#saving the sacrifice for another post

[mxtxfanatic]

Best Didi Wen Ning

When we are introduced to "The Ghost General," he is a mindless weapon under the control of the Yiling Patriarch:

The name “Ghost General” was of the same kind as “Yiling Laozu.” It was a name of evil, known far and wide. No one was ignorant of these names, and often, they were spoken side by side. The words referred to only a single thing. The Yiling Laozu Wei Ying’s right hand man, the tyrant’s blood-stained hound,5 the tiger’s cruel teeth and savage claws, the bringer of chaos, who could tear open the heavens and bury its pieces inside the earth.

—Chapt. 9: Pride IV, fanyiyi

When we are introduced to Wen Qionglin at the earliest moment in the timeline, he is a timid teen, suppressed in the QishanWen by his nervous stutter and inability to defend himself:

It was likely that Wen QiongLin had never shot an arrow in front of other people. He was shaking all the way from his arm to his fingertips. The arrow flew out. It didn’t even land on the target. The Wen Sect’s people that watched from aside all laughed mockingly, “How is this good?!” “I can shoot better than this with my eyes closed.” “Okay, okay, stop wasting time. Let’s quickly pick somebody to enter the arena!” Red seeped through Wen QiongLin’s face to even the bottom of his ears. There was no need for others to beckon him away; he fled self-consciously.

—Chapt. 59: Poisons, exr

When we are introduced to Wen Ning as a person, we are given someone who is undeniably loyal and loving. The first thing he does upon regaining consciousness from Xue Yang's needles is apologize to Wei Wuxian for the other man's ending in his first life:

The long lashes trembled slightly, and a shallow furrow appeared between the man’s brows, making him appear somewhat uneasy. Wei Wuxian retracted his claws and hopped out of the window, leaping between the branches near the rooftop a few times before landing on the ground. Right as he turned around, Wen Ning kneeled before him. “What are you doing?” Wei Wuxian asked. Wen Ning said nothing, hanging his head. “Do you have to speak to me this way?” Wei Wuxian said. “Gongzi, I’m sorry,” Wen Ning said quietly. “Fine.”

—Chapt. 43: Beauty I, fanyiyi

...which mirrors their very first meeting, where Wen Ning apologizes for "losing face" for Wei Wuxian by not performing well in from of the QishanWen disciples:

Wei WuXian chased after him, “Hey, don’t run! Uh... QiongLin-xiong right? Why are you running?” Hearing his name called from behind him, Wen QiongLin finally stopped. Head hanging low, he turned around. It seemed as though shame rippled from his head to his toes as he stammered, “... I’m sorry.” Wei WuXian mused, “Why are you telling me you’re sorry?” Wen QiongLin replied with guilt, “You... You recommended me... but I made you lose face...”

—Chapt. 59: Poisons, exr

But what I find most wonderful about how Wen Ning is written is that his loyalty and love isn't only portrayed in the above characteristics—that could easily be misconstrued to say that he is only a follower—but also in how he does not play about Wei Wuxian. For the simple kindness of believing in his archery skills, encouraging him to try out for the competition, and offering advice, Wen Ning put his life on the line to help Wei Wuxian in the aftermath of the fall of Lotus Pier:

Wei WuXian, “How did it make me lose face? You haven’t really shot in front other people, have you? You were nervous?” Wen QiongLin nodded. Wei WuXian continued, “Have some confidence. Let me tell you the truth—you shoot better than everyone in your sect. Out of all of the disciples whom I’ve seen, no more than three people are better in archery than you.” ... Face unchanging, [Wei Wuxian] continued, “Really. There isn’t anything to be nervous about, to be honest. You’ll get used to it after practicing a few more times in front of other people. Next time, you’ll definitely impress everyone.” ... Wei WuXian encouraged him a couple of times and touched on a few areas of growth, correcting some miniscule problems that he had when he was shooting in the garden. Wen QiongLin listened so attentively that he didn’t even turn his eyes away, nodding uncontrollably.

...

As he was thinking, Wen Ning spoke, “Young Master Wei, are you here to save Young Master Jiang?” Wei WuXian’s fingers curled slightly. He spoke in a cold voice, “What do you think?” For some reason, Wen Ning smiled nervously, “I knew it. I... I can help you get him out of there.” For a split second, Wei WuXian thought that he had heard wrong. He was shocked, “... You? You’ll help me get him out?!” Wen Ning, “Yeah. R-right now, I can take him out really quickly. Wen Chao and the others happened to have gone out!” ... Wei WuXian licked his chapped lips, speaking in a dry voice, “... Then... could you... could you help me... take the bodies of Sect Leader Jiang and Madam Yu...” Without him noticing, he had begun to stammer as well. Before he finished, he remembered that he was still seizing Wen Ning in a threatening posture. He quickly let him go, but he still left himself a way out. If Wen Ning began to run or shout as soon as he let him go, he’d split open Wen Ning’s skull at once. However, Wen Ning only turned around, his voice serious, “I... I’ll try my best.”

—Chapt. 59: Poisons, exr

And the most telling thing about the depth of Wen Ning's feelings for Wei Wuxian is the moments where he neither avoids eye contact nor stutters when speaking:

After a moment of silence, Wei Wuxian said, “What else have you heard?” “Jiang Cheng, Clan Chief Jiang, brought people to encircle and besiege the Burial Mounds. He killed you, sir.” “I have to clarify this. He didn’t kill me. I died because one of my techniques backfired.” Wen Ning finally lifted his eyes and looked at him directly. “But, Clan Chief Jiang, he clearly—"

—Chapt. 43: Beauty I, fanyiyi

Wei WuXian, “You saw me yesterday?” Wen Ning, “I-I did.” Wei WuXian, “You saw me but you didn’t tell anyone?” Wen Ning, “I won’t! I won’t tell anyone!” This was the rare sentence where he didn’t stammer. On top of that, his tone was so determined that it seemed like he was taking an oath.

—Chapt. 59: Poisons, exr

The object was Wei WuXian’s sword, Suibian. On the way, Wei WuXian tossed it everywhere due to it being too much of a hassle. In the end, he left it in Wen Ning’s care. Wen Ning held it as he spoke, “Pull it out.” His tone was firm, and his eyes determined. He had nothing of his previously blank look left. ... Wen Ning, “Take this sword and go to the banquet hall, to the training field, to anywhere you want and ask every single person you see to pull the sword out. See if any one of them can pull it out! And then you’ll know if I’m lying or not! Sect Leader Jiang—you, so driven of a person, have been comparing yourself to others your whole life, but you have to know that you never should’ve been able to equal him!”

—Chapt. 88-89: Loyalty, exr

For Wei Wuxian, Wen Ning was willing to go against his clan. For Wei Wuxian, Wen Ning is willing to put himself in harm's way. And for Wei Wuxian, Wen Ning is willing to reveal a secret he had promised to take to the grave, just to press home how good of a person Wei Wuxian is and how undeserving of his persecution he's been. Despite how often others try to reduce Wen Ning down to just another all-powerful weapon crafted by the Yiling Patriarch or a man too scared to fight for himself, Wen Ning uses his autonomy always to defend those he loves, regardless of what the rest of the world may think of him, and Wei Wuxian joined that rank by standing up for him at the cultivation conference. Thus for this, Wen Ning earns the best didi award.

[chronologically-challenged]

Overkill AU is gonna wreck me god

[kanerallels]

Between watching Rebel Assault and episode 5 of X Men 97 on the same day I'm like. Steps away from a full fledged ✨breakdown✨

[bragganhyl]

also I need to figure out a proper ending for the lad bc the way I've tweaked his lore, every possible ending would leave him some flavor of miserable

[astralleywright]

it is so hard being the only bitch here who believes in liliana temult

[dreadbornesaint]

tag dump - gen

[rin-may-1103]

The Eyes of Death. Pt 3.

Previous | Master Post | Next(to be written)

Danny groaned, the sound of a heart monitor grating on his ears like nails on a chalkboard.

"Danny," someone called, sounding concerned.

Cracking open one of his eyes, Danny tilted his head and glanced at the person. It was Damian, sitting on a very uncomfortable-looking chair. His hair was disheveled, and he had light eyebags.

"Dami?" Danny asked, his voice weak and gruff for some reason.

