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#I just also think he’s a toxic presence of a mentor
melminli · 4 months
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Not Toxic For You, But With You
pairing: young coriolanus snow x fem. reader
summery - you and coriolanus never had a healthy relationship, but that didn't mean that you two would ever break up. neither you nor he would ever allow that to happen.
word count: 2.6k
contains: post peacekeeper coryo, toxic behavior, dark themes, suggestive language, arguing, talk about cheating, sexual themes
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You were happy for Coriolanus when it was announced that he was part of the mentoring program for the 10th Hunger Games and also just so incredibly proud. If anyone deserved it, it was him, and you were convinced of that. That's why you continued to do your best. To be a supportive girlfriend and helped wherever you could - with encouraging words, with homemade treats or simply with your presence.
Unfortunately, your presence seemed to be the least in demand. You weren't necessarily happy about it either, but now that he had this big responsibility, he also had less free time available. That included hanging out with you, whether you liked it or not.
However, you believed that you could manage it. No problem. You just hoped that, like the last nine Hunger Games, the tributes would drop like flies so that the whole thing could be finished as quickly as possible and you could go on cute dates with your handsome boyfriend again. That was the case in the end, except that meaning that the games were over didn't mean that you could have Coriolanus all to yourself again. On the contrary, it seemed as if you had lost him during the games, and he wasn't even a tribute. At least you thought he wasn't.
When it was announced that Coriolanus' tribute would be the girl from District 12, you were a little disappointed along with him. Simply because he seemed to have got hold of the worst one there was. Your friends were initially worried that your jealousy would cause problems, but you reassured them (as well as your boyfriend) that you certainly wouldn't feel threatened by some covey girl from the lowest district.
At least, that was before Coriolanus gave you a reason to feel that way. He started showing up on TV with her, sneaking glances at her from the side, even going so far as to rig the games so he could save her from a gruesome death. You hoped that he would burn in hell along with her.
"Honey, I know you told me not to open the door for him or let him in if he ever shows up, but..." Your mother began to say in a gentle tone after she opened the door to your room. She knew you were sometimes a bit difficult to handle and you hadn't really told her what had happened between you and that Snow boy, but in her eyes, he always seemed to take good care of you. She complied with your request at first, but it had been several weeks since you had barricaded yourself in your room, and she was starting to get seriously worried about her only daughter. "...but that won't solve your problems either, and I think that - "
You interrupted your mother with a loud, annoyed sigh and straightened up in your bed to meet her gaze at the door. "Stop it, mom. I never want to see his face again. Let him get shot by a rebel on the side of the road for all I care. Hope he bleeds out painfully and everyone watches him breathe his last breath in his miserable state." You spit out one word after the other as if they were poison.
Unexpectedly, the person in question was able to contribute something to the conversation. "You really hurt me deeply with your cruel words, my sweet girl." Coriolanus said as he entered your room with a bouquet of white roses.
Your eyes widened in shock as you climbed out of your bed to stand upright, and before you could realize that he was standing in front of you, you looked angrily at your mother. "I can't believe you did that!" You exclaimed, feeling betrayed. You wanted to add a lot more, but in the brief moment you tried to gather yourself, Coriolanus quietly asked your mother to leave you alone for a while and she followed his request and closed the door behind her.
You looked up again when you heard the noise and had to stop yourself from pulling your hair out of your head. "You've got a lot of nerves showing up here. What's going on? Were the woods in District 12 a bit too tough for the city boy? Did you get tired of fucking the cheap pussy of a lower class girl?"
Coriolanus didn't really respond to what you said and placed the flowers he had brought you on your desk before taking off his red coat and placing it over your chair. You really could have a bad mouth when you were angry. He sometimes seemed to forget that. "There was nothing going on between me and Lucy Gray."
You let out a slightly maniacal laugh and could swear you were finally starting to lose your mind. "Oh yeah? And your cock is bigger than Rufus'." You said in a sarcastic tone before your smile fell from your face. "Don't take me for a fool, and don't you dare say her name in my presence!"
This time your words seemed to have hit a sore spot. You could tell by the slight twitch of his eyebrows that he was irritated. "Who's Rufus?" He asked in a serious tone, trying to remind you not to cross a line.
You had long since stopped worrying about what he wanted. "I think you know who Rufus is." You said challengingly, and with that, Coriolanus lost his patience faster than planned as he came at you with quick steps until your back was against the wall, and there was no way for you to escape. His hand tightened its grip on your jaw and angled your head so that your fiery gaze met his. "I was already expecting you to not be on your best behavior while I was gone, and you know what? I was willing to forgive you for that." He announced, his eyes wide with anger and his own jaw tensed as he tightened his grip on yours. "But fucking some boy behind my back while I thought about you day and night? Sleeping in those fucking barracks with four other soldiers and slaving away like I was just another dirty lower class citizen?"
You laughed when you saw the sadness in his eyes. "Stop whining at me with your shitty sad stories. You deserve so much more than that."
You could feel Corioalnu's breath on your skin as he still looked deep into your eyes, hoping to read somewhere in there that this wasn't the truth. That it was just another lie you told with the intention of hurting his feelings, and it did. "Your mother told me that you never read the letters I sent you." He whispered out, wanting to hear it from you.
He could have that. "I told her she was welcome to burn them."
She's driving me crazy, I'm really about to lose it. Calm down, Coriolanus, you're better than that. She's waiting for you to do that. He said to himself as he took a step away from you so that he wouldn't completely lose his temper and make the situation even worse. He was here to make you believe that everything could go back to the way it was, and it would. "So what? You want to break up?" He asked like it was the most silly thing ever. "Don't be absurd."
"No, of course not." You exclaimed, getting louder and louder. "I want to strangle you with my own hands first and then go to that stupid District bitch and tell her she can never have you, understand?! And then I'm going to beat her until she's green and blue, because you know what?! You're better off dead, than having to see you with someone else that isn't me! You're mine! You hear that?! Mine!" You shouted as you dragged him by his vest and then started beating his chest.
Coriolanus grabbed your arm with one hand to stop you when he felt like it was enough and the other in your hair so he could smash his lips against yours. He couldn't help it. He'd been thinking about it since he'd seen you, but he didn't want to upset you any further by interrupting you in mid-sentence. As much as he craved it, he knew you needed to get things off your chest to make you feel better, and he owed you that.
You had imagined your first kiss with Coriolanus, after all that shit to be just as aggressive as it was right now. With his tongue trying to taste as much of you as it could and with a longing that he didn't really give you or himself time to breathe. His body steered you towards your bed until the backs of your knees gave way, and you fell back onto the soft comforter of your bed. He followed you, taking care to support his weight with his arms. He took short breaths as your kiss was interrupted and rested his forehead against yours while he listened to the ones you let out. "I guess you can understand me then when I tell you that I'm going to kill that Rufus guy. Don't think I've forgotten." He whispered to you as he stroked your hip with his thumb, again growing bitter at the thought.
You smiled. "Of course, and I haven't forgotten how you're still lying to me how there was nothing between you and...her." You spoke up and had to stop yourself from putting your hands around his neck. You decided to play with the short hair on his neck instead. "Tell me the truth and never lie to me again. We never lie to each other, isn't that right, Coryo?"
It took him a moment to answer you. "No, we don't." He finally replied and thought about how best to approach the matter. The feelings between him and Lucy Gray were real. How briefly they may have lasted, and he couldn't deny that. Of course, he could never tell you that either - if he wanted another chance with you, and he did. At the end of the day, Lucy Gray and he were far too different from each other. Only with you could he have the future he craved here at the Capitol. A District girl could never grant him that wish.
"We've shared a few intimate moments together." He finally admitted, feeling your gentle hand on the back of his neck grow harsh. "We may have kissed once or twice, but it could never go beyond that. There was nothing between us because it could never become anything. She could never give me what you do."
That's right. She never could even if she wanted to. You hugged him and gave him another kiss. "You're a little different than you used to be. Your time as a Peacekeeper seems to have changed you. You seem more like a man than a boy." You complimented, showing that this was the end of the matter. You were ready to move on because even if you weren't ready to forgive him for his brief secret romance, you were ready to forget.
A seductive grin stretched across his face. "Oh, you think so?" He asked you as he leaned slightly to his side and nestled his one arm under your head while his other slowly moved further down to reach under the waistband of your pants and play with the fabric of your panties. "Do you like it, my dear?"
You returned his grin. "You know I do."
The reactions from your body would betray you if you gave him any other answer than that. You felt yourself getting wetter with the feel of his fingertips on your skin and your vision blurred by your need to feel him. "Please, touch me, Coryo." You begged him, knowing it was the only way to get him to do what you wanted. At least in the bedroom.
He let out a grunt at your current submissive behavior. She really is a devil when she gets angry, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like that side of her, too. As long as it doesn't come out too often. "What is that I hear? Looks like you haven't forgotten your manners, huh? Are you gonna be my good girl again?"
He looked at you nodding at him with dreamy eyes. "Always Coryo, always your good girl."
His fingers tugged a little harder on the side of your panties this time. "No. I don't think so, my dear. Because if you were, you wouldn't let some stupid boy fuck my pussy, would you? Do you know what kind of girls do that?" He asked you in a sugar sweet voice that was laced with disappointment and that made you draw your eyebrows together. "Sluts who can't be satisfied with one cock and therefore spread their legs for everyone."
Seems like Coriolanus is still angry about that, but you didn't expect it any other way. After all, that's why you did it, because if he made you the other woman, you'd make him the other man. For a little bit, anyway. "I'm sorry, Coryo. Please. I love you, only you." You tried to apologize to him and move your hips so you could get more of his touch.
"I know you do." He replied, deciding not to tease you too much for once. Maybe some other time, he'd be a little harder on you and punish you appropriately, but right now, he'd much rather hear your sweet voice crying and pleading for him. He did really miss you, after all.
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avercado5 · 4 months
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Thoughts on Hux's sexuality
Please don't come for me this has been in my drafts for 6 months :]
So obviously, it's a big thing in this fandom to think Hux is gay. Which, I can see how people might see him as queer coded (and in some surface ways he is). Despite his homophobic vibes he's probably not homophobic since homophobia doesn't really exist in Star Wars as far as I know. But I was actually sitting back and thinking about it, and given his childhood abuse and backstory, I honestly seriously doubt he's gay.
Hux has spent his entire life being physically and psychologically abused by other men, be it his father, his fathers friends, Snoke (if you can call that nasty guy a man), or Kylo Ren. There is no Canon media of Hux being abused by non-men. Given the PTSD he has to have from these experiences, there is no way he would easily trust another person enough to be in a relationship with them, let alone a man (and we already know from Canon that hux is not a trusting person). Is it possible that he'd end up in a M/M relationship? Of course. Likely? I don't think so. If he did, it would be very likely it would be toxic or unhealthy.
Men are a threat to Armitage. They want to ursurp him. They want to hurt him. They want to use him for their own ends and then discard him. In a patriarchal organization like the First Order (albeit less so than the empire), men are the primary threat to his own stability.
So based on this analysis Armitage is either somewhere on the aroace spectrum (from trauma), OR he is on some level attracted to the opposite gender.
Why would the last thing make sense? That depends on a few things.
First, if Armitage had positive contact with his mother on Arkanis (as most of us like to assume, because um yes Armitage's mom we love her), he would crave nurturing presence of females after he was separated from her and, even as he grew older and more emotionally detached, there are primal human urges that he cannot erase. He was five when he left Arkanis. He could have known his mother long enough to understand that. Likewise, his protector and mentor, at least for a time, was Rae Sloane, a woman. Rae Sloane, at least for some time, protected and mentored Hux. As Hux grew up, the people who helped him tended to be women, and the people who abused him were men.
This is not to bash any ships with Hux or anything, just my own thoughts on the subject. Obviously this is all just speculation, but it's also explanatory to why a lot of pairings with Hux end up so abusive or out of character. His backstory and personality and struggles make writing a good ship with him immensely difficult, no matter what gender he's shipped with.
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dogtoling · 11 months
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hey! this is “not choker smol bean” anon and maybe i was too judgemental please tell me more about choker so i can tell if you were right or not
Choker is a menace. Like, a lot of people love him, lots of others HATE HIM. I already briefly talked about him in a previous ask, but to summarize, he is a natural disaster. he's just some guy but like, one of those really chaotic guys. He's actually roommates with Squl right now despite the fact that they met on the battlefield and hated each other's guts above all else initially. I already posted this picture of him like last week but i'll post it again (i dont have a lot of pictures of him and i JUST made this updated design)
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But like, he's kind of a bizarre guy. He tries hard to look really cool and be cool so people take him seriously, but he's actually kind of goofy. He still tries really hard to make people scared of him, and some people are, but most people just roll their eyes when he pulls up. He's a very loud person who makes his presence known and he can be extremely snarky, but he's not really EVIL. At least not yet. Toxic? YES.
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(here he was trying to convince Boba that she should totally pick dualies as her main.)
He used to be in the orange team, Fire Arrows, but he left after getting frustrated about how casual the matches were and how much less frequent they became while Boba had to deal with exams. To be fair, he was a pretty controversial teammate, with how arrogant and chaotic he was. Generally, he just ended up in the team because Boba has ZERO judge of character, and he has ONLY been a negative influence on her. (He knows how to make molotovs for some reason, and now Boba knows as well.)
Anyway Choker used to be a Dualie Squelchers main, but he recently had a growth spurt that's made dodge rolling super awkward for him, so he looked around for a new weapon and settled on the Squeezer. Though not going to lie, the Annaki Splattershot Nova is looking pretty good... if only because he's like, an Annaki simp and if something's got the logo on it, he's got to own it for the unrivalable (is that a word?) drip. Arguably, he's pretty shallow when it comes to appearances and is really quick to judge if people have atrocious fashion. He got his stage name because his go-to used to be the Annaki Choker Tee, but he began just hoarding and using chokers after getting used to it pretty much regardless of what else hes wearing. Also, his legal name is Tako, and that is SUCH a boring normie name that he would do ANYTHING to make sure Choker is the name that sticks.
As of early 2023, he founded a yellow Turf War team with his friends Squl, Frill and Gill (cool name synergy) and called it Team TOXIC. Because for some reason he thinks toxicity (both in gameplay terms and biological terms) is SUPER cool and metal, and everyone else thinks so too, so. You know. He was also heavily inspired by a guy named Martin who mentored him for a while in late 2022.
What do I mean by "mentored"? Choker is absolutely enamored with the concept of crime and especially banditry. His biggest idols in life are like, Deep Cut, because he knows about their "secret" bandit career. Choker himself comes from a lineage of Octarian pirates, or that's at least what he says, he doesn't have much to back that up. So his resolution throughout his teens has been that he WILL become a master pickpocket and maybe even something more. So once he acquainted with Martin, who's been either a gangster or a criminal of miscellaneous sorts for like 20 years, he was extremely impressed and DEMANDED to stick around to learn from him. (Of course, his teachings aren't a perfect match given that Choker is very naive, and also way taller.)
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(hence why this picture exists. choker is MUCH TALLER STILL now.)
Basically, Choker is a chaotic guy, and a menace, and a chronic rulebreaker. And he cares about life being interesting and fun, even if it's at the expense of other people's (or his own!) safety. He's a horrible influence and he is easily influenced by other people who are way worse off than he is. He sustains most of Splatsville's feral shrimp population because he feeds them just out of spite for the signs that say you can't do it. He's set dumpsters on fire because he was bored. He might ruin relationships for fun. He's friends with retired felons because why not.
he is not smol bean.
