#lighthearted but also. BANISHED I SAY!!!

[babacontainsmultitudes]

Me seeing people speak ill of Rebecca after her death 😔

#I don't think I'll be tagging this one #BUT LIKE BRO GET OUTTA HERE LOL I BANISH THEE!!! #actually whatever I'll tag this who cares lmao #dndads #dndads spoilers #rebecca swallows #rebecca oak swallows garcia #lighthearted but also. BANISHED I SAY!!!

[thepenultimateword]

Secret Santa 2023

For this year’s secret Santa I got @watercolorfreckles (I know you got mine too, but I promise I used a randomizer!) I’m sorry this is late, I’ve been traveling and just writing every chance I can get. I got a little overambitious and wrote several scenes instead of just one, so hopefully it doesn’t feel choppy and you like it!

"Hero's shy medic is the unsung and unappreciated glue that keeps the team together, magically repairing their every injury with her power to heal. What happens when Villain finds out how the hero's broken bones are always so quickly mending, and kidnaps the medic to utilize himself?"

Henchman was waiting in baggage claim when Villain arrived. His violet-dyed hair, thick mess of scars, and tall stature made him stand out against the crowd, but he still waved his whole arm over his head as Villain came through the doors.

Villain's glove creaked feelingless against his suitcase handle. This was getting tiresome. Probably for Henchman too. It was ridiculous that he insisted on picking him up from the airport every trip instead of looking for a new employer.

"Any luck?" Henchman said, seamlessly transferring Villain's bag into his own hand.

Villain's insides twisted. Maybe he should fire Henchman. That would force the underling to think about himself. Though Villain couldn't deny his reluctance to lose such loyalty. He wasn't sure he actually had the strength to enforce his own abandonment.

"Nah." He rubbed his numb hands together and forced a lighthearted tone. "Just another waste of money. I spent three weeks meditating away the damage, only for the so-called "power guru" to say I don't want to be healed. Apparently, if I did, I would have been able to banish the "bile" from my body."

Henchman gave the suitcase wheels a little bang against the ground. "Morons and scam artists.”

"Yes, well, it was a 50/50 shot in the first place. How's my bird?"

Henchman grimaced. "Still eating very little. She has stopped beating against her cage, but now she's very lethargic and despondent."

"You've tried cheering her up? Good food, nice things?"

"Yes, but she's not very chatty. Maybe we should have waited to get her until after your trip. This would have gone better with...some stability."

The automatic door swooshed open, and they stepped out into the chill winter air. Villain blew out a long cloudy breath and watched it disappear into the dreary, gray city landscape. Everything was so temporary. Here one moment, gone the next.

"The opportunity was too good," he said. "Besides, we couldn't leave her with our friend."

Hero had enough of an advantage without also having a decent healer on his side. No matter how many hits Villain divvied out, the heroic team always got back up unscathed. Perhaps without their golden goose, Villain could actually turn the tide. And maybe... Villain didn't want to get his hopes up, but maybe she could do something more too. He knew that Henchman knew that was the main reason he’d stolen her away in the first place. By this point he was just pretending to himself that there was a bigger purpose behind it all.

The crosswalk sign beeped its permission to cross the street, and Villain scanned the lot for Henchman's car, spotting its orangey paint job near the front.

"I am concerned she's been doing poorly this whole time. Why don't we stop by her enclosure first."

Henchman nodded and very kindly played along with the act that this was truly concern over an asset and not another cowardly excuse for himself. “I don’t think she’ll be very pleased to see you.”

She’s not going to help you.

“That’s alright.” Villain slid into the passenger seat. As Henchman loaded his suitcase into the trunk, he muttered under his breath, “I don’t have much left to lose.”

***

Villain called her Birdie.

Of course he knew her real title as Hero’s medic, but the nickname just encapsulated her so well.

So small. So skittish. Always flitting around the outskirts of a fight, the great folds of her medic’s cloak flapping at her sides like wings as she lighted briefly at each fallen party. The color was supposed to mark her as a noncombatant, take any targets of her back, but she had the instincts to remain wary always. Most villains didn’t follow the rules, and the gray was as likely to get her killed as not.

So why continue to wear it? Villain wondered, watching her through the one way glass of her cell's wall mirror. It was really more of a mini apartment than a cell--sitting room, bedroom, bathroom. The sitting room was the only room Villain could view into, but he doubted whether Medic knew that. Perhaps it was riskier to give a hostage so much blind space, but anyone worth keeping around couldn't be kept like any regular prisoner. Though, from the looks of it, Medic wasn't exactly grateful for the thoughtful accommodations.

She sat with her face buried in her knees, grey cloak nearly swallowing her little curled up body whole. He'd asked Henchman to prepare daily clothes changes, and the peeking green edge of sleeve implied she'd been taking them, but the cloak remained the same.

Villain moved around to the front of the cell and drew back the bolt on the otherwise regular door, taking a breath before swinging it open with a flourish. “Hello, Birdie.”

The woman leaped a little, head shooting up and fixing him in the inky black pools that were her eyes.

“Sorry for the delay." He locked the door behind him as casually as he could manage. "I’ve been out of town. But now we can finally chat."

Medic blinked then turned her chin into her shoulder.

Villain plopped down on the couch a couple feet away from her place on the rug. "Apparently you haven't been eating properly. Is the food not up to standard? Can I get you something else? Any favorite meals or treats?"

Medic didn't turn or respond.

"Hmm...what do birdies like. Worms?"

The healer's lip curled a little but still nothing.

"How about chocolate? Steak? Fruit tarts?"

Medic only tucked her chin tighter.

"Alright, I get it. The nice treatment doesn't work on you. Unfortunately, I don't have a mean treatment. Not for you at least. I can't asks favors from someone by relying on fear."

That got her attention. She still didn't unfold, but her eyes watched him sideways. Wary but curious. What could a villain need from a healer. He must have his own, so why her? She didn't need to speak for her thoughts to clutter the air.

"No, I can't just tell you," Villain said with a loud sigh. "You might go tell that precious hero team. I know you're quiet, but I don't believe for a second you're that quiet."

Medic swiveled her shoulders ever so slightly. "How...?"

Her voice was not so birdlike. Short yes, but like a rasped breath than a chirp. Still...

Villain grinned. "The very best of ways: by pretending I knew what you were thinking. Throw out a guess and you'll be right 80% percent of the time. That's also a guess by the way, I haven't actually researched the subject."

Medic retreated back into her cloak.

Darn.

Either he was totally unhumorous, or Medic was just that hard to entertain. Then again, she'd seemed interested by the prospect of a supernatural ability. She'd only clammed up again once she got the simple explanation for her question. She should've already known his Gift from the fights she'd witnessed, though he had held bad considerably this last year.

"You're not like other medics," he said, redirecting the conversation. "You have a Gift, don't you? And don't deny it, I've seen the recovery your patients. Scarless, rapid, perfect. One fight I saw a hero putting full weight on what, minutes previously, had been broken femur."

"And that's why you want me?" Medic squeezed her hands together, nails digging into the back of her knuckles like each word spoken aloud pained her. "Because I'm better than your medics? You want me to turncoat?"

"Not entirely. I took you because your good, yes. So good you've kept that ragtag trash hero team up and running way longer than it should have ever been allowed to go. Hero needs to be stopped."

Nothing.

"I'm going to the statue unveiling tonight." He watched her face closely. "I'm going to break it. And while I'm at it, break him."

"He's not that fragile," Medic said, her voice hushing a little further, and her brow furrowing.

"Ah, you know because you've tried?"

"I know because I' m his medic and I know how much treatment each fight requires." It came out quite a bit snappier than Villain expected and Medic must have realized it too because she set her jaw and looked away again. "I can't help you."

Villain pushed himself back to his feet. The declaration was firm, but hardly the denial of a truly devoted team member. Or maybe he was just reading to hard into things. Medic was shy. Maybe she wanted to make herself clear in as few words as possible. But if there was a chance only her fear was holding her back...

"I'll let you know how it goes," Villain said. With that, he made his way back outside the cell, bolting the door behind him with fumbling fingers. He flexed his hands a couple times, as if to warm them back to full function, but they felt as clumsy and disconnected as always. He shoved them gloved into his coat pockets.

Don't think about that. You have a hero to fight.

***

Villain couldn't feel his shoulders. He'd definitely overdone it. He'd overestimated his ability to fight with his arms as damaged as they were and he had relied too much on the power he'd been so careful to conserve.

He stumbled hard against Medic's door, sliding weakly to his knees. He didn't know why he came here. Henchman was probably having a fit searching for him after he'd bolted. Most of those heroes laid in shattered pieces at the scene. Or at least, parts of them did. Villain had found long ago that his Gift--the power to turn whatever he willed to stone--could be used strategically. The loss of limbs was usually enough to make a hero retire, no need to end a whole life. He wouldn't have minded ending Hero, but once again, the leader was the only one who escaped unscathed. Too this day Villain had only ever managed to take a pinky. It was a wonder no one found that suspicious.

Villain slammed his fist against the cell door, or more like tapped. He stifled a sob. “I don’t want to die.”

Not yet. Not without bringing down Hero’s deceit.

Villain strained to reach the bolt, fumbling it twice before finally jostling it outward. He practically collapsed onto Medic’s rug.

Dark spots clouded his vision but suddenly cool hands were running trails down his face.

“Villain?”

Medic?

No wait, the door…he needed to close…why was she still here?

“Uuughh…” Villain rolled into her knees. “It did not go well.”

“What did he do?”

“Besides use every other person as a shield?”

“I mean to your face.”

Villain squinted up into Medic’s dark eyes, so deep and concerned and…and infinite.

“My face,” he mumbled.

“Are these bruises?” Her fingers trailed a second time down his cheek. “It looks painful.”

“It’s in my face?” Villain barely restrained a wail.

“Villain,” Medic said firmly, her quiet rasp getting almost loud. “What happened? Do you need healing?”

Villain’s throat felt thick and swollen, too sticky to get out words. Of course he needed healing. But if she couldn’t help him…he didn’t know if he could take another failure. He didn’t know if his body could take it.

He extended his hand. When Medic only stared, he nodded at the black, fitted glove.

Medic’s thumb worked under the edge. Villain felt nothing but he imagined her fingers felt just as gentle as they had on his cheek.

She gasped.

Villain glanced at the bare skin for only a moment. The once caramel colored palm now a deep ebony. Like something rotten. Like something dead.

“Villain?”

Villain cleared his throat, fighting the words upward. “All powers have a price.” He forced himself to look at blighted appendage. “Mine’s is killing me.”

Medic turned his hand over in her own. “How long?”

