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meepispeepis · 4 months

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The Storm Before the Calm

~Ok, I'm finally getting on that MK1 cringe! Got ALOT of inspiration from these lovely creators and their combined arts of "oops, Kung Lao's dead again" works. And the brainworm is demanding that I finally put this into writing so, here we are! Once again, huge shoutout to these lovely artists who gave me the inspiration and please do check them out!~

@helsensm // @novicedraws // @randyzorra // @d3rpydoods

~Before we continue just wanted to put some mild context to ensure this makes sense. This isn't part of some long-winded series, so you might as well think you've flipped open a book and started reading in the middle of the story. Fire God Liu Kang starts getting deja vu as certain coincidences and events start playing out that are too eerily similar to how things played out during the MK9 game (Raiden getting a message from his future self and trying to interpret in time what that message meant to save the future - long story short: nearly everyone died and no one came out alright :D). All roads were seemingly leading to Kung Lao dying in his timeline and Liu Kang struggled on how to cope and deal with this. On one hand, he did not want his friend-…His new teacher…To die, especially since he tried so hard to tailor make this timeline to ensure everyone got a happy ending.

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

Still confused? Too late, now on to the story! Next Characters: Raiden, Kenshi, Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung, Mentions Kung Lao, Raiden's Sister (named her Fuji :D)

Word Count - 6,094 Ships: Raiden/Kung Lao - Hints of Kenshi/Johnny Cage

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence (but with less blood), Character Death

It was over.

It was done.

They stopped Shang Tsung and his nefarious plot; it was over. This was the part where everyone patted each other on the back, did a whole hoopla about "the power of friendship saved the day," locked up the villain, and went home. But maybe that time was lost a long time ago. Ever since…

Ever since Kung Lao died.

Aside from Johnny, Kung Lao always knew how to lift everyone's spirits, that didn't involve excessive Hollywood references that most of them didn't get. His self-confidence and pride always seemed to ooze onto everyone else. If Lao says he can do it, then so can we! It hurt everyone when he was unceremoniously slain by General Shao and Shang Tsung, a clean cut to his neck with his own weapon. And you know, it wasn't until that day that Liu Kang was gravely reminded that these men never had to experience death in such a manner. Each of them knew how to fight, added to the additional training they got with the monks at the Wu Shi Academy. But Liu Kang never taught them how to kill, to maim, to perform the one act no ordinary person should ever have to do.

When Kung Lao died, it shocked everyone. The only one seemingly keeping themselves together was Kenshi. Coming from his Yakuza background, he has done plenty of dirty that he wasn't proud of. But Johnny? Liu Kang still remembers the reviving actor's disbelief, trying his damndest to do all he could for Kung Lao, even pleading with Liu Kang on what to do. But perhaps the one person who was hurt the most that day was Raiden. They were friends, childhood friends…lovers, even…Liu Kang can never scrub away the scene of Raiden being the first to notice his friend wasn't getting up (he was the closest to the body) and slowly descending to hold his boyfriend tightly. Raiden blocked out the world at that moment; the rest of the crew had to step in and finish the fight while Raiden grieved over his friend.

And things were never the same after that.

It was over.

It was done.

Kenshi and Johnny already shackled the unconscious Shang Tsung and started tending to their wounds. There was silence between them as they repaired themselves, barely making glances to the other. It wasn't until Kenshi spoke up, pointing out that Johnny was wrapping the bandage wrong and took the reigns in patching the star up. Johnny didn't put up a fuss. In a small way, he's kinda glad Kenshi said something. To break the silence and bring back that camaraderie they once had before. Feeling Kenshi touch him again, a wave of memories started flooding back to Johnny. The days when the 4 of them (Johnny, Kenshi, Kung Lao, Raiden) were always in each other's spaces. Arms thrown over each other's shoulders, whenever they were in a goofy mood; they were always leaning against the one nearest to them. That intimacy, he misses it.

"There," Kenshi softly says, completing the last patch on Johnny to ensure it wouldn't get infected.

Johnny couldn't help but return a sad smile and nod, "Thanks, Kenshi."

Then the silence began again as they both sat in silence, waiting for Raiden and Liu Kang to return once they were done with what Johnny called "the super laser beam like in that one Marvel™ movie." When they heard the sound of roiling thunder, that was their cue that the other pair had returned. Kenshi was the first to look up to see Raiden floating high above them, with black clouds shadowing him. It was a near-terrifying sight. His glowing eyes and hair, the crackles of lightning sparking off him, and the foreign look of godly contempt that was plastered on his face. Doesn't help too, that they each learned some time ago who Raiden was before Liu Kang altered the timeline. With this display of power, Raiden might as well be a god.

"Hey, Raiden, no need to worry! We had this one in the bag." Johnny gestures over to Shang Tsung, still enjoying his dirt nap. "He'll be going away for good once we figure out what our version of Arkham Asylum should be for the bastard."

Kenshi scoffs and shakes his head slightly, but it wasn't one out of annoyance. He knows what Johnny is trying to do, lightening the mood.

Raiden, however, does not reciprocate; remaining still as a statue in the air. Kenshi stares back at Raiden, anxious about what the thunder go-his friend, was thinking.

"…Hey, Raid-bro, we were told there was a chance of blue sunny skies when coming out here. Care to move the dark clouds out the way?" Johnny tries again with being jovial, but Kenshi can hear the hint of anxious tension in his tone.

After another long silence, Raiden finally descends, but where he was going was toward Shang Tsung. Johnny and Kenshi rise from their seated area as they closely watch Raiden slowly meeting the ground. By the time Raiden reached the surface, almost as if on cue, Shang Tsung started to stir awake, perhaps thanks to the constant thunder cracking in the area. Shang Tsung was already a beaten mess, with dried blood and dirt caked on his freckled face. His brown eyes meet with Raiden's glowing white eyes, and he has the gall to smirk at him. The prisoner readjusts himself, sitting straight up as he leaned against a tree.

"Love what you did with your hair, Raiden." Of fucking course, Shang had to go there.

Kenshi and Johnny both do their best to not flinch and cringe upon hearing that, knowing full well that it struck a nerve with Raiden, even if the farm boy wasn't showing it.

And as if Shang was further egg-ing Raiden on, he starts looking around, as if he's expecting someone to be here, but they happened to be missing. "Now, where is that pompous, hat-throwing circus act you often dragged along with you? Called in sick?"

"That's enough, Shang Tsung. Don't let us muffle you too." Johnny was the first to speak on everyone's behalf, his rising anger apparent as he growled.

Shang ignored Johnny, his eyes still trained on Raiden, meeting him eye-to-eye. "Oh~, don't beat yourself up for his departure, Raiden. You can rest easy that he died a prideful fool who didn't know when too much was enough."

"Hey, shut the fuck up!"

There was a one-sided back & forth, Shang Tsung constantly taunting the quiet Raiden while Johnny was trying to get Shang Tsung to stop talking. Eventually, Johnny starts grabbing the sorcerer by his ruffed-up shirt and tries intimidating him into keeping his mouth shut.

There are benefits to being half-blind and wearing a blindfold. Kenshi has been looking head, seemingly staring into nothing and nowhere, but the sight that Sento gave him allowed him to keep his peripherals on Raiden. Watching him closely to ensure that he doesn't do anything stupid. And Kenshi would be right to watch Raiden because the younger man started to approach the arguing pair.

Kenshi steps in front of Raiden, "Whatever you're thinking, don't."

"Get out of my way, Kenshi," Raiden's voice was like a coming storm, eager to wreak havoc on anyone and anything that stood in its way.

Kenshi had to choose his words wisely, one wrong move or phrase and he will erupt. They've seen it happen more than once. "Please, at least let us wait for Liu Kang before-"

"Ha! Still letting that proclaimed Fire God lead you around on a leash, Raiden?"

Kenshi now physically cringes before making a sharp turn toward Johnny, "Shut him up!" Kenshi can see sparks crackling of Raiden and he further obscures his view of Shang Tsung. "Raiden, he's trying to get into your head. Don't let him!"

"He knew, you know? Liu Kang? For someone who altered the timeline to fit his "perfect vision," a lot of strange coincidences have been happening as of late. I mean, I became a sorcerer when I was supposed to be a beggar. And you were a simple farm boy. But look at you now, a master of the storms and the skies," Shang Tsung side-eyes Raiden deviously, "He must've known that Kung Lao was going to die."

"Get out of my way!" the air starts to pick up, his hair and clothes ruffling in the wind, and more lightning static bounces off Raiden.

"Ok, time for your muzzle, dog," Johnny approaches with a mask-like device meant to silence individuals who wear it. As he tries to place the mask on Shang Tsung, the sorcerer hits him square in the dick (a technique he has learned to adopt later down the line thanks to the foolish actor), causing Johnny to have the wind knocked out of him as he backs away a couple steps. "N-not cool, man! Not cool!"

But this landed Shang Tsung a couple more minutes. "He could've prevented it, Raiden. Kung Lao may have died at the General's hands, but you know who truly caused his demise? Liu Kang could've stopped it all from happening. He went through all the effort to neuter you and me. Because of his biases over a timeline that no longer exists! He claims that he "doesn't interfere with affairs" because he wants us to become masters of our own fates, but we were never in control of it to begin with. Liu Kang decided for himself what we should be; all I did was defy his logic and plan."

"JOHNNY!" Kenshi shouts as he tries to hold Raiden back, the young man now struggling to get past the blind swordsman.

"I'm working on it!" Johnny replies as he hurries back to Shang Tsung with the mask.

"I SAID GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!" Raiden screams.

He can feel it. He can feel the amulet infused into his body responding to his anger, his grief, and his drive for vengeance. The condensed storms locked away in that amulet desire to give Raiden that release. Kenshi grunts as he starts feeling shocks ripple through him while holding tight onto Raiden.

"RAIDEN DON'T LISTEN TO HIM; YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS!"

"Liu Kang could've saved your friend, Raiden. You know this as much as I do. He has the power to do so; he simply didn't use it. All under the idea of restraint. That's what makes you and I so powerful. We're not afraid to take the power we're given and use it to its nigh limits. The one who you should be angry at is the man who calls himself a friend to you."

Finally, Johnny wraps the mask around Shang Tsung, silencing him until it's eventually removed. But the damage was done. It wasn't until now that Johnny noticed that Liu Kang still hadn't arrived.

"Where's Liu? Kenshi, where's Liu!" Johnny says as he anxiously watches the struggle between Raiden and Kenshi.

Kenshi doesn't get a moment to entertain an answer as Raiden yells at the top of his lungs, a bust of electrifying energy emitting from him, from the amulet, knocking both Earthrealm warriors back a considerable distance. The pair lang roughly on the soil in an audible groan as they jerk and hiss at the shocking ripples still assaulting their bodies. Kenshi was the first to slightly recover, but it must've been some time before he regained his senses because when Kenshi frantically looked for where Raiden had gone, he saw the thunder wielder punching Shang Tsung to a bloody pulp.

"Raiden, ugh! Raiden, stop!" It hurts for Kenshi to get up, but he ushers all the strength he still has and rushes over to Raiden.

Kenshi rips Raiden off of Shang Tsung and doesn't bother to look the sorcerer over (that's what he gets for running his mouth), keeping his attention wholly on his friend (and his hand on the hilt of Sento).

"Raiden, we've been over this. Please, don-"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!!"

