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haddonfieldwhore · 5 months

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i miss you, i’m sorry - matthew tkachuk

matthew tkachuk x fem!reader

summary: you go with your bf to a hockey game; he is unaware of your history with one of the players (please read warnings!)

warnings: abusive bf, violence, strong and derogatory language, angst, a few uses of y/n

word count: 3k

you felt like you hadn’t been able to breathe properly in hours, sitting rigid like a stone next to mike, who’s mood has only deteriorated as the night went on. mike was a diehard coyotes fan, and had brought you to the game with him last minute when his friend had cancelled last minute.

“are you sure none of your other friends would want to go? they would probably have more fun than i would,” you had offered, desperately trying to get out of going.

“they’re all busy,” he replied. “i know you hate hockey, but can you try to have a good time, for me?” he asked sweetly, pulling you into his arms. you weren’t fooled by his tone; you would go and you would enjoy it, you didn’t have a choice.

“okay,” you smiled, and he kissed you softly before going to your shared room to get ready. you sighed, trying to figure out how you were going to make it through this game. you didn’t hate hockey - you used to love it actually, but when you started dating mike you chose to keep that part of your life a secret. it seemed silly at face value, but there was a bigger secret you were hiding from him, and you asked the universe why it had to be the panthers that arizona was playing tonight.

a little less than two years ago, you had dated their star player, matthew tkachuk for almost a year, before the travel and hectic schedule got to be too much for you, and you decided to leave; the hardest thing you had ever done. the relationship had been kept pretty quiet thankfully, no traces of it online except for one or two group photos from when you were together still floating around instagram; though you had done all you could to erase any evidence.

if mike found out, you honestly weren’t sure how he would react; but you knew it wouldn’t be good. you had met mike a few months after you and matthew broke up, and he was nice enough, until he wasn’t. he kept up the good guy just long enough for you to move in and become dependant on him, and suddenly you found yourself trapped. things were okay most of the time, but if he got angry, sometimes you got caught in the crossfire. he had only actually hit you once, but he yelled, and would sometimes grab you too hard, leaving you with bruises to cover before he could see them; he had the audacity to say that they made him upset.

he had been in a good mood when you got to the arena, and you were thankful that your seats weren’t too close to the ice, though you shuddered at the possibility of matthew seeing you in the crowd, despite how slim the chance was. you hadn’t seen him since they day you broke up, and as the familiar head of curly hair came out from the tunnel, skating on to the ice as part of the starting line up, your heart felt like it was being twisted in a vice.

you missed him. you missed your friends on the team, having grown pretty close to some of the guys, as well as their girlfriends. you hadn’t heard from any of them since leaving; it was too hard at first, and then it became a safety concern. any connection to your former life meant more risk of mike finding out about matthew, and that couldn’t happen.

“can you at least look like you want to be here?” mike whispered in your ear, and you knew it wasn’t a suggestion. you put on a smile, and thankfully it was good enough, as he turned his attention back to the players on the ice.

the game started off a bit slow, however the panthers had a 1-0 lead at the end of the first, and through the second as well. the coyotes were playing pretty rough, getting quite a few penalties for some dirty hits, all while mike cheered them on, booing the refs anytime they called a penalty on arizona. you watched as one of floridas players, nick cousins, ran into one of the coyotes while he was low on the boards, the hit landing on his shoulders or maybe his head, you couldn’t really tell. another coyote skated up and checked nick face first into the boards; hard. he hadn’t been looking that way and had no warning to protect himself, and you watched in distress as he crumbled to the ice, and you were worried he was unconscious.

nick had been one of your closest friends while you were dating matt, and your heart pounded as you watched him struggle to his feet.

“that pussy folded like a piece of paper!” mike laughed, enjoying every second of him getting hit. floridas players jumped on the guy who had laid the hit on nick, defending their fallen teammate as a fight broke out, sending players from each team into the penalty box. mikes mood dropped with each second of the refs deliberating passed, the officials eventually awarding nearly 20 penalty minutes to forsling for florida, as well as enough penalty minutes to arizona to give the panthers a man advantage.

“that’s fucking bullshit!” he screamed, the crowd of arizona fans not happy about the decision either. you said nothing as mike spilled some of his fourth beer on your lap, just thankful it hadn’t got on his spare coyotes jersey that he had insisted you wear. as the players got ready to continue the game, you looked across the ice, locking eyes with the one person you hoped you could avoid more than anything. something flashed in his eyes as he saw you, but his attention was quickly back to the game as the whistle blew, and soon the second period was over and he was gone down the tunnel for intermission.

the coyotes scored in the third to tie the game, but the panthers got the lead back, scoring twice in close succession. matthew looked to you after putting the puck in the net, and it took everything in you to ignore him. mike was livid at this point, the alcohol not helping in the slightest, and you cringed internally as he grabbed your hand, holding it way too tight.

forsling finally came out of the penalty box after serving 17 minutes, and immediately scored an empty netter, solidifying a 4-1 victory for florida. with 2 minutes left in the game, mike dragged you out to the concession area. matthews eyes noticed your empty seats, and his heart dropped, wondering if he had imagined you even being there in the first place.

downstairs, mike pushed you against the brick wall next to the restroom.

“wait here. i gotta piss before we leave,” looking at the long lineup already formed outside the men’s room. the arena was small, and there were limited washrooms, so you had a feeling this was gonna take a while, but you dared not move from your spot against the wall.

you could hear the final buzzer go, and the florida players began walking out from ice level, and you realized that they had to walk through the main area to get to the visitors locker room, and your blood ran cold. most of the panthers paid no mind to you, but you held your breath as you saw matthew approaching, praying that he ignored you like the others had.

he thankfully didn’t say anything, but your eyes locked for the second time that night as he passed by, disappearing down the hall and into the locker room. your foot tapped anxiously on the floor, grinding a small piece of gravel under your shoe as you willed mike to hurry the fuck up.

10 minutes went by, and you exhaled in relief as he finally appeared, not even caring about the death grip he took on your wrist as he literally dragged you behind him towards the exit.

“y/n?” a familiar voice called, and you hoped with all you had that mike would ignore it and keep walking. “wait- y/n.” mike stopped, causing you to bump into his back with how fast you were following behind him. he turned around, and you were sure he was quite confused as to why matthew tkachuk was calling after you.

“what the hell do you want?” mike asked, looking matt up and down before turning to you, still holding you tight. “do you know this asshole?”

“no, let’s go home,” you pleaded, but he wasn’t budging.

“you got the wrong girl.” mike shrugged. “shouldn’t you be circle jerking with the other guys in the locker room right now?” he spat, still bitter about his team losing the game.

“i told them to start without me,” matthew joked dryly, and you could feel his eyes on you, however yours were glued to the floor.

“funny,” mike replied. “let’s go,” he pushed you in front of him to leave.

“wait, y/n - please.”

“i’m sorry, you have the wrong person.”

“yeah, chucky,” mike laughed. “you must be thinking of some other whore. i’m sure there’s a lot of desperate chicks around here that would suck your cock though, so stop talking to mine.”

“you really shouldn’t talk about women like that,” matthew threatened, and while his tone sounded calm, you knew he was furious.

“or what? what, you want to fight or something?” mike asked. you noticed a few people gathering to watch, either out of concern or just to see matthew, but you knew this wasn’t going to end well.

“baby, can we please just-“

“shut up!” he shoved you and you fell to the floor, landing hard on your ass, before punching matthew in the face. matthew swung a fist at mikes face, hitting him square in the jaw. your eyes widened in horror as mike swung more drunken punches back at matt, and people backed away from the fight. you looked down the hall to see a familiar face, and you called out to your former friend.

“carter!” his eyes snapped up from his phone and he took out an airpod before he noticed the fight, and he quickly pulled matthew off of mike with the help of security guards that had come to help break up the situation. you stared at the ground in front of you again, feeling like the room was spinning and wishing that the floor would open up and swallow you. security handcuffed mike and escorted him out of the building, while carter and another security officer took matthew back down the hall towards the locker room.

an officer asked you to come with him, and he took you to an empty office room to take a statement about what happened. you just hoped matthew wouldn’t get in too much trouble.

•

when you left the office, there were thankfully little to no fans left in the arena, the hallways eerily empty as you walked towards the door. before you could reach it though, something - or someone - made you pause. you looked back down the hall to the locker room, and with a sigh walked towards it. you knocked on the door, your heart hammering against your ribcage as it opened, one of the team staff looking at you.

“i’m sorry, you can’t be back here-“

“it’s fine. she’s a friend,” carter interrupted her, opening the door to let you in. the room was empty, the team having already left, and you forced yourself to look at carter.

“are you okay?” he asked, and you nodded.

“thank you. i’m sorry-“

“don’t, it’s not your fault.” he opened his arms and you fell into them, hugging him tightly. “chuckys just getting patched up in the medic room. mostly procedure that they have to check him after a fight - usually it only happens during a game though,” he joked, and you found yourself smiling for real for the first time that night.

“is he in a lot of trouble?”