“Always. It used to just be a little. Nails. Hair. Parts I could cut off. Then it hit skin…and it won’t stop. I can’t feel; I can hardly move. And no one…” He choked. “I’m going to die. All from trying too hard to rid the world of Hero, and I couldn’t even finish him tonight.”

Medic rested her fingers on the cuff of Villain’s sleeve, eyes meeting Villain's with some unspoken request for permission.

Villain nodded.

Medic's nimble fingers gently picked at the button, freeing the fabric and rolling it up to his elbow. Villain’s eyes widened along with hers. What had once had been dark veins was now as pitch black his hands. From the nothingness in his shoulders it was probably no different above the elbow.

Medic felt gently at the half-petrifaction. Most people, even his most loyal were afraid of the blight. Henchman was unfazed, but the previous medic had quit rather than admit they didn't want anywhere near Villain. And yet Medic touched him willingly.

“You can’t fix it, can you?” Villain said, practically plead. He didn’t care anymore. Even with the doubt in his gut and in his voice. He just needed help.

“I…I might…” Medic said.

“But Hero wouldn’t like it.”

Medic ducked her head. “It’s not that. Well, no…you’re right, he wouldn’t, but he wouldn’t have to know. And there are no specific rules that say I can’t heal a villain, it’s just…”

Villain blinked groggily up at her as she chewed her bottom lip.

“Like you said, all powers have a price.”

“And this one is too much,” Villain said.

“Yes, well, no. I don’t know.” She glanced toward the open door. “Maybe there’s a better healer…”

Villain closed his eyes, practically sinking with resignation. “No. Already tried. I don’t think I have the energy to search anymore.” He clasped numb fingers around his numb arm. “Or the time.”

A long silence stretched between them.

“It’s alright, Birdie. Fly away.”

It didn’t matter who she told now.

Medic pushed him carefully off her lap, clothes rustling as she rose. Two steps sounded toward the door way and then stopped.

“I’m not supposed to…but I’ll do it.”

Villains eyes shot open. “You will?”

Medic sucked in her lips but nodded. “Just…don’t tell.”

She knelt beside him, long gray cloak fanning out around her. The second glove peeled off easier than the first, and she held both hands in hers.

He’d always wondered what it felt it like to experience one of her gifted healings.

It was warm. Like drinking something hot. It spread from head to toe, and the numbness leeched out little by little. The skin lightened from black to charcoal from charcoal to heather grey from grey to brown.

Medic’s hands turned soft in his grip. He squeezed them lightly, his mouth parting in disbelief at the feeling of pressure of warmth of regular mobility. When he sat up, it came easy. Tears sprang to his eyes.

“You did it! You actually did it! Medic, you are—“

He stopped at the sight of her slumping figure. Sweat rolled down her temples, her face was flushed, and her teeth were grit as if in agony.

“Birdie?”

Medic only shivered.

“Birdie. Birdie, are you alright?”

Villain reached out, but she lurched back, stumbling toward the back corner. Veiny blackness spread from her fingertips, trailing up the creases in her skin. Her shoulders trembled. A small vein popped out of from her forehead. And she glared at the blight. Not like someone afraid of it, but like someone who’d like to peel it off and throw it away. Or burn it.

“No!” she cried and slammed both palms against the wall mirror with a feral cry. Immediately the glass crackled and, like a rolling wave, turned to cold, hard stone.

The black faded from dark ebony to a tan spot only

A few shades darker than her skin. She still glared.

Villain gaped. “You… That’s what I do. How did you do what I do? Did I…? Did you…?”

Medic’s eyes darted toward the door.

Villain jumped in front of it first. “Hey hey hey! I’m not going to tell!”

Another guess but apparently the right one because Medic’s shouldered untensed a fraction.

“I’m not going to tell,” Villain repeated. “I just… How?”

Medic wrapped her cloak tighter around herself. Her eyes had taken on a glazed shine suspiciously alike to unshed tears.

“It’s not exactly healing,” she murmured. “More like stealing. Taking injuries and making them mine.”

“The price.”

She nodded. “But this sort of injury…made from a Gift, it doesn’t work the same. It’s more like a build up of power concentrated in one place. And now that it’s mine…I can do what I like with it.”

Villain cocked his head. “And that’s…bad?”

“I don’t work for Hero,” Medic said. “I’m on the team because he’s supposed to watch me. Stop me from doing things like this.”

“Becoming too powerful?”

“Becoming a villain.”

Villain might have laughed if she didn’t actually look so scared. He took her hands carefully, savoring the sensation of skin on skin warmth once again. He fixed her with a hard stare that she seemed uncertain to hold or shy away from. He smiled, the first real one in a long time.

“What’s wrong with villains?”

Medic swallowed, looking away but not pulling back her hands. Her voice came out very quiet. “I guess…not everything.”

#villain x medic #villain x civilian #hero x villain #heroes and villains #creative writing #writblr #writeblr #secret santa #agggh I couldn’t figure out how to end it #and I’ve been in a bit of a block #so it was a bit tough #but ah well #it was a fun premise to explore!

[berryblooo]

Dan Heng doesn’t consider himself to be Dan Feng, or clearly wants them to be separate lives/existences. With each member of the quintet that he met, he kept reiterating and insisting that Dan Feng is dead. He is Dan Heng.

Having his dragon form revealed only made that distinction harder to make. He is now revealed as not only a High Elder, but a traitor to the Luofu who was banished. What would his friends think? The only reason he left the Express was because he was concerned for their safety. He came all this way, defying laws and putting himself in danger, to help them. If they were to reject him at this juncture, to look at him differently… would he still have a place to return to on the train?

That’s why I think it was so telling and important that March (and Welt) was the only one who didn’t call him Dan Feng. He was always Dan Heng, it’s just a question of why his appearance is different. And yes, her confusion with the statue and the resemblance is played off for laughs, but it’s reinforcing a larger point. March says to him in optional dialogue, “Y’know, the more I look at this statue, the less ‘Dan Hengy’ it gets”. That’s important!

Yes, Dan Heng is Dan Feng but he also isn’t. Dan Heng’s existence is very different from his previous High Elder reincarnations. That is how he wants to live. March, in her typical lighthearted and goofy fashion, reinforces and supports that. It must be very reaffirming for Dan Heng to know that someone sees him not as his past self, but as his present.

#honkai star rail #1.2 update #dan heng #imbibitor lunae #march 7th #astral express #danmarch

[madrone33]

Just watched Natla episode 1! It wasn't the worst. I liked some parts, and was like hmmmm with many others lol. My Mum's kinda traumatised from Sozin RIP. But I have Thoughts!

Note: this is not structured At All lmao. I rapidly jump topics, and then sometimes return later. Also, this is completely my opinion after watching it once, so if you feel differently, that's completely fine! Honestly just wrote this down for myself to structure my thoughts on it, but I'm posting 'cause why not, y'know?

ANYWAY! Onto a rambled compilation of my immediate reactions:

A Lot of exposition. Which. Fair I guess? But they added info that wasn’t needed in that episode specifically. Like Zuko being banished. We didn’t know that until Zhao says it as a taunt in ep3 but here Zuko just outright says it to Iroh? He wouldn’t do that. He’s more ‘no my father loves me, he’s just trying to teach me’. He’s in denial. He wouldn’t just say his greatest shame and fear out loud in a situation that’s not even that high stakes.

Sokka was funny! A lot more than I thought he’d be. I really liked him, though I think he’d need to show his softer, more lighthearted side later and not just stick to deadpan sarcasm and stuff. It works for this episode, because a lot of his humour in the first few episodes are from him being too uptight and stressed.

Katara was very watered down, too passive. First, she’s going in the ship that was forbidden in the original. Then she splits the iceberg by accident, but not from anger. Bending isn’t from intense emotions anymore apparently. And sure she might get mad in later episodes like the waterbending scroll, but the first episode is vital to setting up your characters. It might feel like it comes out of nowhere if we don’t see her being a stressed underappreciated frustrated kid early on.

Aang doesn’t run away, he just goes out to clear his head. This is bad. It takes away his main flaw/regret in the show - he rejected being the Avatar and his people paid for it. Running away and avoiding things is a Big thing of his character. If it wasn’t, then earthbending wouldn’t be such a difficult thing for him to learn, and he wouldn’t feel so much responsibility for abandoning the world. Also it makes Sokka’s line later really unnecessarily mean? Like, if he had run away then, yeah, that line would hit hard. But he didn’t. So calling Aang a coward is just like, whoa bro. That was totally uncalled for.

Sozin wasn’t as imposing. He was too… short and average? None of the shots really hype him up. No imposing shadows on his face, or camera looking up at him, or framing so that he’s in the centre. And he should’ve been behind the fire, not walking around. Where’s the status in that?

Don’t like Gyatso’s death. Why did they hide there? Meaningless. Should’ve been covering the kid’s escape, or at least managed to take out the room of them until Sozin stepped in.

The bending didn’t have a lot of oomph. In the cartoon that’s fine, but for a live action show? Multiple fire blasts to the back and still not dead? Wow. And the airbending! They make it look like it’s the weakest element, as if it just knocks people down but they get back up. Why is no one staying down? Where are the fall damage physics?? People die from slipping in the shower and hitting their heads! Getting blasted backwards and slamming your head into the ground from a wall of air hitting your chest is gonna hurt a lot more than that!

I didn’t like Iroh? He’s way too confronting. Iroh in the cartoon mainly goes along with Zuko in s1, it’s not until s2 that he starts going ‘hey Zuko, maybe your father and the fire nation aren’t something you should be supporting.’ In s1 he’s mostly trying to get Zuko to relax and being gently supportive.

The fishing scene was good! I liked the dialogue. Katara being bitterly resigned that she’s not a good waterbender, feeling like it’s her responsibility to preserve that part of their culture. And Sokka isn’t just disparaging of her skills but scared of them, protective, worried that what happened to their mum will happen to her if people find out.

Ah. Gran Gran is a master exposition-bender I see.

The bending is weird! Not many forms, it’s more concentration. Where’s the martial arts? In the firebending there’s too many unnecessary flourishes, and in the waterbending there’s not enough. Take away the cgi and it looks weird.

The set design was amazing! Glad the trailers didn’t lie. Though the Southern Water Tribe was bigger than I thought I’d be. Isn’t it supposed to be barely standing, ravaged by all their people being slowly taken from them, and then the last of the men leaving in a last ditch effort to help end the war?

A lot of tell don’t show. Didn’t show Aang being a kid with friends, just said he had friends. Which takes away from his line about not wanting the power and responsibility and loneliness; we haven’t seen the kids subtly ostracise him because he’s the Avatar.

Really like the Avatar State effects.

3 episodes smushed into 1. 20 min x 3 into 60 min. So they had the same amount of time, but they added all the Sozin’s Comet stuff, so it was all more rushed.

