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#and he says everyone in his village does the same for the same reasons
botanyshitposts · 1 year
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ok this sounds insane but in 2018 i went to a few carnivorous plant talks at the botany conference in minnesota. i got caught up in conversation with one of the guys there who was a huge nepenthes guy who told me a story about another collector in the pacific northwest who'd been buying poached plants, like a huge amount, and eventually got staked out by the fish and wildlife service and arrested and had all his plants seized and went to prison for it. idk if i ever talked about this on this blog before-- i know i liveblogged a lot from that conference but cant remember what all i posted-- but ive avoided talking about it since then because i was never able to find like, news articles or anything covering it, but behold.... we now have proof it was real, and im like 80% sure this was this guy he was talking about. the raid happened in 2016 and they'd been staking them out since 2013. he had nearly 400 plants and had been sourcing many of them from poachers in indonesia and borneo.
remember folks: poaching happens with plants too! it's a huge problem not only in carnvirous plants (nepenthes especially, which this piece is dedicated to talking about) but also in native plant populations in the US, including native carnivorous plant populations (north and south carolina's venus fly traps, california's darlingtonia, and sarracenia from the east coast), native orchids (historically one of the most poached categories), desert plants/cacti/succulents, and slow-growing woody ornamentals (cycads, for example). never buy bare-root plants off ebay or facebook! your best bet is local nurseries (which usually purchase farm-raised plants that do well in a wide range of conditions, and as a result have a healthy population in the wild) or specialty greenhouses (more expensive, but at least in the case of carnivorous plants offer young plants bred from established adult plants in-house, raised in captivity).
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notscarsafe · 2 months
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OKAY SO what with the TWO new Hermits implied by the updated banner I will say that, though the Skizz truthers have me convinced, I now have room to do my own crazy red string monologue and throw my hat in for my choice
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1) Mythical J. Sausage (the J is silent) is a multitalented S-tier builder that absolutely deserves to be shoulder to shoulder with the Hermits. The man does buildings, interiors, terraforming, custom trees, and he does them SO WELL.
2) The production values!!! Beautiful replay mod sequences with shifting camera perspectives, shaders, music that sets the tone for each segment that's different from series to series. He already has more than a million followers on YouTube and for good reason!!
3) He has been SO consistent lately. He started a hardcore world about three months ago (about the time you might expect the Hermits to finalize their s10 choices maybe...???) and already has 15 episodes and hasn't gotten involved in any other big content. (He did just start playing a little of the BCG server but from what I understand that's super casual /copium copium copium).
4) That hardcore world is conveniently about to reach a good "pause" point. He started his world on a cherry blossom biome island that he's filled with a medieval village and starter farms, he's said it's almost full and what's left is the castle. I'm guessing the new season will start the first week of February, so if Sausage puts out a video this week building out that Castle and finishing that island it will be MIGHTY CONVENIENT TIMING.
5) This man can GRIND. His Hardcore world hasn't even been going half a year and he's built... So much??? Magnificent! And when he was on the Hermitcraft server he did the Razorcrest for scar AND the player head baby yoda/stormtrooper merch AND the noteblock themesong AND still built in the xmas village and other "diamond of peace" and so many other shenanigans. Did the man even sleep? He can grind with the best of them.
6) He can do redstone, too! Maybe not unique designs, I honestly don't know, but he builds farms for build materials no problem.
7) The DRAMA this man loves his improv and his backstory and trauma lore! For every series he does! Can you imagine if he gets to interact with Ren for an extended period of time, what that would do to them, to us?? Give Martyn a run for his money!!
8) Which brings me to my next point, which is that Sausage is already One of The Gang, because he's been in series with so many of the Hermits already! Empires and the crossover, obviously, but also Pirates with Cleo and Origins with Scar, and he's even done MCC! Joel is the only other player with the same depth of different series but there are other people truthing him already.
9) The EPIC BROMANCE with Pearl. My god the devotion of this man to his sunflower goddess bestie. I would try to do ot justice but y'all have seen floweroflaurelins work, you already know.
10) He's already a PG streamer but with HILARIOUSLY PG-13 tendencies. Imagine him and Cleo cracking each other up at an HHH stream, *grips your shoulders* IMAGINE IT.
11) Sausage comes with his own mascot in the form of interdimensional dog extraordinaire Bubbles, but he's also just an animal lover on general. Mans drinks his "I love Jellie" juice and had her in his world even before the sad news of her loss.
12) Diversity win! No one should be hired just for their gender, race, sexuality etc etc unless it's truly necessary to the job, but we were all happy when more women got added to the server in s8 and I know a lot of people would be happy to see some ethnic diversity added, too.
... That bulletin board had a lot more pins in it than I thought it did but anyway MYTHICALSAUSAGE TRUTHERS/ALL OTHER TRUTHERS RISE UP SPEAK YOUR TRUTH! we'll only get to wildly speculate for a few weeks so we might as well make it everyone else's problem ENJOY IT TO THE FULLEST!!
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gay-dorito-dust · 5 months
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Can i please have shang tsung(mk1) when he was just a salesman, meeting reader(a kind village person) and them helping him with his wounds everytime he gets beat up and they actually show him that not everyone is mean? :> It can be a fic or just hcs, i just need shang tsung content :<
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Does this contain dramatic ooc Shang Tsung? Yes. When I see him, all I see is the cat being held at knifepoint…also this is unnecessarily long.
You knew you shouldn’t spare Shang Tsung any ounce of sympathy nor remorse for his faulty practices and causing loss and suffering to spread evermore throughout your village then needed. But that didn’t mean you condom the call to violence from your fellow villagers, most of whom had grown tired of allowing themselves to become deluded to Shang Tsung’s lies, whilst others just wanted an plausible excuse to get their hands on the salesman for the longest time now and had finally found their excuse.
They all had valid reasons to return the harm Shang Tsung had put upon everyone tenfold but an entire village against one man wasn’t exactly the fairest of odds. Then again if you were to being this up to anyone and they would retaliate by saying that their current circumstances weren’t fair either, before going on a tangent of how Shang Tsung took advantage of a vulnerable backwater village that would firmly believe that pigs could fly.
And yet despite all that, you could never bring yourself to inflict physical harm on him, if anything you refrained from anything in relation to violence almost entirely; So when the mob of villagers went to gang up on the salesman, you would make sure that you were far away from it as possible not matter how well deserved it maybe…you didn’t want to bear witness to it nor encourage such ugly behaviour that every being in existence seemed to be cursed with.
Upon returning however, you were always met with a pitiful sight of Shang Tsung looking worse for wear with his injuries and disheveled and torn clothes. It tugged at your heart to help him, show him an ounce of kindness in a village filled with people unsatisfied with him still living. You wondered how much of a difference would it make for them had Shang Tsung did pass away, for you truly believed that harming him wouldn’t make the dead come back to life, it wouldn’t bring the sick and injured back to full health; nothing would undo what already had been predestined to occur.
However Shang Tsung was made aware of you presence almost instantly, you weren’t apart of the mob that come to beat him on a daily basis, he would know as those same angry faces were deeply engraved within his mind that he could tell when something amongst them was amiss and yours certainly didn’t strike familiarity within him; but that didn’t mean he was about to be seen looking weak and pathetic in front of an unfamiliar face.
‘If it is revenge you want,’ Shang Tsung began bitterly, ‘have at it. If it is restitution, there is nothing left.’
‘Oh, that’s not why I’m here-‘ you began.
‘I know, or else you would’ve been with that bloodthirsty mob earlier.’ Shang Tsung interrupts with a scoff, looking you in the eyes now. ‘So pray tell why are you even here? To brutalise me emotionally or mentally?’ He then questions before shrugging his shoulders and looking down to pick at the dirt beneath his nails. ‘Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I’m pretty sure your friends had that covered.’
‘If you would just shut it for a minute and let me speak then maybe you would know that I’m here to help you with your wounds.’ You said, not wanting to stand out in the pouring rain all night, listening to him go on a tangent about your backwater village as if you didn’t already know, your the one who lives here your entire life with no promise of a better one anywhere in sight!
Shang Tsung’s brows raised in surprise. Help? You’re willing enough to help him, despite everything he’s done? Now why was that simple sentence the most oddest thing he’s ever heard in his entire life. Was this a trick? A trap? Even as he’s looking into your eyes, Shang Tsung wasn’t quite sure what your motive in all this was.
Your eyes were so kind, genuine and honest that even if you were lying, you’d think he would have known better than to trust a beautiful liar. Not that he would admit to any of this, he had a reputation to uphold.
‘What’s in it for me?’ He asks, leaning forward.
‘You wounds won’t be susceptible to infection?’ You said. ‘I don’t have much else to give other then medical aid so…’ you trailed off as the sound of rain took to filling in the silence. Shang Tsung was silent for a while and you were bringing to feel stupid, you even began to regret offering him help and were about to call it a night, when Shang Tsung said something so quietly that you couldn’t quite hear it over the rain.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t catch that.’
‘I said fine.’ Shang Tsung said with a hint of irritation of having to repeat himself. ‘but don’t think anything of this, you are to patch my wounds as per your insistence. Nothing more, nothing less.’
After making a deal with seemingly the devil, you went ahead and lead him back to your place to heal him of his wounds and seeing him off, thinking it to be a one time only thing, before anyone got suspicious of your involvement with the man who had caused them so much grief and misery.
Unfortunately you were proven wrong as it seemed that either every time you healed Shang Tsung of his wounds, the next set he would obtain were objectively worse than the ones before and naturally, you began to worry that the villagers were taking it too far this time.
‘Oh my gods.’ You said from behind your hands upon seeing the state that the village had left Shang Tsung in this time, it almost brings you to tears. He looked utterly terrible and had an hard time trying to move from the doorway without wincing, allowing for a cold draft to sweep inside and bringing rain along with it.
‘Nice to know that I still leave you speechless.’ Shang Tsung teased but the smirk upon his lips was easily wiped off his face as it contorted in discomfort and his eyes clenched shut, he grit teeth to hold back a pained grunt. The villagers defiantly bruised something, how troublesome.
‘As much as I know that you love hearing the sound of your own voice, but I’m going to need you to stop unless you want to get even worse.’ You replied, already working on getting him sat down comfortably on the chair you had pulled from another room along with your medical equipment. Spending time with Shang Tsung would’ve drove anyone into a fit of rage either way how arrogant and pompous he sounded, but if anything you’ve gradually picked up some of his sass whilst patching up his wounds.
So whether he tried anything, you were able to throw it back at him, to which he would always reply with; ‘you dare to kick a man while he’s down my dear healer?’ Whilst his eyes shone mischievously.
‘If that man is anything like you then I’m sure he’ll survive.’ You responded back in kind, yet all the while keeping a gentle and steady hand when stitching his deeper cuts and gashes before coving them up. ‘Like a cockroach.’ You heard him sharply inhale and looked at him, worried that you might’ve pressed down too hard on one of his wounds and were about to ask, only to see him looking away from you with his nose up in the air; even when he’s injured Shang Tsung never fails to find the opportunity to be dramatic.
‘You did not just compare me to those vile things.’ He spat.
‘You say that now but cockroaches are notoriously impossible to kill.’ You said absentmindedly, having calmed down upon realising that he wasn’t in any sort pain that you didn’t noticed the sigh of relief that you had let out, not until Shang Tsung made a comment on it.
‘Were you worried about me, dear healer?’ He’d ask, seeing an opening to use to his advantage.
‘I thought I might’ve pressed too hard on one of your wounds or reopened them somehow.’ you shot him a small genuine smile. ‘I’ve never been more glad in being wrong. I don’t like seeing you hurt, not to this extent, it’s not like the villagers will gain anything from it.’ You didn’t think much when Shang Tsung remained uncharacteristically silent throughout the rest of the treatment, staring ahead at nothing, he didn’t say anything until he was about to leave where he flashed you a forced smile. ‘Thank you for healing me.’ Was all he said but it was enough to leave you stunned.
Shang Tsung was never one to thank you after healing him, ever, so much so that hearing him say that made you think that something within him had changed, but you weren’t the type to charge into a burning house just because you tricked yourself into seeing something; you were kind but to that degree.
Meanwhile Shang Tsung was mulling over your words in his head. Out of an entire village hellbent on seeing him dead, you were the only one to show him an ounce of kindness despite everything. At first he thought you were unaware of who he was and what he has done to your entire village but when he found out that you were aware, it made all your interactions with him up till now all the more questionable.
He didn’t understand what you think you’d get from being kind to him nor understood your motive, not even your intentions. Yet the more he came to you for healing, he gradually stopped being speculative and started believing that this was just who you were as an individual, it wasn’t a persona you put on for fun. You held a genuine sense of self that not many could claim to have, not even himself. He doesn’t like being vulnerable but he has found that he could do so fluidly when within your presence, sure it took awhile but in the end Shang Tsung knew that it was near impossible for him to be redeemed, he had hurt too many and push many more past breaking point.
Your kindness may have been a reprieve for him but it could never erase the blood off of his hands that will sooner or later taint you.
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I believe Aang was right to end the war by sparing Ozai. But the only (imho) valid reason some people say he should have done it is because they wanted Aang to realize that pacifism is flawed.
I'm gonna disagree with you here, because a lot of the flaws fans talk about pacism and how ATLA in particular handles it as a concept are 99%:
1 - People being ignorant/racist and not knowing the difference between pacifist monks and "make love, not war" hippies.
2 - People being ignorant/racist and refusing to understand that there are different kinds of pacifism, even within the same cultures/people groups.
Aang is very clearly not the type of pacifist to go "You can NEVER react with ANY kind of violence towards someone else, even if it's to defend yourself/someone else" (which does exist, both IRL and in the show, just look at the owl spirit in "The Library").
We see him fight, and even be quite aggressive in said fights, in a lot of episodes. We also see he has no issues with invading the Fire Nation. More importantly, for the longest time the Avatar State was a result of him being pissed off enough at some kind of injustice that it makes him lose control, meaning he is very clearly affected by the horrors of war to the point of RAGE.
What makes him a pacifist is the way in which he doesn't WANT to lose control, doens't WANT go from aggressive to full on cruel, and, yes, wants to defeat his enemies, but not kill them.
And as I keep repeating, the show DOES make him question that last boundary he set for himself. He gets told by a past Avatar, who was also an air-nomad before anything, that, when there is such a large threat to everyone's life, including his own, he has to put aside his own spiritual needs and take a life - provided there isn't another option. But there was, so Aang took that, even after he decided that, yes, if there was no other way, he WOULD kill Ozai.
What people don't like is that Avatar, although questioning some types of pacifism, is far more interested in questioning the way people are WAY too eager to use violence to solve their issues, and, more importantly, expect someone else to get their hands bloody.