That's when it hit him, the memories; Nacy and Wyatt trying to drag him to a party, cultists mobbing them on the streets, voluntering to be the sacrifice because he couldn't let anyone else get hurt even if it was Wyatt, the ritual working (although not how it probably should have), gaslighting the bat crew with one of the worst concussions he's ever had to deal with.

Damian leaned forward, stopping him from trying to sit up, "hey, hey!" he quickly cut in, "it's ok, you're at the hospital. Don't strain yourself. You were stabbed; you shouldn't aggravate your wound even if it's not likely to open again. The bats showed up, no one died."

Danny blinked, then huffed in annoyance. Sure, his body felt like it was on fire, but that wasn't too worrying. probably even normal after whatever that ritual was. It should be fine for him to sit up, but if it'll make Dami happy, then fine. He'll just tilt the bed up then.

Glancing around the bed and grabbing the remote (with his left arm, which was bandaged for some reason), Danny moved the bed until he was comfortably sitting up. Damian sat down with a sigh, shaking his head.

They sat silently for a moment before Danny turned to look at Damian with a frown.

"I dropped your jacket."

Damian stared at him for a moment before pinching his nose and closing his eyes.

"And my textbooks," Danny added, absently picking at the blanket.

He'd have to see if anyone was nice enough to bring his stuff to the cops. The cultists had just left it out in the streets, so Damian's jacket is probably long gone.

With the textbooks, though, there was a 5% chance someone actually dropped them off at the school or with the police (though the likelihood of them being returned to him was very, very low). 30% chance of another college student taking them for themselves, and 65% chance of someone picking them up and selling them off to some other college students for a quick couple of bucks or a few hundred.

Gotham was known for all the crime and stuff, but it was surprisingly nice for college students. (probably because literally almost all the rouges had college degrees. probably a smart idea to be nice to the potential new rouges, maybe they'll spare you in the future! or something like that.)

The point is, Danny's probably not going to see his textbooks anytime soon. So, he'll have to try and find new ones or rent them from the school.

"You were just kidnapped and used in a ritual to summon some demonic demon ghost king, and you're worried about your textbooks?" Damian asked, finally opening his eyes and looking at Danny.

"First of all," Danny started, pointing one of his fingers at Damian, "those were expensive; it took me months to save up for all of them. Second," Danny waved his arm in the air to gesture around the room, "I'm here, alive, and you said the bats got them, so no point in worrying about what happened."

Damian opened his mouth to cut in, but Danny continued, "And C, did they find my bag? I kind of really don't want to have to restart all of my homework again."

Damian sighed in defeat, resting his head on his hands as he leaned forward. "Danny," he breathed, his voice sounding pained, "you almost died. How can you just brush that off?"

Danny studied his boyfriend for a moment, actually taking in what he saw; his shoulders were tense, and he looked like a mess. His hair wasn't styled, instead, it was obvious he had been running his hands through it. His button-up shirt wasn't tucked in and was wrinkled in places, like he had collapsed into the chair and stayed like that for hours.

"It's not the first time," Danny admitted.

Damian's head shot up, his eyes wide as he stared at Danny. Glancing away, Danny continued, "My parents were... they loved us, they really did."

Damian didn't move, didn't even breath. Like if he moved even a single muscle, Danny would stop talking and run away. He was probably right, this was the first time Danny had ever spoken about them. He'd usually nervously brush off any questions and avoided the topic like the plague.

"But they probably shouldn't have ever been allowed to care for children." Danny loved his parents, and he knew they loved him. But there was no denying that jazz and he would have been better off raised somewhere else. "Mom's an experimental chemist. freelance. works on her own terms; said rules held back scientific potential."

The curtains were drawn, but sunlight still lit up the room. How long was he out? It couldn't have been longer than a few hours, considering Damian's eyebags, he probably pulled an all-nighter.

"The first time I died was a month after being born. She had been working all through her pregnancy, ignoring all the safety procedures. I was born with weak lungs, and my immune system was practically nonexistent." his parents hadn't taken the nurses seriously and brought him home, let Jazz play with him. It wasn't Jazz's fault that she had caught the cold and given it to him.

"They brought me back, but the doctors said I wouldn't make it long. My parents didn't worry too much. Dad claimed all Fentons were born a little weak. said I'd grow out of it." had even pulled out all the baby pictures from his family to show him, though Danny obviously didn't remember any of this. He'd seen the pictures again, after cleaning the house and snooping out of boredom.

"There were a few more close calls; honestly, CPS should have stepped in at this point, let alone the first time. Then there was the Accident." Funny how he hadn't been afraid of the risks, not afraid of death even when he stared it in the face. How could he? When he had known it his whole life.

"My parents had brilliant minds, inventing and creating all these amazing things. They'd been working on this project ever since they met in college. Only putting it down to explore other things that caught their attention, but always going back to it."

"They were obsessed."

Danny finally turned and looked back at Damian, watching as he clasped his hands together, his knuckles turning white.

"obsessed with proving they were right. You see, they'd always believed ghosts were real." Danny rolled his eyes, glancing down and picking at his nails. "They'd been ridiculed by others for this belief, so they had set out to prove it. To prove to the world that they weren't just wasting their time. So they built a portal. After hundreds of research papers, thousands of tests of concept, and twenty years of calculations and engineering. They had finished it."

"But it didn't work." Danny didn't glance up, but stopped picking his nails and instead focused on studying the blanket.

"They had been working on this thing my whole life; they had even locked themselves down in the basement and skipped my birthday party just to finish it. All just to find out it didn't work. They had been so disappointed, so frustrated at it and themselves, they had dropped everything and walked out the door."

He might not fear death, but Ancients did he hate remembering it.

"I was upset and frustrated. I hadn't seen my parents in weeks, and then this stupid thing they had been so focused on didn't even work. I wanted nothing more than to lock that door and never look at it again. Maybe my parents would give up and actually spend time with us, their living, breathing kids."

"My friends had a different idea. I had been complaining to them for months about how busy my parent were and they wanted to see exactly what they'd been working on. So, against my better judgment, we went down into the basement."

Sometimes he wondered what would have happened if he had stood his ground, if he hadn't let his friends push him down those stairs.

"It was just supposed to be a quick look around, but Sam wanted a picture inside the portal. Said it would be so cool. She even went so far as to march over to get inside before I stopped her. I'd been in the basement plenty of times to know how dangerous my parents' work could be, especially when you're not being careful."

He could still remember how she had rolled her eyes, how Tucker had snorted and continued looking around. how neither of them had been careful of where they stepped.

"I suggested I be the one to go in, since she wasn't going to leave without at least something. She agreed, so I put on one of the spare protective suits just as a precaution and stepped inside. It was unnaturally silent and went farther than what my parents had been permitted to dig."

He still wasn't sure if the neighbors knew his parents had blocked off some of their basement as well or if they just assumed it had always been that small.

"I went about halfway back and turned to let Sam take her picture. She did, but said she wanted one further back. So I turned and continued walking, until my other friend Tucker shouted in surprise. it startled me and I tripped, catching myself on the wall to try and stop from face planting. I hit a button."

"My parents are geniuses, some of the smartest people I know. But they could get distracted, forgetting stuff they had just done or needed to do. There's no question where I got my Adhd from." Danny laughed, it sounded more like a huff, but he didn't care.

"They'd put an on button on the inside and completely forgot about it. It's not even in the blueprints, I checked." Danny grimaced, fiddling with his fingers, twisting them until they started to hurt and then letting go, just to do it again.

"They'd forgotten to unplug it; they had left it just waiting to be turned on. And I had pressed the button." Danny stared at his left hand, his death scar still visible after all these years. "Humans aren't supposed to survive that much electricity, let alone have a portal to a different dimension open right on top of them."

Humming, Danny glanced back at the window, frowning when he still couldn't tell what time it was. "You know the funny part?" he asked, still looking out the window. "They didn't even notice that I had died and rushed to the hospital. Too focused on the fact that their life's work had actually turned on. That they had proven the world wrong."

"I was in the hospital for weeks, the only ones visiting me were my friends and sister. No one knew how I survived." Danny turned and looked at Damian, a small smile on his face. "There have been more close calls after the accident, too many to count, really. But the point, Damian, is that at some point I had to get used to the fact that I could die. I've known death my whole life, and at this point I can accept it or break, and I've chosen to accept it and move on."

