#or b) will not go on to lie to him and/or nearly get him killed

[infearbutstillhere]

It was the day before Mahiru's birthday.

He and his mom were at the supermarket shopping for groceries. As they passed the bakery section, Mahiru saw a cake in the display fridge. It was just simple looking cheese cake with no frosting or toppings But it looked like it would taste good, and it was cheap! So he begged his mom to get this cake for his birthday. He probably didn't notice it then, but he remembered his mom looking sorry for a short moment before finally relenting.

When they finally reached the cashier, Mahiru was bouncing off his feet. He couldn't wait to have this cake on his birthday tomorrow! But then-

"Sorry ma'am, but I'm afraid there's not enough in your card."

Mahiru didn't fully understand how 'cards' worked for adults, but he knew what 'not enough' meant. Just as his mother was fretting over the payment, he took the cake away from the cashier.

"It's ok Mom. I can just put the cake back. We don't have to buy it."

It was the obvious choice. They needed everything else, the cake was just an extra expense. He tried to ignore the looks and whispers from the other shoppers as he made his way to the bakery section.

Suddenly, the cake was lifted out of his hands. "I'll pay for the cake."

Mahiru looked up to see who it was that offered to pay. It was a man who was standing behind them in line. He had white spiky hair and green eyes. He was super tall, probably taller than Uncle Tooru.

"O-oh! You don't have to do that, sir!" His mom quickly said to the tall man.

"It's fine. I'm not really buying much for myself. I can just pay for the cake." The tall man started rubbing his ear for some reason. When Mahiru looked at the the man's basket, it was filled with instant noodles and bottled water. Even so, the man still paid for his things and the cake as well. Mahiru thought that he would just leave after that.

Except that wasn't all he did. Not only did he pay for the cake, he also helped to bring the groceries back to their apartment. As it turned out, Arago-san (he later told them to call him that) was renting the apartment right next to theirs.

Mahiru had heard about guardian spirits sent by the deities. Maybe Arago-san was one, it would explain why he was so pale.

Suddenly, Mom got a call from work. She needed to help cover a shift for one of her coworkers. And Uncle Tooru was also busy with work. Koyuki and Ryuusei were also busy that whole day, though they didn't tell him why. Which means that Mahiru was going to be home alone the whole night.

Which was fine. Mahiru's a grown boy anywa-

"I can help accompany him for the night." Arago-san suddenly volunteered.

Mahiru looked at Arago-san with wide eyes. Not even the aunties that live next door would be able to make time to take care of him. And Arago-san was willing to do it even if they've only met that day?

"A-are you sure? I wouldn't want to trouble you anymore." His mom was concerned.

"Yeah, I'm sure. As long as you can make it for Mahiru's birthday tomorrow, right?"

That day, Mahiru saw his mom show the happiest smile he had ever seen.

"You are a saint, Arago-san."

That made Arago-san's entire face go red. "G-geez, you don't have to go that far. I'm sure anyone would've done the same," he stuttered out.

Mahiru's mom chuckled. "Oh, how modest. I'm sure your parents are proud of you."

That made Arago-san look a little sad suddenly, and he started rubbing his ear again. "Yeah, I'm sure they are...." He let out a small cough. "Anyways, don't worry about it."

"I just wanted to help. That's all."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mahiru was buying supplies at a local supermarket alongside Koyuki, Ryuusei and Sakuya for their school festival. They were waiting for their turn to pay as Sakuya was sharing another of his silly ghost stories (something about Hanako-san and how she lived at their school) and asking them how much of what he said was a lie. Just as Mahiru was about to smack Sakuya on the head,

"Sorry ma'am, but I'm afraid there's not enough in your card."

That caught Mahiru's attention and he turned to the front. The woman had a few groceries on the counter. To the side, her daughter seemed to be taking a set of colour pencils off the counter.

"It's ok Mama. I can put these back. We don't have to buy them."

Subconsciously, Mahiru stepped forward. "Wait, I can help pay for those."

The woman immediately interjected, "O-oh no, it's fine. You don't have to do that."

"I don't mind. I'm not buying much for myself. I can pay for the colour pencils."

Mahiru ignored the weird looks his friends were giving him as he paid for their supplies and the colour pencils. They bought quite a lot to prepare for the festival, but he was going to claim whatever amount of money he spent on the supplies from the class budget so it wasn't like he was lying.

After that, he helped the woman and her daughter to load the groceries into their car. "Oh, thank you. You really are an angel."

The comment made him blush, and he started rubbing his ear. "Don't worry about it. I just wanted to help. That's all."

As he and his friends walked back to Koyuki's house to organise their supplies, Sakuya suddenly piped up, "Hey Mahiru, why do you rub your ear at times?"

"Huh, seriously Sakuya? He's been doing that for years now!" Ryuusei shot Sakuya an incredulous look.

"I-I know that! It's just that I never thought to ask him why until now!"

"That is true, we've been seeing Mahiru doing it for years now, but I don't think we ever questioned it," Koyuki added.

All three of them stopped walking and looked at Mahiru hoping to get an answer. He just sighed and said, "It's not some grand story or anything. I just accidentally picked it up from one of my neighbours. You guys know him."

"Oh, you mean the gaijin from England?" Ryuusei asked as the four of them continued walking.

"Who...?"

"Don't you remember him Sakuya? He accompanied Mahiru while we were planning his birthday surprise."

"Uuummm... oh! Yeah, that's right Koyuki. Shit, I'm sorry Mahiru, for not being there for you when you were alone."

Mahiru sighed. "It's fine Sakuya. I know you guys were just trying to make my birthday more fun that year."

"Anyways, Arago-san helped to take care of me whenever Mom or Uncle Tooru was too busy for about a month before he had to go back to England to deal with something. Must've picked it up from him during that time."

Everyone hummed in agreement before Sakuya started speaking. "Y'know Mahiru. You could've met an angel."

"....Is this another one of your jokes, Sakuya?"

"Wait, wait, hear me out first! They say that each child is blessed with two guardian angels to guide them through life. When the child is going through hardship, one of them would appear to the child in a form that is most welcoming. The angel would help to care for the child until they believe the child is in a good situation and then leave to return to their post."

Everyone went silent at Sakuya's words. Mahiru thought about how Arago-san went beyond the kindness one would normally show a stranger. Maybe angel was a bet-

"Now who wants to guess how much of what I said was a lie?"

"Ow! Hey! Mahiru! You didn't need to hit me that hard!"

[captain-hawks]

liability

levi ackerman x f!reader

summary: the tables are turned when you save Levi during a mission, nearly getting yourself killed in the process. he's furious, but you don't quite understand why.

word count: 1.6k

content: feels, confessions, kissing

“What the fuck were you thinking?”

You startle as the heavy wooden door to the room bursts open, hinges groaning weakly in protest as Levi strides in, slamming it just as hard behind him. The warm glow from the small lantern sitting on the desk beside you contrasts sharply with the cold steel of the eyes it illuminates when he comes to stand before you, everything about his posture conveying the extent of the anger roiling dangerously inside of him. 

Carefully closing the notebook you were recording field notes in for Hange, you let go of the pencil in your hand and try to ignore how uncharacteristically ruffled Levi’s hair is, as if he’s been repeatedly dragging his hands through it. You quell your urge to comment on it—because any other day, you’d make a remark just to get a rise out of him.

But you know better than to poke the bear right now, not when you’re well aware you’re the origin point of the fury that he’s outright shaking with. A trail of dried blood remains crusted to the side of his face, matching the dark stains along the torn and tattered remains of his dark green cloak. 

He almost died today.

And so did you.

“That you were about to be Titan food if nobody stepped in to help you,” you offer in a flat tone, arms crossed over your chest.

Levi clicks his tongue against his teeth in annoyance, swiping a thumb across the cut on his bottom lip as he continues to level you with that piercing stare. “I was fine,” he snaps.

He was two seconds from being torn to shreds by the three Titans that cornered him while he fought to re-engage his malfunctioning ODM gear, and if you hadn’t come ricocheting through the trees to distract them, humanity may have very well finally lost its strongest soldier.

You tell him as much, throwing your hands in the air in exasperation, and he takes a step toward you, borderline shouting, “I told you to stand the fuck down.”

He had.

You’d locked eyes with him the moment you careened through the thick cover of the branches, had clearly heard what he shouted at you the moment he realized what you were about to do—and you’d promptly ignored his command.

“I didn’t hear you,” you shrug, though you both know it for the bald lie that it is.

He moves closer.

“I’m your Captain, and I gave you a goddamn order.”

“It was a shitty order. You would have died,” you retort.

Levi nearly closes the distance between the two of you, your back pressing against the wall behind you as the toes of his boots scuff against your own. With one hand splayed flat on the surface beside your head, his breath is hot on your face as he seethes, “You almost died.”

A Titan had grabbed you, almost crushing you to death in the process as your fingers fumbled for purchase on your sword, hoping that your last remaining blade would hold out. You hadn’t had time to think through a solid plan, your body having jumped into action without a second thought the moment you realized Levi was well and truly fucked when you could no longer see and hear him soaring through the air. So you’d acted on pure instinct, buying Levi the precious moments he needed to get his gear back in working order, and he’d then immediately killed the Titan that had you in its grip.

It was fine. You both survived.

Barely.

You’d hardly had time to say a word to Levi afterward, both of you caught up in rejoining the main fray of the battle alongside your fellow Scouts.

“I’m fine,” you counter, turning your head to the side to break the intense eye contact.

Levi grasps your chin, turning your head to face him again, mouth set in a hard line. “You’re reckless,” he growls. 

You sigh in annoyance, fighting a losing battle to temper down your body’s reaction to Levi’s close proximity, the whisper of his body heat like a beacon to your tired, weary bones. 

Right.

So maybe your reckless decision wasn’t just made out of the goodness of your heart as a Scout, but also was heavily inspired by one inescapable, undeniable fact—you’re in love with Levi Ackerman.

Your crush had been innocent enough at first, a bright flare of feelings sparking to life inside of you the first time you watched the way he effortlessly operates on missions. One would have thought that, as you became familiar with his cold and merciless demeanor up close, his piss poor attitude with you and your fellow Scouts would help quell the frantic beating of your heart every time he was in your proximity.

But that wasn’t the case, not at all.

Rather, you found yourself even more drawn to him, craving the few and far between moments when you’d catch him letting his guard down. The moments when, despite his scathing remarks, it was abundantly clear just how much he cared about each and every member of the Scout Regiment.

The moments when you saw just how far he’d go to protect those closest to him. 

