the moon with your newfound abilities

✦ through sheer willpower you were able to construct anything your imagination thought of, you could fly, and (most importantly to your 13 year old self) your ring could create any hero costume design to anything your heart desired, complete with a dazzling transformation sequence to boot

✦ at first it was everything you ever wanted, days at school spent wanting to do nothing but go out and fight the forces of evil with your totally awesome magical powers (sort of)

✦ for a while you even wondered when you’d get your own team (all magical girls had a team comprised of their friends to fight off evil, so obviously you would get one eventually, right?)

✦ you spent a lot of time in class doodling what you thought your team would be like, which of your friends were bound to be chosen next and join your side (in the back of your notebook you even had some little doodles of you and some masked phantom thief type character that you could no longer pin who your kid self was thinking of at the time when you stumbled upon your old notebook)

✦ but of course, life wasn’t that simple

✦ you never got that team of magical girls, or other lanterns to come to your aid and help you fight off evil

✦ you didn’t have a moment where a kind older teammate you picked up along the way reassured you and comforted you when your body ached from being thrown around like a rag doll by some super powered freak trying to destroy a city block

✦ no one else was there to help you when your ring faltered and your constructs fell apart because you were just a little girl fighting for love and justice against real monsters, bad guys who wanted to break your bones or worse, ones who couldn’t be magically defeated with a magic tiara or a special transformation power-up

✦ it was you who had to do all of that

✦ it was you who had to choke back tears and lick your wounds just to push all of that fear down into the pits of your stomach and pull yourself back onto your feet to hit the bastard who broke your rib ten times as hard

✦ your constructs were tougher, brighter even, they no longer shattered after one heavy hit against the body of a big bulky target

✦ but it wasn’t your courage making them stronger—

✦ it was the unwavering resolve that you were going to punch and claw your way out of each hell you got into and survive, even if you had to die trying

✦ at some point you quit sticking your neck out for other people

✦ you stop searching for fights to start and to prevent crime before it escalates with regular patrols of the city

✦ you only ever came to the aid of civilians when danger was making itself present in big conflics, it gives you more time to be a regular girl and live your life

✦ by eight grade you had had to switch schools for fighting other students

✦ mark noticed that before your expulsion you seemed to have quit picking fights to protect your friends (friends who gradually started to drift away from you late seventh grade) and now you seemed to just be starting fights out of nowhere

✦ you needed to let off steam from your hero work, taking it out on some annoying boy in class was the closest thing you had to a goon or grunt

✦ he didn’t see you again until late into high school

✦ or, really he didn’t see you until he ran into eve after getting his powers

✦ because you saw him immediately after transferring back to the same school district and getting enrolled in the same high school as him

✦ somehow the world couldn’t be smaller

✦ you saw him the first day of senior year

✦ how could you forget, you punched him in the jaw at your parents’ funeral nearly four years ago

✦ you basically ignored him as much as you could

✦ i mean really he’s the same as he was as all those years ago as a stupid kid— dorky and innocent

✦ it was almost insulting the way he didn’t recognize you at first, but to be fair you gave him the cold shoulder and pushed past him in the halls whenever you could

✦ he often saw you smoking under the bleachers during breaks

✦ you still got into fights sometimes, he’s seen you throw a mean right hook whenever one of the other students were bothering you, so he generally he keeps his distance (still, he found himself looking at you over his shoulder every time he did notice you, something about the bad girl delinquent vibe gave you an allure of some kind)

✦ so now imagine being you, taking a night off for once from beating crooks bloody and waiting for civilians to get into trouble before swooping in to save them (again), loitering around Burger Mart and using your lantern ring to make a lighter to light a cigarette (you left your lighter at home— a nice vivienne westwood that belonged to your mom)

✦ you’re minding your own business when you see a familiar face come out from the back of the restaurant

✦ your brows scrunch up identifying the boy in uniform as your least favorite regular human on the planet as he’s hauling two trash bags over to the dumpster

✦ you groaned at the sight of him and rolled your eyes, going back to lighting your cigarette when you see him fidget with the bags for a moment before fucking chucking one of them into the fucking stratosphere

✦ you just sort of stare at him from where you were sat with wide, furious eyes

✦ because no way this loser gets powers out of fucking nowhere

✦ no fucking way you have been busting your ass for years getting stronger, learning how to suppress your fear and push yourself to be stronger, faster, more durable, everything to survive when you’re doing your rounds as Earth’s only green lantern

✦ and mark fucking grayson gets to throw massive heaps of trash into fucking space like it was nothing

✦ if there was a God somewhere, you were sure he’s laughing right at you

✦ you’re there when mark— sorry, when invincible makes his debut as a hero, during the initial flaxan invasion,

✦ you’re exceptionally more irritated than usual

✦ the others chalked it up to your usual grouchiness, but atom eve (your one and only friend) caught onto your ire rather quickly with just how aggressive you seemed to be that day

✦ when mark approached eve in the halls at school afterwards you didn’t do anything to hide your scowl, appearing behind her like a shadow

✦ it took him a second to notice you and he’s not all to proud to say your sudden arrival made him jump a little

✦ scared for a second that he was talking loud enough for someone to have heard him reveal his identity when he remembers you as one of the heroes who he fought beside during the flaxan invasion

✦ you’re annoyed when eve offers to lend an ear to mark, call it jealousy or just you being territorial of your only friend, but there was no way mark grayson gets one rocky start as a hero and immediately gets to be reassured by someone

✦ he gets his powers without needing to prove anything, he gets support from the get go by another hero like eve as soon as he doubts himself, it made you sick— HE makes you sick

✦ from then there on you just couldn’t shake this guy off you

✦ you ran into him more often at school, or at the store, hell you were getting put on the same assignments by cecil

✦ you’re sick of him

✦ sick of his stupid face and that dorky grin of his

✦ how he’s always checking in on you when you go down during a fight and how his voice sounded a bit softer when he spoke to you

✦ the way he makes your face heat up and made your stomach flip when he looked at you—

✦ oh…

✦ oh hell no.

✦ you needed to hit something and you needed to hit something hard (preferably mark)

✦ you were already pretty standoffish and kind of mean when you had to interact at school, but now?

✦ whenever you’re paired with him for missions half of it is spent barking at him and calling him stupid for not being careful enough

✦ he doesn’t even really know what gets you so heated sometimes but he’s getting better at dodging your punches when you start wailing on him post fight

✦ you hate how much effort you have to put just to keep up with him sometimes

✦ he makes you put in the work when he’s barely breaking a sweat

✦ you want to hit him with your hardest construct sometimes just to see him get skipped like a stone. he’s durable, he’ll live

✦ seeing you in action is something else

✦ your costume hasn’t really changed since you were younger (really the sailor scout uniform was just too good to switch up)

✦ but the duality of the cute bows on your leotard and the short pleated skirt compared to the sight of you slamming a heavy green mallet over some poor supervillain’s head always draws his attention to you

✦ you fight so effortlessly in mark’s eyes, you’re quick on your feet and there’s a unique power behind your punch that make him feel the earth beneath his feet shake when he sees you clock someone in the jaw

✦ you always looked so cool with your stoic, determined expression and he admires how ✦ you seem so put together, you barely stagger between attacks, it’s as if you’re just going through the motions

✦ watching you ring-sling is such a sight to see

✦ you’re so quick to adapt your light constructs he can’t imagine how fast you must be thinking for you to be able to switch as naturally as you do, almost like breathing

✦ he’s seen you combo your ring-sling constructs with your raw strength, hitting them with a green baseball bat before the same light construct stretched into a tether or a lasso to yank them back into your ring bearing fist— which by then had some brass knuckle or gauntlet wrapped around it to bust up their jaw

✦ you do surprisingly well at keeping up with him, you’re nowhere near as fast or durable as he is after he starts getting deeper and deeper into being invincible, but your willpower wasn’t something to laugh at

✦ he admired your courage and strength, even if he was at the end of some of those punches

✦ the two of you were such a strange pair

✦ both of you seemed oblivious to the way you looked at each other

✦ maybe it was the goggles on his costume but mark never seemed to realize that the scowl on your face wasn’t the same as your usual resting face (though he found the scrunch of your nose and the furrowing of your brows very cute)

✦ and you (despite your observational skills and general common sense) couldn’t tell that the sheepish puppy dog look on his face when he talked to you wasn’t just how his stupid face looked

✦ you also didn’t seem to realize that thinking about him as consistently as you did wasn’t something you’re supposed to do about someone you claimed to despise

✦ eve is at her wits end with you guys, especially since she was most often the one left to mediate between the two of you

✦ rex tried to do that once, but seeing as you were strongly aligned with eve and hold grudges longer than anyone else you still weren’t giving him any civilized response that didn’t involve chucking him into a lamppost ever since eve confided to you about him cheating

✦ also he used your spare lighter as ammunition once and he was still feeling the pain in his arm from when you broke his wrist after that

[revacholreverie]

X7/Locust City Act's V Plot Details, Tasks, and Endings!

hi everyone! I created a new sideblog EXCLUSIVELY so that I can post this text (I figured my main account is shadowbanned or smth) ANYWAY

you can read the 1-5 Acts' Summaries done by @parasolemn! They've done an amazing job and I wanted to take part in deciphering too, hehe

note: English is not my first language therefore word-guessing can be pretty hard for me. There are some minor places I couldn't undestand so I would highly appreciate your help!

UPD 10/04/2025 @parasolemn kindly helped to fill in some lacunas I had in Endings! At the weekend I'll try to edit other gaps myself

PLOT DETAILS ACT V

So what is Cunoesse’s story?

Cunoesse has brought Cuno to Hämärä Maa as a replacement for a kid she drowned three years ago.