Kenshi isn't given a moment to calm the man down as bolts of lightning come arcing towards the swordsman. Kenshi dodges out of the way, unsheathing Sento in the process; the line of shocking energy completely decimates a nearby tree. The time for words was over; now it's time to, in Johnny's words, bring out the "Hulk Buster."

Raiden raises his hand to the grey skies above, capturing lightning in his hand before hurling various sparks at Kenshi. The swordsman goes on the defensive, dodging and ducking behind cover, trying to avoid actively harming Raiden. But the more he placed distance between him and Raiden, the more Kenshi was bobbing and weaving past his thunderous attacks. Kenshi would be mildly saved as Johnny surprises Raiden by grabbing him from behind and trying to restrain him.

"Raiden, pull it together, man! We don't want to hurt you!" Johnny struggles to say, the shocks of lightning constantly snapping at him.

Kenshi rushes out of hiding and builds up momentum, hoping to get one good, non-lethal, strike in to knock Raiden out.

"Where the hell are you, Liu Kang..." Kenshi muttered to himself, slightly out of breath as he was exerting all his power into running and reaching Raiden as soon as possible. "Johnny! Hold him down, just a bit longer!"

"I'm-ACK, FUCK!" Johnny shouts as he feels another shock of electricity course through him, "I'M FUCKING TRYING!"

Raiden was howling like an animal, trying to shock Johnny off him. Lightning bolts were falling out of the sky as it struck the grounds around them, destroying everything it touched. It was almost like the lightning strikes were even chasing Kenshi as every bolt of lightning was always some inches away from hitting the swordsman.

He was close, almost there, just a bit more.

Raiden finally throws Johnny off him, elbowing him sharply in his face. Conjuring every bit of power of the storm, Raiden fried Johnny. The pained screams from the actor nearly shake Kenshi to his core.

"JOHNNY!!" Kenshi screams.

Raiden notices the swordsman approaching and disrupts his abuse of his friend to focus on Kenshi, redirecting the powerful blast and hurling it at the blind swordsman. Guided by Sento, Kenshi locks himself in a blocked battle with Raiden's powerful lightning attack, locked in a Harry Potter wand duel as Sento protects Kenshi from the attack. The mystical powers of Sento was able to withstand the ever-present assault, but Raiden was unhinged, not withholding the full potential of the thunder amulet. Then the impossible happens.

Sento cracks.

Kenshi quickly rolls out of the way and tries to get to safety before Raiden completely breaks Sento. But Raiden saw this coming, using his other hand to conjure a whip-like lightning bolt at Kenshi, lassoing him and dragging him to the ground, before giving the swordsman a devastating shock.

"Raiden!"

For once, the farm boy actually stops his assault. Leaving Kenshi and Johnny unconscious after constantly being shocked to near death. Raiden looked behind him, and there he was.

Liu Kang.

The Fire God stares at the scene in utter shock, eyes darting between the sizzling Johnny and equally as cooked Kenshi. Raiden, eyes & hair slowly dimming in brightness, keeps his eyes trained on Liu Kang.

'He could've prevented it, Raiden - Liu Kang could've stopped it all from happening - Liu Kang could've saved your friend, Raiden. You know this as much as I do.'

Shang Tsung's words echo in Raiden's head.

"...Did you know he was going to die?" Raiden, for the first time, speaks coherently. Possessing the soft voice that he's known for.

"What? Raiden, what hap-"

"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!" In that same instance, Raiden's voice booms like thunder (even the skies above respond, crackling thunder in the distance with his anger), his white hair and eyes glowing brightly. "YOU KNEW KUNG LAO WAS GOING TO DIE, DIDN'T YOU!!" Raiden points his electrifying finger at Liu Kang accusingly.

Liu Kang's mouth opens and shuts before he finally answers Raiden. "...Certain circumstances and events that transpired hinted that Kung Lao could die. But not once did I know for certain that Kung Lao would meet his untimely death."

There's a long, silent pause between the two; only the roaring wind breaks the stillness. Liu Kang dares to break his eyes away from Raiden, looking for the one Kenshi and Johnny were supposed to contain, Shang Tsung. It looked like in the scuffle, he used that opportunity to get away, his hairpin lying on the ground dirtied with blood and dirt. Whatever Shang Tsung said to Raiden, it riled the former thunder god. Liu Kang kicks himself for being unconscious for so long. The device he and Raiden went to disable knocked the wind out of him and rendered Liu Kang out of commission for a moment. When he awakened on the vacant platform the device was on, Raiden was gone.

Liu Kang looks back at Raiden, the man's head now facing the ground, fists balled. The next thing that comes out of Raiden's mouth breaks the Fire Gods' heart.

"Why did you let him die," his voice cracks, and Liu can hear the tears Raiden shed.

"Raiden...I..."

"Even if you didn't know fully that Kung Lao would die, why didn't you tell us! Why didn't you save him? Or let us help you save him!" Raiden sobs, his knees feeling weak.

"...I did all I could, Raiden. I tried to protect him...But I couldn't shelter him. I had to trust that Kung Lao would make the choices necessary to follow his own path. I wasn't going to take that choice from him."

"How would he know what path to take if YOU NEVER TELL HIM WHERE IT WILL LEAD HIM!!!" Another sound of roiling thunder, lighting sparking off Raiden as he snaps his head toward Liu Kang. "You could've told him, us, what could've happened! You could've stopped this!"

"I did not want to burden you with the knowledge I knew and felt!" Liu Kang raises his voice, not to match his anger, but because the winds were picking up and the thunder was practically deafening him. "I didn't want you or him to spend every waking moment; questioning each move you took, each decision you made! I wanted both of you to become masters of your own fate!"

'He claims that he "doesn't interfere with affairs" because he wants us to become masters of our own fates, but we were never in control of it to begin with. Liu Kang decided for himself what we should be.'

"No...NO!!" Raiden shouts as he slings a lightning bolt at Liu Kang. A shot the Fire God effortlessly dodges.

"Raiden, please!"

"YOU CREATED THIS TIMELINE. THIS NEW UNIVERSE! YOU COULD'VE PREVENTED THIS! YOU HAVE THE POWER TO, I KNOW YOU DO!"

Another reckless throw of a lightning bolt, scorching a nearby tree as Liu Kang steps out of the line of fire. "Raiden, please, you have to understa-"

"I LOVED HIM, LIU KANG! WITH ALL MY HEART, I LOVED HIM!!! AND YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME! YOU DID THIS TO ME!!"

Raiden rips open his shirt, revealing the amulet fused with his person, a permanent reminder of the trauma everyone endured...That he endured...

"BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK TO ME!" Raiden's feet crackle with electrifying power as he lunges towards him, performing a move Liu Kang knows far too well as Raiden flies at him like a speeding torpedo, locking Liu Kang as they both collide into various trees.

Liu Kang grunts as their movement is halted by a large rock, but he's not given a moment of reprieve as Raiden starts socking him in the face multiple times. Screaming phrases that Liu Kang could not focus enough to bear their meaning. He's then thrown about in a large circle, and when Raiden releases his grip, Liu Kang goes flying again.

Liu Kang crash lands into a nearby lake. It takes him some time to gather his strength to swim out of the waters. He coughs and spits out blood, Raiden isn't holding back, the powers of the amulet having provided him with strength and vigor. But he was still mortal. Liu Kang can take a beating, but one wrong move and a bit of force; and Liu could kill Raiden. Liu Kang assesses his surroundings, mainly looking for where Raiden has gone or where Raiden could potentially come from.

Fortunately, Raiden's rageful cries gave him away as he came crashing down like a speeding bullet from the sky toward Liu Kang. Hoping to catch him in a flying kick maneuver. Liu Kang was able to block the attack, the force of the kick skidding them both further from the lake that Kang emerged from. There is a back-and-forth between the skilled fighters as each attack is swiftly blocked by the other. Well, more like Liu Kang was the one being swift. Raiden was filled with hatred and rage, his attacks were more akin to a wild animal attacking and defending itself.

Liu Kang had to hold back. Unlike Kenshi, who somewhat matched his power level, one wrong flaming fist and Raiden could be K.O-ed to his grave.

"Raiden, I am not your enemy. Everything I did for Kung Lao, I've always had you in mind! Whatever Shang Tsung told you-"

"Oh yeah, go ahead!" Raiden opened his palms and bent his fingers, colliding his hands on each opposite side of Liu Kang's head, sending shocks of electricity to his head and disorienting the Fire God as his ears started to ring. "Blame it all on Shang Tsung! Blame every single problem and inconvenience on the fucking sorcerer! Because gods forbid you take any responsibility for yourself and own up to the fuck up THAT YOU MADE!"

Raiden grabs Liu Kang in a crushing hug and sends both of them flying in the sky, high enough for Raiden to send a highly concentrated bolt of lighting onto Liu Kang; Raiden being able to withstand such powerful energies. Liu Kang screams in anguish as he's tased ten times over, and then thrown back to the earth below. Liu Kang leaves a crater where he landed and for a moment, doesn't move from his spot.

It took every fiber of his being and willpower to slowly get himself back on his feet. Liu Kang didn't even have to look to know that Raiden was behind him. Between gasps, coughs, and hacking up blood, Liu Kang tries to plead with Raiden.

"...Raiden...I don't want to hurt you...I know you're...Grieving. He meant everything to you as you did to him...But Kung Lao wouldn't want us to fight. Not like this..."

There was a long pause, yet again.

"Don't you dare tell me what Kung Lao would've wanted. You don't get to speak for him or anyone, like you always do!"

"Raiden-"

"You think you know what Kung Lao would've wanted when you knew nothing about him. Not like I did. Do you want to know what Kung Lao would've wanted? You want to hear it from someone WHO ACTUALLY FUCKING KNOWS HIM!?! Let me tell you!"

Raiden forcefully turns Liu Kang to face him before clocking him in the face.

"Kung Lao would've wanted to know how he was going to die so that he could prevent it!"

Another crack.

"He would've thanked you for trusting him with this knowledge so that he could come back home with me in peace!"

Another crack, blood staining his knuckles.

"HE WOULD'VE WANTED TO LIVE WITH ME. SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE WITH ME! HIS FUCKING BOYFRIEND!"

Another crack after Liu Kang weakly tries to block his other fist attack.

"HE WOULD'VE WANTED TO DIE PEACEFULLY. WITH ME BY HIS SIDE! NOT IN A FUCKING REALM THAT HE DOESN'T BELONG TO, FACING DOWN A HORNED-FACED FUCKER AND THAT DAMNABLE SORCERER! TO ONLY DIE BECAUSE THEY USED HIS WEAPON AGAINST HIM! LEAVING HIM TO BLEED ON THE DIRT!"

Another crack, an uppercut that sends Liu Kang stumbling back some feet.

Liu Kang spits out another glob of blood mixed with saliva. "We all can't choose how we die, Raiden."

"Yet, you chose for him to die there."

Something within Liu Kang snaps, anger was boiling. "Kung Lao chose to not listen to me when I asked him to not interfere, Raiden!" Liu Kang tries to hold back the poison he truly wanted to emit.

One too many times has he heard this. How Liu Kang was the reason Tarkat exists. How it's his fault that Kitana and Mileena's mother was dead. How it was his fault that Shang Tsung and Quan Chi were in deplorable working and living conditions. How it's his fault that Reptile and Smoke lost their loved ones. How it's his fault that events and circumstances that did not go in their favor, even if it was out of everyone's hands, was HIS FAULT.