And when you found yourself transferred to run under Levi’s command, stamping down on the inconvenient, endlessly smoldering embers of your laughably unrequited crush only became more difficult as you were forced into even closer quarters with him than ever before. The only thing that helped after that was Levi’s unfailing tendency to express one of only two emotions toward you at all times: stark indifference or annoyed exasperation. 

Unable to formulate a smart response to snap into the scant space remaining between your mouths, you mutter, “You’re reckless, too.”

Levi places his other hand on the wall on the other side of your head, effectively caging you in, his hair brushing against your forehead. “Well you can’t be,” he seethes.

“I’d argue that your life matters more than most of the others here,” you offer plainly, meaning every word.

“Not to me.”

You roll your eyes, “Self-deprecation doesn’t suit you, Capt—”

“Your life matters more to me,” he cuts you off roughly, voice nearly breaking.

If it weren’t for the steady pressure of the wall holding you up, you would have swayed. “What?”

One of his hands curls into a fist, his eyes falling shut for a moment as he takes a deep, steadying breath. “I was furious when you were switched into my squad.”

Yeah, he’d been downright incorrigible for days.

“I noticed,” you comment, deflating slightly. 

Your life? The lives of your fellow Scouts, of all of you. 

Of course.

“That’s not what I…” He stares at you, eyebrows knitting together, a strange expression on his face. “You don’t know, do you?” Stormy slate softens to the soft gray hue of the skies after a storm as his eyes scan your face. 

“I know that I annoy you to no end and you spent weeks petitioning Erwin to move me elsewhere,” you roll your eyes.

“Because my feelings make me a liability on the field with you under my command.”

Blood rushes in your ears, and your next words are so tentative, so small, “Your feelings?”

Levi pinches the bridge of his nose, clearly underestimating just how unbelievable the words coming out of his mouth are. “I can’t think straight around you,” he chokes out, his forehead falling against yours.

“But you…” you trail off, trying to reconcile the conflicting meaning of what he’s saying with what you’ve come to believe for so long. 

“I’ve been trying to avoid this, how I feel, because it wouldn’t be fair to you. It’s why I…act the way I do around you.”

Idly, you wonder if it’s actually possible to forget how to breathe. “What do you want, Levi?” you ask quietly, carefully placing a hand over his chest, his heart beating steadily behind his ribcage. 

He covers your hand with his own and murmurs, “Something that would be really goddamn selfish in the grand scheme of things,” glancing down at the winged emblem on his jacket.

“And what if I want you to be selfish?”

A sharp inhale from Levi is your only warning before he cups your face in his hands and brings his lips crashing into yours. 

Your body sinks into his embrace as he wraps you up in his arms, fingers splayed possessively along the small of your back, pulling you flush against him. He kisses you hard, like he’s trying to convey everything that he’s been holding back, every touch he’s denied himself in your presence. 

The cinders in your chest ignite, burning hotter with each press of his plush lips against yours, each nip of his teeth along your bottom lip. His fingertips are a searing brand on your waist as he grasps your hip, tugging out a small, needy whine from your lips in return, and his warm, answering chuckle has your legs threatening to give out beneath you. 

You both freeze suddenly at the sound of two rapid knocks against the door, followed by the sound of Hange calling out, “Hey, did you want to go over those notes?”

The look Levi gives your notebook, innocently sitting atop the table, is downright scathing as he barks out, “She’s busy.”

“Levi?” Hange asks, tone brimming with curiosity.

“We’re busy,” he exhales, tilting his head up toward the ceiling in annoyance.

The answering noise that leaves Hange’s mouth can only be described as complete and total delight as they laugh before walking away, footsteps pointedly loud as they make their way back down the hallway.

Realizing that you had actually noted a few important things regarding new discoveries on Titan behavior, your eyes stray back to the notebook, uncertain. “Are you sure I shouldn’t just…”

“Absolutely not,” Levi cuts you off brusquely with another searing kiss, tugging you toward the bed in the corner of the room. “You’re mine tonight.”

— likes, comments, & reblogs are appreciated!

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Thoughts about the supposed direction Rhaena's storyline is going in Hotd and the apparent Nettles erasure? Disappointing but... I can sort of see where they could take it? Idk... looking at grrm's posts in hindsight kinda makes me even more disappointed if he is as well (he just can't get his adaptations right atp but idk)

Well. Pre-ep7, we're still pending any Rhaena-Sheepstealer bonding, but I'm basically 😑🫠 about the rumors. (I dislike borrowing trouble, I'm not even sure how many of the rumors are true -- actually I'm pretty sure many of these supposed "leaks" are straight up lies -- and yet. Still *disgruntled meh* and *"we're all fine-everyone's fine here" dread*.) Rhaena is one of my more beloved F&B characters (it's the Sansa parallels, I can't help myself), and Nettles has been a super fave since TPATQ and TWOIAF. (Particularly TWOIAF, since the Burned Men fire-witch reveal; heck, I think my little dollmaker is still one of the few fanarts of Nettles in the mountains.)

I mean, sure, I understand that Rhaena's book storyline during the Dance, where she's offpage from basically the start of the war until nearly the end of it, socializing in the Vale and waiting for her egg to hatch, would be difficult to adapt in an action-oriented visuals-oriented television show. (Like Rhaenyra this season sure isn't just catatonically crying from Luke's death until Jace's.) And I'm glad Rhaena's getting more to do, and I'm glad it's directly addressing her feeling slighted and ignored by her family since she doesn't have a dragon. However...

I do not want Rhaena merged into one character with Nettles! I do not want Rhaena to have Sheepstealer and not her hope-for-the-future (doomed hope, and yet) baby dragon Morning, that hatched for her. Also note how pink Morning, worn as a fashion accessory, so suited Rhaena's coquette personality vs her sporty, adventurous twin sister... I mean, I've said before, I understand adaptations can be different, this still wouldn't make HOTD even close to a "loose adaptation".* But I do not want this adaptation to lose Rhaena's personality that I loved.

Or for that matter, to lose Nettles's character, and her importance to the themes and worldbuilding of ASOIAF. (See also.) And her importance to the plot -- but god knows, they're doing all sorts of things with Daemon and Rhaenyra on this show, toxic romance or what have you, who knows if once Daemon reaches his emotional breakthrough or whatever at Harrenhal this season, if they want to backslide him into a cheating plot in S3 while Daemon is again stuck in a castle for months.** Nevertheless, I'd be deeply disappointed to lose scenes like "as well as her dragon, the girl had taken to riding Daemon", or the last morning in Maidenpool scene... and um, you can't really fit Rhaena in there, or if you did, it would certainly put the lie to the ship denialists' "he just treated her like a father, platonically bathing naked together!" (Also the pretty blatant fake S3 leaks including one where Rhaenyra decides Rhaena has betrayed her... are pretty blatantly fake, sorry.)

And then there would be the frankly racist erasure of the one book black character. "Oh but the show made the Velaryons black, so it's not erasing, it's adding more!" No, sorry. (1) I was and am all for adding more racial diversity to the show and especially to Valyrians, but face it, when you take the book's secondary character Velaryons, two who get killed off early and are portrayed as lesser to the "true" Daemon/Rhaenyra marriage, and make them black, you've already done a lot of hinky damage there. (2) What, it's that hard to write three distinct black girls with very different personalities and one from an incredibly different background? I don't see Addam and Alyn getting merged. I don't see Aemond and Daeron getting merged. I don't see Hugh and Ulf getting merged. But I'm not really one to speak here, for this particular discussion I'd point you to @ride-thedragon and @venusintheblindspots-blog and @chrkrose, among others, they have many many posts on this subject in far greater detail and better argued than mine.

OK, so. I still have hope that Nettles -- even if not cast for this season (sorry y'all, that extra is an extra) -- may appear next season, and all this worry will turn out to be a tempest in a teapot. Per last report from the HOTD panel at SDCC, the rumor of Rhaena and Sheepstealer definitely doesn't happen in ep 7, though, yes, there's one episode after. And if it does happen... I'll be strongly disappointed. Deeply, deeply disappointed, and probably far more suspicious of future adaptational changes. But, for me at least, it's not a dealbreaker like GOT S5 was.*** I won't be happy at all about the storyline, but I would like to think the show will remain high quality re themes and character and all. Time will tell, though. Time will definitely tell.

As for GRRM, when his complaints seem to be "wild dragons shouldn't be in the Vale" and "the heraldry with four legs is wrong", well, I struggle to see that he's that disappointed in the adaptational changes. Believe me, I am well used to reading between the lines re GRRM and adaptations, something like the fact that he's not visiting the HOTD writers' room when he's in the UK is nothing. Catch me if at Worldcon or his Oxford lecture in August, GRRM again says that he could write a whole novel about Nettles, or if actually says something about non-Valyrian dragonriders, ok?

*I was just reading up on The Beast (2023) vs Henry James's “The Beast in the Jungle”. lol HOTD doesn't compare. Don't even think it, man.

**You know, this reminds me of how the Dance in F&B is not paced very well for individual characters, they keep going offscreen for months at a time. From shortly after Rhaenyra's crowning to the Fall of KL, Daemon just sits at Harrenhal and occasionally ventures out into the riverlands. From shortly after the Fall of KL until the Battle Above the Gods Eye, Daemon just... sits at Maidenpool and occasionally ventures out into the riverlands (with Nettles). Yeah, obviously a show would need to write more for him to do, he's a main character.

***Thank god HOTD isn't the sort of exploitative shitshow that GOT was. All y'all thinking it was a better adaptation because of your nostalgia goggles (and/or shitty memory) need to actually reread the books (especially AFFC/ADWD) and then submit yourself to the real-world misogynist and homophobic nonsense of S5-6 again, ugh.

