#and by then chivalry was already dying

[blue-jisungs]

Hey! Loved the BTS arguing abt paying could u do it for skz??

arguing about paying ♡

author's note. thank uuu!! i hope u’ll like this one ^_^

psssst anon is talking about this thing here

┆彡 CHAN [ 찬 ]

yeah actually you won’t be able to pay for anything

like, ever

he’s just ??? using the leader card + it’s just how he is + the gentleman in him would rather die than let you pay

so even when you whine that you hate it and you can handle paying on your own

he’s cooing and shaking his head while the payment is already processed

and if you pout about it later, he’ll make sure to kiss the pout away ^_^

┆彡 MINHO [ 민호 ]

would rather bite his hand off than let you pay on a date

or bite you when you were about to pay…? totally did not happen at least twice…?

he’d get actually offended if you even offered to pay for the meal you two had

so he pays with a :] look on his face while you’re grumpy abt it

“what kind of boyfriend would i be then, hm?” asks and promises that in return, you can choose what you’re gonna have for dessert

whatever logic that is

┆彡 CHANGBIN [ 창빈 ]

you know that half amused half shocked half offended face he makes??

help idk how to explain it 😭

yeah that’s exactly the face he makes when you pay for your cosmetics

he’s like???

“you just offended my ego”

help ??

he’s SO dramatic about like ,, acts as if you shot him

he’ll have his hand on the small of your back, carrying your bags and he just pays for you with a goofy grin

“let me spoil my baby, hm?” is all he says with a handsome smile and you cave in bc he just has that effect on you…

┆彡 HYUNJIN [ 현진 ]

drama llama.

gasps like he’s running out of air as you put the card to the scanner

you and the cashier are both like 🤨

when you leave the store he’s whining and clinging onto you as if you’re dying

for your own sake pls let him pay next time,, always

will actually threaten you to hold his breath next time 🧍‍♀️

bc he just wants to spoil you >:)

┆彡 JISUNG [ 지성 ]

ji would let you pay for your makeup shopping

but then he’d feel bad :(

so next time when you’re about to pay for some clothes, he’s softly grabbing your hand and offers to pay

he literally looks like this > 🥺 so you have to agree

and that’s his trick: puppy eyes. no one can resist them :”)

┆彡 FELIX [ 필릭스 ]

“there’s naur way i’m letting you pay for all of that” is what he says when you two ordered like a half of the menu

so your response is to split the bill

he starts LAUGHING SO LOUD and refuses 😑

so he pays but “promises” you that you’ll be the one paying next time

and NEXT TIME looks literally the same

“nooo i ate most of it, i’ll pay” mhm.

he’ll come up with every excuse in the book so you don’t pay <\3

┆彡 SEUNGMIN [ 승민 ]

he’s making a poker face as soon as you even start asking if you should pay

and even when he’ll say no and you’ll STILL try

welp…

the waiter in the cafe said that your order was already payed.

and same thing happens literally everytime

seungmo somehow manages to pay in advance so um… good luck

┆彡 JEONGIN [ 정인 ]

will cry scream throw up if you say that you want to pay

eyes wide, mouth agape

“if you pay…… i’m breaking up with you!!!” he whines and adds something about his chivalry being dishonoured

um so yeah another whiny dramatic baby

and if you cave in and let him pay, he’s the happiest ever

acting as if he just saved your life and not paid for the bagel you got

masterlist <3

taglist.  @geniejunn ,, @luvhyun3 ,, @starlostseungmin ,, @elviransworld ,, @jnks6r ,, @sieunsgf ,, @ethereallino ,, @laylasbunbunny ,, @duolingofanaccount ,, @slytherinshua ,, @stxrseungs ,, @ka-ni-ma ,, @iliveforlixie ,, @ameliesaysshoo ,, @dazzlingligth ,, @mark-geolli ,, @l3visbby ,, @w3bqrl ,, @ddeonudepressions ,, @yourfavoritefreakyhan ,, @mirxzii ,, @kazmura ,, @primoppang ,, @vnsux

#skz #skz fluff #stray kids #stray kids fluff #skz stay #skz imagines #skz changbin #skz fanfic #skz felix #skz hyunjin #skz scenarios #skz bang chan #skz jeongin #jisung skz #skz minho #seungmin skz #skz reactions #skz x stay #skz x y/n #skz x you #skz x reader #blue jisungs’s requests #skz drabbles #skz soft hours

[sapphire-writes]

The Things We Do For Love

pairing: Aegon x Velaryon(Strong)! Reader request: hiiii I wanna drop this idea about a secretly in love Aegon Aegon is engaged to Rhaenyra's daughter, she is sweet and has always been in love with him, although Aegon doesn't seem to see her in the same way,he is always considerate of her since they're childrens. Until one day when an old suitor of reader asks to fight for her hand and Aegon doesn't answer anything, he just makes a joke and leaves,reader doesn't show it but she feels sad about it and thinks that Aegon will never be able to love her in the same way and When she is on her way to ask Rhaenyra to dissolve the engagement Alicent stops her and takes her to the secret place where Aegon was training with Aemond, she tells her that Aegon asked her brother to help him train so he can defend her hand since he is in love with her, only he doesn't fight that well and he didn't want to lose the fight because of her hand and she eventually talks to Aegon and he jokes about it and reader tells him that he doesn't need to fight for something he already has, confessing that she's in love with him, even when he's a bad fighter. note: love this request it felt very soft i love soft Aegon 💚 warnings: language word count: 2.2k masterlist

You could remember the exact moment you had fallen in love with Aegon Targaryen. Down to the very position of the sun in the sky, the feeling of the summer breeze on your skin.  

When you were little, the majority of your childhood was spent in King’s Landing. Eager to ease the tensions between both sides of his family, King Viserys quickly announced your betrothal to Aegon when you were both still babes in the cradle. 

It was not an arrangement of love, merely one of duty. Aegon and you grew up beside each other knowing you would be wed someday. It was a fact you felt fairly comfortable with until feelings of love began to blossom. 

“She is not frightening, (Y/N), I promise,” Helaena told you, holding a rather large spider from her fingers. It dangled from her delicate fingers, long limbs stretching towards you. You could count every single one of its black beady eyes, looking up at you. 

You adored your aunt Helaena, but her strange fascination with long-legged insects was not a passion you shared. Aegon spotted you both from across the garden, noticing your pale face and coming to your aid. 

“(Y/N) doesn’t like spiders, Hel,” Aegon said, putting his hands on your shoulder, “she’s just too polite to say so.”

Helaena hummed to herself, smiling softly before turning away from you both. She crept deeper into the garden to release her friend. 

“Are you alright?” Aegon asked, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other. Your cheeks turned pink at his chivalry. Aegon was not often outwardly kind. You forced a nod, which caused him to grin. 

“Good,” he said, patting your head, “can’t have you dying on me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” you told him, nearly breathless. 

That was the end of it. You were suddenly thrown into adoration for the silver-haired prince. 

“Fetch me another cup, Y/N,” Aegon called, at the funeral of Laena Velaryon. You nodded, eager to please your betrothed. Aemond scowled at this, distraught at the way Aegon treated you.  

“She is not a servant,” he told his elder, “she is a princess, your future queen.”

“She’s a sweet girl, she does what I ask,” Aegon tells his brother, watching you depart, “and she will not be my queen for many years.” 

Aemond rolled his eyes. 

“I am sorry for your loss, Lady (Y/N),” Willas Follard said when you returned to the Red Keep following the funeral. 

His cheeks turned red whenever he spoke to you. Willas was a kind boy and a ward of the crown. 

“Mayhaps someday we shall be wed,” he had told you once as you strolled through the training wed. 

You had looked at him with a confused expression on your pretty face, though his eyes were hopeful.

“I am betrothed, my lord,” you told him, causing him to frown. 

“We shall see, my lady,” he promised before taking his leave. 

Years later you were still eager to please your betrothed, at his beck and call. You had hoped love would grow in his heart as the years passed, but it seemed that Aegon was destined to see you as only a child. Only someone he was pleased with, nothing more. 

When he became a man, Lord Willas decided it was time to ask Aegon for your hand. He saw how your uncle was with you, treating you not as a lover nor a wife. He believed Aegon would hear him out. 

“Were you dropped on your head as a child?” Aegon questioned, face scrunched up in confusion. 

“N-no my prince-”

“(Y/N) is a princess,” Aegon said, enunciating the words, “what on earth would she want with you?” 

Your ears perk up at the sound of your name. You had been lounging on the steps leading to the sunken courtyard, nose buried in a book. You hadn’t noticed when Willas had passed you, making a beeline toward Aegon. The two men are lost in their conversation, not paying you any mind. 

You close your book and stand as the conversation appears to take a turn for the worst. Lord Willas has turned rather red in the face as Aegon laughs in front of him. 

“Then I wish to challenge you!” Lord Willas says, voice shaking. 

Your breath catches in your throat. Aegon tilts his head to the side, an incredulous grin breaking out across his face.

“Prepared to meet the Stranger so soon, are you?” Aegon teases, a laugh rolling through him. 

Willas’ face flushes a darker shade of red as Aegon tilts his head back, continuing his laughter. Your stomach churns. Surely Aegon cannot be serious. Surely he would not risk losing you?

“I wish to challenge you, to a duel for Lady (Y/N)’s hand,” Willas says, this time with more confidence. 

Aegon’s laughter dies down, he suppresses the giggles that still flow.

“I’m shit with a sword,” Aegon confesses, the smile never leaving his lips. He is like a madman in that way, always smiling. 

Lord Willas does not answer him, his glare speaks for itself. 

“Very well,” Aegon says, opening his arms, “it shall be a quick duel then.”

He turns and continues his leave. 

“When, then?” Lord Willas calls. 

“Give me a week, lord,” Aegon says with a groan, not turning around. 

Your cheeks are flushed, with embarrassment and hurt. The entire thing was a joke to him then. Your worst fears are coming true. Aegon will never love you the way you did him. He was willing to lose you so easily, you could already feel yourself slipping away from him. Tried and hurt, you retreated to your chambers for the rest of the evening. 

Your mother Rhaenyra could sense something was wrong when you had your food delivered to your chambers for the second day in a row. She brought it upon herself to visit you when you could not be coaxed from your chambers by any of your brothers, or your stepfather. 

Rhaenrya rapped her knuckles against the wood of your door, hearing a soft ‘enter.’

You lay curled up in your feather bed, where you had remained the past couple of days. 

“Daughter,” Rhaenyra called, “my sweet love, let us fetch you a bath and get you dressed.”

