#transformers and their continuities are literally chaos

[parad0ze]

Usually when members from the og lineup are not put/replaced in the group is because of trademark reasons and what tends to happen is that they bring in new/preexisting trademarks for that character. But the thing is is that the character being replaced won’t really exist in that continuity in the first place so I wouldn’t really consider that as them switching the line up?.? Unless of course it’s stated or shown as so. Maybe that’s where you’re getting confused?

Like the stunticons in the 2015 RID cartoon the team consists of the original members motormaster and dragstrip but characters Heatseeker, Wildbreak, and Slashmark were brought in. Although breakdown existed in the aligned continuity it wasn’t as if he was a combiner at all. Which is another thing. Say dead end is replaced in his gestalt, both him and his replacement can both exist but dead end himself probably isn’t a combiner/stunticon. Though this only really happens if there are trademark issues and combiners don’t really show up much as a whole. And when they do it’s more or less going to be the original lineup.

Or it could be like rook where they add more members at random. Because rook existed as a whatever character before hasbro or whoever was in charge wanted more protectobots and it more just stuck. Unlike the g1 combiner lineups where they’re made to be combiners, the additional/different members are probably more like hasbro needing to use their trademarks of obscure characters and slapping them into gestalts. So yeah rook is an additional member but it’s like getting a new student in a class where you’ve known everybody since elementary.hes like a reallly new addition.

Ok wait, no, I need to find this out and I don't know enough #lore about every robot BUT I NEED TO SEE IF A HUNCH I HAVE IS TRACKING IN CANON

With Combiners... how many of them actually CANONICALLY end up with an Amica or Conjunx?????

Like??????? PLEASE Transformers fandom, people with the combiner wisdom, are combiners actually engaging in relationships outside the gestalt and if they ARE what kind of combiners are they? (example: scramble style where a bunch of randos can swap in at any time or closed like Bruticus where they're locked in with those 5 etc)

[airosuiren]

The Abandoned Wayne.

Bat Family x Neglected Reader x Tokyo Revengers

A/N: Omg I had this idea stuck in my head for AGES!!! Batfam neglect trope combined with Tokyo Revengers is literally my new obsession!!! Hope you enjoyyy this twisted tale of neglect, revenge, and finding your true family!!! (this DOES NOT follow cannon)

Part 2

Wayne Manor had two daughters, but only one that mattered.

You and Lila Wayne - twins born to Bruce Wayne through a brief relationship with a woman who disappeared shortly after your birth. Identical in appearance but worlds apart in treatment.

From the moment Bruce took you both in, it was clear who the favorite was.

Lila got the bigger bedroom. Lila got the newest clothes. Lila got Bruce’s proud smiles whenever she mastered a new gymnastics routine or brought home perfect grades. Lila was “the good twin” - the perfect Wayne daughter who fit seamlessly into Gotham’s elite circles.

You? You were the afterthought.

“Dad, I got an A+ on my science project,” you said, holding up your graded paper at age twelve.

Bruce barely looked up from where he was helping Lila with her homework. “That’s nice. Did you see Lila made the honor roll again? Third time this year.”

You lowered your paper slowly, the familiar ache spreading through your chest. “Yeah. Great job, Lila.”

Your sister smirked at you over Bruce’s shoulder, her eyes glittering with smug satisfaction.

It wasn’t just Bruce. Dick treated Lila like a princess, always bringing her souvenirs from his travels. Jason taught her self-defense but claimed you were “too clumsy” to learn. Tim shared his tech knowledge exclusively with Lila. Even Damian, though generally unpleasant to everyone, reserved his rare moments of tolerance for her.

Only Alfred seemed to notice you, slipping you extra cookies when no one was looking or patting your shoulder when you retreated to your room after another family gathering where no one acknowledged your presence.

“Patience, Miss [Y/N],” he would say. “Family can be… complicated.”

But your patience was running out.

By fifteen, you had stopped trying to earn their attention. You found solace in martial arts, training secretly at a local dojo where no one knew you were a Wayne. The feel of your fist connecting with a punching bag became your therapy, each strike fueled by years of being overlooked.

Then came the night that changed everything.

You returned from training to find the manor in chaos. Lila was sobbing in Bruce’s arms, her perfect face marred by a nasty bruise on her cheekbone. The entire family surrounded her protectively.

“What happened?” you asked, dropping your gym bag.

Six pairs of eyes turned to you, cold and accusing.

“As if you don’t know,” Lila hissed through tears.

Bruce stood slowly, his face transforming into something you’d only seen directed at Gotham’s criminals. “Lila says you attacked her when she confronted you about stealing her homework.”

Your blood ran cold. “What? I didn’t touch her! I’ve been at the dojo for the past three hours!”

“We found your hairbrush in her room,” Tim said, holding up an evidence bag like this was a crime scene. “And the bruise pattern matches your distinctive ring.”

You looked down at the simple silver band you always wore - a gift from Alfred on your twelfth birthday. The only birthday gift anyone in the manor had given you.

“This is ridiculous,” you protested. “I would never hurt Lila!”

But as you looked around at their faces - Bruce’s fury, Dick’s disappointment, Jason’s disgust, Tim’s clinical detachment, Damian’s contempt, and Lila’s exaggerated fear - you realized with crystal clarity: They had already decided you were guilty.

No trial. No defense. No presumption of innocence.

Even Alfred looked uncertain, standing back from the family circle, his eyes troubled.

“I’ve made a decision,” Bruce announced, his voice Batman-cold. “This behavior cannot continue. You’ve been acting out for years, but this crosses a line.”

“But I didn’t—”

“Enough!” Bruce cut you off. “I’m sending you to our associates in Tokyo. The Moriyama family owes me a favor. They’ll take you in, get you into a good school, and hopefully… straighten you out.”

Your world collapsed around you. “You’re sending me away? To Japan? Because of a lie?”

“It’s not a lie!” Lila wailed, burying her face against Dick’s chest. “She threatened to do worse next time!”

“Pack your things,” Bruce said flatly. “You leave tomorrow.”

That night, alone in your room, you didn’t cry. The hurt had crystallized into something harder, colder. More dangerous.

In the darkness, you made a vow: You would never beg for their love again. You would never again call Wayne Manor home. And someday, they would realize exactly what they had thrown away.

Alfred came to your door as you finished packing.

“Miss [Y/N],” he began, his elderly face lined with regret. “I don’t believe… that is to say, I find it difficult to imagine you would harm your sister.”

It was the closest thing to support you’d received, but it came too late.

“It doesn’t matter what you believe, Alfred,” you said quietly. “It never has.”

The flight to Tokyo was long and silent. Bruce didn’t accompany you - he sent his corporate assistant instead. Your final glimpse of Gotham through the plane window felt like watching a chapter of your life being forcibly closed.

The Moriyama family was polite but distant. They provided you with a small but comfortable apartment, enrolled you in a prestigious international school, and otherwise left you entirely alone.

Freedom, you discovered, was both terrifying and exhilarating.

For the first two months, you focused on school and perfecting your Japanese. You kept to yourself, the wound of your family’s betrayal still too fresh to risk new connections.

Then came the night you took a wrong turn walking home.

Three men cornered you in an alley - local thugs looking for an easy target. What they found instead was a Wayne with years of repressed rage and six months of intensive martial arts training.

When the dust settled, two were unconscious and the third was running away with a broken nose.

You were catching your breath, knuckles bloody, when you heard slow, appreciative clapping.

A tall, lean Japanese boy with bleached blond hair and an unsettling empty look in his eyes stood at the alley entrance. Despite his slender build, something about him radiated danger.

“Impressive,” he said in Japanese. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

You straightened, wary but unafraid. “Gotham City.”

His smile widened, revealing a charm that didn’t quite reach those empty eyes. “I’m Sano Manjiro. Everyone calls me Mikey.”

“[Y/N],” you replied, deliberately omitting your last name. You weren’t a Wayne anymore, not in any way that mattered.

“You should come with me, [Y/N]-chan,” he said, turning to leave as if your agreement was a foregone conclusion. “I think my friends would like to meet you.”

Something about his absolute confidence, the casual way he had watched you fight without interfering, and yes - the dangerous aura that reminded you of the Bat Family at their most intimidating - made you follow him.

Kanto Manji headquarters turned out to be an abandoned building retrofitted with surprisingly comfortable furnishings. Inside, a group of young men looked up as Mikey entered with you in tow.

“Found something interesting,” Mikey announced, dropping onto a couch. “This is [Y/N]. She just took down three Tenjiku guys without breaking a sweat.”

“American?” asked a tall, serious-looking man with dark hair.

“Gotham,” you corrected.

Something in the way you said it - like the name of the city was a wound - made the room go quiet.

“I’m Sano Takemichi,” the serious one said. “That’s Hakkai, Chifuyu, Mitsuya, and the one eating all the food is Baji.”

Over convenience store bento boxes and cheap beer, you learned about Kanto Manji - a gang formed from the ashes of several others, now one of the most powerful in Tokyo. Their operations walked a fine line between legitimate business and underground empire.

You didn’t share your full story that night, but something in your eyes must have spoken to them. The way you fought. The way you carried yourself. The obvious absence of anyone looking for you or caring where you were.

“You got somewhere to stay?” Baji asked as the night grew late.

“An apartment,” you said. “But no one waiting there.”

Mikey, who had been unnervingly quiet for most of the evening, just watching you with those empty eyes, suddenly spoke: “You should work for us.”

The others looked surprised.

“Mikey,” Takemichi began cautiously, “we don’t even know her—”

“I know enough,” Mikey cut him off. “She fights like someone with nothing to lose. That’s valuable.”

You should have been offended. Instead, you felt a strange relief at being so perfectly understood.

“What would I do?” you asked.

Mikey smiled that disconnected smile again. “You’re from Gotham. Home of criminals and bats. I bet you know how to plan.”

And just like that, you found your place.

The Kanto Manji gang became your new family. Takemichi treated you like a little sister, always checking if you’d eaten or slept enough. Hakkai taught you Japanese street fighting to complement your formal training. Chifuyu, discovering your knack for strategy, spent hours discussing territory maps with you. Mitsuya even designed clothes specifically for you - practical but stylish outfits that became your signature look.

And Mikey… Mikey watched you. At first, it was unsettling - those empty eyes following your movements across rooms, his sudden appearances outside your apartment, his hand casually resting on your shoulder as if marking territory.

“He’s obsessed with you,” Hakkai warned about three months in. “Be careful.”

But the truth was, you didn’t mind. After years of being invisible, Mikey’s focused attention felt like water in a desert. He saw you. Really saw you.

Your tactical mind proved invaluable to the gang. You planned their operations with precision Batman himself might have admired - if he had ever bothered to notice your intelligence.

Within a year, your reputation spread through Tokyo’s underground. The foreign girl with the cold eyes and brilliant mind who stood at Mikey’s right hand. Some called you “The Ghost” because of how you seemed to appear from nowhere, always one step ahead.

Not once did Bruce or any of the Bat Family reach out. Not a call. Not an email. Not even Alfred. It was as if [Y/N] Wayne had ceased to exist the moment her plane left Gotham airspace.

On the night of your eighteenth birthday, Kanto Manji threw you a party that lasted until dawn. For the first time since arriving in Tokyo, you allowed yourself to fully relax, to laugh, to feel genuinely happy.

As the others finally passed out from too much sake, Mikey led you to the roof. The Tokyo skyline glittered before you, so different from Gotham’s gothic spires but beautiful in its own way.

“Happy birthday, [Y/N]-chan,” he said, producing a small black box.

Inside was a delicate silver chain with a pendant shaped like a crescent moon.

“Mikey, it’s beautiful,” you whispered as he fastened it around your neck.

“You’re mine now,” he said simply, his fingers lingering on your skin. “My strategist. My ghost.” His empty eyes seemed to fill with something like hunger. “My everything.”

You should have been frightened by the possessiveness. Instead, you felt a thrill. Someone wanted you. Not your sister. You.

When he kissed you, it felt like claiming and being claimed.

“Yes,” you agreed against his lips. “Yours.”

The next two years passed in a blur of power, respect, and a strange kind of happiness. Kanto Manji grew under your strategic guidance and Mikey’s fearsome leadership. You moved into his apartment, your foreign clothes mingling with his in the closet, your strategic plans spread across his dining table, your body wrapped in his arms each night.

His obsession never faded. If anything, it intensified. Mikey wanted to know where you were every moment. He called randomly just to hear your voice. He left marks on your skin where others could see them.

“It’s not healthy,” Takemichi told you once.

You just smiled. “Nothing about my life has ever been healthy.”

Besides, you thrived on Mikey’s attention. On being the center of someone’s world. On mattering.

You hadn’t spoken the name “Wayne” in three years when the past finally caught up to you.

It started with a text from a number you didn’t recognize:

They’re coming for you. Wayne Industries expanding to Tokyo. Family accompanying Bruce for the opening. Be prepared. - A

Alfred. It could only be Alfred.

You stared at the message for a long time before showing it to Mikey.

His reaction was immediate and intense. “They abandoned you. They don’t get to come back now.”

That night, he called an emergency meeting. The entire gang gathered as Mikey explained the situation.

“Wayne,” Baji spat the name like a curse. “The bastard who threw away our [Y/N]?”

“The same,” Mikey confirmed, his arm possessively around your waist. “They’re coming to Tokyo. Business, they say.”

“But really for [Y/N],” Hakkai finished, his eyes narrowing.

“What do you want to do?” Takemichi asked you directly. “It’s your call.”

You looked around at the faces watching you - these men who had become your brothers, your protectors, your true family. And Mikey, whose empty eyes filled only when looking at you, whose obsession had become your safety net.

“I want them to see exactly what they lost,” you said finally. “And who I’ve become without them.”

The gang nodded in unison.

“Then that’s what will happen,” Mikey declared, pressing a kiss to your temple. “They’ll see our Ghost. And they’ll regret the day they sent her to us.”

A week later, Wayne Enterprises opened its Tokyo branch with a lavish party. You watched from across the street as limousines delivered Gotham’s elite to the red carpet - including five tall, well-dressed men and one woman in a shimmering gown.

