#since the rest of the cast generally likes him [at least as I play it] he thinks hes doing just fine

[beatcroc]

there's no way the bathroom at peppino's pizza is actually that big but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . hey ummm anyway.... i care them...... anyway there's a lil ramble on my take on fake pep's like psyche or whatever in tags on the og post if ur into that kinda thing :y

hey! it's a series! fake peppino world tour: [noise] [noisette] [peppino]<- u are here [gustavo] [gerome] [noisette again]

[mossy-rock-in-a-field]

Several weeks ago, my retirement-age mother requested that I play Baldur’s Gate 3 for her because she has trouble with controllers/keyboards and wanted “to see what all the fuss is about with that cute wizard boy.” For context, my mother and I have done this sort of thing in the past with certain RPGs (dragon age, mass effect, etc.), but it’s been a few years since she’s personally requested a game like this. Basically, I control her Tav but let her make all the choices so she can determine how the story plays out without worrying about mechanics. She treats it like a choose-your-own-adventure book.

Anyway, here is a list of some of the things my mother has said and/or chosen to do throughout the course of BG3 in no particular order:

She is (obviously) romancing Gale. She is quite smitten with him and his passion for books and learning; she also thinks he’s polite and qualifies as “relationship material.” She also REALLY likes the things he’s said about his cat so far (my mom is a cat lady), so I know she’s gonna flip shit when we meet Tara in Act III.

She’s playing a normal druid Tav with a generally good alignment. Her favorite spell is Spike Growth because she thinks it’s hilarious whenever enemies walk into the AOE and die. I usually end up having to cast it at least once per battle per her request. Sometimes twice.

Contrary to her alignment, my mother tasks me with robbing every single chest, crate, barrel, and burlap sack we come across; this also includes people and their pockets. The party is always at max carrying capacity. ALWAYS. She doesn’t like selling things because “what if I need them.” The camp stash is in literal shambles. There is no hope of organizing it. She’s got like fifty seven sets of rags and a billion pieces of random silverware.

She MUST talk to every animal and corpse in the game. I think five hours of her total playtime so far (47ish) has been spent speaking to animals as many times as humanly possible. Like, I was thorough in my own playthroughs, but this is on a whole other level.

She did NOT get Volo’s lobotomy, but she did let Auntie Ethel take her eye in hopes of a cure for the tadpole. I did not understand the logic then. I still do not understand it now.

She is far more interested in fashion than equipment stats. Do you have any idea how much gold I’ve had to spend on dyes just to make things match? SO much. Same vibe as that “please someone help me balance my finances my family is starving” tweet but instead of candles it’s thirty thousand fucking bottles of black and furnace red dye.

We broke the prisoners out of Moonrise, but they got on the boat too early and bugged the fight by leaving Astarion and Karlach behind. Wulbren Bongle somehow got stuck in combat mode even after engaging the cutscene on the docks below Last Light; he he kept trying to run ALL THE WAY BACK TO MOONRISE nine fucking meters at a time while I frantically tried to finish the fight with the Warden, otherwise Wulbren would have run straight into the shadow curse. (I would’ve let him go; fuck Wulbren Bongle, all my homies hate Wulbren Bongle. But my mom didn’t know that, and she wanted to keep him safe. So.)

She had me reload a save like eighteen times to save the giant eagles on top of Rosymorn Monastery. Wouldn’t even let me do non-lethal damage just to get past things. I think getting that warhammer for the dawnmaster puzzle took us like an hour and a half alone. (Yes, I know you can use any warhammer, but SHE didn’t.)

She’s started keeping an irl notebook to keep track of her quests between play sessions. She writes down ideas and strategies when she thinks of them during the week, then brings them to her next game session at my house. I think she wrote about three pages on possible approaches to the goblin fortress alone.

She insists that I pet Scratch and the owlbear cub before every single long rest, no exceptions. Sometimes I have to do it multiple times until she is absolutely sure that the animals know exactly how much she loves and cherishes them. She has also commissioned a crocheted owlbear plush from a friend of hers and is very excited.

I’m sure there’s a bunch of stuff I’m forgetting, but those are some fun things I thought of. She’s enjoying the game and is telling all of her retired friends to get it and play it for themselves. She asked me “what is Discord” yesterday and I think my life flashed before my eyes.

anyway shout out to my mom for being neat

Part 2 — Part 3 — Part 4 — Part 5

[chronicbeans]

Romantic Lucifer x Overly Kind and Sweet Sinner Reader Headcanons

I love him so much OMG. I wanted to play around with this dynamic to lol. Basically the exact opposite of the type of sinner he's probably used to seeing.

TW: Mentions of depression and anxiety, angst and fluff, mentions of past relationships

• Chances are, you're very much a dreamer. Any type of dream, too, not just the desire to strike change in the world around you. Be it daydreams, goals, hopes, or anything along those lines, you're probably a dreamer. Those characteristics in a person are what catches his attention. He used to be that type of person, before everything changed once he was cast out. Although he doesn't necessarily like dreaming, anymore, he can appreciate it when others do it. Now, most of his own dreams are just concerned worries for his daughter's safety, longings to fix his relationship with her, and creating the worst case scenarios for his life. It's pretty obvious why he doesn't like to dwell on his own dreams...

• Your dreams, however, are rather interesting to him. Especially since you are a sinner and were not born into Hell. He doesn't necessarily look at sinners very highly, however, you are pretty different. You aren't a bad person, or at least not as bad as the rest of the sinners he's met. And the things you dream of? They're amazing. It's not that they're something he's never heard of, either. It's just that he's never heard of them from a sinner, before, or anyone else in Hell.

• As odd as it sounds, your dreams, even if they're just stories you've dreamed up or a hope to better yourself in some small way, give him a little glimmer of hope. He lost all hope over the years of him being in Hell, in large part due to seeing the worst in humanity... The sinners. So, despite him feeling different towards you, don't expect him to actually like you. You also shouldn't expect him to actually feel very hopeful just by you being so different. It's more like a little piece of coal that's gotten a bit hot, but hasn't sparked or ben set alight, yet. He barely even notices it's there.

• What you should expect, however, is for him to spend more time around you. He wants to see you fail to change his mind, or live up to the tiny hope that you're different and can live up to fulfill your dreams. He wants to see you slip up and show that you're not really this kind person you show yourself to be, and then be able to go on his way proudly, knowing that his depressive views on sinners are right. He doesn't even have the intention of using it to prove to Charlie, his daughter, that sinners are irredeemable. He just wants to snuff out what little hope he has before it can stand up and hurt him in the long run.

• That's not the case, however. Not at all. Instead, you just keep being kind. You check into his daughter's hotel to try to better yourself. This results in him spending far more time at the Hazbin Hotel, since now you're there, as well as causing him to spend more time with Charlie. He watches you genuinely try to get better, give Charlie pep talks to lift her up when she's down, and even try to get along with Niffty. It's a truly strange sight to behold for him... A sinner who is so kind and relaxed. He's truly wondering why you are in Hell, at this point.

• Though, the breaking point is when he overhears a conversation between you and Charlie. One that involved how you heard about the Hazbin Hotel, how you met Lucifer, and why you decided to try to see if the hotel could help you. Shockingly, you list off the fact that you wanted to see if you visiting the hotel could bring Lucifer over to visit, since you had noticed how he seemed to hang around you, and you wanted to see if it could help him and Charlie spend more time together as a reason for you going to the hotel. That, alongside the generic reasons of wanting to better yourself, needing a roof over your head, and wanting to possibly see if you could go to Heaven.

• In that moment, he tenses up, looks over towards your direction for a brief moment, then pretends like he didn't hear a thing. He doesn't know how to respond to such a thing. It's so overwhelmingly... selfless of you to even think of the fact that you coming to the hotel would also have the chance of helping Charlie and himself. That, and he's also embarrassed of the fact that you noticed him showing up a bit more often in your life, despite you two still being acquaintances. Then again, thinking it through, it should've been obvious. Not only is he royalty, he is the Lucifer. Everybody has probably heard about him, or the whole story about the Garden of Eden. So, the snake and apple themes of his outfit do help people who do not know what he looks like be able to identify that it's him. He was that famous snake. He is Lucifer.

• That's when he finally decides to let himself hope. Not necessarily for himself, for any other demon, for the sinners as a whole... Not even for you to better yourself and reach your dreams. No. He's just going to let himself hope that this you that you portray yourself as is the real you. This likeable person you seem to be may be real. So, he decides to officially consider you a friend. He lets himself loosen up, crack a few jokes, show you his duck collection... Or at least a few of them. It would be difficult to bring his entire collection to the hotel.

• Throughout it all, your kind self stays the same. There are times you seem to be angry, frustrated, or saddened, of course. However, that kindness always shows through, as well as your dreams and hopes. You ramble about those two topics, even acknowledging that while Lucifer may not believe in you, you do and that's all you need. Not only that, but you even show interest in the things he talks about. You point out your favorite rubber ducks in his collection, you listen to him as he plays music, you crack your own jokes in response to his. You even try to fill him in on a few of Charlie's interests to help him understand her better.

• Slowly, overtime, he begins to feel very conflicted... He can tell that he's beginning to feel more romantic emotions towards you. Yes, Lilith has been missing for several years, now. They're practically, if not, already separated. He's unsure of whether or not she's even going to return, much less if she'd be the same person she fell for. He mostly just worries about how Charlie would feel if she found out. Sure, their relationship isn't the best, still, but it's getting better. He doesn't want to accidentally mess it up by having moved on to someone else. Sure, Lilith hasn't talked to either of them in a long time, but he wouldn't be surprised if Charlie still love, cares for, and looks up to her mother. Nor would he be upset. Lilith was an amazing woman, after all...

• However... Lucifer knows all too well, by now, that simply not confronting the problem won't make it go away. He's ran away from many of his problems, or just hid from them, and it hasn't helped him. So, he takes the leap to ask if you are currently looking for a relationship. He silently crosses his fingers, hoping that it's a yes, maybe, you're open to one but not searching... anything but a no...

• And it's a yes! You can practically see him looking relieved as you do so. You can already guess at this point what his next question is going to be, so you decide to pop it yourself, asking if he wants to go on a date sometime. He practically looks like he's about to have a heart attack, having not expected or planned for you to ask him first, nodding happily with a shocked expression. However, he feels the need to wait until he sees how Charlie feels about everything before planning and scheduling it all out.

• However, once you do end up going on your date, it's not what you expected from a ruler of Hell. It's not bad, though. If anything, it's better! You were slightly scared he'd feel the need to be overly stuffy and formal to impress you. Instead, he brought you to his place to have some homemade dinner. It's just you, him, a rubber duck, and some nice food. Yes, he brought a rubber duck with him to the table. It's his security duck. It's so unapologetically him and that's what you love about him. His personality. The moment he placed that duck into the dinner table and said what it was for, all your worries were washed away.

• Your relationship is filled with a mixture of your own interests and his combining in fun and quirky ways, as well as more soft and emotional moments. You love to listen to his jokes and music, he loves to engage in whatever interests you have, and he comes up with amazing ways to mix the two of your interests to make the relationship feel more special. Do you love to write or make art, like paintings, pottery, or drawings? He'll write music based on your works, be it the stories you create or the emotions your art conveys. Do you like to collect something as a hobby? He likes to collect his rubber ducks, so you both can spend time chatting together about each other's collections, or even set them up in cute positions and take photos of them together! Is it gardening you like? Maybe you can try growing an apple tree, then you two can try making caramel apples with them!

• With all those cute moments, though, do come the downsides... Though, you never let them stop you. He has his moments where his fears, anxieties, and sadness do take over. He's scared of losing you, be it you breaking it off with him of, worse yet, Heaven taking you away. He's scared of you seeing any flaws in him. He's scared that you might be upset that, even if he knows he was ready to move on from Lilith, he does still miss her. After all, a relationship may end quickly, but feelings can linger for decades... However, he's worried you might not understand that. Time and time again, however, you still find new ways to shock and lift him up, again. Be it you letting your actions speak for themselves, you talking to him, or you simply listening to him vent about it. It's gotten to the point where you can look at him, and just tell when he's not alright, which you are pretty proud of.

• Usually, when he's upset, you can find him talking to his ducks about it. That, or playing music... usually to his ducks. If you couldn't tell, his ducks are a huge form of comfort for him. They can't judge him, they can't talk back in anyway that makes him upset, and they can't leave him. Plus, he's so used to talking to them when he's alone, that it's just second nature to do so.