You cried the entire time your mother helped bathe you. It was as though you were a small child again, as she poured the warm water on you, and stroked your smooth hair with sweet-smelling oils. Your mother’s comfort released all the emotions you had desperately tried to hide.

“He does not want me,” you sobbed, “he has never wanted me and I have been so blind, so naive all these years not to see it.”

“Shh, my sweet girl,” Rhaenyra said, helping dry your hair, “come, let us get you dressed.”

As your mother helps you dress, another knock comes on the door and Queen Alicent makes an appearance. 

“Princess Rhaenrya,” she says, nodding to your mother, “Princess (Y/N).”

You only hope Queen Alicent does not notice the red that rims your eyes. 

“I wondered if you might accompany me on a walk, the gardens are quite lovely this time of day,” Queen Alicent asks, much to your surprise. 

You had hoped to continue the conversation of dissolving your engagement with your mother. Lips trembling, you nod. You need some fresh air, being cooped up inside for days is not good for your head, no matter how sad you are. 

As you walk through the halls of the Red Keep you make up your mind. 

“I wish to dissolve the engagement,” you tell Queen Alicent. She squeezes your arm, a concerned look on her face. 

“Do not be rash with this decision, my love,” she tells you, smoothing some hair from your face. 

“I have thought long and hard about it,” you insist, “Aegon shall never love me the way I love him. It would not be fair to either of us.”

Alicent purses her lips, leading you further towards the gardens, down a narrow path. The hedges were tall around you, roses sprouting from them hiding you from the rest of the palace. 

“OW!” you heard Aegon’s voice from over the hedges. You frown, looking towards Alicent who has a small smile on her lips. 

“Did you hear that?” you ask, with a confused expression on your face. 

“I told you to keep your guard up,” Aemond’s voice called from the same direction Aegon’s was heard. 

You peered around the corner watching what was going on. Aegon was shaking his wrist, his sword on the ground, and a pained expression on his face. Aemond was shaking his head, adjusting the grip on his sword. 

“This is barbaric,” Aegon said, grabbing his sword.

“This would be quite easier if you paid any mind to our lessons as children,” Aemond scolded, motioning for Aegon to hold up his sword.

“I did not imagine finding myself in this situation,” Aegon grumbled, as Aemond launched towards him. 

“Your right side Aegon,” Aemond said roughly, before slapping his sword over Aegon’s rib, knocking the wind from him. The sword clanged to the stones once more.

“The Mother, have mercy,” Aegon gasped, doubling over. Aemond smirked, clearly enjoying this, wiping some sweat from his brow. 

“What are they doing?” you whisper to Alicent as the brothers continue to fight. Alicent smiles softly, bringing a hand to stroke your hair. 

“Aegon has been training for the duel that Lord Willas demanded,” she tells you, causing your heart to swell. 

“What?” you whisper.

“He has been practicing all week,” Alicent tells you, gazing fondly at her son. You give her a confused look.

“Why?” you ask.

“Men do strange things for the women they love,” she tells you, causing you to scoff.

“Aegon does not love me,” you assure her, eyes flickering back toward him. Alicent smiles and follows your gaze. 

“Oh?” she questions and you give her a quick nod. 

“Come on, quickly now!” Aemond says as Aegon rushes to pick up his fallen sword once more, “do you believe your opponent shall wait for you to pick up your sword?”

“I expect him to be less of a twat than you-OW!”

You stifle a giggle, and Alicent grabs your arm. 

“Quickly, lest we be found,” she says, urging you towards the castle. 

You wait for Aegon in the training yard, hoping to spot him when he goes to return his sword. He is bruised and bloody when he finally appears, silver hair wet with perspiration. Though you hate to see him groaning with pain, it sends a thrill through you to see him so roughed up. 

“Aegon,” you softly call and he drops his sword once more. He truly is careless with the blade. 

“Princess,” he says, scrambling to grab his sword. 

“Whatever has happened to you, my prince?” you ask, feigning confusion. 

Aegon smiles, then winces as it tugs on his split lip. He has a nasty bruise appearing on the top of his cheekbone as well. 

“I fell,” he tells you, releasing a breathy laugh. Your eyes fall to the sword in his hands, and he follows your gaze. 

“With my sword,” he continues, “I fell with my sword.”

“You fell with your sword,” you repeat as he returns the blade to its place with the other training swords. 

“Mhmm,” he says facing you once more, lips tightly pursed together. 

You nod, slowly walking closer to Aegon. He sticks his tongue against his cheek as you approach, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. 

“I saw you,” you tell him, causing his violet eyes to widen. You smile at his surprise. 

“Why do you train with Aemond?” you ask, “why the sudden interest in the sword?”

Aegon opens his mouth, then closes it again. He brings a hand up to his chin, as though trying to think of a witty response. 

“Aegon,” you say before he can think of something clever.

He sighs. 

“Lord Willas was serious about your hand,” he tells you, a blush beginning to form on his cheeks. 

Your face softens as he continues. 

“I am no knight, but,” he bites his lip, trying to find the right words, “I do not wish to lose you, (Y/N).”

You step closer, placing a hand on his chest. Aegon meets your eyes.

“You cannot lose what you have always had,” you tell him, heart beating erratically. You laugh softly, shaking your head. 

“Aegon, I have always been yours.”

Aegon brings a hand to your cheek, caressing the smooth skin, before bringing his lips to yours. The kiss is soft and sweet, sending butterflies from your stomach all the way down to your toes. You sigh as he pulls away. 

“I am pleased to hear that,” Aegon murmurs, mouth so close the words brush against your lips, “for I have loved you far longer than I care to admit.”

You giggle against his mouth, the sound swallowed by another kiss, his free hand snaking around your waist. 

“And I you,” you tell him, breaking away for a breath. His lips move to your neck, as he chuckles.

note: hope you enjoyed it 💚

#aegon ii #aegon ii targaryen #aegon x reader #aegon x you #aegon x y/n #aegon ii x reader #aegon ii x you #aegon ii x y/n #aegon ii fanfic #aegon ii targaryen x you #aegon ii targaryen x y/n #aegon ii targaryen x reader #aegon targaryen x you #aegon targaryen x reader #aegon targaryen imagine #aegon targaryen #aegon imagine #aegon the usurper #sapphire requests #hotd aegon #king aegon #aegon targaryen ii #aegon ii fic #aegon the elder

[yanderes-galore]

Can you make a human romantic Yandere Ceruledge concept?

Hm... already quite the humanoid Pokemon, so now you get a Ghost Knight :)

Yandere! Human! Ceruledge Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Overprotective behavior, Possessive behavior, Violence, Death/Murder, Forced relationship.

A human Ceruledge just seems like an undead bodyguard.

The Pokemon themselves already looks like a knight, so their appearance would be more like a ghost in a haunted set of armor.

This ghost is most likely due to a knight dying with regrets, but they're quite the flaming warrior in battle.

Knights who die this way and are revived are known as Ceruledge.

They are then left to roam the world like lost souls, some of them are malicious and ruthless... some aid lost travellers.

Which means, Human! Ceruledge are simply undead knights/ghost revived to be something new.

They can be an unnerving sight... or a sight for sore eyes.

You could've met this one by chance, having seen the undead knight late at night.

Maybe this once is one of the more nobel ones, searching for their forgotten purpose before they find you.

They're a purple knight with blue flames licking around their blades and helmet.

Inside the armor it's hard to tell what they look like... but glowing purple eyes peer back at you mischievously.

Ceruledge are different than Gallade, they speak an older language and care more about acting like knights of old.

Ceruledge would still stick close to a traveler such as you, curious about your modern life.

I like to imagine there's a generation gap, like they were originally alive during the medieval ages.

Now they're traveling beside you, playful yet curious about this new age.

Ceruledge are skilled in fire attacks, in this case that would be considered pyromancy.

Your Ceruledge wields two ghostly fire blades as their chosen weapon, the fire a new ability given to them upon revival.

Ceruledge may try to court their obsession like a knight.

They're mischievous, but they know chivalry and defend you.

Due to being ghosts, they'd probably bind themselves to you.

Like being haunted, essentially.

When attached, they want to dedicate themselves to you.

They can do that as a ghost.

The good news is you have an undead guardian to look after you.

The bad news is they don't take potential rivals well.

One moment your Ceruledge is putting away their blades, whispering old poems of love towards you as they lightly touch your cheek...

The next they're drawing their blades and threatening some poor soul for "dishonoring you".

You could interpret their behavior as overprotective... but it's most likely them being possessive.

They try to keep themselves in check for you.

After all... a knight must protect the one they pledge themselves to.

However... how much of a surprise is it when they do harm someone.

They could burn them... slash them... maybe it's fatal... or maybe they'll just curse them with some sort of ailment.

Being a Ghost, Ceruledge can be cruel.

They hate others around you.

So much to the point that playing fair or courting slowly may not be enough for them.

It's not like they're under your total control.

They were still once human.

So really... what's stopping them from slashing those in their your way?

It's certainly not you.

Ceruledge would scorch the world for you, they would spill the blood of countless to have your adoration...

Maybe they'll bind you to them with a curse... or maybe make their rivals suffer a bit more...

Ceruledge may make it seem like they listen to your every order...

In reality, you're at their mercy... and they'd do anything to have you to themselves to serve.

"My beloved, I am your servant til death... your death to be more precise."

#yandere pokemon #yandere human pokemon #yandere human ceruledge

[captain-mj]

I love the Superhero AU! After the first part you mentioned another part was on the way, so I didn't want to bother to ask you to continue when that was already the plan. Not a fan of making people feel rushed.

The "enemies to lovers" tending to their injuries and recovery. The "I didn't know where else to go." I AM INSTANTLY DECEASED. I NEED MORE! I need it to its conclusion! The pet shadows with the judgmental stare! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Delivered!! Im very glad you liked it!!

@joltom

Ghost was… well. Struggling. He was starving, having a hard time cooking for himself, and he was pretty sure any progress he made on his ribs had gotten fucked up when he had gotten tossed around like a ragdoll. His shadows did their best, but they could only do so much, especially when he didn’t have the strength to take control of them.

It took two days, and the realization that despite all of this trying he wasn’t healing yet, before Ghost shot Soap a text. “Come over.”

Soap got the text message during a meeting. Price had asked him a million questions when he finally showed up but he had simply explained that Ghost had “Contacted him for information and opened up about a possible future” which quickly made Price let that slide. How could he be mad at him for that? Their whole goal was to deal with Ghost by either getting him to stop or joining so that way he would have to follow the rules.