Damian stared at him, his eyes shiny as he closed them, "Alright."

"ok," he continued.

"ok," Danny echoed.

They sat in silence for a moment, befor someone knocked on the door. It swung open before either of them could respond, a familiar head of black hair coming into view.

"Hey, Dami, I got some coffee. I wasn't sure if you wanted anything to eat, but I grabbed some snacks just in case. How's-" Dick finally looked up, his eyes first landing on Damian who had silent tears running down his face and then over to Danny who was squinting at the sudden brightness.

"Oh, you're awake! How are you feeling? Any pain? Has a nurse been by yet?" Dick quickly recovered, smiling at Danny and shutting the door as he made his way to sit next to Damian.

Damian sat up like someone had dumped cold water down his back, turning his head to face Danny with intense worry. "I completely forgot to ask, are you ok? Don't lie, we can get a nurse to give you something for the pain."

Danny rolled his eyes. "I don't need more pain meds. What I need to know is what time it is. And if someone found my bag."

Dick blinked, lifting his eyebrow as he glanced at his watch, "it's nine in the morning. You've been out for ten hours."

"And your bag is right here," Damian added, lifting the mentioned bag up and then putting it back.

"Alright, cool. Now, when can I get out of here?" Danny asked, glaring at the IV on the back of his hand.

"I wouldn't recommend anytime soon, we still don't know what exactly happened to your wounds, and some of the bats want to talk to you about what happened." Dick cut in, raising his hands like he wanted calm danny down.

Danny frowned at him, rolling his eyes went he man only shrugged.

"Fine," Danny huffed, "I'll answer their questions, but that's it. I'm not staying after that."

"Danny," Damian tried, "I really don't think-"

"I was kidnapped and used in a ritual, somehow healed, have been sleeping for the past ten hours, and now I have to deal with a bat interrogation. I'm leaving. The only reason I haven't left yet is because you were obviously worried about me."

"I," Damian hesitated, sharing a glance with his brother before just nodding his head, "Ok. We'll leave, but I'd really prefer it if you stayed with someone. Just so we can make sure nothing went wrong with the healing."

Danny frowned again. Damian had been very non-confrontational this whole time. It was very unlike him. Usually, they'd have argued about five different things by now, yet he hasn't opposed Danny at all, not even about his textbooks (though he still made a comment on them). It was weird, but maybe not that weird. Danny had just died after all. Even if they didn't think he did, he'd still been stabbed on live video. Maybe Damian just needed some time. Yeah, that's probably it.

"I'll let them know your awake," Dick muttered, standing up and passing Damian the things he'd brought in.

~

Dick glanced at Danny before sending a sharp glance at Damian's phone.

nodding his head, Damian sipped his coffee and set it aside. making sure his boyfriends was distracted, he entered his password. Danny watched as Dick walked out and into the hallway, the door left open just enough to brighten the room. his boyfriends continued watching, obviously straining his ears to try and hear dick's conversation, just like he knew he would.

Tim: Still can't find anything on the ghost king. Dark is still offline. Barbera: The Cult leader's name is Gregory Johnson; he's been missing for over a year now. Only lead beforehand was some cryptic emails and some books on the afetrlife. Stephane: checked out their hideout, it looks like this was Johnson's first time running a ritual without a higher members guidance. they've done this ritual thirty seven times at this point, if the calader is accurate. Human sacrifices started a week after Johnson's joining. Jason: So the cult had been relatively harmless before he joined? Stephane: Looks like it. I'll have Duke go back and double-check, but I'm pretty sure he's the instigator. Tim: So what's different this time? Why did the ritual work? Damian: Because they actually had someone who checked all the boxes. Tim: is he awake? we still need to get his statement. Stephane: what boxes? Damian: Based on the other victims' statements, we know they had been looking for someone specific. A male with black hair, pale skin, who has encountered death multiple times in his life. Damian: We can infer that the cult had been choosing people based on their appearances, but they had no way of knowing if they had encountered death before. Danny has, therefore, the ritual worked. Stephane: well, shit. that sucks. Barbera: When has he encountered death? There's nothing mentioned in his medical file. An encounter with death would imply that he was close to dying, not just close calls.

Damian glanced up, then back at his phone. Danny had just told him he'd been to the hospital multiple times. His accident should be listed, let alone his hospitalisation soon after birth. Danny wouldn't lie about something like this.

Damian: Then the files were wrong, Danny had to be hospitalized multiple times. One of which he ended up staying for weeks on end. Barbera: the only way the files are wrong is if someone hacked into them and changed them. and since there's no evidence from what I can see, it's unlikely they've been hacked. Tim: yeah, why would someone even hack his file anyways? just to hide the fact he's been hospitalized? Damian: I don't know, they're just wrong. Barbera: Are you sure Danny wasn't just lying?

Damian glared down at his phone. He couldn't get mad at them; they're just doing what they've been taught. But Damian knows Danny, he wouldn't lie about something like this. he just wouldn't. Sure, he'd tell white lies about things, but never anything important.

"Damian?" Danny asked, drawing Damian's attention. Glancing up, he found his boyfriend watching him with worry. "Are you ok, you seem upset," he asked, his eyes tracing something Damian couldn't see. It's something Danny's done for as long as Damian has known him. He'd watch the air around people, like he could just see something they couldn't. Like if he watched long enough, something would happen.

Danny's eyes trailed slightly to the left, then up over his head and down again, subconsciously following something even he couldn't explain.

"I'm fine, just arguing with my siblings," Damian replied, shoving his phone back into his pocket so he could focus on Danny. He wasn't Robin right now, he was Damian, and his boyfriend needed him.

"Oh," Danny blinked, his eyes flashing green again just like they had earlier. Damian frowned, trying to figure out what caused it. they had flashed green when he mentioned his parents, and then green again when they tried to convince him to stay after Father's questions.

The door swung open before he could question it, his father's silent figure marching in, followed by Tim's.

Danny blinked at them, before gesturing at the chairs next to Damian, "Sure, barge right in without knocking. Just make yourselves at home, why don't cha?"

Despite everything, Damian couldn't help but smile. It was just like him to not be bothered by his father, to the point of giving disparaging remarks right to his face.

Next (to be written)

[haematoclan]

Leo's relationship with death

Leo really doesn't like to think about death.

I mean, we all saw how much impact Karai's death had on all of Mad Dogs but Leo was the only one that had to be dragged from her, yelling after her, he really, really didn't want to lose her.

And I think when he lost her it left a deep scar.

I saw posts talking how Leo wants for things to get back to normal and pretend nothing happened, which I completely agree with. I think it's in big part because of his fear of repeating losing a close one.

He REALLY doesn't want to even acknowledge death.

Here Raph seemed to be getting through to Leo-

-but the moment he mentions possibility of his family dying?

Nope, time to deflect, joke and feign ignorance.

Leo's aware that death is a big part of being a responsible hero and that's why he'd rather goof off with his brothers and not train.

Because obviously when you ignore something it just dissapears, right? So if they ignore severity of certain situations and possibility of dying it won't happen, right?

If they don't treat it seriously they'll be fine! Totally!

Then Raph shields Leo from the Krang and sends him away.

And it's as if Karai's death stared right in his eyes.

So Leo picks up the slack of leadership in order to save Raph. He behaves carelessly during this time but can you really blame him, he desperately wants to save his brother, to stop yet another family member from death that he is so scared of.

He still tries to be positive and nonchalant, that "pfff obvioulsy everything will turn out alright!" but at the end of the day, it's not that simple.

Casey's speech had hard time to really hit Leo, he's still avoiding confronting resposibility, literally and metaphorically turning away from it. But the moment Casey says Leo's whole family died?

Now that made an impact.

And every time his family is in terrible danger he looks absolutely terrified and basically every time Leo has to be dragged away to not just return and try to save them again.

And when there's nobody to drag him away?

First thing he does is sacrifice himself. Because I don't think Leo is scared of his own death, or at least he is not as scared of him dying as his family. He'd rather give away his life than live through another grief.

Obviously I'm not sayin that the rest of the fam isn't terrified of close ones dying. But while they seem less aware (Mikey) and/or more ready for the possibility (Raph)...

Leo's wholly aware but he'd rather not be and ignore his fears until he can't anymore.