• He has a lot of fears and insecurities. Though, he has two major ones. One is that you're going to hate him for still missing Lilith, sometimes. As mentioned earlier, a relationship doesn't just fizzle out quickly, usually. She just left, one day, and he's pretty much stuck dealing with his emotions for her for as long as they last, at this point not even sure if she'll come back to talk to her daughter, much less him. Just because he still misses her, though, doesn't mean he doesn't love you... He's terrified that you might not understand that, though. He's usually reassured, though, by you showing an understanding of his situation and the fact that he does truly care and love for you...

• However... the other fear he has is that Heaven might take you away. Be it an extermination killing you, or what he personally sees as worse, you being redeemed and going to Heaven, or Heaven taking you for some other reason. Sure, you'd be dead if you got killed during an extermination, but at least he'd have the chance to protect you from it. You being redeemed or being taken to Heaven for whatever reason, though? That's never really happened, before. It may or may not be possible, but if it is, he doesn't know what to expect? What if God, himself, comes down to take you to Heaven? He's fought Him, once, and failed miserably. He can't protect you from that, and if you go to Heaven, who knows if he'd see you again? It'd be like Lilith going missing all over, again, but worse because he knows where you are and that he can't join you. You're so kind and sweet that Lucifer can't even use the thought of you being irredeemable to calm himself... Sometimes, actually, he even wonders if God put you in Hell on accident.

• Oftentimes when you hear him talk about this, you try to think of some sort of reply. You are trying to better yourself, yes. You did go to the Hazbin Hotel to try to be redeemed, even if you did leave it to stay with Lucifer. You are also more than aware that you're drastically different from all the other sinners. The only real reply you can think of is that you wouldn't want to leave him, so why would God try to take you away when you care about Lucifer more than Him? You aren't necessarily sure just how much it helps, but it is something, which you hope is better than nothing.

[lady-harrowhark]

hello, can you explain to me in more clarity your “waxen” theory regarding Ianthe? I’m not picking up on what this implies but it’s making my brain itch.

Sort of! Totally fair question, I just don't have a lot of clarity myself in that I don't have a fully formed theory lol. There's definitely some links and parallels in verbiage that are pinging on my radar, so I do think something's funky, but I wouldn't say I'm fully on board with this yet. I'm just playing in the sandbox Tamsyn has provided us, tossing out ideas and thinking out loud. But I can go into some more detail, and add some more thoughts that have occurred to me since I posted that last night.

(Here's a link to the post in question, for context)

Anyway! So let's first lay out all the times we get someone described as some type of wax. At various points in HtN, we get the descriptions "a shoddy wax cast of some more beautiful sculpture," a "wax figure in a pink dolly dress," a "wax figure in pale purple chiffon," and "waxen face" for Ianthe. We also see that descriptor used a few other times for other people throughout the series. In GtN, Harrow's parents' bodies are called "waxy" and the first introduction of Protesilaus (as the beguiling corpse) says he was "waxen looking in the sunlight." In NtN, Kiriona's skin is said to have a "weird, waxy quality," then Naberius's skin is called "waxen" when they first meet up with Ianthe, and again a few pages later it again references the "waxen, handsome face". What I'm getting at here is that every time this sort of description is deployed, it's in reference to a dead body that's been preserved, manipulated, and is essentially masquerading as a living person... except for Ianthe.

We also know there are a multitude of times that she's described as looking like a poor copy of Coronabeth. There's that "shoddy wax cast of some more beautiful sculpture" line, her first introduction calls her a "starved shadow" of her sister ("or the first an illuminated reflection [of Ianthe]," and actually, off the top of my head I don't know that we ever see their descriptions framed that way again... I'd have to investigate this more later, but this might be the only time that Corona is described as a "better" version of Ianthe, rather than Ianthe being a "worse" version of Corona, which is interesting), there's a point where it says "The second twin was as though the first had been taken to pieces and put back together without any genius. She wore a robe of the same cloth and colour, but on her it was a beautiful shroud on a mummy," etc etc etc. I know there's more, but I'm too lazy to go pull the rest of the quotes and you get the picture by this point I'm sure. So nearly all of these situate her, at least visually, as a copy or approximation of Coronabeth, and one that doesn't quite live up to original at that.

So now let's pick apart this snippet of conversation we overhear between Silas and Ianthe at Magnus and Abigail's dinner party a bit. Ianthe says she was born via "surgical means," which I'm assuming is referring to a C-section delivery (or whatever the necromantic equivalent is) and notes that Corona is a few minutes older. Silas seems surprised (or perhaps concerned?) that they "risked intervention" and Ianthe says Corona had "removed [her] source of oxygen". At this point Silas says, "A wasted opportunity, I'd think." I had always taken this for him just being a dick and implying he wished she'd died in the womb, but coming back to it with this new angle... well. She says "Corona's birth put my survivability somewhere around definite nil." And I'm wondering if that doesn't tie to Harrow's comment about infant deaths generating "enough thanergy to take out the entire planet." Basically, could Silas have been implying that the Tridentarii's parents wasted an opportunity to use the thanergy from baby Ianthe's death to power up Corona?

Harrow says that twins are an ill omen, but the text hasn't come back to that as of yet. Given the difficulty necromancers experience with pregnancy, I'd imagine twins would could be especially dangerous and that in and of itself could be considered an ill omen. Ianthe's comments certainly suggest that their mother carried the pregnancy, although I don't think we know for certain whether she was a necromancer. I am so intensely curious about the Tridentarii's childhood and their parents; we get so many gestures towards some really twisted family dynamics, but very little in the way of concrete explanations. Particularly relevant here, I'd love to know more about their father wanting a "matched set" and how that came about. Did they intentionally plan for twins from the start? Was it only once they knew they were having twins that that became a factor? What's the significance there?

Outside of those "waxy" descriptors, Ianthe tends to be described as much more sickly looking than even other necromancers. We know that necromancers on the whole tend towards a phenotype of physical weakness, but even still, there's an emphasis on this with Ianthe beyond that. This might be due in part to narrator bias (coughGideoncough) or the direct juxtaposition between her and Coronabeth's vivaciousness, but what really jumps out at me as contributing to this effect is how frequently she's described as being colorless, pale, washed out, bloodless, pallid, anemic, etc etc etc. It very much makes me think of the way the color drains away from Colum (and even the rest of the room and the others in it) when Silas is siphoning. Silas himself is also often described as colorless ("mayonnaise uncle," "milk man") but not so much in a way that implies frailty as much as I read it as implying a stark coldness, in line with the very black-and-white moral authority he presumes to wield, a purported "purity", much different than Ianthe's colorlessness. With Ianthe, you get a sense that her palette ought to have been or perhaps was closer to Corona's, but the color's been drained away; where Corona's hair is described as golden, Ianthe's is "canned butter", for example. Almost like the life's been siphoned out, one might say.

So to kind of circle back around, do I actually think Ianthe is dead or a corpse like the other "wax" figures we've seen? Nah. Between Harrow and Palamedes, and especially Palamedes's medical necromancy, I think we would have heard about it by now if that were the case. But I do think it's entirely plausible that she's had a bit of a brush with death and that perhaps she's never quite fully come back from, and I do think she's being intentionally positioned as somewhat adjacent to death. If their parents were wanting twins from the outset, perhaps they used necromantic means to encourage the conception. Or if the pregnancy was as high-risk as I suspect it was, perhaps she'd died or nearly died at birth and been resuscitated. Their parents may have gone to extremes to keep her alive, to maintain their matched set. Given the themes of this series, I do feel it's necessary to draw a distinction between "resuscitation" and "resurrection" although they are curiously adjacent to one another. For all the text has grappled with dying and staying dead, dying and coming back, dying and choosing whether or not to return... we haven't touched on what something like a "near death experience" would look like. I'd imagine having that sort of experience, even at an incredibly young age, might lead one to be fascinated with, to use Ianthe's own words, "the place between death and life... the place between release and disappearance."

[rainbowmothed]

︵︵ MISC. HAZBIN HOTEL HEADCANONS

╰ ⋯ ➢ just some random hcs i thought of off the top of my head!! ♡ as always, reblogs and likes appreciated! includes both main cast and heaven hcs. :3

𝜚 ₎ MAIN CAST HCS

Vaggie says stuff like “rad,” “dude,” etcetera unironically and definitely gets made fun of for it. Mostly by Cherri and Angel– Pentious says it is ‘hashtag trending awesome sauce.’

Vaggie sets 6 alarms in the morning, all with custom minute intervals between the snooze alarms to make SURE she doesn't sleep through it. Charlie doesn't mind, though, mainly because she wakes up at four in the morning to work on projects anyway.

Charlie has made playlists for everyone in the hotel on hell's equivalent of spotify; Vaggie's is the most well thought out, but they all describe them very well. Alastor never listens to it due to his dislike for modern technology/apps, but he appreciates it– or at least acts like he does– nonetheless.

Charlie definitely rides on Alastor's shoulders like a little kid bro IDC WHAT U SAY

Vaggie has cried ONCE in front of the rest of the hotel after being genuinely dogged on repeatedly on one of the worst days of her life, and they all just stared at her in shock. They hate on her so much because it never impacts her– or so they think so, because Vaggie always shrugs it off. They refuse to talk about it.

Vaggie's spice tolerance is unmatched.

Each night, Charlie visits Pentious’ memorial and wraps a weighted blanket around it, saying that maybe it'd remind him of the Egg Bois and the way they snuggled around him in the afterlife.

Vaggie is a huge Hunger Games fan. 90% of her personality derives from Katniss Everdeen.

Adding onto the last one, if Charlie and Vaggie were to have a child, I feel like it'd have the personality of Lucy Gray Baird.

Niffty definitely writes strange fanfiction. Also has BL as her header on the Hell's equivalent of Twitter. She's a little twisted, but we love her.

Cherri is an absolute menace. That is the best word to describe her.

Angel and Cherri did the “screaming in public restrooms” prank once.

Everyone assumed Charlie was mid-20s until she dropped the bomb that she's over 200 years old. They were all flabbergasted (minus Vaggie, who already knew. Angel also called her a “gilf lover.”)

Angel asked Vaggie about her body count once to tick her off, and she answered “around 1,000 or so, roughly estimated,” thinking he meant kill count. Charlie was shook.

Vaggie is a Paramore, Flyleaf, Evanescence, etcetera fan. Proud listener to 2000s emo girl music.

Charlie's guilty pleasure is punk/metal/rock music. She says she only listens to “Taylor Swift and musicals,” but she has a hidden playlist with KORN, PTV, and all of those bands on it.

Angel wakes Husk up by blasting Ayesha Erotica songs into his ear occasionally since Husk is a heavy sleeper and refuses to get up sometimes.

Pentious calls himself a “semi-proud father of the Egg Bois.”

Charlie ran a hate page about Katie Killjoy. She has since moved on from it... probably.

𝜚 ₎ HEAVEN HCS

Vaggie definitely played about 100 sports back in Heaven. Fencing, soccer, and, bare with me here, she definitely did ballet. She refuses to admit so, however.

The exorcists actually aren't brought into the world as adults. Instead, they're raised by volunteer parents of Heaven their entire lives, starting fighting training at age 6 or so. They claim that “children's brains are easier to mold.” Basically, they're taught to be murder weapons from a very, very young age. It's also instinctive, but it's the training that truly brings it out.

Each exterminator is based on a different bird breed, but the most common are eagles, falcons, hawks, and generally predatory avians.

The Exterminators are also very fast flyers, and they establish the quickest flyers through racing. Vaggie was formerly the fastest until she was cast down to Hell. Now, the fastest is Lute.

Adam also referees these races, and instead of a gun or whistle to start them off, he uses his guitar.

[total-drama-brainrot]

i don't know if you've done this and I've missed it somehow, but i'm wondering how the rest of the cast outside of team e-scope extended acts towards noah when its revealed by heather and alejandro that noah was lying through his teeth during the cheating arc, especially since you implied that they went out of their way to treat him horribly. are they remorseful at all? do they try and apologize or does secret agent izzy even let them close to him? i really really like how you and perpetualexistence had expanded on that concept by solaiurm

I don't think neither me nor Perp have covered how the rest of the cast reacts to Noah being revealed to not be a cheater, outside of their initial reactions as the peanut gallery in the World Tour finale. So I'm more than happy to throw some ideas at the wall here- hopefully some of them stick!

For starters, it wasn't implied that Noah was treated horribly by the rest of the cast. It was outright stated. That's the bread and butter of his "cheater arc"- being vilified by both the general public at large and by the cast he's forced to cohabitate, despite not actually being a cheater. Which he only makes worse for himself by playing himself up as the villain during his segment on the Aftermath.

.

When Gwen has her initial segment in the canon Aftermath, she's dubbed "the New Heather" and pretty ostracised by the rest of the cast (at least until Trent sits next to her), but she's seemingly quickly forgiven for her own cheating scandal because she shows remorse for her actions/repeatedly tries to apologise to Courtney. In the same vein, Heather's treatment at the hands of the cast in Action and in the beginnings of World Tour is pretty poor. For good reason- she was a mega bitch in Island, and never truly apologised for a lot of her actions.