The Bat Family had arrived.

And they had no idea what was waiting for them.

A/N: There is a part 2 for thiss Please wait for itttt

[hamletteprinceofdenmark]

Aside from the everything else about it, changing twitter’s name to X is just so … short sightedly juvenile?

Like, it’s got the energy of a nine year old calling their superhero villain X-Corp “cause it sounds cool.”

Because X as a letter is cool, it’s unique and rarely used in English because it has a very narrow purpose and sound that doesn’t get used often in everyday speech. It catches the ear … but that’s kind of all it does.

“Twitter” works as a company name, because it rolls off the tongue and, as a bonus, works etymologically. To “twit” or “be a twit” is to be silly, foolish, meaningless — the original purpose of twitter before it became one of the most essential and transformative social media platforms in terms of spreading news quickly and concisely in times of chaos and disaster (and I’m also not about to pretend that twitter has not, on the whole, remained silly, foolish, and meaningless). To “tweet” makes sense to the English brain wonderfully. It expresses exactly what it means. There is no doubt in my mind that it’s name and the way it could be adapted so easily into the language played markably into the platform’s remarkable success.

And how does “X” work in that context? How does “X” work, linguistically? Short answer, it doesn’t. It literally can’t, because of how X is used in the language. We literally use that letter to mark nothing, negative, a blank or rejected space. It represents void. And the way we say it and use it reflects that.

To say you “x’d” something means you ruled it out. You rejected it. Unmade it. It’s quite literally the opposite of creation and creativity. Of generation. On a platform that relies on creativity and constantly generating content.

Every roll out has emphasised how Elon insists on continuing to limit the use of the site, Twitter Blue, maximum posts sighted, I just saw he’s limiting the amount of times you can DM someone.

It’s become an anti-social site, being killed slowly from the inside like a mindless and completely ignorant rot.

[thesharktanksdriver]

The witch boy and magical girl (platonic)

Sorry the ending is a bit rushed, I have a wake This weekend and a funeral plus exam on Monday

I still wanted to get this out tho so enjoy!

Magical girl y/n masterlist

Bruce could deal with a lot more than the average person could ever imagine

He’s dealt with a literal killer manic clown

Aliens

Vampires

56 assassins attacking him at once

Literal end of the world events once a year at least

But he doesn’t think anything compares to what he finds himself peering in on now

When he adopted a daughter who fights shadow creatures that feed off of negative human emotions and want to literally eat the universe he knew he was gonna see some weird shit

The weird cosmic ferret, he’d mentally dealt with that already

Same with the Magical weapons that transform and how his new daughter could change her appearance at will

That he could all deal with

But watching his daughter paint her nails with Klarion the witch boy, lord of chaos while they talked about sailor moon wasn’t something he thought he’d have to grapple with

So instead he closes the door and ponders his life and how it got to this point

How you somehow befriended the witch boy started as all good things do

Accidentally finding a someone being tormented by Shadowmites that you have to then kill

But oddly enough instead of the usual human it was…a cat?

An orange cat with distinct blood red eyes and striped black rigged markings

It hissed and scratched at the Shadowmites but was unable to harm them much to its confusion

Until you whacked its assailants with a hammer making them dissipate into nothing

It stared at you and you stared at the cat

And it just kinda tagged along with you for the rest of your patrol

To be fair…having a ultra intelligent possibly eldritch creature in the disguise of a regular animal wasn’t really a “new” thing to you

So when the cat began to follow you it didn’t really bother you much

If anything it was kinda funny especially since Rigel seemed to have an almost silent companionship with the feline

Staring down at the ginger cat from his perch on your shoulders as you continued your nightly patrol

Chittering and barking as the cat meowed back occasionally

If at this point you questioned anything in life anymore you’d be curious as to how their seemingly communicating but now you couldn’t really care

You were just happy the seemingly demon cat got along with your ex-deity ferret

Along with the fact that this seemingly aggressive cat who tried to scratch the eyes out of anyone who got too close for its liking seemed to enjoy your presence

Even at one point during your food break curling up in your lap wanting to be lavished in attention

The violent cat being reduced to a softly purring mass of fluffy orange hair

Black leather collar and red gemstone attached to it

This was definitely some bougie cat, almost definitely a supernatural one as well considering it saw Shadowmites

But the collar definitely implied an owner

A rich one at that too

So you post online with a picture of yourself and the cat asking for its owner

Mostly since the collar had some type of ancient language not spoken by you in a hieroglyphic type of alphabet

Cool as hell

But impractical to you as you tried to Google translate it

He’ll you’d even sent a picture to dick and all you got back was garbled nonsense that looked like he slammed his face against a keyboard

Which was probable since he was on yet another coffee bender where he stayed up for too long

Alfred would definitely not be pleased

But back on topic of the eldritch Garfield cat, eventually you got a response

But not via online

More like in person since a figure then materialized in front of you via scarlet fire

And there floating in all his glory was lord of chaos Klarion the witch boy

Looking back maybe you should have payed more attention during that one league meeting your dad took you to where they talked about him

To be fair though, at the time you were surviving on 2 hours of sleep, a combination of redbull and monsters along with hopes and dreams

So you couldn’t be blamed in remembering he had a cat familiar

Or said cat familiar was likely an eldritch level entity in the form of a cat

A cat with red eyes

….ok maybe there were more obvious warnings and you were just excited about the weird cat to notice

As you had a mental debate with yourself there he stood, hair pointed upwards into what looked to be horns and in a suit

Magic twisting around him in a scarlet aura

Distinctly you notice patches of ice blue on the tips of his fingers that quickly distort to the flesh tone consistent with him

And from then on out the encounter with him is…odd to say the least

His cat (whom you then learned was named Teekl) getting up from your lap

Klarion is….odd

He scoops up his familiar fretting over the ginger cat, making subtle threats your way the entire time

Asking the kitty if he had to “erase someone from existence” once again

But luckily for you whatever the cat meows to him is enough for him to cast a glance back to you

Though now not out of suspicion but instead curiosity

(Something perhaps to others would be just as bad)

He quirks an eye at you, looking you up and down once more but now giving you a proper look

Now seeming to notice your own magical aura and companion of otherworldly nature

And suddenly something clicks in his head

“You’re that magic girl I’ve heard about.” He says gliding a hand through the fur of his familiar, the demonic cat purring in content.

“Bit vague of a statement, but yeah that’s one way to describe me I guess” you respond shrugging your shoulders laxly, he seems on edge even with your demeanour.

“And your…not attacking me? Not trying to play goody-two shoes? And “bring me to justice” with a big speech about doing good” He almost seems to hiss this out. A defensive air to him.

“Look dude, I deal with weird inter-dimensional shadow creatures that feed on negative human emotions” you explain pulling out your magical weapon in the shape of an axe, you close an eye and aim while biting your tongue before throwing it to hit said shadowmite clinging to his shoulder. The creature gives out a cry, before dissipating into a melting puddle of inky black sizzling liquid, he stares down now seemingly more intrigued. “I don’t deal with robberies or anything besides those things and the occasional helping someone. Plus I’m decent friends with a few villains of the city”

“I’ve been trying to kill that thing for ages…” he pauses whisky looking down at the creature. Teekl hisses at the disappearing remnants of the creature. “How come your able to destroy them?”

“Only magic from their realm can kill them, I’m the only one with access to it ”

For a long moment the witch boy goes quiet, staring at the spot the puddle used to be. He turns his face to you once more, a smile on his face. “I think I like you Magic girl. Your more interesting than I thought.” He says this so suddenly that your left a bit baffled yet you give him a thumbs up. This seems to make him more amused as a portal opens beneath him, “I’ll be in touch”. With that he left

As he said Klarion would appear to you a few nights later on your lunch break during patrol

Quite literally appearing from nowhere as he laid down kicking his legs back and forth

Along with stealing some of your fries

You had to resist the urge from stopping him from stealing your food, it was still hard getting used to having an abundance of food now

There was no more scraping together to afford cup ramen from the 711 cashier who’d pretend not to notice the missing 50 cents

No more going to go to bed hungry because of the free lunch program at Gotham academy and reasoning you’d save your scraps for dinner the next day

No more barely scraping by just to survive

But never truly live though, surving was different to truly living

You couldn’t call your much of life before your adoption as living

The only moments you did truly feel alive was when you’d save someone or watch old reruns of sailor moon or cardcaptor sakura

Forever dreaming to be a better hero like them

To be a pretty sailor scout who saved the day despite being scared

To be able to enjoy something as mundane as skating on roller blades without potentially being mugged

Though your trying to get used to having free time

Having a Better sleeping schedules

Having Food

And having free time

It’s still feels odd

Still is weird to finally have time to yourself with nothing to fill it with

Even like now on your break during patrol you don’t know how to spend it

But now at least you have more company to fill that uncertainty of what to do

Curiously Klarion eyes your weapon, before finally speaking aloud

For awhile he asks mostly about your abilities

The extent of your power and what type of magic you could do

Showing him your weapon and transformation seems to cause him more questions

Especially since he mumbles to himself about your magic being different to anything he’s seen

As a lord of chaos it was safe to say he was adverse to almost all types of magic there was to offer

So seeing something this new and odd after millenniums of years of being alive is certainly a sight

He even says so to your face

Which brings up the question to you, after so long he’s still a kid?

You get that he probably ages slower than most, almost all magical creatures or people did

But after so long he was still a kid?

You can’t say you relate

You grew up too fast

But maybe that’s why your equally intrigued by the horned boy

You begin to notice that at some point he began to watch you from afar during missions

Sometimes from a rooftop

Other times it’s from an alleyway

Klarion watches and you always find yourself waving to him

But as time goes on he gets closer

Even if Damien or Jason tag along with you

But neither seem to notice him

No one but yourself ever does even if in a crowd of people he’d be someone they’d be fleeing from

Definitely some sort of magic stuff

Or maybe he was just oddly good at blending in

Either way you see him and wave and he gets closer each time

As does his vists during your break where he asks you questions of your magic

Your abilities

What the shadowmites are and what their goals are?

Are they fully sentient?

Their all things that you answer him as best you can, now bringing extra food for him so he didn’t steal from you anymore

Yet despite that he always steals a fry

Probably something he finds funny and something you find yourself less anxious about now

In a lot of ways he reminds you of a cat which is funny considering his familiar

He watched from a distance before getting closer and closer as time went on

Mischievous and sometimes a bit spiteful but with a playful edge like a cat pushing something off a shelf with fluffy claws

Positive interaction usually being something that pushes him farther away at first but now gravitates him closer

It’s odd

He’s odd

But so are you

A lord of chaos and a magical girl definitely weren’t titles that upheld the pillars of normality

So it’s perhaps not odd either of you are the way you are

And yet it draws you both closer like magnets all the same

Meetings get more frequent

As do more topics of much more mundane things being brought up

He asks you about human things he doesn’t understand, questions he’d feel to embarrassed to ask any of his “allies” due to not wanting to be written off as an oblivious kid

Because for as much as Klarion tries to be taken seriously he’s still subtly looked down upon

His chaos seen as little more than that of a child being given godly power to wield at his command

But over your talks you come to see there’s much more to it all

Lords of chaos function differently to humans both physically, emotionally and mentally

What was seen as mindless abject chaos to others was an art form and way of living and expression to them

A means to express and delight in the non-orderly nature of the universe, to live not constricted to the boundaries of reality itself

Constructing a landscape of Picasso paintings come to life or making a smiley face by moving the stars out of their places in their solar systems are a sort of expression to him

They viewed the universe as their canvas

That could be both good and bad in various ways

It’s the same in the fact too much order could be bad

Because chaos and order are a revolving door that need one another

They weren’t objectively good or bad, just neutral in nature until the scales tipped too much in one direction

Because complete anarchy is objectively terrible but so it a totalitarian police state

Both are bad in different ways because the scales are unbalanced

And now he’s left one of the last of his kind, for better or worse

And he’s a lot more lonely than he’d like to admit

Because he’s surrounded in a sea of beings too unfamiliar to his own

Orderly creatures in an orderly society in an orderly world and in an orderly universe or at least that’s how it feels to him

Human bodies function in certain predicable patterns as do the ways their societies work. Cogs and Gears working orderly in a intricate machine

And that makes it all the more confusing and alien to him in a bad way

But you can understand feeling alike to society even if you are human

So you try your best to explain to him

And even if at times he still seems confused he seems appreciative that you try

That you don’t seem to look down on him for not understanding humans and how humanity works as a whole

Because how can anyone assume that he would when he’s a lord of chaos

It’s literally in the name

And from then on it grows

The interest beyond the supernatural to the mundane

You show him the little things in life

Taking him in disguise to your favourite hotdog stand on a corner of a dodgy street down to walking him around Gotham and almost getting shanked along the way

All the while you show him that humanity is quite as orderly as he thought

He sees graffiti sprayed on brick walls, tags of neon colour of names that people try to scrub off but stubbornly and triumphantly remain

A person in odd dress on the street corner waiting for a bus, the way in which their clothes don’t mesh at all and the colour clash but they wear it anyways in style

The little shortcuts you take him to through alleyways and through abandoned buildings still standing to the test of time.

By his smile you think he comes to appreciate it all

The small signs that the machine he assumed humanity to be wasn’t just that

Cogs and gears too big or too small, bringing a bit of chaos in their wake

He knows your identity, you’ve known that he’s known for a long while now, and yet for some reason you trust him with it

Just as he trusts you to treat him all the same while in his true form

Blue skin, red eyes and all

And he’s seen you too

The girl behind the dramatic cutesy clothes, magically changing eyes, hair, face and height

You were just you

Klarion was just Klarion

And Tekyl and Rigel tagging along with it all

But to be honest you’d never thought he’d trust you enough for this

Whats this exactly? Oh well just him dragging you along to a meeting the Light was having as his quote on quote “human translator”

Aka explaining to him human things he didn’t understand

Aka him just wanting you there to sit with him for the duration of said meeting

Your not sure how this happened

Neither is any other member except the old man your pretty sure is Damien’s assassin grandfather

You can tell by the pointed emerald green eyes, similarly deathly composed demeanour and the same look of surprised/somehow impressed he gives you similar to when Damien sees half the shit you deal with

Speaking of which you’ll need to get him on board with Klarion to have another member for clue night

But that was a later issue

The real issue was right now

Klarion arguing with half the people here as you stand there more exasperated than anything

The witch boy occasionally shaking you by the shoulders…and climbing on you hissing and swiping at people who got too close

You see why a demon cat is his familiar

But even Teykl seemed a bit annoyed by his behaviour by how she rolled their eyes

Didn’t know cats could do that but hey, teykl’s also a demon cat so there’s probably a lot she can do compared to regular cats

Just as cute, but more lethal though instead of just getting a quick swipe at your hand

A door opens, a new contender for the fight

Though luckily (or unluckily for you) it’s Deathstroke

Instinctively you wave

And that pauses the fight

“Hey, how was that job abroad? I haven’t seen any dictators dead yet”

“You’ll be seeing it in the news soon, but what are you doing here?”