[thelittlegirlinwonderland]

What I'd Change about MHA

firstly, i'd put monoma in 1-a. i'd replace sato b/c i hate his character design and does he even do anything?

i'd make aizawa more of a stoic, scary looking guy but he just wants what's best for these kids. he doesn't lie to them or use ruses but he tends to push more and seems like a hardass to prepare them for the cutthroat life of heroics

i'd flesh out the characters more, their backstories, why they want to be heroes. i'd also build their relationships more. give them time to bond, spend time together outside of school without a disaster happening. filler type stuff

i like most of the plot up until the war arc, so i'd probably keep it, changing small things like stain. i think i'd make stain a former hero, like lady nagant, who saw corruption in his field and decided to handle it in the most extreme way. i would either get rid of stain attacking tensei or have it be a 'wrong place, wrong time' scenario where tensei found stain attempting to kill a different hero and wouldn't leave(similar to midoriya running in to save tenya)

ofa is one of the things about the og that annoys me. firstly, more than 9 users. probably 11-13. if it's supposed to be 2-3 hundred years since quirks, 9 doesn't make sense. especially since the first 3 were all around the same age and most of them died young. i'd also have more diverse users and quirks. i hate fa jin and gearshift, and danger sense and smokescreen don't make sense. blackwhip and float are great quirks. expand on the users' pasts as well. why were they chosen? what did they do with the quirk when they had it? also more izuku/vestige scenes. no random bakugou look alike user

i'd change a lot of the villain's stories. i'd change toga to actually be a victim of the system instead of just a blood-crazed lunatic. she was starved and didn't understand her cravings until she snapped and accidentally killed a classmate. from there, she's treated like a monster and pushed into the league who help her get the blood she needs which calms her down significantly. no wanting to become the people she loves and creepy harrasment of izuku and ochaco. just make her a scared teenage girl with no one else to go

as for shigaraki, when afo gets arrested show a slow change in his thought process, behavior, and lifestyle as he adjusts to life without the man who had been grooming and abusing him his entire life. make him realize afo isn't a helpful sensei but rather manipulating him. have him grow and reject afo and his ideas. have him start forming his own ideas of how he wants to change society

dabi is a tough one. i think i'd make him ostracized from his entire family. he had the quirk but not the body or mind for heroics. enji rejects him, rei can't stand his ambition, natsuo and fuyumi don't have anything in common and so he pushes them away, shoto is the masterpiece. this makes him more sullen and closed off. i'd have him run away instead of nearly dying and being save by afo. when he finds the league, he starts to open up more and develops more of a personality in this new family.

i wouldn't make kurogiri oboro. i think i'd scrap oboro as a whole. kurogiri is still a nomu but he has no ties to any heroes.

i'd have more people die in the war. more important heroes like all might, miruko, edgeshot, jeanist etc. bakugo stays dead, it's a tragedy that even someone as strong as him can't always win. maybe parents, friends, past classmates of the students because this is a war, collateral is going to happen. gran torino also should've died.

izuku: -make izuku's hair slowly turn white after he gets ofa so by the end it is completely white. this can be due to stress, having multiple quirks, getting a quirk when he didn't have one, etc. -all for one is his dad. this can explain why izuku can wield all of the past users' quirks, he's built to have multiple. now, this doesn't make afo a good person suddenly. he's still the man who groomed tenko and killed countless. maybe he just makes kids every now and then to get/make new quirks. it's just a game to him, he doesn't care about izuku or inko but it give izuku more personal stakes. -lean into izuku's analysis and intelligence more. -make monoma part of his friend group and have them bond over quirk analysis. -i think i'd make Mic his tutor. like how aizawa saw shinsou and decided to train him, mic sees izuku and his destructive quirk and decides to do something about it.

[writingoddess1125]

Poppy Kisses

Buggy x GNReader

⚠️ Warnings ⚠️: Attempted murder, Manipulation, implied sexual tension, implied future Dubcon

Art by Vamos_MK on Twitter. Check them out!

Please support me Ko-Fi

In and out- That was the job. You'd been asked to murder a certain pirate by a client of yours, He was known as a buffoon and a fool- quite literally it seemed. Buggy the Clown, Captian of The Buggy Pirates. Always failing at his task but getting closer to his goals non the less, apparently he had ruffled some feathers non the less.

Which was why you were hired, asked to join his crew and kill him. Being a skilled shooter made it easy for you to join his crew, however killing him was a different story-

In truth was harder then it seemed to nail this guy- You couldn't stab him for obvious reasons, he was too cautious to go near water and you couldn't risk shooting him since it was loud and you'd risk death by his surprisingly loyal crew.

So you had to get close.. which was just as hard as finding a way to Kill Buggy. He didn't trust easy- He was quite plainly pathetic as a pirate but clever in ways you'd never imagined.

It was awful to say but you hard started to like.. hell even love the goofy bastard? He was fun in a scary way and with him trusting you, you got to see this new side to him.

He watched everyone, including you with hawk like accuracy. Anything even slightly off he could catch and any attitude changes he would immediately notice and question- Who knew this clown would be your biggest challenge.

It took nearly a month before he got comforble around you, playing the act of a wannabe fan of his and an additional two months before he had seemingly started to like you- Clearly his ego finally winning out at your fawning of him.

Soon he was letting you sit in his lap, him telling you stories of his adventures and his past as a pkrate. How he would take your input on his shows and what was needed from your perspective, letting his hand drift to your waist as he would whisper jokes in your ear and drawing true laughs from you.

Sure it started out as a mission but- soon it turned into real enjoyment from your end. So a mission that should have taken 3-4 months tops was pushing on 6... but who could blame you! It was just too damn fun there with Buggy!

Sitting in your room you stared down at the tin canister in your hands, it was a potent poison jell. You rubbed it on anything and it'd dry clear which would work since you noticed Buggy used the same glass cup, claiming it was good luck or something... it was a perfect device to poison Buggy but now- you didn't know if you could.. he had been so kind to you, Even getting you a private room which most crewmates didn't have. Even if it was a bit small and as Buggy had said formally used as a makeup room which explained the large mirrors on the wall. You still knew he had given you space cause he cared..

"Fuck.."

You sighed as the small snail rang in your pocket, pulling it out you cringed knowing who it was and you sadly answered. Wincing at the angered voice of your client rushed into your ears yelling at you for taking so long-

"What am I paying you for?" Your client hissed. "I-I know we had some hic-" You got cut off by the raised voice.

"Hiccup!? He's a fucking idiot! Tonight is the last night or else I'm putting a hit on you" they yelled before disconnecting the call.

"tonight..." You mumbled. Rubbing your face as you stashed the snail away, stress bubbling in your chest as you sat there.

This was your job...

Slipping the casaster in your pocket you get up to Visit Buggy's room, Something you often did anyway so you didn't bother knocking.

"Hey Bugs?" You call out, seeing the Captian seated at his vanity finishing his makeup.

"Hell Doll! What brings you in?" He says cheerfully, you shrug and plop down on a chair.

"I wanted to stop by and say Hi before we head to dinner" You lie, but the smile it brought to Buggys lips made your heart flutter. Soon you two began to mindlessly chatter as Buggy finished his makeup, you handing him his hat once finished.

"Shit. I forgot my bandana in the map room. I'm going to grab it real quick, I'll be back" He said with a bright smile before leaving. Your eyes traveling to the glass cup- you knew this was your only chance..

You didn't want to do this, You couldnt do this... Paid killer or not when do you find someone like him? Just some fun clown guy who's weird humor actually makes you laugh!?

Walking to the vanity you sat down, still warm from him and slipped on some gloves. Picking up the glass cup and groaning in frustration at the situation.

Forcing your eyes closed you look at yourself in the mirror, feeling like he could see you or you were seeing yourself for the first time.

Sighing you feel a tears start to slip down your cheeks as you place the coated cup down and took off your gloves. Hiding it away as you looked at yourself again, regret on your face-

"...it's your job- love aside" You reasoned before getting the canister and quickly coating a thin layer of the gel inside. Watching how it dried almost instantly and looking undetectable like it had been only polished.

"Please forgive me... I really do care for you Buggy..." You whisper a prayer before backing away at your placed trap, trying to wipe the tears from your eyes and maks if look like you hadnt been crying.

After a few moments Buggy returned to the room with a cheerful smile on his face.

You couldn't do this, as you watch him pour the wine and get ready to bring it to his lips you got up ready to reach for it when he paused- Looking up at your raised form as you prepared to take the cup from him.

"Ready for dinner?" He chimed, you nodding as you watch him grab the glass from its usual spot. Nodding silently as you followed him to the mess hall, You heart pounding as you sat in your usual seat. Food laid out buffet style over the large table as Buggy took center seat like a king- Your head spinning as you stared at the glass. Watching him make his plate before reaching for the pitcher of wine..

"Change of heart?" He said, making you freeze in your raised spot.

He clicked his tongue as he lowered the glass from his lips, His eyes staring right at you with a knowing smirk on his lips. A chill going down your spine- he had never given you a look like that before.. it was like looking at the waters before a beast rose and took your life. He wiped his lips with a napkin just incase any traces of poison had hit his lips.

"I really expected better from you (Y/N)- even after all this time you would have let the berry win huh? But your feelings really did win in the end" He mused and you felt ice flood your vains.. he knew.. he fucking knew!

Looking around you see the crew all staring at you, a knowing look on their faces as they stared at you and their captian.

"I thought your words of 'I really care for you' and 'Love aside' was just part of the act but look at that!" He rose to his feet as you sat back down slowly, fear now lacing your heart as the realization slammed into your chest.

"One way Mirror, Works wonders both in the bedroom and in shows" He chimed. He was watching you- The whole damn time! He was watching you, from the calls to your client to your hesitation to complete the job. He knew.

Fear slammed hard into you and it felt like you were suffocating as he went to circle you like prey, his footsteps seeming so loud in the mess hall now.

Your feet moved faster then your brain- you ran out of the mess hall as the sound of laughter from the crew followed you. You had to get out of here you had to before he killed you!

"Now then, (Y/N) tell me- when do assassins cry for their targets?"

In a flash you jumped back from your seat like it was on fire and ran.

A yelp escaping your throat as you felt your collar being yanked back and lifted into the air. You struggled like a kitten being pulled up by the scruff from its mother and glanced up to see Buggy's floating hand holding you. Reaching next to you ready to stab his hand another gloved hand appeared right infront of your eyes and squeezed a red ball, coughing as the fight started to leave your body and soon you fell unconscious.

When the darkness faded you felt dizzy- like the world was spinning? Groaning softly at the feeling, before the realization that fabric had been placed in your mouth. This seemed to immediately sober you up as you looked around frantically- you were back in Buggy's bed, wrists tied to the bedpost and gagged, legs tied down with blue sill scarves and all your equipment laid out on the floor next to the bed. Buggy standing over it all examining it, he looked up hearing you move.

"Ah you're awake. Good I was beginning to worry that I made that Muggy Ball too strong"

You shook as you sat on the bed you once would have loved to be in, Watching Buggy as he Lossened his hair from the bandana. His blue locks falling down and framing his face as he stepped closer to the bed.

He said calmly as he rose up, watching you struggle and try to yell through the gag. He chuckled at this and patted your leg playfully.

