#the fates did align sorta

[j2zara]

Ellie hates being told what to do so I do think a part of her resents her past self for tethering her to this stupid boy who she’s tasked to find, but this manifests not in the form of her running away from her task but instead being like alright I need to find this guy to understand what the hell is so great about him. And then she meets him and is like damn past me had a point I guess.

But her relationship to clone!Ellie is different from her hatred for Jace. I do think she resents clone!Ellie, but she doesn’t hate her. The more she understands clone!Ellie, I think the more she comes to understand her past and her circumstances, the more current Ellie pities her and feels aligned and connected with her like they really are a continuation of the same consciousness.

To me, the difference between her hatred for Jace and her resentment for her past self, even though they seem like they would be the same thing—a past version of herself she feels alienated from and resents due to being burdened with an obligation she did not want or ask for—is that Ellie ultimately does try to do what she thinks is right.

And I think she recognizes clone!Ellie as someone who is also trying to do the right thing, her messy and flawed but ultimately righteous resistance to Jace and Porter, as well as her task to find J3 and also Blue are things she understands. Especially bc Ellie really values transparency, even if she doesn’t know these people (sorta) she still thinks they have a right to know what’s going on. Whereas her alienation from Jace is about identity, but it’s also about his cruelty, the power he has over her, and what she deems as his cowardice in the face of evil, of Porter.

I think the pull she has toward Porter then and now vs the pull she has toward J3 in her reincarnated lives fall along a similar logic. It’s not just that the call toward Porter was never her choice, it’s also that she maintains she would never choose someone like him.

J3 on the other hand, is someone she has this complicated relationship with, this unresolved tension between destiny vs free will. Yes, her previous contexts, their history, are the reason she feels this draw toward him, but also the more she understands who he was and who he is, the more she just finds that she likes him, flaws and all. He is imperfect, but the more she knows him the more she feels assured that she’s not just fated to be with him—she would choose him, too.

[edgy-dragon-trash]

ASK GAME ROUND 3 let's goooo

Here are some for my faves, your Astor, Lev, and let's go with Mary too (they're all so creature I love them)

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people?

💢 ANGER - what are some habits they have that will take some getting used to?

🪤 MOUSE TRAP - what will always lure them into certain danger? a loved one in danger? a promise of something they are always searching for?

📎 PAPERCLIP - a random fact.

Hope you're having a good day :)

Yeahhhh babyyy lets goo💪 Thanks for the ask!

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people?

Mary:

This one depends a little bit. Mary does not like showing most people that shes smart and capable. She goofs and messes around, dumbing herself down, because she thinks it’s funny when people underestimate her, as well as useful in some situations.

Sometimes that backfires because people she likes every now and then assume the same thing: that shes just dumb and a brute. And they have to be remided thats not the case.

Yiga!Lev:

I assume you’re asking for yiga Leviathan? Regular, canon Leviathan doesn’t have much going on for them besides a few facts that exist for shitpost reasons, actively rotting and sometimes representing me. So I’m picking for you because I can’t offer you much for regular Lev.

I’d say probably their frustration. I’ve talked before about them and how they are when they’re angry or frustrated. It’s ugly and it’s messy and does not align with the chill person they wanna present themselves as.

Astor:

Hmmm… Honestly by the time my Astor starts his villain arc, he really goes all out. I mean, if you can’t change fate, why not be your worst self?

Probably the fact that they’re a snake, a traitor. He can’t keep a single ally for too long, especially when they stop being useful or when they “judge” him for him methods. Hes a fake ass bitch.

💢 ANGER - what are some habits they have that will take some getting used to?

Mary:

Everything💀

If I gotta pick something, I would say her habit of being touchy or sexulizing things. You either get used to it or you don’t because she is not changing herself too soon. That and she literally cannot help herself no matter how much she wants; she has a genuine problem.

She has no filter either and will say weird things of any type.

Yiga!Lev:

Does picking at their skin count? They’re gonna pick any imperfection, even if they bleed. It’s robotic. You’re gonna see it if you randomly look at them concentrating on something.

Astor:

His tangents. He randomly rambles on and on about certain topics. Especially after his God Given Parasite (third eye) starts messing with his mind more and more. His thoughts get less coherent if he doesn’t talk them out, even if it’s to himself.

🪤 MOUSE TRAP - what will always lure them into certain danger? a loved one in danger? a promise of something they are always searching for?

Mary:

Hell is a constant danger. If you’re like Mary and somehow didn’t end up as a tortured soul and instead a demon, you will come across more demons. And they range from decently terrible to straight up vile. Not to mention angels randomly raiding the place…

Mary does have a set of morals, albeit a twisted ones. She will fight for her friends, sure.

But I’d say what got her in danger most of the time was Ale. Either because he was a hitman mean to kill her (god knows how many people in heaven want Mary dead) or because they got in some sort of trouble togheter.

Yiga!Lev:

Literally Astor. Any mission given by Astor is a death mission to some degree, even if he doesn’t necessarily intend it in Leviathan’s case. Thats what it means being a servant of Ganon.

What did get them in major danger is trying to save Astor at the battle of Hyrule Castle. I did mention they were broken up by then, but seeing the man in his last moments, Lev could not help herself; they may have broken up, sorta, but their feelings were still there. Unfortunately not only did they fail to save him, they too ended up dead…

Astor:

Ok my main AU for Astor is not the one with Lev in, so what got him in danger is the same thing in canon: The promise of the Calamity. The promise of greatness and power that Gan offered him. The thing he sacrificed his whole life chasing.

The thing that almost killed him. At least in this one he doesn’t die and gets a cool prosthetic arm. But nothing will fix the realization that he wasted his life for a traitor bigger than him. Perhaps death would have been more merciful than living with the thought.

📎 PAPERCLIP - a random fact.

Mary:

Shes a shapeshifter/fleshshifter. The creatures she can shift into are few and it’s easier to change into draconic forms rather than other animals. But she can shift her limbs and body to use body horror to her advantage. When it comes to scaring a human, shes gotten so good she can even shift in a way to expose her internal organs.

Yiga!Lev:

Likes sketching Astor when he sleeps or hes too concentrated on something to look.

Canon Lev because I do have something here:

It is actually a resurrected dragon corpse, brought back by a wizard. It was meant to be a familiar or apprentice but said wizard didn’t account for their size. And also Lev just wants to do their own thing.

Astor:

Big fan of experimenting on people. Be it with torture or the effects of malice, he considers it a special type of offering for the calamity.

[marybatson]

i like the reoccurring thought that there’d be select super secret magic councils in different continuities that dr fate, zatanna, and cap marvel and whoever else on their level are always a part of. reign in hell (2008)’s telestic council + dc new frontier’s “spiritually informed” club are definitely aligned w each other (one is more chaotic than the other lol) and I wish they actually did smth with these sorta-kinda ethereal councils and brought it to the current continuity. not as a real team I think they just hang. and drink tea.

[tamarakkoarchive]

Shin Megami Tensei III livetweet thread (3/3)

bitch.........

forgot how nerve-racking dealing with raidou chasing you around and instakilling is lmao. the sudden shift to stealth genre

raidou: demifiend:

bawling and shitting myself at the club

i couldn't tell from the cutscenes but he's slightly taller... his beautiful nape

me: don't say it don't say itttt my brain: demifiend x futomimi is beta massacre nanashi x flynn

jokes aside i didn't expect to get so much into futo. i already felt the manikins were the best characters of nocturne but learning about his fate being an ironic spin to what he did in his past life really makes you go daaaaamn

(i bet the irony would go up catastrophic levels if you choose to join yosuga but i'm not masochist enough for that)

i revived him bitch!!!!

LOL all this time i was under the impression you cannot go up kagutsuchi at all if you choose to join lucy but this is only until you meet him, the game goes the same after this point... like.... literally what was the need for locking that part

~

looked up guides for the puzzle boy in my second gameplay because deep down i have respect for myself

uff the amount of resummoning i'm doing because of trial and error related to skills... learning just now about how life/mana surge turn useless in the late game because of the level cap

feeling for the people that put a shitton of work on guides for items that end up being barely necessary at all

the ((((((final secret item)))))) that is hidden in this lordgodawful map is just a reusable reviving item aka redundant in the endgame and once you get the exp/macca dlc you have NO NEED to farm incense in that ridiculous “go-to-store-and-spend-1000$-repeat-10-times” way

from what i understood the dlc is exclusive to the hd remaster lmao i would simply Not Bother finishing the compendium if i was playing the ps2 version

~

besties on the top

i would replace pixie’s mana surge and repel phys with avenge and pierce now that i know better but it’s too late to change rip

*turns on the brightness for extra effect*

🎉🎊🎊🎊🎉🎊🎊🎉🎊🎊🎉🎊🎉🪅🪅🥳🪅🪅🪅🥳😈💃💃👯‍♂️👯‍♀️🎊🎉🥳🤵🥳👯👯‍♀️👯🪅🥳🎊👯‍♀️🎊🎉🎉🎉🎈🎈🎈👯🎉🎉🎊🎊🎈🎉🎉

~

maybe they would've been a thing in the yosuga route if chiaki wasn't a crazyass bitch

tbh i think chiaki being hated alongside isamu is the general opinion regardless of back in 2003 or today lol but if fans were to pick a human i'd also believe chiaki to have the largest fanbase since she's the one that makes the biggest impression i guess

i played the game twice and only realized yuko dies after reading the wiki lmao

yuko's route is definitely the route that makes the most sense but her character is the weakest... you'd choose freedom because it matches the player's morals more than doing that because you like her

pixie is the only nocturne girl i simp

smt3 'your friends are assholes' nocturne

~

i thought that the demifiend appearance in smtv was pretty much fanservice but the way the true demon ending goes alongside the fact smtv happens in a world lucifer won makes me think it'd be a sequel of sorts wouldn't it

what makes an alignment interesting has to do with how much it makes sense for the mouthpiece and the protagonist to choose them independent of morals... tde is nihilist and destructive but makes total sense as a revenge end

yosuga and going chaos in smtiv on the other hand is ???? because they complain about things that they themselves would be okay with in their own circumstances. they wouldn't comply with the own world they're trying to create and even through a vendetta perspective it's nonsensical

~

i looked up the nocturne drama cd and the protagonist is an original character that is an incel edgelord that simps for chiaki and at the end is killed by her FDKGHDFJ

i was worried for a sec that he was THE naoki from the game but nah our actual naoki is there but seen from a third person perspective. he thankfully is sorta like a chad too

~

i get isamu is the genki loser friend archetype but his design conveys something that could've been wayyy more subtle and beyond this trope idk...

you can't design someone like this and give a junpei-like voice it's suuuchhh a wasteeeee

chiaki's voice is unfitting for me too because she strikes me as someone arrogant and snobbish and instead the voice is generic cutesy *plays the whole game with the voices turned off*

~

i'd say tde triumphs over the freedom ending for being a more accurate reaction to how demifiend would feel after being fucked around by his peers but a side of me gets terribly emo thinking about how far the poor manikins are gonna go in that world

the rational course of action they would do is submitting to demifiend in exchange of protection since futomimi after being revived is doing exactly that 😭

peeled demifiend real

his model sliding in this scene fking took me out

shijima has the fucking funniest cutscene bc it's lit just hikawa and demifiend vibing like a 2000s music video

ending tier (makes sense for the game themes) tde>freedom>demon>(it's interesting to think about) musubi>shijima>>>>>>>(trash) yosuga

~

LMAOOOOOO i had no idea the junk shop manikin was another one from the 573984573498 okama stereotypes done by atlus, they probably got so concerned after complaints with p5 that they dilutated his og personality in the remaster

they could have reworked some of his dialogue lines instead of making him a bland npc tbh... i get people get sensitive with gay predator trope but they never erase male characters that get horny for girls on the other hand

he's our spokesman... let him be horny for demifiend goddamn

~

blessing the gods that artists and writers with best taste prefer raidou topping

i've seen someone describing raidemi as topxtop and yeah that's it. rough and violent dynamic that comes from clashing too much 😈

it's less abt seeing demifiend as bottom and more about he being too feral to control his urges and raidou already being a cold-blooded demon tamer knowing how to handle this type of situations better than demi himself knows

demi going dog horny on full moons 🌕

this bitch is bald isn't he

gonna be thinking every character with a hat is bald unless stated otherwise after ingo's reveal

END

[waifuoftomonori]

Fanfiction Masterlist (and other stuff)

Please note that most of these fics have not been edited, or seen minimal editing. I may edit them later; I may or may not update them on Tumblr to reflect these edits.