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viktoriakomova · 1 year
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Sorry for being dense but can you elaborate on your post about Norah?
tldr the call is coming from inside the house and the house is the UC Fayetteville sorority house and the den mother is miss val :)
we know from several former gymnasts' accounts that miss val had a pattern* of treating some gymnasts (most, even!) on the team very VERY well, and a select few (or notably and most sadly, sometimes just one) like total garbage. the trouble maker, the scapegoat, the designated whipping post.
we also know from obvious developments and patterns therein that ucla gym in the last 4 years has metastasized onto arkansas. and that miss val was influential in getting jordyn the HC position in the first place when you look at her and her husband's connections to the arkansas athletics dept.
waller was miss val's AC for like ~15 years. hiring him as a HC and her successor was a formality more than anything. nothing significantly changed when he replaced her, other than the absence of her mystique and cult of personality. which, granted, i can imagine sucked all the air out of the room. she is, after all, miss val.
we know that the environment was pretty toxic in norahs senior year. there is nuance to the exact details of a lot of what happened but it was indisputably a tense training environment. we can assume, based on how literally anything like this works, that the groundwork for that tension and toxicity was laid gradually before that year had even started.
so anyway, shifting focus back to ark. jordyns experience prior to landing a head coaching position at the age of 24 was ENTIRELY under miss val's tutelage. not just that but at the same program, within the same university's athletics admin, for only a few years. and on top of THAT, she hired her besties from ucla, including her then-bf now-fiancé (lol), onto her coaching staff. this is already not a great situation obviously.
at the beginning of this year, norah comes to ark as a 5th year transfer. supposedly to be closer to her bf in atlanta (.....😐) but also because she has an established relationship with the whole coaching staff. bc theyre basically all ucla transplants who have known her for years (jordyn and kyla for literally a whole decade going back to norahs junior elite days, long long history there). shes also a huge fan favorite and an amazing gymnast who deservedly gets very high scores.
i hope you can see where im going with this but bottom line is: looking at some of the eyebrow-raising stuff we've seen gymnasts and their families/friends say or hint at, putting all those things on a timeline, comparing that to gymnasts' arrivals, departures, injuries, underperformance compared to potential and expectations, etc. it seems a lot to me like things were not going great before this year, but it has really come to a head this season. and taking all of the above into account, i think norah's transfer was a catalyst for all that to really get going
jordyns mentor as a coach, basically the only coach she has ever studied under AND all within the only program she had ever worked for, is someone we know to be extraordinarily toxic and manipulative. and she remains a constant (predominant) presence in jordyn's career and the arkansas program as a whole. like deadass she moved to fayetteville and lives there at least part time jfkdjkfdjfk.
so no its not an unfortunate apparent coincidence imho and i dont think its all that crazy of me to suggest that theres a common thread here and not just "aw darn she transferred from one toxic team to another one that turned out to ALSO be toxic. :(" and for the record i certainly dont think that norah is one of the people suffering from the status quo within that program rn lmao.
there's also a lot about norahs last season at ucla and the team dynamics that i wont get into, primarily bc much of it is unconfirmed and based on rumors, ones that i realistically have no way of verifying, but also bc i feel like the above paints a decent picture of what is going on in a general sense without it... :)
*it also seems that this only happened in a few key years when the team was, for whatever reason(s), extremely polarized. other years the team was much more balanced. im not a fly on the wall so i wont speculate as to why that necessarily was but if you go back thru her seasons as a coach the Vibes are apparent
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YA female protagonists... or not?
I've been meaning to write a post about this for a while. Bear with me because it may be fairly long... I'm not sure how long just yet.
Have you ever heard of the monomyth? The Hero's Journey? It's an idea most famously developed by Joseph Campbell, in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In it, he outlines the journey that all heroes go through. There's quite a good Ted Ed video about it, which I will link here:
I've been reading more about it, and as I have done so, I have come to think that certain heroes, especially in YA literature— who, for reasons within the content of the plot, are very, very flawed, and who are, despite their supposed feminism, intrinsically sexist— cannot really be called protagonists (which deepens the sexism, as one of the main things which supposedly marks them as feminist is their title as "badass" female protagonists.)
One of my main reasons for thinking this, is their relationship with the "mentor" or "supernatural aid" or "supernatural guardian" in their hero's journey (called different things depending on who you ask.)
If you don't watch the video, or read more about the monomyth, essentially, the monomyth can be broken into 12 stages. The video would suggest that one of the earlier stages is encountering something/one which acts as a mentor or guardian. The protagonist does not have to meet the mentor/guardian, and they can even be a supernatural force, but one of the best examples, the archetype of the mentor or guardian, would be Athena in Ancient Greek myths. But other examples include Haymitch in the Hunger Games, Gandalf, even Nanny McPhee would be a great example. Merlin (but not show Merlin, in the show he is a protagonist in his own right.)
To give an example of this in a YA setting, let's take Feyre in ACOTAR.
Now, in my opinion, at least, after the first book, the person who takes the position of mentor is Rhysand. Who is also her love interest.
The mentor is supposed to give the protagonist their training to be able to battle their ordeals on their own. To take an example, before entering the arena, Haymitch helps Katniss, and then continues to sporadically do so when she is in the arena, but for the most part, she is on her own. She has companions, and a love interest, but they do not take the position of mentor, and they are largely her equal in terms of skills, whether that be in similar fields or in other areas.
Why is this important? Part of the character's development is taking the mentor's training, learning, so that they no longer need the mentor's help. Think about Nanny McPhee's famous motto: "When you need me, but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go." The student becoming the master, if you will. As I said, they battle their ordeals on their own. They might receive some assistance, but largely they are left to be independent. One of the biggest parts of any story is this idea of learning, and maturing.
But I would argue that especially in situations in which the protagonist is female and the mentor is male and is the love interest restricts this from happening. (This post is mostly discussing heterosexual relationships partially because of how common heterosexual relationships appear in mentor/mentee relationships in YA books, I don’t have enough (if any) experience of seeing LGBTQIA+/non-heterosexual relationships with the mentor/mentee dynamic to speak on them. If anyone has any thoughts, I would be more than happy to hear them. Another reason is the explicit presence of the patriarchy in this particular sort of male/female relationship. So many of the authors who write this dynamic are themselves cishet, usually white (unsurprisingly given the nature of the industry), very often female due to the nature of the genre and toxic attitudes to it, usually very privileged, and so maybe you can see where I’m going with this. We see a lot of how society’s toxic values are pervading fiction, in that this is what they are pushing as the perfect relationship, one where the sexism is very dangerous and toxic, because it isn’t extremely OBVIOUS…)
Firstly, when is the romantic relationship established? Prior to/during/after training? For the most part, it is during/after the initial training. Which means that a certain dynamic is created, and that dynamic is one of an imbalance of power. For a lot of these character's, then, they become dependent, the lack of distance (that's not to say that there must always be distance between mentor/mentee... there is usually some love or fondness between them, but when they become significant others, they become partners in a very different way, of course) between mentor and mentee means the protagonist does not need to be independent, and do not continue or finish their training, not really. Why would they? They will always have their mentor with them, on hand... what purpose do they have in learning everything their mentor has to offer, if their significant other will always be on hand to guide them, advise them, protect them?
So if they are not finishing their learning/training, and they are not completing their battles fully on their own, can they really be considered protagonists? Are their mentors merely mentors? Mentors are not supposed to exceed a more passive position... otherwise they themselves begin becoming protagonists... and yet often we see these YA love interest/mentors not just interfering in the protagonists battles, but fighting them for them.
All of this leads me to the conclusion that if a female protagonist's love interest is their mentor, they cannot really be considered protagonists. And therefore, even outside of reasons within the content of the plot, these female protagonists cannot be considered feminist icons, because of their inability to fully experience and complete the hero's journey.
This is solely my opinion, and the monomyth itself faces criticism, however all writing is subject to interpretation, and this is mine.
(And just a note: don't you dare come at me with “YA writing isn't that deep”. That excuse is bullshit, and I really couldn't care less what you think literature is or isn't, what I am talking about here is precisely those deficiencies that are often prevalent in YA literature and analysing them. So don't tell me I shouldn't be doing that because YA literature “isn't important.”)
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anothertimdrakestan · 4 years
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Lovebirds Damian Wayne x Reader
Words: 2.8k
Requested? Yes! From a few lovely anons!
“So far i am loving your blog and went through like all of your writing🥰💖💖💖💗💞! I was wondering if you could do 'star sapphire corp reader' x damien please? Like them getting together” and “Could you please do sapphire lantern reader with your choice of the batboys meeting on a mission?”
LINK TO PROMPTS  -> REQUESTS ARE STILL OPEN!
I absolutely love the sapphire corps! Thank you for these adorable requests! Dami plus a lover actually in tune with their emotions- hell they’re powered off the emotions- is too funny and so adorable! Also we are going to pretend that Raven and Damian aren’t a thing even though I’m using the DCAU teen titans alrighty? Plus it gives me a chance to ship BBRAE YEAHHHH! Hope you enjoy!
I’m so sorry it’s long it’s my first fic back I was so excited haha
“Deep breaths and English you got this” you stared at yourself in the mirror of your makeshift room in titan’s tower. Being the youngest member of the star sapphire corps you were the one tasked with the trip to earth, it made sense, no one wanted to work with teenage earthly heroes but you. Finally, a chance to meet a being similar in age to you! No more old hymns about the power earthly love, you were about to experience it first hand. 
Your mentor had called in a favor and you had been escorted to earth by none other than the physical embodiment of flirtatiousness, Hal Jordan. The trip itself was tiring so upon a midnight arrival you retired to your room without meeting anyone. Now, you could hear a bustling of voices, there was so much emotion radiating it seemed slightly overwhelming, so you opted to wait for Hal to come pull you from your room. 
At the familiar knock you shook away your nerves and flexed your hands into fists, feelings your ring almost pushing you to go outside. “Howdy miss l/n! Ready to meet your new team?” You were greeted with the cheesy grin that had apparently wooed your mentor, but always prodded you. “Good morning Hal, temporary team remember?” you replied, letting your aura be picked up by your purple light. Hal coughed awkwardly, “we walk on earth newbie, not many float here” embarrassed, you touched back down, clearing your throat as you exited your quarters. 
As you made your way down the hallway shouting grew, but upon you entering the room went quiet. With a small smile wave you scanned the room, noticing a green boy who was burning a strange looking food, two other boys who had froze to look at you but stood at a large table that made a strange sound, and lastly a raven haired boy who was sharpening a- sword? At ten in the morning? On the couch. The green boy came up to you first, “hello! You must be y/n! I’m Gar, there’s Jaime, Vic, Robin, and Raven isn’t here but she’s also part of the team! Nice to meet’cha!” Trying to keep up with the names Gar started shouting “SHE’S HERE Y’ALL” apparently to summon a woman who looked like the leader, as she was much older. Following her was a younger girl in a purple cloak, you quite liked her look and vibes, though she felt quite closed off. 
After learning more about everyone at a team breakfast with strangely prepared food you were with the team getting suited up as your mission to travel to Celea, a planet whose environment was toxic to any being over 18, making it a “teen titan’s mission” as they called themselves. As some of the titan’s changed into their suits and prepped themselves for combat you bonded with Raven and Blue Beetle as you had all loaded onto the ship fairly easily. “So why do you have a powerless human on your team? Do you not worry for his safety?” you wondered as you watched Robin methodically pack all his gear. “Trust me, Robin could take all of us out if he wanted to, he’s earned his spot on the team from pure skill and being a little bit of a monster- OOMPH” Jaime was cut off by Raven nudging him. You couldn’t help wanting to hear Robin’s story, as you were like him too- powerless but highly trained and craving to do more. Luckily you had a couple hours of flight to get to know the mysterious boy. 
The ship was large, built for a league of heroes apparently. This meant the team had spread out but you had stayed in the piloting area to assure yourself the team was on the right trajectory, apparently Robin was as well. “You actually know where we’re going?” his voice shook you from your calculations. “Yes, I’ve visited Celea before, but never to fight it’s people” you mused, wondering how in just a few years since your visiting a toxic group of manipulative outlaws had attempted to stake their claim to the beautiful Celea. “TT, not much of a fighter?” Robin mused snarkily, his flitted down to the ring on your finger. “Y’know your team here thinks you’re pretty strong, but I’d wager you’d be easy work for me” you teased back, twisting your ring around your finger as Robin came closer to you. 
(TW FOR BLOOD)
Sitting next to you he began, “my abilities come from my skill, my wit, and my determination. I don’t believe you can say the same princess” you scoffed, “you underestimate me Robin, this ring is nothing without me, not the other way around. Powered from my emotional control and my creativity, my skill takes focus and agility not just glorified muscle memory” you winked at him, enjoying the banter. He scoffed in return. “Yes and what can you do with that ring that I cannot defeat with my blades” he mused. This invitation was perfect. You got up jubilantly, started your lecture. “Clearly you lack certain knowledge Robin, hand me one of your so called blades” you stuck your hand out as Robin rolled his eyes handing you a bat-shaped blade. Without a second thought you cut into the side of your arm, wincing at the pain. “Y/N! What are you doin-” you cut Robin off, beginning to channel your power. “You see, true power is the ability to heal any cut your blades could make, to take was has happened and turn it into a place of love, not malice or hate” as you said this, the familiar purple tone washed over your arm, easily mending the break in your skin. You noticed it felt faster than usual, but wiped it off as adrenaline. 
(TW OVER)
At the display of your powers Robin was in awe. “That’s not all I can do” you laughed, creating a small purple hand that pushed Robin’s open jaw closed. He stumbled back angrily, mumbling about accepting your abilities merit. “You impressed now Robin?” you grinned, sticking out your hand to him. He closed the distance, returning your handshake. “Damian.” he said softly. You swallowed, Damian. It was becoming. Your ring began to warmly glow, Damian snapped his hand away wearily as you cooled your emotions. “Oh uh! Sorry, energy burst” you said, it was a half truth at least. Damian nodded, moving to go clean the batarang. 
The rest of the trip was short, upon entering Celea you’d divided, Damian was with you as the both of you entered publicly while Beast Boy and Raven entered covertly, planning to cover you if the diplomatic endeavors went south. Blue Beetle and Cyborg, unfortunately, weren’t allowed in Celea as their tech was apparently very old and triggered the planet’s defense system, so they stayed up in the ship was manning comms, prepared for an air fight. 
Upon entering you were taken straight to the capital, a sapphire corps was a rarity on Celea and they were all excited for your help. You and Damian met the governing leaders, explaining that you were here to help end the tyranny on the dark side of the planet. As you had hoped, they agreed, you could feel their love for their planet was strong, but that was about all the love on the planet as everyone was so young. It felt slightly difficult to keep a reign on your emotions on Celea, the planet itself was a safe haven for children, almost like a giant orphanage ran by beings that reincarnated frequently as to stay alive on the planet, the concept of pure love was foreign to many of the children and unharnessable. It all felt quite isolating in comparison to earth, a planet driven by intense emotions. 
“You look tired already” Damian mused. “I’m fine, just not a huge fan of a child-only planet” you responded as you made your way towards the large base, preparing yourself for a fight. Before Damian could respond you were joined by Raven and Gar. Their presence eased some of the pressure. “You guys love each other, it’s refreshing” you said, both of them froze, staring at you. “Oh uh, we haven’t really talked about that yet” Raven whispered, staring at Gar who was grinning like a child in a candy shop. “I love you too Rae!” he cheered. “Not how I imagined I’d say it but, yes, I do love you idiot” she huffed. Your cheeks flushed, “oh uh, my bad sorry, it just, seemed so obvious” you giggled, secretly glad you’d brought the two together. 
“Just a couple’a couples!” Beast boy teased, you felt your cheeks redden, glancing to Damian who was now suddenly interested in looking anywhere but at you. You felt your ring begin to glow again, covering it with your other hand. “Oh wow! Look at that! We’re here! Battle time!” you cleared your throat, setting the group focus on infiltrating the rogue base. 
The base itself was relatively small, it hadn’t been flushed out yet but the four of you were here to clear it before they had the chance. Trying to establish a child trafficking ring on a planet of only children was disgusting, and needed stopping before it got the chance. You were especially passionate about this endeavor, the reason for you channeling the power of love was when you lost your sister, that loss of love taught you it’s importance even at a young age, and after training harder than anyone you knew you earned the ring, promising to defend love the way no one defended yours. You would protect these children at any cost. 
There was no need for stealth as you had the permission of the Celean government, it was more of an ambush. As Gar shifted into a large tiger, Raven donned her hood, and Damian stripped himself of the Celean garb, you noticed his Robin suit, littered in weapons and ties, he looked like a hero. There was that damn glow again. Channeling it into your focus you felt the warm aura surround you as you lifted off the ground, ready for a fight. 
“Y/n should say it!” BB roared, Raven nodded in agreement. “Say what?” you looked at Damian. “We have this tradition where the leader says ‘Titan’s Go’ then we fight, and I guess you’re our leader today” he said, you noticed the light tint hiding beneath his mask. “Okay!” you said, positioning yourself, flexing your hand to feel your ring one last time before shouting.
“TITANS GO!” 
And you were off, soaring through the air while BB and Robin took the ground. You noticed a few scared looking kids were being held in pens, and you decided to free them first. As Raven covered you easily, you floated down to the kids, accidentally bonking heads with Robin who stared at you. “I’m so sorry! It’s just we always have to-” “Get the kids out first” he finished your sentence, a small smile dancing at the corner of his mouth. For just a fraction of a second, your eyes flitted down to his lips, feeling his gaze of you the moment felt like slow motion before you both snapped out. “Let’s go! This way!” you used your ring to break the gates as Robin herded the kids out to freedom. 
Glancing up you saw a couple rogues grabbing kids as they tried to run away, your heart stopped when you saw one pull out a laser blaster. “Enough!” you screamed, violet rays exploding from your hands as you easily knocked them out of your way. Leaving your post you flew up and began eradicating anyone who tried to harm a child. “No one hurts my sister!” you screeched, your powers growing stronger by the second as you began dividing your powers between knocking out bad guys and literally carrying children to safety. As the last of the kids were safe you escorted Beast Boy out while you and Raven combined your powers to crunch up the base, making it unfixable and uninhabitable forever. 