Cuno and Jaakko – the drowned kid – don’t have much in common. Both are/were boys with red hair, and about the same build but that’s about it. Only a child’s mind would come up with a plan to replace the dead kid with an ‘identical’ one so she’d be accepted back in her tribe.

But Cuno can’t just be like Jaakko, he has to *become* Jaakko.

The Suru(?) have a coming-of-age rite that involves drinking a brew made of the bone marrow of a blind underwater cave fish. This experience has sometimes profound, sometimes devastating effect on one’s consciousness.

Perhaps this “Naming Ceremony” doesn’t happen until the Hämäräns are 10 years old, so that’s why Cunoesse never got her name, and this is the pretense under which she lures Cuno into the ceremony – a name for herself (but Cuno doesn’t know it’s also going to be a new name for him.)

Cunoesse believes that if she subjects Cuno to this ceremony and “spirit guides” him through this process Cuno might actually *become* Jaakko. Or at least accept he’s Jaakko now. She’s been laying foundation for this transformation throughout this whole journey.

Cunoesse’s people thought her dead, drowned with the boy. Hardly anyone could recognize her at first sight.

Maybe Cunoesse hid the body (under a rock in one of the caves) before she fled Hämärä Maa, so in her mind no-one can definitively claim the kid she brought back isn’t Jaakko.

Psychedelic Sequence

We want this to be a truly visually … and spectacular setpiece where you can bind the rules of everything <…> and apply dream logic.

The entire underwater showdown will be in FELD.

We can depart form/ play with the … perspective, switching into a side-view showing the vastness of the dark screen, with the C&C small figures sinking.

Experiment with overlays, filters as well as tainted and/or 3D mode/ed addictions (??) in the scene, showing people, motifs and icons elements from their journey. There can be lots of … with the visual elements reflecting decisions the players has made throughout the game.

Competitive Red Checks are the key now feature we want to test here, to create unique playthroughs and the impression of truly “fighting yourself” as the rolled value of Cuno or Cunoesse’s Red Checks affects the difficulty of the other’s counter attack.

For the first time, … and commune with each other.

Cunoesse comes out of the trip with +1 Psyche is she lives.

Blue notes:

Multiple life/death outcomes.

Swarm/Locust City side-plot reaches its conclusion.

New home for Locusts

Funeral cultural event

(another note totally unreadable for me, sorry)

_____________________________________

TASKS ACT V

The path through Act V is still largely TBD

In its bare minimum implementation Hämärä Maa could have the same density as the Deserter’s Island finale of Disco Elysium, where the game’s entire conclusion is communicated through a small number of characters – three very extensive and immersive dialogues (one of which is a stylized dream sequence) followed by a posse epilogue. Although railroaded, Disco’s finale had a “page-turning” quality to it that we should aim for as going too much into the mundane idle of the Hämärans would kill the pacing. However, since the entire journey has been about getting to the island, we should give the player at least a little more to see and do than the Deserter’s Island did.

An example of how the task chain at Hämärä Maa could look:

Face Cunoesse’s folks

Find a new home for the Locust City.

Learn how the brew works

Make the brew

Go to the caves

Survive the caves

Bring “Jaakko” to his parents.

Reactivity/Outcomes

Cuno drowns and Cunoesse is this time for real exited by her people

Cunoesse drowns and Cuno returns to Jamrock alone.

ENDINGS

Ending 1 – Jaakko Ending

Location: Hämärä Maa

Cunoesse is alive, Cuno is brainwashed

Notes:

Cunoesse’s manipulations worked. Cuno has fully internalized Jaakko.

The scene closes with Cuno diving dead-eyed among the Hämäran boys. He’s one of them now.

Loss of Identity. No more Cuno-sentences.

Ending 2 – Pale Ending

Cunoesse is dead, Cuno is alive

Location: Tréville, deserted

Notes:

With Cunoesse dead, Hämärä Maa holds nothing for Cuno anymore. He turns back, aimless.

He lands back in Tréville and finds it deserted. The prison has finally moved.

Cuno sits with him. With Cunoesse’s death, Cuno’s prison has left him too. The thing about freedom is that no one tells you where to go.

Cuno waits with the prisoner indefinitely. We fade to white and roll credits.

Ending 3 – Bad Ending

Cunoesse is dead, Cuno is dead

No notes, no location

Ending 4 – Circle Ending

Cunoesse is alive, Cuno is dead

Notes:

With Cuno dead and her plan failed Cunoesse must exile herself from Hämärä Maa again.

She goes into another Murder Hangover, back to sleep and hibernation.

The Internal Skull(?) announces “A new epoch of timekeeping is beginning”

(two another unreadable notes for me)

Ending 5? – New Tribe Ending

Cunoesse is alive, Cuno is alive

No notes, no location

[dezemberzwolf]

omega raids are my favourite because it features nero having everything wrong with him including but not limited to

coming pre-equipped with a magical girl transformation sequence that he just has on the ready

getting confronted with someone else expressing positive feelings for him and immediately saying he's going to go throw up

vanishing from the hospital because he wanted to make a quick escape after forging cid's signature authorizing nero to be paid an exorbitant amount of money for exemplary services"

saying he willfully drank an entire cup of coffee made with seawater and thats why he feels bad instead of admitting he got attacked by someone else

getting harmed and instead of admitting it and asking for perhaps first aid, keeling over facedown on the ground because he figured he could just tough out Being Poisoned/Concussed/Whatever Else

joining the Ironworks presumably exclusively to annoy Cid, and immediately dyeing the Ironworks uniform red because he refuses to wear anything other than his signature colour

the entire raid happening because nero showed up to the xiv equivalent of the UN as a wanted criminal and shouting I DONT SEE WHY NONE OF YOU ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO ME

truly the most character of all time

[coriihanniee]

THE ENGAGEMENT GAME - enhypen smau

𓍯𓂃⭑.ᐟ SYNOPSIS : Forced to enroll in an elite school and bound by an arranged engagement, you must uncover which of the Seven Heirs is your fiancé before the school year ends—or face a life you didn’t choose. As rumors spread and secrets unravel across campus, the boys turn your struggle into a game, but the lines between truth and desire blur, leaving you to question everything, including your own heart. Will you uncover the truth before it’s too late? And what happens when you start falling for the person you least expected?

CHAPTER 17 : ballerina confessionina

You stand at the edge of the Crystal Skies Ice Arena, your breath visible in small puffs before you. The grand opening of the Park family's newest venture has drawn Seoul's elite in droves—your parents included. The massive arena gleams under strategic lighting, ice shimmering like crushed diamonds across its pristine surface.

Your parents flank you, mother's grip on your elbow more restraint than comfort. "Remember to be gracious," she whispers, her smile never faltering for the benefit of onlookers. "The Park family has specifically invited us."

You resist the urge to roll your eyes. Of course they had invited your family—along with every other influential household in Hanseong. This wasn't personal; it was business wearing the thin veneer of social pleasantry.

The lights dim suddenly, and a hush falls over the crowd. A single spotlight illuminates the center of the rink, and then he appears.

Park Sunghoon glides onto the ice with such effortless grace it seems the laws of friction have made an exception for him alone. The Ice Prince of Hanseong, aptly named. His dark hair sweeps across his forehead as he builds momentum, expression serious and focused. There's something almost mathematical about his movements—precise angles and perfect rotations, no motion wasted.

Yet, despite the technical perfection, there's an undeniable artistry in his performance. As classical music swells through the arena, Sunghoon launches into a series of jumps that have the audience gasping collectively. You find yourself holding your breath without realizing it.

"He's quite talented," your father comments dispassionately, though even he seems impressed.

From the corner of your eye, you spot the rest of the Seven Heirs watching their friend. They occupy a reserved section separate from the general audience, naturally. Jungwon's eyes track every movement with analytical precision. Jay nods appreciatively at a particularly difficult sequence. Jake and Ni-ki are leaning forward in their seats, genuinely enthralled. Heeseung's expression remains unreadable, while Sunoo occasionally whispers comments to Jake, who nods enthusiastically.

Despite your reluctance to admit it, Sunghoon truly is captivating on the ice. The arrogant demeanor that characterizes him at school has transformed into something else entirely—focus, dedication, passion. It's... unsettling, seeing this different side of someone you've mentally categorized as just another entitled heir.

When he finishes with a final spin, the arena erupts in applause. Sunghoon bows deeply, his normally cold expression softening just slightly at the corners of his mouth. Not quite a smile, but close.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Park addresses the crowd once the applause dies down, "to celebrate the grand opening of Crystal Skies, we invite all our esteemed guests to experience the ice for themselves."

Your mother's grip tightens. "Absolutely not," she whispers. "That would be entirely undignified."

"Agreed," your father adds. "We'll observe."

You shouldn't feel disappointed. You've never ice skated a day in your life, and with your tendency toward clumsiness, it would likely end in disaster. Still, watching as guests begin to filter toward the skate rental area, something wistful tugs at you.

"Y/N!"

You turn to see Sunoo waving enthusiastically, the rest of the Seven Heirs already lacing up their skates nearby. Your parents exchange a look.

"The Kim heir is calling you," your mother says tightly. "Perhaps you should at least greet them. Properly," she adds with emphasis.

You make your way over, acutely aware of your parents' scrutiny. "Congratulate Sunghoon on his performance and return," your father instructs before releasing you.

"You're not skating?" Sunoo asks as you approach, his eyes wide with exaggerated disappointment.

"I don't know how," you admit reluctantly.

"Neither does Ni-ki," Jay says, gesturing to the youngest member of their group who's struggling with his laces. "He's still going to try."

"I can skate," Ni-ki protests. "Just... not well."

Jungwon looks up at you, his dimples appearing as he smiles. "You should join us. It's not difficult once you get the hang of it."

