#he's in his poisoned era here I guess <3
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Alright! This took a bit because I tried out a bit of a new style (Also finals a killing me ;~;) but here's the six fanarts!! There are a couple requests I couldn't get to, so I'll make sure to draw those characters as well separately. Don't worry if you don't see your request here!
(I had a moot request Hunter, and I just thought putting him here was hilarious. Poor man has no idea who everyone else is lol)
#six fanarts#trials of apollo#meg mccaffrey#austin lake#styx pjo#toa apollo#hunter wittebane#toa commodus#I struggled so much with Commodus and idk why#he's in his poisoned era here I guess <3#apollart
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[MK X READER] New Era - Chapter .011
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NOTE: HERE WE ARE Y’ALL!! THE START OF THE OUTWORLD TOURNAMENT ARC!
Some context: For the sake of having more interactions and letting me write more I’m extending the tournament to have a fight per day + a bit more at the end. So basically the outworld tourney will be 7 days for each fight + a day or two more <3
Havik made it in as a love interest! His poll was so chaotic, which I guess makes sense? Haha, Ashrah made it in too, and she was by far the closest we’ve had to the 50/50! Now that Ashrah’s chapter is done, it means that’s our completed love interest roster! I have updated all the tags/the intro to fit this!
Even though the poll for chapter 10 is done on Tumblr, I do need to still calculate the votes from AO3 too, so that means it’s mainly between Johnny vs Bi Han, so I’ll announce the winner of that next chapter.
Here’s a genuine thank you all for reading this <3 I am overwhelmed by all the love and support you guys give, you’re all so amazing! Also haha sorry how long this took to finally get out.
FROM THE EYES OF ONE WHO EXPERIENCES OUTWORLD FOR THE FIRST TIME
You barely had time to decipher the memories you had unlocked.
You, after all, had other duties to attend to. Or at least, that’s what you told yourself. The tournament was a week away after all, so you had a lot of last minute duties you wanted to wrap up before going away for a little over a week. Or at least, that long assuming Raiden would win his challenges. You were thankful for the last minute tasks you had found to busy yourself with. You weren’t quite sure if you really wanted to dwell on what you had seen.
It, in all honesty, scared you.
How else were you supposed to respond to suddenly seeing a bunch of gore and having a major part of your backstory unlocked? You were handed the burden of learning that you went through, and yet it only added more questions. Throughout the week you considered confiding in Liu Kang about it all: telling him how you’re terrified of what you saw, and how you’re sorry you lied.
But you just couldn’t.
Fear grasped at you, sewing your mouth shut. It wasn’t as if you were afraid of Liu Kang hating you at first. You’re certain Liu Kang would allow you to tell him your tale with no judgement. You’d even bet on your own life that he would even comfort you for what you saw. He was far too kind to you. But then your mind kept on spiraling over the idea of what happens after.
He’d ask why you lied. Then he’d find out you’ve always lied about your memories, or at least not told him about them. It was a slippery slope. And there was just a lot of things to unpack there that would surely fracture the relationship between you and the god. And, while you weren’t taking advantage of him, the selfish voice in your head whispered how you couldn’t ruin the only chance at Outworld and finally find out more.
You came up with a solution to calm your nerves, even just a bit, that maybe you should finally tell him after the trip…assuming you got the courage to.
You weren’t sure if you trusted yourself on your little solution though, after all your mind poisoned your thoughts, still telling you that it was better you lied to him and to continue to lie to him. It had worked out so far, why change things? After all, you had a gut feeling that Liu Kang was keeping back secrets from you too. It was just a gut feeling, but you trusted your gut. But you also trusted Liu Kang. It was a debate you kept on going back and forth on, and could never figure out a conclusion to.
You felt like you had a right to keep these things secret. He wasn’t obligated to know every single thing about you. The god probably had a reason to keep things from you as well, just like you did. You weren’t obligated to know everything either, even if you so desperately wanted to. Still, you selfishly decided for now it was fair to keep your own secrets. It was to protect yourself.
You were definitely visiting Madam Bo after this trip, maybe you needed some good advice on this one.
“Are you overworking yourself?” Liu Kang inquired as you passed by one afternoon. You had been going to and fro, trying to distract yourself. You stopped, the authority in his voice making you pause. You shifted in place, avoiding looking at him as you cast your gaze to the side.
“No, I haven’t.” You had told him, which had been partially true. While you had been running around like a chicken whose head had been cut off, you hadn’t been over doing it. At least, by your standards. You took in a deep breath as you felt Liu Kang grab one of your hands. You looked up in surprise as his hand squeezed yours gently.
“Good.” He said, his voice full of warmth. Your stomach squirmed as you were filled with guilt at the look he gave you. A smile was on his lips. His thumb gently rubbed a few circles on the back of your hand, as if he were casting a protective spell on you. “I’m proud of how well you trained Raiden and the others. I am certain Raiden will do great at the tournament.”
You were at a loss of words, feeling your chest tighten. You nodded instead, and Liu Kang dropped your hand. He gave you a pat on the back as he passed you, walking off to what you assumed was the Wu Shi to help Raiden. You felt…colder. You supposed it was simply a side effect of Liu Kang being a fire god and him no longer being by your side.
Liu Kang made keeping secrets difficult.
Still, despite your worries, the week breezed by fast. And now you found yourself standing in front of the Fire Temple, waiting for your students and the monks to arrive. You swallowed your nerves, trying to force yourself to feel more relaxed. This was supposed to be exciting after all.
To your delight, you weren’t waiting long. The monks first arrived, and you directed them happily to the waiting area for whenever Liu Kang was ready. Many of them had regarded you warmly. Then, you smiled as you saw your four students come and arrive.
“Excited?” You inquired as they drew closer. You scanned them, noting their choice of outfits. It had been a while since you’ve seen them wear anything other than their most casual clothes or their Shaolin uniforms. It was a bit odd, but it was a breath of fresh air. The outfits suited them well.
“I’m excited, albeit a bit overwhelmed and nervous.” Raiden admitted a mixture of nervousness and a genuine smile on his face. He tipped his head forward, his straw hat obscuring the look on his face. Despite that, you forced your gaze on his head, trying to avoid the amulet that sent fear down your spine. You wanted to look at anything but that right now
“Psh, you’ll be fine.” Kung Lao scoffed, placing a reassuring hand on his friend’s shoulder. He shot you a look of disbelief as he gestured to the new champion. “He’s been in his head about this whole thing, can you believe it?” He looked back over to his friend, shaking him slightly with the hand on his shoulder. “You have to be more confident. If you can beat me you can handle them all.” You smiled at his encouragement nodding.
“Kung Lao’s right, Raiden.” You told him, crossing your arms. “There’s a reason why you’re our champion.” You watched as Raiden’s head lifted up, a more confident expression on his face, though it was still tinged with a bit of nervousness. “Be confident in your abilities, otherwise I will start to think I’m a bad teacher.” You jested, adding on a small chuckle.
“You are anything but that.” Raiden commented, making your smile grow just a bit wider. The others nodding as well warmed your heart. You shooed them off after that short moment, yet one of them hung back to linger. While the Fengjian farmers were too caught up talking to each other to notice, you noted the side eye Kenshi shot Johnny as he hung back. Odd.
“You aren’t exempt from waiting with the others, you know.” You said, raising an eyebrow as you eyed Johnny. The actor shot you his signature grin, which you both knew didn’t work on you. With a confident stride, Johnny slung an arm over your shoulder and pulled out his phone. You raised an eyebrow at the casual contact, but didn’t shrug him off. Over the last few months, ever since the late night discussion, you’ve grown used to the causal contact.
You just assumed Johnny was getting more friendly with you.
“I know, teach.” Johnny said, causally scrolling through his phone. You tried to keep your gaze away from it out of respect, but the temptation was strong. “But I think I have something that might interest you.” He said, sending you a sly look. You simply looked at him with an unimpressed look, and he took it as his cue to continue on. “I hear you and hat boy had a bet?” He inquired, still showing off his pearly whites to you.
“And what of it?” You asked, placing a hand on your hip as you sent him a skeptical look. Your head tilted as you thought of why he would bring it up. You figured it wasn’t the oddest thing he knew about it, Kung Lao had probably bragged about his victory to the group. You had settled that you would make him his feast after the trip.
“Well, what if I told you I might have some video evidence that might please you?” He said, his voice dripping with confidence. Your eyebrows raised again, and you pursed your lips, not knowing what to make of his offer. “Listen, it’s all legit. I recorded the hat kid and thunder lad discussing something and you might be interested in seeing it.” He egged you on.
“And why are you telling me this?” You inquired, looking at Johnny with the same skeptical look, not quite yet taking the bait.
“Look, I like you teach, so I wanna cut you a sweet deal.” The actor said, and you knew he was trying to work up his charisma. “You get the ultimate evidence towards Kung Lao so you rectify your little bet and I get a little reward too.” Johnny offered, waving his phone with a paused video on the screen. Now he was deliberately showing you the screen.
You squinted at the phone. You could see the back of Kung Lao, he seemed to be talking to Raiden who seemed to have a somewhat disapproving look on his face. You looked more carefully. It seemed to be the same day of the exam, so it would fall under the betting time.
“Alright, I’ll bite. What do you want?” You asked, a small sigh leaving your lips as you finally relented. You saw Johnny’s grin grow wider as he raised his eyebrows in a cocky manner. His smile turned into a self assured smirk, thinking he had you in his trap.
“I saw from tattoo that you started hooking him up with some sweet meals.” He started, and you blinked in surprise at the topic of conversation. You nodded, then let him speak more. “I think that little feast you were planning to make that hat boy, you give to me…and Madam Bo’s special tea.”
“I’ll give you Madam Bo’s special tea and just one meal.” You counter offered quickly, crossing your arms. You watched as Johnny Cage sent you an offended look. You held back a chuckle of amusement at the expression.
“After my generous deal?” The American asked, his face scrunching up. “No way, wildstyle!” He scoffed, a small pout on his lips. You shook your head in amusement as you sent him a look.
“You may think you have the high ground here with your little offer, but you gave me more information than you thought you did.” You said, pointing at his phone screen. His eyes glanced over to the paused screen. “I can just ask Raiden if Kung Lao cut his finger.” You pointed out. “I think he’d be more likely to tell me if I just asked.”
“Hm…” Johnny stared at you for a good long moment. You could see the gears turning in his head at your point. You assumed he had plenty of experience in this sort of thing. “You think that golden boy would betray his best buddy like that?”
“Maybe, maybe not, but I can always offer him what I offered youI’m certain he’d take the deal and you’d be left with nothing.” You point out with a shrug, trying to hold out a little on your bluff. You weren’t entirely sure if Raiden would take your offer, but it was worth a bluff.
“Fine.” Johnny groaned with a pout, his head dropping. His head brushed your shoulder, and you rolled your eyes in a playful way. “You drive a hard bargain. You ever consider becoming an agent for Hollywood?” He inquired, tilting his head to look at you, his cheek still resting on your shoulder. “I could use someone like you.”
“Hah, funny offer.” You laughed, and Johnny’s smile returned in a more sincere way. “I think I’d rather act in one of your movies than become whatever your agent is.” You remarked, which grew Johnny’s smile even more. You used your hand to move his head off your shoulder. “Chin up, Johnny.”
“Really now?” He said, a hint of amusement and hope in his voice. “I’ll be holding you up to that statement, you know.” Johnny said, nudging you a bit with his shoulder.
“I didn’t commit to anything, Cage.” You pointed out with a small shake of your head. “Now show me the video you were bragging so much about.” You commanded, looking from the actor to the paused video he had been waving in front of your face. With a small smile, he tapped the screen, unpausing the video.
You watched as Kung Lao approached Raiden, talking to him about something. His back was to the camera, so it was a bit hard to see what he was exactly doing, but you can glean enough from what he was saying. You could see him, or at least you assumed, trace the brim of the hat. Then you heard an “ow” and the man winced.
You watched with a slow smirk spreading across your lips as he froze, before quickly telling Raiden that he “didn’t see anything”. Raiden looked very confused at the sudden command, which prompted Kung Lao to tell him that he would just “tell him later”. All he had to do was just not tell you about it.
“There, as promised.” Johnny told you, a cheeky grin sent your way. You returned the look before peering back down at the video, which continued to play, showing Kung Lao now showing off his hat. “Aren’t you glad I’m looking out for you, wildstyle?”
“I’m honored.” You replied sarcastically, playfully rolling your eyes. “A person who was actually looking out for me would tell me without wanting something in return, you know.” You pointed out. “Still grateful though. I have to ask, why were you interested in my cooking all of a sudden?”
“Hey, nothing comes for free.” Johnny said, shrugging his shoulders causally. “You’re welcome, by the way.” The American paused, humming as he pursed his lips. “Well, it started when I caught tattoo holding one of your meals. It looked delicious, he didn’t let me try though.” He let out a dramatic sigh. “And then Kung Lao began bragging that he’d get a full feast from you and well…” He shook his phone, and you connected the dots.
“I get it.” You said, nodding. You realized how long the two of you had been standing around for. You send him a small smirk and you let out a small laugh. “You could have just asked for food if you really wanted it, but I appreciate the help.” You admitted, before shrugging off his arm and walking ahead, gesturing for him to follow. “Now come on.”
“Wait, you would really?” Johnny called out after you, following you closely. He raised his eyebrows, scanning your face with a hint of suspicion. “Where’s the catch here?” He inquired, the suspicion leaking into his voice.
“You’ve known me long enough, Johnny.” You told him, looking over to him with an amused look. “There’s no catch. I don’t mind doing that kind of stuff for you guys.” You said, which was true. You wouldn’t mind doing anything for them as long as it made them happy. You always were too much of a people pleaser.
“Yeah, I should have known.” The actor said with a sigh. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking over at you. “You’re way too generous, you know that?” He told you, which led to you letting out a small chuckle of surprise. “Here, use this to stick it to Kung Lao, just give it back before we head out.” You caught Johnny’s phone when he tossed it over to you, then he jogged ahead.
You smiled as you held the phone. While he wasn’t the most protective over it, you still felt a sense of trust put in you due to you holding the precious object. With a little more pep in your step as well as the determination of a person with a vengeance, you walked over to Kung Lao, tapping his shoulder. You hid the phone behind your back as the man turned around.
“Yes?” The former farmhand inquired, sending you a confident smile. You had a feeling he was still feeling a bit smug after “winning” the bet. You let a slow smirk spread across your lips, then your eyes fell to look at his shirt. Your brain paused as you took a moment to stare at the dragon design on the left side.
Was that the same design as the necklace you were wearing? You wondered over that fact for a moment as you realized, yes…yes it was. Your smirk turned into a smile for a moment as you realized this. It felt…nice to be matching with him.
“I heard from a little birdie that you lied.” You said, breaking your gaze away from his shirt. Your smile turned into a smirk again. You watched as Kung Lao looked at you with pure confusion. “I’m referring to the bet that we had between us.” You clarified. Then, you watched as he sent a look over to Raiden, who simply shrugged.
“Me? Lie?” Kung Lao inquired, raising his eyebrows as he pretended to not know what you were talking about. He crossed his arms, his head tilting upwards. “Hah! I would never.” He said, his self confident front holding up. You would have believed it too, had you not witnessed the video that Johnny had given you.
“I wouldn’t lie Kung Lao, that’s not something neither I or the monks taught you.” You chided playfully. An offended look appeared on the man’s face, then it turned into surprise as you revealed the phone you had hidden behind your back. “Want to confess now? Or should I show the damning evidence I was so preciously given?”
“I…uh…” Kung Lao floundered, searching for an excuse to spin the tale in his favor. You assumed from the screen he already knew what the video was going to show. After a few moments, he sighed in resignation. “Okay. you got me.” He admitted, hanging his head. You nodded slowly, crossing your arms. “Sorry?” He said, giving a half apology with a small shrug with an apologetic smile. You let out a laugh.
“Apology accepted, though I thought you’d have more honor in a bet since you do it so much.” You pointed out, which prompted a somewhat guilty look from the man. “Don’t worry, I won’t make you do anything bad.” You told him, the wicked smile spreading across your lips said otherwise. You watched as Kung Lao looked like he regretted his actions, though you did hear him mutter under his breath he would definitely be getting Johnny back for this betrayal.
“I see we have all gathered.” Liu Kang spoke up, walking up to the group that gathered. His gaze swept over the group that you had gathered, an approving look on his face. You noticed Kenshi and Johnny walked up beside you, and you handed over the phone back to the actor. “It is time.” He told you all, leading you all into a pavilion.
Excitement filled you as Liu Kang began to summon the portal. From the corner of your eye, you watched as Johnny began to record the process. However, as the portal began to form, your excitement turned into a massive headache, and you let out a small hiss as you clutched your head. This was worse than any headache you’ve had recently.
“Are you okay?” Kenshi whispered, leaning towards you. He placed a hand on your shoulder. You looked over, trying to send him a convincing smile. He didn’t buy it, and a look of concern remained on his face as he looked at you.
“I’m fine.” You managed to say, your smile wavering as your head pounded with searing pain. “I just get massive migraines sometimes.” You lie, the same lie you’ve always used whenever someone that wasn’t Liu Kang caught you having these pains.
“I see.” Kenshi said, yet his hand remained on your shoulder as a source of comfort. He tried to send you a reassuring smile. It helped a bit, even if it didn’t alleviate the pain at all. His hand on your shoulder was doing more to help you. It felt like an anchor to the real world amidst all the pain. You leaned slightly towards the swordsman, allowing yourself to temporarily lean against him. He let you, his grip growing firmer.
The light of the portal flashed and pulsed, orange light shining on all of your faces. Had you not been in pain, you figured you would have appreciated how beautiful it was. But now, it just served to add to your nausea. You breathed in, trying to go through the pain. You could only hope it only got better.
“Outworld can be both alien and intoxicating to Earthrealmers.” Liu Kang spoke, and you forced yourself to focus on his voice to drown out the pain. “Do not become drawn in.” The fire god warned. You wondered briefly, if that extended to you. You nodded slowly, regretting it as it felt like you were beginning to sway. Kenshi righted you, using his hand to make sure you didn’t fall over. “You must focus on the task at hand.”
Soon enough, the portal was completed. With confident strides, Liu Kang entered the portal composed of pulsing and swirling orange energy. You followed in tow, Kenshi’s hand staying on your shoulder for only a few more moments to make sure you were alright before dropping. You bit the inside of your cheek and clenched your fists, trying to abate the pain.
You barely noticed Johnny pointing the camera your way. With a huff, Kenshi shoved the camera away, sending him a look. This made the actor send him a look of disbelief at the action. You managed to send the ex gang member a grateful look before you stepped to the otherside of the portal.