Why am I bringing this up? Note the difference in the casts' reactions. Gwen is quickly forgiven despite being a 'homewrecker' because she's remorseful and apologetic, whereas Heather is continually vilified because she isn't.

Noah isn't apologetic for 'cheating' on Heather and Alejandro. In fact, he's about as callous and assholish as possible during his Aftermath segment, in an attempt to really paint himself as 'the bad guy'.

Of course he's getting the Heather treatment- but it's worse, because he's stuck in the same hotel as these people, and he doesn't have the excuse of a million dollars to justify being an asshole. So the more proactive of the ex-competitors see Noah as free game to harass as they see fit- after all, he's a cheating scumbag, he deserves it right?

(And some of these guys can be downright vicious when they think it's justified- just look at how Harold was treated in S1E10, just for being an annoying roommate.)

So when it turns out that, oh, he didn't deserve it? That their awful treatment of Noah- the person who complains about anything and everything like it's his career, and yet didn't so much as utter a "Stop." at their harassment- was completely unbased? They're all pretty shook up by the turn of events.

It takes a lot of the ex-contestants a few days to process that they've practically outcast and exiled someone from their group for no real reason, and quite a few of them are angry- at Noah for lying, at Heather and Alejandro for playing along, At Chris and the producers for keeping it all hidden for the sake of drama, but mostly at themselves for jumping on the hate-train so easily. So for a few tense days the hotel is shrouded in this sombre atmosphere, where everyone is too hesitant to address the elephant in the room in fear of either blowing up at Alenoaheather, or Alenoaheather blowing up at them for the mistreatment.

The kinder of them, who perhaps didn't outright harass Noah but did give him the cold shoulder (i.e. DJ, Lindsay, Beth), meekly try to apologise to Noah, but are usually stopped by his partners' protectiveness or Secret Agent Secra before they can.

Geoff, I imagine, would be one of the biggest perpetrators of Noah's bullying; he's already shown a canonical inclination towards Getting A Little Silly Sometimes, plus with his and Bridgette's whole pseudo-cheating drama he'd be far more ruthless towards 'cheaters' than most, even if his dislike of Alejandro initially prompts him to commend Noah's actions. For all of this, however, Geoff is a pretty moral guy- he'd be the first to successfully apologise to Noah, by means of literally shouting across the breakfast hall as soon as he snuck walked in. (Noah's still in the habit of sneaking in and out of meals.)

Noah shrugs it off- he doesn't want to make a huge deal out of the situation, understandably- saying it wasn't a huge deal and that everyone was justified in thinking he was an awful person. That reassures everyone present that Alenoaheather don't hate them, and thus more people scamper to reconcile with them, bridging the metaphysical gap between both groups.

Geoff even ends up offering to throw a 'Noah isn't an awful person' party in his honour. Noah, of course, declines the offer. It doesn't stop Geoff from throwing the party anyway.

And that breaks the tentative ice between the peanut gallery and the throuple.

Similarly, I imagine Leshawna would also be very vocal about her distaste for Noah. She's always disliked him, thanks to his shoddy performance on Island and his sardonic personality, so him also being a two-timer is just the final nail in the coffin for him in Leshawna's eyes. Just like Geoff, though, Leshawna can and does admit when she's in the wrong, and she'd also do her best to make amends once the gap between Noah and the rest of the cast is bridged by Geoff.

Duncan, meanwhile, was team Noah the whole time which gives him major bragging rights. After he apologises to Courtney and Gwen, that is.

To summarise, the cast are kind of pissed about the whole 'lying' thing, but mostly just feel awful about how they treated him. Once things have been given time to settle, the air is eventually cleared and the Total Drama cast go back to their status quo. Something something happy ending?

[villainessprefect]

A Twisted Host Club

★ * • .☆  ’ • ⋆

[kicks a hypothetical door down] hello I’ve been hit with a funny idea and my brain demands to write it down so here are some thoughts of an Ouran Twst AU??? It’s been a while since I’ve touched Ouran though so this is just some general ideas that came to me.

Little notes:

Magic is a thing but not too relevant?? I was thinking of this as more of a regular high school AU but has a variety of species (ie merfolk, beastmen, fae). tbh it might just be more focused on transformations and allowing other kinds of folks into one school.

MC is kept gender neutral. You can imagine them following the same thing as Haruhi or not, but thats up to the reader.

The Host Club is the main cast, but I tried to include everyone and your connection to them lol

Most of the students here have money/are rich in some form/have connections to wealth.

RSA is still a rival academy I just didn’t have too many thoughts about them to throw them in here atm.

Yuu / the reader - The rare scholarship kid at NRC. Smart and generally keeps to themselves. They are in the middle class and while not “poor” they are compared to most in the school. Initially interested in the photography club but got dragged into the Host Club after their cat, Grim, broke a rather expensive vase. You start off being a gopher for the club members, but by the end of the day you’re the pretty commoner that the rich folk flock to to get an insight at that “poor” lifestyle. Its weird but you definitely feel better knowing that you can survive in the world without money compared to those here.

Crowley - Your adoptive father who was the one that pushed you into attending NRC. He doesn’t tell you he’s the principal of the school until you actually get in. Surprise! He uses the excuse of not playing favorites yet boasts that you got in all of your own accord with no strings attached! You just have to pay for things out of pocket if you want anything, like say, a uniform for example. He is rather flaky, but he provides you a home and food, thankfully.

Grim - A stray cat that lived around Crowley’s home and that you picked up when you moved in. He’s a bit mischievous and glutton, but adores your attention. Your first day of school had him meowing out for you. He managed to get out of the house and followed you to school. Trying to keep the cat hidden proved to be difficult and eventually a failure on your part when he led you to a fancy club room and broke a priceless vase. At least he’s popular amongst the girls and now acts like a mascot for the Host Club.

Host Club

Vil Schoenheit - The infamous president and leader of the Host Club. A young star model and actor. His father had acted in the Host Club in his youth and he decided to take the reigns when it was his turn to attend NRC. He uses it as a form of training, acting for others given their wishes. But he’s also fairly strict on those in the club and those he performs for. If you want him to lend an ear, be prepared for some harsh and blunt words. Most who come to see him are more for his popularity and celebrity status, others come to learn from him, whether it be for acting or skin care routines.

Vil always seems to be angry or disappointed with you. It’s hard to tell why, yet he’s the one that cleans you up and makes you look like a whole new person. While you now physically fit in with the rest here, you must act like it too. Even if you’re simply paying off a debt, you’re part of the club and you will act like a member. He’s always keeping an eye on you though and thinks you have potential. And he may have a soft spot for you to. While he won’t say it aloud, he hopes you stay even after your debt is paid.

Epel Felmier - Vil’s forced understudy. He’s been designated to be the one to take over and lead when Vil graduates but Epel has no interest in being a host. He hates being called cute and has only recently been learning to use it to his advantage. Epel longs to be in a sports club and skips out to join in on activities when he can. Despite being from the countryside, he does have funds thanks his family’s apple business.

Epel tends to go to you to complain about Vil. You’re in the same boat as him after all! He knows he can be rowdy and drop the prim and proper act around you too. He’s someone you can talk to and not have to worry about the financial gap. You’re always the first one he offers his apples to. You also share the same classes as him, so you two are generally seen together alot.

Azul Ashengrotto - The businessman behind the Host Club. He generally acts in the background, taking care of funds and making appointments. He doesn’t generally take part in acting as a host, rather as someone who will listen to your woes and even offer to solve all your problems...for an additional price. Most go to him when they have troubles with their grades or want to win the heart of another host, which is, unfortunately, the only wish he cannot grant. He’s in charge of snacks/food offered in the club and has a different theme each week.

It seems like Azul is always finding a way to inflate your debt. You can’t tell how much you owe at any given point and it feels like you’ll be paying it off even after you both graduate. Despite all the finances, he does offer you his time. Tell him your poor woes! He’ll help you out! You’re a little wary but sometimes you do cave, for minor problems though. Surprisingly, most of his payments are through information and you can’t tell if thats better or worse than increasing your debt. Still, he is an upperclassman you can turn to if you have studying problems. Which, thankfully, isn’t something you have to go to him for.

Jade & Floyd Leech - The twins of the club and Azul’s childhood friends much to his dismay. Seen together nearly everywhere they go, they always seem to be plotting something. They assist Azul with snacks but take their own twist on it when he’s busy. Jade offers a kind hand to all those in need, but he’s a little...odd about it. He knows more than he lets on and can serve anyone. Most first timers are sent to him. Floyd, on the other hand, is for the thrill seekers. When he’s in a good mood, at least. He doesn’t really do hosting, just plays around with those that go to him. Wanna play tag? Some new commoner sport? ‘Escape’ from the cruel tentacles of Azul? If he’s in a bad mood you can usually just vibe beside him or try to lift his mood. He likes to ‘squeeze’ people whenever he can, whether they are his clients or not.

Jade enjoys surprising you in many ways. He’s usually the first to greet you at the door, always knowing when you’ll be arriving even when you’re late. He appears to be under the guise of making you feel welcomed in this unfamiliar environment. It’s hard to believe him though. He enjoys the fact that you’re willing to try out his specialty dishes despite what may be in them. Whether its braver or hunger driving you, he’s curious. He wants to observe you and learn more about the little debtling in the club.

Floyd is one that always enjoys seeing you even outside of the club. It’s not surprising to be snatched away by him. If anyone is going to ruin your perfect attendance, its going to be him. Still, he enjoys your presence in the club too. He finds you entertaining and tries to get you to break more valuables just to keep you here. When he’s in a bad mood you’re the one they call on if no one else can get him to lighten up.

Kalim Al-Asim - One of the richest students in school. He’s energetic and kind and a lovable sweetheart. He’s here really just to have fun and enjoy his youth. Being in this club was mostly on a whim but he ended up loving it. Most go to him if they’re feeling down because he has a gift for lifting even the darkest of spirits. Some try to get his hand in marriage but attempts are either thwarted by Jamil or go over his head or both.

Kalim always brightens up your day. You hate to admit it, but he really does seem to turn any frown upside down. He’s the one thats furthest away from living a normal lifestyle and takes interest in any “commoner” thing you may have. Instant coffee, while not his thing, is such a fascinating thing to him. He usually offers to share his lunch with you. You think he’s too kind, even since he offered to pay off your debt. Sometimes you wish you’d taken it but would rather not be in debt to him and his family for the remainder of your life, even if he does say otherwise.

Jamil Viper - Kalim’s childhood friend and retainer. He’s here mostly to protect Kalim but ended up being caught up in the Host Club thanks to some persuasion from him and Azul. He tries to usher more clients over to Kalim since he isn’t used to the attention. Part of him enjoys being picked over Kalim and being favorites to clients. If Jade’s schedule is filled up, then Jamil is the second one newbies go to. He’s skilled in a variety of things and generally pleases those he’s with with ease.

It was a little difficult getting to know Jamil at first. He always presented Kalim before himself. You learn that he’s smarter and stronger than he appears since he’s meant to protect Kalim, and in turn, you also learn just how important Kalim really is. Jamil finds you to be a little bumbling thanks to your situation but takes interest in how you deny Kalim. Your life could be so easy yet you choose the hard route. While his main goal is to protect Kalim, he ends up protecting you to.

Photography Club

Rook Hunt - An unofficial member of the Host Club. Despite him being in the photography club, he’s seen there more often then his own club. Azul uses him to snag pictures of the members, although most of them tend to be focused on Vil. He’s poetic and interrupts the Host Club’s sessions to praise their charms and beauty.

You try to learn about the Photography Club from him and take tips during your free time. It’s not easy with how he goes off about Vil and the others but you have to admit that he is giving you insight into the rest of the group. You learn that he’s a devoted fan to Vil and someone called Neige, the latter, you learn, is a name that should not be spoken within the Host Club. While Rook is a little odd, he does shower you in praises too. It’s nice to hear something so warm on harsher days or when you think you’ve upset Vil.

Student Council

Riddle Rosehearts - Student Council President. He’s very strict when it comes to rules. Clubs that fail to meet the criteria are known to be disbanded within hours. He doesn’t mind any of the clubs as long as they follow their intended purpose and don’t cause trouble.

Riddle is the top student in his grade and if you were a year older, you might just be academic rivals aiming for the top. He usually keeps an eye on you and your grades, you are a scholarship student after all. More responsibility falls on your shoulders than you think. 

Trey Clover - Riddle’s childhood friend and Vice President. He’s the one that most go to instead of Riddle as he’s much easier to approach. Even so, club problems shouldn’t be passed to him as they eventually meet Riddle.