Fire Lord Sozin starts the war because he, according to himself at least, wants what's best for everyone and would like to share the Fire Nation's glory and great life with the other nations. He tries to do by invading foreign territories, killing his best friend, and commiting genocide. The fucker even has the dragons, an obvious Fire Nation symbol, to be hunted to extintion.
When Jet is angry at the Gaang for ruining his plan to free a village from the Fire Nation's control by blowing up a dam, Sokka asks "Who would be free? Everyone would be dead."
Zuko is banished because he spoke out against a Fire Nation higher-up's plan to use soldiers as fresh meat to bait the enemy into a more vulnerable position, thus assuring the nation's victory in that battle. He openly says "These men love and defend our nation, how can you betray them?"
When Zhao wants to kill the moon spirit, Iroh tries to stop him by pointing out that the Fire Nation needs the moon too (seriously, if it wasn't for Yue's sacrifice and Zhao's death, the Fire Nation would have had to create a word for "Big-ass wave that wrecks everything and kills people" like Japan did).
When Aang is deliberately trying to trigger the Avatar State because he doesn't want anyone else to die in the war, Katara, who had her life ruined by said war, is against it because while she opposes the Fire Nation, she cares about Aang and, in her own words, seeing him in so much pain and rage hurts her too. When Aang can't force himself to go nuclear, an Earth Kingdom ruler attacks Katara and makes both her and Aang, two very traumatized child soldiers, think he is going to kill her.
More importantly, when Ozai wants to burn down Earth Kingdom cities, he says "A new world will rise from the ashes, and I'll be supreme ruler of everything", to which Zuko concludes that, if they don't save the world before his dad takes over, there won't be a world to save.
And what does he say to Aang when he is about to kill him? "You're weak, just like your people. They didn't deserve to live in world, in my world."
Avatar does questions pacifism, and is critical of it on ocasion (again, watch "The Library"). But it's biggest theme is being critical of VIOLENCE, of resorting to it immediately without considering any other option and acting like it doesn't have long-lasting negative consequences, both to the person suffering it to the person inflicting it (see Azula's breakdown, Zuko's angry outburts only making him more miserable, Jeong Jeong growing to resent being a firebender, Zhao accidentally burning his own ships, etc)
The show is constantly highlighting that, yes, sacrifices need to be made for the greater good - but that CAN'T be normalized because it inevitably leads to a never-ending cicle of cruelty, as well as suffering to the one who has to do the dirty job (because lets not forget there's a big difference in how a soldier that is constantly in battle sees the war and how a king that just gives the orders but never goes into the actual combat sees the war).
The show embraces pacifism, despite knowing some versions of it are flawed, because the narratives themes are:
1 - EVERYONE is capable of great good and great evil
2 - No group has the right to impose it's own lifestyle onto others
3 - If everyone is either dead, mentally (and physically) scarred for life, or preparing to kill someone as revenge, then being killed by someone who wants to avenge that person, who will themselves be killed for revenge later, then the "greater good" you're sacrificing everything for doesn't actually exist because NO ONE will have a good life in a world that is stuck in the cicle of violence.
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earthlyruins · 3 months
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"beauty and the beast au where zoro's the beast and sanji's—" okay sure yeah but what about when sanji's the beast and zoro's the beaut.
zoro's good with kids and good with math. we've seen this. we've experienced it. he play fights with the kids regularly and helps out with stocks and sales of local shops
think of link twilight princess... big brother swordsman
also better than All of the knights in the village. this includes a very certain red, blue, and green haired trio. they're all very bitter about it. among other things
zoro's also the only person to ever use three swords so like. there's that. everyone thinks he has a few screws loose. he doesn't. or so he proclaims
insert kuina backstory... he makes a promise to himself to become the greatest swordsman in the world. it's just that he's, in a word, broke. and also a little sentimental but don't let nami hear him say that
judge is the head of this mini military and is very adamant on trying to recruit zoro to siege the palace on the hill. for Some Reason.
nami conspires with zoro that it's because he has some long lost enemy up there. Little Does She Know
meanwhile sanji lives alone in the castle, cursed. but not in the way you'd think. rather than a hulking beast, he's pretty much the same if not for the fact that he has a helmet on his head. thanks, dad.
thinking about the rest of the straw hats being little dancing singing objects. that was more or less an accidental side effect of the curse (sanji took off his helmet once, and it knocked luffy into a candle and ussop into a clock and well.)
he's slowly starving (hence why he tried to take the helmet off). the cook who cannot taste his food. throw in a wilting rose metaphor and when the last petal falls is when he dies
fortunately he has an old man by the name of zeff who literally won't let that happen. also all his friends that will fight death to keep sanji kicking
quite literally in some cases
so that's why when nami goes missing trying to explore the mysterious castle and zoro immediately goes to follow her, zeff practically knocks down his door to set the fear of god in him
too bad zoro doesn't believe in any god
but hey fine he won't hurt the creature in the castle. creature. period. zeff hits him over the head with a baguette
zoro finds nami and also sanji. decides in a split moment to announce he'll trade places with her. she is sitting on a couch. unharmed. she wouldn't have Been harmed. nami proceeds to call him a fucking idiot
sanji laughs at him, and zoro refuses to leave out of spite. he learns that sanji is a priss and a prince or sometimes a princess depending on the day, that he has a brilliant passion for cooking (whose skills are similar to a certain chef back in the village), and that when he laughs, zoro finds himself laughing too.
discovers sanji's dream of the all blue, and zoro finds himself telling sanji about his dream of becoming the greatest swordsman, of wado, of kuina
and eventually, Eventually, he finds out the details of sanji's curse. why he sometimes can't dredge out the energy to get out of bed (and why it's getting more and more frequent these days), and why he can't take off that helmet when the key is right there. and what the flower is all about.
proceeds to Book It when sanji tells him about judge and his brothers. except he doesn't tell sanji this, so sanji is sitting around in the castle, heartbroken and wondering Why he's heartbroken, while zoro is marching back to his village, Pissed
zeff pulls him aside though and they go and find reiju after zoro tells him that sanji's condition is worsening
zoro comes Back but this time with sanji's real dad and sister in tow and after a lot of tears and yelling (at zoro) ((and zeff)) (((then at zoro again))) they devise a plan on how to take judge down.
zoro plans on beating up ichiji niji and yonji simultaneously which sanji disagrees with. specifically because he wants to be the one to kick niji into next week
yadayadayada insert fight scene bc this is already ungodly long and judge gets exiled and imprisoned. niji gets drop kicked. the helmet comes off just as the timer runs out (thinking that the only way it could come off was to not only have someone fall For "the beast" but to have said beast love himself too. which zoro did. #love)
happily ever after. sanji eats and cooks and zoro fights and they take care of each other and find all blue. okay goodnight
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sereisstuff · 1 year
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𝐀𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
Synopsis - y/n despised her best friends brother, always there, never far. She hated him rotten but was that truly how they both felt, in terms of love, Ao’nung would never fall into that category. That’s what she believed.
Warnings - enemies to lovers? (I actually don’t know if I even did it right)
Aged!up Ao’nung I always had the vision of his tāmoko on his shoulder and forearm for this
Word count: 3.3K
Quick note: I wrote this within a span of four hours so it’s completely just a dump of words mushed into a story, it’s very rushed and has not been proofread I hope you enjoy.
I forgot to add everyone in the taglist fml.
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The way of the metkayina people was a way of life for you, your adolescence was spent beside your dearest friend, Tsireya. Fulfilling each other’s day with happiness and bountiful fruits of love, not a day went by where you weren’t beside her, weren’t lingering.
This connection between you two also meant you were awfully close with her family, as well as her brother; Aonung.
He wasn’t the nicest boy in the village, but he did not lack respect when it was due. Being the son of the olo’eyktan brought him a sense of pride and grace unmatched by the other youthful men surrounding you. He was a captivating soul, on top of being the most awful person to ever lay foot on this island.
Despite sharing a sense of familial love between Tsireya’s and your own family, you could not say eye to eye with Aonung, his need for disturbance and rebellion was often matched by your quick tongued and ruthless attitude. If life was to throw you fruits, claiming you must feed them to him in order for Aonung to survive. You’d eat them and watch his body decay. He’d say the same.
Although your younger self would plant even more seeds in order for him to survive, you quickly freed yourself from the torment of adoring Aonung. As children you weren’t always angered by the sight of him, he was sweet, kind even. His desire for trouble was still prominent but he’d never aimed his torturous words your way.
But that was just it, you two drifted apart. As each day passed, both you and aonung faded further and further from each other. His protection dropped and his tongue; venomous. You hadn’t known the reason why, his sweet words turned into poisonous remarks. His once hopeful eyes gleamed with hatred and you could only assume he’d let his pride take over.
He was an asshole and you despised him for it.
You laid amongst the sand dunes in a daze, watching the cerulean sky as if it was the most entertaining thing to coexist in your life. Tsireya and the others were attending their lessons for the day, leaving you behind to prioritise grounding yourself.
“What are you doing?” That familiar voice questioned, you rolled your eyes from beneath the curtains of your eyelids. The sound of his voice irked you, claiming the most treacherous and violent parts that made you.
“What does it look like” bored, your tone showed nothing but disinterest, Aonung flicked his head back feeling the tension in his chest grow due to your lack of acknowledgement.
You huffed when he did not reply, opening the frames of your eyes and there he stood. Peering down at you intensely, his head tilted with what you could assume as curiosity, or laughter. The latter made more sense.
“What do you want, Aonung” you asked, this time your voice showing complete annoyance, his persistence to be by you and near you in order to truly show you how much he despised you did not go unnoticed. He was a nuisance and he knew his presence rattled you to your core.
“My answer will bring too much enjoyment to you?” He responded, his signature smirk crawling its way upon his lips.
“as if anything you say piques my interest. You keep your presence there and I keep mine here” you watched as his eyes flicked between the sand and your body, slowly relishing his orbs on your physique before he glanced back into your eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that, someone might think we’re friends” you couldn’t bear the thought of being around Aonung. His mere presence was overbearing, it tore your mind and soul to shreds looking at his smug smile, to think the boy before you once had a soul as pure as the gifts of Eywa.
But that wasn’t the only reason, deep down beneath the hurt and frustration lied the truth. If your heart was an instrument, Ao’nung was the musician. The creator of your canvas; an artist in your eyes crafted by flaws yet imperfectly moulded into something so much more alluring.
But you hated him, the way he cocked his head with a devilish grin, you hated how his teal blue eyes hung low, the same eyes that never failed to pierce straight through your soul. You hated the way he spoke, the way his gaze always seemed to be on you, you hated how rude and irritating he was, you hated every fibre of his being.
“You say that but your eyes speak otherwise” Ao’nung taunted you, that was his favourite past time. No matter what, no matter how many arguments, how many altercations. He still managed to coax his wicked intentions with the sweetness of his tongue.
He now stood in front of you, if you were to poke your finger out it would land against his chest. You felt riled up now. His breathing fanned against your cheeks, if anyone saw the proximity between the both of you, you’d never hear the end of it. He was close, too close for your liking.
“I hate you so much” you grunted, picking up the shells you collected earlier, his strong gaze never leaving your body and that stupid smirk only widened with the laugh he released, throaty and mocking.
“the feeling is mutual,” Ao’nung lied, knowing that honesty wasn’t always his best trait. The boy followed you, licking his lips as he trailed behind you. It was odd, just a year ago he had wanted nothing but to be clear of your presence, hissing and scowling every time you were in the same vicinity. Now, he’ll stop at nothing to make his presence known.
You continued, walking anywhere that didn’t provide sanctuary for him.
Your fast pace and constant peeking over your shoulder had made you lose focus on the path ahead of you, your head was the first thing that had been wounded with an ache, then your body was pressed up against a solid chest and as you caught your breath, you looked up.
“Thank Eywa it’s you, Neteyam. I thought I joined the ancestors for a second” The eldest of the sully children let out a throaty laugh, helping you adjust your balance again. For someone with keen eyes he sure didn’t notice the glare being shot his way.
“Skxawng,” He grumbled, shaking his head. He placed a loving hand on your head and you reciprocated that tender platonic love with a smile. At this point Ao’nung tuned out the conversation, he abhorred Neteyams presence more than anything.
Rotxo was not too far behind Neteyam, finishing their lessons early. So he shot you one last final glance and then headed off, his head shaking in annoyance. He’d already been told off once for fighting with the sully brothers, he couldn’t risk it again.
“What was that?” Neteyam questioned, watching Aonung walk away without uttering a word. You could only shrug in response, you couldn’t understand it either.
“I, I have no answer for you.” You sighed in defeat, Neteyam was under the illusion that the Olo’eyktan’s son saw you as food at the bottom of the chain. From what he knew, both you and himself shared a common enemy. This enemy declared themselves as so against your will, so he stood stunned. Not a single snarky remark, nor glare, just silence.
Silence amongst chaos was never good.
“Is he bothering you,” Neteyam questioned, eyes wide in anticipation but you could only shrug. Withdrawing from answering, you wrapped an arm around neteyams limb. He was like a brother to you now, by eywa’s grace him and lo’ak protected you like their own.
“Forget it, let’s go diving” and so you did, trudging past the prying eyes following your every move. You stood on the reef ready to jump only then realising that neteyam hadn’t pranced at the sight of the water. You pulled back your body, jumping onto his back and diving you both beneath the tide.
“Are you alright” Rotxo sweet voice asked, Ao’nung sat on one of the canoes beside the young metkayina, his best friend. Jaw clenched in anger, Rotxo slightly shivered feeling an impending doom if he pushed further, “Ao’nung” he bumped his shoulder earning a foul hiss.
“What” he snapped, moving his territorial gaze from the pinnacle of his eye to his brother in arms “What is wrong? you're quiet. You’re never quiet” he admitted, slightly frowning.
“Just thinking about multiple ways someone could get lost at sea, for the safety of our lessons” he lied once more, it was almost like one truth and one lie but Rotxo was convinced otherwise. He wasn’t dumb and knew his best friend like the back of his hand, hearing the words escape his mouth could only make the young boy cock his brow.
He hated you, so so much. The way your hair fell against your back, he hated your smile and pearly whites. He hated your nurturing nature, he hated how you gifted your love to everyone but him. He hated when you walked with a sway in your hips, he hated how your lips moved with malice when he was the one receiving. He hated that you cared so much for everyone, so deeply for the environment and your surroundings, he hated how you got lost in a trance if something was too beautiful, he hated how stubborn you were. He hated everything.
But there’s a thin line between hate and love.
The eclipse set in and you made your way back onto the sand, both you and neteyam crossed paths as you laughed happily pushing each other with a hint of playfulness.
