#sadness as a gift quite literally destroyed me

[injacksoncage]

new adrianne lenker album is dropping this friday if you even care

[lunartuness]

Spoilers for Book of Bill

Thoughts on Bill talking about Ford

I was not prepared for canon Billford in the year 2024 and yet here we are.

But seriously, I'm kinda surprised how much Bill actually liked and valued Ford? Obviously it's in a horrible, toxic, never come within the same continent as them kind of way but it's just, I always kind of figured their relationship (while obviously adoring from Ford's end due to Journal 3) was mainly just Bill humoring Ford long enough until he no longer needs him. Like, 'yeah, sure, of course you're special, I definitely believe in you' sort of nonsense.

But in Bill's book it's implied multiple times he had as close to a crush on Ford as he's probably capable of. I mean, the whole 'love cage' section is literally verbatim what he did to Ford (and just wait until they're mentally broken enough to confess their true feelings! Fear and love are basically the same thing!) And in the valentine's section he talks about leaving mice, which again, he did for Ford's birthday, and then when he wasn't happy about that, got him drunk enough to have a good time (implied kinda forcibly? since Ford declined beforehand). Then there's the fact he literally calls Fiddleford a third wheel (also coincidentally after we just learn Fiddleford spent hours on handmade gifts for Ford and forgot to get his wife anything).

And when Ford finally does catch on and things go bad? Bill tries first to talk with Ford through the zombies (to manipulate him, of course, but also Admit it, you'd miss me. I have missed you, and Bill actually smiles.) And then leaves little sticky notes asking nicely to talk. When he finally gets mad enough to escalate, he still does so in a very not-violent-for-Bill-way. Sure, killing Ford wouldn't help him but we know how messed up Bill can get. And yet what does he do? He leaves Ford's body to almost freeze, only to have a warm fire and a love song playing when he wakes up. He causes mild public disturbances and gives him an obnoxious tattoo. When he finally, finally snaps is when we start to see more of the Bill we got in the show when he tortures Ford a bit. But even that is mild?

Like, Bill rearranged a man's face for fun and takes joy in destroying the Nightmare Realm. But after threating Ford he leaves him unharmed. Very mentally scarred, yes, but safe and intact. He even gives him three days to get his life together. And then treats it like a messy breakup when Ford finally breaks free. Hell, it seems like he was more upset about losing Ford than losing the portal.

All this is to say that I think from Bill's point of view he was being genuinely kind to Ford. He gave him gifts, complimented him, and tried to work things out peacefully when Ford started pulling away (again, his very messed up version of peaceful, but the point still stands).

So when they do finally meet again? Bill still offers Ford a spot next to him. Again, I originally thought this was more playing into Ford's ego while taking a cheap shot at him (i.e. you'll fit in great with the freaks!), but by now it's obvious he wants Ford. He's petty and cruel and horribly abusive about it, but in his own twisted way he likes Ford. A lot. Enough to show mercy (or at least not be as violent as he could be) and to try and give him multiple chances to come back, no apology needed!

And the worst part is Bill knows this. Bill's trying to make this relationship work. He feels connected to Ford in a way he quite possibly hasn't felt with anyone else. And he knows its doomed to fail. In his mind he has to destroy everything he touches and everything he cares about. Any other connections he has are either superficial or dead to him (usually literally). This relationship will end the same way, it's just in Bill's nature. To him, that's all his relationships are capable of being.

All this just makes me sad and adds so much depth and I'm obsessed. There's just something about self-destructive and truly cruel characters having moments where they wish they weren't that way. Where they'll come the closest they ever can to apologizing for how they are.

(Also Bill literally wanted Ford to get a tattoo saying 'If lost return to Bill' like we cannot just ignore that oh my god)

[writingoddess1125]

You Get Buggy a Corgi

Cute Headcanon

Pure Fluff

◇ Bonus has some mild sadness

Support me on Ko-Fi ☕️

• Buggy has always wanted a Corgi- He's never talked about it but you did see he has a Corgi shaped pillow in his room that he's apparently had since he was a child-

• So you decide to get him one as a gift for his birthday.

• He always had big birthday bashes and it was the biggest party imaginable- The whole crew with more alcohol and food then a gods banquet while Buggy sat in the center jovial and proud.

• You walk over with a box in hand and carefully set it down infront of him, He raises a brow at the lack of flashy decoration on the brown box and pops open the lid with a unamused expression

• There a little head pops up and everyone stares at the happy Corgi face looking st Buggy and the blue bow around its neck

• His whole face flushes as you can quite literally see the childlike joy shine in his eyes- A bright smile on his face as he sets the puppy in his lap.

• "Her name is Guppy" You say as he mumbles the name and glances up at you. "She's mine?"

• "Yep! She's fully trained and apparently does really well on ships from what the shelter said" You say softly, but you're sure he isn't even paying attention to you as the dog seems to instantly love Buggy and scales him with her little body to press her face against his. You can quite literally see his heart melt.

• Clearly Guppy is his favorite gift ever since he doesn't pay attention to anything else accept for Guppy the rest of the night.

• You also get a special reward for bringing a wonderful gift.

• Guppy is absolutely a velcro dog- Loving to be at Buggys side 24/7 and follow him around. He gets her a red bandana so she's easy to spot at all times. If there is anything dangerous he will leave her behind but be sad about it-

• Later finds out she yaps like crazy when he's not there and cries loudly.

• She sleeps on him constantly, sometimes waking him up since she will curl directly over his face suffocating him.

• 'Mrph!- 'Upeee!!" {Guppy!} And ge carefully scoots her on the pillow next to his head so he can breath and go back to sleep-

• Guppy acts as a sort of Therapy dog for Buggy as well- When his temper or anxiety get him worked up to were he would usually destroy his room she will instead lay on his chest and force him to stay still as he Pets her and works himself down from a rage.

• She is also the perfect pillow for him to cry on. So he has pressed his face gently into her fur and just cried- Often she licks the tears away.

• Doesnt wear as heavy of makeup since he knows she likes to lick his face and doesn't want the grease paint to make her sick-

• Will also carry her- Say if the waters are too choppy but she doesn't want to be left he will just carry her like a baby to make sure she doesn't slide around or get hurt.

• If anyone- and I mean ANYONE Dares to mess with his dog he will absolutely go ape-shit... Think insulting his nose is instant death- Hurt his dog and he will come up with the worse ways to kill a person slowly-

• He probably loves Guppy more then any living person and makes sure she has a wonderful healthy life.

Bonus!-

• "Hey Buggy can I ask?- Why do you like Corgi's so much?" You ask laying next to him on the floor of his cabin. He pauses for a moment as he thinks.

• "Lots of reasons- They are soft, sweet, overall really loving and they are a little odd which I like.. But-" He pauses for a second.

• "...It's kinda weird but.. my first memory in life was of a Corgi and my mother-" He admitted and you looked surprised by this, asking for him to explain which he rolled his eyes but agreed.

• "It was the day she dropped me off at the orphanage.. She handed me that corgi pillow you see on my bed and some berry she shoved in my pockets. Telling me that she had to leave me here to make sure I was safe from bad guys-" He said calmly, but you could hear the hurt in his tone.

• "But if I was every in a situation were it was truly life or death all I had to say with three words and I'd be okay. Then she kisses my forehead and left. It's my first and last memories of her- A few years later Roger's picking me up to be his apprentice" He admitted as Guppy lived his face clearly sensing some sadness.

• "Im... I'm so sorry-.. What were the three words?" You asked now circus, but you saw the way his eyes drifted to you briefly

• "Eh- That's a story for a different time" He said with a smile and waved it off. Watching how he pet Guppy some more.

• However you laid there stewing.. 3 words?

[firenati0n]

roop's first rwrb fics aka fics that left an impact aka fics that kicked off her rwrb fic love aka fics that make her heart go weeeoooweeeooo <3

hello! this list was quite literally revealed to me in a dream just now...which means now you all have to read it. happy holidays. a gift for you.

i read RWRB when it released, but started reading rwrb fics earlier this year during some tough titty times...and have since discovered a gorgeous community of folks just pouring their hearts out into the fandom fabric, giving me the courage to start putting bits of my work out there as well. here are some of the works that were present in my life at VERY roop-specific moments this year:

First fic I sent kudos to (i caved and made an ao3 after reading this one lmaoooo): With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest) by @kiwiana-writes

First fic that forced me to send my first tumblr ask screaming directly at the author for my feelings: also With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest) by @kiwiana-writes

First fic I bookmarked with the knowledge that this fic would destroy me: all that glitters (is not gold) by @indomitable-love

First fic I reread immediately after finishing like literally immediately: Going Platinum by @cricketnationrise

First fic I sent to someone not in the rwrb fandom but is a fan of the au so i schemed that this fic would suck them into the rwrb fandom and I was successful: Rogue's Gallery by @orchidscript

First fic(s) I sent to a boy as a bizarre mating ritual that actually worked: lifelines by @indomitable-love, Am I the Asshole? by @everwitch-magiks, and i ask you how you're doing (and i let you lie) by @matherines (his first fics, he loved them btw)

First fic that made me ugly cry not because it was inherently sad but because i achieved emotional catharsis i was not expecting: One Too Many Mornings by @orchidscript

First fic that made me CRY LAUGH until i was wheezing: and history remembered. by @sherryvalli

First fic that was a WIP I followed and screamed with each update: Cold Cases, Lost Causes by @tintagel-or-cockleshells

First fic that made me run laps around my room in sheer stress: Nova, Baby by @cha-melodius

First fic that made me run laps around my room in sheer thirst: Show Me What You're Working With by @clottedcreamfudge