You’re one of the few, if not only person, that doesn’t think to speak to him first before Riddle. He isn’t sure if he admires your bravery or not. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to offer his hand to you. He’s also never going to let you forget the oyster sauce incident.

Cater Diamond - The Secretary of the Student Council. He doesn’t seem to take interest in his role and instead post on social media. He comes off as easygoing and sociable, which makes it easy for him to learn about the other clubs.

You follow each other’s social medias and learn that he’s dying to go to the Host Club. He tries to wiggle his way out of work but Trey never lets him escape. He’s a little ‘jelly’ that you get to spend time with Vil. He usually asks for pics from the club.

Board Game Club

Idia Shroud - The elusive President of the Board Game Club. It’s hard to find him and most times he doesn’t even appear in class. Apparently he has special privileges and has to show up once a week, test days are not included so sometimes twice a week. Most mistaken him for being in the Black Magic Club, even though he’s not. He’s just timid and socially anxious, but lightens up over a good game. His club also counts as one for video games he just has to be sneaky about it whenever Riddle does his monthly rounds.

Idia thinks you’re a weird normie. You’re in a club thats out of your league and somehow socialize with everyone else?! Even him?! Neither of you know of each other’s existence until Ortho brings you together. You enjoy being able to play games without hearing really obvious questions thrown your way and other belittling comments. Idia plays because they’re fun not because he’s interested in the poor folk’s social life of how to pass on boredom. You make a great gaming partner in his eyes, although he won’t say it...thats too hard of a difficulty level for him.

Ortho Shroud - Idia’s younger brother who appears on campus more than his actual brother. He isn’t human but looks one if it weren’t for the gadgets on his cheek that give him a mask or vizor depending on how he feels. Some dote on him and he uses that to his advantage.

You meet unexpectedly, nearly running into the boy who was on a search for his brother. While it gets you in trouble with Vil later on, you decide to assist him. Ever since then, he continues to go to you whenever he wants his brother to do more things in school. Sometimes he drops by the Host Club for ‘research’. He’s curious on how this human activity works and also informs his brother on it too.

Sports Clubs

Leona Kingscholar - Captain of the American Football team. He’s been held back a couple of years but his family provides money so the school doesn’t particularly care. Vil has tried to scout him out for the Host Club before but Leona has no interest in it. While he prefers to laze around, its thanks to him that the school’s team aces every tournament. There are rumors about him using underhanded tactics, but he’s never been caught.

He seems to have little to no interest in you yet enjoys pulling you aside whenever Vil sends you out for some reason or another. It’s like he has a sixth sense, knowing just when to use you for his naps. It’s nice to take a breather from running around and trying to be some host. You do your best not to fall asleep beside him though.

Ruggie Bucchi - Vice captain of the American Football team and Leona’s ‘underling’. He’s another rare scholarship student yet seems to be better off than you, school wise at least considering he has a uniform (although it was a hand me down from Leona, but still). He doesn’t mind playing the poor card and does his best to swindle those rich suckers out of their ‘spare change’. He’s quick on his feet and a jack of all trades. He sometimes works at the Host Club for special events.

Ruggie tends to laugh at your position. Being in debt sucks, but he gets it. He gives tips on how to lessen your debt with Azul considering he works with the guy every now and then. It just costs you a week’s worth of lunch. Paying him in food isn’t so bad, plus you get the occasional snack back when he’s feeling generous. You two joke about eating the rich which is pretty fun...except when getting caught by Leona or Vil.

Jack Howl - Track and Field club member. A first year on the team that shows real promise. He’s pretty popular amongst the sports clubs and was fought over which club to join, but ultimately picked this one. He doesn’t mind helping out other clubs if they’re short a member and as long as it doesn’t interfere with his own. Most people expect him to be a jock of some kind but are surprised by his smarts.

Jack shares a few classes with you. He’s been your classmate and partner. He comes off as cold but when he warms up to you, you can see how friendly he really is. Not many stand up for you, but Jack will. He doesn’t quite like you being in debt to the Host club, but there isn’t much he can do about it unfortunately.

Sebek Zigvolt - Equestrian Club member. A newbie in the club but shows promise. He’s a little on the loud side and you know when he’s coming whether its thanks to his booming voice or thundering footsteps. He goes on about Malleus (whoever that is) and isn’t afraid to lecture others on his greatness. Despite this, he can be quite gullible. He originally wanted to be in the Black Magic Club but Lilia convinced him to expand his interests.

You catch him mostly outdoors or in the hallways thanks to sharing classes. He seems to have a strong distaste for your upbringing. While he scolds you, he does seem to have some heart underneath it all. He doesn’t understand the Host Club at all and ignores the club mostly.

Silver - Equestrian Club member. He has a way with any and all animals. The horses listen to him and so do those in the Animal Breeding Club. It’s surprising he isn’t a member of that club, although they are trying to scout him. He has a bad habit of dozing off anywhere and at any time. It tends to get him in trouble, especially during class. He’s takes everything very seriously.

You stumble upon him once while he’s sleeping. From then on you learn to be more careful. Finding him sleeping is one thing, but finding him sleeping with animals is another. You wake him up when he can and he always thanks you for it. He’s a bit of an enigma but you learn that he is adopted to. His father sounds quite...interesting. And familiar but maybe you’re just imagining things.

Ace Trappola - Basketball Club member. A troublemaker and old friend. He’s carefree and blunt which hardly helps his case. He gets in trouble with the student council president a lot. His grades are mess thanks to the fact that he doesn’t study and loafs off in class, but he can pull out surprising answers if given the chance.

You didn’t expect to see Ace in this school. You knew him for about a couple of years prior to middle school. He laughs at your misery of being a new host and how you wound up in this situation. Still he hangs out with you and causes some mischief in the club. He helps smuggle Grim into classes with you whenever the cat decides to show up.

Deuce Spade - Track and Field club member, but also unofficially in the Gardening Club. He’s an ex-delinquent and is trying to better himself since he was given this chance to be in such a prestigious school. He works hard but his old self shows up every now and then. He has a soft spot for his mother and grandmother. He enjoys sports but finds some peace in the Gardening club. He usually waters/takes care of the plants on emergencies.

Deuce is the first friend you make in this school, that isn’t Ace. He did his best to show you around and act like the perfect honor student. You cheer each other on and study together mostly. He doesn’t like trying to help smuggle Grim into classes, but at this point he’s in too deep and knows how to do it, just like Ace. He offered to fight the Host Club once when he heard you were in debt to them.

Black Magic Club

Lilia Vanrouge - Lilia is the President of the Black Magic Club. It’s more of a place to hang out and escape from the world. Although it’s a little unsettling with how much he knows about demons and curses and whatnot, as if he’s been there to see them all. He’s playful and accepts anyone into his club. He tends to give those in his club a little charm he crafts himself, usually to ward off evil spirits...or so he says.

You stumble into his club one day and he takes an interest in you. It’s been so long since he’s seen someone so out of place in this school. He listens to you and asks for nothing in return, only giving cryptic remarks here and there. He has asked for your blood once or twice and you can’t tell if he was joking about it.

Malleus Draconia Hornton/Tsunotaro - A mysterious student who is supposedly part of the Black Magic Club. It seems to be only in name though as Lilia claims he needed one more student to make the club official, so he offered his name. Apparently he wants to make his own club but doesn’t have sufficient members to join, so he’s under this one for the time being.

When you first meet him, you don’t know who he is. It’s late at night and you’ve been held back at school far too late thanks to your ‘dearest’ father. He seems to have some idea of who you are yet you don’t know him. He prefers to keep it that way and allows you to nickname him. You call him a friend despite not knowing his name and sometimes you think he’s imaginary until you pass him in the hallway. You don’t understand the weird stares you get when you wave to him and he waves back.

[feverishly-kpop]

Seungmin & SKZ - Argument

Seungmin was seeing red.

He had been frustrated all day. Mostly with himself to be honest. He had been off of his game all day, just feeling generally worn out.

“I’m not trying to be rude but the lyrics are right in front of you” Jisung said pointedly, only adding to Seungmin’s sour mood.

“It’s not the lyrics, Jisung” Seungmin snapped back. “It’s the rhythm. It doesn’t make sense to me. I’m getting mixed up.”

“It’s really not all that complicated” Jisung replied, his eyes rolling as he clapped the beat out twice over before dropping back to his seat, clearly too irritated to continue.

After a moment of silence Chan stepped in, realizing that the petty bickering between Jisung and Seungmin was teetering a bit too closely toward an actual argument for his liking. “Jisung, step out and get some air please” he said calmly, trying to bring the overall mood down, but, just as he suspected, Jisung was far too heated to let it go without a fight.

“If I step out, I’m going home” Jisung said, his eyes cold and still locked on Seungmin.

“He’s got a point, hyung.”

Great, just what Chan needed. An actual coup in the vocal studio at 10:00 PM.

“No offense, Seungmin, but you’re the only one who hasn’t gotten your part yet” Jeongin continued. “We’re so tired.”

Hyunjin nodded along in agreement, quickly taking the opportunity to interject. “Minho-hyung, Felix, and I have been here since noon. We didn’t have a break between dance and vocal. If we all can’t leave its only fair for the three of us to be excused.”

Seungmin glanced at Minho and Felix who kept their eyes cast down, but their expressions confirmed that they were in agreement with Hyunjin.

Of course they were.

And that’s when all hell broke loose.

“If they get to go, so do we” Jisung yelled as he sprung from his seat.

“Jisung sit down” Changbin shouted over the chaos.

“Bold of you to assume that you guys should be able to leave just because you got here a little earlier. Seems selfish…” Jeongin grumbled at Hyunjin on the other side of the room.

“Bold of you to talk to your hyung that way, Jeongin” Minho clapped, coming to Hyunjin’s defense.

“Guys, that’s enough” Chan said firmly but it fell on deaf ears.

Seungmin had heard enough.

“Shut up” he shouted, a sudden sharp pain sparking behind his eyes. “Seriously, stop it. Go home. All of you.”

The rest of the group suddenly grew silent. Seungmin was far from the most emotionally volatile member. He almost never raised his voice but when he did it was alarming to say the least.

“Seungmin” Felix started but Seungmin held up a hand.

“Just…go.” Seungmin understood that they were all tired. The dance line had a full day before vocal practice started, he knew that they must be dead on their feet. Just this vocal practice had left Seungmin exhausted.

Without another word Chan nodded to the rest of the members, who quietly grabbed their belongings and scrambled out of the room.

“I’m so sorry, Minnie” Chan said, his head hanging as he massaged his temples. “Jisung hasn’t been sleeping very well….”

Seungmin was too frustrated to listen to anything more.

“Hyung, just go home.” His tone made his mood clear.

And with that he reached into his bag for his headphones, making it clear that he was done with the conversation. He could see Chan’s lips moving, probably telling him not to stay too late, but he couldn’t bring himself to care what his hyung was saying. He just wanted to be alone and, within a few moments, his wish was granted and be was left to continue working by himself in the quiet studio.

*~*~*~*~*~

It didn’t take long until the pain behind his eyes had turned into a full blown migraine. The low lights in the studio and the backing track playing in his headphones soon became too much to deal with, but there was no way he could walk home in his current condition. And he absolutely wasn’t about to call one of his members for help. He was still beyond angry with all of them.

Instead he tossed his headphones aside, unbothered as they slid across the table and landed on the floor, and curled up in the corner on the floor, using his bag as a pillow. Was there a lounge with a couch just down the hall? Yes, yes there was. But Seungmin didn’t have nearly enough energy to get himself there. The floor would be just fine as long as he could close his eyes for a few hours.

*~*~*~*~*~

Then next morning came early which was absolutely not surprising to Seungmin. There was only so much rest he could get on the hard floor but he had hoped that it would be enough to shake his bothersome migraine. Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect. On top of his migraine his entire body ached, the pain exacerbated by the chills running through his body.

After a slow stretch in an attempt to regain some sensation in his arms and legs he stood up and checked his phone for the time.

5:00 AM.

Well shit.

Chan would be up any minute and would be on his way to bust the studio door down when he found that Seungmin hadn’t come home. Grabbing his bag he resolved to take a fast walk home, hoping to get there before Chan woke for the day.

*~*~*~*~*~

Much to Seungmin’s surprise it was quiet when he arrived home. He glanced at the table and noticed a note from Chan:

No practice til noon tomorrow. Try and sleep in - BC

Seungmin felt the tension in his shoulders dissipated, relieved that he’d have a few hours to rest before dance practice today. After the feud that erupted the prior night Seungmin held out no hope that Minho would go easy on them.

