#and again not looking too hard at the context of those situations in this post i already know the comic misrepresents them

[semi-sketchy]

I know this is beating a dead horse at this point, but I just started thinking about this the other day and...

How many people that were previously enemies has Sonic ACTUALLY befriended?

Like my knowledge of some old games and the handhelds ain't great, but...

There was Knuckles, who I think is the only one in the classic era.

He never really befriended Gamma in SA1, just left him to Amy.

Also he didn't befriend Chaos, just beat the anger out of him.

The next one was Shadow in SA2, although they're still kinda rivals?

I don't think Rouge counts in SA2 since she wasn't really an enemy of Sonic specifically, even in Heroes it's really Sonic and Shadow that start the fight.

Gemerl is a robot who was reprogrammed to be friendly, I wouldn't count that as "befriending someone".

Him and Jet are rivals in every Riders game, this never changes.

Blaze in Rush is someone that fought him and they became friends, so it's clear cut, she counts.

Silver in '06 does as well.

Do we count Shade from Chronicles? I think she had a boss fight. I know very little about that game but it's not canon, right?

Merlina is kinda a grey area? Like they were friends, he stopped her evil plans and was still nice to her. I don't know if in context that meets the criteria.

On top of that I don't think the Knights of the Round Table count. Sonic is there to take the swords and they work together at the end. I don't think there's any hard feelings, but don't know if this counts as "friends".

Sage could be the next example, but she's still loyal to Eggman. I don't think what they briefly shared was friendship as much as Sage wanting to save Eggman.

I haven't played Superstars but Trip doesn't even have a bossfight, does she? I don't think she counts.

Not looking at the method, just purely if they became friends down the line. Out of all of those, there's 4 total (if you count Shadow, which I do) with 1 it's complicated and 1 non-canon. That's very few when you consider how large the game cast is.

An overwhelming majority of his friends weren't ever hostile with him to begin with, like the Chaotix, Amy, Tails, Cream, Emerl, Big, ect. There's plenty of other cast members that are still have him on their shit list, like Eggman, Infinite (if he's alive), Fang, Metal, Eggman Nega, the Deadly Six...

Now I'm starting to wonder where this idea of it being a frequent even came from.

#i still don't read the comic anymore but it's kinda hard to not see anything about it in the sonic fandom #anyways yeah that's my ramblings on the subject #a weird aspect to latch onto when it's only happened a few times #and the last definitive one was 18 years ago #and again not looking too hard at the context of those situations in this post i already know the comic misrepresents them #because aside from blaze sonic never instigated those friendships #he's a go with the flow kinda guy so he'll match your energy #you come at him aggressive and he'll be aggressive back #but also if you're friendly he'll be friendly kinda thing #anti idw sonic #idw sonic #fans don't look #hopefully that covers the tag blocking list #and people properly filter because i don't want to leave the idw tag out #in case anyone is just trying to steer clear of anything idw

[dollya-robinprotector]

Giggling because I love making post with multiple character tags and then wait for the wrong face to be featured on all the tags ksksksks

This sydney looks soooo sillyyyy

Anw I just thought about my past so story time under the cut.

When I was in secondary school, I once knew a friend who was bullied.

For the context, it was a decent school, with 4 grades, each had 4 classes: A for lower-perform and naughty students, B for normal, C for better than average, and D for the Elites who will most definitely have bright future ahead. We are Asian children, study means EVERYTHING for us. Our worth are defined by how well we perform in school, how many awards we have and how good our grades are.

That friend was in class C. I was in class B. Normally we don't make friends outside of the class, but I once saw him being poured water on in the hallway, defended him and we became friends. Or something like that. Let's call him Z because I forgor his name now.

My parents didn't do well with the fact that I failed my entrance test and was stuck in normal class. They didn't have money to upgrade me to class C either, so they made me study extra hard. Back since I started going to school, I was being teased and harassed a lot too cuz I love to draw (what's the problem of kids being mean to artistic kids btw???). But since I was one of the best performers in study, I soon gained some respect and the soft bully subside. (I was terrible in math, but everything else were straight A okay??)

Z wasn't so lucky. I learned that his grades were terrible eventhough he was in class C. He stuttered a lot, always looks down when talking to people, never dare to engage in any conversation, etc... His appearance did not help, and he had some funny smell when I stood close to him. One thing though, he loved drawing too (urgh artistic kids again) and really admired my skill. The only times he would smile are when we talked about our fav anime. Looking back, I think maybe he had something to do with autism? I can't be sure though, but I know his parents spent a LOT to keep him in that better-than-average-class.

The bully was not too terrible, at least from what I saw and heard. He often got splashed by water, threw dirty rag or left-over food at, made fun of, laughed at, his belongings often went missing and be found somewhere dirty, etc... I used to went through all that too, so I helped him to somehow deal with them. Those sort of soft-physical bully were nothing scary once you got used to them. Just a little annoying. He got used to it too, I think, and we didn't mention those when we talk. I admit I might had some savior complex, and that friendship is not entirely friendly. It was more like I thought he would be helpless without me so I can't leave him alone.

And then one day when I was going home from school, Z approached me and asked if I want to go to his house. He said he has a very big greenhouse, and there were some pretty blooming flowers he wanted to show me. I never saw a greenhouse before and I love flowers, of course I said yes!

We rode our bicycles to his house. I've never been to his house before nor meet his parents. I didn't even ask my mom for permission to go but well, I was excited.

We went for a long time, and I started to realize he was leading me into the forest. I still went with him for maybe half an hour more, before I said I was tired and you didn't tell me your house would be this far. Then I look around and truly there was nothing bu trees surrounded the two of us. He looked back at me, clearly exhausted too, and said nothing. I started to realize the situation I was in: a 12 years old, in a forest, with no directions and a strange friend who I didn't really know. Yeh atm I was pretty scared.

I asked Z again where exactly is his house. He stuttered and said I don't need to worry, we would get there very soon. He said if I was too tired I can hop on his bike and he would get me there. Then he attempted to take my hand but that creeped me out so I stepped away from him. I turned my bike, ignored his calls, and just went as fast as I can toward the direction I thought would lead me out of the woods. He called out to me and began to chase after me too, but gave up after some times.

I then just rode my bike with full speed, somehow got out of the woods into a strange road I didn't know, asked around for direction and got home safe. My mom scolded me for being so damn late and I apologized. I never tell anybody, and never talk to Z ever again. He didn't bother me either. And that's the end of the story.

#well that still creeped me out till now #hope nothing bad happened to him tho

[libelelle]

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER. my opinion on Silver is by no means the single correct one nor do i think it should be, do what you do idc. we're all here throwing him at a wall repeatedly for fun

Ok so. whats the point i wanted to make. oh yeah right

SILVER THE HEDGEHOG!!!! FUCK!!!!

his character is so interesting this is a character for sure. im screaming and crying etc etc. the unfortunate part is NO ONE GETS HIM. i see a lot of interpretations that cherry pick his personality and experiences and it just! isnt it! he is a complicated character!

trying to simplify him down to 🥺innocent soft boi🥺 doesn't work, not only cause you're ignoring his DEBUT GAME (NEVER FORGET HE TRIED KILLING SONIC) but also because you just disconnected him from his entire backstory and motivations. i see people making Silver into a "cinnamon roll" guy and it always makes me grimace because... do you know WHY he is clueless. do you know why he doesn't get things or is too trusting or this or that. its because he grew up in the apocalypse alone. he hasn't experienced anything normal or healthy in his entire life. and since these traits, which are used to make him into the innocent cinnamon roll, are a result of growing up in a very abnormal environment, are symptoms of having never been in social situations and never had a normal day-to-day life. this means you can't ignore the OTHER characteristics that result from it. by this i mean hes very independent, very stubborn and aggressively mean (i recommend watching any of Silvers interactions in the Rivals games. he is extremely confrontational and a very good example of the kind of behaviour i'm talking about). but since this doesn't fit the bill for the character that you want him to be, you remove the context. him being clueless has nothing to do with his background. hes anxious cause hes a smol bean, not because hes been drowning in responsibility and trauma for as long as hes been alive. hes kind because hes innocent, not because he chose to be despite it all

"but linnea! what about IDW! hes very innocent in that!" INCORRECT BUZZER. IDW is not the same. i'll admit, the writing isn't always what i want or expect for Silver, but there's something important for you to note here

Silver is ✨Recovering✨

from my perspective at least. what i see is Silver, who has actively been working together with other people for MONTHS. he has friends, a support net, as well as hobbies. these are things he didn't have before, and being with these people, in both calm and hard times, helped him. So what we are seeing isn't the trauma responses, we're seeing the result of being acclimatized into a healthier and safer position. that's why there's a change in behaviour. this doesn't mean hes a soft boy now. AGAIN hes complicated. be careful not to boil him down to a single trait. in IDW we still see moments where he experiences difficulties because of his past. examples include when he met Whisper, Failed Social Interaction and said this:

he struggles with boundaries! of course he does! he's still getting the hang of being around people

then also recently when he came to help Sonic in 58:

he is struggling!! with nothing to focus on! his default is fight fight save the future fight!! he's not used to normal life and that makes him anxious and frustrated, unable to focus on things he cares about, as we see in the future growth comic in the 2022 annual

there are likely more examples but idc. need to finish this post. continuing, Silver is complicated, meaning that even when he is aggressive and tunnel visioning on a task, he has more going on. one thing i fucking lovee LOVE love about Silver is that he has hope. fuck if i were him i think i'd have given up. THOSE horrors? every day? no thanks

Silver feels anguish and frustration and fear. this being said even at his angstiest moments he has hope. you cannot look me in the eye and tell me that Silver fought through every horrible disaster, coming back to a newly devastated world every time and decided to continue with no hope for a better future. he is determined and he has hope, even if he has to fight tooth and nail for it. Usually when i think about Silver and his odd optimism, i go back to '06, when he's having his moral crisis over killing sonic.

"To kill someone to save the world... is that really the right thing to do?"

it would've been understandable if he decided it was the right thing to do, even if sonic was someone who was kind and loved, because that's just how bad the world is. maybe its just me, but the way this thought broke through in spite of his bull headed focus on destroying the iblis trigger speaks to me about his nature as a person. even coming from the bleak world he came from and even with the tunnel vision he had, he still considered this one persons life to be important too.

he is, at heart, a very gentle and kind person. he is, at heart, someone who is strong and who wants to help others. a version of Silver that is sad all the time, unable to see the good in the world (a phenomena i don't see much of thankfully) isn't true to Silver as a character because its missing that core trait to his character, that he wants to help because he cares.

Silver can't be one or the other. one way ignores his background and his trauma, which leaves out important parts of his personality, the other just abandons a very integral part of who he is.

the point really is to say that (slaps roof of Silver) this bad boy can fit so much layers!

#if i got it wrong you are welcoming to blast me with your psychic waves #if you aren't psychic though you have to be niceys though #AGAIN. im not trying to dictate anyones interpretations of him. the world is a beautiful place and your perspective likely has something #i didnt consider. characters are great in that theyre meant to be interpreted. #anyways 3 am rapidly approaches. time to eep #analysis #silver the hedgehog #long post #talk tag

[halfetirosie]

Quincy is Unintentionally Comedy Gold; Edmond Is Fuckin COOL and I LOVE HIM ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

(Prison Cell 08-010 React-os!)

Guys, am I tripping, or are the Part 2 chapters significantly longer than the ones in Part 1 of this event?

1. PFFFFFT (≧∇≦)

Quincy... you sleep all the time, everywhere... Just how stressed were you that YOU couldn't sleep, and turned grumpy about it????

BRUH 🤦‍♀️

2. T....Topper-nese.....Quinglish......

EIDEN, SWEETIE, I LOVE YOU. NEVER CHANGE.

3. Topper is the ULTIMATE HOMIE!!!! ♡♡♡♡♡

No, but, for real!!! I think sometimes we forget--since we, too, or not well-versed in Topper-nese--but every time we seen Topper looking out for Eiden and being genuinely concerned for him, it just warms my heart right up!!! What a dude!!!!

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

4. PFFFFFT (≧∇≦)

QUINCY, YOU'RE KILLING ME!!!

Quincy was literally only trying to talk to that guy, but the poor dude got so scared he immediately shifted into Fight or Flight mode!!!!

Yes, I realize that Quincy is just a Giant Man to people that don't know him, and I realize that they were in prison. BUT. Given the context we have, someone getting SO SPOOKY by just a Casual Quincy is hilarious to me.

I do feel kinda bad for Quincy, tho.... 😅

5. NO FUCKING WAY DUDE

PFFFFFT (≧∇≦)

OLIVINE JUMPSCARE!!!!!

YO. I was NOT expecting to see him here! Like, I started reading the bit with Eiden praying with everyone, and I just thought, "Oh my god, are they--?" And then, POOF! There's our boi, in all his glory! XD

In my defense, since they already pulled the 'ol Surprise Visitors in Part 1 (with the Yakumo Jumpscare), I didn't think they would do it again, okay??

6. I honestly love it when events tackle big societal issues; it happened in the last event, and it's happening again now!

Eiden's got me like:

(I keep finding myself in situations where I just HAVE to use this dumbass meme I made XD)

Nah, but this really is a conversation-starter, ain't it? Eiden does have a point--whether you give lawful justice of vigilante justice, at the end of the day, do either of those do anything to change the corrupt system?

Personally, I think there's a time and a place for either of those, but idk if I want to get into all of that right now... I'M not the one majoring in Philosophy...

7. THIS IS WHY I LOVE EDMOND SO DAMN MUCH!!!!

MY BABE! MY LOVE!!! YOU'RE SUCH A BADASS!!!! ♡♡♡♡♡♡

Listen. First in the Character-Ask Meme, then in the Giant Ed-Post for Fanfic Writers, what do I keep saying???? Time and time again?????

ED IS A FUCKING GOOD PERSON, WITH INTEGRITY, THAT GENUINELY CARES. THIS DUDE HAS PRINCIPLES AND HE STICKS TO THEM. HE WORKS GODDAMN HARD, DESPITE DANGEROUS SITUATIONS AND LONG HOURS, TO CHANGE SOCIETY FOR THE BETTER. HE'S DOING HIS FUCKING BEST TO COMBAT RAMPANT CORRUPTION.