He was tired of it. Tired of explaining his reason for not keeping the position as the Keeper of Time. Tired of defending himself against the actions and motives that others have. Tired of expressing how while he may have remade this timeline and altered events, he never once had it planned to control the lives of mortals; leaving their motives and fates in their own hands and suffering the consequences of doing so.

Red and blue flames start to erupt from his arms where his draconic tattoos were printed, his eyes giving off a godly glow.

"I already told you why I withheld that information from him. I wanted him to have peace. Both of you, to have peace." Liu Kang tries his best to keep his calmly attitude as he picks himself up.

"And how do you know he wouldn't be at peace if he at least knew what was coming!?!" Raiden spits back at him

"And how would you?"

Even with his soothing voice, he definitely struck a cord with Raiden as he goes for a swing at Liu Kang. This time, Liu Kang grabs his fist and twists it, not enough to break the bone, but to cause painful strain.

Raiden shouted in mild pain as he tried to swing his other free hand at Liu Kang. Similarly, Liu blocks the attack, grabbing his wrist and unintentionally burning him slightly.

"Raiden, I'm not going to say this again. Stop this." Liu Kang looks Raiden dead in the eyes. Despite his calm face, there was a silent roaring flame behind his features. The kind of look that screams "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you give me reason to."

Yet, Raiden did not listen. He headbutts Liu Kang successfully, forcing Liu Kang back with a bleeding nose. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. In a fit of rage, Liu Kang yells as he punches Raiden square in the face. He didn't use his full godly strength, but it sent Raiden flying through multiple trees before slamming against one tree trunk. Liu Kang huffs and puffs, the anger slowly dying down and the realization of what he did quickly coming to him.

"Raiden!" Liu cries as he rushes as fast as he can to the former thunder god.

When he found his body, Liu Kang feared the worst. It happened as the old Raiden said. They were always destined to fight, to kill each other, and Liu Kang couldn't avoid it in this timeline. But the moment he heard Raiden's labored breaths, Liu Kang felt an overwhelming relief wash over him.

"Raiden! Raiden, I'm so sorry! I didn't- I didn't mean to," Liu Kang was stumbling over his words as he held Raiden upright, unsure of how serious his wounds were.

Raiden was going through the shock of it, breathing not only labored but in quick succession. Liu Kang tried to help Raiden match his breathing, to calm him down from the pain and shock.

"Are you," Raiden swallows between shaking breaths and stuttering speech, "Are you going to l-let me die? Like you did Lao?"

Liu Kang meets Raiden eye to eye. Raiden was bleeding from his head, streams of red running down his face with twigs and sticks entangled in his white hair. He's never going to let this go. Whatever Shang Tsung told him, it infected him like a parasite. As long as Raiden lived and breathed, Kung Lao's death will always be Liu's fault.

...Unless...

Liu Kang huffs, he never thought he would have to do this again, not since Shujinko. Liu Kang positions Raiden as comfortably as possible as one would be leaning against a tree with multiple broken bones and aching muscles.

"No, I want to grant you peace. I know that you don't want to hear this...But Kung Lao would've wanted you to find peace with his departure."

Liu Kang starts building up flames that run up his arms, performing the many monastic dances he learned from the previous timeline and the current. As the flames roared, they soon floated to Raiden and encompassed him. They never burned him. Raiden tries to crawl away from the dancing flames, believing them to char him to a crisp.

"Kung Lao would've wanted you to look fondly on your friendship and love, and seek to replicate that love with others. He would've wanted you to live happily, even if he wasn't there to provide you with that happiness."

"L-Liu Kang, what are you-wait...No!" Raiden's eyes start to water as he can feel his memories slipping. Not just the ones with Kung Lao, but everything before Liu Kang found him. His previous adventures in Outworld, in the Netherealm, in Chaosrealm, his ventures with his closest friends...The first time Kung Lao told him the three words, "I love you." Everything. "Liu Kang, no! Don't, please don't!"

Liu Kang, almost coldly, ignores Raiden's pleas as he takes it all away. Reverting Raiden back to the simple farm boy from Fengjian who simply wanted to protect and guide his village.

"...You are right, Raiden," Liu Kang says between paused breaths, trying to hold back tears as he committed the deed. "It is my fault. I shouldn't have thought that I could groom you or Kung Lao to become protectors of Earthrealm like you were before. I shouldn't have taken you away from your family, your friends, and your home in hopes of raising you to become grand warriors. I have placed your loved ones and you in so much danger...All because I clung onto a life that no longer exists...I'm sorry."

With that said, Raiden passes out from his injuries as Liu Kang finished the last of the memory wipe. Liu Kang stares at Raiden's slumbering body, and he can't help but scream and cry.

Finally allowing himself to grieve ever since that fateful day.

Fuji finished up the last of the clothes just in time when dinner was ready. She was having a hot pot this night, filled with various greens, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, radishes, and various mushrooms. All placed into a chicken broth seasoned further with a tomato and pork bone soup base. Fuji sits at the table with a bowl full of the soup and she does her best to not look across the table...Where her brother Raiden would be...

Raiden told her a long time ago that he was placed in a very powerful position and hard at work with Mr. Kang. He brings back money and unique souvenirs with questionable origins. And he always makes sure to visit her occasionally when he's coming back to Fengjian.

But this was one of the many occasions where the house felt too big, even with their elderly mother and father sleeping in the other room. She missed having her older brother around, for the longest time, he was her only friend. Her closest friend. I mean, sure, they were siblings, and they had their "sibling moments," but with him gone, she never felt more alone. But her being alone wasn't the main problem for Fuji, it was Raiden's sudden silence.

Ever since Kung Lao's passing, Raiden hasn't been returning her calls, answering her letters, or even visiting the family. Doesn't help, too, that none of his friends live in Fengjian, and aside from Kung Lao and Johnny's number (she's never calling that man, btw), she can't even reach them to know what's up with her brother. It's gotten to the point where she has saved up some money to take a week's vacation to the U.S. where her brother is currently working (or so Raiden told her).

Before Fuji knew it, she was already done with her bowl (2 bowls actually) and she saved the leftovers for her parents when they awaken. As she was washing up the dishes, she hears a knock at the door. Hmm? Who could be visiting her at this hour?

…Could it be!

"Give me a moment!" Fuji says hurriedly as she dries her hands; making her way to the front door. A tiny bit of hope fills the young woman. Could this be Raiden? After so long!

She swings open the door, hope and glee plastered on her face, but it quickly turns to confusion and worry. "…Liu Kang…Raiden!?!"

Outside was Liu Kang carrying a bandaged and mostly healed Raiden. "I'm sorry to come at such a late hour, Fuji. May I come in."

"What happened to my brother!?! Did someone mug him? Was he attacked?" Fuji ushers Liu Kang to enter the home and shows him to Raiden's old room, still possessing his old belongings even before he left.

Despite her questions, Liu Kang did not answer her. She asks again and again about her brother's condition, who did this to him, and why, but she is met with silence. She watches Liu Kang gently place Raiden on his old bed, and just as he came unexpectedly, Liu proceeded to walk back outside.

"W-wait! Liu Kang, please, tell me what happened! Who hurt my brother! Why did this happen-" Fuji tries to stop Liu Kang by grabbing at his wrist, but she saw something that shocked him.

Liu Kang's eyes were red as if he was crying not too long ago.

"…What happened…"

There's a long pause between them. All that Liu Kang does is slightly tilt his head toward her, his white eyes meeting hers, before saying, "I'm sorry, Fuji. Your brother has been relieved from his service…And this will be the last time we will see each other."

And just like that, Liu Kang left. Fuji watched Liu Kang leave, fading away in the horizon, with more questions than answers.

"Ugh…My head."

Fuji nearly scares herself when she hears Raiden in the other room and moving about. She rushes back to him and helps support her brother when she sees that he is still unsteady.

"Raiden! Liu Kang, your boss from the States dropped you off, and you're bandaged, and unconscious, and Liu wouldn't tell me why you were like this and-"

"whoa, whoa, Fuji, slow down! Start over, who's Liu Kang again?"

Fuji pauses. "…Liu Kang…Your boss…"

"Fuji, I have no idea who that man is," Raiden hisses in pain as his muscles start to ache again. It's only now that he realizes that he was bandaged badly. "Did he do this?"

"I-I don't know. I thought…I thought you would tell me…"

"Well, I don't know who I angered to get this treatment, but if this Liu Kang fellow helped me back home, I'm surely appreciative. I'll have to lay back down. Can you get me a hot towel, please?"

Fuji helped her brother back to bed and gave him his requested towel, but she found herself staying in his room for the entire night as if she were a child again. She couldn't sleep as she was plagued with questions about what happened to Raiden. Better yet, the line of work that he was in that he got this terrible treatment. And unfortunately, she might never get those answers again. Raiden doesn't remember anything in the past couple of years, even seemingly forgotten about Kung Lao's death and funeral. His memories were missing and he couldn't give a reliable answer to what happened in his life past the day that he went into Madam Bo's restaurant after a bet with Kung Lao.

Even worse, she can't ask Liu Kang. Because just as he promised and foretold, they never saw Liu Kang again. - ~Holy shit this was longer than I anticipated. Also, I do not like Liu Kang's memories loss powers, but will I use it for the sake of angst? You fucking know I will bby! This is my pseudo-first fan work for an official fandom and I hope everyone liked it. Once again, a lot of this was inspired thanks to the lovely artists who contributed to the "oops, Kung Lao dies again" AU and I want to thank them for jumpstarting this silly little AU in this silly little game about beheading people with your bare hands. Sorry if there were some grammatical and spelling errors, was working on this throughout the evening and past midnight (quite literally 4:26 where I'm at lmao). I might make a sequel to this because I'm getting ideas of Kung Lao returning, but not as he used to be (Revenants in MK1, ayo?)~ UPDATE! I have now officially made a writer's blog so that this doesn't get lost in my clustered main blog! Any future installments about this and other writing pieces will go to this blog! @420thewritersroom

#Mortal Kombat #Mortal Kombat 1 #MK1 #Raiden #Liu Kang #Kung Lao

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corpsesoldier · 2 years

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so. kiriona huh?

under the cut: full nona spoilers, plus me trying to process some thoughts and coming to very few conclusions

what a kick in the teeth that was, huh?

I want to touch on two main things about gideon's appearance as kiriona in ntn: kiriona's behavior toward the other characters and kiriona as revenant and how I think those things might be related.

so I'm open to both the ideas I've seen floating around wrt to kiriona's behavior in ntn, those being 1) this is an extremely traumatized, sad, and angry but functionally complete gideon nav and 2) that this is only a fragment of gideon's soul.

I think enough people mention "parts" of souls enough times for the fragment theory to have weight, as well as the interview in which tamsyn compares gideon's soul to a happy meal (yeah) and saying that harrow only ever ate the hamburger, whither the fries and drink, etc. maybe what we're seeing is the discarded plastic toy of gideon nav's soul.

however, there are things kiriona says and does that are absolutely 100% gideon. I think what's giving a lot of people pause is kiriona's apparent indifference to seeing her friends and allies again and, most significantly, her indifference over seeing harrow's body. for better or worse, one of gideon's defining characteristics is that she cares a whole fuck of a lot about harrowhark nonagesimus. kiriona acts aloof and unconcerned about all that for a good chunk of her page time in ntn, but particularly near the end we some behavior break through that facade that we would more readily associate with gideon (holding harrow's body and telling her to keep it together when nona starts to come apart; telling alecto to get in line when she offers harrow her service).

so, yknow, I think either option is fair game at this point, but unequivocally this is gideon, at least in part.

so then, this is gideon. and given that, there are some behaviors that I am having trouble reconciling with the gideon we've seen thus far.