[catparent94]

All the ROTTMNT brothers are self-sacrificial idiots

So I hear a lot of people talk about Leo’s self-sacrifice in the movie. Which makes sense because it was essentially supposed to be the gut-wrenching scene at the end of the movie.

But I think it is important to highlight that all the brothers are all self-sacrificial, just in different ways. I am going to list all the times I think that they have sacrificed themselves in the movie and how they do it in different ways.

Side Note: I will elaborate the self-sacrifice dynamics of the series overall, in depth in another post, but this one is going to mainly focus on the movie.

Raph

The first obvious one is Raph. He literally jumped in front of Leo to save Leo and prevent him from being killed by the Krang spear like thing. It literally put a crack in Raph’s shell.

Based on how fast Raph moved immediately in front of Leo, I think his self-sacrifice was based on instincts.   

Important side note: I consider this and Leo’s sacrifice scene more of a “role reversal” that happens in movies. Mainly because Raph jumped in front of Leo to save his life. So, Leo is doing the same thing Raph did for him at the beginning of the movie, except for the whole world this time.

Another important side note: Raph has jumped in front of someone to save their life before by using his whole body. The example the one I am referring to is in Battle Nexus: New York, where Raph jumps in front of Donnie to protect him from the Shredder.

Donnie

In a similar way to how Raph saved Leo by jumping in front of him, Donnie did a similar thing with Mikey twice. First was when Mikey was trying to make a portal when they were in front of the Krang but a portal did not appear. So Donnie tried to cover Mikey to prevent him from getting hurt by the Krang. This caused his battle shell to break. So the Krang creature that hit Donnie’s battle shell was really close to him.

I think about how if the spear Krang thing came even closer to Donnie’s normal shell, it could have pierced it. I am kind of surprised I don’t see as much, or any, angst related fics about this scene. 

Secondly, in the scene where Donnie and Mikey were standing in the air on a building, Donnie tried to protect Mikey from the Krang by stepping in front of him and trying to make a construction with his ninpo. But it did not form in time, and Donnie was hit straight in the face by the Krang. It seemed like he passed out.

In these two scenes, Donnie self-sacrificial behavior seemed to be based on instincts because of how fast he was in front of Mikey both times.

Side note: For the second scene with Donnie, I don’t know if Donnie had a particular construct in mind he wanted to build because it did not fully show up.

But I have headcanon’s that how fast he builds mystic tech really depends on how memorized the thing is in his head. And he essentially has blueprints along with him to create a physical and mystic version of his tech.

Next with Donnie, there is the Technodrome scene. First, it is shown in the movie that Donnie tried to just submerge himself with the Technodrome by using his arms, which he has a sensory issue reaction to.

After that, he let his whole body be submerged in the Technodrome without his battle shell.

Important: It seemed like neither one of them knew whether Donnie would have survived in the Technodrome. To elaborate, after Donnie was in the Technodrome, Mikey just said “Donnie?” like he didn’t know whether Donnie was alive or not.

This type of sacrifice seems to be more like Donnie was just guessing what to do and hoped it worked. But he had a little bit of time to think of it, and he still decided to go in the Technodrome.

Mikey

With Mikey, the most self-sacrificial scene I can think of is him opening up the portal at the end of the movie. I say this because he was starting to be literally torn apart with his mystic powers to make the portal, even though he did not know it could do that to him. To be honest, I think his sacrifice scene was a mix of his desperation and instincts based on his emotions. He didn’t know if the portal would actually work, but he still tried anyway.

Donnie and Raph Joining Mikey

In the next scene, Donnie and Raph joined Mikey when they started to see the cracks in Mikey’s arms. In the scene, they all got hurt, it seems, from the portal. All three of them, once joined, had glowing cracks coming from their arms. The arms that were cracking were Donnie’s right arm, both Mikey’s arms, and Raph’s left arm.

I would consider this behavior more based on instincts because of how fast Donnie and Raph joined Mikey soon after he was starting to make the portal, and his arms were starting to crack.

Leo

For Leo, I think it is a little bit different compared to the rest for how he self-sacrificed himself. Mainly, because in the movie, his self-sacrificial behavior is more calculated. Mainly shown by him saying “I missed on purpose” and “close the portal, Casey.”

This shows he already had it semi-calculated in his head.

Conclusion

They are all self-sacrificial idiots. But they all think about/do it in different ways in the movie.

For instance, Raph does his self-sacrificial behavior more on instant rather than a fully thought through plan. I mainly attribute this to him being the older brother.

For Donnie, he tries to prevent bad events from happening by creating things like the Donnie pods. But he will jump in front of people he cares about if he really needs to, which is based on instincts. This shows some kind of parallel between Donnie and Raph. But he also self-sacrifices more calculated sometimes, such as with the Technodrome. He does need time in between to figure something out compared to Leo.

For Mikey, when he does self-sacrificial behavior, it mainly comes from emotional distress, and more specifically instincts.

I think people mainly focus on Leo’s sacrifice is because it is more planned out compared to the other’s and is more “showy.”

But the bottom line is that they are all self-sacrificial idiots. But it just comes out in different ways.

Also, I want to see more fics revolving around these moments, and I am working on fics for some of them. Especially the parallel shell scene with Donnie and Raph.

Side Note: I like the headcanon that Donnie is younger than Leo.

If there is more from the movie you want to add, feel free to add it below.

[medusaesque]

Kim Kitsuragi and the pale-

Kim has a unique relationship to the pale, I tried dissecting it and making sense of it. Reposting with more thoughts after some good conversations with @binomech.

Warning- it's insanely long.

1. After life, death

One of the first thing you can learn about Kim is that he would hurl himself in death's way to save you. From the very first moment, Kim is related to sacrifice and death, it follows him wherever he goes-

The slaughterhouse.

He lost his parents at two years old. He worked a year in Processing (here's good post about that by @renmorris and @spilledkaleidoscope). He lost his partner, Eyes. People have taken a bullet that was meant for his more than once. His survivor's guilt is insane. He's killed six people. He's afraid of killing recklessly, and has a deeply unhealthy relationship with his gun (made another embarrassingly long post about that).

Kim also hears pale 'ghosts' on the police radio all the time, talks about it like it's normal, and says he doesn't believe in ghosts.

If harry is with Noid during the Moralist dream quest (more on it later), Harry can even wonder if Kim himself is a ghost, prompting this beautiful exchange-

And he's not entirely wrong. When Harry gets shot, after Kim fulfills Espirit's promise and stands in death's way for him, you can ask as you fall into darkness what will happen to you-

It's the living who are ghosts. You can leave them behind and rest. Go into the wild pale yonder, along with everyone else Kim has ever cared about. Or at least you can try to.

When death is at the door, you have two options-

2. After death, life again

Kim might associate himself with death, but Harry associates him with life again and again- Death is darkness, Kim has a light bulb halo. Death is a sunset, Kim is a sunrise. Death is where you are when the game start, it's ready to take you, and then- a clarion call, the sound of a motor carriage, a detective arriving on the scene, and you open your eyes.

Of course Kim is no actual saint, no guardian angel, but it's really telling that even in harry's deification the symbols of Kim's holiness are worldly, almost mundane, the matters of every day life- a celling's fan lightbulb, the engine of a car..

Or the way @binomech said it when discussing Kim's portrait: this is the only thing keeping you from the full brunt of the world in your mind #but truly you are already in the world #and he is just a man #and that's just a car and that's just a ceiling fan

The game is very clear about Harry being a ceaseless agent of the world, but he's not the only one. Harry stands at death's door twice, and Kim is his way back to the world both times.

3. After the world, the pale

So what is Kim's relationship with the pale?

As casual as he might try to appear, Kim is clearly uncomfortable with the pale, afraid of it even. When Harry brings up the pale, he intervenes, genuinely worried for the fragile stability of his mind, trying to protect him-

It's no more terrifying than water or death or that we're stuck behind our eyes for all eternity?? Sounds pretty terrifying Kim...

I think the key is in the moralist vision quest, When Harry attempts to reach the Committee of Responsibility, and he hears the pale crosstalk coming through the radio, when suddenly-

"Pale is a shroud of memories and it doesn't really distinguish to whom those memories belong to. You could hear anything." You could hear anything, but you hear Kim. Soona even says that the odds of us hearing him, out of all the voices in the pale, are astronomically low.