Zuko’s hair style is better in live action than I thought it’d be.

Sokka’s not sexist, but that takes away from him trying so hard to be a Man and a Warrior, and failing. Also he’s actually a really good leader here? Which is supposed to be another thing he has to grow into. When you remove flaws, you remove the character development.

It takes away from Zhao’s assholeishness if he’s not the one to throw in Zuko’s face about his banishment, and the fact that Zuko’s return is contingent on him capturing the Avatar. He’s gonna be a lot less awful if he doesn’t get to smugly shit on Zuko. And without the comparison of him being So Much Worse, why would we root for Zuko?

WAIT! Someone’s missing from the episode. Someone very important… Where’s Momo?

No boomerang!! Sokka throwing the boomerang isn’t just haha funny, it’s showing how he’s creative, thinks and uses things that are out of the box, and above all, that he never gives up. He’s on his back, beaten down again and again, and still he always keeps going and throws something new at the enemy, and Zuko underestimates him, thinks he’s stupid but then the boomerang comes back and that’s a Win for Sokka! But no. Just have him beaten and that’s it? Ok.

Zuko’s less of an asshole? He doesn’t yell as much - honestly Iroh seems more like the one out of line - and he doesn’t ram into the village. He asks for the Avatar politely, and they actually do have the Avatar in this, unlike in the cartoon where they had no idea wtf he was talking about and he was just threatening grandmas lol.

Sokka’s really fucking brave. But he doesn’t throw the boomerang-

Very static explaining scenes. Flat. When Gyatso tells him he’s the Avatar and when Gran Gran says it’s been 100 years. Also they’re really insensitive, jeez. And neither the audience or Aang is given any time to breathe. It’s always one new piece of info after another. There’s so much exposition blatantly for the audience that it doesn’t feel emotional or personal anymore.

Gyatso doesn’t defend Aang! He goes along with the elders. He doesn’t try to flee with Aang. I don’t like this!

Katara not being the one to calm Aang down is bad. If Aang can snap out of it himself, control the Avatar State himself - the thing he only managed to do right at the last moment in the last episode - then most of the stakes are gone. It’s not a force of nature that overtakes him. And this means it doesn’t set the precedent that Katara is the only one who can comfort him when he’s hurting like that. Plus, Katara telling Aang that she understands how he feels, and promising that she and Sokka were Aang’s family now, was a big bonding moment for the Gaang, which we don’t have in this.

Why can Aang fly without his glider???

The costumes look less like costumes and more like clothes than I’d feared, but they’re still too colourful and new looking, not worn enough.

Bro I can’t believe they just left Appa lol. Also, Aang already has the bison whistle? Huh. And what was Appa doing when Aang was being captured?? Why didn’t he come in and Fight them like he did the shirshu, huh?

I get why they cut the scenes of Aang and Katara going penguin sledding, and then setting off the flare; they didn’t have enough time. But it does take away from showing how Aang really is just a kid trying to have fun, and Katara’s line about Aang bringing hope doesn’t make as much sense, because as far as I could see he didn’t really? He didn’t change much in the village, the kids were having fun fine enough without him.

Lmfao, how did Zuko know that Aang had escaped? I feel like there was a scene in there that they had to cut for time or something, where he goes into his room and finds his book gone, realises what happened and then runs out onto the deck. But instead it’s just like. Wow, you spotted him! That was some really convenient timing there Zuko!

Telling it more chronologically, instead of revealing Aang’s backstory through the flashback Storm episode, is an interesting choice, and switches the pov a lot. In the cartoon, you’re in Katara’s shoes from the start; she says the intro, and then she and her brother find this mysterious boy. In this show, it’s now more from Aang’s pov, which should make you feel like you’re thrust into this strange new future with him, except that they half ass it; the viewer is given more info than he is while he’s unconscious, so we no longer feel like we’re in his shoes, and he’s never even given time to be confused or oblivious - he’s almost immediately told.

Huh. If they’re getting rid of the sexism, then what’s Pakku’s deal gonna be? Or are they just removing that plot point? Also are they removing Yue’s arranged marriage?

I’m glad they only showed flashes of the Southern Raiders. Was worried for a sec they’d just spill the whole backstory right then and there.

Making there be other teenages in the Southern Tribe aside from just Sokka and Katara is more realistic, but it also makes it seem less dire? Sokka trying to get literal five year olds to man watchtowers and fight the fire nation shows just how desperate they are. These are the ‘men’ he is left with to defend his home. They’re just kids. And so is he, but he’s the oldest, and that puts so much pressure on him. Except now, he’s just barely the oldest, and the village seems like it’d be fine without him.

Also, I might’ve missed it, but the guy Sokka leaves in charge? Yeah I can’t remember hearing them ever say his name. He’s just- random watertribe teen #2 lmao

Where is Sozin’s dragon?

Small nitpick, but I don’t like the air nomad elders/council’s room. It’s so dark and enclosed, whereas in the cartoon, it’s very light and open, large with a high arching ceiling.

They also don’t introduce the special doors, which should come back in Roku’s Temple and the Northern Air Temple. Maybe they’ll do it next episode?

In the cartoon, it’s a small detail, but when Aang enters the Avatar State, he blows away everything except Gyatso’s skeleton, like he’s subconsciously protecting it even from himself. I’m… not sure that happens in this one.

Sozin just lighting that guy on fire was brutal.

Remember, no Russian- Oops, sorry, wrong line. (But seriously, fuck Sozin.)

Another big part of Aang’s character that goes hand in hand with my problem of him not running away, is that Aang likes staying upbeat and positive. When he goes to the Southern Air Temple in the cartoon, he doesn’t want to face that all his people may be gone, which is why Gyatso hits so hard. It’s not just that it’s Gyatso, it’s that he finally having to face the genocide of his people. He can’t ignore it, it’s being shoved in his face in the worst way possible. But he doesn’t do that here, he knows, so it almost hits less hard.

I’m sorry he- he has telekinesis? He steals the keys with telekinesis? Yeah sure, call it airbending, but that looks a whole lot like telekinesis to me! Martial arts. Bending is a martial art. You can’t just gesture your fingers and get that kind of delicate manipulation!! That’s not how the Force works-

Yeah, so it was a fun watch, and I'm interested in what the next ones will do! In my opinion, it's not as trash as the movie-that-doesn't-exist-in-Ba-Sing-Se, but it isn't as good as the original. Which is fine! I'm not mad at it, just kinda disappointed and curious. So. Yeah, I might post my reaction when I get round to watching the next epsiode ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#natla #netflix atla #atla #essay #rambles #rants #immediate reaction #my posts #long post

[blushrem]

In this post I want to go over Dream’s character, motivations, and relationships. The goal here is to outline just how tragic c!Dream’s story is. I have to mention this post is a GIANT. I mean it, it is 1.7k words. I couldn’t get too in depth, I mostly did a lot of more general observations whilst reviewing some surface level history of the smp. this post is one giant love letter to the smp, so its just A LOT or brain rot lmao. also i am a dnf account so ofc there is some dnf analysis in there too because of course there is

before reading, please be careful, while I do not go in depth, there is mentions of abuse, torture and manipulation. this post is mostly for fun and because was very in my feels after the finale, so take everything with a grain of salt

The Beginning :

The SMP was created by George and Dream on April 24th of 2020. It was not at ALL a role play server, if my memory serves me correct, the server was made so George and Dream could explore the new nether update. It wasn’t just Dream and George forever though, soon after its creation a few more friends joined them: Callahan, Sapnap, Awesamdude, Alyssa, Ponk, and BBH.

Tommy’s arrival on the SMP marked a significant change. Dream made it clear that while the server didn’t have any strict rules, griefing wasn’t something he wanted. And Tommy did just that. He griefed homes, burnt down Ponk’s lemon tree, and caused general mayhem. After many arguments between members, as well as Tommy’s literal fucking arrest (for killing georgenotfound of course) Dream literally tried banishing him from the mainland of the smp until Tommy convinced him otherwise. Dream eventually stole Tommy’s discs as a rebuttal to Tommy’s behavior. This kicked off an entire new era of its own.

The Disc Wars :

This arc can be summed up with hijinks between Tubbo and Tommy v. Dream. It’s definitely the most lighthearted dsmp arc, and a lot of fun. This is especially remarkable considering that this very arc of the story is the catalyst for preceding incidents in the story and character motivations. By the end of the disc war, after much battle, Tommy crafted an ender chest, and hid his discs away.

L’manburg (Hamilton the Musical) :

There are a lot of key factors with the creation of L’manburg that I feel are especially important. Firstly, L’manburg was created because Wilbur wanted drugs to be legal. which. Is hilariously insane. Dream wanted a peaceful little server and Wilbur showed up and turned the server into a breaking bad episode. Secondly, they wanted to split apart from the Dream smp. Once the war actually started, the battle was brutal. L’manburg lost its first life from Eret’s betrayal (something Eret was tricked into by manipulation on Dream’s part) and the war wasn’t looking good for them. However, Tommy and Dream agreed to a duel.

If Tommy wins, they get their independence, but if he loses, they not only lose independence, but Tommy loses mellohi to Dream. And Tommy loses. But in a shocking act of selflessness, Tommy offers Dream both disks for L’manburg’s independence, surprising Dream. In an even more shocking turn of events, Dream actually agrees, l’manburg is granted its independence.

The most notable takeaway from this arc is the way Dream began looking at himself. This is the point in the story where he really began to be painted as the villain, and Dream wore the role well, he really leaned into this idea. He was ready to play the villain to get what he wanted. He might not have gotten L’manburg under control, but he got the disks. I think that this moment, where Tommy handed over the disks for L’manburg is the moment Dream started getting an idea about the attachments people on the server have.

Manburg :

Dream’s role during Manburg was flip-floppy to say the least. He started out helping Pogtopia, unable to fully contribute because of peace treaties. Dream was one of Tommy’s closest allies in the beginnings of Manburg, helping him grief Eiffel Tower after Sapnap accidentally killed Tommy’s cow, Henry. Furthermore, Dream willingly gave Tommy Mars, Sapnap’s fish, as leverage and helped battle for Tommy. Dream didn’t always stick with Pogtopia, as he later admitted to Tommy that he was for himself and aids Manburg with supplies, but aids Pogtopia with a little bit of protection after Wilbur agrees with Dream for wanting to destroy Manburg. * It’s also important to note that this was when Dream was given the revival book by Schlatt to aid him in the war. Dream ends up going out of his way to supply Wilbur with TNT and also manipulates George and Awesamdude into putting the Manburg flag on their shields (Sam ends up removing it, but George is indifferent to the whole ordeal). Dream continues jumping from side to side, as well as picking a fight with Sapnap. Eventually, Dream dethrones Eret and crowns George. Quackity out right questions George whose side he's on, where George deflects a lot. Ultimately, Dream aids Manburg in the war and the traitor is revealed.