For a moment, you experienced nothingness. You couldn’t see, hear, feel, or sense anything in general. Then, there was a searing pain that engulfed your entire body. You tried to scream, but it was as if you lost your voice. It was as if your headache had spread across your form and had been multiplied by ten. Thankfully, it was only for a moment and then it disappeared.
It seemed the pain dissipating had taken the bulk of your headache, leaving you only with a dull discomfort. It was akin to a slight pressure in your head, nowhere near as bad. It was an annoyance, but it wasn’t unbearable anymore.
After a moment, you found yourself emerging on the other side of the portal. Your eyes widened as you looked around, wondering if anyone else had gone through an excruciating experience like you. As you watched their reactions, you realized they must have not. The others were immersed in the beauty of the world, and you doubted they would look as relaxed as that if they had gone through the same thing. So, you forced yourself to focus on the area around you
Gone was the desolate and war torn Outworld that your brain knew. Instead, you were greeted with a world full of beauty and life. You felt torn. You were happy it looked to be thriving as much as Liu Kang had told you. And yet, at the same time, you wondered if this world was going to be able to offer you anything useful to your past with how…different it was.
Still, you found yourself in awe of the area. It looked like a garden was surrounding the portal, which seemed to be integrated beautifully into the architecture. Whites, purples, and greens were the main color scheme of the area, giving it a regal vibe.
“Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kanas anymore.” Johnny remarked as he filmed the area, and you recalled when Johnny had put on that movie during one of the movie nights. You felt a bit happy that you could actually recognize one of his movie references.
As your gaze wandered from the area itself to what was in front of you, your eyes finally settled on two figures dressed in pink and blue respectively. They stood amongst dozens of guards, all notably women. On the stairs, there was a beautifully woven purple carpet. It vaguely reminded you of the red carpet Johnny had bragged so much about.
Your mind had a hazy realization that you recognized the two standing upon the steps. But through the dull pain, no memories popped up. You figured it was the result of too many memories trying to break free, much like when you had first trained the four champions.
“Oh my…are those?” Johnny Cage spoke, as the two figures approached, walking causally down the steps. He looked over to the group, assessing their reactions as he kept the camera facing forward. The others, predictably, did not share the actor’s sentiments.
“Empress Sindel’s daughters, yes.” Liu Kang replied, a hint of sterness in his voice. Taking that as your cue, you nudged Johnny, indicating to him to knock it off. Of course, the actor just sent you a pout. Liu Kang also looked back to send him a look.
“They do not disappoint.” Johnny continued to comment, earning another nudge from you. “Okay! Okay! I get it!” He hissed out. Your eyes landed on the guard closest to you. You and her made eye contact for a moment, which led to another feeling of familiarity hitting you. How many people would you meet that you knew previously?
“Please be respectful.” You told Johnny Cage, leaning towards him to whisper it in a discreet way. “We’re here as guests, and I’d rather not get on anyone’s bad side.” You said, giving him a pointed look. He sighed but nodded.
“Fine.” The actor agreed, holding back the childish urge to roll his eyes at your chiding. “Won’t stop me from at least admiring them, though.” Johnny relented, his gaze lingering on you for a few moments. He looked you up and down, much to your confusion before returning his gaze back to the Outworlders.
As you all stopped in front of the blue and pink duo, Liu Kang bowed. Quickly, everyone followed suit, replicating the gesture.You focused your attention on the duo, trying to work out who they were. They definitely looked familiar…and they seemed near identical.
Ah. While your memories weren’t popping up, you made the connection. Liu Kang had pointed out these were the princesses. The pink one must be the older one, Mileena…which meant the blue one must be Kitana. As you recalled their names, your brain seemed to buzz, the dull pain strengthening temporarily in intensity. It was as if memories were fighting to rise to the surface. You definitely knew these two before.
“Lord Liu Kang, welcome.” Mileena spoke, nodding her head. A cordial smile was placed on her lips, and her eyes seemed to assess the group in front of her. Her sister also seemed to scan the crowd, though a polite smile did not reach her lips. Instead, an analytical look was on hers. You assumed she was already trying to find who it was that was to fight Outworld’s champions.
“Thank you, Princess Mileena.” Liu Kang said, a warm smile on his lips. You watched as the guard that had been by the side strode over to be closer to the princesses. You concentrated on the princesses’ faces, trying to see if trying to force any memories would help clear your head. It didn’t. If anything, it just increased the pressure of the pain, so you stopped trying to do it.
“You remember my sister?” Mileena inquired. She leaned back, looking over to Kitana who looked back at her in acknowledgement.
“Of course.” Liu Kang replied. He then bowed once more. “Princess Kitana.” The other princess acknowledged his courtesy with a nod of her own. “May I introduce my companion,” The fire god spoke your name, and you bowed slightly, showing the same respect as Liu Kang did. “Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, Kenshi Takahashi, and Earthrealm’s champion, Raiden.”
“I hope you’re prepared, Raiden.” Kitana spoke this time. An air of confidence filled her voice as she scrutinized your student. “Our champions are determined to win.” She said, her gaze falling upon her sister. You knew very well that Mileena was supposed to be one of the champions, as told to you by Liu Kang. Liu Kang had put himself in charge of preparing the champion, since you’ve never seen the fighting prowess of the Outworlders yourself.
“None more so than me.” The older twin said, self assuredness in her tone. Her gaze was steady, almost as if trying to intimidate Raiden with it alone. “It’s been too long since we’ve known victory.” She reminded the group, and you could tell she was determined to be the one to reclaim it.
“Princess Mileena.” The guard you saw from earlier spoke up. There was a hint of urgency within her tone as she spoke. She had gone up the steps to get closer to the princess. “We should be on our way, Empress Sindel awaits.”
“Thank you, Tanya.” Mileena replied. The name Tanya struck a chord in you. That was definitely familiar as well. You couldn’t tell if it was a blessing or a curse that you would be in such close proximity with people you supposedly knew before. “Follow me, please.”
You all followed the trio of women, walking down a hall that was flanked by guards. Mileena was leading the group. At the end, a line of royal carriages awaited. You soon found yourselves been split up into small groups to ride the carriages. You were in the first group, along with Liu Kang, Raiden, and Mileena. The guard from earlier, Tanya, took the reins.
As the others slipped in, you considered where to sit. It wasn’t until the princess graciously gestured to the spot next to her that you allowed yourself to sit next to her. You didn’t want to be rude and assume, but you were grateful she didn’t seem to mind. You sat across from Raiden, with Liu Kang diagonally from you.
As soon as everyone boarded their carriages, the carriage line set off. It was preceded by a joyous Shokan who played the drums. It was quite nice to see a man so enthusiastic over his job. The other guards, the Umgadi you recalled, flanked the carriages as you set off. You watched with amazement as you passed through Sun Do. It was colorful and alive, and you awkwardly smiled and at the people who gazed at you from the streets. You weren’t used to being marveled like this.
The people on the streets were dressed up in bright garb, and vendors were going around trying to take advantage of the festivities and trying to sell more of their wares. You even spotted some Outworlders cheering as they toasted their mugs together.
“Those are Centaurians.” Raiden said, the wonder clear in his voice. Raiden also had excitement on his face, though you supposed it was due to the novelty of it all. He did not share the same feelings as you did at that moment. “And Shokan!”A wide grin spread across his face, and it was all too easy to match his. His energy was contagious.
“The six armed being as Naknadans.” Mileena informed, looking over the crowd. You wondered for a moment if she was simply informing him, or if the man, in his enthusiasm, had mixed up the Outworld races.
“The monks described them. But seeing them in person…” Raiden said, returning his gaze to Mileena to acknowledge her words towards him. He was unable to keep his attention on her for long, as he returned his attention back to the crowd soon enough.
“I see Her Majesty once again spares no expense on the festival.” Liu Kang remarks, having observed the colorful atmosphere in silence. You raised your eyebrows, now wondering how the city looked without all the festivities. Was it just as beautiful? Either way, it was certainly an upgrade from what you remembered previously.
“Should she not?” Mileena replied, and you looked over. She had an almost offended look on her face, which caught you off guard. “It commemorates my late father.” She said, and you took note of that. You remembered how Liu Kang had told you about the brief history of the royal family, including the unfortunate death of King Jerrod.
“I think it is a wonderful celebration in memory of him.” You spoke up, your gaze landing on the decorations that were among the people and buildings. You voice carried the admiration you held for the beauty of it all. “Her Majesty made the capital look so wonderful, it must be an excellent reflection of your father.” You felt the princess’ gaze land on you, and you turned to send her a friendly smile.
Whistles were blown, and you turned to look over your shoulder to gaze at whatever was causing it. You saw a woman standing in the street, in the way of the procession. It seemed she was leading other guards, who were notably dressed differently than the Umgadi. You watched as those people led off a few people who seemed to be handcuffed. Your eyebrows furrowed. Not at the sight, but at the slight haze you felt upon seeing her, too.
You wondered if you were bound to recognize a person every few minutes in this place.
Mileena knocked on the carriage frame, which prompted Tanya to stop the animals from continuing on. The princess whispered a small “excuse me” as she walked past you and Raiden, and hopped off the carriage. She strode over to the woman with what you assumed was thinly veiled frustration.
You couldn’t hear the conversation well, but you did overhear that she called the woman the first constable. You put two and two together that this must be the police force of Sun Do. She seemed to express anger towards the failed job of clearing the street. Then, the conversation was spoken in words too quiet for you to overhear. You turned back in your seat, to make it seem like you weren’t listening in on that conversation.
“Princess Mileena doesn’t seem to like her very much.” Raiden observed, his gaze on the two women. You nodded. Fromwhat Liu Kang had taught you, you already had put together why they had some sort of conflict, aside from the obvious hold up.
“Li Mei used to lead the Umgadi, the palace guard.” Liu Kang informed the champion, catching him up to speed. His glowing gaze drifted over to look at him. “It was on her watch that the Princesses’ father was murdered.” As the information settled in, the tension in the carriage rose. Soon enough, Mileena rejoined the group, though a bit more peeved.
Thankfully, the rest of the ride was peaceful and without any further hold ups. The tension dissipated as you watched the city fade away, and the palace came into view. The carriages stopped at the entrance, and you soon found yourselves being ushered away by the Umgadi into the palace. The princesses had disappeared in the midst, and you assumed they were simply getting ready for the upcoming event.
As you found yourself standing in the Great Hall of the palace, you stood next to Liu Kang, your students in front of you. Raiden was the one who was directly in front of Liu Kang, and you could tell his nerves were getting to him. His arms were crossed as his head tilted down, his hat concealing the stress that was obvious on his face.
“Worry expends energy for no reason, Raiden.” Liu Kang reminded him.
“But the tournament.” Raiden pointed out. Worry creased his brow, and you could sympathize with the burden he must feel being the only representative for Earthrealm within this tournament. His arms uncrossed as he stepped closer, looking at the fire god. “If I lose…”
“Just remember your training, Raiden.” You cut in, recognizing the signs of a spiraling mind. You gave him a smile, and Liu Kang did as well. “I told you already, you have the ability to win this tournament.” You reminded him of your words earlier. “As long as you focus on yourself, you will do fine. Worrying over a future that hasn’t happened yet will do you no good.”
Raiden looked at you, trying to soak in your words. His furrowed brow relaxed, and he tried to reciprocate the smile. It was a weak and weary one, but it was better than nothing. He seemed to be more confident now because of your words, even if it was just by a little bit.
The sounds of armor and the crowd whispers caught your attention. You looked over to see a horned man enter the hall. Your eyes met, and your eyes widened. It felt like the world was slowing down to a halt. Your heart thumped loudly in your chest, so loud you could practically hear the blood rushing in your ears.
Shao Khan.
Your body froze, and it was like the amulet all over again. The world around you swirled and faded, and you found yourself now atop a rooftop. The sky was hazy with a mixture of clouds and smog from the destruction of the world around you. Distantly, other buildings were set on fire. THo0se that weren’t seemed to be destroyed.
This was the end of all things.
You were on your knees, cradling yet another body in your hands. The smell of it all was terrible. The first thing you smelled was burnt flesh. It was sickening and made your stomach turn and twist. Then, you smelt ash from the fires all around you. You didn’t dare look down, your hands trembling as they felt burnt and scarred skin. That must be the main source of the burnt flesh smell.
To your left, you recognized hazily, Johnny Cage. He looked different, but you could recognize him all the same. To your right, you saw a woman whose name you only vaguely recalled as Sonya Blade. She was an ally? Surely she must be. Ahead of you, you could see Raiden in his thunder god form standing before the man whose name rang in your head.
Shao Khan.
Your head was pounding. All you knew was the massive destruction around you was because of the man. How it came to be, you couldn’t recall. All you knew was that it was because of him. Hate filled you, and you grit your teeth. Grief for things you didn’t quite remember clawed at your heart. You almost clenched your hands into fists, but then you remembered the body in your lap. Instinctively, you looked down. You wished you hadn’t the moment you did.
Liu Kang?
A wave of nausea filled you as you recognized the scarred and burnt body of the man in your lap. Thin scars trailed upwards his body, accompanied with gruesome burnt scars. One eye had even turned white from his injuries. Your stomach turned as you looked into his one good eye, and you realized with horror that it was already glazed over.
Death had already claimed the man.
“No.” You said, your voice quivering as you stared down at the man. Tears began to blur your vision, and your heart raced. How could this happen? This had to be a dream, an illusion. Anything but real. In your shock, you tried to shake him, hoping somehow he would wake up. All you felt was his warmth quickly fading away from you.
The voice in your head screamed. You’ve lost too many! But who had you lost? Looking down at the deceased in your lap, you wondered how many you’ve had lay dying in your arms. Did it matter how many had died?
You didn’t know. All you knew is that you were filled with a burning hatred for whoever did…this.
“You monster!” You cried out, standing up after you had carefully set down Liu Kang’s body onto the ground. You couldn’t recall who had done this, but you could only assume that Shao Khan had to be responsible.
Raiden turned back, shock on his face at your scream filled with pure vitriol. As you charged towards Shao Khan, hate fueling your body. you saw the thunder god trying to stop you. You ignored him. You would not let the thunder god prevent you from avenging those you have lost in this ceaseless war.
You leapt, claws outstretched as your teeth bared as a lion. Shao Khan merely chuckled at your attempt to lash out at him. You grunted as the man easily sent you flying back with his sorcery. As you fell, you transformed back into your human form. You tumbled onto the rooftop, hazily seeing Johnny and Sonya also being flung back as well. They landed near you.
You were powerless as you watched Raiden confront the tyrant. Was this the end?
“Red alert.” Johnny muttered behind you, snapping you out of your vision. You blinked, trying to ground yourself in the real world. You didn’t get a conclusion to the vision you saw, and you weren’t sure if you wanted to. What a horrible vision you had received. And yet, curiosity was clawing at you, what had happened? “Incoming stock villain.”
Was that the last thing you saw before you died and came into this life? Or was there more to the story?
“General Shao.” Liu Kang said, and you looked over at him. You felt a wave of relief as you looked at the fire god, knowing he was alive and not dead like you had seen. Still, the image was seared into your head. How cruel it was that the fire god had glowing white eyes, reminding you of the one white eye he had during his death. “Do not let him goad you.” Earthrealm’s protector advised Raiden, looking over to him. Then, he turned his eyes to look at you. His gaze turned perplexed as they did so.
You swallowed, quickly sending the fire god a smile. You must have left the look of worry lingering on your face far too long. That seemed to temporarily satisfy him as he turned his attention to General Shao, but the lingering stare he left on you left you knowing he would ask later.
With heavy footsteps, the man who your brain was screaming to maul approached. His eyes glanced over to you, an eyebrow raised before they stared back at Raiden. You were certain from that expression you were failing to hide the sudden hate you felt towards him. A mocking smile appeared on his face as he assessed the man. A condescending laugh left his lips.
“Hah, this is Earthrealm’s champion?” General Shao commented with a sneer. “I nearly thought it was that one.” He remarked, pointing a finger in your direction. You blinked in surprise at the comment. “That stare had resolve and determination to best me the moment I stepped in. Disappointingly, it appears you’re the champion.” His lip curled with delight. “So scrawny.”
“Would you care to test his strength!?” Kung Lao challenged Shao for his friend. He stepped forward with indignation. You leaned over with wide eyes and sent him a glare. You had to admit, you were holding yourself back from leaping at the general yourself, but for different reasons. This was neither of your guys’ battle to fight, though. “Raiden will-” Thankfully, Liu Kang stepped in to intervene.
“Will prove himself well enough.” Liu Kang spoke, finishing Kung Lao’s sentence for him. His hand hovered in front of Kung Lao’s chest to prevent him from stepping any closer. He stepped in between the champion and the general, acting like a barrier between the two realms. His gaze was unwavering in the face of the man.
“Have you still not told most Earthrealmers that Outworld exists?” General Shao inquired, his voice deep and gravely. His face held a look of judgement as he regarded the god. He was already looking down at him physically, and from the tone of his voice, it was more than just that.
“It is safer that way, General.” Liu Kang responded simply, not giving into his attempts to frustrate him.
“I suppose so.” General Shao said. He then took a step closer, trying to intimate Liu Kang, He leaned down, a belittling tone in his voice. “Your people’s frail minds couldn’t handle the truth.” You realized suddenly, that your hands were balled into fists. Crescent moon marks would be left permanently on the inside of your palm at this rate. You forced your hands to relax, and folded them behind your back. You held back a scoff at this poor attempt of intimidation.
“You presume them frail, General?” Liu Kang challenged. He raised his eyebrows at the Outworlder’s cocky attitude. “Should you…given how frequently they win this tournament?” The fire god pointed out, and you could tell he hit a nerve. The tension grew thicker, and it was as if you could cut it with a knife.
“We will destroy your champion, Liu Kang.” General Shao promised, his resolve showing through his voice. You could sense the hatred he felt for the god, not even bothering to use the honorific for him. He shook his head, his orange eyes boring into the demigod. “He shall taste no victory.”
Then he stormed off.
Minutes passed by, and more people filled the room. It was crowded. You offered light conversation to a random Edenian woman to be polite as you waited. You learned how excited she was to finally be able to watch the tournament in person, a sentiment you both shared. She was new to serving the throne, so this would be her first time. Although cautious, she even asked about Earthrealm, something you were glad to tell about.
Soon enough, you heard footsteps walking down from the hall, and the conversations began to cease. You sent an apologetic smile to your conversation partner that your conversation was cut short. You turned your attention to the trio of women who now entered the room.
Leading them was the woman who you presumed was Empress Sindel, the princesses following close behind. Your mind buzzed at the sight of her, and you began to wonder once more how many important people you once knew in your past life. Surely, it was not a coincidence you recognized many who seemed to be important in this life.
Who…were you?
The trio took confident strides, holding an air of regalness around them. You stood next to Raiden and Johnny, watching them walk through the hall towards their thrones. They walked up to their thrones before seating themselves comfortably, almost seeming to bask in the high regard that everyone held them in.