When Soap saw Ghost’s come over message, he didn’t even have to lie about who it was or what he asked. So Soap was over in a flash, desperate to find out what Ghost wanted.

To find him in a worse state than before was rather distressing after all of the excitement. Soap happily helped him out though and, despite how much Ghost hated it, they quickly formed a nice alliance.

Ghost, in a rather desperate need to be useful, gave Soap missions. Nothing that would require someone dying, of course. Just stopping specific times that would take place at certain times or checking on a situation for him.

Soap found himself more and more infatuated with him. The Shadows begrudgingly gave their approval of him after a while which was much appreciated, but there were more and more strands of darkness around Ghost. They were slow to appear and Ghost explained they’d been busy keeping some of his organs working.

“Not quite immortality but close, yeah? That’s the not sentient part of it. Even if the Shadows disappeared or I put them away for a bit, this stays.”

Soap felt a lot better when he thought about kissing Ghost later. The Shadows wouldn’t have to watch but he’d still be strong enough to properly kiss back. Excellent.

(Though Soap had to admit, in most of his fantasies, Ghost’s perceived weakness was a bonus. The idea of him easily pinning down the great Ghost, turning him from a powerful antihero to just the human underneath. Very exciting prospects.)

But he was careful to not think of any of that while he took care of Ghost. He stayed clinical. Just a sweet nurse to help him out.

Ghost was very happy the first day he didn’t really need Soap around. Soap was crushed. But… Ghost never really asked him to stop coming and Soap continued to arrive and they acted… normal.

They’d watch tv or Soap would cook while Ghost watched him and one day, instead of wearing his balaclava, he wore a black gaiter, letting Soap see the… the…

“You’re blond?” That was the first thing Soap said. Besides the fact his hair was a beautiful mess of bedhead curls that had Soap foaming at the mouth, it made the soft brown eyes seem so much darker by comparison.

“I bleach it.”

Soap could barely string his thoughts together afterwards. Ghost made food this time, watching him with slight amusement.

“My mum taught me how to cook.” Ghost said softly. He seemed a little vulnerable at this moment, the Shadows having disappeared. The sun on him. Soap shouldn’t be staring. He’s supposed to be a good person. A hero. The epitome of chivalry and bravery and all that.

So why did he feel like such a coward? He just kept staring at Ghost’s back. Underneath his band tee, there were tons of scars. Scars Soap had wanted to touch. His own skin couldn’t do it. No one he knew had such vulnerabilities and those that did most certainly didn’t put themselves in harm's way. He didn’t make friends with many regular people. Maybe that’s why Ghost felt so… refreshing. Tempting.

Soap wanted. He lusted. All while Ghost tentatively shared details about his life.

Soap had never felt like more of a bad person.

Ghost put the food in front of him and Soap ate every bite. It was so good and Ghost softened the more he ate.

Soap smiled at him a little and Ghost glanced away. They were dancing around each other and the music had started to crescendo. Eventually, they’d have to collide. To come to some conclusion.

“Why do you keep coming?” Ghost asked softly. “Are you waiting for me to change my mind? I’m not going to join your league. I can’t. How well do you think it’ll go if they find out I’m human?”

“I’m not here to make you join the league.”

Ghost stared at him, analyzing him. When he was satisfied with what he found, he asked. “Then what are you here for? Because you didn’t keep coming out of the kindness of your own heart. There’s other people. Other things you could be doing. I went back to going out and helping people and you didn’t stop me. So what do you want from me?”

“I want you.” Soap admitted softly. “I just… want you.”

“I’m not something worth wanting.” Ghost said softly.

Soap swallowed. “My name is Johnny. I’m 24. I hate dogs. I’ve dated a bunch of people but never anything serious. I knew i was going to be a hero by the time i was 8 and they told me i was made for it. I so rarely get to want things but i really, really want you.”

Ghost tilted his head, something amused there again. “I know what you’re thinking. You see my big brown eyes and you think I’m all pretty under here. Maybe the hair gets you all hot and bothered. I make jokes. I pretend. But I know once I lose the mask, it's gone. I’m not attractive under here. A fact I’m reminded of constantly. So let me go ahead and shatter the illusion.”

He took his mask off and dropped it on the table.

The scarring was not pretty. A sharply cut Glasgow smile. Burns. Acid burns. That’s what they were. Cutting streaks down from his lips and down his chin. They were faded and clearly a little old but still visible.

“You’re gorgeous.” Soap said softly, but just a little too fast to be a lie.

Ghost made a face as he stared at him, but it quickly started to crumble. “What?”

“You’re gorgeous.” Soap repeated and with little effort, he was in front of Ghost, hand on his shoulders. He was being greedy again. Drinking him in.

The kiss was fast. Desperate. Strangely human.

#call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #simon ghost riley #call of duty modern warfare ii #johnny soap mactavish #cod mw2 #cod #ghostsoap #soapghost

[queer-ragnelle]

Hi! I hope I do not bother you, but I'd like to ask a thing (if you already answered this in another ask I'm sorry) because you seem to be the most qualified person to answer. In a retelling, when how much is too much changing? I am writing two whole Arthurian fics and while I mostly mix and match from different versions there are some things I fully changed (one of the most egregious, for example, being Palamedes dying early in Post-Vulgate fashion and Safir as the one who slays the Questing Beast and the killing being an expression of vengeance instead of newly-found peace despite this definetely not being the case in the original text). I think what I changed works better for plot reasons but I am a bit uncomfortable with it, especially when it comes to characterization. But on the other hand there are so many different versions that I find it hard to say if I am ruining it or not because even in the canon plots and characters' personalities change a lot but I don't want to do something that ends up being "in name only". When is too much too much?

Hello! I don't know about being the most qualified person to answer, but I can certainly give you my answer! I've explained this a little bit before here and here, but can elaborate again for you, especially because I think those characters and that text in particular should be handled with care.

Before you determine what amount of reinterpretation constitutes the right balance, pause everything, and pinpoint your audience. Are you writing fanfiction for your own self-fulfillment and enjoyment? Maybe also for a handful of friends who share your ideas? In that case, there are no rules, do whatever you want. That's your space, your story, and you bear no responsibility to uphold some unquantifiable standard of characterization "accuracy." Fandom is your sandbox and you can build whatever castle you want! Be free!

The next thing to determine is what characters you're changing and why. Not all changes are created equal! For example, if you wanted to absolve Arthur of the May Day Massacre to write a more honorable King, it's not all that drastic a change. There are many texts, old and new, in which that narrative beat never occurs. If noble Arthur serves your story better than morally gray or evil Arthur, and it can be done without compromising the Arthurian fabric from which you sample, go for it. Alternatively, if you decided to incorporate additional violence into the story, especially if attributed to a character who had not previously done those things (such as rapist Gawain, ie, inverting his Maiden's Knight role he's known for), you're going to have a harder time selling the reader on it. Generally speaking, a positive or neutral change will always be easier to sell than a negative one.

This is especially important if you intend to publish something you write for a broader audience. That's a different matter, in my opinion. In that regard, the thing you create is contributing to an Arthurian body of work that's meant to stand on its own. Fanfiction exists in a writing niche which assumes a base knowledge from the reader, you may not necessarily explain what Camelot is, or what chivalry means, or who Palomides is. That's fine and dandy. It's for fun!

But with a published book standing alone on the shelf, the author is expected to establish the framework of the world their story takes place in. That may or may not align with "canon" and therefore maintain or depart from the expected. This is where your decisions as an author matter. While Arthuriana is anachronistic by design as a literary tradition that's evolved alongside its authors, the moment you decide on an era to write in (if you put a year to it or imply one based on what historical aspects emerge), you now bear responsibility to depict that as accurately as you can. Even if it's a mishmash of "Medieval" spanning a few centuries, it should still bare resemblance to the era. Particularly in our current political climate with constant misinformation and even disinformation spreading, it's important to do the research necessary to create something genuine so as to avoid misrepresenting the past and the people in it. For example I think it would do a disservice to an Arthurian story to ignore religion, particularly one about Palomides or his brother Safir. To write them as areligious is to ignore the role in the Arthurian narrative they were created for. They're Saracen, (even if Palomides converts in some versions), and to ignore the way religion and race interconnect in Medieval society would be disingenuous.

[Idols in the East: The Saracen Body by Suzanne Conklin Akbari]

And, more to your point, that aspect informs character. The stories define Palomides by his religion, by his race, and how that impacts him in the face of a rivalry with Tristan, a white Christian, for the love of Isolde, another white Christian. This isn't to say that you're obligated to depict racism, or to put the characters into situations that oppress and hurt them, but to write something "race blind" is to erase the character's identity, and that would be too great a change, for me personally, to get by.

That being said, if you're writing in 6th century Britain, your research might lead you to think, "Hey wait a minute, Islam doesn't exist yet! But Palomides and Safir are written as Muslims, so how can I stay true to both the era I'm writing in and the characters if that anachronism is built right in?" Well, that's where you have wiggle room to be creative! Perhaps they're Zoroastrians or follow one of the many Berber religions that existed at the time. Even Tristan could reasonably be written Pagan in this era, as he has in many retellings before you sent this ask. Maybe Tristan's Mithraic or Druid or Jewish and that in and of itself helps mitigate some of the tension between the characters as neither are Christian. All of this should be handled with great care, of course, but the point is that there aren't really straight answers about what changes are worth making.

Your discomfort in this isn't unjustified. I've been there. But it doesn't mean you're doing anything "wrong." It's not a crime to conceptualize changes. I had a lot of anxiety writing Ragnelle and her brother Gromer as Zoroastrians. But I went on to find an editor who studied the religion, and asked my Zoroastrian mutual for help, who put me in touch with a practitioner that agreed to beta read my books and inform me on my handling of it. There's no perfect story, but all you can do is give it your best effort.

I don't think it'll benefit you to worry about "ruining" the story with changes such as Safir pursuing the Questing Beast. That sounds awesome! And your plan about vengeance is baked right into the source material, as the Post Vulgate indicates that QB had killed all of Palomides's brothers before he finally defeated her, so your story has some textual basis in a medieval source. (Not that you need it to be "allowed" to write that, but it may help your anxiety to know!)

[Post Vulgate Quest for the Holy Grail: 87. Galahad and Bors Chase the Questing Beast and Meet Palamedes and His Father, Esclabor the Unknown.]