Heed the tags for content warnings. If you come across something you think I should warn for that I haven’t, I deeply apologize; please let me know so I can add appropriate tags or warnings for others. Also, let me know if any of the links don’t work. Hope you enjoy :)

Aki After Tentacles (the forced gender-swap fic) (sex-swap? tits’n’vulvafication? one of those things, excuse my crudeness)

Chapter 1: Fever Chapter 2: Thirty Percent Chapter 3: Vulture (Part One) Chapter 3: Vulture (Part Two) Chapter 4: Tongue (Part One) Chapter 4: Tongue (Part Two) Chapter 5 (Part One) Chapter 5 (Part Two) Chapter 6: Complex (Part One) Chapter 6: Complex (Part Two) (posted Jan. 8, 2025)

Other Fics on Tumblr

Blindfold-Bondage Threesome (unfinished) Brat Game (Part One)

AO3 Fics

[Note: These fics came from my early days of writing about the Kifu gang— even the one I posted most recently— and I don’t think they’re very good for several reasons. If you decide to read them anyway, heed the tags.]

Role Reversal (Shiki and Tomo roleplay a scenario where Shiki is Tomo’s servant) Taming of the Ox (Tomo x Aki— be warned that Tomonori is OOC and kind of a prick in this (more than I write him now) Black and White and Red all Over (Shiki and Tomo play Go and it gets out of hand in a sexy way) Truth or Dare: Summer Festival Edition (exactly what it says on the tin; even though I uploaded this one most recently, don’t be fooled, I wrote it ages ago, I just wanted to post something I wrote earlier to feel more productive as a writer, but now it’s out there and I’m not taking it down)

Headcanons, Brainstorming, Charts, and Notable Blorbo Question Responses that Got Out of Hand

The moment of blorbo-ization Stranger: “My marriage is over. I told my wife about us.” The answer is yes. Yes, this man is depressed. (NSFW) Crying during/after sex Meeting his own clone (NSFW) Roles in bed Abandoned puppy in basket (NSFW) Deepthroating (NSFW) Degradation kink (NSFW) Do they swallow? Guide to deciphering Tomonori’s moods based on how he’s acting toward Akifusa Last-minute gifts Tomonori for president 2028 Analysis (possibly biased) of how Tomonori would do in each game in Squid Game, which I have never watched but now know more about than I did before (NSFW) Cock-gag-cock threesome scenario What would happen if I tried to pat Tomonori's head? Tomonori, my favorite morally gray vizier "Bet you $20 you wouldn't kiss him" Rolling around in a flower patch Tomonori loves being seen as the villain Cooking "YOU KILLED SOMEONE?!?!?!" Pokémon types (I'm most confident about Akifusa's) Tomonori would rock that short skirt and long jacket though If Tomonori had social media You can draw whiskers on him but that's as far as he'll go (no, wait-- checks notes for the brat game fic-- he'll still punish you) Shiki and Tomo did not have happy childhoods Tramp stamps (sorta NSFW) Wait, what do you mean I'm the only one? ”I want to think about my blorbo instead of whatever I should be doing” chart OT3 Get to Know My Ship Template (Part 1, unsure if I’ll do Part 2) Scarlet Fate character alignment charts Wild West AU Idea (inspired by poll) Brothel Fanfic Idea(s) Lava cage BDSM? Gushing post about my crossover modern college AU (Tomonori x Akifusa x Shinra from Enchanted in the Moonlight) Gushing Parts 2 and 3 (comparison to Grendel) (bonus: cute screenshot of Akifusa being awkwardly candid)

Other Fan Stuff

The Three Stages of every Tomo x Aki NSFW scene I’ve ever written I find this piece of Tomo x Shiki fan art really hot (I did not make it) Tomonori’s canon and semi-canon punishments Look at this man, he’s so pretty <3 (not the big red shirtless one, that's the Sword in god form) Pouty Tomo! (not the first pouting man, that's someone from Squid Game) Sixth Tomoversary post (2024) “Many dumb fictional men”, including Akifusa I could see Akifusa saying this (about love) (NSFW) Furutsugu does not deserve happiness (I go crazy in the tags) Fanfic research meme (and I vent in the tags) Flustering Tomonori, intentionally and otherwise

Non-Fanfic (or Fanfic-Adjacent) Stuff

My mixed feelings about not proofreading my fics Facing my judgmental 12-year-old self Thoughts on various AO3 tags (semi-NSFW) My thoughts on virgins writing smut (TLDR: go for it bby) Half-serious proposal: music tempo words for speed of burn(s) "Snock" Describing myself in eleven images (well, "images") - scroll all the way down Overanalyzing hypothetical fanfics about me based on three (or four) tags Taking all 3 items Tomonori helps me get my life in gear Important MtG rules clarification Good smut advice (well, sometimes) (depending on the scene and the vibe) (sometimes it’s better to just write “cock” and stop worrying over whether you’re overusing it) Non-OT3 poly vs. OT3 (Shikitomofusa falls somewhere in the middle for me, but for convenience's sake I still use the term OT3) Top/bottom vs. Dom/sub

Personal Makeshift Thesaurus (by personal I just mean I focus on words/areas I often need synonyms for; feel free to use) Sex, Attraction, & Pleasure Metaphor Categories

[the-friendliest-freak]

Sorta delve into some personal topics here, CW for Ableism

Hot Take, which sorta turned into a ramble:

Wheatley’s takeover and outburst at GLaDOS as well as Chell should be regarded with a similar amount of compassion as GLaDOS’ mass-murdering of all the Aperture Science employees.

Now, I know they aren’t the same. The creation of GLaDOS through the mind-scan of Caroline is commonly - and likely intended to be - read as a woman having her body used against her, turning her into something that she cannot escape from. The metaphor for assault is a well-tread road that others have approached with more eloquence and time than I can manage currently. The consequent vengeance against those who did this to her is, in a sense, a revenge fantasy for those who have suffered similar crimes. This is, by and large, the feminist reading of Portal. Being AFAB, I get it.

But I find myself far much more aligned with Wheatley’s struggle than her’s, due to having ASD which tends to make me appear as “stupid” to the grand majority of people (am I stupid? Jury’s still out /j). However, I see people regarding Wheatley’s outburst as more immature, than the nobility in which GLaDOS’ is associated.

To get it out of the way: the developers have confirmed that the chassis does have personality-altering capabilities. Wheatley is not acting of his own volition. He’s also been confirmed to have had good intentions from the start. The chassis made him lash out.

Anyway, Wheatley is aware of what he is. That’s why he doesn’t want to hear listen when GLaDOS recalls it. He’s aware that he isn’t the brightest.

Except that he is genuinely smart.

The hacking that he does at the beginning? That is literally how robots hack. I’m serious. The only difference is that Wheatley is slower.

And that’s the key thing here. Wheatley can do all the things that every other robot can. He just struggles with it. Either because he simply needs more time, or he’s been told he can’t do those things (removing himself from the rail and enabling the flashlight).

And I don’t know about you, but that sounds especially familiar to me.

So, after god-knows how many years of being treated as lesser, being called a moron, constantly demeaned - and then you’ve done it, you’re in power, and you’re so proud of yourself “I did this! Tiny little Wheatley did this!”.

The chassis tells you that the human you escaped with isn’t trustworthy - and you can’t exactly argue against that. Chell doesn’t look for Wheatley after he’s broken by GLaDOS, he finds her. She also didn’t catch him, with him assuring her that he could die.

And then, while you’re rethinking everything, suddenly with way more knowledge than you expected, right after a painful transformation…the truth of what you are is drilled into you.

And then, it gets worse.

“You were my tumour.”

“You’re not just a regular moron, you’re designed to be a moron.”

I’ve read things online, people saying that somebody having ASD is a fate worse than death. That I’m a disease. Past couple of years I’ve been constantly demeaned and talked to like a god damn toddler.

So? I’m glad Wheatley did what he did. I wish I could do that. When he screams “I AM NOT. A. MORON!” I felt it, man, I really did.

I’m not the brightest, I know I’m not, but I’m not stupid. I’m not a moron. And neither is he.

He deserves compassion.

[wildflowertips]

Hi! I was curious if you had anymore Kuroko fic recommendations? Thank you! 🥺💗

hey! 🥺 i do have more kuroko fanfic recs. i didnt know what type of kuroko ship you wanted, so here are a few from some kuroko ships <3:

Kagakuro Recommendations

the flower that blooms in adversity by aotetsu

When Kagami falls for Kuroko Tetsuya, a famous prostitute from the red light district, he manages to find a whole lot of trouble and a person worth it all.

this fic deserves more love and attention. kagami love for kuroko absolutely made me sob

Brothers in Woo by buttwade

in which Himuro jokingly offers to help Kagami win Kuroko over and the joke's on him

kagami is drunk & himuro cracks jokes. this fic is funny. jealous!kuroko

Beastly call by TCon

"You mean," Kuroko started. "You'd be my Heat Partner?" He didn't expect Kagami to explode into a myriad of different shades of red more impressive than his own hair. "Y — yeah tha's what I'm sayin'!" for some reasons he lapsed into english with an odd accent. KagaKuro Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics & Sex Pistols AU - Fusion

Lots of smut in the beginning. there’s crime, suspense, and i read this fic like 5 times.

Stamina Training by tnsxbunny

As the weakest member in the team, Kuroko stays back after basketball practice to train on his stamina. Kagami watches from afar and decides to show Kuroko what real stamina training is.

SMUT. SUCH GOOD SMUT. thank u

The advantage of being Kuroko by heartfilledteddybear

mayuzumi hits on Kuroko & Kagami gets jealous 🥵

Akakuro Recommendations

Forget me not flowers in our hair by miniaturepsycho

When Kagami is captured by a beast Kuroko doesn't think twice and bargains to take the red head's position instead but it seems that there is more to this castle than meets the eye, and what has it have to do with forget me not's?? Basically a beauty and the beast AU that I decided to do after seeing the live action (which I totally did not cry at, not at all!!) COMPLETE

Contains Aokaga. Akashi as beast & kuroko as belle. So good 🥺

All I ask by TsuruKuni

"It's none of your business." "Tell me, Aomine. How can it be none of my business when you're throwing away the only person I've ever wanted?"

THIS FIC MADE ME SOB AT 3 AM. I highly recommend listening to ‘All I ask’ by Adele. I promise you will cry. Aokuro & Akakuro.

Bridezilla by DancingMarshmallows

Weddings are stressful... try helping people plan them. With two months to get everything together, a bridezilla and her bitch of a maid of honor, and finding love at the worst time, Kuroko would be lucky if he makes it out alive.

CEO!Akashi & WEDDING PLANNER!kuroko. you will not regret reading this one.

