Whumpee was curled up on the cold floor, laying on their side with their legs hugged to their chest as they gasped for air. They felt as if they couldn't move. Blood ran from their nose, their hand cupping their side as each gasp irritated their ribs.

Occasionally, their body would twitch, the movement sending a flash of pain everywhere. A low whimper escaped Whumpee's throat as their eyes squeezed shut tightly.

Whumper's footsteps echoed through the room, their heavy combat boots making a thud with each step. The noises stopped and Whumpee just barely opened their eyes. In front of them, stood Whumper's boots, Whumpee's blood splattered on some parts. Whumpee squeezed their eyes shut.

"Oh how the mighty ones fall," Whumper smirked, bending down on their hunkers as their gloved hand brushed away a strand of Whumpee's hair from their face. Whumpee didn't even have the energy to flinch away, to shout an insult at them, to swat their hand away. They just lay there, desperate to feel anything but the pain they were currently in.

"Are you ready now? All you have to do is say one word and this will all be over," Whumper cooed.

Fuck you. Fuck you- you disgusting creep I hate you so fucking much.

"Pl...please..." Whumpee rasped, a tear rolling down their bloodied cheek. They felt disgusting, dread dripping in their stomach as they gave into Whumper. Disgusting. Broken.

hi! ive seen you talk about your surana a bunch but i dont know if ive seen her full story. what were some of the pivotal decisions she made? i love hearing you talk about your ocs, theyre always so in depth and thought out!

oh thank you!! :) my surana is my Eldest Daughter from my very first full playthrough of a dragon age game, so i think a lot of people newer to the blog (like... from less than a year and a half ago probably lmao) have less of the context in complete form. so i will attempt to summarise!! it may be... long...

minerva surana is a manipulative, driven elven circle mage, heart-breakingly willing to sacrifice whatever she believes is necessary for her Grand Goals, who is often so busy playing 5d chess she forgets she’s a twenty-one year old with no experience of the world outside the tower

okay it did turn out fucking long the rest is under the cut its like 9 bulky paragraphs enjoy

her family were tevinter liberati, elven slaves who had devoted themselves to buying their way out and very recently succeeded. her parents were desperate to see her and her elder sibling grow up knowing only freedom, and sent their children south with another part of the family while they remained to pay off the last of their debts. the journey was long and difficult, and they had little left when they ended up in the denerim alienage. in a twist of bitter irony, magic that might have made minerva someone of value in the imperium saw her freedom once more revoked in the south. minerva remembers nothing of tevinter, and only a few fragments of what came next: of light through the vhenadahl’s branches glinting on a templar’s blade, of her sibling fighting them and being knocked to the ground, terribly still, with blood in their hair, and of her grandmother saying what she might have said many times on that long journey south: we can survive anything, as long as we never look back. ironically, minerva often took that to heart by denying all memory prior to the circle.

young apprentice minerva was a sullen child, with few friends; karl thekla took an elder brother’s interest, and jowan clung to her talent. she only really flourished when, after her terror of her natural gift for spirit magic saw her self-hatred turn dangerous in her early teens, first enchanter irving took an interest. he was a father figure to her, and he showed her how to channel her power into control, and her distress into ambition. newfound devotion to elemental magic saw her hailed as a prodigy, and surely a future first enchanter with irving’s tutelage. (only irving considered her too headstrong for the role. he never told her, fostering the drive he had cultivated, both fearful for the state she might return to if he didn’t, and curious as to what else she might become.) she grew up arrogant and beautiful and deeply loyal to the circle, learning that it was only the weak and the defiant who would fail to thrive there, and convinced she was neither. many of her peers wanted to be her, and few of them wanted to spend much time in her company. except jowan, still the little brother hiding in her shadow, and halliserre amell, a rebellious rival with a winning smile, who made up for their lack of her discipline and raw power with sheer brilliance, and whose heated arguments eventually developed into... ah, something else heated.

not long before the start of the game, amell told her they were going to accept tranquillity. it didn’t matter how clever they were; with their weak magic, they would die in the harrowing. they’d only been so defiant of the circle before because, having accepted their fate, the risks were nothing to them. furious and unable to admit it was because she was in love, the last thing minerva ever said to them when they were whole was that they were a coward not to try. when jowan told her he feared he too would be made tranquil, minerva was still recovering from the loss, not to mention flushed with even more arrogance than normal from her own successful harrowing. she had been the perfect circle mage all her life, twice as good as everyone else to make up for every rumour about where she was from. surely she had earned one defiance. surely she could save this one thing, her oldest friend. and she is a loyal person, in her way, emotion powering her fierce drive, incapable of abandoning what she has set her heart on. irving, from whom she had learned everything, was ahead of her every step of the way. he arranged for her to be taken in by the grey wardens. she had proved herself as headstrong and unsuitable as he had feared—and she was shocked and bitterly betrayed to finally see that—but he also believed this might bring her to where she would truly belong.

as a grey warden, minerva’s highest concern is perception. when the stakes of the game are revealed, she has enough hubris to see it as a chance to not just save but change the world. defeating the archdemon isn’t enough. she needs to be seen defeating the archdemon, at the forefront, as an elven mage; she has enough idealism to believe it will really matter for her and people like her, and enough shrewd cynicism to consider what she may have to sacrifice to achieve it. mostly she approaches problems with the skill for diplomacy and management that irving taught her, with that good good Master Coercion skill. she gets many of the “better” and certainly more peaceful quest outcomes, not always motivated by altruism, but determined to be remembered well when she leaves each faction behind. her one great sacrifice of this goal to be seen as the perfect mage is when she takes up blood magic, determined after she sees its power that she alone can handle it, to get the job done and keep what’s hers alive fight after fight. but that only makes her more dedicated to her actions elsewhere

the real test and most pivotal moment of her arc is at the landsmeet. she has arranged anora’s marriage to an alistair hardened for the role (once more following irving’s example, learning to teach ambition as he had taught hers. is there love in that, or just selfishness? she doesn’t know). all that matters is that the joint rule neatly fulfils her desire for compromise to please all parties. but then she struggles between two aspects of her goal: she wants to be seen, personally, as the victor; she does not want every noble in ferelden to see her kill the hero of river dane with magic. she knows how that scene will be remembered, in the end. when riordan suggests recruiting him instead, it seems the perfect solution to everything, the salvation of the day. and then she realises she’s broken alistair’s heart, just when he’s breaking hers. she is incapable of backing down in front of them all (it’s only to alistair, her alistair, but she can’t do it—not to a human, and not to someone part of her will always see as a templar—not when everything she wants was so close.) he abandons her for the throne she taught him to want. she goes on with loghain in the party, and eventually—unable to let loghain snatch the final sacrifice from her grasp, and realising she does want to win and live, after it all—convinces him to do the dark ritual.

in terms of her most important relationships with companions: minerva traditionally romances zevran, who is in many ways uniquely her match having learned the same bitter lessons with the crows that she learned from the circle, and who is so dear to her and capable of lightening her heart when no-one else can. i’ve also experimented with the idea of her romancing alistair, to really dramatise the Landsmeet Divorce and capitalise on future political shenanigans where she could one day be his mistress, but more traditionally they are simply an extremely closely trauma-bonded pair of people who are incapable, at least that year, of really understanding each other deep down. it falls into a pattern where she loves someone with all that fierce drive, enough to die for them, but she will always prioritise what she thinks they need over what they are saying and what they want, often with misjudgements and terrible consequences for them both. it was true with amell, it’s true for many others

she has something very intense and homoerotic going on with morrigan, she has a strained relationship with leliana and wynne, and she has respect and comradeship and a fair bit of fundamental disagreement with sten and loghain. the awakening squad are the people she will consider family for life, most notably nathaniel who she started out not liking at all and is now her work wife, her right hand, can finish her sentences, etc.; anders, who remembers her as karl’s annoying teacher’s pet telltale little sister and is still sometimes baffled by who she’s become; velanna, who makes minerva her most genuine self by having regular screaming matches with her as a sign of affection; and oghren who tried to quit drinking at the same time she tried to quit blood magic, leading to many conversations that deeply baffled everyone around them.

the “current” minerva surana is a sharp-tongued leader who was born for the role of warden-commander, who loves her work and that it matters, who has a truer confidence that is less blindly arrogant and more willing to admit to mistakes, who has worked her breathless way up to h*lding h*ands in public with someone she loves, who has finally learned the hard lesson that the world needs more than an heroic example who followed all the rules to truly be bettered... and who, as rebellion brews, has never been one to sit back and watch while others changed the world

literally the only way to avoid cucking kylar is by getting kidnapped by them... (also any kylar basement hcs?? if you have any crumbs to spare hehe)

i ALWAYS have a kylar crumb or two to spare ty for asking this is shorter than i wanted it to be though aehghrf

cw noncon, knifeplay, yandere, just. kylar

♡ ok so whether you have been responding to them or not responding to them they will come up to you and talk about it if they have a bad day. they dont go to school nearly as often anymore so its not all the time but they come and just. sit in your lap and bury their face in your neck. and mumble to you about whatever horrible things happened to them and how glad they are that they have you now. whether this escalates is dependent on whether youre naked or not lol they just cant help themself

♡ DOES actually clean you up from time to time by wiping you down with a washcloth or smth, similar to the brutality event but theyre just. not as blunt as brutality kylar lol ("damn love you smell like shit") they def wait a little too long, something about kinda "liking the smell of your musk" and if you have any of their cum on you theyre VERY RELUCTANT to wash it off and might just skip that area if they can. also skips where the bonds are. really might as well just not be washing you but they really enjoy doing it

♡ sometimes theyre stuck mulling on what theyve been doing to you and if you havent been very defiant a little self awareness shines through and they feel kinda bad so when they come and check on you they give you space on very rare occasions. just enjoying your company but shakily resisting the urge to touch you or say something too weird. it feels nice almost bc it reminds them of when they were first getting to know you. before things... got like this.

♡ but then theres the OPPOSITE END OF THE SPECTRUM where if you push them enough theyll carve their name into you. not super deep and they still regret it afterwards but would be lying if they said a part of them didnt love the look of it.

♡ after they fuck you they stay pressed against you as long as possible. sometimes spends like 10 mins just slowly, lovingly fucking their cum back into you or vice versa, if youre lucky their parents start making noise or something bc otherwise theyre not off you until they decide theyre off you

I always see a ton of Pokemon AUs for Demon Slayer, but I never see any Digimon AUs! For the AU ask if you're still taking them

. okok iam Absolutely still taking these and ill do my best but anon this is a really funny ask because i. do have a mini digimon au. like its ridiculously self-indulgent and tiny but. getting this was like a kick in the shins (affectionate) WAHAHAHA

so!! i hope you dont mind if this is very blatantly biased, but its certainly a starting point! as well, i havent really interacted w/ digimon since watching the anime years ago + playing world dusk and championship a while ago, so i wont have as much knowledge to pick from as i would other things! with the disclaimers out of the way...!

...hey what if we isekai'd the tokitwins? (post-writing edit: this ended up over 2k words long. This Is A Warning.)

so, you've been oh-so-luckily chosen to be digidestined and whisked away to an unfamiliar world where just about Everything wants to kill you, you have No way to contact your own world, and you have No idea how to get back. great! cool! excellent!

introducing our funny little guys of the week: yuichiro and muichiro tokito! just them for now, before i scope-creep myself to death. but, that aside, you can't be digidestined without a funny little digital partner of your own! so, introducing:

-Patamon, Muichiro's partner! an observant yet skittish little thing that never tends to stray far from its partner. it takes its job very seriously, oftentimes coming across as a bit fussy. even so, it is very easily overwhelmed and may need encouragement to press on. as well, it also tends to take things at face value more often than not, making it very earnest but Very gullible. -DemiDevimon, Yuichiro's partner! a mischeivous little thing that rarely seems to take things very seriously. its defiant and a bit self-centered, and honestly at times seems to genuinely only stick around the twins because theyre entertaining to mess with. it's here for a good time and Nothing Else. despite its yapping, it does occasionally let a bit of protectiveness slip through-- always fiercely sticking by them despite its nigh-constant complaints about how it wants to leave.

this ragtag group of four must make their way across the digital world to find a way back home-- and hopefully remain alive in the process. in such an unfamiliar and dangerous world, however, problems are sure to arise.

the twins, of course, stick together-- but more and more often, their desires and personalities begin to clash in ways that make it more difficult to progress. it's easy to keep your head low and follow along, but just how long can you really take that-- how long can you pretend it's okay? it's easy to keep a brave face, but there's only so much you can do with what you have-- and what you convince yourself that you don't. there's only so long you can stay in such a high-pressure environment before something begins to break.

throughout their journey, they'll discover more outlandish and mystifying places, meet more new faces, and uncover strange secrets-- what's the connection between their digimon partners? how did they get sent to the digital world in the first place? and most importantly: why does this world seem to already recognize them?