"My parents wouldn't—"

"Just once around the rink," Heeseung interrupts, his voice holding that characteristic tone that suggests he's not really asking. "Consider it educational."

"Scared, Y/N?" Jake teases, already standing steadily on his blades.

The challenge in his voice irritates you. Always this game with them—pushing boundaries, testing limits. Before you can respond with something appropriately cutting, Sunghoon appears beside them, cheeks still flushed from his performance.

"She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to," he says quietly, surprising you. Since when does Park Sunghoon defend anyone's right to refuse?

"I—" you hesitate, glancing back at your parents who are now engaged in conversation with another couple. The temporary freedom is tempting. "Fine. One lap."

The boys exchange glances that seem almost victorious, and you immediately regret your decision. Still, you allow Sunoo to lead you toward the rental counter, where an attendant quickly finds skates in your size.

Lacing them proves challenging, your fingers fumbling with the unfamiliar pattern. Before you can ask for help, cool fingers brush yours aside.

"You'll twist your ankle like that," Sunghoon murmurs, kneeling to tighten your laces properly. The gesture is unexpected, intimate in a way that makes heat rise to your cheeks.

"Thanks," you manage, unsure how to process this version of Sunghoon that conflicts so dramatically with the cold, dismissive heir you know from school.

Standing proves to be its own challenge. Your ankles wobble precariously, and you grip the barrier with white knuckles.

"Ready?" Heeseung asks, already gliding backward with infuriating ease.

"She needs a minute," Jungwon observes, more perceptive than the others. "Y/N, just hold onto the rail first."

You nod gratefully, inching toward the entrance to the rink. The Seven Heirs wait with surprising patience, a stark contrast to their usual imperiousness. Jay demonstrates a simple pushing motion, while Jake offers encouraging words. Even Ni-ki, despite his own admitted lack of skill, suggests keeping your knees slightly bent.

Taking a deep breath, you prepare to step onto the ice, one hand still clutching the barrier. That's when you feel it—a sharp shove from behind, vicious in its intent. Your balance, precarious to begin with, vanishes entirely. The ice rushes up to meet you, promising a painful and humiliating introduction.

Instead, strong hands catch you, one at your waist, the other grasping your arm. You look up to find Sunghoon's face inches from yours, his expression no longer detached but alert, almost concerned.

"Are you alright?" he asks quietly.

Over his shoulder, you catch a glimpse of Jia's retreating figure, her satisfied smirk unmistakable even from a distance. Of course it was her.

"Yes," you answer, trying to regain both your balance and your dignity. "Thank you."

Sunghoon doesn't release you immediately. "She could have seriously hurt you," he says, voice low with restrained anger. It takes you aback—you hadn't realized he'd seen who pushed you.

"I'm fine," you insist, though your heart still pounds from the near-fall.

The other boys have gathered around now, their expressions varying from concern to outright anger.

"Did she push you?" Jungwon asks, his usually gentle eyes narrowed.

You hesitate. Involving the Seven Heirs in your ongoing feud with Jia seems like opening a Pandora's box. "I just lost my balance," you lie.

None of them look convinced, but surprisingly, they don't press the issue.

"Perhaps we should postpone skating," Jake suggests, glancing towards where your parents stand, thankfully still engaged in conversation.

"No," you say, more firmly than intended. You refuse to let Jia rob you of this small freedom. "I still want to try."

Sunghoon studies you for a moment, his dark eyes unreadable. Then, without warning, he extends his hand. "Hold onto me," he says. "I won't let you fall."

The offer hangs between you, unexpected and sincere. This isn't the Sunghoon you know from school hallways—the untouchable heir who regards everyone with cool indifference. This is... someone else entirely.

Hesitantly, you place your hand in his. His fingers close around yours, secure without being constricting.

"Keep your weight centered," he instructs as you take your first tentative glide. "Small steps at first."

His guidance is patient, technical rather than condescending. The other boys skate nearby, forming a loose protective circle that you suspect is intentional. Heeseung and Jay exchange a look you can't quite interpret. Sunoo beams encouragingly every time you successfully complete a small glide.

"You're a natural," Sunghoon says after you've managed several yards without stumbling.

"Now you're just being nice," you counter, acutely aware of his hand still holding yours.

Something that might be amusement flickers across his face. "I'm never 'just nice,' Y/N. Ask anyone."

The comment surprises a laugh out of you. "Fair point."

As you continue around the rink, you begin to relax incrementally. The sensation of gliding becomes less terrifying, almost enjoyable. Sunghoon remains beside you, his presence steady and reassuring. Occasionally, his thumb brushes over your knuckles, so subtly you wonder if he's even aware of it.

"Why are you helping me?" you finally ask, curiosity overwhelming caution.

Sunghoon is quiet for a moment, his eyes fixed ahead. "Not everyone born to privilege enjoys watching others struggle," he says finally.

It's not the answer you expected—not some flippant remark or dismissive comment. There's a sincerity in his words that catches you off guard.

"Besides," he adds, his voice dropping slightly, "you're different."

"Different how?"

He glances at you, something unidentifiable in his gaze. "You see us. Not our names or our fortunes. You actually look at who we are, even if you don't particularly like what you see."

The observation startles you. You've never considered that your disdain for their entitled behavior might be perceived as... honesty.

"And what is it that I see?" you challenge, curious despite yourself.

A ghost of a smile touches his lips. "That's what makes you interesting, Y/N. You tell us, even when we don't ask."

You consider his words as you glide along, surprised by his perception. After a moment of comfortable silence, he speaks again, his voice casual yet somehow deliberate.

"Your fiancé is lucky to marry someone like you."

The words hit you like a physical blow. You stumble slightly, grip tightening on his hand as you regain your balance. "What did you say?" you ask, certain you must have misheard.

Sunghoon's expression remains neutral, but something flickers in his eyes—calculation, perhaps. "Your fiancé," he repeats. "He's fortunate."

Your mind races. The way he said it, as if referring to someone else entirely...

"Sunghoon," you begin carefully, trying to sound casual, "what makes you say that?"

He regards you with that infuriatingly controlled expression. "It's just an observation," he says, but something in his tone suggests more.

Your heart hammers against your ribs. The Seven Heirs and their games—this ridiculous bet they've ensnared you in, forcing you to guess which one of them is your betrothed before the school year ends. But the way Sunghoon speaks of your fiancé as a separate person...

He's not the one.

The realization crashes over you like ice water. Sunghoon—the Ice Prince, with his perfect composure and unexpected kindness—is not your mysterious betrothed. One option eliminated, six remaining.

"Right," you manage, hoping your voice sounds steadier than it feels. "Lucky him."

Sunghoon's eyes narrow slightly, studying your reaction as if gauging whether you've caught his slip. "You seem surprised."

"Not at all," you lie. "Just wondering what gave you that impression."

His lips quirk in what might almost be a smile. "Let's call it an educated guess."

Before you can press further, Jay skates past. "Are we sharing secrets?" he asks, his tone playful but his eyes sharp.

"Just discussing Y/N's surprising aptitude for skating," Sunghoon replies smoothly. Too smoothly. There's a warning in his tone that makes you wonder what other layers exist to their ridiculous bet.

Jay smirks, glancing between you two. "A woman of hidden talents," he says, executing a perfect turn before gliding away.

You resist the urge to call him back, to demand he tell you which one of them is your betrothed. This stupid game they're playing—making you guess which of the Seven Heirs you're engaged to before graduation. One of these privileged, complicated young men circling you on the ice—is your future husband. And now you know it's not Sunghoon. But which one of the remaining six?

"You seem troubled," Sunghoon observes quietly.

"Just processing," you reply, mind still reeling from this new information.

"Ah," he nods, misinterpreting your distress. "The realization that we're not all monsters can be disturbing, I imagine."

You force a smile, grateful for the misunderstanding. "Something like that."

As you complete the circuit of the rink, you find yourself studying the other heirs with new intensity. Heeseung, with his quiet authority. Jay, sharp-eyed and perceptive. Jake, whose teasing hides unexpected depths. Jungwon, gentle yet observant. Sunoo, whose brightness might conceal more than it reveals. Ni-ki, the youngest but perhaps the most sincere.

But not Sunghoon. The knowledge should be a relief—one suspect eliminated. Instead, it only deepens your frustration. If not him, then who? And why did it have to be one of them at all?

Before you can consider further, you catch sight of your parents at the barrier, their expressions a clear indication that your brief freedom is over.

"I have to go," you say reluctantly, nodding towards them.

Sunghoon follows your gaze and nods, guiding you carefully towards the exit. The other boys offer various farewells—Sunoo's enthusiastic, Jungwon's polite, Heeseung's measured. As Sunghoon helps you step off the ice, his hand lingers on yours a moment longer than necessary.

"Thank you," you say, meaning it despite the turmoil of your thoughts.

He inclines his head slightly. "Perhaps next time you'll try a jump," he suggests, the barest hint of humor in his voice.

"Let's not get carried away," you reply, forcing a smile.

As you make your way back to your parents, their disapproving looks already forming, you can't help but glance back at the Seven Heirs—no, six potential fiancés now—still gliding across the ice. The game has changed, the stakes raised.

Your mother's voice cuts through your thoughts. "I hope that display was worth it," she says tersely. "Come, your father wishes to speak with Mr. Kang about university prospects."

You nod obediently, slipping back into the role expected of you. But as you follow your parents through the crowd, your mind buzzes with new realizations. The bet that seemed so cruel initially—forcing you to guess which heir you're engaged to—has just become more complicated. The confusing part isn't just that they're playing with your future, but that moments like these—where they show kindness, vulnerability—make it harder to hate them for it.

One thing is certain—Park Sunghoon is not the one. And somehow, that knowledge feels like both progress and a deeper mystery.

The sensation of gliding across ice, of Sunghoon's steady hand in yours, lingers like a secret—but now it's overshadowed by his casual words that have changed everything.