THIS MAN IS A GODDAMN HERO!!! AND THIS LITTLE SPEECH HERE IS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF THAT!!!!

Hell, even Quincy (in his infinite wisdom) knows what's up.

Lord help me, I just can't stop simping for this man.....

♡ End of report ♡

#nu carnival #nu: carnival #nu carnival memes #nu carnival eiden #nu carnival quincy #nu carnival topper #nu carnival olivine #nu carnival edmond #Edmond is love Edmond is life

[charlottesbookclub]

which plants each of the greens would get from the plant shop where i work 🪴🌱🌿🍃

y'all i am so sorry for my sporadic activity on this blog and also for the chaotic jumble of fandoms i keep posting about with no warning 😭

so i was kinda into hotd last season, and with the new trailers coming out i was thinking about it again and this idea came to me like a revelation from on high so i decided to curse you all with these headcanons as well

for context, i work at a houseplant shop and was watering my own plants today when i was seized by the vision of which plant(s) each of the greens would get from the shop

i guess this is kind of modern au but not really?? like i guess i sort of envisioned it as the characters walking out of the world/canon of the show and into the plant store and so that's the characterization i went with idk

anyway sorry this is so chaotic – here are the headcanons:

alicent – def something pretty basic but classic like a pothos or a philodendron. a marble queen pothos would be especially appropriate, so honestly that's what i would probably recommend if she asked. is able to keep it alive just fine but i'm just not sure i would recommend anything too much more demanding – i just feel like losing a plant would be too demoralizing for her. also i feel like she would be one of those people who would come in and be like "i need a plant that filters air bc i need clean air in my living space" and i'd have to put on my best customer service voice/smile and be like "well actually ma'am that's all of them – that's kind of like one of their main things" lmaoooo

criston – i truly do not believe that my mans could keep a plant alive; i'm just not convinced of it. i think he'd get a funky spiky little succulent or cactus and it would be dead within a week and he'd come back in and i'd recommend a snake plant (very hard to kill) and then he'd kill that too 💀 but also i think he'd be sooooooooo in denial about it and always come up with a bunch of other things that must've happened to it

aegon – also cannot keep a plant alive but is painfully self-aware about this fact. would def be one of those people who comes in, walks right up to the counter and instantly says "i need a plant i can't kill." so i'd point him to the snakes and zz's and he'd get either a nice black coral or golden hahnii snake plant. the funniest thing about this is that i'm convinced that aegon's snake plant would actually survive and criston would be sooooo pissed about it. like he wouldn't water it for weeks, and then when he finally remembered to, he accidentally (drunkenly) watered it with wine and it still lived and criston was fucking livid about it

aemond – would for sure have more success keeping plants alive than aegon or criston. i feel like he'd try to start with something cool but tricky, like a complicated carnivorous plant, and after excruciating months of going back and forth with it, it kinda just gives up because he tries to do everything precisely by the book rather than reading the signs of the actual living plant in front of him. he admits defeat only personally – he tells everyone else that he gave to plant to helaena. he comes back for something a little easier and goes for a nice dracaena marginata (yes, he did buy it mostly because the name sounds like "dragon" and also because it was spiky and cool). he's definitely able to keep that one alive and it lives in the corner of his chambers and he's secretly very proud of his success with it. also he does not even let criston or aegon so much as look at it lmao

helaena – my girl could buy anything in the whole store and keep it alive 😌😌 she for sure likes the "weirder" plants and has a whole bog garden situation of carnivorous plants aemond is insanely jealous of this but never admits it out loud. she's very drawn to strange-looking cacti and succulents, and also fun little novelty plants like goldfish plants, string of turtles/bananas/hearts/pearls, starfish snake plants, etc. also, whenever she comes in she always buys all of the scraggly discount plants because she feels bad for them and nurses them all back to health. she has not lost a single plant yet regardless of the state it was in when she got it, and she doesn't intend to start any time soon 😌

#please excuse the absolute chaos of whatever these are 😅 #charlotte rambles #house of the dragon #hotd #house of the dragon headcanon #hotd headcanon #alicent hightower #alicent hightower headcanon #criston cole #criston cole headcanon #aegon ii targaryen #aegon ii targaryen headcanon #aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen headcanon #helaena targaryen #helaena targaryen headcanon

[420thewritersroom]

Thunderstorms in Spring

~Welp, just as fast as I posted that first installment, now we have a second one! I didn't expect everyone to like the first one so much, and I wanna thank you guys for your loving words! And the previous piece honestly gave me so much work to go off on that I decided to continue with a sequel (will this become a possible series, idk, but there's a second one now, so who knows).~

~I, once again, want to thanks the artists in this community who made their pieces of White Haired!Raiden and contributed to the whole "Oops, Kung Lao's Dead Again" AU, you can find them credited in the previous post since I don't want to annoy them with constantly tagging them whenever I make another installment with this series lol.~

~Before we continue just wanted to put some mild context to ensure this makes sense. Fire God Liu Kang starts getting deja vu as certain coincidences and events start playing out that are too eerily similar to how things played out during the MK9 game. All roads were seemingly leading to Kung Lao dying in his timeline, and Liu Kang struggled with how to cope and deal with this. On one hand, he did not want his friend-…His new teacher…To die, especially since he tried so hard to tailor-make this timeline to ensure everyone got a happy ending.

Yet, at the same time, he refused to stoop down to Kronika's level and start altering the timeline until it was his "perfect" utopia. However, his fears and suspicion about the situation become even more realized when Raiden gets gravely injured, and the only thing that prevented him from kneeling over was the thunder amulet infused with his person (and some other magical shit, idk). From this, Raiden gains his iconic white hair, and this gives Liu Kang a heart attack. To make a long story short, Kung Lao ends up dying at the hands of the villains, Raiden is going through the stages of grief, but he's going down the same dark path as the previous Raiden, now becoming Dark Raiden. And Liu Kang has to finally interfere.~

Still confused? Too late, now on to the story!

Previous // Next

Characters: Raiden, Raiden's Sister (Fuji), Johnny Cage, Kenshi, Mentions of Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Madam Bo, and Jax

Word Count - 8,001 (wow!)

Ships: Johnny/Kenshi - Past Raiden/Kung Lao

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence (with less blood), Heavy Talks About Character Death

~The Netherrealms - Undisclosed time and place~

Sulfur, ash, smoke, burning stone, and landscapes; the smell of the Netherrealm. Although Raiden's memories are fuzzy at best and nonexistent at worst, he remembers this in near clarity. His vision presents him looking up at the hellish sky as if he's lying down on the ground. He remembers not moving; it's too painful to move. He remembers breathing heavily. Is it because of the suffocating air of the Netherrealms? Or perhaps because of the blinding pain that Raiden remembers experiencing.

He can remember not just hissing and groaning in pain but screaming and writhing-silently begging for it to end. In this mnemonic dream, everything was selective when it came to what he saw, heard, smelled, and tasted. For taste, he can taste the iron of his own blood mixed in with something foul. Could it be the rancid air or the fact that this mixture almost tasted like poison?

His hearing in this dream is quite literally selective. Some people sounded horribly muffled, requiring Raiden to strain his ears to hear them. Others, he could perceive with great clarity, and then there were those he could not hear at all, their lips moving with no audible sound. Then there was his sight. Like the other senses, Raiden was faced with blurred faces, some only possessing one discernable feature, such as their eyes, nose, mouths, ears, hair, etc. Others were completely faceless to Raiden, with only their speech or smell being the one thing Raiden could cling to.

But what often overrode all these senses was the overwhelming pain he felt at this moment. Three figures stood above him. One was featureless; the only distinguishing aspect of this entity was that they were female-presenting as their speech sounded feminine, but it was horribly dimmed. Another figure was only distinguishable thanks to the glowing eyes they possessed and distinct dragon tattoos that crawled up their arms. If Raiden concentrates, he can maybe recollect what this individual is saying, but this pain prevents him from doing so.

Then there was Kung Lao. Deadass, just his long-time best friend, Kung Lao. Out of all the figures in front of Raiden in this instance, Kung Lao-he could see and hear with such perspicuity. Kung Lao stood beside the lying Raiden, tears in his eyes, slurring his speech, holding tightly to the thunder wielders' shaking hand.

"It's ok, Raiden! It's ok, you're going to be ok!" Kung Lao sobbed, trying, but failing, to smile at Raiden despite his tears actively gracing Raiden's face.

Raiden doesn't remember if he said anything back to him. His sight throughout this scene remained on his friend…At least, he thinks they're friends. There's a foreign feeling that encompasses him whenever he looks at Lao, and it's an overwhelming sense of love. And, I mean, people can definitely love their best friends. He and Kung Lao had known each other since they were children. Lao was a reckless, poor kid, and Raiden was a boy from a well-off family. Despite their class differences, they saw something likable about the other. But this love was more than just having a natural affinity for someone he's known all his life.

This felt…Stronger? Louder? Raiden doesn't know how to describe it. If it wasn't for the pain, Raiden would get lost in Kung Lao's chocolate eyes. He would untie his short ponytail and play with his hair before readjusting his look. Raiden notices little details about his friend that others might not have picked up on. Like his dimples when he smiles, even under such stressful circumstances, the way his face piercings adds to his cocky personality, and his undercut brings back fond memories of the pair trying to learn how to cut his hair which ended disastrously. Raiden wanted…To kiss him dearly…

And just like how Raiden held his perspective on Lao, Kung Lao hasn't torn away his gaze on Raiden, spitting out promises of what they will do together once Raiden was right as rain in rapid fire. What ended up redirecting Kung Lao's attention was when the figure with the glowing eyes was mumbling something.

"What?" Kung Lao snaps his head over to the tattooed figure with hopeful confusion on his face.

This tattooed individual, Raiden could not understand fully. However, he was able to catch on to some words: Amulet, Raiden, Entity, and Consequences. The fully faceless being, who was also present, gestures as if they're conversing with the pair - but Raiden cannot hear their input on the matter.

"I don't care how you do it! I…I just want him to survive! Please, Liu! Save him! Save Raiden!" Kung Lao cries, holding onto Raiden's hand like his life depended on it. As if, if he didn't clutch onto Raiden, he would lose him forever.

The tattooed individual holds their gaze toward Kung Lao, their silence and body language hinting that they were…Uneased and uncertain. The tattooed looks at the feminine figure and nods, saying something in the mumbled jargon they spoke. But the three individuals in front of Raiden were all in agreement. They were going to save him. He was going to survive this…Somehow.

Kung Lao focuses back on Raiden, smiling at his downed friend. "Look at me. Look at me, Raiden. You're going to be alright! Liu is gonna help ya. You…" Kung Lao looks Raiden over, primarily where his stomach is. Why was he looking there? "You're going to be alright. I love you. I love you so much, and I'm not going to let you die, ok?"

Raiden feels his heart flutter as if Kung Lao said something that would've usually made the thunder wielder swoon. But what was it? Despite being able to understand everything Kung Lao was telling him, his dream censored him; twice it did. Raiden feels something swell within him, this desire to respond to Kung Lao. Words at the tip of his tongue that he wanted to get out.

But then the pain gets worse. A LOT worse. His body was on fire as if electricity was coursing through his body. Raiden screams, making sounds that one would not think a human could make. He writhes, so much so that he feels someone holding him down. He remembers wanting it to stop; that dying was a better alternative than enduring this much pain.

-

Raiden jolts awake, sitting upright, sweaty, and breathing heavily. His eyes roam about his room, taking stock of what's around him. It was just a dream. He's in his room, in his bed. Not in…That hellish place…Whatever that was. Yet, he's not calming down. It felt real, too real. The pain, the heat, the people talking to him. It was as if he experienced it before, and there was a part of himself that felt like it was factual. But it was so…Surreal…

"Ugh! Aaah!" Raiden clutches his stomach, where his lower and upper body meet. It's happening again.

He can feel static dancing off his person in painful waves, coursing through his body from his stomach. He doubles over as he clutches his stomach in a hugging position. He can feel it wanting to get out again, this strange, unknown power, as it swells in electric prowess, begging to be let out.

"Raiden? Raiden!" Fuji's voice sounds distant, yet tangible, as she rushes to her brother's side. "Raiden, what's wrong? Is it happening aga-ah!" Fuji feels a jolt of electricity shock her, and she pulls away from touching her brother.

Raiden hisses through the growing pain, "Y-yes, it's happening again! It's stronger this time!"

"Come on, let's get you outside!" Fuji says in a hurried tone as she quickly dresses herself in whatever she can get her hands on in her brother's room.

Raiden groans as he tries to remove himself from his bed (something he kinda doesn't want to do right now) but ends up rolling off the mattress onto the floor with an audible grunt. Fuji is quick to Raiden's side again and helps him up with all her strength. Despite having a sleeper build in terms of muscularity and being leanly built, he was heavy to carry and drag around for someone of her strength and stature.

"Come on, come on, let's go, Raiden! We're almost to the door; let's go!" Fuji tries to encourage her brother.

"I-I'm trying, Ji. It hurts!" Raiden whines.

They both get past the front door and rush to hop onto Fuji's motorbike (she saved up ALOT of money to get this baby). She revs the engine and speeds away down the road, biking to a remote area so that her brother can let out…Whatever the fuck is going on with him.

"We're almost out of here, Raiden! Just give me-HOLY SHIT!"

Suddenly, an arc of lightning strikes the ground, deadly close to them. It's only now that Fuji notices that the night cloudy skies above were crackling with thunder and lightning (fortunately, no rain…Yet…).

"Raiden, control yourself! Just give me 2 minutes! AAH!" Fuji dodges a lightning strike that landed 3 seconds ahead of them.

"I'M TRYING!" Raiden shouts in pain, his hair and eyes glowing intensely as the power of the amulet strengthens. Throughout the trip, Raiden KNOWS that he was unintentionally shocking his sister, the poor farm boy constantly apologizing as he tries to reign in the energies coming off him.