///

with that out of the way... time for the fiddly bits.

the twins have an arc with each other much alike the one they get in canon-- but pressed a bit further. the two learn to stand their ground, speak their mind-- and ultimately, learn to really, truly trust one another.

yui oftentimes takes the lead, and tends to do a better job keeping everything in order-- but... he's still just a kid. a kid that cares deeply for his brother, and would do anything to keep him safe. but in a world like this, there's not much that he Can do. so he plays the part as best he can-- even if it means that he has to make hard choices.

mui, on the other hand, wants desperately to be able to help-- he slowly starts getting bolder and more forward, away from that more shy personality he'd been known to have. of course it was more dangerous. of course they didn't know what would happen next. but he would never forgive himself if he just did Nothing.

at its core, the two begin to actually almost switch places through their arc-- mui becoming more active and yui more passive-- as they make their way forward and sort themselves (and each other) out.

and of course: their partners have a whole Thing(tm) going on too! with the twins And between each other.

mui+pata are like odd little peas in a pod, oftentimes found staring at something or other with their big ol owly eyes, going back and forth over this-and-that about it in a way that makes sense to nobody but them. pata knows more about the world and where they might be going, but mui is a bit of an emotional rock for it-- providing encouragement and talking it through any roadblocks it may have come across. theyre odd little enablers! at least, when pata isn't pulling mui's hair over the fact that theyre going the wrong way, they went the wrong way we have to go that way-- no, thats the wrong way too we-- were lost were lost oh no were lost what do we DO--

yui+dDevi are. a goddamn mess. dDevi loves messing with this kid, always talking at him like it knows better-- which it does, technically, but it doesnt have to say it like that, shut up. it talks like a shitty older brother as if it wasn't leagues smaller than him and shaped exactly like a kickball. (yui doesn't vocalize this. he is so very tempted to, though.) despite all the ribbing, yui is pretty much the only person it'll talk seriously with. obviously yui is rather frustrated with it at times, but he can tell it does genuinely mean well. mostly. they squabble, but they do keep each other from doing anything too stupid. and further than that: even if he doesn't say anything, yui can tell when there's something on its mind.

the digiduo are... odd, certainly. but, strangely, there seems to be some sort of tension between the two-- they... really dont seem to get along. pata is deeply distrustful of dDevi, noting its existence as an evil digimon. like, it's in the name! devimon! not to mention how often it leads them astray or messes with them just for kicks-- something's up and it's not sure what.

on the other hand, dDevi doesn't much like pata either. it's a stuck-up killjoy thats convinced it's always right when it can barely make any good calls. always hiding behind its whole spiel of "good" and "evil" like it's so trustworthy. it doesn't even know what it's talking about half the time! if it's going to lecture them, it should at the very least be right about it. get a reason to be upset other than "that ones clearly evil, look at it!"

and then... there's the memories. or rather, the lack thereof. both seem to remember parts of some grand legend that they no longer have the ability to recall the whole of. something important to their reason of being-- and the presence of the digidestined twins.

pata seems particularly insistent of it being a prophecy, a series of steps to follow that foretell what and who they should be. (something about it seems to stress them out particularly badly, though... what exactly is it that they're living up to? why doesn't it know?)

dDevi... pretends not to care, at least. but it recalls the legend too, and hearing the fragments of it seems to make it upset. it wants nothing to do with the legend, and just wants to do... anything else. (anything to get further away from that stupid story. it's not one to be shackled by expectations like that.)

and again, the twins seem to differ on what they make of the story. yui sides with pata, believing its their best bet to at the very least figuring out how to get home. mui, on the other hand, slowly begins to wonder what exactly the gaps in the legend could mean, and wants to find out what it truly is. it's hard to follow a broken path. after all, who's to say its really a path at all? which brings us to... a bit of a conflict.

///

after a particularly rough leg of the journey, things start to get... difficult. theyve had little to no luck learning much of Anything of the way forward-- and things are just getting harder and harder as they go. yui isn't sure how much more they can really take of this. they're starting to barely make it out of these situations alive, so... so maybe they're better off just accepting it. nothing's leading them anywhere, nothing is making sense-- they might as well just... find a place to hide and keep their heads low. live it out as best they can. (he isn't sure how much more they can take.)

mui, of course, protests-- there were so many more places they haven't looked through yet! there was no telling if they found something or not unless they went for it! it was always going to be hard-- they couldn't just give up and wait for the difficulty to find Them. (he can't stand the idea of just giving up after all that...)

the two begin bickering, and it gets... hard. pata starts experiencing some doubt, unsure of if they should really be pressing on into certain death-- they'd just had some ridiculously close calls, and maybe waiting it out would reveal something..? (the knowledge of the unfinished legend hangs above its head, and the thought of unravelling it... is starting to give them a bad feeling.) dDevi doesn't want to sit around and do nothing while waiting for death-- that's boring and pathetic. itd much rather do something with itself even if it's scary. (it needs to know the truth. why so many others know them, why it keeps getting such bitter stares... why? it's frustrating.)

and the bickering turns to arguing. after a few too many harsh words from both sides... they split up. mui heading off with dDevi to find out what was really going on, and yui with pata to... find somewhere safe. figure it out.

for yui and pata, it's... a bit of a long journey. the two rarely speak, mostly just quick words to keep each other alert and avoid attention. yui is mostly pushed forward by his stubbornness, but... it does bother him. it bothers him a lot. he's afraid, he's worried, and he doesn't know what to do. he wants to figure it out, he wants to have all the answers. but he doesn't, and it was stupid to think he ever couldve. legend or not-- prophecy or not, they were just kids. what could they really do? what were they supposed to do?

and as it turned out, pata was worried sick as well. it isnt until a quiet moment that yui catches pata crying-- and they finally talk. because pata hated this too. it hated feeling like it should be able to lead them, but being unable to because of the gaps in its knowledge. it hated giving up, because it knew they needed to do something, and it was letting them down by doing nothing. and most of all... it missed mui. it argued because it was afraid, but it knew this was no better. more than anything, it just wanted to help.

they both knew they couldn't keep going with this. if not for their own sakes, then for the others'.

team mui's progress is... equally difficult. it was already hard enough moving about with a halved party, but they also aren't with their bonded partners, so their Actual Useable FIrepower is much much more limited. the entire time, dDevi goes on and on insulting the other pair, insisting it was really about time this went and happened, and that their own pair was obviously right all along. mui stays quiet through much of this, but after a particularly cruel jab, mui snaps back.

because he knew it didn't really mean any of it. dDevi was smug and irritating, sure, but it was just about always a joke. it was never this mean about it... unless it was actually, personally upset. that was a lot of talk for someone who insisted it didn't care. and even if it were to deny it, mui wouldn't stand for someone saying the people he cared about weren't worth anything. of course they were afraid-- they all were. answers were never easy. it was why they were working so hard to begin with.

and dDevi was genuinely taken aback-- because it was always convinced that mui was the pushover of the group. but just like that, he'd managed to completely read its actions without so much as a word. and... he was right. it wasnt proud of what it said, but it had to stand by it. it just didnt know how else to justify itself-- how else to keep going. but... all of this-- everything had always been for each other, hadn't it? and they certainly wasn't going to stop there.

they just had to find a way to convince the others.

of course, nothing was ever easy. its the risk they knew they were taking, but... maybe a risk they weren't quite prepared for. wherever they go, together or not, some new threat will always find a way to rear its head. but between the two of them, there wasn't much they could do to fight back. and they full well wouldn't have been able to make it... had it not been for team yui showing up at a crucial moment, yuichiro putting himself directly in the line of danger to draw attention from mui-- giving him and pata a chance to actually fight back now that they were reunited.

it's a messy fight, but with all of them together-- and a newfound but concrete trust-- they manage to push through relatively unscathed-- if a bit battered on yui's end. after a few moments to make sure everyone was all right (and ironically, to scold each other over being so reckless,) they finally get the chance to talk. and... to apologize.

///

and now for more scattered notes before i end up writing another minific in a tumblr post.

the legend goes very similarly to a typical fairy tale-- a battle between forces of good and evil, and the champions of each. long ago, there was another pair of digidestined that stumbled across the digital world, and very quickly became unrivaled in power. one half, however, became corrupted by the allure of strength and jealousy, splitting both the digital world and their familial bond. as things came to a boiling point, their conflict brought unseen destruction to the digital world, each of the chosen digimon destroying each other in the battle. crushed and in denial (for varying different reasons,) the old digidestined simply... vanished, one day, never to be seen again. as for their chosen digimon, their data was wiped nearly clean, to be born anew for when they were needed again.

as a whole, it's a story of forging bonds, learning to trust, and breaking cycles of violence.

dDevi hates the idea of digivolving due to lingering memories of that past life. it refuses to interact with it at all, and commits itself to just having a good time and living a life it can enjoy. it doesn't want to become... that again.

pata remembers that betrayal and remembers something awful happening, but... something about having to distrust the other makes it deeply, deeply sad. it want to believe in the best in dDevi, but it also feels the pull of responsibility of having to live up to the legend. that was the only thing it felt it could trust.

the old digidestined are, of course, the tsugikuni twins. whether they show up again or not is still in the air-- yoriichi being pata's old partner and michikatsu being dDevi's.

i dont feel like digging through the digiwiki for another hour but id like to somehow integrate dDevi's original digivolution line being more in line w/ canon, going all in on the Hehoo Evil(tm) thing, but with yui, it follows a more neutral route, following its own desires rather than the course of what the story Expects of it.

SO !!! YEAH!!! DIGIMON AU!!!! i care about this a very normal amount, and if you read this far: thank you, and I Am So Sorry.

for the bbe AU,, how would Kane and El be like? Since Kane isn’t a sadist and hurt el for no reason,(like a certain Anton) and wouldn’t think of el being as defiant as Jim…just wanna see some bbe El and Kane hanging out

what about Bellamy at the family reunion? just seeing El being perfectly content being owned by Kane is just,.,..lmao and Caroline,,,keep thinking of so many ideas,,,, :D

tagging @whumpsday since Kane + Bellamy is their oc :)

OK OK OK SO.

in bbe, el is the perfect pet. they adore kane. they do everything to please him. they think kane is the absolute coolest, best owner, they think kane is just the most important vampire and theyre the luckiest to be his pet. they love him. they bombard him w constant love and adoration and devotion.

it catches kane very off guard lol he eventually comes to rly like el... eventually. at first he still has his walls up, talks down to el, doesnt comfort them a lot, definitely doesnt let them hug him or anything... later he opens up and starts treating el like the most treasured family pet. el is very content.

at the family reunion (and mill please correct me if im wrong) i believe we said bel starts out being like OH U REALISED THE EVIL IN OUR WAYS, I SEE UR HUMAN IS JUST A FRIEND TOO- bc el is clearly very happy to be there lmao but kane clears it up very quickly and the argument still goes down.

tw cult mention

they bond over never having celebrated their birthdays, kane bc hes the black sheep and el bc they grew up in a cult that didnt let them have their birthday.

PART TWO of its free kids au

spoilers long post etc

Kabbu's story is basically the same. except he's just like 9 years old. He does make it to defiant root, a nice beetle couple take him in.

Tragically, because i need a reason for Vi to be outside the hive, they are Aethina tumida. A kind of beetle that likes to eat young larvae and eggs of honeybees.

They are of course, perfectly capable of not doing that. They are basically just cannibals with a preference for bees lol. occasionally they pay a bee in the hive to smuggle out a larva and some eggs that won't be missed. Kabbu catches wind of this and is obv Not Down with Baby Murder, he manages to grab the larva and fucking Run For It.

He barely manages to make it across the lost sands. lucky for him, Elizant's ladybug ban just happened a few years ago, and the bandit problem isnt nearly as bad as it is in canon. He still doesnt get out unscathed tho.