Not wanting to waste another moment Seungmin slipped into his room, quickly changing into his pajamas while being careful not to wake any of his sleeping roommates. A few hours of sleep before leaving again would be better than none at all.

*~*~*~*~*~

He felt like he had just closed his eyes. There was no way that hours had passed. Even minutes would be generous. It couldn’t have been more than second.

Yet Hyunjin was standing in the doorway dressed and ready to go.

“Seungmin you’ve gotta get up. Jisung will lose his shit if he finds out you’re still sleeping” Hyunjin said sympathetically. Seungmin couldn’t help to feel a little guilty about how mad he still was with his members, but his thoughts were immediately redirected to the pain in every inch of his body. Somehow it seemed to have gotten worse than it had been this morning, something that Seungmin didn’t seem to think was possible.

“Okay, I’m getting up” Seungmin said as he swung his legs over the bed, forcing himself to sit up. His stomach lurched at the movement, the pain in his head so intense that it was making him nauseous. Unfortunately for him, however, he didn’t have time to do anything about any of it.

He knew he’d be in for a rough day.

*~*~*~*~*~

Practice was tense, just as Seungmin had anticipated. They had all taken the opportunity to get some much needed sleep that morning but that left them with no time to discuss what had happened the previous night.

Seungmin muddled through song after song, doing his best not to draw any attention to himself, but he could feel the pain wracking his body growing worse by the minute.

He made it half way through their run through of Domino before he hit the wall.

“Hyung” Seungmin called out weakly, hoping to get Minho’s attention but the music was too loud and he could hardly get his voice above a whisper.

Then his feet stopped moving. Despite his best efforts to keep up with the music his feet felt cemented to the ground. Before he could give it a further thought he felt a body crash into his, sending both of them to the floor and, just like that, Seungmin vomited on the floor in front of him. For just a second he couldn’t help but notice how much better he felt after getting sick, but that feeling was short lived as he was overcome with a sudden sense of absolute exhaustion followed by darkness.

*~*~*~*~*~

“Jisung sit down, please.”

That was Minho’s voice. Or maybe Chan’s? But maybe Changbin?

Seungmin’s head felt foggy as he came to.

“Sit your ass down, Jisung-ah. And get the ice back on that bump. Hyunjin didn’t run across the building to get it for you for his health.”

Well that was definitely Minho’s voice.

“Hey, there you are.” Felix’s soft voice and face came into focus simultaneously. “Take your time opening your eyes, okay?”

Chan immediately joined Felix on the floor when he saw Seungmin stir. “What happened, Seungmin?” Seungmin could hear the stress in Chan’s voice despite his best efforts to mask it.

“I think I fell…” Seungmin said, trying to remember exactly how he had ended up on the floor but coming up with nothing. “Yeah I fell I guess.”

Chan and Felix exchanged a knowing glance before Chan turned back to Seungmin. “I think you did a little more than fall, Minnie. You froze during the run through and Jisung backed into you.”

Neither Chan or Felix could miss the look of confusion and pain on Jisung’s face.

“Jisung knocked you over and then you got sick and passed out” Felix added, trying to jog Seungmin’s memory.

“I’m sorry…I can clean it up” Seungmin responded before making an attempt to sit up only to find resistance from Chan’s hand on his chest.

“Don’t try to get up. You’re really sick. When did you start feeling unwell?” Chan’s tone was serious in a way that made Seungmin guilty for having been so upset with them all just a few minutes ago. He tried to respond but only a sob came out.

Just then a cold hand grabbed his and squeezed it.

“I’m so sorry. Last night. There’s no excuse” Jisung said, a tear falling down his cheek.

“It’s okay, water under the bridge” Seungmin replied, squeezing Jisung’s hand a little tighter, trying to warm it up a little. “I hate to say it, but…karma?” The room erupted with laughter at that comment, even Jisung couldn’t help but let out a chuckle despite the joke being at his expense.

“Yeah, turns out the floor is hard when you fall and whack your head on it” Jisung responded with a smile. “Who knew?”

After taking a few more minutes to get his bearings Chan sat down next to Seungmin again, setting a palm on his forehead. “All jokes aside, Minnie, you need to be in bed. Let’s get going.” Chan and Jeongin helped Seungmin to his feet, the woozy feeling that Seungmin had been feeling all day slowly creeping back.

“You’re going to bed when we get home, understood?” Minho said to Seungmin as he grabbed his bag off the floor. Seungmin responded with a silent nod, honestly too exhausted and sick to even consider doing anything but sleep. “And you too, Humpty Dumpty. Straight to bed.”

Jisung blushed but nodded in response, still holding the bag if ice to the side of his head. And with that, any hard feelings that Seungmin was still feeling from last night disappeared as they locked up the dance studio behind them.

[revasserium]

balter + sakusa 🥺

send me a word and a character, and i'll write you a fic

practice makes perfect

sakusa kiyoomi; 2,272 words; fluff... that's it, sakusa isn't good at dancing, you convince him to do it anyway

“wow… i didn’t know that he could move like that…”

“ah… but uhm… it’s kind of shocking, isn’t it?”

“what, that sakusa kiyoomi could be so bad at something?”

komori laughs into his hand, glancing over to the dance floor where one sakusa kiyoomi is doing what seems like his best attempt at a popular dance move and failing rather miserably.

“well… at least he looks like he’s having fun,” komori says, grinning as he catches your eyes over sakusa’s shoulder and raises a hand in greeting. you smile back, shooting him a wink before going back to your equally abysmal dancing by sakusa’s side.

“but. i don’t dance.”

sakusa blinks at you from across the hotel room table, his black coffee steaming between you, his jersey laid out in pristine condition on the freshly made bed. you hum as you reach for another piece of toast, applying a generous dose of butter and strawberry jam with a the same knife, seemingly oblivious to sakusa’s tiny wince as you jab the knife back into the jam jar. the toast is satisfyingly crunchy as you take a bite, making your toes curl as you finally look up to meet his eyes.

“yeah, so?”

sakusa licks his lips, his eyes flickering between the half-bitten monstrosity of toast in your hand and the crumbs littering the corner of your mouth. he bites down the urge to lunge across the table and wipe them away and maybe push you back into bed in the process, but he knows that there isn’t quite enough time for that. not today, anyway. but maybe tomorrow —

“so, why did you put me on the guest list for the dance party tonight?”

it’s a perfectly reasonable question, he thinks, even as you let out a melodramatic sigh, cramming the rest of the butter-jam-toast into your mouth and making for another slice.

“because, all your friends are gonna be there. and weren’t you saying just last week that you missed them?”

“i never said i missed them.”

“you said it’s been a while since you’ve seen them.”

“yeah, because it has.”

“so, you miss them.”

“that’s not —” sakusa sighs, reaching for his coffee. he takes a slow sip, counts his breaths, savors the bitter and tang. meanwhile, you crinkle your nose and frown at him, slathering more butter-jam onto your toast.

“kiyoomi-kun… have you ever done anything you were bad at?”

sakusa frowns at the question — what a strange thing to ask — why would he ever do anything he knew he’d be bad at? he narrows his eyes as you grin and shove the rest of the toast into your mouth. you lick your lips and sakusa bites back the urge to sigh — caught halfway between endeared and annoyed at the mess you’re making.

“no. i can’t say i have.”

“you should try it — could be fun!” you make a show of licking clean your fingers and smacking your lips.

sakusa shudders, unsure if he’s put off by the motion or turned on by it.

“right.”

you hike an eyebrow, “oh, c’mon — you can’t have been good at everything the first time you tried it — what about volleyball? were you good at it the first time you ever played?”

“yes,” sakusa deadpans, and you roll your eyes.

“okay then — maybe you were put on this earth to play volleyball and that’s not a fair example. hm…” you cast about for something else before a devlish grin spreads across your lips like butter and jam and sakusa is held still by both his curiosity and his certainty that this is not going to turn out well.

“what?” he asks, already snappish.

“i mean — i was just thinking — the first time we had sex… you weren’t as good as you are now but you seemed to have had a great time.”

sakusa sputters, nearly upsetting the tall glass of orange juice by his hands.

“that — what — you weren’t that good either!”

but then you’re laughing, shaking your head, “no! i wasn’t! but i also had a great time! see? you can be bad at something and still enjoy it!”

“that’s not — i mean — it’s different!”

“how would you know? have you ever danced before?”

sakusa clamps down on his bottom lip, glaring at the butter-dish, “no but — i know i wouldn’t like it.”

you lean forward, propping your chin on your hands, “how though? if you’ve never done it before?” your grin is just on the other side of a challenge and sakusa can’t fight down the feeling that maybe, just maybe — this is one battle he’s not going to win.

“i just — it’s just stupid.”

you giggle, stifling the sound behind your hand and he shoots you the best glare he can muster.

“c’mon — c’mere.” you motion for him to stand up as you push back your chair and jump to your feet.

sakusa stares, “what?”

“get up! c’mon!” you reach over and tug on his arm, nearly dragging him out of his seat before he has the good mind to stand up, if only to stop himself from tipping over.

you pull one of his hands around you waist and hold the other, palm to palm with your own. you laugh as you force the pair of you into a strange, crab-like march across the length of the hotel room and then back again. sakusa is red-cheeked and frowning by the time you finish your second pass.

“what are you doing?”

“we are dancing!”

when you try to tug him back across the room again, he pulls you to him, letting out a soft groan as he buries his face in the crook of your neck. you feel your warm breath against the tender of your skin — it leaves you shivering.

“that’s not dancing.”

you laugh, gently this time, curling your arms around the width of his body, leaning up on your tiptoes to try and hook your chin over one of his shoulders. you are fighting a losing battle — he’s always been too tall, too quiet, to suspicious — but he’s also always been yours.

“how would you know, hm? you’ve never done it!” you tease as he walks you both back towards the bed, smirking as you tumble back onto it, the length of his shadow long enough to cover your whole body, the light spilling in from the balcony window only serving to paint him in sharp, and shaper lines.

the curls of his hair look nothing short of angelic.

“because i know what it feels like to be good at something,” he answers, his breath a husky wisp of a thing, rolling like thunder across the horizon of your stretched out body and you’re powerless to resist him. you smile, you lay back. you let him tug you towards him by the soft of your hips —

“y-yeah? well… i think you could be good at dancing… if you just tried.”

“i don’t like to waste effort on things that won’t serve my future.”

you feel the mattress around you shift as he crawls over you, his arms by your ears, the tips of his curly-cued hair tickling your forehead. you reach up to sink your fingers into its depth.

“i dunno… i’d actually call it an investment.”

he pauses, cocks his head.

“and how do you figure that?”

you allow yourself the most indulgent smirk you can muster.

“i dunno… it’s just… i hear that dancing is pretty common place at weddings… but that’s just me, y’know?”

and or a second, sakusa merely blinks down at you — just long enough for doubt to start bubbling at the base of your stomach. and then —

“ah… i see…” he leans down to ghost his lips along the bare column of your neck, “so… i suppose it’s something we should practice, hm?”

“or — we could just be bad at it… and enjoy ourselves at the same time.”

his grin is decidedly lopsided when he pulls back, his head cocked.

“is that why you signed me up for the dance party tonight? to practice?”

you shrug, still pinned beneath him, your chest heaving at the proximity, the closeness of his body never failing to make yours simmer with anticipation.

“that depends, are you asking about dancing or practicing being bad at something and enjoying it?”

he leans down to kiss a slow, languid line along your collarbones, your thoughts fizzling out to mere static as he chuckles against your skin.

“either… both.”

“th-then both.”

he’s grinning when he pulls back, his expression just a tad sadistic.

“but first — we’ve still got… what? 15 minutes before we’ve gotta be downstairs for the press conference? why don’t we try doing something we’re both good at and will enjoy, hm?”

you open your mouth to answer, but he cuts you off with his lips, and then soon after that, coherent thought leaves you completely.

later that night, you’re both more than a little drunk, and for once sakusa is laughing like he actually means it, his arms flailing wildly as he tries to work through a series of ill-conceived dance steps.

you catch komori’s eyes over sakusa’s shoulder and shoot him a grin, raise your glass, and down the rest of your champagne in a single gulp. sakusa grins, wide and lazy and very, very drunk before he pulls you in, tucks your body against his and slows the pair of you to a soft sway, even as the music picks up and up and up.

eventually, komori wanders his way over to you both, his cheeks flushed with color, nursing a half-empty champagne flute as he looks you both over with an amused half-grin.

“and what might be going on here, hm?”

you grin as sakusa slowly spins the two of you in a circle and your eyes meet komori’s.

“can’t you tell? we’re practicing!”

komori’s eyebrows skyrocket, “practicing… what?”

“dancing!” this time, sakusa responds, a half-formed frown creasing his forehead as he looks over his cousin.