First fic that made me giggle and kick my feet and blush: No Sense or Sensibility by @inexplicablymine

First fic that made me cry buckets in a costco parking lot: i ask you how you're doing (and i let you lie) by @matherines

First fic that made me learn something new about myself and patched up a crack in my heart: Down By The Water, I Saw You by @myheartalivewrites

First fic that taught me something I didn't know and had me doing a deep dive on wikipedia for 3 straight hours: Moonlighting by @orchidscript

First fic that had me writhing on the floor in absolute agony: What Do I Know? by @three-drink-amy

First fic that made me stare tearfully at a wall in quiet contemplation: Help Me Hold On to You by @affectionatelyrs

First fic that had me slamming subscribe to a series faster than I could say "kinktober": Temperature's Up, 'Bout to Erupt by @sparklepocalypse

First fic that opened my eyes to a whole new world of tags and also a new part of my brain: In His Wildest Dreams by @myheartalivewrites

First fic that made me feel such insane amounts of pining and yearning and longing that i had to take a walk: but if you could see us from a distance, you’d know i’ve always been so close to you by @anincompletelist

First fic that made me rethink my life while sitting in a DMV lobby waiting to renew my driver's license: Deep Blue by @myheartalivewrites

First fic that made me stay up all night to comment on each chapter as I read it in one sitting: Omakase by @orchidscript

First fic that I reread and live reacted to the author 3 hours before my dissertation was due instead of finishing the damn paper: to the victor, the spoils by @rmd-writes

First fic that made me feel incredibly homesick and had me looking up flights at 4am: after hours by @dumbpeachjuice

And finally... First fic I ever wrote after reading all of these incredible fics and wanting to also put a little piece of silly roop out into the world: our world, mine and his alone (the midnight train to go) by me :)

if you made it this far, thanks for reading. love you all. <3

xoxo roop

[duriens]

did the show just.... butcher devil's minion completely??

I didn't mind Armand's characterization in the show so far (well, kind of, except the fact that they turned him into a supervillain vs. saint Lestat) but the sudden reveal that Daniel Molloy was turned by Armand "out of spite", leaving him all alone to fend for himself apparently, really put me off. so not only there is little to no chance that devil's minion ever happened in the 70s or 80s, but also it's not gonna happen in 2022? because Daniel has already been turned, and the turning of Daniel is the culmination of Armand's and Daniel's relationship arc together, one that is for sure unhealthy and codependent and obsessive, but that was also tender and sweet in a very special way - no wonder that chapter has been a fan favorite for so many for so long. and they just.... discarded it like that?

Daniel's a vampire, he's been turned out of spite, it's heavily hinted that it happened either immediately after Dubai or very little time later. I really doubt there has been time/interest to do any sort of chase, or one that culminates into the sort of feelings Armand and Daniel develop for each other, at least. Daniel destroyed Armand in the eyes of his lover and I really don't think there's any sort of love story brewing there. Doesn't seem it happened in the past either, cause there's not a single hint at the Alice theory in this episode and I thought that if it was true, we'd have another little crumb before the season was over.

What about Armand's line that making fledglings repulsed/repulses him? That was a really important piece of characterization and they didn't even let us see him work through that when turning Daniel. Book Armand sees the process as something worse than killing, and that is why he never did it. He finally concedes because of love for Daniel, however obsessive it is, because Daniel is begging him on his death bed, because he needs him forever and Daniel needs him, too. From repulsion to acceptance because of a pure, absolute sentiment. Show Armand turns Daniel Molloy because he's full of spite. Why would they take the 'Armand is a super villain and theres nothing else to him' route and give him a petty vedetta for that one act that is so important for him in the book, as a character? Why??

and why did they have the talamasca guy tell Daniel 'you should be scared of the other one' when literally they made Armand the dude who kills and turns Daniel, whereas Louis is his best friend?? It just doesn't make sense. There's quite a bit that doesn't make sense to me in this last episode. But I gotta admit, the treatment of Armand's and Daniel's characters has baffled me. even if I weren't a devil minion's fan or a fan of these two characters specifically, it would've rubbed me the wrong way.

I don't know. I guess we'll see what they do next; hoping that there is more to that event than a simple 'oh he turned u cause u ruined his life' and Armand fucking off into the sunset forever (not quite, lol). maybe we'll find out it was all an elaborate plot from Daniel who knew he was paying with fire and counted on Armand to be so mad he would do the one act he found repulsive: finally making a vampire. maybe that's it, and Daniel had decided at some point during the sessions that he didn't want to die, that he wanted the gift. maybe he never changed his mind about it since the 70s. maybe he played Armand. manipulating the manipulator? makes sense in a way, I guess, but boy is it a waste to not serve on a silver platter all those sad and tender and raw and odd feelings that the devil's minion chapter already had prepared for us.

[acey-wacey]

Birthday at NRC

Feat. Ace Trappola, Deuce Spade, Jack Howl, Epel Felmier, Sebek Zigvolt

Requested on Ko-fi by @thelazyhermits! Continuation of Mom Friend

This made me think of Jane Doe from Ride the Cyclone. It's an amazing musical, you should listen to it rn 😠😠😠.

...

One day while hanging out with the first years, you off-handedly mention that your birthday is in two days.

The boys are stunned and appalled that you didn't tell them sooner.

You insist that it's not a big deal but they know how much it must mean, being your first birthday since you got transported to Twister Wonderland.

When questioned in this by Ace (who can't keep his mouth shut for 2 minutes), you tell them that all your memories before being transported are kind of foggy, like a dream you can't quite remember.

You remember the date but not any of the celebrations, though you must have had a birthday every year.

Knowing this, they do their best to make this birthday extra, extra special.

-

Ace Trappola is more into subtle affection than big gestures like birthday parties, but he really wants to make you happy after all you've done for him and the others.

He consults Trey to help him make a cake.

He really does try to make a cake for you but it doesn't turn out perfectly.

The cake is overdone and crumbly and he put the frosting on too early so it all melted off.

The top of the cake is covered in messy chocolate that is supposed to spell out "Happy Birthday Y/N!".

He presented you with his crummy cake on your birthday expecting you to hate it.

Despite it being messy and dry, it almost made you cry seeing it.

Just the fact that he had done that for your birthday, knowing he was horrible at it, made you tear up.

Ace would do literally anything for you even though he'll never admit it.

He just wants to make you happy and he would make a thousand stupid cakes just to make you smile.

-

Deuce Spade is very conflicted about what to get you.

If he gets something functional, yes, you can use it, but it's not very personal.

If he gets something fun, you have it but it will probably break or wear away or be eaten.

He eventually decides on something that will last much longer.

A memory.

It sounds stupid but he knows experiences with people you care about last a lot longer than anything he can give you.

He gives you a little hand-made coupon for "One Free Magical Wheel Ride around Sage Island".

It's a very cute coupon with lots of stickers and exclamation points.

He's gone on rides around the island before, never with someone on his bike before but he's scoped out some of the most beautiful views there are.

You redeem your coupon a couple weeks after your birthday when you both have free time.

He drives you out to the beach and the two of you play in the water for a while and eat a little picnic he packed.

The day trip helped you relax a lot and get away from the stress that seems to follow you everywhere at NRC.

Deuce is just happy he could help you feel more at ease (and that you've discovered the thrill of magic motorbikes).

-

Epel Felmier will do anything to please you.

He asks you if you want him to do anything for you, even wear something cutesy and feminine.

You assure him that you like him much better when he's being himself.

His own country hick self.

He breathes a sigh of relief because he did not want to dress up.

He would've for you but he would've hated every second of it.

He decided to carve your name in cursive letters into an apple and gift it to you.

You are a bit sad because you know the fruit won't last but he will just make you something else if you ever want.

You keep it on your window sill until it gets too brown and you have to throw it away.

It's better than eating it though.

You could never bring yourself to destroy a precious piece of art.

He teaches you a few simple carving techniques too.

Carving apples always helps him relax and he wants you to be able to relax on your special day.

-

Jack Howl is a big softie, though he'll never admit it.

He gets you little matching gifts.

Subtle enough that no one who isn't looking closely will notice that it's a set but the two of you know.

He had to learn how to braid and make bracelets for his little sister so he makes you a friendship bracelet.

Oh sorry, it's a "resistant Paracord bracelet" not a friendship bracelet.

(ps. it's totally a friendship bracelet)

You wear it everywhere, using the excuse that it's good for emergencies, just like he told you when he gave it to you.

He has one of his own in the same colors and he uses the same excuse to shake of accusations that he actually cares about you.

He also gifts you a bunch of dino Band-Aids because Grim is a brat about the kind of bandages you're allowed to put on him and you run out very quickly.

He's a big fan of practical yet thoughtful gifts.

The Savanaclaw jocks are total d-bags about Jack being a "momma's boy" but he brushes them off.

He's just happy you're happy, especially if that means you'll brush him tail while you all watch your favorite movie.

-

Sebek Zigvolt is aggressively caring.

He's one of those "hydrate or die-drate" people.

He can't be the most attentive to your needs when he's trailing after Malleus but he gets permission to stay by your side for one day.

You now have your own personal guard.

He carries around a Mom Tote™ like you usually have.

His birthday gift to you is basically taking care of you like you do him.

Obviously you have to go to class but when you aren't, he is walking a few feet behind you, glaring at boys who look at you wrong.

You tell him that he is allowed to walk next to you but he insists that it isn't proper knightly behavior, even though he isn't your real knight.

You jokingly "knight" him with a wooden spoon, dubbing him "Sir Sebek of Ramshackle, knight and attendant to the Lady Y/N of Ramshackle".

He wears the title with genuine pride.

He goes and brags about it to Silver later, who honestly couldn't care less.