Fuji is able to bob & weave around the constant lightning strikes and endure the shocks her brother kept giving her, just enough to reach not just the outskirts of the village but into the remote parts outside their settlement. Once they were a good 15 minutes away from Fengjian, Fuji slows down to park her bike, but this would nearly cost her. As they were about to stop, another strike of lightning hits them from behind, kicking up dirt, debris, and their bike. The motorbike ends up being tipped forward forcefully, sending the siblings flying.

"AAAAHHH!" Fuji screams as she soars above the ground before crashlanding into the tall grass nearby. Although she didn't gain that much air, thanks to her slowing down not too long ago, she still felt her ears ringing and her head and muscles aching. She makes sharp gasps as she slightly rolls in pain.

"Damnit, Raiden," Fuji hisses. "Fuck, Raiden! Raiden?" Fuji picks herself up, almost losing her footing, as she frantically looks for her older brother.

The sounds of her brother screaming gave her an idea of where he was at. He wasn't too far from her. Fuji could see lighting bouncing off his person as he was in the fetal position. As Fuji was attempting to approach him, Raiden yelled out to her, "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"

Fuji immediately stops in her tracks, watching her brother uselessly as he suffered. Ever since he came back home a year and a half ago, ever since Liu Kang dropped her brother off at their family home, he's had these strange abilities. But nothing like this. It has never gotten this bad! It's gotten out of control. Whatever's happening to Raiden, it's trying to get out. Fuji anxiously scours through her brain as she considers WHAT she can do to help her brother that she hasn't done before. But…BUT WHAT THE FUCK WOULD ANYONE DO IN THIS SITUATION!?! Her brother is becoming a malfunctioning transmission tower! No amount of guidance from their parents, friends, workmates, or even TikTok inspiration posts could prepare her to handle this!

There is one thing she notices about her brother in this situation. It's almost as if he's trying to hold back whatever this electrifying beast is. This gives her an idea.

"R-Raiden! Raiden, you need to let go! You can't keep holding back…Whatever this is!" Fuji shouts as loud as she can, the raging thunder clouds, cracks of lightning, and howling wind overpowering her voice.

"NO!" Raiden screams in response, fear heavily apparent in his tone. "I-FUCK-I'LL HURT YOU! LIKE LAST TIME, I'LL HURT YOU!"

Oh…

Fuji stares uselessly at Raiden as that incident plays in her head again. It was a couple months since Liu Kang returned her brother home. Raiden was…He was going through alot. What, with his sudden memory loss and having to come to terms with the lost memories, Raiden was silently coping with this alone. It's unnatural for him to bottle up his emotions. Fuji has always known her brother to speak his mind when something troubled him…Then again, his trusted confidant when he didn't want to turn to his family was Kung Lao…Who's dead…Even Madam Bo he couldn't look to for guidance; she died many years ago (peacefully, surrounded by her family). And despite the natural trust, as siblings, they both had for each other; Raiden clearly avoided speaking with her about what he was thinking and feeling.

And it finally came overhead when the siblings had a mild dispute. She doesn't even remember what they were arguing about. Could've been typical brother/sister shit. Maybe she finally confronted him about his silence and reluctance to speak about what had happened to him. Regardless, things got a bit personal, and Raiden, who is usually the patient and calm one, even during their little disagreement bouts; lashed out.

And quite literally did he lashed out. Fuji probably should've seen the telltale signs when his eyes and hair were giving a dim, white glow, but she was too riled up in the conversation to pay attention. Then it happened, Raiden yelled back at her, and suddenly, an arc of lightning erupted from him. Striking Fuji.

With a highly concentrated energy of electricity, it shocked her to the point that her body shut down temporarily…But Raiden didn't see it like that, at the moment. His sister, his closest friend aside from Kung Lao, was lying on the kitchen floor, dead. Their elderly parents arrived home to see Raiden sobbing loudly as he tried to revive his sister while lightning was pulsing off him. They couldn't get close enough to each reach the phone to call for emergency services as arcs of lightning were going everywhere in the house, practically destroying it (the expenses were much, even for their family). And maybe it was the constant shock of electricity that restarted Fuji and kept her from fully kneeling over. Who knows, there was a lot of pandemonium going on at that moment, but she remembered jolting back to life, breathing heavily as she tried to scoot away from her brother.

But there was one thing she regretted that day. Being so scared of Raiden that she had the look of someone seeing a monster, a threat.

Fuji can ascertain that he's been holding it in ever since that day. Because he's scared of hurting her again. And sure, they would both go out of town to a remote area to let Raiden air out and release the energies of the amulet infused to his body. But there was a deafening disconnect since that day. And it pains Fuji that it wasn't until now that she realized she'd shut Raiden out because she was scared of her brother.

Another painful cry emits from Raiden. The storms above were becoming dangerous, Fuji felt like she was going to be swept off her feet by the roaring winds. Although Fuji was scared of the mystical prowess her brother possessed, she loved him more than she feared him.

"Raiden, you're not going to hurt me! I know you won't, I trust that you won't!" Fuji has to now scream over the raging storm as she puts some further distance between her and her brother, readjusting her fallen motorbike. "Whatever you're holding on to, you have to let it go!"

"Fuji, I-"

"Raiden, don't you fucking argue with me!" Fuji shouts, using her "mom voice." Fuji might be just as soft-spoken as her brother, but she knew when to assert herself and take up space when needed. "You're going to harm me far worse the longer you keep holding on to...Well, that! You'll destroy all of Fengjian doing what you're doing RIGHT NOW!"

I mean, Fuji can't say for certain that it will. But storms like this can definitely level villages, and she's not about to wait and find out if this is the case. Fuji yelps loudly as a soaring large tree branch flies by her, the dark-haired sister ducking behind her bike for safety. There's another resounding scream from Raiden, and she looks in his direction with extreme worry. However, there was something different about this scene.

Raiden was howling, sure, but he was releasing the energies of the amulet. The best way one could describe this scene is that it's like watching Raiden raise his power level as if he's a Dragon Ball Z character. The storm around this time worsens, so much so that Fuji ends up holding onto her, albeit skidding, bike while screaming herself.

Then it...Stops...The roiling thunder, the crack of lightning, the raging winds calmed. Fuji opens her eyes and looks to the still-night sky, the dark clouds slowly parting to reveal the gibbous moon above, the sound of thunder now becoming an infrequent presence. When she finally takes a look at her brother...She might as well be looking at an all-powerful being, maybe even a god.

Raiden was levitating, hair and clothes flowing as if he were in water, sparks of electricity visibly coursing through his being as his hair and eyes glowed a godly white. Fuji stared in awe as electric energies sparked off him, unsure of how else to take in this scene in front of her. Her brother would soon gracefully touch the ground again before kneeling over. Fuji cautiously approaches her brother as if she's entering an emperor's throne room unannounced.

"...Raiden?"

"...Yeah?" Raiden, now sounding like his usual, soft-spoken, self, looks up at his sister. His face plastered with the same amazement as she possessed.

"Are you...Ok?"

"I think so," Raiden looks himself over, watching the energies pulse around him. "...Yeah. Yeah, I think I'm alright now."

"What was that? This never happened before." Fuji starts getting more bold as she approaches her brother. She wanted to dust him down but hesitated as the energies continued to encompass Raiden.

Raiden is quiet for a moment. During this silence, the electrical current finally dissipated. "...I'm sorry, Fuji."

"For what?"

"For...For everything."

Fuji's heart nearly breaks the moment she hears Raiden's voice crack. Raiden's eyes become glassy as he begins to cry. "No. No, Raiden," Fuji takes the first step to break the space between them, holding his shaking hand in hers. "I should be the one apologizing. I...I'm not going to pretend that I know what happened to you that caused all this. These strange powers, you're new color," Fuji brushes some stray hair behind Raiden's ear, "Or why you can't remember the past...I don't even know how many years."

"But you clearly needed help. I can't assist with any physical help, but I can help with this," Fuji pokes at his heart, smiling at her elder brother. "I was scared of you, Raiden...Because you became...Unrecognizable to me. But I was wrong to emotionally shut you out. You're still my brother, and I'm going to still be your sister."

Raiden chuckles, smiling through his tears as he fondly looks at Fuji. "Thank you, sis."

"Now come on, we best get home. Mom and Dad, if they're not awake already, are going to be worried about why we were gone during an active storm. Also, you're still in your underwear."

"What?" Raiden looks at himself, finally realizing that he's still in a t-shirt and boxers. "W-why didn't you help me get dressed!?!"

"You were literally screaming and shooting lightning out of your hands, what did you want me to do?" Fuji responds as she gets her motorbike prepped for departure.

"I would've been fine with a hoodie or something," Raiden says, now in a bit of a jesting mood. He does notice that his sister is wearing his clothes and points at her. "Can you at least hand me my hoodie?"

"Can't. Not wearing anything under this."

"I can literally see your PJs under there, Ji."

"Ok, but it's cold. No thanks to you," Fuji sticks her tongue at him teasingly.

The pair continue their sibling banter as they make their way back to Fengjian. The back & forth is interrupted as Raiden grows silent suddenly. Growing increasingly uncomfortable with the silence, Fuji breaks the ice.

"Something on your mind?"

Raiden remains still.

"...Come on, Raiden. If something is troubling you...Listen, I might not have all the answers, but at least let me know what's going on."

-

~Two Days Later~

Raiden closes the mirrored medicine cabinet, the soft click of the small door indicating it was successfully shut. Raiden is faced with his reflection. White, shoulder-length hair, brown eyes (that occasionally turn white, he has noticed), upside-down heart-shaped face, chubby cheeks, oval brows; these features he has seen time and time again. Yet, this look still feels...Foreign to him. How did he get the white hair? Nothing in his memories can track down the point in time when he dyed his hair (Fuji says that he dyed his hair...But...).

He looked...Older. As if he's experienced many things in his life. What those experiences are though-he cannot tell you. Raiden places a hairband in his mouth as he gathers his strands to recreate the man-bun he fondly prefers to wear. It's the one thing that gives him a sense of familiarity. He can remember precisely how he favors pinning up his hair. Raiden looks at himself in the mirror again, staring into his reflections' brown eyes as if he's searching for something behind them. His gaze then focuses on a small picture. A photo was taken when he, Kung Lao, and Fuji went on a school trip in their elementary years. Their class went fishing that day, and he can distinctly remember his kid self getting frustrated because he couldn't catch a single fish that day. Despite living in a village that was on the water, fishing wasn't a skill Raiden acquired. He remembers Kung Lao always being able to catch a large or small one, bragging about how he was going to take his catches back home to eat.

Perhaps it was Kung Lao's bragging that made his younger self jealous and throw a fit. But in that same instance, Kung Lao actually taught him the tricks he used to capture fish. It was Kung Lao that turned that sour trip into a journey he will always remember.

...

Why can't he remember anything? Past that day, when the pair competed to see who could harvest the most cabbages and pay for the loser's meal at Madam Bo's, everything else is a blur. And maybe this wouldn't bother him much; people can have fuzzy memories, especially if they were beaten so severely they had to be bandaged with extreme care by a stranger. But it's not just a few memories that he can't recollect; it's practically all of them past that day at Madam Bo's. Even more alarming...

...He had forgotten that his best friend, Kung Lao, had died. Now, unless he's getting a grave case of early dementia, who would miss that their own best friend died, their own funeral procession? When his sister and parents came forward about this with him, it was only then that Raiden realized that some years passed as well. That meant that he was missing years-YEARS-of life experiences that were now gone from his mind. Even more confusing, he wasn't in a coma. At least, he doesn't think he was.

Ok, lemme explain. Based on what Fuji and his parents told him, some man named Liu Kang offered him a position of high-paying work. It required him to work in the United States, and both he and Kung Lao were offered the job; both men said yes to this opportunity. Looking back at it, in his family's words, they should've pushed back further as they were suspicious of this Liu Kang fellow and this job he was offering their son. But seeing the joy on Raiden's face and his determination to leave with Liu Kang convinced them that their son could handle themselves and pave his own future. Occasionally, he would visit home and send money & unique souvenirs before promptly leaving back to the States. Apparently, he was a martial arts teacher in the States, but everything else was unknown to them. It was a shock to everyone when they heard that Kung Lao died. It came out of left field. Based on what Liu Kang and Raiden told them, an accident happened where some equipment malfunctioned and blew up in Kung Lao's face, a lacerated throat being the primary cause of death. After that, Raiden was radio silent to his family. It wasn't until Liu Kang came to their house in the dead of night years later with Raiden in tow, bandaged and bruised, and left without another word. They haven't seen Liu Kang since.

Aside from the mild inconsistencies (if he was in the States while his family was in China, of course, there would be some muddled details), their story was pretty straightforward based on their point of view...Yet, deep down, Raiden couldn't help but...Feel like there's more to this story. Not that he's distrustful of his family; he truly believes what they said. However, somewhere deep within his conscience, it felt like the story they told him was the tale he WANTED them to believe. As if Raiden knew the truth that explains the holes and contradictions that riddled their recollection of previous events. Yet, the answers to these truths are hidden even from Raiden. Always at the tip of his tongue but forbidden from ever speaking them.

Raiden enters the kitchen; his mother and sister preparing breakfast and lunch for Raiden. Seeing him enter, Fuji smiles from ear to ear. "You slept in, lazy butt."

"Oh?" Raiden looks at the mounted clock, and yep! He's an hour and thirty minutes late to work. "Aw, crap!"

"Calm yourself, boy. I already called the Farm. They were understanding and said to come in when you're ready." His mother says as she sets down a bowl full of steamed Bao Buns. Enough to last until lunch, really.

Looking at the bowl, Raiden knew why they cooked so much. Kung Lao, the gluttonous butt he was, would always visit Raiden so that they could travel to work together. And without fail, he was always raiding their kitchen for any leftovers no one else wanted. It became nearly tradition to cook a bit extra in case Kung Lao decided to pay them a visit.

...Apparently, old habits die hard...Raiden smiles and kisses his mother gingerly on the cheek. "Thank you, mother. I don't want to keep them longer, though. I'll see you guys when I get back." Raiden quickly packs his own lunch, thanks to the assistance of his sister, Fuji, who was already 3 steps ahead of him and grabs a couple Bao Buns before heading out the house.