“no more than he normally gets himself into. it’ll be fine, y/n,” he assured you, but you were still worried there might be some legal repercussions. deciding there was nothing you could do about that right now, you managed to push the thought away and sat down on a bench in the locker room.

“you waiting around for him?” verhaeghe asked, and you nodded, eyes on the floor again.

“yeah. i think i’d be a shitty person not to.”

“you could never be a shitty person,” he smiled. “we miss you. chucky especially.” you looked up at him sadly.

“i miss you guys too.”

the medic door opened with a creak, and matthew walked out. you kept your eyes on your feet, counting the laces on your shoes over and over again.

“i’ll see you later,” carter said goodbye to both of you before leaving the room. you didn’t dare look up as matthew walked over slowly and sat down next to you, leaving space between you as his gaze lingered on you.

“you waited,” he said softly.

“yeah…. i don’t think i should have, but i wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“you wanted to make sure i was okay?” he laughed softly. “yeah, i’m okay.” he said, and an awkward silence filled the room. “was he always like that?” he asked gently, and you shook your head sadly.

“nope,” you said bitterly, eyes growing wet with tears. “he was perfect at first. until he wasn’t.”

“i’m sorry.”

“don’t be. it’s not your fault.”

“i still am. you don’t deserve to be treated like that.” you didn’t reply, knowing he was right. “y/n, you haven’t even looked at me.” he hand touched yours on the bench next to you, his touch so soft and gentle it was unfamiliar.

you turned your head towards him, and his heart broke at your sad expression. his lip was split open, red and forming a bruise already. you reached for his face without thinking, pulling your hand back before you went too far.

“what do you want me to say?” you whispered, a tear rolling down your cheek. with the carefulness of someone touching glass, he brushed it off your face, and you closed your eyes, leaning into his touch.

“do you have somewhere to stay tonight?” he asked, somewhat ignoring your question. he didn’t want you to say anything, he just wanted to make sure you were safe.

“i can figure something out,” you said, going through the options in your head; likely a hotel or sleeping in your car.

“please, i would feel a lot better if i knew you were somewhere safe. i have an extra bed in my hotel room-“

“no, matthew. i can’t do this.”

“do what?” he asked.

“this,” you gestured between the two of you. “thank you for protecting me, but i can’t let myself be near you. it’s too hard.”

“please,” his blue eyes looking in yours. the smell of his cologne wafted to your nose, filling you with a sense of safety that only he could ever bring you.

“okay,” you nodded.

•

the drive to the hotel was short and silent, but you felt at ease for the first time all night. the more time you spent with him, the more it felt like no time had passed; like things were back to how they were before. matthew held your hand the whole drive, his thumb drawing little circles on the back of it gently, his touch like a feather.

you got up to the hotel room and he grabbed a t-shirt from his suitcase for you.

“you a coyotes fan now?” he teased, and you laughed. matthew hadn’t realized how much he missed the sound, but did he would do anything to hear it again and again.

“not by choice,” you laughed, pulling mikes jersey over your head, putting the t-shirt over your undershirt you had on.

“did he know about -“

“no,” you shook your head, dropping the jersey in the small garbage can, and matthew cracked a smile. “he probably wouldn’t have liked it very much.”

“i’m sorry, i don’t mean to -“

“it’s okay. i know. how’s your lip?” you asked, still feeling guilty about it.

“it’s not my first split lip. i’ll live,” he smiled.

“is nick okay?” you asked, remembering the nasty hit during the game.

“he wasn’t feeling too hot after that. i’m not sure yet,” he admitted, and you nodded, before covering your mouth as a yawn slipped past your lips. “come on, sleepyhead, let get you to bed.”

you nodded, dragging your exhausted body into the nearest of the two queen sized beds. matthew tucked you into bed, leaning down to kiss your forehead, and you reached for his hand before he could walk away.

“lay with me?” you asked sleepily, knowing it was selfish to use him as a safety net right now; but you felt you would fall apart without him.

“are you sure?” he asked, and you nodded. he crawled into bed next to you, letting you cling to him like a life raft. “you’re safe now. i won’t let anyone hurt you, baby, i promise.”

“i know, matty,” you snuggled into him, everything about him bringing you comfort you hadn’t felt since you left; his scent, his voice, the feeling of his arms around you. “i missed you.”

“god, i missed you to. i don’t want to let you go again.”

“please don’t,” you begged, your eyes wet with tears that fell onto the fabric of his shirt, your fingers gripping it so tight your knuckles hurt. “don’t let me go.”

“i won’t.”

you felt like you were dreaming; what had started as a nightmare turning into the first time you had felt safe in months. you were scared that you would wake up and it hadn’t been real - you would be next to mike in his apartment, the cold draft from the window on your side of the bed would prickle you skin like it always did and you would have to apologize for not having his lunch ready for work.

but instead you would wake up in the arms of someone who actually cared about you, the sun peeking through the cracks of the blinds, casting warmth onto your skin. along with it, matthew brought a light to your life that had been missing for so long, you thought it was lost for good.

matthew pressed another soft kiss to your forehead as you felt yourself falling asleep, knowing you were protected as long as he was next to you.

“thank you matty,” you murmured, barely awake as you nose brushed the side of his jaw, your face tucked into the crook of his neck.

“anything for you.”

disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned

#nhl #nhl fic #nhl imagine #real person fiction #nhl players #matthew tkachuk x reader #matthew tkachuk fic #matthew tkachuk imagine #matty tkachuk #matthew tkachuk #tkachuk #hockey imagine #hockey fic #hockey player #hockey #florida #panthers #florida panthers

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buterccup · 1 year

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Ocean child tears

A/N: The fight may not be in the right order- but I hope you all still enjoy it!

summary: Being the adopted child of the one and only Poseidon made a lot of people think you were just as cold-hearted as the Ocean tyrant. But during the third round of Ragnarok, and you witness something that you wished so many times to be a sick joke, the humans and gods finally saw who you were.

Warnings: Angst, death, blood, gore, swearing, slight comfort at the end?, Gn! reader.

Character(s): Poseidon x Young demigod! Reader(Platonic)

It was almost time for the third round, of what you thought were pointless battles. Even though the humans were reckless, greedy, wrathful, and pitiful you never saw a need to kill them all. You were human too. Well, Half.

And that was one of the reasons why you wondered why the almighty Poseidon took you under his wing. He despised humans so why would he accept you. But you digress, you were very grateful to him.

At first, of course, Poseidon had the reoccurring thought of killing you but since you were half god as well he thought otherwise. But the longer you followed him like a lost puppy the more he seemed to tolerate your presence than hate it then enjoyed it more than he used to tolerate it. He seemed to give you everything your non-existent parents couldn't. But one thing that you wished didn't come along with you once he adopted you was the simultaneous agreement from everyone else around you that you were just like him. Which was annoying, to say the least.

And you hated that fact that he was going to be fighting in the next match.

"Hey, [Name]~...[Name]. [Name]!"

"Has it started already?!"

"What? no- not yet anyways. But you have to stop daydreaming in these hallways." Loki's voice would tease you, a hint of annoyance in his voice after seeing you in the same spot he'd seen you the past 3 times beforehand. And although you were a halfling, as Loki likes to call it, you both surprisingly got along well. Sometimes.

You did nothing but let out a chuckle and look at Loki with a tired look, a churning feeling in your stomach starting to grow, and before you could say anything of your own the Norse god began to walk down the hallway with a smug smile on his face.

"Come on now, we don't want to be late for your Father's grand entrance!"

"Yeah, I'm coming."

You were a couple steps behind the god mischief as you entered the concrete box where the more important gods and goddesses sat, and if you were going to be honest with yourself you didn't know if you should be allowed to be sitting next to any of them.

"[Name], darling! You took quite a while to come back, are you alright?" Aphrodite's soft voice would call out to you as you took your seat next to Ares, the unshakeable feeling in your stomach getting worse once she asked.

"I'm fine, just fine..." you managed to mutter out, slouching back into your chair as you placed a hand on your stomach, Heimdall's booming voice grabbing man and maker's attention.

"...WELCOME TO ROUND THREE OF RAGNAROK!" Heimdall continued to speak like he was preaching as you started to smile a little, everything about him making him a great hype man in fights like these.

Hermes, being one if not the only person to see you smile, causing the smug servant to chuckle behind his hand.

"-SO LET'S BRING OUT OUR NEXT CHALLENGER!" this announcement makes you sit up properly in your seat this time, eager to see your father in the arena in the middle.

"HERE COMES GOD WARRIOR THREE! IT'S TIME TO GET WET!!" the last sentence Heimdall made causing you to look over at Loki to see if he made any reaction until the crashing of waves and the blinding light of a spotlight overtook your senses.

The water splits in two as you finally got to see your father making his way to the island arena, your eyes sparkling and your lips pulling up in a proud smile. You were very lucky that you had him as your father and you believed that no human, whoever it may be, would bring him to his knees.

Then the representative for the humans entered the stage from a wooden boat. And you must say he looked strong. Well as strong as an old man could look. And just like your father, Heimdall gave him too an amazing intro. So greatly spoken in fact that sometimes you wondered what side he was on.

