#more characters!

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[befuddled-calico-whump]

Another Pawn

for Angstpril, Day 4: Why Did You Leave?

cw: violence, death mention

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Sarah could still feel Cinder's arm around her throat as she and Akeela ran to the window, watched him slide down the fire escape and sprint across the pavement. They were the only two home. Hugo and Celeste were on a takeout run, and Rosie was nocturnal; always out and about doing who-knew-what after the sun went down.

Uriah was already siccing people on their little group. Sarah wasn't kidding herself. She knew breaking contract had put a big-ass target on their backs, she just didn't expect it to be so immediate.

Her mistake.

"Do we go after him?" Akeela asked, a new flame already blooming in her hand.

"No… last thing we need right now is a fight." Especially not against Cinder. Deadly assassin back from the dead, what a headline.

Sarah knew she should count herself lucky he hadn't decided to hurt her. Even with Akeela's help, they didn't stand a chance against a trained killer.

"Guess we're gonna have to move again," she muttered, eyeing the burned remains of her book. Now that had been a dick move.

"Where's he going?" Akeela said, and Sarah went to look, enhancing her vision, drawing in more light to see through the shadows, stealing from her sense of taste to lend power to her sight.

Cinder had darted into an alley, where a man in a suit was waiting.

She watched him strike the man.

She watched Cinder fall to the ground, body shuddering for a long, long time.

She almost jumped through the window, instinct driving her to go put a stop to it, but the man in the suit was running away before she could even reach for the ledge.

And she watched as two familiar figures made a dash for the man on the ground.

"Shit—"

"What?"

"They're back," Sarah said, watching as Hugo stopped several feet short, undoubtedly wary. Celeste kept going, crouching a few feet away with an outstretched hand, as if to offer assistance.

Shit.

Sarah hoisted herself through the window and started climbing down the fire escape.

The assassin was pushing himself up off the ground with shaky arms, ignoring Celeste's outstretched hand.

Despite the fact that she'd just been attacked by him, Sarah felt a twinge of sympathy as she looked at his cybernetics. Overkast had taken that fight too far, for sure. 

And paid for it with his life.

"That looked bad," Celeste was saying in a soft voice as Sarah approached. "Are you okay?"

He muttered something in response that she didn't quite catch, and she silently cursed. Already enhancing her eyes to see clearly through the shadows, and now she'd have to sharpen her hearing too. She dulled her sense of smell—the alley wasn't exactly easy on the nose anyway—and shifted focus to her ears, stopping a few feet from where Celeste knelt.

There was a ton of background noise; the footsteps behind her as Akeela made her way to the group, the rats in the alley dumpster, the sounds of distant traffic, even the faint buzz of the streetlight half a block away. But above everything else was Celeste's voice, still soft in tone, but decidedly easier to hear.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, it's okay."

"Hurting my feelings talking to me like I'm a kicked dog," Cinder mumbled.

"Sorry. Do you want us to get the shock collar off? My friend Hu—Keystone is good with that kind of thing."

Meanwhile, Hugo was standing a good twenty feet back. Sarah didn't blame him. Neither of their powers were much use in a fight, and Cinder was really fucking scary. Then again, Celeste didn't even have powers and here she was, braver than any of them.

"Why bother? They'll find me again anyway."

"Are they tracking you? We can still help, right?" This time she cast a look over her shoulder. Sarah pressed her lips together thoughtfully.

Could they? Well obviously they could, Hugo was basically a technomancer. But was it safe? He'd just broken into their base, and while he hadn't hurt any of them, the threat was still there.

And yet at the same time, he seemed like he might be a victim of Titanium. Another one of Uriah's pawns, and it didn't look like he was playing the game willingly. If they helped him, maybe he could help them bring Corporate down for good.

Reformed Assassin would be a killer origin story.

"We can," she confirmed, stepping closer. "Look, we aren't enemies here. We hate Uriah just as much as you."

"He hates you back. 'Dead or alive', he said."

She tried not to think too much about that, giving him a shrug. "Looks like we're still alive."

"I could still change that."

Sarah couldn't come up with a response that didn't feel like it was poking the bear. A collection of small metallic clinks met her ears, and she saw Cinder had curled his hands into fists.

"I know your type. Think you're good people, think you can save everyone." His fists clenched, the movement accompanied by a slight schting. "But you can't. Some people just aren't worth it."

And when he disappeared into the shadows, not even Celeste dared to follow.

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@whumpacabra @enteredin2eternity @kixngiggles @whumpsday @kiichu @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump @shywhumpauthor

[kitsunefaux]

Chapters: 12/? Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga), Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Bakura Ryou/Zorc Necrophades, Bakura Ryou/Yami Bakura, Yami Bakura/Zorc Necrophades, Bakura Ryou/Zorc Necrophades/Yami Bakura Characters: Bakura Ryou, Zorc Necrophades, Yami Bakura, Marik Ishtar, Kisara (Yu-Gi-Oh), Mahaado | Mahad, Ishizu Ishtar, Yami Marik, Various Yu-Gi-Oh Characters, Nameless OCs doomed by the narrative Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Vaguely 1950s inspired setting, Dungeons & Dragons Influences, Alternate History, Anachronism, Unreliable Narrator, Leechshipping, Tendershipping, laddershipping, Past Angstshipping, Past Relationship(s), Unhealthy Relationships, Emotional Manipulation, Trauma Bonding, Possessive Behavior, Obsessive Behavior, Rituals, Magic, Possession, Blood and Gore, Cannibalism, Ancient Egyptian Deities, various supernatural creatures, Vampires, Blood Drinking, Mind Control, Supernatural Bonds, Consent Issues, Mental Health Issues, Body Modification, Slow Corruption Summary:

Demon Hunter Ryou Bakura is kidnapped by a local cult to be used in their summoning ritual. He soon realizes that he's been targeted for his family's connections to a certain dark god, to be used as a vessel to contain its power.