Walking to the Farm, Raiden couldn't help but feel a sorrowful, almost lonely, acceptance of the village around him. Every building, path, small body of water, old face, new face, everything about Fengjian felt like a ghost to him. It was familiar, yet so dissimilar to Raiden. This village has grown in the past years he was in and out of this settlement. But what disheartens him is the absence of his friend. Raiden only wishes that Kung Lao was here, perhaps he would've helped him make sense of all of this. This...Amnesia mess that he's in. And Raiden would've confided with Madam Bo...You know, if she were still alive. Her death had more consistency; she simply died of old age. It was still a shock; she was his adopted grandmother in Raiden's eyes. So in Raiden's mind, he not only lost a close friend but also a family member and valuable mentor.

Raiden found himself staring at points of interest that held significance to him, especially if it related to Kung Lao. There was a cherry blossom tree up a hill nearby that he and Lao would frequent without fail. Be it to do school work, to see who can climb that tree the fastest and highest, or to chill. It was there that Kung Lao, at the age of 15, expressed his desire to explore their horizons past Fengjian. Raiden still grins to himself, thinking back on the many adventurers Kung Lao wanted to have (although few of them were a bit exaggerated). How they both promised-once they were older-they would travel outside of Fengjian, and experience the world together. Somewhere, deep down, Raiden feels like this has come true if they have gone to the States before...But it feels like more was there than simply hopping over to another country.

There's a convenience store nearby where Kung Lao's house was. It was a favorite, and every time the pair visited it, Kung Lao would rant and rave about all the many meals one could make from just a few store-bought convenience items. Being a child of a middle-class family, Raiden was always baffled by the "dishes" Kung Lao would make, most of them hit or miss due to the cheap ingredients. But Kung Lao loved to cook. He probably would've wanted to become one with the kind of passion he had. But Kung Lao cooked to survive due to...Well, let's just say, he was a poor kid.

Then there was the Farm. They were always getting into some kind of trouble there. Playing daring jokes on each other, helping one another with the back-breaking labor, then the fulfilling trip to Madam Bo's Teahouse. All fond memories.

Before Raiden knew it, the day was already reaching its finale. Raiden worked overtime, something he was often known to do. And, you know, working such late hours without Kung Lao there was...Disheartening. Kung Lao wouldn't assist in the work. In his mind, his shift ended at 5:30 P.M. But he would at least stay with Raiden. To provide him company during the late hours. This time around, the nightlife critters and beasts were his only company. The walk home was seemingly worse. The darkened village felt quiet, with only a few shops open that had loud commotion going on. Friends hanging out and enjoying a good drink together as they drank and ate the rest of the evening away.

The only moment of solace Raiden gained was when he walked back into his house. His mother, father, and sister were loud in conversation as they went over the recent village gossip, village news & politics, and pastime activities they engaged in. It was a breath of fresh air having this personal community that broke the solemn silence that his best friend filled. The night ended with Raiden sitting down with his family and enjoying the dinner they made. It closed with him and his sister, Fuji, cleaning up after their parents as they turned in early for the night.

"Hey."

"Hmm?" Raiden gives Fuji a side glance as he continues to clean up dishes.

"You feeling ok?" Fuji eyes him curiously.

Two days ago, Raiden finally came forward with Fuji about the emptiness he's been feeling. Even though he's in a village that he was born & raised in, filled with familiar faces and family, the fact of the matter is that he dearly missed Kung Lao. But...But it was more than just grieving for a best friend, not that it would make a difference. But Kung Lao filled deeper shoes than just simply being a friend. When he's in bed, he feels like the mattress is too big all of a sudden. He can't eat certain dishes because it will all remind him of Lao. He finds himself crying to himself because he forgot for a moment that Kung Lao would not answer his door or his phone if Raiden were to call. All these things, even as a best friend, would be reasonable to miss and grieve over. But there was something more to their friendship than that.

"Do you think you loved him?" Raiden remembers Fuji asking him when he came forward with this.

"...I don't know...And if I did...Now I have to reconcile with the fact that I'll never get to tell him..."

Raiden smiles at his sister and playfully bumps shoulders with her. "Now that I'm home? I'm feeling good, for now. The rice and pork was really good, Fuji."

"I know right! I used this new spice that my friends were crazy about. It's a Korean spice-"

Fuji rambled on about how she made the dish they had for dinner, and Raiden eagerly listened and conversed with her. Even though Kung Lao was gone, he could try to fill that space with more people who loved him.

-

Outside the residence where Raiden lived, a shadowed figure rests on the rooftops of the sleeping Fengjian village, watching the building like a predator that has found its prey. Blazing red eyes stare through the open windows, watching closely the two figures who pass it daily, unaware they have an interested third party observing them. The being in question, however, was laser-focused on Raiden, watching his every move, taking them to memory. The show would be over, unfortunately, as they closed the curtains and cut off the lights, slumbering like the rest of the village.

The shadowed individual smiles, "Worry not, Raiden. We'll be reunited soon enough. You'll see. Then not even death will tear us apart."

And in a flash of mystical air and dead cherry blossom petals, the figure is gone.

-

~Somewhere in California~

Kenshi groans awake as he feels inklings of the sun peering out from the half-closed curtains. Half-naked, Kenshi, through his sight provided by Sento, is greeted with the ceiling of the luxury apartment belonging to Jonathan Carlton, Johnny Cage. Kenshi felt an added weight on the bed he slept on, knowing who was sharing the mattress with him. Despite this, Kenshi twisted his head to drink in the blissfully still-sleeping man beside him, Johnny.

You know, if you asked Kenshi that he would end up in the loving arms of a pompous Hollywood star, he would've had you killed for even thinking about it. Even when their relationship evolved from enemies to friends, Kenshi would've thought that was the final step in their relationship. Just being friends. But it all fell into place when...When Kung Lao died. Funny how shared trauma can bring others together...

You see, Before Kung Lao died, Johnny was good friends with Kung Lao. They both had their similarities. They were both friends with whom some would consider "the straight man" of their other half, they were both hella self-confident and prideful of their capabilities. The only thing that seemingly differentiated them was that one was poor while the other was rich. Oh, and the fact that Kung Lao was more disciplined when it came to his fighting prowess, compared to Johnny, who was more of a "free-form jazz" type of guy. Although Kung Lao expressed mild annoyance at the actor's Hollywood pride (even Kung Lao wasn't that egotistical), the pair worked off each other pretty well to be good friends.

So when Kung Lao died, aside from Raiden, Johnny took his death the hardest. Being perhaps the more foolhardy of the group (even with his years of maturity the more he was asked to help Liu Kang with other realm matters), that moment was when Johnny really "grew up." It's not like he was new to death, the kind of work they did, they have met many instances where they watched people die in front of them or saw corpses in horrendous states. But it was one thing when it was someone who you weren't close to or didn't know in general. It's another thing when it's someone you do know and have history with.

After Kung Lao's death, Johnny's way of coping was trying to fill in the shoes that Kung Lao left behind. Kung Lao always had a way of lightening the mood that was unique compared to what Johnny would do. Where the actor would constantly spill movie references that no one but Johnny understood, Kung Lao knew how to inspire from the heart. And that took skill and experience to pull off, something Johnny wasn't too well versed in. Looking back on it, Kenshi sees them in a more positive light than before. However, he can't say the same for Raiden. When they were still considered the protectors of Earthrealm, Raiden was spiraling into his own self-hatred and grief. With good intentions, Johnny tried to be a friend to Raiden, wanting to reassure Raiden that they had his back...It didn't end well.

Johnny's desire to keep their friend group together, even though they were drifting apart was harming Johnny more than he thought it was. So when Liu Kang suddenly announced that he would no longer be needing their services, Johnny was quick to take his offer. Now, to the untrained ear, one would think:

"Of course, Johnny Cage dipped out after the going got going! He's an actor who never saw any of the cruelties of the real world because of his wealth!"

Which, in some way, could be the reason. But Kenshi saw something else to Johnny's reason for dipping out. As stated before, Johnny put a lot of emotional energy trying to keep their friend group alive. He tried to fill the shoes that Kung Lao left behind, and in the process, he was draining himself as he tried to keep everyone happy while everyone was coping with Lao's death. No longer being obligated to be Earthrealms protector, meant that Johnny no longer had to hold onto the tearing strings since they were all going their separate ways.

Their relationship still wouldn't blossom until nearly a year and a half ago. Granted, looking back at their previous interactions, perhaps it was fate that they would find solace with each other. Kenshi, with the line of work he involved himself in, had to go into hiding but had nowhere to turn to. Hunkering down with Johnny would've been a foolish thought; he was the exact opposite of discreet. But, because he had to cut back on some expenses, Johnny was living in an apartment building that was a perfect "hiding in plain sight" spot. With Kenshi as his new roommate, Johnny got a bit personal with Kenshi as he was helped dress his wounds. The rest was history as Kenshi found himself kissing Johnny in the heat of the moment. A year and a half later, Kenshi is still in disbelief that they're together still.

While Kenshi would love to admire the sleeping person beside him, he knew that he couldn't stay long. He was still in hiding, and he promised Jax that he would meet him at a disclosed location to discuss next steps. He's careful to slip out of bed without disturbing Johnny, swiftly getting cleaned up and dressed before walking into the kitchen to prepare himself a cup of joe.

"Mmhm. Morning sunshine."

Kenshi nearly jumps out of his skin as he feels strong arms wrap around his waist. He smiles as he cranes his head back to look at Johnny. "Did I wake you?"

"Didn't feel your body keeping me warm, honey. You leaving already?" Johnny says in a husky tone as he nuzzles behind the blind swordsman.

"Have to. I have an associate who's waiting for me. I might not be able to stay here for much longer."

"Again?" Johnny complains in an overexaggerated tone. "How long will you be gone?"

"Don't know, depends on the situation."

This isn't the first time Kenshi and Johnny been separated for long periods of time, something they were both well accustomed to. Johnny was an actor/director, which means he was constantly traveling to other states and countries for filming. Working for the OIA (Outworld Investigation Agency) and the FBI, Kenshi was either traveling the world or traveling realms. Perhaps being the only Earthrealmer who didn't hang up the mantle of being Liu Kang's warrior.

Johnny continues to whine about being alone without Kenshi (even though he'll be alright), playing up his desperation for Kenshi to "stay home" with him. And Kenshi will admit, he can definitely see why he was, and still is, a popular star in Hollywood.

"Can you at least leave me a goodbye gift?" Johnny's fingers start to linger towards Kenshi's waistbelt.

"Johnny," Kenshi chuckles as he moves one of his hands away from his waist, kissing the fingers individually. "I can't right now; I'm going to be late."

"Aw, come on! Just a quicky?"

"No, Johnny."

Cage huffs, but there is no anger hinted there. He just kisses Kenshi's neck and sighs. "Fine. Just come back sooner than later, ok? Bed feels empty without ya."

"I bet it does," Kenshi jests.

"I know it does." As Johnny giggles, his eyes glance at the reflection displayed on the microwave mirror, and he sees…Something moving. A tall, humanoid figure attempting to stealth because it assumes it hasn't been seen.

Just as quickly as Johnny notices this, he quickly grabs a kitchen knife from the knife holder and swiftly throws it at the intruder. Even with his fast reflexes, they weren't as fast as the unwanted guest. The Intruder grabs the knife, blade in hand, while their glowing red eyes stay trained on the couple.

Kenshi, already alerted that something is wrong, calls for Sento to his hand. The magic sword unsheathes itself and flies over to their location. Before reaching Kenshi's hand, with his mystical sight and ability to utilize Sento, even if the weapon is not in his hand, he sharply gestures his one hand in multiple directions in slicing motions. Sento redirects its trajectory as it starts to aim for the home invader. Although the sword was able to get a few good slices in, the individual was fast…Too fast…

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment!?!" Johnny growls as he grabs another weapon of his own (it's another knife).

The figure doesn't respond, only growling as it attempts to rush at Johnny and Kenshi. The pair dodge out of the way, both separated on opposite sides of the person.

"Listen, I'm willing to not press charges AND give you the comfiest dirt nap you'll ever experience IF you tell us what you're doing in my place and why you're attacking us!"

"Something tells me they're not here to talk, Johnny," Kenshi replies as he commands Sento to his hand.

"Ok, dirt nap it is then."

The pair rush the intruder, hoping to overwhelm them with their combined might. Johnny's theatrical and dirty fighting tactics with Kenshi's samurai-like skills and roughhousing tricks. Yet, even with their combined might, this individual was swift and able to counter almost all their attacks while also producing devastating blows of their own.

Very quickly, Kenshi caught on that this person possessed some superhuman strength. Every punch sent Kenshi and Johnny flying in some instances during the fight. This intruder also had some cracks in their skin that had a glow to them. Unfortunately, while Sento gave him sight, it didn't provide Kenshi clarity on specific details like colors. Johnny, however, could see that this person had ashen gray skin, much like how a corpse would look, and the supposed "cracks" were actually the outlines of their inner veins, glowing to an unnatural degree.

Another thing too, this guy just would not quit. Their back and forth was eventually tiring Johnny & Kenshi as they missed one too many close calls that would've killed them. But this home invader had stamina for days. Johnny and Kenshi had to resort to going on the defensive as they had to dodge his attacks while waiting for openings.

Johnny is nearly choked out by this creature before grabbing the heated french press on the stove and slamming it against the intruder's head. Granting the actor time to build some distance.

"Kenshi, I'm gonna need you to think of something, and think of it quick because I'm going to be paying for all these expenses that this prick is breaking!" Johnny windily fusses as he lands a one-two punch on the intruder.

"Get him closer to the living room!" Kenshi says as he provides a helpful block for Johnny, using Sento to slash at the intruder before they can land a hit on Johnny.

"What?" Johnny looks at Kenshi confused before taking a punch to the face.

"Just follow my lead!"

Where Johnny's luxurious apartment was located it was built into a tall skyscraper building, and Johnny paid to get a good view of the city he was living in. That meant that his room was exceptionally high up in the building; leading to an estimated 250 ft drop. And Kenshi was getting some sneaking suspicions that this creature could survive all 250 of it.