That Ridiculously Long Dance by Harmonia_Silverberg

Aomine, Kise, and Kagami never learn, do they? But apparently their "joke" works in Akashi and Kuroko's favor this time.

literally one of my all time favorite akakuro fanfic

What Would Chihiro Do by anewtinystory

Akashi is dating Kuroko, whose two brothers are very protective of him.[Based on a Tumblr anon's prompt: Nijimura and Mayuzumi are Kuroko's brothers; while Nijimura approves of Akashi, Mayuzumi feels the opposite]

slight smut. protective bros. i love it sm.

Aokuro Recommendations

Traded Mistakes by Acetate, Chrystie, exuberant_imperfection, kate882, luckypen

For the prompt: Aomine having an accident and losing his memory so all he remembers is being best friends with Tetsu and he doesn’t understand how that could stop.

Angst, oh the angst 😫😭.

Third time’s a charm (or maybe fourth) by LajtHane

Aomine really didn't mean to crash into him at Quidditch practice.

HOGWARTS AU. if that doesn’t temp you, idk what will. My fav Aokuro fic.

Maybe a touch of your hand by skinandbones

[Written for AoKuroWeek 2015]: Aomine moves into a new apartment and befriends a ghost boy.

no bc this fic made me cry too. pls read it 🎶ifwehad5moreminutes🎶

The Boyfriend Jersey by exuberant_imperfection, kate882

Kuroko, in a half-asleep mistake, ends up wearing Aomine's jersey to school.

THIS FIC IS CUTE SUCH DORKS

Hey, Come Here Often? by imabignerd

In which Momoi holds his magazines hostage, Aomine hates everything and everyone, and Kuroko is politely bewildered.

Aomine crushes on the lifeguard!Kuroko & Momoi is a little shit about it 😌🤍

Midokuro Recommendations

It’s Always your Fault! by warsandwich

Kuroko and Midorima are secretly dating, but Takao finds out their secret. De-anon from the anon meme.

Short, sweet, & funny 😌.

Partnership by Fayah

Their partnership starts in English class, but like everything else in their lives, turns into a matter of basketball.

Midorima really cares for Kuroko 🥺

Midokuro Ficlet by pandacchii

based off of imagineyourotp blog post: "Imagine your otp confessing while they were half asleep" Pairing: Midorima/Kuroko

short story but it’s really cute ☺️

An Unexpected Alignment by cinnaelle

Midorima Shintarou does not expect such a reoccurring encounter. But the wheels of fate are turning and Akashi moves his shogi piece.

well-written i love it sm. deserves more praise

The Way You Come Undone by oshare_banchou

"Midorima Shintarou is completely silent during sex. And Kuroko, who is both fascinated and frustrated by this discovery, wonders just how much it would take to make him come undone." - Kuroko/Midorima, in that order

do i need to say more? 😫

Kikuro Recommendations

Careless Whisper by DarkWoods

When Kuroko is dared to come up with some dirty talk, no one expects him to be good at it. Certainly not Kise.

my favorite kikuro fanfic. flustered!kise & tease!kuroko

如果的事 (If) by stormterror

People fall in love in many different manners. Love feels like many different things to many people, but Kise Ryouta thinks there's nothing that quite beats the feeling of being in love with Kuroko Tetsuya. [kise/kuroko]

SO GOOD I CRIED I SMILED SO HARD. pls kikuro deserves the world

Wires, Connecting by Bakagami

It's like being blind but not, like touching air, grasping at straws, voices dissipating and reverberating.

This story is locked so you need to login into ao3 to read it. PHONE SEX & DIRTY TALK 🥵

He Promised by imabignerd

Kise promised he'd smile for Kuroko the whole way through, all the way to the end.

Zombie apocalypse AU. Death. sobbing violently.

It’s a Small World by SilentSilhouette

Kise tries to find his soulmate through social media. Soulmate AU where a picture of your soulmate is tweeted to you on your sixteenth birthday.

This one made me crackle & laugh😂😂

Murakuro Recommendations

No Such Thing as Too Much Vanilla by plumtrees

Kuroko and Murasakibara have baking days. What do you mean it isn't canon?

baking!boyfriends & fluff 😌😉

Vanilla Cream by yoimrei

Murasakibara eats Kurokos ass after something Ahomine says which sparks his jealousy.

here me out first, the ass eating in this is *chef’s kiss* 🤌🏽🤌🏽

Philia by DarkWoods

That time Murasakibara and Kuroko started kinda-sorta fake dating, and kinda-sorta never bothered to break up.

Still going & i love this writer sm. i read all their stories 😙✌🏽

Lavender Secrets by SailorHikarinoMu

Kuroko was the one to bring out his true love for basketball, which had been hidden from prying eyes since the beginning. It was one of those things he was unsure whether he should feel grateful for, but all the same, it did mean something. What this 'something' was, exactly? Murasakibara did not know. Not yet.

FLUFF AAA FLUFF

Rainy by overdose

Kuroko listened to the rain pouring, and more importantly, Murasakibara's steady breathing.

smut. couch sex. size difference. 🥴

BONUS

Hanamiya Makoto/Kuroko Tetsuya

Scotomas by Darkenedcrystal

After the game against Jabberwock, Kagami goes overseas and Kuroko finds himself without a light. A slightly angsty, rather light-hearted story about what happens to Kuroko after Kagami leaves. Features teens finding their way around life, Seirin without a light, the Generation of Miracles being a family, the teens finding love and appreciating the heartbreaks. Kuroko tries to find his own style without a light, and stumbles into the darkness that is Hanamiya Makoto instead. Extra chapter added!

love this fic so much. downside: akashi is kinda a dick

Of Unlikely Friendships, Sneaky Bets, Shogi and Sake by itsthechocopuff

Imayoshi had introduced his two favourite kouhai to each other as an experiment. He did not predict they'd get along so well, both being shadows, but they did, and they worked, oddly enough. Hanamiya brought out the worst in Kuroko, while Kuroko brought out the the best in the other; and they both caused heartattacks to unsuspecting teammates who could not believe their darling shadow was not as innocent as he seemed.

you wont regret reading this one omg

Haizaki Shougo/Kuroko Tetsuya

A Taste That Lingers by therealmoyashi

I couldn't say anything, and that was alright because he didn't want an answer. I'll never forget the way that tasted. Yeah, I thought, he ruined me.

i cried reading this for the first time. out of character kuroko

By the Tomatoes by Wayfarer_Rye

It starts with a blue-grey t-shirt that says "Nothing but Net".

Haizaki wants to try again.

[robotnik-mun]

I’ve admittedly been holding back on asking this on Tumblr, since I didn’t want anyone I ask to go stir crazy in trying to compare Sonic characters with characters from DC and Marvel, but I can’t hold back anymore. What do you think from either comic universe can be comparable characters from throughout the Sonic franchise? Not counting the intentional parodies.

Discounting certain alien characters who look Human enough like Superman as well as Amazons and Atlanteans for the sake of argument, I can see some comic characters being compared to certain Sonic characters. Fair warning, I’m familiar with some superheroes and supervillains more than others.

Shortfuse the Cybernik: War Machine (Yeah, he didn’t build the armor, and he wasn’t exactly a soldier, but he’s gotta be the closest example).

Rotor the Walrus: Iron Man (Only in the Pre-reboot comics with the nanite suit, but close enough, I guess).

Silver the Hedgehog: Booster Gold (Might be a bit flimsy, but the name of the time traveling X-Man escapes me at the moment).

Hypnobot: Ultron (By virtue of being made by one of the good guys, even if he lacks Human brainwaves).

Regina Ferrum: Doctor Doom (In the Marvel comics, Doom is a sorcerer, a scientist, and a dictator mixed together, so yeah).

Black Doom: Darkseid/Thanos (I’m sure you can imagine why).

Nicole the Holo-Lynx: Vision (Even if she lacks a solid body and a villainous origin, she’s close enough to me).

Bunnie Rabbot: DC’s Cyborg (I can imagine her or Shortfuse having similar adventures that deal with their circumstances as the guy did in the 2003 Teen Titans series).

Naugus: Marvel’s Dracula (The one I saw in Avengers Assemble was King of his own vampire nation, which sounded somewhat similar to me).

Rouge the Bat: Black Widow/Catwoman (Obviously).

Mimic: Marvel’s Chameleon (Sorta fits).

Ebony: Doctor Strange/Fate (Of course).

Sonic the Hedgehog: Flash/Quicksilver (Almost excluded this, but yeah).

Vector the Crocodile: Luke Cage (For the sake of argument).

There's been more than one time travelling X-men member, most of whom have come from one flavor of Bad Future or the next. Bishop, Cable, Nate Grey, Rachael Summers... it's a cornucopia of People From Bad Futures that could align with Silver.

Insert joke about the Summers Family Tree here, heh.

Truth be told I don't really dwell on the comparisons between Sonic stuff and Marvel/DC heroes much these days. I find that nobody really correlates 1-1, and honestly that's for the best.

Though one thing that has crossed my mind recently is that I can name two people who are kinda like Grodd.

First up is Akhlut.

Larely because while Akhlut is a big bruiser who relishes defeating others in physical combat, he's also a lot smarter than his appearance would suggest, gifted with a power that lets him affect the minds of others. So really, there's a similarity to Grodd in the sense of being a smart bruiser mind powers.

On a somewhat deeper level? Weirdly enough, Robotnik/Eggman is a kind of counterpart to Grodd when you take a look at what he is in the franchise.

Grodd is a super genius ape, an outcast from his society due to his criminal ways, who battles against a super fast hero and seeks to conquer the world due to his belief in his own superiority over humanity being justification for his right to rule.

Be he Eggman or Robotnik, he is likewise an Ape who battles a super fast hero and who likewise believes his superior mind grants him the right to rule over the masses, and is an outcast from his fellows due to being a criminal megalomaniac. While the details change from continuity to continuity, at the end of it he is basically a mirror to Grodd in a lot of ways. And while he doesn't mix it up physically the way Grodd is prone to, he IS still a good deal larger and stronger than Sonic is.

Heck, sometimes he even LOOKS kinda like a gorilla.

Prolly not the answers you were seeking, but that's kinda where my brain's been these days.

I suppose though with a slight bit of thought I might say..

Finitevus is comparable to Ra's Al-Ghul due to his similar desire to return Mobius to a 'pristine' state.

Mogul is blatantly derivative of Vandal Savage without being a parody.

Eggman (as defined by the games, Post-Reboot Archie and IDW) you might say is rather similar to Dr. Sivana, being that he is a super scientist who delves in mystical stuff fighting against a primary colored teenager, with his motives essentially boiling down his own genius making him deserving of ruling the world.

Snively, I suppose, would be DeSaad, a sniveling, ultimately traitorous lackey with ambitions of his own.

Knuckles is perhaps comparable to Wolverine, especially in Archie, due to his solitary nature, his spurs, his preference for Close Combat and his memory issues. But then you could perhaps say the same about Shadow given his own backstory and status as an anti-heroic loner.

Naugus I would think is more comparable to Kulan Gath or Mordru than he is to Dracula, given that he is THE Evil Wizard Out To Rule The World in Archie Sonic.

Sally at one point I might have compared to Cyclops due to her strategic mind and the strength of her convictions... but given where X-men is these days I don't think there's much to compare now, so, at a bit of a loss.

Truth be told though, none of these guys really align 1-1 save for Mogul, and that's because he's so derivative. I think that's for the best though. Kinda highlights the ways in which the Sonic cast is actually pretty unique in the wider pop culture world.

[vindictiae]

"I wish I hadn't been such a coward. I wish I had asked you to come with me when the clinic was shut down. I wish I'd done more, I-

I wish I could express more succinctly how much I love you. How sorry I am for not being there more than I was. And how happy I am that I've got you here now. I hope you can forgive me for not wanting to let go."