Dream wanted L’manburg gone, after Tommy gave up his discs for the new country, Dream saw just how much power it had over him. If Dream could control L’manburg, or completely get rid of the place that caused his home to become so divided, then that's a win. Even after the war, Dream chased more control, the only thing Tommy could have as L’manburg was being rebuilt to its last life: the disks. 

Interestingly, I find Dream’s actions surrounding George really compelling. Dream was able to play out a fantasy now that George was king of the greater smp. George was safe (despite assassination attempts), Dream was always there to protect him… and buy him flowers (? hmm). He could keep this one thing, this one precious relic from a time where everything was perfect, safe and away from everything else. George already secluded himself from most trouble, usually just going along with Dream, so George was the only sanctity Dream had. 

(George being dethroned is a bit more complicated to talk about, simply because that really just happened because George didn’t want to be too involved in lore at the time, so I’m mixing my own headcannons in for this one.) I think Dream ended up dethroning George because of all the threats George actually posed. George was leverage that people could have over Dream, he was obviously Dream’s sweet spot because he was one of the only people Dream hasn’t had trouble with. Even Sapnap broke out into many fights with him and was subject to Dream’s manipulation, unlike George. So, George was dethroned and he lost his faithful knight, and wouldn’t be getting him back. George ended up finding comfort in a god that sounded like Dream. George and Dream aren’t so different in the fact that they want things the way they used to be, they want each other. George dreams and yearns for a time where they goofed around the smp, and its clear Dream has always wanted the same.

Exile :

After Tommy and Ranboo burnt down George’s house, Dream was ready to reap punishment. I’ve always gone back and forth on whether I believe Dream jumped to such an extreme punishment just because he wanted an excuse to isolate Tommy or because he went after George. After seeing the finale, I believe it's a mixture of both, but it definitely parallels Tommy’s first imprisonment after killing George. After Tommy covered for Ranboo and lashed out during his trial, Dream finally was able to do the one thing he wanted when Tommy first joined, banish him. Completely isolate him. The big difference now is the amount of damage and change the server went through since then. I think Dream took all of his anguish out on Tommy with all the ways he abused him. Tommy served as Dream’s punching bag as well as his pawn, this was Dream’s best attempt at gaining complete control and he wasn’t going to let it slip from his grasp. I’m not going to go in depth with the abuse that occurred during this time, I recommend reading or watching a much more detailed analysis of this specific arc because I personally don’t feel that I can give this arc the justice it definitely deserves. 

Prison :

We now know that Dream meant for Tommy and Tubbo, and the rest of the server to see all the attachments that Dream had in his base. His imprisonment, everything, was planned. It was one giant power flex and it showed just how much control Dream wanted to have over everyone. He gave them the feeling that they had won, only to later take it away from them (should be noted that nothing of George’s was there). More importantly, I think it’s important to address the torture Dream endured whilst he was actually in the prison. That was never part of the plan. Dream was an increasingly troubled character, given more power than any person should have, but the abuse he received in the prison broke him down further. Abuse should not be solved with more abuse, despite Quackity disguising his brutal torture as vengeance for Tommy, when in reality it was just a way to get information about the revive book. Dream left the prison, never being the same.

And everything after... : 

Dream continued to fight with Tommy, continued to threaten him, and continued to experiment with human life. I genuinely believe Dream began losing his mind and lost all value in what life means. The three lives system, something so ingrained into the way the smp worked, was completely dismantled and destroyed by the end of season one, now meaningless. Dream wanted one thing, he wanted what he once had, he wanted the server to be one big happy family. He made desperate attempts to keep it that way and ultimately learned that brute force and manipulation got him much farther than anything else did. Very early on, he was painted as the villain, but even as Tommy pointed out, his past self was still in there.

In Dream’s attempt to gain everything he had back, he lost everything. He lost his items, his home, and his friends, he lost the family he had been yearning for. Dream admitted, absolutely broken, that he didn’t want to be alone, yet continued to isolate himself. He genuinely believed that all of his pain, all of the suffering, isolation, everything, was going to be worth it because one day they were all going to leave together and be happy, without fear of death. Within seconds he lost everything, he tore his whole server to shreds, promising himself he’d tie it back together, only to lose it all in one singular moment.

It was never worth it. Dream was at his happiest in the beginning, with George, before the world was pillaged by its occupants.

#dsmp #c!dream #c!dream analysis #c!dnf #that’s definitely sprinkled in there #i am a dnf blog after all #mcyt #ngl kinda embarrassed to post this but we’re doing it #this ended up so much longer than I expected and I cut so much out lmao #there was more dnf in there too because of course there was

[crispykodraws]

Hey i just wanted to say that i am kinda obsessed with your Firelord Azula AU. I have just two questions that keep bouncing raound in my head Maybe you could help with them if you want and they aren't spoilers or left open for reader interpretation.

Seeing as Azula had a productive conversation with Zuko and he and Katara didn't just steal the crown from her in this AU, i assume she didn't have her mental breakdown (besides cutting her hair) and send everyone away. Is that correct?. So is she still in charge of the Dai Li? And how did she avoid it (maybe just a healthy amount of sleep)?

And what did they do instead of havjng the Last Agni Kai? Did Azula just quiz Zuko on Fire Nation bureaucracy, court life and diplomacy and after Zuko couldn't answer the questions correctly, he decided he needed to do some learning before he could run the Fire Nation?

Sorry for the long ask. You said you wanted to do some comic strips about this AU, i am definitely looking forward to that. And what new haircuts you decide to give Azula.

Hello, I too am obsessed with this AU. I think about it everyday. So thank you very much for asking about it!

I'm retroactively writing this paragraph because my answer got long. It might be considered spoilers for some, but a lot of them won't be addressed directly in the comics/fics because they're mostly just gags and short moments in the AU. So they're more like supplemental uhh lore than spoilers. To be safe though, I'll hide the rest of the answer below.

Aaah, I like those scenarios in your ask. My funny haha brain can imagine Zuko coming in and saying "I'd like to apply to be Fire Lord" and Azula, the merciless interviewer, says with a straight face, "A month ago, you didn't even know how Fire Lord Sozin, your own great-grandfather, died"

But lemme answer your questions before I get ahead of myself.

1) Mental Breakdown One thing to understand about this AU is it started with a joke idea that Zuko came to Azula's coronation to just attend it, not usurp her (much to Katara's and everyone else's confusion). I don't want to change that because it keeps things lighthearted despite the serious topics beneath the surface. I might like to keep plot points canon compliant, but there's some suspension of disbelief needed for this AU to work.

So, nah. Everything before the Last Agni Kai still happens. The only people who stuck around after the banishing spree are her Imperial Firebenders (they were weathering her ire in the barracks). Ninety percent of the servants are gone; Lo and Li retired to Ember Island; and the Dai Li left but didn't go back to the Earth Kingdom because they're considered traitors by then. Azula needed to feel the acute sense of being alone to accept Zuko into her life again.

There are few things that I've taken liberty with, like amplifying Azula's loneliness and desire to have someone to trust and call a family unconditionally. Aside from wanting control of her life, those are her motivations in this AU. So when Zuko refuses to fight and offers all those to her, she just takes it. And despite of her still present paranoia at the time, she believes it because Zuko wears his heart on his sleeve. He can lie but it's easy to spot.

However, her issues aren't resolved by then. Since this Azula is in a position of power and still insulated in her comfort zone and doesn't really get professional help, her healing comes really, really slow. Zuko's presence only helps so much.

2) Fire Lord Business I mentioned it earlier; Zuko arrives at her coronation and refused to fight her. He knows that even if he asked nicely and proved his worth, Azula wouldn't give him the crown. Zuko understands that she deserves it--she's filled the role of the heir for a long time now and this is the culmination of it. He also knows that he doesn't have to be the Fire Lord to make a difference in the world. He's already done so by helping Aang. So he basically let the coronation continue and let Azula have what she wants. It's also his peace offering, like a "look I can be nice to you too, please trust me" thing.

Zuko is already aware that he lacks the skill and experience to run a nation. He has some managerial and customer service skills from his time as a teashop employee, so he managed to be Azula's secretary/scribe for a short while. He does get promoted pretty quickly though.

When they first address his training, it's a few days after the coronation. Technically, they aren't both done with their training and lessons, but Azula is way ahead of Zuko. Everyone who wants to do public service and administration in the Fire Nation has to pass several civil service exams. Royalty aren't required to but they all take (and should pass, because it would be embarrassing otherwise) the exams as a formality. They both haven't taken any yet, so that's something they're equals on.

I do want to make comic strips about this, yeah. Some of them are going to be converted into fanfics probably. Because I don't want to draw them They work better in prose than in comic format. But I'm not sure if I'll do them all; there's like ~30 parts already lmao. So yeah, I don't really mind the long ask, I actually enjoyed sharing stuff about it. Might have overshared, to be honest. I hope you don't mind. I tried my best to be vague and avoid specific spoilers.

And let's see if Azula with another haircut will be added to the collection lol

Again, thanks very much for the ask!!

#asks #atla (archive) #!Coregency AU

[shallowseeker]

in regards to your bad dad Sam post, I think given the fact he's softened John's image in his head as an adult, he'd be more likely to spank a kid than dean?? like it's implied dean got more physical abuse than sam but sam also reacted when one of John's friends said he'd have taken the boys to the woodshed that one time so sam definitely Got It too. and as he's aged he's started veiwing the past as more 'john was a good dad who did what he could' so I think if his kid did something like stupidly dangerous he'd go for spanking. basically Jack needs to watch his step lol

I was honestly being lighthearted, hehe, but on a serious note, if there was a sequel, Sam would have to screw up, despite good intentions. That’s just good storytelling. :)

But yeah, maybe! I’d certainly like to see that come out in response to the everyday struggles of life, right? But really, I can imagine Sam falling back into “normal life” with his kid like he originally did with Jessica Moore: hiding. “She doesn’t know, and she’ll never find out.”

It’s hard for me to imagine him taking an active authoritarian role or becoming John II, but what I can imagine is Sam yo-yo-ing between allowing too much freedom/trying to be a friend/mentor interspersed with rigidity and perfectionism.

I think of how Claire considered Sam “the cool one,” and how in Ladies Drink Free, when he tried to switch to authority mode, his switch totally threw her:

///

As for spanking…I don’t see either of them as being prone to that, I don’t think. I feel like Dean defaults to rejection/banishment, but the way he used a gun to try to stun Jack out of choking a gas station worker was akin to a whoopin, (though it was done to prevent that poor clerk’s neck from cracking).