“you’re practicing… dancing… and can i ask why?”

you giggle as sakusa tries to dip you and it’s only by the strength of his arms that he doesn’t drop you flat on your ass.

“f-for a wedding!” you say, as sakusa pulls you back up and the pair of you continue to turn on the spot.

“w-wedding?” komori has the decency to look confused, “have you guys been invited to one?”

“nope!” you answer cheerfully.

komori blinks at you both for a full ten seconds before realization hits and his eyes go wide.

“o-oh! well — uhm — i’ll let you two get back to it, then!” he makes to back away before sakusa calls after him.

“make sure you practice too! y-you’re gonna be invited!”

komori nearly stumbles over his own feet as he turns to wave at you both.

“su-sure! alright — i’ll uh — look forward to the invite, then?”

you laugh as sakusa spins you out under his arm and pulls you back in again, almost stepping on your feet.

“don’t hold your breath — it won’t be for a while!”

komori cocks his head, “and why’s that?”

you squeal as sakusa hoists you up by the waist and spins you around.

“w-we’ve got a lot more practice to finish before we’ll be ready for it!”

and at this, komori finally laughs, shaking his had as he turns back around, flapping his hands at the both of you as he heads back towards the bar and his own group of friends.

behind him, sakusa positively pouts as he lowers you slowly to the ground.

“what’dyou mean we need alot more practice? i — i think we’re great.”

you lean up to brush your nose against his, “yeah but… i think we could be better.”

sakusa rolls his eyes, “fine — fine — we can —” he hiccups and crinkles his nose, “we can practice a bit more.”

“and then… after?” you ask, feeling suddenly breathless for a whole different reason.

“after… well after — we’ll be married.”

you bite your lips, searching his eyes for any sign of uncertainty, any clue that this might all just be a drunken farce but you find nothing except warmth, except sincerity, except a bone-deep sureness, a marrow-thick knowing.

“but… what if we’re bad at it? being married…”

sakusa leans down to cup your cheeks, his thumbs pressing against the smooth of your skin as he smiles.

“we won’t be… and if we are then… we’ll just have to practice.”

“yeah? you sure?”

“yeah — because… you can be bad at something and still enjoy it right? and… between the two of us — we can get good at anything with a bit of practice.”

you laugh, feeling something very close to tears prickling at the back of your eyes, hot and unsteady and you try your best to blink the feeling away. you clear your throat and nod.

“yeah — practice sounds good. practice sounds perfect.”

sakusa presses his lips to yours, his hands still cupping your face, “no… practice makes perfect… and that’s exactly what we’ll be — perfect.”

find my favorite prompts here || find my masterlists here

[queenofthursday6599-blog]

I am sad that Back to the Rock decided to just give Mokey rod-hands full time

In the original puppet show, Mokey had two sets of hand that would be used depending on what was needed for a scene.

A set of rod-hands like the rest of the main Fraggle characters, and a set of live-hands (which are like a pair of gloves that a puppeteer wears to act as the character's hands).

Something easily facilitated by her large billowing robe. Though there's various Muppets who do a similar thing even with tight clothing such as Ernie.

Anyways the live-hands is how it was so easy to do scenes of Mokey doing stuff like painting, writing, throwing things, and other stuff in the original series.

If there's an object that either can't be easily attached to a rod-hand, or that needs to be immediately thrown, there's a pretty good chance Mokey is going to be the one to pick it up.

Such as the "hideous round thing" that she picks up and throws to distract Sprocket in episode 1 of the original series. It's too large and smooth to easily (and realistically) have a rod-handed puppet hold, but a live-handed puppet could pick it up and throw it quiet easily.

It could just be because rod-hands have advanced since the original series, and the hands now have greater pose ability than the kind in the 80s, so live-handed puppets have become redundant when not necessary.

Like Mokey doesn't play the piano or anything super intricate that requires extreme finger dexterity that couldn't just be added in post or something.

Though I do think Mokey's live-hands gave her an expressiveness and groundedness in her movements that the rod-handed puppets didn't have in the original series.

Live-hands are more fluid, dynamic and nimble compared to rod-hands just by default.

When she did something, like paint, or touch something, or even touch her friends, with her live-hands it was always more grounded and believable than when any of the characters with rod-hands did something similar.

Like when Mokey pulls out a poem and is holding it, she's literally holding it with real hands, but if Gobo pulls out a postcard from Uncle Matt that same episode it can look kind of funny, because it just doesn't look as realistic. Sometimes they didn't manage to get the fingers on his rod-hand to close all the way, so the letter is just awkwardly stuck to his hand.

Same with the other rod-hand Fraggles whenever they hold a piece of paper.

Human hand in a glove will always be more 'realistic' (believable) feeling in movement and action compared to a fake hand being controlled by a stick.

And I think that is something missing from the new version of Mokey.

Original Mokey was always an artistic dreamer who could sometimes feel like she had her head in the clouds, but also had these moments of being very grounded and insightful, and was very down to earth in general.

Mokey was the most physically affectionate of her friends in the original, and I feel like that was due to, at least in part, her being a live-hand puppet a lot of the time.

Like there are just scenes where she'll just be holding one of her friends hands while she guides them along, or she'll cradle their heads when she hugs them, and there's just an extra layer of depth that comes with it being done by live-hand puppetry.

There were actions that Mokey as a live-handed puppet could do that the rest of the main cast couldn't do due to her status as a live-handed puppet, and the old show took advantage of that, and I feel like that's where at least a bit of her characterization came from.

Because for a lot of those scenes weren't of Mokey doing something complicated that made live-hands neccessary, no, in a lot of them she's just talking with her friends and gesturing with her hands, or being physically affectionate, and what she's doing with her hands aren't even the focus of what's going on in the scene.

In the episode where Wembley is looking for his job, when Mokey is walking him up to the Gorg's garden to get radishes. She's holding hands with him as she leads him up there, but that's barely in frame at all.

To the point that their hands are bobbing in and out of frame as they walk, and it only lasts a few seconds.

The hand holding was completely unnecessary, it barely makes it into the scene at all, but it was still something the puppeteers decided to do, because Mokey holding her friends hand while leading them somewhere was a Mokey kind of thing to do.

And it's the tiny moments like that, that I think is missing from Mokey in Back to the Rock.

[fansids]

Hi so I saw some your anon asks about lmk s4 and SWK so I am curious about what you think of the special and if I solved anything about not seeing SWK POV and him always the one with mistakes

The special does nothing to remedy any of my issues with the show and especially with season 4. Even though it places the 3 Demon Kings as firmly (mostly firmly?) villains, it's also kind of weird about it.

But my main issue is with SWK and Macaque.

Oh my God. If my biggest issue is how the show treats SWK, and my second biggest issue is the world ending after world ending stakes, then my third biggest problem is Macaque. Or, more importantly, his relationship to SWK and the rest of the cast. Like the more Macaque becomes a good guy the more I hate him. But that's besides the point, let's talk about the show's weird framing around these two to put some context to my problems with the special.

When Macaque is first introduced pretty much everything about him is meant to scream deceitful. From his appearance as looking like SWK, but not (to the point where MK mistakes the two until he gets close), to his very powers which are shadows (which tend to symbolize mystery, deceit, and general evilness) that are also very similar to SWK's powers. His purpose in that episode is gaining MK's trust so he can betray him. Okay, fine first episode, lesson learned.

The second time he's shown is in Shadow Play. The way the story telling is framed (through use of shadows, Macaque tricking the gang into thinking he's someone else, and later forcing MK to fight his shadow-fied friends just to push a message he projects onto MK for the crime of being SWK's apprentice and vaguely similar to him) would say that Macaque was either outright lying or twisting the details about his and SWK's past to put himself in a more favorable light (or more importantly, to put SWK into a less favorable one). MK defeats him, and we're still meant to not trust him. Fine. Cool.

Skipping over S3...

THEN WE GET TO THE SPECIAL. Macaque is not only shown to be completely in the right, but SWK is even worse than what was shown in shadow play. TF. Mind you, the whole point of the scroll was to show SWK's past, AND WE NEVER GET TO SEE IT FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE. It is only through Macaque's telling of the story that we see it, and this time it's framed as being the honest truth. It is SWK's fault for being so power hungry and full of himself that they have their falling out. Bro WHAT??? Mind you, since SWK is literally trapped under a mountain Macaque is also the one who leaves instead of the other way around. WHAT???

Let's put jttw aside entirely. This is just poor storytelling because it makes Macaque as a character not make sense. Why is he the one obsessed with SWK? Why does he want to be shown "the real Sun Wukong" in S1? Why is he upset that Sun Wukong abandoned him? He didn't abandon him. MACAQUE left.

And all of that really really begs the question WHY DID SUN WUKONG KILL HIM??? You can at least infer that if SWK was the one who left, and knowing the violence Macaque is willing to enact on others to get revenge, then Macaque likely did, or tried to do, something to the jttw crew that SWK was not too happy about. But Macaque was the one who chose to leave the relationship, so... what happened??? Why was Macaque even there? Why would he care?

Not to mention, for me at least, it destroyed what was left of my interest in Macaque after S3.

Sorry for the rant, but to answer your question, no, the special does not fix anything about the issue with SWK's lack of pov. It makes it worse.

[cienie-isengardu]

Some MK1 thoughts

Since Mortal Kombat 1 cutscenes are now available on YouTube (and me watching it up to 4 a.m.), here some thoughts under cut:

This is the most pro-Mileena game and I’m glad for the girl to finally have supportive family and friends. Generally I’m very touched how much the Edenian female cast was bonded with each other, that Li Mei and Sindel turned out to be the best friends, Tanya and Mileena were in happy relationship (as much as it could be due to Umgadi laws), Mileena and Kitana for once did not need to fight for throne. Good stuff.

However, the game that advertises itself with “Fight through a brand new story featuring your favorite Mortal Kombat characters like you’ve never seen them before” can’t apparently give us a storyline in which Bi-Han & Kuai Liang are from start to (bitter) end brothers in every sense of the word. I guess, it is my own fault for hoping too much but the frustrating disappointment stings double so, because Mileena and Kitana got their happy family. And look, I don’t mind Bi-Han being so done with everyone and everything and wanting to combat / challenge authority of others while not caring much for Liu Kang’s godly status and all, but is that really so much to ask for having at least one game he is on brother’s side to the bitter end? I’m not even asking for a story to keep Bi-Han relevant to the final chapter, just him being (sort of) a good brother. 

I know I was foolish, but the plot twist of Lin Kuei only playing the thugs to test Kung Lao and Raiden from first chapter raised my hopes - supported a bit by the fact that Bi-Han was jerk to Smoke only to few scenes later asking both Kuai Liang and Tomas are they unharmed after he defeated Nitara. Because the Sub-Zero chapter (Band of Brothers!) was the best for another plot twist. We could have Bi-Han playing the role of a traitor so he and Kuai Liang could learn more about enemy’s true goal / weapon and if game creators didn’t want keep Bi-Han in the story (or couldn’t give him anything relevant to do in later chapters) they could kill him and I’m glad they didn’t or capture him or whatever. Like I said, I don’t need heroic Bi-Han per se, just him and Kuai Liang having the brotherhood we hear about since the original series. It is about damn time!

On another note, Sektor being loyal to Bi-Han and being shown in the Sub-Zero ending was such a nice addition. Though I’m still mad, that brothers are divided into Kuai Liang & Tomas vs Bi-Han & Sektor/Lin Kuei. The Lin Kuei storyline did not impress me at all.

At least, in the final fight between good and evil timelines, there is plenty version of Bi-Han and the fact that game allows the player to choose the character on their own (including Sub-Zero) warmed my heart so much ❤

I’m surprised in a good way by Johnny Cage, he was witty and great, but I’m truly touched how helpful and nice he was to some characters (and is it me, or did this Johnny felt so much like Johnny from MK movie 1995?). Him and Kenshi was pretty funny interaction but also him inviting Syzoth and Ashrah to come with them to Earthrealm AND THEN STAYING WITH THEM WHEN THE REST OF TEAM ALREADY WENT TO REST TO PROPERLY INTRODUCE THOSE TWO TO LIU KANG that is, this is the best of Johnny and I love they keep showing him like that ❤

And of course, Shang Tsung ❤ Though I do not understand why Shao Kahn was allowed to be Outworld general while Shang Tsung was given such a pitiful life? Sure, he is dangerous and all, but I would argue who was the worst person in previous lifes. Anyway, every time Shang Tsung works for the good guys, it is frankly my favorite thing. 

In general, the game looks gorgeous, the characters are cool, though I would love for some to have more screen time and some, like Bi-Han, to actually have a proper, meaningless relationship and part in the story. But I guess, Bi-Han is just fated to doom since the first game…. nothing new.