I have a hard time believing that gideon would shove an injured and dying cam the way that she does, but hey, she's having a really, really bad day. just what we've seen her experience on page could fill her therapy appointments for the next myriad, and idk what eight months with only john "gaslight" gaius and ianthe "girlboss" tridentarius will do to a mf. I am withholding judgement.

but even moreso than that, I have a hard time reconciling the gideon we see in htn with whatever the hell kiriona's got going on with ianthe. gideon hates ianthe. gideon is furious with ianthe for the way that she treated harrow throughout htn, and yet kiriona and ianthe have friendship bracelets and a secret handshake. and so I'm wondering: how much does kiriona remember about the events of htn?

I'm also interested in why god made gideon into a revenant. he did not have to do that—he's god. presumably he could have fixed her body and put her soul back where it belongs, provided he had access to both those things. and yet kiriona is tied to her own mutilated corpse. is, in her own words, mega-dead. why?

perhaps because john wants total control over this asset, this weapon he's created. john, who "knows where remembrance lives in the brain" and is perfectly willing to exploit that. now, he did that with his lyctors while bringing them completely back to life, but gideon has always been a special case. gideon survived nerve gas as a toddler. gideon made harrow's much-abused skull go SPANG back into shape after a few minutes residence in her meat. maybe if john put gideon's soul back in a living body, gideon's healing factor has the ability to revert whatever alterations he may have made to her brain.

(this is assuming I know how revenants work, which is a big assumption. is whatever kiriona's got going on even being processed through gideon's brain, if that brain is dead? unsure. I am not a spirit magician.)

but regardless, we've had a couple examples of how integral memory is to identity in the locked tomb, the biggest one from this very book being nona-who-is-alecto, but alecto-who-is-not-nona. plus the lyctors with their memory of god's fallibility removed, plus harrow reduced by her half-remembered life.

and then there's what kiriona says to aigalemene, "don't—that's where my heart used to be."

is it possible that kiriona gaia is a gideon with the parts most inconvenient to god cut away?

#edit: I’m making this unrebloggable because I don’t totally agree with it anymore but feel free to observe my thought process #idk I don't usually theorypost but I've been thinking about my baby for the last twelve hours so this is what you get #be nice to me I got five hours sleep because I was laying awake thinking about gideon nav #the locked tomb #nona the ninth #nona the ninth spoilers #ntn spoilers #gideon nav #kiriona gaia #john gaius #mine

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saras-devotionals · 2 months

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Quiet Time 2/24

what am I feeling today?

Idk why but I’m just super tired and I can’t think of a real reason why I should be. I know that I have a lot of work ahead of me and a busy day and I think I just wanted a little more time to rest.

Campus Devo Notes

(at this devo we talked about the Pentecostal church/belief and all those who have emotional based experiences with God or base their belief on how they feel. These are just some scriptures and notes to offer insight)

how do you know a spiritual encounter is real?

If God/His word is behind the experience

Romans 10:1-4 NIV

“Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

About the church, the Pentecostal church is relatively new having been founded in 1901. They also have no hierarchy/structure (it’s not so how the people see fit in terms of operating and not all Pentecostal churches are the same)

What do they do right? Zeal/excitement/passion for God! + dedication to prayer

However, looking at this passage here we can see that even though they are zealous (which is a good thing) it is not based on knowledge and so they establish their own "righteousness" instead of submitting to God’s (Bible and what it says)

Acts 2:1-4 NIV

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

This passage is taken out of context (and it only happened twice in the Bible) -> there’s no way for this to be recreated in the modern age.

glossolalia -> speaking in tongues (not biblical) - will be covered by a later passage

baptizo - the original Greek meaning to be fully immersed (with the assumption that it’s in water)

everyone in the Bible who got baptized were done with water and were immersed. What baptism represents and why it needs to be immersion is covered by the following passage:

Romans 6:1-4 NIV

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

This shows that baptism is the participation in the death, burial, and resurrection, and for that action to be possible, immersion needed to participate. Here’s a visual example:

Acts 2:36-38 NIV

‭‭ ““Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

‭‭Example of how upon receiving the good news, people should repent and be baptized and then they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 14:6-12 NIV

“Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.”

This is the passage that covers speaking in tongues. This is Paul writing to the church in Corinth. He says what is it to speak in tongues? “Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. ” What people say must have meaning, it can’t just be random sounds or whatever covers out of your mouth.

Matthew 12:38-39 NIV

“Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”

‭‭From my understanding, people of the Pentecostal background/those that practice their faith emotionally tend to have an execessive need for signs from the Holy Spirit but this can be seen as faithless. We’re not supposed to need signs, even Jesus states that a wicked and adulterous generation asks for signs? we should have firm faith without signs.

1 Corinthians 2:29-31, 13:8-13 NIV

“Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.”

‭‭ “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Paul mentions greater gifts in 12 and it’s answered in 13 which are faith, hope, and love with love being the greatest

Luke 3: 21-22 NIV

“When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.””

we get to see all three aspects of trinity here -Father, Son, Holy Spirit

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 NIV

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

One more point to make, Satan can perform countefit "mirades". Let us focus on the details and investigate what we see. Decipher whether or not it is truly from God or a trick of the enemy.

Practicals/Instruction:

1) we have to teach everyone to respect God's word

Galatians 1:6-10 NIV: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

some are ‭‭preaching things other than God's word, but we have to respect it. Why would you change His word?! How can we or anyone else on this earth have a better idea of what’s right than abiding to what God has already said and made clear.

2) context brings clarity!

One of the most popular verses is John 3:16 -> “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

‭‭but context is important! Jesus is talking to Nicodemus and beforehand he’s talking about baptism and afterwards also says that we must “live by the truth” which shows that faith alone is not what saves us as it could be interpreted if you just read the single verse instead of the whole chapter.

3) experience does not mean salvation

Matthew 17:21-23 -> ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

‭‭we don’t want to be in this category, we don’t want to be people who say “Lord” but Jesus does not know us. Furthermore, the point trying to be made by this is just because you had an experience with God, does not mean you were saved. Think about instances in the Bible, the easiest being Judas. He walked with Jesus, he had spiritual gifts, but he was not saved.

Last point to make, let us be more stubborn about the truth (which is the word of God)

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karizard-ao3 · 2 months

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Frankenstein Eremika Au?

Well, anon, not having seen the movie nor read the book nor watched the TV show that I wasn't aware existed until I was googling Frankenstein because of this ask, I feel distinctly unqualified to come up with a Frankenstein au, but if we're just going off vibes rather than any practical knowledge of the story (like, I know the basics that I assume everyone knows), what about this?

No. Wait. Stop. I'm going to at least read the Wikipedia article.

Well, damn! Okay!

So, my original little smidgen of an idea was maybe Eren could be the monster and Mikasa finds him in the woods and now I am fully committed to it. But maybe let's say he did all his crimes and killed all those people and Victor first, so he's bad bad? Idk! Maybe he can still be at his "hating all humans but not yet killing them" phase. Let's not make him hideously ugly. Let us suppose for this au that Victor Frankenstein (aka Hange Zoe) was successful in making his monster a beautiful boy. There is something else about Eren that unsettles and frightens them. Let's say it's his crazy eyes and maybe also put some scars on him.

Anyway. Eren is Frankenstein's monster. Mikasa is a recluse living in the woods. She finds him half dead in the snow and looking like shit. She doesn't know who this big, injured guy is, but she manages to drag him to her hearth and set about nursing him back to health.

When he finally wakes up after several days, she is startled by his scary eyes and this pisses him off. He would go on a rampage, except he is pretty banged up and can't really move from his makeshift bed, so he just howls with rage and slams his fists into whatever he can reach, probably including his own self. Mikas is not about this dramatic nonsense and waits for him to tire himself out, then goes to give him a sponge bath or something.

God, he's like 8 feet tall.

Anyway, he's also killed a lot of people.

So, Eren is ungrateful. He is rude and destructive and he's lashing out because he likes her and he couldn't take her deciding she hates him like every other person in his life has done. But she just keeps putting up with him. She doesn't mind that he could snap her in half. She is depressed because her whole family died and doesn't care if she lives or dies. Also, she has a thing for saving wounded wild animals and has this Disney princess-like affinity with them. The forest birds will come eat out of her hands and wolves or bears or what have you that she once saved come to her door as tame as can be so she can feed them treats. So of course she manages to do the same with Eren. She doesn't really mind his scary eyes or the fact that his body is actually made from pieces of other bodies. He helps around the house and he's very sweet when he wants to be, which is more and more often because he sense a kindred spirit in her and she gives him the companionship and acceptance he's been craving. And then, in turn, he becomes like her new family.

And so, they fall in love, and live a life of solitude and peace and he's EIGHT FUCKING FEET TALL.

The end.

Anyway, that's my idea for the framework of the fic. Feel free to chime in with any ideas. The setting kind of reminds me of Witchunter, actually, and the fact he wants to kill her, but the bloodlust in mandatory and I'm not sure where else to put them since Frankenstein's monster tends to hide out in the wilderness, so please forgive me for any similarities.

#ask me things #my asks #answered asks #eren jaeger #eremika #mikasa ackerman #frankenstein au

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drottni · 11 months

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LBFAD Rewatch Part 10

1. When your cheap ass friend starts becoming generous and your immediate thought is "is she broken? Is she possessed ?"

2. Okay can we just talk about the creativity of the "shes deeply in love with me and thats why the Bone Orchid is killing her" arch. Like the way they stitched that in there so we could have the whole "I have to get her to hate me " angst. *chef kisses*

3. Xunfeng: Wait so the Moon Queen is not going to live long?

DFQC: Over my dead body >:(

Xunfeng: Or....hear me out. Over HER dead body! Eh? Eh!

DFQC: *jail for Xunfeng*

4. Xunfeng: I cannot give you the sword. You will destroy it. You are the last hope for the Moon tribe

DFQC: *angry exasperated face* If one more person says that to me---

5. Xunfeng kicking DFQC while he is down:

Me: You little menace.

6. Idk how many times I will gush over his acting, but ya'll. Wang Hedi looked soooo genuinely torn. Like his facial muscles rippling with checked anger. His tight grip loosening as Xunfeng's words start to hit home. The rippling anguish in his eyes as he realizes just what he is doing and how much of a risk he is taking. God.

7. Omg the absolute hell ish pressure cooker my poor baby DFQC is in. Like ya'll imagine everyone relying on you and just trusting in you to handle the enemy cuz you got mad crazy powers and you have to sit there and not have a panic attack because you no longer have the mad crazy powers and you will most likely lose either your people or the person you love. OOOH GOD. Get him out of there! I got second hand panic attacks watching this

8. XLH: Im gonna make the Phoenix Crown out of the flowers Big Blockhead planted for me when I came to Cangyan sea.

Jieli: You're such a romantic you dweeb. Loser -_- (I love you, you beautiful innocent soul)

9. XLH: I dont care who I was. All that matters now is I will be his wife *blush*

Me:

10. DFQC giving her an out. Telling her she still has time to save herself before the war. Hoping that she does leave but also that she doesn't. Her barely holding back tears as she continues to discuss the wedding. Both of them losing their shit as the reality sets in. AAAHHHHHH 😭😭 Reminding each other of their promise. "Whatever happens, we face it together". (him also realizing at this point the absolute betrayal hes going to have to put her through) omg.