“Welcome, members of the royal house.” Sindel began to address the crowd, her gaze sweeping across the room. Her voice held authority, yet it also had a sense of warmth within it. “Welcome, our esteemed Earthrealm guests.” She said, nodding her head in the direction of your group. “We gather once again to honor my late husband’s legacy. To continue the tournament that he founded with Lord Liu Kang in hopes it would foster peace among the realms.”
A pained and sorrowful expression appeared on Sindel’s face, and you had sympathy for her. Losing someone close to you…while you did not experience it in this life, the memories that began to terrorize you reminded you of how heavy that loss can feel. You couldn’t imagine how much worse it must feel since the one she lost was her husband.
“May Jerrod’s soul watch over us with pride from its resting place in the Living Forest.” Your brain recognized the place, though last you recalled it was much more sinister. You wondered how it was now. A moment of silence was given in respect for the late King. “Lord Liu Kang.” Sindel addressed the god, who had walked over to the Empress. He stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up to her from her place on the throne.
“Empress Sindel.” Liu Kang replied, a smile on his face. “It pleases me once again to be your guest.” He bowed to the Empress, showing his respect for the ruler. Despite being a god, you admired how humble he was.
“Here, you are always welcome.” Sindel replied, her hands spreading out in a friendly gesture. The fire god lifted himself up to look at her once more. Crossing her leg, she leaned forward in interest. “Now, let us meet your champion.”
“Earthrealm’s champion is Raiden, Your Majesty.” Liu Kang introduced. You looked over to said man who remained rooted to the spot. You placed a gentle hand on his back to push him forward, having a feeling he was too stunned by his nerves. He felt stiff when you pushed him. “He has earned his place by embodying the very best qualities of Earthrealm’s people.”
“You seem nervous, young man.” Sindel observed, her eyes searching the younger man.
“I’m a stranger in an unfamiliar land.” Raiden said. “Here to compete against its greatest fighters. Yes, I am nervous.” He admitted with a nod of his head. You had to admit, even if it was foolish to admit weakness against these people, his honesty still made you smile. It was just part of his charm.
Never change, Raiden.
“As you should be.” The Empress acknowledged, though her tone was not condescending. If anything, it had a hint of encouragement behind it. “You have a difficult path ahead.” She stood up, and spread her hands out in a grand gesture. “It has begun!”
Those words felt so familiar to you. Has…this been the first tournament you’ve been to?
“As tradition requires, Outworld’s initial competitor will be Sun Do’s first constable.” Sindel announced. You looked over, hearing the sound of heels clack down the hallway. You recognized the woman approaching. It was the same person that Mileena had been admonishing. “Li Mei.” A determined look was on the woman’s face, contrasting the uncertain one Raiden whenever the tournament was brought up.
You glanced over to Raiden, trying to assess his reaction. It was as you expected. He still had that look of doubt and nervousness on his face. Yet, at the same time, you could see that same determination shining in his eyes.
“May she defend our realm’s glory as well as she preserves our capital’s order.” Sindel continued to speak, right until the first constable stopped right in front of the Empress’ throne at the bottom of the steps.
“Your Majesty.” Li Mei said, looking up to the ruler. She stood up straight and ready, and you could see the training she must have gone through as both an officer and an Umgadi in her stance alone. “I will honor both the royal house, and all of Outworld, with my kombat.” The officer announced, saluting the woman. A bold claim. Sindel descended the steps, placing a hand on the other woman’s shoulder.
Their conversation was too hushed for you to listen in. Well, you could listen in if you wanted to, but you figured it would be rude to do so. You also knew it would be very, very obvious if you transformed your ears to do so as well. But from your position alone, you could see hints of resentment within the Empress’ expression, barely visible under the guise of her veiled pleasantries.
You felt…pity for Li Mei.
“All you need do is your best.” Liu Kang told Raiden. He placed a hand on his shoulder as he regarded the champion. “The rest will take care of itself.” You placed a hand on Raiden’s bicep, looking at him warmly as you nodded.
“He’s right. You being here and having the courage to fight for Earthrealm makes me, and I’m certain Liu Kang as well, proud enough.” You encouraged him, squeezing his arm. Raiden sent you a smile as well. You could see how he was strengthening his resolve for his upcoming fight.
“Yes, thank you both.” Raiden replied, nodding. His gaze switched between both you and the fire god. But as you retreated with Liu Kang, you felt the champion’s gaze linger on you for just a few moments longer.
“Shall we see what you can do?” Li Mei challenged. She seemed more angry now, as if her determination had now been switched out with anger for the man. This made you wonder just what the Empress had said to her during their hushed moment. You clasped your hands together, staring at the duo as they conversed before their fight.
“Hopefully, this will be the first of many victories.” Raiden replied, his tone polite and respectful. You sighed. You knew it was part of his charm, but he seriously needed a lesson in verbally defending himself better.
“I will prevail, Earthrealmer.” Li Mei declared. Her eyes narrowed at her opponent. “This fight is more important to me than you will ever know.”
The fight began. It was intense. While Raiden was trained well, courtesy of you, the monks, and Liu Kang, you weren’t certain how he would fare against the Outworlders. After all, you knew they had much longer life spans than Earthrealmers, which meant they had more experience than what he could ever have.
Li Mei displayed great combat prowess. You could see how disciplined her technique was from the way she moved. She was relentless. She treated Raiden as if he were a threat, which he was. She did not dare underestimate her opponent.
Raiden, however, kept his calm. You watched as he showcased his newfound electric abilities. It was honestly a bit mesmerizing to watch, and you were immensely impressed by how fast he had mastered the new powers. It was as if he had them since birth, and you would have assumed so had you not been there to witness when he first got his powers. You just wished it came from anything else than that cursed amulet.
Still, despite the vigor that Li Mei had shown, Raiden was still able to best her.
“Thank you for the match, first constable.” Raiden thanked his opponent humbly. With grace, Li Mei stood up. You couldn’t ignore the despondent look on her face. She looked at the young man for a moment. Then, she bowed and then took her leave. You watched her walk off, and couldn’t help but to feel bad for her. The crowd began murmuring as she left.
“My compliments, Raiden, on a well fought match.” Sindel commended the Earthrealm champion. She then stood up, addressing the crowd. “We are adjourned until first light, I hope to see you all at this evening’s banquet.” She announced to everyone, then everyone dispersed.
“Congratulations Raiden.” You said, walking over to the champion. You watched as his eyes seemed to light up at your praise. You pat his shoulder, shaking it just a bit. “Keep it up, and I might just have to reward you when we get back to Earthrealm.” You said, half joking. And yet, the man looked at you with surprise, and there was just a bit of color on his cheeks.
“Really?” He inquired with a hint of surprise in his voice. He blinked as you nodded, thinking of what type of food to make the man. Perhaps a dessert this time? Victory did taste sweet after all. As the others came to congratulate their peer, you backed off to stand next to Liu Kang. You didn’t want to crowd the man.
“I could see your training techniques shining through.” Liu Kang said, looking over to you as he also let the others converse with Raiden. You looked at him, basking momentarily in the praise he was giving to you. Sure, nowadays the praise you received from the god was not rare, but it was delightful to receive all the same. “I could have not chosen anyone better to train him.”
“You’re too sweet.” You reply, feeling bashful at the praise. You looked downwards, before looking back at the small group. “I must admit, I’m surprised with how quickly he adapted to using that amulet.” You said, recalling briefly how he even used techniques the old Raiden had displayed. “You must have taught him well.”
“I merely guided him.” The fire god admitted, his gaze also on the champion. “In truth, it was he who had discovered those techniques himself.” He paused, his hands folding in front of him. “It was almost…natural for him.” There was a tone in his voice…nostalgia? You eyed him, not knowing what to make of the way he spoke.
Did he know more than he was letting on?
“I see.” You replied, uncertain of how to properly respond. Suddenly, you felt like you were hit with a wave of nausea. You stumbled forward, gripping your head. Liu Kang reached out, grabbing your arm to steady you. The throbbing in your head had intensified.
“Are you alright?” Liu Kang inquired, his voice dripping with concern. His eyes searched you, trying to see what was wrong. Wearily, you nodded your head. You swallowed, trying to will away the pain. You closed your eyes as you steadied yourself. He leaned in close, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Are you receiving visions again?”
“I’m fine.” You manage to get out, dancing around the question. “I…I just need some air. I’ll meet you at the banquet tonight.” You told him quickly, not certain what had suddenly befallen you. You hadn’t received any visions this time, just pain. You let out another hiss of pain. For a moment, you felt Liu Kang’s grip tighten, as if he wasn’t sure it was the right decision. Then, his hand let go of you.
“Take care of yourself.”
You nodded, quickly walking off in a direction, just wanting to get outside. You didn’t notice the eyes that fell on your retreating form. The hallways echoed with your footsteps, and you concentrated on the ground ahead, trying to retrace your steps to the front of the palace. You tried your best to ignore the Umgadi who seemed to stare at you curiously. They didn’t interfere though, seeing as you were just walking towards the outside. As you were met with the grand doors, you let out a sigh of relief as you quickly walked outside.
The fresh air was much needed. The intense pain in your head settled down. It was even more bearable than before, which was a much needed relief. Maybe being in there or witnessing all that had caused your head to be overwhelmed. You couldn’t tell, it was all too confusing. You walked forward and sighed, leaning on a railing that overlooked the city in the distance.
It was nice and peaceful out here.
“Ahem.” Jumping slightly, you looked over to the right and saw Li Mei standing out there. She looked awkwardly away, bowing her head as you looked at her. You had not even noticed her there. You looked at her, noting the puffy eyes and the tear stains on her face that you were able to barely see from her nearly hidden face.
Oh. You had interrupted a private moment.
You felt your face flush from embarrassment as you opened your mouth, not knowing how to respond. Unhelpfully, your mind finally granted you a brief memory of the woman before you. You remembered being friends, bonding over lost villages. You vaguely remembered a refugee camp. Well, none of that had been helpful to you in your current situation.
“I…um…sorry.” You managed to get out, turning your gaze away. Silence settled between you two, but it was far from the comfortable type that you were used to. Unable to bear the awkwardness, you spoke up again. “You fought well back there. I almost thought you would have won.” You admitted, fidgeting with your fingers.
“Thank you.” Li Mei said quietly, her voice hoarse. There was a tone to her voice which told you that your words did little to comfort her. She did lose still, after all. There was a moment where you heard her sniffles. Awkwardly, you searched your pockets, before you found a small packet of tissues. Good thing you carried those around with your medical pack. You held it out to her, who looked at it curiously before taking it. “Thank you…again.” She muttered, before using it. You nodded.
“No problem.” You said, the tension easing just a bit. “I’m not lying when I commend your fighting skills, you know.” You continued, your gaze dropping to look down at the waterfalls that decorated the palace. For a moment, you considered turning into a fish and swimming away to avoid this awkward conversation. You couldn’t just…leave her though.
“It wasn’t enough, though.” Li Mei responded, a hint of bitterness in her tone. She did seem to feel better despite this.
“I think that’s okay.” You say, shrugging. You realized what your words sounded like, and scrambled to clarify what you meant. “I mean that you did your best! And I think that’s commendable! It’s very much okay to be upset though!” You said, and you felt guilty as you watched the police officer just awkwardly nod. “Sorry, I’m not exactly the best at comforting people. I didn’t mean to interrupt your private moment either.”
“It’s alright.” The first constable said, her voice softer now as she fiddles with the rest of the packet of tissues in her hands. “I had been a wreck.” She admitted. She kicked her boot into the ground. “I don’t even know why I told you that, in all honesty. You’re a stranger.”
“Sometimes it’s nice to get things off your chest.” You offered an explanation, shrugging. “I don’t mind listening.”
“Are all Earthrealmers so trusting?” Li Mei inquired, changing the subject. You had a feeling she was not too trusting of you, which you figured was fair. Her stare lingered on you, a suspicious look on her face. You let out a small laugh.
“Not all, but there are certainly a lot of us who are.” You admitted. You looked over to the woman, nodding your head. “Sorry to intrude on your time, keep the tissues.” You apologized, bowing your head. You walked off, giving her one last final wave. You probably were making the situation worse by sticking around. “It was nice meeting you though, first constable.”
“It was nice meeting you too.”
You didn’t meet up with the others until later, taking the time to try and rest. Being away from people helped your headaches. You had found your room, which the Empress had so graciously allowed you and the others to have. Your room was quite quaint, and from your knowledge, it was fairly close to the hanging gardens, a place that had caught your eye.
Maybe you could take a walk around there later.
As you exited your room, you found yourself a bit lost, not knowing where to go exactly. Was the banquet to be at the hanging gardens? You vaguely recalled someone telling you that during the ride over, but your memory was failing you. You stood outside your door, deep in thought. You hardly noticed the footsteps heading your way.
“Lost?” A voice inquired. You looked up and noticed princess Kitana walking towards you. You blinked, surprised upon seeing the royal. You stared at her, feeling a memory pop up. She had a similar role in the past life. A princess trained in combat. There were a few more memories attempting to break through, but your head couldn’t make sense of it quite yet. You quickly realized that you had been staring. You bowed to her out of respect, which seemed to please her.
“If you’re lost, I can guide you to the royal banquet, if you wish.” The princess offered to you, a cordial smile upon her lips as she seemed to analyze you.
“That’d be appreciated, princess.” You said, accepting her offer. You followed her steps, matching her pace. She seemed a bit more friendly, than when you saw her earlier, even if it was just by a tiny bit. The hallways were filled with the echoes of your footsteps. You didn’t mind the silence, trying to dwell on the nagging feeling that you had. Why had you felt like you had seen her in your memories recently?
“Have you enjoyed your stay in Outworld so far?” Kitana inquired, peering over to you. You blinked, losing your train of thought. You hadn’t been expecting her to try and converse with you. You couldn’t tell if she was simply being polite or was actually interested in your thoughts. You just hoped it was the latter.
“I have, your realm is fascinating.” You admitted, reflecting on what you had seen so far. You were glad it was nothing like your memories. “It’s very pretty here. Where I come from, we don’t have sights like this.” You said, referring to both the life you currently lived and the one you remembered. “I’m fortunate to be able to witness this.”
“Indeed.” Kitana nodded. “Not many Earthrealmers get to witness the beauty of Outworld, much less in their prime.” You were momentarily puzzled by what she meant, then remembered that most perceived you as merely an Earthrealmer. You silently wondered if there were others like you out there, others who originated from other realms. You supposed not.
“It is a blessing.” You said, deciding to play along. Best not to raise any unwanted attention to your strange status. “Have you participated in many tournaments yourself?” You inquired, not knowing just how old the princess was. You assumed thousands of years, but just how many was something you weren’t quite sure of.
“Oh, I have participated in plenty.” The princess admitted nearly laughing at the idea. Which in all honesty, didn’t really give you any indicators to her age. She peered over to you, a thoughtful look on her face. “You are known as Lord Liu Kang’s companion, correct?” She inquired, tilting her head in your direction. You nodded, not sure where she was going with this. “What qualifies you to have such a high position?”
“Ah.” You said, realizing that many didn’t get the privilege of being called such a title. You weren’t sure if there even was someone who came before you who had the same title. You weren’t sure how to explain it, many didn’t question the title since it would be akin to questioning a god…but Outworlders were a bit more bold. “I’m not quite sure myself.” You lied. “I just help him with duties and training the champions.”
“I see.” Kitana said, though you could hear the curiosity in her tone. It was the type of curiosity which was not so easily quenched. “So you trained Raiden?” She inquired, her eyebrows raised. You nodded, and she seemed a bit surprised. “You two must be close.” She commented, which made you hum in thought. You nodded as you came to that conclusion as well.
“I guess we are.”
“We’re here.” She announced, and you found yourself outside where the Hanging Gardens must be. It looked wonderful at night and decorated. Not to mention, the smell of the food in the air was simply divine. She looked at you again, an amused smile on her lips. “You’re interesting, I would not mind talking to you again. Enjoy the feast.”
“You too!” You called out, feeling honored. You stared after her, your mind pulsing as it tried to remember desperately what role she had in your past life. You walked around the area, marveling at how the plants glowed in the cooler colors of the rainbow. You found yourself peering at the tables and found there were particular seating assignments. It didn’t take long for you to find your seat, and luckily you were one of the first there.
You were to be seated between Johnny and a person named Rain. You stared at the name, a faint recollection returning to you. The name was certainly familiar. The people to be across from you were Raiden and Liu Kang. You’d at least be among familiar faces. That, and you didn’t seem to be seated close to General Shao at all.
That was a relief.
Soon, people began to emerge from the palace and fill the area. The pressure in your head started up again, and you silently grieved over how you would not be able to enjoy this meal without at least a little bit of pain. With how strong the pressure was, you assume you would not be able to glean any new memories either. Still, you did not complain and sat down as the food was served.
Plates of delicacies were set before you, and as you peered at the cooked meat, you wondered if these creatures were the same ones as on Earthrealm. If there weren’t, you wondered if you could transform into it. When wine was brought about, you declined it. You were against the idea of becoming drunk, fearing your deepest secrets would spill from your very own lips.
You were not giving yourself the chance to sabotage the good things you had. So instead, you got some simple fruit juice.
You mostly indulged in the food presented to you, enjoying the difference in tastes. Mentally, you wondered if you could recreate these back at home. Now that would be something you could surprise Madam Bo with. You did listen in to the others conversations, but the one who you surprisingly ended up talking to the most was the man beside you.
“The Imperial Academy sounds wonderful!” You remarked, marveling at the story that Rain had indulged you in. He was much more friendly than you were expecting. When he had introduced himself as the high mage, you were intrigued immediately. You asked him about how he earned the title, and he informed you of his accomplishments. He seemed proud of his achievements.
“It is indeed.” He said, smiling your way. He nodded as he took a sip of the wine. “And you say Earthrealm has no schools of magic?” He inquired, an eyebrow raised at the words you had told him before. You nodded, chewing a piece of food.
“It doesn’t.” You confirmed, slicing the food on your plate to prepare another bite. “Magic is pretty foreign to our realm. It’s either a rare secret that is passed down through families, you are born with it, or you receive power from another object.” You explained, recalling the different ways that you knew people had received their special abilities. “I’m amazed magic is taught here.”
“I pity the fact that your realm doesn’t have the same privilege as our realm does.” He used your hands, eyebrows raising. “You mentioned your people rarely have magic.” You nodded, confirming what he heard. “Are you also magicless? Or are you part of the fortunate few to be blessed with those abilities?”
“I was fortunate to have those abilities.” You confirmed. Setting down your silverware, you held out your hand and transformed it into a bear’s claw. Rain’s eyes widened with fascination, and you felt proud of your little display of sorcery. “I was blessed to be born with animal shape shifting. I can transform parts, or all of my body at will to any animal I wish.”