Your fiancé is lucky to marry someone like you.

Six possibilities remain. The countdown has begun.

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@coriihanniee 💌

🕊 - AHHH I bet you didn't expect this huh? I might start eliminating options one by one ~ I'm sorry to my Sunghoon lovers! T^T I hope you'll continue reading this though... 🥹🫶 bcs it's just going to get more spicy as we edge closer towards the reveal 🥰

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[alynnia]

Astra’s Champion

LaDs men if they were boss fights |Part 1 Sylus and Rafayel|

《This is written from the perspective of playing an action game boss fight in the realm of Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, No More Heroes, etc with “cutscenes” at the start and during transitions of the fight. I’ve left most of the abilities and weapons the reader has open so it can be up to you on how you’d want your character to fight specifically. This will be incorporating their myths, creative liberties taken for the sake of cool and things get really over the top in their 3rd phases because I’m a sucker for the cinematics. Good luck. 》

Cw: Descriptions of reader getting their ass kicked and small death cutscenes of the love interests. NonMC Reader, a touch of thalassophobia I think. 

Premise of the game: You play as a being created by Astra tasked with taking out the MC for reasons unknown, but you're going to have to get through her love interests first. They know you are after her and will do everything within their power to stop you. Everything. But something about you unnerves them. You resemble her. Be it physically or an aura you have, the men can sense her within you somehow. Perhaps Astra did this to get them to let their guard down or there is more to your connection with her that you're unaware of. Upon winning each match Astra will bestow a blessing on you and the love interests will drop loot. 

Using your own Evol, special set of skills, and an outfit embedded with protocores you've collected on your journey, you might stand a chance against them. You may fight them in any order but Zayne will always be last. 

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Sylus Boss battle

Phase 1: Street Fighter

The two of you meet on top of the roof of a skyscraper in the N109 Zone, the blood moon held high in the sky casts a spotlight for your stage. You can hear a record playing classical music nearby, its quality is clear for the most part but there’s an occasional skip or delay in the next note. The Onychinus leader casually stands across from you at the edge of the roof sporting his usual black and red top shrouded by a coat over his shoulders. His smirk is hollow, maybe even strained if you look close enough. 

Sylus uses no weapons. He just slowly saunters toward you with his hands in his pockets (hips swaying just a tad as he does) like a runway model. He believes you’ll be easy to take care of, there’s no rush. Only until he or you get close enough does he start attacking with wide swinging kicks and jabs with a moveset similar to what you'd see in a fighting game. 

And that’s exactly how his stage plays at first. 

If you get too far away he'll use his evol to yank you to him and decks you square in the jaw before getting right back into beating you down. It’s recommended to stat your outfit with high atk and crit protocores because this beast of a man is a tank who keeps fucking healing himself so you'll need to deal blows that are stronger than his healing. The more you deplete his HP, the more he taunts you. He's starting to have fun, your own moves reminding him too much of his nights of sparring with MC.

His special move is a flurry of blows not unlike something out of Jojo, juggling your body in the air if you get caught in his whirlwind of fists and kicks. Then for the finishing blow, Sylus’ black and red mist forms a fist and punches you into the cement, giving way from its force as your body crashes into it. If you lose to him in this phase there's a special animation where he lifts you up high with his evol and disintegrates your body. 

Phase 2: This isn’t even my Final Form

Sylus deems you worthy enough to see his second form and finds you...amusing. far more interesting than the dregs of the N109Z and even on par with his beloved. He has no shame in letting you know how good you are to have made it this far so you are “rewarded.” After going through a painful looking transformation sequence, yet still smiling the whole time, the dragon ascends up into the sky, moon at his back. A beautiful sight to be sure but there’s little time to admire when he snaps his fingers and is raining meteors down upon you, a dark laugh echoing in the night. You need to quickly run to dodge the AOEs following the patterns on the ground. Full on Red Choctober (ifykyk) as his opening move. 

Survive? Good. Now he's diving down, swiping at you with his claws before flying back up again. Over and over, divebomb after divebomb. He is having way too much fun toying with you and you’ll need to dodge, block or if you’re skilled enough, counter those swipes with your own move. Finally he lands for a more vicious fist (claw) fight but he's using his tail too. Just like in his first phase, he's grabbing you when you get too far but using his tail instead of his evol. This time if you’re caught, it's wrapping around your leg and slamming you into the ground over and over again. Aside from these new additions, the fight is similar to the first phase. 

Phase 3: Drag on Dragoon

You're still alive? Oh, he's going to show you something special. Sylus walks backward to the edge of the building, never taking his eyes off of you. With the snap of his fingers and the sound of a page turning, the swirling mist of blood red and black void surrounds his form as he falls backwards off the edge, his laugh echoing all the way down. The red skyline fades with the turn of the page and flower petals obscure your vision. You’re now surrounded by a field of Daturas, the sunset painting a much warmer canvas above than before. Your attention is snatched away as the light of the sunset darkens, blanketed by a massive wing. It belongs to a black massive dragon, entangled in vines blooming with the same Daturas in the field. He’s half the size of the skyscraper the two of you were just on moments ago. At the center of his chest sits the ruby, the same one from his previous form pulsating with light in time with his heartbeat. 

You know what you must do. 

The ground isn’t safe. Sylus is snapping his jaw in your direction, fully ready to snip off a limb. You’ll need to dodge roll out of the way to avoid his teeth. When he’s not trying to bite you, he’s trying to snatch you up in his claws. If you don’t get out of the way in time, he succeeds and begins squeezing. You’ll need to struggle to break free or stab his hand with your weapon if you have one. Offended by the gesture, he flings your body back to the ground, turning around to swipe his tail at you. This is your chance. You're gonna need to jump and run up his tail to get onto his back and reach his neck. Climb the scales on his neck and do your best to avoid being grabbed again. The jewel is your goal. When you strike, you will get knocked off and have to try to get back up on him again. (Ride that dragon baby) but during this time on the ground, more meteors are falling, large claws are breaking through the earth trying to grab you and he continues his attempts to bite and grab you. Strike his gemstone heart three times.

Exhausted, when you finally land the last strike, the slain beast collapses. The flowers dissolve and wilt away leaving a barren field and the wheezing body of a dragon. He’s confused on how this is even possible, there is only one person in this world that could take his life. The faint glow of gold glittering in your hand is the last thing he sees before dissolving. A red light flies up into the sky. Well done.

✨Astra’s Blessing ✨

-Self Healing. You gain the ability to regain a portion of your HP during your fight at max 3 times.

🎁Items gained 🎁

-Eye of Desire: Allows user to see weak spots in opponent, increasing crit rate

-Datura flower

❤Affection bonus? ❤

-If you fight him unarmed and manage to win, not only will you hear more flirty dialogue, but you’ll trigger a flag for later. 

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Rafayel Boss battle

Phase 1: May I have this dance?

You push through the tall doors of a mansion, entering a chaotic mess of a studio filled with paintings, some incomplete and others fading with age and many blanketed by white sheets. Sitting atop a ladder, the figure with a mop of mauve hair holds his finger up without needing to look at you. He says nothing, adding the last stroke of paint to his latest masterpiece. A portrait of…you? No, it’s not you but your true target. Rafayel's gaze lingers on the painting for a moment longer before he finally turns to greet you…by throwing a knife. Just as you sidestep the attack he’s descending down from the tall ladder, landing perfectly on one foot with the grace of a dancer. The painter bows before you, hand outstretched to call back the knife to him, twirling it between his fingers with the flicker of flames. It begins.

Rafayel starts off with a good ol’ knife fight! But also a dance? Get too close to him and he’ll take your hand, fingers laced together and lock you in his grasp. His steps are elegant, fast and deadly. The battle becomes a rhythm game quick time event where you have to press certain buttons at certain times to dodge your head, lean back into a dip and twirl away while he's holding your hand and trying to stab, cut and slice you with the other. He moves in time with the bgm music playing so use that as a guide for your movements and reaction times. Dodge 4 of his attacks and you break free from his hold allowing you to make your own moves against him while he tries to cut you. Sometimes there’s a surprise 5th attack in his dance that comes at random so be aware. During the fight he’ll grab one of the sheets off of his painting and swirl it in front himself, disappearing into it and then reappearing behind you for another chance to stab you. Your protocore build will need speed but overall a balanced outfit should work as a fight with Rafayel will be more about rhythmic timing. 

Be careful when he starts humming, this is your warning sign to get ready to stop and cover your ears because when he sings and you didn’t cover in time, you'll be stunned in place. Ears bleeding, taking damage and giving him a chance to dance-grab you again. He’s surprised you could survive his voice, impressed even and lets you know but certainly not for long. If you die in this phase, his finishing move is rewarding you with the full impact of his siren song. Eyes glowing faintly, he walks toward you slowly as he sings and you fall to your knees, enraptured by the aura of this god. You die, but at least you get to hear an awesome soundtrack that’s only available if you lose here. 

Phase 2: Chain Reaction

Seeing as you’re not dead yet, Rafayel becomes frustrated. After backing you toward one of his paintings, a desert landscape, he smacks his palm directly onto your face, pissed off by the features that resemble her. The artist shoves you into the canvas, the page turning and you fall. A flurry of colors splash across your vision and you are lying back in golden sands. Your opponent’s outfit has changed, sporting black and deep purples, wearing a black mask over the lower half of his face. Even if his face is covered, you can still see the cold look in his iridescent eyes.  

He continues to knife fight you but there is no more dancing. Instead, occasionally there will be chains raising up from the ground or flying in your direction with the intent of holding you in place. You’ll be able to hear it coming by the rattling before it strikes so be prepared to jump or block when it comes. If you do get caught, Rafayel is going to do one of two things: Set you ablaze while you struggle to get free. You’ll be taking damage for as long as you are in this hold so break fast. The other possibility is the sands of the desert bufferting you in a twister. Raf didn’t call this into creation but he will welcome it. 