[canonkiller]

I just think everyone should take a moment to consider the question "what is your visual shorthand for cruelty?" and then follow it up with a critical "and who taught you that?"

specific examples include but are not limited to

why is an evil timeline character design disabled? (why do the heroes go through equally punishing battles and never lose an arm, a leg, an eye?)

why are the futuristic scifi terrorists uniformly darker skinned? (why are the heroes so much lighter?)

why is the greedy boss fat? (why are the heroes skinny?)

why is the criminal mastermind heavily scarred? (why is the brooding, traumatized hero unscathed?)

why is the predatory creep a bearded person in a dress and makeup? (why are none of the heroes trans women?)

who taught you that this is how things are?

how long do you plan on repeating it?

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

License to Kitty.

[ottosbigtop]

I think we as a society should bring back brotps. I think we should be weirder about characters being friends the same way people are weird about ships. Make those two characters who interacted once or twice besties. Make it difficult for them to get rid of each other even if they want to. Go nuts

[noperopesaredope]

I wish we had more female characters like Eleanor Shellstrop. One of the most unlikable people you've ever met. Read a Buzzfeed article on most rude things you can do on a daily basis and decided to use that as a list of goals. Makes everyone's day worse just by being there. Dropped a margarita mix on the ground and tried to pick it up, only to get hit by a row of shopping carts which pushed her into the road where she was hit by a boner pill delivery truck, killing her instantly. Cannot keep a romantic partner despite being bisexual. Had a terrible childhood but will die before she gets therapy. Best employee at a scam company. Just the worst but also can't help but root for her to improve.

Absolute loser. Girl-failure. Bad at almost everything. Literally perfect female character.

[mythtakens]

“these characters should be mentally healthy before they get together 😌” ummm no I actually think we should smash their mental illnesses together like clumps of play-doh and see what colors it makes

[marciaillust]

i like her a bit tormented

[tariah23]

White people are miserable, racist losers period. They’ve even been getting mad at Japanese people for correcting them about Yasuke as well.

[beebfreeb]

[gay-mooshrooms]

me mentally: these characters have a relationship that cannot be defined by any one thing and reaches throughout the narrative and is so woven into their characters that trying to force it under one label would be inaccurate and doing it a disservice.

me out loud: idk man they're fuckin gay

[frownyalfred]

It actually makes a lot of sense that Bruce was one of the few people left standing in the crowd at Haly’s Circus when Dick’s parents died.

Watching two innocent people plummet to their deaths is gruesome. It’s shocking. It can be horribly traumatic, depending on the blunt force trauma of hitting the ground. They might not have died right away. They might have bled and made awful noises that were heard even above the sounds of the crowd.

But Bruce is Batman. Bruce saw his parents get murdered right in front of him. And he knows the sounds and sights of someone dying. He’s hardened himself to stay calm in a situation like that, both through trauma and practice.

I think the image of a young Dick Grayson making eye contact with the one unshaken person in the crowd is chilling. A man standing resolute when everyone else is screaming, sadness etched across his face. But not panic. Not confusion. Resignation, maybe.

[tazmiilly]

[valtsv]

will never understand the misogynistic inclination to pigeonhole every female character into the "exasperated sensible mom friend" role as if there's anything better than a woman so devoid of maternal instincts that she makes wire mother look soft. woman who rolls over and walks out onto the balcony to smoke a post-coital cigarette alone and leaves without a note or any kind of acknowledgement after sleeping with you because she can't stand the vulnerability of sleeping next to someone, or waking up beside them the following morning. woman whose idea of relaxing is abusing substances alone in a dark corner somewhere, and snarling and snapping at anyone who approaches her, regardless of intent. woman so emotionally unavailable she fails or refuses to notice that her lame ass partner is trying to push the divorce papers until they've taken the kids and left a heartfelt but scathing note pinned to the fridge. woman with more vices than genuine friends. woman whose expression stays blank and arms remain limply at her sides when you wrap her up in yours for a hug. woman without a gentle touch in her body, with nothing but rough edges and sharp angles.

[mynnthia]

was talking with a friend about how some of dunmeshi fаndom misunderstands kabru's initial feelings towards laios.

to sum up kabru's situation via a self-contained modernized metaphor:

kabru is like a guy who lost his entire family in a highly traumatic car accident. years later he joins a discord server and takes note of laios, another server member who seems interesting, so they start chatting. then laios reveals his special interest and favorite movie of all time is David Cronenberg's Crash (1996), and invites kabru to go watch a demolition derby with him