Ratch.

I wouldn't have come with you, not because I didn't love you, but because I did. Because I knew they'd be coming for me, and I knew you'd be even in more danger than you already were. I don't believe in fate, or in some sorta symbolic aligning of the stars- but meeting you again is enough to make me think miracles are a real thing.

There's nothing to forgive, nothing to forget. You did what you had to, and I did what I had to.

Not all journeys begin the same way, but when you meet in the middle?

That's when journeys can end in lovers meeting.

So, how 'bout this, Ratch. Why don't we look at where we've gone, and how far we've come... and we go on from here.

Together.

[shrinkthisviolet]

🥺😈⛔🌞🧐🦅💞⌛💔

I just want you to know, seeing this ask was absolutely delightful, thank you for the excuse to ramble 🥰

🥺: Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

Answered here!

😈: Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

Absolutely! Like that time I had Zuko be kidnapped, turned him evil…ooh and that time I killed him 😅 (I love him, I promise, it just works for the ANGST)

⛔: Do you have a fic you started, but scrapped?

Yep, a couple of CK fics. One was a post-s3 chatfic where the Miyagi-Fangs bond and trade memes back and forth, another was a fix-it for the back half of s4. Also a crossover fic wherein (MCU) Peter Parker meets and befriends Luke, Leia, and Han. They’re not scrapped per se…but they’re sitting in my WIPs folder and I haven’t touched them for ages 😅 there are other WIPs that I've left sitting for a while that I expect to come back to someday, but not these.

🌞: Do you have a preferred time of day to write?

Answered here!

🧐: Do you spend much time researching for your stories?

Depends on how much each needs. Like…for the Morgan AU, I’m going through the Flash episodes and taking NOTES 😂 slows my pace, but it’s fun and it’s sorta necessary to align with canon. Same with my CK AU - I watch the movies and take notes! The research for my Bumiuzmi AU isn't too bad though, since the transcripts are super detailed

🦅: Do you outline fics or fly by the seat of your pants?

Mostly the second…but in my AUs, mostly outline with a sprinkle of improv (trust me, it’s better that way, I’d end up contradicting myself so many times if I didn’t outline 😂)

💞: Who's your comfort character?

Luke Skywalker! Also Kamala Khan ofc, and Sam LaRusso

⌛: How long does it take you to write a fic, or a chapter?

It depends tbh! Sometimes I sit down and the words just go, sometimes the chapters/oneshots fight me every step of the way and it takes days.

💔: Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

This recent fic, where Maiko parallels Hasaisha (a tragic-fated couple from Ms Marvel)…absolutely ripped my heart out 😭

fanfic ask game!

[erenthecoordinate]

Chapter 138: Dreams vs Reality

So I’ve sat down with my thoughts on ch138 for about a week analyzing Mikasa’s “vision” for character meta and its function to the plot. Needless to say there are polarizing opinions for obvious reasons- but I still feel the need to share my view bc I think it reveals a lot.

Disclaimer: I realize the issue with ship wars. I don’t intend to claim one thing or another; it’s entirely fair to interpret Eren’s feelings in many ways because that’s how this series works. I have no interest in arguing about it.  I’m only interested in the dream vs reality aspects of the chapter.

For the record, I’m working with two theories here and I emphasize THEORIES. It’s cool to disagree with parts or all of it! I do hope my words get you thinking at least a bit though!

The Butterfly Effect

In order to tackle these two theories, the theory of the “butterfly effect,” paths dividing into multiple timelines originating from one singular timeline depending on Eren’s choices, needs to be considered.  On first introduction to the Attack Titan’s abilities, Eren says that the holder can see future memories of its respectable owners.  Thanks to the Paths, Eren is able to communicate with previous holders, like Grisha, to commit acts that would lead him to obtaining the Attack and Founding Titans.  The Butterfly Effect would kick off the events that we’ve been following along in the story and imply that time exists in a circle, since the reason Eren gets the titans is because he was able to convince Grisha to do so by showing him selective memories.

The issue with this is in ch138, if Mikasa’s reality was actually a divergent timeline, if it really were the case Eren and Mikasa would run off together if she had confessed her feelings, there would be no way for Eren to convince his father to give him the Attack and Founding.  Therefore, they wouldn’t have even been in the outside world to run away to, Eren wouldn’t die of the titan curse, which is what happens in Mikasa’s ideal world.

It seems that he needs Paths specifically to communicate with Grisha.  It’s even possible he needs direct contact with royal blood to even see the memories, or else it was needed to trigger that ability for him to now do so more freely later.

Therefore, in this case, we can assume the butterfly effect is either debunked or functions differently than a domino reaction.

Paths exist in parallels – Mikasa’s Ideal is an alternative reality

We have confirmation from the storyboard of the chapter that this was meant to be Mikasa’s “ideal (world).”  Had she confessed her feelings to Eren, she would have suggested running away the night before Eren leaves his friends so that they can live Eren’s last 4 years in peace.  Obviously with the watering down of the Butterfly Effect, we see that it is impossible for this to happen, at least in the main timeline.  

Mikasa experiences a migraine when faced with the reality that Eren has to die in order to kill the “Founding Titan.”  She’s been experiencing these unexplainable headaches throughout the series during certain critical points of the plot that she personally experiences.  We can assume Eren has been lying about the Ackerman abilities in order to push Mikasa away from him, so that she would have less hesitation when she ultimately has to face him.  We don’t see Levi having these migraines when his own “host” Erwin cannot be protected from death.  Even Kenny doesn’t seem to experience or note these headaches when Uri is dying.  The only thing that is mentioned is the awakening power and inability to have their memories wiped or manipulated.

That said, it doesn’t seem to apply to Ackermans actually experiencing what the Founder can show them.  In this case, the theory of an alternate reality would be plausible if one with the Founder can access those other realities.  If Mikasa did experience another reality, it is because Eren who “controls” (or rather is lent power by) Ymir is able to bring her there. This would mean that timelines exist in parallel to each other and there are multiple alternative universes and realities, ones with Titans and ones without.  The headaches may be a result of a resistance that is likely due to showing Mikasa these realities during specific moments, ones with situations that align with other realities but aren’t explicitly converging at any point and her Ackerman blood trying to block that process from happening- with Ymir and Eren together, they are able to breakthrough that barrier.

Now you can interpret that Eren’s reason for bringing her there is to assure her that there is a reality where she suggests running away together and that she experiences that life with the assurance that she will stay with Eren as long as he lives.  She knows that this isn’t her own reality: “I think I shouldn’t be here.” Eren likely also brings her here to show that even with their peaceful life that the conflict still exists and that she still cannot save him.  After he dies, he wants her to detach herself from him, forget the memories, and to be free.

Whatever the reason, we can assume that the “cottage” Mikasa and Eren aren’t the main timeline Mikasa and Eren.  It wouldn’t make sense for the history and it wouldn’t align with their motivations throughout the story.  While the timeline of events up to that point are similar if not exact, their behaviors aren’t quite the ones we have been following.

I’ll explain further but in short to believe the above in genuine runs a high risk of presenting as “character assassination.”  In other words, “out of character.”  (Sorta)

Keeping this in mind, this potentially means that these “path” visits have been foreshadowed and even acted upon by Eren before this moment.  First off, we know that Eren foresaw the future of the Rumbling and “that sight” when touching Historia’s hand.  We also know he sees other moments in between via these future memories.  He is only limited in seeing the actual chain of events that gets to that point.

For years before he concedes to this future, he is adamant about finding literally any other solution that will not result in the Full Scale Rumbling.  When Kiyomi brings up even threatening the world with the Rumbling on top of sacrificing Historia, he rejects that offer, suggesting that they should consider other options.  When Hange says that Hizuru cannot  aid in getting other allies to help them, Eren is distraught by the failure of another plan.  However, he accepts going to Marley to survey the nation to seek opportunities for peaceful conversation.  Before their departure, Eren discusses the potential destruction of Paradis with Historia, saying that their options are to fight or run away- Historia, however, accepts the duties given to her.  Eren knows this option is unacceptable and with that nature he must go forth with Hange’s plan or commit the Rumbling (though of course he knows the latter is the future).  It’s the rescue of the little boy Ramzi that gives Eren the realization that the events are exactly how he saw them when receiving the future memories.  He actually considers leaving the boy behind to change that fate, but his nature, just like how he can’t accept the fate of Paradis to be destroyed, causes him to protect the boy.  Eren realizes that the future cannot be changed- because of fate and because of his nature.

He asks Mikasa the big question and receives her final answer.  This seems far fetched but when his friends arrive to interrupt the moment he says with disappointment that it was “perfect timing.”  Of course, this could also indicate the frustration of having this conversation interrupted with Mikasa, or that he no longer wanted to hear an elaboration because he didn’t expect anything to change, but with the future sight theory he could have foreseen his friends showing up at that precise moment; there isn’t a lot of evidence to say one way or another, but it’s worth considering since even Mikasa is confused when he says this, meaning that there is supposed to be focus on why he says this.  During the conference that proposes Eldian rights, after attendees and speakers insist that the real issue are the Paradisians and they should be ridden of, Eren leaves, now convinced that this is the path he has to take.  All other options are lost despite his begging, and he is sure there is no other way.

Everything seems to go just like Eren plans, including the time to meet up with Zeke; the only obstacle that he hadn’t foreseen was Reiner bringing reinforcements early.  Either these are events leading up to the same future that he did not see, or this is a different Path he exists on.

We see that he convinces Grisha to slaughter the Reiss family in order to get the Founding Titan when Zeke takes them on a “memory lane” trip.  With showing Grisha selective memories, his father decides to hand the titans to Eren just as he did in the “alpha” timeline.  He tells Zeke that he was able to “get to this point” thanks to Zeke, so now he is on the proper path.  Now the events are aligned where he does “see that sight” by contacting Ymir directly and activating the Rumbling.

How did he get to that path though?  Where does it start?  Is there a beginning at all?  Well, either Zeke had led them to a parallel path that was similar enough to show identical memories so to convince Eren that Grisha was brainwashing him—or Eren took advantage of a distracted Zeke to “path jump.”  It’s interesting that Zeke is the one leading them up until the end of the chapter when Eren is the one now pushing Zeke to get to the next memory.  The events up until Grisha gets to the Reiss Cave during the titan invasion occur according to the main timeline.  

At this point, Eren is aware that the future of this timeline is viable, one that he is most “like himself” because his behavior is consistent with his beliefs.  He was always fated to be this way, he always knew that he would never abandon Paradis so long as they were at risk.  He would never allow his friends to suffer that fate.  There was never a future for him to run away and live in the mountains living the rest of his life in isolation with Mikasa.  His very nature would never allow him to.

It is also possible that this foresight didn’t always come with the goal of flattening the entire earth- he would have foreseen the Rumbling not complete, he only ever mentions starting it and “that sight,” points in the manga that we have already seen.  He had the opportunity to prevent his friends from fighting by wiping their memories (save the Ackermans, but even they are just two people), but chose not to due to his ideologies, which he carried since he was a child.  In fact, he goads his friends to kill him.  He knows this is a future he is fated to have.  He expects Mikasa to kill him.  Expects that he must convince her to let go of her hesitation and end his life.  “You should let go of me.”  Why invade that path to tell her this if his goals are to destroy the world, unless he truly expects to stop her and the rest?  How could he foresee “see you later Eren” though as an end to his life?

This might be the answer to destroying the true Founding Titan since it now exists in their physical world as he acts as a vessel.  This might be the solution to eradicate the titans- “destroy this world.”  Disconnect Paths.  Stop the indefinite fate where he and his home perish by erasing the existence of Titans altogether.  Break fate.