Phase 3: Deep Blue Sea

Catching you in his chains, this time he yanks you out of the painting, back into the studio then launched into another one. This time, it's on an ocean cliffside in the midst of a brewing storm. The pages turn and you’re slammed unceremoniously into the rocks, the chains disappearing and the waves of the sea crashing against the cliff. You look up to see Rafayel, standing there and staring at you. His eyes, no longer that beautiful mixed color but now glowing a dangerous blue. The waves of the ocean begin to rise up behind him in time with his breath until there is an eerie stillness. He opens his mouth. A beautifully haunting voice rings out, loud enough to burst eardrums but its melody is soft and cradling. Hypnotizing, and doubled over on itself like a dizzying chorus. You are stunned during his transformation as the waves swirl around his rising body and swallow him into the sea. It's silent for a moment and you're free from his voice…

Until a blue scaled webbed hand snatches you by the ankle, large enough to take hold of your whole calf dragging you into the water. Transformed into a larger version of himself, Rafayel in his mermaid god form is more like a sea beast losing bits of his humanity. Beautiful, but emits a great sense of power. Be warned, there is a time limit on this particular fight before you run out of air. Your god will now be providing the soundtrack himself via his voice, different from the one from the first phase and far more haunting, the thunder above proving the drumlike beat. The waves from his voice create rings that come at you according to the melody and beat. You must block them with the right timing (Drakengard 3 last song type of fight) and launch your own attacks at him, aiming for his throat and heart. During this, you'll also have to dodge flames swirling your way under the waters that also follow a musical pattern. Land enough blows on his throat and his singing will temporarily stop. He will resort to sharp tail whips and slashes. There will be a chance for you to come up for air when you grab hold of a bubble and float up to the surface, giving more time before he drags you back down again. 

When the siren is silenced, before his final breath he sees a faint glow within your chest. He lets out one last sorrowful melody before he dissolves into seafoam and a pink light flies up into the sky. Good work. 

✨Astra's Blessings✨

-Breathless. You no longer need air to breathe.

🎁Items Gained🎁

-Lumerian scales. Added to your weapon gives increased Atk

-Self(?) portrait 

❤Affection Bonus? ❤

-As long as you maintain a perfect match beat for beat with his rhythmic challenges in each stage, you hear extra dialogue that’s almost flirty if you squint, as if he’s trying not to flirt and trigger a flag for later. If you fail the perfect combo at any point, it will not count. 

Up Next: Xavier | Caleb

---

I'm not much of a writer but I like writing. LaDs has made me want an otome action rpg game and one way I can express it is designing the type of fights I would want to play. Xavier and Zayne are pretty much done but I need to do more reading on Caleb in order to get him down. Zayne is going to be posted last so I need to finish Caleb's first.

This is an open idea so if anyone else wants to play with it and/or do similar, feel free. It'd be super cool to see what kind of fighting techniques, weapons, evols and ideas others come up with.

[nilsavatar]

DAY 23 BITING - Part 4

Parings: Neteyam x Fem!human

PART 1, PART 2, PART 3

Genre/Warnings: fluff, ANGST, introspective, delicate themes (hibrid pregnacy, political and ideals conflict). All characters are AGED-UP. This the sequel of the @layla2-49 request used to fullfil the promp day 23 of lunakinktober 2023

Summary: Following the unexpected pairing that occurred at the Tree of Souls, after connecting as only two Na'vi normally could, Celeste and Neteyam entertain a clandestine relationship. Several times they have discussed coming out, but the girl is too prey to her insecurities as a human to do so. It is Eywa who will decide for both of them with a disconcerting revelation: they have conceived a hybrid child.

Word Count: 4,5k

Masterlist - Request a fic

In the bioluminescent glow of Pandora’s night, Jake Sully stood at the forest's edge, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon. The vibrant nature around him buzzed with life, yet an unsettling turmoil brew within him. As olo’eyktan of the Omatikaya and Toruk Makto, he had faced countless challenges, but none as perplexing as the transformation unfolding before him.

Celeste, a human who had become an integral part of their clan, was undergoing a metamorphosis that defied all understanding. Eywa had blessed her union with his son, yet the consequences were unprecedented. To say that the news of Celeste’s pregnancy sent shockwaves through both the scientists and the People would be an understatement. A tawtute woman carrying the offspring of a Na’vi? It was far beyond imagination. The avatar bodies—engineered through terrestrial brilliance, blending both genomes in just the right sequence to function under Pandora’s conditions—were compatible with the natives. Little Socorro was only human, though—kind of. Her body was changing, adapting in ways that blurred the lines between Earthborn and Pandoran.

The man’s mind raced with questions in the nighttime peace, hugging his half-sleeping wife in one of their occasional getaways from responsibilities and worries. Though this one was hard to forget even for an evening. “This isn’t like what happened to us,” he said, suddenly, breaking the silence of sweet slumber, thinking about Spider’s sister seated in the shade of their kelku, her hands resting on her growing belly. “I was logged in my avatar when we mated. I was Na’vi, physically. But her? There’s no scientific explanation.”

After the commute at the Tree of Souls, the clan split in two. Some supported the child as a sign of mutual prosperity, a miracle meant to exist in the balance of the world. Others, however, labeled it an ill omen, a violation of the natural order, feared what they couldn’t understand.

“It is not natural.” “Eywa may have allowed the union, but this... this is wrong.”

Jake had heard it all before. The same fright, the same resistance to change that had nearly torn the Omatikaya apart when colonizers first came back to Pandora. But this time, he got that fright. Because deep down, beneath his duty as olo’eyktan and his instinct to protect his family, he felt it too. As wild as the perennial torment that the two sides of his very identity instilled in him.

“There is no scientific explanation for Eywa,” Neytiri stated, her voice serious, resolute just as it always was when faith and Na’vi culture were at stake. It was a conviction he has never fully embraced. The need to rely on science, on logic, on the knowable, was an earthly instinct he could never entirely cast aside. That lifeline—the belief that there was a reason behind everything, something demonstrable, classifiable, repeatable—was still a part of him. Neytiri might have agreed that there was a universal design, but her understanding of it was vastly different from his. Less analytical, less tangible than the laws of physics and biology, but to her, no less real. Perhaps, in some ways, even more so.

“It’s as much a mystery as Kiri conception.” “Not of the same scale, though.”  “We must trust the Great Mother nonetheless.” Jake exhaled, rubbing the back of his head. “Trusting her is one thing. Convincing the People...”

He was right. There was division among them. Leadership weighed heavily on his tired shoulders, and the safety of his loved ones, of Celeste and the baby, depended on the decisions he would make in the coming months. As the night creatures sang their melodies, Jake took a troubled breath, seeking clarity. The path ahead was shrouded in uncertainty, and for the first time in years, he felt the sting of doubt piercing his resolve. This wasn’t just about Celeste; it was about what she was becoming and what it would have meant for all of them. He knew Pandora. He had lived, fought, loved, and lost for this world. And he knew that when the Great Mother acted, it was always on purpose, even when it felt like uncharted territory.

It started subtly; Celeste first noticed it in quiet moments—when the dizziness from exertion subsided faster than it should have, when her heartbeat, once erratic in Pandora's dense atmosphere, slowed into a steady rhythm, perfectly in tune with the nature around her. Insects that normally avoided humans drifted closer during her strollings in the forest, as if sensing that she was no longer a regular alien walking in their world. Plants reacted to her touch, sending a pleasant tingling along her fingertips. Gradually, her senses were heightening beyond the limits of her species. She could hear animals weaving through the luscious vegetation, their calls reaching her feeble ears in way they never should have.

But then, the changes became undeniable She didn’t need the mask anymore.

The moment had come without fanfare. Celeste sat at the edge of a clearing, absentmindedly sketching in her notebook as the sun warmed her skin. Tuk sat beside her, both watching Neteyam train a small group of young aspirant warriors—the few still permitted to learn under their prince’s guidance. A shadow passed over Celeste’s face, the weight of guilt settling deep in her stomach, more and more pungent. Tuk, noticing, gently patted her forearm.

“Hey, don't think about it.” Cel forced a smile, though it did nothing to brighten her tired expression. “They would have signed farce papers to train with him first. Now, half the clan despises him, and the other avoids him out of fear.” “He is still the heir to the throne.” “How much longer?” she asked, her voice tight with distress. “Tsentey's faction is gathering more support every day. If they grow into a majority, it could mean exile for you. It could...” She trailed off, her fingers instinctively tightening over the slight swell of her belly. A tear caught the sunlight before she quickly lifted her head, blinking it away. “Sorry, Tuk-Tuk. I didn't mean to upset you.” “I'm old enough to listen to you if you need me.”

Celeste glanced at her, a genuine, grateful smile breaking through the tension. Tuk—still so small, yet already so mature. The rhythms of the clan left little room for childhood. By fourteen or fifteen, many had already completed Iknimaya and faced the Uniltaron—the Dream Hunt—to find their spirit animal and take their place as adults among the Omatikaya. Tuk’s own rite of passage was approaching fast, and for sure, growing up amid the ongoing conflict with the Sky People had only accelerated that process. Yet, she was still, indeed, a child. And Celeste wished she could protect that innocence just a little longer.

“Don’t worry for me,” she said with a sly grin. “Rather tell me about Enyetan.” The young woman arched a brow, giving her a suggestive look that made the teenager blush furiously. “Don't you start too!” Laughter bubbled from the sister-in-law's lips, warm and unrestrained. The sound carried across the clearing, reaching the ever-attentive ears of her mate, who couldn’t help but smile at the rare moment of lightness in the chaos of their lives.