Kenshi dares to get closer to the intruder, putting all his might into pushing and fighting this man closer to the living room which had an entire glass wall that showcased that good Californian view. Helping him, Johnny also jumped into the fray, along with Sento as they brought him closer to the glass windows. The intruder was able to block their attacks, but he was inching toward the glass, and they finally grabbed at Kenshi's throat in a crushing grip.

"You will join us, Takahashi. Our family will gladly welcome you." The intruder says.

"I'm all for visiting in-laws and relatives, but we're gonna have to decline the invitation to the family barbeque!" Johnny says. And in that same second, he drops it low and hits your man with the most devastating nutcracker they'll ever experience.

The intruder makes an audible moan as they double over, covering their private bits. Seems this was just enough to not only get them winded but grant Kenshi enough time to perform a flying roundhouse kick and send the intruder falling 230 feet back to the lobby.

"Yo, Kenshi! What the hell, man! I didn't think you were going to kill him!?!" Johnny exclaims. "Dude, I live on this floor!?! And it's 10 in the fucking morning! People are going to see, and then the police are going to be called, then what the fuck am I going to do then? I mean, sure, we were fighting in self-defense, I think that guy had the intent to kill us, but I'm a famous star, dickhead! What am I going to tell the press? Fuck, fucking A, I can already see it, 'Johnny Cage: Famous Actor, Director, and Killer?' Fucking fuck, Kenshi!"

Despite Johnny's angry rambles, Kenshi paid him no mind as he carefully leaned out the side of the broken window, trying to get a good view of the intruder and seeing if his prediction was correct.

…The motherfucker got up.

"Johnny, get dressed, we gotta go," Kenshi says in a hurry as he picks up Sento and the sheath it belongs to.

"Wait, what? Were you even hearing me-"

"We don't have time, get dressed!"

"Ok, ok, I am!" Johnny windily says as he rushes to his bedroom. "Fucking hell, what a goddamn mess."

As the pair are leaving the apartment, Johnny is just getting his best shoes tied, hopping on one leg as he tries to follow the hurried Kenshi. "Wait, Kenshi, what the hell is going on. You're doing that 'I know way more than I let on' schtick that you often do. Did you know that guy?"

"I'll explain once we're far from here. Right now, you're about to meet a good friend of mine."

-

~Wow, this was even longer lmao! I made a second installment! Very excited to keep working on this because we're about to get to the part where Kung Lao returns >:). Had a lot of fun writing Amnesia!Raiden trying to cope with Kung Lao's sudden departure in his life and writing his sister Fuji. BTW, you can check out this post I made of my picrew interpretation of what Raiden's Sister looks like (Fuji - Raiden's Sister). Not too happy with the Johnny & Kenshi scene, but I've been, once again, working all evening and well into the night with this one, so I'm gonna make my peace with it. Hope you guys enjoy it. Can't wait to start writing up the next installment! Pray that I make this one shorter ;A;~

#Mortal Kombat #Mortal Kombat 1 #MK1 #oops kung lao's dead again au #MK1 Raiden #Raiden's Sister #Fuji #MK1 Kung Lao #MK1 Johnny Cage #MK1 Kenshi #Raiden #Kung Lao #Johnny Cage #Kenshi #Wilted Cherry Blossoms Dark Thunderstorms Burning Hopes

[itsquakey]

Say it with me.

Did Opal-Owl-Flight groom minors? NO

Did Blue-Jester groom minors? NO

Did they go too far up by making a lot of very questionable sex jokes and showing imagery that is suggestive to minors? YES

Are you kidding me??? I was aware that the words “Groomer” and “Pedo” are thrown around just like that on the internet. But…holy shit. So what are these two being accused of? Well. Grooming. Because they were saying some very out of pocket risky jokes and had art that is risky (According to sources of both sides no actual porn was posted, just risky content in which you could argue teeters on NSFW because remember, not all NSFW is blatant porn. It’s a spectrum.) Okay so let’s look at the definition of grooming here. According to Oxford Dictionary grooming is the attempt to form a relationship with someone for them with the sole intention of sex or being in a sexual relationship with them.

From interviewing both sides as well as looking into the two hundred paged doc (which we will get there soon my friends), there was no instance of grooming here, they didn’t try to get closer to these kids to try and use them for sex, the closest thing you could tie that to is the pinup drawings, which I don’t even think Opal or Blue knew what they were doing when they posted that. Oh. And one more thing.

Hey owl. I know we’re mutuals and all. And I saw you already fixed this but I feel the need to say it. You are an adult. I am an adult. We should not be throwing the word groomer around especially when you are in contact with the doc maker and likely already read it all. I understand grooming is a very serious thing however we should remain mostly neutral if not stand our ground a little bit but be open while we listen to all sides of the story before jumping to conclusions.

So what about the doc? Hey where did it go? Yea it got deleted or just taken off public view from what I’ve seen. If I were to take a guess…it may or may not have to do with the lack of censorship when it came to the minors in this situation! Yes, they did not censor a large amount of the minors interactions in this doc opening them up to harassment. I know one of these minors and went to them in hopes of them telling me more. But guess what? They did what most kids would do in such a situation and freaked out, which was my fault for trying to do such a thing without thinking. These kids are basically open to a rain of gunfire now because of no censorship. I thought we were trying to protect them? What’s up with that? I don’t consider it doxxing as doxxing is the reveal of personal information on the internet/ to the public. The info of those minors were public in a way. But it’s still VERY scummy whether or not the doc makers knew that. And to add onto this, according to a few people some or all of these screenshots were taken out of context. I was not given any further proof so take it with a grain or salt. If the doc maker is reading this. I’d recommend actually taking time in making that doc better because all it does is make you look aggressive even if you may have a point in some things. Or just… go to those involved and try to fix it in private so unneeded drama like this doesn’t happen.

Opal, Blue, any other adult who happened to be heavily involved. I understand sex jokes = funny. I understand we can go too far. Hell. This situation made me realize I did a similar thing a while back and how it was not at all cool of me to do. I know that sex humor is a staple in minors and at the end of the day we can laugh about “magic condoms” or how much of a slut Mago is. Here’s the thing. I do think you guys went too far. A sex joke or two is funny and not out of the ordinary (again, I have I think a couple of those on my account if you look hard enough) and I know it’s easy to go take a couple steps too far from the path. What I want you lads to do is be aware that a lot of the more raunchier jokes and images wasn’t okay around minors and you need to take responsibility for it. No defensive words. Just say “Yeah I messed up, but guess what. I can fix this” and I’m not just expecting this just out of you, I’m expecting this out of the other side and those who jumped on these claims without looking into them. Here is an idea for you, what can possibly fix your issue with regards to content within your server. Make a 18+ channel or a series of them, having them locked and people only allowed in by mods who give it a green light when the person wanting in is 18 or older. That way you can post content and make jokes to your hearts content without worrying about these folks calling you groomers. Worst case scenario you get called a degenerate but I mean…come on. If you’re a degenerate then I am 100x more of one judging by the jokes and content I’ve made in the shadows. The adult channels is something I’ve seen in multiple Kirby servers and if you plan on keeping your current server or moving to a new one to protect minor identity keep that idea of mine in mind please. This is kinda like the maturity option on tumblr posts, which if you haven’t used yet for spicier content I highly recommend!

And this is just for Opal. Hey, I wanna say this so you don’t catch flack for it later but author doesn’t equal character is not an excuse in this situation. I understand the thought process of this, but keep in mind you are the one speaking through Magolor. You are the one who wrote him to have this character and you should be very aware that if you use that excuse on anyone who isn’t as open as I am they will likely just completely believe you are trying to save your own ass.

FYI If later on in the timeline it does come out someone here no matter what side they’re on is actually grooming minors with undeniable proof, they’re going to have to deal with my ass and the cops.

I don’t think I will be involved in drama again, unless it’s of this magnitude in which I’d highly recommend saying your prayers because I will not be nearly as nice as I was in this post.

TLDR: Opal and Blue aren’t groomers, stop throwing that word around. Everyone in this situation is at some sort of fault and should just take responsibility like a fucking adult instead of excusing and worming their way around it.

Please do not contact me unless you are involved in this drama or are a close mutual of mine. I’m afraid I may blow up on you because my fuse has been eaten up by the flame of this situation. Goodnight Tri-State area.

Edit: Please read comments and tags as they share different opinions and may cover things I didn’t cover or may have gotten wrong. Thanks.

#tw: grooming #psa #important stuff #kirby

[strawberry-cowmilk]

top 10 saddest quotes in obey me

a/n: I'm suffering from having 0 idea of what to write next and my previous shitpost like this did surprisingly well, so here we are. (I actually posted this before but it didn't show up on tags??) Again, this post is all jokes. I'm sorry if I accidentally offend anybody.

no image belongs to me, I just filtered and cropped the screenshots from the game.

content warnings: shitpost! everything is all jokes, mild strong language

-----

10

This is a harsh reality many Mammons live in: zero money. You know why? Because they often get hung up upside down, so the cash falls out of their pockets. The Mammons hate it very much, and it's scary for them, but this one is showing his deep fear to the Leviathan to show he really has no money. The fact that the Levi looks like he doesn't believe the other male is truly devastating to look at.

.

9

What we see here, dear people, is a wild Beelzebub who stole a Leviathan's food, and proudly quotes the Joey guy from Friends while doing so. While it is not uncommon for such orange-haired males to steal food, it is sad when it happens to a Levi. Think about it, where do we go to get food when it's all finished? Exactly, the supermarket, which is outside. And what do Leviathans hate? The outside. This poor Levi now has to go outside for food.

.

8

Mammon has returned, this time not sharing his own hardships, but making life hard for another species: Satans. Many people don't know this, but recent studies have shown there are two kinds of Satan, gold and silver. Silver Satans are more emotional than the gold ones, so calling one cheap is very painful for them, dangerous too. Why? All Satans express emotions by throwing destructive tantrums. By the way, our research team couldn't determine what the Simeon is thinking. Hypothesis says he's thinking about an Mc's glutes.

.

7

Speaking of glutes, look at this heartbroken Asmodeus. It's in his name, ASSmodeus. Clearly, this kind of male loves ass as much as he loves the mirror section at IKEA and fake plants bugs won't sit on combined. This Asmo had spotted some potential mate with, in his words, 'a pretty nice derriere.' Imagine the pain he felt when the mate, potentially a Mc dressed as a succubus at a Halloween party, vanished from sight. Scientists were brought to tears by this image. So sad.

.

6

Many of us can relate to this poor Belphegor. It's a sad reality we live in: waking up everyday from precious sleep to go to work, school, or to see your laundry you forgot to fold. As we know, Belphegors enjoy sleep, and are able to sleep in any situation. That is how much they love visiting dreamland. Our team of researchers believe this is due to the fact that Belphegors dream about auditioning for the position of the lead singer of Evanescence, and getting said part. This is their dream they get to live in. Imagine waking up. Ouch.

.

5

Oh my, what a rare sighting! Wild Raphaels don't appear often in front of people. But, think about the reason we found a Raphael. He said it himself, he is missing. The poor thing. Imagine how much he misses his mom. The fact he used the word 'still' indicates he's been lost for a good while. Poor Raphael, we all hope he finds his mom soon.

.

4

When you first look at this, you might think there isn't much sadness to it. But what if I told you our research team found out what the context behind this image is? You see, the Lucifer is talking to an Mc. Said Mc just woke up from a dream and they're still half-sleeping. Sadly the dream was way better than their reality: the Lucifer actually unbuttoned the highest button of his shirt in it. This Mc wishes it was also the case in their reality. One of our researchers quit because this was way too emotional.

.

3

Now, on with the real tear-jerkers. First, I have to point out how sweet it is of the Asmo to try to cheer the Levi up. But, we've all been in this position the Leviathan is in right now. And we sure know how painful it is to relive those memories. Nobody wants to remember the terrible things they did as a young child at 3AM while trying to sleep after all. Just look at this Levi's body language, he's completely shut himself off from the world. I actually cried.

.

2

Oh the pain. The pure emotion packed into this phrase, the hint of sorrow behind his eyes, the blush, indicating the Satan was crying. That's too much, man. Good thing the nearest Mc came running to give this Satan a hug. We have to admit, our team wasn't able to find the context to this image. However, the most popular theory states that the Satan was trying to catch a cat, but it ran away and told him a yo mama joke.

.

1

I needed a moment before even looking at this. Poor Diavolo, getting absolutely clapped in Mario Kart. Everyone hates losing in that game, but it's worse for Diavolos. Mcs rank them not by attractiveness or anything, no, but by skill in Mario Kart. That means this Diavolo's love life got ruined, by his own friend. If that isn't sad, I don't know what is.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me swd #obey me screenshot #obey me screencap #obey me crack #obey me shitpost #obey me memes #obey me lucifer #obey me leviathan #obey me mammon #obey me satan #obey me raphael #obey me diavolo #beelzebub obey me #belphegor obey me

[ihearyou-jikook]

there's a scene in bon voyage s3 e6, when the members were eating and jhope mentioned that tae and jk were sleeping upside down and hugging each other's legs, i found jimin's reaction to the info kinda sus. the scene was overall weird, jimin was sitting down when hobi finished talking, with no apparent indication of standing up, and suddenly they show jimin's reaction and he's like "wae (what)!?!?" but he's standing up, and then another cut to hobi confirming the story, then the camera goes back to jimin who is seated again and says "that's weird". do you think they edited some of the conversation out?

Anon, this moment makes me 😆🤭

Sorry for making you wait. Let's go go go!

(Had too much fun with this one, it is quite long >.<)

Here is a clip of the moment

Cr. Full video here

Let's Quentin Tarantino this. Do I think this was a sus moment? Do I think some of the convo was edited out?

Yes, to both. 👀

JM going from sitting to standing up without us seeing it happen didn't stick out to me too much only because in content like this (Not just BTS content), editors tend to show multiple viewpoints of a moment and I'm guessing JM stood up when we saw the close up of Hobi explaining what he saw. You can also see Hobi's eyes are looking upwards as he's talking.