“Klarion brought me”

“Ah”

“You have a shadowmite on your shoulder, hold on, lemme get get it for you” and with that you transform you magical weapon, sparkles fly as a bright light momentarily flashes the room. In your hands was a battle axe, pink with bows and ribbons flowing as you chuck it at the invisible creature now made visible on Slade’s shoulder when the blade imbeds itself into the things flesh. It screeches reaching a shadowy hand as it’s pinned to the wall, prying your axe from the wall it falls to the floor but can’t get free as you hold it down beneath your foot. There’s no last words for the creature, just hungry screaming for its next victim until the axe comes down on its head severing the tie from this world.

The room is silent for a few moments, “you could’ve killed it with just the throw if you aimed a bit more to the left. Besides that you had good form”

You get to sit between both Klarion and Slade for the meeting

Somehow you doing your hero job impressed (more like terrified) this group of villains

Maybe it was manifesting your weapon from thin air within the blink of an eye

Maybe the fact you threw it at Mach 1

Maybe it was the fact that you could’ve summoned it at any time, make it any weapon you wanted including a bazooka at will

Or maybe it was learning your keeping the literal universe from being eaten on a daily basis from inter-dimensional shadow creatures who’ve eaten countless realities already

Fun thing to explain to such a diverse group ranging from a evil billionaire, a dictator and two immortal men who were older than dirt

The entire meeting you end up keeping Klarion from impulsively deciding to leave because he found it boring and drawn out

To be fair to him it definitely was, but how he’s gotten away with disappearing 30 minutes in each time was beyond you

So somehow you do the impossible

He stays the duration of the full meeting

It’s a first for everyone

What’s also a first is that Tekyl hasn’t gone off and scratched some unfortunate members leg like a scratching post

Mostly because she stayed perched in your lap along with Rigel

Later on when hanging out with Klarion on a roof your not surprised when he mentions that you’ve been offered a “partial membership”

He laughs and burns the letter for you

You’d think that the meeting between Damien and Klarion wouldn’t go well

And you’d be mostly right

At least until Damien spotted Tekyl on klarions shoulder and somehow the two ended up talking about things

And looking past the being a hero and being an super villain they got along well

Well enough that your now slightly worried for anyone who sent you weird messages online again

Because now they’ll have to deal with Tim giving these two their up address

But beyond that you feel bad for Bruce

Because dear god when he finds out Damien invited the lord of chaos to movie night

Jason was gonna love him

Your iffy about Tim but you know Dick is gonna practically wedge himself into the three of you hanging out before Damine threatens him or Klarion sends him halfway across the world or something

Besides all of that though your happy he gets along with Damien

That he has another human friend

Your also proud of Damien as well

Though you do wish he’d stop giving Klarion new ideas for his schemes

Showing him MLP wants a good idea when the character of discord existed

Yeah he had a field day when he was introduced

Chocolate rain and literal actual cotton candy clouds had a lot more of an environmental impact than shown in the kids show

Thankfully it was only the UK that suffered the side effects

And a very pissed off John Constantine

At some point you and Damien begin to sneak him into the manor

Somehow Alfred knew and can only smile and warn the lord of chaos to turn things back to normal before he leaves

And so the fun begins

Damien shows him his swords collection and bat cow

You end up binging madoka magica with him and your collection of magical girl figures

He ends up showing you and Damien some of his magic

And the infinite pillow fort in the corner of your room is born

It literally goes on forever…you think

Is there an end? You don’t know, but all you do know is that at some point you went in there and emerged 7 hours later still not reaching the end

Kinda like the backrooms but with less monsters and piss stained looked walls and carpet but instead with pastel pillows and my melody and kuromi merch scattered around

Now having permission to appear in the manor, or at least in yours or Damien’s rooms he sometimes appears at odd hours of the night

Like you’ll wake up at 4 am and find him hanging out in your room

Sometimes resting in a corner quietly with Tykl

Other times just poking around your room with curiosity, examine various nick knacks you have

Photographs and poosters

High class Jewelry and handmade bracelets

Old magical girl shows on equally old cds and the new HD releases on blue-ray

Books that were yellowed and brand new ones piled on a shelf

He admires them all

Turning them over in his blue palms or tracing them fondly with a pointed finger

He sees the wear and tear in the old and the loving upkeep behind it all

The new items that you gratefully covet like the old

There’s an unexpected and uncharacteristic fragility to his actions

A certain look in his eyes that faulted under the weight of your own once he realizes your awake

In which he then finds himself sitting at your side

Crossing his legs and pretending to stare at nothing in particular

Though you see his gaze occasionally flicker from your window showing the Gotham night and then back to you

It continues like this until you take his hand and get up from bed

Dragging him through the darkened halls

Depending on the night schedule of that particular day sometimes the two of you go to the gardens

Sitting down on the marble benches to listen to the calming sound of water flowing from the fountain

His hands shifting and turning to create illusionary magic

A rabbit hopping through the air in streams of starlight

Like the white rabbit of Alice in wonderland, then slowly leading you to the land of dreams

The next morning you wake up in your bed as if nothing happened

The only proof of the night before being the flower crown he made for you to match the one you made him still on your head

Woven in messy hair

Other times you show him to the library but not before a small detour to the kitchen

Taking the secret stash of Alfred’s beloved cookies to snack on as you read together by the fire

Your duvet blanket wrapped around the two of you and was dragged halfway across the mansion floor

Surely leaving a small trail of feathers in its wake that’ll lead Alfred to you in the morning

And depending on if Damien is there that night you go to knock on his door

Your brother in everything but blood opening his door and inviting the two of you in

Thankfully Damien’s bed was renovated to be big enough to fit him and his pets

So the three of you can laze on it comfortably without being pressed for space

Sometimes a board game is pulled out

Other times you all just talking until passing out

And sometimes when you fall asleep first both he and Damien talk heart to heart

About what exactly your not privy to

But your just happy both get along so well after the bumpy meeting

Sometimes Bruce calls you along with the justice league if they need your help with him

Honestly it’s flattering and funny at the same time

You can’t help but feel a bit bad for his teammates who see your pastels and instantly known that Klarion is gonna pull out the battle in an instant

He used to complain about it

But now the minute you show up and politely chid him for nearly exploding a building he snaps his fingers and things are back to normal

And then he teleports you away to hang out as per usual

Is this usual to everyone but yourself and him and maybe Damien? Highly

But do you care? Not exactly when you have a friend

And also end up helping Bruce/dad

To be honest your still unused to calling him dad yet

You definitely view him as your dad, he’s been the only one besides Rigel to fill that role

But it’s weird saying it aloud

Of carving it in stone

Putting it to paper

Saying how you feel and being emotionally intimate when you’d built up walls and barriers

Opening up is still hard for you, even after various times you had let people in

You’d think it would get easier to open the gate around your heart but there’s always a hint of hesitation each time

Like a twitch in your fingers

A whisper in your mind

Because you care for people

You care about your new family, your friends, Klarion included

And it’s hard each time to feel the guilt of hesitation

Because it isn’t them but it’s you

You feel it now as you sit atop the top of Gotham

Watching the skyline as the cool air blows past

You wish to be open

To speak your mind and break down the walls but it feels so hard in the moment

So odd showing your hand

The cards up your sleeve

Opening the always shut door

How do you even introduce that? Hey here’s my heartfelt feelings

Each time you’ve done it beforehand it’s felt so awkward

So weird starting off

And then you get emotional

And start getting teary eyed and people ask if your ok and that makes you break-

Klarion is the one who starts first

It comes from nowhere, like a sudden burst of chaos that makes sense for him and a surprise for you

He explains to you that “when I gaze at you i see mortality incarnate”

Something that will last moments to him in his life yet will haunt him for the rest of eternity

Like a glass doll that will inevitably break and yet in its fragility holds incomprehensible beauty

A blazing fire that’ll eventually burn out yet it’s gentle warmth lingers

A memory never forgotten and always there even if the moments is long gone

He’s lived so long and will continue to live even when your long gone

He’s similar to Rigel in that regard

Something and someone so consequential that they’ll last millions of years

You’d only become important from chance compared to him and many others

They were born great, with powers or had qualities that made them special

You became a magical girl because Rigel picked you by chance (or at least that’s how you felt)

And yet here’s a lord of chaos, an god in almost human form saying you were important

That you were special besides your powers

He explains to you that he’s met many magic users

Some competent others masters

Yet none were like you

But what was initial the thing that drew him in didn’t matter

One day he would’ve forgot, it would’ve faded from his chaos filled brain eventually

But what remains is you

Not the magic, the thing that made you special

But you

Just you at your most plain and simple

It wasn’t the magical girl who saves Gotham from an invisible force that not even he could fight

Not the frills and magical transformations or weapons

Not the limited magical abilities that could make you level a building easily

It was just you

All the times you’d shown him through the streets of Gotham

The willingness to explain to him concepts of humanity he didn’t understand

The kindness in your gaze when he shows you his true form without a hint of apprehension

“And it’s there” he says that he comes to value you for all your worth, humans for all their worth

Because despite their fate set in stone

The fact that they can die so easily compared to just about everything in the galaxy

Despite it all they shine the brightest somehow

Because beings like himself have hundreds of millions of years to do something with their lives

To shine slowly and at a snails pace becomes stars

But humans with their short lives make the most of it all

They may die but in those terminally short years to others in this large universe they become a supernova

And their impact is heard and felt across time and space itself

Because sometimes despite it all an ant can move a mountain and that’s a whole lot more impressive than when a god does it

And an ant doing it will always be more impactful when it knows that at the end it’ll die moving that mountain

But does it anyways

“This…may be be a weird question but in a hundred years when I’m dead and gone…will you remember me?” You ask this in a moment of fragility, looking up to the smoggy night sky. Distantly you see the small glimmer of starlight hundreds of millions of lightyears away behind the pollution. “Even if I’m a blip in the grand scheme of things”

Klarion looks to those same stars, with a swipe of his hand the sky clears. For the first time in a hundred years Gotham sees the natural night sky. The dark navy blue of midnight and the hundreds of thousands of speckles of light dot the sky. “I will, somehow you humans make longer impacts than any creature I’ve ever met. For better or worse” it’s spoken in sincerity as he looks with you at the night, and distantly he chooses a star and decides that it’s you. A star he’ll one day look at when your dead and gone, a star that might already be dead and fizzled out and yet its light and impact still crosses the galaxy hundreds of thousands of years later to still shine, to still meet his eyes in the infinite dark if night.

A star that he would nurture and protect

To keep its light from going out

A star that one day he’ll clutch closely as the universe comes to a close from natural causes or the ravenous mouths of the creatures you fight

He says his piece and opens the way to say your own.

[eiralunaire]

Incorrect Quotes from Damian Wayne/Reader.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

**Reader, practicing his fire powers, accidentally melts part of the training room.**

*All the Titans watching in awe:*

Garfield: "Reader, you scared me so much I almost turned into jelly!"

Raven: "Great… now the room smells like molten metal and chaos."

Damian, running up to Reader: "Did you get burned? Does anything hurt?"

Starfire: "Damian, half the tower is literally melting and you're just asking if Reader is okay?"

Damian, ignoring Starfire: "Let me see your hands, you could have gotten burned."

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

**Reader training with his earth powers and creates a mini earthquake that shakes Titan Tower.**

*The Titans falling to the ground as everything vibrates:*

Garfield, getting up: "This is worse than when I tried to do yoga and got stuck in a pose!"

Cyborg: "Hey, my circuits almost blew!"

Damian, helping Reader up: "Are you okay? The ground moved, did you hit it?"

Raven: "Damian, I think the rest of the tower moved a little too…"

Damian, ignoring Raven: "Let me get you somewhere safer."

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

**Reader testing his wind control and accidentally creates a tornado that destroys the furniture in Titan Tower.**

*The Titans running after flying furniture:*

Garfield, transformed into a penguin: "This isn't the kind of wind I need to fly!"

Cyborg: "My robotic parts aren't made for hurricanes, dude!"

Damian, completely calm as the tornado continues: "Reader, everything okay? Did you get dizzy from all that wind?"

Starfire, holding onto a wall: "Damian, we're all going to fly away and all you care about is if Reader is dizzy?"

Damian, calmly: "She's my priority."

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

**Reader trying to use his darkness powers and accidentally covers the entire Titan Tower in impenetrable shadows.**

*The Titans tripping and falling in the darkness:*

Garfield, turned into a bat: "This is darker than when Raven gets angry!"

Cyborg: "My sensors don't see anything! This is worse than losing Wi-Fi!"

Damian, walking perfectly towards Reader: "Don't worry, I found you. Are you okay? Are you feeling exhausted?"

Raven: "How the hell do you always find her in this darkness?"

Damian: "I have a special radar for chaos."

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

**Reader firing a beam of light that accidentally knocks down a wall of Titan Tower.**

*All the Titans watching the disaster:*

Garfield: "There goes our movie theater! And just when we were going to watch superhero movies!"

Starfire: "That's light from a real star! Although, a little destructive…"

Damian, approaching Reader: "Are you feeling tired? Do you need to rest?"

Cyborg, looking at the destroyed wall: "Damian, she just took down half the tower and you're asking if she's tired!"

Damian, ignoring Cyborg: "Let's rest before you continue training."