Feeling the adrenaline subside you glanced down to see a herd of children cheering, but your focus drew to Damian who was propped up against a barrel, nursing a laser bullet wound. Rushing to his side you quickly pulled open his suit, a trail of blood trickled into your hands. “Damn kevlar doesn’t stop their bullets apparently” he coughed. “Oh my god Damian don’t go” Gar shifted next to you. “He’s not going anywhere” you said, focussing your energy, feeling the pain and imagining turning the warmth of blood into mending, the pools of blood are just pockets of blissful love. 
This wasn’t a good time to tell the team you’d never healed a wound this large before. Positive self talk right? Or negative. 
I’m alone on a planet of useless children, surrounded by a glorified furry, goth, and stocked vigilante. No one is here to help you y/n you’ve gotta do this. You felt the wounds begin to mend, after all that focus you’d barely started. Damian you idiot! If you die right now how will I know why my damn ring is gleaming everytime I see your cute face. Fuck. I didn’t mean cute. Yeah I did. Okay, save the cute face. Maybe kiss the cute face if you save it? Yeah. That’s a good deal y/n let’s do that. Your head was rushing through a million thoughts, anything to motivate you to do the impossible. Halfway there, you could feel it. “Holy cow, look! The wound is closing!” Gar pointed at Damian’s chest. “Y-yeah. No help from you green bean” you mumbled. “Oh I know what’ll help!” Gar squeaked, running off. You turned to Damian who was just staring at you bewildered. “Don’t look at me like that when I’m literally repairing your organs bird boy” you whispered through clenched teeth. 
Then a surge of power came over you, it felt raw and unchanneled, you glanced up to see Gar mid-kiss with Raven, giving you a thumbs up. The love was short lived, but enough to keep your engine revving. Alright girl you got this, heal, then kiss, maybe. Definitely heal first. He has to live. C’mon. “JUST LIVE DAMMIT” you shouted the last bit, feeling the last of your power drain while the wound completely closed. “Holy shit I’m a badass” you whispered, before feeling intensely light headed. 
You woke up in the ship med bay, jolting up. “HE LIVED HE LIVED” you burst up, throwing a fist in the air. The other corps members would be so proud! Your first battle with death you’d won! “You’re right I did live, thanks to you” a familiar voice brought you back down to earth. Next to your bed was Damian, now in casual clothes with a little bandaging on his other wounds. “Oh! uh yeah, you’re totally welcome” you grinned. Awkwardly Damian scooted closer to you. “I think I owe you a certain gratitude” he said, emotions dripping in his voice you hadn’t heard before. 
This time his eyes snapped down to your lips, as he leaned in you felt like you were dreaming. When your lips connected you couldn’t help but smile into the kiss, feeling lightheaded with pure joy. The kiss itself was soft, blissful and lovely. Damian’s lips felt soft against yours, like they fit with yours like a puzzle piece. Pulling away you stared at him shocked. “I could hear your thoughts when you were healing me, had to live up to your expectations” he winked while you covered your face with embarrassment. “Oh my gosh that’s so embarrassing yikes” you mumbled into your hands. You felt Damian’s hand slide under yours, caressing your cheek, drawing your eyes to his. “I thought it was pretty endearing personally, I suppose it’s because I was being saved by the most gorgeous, fascinating girl I know” he mused, before bringing you in for another kiss, this time more passionate, as if to show his feelings through a kiss instead of words. 
You spent the rest of your earthly get-away with the Titans, finding a sort of family with them. When you were called back to your people you promised to return in a few weeks, hoping to move your station to earth. They could always use another lantern right? 
When you returned to your mentor, C.Ferris you told her of your earthly adventures. She laughed, “a Star Sapphire’s greatest strength and weakness all wrapped into a snarky earth boy body” and you couldn’t help but agree. And with that, you were sent back to earth, this time returning as Dove, because every Robin needs a lovebird to help them along the way. 
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sassooda · 3 years
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Worlds Away JJK AU / Chapter 37 - Destined for Greatness
w/c - 7,731
               Suguru has been lying in bed for hours now as his mind wanders through his past and imagines different scenarios for the future. He sighs as he tosses and turns for the thousandth time, facing away from his door while his gaze takes to his new quarters that are viewable from this angle. This is by far the cheeriest room he has ever called his own. The walls are a warm yellow, the floors of solid hardened red clay and all of the matching furniture a light wood. His eyes take to the closed curtains with long thick white drapes, ‘This is so fucking annoying…’, he mumbles knowing there’s not even a window behind it, there’s no way for there to be when you’re underground. Sitting up now with aggravation, he reaches over to the bedside table and places the bowl of water he was using the night before, back into his lap. He wants to check in on Elska’s surroundings although he knows other Titers are tasked with the enemy’s usual surveillance. Before activating his technique though, he hesitates due to anxiety, ‘What the fuck am I going to do when we take her? What the fuck will she do?’. He hears footsteps approaching his door and knows Genghis must have already finished with most of the arrangements.
               “Little one! Time to wake up!”. Genghis calls out in an eager voice. He stops and smiles when he sees that Getou is already awake and asks, “Aren’t you excited about today?”. He looks over the worrisome Suguru who’s vexation is transparent. The golden sheets drape along his body and slide from his bare skin whenever he moves under them.
               Getou grumbles and turns his head, “I don’t think what I’m feeling is excitement…”. He keeps looking at the curtains that hide lies while wondering if he’s much different. ‘Will I have to subdue her when she lashes out? Am I going to have to hurt her when she resists?’. He’s had no qualms with doing so in the past but feels an incredible amount of pressure regarding it now. ‘Could we…like each other?’.
               Genghis chuckles and ignores Suguru’s reluctant attitude while looking around the room, “This is definitely much more suitable! Did you really put in a request for a giant tub though?” He’s poking fun at his pupil but he was also puzzled by that. Genghis thinks the brighter room will serve them both well psychologically. ‘Not too shabby for being done at the last minute.’.
               Embarrassed by the question, Getou submerges deeper into his bad mood and bed before retorting, “It’s for me. I’m tall.”. He was certainly not about to admit that it was for Elska, thinking she really must love them judging by how insane Naoya acted about it when the Zenin originally designed the first room where she was held. Suguru is aware that her reaction may be hostile overall and is dreading these coming days because of it so he hopes having one may ease her nerves. He doesn’t know that tub is Naoya’s thing.
               Genghis isn’t really satisfied with that answer but continues on, “I’ve gathered the most adept offensive fighters we have to offer.” Knowing the Titer’s abilities are incredible but lack in the area of traditional combat, selecting the most capable available would be crucial. “I believe you’ll quite enjoy my plan…”. His teeth show in this smile now, he’s more than willing to share his enthusiasm.
               Suguru finally turns to his mentor, interested. “Do tell me what you’ve concocted.”.
               Genghis lights up, “So as we were discussing, we need to restrict their actions. We will make our move in a public setting but you’ll still be able to have your fun...we will have to harm innocents but I assume that’s not what troubles you.” He grins maniacally, “Mr. Satoru Gojo’s presence will be requested before the Elders here in a few and his curiosity will assure he attends.”. Genghis sighs, “I was worried Gojo might want to kill all of them but I brought in two special people to mediate our fictitious ambitions.”. He chuckles, “The silver shaman has no idea what’s in store for him.”.
               Getou smirks at the thought of Gojo having the rug pulled from beneath him, “So we’re planning on having to deal with Toji, Zenin and Choso…aside from her today?” Genghis nods to his question but a heaviness forms in Suguru’s chest when he thinks about having to kill Choso. He’s still not on board with that completely and figures he’ll try his best to protect the hybrid in the midst of confusion. ‘Not him too.”. Getou wishes to find a way to bring the hybrid back to his side.
               Genghis claps his hands, causing his yellow robes to flutter, “You better get up and get ready! I’m about to meet with our team. I believe your first sweetheart will be amongst them.”, he chuckles for the drama but honestly loathes that woman.
               “Lidia?”, Getou stiffens immediately as that did not help his motivation. “She’s fucking crazy Master Genghis, I don’t want to be anywhere near her!”. Suguru takes his head to his hands as a few memories of her dependency and inhumane behavior flood him. ‘Psychotic bitch.’. Lidia always chased after Suguru when they were younger and at some point this wore on him as before he knew it, she was claiming them to be betrothed. She was obsessed with his destiny, his calling for the clan and would worship him in the most toxic ways due to it. Her need to be the only one in Getou’s life caused her to mutilate young women amongst Suguru’s outer circle out of spite and jealousy. Their time together did not last long as it quickly became a violent pairing, ending with him crushing her ribs under his usual technique. Suguru sighs, “She’s is not going to help me obtain another woman…”. He shudders recalling how after healing, she was back to throwing herself at him as if nothing happened. ‘Fucking…crazy…’.
               Genghis hides his sneer, knowing full and well the history of the two. “On the contrary, she requested this assignment.”. He notices Suguru’s growing frustration and wishes he could explain exactly why he’s doing what he’s doing but instead says, “I’ve seen many outcomes for this and although they may have varied, I can assure you Lidia will serve a great purpose here.”. Little does Getou know, Lidia will be the proof offered to show Elska she will be cared for while in the Titer compound.
               Suguru is skeptical to believe this and shows it through his expression as he rises from the bed and says, “Women are the bane of my existence…”. He stretches in his black briefs and cracks his neck while thinking something foreboding was eating at him. ‘I’m probably going to have to expose my other techniques now.’.
               “You’re about to receive the most powerful wife in the world…and yet, you complain.”, Genghis teases as he’d probably be nervous too if the roles were reversed. He watches Suguru don a black robe, clearly showing signs of stress so he walks up to him and puts his jokes aside, “This is going to work out, little one, one way or another.”, and pulls Getou’s head down to plant a fatherly kiss to the top of it. After sharing the rare moment, he bows and leaves Suguru to his morning routine.
               Getou watches him quietly walk out of the room with conflicting emotions. Genghis is the only man he’s ever looked up to, the only other human that ever offered genuine affection. Ever since Suguru was reunited with his mentor though, something has felt off or perhaps he’s just seems more purposeful. He’s not sure if this odd feeling is because of his own unstable emotions that threatened to derail his purpose of revenge or if there’s another reason but he can’t ignore it either way. He trusts that his mentor is still worthy of his respect and recognition though and finds his returning welcomed regardless. ‘All of those years…’, he wonders where Genghis spent his time and exactly why. ‘Did they really keep him away to simply foster my hatred for Gojo?’. He knows that doesn’t really make sense.
               Genghis is turning a hall leading to stairs to take him upward. He sees two of the recruited Titers waiting for him outside of the designated meeting area at the top, smiles and nears them. The first one he shakes hands with is Sain Khun. The 32-year-old Titer was a remarkable martial artists and hunter. His rare eyes are more grey than blue and stand in contrast to his long black hair that he wears down. Sain is one of the handful of Titers that learned to channel their metaphysical natured abilities into to combative techniques but usually stays out of the political fray of the clan. ‘A fine young man.”. Before he’s able to address the handsome Titer, the second of the pairing cuts in.
               “Master Genghis, I have more questions about this woman.”. Lidia shamelessly exudes her opinion of the situation and demands attention. She receives a sharp look from the clan’s head that only fuels her suspicions. “Are we certain she’s the best pairing for Master Getou?”.
               “Miss Lidia, you look lovely today…”, Genghis takes her hand and kisses it, ignoring her inquires. He continues to smile until she speaks up again. ‘She never ceases.’.
               “Can we trust that her intentions for Master Getou are ones we can stand by?”. Lidia shakes her long curly red hair that dances down her arms. Her green eyes narrowed still, she waits for an answer. “She’s not even human. What if she uses her powers to manipulate his biology as well?”. Her foot taps impatiently against the now softer ground, ‘I’ll fucking kill that bitch if she even looks at him wrong!’.
               Genghis has already grown tired of catering to Lidia’s neediness in the short time they’ve come to know each other but understands she’s vital. “And what of your own intentions?”, he confidently questions her as he doesn’t need an answer. He already knows and is glad to see her heart hasn’t wavered from its possessive ways.
               Sain feels forced as this greet was supposed to be simple. He cares not of Lidia’s unhealthy interest for Suguru and even with his instincts crying against Genghis, feels badly for the man. He decides to enter the conversation in hopes to shut it down. “Lusting Lidia, it’s time to get on with the meeting.”, and grabs her arm, leading her through the door where the rest of the selected wait.
               Genghis takes a moment to center himself, ‘I understand your resentment little one…’. This quick exchange between them wasn’t the worst he’s suffered from the woman but he still cannot stand to be around her. He chuckles and whispers to himself, “But if she were any less obsessed, this wouldn’t work.”, and then enters the room with the rest as they lay out their plans.
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               Elska is looking around at the busy street as they occasionally bump into passing people. “My prince, are you sure it’s around here?” She’s never been to this part of the city before and is feeling anxious by the crowd. The sun is out but a chilling breeze catches them every so often. Her mind is heavy and plagued with questions but doesn’t want to dampen Naoya’s mission for the day.
               Naoya stops near the edge of the wide sidewalk and pulls out his phone, “I’m positive!”, while checking the map to make sure he could stand by those words. ‘Where is it?’. His brow creases as he studies the screen.
               Toji huffs, “We’ve been walking forever.” He’s abnormally agitated but also hates crowds and is pinning the fault on being dragged out into one. He looks at Elska who’s eyes happen to meet his and feels his tension release ever so slightly as the wind blows her black V-cut dress along her knees. All of them are dressed up more than usual since Naoya begged for them to eat at one of his favorite restaurants. He sees Elska eyeing him in a way that foretells she finds his black pants and squeezing button up suiting and it makes him feel like he could deal with the clothed restriction for a while longer.
               “It says we’re close!”, Naoya points to the map on his phone pridefully. It’s been a few years since he was on this side of the city and a lot has changed. He’s becoming frustrated with not knowing how much time they’ll have before Gojo returns, wanting to enjoy some normalcy. ‘I just want to treat her to nice meal!’ He turns to Elska and takes her hand, “Baby, I promise it will be worth it. I’m talking…food fit for a princess.”, when she giggles, he does too, being happy to see that she isn’t wanting to turn around. He looks to Toji now, “Want me to find you a walker?”, and snickers as the giant narrows his eyes before continuing ahead.
               Elska feels Naoya’s finger lace into hers as they resume walking, with Toji on her left. She’s trying to be cheerful today, wanting to appreciate the time she’s spending with them but her mind keeps leading her into thought. The night before, Toji stopped her from feeding and although she was aware of why and understood the risks Satoru spoke about, she tried to proceed anyway. There were a weird few minutes where she could only focus on drinking from her beloved and flailed wildly as he restrained her. ‘Why did it feel like I wanted the Titer energy too?’. She thinks to hold Toji’s hand as well in this moment but stops herself as she doesn’t want to draw unnecessary attention to the three of them. ‘He looked so concerned all while I couldn’t even stop…”. The ancestral voice advised her to feed. Her heart aches as she knows this was out of character and extremely selfish when they didn’t know how it could affect her. The one thing keeping her afloat in this matter is how Toji held her after she snapped out it, how he seemed to understand without saying that she didn’t mean to.
               Toji lets Naoya and Elska get a step ahead of him so he can keep his eyes on her. After their last outing, he’s remaining highly aware of their surroundings and is watching for anything suspicious. He sees Naoya in his dark grey slacks and black dress shirt, leaning down to talk to her as they maneuver through the groups of families and friends, keeping her close. ‘Is she really, ok?’. Toji recalls how she struggled against him the night before. Gojo tried to rush to the bed after seeing her reaction but Toji was also wanting to shield her from him. Her eyes changed, showing the dashes of his green while she clawed at his arms and flashed her fangs with a glare. Toji knew that wasn’t his Elska but didn’t want to make her apprehensive, so he hid her the best he could from Satoru until they reverted. He heard something from within while this was all occurring, a voice that he swears communicated for him to feed his master. ‘Is that even possible? What the fuck was that?’. He rubs his bicep after feeling a sharp pain run through his arm.
               Naoya leads them to a building that has loud club music playing inside, the base being noticeable from where they stand. He looks up and scrunches his face, “What the fuck is this?”. He checks his watch that bares 1:39 and is further confused by the daytime club scene. ‘I’ve failed.’. Toji can be heard groaning so he orients himself to face them both, “It was right here!!”. He takes in Elska’s kind smile as she’s clearly not going to make him feel bad for being wrong. Not knowing what to do to save their lunch adventure he stands there awkwardly to think but hears Elska say, “Well let’s enjoy a drink while we look up somewhere else nearby!”. He smiles at her ability to always find a silver lining and follows behind her up the ramp that leads inside.
               As they walk through the room on the first floor, Toji feels this intense wave wash over him. Music is drowning out most other sounds but the way the bass pulses through him allows him to feel alive. The stench of cigarettes, sweat and alcohol sting his senses while they find a seat at the bar. Once sitting, he can smell Elska’s perfume when she whips her hair behind her shoulders, exposing her neck to which causes him to stir in the stool. Naoya hands out drink menus from them all but Toji doesn’t even look at it, knowing his order already and wanting it immediately. He feels ready to pounce but is cautiously calming himself as he knows this is not the place, ‘I am NOT Gojo…’. When she crosses her legs he feels the sting in his arm again, bringing his mood back to a wavering position.