What gets me tho is JM's initial reaction to Hobi, going eh?! And then needing to clarify what he just heard lol.

Then we cut to JM saying "왜 그래" with that face and that tone.

Side note: I'm not Korean and I'm not fluent in Korean. I have been learning for a while. I'm somewhere between beginner & intermediate and understand that context, tone, and the words used, explain so much when it comes to the Korean language. That's why I wanted to highlight this next part.

Let's talk about the sub-titles here for a moment.

The translator decided to go with "What's wrong?"

This is correct, but it's not the only meaning of those words. "왜 그래" can also mean the following depending on the tone, context, and intonation (rise & fall of voice): "Why is it like that?" "Why are you like that?" "Why are you acting like that?" "What's going on?"

This is a great post about how "왜 그래" can be used.

IMO, JM's tone sounded like it had a bit of a bite behind it. There was no rise in his voice at the end of the words to sound like a curious question. And his face was a little more on the serious side. Again IMO, something like "Why were you like that?" seems more accurate.

He gave off a WTF? vibe.

Back to the question about edited-out parts

I think it's hard to say if anything was edited out right before JM said 왜 그래 but I definitely think the reaction to what JM said was edited out.

There could have been more conversation, but I honestly think there was probably awkward silence after him saying that. 🤣

Because JK & V were both awfully quiet while Hobi was explaining, other than initially asking "Did we?" "Who did it?" There was no laughing, no smiling.

To me, it felt like JK & V were starting to sense JM's unrest with the whole thing and so they decided to stay quiet since an upset Mimi is not what you want to deal with. An upset Mimi is a feisty Mimi.

Look, we always talk about JK being the possessive one but I just think JK is louder about it than JM. There are 2 possessive men in the Jeon-Park Household.

While JK does do some type of skinship with all members, I do think JM enjoys his boyfie privileges. That there are just some things JK doesn't do often with others. And it was probably weird to hear that they were hugging each other's feet especially when JK is sensitive to smells 🤣

Before I go, I have to bring up our president Hobi.

Like, Hobi.

Why do I feel like you're snitching on them to Mimi??

🤣🤣🤣

That's the funniest part about this moment to me. After bringing up the situation to JK & V, Hobi is literally telling this story to JM.

I love Hobi. I miss him!

Thank you for the ask Anon. 💜💛

For you, Happy Jikook inc...

Cr. Daylight

#anon ask #jikook #kookmin #minkook

[pianapplez]

Hello there 👋👀,

So I just found your blog and had a lot of fun scrolling through all the pjo show crit😂 I couldn't help but notice that one tag you left on a post where you said you had some beef with Annabeth's portrayal in the books 👀 Would you mind elaborating on that if you're comfortable with it🙈? Because I absolutely share that sentiment, but it's sooo veeeery rare that I see other people express anything like it... I've found that trying to be a part of the fandom can be pretty alienating most of the time, if you're not exactly the biggest most devoted Percabeth shipper...😅 And often any criticism leveled at Annabeth just gets you a smack with the "internalized-misogyny" hammer... it's even worse in the tv show now due to... obvious reasons...

Again just if you're comfortable with answering of course🙈 There is a reason I stayed on anon after all...😅😂

Really glad you asked because i finally get to ramble about this heheheh (going forward, know that i skimmed over The Last Olympian to have a clearer sense of what I meant because that's the book where Rick fumbles her character more than the others)

i'm gonna try to make as much sense as possible but short answer would be, she's underdeveloped. Long answer:

She really got on my nerves in the last two books, with the whole Rachel debacle and then the Battle of New York. I can't really remember a single moment in those books where she and Percy aren't bickering or having heated discussions, which really made me question their friendship status. Of course, it's not like friends can't fight and it obviously builds up the (romantic) tension between them, but it got unbearable at one point.

I understand she's a teenager in an incredibly stressful situation that didn't even get to have a normal upbringing- she grew up way too fast (run away at 7, head counselor at 12) while also not really maturing, which is not a problem for a character, if it is handled properly. Given the fact that I am writing this, Riordan did not.

On the surface, my biggest beef is that Annabeth is not exactly held accountable for her actions (ie. treating Rachel a bit like shit and going off on Percy for a bunch of stuff.) I know Percy is to blame a bit here: as far as we know, in TLO he basically cuts the greek world out of his life as much as he can as a coping mechanism. And while yes, he never apologizes either, he doesn't give her nearly half the hard time she gives him: always either giving him the cold shoulder (there must be at least one example of this in the entire series but i cant be bothered to look it up sorry) or starting an argument only to then storm off (see the "you're a coward, Percy Jackson!" scene, which is not the fairest example since she was confronting Percy about ignoring camp but also was a bit too harsh about it) (especially after finally reading the prophecy and being under the impression that he was absolutely going to die when he turned 16 lmao) or just straight up storming off (see, Annabeth reacting when Rachel shows up for the first time during the battle of new york). While most of these feel, at least to some degree, fairly justified given how the entire situation does an absolute number on her emotions, she comes off a bit brattish and like she's trying to rile Percy up, especially when it comes to Rachel, which in the context of a battle that could mean the destruction of the world.... Well, it reads as a bit childish to me, and i wouldn't exactly have that much of a problem with it if it was dealt with in some way (a two-way apology would be nice).

After that first impression, i realized that Annabeth is barely ever anything else other than a plot device (when relating to Luke) or a love interest (when relating to Percy). This might be because the books are on Percy's POV. Hell, on the third book he's even conflicted when Annabeth is considering joining the Hunters of Artemis, aka, when making a choice for herself would mean he loses her (which is fine and dandy but it feels like Percy is more upset about her choosing her own path rather than being sad about not seeing her as often); we really only get a few glimpses of her, as in, actually her when she's on her own.

Obviously it's impossible to talk about Annabeth without touching on percabeth, which also is, in my opinion, what hinders Annabeth's character the most. On paper they sound great. The guy whose fatal flaw is loyalty falls in love with a girl whose been let down by people over and over, and she decides to never give up on the boy whose always had people give up on him (can't find one of the million posts that talks about this right now but it always goes something like that) And yeah, the bickering is really well written! But that's literally as far as it ever goes: they don't ever seem to have fun together, because 8 times out of 10 the bickering ends up being passive aggressive, and mostly done by Annabeth. My biggest gripe about percabeth is that their friendship seems to be based off... shared trauma. Literally. Other than going on quests together we are given no examples of them hanging out, nor a reason why they would want to spend time together in the first place, not even a shared hobby. Yes, in the fourth book they had a movie "date" planned but of course they didn't even get to it, and surprise surprise, they had a minor discussion, and surprise surprise, Annabeth was passive aggressive again. It's hard to picture them having fun together when even the author doesn't write in any scenes in which they get along smoothly (and before you say anything, a scene in which they get along where neither of them is about to die, and they're not talking about previous adventures. Gets a bit hard then, doesn't it?) It's even harder to picture them as a couple when the moment she gets upset about something, she starts coming off as emotionally manipulative (see, again, literally any conversation with Rachel or about Rachel)

To be fair, the books are relatively short and don't allow many "filler" chapters, if you will; there's always something happening to keep the main plot or a minor plot point moving forward, but it's not like there is no room to develop the characters' relationships, especially when we're talking about the main char and what is essentially his endgame. As an example we have Percy and Clarisse, or Percy and Beckendorf. Their interactions are brief but still hold so much weight.

Worst of all, Annabeth could be one hell of a character; what's most interesting of all is how being a daughter of Athena she is still incredibly emotionally driven, which is displayed very clearly with her fatal flaw being pride: her telling the Sphynx that her questions were too easy was not smart nor strategic: it was completely impulsive. I seriously think she wasn't far from being the best character in the series had she been given more time.

I guess i have as much beef with Annabeth as i have with Rick for doing her dirty. I really could sum this up with: while her emotions are justified, she acts upon them quite poorly. And this is what i mean when i say she's underdeveloped, because it would've been nice to see her come to her senses a bit.

Would love to read anyone's opinions on her character though, feel free to comment, even (or especially) if you don't agree with me!

#pjo crit #anti percabeth #annabeth chase #percy jackson #tbotl #pjo tlo #the last olympian #percy jackson and the olympians #congrats anon on being my first ask!!! #sorry if it's too long or rambly i just have so many thoughts about her. #i dont hate her i dont even dislike her im just conflicted about her. sad that half of her conflict was being jealous over a boy #like yeah i guess said boy was the first real friend she ever had but also rick wrote it in a very “girls fighting over boy” kind of way #didn't really write it to make it seem like annabeth's reasons were anything more than just a hormonal teen acting out. there were no layer #sometimes i feel like im being unfair to annabeth and that maybe her being emotional and mean sometimes is her character and #she's actually written well and i just don't like her? but then i think over it and im not ready to give rick that kind of credit lmao #i truly believe he wrote her beef with rachel to entertain middle graders without really thinking twice about it #annabeth adds to the drama with her passive aggressive comments but at what cost.... maybe im reading too much into it idk #maybe i just find boy drama annoying.. #but making it so that rachel is bound to maidenhood was such a lazy way to get rid of her as a romantic interest #the way rick butchered her character and any char dev for any of them in the tv show by rushing so many things... god. that's another story #if there are any typos i'll edit them later but my eyes are dry af right now and its late jdsjdfh anyway i hope my takes were interesting? #maybe i don't have that much beef with annabeth herself but the fact that percabeth is seen as the best endgame couple when i don't see it

[lewishamil10n]

Hey, this might be a bit weird so if it’s uncomfortable or if I’m overstepping, I apologize and you can just ignore this. While I was scrolling through your feed (because I randomly remembered one of your Dr. House fics and I was looking for it), I saw your F1 posts and my brain went haywire and somehow came up with a Foreman/Chase F1 AU. I just feel it’d be so interesting! Like Chase getting into it because Rowan also raced but not really loving it and him feeling extremely pressured by all the expectations forced onto him. And Foreman, having worked hard to make it and to earn his place (withstanding prejudice and not having the same privileges as Chase), resents him. Basically… an enemies to lovers, I guess. I’ve been avoiding my college work and spending time daydreaming about this for some days, so I figured I would tell you. Again, I’m really sorry if this is rude, I don’t even know if you take prompts but it just felt too good not to share.

first of all "avoiding my college work" anon you are SO relatable <333 also, no don't worry i'm not uncomfortable at all!! i think you've given me a brand new form of brainrot though sdfdfgfds i can't promise to give you a full fic based on the premise but i'll answer as a prompt <3

—

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Chase blinks as Foreman barges into his room, eyes blazing. He takes in Foreman's anger, the tightly coiled spring of his body, the clenched fists. "What are you talking about?" he asks, taken aback. He's had Foreman angry at him before, but never like this.

"Turn 5," Foreman says through teeth clenched so tightly that Chase can see the muscles of his jaw. "Care to explain what the hell that was?"

Oh. Right. That.

"I miscalculated," Chase says simply, turning back to the bag he'd been packing before Foreman's unwelcome visit.

"You never miscalculate," Foreman points out coldly. It could almost be a compliment if not for the context.

Chase shrugs, all false nonchalance and a fake looseness to his shoulders. "I suppose I did today."

"You triggered a safety car," Foreman reminds him.

"Yes," Chase says pointedly. "I was there."

Foreman scoffs. "Don't get cute with me," he warns. "I know when you're lying to me, Chase."

"Yeah?" Chase raises an eyebrow at him, insolent, challenging. "Then why come in here and make a scene? Why don't you just tell me what it is you think I did, and we can both carry on with our lives?"

This earns him a glare, like he knew it would. It irks Foreman how predictable he is to Chase, the same way Chase hates how Foreman always knows what he's thinking. They could be a good team, he thinks, if they really tried.

It's not the first time he's had this thought tonight. The last time was Turn 1 during the race, five laps from the end, when Taub lost control of his car and rammed into Chase's side. By Turn 3, Wilson had informed him over the phone, tone horribly sympathetic, that he'd have to retire; the damage to his car was too much and Rowan thought it would make more sense to save the engine the strain of even those last few laps. Chase had known, even then, what that tone meant from Wilson. It meant his father was furious, and Chase was going to have to deal with it.

So instead of confirming he would box, he asked Wilson, "Where's Foreman?"

"P3," Wilson had replied.

"Think he could win?"

"He'll pass Kutner in two laps. If he doesn't pit at all, a couple more laps and he should be past Cameron."

"What tires is he on?"

"Mediums, but they're almost gone."

Chase had considered the entire situation very carefully (and quickly), and come to the conclusion that if he couldn't win, Foreman still could. They were almost neck-to-neck on points. Even if neither of them got the WDC, Foreman's points would come in handy for the WCC. But left like this, it was too close to risk it. There was no guarantee he'd be able to overtake Cameron on the last lap on fucked mediums.

Before he could have talked himself out of it, Chase braced himself, and turned his wheel sharply to the left.

He'd gone flying into the wall. Thank God for TECPRO, or he definitely would have broken more than a few bones. As it was, he'd spent hours in Medical, every inch of him scanned and examined for injuries.

The bonus was that his father had been too angry to wait around for him, and therefore when Chase was finally cleared from Medical, he'd come back to a blessedly Rowan-free paddock. He gave his interviews, made up some bullshit about the crash, and then came back to his hotel room for some peace and quiet.

Well, at least until Foreman had come bursting in.

Chase looks up at him now. "Go on, then," he goads.

Foreman looks him straight in the eye. "You crashed on purpose," he states, and Chase freezes. He hadn't been expecting to be called out this easily. "I don't know why," Foreman goes on, "but you did."

Chase opens his mouth.

"Don't lie and say you didn't," Foreman warns before Chase can say anything. "I saw the data."

"I lost control of the car," Chase starts.

"On purpose," finishes Foreman. "Why?"

Well, no point in lying now, thinks Chase. He doesn't know if Foreman is going to believe the truth, especially from him, but that's not his problem, he decides. "I didn't want to pit and deal with my father," he says. "I knew it would piss him off. He wanted to save the engine. And..." He hesitates. "I knew it would trigger a safety car. You could pit without losing time in the race, and you could overtake Kutner and Cameron on fresh tires."