One other thing I'll point out is choosing the language you use matters a lot. You can have some characters behave a certain way toward Palomides or Safir or this "futile" quest that resembles historical prejudice while utilizing word-choice throughout that signals to the reader you, the author, know what you're doing and understand the nuances at play. Reading broadly will help you with this so much. Not just non-fiction for your research, but other Arthurian retellings as well. I personally didn't love Persia Woolley's handling of Palomides in her Guinevere Trilogy. He was referred to as "the Arab" throughout which seemed like a "lesser evil" placeholder for "the Saracen." It's usage acted as a generalized umbrella term to other Palomides and didn't indicate his area of origin beyond constantly reminding the reader that he wasn't white. (Whereas Gawain was "the Orcadian" and Lancelot "the Breton," which differentiated their white cultures from one another while homogenizing Palomides with every other Eastern person in the story as a monoculture.) Furthermore, many characters were afraid of him (I mean literally making the sign of the cross and hiding when he walked in the room), which isn't consistent with a Post-Roman Britain, in which the population would have been mixed. I prefer the handling of Numidian Sagramore in Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles. Sagramore, as a Black man, is a part of Arthur and co's community, even if the Saxons themselves are unnerved by him. He's respected by the narrative. It's usually better to be specific (Numidian Sagramore versus Arab Palomides) particularly if that character is a minority and the word is leaving the mouth of a white character. This article discusses this aspect at length and really eased my own concerns depicting these characters and doing them justice.

[Saracens and Black Knights by Maghan Keita]

Here's another example of generalized versus specific language.

[Sword of Lancelot 1963: Merlin refers to "the Orient."]

[The Adventures of Sir Lancelot 1956: Merlin refers to "the Iberian Peninsula."]

So in my opinion, as long as you don't white wash Palomides or Safir and avoid writing them as "exotic" or "mysterious" or in some way barbaric in the pursuit of the Questing Beast, you're fine. Even in La Tavola Ritonda, Percival pursues QB for a time before Palomides picks up the quest, which is the opposite order in which that occurs in Post Vulgate where Percival and the other grail knights assist Palomides to defeat her at the very end. Many versions don't maintain the incest-monster aspect of QB from Post Vulgate either, like in Perlesvaus or Moriaen, she's just a monstrous creature and that's sufficient to tell the story the author has in mind. Even from a characterization standpoint, Malory wrote Palomides as volatile and melodramatic, having fits in the woods over his grief from which only Tristan could coax him out of, where in La Tavola Ritonda, Palomides is mostly chill and sweet, to the point Dinadan teases him for being a push-over haha! In regards to Safir, there's far less textual source material to base him off of than Palomides, so you have even more creative freedom! Literally the spectrum is so vast you can pretty much characterize however you desire if you keep in mind what the core of the character is and why that's important to their identity and the historical significance of that identity. (Even if it's something you have to bulk up, such as you will for Safir.) If you're ever unsure, it's never a bad idea to ask! Plenty of historians, or medievalists, Arthurian enthusiasts, or people of different cultures would love to discuss this subject. You might have to dig a little, but I can't imagine it'll be harder than my search for a queer Zoroastrian beta reader willing to read a trilogy-length Wedding retelling haha! It'll benefit your writing to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known so others can give you feedback. Share some passages with a trusted few and gauge their reactions. Read what other people have done and take notes about the way they chose to characterize Palomides or Safir—did [aspect] resonate with you? Or did [aspect] ring false? Exploitative? Hollow? Why? Then step back, take another look, and go from there. It's about vibes and can't be defined, but you'll know when you know.

Hope this helps. Good luck and have a nice day!

#arthurian legend #arthurian legends #arthuriana #arthurian mythology #arthurian literature #palamedes #palomides #sir palamedes #sir palomides #sir safir #the questing beast #questing beast #glatisants #writing #orientalism #racism #history #islamphobia #xenophobia #anti blackness #colorism #ask #anonymous #my post

[xxxdragonfucker69xxx]

HOUR IN BLACK, CHAPTER ONE

“Even the birds?” She immediately felt foolish. Why hadn’t she asked about her family? Why waste her last breath? Not that it would have changed the answer. Even the birds must die, and they would die by her hand. But the birds didn’t matter. Her family didn’t matter. She was dying. She was drowning. How could she not accept?

had to put that one before the cut because it BANGS

"cerecloth" oh we're busting out the exalted dictionary already huh. did i tell you guys when my roommate was studying for the GRE i slaughtered his vocab section practice because of all these goddamn whitewolf games

REALLY HOT that they noclipped the mask into the underworld with seteshs calendar to pop the jade prison out

" the Lion’s [monstrances] are devoid of embellishment, while the Dowager’s are crude-seeming trophies of rune-etched bone and hide fashioned from the spoils of her hunts." HOTTTTTTT

"When an Abyssal draws her Last Breath, her mortal life ends. Her flesh still lives, but her soul is dead. The thread of her fate is severed, and her name is cast aside"

Song of my soul, my voice is dead, Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed Shall dry and die In lost Carcosa.

"The Usurpation is still a fresh wound for some among Death’s Chosen." yeah bitch thats THEMESSSSSS

ok the initiation rites are like the first big change i didnt know about. real fun that every deathlord trains you REAL fun that they send you on a grand tour. sort of parallel to the dynastic gap year

THE CHIVALRY OF DEATH makes abyssals into such ABYSSOLUTE bitches

i sort of fucking love the section about deaths lawgivers? really rotating that concept rn

a little taste of redemption :3

#hour in black

[cyberphuck]

Assassin’s Apprentice Abridged: Part Two

Read Part One (My friend Razz wants to understand my Farseer Trilogy shitposts but doesn’t want to have to actually read the books, so I decided to summarize them. This turned out to be much harder than I thought it would be! Here’s part two of ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE: ABRIDGED!) When we last left our hero, Fitz was a little baby following an old man into a hole in the wall.

"Gosh, Chade," Fitz says, after a wholesome montage of him learning how to steal things and poison people, "I love hanging out with you. It sure is neato to have a friend. I get to do all sorts of pranks around the castle, and once in a while the King even calls me to his rooms to remind me I'm a tool of the Crown!"

"You know what would be really funny?" Chade asks, eyes alight with glee.

Jump cut to Fitz's Twilight-esque depressive episode. He lays in bed for days, staring at the wall, refusing to get up. Burrich comes up to his rooms to ask Fitz what the fuck is going on with him and assumes he's dying.

Fitz can't tell him that Chade asked him to steal from the King and he refused, because everything about Chade is a secret. Burrich doesn't know that Chade told Fitz that if he wasn't game to yoink something from Shrewd's chambers, that he could get the fuck out and never come back.

"Watch this, Shrewd! You can actually pinpoint the second when Fitz's heart rips in half!"

(Burrich tries to cure Fitz's ailment by introducing him to alcoholism. He's like ten.)

Sitting in his room alone and drunk, Fitz starts wailing. He cries and cries until Chade finally comes back down through the secret wall-door to hug him. "Me and Shrewd wanted to see if you were really loyal," he says. "So we traumatized you. We really wanted to introduce you to depression, alcohol, and abject betrayal at a young age and this was the quickest way to do it."

"I want my mommy," Fitz sobs.

"There, there," Chade says, drugging him and leaving.

Later, Fitz is summoned to speak to King Shrewd again, who explains that it was all his idea to give Fitz borderline personality disorder and absolutely does not apologize for it. Fitz takes a knife from the breakfast table in Shrewd's room, brings it back to Chade, and stabs it into the mantle above the fireplace.

I like to think that every time Fitz throws himself into needless danger for the next ten books, Chade looks up at that knife and goes "lol. lmao."

--

"Hey Lil Accident," says Head Scribemaster, "you're pretty good at writing. You wanna be my apprentice?"

"Gosh. I'd get to go places and do things," Fitz marvels. "And almost none of them would involve poisoning people!"

Chade Mission-Impossible drops from the ceiling and hangs above Fitz for long enough to tell him that no, he can't be a scribe's apprentice, for one thing he's already learning to be an assassin, and for another Fitz is kind of an important political tool, being a bastard of a Prince, and someone would definitely murder him.

"Sorry," Fitz tells the Scribemaster, "my uncle said no."

"But you can go down into town and buy some stuff for me, since you've been good," Chade says, reeling back up into the rafters.

Fitz jumps to his feet. "Oh, boy, social interaction! I haven't seen my hoodlum friends in a year! And you know who ELSE I haven't seen in a long time? MY MOM!"

He strides happily past a sad woman in the street wearing an anime mom side ponytail, completely ignoring her in favor of his old friend Molly Nosebleed, who goes by Molly Chandler now that her dad has stopped punching her in the face.

"You're the only girl I know, besides that hysterical woman over there screaming that I'm her son," Fitz says. "I think I have a crush on you."

"Neat," Molly giggles.

Lovestruck Fitz gathers his groceries and heads back up the road to the keep. Princes Verity and Regal ride by, carrying a banner that says "CHIVALRY'S DEAD. THE PRINCE, NOT THE CONCEPT. I MEAN THE CONCEPT IS ALSO DEAD, BUT THE MAIN POINT OF THIS MESSAGE IS THAT PRINCE CHIVALRY FARSEER HAS FALLEN FROM HIS HORSE AND"

Burrich shaves his head. And his beard. And his eyebrows. And his dog's hair. And Fitz's hair too, for good measure. Fitz, rubbing his new buzzcut, says "God, if you loved him so much, maybe you should have married him," and Burrich flings himself into the sea.

"We should be careful," Chade says, later. "Because Chivalry was probably murdered. Anyway, you're going on a road trip. tl;dr one of the dukes isn't properly manning the watchtowers that keep vikings from viking the coast, and Prince Verity has to go deal with it, and you're going with him."

"What's a teal deer?" Fitz asks.

Wandering around outside the castle later, Fitz runs into Shrewd's Fool with a capital F, the albino freak-child that cartwheels around in the King's wake all day.

"Oh no," Fitz says. "Are you lost, little freak child?"

"fjdaklfdafds," says the Fool.

"Come on little fella, I'm not gonna hurt you," Fitz smiles.

"FDAJKFDLALSDFAS," the Fool repeats, louder.

"Do you need an adult?"

The Fool steps up to Fitz, grabs him by the shirt, yanks him down to eye level, and says, "Fitz Fixes a Feist's Fits. Fat Suffices, you fucking beautiful dumbass."

Fitz stares at him.

"I thought you were too dumb to know how words worked," he says finally.

The Fool flips him off and cartwheels away.

"...Weird," Fitz mutters. "Whatever, time to go to NEATBAY! I hope I get to kill somebody!" On the way to Neatbay (in a riding party consisting of Prince Verity and like half the staff of Buckkeep), Fitz pals around with stableboy Hands, and meets Mysterious Old Person Lady Thyme, who is a person that sucks in every way possible.