Once the match officially started and your father's trident finally pierced through the Asian man's skin every god started to cheer for him. And who were you to not join in too? Causing the Gods in the spectator box to turn to your cheering figure. The only unfazed deities being Hermes and Loki. But once Poseidon turned around to give every single God that cheered for his victory a deadly glare for silence it went dead quiet, the only voice that could be heard though was yours.

The newer and uninformed gods and goddesses muttering words of shock.

"Who do they think they are?.."

"They're going to die!"

"They've done it now..."

"They must be important to be there but..."

"I've never seen a god like them before."

"It's because they're not..."

"Huh?"

But to say the least, everyone was shocked to see someone such as yourself ignore the almighty tyrant of the seas. But to their surprise, his gaze was much softer when he looked up at you before focusing on the battle. Leaving you unharmed with no threats thrown your way.

"Lord Poseidon!"

You were clearly showing off the perks of being his child.

"Father Poseidon! Papa!"

"What is it, child?" Poseidon called out to you with a sigh as you ran up to him with a face of pure joy, something clearly in your hands, the closer you got the clearer how wet they were. Bringing them up to him with such pride as you wave them in his face, small droplets of water landing on his face.

"A gift papa Poseidon!" you proudly state as your hands shake but soon stopped as you squeezed your hands tighter. "Lord...But a gift? Show me, child." he reminded you quietly but that didn't stop him from wanting to know what you have gotten him.

And with no hesitation, you showed the god his gift. A... baby Pacu fish? At first, the tyrant was confused and somewhat worried but once he looked longer at the false piranha look alike he knew he didn't need to be too worried.

He just picked up the poor creature and put it back in a water pool next to him.

"Do you like it? It's so cute!" he would then hear you ask, your bright smile never leaving your small chubby face as you stared into the body of water, watching the baby fish swim around. "Yes. It's nice. But you can't just pick up random fishes." he then says, not wanting you to pick up something that could harm you, as he grips his trident and bonked you on the head with the flat side of it gently. The coldness of the metal comforts you.

"ehe! Okay, papa oh- Lord Poseidon!"

"Good...Well done, child."

It was mid-way through the third round, and the prideful smile you had before had been replaced with a worried frown the human had been dodging every single attack, almost like Adam, but less flawlessly. Seemingly memorized every single movement and attack of your father in his head.

The uncomfortable feeling from before crawling back into your stomach haunts you, not even seeing your father striking back a the man making it go away. Your thoughts racing. And you felt your heart drop once you saw that the man, Kojiro Sasaki, finally drew blood. Shocking almost every god watching.

"Oh my..." you heard Aphrodite say from behind her hand as she looked down at the battle while your brows furrowed, a serious look in your eyes. "It's going to be fine." you would just repeat to yourself as you gripped the arms of your chair, a cold sweat forming on your forehead.

"It's going to be fine." your father says and he fixes your robes and started to walk in front of you. His face held a deadpanned expression but his words help sincere encouragement and comfort. It was your first time going with him to see how he did his job.

Most of the time for you, you stayed in his home and watched things from the window in your room, so you were very nervous but excited to come along with him.

"But...father...Lord Poseidon.." you then called out to the large man as you tried to keep up with him, hearing you call out for him causing him to stop and turn around to your younger figure. Clear worry in your eyes than excitement, "I'm a half-human father...what if-"

"Silence child, if you think that you are idiotic and I shouldn't have taken you in. But I'm sure you don't." Poseidon's voice boomed, strong and harsh like the vast waves of the sea, your head dropping down. "You are half-god too, child. Never forget that." he then continued, no matter how harsh his voice may sound it was overflowing with warmth and care. Even if it was hard to tell.

All you did was look up at him with a smile and nod your head, feeling the nervousness and insecurity fade away as Poseidon lifted his trident and placed the flat side gently on your head. Everything in his stance while he did that radiated pride. Pride for you.

"Now hurry, I have a lot to do."

"Yes, Lord Poseidon."

You could feel your heart in your throat as you watched the human try striking your father again but it almost felt like everything went quiet once the man's weapon got snapped into two like a twig and Heimdall's voice boomed out once again.

The worried murmurs and quiet sobs came from the humans. You felt pity for them, of course, they were going to be erased but you couldn't help but feel happy that your father was going to live. Until Kojiro picked up his blade and the fragments started to glow a beautiful green.

"Is he..."

"Oh?"

"Amazing..."

Everything felt like a blur until you saw a familiar crimson color come from your father's skin. An uncontrollable fear crawls up your spine. You knew if your father saw how you were acting right now he would be disappointed.

You tried so hard to keep calm, knowing that in the end Poseidon will win this fight but then another strike from the human's divine weapon tasted blood again, soon making Poseidon almost drenched in blood after a while.

You couldn't help but whimper out of fear, anger, and resentment towards the people that took the only person that truly looked out for you. Your whimpers soon turn to loud gasps with every injury then finally a scream. Poseidon's arm was cut clean off of his arm.

"Lord...LORD POSEIDON!" you screamed out once again the Gods seated next to you had an expression full of shock. They had never, in all their time seen you shout with such emotion. But you paid no mind to it as your face contorted into a one of pure fear as you watched your father's arm get chopped clean off and body get sliced.

That's when it happened. The human, Sasaki Kojiro, managed to make the mighty Poseidon fall. This must have been a bad dream. That sentence kept going on repeat in your head as you placed your hands on your head and gripped tightly onto your hair. Frightened whimpers soon morphed into sobs and cries but your eyes remained dry.

This must've been how it felt for Adam's family, for the whole of humanity. It felt like your heart had just been ripped from your chest after you'd been beaten and choked. But worse. Meanwhile, the gods just stared in shock, the whole god's side of the arena was silent apart from your sobs.

"Pose...FATHER POSEIDON!" you suddenly screamed as tears finally started to run down your face once Poseidon fell to the ground. All you could do was reach out to him. Hoping, praying that he would somehow get up.

"GET UP! PLEASE!"

The deities just looked at you with pity as your tears started to fall down into the water below, your cries being covered by the cheers of the humans.

You honestly couldn't handle the scene anymore. You couldn't bear to see your father turn into shards of nothingness, never to be seen again. Because unlike him, you were weak. Emotionally anyway.

So before anything else could happen you picked up your pitiful figure from leaning on the stone railing and walked away from the area.

"[Name] wait where are you..."

"Leave them be Loki."

They couldn't really blame you for walking out like that. Although you were wondering how your father would have reacted, seeing you like that. You knew you shouldn't be thinking this way or letting yourself drown in your tears you knew-

"[Name]."

"Hercules?" you then mumbled, as you wiped a tear away as the coldness you felt before was overcome with a never-ending warmness. Your eyes meet Hercules's sympathetic ones as he let your sorrows wash away.

You always wanted to learn how to whistle the tune of Medusa Alope Demeter.

Requests: Open

#ror poseidon #record of ragnarok fanfic #record of ragnarok #record of ragnarok x reader #snv poseidon #snv x reader #ror x reader #ror poseidon x reader #snv poseidon x reader #platonic #angst #snv angst #snv platonic #snv hermes #snv loki #ror loki #ror hermes

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w1f1n1ghtm4r3 · 2 months

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ippiki au: minor characters edition

first things first: here look at everyone. dont mind the inconsistency of style, i took a 4 month break in the middle of these okay

and now! lore and stuff will be under the cut to not clog up everything

ill include everyones images a second time before their specific lore just to help keep track of things i hope you dont mind that. also implied vbs event spoilers (specifically for light up the fire) when you get to radder, if thats a concern at all

mizuki- deer. a runaway from an arena with lower security, met ena early into their escaped days and theyve stuck together since. their antler broke while in the arena, and they havent shed yet to grow back evenly. whether the white spots are because of their deer species or the fact that theyre still a teenager or just because of weird hybrid things is up to viewer interpretation (aka i never really settled on a specific type of deer for them). unfortunately the antlers make them pretty visibly trans and they dont really like having them, but at least most other hybrids dont seem to care too much.

ena- mountain lion. grew up in the same lab as akito, and to neither of their knowledge, they are actually related (ena was still somewhat of an older sister figure to him, along with some of the others from his group. they havent seen each other in a few years since ena got taken to an arena. to each other they might as well be dead). not the biggest fan of their current situation, but shes trying to make the best of it.

they live together currently in the undercity, living somewhat steadily off of odd jobs. its not the greatest life, and maybe one day theyd like to leave, but for two teenage girls, its the best theyre managing for now, and it certainly could be a lot worse. they both couldve never escaped their arenas and died there.

haruka- domestic shorthair cat (but often mistaken for being a russian blue... shes just a regular gray cat with blue eyes). an ex-feral (captured as a child) turned show pet with a reputation for her cool charm. while shes taken to this life with relative ease, she misses her home from far outside the city and her childhood best friend who got captured at the same time and separated from her (she cant help but fear that an is probably dead, sent to an arena for her rowdier personality. shed like to hope otherwise, but the odds are against her)... also yes, her outfit mainly looking like her asrun outfit is intentional.