“Fascinating. And you have not studied these abilities formally?” The high mage remarked, eyeing the transformed limb before you turned it back. “Your abilities remind me of another sorcerer in the royal court.” He said, piquing your interest. “He is busy with some duties, but I believe it would be of interest if you spoke with him.” He paused, looking at you once more. “Assuming you strive to learn about the limits of what you can do.”
“I am always looking to grow stronger.” You admit, and it seemed that something in your words struck a chord with the mage. His smile grew as he leaned towards you just a tiny bit more. “I wouldn’t mind conversing with this other sorcerer if he has similar abilities.” You say, nodding, taking note of the tip that he had given you. “What is his name?”
“His name is-” Rain began, but the conversation was cut short as he turned his attention to the front. You also turned to look, and noticed Empress Sindel had risen, holding her goblet in one hand. All of the conversations came to a halt as you watched the empress begin to give a speech.
“My husband Jerrod believed that the future of our realms lay together.” Sindel called out, a smile gracing her lips. Her attention traveled across the crowd. “Let us move forward in open dialogue, letting no secrets tear our bonds asunder.” You watched as everyone began to rise. Grabbing your own glass, you stood as well, raising it out.
“Your highness.” Raiden spoke suddenly, surprising you. “It’s an honor to be here and meet your people.” He looked around, his eyes landing on even the general who had shown him contempt earlier. “I can see there’s more here that joins us than divides us.” Despite the disapproving stare that you could see Shao was sending the champion, he only let out a small scoff.
Your distrust of the man grew, but at least he didn’t make an uproar.
“Well said, young man.” Sindel said, nodding in agreement to the little speech that Raiden had given out. Her smile grew as she lifted her goblet. “Now, let us enjoy the rest of the tournament together, in harmony, just as my husband would have wished.” With that, she lifted the cup to her lips and drank merrily.
With a cheer, everyone followed suit, taking a drink as their empress did. The rest of the feast ended quite well, with little to no issues as far as you were concerned. You had even conversed more with Rain, learning more about the magic culture that Outworld had been blessed with. He even offered to talk more another time, seeing your enthusiasm.
It wasn’t until you were in your room later that you realized that you had forgotten to ask what the sorcerer’s name was.
You couldn’t sleep.
That was to be expected. You always had trouble sleeping. Not to mention the fact that you were in an unfamiliar realm. Not to mention, when you tried to close your eyes, you could only see the lifeless body of Liu Kang. Your body was restless, and you paced back and forth in your room. You didn’t have a window here, the darkness only being abated by a simple crystal lamp.
You bit your lip as you tried to process all you had seen. You knew you definitely had a history with many people in Outworld. That was undeniable. Your memories only occurred when you encountered people you had at least known and talked to. It would be hard to try and figure out what your connection to all of them were though, since you would either have to stay around here for a prolonged period of time, or have private moments with them.
Somehow, you were more likely to encounter the latter, seeing how your time here was limited.
You sighed as you recalled the chilling vision of the general. Obviously, he had been some sort of villain previously. But was that still true? Your previous memories with Bi-Han had also been unpleasant. Maybe Shao was just an asshole? You weren’t certain, you hadn’t seen enough of him. But then again, you weren’t sure if you wanted to see any more of him.
With a sigh, you soon found your hand hovering over the handle of your door. Would it be weird to go and see if you could explore the palace? You figured that it would be considered off, and maybe even suspicious. They’d surely accuse you of trying to try and steal something. Maybe you could just explore the gardens. It’s not as if you could steal anything there.
That, and you weren’t sure if you could stand being in this room anymore.
You exited the room, slinking quietly into the hall. You masked the sounds of your footfalls, remaining quiet as possible to try and not disturb the others around. Sure you were restless, but you did not want to wake the others from your own energy.
“Where are you going?” A voice inquired, seeing you come down the hall. You walked closer, squinting to make out the figure. Ah, it was Tanya.
“I just walked to go on a walk.” You explained, hands up. “I’m rather restless, and the time difference between here and Earthrealm is great.” You gestured to the hall where you recollected the hanging gardens were. “I understand that it is late, but I merely wish to tour the hanging gardens, it looks beautiful at night.”
“Is that all?” Tanya inquired, assessing you with a hardened stare. You nodded, not minding how she glared at you. You knew she was only doing her job. She circled you, her gaze akin to a hawk. “Fine. I’ll escort you there.” She said, her tone cautious. You smiled gratefully at her for her generosity.
The walk there was silent, and unlike Princess Kitana, she offered no dialogue. Still, despite your gaze forward, you knew she was watching you closely. You didn’t mind, just wanting to go to the gardens. A memory began to surface, and you remembered a much different woman. One who sought to reclaim the glory of Edenia, a land that was once lost. How different she seemed now. Your mind did not buzz as much after, so you assumed you did not know her that much in the previous life.
“I’ll be here to make sure you don’t try to sneak in.” Tanya informed you once you two arrived, being transparent with her intentions. Her gaze narrowed as she scanned you up and down. “Do not try anything, Earthrealmer.” She warned.
“I promise I will not.” You said sincerely. Her gaze did not waver, but she did nod approvingly before turning away, letting you roam the gardens.
It was as breathtaking as before. The night sky was tinged with a hint of purple, and the night sky was so clear, letting the stars shine down on you. You briefly wondered if those same stars were the ones that those in Earthrealm would see.
Were Tomas, Bi-Han, and Kuai Liang looking at the stars too, wondering how you were?
The plants around the area flourished with life, and the smell was simply divine. You still couldn’t get over how they had a natural glow. You were tempted to reach out and touch the flora, captivated with their looks. You figured that was rather rude though, so you held back. You did allow yourself to lean in and smell the flowers.
In the midst of your fascination, you did not look ahead, and soon found yourself bumping into a figure.
“Sorry!” You instinctively apologized as you backed up. You shook your head to see princess Mileena. She looked at you with a mixture of frustration and confusion. You offered her a weak smile, and you were granted a memory. A ruthless woman with orange eyes and sharpened teeth meant to tear into flesh instead of lips. She was a clone, not a twin.
Was this really the same person?
Quickly remembering your manners, you bowed to Mileena, who watched you closely with narrowed eyes. Your mind still buzzed, and you knew you must have a deeper past with her.
“What are you doing out here, Earthrealmer?” She quickly inquired, her eyes watching you with distrust. You held up your hands as you backed up, trying to display that you were not a threat. Irritation was evident, but you had a feeling that the origin of it was not related to you.
“I was just touring the gardens.” You quickly explained. “I couldn’t sleep. Tanya, one of your Umgadi, helped escort me out here.” You added on. You noted how she seemed to relax a bit upon the mention of the guard. She nodded, though you can sense she was on edge.
“I see.” The princess replied, her lips pursed. “Cause no trouble then.” Mileena instructed, then began to walk off. You sensed she was still mad about something, but what you could not fathom. You swallowed, and before you knew it, you opened your mouth.
“Wait!” You called out, turning to look at her. She halted, though did not turn around. “Would you like to hear a quick story?” You offered. Perplexed, she turned and looked at you. Her eyes scanned you, her eyebrows furrowed, clearly confused by your sudden offer. There was a moment of silence, and you wondered if it was presumptuous of you to have offered. You knew you were a people pleaser, but perhaps trying to offer something like a story to royalty was too far.
“What type of story?”
“I did not know Earthrealmers could have such fascinating adventures.”
“Well, it’s mostly a tale.” You said, smiling at the princess. You had recounted a movie that Johnny Cage had shown you. You did not know why you did this, but it didn’t sit right with you to see Mileena so upset. She was much more relaxed, the irritation that had rolled off of her in waves dissipating as you had told her of the stories.
“Still, the imaginations of your people are…intriguing.” Mileena looked down at her folded hands, a conflicted look on her face before she sighed. “Tell me, why tell me such things?” She inquired, her eyes narrowing towards you. “You do not seem the sort to randomly spew stories, unlike one of your other companions.”
“I thought a story might help.” You replied honestly. “You seemed, and forgive me for being blunt, stressed, princess.” You swallowed as you looked towards the stars. The princess in front of you was much different than you memories had shown. That was good. “I often know distracting myself from my troubles sometimes helps.”
“I see.” Mileena said, and you heard her shift as she looked away. “I suppose you have good instincts then.” She admitted, though you could tell she felt awkward that she had been read so easily. She paused as she seemed to ponder over something. “Are you often up this late?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” You tell her, crossing your arms as you recalled the many other sleepless nights you had. It was rare you ever went to sleep as expected. “Walks often help clear my mind, so that’s why I went out into the gardens.”
“If you are to be up this late, then I suppose we’ll see each other more often.” Mileena said, and you looked at her in surprise. “I would like to hear more of your tales, they amuse me.” You smiled at her nodding.
“I would be honored to be of service.” You tell her, bowing once more. Mileena looked at you in approval, seeming to enjoy the way you held her in high regard. It was a breath of fresh air compared to her conspirators.
“Meet me here tomorrow, then.” She instructed. She began to walk off, before pausing once more. “Good night…” She spoke your name, testing it out. Your smile grew wide as you waved at her, feeling satisfied that you had helped her from whatever had irritated her.
“Goodnight, princess.”
Taking another moment to yourself, you let out a sigh as you turned your face to look at the purple skies once more. Despite the oddities of Outworld, so far your stay here has been quite…nice. A soft breeze passed, and you smiled.
Maybe you did belong, just a bit, in Outworld.
part twelve
tagged: @zhivaxo @koisuko
#mortal kombat x reader#kung lao x reader#liu kang x reader#reptile x reader#smoke x reader#sub zero x reader#scorpion x reader#bi han#liu kang#raiden x reader#johnny cage x reader#johnny cage#tomas vrbada#kenshi x reader#syzoth#mortal kombat#mortal kombat 1#mk1#fanfiction#mk1 x reader#mk x reader#shang tsung x reader#shang tsung#mileena x reader#kitana x reader#syzoth x reader#ashrah x reader#havik x reader#rain x reader
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twst character playlists 🎧☆
⚠️ warnings: i have bad music taste. also a lot of nightcore. sorry.
last updated: october 10, 2023
🌹 🎼
Riddle: Bôa - Twilight , Laufey - Let You Break My Heart Again , Nakaniwano Shoujyotachi - SHISHAMO
i was thinking about putting in regal classical music or something, but its like, the whole point of riddle is hes a KID and that was taken from him
this is what he sounds like on the inside; a sad teenager lmao
Ace: Estelle - American Boy , Pharrell williams - Hug me , Bruno Mars & Cardi B - Finesse
teenage boy pilled
HUG ME! BRING IT IN! WOOO!!
Deuce: Beastie Boys - Fight for Your Right , Childish Gambino - Girls Look Better , ROAR - Christmas Kids , Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag
2 people simultaneously agreed hed listen to the Beastie Boys in my discord so here we are!!
Cater: Azelia Banks - ANNA WINTOUR , Magdalena Bay - How to Get Physical , Katy Perry - California Gurls , Mitski - Washing Machine Heart
Azelia and Beyonce are in there cuz pop culture and cater and blah blah blah
i personally think hes a nightcore avril lavigne kid
Trey: BTS - 134340 , Sion - lies , Hyeln Joo - Hair Cut (미장원)
i would give you some super deep and understandable reason for these but.
idk!!! it just sounds like trey. this is what he sounds like.
🥩🎶
Leona: A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation , MF DOOM - Hoe Cakes , Sade - Smooth Operator , Kendrick Lamar - We Cry Together
i had to consult the african council (my dad) for this one
ATCQ of course, and Sade because my dad asked politely
Ruggie: GROOVY - Jersey Luv , Tay-K I <3 My Choppa , Lil Gnar - Sticky Rice , Odetari x 9lives - I LOVE YOU HOE
i dont have to explain myself to you
(hes african american boy coded)
Jack: Ice Cube - It Was A Good Day , Micheal Jackson - Rock With You , Bell Biv Devoe - Poison , De La Soul - Me Myself and I
i think he would be into oldies and ruggie would tease him for it
micheal jackson stan
🫧🎵
Azul: ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! , Dalida - Love In Portofino , Caravan Palace - Lone Digger , Caro Emerald - Tangled Up (Lokee Remix)
old sounding music for the "nostalgia" (he wasn't even born during these eras)
the songs that play at the lounge and it kinda got stuck in his head
he fantasizes about preforming these songs in drag btw
Jade: Antonia Carlos Jobim - Girl From Ipanema , Laufey - From the Start , CAPSULE - TICTAC
songs he listens to on long hikes while thinking about violence
Floyd: 41 minutes of Roblox music , Megurine Luka - Tako Luka Maguro Fever , Euday L. Bowman - Twelfth Street Rag , ₳С₴łĐ₳ - PRIVET PRIVET 2009 ST
haha get it spongebob music because hes a fish
(gets booed off stage)
🌞🎼
Kalim: Serani Poji -Pipo Pipo , 레드벨벳 - Day 1 , takeshi abo - LEASE , MAXIMUM THE HORMONE - ChuChu Lovely...
cutie patootie happy-go-lucky songs
i feel like Takeshi Abo - LEASE is what goes through his head on loop 24/7
Jamil: Paramore - Renegade , Bôa - Duvet , beabadoobee - the perfect pair , LeTigreWorld - Deceptacon , Mitski - Washing Machine Heart
Paramore - Renegade was actually a recommendation! thank you yorick :3
otherwise i think rock/soft heartbroken songs go well with him
👑🎶
Vil: Lana Del Rey - Doin' Time , Magdalena Bay - Killshot , Kitty Kallen - It's Been a Long, Long Time , Mitski - Liquid Smooth
queen. flawless. stilettos. category: bad bitch.
too classy for this world, forever that girl
Epel: KYLE - Don't Wanna Fall In Love , Ram Jam - Black Betty , WHAM! - Everything She Wants , Hot Freaks - I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
a mix of older and newer songs i guess
i hc he works on a family farm (for fun and allowance). hed be blasting Black Betty in his left airpod while wrestling a sheep in the mud
music taste slightly influenced by deuce and jack methinks
Rook: Vendredi sur Mer - Écoute chérie , Camille - Le Festin , ラムのラブソング , Shelly Duvall - He Needs Me
you know i had to do it to em
okay but these songs unironically fit rook to me idk
☠🎵
Idia: 【らき☆すた】スーパーアハアハデラックス , 初音PV新作くるみ☆ぽんちお.flv , Caramella Girls - Caramelldansen , 6arelyhuman - Hands up!
the first one represents how i hc he listens to those 16 year old anime tohou remixes on a daily. he injects them into his veins.
nico nico douga war veteran. u u uma uma...
Ortho: Nanoray - DesktopBuddy , METAROOM - S.N.U.F.F.Y
cute and electronic sounding songs!!
🐉🎼
Malleus: Malice Mizer - Ma Chérie , this entire playlist , Yoko Kanno - Green Bird , NASTYONA - My September ,
being honest idk much about malleus
all i know is he would listen to malice mizer and he is gay
Silver: The Smiths - Heaven Knows I'm Miserable now , Burn The Ballroom - Kiss Me You Animal , Wienners - GOD SAVE THE MUSIC
lilia influenced his music taste a lot
Sebek: deaf, doesn't listen to music
Lilia: Mothy - ヴェノマニア公の狂気 , MASA WORKS DESIGN - 狐の嫁入り , Kenshi Yonezu - KICK BACK
trying to stay true to his war general roots while also remembering hes a gamer otaku thing now...
also hes in the "light" music club so
#twst#twisted wonderland#twst headcanons#music#playlist#riddle rosehearts#leona kingscholar#kalim al asim#vil schoenheit#idia shroud#malleus draconia#making this hurt me physically#for some reason the octatrio were the hardest to assign???#despite them being my favorite dorm#hmmm#character playlist#twsthc
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Smallville 4x01
I'm about to go full unhinged for Lois watch me (I will also go down in history as absolute clois trash, you've officially been warned)
THAT'S MY WIFE JUST LOOK AT HERRR (what an icon😭)
"Lois. Lois Lane." If you listen closely you can hear me screaming in the distance
these people are literally my parents😭
LMAOOO
Ok but that's honestly such an iconic first meeting, romcoms are quaking in their boots
"My future is lying in that bed. I will not give up on him."
I have so much love for Martha😭😭
🎶she looks just like a dream, the prettiest girl I've ever seeeen🎶
I'm down on one knee I am proposing I just need one chance Lois I am free tomorrow or any other day if you're ever free-
Lois: "Well you're gonna have to get through me first."
Clark: *picks her up and puts her down slightly to the right*
Lois:
real.
"Guess I'm a sucker for stray dogs and naked guys."
again, real.
OMG I JUST REMEMBERED, Lex drank poison or sth in the season 3 finale, right? Dude how did I forget that💀 And what exactly happened there, was it Lionel?
wtf is Jor-El hoping to accomplish with this shit🤡 And will Clark remember where he was the last three months at some point?
I stopped breathing for a second bc HOLY FUCK WHAT A SCENE
up up and away
And Lana is turning 18 tomorrow? How old is Jason supposed to be here? I'll have my eye on him🤨
"Not me. Give me a nerd with glasses any day of the week."
"Clark has many sides." Martha bestie, why are you saying that like you're pitching him as a potential husband when you don't even know her yet😭😭
I am LOOKING 👀
ugh his hair looks so good again (they really go all out for season premieres huh)
I mean I already know it's Jason at Lana's door but why tf is he knocking like that💀💀
Martha & Jonathan making out in the hospital as soon as he's conscious again askksjsk good for them
Exactly. Everybody bow down to Martha Kent🙇♀️
MOTHER
I GET THE FEELING YOU LIKE TO DO THINGS YOURSELF MY FATHER RAISED ME TO BE INDEPENDENT AND SELF SUFFICIENT THAT'D BE ONE WAY TO DESCRIBE YOU YOU KNOW THE ONLY THING I LIKE ABOUT YOU ATTHE MOMENT IS YOUR MOM
yes I have this dialogue memorized leave me alone
look at these sick people flirting in a goddamn graveyard, zero decorum & chemistry off the fucking charts I am LIVING
welcome to my truly unhinged era
#ellie's smallville thoughts#smallville#4x01#clark kent#martha kent#jonathan kent#lois lane#clois#lana lang#jason teague
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I've seen a lot of hate to people that like to headcanon or see Ivy as a lesbian. Thoughts & opinions?
some fans are so protective of the interpretation of ivy as bisexual, i have never understood this and i never will. here are her 'romantic' entanglements with men:
1. woodrue, her college professor who used and abused her, exploiting her passion for biology and her intellectual admiration of his work
2. batman, who some writers have depicted as her object of love/lust because 'omg he's so stoic he's the only man who can resist me, i need to have him🥺', really just the mark of an era where every single female character wanted to get into batman's pants because the male writers were horny and using him as self-insert wish fulfillment fantasy fodder. anyway, this has been long written out of continuity
3. kiteman in the harley quinn animated series, a relationship whose sole narrative purpose is to showcase how far ivy is willing to go to repress her attraction to women (and harley specifically), is shown to be unhealthy and imbalanced practically every step of the way, and ultimately goes up in literal flames.