Hands whispers to Fitz that everyone in Buck knows that Lady Thyme sucks and avoids her. Lady Thyme shrieks that you whippersnappers better not be liking yourselves up there!

Fitz and co. finally arrive in Neatbay. It's a walled city like the place in Attack on Titan, with concentric fortifications like an obstacle course that Vikings have never been able to Vike all the way past (this will not be important again until the next book). It's ruled by Lord Kelvar and his trophy wife and if Kelvar doesn't get off his ass and start manning the watchtowers Fitz might have to poison him to death.

They have dinner. Fitz hates rich people. He eyeballs everybody at the table.

That night before bed, Verity calls Fitz into his room. "What's going on with Lord What's His Face?" He asks the boy.

Fitz explains a very complex situation about how Lord Kelvar is clearly trying to impress his Young Hotness Wife with lots of jewels and shit and his Young Hotness Wife is trying to impress everyone else with her jewels and shit and meanwhile all those jewels and shit could be going to pay to man the watchtowers and the roads, and Kelvar has to take some pride in doing it or else he'll become embittered and...

"I'm going to tell Lord Kelvar to stop being a puss and man the watchtowers," Verity says, and turns over to go to sleep.

Fitz facepalms.

Late in the night, Fitz wakes up starving and ninja-sneaks down to the kitchens to grab a midnight snack. While he's there, a woman comes in with a little doggie wrapped in a blanket.

"My poor little doggie is dying," she sobs. "This type of dog is a small hunting dog called a 'feist,' by the way."

"Hack," says the dog.

"I think your dog is choking on something," Fitz observes, whipping out his stethoscope. "Yeah, there's definitely something jammed down there. Let's get it out. Hold your dog steady."

Fitz finds a long hook, slathers it in butter, and wiggles it down the dog's throat while the dog yowls and pees and scratches the Mysterious Blanket Woman. It takes a minute, but eventually he manages to dislodge a chicken bone from doggie's gullet and they all sit back, panting, while LeVar Burton comes onto the screen and lectures the audience about never letting your pets eat poultry or fish bones and the importance of limiting table scraps and keeping them on a healthy diet. Thanks LeVar!

"You saved my doggie's life," Blanket Woman says, and pulls back her blanket to reveal that she is actually Lord Kelvar's Young Hotness Wife! "I shall repay you in any way you wish."

"I'm thirteen," Fitz says.

"Any way you wish," the woman repeats.

Fitz scratches his head. "Oh! Tell your idiot husband to man the fucking watchtowers before you get Vikinged to death. I mean," he amends, "I had a prophetic vision that a strong and graceful trophy wife spread out her arms to protect the laaand wooooo~"

Then he goes back to bed.

...And is woken up YET AGAIN by a servant telling him that Lady Thyme is demanding his presence down in town.

Oh. Joy.

Fitz gets dressed, saddles up Sooty the horse, rides to the inn that Lady Thyme is staying at, knocks on the door. "I heard you're calling for me," he sighs. "Are you dying or something? Please say you're dying."

Chade opens the door. "Fooled you, boy," he cackles. "I am Lady Thyme! And we have to go to Forge right now."

"You made me empty out a pot full of your shit every single morning for five days," Fitz says.

"Get on your horse," Chade orders, and they're off.

"You know, I've never actually seen you outdoors before," Fitz says as they gallop down the coast. "It's-- are you snorting coke right now?"

Chade sneezes, wiping his nose. "Stay in school."

They ride hell-for-leather for Forge, a little town known for two things: iron exports and being raided by Vikings. They manage to get there twelve hours after the nick of time because Chade had to return some VHS tapes, and find little more than a completely burned-down village and some zombies.

"Chade, are those slow zombies like in Dawn of the Dead, or fast zombies like in the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake?" Fitz asks, watching the zombies shambling around and fighting over pieces of rotten bread and pairs of pants.

"Run," Chade advises, and they do.

On the road out, they pass a bunch of non-zombie survivors moving all their slightly singed possessions to another town. Nobody wants to stay in a town infested with zombies, which the people of the kingdom start calling Forged people, or just Forged, because one of the rules of zombie movies is that none of the characters can say "zombies."

Over the course of the next few months, more and more people are kidnapped by Vikings and Forged, but no one can agree exactly what should be done about it.

And then one night, Fitz is picking his nose alone at a table in the kitchens when another mysterious woman approaches him…

#rote #assassin's apprentice #Fitzchivalry Farseer #robin hobb #aa abridged #farseer trilogy abridged

[edoro]

What are your opinions about Cytherea and her whole dynamic with Gideon in GTN? I feel like not enough people talk about that.

oh i go insane about it every time. like i already love it when a bitch is terminally ill like PEAK character design is when they're terminally ill and sort of wry and cute about it and like making little comments that make everybody else SO uncomfortable in a fun way but also underneath that is the simmering resentment barely held in check, and the fact that she's actually just BEEN dying for ten thousand years and is at this point absolutely fucking insane from the pain and anger of that is icing on top of the "i love it when a bitch is dying" cake

and then the like. ooh boy. the way Gideon doesn't know jack about shit? like Gideon's defining trait as a character is not knowing jack about shit but she ESPECIALLY does not know jack about shit wrt Cytherea and she is SO gone like she just also clearly loves it when a woman looks like she would die if she sneezed too hard (Harrow, Cyth) and she is helpless to resist Cytherea's winsome manipulations

like Cytherea doesn't even have to try that hard. she just faints and coughs up blood and lays limply around and Gideon would walk over hot coals for her. it's so funny it's so cute Gideon is such a butch. oozing helpless meatheaded chivalry out of every pore.

it's so. the manipulation. the cheekiness. the audacity. the complete and total lack of respect, the utter contempt Cytherea has for all of these little idiot babies that she's just sort of waving the flag of her obvious shenanigans and scheming right in front of Gideon constantly and just so sure nobody's going to pick up on it. (and in her defense, Gideon absolutely did not, lmao. just her bad luck about Palamedes.)

rereading it just made me go "oh my GOD" at every single scene with her in it. every single thing she says or does is so obviously signposting it but nobody knows, and Gideon knows less about anything than anyone! and Cytherea is sooo enjoying herself here. i really love how obviously smug she is about the narrative irony experience she's having.

so anyway yeah. love it! the way Cytherea just smugly toys with Gideon and manipulates her while putting on her sweet and helpless act is just delectable.

#love everything about it #i ALSO reacted to her p much the exact way gideon did on my first readthrough so #same #the locked tomb #gideon the ninth

[silverskye13]

An Interview in Hels

A tall man sits down at the desk. His blonde hair is a mess, and he seems oddly fragile without the horned helm on. It'd been a fight to get him to take it off. He scowls, all sharp edges, broken glass.

"Let's get this over with."

-

"My hermit?" She curls a strand of red hair around her pale finger. "Couldn't care less about her, I don't think. I've got my own stuff going on. Besides, she's already dead, technically. That means I've won, right?"

She raises an eyebrow condescendingly. “Right.”

-

"I thought we weren't going to interview me. I mean, I don't mind. I like talking. But I don't have a hels."

The man grins. His youthful features are new. The mischief in his eyes is not.

"Not anymore anyway. Not anymore."

-

"Ye be wasting my time with this." The man growls, because that seems to be the only tone his voice can take. It might be a side-effect of the axe, or it might just be his dramatic flair. "I don't care for my hermit. Why would I? The man's a coward. He made me, didn't he?"

-

"Welsknight. What a laugh." He sniffs haughtily, rolling his eyes. "The man's hardly a knight - unless his tenets of chivalry include being a pathetic mess and avoiding conflict like the plague. In which case he's the best knight around. And he has the nerve to think he's the stronger of the two of us? I was forged in flame. What's he made of? Fairy dust?"

-

She giggles. "Oh I fink she's adorable. You see all the pink she wears? Got a mean streak in 'er too, and a god named after 'er. You don't get much better than that." 

She kicks her feet up on the desk nonchalantly, like she owns the place. Her boots are black and studded, as is the rest of her outfit, and her dyed hair. "I mean, not my style really, but I can respect it. I'm gonna be honest luv, I think she could do me in. But why would she? She's got too much goin' on, and we're a bit too different anyway, ain't we? You oughta be interviewin' them poor sods is fading out. They'll care more than I do."

She twirls a necklace in between her fingers, content to let her attention wander away from the interview.

-

"Yeah, I confronted my hels. We were a lot alike." He's given up the pretense of humanity and is floating on his back over the chair, making himself comfortable. A pair of blue vex wings flicker faintly, filling the air with the crackle of magic. His lab coat brushes the chair he's supposed to be sitting in. 

"Well I guess really he confronted me. Scrawny kid. Nothing wrong with that but I had more experience. And the smarts. He was fast though. Taught me a thing or two about speed running. He thought fast too. I think he was more of the speed chess kind of person.”

-

"I guess I think he's terrifying?" He laughs nervously, and ice curls with his breath. "I mean, you've seen what he does with the ravagers, and the redstone farms and the death machines. I always kinda thought he should be the hels anyway, since he's got all the fire-ificatory stuff going on."

He runs his claws through his hair, and the air is chilled as he sighs. "Though I guess I would think that. None of us really thinks we're the bad guys here, right?"

-

"Okay fine, I'll answer your damn questions, but if the feds ask, I was never here. You got me?" He has square glasses and forest green hair, and there's a fresh burn scar showing underneath his shirt. It seems like the last of his concerns right now.

"Yeah I think he's a coward. He calls his dumb tweets social justice? I'll show you what justice is. Justice is a pipe bomb on an oil rig - and there's one in your mailbox next week if you breath a word, am I clear?"

He’s twitchy, and rightfully so. His eyes case the room, searching for hidden cameras and microphones, and anything else that could capture evidence he was here.

“I think he’s the hels anyway. You’re telling me we’re the dark mirrors of these people? I admit, I have a bit of uhh… avant-garde approach to justice. But at least I try. That man cowers in his builds every day, making the world better with stupid pretty things. Who’s that helping? Who’s that saving? If I’m hels, heaven’s pathetic, and if you’re sharing this with our hermits, you can tell him I said that.”

He stands abruptly and leaves, slamming the door behind him. He has places to be, and a long list of important organizations to infiltrate and burn to the ground. 

-

“I shouldn’t even exist. None of us should,” he snarls, and he fingers the axe scar on his neck. “We do because they’re too weak without us. Always lookin’ fer someone to blame, that lot. Someone responsible fer all their fell woes. None of us asked for this, did we? Nay, we just picked up the messes they dropped.”