minori- goat. i forgot her sideways pupils here but she has those, just like kohane and luka. a childhood friend of kohanes, raised in the same lab, but was bought as a show pet instead. no one really knows why, besides her enthusiastic personality having its strengths in the idol-like niche of show pets. admires haruka from a distance, but theyve never had a chance to properly meet. maybe one day...

nene- longhaired fold cat x canary. part of a private project attempting to create non mammalian hybrids by balancing them out with known stable hybrids, and shes one of the first semi successful ones. she might have survived to a reasonable age so far, but not without complications. shes prone to occasionally unstable health and has some speech issues, mostly caused by the bird parts of her not mixing well with everything else. the feathers are cute, but at what cost? although being kept in a very restrictive environment isnt doing her any favors either...

technically shes not even a main part of the au! shes got her own side storyline with wxs lol

kotaro- racoon. literally just some guy. from the same town as haruan, but hes just been there the whole time. probably the only character here who hasnt experienced the horrors to some extent. not actually relevant to the au besides like oh he exists he might briefly show up, but i wanted to draw him because i had design ideas

souma- domestic dog, some kind of mutt. suffered a combination of severe injuries throughout his time in an arena and during their escape, leaving him with a nasty mess of scars across his body as well as a mostly paralyzed arm and a noticeable limp. hes trying to stay positive despite that, after all theyre free! but its tough sometimes, he cant help but feel bad that hes slowing down their pace in traveling.

arata- caracal. from the same arena as souma, but escaped much more unscathed, his past injuries are nowhere near as severe. heard stories about the outside world somewhere and is now determined to find somewhere worth living out in the wasteland with souma. hes not exactly friendly to people they cross paths with, but its mostly out of caution to protect both of them.

fun fact i had to redesign soumarata partially because i just wasnt satisfied with their designs (i had made some very early on into the au) and partially because me and my friends realized souma is the taller one (hes like. slightly taller than touya? while arata is only taller than akito) and i had it the other way around before.

nagi- maned wolf. a popular face around town, and one of their most successful participants in various resource gathering missions (it isnt uncommon for hybrid towns to have members who will steal things for their towns from supply trains that go out to human towns in the wasteland and nagi was often a fan of going on those). she liked to get out and explore the wasteland! sometimes shed let an (and less often, haruka as well) tag along with her so they could see more of the world while still supervised, but that led to her own downfall. a mission went wrong, the kids got caught, and she got killed trying to save them.

taiga- tiger (how could i not go for the pun, and also canon did it first anyway). while once a common sight around town, after nagis death hes become a rare visitor, traveling more often than not, only stopping home once in a while. maybe he doesnt want to linger around the feelings left behind now that shes gone. scary and serious, but not out of bad intentions.

ken- fox (just like an). runs a somewhat popular cafe in town, comfortably settled down. he regrets not being there to protect his daughter, but theres nothing to do about it anymore. maybe one day shell come back, but for now, hes got a job to do and thats the most important thing for him to focus on.

nagi and taiga are fully aware that theyre siblings, unlike akito and ena. it was more common for their generation to be aware of this, rather than having knowledge about their origins withheld. they both were in an arena that focused on team fights, and when taigas original teammate was killed, nagi ended up with him, prompting him to help them both escape because he didnt want to let his sister get hurt more than necessary (even though shes capable of taking care of herself in a fight). they met ken (another arena escapee) during their way out of the city, and began traveling as a group of three until they found the town they all called home. their presence was an important part of making that town thrive into the place it is now, even if things for the trio have since fallen apart quite a bit. nagi is gone, taiga rarely sticks around, ken is the only one who stayed now.

meiko- bear. runs a convenience store at night in the undercity near one of the arenas (the one akikoha are in), well known around the area and uses her advantageous shop location to help new escapees get a little more set into their newly freed lives. a kind if intimidating woman, and very reliable at her jobs.

miku- striped hyena. just an average young escapee living in the undercity, although she doesnt try to blend in very well. ever since she got her hands on some hair dye shes been stubbornly sticking to the faded and grown out color, she thinks shes cool with it. friends with a couple humans who seem completely unbothered by her animal traits

luka- ibex. an escapee from the outer city workshops who decided to move to the undercity... and never really settles down anywhere. she likes to wander from place to place, experiencing the great expanse of the city from its depths. shes got her favorite places to come back to, but more than anything, shes always on the move to see something new.

kaito and the kagamines are humans (the kagamines are mikus human friends!) which is why theyre not here 👍

and thats everyone! apologies this is a monster of a post, but i hope youve enjoyed reading. and hopefully its semi coherent lol

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louisupdates · 1 year

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What I learned about Louis Tomlinson from making his documentary

Director Charlie Lightening on capturing the former One Direction star in 'All Of Those Voices'

By NME | 30th March 2023

Louis Tomlinson shot to fame with One Direction, the era-defining boy band who conquered the world after being formed on ‘The X Factor’ in 2010. Since the group parted ways in 2016, Tomlinson has forged a solo career that has seen him swap the band’s peppy pop-rock for Oasis-inspired indie bangers. He followed his 2020 solo debut, ‘Walls’, with last year’s chart-topping ‘Faith In The Future’.

For his new documentary, ‘Louis Tomlinson: All Of Those Voices’, the singer has teamed up with Charlie Lightening, the acclaimed filmmaker behind Liam Gallagher’s big-screen doc ‘As It Was’. Here, exclusively for NME, Lightening shares what he learned about Tomlinson from shadowing him during a pivotal and emotional period in his career.

Charlie Lightening, director: “I first met Louis at the premiere of the Liam [Gallagher] film. Well, I say met – I saw him across the way, but we didn’t actually talk. But then he got in touch to ask if I’d make some music videos with him, so we met up properly. I really liked him and found he had a real depth to him. He seemed a lot older than his years and had so much more to say.

When we got talking about his plans to release a solo album [Tomlinson’s 2020 debut ‘Walls’], the idea to make a film came together quite organically. But at that point, I didn’t realise that I would end up shooting him for the next four years. The idea was to follow him on his first solo tour, but he only got two shows in before COVID happened. I think having it all taken away like that made Louis think and really appreciate what he does.

To begin with, Louis’ plan was to do smaller live shows to get a feel for the audience and find out what it’s like to tour as a solo artist. But because of the pandemic, he announced a live-streamed show instead and sold 160,000 tickets without even doing any promo. I think that made him realise: ‘Oh my god, there really is demand for me out there’. So when it was time to get out on the road again, he was ready to bring it.

He started off doing smaller theatre shows in the US, then arena shows in Europe, and by the end he was doing numerous arena shows in South America. So as a filmmaker, I’ve captured a trajectory that would normally take an artist two or three separate tours to achieve. And because of COVID, the fans had two years to live with the [‘Walls’] album, so it much more meaning for them by the time Louis was finally able to play it live.

I think what I find most striking about Louis is how resilient he is. He has been knocked down quite a few times in his life and he keeps getting back up again. He lost his mum [Johanna] in 2016 and sister [Félicité] in 2019 but he never let this define him, so when he says ‘life always throws shit at you’ in the film, he knows what he’s talking about. But he’s still a very positive person and calls himself the product of his mum’s upbringing. Growing up in Doncaster really moulded him; I think that’s why he has such perseverance and self-belief.

At the start of the film, he talks about not really feeling like part of One Direction to begin with. He felt like he had to find his role in the band, as he was excluded from lead vocal lines on the first few singles. This made him more determined and so he started to be involved with writing songs for the band. By the time the band ended, he was the member with the most songwriting credits, which is something that really means a lot to him. He’s proud of that.

I do think that he definitely still misses the band. In a way, you could compare him to Liam Gallagher, who also never wanted Oasis to end and become a solo artist. But I think that’s why Louis’ touring band means so much to him. Louis has done everything already with One Direction – he’s played the world’s biggest venues – so to relive it through their eyes on this tour was a very special thing for him.

Louis is a very private person but I think people will be surprised by just how much he opens up in this film. You see him being a dad and being vulnerable with his family. But what I’ll take away most from the experience is just how much Louis has grown as an artist. At one point, it felt like it was Harry [Styles] and Niall [Horan] who were getting all the headlines and Louis was being slightly underrated, as he hadn’t released anything at this point. I do think that some people who watch this film will be surprised by the level he’s already got to as a solo artist, but this is just the beginning. He knows where he wants to go creatively and he’s in control of his headspace, so the next album will be another massive step forward.”

‘Louis Tomlinson: All Of Those Voices’ is in cinemas now

As told to Nick Levine

#nme #louis press #louis tomlinson #aotv review #charlie lightening #30 march 2023

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miashyperfixations · 7 months

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5 SECONDS OF SUMMER: THE 5SOS SHOW

04.10.2023 @ AO Arena, Manchester (21,000 Capacity) ⚠️ TW: some flashing lights in video ⚠️

I've wanted to see 5SOS for a while now. As with many artists, I started listening to them properly in the pandemic, having heard several of their songs beforehand. I went back and listened to their whole discography which made me able to see their progression in its entirety, especially their subtle changes to shift genres slightly with each album but still stay true to their roots. The first release I was a fan of the band for was that of their newest album '5SOS5' which saw them venture into the pop-alternative genre but listening back, it's clear that they still pull on their rock influences within certain tracks.