What no one noticed, however, was how the energy in that laughter was off—wavering, unsteady. That day, the mask felt suffocating, the air too heavy and humid against her face. Suddenly, her breathing grew shallow, her throat constricting more at every second, intense heat searing through her airways. Panic should have set in; the desperate scramble for the emergency rebreather strapped to her belt. But it didn’t. The familiar choking weight of asphyxiation never came. panic. Instead, she felt light. Open. She gulped, and the air flowed freely into her lungs.

Pure. Fresh. Alive.

Her hands trembled as she hesitantly removed the exo-pack, bracing for inevitable. She expected her vision to blur, her throat to seize, the raw, toxic atmosphere of Pandora to set her lungs ablaze. Nothing happened. She inhaled deeply. No torturous pain, no giddiness. Just... oxygen filling her chest with an ease she had never known. Cool and sweet, like taking a true breath for the first time. The world around her looked brighter, colors deeper, sounds richer, the pulse of Eywa’s life clearer in her mind.

When she turned, Tuk was staring. “Cel...” she called with big, round, unblinking eyes. “Your mask.” 

Neteyam, mid-correction a boy’s stance with a bow, snapped his head in their direction, froze in place; a rare crack in his usual aplomb. Lo’ak, across the clearing, nearly dropped his spear as he strode over with a grim intensity, eyes flashing with disbelief. “Are you insane?” he blurted. “Put that back on before you drop dead!”  It was only then, as every pair of eyes locked onto her, that the human girl realized what she had done. Her breath was even, her chest rose and fell without resistance. She just shook her head, equally disoriented, “I... don’t need it.”

Neteyam was at her side in an instant, his large, calloused hands cupping her beautiful face, his lemon-gold eyes scanning hers with an unreadable mix of trepidation and alarm. “How?” The question wasn’t directed at her so much as at himself, as he looked at her with those giant orbs that characterized him in moments of extreme concentration. Pupils blown wide to the point they almost covered the entire iris. An adaptation response to threat, to enhance vision, to assess danger, to track an escape. His entire frame was on high alert, wired for protection. To keep his mate safe from something that was beyond unfamiliar, though.

This was odd.

For months, he had wrestled with sleepless nights and unshakable guilt. Gilt for giving in to his urges, for silencing reason when he should have resisted. No matter how much he loved Celeste, no matter how natural it had felt to surrender to his feelings, he should have held back. Instead, he had let desire eclipse caution, and now, she was paying the price. Inside, a sick weight settled in his gut, he felt lousy. He had failed at the one thing he had been trained for: protect. Maybe Tsentey was right. Maybe he wasn’t fit to lead. the leader of his people. How could he secure the clan if he couldn't even take care of his woman?

She reached for him, her fingers wrapping around his shaking hand, her respire hitched. “It’s the child.” Because what else could it be? What other options could explain what was going on with her?

Silence fell, thick and heavy. She could see the thoughts written plainly across their faces—the shock, the unease, the dread they didn’t dare voice. The training had come to a standstill. Stiff postures, atonic stares. Lo'ak and Tuk, who had been watching open-mouthed, exchanged a glance, their usual roguery absent for once.

A student’s voice, when it came, was quiet but edged with something serrated. “This has never happened before.”  “Shit,” Lo’ak exhaled, running a palm down his face. Neteyam's ears darted back at his brother’s reaction, tail lashing once before forcing himself to regain composure. Then, gently, he pressed his forehead to Celeste’s, his long fingers sliding down to cover hers over their unborn child. He tried—desperately—to ignore the whispers around them, the same echoing in the back of his mind, threatening to surface. “Isn’t this amazing, tìyawn (love)? I can finally admire you all day without this horrible mask hiding your beauty.” 

Celeste giggled at his ridiculous, love-drunk words, and for a fleeting minute, her preoccupations faded. Neteyam had always possessed this quiet strength—the ability to lift the weight off others’ shoulders, to remind them of the light even in the darkest moments. But it was also his greatest flaw. He carried too much. He took on burdens that weren’t his, stretched himself thin until he was on the verge of breaking.

Still, as he pressed their entwined hands against the gentle swell of her belly, warmth spread through her—not quite human, not quite Na’vi, but something in between.

There was content for a while, the nice, peaceful fondness of being in her lover's embrace. But it didn’t last. An acute sting twisted through her abdomen. She doubled over with a cry, her breath coming in ragged bursts. “What is it?” Neteyam asked urgently, his hand instinctively landing on her baby bump, aggravation evident in both his expression and voice. She couldn’t respond; the dull ache so severe it prevented her from speaking. The sensation wasn’t just pain—it was movement. Not the ordinary flutters of a fetus developing in the womb, this was deeper, stranger, as though something resonated within her. Not far away, the plants pulsed in time with her heartbeat, their faint radiance glinting like distant stars. Celeste clutched her stomach, feeling something under her skin shift. 

Kiri, who had been meditating high in the green canopy, sat upright. “It’s happening,” she whispered, her yellow eyes as large as a lemur’s.

By sunset, Celeste was in the ambulatory unit, surrounded by meds. The air soupy with tension; the sterile, white walls felt oppressive, nothing like the vast, living jungle or the cosy, homely ambience of Hometree. She sat on the examination table, palms firm over her tummy, mind reeling while they ran test after test, talking in hushed tones laced with both awe and fret.

The weight of the exo-pack she had worn her entire life was gone, yet the air in the lab had never felt stifler. Norm and Max worked in quiet urgency, moving between holo-screens displaying her vitals, their brows furrowed. The data didn’t make sense, her heart rate had slowed, more like Na’vi's than a human's. Her oxygen saturation was perfect—too perfect—the high carbon dioxide levels in the Pandoran atmosphere should have been affecting her, but they weren't. The ultrasound showed something incredible. She had developed wichow—the specialized organs, similar to kidneys, that allow natives to extract oxygen for their bloodstream from Pandora’s otherwise toxic air. A natural filter. A biological unfeasibility for her, still there it was.

Then there was the genetic scan. And that was when everything changed.

“This is phenomenal,” one doctor exclaimed, rubbing her temples as she stared at the results. Adjusting her glasses, she leaned closer to Max. “Her DNA is evolving. Look at his—her respiratory system has adapted to filtrate Pandora’s atmosphere, but it’s not solely adaptation. It’s... transformation.” She turned to the patient, her eyes filled with both scientific fascination and deep concern. “Your body isn’t just compensating for the pregnancy, Cel. It’s rewriting itself.” “What does that mean?” Neteyam’s reassuring grip on her shoulder stiffened while she shuddered. Max didn’t sugarcoat it. “The fetus isn’t a simple hybrid,” he explained, voice calm but dour. “It's triggering changes in you. Something in its DNA is interacting with yours in a way we’ve never seen.”  She swallowed hard, “I’m... mutating.”  Jake's words came out through clenched teeth, his jaw tight enough to snap. “That’s why she can breathe out there.” 

Neytiri stood rigid near the door, her narrowed eyes fixed on the glowing monitors. She didn't fully grasp the science behind the data plashing across the screens, nor the theories the experts were debating. But of one thing, she was totally sure: they had entered unknown territory. There were no answers here, no precedents. And the deeper they went in, the more question marks and anxieties sprung up. The creature Celeste was carrying was extraordinary in every sense of the term; not yet born, and already it was reshaping the world around it. This child—this impossible child—was changing everything from its very core.

But Celeste could see the unspoken fear in her eyes.

Kiri, who had insisted on coming, stood by her bestie’s side, her yellow orbs bouncing between the readings and her own intuition. “My nephew is part of both worlds. And now, so is Cel,” she stated softly. Spider shook his head, still baffled, struggling to wrap his mind around the unsettling reality. “That’s not how genetics works.”  The future tsahìk observed her friend with a grave look. “Nawna Sa’nok’s touch lingers on you,” she declared, pressing a cool palm on her forehead. 

Spider’s expression darkened, memories surfacing of all the times he had found Kiri lying in the middle of the wilderness, lost in a trance, nature beating around her. The way plants reacted to her touch, how she had tamed her ikran with freakish ease, how she swam through the currents, breathing underwater without any training as if she had always belonged to them. “You have felt this way before, haven’t you?” he asked, voice aloof with realization. Kiri nodded. “Not like this,” she admitted. “But yes. I have felt a... pull. A connection.” Her glance glimmered to her friend’s stomach. “It’s like Eywa’s energy is flowing through her.”  Neteyam’s jaw clenched, his hold on Celeste’s stronger. “Is she in danger?”  His sister’s lips pressed together into a thin line. “Was I?” she retorted, her words heavy with meaning.

“She’s not you.” Spider rubbed things in, rough, blunt, unable to conceal his growing agitation for his twin'. “Yet she has been chosen exactly as I was. As my mother was.”  “Your mother was an inanimate body in a fucking tank! She wasn't risking anything.” His remark was harsh and cruel, the tone leathery with frustration, but Kiri didn’t flinch. She knew he didn’t mean to hurt her. If anything, he had always been one of the few who had stood by her, defended her when others doubted. But just like everyone else in that room, Spider was terrified. As much as it hurt on a par with an anvil, she could find it in her heart to justify him. Celeste reached for him, squeezing his hand with one of hers while the other rested on her hip. The warmth inside her, the link she felt deep in her bones, was changing her at a fundamental level.

“Will I survive this?” she finally asked, voice barely above a whisper. The medical team couldn’t answer that question; the entire ordeal was new to everybody. Neteyam tensed beside her. Jake and Neytiri exchanged glances, the weight of precariousness dense between them, the pressure in the unit mounting at any second.