“Rest well skxawng” you greeted him goodbye, flipping him off as you walked back to your families marui pod, Tsireya. Your sister, your closest and dearest friend smiled upon your entrance. Tonight your families shared a pod, every fourth eclipse both yours and the olo’eyktans family shared a feast. This was due to your own mother being close companions with the tsahik.
You didn’t miss the strong and heavy gaze coming from Ao’nung. You searched around the tent, seeking for a space that wasn’t beside him, but your mother only bowed her head and pointed towards the empty space right next to him. In hopes of not disrupting their important conversation, you steadily sat in the gap between him and tsireya, you felt a sense of comfort having Tsireya on the other side of you.
“Daughter, you’ve joined us, where have you been?” Your father tsayrem smiled “with Neteyam, Father. I was showing him the spirit tree” Tsireya passed you a bowl full of food, you look her way thanking her with your eyes, scrunching them in delight.
Ao’nung scoffed under his breath, and you twitched in annoyance “I’m glad you're making new friends, daughter” your mother finished, carrying on the conversation between her and Ronal.
“Since when have you two been so close?” The question arose from the deepest parts of Ao’nung’s curiosity, fueled by his resentment. His nostrils flared as he stared up at you, his head still bowed but his eyes never once left your own.
You averted your gaze, picking at your food “it is nothing you should be worried about '' you spat in hushed whispers, Ao’nung gripped the meat in his hands tightly, knuckles turning white.
“Well, I am. And you have no say in the matter,” he pushed his plate back, for a split second you could see the facade crack in his eyes and showed a hint of something you couldn’t quite make out, your heart began to race and your hands grew clammy.
“Are you two mated? Is that it.” He continued pushing in a hushed tone but the guttural growl vibrated in his chest, avoiding your gaze, his focus trained on the fire in the middle of the room. Darkness arose within the gleams of his oceanic orbs. A shadow casted over his features.
Your stomach arose in twists but you ignored it, he had no right questioning you about your life choices. Not now, not ever.
“Brother, stop harassing her. She’s done nothing to you. You are being rude” Tsireya defended you, although she didn’t quite hear the banter between you two she still had a gut feeling that if she did not speak up, things would go terribly wrong.
“I can’t stomach this” he confessed, His strong hands rested on his sides before he lifted himself from the ground, his biceps grew and withdrew catching your attention with a gulp.
You were sick of this, dropping your plate and following him out of the marui pod “Mother, may I excuse myself to go check on Ao’nung?”you asked earning a nod from your mother, Ronal and tonowari shared a surprised look mirroring that of tsireyas.
“Are you sure, sister?” Tsireya pried, caring for you. You nodded in response and headed out without further question.
Your heartbeat against your chest, nervousness spread through your system and your insides twisted and curled. You wanted to hurl out the food you had just inhaled.
But you couldn’t back out now, you needed answers. His behaviour was erratic, he hated you for years and suddenly he toys with your feelings as if they're nothing. If he wanted to play games, you were not joining. The past you would have endured it but you were no longer that person.
His braid swayed with his heavy strides, you grabbed at his arm pulling him back, he hissed pulling his hand away as if it burned him and you felt a crack in your heart.
No, no fuck that. This wasn’t you, you never cared what he thought, he never cared how you thought so why did you even bother.
“What is with the attitude” you confronted him, he towered over your frame. Strong shoulders and puffed chest “nothing is wrong, do not stand there as if you care” he spat, you had never seen so much rage in a person's eyes before.
“What are you talking about Ao’nung. We both have never cared about each other all because of you, what’s changed? Hmm? What? I need answers because as of recently that’s clearly shifted if your becoming fragile to my words as if yours do not sting ten times worse” you snarled, lifted your hands into the air, he stepped forward bending down slightly to match your height.
“Lower your tone and remember who you're speaking to” his voice was sinister, eyes cradling nothing but flames and you rolled your own “I’m speaking to a child who cannot control their emotions, you’ve been on my case since the sullys have arrived. And now this, if you spoke any louder you could have embarrassed both of us in there”
Ao’nung couldn’t help but feel the pull, his eyes itched to peek down at your curves. Staring into your eyes with pure rage but behind those flames was a child who loved the woman he was speaking to, a small and hopeless teenager seeking the anomaly that was you.
He was never going to be good enough to stand by your side, pushing you away was the only answer but now as he watches another man take his place he refuses to acknowledge it. He no longer wanted to push himself away, he wanted you and he’d make sure everyone around him knew sooner rather than later.
He wasn’t the best at showing it.
“You are one insult away from making me do something I regret” Ao’nung confessed, you were perplexed but more angered than ever. How dare he, the audacity to make this about himself.
“I could kill you right no-“ before you could finish your sentence Ao’nung captured your raised hand. Gripping it softly before harshly but swiftly pressing your back against the mangrove tree behind you, chest to chest but even closer than before. Ao’nung prayed to eywa this would shut you up. He captured your lips with his own, his eyebrows scrunched with contemplation and you fell victim to the boy you claimed to have nothing but hatred for.
Your hands were raised above your head and you reciprocated the kiss, pushing into him more and more, at first it was soft but he grew eager. He felt the swell in his chest burst, claiming every ounce of self respect he once had. Passion marked its territory.
His hand laid flat against your back, bringing you even closer to him, skin to skin and one you became.
You pulled away first but his lips followed your own like a tug, you were magnetic.
“I cannot believe you, stupid. You're so stupid” you punched against his chest, but he did not waver. Not once.
“I see you, I’ve seen you ever since we were children y/n. From the first time we rode Ilu together, to now. You’ve been who I’ve wanted for years but I did not think I was deserving, then I seen you with Neteyam and my heart could not bare it” Ao’nung leaned his forehead against your own, your back still arching against his chest, your breath hitched and you couldn’t bring yourself to remember how to even do something so simple.
“I could have stopped this, I could have told you sooner but I did not want to let the thought of us being something more grow. I was so wrong”
“Ao’nung, you stupid. Idiotic boy. How dare you do this to me and tell me you’ve liked me back all this time, you are so selfish” now it was his turn to widen his eyes in surprise, he looked at you in bewilderment.
“Back? You like me too?” He questioned, leaning back in confusion. You breathed loudly in disappointment, the silence was deafening within a few clicks of tension, you slowly began nodding your head. His smirk returned, the pull against his lips only did so much as torment you for your confession. He tilted his head to the side, eyes low and smouldering.
“Of course I do moron, like isn't enough to describe how I feel about you” Ao’nung groaned in response, teasing you with delight. A different sort of light had casted on him and you felt your body turn hot, not being able to tell if your stomach curled in regret or glee.
“I thought if I confessed, the insults would lighten”
“It’s hard to remember we aren’t fighting anymore, it takes a bit to adjust to” you scratched the back of your neck lightly, all of this confessing was new to you.
Ao’nung placed a tender kiss against your forehead, leaning down to your ear with a smile. Whispering with a husky voice, low so only you could hear and as his breath brushed against your ear, sending a tingling sensation through your body.
“I have something in mind that’ll help”
………….
Guys I’m a minor too just to clear the air, I didn’t actually read any of this properly and I’ll add the continue reading bar in the morning because it’s currently 2.24am in the morning and I can’t be bothered grabbing my laptop. Lemme know if this makes sense.
Sweet dreams x
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Certification || One Piece ||
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Based off this
Pairing: Portgas D. Ace x Reader
Warnings: Angst, Death of a major character (Spoilers), hint of pregnancy (at the end), fem reader
Words: 1.4k
A/N: I finally watched the Marineford Arc and this is how I'm coping. Let me know what ya'll think and if you want more Ace fics. This is my first one piece fic and hopefully I did it justice. Also it took me some time to figure out the timeline of Ace in Impel Down until I finall said fuck it, I do what I want.
You were six the first time you married Ace, only because it was all he could do to get you to stop crying. After he declared himself a future pirate, you had done the same. In your six year old eyes it was the only way to stay by his side. He immediately shattered your plans by saying you weren’t allowed. Cue the water works and him instantly panicking. He wasn’t equipped to handle crying girls.
“You can’t become a pirate,” he says and it only makes you cry harder. “Because… Because you’re gonna be my wife!”
That instantly shut you up, staring at him with a tear stained and snotty face. He had his gaze averted from yours as he blushed the deepest shade of red you've ever seen.
“Y-Your wife?” you ask suddenly beaming at the idea.
He still doesn’t look at you as he nods, embarrassed to have said something like that out loud. So much for being a pirate. But when he saw the wide smile on your face and your eyes gleaming with joy, he would have said it all over again.
You had a ‘wedding’ a few days later because you couldn’t wait. It was just you and him hidden away in the woods. You made a veil out of an old blanket and he found the rings. Which were just two rubber bands that didn’t even fit on your finger then.
You wanted it to be real so you managed to steal an actual wedding certificate. You made him sign it after your fake ceremony and with a red face, he promised to deliver it to government officials. You never confirmed if he did or didn’t. For months, you told everyone in the village who’d listen that you were Ace’s wife.
After that, your fake wedding went unspoken about as the two of you grew up. But the reminder was always there, even as Ace’s intentions grew. He was still determined to become a pirate no matter how much you tried to convince him otherwise. When he wouldn’t back down, you’d fight back by telling him you were coming with.
You were fourteen when he mentioned your fake marriage for the first time in years. It reignited feelings you thought you’d long locked away. And it very much worked in his favor. To be fair, it was a complete accident on his part.
“If you wanna become a pirate so bad, then I will too!” you argued.
He looked at you with a scowl on his face and shook his head. “No, you aren’t!”
“Says who?”
“Says me. You’re never becoming a pirate and that’s final.”
“It’s my life, Ace! I can do what I want with it,” you shout, shoving your face in front of his in a fit of anger.
“And you’re my wife! You should have the decency to listen to me,” he yells right back.
You were ready to continue your argument only to be stopped short. Your face turns red as you register what he says. His does the same, reaching up to the tips of his ears. You stagger backwards to make room between the two of you, blubbering away as you do.
There was a lot of awkward confessing after that, mainly on Ace’s part. Turns out he never really forgot that day and after seeing how happy it made you, he swore to make you his actual wife one day. You called him an idiot and happily sobbed in his arms when he admitted that.
Ace was seventeen when he finally set off to become a pirate. You still pleaded with him not to leave but it only fell on deaf ears. Becoming a pirate was his dream, one he couldn’t let go of.
“You said I was your dream!” you yell.
Your hands meet his chest and you push him away from you. You were crying and he was trying to reason with you. You didn’t want to hear it. You hated him, you hated him and his stupid dream of becoming a pirate.
He let you fight him, push him, hit him; whatever you needed to let your anger out. He stood still as your fist weakly struck his chest and your sobs rang in his ears. When you gave up, you leaned on him and buried your face into his chest. He wrapped his arms around you and held you as you cried.
“You are my dream,” he says. He holds you gently, cradling you close to him, speaking with a tone that matches his actions. “That’s why I need to do this. I’ll become Pirate King and protect you.”
You wanted to call him an idiot but your voice only came out in sobs. You didn’t want him to protect you, you wanted him to stay by your side. You wanted to be his wife like he promised. But you couldn’t deny what he wanted to do, knowing you’d get here eventually.
“I’ll come back and we’ll get married. We’ll have a family and we’ll do anything you want.”
His hands move to cradle your face, pulling it towards his own. He pressed his lips to yours and his kiss sealed his promise.
He left the next morning after spending the previous night together. With nothing more than a note and the same rubber band he gave you when you were six. You thought you’d lost it long ago, it slipped off your finger sometime when you were a kid. This time it fits perfectly on your ring finger.
You hardly saw Ace during the next three years and when you did, he hardly stayed. You’d spend a few nights together and he was always gone before you woke up. You know he did that so he didn’t have to say goodbye. The last time you saw him was shortly before he faced Blackbeard.
You were twenty when you finally married Ace and he wasn’t even there for it.
There’s a knock on the door and you struggle to get up from your seat. You rub at your eyes and take a deep breath to compose yourself before opening the door. It’s someone who comes to deliver a package for you. You’re quick to accept it before closing the door and hiding away in your home.
You sit back down and set the large envelope next to the letter you’ve already opened. You don’t rush to open it but something tells you to do it. Call it intuition.
The contents inside make you sob loudly, thinking the universe is playing some cruel joke. It’s a letter congratulating you on the finalization of your marriage certificate. The same one you signed when you were six years old, the one you made Ace sign too.
You never actually thought he sent it in, you were just kids then. What government official did you actually know? Truth be told, he kept it until he left to become a pirate. He really meant what he said, you’d become his wife one way or another. Since you were still underage, it wasn't accepted as valid. Until now, when a certain marine had it validated in his honor. It was the least he could do for him and for you.
You set the letter down, next to the one you got hours ago. The one that told you about Ace’s demise, killed at Marineford. The universe was cruel indeed. You wrap your arms around your stomach, shielding the small bump that’s started to form. You sob as you hold yourself, protecting the last piece of Ace you had.
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Okay, HTTYD fandom I’m coming for you.
I want an au where the gang were always friends. Like, they grew up to be just as tight-nit as they are in RTTE, but because of reasons they hide the fact that they’re friends with Hiccup from the adults. Why do I think this could work?
Well:
Hiccup by nature is very forgiving, so when all his friends come to him and say they can’t be friends in public because of one reason or another, he sympathizes, as long as they’re still friends, he doesn’t really care.