I bought these tickets back in April, when tickets first went on sale & looked forward to it for a long time. It was my first Arena gig since 2018 & we were up in the lower bowl as close to the stage as you could be from the side, meaning we could see both the stage & the steps the band came onto the stage from. We got there just in time to see the openers. Charlotte Sands (who @artbyamixx is a big fan of) was up first & performed amazingly - I was blown away. The crowd really got into it (as they should've) & we were able to hear an unreleased track as well as her newest songs. The second opener was a pop duo called ar/co who were unexpected but delightful anyway with their psychedelic, electronic pop sounds.

When 5SOS came on, they played songs from every single one of their albums as well as some other singles, which was super fun considering I'd never seen them live before this. Similarly to the whole concept of surprise songs at concerts (introduced by Taylor Swift at the Eras tour), the boys have a dice song. Their huge inflatable dice is thrown into the crowd & they then have 90 seconds to throw it around & get it back on stage. Each side has a song from the band's debut era, songs they don't play anymore, so everyone on there is wanted. I think the crowd wanted 'English love affair', a song wanted by the UK crowds in general but in the end, it landed on 'Voodoo Doll', one of my favourite of the deluxe tracks off the debut album.

Another segment of the show was 'Ashton VS You' where the crowd battled the band's drummer (Ashton Irwin) to see who could be louder - although I think it's kind of cheating cause the sound guys at the back could've just turned up the speakers for all we know. I loved how this incorporated a song off of 'Youngblood' because the drums in it are just *chefs kiss* amazing so hearing them isolated was incredible. Additionally, the band tied the show together with pre-recorded skits that played on the side stage screens which kept the crowd excited & also gave the band a moment's reprieve throughout the show, which was no doubt tiring given how energetic everyone was. A random thing I noticed from our angle of the stage is how both Luke & Michael switched out their guitars for several others throughout the show. I assume Luke was switching between a rhythm & normal electric guitar but Michael switched to an acoustic for 'Amnesia'.

The last time 5SOS played this venue was back in 2015, when they opened for One Direction on the ‘On the road again’ tour. Since this is their last tour for a little while, the night genuinely might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience (although I hope it’s not!) I think everyone there can agree, it was an unbelievable night and I’ll be looking over my videos forever.

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clangenlore · 3 days

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otterclan: in pursuit of strength

current leadership

blazestar | 32 moons | playful | talented swimmer

as the clan's youngest cat to be granted his nine lives, blazestar struggles with the feeling that he was never meant to be leader. his mother was deputy before him, and only her untimely death led to her son's appointment in her place. despite his impostor syndrome, blazestar works hard to support his clan, often found fishing along the lakeshore with his raucous group of friends. his determination to prove himself leads him to train daily in the camp's arena, where blazestar has proven himself the best fighter in the clan. still, he fears it's not good enough, and keeps training. maybe one day he can live up to the shadow of his mother.

shrikebloom | 19 moons | nervous | very clever & trusted advisor

shrikebloom is blazestar's half-sister through his father; her mother was a lyreclan cat. because of her heritage, shrikebloom has a leaner physique than most of her clanmates and is by her own admission one of the worst fighters in the clan. still, blazestar trusts her implicitly and knows he can rely on her to solve problems on her feet. the two are very close despite not being full siblings, and blazestar managed to convince her to play goalie for his moss ball team. at this, at least, she is very good.

fawntail | 64 moons | strict | camp keeper

graypaw | 7 moons | adventurous | interested in herbs

a no-nonsense sort, it's fawntail's job to patch up the scratches her warriors obtain in their reckless pursuit of glory. she's more than a little done with the young warriors' shenanigans, and blazestar and his friends are a particular thorn in her side. her usual greeting to the leader is, at this point, a weary but resigned sigh. she may have limited patience at times, but she's nothing but dutiful when it comes to her job.

fawntail's apprentice is her adopted son, graypaw. he was found abandoned on the territory as a just-weaned kitten; he'd been tucked into a hollow tree with only a single dead mouse to feed him, which he hadn't touched when an otterclan patrol came to investigate his wailing. upon seeing the little scrap being carried into camp, fawntail immediately took him under her wing, telling her clanmates that she didn't trust any of them to look after him properly. she's spoiled graypaw ever since, hoping to make up for the neglect he experienced in his early moons. she was more than happy when he asked to train under her as a medic, and the two are often seen curled up together sharing tongues. graypaw, for his part, is a curious sort, and to fawntail's dismay he's picking up on his clanmates' tendency to get into trouble. graypaw can't help it; his paws tend to move on their own when his mind wanders, and he finds himself walking the borders, wondering if the cat who left him here will ever return for him.

culture

reckless but surprisingly spiritual, otterclan cats are typical jocks who are fond of all kinds of physical activity, especially honorable combat. they love to spar and are endlessly competitive; an otterclan will fight, touch, or eat anything just for bragging rights or to win a bet. they're constantly stopping neighboring patrols to challenge them to mock battles, and they have a friendly rivalry with the family of otters that lives on their territory. battle is more than sport to them, however; it's sacred. every season, to honor starclan, a chosen few cats of otterclan fight each other in the area in their camp, demonstrating astonishing feats of skill and grace. it's as much a dance as a battle, painstakingly choreographed and practiced to perfection. this ritual reinforces their conviction that every battle's true purpose is to honor starclan.

one of otterclan's most colorful customs is their fondness for wearing body paint made from natural pigments and crushed chalk. it's not just for looks; it's a means of personal expression and a way of petitioning starclan to grant them certain desired attributes. a star invokes starclan's protection and guidance; a flower suggests a desire for growth and gentleness; a clover is a prayer for luck. young cats who have not reached twelve moons of age do not paint symbols but rather wear impersonal stripes: enough that starclan will watch them, but not so much that the stars will claim them before they've reached their maturity.

despite otterclan's battle-hungry mien, they take killing seriously and regard it as a solemn task to be performed as little as possible. otterclan cats who have taken another cat's life in battle will notch their ears to ritually mark each life; cats with heavily tattered ears carry the heavy burden of many cats' souls, and tend to spend their lives doing penance. this consists of hunting, gathering herbs, and otherwise supporting the deceased's family however possible. if otterclan catch wind of any cat, otterclan or otherwise, who does not fight honorably and in accordance with starclan's will, they are horrified and will invoke the right to trial. a council of cats from each clan will gather to hold a trial before all the clans, during which the accused cat may defend themself or accept the punishment the council deems worthy of their crimes.

#clangen lore #clangen #otterclan

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duckapus · 6 months

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In Deep: part 2

(okay so I don't have the motivation to properly word the opening, but basically Sonata demands an explanation for why the Airship group is in her kingdom and SMG4 manages to recover enough to tell her what's going on. And for as ridiculous as the whole thing sounds from her perspective, she can't help but wonder...)

"Your majesty, you can't seriously believe this crap!?"

"Patience, Admiral." she sighs and sinks slightly in her throne, "I am not yet fully convinced, but you must admit the idea has merit. Tell me honestly, can you remember anything in detail from before the barriers rose?"

"W- well..." he thinks about it, really thinks beyond his own stubbornness and the slight pinch behind his eyes, "...no, I can't. It's all broad strokes. More like the preamble to a story than a life lived."

"Precisely my point. Our actual memories are mere days old, the same days since the event SMG4 speaks of."

"I...alright, so maybe they are telling the truth. That doesn't change the fact that their so-called "plan" falls apart in the final stretch. And you've seen the way the red and yellow ones behave. Do you really think it's wise to put the fate of our kingdom in the hands of these...these morons?"

"...You have a point. Still, there's something about them that..." she trails off, then turns to address their guests, "I've come to a decision."

The group looks up from whatever they'd been discussing in their own huddle.

"While I'm not certain that I fully believe your story, I'll admit that it makes a great deal of sense. Still, I must prioritize the safety of my subjects, and your quest stands to put us and the other regions of this "Mushroom Kingdom" in grave danger. So, I have a proposition. Your party shall face seven of my kingdom's greatest champions in the arena. Defeat them, and the seed is yours. But should you fail even once, you and the rest of your cohorts on the surface shall be banished from my kingdom."

SMG4 gulps, but quickly shakes off his nerves and nods firmly, "We accept your challenge, your majesty."

"Uh...we do?"

"Not like we have much of a choice Cubot, we need that seed."

Sonata grins brightly, which turns out to be pretty intimidating between her shark teeth, her size, and the context, "Then let the games begin."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon enough, the group is in a decently sized room with a few guards, the gateway to the arena before them. SMG4 turns to address the others, "Okay guys, we've got no idea who we'll be up against, and they've got home-field advantage, so be ready for anything."

There's scattered affirmations, with Meggy and the twins looking determined, Mario going walleyed again, Cubot shaking nervously, and Sig just looking bored as usual.

One of the guards swims towards them, "Alright, first up are the one in the green poncho and the yellow box thing."

"I am ready."