We know the past has not been harmless to Kim, we know it's full of ghosts and cold winters, but that's not the thing that's eating at him-

Kim is afraid of forgetting. He's constantly writing, he thinks through his notebook, always recording, so he wouldn't lose anything. That's why the pale is so terrifying to him.

4. After the pale. the world again

The world is what it is. God is in his heaven. Everything is normal on Earth.

That leads me to the expeditions through the pale-

Volta do Mar is a skill unique to Kim, according to the stats of this pilot jackets, and it's a Physique skill.

It's driving me crazy to think how Kim wanted to be revolutionary pilot as a kid, and is walking around dressed like a pilot as an adult, to give himself the ability to navigate the pale. To return from the sea-

DISTANT ENEMY OF HIMSELF?? kim....

Seeing how Volta do Mar is strengthened by his jackets, and the items' descriptions point out that most of the people who used to wear this jacket are long gone (alongside what they represented) and considering that the only real advance in pale transit is the speed with which an aerostatic craft can pierce it, is seems fitting that returning from the 'sea' requires the kind of armor that ghosts wear- the ghost of who you wanted to be but never could, of a home that was never yours. Glory to them.

@binomech said it best in this conversation we had about Kim's skills: "your traitorous race. your traitorous job. your traitorous parents. your traitorous senses. distant enemy of yourself: seolite, communist, cripple, faggot. and you wear it as armor"

Kim is equipped for Volta do Mar, he armors himself for it every day, for the thing that makes it possible to return sane, and discover a new world-

This is one of the most touching Kim moments in the game to me- putting his hand in the rain, looking up to the sky, mouth open, welcoming the spring rain, even knowing it'll bring death and destruction with it. He is devoted to this world and the role he has to play in it, or at least the role he thinks he has to play-

But we know Kim has a bigger role to play, he's trying to do his part right there, getting Harry to stay-

His connection to Harry can keep him on this world once again- keeping the two of them together. Their real work is down here, him and Harry are Revachol's only hope. If they stick together they might be able to keep her on this earth.

UNITY AMONG THE RANKS IS PARAMOUNT.

I NEED YOU. YOU CAN KEEP ME ON THIS EARTH. BE VIGILANT.

I LOVE YOU.

[tealvenetianmask]

Stolas's Trolly Problem

I've been noticing the all too common "Stolas is a bad dad" takes coming back post-"Mastermind." For the thousandth time, no he's not. But let's engage a little.

The argument goes like this. "Stolas is willing to throw his life away and make Octavia suffer to save his lover. So he's choosing Blitz over his daughter. He doesn't care about her enough."

I invoke the trolly problem. There are all kinds of variations. You're on a bridge over some train tracks. The train is headed for three people tied to the tracks, but you have your hands on a lever that can divert it to hit just one person tied to the tracks instead. What do you do? What if that one person is your loved one? What if the three people are all elderly and have already lived fulfilling lives? What if you have the chance to sacrifice yourself so that no one else has to die? And so on . . .

This is Stolas's variation of the trolly problem:

The train is headed toward a loved one (Blitz) tied to the tracks. Stolas doesn't want to live in a world that doesn't have Blitz in it.

There's no lever, but he's standing on the bridge.

Stolas can save Blitz by jumping from the bridge and throwing himself on the tracks in front of the train. But he'll die (as far as he knows) and he'll harm another loved one, Octavia, who will lose her dad.

Stolas also recognizes that his own actions played a role in Blitz ending up in this situation, so I think a feeling of responsibility nudges him a bit as well in the direction that he chooses.

He's responsible for Via's wellbeing too. *casually tearing my hair out*

Here's the thing about the trolly problem though. THERE'S NO GOOD CHOICE, and certainly no objectively morally correct choice. Otherwise it wouldn't be hard.

Either way, someone Stolas loves deeply gets hurt. Either way, he will not come out unscathed himself. So protect Blitz from death or protect Via from the pain of loss? I think that for him the choice is easy, but both options are objectively horrible.

And getting furious with him for making the wrong choice is missing that point.

I saw this awesome non-fandom comic yesterday that points out a major flaw in the trolly problem, and uses it as a metaphor for systemic oppression. You should all read it. Essentially, it's this: WHY. THE. FUCK. Are we debating the morality of saving one person or another when we should be asking WHO IS OUT THERE TYING PEOPLE TO FUCKING TRAIN TRACKS?

Which I think is at least part of the point of "Mastermind." We focus on Stolas's choice, but everyone in that courtroom who sentenced Blitz to death had a choice too . . . one where no one had to suffer at all.

[kiwisandpearls]

@grotimus

Honestly, I’ve been thinking about this reply for a bit and honestly, I get it…but I heavily disagree with it. Firstly, I kinda just hate the argument that Madoka’s sacrifice was bad. Is it sad that Madoka had to essentially become a god to fix the Magical Girl system, causing her to be erased from human existence? Yes, absolutely! But it is in no way a bad sacrifice. As another replier noted Madoka becoming the Law Of Cycles was essentially “her way” of fixing the magical girl system, she acknowledges magical girl’s wishes and allows them to continue to make them, she just erases the existence of witches so when a magical girl’s despair is to much for them to take, they don’t have to experience the suffering of turning into witch.

also, while yes, Madoka’s sacrifice is undermined by Kyubey…that’s not what my point is about. With all the choices she had, I do think Homura did do something right by trying to protect Madoka while hurting Kyubey (or as much as you could hurt him) in the process. I’m not going to argue with that. My problem is just more some pmmm fans don’t really seem to consider Madoka’s feelings and argue that Rebellion ended on a perfect happy note when it didn’t, it ended on bittersweet note. As it’s clearly shown at some point Madoka’s going to connect with the law of cycles again.

honestly, I think the reason I’m not huge on defending homura’s decision in rebellion is because I care a lot more for Madoka way more. I understand why people say what Homura did was good, she did let Madoka become human again…but is that really madoka would’ve wanted? And before you point the flower field scene, madoka then didn’t have her memories of previous timelines nor why she made the decision that she did.

it should be noted I don’t madoka hates or will hate Homura for what she did, I’m sure that if/when she gets her memories back she’ll love Homura as she always has. I think my problem is more that a lot of people seem to never consider Madoka’s feelings. It’s entirely possible this is exactly what madoka wanted but it’s also possible that this is the exact opposite of what madoka wanted and I wish people would just acknowledge Madoka’s feelings more, I stg lol.

also, I don’t think Homura’s some evil devil like she claims she is, like we all no she’s just putting up this front to make the other girls hate her when really nobody hates Homura more than Homura herself. And I think her becoming Akuma Homura is perfectly in character for her, she loves madoka, she wants madoka to be safe and happy and in her mind becoming a god wouldn’t allow that. And it’s so beautifully bittersweet because she herself knows this world will not last, madoka will once again become a god one day and I’ll again be at risk of being used by the incubators. And I absolutely love that. But while I think being Akuma Homura is perfectly in character and makes sense as a natural progression of this, it’s just more for me, it doesn’t feel like a happy ending many people portray this as because madoka gets to be human, it’s a bittersweet ending because for madoka may not have wanted this and for madoka and the rest of the girls (well except for Homura I think she knows deep down she isn’t happy at all with any of this lol), this happiness they get to enjoy is temporary, and for madoka that means she’s going to become a god again and be at the mercy of the incubators which is exactly not what Homura wants lol.

I guess I’m more trying to say my problems lie more with some pmmm fans than than the actual story and characters

[courtofparrots]

Maybe my favorite thing about re4 remake is all the moments that feel distinctly human, in a really heartbreaking way. Like when the game makes me go ‘oh my god that’s just Some Guy in a horrific situation’

All of the Ashley moments count as this for me but I wanted to post my top 3 Leon/Luis moments because they’ve been replaying in my head for days:

1. Luis turning his head away when he thinks he’s about to witness Leon being murdered by Mendez:

This one took me a little while to notice but it feels so sad because it’s like, to me he obviously just doesn’t want to have to watch another person die for what he perceives to be a direct consequence of his actions 😭

2. The way Leon’s voice cracks on the word ‘up’ when you look at this human sacrifice situation:

It reminds me of 21 year old Leon tbh.