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

I probably made Damian a little ooc, anyway, I still laughed at the result.

[starlightwayfinder]

You know, your post saying Ven can’t wrap his head around why people would use the darkness is getting me thinking again about its nature and place in the setting. I hope it doesn’t end up being as evil as the narrative makes it out to be.

This is a super interesting ask, and I think to answer it honestly—I have to disagree a little, but I also do agree? Let me explain my thoughts.

Personally, I do think the narrative works best when “light” and “darkness” are literally interpreted as good and evil, creation and destruction, love and hatred, etc. The thing is, KH is clever and has made a point to specify that *true* light and darkness are a little different from what people might initially assume to be good and evil. 

Of all the games, KHDR looks most deeply into what actually defines darkness. The best example off the top of my head is when they’re comparing the residents of Wonderland. Even though they all seem to harbor a negative emotion of ‘fear’, only the Queen manifests it as darkness in her heart. The difference being that she harms and executes others to maintain her power. We see how she is consumed by ire and lashes out at everyone. Xehanort argues that maybe her darkness is necessary to maintain order… but it’s not a good kind of order to make people live in fear, is it?

Conversely, what defines light? Some ‘light’ sided characters like Eraqus go around seeking to obliterate the darkness out of a hatred for it. (He justifies this by mentally separating darkness from people, but khdr confirmed that hearts and darkness are basically entangled in the modern era.) This sort of behavior doesn’t align with ‘true’ light though, as harming others is still what defines darkness. Of course, there are situations where fighting is required to protect people from harm—but even then, it’s not ideal to have to hurt anyone. When people have been hurt, it can be accepted and transformed into light / something ‘good’, or it can continue to manifest as darkness and become something cyclical that hurts others too.

The best understanding of light in KH is found in actions that stem from a desire to help and heal others. Take Kairi helping Sora come back from being a Heartless, for example. Even though he had fallen to darkness, she revived him with the power of her faith and love. Sora himself says that ‘deep down there’s a light that never goes out’ in every heart, and that ‘Kingdom Hearts is light’. This makes logical sense to me, if life and light are the same, you can’t be alive without light. And if that light never really goes out, neither does a person’s life. Hence why the heart is ‘never really gone’.

A lot of what KH asks comes down to—“what is a perfect world?” In the lore and fairytales of the series, light was a freely given gift from Kingdom Hearts—presumably in the form of hearts. What gave way to darkness was people attempting to selfishly claim that light for themselves and take it from others. This turns the world from order to chaos, and Kingdom Hearts disappears. Until it can truly return, there will still be darkness and suffering in the now-divided worlds. Coexistence and peace would be the ideal world order, but the conflict between light and darkness prevents it. Note that the real conflict between light and darkness is “darkness tries to possess light”, not “they both try to destroy each other”. I don’t think that true light, the kind that has ‘more than meets the eye’, is out to destroy darkness so much as to return it to light.

We don’t know everything about the True Darknesses yet, but Khux implies that they cast away their forms to conquer light, only to realize that their will would be lost without  bodies. This is why they seek to ‘infect’ people’s hearts and stay alive through expansion, claiming more worlds and lights along the way. The Master of Masters claims they are entirely different from people, and yet we see Vanitas gain a heart—which by my logic before, wouldn’t even be alive without possessing at least some light, right? 

So to answer your question, I do think darkness is “evil”, but only in the sense of being an absence or willful rejection of goodness / light. I think there’s a real chance the KH ending will be one of reconciliation and restoration. It would be pretty wonderful to see all of the true darknesses get their own forms and hearts again, especially if that puts an end to the conflict once and for all. Darkness isn’t completely bad to the extent of being irredeemable, but it is completely bad in that—on its own—it only causes an endless cycle of cruelty and pain to be inflicted on people. Just like you can’t fight fire with fire, you can’t fight darkness with darkness; light is the key necessary to make things right again. 

So to explain my headcanon about Ven, we have to get into his mind as a pure-hearted person. He’s selfless and aims to share light rather than possess it for himself (or fight over it with others.) That’s how the ideal world is supposed to work, and it benefits everyone. So he doesn’t see the logic in hurting others to benefit only yourself. That will just make people hate you, right? Where’s the harmony in that?  He values friendship above all else, so that’s why he can’t wrap his mind around people valuing other things (power) more and justifying harming others to gain them. That’s why ‘his friends are his power’. Because if you have the light of friendship, you don’t need to take power from others or use the power of darkness to feel fulfilled.

Thanks for the ask!! I hope this explanation makes sense 😅

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Dictionary of Esoteric Terminology

for your next poem/story (pt. 2)

Esoteric—designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone; may refer to the occult

Aeon - either an indefinite or infinite period of time; the Gnostics used the word to represent eternal manifestation emanating from God

Aniadus - the virtue or efficacy of things; life force

Buddhi - wisdom independent of knowledge or learning

Candali - literally, "fierce" or "wrathful"; Vajrayana word for a kind of heat generated and experienced during certain types of meditation practices; this heat burns through impurities and confusion

Chayot - the "lightning flash" described by Ezekiel; it is sometimes used to describe states of spiritual ecstasy

Daka - literally, "one who goes into the sky"; "hero" or "warrior"; formally, a masculine Yidam of semi-wrathful appearance; generally, a type of protector or messenger

Erodinium - an omen, hidden until after the fact, then a presage signifying a recurrence of the event; a ripple or node of synchronicity

Glyph - from Greek glyphe, meaning "carved work"; a symbolic figure or character usually incised or carved in relief

Hsin - the intuition; the original mind; the pure and distilled essence of the vital force, ch'i

Hsu - an important Taoist concept meaning "emptiness" or "nonexistence," in the sense of stillness and receptivity

Ignis Leonis - elemental fire; also called Fire of the Lion, Aether, Pyr, Aethos, and Jupiter Argos

Insufflation - to blow or breathe upon; frequently used in healing to transmit the life force; some practitioners recommend alternating cold and warm breath; many shamanic healers also use the technique of drawing out harmful energy or spirits using the breath

Kamea - a "magic square" used in talismanic magic to produce sigils, which are produced by converting a word or name into numbers and then tracing the numbers on the kamea appropriate to the force being channeled

Khaba - an ancient Egyptian word for a part of the soul of a human being; the astral body

Khaib - the shadow; an ancient Egyptian term for the Body of Habits, the part of the human soul which leaves the body at death and may continue an independent existence; symbolized by a shadow cast in sunlight

Loka - place, locality, world, or plane; there are rupa-lokas (material spheres) and arupa-lokas (spiritual spheres)

Maqam - the continual awareness of the presence of God; grace

Necessitas - the mother of the Three Fates in Roman mythology

Otz Chaim - the Tree of Life

Phantasmata - a thought-form capable of communication

Spagirus - a person who can separate the true from the false, the good from the bad, the pure from the impure, yet reject duality and cleave to unity

Tiamat - the Babylonian goddess of the primeval chaos ocean, usually described as an immense dragon; she was eventually slain by Marduk and split in two, one half becoming heaven and the other half becoming earth

Vril - a mysterious, universal force responsible for evolution and spiritual transformation; the fire of the gods

Wakan - an American Indian term for the force which suffuses the world and maintains cosmic order; it is the force behind magic and reveals itself in visions and prophecies

Zos - the body considered as a whole; was used by Austin Osman Spare to refer to the total field of sensation and awareness; is symbolized by the hand

Source ⚜ More: Word Lists ⚜ Part 1

[fishyaudio]

Why is godmode your favourite rw ship? Curious :>

Also do you know/play Hollow Knight

Thanks for the ask right away!!

First off, I know Hollow Knight but have yet to play it when I'll have more free time. I know I'll like it and my body cannot handle more fixations than the massive one I have on Rain World at once /hj

Godmode storytime;

The funniest thing about getting obsessed with this ship for me is that I started out as someone who didn't really engage in fandoms and had the mindset of "why would I ship something that's not canon? Those characters didn't even meet, that makes zero sense!" before Rain World. And look at me now, neck deep into a ship of two slugcats that ony had a non-canon interaction in a joke dating sim.

At first I got more into barbecue (Arti x Gourmand), because how I saw them personalitywise really made them click for me and I wouldn't have even considered godmode if not for this one animatic:

It changed my brain chemistry a bit. While personally I don't see Inv and Saint as both gods of the world they reside in, I love the idea of them having opposite midsets and goals and kinda balancing each other out.

I've always seen Saint's goals and doings as really ambiguous. To me, they aren't a god, aren't an evil creature, but a being with a mission that could be debated upon in terms of its necessity. Is their time loop really a destined routine for them to ensure others will get their ending? Or does Saint just feel that way about their futile goal and despite their struggles and determination, the Cycle never truthly ends?

We get a lot of hints that the world isn't really fully dying, it's transforming. The way the Undergrowth blooms, how Moon mentions a new Cycle unfolding, one that the Iterators needn't be a part of. I feel like the overall idea to just shut the lights off for everyone and everything, while in line with the Ancients' worldview and with a lot of good intentions, isn't really a 100% right one to execute. From Saint's pov especially with how it affects them, making her go through literal hell (rubicon) and back to continue her mission. Almost as if the world itself was pushing them back from gifting this finality upon everyone with its circular nature. And despite all of that, they push on. Always so stubborn in their narrow worldview, with one goal only. An Echo tied to the Cycle they want to end so bad.

And then there's Enot. A flirty, unserious joke character. A character that also went through absolute hell in her campagin. Constantly gets all of the most terrible things thrown at her. A total mystery of a being that's more of a cryptid and a glitch in the system than an actual, playable character with her own story and goals like the other campagins. And with all of that, I like to imagine that he still manages to have a good laugh at it. Is always able to find something funny in the situation he's in. Learn to enjoy the chaos around him and take advantage of it. Love the world as is because that's the only one he has. And I personally find this reading of Enot really damn comforting + a tad more complex one rather than just a hopeless romantic and/or violent sinner and/or a gamer freak. A sinning hopeless romantic gamer with depth! And emotional baggage!

When I think of these two together, I always see it in the context of Inv being somehow thrown into Saint's campagin and not leaving their new friend's side. I feel like both of them wouldn't pass an opportunity for a companion after they both were alone for so long. I love how their worldviews would clash and force them to think more about the lives they had led before. Imagine the shock that Saint would feel when hearing Enot say that Saint's world, the one they have considered cruel and dying, is all sunshine and rainbows in comparison to what insane and absurd things she experienced in her home. Moreover, the home she managed to call her own and appreciate a bit in the end. And not because she lost her mind or something, no. Enot is still very clever and empathetic.

I even made a whole comic about this particular interaction idea when it comes to their different ideas about the supposed finality of the Cycle.

Also: I just think they're neat and should hold hands and kiss

freaks of nature

[puzzledcretin]

An Arm Up on the Competition

(written for @tmnt-write-fight for @sad-leon)

Fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Prompt: ROTTMNT: Leo dealing with post-movie permanent injuries (arm or leg loss, eyesight or heading damage, ect.) and getting comfort and support from his family. Word Count: 1677

Read on AO3

Once upon a time, not too long ago, Casey Jr. told him a story of a great leader. 

This great leader was over seven feet tall, he wore his heart on his sleeve. Everyone looked up to his wit. A joke on the tip of his tongue, no matter the situation. His brother, heh, his brother was a literal fireball. Bouncing around the battlefield. But the great leader was considered a light in the grim, dark future. A beacon of hope that made the daunting task of survival seem doable. Casey even went into great detail about the night that they held karaoke. 

Despite the chaos and fear that ravaged their homes, their families, they had a night where everything was forgotten and they were all able to laugh together. And isn’t that a wild thing to hear? He would have assumed that everything was too serious to have fun. But, you know, when has he ever been right?

And this leader was a great fighter. He took on the Kraang with bared teeth and a fury unlike any others. A determination to correct the mistakes of his past and redeem himself. To forgive himself. It’s a noble enough task. His sword, chipped and worn, was a symbol in and of itself. Wrapped with the masks of his fallen brother, he carried their spirits on with him. 

Oh yeah, and that’s part of it. This leader lost his brothers. Such a thought brought aches and pains through his own heart. Having to continue on without his brothers seemed to be nightmarish. It haunted him, and it wasn’t even his own trauma. But even after losing member after member of his family, the leader just kept on leading. He kept on grinning. He kept on. He seemed to be unstoppable, impenetrable, unshakable-

But there was one key factor that Leo had over this clearly superior leader, and that was his right arm.. Sort of. 

Leo lay on his front, his bed was nearly empty of anything it used to have. Pillows, blankets, even the very few stuffed animals that belonged to him were pulled from the surface and piled up on the beanbag in the corner. His comic books that had once littered his sheets were now neatly stacked over on his desk. 

He was still recovering- He did what that great leader could never do and he beat the Kraang. Leo looked that chewed up wad of gum masquerading as a transformer in the eyes and he grinned. Even as he was broken and battered, he grinned. 

Isn’t that funny?

Of course, that didn’t mean he won without consequences. 

Cracks ran up along his shell. Donnie had scanned over it, and had shown him the x-rays. His brother, bless his heart, had told him that it wasn’t as bad as they expected. With certain courses of treatment, they could repair this damage. But Leo knew better. Hidden under his bed, deep in the back corner, Leo had a small medical textbook. It was meant for humans, so it wasn’t a one to one comparison, but it taught him just how fragile the spine and spinal cord could be. Spinal injuries were a bitch to heal. 

And guess what the shell was?

Leo knew better than to get his hopes up. While he could get better, he would never be the same. Evidence lay within his right arm. 

Yep, that’s right. Leo still had his right arm. He was staring at it, the appendage lay along the mattress beside him. Though, the only reason he knew that was because it was laying right in front of his eyes. Other than that, he couldn’t feel a thing. He couldn’t move it, he couldn’t grasp anything with it. It might as well have been amputated. 

Leo tried to move it many times, his mind telling him that it was moving. But his eyes weren’t liars. 

Luckily, his arm was the only part of him that lost function. The rest of his body was still badly damaged, pain was an inevitability when it came to these types of injuries, but his arm was the worst. 

“Leo!!”