I’m not sure about Sam, to be honest! I think he wouldn’t spank so much as accidentally get a little rough in the name of protection, like how Dean shoved Ben Braeden in season 6. And Sam would have to really be spun out/backed into a corner.

///

On the other hand, Sam being accidentally pushy and critical is something I can see more easily. They can both be sharper than they intend to be with words, like when Dean was “trying to joke around,” and hurt Jack’s feelings:

///

I think overall, Sam might try very hard and accidentally lapse into micromanaging the business of parenting, especially if he were working overtime to hide hunting world.

If Sam defaults to hiding the truth, he might get sharp about dangers in a way that could confuse his child or, like with Claire, feel like strange whiplash.

He might also be prone to pushing said child to perform and take advantage of “all the opportunities he himself never had.” I can see Dean II getting crushed under the weight of overachievement and having a big reversal-freak out-meltdown at some point.

If Dean II found out about the hunting world, I can see it playing out with parallels to Patience Turner and her dad. Dean II would be primed to dive into the hunting life due to the well-intentioned lies and the pressure to “succeed.” Sam might say accidentally condescending stuff like:

“Dean, I made it into Harvard all on my own. I didn’t have any help. I’d have killed to have the resources you do. lots of kids would. You’d be stupid to throw all this away!”

#spn parenting #sam stuff #dean II & sam #jack & sam #jack & dean #claire & sam

[patrice-bergerons]

I saw the P Word at the Bush theatre last night, a play that is both an indictment of UK's hostile asylum policies and a poignant exploration of queer Muslim poc romance, and it is so good all of you living in London should go see it.

It also hit so close to home I cried through half of the play but there is one moment I will tell you about here-

In it, the two characters Zafar and Bilal are at the height of their mutual pining dumbass era. And Zafar says "inshallah one day you will find someone who loves you the way you deserve," his words strained with the weight of the feelings he can’t express. Unable to look at Bilal, he turns back and Bilal just gazes after him with ridiculously obvious longing and repeats "...inshallah."

And inshallah is my word. It translates to god willing and it is incredibly versatile-- you can use it to mean anything from a lighthearted 'fingers crossed' to an expression of deep seated but fragile hope to exquisite sarcasm in a ‘sure Jan that will happen when hell freezes over’ kind of way. Put me in any group of Turks or Muslims and I'm using it in every other sentence.

But it's not my word when I'm queer. These two parts of who I am are at an uneasy diplomatic standoff at best when they aren't waging all out open war.

And I've never heard it used like this before -- as an expression of queer love and pining and hope and in such a lighthearted humorous way too -- i never even thought it possible and it was beautiful. It had me laughing even as I was, also, crying.

Make no mistake -- representation is not liberation. But my God there is power to having and seeing our stories told. To see that we are not just banished to the dark, to the corners and edges.

#the p word #honestly if you are any form of queer muslim and poc and live in the UK #come to london just for this lol you will not regret it! #another v relatable moment (among too many to count) #was when bilal completely forgot when eid was jksahdakjhf #been there done that #but even writing thsi post im fighting back tears

[sublimecatgalaxy]

Kai Parker nsfw alphabet

Um. Yes. For Kai? Anything.

My favorite self appointed sociopath.

Not proofread.

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Very obsessive and suffocating lol. Contrary to popular belief, out of all the people I write for, I think he'd be the best at aftercare. He would definitely find it important, needing it himself too. He needed to be coddled and comforted so most of the time you'd end up wrapped up in each other.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Obviously he loves his hands and his fingers. Whether they're wrapped around your throat, tugging on your hair, holding your hand in his, or slipping in and out of you.

He loved your smile. That's cheesy and he hated how cheesy that was but he genuinely just wanted to see you smile in every way, shape and form.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Yeah this kid is a heathen. He'd never get it anywhere that he didn't intend for it to be, even that one time where it went straight into your eye and he profusely apologized for hours while holding a warm cloth to your eye.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He really didn't like when people bring things of his past up in front of you. He was worried that it would turn you off to him completely and that you would lose your intimacy that he holds so dear to his heart. He knew he couldn't avoid it but he knew it was something that could possibly ruin your relationship.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Not very much experience given he was trapped in a prison world for eighteen years. He had very little experience before he was banished away other than himself so. You were his learning curve.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

He liked to bend you over things. Anything. Sometimes he liked to bend you over in front of a mirror so he could watch your face and catch your gaze every once in a while.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Very very goofy. He liked to keep it lighthearted because he dreaded becoming emotional in a sexual situation. So he kept it as playful as he could until you guys were deep enough in your relationship where he could let his walls come down a bit.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Very well groomed. I don't think he liked much hair and after 18 years with himself he would definitely learn what he liked and didn't like about himself.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

He liked intimacy and craved it but it was also what he feared the most about relationships. He didn't like when he wanted to tell you meaningful things or snap out of his snarky, sarcastic self. He hid behind those things a lot so he worried about being soft.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

Yeah, again, this was all he did for 18 years when he wasn't coming up with creative ways to try to get out of the prison realm. He was by himself for that long so it would be a learning curve to have someone else take care of him sexually.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

This boy definitely wants to be dominated. Look me in my face and tell me that he doesn't just wish to break down his walls and give his whole entire being to you.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

He liked having sex or making you feel good in places he knows he shouldn't. Sometimes he wishes he could go back to the prison realm just to fuck you on every surface of the Salvatore estate without worrying about getting caught.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

After 18 years alone, anything would get him going at first. It would take months for him to build up the ability to not pop a boner just at the sight of you.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He didn't want to make you afraid. He had enough people knowing that he was a monster or used to be so he didn't want to play into that and ever make you feel like you had to be nervous around him or like you had to walk on eggshells around him.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He would definitely go for a good blow job, any time, any day. He liked that you cared so much about making him feel good so he would go above and beyond when it was your turn. He loved being between your thighs, teasing.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Fact most of the time unless you were both tired and looking for closeness.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

He loved quickies, especially in times where you probably shouldn't be having them. He liked to pull you into the nearest room, sometimes even going as far as pulling you over and onto his lap in the car.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

He loved to come up with new ideas on how to please you. He liked to surprise you with new things like positions and tricks, especially with his magic. He would also do almost anything you asked of him, loving when you would come up with new ideas.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

At first, not long lol. He'd want to fuck all the time but he wouldn't last very long when you guys would get down and dirty. It would take him a few months to build up the stamina to keep going, not wanting to slip out of you until you were next to sleep.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Nah, he'd much rather use his magic than a toy, knowing it could drive you even more crazy than any toy could.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He's the biggest tease to ever walk the earth. He loved to drive you crazy and have you begging for him and just when you think he would give you what you wanted, he would pull back and move on with his day. He's a big edging fan too once he learned what that meant.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Breathy and whiny beyond compare. He liked to draw moans out of you but he knew that you liked to hear him most of all. That it was one of the biggest things that gets you going. You loved every noise that came out of his mouth.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

You would probably find him curled up with a book, trying to find spell revolving around pleasure. He loved to take you off guard and surprise you so you would just leave him be, knowing he'd show you another time.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

He used to be a boxer guy and then slowly through the years, and the privilege of having Stefan and Damon's closet, he would decide that he liked to have everything all put together down there with briefs.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Very very very horny and needy. He liked to be close to you in that way and he also just loved to have sex. Like genuinely, he liked to do any sexual act that you would allow to happen in that period of time. He'd take whatever you gave him.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Not very quick, he'd probably stay up and watch you like the creep he is lol. No but seriously, he worried about you probably more than anyone in his life so he'd want to make sure you were fast asleep and comfortable before he relaxed enough to slip off.

#vampire diaries #legacies #kai #kai x reader #kai parker #kai parker x reader #kai bartley #kai parker smut #kai fluff #kai parker fluff

[justafewsmallsteps]

Your wish is my command! ;)

Royal AU / Flirting under Fire

InuKag one-shot drabble.

“Found ya.”

Her head shot up to the open doorway. “Inuyasha?” she gasped.

“Hey, your Royal Pain in My Ass,” he greeted, but it was soft.

“You came after me… I—” she swallowed, an apology stuck in her throat.

“We can talk later. Let’s get you out of here.”

“You’re really here.”

The smirk on his face wasn’t quite so sneering. “Your banished Prince Charming to the rescue.” He dropped a quiver of arrows and a large bow at her feet.

Kagome stood up from her spot on the floor and craned her neck. Her shoulders were sore from the cuffs at her wrists. She lifted her arms to show them off. “Can’t shoot with these on. Think you can help?”

Inuyasha frowned. “They already got you locked in here, what’s with that?” He looked her over again and grimaced. What was she wearing?

Her cheeks turned red in an angry huff. “They seal off my powers. I tried to purify a guard.”

He snickered. “And the getup?”

“They gave me this dress to change into after they let me bathe. I don’t know where they put my old set of clothes. It’s supposed to be a wedding gown, but I slapped the prince who ‘proposed’ to me. As if capturing me and shoving me in a dungeon is so romantic.”

He nearly barked out a laugh as he broke the chain links with his strength. Princess Kagome was known for turning down all her suitors, even in polite situations. He was also good at glaring them down whenever they took poorly to her rejection. He studied her hands before turning around and kneeling, hiding his annoyance at the angry red chafing marks. “We can do something about the actual cuffs later, but at least you can move your arms freely now. Hop on my back.”

“Thank you.” After grabbing the bow and slinging the set of arrows around her, she climbed on, her body happily molding against his. She’d only been captured three days ago, but it took a toll on her to be locked away with no one kind for company. Contact with another person filled her with relief. “How’d you sneak past all the security?”

“Mostly with my fists.”

“Ah.” She snickered, noting the hunched over figures as they entered the hallway. “So diplomatic.”

“I would’ve had a great life in politics. I was an excellent prince back in the day I’ll have you know.”

She laughed. It was the first time in days she had such a lighthearted conversation, and it was with Inuyasha, her brash and arrogant knight. How odd for them. He always acted so rude to her, yet here he was. She felt herself relax despite the tense situation, her hold on his neck becoming affectionate. In her mind an entire army would be sent to her rescue—but it was him. It was all she needed. She’d wanted it to be him too, she realized, even though their last argument had her wondering if they’d ever speak again.

“What took you so long?” Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, but she pressed her face against his shoulder to let the familiarity and warmth comfort her. “I didn’t mean the things I said, you know. I was just being stupid.”

“It’s my fault too. Sorry,” he mumbled, standing up and adjusting to hold her more securely. “It was shitty timing. Right after I left you, I got a summons from his Majesty the Asshole.”

“King Sesshomaru?”

“Keh,” he scoffed at hearing his brother’s name. “Kicks me out of the kingdom and still can’t make up his mind to leave me well alone.”