Throughout your birthday, Sebek makes sure you are never in want.

When you lose you pencil, he procures another one from the bag.

When you get thirsty, he pulls out a water bottle for you.

There's something distinctly magical about the seemingly endless carpet bag he carries around but you'll leave that mystery for a different movie.

He loves you a lot, though he would rather fall on his sword than say it.

His love is very linked to protection and that's exactly what he does: he protects you.

-

All in all, the boys do their best to give you all the comfort and happiness you deserve on your birthday.

You are constantly surrounded by people and things you love.

The whole night ends with all six of you (+ Grim) in a cuddle pile on your couch, watching your favorite movie.

You think back on the day as you drift off to sleep and realize that there's no one else you would rather have spent your first birthday with.

[burstingdragons]

7 Reasons Why (You Should Be Happy, Not Sad) — NaLu

The once lost mages of Fairy Tail have emerged from the sacred grounds of Tenrou Island… but not everyone finds joy following this unexpected return. Seven long years have gone by in a flash and now, away from the celebration about life, Lucy mourns the passing of her father’s own.

An AU where Natsu is not present with Lucy when she discovers Jude has died prior to their return from Tenrou. He finds out a different way. And this time, has a different reaction. Written as a tribute for someone in my life & for the milestone of writing on FanFiction for 7 years now. Think of 7RW as a gift from me to you all for reading and supporting my various works. Enjoy! :)

He noticed his blonde companion slip away hours ago. The sudden decision to leave right at the party's peak bummed him exponentially. Lucy wasn't one to be involved with their constant brawls or drunken games, but even she usually stuck around for these special types of moments. Not today it seemed. What was special today? Well, Fairy Tail was in total jubilation due to their most recent discovery. After being presumed dead as a result of Acnologia's ferocious roar upon Tenrou Island… the x784 Tenrou team had finally made it back home.

But it wasn't all highs. Unbeknownst to even Natsu's attentiveness, Lucy had suffered a major blow that pulled desperately on her heartstrings. At the guild's highest of highs, his intelligent partner was dealing with the lowest of lows. Everyone present knew it wasn't x784 anymore, but none of the S-Class Trial recipients expected to find out, just hours in their eyes after defeating the dark guild Grimoire Heart in fierce solo or team spars and surviving a major blow from the Black Dragon, that they had been basically comatosed for over half a decade. Seven years had actually gone by with their physical states untouched. They were the same age, the same height, the same magic level… they were the same person! The entire world had kept turning while they unknowingly awaited Mavis' protection spell to fizzle.

Being younger than most was not as positively accepted to the universe as it was by the individuals themselves. A ticking clock meant that while their bodies and minds had been suspended in time, the rest of the world had been forced to change. That included those they loved. Fairy Tail had a new Guildmaster. Members that were once weak were now strong. People had come and gone.

Natsu tried to keep his mind focused but a lunge from his rival Gray caused him to backpedal as he crashed into the wooden table. That hit left him partially dazed and the black-haired ice user relented his swings as Elfman joined the fray, casually spewing about how fighting made someone a 'real' man.

He shook his head to the side, ignoring how a few tiny shards of glass pricked his skin. Mira was surely going to kill him for destroying another one of her good shot glasses. Or maybe she wouldn't. The She-Devil sometimes could become unpredictable when it came to her duties at the bar. Her temper was a lot like Lucy's. And that too sometimes scared him.

Lucy.

That recall helped get his head back in the game. No one in their tight family bunch had noticed the woman exit. She had quite literally gone undetected outside of his, and potentially the other dragon slayer's perceptive gifts. It was obvious he was concerned for her and so Natsu did what he did occasionally when he got impatient. He acted. The slayer had prepared to go chase after her, to see what next adventure awaited them, but another brawl abruptly started. Evidently though, Natsu's appetite for conflict caused him to lose sight of his best friend's whereabouts and he allowed himself to be dragged into the melee, going in flames ablazing.

Hours later, after he'd tracked her scent to a familiar location, the pinkette remained unmoving on the window sill. It felt wrong to just silently watch a distraught woman, a close friend nonetheless, cry her eyes out in her safe haven but… that was just how their friendship worked. She talked and he listened. That was one thing outside of food and fighting that he could excel at. Allowing people to express their emotions openly without judging them for it.

Spent from the waterworks show, Lucy lazily flung herself across her neatly made bed. She turned over onto her side. Puffy, red eyes watched him intently. He wasn't sure what to say or do. He wanted to know why she was so upset and yet he didn't want to push her buttons trying to accomplish that. Natsu understood he had to be patient. But that was the problem. Patience wasn't in his blood. All this had started to confuse him but what confused him even more was when his partner suddenly laughed.

"So, are you going to just sit there and stare at me or are you actually going to come in and stay for a while?"

Even when she was undoubtedly troubled about something meaningful to her the blonde always managed to show off her own fiery side. He knew it was her valiant attempt to put up a facade in order to hide her true feelings from others. She didn't want to appear weak. She wanted to be strong. Yet like him, Lucy wore her heart on her sleeve. It was one of the better qualities that Natsu favored in a person. Something he favored when it came specifically to Lucy. Whereas his emotions fueled him to push onward, Lucy's caused her to take a step back. He liked to use his fire to paint a new picture while she preferred to examine it in its entirety before coming to a decision. A risk taker versus a planner. What was his greatest strength was ultimately her greatest weakness. But he'd never viewed it that way. He wouldn't let her do so either.

"I'm not sure." His voice traveled smoothly across the room. Many men in the guild, who had been excluded from the S-Class Trials, had matured tones to their name. Natsu's vocal cords kept that boyish charm marking his place as one of the reunited members. "The window is a pretty peaceful spot. Maybe I need to be here when you start one of your infamous tirades." He quipped.

The slayer hoped that remark would get a rise out of his friend. A sliver of a smile tried to piece itself together over her hesitant features but it never fully made its way to the surface.

"Come on… it's getting chilly outside."

Natsu frowned. He didn't want to aggravate her at this specific time, but he also didn't want to intrude. He knew she was suffering tremendously inside right now. For once in his life though, he realized he couldn't just beat the answers out of something already in existence. And for once in his life, Natsu didn't have the answer to restore someone's damaged spirit. She scooted over, allowing him available space to have a seat on the other side of her. Seeing his questioning gaze, she huffed at his obviousness and patted the space next to her.

"Here. Now."

Fearing for his life, specifically at the way her mood had done a complete one-eighty, Natsu fulfilled her request and patiently awaited whatever she had in mind next. He didn't need to wait long.

"Can you tell me about your dad?" She unexpectedly asked as she laid down on her back. Once again registering his confusion, Lucy added, "Uh–sorry, I meant about Igneel."

Like a little kid entering a candy store, Natsu opened up the floodgates as he began to retell countless tales of himself and the mysteriously vanished King of the Fire Dragons. Their adventures, their training, their bond… by the time he had realized he was rambling the woman laying next to him was once more shedding tears.

"Ah, Luce!" He grimaced. "Don't do that. You know what power crying has over me."

"I know…" She tried to hide her teary eyes behind her arm. "I hate crying too. I-I just can't help it, okay?" Lucy expressed somberly. "I miss him, Natsu. I really do."

Jude Heartfilia was dead. There was no easy way to put it. From what he had gathered in between the shared tales of their lead caretakers, Lucy's tyrannical father had passed away a month before their return from the island. She had only just found out the previous day and kept her emotions bottled up inside for as long as she could. Her efforts were short-lived. Today had been the day that glass shattered and all the anguish from losing her remaining parent came rushing out. It was up to Natsu to pick up those broken shards and repair what was lost.

He couldn't fix this type of dilemma though. As far as he knew, and he was positive he was just a human with special dragon slaying abilities, he couldn't cheat death. Natsu Dragneel didn't have the power to bring back the dead or restore an extinguished soul. Jude was gone. There was no amending this situation. He could only ease the pain by simply being there for her.

"I know you do." The fire mage smiled down at her. She looked so fragile. As if she would break upon being touched. That wasn't Lucy. She was passionate and always focused on the future, always thinking about her next goal. He had to get her mind out of the past.

"We still weren't on the best of terms the last time I saw him… at least I don't think." Her pitched voice expressed painfully as she recounted the events of her besting the dark guild known as Naked Mummy. "I did find out embarrassingly that my name comes from a defected neon sign."

Natsu desperately tried to stifle the chuckle that escaped him. Obviously he failed.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up mister." Her features remained impassive. "Dragneel, Igneel, seems kind of identical wouldn't you say?"

His eyes widened. "I can assure you Lucky Lucy that my last name does not come from Igneel."

"How do you know?" She pressed.

"Because he told me."

Now it was Lucy's turn to be amused by a simple answer.

"So gullible."

"Hey!" Natsu glared at her playfully and almost followed through with those intrusive thoughts of pushing her off the bed. But he decided against it at the last second. Seeing that healing process begin was worth the loss of some ego points.

Natsu's dark irises located a spot on her ceiling. He heard a dragon's roar from within. It was like receiving a reminder about his own past. He had been so determined to find the crimson dragon who ditched him at such a young age… but as his time at Fairy Tail extended, Igneel had slowly become more and more of an afterthought. It wasn't that his feelings towards the Fire Dragon King had changed. If anything he held more respect for Igneel than ever before. It leaned more towards the fact that he had something to look after. Something to actually fight for.

"I know your relationship with your dad was much different and painful than what I had with Igneel… but maybe some good can still come from this, Luce." He tried to explain his thought process to the woman next to him.

Her raised eyebrow helped him conclude that he was doing a rather terrible job. "Losing my dad was a good thing?"