4. even in poison ivy: thorns, where the author has described ivy as bisexual, what she ends up having written is... ivy goes on one date with a guy because he pursued her and he 'looked cute i guess', she changes her mind about him immediately afterwards and tries to put distance between them, he pursues her more and more aggressively until it turns into active harassment, she's disgusted by him and ends up killing him to get rid of him. she then goes on to have a deep, poignant lesbian relationship with her female classmate, alice.
in practically every version of canon she's been shown to detest men, while innately protective of women, and quick to form emotional bonds with them. she has not been depicted in a single relationship with a man that was loving, mutual, and healthy. dc forced her into physical intimacy with men under the excuse of her pheromone-based powers, which is really just another example of their shitty objectification of female characters-- thankfully, in recent years they've all but done away with that 'poison kisses' crap entirely. at the end of the day, any involvement she's had with men has been terrible, either as an intentional choice by the writers to showcase certain parts of her character, or unintentionally because it was written by shitty horny men who can't bring themselves to treat women as fully realized people. and some fans are twisting themselves into a pretzel pretending she's some sort of bisexual icon... truly one of the mysteries of the universe.
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(1/2) hi i’m new i literally made a tumblr just to say this but… do i hear Spirited Aaway (best movie of all time) au? (even if you don't know what that is i need to speak my truth so) plot wise mick is travelling with his dad to visit somewhere idk and they end up in the spirit realm and michael gets cursed to enter enchanted sleep so mick goes to the bathhouse that’s in the distance where he meets this scruffy older guy with eyes like running water who tells him to “go, run, leave before dark” but we all know that doesn't happen 🙄 and instead gets stuck in the spirit realm. the unkept hot guy mick keeps on thinking feels familiar tells him to survive and get his dad back he must go to upper management and beg for a job so he does and SURPRISE the bathhouse is a metaphor for ferrari and they take away mick’s last name like in the movie and make him forget about his past life. it turns out that weirdo blue-eyed man is the right hand to the bathhouse owner (who? WILL come up later) and he’s super powerful and can turn into a dragon and his name is ✨seb✨ but mick is like… don’t i know you from my repressed childhood..? no? anyway i don’t think that’s your name but i will not examine that. after that estiebestie the nice demon is tasked to train him in how to do bathhouse stuff (he’s the cool mentor woman in the film i don’t remember her name) and he’s the only one who’s nice to mick. mick suffers for a bit, because he’s a nepo baby who’s never done manual labor at heart. then alex the mud spirit comes through (rbr to williams resurrection metaphor) and so does no-face (fernando alonso because that image is really funny to me, not for thematic reasons). seb (haku) hates him. it’s great.
(2/2) anyway whatever whatever climax of the story seb goes to steal the “golden seal” (wdc) and gets super poisoned (again, metaphor) so mick goes down to the boiler room again to meet with seb’s oldest and only friend, a spirit who used to be super powerful but was cast aside to the basement after becoming disillusioned by the bathhouse (guess who? it’s kimi lol. he could pull off the boiler guy). grumpy boiler guy tells him to travel to the empire across the sea and gives him the train tickets. also charles is there because charles is the giant baby (ferrari chosen one iykyk) but he’s better and cooler than the baby in the film. they travel all the way to the cottage of TOTO WOLFF who is the nice witch and he tells them about his old friend/rival (lover? 😳) MAURIZIO ARRIVABENE and his cursed ferrari bathhouse who has seb in a chokehold. anyway mick gets emotionally adopted and seb is cured and shows up and the door and turns into a dragon to fly them back (it’s glorious). (a.n: george is the hopping lamppost this is so important to me). on the way mick has a revelation. am i… into men? lmao jokes. his realization is that seb was the river spirit his dad used to take him too when he was a kid in the german countryside and the spirit’s name is ✨sebastian vettel✨. it’s moving and beautiful and whatever. they get back and return charles the mouse to ferrari so they can release sebby’s contract (aston martin era), mick goes back to real life and travells back to his hometown to see the river and SURPRISE there’s a scruffy older guy with eyes like running water (😉) waiting on the shore. the end. thanks for listening <3
anon, i watched the movie just for you and this is 10/10, no notes. fernando alonso as no face really killed me!!! toto wolff being the nice witch... i think niceness is relative but if he gets my boy a seat on the grid (who needs l. sargeant if we're being honest here) i will forgive some stuff for him... maybe it's binotto who's baby charles's grandma!
also anon HI you made a tumblr just for this!!! i hope you have fun on here!
#i think it would also make a cute galex storyline but we all know my weaknesses#now i need to watch howl's moving castle probably#it was so wonderfully animated?#rosy.ask
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this is a random question lol, but what are your thoughts on "Old Dog, New Tricks" and Chris Colfer as a writer (based on it)?
We love random questions around here!
Gonna be honest with you, I haven't seen that episode in full in over two years and it's gonna be another year before I get to it on my rewatch at this rate, so unfortunately I don't think I can go into a ton of detail. As in, a full analysis of Chris as a writer. But dw I won't just leave it at that I do have some thoughts.
I recently heard 5x19 be referred to as a low-rated and badly received episode, which I found curious. I'm not sure by what metric that is but especially by standards of that era of the show I consider it to be quite solid. I don't have strong feelings about the main plots of the nursing home play and the dogs as like, a base concept. Most things depend on execution and it was executed well enough. I wonder what parameters he was given, what could happen what couldn't, but as far as penultimate episodes of seasons go it's pretty much your standard slice of life stakes-wise.
What I can talk about more in-depth and what directly related to Chris as a writer is the character moments he included. At the very least and off the top of my head, there are 3-4 great character moments that tell me Chris paid attention to this cast of characters and took care to keep whatever shred of continuity Glee was still hanging onto at that point. Frankly, Chris seems to have cared more for these characters than the actual writers' room did in these late seasons.
What I'm talking about in particular are these details:
Kurt, obviously. It's understandable that Chris wrote an episode with a major Kurt plot and it was a breath of fresh air to focus on him separate from the main group, even if only for a beat. Two standout moments are a) him standing up to/calling out Rachel, which actually leads somewhere unlike it often does in NYC. See my second bullet point. And b), even more importantly and in a detail that so often lacks from the series, Kurt talking about his mother to Maggie's daughter. Such a small scene in the grand scheme of things but very poignant and the one I remember the most from this episode (sans Santana). That moment really made me go "oh Chris gets Kurt." He cares about this character enough to pay attention to this, imo, crucial detail.
Rachel's is a smaller one but also on two fronts, one on the Kurt of it all and like I said in the way that she actually goes to support him and concedes to be a more supportive friend. This is a lesson Rachel learns a lot but this is among the better executions of it. And the second is her general arc of at least trying to do good things because they're good and not just for optics. Shame this sentiment is limited to this one episode.
Santana! Of course, my beloved. Chris Colfer singlehandedly gave me PR Santana, who I hold onto dearly and fight in the name of, against all the lawyer Santana stuff. It was a great direction for her character to take and I'm grateful Chris gave us this, even if we never hear from PR Santana again. More thoughts on PR Santana here. The Pezberry shenanigans are also great. And we have a detail here, too, with the brilliant Santana line "in high school ... I was voted best shoulder to cry on and most likely to poison someone", which tells me that Chris gets Santana, too. Love that. God the feels I have about that line lol.
I also have to shout out the Sam stuff, maybe not in general because frankly I don't remember but at least one detail. Chris seemed to be the only writer to remember season 2 Sam and the way he was working hard to protect and support his family, and the impact that must have had on him. Later seasons lean into Sam the himbo, but, tbh, not in a way I find particularly charming just because they really emphasize his... carelessness, I guess. His immaturity, that's a better word. So he's not the himbo from season 2 but someone a lot less capable and more of a caricature version than he used to be, and that's not the direction in which it should go. BUT, that said, Chris takes the time to examine this with Sam and takes care to remember how Sam had to grow up too quickly, how he did have to be mature before. I don't think it goes anywhere but that's on Glee much more than it is on one-off episode writer Chris Colfer.
Writing characters well has been my primary focus for as long as I have been looking at media critically and Chris Colfer succeeded on that front for sure. These are the main things I remember from the episode and the main aspects of it that make me look back on Chris' writing fondly.
I've been meaning to check out Chris' books or just anything from him as a writer because I am curious. In interviews, he's always so quick-witted and good with words. The main thing, apart from Old Dogs, that I think about in terms of Chris as a writer is his Variety tribute piece to Naya. It's not only a heartwarming (and -wrenching) piece but damn you can tell the man's a writer. A good one, at that. He just has that instinct, based on this piece. Where the words flow and the arc of what he's saying makes sense on a deeper level. So yeah I'm curious, and maybe I'll rewatch Old Dogs earlier than planned just to view it from that perspective this time around.
#this is probs my last answer for 2022#weird! see you all next year so like tomorrow lol#this is more about the details of the ep rather than overall because i remember details better#but could be fun to take a critical look at the ep at some point#anon#glee asks#chris colfer#old dogs new tricks#glee's writing#god i also hate the bts drama that was going on while filming this episode#hatehatehate it results in santana being absent from 5x20 and therefore becoming nonexistent in my eyes#long post#why do i gotta write novels as replies lol
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TGAAC Case 2-2 finished!
And like many flashback cases of Ace Attorney, it was actually more complex than it appeared. It also delivered quite the emotional punch.
At first I thought it was silly that Soseki Natsume was Ryunosuke's client again, and I wrote this case off as a one-off filler. But then as I got deeper into the case and started collecting all the facts, it spelled out a greater tragedy for for the characters involved. In the end it's Shamspeare who's mostly responsible for all the tragedy of course.
But Olive Green made her mistakes too. She wasn't being blackmailed into staying quiet. She could have gone to Scotland Yard or even Sholmes to talk about the suspicious death of her fiance, but she chose to take the law into her own hands instead. I understand her motives but at the same time, she still did some attempted murder.
And poor Soseki. He was literally caught in the middle. When he wasn't nearly being poisoned by gas, he stood accused of murder again. All by the same clown-like actor.
This goes to show that you really can't trust people in the performing arts in Ace Attorney. They are almost always up to something shady (Unless they are a pure cinnamon roll like Will Powers, or a salty cinnamon bun like John Marsh from Investigations 2.) Maybe there's a reason a lot of Ace Attorney culprits are performers of some kind? They use their acting/stage skills to appear innocent? Am I onto something here?
But the actual culprits aren't the only suspicious ones here.
Herlock Sholmes is mostly a good person from what I've seen so far, but he's been very cagey when it comes to one (maybe two?) of his cases. There's been at least two incidents where he tells Iris not to write stories based off them. Whether they're two cases, or two events related to the same case remains to be seen...
But Sholmes's secrecy kind of has me doubting him.
If he's a Villain All Along I will absolutely raise Hell.
If he's morally dubious for a "good reason" (like Phoenix in his "Beanix" era of AA4) I will be quite ambivalent about him.
But if he's traumatized by a case where he failed (the culprit escaped, his client died, and he blames himself,) I'll be way more sympathetic.
There are so many directions that Sholmes and his writing can go, and I'll have to wait and see what happens.
The same can apply to Barok Van Zieks. It's still hard to put together just what happened in his past, and why he starts off as being a smug, arrogant Brit who always seems to side with the truth at the very end of every case. I guess he has his own moral compass, however strangely it may be pointed.
Case 2-3 will be next when I pick the game up again.
#Lynn plays video games#The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles#TGAAC#DGS#TGAAC 2-2#This flashback case delivered as they always do#Hopefully Susato can come back to the present in case 2-3?#I want to see more of her#And Sholmes better have a very good reason for keeping secrets#I've got my eye on him
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In preparation for Oppenheimer’s release in a couple of weeks, I’ve been doing some reading about the Manhattan Proejct. Largely the focus of this has been a man I only learned about last summer: Józef Rotblat, the only scientist to leave the Manhattan Project early over moral objections. Here’s a quick list of things I’ve read and found thought-provoking:
1. The Strangest Dream, a documentary film by the National Film Board of Canada. This places Rotblat’s life into context much more thoroughly than the pieces he authored himself. To properly understand why he would volunteer to build an atomic bomb, you have to know that he was a Polish Jew and was unable to extract his wife and family to the UK after the German invasion started.
2. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists published a special issue on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Rotblat’s essay begins on page 9, but really the whole thing at least through the essay about Truman should be read to give context to the Manhattan Project era and the reasoning behind the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Oppenheimer apparently thought [the poisoning of food with radioactive strontium] worthy of consideration, and asked Fermi whether he could produce the strontium without letting too many people into the secret. He went on: "I think we should not attempt a plan unless we can poison food sufficient to kill a half a million men." I am sure that in peacetime these same scientists would have viewed such a plan as barbaric; they would not have contemplated it even for a moment. Yet during the war it was considered quite seriously and, I presume, abandoned only because it was technically infeasible.
3. An interview from Voices of the Manhattan Project, which is highly focused on Rotblat’s work in Los Alamos itself. It has
But immediately [Oppenheimer] struck me as a person, very quick, highly intelligent. I think he had good information. I noticed straightaway that he can take things in almost instantaneously, and he gets the grasp. If you come to him with an idea, he would immediately see it as a major part of this important thing. [...] You could then present it in a way which is much better than the original was. From this point, he is a genius. I am not surprised that he managed to be such a good director for the laboratory. This is one quality which is most important in a place like Los Alamos, where you had so many people with original ideas, but not always capable to present them in a coherent form. He really could master this.
4. Leaving the Bomb Project, an interview self-explanatory in topic.
[General Leslie Groves] said, "You, of course you realize that the main purpose of this project is to subdue the Russians, our chief enemy." Now this was a shock to me, because uh...I always thought that the main idea of the project it was to develop the bomb, if need be, uh...to prevent a Nazi victory. And now I found that this was not. That the main aim...the main aim was that after the war was over -- by that time it looked as if it will be over even before the project is finished -- then I guess, we'll then be able to use this...the atom bomb, as a means of political pressure or whatever else or maybe even military pressure against the Russians.
5. Not authored by or about Rotblat, but relevant to him is Nathan J. Robinson’s essay How To Justify Hiroshima dissecting arguments that treat the bombing as self-evidently justified. (Also interesting to compare/contrast this to the essays in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.)
That isn’t to exclude the possibility of making the “better than the alternative” argument. It is merely to say that in order to make an argument justifying the obliteration of 100,000 civilians, slight discomfort will not do. If the utilitarian case is ever to be made, it must be made through tears.
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Five Deaths - Gokudera
Taken from meme: [x] ||Accepting|| (I did say if how wasn't specified, i'm sacrificing Haru so here I am)
Prompt: [ FIVE DEATHS ] send for five times our muses almost died together and the one time the sender Haru does.
Let's see, I guess tw would be character death, being shot, and poisoning? I tried. I guess also nausea (bc poison cooking)
-
[1]
“Haru is going to die out here… she’s too young to die…” Haru sniffs. She’s lost in a forest and alongside a person who aggravates her half to death. She’s probably going to die from heightened blood pressure before anything else. “SOS, surely someone will come and find us. What are you even doing out here anyways? Haru is here because Lambo-chan claimed to know where the new cake shop was located.” Great, she’s lost in a forest, she’s stuck here, AND she didn’t get her promised cake! “Waaaahhh… Haru is so sad…” The dramatic tears start again.
[2]
“You mean to tell me that isn’t a relative of Godzilla?” In what way? Her evaluation of Gokudera drops to a new low. Is he trying to tell her that a natural born reptile of this era can grow to be that size? There is no way. If this isn’t some kind of monster or a nearly extinct dinosaur, she doesn’t know what it is. “Hah? A turtle? Dino-san’s? AT THIS TIME YOU’RE MAKING JOKES!?” You’re trying to convince her that a small turtle, submerged in water, will grow to that size? Don’t you know most turtles need to live in a wet environment to survive? “Stop making stupid jokes and keep running!”
Poor Gokudera, he was being honest too. A shame.
[3]
“Huh, they make pink grenades? Since when?” Haru picks up the grenade curiously. “They make grenades marketed to girls now?” Maybe it explodes glitter? That’d be cute. A bit loud and probably obnoxious though. The pink grenade gets knocked out of her hand and she gets dragged by the arm. “Hey! Wait! That hurts!” You’re going to stretch out her sleeve! Do you know how stupid her shirt is going to look to have one sleeve noticeably longer than the other? “Stop pulling so hard! Hahi! I’m NOT STUP-“ One of the grenades goes off with a loud bang. “…” She was holding that in her hand just moments ago, wasn’t she?
Wait, she could’ve died just then, or at least be seriously hurt. The realization dawns on her- who in the world throws pink grenades around? Haru also remembers that a certain someone had smacked the grenade out of her hand and dragged her away. It was dangerous, but he still went out of his way to drag her somewhere safer. “Thank you for saving me, but YOU’RE GOING TO STRETCH OUT MY SHIRT!”
[4]
She was really sick and tired of everything, but she kept those thoughts to herself. She wasn’t the one who had it the hardest here. All the guys were out there fighting, so she didn’t have a place to say anything—but! It’s still horrible here! She just wants to go home where it’s safe and sleep in her own comfortable bed. She didn’t want to wake up every morning feeling afraid of what was to come. Even if she knew what was going on, it was still hard to wrap her mind around all of the events that have transpired. Suddenly, they’re being asked to safe-guard Uni-chan, they’re on the run, and they’re maybe going to die? Everything is so scary here in the future. She’d always thought about her future with excitement, but now? At this point, she didn’t want to think of anything to do with the future.
It was a desperate time for everyone, and if things didn’t go well, they were sure to die—or at least some of them. She’s sure that some of them would survive at the very least. Does she think she’d be one of them, probably not. Knowing her luck? Nope. Hm? They’re talking about needing a place to hide at? Doesn’t she know a place that they could hide away at for a brief moment?
[5]
Blergh— “Wait, what do you mean Onee-san made this?” How did it take this long for her to find out that Bianchi’s cooking was deadly? That’s what happens when you’re being protected by those around you who know the truth about her cooking and they ensure that you’ll never have to encounter the poisonous cooking yourself. What they failed to realize is- if you don’t tell her, what about when you’re not around to supervise? She’s just going to eat it and die? “Hahi? You grew up eating foods like this? What kind of iron stomach do you—Ble- you have?” Haru is going to die here today. Is that her life flashing before her?