Snotlout is the first in the group to start drifting away, and they all ask him why
Spitelout doesn’t like that his son is hanging around Hiccup when he’s so unviking-like
He pressures Snotlout to cut ties with his cousin and to start putting him down for not living up to “what he should”
This backfires
Baby-lout hasn’t yet had the time to really internalize his father’s teachings, so when his friends ask, he tearfully tells them
Most of the group is furious, but Hiccup understands
If it had just been up to him the group probably would’ve disbanded then and there
Lucky for him it wasn’t
They figure that if Spitelout doesn’t want them to friends then they won’t… in public
In private is a different story
In public they treat it like a game, to taunt each other and be as sarcastic as possible
But when they’re alone they let their guard down
The next one to go, surprisingly, is Astrid
After her uncle died her family’s reputation takes a dive
At first, the fact that she’s friends with the chief’s son is a good thing, but as time goes on and he doesn’t grow, her parents start getting pressure, and Astrid, not being as young anymore, feels it, too
Astrid’s extremely conflicted, because on the one hand she doesn’t want to abandon Hiccup, let alone insult him in front of the village like Snotlout
But on the other, she needs to restore her family’s honor
So they come up with Astrid’s cover: in public she’ll distance herself from all of them, working hard to be a shield-maiden, only being a part of the group in an orbit-sort of way
She grows into ignoring Hiccup in public because if she doesn’t she’s going to take the head off the next person who insults him
For Fishlegs and the Twins, there’s no specific moment that they start to distance themselves in public
Overtime, the twins become more destructive and so does Hiccup, so being seen together is a no-go
Fishlegs is growing evermore into the scholar and is completely uninterested in fighting, to the point where, if it wasn’t for his stature, he’d be in the same boat as Hiccup (if less magnified, because he’s not the Chief’s son)
So they all “grow apart” into the roles we see in the first movie, with some noticeable differences
They sit together in the great hall, but to anyone casually observing Hiccup’s excluded from the conversation
In actuality, Hiccup and Fishlegs came up with their own little version of sign language which Astrid forced everyone to learn, though some are more fluent than others (Tuffnut is surprising good at it, but Snotlout’s lucky to understand a full sentence)
Astrid still trains extra in the forest, but usually you can find the rest of the group somewhere nearby doing their own thing, if they’re not needed elsewhere
Similarly, because they hang out around her while she trains, she manages to bully at least Hiccup and Fishlegs into being at least passable with one weapon (sword and hammer)
Snotlout still flirts with Astrid, but it’s far more joking and well timed than in canon (of course he still has a crush on her, she’s Astrid, but he also flirts with her to escape that weird fluttery feeling he gets when Fishlegs gets excited about the book he’s reading)
The twins outward behavior doesn’t change as much as their friends’ perception of them
The group is very aware that the twins are far smarter and more capable than they let on, and are aware that a lot of their chaos is carefully planned and not just violent stupidity like the rest of the village might assume
The gang even joins in a lot, the twins made them far more mischievous than they let anyone know
Due to the closeness to Astrid, Ruffnut is far more willing to be serious about training and other things, even if she still tries to downplay it
In reverse, Astrid is far more willing to chill the fuck out and have some fun, let her creativity take the lead, even if she’s very strict about keeping a mask in public
This is getting really long and repetitive so I’m just going to leave a few more thoughts
Fishlegs is far more confident and courageous because of his friends, but he’s still skittish in public
Hiccup is far less he’ll-bent on proving himself, but he’s still a sarcastic insane inventor so the results are pretty much the same he’s just happier (less lonely and lacking self-esteem)
Snotlout and Astrid are more comfortable with their emotions
Snotlout has less self-image problems (still-there though, fuck Spitelout)
When Hiccup says he shot down a Night Fury, they can tell he’s telling the truth, but they don’t have time to search with him that day, so he still meets Toothless the same
They plan to work together come dragon training, but Toothless kinda throws a wrench in that plan
Hiccup tries to keep him secret, but they know him, so when the Zippleback thing happens, he stands no chance
I have a lot more ideas but this so long
Just. Let them be friends damn it
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silvergreenseraphim · 5 months
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Angeal and Sephiroth (And Genesis?)—Dissidia Opera Omnia—Part One
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Alright, so this chapter was a lot, and it opened with Weiss quoting “Loveless” for a reason, it seems.
“When the war of the beasts brings about the world’s end, the goddess descends from the sky! Wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss…her gift everlasting!”
Weiss becomes our voice for Genesis, or his “brother,” in this chapter. When Seymour questions his quote, Weiss replies,
“It was a passage from a story our brother loved. He used to quote it for his best friend. That friend was Sephiroth, the hero and friend of the other “brother,” Angeal as well.”
This part was hard to translate into English, but Weiss essentially explains that Genesis used to quote Loveless for his close friend, Sephiroth, the hero, and Angeal was right there with them as the third friend in the trio.
Seymour is shocked and gasps, “Sephiroth and Angeal were best friends??”
Weiss replies, “It’s hard to believe of the now-evil “hero” that never reveals his heart. And yet, the exemplary First Class soldier that is a role model for everyone was his friend.”
I am on the fence about the translation of this part and may change it once my friend gets back to me, but for now, it seems like Weiss is pondering the friendship of Sephiroth and Angeal and how differently they turned out, because Seymour does make a comment like, “I suppose if you have dreams and honor, you can’t go wrong.”
But there is potentially more here that Weiss is saying about his own relationship to Sephiroth and Angeal—perhaps suggesting he is not their friend and doesn’t quite understand their past relationship himself. I will have to keep researching.
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We cut to Sephiroth again, who is confused about his memory returning. He says he didn’t expect any memories to return from the Lifestream, but shakes his head and denial. He claims these memories Angeal brought back are unnecessary and that he most remove Angeal from the picture immediately. His motives are set.
Meanwhile, Zack and Angeal are talking about how Sephiroth changed. I translated this on Altocat’s blog and here is what they say:
Zack says,
“Angeal, I know you’re surprised…I can’t believe that Sephiroth changed like that…
Angeal replies,
“So, you were taken aback as well…”
Zack says,
“It was out of nowhere. We went to investigate Cloud and Tifa’s village…and I guess he discovered his origins. He killed everyone and burned down the village. He had always been the hero I strived to be…”
Zack and Angeal are both very crestfallen here, lamenting this knowledge. Angeal pulls himself together and says,
“I know…I’m disappointed too. Everything changed while I was gone, I guess.
Angeal further laments that he wasn’t there, and Zack reassures him that even though Angeal disappeared at the time and pushed everyone away, Zack would have stayed by his side and helped. Zack would have left Shinra, and he says he is sure Sephiroth felt the same way.
Angeal thanks his student but says that it was his choice and lonely path at the time—he had to carry the responsibility as a First Class soldier. Zack chastises him saying he shouldn’t think that way—after all, Zack is a First Class as well, and has enough experience. He could have helped Angeal. Angeal begins to reply, saying, “Zack…” but then they are interrupted by the others.
They say it’s time to make a decision about Sephiroth, and Cloud explains that the silver boi is planning to turn the world into an empty vessel that he may sail the cosmos with in order to find another world. An Advent Children reference, of course.
Rufus mentions that this goal is very similar to the desire of Jenova. He has to then explain what Jenova is to the other characters, as well as the Reunion theory.
This makes a lightbulb go off in Angeal’s head and he gasps, “So basically…Sephiroth is Jenova?”
He puts it together that Reunion implies that Jenova’s cells must be drawn back to their source, and since that source is currently Sephiroth, they must be the same.
However, the others simply say that Sephiroth/Jenova must be eliminated, and agree to hunt him down. Everyone nods and moves forward except Angeal, who lingers with hesitation.
In the next part, they are in the process of tracking Sephiroth, but the group notices Angeal’s troubled demeanor. They ask him if he’s okay and Kadaj says that he heard about Sephiroth being Angeal’s good friend. He says that it must be disheartening to see Sephiroth in his current state, since nothing is like it used to be.
Angeal notes Kadaj’s own tone of disappointment and Kadaj explains how Sephiroth used him as a puppet to find Jenova’s remains, which horrifies Kadaj because if Sephiroth and Jenova are the same, then his own “mother” used and betrayed him in such a way.
Angeal encourages Kadaj and gives him one of his classic pep talks, appealing to his usual “dreams and honor” code. Tifa notes that Zack often spoke the same way, prompting Angeal to recall teaching Zack all those things.
In response to Kadaj, he then says he was indeed surprised by hearing what Sephiroth did, but he says that,
“Sephiroth had his honor once too…and he has a tendency to hold onto things, so even if I am surprised, I can’t abandon him…”
The others say that they aren’t sure if Angeal’s words can reach Sephiroth, who was cruel enough to destroy Tifa and Cloud’s village. Tifa agrees as she recalls how she begged Sephiroth to explain why he did what he did, but she does say to Angeal that she believes he could have a better chance.
She kindly compliments him on how his “dreams and honor” philosophy had helped her as well. :,)
She encourages Angeal, saying that his words will surely be a beacon and that he should try to speak with Sephiroth again. Angeal hangs his head sorrowfully and agrees, saying,
“I don’t want to give up on him….so I’ll try as hard as I can…”
This is a good place to stop because the next chapters are where everything gets chaotic, but for now, we have some build-up for what Angeal wants to do, and for Weiss being a stand-in for Genesis later.
Some little notes:
The Zack and Angeal scenes were very sweet, as Zack wants to convince his old mentor to stop shouldering everything alone. Angeal’s absolute refusal to give up on Seph tugs at the heartstrings too, and I find it so sweet that Tifa actually encouraged him.
The “Sephiroth is Jenova” point is fascinating, but I believe we will soon find that Seph’s own will is blended into Jenova’s, as they are aligned, and this might be what reveals to Angeal that there may not be much hope for his old friend. :(
I am struggling with the Weiss and Seymour discussion, and this has been one of the parts that has slowed me down, because the context is hard to decipher, but I suspect that Weiss is comparing Sephiroth and Angeal to the figures in Loveless, which also becomes relevant later. I will update as soon as I can get an explanation from my Japanese friend. I am not skilled enough to decipher everything yet on my own, you see. 😅
But enjoy this for now, and I will be back with more soon! <3
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morbid-things · 3 months
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Appropriately Unhinged Finnish Music Scene Extended Universe Explanation (?)
For @zomb1edude <3
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This is a simplified, rudimentary web of the connections between people in the Finnish music industry, namely between connected fandoms.
I started in the Blind Channel fandom in 2021 after ESC, and these are the connections I've explored since then <3
putting this shit under the cut because it's LONG
BLIND CHANNEL
Blind Channel is a ""nu metal"" band (not really. they say they are so i just go "alright sweetie" <3) from Oulu, that's been active since 2013. The participated in ESC in 2021 and got Finland's second best placing since Lordi won in 2006, before Jere crushed their gay asses with Cha Cha Cha :) (They sent Jere a Blind Channel T-Shirt :) )
In 2020, they invited their collaborator and collective boyfriend Aleksi "Alex Mattson" Kaunisvesi from Vihti to join the band, to which Aleksi did some cunty slutty flirty shit before saying yes, and becoming a permanent member as their percussionist/DJ/sampler/bottom.
Before joining, Aleksi was a producer and DJ, and he worked with Finnish Justin Bieber (and current Finnish Bojan), Robin Packalen, on bangers such as "Hard to Love" . which i haven't listened to. Blind Channel singer Joel Hokka asked him to make a remix of one of Blind Channel's songs (Alone Against All) through DMs at one point, and Aleksi just fucking forgor and ghosted him for a reasonable Couple of Months. (And then Joel was all :( and "who does this twink think he is" until he and their guitarist, Joonas Porko, ran into him at a BMTH concert. because finland is a village).
Aleksi also worked with Joonas "Johnny" Parkkonen before joining. Johnny still works with Blind Channel, and they're friends and they hang out :) you can even read Joel/Johnny fanfiction if you want. This leads us into our next section, which will lead us into the rest of the web because Holy Fucking Shit This Guy Is Everywhere
JOHNNY PARKKONEN (+ Santa Cruz)
Johnny's probably the most important name on this list because he fucking works with EVERYONE. He's hanging the fuck out and producing music with everyone. He'll probably end up working with Jere at some point or another. He's fucking and sucking his way through Finland's music scene and he's showing no signs of stopping.
Johnny's also important because he's a former member of the band Santa Cruz, which he was a member of from 2007-2018. He played as a guitarist and backing vocalist, even though he probably should have been the lead vocalist, because the real lead vocalist, Archie Cruz, Cannot Fucking Sing. We Will Fucking Talk About Archie At Some Point.
At the time that Johnny was active in Santa Cruz, the band's lineup consisted of him, Archie Cruz, Mitja "Middy Cruz" Toivonen, and Tapani "Taz Cruz" Fagerström (lmao faggot name).
Every Single Fucking Person Except Archie Left The Band At The Exact Same Time (Because archie is a piece of shit and we should kill him with knives). They kicked his ass off the tour bus in the middle of their US tour because he Fucking Punched Johnny in The Fucking Face.
Luckily, because of their decision to leave, Johnny, Middy, and Taz, have been free of Santa Cruz and Archie's Fucking Bullshit for almost six slutty, slutty, years, and ALL of them are now involved with My Beloved band Lost Society.
LOST SOCIETY
Lost Society is a metal band from Jyväskylä, formed in 2010. Johnny's been working with them for a while, at least since the writing of their fourth studio album, No Absolution. Lead singer, guitarist, and resident faggot, Samy Elbanna, has called Johnny "The Godfather of Finnish Music" and has Probably Fucked That Guy. Johnny and Samy are close friends and there's a lot of personal shit on LS's sixth album, If The Sky Came Down, that Johnny helped with </3
Taz actually JOINED Lost Society after their drummer, Ossi Paananen left in 2020. Samy REALLY wanted Taz to replace him, and he even asked for Johnny's blessing, like he wanted to marry him. He probably did want to marry Taz, because Samy's so fucking insane about being separated from Taz for any period of time (bro is on instagram saying things like "i haven't seen taz in a WHOLE WEEK :(" and things of that manner).
Not sure what the fuck Middy does anymore, but he's at least been doing SOME kind of touring stuff with Lost Society, because I've seen him in the tour pictures, and they're having so much fun together :)
Middy was also on the episode of Silent Library Suomi with Lost Society, and he fucking crushed bassist Mirko Lehtinen's kneecaps with a metal pot while he was there.
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Lost Society ALSO went on tour with Blind Channel last year (ithink), and they had lots and lots of fun together and also a bunch of my friends went to those tour dates and i Wasn't Fucking Jealous At All [<- clenching my fists so hard they bleed]
SHIRAZ LANE
Lost Society and Blind Channel have both also worked with the Vantaa-based (VANTAA MENTION!!!!) glam/sleaze metal band Shiraz Lane, a band that Johnny has ALSO worked with. Shiraz Lane also has a Metric Fuck Ton of connections, as displayed in the web.
Shiraz Lane played as support for Santa Cruz on tour in 2015, during which point lead singer Hannes Shirazlane Kett had to deal with Archie Fucking Cruz that whole time, and was probably the reason Hannes was sniping at Archie during this interview between Shiraz Lane, Lost Society, and Santa Cruz.
(Content warning for use of the r-slur (used once) and faggot used in the derogatory way in this interview because they're mid-2010s straight (?) (mostly) white men)
Because Shiraz Lane is from Vantaa (VANTAA MENTION!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK IS A LARGE POPULATION!!!!!), they also have connections to Käärijä!! particularly Jesse has connections to them!!! Jesse has a surprising amount of connections!!!
JESSE VOSS (MY WIFE)
Their drummer, Ana Willman, supposedly went to high school with Jesse!! Yippee!!!!!!!! there's lots of pictures of Jesse and Ana together, and they've played shows together, with Jesse on vocals and Ana on drums! Polycule Behaviour! love these finnish faggots.
Middy's also involved somehow with Jesse and Shiraz Lane but I don't remember how. Middy's liked a bunch of Jesse's old posts, not so much his new ones. The most probable explanation is that they're ex-boyfriends. They've also both worn gauzy faggy little white tutus before, so that's another connection.