It was (mostly) just a dream

The second running theory is that Mikasa really does just experience the moment of “going back to their home” as a dream.  We know she gets headaches at critical moments where she runs the risk of losing someone close to her—and this isn’t isolated to just Eren.  This happens when Carla dies and Armin is on the brink of death.  The dream ultimately is a coping mechanism, wishing for an ideal world where she can live with Eren in peace and isolation, instead of facing the inevitability that Eren must die.

Also the chapter’s title is “A Long Dream.”

Now I’m not claiming that Mikasa is suffering a delusion, because she is very much aware that this “reality” or “dream” isn’t real- just because she is lucid does not mean she thinks this a world that exists for her.  She’s very aware that this ideal world of hers is impossible and was never possible to begin with.  Her dream is a confrontation of the reality that even with an innocent Eren who just wants a peaceful life that it is not aligned with the nature she has watched develop.  As much as she wants to cling onto an innocent and idealized image of her loved one, she knows this isn’t who he is.  This isn’t who they are.

She knows that the world they live in is still with conflict- Eren reminds her of that.  She apologizes for bringing it up because that realization that they left to live in peace and potentially leave their homeland exposed with no alternative solution, simply giving in to the circumstances, is not who either of them are, and to hold onto that image of Eren is merely fabrication.  The entire dream functions as a metaphor.  But in every world, Eren will die, be in by her hands or the titan curse.

[This is alluded to in Lost Girls, another “alternative reality” story.]

It is only disrupted when Eren tells Mikasa to throw the scarf and forget about him because she deserves to be free.  He wears the titan markings of his Founding Titan.  At this point it’s implied that Eren is communicating through Pathways that connect to her dreams.  Remember, dreams (and nightmares) are a very prevalent subject brought up in the series alongside memories- it is possible that the Founder can infiltrate dreams to communicate much like it can bring Eldians to the Path realm.  Mikasa cannot be controlled because she is an Ackerman, but this doesn’t omit the possibility that she can still see differences in her dreams (or reality) if interfered by the Founding Titan.  Ymir allows this open line of communication with the knowledge Eren is convincing Mikasa to kill him.  To simmer down the emotional turmoil, he says that she must forget about him.  Of course, because Mikasa cannot be manipulated, she decides that while she must kill him, that his death is inevitable, she will not forget him.  And he will not die without her expressing her feelings.  That is her own willpower.

At this point, the dream is “shared” between the two because Eren is an active spectator.  When Mikasa says her final goodbye, her “see you later,” it isn’t the same dream as what it started as.  Which is why he is able to remember it in the first chapter.

Now, I say mostly a dream because it is possible that dreams themselves could create alternative realities if they haven’t existed before.  But even if that wasn’t the case, Eren still alludes to path jumping, so the series of events could have still led him to a path that would be able to infiltrate Mikasa’s coping dream, knowing that she would struggle to end his life, but that she needs to see him again and be assured that he wants her to move on with her life, and not to see this as a failure on her part- that her answer really would not have mattered so she should not regret her choices.  She is the one that has to kill him to get to this point.  He expects to die, he doesn’t stop her when she gets in the titan, he seems resigned to that fate.

The dream theory is shorter but I’m inclined to believe that is what really happened with perhaps some mixture of the “alternate realities” theory for the sake of the plot solving the issue of titans, as well as reverting the rest of the cast from their Pure Titan fate.  Getting rid of Paths (the Founding Titan and Eren) is a viable solution to both rid of the nightmare as well as give Ymir and Eren a new life without being enslaved by fate.  But that’s a big elaborate and perhaps too complex theory.  I’m only making sense of how the final chapter may wrap up.

Alternative Selves: Fabrication to Cope aka “Mikasa and Eren would not run away”

Regardless of either theory, we must come to the conclusion that the Mikasa and Eren in her dream, her ideal world, whatever it may really be, are not their main story selves.  In fact it is impossible both because it would break the timeline and because it would not align with their true selves, the ones we’ve been following along throughout the story.  It makes more sense for Mikasa to cope with this ideal of hers, but the moment she enters that vision, she knows that this is fake and that this Eren is an idealized version she created (or exists elsewhere and time).  To believe otherwise is not understanding who these characters truly are at their core.

Regardless of Eren’s feelings towards her, be it romantic, platonic, familial, his very nature, as he states himself, would never allow him to “not make a decision.”  He would never abandon the others he claims to love, the ones he wants them to live long lives, to wander in the dark without at least a warning of the impending doom ahead of them.  He gave his friends the freedom to fight.  He fights for the freedom of Eldia, protecting Paradis.  He could never accept a fate that would allow the massacre of his people, even if he must commit omnicide to prevent it.  Remember, this is the boy who saved a girl he never knew because her freedom was stolen.  This is the boy that defends his weak friend because he values how the other boy’s mind opens to doors to freedom- the boy that gave him the knowledge of the outside world that fueled his ambition to break down the case in the first place.  He doesn’t want to live a mundane life.  Especially not if his oppressed people are in danger.  This is the guy who has a superior officer who calls him a monster that will not submit to any cage anyone puts him in- he has the fire in his eyes to keep moving forward, to persevere against all odds. 

This is the man that would lay down his own life if it meant Paradis would be saved.  He would simply never choose the option to run away from that, not even dream about it.  

He knew he wanted to see that sight.  He was shown that image.  That is his ideal world.  His vision, his dream.  Which means he must fight and move forward.  Find a way to save his loved ones so they live long happy lives.

And, honestly, it’s inaccurate to call Mikasa selfish for her ideal life because while she would want to live alone with Eren by her side, when being reminded of the carnage that will take place and that they are not there to help, she submits that it is something neither of them could accept.  She might want to run away to have a peaceful life, but not with the knowledge there are consequences for doing so.  That there are people she would leave behind.  She wouldn’t leave them to that fate.  Her actions to stop Eren is evidence of that.

As much as she loves Eren, she has devotion to her homeland and her friends, too.  To run away would be uncharacteristic.  This is the girl who decided to fight when the boy who saved her was in danger.  This is the girl that chose to keep fighting even when her closest family, the one she loved, was “killed.”  She is the girl who threw the knife away and promised that she would never leave her friend behind.  She stays to fight for her home, Paradis, because it is her birthplace, she belongs here- she wouldn’t run if her home is in danger.

Which is why, to assume they are the real Mikasa and Eren in Mikasa’s “ideal world”, is utterly and completely misread.  That is not nor ever what their characters would lead to.  The idea of running away would be barely a flicker of a thought at most, but even then, it is uncharacteristic to act.  Unreal.  Just like their artificial selves in that “dream.”

It isn’t like Isayama didn’t allude to Mikasa and Eren separating.  He does so for Armin when they have clashing views on the world and their own selves- Armin being more “worldly” and explorative and Eren being more “self-focused” and personally ambitious.  Mikasa would sympathize more with Armin’s point of view, but her desire is to be by Eren’s side.

Isayama gives his opinion on Mikasa’s determination to be stuck to Eren the entire time.  It is a “pitiful” existence.  She is willing to even shoulder his burdens just so he could come home, that perhaps his emotional distress is the reason he is causing mass destruction.  She is desperate for this.  That is… not exactly productive of her character, or the plot.

However, he clarifies that this is his view on Mikasa’s course of direction.  Her ideal is to be with Eren forever.  It may not necessarily be entirely positive that she leaves him behind since deviation from that ideal isn’t guaranteed growth.  Isayama has a habit of allowing his readers to experience his work with their own interpretations.  Just because he believes Mikasa’s existence with Eren at a constant is unfavorable, everyone will see it that way.  Perhaps it is a good thing that she has a goal to work towards and that it is the fuel to her fighting spirit.  That her desiring a peaceful life with Eren is a good motivator.  Or alternatively, her fixation on Eren would lead her into more dangerous situations that would risk her life, it has her see an unreal version of him, unable to accept his fated death that she is willing to sacrifice everything, even if it means shouldering the burdens he carries, if it means he lives.

The message is clear, however, that whether you, the reader, sees that as wholly positive or negative, or a mixture of both, the intention is that she must let him go.  She must accept his death.  Because if she is to keep her home, a semblance of peace and closure, save her friends- this is how it must end.  There is a beautiful nuance, however, that Mikasa is given the opportunity to forget so that she can avoid the suffering and be free, but she chooses not to- just as she decides when Eren is first taken from her.  When she initially thought he died, she decided to keep fighting to honor his spirit and memory.  She never wants to forget him.  Even if he will die in every reality they share together, the worst thing in the world is an existence without even the memory of him.

This is why she is able to get that closure.  She expresses her feelings and says her final goodbye, in this world anyway.  “See you later” because she will still have the ideal dream knowing that while it isn’t real, it can never be real, not for her, but his memory will live on with her.  And she can carry that memory without sacrificing her agency, her home, her friends, her love.  That is what she is meant to do.

Anyway, I wrote this mostly to observe the function of Paths and what Mikasa’s dream infers is possible, and an opening to a solution, as well as her decision to end Eren’s life.  The dream speaks loudly of Mikasa and Eren as characters because it shows us what they are not.  It emphasizes the characters that we have been following since the beginning are raw and motivated, destined to live their lives fighting and protecting and moving onward, never surrendering.  And to insist otherwise would be a disservice to how they’ve been built up to after all this time.

....

[Once again: Despite the language in this, the manga has always been a work to be wildly interpreted in a multitude of ways, I just speak passionately about why I think certain interpretations don’t make since to my own. But nothing is indefinite. The material is flexible. See it how you wish.]

[yanderefairyangel]

10 - Zephia sorta gave up on life... yes

I mean, why wouldn’t she use the time crystal she made for herself to turn back before being beaten to death by Alear and Veyle otherwise ? 

I explain it too in the Mauvier deep dive but the Hounds’ name are based of the french name of colors, and Zephia’s name, Sepia is a mix of Griss, Marni and Mauvier’s color name.

Losing them means that Zephia lost 2 elements of what made her her, even if she never treated them properly anyway nor would admit deep down she needed them more then they needed her. After all, she still tried to have Mauvier turns side even after he made it clear that she lost him forever the moment she pludged the knife into Marni’s chest, she still called the Hounds family even if she had this super messed up idea of a family and that her bound with Griss is at the same time pure, genuine and... ducked up as hell because this man is literaly obsessed with her, idolize her which is ... exactly the kind of love she yearned for, (WHAT ?!) but yeah she did realized she messed with the Hounds and she isn’t really one to acknowledge her mistake now, is she ? She choosed to walk down this path till the end.

What’s more, her other and real essential goal, her only purpose, her reason to live, the thing she though would brought her salvation and still could clung into the delusiong of it happening is going away as Sombron is drawing closer to his goal and sure, she might not know about 0Emblem and Sombron’s project, but we, the audience, knows that he never intended to give her the child she wanted since his plan was just to get the rings back so he could leave this world as quickly as intented, so to not face the disappointement and because she had no others reason to live, she decided to give up. And while making this decision she still decided to help Alear and Veyle to get it back at Sombron. So she already gave up all ideas of “cleaning the slate” and just decided to accept whatever fate she ended up having, conscious of having ruined herself the family she could have had if she had actually tried to love them correctly.