He takes very good care of the larva, so good that she cocoons and pupates into a tiny but healthy young bee. Kabbu of course is estatic, in the north there's always a chance that larvae will pupate into lesser bugs. Because of this, in the north you don't name children until they've pupated. He names her Violet. The people that live in the outskirts know there's some kids rumaging through their stuff and they leave food out. but none of them can get the kids to come anywhere near them. So they put a posting out on the quest board. Of course, eventually Tannin and Muse get sent to investigate reported sightings of young beetle and bee in the outskirts. And they do eventually find Kabbu and Vi. They're both dirty and Kabbu's on the thin side. :(

Kabbu is fiercely protective of Vi. He won't let Tannin or Muse come near, even when they tell him they're explorers and they just want to help. He's terrified they'll take Vi to the hive and he'll never see her again. and he's taken good care of her! She's his little sister, he named her!

(Leif is already looking for a bigger house, Muse has told him all about them.)

Eventually, with lots of patience and lots of re-finding kabbu and vi, Tannin and Muse get the story out of Kabbu. And theyre like, appalled of course jesus christ.

So muse convinces Kabbu to let him and Vi come stay with her and her family while Tannin goes to the Hive to let them know they got cannibals in the city and also there's a little bee girl who was taken from the hive as a larva but she is Very Attached to a beetle who's probably being adopted Right Now. So they will also have to talk custody.

So the bees arrest the cannibals and send some ppl back with Tannin to evaluate Vi.

And at first Vi is fascinated. they're bees! Just like her! But the second she figures out that they want to separate her from Kabbu she FLIPS her SHIT.

She won't leave Kabbu's side. She'll scream and scream and scream.

The bees assert that she in fact, perfectly healthy, if small for her age. Great lungs. they can probably hear her in the hive. she's already lived with this family for a month at this point, and frankly, they dont have the facilities to raise her with the beetle. they'd have to break centuries of tradition and let the beetle inside the hive, or let her live in defiant root/the outer rings of the hive. Neither of which anyone is comfortable with considering someone(s?) have been smuggling children and eggs out of the hive.

so they make they work out a custody agreement with muse and leif. Vi stays with them for most of the year. During the moon of the harvest festival, Vi (and whichever family members escort her) will travel to the golden hills, where there is a decent bee population. She will stay there for one moon, and she will spend her days with the bees there, learning about their culture, how to fly, etc.

So Muse and Leif buy a bigger house. And they get Kabbu fed and comfortable enough that he starts molting and that repairs all the scuffs and cuts on his carapace. and he's a happy chubby little boy again

so NOW we have A HAPPY FAMILY

:DDDDDD

Tommy’s (and Tubbo’s) Character /rp /dSMP

This is a bit of a rant so like be warned. I have nothing against any CCs mentioned in this, this is all roleplay, lighthearted, and just a bit of fun analysis. Mostly this is a ramble about how I see certain people analysing Tommy’s character on tumblr and twt, and why I think they’re wrong. This isn’t directed at anyone specific, just a trend I’ve been seeing that kinda irks me. I don’t dislike the fandom, just a few ‘takes’ have been really weird for me.

TW for everything below: analysing the effects of trauma, abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, and lack of therapy.

I’m not really liking how victim-blamey everyone is getting currently in the dSMP, both in fandom and canon. In canon with certain characters but especially in fan analysis posts and especially about Tommy and Tubbo. People legitimately celebrating that Tommy might start ‘apologising’ for his actions more and 'growing as a person' somehow don’t realise that hes been made this way through a tonne of negative reinforcement. abuse, and gaslighting. And people blaming Tubbo for actions he had no choice in, rather than the actions he did choose.

Currently, as I see it, Tommy is so scared that anyone would find a reason to be pissed off at him that his fighting spirit has been completely crushed. He was exiled and abused when he should have been helped and given an understanding figure to guide him and teach him how to deal with things non-violently. In everyone’s eyes, the problem was that Tommy was creating violence with no real reason, acting recklessly and commiting crimes. Tubbo, having made him a part of his cabinet, knew that this would only harm the country. So instead of talking to him reasonably, he got angry, put him on trial, and punished him with the logbook (humiliating him by making him report back to Fundy, which he obviously hated). Tommy’s actions were, of course, bad, but did he deserve everyone ganging up on him? No. Especially when Tubbo was supposed to be in his corner, helping him out like he always said he would (”It’s me and you vs Dream” etc). This is the first betrayal of trust from Tommy’s POV. He doesn’t understand what he did wrong to its full extent, and no one can explain it to him. 

However, Tubbo was under a lot of pressure from Dream and George, and he’s a literal child President, so his ‘safety over friendship’ actions are understandable. I don’t believe Tubbo is solely to blame for anything he’s done in season 2, but it can’t all be excused. If you are to blame Tommy for his recklessness, you have to blame Tubbo, at least partially, for his disregard for Tommy’s feelings and mental state. There were other ways to go about the entire thing, including the trial, which was just horrible to watch, and agreeing to give Dream the disc, something Tommy gave him in pure confidence that it would be safe with Tubbo. Yikes moment.

At that time, Tubbo knew a lot of things about Tommy. In fact, he probably knew the most about Tommy out of anyone on the server. He knew the discs were incredibly important and a comfort item for Tommy. He knew Tommy had trauma from being exiled in the past. He knew Tommy was abused, or at least manipulated by Wilbur, in addition to growing up in war. Wilbur once told Tommy to stop being reckless, and Tommy listened, changing his attitude because he looked up to Wilbur so much. Then Wilbur said ‘let’s be the bad guys’ and stopped trying to mentor Tommy. There’s a conflict here, because Tommy was told by Wilbur that he wasn’t good enough to be President (links to the idea of ‘not being strong enough’) but he knows that Wilbur was a bad person. But Tommy is never given the chance to reconsile his feelings surrounding Wilbur, both because of Ghostbur and because of the conflict he starts with George. So he is harbouring a mixture of emotions about his mentor and brother, not understanding how to untangle the ‘real Tommy’ from the manipulated boy he became. 

What was going through his head when he stole from George and griefed him? Perhaps the thought that he needed to show he was still the same old Tommy. Maybe the need to ‘prove himself’ as a strong person? It could have just been an outlet for his trauma. He’s grown up in a world where everyone is either a friend or an enemy. George isn’t a friend. How was he supposed to know that hurting him was bad?

Tubbo was pressured into the actions he took against Tommy, but he was pressured far too easily. There is no moment where Tubbo turns to Tommy and makes sure he’s okay, he views him as ‘selfish’ and overdramatic, and sees his actions that way. This makes sense from Tubbo’s POV, he’s struggling to be President in ways that Wilbur *knew* he would, but in Tommy’s eyes this is the worst betrayal he’s ever known. The moment Tubbo (rightfully, but poorly executed) defies Tommy’s plan to hire Technoblade (ahem, seeing Techno as a weapon again) and exiles Tommy is the moment their friendship shatters. They’re two people who don’t understand each other anymore. Two people who are technically in the right, but only hurt each other. 

What Tommy needed was a therapist, instead he had Dream, who put out the fire of rebellion that made him so strong, and Techno, who was trying to help but doing it in the wrong way. 

People see tommy's change post-exile as a good thing because he's not as rebellious anymore and he’s thinking things through a lot before he does them, but they will soon realise that his rebellion was one of his best traits and the fact that no one saw it as anything but a problem really shows. He now second-guesses himself so much and is so scared of being wrong that everything seems too difficult and too dangerous. Every trait can have a positive and negative side. Tommy's defiant nature would have made him the perfect negotiator with a little practise. In fact, he had plenty of good ideas before he was exiled (using spirit against Dream, though it didnt work in the end, for example). The negative side of this was recklessness and the desire to cause problems on purpose, but what he needed was a friend (looking at you Tubbo) who understood that hes been through several wars, was manipulated by Wilbur, and hasnt known a time of peace where everyone who wasnt on his side was out to kill him. Now that ‘fight’ is gone he's just become easier to manipulate.

He may be getting better (see: telling Dream to go fuck himself) but there hasn't been any long-term growth because he was never told what kind of rebellion was good and what was bad. He was just told it was all bad. By Dream (and by Tubbo). Who he doesn't trust. So he's just going to revert back to his old ways because no one told him what was bad in a way that didn't make him feel like everyone was against him. Dream is the enemy (though Tommy’s feelings towards him are complicated, they make his brain go all ‘flippy floppy’) and Dream told him that rebellion was bad, so rebellion must be good always, right? 

And then there's Techno. Techno did nothing wrong except for when he did. Techno is 100% right except for when he isn’t. He doesn't understand Tommy because Tommy was never fully open about what Dream had done and how it affected him. That's not Tommys fault though, because who the fuck openly talks about their trauma? So neither of them are to blame for pretty much anything up until the confrontation at the community house. 

However, Techno's methods and ideology were not what Tommy needed. He was thrown from one extreme to another over and over again, from complete subservience to total rebellion. Neither of these inforce good attitudes in Tommy. One, as stated before, makes it so that he will regain his negative traits again. The other reinforces those violent traits as good, just like Wilbur did. The only difference is that Techno had good intentions, he wasnt trying to use Tommy, which is why he feels so used when Tommy 'betrays' him (Techno doesnt realise that he himself betrayed Tommy by teaming with Dream, he sees it more as a transaction than a personal thing). Techno feels so hurt by Tommy ‘viewing him as a weapon’ that he goes on with his no-mercy attack, completely dropping Tommy at his lowest point. 

Tommy says he doesn't want to be like everyone he's hated. In fact, he say's he is 'worse' than all the villains. This is very obviously untrue, though he was clearly going down a dangerous path with Techno's influence (see: bullying Fundy, spawning wither, kidnapping Connor, and saying that the discs are more important than Tubbo, more on that later). He's not a villain but who exactly has said he's not a villain. Dream? Techno? Neither of them can be trusted in his eyes. They say he's a good guy, Wilbur wanted to be the bad guy, who's right? He doesn't know. He has a crisis of morality. 

And? Some people want to point at that and say 'aha! Character development! He's finally realising his actions have a negative affect on others!' OH GOD NO??? He's a *child* who thinks that he is worse than his abuser. Does that sound like positive character growth to you? 

Lastly, the discs. We know theyre a comfort item blahblahblah. He hates himself for valuing them more than he values Tubbo. He's literally innocent in this. He’s been horribly manipulated by Dream to believe that the discs are worth anything. Theyre really not worth anything if they are being used as tools rather than, yknow, discs. My poor boy. He doesnt trust people, so what can he trust? The discs. But then he says it out loud and realises he misses Tubbo and he wants to be with his best friend again and and and WAHHHH. This also isnt really character growth its just fucking sad leave me alone. 

Anyways what the fuck guys. @ Niki and Jack what the fuck. Yeah we get it it’s miscommunication but wtf. Kinda worried that the actual lore will make Niki and Jack’s hatred of Tommy justified in some way and take on a big victim-blamey vibe, but I’m hoping that everyone is smart enough to not do that. I cannot praise Tommy enough for how he’s portrayed his character. I’m currently hoping that he himself understands the true complexity of it all. I’m sure he does.