               “I’m thinking a red…’, Elska states loud enough to be heard while looking over the wine menu. Naoya smiles to her words as he announces his choice of Mojito. “That’s why you’re so sweet!”, she jokes vaguely in regards to his actual taste. She places a hand on Toji’s right knee before turning to him and feels him jump. Her voice now concerned, “Did I scare you!?”. She giggles until she sees the intensity in his eyes, wondering why he’s exuding so much right then. Her breath was held in her throat as she waited for his eyes to glow, knowing that would not be good for where they are. They never do though and she eventually resumes respiration as he places his own large hand over hers. ‘What was that?’. She now swivels her head around the large room, taking in all of the day drinkers on the dance floor and seated randomly about.
               The bartender takes their orders with a smile and begins to serve them up right there. He recommended a red for Elska that he swears was his personal favorite and proudly waited for the approving sip. When she stated its palatability, he then left to attend other customers while Toji stared him down menacingly. ‘That’s a brave man to be flirting right in front of us.’.
               Naoya sips his drink while eyeing Toji chug his whiskey on the rocks. “Slow down old man, we still have to go somewhere to eat!”, he laughs at the eyeroll he receives and notices Elska drinking pretty quickly as well. “Baby, what’s on your mind?”, he knows something is bothering her and wonders if they’re both just nervous after the last Titer attack. ‘Maybe I can convince her to dance it away!’, he thinks as he imagines himself twirling her under the disco ball. He just wants her to have a good day.
               After finshing her glass already, she sets it down and tells Naoya, “I’m fine, I promise! I just really have to pee!”. He chuckles and adjusts himself so she has more room to slide off the stool. She announces that she’ll be right back before searching the walls for signs indicating the direction she should take. A drunken man bumps into her shortly after leaving the bar and can feel Toji increase his presence so she turns around to show that she’s fine. The whole room was lively except for Toji’s motionless staring. ‘I better be fast before he loses his shit.’.
               “She shouldn’t be alone.” Toji followed her with his eyes as she turned a corner down a hall. He’s worried about her and has this familiar unyielding need to be in her vicinity. It’s almost as if he knows something is about to happen. “I’m going to wait for her, watch the drinks.”. He hears Naoya protest with grief but faces him and says, “Boy, why don’t you find us a place to eat since we’re out here because of you.”, and places a hand on Naoya’s shoulder as he goes to walk past to counter the aggression in his voice. “Order another round too will ya?”.
               Elska stands up in the stall and flushes but doesn’t leave. She’s feeling like Toji’s eyes were trying to tell her something minutes ago but she can’t figure it out. All she knows is that it was sexy. She opens the latched door to wash and dry her hands but takes in her reflection in the mirror and thinks, ‘Life is so much crazier now…’, but smiles to herself knowing she had fantastic support from everyone. The door pushes open abruptly behind her and she gasps in startlement before realizing that it was Toji himself. “TOJI! What if there are others in here?!”. She can tell by his focus though that it didn’t matter anyway.
               “Doll…” he mutters as he locks the door behind him. He sees that she was caught off guard when she asks what he was doing in there but he just walks closer until he’s inches away. “I need…”, he lifts her up so she can wrap her legs around his waist and supports her weight with his right arm. “I need you.”, he whispers while dragging the tip of his nose along her collar bone, watching her skin change pigment from his glowing eyes. Her hands are roaming through his hair and he moans to the sensation of her nails against his scalp. “Right now.”. He nearly growls as he sinks her into his groin from above.
               “Toji…”, she was right about his prior intensity but can’t find it in her heart to stop him as he begins kissing the crook of her neck. The music can be heard through the walls along with idle chatter and it all serves as a reminder for where they’re at. She thinks of her pheromones and instantly pulls herself out of their beautiful trance. She whispers, “We shouldn’t do this here, my beloved.”, and frowns as he lifts his head to meet eyes. “I can’t release them here, it’ll be a disaster…”.
               He agrees that they shouldn’t have sex and nods with a grunt but that’s not truly what brought him in lady’s room to begin with. Feeling his fangs form he shows them to her and happily takes in her reaction as she smiles and moves her hair while saying, “Oh! ok…but we have to be quick!”. He squeezes her cheek with his right hand that supporting her rear and drags his teeth across the skin of her neck. “I just need to taste you.”, he wantonly groans before biting down. She gasps to his intrusion and grips his hair as he begins to suckle. His own whimpers could be heard between his gulps, loving every drop he’s being given as he deciphers her soul and feelings. Her flavor, now that he’s not as overloaded by the information, is reminiscent of the aroma born from a field of flowers. Each time he swallows more of her blood, his overall restlessness fades while her squirming increases.
               Elska cradles his head into her while melting in the master’s ecstasy flowing through her. Her eyes are closed as she bites her lip and attempts to muffle her sounds. “My beloved…”, she whimpers to him while her fingers stroke through his hair. His hypertonicity dwindles as she feels his left hand travel up her back, resting a grip on the nape of her neck. “I love you, my beloved Toji…”, and gasps in desperation as she can sense his own, wanting to assure him of his importance. Those same fingers now dance along her clavicle as he brings them over the wounds to close them while panting into her neck. He leaves his face buried there, adorning the area with his lips slowly as he she can tell he’s gathering himself. “Do you feel better?” She caresses his temple and cheek hoping that he did, feeling terrible that she didn’t recognize or even sense his disposition sooner. When he lifts his head to look at her again, she feels the need to lock her lips to his as they both exhale in a gratified union. She moves the hair out of his eyes and kisses his forehead before he gently puts her back down, him looking refreshed with a bashful grin.
               He grabs a paper towel from the dispenser and wets it. In the mirror he can see Elska’s loving eyes watching him and the scar on the corner of his lips bends pleasantly. While wiping away any evidence, he shyly adds, “I love you too, doll.”, the words still seeming unreal. After discarding the bloodied paper towel, he takes up her hands in his own, “I’m sorry for following you in here, I just…I really needed to do that.”. He’s still uneasy by how compelling the desire was. “I felt like I wouldn’t get another chance.”. He sees the concern on her face and doesn’t want to worry her, “It was just time for me to feed doll, everything is ok.”. Her hand sails upwards to hold his cheek and leans into it. ‘I have to keep her safe.’.
               Naoya is watching the condensation accumulate on his glass and is now feeling nervous as he checks his watch again. ‘Where are they?!’, he swings around in the stool to check the room and feels an incredible wave of relief as he finds Toji and Elska making their way back to the bar. After they sit he asks, “Did you guys go to the bathroom at the dorms or what?”, but picks up on the weird laughs he receives from them. ‘He wouldn’t have tried something sly, would he?’, and squints his eyes at Toji. ‘He looks way better though.’, and decides to let it go as he’s sure even a quickie couldn’t be that quick. “Baby…”, Naoya slides his phone over in front of them as he finishes his second Mojito, “I’ve only been here once but they have beautiful seating along the water!”. He cackles, “…and it’s only about half a mile away by foot…”.
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               Gojo is quickly walking through the whited-out halls with Choso following. He speaks without looking, “Choso, when we get in there…I have to warn you, you’re not expected.”. Gojo heard Choso stop in place so he turns around to see him. “You’re with me though so it’s fine! If they say anything to you, just ignore them. I will do the talking.”, and waves for the being to hurry.
               “I…I don’t understand why I’m here with you and not everyone else…”. Choso is familiar with the Elders but can’t ignore the fact that he used to work for them where as he’s now on the opposing side. ‘Is this a good idea?’. He was expecting Gojo to sulk and whine to being called in today and is puzzled by how thrilled he seems.
               Gojo jumps up to click his heels to the side before saying, “I don’t trust these cunts and I’m almost positive this is a trap of some sort…”. He notices Choso’s eyes widen with confusion so he continues, “If they’re trying to distract me from Elska, they fail if you’re there using your technique to watch her for me!”, his smug grin appears, “This way I’ll know the moment something happens.”. He’s sure the Elders have called him away in order to create an opportunity but has a mind to flip their plans upside down with this small act of rebellion. “I can never remember where to go! This shit all looks the same…it’s creepy.”.
               Choso sighs but tries to keep up with Gojo’s quickened pace. The bright lighting overhead is blinding and causing him discomfort as he prefers darker places. He doesn’t know what to make of Gojo’s explanation but figures he’s along for the ride at this point anyways. “Do you think they’d even admit to what they’re doing?”. Choso understands the amount of secrecy the surrounds the Elder’s goals and is sure that he’s not even fully aware of their intentions.
               “Yes. I will make sure they do.”, Satoru’s words are eerie but his expression is still delighted. “These fuckers have messed with us for long enough. They’re cowards, Choso and the things they want to do to my love are unacceptable.”.  Gojo is certain that none of the others would have condoned what he’s thinking he’ll have to do which is why he said nothing before leaving. “They need to leave her alone and how can I call myself the strongest if I can’t protect her from these witless skin bags?”. Satoru at least wanted to inform Nanami of his meeting but hasn’t been able to reach the fellow shaman yet. ‘Did they get to him too?’. Gojo is certain that something happened with Shoko but was waiting to see how things played out. ‘As long as she’s fine, I know she can handle it.’, but worries about Nanami’s reaction if he’s already discovered this too.
               ‘What is he going to do?’, Choso feels like something big is about to happen, something that cannot be taken back. The unnerving pressure in his gut hints that whatever it is, it’s not good. “Itadori and the others are still on standby but isn’t it odd that they haven’t been given any missions?”. They pass more rooms before Satoru finally stops. Choso watches the silver shaman’s expression change to lethally cold one before straightening himself with resolve, and knows he should do the same. ‘I guess I have to just trust him…’, the thought not sitting comfortably at all.
               Gojo quietly speaks, “Remember, don’t mind them, they’re not worth the stress. You do not serve them any longer.”, and places a reassuring hand on the hybrids shoulder. He’s impressed when he looks over the being, seeing that his previous nervousness has been cast away and replaced by a collected ensemble. ‘I’m pretty sure I’m right about him.’, and feels poised in the dark nature that lurks beneath Choso’s kindness. Turning back to the door, Gojo kicks it open fiercely before entering. “WHAT’S UP FUCKERS?!”.
               Three people sit along one side of a long white table, seeming prepared aside from the sudden commotion. The first is a representative of the Kamo clan, a new middle-aged face Satoru has never seen draped in dark red robes. The second is a Zenin, the bought errand man known better as “Peaches” for a less known reason. Gojo knew him rather well from his childhood and all of the clan events he was forced to attend. The third, however, catches Satoru by complete surprise and angers him. The woman sitting as a representative for his own clan is none other than his mother.
               Gojo seethes with white knuckled fists, “What the fuck are you doing here?”, as old anguish resurfaces between the two. Satoru hasn’t been home in years and purposefully. He was sure if he stayed any longer, he’d annihilate his own family.
               The Kamo rep scoffs, “Yes… well hello to you too Satoru Gojo. We could ask you the same.” He points to Choso, “Isn’t that Kamo property?”. The hybrid and Gojo fail to give him the time of day, causing tension.
               Gojo never takes his eyes off of his mother while waiting in silence as Choso dutifully ignores them. His eyes darken, “I asked you a fucking question you miserable old whore.”. He feels the urge to gather a technique but calms himself with his better judgement.
               His mother speaks, “That is no way to talk to the woman who raised you!”, she laughs in a haughty way but brings her dramatics to a close, “Why else would I be here? You can’t be left to just do whatever you please…”. She tilts her nose up and displays her notion that she is untouchable.
               Peaches shifts in his chair, “You have something that needs to be returned to the Zenin’s. Master Naoya was promised her hand.”. He’s honestly terrified of Gojo but would never allow this to show. Satoru darts stormy eyes in his direction and he feels a chill race down his spine.
               “Let’s just be frank about it. You want Elska.”. Gojo voice is calm, almost lighthearted. He brings his gaze back to his mother, feeling a little better about the situation knowing he’s going to handle more business than he expected today. “Choso, please start now.”. Gojo doesn’t have to look since he can feel Choso’s energy gathering to form the window. He watches the representatives lean to figure out what the hybrid is up to and laughs out loud. “My friend here”, He scowls at the Kamo man, “is going to observe Elska while we meet.”. He winks to Peaches, “She’s with Naoya right now for your information…Toji too.”.
               Gojo’s mother bursts into hyaena laughter, threatening to rupture the unsuspecting eardrums of the others. “You think you have it all figured out, don’t you? Such a pitiful child.”. Her long white hair waves in the air as she jerks her head to see Peaches’s perplexed expression. “Don’t believe him just because he speaks it…trust me…”, and folds her arms while thinking of how many more beatings her son should have to experience when younger.
               Peaches clears his throat and tries to save face, “Surely this is some kind of joke. Master Naoya loathes your very existence Satoru.”. He’s now chuckling to himself having felt it was a test of some sort, “Are we not on better terms than that of your games?”. He’s now sure it was a lie.
               Gojo regrets that Peaches is here today but is unable to overlook the fact that the old goat is in cahoots with this situation. ‘It can’t be helped!’. He turns to Choso now for the first time since they walked into the room and is reassured that nothing bad is happening. Now facing Peaches again, “You know… Zenin and I got off on the wrong foot.” He grins, “But now we have threesomes!”, loving the shock that plasters everyone’s face. The Kamo man choked on his own saliva to the mention. Gojo looks at his mother, “Don’t be upset just because no one wants to fuck you. It can’t be helped when your cunt leaks venom.”.
               Choso sits motionlessly as he listens to the meeting unfold, completely flabbergasted by Satoru’s way of speaking. ‘What did his mother do to him to make him hate her so much?’, he hesitates to explore the options in his mind as he can only imagine. Aside from that though, Choso has never witnessed such a display of blatant disrespect to the higher ups and is completely unnerved by the silver shamans ever changing composure. ‘What is he planning to do?’, the ominous feelings he’s experiencing from this are only growing at this point.
               Peaches is red with embarrassment, “HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT!”, and allows his anger on the matter to spill over. The representative huffs relentlessly to the accusations and feels disgraced for his ears being exposed to such vile talk. When expecting to see an angry Gojo, he’s further confused by the smile that meets him instead.
               Gojo runs his finger along the table as he casually saunters in front of each of them. “If you three decide to get rowdy…I’ll have to kill you.”. He basks in the glares and especially enjoys his mother’s fear as she knew he was not playing around. Once they become settled he says to her, “You being here makes you my enemy, mommy. How long have you been involved?”. She starts to swat his question away with a scoff but everyone leaps out of their skin when Satoru yells, “HOW FUCKING LONG?!”. He increases his presence tenfold and watches the representatives writhe in distress before him.
               She says nothing.
               The Kamo rep is sweating bullets as he’s only heard the tales of horrors committed at the hand of Gojo. ‘Genghis said nothing about this hostility.”, he thinks to himself as he comprehends that he’s bitten off more than he could chew. He’s afraid to peel his eyes away from the powerful shaman making inquiring demands but also wants to flee the room. ‘This guy is even crazier in person!’.
               Gojo takes a deep breath and exhales dramatically, “Well…this is going nowhere…”, and summons energy into his hand as he aims it at the Kamo representative. The nameless man cries out in fear and studders in his breathing. Gojo notices Choso jump to his feet but the being doesn’t say anything. Only when the defeated female voice utters, “3 years.”, does he quell his attack. He thinks about that answer for a moment before acknowledging her again. ‘That’s strange.’. Looming across from her he now asks, “I’d already had my love for some time before that, why did you join them to conspire against me at that point? Don’t make me blow this poor guy’s skull open…”, he warns of his lack of patience.
               His mother sulks in her seat having her hands tied about the questioning, “I thought she was a passing infatuation at first, like all of the others but you completely neglected your responsibilities of being an heir because of that wretch.” She’s met with unforgiving eyes and wishes she was able to smack the audacity out of him but has learned the hard way about his response to abuse. “She is not yours Satoru and you jeopardize the entire balance of the clans with your actions of keeping her.”.  Out of the corner of her eye she sees Peaches nod in support and feels reaffirmed by it.
               Gojo slips a wild laugh and slaps the table, “She is mine though. I voyaged worlds away to find her. I went to incredible lengths to bring her back…”, he sighs while resting his hands on his hips. “You do know, mom, these Titers that have you in their pocket…they were going to use her to assassinate me.”. The atmosphere of the room deteriorates at the mention of the Titer clan. Its obvious that they were left unaware to Gojo having knowledge of the group’s silent partner.
               His mother jumps from her seat and screams, “AND THEY SHOULD HAVE SUCCEEDED!”. All of the hatred she’s ever felt for her son sears the air around them, her chest feeling lighter for the honesty but heavier for the fear. “You were destined for greatness but even with your gifts, something is wrong with you! How you ever came out of me? I will never know…”. She feels she must stand her ground or else the structure they’ve served their entire lives will crumble. “You’re evil. You always have been.”.