Wow… it weirdly looks like a sushi conveyor belt showing her all the desserts she’s had in her life. Her flashing life looks mighty delicious. “Setting us up for death by not telling us. Oh woe is Haru, to die doing what she loved: eating.” She’s being dramatic as she always will be. “I sure hope you’re dialing poison control over there.” Haru feels like she’s going to just waste away and die here. What if she just sleeps all this discomfort away? What are the chances she’ll wake up again? Hmm… how lucky is she feeling today?
[-]
Everything was so chaotic at the moment that she couldn’t really make sense of what was going on. Everyone was here for some kind of a social function from what she could recall. A gathering of powerful famiglias and gangs around the world celebrating—whatever it was, she forgot (more like, she didn’t really care that much). She had just seen Lambo earlier when he was fussing over some wine that spilled on his shirt and she was helping him address the stains. Who knew that as soon as they separated, an explosion at the other end of the dance hall happened causing mass panic and confusion.
Tensions were incredibly high as one could imagine with a dance hall full of those of the underground. Threats turned into gunfire, and the screaming only became harder to filter through. She’s looking around, trying to locate her friends. Lambo is over there and he met up with Yamamoto. He’ll be safe. Ryohei is of course with Kyoko. She couldn’t find Tsuna, but more than likely he was either trying to scope out the situation at hand to put a stop to things, or he was busy looking for everyone to ensure their safety first before proceeding.
She couldn’t find Chrome either, but she would be safe. Mukuro was also at the function… and there was no way he wouldn’t prioritize ensuring her well-being and vice-versa. Where is he? You’d think at a time like this, he’d be making a big, bold, and dangerous statement. Preoccupied with checking out the situation at hand, she didn’t realize the danger she was in (classic Haru, some things never change even when you’re an adult). A hand suddenly yanks her hard by the arm and she crashes into someone. The sound of angry concern fills her ears. She found him. Right where she was standing was a broken chandelier. IF that had fallen on her, she would’ve died. She swallows nervously. “Thank you, Hayato.”
The chaos was only getting worse and it was getting hard to see with all the smoke and dust filling the air. She takes the hem of her dress to the mouth and starts tearing the fabric with her teeth. A long dress was only going to get in the way in this situation. By the looks of dark smoke at one end of the hallway… there was fire. She’s cutting her dress so her mobility is increased but also because it would probably be for the best to cover your mouth with cloth to prevent dust from settling into your lungs. “Alright, I’m ready.” He had a handkerchief in hand, so he was set to go. She knows that he would’ve had her use the one he had, but Haru was self-sufficient, and not about to let him get sick later because he prioritized her over himself. That was her thing to do, to prioritize others.
He begins escorting her through the chaotic crowd of people running around and fighting. It seemed that some people decided to take advantage of the situation by attacking their enemies to blame it on the lack of visibility. Haru had been keeping an eye on the others ever since she spotted them in the crowd before. It seemed that all of the guardians were gathering together, minus Lambo. He was tasked with keeping Kyoko safe. Hibari has joined them—that’s how you know things are getting serious. Haru successfully gets escorted to where Lambo and Kyoko were. Lambo’s job was to escort both Haru and Kyoko to safety. Before he leaves to join the other guardians, Haru makes sure to give him a quick kiss- you know, for good luck.
Lambo carefully weaves them through the crowds and escorts them back outside where it should be safer. He stayed by their side until the situation inside was under control as he was given explicit commands to watch over the two ladies until everyone gathered around again for a head count. Lambo wouldn’t have left their sides anyway. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he left to join the others and something happened to them. (Well, Haru probably wouldn’t allow him to head back into the danger zone anyways, knowing her big sister instincts) It took some time for more people to file out of the building and for the fighting to stop. If the Vongola were to get involved, it was only a matter of time before things were resolved.
Ambulances were called to the scene and they started taking the injured away. The last ones to come walking out of the destroyed building was of course, the Vongola. The site was secure, and everything was over. They could relax. Haru rushes over to Gokudera the moment she sees him, and she steps on a piece of rubble wrong and snaps her heel. It was just your usual ‘ah another clumsy Haru moment’ that everyone could laugh at- or so they thought. There was no usual Haru quickly recovering by regaining her balance. There was no comedic ‘Safe-desu~’.
No.
She buckled and fell hard against the ground.
Timed just when her heel snapped, a patient sniper lying in wait took the shot. No one can ever anticipate when Haru’s clumsiness will strike. It should be clear who the intended target of the sniper was, but Haru had to stumble and fall because of a snapped heel.
As sniper 101 would suggest, once you take your shot, you move locations as your position has been compromised. In the case of failing to snipe the right-hand man of the Vongola, the sniper had to run away immediately if he wanted a chance at escaping. It would be difficult, considering the person he’d just shot wasn’t some random person. He’d just shot a close friend of the majority of the 10th generation Vongola, and the girlfriend of the right-hand. Two of the most feared guardians had moved to give chase. With them on the job, there was no way anyone could escape. Hibari was relentless and powerful, and Mukuro was frightening and crafty, so he’d be able to spot any devious illusionary scheme hatched as a get away plan.
While normally one could survive a chest shot if medical attention was administered immediately, the underground wasn’t that friendly. The bullet was a special one that was designed to make it difficult to treat by any normal means, so the victim has virtually no other option but to die a painful death. The residual storm flames imparted on the bullet was fashioned so it did optimum damage to whoever was shot, expanding its area of effect. The flames were wreaking havoc in her system. A true sick bastard, who designed this bullet, as if being shot in itself wasn’t painful enough. The storm flames inside of the bullet made it so the remaining time of the victim was spent in excruciating pain. Of course, there was an extra added ‘bonus’ in store. If the bullet sensed a foreign dying will flame being used, it would release a lethal poison.
Again, a true sick bastard. This bullet was designed to kill, and to do so horribly. With how much everything hurt, Haru was relieved to know that by some sheer circumstance, she ended up taking the bullet instead of Hayato. She’d always thought to herself that if things came down to it, and she had to sacrifice herself for one of the guardians, she’d do so. In a heartbeat. In general, she was the sort who would sacrifice herself for those she loved, but she also knew that the Vongola couldn’t lose any of their guardians. Just thinking about Hayato being the one suffering this instead was unthinkable to her.
Haru could just instinctively tell that she wasn’t going to make it. Everything hurt like a bitch, she could estimate the number of vitals that were damaged, and everything just – yeah. Her hearing was fading out, she could feel herself going numb as the heaviness started kicking in. Her vision was starting to darken, and she desperately was searching for the one person she wanted to see. If by the fact that she was already in his arms and she hadn’t realized it yet was of any indication of how bad her state was, it wasn’t looking good for her.
Ah… she recognizes that cologne. She didn’t have the strength to move at her leisure to get a good look at him, and she couldn’t hear his voice (or anything else for that matter. The deafening ringing in her ears drowned everything out), but she could just barely pick up on the scent of his cologne. It was comforting to know he was right there in her final moments. Breathing was difficult and it hurt. She couldn’t tell if she was making any discernable sounds, but she did try. Nothing came out aside from breathy, pained, wheezing. If one could read lips, they’d see she was trying to say she loved him. If anything, she wanted her last words to be full of love than anything else.
Ryohei tried to use his flames to help with damage control and that’s what triggered the last mechanism. If she had even the smallest chance of survival, it was shot now with the way the poison released into her blood stream. With the tiniest of pained yelps in response to the first aid, she slumps limply against Gokudera.
There is a reason why they tell you to never let your guard down even for a moment. They’ll get you when you least expect it.
#Xcedia#Meme answered#Answered ask#Thanks for the ask!#Haru speaks#((Muse; Gokudera))#((An d that's the last of my memes! Thanks for sending them all in! I had fun with em!))#Guns tw#Death TW#Poison TW#Poisoning TW#Nausea TW#((Ahahah I really said in front of everyone- die. Right when you least expect it))
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Action Comics No. 3 [August 1938]
Issue three! Supposedly involving some kind of workout regime, I dunno, I barely understand modern advertisements, much less 30s advertisements. There might or might not be drugs involved somewhere, I think this was the era when Coca-Cola still had cocaine in it. It would certainly explain some of the things that went into Golden Age comics, anyway.
The cover of this issue is, once again, not Superman related, so I’m not including it, but it is a good example of the weird uncanny valley art style - like it’s almost realistic, but not quite. Just on the edge between realistic and comic.
Also, I haven’t mentioned it before, but there are, like, advertisements on the page before the first stories of each issue. This particular one is advertising DC’s other runs of the time: More Fun Comics, New Adventure Comics, and… Detective Comics! Yes, the run Batman is in! Why have I not mentioned them yet? Because Batman doesn’t actually show up in Detective Comics until Issue 27, which is published not quite a year from the publication date of this particular issue. That will be covered, what, ten posts from now? So yeah, a bit more (murderous) Superman to go first.
We enter in on a cave-in, rocks falling and beams shattering, trapping a miner - Stanislaw Kober - inside.
It seems like this issue’s story (or at least the first one?) will focus on the appalling lack of OSHA, which… does that even exist yet at the point of this publication? (checks) Apparently it did, though it was called the Bureau of Labor Standards, and it kind of fell off during WW2, got reinforced after the war ended, fell off again, and then unions put enough pressure on that the government officially founded OSHA in 1971. So there technically are labor laws and safety standards in place, but workplaces definitely would be willing to let them slip.
The news is quickly spread via telegraph around the world, including to the Daily Planet- I mean Daily Star. Clark quickly asks the editor to let him handle the assignment; the editor gives him the go-ahead. In short order, Superman is racing to the scene as fast as possible - faster than the fastest airplane! Which, at the time, would be 200 mph - a slight jump up from the 125 mph of the fastest express train that he was measured again in the first issue. Power escalation already! Tut tut, for shame.
(And yes, I do get that they weren’t thinking about that, just comparing him to various Very Fast things to show he’s also Very Fast, not to have actual numbers slapped on him. He’s as fast (and strong) as the story needs, nothing less and nothing more.)
When Superman gets there, he disguises himself as a miner and approaches the pit. The entrance is cordoned off by the police, keeping other workers back while the rescue crew does their jobs; unfortunately, said rescue crew hasn’t signaled in the last ten minutes. Clark pretends to slip and fall, sending him down into the lift-shaft.
Down Superman plunges, much like Alice fell into Wonderland once upon a time. Unfortunately for him, at the bottom of this hole is no rabbit, but instead, poisonous gas! Fortunately, Superman is immune to poisonous gasses (at least the ones found in mine shafts), so he simply marches on until he stumbles upon the unconscious search crew.
I wonder which gas(ses) in particular were down here. There’s a litany of ones to be found, with different levels of danger involved. Methane and carbon monoxide are odorless, while carbon dioxide has a slight odor hard to detect by humans. I’m going to guess that the gas in question is the latter, since Superman is smelling it, but who knows how impressive his alien super-senses are. Then again, carbon dioxide itself technically isn’t poisonous, while the other two are. Hmm. Ah well, I suppose it doesn’t matter too much.
Superman hauls all the rescue crew to the elevator and tugs on the signal cord, and soon they’re on the way up to safety and fresh air. Superman himself heads back into the mine to get to work on the cave-in and rescuing Kober. He rounds a corner and finds the cave-in, only an arm sticking out to signal where the miner is.
(Honestly shocked that the guy’s not dead, but like, comic books I guess.)
Superman declares it child’s play, pulling out the rocks and debris as easily as if it were built of putty. He’s lucky that there isn’t an additional cave-in through the process, or like, any shifting of debris that could crush the man Supes is trying to save.
Soon enough, he’s pulling Kober out of the rocks, noting that the man is in serious condition and needs to get to a hospital immediately. However, his rush is stymied by a new issue - the signal cord isn’t working! Oh no! How will Superman, who last issue was able to jump high enough to intercept a plane, possibly get himself out of this deep mine hole??
...knowing comics, probably not by jumping.
And moving on to the next page, looks like I’m right! Superman instead puts the miner over his shoulder and proceeds to haul himself up the elevator cable at a rapid pace. The men at the top notice his climb and are shocked by it - but not as shocked as they are to see Kober. They quickly help pull Kober up, rushing him to a hospital as fast as possible.
…also I just realized that this bit with the whole free climb of the elevator cable, plus the hauling rocks, could be part of the whole ‘exercise routine’ mentioned in last issue’s advertisement, since rope climbs and weight lifts are definitely common exercises, just, you know, done with actual ropes and weights instead of this stuff.
Or maybe I’m just reading too much into a 1930s ad in a comic book. Wouldn’t be the first time I nitpick on stupid details.
A brief timeskip has Clark Kent reporting back to the boss about Kobel’s rescue by an unidentified miner… as well as his crippling injuries. Which, yeah, oof, not surprised when he was buried in rocks. This is why OSHA matters, folks.
The next day, Clark goes to visit Kober. Clark lets him know he works for a ‘powerful newspaper’ - which I mean, I guess before TV news stations, newspapers were the main ways people got info, so like, the more popular, the more influence? I wonder which paper Daily Star correlates to… hmm…
Anyway. Clark asks if the tragedy was preventable. Kober says sure. Months ago, the miner knew the mine was unsafe - but when they told the boss’s foremen, they said if the miners didn’t like it, they could just quit. Clark is shocked - the owner disregarded the mine’s dangerous conditions. Kober again confirms it. The miners couldn’t quit, not when they had wives and kids and bills to pay. So they went back to mine for long hours and little pay, all while at risk of death.
That is the face of a man about to break someone’s neck, or possibly rip their heart out of their chest with their bare hands.
It takes Clark an hour to get an audience with Thornton Blakely, the owner of the mine. He asks if a pension has been arranged for the miner crippled in the cave-in. Blakely scoffs at the idea - Kober’s own carelessness got him injured. However, the company might be generous enough to pay for most of the hospital bill, and may even consider offering a retirement bonus.
Clark wants to know if the bad safety conditions of the mine will be fixed. Blakely says there are none - and even if there were, so what? He’s a businessman, not a humanitarian! He then firmly ends the interview, stating it’s ‘none of [Clark’s] business.’
Well then. Considering what he did to weapon munitions man, I have a feeling that Blakely’s going to take a nice, fun tour of his own mines… especially the unstable parts. :)
That night, Superman re-dons his miner disguise and leaps over the wall guarding the Blakely estate - and, hilariously, is described as ‘like some occult, avenging demon.’ My god, he really is just Batmanning it up before Batman is even a thing. No wonder those two losers became such fast friends. They have the same dramatic flair even this early on in the timeline.
Or, well, maybe they do? I guess I’ll have to wait and see when I get to the first Batman comic.
Superman approaches the estate, listening in on the sounds of laughter, music, and revelry coming from within; he peers through and discovers a gay party in progress. Damn, guess we can’t cancel Blakely anymore, he throws gay parties, interrupting would be homophobic.
…to be clear, the above is a joke. I know gay was used entirely as an alternative for ‘merry’ or ‘happy’, which implies this is just a cheerful gathering between Blakely and his upper crust pals and gals. Too bad that Superman plans on crashing the party, possibly metaphorically, possibly not.
Before he can decide which, the guards catch him, quickly grappling him. Superman deliberately lets them capture him, staying quiet against their questioning until they decide to bring him in to face the boss himself. Which, points to Clark, that is a clever way to get himself inside without breaking in and causing a much bigger scene. Like this, he’s completely underestimated, and so in full control of how things will play out over the next… however long it takes for his plan to go into motion.
I have to admit, for all I joke about him being murderous, he’s also very much the same clever problem solver we see in modern comics. He has fewer powers, so he has fewer tools, but he damn well knows how to use what tools he has in order to accomplish his goals. Most importantly, how to be underestimated and dismissed as a threat.
I wonder if that’s one of the things he picked up while growing up in the orphanage. Huh.
Blakely is annoyed at the interruption. The guards explain how they found Clark peeping through the window, probably planning a theft. They’re very eager to take him to the station to rough him up, one exclaiming how a few minutes alone in the back-room at headquarters will have a full confession out of him. Nice to know that police have always been corrupt bastards.
Blakely directly asks Clark what he has to say for himself. Clark fakes an accent and faulty English, exclaiming wide-eyed about the beautiful women, the rich party, how he’d heard of such things but never seen them, so he just had to. Blakely fails to see through the ruse, dismissing him as just a sap, and telling the guards to just give him a beating before letting him loose. The guards grab him and start to drag him out - then Blakely changes his mind, deciding to let Clark stay.
Considering I doubt Blakely has discovered his compassion in the last thirty seconds, I can only imagine he’s got something worse planned.
Blakely calls out to his guests, asking them to gather round. The party is about to liven up, after all! One of the lady guests comments on how this will be fun, and that Blakely’s got one of his comical inspirations. Another lady guest notes how Elsa Maxwell (who?) has nothing on Blakely when it comes to throwing novel parties.
Damn, I was joking about the morally dubious party guests, but I am somehow not surprised to find out that, yeah, they’re probably all assholes who are going to get their asses handed to them sometime in the near future.
Blakely makes a whole show to his guests, presenting Clark as a social-climbing miner who narrowly missed a beating because he wanted to see how the other half lived. Clark is confused at what Blakely is leading up to, and I admit I am as well, because the next thing Blakely does is turn and introduce Clark to the guests, describing them as a mob of pampered nincompoops whose sole activity in life is searching for new ways to escape boredom.
I am so confused. My friends suggested Blakely’s trying to use this to one-up someone, but like, uh, who? Why? I would say that no one could possibly be this stupid, but then the same friend pointed out that this is pretty much exactly something certain modern-day billionaires would say, so like. :|
The nincompoops in question are a touch offended at being called as such. Blakely brings his hands up as if to placate the crowds, suggesting that they all compromise. And I swear, I stared at this man’s smarmy grin and his body language and immediately thought of that ‘oh you’ meme dog.
See? Same energy. I knew I wasn’t hallucinating.
Blakely goes on to present his grand idea: they’ll finish the party in the mines! Their new miner pal will guide them and feast his eyes on them, and they will get to make merry in the bowels of the earth! All the rich people at the party cheer at this brilliant idea, calling Blakely a genius.
I again wish I could say that no rich people could possibly be this stupid, then I remember we had that whole private deep sea explorer that went down to the Titanic with several billionaires inside not too long ago that went sploot because they stripped out most of the safety measures. So this is actually incredibly realistic to have happening, even if I’m sure that Clark is still internally going ‘what the fuck, there’s no way these people are that stupid.’
No, seriously, literally as far as he got into his plan was ‘get himself inside and talk to Blakely,’ he had no part in Blakely’s decision to take everyone to the same coal mines that were recently filled with poisonous gas. He probably was planning on giving them a good scare or two in order to get them to support more safety measures in the mines, but now he’s gonna have to save them all from committing suicide via sheer stupidity.
[Insert from friends:
[Tyler] …These people are making it so easy, if it were a Joker trap he’d just leave cause it’s no fun
[Reni] Let them die Clark. Natural selection is coming]
Well, I can now confirm that I have literally zero regrets in deciding to read golden age comics, this is the kind of quality content you just don’t get nowadays.