"I wouldn't struggle. I don't think you can handle being knocked out again"

He said in amusement, removing his shirt and vest with ease revealing his naked chest- Due to years of training and his devil fruit abilties leaving him lean and flawless of marks. Just like how you had imagined.

"Got to say, I'm really impresses. With all the equipment in that little kill kit of yours I'm sure you could have done the job easily- But a painless poison that would let me sleep and die peacefully?.. it's almost too kind... whats it called? Poppy Kisses right?"

Warmth flooded your face and body as you watch him crawl closer to you- Seating himself right on your waist as he smiled down at you brightly, tapping a finger to your chest with a gleam in his eyes. He looked beautiful, terrifying but beautiful.

"Must have been hard, I saw your face.. you looked so hurt using that posion"

"So complicated.. So much trouble you are- So expensive too. Do you know how much I had to pay to your guild in order to make them say you died trying to murder me?"

He smirked as he began undo the buttons of your shirt. Your eyes widening in shock as he spoke and began to undress you.

"You're so lucky I like you~"

He purred, before placing a slow kiss on your cheeks. You felt the red grease paint smear and stain against it, accidently letting a moan slip the gag as his fingers pulled your hair, which he clearly reveled in. Leaving your wanting his lips as he traveled to your jaw, ear and further down.

His fingers working deeper into your hair as he removed the shirt from your body fully- the cold making you shiver at his warmed touch as red kisses blot your neck.

"Now my daring little assassin, I do believe some compensation is in order for all those expenses. Don't you?~"

[honeysuckleharringtons]

"Star Boy" ~ B. Hargrove

Summary: When Billy and Reader go for a late-night drive, the stars are just too beautiful to not stop and gaze at them.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x GN!Reader (R wears a skirt though)

Word Count: 1,043

Content Warnings: a mild sexual joke, i think that's it? unless you count Billy being very out of character lol

Extra Notes: this is kind of rushed because i simply don't know to write a Billy fic lol, i hope you guys enjoy regardless of my crappy writing!

Originally Written: 10/24/2023 through 10/25/2023

honeysuckleharringtons masterlist can be found here!

halloweek masterlist can be found here!

The windows were down and the radio was cranked up, the cool October breeze surrounding you like the perfect weighted blanket.

Billy's left hand was settled on the steering wheel, the other placed affectionately in yours. He hummed along to the AC/DC track playing in the stereo, a sound that was, quite literally, music to your ears. You'd always told him he should join a band, but he simply insisted that he didn't want to, since you were the only girl he wanted fawning over him.

His fingers tapped against the leather of the steering wheel, the noise bringing a strange sense of comfort to you. It was truly nights like these that you lived for. No matter how many late night drives you and Billy went on, no matter how many ten p.m. trips to 7-Eleven you took together, you'd truly never get your fill.

Billy spoke up abruptly, breaking you from your thoughts as you watched the passing trees. "You wanna do something fun and a little bit illegal?"

You raised an inquisitive brow in his direction. "Are you trying to get Neil to kill me or you?" you questioned, though internally curious about where this was going.

"Don't worry about him. If we play our cards right, he'll never know," he said. He lifted your hand to his lips, leaving a gentle—and somewhat persuasive—kiss over the soft skin of your knuckles.

It didn't take much to have you agreeing, and soon, he'd whipped the car in a different direction, heading toward what you could only assume was the middle of nowhere, given the sheer amount of trees surrounding the vehicle.

A few minutes later, he was putting the car in park and hopping out, jogging over to your side to grab the door. Once again, Billy was taking your hand in his, this time leading you over to what appeared to be a tall, white fence. The moonlight sparkled along the wood and on the fresh green grass, and you soon realized exactly where he was leading you.

"Why are we at the country club?" you whispered, almost anticipating for someone to catch you.

"You'll see," he simply answered before his hands were distracting you, grabbing you by the waist. "Come here, I'll give you a boost up."

"As long as you don't try to look up my skirt," you scolded, a defensive finger pointing at his face.

"I would only look up your skirt if I was given proper consent first."

You mumbled something sarcastic about him clearly being a gentleman before he was hoisting you up on his shoulders. Billy practically tossed you over the fence like a sack of potatoes, leaving you to wonder just how many pounds he was bench pressing at the gym.

The sight on the other side of the fence had you nearly in tears. A blanket was spread across the luscious grass, the moon shining on the lake beside it. Pillows and unlit candles surrounded the area, and your heart flipped at the sight. "Billy," you simply said, a thousand emotions hidden in the word.

"Do you like it?" he asked, joining you behind the fence.

"I love it," you smiled through teary eyes. You all but pulled him toward the blanket, though you were internally curious as to why he was being so romantic all of a sudden.

He moved around a couple of the pillows to make the space more comfy for the both of you, instructing you to lie back on the cushions. "I thought we could go stargazing. You've always told me you wanted to see a shooting star. Air's supposed to be clearer on this side of town."

And so, the two of you lay back on the blanket, your hand in his as he began to point out various constellations and shapes. Though, the beauty of the Big Dipper had nothing on the sparkle in Billy's eyes as he explained the stars to you.

The two of you examined each speck of light for hours, conversation barely ceasing as Billy pointed out every detail of Orion's Belt, every line of Andromeda. Your heart warmed at the sight, remembering how hard of a time he'd had adjusting to his cross-country move. Now, he'd found something about Hawkins that made him happy, and your heart swooned at that.

"Promise me something, Billy?" you said suddenly, rubbing soft lines on the back of his hands where your fingers met.

He turned to face you, messy curls framing his face as the moon shone down on those cerulean eyes you'd fallen in love with. "What's that?"

"Never lose that sparkle you have when you talk about this stuff?"

He snickered before pulling you up for a kiss, the taste of cherry slushie prominent on both of your mouths. "Don't go sappy on me now."

"I can't help it," you huffed in amusement. "You bring it out of me. You're like a puppy or something. I can't help but find you adorable."

His eyes narrowed in on you, clearly not amused at your words. "I don't know what they put in your slushie, but I think you need your eyes checked because I am not as cute as a puppy."

"You keep telling yourself that, you big golden retriever in black cat's clothing," you said, eliciting another deep chuckle from the man. "You still haven't promised, by the way."

In one swift motion, he was grabbing your body and pulling you down on him, eyes filled with love as he looked up at your squealing form. "I promise."

"You have to say the whole thing."

Billy held up a finger, drawing a 't' shape over the pocket of his tee shirt. "I, William Neil Hargrove, will never lose my sparkle. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Now, was that so hard?" you giggled, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Yes, it was," he grumbled. "But I love you, so savor it because I'm not doing it again."

You rested your head on his hard chest, his scent and feel enveloping you like a bubble, made to keep away anyone or anything else from just the two of you. "I suppose I'll take it, star boy."

-> taglist: @ducky-is-dead-inside @awkotaco24 @liberhoe @hereiamhereigo @esoltis280

[aihoshiino]

Chp 160 was so??????? that I am straight up unable to form an opinion on it.

Like I can see the story going one of two ways. 'Kamiki is the evil mastermind actually he faked his reaction to the dvd' or 'Kamiki is playing the villian but is actually not the culprit'

And like both directions have massive problems.

The former would mean that the movie (which we spent nearly 40 chapters on) amounted to fucking nothing. Other characters ominous talking about Aqua trying to kill his father with it? Ruby's so called revenge arc? Nah, that meant nothing, the movie didn't do a damn thing.

And while I prefer the latter interpretation as it's the tonally and thematically consistent way, it would also mean that Akasaka has been circle-jerking us with the 'Kamiki is an evil serial killer.' -> 'No wait actually he isn't.' -> 'SIKE, HE IS EVIL.' -> 'Nvm he isn't.' for some inconceivable reason.

It's a mess no matter how you slice it, honestly I am so tired of oshi no ko and I just want it to be over already.

YEAH. THAT'S BASICALLY WHERE I'M AT.

In general, I just don't know why we're having a second confrontation with Kamiki. Narratively and emotionally, it's redundant - having him come back into the story and get his final resolution would be fine but playing out Yet Another Big Dramatic Showdown between him and Aqua just falls so flat for a number of reasons. We've already had the huge release of tension that was Aqua and Kamiki facing off like nearly an entire volume ago and everything that was emotionally riding on that confrontation was emotionally resolved. I know some people are still mad that Aqua didn't hit Kamiki with an orbital laser or something, but the absolute fucking gutpunch that was 153-154 was so incredibly effective and also just more interesting than this much more generic standoff. Not only is it kind of mid on its own merits but I feel like it retroactively makes that first confrontation weaker because like... it ends up not really mattering and we get a take 2 where Kamiki is acting like an entirely different character.

@yuseirra made an excellent point in their discussion of ch159 which is that (thematically speaking) the movie has to be the method by which Aqua achieves his revenge because Ai's tragedy was the result of the public's perception of her. If it isn't able to do that then not only was that arc just kind of a waste of everyone's time, reader and character alike, but it means the movie itself as an object in the narrative loses what little shaky thematic ground it has.

An issue the Movie Arc always had that it never really engaged with to my satisfaction is the underlying discomfort of watching Ai's life being turned into a movie. I said this over and over as the arc was ongoing, but there's something almost repulsive about taking this character whose life was warped and eventually ended up the exploitation of the entertainment industry and the voyeristic gaze of the public and indulging in that voyerism by creating fiction out of her life, chopping it up and outright making shit up to invent a version of her that the public can devour. It claims to be a movie about 'Ai Hoshino' but literally and explicitly fictionalizes the most pivotal events and relationships in her life - the 'Ai' of 15 Year Lie is just as fake as 'Ai of B-Komachi', just sold with an even more insidious lie to make her go down a little sweeter.

If the manga actually engaged with this idea or was even the slightest bit aware of this underlying discomfort, the Movie Arc as a whole would've been much better off for it and so would all the resolutions in the arcs following that rely on it as foundation. But as it stands, the movie is thematically dead on arrival and the fantastic emotional resolutions we got out of it, in spite of everything, have been seemingly retconned into irrelevance.