               Choso is still watching Naoya, Toji and Elska but can’t help but be distracted by the darkness exuding Gojo. ‘What is going on here?’, he doesn’t understand how this is official business and even finds himself feeling defensive over Satoru. ‘That woman is appalling.’, he thinks as he considers Gojo’s upbringing and decides there’s more to the man than he ever considered. He looks back to the window after surmising that none of the representatives would attack. Choso becomes rattled when the window shows Toji drinking from Elska in a cramped bathroom, ‘I can’t believe the lighting permits this, it must be dim.’, He temporarily becomes fixated with Toji’s fangs anchored into her as she quietly moans. He’s not seen anyone but her feed before. ‘So, his bite feels good to her as well?’. He brushes his lap as if to tell it, “Knock it off”, but his attention is soon stolen by Peaches’s mention of Elska.
               “If you don’t return Elska Oda then this will be seen as an act of aggression Satoru, please…don’t do thi-…” Peaches can no longer speak as Gojo grips hit throat and is thrown into a fit of fright.
               “I kind of liked you…I was use to you at least…but if you ask me that one more time, I will break your fucking neck.” Gojo feels his face twitch as he squeezes the old man’s beard into his throat, “You guys are fucking with me today and I don’t appreciate it.”. Never letting go, he turns to his mother but also glances at the petrified Kamo rep, “I do not give a single flying fuck about the clans, I couldn’t care less of your archaic ways and I am never going to surrender my Elska.”. As Peaches reaches a critical point of needing air, Gojo clamps his fingers deeper, “I left my love’s side today to be here because of your guys’ little fucking Titer friends. That is what we will discuss.”.
               Gojo’s mother rushes to pull her son’s hand away but right as she’s reaching out, Satoru releases Peaches. She watches the old man heave and choke uncontrollably and shoots hateful eyes. “How dare you lay a hand on him? Do you fear nothing?”, she thinks to threaten with her husband but knows that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree so it’s likely useless.
               Satoru smirks while studying Peaches inability to regain his breath, “I crushed his trachea a bit, he’s going to need medical attention soon.”. He watches the Kamo man stand up in disbelief and warns, “My mother is right about one thing, I do not fear you or your influence.”, and smiles approvingly as the man takes his seat again hesitantly.
               “You psychotic little freak!”, his mother cries out in disgust, “We need to get him to a doctor!”. She feels herself fill with anxiety as she was not expecting him to go this far. “Let us take him!”.
               Satoru hisses quietly, “If you guys weren’t so dead set in dicking me around then this wouldn’t have happened. No one leaves until I get some answers.”. He strolls around the table, loving how terrified the Kamo representative became when he was close. He yanks up the suffocating Peaches and throws him back into his chair, “Have some fucking dignity…I thought better of you.”. When Peaches makes eye contact, he can see the dread wash over the man, knowing their dynamic has changed forever.
               The Kamo man speaks up sheepishly, “Wh…What is it that you want to know?”. He’s all for handing over the required information as he clearly cares about his life more than the others. Satoru’s expression softens as the other two representatives hang their mouths open, not expecting him to fold so easily. Gojo states, “Everything.”, which causes the rep to tense up as he doesn’t know where to begin. He hastily blurts out, “Suguru Getou inherited ancient techniques as well. The Titers are planning on taking the girl for themselves to ensure their supremacy.” He inhales sharply, “The head of their clan met his end by the hands of your company, they want to repay by being rid of you as you are their final target. You’re still too strong because of your infinity, so the girl’s fate was determined the moment you were born.”.
               “You… weak imbecile…”, Gojo’s mother retaliates to the sensitive information by pushing Peaches backwards causing him to fall to the ground and thrash violently. Without so much as a second thought, she gathers energy into her hand and expels it at the Kamo man’s mouth. The representative dons his own matching blood as his brain matter exits the back of his head, decorating the white surroundings behind him. Only a cavernous jagged hole remains where the words escaped him only seconds prior. His body slumps over the table as he leaks his remaining essence into a pool that shortly forms a dripping pattern to the white tiled floor.  
               Choso defensively stands as the black tattoo on his faces begins to wave. “Satoru…”, is all he says while watching Gojo’s mother now strain to lift the blue tinted and gasping Peaches back upright his seat. ‘His mother is just as rash…’. Choso waits for a few moments longer but is eager to gauge Gojo when their eyes finally meet. ‘Why does he look so satisfied?’, he questions himself as he’s met with that smug smile. The Zenin man’s eyes look like they may pop out of his head but Choso can still make out the man’s reaction to his own presence. He hears Gojo say, “Everything is alright Choso, don’t worry. Just watch them.”, but the being is unable to simply sit with ease at this time. ‘How is this alright?’.
               “And you wonder where I get it from?”, Gojo is irritated that the only man that was willing to talk is now dead but he’s also able to take the information to heart because of how his mother reacted. ‘So all of this really is because of me…’, he thinks of Elska with a heavy heart knowing all that she’s been through, even before he got his hands on her was his fault. ‘My love…I will make this right.’.
               Gojo’s mother now sits back down, wondering if she went too far and gave away their hand. Peaches struggles to speak next to her but she can make out that he’s trying to question the fidelity of the Kamo’s last words. She sighs, “Look Peaches, I like you but I’m siding with Genghis.”. Peaches gurgles himself into a purple hue as he still cannot breathe or talk properly. She understands that Peaches was completely ignorant to the Titer’s planned betrayal to the Zenins and calm says, “They’re not wanting to eliminate other clans, they’re just going to help guide us to this proposed peace, don’t worry so much.”.
               Peaches can only think of Master Naoya who he feels is in grave danger after hearing this information. ‘I…he has to know…Master Na…he needs to be made aware!’. He thinks to grab his phone but he wouldn’t be able to relay the information, nor is he fast enough to text it. Peaches chokes in his stress and can tell his body is slowly shutting down after being deprived oxygen and feels completely hopeless about his predicament. When his heavy eyes meet Gojo’s he freezes in apprehension while listening intently.
               Satoru sighs dramatically with growing anticipation, “Now…where were we?”.
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sukumen · 3 years
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AJSNKAJSNSMNK I JUDT HAD THE BIGGEST WHAT-IF MOMENT AFTER WATCHING EP 24.
What if in Generarional Curse ‘Verse, Des!Reader starts to manifest Sukuna’s cursed technique or at least a technique similar to his? I know Des!Reader is like Yuuta, but Des!Reader is also Sukuna’s descendant and so, with the fingers resonating, wouldn’t it also be kinda sorta possible that Sukuna’s blood would awaken in his descendants too????
Can you imagine the anguish that GC!Reader feels??? That no matter how many generations have past, Gc!Reader and all her kids are still kinda Sukuna’s??? Like it could be why Sukuna recognizes Des!Reader as his and could be why he realizes just who GC!Reader is…
But also like I can imagine Sukuna and GC!Reader arguing about it like. I just imagine GC!Reader being all sassy and refusing to let Sukuna mentor or help train Des!Reader in anyway and Sukuna sorta likes how mouthy GC!Reader is… Ugh. Thee Toxic Baby Daddy fr fr
AHHHH THIS IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA! and with all that’s going on in canon, it makes total sense like if sukuna being incarnated in yuuji makes his fingers resonate, it stands to reason that it could do something similar with his descendants. and it would make sense why no sorcerers up until that point have worked out that anyone survived!
god, what a concept - it probably doesn’t happen immediately as it does with the fingers that have that direct connection. but, over time, that cursed energy does change, warping most when des ends up in spaces or around curses that have taken in one of the fingers. gc!reader picks it up first, but doesn’t think much of it because it is normal for the descendant that houses her to develop some technique of their own that gets combined with her. but the moment gc!reader learns that sukuna has been incarnated, it isn’t hard to work out why des!reader’s energy is changing so much so rapidly. 
and it absolutely does devastate gc!reader. she’s spent centuries trying to effectively rewrite the family history with her hatred for him - protecting them and giving them strength so sukuna, or no curse for that matter, can never hurt them again. and where it made sense, they were even sorcerers, joining the fight in ways that she prayed would erase the harm they were part of as sukuna’s ‘family’. and now here he is, changing so much about her family just by existing; not even intentionally. like i have to think she would prefer if it was part of his master plan and not just the after effects of his fingers resonating, because it just feels so out of her control. and she hates feeling that hopelessness because of him again.
but GOD yes definitely love the idea of sukuna figuring out who des!reader is because of that resonance - she might even actually pass out seeing yuuji for that first time because of that, as opposed to gc!reader’s intense emotions, since it’s the closest she’s been to sukuna or any number of his fingers and it’s overwhelming. 
it probably is some time before she can be around yuuji comfortably too - because beyond that, you know sukuna reacts to her presence every time. sometimes he doesn’t even say anything - a mouth and eye just appearing on yuuji’s cheek when des!reader walks in and watching her dangerously closely. it gets even worse when gc!reader is involved, like he’s so taunting, trying to get any reaction at all and he’s admittedly very very fascinated by how much she would’ve changed from those days in his compound. it’s almost hard to believe it’s her!
we gotta think of how sukuna’s technique might manifest for des - i like the idea of something that she DOES need help controlling because even if gc!reader is opposed, des!reader is serious about being a sorcerer and wants to manage her power well. and as much as she hates sukuna alongside her ancestor, she’s also very practical and if she can only manage her power with his help, she’s not going to shut it down outright...
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shinsoups · 3 years
Text
Student No. 22 —
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m a s t e r l i s t
pairing: shinsou hitoshi x f!reader x class1a
genre: 1tbsp of crack, 1 tsp of fluff, a sprinkle of angst and 1 cup of chaotic randomness
synopsis: y/n was certain she would never be a Hero. She had a different goal in her mind, and that is to be a great doctor someday. With a terrible past she wants to forget, she vows she would never use her Quirk and will never let the world know what it is. Not until she finds out that the invincible quirk she thought she has can also have a certain weakness.
super random updates
a/n: canon Shinsou is joining hero class for their second year but I'm gonna make him part of Class 1A already yay! ALSO IM ON MOBILE IDK HOW TO PUT A *KEEP READING CUT* will edit this tomorrow 🙏🏻 sorry for the long post on your dash
OO5 : Acceptance...Is that a Threat? —
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"You're already enrolled and your safety was entrusted to us."
"No, I'm sorry but I think I had enough." You hoarsely whispered. "I already got the answer what I was looking for."
Aizawa stopped in his tracks, his hands buried in his pockets as he watches you struggle to reply. "And that is?"
"The Hero scene isn't cut out for me." You bravely look at his eyes, slowing down your pace and faced him, catching Shinsou's gaze just behind your teacher.
"I don't want to fight nor hurt anyone to save lives. I want to save lives as a doctor if possible. And if you think that proper guidance is that one thing I need then you're wrong, sensei. I don't need that, please don't patronize me."
Aizawa tried his best to remain calm but the way you somehow push the wrong buttons and say things so straighforward makes him want to knock some sense in to you and tell you that there is more to being a hero. But the way you fidget somehow caught his watchful eyes. Aizawa squinted as you kept glancing towards him and behind him, catching a certain purple head boy passing you two.
You fiddled your hands nervously, seeing another gaze settling on your figure. Still feeling the pain on your shoulder, Aizawa walked closer to where you stood.
"You're scared of him," he said in-a-matter-of-fact tone.
"I am not."
"Because he can control you," he taunted.
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Is Aizawa even a teacher right now? Why is he so pressed into this matter? You thought to yourself as you felt his presence even closer, caging you and your thoughts... your fears that someone actually exists that can easily negate your own self defense quirk. You bowed your head, averting your gaze.
"l/n-san, you don't like being controlled don't you?" Aizawa sighs seeing how your body trembles at the mention of the word.
You looked up wide eyes, straining to retort something but words fail to escape your mouth. Instead a nonsensical challenge transpired between the two of you. Shinsou held his breath, wanting to intervene the moment he saw Aizawa’s eyes glowing red and hearing your whispered exchanges. Only for Bakugou to block his way, enjoying the scene unfolding in front of them.
Everyone was silently hoping there was a good reason why Aizawa was suddenly fighting you just after finishing the Hero Training exercise. His hair flared up as he tried to capture you with his scarf, only for you to dodge and glare at your teacher.
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“You didn’t fight Shinsou and Bakugou. Is that how you like to win?,” Aizawa’s voice echoed as you run towards the exit. Trying your best not to bump into someone along the way.
At the back of your mind there was a tiny voice telling you that they’re all judging you and your intentions was so unclear to be there at the Hero Course. That you don't deserve to be there. And they were right. But...
"You can become stronger if you train against him and with him. Maybe find a reason why he of all people can do that to you..."
You scoffed, amazed by how a teacher can agitate you with such simple words. Your grandfather was worse, his training methods were the worst, the hero exercise earlier pale in comparison to what you experienced. You only learned self defense in order to protect and not fight.
And to see this class filled with hopeful heroes to be are trained in order to fight for the justice they believe is such a ludicrous notion it made you wonder... why train them in the first place only for the HPSC to control everything? You gag at the toxic hero worship everyone seems to adapt. Is everyone foolishly blind? Foolishly following such trend? Or were you the blind one?
Gritting your teeth, you spat the words angrily. You stopped running and charged into him instead, “I still won. You got what you wanted, sensei. My Quirk... you saw it with your own eyes. So why do I have to hurt someone if the only goal is to win?”
With that said you side-stepped away from the white material coursing your way only to meet another set of it the moment you evaded Aizawa’s.
The rest of the class tried their best to avoid the both of you, still confused about what's going on. "She really likes to pick a fight doesn't she?" Kaminari watches as you gracefully dodge each of Aizawa's attempt to capture you.
"Sensei's erasing quirk is useless against her too," Midoriya mumbled, amazed once again with this new information. "I thought it was only fire quirks that were affected but I'm guessing she can --"
Midoriya's words were cut off when he saw Shinsou walked closer, carefully threading in the sidelines.
"You have got to be kidding me!"
"I-I think everyone should calm down." Shinsou looked over you then to Aizawa who was shocked that his own protege captured him with his own binding technique.
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"y/n-san" Shinsou pulled you into him, trapping you with his binding cloth for the second time after releasing Aizawa. "I don't know what's going on, but -" he looks at his mentor then back to you.
"Release me."
"No."
"Shinsou!"
"No!" he pulled you closer.
"Take it off."
Shinsou raised his eyebrows, smirking at the tone you used. He tried to hold his smile but the way you whispered those three words somehow made you two blush at the weird notion.
You bit your lips in embarrassment as you felt his breath on your cheeks, "No."
"Please?" you sighed, trying to calm yourself down. Too close...he's too close.
Shinsou looks back up at his teacher. "Sensei-"
Aizawa’s face was more unreadable as he walks closer, Shinsou was trying to figure out what his mentor's expression means. Aizawa simply stares at the both of you, a strange look both of you can't read.
Shinsou takes a deep breath, and goes on, “I shouldn't probably intervened but she's...she's injured because of me.” he looks away, too shy with the reason he came up with, now a small tinge of red powdering his nose.
There was a long pause. Aizawa merely nods. Shinsou opens his mouth, wanting to say something more but the words don’t come.
Giving into another temptation and succumbing to the curiousity budding, you rationalized the choices in your head. Do you want to fight him? Or do you wanna know how far he can use his quirk against you. About what he said earlier, were you scared people will resent you or maybe you really are scared of yourself.
"Fine." you murmured. "I accept the offer."
"Offer?" Shinsou looks momentarily confused about the exchange.
"Good. Now please do me a favor and stop being another problem child." Aizawa pats your head and walks away as if nothing had happened. "I'm not getting paid enough for this." he mutters to himself as he looked between you and Shinsou leaving you two behind and calling the whole class to go change back into their uniforms.
"Were you always a pushover?" Shinsou asks out of curiosity as he frees you.
"I am not!"
He watches as you contorted your face into a pout, your nose scrunching in annoyance as you rub your arms. With cheeks puffed out you glared at him, "I'm going to crush you, so you better know what's coming.”
"Is that a threat?"
You pat his shoulder bravely making him flinch at the sudden contact "No. It's a declaration of war."
The heat rises to his cheeks, his cool and passive demeanor suddenly melts aways as he chuckles lowly, accepting the declaration you just announced. "Then be ready to taste defeat this next time."
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Curiosity was one thing you don't like but what you really hate the most is not finding answers to satisfy your own. So this time, you might as well go all the way in satisfying the curiosity growing.
"Then try me. Bring it on, hero."
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a/n: the story is progressing so slow skdkkskec i just want to stress the part that y/n hates the idea of hero worship... Probably due to one of the many traumas she endured during her childhood.