And so, led by Superman, the crowd of singing, shouting, sable-and-evening-clothes-clad party-goers march gaily towards the mine. They crowd themselves onto the shaft elevator, and make light of things while heading down into the depths.
One man brags about bringing along some sandwiches, while another asks who brought flasks. One of the ladies calls the whole thing thrilling. The sandwich man flirts a bit with the woman in question, teasing her about holding tight to the rail, then wondering why she won’t hold onto him, what the rail has that he doesn’t.
The sad thing is that there are dudes out there that would say that kind of thing completely seriously/jealously, which saddens me. That it’s not the case here is a slim upside to this entire disastrous mess.
When they reach the bottom, Blakely is out first, presenting the mine to his guests as they step out. He tells them he promised them a thrill, and asks what they thought of it. A woman sniffs and calls it a horrid-looking place. As others walk further in, they start to mutter - disbelief that people actually work down there, that the place is awful, that they shouldn’t have come.
Like, no fucking shit???? Gotta love people this disconnected from reality realizing for the first time that their bubbles don’t make up everything. Also like, what the fuck did Blakely think he was gonna accomplish with this stunt????
Rich people.
Superman drops back, having finally put together a plan to take advantage of this moment. He starts breaking some of the support beams, causing several rocks to fall. He looks over his work, figuring it’ll work out, then returns to the group just in time to meet with an irate Blakely. Blakely wants to know where he disappeared to; Superman plays dumb. Before the interrogation can continue, a rumbling roar shakes the cavern, spooking the rich folk into fleeing back towards the elevator -
But it’s too late; they’re caved in. Blakely panics as he realizes they’re buried alive, which causes one of the ladies to faint from the shock of it. (Possibly also from poisonous gas, but who knows.) Blakely begs Superman for help, that he’s already suffocating. Superman again plays dumb, stating that there’s at least another twenty-four hours of air.
Gotta love how he works in that subtle little ‘fuck you’ there, since Blakely earlier dismissed these conditions as ‘perfectly fine, who needs to waste money on safety concerns’ and all that.
Blakely takes this as good news, since surely a rescue squad will be there in no time! Superman warns him that it could be rescued in five minutes, or possibly never. One of Blakely’s guests seems to not like that bit of news, because he goes swinging at Blakely, who panics and scrambles away. Other guests hold the man back, but are pretty mulish, even as Blakely panics more.
Blakely then remembers the safety devices. Oh, how could he forget those? They’re basically already saved! The other guests take relief in that, praising the devices and expressing their relief.
Meanwhile, I’m just sitting here like ‘safety devices? You mean the ones you likely deliberately refused to buy earlier because they weren’t needed? The ones that definitely don’t exist, since ‘the mine has no safety hazards’??? THOSE safety devices?’
Oh, it seems I stand corrected, there ARE safety devices down here. Blakely shows them off, explaining how all he has to do is break the glass cover and jerk down the electric signal lever. The man who went off on him before apologies for his rashness, which Blakely accepts - in before he realizes that, no, the device doesn’t work! Superman explains how all the safety devices down there are rusty and no good.
Well, shucks! Guess the man has to strangle Blakely after all. He swears at Blakely, stating that if he’d gotten proper devices installed, they’d have gotten out alive. Another man steps in, stating that there’s no time to quarrel. The angry man declares that their lives are at stake here! Blakely agrees, grabbing one of the abandoned pickaxes nearby and shoving it at Superman, telling him to get busy. Superman declares that he’s fine with dying - if they want out so bad, they can dig! When Blakely swears that he’ll get Supes fired if they get out of there, Supes again reiterates that that’s a big ‘if’ there.
With no other options, the party-goers make a desperate, vain attempt at battering down the wall of coal. They’re knee-deep in water, struggling with unwieldy tools, slipping and falling frequently. All in all, I’m going to bet that none of them are ever going to forget this. At least they aren’t bored. (I bet they are all desperately wishing for those good times when they were just bored.)
Despite their best efforts, the dwindling air supply and the heavy physical labor start to get to them. And the miners have to do this for fourteen hours a day?? Even with a rescue party at work on the opposite side of the cave-in, there’s enough of a barrier that the party-goers have all but given up, moaning about their inevitable deaths. Even Blakely is in tears, stating that if only he could do it all over again, that he hadn’t realized what the men down there had to face.
Superman, seeing that his plan has succeeded, picks himself up and gets ready to work. The guests collapse from exhaustion and air deprivation (probably not helped by whatever poisonous gasses - like, say, carbon dioxide - are no doubt thinning out their already limited oxygen.) While they’re passed out, Superman starts tearing down the barrier, just enough to allow the rescue crew to get through the rest. The rich folk stir, elated for the save, even as the rescue crew warns them to hurry, since another cave-in could happen at any moment.
We close out on a final panel, several days later. Clark Kent pays Blakely another visit in this office, and gets a very different attitude from before. This time, Blakely brags how his mine will be the safest in the country, with the best treated workers. His time in the mines brought their problems closer to his understanding. Clark congratulates him, wishing for it to be a permanent policy.
(And mutters under his breath and/or thinks to himself how, if it isn’t, Blakely can expect another visit from Superman.)
Good to know we didn’t go an entire issue without a death threat of some kind, I was worried for a bit at the end there. Then again, the whole ‘collapsing the mine’ thing probably counts as a silent one, since he seemed fine with letting them die from air deprivation if they didn’t reform? Maybe he would have still saved them, but I am honestly not sure. I want to say he wouldn’t, but like. That’s me still treating him as similar to modern Supes except for where the explicit differences are.
This issue had so much happen. Superman briefly entertaining his inner Batsona. Rich people committing flagrant acts of stupidity for the bit. A whole arc on the importance of OSHA. Reading golden age comics was a great decision, and I can’t wait to find out what fuckery Clark gets up to next time.
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Lavinia Fisher
hey ya’ll
so first up, this is a pretty grim topic, but it’s neat and i wanted to bring it up because i think more people should hear about this
that being said, if you’re uncomfortable with the topic of murder, you might not be a fan of this post, so just scroll by
So, if you know anything about american serial killers, you’ll know that H.H holmes was the first true american serial killer
except that’s not entirely true, because there was a woman named “lavinia fisher” who predated him by almost 40 years
now i’ve been doing a fair amount of research into her story (because bear in mind, she was executed in 1820, so we don’t know too too much reliable info about her as a person, at least not that i could find), and i wanted to talk about it, so here’s her deal
long story short, she would allegedly lure people into an inn she owned (the five mile house), give them poisoned tea, kill them (in ways we’ll get to later) and steal their money
now here’s the thing, since her death there have been a lot of legends of how she killed people, some accounts say the tea was poisoned and that was that, some say the tea just put you to sleep, then her husband (who likely worked with her) would stab you to death, ect
the interpretation i like the most however comes from a primary source, one of the witnesses at her trial claimed (we know his name, i just forgot it in the moment) that he was brought into the house, was given tea, and asked some very probing questions
now he was not a fan of tea, but he diddn’t want to be rude, so he brought it up with him so she couldn’t see him toss it out, then he tossed it out
he was also weirded out about her weird questions, so just to be safe, he slept on a chair next to the door, instead of the bed. Which was good news for him since he woke up to the sound of the bed collapsing into a lower floor, to which he immedeately jumped out of the second story window and ran off
so, my best guess, is that the tea was poisoned, and they had set up a pully system where in the night they could drop a body either into the basement, or another room to hide it easier
now a few more things to note, as said it’s debated as to weather she was actually a serial killer or not, but here’s the main arguements i see supporting that idea and why i think they’re bunk
1 “She was only ever tried for highway robbery“
true, but fun fact about that era of american history: usually if the crime you were charged with included the death penalty (which this one did) then they wouldn’t usually add other death penalty crimes on top of that, since it could result in a mistrial and the whole case being thrown out, plus there wasn’t really a point, how do you get worse than hanging
2 “Her story is too outlandish”
sure, but so was HH holmes, again only 40 years later, and he was still a brutal serial killer with a giant murder hotel
3 “A lot of the details are lost to legend”
sure, but it’s the same with blackbeard, and we know his whole series of exploits
anyway, that was my mini rant on the first serial killer in the US
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That’s right YALL it’s another ‘what has Cheese been reading’ post. No I will not stop.
Recently Read
The Camelot Betrayal: 4 star reread
Thoughts: My girl Guin off finding her way, my boy Arthur off getting a little bit lost, and Best Character Lancelot being magnificent what more could you want
The Excalibur Curse: 4 star first time read
Thoughts: this absolutely would have been a 5 star read but Guin didn’t bang anyones mind out like I REALLY thought she was going to. But listen good for her, I am an Ace Queen myself so it’s no real loss. Lancelot didn’t have enough book time but Fina was a wonderful addition so I guess it’s fine.
Half Sick of Shadows: 2 star first time read
Thoughts: oh boy. Idk if y’all know this but corsets weren’t around for the Arthurian age! At all! The word corset doesn’t come into play until the late Regency period-around the 1820s. Before that it was stays. Before that it was pair of bodies. Fun fact! None of them were around for the Arthurian era! They worse dresses that had some structured support but they were MADE FOR WORKING. There were no petticoats. There were shifts/a basic cotton or linen under layer but that was it. This came up REPEATEDLY. Laura you’re better than this. ALSO. Lancelot deserved so much better. Arthur should have proven himself competent on his own as a leader at literally any point, Gwen and Morgana should have murdered more people. Anyway it was bad but I’m sure I’ll go and read the Tennyson poem it was based on at some point and hate that even more so feel free to look forward to it.
The League of Gentlewoman Witches: 4 star first time read
Thoughts: Just as much bonkers fun as the first one. Seriously if y’all are sleeping on this series wake up and read them. They’re brilliantly funny. Cannot wait for book 3.
A Magic Steeped in Poison: 4 star first time read
Thoughts: Everyone who said this book was excellent was correct. Both of our leads were delightful, all the supporting cast were fun, the writing was beautiful. If you were debating picking it up debate no more! It’s good!
If anyone is curious this brought me to a grand total of 16 novels and 3 novellas this month. (And 18 volumes of manga, 2 graphic novels, and 19 single issue comics but I haven’t mentioned those on these posts)
Currently Reading:
Legendborn: 8% reread
Thoughts: OK but it is objectively so funny that this guy is out here as your peer mentor and he thinks he’s Arthur. Like actually King Arthur, has been convinced of this his whole life and everyone of his friends also think he’s Arthur and they all treat him like it and then you’re out here Actually Arthur. Absolutely hysterical. What happened to the poor lad (or lass or non binary college student idr if their gender ever gets stated) who spent their entire life assuming they were Lancelot? Did they just end up being nothing? I would assume so because by the end all the knights have awakened. I’d go into absolute hysterics. Anyway I’m having an absolute blast rereading this.
The Color of Dragons: 4% First time Read
Thoughts: that’s right I interrupt my Arthurian retelling spree to read a *checks notes* Pre-Arthurian story. Fun so far!
Lancelot and the King: 5% first time read
Thoughts: I was so angry on Lancelot behalf after Half Sick of Shadows that I decided to find a story where he was happy. Will he be happy by the end of this? No idea! But I’m hopeful he’ll at least get railed out of his mind. Also it was only 99¢ on kindle and I’m easily persuaded.
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The Six Realms
Okay, so I was pretty close to giving up on writing analyses but I'm back LMFAO plus I see we're close to 100 followers and I just want to thank you guys for being so very supportive <3
Alright, I'm not sure if anyone's ever written about this, but if an analysis like this exists, please do let me know because I'm kind of curious as to what other people think about this, too!
Remember that time Fukuchi spoke about bringing "about the five signs of an angel's death"?
I read a little bit more about it, and as a minor content warning: this analysis will focus on a few religious aspects (Buddhism + Hinduism). So if I get any of the facts wrong, firstly: I do not mean any disrespect to either religion, and secondly: please do correct me if I interpret anything in the wrong way.
Spoilers for BSD chapter 90 onwards + BEAST!AU under the cut!
So I'll start by talking about the Decay of Angels. As we all know, the members include Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Sigma, and Bram Stoker, and their leader, Fukuchi Ochi. After Fyodor's arrest, the Decay of Angels came into light with Nikolai murdering four government officials in a week. These murders symbolise the Buddhist cycle of existence, or otherwise known as samsara: the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
"We are the Decay of Angels—hiding here as terrorists, a 'murder association', five people who will announce the demise of the celestial world."
Nikolai Gogol, chapter 57
Samsara is described to be a concept beyond human understanding. According to Hinduism, samsara is the physical world where every being has its soul trapped into a physical vessel. The Hindus believe that everything has a soul, and due to a soul's attachment to desire, it is forced into a deathless cycle of being born, dying, and reincarnating into a different body. In Buddhism, the ultimate way to break free from this cycle is by obtaining nirvana.
Nirvana is a Sanskrit word for the goal of the Buddhist path: enlightenment or awakening. In Pali, the language of some of the earliest Buddhist texts, the word is nibbana; in both languages it means "extinction" (like a lamp or flame) or "cessation." It refers to the extinction of greed, ill will, and delusion in the mind, the three poisons that perpetuate suffering. Nirvana is what the Buddha achieved on the night of his enlightenment: he became completely free from the three poisons. Everything he taught for the rest of his life was aimed at helping others to arrive at that same freedom.
- TRICYCLE'S definition of nirvana
As Fukuchi mentions in the panel above, there are six different realms of existence. These realms represent every possible state of existence, but one cannot live in a specific realm forever. Depending on whether or not one's past actions were morally good or bad, an individual is born into one of these realms. Basically, the controlling factor of which realm a person is born into is dependent on their respective karma. The realms are separated into two categories: the hellish ones and the heavenly ones.
The Deva Realm: where beings are rewarded for the good deeds they have done. This realm is void of anything unpleasant. It is basically paradise— empty of unfulfilled desires, any form of suffering, and fears of every kind. Religious individuals, however, do not seek to be born into this realm since its attitude is more or less carefree.
The Asura Realm: where demigods are admitted. Asuras are driven by greed and envy, and may come in conflict with human beings since they are quite similar. They are powerful beings, but quarrel with each other quite a bit, making this realm quite undesirable to be reborn into.
The Animal Realm: where beings are given the form of an animal (you probably guessed that lol). Individuals here don't actually have good karma to take pride in, but rather, they are born into this realm to work off their bad karma (by being slaughtered, hunted, or forced to work, etc). Being born into this realm forces one to atone for their past sins by living out their life as an animal.
The Hell Realm: where one is punished for their evil actions. The most merciless of realms, where one pays for their transgressions through pure suffering, methods of which include: dismemberment, starvation, and psychological/physical torture. However, once a person's term is fulfilled in this realm, they are presumably promised to be reborn into a higher state.
The Preta Realm: similar to the hell realm, in which beings pay for their past sins (specifically: greed and stinginess) by having to survive through hunger and thirst. This realm is also known as the 'ghost realm,' because some pretas are psychologically tortured by being forced to live in places their past selves have lived in. They are invisible to human beings living at that time, which pushes them to face the depths of despair and loneliness. Your typical horror movie, really.
The Human Realm: the only realm where one's actions determine their future. The status (social ranking, physical wellbeing, and so on) of a human being in this realm is determined by their past actions, but due to the fact that a person has their own conscience to differentiate good morals from bad, the actions they commit in this realm have the power to determine which realm they are sent to next.
Okay, so now that I've got that out of the way, let's shift our focus to the Book. Very little is known about the Book, but the basic fundamentals of how it works is that whatever is written in the book will come into existence only if its contents follow the rules of karma. In addition to that, only a few sentences can be written into a single page of the Book, and it must follow the current narrative of the story.
If I'm not wrong, the first time the Book was mentioned was by Fitzgerald, who wanted it to resurrect his deceased daughter in hopes of restoring his wife's mental health. The next time the Book is brought up is when Fyodor's intentions to possess it are divulged; his goal was to decimate the global population of ability-users. And now, the current arc has the Book as its central focus, with a single page in Fukuchi's possession.
[ BEAST!AU spoilers ]
The Book acts as the central point of multiverses, with each character's lives differing from universe to universe.
Dazai committing suicide in this alternate universe stands in sharp contrast with how he decided to start up a new life in the main universe.
Oda staying alive to act as a mentor to Akutagawa in the ADA differs from how Oda uses his death to prompt Dazai to "be on the side that saves people."
And of course, the way Atsushi and Akutagawa have their positions switched in the two universes depicts how different their lives would be if they were given the chance to be mentored by different people— these are just a few examples of how the Book houses an endless amount of possibilities.
[ end of BEAST!AU spoilers ]
Hypothetically speaking, this kind of reminds me of the differing realms I mentioned before, where suffering is promised in some realms, and better things are granted in the rest, depending on one's karma, or the deeds they've done in their past lives. In this scenario, perhaps one's past life can be understood as one's current life in a different universe. That's just a personal opinion though. Take it as you will.
side note: Keep in mind that the person who is more or less impervious to the Book's effect is Dazai, with his nullification ability. I wouldn't want to propose any theories in this aspect (I don't believe I'm fully fact-checked ;_;), but I could use Dazai as a raw example of how your choices affect your future. If Dazai had decided to stay in the Port Mafia after Oda's death, or if he even decided to go through with his suicidal fixations, life would've been different for him in the root universe (obviously, ryley) I mean, you could basically understand that from how he ended up in the BEAST au, but imagine if he really did slip up in his decision-making in any of the universes.
Many analysts have proposed that he went MIA (early in his life) from the main universe for a while to figure out how the BEAST universe worked, whilst having the Book to his advantage. Perhaps his actions were guided? I'm not saying he's all-knowing, but he's sure as hell smart. I'm not sure if Kafka was trying to highlight the concept of karma when it comes to Dazai, but if he is, then I suppose you could say that Dazai is pretty much unaffected by the rules of karma, existing as the centerpiece of all the multiverses. No Longer Human is the namesake of his ability, but the book talks about disqualification from societal norms and generally, the world. I was talking about it with a friend, and they reminded me that Yozo (the main protagonist) was pretty strong in his views against society. Like he didn't speak out of total defeat, he spoke out of defense. If there was anything Dazai actually lost to, it was his guilt— "Living itself is a source of sin."
Then again, that's my personal interpretation since everyone has their unique perspective of his writings. In terms of the actual adaptation, you could translate the word 'disqualification' to 'insusceptibilty' when if it came to the Book's effects on Dazai? This side note is becoming really long lmao anyways I'll link a few theories which afflicted me with brainrot down below.