(NB: I am still bringing this up because I saw some people calling it a plot hole, but while I can explain it like this, I think the most obvious answer to it not being a hole is that the time crystal she created is drastically different then the one Alear uses. Alear uses a time rewind crystal, the one Zephia made is a TIME TRAVEL crystal. Those are different in the sense that time rewind means you rewinds, hence if for example your arm gets injuired and you rewind back to the moment before you get injuried, then your injuty will disappear because you have never been injuried to begin with. However, if you time travel, your arm will still remain injuired, but you will face a double of you before he gets injuried. So even if dying Zephia had used it for herself, she would still be dying, but she would have met her pastself like Alear and Pastlear in chapter 24)

Death was literaly the only possible fate for her, unlike Mauvier she could not have joined you. Not with all of that. It’s because of her choices and in truth, she was incapable of choosing another path for herself since it’s the one she created for herself and embrace it. To stay true to who she is and what she wanted, she could never have choosen another path. What mattered was her wish but only when it’s too late does she realize it was already here. Because it’s how abusers are ; they only realize too late their mistakes, only when the glass was broken are they thinking about how they could have never broke it in the first place, so only when her death arrived is Zephia finally able to realize that she destroyed herself her own wish. 

All of this makes Zephia a much deeper character then she is, it’s explain her motivations and it aligns with Engage’s commentary on family overall, but it definetely doesn’t make her seems like a reedemable or sympathetic villain because she is just as stupid as Sombron, the only thing she has over him is that she ends up realizing how blind she was, but whatever good she might have done, it was already too late. She is also one Sombron’s victim but unlike Veyle who was completely brainswashed and Rafal who was still possesed, she completely gave up on reality and try instead to embrace a shadow because it’s easier to dream of an utopic family than actually fight her own toxic tendency to built a solid fundation, only when it’s too late does she realize that she what she could have built was there if she just decided to open the eyes, but her tragic side is really that she could not because she wasn’t ready to accept that love is also giving love and accepting to suffer the loss of it.

And oh boi, she really is a piece of... wow, her story is sad but at the same time she is so messed up... there really is something about character not wanting to open the eyes eh ? Regardless Zephia would have been way less tragic had she been redeemable cause guess what ? the reason why tragedy works so well is because we all know that if the character had made things differently the outcome would have been better. That’ s the thing with tragic characters, whatever decision they are lead to take the wrong and worst one even out of free will for whatever reasons. Another reason as to why I think that still makes Zephia an irredeemable jerk that still don’t have completely stupid reasons is that there is simply nothing she could have done to make ammend. Unlike Veyle and Rafal who hurted people unrelated to them in any way and because of a mind quite altered, and in Veyle’s case completely, Zephia hurted directly Veyle and used her as a pawn, and killed Marni. Her other victims were only indirectly her victims, since it was the Other Veyle’s doing and Other Veyle was shown to be a sentient being capable of making choice of her own even if Veyle can’t be held responsible for it as it was her other persona created by Zephia, but Zephia never gave Other Veyle any order. The Fell Princess may be her creation but it’s a creation she left able to develop a will of her own. So the people that would have to forgive Zephia are people she always rejected and would always no matter what because she can’t help it, even with Veyle’s kindness and her feeling for Mauvier, she was already past the point. Why do you think that only when she is gone do we learn that maybe she had her reason to be a jerk ? That’s not even comparable to Veyle which was obvious that she was mind control nor Rafal that before the last fight showed signs that he migh actually be slightly mind control even with less intensity then Veyle if you recall his dialogue with Nel.... Zephia showed no signs which is why her turning back makes no sense for many players because of how it wasn’t prepared and that’s normal it doesn’t make sense, Zephia’s whole point is that it was too late for her, so the explanation also come when it’s too late. She can’t be redeemed anyhow anyway.

* in the JPN version, she simply says “it’s so sad however” which means she does shows some empathy with Sombron’s victim but she still chooses to repress those feeling and be a complice of this.... remind me how the Internet in it’s infinte wisdom though there could be something in the game telling you taht you should forgive Zephia when all we learn about her all conclude to the obvious fact the story condamned her already and that if her being a tragic character works so well is because she works on a “it’s to late basis”? Ah yes, right, 3H. 

post scriptum : when I am speaking of Zephia being "cursed" I am not implying that she was possesed unlike Rafal and Veyle, it simply is a reference to the Mélusine story since folktales rely heavily on symbolism and curse/spell and the sort of have heavy symbolic values, in the case of Mélusine, her curse turns her into a monster in disguise, a woman who lost her humanity shown through her monstrous appearance and whose only salvation is the love of a family but she is unable to break her "curse" and as a result becomes a the damned being deprived of love and in this case, the damnation of a mother who cannot be here for her children despite loving them, essentially turning into a being who cannot offer them the love and care she wish she could;

4 Hounds deep dive part 4 : Zephia

In the Hound family, I demand : the mother/older sister. Let’s break down evul momy lizard. 

So of course SPOILERS AHEAD and no, whatever postive things I migt say about this piece of lizard meat, I don’t like her nor do I justify any of the things she has done but if I have to be critical, I’ll have to put my biais aside (I'll do the same thing as for Marni, reblog and add)

So Zephia, or if you prefer as I like to call her, Aversa 2.0 is basically a mix between Aversa and Nyx : she was some sort of genius talented baby mage dragon since according to both her and Mauvier, she had stronger dragonic impluse, far stronger then average Mage dragon so I guess dragonic impulse are linked to genetics in the Engage world ? Cause she says it’s “a gift” so it’s innate, not as if she spend hours practicing, ... in others words like Aversa and Nyx but because she is too OP, she ended up blowing up her home town, killing her own family in the process

That’s what we know of her backstory. A woman so OP she could have been the Fell Dragon if Sombron wasn’t there. This events tooks place when she was young but at some point, she ended up working for Sombron. Since Sombron is over 3 000 and arrived 1 000 years ago in Elyos after his family got killed, coupled with the fact that Zephia is over 2 500, this means that Zephia’s rampage tooks place at least 1 000 years after Sombron’s arrival in Elyos since he and Lumera since they are of the same age where child. As a loyal servant of Sombron, when he was sealed away, she immediately worked in order to bring him back, watched over sleeping Veyle in her temple and eventually took over Griss, Marnie and Mauvier and forms the Hounds, a “group whose goal is to serve Sombron and protect Veyle”. Once Veyle awoke, seeing her gentle personality, Zephia began her manipulation to “fix” her and if she is very manipulative with Veyle, she is actually incredibly loyal to the Fell Princess (that’s how i call Evil Veyle) since this version of Veyle is the perfect version. She is so devoted to Sombron that she puts every of his needs and desire before everything to the point of becoming blind and... not very bright cause she is incredibly dumb sometimes... eh, but basically she is the perfect pawn for Sombron because she is driven by a desire, a specific desire ; that Sombron would be the father of her own children. So now, here we go. 

The main thing with Zephia much like the other villains in this game, she is driven by the desire of love and family

1 - Zephia la Mélusine

Melusine is a unique class that debuted in Engage, and is reserved to the only 2 mage dragon (or rather Full Mage dragon) that can join our party or is an ennemy in Engage, Zelestia and Zephia. Described as “an alluring magic knight who rides an evil dragon”, it’s name is based on a creature from European folklore, la fée Mélusine, a Nixie.

There is a lot of version of her story, but most famous as her being cursed by her mother to turn into a a dragon half woman each Saturday and that her only salvation would be to find a man who would accept to marry her, to have her children and to respect the oath of never seeing her bathing each Saturday. At some point, Melusine meets a man called Raymondin, a young lord who accidentally killed his uncle and helps him in return, he accepts to marry her and promise her to never spy on her as she bath in secret every Saturday. They have children most of them having monstruous feature according to foklore, but they are of the number of ten. However, Raymondin’s brother, the count of Forez encourages his brother to spy on her by saying she might be up to something bad * cough, cough cheating * and of course, being the jealous husband type Raymondin eventually ends up spying on her and discover her dragon tail. The version varies from there but all ends the same : Mélusine, desesperate as her husband’s action condamned her to endless damnation, she screams out of despair, and fly out of the window (yes cause she is a dragon/fairy so she had wings with her tails... don’t ask me ok, it’s a mythological figure) but she returns at night to caress her kids, and legends as it that at night when she can’t enter the place to take care or see her children, she spent the entire night crying out of despair and that when someone of the family dies or that her family’s good pass onto someone else, she screams and laments. Her names in breton means “La Mielleuse” = the Sweet/The Smooth

Now bear with me : Mélusine was a dragon-woman yearning for family and whose salvation relied on founding this family but she was robbed of it because of an invidual’s toxic behaviour... reminds you of someone ? It’s pretty obvious that not only her design, her class and story macthes with this story, that’s preety much why the dev decided to name her class that. Zephia’s story aligns pretty much with that of Mélusine, she too seeks salvation in family only for it to ends tragically but their fate is rather different however.

2 - Zephia and the meaning of family

When exactly did she started to be obssessed by it ? Well...

After this conversation... very weird conversation if you ask me. I mean, Zephia associate the words “children” with “subordinate. To which Sombron answer by “If you require some of those [loyal subordinnates], then just do what I do. Make children”. Sombron’s answer make sense with how he is. Cause look at the definition Sombron gives of family 

(NB to me, I gotta make a post about the meaning of family cause the more this goes, the more complex it gets)

Regardless by Sombron’s definition, children are synonynoms of subordinates but the interesting bits about Zephia is that what seems to have drawn her attention was this part

She comments that it’s a “revelation” and this comments obviously shows that Sombron put something knew in her mind. 

What Zephia however doesn’t seems to realize is that Sombron doesn’t care about his children love and that his children most definetely did  not loved him, but rather feared him with the sole exception of Veyle but Veyle was too young at the time and overall remained ignorant of a lot of things but Veyle is another topic. 

Upon this thoughts, Zephia tries to remember her family. She obviously doesn’t because of several reason : other then the fact that she was young when her rampage occured, it’s well established that because of their lifespan being longer than human’s, dragons often forgets a lot of things the more time passes, but even more than an average human brain. 

Basically, Zephia’s definition of family aligns with the one given by Sombron but the difference is that Sombron makes kids because “power” whereas Zephia wants kids because she want Luv... and that’s where it gets interesting

3 - Zephia break down : a woman who yearned for love

This is the parts where you see that Zephia isn’t a comically evil lady but a character with actual motivations. Just like the character her class is named after, Zephia seeked for the love of someone, that someone be her child. 

That’s how Mauvier describe Zephia to Zelestia, but note that he mentions how above all her negative traits, she is lonely. In the full convo, he said the last part of the sentence with a sad look and a sad tone which are notable speaking of Mauvier, a character that emotes very little and most importantly who resent Zephia for killing Marnie. What I like about this support is that Mauvier begins by saying it’s his point of view and perspectivism is going to be important about the Hounds in general, but even though what he saw and knew of Zephia was her harsh and destructive side, he was also able to sense her loneliness. 

That’s not that surprising because Mauvier is Veyle’s knight, and who was the most lonely person Mauvier ever met ? Veyle. And who also wanted a family and love ? Veyle. Basically, Zephia shares a lot of common things with Veyle (excuse me, i have to wash my mouth for saying this I hope it’s the last time) : that is to say 

1 ) they both are terrible lonely

2) they both yearns for the love of family

3) they both yearned for Sombron’s attention + got contaminated by him (to some extent) 

Zephia was after all resposible for the death of her own family even if she could not control it  and who knows how many years she spent all alone until she met Sombron and entered his service ? 

She even express the wish to see her parents once again but that’s not all

It’s revealed that the reason why Zephia never allows herself to get attached to any of Sombron’s children is to protect herself from sadness* since she knows he will dispose of them sooner or later. A kind of “ your goldfish is gonna die within 2 days, why bother getting attached ?” mentality. Or if you prefer this

This also explain her entire relationship towards Veyle.