[beyourlionheart]

WIP Whenever

Christening this brand new sideblog with a lovely tag from @emimayooo <3

Tagging: Absolutely anyone who would like to participate!! Please let me see your WIPs

This is a little bg3 bloodweave WIP that I found in my drafts from about a month ago. Will it actually become a publishable fic? Who knows.

The general premise is based on the early iterations of Gale that involved him having a rotting arm from the orb's presence. Astarion is, of course, nosy.

Read more under the cut.

WC: 935, Rating: T

When Astarion finally comments on Gale’s arm, it’s with even less tact that the wizard had come to expect from the vampire.

“Come on, just unwrap it. It can’t be any more unseemly than the rest of you, can it?”

A smile dances on his lips as his red eyes seem to egg Gale on. He had at least waited until the rest of their companions had gone to bed, leaving the two of them alone around the campfire, but Gale still finds himself frantically looking around to see if anyone had overheard. No one stirs. 

He had done his best to keep his orb-rotten arm underwraps — both literally and figuratively — since being picked up by the nautiloid. For the most part, he had succeeded. He had managed to keep his thick black glove covering his hand whenever anyone was looking, and his robes would hide the rest of his wrappings well enough. Dollops from a vial of sandalwood oil that he had so fortuitously kept on his person at the time of his capture had even managed to cover  the strange smell of otherworldly magic, so long as no one was intentionally pressing their nose to his wrappings.

How Astarion had managed to figure out his secret had only been made clear a few mornings into their journey, when Tav had emerged from their bedroll with an open wound on their neck to match the trickle of blood that had dried on Astarion’s chin. 

Of course Gale would manage to end up camping with a bloodhound. He narrows his eyes at the elf now, making it known that his comment is most unwelcome.

“My arm is none of your business, Astarion.”

“Isn’t it?” Astarion leans back, somehow managing to make the misshapen log he’s sitting on look comfortable. “We are traveling together, for better or worse. I have a right to know what troubles plague my companions, just as you all were so concerned about my vampirism.”

Gale’s lips curl into a sneer, which makes him feel very unlike himself. He rarely reacts this strongly to anything, but his arm is a particularly sore subject. 

It’s no small thing for a wizard to lose his arm. His leg would be a different story — he doesn’t need his leg the same way. Or, at least, he wouldn’t normally, when he’s lounging about his tower rather than trekking through the wilderness. His leg doesn’t cast spells or prepare food or flip pages in a book. It does not gesticulate or hold other hands or scratch behind Tara’s ear. His leg does very little other than get him from point a to point b, and Gale would happily sacrifice it if it were to mean his continued survival. 

But his arm… Gale rubs at his gloved hand absently, feeling that familiar numbness where the sensation of touch should be. It would be easier if it were simply lobbed off one day and he were forced to accept its absence and find new ways of existing. But this? This slow death? The mocking kindness of its continued semi-cooperation as he holds his breath and waits for the day when the nerves no longer respond to his brain’s instructions? It is a torture so cruel he can’t begin to describe it.

“Your vampirism is no concern to me as long as you keep your fangs out of my neck. Similarly, my arm is no concern of yours, ever. I’ve already told you everything you need to know about the orb, and my limbs pose no threat to anyone here.”

Astarion flashes sharp teeth but plays it off as a laugh. It feels like a warning. “Trust me, darling, my fangs will never touch your neck as long as you’ve still got that smell about you.”

Gale huffs and sits up straighter, trying not to be obvious as he deigns to sniff at the arm in question. It doesn’t smell particularly strongly to him today, but he does not have elven or vampiric senses. Perhaps it is as offensive as Astarion seems to think.

“If it smells so terrible then why in nine hells would you want me to unwrap it?” Gale asks warily. “One would assume that you’d keep your distance from something that makes your nose wrinkle so.”

The click of Astarion’s tongue reminds Gale very much of Lae’zel. They’ve all been picking up each other’s mannerisms. “I never said it smells bad, did I? It’s just… unnatural. Forgive me if I’m curious about the unnatural, given my condition.”

Silence blossoms between them as they study each other for a long moment. Gale’s not quite sure what to say — Astarion doesn’t seem to find the smell of his arm directly offensive, despite its current state, which Gale can only think to describe as decaying. 

Part of him wants to indulge Astarion’s curiosity. Gale had always fancied himself an adept teacher, when the moment to convey knowledge presents itself, and a surefire way to his heart has always been a keen interest in learning. 

A larger, much more damaged part of him can’t stand the idea of anyone — particularly Astarion — getting a glimpse of the true horror that his body had become. 

He purses his lips and then settles on: “I would suggest growing acquainted with disappointment, Astarion.”

The look Astarion gives him is, for the briefest moment, so sad that it takes Gale’s breath away. Before he can figure out the reason behind the harrowing gaze, Astarion’s eyes are dark and unreadable once more. “Believe me, disappointment and I are old friends.”

[mylittleredgirl]

m*a*s*h update: rest of season three!!

i watched "aid station" and transcended to another realm

i watched it three times and will watch it many more i am SURE

the adventure! the war up close! hardship-earned respect and affection!!!!!

"never let it be said that i didn't do the least i could do" i need that in live laugh love font on my wall

this episode reminded me a few times that oh right, hot lips is the only one of the main cast who signed up and trained for the army on purpose

(and father mulcahey i suppose?)

anyway. long story short. if they had actually shown hot lips changing that tire i would never recover

"love and marriage" - hooray for kwang getting a personality and backstory, and hawkeye and trapper trying to make amends for frank

absolutely bananas that the officers hear a fight happening outside with a shot fired and collectively ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and keep playing. henry you are in charge. someone could be dead

"big mac" - i loved the opening in the o.r.! sometimes it gets a little mean-spirited in there, but this is a light-hearted day at the office where everyone in the room gets to laugh out loud as frank walks right in the teeth of it for literally no reason

i am enjoying the ongoing bit of hawkeye or trapper saying hello to frank and him responding to an insult they haven't said

hot lips's little "frank, they'll kill you." she's not even trying to defend him. she has given up against the overwhelming tide

the casual revelation in "payday" that henry has an open question in his mind about whether or not he's radar's father is a late-breaking reveal i'm gonna think about for a while

colonel flagg. hmm. his first episode was pretty funny because of the spy vs spy thing, but spy vs self was a dud

and then! "abyssinia, henry"!!!! 😢

my gratitude to the anonymous benefactor who hooked me up with a digital copy of this episode, since the dvd cut out before the last scene. which as it turns out!!! was important.

for television in general i assume

not to reveal myself too much as an uncultured hack... but i will confess my first reaction was "well, that was unnecessary"

in my defense!! i'm watching it in 2024, when a character death happening in an off-screen coda would really seem like a showrunner slamming the door behind a departing actor to make sure they couldn't come back no matter what change.org petition the fans cooked up on twitter, you know?

BUT. placing myself back in time. where this is happening partly as a commentary on another war, i get it!! unnecessary death is the point!! it's a tragedy people will have to sit with for months while the show is on hiatus!

HE NEVER MET HIS BABYYYYY (who they clearly forgot about, or they probably would have reminded us in the episode itself just to drive that punch home)

anyway, i have really never seen such a lovingly crafted goodbye episode for a character 💕

somebody PLEASE give radar a hug!!!!!! once per episode for the rest of the show!!!!

i mean sure henry DIED which obviously sucks for him and his variable number of children, but here radar loses his surrogate dad and gets frank in exchange. i mean tell me who suffered more

anyway!!!! in conclusion, season three was so good and funny and will be a tough act to follow!

my final awards for season three 🏆 best drama: aid station; best comedy: alcoholics unanimous; one i could most do without: the general flipped at dawn.

[f0xy5o1]

Growing Pains

A Siren and Teen!Capitan fic

So basically, I asked someone to give me three common AO3 tags and I had to make a one shot based on the tags I was given.

Here were the three:

- Sick fic

- Hurt comfort

- Miscommunication

————————————————————————

“Pestisor! Come on out, I need your help!”

The thin walls of the boat allowed for her words to be heard pretty much anywhere. A young, tired, and very annoyed little boy sprung out of bed.

“I’m coming, mother! Hold on!”

Grabbing his coat, he heads up to the front of the ship where his mother was waiting for him. She stood there with her arms crossed, her face showing very visible and obvious disappointment.

“It’s very late in the day for you, young man…” She lectured.

“I know mother I know, I’m sorry-“

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, I’ve been catching fish all by myself while you rested an hour and a half past your schedule! What did I tell you about sleeping this much?”

She continued to lecture him. Despite the importance of her words, the boy couldn’t help but tune her out, desperately resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

“Are you even paying attention?”

“Yes mother I am I promise.”

At this point it was clear to her how futile it was to try and reason with a rebellious adolescence, even if he is generally on good behavior. She sighed and rubbed her temple.

“You’re going to spend your leisure time helping me gut them, does that sound like a fair trade?”

He didn’t respond but, she took his silence as a yes regardless.

“Good, now come on, we have a lot of work to do.”

Several hour go by as the two cast nets out into the open waters. Though they’ve been fishing for a majority of their time, the catch they’ve gotten wasn’t even enough to fill a barrel’s worth. But, it was just the two of them, and the boy’s mother had faith their hard work would last for another few weeks. As the sun began to set, the boy grew tired of the labor and asked for a break. His mother responded with an unamused demeanor, but she obliged his request regardless.

“Alright fine, that’s enough fishing for today. But before the sun disappears I want you to practice your swimming techniques just like I taught you.”

“But mother, I’m already a decent swimmer! I don’t need any more practice!“

She snapped back, her razor teeth peering out as she snarled slightly.

“Decent won’t save you from hunters or monsters of the sea! You need to be vigilant, keep training.”

With a very loud and obnoxious groan, he removed his coat and dove head first into the waters.

The cold, salty waters of the ocean engulfed his body, his form changing and morphing as his gills puffed out from his neck and sides. Whipping his tail around he swam in circles around the boat. His mother watched expectantly over the sides of the ship, making sure he followed the rules she had already set for him ever since he was small.

“Careful now, pestisor! Don’t hit the mast again!”

He didn’t hear her, that or he chose to ignore her words and just continued to roll and flip beneath the waves. Letting the free feeling of the wind hitting his gills fill him with bouts of excitement. With every small wave he jumped from, the more he forgot that his intentions were to train. But in the moment, he’d rather be swimming in the open ocean then doing another boring lap around the ship for the hundredth time. With a whoop and a holler, nothing was going to separate him from this freedom.

Nothing except…

“Capitan! What do you think you’re doing!?”

Uh oh.

“I told you to train didn’t I!? You’re supposed to be following the guidelines I had set for you! All this mucking about will do you no good!”

Capitan bit back, “Mother, all I do is swim swim swim, why can’t I play with the squids and the sharks?! Or at least do something other than train every day?!”

“It’s for your own good, I’ve already explained that!”

With a heavy sigh, she dropped her tense shoulders.

“Guppy please, if you’re not going to listen, at least come back onboard…”

There’s a long awkward silence between both of them, the sound of the wind brushing against the water was deafening.

“Capitan please, let’s not make this difficult ok?”

He pouted his lips and furrowed his brow with crossed arms, contemplating her words.

“Capitan…?”

Right as she outstretched her hand for him to hold, he re-submerged himself to the water and rapidly circled the boat like a hungry shark.

”You’ve got to be- Capitan that’s enough! This is completely unacceptable, come back to the boat NOW!”

She stomped her heel against the hardwood floor loud enough for him to hear it. He still didn’t listen, in fact he had his own “special” response. Using all of his body weight he knocked into the side of the boat. Even with his small and skinny size, the boat rocked ever so slightly from this maneuver.

“Oh why you little- Capitan! Stop it! This is your last warning!!”

Another strike from the opposite side was blown onto the ship.

With a guttural hiss, she dove in after him. As much as she didn’t want to resort to gill pulling, it seems like it’s the only current way for him to listen to her words. What struck her as odd however was that Capitan was always a bit rough but, he was never THIS uncooperative. She decided to question it later though, focusing on the task of getting his unruly tail back on the boat.

With effortless agility, she caught up to him. He tried to out smart her with weaving and dodging but, he wasn’t as skilled as her when it came to tactical aquatic movements and skills. This was the kind of thing she wanted him to learn for his own safety but, it seems the lesson has yet to really process for him. Suppose an attempt to out match her would be a good way to test his capabilities. Regardless she wraps her arms from behind and holds him down in a headlock. He squirms and whips around, using his long tail to hit her as hard as he could, but her grip was far too strong for him. There was great resistance, lots of hissing, lots of swears, but eventually they both made it back onto the boat thanks to his mother’s incredible leap out of water.