He chuckles, and the furred cloak on his shoulders bristles like the hackles on a wolf. “I was made by the point of a blade, and I’ll see him suffer by one, ye can count on that mate. He can run, but he cannae hide from the boogieman in his reflection.”

-

“Kill her? No way!” she laughs like you’ve told a joke. There is a moon-shaped doodle she’s made on her wrist, and she adds rays to it with a red pen she hid in her sock. The doodle looks a bit like an eclipse, or a blood moon, or some other moon-based astrological weirdness. She’s probably hiding more things. The pat-down on the way in hadn’t robbed her of much. “I mean I could, don’t get me wrong. But that kinda ruins the point of it all, doesn’t it? We’re not supposed to exist, not really. So what happens then, when you get rid of the half of you that is supposed to exist?”

She shrugs, and her smile is radiant. Her eyes are red. “Well I don’t know. That’s why I asked you. All I know is Doc’s hels disappeared one day, and I can’t even remember what he looked like. Same thing with Hypno and Cub and… well… a lot of them really. Best not to tempt fate if you ask me. I quite like being alive and remembered, you know.”

She rests her chin on her interlaced fingers. “Sucks though, don’t it? I bet she’d be a fun fight. I don’t think anyone else would be enough of a challenge.”

-

“Iskall? Yeah, we worked together for a little while.” the assassin has a red beret, and they’re cleaning the glass on the sight they keep clipped to their glasses. Their rifle is propped against the door - they wouldn’t do the interview without it. “I wonder how they’re doing now? No, don’t tell me. It’s best we stay distant.”

They shrug, “That’s why we broke it off, you know. I mean, I’d made peace with it. Death is inevitable in this line of work. I didn’t really think it was all that different from getting shot on a job. I mean, there’s no respawning from something like that, but if you’re off-world, or on a hardcore server, same stakes right?”

They give a reminiscing sigh. “They were the more soft hearted out of the two of us though. Sentimental. So they insisted when they found out, that we do whatever we could to keep me alive. I’d have preferred the friend. You don’t get many with this kind of job.”

They resituated their sight over their eye, and tapped a button on their glasses. Some redstone circuit remade itself, and a small electronic overlay flickered to life on the red glass of the sight. “We breached the topic once, on what would happen if it was them or me. I offered we go to a hardcore world, get it over with. I figured they’d win, honestly, and I think they thought so too. They wouldn’t do it.”

They smirk, “Most people call that mercy, I think. I don’t much care for it, but it wasn’t my decision to make.”

-

“What, couldn’t get Evil X here so you settled on second best? Hahaha very funny. Yes whatever, I’m his hels. Yes I hate his guts. Can we go now?”

The creature in the chair is a shadow, with bloodshot eyes that imply a lack of sleep. 

“What do you mean you’ve got more questions? I don’t care about your questions. I’m supposed to be haunting that idiot right now. He’s sleeping. Every night at sundown. This is my only time to terrorize-- yes this is important. Do I look like I’m doing this for fun? My life depends on this! You wouldn’t understand. You’re not a hels. You don’t get it. Last time he thought I was tolerable, we both disappeared for-- for----”

He looks confused, like his train of thought left him abruptly. He shakes his head, “Do you think this is funny? There are lives-- my life is at stake here! Hurry up with your next question.”

-

“He needs to be taught a lesson. He needs to be strong. I need to be strong. I’m the only one looking out for us.” He doesn’t look nervous, he looks stern. He reaches to tuck a strand of his blonde hair behind his ear so it doesn’t fall in his face. “Look, I already know I’m not different enough. I’m not like EX, or Cleo, or Joe. That just comes easy for them. They’re their own people now, and that’s great for them. But what about the rest of us? Those of us who only ever became mirrors? Mirrors shatter.”

He sighs, and he interlaces his gauntleted fingers together. 

“I’m a knight. I can’t be self-serving in this. It doesn’t matter what I want. I’m helping hels, and all the helsmits and evil doubles that get tossed in there and left until their other halves finally do something about it. If that makes me like him, so be it. This isn’t about me. I’ve made peace with that.”

-

“I always kinda wondered what would happen if a hermit lost.” 

He’s playing with his vex magic in the air, spinning a ball of it on an outstretched finger, reveling in the fact that he can. “We always hear about how the hels are our other halves - inner demons, the worst parts of us, evil twins, whatever you wanna call it. And I get that’s scary for some people. But I’m a vex man.”

He shrugs. “I kinda wondered what would happen if I lost… just for the heck of it. And he really wanted to win, you know. He avoided me for a long time. And when we finally decided to fight it out, he used every advantage he had. But he was the half of me that wasn’t supposed to exist, you know. The universe favors us. It always does.”

He smirks and drops back to his feet, standing behind the chair. His vex wings flex. “I really wanted him to win. Maybe that’s why I turned out this way. It feels a little less like I took back over, you know? We’re halves. I embraced it. Sure I look a little different, and my blood boils a little different. But I made a new speedrunning record this year. Did you see it?”

Cub shoves his hands in the pockets of his labcoat and shrugs.

“I think he could do it faster. Absolutely.”

#the barking writer #Through Hels or High Water #helsmits #hermitcraft #uhm i'm not tagging all of them #there's a lot of them here #anyway this is very much inspired by theminecraftbee's interview with the dead as far as format goes #i thought it'd be fun to experiment with a bunch of the helsmits here #try and spot which ones are which #The Red King Hels

[fariesoiree]

rengoku would be the perfect boyfriend like what??? i can’t believe i thought i’d watch demon slayer and walk out unscathed but he’s soooo ˃̵ᴗ˂̵ like i can’t explain it i need him so bad he’s so perfect he’s so UGH okay listen

like you can’t tell me he wouldn’t be the perfect boyfriend. first off, look at him. LOOK AT HIM

he’s so cutie look at his little smile. and his hair?? i envision it would be a softer blonde that curls at the ends and dyed tips, red obvi. he’d be the absolute sweetest gentleman in the entire fuckin world.

oh your shoe is untied? he’s gonna tie it. oh you’re hungry but don’t want to spend your own money? he’ll willingly and happily do it for you. he will do anything and everything you ask w no complaints and very happily too. in fact, don’t even ask him it’s already done.

he’s exactly what you’d think of when you think of chivalry. he’ll hold the door open, he’ll defend you to anyone, he’ll eat wtv you make him even if it tastes shitty like he is a MAN

i need him so bad you don’t understand he’s the sweetest and best to do it ever. and ykw i didn’t even get into the nsfw part bc i’ll literally ever shut up like WHAT look at him and tell me you don’t want him either

i think i got a new man, y’all. someone please go in my inbox about him i need to talk about him pls you don’t understand i need — PLEASE

#ᝰ.ᐟ✮⋆˙ 𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓽𝓽𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼 #i need him #so bad #demon slayer #rengoku kyojuro

[creepercraftguy]

Danganronpa Rebirth - Voice Actor Headcanons.

So here’s the latest update of this little series on my blog where I assign official voice actors to characters that don’t have them. Today we’re doing another Fanganronpa, Danganronpa Rebirth.

Now as per usual, I need to point out a few things.

This is NOT CANON. These are HEADCANONS and are unofficial. It’s just a hypothetical situation. If the characters were voiced, this is who I imagine would voice them.

I am aware of RebirthVoices being a thing, and this post is not to besmirch them or their work or effort. This is just a hypothetical cast that Chunsoft would probably hire assuming Rebirth was actually a canon game in the series.

I did the same thing with other fangans in the past, SDRA2 and Blowback. Check those out if you’re interested.

This series ended up becoming a lot more popular than I initially thought, so I’m just gonna keep up the apparent good work. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy my ideas. Or don’t. Your choice.

Ayumu Fujimori - KALIN COATES

Also Voiced:

Young Esdeath (Akame Ga Kill)

Pochi (World’s End Club)

Utakata Misogi (Chivalry of a Failed Knight)

Akira Tsuchiya - KELLEN GOFF

Also Voiced:

Freddy Fazbear (Five Nights at Freddy’s)

Kai Chisaki/Overhaul (My Hero Academia)

Diavolo (JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure: Golden Wind)

Aruma Todoroki - ALEXIS TIPTON

Also Voiced:

Lucina (Fire Emblem)

Mei Hatsumi (My Hero Academia)

Kid Trunks (Dragon Ball)

Kasumi Izumo - SARAH WIEDENHEFT

Also Voiced:

Power (Chainsaw Man)

Tohru (Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid)

Zeno (Dragon Ball)

Kazuomi Samejima - BEN BALMACEDA

Also Voiced:

Raido (Aharen Is Indecipherable)

Neku Sakuraba (The World Ends With You)

Pedro (One Piece)

Note: This is interchangable with Max Mittelman, but I already assigned him Yamato Kisaragi in a previous post and didn’t want overlap.

Kego Sakuma - CHRISTIAN BANAS

Also Voiced:

Thoma (Genshin Impact)

Steve (Dying Light 2)

Mango Cookie (Cookie Run Kingdom)

Maiko Kagura - SKYLER DAVENPORT

Also Voiced: 

March 7th (Honkai: Star Rail)

Azusa Aizawa (I've Been Killing Slimes For 300 Years And Maxed Out My Level)

Valerie (Pokemon Masters)

Marin Mizuta - BRIANNA KNICKERBOCKER

Also Voiced: 

Rem (Re:Zero)

Hu Tao (Genshin Impact)

Sakura (Fire Emblem)

Mikoto Itsuki - KAYLI MILLS

Also Voiced:

Emilia (Re:Zero)

Alice Synthesis Thirty (Sword Art Online: Alicazation)

Keqing (Genshin Impact)

Misuzu Aisaka - MEGAN TAYLOR HARVEY

Also Voiced:

Sophia (Persona 5 Strikers)

Ringo (Soul Hackers 2)

Towa Herschel (Trails of Cold Steel)

Mitsunari Koga - AARON DISMUKE

Also Voiced:

Hanzo Urushihara/Lucifer (The Devil is a Part-Timer)

Senku Ishigami (Dr Stone)

Tamaki Amajiki/Suneater (My Hero Academia)

Narumi Osone - JENNY YOKOBORI

Also Voiced:

Yoimiya (Genshin Impact)

Pupil (Akudama Drive)

Xiaomei (Eden’s Zero)

Nico Himuro - CHANDNI PAREKH

Also Voiced:

Faruzan (Genshin Impact)

Lola Bunny (Bugs Bunny Builders)

Harley Quinn (Batwheels)