"N-No!" He immediately shouted, almost surprising himself at his own nervousness. "What I meant is that losing any family is hard. Though we grow stronger as we overcome obstacles."

Lucy studied him in disbelief. "I'm having a hard time believing you're Natsu. How can I be sure you're not Levy using one of Mira's transformation spells?

Natsu groaned. "Seriously?"

"I mean… you're almost making too much sense here. I'm just a little surprised by your thoughtfulness. That's all, Natsu."

Okay now she was beginning to push his buttons. "That's it. I'm going to give you seven reasons why this could be helpful in the long run."

"Oh, really?" She replied with a smirk and folded her arms. "Let's hear them." Her brown eyes became illuminated as he began to count the points on his fingers in his head. "Oh, you're practicing. Then this should be good." Lucy spoke giddily as she sat up on the bed.

With his thoughts sorted out and his intentions set, despite her persistent teasing, Natsu jumped right into the fire.

"Seven reasons why you should be happy, not sad. By Natsu Dragneel."

Lucy snickered at the name. "Had to author it, huh?"

"Number one: Your dad and your mom are finally reunited." He spoke with such a tranquil approach that she was instantly floored by the words. "I don't mean that in a bad way either, I just hope that can help you find some peace through it all. They both are hopefully where Igneel is. Perhaps they're even friends." He smiled at that thought. Lucy smiled too. Neither voiced an opinion about whether or not Igneel was actually deceased. That was just based on acceptance after having gone absent for so long.

"Number two: You will always have important memories with him. No matter how big or small, good or bad, they're there. For you to look back on and remember the fun times you and your dad had. Those times before you joined up with us."

"Number three: I brought you to Fairy Tail because you didn't want to be 'Lucky' anymore. You wanted to be–"

"Just Lucy." She interrupted and looked the opposite away. He wasn't sure if she was angry or growing sad again, so he continued, although with a much softer tone to push the meaning.

"Yeah, Luce. You're free. He no longer can turn into what he once was and rule over you. You're free to just be you." He faintly noticed those new tears but ignored it. He had to finish. It would only help, not hurt her. "Now, number four: This ties back into the last one but mainly because your dad changed. You're allowed to be happy about that. Whether you made an impact on him or not towards the end of his life… your dad saw reason through his faults in some way and tried to amend what he could. That sounds like a loving father to me."

Her sobs grew louder and he looked over at her, chest burning inside. He knew the pain of regret. That feeling when you think you've lost the only parental figure you had left in the world. It wasn't fun. But death wasn't supposed to be fun. It changed you. And Natsu was determined to change Lucy's stance regarding death.

"Number five: Within your departure you proved you could take care of yourself. Without him involved. You relieved him of a burden that I'm sure even Igneel felt as he tried to teach me the ways of this world. I'm sure your dad was grateful to know he raised you up right enough that you could cover your own hide even when he was unable to do such a thing for himself anymore."

She had choked up and faced him again. "You–"

He held up a hand, as she often did to him whenever he was supposed to stay quiet about a certain subject. "I'm almost finished. Number six: Without your dad, there is no you, Luce. You can be joyful in knowing that you will always have a soft spot in each of your parents' hearts. I'm positive they were grateful for you."

"Natsu…"

"Number seven: He cared. Your dad left small gifts and continued to pay for this apartment even when he knew you might never get the chance to open them or walk through those doors. A struggling father believed in his daughter to the very end. Even when the rest of the world had given up on us, given up on you—Jude didn't."

Natsu's speech, so simple and yet so powerful, helped elevate the weight on her shoulders. He knew she felt guilt regarding her past actions and the way she rebuked her father countless times in their late stages. But her last impression on him had been impactful. He was sure of that. Even though he barely knew her father the once corrupt tyrant stature had certainly been left behind. The man responsible for bringing his best friend into the world had moved on to greater things. In a strange way, Natsu felt some appreciation for him.

Thanks for helping me find her.

Lost in his thoughts about his own feelings toward Jude, Natsu let his guard down for just a millisecond. That was all the time she needed. Lucy blasted the door down in her own special way as she pounced and sent them both tumbling onto the floor. By the time he had recovered, a shadow blocked the surroundings around him as he stared into an endless pool of chocolate instead of white drywall.

"Luce?" He questioned. The impact with the floor made it seem like his bell had gotten rung. "Why'd you do that…?"

Instead of answering him, Lucy shushed his lips with an unblemished finger as she smiled. The blonde leaned down and applied a light pressure against his cheek. Mentally his mind burst aflame. Then she pulled away and the unsettling feeling in his chest dispersed.

"What… What was that?!"

Lucy shook her head and giggled at his innocence. "That was my way of saying thank you, Natsu." She lifted herself off of him and held out an open palm for him to take. "Now come on, I want to show you something he left behind…"

He took the blonde's hand, but her words faltered off at the same time Natsu's soul left his body. Standing there, in his traditional black suit and stylish shades, was none other than the leader of the Zodiac.

"Good evening, Princess." He greeted the blonde sweetly before a sharp glare was projected towards the tense pink-haired dragon slayer. "Hi, Natsu." That authoritative voice was sickly sweet.

Even as Loke's fist lit up in that mighty golden hue and sent him flying into another dimension, ignoring Lucy's own fits in protest of course, Natsu's smile remained. Although the duration was short. He soon paled, realizing he had been unceremoniously thrusted into the Celestial World, as that serene smile vanished from fright.

I might be dead soon too.

Hope you liked it and thanks for stopping by! More Dragon Rage coming soon!

[nagisasstunningpersonality]

Lemme start by saying, I don’t know if someone has said this before. Or if it’s been confirmed by the author/creator of Assassination Classroom (I would love to be informed if it was, though. I need AC content). It’s just something I noticed and thought was cool, so I decided to share:

Korosensei’s tie has a crescent moon design. To be more specific, a waxing crescent moon design.

It’s interesting because the academic year of the Assassination Classroom is widely speculated to be 2014-2015. Since Aguri and Korosensei met a year before, it’s reasonable to say that they met on March 13, 2013.

The moon phase on March 13, 2013 was a waxing crescent moon.

Aguri gifted Korosensei a necktie with a waxing crescent moon embroidered into it on the anniversary of their meeting. She put so much thought into that gift, to the point of incorporating the moon phase from the day they met. And I think that’s beautiful.

I have sad feels now.

Thoughts?

It's a neat idea! The manga was first serialised in Jump July 2012 though, so the speculation is probably a bit off. To me, it's most likely the series is set relatively contemporaneously. So you can take the original moon explosion as 2012 or 2013. There's one very specific part of the manga that does help date it, though.

Prewarning, this turned into niche ramblings.

I do not currently have access to the Japanese version of this scene, but I disagree with the fan translation here. At their own admission, they interpreted him to be talking about a specific earthquake, where in reality he just says "the earthquake". I also went and checked this with the anime, and he does not give a specific event.

I mean, the Great Kanto Earthquake happened in 1923, which would make Karma some kind of time traveller if this was true. As someone who used to live in the same rough area Kunugigaoka is set, I promise you there are a lot of earthquakes. To the point you get used to them. Most certainly wouldn't be a 'state of emergency'. No. If you're saying The Earthquake, the most likely option is the 2011 Tohoku earthquake/tsunami, still by far Japan's most devastating natural disaster in recent times. Sort of like how we might say "the pandemic" and it's pretty obvious what we mean by it.

Two problems with this, though. One is that Karma in this panel looks relatively younger. The youngest Karma could realistically have been for this timescale is 12. We literally see him drawn at that age, and his appearance doesn't differ much in those panels (civil war) - though this could be put down to being before that specific arc. Second issue: the epicentre of the earthquake was quite far north of where Kunugigaoka is set, and Karma would have still been in junior high at this point. And we do see him physically observing... some kind of disaster relief. Considering the lack of destruction (and the fact that the earthquake destroyed a nuclear reactor and caused a massive exclusion zone in the general area), perhaps Karma is somewhere in Tokyo here observing the support measures.

The Japanese government were also specifically criticised for their response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. It's too complicated to really go into here, but in a nutshell there were some Bad and Illogical Decisions (in Livi's opinion) taken. One highlight being very arbitrary choices on what houses were part of the exclusion zone, but I digress. Point is, this seems like what Karma's referring to by "the politicians were useless".

So anyway, my bet is that Aguri and Koro met in 2012, and the moon went bye bye in March 2013. I'm not going to check myself, but I'll believe you about the moon phase. I'll be honest, I doubt this is intentional, but it's a neat coincidence at least!

[spankingtheatre]

How To Be Discovered

Soon it will be Valentine’s Day, and the greatest gift you can give someone you love is the key to yourself.

Recently I wrote about how we hide the awkward truths that make us interesting, despite deep inside, yearning to be found. If that resonates with you, and you feel you've rather barricaded yourself in with shame and embarrassment, this post is going to suggest how you might begin to free yourself.

The starting point is saying aloud to yourself something you’d find very difficult to admit.

Since you're reading this, I'm guessing that something is an awkwardness related to spanking. Perhaps you yearn to be spanked. Not just you’d like to be spanked, but you have a deep almost visceral need to actually feel your bottom hot and stingy, just like it has countless times in your imagination.

Or maybe there’s someone special in your life that you dream of spanking. Someone you’d love to give the gift of a smacked bottom, someone with whom you’d just love to play kinky spanking games. It might even be admitting to someone close to you that spanking is an indelible part of your sexuality, as important, or more so, than penetrative sex.

Spend a moment thinking about it. Put your desire into a sentence.