[pumpkinsy0]

This one could get a bit chaotic but papercut going on a road trip? (And maybe some Pony trying to convince Darry to let him go??) Your headcanons keep me alive, i live and breathe papercut, so please keep up the good work or else I will die 💖

papercut road trip?? aw yeaaa baybeeee comin right up 🤵🏽‍♀️🍜

•it was def a spontaneous idea from curly, he was thinking one night and just wanted to drive somewhere, nowhere in particular just go around, he told tim and tim wasnt gonna fight him on it, if thats what curly wants thats his life, all he can hope is that he comes back in one piece (monkey d. luffy refrence⁉️)

•ik when he brought up the idea to pony it took a bit of convincing, not THAT much, but he still had to do it cause like, just a RANDOM road trip?????? pony joked that curly was trynna kill him, but curly did say they’d prolly pass the country side and he could take some pics as a remembrance so pony was down

•not gonna lie, ion know HOW, ponys ass is gonna convince darry to go, pony might be 18/19 but he is PUSHING his freedom here, ill tell u what tho it took a team effort from tim and buck (somehow), and darry probably slapped an airtag on pony or somethin so he knew where he was

•they were not taking curlys car, ill tell u that much, if u drove that thing for more than an hour i promise u theyre so dead before they even get to the 10th block out of ponys neighborhood, REGARDLESS OF HOW, pony kissed darry n soda goodbye (YES thats important to know)

•SKIPPING BORING DETAILS SO WE CAN ACTUALLY GET THE ON THE ROADTRIP, but they r STACKED w literally just snacks, no actual food, just chips, candy, juice and some water, lord help these two, they gonna crash on the highway🤦🏽‍♀️

•wether its a camcorder or just a regular ole camera, ponys documenting this, he also has a journal to write down his thoughts and draw, hes a man of many talents

•for every stop, when he can, he calls darry to let him know hes alive, even sends over post cards from the different places he’s at, stocks up on small lil knickknacks too!!curly also called to check in w tim and angela and pony made him send over letters too (curly HATESSSS writing letters)

•would it REALLY b papercut if i didnt say that one of em got them lost??? curly def cant read a map for shit and fucked up while pony was driving, that argument had ppl in other cars looking over

•they would take turns on who was driving but honestly just never let curly behind the wheel, be nearly missed an exit and pretty much drifted in the highway, curly would do WONDERS in a racing game, he did a “emergency” stop and almost catapulted pony out his seat when he was sleeping, hes such a lil asshole

•sometimes tho, they would just pull over completley and get in the back seat just to sleep, they had a blanket and like one pillow but its ok the one of em would just lay on the other, they had some pretty nice talks in there and pony wrote about it in his journal

•when they get to the country side, i could see pony having one of those nature books and finding what he could just to cross em off, hes a nerd like that, curly was way too fascinated by the insects to rlly make fun of him for too long

•took some good nature pics too, some silly ones as well, curly took some too!!

•one of em touched poison ivy, whoops

•how have i gone this long without mentioning that curly would def b the one blasting music, hes not the passenger princess, hes the passenger pain in the ass (pony doesnt wanna admit but video evidence proves other wise, he was singing too)

•pony is a pretty good driver i aint gonna lie, but maybe a lil too good, his eyes will NOT be leaving that road, curlys just gotta feed pony himself from the passenger

•they didnt pack enough clothes, they were def clothes shopping as they went, whoever car they took is a MESS by now

•at some point pony got sunburnt and curly was laughing at him bc it wasnt even all over his body, the sunburn just covered parts that his clothes didnt cover, had to make a stop at a gas station for sunscreen and aloe vera (if we r assuming curly packed enough money)

•they dont rlly go home for a while, they got too homesick

i need to stop here before i get anymore ideas,,,

[shebeafancyflapjack]

I need to know if any other long term New Who fans (people who have been watching since the 2005 revival or near enough) also have this fatigue to whenever it's teased that the Doctor has a family member or friend, only for it then revealed to be either a lie or an enemy.

We had it in Utopia, which was an excellent reveal, and you can argue the Master is family of sorts to the Doctor even if they're enemies - but dude still hates him and went on to do horrendous things to him, his companion and her family, and the world.

Then you had the Doctor's Wife where the Doctor gets one of those glowing cubes and follows it thinking he's going to meet another Time Lord, only for it to be a trap.

We have all these teases about mystery characters that have people wondering "Are they Romana? Are they Susan? Are they Susan's parents?" but it's never the case.

We have everything involving the Timeless Child and the reveal that the Doctor was adopted, but even their adoptive mother was a selfish b**** who experimented on a child, killing them over and over and brainwashing them.

We had the Doctor's Daughter which before the episode aired most of the fandom assumed was going to be about Susan's mother or aunt, but it just turned out to be a clone who the Doctor knew for a few hours.

There are more but basically when it got to this whole "there's a mysterious woman called Susan so that must mean she's probably the Doctor's granddaughter" I was just rolling my eyes and groaning because I know this shtick so well by now. The Sue Tech thing was a nice play on words but even the reveal just had me thinking about Utopia and Yana/the Master. But that at least carried more emotional weight because the Master is a reoccurring villain and has a history with the Doctor that goes back to them being friends as well as enemies. Sutekh is....cool? Or was for that one good story? But much like the Midnight monster or even the Beast, it was never felt as necessary for him to return.

I just really hope we don't get more of this teasing in RTD's run, especially as Carol Ann Ford is nearly 83 and I think most fans agree that if you're gonna bring Susan back properly do it while the og actress is with us. But even that's risking it the more you put it off, just look at how Lis Sladen was taken from us far too soon. Look at how we never got to see the Doctor reunite with Ian and Barbara. Or even the Brigadier on screen in the revival.

Basically if you want to do it just do it but stop with the baiting because I'm so done with it now.

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 3 - Catholic Character Tournament

Propaganda below ⬇️

Enrico propaganda

He grew up in the church and became a priest. so devoted to his faith he ended the UNIVERSE to achieve the perfect world aka heaven

Hes Catholic but also so gay for this one vampire that he ended the world for him

He is LITERALLY one big metaphor for the catholic church as a villain. He’s a guy who believes himself to be a martyr on a fundamentally altruistic quest that will better humanity and the world, but in truth hes a destructive force blind to his faults and hypocritical of the atrocities he commits. Even his altruisim is just a lie (that he does believe himself though) because it all just stems from a deep rooted desire he has to alliviate the guilt he feels. Also hes obsessed with ”the world to come” to the point that hes downright nihilistic towards the current world he actually lives in, as well as the other people in it. which i mean. lol. Ultimately hes an insane delusional queen and he should win this because he is just That catholic. also he is a catholic priest :)

his names pussy bc he served cunt (in a catholic god honoring way)

I want my bestie’s guy in bere

No one could feel guilt to this level if not catholic

Religious Allegory mostly woth how his power(white snake) is contradictory it has white to make you think of good things but it contrast with snake a creature that tempted adam and eve. Although he is a Man of faith his stand’s design is far from it being incredibly intimidating and lined with the genetic of dna whihc is scientific compared to faith.

Bro tries to kill a child

serial killer priest bro

HE IS INSANE He spent his whole life believing in fate and when his world turned around Shakespeare tragedy style he made it his mission to bring 「HEAVEN TO EARTH」, which means TEARING AWAY THE FABRIC OF REALITY SO THAT EVERYONE IS AWARE OF THEIR OWN FATE. How does he get there? Simple! By using a half-baked horse to SPEED UP TIME UNTIL THE UNIVERSE RESETS AND LAUNCHES EVERYONE INTO A NEW WORLD. How did he GET this horse??? Oh, as one does - his (dead) best friend’s toe bone grew into a baby made of leaves that vored him, but he survived and grew even more eyebrows than he already had. And that’s without getting into the STUFF that makes him a phenomenal, S-tier, fine wine that EXPLODES and causes you to see VISIONS type of character. That’s just the surface. But, ah, that’s Catholics for ya. Vote Enrico Pucci for king of the Catholic tournament. 👍🏻

Dana Scully Propaganda

in a world of monsters and paranormal activity and alien conspiracies her faith is still important to her and I love her for it (well. that and many other reasons)

She’s a doctor but quit to become an FBI agent so she ends up just doing autopsies on people who died to ghosts or aliens. She is usually super factual and a huge skeptic, but she has repeated crises of faith and has to go to church to chill out. She feels guilty about everything constantly. Her family members remind her to be more catholic and then they end up dying and then she feels even worse. She gets abducted by aliens.

Most of her character arc revolves around struggling to square her faith with a) being a heavily skeptical scientist b) aliens being real (something she resisted very strongly on the grounds that she’s a skeptical scientist) c) being abducted and getting pregnant and nearly dying as a result of said aliens being real. Struggles with this so much that she’s in the confession booth like :grimace: especially because her investigative partner Mulder is a) an atheist b) believes in aliens just as strongly as she believes in Jesus

Refuses to believe in aliens because there’s absolutely no proof for it but then spends a whole ass episode trying to convince Fox “Aliens abducted my sister” Mulder that angels are real and can cause miracles. The sheer quantity of scientific qualifications she has only to turn around and say she wholeheartedly thinks biblical angels are 100% legit

[tyrannuspitch]

How do you HC the conversation where Thor finds out Loki is a Jotun foundling went?

Oh this is a VERY interesting question, and not one I have a full answer to yet.

First of all, since some people have very understandably suggested otherwise - I do think Thor knows. No, he never acknowledges Loki's species specifically, he just talks about "adoption"... but A) I don't think Odin would send Thor out in The Avengers without telling him everything he told Loki, because otherwise he'd be handing Loki a way to manipulate Thor; and B) Thor looks *decidedly* anguished (actually close to tears!) when Loki is talking about ~mindless beasts pretending to be people~ in The Avengers, which would make no sense if Loki were really only talking about Bruce, a mortal Thor's only just met.

So I think it's clear that Thor knows that Loki is Jotun and understands that internalised space-racism is a huge part of what's "wrong with" Loki. He just doesn't know how to help, so, in classic Odin fashion, he's avoiding it for fear of making it worse. (And probably also wrestling with his own lingering space-racism, guilt, denial, etc.)

As for the conversation itself... I'm not sure. I do think it happened very promptly, because Odin was right there and Thor was devastated and confused and would demand Answers. What the hell just happened to my brother?!

I think realising that he's been lied to his entire life by both his parents would be a major blow to Thor, after his trust has already been shattered by his father apparently leaving him on Earth to die and by, uh, pretty much everything Loki did. On its own, the lie wouldn't be as powerful to Thor as it was to Loki, but in context... Thor's entire world has been turned upside-down repeatedly in a few days. He lost his home and identity, he thought his father was dead, he thought his brother was going to kill him, now his brother IS dead and perhaps he never even knew him... He just has no stability left at all.