3. Leon’s little stumble when he tries to get up and rush to Luis when he collapses after saving Leon from Krauser (this one is so owie to me)

[howlingmod]

CHEERS EXTREMELY LOUDLY

can can i ask for azure and twotime (both post-stabbing) w/ a survivor reader that can revive the dead survivors… THANKS!THANKS!THANKS!THANKS!THANKS!THANKS!THANKS!

summary - azure, two time x healer reader

misc - i had to rlly think abt how this would work and i ended up with some kind of soul bond thing (ie. destiny bond from pokemon). reader can sacrifice their own health / entire life to revive someone else, meaning they can only do it once per round and, if their bonded spirit dies then they lose regardless of match outcome. also these are a little short im very sick at the moment ...

two time

-two time just adores you. how willing you are to put yourself on the line for others, how analytical you are when it comes to picking who it'll be- they just cant help but admire all the effort that goes into your role! this isn't even to mention how you remind them oh-so-much of spawn, it's like you were made specifically to make their heart throb!

-they'll be sticking to your side throughout a match without a word. they might stop and point things out every now and then (medkit there, generator around the corner, etc) but more often than not they'll forget to say anything at all, they just get distracted in your presence, they prefer to enjoy the company rather than make it into a big ordeal, really. plus, conversation could draw the killer, and that's the last thing they'd want. (though, if it came to it they'd easily sacrifice their life to save yours. they can only smile if you believe it's because of your abilities and not for you yourself)

-outside of matches, they're still not far behind you. they don't mean to be a nuisance, they just wanna see what you're doing! they find it fascinating to see how you go about your daily life, noticing all the little quirks that differentiate you and all the hobbies you take up even in damnation. they just can't help but be invested in learning what makes you tick, it makes them feel closer to you. expect lots of gifts and questions, they just love seeing your responses. it tells them so much about you when you might be to shy to share!

-if you ever, EVER decide to sacrifice yourself for them, they're shaking the entire match and then some. they just can't wrap their mind around that fact, that you would willingly throw your life down to help them. you can't interact with anything, only serve as another pair of eyes, but that only pushes them to do twice the work. they'll burn through generators, feeling as though their hands are yours for the time being, spurred on by their inability to let you down. they just couldn't do that to you, they could never disrespect you like that, it would be blasphemy..

-they're even clingier afterwards, seeking you out first thing and holding onto you tightly enough you can feel every shaky breath rattle through their lungs. it marks a change in your relationship, where their puppy-eyed fondness turns into true devotion. your magic is a bonding of souls, isn't it? they have to hold their end of that bond up, it's only right.

-they become more reckless, more brave, they'd fight the killers head on and lose a hundred times if it meant sparing you, even if only a little while. you mean so much to them, more than they'd ever be able to tell you louder than the quiet, weepy promises they whisper at night. for every time you plunge a dagger into our own heart, they'll spear a thousand others in turn.

azure

-it's complicated. the first time they witness your magic is unsettling. it's violently familiar, a cutting image of their own death. the flippancy of it makes him sick to his stomach. the frequency with which you spill your own blood before he's even gotten near to landing a hit on you haunts him, ringing back and forth in their mind like a death knoll. you are the epitome of his downfall, the worst moments of his life squeezes out and put into a vessel made to repeat them over and over with no end in sight. where they could look to an eventual end or the forgiveness of a god, you have no such thing, just one miserable loop.

-for this reason, they're really not sure how to feel about you. they switch between hatred and pity like a metronome, hate for the memories you drag up and pity for your unending suffering. it's only when they start looking at the time you do spend alive and well that they begin to grow fond of you. they can't see much of it, they can only see you so much outside of matches, but what they do see turns that pity and hate into respect. you just go about your day, you don't sit and cry or curse your teammates names, you just get up and live a normal life. you eat, you sleep, you devote precious time to meaningless hobbies just for the joy they bring you, and you do it day and and day out, whether you drove steel into your heart that day or not.

-its your ability to move on that draws them closer to you, your ability to forgive and forget, to go on living, they can't help but be endeared by it. where they can't help the bitterness, the spite, to dwell on the 'could have been's, you go forward. maybe it's envy that pushes them to spare the life of who you've bonded to, an attempt to match up to even half of your capabilities in this one small act, either way they find themselves watching you hover around, unable to interact physically yet still shaping the world around you. they can only stare in a stupor as you direct your tethered soul this way and that, towards generators and medkits that you could've done or used yourself had you not decided to save their life.

-they only catch you once, only feel the warmth of your corporeal form one time before the pounding of your heart and the bleeding heat of your throat left a permanent, invisible burn on their hands. they could only stare, could only watch you struggle and thrash with a fire in your eyes they lost long before he was scarified himself. he can only let you go, watch you scurry off in confusion before you fade into the distance. if it weren't for the spectre binding his mouth, he'd ask you a million questions, beg for you to share whatever knowledge you have that he doesn't, cry, scream- but he can't. so, instead, he can only observe, learning from your sacrifices and and dragging himself forward, day in and day out.

[shomixremix]

THE ALTAR OF ADORATION ♥︎

recently i've been getting more and more into my zhongli brainrot (even though he's been one of my fav characters since forever lol) so here you all go!!

oh also tysm for over 1k notes, 100+ reblogs and 50 new followers!! you guys are the best <3 i really didn't expect that kind of support on my last post - turns out everyone likes some dragon men!! so i decided to write some more, here you lovelies go!!

tags: Zhongli, female! reader, dragon! zhongli, religious themes, sacrificial offering, smut, fluff, mating, breeding, creampie, monsterfucking

-> you have been chosen as a sacrifice to the great geo lord rex lapis, during a period where everyone believed he was mad at mortals. scared for your life and trembling, you now realize there was another problem troubling lord morax.

reqs open ♡︎ | minors DNI

great lord rex lapis roamed the earths and heavens for centuries, ruling the land of geo and its people through the thick and thin. they were very devoted followers, obeying his every wish.

however, the height of his reign has long passed, and people simply stopped caring about their archon. until recently.

crops began to wither, mines dried out, contracts were getting broken left and right - rex lapis has had enough of their careless behavior. his people have disappointed him, and this was a sign of his fury. if something wasn't to change, he would abandon them completely.

the people of liyue decided to recommit to their religion, prepared to offer the geo lord a sacrifice of any kind, just so he'd once again bless them. you, even though born in a time where people lost their respect for the geo lord, have always been a devoted follower, praying to him each day and leaving flowers and beautiful crystals under his statue of the seven.

already being a believer of the geo archon, you were chosen as the ceremonial sacrifice.

while nobody knew where rex lapis resided, the site of the ceremony was chosen to be on mt. hulao. as the crowds of people gathered from all over liyue around the lake on the top of the mountain, you stood in front of them, shaking. while you were a follower of morax, you didn't feel it was right to die for the sins of your people.

"it's time to pay our sacrifise!" yelled one of the townsfolk, holding your wrist in an iron grip as he he slit your palm with a sharp knife. you screamed out in pain as maroon blood dripped down your hand. the man who slit your hand placed a valuable cor lapis stone in it, watching as the orange stone quickly became stained with your red blood.

you held your breath as they placed you on the highest point of the mountain and pushed you off, chanting morax's name over and over.

falling seemed to last centuries, even though it was just seconds. you waited and waited for your body to hit the ground, tightening your hold on the cor lapis and in your head praying:

"rex lapis, if you're here, if you hear my prayer, please, i beg you, save me!"

suddenly, your feel onto something, tightly closing your eyes. was this... death?

you open your eyes and realize this wasn't any kind of afterlife - in fact, you were very much still alive, spread on top of the back of a large dragon. your mortality was confirmed by the sharp pain you still felt in your left hand.

"..r-rex l-lapis..?"

the dragon stayed quiet as you clutched his mane, holding on to him for dear life. he only let you get down once you were inside a large cave, seeming like it wasn't a part of the human world - no, this had to be an adepti realm.

an uneducated mortal maybe wouldn't be certain just who was standing between them, but you knew oh so very well. his goldenish brown scales, the big, honey-colored eyes and the tail which ended in a mosaic of clouds all gave him away. standing before you was the geo archon, the adeptus who saved your life even though you were a peace offering.

he stayed quiet, removing you from his back like it was nothing and moving to a completely different side of the cave, laying down on the cold ground with his back turned to you.

he was in no mood to talk, you knew, but you had to thank him for saving your life.