Now write down this secret on a piece of paper. Be specific, so you can see it in words. No one else needs to see what you’ve written, and you can destroy it at any time, but first, it’s important to get your confession out of your head. What can seem so big and overwhelming in our heads can seem so much smaller and manageable on a page.

Once we expand our mental definition of sex beyond crude notions of nudity, fucking, and orgasms, we begin to realise something quite profound. That sex is actually the universal human need to feel desired, touched, and understood. Changing the language we use to think about sex helps change our perspective. We begin to see our sexual side as an entirely reasonable impetus, a necessary catalyst to enable us to get close to other people; not at all the shameful urge it’s too often depicted as.

We’re taught from an early age to experience emotions in moderation, told off for being too sad, angry, or exuberant. Hence intense feelings of shame or arousal make us think there’s something wrong with us. But how many things in your life invoke feelings of such intensity? Shouldn’t those that do be considered extra precious rather than weird? 

Whatever your secret desires are, the way forward starts with being kind to yourself. Reflect on why you feel guilty. Then be compassionate. Rather than berating yourself using negative notions like perversion and weirdness, reframe what you're into as kinda cool. Being kinky doesn’t make you weird, it just sets you apart from the mainstream, it actually makes you super interesting. 

Embrace the fact that you and me, and millions of others around the world love spanking! Isn’t that awesome? Welcome to The Tribe! We’re so delighted to have you here! Fist bump!

The breakthrough to being willing to be discovered is accepting there’s nothing wrong with our fantasies. Given what we seek is literally the approval and active consent of others, how could there ever be anything wrong with that? If whoever you tell isn’t into it, that’s perfectly fine, but they’ll still respect to you for being so courageous and candid, and for being so respectful in seeking their consent. No-one will be hurt by your thoughts, but you can cause yourself a lot of suffering by suppressing them.

So that’s the first step, to introspectively examine your own feelings of shame, and challenge them. To rationalise why you feel the need to be so defensive about your sexual beliefs. There’s no reason to feel guilty, because no crime was ever committed.

I think negative emotions, like shame and loneliness, are like runtime errors in the mind. There's something inside us that doesn’t feel right, that isn't congruent with who we are, or want to be. These emotions don’t exist to make us suffer, but to warn us. They’re meant to provide an impetus to take action, so we correct our course through life, just like a burning sensation demands we pull away from a fire.

Your challenge is to reframe your erotic desire from something you consider shameful, to something you consider makes you truly interesting. Note how no-one else’s opinion matters here. Just yours. No one else needs to be convinced. Just you.

“Spanking makes me interesting.”

Can you say that aloud, even in an empty room? Even as a whisper? Try it. Try saying it every day until you truly believe it.

For many, this is where they'll stop. We’ll make peace with ourselves, and resolve to be truer to ourselves. That’s progress, and quite acceptable, we all have the right to keep our own secrets that no one else needs to know. But if you want to be discovered, and play with others, you will have to be found.

What’s stopping you is likely to be fear. When surveys ask people what their biggest fear is, the top responses are typically claustrophobia, being attacked, spiders, and heights. But an even more profound fear lurks deep inside everyone, one that’s rarely mentioned: the fear that no one will love us. The fear of abandonment.

This is why revealing intimate details about ourselves makes us feel incredibly precarious. If we stay silent, we know the delicate status quo of our lives will be preserved. The same routines, and the same certainties. But if we reveal our secret, we fear everything might come crashing down. The future becomes unpredictable, even risky. So we hide away, hoping to preserve what love we have.

When our partner tells us they love us just the way we are, we interpret that as loving what we’ve revealed of ourselves so far. We fear disclosing any more might invalidate us, like a prospective house buyer looking beneath a carpet and being shocked by the sight of rotten beams, making them walk away in disgust.

But our desires aren’t a rot or a taint on our being. That’s why it’s so important to reframe them as interestingness. If we think our desires are wrong, whoever we confide in is likely to feel awkward about them too.  

Remember that those who love us, by definition, want to be kind to us. Often they show us far more compassion and sympathy than we might show ourselves. That's often why we're so hesitant to be vulnerable, because we know perfectly well just how mean we are to ourselves when we’re feeling uncertain. But you’re not announcing your most intimate desires to the whole world, just someone who already loves you.

We can be bold and tell them.

We can give them permission to discover us.

One of the strangest things about secrets is that once revealed, they lose their intimidating power. We might feel super embarrassed for a few hours, or days, or maybe even months, but that feeling will eventually fade, until it becomes just another event in our ongoing life story.

Our revelation may even open up new paths, and unlock new life opportunities. In the years to come we may look back and wonder why we ever wasted so much mental energy keeping it secret at all.

One last tip. If you do share a secret, rather than leaving it hanging in the air, awaiting your loved one's seal of approval, the very best follow-up is to immediately invite them to tell you a secret of their own in return.

Just say: "What have you always wanted to tell me?"

You’re giving them permission to be vulnerable. Promise them you won't judge them, just like they haven't judged you. Who knows how long they’ve agonised about opening up, worrying themselves sick that you’d reject them. Now you’ve broken the ice, there’s never going to be a better moment for them to open up too.

They don't need to even say it right now, promise them you'll listen without prejudice whenever they're comfortable to talk. Give them the same advice I’ve given you, gently help them in overcoming their own anxieties if you need to.

This is how we stop hiding.

This is how we allow ourselves to be discovered. 

This is how intimacy is built.

[brokenbones-tellstories]

I’m getting sad again. I don’t know if its the SAD or purely circumstantial, but I’m sad. I’ve spent a lot of time over the past several days thinking about a lot of things I’ve tried very hard to put to rest and I simply can’t. I’ve been cursed with this thing about me that makes everyone fall in love with me and as self centered or pompous or whatever you wanna call it that it sounds, it’s true. Ever since I graduated high school it’s been this constant thing that’s followed me around and I can’t shake it and it’s happening again. I swore I’d take it to my grave so I won’t go into details and give it away, even here, but it’s a thing and I don’t know what Im supposed to do with it.  I’m not mad at the person for it happening, not even close. I just wish I could be different. Not as....not whatever it is. Likeable, kind, patient, empathetic, understanding...something, anything, whatever it may be.  How do I explain that its this very personality that’s gotten me where I am? That someone fell so hopelessly in love with me that it near destroyed both of our lives for years on end and just when I thought I had learned my lesson, my best friend went and fell in love with me too. Since then he’s quite literally told me on more than one occasion that he wishes he never had met me and his life was better off without me in it. We barely talk about anything these days and whenever I find the courage to try and share anything with him I think he would like, I either get a simple “okay?’ back or ignored entirely.  I knew from day one that no matter what I did or how hard I tried nothing would ever work out between us. It wasn’t through any fault of our own, we’re just two very different people and life has made us volatile in ways that would never be compatible. We’ve hurt each other in near unforgivable ways with our wayward feelings and there’s a lack of patience and a disrespect that cannot go ignored. We are each others worst nightmares relationally and yet the best of friends at the same time. And still I love him I love him I love him. It’s a constant never ending thought and everything, every. single. fucking. thing. goes back to him. How we were in the city together every single time I was up there whether we even knew it or not. How our paths almost crossed before we even knew the other existed. How the very first conversation we had about a new show coming to broadway was the same one we watched the final performance of, together, four years later.  He, my endlessly frustrating, infuriating best friend who hates the very ground I walk on and still would come back to me, no questions asked, if I ever allowed him the chance. A

nd then there’s the rest of everything.  My best friend dipped out of my life without a word spoken and even after a year and I half I still don’t have an explanation from her. We’ve spoken cordially since, but when I threw out the olive branch asking for lunch or dinner, hoping for a chance to talk, she said no. The anger comes and goes like the seasons. I don’t always feel good enough to be her friend and I often wonder if it’s my own insecurities getting in the way, or if its my new found self respect telling me that I deserve better.  Whatever the case may be, I miss her more than anything. I wonder who her daughter is growing to be. I want to ask her what happened with her ex. I want to know if she’s okay. I wanted her to meet my son and to be happy I’m happy. To breathe that sigh of relief with me when I realized I was happy and okay and I had survived the single worst year of my life. She was supposed to be there forever. The champion of all my insane ideas and my adventure buddy. That girl would’ve gone anywhere with me until she didn’t.

Then there’s the world itself. Our crumbling economy and inflation that’s gotten so out of hand we’re barely keeping afloat. I can’t even afford to put lights on the christmas tree that was gifted to us this year. It’s my sons first christmas and I cant buy him the things I want to.  The tags on my car are years out of date and I have an outstanding ticket from it that if I Got pulled over again I’d be arrested.  My license is expired and I can’t renew it without paying for the car which means I can’t fly to chicago for my best friends wedding next fall.  I don’t have enough money to pay my bills each month as it is. How can I save hundreds of dollars for the car and a license. And why the fuck was I so stupid two years ago and let it go ignored? I was only out of work for three weeks. I could very well have handled it then and I didn’t.  I’m 27 years old and I’ve amounted to nothing I wanted to. I work part time in a coffee shop and I don’t know anything different. If I work full time, all my extra money would go to childcare and negate the entire point of working more. I Literally can’t win for losing. I dropped out of college twice because of finances and an inability to cope with life. I want to go back so bad it hurts. I want to be the first, and likely only one of us siblings to obtain a degree. I want to do it for myself.  For my son. I need to. I need to accomplish this thing to know it can be done. I need to check it off my bucket list if only for spite because there was a time I didn’t think i’d even live to get my diploma....why stop there? The ultimate fuck you is a life lived and lived well. I’m just tired and tired of everything and I hate that I can’t stop thinking even for a second.

Make it fcking stop.

[jadedstar2]

Some powerful quotes from the book, “The Body Keeps The Score”:

“…our capacity to destroy one another is matched by our capacity to heal one another.”