Jesse's also following Johnny on instagram, and is also followed by Santeri Koppelo, who is Blind Channel's tour manager <3 tour manager solidarity forever <3
Naturally, Jesse's connections to the other Finnish music scene ties perfectly into the parts of the scene that Jere's connected to :) the pokedex has come in handy for me of course :)
JERE
Jere's boyfriends include Kuumaa, a band that Guess Fucking What, Johnny has worked with! Johnny has also worked with his girlfriends, including BESS and BEHM! I fucking Told You he was sucking and fucking his way through Finland.
He's also directly connected back to Blind Channel, by which I mean "yeah they've talked So That Counts". Blind Channel sent Jere a message before Eurovision asking him to take care of himself and they of course sent him a T-shirt as a token of their love. Jere also liked Dark Side (BC's ESC track. which johnny worked on)
Blind Channel and Jere are both connected to the International Extended Polycule, as Jere has his Joker Out and Tommy Cash, and Blind Channel has all sorts of boyfriends from outside Finland, including Electric Callboy and Damiano David Måneskin (one of Jere's one-sided boyfriends also <3)
That concluded my post for now because i'm definitely missing stuff and i also need to make a hwole other thing about archie because Holy Fucking Shit I Hate That Guy . open opportunity to anyone form the BC/LS/SL/Ex-Cruz fanbase to contribute now.
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pippin-katz · 1 year
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He Likes You
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I was just thinking about this line and how meaningful it is, because it truly is.
Hunith has literally known Arthur for a couple days, but she can already read him incredibly well. Not only does she deduce that he cares about Merlin, she specifically says he likes him.
What’s the difference? Why does that matter?
Think about what you imagine someone behaves like when they like something or someone. They’re usually pretty happy, smiling, and they say good things about it. When it comes to typical behavior, it’s easy to tell when someone likes something.
Merlin likes doing magic, and he shows it when he can:
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Think about Arthur though. He doesn’t seem to like anything when you use those behaviors as the evidence. The viewer knows it’s just Arthur’s personality, but from a complete outside perspective, he doesn’t appear to like anything.
He doesn't truly smile that much. He makes fun of everyone he's close to, sometimes even going too far with Merlin in particular.
This is how most people would expect him to act if he likes someone:
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But he doesn't act like that on a regular basis. He rarely ever actually smiles like that, and especially not around people.
When he smiles normally, there's an undertone of cockiness or superiority that comes with being the prince and having to behave a certain way in front of others. It's not quite genuine. (The first episode is the perfect example of that.)
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Or it's not even really a smile. He's not frowning, and you can tell by his eyes that it's a positive expression, but he's not showing a full smile to indicate that he's really happy.
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OR he's got his "public face" on; it's sort of blank, but it changes slightly depending on the context. It's a guarded/doubtful/slightly annoyed look, but it's not a full frown that implies a bad mood. He uses it when he's in court with Uther, when he's bickering with Merlin, and when he's thinking. It's sort of his resting expression.
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Uther does the same thing, where he's not really smiling, but you can tell it's a positive expression.
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The thing is, you don't need to like someone in order to care about them. Plenty of people care about the wellbeing of people that they don't actually like.
Perfect example: Merlin and Gwen wanting to help Uther despite both having justifiable reasons to want him dead.
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So liking someone isn't the same as caring about someone, cool, but what's the big deal with Hunith's line about Arthur? He obviously cares and likes Merlin, why does this matter?
Hunith doesn’t witness any behavior from Arthur to indicate that he likes Merlin, other than helping out his village. But:
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This is an absolutely true statement. Merlin may be in denial that Arthur would actually like him, but he’s not wrong at all. Arthur earlier in this very episode voiced his desire to help anyone regardless of where they live. He helps people throughout the show in ways that don’t benefit him: Mordred as a kid; the woman in the tavern who was being harassed; Guinevere when Elyan was captured; the old woman about to be burned at the stake.
Hunith, however, can see through all of that.
What do you do when you like someone?
You care for their well-being
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You think of them fondly
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You enjoy their company
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You want them to be happy
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Arthur likes Merlin. He thinks of him as a close friend. He wants to make him happy, and to keep him safe. He wants him around. And Hunith figures this out from a couple days of observing them.
My mind starts to run around, because I wonder what Hunith saw in Arthur during the short period she spent with him that told her that he liked Merlin. His father didn't understand why Arthur cared about Merlin even when he saved his life twice.
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It makes me so curious of what Hunith was thinking. You know what they say about mothers always knowing.
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mortyvongola2-0 · 2 years
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Sacrificed
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Pairing: God!Madara Uchiha x Reader
Genre: Oneshot, filthy filthy smut
Word Count: 6.6k
Warnings: too many to count, afab!reader, rough sex, vaginal fingering, dirty talk, the Uchiha breeding kink, creampie, unprotected sex, aphrodisiacs, Madara has a big dick Uchiha, blindfolds, hands are tied, stomach bulge, mating press, overstimulation, some temperature play, strong language
A/N: This monstrosity has way too many tags, forgive me if I didn't tag every kink. Honestly this was only supposed to have like, two kinks or so, but uh obviously that did not happen and I'm not sorry about it. If this one does well enough I plan on writing a Sacrificed for each of the founders trio, and if I feel the inspiration after that I could add other Naruto characters as well so, let me know if that's something you'd be interested in.
A HUGE thank you to @therantingfangirl for helping me edit this oversized self indulgence! She's the best you guys, I love her and you should send some love her way! This wouldn't have been out as quickly, and would've had many more typos lol, if not for her. So tell her thank you for me~
edit 7/30/22: WE NOW HAVE ART!! A biiiig huge thank you to the amazing @skydaddy01 for their incredible art. They did a fanfuckingtastic job creating god!Madara's appearance, especially with so little to go off of because I'm bad at asking for things. Seriously, go check them out, especially if you like the art~
Without further ado, enjoy Sacrificed (Sun)
Read it on AO3
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Villagers scattered about, decorating homes and streets alike, preparing drums and costumes with jovial attitudes; the excitement was palpable. Most everyone looked forward to the Festival of the Sun, it was hard not to! The music, the ritual dancing, the offerings of food and wine to the gods as well as loved ones were certainly something to be excited about. The festivities themselves lasted for an entire week. It had to in order to entice him down from his place of rest. He was hard to excite, after all.
The Festival of the Sun is performed once a year before the cold season begins in order to plead with the sun god for protection from death during the upcoming frost. At the peak of the festivities, a living sacrifice is offered to the deity, but seldom does he come down. Most sacrifices come back without having even felt his presence, however throughout the history of the festival there were rare instances of his sacrifice being found dead at the end of the celebrations. The manner of death was always the same, burnt from the inside out. These instances came to be synonymous with having met him.
That fact made you, the sacrifice chosen for the upcoming celebrations, a bit nauseated. The idea of meeting the sun god made you nervous for many reasons; you were his devout follower, a young peasant chosen by the temple due to your dedication to your faith. At least, that’s what they told you when they notified you of your impending position. Your faith was well known in the village, you made the hike to his temple every two days without fail and prayed for hours in his sanctuary as well as volunteered to help clean the entirety of his temple.
His statues had always entranced you and you often wondered if that was what he really looked like. Was he really that tall and broad? Certainly awe inspiring if true. You’d run the soapy cloth along the carvings of his hair and close your eyes, guiltily pretending you were running your fingers through his majestic locks, it was so long, and the artist made it look so wild and untamed, giving his likeness a dangerous edge that made you bite your bottom lip. It would not be an exaggeration to say you were attracted to your god, or rather to the idea of him.
You had never met him or even heard his words as some priests had claimed to have heard. The high priest, the one who informed you of your role in the festivities, had said that your devotion moved the god and he had asked for you; that made you roll your eyes. As if the sun god himself would ask for you. The odd one, no family or friends, let alone a dating history, or anything of the sort that would catch the attention of anyone let alone such a powerful and incredible god. No matter, it would just mean another year without his appearance, though there is the possibility he’s so enraged by your presentation that he decides to burn you like the others.
He was not known for his mercy, after all. His lust for blood was legendary and his rivalry with the god of the forests still affects humanity despite their typically dormant state. Their battles have scored the earth and ruined oceans, much to the god of the sea’s displeasure. The temple texts state that the gods of forest and sun reawaken every century to continue their discourse. Were the previously killed sacrifices burned for his amusement or was he displeased with their appearance? Being burnt from the inside out at the hands of your beloved deity, was that your destined end?
As you contemplated your possible demise, the festival began. For the first three days your job was to stay in the temple. You were to pray all day, bathe in the ceremonial waters, and eat only the fruits provided. Each day the ceremonial drumming, which was performed as the sun began to set and would continue until sunrise, could be heard despite the temples stone walls. Their beat entrancing and familiar. It gave you something to look forward to as you prayed without response.
On the fourth day you weren’t allowed to eat anything, only drink a strangely viscus and milky liquid with no taste that left the core of your being feeling cold. The usual warm bath with citrus scents was replaced with the same cold and thick liquid you were forced to drink. Are they trying to give me a cold before they send me to my death? You thought as you shivered. The older priestesses were made to wash you, they rubbed the fluid into every part of your being. Maybe I’ll freeze before I’m burnt alive.
It was almost like a massage, the way the older women prepared you. The way they rubbed the fluid into the flesh of your breasts made you blush, and the blush only deepened when your sex was given the same amount of attention and pressure. You bit your lip and squeezed your eyes shut. The feeling was a bit unusual. Heat began to swirl in your center, and it helped you fight off the cold for the rest of the bath.
When you were brought out of the bath rolls of white and red silk were draped around your body in odd patterns. The material itself felt wonderful but they tied the red pieces around your arms and neck, while the white silk they used to bind your chest and cover your mound. It was an odd feeling, only being partially dressed and your abdomen being bare made you flush in embarrassment. They tied your hair back in a braid that was as long as your hair would allow, and they twisted the same type of red silk around it. You were not allowed to look at your own appearance and one of the women led you out of the temple without so much as a word.
Once outside you began to shiver again and your bare feet gracing the soft grass only made you feel colder. The breeze made goose flesh begin to rise along your skin and you wrapped your arms around yourself to try and keep warm. Sounds of the villagers enjoying the festival gave you something to focus on. What would you be doing, if you were not here? Enjoying some wine perhaps, dancing around the oversized fire that was lit in your god’s honor? Mmm maybe even enjoying a full plate of roast boar, your stomach grumbled at the thought.
A group of priests, including the high priest, emerged from the temple and began to lead you further to the west of the temple. On that side there was a trail. Most everyone knew of the trail, but it was not to be used by anyone but the blessed. It led up to the highest peak in the valley and at the top stood a temple made specifically to hold the sun god’s presence when he graced the earth.
The high priest ushered you onto the trail and began to walk in front of you, the others following behind. The entire hike up felt very stiff and uncomfortable, it made you more nervous than you already were. The high priest stopped, as did you, right before the doors to the sacred temple. It was much grander, the walls made of marble instead of stone with gold gilded doors and carvings of suns in the luxurious columns. A strong wind practically blew through you, and you wondered if you’d ever feel warm again. A quick glance around at the people meant to guide you made your stomach twist in knots. They all had such grave expressions. You wondered what was next and began to try to convey your question with your eyes but they refused look at you. “Um,” you began. “Excuse-“
A loud shout rang out from the village, the signal to start the drums. Startled, you glanced at the sky and saw that the sun had begun to set. The high priest turned and walked until he was right in front of you. He began to press a large flask of what looked to be the same viscous liquid into your hands while a different priest came behind you and began to tie a red ribbon made of the same silk tightly around your eyes. The cool material caused your heart to beat as hard as the drums. “Drink this once the sun has fully set, there will be more inside, be sure to drink all of it throughout the next few days.”
Your breathing picked up. Someone, you weren’t sure who, began to tie your wrists together in front of you. “Do not attempt to look at him,” the high priest spoke again. “Do not try to touch him, only he can initiate contact. You may roam around the temple but do not leave it.” How did he expect you to roam without being able to see? “We will be back at the end of the festival to collect you, do as we say and as he says and you will survive,” he paused, “probably.”
You nodded nervously; you couldn’t see his face but could feel the sense of dread in the air. “Alright, let us begin.” Someone began to push you forward and you felt your bare feet touch the chilled marble, heard the large doors creak open, and felt the plush of a cushion as they sat you down on the floor. Once their touch left you, the sense of foreboding increased. When you heard the door slam shut you knew you were alone.
You could hear the high priest begin a prayer outside the door, though it was rather muffled, you pressed your fingers against each other, and you tried to calm your nerves by joining in on the prayer. “Allow your warmth to protect and guide me,” you muttered. After a moment’s hesitation you added, “and your cruelty to pass over me.” And altogether you ended the prayer with an ‘amen’ though yours felt a tad more strained.
Through the blindfold you could make out vague shapes thanks to the small amounts of light; but that was all you could see, and once the sun set you would essentially be blind. You stayed seated for a time and fiddled with the flask that you had been given. The wrappings around your wrists weren’t painful or too constricting but they did limit what you could do. How were you supposed to stay like this for four nights and three days? “Where even is the restroom?” You glanced around at the shapes that made up what you could see. “Do gods even use the restroom?”
After a few more minutes of fretting and shaking you decided to stand and try to figure out what was in the room. You placed your arms out in front of you. Your hands may have been bound but you were still able to grab a hold of things. The temperature of the temple was colder than the temperature outside, it was similar to the biting chill of the nights in the cold season. At this point you wondered if you were doomed to die from frostbite. The tips of your fingers scraped against the cold marble of the walls, and you continued to glide your hands along the carvings to guide you through the area. As your vision began to worsen you knew the sun was almost under the mountain.
Your fingers brushed against a metal decoration and you began to explore the piece to the best of your abilities. It felt like a throne, a large one, with a cushion made of the same type of silk that was draped around you. The size of the throne made it feel a bit more like a small loveseat, you couldn’t imagine it being too comfortable with all the surrounding metals. Beside the throne seemed to be a short table with a pitcher atop it. The pitcher was carved, and you could tell it was well crafted by running your fingers along the object. It felt much too light to be filled with anything, much to your chagrin. You had been hoping for a sip of real water.
While there was still a bit of sunlight left you decided to try to explore the center of the room a bit more. You walked cautiously from the throne to the middle of the area and saw a shadow that seemed to be a table or something similar. It was a bit tall to be a table and you placed your hands on it and felt that it was also made of a cold marble. There were no chairs around it and as your fingers brushed along the edges you felt that there were words engraved on it. You wondered if they were gilded with gold like the carvings on the outer columns had been. Slowly, you attempted to read what was engraved around the table. “A sacrifice of flesh and blood,” you muttered. “Well, that would be me.”