Saiji Rokudou - CHRIS HACKNEY

Also Voiced: 

Dimitri (Fire Emblem)

Kamisato Ayato (Genshin Impact)

Illumi Zoldyck (HunterXHunter)

Seishi Yodogawa/Zen Katagiri - XANDER MOBUS

Also Voiced: 

Joker (Persona 5)

Tanzo Kubo (NEO: The World Ends With You)

Yahaba (Demon Slayer)

Monodora - GREG AYRES

Also Voiced:

Monokuma (Danganronpa: The Animation)

Negi Springfield (Negima)

Youhei Sunohara (Clannad)

#danganronpa rebirth #voice actor headcanons #ayumu fujimori #akira tsuchiya #aruma todoroki #kasumi izumo #kazuomi samejima #kego sakuma #maiko kagura #marin mizuta #mikoto itsuki #misuzu aisaka #mitsunari koga #narumi osone #nico himuro #saiji rokudou #seishi yodogawa #zen katagiri #monodora

[ladystoneboobs]

so, i don’t really care about jaime/bran ever meeting again since there’s no real personal baggage like with bran/theon. but what gets me about their connection is all the dramatic irony and peripheral connections and unintended side-effects. 

bran is perhaps the most northern-oriented of ned/cat’s children, the last hero reborn and now an apprentice greenseer beyond-the-wall becoming one with the old gods. but what fans often ignore or forget is that he started off just as enamored with southron chivalry as sansa, dreaming of true knighthood with ambitions of even being one of the mythic kingsguard. dreams and ambitions which were brutally dashed when he was thrown out a tower window by jaime, a “false knight” and member of that kingsguard. jaime, who bran already thought shouldn’t count as a knight because robb said so, has his heroic side too, but he only reenforced his bad rep by pushing bran out that fucking window. however, this crime didn’t just change bran’s whole life by crippling him, his disability is also responsible for changing his character arc with that new northern orientation. not just because bloodraven made his first appearance in bran’s coma dreams (which he could well have done at the same point in time in other circumstances) but because bran’s ultimate deciding factor in following the reeds for more training is his frustration with his paralysis, thinking the prospect of “flying” could make up for his lost chance at knighthood. knighthood is still his first choice, though, and it’s only jaime’s failed murder attempt and all its unanticipated consequences (first one being bran waking up crippled with convenient partial amnesia, instead of dying as jaime wished), which keeps him from the southron stories of sansa and jaime and instead sets him on the path of his northern destiny to prepare for the long night.

oh, and then there’s the one member of robert’s kingsguard bran was hoping to meet and never did: barristan selmy. barristan the bold, only legendary member of the baratheopn kingsguard, who gets replaced as lord commander by jaime lannister (a man barristan already looked down on just like ned and robb and bran), jaime the kingslayer, oathbreaker and attempted-murderer of bran. barristan and bran aren’t just apart because bran never made it to court with ned but because barristan fled that court and the whole country shortly after robert’s death and ned’s arrest (and he could now well die before returning to westeros). barry went into exile because he too found himself victim of lannister whims, whims not totally divorced from the secret incest bran witnessed as cersei wanted to promote her brother-lover to barristan’s position. this choice changes barristan’s entire story by orienting him with dany in essos, which is also a case of lannisters unwittingly switching someone’s setting from the more mundane to magical, as dragons are more supernatural than anything in king’s landing. 

oh, and of course there’s tyrion, fellow original disabled pov and fellow victim of house lannister, though he is also a lannister himself. tyrion, who sat and listened as jaime said that bran would be better off dead, that all cripples and “grotesques” would be, that a clean death would be his own choice, and even that bran’s own parents should want him put out of his misery, all the while insensitively forgetting who he was speaking to until tyrion reminded him that he was also a “grotesque” and he liked living. all of this talk and a meaningful look between the twins makes tyrion suspicious about their interest in bran’s condition and curious about what bran might have to say, though he reaffirms his loyalty to jaime when questioned. tyrion is a stark sympathizer but a lannister loyalist. later tyrion is the first to offer bran some compensation and accomadation for his disability by giving him plans for a saddle inspired by tyrion’s own special saddles. tyrion is not trying to pay some blood debt because jaime crippled bran (which he could only thinly suspect and would forgive jaime almost anything anyway), but because he befriended jon snow, one of bran’s big brothers, and because he has a soft spot for all “cripples, bastards, and broken things”. tyrion acts from the goodness of his heart to aid jon’s crippled brother, who just so happens to only be crippled because jaime, tyrion’s own big brother, tried to murder him. but it goes deeper than that because guess who gave tyrion his first pony and taught him to ride in the first place? also jaime. tyrion is providing a similar gift of horseback-riding-ability as his brother once gave to him, the same brother who years later just so happened to have crippled the same boy tyrion helped. jaime, who looked after tyrion and was his main source of affection in their abusive family, who did not wish tyrion dead for his grotesquesness as tywin and cersei did, is the same guy who tried to murder a little boy, leaving that boy who had beloved big brothers of his own a cripple, and then said all crippled boys and grotesques would be better off dead. 

oh, and finally, jaime ends up disabled himself, his own knighthood career damaged with the loss of his swordhand, his own story suddenly changed forever when he loses the hand he used to fling bran stark off that tower. after struggling with thoughts of death, jaime decides that maybe life as a cripple is worth living after all, even for a great knight like him. “life is full of these little ironies” as tyrion once told bran’s big brother jon snow. a quote where tyrion just so happened to be speaking of his big brother jaime in a different context.

#asoiaf meta #valyrianscrolls #bran stark #Jaime Lannister #Tyrion Lannister #in my head this was just a shorter version of the 3rd paragraph but yeah #once i get going like this i am incapable of brevity #(c)lsb

[garlic-sauc3]

What's King's quest about

ok so the King's Quest 2015 reboot. you play as Graham Cracker, hes got a red cape with a shit ton of pockets (it acts as the inventory, he can put literally anything in there, even people and baby dragons) and his adventurer's cap. you start by getting a magic mirror from the dragon's cave hidden under the old well. thus give you a sort of set up to the game mechanics, but also sets up the concept of the three different paths you can take throughout the game (compassion, strength, or wisdom) by how you choose to escape the dragon in the end (compassion by setting it free, strength by shooting it in the other eye (it already has an arrow through one), or wisdom by distracting it with the dinner bell) and you escape with the mirror.

after this, it gets revealed that the gameplay is actually stories that the old king (graham) is recounting to his granddaughter, gwendolyn, which is where some of the cutscene inbetween playing it comes from, as well as some of the dialogue to stop you from doing some actions, and also to prevent you from dying ("I don't remember that happening," "it cant end like this," the grandpa snoring, etc) and also as an intro into the gameplay

the next story you play is set before the prologue, when graham was just a knight hopeful going into daventry to compete in the tournament to become part of the royal guard. there are a few events leading up to getting into the competition (graham didnt see the date change so he misses the parade, he falls of his steed, triumph, and tumbles down a cliff, meets a merchant, steals a psuedo-wheel, etc) but once you finally get into the tournament you have to pass the chivalry test and meet all the knights, where theres Whisper (think daring charming type, hes also very fast), Acorn (has a squirrel friend, princess madeline of avalon), Manny (small, voiced by the guy who played vizzini, forms a secret alliance with graham), and Achaka(archer, purple, only says achaka and puts his fist to his palm and closes his fingers around it, very cool) once you pass the test and answer all the questions correctly, you move onto round 1: getting the eye of a hideous beast. you learn several different ways you can do this, and also meet all the different villagers: amaya, the blacksmith (represents the path of strength), the hobblepots, an old sort of witchy couple (represents the path of wisdom), and wente, the baker (represents the path of compassion). eventually, after talking to people, looking at things and finding items, you find your way to the old well and see achaka going down there, and you follow. you determine to get the eye of the dragon and follow achaka through several different obstacles. eventually, though, achaka teaches you to use a bow (previously, you couldnt shoot for shit), achaka get kills by the dragon and you can escape with or without the beast's eye.

the death of achaka really effects graham (and impacts him throughout the rest of the game) and he almost quits the tournament, but manny convinces him to stay. after you find an eye and finish the first round, you go on to round 2, the battle of strength, the battle of speed, and the battle of wits

you compete against acorn in the battle of strength and win by outsmarting him. you compete against whisper in the battle of speed and win by distracting him and also at one point you fly off your horse and use kyle and larry instead (they were running around earlier and also you met them previously but I dont remember when) and it's just a stack of three guys. somehow you win.

the last battle is the battle of wits against manny. it starts with him bringing in 3 cups of raisin juice that he puts some hypnotic powder into and it gets mixed around and you have to choose one, which you inevitably choose the hypnotic one, the game gets pulled out and you have to do what manny says. you lose the first time, but the knights dont trust manny and ruin the board and you have to play again. you're allowed time to prepare and can put a color changing potion you got from the hobblepots earlier into one of them. this allows you to know which one is without the hypnotic powder. now, you can win either fairly or by cheating. but once you win, manny challenges you to a battle of strength and tries to kill you. you're offered weapons to fight him with by the villagers, again representing the different paths you can take, and eventually win. this finishes chapter 1

(I've left out some of the other tidbits because I kinda forgot them since I havent played chapter 1 in a bit but at one point you help the guild of bridge trolls that are on strike, among other things)

chapter 2, the story is set when graham is king and focuses on how stressed he is about being king and having to be in charge of the kingdom and a bunch of decisions, while he is still tormented by the loss of achaka. kyle and larry are there briefly in the beginning. but also you and the rest of the village gets kidnapped by goblins and you have to get them out and try not to have any of them die. in the end graham comes to terms with not being able to fill the legacy if the old king, and instead build a new one. it's a pretty stressful level.

chapter 3 is about getting a wife, I dont remember a majority of the details because it's been forever since I've played it. chapter 4 is the same deal but also it's a whole thing about your family.

but mostly kings quest is really fun and has a bunch of puns and jokes and fun characters and really fun puzzles and it's just a fun game with knights and kings and stuff. also kyle and larry are a highlight. and so is amaya.

#i dont know if this makes sense #and i switched between 3rd and 2rd person a lot #oh well #its a really fun game

[clacing]

Sayaka being just a little mean is so precious because I feel like a lot of the other girls easily fall into their character tropes (Sporty, tragicly in love, impossibly good, mom) and Sayaka is a hero who is also just kind of a jerk some times. It's like genuine.