“As we now know, war is not the only calamity that leaves human lives in ruins…Each year about three million children in the United States are reported as victims of child abuse and neglect. One million of these cases are serious and credible enough to force local child protective services or the courts to take action. In other words, for every soldier who serves in a war zone abroad, there are ten children who are endangered in their own homes…It is very difficult for growing children to recover when the source of terror pain is not enemy combatants but their own caretakers.”

And, in referencing the Rorschach tests which were performed on several groups of traumatized peoples, it was discovered that trauma affects one’s ability to use imagination.

“ Imagination is absolutely critical to the quality of our lives. Our imagination enables us to leave our routine every day existence by fantasizing about travel, sex, falling in love, or having the last word - all the things that make life interesting.  Imagination gives us the opportunity to envision new possibilities - It is an essential launchpad for making our hopes come true. It fires our creativity, relieves our boredom, alleviates our pain, enhances our pleasure, and enriches our most intimate relationships…Without imagination there is no hope, no chance to envision a better future, no place to go, no goal to reach.”

In layman’s words, one cannot begin to think of what they WANT, (vs. NEED), because they are either still stuck in their past traumas, or they are CURRENTLY, STILL living in an unsafe environment that deprives them of the safety that is needed PRIOR to BEGINNING to heal their trauma.

When you are stuck in trauma/traumatizing situations, your brain literally is UNABLE to utilize imagination, to hope, to dream. How can anyone accomplish such a feat when they are hyper-focused on just getting their basic human needs met, or even trying to merely stay alive. It’s actually quite a simple and utterly non-complex notion.

PTSD is a physical wound. The brain is literally broken. It’s not just “poor mental health.” Only ignorant people are so blasé about the seriousness of the condition. And, from my experience anyways, the twisted fact is that it is CHOSEN ignorance. Usually because it is beneficial to them to dismiss it. But that’s another topic entirely.

The very sad truth is, oftentimes, one person is unable to hope or want simply because another person has forced their own WANTS to superimpose the other’s NEEDS. Hardly seems fair, right?

One way I have personally tried to describe the quoted paragraph above, (granted, this was prior to reading this book, so now it makes all the more sense to me), is this:

I am treading water. I’ve been treading water. For years. During storms, in the face of tidal waves, even in the short-lived periods of calm in between, I am always treading water. Trying to keep my head above the water. Trying to survive. I rarely found the time, let alone energy, to consider, “Which direction would I swim in if i was gifted with a long-enough duration of calm? Where would I even go? And what if I go in the wrong direction?” And even then, as I type this out for the first time, I recognize that my brain was still locked in survival mode, when I would try to see past the idea of endless treading. “What if I don’t go in the right direction” really meant “What if I use my last ounces of remaining stamina to head SOMEWHERE, and then I never find a shoreline? Then I’m dead anyways.”

There were never thoughts of, “when I get to shore…”

There were never thoughts like, “I can’t wait to finally reach my island destination and lay out in the sun.”

When people tell me I should start thinking about what I want to do next, now that I’ve “escaped”, my brain feels like it’s hitting a cement wall. What do you mean, what I want? I still don’t have enough money for food, I’m still waiting on disability, and even once I get it, it’s less than minimum wage, and I still have all these medical bills.”

Escaping life or death is often just a “leveling” up of sorts, and then it’s on to the next “level”, progressively getting harder, just like any video game, but also with a steady progression of growing fatigue and waning hope. And there are no magical Stamina potions here.

[coco-goat-milk]

ello! may i request aether, albedo, and jean with reader who has two visions? (basically todoroki!reader)

Todoroki! reader x Aether, Albedo, Childe and Jean

Pronounce: She/him/they, no pronounce mentioned so i won't either!

Warning: Slight spoilers for Todoroki and Aether, Albedo and Childe, violence (a little bit, nothing concerning), implied family abuse

A/n: Moshi moshi~ dear anon, Yes ofc you may. I hope this is what you wanted!

Please check my rules before requesting!!

Aether

First time meeting:

You saved him from a cicin mage, he wasn't paying attention and he got sneaked up on.

When he saw both of your visions he was very intrigued! You just saved him, and you are also very attractive..wait not the time-.

He thanked you for saving him, but you just said that you didn't do it for him.

He was a little shocked by your cold voice, but you didn't mean it like that (you are just socially awkward)

Paimom called you rude, you just grabbed her lil’ legs and yeeted™ her.

Legend says people can still hear high-pitched screams in the distance, fly high(away) paimon 🕊

When you two get together:

Paimon would scream at the two of you to stop being so awkward.

It's kind of endearing, but like just hold hands already!?!??!?!?jehdfhisjb

In the beginning you are kind of unemotional but when the relationship progresses it changes a lot.

You try to understand his emotions but sometimes it's just hard, but he has a lot of patience so that's very nice!

He brings you a lot of flowers, and he is just a blushy mess when he gives them to you while you are more dense but when he explains it you are very grateful (you now bring him flowers as well)

If and when you tell him about your ‘daddy issues’ he will be there for you to talk it out and if you want hugs!

He will feel really sorry for you, but he will lovingly kiss your scars and support you very much (tbh you cried the first time he did that)

He would be really impressed and proud of you when you use the both of your visions, like shawty i see you *lip bite*

He would love to meet your siblings, and your siblings are very supportive over him since well he is amazing isn't he<33

The dates consist of getting soba! He also tries to buy you soba since you love it, whenever he can.

*Casually punches Paimon away from your soba*

He is probably your biggest simp, but as he should because your hot asf.

It's a very healthy relationship and I think it is very cute as well!

Albedo

First time meeting:

He was very curious of you and wanted to ‘study’ you, you didn't take that lightly and were about to leave.

He explained that he just wanted to study you because you have two visions and he never saw such a thing before.

You two had a staring contest right after that, both of your faces were basically : 😐 (it was kinda creepy ngl).

Sucrose was standing there awkwardly and questioning her life choices.

When you two get together:

A quiet but cute relationship, I think you would be very glad that it was a relaxed relationship.

He draws you a lot, like each day you have different paintings/drawings of you.

He finds a lot of inspiration when he is with you<3

He doesn't really know his feelings but that's fine bc you don't either, yuh 2 socially awkward babies. The both of you have a lot of patience with each other because the two of you understand each other.

Honestly i really love the dynamic. Sometimes it's kind of awkward and hard since you two struggle with feeling but it's okay everyone's love language is different!

I think your love language would be a gift, Klee helps you pick flowers for Albedo!

If you decide to tell him about your family and your past...he will be shocked he doesn't know what to say or do...but he will suggest making a poison- what no no no you don't want to kill your dad :).

Albedo be like : this is my 13th reason to destroy mondstadt.

But he supports whatever you choose!

He really really really wants to study you, and maybe just maybe you will let him. (because you are a simp)

When you use your vision, he gets even more curious about you :0 wow he is very impressed by your display of raw strength!

Again he will probably study or draw you<3

This is such a cute dynamic. I think it also fits very well because the both of you can take things on your own time in your relationship!

Jean

First time meeting:

She was very curious when the knights introduced you to her..

First of all, how do you have two visions?

Second of all, why do you have such a big scar on your face?

Third of all, why are you so hot...wait what-?

She was very curious and Flustered by your presence, she also thought you were quite...intimidating and aloof.

When you two get together:

Ah yes my wifey mwah mwah <3

She is a busy person so you make her less busy <3 /srs

You help her with her work, because my baby is overworked and Mondstadt doesnt do shit. (I love the city but not the people don't attack me pls)

She really gets flustered each time you give her a kiss on the cheek or just a hug, and you're just confused ??

The first time she met you she thought you were very intimidating but your just socially awkward.

The two of you are Mondstadt’s most beautiful couple <3

When you tell her about your ‘lovely’ dad, she honestly feels so sad for you,, how could he do that. She will ignore your dad and take care of you so much if you want to. (she even takes a day off just for you <3)

She is more careful around you now, she often asks if you're comfortable or if you need a break or anything like that.

“My love, are you alright with me holding you?”

You tell force her to take breaks, you then take her for picnics or just cuddling<3

You also like to take her for a cup of tea and a book!

When you use your visions, she is shook 😮. She will ask a lot of questions about it and why you have two visions.

She is also very proud of you, you not only take care of your siblings but you also take care of not only one but two visions!

She is so supportive of you, but she needs a hand too..so you will be the one to give a hand to help her!

Whenever you feel insecure about your scar, she will reassure you and love you. She will put loving kisses on your scar <3

Honestly such a healthy and cute relationship.

Childe

First time meeting:

You just wanted to steal your dad’s mora bruh 😔

But the annoying pest named Childe saw your scar and the two of your visions.

Being very curious of both, he approached you and (pestered) talked to you, you just blankly stared at him.

You literally walked away and he started walking after you, you started walking faster and so he started walking faster...creepy Childe very creepy :|

When you two get together:

I don't know how he got together with you...he probably gave you money/j

Anyways he probably flirts with you a lot but you are just confused, and he then coos at you for being so cute and you are literally like ???

He thinks your intimidating side is very attractive, and will remind you of it everyday.

But when you compliment him back he just becomes so stiff and flustered.

When you tell him about your family and why you got the scar, he will become very protective over you. He will also be confused why would someone like you get hurt by their own family? He himself has a family and he would never do anything to them to hurt them, he actually would do anything to protect them!

He is more protective over you now, and say goodbye to your dad💀

He would love to meet you siblings, i mean this guy has a few siblings himself so i think he would be quite good with yours as well! He will treat your siblings as his own now.

He will also be more careful around you now, trying not to awaken trauma, y'know.