The warm, cheery voice cuts through his own murky silence. Leo lifts his head, angling it upward to see his youngest brother standing in the doorway to his room. Mikey held a small plate in his hands, a small stack of taquitos. The smell of food filled his nostrils and Leo could cry from how hungry he was. 

“I know, I know. I got distracted. But when I came to give you food earlier, you were asleep! Even you preach that rest is important,” Mikey laughed softly as he made his way over to the bed. Hooking his foot around the leg of a nearby chair, the box turtle pulled it closer in order to plop down on it. 

Mikey wore a smile on his face, seeming to be at peace. But as he sits down, Leo spots it. The unavoidable shaking of Mikey’s arms. His brother was quick to set the plate down, crossing his arms over his thighs in order to lean forward. He’s hiding. 

Leo’s eyes focused on the plate next, and it was nothing special. Everything was clear as day to Leo, however. Mikey, despite his own pains and struggles, brought Leo food. Mikey was forced to take care of his older brother even though he was hurting. 

And Leo couldn’t move his own fucking arm. 

Leo’s eyes actually brimmed with tears this time. He let out a rough laugh, and then he couldn’t stop laughing. The jostling of his chest jabbed pain over and over into his shell. 

“Leo?? H-Hey, that’s not good for your injuries-” Mikey tried, but Leo couldn’t stop. He pressed his cheek into the mattress, his face starting to turn red as he kept laughing. He was barely able to suck in a breath between his own hysterics. 

A hand was laid across the back of his neck, but his mind barely focused on that. Here he was, getting fed fucking taquitos by his younger brother. He knew recovery took months, years even. And yet it was so fucking impossible to imagine himself a week from now, a month from now. How was he supposed to live like this? Who was he supposed to lead when he couldn’t even pull himself up from his own bed? 

He won the battle, he won and banished Kraang to an eternity of absolute nothing. Yet why was he the one given the life sentence! Leo’s eyes opened somewhat, observing his own arm once again. 

He was useless to his family, he was a liability. 

Leo’s eyes latched onto movement beyond his arm, the plate moving up above his head. Voices filled his ears, but he wasn’t able to discern what they were saying. They seemed so far away and so loud, so jumbled together. 

His throat started to ache, his laughter turning hoarse. His eyes fell closed, trying to focus on the wet fabric against his cheek. Carefully, the bed dipped on his left side. A rough, callused hand grabbed onto his left arm, squeezing the appendage carefully and the strong scent of metal filled his nostrils. He recognized this presence. 

“Donnie…” He rasped out, receiving a low hum in response as his twin’s thumb brushed along his skin. The relief it brought him was immeasurable. But then on his right side, the bed dipped again. This time it was more than before, tipping the bed just barely to the side. But a clawed hand came up to wipe away Leo’s tears. 

“We’re here for you, bro.. No matter what..” Raph’s voice cut through the clutter in his head. 

Slowly, Leo opened his eyes to spot his older brother. Bandages were wrapped around his right eye. But he smiled, his little snaggletooth glinting in the low light of his room. On his shell, protected by a blanket, Mikey sat on it. Leo felt his cackling come to an end, replaced instead by the sudden and desperate need for air. 

“You’re okay, Leo! Just take a deep breath!” Mikey called, reaching down to pat Leo’s head. The slider slowly calmed, his ravaged breaths turning into simple inhales and exhales. 

“I’m sorry.. I’m sorry…” Leo muttered, but his body relaxed into the hands. The presence of his brothers was more than enough to calm him down. 

“Sorry? What did you do?” Donnie questioned, his tone flat but not devoid of care. 

“I let you down, I let everyone down. I’m not going to be able to lead the team anymore, I can’t even be part of the team. I’m useless..” Leo admitted, his eyebrows pulling together in frustration. 

“Hm.. Are you sure about that?” Donnie sassed back, causing Leo to lift his head just enough to glare at Donnie. 

He was used to bickering, picking, biting. He was used to it. But Donnie was taking it too far. That smug smirk on his stupid, dumb face made his fists clench. 

Mikey giggled on his other side, followed by Raph’s shushing. “Be nice, stop laughing-”

“What is so goddamn funny about me being paralyzed? Likely permanently??” Leo barked out, looking between his brothers. 

The door to his room opened and footsteps followed as April came in with a mug of.. Coffee? Leo looked to her, trying to pull his most pathetic face. But her eyes were wide, a smile coming to her face and he knew he was betrayed once again-

“Look at you! I didn’t realize you could close your fist again!”

Leo froze, his own face turning into a mirror of shock. Slowly, his eyes shifted down to look at his right arm. 

There, laying on the mattress, with no feeling. It was like it wasn’t even there… But his fist was closed. It was shaking, struggling to keep itself from falling open again, but it was moving. 

“Still giving up, fearless leader?” Donnie questioned. 

Leo’s grin grew, wobbly and just as stable as his fist. 

“Not a chance, Dee.”

[a-d-nox]

what's a solar return?

any time the sun transits and becomes exactly conjunct your natal sun (it is in the exact sign and degree it was in when you were born), you undergo a solar return. solar returns happen every year on your birthday. my solar return is coming up this october, so i thought "why not?let's continue my thoughts about the return charts."

but what can a solar return chart show you?

literally everything about your year ahead. you just have to look at it and know what you are looking at/for. so let's break it down some of the basics...

paid reading options: astrology menu & cartomancy menu

enjoy my work? help me continue creating by tipping on ko-fi or paypal. your support keeps the magic alive!

sun

energy/aura, attention you receive this year, leadership opportunities, creativity, pride/ego/dignity, how generous you are, individuality, personal development, self-awareness, what makes you happy, celebrations, and self-expression.

moon

emotions / emotional responses, self-care, comfort zone / safe space, femininity, mothers / matriarchal / maternal instincts, family, nostalgia, pregnancy/fertility, baking/cooking, adaptability, menstruation, and habits/routines.

mercury

communication/gossiping, mindset / reasoning skills, perception, writing, social media / cellphone use, short trips, ground transportation, and mannerisms.

venus

romance, beauty/aestheticism, pleasure(s), art/entertainment, self-love, harmony, femininity, sentimentality, how you compromise, parties/celebrations, and possessions.

mars

passions/desires, self-confidence, ambition, anger/aggression, competitiveness, athletics / physical energy, impulsivity, courage/bravery, tasks, masculinity, assertiveness, sexuality, and violence.

jupiter

luck, abundance, wealth, success, opportunity, popularity, wisdom, air travel, ease, higher education (college/university), optimism, justice/retribution, law, and fulfillment.

saturn

work, achievement/mastery, challenges, karma, fathers / patriarchy / paternal instincts, fears, guilt, delays/limitations, discipline, responsibility, past issues that are prevalent this year, practicality, stability, endurance, maturity, and grudges.

uranus

friends/fans/followers, technology, fluctuation/change, rebellion, independence, originality, unexpected things / surprises, and chaos.

neptune

creativity, selflessness, escapism, intuition, hidden things, deception/lies/delusion, confusion, inspiration, and addiction/fascination.

pluto

change/transformation, power, sex/seduction, death, intensity/magnetism, obsessions, manipulation, and purging.

1h/asc

identity, approach/mindset this year, physical appearance, mannerisms, and your presence.

2h

money/finances this year, material possessions, self worth, what you are giving/receiving, and resources.

3h

communication/gossip, mind / method of thinking, sibling relationship(s), interests, ideas/information, ground transportation, social media / cellphone use, publishing, and short trips.

4h/ic

homes/houses, family matters, parents (mainly maternal figures), inner child work you do this year, inheritance, traditions you practice this year, self-care you do this year, and femininity.

5h

children, talents / hobbies / entertainment / creative pursuits, drama, short-term romances, pleasures/gifts, fertility, and joy/delight/jubilation

6h

daily routine, health/fitness/diet, work/duties, self-improvement / shadow work, hygiene, and pet(s).

7h/dsc

long-term relationships / marriage / partnerships, how you care for others (if you care for others), minor legal pursuits, contracts/negotiations, known enemies, close associates / business partners, and equality/harmony/sharing (how you promote it and how (if) you receive it).

8h

changes (external and internal), death (internal and external), shared finances, what you invest in, stocks/taxes/inheritance/loans/assets, intimacy (intellectual and physical), secrets/mystery, mental health / trauma you experience, and possible surgery/operations.

9h

wisdom you gain, major legal pursuits, new beliefs/ethics/philosophy milestones, college/university, and air travel / travel abroad.

10h/mc

career, public image / status / reputation in society, responsibilities towards society/others, authority, paternal figures, and your professional aspirations (the progress you make towards them this year).

11h

friends/companions/allies/groups, ideals/desires, how your different this year as opposed to years past, technology, networking/socializing, and parties (formal and informal).

12h

how you heal this year from you past / mental health journey, karma, sleeping habits, your experience with solitude/isolation this year, unknown enemies, illusions/delusions you have about your situation, fears / self-limitation, losses, and what you secretly/subconsciously want most this year.

have ideas for new content? please use my “suggest a post topic” button! 

return to nox’s guide to metaphysics

return to the masterlist of return charts

© a-d-nox 2023 all rights reserved

[notyouraveragegirlxx]

Meet Ugly - J.A

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Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Reader

Summary: "Meet Ugly" is a slow-burn romance about a sharp, sarcastic woman who quite literally bumps into a guy — an incredibly hot guy, not that she’s about to tell him that. What starts as an awkward, mildly infuriating first impression turns into a series of run-ins, reluctant conversations, and undeniable chemistry. As walls come down and the tension builds, she’s forced to admit that the last thing she expected might just be exactly what she needs.

Warnings: Slow burn, slow build, feelings, mutual pining, consent is key, angst, fluff, chapters will be warned individually.

Word Count: 3087

A/N: Thanks for reading Meet Ugly! This story is all about the slow burn — banter, tension, missed moments, and everything in between. Hope you enjoy the ride as much as I loved writing it. 💛

Series Masterlst

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Since I’d given Jensen my number, his texts had been rolling in — little bursts of flirty messages that were supposed to be smooth, but honestly, I couldn’t help but think he’d lost his touch somewhere along the way. Not that it mattered much, because he was still ridiculously hot. Really hot. I found myself distracted by the thought of those hands of his — the ones that looked strong and sure, but gentle enough to make a difference. I pictured what it would be like if they grazed my arm, traced my cheek, or pulled me closer. And his lips… God, just imagining them brushing against mine made my heart skip.

I shook my head, trying to focus back on the chaos of the day, but the warmth of those thoughts lingered longer than I wanted to admit.

My phone buzzed sharply, yanking me out of my daydream. The screen lit up with Gen’s name — because apparently, she was the only one who ever checked in.

“Hey, you! I’m throwing one of those last-minute parties again tonight,” her voice was full of that familiar mischievous energy. “You have to come. It’ll be fun — promise.”

I could almost see her grinning through the phone. “You know I can’t say no to your parties. I’ll be there. Just text me the time.”

“Perfect! I’ll send you the details. Get ready to unwind, because you look like you need it.”

I smiled, feeling the tension in my shoulders loosen just a little. “Yeah, definitely need it.”

I figured it was time to get ready — Gen could text at any moment with last-minute party details, and I didn’t want to be caught off guard. The Texas heat was predictable, so no need to check the weather app; light and breezy was the only way to go.

I pulled out a soft, light blue summer dress from my wardrobe — something that skimmed my legs just right, catching the evening breeze perfectly. I slipped on a pair of simple tan sandals that were comfortable but cute enough for a backyard party. I left my hair down, letting it fall in loose waves that brushed the small of my back, the kind that looked effortlessly undone but felt just right.

When I got there, Gen was busy bustling around the living room, untangling fairy lights and arranging cushions on the floor. She glanced up and gave me a quick smile before turning back to her task.

I set my things down and jumped in to help, grabbing a string of lights and tossing them to her. “So,” I said as we worked side by side, “what’s Jensen’s ex like, anyway?”

Gen paused, thinking for a moment as she carefully clipped lights to the curtain rod. “Jensen's? She’s fine. They get along well, especially for the kids. They just kind of grew apart, no drama or bad blood. It’s all pretty amicable.”

I nodded, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “That’s honestly better than I expected.”

Gen smiled, adjusting a lantern on the table. “Yeah, Jensen’s not the type to carry baggage around. They’re both focused on making things work for their kids.”

We continued setting up, chatting about everything from the party plans to random bits of life. The house slowly transformed as cushions found their spots and lights twinkled faintly, casting a warm glow.

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The party was settling into that perfect early-evening groove — soft chatter mixing with the gentle splash of water from the pool and faint music humming somewhere inside. The late Texas sun cast a warm amber glow, making everything shimmer just a little.

I headed toward the pool, drawn by the familiar voices of Misha and Alex already deep in conversation by the edge. Misha caught sight of me and broke into that easy, wide grin that always made me smile.

“There you are!” he called out, stepping forward with long strides. Alex was right behind, a friendly grin playing on his lips.

Alex pulled me into a quick hug, the kind that felt like catching up with an old friend. “I Finally made it,” he said, his voice warm. “Gen’s been dragging you around all night, huh?”

I laughed softly, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “You know how it is. Can’t resist a good party… or helping Gen out.”

Misha leaned in, lowering his voice playfully. “So, how’s work? Still keeping you busy enough to need these kinds of distractions?”

I smiled, taking a slow sip of my drink — the cold glass cool against my fingers. “More than enough. It’s hectic, but that’s the fun part.”

Alex nodded, eyes kind. “Glad you’re doing well. You deserve a little fun.”

We slipped easily into conversation — swapping stories about on-set mishaps, laughing over shared experiences, and making plans for summer get-togethers.

The warm air smelled faintly of sunscreen and freshly cut grass, mixed with the soft scent of flowers blooming nearby. The pool water sparkled, tiny ripples reflecting the fading light.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement near the back doors. I turned just as Jensen stepped in — his presence quiet but magnetic, like the room subtly shifted the moment he entered. His eyes scanned the scene with calm focus, taking in the guests with a practiced ease.