"Wait." Foreman blinks, frowning. "You did it so I'd win?"

"I did it so you had better chances," Chase corrects, but it's a silly thing to split hairs over. It's the literal same thing.

"I don't need your help," Foreman begins, but his anger is half-hearted now.

"I know," he says. "But I did it anyway. Hate me for it all you want, I don't care." He sounds tired suddenly, even to his own ears. He's spent months trying to convince Foreman they're on the same side, that Chase is not going to sabotage him. He's spent months fighting on all fronts — his father, his competitors, the media — and he's tired of it. He's exhausted. He hopes Foreman believes him tonight, but if he doesn't — well, Chase is fresh out of fucks to give.

To his surprise, all the fight goes out of Foreman. "I don't hate you," he says.

"Right," scoffs Chase.

"I don't," insists Foreman. "Yeah, I think you're an insufferable nepo baby, but if that was reason enough for me to hate people, I'd hate everyone here."

"You do hate everyone here," Chase points out.

Foreman snorts at that. He's actually grinning a little. "Well, except you," he points out.

"Could've fooled me."

That makes Foreman wince. "Sorry," he says, and to his credit he sounds like it too. "I shouldn't have come barging in like that."

"It's fine," Chase says. He's sitting at the edge of his bed now, suitcase abandoned with clothes half-spilling out.

Foreman joins him, sitting down next to him. He still smells like sweat and rubber, as opposed to Chase who has already showered. "Seen your dad yet?"

Chase shakes his head. "He's already going to yell at me during the team meeting, I didn't see any reason to give him a chance to do it to me in the paddock, too."

Foreman makes a face. "I wish he wouldn't," he admits.

"Wishing doesn't mean shit, though, does it," Chase points out. "I mean, he probably wishes I'd kill you and win the championship, but I'm not doing it, am I?"

"No, instead you're trying to kill yourself," Foreman says dryly. "Seriously though, don't do that again. I don't care what benefit you think it'll bring. Don't hurt yourself like that. Nothing is worth that."

"I'm not hurt." Chase doesn't know where this sudden concern for his well-being is coming from, but he won't deny it feels nice. Nicer than the constant arguments and derision, at least.

"You could've been," Foreman counters.

"What's the worst that can happen, I miss a few races?" dismisses Chase.

"No," says Foreman sharply. "You know the worst that can happen. Stop minimizing the risks."

"You don't want me to die?" Chase grins. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Shut up," says Foreman, almost reflexively, and then gives Chase a tired grin. "Seriously, though. Swear you won't."

"Fine, fine, I swear," Chase says. He doesn't have a deathwish anyway. Maybe more of a recklessness issue sometimes, but not an actual wish to die.

"Good," says Foreman firmly. Then he stands. "Come on then. Let's go get this meeting over with."

"Yeah," says Chase, standing too. "Hope Dad hurries it up, I'm fucking starving."

"I know a good barbecue place nearby," Foreman says, in an off-hand sort of tone.

"You're offering me dinner?" Chase asks, surprised.

Foreman grins. "You did just win me a race."

"Fine, then." Chase grins back. "Your treat, though."

"'Course," says Foreman.

Maybe there's still hope for them, thinks Chase as he follows Foreman out of the room. Fuck Rowan Chase and his expectations. Chase doesn't want a WDC if it would mean becoming the kind of person his father is. He'd rather have this, the vague sense of potential friendship he's getting from Foreman tonight. It's better than nothing, and it sure as hell is better than anything Rowan Chase could ever give him.

#asks #anonymous #choreman #house md #ficlet #my writing #foremanchase #anon i had SO much fun writing this actually #i hope you like it! #it's kind of rushed i wrote it at work but ehhh

[cyb3rscoups]

The Glory (5)

A/N: This is also posted to my ao3 account now (feelingalilwoozi) Enjoy!

"Do you think I'm crazy?"

The question seemed so vague in its context. Was she crazy? Was she really going too far?

If you hadn't been there to witness it. To just water the situation down to kids being kids. If you had never had the displeasure of seeing how her memories scarred her body, the answer would be yes. Okoye might of lost it a little on the way.

But if you knew her story down to the details. If you had seen it all and if you felt like Attuma did right now, Okoye was far from crazy. If anything, her plan was too soft on her bullies.

"Attuma?" She called out to the man again unaware that her voice of reason had just been shoved down into a dark abyss. All he could see were those marks, the bruises, the scars.

Was it possible that his whole body vibrated with anger when she began her story? His ears rung and his eyes couldn't tear away from her.

His knuckles went a ghostly white from his grip on to the couch, his breathing heavy and his leg tapping against the floor.

"I'll kill him. I'll kill all of them. Y-you just tell me what you want done and I swear-" His words were cut by her cold hands to his cheeks, almost shocking him back into his senses.

"You don't have to kill anyone yet. Just use the people around you right now. Namor, M'Baku. They're pretty high up right?" Attuma nodded, gulping down whatever protests he could conjure up against her.

"I'll do it. Whatever you want."

"Good." Okoye picked up her pile of clothes and started to pull the garments back onto her body as he stared. "And quit flirting with me. I need an executioner, not a boyfriend."

"How about both?" He chuckled as she pulled on her shoes.

"This isn't a joke, Attuma. Are you in or not?"

He wished he met her before all of this. He wandered what she was like before she was hurt. Maybe sweet, a little too nice to strangers but she didn't care. Was she carefree and confident? Would she be more open to him if this wasn't the role he played in her story?

"In. All in." He muttered and she nodded with a sigh.

"Good night. I will text you when I need you."

------

Revenge was tiring. Okoye wished someone had told her the fact before she became so hell bent on it. Sleep had been nothing but a distant memory to her these days and as she waited for Shuri to pull into the parking lot, she felt it overtake her for a split second until-

Tap Tap Tap against her driver window and Shuri's beaming smile as Okoye jerked awake.

"Don't do that." Okoye scolded, her voice half muffled as she rolled down her window for the girl.

"I've got something for you." Shuri passed the digital camera through the window and leaned against it. "Looks like old habits die hard."

"Oh gross!" Okoye grimaced at the image, obviously taken from outside of Erik's shop as Valentina embraced him in a loving kiss.

Shuri agreed the image was hard to look at without puking up her guts but it was majorly helpful nonetheless. Okoye rolled her eyes as she continued to scroll through the images.

The two had kept the affair going since high school and they seemed mighty comfortable in it too. Though the differences in their lives were clear as day.

After they would part ways, Valentina got to go back to her picture perfect family and play loyal wife in her mansion. Erik would go back to his condo and smoke his life and worries away as his heart ached for her.

He wanted to tear Everett apart for taking what he wanted as his and Okoye would give him that oppurtunity.

"Thanks Shuri."

"Anytime. Oh! I brought dinner. Jerk chicken platter from the place on 8th." Shuri ran to her car and pulled out the food, passing it over to Okoye.

"Thank you."

"And get some sleep. Revenge can't thrive if you're sleep deprived."

Okoye was grateful for Shuri. Since the day she knew her name, Shuri had always cared for Okoye, making sure she was eating and getting enough sleep. Shuri looked up to Okoye in a way. She was her savior from a dark place after losing her family.

When Okoye expressed her craving for revenge, Shuri was happy to tag along and help.

"I met with the muscle brain today. Showed him my scars." Okoye shrugged as if Shuri's eyes hadn't jumped from their sockets at the information.

"What did he say?"

"He wants to help. He fights at W'Kabi's club. His brother is the director of the hospital Aneka was taken to back then. His best friend is chief of police." Okoye started to open the platter of food, inspecting its contents.

"So he can do some dirt if you really need him to." Shuri's smile grew. "I like him already."

"Well, as helpful as he may be. He gets so anxious and angry all the time. He's almost unpredictable. With everything he knows now, I'm afraid he'll do something premeditated and I won't be able to bail him out of it."

A chill went down her spine at the thought. Attuma could either be the end of her plan or be the key. She hated that uncertainty about him. She almost felt guilty for it especially because she knew his fascination of her ran wild.

"Do you want to trust him?"

"Yes. I think I'm gonna need him after all."

"Then let him prove himself."

------

The house was quiet. Too quiet. She could a pin drop at this rate. Guess it was fitting for three in the morning. She swirled the contents of her glass around as she paced the living room in her slippers.

Okoye. Okoye. Okoye. Damn that bitch. Valentina could barely remember what she did to her back then. Of course there was the curling iron, but she wasn't special.

Every one she stepped on got it and more. What was so special about Okoye?

Her phone commenced a shrill ringing from the couch. She mumbled a curse as she grabbed it and pressed it to her ear. "What the fuck took you so long?!"

"Sorry. I was closing up the shop."

"Whatever. What did you find?" Valentina sat on the couch, biting at her fingers.

"Look, Val. Whatever you are trying to do-" Erik sighed but was cut off as always by her sneer.

"Erik, not now. Tell me what you found."

"She was just hanging out with this guy all day. Dammit."

"Boyfriend? Little Koko pulled a man." She almost giggled.

"I don't think so. They didn't do much. Just walked, talked. They went back to his place and she left within like 20 minutes."

"So just sex then..." Valentina sucked her teeth and Erik rolled his eyes on the other end of the phone.

"I don't have my connections with the cops anymore or the military. Left that life a long time ago." He sighed. Valentina tsked through the reciever.

"Neither do I. But what are we supposed to do? Sit around while she plots on us? She knows my kid, Erik. She knows exactly how to get into her vulnerable little mind."

"You know, excuse me for not wanting to hear about your kid with that jackass but that's all I know. Goodnight." A click and the call ended. It only took a second for Erik's phone to be thrown to the ground in pure aggravation.

God, he was really starting to hate it in Boston.

@tvreadsandsleep @xblackreader @pilesofpillows @faatxma @loeysaeri @hottie-hotch

#attuma #alex livinalli #attoye #attuma x okoye #wakanda forever #attoye fanfic #black panther #okoye x attuma #danai gurira #mcu okoye #the glory #kdrama #alternative universe #dark fantasy

[theweirderstuffblogdontlook]

Made a short fanfic for my Bob Velseb Spooky Month Inner Demon Possession au

It’s a short one, but ya should see some of my earlier posts for context of the au first. I’ll put it under the readmore.

This was it.

She had convinced him to explore an empty house to steal a thing or two, and when his back was turned, she shot him in the back point blank with the shotgun whoever owned the house had kept in a cabinet beside the front door.

And the big guy went down hard, as his severed spine literally lost the ability to control his legs all at once.  

She cautiously moved around to his front, and crouched in front of him. Where prodded his head with the butt of the shotgun. 

Lifting his face up to see if he was still conscious or not, and looked like he was, as his eyes opened bleerily, and pupils trained on her face.

"Time you figured out when you were beat Bob."

She leaned her head down a bit, to be more in Bobs field of vision. And said coldly and clearly,

" You… are a paraplegic. Your chasing people's days are over. And from the look of that wound, pretty soon your life is gonna be too. So I'm giving you this one last chance….. Deactivate the amulets. Let me go. Save me the effort of seeing if killing you is enough to turn them off automatically."

His frown turns into a slight smile, and he replies.

"You still don't get it peppermint."

With unexpected speed and strength, he grabs the shotgun from his forehead, and wrenches it from her grip. Startling her into scampering backwards out of his reach.

He then pops it open, spent red shotgun shell falling out. And keeping it open, he stood it on the ground in front of him, and used it like a cane to pull himself up a bit. 

It being clear that she had been correct about him not being able to use his legs with his wound. But he wasn't trying to stand.

Putting his considerable weight on the hinge, the shotgun soon snaps in half between the barrel and the hilt. And he slumps back to the ground. 

Manic gaze still fixed on her, as he raises a hand and slams it down, digging his fingernails into the carpet, and dragging himself towards her, then again with the other arm, and he shouts

"I Feel EVERYTHING!"

His tone sounding desperate, but with still a seemingly unearned, deranged confidence. Which only added to the terrifying sight of this big man fighting through what should have been a mortal wound just to get to her.

Terrified, she turns and runs. Only to find that she's appeared to have trapped herself, as the adjacent room has no other exit. While Bob drags himself into view in the doorway after her, leaving a red snail trail of blood behind him.

Backed against the wall, her only chance is to get around him and back out the doorway without getting caught.

Bob continuing his thought with a low sultry tone as he crawls towards her.

"I can feel how much you enjoy listening to your music."

Thump, draaaagg….

"I can feel how big and soft you think I am when I hold you gently."

Thump, draaaagg….

"I can feel how scared you still are all those times you try to boss me around."

Oh god… she presses a hand over her mouth and squeezes herself more against the wall behind her as the horror of the situation washes over her. A few events over her duration of having been held captive clicking into place. He wasn’t just being intuitive, the amulets had been letting him read her emotions.

"And I can feel all the times you wanted me, and never admitted to it. Thinking I couldn't tell."

Thump, draaaagg….

"But you can't hide from me… I feel all of it."

She gets out a few timid words of,

"Bob… you gotta take out the amulet, it's messing with your head…"

But he takes offense to that, shouting back

"THIS IS THE SANEST I'VE BEEN IN YEARS!

She tries to run past him to the doorway, but he snaps around and grabs her by the ankle, making her fall to the ground with a sharp thump that clicked her teeth. Panic climbing higher as she feels Bob's hand merge with her ankle, and start to drag her back towards Bob. 

She turns enough to see him shout through his manic drooling, and yet adoring grin,

"I ain't EVER letting you go!"

She kicks him in the face once, then again, but he barely seems to care, and with another scoot forward, he's able to trap her legs under his bulk. And he continues to scoot forward from there, getting closer to being face to face. 

And despite her continuing to struggle he says with a sultry gentle tone, looking at her fondly through half lidded eyes.

"Getting rid of you sweet thing, would be like getting rid of some of my favorite parts of myself. You aren't going anywhere."

She gets absorbed into his body with a startled squeak. And Bob let's out a breath, finally letting his exhaustion show. Rolling over onto his back, he lays there spread eagle for a moment, panting heavily, and feeling the buckshot drip out of the wound on his back onto the hardwood floor as the amulets did their work healing him.