Regardless, Zephia’s relationship to love is actually quite complicated because when she dies, we have this whole conversation with Griss

And when say that, guess what ? I’ll believe her. Zephia really though of the Hounds as her family, no matter how toxic she was towards them... because of her complicated story with love. Even Veyle mentions that Zephia showed kindess towards her (though we all know why eh) but she was shown to be capable of acting both as a loving mother and an abuser because Zephia remained lonely during such a long time that she forgot how it feels to be love and a family, but most importantly because the only model of a family she saw during all these years was : Sombron’s. A toxic environnement where violence was required to have what you wanted, those kids had to kill in order to survive themselves and she also saw those children being killed in awful ways. Sombron literaly tasked her with getting care of the corpse... yeah. Basically, Zephia’s  problem is that she yearns for the love of her children but she doesn’t know HOW to love them nor even express it, mainly because the only familial environement she remember is a... no actually toxic is an understatement when it comes to describing the experience that is being Sombron’s children. Zephia’s love manifest itself through her attitude of being harsh and destructive despite her motherly attitude and before someone acts like “toxicisty isn’t love” yes, I know that. 

HOWEVER, toxicity can be a result of love, or rather love can create a toxic behaviour. All feelings are like medicine, medicine is somthing that can cure you or poison you depending on how you use it. Anger can be the fuel of toxic behavior but we sometimes need it, same thing for sadness. Love may be what we all yearn for, but there is no denying that it can also be what freed the worst in all of us. I think the movie that shows that best is Luis Bunel’s masterpiece, El. 

But I digress, what is important is that Zephia is incapable of being a loving mother because the only “love” she witnessed was the one given by Sombron to his children.. so yeah any family she could have based on this influence was bound to be ducked up. She wanted to and to be loved, but because of Sombron’s influence, she was incapable of understanding the real meaning of family even though she still had one thing over Sombron and that was to understand that a family can bring you the love you desire which Sombron never even consider since he seems to consider his children to be like the humans that believes in him. She was still able to praise her “children” when needed but still gave them violent punishement when she judge it necessary. if Zephia is Melusine, then Sombron is at the same time Raymondin and the one who cursed her. By uttering the cursed words that made her want to have a child, he actually doomed Zephia to crave for something she is incapable of having and that would dommed her. My personal commentary on Mélusine’s story was precisely that she needed love to be saved, but not just her husband, but her loving family and that it’s precisely the inner toxicity of her husbanf, his jealousy that doomed her to remain a monster who would still love her children but unable to remain by their side. Sombron’s influence is like a curse (and don’t worry Rafal, one day I’ll talk about what he did to you) and he also cursed Zephia, corrupted her with his toxic view on family. In that regard, that makes the ressemblances between Veyle and Zephia ever more barrant; she too after all, was a tragic woman who yearned for the love of someone, her child.

She also bears strinking similarities with Sombron : Sombron seeks 0 Emblem, his Elys, his ideal. Zephia has eyes only for him.

Zephia confirms she had no romantic feelings for Sombron and that she wasn’t exaclty looking for his affection unlike what Mauvier claimed even though you could say that maybe Zephia did not wanted to admit it, but seeing how things are presented I believe Zephia more. What is important is that she pushed everyone away for Sombron, but not really for him, but for what she wanted him to be : the father of her child. Just like how Sombron become obsessed by 0 Emblem to the point of not seeing anyone, Zephia became blinded by her desire to have a child. When Veyle fights against her, she says “ You don’t see me, do you, Zephia ? You see me and you think of Papa.” Sombron’s influence on someone just as lonely as he was is obvious : he was a lonely dragon seeking for the love of only one person to the point of making everyone suffer and not caring, and Zephia repeated the same schema on the Hounds, with the difference that she did care about them to some extent.

Proof ? Well, she still leaves Mauvier and Marnie chances to get back on her side, when she fight Mauvier, Mauvier still talks about how he truly believed they were family but in his support with Zelestia he will take this back, though for Zephia they were indeed family because to her, that’s how family is like. Even as they are fighting in chapter 23, Zephia still offers Mauvier to return to her side. Zephia’s attitude definetely was shaped by Sombron’s influence since she became almost like him and guess what ?

Mauvier may be talking about magic powers here, but I am not (especially seeing the allegory there can be within Sombron’s magical power), what I am saying is that Zephia could have been an equal to Sombron’s toxicity in family if it weren’t for 2 different things : one, she is aware that family mean love. 2, she ends up realizing herself how blind she was and love did deliver her (and death too, incidentally).

[bforbetterthanyou]

So basically what you’re saying is that, in basically any other circumstance than the one she had in real life, she probably would’ve survived? Damn.

I mean, kinda? Yeah?

I think Henry probably would’ve gotten rid of her eventually if she’d continued to fail in having a son, but if it was entirely up to Henry alone, “getting rid” would’ve just meant divorce. Anne being arrested and that whole criminal investigation was more because of Cromwell. He took advantage of her bad situation and maybe figured that if Henry wasn’t going to get rid of her, he would have to (if you want something done right, do it yourself y’know?) and it was Cromwell who really wanted her gone. They say that Cromwell wouldn’t have done anything if he didn’t think that that’s what the King wanted but Henry and Anne fought all the time and I’m sure 1536 wasn’t the first time Henry had said that he wanted to get rid of her (in fact, it’s possible he might’ve even wanted to divorce her in 1534), so sure, Henry, in a bout of rage, might have said he wanted to get rid of her but that doesn’t mean he actually would’ve. So clearly Cromwell took advantage of Anne’s precarious situation to finally get rid of his greatest enemy once and for all.

But yeah, I guess, in pretty much any other situation, Cromwell wouldn’t have been able to do that. Like, what I talked about in my ask from last night, even if Anne had only had daughters, if they were all healthy, at worst she would’ve been divorced and sent away from court.

If Anne had had a healthy son (or better yet, two or three healthy sons) she would’ve been untouchable.

Even if she did have a miscarriage in 1536, if that had only been her first miscarriage and not her second (or possibly third) I don’t see any circumstance in which Anne would’ve been executed the way she was.

Which...makes the whole thing even worse...because, somehow, thinking that her death was inevitable no matter what makes it a little less terrible. Like, in a weird way it would be sorta comforting to think that no matter what there would’ve been nothing that could’ve helped her escape her fate. But, unfortunately, it seems like she only died because all the stars aligned at the exact right moment but in the worst possible way. Because, if even one thing had been different, she would’ve been spared.

[letbenfuck2021]

fiveya 1-4? 💞💞

1. How do they fall asleep? Wake up? Any daily rituals?

What is sleep even?? These two haven’t really heard of it ahahaha. No, they both have pretty terrible sleep habits. Either they sleep for 13 hours straight or not at all. They’re both nighthawks and can sleep in well into the afternoon if so inclined.

They are not morning people but in completely different ways. Vanya is USELESS in the mornings. Doesn’t know her name, what year it is, or where she’s at, can barely stumble into the kitchen without dying from tripping over air. It is absolutely adorable but also she might die so Five makes a point of getting up a few minutes before her to be in the kitchen beforehand to prevent her from getting at any of the kitchen appliances and burning the apartment down.

Five is a grump in the morning, full blown Oscar the Grouch. He does not stop scowling until at least after 11 am but as mentioned before, he tends to get up 5-10 min before Vanya if only to prevent her from dying as she comes blundering into the kitchen. Neither of them are big breakfast people. Some toast, coffee, once in a while Vanya will cook eggs but nothing too serious.

2. How’s their team work? Do they share well?

I like to think that for the most part they are almost disturbingly symbiotic/in-sync. Any of the siblings who have seen them get up in the morning are kinda weirded out by how they move like two cars on a track, perfectly aligned, perfectly timed. Five will hold out a hand into open air just as Vanya holds out his mug, two cogs meeting and clicking together perfectly. Five puts in two slices of bread into the toaster and Vanya somehow just appears in time with a plate as the toast pops up.

Being as close as they are, if they weren’t good at it before then they have to learn how to share well. Hilariously, once they start cohabitation their wardrobes start mixing until they’re almost indiscernible. Is that Vanya’s blue knitted sweater??? Who knows all Five knows is that it is practically below zero in the city and he needs LAYERS. At some point during the day, Five looks down at the button up he’s wearing and its a little shorter than usual. Did he fuck up when drying the laundry that day and shrink it? Is it Vanya’s? Who knows. While Vanya is practically swimming in her clothes that day which are obviously meant for someone much taller than her. 

3. Are they open about their relationship? How do they feel about public displays of affection?

Hmm so I feel like while they aren’t hiding the fact that they’re together, both Five and Vanya are pretty private people in general. To anyone that’s looking, it is obvious what’s going on but they don’t feel the need or obligation to explain themselves to anyone.

In terms of PDA, listen...if Five wants to kiss his girl or feels like a lil grab ass, don’t really matter to him who’s looking. If someone is lucky enough to catch them in the act, lucky them. 

4. First impression of each other? Was it love at first sight?

Hmm they’ve known each other since right around birth so really...who knows. They aren’t exactly the typical childhood sweethearts for sure. There’s really nothing normal about them and so I suppose the way they fall in love wouldn’t exactly be normal either. There must have been a moment, when they looked at one another and really saw each other. 

It’s a bit like...your first time going to school and you’re nervous and you feel strange and alien, like a turning cog out of sync with the rest of the machine. It's a strange isolation that only comes from being so densely surrounded by others and in household of seven children, I imagine that they all might have felt that way at some point. But for whatever reason, by whatever trick of fate, Five and Vanya figured it out sooner than the rest and they notice each other, like two kids who see each other from across the playground. And the way these things go, it’s always something so innocuous, maybe they’re wearing your favorite color or they have light up shoes, they like same cartoon character or they seem as out of place as you are but whatever it is, when you see them it becomes apparent, you just know. That’s your people. You get this feeling that isn’t exactly love. It is something else.

In the same way, for Five and Vanya, it doesn’t really matter what strikes up this moment of recognition like someone striking a match to flame. The inciting detail is incidental. And it isn’t love that comes of it. I mean, of course there is love, but the love comes after and rather than love at first sight, I think it is instead recognition that they experience. When they saw one another, it was a bit like catching your own reflection in an imperfectly reflective surface. It’s your face but different, your own self but transformed into something new and breathing and alive. 

There is a moment where you say to yourself, “oh. There you are. I didn’t realize before but I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

I’ve found you and in doing so I have found myself as well.

It is a returning of sorts, a sense of coming home after a long time away. 

Ahhhh!!! Thank you, lee. Got a little carried away as usual. These two lil jerks always brings out the romantic in me ahahha. sorry for the long read but thank you as always

[theabyssalmuses-archived]

Did someone ask for Bond Dialogue and stuff for Fate!Patchouli? No? I should be doing drafts, you say? Bah! Hime can’t heaaar yooouuu~~~! 

Bond Levels

Start

A mysterious mage from some ‘far off land’ She claims that it’s closer than we may think, and yet further than the horizon- whatever that means. Her magic prowess is quite impressive, despite how unassuming she might appear, but...

She’s a calm and pleasant person, but you swear you’d never heard of her until now…

Level 1

Height/Weight: 152cm・???kg  Source: An unknown land Region: Japan(?) Alignment: True・Neutral Gender: Female She seems to float more or less all the time, so it was impossible to weigh her. It’s estimated her weight is low, however, due to her seemingly sickly disposition.

Level 2

To tell the truth, She is not at all from the same ‘world’ as other heroic spirits. While she has not elaborated on it herself, fluctuations in her spirit origin, magecraft tracing and other methods of analysis have deducted this fact. Many mysterious still surround her origins, especially when it comes to her fluctuating magecraft.

Despite her strange origins, she doesn’t seem at all surprised at being summoned to Chaldea. 