“Is that right?”
You flinched. That was not a voice you recognized. It was deep and alluring, with an inflection that sounded almost amused. The man’s voice had come from behind you, where you remembered the throne being. Cautiously, you turned toward where you thought the voice was coming from but immediately had to squeeze your eyes shut. All there was in that direction was a bright light, like the sun itself had come to rest in front of you. Wait, your breath caught in your throat. The sun itself?
“A-Are you perhaps-“
“Yes?”
You felt so hesitant. Your heart felt like it was going to pound out of your chest, the urge to drop down on your knees and bow was at the forefront of your mind. There was a warmth, an intense but welcome warmth, that began to move toward you. Your eyes were still closed tight; even behind the blindfold his brightness was too much. Like a warm breath it felt like his presence was closer, but you weren’t sure how close. Without much more thought, you gave into your urge and got down to your hands and knees with your head resting atop your extended arms on the floor. Even the floor felt warmer now than it had before his arrival. “My lord!”
“Hm, not quite as interesting as I was expecting.” He sounded so close, almost as if he was directly above you. “But not altogether unpleasant.”
Your skin began to tingle from the contrast in temperature. Hot and cold. Internally, you still felt like you were freezing but externally his presence had warmed everything to such a degree it felt like you might melt. Lightly, it felt like just the tips of his fingers, began to trial down your exposed spine, like he was counting vertebrae. Again, your bottom lip felt the sting of your teeth as your mind reeled at not only meeting but being touched by your god. The same god whose likeness you had thought of in some not so holy ways.
“Is it still too bright?”
“P-Pardon?”
“I understand that my presence tends to be overwhelming for human eyes, shall I dim myself?” He answered his own question, as the harsh biting against your eyelids seemed to lessen and instead of a sun his presence looked more like a group of brightly lit candles. It hurt still, but you were finally able to open your eyes. You wanted to look at him, wanted to take the blindfold off and gaze upon his glory but you kept your head down, afraid of the consequences of doing so. “Thank you for your consideration, my lord.”
“Still so polite,” his dry chuckle was like velvet in your ears. You shivered, but not from fear or temperature; you wanted to hear him speak more. The pleasing thought of having him order you around floated about in your mind. Warm, overly warm, fingers gripped your chin roughly and had you look up at the veiled view of his face. “I like how you’ve thought about me a lot better than the way you’re speaking to me now.”
Your heart hiccupped. Your thoughts of him!? You could feel the color drain from your face. All the unsavory thoughts you had about his image filtered through your mind at once. The few times you had touched yourself had also been to ideas of him. Would he kill you now for your blasphemous behavior? Was he aware of all of them? That rich chuckle continued to fill your ears, much more amused this time, and he turned your head from side to side as if in assessment of a product at the market. “Don’t be so nervous, child. You act like I’m going to burn you alive.”
You were pretty sure he might.
There were no details, but from his outline it seemed like the statue was rather accurate. His hair was long, spiked, and wild like the mane of a lion; his shoulders broad and perfectly set. He barely had a hold on your chin but the bits of his fingers you could feel felt strong, large, and overly warm. The high priest had told you not to look at him but maybe? Just a peek? “Can I remove the-“
“Do you want to go blind?”
“What?”
“Do you think you can stare directly at the sun without repercussions? You’ll go blind if you look at me with your naked eye.”
“Oh,” you pressed your lips together, your cheeks red with embarrassment. “Right, yes, that makes sense.”
“Eager to see your god, are we?”
You wanted to nod but refrained and he let go of your chin. “You haven’t finished the elixir yet.” He said it as a statement of fact and let out a sigh that sounded exasperated. The blood in your veins rushed at a dizzying pace and you felt panic begin to rise in your throat. Had you displeased him? Would he leave because of it? Anything but that.
“I hadn’t realized the time, please forgive-“ Wet warm lips pressed against yours midsentence. It was intense and hot, so very hot. One of his large hands grabbed the back of your head roughly, forcing you to tilt your head back and he tugged on the braid. The surprise made you flinch, and your mouth opened slightly, but it was enough for him. He began to force a liquid into your mouth from his. It was different from the others; it had a sweet taste to it that sat heavy in your center. The warmth of his lips felt like it might burn, but the cool of the liquid soothed it almost immediately. The contrast made you moan, and his tongue began to enter your mouth.
Your eyes squeezed shut and you began to feel turned on as his tongue caressed and pulled at your own. Were you allowed to kiss back? How was this supposed to work? Another noise escaped you as his tongue scraped against the roof of your mouth, slowly and with intent. You squeezed your thighs together in an attempt to calm down. He pulled away slowly, allowing his tongue to linger against yours in the space between you. The sun god chuckled once again, “That face is rather enticing.”
If only you could see what face it was. His touch left you and the warmth of his being began to dissipate. “Resting for so long can be quite boring,” he began, his voice sounded like it was back at the throne. When you opened your eyes you could see the light of his being further back, it seemed as if he was sitting on the golden décor. It almost looked like he was slouched, with one hand against the arm rest and his head on his fist, but that was just your assumption. You had no way of seeing the details of his form. “So, while we wait for the elixir to kick in, entertain me.”
Entertain? How? Should you ask? What if that angered him? He didn’t seem like the patient sort. You heard a sound similar to liquid filling a basin and saw him shift as it looked like he may be drinking. Your heart pounded in your ears in time with the beat of the drums that boom from below. Oh, was that it? At this point in the evening, for the festival, everyone would be dancing. Is that what he wanted? The dance was created for his worship, after all.
You stood on nervous legs, your hands still bound, and listened patiently to the beat. When you felt you had a good enough idea of the rhythm you began the dance. It was fast, continuously moving, with moves similar to dodging attacks in a spar. When the drum paused you twisted your spine and bent backward, almost hitting the sacrificial table behind you, and stretch your arms up behind your head to touch the cool marble. The stretch made you feel exposed. Your neck, abdomen, and legs were on full display. As the pause remained, so did your position. It was difficult, but the dance seemed to warm you up. You felt the flush travel across your body, and you began to feel rather thirsty. You resumed at the same time as the drums.
Everything seemed to disappear as the song continued. Your muscles began to loosen, your tension nonexistent, you completely forgot where you were or why you were even dancing in the first place. It was like you were hypnotized to follow the music. One foot out in front and the other behind, your hands pushed out in front almost like you were begging. Everything felt warm now, your breathing was labored from exertion. Much to your embarrassment, even your core felt a bit sticky. Your hair began to frame your face and you barely registered that the braid had come loose. “Keep dancing,” came his silken command. So, you did.
His approach was harder to feel this time, the difference in temperature not quite as stark, but when his hand caressed the side of your neck you gasped at the excess heat. “I didn’t say you could stop.”
Right, more dancing.
One of his hands remained at your neck, curling around it like a collar and restricting your movements. You couldn’t move away from him without feeling choked. His other hand slid down the length of your swaying curves, from the tops of your covered breasts to the dip of your hips where the white ribbon was tied. The heat was almost sweltering and the ache in your sex began to grow. He tugged and the silk around your waist began to slip away, creating static as it fell from your flesh.
You couldn’t help but stop, your senses now fully focused on your naked lower half. Without the cloth your arousal was even more obvious, its evidence sticking to your thighs. “I don’t like to repeat myself,” he growled so close to your ear. A shiver wracked your form, and you did your best to start moving again, but his hand inching toward your center made you lose your rhythm and your movements became awkward. His hot tongue began to lick a stripe along the red silk wrapped around your collar bone. His warm fingers began to stroke the plush flesh of your mound. A fresh wave of slick began to coat your labia.
“Mm,” you pressed your lips together. You felt like you were on fire. “My lord, please,” you whispered, not entirely sure what you were asking for.
“Tsk, you know my name. Say it.”
He was giving you permission to call him by name? His fingers trailed down and began to stroke the naked flesh of your sex. The amount of wetness made the sounds of his fingers vulgar as he moved them back and forth against the sensitive skin. Your head fell back, and you gasped, his warm fingers immediately zeroing in on your clit. The heat was overwhelming, adding extra stimulation to your already pulsing bud. Your core began to clench, and your hips reflexively bucked toward his hand. “Go on,” he chided. “Say the name of your god, tell him how badly you want him to finger you.”
Your vagina pulsed at the thought. Saying his real name was taboo in the temple, but he was giving you permission. It was impossible to think, his fingers sped up their assault. Only incoherent noises left your throat as your knees began to buckle. How were you this close already? The hand that was around your neck squeezed teasingly, cutting off your air flow temporarily, before moving down to support your lower back as your legs threatened to give out. Instinctively you reached out and tried to use his arm for support before immediately pulling your hands back. They burned, like you had touched a hot stove.
“Do not try to touch him, only he can initiate contact.” The high priest’s words rang out in your mind.
“Weren’t you warned pet?” His head leaned down to your burnt hands, his fingers not ceasing, and he licked along your palms as if to soothe them. The mixture of pain and pleasure only brought you closer to the edge and you began to buck your hips in earnest. Your pleasured noises began to grow into full moans as you approached your peak.
Quickly, without warning, he removed his fingers from your clit and unceremoniously thrust two inside of your entrance. It burned, the heat and the pain of the stretch, but it brought you over the edge anyway. He hadn’t even had to move his fingers and you were already clenching down on them. Tears welled in your eyes behind the blindfold, and you called out, “Ahh, Madara!”
“How cute,” he announced, his voice a note or two deeper, the arm that was supporting you was trembling. “So eager that you came just from having my fingers inside you?”
Madara began to move his fingers, slow and deliberate, making sure to scrape them against your walls and ensuring that pain accompanied the pleasure. He moved his mouth to your neck and tugged at the red ribbon, untying it with his teeth and exposing the rest of your body to his gaze. He began to scissor your entrance and you felt the tightness in your gut return. “Such a naughty human, touching yourself to the thought of your god. Did you think I wasn’t watching? Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
You felt like you were burning, and you heard the juices of your arousal splash against your skin. His thick fingers began to thrust quickly, and he brought his palm up to rub at your sensitive clit. A whine left your throat. He continued his verbal assault. “I watched you each and every time you called out to me with lust. I saw the way your greedy pussy swallowed one, then two, even three of your own fingers. But it was never enough, was it? You needed something else, needed these fingers to fill you.” He added a third finger and you had never felt so full. A cry of his name left your lips again and that rich chuckle of his vibrated through you. “Well how is it? Now that you have the real thing, is it satisfactory? Are you still feeling greedy?”
“It’s good,” you slurred in a drawn-out moan. His fingers began to push at your walls in opposing directions and you thought you might drool. “So so good.”
“Only good? Well, I guess I’ll have to try harder then.”
All three fingers curled at once and began to press on a specific part of your walls. Your breathing stopped, your body convulsed, your toes curled, and your vagina clenched like your life depended on it. His palm pressed hard against your abused bundle of nerves, and you came yet again. But this one was different, more intense, almost painful as it washed over every part of your being. You felt dizzy before you remembered to breathe. His hand kept moving but you were at your wits end. “Too much, ah,” you wanted to grab a hold of his arm but barely registered you would get burned again if you did. Your sex throbbed painfully. “Please lord Madara,” you pleaded. “It’s too much.”
The sun god removed his fingers slowly but made sure to keep supporting you. You watched as the vague light of his being seemed to lick a trail from his own palm down his arm and he moaned deeply as he followed the trail back up to his palm. He moved his hand away from his own mouth and brought his fingers to your lips. “Suck,” he commanded.
Your tongue poked out of your mouth shyly and you wrapped it around the three fingers hesitantly. A grunt left your throat as you tasted yourself on his digits. He shoved the three of them into your mouth, not willing to give you the chance to continue to do as you pleased. Obediently, you sucked. The heat from his fingers almost felt like they would burn your mouth too. Again, you wondered what he looked like in full detail. You gently scraped your teeth against the three digits. “Good pet,” he muttered and pressed the pads of his fingers down on your tongue. “Now, lay down on that table. I’m going to take my sacrifice.”
Madara removed his fingers and let go of you entirely. You stumbled, almost fell to your knees again as your support disappeared. Thanks to the light of his being you were able to see the shadows that made up the cold marble of said sacrificial table. As much as you tried to make your crawl a top it look sexy, you fumbled a few times. It was rather high, making it difficult to crawl onto, but your inability to be graceful didn’t seem to deter him as he was atop you the moment you fully laid down.
The sun god’s scorching lips graced yours once more and this time you tried to meet his tongue stroke for stroke. His impossibly warm palms enveloped your breasts and began to mold them to his liking, almost as if he was trying to change their shape to his hands. For the first time you felt his entire body as it pressed against you. His muscles were firm as they met your squishy flesh and the hardness of his arousal rubbed against your belly in interest. It leaked with precum and the thought of that being your doing gave you butterflies. Slowly he pulled away, he seemed to sit up for a second as you heard the sounds of a glass bottle opening. His own breathing sounded labored, but it paused as he began to gulp down whatever he had opened.
When he was seemingly satisfied, he pressed his lips to yours again, and much like the first kiss, forced the liquid down your throat. Some of it dribbled down the side of your mouth, being too much to swallow all at once, but it didn’t seem to bother him as he continued to aggressively explore your mouth. What surprised you was when he began to pour out the chilled liquid onto your overheated sex. Your back arched, the contrast in temperatures a shock to your system.
He threw the glass bottle away and it broke against the flooring with a loud crash. His thick fingers began to coat themselves in the fluid and started to scoop it into you. You groaned into his mouth. Madara kept pushing it in, forcing it as deep inside of you as his fingers would allow. It felt odd, his hands and your body heat slowly warmed the liquid as he pushed it inside. The god pulled away from the kiss with a loud breath. “No more games,” he announced and pulled his fingers away.
The sound of his slick fingers against his own flesh made you shiver. You wished you could see it, him fisting himself atop you. What a gorgeous sight that would be, it was almost worth the risk of going blind. Almost. He lined himself up with your entrance, one hand holding your tied wrists above your head and the other holding him in place. His tip felt large as it twitched impatiently against your hole. Anticipation made you hold your breath.
“I’m going to ruin you.”
He thrust in and your jaw dropped. Big, he was so big. You felt overstuffed, like there were six of his large fingers shoved inside. Madara pushed forward more, your walls spasming around the intrusion. He was too big; it was too much. You felt like you were going to break, like he’d split you in half. More of his shaft entered you and he groaned, his guiding hand now reaching up to grip your hip and push you further onto him. It felt like he had knocked the wind out of you as the tip of his penis hit your cervix. Surely that was it, he couldn’t go any further. “Pretty little thing, so fucked out already and I’ve barely even started,” he chuckled, his words strained. He brought the hand that was holding your wrists down to wipe your chin of drool that you hadn’t even realized was there. “You’re so wet,” he grunted and pulled his hips back before snapping them forward quickly. You grunted, the drag of his dick the best thing you had ever felt. “Behave and I might just reward you.”