"Oh boy..."

The two are led to the doorway, while the other five are brought to a viewing area, and they get their first glimpse of the arena. It's about what you'd expect, big flat circle with high walls, fully packed seats, architecture that fits what they've seen so far, even another throne high up in one of the seating areas where Sonata is watching from. But Cubot notices a few...unusual details.

"Uh...is it just me, or are those speakers up on the pillars?"

"I believe so. And the front row of the queen's section appears to have a DJ table instead of seats."

As they reach the apparent starting position and the gate across from them opens, the guard that's accompanied them hands each of them something and then swims off. Marcy looks down at the microphone on her sword in confusion, then the other gate finishes opening and she looks up to see who their opponents are...and groans.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me."

(Yeah, remember how I said in the Explanation post that the Undersea Kingdom is a musical ocean? We haven't seen much of that so far, now have we?

Anyway, tune in next time for episode 2 of the Undersea Kingdom's time in the spotlight (because why shouldn't Lily get two episodes instead of the one every other Zone is getting? Well, besides Muppetopia but that one has extenuating circumstances) "So You Think You Can Rap 2: Undersea Encore!")

#smg4 #smg4 ocs #what a wonderful game au #the wonder arc #lily #queen sonata #smg3 #cubot #marcy bobowski #friday night funkin #fnf boyfriend #fnf girlfriend #apart from the ending scene the next episode's gonna be in summary format because i am not writing out four fnf-style rap battles #originally i was just gonna have bob and meggy fight converted desti and boopkins gladiator style but this seemed more creative #plus it lets the whole group contribute and means i don't have to write a fight scene yet

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monty-glasses-roxy · 9 months

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Roxy and Bonnie unleashing the horde of mini music men upon Fazerblast during an active (not guests, just the animatronics) game

(The mini music men are fine, they have fazerblasters as well)

(This went on a bit so it's under a read more. I got carried away whoops! I've also tagged almost all the animatronics because they're all relevant okay stay with me on this)

Okay. So. My first thought was Bonnie getting Roxy involved under false pretenses and then getting the others involved by using her involvement as proof it was fair and totally not a prank... but honestly, he could never break Roxy's trust like that. She would be very upset with him whether it was fun or not. And that set-up would have led to a worse game and post overall so we're not doing that.

Moving on!

So they're both in on this. Bonnie came up with an idea to swarm the Fazerblast Arena with the Minis, but only a few actually like him, so he got Roxy in on it, who, once convinced it would be funny and a good game for everyone involved, got the word spread to all the Minis. Anyone that wanted to participate was to meet up with her and she'd make some makeshift laser guns for everyone and use some spare sensors and shit so they could properly play. She's done it a few times before with Bobbin, Poppet, Glowstick and Tippy, (the four she's closest with) but nothing on this scale before so it's gonna take some work.

Meanwhile, Bonnie spends this time convincing everyone else to join the game once it's ready. He admits to Roxy that he sorta used her involvement to convince them it wasn't some nefarious scheme, but honestly, so long as they know and are expecting the unexpected, she's fine with this. She wouldn't trust this notorius cheater and prankster with a new game either lmao. Bonnie also puts himself in charge of creating a new game program in the Fazerblast system so they can you know... make it playable on the system. His other task, comes before Roxy even agrees to this, or gets the Minis involved. He has to convince Freddy to let him and Roxy design a new Fazerblast game for everyone. With the beef between Freddy and Roxy that's a hell of a task, but Bonnie can be convincing and if Freddy will cave to anyone, it'll be Bonnie. He's committed enough. He'll get through to him soon enough.

So you have a team here! Bonnie is working to make it playable on the systems, and make it as entertaining as possible (and also trying to very heavily stack it in the Minis favour more than it already is) and Roxy is there to make sure it functions mechanically with the guns and shit, the Minis are getting their say (she trusts him but he has a habit of steamrolling the conversation so she's making sure that doesn't happen) and to make sure the game isn't horribly rigged. This is a pretty rare occurence honestly. Normally these two are knee deep in stupid shit, very often involving some of the others as well with no intent to get out of it lmao so when one of them actually pulls the breaks and thinks about it? Yeah you know it's gonna be fun. And also not likely to get them into trouble. Another, equally rare occurence.

Anyway, Bonnie succeeds in getting everyone involved, and as was Roxy's idea, Bonnie is put into the game too. He knows what to expect of course, but with Roxy behind the scenes directing a shit ton of the Minis with their own plans, they thought it would add to the confusion if Bonnie was also in there getting spooked and confused.

The game starts.

No one except Bonnie has any idea what's gonna happen once the game begins. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Monty, maybe Foxy if he's here too, and Sunny and Moon (still in one body of course) enter the arena. As per the plan, they understand that all they have to do is defeat Roxy. This part was Bonnie's idea of course. None of them have seen Roxy since she disappeared to get ready before the game. She's normally banned from the Fazerblast arena due to her eyes - and her and Freddy's personal beef - so they're not sure how Bonnie could possibly have convinced her to even want to play the game again. X-ray eyes are pretty unfair after all and Roxy hates that! He reassures them that it's gonna be fair and fun, but with the odds naturally stacked against them because Roxy is oh so good at this game! (Yes, he's building her up as best he can it's his favourite job to do)

There's a long period of them just sneaking around, not a lot happening. Bonnie was supposed to get them to split up, but Chica suggested it first. They don't know what these two have planned, but if Roxy is up to something cool, they're gonna need to split up to find her. The place is huge after all! So they split up. And suddenly it's a lot more scary.

With so many of the Minis, and Roxy now having control of the rarely used fog machines, the team are hearing quick footsteps in the mist, but can't tell where they're coming from. They hear the occasional item fall, or the thud of something bouncing off the wall. They're a little nervous to say the least!

They lure each half of the team to the two towers. Once they're both in position, the ambush begins! The Minis are suddenly on the attack! They scare the absolute shit out of everyone! Roxy is laughing her ass off above the maze, directing the Minis where to go and who to target. They've practiced this a few times, so it's going real smoothely. A little bit further in, with everyone having scattered from the attack, Roxy comes onto the intercom pretending to be the leader of the Miniature Spider Army and briefly explains the game to them, while also acting as if Bonnie is her traiterous advisor that went rogue. Each Mini has three lives. Once they've been hit three times, they're out of the game. The team they've just scared the shit out of don't have lives, but instead, a points system. They get points by shooting the sensors on the Minis, but lose them, if they get shot. If they get enough points by the end of the time limit, they win, but they better be careful! If too many of her underlings are killed, there'll be consequecnes! That's all she tells them. The Minis immediately resume the attack, having backed off a bit so she could explain the game.

As soon as she finishes talking, the others are fucking pumped up for this. Monty and Chica are on the hunt to get as many Minis out as possible. They wanna see what the 'consequences' are if they beat too many of them! Freddy is pretty curious as well, but he's trying to play this cleverly. He's sneaking around, trying to work out where the Minis are and using his indepth knowledge of the maze to try and figure out where they're hiding. It was Roxy's idea to have the Minis just. Not go anywhere near him. There's maybe two or three that are tailing him to mess with him the entire time. Unfortunately for Freddy, Roxy is also playing it smart and knows that given this is his attraction and he has the most experience, knowledge and skill here, she needs to give him as few opportunities to score points as possible. Hence, there are three or four Minis sneaking around him, giving him brief glimpses and confusing him as they lure him away from the rest of his team. He'll catch on eventually he's being led in circles, but it takes him longer than he'll care to admit. Sunny is very loudly running around screaming as loud as possible. The Minis are giving him every opportunity and he's having a blast even if he's failing miserably to hit the sometimes completely stationary targets. The Minis are also loving it. He's very funny in his panicked gun flailing whenever one gets the jump on him. When Moon comes out at the halfway point, they somewhat back off since Moon is much more focused on winning than Sunny is. Moon does not appreciate being messed with so hard by a bunch of spiders and he knows Roxy is laughing her ass off at him and he's gonna kill her for this he fucking swears-

He won't of course, he is enjoying it. He's just going to glare at her over inviting and aiding in the Minis fucking with him with a fog machine. And LOUDLY complain to DJ. Just a little. He loves it though he thinks this was such a fun way to do it, he just doesn't like being on the receiving end of the spooks. If Foxy is here, he's talking to himself and loudly threatening every source of noise he's ever heard. He hears footsteps behind him and he spins around, shooting blindly like "OH YE THINK YER FUNNY DO YA?! OH I'LL SHOW YA FUNNY YA MANGEY MENACES!!" He's talking big but he's maybe hit them like. Four times in the span of a one hour game. They're giving him opportunities of course! He's just a yap first, shoot later kinda guy and its costing him points lmao

Bonnie of course, wasn't that freaked out by them, but this is his downfall. Roxy knows him too well. He was in on all of this, so he seems to think that he'll be able to have some sway in how the Minis operate. He tries bargaining with them not to shoot him, trying to convince them that "heeeeeyyy I'm on your side man!! I can tell you where the others are!" but they know the play. If he can convince them to go easy on him because this was his idea and he and Roxy worked together to make this happen, he can sneak potshots when their backs are turned for free points and not get shot in the process. Oh yes, Roxy had him figured out from the get go lmao. He's a serial cheat, she knew he'd try that the second he got a chance, so the Minis have been advised to go all out on him. He's the weakest link in the chain, and he's gonna be what wins them the game. She was right as well! At the end, they looked at the stats and Bonnie literally gained the least amount of points, but lost more than the rest of the team combined lmao he'll be sulking about her 'betrayal' for a long time. She ruined his game plan!! How could she!!