After a good 15 minutes he cranes his head up a bit, and looks at his foot, which he wiggles around a bit, before slumping his had back to the floor and closing his eyes. Only for a voice in his head to speak up.

"No fucking way."

His eyes blink open tiredly.

"So that's how you get away with it. The amulet gives you healing abilities on top of everything??"

He could feel how absolutely livid she was at only just now learning this important bit of information.

And he chuckles.

"It isn't as good as my usual one, but it'll get the job done. Should go faster now with having both pieces of them in me now too."

Ooo, that spiked her anger that she might be unwittingly helping him. He couldn't help but smirk. And she replies bitterly in his mind,

"No wonder they think you're some kind of unstoppable supernatural monster. You literally are one."

And to that he gives a big belly laugh, though it gets cut a bit short as he winced with pain. And he let out a still rather cheerful huff instead, and replied.

"Well darlin, I'm your monster now."

The real gravity of those words seeps in slowly at first, and she tries to stamp them down for more angry bravado. But after a point the hopelessness is like a rock rolling downhill.

She wants to cry, and she gets startled as she gets gently pushed out of Bobs body, resting on top of his stomach.

Bob looking at her with a more tired and even possibly a little empathetic, though still creepily adoring gaze.

He places a hand comfortingly on her back, and the floodgates of tears breaks. Starting with sniffling, but soon she's weeping into the chest of Bobs sweater. Still moist with his blood, but preferring that to having to look him in the eyes.

He brings his other arm up to hold her tenderly, and he slumps back. Closing his eyes with a contented look as she sobs into him.

#bob velseb #spooky month #au #inner demon #possession #fanfic

[setsunatekiblast]

sorry this is like fully just insane babble and a look into truly how fucking weird i am in the head im really considering making a blog JUST for venting but im too lazy to do that rn

so like general rundown for context

i did some really downright shitty things as a teenager as a result of unresolved trauma in basically every corner of my life at the time (obviously this doesnt absolve me from what happened). when i was told about the extent of it i apologised and distanced myself & never talked to anyone involved ever again.

months later when i expressed that a former friend who had (in my opinion, rightfully) stepped in to stop the situation from worsening had caused me harm prior to all this and that it was still impacting me on my private account, it was leaked to her. i was threatened with a callout post and she was acting like i wasnt truly sorry for the things i'd done/trying to change even though i had done my level best to be accountable for my behaviour and do what was asked of me.

because of everything that'd already happened + this i was living in this constant state of severe anxiety. as in, i could hardly eat due to feeling nauseous every moment i was conscious, would randomly start shaking and crying & my physical health was deteriorating at many points. i was like this from about july all the way through to november-early december, i think?

like all of this happened five years ago but ive absolutely refused to let myself move on because i thought i would be dodging accountability for my behaviour but i've kind of just had a mental shift recently (maybe from my kansai trip i think it did something to me). looking back while talking to my friend i internalised everything about that series of incidents so hard that i considered myself a horrible and irredeemable person, so ive been keeping myself at arms length from others because i didnt want it to happen all over again and didnt trust myself to actually change. i thought that if i was pursuing relationships with others, i wasnt being accountable enough and dodging my past behaviour.

idk im just tired of living like this. im tired of all the self-sabotage and the fear and anxiety i have over the most minor of things. i'm tired of jumping up and running at the first signs of closer friendships forming. i had a panic attack over someone calling me a friend for gods sake, that's not normal. its not! the fact i even struggle to call people friends because of all this fear about relationships with others after all that isn't good and i need to change from that lol

even just thinking that i deserve better makes me feel like im swallowing needles and glass though, and it sucks so fucking much LMFAOOOOOOO. i dont even know what to do because i feel so shitty about even trying to pursue support from those closest to me. i feel like i'm asking so, so much of people when i cant give much of anything in return. not to mention that right now even the idea of being misunderstood makes me feel absolutely terrible and like i need to be on the defensive. in general i feel like i offer so little that trying to lean on people is selfish and that i'm just going to end up hurting them like i did that friend who simply just wanted to help me. i don't want to feel this way anymore but it's a cycle and i don't know how to stop feeling so horrid about everything and actually. well. allow myself to feel supported AND be normal in the head about it

like i need to move on not just for my sake but because. really. it's been such a long time and i don't even recognise the person i was in those messages. but i can hear just how much pain my past self was in and that just sucks, man. my friend didn't want me to suffer, but he was rightfully hurt and angered by the way i behaved. the best way to show my remorse has always been to do better by those who come into my life, but i never wholly succeeded in that because 90% of the time i would sabotage my own relationships with others and not get too close out of fear that i was going to ruin it all and just be as shitty as i was before. i thought closing myself off would be doing right by him, and to a degree it was. but it wasn't productive for me because i wasn't doing anything but closing myself off

anyway i handled something pretty good tonight that i know my past self wouldve probably flipped out about so that's probably a good sign i guess. its actually kind of surprising to see that even though my spoons are maybe a 1 at best rn i can still handle things with some grace and tact and Not be terrible. idk. maybe things are gonna be okay, especially since i have so many people in my corner nowadays who want nothing more than to see me overcome everything

#blabber #SORRY. i needed to get this shit off my chest before i sleep #i just wanna be okay again and allow myself to have relationships with others like a normal human being again #anyway i have been listening to a STUPID amount of rina sawayama songs these last three weeks #im about to go sleep for like a year or something god i cant wait to talk to my counsellor in like two weeks #he is going to have a field day with this after he heard about my home life during these years

[keeperofthebox]

ok second and bon voyage playlist lyric annotation post... let's go

we own the night - dance gavin dance

this post is probably gonna be EVEN LONGER also this song has yelling in it so if you look it up be warned. however i strongly recommend listening if you have any desire because the delivery of some of these lines is relevant 😭

also cw some of the lyrics have references to heavy drugs. uh this song is about heroin but we are drawing a comparison between being high and how chat noir feels when marinette/ladybug is affectionate toward him

erm. idk if you noticed but bv adrien is a very very jealous little creature because his situation has him so insecure. but marinette is the one in the limelight right now, she's the one being targeted, she's at the center of all this so he wants to let go of all his own feelings and just be her bodyguard

i think in chapter 1 i wrote a part (im too lazy to check) where adrien is thinking ilke "i literally do not care about my father or school or whatever i care about YOU you are what i need to protect"

so this makes me think of that

but it also just makes me think of the fact that he's slowly building up all this hurt inside from not being seen by marinette and it's killing him a little

she is his motivation but also the symbol of his desolation in the same way that "we own the night" is a happy and joyful and confident phrase but within the context of the song it takes on this desperate tone of clawing wildly for that to actually be true

gotta go line by line for the chorus of this one

stomp that feeling: repressing his desire to be seen, he's only supposed to protect her, trying to convince himself that what she's giving him is enough

your puke is a mutant: seeing marinette/ladybug this sad is wrong and hurts him

can't think of who did this, well i grew stupid: his father is monarch and he never knew, his father literally tried to kill her

say accidents happen, (it's admirable/insufferable) acting: kind of the whole situation is the "accident", they're making do with what they have

marinette is the "it's admirable acting" interpretation of the line, she's trying her best to be paris's hero. i think this is the actual line? but i always hear it wrong and think he's saying "insufferable acting", which is more like chat noir's view of his own behavior, he's mood swinging like crazy and he feels so guilty about it

flicking the back of your ear with my finger: him vying for attention, trying to get her to look at him. him not being able to help but say things like "do you need a lap cat" and "i broke up with my girlfriend"

separate is the way, though: he can't be anything but chat noir or else it will endanger more people, no matter how badly he wants to be "adrien" to her

second is the place though: again, he's no.2 in her heart as chat noir, adrien is her no.1

just fake it through the day and the night is your god: chat noir tries to keep up the facade that he's not hurting around marinette and tries so hard to not let his feelings affect his behavior. this is like him trying to convince himself to keep moving forward

see you in battle, your boat is my paddle: uhh they fight together HAHA and she is his reason to keep moving forward

your life is my business, your plaque on my wall: his INSISTENCE on protecting her and keeping her safe. DEVOTION. i think of his ladybug photos he kept in his trophy and the marinette lucky charm that he always kept on him (felix has that right now I wonder if that might have any relevance as to why everything sucks so hard for him atm *cough*)

this whole part is spoilers lol remind me to come back to this after chapter 7 is out

those of you reading this far get to know the exclusive info that adrien is having a good time at that point in the story

he just wants to be able to hold her and look at her and try to keep her safe from the supervillains trying to bully her and her loved ones but in their situation he views that as weakness because he's not supposed to Need anything right now

trying to remember what he's doing it for (her)

i think of bv adrien and felix when i hear this part, there's a tone shift and musical... shift? idk technical terms, for this part because it's the bridge so it feels kind of like a topic change. and anyway felix is the one always fucking calling him HAHA but felix is the one back in paris actually with their friends that are being targeted by monarch. he's also the only one that HE knows, knows his situation (luka knows but adrien doesnt know that). so felix is like. the only person he can rely on for direct support. I promise that will happen in the fic it just hasnt yet LOL

every time marinette/ladybug looks at chat noir in a "more than friends" way it gives him hope and makes him kind of manic/frenzied because it's what he's been silently and not-so-silently begging for this whole time

the thrill is gone!!! he's sad all the time the vibe is so off!!!! but he's putting on a brave face. he's relying on impulsive jokes that slip out of his mouth to seem normal. he's trying to seem like he's not on the verge of Losing It Constantly from how badly he needs to be acknowledged!!! it takes so much distraction to be able to think about anything else and he's desperate for Relief!!!!

he's suffocating under the weight of all this pressure and responsibility and duty........ the celebration thing relates to something directly but it's a spoiler. it seems like sometimes he can finally catch his breath but it doesnt last long because it's just a manic high from getting the dopamine hit he needs from marinette/ladybug it's not Actual contentedness or anything that resolves his insecurity. and then he's left just as sad and frustrated and stressed as he was before. and he hates how long its taking to beat monarch too!!!

HEH thanks for reading if you got this far <33

#bon voyage #keeperofthebox talks #this is probably my favorite song of the past 5 years combined so #no wonder i ended up writing a fic that matches it LOL

[thevioletcobra]

[Maybe spoilers for RWR and HH?]

So this is an extended look at my point from my last post; how the song "You Didn't Know?" from Hazbin Hotel would fit a situation in Roleslaying with Roman where Roman and Youngblood would try and dissuade the rebels from going to war with the guards and using Noise as an example of how not all of the guards are bad.

So of course, the song would start after Youngblood told the group about how Noise had been with him and Roman and helped them.

(lyrics are the same, but the context is obviously changed. Also lines are skipped) [Text colors: Red for Roman, Purple for Youngblood, Yellow for Riker, and Green for Tempo]

"But she was right, Sera... she showed us a soul can improve!" - Roman turns to Riker as he walks back towards Youngblood, and this is when they start bringing up the visual depictions of what had happened with Noise.

Skip ahead to "It's not as simple as you think. Not everything is spelled in ink." - Riker trying to get Roman to stop and calm down before things get out of hand, while also still keeping the truth from him, just as Sera had to Emily.

"It's not fair, Sera." "Careful, Charlie, keep a cool head..." "No! Don't you care, Sera?!" -Youngblood getting increasingly frustrated as Roman tries to keep him calm so that the rebels will hear them out.

Skip again to "I know you wish it could be so, but there's a lot that you don't know." - Now, Youngblood knows about the rebels going up to kill the guards, and at this point Riker is really just trying to diffuse the situation with both of the boys.

Tempo jumps into the conversation, there to represent the fey, and sings Lute and Adam's part, throwing shade at Noise and making Roman and Youngblood even more fired up.

Tempo gets up into Youngblood's face with a sneer. "Gotta say, I can't wait to-" "Adam..." "-come down and exterminate you!" "Wait!" "What are you saying? Let me get this straight... you go down there and kill those poor souls?!" "You didn't know?!" - Of course, Roman finds out about the whole thing with the rebels killing the guards, this one is pretty self- explanitory.

"Sera, tell me that you didn't know..." -Roman turns back to Riker, a pained look in his eyes.

"I thought since I'm older, it's my load to shoulder.." "No..." "You have to listen, it was such a hard decision!" "I wanted to save you the anguish it takes to do what was required..." -Riker tries to explain himself, walking up to Roman and gently gripping his hands, once again trying to diffuse the situation.

"To think that I admired you... well, I don't need your condescention! I'm not a child to protect! Was talk of virtue just pretension!? Was I too naive to expect you to heed the morals you're purveying?!" - Roman pulls away and finally stands up to Riker, a bold move from him considering all he's ever wanted to do was make his father proud.

"That's what the fuck I've been saying!" -Youngblood stands beside Roman and pulls him back to him.

"If hell is forever then heaven must be a lie!" "Emily!" "If angels can do whatever and remain in the sky, the rules are shades of grey when you don't do as you say! When you make the wretched suffer just to kill them again!" -The two address the entire group while the visuals behind them depict the innocent blood the rebellion has wrongly spilled, alongside the suffering Noise, Youngblood, and the other guards had suffered at the hands of the bard king.

Roman sighs and turns to Youngblood. "I was told not to trust in angels..." -'angels' in this case being the rebellion.

"By her? Hah! She should know." "..We should go..." - Youngblood had been part of the rebellion at one point, and he desperately wants to keep that from Roman.

"No! Can't you see? We've come so close! Look at them fighting, they're at each other's throats!" -The boys watch as the group argues among themselves.

"Don't you act all high and mighty. Did you ever think your little girlfriend might be a liar?" "Don't, Adam please.." -In this context, the boys are more like brothers (or maybe I just hardcore ship Noiseblood instead), but then Tempo may be using it as a taunt.

"What's the fuss? Why hide the fact that you're an angel just like us!" -Tempo pulls Youngblood back away from Roman as the visuals show him participating in the rebellion's activities. Roman looks up at Youngblood in despair and disbelief. Youngblood looks back in shame and apology.

Fin

#roleslaying with roman #hazbin hotel