But still she's a very curious cat, Shinsou unknowingly being the reason why she accepted Aizawa's offer once again.
ps: this is not proofread 🤧 will edit laters~
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taglist: @sugarandsoft @roesaurus @moonlightbae14 @therealwalmartjesus @redperson58 @i-bitch-you-bitch @allie-munoz @seijohoe @riathearora
general taglist: @b0ku4ka @chibishae34 @skusamiya
i got a taglist im soft ~ want to join? just leave a comment or shoot an ask my dudes and dudettes ✨
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likes, comments and reblogs is highly appreciated 🐣
this is my first time writing bnha so tips and comments are really helpful ! ✨
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sunflowersteves · 4 years
Text
bloody & bruised || subway fiasco
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Mob!Bucky Barnes x Boxer!Reader
𝒄𝒉. 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚: You meet an entitled asshole on the subway before training. After training, Shuri asks you to go get drinks with her. What happens when that same entitled asshole owns the bar?
Author’s Note: So, this series is completely new and improved. I decided to start completely fresh and recreate it. I hope you all enjoy, I’m happier with this series!
Warnings: swearing, asshole!bucky
series m.list // m.list
You entered the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan. You signed in, noticing the girl at the front desk popping her gum annoyingly loud. She never spared you a look as she spoke, “visitor?” You replied which then she continued to not give a fuck about your presence and hit the button that opened the gate. You greeted the guard and put your personal belongings in a tub and proceeded into the hall with the rest of the visitors, waiting to see an inmate. 
You tapped your heels gently on the concrete floor. Fuck, could this take any longer? The loud buzz of the doors that contained the inmates flooded into your ear and made you jump. 
“Line up, boys!” The guards yelled at the inmates to walk through the hallway door. Bucky’s hard glare settled onto his face before his eyes landed on your figure. A playful stare rolled over towards your face, that devious look was always hooded between his eyes. 
Your fiancée looked good, prison had done well on him with his newly cut hair and subtle that was growing longer.
You both pick up the phone, your garnet-colored chipped nails partially scraping against the phone. His eyes flickered to your bloody knuckles, they were thumping hard against your skin. You watched his lips curve into that luscious grin.
“Hey, baby girl.”
                | 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 |                                                                 
You were running through crowds, pushing others trying to get to the subway.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, move asshole!”
You were totally and royally fucked at the moment. Your mind could only seize panic at the idea of being late and facing Carol’s wrath. You had been training with her for five months and the rumors were very much true, she was a tough lady. Carol Danvers, was a famous boxer that allowed you to be mentored by her. 
She saw you one night, walking underneath the stars and bright skyscrapers when a couple of men had paraded you. She almost stepped in until she saw you give three uppercuts and two kick to the balls. Her eyebrow only raised in interest before she asked you if you wanted to be mentored, to be better than you already are. Of course, you recognized her, even the newbies to boxing recognized her so you immediately agreed.
However, today just wasn’t your day. You spilled coffee all over your white shirt, you were held up at work having to do extra paperwork and now you’re going to be late for training. 
Normally, she’d praise you for always being on time and punctual but not today. She would probably yell at you to run a couple of miles more. You ran down the stairs and quickly swiped your metro card, pushing the gate. You were full-on running now, the subway train was already here and about to close.
You were just barely able to make it, a huff escaping your lungs as the doors slammed immediately behind you. You looked at your watch, 8:23 pm it read, your eyes widened and you muttered a light “shit.” 
There was hardly anyone on the subway, which was kind of weird considering that it was only eight. You peered over towards the cart next to you and saw that it was full, people were packed right next to each other. Your eyebrows furrowed and you turned towards the right, noticing a group of people stare at you.
Your eyes flicker towards a brunette, a sly smirk was fitted on his face. He had two women sitting right next to him, they were practically on his lap. They giggled at anything he said and stared at him with bright stary eyes. A sigh escaped your lips, you felt bad for them honestly. You’ve been there as well, craving attention and wanting anything materialistic. You knew there was nothing wrong with that, however, it can become pretty toxic sometimes.
“Wanna join us doll?”
Your eyes rolled over his form, he had an expensive tailored black suit. It was paired with expensive Versace sunglasses that sat right on his fluffy brown hair. It was like his cherry lips were suck in a smirk, cockiness just radiated off of him. He was pretty attractive, you weren’t going to lie but he wasn’t anything impressive as far as his attitude and demeanor. 
You could guess he was a misogynistic prick, thinking that women were just his plaything and money could buy them. You maintained a mundane expression as your eyes lifted to meet his. You could see his jaw was clenched at your bored expression, but it was true. This man was just another dude being called a lady killer while the girls around him were called sluts. 
“No.” 
His eyes widened in surprise, no one had ever denied him before. He got everything he wanted; women, money, territory, and nice things. Even his most trusted friends around him had never denied the things that he asked for. Not to mention his lackeys were always drenched in fear so he got anything he wanted.
He looked over to see Steve holding an amused and surprised expression. So did Natasha and Sam, amusement clouded over their eyes. The girls beside him gasped at your answer and his hands squeezed their thighs.
“You don’t know who I am, do you?” That stupid smirk had clicked back onto his face as he continued to stare at you. His eyes traveled down from your eyes onto your form. You were wearing your favorite pair of matching Nike’s leggings and sports bra. For boxing, it was a common rule to wear nothing baggy. 
“No, but I don’t care either.” Your voice remained monotone and your face screamed boredom. You clicked your tongue and went back to scrolling on your phone, hoping he’d just leave you alone. How long will this subway ride take?
A sudden surge of anger filled his stomach at your still bored expression. Who were you talking to the biggest and baddest of New York City like that? You were just some girl, a nobody. Bucky, however, was everything and on top of the world. He had money, could get any girl he wanted, had the most expensive house in Brooklyn, and covered the most crime in the city. He was not just going to let you dismiss the Bucky Barnes like that.
His eyes wandered towards you again. He followed the placement of your nose, your beautiful cheekbones, and pink glossed lips. You are very attractive and Bucky is definitely not hiding his stare despite the two women around him.
“You from around here, doll?” There was a short pause before you answered. You were honestly getting pretty tired of this dude talking to you on an already shit day.
“Do you like prying into stranger’s lives?” Steve and Natasha snickered in front of him, their arms holding onto the railings above them. He just figured you had gotten into a fight of some sort, intrigue hitting him like a brick. 
“Jus’ the pretty ones.” You had to stop yourself from giving him a giant eye roll. You also really wanted to slap that smirk off of his face, it was infuriating. Just because he’s some hotshot doesn’t make it an excuse to be a dick. He was a giant cliche; the big successful man that has a parade of women around him, tattoos, expensive attire, and he probably has a fancy house. It was honestly sickening.
You looked over to see his jaw clenched, his stare was hard and a bit frightening. You didn’t want to be in deep shit with whoever this dude was, he seemed like his lawyers could tear you apart. So, you let your walls down just for a teensy itty bitty second.
“No. I’m from Morris Heights.” His eyebrows shot up, he wondered why you moved to Brooklyn which was on the other side of the city. 
“Bronx, huh?” You just nodded, turning your attention back on your phone. You look up to see signs that signify that this was your stop, especially since the voice on the subway was always inaudible. 
��It’s been a pleasure, doll.” You get up and make your way in front of the door, completely ignoring his sentence. You turn around just before the doors open, looking from the bodyguards, to the women, and then back onto him.
“See you around, prick.”
--
You rush into the gym doors, barely making it past 8:40 on the dot. Great, you were ten minutes late. You dropped your gym bag on the floor, emptying fast breaths from running for so long. You look up to see the only trainee in the room to be Shuri. You noticed she was tinkering on one of the machines. She always had a knack for wanting to improve every single gadget or machine that came before her presence. 
You see Carol waking up to you with a scowl and you knew it was for being late. She patted you on the back as you gulped. “Go run an extra mile, kid.” You raised your eyebrows at the less harsh punishment than expected. You assumed she’d give you five extra miles or something even worse.
“Don’t make me give you two extra miles.” Shuri snorts at the comment which makes you send a playful glare in her direction. You walk out the doors again and start jogging around the block.
You couldn’t help but think about the guy on the subway. It was quite strange to see a whole entire cart was empty just for him and his friends. The other carts were full, sardine-packed is what it looked like. Not to mention his annoying cockiness, what the fuck was up with that?
He was so pretentious like he could do anything to anyone and get away with it. It’s like he’s some trust fund dick who thinks that the world revolves around him. 
Sweat started to drop down your forehead and you realized that you’ve run enough miles. You push open the doors to the gym, going back inside. You see Shuri still tinkering and Carol was in her office with a phone call.
You walk over to the table in the corner and grab the white bands. You start wrapping them around your knuckles and walk over to one of the many punching bags. You started to make small punches at the bags, watching as it swung back and forth from your force.
Shuri then turns to you, looking over at you with excitement. “Hey, tomorrow Wanda, Gamora, and I going to this new bar in Crown Heights want to come?”
“Of course. I could use some fun.” Shuri brightens her smile and continues to go back to figuring out the things in front of her.
You looked down at the newspaper that sat next to her and some parts of a machine. She was required to set newspapers down because of an incident where oil was spilled all over the gym. Needless to say, Carol wasn’t happy and Shuri couldn’t use any of the machines for a month.
You couldn’t help but just stare at the caption, this one was from today. Curiosity always gets the best of you.
MOB BOSS JAMES BARNES RIDES THE SUBWAY, WHAT COULD THAT MEAN FOR THE CRIME IN THE CITY?
Then attached was a small picture underneath the headline. Your eyes widened and you felt like the air had just been shot out of you. You grab the newspaper and get a better stare, just making sure. You had to make sure.
You see the little picture even better. There was the man that was on the subway. He was smoking a cigarette, the smoke coming out of his mouth. His sleeves were rolled up which showed the plethora of tattoos that were scattered across his skin. Next to him were two women, giving him neck kisses.
Great, the person you called a dick was the biggest mob boss in the tristate area. 
You were so fucked.
~~
Permanent Taglist: @hailmary-yramliah @kitkatd7 @captainchrisstan @angstysebfan​
chapter two
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sunsetcurve · 4 years
Note
I would like to hear the why you hate dr essay, if you don’t mind
buckle up everyone. i’ve been enabled and now you’re never going to get me to shut up.
warning: this is about to get super long, because i have a lot of thoughts about this, and this might be my only opportunity to just...go off. so here’s my whole ass thesis on why i hate dr. colosso. keep in mind that this is the product of several rewatches and a lot of character analysis on my part, because i tend to do that frequently. also, i’d like to start this off with a quick disclaimer: i do think colosso’s role in the show is very important; if you asked me if i’d get rid of him completely i’d say no, but there are definitely things i would’ve done differently with his portrayal, and we’ll get into that later.
when i watched the show for the first time i really didn’t like colosso, but i kind of chalked that up to the fact that he was annoying and left it there. there’s always been something about him that rubs me the wrong way, though. i’ve been doing a rewatch recently (as you’ve probably gathered from my posts) and that combined with talking to @ciara-knightly about it for a while helped me understand why i find his presence to be genuinely problematic.
i’m gonna start with the most obvious thing: he’s a bad influence on max. they of course directly address this in the show, but what i feel like is important to understand here is that colosso’s influence isn’t like “oh he’s max’s troublemaker friends who eggs him on to do bad stuff sometimes haha”. colosso, despite being a bunny, is still actually a supervillain max’s father’s age, and he uses that to manipulate max a lot. talking about it with shona made me realize that especially early on, max really didn’t have anyone else in his life who was willing to listen to his ideas or encourage his skills, specifically inventing gadgets. in canon his parents almost never praise his work, even when he’s not using it for evil (see: phoebe’s a clone now), but colosso is shown to be someone who both helps him with his experiments and keeps him going at them. i’m dipping into character analysis instead of straight up canon here, but it’s pretty clear to understand the impact this would’ve had on max—he’s a kid who wants approval and colosso gives it to him, and in turn max listens to colosso’s ideas and often does what he tells him. i’m not saying that max is completely at colosso’s will, of course—max is very self-driven and that wouldn’t be giving him enough credit, but at the same time, we know very little about the actual process of max’s decision to be a villain, and i really don’t doubt that colosso had a lot to do with it. in the show we see colosso frequently urging max to leave his family behind, and there’s an arc where we literally see max starting to become a better person because of his friends and colosso telling him to ditch them (see: exit stage theft). we also see colosso preying on max’s insecurities, specifically his comparison of himself to phoebe, in order to further his descent into villainy.
the reason i prefaced this by saying colosso’s role in the show is important is because i genuinely think max’s villain arc would’ve been closed much sooner without colosso’s influence. colosso was a huge factor in not only exposing max to the world of supervillains but also in deepening the rift between him and his parents. so everything i said above does actually make sense, writing-wise, within the context of the show—colosso is a supervillain, he’s supposed to be manipulating max, and he is the main factor driving the progression of max’s villain arc.
but now i’m going to get into why i think that from a writer’s standpoint, his role in the show is problematic, especially post-season three.
a lot of it has to do with the fact that none of what i said above is ever really addressed in canon. there are throwaway lines about how colosso was a bad influence on max but there was no recognition of the fact that without colosso, max likely wouldn’t have strayed as far into villainy as he did. more importantly, though, the main issue i had with the writing of max’s arc was that there was no discussion about why he felt so strongly about colosso, and what colosso’s presence said about his relationship with his parents.
like i said before, max needed someone in his life who was willing to give him the approval and validation that he was looking for. in the show his redemption arc comes down to his relationship with his family, but at no point in the show did he actually want to harm his family, so i think there’s a bigger picture here—i honestly think that a big part of it was that at that point in his life, max had sort of grown past the need to be told his worth; he clearly still had his insecurities, but having friends, a girlfriend, and a life outside of his family (where he felt unseen) gave him a more concrete role. the point here that i’m trying to make is that max’s arc essentially came down to his own perception of his self-worth. the reason colosso was able to influence him so strongly was because as i said before, he was the one who gave max the validation he wanted. and this is why i felt like max’s arc was really one-sided—his parents’ lack of attention towards him and pretty blatant favoritism towards phoebe was clearly a huge factor in max’s arc that was never brought up again. the reason that i say i would’ve changed colosso’s role after max’s redemption is because until that point, colosso had been sort of a stand-in for max’s parents in his life, but one who took advantage of him. i wish the show had gone towards a more well-rounded reconciliation between max and his parents, and an acknowledgement of their mistakes and the fact that max was able to be so strongly influenced by colosso because he didn’t feel like he had anyone else. instead, they pretty much glossed over and trivialized max’s reasons for wanting to be a villain in the first place, and the dynamics within the family didn’t actually change—his parents still showed pretty clear favoritism towards phoebe (see: thundermans: banished!) and max still went to colosso for approval and advice. i think the only really central thing that changed was max’s relationship with phoebe, and that was incredibly important for max’s development and i liked the way it played out, but i still would’ve had more conversation between max and his parents about how things went down.
(also, i think hank and barb’s decision to let their supervillain-turned-bunny bunk with their teenage—possibly preteen at the time—son is a little bit sketchy. that’s all i’m saying.)
and now comes the counterpoint that max and colosso are best friends. which—that statement in and of itself has always rubbed me the wrong way. i’m not here to argue whether or not colosso loves max; he very clearly does (see: a hero is born, the thunder games), but it’s a selfish and possessive sort of caring. colosso doesn’t actually care about what’s best for max, or whether or not he’s happy. he hated allison, he didn’t want max to reconcile with his family, he tried to separate max from his friends. he essentially just wants max for himself, and that sort of dynamic is incredibly toxic no matter how close they are. there’s also something to be said about the age difference between them: max is a teenager and colosso is at least his father’s age, and this is not me trying to dismiss the relationship that kids can have with important adults in their life—i, personally, have had really strong relationships with teachers and mentors to the point where i consider them good friends—but the issue is that with those sort of relationships there is always a sense of the older person being like a mentor and influencing the younger one, and while that can often be a really good thing it can also, like in colosso’s case, be a bad thing.
and going off of the age difference, let’s get into the final and most prominent reason that i hate colosso. the show pretty frequently makes jokes that mirror romantic partnerships when it comes to max and colosso. i can cite so many instances when colosso calls max pet names or the situation is modeled after a marriage or colosso makes sort of flirty advancements towards max, but it’s fine because it’s all for humor, right? and colosso’s a bunny, right? except he’s actually a fifty-something year old man, and max is a teenager. and while those jokes have always made me superbly uncomfortable, my general rule of thumb during my rewatch has been “if colosso was human right now, how creepy would this be?” and the answer is almost always very. very very creepy. i don’t think i need to go into too much analysis on why i hate this so much but colosso’s “flirting” with max is just genuinely disgusting and is the main reason i can’t stand him as a character.
this is veering into 1.6k territory so i’m going to try and wrap it up here. the tl;dr for this is that while i think colosso played a pretty pivotal role in the show, i wish in the end part of max’s arc would’ve been about breaking away from him instead of remaining in a very toxic dynamic with a supervillain his father’s age. i think colosso could’ve eventually been redeemed if it came down to it, but overall i wish there had been more acknowledgement of exactly how colosso affected max before they became “friends” again, and especially hank and barb’s failures when it came to max feeling unheard. if you actually read this all the way through i’m applauding you, and thank you for asking to see this essay because i love doing character/writing analysis stuff like this. until next time!