“Is he going to let you back in? Back to your father’s castle?”

“Nothing so kind-hearted as that, but…I guess I’d be allowed back. In a way,” he shrugged.

Unwittingly she tightened her grip. “Are you going to?” If he went back to his original kingdom, he’d be leaving her side forever.

“Pah! I leave you for a day and this is where it lands you.” He turned his face just enough to send her another one of his smarmy looks. “What would you do without me?”

“Hey!” Kagome pounded a fist on his shoulder lightly. She’d say she could handle herself, but clearly she wasn’t in the position to say that. It was dreadfully humiliating. She was here because of her own stubbornness and insecurity. “Actually I—“

Again, he stopped her, but this time they were interrupted by a slew of guards greeting them at the outer exit. “Later,” he told her seriously. “After I break you out of here we can talk all about how much you need me.”

Kagome couldn’t help the blush that stained her face. It was embarrassing enough to have to be rescued, but to have her apology cut off twice? And to nearly admit that she did want him to stay by her after all. It was going to be a rough night.

The guards rushed in with swords to attack Inuyasha, but upon seeing Kagome on his back they seemed conflicted. She was a live capture after all. Were they allowed to harm her?

“Put the princess down and we’ll show you some mercy, hanyou trash,” one announced.

“Like that’s going to happen,” Inuyasha barked.

Offended for him, Kagome bristled. “Prince Inuyasha and I are leaving, and I suggest you get out of the way before you end up like everyone else who’s gotten in the way tonight!” She shouted from behind him.

“So you denied our prince for this beast?”

“I denied your prince because he’s an asshole!” Kagome yelled. “Tell your sorry excuse for a king that I will never marry into this family and that I’d sooner be set on fire!” She stuck her tongue out for good measure. “And Inuyasha is my most trusted knight. Don’t you dare talk to him that way, you sniveling, weak, pathetic man.”

The head of the guards looked irritated, signaling the group to press forward. “Get them!”

Inuyasha dodged the various attacks aimed at him, careful to keep the princess on the opposite side of any oncoming hits. “Did you have to irritate him?!”

“He can’t talk to you like that!”

“That shouldn’t matter to you!”

“Well it does! I hate when people talk down to you like that!” Angrily, she notched an arrow and let it fly right into the crevice of a guard’s knee plate. He fell down with a grunt; the one who had insulted him. “Serves you right!” she called back.

“Damn. Nice shot.”

She grinned. His princess was hot-tempered with no patience for the unaccepting.

Being a half-demon was never easy. It was the reason his brother always hated him. It was the reason that no one trusted him, and he’d worked his way from the bottom to the top of the ranks when Kagome’s mother, the Queen, had allowed him refuge in their castle. He’d earned his job to protect the princess, but for all his duty to protect her, she was always the first to defend him when his honor was questioned.

“You keep running, and I’ll keep shooting. Let’s go home, Inuyasha.”

“Your wish is my command.”

#thank you! #jelly fic #inukag #inuyasha #kagome higurashi #it’s not as flirty as I want but you know they flirt by arguing #justafewsmallsteps

[zeta-in-de-walls]

Tommy’s character and the theme of failure

One thing I’ve always rather appreciated about Tommy’s story in the Dream SMP is how it explores the idea of failure. It can be a challenging one to do right as it means exploring a character’s weakness a lot and can start to feel unsatisfying if the character never succeeds but I feel like Tommy’s story avoids this issue as his arc is ultimately an encouraging one. His character never stops trying or gives up in spite of his losses, showing the perseverance to keep going until eventually he starts to find happiness, no matter how elusive it seems. 

Tommy’s character is no stranger to failure of course but I’d say this theme starts to become prominent with November the 16th. Tommy had two goals: to save L’Manberg and to save Wilbur. He was pretty optimistic about both. And he failed. The day ended in disaster with Wilbur dead, Technoblade, his idol, mocking his heroism and telling him to die, and his home in ruins. It takes him a long time to come to terms with who Wilbur was, separating Wilbur into two in his mind: President Wilbur and the ‘crazy’ Wilbur who blew up L’Manburg. 

But Tommy continues on, quietly moving on as L’Manburg gets rebuilt. No matter what, he still believes in L’Manburg; it’s still alive. Also, he wants to finally get his remaining disc back from Dream, feeling the need to do this after putting it aside for so long.

But of course, things don’t go well. That which he had taken for granted, his bond with Tubbo, was under fire. His personal wish to get his discs back was causing division. A simple prank gone wrong was tearing everything apart as Dream threatened L’Manburg once again. None of these things were purely Tommy’s actions, and yet his actions played a part all the same as Dream essentially took advantage of all of Tommy’s weaknesses. Tommy was being viewed as a liability, a troublemaker, as self-centred, as a problem. 

Tommy’s character likely blamed himself somewhat for his failure with Wilbur and L’Manburg the first time but it had been out of his hands and his reactions were more shock than being truly broken by the events and he kept up his optimism. Yet this time, the problems were not things far beyond his control. It seemed it was his own mistakes spelling his doom and it impacted him quite severely. As much as he recognised Dream as an antagonist here, his friends distrust of him was his failure. Despite his best efforts, he could not convince Tubbo not to exile him. 

Rather than seeing the fairly resilient, optimistic Tommy like the first time he was banished, this time Tommy’s defeated. We see the full effects it takes on his mental state and the narrative does not pull its punches. Tommy’s already depressed and we start to see evidence of suicidal thoughts very quickly. This is all made far, far worse by Dream who encourages his dark thoughts and feelings of worthlessness, telling him everyone’s better off without him while breaking his spirit and making him miserable by repeatedly blowing up his items. 

Dream was of course Tommy’s enemy, he’d recognised before that what Dream had been doing to L’Manburg, with the obsidian walls and insisting on banishing Tommy, had been unfair even if Tommy had been helpless to stop him. Yet over exile we see him really start to internalise Dream’s words, starting to really believe that narrative that he is unloved and a liability, despite his best efforts. As his mental state worsens we see him starting to believe Dream’s lies so much that he begins to believe that Dream is really his friend who cares about him. Meanwhile, he’s angrier and lashing out at the people he cares about, we seem him kill Jack, break the bridges he built and generally lashing out at the people he misses the most. 

So through exile, we see Tommy at his weakest and most vulnerable. We also see some of his flaws with his uglier side, his uncontrolled emotions, his dependency on others, his deep self-worth issues and how he can be so successfully lied to. This deep exploration of Tommy’s character allows us to really see how the repeated failures and setbacks and losses affected his character mentally and depict it as yet another obstacle he needs to overcome. 

And ultimately he does, ultimately deciding to fight back and run away from exile on his own. Tommy’s arc goes to very depressing places but manages to remain an inspiring story by showing you at his weakest and yet also show him never truly giving up but pressing on, in search of that happy ending. Running away from exile has him also realising that Dream is his enemy, not his friend and he commits to fighting back against him. 

But of course the narrative doesn’t entirely move on. Tommy’s struggles and failures continue to plague him as the mental issues he has with self-worth and his confused feelings towards Dream do not go away. He managed to continue but that wasn’t the perfect victory as most of his problems are still there and he’s still the same person. at Techno’s house, we see him and his confusion. He’s lighthearted and joking about but he’s still deeply troubled without a clear stance on Dream or L’Manburg or Tubbo and he clings to the idea of the disc as a simple goal. It seems as if he’s doomed to become the person he hated or make the same mistakes again. He once failed to save Wilbur and it seems as if his greatest failure would be to go down Wilbur’s path too, blowing up the country he once loved. 

And Tommy nearly goes too far. He finally meets Tubbo again and his anger, his issues all come back as does some self-centred behaviour as he declares that ‘the discs are worth more than you ever were’.

And he immediately regrets it. He apologises, he turns around and gives them up to Dream. He won’t let himself turn into Wilbur. 

And yet, every little victory he fights so hard for is met with an even greater failure. He switches sides on Technoblade while giving Dream exactly what he wanted. His story isn’t a happy one in spite of him trying his very best and making the decisions that are right for him. And we can only wonder how inevitable it was or if he could’ve done better for he hurts Techno deeply. Is he doing better or does his very nature doom him to make the same mistakes again and again?

Once ore, we see L’Manburg blown up and this time Tommy declares it a lost cause. Despite his best efforts, it’s over and we can only stare at the ruins of the nation he’d once helped build with Wilbur. Additionally, Tommy is dead to Techno now, that relationship seemingly broken forever. 

But it’s not the end. Tommy is defeated once more, with each failure hitting harder than the last but he doesn’t give up. He keeps on fighting. For all he’s lost, he’s won Tubbo back, and the experiences may have been terrible but he has learned something through all of it. Even if all that is, is understanding suffering a bit better and getting back the courage to apologise and reconcile.

He and Tubbo go after Dream and it’s almost, almost too late. He’s nearly locked in prison forever and Tubbo almost killed. 

But it’s not end. Just this once, it’s not a failure. They bet it all and finally had that victory. The rest of the server comes to save them and Dream gets locked in his prison while Tommy and Tubbo are finally free. 

Course, Tommy’s story isn’t over there. And the thing with this theme of failure is that it keeps on cropping up. They may have finally gotten a victory but Tommy’s issues aren’t over. he tries to start again, building his hotel but the trauma from exile has made an impact on him. It’s something that can’t be solved in a day, but only over a long time. And despite everything, the issues keep coming back. Tommy feels like things are unresolved with Dream and visits him again. 

And he gets locked in prison and dies and then gets resurrected. And its all absolutely devastating and it seems as if Tommy will never get better, that he’ll never truly have his happy ending. His hotel gets stolen from him and its as if everything he tries to do ends in failure.

He tries to sort things out, tries solving things with killing Dream and it just gets Ghostbur killed and the guilt can only eat at him. Wilbur is back at Tommy’s afraid but time has passed and he’s starting to see Wilbur more for who he is. After all he’s been through, he understands him way better than he did before. He once more commits to helping him but Tommy isn’t the naive kid he once was. 

Tommy still lives in the very same spot he always did. He still wants the same things he always did: a home, security, peace, friends, and he’s been experiencing many losses. And yet, his story is not a hopeless one. Because in spite of all that’s happened, he’s still trying again. And he’s learned and can avoid making those mistakes again. Right now, he’s doing better, he’s committing to living peacefully in a way he hasn’t in a long time. He’s been attempting to build bridges and though all his failures haunt him, he is gradually healing day by day, still trying to find that happy ending.