Anyways, he will really want to fight you and he is even more impressed that you can wield two visions!

I think the opposites of personalities is actually very nice, and I think it's a great relationship.

[izusun]

Goblin anon here absolutely screeching over feral quirkless Midoriya, it's everything I wanted

I would like to also introduce a brand (my brand) of feral to Midoriya: pyromaniac.

Imagine Midoriya getting through the entrance exam by saving people, but also by bringing makeshift Molotov cocktails and wrecking almost as much shop as Bakugou.

Imagine the battle trials where Bakugou tries to blow up the building because "that's the only way to keep this little shit down" and in response Midoriya dodges and then sets the building on fire.

Imagine the USJ incident, which goes about the same, but his first instinct is to set the Noumu on fire. Yes he does so. He also nearly sets the stadium on fire at the sports festival so much that they had to evacuate sections of the stadium.

Midoriya (say it with me now) sets Stain on fire. When Tsukauchi meets with the murder trio after the Hosu incident, he just sighs and is like "Midoriya, really?" And this is when we learn that Midoriya has a history of coming across random villains and setting them on fire. When Inko arrives to pick him up she's just like "You're grounded."

There's theories about what Midoriya's quirk, everything from increased intelligence to extremely shitty luck to the ability to make anything he touches explodes (due to his inane ability to make a bomb/lighter out of the most insane things). When it comes out that he's quirkless, it just makes everyone even more afraid, as Midoriya can make a bomb out of some LSD and a rubber duck quirkless-

Pyromaniac quirkless Midoriya.

- Goblin anon

GOBLIN ANON IT’S BEEN AGES IM SORRY IM JUST RESPONDING NOW (ive been so bad at responding asks my god i struggle but thank u for ur au dumps, i love loVE THEM SO MUCH!!!!)

IM IN LOVE WITH THIS AU

feral quirkless gremlin midoriya going through shit by setting things on fire is just the way to go im duwldjwksk

i read midoriya with molotov cocktails and i have not stopped simping for and thinking about this midoriya

genuinely swooning at this ver of him

midoriya probably has a collection of lighters and basically does those hand tricks to calm him down or to take his mind off of things

bakugou and midoriya being more familiar with each other in their middle school days compared to canon and bakugou gifting midoriya with personalized all might lighter god that’s adorable

ok but they’re talking about their favourite heroes and bakugou goes, “shocking that you don’t like endeavour.”

and midoriya just shrugs, twisting his hand and fingers to orchestrate the fire’s dance from his lighter, his viridian eyes brighter and says, “his fire feels wrong.” and they leave it at that

midoriya being inspired by bakugou’s explosions and attempting to copy those so bad that bakugou thought midoriya’s trying out for support classes

OK BUT FIGHT WITH SLUDGE VILLAIN?

he yanks out makeshift molotov cocktails from his bag, lights them up and throws them at the bastard. the sludge villain screams and retreats slightly because not only was he facing the fires but also the exploded glass shards. it gave enough time for bakugou to explode the villain and escape enough to allow him to breathe. in the end, all might still defeats the sludge but he misses bakugou and midoriya who escaped. no ofa for firey green bean.

bakugou helping midoriya create more explosions.

“but kacchba i want fire, not explosions!”

“same difference you pyro asshole!”

midoriya learns them anyways and enjoys it.

THE EXAM!!

i have two ways:

one: midoriya appealed to the staff that he needed support items and they allowed him and they watched in shock as this little boy explodes the arena worse than the explosion-quirked student. of course he passes and aizawa took him on as his student.

two: midoriya appealed to the staff that he needed his support items but the staff did NOT allow him because they’re considered weapons (as if quirks are not genetic weapons but i DIGRESS) and so when the exam starts, he stays at the very back of the other examinees. this was so that when he arrives at the scene, there are already spare parts for him to scavenge so that he can build makeshift explosions (foregoing whatever shit he learned from katsuki because all that’s on his mind right now are molotov cocktails)

so that’s what happens. he scavenges parts and hides inside one of the buildings so that he can focus more on making explosions and be less worried about being attacked. when he was fully geared, he steps out and begins to retaliate.

he works fast as to not waste his time and the makeshift explosions. because of this, others (ahem-aoyama-ahem) had no opportunity to steal his score.

same thing happens: uraraka gets caught and midoriya explodes the zero pointer. this time, however, the robot is utterly destroyed.

aizawa and majima saw midoriya’s performance, adored it, and began fighting for midoriya.

“majima, he’s here for the hero classes.”

“great. now give him to me.”

nezu pretends that he’s not planning on splitting midoriya’s schedule anyways.

BATTLE TRIAL OH MY GOD rip all might i bet you keeled over so bad, you were one second from turning to small might there and then.

all might: ok so one explodey kid to look out for. that’s not bad.

all might, one minute later: this green kid looks familiar…

all might, ten minutes later: what the fuck.

NO BECAUSE bakugou and midoriya being excited to explode things (well, more like midoriya’s excited and bakugou just wants to fight midoriya) and having a blast when fighting each other.

1a’s probably thinking “oh no” followed by “they’re hot” (literally too because yk the building’s on fire.)

MIDORIYA EXPLODING THE NOUMU??? king shit

midoriya saw this monster running to aizawa and he just points a more eloquent looking flame thrower (thank u mei for working with midoriya with that) at this beast and sets it on fire.

it effectively slowed the noumu and gave the others an opportunity to pull aizawa from the hit zone. it also granted all might more freedom when fighting the noumu because it was slowed enough that all might didn’t have to worry about exceeding his time limit.

the fire damaged some of its nerve processes that the scientist and afo had not accounted for. of course this review is returned to them and many of the noumus become fireproof because of this incident.

OK BUT DURING THE SPORTS FEST

midoriya crushing on todoroki because fire.

he was actually very interested in todoroki prior to sports fest but something about todoroki’s fight against sero sparked something more in midoriya. midoriya saw the anger from his ice, now he wants to see the same intensity from his fire.

his spiel of “that’s your power, todoroki” goes differently. todoroki still pulls him aside and trauma dumps on him but this time he goes, without missing a beat, “that fire is a waste on you.”

todoroki full body pauses because that’s not something he’s ever, well, considered to hear after trauma dumping.

“what?” he croaks, confused at the bubbling feeling. it’s a miasma of anger and hurt, but to a scale so unfamiliar.

midoriya shrugs. “fire is unique, more so as an elemental quirk. you think it doesn’t make half of you—well, i mean you’re right. it doesn’t. you make it. you control it. fire is often uncontrollable and yet here you are, having it as your power. it’s yours to control, so control it. use it.”

todoroki’s ears are ringing.

“you have it as your power.”

“so control it.”

and so he did.

midoriya watched todoki’s fire; watched the way the flames lick up up up and leaves no air bathed in heat. midoriya sees the rawness of anger and determination and thinks, “this is how fire should always look like.”

unconsciously he also thinks how todoroki’s fire is far more beautiful than endeavour’s.

midoriya loses and he’s not as sad about it. losing to something sentient (fire, not todoroki), for him, is a blessing.

todoroki advances along with bakugou.

bakugou who is jealous of todoroki because he saw how midoriya eyed todoroki’s fire and knew todoroki’s a competition in other more ways.

bakugou wins again, this time less angry because todoroki used his fire against him.

STAIN THINKING MIDORIYA’S JUST THIS WEIRD HERO STUDENT WHO HAS NO SPECIFIC QUIRK UNTIL HE FEELS FLAME KISS HIS SKIN AND SCREAMS BECAUSE DAMN IT GREEN EYED KID JUST SET HIM ON FIRE

todoroki full on pausing because he thought he’s the one who set stain on fire unconsciously only to follow the fire’s trail and sees it’s from one of midoriya’s many support items.

“shoot i didn’t mean to burn him that fast!”

“that’s your issue!?”

midoriya gives them a “duh?” look and todoroki feels himself warming up (HAH another fire pun) at midoriya’s ease.

flying noumi still comes and picks him up but midoriya also sets this thing on fire. the difference between a winged noumu and a normal noumu is that the wings are far more flammable and midoriya had quite a bit of fun at setting it on fire and hearing the crackling of flames on rubbery wings.

endeavour casts him a glance that speaks of approval and midoriya doesn’t know if he hates it or not.

tsukauchi arrives and sees not only stain, but the noumu and heaves up a very big sigh. “midoriya, really?”

GOBLIN! PYROMANIAC QUIRKLESS MIDORIYA IZUKU IS A FAVE IM SCREAMING

[midnight-in-town]

It always confused me how Vincent and Rachel was never attacked with their 30+ servants before the twins were ten, and once our Ciel returned he's like, another lovely night with failed assassination attempt, ever night! before even starting on his watch dog business. And it's like none of whom sent those assassins were found to be guilty of "that day", so they're simply Vincent's old enemies.... I wonder if the house was protected by supernatural contracts as well? And it broke on 14/12/1885?

Hey Anon! Oh yeah, good point, but you know what...

I wonder if the house was protected by supernatural contracts as well? And it broke on 14/12/1885?

It is actually a crack theory of mine, one of the few I have never posted, but related to the idea that the Phantomhive family is tasked with the Watchdog duty because they have a special lineage. :))

Honestly, I don’t know precisely why Ciel was attacked so much when he came back...

it could be manor robbers who initially heard that the whole family is supposedly dead and the manor empty

and/or some parts of the underworld trying to eliminate the heir to the Watchdog title, thinking it should be easy since he’s only a kid with one manservant (like when Mey was tasked with killing our!Ciel before they met)

However, I don’t think it’s illogical that these events happened when our!Ciel came back. I mean, we don’t know for sure what Vincent was like, as the Watchdog, but even though I believe he strongly disliked the position, he probably had quite the iron grip over the underworld (like our!Ciel did until very recently). If so, that could explain why the underworld kept a low profile while he was alive but then tried to get rid of his heir, upon realizing that our!Ciel was literally ten years old.