He did kind of expect her to figure it out but he was really relying on her just. Not. He didn't really think about the plan B if she did figure it out and pass it onto the Minis lmao that's on him. He knew and he was still banking on it like a FOOL

But yeah, the Minis are treating Chica and Monty as a team since they're together the most throughout the game. One the Minis heard them saying they were gonna try and find out what the consequences for beating enough Minis were and passed that onto Roxy, who passed it onto the rest of the team of Minis. Since she's played Fazerblast with everyone else maybe like. Three times ever due to many reasons, she doesn't really know how everyone is inside of the arena, but she did need to know who would be gunning for kills rather than points. So, Bonnie suggested that if any Minis heard anyone talking about it, or figured out who was aiming for that, they should relay it back to her. She was initially against this, since she's struggling to keep the game fair already, but the Minis assured her that if they know who is trying to get them out of the game, more of them can get out, and Roxy can enact the 'consequences' part of the game. She agrees, but under the condition that if they ever get to do this again, if that rigs things too much, they don't ever do it again.

So Chica and Monty are actually making headway. They really didn't need to pass the message onto Roxy what they were trying to do so they could give them the best game they can. They're having a blast running from the Minis when they've been hit, running into battle screaming whilst firing at random and are loving this hide and seek style swarm game. They're the reason they're gonna win this. If Freddy figures out the tricks being played on him, he'll contribute a lot as well, but he also needs to find the other groups of Minis which is easier said than done given they've all decided to go spooky hard mode on him lmao they gotta give him a challenge, right? And boy are they challenging him.

But anyway, Freddy figures out the deception and has started making headway on points, while Chica and Monty are leading the charge. Sunny is getting a good few points, while Bonnie has teamed up with Foxy and Bonnie is getting peppered almost constantly while Foxy comes up with more and more creative, laser themed threats. At the halfway point, Moon joins Monty and Chica's team and when there's only fifteen minutes left, Freddy meets up with Bonnie and Foxy. With a significant amount of Minis out of the game, Roxy's voice comes back over the intercom, once again in character. How dare they kill so many of her team!! They had families ya know!! Ohhh they've really done it now!! It's about time they got what's really coming for 'em!!

Now, Freddy and Foxy immediately ask Bonnie what that means. He says, either she's sending a second wave of Minis to overwhelm them, but he's not sure if enough of them joined the game for that, or she's gonna double the amount of points the Minis take when they land a hit or some other stat altering thing like increasing the Minis' lives. He's guessing it's gonna be the lives and points thing. Freddy and Foxy are immediately like "oh okay so we just have to stop you from getting shot every five seconds. Okay. That's doable." He's offended, but also yeah that's fair.

Roxy does neither of those things. Instead, she does a secret, third thing. Poppet and Glowstick had been insistent on this and the other Minis had all agreed it would be really fun, even if they never got to do it like this again. She'd agreed, but had made some tweaks to make it more interesting and so the team wasn't just immediately slaughtered.

In the maze, the amount of Minis seems to have dwindled. There's a few, but they don't seem to be pushing the offensive anymore. They seem to have gone back to being spooky instead, maybe even luring them around, but they won't fall for it again. Well, Chica, Monty and Moon might, but that's not the intention here. They suddenly hear something a bit different in the mist. Maybe a lot of Minis at once?? They're not sure. They can defnitely hear cymbals crashing though. They follow it of course. They only have so much time left and they haven't got enough points to win yet! What's going on? What's Roxy gonna throw at them this time?

It's herself. A blindfolded Roxy is lose in the Fazerblast maze, with the Minis music boxes, cymbals, and footstamping as her guides. Poppet and Bobbin are in her hair and on her shoulder giving her more precise guidance, and are acting as her little turrets. Roxy has some sensors on her worth double the points, but given she's running full speed in full dog mode on her fours around the maze, chasing them down and then disappearing into the fog by direction of the Minis, she's really fucking hard to hit lmao. She's literally just one big curveball that's running around, covering the Minis and the distracting the others by simple existing in the maze, and she's made it so much harder but god damn are they loving this. Bonnie fucking screamed when she leapt out of the fog towards him he was not expecting that sfdsfdsfs

But yeah, thanks to Roxy being blindfolded and unable to really change her strategy based on who and what she can see, the Minis are now the strategists. They're the ones in charge of Roxy and are now coordinating on what she's doing, rather than the other way around. This makes them a bit more open to getting shot since they've got to focus on multiple things at once, but Roxy approaching at alarming speeds it's more than enough to keep that level lmao and with the amount of sensors on her with the double points, the others were still easily able to get enough points to win. Roxy had a blast running around listening to their joyful terror, and she and the Minis play games like this all the time, so she was able to completely stun the others with how easily she and the Minis worked together like this. Like, they're amazed she was running around the maze that fast when all of them have witnessed her crashing face first into a glass wall more than once. The added panicking and noises from the others made it harder to follow the Minis' instructions too so it was a challenge for her as well, and really, that's what she was aiming for in terms of making the game fun with Bonnie. Something new and challenging for them all.

It was fun, and Roxy congratulated them on defeating the swarm and her. Bonnie rattles her for scaring the shit out of him like that and they all get one hell of a laugh out of everyone recounting what had happened. There's some feedback tossed around on how to make the game better, and they brainstorm some changes and what not. Roxy admits it was pretty heavily stacked against them, but Bonnie had insisted on making sure it felt like they were the underdogs fighting the unrelenting Spider Horde. She just worked on making sure it was actually winnable with the points and lives system.

Freddy, explains this obviously can't get pushed out to the public (which she and Bonnie already knew because obviously an army of Mini Music Men that are varying levels of beat up and broken that the public doesn't know about isn't going to fly) but that he wouldn't be against them hosting more games like this. It was fun and though he drags his feet on it, he admits that Roxy and the Minis were able to give him a challenging game. They're smug about it for weeks.

And there you go! That's what happened when Roxy and Bonnie teamed up to unleash the Minis on the Fazerblast arena on their unsuspecting friends! They all had a great time and will absolutely be playing it again many times in the future!

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nappo008 · 2 years

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A small gift for @tagedeszorns with how the beloved nuisance that is Lucius got to be discovered for the third legion.

Panting the boy stood over the dismembered body of his foe, he could barely hear the cheering over the sound of blood rushing in his ears but he smiled. The thrill of a close fight was unmatched and this one had been close, for a moment at least.

Suddenly the cheering was overturned by furious hollering. Lucius' head snapped up, trying to calm his breathing and clearing his vision. The followers of the champion he had just unceremoniously taken apart, were enraged by the death of their leader. Pushing past the masses they begun making their way towards Lucuis, the guards who were trying to stop them were cut down brutally as at least a dozen men jumped into the arena.

Lucius straightend himself, his muscles burned after the day of fighting and especially after this last one, but as if he'd let them have at him without a proper fight.

He went through his hair as they surrounded him, a mocking smile on his face.

"You're challenging me!? I guess you liked the performance so much you just need to experience it firsthand do you?" he raised his rapier, the tremor that went through his exhausted arm was not notecible to the angry masses, but one had noticed, one who had watched him since his first fight today. The man, hidden in the shadows, gripped the handle of his sword, but neither drew it, nor stepped out the shadows yet, rather letting the scene unfold.

The Arena was in disorder, half of the audience crying out in shock and outrage while the other half cheered on the new entertainment.

Lucius dodged two crude blows without much difficulty, trying to get to a more advantageous position. His speed was his greatest strength, but it was deminishing rapidly and as unskilled the croons were, they noticed him slowing down too, getting more aggressive with their attacks. Lucius saw the blow aimed at his head coming, trying to evade, he knew it wouldn't be enough. Angrily he raised his sword, finishing the slice that would end his last victim.

He couldn't see the blow that severed the arm with the oncoming club, having it fly past Lucuis and smashing into another man. The struggle had become a massacre, Lucius and the others barley able to keep up with the flash of royal purple and gold which moved through the remaining men of the dead champion.

Now the adrenaline was kicking in again and Lucius struggled as he felt someone grab him, trying to stab the person that held him. The air escaped his lungs in a huff as he was dropped an unexpected long distance to the ground. He hid his shock and confusion behind a scowl as he scrambled off the ground, bringing some distance between him and the giant. He stood up straight, trying to make himself as big as possible as he took in the massive Warrior before him.

"Who are you?" he demanded having his rapier raised again, very well aware that if the giant wanted to hurt him he could not do anything to stop it, but that didn't mean he would not make it as hard as possible for the other.