Jensen’s gaze swept across the backyard, the soft hum of laughter and clinking glasses blending with the evening air. His eyes landed on me almost immediately — there I was, chatting animatedly with Alex and Misha by the pool, the way I laughed catching the fading sunlight just right. For a moment, his focus sharpened, watching us with a quiet intensity that didn’t go unnoticed.

But then, just as he seemed about to take a step forward, someone — maybe one of the guests — reached out and pulled him into a warm hug. Jensen broke his gaze reluctantly, his expression softening as he returned the embrace.

I caught that brief flicker of something in his eyes before he turned away, the moment slipping between us like a held breath.

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About an hour later, I wandered inside the house to grab a beer, the cool air a welcome relief from the warm buzz outside. The kitchen was quiet, the faint hum of music drifting through the open windows. Just as I reached for a bottle in the fridge, a familiar voice said softly behind me,

Jensen’s voice came softly from behind me as I grabbed a cold beer.

“Finally, I get to say hello in person.”

I turned around, raising an eyebrow, a smile teasing my lips.

“Oh, hey. Took you long enough.”

He grinned, hands shoved casually in his pockets, eyes twinkling.

“I’ve been busy, but now I’m here. So, how have you been?”

“Surviving,” I said with a shrug, trying to sound casual but feeling a little flutter. “You?”

“Better now,” he said, his gaze flicking over me with that familiar amused spark. “Though, honestly, you look way too put-together for someone ‘surviving'

I smirked, leaning against the fridge, matching his playful tone. “Well, you know, unlike some of us, I actually have to keep my act together. Not everyone can rely on good looks and charm to get through the day.”

He laughed, a deep, warm sound that made me catch my breath for a second. “Oh, so now you’re saying I’m coasting on charm? I’ll have you know I’m a man of many talents.”

“Sure,” I teased. “Like what? Being old?”

He arched a brow, stepping just a little closer. “Old? Please. You may be twenty-nine, but I can still keep up with you—run circles around you even.”

I tilted my head, grin widening. “Is that a challenge? Because I don’t back down easy.”

He smiled, cocky now. “Good. Because I’m warning you—I’m not just some relic. I’m like a fine whiskey. Better with age, and guaranteed to leave you wanting more.”

I bit my lip, feeling heat rise but refusing to lose. “Mm..Hope you’re ready to prove that then, Mr. Ackles.”

He leaned in slightly, voice dropping an octave. “Game on.”

I matched him, eyes locked on his. “Bring it.”

Just as Jensen and I were trading witty barbs, Jared appeared in the doorway, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Uh, did I interrupt something?” he asked, raising an eyebrow like he’d just walked into the middle of a showdown.

I glanced at Jensen and shrugged with a playful smile. “Nope, but Jensen here thinks he can outdo me.”

Jensen straightened, flashing that signature confident smirk. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I can.”

Jared laughed, stepping fully into the room with that easygoing energy he always carried. “Yeah… no. That’s not happening.”

Jensen’s eyes narrowed slightly in mock challenge, “Oh, it’s happening. You just haven’t seen me in action.”

Jared threw his hands up with a laugh. “Alright, alright. But I’m here to remind you who’s boss.”

Their banter picked up, fast and teasing, words flying back and forth like an old married couple. The room felt warm with their easy chemistry and friendly rivalry.

I watched them, amused, shaking my head with a smile. “Bye boys..” I said, stepping around them.

Jensen’s voice called after me, low and playful, “I'm not done with you.”

I smirked over my shoulder, slipping out through the door and into the garden, the cool night air a nice contrast to the laughter and noise behind me

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Later that evening, I found myself settled around the fire pit again, this time chatting with Misha and Alex. The flickering flames cast a warm glow over our faces as we lounged on the scattered cushions, the night humming softly with distant music and laughter.

“I finally started watching Supernatural,” I admitted with a grin, nudging my wine glass. Both Misha and Alex exchanged amused glances.

“About time,” Misha teased, a knowing smile tugging at his lips.

“Don’t get too excited,” I warned, “I’m only on season one.”

Alex rolled his eyes with mock disappointment. “Boo. That’s ages until you meet me then.”

I laughed, raising an eyebrow. “Good job I know you in person already, then.”

We shared a moment of easy laughter, the kind that feels effortless and light, when I glanced up and caught sight of Jensen standing by the barbecue. He wasn’t talking or laughing—just quietly observing, his gaze fixed ahead. Jared was leaning in, speaking softly into his ear, animated as usual.

I felt a little tug of something—a mix of curiosity and something warmer—and decided to stretch my legs. “I’m gonna grab a blanket and another drink,” I said, standing.

Jensen’s eyes flicked to me, and without hesitation, he got up and followed, his presence close behind as I moved away from the firelight toward the house.

As I stepped into the dimly lit kitchen, the cool air from inside brushing my skin after the warmth of the fire, I opened the fridge and grabbed a drink, tucking a blanket under one arm.

“Y/N,” a low voice called from behind me—calm, but a little urgent.

I turned just as Jensen caught up, his fingers gently wrapping around my arm to stop me. His touch was warm and firm, but the moment I turned, he seemed to realize what he was doing and let go, his hand falling awkwardly to his side.

“Uh…,” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly looking almost shy.

I tilted my head, smirking slightly as I leaned a hip against the counter, drink still in hand. “Can I help you with something, Mr. Ackles?”

He gave a quick chuckle under his breath, his gaze flicking over my face before settling on my eyes. “Yeah,” he said, more serious now. “Can I ask you something?”

My smirk deepened. “Sure. What’s up?”

He shifted his weight, clearly debating how to phrase whatever was weighing on his mind. Then he met my eyes again, more focused this time.

“Do you… do you think my age would be an issue?”

That caught me off guard—not because of the question itself, but the way he asked it. It wasn’t insecurity, exactly. It was vulnerability wrapped in charm. That soft edge to his voice made something stir low in my stomach.

I gave a slow, deliberate smile. “Why would it be?” I leaned in just a little, eyes twinkling. “I thought you could keep up with me.”

His mouth curved into that crooked grin I’d already grown far too fond of, but there was something darker behind it—like he wanted to say more.

“I can,” he said, voice rougher, cocky again. “Trust me.”

“Guess we’ll have to find out then, won’t we?” I said, brushing past him lightly, making sure my arm grazed his on the way out.

Behind me, I heard his low chuckle as I stepped back out toward the garden, a delicious shiver crawling up my spine.

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I stepped back into the garden, the cool air immediately wrapping around me as the hum of soft music and low conversation picked back up in my ears. The fire pit had burned lower now, casting everything in a flickering amber glow. I tucked the blanket tighter under my arm, cradling my drink, and wandered back toward the others.

Misha waved me over, raising a fresh beer. “There she is. Thought we lost you.”

I laughed and dropped back into my spot between him and Alex.

Alex raised an eyebrow. “You were gone a while. Kitchen existential crisis?”

I smirked, taking a sip. “Something like that.”

As the conversation rolled on—another round of chaotic stories from cons and travel gone wrong—I felt it.

A glance.

The kind you don’t need to see to feel.

I let my eyes flick across the yard, past the fire pit, and caught him—Jensen—leaning back in one of the patio chairs, beer resting on his thigh, head tilted as if only half-listening to the group around him.

But his eyes were on me.

When he noticed me looking, he didn’t flinch. Just held it. Steady. Unapologetic.

I looked away, pulse fluttering, but I could still feel that weight, like a secret shared in silence.

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The night softened even further after that. The drinks slowed. Laughter turned to quieter tones. Someone put on a playlist of acoustic covers and for a while, it felt like everyone was winding down together, gently folding into the end of something sweet.

Eventually, Misha stood, brushing off his jeans. “Alright, I’m turning into a pumpkin.”

Alex groaned, dragging himself upright with a stretch. “Ugh, same. My bed is calling.”

We all stood together, the soft shuffle of goodbyes beginning. Alex wrapped me in a hug that was surprisingly warm.

“I’m glad we finally got to hang out,” he said. “You’re dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” I grinned. “Is that a compliment?”

“The highest kind,” he smirked, then added in a stage whisper, “Don’t break Jensen.”

Misha hugged me next, eyes twinkling. “He’s already in trouble, and you know it.”

I swatted him with a laugh as they made their way toward the house.

Turning back, I spotted Gen and Jared by the fire, already beginning to gather empty bottles and plates.

Gen caught sight of me and opened her arms immediately. “Come here, babe.”

Her hug was soft and sleepy. “We need to do this again soon,” she murmured.

Jared clapped a hand to my shoulder. “Seriously, you brought good energy tonight. Even Jensen didn’t scowl the whole time.”

“Wow. High praise,” I said with a grin.

I stepped back, adjusted my bag, ready to make my way toward the gate, when I heard it again—low, deliberate, and close.

“Let me walk you out.”

I looked back to see Jensen, hands in his pockets still, standing only a few feet behind me now. His expression was unreadable but soft. I hesitated just a beat before nodding.

“Sure.”

We walked side by side in silence through the garden path lit by solar lamps, gravel crunching beneath our feet. The air had shifted—cooler now, and quieter too, like the whole world had dimmed around us.

When we reached the gate, I paused, turning to face him beneath the porch light.

“Well, thanks for walking me out,” I said lightly, keeping my tone casual, though my pulse was anything but.

Jensen didn’t answer right away. He just looked at me for a long second—eyes searching, like he was trying to memorize my face in this moment. Or maybe trying to decide if he should cross a line.

His voice was low when he finally spoke. “You throw me off a little, you know that?”

I blinked, surprised. “Me?”

He gave a small shrug. “Yeah. In a good way.”

My heart skipped. “Is that your version of flirting?”

“Depends,” he murmured. “Is it working?”

I smiled—soft, teasing. “A little.”

For a moment, neither of us said anything. The night pressed in close, still and quiet, and we just stood there, watching each other. His eyes flicked down to my mouth, then back up again, and something in my chest pulled taut—an invisible thread stretching between us.

I don’t know who leaned in first.

Maybe both of us did.

Slow, hesitant, like the moment might spook if we moved too fast.

Jensen’s hand came up, fingers grazing along my jaw as he cupped the side of my face, thumb brushing just beneath my cheekbone. His touch was warm, grounding, and I swear I stopped breathing.

My eyes fluttered half-closed.

And then—

A sharp, unmistakable whistle cut through the air, followed by Jared’s unmistakable voice echoing from the upstairs window.

“YEAH! GET SOME, ACKLES!”

We froze.

Still inches apart. Still holding our breath.

I laughed first, pressing my forehead against Jensen’s chest as he let out a long, low groan.

“Goddamn him,” he muttered, dropping his hand and shaking his head.

I pulled back slightly, looking up at him, grinning. “Well. That killed the mood.”

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “He’s gonna be insufferable.”

I tilted my head. “So this wasn’t just some expertly-timed goodnight walk, then?”

His eyes found mine again—steady this time, and certain. “Let me take you out.”

My smile softened. “You’re asking me on a date, Jensen Ackles?”

“I am,” he said, voice low and sure now. “A real one. No fire pits. No audience. Just… me and you.”

I nodded, heart thudding. “Alright then.”

His smile mirrored mine—quiet, a little shy, but warm. “Alright.”

┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉┉

Tag List

@otherluckywitnesses

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[bardic-tales]

@prehistoric-creatures. Here's that trope list I came up with a few months ago for Bianca and Sephiroth.

1. Tall and Smol

Sephiroth (6’7”) towers over Bianca (5’0”), creating a striking height difference. This emphasizes both the physical contrast and the dynamic of power and protection in their relationship.

2. The Villainous Power Couple

Both Bianca and Sephiroth embrace destruction and chaos, working together toward their shared goal of obliterating Creation. Their love is built on mutual understanding of power, pain, and transformation, making them a force to be reckoned with.

3. The Only Soft Spot

Sephiroth is ruthless and cold to nearly everyone, but he is warm and gentle with Bianca. She is the one person who sees his softer side, making their bond unique and exclusive.

4. Star-Crossed Lovers

Their love defies fate, divine decree, and even death itself. Bianca gave up her afterlife to be with Sephiroth, and they continuously battle against forces that try to keep them apart.

5. Dark Romance / Twisted Devotion

Their relationship is passionate, intense, and borderline obsessive. Bianca’s histrionic tendencies drive her to make dramatic gestures to keep Sephiroth’s attention, while he, in turn, sees her as the only being worthy of his trust and affection.

6. Ride or Die

Bianca and Sephiroth are unwaveringly loyal to each other, willing to destroy entire worlds if it means being together. Their devotion is absolute, and they will sacrifice anything—including morality—to achieve their vision.

7. Trauma Bonding

Both have suffered immense pain, betrayal, and experimentation at the hands of Shinra and others. Their shared trauma fuels their connection, making them each other’s refuge in a cruel world.

8. Yin-Yang (Light and Dark) with a Corrupt Twist

Bianca was once celestial, embodying light, but has fallen into darkness. Sephiroth, though always aligned with destruction, retains moments of warmth when with her. They complement each other’s descent into corruption while finding solace in one another.

9. Forbidden Love

Bianca, as a celestial-born being, was never meant to be with Sephiroth, an experiment shaped by Shinra and Jenova. Their love defies natural order, making it all the more tragic and compelling.

10. Tragic Lovers

Their story is drenched in loss, pain, and the inevitability of destruction. Even though they are deeply in love, their path is one of chaos and ruin, ensuring that their relationship will always be threatened by external and internal forces.

11. Red String of Fate

Bianca and Sephiroth are literally bound by the Red Thread of Fate, emphasizing their inescapable connection. No matter how much destruction they cause or how far apart they may be, they will always find their way back to each other.

12. Battle Couple

They fight together as a perfectly synchronized team, their abilities complementing each other’s strengths. Whether they’re facing Shinra, Cloud’s party, or cosmic entities, they are at their most powerful when they stand side by side.

13. Possessive Love

Sephiroth and Bianca do not tolerate threats to their bond. Both are fiercely possessive of each other, and anyone who tries to come between them—whether friend or foe—faces their wrath.

14. "I Will Destroy the World for You"

Bianca is willing to go to extreme lengths for Sephiroth, even embracing her corrupted nature to support his vision. Similarly, Sephiroth sees Bianca as the one constant in his existence, and if she were ever truly lost to him, the world would suffer for it.