That being said, as always, don’t forget that our!CIel not mentioning an attack on the manor before 1885 doesn’t mean the manor was never attacked. After all, the twins were kids and our!Ciel in particular hardly knew about the Watchdog position before his parents died. So it’s possible that the manor was attacked a few times back when Vincent was alive, but the twins (or only our!Ciel) didn’t notice, because Tanaka did his job properly.

Additionally, another crack theory I have is that maybe Vincent had some sort of foreshadowing gift, which would be very useful when it comes to preventing such attacks in the past. However, this crack theory makes it all the more painful to realize that, if Vincent indeed foreshadowed his own death...

then he must have known long before dying that he wouldn’t be able to escape such a sad fate. :// (I know I wouldn’t want to live with such a burden)

Anyway, I just love the idea that the Phantomhive manor itself is built on supernatural-related ground and used to be supernaturally protected. Until Vincent’s murder and that fire that destroyed a large part of it, that is, because I doubt this protection is still a thing, not with Seb rebuilding it with his powers and constantly wandering around everywhere. In any case, it’s probably one of those crack theories we will never get any confirmation or denial about. xD

I hope I answered your question, have a nice day Anon!!

[iwasbored777]

Nathalie is a little better than Gabriel. I will support her redemption if only because 1. She’s the only reason Adrien was allowed to go to school. 2. She is generally nicer to him than his father and has tried several times to appeal to Gabriel when she sees him upset. 3. She encouraged Gabriel to be honest with Adrien over what he was doing 4. We never got to see her in the aftermath of the reveals in Ephemeral or Chat Blanc. She gave Chat Noir up but it’s possible that she didn’t realize Gabriel would react the way he did.

It’s true she’s been supporting a crazy terrorist man and simping needlessly for him but I am just happy to see her (maybe) come to her senses and I’m more tolerant of her redemption than his. I don’t know how long this anti-Gabriel phase is going to last. He might lure her back in. In one of those screenshots it looks like she might get akumatized and be purple too? So she might say “he made us purple together and that means his love is true.” I’m hoping for the best anyway.

"HE MADE US PURPLE TOGETHER THAT MEANS HIS LOVE IS TRUE" 😭😭😭😭😭

I don't think Nathalie nor anyone is worse than Gabriel. Gabriel is the bottom of the bottom. I just find their relationship toxic and Nathalie's standards low af. Gabriel isn't even good looking and he doesn't have a nice personality.

At first I didn't even notice Nathalie. Then in Heroes Day part two I found her relationship with Gabriel already toxic and a huge red flag was how she risked her life for a man who just beat two children with a stick in front of her. He did THAT to Ladybug and Chat Noir in front of the whole Paris and Nathalie was like "I love him so much he deserves help he is a good man who loves his family". Then as the season 3 went on I disliked her and their whole relationship more and more, I already hated him of course. But the whole concept of what they have is unhealthy to me. Then in Chat Blanc she literally spent all credit with me. The "she didn't know what he was going to do to Adrien" could work if she didn't help Gabriel break Adrien's and Marinette's hearts earlier in the same ep. She already hurt Adrien, she broke his heart. Then when she snitched on him to his father OH MY GOD I WANTED TO MURDER THESE TWO ADULTS SO MUCH IN THAT EPISODE! Then Risk, don't forget it when she flew in to control Adrien with the ring cuz Gabriel couldn't. I don't see her as a momma bear nor anyone who looks at Adrien more than a tool to help his father. I literally don't care if she dies. I used to feel little sorry for her in Strikeback when she collapsed but now I legit don't care. I just want her to go to prison or whatever. Like people legit hate Marinette and then call Nathalie "power woman who has standards, successful queen" what's with the fandom praising every bad female character and hating the good ones lol?! I would rather give Chloé development at this point than Nathalie. Chloé has more potential and she's a kid, Nathalie is a grown woman destroying the world for a one inch long d*ck and now I'm supposed to forgive her?! The same woman who's creating and killing sentimonsters knowing full well what Adrien is. Also the same woman who is also teamed up with Lila and she helped Lila against Adrien in Ladybug. Also when she let Gabriel take credit for the gift Marinette made for Adrien... (also I don't need the "that's bc the writers hate Chloé and they will give everyone development before her" just admit the writers f*ck characters up quite often at this point that no wonder the fandom is so confused who's good and who's bad). I'm just so sick and tired of hers "oh no this is so sad Alexa play Despacito" moments. Also when someone compares Gabenath to Love Square 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 f*ck them.

Now I don't know if she'll come back to Gabriel but I always compared Nathalie to Serena from The Handmaid's Tale cuz they are basically the same character, but there was a part of the series when Serena was seriously considering leaving Fred (who is just as bad as Gabriel) and she was so close and then she came back to him even though she wasn't 100% happy with that choice she still forgave him everything. So everything is possible. I just know that it's impossible for me to like Nathalie like it's impossible for me to like Serena. When a character crossed it they crossed it. If Nathalie and Serena don't have standards I have them.

Also (this isn't about this ask tho) if Nathalie stans could just ignore my blog instead of harassing me and making fun of me for hating her that would be really appreciated 😘

[definesanity]

Look Down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sound of an explosion echoed throughout the night of the Cathedral City, and with it came the sound of cheering.

-

Men and women, young and old, poorer than even thought possible, rallied at the destroyed gate, and the one who broke it.

-

Dressed in midnight black, the raven-haired Renotni, Orez, looked forward, her eyes sorrowful.

-

"Everyone," she called out gently, silencing the crowd. "Allow me to end the tyranny of my sisters."

-

A cry resounding answered her, and Orez quickly made her way through the city.

-

The day of revolution. The night that the tyrants will fall.

-

"Let's go, everyone!" came a young boy's voice, and a flurry of children raced through the back alleys of the city.

-

The guards quickly stood in front of her, probably from her dear sisters informing them via a certain someone's telekinesis, but were then put up in flames; quite literally, too.

-

The white dragon, Michelangelo, flew down and crushed the guards, and then breathed fire on the rest, incinerating them. He looked towards his master, blue eyes glowing menacingly.

-

"I trust I am not too late?" shaking her head, the green-eyed woman sighed.

-

"Unfortunately not; the poor seem to have finally lost their patience."

-

"That surprises me not. I suggest, then, you get a move on. The wind is starting to pick up."

-

Michelangelo was correct: the wind was picking up, not to mention the fearsome rain and lightning flashing about; a gift from Ruof, Orez supposed.

-

She quickly took off, Michelangelo flying into the sky to defend the peasants.

-

Along the way, she spotted a strange sight: the guardsmen fighting children.

-

"C'mon, lads!" the oldest lad called out. "We can overpower 'em!"

-

Thinking fast on her feet, Orez launched herself forwards and, quicker than the guards slicing the children, sliced them all clean in half. An unfortunate end, but a necessary one.

-

Turning back, she nodded to the awestruck boy. "Are you okay?"

-

The boy nodded, and then his eyes lighted up. "You're The Angel...! You're going after your sisters, right?"

-

"Yes, I am; they're mine to fight. Look after your fellow man, Mister...?"

-

The boy grinned, pointing to himself. "Call me Douglas!" he then turned around, and cupped his hand around his mouth. "ALRIGHT, YOU HEARD HER! FALL BACK AND HELP THE WOUNDED!"

-

The others let out a cry, and they made their way backwards. Douglas gave one last nod, smiling. "Good luck!"

-

Nodding back, Orez carried on towards her destination: The Grand Cathedral.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the entrance to the Grand Cathedral, thunder roared once more, and the lightning flashed so brightly Orez had to shield her eyes. Upon removing them, did she see them:

-

The Renotnis: Goddesses of Song.

-

"Sister... it is a pleasure to meet you here again." Eno, the black-haired second-eldest Renotni, gazed down, emerald green eyes displaying only a hint of emotion in them, her five senses decreasing with every minute that passed in this wretched world.

-

"Eno, please: we don't need to fight!"

-

"...I fear it is far too late for that, Orez." Owt, the crest-fallen orange-haired sister, looked down with a pitying look, her hands behind her back as her strength was sapped every second. "You have made your choice. As have we."

-

"...She is correct." shortly replied the ever-short-green-haired Eerht. Oddly, she didn't say much, what with her being the most hyper of the sisters.

-

"Oh, you don't want to fight, Orez?!" Ruof, ever the combatant, challenged back, her red eyes alight in rage, small nails hidden within gauntlets. "You should've thought twice before coming here, then!"

-

"Have peace, Ruof," Evif, bless her heart, looked down at her oldest sister in sadness, her... ah, chest, always shrinking. "I wished that we didn't need to fight. Violence will only beget more violence, I fear..."

-

"Look around you, Eno!" Orez was already sick of her sister's unexpressive gaze. "This is tyranny, don't you realise that?!"

-

"...'Tyranny'? You wound me with your harsh words, Orez. Tell me, then: why do you stand before us as an enemy, rather than at our side as an ally, like before?"

-

"...That was when we killed the former rulers, when we tried to change the world. I know now that we did that far too fast." the Prime Renotni glanced up, green eyes still alight. "And now, we have new rulers, who are no better-nay, worse-than the last."

-

"...Tch." looking down, Eno pointed at her older sister. "It's high time we settled this, Sister."

-

As the other Renotnis jumped down, Orez unsheathed her sword. "Oh, more than high time, I'd say..."