Mostly though im actually pissed off at all the people praising tommy's character for 'maturing' when hes literally just got trauma. Nice one, tumblr and twt users. Thanks. Great job. He hasnt 'learnt his lesson', he’s traumatised. What the fuck.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk, leave your responses in the reblogs and comments.

soulmate au up in this bitch

okay!!!!!! so let's get this fucking party started

every human is born with a clock that counts down the years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds until they meet their soulmate

valdemar's has never worked

HOWEVER

one day they're working in the dungeons when they hear a beeping noise

they look all around and find nothing causing the noise, until they see a strange glow from their wrist

they quickly pull up their long sleeved shirt to see their clock is working

they're astounded

they've lived over a thousand years with the numbers 0:0:0:0:0 etched into their skin

and now there are the numbers 1:364:23:59:57 counting down

they are sure if they had a heart it would be bursting in their chest right now

they feel many emotions assault their senses they have not felt in years possess their body

genuine anger and hatred for the...creature who they are evidently meeting in roughly two years time. fear, ice cold in their veins. what did this mean...? confusion. and, the most strange of them all, this...AWFUL warm feeling.

they decide to ignore it and distract themselves with their work, continuing the vivisections and helping patients as needed

nadia announces there will be ball in honor of her marriage to the apprentice. valdemar does not think much of it, as it is usually held every year.

they try to ignore the ticking down of the clock on their arm, which will inevitably change everything that they have ever known.

they do not feel any sort of love or affection for their supposed "soulmate"

on the night of the ball, valdemar looks down at their wrist for the first time in a very long time, and to their horror, it says 0:0:0:03:21 and was counting down.

they quickly leave the crowded ballroom and head outside, avoiding people as if they were infected

faces blur in their rush to get past everyone

they finally reach an area where there is seemingly no one and decide to wait it out until their clock has run out of time.

but then, of course, you show up. god knows someone had to

and a frantic beeping fills the air when valdemar turns around angrily to see who dared to come near them

they stare down at their wrist, which has reached 0:0:0:0:0. horror fills them

you stand there, in your white ball gown as if you were a bride on her wedding day

you're staring up at them with large eyes, your mouth opening and closing as though you were a fish on dry land

valdemar's blood is pumping in their veins, and they try to put their finger on the unknown emotion they were feeling. were they going to have a heart attack? it surely felt like it, watching the way your eyelashes fluttered down to brush the tops of your cheekbones. it surely felt like it when they see the flush of color on your cheeks. it surely feels like it when they see the way the moonlight catches your hair. it surely feels like it when you step closer, your big eyes searching theirs and you biting your lower lip.

it was love.

that was the only explaination for the disgustingly warm feeling they felt taking over their body

something they had never felt before

something they mocked, despised, prohibited from entering their life or work.

something that they see in yours eyes.

"hi, soulmate," you say, breaking the silence. you let out a laugh that rings through the garden the two of you were in.

valdemar hates it

valdemar hates you

theyre sure of it

and they hate your laugh, how it rings like bells in their ears.

they hate your gorgeous body, wrapping up in fine silk like a present waiting to be unwrapped

they hate you they hate you they hate you

how dare you walk into their life and ruin everything

and yet, dear gods, you were everything they were not. soft and warm and pleasant. with a voice that sounds like an angel and a laugh that could make anyone fall in love with you

the thought that anybody could fall in love with you immediately causes fury to rush into the veins

their lips curl at the very thought and their eyes darken at the very thought

they hated you but you were theirs

they would kill anybody who tried to even look at you

"it's decided then," they say, pulling their surgical mask down so you can hear their voice clearly. "that you will belong to me."

your eyes widen and they find themselves smiling sharkishly at the expression on your face, showing their teeth to you

"with the way you look, i could have sworn you wanted to kill me," you say. they simply hum in response.

"i do," they say bluntly. "i would like nothing more than to end your life. and yet, i cannot bring myself to do it. tell me, why is that?" they step closer and closer to you until they tower over you and you have to tilt your head back to stare up at them

"because we were made for each other," you say, and the innocence that rolls off of you could make someone sick.

"are you sure you want to belong to me?" they challenge. "little swan, you are dancing with Death themselves. think carefully."

you purse your lips and your eyes hold a battle within them, and valdemar swears their heart that they have not felt in a thousand years beat in their chest. you were defiant. you were a fighter. how interesting.

"then so be it," you say. "because i have waited all my life to love you."

they laugh without any pretense, something they haven't done in a very long time. you were fascinating. they could smell you, taste your need for them in the air. they could see how your eyes trace over their lips while you awaited a response from them

oh, you! oh you, oh you, oh you! you were going to be the death of Death themselves

they feel primal urges they have not felt in a very long time at seeing how their mate was challenging them

they simply wanted to devour you where you stood.

instead, they settle for a closed-lip smile as their eyes take your form. you visibly shiver.

oh, this was going to be fun.

This is just me daydreaming since the guys rough drafts came out but like...

A situation where MC goes back to the human realm after their time in devildom is up, and they really do miss the guys but they still need to do their human thing because life dosnt stop for a human that misses their demons! Besides, they know those dorks will find a way to them eventually (Or eventually they’ll find a way to them)

But then one day they go to meet a bunch of cousins (For reasons i have no idea about) and they come to this big ass house and--

-- and holy-effin-shit who the fuck is this slightly fluffy haired guy that reminds her too much of the first born??? And then this guy that had to be mammon hovering over him like a worried parent and what the hell-- what the hellllllll.

And then they meet the other five and they have no idea whats going on but they all remind them so much of the brothers from Devildom that something had to be at play?? There’s no Diavolo to go to, no one but them that seems to know about their time in hell but theyre bent on getting to the bottom of this! And also ready for another round of “Solve the family probs”

(Which.... actually is a lot easier this time around. As humans they all seem a little less defiant around MC and... less hellbent on tearing MC apart)

Also I know Im veering a little bit from the devs on this one but like... It would interesting to make human Lucifer a kind of sickly guy, partly because it messes with the dynamic a little bit (With Human!Luci unable to handle stress or handwork too much- though he does try- last he fall ill then H!Mammon would probably take up a lot of the big brother role. Considering he is with MC i can only image how protective he would be of a brother who he feels like is practically at deaths door, although things are a lot more chaotic considering H!Mammons trying but also not exactly suited for a parental role. H!Satan might still hate him but for totally different reasons, like how H!Luci seemed to get more attention when they were younger and H!Satan got jealous very quickly- which resulted in bouts of constant anger to get attention. Because of his brothers sickly state though all he can do is seeth with an anger just . H!Beel with some issues with food that might translate into an ED, A Depressed H!Belphi that feels like hes in the wrong body- the wrong place- and knows theres something more going on but has no idea what.)

Brothers that go out without telling anyone, that do things and get into trouble constantly and only make H!Luci worry more. None of them are aware of the stress they put on him until MC finally snaps them out of it and suddenly it just clicks that, before, they were all working as seven separate entities instead of as a family and they start to slowly work to become closer.

The kicker is... They’re actually are MCs cousins. Like you know how sometimes the gene pool makes it so that kids end up being almost perfect copies of their parents. Since the sins are technically.... very distantly related to MC that must mean their cousins are too. And just... You know... the gene pool made it so that these assholes just all happened to be mis-mash of the seven sins. (I really only want this because the meeting that ensues would be funny as hell)

FAHC Freewood with protective mercenary Dan please ❤❤❤ Maybe Dan was visiting the fahc and saw that the vagabond holding a knife while Gav looking so terrified at him? (Theyre joking around ofc, just that Ryan was so lovingly pissed off at gavin) Dan misunderstood the situation and almost kill Ryan?

Interesting, I’ve never written Dan before, but I love this idea. I’ll take it and run. Might be a little darker (and longer) than you wanted, but I’m a slut for angry sexual tension fahc freewood dynamics. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for the prompt! 

————————— 2044 words

Gavin set his jaw, crossing his arms as Ryan stalked towards him. The alleyway was small and dim, but Gavin figured he could scale the fence behind him if he truly needed to make a getaway. 

“You idiot,” Ryan spat, quickly closing the gap between The Golden Boy and himself. His skull face paint accentuated his furious scowl, and the dim light cast haunting shadows across his tall figure.

Gavin lifted his chin as Ryan crowded him, refusing to take a step back. Gavin’s cheek was bleeding, but he hardly felt the sting. His chest was tight, and he took a deep breath before defending himself. “How was it my fault, then?” Gavin held his defiant posture, vary aware of the knife held tight in Ryan’s hand.

Ryan drew himself close to the Brit. He was breathing hard, hand itching to plunge the tip of the blade into Gavin’s puffed chest. “This was a stealth mission. An easy in, easy out. And yet,” Ryan crouched slightly, leveling his eyes with Gavin’s, “Someone managed to let a guard slip away.” 

Gavin met Ryan’s icy stare, and his bravado wavered. He had never seen such a look of absolute fury in those gorgeous blue eyes - let alone seen that fury be directed at himself. Gavin could feel the Vagabond’s hot breath across his face, and a sharp pang worked its way into his gut. Ryan’s stare was overwhelming - unwavering, unblinking. His face paint was smeared at the edges; his dark hair a matted halo across his head. He looked legitimately psychotic and, although Gavin hated to admit it, unbelievably sexy. Gavin narrowed his eyes, willing himself to focus. “That guard wasn’t under my zone - If I had taken him down, I would have bloody let three others get out.” 

Ryan pulled away from the Brit slightly, staring at him in disbelief. A low growl of agitation rumbled from his painted lips. 

A car passed by the alley and its headlights, for but a moment, made Ryan look absolutely feral. Gavin swallowed. His gaze flicked from Ryan’s knife to those intense blue eyes. Ryan wouldn’t actually hurt him, would he? 

“Besides,” Gavin started again, rubbing his hands together. His brow knit as he developed his lie. “If I remember correctly, that guard was marked in your sector. But you were too busy doing… What again?” Gavin knew he was playing a dangerous game, and he watched Ryan’s muscles tense. “Oh,” Gavin continued, waving a hand. “You were damn off with Geoff - wrongly, ay? Too focused on your own shitting reputation to remember your agreed place in the job.”

Something in Ryan snapped, and he sprang upon The Golden Boy. He grabbed a fistful of Gavin’s immaculate button-down shirt and dragged him to the brick walls of the alley, pinning Gavin against the wall with a forearm, not really caring if he hurt the smaller man. 

Gavin’s head cracked against the brick and he squeezed his eyes shut to block out the sharp pain. He felt Ryan’s ragged breath in his ear.

“How dare you,” Ryan growled, his voice husky. He pressed Gavin harder into the wall. “You’re a fucking coward. Afraid to own up to your wrongdoings; even more afraid to learn from your mistakes.” 

Gavin opened his eyes slowly, glaring up at Ryan’s seething visage. His stomach flipped at the sight before him; Ryan was sweating, lips parted in a snarl. His eyes twinkled from beneath between the face paint, but to Gavin’s surprise, they sparkled with something… a little different than pure rage. Gavin swallowed dryly. There was very little space between him and the Vagabond, and Gavin, seeing no other option, decided to use his compromised position to his advantage. He lowered his eyelids and tipped his chin up slightly, locking his gaze with the Vagabond’s. “Are you going to kill me, Ryan?” 

Ryan paused at this, grimacing. His eyes bored into Gavin’s green ones and irritation prickled the back of his throat. “I should,” Ryan said, voice cracking slightly. His heart pounded and he couldn’t seem to get enough air. Gavin looked the picture of absolute seduction, and Ryan hated that it had any affect at all on him. Anger and adrenaline still boiled in his veins, and he slid his forearm higher up Gavin’s chest, inching towards the tanned neck. Ryan watched Gavin’s eyes widen, and the Vagabond nearly smiled. So. The cool, calm, collected Golden Boy did have a sense of danger after all.  Ryan felt a warm tightness in his chest and Gavin’s nervous breaths flitted across his face. Ryan settled his forearm against Gavin’s throat, crowding his body closer to the Brit. His voice was low and steely as he spoke. “We were supposed to get through that complex safely… quietly. Turning a stealth mission loud can go horribly south” Ryan squinted at the man under his arm. “You’re lucky no one got killed. I’m astounded at your complete incompetence.”

Gavin gazed down at the Vagabond through his eyelashes, aware of nothing but the arm pressing down on his windpipe. The pair were silent for a bit, only the sound of their breathing echoed through the alley. Gavin knew he fucked up - knew he should have been paying closer attention - but in the end, the crew got out safe, and that’s all that really mattered. Gavin lifted his chin higher, talking over the arm against his neck. His heart thudded. “I dunno, Ryan.” A dangerous glint flickered across his green eyes, and he wiggled his body a little under Ryan’s weight. He locked eyes with the taller man, grabbing Ryan’s oppressing forearm with both hands. “Maybe I like the danger.” He pulled Ryan’s arm harder into his own neck, biting his lip. To Gavin’s delight, a look of absolute shock plastered across the Vagabond’s face.

Ryan yanked his forearm from Gavin’s chest, but Gavin held on tightly, back lifting from the wall as he clung to Ryan’s arm. Ryan growled and dropped Gavin back against the brick. He pressed his body flush against Gavin’s, unsure if he was furious or turned on. “You insolent piece of shit,” Ryan spat, voice wavering more than he liked. “You have no idea what you’re doing.”