And I think that's why he expresses such faith in Odin in their final conversation: "There will never be a wiser king than you, nor a better father." It seems like a really odd thing to say after everything that's just happened, and a lot of people get outraged on Loki's behalf, but... I think it makes sense, psychologically speaking. From Thor's perspective, questioning Odin's will was what nearly ruined his life and ended his brother's. The lies plus the exile make it suddenly really clear just how far Odin is willing to go to enforce his power over his children, and Thor is the only child he has left. What further disasters could further resistance bring? So Thor gives in, and chooses to believe what he's giving into must be good and wise and necessary, because he just can't go on otherwise.

(Thor often reminds me of a quote I once read about how abused children hating themselves is really a survival strategy, because their parents have such power over them that they're effectively their entire world. So, from the child's perspective: if the child is "bad" but the parents are "good", then it is at least within the child's power to try to be better; but if the parents are "bad" while the child is "good", then the world itself is broken, and the situation is hopeless.)

So... I don't think Thor would be angry. I think he's too shocked and shaken to express anger, or to really blame anyone but himself. But I think Thor might still have a hard time accepting that this is the truth, as in... believing, understanding, and coming to terms with it.

Like... Thor has definitely not unlearnt all his prejudice against Jotuns in a handful of days on a completely different subject realm. He's probably not far off from where he started at all - sure, he's seen a few Jotuns face-to-face, so they're probably realer to him now, and he wouldn't accept Loki's plan for total annihilation... But in his mind, they're still enemies, still a grotesque, frightening Other, almost certainly still monsters.

So hearing that Loki is and always has been a Jotun will be really, really hard for Thor. He's going to be in utter turmoil over this, and there isn't any comfortable answer to settle on.

So... maybe Loki's not really Jotun. Okay, he can't see any reason why his parents would lie again, but maybe it's only true on a technical level, maybe Loki's really more like "one of us" than "one of them", on the inside. (But what actually makes a Jotun a monster? Is it behaviour? Culture? Biology? Is it some inherent property of their souls?)

Or maybe Jotuns aren't monsters, not all of them, not inherently. But everyone on Asgard has always acted like they are. If this is true, Thor has blood on his hands, and so do his parents, and his friends, and their entire society, the society Thor is responsible for and beholden to.

Or maybe Loki is a monster. (Was a monster.) He always seemed like a person, and Thor loved him, but apparently Thor barely knew Loki at all. In the end, Loki violently rejected Thor's love and did monstrous things, and it seems like he was lying very well for a very long time before that. Maybe Thor has been played for a fool, and he never had a brother at all.

Or maybe Loki was a monster, but he didn't want to be one. Maybe it wasn't entirely his choice; he was delicate, and their parents were trying to protect him, but Thor was careless and he broke him (by revealing his heritage; by leaving him alone in a crisis; by whatever long-standing failure he still doesn't understand that made Loki hate him so much and so personally in the end.)

Out of these, I think Thor ultimately settles on a mixture of #1 and #4. But there's so much going on here (grief for Loki; anger at him; fear of him; guilt in completely contradictory directions) and no way to really work through it or understand what's true that I think it takes a very long time. And there's probably a great deal of rain in Asgard in the meantime.

--

Anyway. This is... a very long reply that manages to avoid ever really being an answer. But here are some musings on Thor's state of mind in the wake of this revelation.

[eighthdoctor]

Maximianus Philophonos Bard 11/Rogue 1

Because we're at the end of the campaign, I wanted to write up a little bit about Max.

Max started as a combo of two A+ tier ideas:

A charisma caster but the charisma is "the most pathetic little man you've ever seen, you can't possibly say no"

A bard who thought being a bard was like being a professional musician and is shocked to find out that it is not, in fact, at all like being a professional musician.

The other thing going into Max is (before naming him, the name is only accidentally a pun) I wanted to abuse the shit out of the bard class. Minmax that fucker. Dating the DM is an excellent method for getting away with this. Turns out a single level in rogue gets you some expertise (2x proficiency bonus to some skills) which you then get MORE of with bard levels, and eventually bard gets you jack of all trades (1/2 proficiency to anything you're not proficient in) meaning that most of his skill checks are something like +5.

So out of universe I needed a guy whose first level was in rogue, remainder in bard, a classic pathetic little wet rat of a man, who is both wildly talented and also just. Completely incapable of using that for malicious OOC purposes otherwise my wife would kill me.

What I wound up with is someone who has crippling anxiety. Max is very nearly too anxious to function in society, gets outsize sympathy for it, and really can only do social interactions in the framework of performances.

See, at about 18 Max went to magical Juilliard to become first violin in the Requiem City Orchestra. After the first semester he realized two things:

Magical Juliliard is not really Juilliard at all, but more like the CIA academy if they also taught music.

He's trans. (Sidebar: He does not actually have a deadname. Maximianus is his stage performance name that he just sort of. Went with. After coming out.)

This is all hideously awkward and embarrassing and he has multiple fullblown panic attacks about the first thing.

Max's family is huge and overbearing and supportive and he doesn't really want to come out to them because it will be a Whole Thing TM and he is so, so, so bad about receiving affection, and he really doesn't want to tell them about the school mixup because then he's wasted their money and they'll never ever ever say anything about it but he's just a drain on their resources and also everyone will be so caring, so sympathetic, poor kid, homecooked meals for months, mom knocking on the door every day to see if he's still crying--

So he goes no-contact. To avoid explaining why he's dropping out of school.

He did accomplish one thing in that semester though, and that was making friends with a tabaxi student named Ihava (Ihava Nayme, because Jo mistakenly didn't give her a name and we promptly engaged her in conversation and also a subplot). Ihava is a budding revolutionary and realized that (a) Max totally has subversive tendencies and (b) the ability to baldfaced lie to cops and make the cops feel bad for you is priceless.

That's how Max got involved in a budding insurgency, and over the following year or so took his first class in rogue. Some theft, but mostly just skulking around, standing watch for others, passing info, etc.

Then he got itchy feet--Requiem isn't tiny but a year trying to avoid contact with any relatives, your luck will run out eventually, and Max is also just. He's not flighty but he does like novelty, and at some point the Violet Guard were gonna figure out that this kid was turning up at a lot of crime scenes. So he dropped a letter to the family (identity crisis etc graduated early etc going off to join the circus don't worry about me), and really just started moving across the country, working as a travelling minstrel.

He very rarely pays full room & board, instead playing for his dinner. He eventually washed up in Suncrest, and met the rest of the party when the tavern down the street [checks notes] exploded.

And this is where he really started taking off, because Max is two very cool things in one package:

He is just a good kid. When asked by a NPC why we were putting so much effort into helping her, his immediate, honest answer was "how could we not?" and he stands by that 11 levels later. He's somehow remained mostly Lawful Good despite some VERY sketchy actions, because at his core he wants to help people, and he wants to do so within a strict code of morals. They're just...sometimes unusual.

He's also got a VERY nasty imagination and will put his spell list to work in deeply creative (and fucked up) ways.

As an example. At level 4, Max got the second level spell Phantasmal Force, which lets you convince one being that Something Exists. This is obviously a spell mostly constrained by the player's creativity.

Also at level 4 Jo dropped us in a dungeon at the bottom of which was a Young Blue Dragon. This was moderately outleveled for the party and we should have fucked off.

Instead Max went "hey is that a male dragon" and the DM said yes, and Max mindfucked the dragon into thinking there was a Young Red (male) Dragon coming into HIS LAIR, and then the dragon spent multiple rounds trying to fight the illusion and we completely killed a dragon without major injury at level 4.

This became Max's Thing: Using his spell slots to wildly outsize effect, through monopolizing a major enemy, convincing NPCs to let us go where we really should not go, utilizing cold iron + animate objects to do serious damage to the Wild Hunt...

He didn't usually do the most damage and he didn't often get the kill shot, but he was doing battlefield control. A lot.

And so then we come to the final arc. Jo wrote up the bit about the Wish spell here. (I need to add that once again we fucked up her plans, because of COURSE the WIZARD would attune to the STAFF OF THREE WISHES, and no. Consensus was to let Max do it because Max is the words person. This worked out very well, see here.)

But just. You have the world's most anxious bard. He didn't even want to be A Bard, he wanted to be a musician. He also has a mindblowingly powerful artifact.

For over a minute, Max had to maintain perfect concentration to save the world. A friend died in that minute. Multiple friends fell unconscious and had to be revived (mostly by Max). Almost everyone in the party temporarily incapacitated themself (see here) to ensure that he passed Concentration saves he should have failed.

There's a massive battle going on entirely around Max. He is the focal point of everything. Everyone he loves is risking literally everything to keep him focused, and he spends most of it in a pocket dimension trying to keep breathing. He's channelling impossible power to try and fix the converging planes and defeat the Summer Queen, and he can only do this by not fighting, by hiding away and curling up tight and thinking very, very hard.

And he does it. He succeeds. We find out tomorrow what that looks like but god damn I am proud of my boy.

[robinrites]

Chapter 7

Author's Note: Hey y'all sorry this took so long to get out, just been a bit busy with life and all that fun stuff that goes with it. Pretty mild chapter this week, thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoy :)

CW: panic attacks, description of injuries

Summary: Villain gets some much needed comfort

Hero could hardly stop his jaw from dropping as he heard Villain share what had happened to him. “T-that was only three weeks.” Hero shakes his head in disbelief, “You were there for nearly two years. Oh my gods.” 

“H-hero?” Villain mindlessly began to twist his sheets in his hands again. “A-are you mad at me?” 

“How did he get away with this for so long?” Hero asks no one, still in a state of shock from what Villain has told him. Hero stands up, oblivious to the panic that washes over Villain’s face as he does so. Hero slams his fist into the closest wall as his stomach turns. 

“S-sir?” Villain’s voice comes out barely above a whisper, but somehow it manages to break Hero out of the fog of anger he’s in. 

Hero registers the look of terror on Villain’s face, matched with the way his body has begun to scrunch up, to make himself smaller. Hero rushes back to Villain’s bedside, not even thinking his fast movements will make Villain flinch (it totally does). Hero stops himself from reaching out to Villain, instead placing his hands in his lap. “I’m sorry Villain. That was- I wasn’t angry at you. I promise.” Tears well up in Villain’s eyes regardless. 

“T-that’s what he’d say sometimes.” Villain shrinks further into himself. “I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me for saying that.” 

Hero’s stomach turns again. “I’m no good at this. You’re safe here Villain, maybe I should go grab someone else to sit with you for a bit.”

“No!” Villain shouts, surprising himself as he does. “I mean, please stay. You’re Hero right? I’ve heard Superhero talk about you. He-he says you’re kind, and you don’t kill scum like me and just send us to prison.” Villain reaches out and grabs Hero’s hand, then looks at him, desperation in his eyes. “P-please don’t send me back to Superhero, I’ll happily go to prison. I won’t ever try to escape I promise. Please!”