Truth settled over them like a murky, noxious fog. Neytiri’s ears flattened, her tail rolled dolefully around her leg as if seeking comfort in making herself small. One hand clamped against her chest, the other tentatively sought her husband's touch, resting on his contracted arm. His fist was clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white, his other hand raking through his dreadlocks as he inhaled noisily through his flat nose. They had never shown such vulnerability before, or at least not at this magnitude. As parental figures, as leaders of the Omatikaya, they had always carried their burdens with quiet strength—as their firstborn son had learned to do. But now, stripped of that armor, their fear was palpable.

This only made Neteyam even more nervous. His whole frame was taut, trembling on the verge of exploding. His eyes, wide, glassy, shimmered with unshed tears, perfectly round and reflective like polished stones. He was there, present among them, but his spirit was somewhere far away. Cel—the love of his life— could have died, and no one could have stopped it. And for what? A child they never needed? A future they never chose? Why was Eywa doing this? Why them?

Their love was already complicated—strained by their incompatible species, haunted by past pain and resentment, burdened by the expectations of his status. He had thought he could cast it all aside, that he could embrace the reward the Great Mother had granted him. But that gift came with conditions—conditions so heavy that, had he known them in advance, he might have turned away. Yet none of it mattered. He would sacrifice his own happiness if it meant keeping Celeste safe.

In the fragile months after they had first come together, he had offered nothing but solace and praise. He had consoled when she was in distress, lifted her up when she doubted herself, encouraged her to trust her decisions—even the reckless ones as this one. But now, standing at the precipice of something unknown and terrifying, he could no longer do the same. He wished, more than anything, that he possessed the human gift for lying. At times like these, it would have proven useful—even if only to convince himself that everything would be fine, that at the end of this impossible journey, they would be happy. The three of them. Three, not two. Not just him and the baby. Not just him alone. Imagining a life without her was unbearable, and he refused to linger on the thought.

For a brief moment, once the initial panic had subsided, he had even allowed himself to believe that what was happening was beautiful. A miracle. Celeste could now breathe Pandora’s air—something that would surely help her through the long months ahead. But now, with this new revelation, he could no longer meet her gaze with comfort. Those warm, sweet, frightened, yet fiercely brave eyes searched his for reassurance. He had none to give.

Na’vi do not lie. And he would not offer false hope for something that, deep in his heart, frightened him so terribly.

As agitation grew, Norm reluctantly stepped forward and stroked his foot with the caring and kind manner of an uncle. “Look, we need more tests before we jump to conclusions. Right now, the priority is monitoring Cel’s condition. If your genome keeps reconstructing at this rate, we have no idea where it will end.”

*

The days blurred together in a haze of tests, scans, and restless nights where Celeste lay awake, feeling her body shift in ways she couldn’t see but knew were happening. The lab’s artificial lights felt oppressive, suffocating. The sterile environment clashed with the instincts waking inside her. She craved the jungle, the open air of Pandora—she needed to feel the earth beneath her feet, to hear the hum of life all around her. But every time she voiced this, Jake or Neytiri would exchange wary glances, and Neteyam would grip her hand a little tighter, unwilling to risk anything.

The fear in his eyes was worse than anything else. But the changes weren’t waiting for permission.

She no longer needed the exo-pack to breathe, that much was obvious. But it wasn’t just that: her lungs had changed. Max’s latest scans confirmed it. “They’ve elongated,” he said, adjusting his glasses as he stared at the results. “Your oxygen absorption rate has increased. You’re breathing like a Na’vi now.” Celeste touched her ribs absently while taking a deep breath from the inhaler—one designed for avatars and natives alike. She had already felt it. The deep, instinctual way her chest expanded when she inhaled, the effortless intake of Pandora’s air as if she had been born for it.

And her skin, once the soft beige of an Earthborn, had begun to repigment in tone—a faint iridescence beneath the surface was spreading, veins shimmering faintly in dim lighting. It wasn’t full bioluminescence like the Na’vi, but it was close.

Then there were her senses. At night, she could see in the dark. Not just in the way humans adjusted to low light, this was different. Colors took on a richer depth, details sharpened beyond what should have been possible. Smelling the lightest traces of the rainforest that clung to Neteyam’s skin, the sticky whiff of the cerulean paint his brother painted his body with, the pungent tang of disinfectant in the lab, once a mild annoyance, now felt nauseous. Scents she had never detected in the past. And her hearing—she could pick up sounds that no one else in the lab could. Conversations whispered in corners, the rustling of fabric from another room. She didn’t tell anyone, but she could hear the low, rhythmic hum of the planet itself when she closed her eyes. It was overwhelming.

And the baby—the baby was growing fast. Too fast. At just four months, she already looked closer to six. The doctors were baffled, worried. The hybrid nature of the child seemed to be accelerating everything as if her body wasn’t just adapting—it was rushing to keep up with whatever the baby needed.

Neteyam never left her side. She felt his hands on her belly every night, felt the quiet reverence in his touch as he whispered to the child in Na’vi, his forehead pressed to hers in silent devotion. But she also felt his dread. The terror that she would slip away from him. That she would become something unrecognizable or disappear entirely.

Celeste stared at her reflection in the sterile glass of the lab’s observation window, barely recognizing herself. Her fingers trembled as she traced the outline of her cheekbones. Were they more angular than before? It wasn’t just weight loss. The structure of her visage was subtly shifting—her features elongating ever so slightly, her eyes taking on a faint amber hue that had not been there before.

And her hair. It had thickened, the strands darkening from their usual color to something richer, a shade closer to the inky black of the People. When she moved, the fine strands caught the light in strange, reflecting tones of deep violet and green—pale but unmistakable.

The changes weren’t just superficial. Her senses were growing keener by the day. She could hear Jake and Neytiri talk outside the room, even through the sturdy walls. She could smell the faintest traces of the jungle that clung to Neteyam’s skin, scents she had never been able to pick up before. The stench of disinfectant of the compound, once lightly noticeable, now felt almost insufferable.

Then there was the most undeniable proof of her metamorphosis, the most disturbing change—her queue.

the way her body responded to Pandora’s energy. She could feel the pulse of the world in a way that made her dizzy. When she stepped outside, the very air around her seemed to hum against her skin. The plants, the ground, the very life of the moon—it was as if she were beginning to tap into something bigger, something she had never been meant to connect with as a human.

And the most undeniable proof of that was her queue. It had appeared three nights ago. Celeste had woken in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, her entire body burning as if feverish. Neteyam sprang into action immediately, pressing a damp cloth to her forehead, whispering soothing nothings as she gasped through the strange, intense sensation of her own body warping itself. When the pain finally ebbed, she had felt it, something pulling at the base of her skull. A tendril-like appendage forming, hidden beneath her thickening hair. It wasn’t fully developed—not yet—but the sensation was undeniable. A strange tingling at the back of her neck, as though her body was forcing her into something closer to the Na’vi.

The moment Neteyam realized, his eyes had gone wide, caught between stupor and scare, his hand trembling as he brushed over the barely formed kuru. He exhaled shakily, his gaze raw, almost reverent. “You’re not human anymore.”

Taglist: @minnory @faith2155 @stardream14 @akari-rosefield

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

august 2024 episode of octavinelle + 4koma update

You know the drill by now!

Spoilers for the 4koma and the Episode of Octavinelle chapter 12 below the cut. As a reminder, the Episode of Savanaclaw won’t be updating again until winter.

🫵 THERE THEY ARE…

THE SMOOTH CRIMINALS…

The poses in this opening page are so good; Leona sat all lax like a boss who knows who’s large and in charge, Ruggie leaning against the chair and swinging the keys to the vault around on one finger… The posing perfectly captures their personalities and roles in relationship to one another.

Once again, Azul makes many fantastically desperate and despair-filled expressions this installment 😭

Falling to his knees???? Laying flat on the floor??? Man is UNMATCHED when it comes to theatrics.

I like this shot of Azul and Leona’s gazes lining up; it really helps give you the sense of two rivals sizing each other up.

(Side note: you can also tell how much painstaking detail the artists went through to include their eye makeup in these close-ups. Hats off to them for the extra effort, it looks great!)

… WHY DiD THEY hAvFTA mAkE HIM So smUGHERE 💀

damn i wish i was that stack of contracts

… I mean what

sorry

Sorry

SORRY

I got distracted there, what were we talking about again????

AYO they always make Leona casting King’s Roar look so darn cool in the manga 😭

My favorite panel in this sequence has to be the one with the text bubbles. He looks so nonchalant and a little stern as he speaks the chant… The shadows on his face add a lot to the atmosphere of it!

This chapter is the part where Leona gets to sanding Azul’s hard work away! Look at how beautifully drawn Azul’s reaction is ✨

The particle-y effect of the contracts melting into sand is nice 😌 It feeds Azul’s tears… Tasty meal…

MOU YADA IN MANGA FORM IS PEAK

lmao Azul for real threw a tantrum, flailing his limbs and everything 🤡 Love that even Leona and Ruggie have NO idea how they should respond to this.

Oh no, here comes the OB…

The anguish Azul’s experiencing is really coming through. He’s sweating so much and his entire face is so. Er… for lack of a better term, twisted.

I think seeing the blot leaking out from each of them helps to illustrate that they’re truly being overwhelmed and consumed by their own inner darkness. It’s sad to see 😔

We cut back to Yuuta and co. squaring off against the twins!

I wanted to point out and comment on these parts with Jack. He’s not a character that I usually pay much attention to, but I gotta commend him for fighting back so hard and trying to shield the picture even when he’s clearly got no chance of winning. Jack bearing his fangs at Floyd with pupils contracted… 🫶 Very good and loyal pupper! I get the Jack appeal now, lol

I LOVE THIS

It reminds me of the similar Azul-Leona framing earlier in the chapter, though with a different context. I like that this shows how the twins are in sync and coming to the same terrible conclusion.