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crystallos-sol · 4 years
Text
Hey have another meta on Gray & Natsu because I don't think I went deep enough.
Gray is traumatized and can't even voice his emotions sometimes. Natsu understands him WITHOUT any issues even during this time.
Don't believe me? Here look at this:
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Natsu knows Gray just basically said:
" I care about you please take care of yourself "
I'm so emotional about these two because they are great and they understand each other on a deeper wavelength than I have ever seen within Fairy Tail.
I'll throw in multiple examples for you to compare but please come up with your own. Rewatch the show or Read the manga if you want to, there's so many examples that I cannot fit into one post so I have to suffer with a few. (Not including Happy has I think it's best to put people that aren't his kid,,,,)
First up: Lisanna.
I'm not hating on the ship at all. I'm picking people CLOSEST to Natsu & Gray. And she was essentially close to Natsu before her death. They raised Happy together and had a secret hideout for fucks sake.
Lisanna has I recall from the episodes we had of her, was close with Natsu. But something changed. Because her death hurt Natsu and changed him into a different person. That's clear to see. But her death drove a wedge between them and changed the entire relationship for good.
Lisanna was Natsu's friend, back before her death but however I believe that we do not know much of her outside of her death and how it affected Fairy Tail. We also do know about her Family and how it hurt them. But not about Lisanna, from what we can gather from the many episodes of Fairy Tail she is kind hearted and genuinely loves her family and doesn't want to lose them again. (Her reactions to her siblings being thrown into danger.)
But again her death drove fear and grief into Natsu and that's why him and Lisanna aren't exactly close anymore, because Natsu runs from his feelings. It's also hard to talk to someone you haven't seen since you where a teenager.
Up next who is/was close with Gray: Erza. We know Gray ran after her and helped to fix her tears, even making a child's promise about it. We also know, Gray was Erza's first real friend. Gray has a child was close with Erza in that regard. I do believe Erza shoved him away like she does with everything in response to what happened to her. (But that's a post for another time.)
Gray is still close with Erza, but due to Erza never feeling as if she can stop being Titania he is not as close to her as he is Natsu.
Lucy, who is one of Natsu's best friends, is actually close with Natsu. But unlike with Gray Natsu usually is (Ignoring Mashima's horrible writting between for now because that's a WHOLE OTHER issue) saving her or protecting her. At least it was like that until recently when Lucy finally got the character development and upgrade she deserves.
Lucy is close to Natsu but Natsu also doesn't want to lean on her. Yes you can qoute multiple instances and scenes where it appears he is leaning on her. But however with this you have to take into account the period of time Natsu has known her. The trust issues Natsu already has and previous trauma he has gotten and even new trauma!
Now it gets worse because this is dipping a little into Mashima's terrible characterization and understanding of how people function and feel. Especially women. Take Lisanna and Lucy, if you think about it they are essentially the same fucking character. Both are kind, stubborn, where hurt by someone they love, left their home behind for a number of years, painted has a badass while also simultaneously being soft and delicate.
Sound familar?
Because that's basically the Mashima guide to write a female character. Now what really gets me is the final thing that really cements it. They both have been/are in the supporting role for Natsu. Don't you dare go saying: But Lucy is the main character!
You, like the rest of is because Mashima wrote her like shit, didn't even know that until the interview or you saw that Fairy Tail fact post. The majority of us thought it was Natsu. Because in reality Mashima did NOT start writting her like a main character. He did not give her the good motivation every single damn Fairy Tail Character has.
Lucy & Lisanna have the same number of things that make up their characterization, and yes so do a number of Fairy Tail characters. But that's not the point. The point is that Lucy reminds Natsu of Lisanna in some ways and Natsu cannot bring himself to trust and lean on her fully like he can with Gray. It is not an attack on Nalu. Nalu is a fine ship if only written correctly (aka: Not Mashima's Version Which Is Horrible And Toxic But That's Another Meta For Another Time.).
This is a post about how Gray and Natsu are close. That's it. Natsu cannot bring himself to fully trust Lucy and lean on her comfortably without 1) forcing himself, 2) it happening outside of his control because of past trauma which by the way knowing Natsu he did not do anything about it and most likely bottled it up.
Wow that was a long session on Lucy but in summary: Natsu is traumatized and is not mentally healthy like the entirety of the Guild.
Now, the last one, which I'm sure you can GUESS. It's Juvia. Because some people think that Gray and Juvia are the " closest people! " And " he doesn't let anyone really touch him other than her! "
1) Bullshit. And 2) Bullshit. Here's why:
Juvia is a toxic character who stalks and uncomfortably idolizes Gray to the point it's fucking ridiculous. There are multiple scenes of her following (stalking) Gray around and being jealous of Lucy. Even declaring her a " Love Rival ".
This is probably because: Gray was the first person that was decent to her. (She was bullied for who knows how long and involved in a toxic guild + an abusive relationship.) Before you say shit about Gajeel: He's not nice. Gajeel before all of this, was an asshole, now he is nice which is pretty cool and a great character development. Back then? He was not nice.
Which brings me to Gray. Who even is okay with being stalked, being grabbed randomly and having someone so obsessed with you they made fucking dolls of you? No one. Before you argue: But he doesn't pull away from her!
Gray is most likely touch starved. Considering his entire background and general tendency to not receive hugs or any sort of affection usually. My evidence for this? Myself. I am touch starved and I often react bad to touches from strangers or creepy people but I also have a late reaction time. Because my body is saying: Oh touch???? And my brain is screaming: No.
He also could be trying to be decent. Which is all he did in the first place. He could be trying to not hurt her feelings and yes you could say he hurt Mira's feelings when he called her stupid for betting on Natsu but he also was apologising and panicky because he didn't want to hurt her.
Also if I even have to explain further why being stalked and basically turned into a fetish and an object is a bad thing then clearly something is fucking wrong with you.
Gray however feels safe likely with Natsu, who's been there from the beginning, took on Deliora, fought too many people just because one of his friends are in danger, has repeatedly stopped Gray from using Iced Shell and was ready to Die with him.
Natsu in return probably feels safe and like he can trust Gray to handle himself because this man has been there since day one and even can take Natsu himself on with no problem. Natsu also probably is happy Gray is nothing like Lisanna or Lucy. Because Gray is Gray and he doesn't remind Natsu of anything traumatizing he's been through.
They both trust one another and stay by one another's side because they are both understanding that they aren't gonna leave. Because think about it, Gray has lost family and his mentor to death. He has suffered through that. You wanna know who's constantly beating death on its ass???? Natsu " I refuse to die " Dragneel.
Natsu has lost family by being abandoned and by Death. He got it both ways and he's suffering because of it. But Gray who's stubborn has shit and stood death in the face at a young age and screamed fuck you at the top of his lungs, wouldn't leave. Gray who fucking went through hell and back, destoryed his own infiltration mission just because Natsu Dragneel rolled up, Keeps Trying To Protect Him, Never once wants to lose Natsu. And Natsu knows that. Because Gray is his constant. Gray is that constant presence in his life he knows for a fact he can trust.
But idfk that's just my thoughts on them.
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rochey1010 · 4 years
Text
Just a quick post cause i gotta say this:
I now see exactly where the Lola/Maya/Eliott/Lucas plot is going and it's not what the fans were convinced it was at all, aka context and lack there of.
So there has been foreshadowing of what's about to go down. Let's unpack it:
Lola and Eliott's friendship based on self identification. A mirror of each other. Him male and out of the darkness. Her female and going through it. His insta being the northern brightest star POLARIS. A guiding light. Her's being beta hydri/hydra the star all the way down in the south. The line between the 2 being representative of the journey they are on in life. Focus on where they both are in their life and how one (POLARIS) can guide the other.
Eliott a mentor for lola and her being guided by him (star symbolism). Her seeing him as a positive influence and copying that influence to heal e.g. her Vendredi Daphne movie chat being a direct mimic of Eliott's playbook of helping Lola in the video club Mardi 'The Kid' clip.
Her saying to Daphne that when she wanted to self destruct, she thought of Eliott, the video club, and their chats. And it stopped her. He created a safe space and she is using it. He really is guiding her.
Him now being set up as a buffer to drugs (rock bottom)
The movie with him, and it being a focus and a sense of direction for Lola to be distracted....for the moment. His art is positive and about love and connection. Her art is negative and about breakage and destruction. The movie is again him mentoring her, through art this time and the expression of it and how you can use it to see the world.
Maya in love with Lola, Lola in love with Maya. Maya scared to get involved because of her past with alcohol. Lola wanting Maya to be her Luquette and relying on her right now as a reason to change.
Char being in the picture. Lola meeting her. Maya not hiding her (upcoming theory) preventing a consummation of love.
Lucas encouraging Lola to take part in the movie and giving his consent. But grappling with creeping abandonment issues, and not really comfortable with it.
Lucas talking of Eliott and telling Lola he's afraid their mirroring friendship will result in one dragging the other down. Him also admitting that he felt insecure over the friendship.
This is the one that worries me the most. Eliott obsessed with mental illness in his love with Lucas. "He's just worried about me. I have bipolar disorder. Do you know what that it?" Him hiding stuff rooted in those fears being mentally ill and toxic can have on your love. Not wanting to be a burden and keeping lucas from leaving him. Focussing over and over again on not wanting to stress or strain lucas (S3, S4, S6)
Him saying "And i have Lucas. I can't lose this" a declaration of hinging his mental health on his need and love for Lucas.
Him talking of suicide and attempting it 3 times in the past. Poss during depressive episodes. Him saying he still has thoughts and he suspects they won't ever go away but it's better now. Again the focus on what he has with Lucas as the above quote comes directly after this.
Him telling Lola to find her Luquette. Creating a freakin term for his love with Lucas.
Finally Eliott going out on a limb for Lola to physically help her. Protecting her feelings and keeping her secrets. (E5)
Prediction time: Char is gone after tonight. Maya won't tell Lola immediately. Lola will still think she's in the picture and will be jealous, bitter and hurt. Eliott and her are shooting 'Lux and Obscurus' Lamifex are helping and are there that night. In the pic you see Max holding the camera and beside him someone that looks like Maya with her jacket. I'll assume Jo and Sekou are out of shot too. Not sure if that scene is scripted. The spoiler says though that it is and Lucas says no and Eliott goes ahead. But Let's say for a minute scripted/unscripted it happens. So Lola is gonna pull a stunt she did at the funeral. She's gonna blow up her tentative support network she's built (Eliott, Maya, La mif) in one go. She is gonna use the scene scripted/unscripted and rile and get a reaction out of Maya, she's going to hurt her and she's going use Eliott to do it.
The fallout of that night is going to be distance from La mif, Maya hurt and getting the wrong idea, and Eliott falling out with Lucas, who like Maya gets the wrong idea. It's going to cause Lola to lose her mentor/friend/buffer in Eliott at that moment, as he is going to a dark place if he thinks he'll lose Lucas. And the foreshadowing is complete. Lola drags them both down and hits rock bottom to drug town. Eliott feels he's lost Lucas and his mental health takes a dive (depressive- please don't say poss suicidal mood) and Lola has to fix her mess and help the ones that once helped her, especially Eliott.
I don't know if Eliott reacts in a way we haven't seen before though. Maxence said we're going to see his darker phases. But what if it's not just depression or something worse. What if he snaps at Lola because of what's happened with Lucas (possibly leaves Eliott ) like what we know of Eliott is that he is a very caring individual. Doesn't judge and tries to be empathetic to his world and the people in it. He doesn't push or pressure anyone. He unconditionally supports, and he'll put himself out there to help others. We see all this in so many ways since he turned up on screen. He's simply a very compassionate character. I honestly don't see him holding what Lola does against her. She's confided in him about Maya. He knows what it is to feel that the one you want most is someone you can't have. And he knows the pain involved because of that.
BUT Lucas is a different situation all together. We've seen Eliott in his pursuit to have Lucas. He gave zero fucks and his dark side came out with both Chloe and Lucille. He's hinged his mental health and well being on his love. He is deeply in love with him, and it's been said by both Lucille (his freakin ex) and Arthur that Lucas is the one and is special. He can't lose him. If he thinks he has. His mental health takes a dive. And then so does his mood. He even snapped at his beloved Lucas in a depressive crash. Depression doesn't care about your compassion and love for others. So we may see something ugly with Lola from Eliott. Like he may be really angry with her. He may sever the friendship in that moment leading her to lose her buffer. And causing her to slip finally to rock bottom. I'm unsure though, as it can go both ways with Eliott. Compassionate and forgiving or angry and depressive. Maybe both. 🤝
Guys i'm scared. I don't think i want to see Eliott's rock bottom. It was heartbreaking the first time. And he's such a positive and warm presence that even the audience feels good when he's happy and smiling. I think they are going there. With Lola i've adapted, we've seen several benders and she's a depressive character and doesn't bring sunshine on the screen. So when she slips it's sad but more of the same. With Eliott it is a swinging extreme of light and dark. A sunshine puppy happiness to crying, black despair. 😭
Ok if it's going that way. All signs point to 😔 brace yourselves. 💜
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powerbottomblake · 4 years
Text
Bumbleby/Beauty and the Beast parallels masterpost
So by this point it goes without saying that bumbleby is heavily based on beauty and the beast. Volume 6 made it extremely explicit with the Adam fight, but the parallels extend well beyond it. 
This masterpost is basically a list of all bumbleby/batb parallels that were woven into Blake and Yang’s story as individuals and together. Undercut because it’s long.
1. Eyes as windows to the soul...no really
Corny section title aside, one of the parallels that I haven’t seen being talked abt as much is how eyes/looking each other in the eye and recognizing the other/seeing the truth laid out there is a recurring and focal theme for both BatB and the bees.
In BatB one of the first things Belle gets a glimpse of before Beast fully reveals himself is his eyes:
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And afterwards, when she sneaks into the west wing, not knowing those were his quarters, she finds a torn portrait of him pre-curse:
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And we get this significant pause where Belle has this moment of almost recognition. You can tell she’s trying to place why what’s left of the portrait, a.k.a the eyes depicted there, already feel familiar to her:
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After the curse is lifted and the Beast transforms back into a human, Belle doesn’t immediately trust that this is indeed him. That is, until she sees his eyes:
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We get a pause and a whole close-up because this is a significant beat in the story. Belle knows this is her person because the truth of him is laid out in his eyes and that’s what seals the deal.
The bees have the same thing going on. There are two major instances, which are also incidentally major narrative beats in general and moments in their relationship in particular, of them looking each other in the eye and just. seeing each other, knowing the truth and essence of each other.
The first is the aftermath of the Mercury fight where Blake recognizes that Yang isn’t another Adam waiting to happen:
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I’ve talked about this here a bit but this is essentially the moment that seals Blake’s faith in Yang once and for all. And it takes Yang looking her in the eye, laying out the truth before her and letting her choose to believe her.
The second instance is this:
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Which, I don’t know for you but it looks a whole lot like this:
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And it’s after Blake, completely undertaken by the wave of conflicting emotions born out of being forced into killing her lifelong abuser, still feels the pull of his abuse and is absolutely terrified of having Yang take his final words to heart. She’s desperate to have Yang believe her - and Yang, being the emotionally intelligent individual she is, spots it right away and immediately reassures her that she does. Of course she does, Yang knows her, she knows Blake, and no amount of truth twisting and manipulation can change that.
Yang takes the time to pull back and look her in the eyes; it’s this “I see you, I know you” moment that effectively signals the end of the Adam chapter in their story as well as the mending of their relationship.
I really like how the Adam subplot, as it ties in with the development of the bumbleby relationship, is bookended by these two instances of the bees literally seeing each other eye to eye and mirroring each other: Blake sees and believes Yang about the Mercury fight, Yang sees and believes Blake is the person she herself had started to believe she wasn’t because of Adam. 
I also really love how this whole coding of eyes=truth comes in clear contrast to Adam always hiding his eyes and how it was made blatantly indicative of how he’s been deceiving people around him and hiding his true identity (“you’re hiding more than your eyes” in Nevermore is really just the icing on top; they couldn’t have made the symbolism more obvious if they tried). Blake never got to know him, the real him; the moment he takes off the blindfold is when he finally sheds the last of the façade that started crumbling post V3. That’s when everyone, the audience included, gets to see him with utmost clarity.
2. Thematic parallel
This ties in with the thematic parallel between bumbleby and batb as romances at large; boiled down to their bare bones, both these love stories are about two individuals who, at first glance, are diametrically opposed, but deep down are more of kindred spirits than they’d first believed.
Both Belle and Yang assert that they crave adventure:
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But that’s not what they want, what they really want. 
Both Belle and Yang want someone to see them; really see and accept them for who they are. 