Gavin shrugged, mischievously rolling his hips against Ryan’s weight. He raised his eyebrows languidly, eyes raking across Ryan’s face. “Oh, I think I do.”

Ryan’s knifed hand flew upwards, and Gavin winced, flinching as Ryan embedded the tip into a crumbling brick next to his head.

“You like danger, do you?” Ryan leaned in, lips nearly brushing Gavin’s. A drop of sweat rolled down his back, and he savored Gavin’s wide eyed look of terror. Ryan would have almost felt bad, if not for Gavin’s fully blown pupils and parted lips. 

“Oi!” A voice rang out, and suddenly, Gavin was no longer pinned to the wall. Gavin reeled at the sudden freedom, looking around wildly. A muted grunt echoed from the ground, and Gavin watched in shock as Dan Gruchy, notorious mercenary and longtime partner of the Fakes, slammed his boot into Ryan’s stomach. Ryan rolled backwards, righting himself to his feet. With admirable speed Dan drew a pistol, leveling it at The Vagabond’s skull. 

“All alone in an alleyway, no one around to blame you for the murder of The Golden Boy,” Dan said angrily, positioning himself defensively in front of Gavin. He cocked his gun, glaring at Ryan. “A perfect scheme, I’d say.”

“Look,” Ryan started, cautiously raising his hands as he stared in bewilderment at the mercenary.

“I know we were partners once, before all this crew shit,” Dan spat, gesturing slightly with the pistol, “But that doesn’t mean I won’t put a bullet through your skull, ay?” Dan threw a quick glance at Gavin over his shoulder before rounding on Ryan once more. “You’ve about ten seconds to explain why the eff you’re ‘bout to off Gavin Free.” Dan’s free hand joined the other at the pistol’s handle, and he squinted at the Vagabond.

Ryan frowned, unsure of his words. “I wasn’t… trying to kill him - ” He gestured with his raised hands slowly, measuring Dan’s reactions. “Gavin’s actions nearly cost us a mission… And he didn’t seem to understand the severity - “

“So you plan to run him through with a knife?” Dan gripped the pistol harder, gaze unwavering.

“Dan,” Gavin’s voice called.

Dan kept his attention on Ryan but gritted his teeth. “Yeah, B? You want me to kill this traitor?”

Gavin huffed, crossing around Dan to stand next to Ryan. “He’s telling the truth.” Gavin looked at the dirty ground uncomfortably, wishing he wouldn’t have been so stubborn.

“Yeah?” Dan said incredulously. “What did you do so bad then, that this bloke should pull a knife on you?” He held the pistol level with Ryan’s chest, despite Gavin’s proximity.

Gavin’s gaze flicked from the angry mercenary to the irritated Vagabond, and he sighed. His chest was tight as he spoke: “Let a guard go in a stealth op. He got out, alerted the whole complex. We barely got out with our lives…” Gavin swallowed, surrendering his pride. “He got away on my watch. The whole thing went to shit, and it was my bloody fault.”

Ryan glanced over at Gavin, eyebrows raised. “So you do admit it. Is The Golden Boy really taking responsibility for his actions?” Almost all previous malice had left his voice.

Gavin kicked at the dirt. His heart was heavy. He prided himself on his decent track record of flawless heists, and despised feeling like a monumental letdown.

Dan faltered at Gavin’s statement, lowering the pistol slowly. “Come off it, Gavin. That’s a pretty decent offense.” He looked from Gavin to Ryan and back again, confused. “Hang on, that doesn’t explain why you,” he took several steps toward Ryan, hostility creeping back into his voice, “had Gavin pinned down, threatening him with a knife!” 

Ryan raised his eyebrows at Dan, grimacing. He turned his palms up in a half shrug. “Um.” He chuckled uncomfortably. “Emphasis?”

Gavin turned red and quickly intercepted Dan with a tanned hand on the mercenary’s chest. “It - It’s okay, B. Uh,” He threw a panicked look at Ryan and gazed up at Dan, smiling nervously. 

Dan frowned, slowly piecing together the situation. He searched Gavin’s face, eyes going wide as everything clicked. Dan’s cheeks flushed and he nodded stiffly, disengaging the pistol’s ammo. “Right.” The mercenary took a few steps back, staring at the uneasy pair before him. “Right,” he said again, hurriedly. “Well I - just know that I’m lookin’ out for you, Gav.” Dan couldn’t figure out where to put his arms. “You better not lay another hand on him,” he gestured towards Ryan, who was now grinning, thoroughly enjoying Dan’s discomfort.

Ryan lowered an eyebrow, his smile wolfish. “In what context?”

Dan backed away and tripped over a stray trash can lid - wishing he was anywhere else. “Just don’t… murder him - and Gavin, don’t get yourself killed from anymore stupid mistakes.” Dan turned on his heel, and walked away quickly, regretting not just minding his own business.

Watching Dan disappear into the street, Ryan rounded on Gavin, arms crossed. “You understand why I’m so upset, correct?” 

Gavin nodded, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. 

“So you admit you fucked up,” Ryan said, a hint of amusement creeping into his voice. He moved toward Gavin, grinning as the Brit took several steps back. “Gavin Free made a mistake, is that correct?” Ryan knew he was being needlessly antagonistic, but it was too much fun getting a rise out of Gavin.

“Yes, Ryan, Jesus.” Gavin moved further backwards as Ryan approached, a spike of panic rising in his chest when he felt brick wall against his back once more. 

Ryan drew himself up against Gavin again, placing his arms on either side of the Brit’s head. His mouth brushed Gavin’s ear, voice low. “You’re sorry?” 

Gavin nodded again, heart pounding. He knew Ryan was just messing with him now, but Ryan’s presence was intoxicating.The Vagabond’s hot breath ghosted across his neck, raising goosebumps along Gavin’s arms.

Ryan pressed his body hard into Gavin’s, smirking at the slight gasp from the Brit. He growled low into Gavin’s ear, voice ragged. “Then show me.”

interesting things from tactical crouch’s interview w toronto assistant coach/analyst barroi on 1/19

barroi talks about why the team failed last year, the atmosphere/coaching of the new team, beast and nevix and why he believes in them, and the meta. [link to the full podcast]

on why the team failed last year

team atmosphere was biggest problem which lead to stellar retiring, tried to "better" atmosphere by trading envy to shanghai. going mixed roster didnt improve atmosphere and it just spiraled

Said toronto was beating everyone in scrims in stage 1, barroi thought they were a 4th place team and just got unlucky w getting shock in playoffs. Emphasized this several times during the podcast

team wasnt built for atmosphere, "long-term sustainability," was built to perform well but exploded "sooner than expected" and they HAD to make changes which was where they made bad decisions and it spiraled.

biggest thing he learned was coaching was all abt psychology, keeping morale up, small things to do to keep everything working, learned its HUGELY important

last season toronto's structure wasnt as great as it is this year

barroi was part of the roster building, thinks building a roster the way they did will always fail

implied toronto scrimmed way way too much last year and burned everybody out

noted specifically that ivy was nervous onstage even in later games

on the new team’s atmosphere/chemistry:

new team made for morale and high team atmosphere, all personalities will mesh well. that was the most important thing and its been working insanely well. everyones not best friends but its working well. 

happy with the players and environment they have, thinks adding an extra element might disturb that not in current plans to add anyone else. they are thinking abt contingency plans tho, have plans in case of emergencies

some competitiveness in the roster, but not a high level. Doesnt like the idea of an a and b roster bc every day is a high pressure environment where the better squad will start

Toronto scrims 2 blocks a day 6 days a week. do 3 blocks sometimes but not every day. def lower than highest hours of scrims in the league since some teams do 3 blocks a day.

when asked if fefe drives the coaches/players differently responded with "YES." 

fefe is rly good at motivating people, rly knows how to "get to people." may not be the biggest brain but knows his stuff and knows how to create a good environment. "hell of a difference" compared to last season (sounds like drama w bishop to me!)

everyone in coaching staff has their own role, like a venn diagram, bc of how specific their structure is. everything is really efficient

there's never been any discipline things on toronto yet, theres rules for scrims but no ones broken any of them yet

doesnt think toronto is gonna be a top 5 team. thinks maintaining a top roster + taking team psychology into account is very difficult

its possible that toronto could hit a really high high, but its a low possibility

last season barroi was worried abt pressure on stage bc everyone was silent, atmosphere was different, is not at all worried now. thinks the team drives itself very well, points to kariv and beast as motivators and nevix and logix as people who will never perform bad under pressure

on beast and nevix

beast is a huge motivator and a really fun guy for the team, keeping the team atmosphere up. has a huge competitive drive, learns REALLY fast and takes any and all feedback. theyre putting more and more emphasis on beast's role and more responsiblities bc theyre really satisfied w how he performs and learns. thinks beast is a very good pick for them

people on roster were chosen for specific reasons, beast was chosen bc he's super competitive. 

beast is kind of person where having a backup mt would motivate him even more, he wouldnt shut down if he was benched he would fight for the starting spot

nevix is "not the best player in the world" (in response to reddit saying he is the best player in the world). has been a good asset to the team, goes to the coaches/teammates most w questions. rly wants to prove himself

on the meta

in scrims sometimes offtank plays orisa now since mt is playing something else

"2 big archetypes" everyone is running in scrims. poke and rush comps. rush is reaper/mei/orisa/rein/lucio moira/bap. poke is mei hanzo, dif flex sups, orisa, no lucio. variation within those comps but its only those 2. the comps play very differently despite having similar heroes bc of dif win conditions and styles. poke is map dependant, wins over rush when speedboost cant close gap fast enough. theres not a core meta comp thats as ridiculous as goats, tho rush is similar to goats. 

teams playing junk, widow, probably double sniper, more diverse than past but again 2 archetypes of comps. running one or the other is very team/style dependant, for instance shock is probably sticking to rush and nyxl is probably sticking to poke based on their histories. wont talk abt what toronto runs

dive is map dependant, not smth you want to do all the time bc the other two comps are very good, rush is a natural counter to dive. doesnt sound like hes scrimmed dive comps often. sees dive having a place and being good at times but thinks its very team and map dependant. map and team both have to be good for it for it to work. dive is not the third archetype. if you have a good sombra vs poke, dive could work but was kinda like /shrug

havent scrimmed any teams in asia, which makes sense

thinks this season is exciting bc of scrim bubbles, nobody knows whats happening on other regions. each bubble conforms to one thing, may be different may not be, one may be superior but nobodys gonna know til they play each other.

yiska thinks theres gonna be some wild meta diversity since some teams have long breaks and can afford to grind out new comps, also bc there will be patches

misc things i thought were worth including

theres a german player coming to owl who hasnt been announced

apparently not a lot of other teams have that kind of good structure. Also mentioned that toronto’s scrimming outlaws

yiska brought up the csgo(?) team moscow 5 as an example of how the best teams can crumble completely and become bad under the stress of travel

roky is the person who grinds ranked most on the team, nevix is 2nd

barroi thinks defiant will place better than 13 (in response to tactical crouch thinking theyll place 13th), things would have to go “seriously wrong” for them to place lower. Thinks theyll have a strong first half and is sure if they do that the 2nd half will be even better. Convinced theyll at least make playins

barroi thinks chengdu will do fairly well especially w the scrim bubbles. Thinks they’ll be one place below defiant maybe. 

difference between coaching completely mixed roster and a 1 language roster, dont have to put as much emphasis on making sure everyone understands each other. depends mainly on the philosophy of the head coach, which changed so its different. probably the same without the head coach factor tho

Untamed rewatch Episode 19

Wei Wuxian gets slam dunked into the ghost zone, our love interest reappears after 4 episodes, and Sunshot gets in gear

-...okay what’s the reason for the week long gap? we know that the golden core extraction took a night and a day. where did the wens go afterward? how did wwx make his way into yiling while like...half dead, and how long was he there?

-my sister was making fun of wwx’s hat but I think it’s cute

-wwx clutching at his belly when he stumbles into the tea house is. oof

-oh this dream sequence with jc is. a lot.

-aw jc doing the bows. he’s such a good boy. hope wen qing saw that.

-love how theyre like “let’s crush wwx’s golden core!” And wwx is like “good luck with that”

-“I’ll turn into a ferocious ghost and haunt you” well, he does in a sense. he was only mostly alive, when he came out of the burial mounds

-I wonder whether or not he’s bluffing about not having had a soul calming ceremony. is that partly why he can use resentful energy in the long run?