11. If your demon hubby doesn't sit by your bedside while you sleep despite having 1001 and other things to look after, namely a whole ass war...drop him. DFQC supremacy.

12. "In this world what is real and what is fake? I only know that I love DFQC, that is real. It is more than enough" >>>>>>>>> any other love confession

13. DFQC: Because I know them well. One was my bestfriend. The other was the woman I wanted to marry.

Me on my first watch: was? WAS?? WAASSS?!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

14. THE THUNDEROUS SKY AS HE DOES THE TERRIBLE ACT OF BETRAYAL.

15. XLH: this food is the one I hate. THIS RIGHT HERE is going too far.

she's just like me fr. dont mess with food.

16. DFQC about to sacrifice his body, soul and spirit to save his people.

XLH: *in danger*

DFQC: Sacrifice is canceled. We are saving the love my of life. Again.

17. I dont even have words for that scene. Never getting over that. (actually i have words and they are too many.)

18. I just wanna say that in my first watch, I did not process that she actually died for the longest time. Despite the whole setup and slow mo. I just kept thinking nahhh DFQC going to think of something and save her. Aint no way he letting her die.

With this thought in my mind, I just imagine how it must have felt for him. How absolutely helpless and devastated. 😭

19. My mans out here straight up suicidal and burning his primordial spirit faster and faster, getting irritated with all his bros for trying to give him their primordial spirit 🥲🥲

#love between fairy and devil #cang lan jue #lbfad rewatch #dong fang qing cang #dongfang qingcang #xiao lanhua #xiao lan hua

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zalrb · 4 months

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this show may make me cry in rage 1x03 review

jfc i think i would rather watch heartland.

i am still waiting for this "rough and tumble" lifestyle.

oh my god, AI blond damon is nice to a child! HE HAS LAYERS.

none of these characters have personalities.

this is not a chaotic household. they should've watched shameless to see how they do chaos every day.

"never a dull moment" again, there is nothing chaotic about what we just saw.

does no one know how to do chaos or simple busyness anymore?

do these boys in the background know how to play basketball?

what IS it with netflix shows where everything about them FEELS like it's a show. the artifice is so apparent.

"you know you may not be on the team anymore but you're still a part of the herd" what is this, a lesser one tree hill? shut up.

i don't care about the guidance counsellor's love life, i just want her to be good at her job.

I forgot her name mercifully but I think she should die.

Oh, it's Grace.

"Kiss, Marry, Kill." How PG.

Cole is a whole ass grown ass man.

I guess it should track that Budget Damon looks as old as Classic Damon did.

"Alex and I are just friends" you are in their house with the DOOR open.

Does this engaged couple even like each other?

How I do not care about any of this.

Stefan, I mean Alex, can't work the cart but Damon, I mean, Cole will come and save the day with manly manliness!

FNL has ruined any show for me that's supposed to show school spirit because this just seems regular af.

How is there so little tension between these two non human brothers who hate each other for being with the same girl.

OH NO. NO ONE IS GOING TO DO THE SILENT AUCTION. SO COLE WILL SAVE THE DAY.

i am past rage to just pure boredom.

"i believe we are witnessing a romantic gesture". nothing has happened for me to care.

"the cole effect" omg he is not charming, he is not attractive, he is not charismatic.

omg why isn't grace dead yet? cole can die too, trying to protect her from getting run over by a tractor, idk.

"i don't think i've ever seen this place so packed" and everyone is lining up calmly, there's no chatter, it doesn't SEEM busy.

unpredictable cole doesn't help with the cart because unpredictable and damaged but alex will be there! and he let down his cousin? sister? whatever, he let down a child! OH WHY MUST THE HOT ONES BE SO UNPREDICTABLE?!?!?!?!

at least tsitp gave me whatshisface and whatshisface to headcanon about.

the stakes are not high at all.

oh thank god, it's over.

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charlie-artlie · 6 months

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just got back from the fnaf movie, i really need to go to bed but i have to get some thoughts out NOW 🫠

positives

movey good C:

matthew lillard was just so so good god bless

the animatronics were amazing, i really wasn’t expecting the scene where they all played and had fun together????? it was such wish fulfillment i was just sitting there like is this real

(on that note HEY. someone had better gif that fronnie scene were theyre just playing and dancing together. 👉 get on it giffers)

maybe controversial but i liked the matpat and coryxkenshin cameos a lot they were funny and didnt detract from the flow too much

the jumpscares were not terribly hacky like i thought theyd be, and the balloon boy one was really good 👏

also IM NOT CRAZY THAT WAS A CIRCUS BABY REFERENCE RIGHT??? AAAAAAAAAA

all of the parts and service room was so cool tbh, all of the creepy old endos and parts, the little fetch easter egg, all of it so so good

the easter eggs in general were really fun, im looking forward to watching this movie be micro analyzed for years to come

the springlock scene 🤌 cinema…..

that scene were william roundhouse kicks mike is just like. so amazing. this is going on the positives. i cant believe they did that. what an amazing movie.

in general the lighting and sound design were very nice (i mean as a layperson i thought they were nice idk XD)

THE SONG WAS IN IT THEY DID THE FUCKING THING 😭👏

negatives

no puppet?

i feel like this story suffers from the same issue TSE has, where by straying from the games canon you’ve actually made things so much more complicated? while some things definitely made sense (vanessa being williams daughter was a nice touch and made sense for both characters fight me, also a great nod to how shes mind controlled in game canon) others feel like they just made things more complicated? like, why was garrett just a random kid in a random campsite? why was william there, why did he kill him, why do the ghost kids know him? i guess you could say, if there is a reason, it will be revealed in a later movie? but thats so many unnecessary steps when all you had to do was have garret go missing from a freddys location (like in TSE). like, mikes brothers disappearance is linked to freddys, thats why he needs to work there, you could save a lot of time aunt jane ate up. speaking of.

its such a hilarious plot hole that they just totally move past aunt janes death. like this guy is fighting tooth and nail for custody of his sister against his aunt and she shows up dead at his house and nobody is suspicious or cares. also he shows up at the hospital with a stabbed cop who’s apparently in a coma and cant verify his story at all?? the plot armor on this man!!

i realize they needed to put abby in danger at some point or else why would she even be here, but having the ghost kids want to ghostify her doesnt make a whole lotta sense >_> like they kept saying william was confusing them but they never really showed that, golden freddys spirit kid seemed pretty aware of the situation the entire time.

that one jumpscare with the kid with black goopy eyes was pretty silly lmao. feel like they could have captured the creepypasta vibe better

this is semi positive and negative, but i really really liked vanessa’s creepiness i just wish theyd leaned into it a bit more? that scene where shes staring lovingly up at the animatronics and then asks mike to dance is just so 👌 like girl what is wrong with you fr 🥰 but then her behaviors dont make much sense after that, i was a bit confused as to when she was supposed to be trying to get mike to stay and when she was supposed to be warning him away.

the writing in general was definitely a bit weird ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ eh

sorry if my negatives seem like bummers, but i really enjoy picking apart movies i like, and i tend to like things more when there is stuff to pick apart! (sensory fandom experience…..) in general i really enjoyed the movie and i think most fnaf fans will! it’s fun cheesy horror that has a lot of love for the source material without trying to BE it, which wouldn’t be possible anyway

man theres definitely other things i could say but i really have to go to sleep now 😭 gn!!!

#fnaf #charlie chatterbox #fnaf movie spoilers #under a readmore but still

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poisonouswritings · 2 years

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Hello!

May I request a M3 with an MC who's like a god/goddess? Could literally be the deity of anything T-T idk like spring or the sun if you need any ideas.

Tysmmmmsndhhdbd

GN!Reader, can't believe FTLOG leaked over into this blog (not literally), this seemed funnier if everyone is together, Colored Bullet Rule (Felix, Anisa, Sage) making one (1) horny comment

My horny comment is that I think all of the Starsworn have some level of worship kink and it's only exacerbated by you being a diety and I could write a whole smut thing off this but I won't!!

yet

Anyways what do you want to be the diety of, dear friend? Let's assume whatever you pick gives you a basic level of magic. I'll by going through a couple different options that I think would have fun dynamics but I'll have a few general ones too.

Firstly imagine,, when Felix summons you,, and instead of being spat out of the Void like you were, you land gracefully on your feet, already (somewhat) used to teleportation. And Felix is half unconscious because he really drained his magic trying to find Rime. You go over to him. Maybe you heal him? Maybe you just go to poke his face a little to see if he's dead. Anyways in his delirious mind he does think you're a diety - not because he senses your power or anything but Pretty Person With Lights Behind Them (the lights being his own magic still swirling through the room) and then he fucking passes out.

You meet Anisa! She puts her sword at your throat and you casually just bat it away because It's Not Like A Mortal Can Kill You Anyways. And Anisa is confused and she does it again and you just bat it away,,, this happens like five more times before she realizes that you Clearly Are Not An Assassin Sent To Kill Her, since you would have done so already if you're really that nonplussed by her sword.

When that thug is coming towards you in the tavern you're kinda just staring because Oh What Does This Mortal Want? :) And then Sage comes to help you and it's like Oh The Mortals Are Fighting! I Never Get To Be Up Close Like This It's So Fun! :) And then in the hallway Sage is hiding you from those guys and you're just peeking a little like Wow Mortals Sure Are Funny :)

Just think it's really funny if they way everyone finds out is very casual cause like,, why wouldn't it be? You've been a diety for, presumably, a long time. It's not new to you.

Felix is talking about how gods are really just puffed-up spirits and you're like Hey!! Fuck You!!!! I Rule Over Spirits!!!!!! And he's like 'MC darling what in the world are you talking about??' and you reveal you're like, the diety of the Underworld or Death or whatever and you summon this massive glowy scythe and Felix is just,,,,, not okay,,,,,,,,,,,

Anisa, Saaros and you are stuck beneath the cultist temple. You let out this really annoyed sigh as you poke around 'I cannot believe anyone would allow their temple to look this dilapidated. My temple would never look like this because my priestess is component at her job. Oh I hope she remembered to feed the cats while I'm away....' and Anisa and Saaros wonder if you hit your head until you just use a spell to make a bunch of plants grow like 'oh this'll get fresh air in here!' because you're the diety of nature or whatever

When Elowen corners you guys in Mournfall but then there's a crowd and she leaves and Sage is about to go after her but you stop him,, you calm him down almost immediately,,,, and you're rubbing his shoulder like 'woah there little hellcat, I admire your desire for bloodshed but don't do me any favors, I can get my worship later' and after (at the bar) he's like 'wtf were you saying?' and you just grin and use your magic to fuck with these two dudes (gender neutral) at the bar and make them get into a fight and it's like Oh I'm The Diety of War :) Did I Not Mention? :) Seeing People Fight Is Fun :) and Sage is just choking on his beer

You keep impulsively taking things from the marketplace because you're used to being given tribute/gifts and the Starsworn have to pay for you all the time

There are,, a lot of dieties,,, that can turn into animals,,,,, you morph into something small and ride on your partner's shoulder

Someone bumps into you and doesn't apologize and you're summoning your holy weapon to smite them before the Starsworn drag you back and calm you down

Scylla is gonna ask if you have like,, holy alcohol or whatever,,,, as a matter of fact so will Sage

Tulsi wants to see your weapon!! Can she play with it test it out? It's looking kinda worn, you must not have used it in a while. Can she sharpen it? She just wants to mess with it and try to see how it works

If you have any type of future sight then you and Azimuth compare notes on what will happen and how to avoid it

Imagine,,, you're a diety,,,,, you've been chilling on Earth for 200 years or something,,,,,,, LoS assumes you're a normal human from Earth and then you fucking blast him in the face with magic like No The Fuck I Am Not!! Suck It!!!