I think Tommy’s story is very cool for the way it really explores these themes of failure. It does not pull its punches, its dark, never easy or straightforward but that’s also what makes it so powerful. Those bright spots, feel so good, they feel so rewarding because they were so hard-fought. We root for Tommy’s character because we’ve seen his journey and really feel he deserves his happy end even though its never going to be perfect and indeed every failure is a mixture of forces outside of his control and his character which he has been trying to improve, learning to be nicer, more forgiving and more aware of his own emotions. He can’t fix Dream nor does he know how best to help Wilbur but he can help himself and that’s what he’s always trying to do. He holds himself to account and always tries his best.

#tommyinnit #meta #analysis #dream smp #long post #finally got round to writing this #dream smp meta #heh i blame the music i was listening to #ive been thinking about this subject a lot but suddenly listening to this song called 'the same mistake' one too many times #and i finally wrote my thoughts out #this is mostly from his character's perspective if it sounds like im blaming tommys character a lot here #he's biased ofc - he's just trying his best and didn't deserve the consequences he received #aaah a lot of characters on the smp have failures but i like how tmmys really toy with the ideas of failure a lot #i love character who never give up no matter how many times they fail a i find it super encouraging #so yeha i do love tommys character

[bookgirlfan]

Earning Forgiveness

"No." Lance stood in front of the door, arms crossed.

Cassandra instinctively growled, anger rising, before she made an effort to push it back. She wasn't that person anymore. "I just want to talk to him, Lance."

Lance didn't move a muscle. He just continued to stare at her with that same distrustful face.

It stung, and she hated it. She had helped save Corona, Rapunzel had forgiven her, so why was she still hurting? Why did everything still feel so broken?

A piece of crumbled masonry fell at the other end of the hall.

Okay, maybe because some things still were broken. But she wanted to fix that!

"I'm not going to hurt him, I just want to apologise." Rapunzel's forgiveness was wonderful, but Rapunzel always forgave too easily. If Eugene could forgive her, maybe she'd finally feel less broken.

"And why should he have to listen to your apology?"

Cassandra's brain stalled.

Lance crossed his arms. This wasn't the fun, lighthearted, kind man she'd come to know over the last few years. This man was serious, and clearly felt no loyalty to her. Not that he should, Cassandra knew, and that just made the guilt and anger stronger. "He's finally asleep, after spending the last two days cleaning up your mess, from the demon you unleashed, while recovering from the beating he got from that demon's curse and yourmind-controlled soldiers. Why should I wake him up just so he can listen to you apologise so you can feel better?"

She...she didn't have an answer for that. Her only response was that she wanted him to, but what good had come recently from doing what she wanted? She couldn't even call on bonds of friendship, as she'd thoroughly rejected those. One hug on the balcony wasn't much against months of pushing back every attempt at reaching out.

She wrapped her arms around herself, missing her moonstone armour. Nothing had been able to touch her then. "I didn't know he was asleep," was all she could muster.

She could see in Lance's expression that he didn't think she would have cared. Her anger rose up again. Why was Rapunzel the only one who could see the good in her still? Hadn't saving Corona been worth anything? "Rapunzel's forgiven me, why can't anyone else?"

Lance laughed. It wasn't a nice sound. "Rapunzel was always going to forgive you. Eugene will too, or at least try, because he loves her. As for the rest of us, what have you done to earn forgiveness?"

'I died', she wanted to say, but her death had been an accident, after the battle had already been won. 'I saved Corona', she could say, but she's broken it too. 'I turned back', she could say, but that was even worse than the first two. She hadn't turned back at all, her power had been stolen, and as much as she now told herself she would have turned back eventually, at the time it had been the last thing on her mind. Only once she had no power did she realise how little having it had helped her.

Lance read her silence as the admission it was. "When you have an answer, then you can come back."

***

"Cassandra." The king stared down at her forbiddingly.

She could feel his gaze on her, but didn't dare look anywhere but at her feet. Everyone in this room was someone she had hurt, and the only one she knew had forgiven her was also the one she'd hurt the most.

"After much discussion, I have decided your sentence."

She still couldn't look up. No matter what her fate, she'd accept it, if only to try and quiet the turmoil inside.

"You are hereby banished from Corona for a period of seven years. If you attempt to return during that time, you will be imprisoned, and will carry out the rest of your sentence there. You have until nightfall to cross the border."

She could hear Rapunzel crying, and knew Eugene would be comforting her. Everyone else was silent.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, your Majesty." Still avoiding anyone's gaze, she turned and left the room.

Lance had said she needed to earn forgiveness. Well, now she had seven years to try.

#tangled #rapunzel's tangled adventure #my writing #stories

[jaeheewillalwaysbemyfav]

Yea, I'm surprised they went with Lilith as the sister's name given that even Lilith's children have an actual name. They missed a perfectly good chance to call us/mc a Lilin/Lilim. Like.. if they wanted to do that why did they pick the cool mother of demons?

She should be more than giving Belphie and the others a sister complex. I do wonder if she had survived, what would she be an avatar of - probably despair. Sometimes I do feel like the MC holds an idiot ball.

I do wonder sometimes about a story like if Lilith hadn't been the only one that died/reincarnated that day. Or if she had, had a child before her death. Like, an actual Lilin/Lilim - that the brothers didn't know about. Or if Lilith's despair created/gave rise to a demon or angel similar to Satan.

Because that situation would cause so many problems and shit it would be hilariously sad.

Also sorry for the pronoun - I'll make sure to remember Ori is they/theirs.

(No worries! It's an easy mistake)

Given the structure of Obey Me and its focus on the seven deadly sins, the idea of seven demon lords, one for each sin, is pretty integral to its whole thing, so if we wanted to go with canon-compliant, I'd say in order for Lilith to be an avatar/demon lord, she'd have to take one of the brothers' places. The most likely candidate for this is Belphie, since it was him or Lilith who was going to be hit during the war. In that case, that would make Lilith the Avatar of Sloth, but as I've said before, Sloth is multifaceted, and despair is one of those facets!

Also in that linked post I mentioned that you could draw from Dante's Inferno to assign Lilith a sin, and I said Treachery or Heresy would work best for her. I think I'm leaning more towards Heresy because it fits with her defiance of God thing. Heresy is basically a rejection of God's love/divinity/whatever, and a refusal to submit to Him, as well as encouraging others to do the same.

There is so much potential for Lilim in Obey Me!!! I kinda love the idea of Lilith's despair creating a being like Satan because that creates the extremely sad picture of the freshly fallen brothers dealing with Wrath incarnate, as well as a similarly formless being with an uncanny resemblance to their dead sister.

Satan's able to become his own person because the brothers basically teach him. But baby Despair? She's literally depressing to be around, and the brothers avoid her whenever they can. Nonetheless, their grief fuels her, and she develops too, but without any love or guidance.

She becomes this boogeyman-esque figure in the House of Lamentation, one that Lucifer eventually banishes to the attic to keep her away from the rest of them. Over time they all forget about her... Until a certain cowboy causes problems on purpose and gets locked up there himself.

Just an angry Avatar of Sloth with the ghost of Despair, trapped in a room unsupervised, left to rot together. And then one day, a human shows up.

What could possibly go wrong?

On a much more lighthearted note, the idea of MC actually being one of the lilim and Obey Me's story then becoming a story of "let's raise this feral sorta-demon we found in the trash and accidentally come to grips with the loss of our sister in the process" is pretty funny.

Or!!! When Diavolo reincarnates Lilith as a human, she happens to get involved with magic and remembers her time as an angel all of a sudden! And then becomes a fearsome sorcerer, determined to find a way to break Lucifer (and thus, the rest of her brothers) out of the deal with Diavolo so they can truly be free. (MC could be anyone in this scenario: her apprentice, a lilim if Lilith's reawakening of her powers make her become inhuman, just a random human who gets caught up in her mess)

Just- Lilith being an active character, instead of a tragic backstory.

#obey me #obey me lilith #obey me mc #mine #lilith #mc

[morallygraysidecharacter]

Dancing in the 21st Century

Summary: You and Bucky are dancing around each other in more ways than one.

Warnings: Implied smut

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x reader

A/N: Pure fluff with just a teensy bit of implied smut. I’m not sure but I may turn this into a series? First Marvel fic (I normally write Supernatural but I’m not by any means a prolific writer) I’d love to know what you think!

"Oh c'mon, dance with me!”

"I'm just fine with my drink, thanks," Bucky chuckled, nodding as he raised his glass to her. He wouldn't admit it, but seeing her so lighthearted was catching.

It was a rare night off and Y/N was a little drunk, dancing around the compound's living room after having asked F.R.I.D.A.Y. to make one too many bourbon old fashioneds on a mostly empty stomach.

"Pleeeeaase?" she begged, pouting and grabbing his hand, trying to pull him to his feet. The super soldier let her pull and tug on his metal arm, not even budging in his seat.

"Alright, fine, but only if you promise not to make that sound again," he relented, after she made a particularly pitiful whining noise.

She practically squealed in response, bouncing on the balls of her feet a couple of times before turning her back to him, glancing over her shoulder as she began to move to the music.

"Do you hear yourself? You can be downright scary but then... so..." Bucky almost said adorable, but caught himself and instead saying, "This. Which I suppose is still scary." Something else that scared him? The fact that he wasn't sure he knew how to dance anymore. Feeling somewhat embarrassed and very unsure before he'd even moved, he froze, glass still in hand. "Okay I haven't danced in a very long time and-"

"C'mere old man," she teased, turning to face him, "I'll help you. I doubt dancing has changed all that much, you just move to the music." She grabbed his hands before swaying her hips, and with a quick spin her back was flush against his chest, her arms crossed in front of her, having never let go. The uncomfortable tension radiated off him in waves, his body stiff and unmoving despite her attempts. Worried that he would change his mind and go back to nursing his drink, an idea quickly formed in her mind as she unclasped his hands and turned back to face him. "Ok, I'll ease you into it. Do you see my phone anywhere?"

Confused and curious, Bucky glanced around until he spied it, handing it to her. "Ease me into it, how exactly?"

She quickly typed something in before scrolling a few times, smiling mischievously as the lyrics of “You Make Me Feel So Young,” came through the speaker. Bucky raised a seemingly unamused eyebrow.

”Sorry, I had to!” she giggled before turning the song to a pop jazz cover of “Fly Me to the Moon.”

Bucky laughed at her apology, setting down his drink with a lopsided smirk. “You absolutely are not sorry.”

“Maybe not.”

“Brat.”

“You have no idea.” Shit. Y/N cursed her alcohol soaked brain as she hoped to god that he didn’t hear or didn’t know what she had meant. But she also really liked seeing this side of him; seeing him joke around with her and smile made it easy to picture him prior to the war and really brought Steve’s stories of him being a trouble making scamp to life.