He began to thrust in earnest, the mushroom head hitting against your cervix with each thrust in, like it was trying to bury itself deeper inside of you. Your back bowed and he forced your hips to meet his. You brought your hands up and began to grip at the edge of the marble table. Your white-knuckled grip the only thing keeping you grounded. He brought his unoccupied hand down to your left breast and began to thumb the nipple in time with his thrusts. The shlick shlick shlick sound of each drag against your insides made your toes curl once again. You felt the heavy weight of his balls hit against your perineum and the slick that was pushed out with every thrust leaked down onto the stone beneath.
The sun god was more vocal than you had expected, grunting with effort, and groaning when you clenched particularly hard around him. You licked your lips, your mouth felt dry from hanging open for so long. Your guts began to twist in knots again and you knew you would cum soon. In a rush of bravery, you brought your legs up and attempted to wrap them around his waist. Immediately, your flesh began to burn, and you set them back down. “What did I tell you?” He sounded strained and he moved his second hand to your other hip. “Behave.”
“I can’t-“ you cut yourself off with a moan, his shaft scraping just right against your g-spot and causing your climax to begin again. He hissed and you felt his hair tickle your stomach as he leaned forward and his grip on your hips tightened. You hoped he’d leave bruises.
“Fuck,” he sounded depraved, and you bit your bottom lip hard. His hips continued to push into you. “Your walls are trying so hard to milk me, is that what you want? Hm? You want me to breed you?”
“Uhn,” you couldn’t help but nod vigorously. Your mind so warped with pleasure that you’d do anything he asked. “Oh, Madara,” you groaned and bucked your hips against his grip.
“You want to carry my bastard,” his voice thick with arousal. His large hands pulled you further down on the table and he put both of your legs up around his shoulders. “Everyone will know it’s mine. They’ll all see your rounded belly and know that it’s the seed of their god growing inside of you.”
The new angle was intense, he bore heavily down onto your cervix with every thrust. He pushed your legs forward, putting them up by your shoulders, almost folding you in half, and pushed into your womb. You screamed. It was too much, an intense mix of pain and pleasure that had your nerves confused. “Feel me reach the deepest parts of you,” he grunted. Madara grabbed your tied wrists and brought your hand down to your folded stomach. He made your hands press against your lower belly where you felt the outline of him inside of you. The extra pressure added more feeling and you whined. “I’m going to fill that pretty little womb of yours.”
His thrusts quickened, becoming bruising and focused. You kept your hand where he placed it and felt his bulge as it moved in and out of you. Your head moved back and through your lust filled haze you noticed that the edges of the blindfold had loosened. If you moved a bit more maybe it would come off? Madara moved one of his hands inward and began to stroke at your clit quickly. His pace becoming uneven as his breathing sped up. “You were fucking made for this,” he groaned out. “Made to take me, to be folded in half and fucked stupid.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” you cried out and moved your head to the side. The silk slipped off of your eyes and you kept them closed as you tried to ignore the need to look at him. He felt so good, so brutal. Your clit throbbed and your core clenched for the fourth time. This was it, the most intense orgasm you’d have possibly ever. You wanted to look at him, to gaze upon his glorious face as you came undone. “Madara, please,” you began, your voice keening at the end. “Look at me.”
You opened your eyes just in time to see him look into yours. He was gorgeous, his dark hair wild and strung about him in a halo of black, his naked flesh flushed pink with exertion, his eyes so dark they looked like they would swallow you whole. His muscles rippled as he fucked you open, the lines under his eyes crinkling as his lips tightened in a smirk. Madara whispered your name and gave one more strong thrust before you squeezed your eyes tight in ecstasy. “Such a bad girl,” he taunted.
This orgasm was unlike any other before, your entire being felt tingly and a different kind of pressure built in your sex. When that pressure released a large burst of clear liquid gushed from you and your eyes rolled into the back of your head. Your legs shook, your walls trembled, and you barely heard Madara’s own grunt of release as he poured his molten semen into your womb. Your everything trembled and you felt like you might melt into the table below you. Your vision went from white to black and you felt your consciousness begin to fade.
“You may rest for now,” his voice sounded so distant in your mind. “We’ll resume shortly.”
When you woke next, you felt so disoriented. Your eyes were open, but everything was hazy, you felt like you were sitting on something hard but comfortable and you lifted your head to try and see where you were. “It took you long enough, pet,” came Madara’s silky voice from behind you. His chest pressed to your back and his arms pressed you further against him. “We still have three more nights of fun to get to.”
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A/N: Again, this amazing art contribution was made by the one and only @skydaddy01 please go check them out and send them a huge thank you from me! Madara looks incredible, doesn't he? Uhg I can't stop looking at this art.
Part Two
Hashirama||Tobirama
Season 2
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glorixuspurpose · 4 months
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Pretend
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Pretend || Peeta Mellark x Black!Fem!Reader(but truly any gender can read) || Takes place after the 74th hunger games but before 75th
for @xxshift4teamcapxx
 Weeks after you and Peeta had made it out of the games, it seemed like the cameras were trained to stay on you two. To the both of you, cameras equaled “pretending” to be in love with each other. You two would often plan things, things that would grab the attention of the capitol. It would be small things such as Peeta helping you with moving furniture to your new home in the Victor’s Village, going on walks with one another, with just maybe a peck on the cheek, that sort of thing. 
 It was only just now when you had realized that Peeta might not have been as much of a faker as you are with your relationship. You two were in your living room, along with Haymitch, who was stumbling in and out of the kitchen. 
 “Do you think he’ll ever stop?” Peeta jokingly asked, as Haymitch rummaged through your cabinets in search of more liquor. For some reason, you didn’t seem to mind it as much as you usually would have. 
Your legs were laid across Peeta’s lap, as the two of you watched “Capitol News”. 
“I don’t think so.” You bluntly replied, which made Peeta turn his attention from the screen to you. 
 “What’s the matter?” He asked, reaching over to tuck a stray curl back into the silk wrapped around your head. You responded with a silent shake of your head and shrug of your shoulders. 
“They’re probably watching us right now.” You muttered, resting your elbow on the arm of the couch. 
 “Why does it matter?” He asked. 
“What do you mean?” 
“Why does it matter if they’re out there watching us or not?”
“Because then we’ll have to pretend for the cameras.” You whispered. 
He tilted his head, almost like a questioning puppy. “Pretend?” He didn’t sound hurt, or even angry, just lost. 
 You shook your head. “Nevermind, forget it.” 
“Well I can’t now!” 
“Forget what?” Haymitch slurred before walking into the wall. You stood up and put a guiding hand on his shoulder. “Maybe it’s time for you to go.” You told him, before leading him to the front door. 
 “Well, now that we’re alone, maybe you could tell me now?” He suggested hopefully as you sat back down, a bit closer to him this time. 
You huffed. “You know, since we survived together, everyone’s gonna expect us to be together, do everything together, be..you know, together!” You tried to put it in the best words you could. 
“So we aren’t together?” He asked, sitting up from his original relaxed position. 
 You shrugged. “I don’t know.” 
“You may not, but I do. Whatever I said in there, in the arena? I meant it. Maybe not the bad stuff or whatever but the things I said to you? I meant. Ever since we were put in the same class at school, wherever I would see you around the Hob, I just knew that I liked you, loved you even, and that you would be the one.” 
 You had zero idea about what to do with that information. All this time…he felt this way? Why didn’t he say anything? Well, he did, but you just figured it was all a part of some plan. 
“Well, I-”
“Wait, stop.” He interrupted, before leaning over once more to tuck every curly back into your scarf, before leaning in to kiss you. It wasn’t like the ones you two shared just for show, or even in the arena, but one where you actually wanted another one. 
 He began to try to stutter out an apology, but you stopped him. 
“Peeta, stop. I know you think that I don’t feel the same way, but I do. I really, really, do. It’s just a big misunderstanding. I just thought you didn’t feel the same way, just like you did.” 
His cheeks turned red as he went back to his original spot, his once slicked back hair now ruffled and back to its original form. 
 “Well I guess it won’t be so hard to pretend now, will it?”
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mvjerbs · 8 months
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Beyond the Wall au
Before the events of the story:
Same thing happened, queen gets killed and ballister gets framed for it.
Ballister eventually finds out that the director was the one who framed him and he spent months trying to prove his innocence but fails each time.
With no other choice he leaves the kingdom and travelled beyond the wall(hehe) where he eventually stumbled upon a village.
Surprised by the fact that a village exists outside the wall, he believed that there was no monster at all and lived in that village.
People were welcoming, very welcoming, maybe a little too welcoming. But Ballister won't mind, because he never felt accepted or welcomed in his whole life(other than ambrosius and the queen of course)
Ballister was having a great time with the people in the village, he doesn't have to hide and he does have the pressure of people watching and expecting a mistake being done by him. Everything was great for him.
And then the day came when everything went down for him.
He noticed the people in the village are either sad, anxious, or more serious than they usually are. The change of atmosphere disturbed him so he decided to confront the village chief about the happenings.
"oh don't worry about that my friend. it's just that- it's someone's last day today."
"o-oh, did someone die today?"
"oh no no no, they are still alive. It's just that people are aware it's their last day."
"so that explains the different atmosphere"
With that, Ballister turned to leave. Only to turn around and get knocked out before he can reach the door.
Ballister eventually woke up and found himself being tied. Panic and confusion rushing into him as he sees the villagers and the chief watching him and another person being tied up not too far from him.
They were screaming. Ranging from accusations, to apologies, and eventually begs.
It was here that the chief revealed everything.
He told Ballister that the kingdom was right and that there is a monster. The reason why their village survived was because they found a way to keep the monster from attacking and that is to sacrifice. Since they are the only ones there, they have no other choice but to sacrifice each other or depending on who the village vote. They don't tell the sacrifice that they were voted, they would just go to their house, knock them out and sacrifice. That was the village's tradition.
Then Ballister came. They had planned to sacrifice him the moment he arrived.
Ballister have been betrayed again, he wanted to say something to them when he suddenly hears a chilling sound.
The monster had arrived. And everyone, except for the chief, left to hide. The chief stayed to make sure that the monster eats both of their sacrifices.
Unfortunately for the chief, Ballister managed to escape from his bounds and escape.
Ballister ran and hid in a house that was close by and strangely empty. He shut he door and hid in the corner of the room, unfortunately for him that only dark corner was close to the window.
When the monster arrived, Ballister covered his mouth. Trying to silence his cries as he sees the monster peering through the window and placing its hand on the glass. Fortunately, it didn't see him, and it went away. (The scene i drew before)
With him being alone in the shop, he thought about the events that had just transpired. Seeing the people whom he trusted and believed were kind turn away from him hurts, but something else was brewing inside. It was small but it was there, it was anger. He felt anger towards them, towards the people he trusted, towards the people he believed in, and pretty soon that small anger turned to hatred.
He was so consumed in his anger that he didn't realize the things that happened. The chief finding him, trying to kill him for the sacrifice, and him fighting back. He came back to his senses when he realized what he had done.
His first real murder.
He had expected to regret what he had done, but instead he felt great. He stood there looking at the body, feeling satisfied of the demise that he had brought on the chief.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when he hears the monster again. Instead of panicking, he simply looks at the body before dragging it out to meet the monster to feed it.
Time skip (I'm getting impatient), Ballister imprisoned everyone in the village and use them as food for the monster who he had now named Nimona.
Because of what Ballister does for Nimona, it sees him as an ally or a parent of some sort, which Ballister was happy about. They gave him a mark to show that he is under their protection. It's a bite mark that's located just below his nape.
Ballister also taught her to call him dad, because nimona can't really talk so Ballister teaches her.
Since the numbers of his prisoners are slowly going down, Ballister had no other choice but to hunt for Nimona's food.
Where would he find food? The kingdom of course. He goes in through the same hole that he escaped through and kidnaps people.
His crimes didn't go unnoticed by the institute or by the people, and so the investigation of hunting down the killer, which the people believed to be the monster, begun.
It didn't take too long to find where the killer usually goes and where he usually stalks and it's all thanks to the kingdom's security cameras.
Upon finding out where the killer goes, Ambrosius planned to ambush the killer in the place where he enters, Todd on the other hand wanted to do something on his own and planned to go after the killer instead. Ambrosius warned him about it but Todd being Todd ignored it.
Todd gathered his own group of knights and went out of the kingdom with out letting Ambrosius know at all. He eventually finds out and gets pissed, so Ambrosius followed after Todd to get him back. He only took about 3 knights with him since it was just a fetching mission.
An Hour after Ambrosius wet beyond the wall to search for Todd, his(Todd) party literally went back to the kingdom since they didn't found anything.
Little did they know both parties went to different directions. While Todd's party went to search in the east, Ambrosius' party went north west which was the direction of the village which Ballister lived in.
Little time skip, Ambrosius's group ran into Nimona and died except for Ambrosius, who was badly injured and cornered by Nimona.
But before Nimona could eat Ambrosius, a familiar voice called out to her causing Nimona to pause and turn towards the direction where the voice came. Meanwhile, Ambrosius was surprised since he recognized the voice.
The second time Nimona was called, she dropped Ambrosius and rushed towards the person who was calling her. Ambrosius took the chance and turned to run when the same voice called out his name, and he turned.
There he sees Ballister, standing a few feet away from Ambrosius with a face that stared back at him in shock before turning into a gentle smile. The angle that Ambrosius was made the moon shine upon Ballister, the sight would have made Ambrosius melt if it wasn't for the monster standing behind him.
Ambrosius sense the change in Ballister, and confirming that change only made it worse for him. Ballister approached him in the same way he had always done before everything.
Ballister still loves and truly missed Ambrosius, so he asked Ambrosius to stay with him outside the wall. Ambrosius refused because 1) the monster is real and he wats go back to the kingdom so he can be safe, and 2) he's expected to return and protect the kingdom as gloreth's descendant
Ballister resorts to manipulating Ambrosius and convincing him to stay with him outside of the kingdom's castle.
How did Ballister manipulate him? Well he told Ambrosius how he felt when Ambrosius cut his arm off, how he felt when Ambrosius chose to capture him instead of helping him, making him feel so alone, almost being sacrificed, and that his whole life has been miserable ever since his arm was cut off.
Ambrosius, now being consumed with guilt, gives in and stayed, and he gained a mark from Nimona. (it looked much scarier in my head might animate soon). The post is getting too long, I'll be making a part two instead.