"lord morax..?"

he grumbled in response, steam coming out of his large nostrils.

"i cinserely thank you for saving my life... i was supposed to be a mere sacrifise, yet you still showed me mercy.. i.. just, thank you so much.."

the second the word "sacrifise" leaves your lips rex lapis perks up, turning to you with frantic eyes. he grabs your hand to inspect the still slightly bleeding cut, tearing a piece of your skirt to wrap around your wound as a bandage. morax tightly ties it, then quickly moves from you.

"it should stop the bleeding," he grumbled low, never turning to look at you, almost as if he was completely uninterested, "i will bring you to the villege tomorrow, little mortal. now sleep. your body needs rest"

how could you rest after such a traumatic experience? after almost having your life, all your hopes and dreams, unfairly thorn from you?

"no, i.. i can't return! they will all know that i failed, that i wasn't the sacrifise they all needed to save liyue from your punishment!"

morax huffs, his tail hitting the ground with a loud thump.

"then you can tell them all that i do not wish for a sacrifise. spilling innocent human blood is not only unecessary but also completely repulsive to me."

your eyes widen as he says this, your body instinctively moving a little closer to him: "you.. do not wish for a sacrifise, my lord? then how should we repay you for our sins? how can we ever make you forgive us for losing our faith in you..?"

rex lapis growls lowly, his body tightening like he was in some kind of discomfort or pain.

"the lack of my blessing isn't for the reasons your kind believes," he growled, "i'm not upset at you humans. now sleep." you knew well that that was an order, and an order coming from an archon must always be obeyed. yet, you didn't, scooting closer to him.

"the only thing to be upset about is that they sent you as the offering. how unfair it is to send one of my most devoted followers to die for my amusement.."

you hold your breath, afraid that he was actually considering killing you.

"i've recieved all the little treasures you leave out for me and have heard your every word. you're a persistant little one, aren't you?" even though you couldn't see him, you could feel the smirk on his face.

the knowledge that he has seen and heard how you worship him makes your heart thump loudly in your chest, a pool of pride and flusterness swirling in your belly.

suddenly, morax smells the air sharply, then started writhing on the ground in pain, cursing out a deep yet broken"fuck..!".

"are you in pain, my lord? can i do something to help?" you ask eagerly, wishing to help your saviour.

"move away!" he roared, steam coming out of his mouth. "go to sleep and stop talking to me when i ask, mortal!"

you frigtenedly to as told, laying down on the ground and turning away from him, squeezing your eyes shut. suddenly, you hear little muffled whines and cries coming from him, which immediately makes you look at him again.

his large head is completely flushed red, his lungs heaving up and down quickly. he panted out short little puffs of air, his eyes bloodshot ready and his body trembling slightly. you didn't know what was wrong with him, he acted like some kind of a wild animal in a rut-

"lord morax, are you.. in a rut..?" it was a shameful question to ask the archon, yet your curiosity got the better of you.

he huffed out, more and more in pain with every passing minute. "i haven't... hah... i haven't been in centuries... it's inevitable i go through it every couple of hundred years..."

morax groans, visibly in a lot of discomfort.

"and of course that when i'm in a rut they just have to send me a gorgeous woman as a sacrifice to worsen my state..."

your cheeks darken as he murmurs this, blood rushing to your head.

"how do i worsen your state..?"

"your arousal" he rasps, "i can smell it, little mortal. i can smell you, and it's torture. it pains every muscle in my body to resist you, but i have to; it's my duty"

your heart aches at his words.

"i can help" you breathe, unsure what you were even offering. his sharp eyes turn to you, piercing you with his gaze.

"no", his answer is short but stern, "i could kill you, i could harm you and leave you not remembering your own name. i cannot do that to my most devoted follower. not to you, y/n"

your heart stops, dropping to your feet.

"how do you know my name...?"

he groans as he explains: "i often wander around the mortal world in my human form, to feel closer to your kind... i have met you a couple of times during your prayer at the statue of the seven. i cannot use your pure body to breed when i know how much respect and hope you have in me. it would be betrayal to you, and you would never see me, nor my human form, the same"

"it pains me to see my archon in pain" you whisper as you get closer to the large dragon, your stomach stirring. you gently touch the scales down his back and feel how he shivers under your touches.

"i want... i want to help you, if i can... i want to help you through this.. you have helped me through the darkest points in my life, and even though i don't know who your human form is, i have a feeling i'm close to you even then... i just desire to help you, lord morax..."

"do you even understand what kind of help i need? what i will do to you if you allow me?"

you smile, running your hands through his shiny mane.

"yes, i understand. use me however you like, my lord."

his self control snaps, big paws pinning you down on the ground. he's panting like a dog as he nuzzles his head against your neck, tearing the rest of your skirt off. only left in a pair of underwear and a thin shirt, you tremble under the archon's touches.

"hm.. such a beautiful mortal..." he hums as he tears the rest of your cloth from your body, leaving you completely bare. you try to cover yourself with your arms, yet morax grabs them and pins them by your sides.

his large mouth comes in contact with your skin, licking, kissing and biting as he moved down. morax grazes your skin with his teeth, never biting down hard enough to draw blood from your veins. you had already done your sacrifice, more blood wasn't needed. his tounge moves from your neck to your exposed breast, swirling around your hard nipples, earning a little whimper from you.

then, he moves even lower, nipping at your stomach. he forces your tighs apart, burying his large head to your folds and forcing you to hold on to him by his horns. rex lapis tastes you eagerly, lapping up any slick your body oh so willingly gave him. you moaned and whined as he fucked you with his tounge, making you come almost instantly.

"ohhhh!! m-morax~ ahh..." you moan as he helps you through it, sharply tugging on your sensitive clit with his sharp teeth, always careful not to hurt you.

"celestia" he sighs into your slick folds, earning a tremble from you. "you taste devine, my dear. i haven't enjoyed such a sweet taste in centuries"

he shows you no mercy and continues to eat you out as if you were his last meal, one paw holding down your wrists and the other secured on your hips, not allowing you to move at all. after about three delicious highs he pulls from your frail body with his tounge, you start begging for the real thing. you knew his rut wouldn't be over unless he fucked you, and you were kinda hoping this torterous foreplay would be over soon...

"m-morax... please.." you whimper, squeezing your legs around his snout. he grumbles low, giving one final lick to your greedy pussy.

"i have to loosen you as much as possible so you could even try to take me. preperations can take up to days."

your eyes open wide and your mouth partens. you couldn't wait days to get him to fuck you, and you certainly didn't know how you'd survive days worth of eating out!

"but i cannot wait that long" he smirks, rubbing your outter tighs and ass. in one swift motion he flips you over so you were on your knees, face down and ass up. you feel his length rubbing up on you; even though you couldn't see him, your eyes went wide in shock. you felt how impossibly large he was, both in size and girth, almost being comparable to your legs.

but another thing surprises you - the head of his cock is poking at your tight entrance, but another thing is poking at your ass! you turn your head in shock, and he reassures you.

"i am different than a mortal, my dear"

you let out a loud scream of his name as he harshly thrusts both of his heavy cocks into you. he thrusts as far as he can, entering your cushy womb from how big he is and almost ripping your ass apart. you scream and cry and writhe yet he doesn't budge, letting you get used to him inside you for a few moments before he starts thrusting.

he starts moving without a warning, dragging you back on his cocks. you turn into a sobbing mess as each one of his thrusts so pleasantly tease your g-spot, bullying your tight walls.

"ahh.. ahhh! mphhh! mmphshs! m- mor... ah! ohhh!"

you cry and cry, not even knowing your own name out of so much pleasure. you feel like your holes are completely loose and yet, clamping down on him greedily. he tugs your head back by your hair, snuggling his nuzzle in your neck so you'd hear him better.

"shh, don't cry... you've asked me for this, little mortal. you asked to be fucked like this, hm? look at you, so pretty like this. so no need to cry, you will be fine. i allow you as much pleasure as you need. "

you couldn't stop yourself from coming, squirting your juices all over his cock. he watches this in amusement, fucking into you harder and faster. in one moment, he threw his head back in pleasure, making a loud roar.