[neriumquill]

SG TFOne Idea

Ngl, I don't know much about Transformers, and all my knowledge comes entirely from TFOne if only cause the Bayverse movies scared me off as a kid skskks

But I did accidentally start getting into it because TFOne was so good and then my friend made me read Shattered Glass which was also so good skskks

And now I can't stop thinking about SG TFOne because my mind has latched onto it and so now I have a problem since my mind is consumed with ✨ scenarios ✨

So like... just an idea I had was that you know how Dee shot Orion with his cannon by accident and Orion's arm kinda got destroyed? I'm thinking that but like in the Shattered Glass AU, Dee's arm also gets destroyed but because Orion accidentally axed it... but the arm that gets destroyed is the one that has the Megatronus Prime sticker on it (the one Orion gave Megatron).

And this one is a bit of a crazier scenario, but like in terms of the Shattered Glass AU, I'm thinking that Sentinel (while he is still technically the antagonist) isn't actually that bad of a guy? Maybe in this version he's the "I had to do it because the Quintessons will literally kill us all" and he did not betray the 13 primes, they really just got murdered and Sentinel had no choice but to make the deal.

So like with Sentinel being somewhat okay-ish (still bad just not blatantly evil like in the actual movie), what if during the whole chaos after Sentinel's death (cause Orion would still kill him), Dee managed to get Sentinel's arm and replaces his own with that? I just feel like that would drive Orion crazy, just seeing Dee/Megatron with Sentinel's arm.

Now why would Dee do that? I don't know, I'm just having bizarre thoughts and scenarios skskksks Some of these might not make sense and I am merely rambling.

Okay but this mostly stems from this concept I saw in one of the Shattered Glass continuities that apparently Megatron invented transforming technology. So what if in this TFOne Shattered Glass AU, Alpha Trion only gave Orion a T-cog since he saw that out of the four, Orion was the most likely to become a Prime. So Dee won't have a T-cog until like he develops the technology later on.

Orion receiving the Matrix doesn't restore the miners' T-cogs either. And while technically Dee can get Sentinel's T-cog here (I think this Sentinel wouldn't have taken Megatronus Prime's T-cog cause he isn't a jerk), I don't think he would go that far cause Sentinel is still a bad guy. But he settled on the arm cause he at least needs two arms to try and beat Orion.

Of course, seeing Sentinel's arm definitely angers Orion. So Dee still gets banished with the High Guard. Maybe he'll replace the arm later on? Either way, that arm is definitely haunting Optimus for a while.

That or as my friend pointed out, to make it easier, the t-cogs are still restored and Dee gets Sentinel’s t-cog and regrows his arm…

Either way, Dee getting Sentinel’s arm or t-cog is gonna mess with Optimus and probably give him nightmares. That’s the goal really.

[fsfghgee]

I need to see how that double date ended 🫡

Resolution

(Double Date 'Sequel' - Kuai Liang, Harumi, Bi-Han & Sektor)

— You know this is a trap, don't you?

— I know.

— So why are we doing this? Why can't you just ignore her?

— She's your mother. — Standing in front of the busy restaurant, staring at the door as if trying to muster up the courage to walk through it, Bi-Han took a deep breath and squeezed Sektor's hand before entering the place. — I can't disrespect her.

— Even though she no longer respects you?

Ignoring the reality exposed by Sek and refusing to accept that he would not be able to win Madam Bo's favor as he had won Longwei's, Bi-Han looked for Madam Bo as if she were not already expecting them.

— Madam Bo! — Calling out to the elderly woman upon finding her leaving the kitchen, Bi-Han hurried to her. — We came as soon as we received your message.

— Very well. — She looked from one to the other, not hiding her surprise regarding Bi-Han. She already knew that he had been transformed into a creature of chaos by the titan Havik, but she never imagined that he had become so repulsive and dark in appearance. — I see that you are literally living with a monster now. — Ignoring Bi-Han, she looked at her daughter. — Is it still worth opposing Lord Liu Kang's will?

— I don't care about your disapproval or Liu Kang's. I fell in love with his soul. Not his appearance.

— A soul that was corrupted by chaos magic.

— Someone is keeping you well informed. So much effort to please Liu Kang… — Sektor mocked and Bi-Han held her tighter before she got too close to her mother. — It's no surprise that my father didn't go after a woman like you.

— What are you insinuating?!

— Sektor, please… — Bi-Han intervened before that discussion ended in a fight. — She's not insinuating anything. We came because you said you wanted to see her and talk to me.

— Yes, but the conversation we must have cannot be done in front of so many people. — Motioning to the restaurant, which was as full as usual, she waited for Bi-Han to agree before motioning for them to follow her. — Accompany me to a more private place.

— Bi-Han, no! — Sektor pulled him, murmuring so that only he could hear. — It could be dangerous.

— She's your mother. — Murmuring back, Bi-Han tried to ignore the concern in her eyes. — What harm would she do to you?

— Not to me. But what about you?!

— She can just try.

— I don't have all day. — Without bothering to hide her irritation, she turned around just to give a scolding before continuing up the stairs to the third floor.

Reluctantly, Sektor went up with Bi-Han to the isolated third floor. There were also tables like on the other floors and all the rest of the decoration, but only muffled noises from the floor below could be heard.

— Have a seat. — The elderly woman waited for the young people to sit down before continuing with the face of a few friends. — You're tired of hearing that what you're doing is wrong.

— In your opinion.

— You betrayed Earthrealm! You betrayed Lord Liu Kang's trust... — Indifferent to Madam Bo's indignation, they just stared at her without emotion. — In exchange for what?

— In exchange for a better future for the Lin Kuei.

— And what future will the Lin Kuei have if you die?

— I will never let anything happen to your daughter. I promise that...

— Your word is worthless, Bi-Han!

— Madam Bo, I-I...

— Don't pretend that you care! — Sektor stood up irritably and shouted in disgust. Interrupting her beloved when she saw how affected he had been by the older woman's words. — You abandoned me! You abandoned my father! You abandoned our clan! In exchange for what? To be a nanny for two farm boys!

— Your mother wisely honors Earthrealm with her services. — Liu Kang intervened, finishing climbing the stairs, making Bi-Han release a guttural sound in contempt.

— Is that what you want her to believe? Like you did with my father?! — Irritated by Liu Kang's sudden appearance, Bi-Han also stood up. — Like you do with my brother?! 

— Bi-Han…

— I've had enough. — Tired of her mother and Liu Kang's presence, Sektor grabbed Bi-Han's hand before he could think of trying anything. — Let's go home.

— Wait! — Madam Bo hurried before they reached the door.

— What do you want now?!

— I made a promise. And I'll keep it. Stay for dinner and I'll make your favorite childhood meal.

— I don't want anything from you!

— We'll stay on one condition. — Sektor looked at Bi-Han in disbelief, but Bi-Han ignored it, still thinking that he could achieve his goal with that visit. — I want you to give me your blessing.

— Bi-Han, you don't have to…

— My mother... — He looked at Sektor before looking back at Madam Bo, serious and resolute. — She would want it that way.

Madam Bo sighs and nods.

— I wish you had half the love for Earthrealm that you have for your mother.

Resigned to the young Grandmaster's lack of response, Madam Bo motioned for them to sit down again before going down with the fire god.

...............................

— You haven't even touched your food.

— I'm not hungry. I want to go home.

— You know this is important to me.

— We have my father's blessing. That should be enough. — Fearing that the day would end worse than it had begun, Sektor cupped his face and pleaded with her eyes. — Let's go home, please.

Bi-Han sighed and was about to do as she had asked, when approaching footsteps drew his attention to the front.

— Do you mind if we join you? — Liu Kang, accompanied by Harumi and Kuai Liang, stood in front of their table.

— Oh, no...

— Calm. — Holding Sektor's hand under the table, Bi-Han motioned with his free hand for Kuai Liang to sit across from him. — Feel free.

— Your manners have improved. But your appearance is still as horrible as your heart.

— You have no vision, Kuai Liang.

— It's your ambition that's blind, Bi-Han! As always. — Outraged by his older brother's disregard, Kuai Liang took a deep breath to control his anger. — There are no limits to your desire for power, are there?

— How can you kill and risk your life for a man like that? — Seeing the derision in Bi-Han's eyes and witnessing once again how unpleasant he was, Harumi questioned Sektor.

— Wouldn't you do the same for Kuai Liang?

— Of course I would. But he isn't Bi-Han.

— Exactly. I know his heart. You don't.

— What heart? — Harumi looked at the Chinese woman as if she had gone mad. — That guy let his own father die! He has no honor, no heart. As you must not have to…

— You know nothing about us! You…

— Kuai Liang. — Seeing that the argument between the women was escalating, Liu Kang intervened, seeking support from Scorpion. — Can you say something to your brother?

— I'll never forgive you.

— Did I ask for your forgiveness? — Bi-Han mocked, much to the indignation of his younger brother's wife.

— This guy…

— This is pointless. — Ready to leave the table, Sektor stood up again. — You're wasting our time.

— Wasn't it nice to see the mother you dishonor again?

— Mind your place, Kuai Liang! Or I…

— Or you what?!

— By the elder gods! — Startled to see Bi-Han jump on Kuai Liang and then the two brothers start exchanging punches, Liu Kang hurriedly stood up to try to separate them. — Enough! Bi-Han, Kuai Liang!

— Kuai Liang! — Harumi worried when she saw that her husband wouldn't stop being beaten by Bi-Han, tried to intervene too, but Sektor threw warning flames in front of the Japanese woman. — What are you doing?!

— Hurt Bi-Han and you'll have to deal with me.

— And let that monster kill my husband?!

— What's going on here?! — Madam Bo, who was carrying another tray of food with her, got angry and put the food aside to hit the tray with all her strength. — Stop now! — Hitting until they moved away from each other, Madam Bo stood between them. — Not in my restaurant.

— Madam Bo, I...

— I've had enough of you!

— But it was Kuai Liang who...

— Let's go, Bi-Han. — Trying to spare her beloved from her mother's wrath, Sektor grabbed his hand and pulled him. — Let's go home. She'll never understand either of us.

— If you're not restored, you'll remain immortal! — Liu Kang shouted behind Bi-Han and Sektor. — And immortality has a high price to pay!

— I am willing to pay any price to break the Lin Kuei free from bondage forever!

— Even Sektor's death?

— Liu Kang! — Taking the dark tone as a threat, he finally stopped and turned around ready to confront him. — If you…

— Sektor will not live forever! She is mortal and you cannot change that. Eventually she will die and you will be alone forever. Do you think that's fair to her?

— He's trying to mess with your mind. — Sektor stated, bringing his attention to herself. — I don't mind dying for the Lin Kuei.

— You will not die! — Shocked by the certainty in Sektor's words, he feared that this sacrifice would one day find her. He could have this from anyone, he would accept it from anyone, except Sektor. He wanted to have anything from her, except this.

— The difficult thing about grief is surviving something that could be normal. Losing someone you love is losing everything you have. No matter how much you cry, no matter how much you go crazy with the absence, no matter the level of your pain, nothing will bring it back. The pain of grief is dying while alive, it is living dying little by little, and what a long vain penance to live forever without feeling loved, without having the one you love by your side.

...............................

— Because you are reckless, Bi-Han! What did you think would happen?! — Furious with his son's disobedience, he just shouted as if no one was watching. — That you would go in there and get rid of them all?!

— I-I never thought that…

— Of course not! Of course you never thought! Because you never think, Bi-Han! You never think! — Unhinged by his own fury, he hits the boy so hard that he knocks him down with the impact.

— Bi-Han!

— Stay out of this. — Longwei murmured while holding his daughter.

— B-But…

— Stay out.

— Forgive me, my friend. But I need to excuse myself and end this night here. — Fixing his own clothes as if trying to calm himself by fiddling with the fabric, he continued to stare at his son on the floor as he spoke to the master armorer. — You understand, don't you?

— I understand. Good night.

— But father… — Unable to see Sektor's concern, he only heard the girl's voice cry out to her father before the loud slamming of the front door drowned out her voice.

— Go to your room.

— I-I want to see my mother. — Weak from the injuries from earlier, some so serious that they hadn't healed yet, he got up with great effort.

— Go to your room before I change my mind.

— N-No, I want to talk to my mother…

— I told you to go to your room! — The older one dragged him by the wrist, freezing him to prevent his resistance and cutting the younger one's arm by throwing him inside his chambers without completely thawing his skin. — And you will only leave there for your training and studies until further notice!

— N-No! — Desperate, he runs to the door, banging on it with all his strength, but the door doesn't budge as if it were enchanted. — I-I don't want to be locked in here! Mom! Don't leave me locked in here! - Banging until he almost ran out of strength, he could no longer hold back the tears and cried. — M-Mom… — Crying profusely, he slipped to the floor. — M-Men don't cry... — Repeating what his father always told him, Bi-Han tried to control his emotions in vain. — M-much less perfect warriors, m-much less...

— Lin Kuei warriors.

— S-Sektor?

— What he says is not true. You can...

— Don't look at me!

Waking up suddenly, Bi-Han sat up in bed and looked for Sektor. Soon seeing that she remained beside him, sleeping soundly with her back to him, he stroked her short hair. He inhaled her sweet perfume and hugged her tightly until he fell asleep again.

He found himself in the middle of a war, it reminded him of Chaosrealm, but he had seen the chaos of that place many other times before. It was the chaos of a battlefield, surrounded by fallen dead bodies, destruction and terror. Combat proved that he was alive, there was no better way to prove his strength and skill than by subduing his enemies. And in the midst of it all, he could only see those who attacked him, killing them all with ease, suddenly a scream of pain reminded him that he was not alone.

— Sektor?! - Amidst the darkness, he searched for her as if nothing else mattered.

What was the point of that battle?

What was he looking for?

Who was his target?

He no longer remembered.

— Sektor?! — The trail of deaths he had created to reach her was the reason why his clothes were already bloody when he found her. — S-Sektor… — The blood that dripped from her stomach without stopping stained his clothes even more, as he held her in his arms and begged her to keep her eyes open. — Chō stay with me… P-Please…

— B-Bi-Han…

— S-Stay with me. — Terrified and in a desperate attempt to keep her with him, he tried to transfer the chaos magic to her, but she stopped him by holding his hand with all her remaining strength.