Last Legacy/PJO crossover??

#last legacy #fictif last legacy #felix iskandar escellun #sage lesath #felix escellun #felix escellun x reader #fictif felix #last legacy felix #anisa anka #anisa anka x reader #last legacy anisa #sage lesath x reader #fictif anisa #fictif sage #last legacy sage #anon asks #ozzy answers #ozzy daydreams

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cyrantelnovapaleorayeeso · 2 years

Text

krista event story tldr by me a person who forgets literally everything and its also very long so ur gonna need a tldr for this tldr

nikki and the gang find a funny fish

aeon was reading about an old city that sunk to the ocean

fish takes them through the ocean of memories

they all jump in and are FINE bc the ocean of memories is A SPECIAL OCEAN UWU

WOW ITS THE CITY THAT SUNK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?!!!!!?!?!?

I WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO A CITY THAT WORSHIPED A WATER GOD THAT WAS ON AN ISLAND AND IS NOW SUDDENLY IN THE OCEAN HMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nikki stares at a statue and sees christine kristy krista the worlds saddest girl next to ashley someone get the kids in this game some therapy no i dont care shes already dead

nikki and the gang get to see what happend to the town

basically things bad :(

but its ok we’ll take this random teenaged girl off the streets and turn her into our saintness bc uh....idk i forgot anyway

u must CRY FOREVER and turn ur tEARS INTO GEMS bc htats just what people can do in miraland i guess

LOCK HER IN A TOWER AND KEEP HER DEPRESSED AND SAD FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE SO WE CAN BECOME RICH I MEAN PLEASE THE GOD

gems get sent to the nobles bc i guess thats how u offer to the god thats how u keep him happy just give to the rich so they can get richer

people in the slums dont want gems they just wanna survive or something u know how it goes

LEWIS HER ONE FRIEND U ALREADY KNOW HOW THIS ENDS

theres flashbacks to other people but honesztly ive already forgotten all of them

the priest is messed up no one missed uuu byeeee

lewis helps her sneak out one day to visit the slumssssssssssssssss

dance with me? no i cannot let people see me

she gets caught or whatever

insert detail of a teenaged girl doomed to cry for the rest of her life being whipped with a water whip bc its what the god wants or whatever idk i hate everyone that isnt krista...i guess lewis is ok

lewis is some kinda actor

uhhh the priest lied and said yeah ur free to go i feel bad :((((((((((((

jk soldier kill the man in front of her

her tears are BLOODY RED GEMS OOOO SPOOKY

the WHOLE PLACE ABOUT TO BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW except not really its just gonna get destroyed by the water god

krista shows up to everyone in the present day and gives a speech and the big fish was like the spirits of everyone in teh town that died and idk something about this just felt wrong

that all of this and she still thinks this is all her fault and that she will 100% make sure everyone passes on

i mean nikki did try to tell her its not her fault and all that

but everyones like I HOPE THE SPIRITS OF THE TOWN CAN ALL PASS ON IN PEACE

NO SCREW THEM LITERALLY MOST OF THEM DID NOT DESERVE IT THEY LITERALLY STEPPED ON A DEAD MANS BODY AS A CHILD WEPT TEARS AFTER SEEING HIM DIE SO THEY CAN TAKE HER TEAR GEMS AND GET MORE MONEY I HOPE THEY ALL ROT I DONT CARE IF ITS JUST A GOD DANG VIDEO GAME AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

aeon goes ACTUALLY THE WATER GOD TURNED TO THE ABYSS SO HES A DEMON AND BAD

#text #shining nikki #no one correct me its funnier this way #also when the city began to fall apart all the gems turned back into tears #im sure im missing other big details but this is basically it right right right of course it is i know lore i can read

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kyogre-blue · 9 months

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I huff about the Wrath of the Rock thing mostly bc if I started talking about how badly contracts were done in Liyue I'd never stop lol. What he did with Wanyan was the most in-your-face about it and had me FUMING, yes, but I honestly really want to know what the adepti are getting out of their contracts and why exactly they still had to hold up their end of the bargain when the contractor was supposed to be dead. Like? A contract really is supposed to benefit both parties? What service has Zhongli been providing? NOT kicking them out of Liyue's mountains or something? Is he a landowner? And Xiao's contract is just downright exploiting him - I'd think the translation mistook "contracts" for "oaths" somewhere but no, Yanfei exists.

And I was curious bc I distinctly recall a Liyue NPC praying to Barbatos....checked, her name's Chishui! And she says though it's tradition in Liyue to worship the Geo Archon the winds are what truly determine whether her sailor husband is safe, though she admits it's rare (unsure if she means liyue locals praying to Barbatos or locals praying to another god in general). She says any god will do as long as they keep her husband safe though, so maybe she just has either less patriotism or more common sense idk.

Gahhh unreliable information is so annoying. I remember thinking when I started playing that maybe humans already had their own "type" and their ruling archon just neutrally crystalised it, given it IS supposed to be their own ambitions and all. As it is, now I don't trust anything about vision lore bc I know it's going to get dashed later on rip

Hahaha................. yeah.

But yeah.

In general, one of Genshin's biggest missed opportunities is arguably doing nothing with their gods' supposed ideals.

Mondstadt is freedom town, so that's nice, but there's no actual commentary on freedom, even though there's potential for something juicy with how they walked themselves into the Aristocracy entirely on human free will. Liyue is uh contracts, but "contracts" can mean any of like three different things minimum, with no distinction or examination of any of them. Inazuma tried, but they did not connect Yoimiya's musings, Ei's misguided grief nonsense and then the uuuh revelations (?) she had when communing with her dead sister's spirit inside a magic that went back in time for some reason (???) particularly well. And Sumeru is just a joke, they don't even try.

These seem to be basically just buzzwords that exist for flavor, rather than any real meaning.

I feel like part of the supernatural contracts in Liyue might relate to the weird third party racism that archons engage in for the sake of humans. Like how the oni had to do some weird dance to live with humans and how Azhdaha basically has no rights because won't you think of the humans. Adepti originally start out with a flavor of being fairly alien in their thinking and don't interact with humans well at all, so them having a contract that forces them to prioritize humans is potentially meant to make sure they kill fewer people.

In that sense, the service Zhongli provides is that he doesn't execute all their asses for imprisoning random people in amber and shit like that, I guess?

But they really did not keep any of this consistent.

Which isn't surprising. Genshin never cares about consistency, which is why its lore might be cool but its worldbuilding is pretty awful.

In regard to worshipping foreign gods, its presumably possible. I do recall there's a Sumeru NPC who also prays to Barbatos, though other NPCs near him didn't seem thrilled with that. On the whole, Genshin is hardly going to ever create a tense enough situation where there's acknowledged religious or national fervor that could lead to people getting genuinely targeted for acting in a way that's not seen as socially acceptable. But logically speaking, it's not even just plain "following a minority religion" deal, these gods are also the government and immediately present divine rulers. Barbatos isn't around and Morax is pretty chill, but like imagine if you want to make a shrine to a different god next to your house. How is that going to go over? If you apply just basic "how humans act about things" from the real world.....

#playing genshin

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guideaus · 2 years

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Noo I love reading your Trigun thoughts cause I think you’re right about a lot of weird choices. I’ll try to get my words straight but I need to reread the whole ending (especially after the Overhaul finishes) because dark horse translations weird at times <3

We have all these supporting characters at the end that tell Vash that theyre there to fight with him, that they believe in his values, that hes the only one who can stop Knives. None of them are telling Vash what he needs to hear. He isn’t forgiving himself and moving forward because he thinks he deserves it, that he did his best and can move forward, but because it’s necessary to save people. And even though he decides to save Knives in the end from the earth ships… that still isnt a decision to save himself. And then he goes into recovery for months where no one would have helped him, and his brother fucked off without a word while he was asleep so no closure on THAT mess. and Vash is still to blame for things that arent his fault and surrounded by people who claim to love him but dont know him at all besides the plant feather memory thing? I dont know where I was going with this but the ending makes me sad.

I guess we could read Vash continuing on and donning his mantle at the end as a kind of self acceptance… that he was able to move past it at all. But that would make most of his turmoil over killing legato and all the people that died from Knive’s crusade off page. If Wolfwood had lived, had forgiven himself for what he felt he had to do to survive, maybe he would have been there for Vash after Vash killed Legato to set him straight. I don’t think Wolfwood living would have cheapened the story in any way—but I dont know -v- god I just want one person Vash is close to to understand him and help him accept himself. Anyways sorry for sending so much jdjfj, dont feel like u have to respond to this. I just like reading analysis from folks who dont feel like the ending was perfect/ that things couldn’t have gone any other way.

Oh, thank you, I appreciate your ask! And yeah, I could definitely do with a reread of trigun, too, lol. And don't apologize for sending me a message, i like reading what you write, i liked your one post abt elendira, too :)

I agree a lot with what you said about vash near the end of the manga. It'd be very out of character if he suddenly just said "fuck it, you all can die." after everything that's happened (that'd also play into what knvies wants), so of course he goes to try and single-handedly stop knives (and legato), even if it's all pushing himself to exhaustion, but he also kind of isn't really included himself in those he wants to save. I've thought before about if someone had to die in trigun, if vash would fit, and I don't think it would, because he had been suffering throughout the whole thing and a sacrificial moment wouldn't have done him justice considering he already has little regard for himself, and is trying so hard for everyone else.

The series after he's imprisoned has a moment where the human characters are fending for themselves, and pushing to help vash, but it's in kind of weird way... like it is understandable only wolfwood could have saved him, but i think there could've been a longer break after that arc, and then also later after vash fights legato. livio, milly, and meryl (and others i don't really remember lol... i think) help defend themselves, but then i don't think anyone really is literally helping vash after his fight? like they do wait for him to regain consciousness, lol, but he kinda gets a never-ending queue of things he needs to do, and only he can do it. i think there being some alternative to how the problems then get solved could have made it a bit better, lol. idk how i'd change knives' end actions, though, lol.

But yeah, vash is spirited away and isolated again with family #3 or whatever, then is basically thrust into basically the same situation as the start of the story, except he's now got a dead brother, and people from an entirely different planet also are blaming him... his guilt, self-loathing, etc., were not resolved, but this time he's lost all his inhuman abilities after defending these people that want him dead. i think nightow tried for that kind of cliché (?), nostalgic, "its just like the beginning!" thing, and milly/meryl were comedy relief, but being sentimental would've been more impactful. the fucking earth ppl being like "vash BAD" and then gunsmoke's people (especially meryl, milly, livio, etc.,) automatically defending him would've been nice to see instead of both gunsmoke and earth being like "lets fucking get that mf" with milly and meryl making light of it on the side, lol. like trigun ends w vash running into the sunset, and it's portrayed as a pretty/final thing, instead of recognizing that him originally doing that wasn't a good thing, he was alone, and being hunted, and blah blah

#ask #sorry i ended that w blah blah fdsjhfdshj #and i am a HUGE 'wolfwood lives' fan lol #i think someone recently said smth like it was necessary but i couldnt disagree more #i made a post abt it but idk it could still be in my drafts. idk FHJDFS #but yeah i dont exactly think the end was bad (i guess compared to other things ive thought were BAD) but it just kind of...#didnt really resolve things in the end #like maybe nightow couldve got a hiatus to think things over. idk if it was like being pushed to finish/he wanted it over with or something #and yea this site makes me feel like suuuch a hater tho criticizing anything dshjsfdjhd #like i promise i still like it as a whole... thats why i wanna talk abt it unprompted...