-OOOHHH SMOKE STARTS COMING OUT WHEN HIS BLOOD DRIPS ON THE POUCH THATS SO SCARY

-hysterical, defiant laughter a good look on wwx

-green screen time

-the fucking electric guitar sounds like sanctuary by utada hikaru

-wait the framing here implies jc can see the wens in the sky??

-when the resentful energy holds wwx suspended in the sky for a moment..like a caress...oof

-all three of us went “aww” when we saw wen ning’s poor bruised face. the wen siblings are gonna be the death of me. at least wen qing knows how to hug her goddamn brother.

-i know we make fun of this show for its tacky effects and its melodrama but listen. the burial mounds sequence is extremely well done and fucking scary.

 -i’m obsessed with the fact that out of all the screaming voices wei wuxian hears, lan wangji’s “wei ying” is the one that rouses him

-“wei wuxian, do you want revenge?” is just. i don’t know what it is but that line hits. like, he may walk out of this a broken, traumatized ruin (he will). he may never be the same again (he won’t). but he can draw on all that hate and all that pain, his own as well as the injustice that allows a place like the burial mounds to even exist, and he will make those responsible pay. he’ll destroy himself doing it, but, well. he never expected to survive anyway.

-Hanguang-jun! how you doing bud! missed you! killing people with music is so sexy!

-also wanna hear about his and jc’s brother rescuing road trip 

-FUCK LAN ZHAN TAKES SUIBIAN EVEN BEFORE HE TAKES BICHEN 

-oh man. I forgot we already knew suibian sealed itself this far back

-zixuan is a good man

-god I feel so bad for yanli. she’s been through so much and now she’s gotta stare at fucking battlefields all day. and she hasn’t seen her brothers for three fucking months

-my mom when yanli looks at the decapitated head: not a great first date!

-JC AND YANLI JUST HUGGING IN THE BACKGROUND

-lwj not being able to answer when jzx asks if he’s seen wwx... ._.

-I love how baxia vibrates when nmj gets bloodlusty that’s so funny

-(okay in retrospect not funny, but still funny)

-nmj asking jzx about meng yao has huuuuge “person awkwardly asking after their ex” energy. yikes.

-oh yanli is all in white, for mourning :( 

-three months, man. that’s a long time to be in lanling alone, for a girl who’s lost her parents, whose siblings are scattered to the winds, whose very name means hating separation

-anyway! wow all of jiaojiao’s jewelry looks cheap and fake! just like her!

-my sister re: jiaojiao: cheap, fake, easy to break

-i’m so fucking excited for the ghost horror show

Observers - 32

Pairing: Sherlock Holmes x Reader

Warnings: None

A/N: Also, 39 degrees Celsius is 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit for all of us who use the other not normal way of counting things.

You just wanted to sleep. Was that really too much to ask? Sitting on the couch with Sherlock pacing in front of you, it seemed it was. At least your fever had ebbed slightly and you could think properly, otherwise, you probably would have just curled up into a ball and grumbled profanities. He’d forced you out of John’s chair by prodding you in the side until you couldn’t ignore it anymore and did what he wanted, moving to the couch, as you internally demanded that your body obey you and stay awake. It wasn’t all that hard because, as much as you wanted to sleep, you often went without sleep for days on end when you worked and then when he demanded it of you. It was still beyond annoying. The man in front of you stopped pacing and you quirked an unamused eyebrow at him, “All right, genius. Out with it.” He had one arm warped around his chest to prop up the elbow of the other that had it’s hand pressed thoughtfully over his chin and lips and looked over at you for a moment and then away, still obviously deep in thought, “Tell me how you feel.”

“Annoyed and like I want to punch you in the throat. There may also be some other less than chaste desires underneath, but the punching thing takes precedent. Though… pressing you up against a wall and making you beg for mercy is a close second.”

He did a little double take as he came out of his thoughts with widened eyes but the smirk on your face told him you were joking just to get a rise out of him, “I have never, nor do I ever plan to have, begged for mercy.” The mischievous smirk spread fully across your face as you pressed at him further, “I bet I could make you.” “Don’t be rude, (F/n)” he sounded annoyed as he waved a hand at you but you could see a light pink come to his cheeks that meant his mind was imagining something not so innocent. What an interesting result, you thought to yourself. If he was going to use you to explore his curiosities when it came to physical attraction, then you had every right to tease him just to see his reactions. For science, of course… or art- whichever was more relevant. “But it’s so much fun,” you pouted and he gave you a look that said be serious and answer the question properly. “Tired.” You replied sarcastically, being defiant just because you could. “Beyond that.” He demanded, ignoring your sass. You sighed, “My throat is killing me, it hurts to speak and to swallow, and my head feels like it’s going to explode.” “Can you recall when all that started?” You closed your eyes to try and think, “Just before John left… I woke up with a sore throat and chalked it up to falling asleep without grabbing my extra quilt. The headache… that’s been on and off from when we went to dinner to now.” Opening your eyes to find him looking at you intently, he chided, “Extra quilt? Why is that relevant? Don’t give me useless information, (F/n).” You just stared at him for a moment, you were so very fond of that man but he could be so utterly and completely ignorant sometimes that it made you want to punch him or at least just wordlessly scream at him in frustration. He was still eyeing you expectantly, so you answered, “That was the night you were thinking on my couch.” You hoped he would figure it out on his own, you really did, but he simply queried, “So?” “I gave you my comforter, you twat,” you snapped at him, getting up to make yourself some tea. Just because he insisted you had to be up didn’t mean you had to sit around and answer his questions. He had frozen and cocked his head to the side to think about the new information- he had had your comforter, that’s why you’d needed a quilt, and if you hadn’t gotten it, it was safe to reason your body had been shocked by the cold as he could remember your flat being frigid. He was starting to connect the dots. It was likely your body could have fought off the initial shock to your system, but combined with a lack of sleep due to your nightmare, your extended period of time doing physical labor, and his taking you out in the cold without the proper attire not just once but twice he could easily see how it had escalated. Coming to this conclusion in the time it took him to blink, he spun on his heel to follow you, quietly observing. You put the kettle on and then glanced at him thoughtfully before pulling down two mugs instead of the one you’d originally planned. When you reached for the tea, his hand stopped you and you sighed frustratedly, “Sherlock, if you’re going to insist that I remain awake then at least let me make tea.” As if he hadn’t heard you, he spun you and steered you to the couch, pushing you forcefully down into it and then throwing a blanket over you before returning to the kitchen. You just sat there with the blanket over your head for a minute, giving an annoyed huff, and then scrambled to yank the thing off your face, fully intending to give Sherlock a piece of your mind at this point. You were met with him looking at you with a raised eyebrow for your little bout of angry under-blanket flailing, a cup of tea in one hand and a thermometer in the other. You sighed, every time you were about to kill him and make it look like an accident, he would surprise you with some act of kindness like this. It was so unexpected from him. You loved him for his mind, for his brilliance, for his passion, for his curiosity, but it was the adorably awkward moments of kindness that kept you from wanting to strangle him. You reached for the tea but he pulled it away, “Temperature first.” You pouted and opened your mouth to whine but he took the opportunity to stick the thermometer in your mouth and tap your jaw shut with a little upwards flick of his fingers on the underside of your chin. Giving up, you leaned back and waited for it to beep telling you it was done. When it did, he practically snatched it from your mouth, looking at it with a little frown as he handed you the tea as promised, “39 degrees. It’s gone up again.” You ignored him, happily letting the steam from your tea drift up your nose before taking a long drink with a content hum, and missed the fact that he’d disappeared again. He came back with a large bundle of blankets dumping them on the couch next to you and then took your tea from you before you could protest. You just sat there rather flabbergasted and more than a little dejected over the loss of your tea until he returned, placing it in your hands again as he pressed a cool towel to your forehead. You eyed it suspiciously, too tired and feverish to make your own deductions as to what he had done to it, “Sherlock… what did you do to my tea just then?” He looked at you like it should be obvious from his place seated on the coffee table in front of you but still answered, “I added honey for your throat.” You just sort of nodded and looked at it again as he gently wiped sweat from your brow, “Sherlock?” “Hmm?” “Can I go back to sleep now? I have work in a few hours.” He gave you a flat look, “You aren’t going to work, (F/n). I already left your boss a message.” Panic crossed your face and you scrambled up to try and find your phone, not caring exactly how or when he’d done that, only that you needed to fix it, “I just started yesterday! I can’t call in sick after only one day. Ah! I’m going to get fired!” “So? You don’t like the job anyway.”

You spun to glare at him, your voice going to a yell, “Bloody hell, Sherlock, I can’t paint and I need to be able to pay my bloody rent.” He raised an eyebrow at you calmly, “Are you quite finished?” “No, I’m not bloody finished. I finally caught a break and you ruined it, you…” Your voice grew hoarser and hoarser as you went on until finally, nothing came out even though your lips were moving and your hand went to your throat. You just glared at him as he shoved you back down into the couch and his voice had a teasing edge to it as he pointed out, “You can’t go to work with a fever of 39 and no voice now can you? Your boss will understand as she is also your friend and knows you really need the job.” You gave him a look that accused him of making you lose your voice on purpose and he returned you a small smirk that confirmed it to which you mouthed, “I’m telling John.” “No, you won’t. You don’t want to worry him.” He’d played you. That twat. Then again it meant that you could sleep as long as you wanted now, a thought that actually almost entirely soothed the anger that you were feeling. You didn’t let him know that though, yanking your blankets up around you with a huff as you curled up to face the back of the couch. You had literally just begun to drift off when he jabbed you in the side and you rolled to angrily gawk at him only to have something dropped into your mouth and his hand then clamped over it. You glared at him furiously as he demanded, “Swallow.” You shook your head and licked his hand to try and get him to let go, to which he rolled his eyes, “Don’t be a child, (F/n).” As you puffed out your cheeks under his hand in protest, he pinched your nose, “Swallow.” You went over your options in your head and then resignedly did as he asked, making a disgusted face at the taste of the pills when he pulled his hand away. He chuckled as you angrily turned to face the back of the couch again, dipping down to press a kiss to your temple as a reward before standing and going to his chair. Your fingers went to press the skin his gloriously cool lips had just grazed, your anger dissolving once again, and stayed there as you drifted off into a sleep that for once wouldn’t be disturbed.

@team-free-sherlock

@multifandom-ramblings

@madshelily

@severusminerva

@yes-but-theyre-my-dorks

@smitemewiththysherlock

@not-fandom-addicted

@unknownwonder

@deducingdevil

@aviien  

@mrsfrankensteinsworld 

@lolamurphy

@bakerstreethound

@musical-doll-x  

@protectteamfreewill

@delightful-pirate

i have so many theories!!! theyre all screaming at me!!! i must write out them all!!!!! 

so here’s one that’s been knocking around my head since finals week began:

the Writing 3 Playlist on Spotify 

I think this bad boy is a hint at the game’s timeline

maybe not 100% explanatory, but I think we can guess certain parts of the game through this

and i just wanna tell y’all now, almost all of this is speculation, as honestly im 90% sure the playlist was created bc it had borderlands-y songs in it (although the last few have me scratching my head)

lemme explain why im writing this, though I’m very thirsty for lore

tl;dr: game goes like this: lilith powers stolen. go to promethea, go to jungle, find brick mordy and tina, get into a fight, lose fight, go find other VHs, get into another fight, Krieg shows up to save Maya, maya die. (oh no she ded), the twins have their we are GODS moment, the VHs get summoned to the Eridian homeworld, there’s a huge ass final battle, someone attempts to create an end-of-the-world scenario

so the playlist itself was created to help one of the authors of the game get into their borderlands jam 

it starts with a Cage the Elephant song, “Trouble”, the band of which we all know wrote the first song used in BL1. Not really much else to say here, but we do know the opening cutscene of the game involves our current team of Vault Hunters being attacked by the Children of the Vault. this is, of course, not indicative of any songs used in bl3, but we can assume it captures the general feeling of the game.

Second song: “Fire” by Barns Courtney (holy shit I love this guy so fucking much!! if you’ve never listened to his music, PLEASE do so! I really recommend “Rather Die”- I am in the process of making a bl3 animatic to it actually lmao). 