Just as she was about to hit the surface, her body morphed into a different form, granting her legs. She landed firmly on the ground with her son in her arms. Unlike his mother, the boy’s ability to change into a more land adapted form was not as easy, evident by the fact that he flopped around after she dropped him onto the wooden floor.

Eventually his legs grew out as he dried off, pulling himself back up onto his feet and snatching the coat he had left on the floor. He glared at his mother with daggers in his eyes.

“Room. Now.”

This was all she could appropriately say to him.

”GrrrraaAAAAH!! It’s not fair!!!”

He screamed all sorts of obscenities as he slammed the door behind him.

She let out a deep and sorrowful sigh, grabbing her blade and continuing her chores around the ship.

“What am I going to do with that boy?...”

She began to gut the fish the two had worked so hard to collect together, even though he had silently agreed to help her that night.

The sun had finally disappeared.

The stars and the moon were the only things shining down onto the boat. Not a candle or lantern in site. Though, it’s not like the two had any real direction anywhere nor do they really need the light considering their unique abilities. Though still, the darkness felt lonely, and no one felt that more than the family currently lost out at sea. Inside his quarters, Capitan was as restless as ever, tossing and turning in an attempt to sleep.

For one reason or another, he couldn’t, something was preventing him from properly sleeping and he was hard pressed to find out why. Using his claws he scratched his skin. It was just a small spot on his cheek, nothing more. Later into the night the spot was on his cheek, then the side of his face, then his entire body from the head down. He quickly threw the sheets off of him and any article of clothing that was making him uncomfortable. Like a wild animal he scratched and scratched but, nothing was working, every part of him was flaring in this god awful burning sensation.

In a fit of rage he threw himself onto the floor. As he landed he noticed that, all scattered across his room, were tiny, round, scale flakes. He checked his body again and, sure enough, remnant of peeling scales all over his body. Everything itched, every part of him felt like it was on fire, and nothing he did made it go away.

In a panic he thought to run to his mother for help, but, right as he was about to open the door. He remembered that he was in fact, still very cross with her. Despite his better judgment, he suffered this uncomfortable pain alone…

The sun peeked over the horizon. Bright and early, there was a sudden knock at Capitan’s door.

“Guppy? How are you feeling? I know yesterday was a lot, I just wish to speak with you.”

The boy got no sleep, the cold and unwelcoming hard floor was not an ideal place to catch any rest. He sprung up from the noise and quickly gathered his clothes,

“D-Don’t come in mother! Uh- Now’s not a good time!-“

He tried his best to string up a feasible excuse.

“Well why not? Is there something you don’t want me seeing?”

He looked down at his bare chest, the flakes are very visible and many crevices in his skin bled black from how much he irritated his skin with all the scratching.

“I- Um-…Yes!”

He panicked suddenly.

“Black?” He thought, “I’ve never bled this color, this looks unnatural! What’s happening to me!?”

Jumping out of bed he took his broken hand held mirror and held it up closer to his body. He looked like a wreck to say the least. The itching is worse now and the panic is creating knots in his chest so tight it’s getting harder for him to breathe…

”Come on now, pestisor… I’m your mother. I respect your privacy but it’s really not that big of an issue! Let me in please I just want to discuss yesterday with you…”

She rattled the doorknob.

“N-No!! Don’t come in here, go away!!”

”.…Ok, I’ll leave you be. Just, please don’t forget I’m here for you… I know you’re likely still upset with me, I understand I….I really do. Don’t hide away Capitan…”

And with that, he could hear the sound of footsteps leaving his doorway. He didn’t move until he was sure nothing was there waiting for him.

The panic didn’t leave him like he thought it would. In fact, it just got worse at time passed. Every little thing he did made him feel dizzy and lightheaded, every sound was ear-splitting, and the nausea helped none. Sitting down and scratching away was all he could really do, he laid down on his bed in defeat as he hurled black liquid out of his system. The world was spinning and everything hurt, it was the only reality he knew at this point…

The sun set again.

Night fell over the ship as Capitan remained in his room. He curled into a fetal position, black staining every good piece of cloth he had left. A violent stream of tears ran down his cheeks. He felt sick, in every way. Sick as a dog with all the vomiting and scratching and bleeding. Sick of his mother bossing him around all the time. Sick of himself and this stupid, cursed body he was given…

Sick in every sense of the word.

”It’s not fair….it’s not fair…”

The chills…the shaking….it hurts so much…He closes his eyes again and-

There’s another knock at the door.

”Capitan?…You haven’t left your room at all today! Please just tell me what’s wrong. I’m not upset with you I promise, you don’t need to hide away… I just want to know what’s happening…”

Without even turning around he yelled at the loudest volume he could manage.

“I said go away!!”

“…..Capitan please…”

“No! I don’t want to be bothered!”

“Capitan…”

“I said go!!”

“…..You don’t mean that…”

There was yet another moment of silence. She put an ear to the door to gauge any kind of response, she was met with the undeniable sound of tears. An uncontrollable sob was heard shortly after with screams so painful it shattered her heart…

This was the last straw. She opened the door, not prepared for what she was about to see. Capitan hid underneath the sheets, shielding himself away from her.

“Capitan…?”

She inched her way closer to him.

”D-Don’t look at me!! I said go away!!...”

Capitan violently shook underneath his blanket. His mother did nothing but sit right beside him on the bed, unsure of how to approach this situation.

”What is it that you don’t want me to see?…What are you do afraid of?… I’m right here pestisor… it’s ok, you can show me…”

She gently placed a reassuring hand on him.

The shaking didn’t stop, but he did pop his head out from under the covers, the blood and scale flakes covering every inch of his face.

“Oh…Oh my little guppy…”

She covered her mouth in shock.

”M-…..Mother…..Am I dying…?”

With shaking breaths she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing as gently as she could.

”No….No you’re not dying…Don’t worry…”

“Then…Then what’s wrong with me?! Why do I feel this way!? Why does it hurt so much I don’t understand!!”

“Shhh….shhhh it’s ok…”

She ran her fingers through his hair, trying her best to calm him down.

”You’re molting… it’s an inevitable part of growing up. I had to live with it too… Of course it wasn’t as bad as this, but I recognize it when I see it. As you grow, your body changes and…these changes hurt… a lot. Until you reach a certain age this won’t stop. It will stop after a few days and then come back after a year with less intensity. You and I may be a bit different but, I know what this is like… and I…”

She tightens her embrace a bit more.

“I really really wish you had come to me sooner… I know I would’ve done everything in my power to help you through this…”

“This….This is normal?”

He lifted his head to look into her eyes. He was still crying but, at the very least he doesn’t feel like the world is ending.

“Well… Maybe not all of it is normal but, the bleeding and the skin flaking is definitely normal.”

She brushed his hair out if is eyes and planted a kiss on his forehead.

“Oh Capitan you gave me such a scare! Hahah…”

Through sniffles and crocodile tears, he apologized for not coming to her as soon as he could. He even apologized for his behavior the day before, but his mother wasn’t too angry about that anymore. Her only concern was him and his safety.

Now that he’s in her arms, everything is going to be ok…

”You’re a very strong boy, Capitan… I know you’ll power through this. You just need to rest, ok? I’ll tuck you in every night and sing you to sleep like I used to. Does that sound alright with you…?”

She patted his head lovingly, giving him the warmest smile.

He nodded yes and grinned with his sharp, jagged, baby teeth. She laughed and gave him another kiss.

“You’re my precious little pearl…I love you so much…”

[wordsbymae]

MINORS DNI 

Title : The Mad King

TW: Violence, implied murder, mentions of poisoning, I tried to make it as GN as possible but for the direction I want this little world to go it will be heavily implied female (or at very least AFAB) reader. Possessivness.  Also slight mentions of breeding (what can I say I am who I am) also if you get confused, the italics are the shadow and the bold the younger brother

Hope you enjoy! this is my first offical drabble/imagine so I really hope you guys like it! I have some more lined up, but just a early warning I am in uni so it can be a bit crazy! I am gonna aim for two a week :) 

They had been inseparable since childhood. The shadow and him. A figure only he could see, a voice only he could hear. A friend for the times his father cast him aside in favour of his older brother, the rightful heir. An accomplice for when he acted in envy and lamed his brother's prized mare, a scapegoat for when he was dragged in front of his father with blood coating his hands. He was told to do it, can't you see? Why don't you believe him? The shadow was the one who made him do it. 

 He was deemed flawed after that. A prince does not act out in anger, or envy and does not let bitterness rest in their chest until it comes screaming out. A good prince, a righteous prince, does not cast the blame on shadowy figures that lay lingering in the corners of rooms and the rafters of roofs. 

He was the flawed prince, the fractured brother. The one who saw strange figures at night and sneered at his brother's kindness. What kindness would he accept from a brother who stole their father away? What brother would allow him to be left forgotten and alone, ignored and slighted? What brother? 

 But maybe not a brother, comes whispers. A thief, a rouge, a greedy little pig. Suckling the milk of your father for far too long, stealing all the scraps and crumbs for himself. If he is not your brother then he is a rival, an enemy, a nemesis, a Judas. An enemy? No, a brother. At least for now. 

 Years passed slowly, and his bitterness remained. He was willing to let it rot, willing to let it freeze deep inside. For father was now dead, a nasty business involving poison and turncoats and 6 hanging bodies overlooking the City Square. No need for new seeds of bitterness to be sown when the object of your envy is six feet under. He thought he was at rest, happy to play little brother to the Rightful King. A kind and generous ruler to his people and in turn his brother. But despite this newfound love he did not forget, for how could he? It is hard to forget when whispers from an old friend continue to sound. You can only forget so much, and forgive so little when the misdoings of your brother are repeated endlessly. Yet, for now, he was able to deafen the whispers, and the shadow of his childhood slowly slithered away.

 And laid in wait, til the day of your arrival. 

The youngest child of a large royal family is a frightening and often lonely place to be. Filled with kindness, yes, but ambition can be a cruel drug, severing even the strongest of bonds. Best to send those unneeded to faraway lands, where they can be of some use, before they start to dream of a crown of their own. Despite no dreaming on your end, you were deemed to be an excess and a potential threat (no matter how small) and thus sent away to a kingdom and a king needing an heir. An alliance was made, something regarding timber and coal, although it was purely formalities. You were nothing more but livestock to be bred and tamed. 

 Even kind Kings are still men. 

 The younger brother had heard of you. A foreign royal to be tied to his brother in holy matrimony. Nothing more than a decoration to be admired. Like a pretty painting of swans on a lake. 

 But if ambition is a cruel drug, love is a crueller disease still.

 The long silent whispers became shouts when you stepped from the carriage. Your face glowed in the setting sun, but your smile was the brightest light of the day. You were introduced to both the Rightful King and the younger brother. You were courteous and gave both the same attention. But was that a look of admiration from your eyes when you looked at his brother? Or was it just the sun? No, came the shouts. Admiration, desire, want and lust was in your eyes. For him. For that stupid, gorging pig still selfishly taking and taking and taking and taking and taking. 

 What more could he possibly take? He took your father's love from you, he took your rightful place on the throne (the throne?), yes your rightful place ruling and leading. Your place as a king among men and a god among kings. And now look at him, lusting and drooling after a poor, helpless, innocent lamb. Like a wolf who strays too close to the flock. But they are yours (mine?), yours, (Mine). Do not let this thief, this rouge, this Judas steal from you again. He is not your brother but a traitor. Just as traitorous as those mutts that killed your father (a mutt), a rabid, foul dog who will taint them, destroy them, corrupt them (never). what are rabid mutts good for? (nothing but death).

 It was easy to discard his love for his brother. He wonders if he ever really loved him. Or did he just mould his hatred into a similar emotion? The stage was set and the pieces were in place. A day of hunting, together, alone, was proposed. A celebration of his brother's luck in procuring such a stunning specimen. They left early, guards half awake, the sun cresting softly, shadows following close behind. Into the forest, dark and cold, does and stags, vixen and kits, all theirs to be slain. But the younger brother was not hunting mere beasts, he was hunting a King. 

 Stopping by a stream to rest, they began to speak of their childhood. A mother only the oldest could remember, a father they both adored, and a foreign royal claimed by one but desired by another.

 It was not a quick or honourable death. It was not the death the Rightful King deserved. But why the fuck would the younger brother care for that? His task was completed, finally and truly. As his older brother lay half submerged in the creek, water lapping at his open eyes, the younger brother snatched the crown that fell in the tussle from the ground. He stared at the gaping mouth of his kin and began to revel in his good luck. He was now King and with that came you. Pure, innocent, lustful you. How his luck has changed! 

 Now what to tell the good people of his kingdom? People do not quickly forget dead kings. 

 The truth? Because in the end, is it his fault?

 The shadow was the one who made him do it.