(God I hope whoever sent me this watched Rebellion already ‘cause if not..... thread carefully 😩)

I feel like they're all subversions of certain character tropes actually! Mami tries to be the wiser older mentor, but she’s also lonely and terrified and in such desperate need for friends that she tries to push Madoka and Sayaka into being magical girls even though she knows what kind of life she'd be condemning them to. Kyoko tries to be a selfish jerk, but she can’t forget that she used to believe in love and fairytales and chivalry and eventually finds something worth believing in and dying for again in Sayaka. Homura puts on acts all the time and her being the devil and evil incarnate and yadda yadda is only the latest one because she just doesn’t have it in her. Madoka is a bit trickier but I think her being “impossibly good” is not presented as an entirely positive thing and it’s also largely just the effect that Homura’s love for her has on the narrative.

And then we have Sayaka who wants to be a hero so badly that she holds herself to impossibly high standards of goodness and righteousness, then despairs when she fails to meet them. She makes what she thinks is a selfless wish and chooses to destroy herself rather than gain anything from it. She snaps at Madoka once and it starts a downward spiral. She has no mercy for witches because they kill human beings then totally kills two guys on a train for disrespecting women. I love her so much. If Madoka is a God figure then Sayaka is a Virgin Mary figure and trying to fit into that box literally killed her because human beings are flawed and not just “all good” or “all bad”.

This is why seeing Sayaka embrace her witch form and therefore her despair and sadness and anger in Rebellion is so important! She’s finally made peace with the less-than-pleasant parts of herself and found a way to weaponize them so that she can be a better hero, instead of hating herself for them! Now I just need Madoka to be knocked off the pedestal Homura holds her onto I know the process already started with the flower bed scene but I need something more. I need her to fuck up badly enough that Homura can’t help but see that she isn’t perfect but she’s still a good person in spite of that so she can stop idealizing Madoka and thinking of herself as the devil. Thank you for coming to my TED talk

#sorry this is so long anon but you gave me the input to talk about like four different things i'd been thinking about for a while dfjdklj #Anonymous #madoka magica

[fromtheboundlesssea]

NGNM: what does Aemond think of chivalry? Does he seek to be a True Knight™️ like the ones from songs? Who is Aemond’s knightly role model? Or has his worldview on such things been broken already and he doesn’t believe in that anymore?

He looks up to Criston when it comes to chivalry. He doesn’t think it’s dead, but it sure is dying slowly.

#keep the asks coming #neither gods nor men

[bloodrosebriars]

recusant | dynasty ii | creighton, mohg | 1531

“Of all the knights to betray me, thou wert the very last I’d expected.”

The words are spitted, cursed, laced with venom and all the ire of the ich within the Blood Lord’s veins. Worse than a slap to the face, and more deadly than a knife to the heart. It’s said with such venom, such rancor, such loathing and raw hate, it makes Creighton damn near choke on the feelings that were already stuck in the back of his throat.

It’s shame, really, that keeps its hands ‘round his throat like a serrated vise, and that keeps his knees shaking like a squire in a great dragon’s eye. His palms are sweating, his eyes just as wet, his teeth clenched tight enough to make the pain in his jaw reach the very cockles of his heart.

A nexus of a thousand different pains.

“I swear s’for your own good, my Lord,” Creighton says, and he hasn’t heard his own voice shake so hard since his Maiden’s throat had leaked her life onto his shirt. He coughs lightly, like he’s never spoken before, and the foreign presence of his own voice in his throat is making his lungs heave dust.

The trident in Mohg’s claws glitters golden sparks, reflecting both the flames of blood and the betrayal in the Omen’s eye. Mohg snarls, inhuman, his heart truly pained, but his mind more preoccupied with annoyance. Another defected knight… another life he’s loved that he now must end… the sickening, sickening man.

And he thought this one was easy.

“Thou knowest nothing of knighthood,” the Omen snarls, cutting deep to Creighton’s core with his words rather than weapon. The knight shuts his eyes, as if it would shield him from the words. He coughs again. Mohg doesn’t stop. “Thou’rt a liar and a knave, a deceptive recusant, a shame to the code of chivalry…!”

“I said I’m doin’ this for you!”

The lightning that crackles from Creighton’s blade strikes at the Omen’s feet with absolutely no warning, surprising even Mohg in its genuine brutality. He hisses at the burn, a roar escaping his throat, his trident immediately swinging forth to point its bloody teeth at Creighton’s armoured throat. “Thou’rt truly serious! Hah! And thou thinkest to challenge me?! That thy pitiful strength could rival even a fraction of mine own?!”

“You’re not puttin’ me down!”

Lightning strikes as bloodflame flies, silver and gold colliding, warm human and cursed Omen blood both staining the grounds as the two combatants circle and weave around one another — an ouroboros of love and hate. The two are evenly matched. Mohg should have expected such.

And all the while, breathless and gagging, the knight continues to scream. “I do love you, my Lord! I have never loved a liege more sincerely! But you’ve gone bloody mad with this vision! Miquella doesn’t love you—”

“Shut up!”

“—but I do!”

“Get out!”

“And so does your brother!”

Onyx and ivory and steel and silk, horn and bone and flesh and blood, all litters the ground as their words breathe fire into the air, smoke and spit, tears and drool.

“You have to let him go, my Lord!”

“Thou hast never known the hand of service!”

“You have to stop this madness!”

“Thou shalt never be a true, honest knight!”

“If it’s love you want, we’ll give it to you!”

“Cease thy deceptive prattling!”

“Real, true, honest love!”

“Cease!!”

Their weapons clash and clash and clash.

And you know what they say about the bigger they are.

—

The cleanrot knights are coming.

It’s been days, and he is hungry. But Creighton has refused to leave his dying Lord’s side. Tending his wounds, minding his chains, keeping him just alive enough to think about what he’s done.

The cleanrot knights are coming.

And he has one duty left to fulfil.

Mohg has been muttering incessantly. The shackles that bind him rattling, the horns that were shattered leaking ich, the torn fabric of his regalia shifting in the underground breezes. Creighton sits away from him in this moment, however — far, far away. Away from the cursing, the howling, the pain and the sorrow and the fear. Away from knowing that he’d caused this. Away from the insults and hellfire. Away from his own heart’s hurting.

The cleanrot knights are coming.

Mohg says he hates him. Calls him a failure. Calls him a pathetic excuse of a knight, a worthless cur, a pitiful man he should have never wasted time on. He calls him everything he possibly can to break and beat him as much as he has taken in return.

It’s working, but Creighton doesn’t say that.

He just continues to tend his wounds.

The cleanrot knights are coming.

And Mohg will never know just how truly loyal he is.

—

Golden armour clink-clinks off the stone floor of the mausoleum, and Creighton stands at his Lord’s side with axe held strong in his hands. “Don’t you dare forget our agreement,” he says, voice hoarse from crying and wheezing for so long. “Don’t lay a fuckin’ finger on him, or you’ll all fuckin’ regret it.”

The cleanrot knights laugh, shoulders rising and falling, crimson plumes dancing, rot-laced breath reeking as they approach. They look down upon Mohg as they pass.

Mohg has never felt more humiliated. “Don’t—”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Creighton gives the Omen a hard kick to the teeth before he can get even another word out, beyond done with his incessant bullshit. He’s endured far too much hatred these past few days to feel any sort of remorse in the action — to feel bad for the pain he’s causing, both physical and emotional, to his body and his ego. He’s sick and tired and wants to kill the false Lord himself. He wants to fucking snap.

But he is loyal. Despite what Mohg thinks, he is.

The cleanrot knights pass, and Creighton circles his Lord in unison with their motions, keeping distance — putting himself in the way. Like a shepherding dog, or a proud mother bird, he makes sure nothing touches that which he considers most dear.

The only one allowed to hurt Mohg is him.

“M-miquella… don’t… take—”

“I said shut it.”

Another hard kick. The knights laugh again. And the only thing keeping Mohg from screaming is the knowing it would only humiliate him more.

—

He’s gone.

Miquella is gone.

And so Creighton undoes the chains.

—

The blood has dried so solidly onto the Omen’s black skin, Creighton damn near scratches him raw as he cleans the mess off.

“M’sorry.”

“I hate thee.”

He knows. He sniffles, eyes half-blind by tears, but no more wet than Mohg’s own in this moment.

Because they both have lost what they cared about most. Mohg, his sweet, dear consort; and Crieghton, his loving, accepting Lord. The other halves to their hearts, gone forever. Everything they’ve worked for. Everything they’ve built. Everything they’ve lived for, killed for, and died for.

“I still love you.”

“I hate thee.”

Hands wash meticulously, and bandage carefully, and heal with the freshest of crimson tears and warming stone powder. He doesn’t give a shit about his own health — his own starvation, stagnation, injuries and illnesses. He only cares about keeping Mohg safe. All he’s ever cared about is keeping Mohg safe.

Including from himself.

A sniffle. “Y’always said y’wanted an era of love, didn’tcha? Y’always said tha’s wha’ it would be about.”

“I hate thee.”

“And I seen it in your heart, I have. I know tha’s who y’really are. An’ tha’s why I had t’do this.”

“I hate thee.”

“I love you. Your brother loves you. Varré loves you. Really, really love you. Your followers, so many of them really, truly love you.”

“I hate thee.”

“But Miquella—”

“Speak not his name.”

“—never could. Not after whatcha did t’him. Not after everythin’.”

Silence.

“We can still have our era of love. We can still build a world where nobody is hated. But… we’ll do it in our own way. Without the Mother. Without the Empyreans. Without… without hurtin’ anybody. An’ I’ll stay by your side. I’ll stay b—”

The flame that explodes from Mohg’s claws strikes at the knight’s chest with absolutely no warning, surprising even Creighton in its genuine brutality. But he saw it coming. He knew Mohg would not let this go lightly. He knew he would die in this mausoleum on this day.

The Omen rises, and with him, skewered through the abdomen by fiery, vengeful claws, Creighton rises, too — into the air, limbs limp, blood dripping from his lips.

Mohg says, “I hate thee,” and Creighton says, “I’ll come back.”

Mohg says, “Thou’rt no knight of mine,” and Creighton says, “I will always be yours.”

Mohg says, “Never, ever show thy face again,” and Creighton says, “I still love you.”

The flames consume him, screaming and burning, charred ash fading into the mausoleum’s darkness as grace takes its Tarnished back to the Hold.

And it is here, and it is now, in this moment of silence and loneliness, that Mohg drops to his knees and cries.

—

The knight returns with a bloodrose in his hand, and Mohg has nothing to say.

#drabble #putting this in the unofficial drabble tag #i changed the ending of creighton and mohg’s story woopie