So anyway, I’m just sayin’, the lyrics of this song...

“Oh, a thousand faces staring at me Thousand times I've fallen Thousand voices dead at my feet Now I'm gone... And my mother told me son let it be Sold my soul to the calling Sold my soul to a sweet melody Now I'm gone... Oh gimme that fire ...”

Honestly, I would not be surprised if this song was about Lilith’s loss of her powers. I mean, she used to call herself the Firehawk because she burned the shit outta bandits. c’monnn.

The man, the myth, the legend himself even says that "[The song is] quite defiant as well, like this cannot be how it ends, it cannot be my situation."

Mooooving on

“Majesty” by Apashe and Wasiu

holy fuck i love this song so much. and its so very obviously about the Calypso Twins- at the very least its Tyreen.

“All the stars and galaxies address me as your majesty So better say your majesty, I might react erratically Throw you in a fire, purify you I'm the sire, my empire's on the rise You better find yourself a place to hide Your place to find, but say it twice My name divine, I'm aimin' high Don't look in my face or eyes Take a bow and save your life Glory to the emperor, my temperature is risin' Always hot, it's getting violent”

I mean come on if its not when we meet the twins for the first time after they steal lily’s powers, then its definitely when they do something absolutely badass and really show us why they’re revered as gods. Possibly related to the Holy Broadcasting Center?

“The Way I Do” by Bishopp Briggs 

this one honestly had got me stumped as to its purpose, i lowkey kinda think its getting Sanctuary 3 up and running (and possibly meeting Maya for the first time- still not sure about that). I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a whole thing for Scooter and this song fits pretty well. I imagine we also meet Vaughn and the Children at some point, so maybe here?

“Greeting the Menace” by Zack Hemsey 

yeah i uhhhh dunno. This sounds like a song about a dude getting tortured which scares me a bit lmao. 

I thought maybe this song and the next 2 could be VH-based songs, as the next 2 have no lyrics whatsoever and the third is called “Best Friends”, but who knows... If this is the case I could make the argument this is about Zane or Moze, leaning towards Zane cuz he’s pretty covered up, plus I think “Best Friends” would be more Moze’s style lmao

I could also see this being a song about Troy... could explain all the ‘body mods’ and the missing arm.

“ProtoVision” by Kavinsky

If we’re going with the idea that these next few songs are about the Vault Hunters, then I imagine this would be Fl4k’s. It’s got that synth and some guitar which I think fits perfectly with his robo-hobo aesthetic lol

Other than that, I truly have no idea what part of the story this song could reference since there aren’t any lyrics. Maybe Promethea’s city? I could kinda see it, it sounds pretty high-tech

Similarly, “diatribe.” by Oliver Michael

the beginning gives me a whole meditation vibe which I kinda associate with Amara and her phasecast skill which “sends out an astral projection” of herself. 

Then again, this could be the outskirts of the Promethean city... I could see myself wandering around the huge ass foliage and discovering an abandoned research base to this song idk

“Best Friends” by grandson

aaahh i love grandson. I think this could be a Moze-based song. I just get that vibe from her leather jacket... anyway

I also could totally see this as discovering Brick, Mordecai, and Tina in the research base (if that truly is where they are). Cause we saw them in the trailer hanging out there. 

tbh the lyrics themselves kinda remind me of pre-Tales Rhys and Fiona and all their friends

“All of my best friends Like to go and get fucked up Then they talk about all the lives they never got to live Oh, they're still waiting for some sort of invitation It's never coming along, oh no, you'll get just what you give”

but idk if that’s what its meant for

“Bap U” by Party Favor

hmm another ‘lyricless’ song. not really lyric-less but uhhh the lyrics are pretty nonsensical lol

I could see there being a fight scene with Brick Tina and Mordy as AIs helping out here, maybe exploring the abandoned research base?

“Not Human” by elegant slims 

oh you know what im going to say here hahaha

monster troy p l e a s e

i wouldn’t be surprised if Tyreen started accumulating more powers here, like perhaps the previous fight scene was over the Vault on Promethea and the twins were able to access it before us? and Tyreen gives the Vault Monster the succ

“Crack in the seams You're breaking through The animal inside of you You're not human anymore... Your eyes go black electric blue The animal inside of you Life on a string Watch it swing Hide your teeth”

and one (or both) of the twins start going feral lol

“Way Down We Go” by KALEO

one (1) fear and that’s that someone dies during the scene that corresponds to this song

hopefully its just the boys being depressed over a loss instead of a victory, but oof

anyway, you know what they say: “sometimes you gotta fall before you make it big” ;) thats a typhon deleon quote

“I’m a Wanted Man” by Royal Deluxe

I want to believe these next few songs are us recruiting the rest of the Vault Hunters not seen yet

I kinda associate this one with Axton since his whole History with DAHL, but who knows! It could be Gaige, too. or Maya since she looks like she’s being incredibly gay criminal on the Maliwan Monastery planet. Maybe both Axton and Gaige? I would love that

“The Devil You Know” by X Ambassadors 

Could also be Axton! I lowkey think its Salvador or Timothy Lawrence. The reason I think its Timothy is cuz the whole song gives me huge Handsome Jack vibes, but it could also be Sal cuz I totally imagine him becoming a bounty hunter to fund his gun addiction lmao

“00000 Million” by Ella Vos

this one also gives off Maya vibes imo. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one is about her and the introduction of Little Blue. I could also see Athena and Janey here, just living their lives out in a cottage somewhere. awww

“Jungle” by Tash Sultana

Ahh a love song [pukes] Hopefully this one is about Athena and Janey, cuz there is a depressing lack of both of them in all the trailers we’ve seen! It sounds lowkey sad, though. I hope nothing happened to them D:

“Don’t Wait Up” by Dustbowl Revival

this one gives me very big Fiona and Sasha vibes. 

Of course, there’s also the fact that the song is about a dad, and we still don’t know who the heck “the Father” is on all those Calypsos posters. We also dunno who in the heck “Mother” is, either. Sounds like Father left the cult, though, oof, and Mother stuck around. Wonder what that’s all about, maybe he felt like the twins were working fast/efficient enough and left to do things himself? Very lost on this idea tbh. the song seems very out of place, but it has to connect to something, yknow?

“Dies Irae” by Apashe and Black Prez

For those of you who don’t speak fluent Latin (the fuck guys?? lmao jk), the title means "Day of Wrath". Nice, nice, nice. 

the lyrics, you might be asking:

“'Cause I'ma beast. Where you at? I've been unleashed. Whatchu doin'? Sink my teeth. Y'all can't fathom I'ma beast”

me: [vibrating in my seat] monster twins monster twins monster twins monster twins

at the very least this is definitely a fight scene here. Probably with the twins again (hopefully). Maybe they found some way to imbue the cultists with fucked up powers and are sending them against the VHs as giant demon things and as we fight through the temple (apparently with some Guardians) we realize the final one is Troy and/or Tyreen?

I like to imagine this is where Maya gets her powers stolen, if only because the next few songs... I think she’s around because she’s now the only person with Siren powers on the side of the Crimson Raiders, so they might need her help with the Vault in some way

“RAMPAGE” by GRAVEDGR

y’all wonder why I seemingly forgot about Krieg in the above songs? Well, this is why. 

The only lyric for this entire song is “Bitch, I'm on a rampage- mask on my damn face”

I mean come on, Krieg with his psycho mask on, the fact his action skill is literally called “Buzz Axe Rampage”, the fact he loves Maya as shown in his introductory trailer... it’d be so perfect. And I bet badass psycho Krieg would be the only thing able to beat back whatever’s attacking at the moment. I’m just imagining him smashing down a wall and going apeshit

“Black Out Days” by Phantograms

Another song I think is about Krieg and Maya. I don’t think Maya does too hot in this game, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she gets the Roland treatment if you know what I’m saying. I wonder if this causes Krieg to devolve back into insanity cause the whole song seems to focus around that. I hope not D:

“Hide the sun I will leave your face out of my mind You should save your eyes A thousand voices howling in my head Speak in tongues I don't even recognize your face Mirror on the wall Tell me all the ways to stay away”

To be honest I could also see it being that Maya gets her powers stolen and thoughtlock-ed by the twins to fight on their side (as she’s seen fighting with the big demon elemental things), and maybe we have to kill her or hurt her in some way to get her to stop attacking us. God I hope not.

Let’s hope this is someway about the twins and definitely not about our favorite Siren and/or Psycho

“The Finishing” by Stavroz

oof i think somebody dies... If its not Maya, my best guess is Krieg or Lilith. Maybe Mordecai or Brick? Oh I hope not, I love both of them way too much for it to be healthy. But, hey, at least Tina learned some coping mechanisms :(

“Intro” and “Apocalypse Please” by Muse

merged these into 1 because Intro is like 15 seconds long and is literally the introduction to Apocalypse Please. 

Definitely reaching the end of the game here... 

“And it's time we saw a miracle Come on, it's time for something biblical To pull us through And pull us through And this is the end This is the end Of the world Proclaim eternal victory Come on and change the cause of history And pull us through”

I think the twins (or whoever may have become the main villain- perhaps the Eridians?) have claimed victory/gotten the ultimate power in one way or another, and/or this is the Crimson Raiders getting themselves ready for a final stand-off with the big bad evil guy. 

I would really love if there’s a scene right at the end of this where the Twins have their huge “BOW TO ME” moment and then they just get COMPLETELY obliterated by a new villain. Just absolutely decimated.

New villain, like if they opened a Vault and whatever was being imprisoned there just wipes the floor with them (something like the Destroyer, if not the Destroyer itself), or fuck shit maybe even Tannis? or the Eridians looking for help in the war. or the Eridians bringing war. Who knows!

Again, could just be the Twins having gotten their hands on the end-game material, like realizing they can turn troy into big demon fuck (no i am not letting this one go) and we are kinda fucked now.

“Free Animal” by Foreign Air

I... have no idea lol

maybe Krieg getting rescued, maybe (one of?) the twins getting recruited by the Raiders for the final fight? It could fit into the ‘Beast’ imagery. Fuck, maybe even rescuing/finding Typhon or something? Idk, im kinda in the party that Typhon is going to be coming back some way or another lol, I’d love to meet the guy

“Dreams” by ZHU and Nero

This definitely sounds like a new BBEG has just been introduced or the big bads just entered the final phase of their plan, like the Crimson Raiders just learned about something life-changing and this is their “oh shit” moment

i wanna believe that the Eridians or another alien race (like the Seraphs!) are going to come in at the ‘end’ of the game and the Watcher is gonna be like “bitch did you really think I thought these dumbass ECHOnet streamers were the epitome of War??” I imagine we’d be on the side of the Eridians here, since y’know, the Watcher came to us for help.

Of course, the twins could still be the BBEG and have gotten their hands on that universe-destroying power that was described on the website (”to recover a map to ancient Vaults and prevent a universe-destroying power from falling into the wrong hands”) so maybe the Eridians called us in in order to meet and get help against the COV?

“Beyond the Fray” by Cassandra Violet

personally i think this one is about the Eridian homeworld

“I'll mark the day When we can meet beyond the fray Don't lose the will to see your home You find the way so we can meet beyond the fray I'll fight to see that you get home Consider this small clue Look beyond your point of view Make a space for honesty hide“

Wouldn’t even be surprised if someone made a sacrifice so we could get there... I imagine its hidden somewhere in the alternate dimension or wherever the Vaults lead to so it couldn’t be found, so maybe Lilith’s got her powers back at this point and she sacrifices herself to send us there?

idk...

“Outside the Realm” by Big Giant Circles

ah yes, another reason I think the end of the game involves the Eridian homeworld in some way. Have you heard this?? huge “we just stumbled upon a long-lost-alien-planet” vibe. I love it. Maybe even just a shot of Sanctuary III slowly gliding over the giant planet, having just exited phasewalk. God yes

“Battle Royale” by Apashe

another reason i think the final fight is some giant battlefield/wave fight instead of just against 1 or 2 enemies. not to mention the fact that the VH skills we’ve seen so far are crowd control based instead of raid boss focused. 