Another thing before I wrap up, the name 'Decay of Angels' stemmed from Yukio Mishima's book entitled 'The Decay of An Angel.' This is the final novel to the author's tetralogy: 'The Sea of Fertility.' The main protagonist, Honda, meets a person he believes to be a reincarnation of his friend, Kiyoaki, who takes the form of a young teenage boy named Tōru. The last novel of this series enhances Mishima's dominant themes of the series as a whole:
the decay of courtly tradition in Japan
the essence and value of Buddhist philosophy and aesthetics
Mishima’s apocalyptic vision of the modern era
Again, this could be referred to what Fukuchi goes on to say:
Some people view the concept of samsara optimistically, justifying it by saying that perhaps each individual is given a second (third, fourth, fifth, who knows) chance to refine their actions in order to be birthed into a better realm, with their karma being the independent variable.
On the other hand, other people, specifically the Hindus, view the cycle of existence as some sort of plague. To them, the flow of life and being forced to endure the suffering of mere existence in any form was somewhat frowned down upon. Some Hindus viewed samsara as a trap. Besides, having one's soul being limited to a physical body for the rest of eternity was not very appealing, especially since where they ended up at depended on the karmic value their past actions surmounted.
Even so, particular types of Buddhists don't seek nirvana, but instead, like the Hindus, they make an effort to be good people of society, building up their good deeds to increase the likelihood of being reborn into one of the better realms.
As mentioned before, the Deva Realm was the home of angels, the most carefree, gratified beings to exist. Fukuchi describes these angels as the people who don't get their hands dirty, the people who act as the puppeteers of society: politicians.
In terms of parallels, angels were the most fortunate and powerful, but they didn't have anyone ruling over them. A lack of supervision would lead to the abuse of power, which is what I believe Fukuchi was referring to. Deeming himself the Decay of Angels, he sought to prove himself as the 'sign of death that falls on the nation's greed.'
A few fun facts (okay, not really) about Yukio Mishima: he committed seppuku (ritual suicide by disembowelment) on the day he held a speech to voice out his unpopular political beliefs to the public. Mishima deeply treasured traditions and opposed the modern mindset the nation was advancing forward to adapt eventually. In his last book, The Decay of an Angel, he spoke about the five signs which complete the death of an angel:
Here are the five greater signs: the once-immaculate robes are soiled, the flowers in the flowery crown fade and fall, sweat pours from the armpits, a fetid stench envelops the body, the angel is no longer happy in its proper place.
The Decay of an Angel, p.53
The reviews about this series I've read so far describe Mishima's works to be quite complex; his writings demanded a lot of time to deconstruct and understand. They were highly symbolic, and he was pretty obsessed with death and the 'spiritual barrenness of the modern world.' I think you could attach a few strings from here to the mindsets of the DOA members. Of course, this parallel is completely abstract, but I'll go on rambling anyway:
He should have armed them with the foreknowledge that would keep them from flinging themselves after their destinies, take away their wings, keep them from soaring, make them march in step with the crowd. The world does not approve of flying. Wings are dangerous weapons. They invite self-destruction before they can be used. If he had brought Isao to terms with the fools, then he could have pretended that he knew nothing of wings.
The Decay of an Angel, p.113
I suppose you could resonate Nikolai with that excerpt. As much as Fukuchi takes the lead in this whole murder association, I'd like to believe that each member of the DOA plays an equally interesting part in whatever movement they're trying to execute. Fyodor feels it is his god-sent purpose to cleanse the world of its sins, his motto being, "Let the hand of God guide you." Sigma doesn't know where he belongs, since his origination comes from a page in the Book, and is fueled by the desperation to find a reason to live. Bram holds one of the most powerful abilities which is counted to be one of the "Top Ten Calamities to Destroy the World."
What I mean to say is that the DOA members are incredibly powerful, and they're not your ordinary antagonists (or I'm just biased). It's not just overthrowing authorities, mass genocide, and world domination— you could say that each individual is trying to utilize their purposes to their fullest expenditures, and the way they're trying to assert their plan into action is a little more passive-aggressive (framing the Agency, having a convo with a suicidal dude in jail, etc). They're the gray area between evil and good. As they framed the good guys for their own crimes, they're trying to conquer the bad guys for exploiting the innocent as they please.
This post would definitely age well if all hell breaks loose in the current arc (as if it didn't) and Kafka doesn't give us a happy ending.
That's all I have to say for now I guess! Thank you for reading, and once again, if anyone else something they wanna share, feel free to do so <3
sources (tryna follow Q's example ^_^) :
the six realms
samsara
the decay of angels
beast!au
the book
the sea of fertility
yukio mishima
theory: dazai’s emotional/mental state in beast!au
q’s theory: dazai being the protector of the book
theory: beast!dazai and the book
#my brain hurts#bsd#bsd characters#bsd analysis#bungo stray dogs#literature analysis#bsd dazai#bungou stray dogs#bsd beast#bsd manga#bsd spoilers#bsd fyodor#bsd fukuchi#bsd sigma#bsd nikolai gogol#bungo stray dogs wan#bsd decay of angels#bsd hunting dogs#bsd port mafia#bsd armed detective agency
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5,7,23, 29 and 38??? For tremorbolt (sova x breach) Only If ya don't mind of course!!
Send me a ship and a number and I'll tell you
also “28, 39 uh tremorbolt” from @sephtic
ps: i'm not really into breach's character but i kinda love him and this ship so those hcs might be slightly ooc but here's me trying i guess?? idk enjoy <3<3
Who initiated the relationship? Who kissed who first? When did they realize they were in love?
sova likes to think he did (he is wrong) but breach definitely took the first step because their pre dating era had so much sexual tension and holy shit this blond mf is too obvious for a hunter.
Neither of them knows who kissed first because their first kiss was after a particularly rough mission and you know.. <thatsuddenmagnetization3
i think the realization took a while for both sides. Sova is that perfect soldier, his priority is their mission and he can't just let something distract him, and our boi doesn't really think about his feelings because of that but then something happens to breach and boom the realization hits him like a truck. aand for breach i think it happened after going to countless secret missions w him but he didn't want to accept his feelings because?? i have a crush?? on the golden boy?? pfft ridiculous but yeah at some point he just had to make the first move and boom a power couple
What are their vacations like?
at first i wanted to write something really chaotic for this vacation hc because breach likes that kinda stuff but.. i think they'd go to one of their homelands because the weather is cold, it's just two of them and it's perfect and they can just relax and enjoy each others presence without worrying over kingdom and omega world. but ofc breach would somehow make it chaotic (without getting into any trouble lol)
What are they like in the bedroom? Any kinks/fetishes/turn-ons? Anything they won’t do?
oh they're WILD wild. and tbh i don't think the top & bottom stuff is a real thing for them because like.. they get what they want either way so qmdkme
hair pulling is a regular thing for them but breach also loves edging sova imo. plus sova would rather drink one of viper's poisons than admitting this but seeing breach on the battlefield really riles him up lmao
i think blindfold and binding kind of stuff is a massive no for them because ✨body trauma✨
Nicknames? Pet names? Any in-jokes?
please breach has SO MANY pet names for sova in his native language (besides golden boi, sasha or aleksander) and sova likes to call him Любимый or just erik and he curses him in russian when he's annoyed
they have many inside jokes but no one gets them lmao killjoy and raze likes to call it ✨boomer language✨
What annoys them the most about their partner? Would they change it if they could?
sova doesn't like his partner's reckless behavior on the battlefield and breach doesn't like how he always seems to agree brimstone's ways but somehow they balance it.
How do they hug? Kiss? Tease? Flirt? Comfort?
breach's kisses are rough and full of life. he basically kisses like he's getting drafted to the army in the morning lmao idk how to explain it and sova's kisses are more tender and because he likes to enjoy every minute they spend together.
teasing? y e s. breach teases tf out of sova in public and it somehow turns into a lil banter for them. raze once caught them like that and she is their #1 fan
sova's love language is words of affirmation and he always manages to comfort breach with only using his words. and breach's love language is touch so cuddling it is.
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Let Me Go!!
Card: Dorm Uniform - SSR
Characters: Epel, Rook, Vil, Idia
Chapter 1
—INTERIOR HALLWAY—
Epel: Um... This is where the film studies club meets, right?
—CLASSROOM—
Epel: Excuse me...
Rook: Hello, Epel-kun! I see Vil asked you to lend a hand here.
Epel: I’d say it’s more like I was forced... Did he ask you too?
Rook: I’m helping on my own accord. The pleasure is all mine if I’m able to be with Vil.
(Clap, clap!)
Vil: Film studies club! Everyone gather around.
I’m going to discuss the details for when we begin our next student-produced film.
I’ll hand out the script first. Everyone, take one each.
Epel: Whoa, this script is so thick. They must really go all out with their activities here...
Vil: The next film we’re producing will be about time travel.
It’s set in the present day. The students of Night Raven College use a time machine...
And travel to the era of the Great Seven’s Fairest Queen of All.
Rook: The era of the Fairest Queen of All... How très bien!
What a fascinating idea, don’t you think, Epel-kun?
Epel: Hah... I guess.
Vil: The leading role is still undecided. I’ll let you know once I’ve chosen them.
Now, the time machine is the key item in this story... Epel!
Epel: ! Yes?!
Vil: I’m putting you in charge of designing it.
Epel: What?! I-I’m just the help. Why am I in charge of something so important...?
Vil: I’ve deemed you the most suitable for this.
Epel: (What gave him that idea?! I’ve never designed anything in my life. I want to say no...)
Vil: The time machine will use a magical wheel as a base. You’ll be customizing the exterior.
This way, we can shoot driving scenes.
Epel: You said magical wheel...?!
Vil: Yes. I’ve already arranged for one to use in our shooting.
I’ve asked Ignihyde’s dorm leader, Idia, to modify it, so you will work with him to complete it.
Epel: Got it!
Vil: ...You sounded very genuine there. Well, if you’re feeling motivated now, then that’s fine.
The theme of the time machine’s design should be “something beautiful and fitting for the setting.”
Your deadline is in three days at noon. Is that clear?
Epel: Yes, Vil-san!
(I was so reluctant about having to help out the film studies club... but I didn’t expect there to be a magical wheel involved!)
(That feeling of the passenger becoming one with the vehicle as they ride on... Just watchin’ it gets me all excited.)
(Maybe if I made a design that makes Vil-san’s jaw drop, he’d even let me take it for a test run.)
(Okay, I’m gonna do my best!!)
—IGNIHYDE DORM - LOUNGE—
Epel: I’m Epel, a first-year from Pomefiore. You’re Idia-san, right? Let’s work hard together.
Idia: Ugh... The glittery Pomefioran is here, hurray...
O-Oh, um... Vil-shi explained everything to me. We’ll use this lounge to work...
Epel: Okay, thank you.
Oh, that’s the magical wheel we’re going to modify there next to you, right? It’s so cool...!!
Idia: Hah... I only agreed to this ‘cause Vil-shi said he’d compensate me...
But working with other people... really makes me irritated by the second.
I need to finish this and go back to my room ASAP before my sanity gauge runs out.
Epel: (I know Vil-san’s taste pretty well since he’s been training me for months ever since I enrolled here.)
(I need to aim for a fancy design that goes with the setting and also satisfies Vil-san.)
Idia-san. Let’s do our best designing this magical wheel...!
Idia: Yeah. Let’s get this done as fast as we can...
Chapter 2
—IGNIHYDE DORM - LOUNGE—
Epel: It took all night... but it’s done! Idia-san, the coloring for the magical wheel is all finished.
Idia: Congrats on getting it done. You told Vil-shi you’d show it to him once it was finished, right? Shouldn’t you call him?
And end this so I can be alone.
Epel: Yes, I’ll go do that!
Epel: Here’s the magical wheel, painted to look like a time machine.
The design was inspired by the peacock engraved into the Fairest Queen of All’s favorite chair.
Vil: ......
Epel: Um... Vil-san?
Vil: Epel. Are you satisfied with this design?
Epel: What do you mean, am I satisfied...?
Vil: I ordered you to design something “beautiful and fitting for the setting.”
However, this piece conveys nothing from the creator’s heart.
You wouldn’t consider this design “beautiful,” would you?
Epel: ...! Well, I...
Vil: To me, this looks like you only tried to match the setting.
Redo it, Epel. And don’t think about coming back to the dorm until it’s finished.
Epel: What?! Vil-san, wait a seco— ...He’s gone.
...Dammit! How can he be angry that I made it exactly as he said...?!
But I get to work with a magical wheel, which I love so much. No way am I giving up after failing once!
I need to make something that I think is beautiful, that matches the setting,
And something that would make Vil-san satisfied, right?
I’m gonna do it!!
......
But what would that be...?
—IGNIHYDE DORM - IDIA’S ROOM—
Idia: Hehee! I got that kitty accessory I wanted! It’s a rare strength item that boosts my speed by 100!
Hehehe, now, the boss from this ultra-hard quest... You should tremble in fear of my dodging power.
(Running footsteps!)
(Epel barges in)
Epel: Idia-san!
Idia: Eee! E-E-E-E-Epel-shi! It’s rude to come into someone’s room without knocking!
Epel: Oh... S-Sorry.
It’s just, we have to redo the time machine...
Idia: Hah? He rejected that flashy design?
Epel: Yeah... So please help me make it over again!
Idia: (I can’t believe Vil-shi. He should’ve done this himself if he was going for something specific. Why’d he leave it to someone else?)
(I can’t stand them taking away my gaming time anymore. I gotta get this done now and chase out Epel-shi...)
H-Hey, Epel-shi. Do you have anything you’re good at?
Epel: Huh? Why are you asking?
Idia: ‘Cause wouldn’t this get done faster if Vil-shi just made it himself instead of having you make it over again?
But he still put you up to it... So shouldn’t you consider that maybe you’ve got some kind of secret talent?
In online games, leveling up skills you’re good at makes getting through the game easier.
Epel: But I’m just good at things like carving apples. I can’t really use that in desig——
(...Hm? Apples...?)
I figured it out!!
Idia: Ee! I-I-It scares me when you yell out of nowhere! Wh-What did you figure out?
Epel: I figured out what I can make that’s as beautiful and fitting for the setting as I can!
Idia: I-I’m glad to see you came up with an idea. Well, let’s get on with it then.
Epel: Huh? But you stayed up all night last night. Are you sure you shouldn’t rest a little...?
Idia: Heh, staying up all night is nothing to me. I stan a group of idols who look elderly but with hearts eternally 17...
And even Moirai on the Edge can do live performances for 72 hours straight.
We’ll prevail over this ultra-hard quest!
Epel: M-Moi...rai? I-I don’t know what that means, but let’s work hard!
(This time, we’ll make a design that Vil-sanーno, that anyone would approve of!)
Chapter 3
ーーThe day the time machine is due.
???: ...el... Epel!
—IGNIHYDE DORM - LOUNGE—
Epel: *Yawns*...?
Huh? Ahh! When did I go to sleep?! And Vil-san, what’re you doin’ here?
Vil: Your deadline is today at noon, so I came to check up on how you were doing. Honestly, I cannot believe you were sprawled out asleep on the floor.
So? Have you finished the time machine?
Epel: Oh... I did. Take a look at this!
There’s a story where the Fairest Queen of All made a poisoned apple, right?
So this time, I used that as my inspiration.
The color of the whole body represents a ripe, red, shining apple.
Like one you reach out to take without even realizing it... Anyway, I made sure it looked delicious!
Vil: Hmm... Go on.
Epel: Right. The other thing I worked especially hard on was this design that’s hidden when the machine is stopped, and only gets revealed when it starts up.
I’ll turn it on to let you see.
Vil: ! You painted the tire kept inside... Is that a skull?
Epel: Yes! One of the stories mentioned that a skull rose up before the poisoned apple the Queen made turned red...
So I added a symbol that can’t be seen from the outside unless you start it up.
This time machine is as “beautiful and fitting for the setting” as I can make it right now!
Vil: ...Allow me to ask you one thing. Why did you change to a poisoned apple?
Epel: Um... When I tried to use a peacock in my design, I honestly couldn’t tell if it was good or bad...
But then I thought, no one would be able to resist a design that makes apples look appealin’...!!
Vil: ......
...Heh. You finally came up with a design that reflects you.
Epel: ...! Yeah!
Vil: Now, I will leave you with the keys to this magical wheel.
Epel: Huh? Why me?
Vil: I’m heading back to our set. You’ll deliver the machine to the film studies club yourself.
You have until noon to bring it, just as we discussed. Don’t be late. Understood?
(Vil leaves)
Epel: ...If he was in such a rush, he could’ve just taken it himself... Wait, hold on?!
Does this mean I can ride it back to the set... maybe?
AHH~! ALL RIGHT!!
Idia: Ugh... Epel-shi, you’re too loud... Your voice is ringing through my sleep-deprived head...
Epel: Oh! S-Sorry, Idia-san.
I’ve always wanted a magical wheel... And I get to ride one I designed myself. I just can’t believe it...
Alright, let’s get to the school building!
—MAIN STREET—
Film Studies Student A: Hm...? What’s that? There’s something coming towards us from the front gate.
Rook: That is a magical wheel. And the one driving it is... Monsieur Cherry Apple, Epel-kun.
Film Studies Student A: It’s so glossy, like a real apple... And his Pomefiore uniform looks so nice. It’s beautiful!
Film Studies Student B: Driving that machine, Epel-kun’s got a radiance that’s different from his usual frail beauty.
Film Studies Student C: Yeah. That piercing cold look and his unconsciously curled-up lips... I’m so drawn to it; I can’t look away.
Rook: Did you hear that, Vil? Everyone is praising Epel-kun!
Vil: Hehe, these potatoes’ reactions are perfect.
Epel: Oh... There he is! Vil-san! Just as promised, I’m here to deliver this.
Let me stop the machine... Okay. Well, I’ll get going now.
Vil: Hold it, Epel. Stay right there.
Film studies club, your attention! I have an announcement to make regarding our next film.
For our undecided leading role... I’ve decided to cast Epel right here.
Epel: Wh... What?!
Vil: You all saw how he looked riding that time machine, yes?
I believe there’s no better person out there more suited for this role. Are there any objections?
Rook: It’s true, the sight of him riding that time machine up here almost felt like a scene from a movie.
Film Studies Student B: Yeah! Hats off to you for how dashing you looked. I’ll let you have my seat today.
Epel: W-Wait a second. I thought I was just helping with the design——
Vil: I’ve already made up my mind. I’ll thoroughly train you to be an actor, so do prepare yourself.
Now, you must do a costume fitting. Costume committee, take Epel to our club room.
Costume Committee: Okay!
Epel: I-I still haven’t said anything about doing th—let me go!!
Vil: ...I see now how drastically the sparkle in his eyes changes depending on whether he’s interested or not. Honestly. He’s a difficult apple to deal with.
Rook: Epel-kun was shining like a completely different person than he was yesterday, yes...
But perhaps were you anticipating this finale from the start?
Vil: Well, now. Who’s to say?
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