— I-I don't want to live forever.

— Y-You promised you would never abandon me.

— I-I... I-I love you...

— No!

Feeling tears streaming down his face even after opening his eyes, Bi-Han gasped for the recent nightmare. He couldn't lose her. However, he knew...

He knew she was willing to do anything for the Lin Kuei. And that as much as she had accepted him, she didn't want anything to do with chaos magic. Immortality wasn't something any Lin Kuei desired. And he wondered when he had started to think differently...

Taking care not to wake her, he wrote a farewell letter and got dressed. Leaving the envelope on his own pillow, he kissed the side of her forehead and inhaled her scent deeply to take with him as a memento.

— She will remain Grandmaster and will not be punished for having freed me.

— It is not for this transgression that she...

— Either you promise this or there is no deal.

— I agree to your conditions, Bi-Han. As long as you not only make peace with the Shirai Ryu but also reconcile with Kuai Liang.

— That is impossible.

— He is your brother.

— He stopped being my brother when he betrayed me.

— You disappointed him first, Bi-Han. This condition is non-negotiable.

...............................

5 years later…

— You're ready to go, Bi-Han. Don't forget what you promised.

— Only if you have kept your word.

— I wove the fabric of time to shape your destiny. I saw you born, grow and lose yourself. As much as you continue to hate me and your father for what happened to your mother... It was never our intention to hurt you.

— Bi-Han.

— Kuai Liang. — He greeted him with a brief nod, just as the younger one had just done. Still uncomfortable with each other.

— Are you ready, brother?

— You're pushing it, Tomas.

— Okay! Sorry. — Retracting his arms and apologizing after the older's scolding, he bowed briefly before him after walking away. — One step at a time. — He muttered to himself.

— I hope to see you together more often. — Finishing opening the fire portal, Liu Kang motioned for them to go through. — Have a safe journey.

— Where are we going?

— To the Shirai Ryu. — Upon seeing the alarm in Bi-Han’s eyes, Tomas continued. — You promised you would visit our clan when your restoration was completed.

— I don't recall making such a promise.

— Come on, Bi-Han. Tomas was counting the days until your visit. I agreed because Liu Kang said it would be good for both of us too. I still don't trust you completely. So don't threaten my clan when we get there.

Bi-Han took a deep breath before following the two through the portal. And in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the Japanese clan's compound.

— Bi-Han. — The younger one bowed briefly in greeting.

— Harumi.

— Welcome to the Shirai Ryu. I hope this can be a fresh start for all of us. And that you don't make any of us regret this.

— Where is Hanzo? — Tomas asked almost desperately, anxiously looking around. — He has to meet you! You two have so much in common…

— How can a indigent whelp who lived on the streets not long ago have anything in common with me? — Bi-Han muttered to himself, trying to hide his contempt as Tomas hurried away. Kuai Liang, next to him sighed, listening to every word.

— By the elder gods, Bi-Han. Make an effort. — Without waiting for an answer from his older brother, who only took a deep breath at his demand, Kuai Liang took front of his wife. — Harumi will show you the rest, I have matters to attend to now.

— Don't be late for dinner. — Harumi smiled as she said goodbye to her husband. Hoping he wouldn't leave her waiting once again. — Kuai Liang has been quite busy resolving conflicts within the clan.

Bi-Han scoffed.

— As expected.

Noticing the mockery in the older one's tone, Harumi narrowed her eyes at him and took a deep breath to ignore it.

— Are you at least happy to see your brother? Because I know you were never really fond of me. — Smiling out of politeness, Harumi continued guiding him.  — I know you introduced Cyrax to Kuai Liang to make him forget about me.

— And she failed.

— You failed. — Ignoring the unfriendly looks towards the cryomancer along the way, Harumi continued distracting Bi-Han so he wouldn't stare back. — The way you always treated me coldly, how you always seemed to dislike me, made me wonder once if you had some kind of crush on me.

— I'm not Japanese. I don't pretend to like someone when I actually don't, nor do I pretend to hate someone when I actually like. Falsehood is not part of my culture. What my brother saw in Japan and in a woman so...

— Be careful, dear brother-in-law! — Harumi smiled after seeing Bi-Han lose his breath when she elbowed him in the stomach. — You don't want to get hurt before dinner. 

— I won't participate in your...

— Eventually I learned that my assumption about you was wrong. — Bi-Han, ignoring the pain in his stomach and trying very hard to hold back his curses, continued to follow the Japanese woman reluctantly. — And that you simply didn't think I was worthy of your brother. Because my blood wasn't Lin Kuei.

— It still isn't. Marrying my brother doesn't make you a Lin Kuei.

— I can't change my bloodline, Bi-Han. And I didn't marry your brother for that. I've loved him since I was very young. I love him with all my heart and I'm willing to do anything to protect him. — She said firmly, looking into Bi-Han's eyes without blinking. — You already know that I would give my life for his.

— I can respect that.

Harumi smiled, pleased to feel that she had somehow touched him.

— Thank you. — And finally entering the living room, simple and modest with typical Japanese decoration, Bi-Han controlled himself not to comment on the conditions they lived in. Having been born and raised in the imposing Lin Kuei palace, surrounded by luxuries, having lived his entire life only with the most influential Lin Kuei families and even with OutWorld sovereigns due to his late father's friendship with the emperor, he could not hide the expression of disgust with the simplicity of the place. The compound had already disappointed him enough, but a Grandmaster living in those conditions... — Most of our warriors hate you, so to avoid conflicts we will have an intimate dinner. I advise you not to leave here alone.

— I really don't want to stay for your dinner.

— It'll be worth it. — The young Shirai smiled mysteriously. — If you want to wash up before dinner, you can go down that hallway and turn right.

— I don't...

— See you later.

That wasn't an invitation, it was a summons.

Convinced that he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, Bi-Han took a deep breath and exhaled slowly in frustration. Frustrated for having to put up with that, frustrated for the time he had spent sleeping until Liu Kang discovered an effective way to restore him, frustrated for not being sure if the conditions he had imposed had been respected by Liu Kang, frustrated for not having returned to the Lin Kuei yet, frustrated for fear that he would never be able to return...

Without paying much attention to the room, Bi-Han locked the door behind him and leaned against it.

— Why wasn't she there? — Sliding from the door to the floor, he curled up and hugged his legs, wishing he was with the Lin Kuei. — W-Where is she? — Wishing he was with her. — S-She can't... S-She can't forget about me.

Tired of holding it in, he let the tears roll down his face twisted in pain. The vision already blurred by his tears.

— M-Men don't cry... — Repeating what his father always told him, Bi-Han, desolate on the floor, tried to control his tears. — M-much less perfect warriors, m-much less...

— Lin Kuei warriors. — Paralyzed, as if she were a mirage, a delirium. It took Bi-Han a while to realize that the warmth in her eyes and her smile were real. She was there. She was there with him this time.

— S-Sektor?!

— Are you still the Bi-Han I know?

— I-I am... — Standing up quickly, he stood in front of her in the blink of an eye. — I will always be. — Looking deep into her eyes, he caressed her bare arms, as if to make sure they were real, and smiled when he felt the softness of her skin under his rough hands again. — Do you still love me?

— Bi-Han, I…

— Say yes… — Whispering as he leaned down towards her lips, he was surprised when she dodged his.

— I don't know if I can forgive you.

— What? I did what I did for both of us.

— No, Bi-Han. You did it for yourself.

— Chō…

— There's no explanation, Bi-Han. — Breaking free from his grip, she dodged when he tried to hold her once more. — Not this time! You abandoned me. You left me alone for 5 years…

— I didn't know it would take this long!

— You didn't know?! You told me we couldn't wait to find a cure. That I should stop looking for it, because you were stronger that way… — She had been so angry and sad since Bi-Han had left, that she could barely control the tears that threatened to fall almost as an insult to herself. — Y-You said it was better for the Lin Kuei if you stayed that way, that you didn't care as long as I didn't…

— Sektor…

— W-Why like that… So suddenly?!

— I never wanted to be immortal. I-I never wanted to put your life at risk. I-I… — It was choked, stuck in his throat, very difficult for someone like him to admit… — I was wrong. I want to build a family with you. I want to grow old by your side. I-I couldn't bear a life without you with me! — With his eyes starting to blur again because of the tears he was holding back, he looked at her like the time he realized he loved her. — I couldn't bear to live without you.

— Why didn't you just talk to me?

— I was afraid you would see me as a…

— As a what?

— As a weakling. — Trying to keep his pride, he almost whispered before confessing in a louder tone. — I was afraid you would see me as a weakling. 

— After everything we've been through together, you still...

— I know! I was wrong. I just need you, I need your love... — Eager to be with her again, he cupped her face, making her see the sincerity in his eyes. — I love you like crazy. Don't you love me anymore?

— I wouldn't be here if I didn't.

— Take me home.

— You must stay for dinner.

— I don't want to stay.

— Bi-Han... — Turning her back on him, Sek wiped away the tears that threatened to make her give in once more.

— Don't leave me here. — Almost begging, but too proud to actually beg, he buried his face in her neck. — Take me with you, p-please.

— Arctika is as much your home as it is mine. Even if I don't want you in my bed anymore. You know the way back.

— You can't be serious.

— Think whatever you want. After 5 years I got used to an empty bed.

— So let me get you used to sharing it again... — Hugging her from behind and bringing her close to him, she moved as if she wanted to break free, but she didn't. Letting out deep sighs, her heart raced and he felt her body temperature rise quickly as the sometimes strong, sometimes soft touches of his lips trailed an imaginary path down her neck. He marked her as if she were his, squeezing her to feel every soft part, reminding her body of what it was like to feel desired and loved by him. — Your body still reacts to mine…

— O-Out of anger…

— Is it? — In a sudden movement, he turned her to him, searching for what he already knew he would find.

— B-Bi-Han… — Melting under his touches, her determination to remain angry wavered. She held his hand as he caressed her face with such affection and looked at her with such ardour that it made her want to forget all the nights she had cried herself to sleep.

— You still want me…

— I-I don't want to want.

— Don't say that.

— That letter… — Taking a deep breath so as not to shed more tears for him, she looked away from his intense hazel eyes to the old lamp flickering in the room. — You asked me to be happy, but not to forget about you. How could I be happy while I imagined you trapped in that temple again? H-How could I not want to forget about you after everything?

— Because you love me. — Caressing her nose with his, feeling her breath blow on his face, he sucked and nibbled on her lower lip. — As much as I love you.

— Bi-Han… — He kisses her deeply, a sweet and voracious kiss. Silencing her protests and fading the hurt she felt for him with each movement of his tongue in the warm interior of her mouth. — I-I still haven't forgiven you.

— D-Don't stop me from being with you…

— I'm not going to.

......

[sbrn10]

Marisha: The World reversed - lack of closure or achievement, feeling incomplete (poor Keyleth 😭)

Sam: The Devil - depression, feeling trapped or powerless, sexuality (Braius has been going THROUGH it these past four (five?) days...)

Dani: Ace of Cups - new beginnings, celebration (hell yeah Dani 🥳🥳🥳)

Laura: The Tower - disaster, chaos, sudden change (I'm sorry, this is still so fucking funny, HOW did this man literally manifest the tower falling on the first pull??)

The Magician - power, skill, manifestation (continues to be hilarious that Laura manifested herself The Magician by rejecting the Tower - but then Tal somehow cursed her anyway. Anyway, here's to Imogen manifesting whatever is to come when she meets Predathos)

Taliesin: Death - transformation, transition, ending and new beginning (He's wearing the fucking Molly shirt!!!!)

[tehrevving]

So I've got this one itching inside my brain, in chapter 18, when vincent admits that if the reader injured, he'd be unable to control his transformation could you elaborate on that a bit more currently or is that something you'll be using to edge us for future oneshots and the continuation of the story?

Is this one way for him to say that she's become someone very precious to him even in such a short amount of time? Are his demons also finding themselves attached to her? If so then what exactly is their view on her? With chaos, it seems rather obvious he's into her if he's willing to make himself known in some instances whenever vincent and the reader have been sexually intimate (>cough< inappropriate use of materia >cough<)

I love this question, this is so good. Let me try think of a coherent response. If it’s not, feel free to ask again and more specific lol. And keep the questions and stuff coming too :).

Vincent’s transformations are literally his limit break. I think he has some control over them normally, like if he’s not stressed and he needs Galian to do something, but he hates it, and so he is only really transforming when: he is in pain or is taking a lot of damage, when he’s overrun by enemies (like in the fic), or in situations of high emotional stress (like in Rebirth, and uh, during sex lmao). And when he transforms that way, he doesn’t have much control.

Vincent is strong but his strength has a drawback, if he transforms, then he’s likely to hurt his allies or cause damage to the room or building that he’s in. The Temple of the Ancients is an extremely old relic and he’s very worried about causing damage.

Reader wants to protect her friends and she is not worried about herself, she’s worried about what might happen to the others. Vincent tries reassure her that he’ll look out for her, but that’s not what she wants. That’s a big difference in their characters actually and would likely become a recurring point of contention in the future, whenever there’s a big mission or something similar.

Anyway, yeah, while the whole point of the convo is that yes, she is very important to him. He’s also trying to say that she can’t rely on his strength in the way she thinks she can, by asking him to protect everyone else. Does that make sense?

Like, in an emergency, Vincent may not even be able to provide first aid, because he just turns into a rampaging monster instead. Even though he could take a fatal blow for someone else, he can’t take the risk that it might make him transform. I really hope Part 3 builds something like this in as a battle mechanic for him, but in a story, it’s something he worries about.

But anyway, onto his demons. Yes, they are attached to her, there’s plot and lore for it and it’s something that I’ll be exploring when I write the Temple of the Ancients chapter. (Galian is going to come out to play for a bit)

Chaos is the strongest one, so finds it easiest to appear when Vincent is distracted (wink). Aaand also he just really wants to show off his big horns and wings and fangs (and tongue) and how good he is at making her come ��