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silversatoru · 3 years

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Hi, I just finished burdens and OML 🥺🥺🥺

May I request some sort of megumi x reader continuous where the reader ends up becoming a powerful sorcerer (or a cursed spirit👀 whichever you’d like tbh) megumi and the reader somehow cross paths again a little while after the break up and he witnesses her fighting for the first time? I just know that boy would fall in love all over again but she’s moved on and he feels guilty and just angst? And maybe fluff idk. I’m new to requests so I hope I did this right, thank you so much❤️❤️

burdens pt. 2

a/n: hello, part two of this not-so-lovely story is finally here. every single one of you is allowed one free punch to my face for taking so long to write it,,, i’m so sorry. this is its fourth rewrite and it got a little darker than expected but it’s finally done,, i hope you enjoy <3

fushiguro megumi x f!reader

synopsis: you finally see megumi again at the kyoto sister school goodwill event

tags/warnings: angst, some graphic depictions of violence, character death

word count: 3k

“Do you know how tired I am of watching the people I love die? Things would be so much easier for me if you just stayed the fuck away”.

Megumi’s bitter words were on repeat in your head — the harshness of his voice leaving a hollow feeling carved into your chest. Tear-stained cheeks and shaky breathes had become your new normal these past few days. Tight, sharp pains filled your empty stomach, waves of nausea coursing through your body.

You’ve had no motivation to get out of bed lately, nevermind to shower or cook yourself a proper meal — honestly, for all you cared you could rot away in your blanket filled bed. You checked your phone like a fiend too, thinking that eventually, a miraculous text from Megumi would appear and make everything better. It never did.

He’d completely ghosted you since that dreadful day, and that hurt more than anything. You’d held onto a sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, he hadn't meant what he said. But as the days continued to pass, your hope quickly dwindled.

To say your current state was shameful was putting it lightly, and you were embarrassed at how poorly this was effecting you. You liked to think that you were strong, motivated, independent — that you didn't need some douchebag just to feel happy. But truth be told, breakups are fucking hard, and it's okay to not be okay for a while — or at least that's what you kept telling yourself.

So when you were trudging miserably down the street to your local convenience store and you saw a familiar pair of jujutsu sorcerers, you wanted desperately to sink into the ground. You made a quick turn to head to a different shop, but it was too late, you were spotted.

“y/n! hey!” Two lighthearted voices sang through the air, filling your ears and making your heart clench in your chest.

You turned around and anxiously approached them, your unkempt hair and baggy eyes sending looks of concern across their faces.

“Hey girl, you good?” Nobara shot you a sideways glance, Maki raising a suspicious eyebrow.

“Yeah, uh, ice cream,” You croaked, speaking for the first time in a couple days, “I’m here for ice cream, that’s all”.

“Yeah, but why do you look like a fucking zombie?” Maki pushed her eyeglasses further up her nose, her sharp eyes looking you up and down.

“Ah, he didn’t say anything to you guys, did he?” You shook your head, heavy eyes falling to ground as you refused to meet theirs.

“Don’t tell me…” Nobara’s face contorted, “Did he break up with you?”

You nodded, a pitiful chuckle falling from your lips, because if you didn’t laugh, you’d start sobbing right now.

Maki threw her arm around your shoulder, pulling you to her side and ushering you into the store, “It’s okay, men suck. Hang out with us today”.

Meanwhile, Nobara trailed quickly behind the two of you, anger seething from her teeth and steam practically billowing out of her ears.

“That fuckhead! I swear I’ll fuck his shit up big time, he won’t even know what fucking hit him. I knew that boy was stupid but shit, this is a whole new low for him! I-,” She continued to ramble and rant as Maki led you through the store, picking out drinks and snacks to help ease your pain.

The three of you ended up in a nearby park, sitting around a small picnic table and gorging on the massive array of snacks. Lighthearted conversation and lots of food make your chest ache a little less, and you even found yourself laughing and chatting as if things were normal. You’d told the two of them all about that day, about Megumi’s irrational words and his tragic breakdown that led to some kind of fucked-up break up sex.

“So, how are we gonna get back at him? Egg his car? Put bleach in his shampoo? Bugs in his food? God - it’s a shame his dad is dead because from the pictures I’ve seen that man was FINE and revenge sex—,”

“Nobara,” Maki shot her idiot girlfriend a dirty look, and the orange-haired girl quickly shut her mouth, “As much as I support any idea that revolves around ruining a man’s day, I don’t think revenge is the healthiest coping strategy here”.

You were tracing your eyes around Maki’s face as she spoke, and you found yourself carefully inspecting her purple glasses that rested softly on the bridge of her nose. And that’s when it clicked, the light bulb ignited in your head and you knew exactly what you wanted to do.

“Maki,” your voice was urgent, “You don’t have cursed energy, you can’t even see them without your glasses!”

Her face twisted and her nose scrunched, a look of distaste in her eyes, “I know?”

“So, you could teach me, right? You could help me learn how to use some cursed weapons?”

“Yeah! You have to Maki, then she can beat his ass with me,” Nobara chimed in.

“That’s not a bad idea actually,” Maki’s mouth formed an evil grin, “Could you imagine his face after watching you exorcise a curse?”

The three of your conversed for a bit longer, speculating and potting about training, weapons, and your very own pair of curse-seeing glasses. By the end of the night you had a plan, and a pretty good one if you say so yourself.

From that day on, teary eyes and achy hearts were a thing of the past, not because it was that easy to get over Megumi, but because Maki didn’t even allow you the time to feel dismal anymore. You met her everyday after classes without fail, and everyday she would train you until you thought your arms would fall off. After months and months of sore muscles, sweat, and the occasional injury, you were convinced that Maki was incapable of feeling pity or remorse for other living things. Every time you speculated about quitting, she’d set a fire under you, unafraid to remind you how weak you still were.

The green-haired sorcerer had ultimately decided that you worked best dual-armed -- a long, lightweight blade in each hand. On your final day of training, she officially gifted the two swords to you, as a “graduation” gift.

Skill-wise, you were by no means as incredible Maki, but you definitely held your own, and the progress you’d made in a mere 8 months was astronomical. They’d introduced you to a strange silver-haired man at some point, Gojo, who had taken not only an interest in you but also your plot against your ex-boyfriend. He cackled to himself when you told him why you were here, going on and on about how priceless Megumi’s face would be when he saw you.

Your appearance was highly anticipated, so why not debut at one of the biggest jujutsu events all year? The Kyoto Sister School Goodwill Event — Gojo thought it was the most perfect idea.

You tried hard to exude confidence as you walked at Nobara and Maki’s sides, but behind your arrogant facade your stomach was twisting itself into knots. Truthfully, you were scared to see Megumi again after so long.

And when your eyes met with his as you walked into the meeting room, you thought you just might pass out. You thought you were ready for this — but the look of complete shock, fear, and anger on his face as he looked you up and down almost made you regret all of it.

“What’s going on?” Megumi’s words were incredibly calculated, an edge on his voice.

His question was pointless, however, because judging by the fact that you were wearing a jujutsu tech uniform and had two swords sheathed at your sides could only mean one thing. Your hair was longer now too, and your frame was wider with an extra layer of muscle from all the training — you almost looked like a different person.

“I’ve been training with Maki, I-,” You spoke up to explain yourself, but you weren’t even granted the opportunity.

“No, no, Maki, what the hell did you do?” His eyes were shaky and laced with concern.

“I only did what she asked me to. I’m not the one who gave her a complex about being weak, you did that,” Maki shrugged, “and she’s not your girlfriend anymore dude, what do you care?”

Absolute confliction flashed through his eyes, uncertainty and madness swirling in his irises, “You’re right, I don’t care. Let me know when the event is starting”.

He took a sharp turn out of the room and let the door slam a little too hard behind him. The sound of his icey voice and the door shutting with unkind force was all too reminiscent of the night you broke up. Burying every emotion you had deep into your stomach you gave Maki a small, reassuring smile and plopped down on one of the couches.

“Alright, so when does this thing start?”

after the start of the event

Fighting the Kyoto students was proving to be much harder than you initially expected, but you were holding your own at Maki’s side. The two of you had easily taken down a small, kind, blue haired girl named Miwa, and now you were watching an emotional battle between Maki and her sister unfold.

Wait here, she’d told you, I want to do this one myself. Take some notes on my form and watch our backs, okay?

Okay, you’d said, a little confused but ultimately finding a nice spot up in a thick tree to carefully observe from. Maki was truly a force of nature, and it seemed like the other girl never actually had a chance of winning. It was honestly only a few minutes before the small black, haired girl was slumped against a tree and Maki was making her way back to you. Things were looking good, two of Kyoto’s student’s were down already and adrenaline was pumping through your veins.

You couldn't quite shake the awful feeling churning in your stomach though, and Megumi’s face was haunting your thoughts. You hadn’t seen him since before the event started, when an odd, pink haired boy jumped out of a box and freaked everyone out. Nobara had later explained who he was and what had happened, and you wondered how many awful surprises Gojo had planned today -- first you, then that.

A small rumble rippled under your feet, and Maki grabbed your arm as you watched a giant brown vine lurch it’s way out of the ground a few hundred yards in the distance.

“That technique doesn’t belong to anyone from Kyoto,” She shot you a look of concern and determination, “let’s go check it out”.

You gave her a firm nod, the two of you making your way towards the horrifying wooden vines. By the time you managed to arrive, Inumaki was already down and so was a dark-haired boy from Kyoto. A muscular, white curse with black markings and wooden branches for eyes was moments away from taking Megumi on all by himself — thank god you got here in time to help.

Megumi, however, was horrified when he saw you jump over the tall roofed building with Maki at your side. He’d just watched two incredible sorcerers get their shit rocked by this curse, there was no way you would stand a chance against this thing. But before he could even try to stop you, you and the green-haired sorcerer were flying through the air and taking shots at the curse. The two of you worked perfectly in sync, the months of daily training finally paying off.

He watched with intent glazed over his eyes, his heart threatening to lurch up his throat. You were a spectacle, and he always thought you were beautiful but seeing you now with dirt and blood stained clothes, cursed weapons gripped firmly in your hands, you truly were ethereal. He hated it though, he hated that he was falling in love with you all over again, especially under these circumstances. Guilt and anxiety was eating away at him — why did you have to get involved? Why couldn’t you have just stayed away like he told you to?

He was quick to join the two of you, sticking close to your side to protect you if need be — but, even with all three of you together the curse still had the upper hand. Maki had been swatted to the side, her back slamming hard against one of the tiled roofs and knocking her unconscious. It was down to just the two of you now, beads of sweat causing your hair to uncomfortably stick to the back of your neck. This was something that Maki’s training could have never prepared you for.