"fuck, y/n..." he groaned as you hiccupped your sobs, finally giving a harsh, last thrust and stilling inside. you felt an impossible amount of warmth spread through your body as he filled you with seed, spilling a wave after wave of cum in your womb. he had filled you so much that it spilled from you, leaving you entirely breathless.

as soon as he's done he pulls out, letting you fall to the floor. he picks up your limp body, curling himself around you and cuddling you close.

"it's alright, my dear... you did perfect. you were just devine, and you've felt better than anything i've ever felt in all my years. rest, now. i will take care of the rest tomorrow."

your head hazy, your mind fuzzy with pleasure and your eyes heavy, you lay curled against him and finally get the much needed sleep.

the next morning, you wake up with a human, veined arm around your bare waist.

"there you are... you are too adorable in your sleep" a deep voice said from behind you, and you turned around, expecting to see the geo archon.

yet, you were faced with a man you knew all to well - the man you had deep feelings for ever since he first arrived in liyue harbour.

"mr. zhongli?!"

he hums out a laugh, tightening his hold on you.

"yes, if i'm correct, we've met in my human form a couple of times?"

you blush deeply, reminiscing on the few blissful times you talked to him. he was a very handsome, successful young man, with great wisdom and a clever mind - and you admired him very much, so much that you couldn't help but fall in love.

"you look dissapointed... are you not fond of me after finding out who i am?"

he asks, his gaze softening and looking almost saddened. you quickly reassure him:

"no, no, i'm not dissapointed! more like stunned.." you blush and he notices, twirling a strand of your hair between his fingers.

"oh? why is that? i have always assumed we had a fairly good relationship, y/n. you have always been so nice to me"

"i.. i've had feelings for you for quite a while..." you say shyly, almost embarassed of the fact.

his lips curl into a genuinely happy smile, his arms pressing you closer to his bare chest.

"then everything turned out alright"

you smile, but everything suddenly dawns on you - that zhongli seemed to be okay with your feelings for him, that you almost died yesterday as a sacrifice, that zhongli is morax and most importantly, that oh, you fucked the geo archon, in his dragon form no less!

"am i pregnant now..?" you ask quietly, reminded that the act of a rut is mainly to breed and create off-spring. zhongli laughs at your question, leaving a quick peck on your forehead.

"no, most likely not. but you will be, in a few hundred years, once i have to go through this all over again" you almost choke on your own spit as he says this.

"but... i won't be alive in a few hundred years... you will have to find another to help you through this.."

as soon as you mention him sleeping with another woman his face turns into one of disgust, his strong arms gathering your entire body in his hold.

"as my mate, you will live as long as i do, and i'm immortal, my dear."

"your mate?!"

"yes. by helping me through my rut, you have become my mate. of course, only if that's what you wish" he says, pressing a loving kiss to your eyelid. "and do not worry, my dear, dragons mate for life"

he almost purrs into your warm skin, making a referance to what you said about him sleeping with another woman.

"...being your mate.." you sigh, cuddling into his chest.

"it's like what you humans call "relationship" except a stronger bond, sort of an unbreakable contract between the two of us. a forever promise of care, love and loyalty."

"i think i would like that" you humm into his chest, "but, let's take it a little slow?"

he kisses you full of warmth, his hands soothing your sides.

"of course, my dear. i will take you on a proper date when we get back. for now, just lay there and let me thank you properly for your help last evening..." he sighs as he kisses your shoulder over and over again.

yesterday at this time of day you were supposed to be nothing but a sacrifice to the geo lord, and now here you were, getting your body worshiped by him, forever safe and secure in his arms as his mate.

[urinarythreatinfection]

Hair

a/n: I like writing fluff, it makes me happy.

Shanks x GN!reader. 921 words. Post-Loguetown.

“I gave the straw hat to Luffy but now my head looks a bit empty…” Shanks thinks to himself as he looks in the mirror. He tries to run his left hand through his hair, realizing once again that it’s gone. “Shit, I need to get used to this.” He doesn’t regret saving Luffy one bit, he’d sacrifice his arm again if he were to go back in time, but it is proving to be more and more troublesome missing an entire arm; especially his dominant one. “Can I even cut it now? It’ll take a while before I have the precision again to trim this.” So many new issues to deal with, and he’s had the hat for so long he looks weird and plain without it. ‘Maybe I should grow out my hair a bit, but taking care of it seems like a hassle.’ Despite all these ideas, he sighs. ‘I’ll think about it.’

_______________________

Shanks walks outside onto the deck and notices you talking with Benn, he freezes. Right, you left Loguetown with him. You said yes and joined his crew. That thought makes him giddy and he wants to talk to you but he stops when he hears the conversation.

“So, what looks do you like in a man?” Beckman’s asking your type… Well, it’s not like the deck is strictly for you two. He slowly makes his way back to where he was, slowly hiding behind one of the masts.

“Looks, hm?” You put a hand on your chin, pondering. “I’m not too strict about what I find attractive but if I had to have a preference I do like men bigger than me.” The corner of Shanks’s mouth twitches up. Not to toot his own horn but he is taller than you. However, it quickly goes down when you continue. “Something about the way they can envelop me feels warm. A nice hug, their arms around me, it just feels very safe.” Arms. Ah.

‘They didn’t mean it like that.’ The redhead tries to tell himself, but it’s not working. Another new thing he has to deal with. He lost his arm, his dominant one. He can’t keep you as safe as before, envelop you like before. His expression darkens.

“Red hair too.” He’s snapped out of his moping. “The shade matching their personality would be nice too. A deep red for a passionate person.” Shanks thinks of his hair, he’s plenty passionate, and his hair is a deep red. “Also, maybe this is a bit unpopular, but I actually prefer men with hair on the longer side.” Long!?

“Are you hitting on me?” Beckman jokes and you laugh a little. Shanks panics, he doesn’t know how he could take care of long hair with one non-dominant arm.

“You do look handsome, so maybe I am.” The length based on their personality is nice too, for you your hair length is perfect.” He can’t listen to this. “For a more elegant man, hair to the mid back is nice.” It turns out Beckman is your type. “But, for a rouge-ish man like I mentioned it definitely has to be hair a little above or to the shoulders. Just enough to put it into a little ponytail, basically. It always looks so perfect that I have to resist the urge to stare.” Your cheeks tint at the thought and Shanks’s heart starts to quicken. He could handle hair at that length, not too hard.

“Red hair and a rogue-ish appearance. Reminds me of someone. Though he’s missing the hair length.” Beckman’s eyes glance at Shanks’s hiding spot, he’s been caught! The captain flinches and makes his escape to the back deck via speed walking. While he walks a smile forms on his face. Longer hair. He can work with that.

______________________

Shanks has been growing his hair out. Well it’s not surprising considering it would be hard to trim the way he used to with one hand, but you still didn’t expect it; especially since he’s mentioned before that anything not short would be a hassle to take care of.

“(Y/n)” You sit on the grass at an island, looking up to see your captain casting a shadow over your face. “Photosynthesizing?”

“I’m shocked you know that word.” You joke and he laughs, sitting next to you.

“I’m a real scholar.” He looks into your eyes and you smile back. Maybe you’re biased but he looks better with longer hair, your eyes keep gravitating to him. “Do I have something on my face?” He teases.

“You look handsome.” You state and his eyes widen. He didn’t expect you to just say it.

“R-Really!?” He grimaces at his stutter but your smile gets wider.

“Mhm, you look better with your hair longer like this. I like it a lot.” Shanks manages to regain his composure, smirking.

‘Wow~ Don’t fall for me too quickly.” He winks and you laugh.

“I’ll try, but if you steal my heart I’ll have no choice but to take yours. It’s only fair~”

___________________

That night Shanks looks into the mirror in his room, your words repeating in his head.

“If you steal my heart I'll have no choice but to take yours.”

His cheeks flush, what a funny thing to say when you already have it. “I’m the one trying to get one back” Shanks sighs and flops onto his bed stomach first. A moment passes.

“You look handsome.”

“I like it a lot.”

"Hehehehehehe" He giggles, rolling around on his bed.

I offer you.. a small cute shanks drabble. Hope you like! The 3rd scenario with the old men and male reader will be posted tomorrow, obvi, so the people who wanted don't worry :D