Beast and Blake want someone that’ll see beyond what they are and see who they are and love them for it.
Beast and Yang both want someone who’ll finally stay after taking in everything that they are.
When you dissect BatB, it’s really about two deeply lonely individuals, isolated because of how different they are from the rest, who crave one genuine connection and find it in each other. 
And when you boil it down, bumbleby is about two deeply wounded, lonely girls finally being seen for who they are and fitting together.
Deep down it really is about this: 
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3. Narrative beats
Beyond general themes, batb and bumbleby share a good number of narrative beats that really nicely parallel each other, sometimes even visually to a T:
 - Beast/Yang sinks in despondency after Belle/Blake leaves:
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 - Belle/Blake leaves to reunite with her family and gets unsolicited but not unneeded help:
Both Chip and Sun surreptitiously follow Belle and Blake respectively (Sun sneaking into the ship after he followed Blake mirrors Chip sneaking into her bag as Belle leaves, Belle literally calls Chip a stowaway when he reveals himself). Both are well-meaning but have… creative ways of helping but their help still proves vital.
Also both ask THE question (and have mistaken assumptions about its actual answer):
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I think my favorite thing about the roles Sun and Blake play in each other’s respective fairy tales/myths is that they’re deeply platonic/familial bonds. Sun is the Chip to Blake’s Belle, who grow to be basically family to each other during Belle’s stay in the castle, and Blake is the Tang Sanzang to Sun’s...Sun Wukong, who are portrayed to have a mentor/disciple relationship. They were always meant to be a friendship in the same way bumbleby has always been a romance.
 - Gaston/Adam comes up with a ploy to hurt Belle/Blake’s family when she comes back to get to her:
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 - The Fight:
I think multiple people have pointed out all the visual parallels between the bumbleby vs Adam fight and the final Beast vs Gaston confrontation (you can find one most extensive video of it here courtesy of @dumbgaypower​). It’s incredible how every beat of both fights match other.
Still a parallel masterpost wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t point out a few:
Gaston/Adam getting impatient with the Beast/Yang’s lack of aggressivity which is so in line with the toxic masculinity he’s meant to embody:
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Adam/Gaston kicking down Yang/Beast and her keeping an eye/being aware of Blake/Belle’s presence:
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And this bad boy right here:
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TL;DR: the bees are based on the most romantically focused fairytale; they match said fairytale beat for beat; they were always meant to be a love story; they’re gay and in love and crwby personally gave me my rights.
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creativefiend19 · 4 years
Note
Raven cycle asks 5 11 24 :)
Hey Anon! Thanks so much for the Asks. I’m loving them!
I already answered 5 :) Seems like a popular one!
 *
11. Opinions on Kavinsky?
Right. Not pulling any punches are you? This is going to be a long one (I’m tempted to make a Kavinsky-style ‘that’s what he said’ joke here, LOL). Just read the bolded bits if you can’t be bothered to read everything (I wouldn’t blame you.)
(TW: some canon level discussion of physical and sexual abuse, but Kavinsky is his own warning anyway, right?)
I’m not actually going to answer about Kavinsky as a Person. Because, y’know, he’s to your taste or not. But I’m really interested in Kavinsky as a CHARACTER. How Maggie uses him to move the plot forward, why was he in TDT anyway. Here is my list, in no sort of order:
A. He was the villain of the piece. Very true, IMO. K was Coded to be the villain of TDT. We’ll come back to this in a bit.
B. He was Ronan’s gay awakening. Really tho? Idk. He did bring the Gay motif to the fore, I grant you. But the sex dream featured both K and Adam. And pretty much anything K said to Ronan about being gay was a slur or a joke or full of not very subtle internalised homophobia. Except maybe when he says to Ronan: Don’t tell me you don’t swing that way. This is K at his most authentic and vulnerable - no jokes or slurs now. Just desperation. 
Also, K definitely has low regard for Ronan's personal boundaries. Although, his dialogue about consent being overrated and 'sometimes you just gotta take it'? I've always wondered if the 'take it' hinted at K actually being a survivor of sexual abuse, rather than the more obvious indication of him being only the abuser.
(However, I love that little trip Ronan has of: does K have 3 balls, is he Gay etc. Lol)
But there is no doubt about the fact that K is, well, sexy – to put it frankly. Not just sleazy sexy, like bad boy sexy, but legitimately has animal magnetism. Even sensible Blue feels it a bit, when K enters Nino’s and she’s torn between wanting him to notice her, with his Full and Vulgar Lips, and being relieved that he doesn’t (definitely interesting that she thinks about K ‘swallowing’ her, just like Ronan dreams of later. Those must be Some Lips). Even Gansey is egged on by him at the substance party – with the infamous Molotov cocktails and the ‘dog’ dialogues. Adam seems the only person genuinely unaffected by K.
C. He was Ronan’s Dreaming mentor. Yup. Because Niall bloody Lynch was such a shit excuse for a dad or a responsible dreamer, Somebody had to teach our Hero, so we could have an actual fucking story. 
Ronan needed an Obi-Wan Kenobi. And how Absolutely Brilliant of Maggie to make KAVINSKY Ronan’s mentor! It’s like Darth Vader teaching Luke about the Force:‘In and out like a motherfucking thief, Luke. And, ah, speaking of motherfucking…’ (LOLL I crack myself up sometimes). So, it all immediately becomes hella complicated and interesting and full of possibilities!
Aside: unfortunately for the complexity of the story, Ronan isn’t actually swayed  by the Lure of the Dark. Or the Lure of the Kinky Sex. Or the Drugs. Or the Violence. All of which are supposedly siren calls to Ronan’s self-destructive tendencies. 
D. He showed how much of an asshole Ronan can be. (Okay, I LOVE Ronan to bits. But he’s not a perfect person, and is not meant to be. His flaws are never in question).
Ronan takes advantage of K offering to teach him to Dream and then just - fucks off! Without so much as a thank you, literally. Wham bam thank you ma’am. In fact, it was Ronan who was ‘in and out like a motherfucking thief’ in this situation, to be fanciful about it. Not saying how K reacted to this was in any way excusable, tho, let’s be clear.
But here is where Ronan’s arrogance makes him a POS. And maybe he was influenced by Gansey: We matter Ronan (and K doesn’t). Or maybe Ronan cares about field mice and people he loves and is an absolutely heartless bastard to everyone else. Maybe this is just pre-evolution Ronan and he grows into a less 17- year-old- toxic-masculine- closeted-gay- angry version of himself.
E. He is Adam’s narrative foil. So, here we have two ‘broken’ boys from horrible families, with violence in their backgrounds. Except Adam is poor and K is rich (and born Magical pbly). But K wastes it all on drugs and Dreams. Adam ‘rises above’ the disadvantages of his life, and works three jobs and is coded for Ivy-league greatness. 
F. He is Ronan’s narrative foil. This is who Ronan could’ve been if he hadn’t grown up cocooned in the loving valley of the Barns. (Corollary: so who would've K been, if he'd grown up at the Barns? Interestingly, Adam wonders this about himself in BLLB). 
So, the tools that Ronan uses to veer away from K’s path in life are the tools that make him the Hero of TDT, if not the Hero of TRC. Ronan is the Greywaren. He will not steal from Cabeswater. He is someone with unshakeable principles (mostly!). He loves himself and others (see Albino night horror, and Maggie actually saying: The Lynch brothers love themselves and each other). He is loved in return. 
And so, very much like a goth skinheaded Harry Potter, Ronan is coded to Rise above it all, as the Hero.
Therefore, K is coded to die as the villain.
That is the simple truth, as I see it. He existed to be the Big Bad, teach Ronan to dream, kidnap Matthew, lose the readers’ (and Ronan’s) sympathy, and show how not-K Adam is. And then die in a literal blaze of glory. 
So he’s out of the picture and not complicating the remaining storylines with his seductive presence. His Fatal Flaws make him Lose so the Heroes of the story Win. He is Bad and the Gangsey is Good. These are all understandable, and typical, authorial decisions.
TL;DR: So, in other words, I absolutely LOVE Kavinsky as a character. And I think he is one of Maggie’s most brilliant creations in TRC. And definitely the most tragic.
*
24. Who would you want to do a reading for you?
Thankfully, after that K thesis, this is a short one.
I would love for the three psychics to do my reading together: Maura, Calla and Persephone.
I would actually be very intrigued to have that ‘Tree of Life’ spread done, with All the Fox Way ladies (whom I Adore) and all their very individual card decks, but TBH I don’t want to know That much about my future LOL.
***
Anon – thanks for this absolutely Smashing  ask. It was so much fun for me, I cannot tell you. I hope it was fun for you too, and you don't regret opening this can of worms!
TRC Ask Meme
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blorbologist · 4 years
Text
Alchemist- King Lore/Drabble
Realized ‘oh shit my class is done, I can treat myself’ and by that I mean write 1.5k words ‘cause @servalspots inspired me with Celestial Lore. Also huge thanks for @jesterden for inspiring me by writing such great lore too!! <3 
--
The array was a disaster.
Alchemist’s fur rippled against his haunches at the sight he returned to. The salt overflowed past its noted boundaries; the mercury had dribbled from its flask, the phosphorus powder crisscrossing the iron shavings. Hell, the calligraphy was all nonsense. 
Worst of all, the circle was sloppy- an ellipse, by the stars, no circle! Not even complete, either, leading out and away in a sputter of white.
Smatters of chalk lead straight to a very, very scared looking cub, fur powdered with all sorts of chemicals. Alchemist knew they were each warped reflections of eachother- a lot more similar than the cub knew, barring a crucial detail.
His ears slick to the tentative start of a mane, he did his best to hold his mentor’s gaze. “I-I didn’t mean it, honest. I thought you’d want the prep done, for when you got back, and I’d seen you done it enough times.”
“Quiet.”
Alchemist had to stretch a fair bit into the shadows to grasp the cub in his jaws- he nearly spat him out again. Reagents, right. Very toxic reagents, and chalk. Struggling to hold back his spit and his prodigy, he rolled his shoulders, settling his cape to be a pleasant weight against his spine. Satisfied, or as much as he could be wanting to heave, he turned and padded back towards the mouth of the cave. The cub was silent.
As he walked, he scanned the walls of his domain. It wasn’t as clear as he’d like, this far back, but feline vision could only account for so much. Bone-white writing in chalk- equations, theorems, triple-underlined THAT WAS A STUPID IDEA, DON’T DO THIS AGAIN. All in that same scrawl, a shade better than the cub’s. But he couldn’t remember writing a stitch of it.
He backtracked once or twice, braced himself against the wall to peer at some worthwhile notes near the cave’s roof. Finding what he was looking for, he bounced slightly on his pads, jostling the cub.
“Ahhuh! Mh Mrmfrun! Urh, mrph heurh ith whtunt you where mithinh-”
“I… didn’t get a word of that, Alchemist.” the cub whispered.
“Ouh. Yh.”
Alchemist spat him out. The two spent a minute dealing with the unpleasant aftermath - Alchemist rubbing at his snout with a paw and making gagging noises, while the cub gave his messy, slobbery pelt a disheartened lick or two.
Alchemist regained some composure, cleared his throat. 
“I’m, uh. Very disappointed in you.”
The cub paused mid-lick, drawing attention to very queer spots. Immediately his demeanor changed- stiff and afraid, again. “I’m sorry, I hadn’t meant to waste so many reagents, and make a mess, and-”
“What are you talking about?” Alchemist snorted. “You’re just as curious as I was at your age, that’s a good thing. My problem is that you didn’t think first.”
“Of the consequences?”
“No.” The lion reached up, as high as his lanky legs and the wall could take him, to smack a crystal embedded there with his paw. Once, twice- it almost wheezed to life, like a dying firefly. In the periwinkle glow, the stars on their pelt winked and danced, and the rows and rows of point-form instructions and scrawled out writing were made clearer. 
“You didn’t think of how to do it properly.” 
The cub’s little snout scrunched up. “I… I did it like you did.”
“That’s not thinking. No Alchemist gets anywhere on pure mimicry. Because if you copy wrong, you die.”
Alchemist didn’t make the same mistake twice- he didn’t want a mouthful of fur and phosphorus.  Instead, he beckoned the cub to climb onto his shoulders, nestled into the neck of his cape. Once secure, he lifted them both up.
“See, here?” He nosed towards one angry-looking scrawl.
He could almost hear the cub squinting. “Equal parts… salt… to iron.”
Alchemist nodded as lightly as he could without dislodging his charge. “Right. And why’s that?” 
“To...” A pause, as the cub looked for the answer. Maybe in his head, maybe on the walls. “To balance the array, so their powers balance eachother! And so both contribute, instead of one overwhelming the other!” Sharp claws pricked through the fabric of his cape - the prodigy was grasping at him in building excitement. 
“Almost!” Alchemist bucked the cub- no longer scared, the little one laughed, rolling on the cold cave floor. “If unbalanced, or not properly contained, they can cause an explosion!”
He lightly clawed at some nasty looking scorchmarks, from however long ago. His grin was wild, rivaling the cub’s. “They’re both very potent together- it’s why we need a perfectly made outer array. Or the explosion is a lot less fun, and could put us back a lot of progress.”
“By destroying supplies?”
“No!” Alchemist dropped a heavy paw on the cub’s head, messing with his ears. “By killing you!”
The cub’s enthusiasm faltered. Alchemist’s did not. 
“That’s why you need to think- you’re standing on the shoulders of giants here, heir to lifetimes of failures and accidents and discoveries!” 
He spun on himself, cape nearly touching his forepaws as he gazed wonderingly at the writing on the wall. It spun and made him a little sick. “Why make the same errors made before when you can skip half the learning curve, straight to progress! Half of our skill is knowing when to take the most efficient path, and turning yourself into paste is not good for any of us!”
 The cub seemed to be pondering something, tail curling and uncurling in a familiar way. Alchemist almost skidded to a stop next to him, hardly feeling the cool stone beneath his paws. “We are descendants of the stars, my homunculi, my little me! Mortals with the blood of divine in our veins. Usually only smattering on our fur and eyes, yes, but so much more in us.”  
The thrill, the sheer joy of this and that, of science and power, was almost addictive. No. Definitely. Definitely was.
“My little homunculi, when we see this through- we can surpass the siphoning and immorality of petty whispers, turn meteorite shards into philosopher’s stones. Use magic and science to pursue our goals, not like some sniveling, incestuous, wise-cracking-”
“That Apedemak fellow?”
Alchemist blinked - his clone’s eyes peered at him, glowing eerily in the light. Just like his, just like him, but not quite. “Yes, that one.” 
His lips curved into a snarl, throwing his cloak aside with a paw.
“Fuck him. No methods, no good madness, a cheap hack.” Alchemist’s eyes narrowed, his chest heaving after the rapid-fire rant. 
He’s made himself over and over, he knew. From one incarnation to the next, a successful experiment, a tweak to a viable clone-but-not that paid off and gave him results. These eyes or those eyes, these marks and eight others, too. 
Not bred, made, with little vials and delicate measurements and some blood of his with its blue-silver sheen. No harm, not to anything that could live anyways at least. Give a chick teeth, give a fly face-legs, give a cub the means to drag God down and kick his ass. 
If there were any problems with these methods, they would have stopped long ago… right?
“Our methods are more humane. And efficient.”
He took in a gulp of air, then reached up to dim the glowing shard. 
It grew dark, but for their eyes and the fading twinkle of their pelts.
--
They lit up more crystals, closer to the mouth of the cave.
Alchemist and his homunculi padded from wall to wall. Chattering about the equations, occasionally dashing between connections as the cub’s mind began to pick up speed.
Alchemist watched, pleased as can be, as the chemicals were balanced, scripts rewritten, the damn elliptical array turned into a proper, perfect circle. One that wouldn’t backfire. The mess cleaned up, a proper experiment now possible.
The homunculi’s cry of joy, paws on either side of the focal point of the array, as blue electricity danced along the chalk. The components were consumed, an acrid smell in the air and billows of dark smoke pieced by bright snaps of light. Left in the center was a meteorite shard- glowing, now, levitating just slightly as it was batted at with eager paws.
The homunculi looked to Alchemist for permission, pranced out of the cave when it was given. He nosed his little floating rock, pulsing with power, calling out giddy to his family. Almost just like him- more than blood relatives, almost identical down to their marrow, all more or less far from being Alchemists.
Alchemist himself, though, felt a sense of deja-vu.
Other Alchemists had done this, maybe not every time but often enough. It tugged at his insides, roughly where he was pretty sure a kidney sat. They were him but not, some memories lost, always some improvements made (except for that one time). 
He looked once more at the array. Traced each line with a paw- not touching, just drifting over the curves and corners, noting the spaces where symbols would be drawn in detail.
He knew similar circles - bastardized, drawn by genetics in the form of Rosettes. Hundreds of them, on a pelt identical to his own but for their presence. On his cub- his homunculi, yes.
The lines crossed and wavered.
They weren’t perfect circles. 
He sighed.
They’d have to do.
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