Megumi was getting tired, taking one wrong step and losing his footing momentarily. The curse saw this as a perfect window of opportunity, sending a spiral of vines and branches hurling for Megumi. It was fast, but the adrenaline coursing through you helped you to move faster, launching yourself through the air and intercepting the attack. The barky, wooden vines twisted violently through your stomach, shooting clean through your back and ripping a violent scream from your throat.

It hurt so bad, feeling the plant wriggle through your organs and tear you apart from the inside out. The curse retracted his vine a few moments later, leaving your mangled body to fall helplessly to the roof. Tears rippled from your eyes, your body shaking and seizing as you coughed up a few sprays of blood.

A long, strong pair of arms scooped you up instantaneously, and your head was resting against a firm chest — probably Megumi, but you didn’t quite have the energy to open your eyes to check.

“We’ll take it from here, get her to Ieiri!” You heard a pair of deep voices yelling to Megumi, but it was too foggy and far away for you to understand what they were saying.

Megumi was seething with anger, moving as fast as his feet could carry him and he ran through the school. As you waved in and out of consciousness, you batted open your eyes, stealing quick glances at his twisted features and — were those tears on his face?

“I- I’m sorry Megumi… I think I finally understand what you were so afraid of all this time,” Your voice was barely a croak, “when I saw it coming, I couldn’t stomach the thought of having to watch you die. I suddenly just thought I would do anything to keep you safe”.

Yeah, those were definitely tears, you could see them a little clearer now. His eyes were red and his cheeks were dried with salty streaks.

“You’re so thick-headed,” he mumbled, his grip around you tightening slightly as he picked up his pace, “I wish you would have made that realization before there was a giant hole in your stomach”.

“Me too,” You hummed, but you weren’t really in any pain anymore. The pain had subdued to a sweet warm sensation inside your stomach, and an intoxicating sleepiness was washing over your head, “I was angry for a long time, but I’m not mad at you anymore, Gumi. I hope you can forgive me too”.

You offered him a tiny smile, but the blood leaking from between you keeps made it anything but sweet.

“There’s nothing to forgive you for, you never did anything wrong,” He spoke quickly, his voice quiet and cracking.

“No, but we’re not gonna make it to Ieiri, I know that and so do you,” You fell into a violent fit of coughs again, sputtering red splatters all over the front of his uniform.

“Shut up”.

“It’s not your fault, none of it was ever your fault,” you choked out once the fit of coughs subsided — and you weren’t just talking about yourself, you were talking about all of the unfortunate tragedies he’d witnessed throughout this life.

“And you’re allowed to be selfish sometimes, you know? I hope that when you meet someone, your soulmate even, you can allow yourself to love them with every part of you”.

The words painfully left your lips, but you meant every single one of them. You were starting to realize that you and Megumi were never meant to make it to the end. You weren’t his soulmate, you were here to help him grow, so that when he did finally meet them he’d be ready.

“You deserve to be loved, Megumi,” You looked up at him with big eyes, but his face was starting to get really fuzzy now.

Your fingers were going numb and your mouth felt like it was filled with sand. You were so tired, letting your eyes flutter shut and your head rest softly against Megumi’s chest. You felt him stop running, you could even hear him screaming at you — but it was too far away for you to hear. You drifted closer and closer to eternal sleep, your soul swollen with love for the boy who broke your heart.

Megumi didn’t even feel sad when you stopped breathing in his arms — he just felt hollow. More empty and broken than he’d ever thought possible. You were the most incredible person he’d ever met — someone with extreme motivation, who acted with no fear or hesitation, who always had love to give, even when he didn’t deserve it. He’d never forget you, not for as long as he’d live anyway.

Even when he did meet a new girl a few years later — a compassionate, brave girl, who reminded him a lot of you — he wouldn’t forget. He wouldn’t forget your words and for the first time in his life he’d let his walls down for her. He’d allow himself to truly love, and be loved in return.

And maybe you were right, maybe he did deserve to be loved like this, because god, he finally feels whole again when she’s around. He just wishes you were still here so he could say thank you.

#megumi angst #megumi fushiguro #fushiguro megumi #fushiguro megumi x reader #megumi fushiguro x reader #megumi x reader #angst #fushiguro megumi x you #fushiguro x reader #megumi x you #megumi fushiguro angst #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsukaisen #jjk x y/n #jjk angst #jjk x reader #jjk oneshot #this is sad i’m sorry

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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so ironwood was confirmed to be dead by Miles in a $42 cameo session, where the person who bought it had asked for "comforting words to soothe our anguished souls" bc she was an ironwood fan and wanted a pick-me-up after that devastating finale. miles' response was to essentially mock his fans (it really sounded like that, especially since he ended with "thank you jimmy, may you rest in pieces, crushed beneath the weight of the kingdom you tried so hard to hold up above your head."

apparently the VA, jason rose, confirmed it in DMs w the same fan who sent in the cameo ask. so like, quite apart from how rude and disrespectful it was of miles to make a mockery of james in a cameo where he'd been specifically asked for comforting words regarding the character, ngl but i think that if you have to confirm a MAJOR CHARACTER is dead outside of canon bc you failed to actually show it on screen.....you've failed as a writer. and also that kind of thing shouldn't be confirmed in an expensive and exclusive interview lmao like how hard would it have been to just talk about good aspects to james' character instead of calling him a dickbag and saying 'don't do a genocide, guys!!'

it reeks of unprofessionalism and also it just makes everything surrounding ironwood's character arc even worse since apparently 'his fate was sealed' from the moment he was introduced to the show.

Me, who received the first Moderna shot yesterday (🎉 🎉 🎉 ): Ugh I feel too crappy to answer asks today

Me, upon hearing this news: You know, I have suddenly found an untapped source of energy

Okay, all joking aside, I watched the vid and it’s definitely a lot. I don’t have any information about the request itself except for what Miles mentions in the recording, so I can’t speak to what the fan may have been looking for outside of that, but some highlights include:

“This is for the filth in my degenerate discord server” - Yeah, that’s how a lot of us (fans) talk about ourselves. It sounds like someone who really enjoys Ironwood and makes joking, self-deprecating comments about their love of a character. That’s familiar to me and speaks to the expectation that they hoped for something other than what they got. At least, if I’d sent in a request like that I wouldn’t be happy with the vid, but that’s obviously my own perspective and not this fan’s. I’d be very curious to know their own thoughts though...

“Sometimes a character we like doesn’t make it, does something we don’t agree with... or both!” - That is indeed how characters work! The real question is whether their death/actions make sense within the story, which is not addressed here. Many fans who enjoyed Ironwood don’t have a problem with him dying or turning into a villain — I’ve been honest about my acceptance of either/both, regardless of personal preference, provided it was written well — and that was always the issue. Not what happened to Ironwood, but how it happened.

“James Ironwood’s fate was sealed the moment his character was conceived many years ago.” - Personally, I don’t believe this. RT makes a lot of grand, sweeping statements about what’s been planned “for years” or “since the beginning” and too often we’re faced with writing that directly contradicts that. Though it’s unlikely we’ll ever know the truth, neither option paints the writing team in a good light. Either they’re straight up lying about what’s been planned (or twisting tossed out possibilities into assurances after the fact. For example, someone once suggested Ironwood might become a villain somehow at some point and now that’s presented as, ‘We’ve deliberately been working towards this specific ending for years’), or they’re being truthful and just... can’t write what they want to write. It doesn’t sound good when a writer says, ‘I’ve planned this the whole time’ and a good chunk of the fandom responds, ‘Then why couldn’t we see that planning this whole time?’

“When James was introduced we intentionally made him look like kind of a big dickbag, but then we realized that dickbag had a heart and was also half metal, and that was pretty cool!” - I don’t even know what to make of this. I’ve deconstructed his introduction before, but to summarize here, he’s presented as no more of a “dickbag” than Ozpin who may not be doing enough to protect the people, Winter who allowed herself to get taunted into a fight on campus, or Qrow who deliberately started that fight while drunk. Glynda is the only one who is arguably innocent here. The implication seems to be that obviously Ironwood became a villain because “we intentionally made him look like kind of a big dickbag” but then... does that mean Qrow will become a villain too someday??

The comments about them realizing he had a heart and was half metal just speak to that lack of planning. No, you obviously didn’t plan this downfall from the start if you “realized” something as basic as him caring for others partway through writing him and then allowed that care to drive his character for so long that the decent into villainy read as OOC, rather than inevitable. You obviously weren’t writing him with a backstory that influenced his character — of which his semblance is a major part — if you “realized” he was half-metal... whenever that happened. The fact that we never saw that backstory, or the semblance on screen, or returned to his half-metal nature outside of a ‘That’s coding for evilness’ theme again speaks to the fact that either a) none of this was actually planned or b) the execution is seriously lacking here.

“Let us all take a moment to thank General James Ironwood for his service to the Kingdom of Atlas, but... at the end of the day, don’t do a genocide [laughs]” - I’m having trouble articulating why I dislike this. I’m really too tired to be unpacking this right now (lol), but it has something to do with — as you say, anon — that mocking tone. Something else to do with the surge of purity culture in recent years. The tone feels like it’s tied up in an unsaid, ‘You like the character who tried to commit genocide?’ accusation when, you know, he’s a fictional character. People can like characters who do bad things. More significantly, he’s a fictional character Miles wrote. There’s something particularly distasteful about writers who feel like they’re laughing at fans for liking something when they created the thing with the intent that we would like it. And many did. So they gave attention, time, money, passion, etc. to the work and then when that part of the work finished, the creator appears to make light of that investment? Idk, I’m speaking about more than just this one line — the tone of the vid as a whole, really — but it feels much less like “You enjoy Ironwood! 😄” and more “You enjoy Ironwood... 😬” Like yeah, fans enjoyed the character that you wanted them to enjoy who you wrote to have a heart and then suddenly commit genocide instead. There’s definitely nothing complicated in all that.

“Thank you, Jimmy. May you rest in pieces crushed beneath the weight of the kingdom you tried so hard to hold above your head. Amen.” - All of the above x2 with the added issue that this was never shown on screen. Miles presents Ironwood’s arc like this seven year long plan when in fact they couldn’t even manage the basic move of telling the audience what happened to the character in his final hour. The fact that a fan had to pay to find out whether Ironwood is dead is not a gold star for the writing.

Every time the RWBY crew speaks about the story in supplementary material the canon itself gets worse. Hyping Clover/Qrow on social media pushes the canon closer to queerbaiting. We’re way closer to that with them hyping Blake/Yang. Long ago comments about Ozpin’s cane suddenly make Volume 8 a retcon. A Q&A about Ironwood’s semblance makes his arc a thousand times more confusing about how we’re supposed to read his character — to name just a few. Now this. When a friend first told me this info had dropped I thought, “Thank god. He’s not coming back then. I don’t want them writing Ironwood’s character anymore,” but really... can we believe anything the crew says? “Crushed beneath the weight of his kingdom” doesn’t mean Ironwood won’t show up in Volume 9 if it’s a spirit world type adventure. It doesn’t mean he won’t show up three years from now with even more metal in his body and a, “We said he was crushed, not that he was dead ;)” explanation. Hell, it doesn’t even mean he won’t show up with no explanation at all because, as established, what’s said in supplementary works and what happens on screen are two entirely separate things. Iffy as the vid may come across to those who did like Ironwood, I was initially happy that it at least gave us some closure... but now I’m not even sure about that.

#rwby #rwde #mymetas #Anonymous

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