Level 3

She hungers for knowledge in a way many others cannot replicate. Her knowledge of magic, of magecraft and of various Japanese folklore seems to be almost unmatched. She would gladly divulge this knowledge to her master- or any who would ask. Training with magic seems to be something she especially enjoys doing- a natural born teacher. 

...However, her knowledge of the Western World is severely lacking, as it seems the gift of that knowledge has not been given to her; for whatever reason. In this case, she will gladly ask others to tell her and excitedly listen with expectant eyes- a true glutton of knowledge, no matter how you look at it. 

Level 4

Teaching her Master, helping them learn, improve and grow. Sights like that make her smile with genuine care. Being a Teacher is one thing, but it seems Patchouli is used to caring for others, too. Extremely perceptive of how others are feeling, she would keep a close eye on her Master’s mental state over the course of the Grand Order.  

...She may not be of this world, but she is dead-set on saving it. It is unknown if her world would persist if ours were Incinerated, but even if it were to survive...she will still fight with her Master, for there is much to learn about this world, too. 

Level 5

Voile, The Locked Girl’s Dark Library Rank: EX Type: Anti-Army A dark foreboding library filled with knowledge few could even hope to understand. The mana concentration within it is way higher than anywhere else on the planet. It’s almost as if the library manifests itself, as opposed to Patchouli summoning it using her own power. The interior is far larger than the exterior would suggest.

The knowledge within could twist more fragile minds, so she works extra hard to hold it back when her Master is around.

Extra

She seems quiet and reserved,  but this is not strictly true. She is quite open with her feelings and generally works hard. ...However, she’s also open about quite a few other things. She’ll casually get changed, or talk about more ‘sensitive’ topics regardless of who’s around her. 

It’s as if she’s completely unaware that males or exist, or doesn’t know about the societal norms regarding them.

Bond LVL 10 CE:  Treasured Assistant -  “Increase the effectiveness of all buffs applied by allies, including yourself, by 10%, and apply immunity to stuns for yourself, only when equipped by [Patchouli Knowledge (Caster)] 

 A photo of Patchouli asleep upon a chair, a mysterious red-haired girl placing a blanket over her. Who took the photo is impossible to tell, but both people seem very important to Patchouli...the photo reminds her of home, and always make her smile. 

Dialogue

Upon Summoning: “Aahh...it worked, huh? Hey, hey. Patchouli Knowledge, Caster class...Nice to meet you, Ma...ah, no, I couldn’t say it...” 

Level Up: “Level up, huh? What an odd sort of feeling... ” 1st Ascension: “Haaah...I feel sort of strong- cough!?” 2nd Ascension: “...Even if the system is unfamiliar, Magic is Magic I suppose~” 3rd Ascension: “I see, I see. My abilities have increased once more. It feels sorta nice...” 4th Ascension: “You sure learn quick, Master. Oh? Don’t look so surprised at me calling you that..it’s what you are, right? Ehehehe~ Alright! I look forward to working with you more, ‘kay?”

Battle Start 1: “Mouu...Fights aren’t my style, really, but...”  Battle Start 2: “No spell cards, huh? Time to go all out, I guess.”  Skill 1: “Yes, yes, that’ll do.” Skill 2: “Something like this...?”

Command Card Selected 1: “Alrighty...” Command Card Selected 2: “Gotcha.” Command Card Selected 3: “You sure...?” Extra Attack: “Here I go-! [ Sun Sign ~ Royal Flare] !” Noble Phantasm Selected: “Ah, How Nostalgic...!”

Regular Damage 1: “Gwah?!” Regular Damage 2: “Owie!” Damage from Noble Phantasm: “This is nothing like Danmaku...!!” Defeated 1: “D..damn...time for me to take a break, I guess...!” Defeated 2: “Koa...get my bed ready, i’m..tired...aah~”  Battle Finish 1: “Whew, glad that’s over. I’m exhausted.”  Battle Finish 2: “Guhh...I may have overexerted myse-” cough?! 

Bond Lvl 1: “Patchouli Knowledge is my true name, and yet you still look so confused. Is it really such a big deal that you don’t remember hearing of me before now?”  Bond Lvl 2: “Mmmm..Mukyuu...It’s nothing, really...”  Bond Lvl 3: “You’re a persistent one, huh? Always asking questions and commanding me about! Honestly, that really reminds me...Guhuh!? Ah, n..no one in particular...!” Bond Lvl 4: “...Fine, fine...I’ll trust you with this, right? I’m really not from this world at all. Which world? Ahh, hungry for the knowledge I see. Alas, I can’t divulge that much... The World is already mad at me for being here, Ehehe~”  Bond Lvl 5:  “...Ah, you remind me of all of them...Remi, Flan...Koa...Meiling..Sakuya, too. Don’t worry, Master. I, Patchouli Knowledge shall protect you with all I have...maybe someday, I’ll find a way to take you there.” 

Dialogue 1: “Chaldea really is kind of amazing, huh? It’d be easy to get lost if I wasn’t so used to this kind of thing...” Dialogue 2: “...Servants, huh...You don’t really see any of them as Servants, though, do you Master...?” Dialogue 3: “Seriously, I’m fine! You don’t need to keep ask-” cough!? Something You Like: “What do I like? Learning, I guess. I like to learn new things and see what there is to see. A new species, a new land, a new type of spell...Yes, there’s no greater joy than discovering something new.  Something You Hate: “...You know, I’m not fond of pushy magicians intent on disrupting my research. Like a drizzle upon a sunny day picnic...nothing ruins my mood quicker.” About the Holy Grail: “The holy grail, huh...a Wish Granting cup...No, I’d never heard of it until recently. What kind of effects could it have if it was there, I wonder...”  If [Reimu Hakurei (any)] is summoned: “Eh? She’s here too?! Jeez..no way! Part of me isn’t surprised, but...Hm? How do I know her? It’s a long story, but know that i’m pretty happy she’s here. She’s probably the strongest fighter I know, after all...”  If [Reimu Hakurei] (Saber)] is summoned: “Mhm, the strongest fighter I know, that’s Reimu. It fills me with confidence to see her. Eh? Her weakest class?! No way...!?” If [Flandre Scarlet] is summoned: “Flan...what’s she doing here...Hey, Master, why is Flandre here? Eh? My legend, you say...oh..oh no...D..did I mess something up...?” Birthday: “The day you were born, huh? I don’t remember mine but...eh...uh... H....Happy Birthday, Master! How’s that, you satisfied? Ehehehe~!” 

[medschoolash]

I never said that I was the best person here, in fact your answer tries to see that you are the best person because you can understand and sympathize with all the people apparently. you are right to compare the situation of storm trooper with kylo is impossible, because unlike kylo, the storm trooper knows nothing different, they think that what they do is the right thing to do, because it is the way they have trained them all their lives, unlike kylo who had the opportunity to see both sides,

“who had two parents who actually fought on the opposite side of the story, but decided to change sides because he felt lonely, unloved, betrayed, his actions were based on his personal feelings, and all his old colleagues, his family and millions of people suffered for that, he could have got his revenge by killing his uncle, but instead decided to join a side that destroyed the life of a whole galaxy , what defines you is not the pain that you have experienced but what you decide to be after”

“holding this belief doesn’t make you morally superior”/= “my opposite belief is the true morally superior one” 

again, you’re making an intellectually dishonest argument here and attributing beliefs to me that I never voiced and do not hold. I never said I was morally superior for being able to sympathize with the past lives of people who do evil, what I said was YOU are not morally superior because you have this odd ranking of abuse that pits the trauma of two people aganist each other for the purposes of making it seem like one is more worthy of sympathy than the other. You did that and I challenged that Idea, I never made any assertions of my own moral standing in this debate.

It an easily be argued that if Finn can break away from his conditioning and was able to tell right from wrong then why can’t the rest of the storm troopers break way despite going through the same thing he did? I don’t personally think like this but I’ve seen people who tackle the idea that stromtroopers are human beings who maybe don’t deserve to be blown to pieces by the resistance with this logic and I don’t think there is a flaw in the question even if I don’t personally agree with the line of reasoning.  I think it opens the question of what is truly righteousness in the Star Wars Universe and disrupts the idea the just being aligned with the “light” makes you inherently righteous and being aligned with the dark makes her inherently unrighteous. I’m sorta off topic now but my basic point is, one again I feel like  this weird moral line is being drawn and making so many things super black and white when it’s absolutely not. 

you say Kylo knew the right way because he had his parents for example and just turned away as if it was actually easy for him and something he did with zero outside influence or attempts to resist. This is what I mean when I say people dismiss Kylo’s trauma because it doesn’t mirror the way other more redeemable people handled their trauma. According to Leia Snoke had been targeting Kylo from infancy and yet Kylo didn’t completely fall until he was a teenager. That means Kylo had to fight off Snoke’s tormenting emotional abuse for YEARS before finally giving into it. He didn’t just wake up one day and say “fuck my family I want the darkside”. He struggled with his upbringing in the light and the manipulative voice in his head telling him the complete opposite for all of his most crucial developmental years. Kylo was with Luke for over 5 years I think before he destroyed the temple and killed his fellow students. That’s 5 years of learning the jedi way and resisting the darkness that was building inside of him. There are people who grew up with loving perfect parents and still end up a hot all emotional mess because something parenting and your environment cant compensate for the messed up shit going on in your head and in Kylo’s case the messed up shit was Snoke who preyed on all of his most negative feelings and impulses. 

You say that Kylo’s actions are motivated by his personal feelings like that’s now how most human beings are naturally wired. Most of our actions are motivated my our personal feelings. It only takes on look on tumblr to see how much loneliness, betrayal, feeling unloved, etc motives people to so and say things and effects the way they develop into adulthood and beyond. THAT’s exactly why understanding Kylo and having his character in existence is such a good thing to so many people, it actually explores the nuance to human behavior and psychology instead of sticking to this false black and white dichotomy fiction likes to force feed us. Sure Kylo decided to deal with his issues in a very destructive, unhealthy, and at times unnecessary ways no one is denying that and you aren’t obligated to accept that but ultimately I’ve never asserted that you had to accept it so I’m not sure what else you want from me on this particular subject. You’re also conveniently moving the goal posts of your original l argument which that you can’t understand murder, now you say kylo should have just targeted Luke for murder instead of everyone else as well and that’s just what’s unacceptable to you. 

The quote about how pain doesn’t define you but what you decide to be after does is nice and inspirational in theory and might be perfectly applicable to emotionally healthy people. I hate to break it to you but for some people, for a good portion of their lives their pain DOES define them, it defines them in very profound ways until they find a way to break away from it and cope with it in a healthy way. Some people never do, some people do after a long process.The decision of what you want to be after pain isn’t always that easy when it has been such a large part of your life for so long. Does that mean that a person who takes a little while longer than other to disassociate from their pain and does some pretty terrible  things during that time doesn’t deserve any sympathy or compassion ever because they made the “choice’ to let their pain define them? . People can feel however they want about Kylo but it’s canon that he has been torn apart and conflicted for a long time now, hell part of the reason he killed Han was because he was foolishly convinced that killng his father would put an end to the conflict that has been within him for as long and his can remember and end his pain, he learned the hard way that his ideas was misguided but not before he did something terrible that he can not take back no matter how much he regrets it. We don’t have the end of Kylo’s story yet so we don’t know if his ultimate fate is to continue to let his pain define him and continue his path, however there are some people who chose to be hopeful and see that in many ways Kylo does deserve sympathy and can disassociate from his pain eventually. You can chose not to but as I said before, it doesn’t make you “right” or superior here which is what most people who go on and on about these things feel about their beliefs.