Not long after, they rush to Azul’s side—which makes me think that these two worry for his wellbeing 😭 THEY DONmT SAY IT OUT LOUD BUT THEY CARE

Oh yeah, here it comes… OB Azul has arrived!! 👀

I MEAN YEAH it’s not good for his health, but I’m so hyped for the battle and flashbacks to his childhood! Baby!Azul shall NOT escape our sight…

The 4koma this month centers on Jack, Vargas, and others (Jade, Kalim, Deuce) talking about using transformation magic for racing.

dhejeveiwhwuow I would say more, but I actually didn’t find this 4koma that remarkable. It’s a generally the boys chatting about animals and their different activities they excel at.

[eobardthawneallen]

@seiya-starsniper I need to bring your attention back to ygo just one second for Yusaku's sake (in case you haven't seen this already xd)

Yugioh Protagonists vs Classic Doctors Poll #6

The winning streak continues! Yuya won last poll, can the Playmaker continue the streak? You decide!

Vote for your favorite character! this is not a "who would win in a fight/game/etc" poll

Yusaku Fujiki vs The Sixth Doctor

@yugioh-polls-because-yes @bestygogirl (vote in their current polls bc yugioh girls are awesome)

so this is the first of these where I don't really know as much about our ygo protag but i know a lot about the sixth doctor, regardless of who wins i want to hear from yusaku fans about him so i can learn more!

[descendant-of-truth]

Actually I think we need to be talking about Darkside more. Why have we as a fandom (as well as myself specifically) been neglecting Darkside when it's the most consistently recurring boss in the whole franchise

Literally the first boss we fight and it's this thing that rises up out of Sora's shadow in his dreams, and that still looks like Sora for a few seconds before it transforms into the version we fight:

This is Sora's dark side, quite literally. And what just so happens to be there at the destruction of Destiny Islands?

Man, with a thing that big and powerful, it's probably responsible for most of the damage to the islands all by itself.

Hey, what was that thing Zexion said to Riku, again? "It was you who destroyed your home"? Boy I sure am glad that the truth is what we hear and not what we see with our eyes--

Oh. Hm. That's a rather pointed dream sequence for you to be having, Xion.

Guys, I don't know why it took me so long to put these specific pieces together, but I'm pretty sure Sora's darkness was what actually destroyed the Destiny Islands. Whoever opened the door to darkness is still responsible for letting it out - it seemed otherwise occupied in Sora's dreams - and that's an interesting puzzle, too, because we're told that Riku did that even though Kairi was the one closest to the door, but that's not a mystery this post is here to solve.

My question is, what the HECK was going on with Sora for him to have a darkness so potent that it manifested outside of him before he had even been on any adventures? The guy's got insecurities for sure, but at this point in the series, they're kinda... normal ones. Feeling overshadowed and jealous of his best friend who's always better at everything than him, always stronger and cooler, it's not nothing but it doesn't make sense for it to be that. If Sora was going to have a darkness that strong, I'd expect it to come from a later point in the series, maybe around KH3 when the number of Terrible Things that have happened to or around him has reached truly insane levels.

But... the Darkside comes from the Realm of Darkness, right? Where time doesn't exist, and if you walk through it, you can be hit with people's emotions from the future?

So, I dunno, maybe it's a conglomeration of Sora's darkness from various points in time, though it still doesn't explain why his in particular gets to become something so giant. But it's definitely a Sora thing, because in Coded, the record of Sora's Heartless develops into a Darkside, as well.

But how can it be Sora-exclusive when there's so many of them down there??

Well, it might not be... but I'm not ruling out the possibility of time loop shenanigans, either. If Sora can live through the Keyblade Graveyard stuff at least four times (five if you consider the theory of KH3 in its entirety being a second loop from the get-go), then who's to say that doesn't double up on the number of Darksides in the Realm of Darkness?

Sora's already got a narrative history of reliving his past, after all. CoM has him going through his memories of his first adventure (albeit altered), Coded has another version of Sora going through his first adventure (altered again), even DDD has him revisiting Traverse Town and re-meeting his friends (in different ways than he originally did but it still counts).

I'm just saying, the heart remembers what the mind doesn't, and that can surface in a lot of ways. A Sora that's been time-looping a bunch but doesn't remember it probably would be having weird prophetic nightmares and thoughts about whether any of this is "for real" or not.

But honestly, even with the time loop theory I ended up going with in this post, the main thing I wanted to get at is that the Darkside is weird and unexplained but suspiciously tied to Sora in the narrative. These are just the connections I've put together on my own, but there could be a lot that I'm missing! I want to know what this thing's deal is, and I welcome anyone who wants to share their take on the matter.

[burningcheese-merchant]

Ok here are my actual thoughts on the update. Actual, genuine spoilers ahead

Best part about CRK updates is most of them drop right after I'm done with everything for the day and have total free time lol

Getting this out of the way: unfortunately, there is no gay shit between Fire Spirit and Pitaya Dragon. The best we get is this

You can interpret this as "Pitaya Dragon is still inside of me", which is pretty gay when you think about it. I suppose that counts for something

Anyway,

Starchy the Moletato is now one of my favorite NPCs. He's adorable. His interactions with Fire Spirit are adorable. He has an Irish accent in the English dub, which is adorable. His design is adorable. I want to put him in my pocket and feed him potato chips.

This is so fucking funny dude. They're so fucking funny. They should be in a buddy cop movie together

Fire Spirit's personality is ON POINT. Loud, obnoxious, witty, irreverent. Fun-loving. Tough and proud and full of life. A huge jerk most of the time, but when push comes to shove, he comes through for people. An asshole with a heart of gold. MY asshole with a heart of gold 🔥❤️

Mixed feelings about Agar Agar. In the sense that, she's clearly extremely dangerous and needs to be stopped, but... I also feel bad for her. I'm not sure she understands the gravity of what she's doing. Her backstory states that she was alone and starving at the bottom of a sealed well for a long time, before being found by Pomegranate. This is... the 4th? child to be taken advantage of by Dark Enchantress and the CoD. Agar Agar feels like she has purpose, that someone cares for her, and that she can finally do something about her insatiable hunger (which is clearly causing her a lot of pain and distress). It's pretty sad. But idk what should really be done with/about her. She NEEDS to be put away; her appetite depends on living beings, and she can and will destroy everything around her and hurt/kill others, not to mention her stealing powers with her mirror. But... idk. Poor girl. She knows not what she does

All that aside, Agar Agar is super cool. Her design is fantastic, as is her voice. Those plus the mirror come together to really sell the creep factor. She reminds me of an onryō or some other sort of yokai (I say yokai specifically bc she gives that particular vibe to me). Hype as fuck

Fuck Pomegranate, all my homies hate Pomegranate

Didn't know there were mines in the Dragon's Valley. Who built them? Who uses them? Just the moletatoes? Do the valley tribes ever go to them? Does Pitaya Dragon know about them? Approve of them and the fact that they exist to siphon valley resources? I need answers, man

Story felt... a little rushed? It was fine for what it was, but idk. I thought Fire Spirit would have to work harder to win. I knew right from the jump that the key was to break the mirror. I guess I just thought it would take more to do so

God... God........... His costume.......... His look.......

God he looks so good... So handsome... So sleek... So FIRE 🔥🔥🔥 and the transformation sequence... Ugh. Chef's kiss. I gotta make it my banner somehow

I just really, really love Fire Spirit's sprites. ESPECIALLY the excited looking one where you see pupils:

I never knew such a small touch would make such a big difference. He looks so damn good with those. It gives him so much more life (and he already has a lot!). 100/10

Windy!!!!

"I expected a much warmer welcome." Wasn't expecting the bestie to try to shoot him on sight, poor guy 😔 it happens. Accidents happen. We forgive and forget for the sake of our homies

Funny, in-character, for Fire Spirit to try to weasel out of responsibility. Doubly so with Wind Archer (I always liked imagining that aspect of their friendship/duo. Wind being the overly serious one and Fire being like "lol you're such a downer 🤪 why so serious? Who cares, we can worry about shit later, let's have fun"). Buuuuuut ever so slightly frustrating, too. I would've liked a thought bubble where he acknowledges the seriousness of the situation, but still chooses to go "fuck man. I just need a minute. Just one.". Something a little stronger than the nonchalance he kept showing to Wind. Something to contrast that, to show that he's really forcing himself to pretend to be calm and composed, when in reality he's disturbed and worried as fuck

Fire Spirit joining the war 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥 I knew he would, but it's still cool to hear him say it lol. I need him to show up at a council meeting, just strutting in like a peacock, acting like he owns the place, and half of the crowd is excited he's there while the rest are annoyed by his attitude lol

I'll be honest. I was hoping Fire Spirit would have a role to play against Eternal Sugar. Idk why, but... I wanted him there. Maybe just because of Pitaya (who was also enlisted in the war against Dark Enchantress, and will probably be joining Hollyberry in Beast-Yeast). Like... he knows Pitaya is probably going to need help due to their waning power, and he wants to help (disguising it as "hey bozo, if you die then I die too"). A bit like how Wind Archer had a mini face-off with Shadow Milk, you know? Does that make sense? Maybe I'm just a whiner

One extra PitayaFire thought, because I am desperate lol. The part I displayed above, where he says that he hasn't felt this fired up since Pitaya Dragon saved him... The way he smiles at the memory, and knowing that that power still lies within him, ready whenever he is... It's like Pitaya saved him again. Like he was there, waiting for the moment Fire Spirit needed him most. Just like before. And Fire Spirit acknowledges that he was happy then, and is happy now (he does this in Ovenbreak, too). Excited, even. All because of Pitaya, in the end... (I need ship fuel so bad, moletatoes. I need y'all to wake up to this ship and start making fanart. Please I'm so alone. Please. Please they make sense together I promise-)