Its likely the VHs against the Cult of the Vault, but if we defeat the Twins halfway through the game, then the Cult will dissolve on its own. Either way, I really really really really really want a huge fight against an army. I don’t care if its against the Children of the Vault, the Eridians/some Guardians, or if its against the Seraphs or a new set of aliens we’re gonna get (maybe whatever the Destroyer was/is?). idk idc i just want a huge battle. I imagine we’re on the Eridians’ side, as I said above, but who knows, maybe the Watcher went rogue. 

oh and also, the next song:

“Doomsday” by NERO

oh hey, I recognize this song, it’s giving me major BL2 flashbacks lmao

Also the last song in the playlist, which is giving me the big fear (tm)

I imagine that we wouldn’t have been brought to the Eridian homeworld if it wasn’t kind of a huge deal, and what’s more of a huge deal than the end of the universe?!

that’s what i’d call doomsday, anyway.

could be the reason the Eridians are coming out of hiding after all this time. Either to stop our dumb human asses from opening the Vaults, or to get help against these alien fucks because our dumb human asses keep destroying their first line of defense- the Vault Monsters.

If the twins actually DO remain the main villains throughout the whole game, then I imagine this is them prepping to destroy the universe

but maaaan i really want some aliens... maybe the universe destroying power IS the aliens? aw hell yeah

ok ok how would ambrose be as a whumpee? specifically a pet whumpee??

like how @whumpsday Kane and anton would have different long term reaction to captivity is different

:)

in darker spk (where seth somehow gets his dirty lil paws on all 4 of them) hes very defiant. tries to protecc everyone. hes very Very broken by torture and the sheer Cruelty and just. working as a dom rly taught him that just. words have weight? he couldnt even imagine asking someone nicely to stop and. having them not respect it. hes so broken and traumatised and just. yeah. he breaks down immediately after theyre all out. he cant do this.

if am was kept as a pet alone, he'd be... a little different. there'd be no loved ones to protect, which means he wouldnt start out violent. he'd start out much the same as bellamy would: polite and trying to bargain. he's never done anything to deserve this, has he? also, he does pet play. he cant help but just... say that. say he doesnt Like it. he doesnt Want it. Please Stop. hes not a pet. hes not interested. when that doesnt work, thats when the defiance kicks up and he becomes much like a cornered animal. lashing out. getting aggressive and violent. resignation doesnt fully set in for a long long time, but he does quiet down after a brief period of being a hissy cat. he complies in order to spare himself suffering and maybe earn his captor's trust so he can escape. when the resignation sets in and he realises hes never getting out, its really heartbreaking.

00:53 21/06/2021

Hello again <3

so i think im gonna write about my mental health today because i dont feel like i have anyone who understands fully apart from myself maybe so i need to Organise my Thoughts. as a kid i had a pretty normal childhood, a mum a dad and a brother - pretty nuclear right. but as a child i felt like my family maybe wasnt quite right, that this wasnt supposed to be what family is? perhaps. - i was scared of my mum a lot because she wasnt very understanding of me - and i was a great kid, never getting into trouble, very good at school, no issues whatsover. the thing that really shows how i thought of my relationship with my mum was when i was like maybe 8 or so having a parents night and at it my teacher had nothing bad to say apart from i was kinda bossy in group settings (im sure i dont need to explain how misogynistic that actually is- i was not bossy i was a natural leader) and when i got home my mum told me off for that and i felt like she was kinda cold to me and not taking all the good things about me into consideration when telling me off for that.

i feel like thats a really defining moment in my life when i realised i cant expect adults to Understand me, realised how people treat young girls, also started my defiant behaviour maybe or was kinda one of the key moments that made me dislike certain authorities in my life, that if people wont understand me regardless of how i explain myself then i wont bother trying to be understood by people who wont matter to me. anyway yes i was scared of my mum-like petrified sometimes- but my dad wasnt great either, he also had his shortcomings. i feel like he never really cared about me like he was kinda apathetic towards raising me like a parent - i feel he would be better suited as an uncle to someone rather than a dad - the funny childish guy that makes kids laugh -not the uncaring dad that cant be bothered to really learn about his kids. and i feel im sitting here complaining about my parents when the fact is that a lot of adults should never be parents, society has conditioned people into thinking the only way to be fulfilled in life is to live vicariously through your kids when life gets to such a boring and monotonous place where you feel the need to create a new life to spice things up lmao. i feel a lot of parents regret having kids but they cannot express that regret because it was their choice and they should deal with that, also saying you regret it would be pretty horrible to the kid.

so while yes i am complaing about my parents i dont think they were Bad in any way just not that great yaknow. also i just notice all these things growing up and i feel its been pretty impactful to understanding myself and my parents. also just some anecdotes from my childhood - i used to watch my dad play video games like the uncharted games i think theyre called, and whenever i got scared i used to hide behind the couch until the scary part was over (usually a lot of guns and high energy fight scenes thats too much adrenaline for a 7 yo) and sometimes when i would take out my dad/brothers game i would get them to fo the hard parts and do other stuff myself - i dont remember many games i played apart from one of the spidermen games where u could just web around the city and not progress apart from sometimes you would come across some strippers and i accidently got into a fight with them (also hot women with umbrellas they use to fight- maybe i went near them on purpose) i would yell to my dad and get him to do it for me. also on new years eve whenever my mum was working and we werent going to any family parties we would make a bunch of food and put it out in the kitchen - wed make like homemade onion rings, chips, have crisps and dips, and a bunch of junk basically and watch like austin powers or some shit and genuinely miss those times they were so simple. but a lot of thats tainted now from what happened. also my brothers always been annoying as shit but when we were kids we couldnt be in the same room without arguing which like whatever thats how kids are esp brothers and sisters for some reason.

i think thats majority of the background needed for the rest. wait this is a little addition but i meant to mention this here so ill put it in- basically sometimes on holidays i would geniunely think my parents hate each other/ were getting a divorce like once when we were in florida in 2012 my dad convinced my mum (as well as me and my brother convinced her since we liked them) we convinced her to go on a water slide thing that u had to walk up the stairs for, it was outdoors, and it was kinda tall and then we got in one of the big donut things and it swooshed from side to side a lot and was generally pretty scary i suppose for someone who doesnt like rides esp since you had to hold on to the handles there were no buckles or anything, and so when we got off the ride my mum was big mad at my dad and like wouldnt talk to him and stuff like that which was pretty uncomfortable to have to be the 8 year old mediator of that but there was also another occasion i think (maybe also at florida) where they were made at each other and i asked my mum if they were getting divorced and all she said was 'ask ur dad' like???? no sort of consolation to this child who thinks their parents hate each other nooo just petty 'ask him' and theres also been other times when they fight/ are mad and they dont feel the need to hide it from us so i felt quite anxious around my parents sometimes.

so ahnyway . yes. when i had just turned 13 my parents split up and it fucked me up in a multitude of ways. also i cant beleive i stopped being a proper kid at 13, like as soon as i turned a teenager life hit me like a fucking truck. so the context as to why they split is still kinda lost to me ngl but they didnt tell me much anyway since i was young but my mum basically said my dad didnt love her anymore and he wanted to separate. its kinda funny because leading up to this my dad had been sleeping in the living room for like a few weeks and there was on and off fighting i could hear and i basically thought they were fighting over me and that i was in trouble and it kinda used to keep me up coz i could hear loud voices when they thought i was asleep- which is probably the cause of why i get veryyyy mad and angry when i hear my mum at like 1 am downstairs when shes drinking and im trying to sleep, probably something ive internalised (is that the word?) and made me respond so strongly to those type of noises.

anywayyyyy yes i thought i was in trouble when they were actually just getting a divorce so ... yeah you can really tell i was young and didnt understand adult issues or really couldnt figure this out myself from all the arguing and him sleeping downstairs lmao. anyway my dad moved out and it was just me my mum and my brother now and at this point my brother wouldve been about to turn 18, so although still kinda shit, not really as affected my it as a 13 yo, just to keep in mind. so i was devastated obviously and my whole world was kinda shattered but i had to hold it together a bit, also i was sometimes my mothers own therapist having to say things like 'everything happens for a reason' 'itll get better' in response to her deteriorating mental health and her questions that would be really hard for me to answer like 'why did he leave' etc (bish im a child be there for me not wallow in ur own pity, u have ur whole life to sort this out youre an adult, im a 13 you and only months away from wanting to kms hun think of ur CHILD please) anyway this left me feeling like a burden if i were to share my mental state because when my mum shared her stuff she was burdening me (AGAIN i was 13 she is an adult) so that made me bottle a lot of things up also the fact that i had no one to share it with because she works as a nurse and now shes a single mother and so she works almost all hours of most days and i dont see her much, my brother was either working at this time or just didnt give enough of a shit about me to make sure i ate.

i went from being catered to for every meal because i didnt know how to cook to suddenly no one being there for me so i had to learn how to do it myself. needless to say that lead to a bunch of unhealthy eating habbits like eating the same things every day - frozen pizza, cheese toasties, i cant think of anything else probs because i didnt make anything else just ate chocolates or didnt eat breakfast coz i woke up at 2pm. just general unhealthyness both in substance and like how healthy that was for my head yk. also this is during the summer btw so it gave me the option to be incredibly depressed - im not saying that as an edgy teen thing to say im being 100% genuine i was very depressed like textbook style - not eating or overeating, not showering/ taking care of myself, extreme lack of energy and hated doing social things coz i had to put on a farce that i was okay meanwhile i couldnt wait to get into my bed and sleep the next day and a half away.

i very vividly remember at the start of the summer holiday my friend asked me if i wanted to go out and do something and i rememeber just crying at that because i had no reason to say no but i just didnt want to and felt like i couldnt do anything and so i lied and said i wasnt feeling well and then put my phone down and curled up in my bed and cried coz i was frustrated and upset and i couldnt really understand what was wrong with me and why i was Like This.

god i didnt take into account how tired i was and how late it is when i started this huh, this isnt even half of it, but i have obligations in the mornign, the last until uni or whatever so ill put this in my drafts and finsih it somethime. alrigtht it is 02:08 btw z_z. also ive just now decided im gonna re organise my tumblr so if this ends up being an actual blog thing i can navigate it easier by adding tags and such. anywau goodnight.

20:21 30/06/2021

MOTHERFOIUHIFIUDVMKCVKM V

MY LAPTOP SHUT DOWE IN THE MIDDLE OF THSAT SO ITS ALL GONE BASICALLY I WAS DEPRESSED BURTNOUT GIFTERD KID AND IT SUCKED YADDa YADDSZ ANYTWAY

so

23:01- well. yes earlier i wrote a little about the ages 13-16 and how they sucked but whatever it got deleted the more pertinent stuff happened in the last year or so anyway.

um yeah so i started the last year of highschool as a 16 year old with a fucked up brain and never having learned any study techniques or work ethic in the slightest. i took 3 uni-level courses only one i actually wanted to do, most people take 2 at most or even 1/0 but do other classes. honestly it fucking sucked this year for school but i scraped all passes so thank god for that. so i started the year quite optimistic, or as much as i could be and in all fairness the content of this year wasnt actually that bad considering i was doing 3 hard classes but corona really truly fucked everything up and by November i had mentally dropped out of my classes but of course i still had to go to them. i feel like im an oddly independent teen because ive never had a solid parental presence in a while, like i had to do a lot for myself and maybe i should thank myself for getting me through it all because i really did pull through.

my thoughts keep drifting from what im writing coz i wanna talk about different things and im just thinking maybe i shouldve just posted the last one then added a reblog when i could be bothered to write and not force myself because if theres ever a reoccurring theme in my life is that if i force myself to do anything i will hate it with my entire being, so maybe i should just do a short synopsis and write about something else afterwards.

so i took 3 hard classes, slowly lost all motivation because in jan it switches to online classes and i could Not deal with those it was horrible, and i became more of a "troublesome student" in one of my classes *cough* maths *cough* and almost got "kicked out" of taking the class just because the teacher was a control freak but like wanted to control all of our actions and behaviour, also i think i may have adhd and another kid in my class i think he does too and surprise surprise the teacher "dislikes" him too but its only a farce because he doesnt actually dislike him its only so that i cant call him out for singling me out when other students behave "badly" too. but anyways maybe ill come back to this in a while when i can be arsed explaining my complicated relationship with my parents.

the only reason i wanted to write this today was so that i could tag the post with like june 2021 or something and not june/july, but i might make another post later, Anyway happy end of pride month i supose, hope u figure it out me!