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general-cyno · 1 month
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I sort of rambled about this in the tags of a post, but I wanted to make a proper one myself since I find it very fascinating (law backstory flashback you will always be famous). so one of my favorite scenes is this one:
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it is a very meaningful moment for these two, a very clear turning point to their dynamic at that time, and it's made even clearer by how law starts referring to rocinante as cora-san afterwards.
now, there are several instances throughout dressrosa arc where the similarities between doflamingo and law are mentioned, with the former going as far as to call them both birds of a feather. and as it's shown in the flashbacks, reading about flevance was enough to trigger doflamingo's traumatizing memories of his and rocinante's childhood, which seems to motivate him to bring law into the family. the way law seeks to lash out at everything then is reminiscent of doflamingo's own worldview and experiences, at least from his pov:
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rocinante noticed those similarities as well and though he tried to (questionably) discourage all kids from joining the DQ pirates by scaring them away, law's case in particular prompted him to bring up the topic with sengoku at some point, as seen during sengoku's conversation with law.
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sengoku repeats what everyone says about the amber lead disease, that it's incurable, and warns rocinante not to favor law much for it could jeopardize his mission. whether rocinante's agreement here was reluctant or not ig is up to each reader but learning of law's real/full name (his relation to the D clan) reignites his initial worries and some more, considering the historic opposition/threat the D represents wrt celestial dragons and how this could endanger him if doflamingo were to find out.
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so there's even bigger reasons for rocinante to not want law to become doflamingo 2.0. though as he later admits amidst his drunken speech, the will of D no longer matters to him when it comes to saving law, as rocinante's journey to cure his disease ends up making him feel genuine sympathy for law beyond that. he's forced to witness first hand how much discrimination and dehumanization law's subjected to time and time again, because of his disease and ties to flevance. before all this, law's mentioned his imminent death more than a few times and does it after too. and during the first disastrous hospital visit, he tells rocinante: see? I'm not even human anymore!
which brings me to this bit of dialogue:
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for all of law's similarities and/or parallels to doflamingo, it's worth noting that rocinante experienced the same things his brother did and due to his younger age probably understood even less of what was happening or why they were being targeted in the first place. compared to doflamingo, rocinante also has way less dialogue in their backstory but one he does have is this:
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this happens in the part where rocinante, doflamingo and their father are strung up on a wall and shot at with arrows. the villagers all express their anger, grief, the violence and suffering they've gone through because of celestial dragons like the donquixotes. albeit different in nature, along with doflamingo, rocinante experienced a kind of dehumanization as well.
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so, again: for all that law might resemble doflamingo the most, I do wonder... how much of himself did rocinante see in law, though subconsciously? a kid who lost his family, subjected to the kind of violence that led him to resign himself to death (seek it, even) and was treated by others as inhuman because of circumstances out of his control? it might've not been what rocinante believed to be his own motivations to help law, likely never actually saw or realized the similarities they shared, but imo it adds some more depth to his kindness and sympathy towards law.
this also marks a stark difference between the donquixote brothers. whereas doflamingo got caught up in a very vicious cycle (which traces back to the existence of celestial dragons as a whole and was further enabled by others like trebol) that he planned to continue with law, rocinante was able to see past law's rage and acknowledge the pain beneath. after all, rocinante knows too what it's like to be hurt by others who've been terribly hurt first and became someone who wasn't exactly keen on returning the sentiment, unlike doflamingo, regardless of whether it was in his nature to be so or if it's something that was nurtured as he grew up. that's not to say rocinante was an endlessly kind saint (he had his own biased views) or that he wasn't capable of violence (he did beat up all those medical staff and burn down hospitals for example), but those incidents weren't caused by a sense of entitlement on his part or such. he didn't blame law for stabbing him or in general for seeking revenge against the world, ultimately chose to protect and save him instead - which, indeed, changed law's life. as law presently insists, he owes cora not just that very life but his heart as well.
lastly - law himself might not disagree with doflamingo insisting they're of the same sort, but law is also the kid who couldn't fathom leaving his dying little sister behind. who softened and lowered his guard after receiving genuine kindness/love/sympathy for the first time in years. who saved a little mink and risked his own neck later on to save a boy who'd just lost his brother in the worst way possible. who didn't even consider putting his crew in danger when he knew (and expected) he might die and his whole revenge plan against doflamingo was rooted in love and grief to begin with, the same upon which the foundation of his crew was built and is a tribute to. last we saw of him, law orders bepo to go back in winner island because can't leave the crew behind, etc etc, so there's that too. how much of it is law's own nature and personality? how much is due to the impact cora had on him? both? would've doflamingo turned out differently or made different choices if his parents had tried harder to school him out of those CD views or if he'd had more positive influences aside from them, instead of the people he ended up surrounded by? would he have become the same kind of person he is rn no matter what? interesting stuff to think about.
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taedsyh · 7 months
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✼ ҉ Fighting with your alcoholic husband! Re6 Leon Kennedy
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All I can think about Re6!Leon is fight fight and fight 🥺
His words broke your heart, and you were tired of feeling worthless.
You gave him a disappointed look.
"You're drunk."
“I’m not drunk,” Leon said, though it was obvious to anyone with two eyes in their head that he most certainly was.
“You always say the meanest things when you’re drunk.”
“I don’t say anything I don’t mean,” he said.
That was the end for you, your heart was so broken you felt tears in your eyes.
You used to dismiss everything he said as drunk, but not anymore.
You sigh in disappointment.
"So you want to finish?"
“I don’t know. I can give you a hundred reasons to stay, and you can give me a thousand reasons to leave. I’m just tired of trying to please you, and that’s why I drink.”
“I drink to cope.”
“I drink because I don’t know how to do anything else.”
“I drink myself to sleep at night.”
“I drink myself drugged when I’m awake.”
“I drink because I'm me. Because I'm Leon.”
You shake your head in disappointment
"I thought you were strong."
“I’m broken.” Said Leon at the moment you said that. He took a sip of his beer.
“I’m nothing but broken.”
“I’m a goddamn broken hero, and you don’t want me because I’m too much for you.”
You frown in frustration as you see he's still drinking
"You're not the only one who's had bad experiences. You're not the only one who's been through these fucking traumas!"
“I was a secret agent. I dealt with death and destruction every day. I killed people because it was my job.”
“You can’t compare that to your shitty college experience!”
“You think I had it easy? I was dealing with monsters and creatures and bioweapons that could kill a village and destroy a city!” He started screaming.
You sigh to stay calm, because you would scream right away too if you didn't help yourself
"We live in the same world."
“But I’ve had it worse!” Leon shouted. “You’ve never had it worse in your life! You don’t understand one damn thing I’ve been through!”
“You’ve had a perfect life compared to me! You don’t know what true suffering is!”
You sigh in disappointment and had to try harder to hold back your tears.
"I won't argue with you anymore."
He sat in his chair and was pissed off.
“Good.” Said Leon, his tone turning cold. “I don’t want to argue either. Why do you care so much about me anyway?” He shouted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
“I’m a drunken, useless piece of shit who has nothing but alcohol and a job that drives me to drink.” He took another sip.
“You’re always so mad at me, what's wrong?”
"Fine, keep feeling sorry for yourself."
You walked to the door to leave the room, you didn't want to argue anymore.
The sound of a bottle breaking on the wall made you turn around. Leon had thrown another bottle against the wall.
“You’re all the same!” He yelled. “Everyone is the same!”
“Everyone just leaves like everything is fine.”
It was a tantrum you had dealt with before, and you couldn’t do it again. But you couldn’t leave it either.
You turned back to him, your gaze falling on the broken bottle, and you frowned.
"Because you push everyone away."
"What do you care?!" Said Leon, and his voice began to crack. "Why do you keep trying to make it work? I'm just a drunk pushing you away!"
He rose from his chair and began pacing.
"What do you care?"
"WHY DO YOU WANT TO FIX ME?!"
When he yelled at me, you couldn't hold back my tears
"Because I love you!"
“But why?!” Leon cried out, his eyes beginning to water. “Why do you love me?”
“Why are you always trying to make things work?”
“Why are you trying to fix me?”
“Why do you just love me?”
“I’m not worth your love.”
You took a deep breath to stop your tears, you felt too bad to speak
“Just tell me why you love me, damn it!” Leon shouted, breaking down and finally showing his vulnerability. His lips were trembling and his eyes were full of tears.
“Why do you love me so much when no one else does?”
“That's exactly why.”
His words broke your heart, you wanted to hug him, but you didn't dare
"Because I love you… I don't have any long explanations or reasons. I just love who you're. I love that despite everything you've been through, you're able to move on…"
“I can’t move on!” He said and his voice cracked. He wiped the tears from his eyes and sighed. “I’m stuck in a rut that I can’t get out of. I’m not the same man you knew. I’m worse off, I just don’t want to admit it.”
“I’m just a broken man with a broken heart, with broken dreams.”
You have lowered your gaze as you wipe away the tears that continue to flow
"You won't let me help you. You prefer fucking drinks to me."
“Because the bottle never judges me! The bottle never yells at me! The bottle is always there for me when I need it!!!”
“The bottle never says it hates me!”
“The bottle never leaves me!”
“The damn bottle cares more about me than you do!”
What he said only broke your heart more. With a sigh, you continue to wipe away your tears.
"If you prefer the damn bottle… okay."
“Then just go ahead and leave me! Just like everyone else!”
He wiped the tears from his eyes and sighed, his tone turning cold again.
“Don’t try to pretend you care.”
“You’ll leave, just like everyone else always does.”
All you wanted to do was hug him and help him and be by his side, but he wouldn't let you.
"I'm tired of trying."
“You’re tired of trying?” Leon asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
“What did you actually do?"
“What have you done to help me and not yourself?”
The moment you said that, something broke inside him. He threw the beer bottle against the wall. It shattered into a million tiny pieces, one of which cut into his cheek as he screamed.
“Don’t pretend you tried, don’t pretend you know how I feel, damn it!”
"I've been trying! I'm trying!"
Your voice was hoarse as you saw the cut on his cheek.
"Your cheek is bleeding."
Leon touched his cheek with his hands, pulled them away and showed blood on his hands.
“Great, now I’m bleeding.”
He turned away and wiped his hands on his black shirt. Then he sighed and put a hand to his chin.
“I don’t need any help.”
“I’m fine.”
"Wait, I'll get a Band-Aid."
You ran through the house, found the band-aid you were looking for, and came back.
He sighed and shook his head.
“I don’t need your damn help.”
But when he saw the patch, he decided to swallow it.
“Gimme.”
You gave to him.
He took it and stuck it on his cheek.
“I don’t need your help, damn it…"
But his tone was a little softer and maybe even a little grateful.
You stopped looking at him and looked around the room. You were tired and just wanted to sleep. But staying here didn't seem like such a good idea. You think it would be better to stay with a friend.
"I'm going to go. We'll talk more later when you're sober."
Leon's facial expression changed instantly. The emotions now visible on his face were regret and despair.
"Don't go..."
"This isn't working, Leon."
"It is working," He said, his tone a bit harsh. "It's working because… we just need communication. Communication and compromise. Do not pretend that me being a drunk bastard is the only thing that's wrong with us."
"There was an issue with me before I started drinking. You just refuse to acknowledge that."
"At least we used to be able to talk properly."
"But we never did!" He said, more harsh than he wanted it to be. "You refuse to tell me anything because you think I can't handle it! You pretend everything is fine when it's not!"
"I hate how this is turning into a damn game, where you won't tell me what's wrong to save yourself pain! We both know there's an issue that you won't tell me, you won't give me a chance to prove myself, to fix it!"
You kept staring at him in disappointment.
"I don't know if I can do it anymore."
"What to do?" He asked, his voice breaking slightly with sadness and frustration. "Is that it? Are you just going to give up on me? Is that what you want?!"
"It's always a damn fight! Always acting like you don't care!"
"What do you want from us anymore?"
Your whole heart aching. Was this really how it was going to end?
"I guess there's nothing left to do now."
“So… that’s it? You’re just going to leave me?”
His tone was soft, almost a whisper.
“It’s over? You're just going to walk away?”
He put the bottle down and looked away with tears in his eyes.
He already knew the answer. He was just hoping he could change your mind.
“Please… please don’t go…"
You sighed in frustration.
"Do you realize that we are repeating the same thing over and over again?"
“So what?!?” He said, his tone loud and aggressive. “So what if it’s repetitive doesn’t mean we can’t fix it!”
“We can compromise… We can work through it together…"
“But you don’t compromise at all… … you don’t even give me a chance to solve the problem. You just walk away.”
He looked away, searching for the bottle, but it was out of reach. He wanted so much to take a sip of alcohol.
“Please... don’t go…"
"Will it always be like this? The argument, the breakup, and the reconciliation. That's all we do."
Leon tried to argue against it, but he knew you were right. You were always fighting about something, whether it was his drinking or his attitude. And you always broke up and came back within a couple of hours or so.
“It doesn’t have to be that way. We can work through this. You refuse to see that I can be better.”
“I’m trying to change, you refuse to see that I can be better.”
“I’m trying to change, you just refuse to see that too.”
“What if I promise to stop drinking?”
"You don't keep your promises, we've tried that before."
“I can do it this time.”
It sounded pathetic, and he knew it. But he had to stop drinking if it was going to work, and he was willing to try.
“I’m sorry I broke my promises. I know I have a problem. It’s hard. But for you, I can make it work.”
“I’ll… i’m going to stop and never do it again. I swear on my life.”
You avert your gaze, uncertainly
"I don't know, Leon."
“Please… please give me another chance.”
He was desperate enough to get down on his knees, but he refused. This was too pathetic, even for him.
“I swear on everything in my life.”
“I'll change, just… please, give me another chance to make it up to you. I hate to see you suffer.”
“Please… don’t leave me. Don’t leave me. I love you.” He said. He really did love you, deep down, he just couldn’t show it.
"Do you really want to stop drinking? "
“I promise. I promise I won’t let you down again. I… it’s one of my problems, I know, so I’ll do better for you.”
“I want more than anything to make it work.”
He put his hands on your knees.
“Please… please give me another chance.”
Slowly, you put your arms around him. You were too much in love with him to leave him
His eyes widened as he slowly let his guard down.
You didn’t go, so you were going to fix it. Or at least you weren’t done with him yet, and he wasn’t going to be done with you yet. The only thing he wanted at the moment was you.
He put his arms around you and pulled you into a tight hug. His eyes closed immediately as he breathed in your scent and tried to enjoy your closeness again.
He was relieved. No more screaming, no more anger, no more fighting. Just two lovers embracing and happy.
His nose pressed against your neck and he sniffed softly. He could smell your scent, he could hear your heartbeat and even your breath. He knew you were real, and that gave him a feeling he had not experienced in a long time.
After a few moments, he let go of you so he could look at you.
“I love you.” He said. “I… can’t lose you.”
・❥・English is not my native language, sorry if I made mistakes.
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