Hero sits back down, “You’re never ever going back to Superhero again. Not if I can help it.” 

“B-but I thought you said you’d take me back after I got better.” 

“It was a lie Villain, I’m sorry. It was the only way to calm you down.” Hero drops his head, only then does he notice that his hand is still intertwined with Villain’s. “But from now on I promise, no more lies. And, no more Superhero. I swear on my honor.” 

“I-I believe you. Thank you.”

A knock echoes off the door, “Come in!” Hero hollers, looking back up to smile at Villain. Medic enters the room and carefully walks over to Villain, unsure of his current mental state. 

“How are you feeling, Villain?” Medic calmly asks as he takes a peek at the heart monitor he has set up, then he quickly checks the IV to make sure it’s still running smoothly. 

“Okay.” 

“Are you in any pain?” Medic presses, knowing that if he doesn’t ask the right questions Villain might not tell him the truth. Villain softly nods. “Where does it hurt the most?”

“The most?” Villain took in a breath to think and winced. “I’m not sure.” 

“How are your ribs feeling? Does the pain there just feel like a bruise or does anything feel out of place?” Medic wanted to get a second look at some point anyway, so why not now. When Villain was initially brought in, he found himself rushing to bandage and clean and heal to the best of his ability, but Medic knew that would mean eventually going back over to ensure it would all heal properly. Villain looks at Hero, as if waiting for his approval to talk about his injuries. Hero nods, tightening his grip on Villain’s hand slightly so he knows it’s okay. 

“You can trust Medic.” Hero smiles, “I know you’re having trouble remembering him right now, and that’s okay, but believe it or not you were actually the one to hire him.” Hero can instantly tell this relaxes Villain. 

“He- uh Superhero, broke them at one point. I-I don’t really know how long ago it was, but they never healed right. I can feel it when I-when I breathe. The bruising made it worse, and I imagine the bruising is why no one could tell they healed wrong.” 

“Of course!” Medic exclaims, “Would it be okay if I took a look? Maybe reassess the damage? Unfortunately when you arrived here your injuries were extensive, so I had to spend less time than I would have liked on each injury. Of course you are allowed to say no, but we will have to fix your ribs eventually.”

“Will it hurt?” 

“Yes, but we have options.” Medic forces himself to stop seeing Villain as his friend and more as a patient. He keeps his friendliness but realizes in situations like this it is best to be as gentle and kind as possible. “I can give you a local anesthetic, or we could put you under. I personally feel as if the least painful way for you would be to put you under, but the local anesthetic will work just fine if that’s what you’d rather. And then, of course, after the procedure, while it fully heals we can up the dose of pain medication you’re on and I can give you something to help you sleep. But only if you’d like.” 

“You said I can trust him, right Hero?” Villain nervously asks, Hero nods in response. “Will you- can you stay with me while he operates? J-just to make sure I’m safe?” 

Hero gives Medic a quick glance to make sure he wouldn’t be in the way if he stayed. Medic gives him a thumbs up. “I won’t leave your side, I promise.” 

“You’ll be here when I wake back up then?” Hero nods again. 

“Absolutely. Unless I step out for a bathroom break or to grab water, but even then I won’t be far.” Hero promises, trying his best to comfort Villain with his words. 

“O-okay. You can put me under then.” 

Medic lets out a sigh of relief. In reality, the local anesthetic would have run the risk of not being strong enough, especially for the kind of work he needs to get done. But, he also knew that Villain needs- and deserves- agency, so it would be best to give him options. “Alright, it’s settled then.” Medic quickly glances at his watch, “I have to run out to grab supplies, but I should be back within two hours max and then we can get started okay?” Villain nods as Medic begins to head out the door. 

“Give me a minute Villain.” Hero says as he stands to follow Medic out of the room. “I didn’t realize there was a supply store for this kind of stuff Medic.” 

“Of course there is Hero, it’s called the Hospital.” Medic says casually, then pauses. “I mean- I’m not gonna steal I promise and even if I did it’d be from one of the richer hospitals in the area. They can afford a couple of supplies going missing, plus you saw the shape he’s in, we need the best tools we can get our hands on and-”

“Slow down Medic.” Hero smiles, exhaustion shining in his eyes as he does so. “Whatever it takes to get Villain better. As long as no civilians are hurt, anything goes.” 

“Keep talking like that and you might become one of us.” Medic taunts, but in a friendly way. 

“I mean at this point who’s to say I’m not.” Hero throws his hands up in exasperation. “If anything, it’s shit like this that goes to show that maybe sides don’t really matter. If Superhero can go and do that, what’s stopping him from other things? Can I really call myself a hero if the other “heroes” run around hurting people.” Hero sighs, “I just wanted to say, be safe out there. Don’t get caught, please. Maybe even take Sidekick with you, I think it’d do them some good to get out for a bit. Maybe then they’ll stop sulking around corners when they think I can’t tell they’re there.” 

“Alright you got me.” Sidekick steps out from around a corner, surprising Medic. “I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. Think of it as extra backup just in case Superhero found our base.”

“You could sit with us in the room Sidekick.” Hero kindly offers, only to be met with their head shaking. 

“I-I can’t look at him right now.” Tears well up in Sidekick’s eyes. “I know you’ve both said it’s not my fault, but maybe if I hadn’t let Superhero hijack our escape plan in the beginning, we wouldn’t be in this mess.” 

Hero gently places his hand on their shoulder. “Superhero is a persistent asshole. Once he had decided to take Villain, there was little anyone could have done to stop him.” 

“Then what’s stopping him from taking him back?” Sidekick nervously asks. “W-what if this time he- he finishes the job?” 

“Last time, I wasn’t privy to all this.” Hero spares a glance back at the room Villain is in. “This time? Superhero will have to kill me if he thinks I’m just gonna let him waltz in here and take him. This time we have a plan. Now, go on and get out of here. Both of you. I think you could both use some air, just let some of the other henchmen know you’re leaving and to be on high alert.” 

“What about you Hero?” Medic asks, “When are you going to get some fresh air? Or even catch a nap?”

Hero stifles a yawn. “If I’m lucky, after the surgery. But for now, Villain needs me. He needed me for nearly two years, so now, I’m going to be there for him.” Hero spins around and reenters the room, waving goodbye as he does so.

[footballfanficwriter]

Questions pt 2

Summary:where the reader is on an interview and she gets asked questions about Jude

"Welcome y/n Bellingham, how are you today?"

"I'm good, how are you?

I'm great, thank you ,so a lot has been going on in your life recently"

"Yeah, it's been a lot"

"With your husband being transferd to Real Madrid, the hate comments he's been getting from liverpool fans , just recently celebrating his birthday, your new movie that's just dropped and the new magazine cover that's got everyone talking ,aswell as your kids adapting to the new situation, how has it all been for you?"

"Uhhmm, it's been a lot I'm not gonna lie, when Jude came to me and told me that Madrid had made him an offer I lost it ofcourse, because it's Madrid you know he sat on it long and hard and made the decision and we knew it was going to be tough and we prepared ourselves,

as for the hate comments Liverpool fans have been throwing at him

I just feel like they should honestly mind their own business cause, it doesn't concern then nor does it affect their way of living , Jude made a decision that he thinks is going to benefit him and make him stronger as a football player and I'll support it, the fans or other people weren't considered when this decision was made

"And how did you celebrate his Birthday?"

"We couldn't really feed him junk food and cake and all that because he'd already been to Greece and France, but we had a mini family get together with the kids and his parents, brother and best friends and I think he enjoyed it, he looked grateful"

"That sounds nice and what about the 2 new projects that you've recently dropped, tell us about those"

"Well firstly, time was tight, we needed to work fast, because with the move that was happening, the kids and Jude not being able to play in the Euro Qualifications, I was living according to a schedule for three months, everything was scheduled, from family time, bath time ,dinner, I hardly got to see my husband through the three months but in the magazine it's something I menton aswell like being a working football wife with kids does take a strain on you and your family, but if things are done in a certain way everything works out"

"So in the magazine you talk about you life as a working football wife with children"

"Yes because most football wives just become stay at home moms, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing just that it's a very brave thing to do"

"Why don't you want to become a stay at home mom, I mean I know if I had that opportunity I would take it"

"Firstly it's because I would become bored out of my mind if I did, I've got ADHD, so I can't focus on the same thing over and over again and also because I'm plan B"

"What do you mean you're plan B?"

"I mean that a lot of the times you see football players getting hurt and having serious injuries that nearly ended their careers, I obviously don't want that for Jude but, I lie awake at night thinking what if he got really hurt and he had to quit, it would kill me ofcourse, but we'd lose everything that's in our name and the Bills for whatever the injury would be would be very high, I don't want to be taking out loans on my house just to pay for medical Bill's, so that's why I'm plan B"

"That is a very smart way of thinking, And did you have a say in the Transfer to Madrid"

"Yes, I did we sat down together, talked it out, for a long time it was a very had decision to make considering all the other clubs that were interested in Him especially because Liverpool made their offer first and when we got the offer we wanted to see how it would impact us as a family and the impact it would have on our children"

"Speaking of your children, how are they adapting to the new change?"

" they are excited, already they are definitely taking it better than I thought they would, they can't wait to learn how to speak Spanish"

"So in another interview, your husband shared a fatherhood story about Lelani can you give us a Motherhood story that you remember"

"Uhmm Jabilo,one of my sons loves helping out wherever he can, whether it's in the Garden, the kitchen, the living room, just anywhere he can help he wants to help, but he also loves to climb things, so on one of my day offs he got sick, so sick he couldn't go to school and he stayed in bed, it wasn't until I fed him and gave him some medicine, he started running around the house for no reason at all, then I had and idea to make cookies hoping it would calm him down, so I placed out all the ingredients on the counter to make it easier for me and all, then all of a sudden I get a call from Jude checking up on him and the mistake I made is that I left the kitchen, when I come back after the call my bowl was on the floor, with butter, sugar and an egg and an egg shell, with Jabilo just sitting on the floor, bowl in between his legs and him attempting to mix everything with his hands, while at the same time he's covered in flour , when I asked him, what he was doing he said "helping you momma" I know I should've been mad but my heart wouldn't let me"

"And your other son?"