Gentleman that he was, the comment slid past him with no outward reaction. Internally, though, images came unbidden to the forefront of his mind, ones that he quickly tried to banish. Particularly the one of her on her knees in front of him, her Y/E/C eyes wide and looking up at him through her lashes. No. Enough of that.

Her voice filtered through his thoughts, snapping him back to reality. “Bucky? Are you alright?” Her brow was furrowed and eyes were full of concern.

“Hm? Uh, yeah, I’m fine.”

“I can choose a different song if you’d like,” she offered, already scrolling through her phone.

He gently laid a hand on her wrist, stopping her. “The song is fine,” he assured her, chuckling a little. “Promise.” Bucky cleared his throat a couple of times before flashing a cocky grin, and held his hands out to her in a silent invitation to dance. “Now, what was this about easing me into 21st century dancing?”

#reader insert fluff #marvel fan fiction #Bucky Barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes x reader fluff #fluffy marvel

[moomingitz]

It’s... interesting looking back at the Jak and Daxter series, because when the second and third games first came out during my edgy teen years my mindset for them was mostly, “OMG Jak is now a buff and rugged edgy boi, he’s saying curse words, and has a literal edgy dark side to him. And Daxter is a big playboi who doesn’t hide his love for bewbs. Jak and Daxter is no longer for babies but for mature big kids like me!”

But looking at the series now; Holy shit, Jak has had it rough. Where do I even begin? This is going to be long, so get comfortable:

First, Jak was ripped away from his father at a very young age due to an insurrection. Then he was kidnapped by one of the people who was responsible for it, with the intention of being used to awaken some ancient Precursor technology, but luckily he somehow escaped and then was taken in by a rebellion group.

Then he was sent back into the past to be raised by Samos, the Sage of Green Eco. While that was a good thing for Jak, since he was able to grow up in a loving and supportive environment, what happened to him before that is something that would still be traumatic to a little kid especially in the form of something like Separation Anxiety. While this goes into headcanon territory, I can’t help but wonder if that had a lot to do with why Jak was the mostly silent type before the events of the second game. But thankfully he was lucky to grow up with two best friends like Daxter and Keira.

Surely you think that would be the end of misfortune Jak would have to go through. Wrong!

Fast forward to where he’s now 15 years old and everything seems all good and exciting after he and Daxter saved the world from Dee Snider and his twisted sister. Sure they didn’t accomplish what they set out for by turning Daxter back into his old humanoid self, by Daxter is content staying as a furry anyway. At least they saved the world and found some ancient Precursor technology. But hold up! Turns out it was some kind of rift gate and the moment they activated it some giant bug monster pops out and they’re all separated and thrown into some new place they’ve never seen.

Literal seconds later, before Jak or Daxter have any time to react or process what exactly just happened and where they ended up, Jak is immediately arrested and knocked unconscious, despite doing nothing wrong. He’s then tortured and experimented on for the next two years, in hopes of turning him into a living weapon by pumping Dark Eco into him. Keep in mind Jak was only 15-16 years old during those nightmarish two years of his life. But his BFF Daxter never gave up looking for him and eventually rescued Jak.

Upon busting out Jak has no damn idea where exactly he is, and when he does it turns out him and Daxter are now in a totalitarian, police state of a hellhole where never ending propaganda is blared everywhere you go, and where Jak’s only crime is just existing. Oh, and there’s currently an ongoing war between this police state regime ruling the city and some species called Metal Heads, so the territory outside the city is near inhospitable. So just simply leaving Haven City isn’t really an option. It’s either deal with the Krimson Gaurd who will get on you for just sneezing in the wrong direction, or claw your way for survival outside the city walls.

Until finding Samos and Kiera much later, Daxter is the only familiar and welcoming face Jak still had until then(the only exception being Sig in the “welcoming face” department).

Oh, and it turns out those Dark Eco experiments gave JAk some dark Hulk like form that he has trouble controlling(at least that’s what the game tells us). Oh, and they eventually learn that this shithole place they found themselves in is actually their home 500 years into the future. Oh, and it turns that this little kid they’ve been having to protect from both the Krimson Guard and the Metal Head army is actually Jak’s younger self.

Despite all that, the rebellion group and many of the criminals they had to work with eventually warm up and even become their friends, the authoritarian regime eventually crumbles, and they kill the Metal Head leader. Even though Jak doesn’t go back to his childhood home in the past, Keira, Samos, and Daxter choose to stay with him in the future, so he’s definitely not alone in the end. Happy ending earned, and that should be the end of all the bad stuff to happen in Jak’s life, right?...

Of course that wouldn’t be the end of bad traumatic shit to happen to Jak!

Right after the events of the second game, Jak is not only blamed for the fallout of the Praxis regime falling and the Metal Head army’s demise, but he’s outright banished to the Wasteland, no thanks to some weasely council member, Veger.

But ya boi Daxter snuck out to join Jak in his exile, so at least Jak still has his best friend with him. Jak now has to survive in a Mad Max esque land after proving himself worthy to Damas, the leader of some refuge village. But it’s kind of good because he slowly gets on this guy’s good graces.

Oh, but later on it turns out this Damas guy is actually the very father Jak was forcibly separated from during his very early childhood. But, Jak only figured that out just as Damas was dying, and he didn’t have a chance to tell Damas that he was his son that’s he’s been wanting to find for years.

It also turns out this Veger douchebag was one of the people aside from Baron Praxis who was responsible for Jak being separated from Dadmas, and was the guy who kidnapped him in an attempt use him to obtain that ancient Precursor technology.

Of course everything works out in the end. But yeah... You see what I mean? Jak was put through the wringer during the events of this whole trilogy! He's done nothing wrong! Yet starting from a very young age he’s either been targeted or dragged into other’s messes for just existing, or for something he had no choice to do in order to survive. The only real thing he did wrong was dragging Daxter over to Misty Island, which led to him being accidentally transformed into an ottsel in the first place. But the events of the first games was all a lighthearted adventure anyway. Aside from that it’s been one unfortunate or traumatic event after another for Jak.

When letting everything Jak went through really sink in, there’s guaranteed trauma and the resulting PTSD this poor guy is going to have to address or else it will inevitably manifest itself in some way later on. Acting gruff and blase' will only work for so long. I know some people get tired with pieces of fiction being compared to Steven Universe, but Steven’s eventual mental breakdown seriously came to mind. And some people will say, “It’s just a vidya game, stop thinking too much into it.”, but there was a conscious decision to take this series into a more dark and mature direction after the first game. So, it’s a bit hard not to think about more possible unpleasant implications based on what happened in the sequels, especially when looking at the events of the games through the lenses of today.

Taking all of this into consideration is also why I think Daxter is seriously the “MVP” of the series.

Daxter grew up being Jak’s best friend, which I’m sure helped Jak a lot after being separated from his father and taken to a literal place in time completely different and unfamiliar to him. I’m very sure his time growing up in Sandover Village and hanging out with Daxter was the best period of Jak’s life. Even after Jak dragged him to Misty Island, accidentally causing him to be transformed into an ottsel, and sacrificing his chance to be turned back to normal in order to save the world, Daxter showed no hard feelings towards Jak and he even learns to like being an ottsel.

He spent two years trying to find out where Jak was being held prisoner in Haven City, and infiltrated the place once he did and helped Jak escape.

And despite not having any fingers pointed towards him for the fallout after the events of the second game, Daxter still chooses to join Jak in exile in the Wasteland.

Daxter has never shown any ill will towards Jak despite him being the one responsible for being turned into an ottsel, and he’s never really abandoned him even when he is given many chances to or a way to get himself out of really bad situations. Despite everything, Daxter is still the same quippy, upbeat dork of a friend Jak has grown up with.

I really believe Daxter helped a lot with keeping Jak’s sanity intact during all of the hell he was put through and beyond. If there was a guaranteed way for someone to sign their own death warrant with Jak, I think harming or outright killing Daxter would be it.

#Jak and Daxter #Jak II #Jak 3 #Daxter #Damas

[just-another-miserable-prick]

~Welcome to the madness that is this wonderful account~

Aight, so-

Name's Ella, she/they and I ramble a lot. This post is all about tags, my (very much wip) TTTE AU(s), all that good stuff. I like drawing and writing, I'm not too good at either of them. Also, English is my second language. My native language is Hungarian btw.

Tags:

#Ella's rambles - Quite self-explanatory, but for those in the back, if you see this tag, I'm just rambling about whatever comes to my mind, let that be lore, OCs, whatever.

#Ella talks - I'm gonna use this for my vent posts/real talk, if I were to do any of that. Will likely be seen along with my ramble tag cuz I tend to ramble about everything.

#Ella's drawings - It's in the name, just my drawings.

#Ella tried - This is for my writing endeavors, as I'm not very experienced, or good at writing. But hey, I'm trying here!

#Ella's AUs - This is exclusively for lore and AU stuff. I have one for the time being, the In The Sky AU, which I'll talk about later.

#Ella's canons - This is for my headcanons! And trust me, it's a lot.

#Ella's reblogs - I'll use this for the shit I happen to reblog, really self-explanatory.

#Remind me to trim my bangs - This is my "note to self" kind of tag. Don't take this literally. I do remember to trim my bangs. Most of the time.

(Will probably add more later)

A few warnings before I forget:

⚠️Vulgar language: I have the vocabulary of a sailor, which means I cuss far too much. If you don't like that sort of thing, this isn't the place for you.

⚠️Less than lighthearted themes: while I like keeping things fun and lighthearted, there will, on rare occasion, be mentions of death, suicide, self harm, less than ideal upbringing (and that's putting it lightly!), and other not-so-fun themes. If you're sensitive to any of the above, again, this isn't the place for you.

(May add more later)

So my AU:

(Sodor High School AU has been banished to the backrooms)

In The Sky AU: My passion project AU that takes place in the sky, with the "engines", or "Wingmen" as I call them living their everyday lives flying around the Island of Sodor, mainly relying on tourism and cargo traffic for their work.

I actually have an AU sideblog @ttte-in-the-sky-au!

Let's talk OCs!

I have a lot, but the most important ones are:

Mihály

Erzsébet

Endre

Ella

Ships! This is very much headcanon territory, so feel free to disagree with any of the following:

Edward x Henry: Absolutely my OTP, the cutest couple on this planet. Pure fluffy adorableness.

Gordon x James: The type of couple to argue over which one of them is hotter- they have ego wars a lot, but I see them being a fun duo most of the time.

Emily x Rosie: Boss babe coffee-holic and the one to keep them in check. All I know is that they're adorable lol

I believe that's it for now, but before I forget, feel free to send me a PM! I might not reply fast because of school hours, but I'll do my best to read whatever you have to say!

And with that out of the way, have a good one!

#Ella's rambles #god this took so long to make holy fucking jesus christ