"Jordan, is a very quiet kid, he keeps to himself if he doesn't know you, but he's one of the those people to be comfortable with people close to him like family and friends

But when he is comfortable around you he's the comedian of the family, he'd tell ridiculously funny jokes and make impressions of famous people it scares me sometimes, but I see Jordan as the creative one out of all three of my children and not because he draws on my walls, but because, for his birthday we got him this thick notepad with colors and crayons to draw on and he protects those with his life, everyone in the house knows not to touch them, only he can touch them and if you do, he throws tantrums, but he's stopped with it now so"

"Well Y/N thank you so much for your time and telling us a little about your life

"Yeah no problem, thank you so much

[skysquid22]

In Mine’s backstory in the RRGO story he doesn’t take Daigo’s warnings or authority seriously until Daigo reveals he shares the same sentiment that life is more valuable than money and saves him from his own actions. And……. Augh the little parallels between that scene at the docks and the end of Yakuza 3…….

What defines Mine's motivation is that he's struggling between two different ideals--believing that he can find someone to put his trust in vs believing that everyone is a liar who's only after their own gain. Mostly, he's acting on the latter with his actions and thinking. Seeking power in monetary gain with how he rises in the Tojo Clan ranks in his RRGO backstory and all of his actions during Yakuza 3. Kiryu calls him out on this method and Mine refuses it since he wants to believe in that other ideal. It is very, very apparent that Mine is desperate for someone he can trust for once in his life. He's searching for that answer in his backstory and he's at the point where joining organized crime is a good idea AND he nearly puts his faith in fucking Kanda. [All these excerpts are from the translation I linked above.]

But later, Kanda abandons him using the excuse that the younger brother sacrifices himself for the older brother to live which pretty much seals the idea that the bonds of the yakuza aren’t true trust between others. Factor in Mine saying his belief that their lives are more valuable than money and Kanda immediately valuing the money and the time/effort it took to make than money over Mine… it’s a complete and utter rug pull. One that he knew not to put much value in but did anyway because he wanted to believe in someone more than believe that people only care about power. Who is Mine but two wolves trying to kill each other and the winner dictates his mental and emotional state.

Wolf B won this round and Mine (implied?) doesn’t fight back and just outright asks the second acting Nishkiyama patriarch to kill him faster.

And the same process more or less happens at the end of Y3. He’s losing his reason to live only it’s worse now since he committed himself more to Daigo than he ever did to Kanda. He’s not going to try again and look for an ineffable bond because he had that with Daigo and it’s gone—the thing he’s been searching for all his life and joined the yakuza to seek becomes completely nonexistent to him. All that's left of his beliefs is the one he's been leaning on since he was a kid, that life doesn’t have value over money and everyone lies.

But just like at the docks, Daigo comes back and proves him wrong.

At the docks, Daigo proves to him that there is such thing as a bond you can fully believe in. And on the roof, Daigo wakes up, which completely upends the entire reason Mine fully adopted his nihilistic thinking and killed the optimist inside him. Kiryu was able to get Mine to understand that his thinking was completely wrong, leaving him lost and like his world had collapsed because it did practically. Both core tenements of himself were burned to ashes. With Daigo waking up, Mine realizes that he can still believe in another person.

Before he was ready to die thinking he was ‘right’. At the end, he knows he’s wrong, but he doesn’t believe he’s deserving of that bond anymore. Instead of rediscovering his reason to live, he just found a reason to die. It hurts… I imagine that if Mine was successfully talked down the vibes probably would’ve been similar to this scene in RGGO: Recognition of mistakes from both parties, Mine’s apology (which he does on the roof), Daigo offering a solution, Mine affirming his kinder core belief, and Daigo believing in Mine (ALSO happens on the roof).

Last point on Mine’s state of thinking and the parallels between his origin story and the events of Y3—Daigo straight up tells Mine that his thinking that people only lie to each other and care about power will get him killed. I love foreshadowing when writing a prequel. ALSO crazier to me is after Mine meets Daigo for the first time he’s disappointed in him because “He’s the same as me. Or how I once was…” which says so fucking much about his emotional state at that time AND his relationship to Daigo. The quote is specifically referring to the family bonds within the yakuza and how those outweigh the pursuit of power through monetary gains. Mine constantly assumes that the world is shit, thus acts accordingly to protect himself, but is clinging desperately to the idea that he can come to trust someone. A belief he’s so desperate for he joins the yakuza and nearly forces his answer as Kanda. Mine finally finds it with Daigo, I wonder if he would still consider them the same as one another. (I suppose this kinda supports the idea that Daigo could be Mine, but chose to live life with faith 'forward' rather than assume the worst of people.)

Daigo quite literally brings out the best in Mine. He’s not only Mine’s reason to live... Daigo is Mine’s proof that putting faith in trust is the right answer.

To recap:

[partyanimal167]

Angst Alphabet- Sir Crocodile

Seems like I can't go a week without writing this man so let's get into it lol. Prompts are from @doublebird Also! First time doing an alphabet prompt so yay. Hmu if you want more~

cw: angst (duh), in canon universe, mentions of loss/death/etc.

A- Anger (Are they easy to anger? How do they handle it?)

Crocodile keeps it together for the most part. He can handle a lot, but he likes things going according to plan so when things start really falling apart...he's cracking. After lashing out, he's going to spend some time alone to collect his thoughts and think of his next course of action.

B- Bad Habits (What bad habits do they have? Do they try to get rid of them?)

Smoking obvi. But that's a coping mechanism. He had an old habit of popping off the dome very easily but he's more collected now.

C- Cheater (Would they cheat on their partner? What would make them cheat?)

Hell no.

Even if he was getting cheated on, he'd probably just end the relationship and get that anger out in another way.

D- Death (How do they handle that topic? What are their opinions on death? Do they believe in an afterlife?)

Death is a part of a pirate's life and survival. I think Crocodile has been through a lot, and while he's not chasing his own, he probably would know when it's his time to go. A lot of acceptance. He has mixed feelings about the afterlife. For him, if it did exist, it'd probably be simple and nothing related to morals or punishment.

E- Embarrassment (What embarrasses them and how do they handle it?)

Not a lot, but if someone brings up his rowdy younger pirate days, he's going to turn into sand and escape the room without a word.

F- Fake (Are they faking something? Are they a good liar?)

He's honest but has his guard up. He never really sees a reason to lie...maybe just not reveal all his cards.

G- Guilty (Is there something they feel guilty about? How do they handle that feeling?)

He lost a few important people with his first crew and blames himself immensely. That's why he only has so few close to him and the vast majority are at a distance. He tries to accept the guilt but drowns in the consequences quietly.

H- Heartbreak (Was their heart ever broken? Has it healed? How do the handle a heartbreak?)

That early loss nearly destroyed him, and he has healed in some way...but he avoids any situation that could end in heartbreak. If he really had to handle it, he's disappearing for a while and clinging onto a new ambition once he's back.

I- Ignorant (What is something they won't change their mind on?)

Crocodile believes he's supposed to have and yield power. The 'how' has changed after being imprisoned, but even then, he's chasing a new way and that is his personal destiny.

J- Jealousy (Are they easily jealous? What makes them jealous? What will they do about it?)

Crocodile is a secure man, so he's not quick to that feeling. But it can creep around if his partner or whoever seems to be intrigued by whatever is grabbing their attention. He has almost everything, but still, people will do what they want. He will try to keep the feeling to himself for awhile.

K- Killing (Did they ever had to kill someone? How do they feel about killing someone?)

He has a few times and will do it again if needed. He's not senseless about it, but he will not let the action stop him from progress of his goals.

L- Lost (Did they ever lose someone/something important to them? How do they handle loss?)

See G and H. Crocodile has his guard up in a way that only so few things can cause him that pain similar to those first few years of pirating. He only lends his care to a few things and that will not change.

M- Monster (Do they sometimes feel like a monster?)

Crocodile doesn't believe he's a good person, but since his actions are mostly justified to him, he doesn't think he's a monster. Just a man willing to go farther than most.

N- Nightmares (Are they suffering from bad dreams? What do they do about it? What kind of bad dreams?)

They aren't as frequent as they were in his youth. His nightmares are usually from his childhood and what lead him to pirating in the first place. If he wakes up from a nightmare, he'll get up, light a cigar, and listen to some music that let's him be present and away from those harsh memories.

O- Outcast (Do they feel alone? Were they ever abandoned? Did they ever abandon someone?)

Yes to all. Crocodile doesn't always feel alone, but he's come to know that the feeling comes and goes. He sits in it when it does. He has been written off and that sometime fuels his want for power. He will abandon pawns or those that try to use him.

P- Panic (Are they scared of something? How do they handle a panic attack?)

Crocodile's only fear is dying without leaving any sort of impact. He knows he has--good and bad, but the thought that he hasn't can send him spiraling. He wants to self-destruct, but he fights the urge and breaks things around him instead.

Q- Quiet (Something they don't talk about)

His childhood. If you weren't there, then you don't need to know.

R- Regret (Is there something they regret? Why do they feel that way?)

He asks himself if he should have done something different with his life, but he's unsure. His life has had ups and downs so he ponders regret, but he doesn't want to think too much and get caught up in 'what-ifs'

S- Soulmate (What would make them break up? How do they handle it?)

Crocodile doesn't believe in that, but if he had a devote partner who he gave his all to, then only death could separate them. They could leave, but Crocodile will find a way for them to come back where they belong. Even during that time away, Crocodile will be waiting patiently for their return and reminisce about the happy times.

T- Tears (What makes them cry? Are they okay with showing their tears?)

True loss will make him cry, but no one has seen it.

U- Unattractive (What do they hate about themselves? Do they have insecurities?)

He was insecure after losing his hand, but he accepts it. It doesn't bother him too much, but he sees it as a flaw.

V- Venom (Were they ever betrayed? Did they ever betray someone?)

Yes and yes. He doesn't handle either side well though

W- Weak (What makes them feel weak?)

Guilt and heartbreak are not easy for him. Any emotions that don't bolden his image he does not like to deal with.

X- Xray (Are they mentally and physically healthy?)

Crocodile has aches from years of battles and adventuring, but that is mainly it. The phantom pains stopped years ago. However, he does struggle with depression quietly.

Y- Yearning (What do they miss? Is there something/someone they can't have?)

Crocodile misses the ignorant, overly-confident pirate days before anything went south. He wants to have some quiet form of peace after achieving his goals, but he's not sure when/if he will ever stop striving for something.

Z- Zero (What would they do if they would lose everything?)

It's happened before. He will start over again.

~~~

Ooof, I guess I need to dabble in some angst. I loved this prompt list. Thanks for reading!