As the expression on the giants transformed into an amsued grin and a chuckle excaped him, Lucius took a moment to look at his opponent properly. Of course he knew what the giant was, even the plebs would recognize an Astartes, a son of the Phoenix who in turn was the son of the Emperor, beloved by all.

Lucius had never greatly cared for politics or the art of war at large, he wanted to fight and he wanted to be the best at it. But still, he had never seen one in the flesh, they were more imposing than he had imagined.

"Sergeant Saradar Tyrion and... put that stick down Lucius," Lucius' eyes were drawn back to the slim, surprisingly handsome face for an appearently seasoned Warrior, to which the decorations on his armour and the scar on his right cheek gave testament to. Eyes with a purple hue looked down at him and Lucius huffed. He felt insulted, for both the comment and that the Astartes had gotten him out of the prickly situation. Still, he lowered his rapier, his muscles thanking him for it and he couldn't help but feel honored that the other knew his name.

"I could have managed those few untrained goons. But your assistance is appreciated nonetheless," Lucuis took some time to inspect himself for any wounds, only a few bruises, but he could taste blood, a tear on the inside of his lip, but on the outside there was nothing. Perhaps a scar would remain, but only on the inside, it would not be visible to others and only he would know it was there. That fact calmed him and the fact that there was no other injury made his chest bloom with pride which was quickly diminished by the still amused Astartes who looked at him with an unsettling but, to Lucius, familiar look. A sharply evaluating one.

"Of course, you could have,"

Lucius wrinkled his nose at the expecting silence that followed, the Astartes was expecting him to make the next move, one that would most probably determine the rest of his life.

This was just another kind of fight, another duel, another dance. He shifted his weight, adjusting his ruffled clothes and stared into those somewhat abnormal eyes. The exhaustion of the day was past him now and Lucuis knew what he wanted.

What he had wanted since the first time he saw two people in a duel, what he had done since he was a little boy who beat his first opponent. He wanted to become better, fight better, all techniques the old sword masters could teach him on Chemos, he had mastered already. But just earlier, when he had been barley able to even see the strokes that the Astartes had made, he saw something near perfection and he wanted that, but better.

"So tell me then, where did you learn to fight like that?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows, smiling inwardly the other let out a chuckle in a mix of disbelief and amusement of the audacity and guts this boy had. Though he stilled a moment later, two armored fingers going to his ear as he seemed to listen to something, before he turned and started walking away. Thrown off, Lucuis made a step to follow him before he stopped. Had he failed in some way? No, impossible! So he called out,

"You didn't answer my question!" The Sergeant glanced over his shoulder,

"And you won't receive one if you keep standing there,"

Lucius jogged after him with a huff, were all the Astartes so infuriating? But he knew, as the sounds of the city and the arena became distant that he was destined for greater things, he would learn and train, he would become the best and one day surpass the Sergeant.

One day, all the Imperium, no, all of the galaxy and beyond would know his name.

#warhammer #warhammer 30k #Lucius #emperors children #third legion #loyalist astartes #space marines #fanfic #gift fic

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quirkwizard · 1 year

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How well do you think Deku would do with 5% Full Cowl during the sports festival?

Do you think Deku could pass the Sports Festival with Fa Jin and OFA?

I'm doing these together since "One For All" and "Fa Jin" together is over kill and I don't think that him using "Fa Jin" would be that different from him using Full Cowl, at least in how he would actually apply the power. That being said, I will hone in on the Five Percent here, so that means that Izuku won't using finger flicks for this.

For starters, I think that he would do well in the Obstacle Couse. Not great, but good enough to pass. Izuku is pretty fast and mobile, but between the flat terrain making it hard to bounce around and the area being cluttered with dozens of other people, it would be difficult to apply his usual bouncing style of mobility. Regardless, he's good enough to get into the top ten. Nothing too much changes with the Calvary Battle. He could certainly make an attempt on other people's headbands, taking a page from Bakugou's book of leaping at other people and relying on Dark Shadow to get him back. Though I do think that Izuku would play it safe for the duration of the round, using "One For All" to dodge and counter as he needs to in order to keep his team's points safe and only play aggressively when he needs to.

As for the fights, I think he would mop the floor with Sero, Momo, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu. While the latter two would be more of an issue because of their durability, Izuku has enough physical power to take them all down. He'd struggle against Uraraka, though that would be more for mental and emotional reasons. Aoyama would be harder, as Izuku needs to get close enough without getting shot by the laser, but I think Izuku could act quick enough to get into his blind spot to beat him. Mina would be tough as well. While I don't think she would use her acid, her agility and area denial slime would make it hard to maneuver around the arena. And while this may be controversial, I think that Izuku would beat Bakugou, as difficult as it would be. Sure, Bakguou was able to keep up with Five Percent, but that was after months of training, and they were still pretty even. Without that same level of experience and barring any sort of psychological edge, I think he'd lose.

As for anyone else, I'm split with Tokoyami. I do think that Five Percent and Base Dark Shadow are on a roughly even keel, and we've seen how good Dark Shadow is at playing keep away. It simply comes down to who breaks first. I think he might actually lose against Denki. If Denki immediately goes for his all-out attack, there isn't anywhere for Izuku to go, and I'm not sure if he could withstand a full charge. The same applies to Ibara. She has such massive coverage with her vines, and her vines are so tough, that I think that Izuku is more likely to get overwhelmed with how little he could move and properly attack her. I would believe he'd lose against Iida as well. Izuku is fast, but he isn't Recirpro Burst fast. Heck, if he thinks Izuku can take it, Iida may not even give him the courtesy of a push and may go straight for the kick. Finally, Shoto would still win against him. While he could more reliably apply his strength against the ice, I don't think he can destroy it faster than Shoto can make it. Again, Shoto's defense and coverage are too big for Izuku to handle with his smaller field of influence.

#My Hero Academia #Quirks #Izuku Midoriya #Deku #One For All #MHA Meta #MHA Theory

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devilwomcn · 6 months

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THEA + OWEN / @selfmademythology WHERE & WHEN: the hovercraft, post 86th games

The waiting, Thea has come to find, is the worst of it all. At first she assumed it’d be the final moments — she’s had a tributes make it to the end, but none have come out alive. None until now, and despite the obvious grief she carries for the tributes she’s lost, there’s part of her hadn’t been angry about that. If she wasn’t producing enough victors they wouldn’t hesitate to replace her when the time came — and watching children she’s meant to protect die each year has taken a larger toll on her than Thea ever expected it to, so perhaps replacement wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But Owen was a different case. There was no world in which Thea was going to allow this boy she’d practically watched grow up die a meaningless death in the Games. So she’d worked harder than she ever has before, and it paid off — he’d triumphed over all of the other tributes, and he’d won.

Now, she waits. The buzzing of the hovercraft as it makes its way to the arena does nothing to calm her anxiety, her hands wringing in her lap as she sits properly in her seat. She had, of course, watched intently as Owen made his final kill — she’d seen the look of elation that spread across his features, had witnessed the pride he seemed to feel when he realized he’d won. Will he carry that with him in the aftermath? Thea hopes to God he does, because the realization of what she’d just done after her own victory had been one of the worst moments of her life. It’s been over a decade since then but she still remembers the wave of emotions that had flooded through her — the grief, the anger, and the betrayal because winning the Games had been all she’d worked towards since she was five years old. And she’d been forced to push all of that away, to let them pump her with silicone and anti-depressants and become the Capitol’s newest porcelain doll.

Thea won’t do that to Owen if she can help it. He’ll need to put on a brave face for the cameras, of course — she can’t protect him from feeding the monster no matter how much she’d like to. But she won’t force him to bury his grief, or his anger, and she certainly will do whatever she can to keep them from morphing him into a plaything. The hovercraft lurches and Thea realizes it’s time. Her hands brush against the skirt of her dress as she stands, shoulders rolled back as she makes her way to the space he’ll be lifted into. Any anxiety she’s been feeling quickly melts off of her once she sees him, her first victor, pulled onto the hovercraft from below — but Thea doesn’t make any sudden movements. She only forces a small smile across her lips, holds her hands out gently so he knows he can take them if he’d like to, and speaks softly so she doesn’t spook him completely. “Congratulations,” she says, and then as an afterthought just so he can be completely sure, she reminds him — “It’s over, Owen.”

#te.#v. the hunger games.#thg. owen.

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reignfms · 11 months

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the second day of jousting begins in great fanfare, trumpets singing through highgarden in announcement for all to find their seats to be prepared for the next round. just as many, if not more people file into the arena. favors are presented proudly upon the armor of those that have advanced, but it seems new additions have been added to the tourney. those jousting were asked if they would mind being part of a double eliminations, those rounds the first to take place.

match one

lord connin chyttering rides against lady adrielle ironmaker

the lord previously knocked from the competition has returned to applause, once again seeking the favor of lady emira tyrell. it’s hoped that her favor can bring him better luck than before as he takes his place in the ring, lady adrielle asking of the favor of the high king himself, quellon greyjoy. the silence is thick as no response is given, the lady eventually turning from the crowd to set herself for the match. in a show that hadn’t been seen since the joust in winterfell, neither knights are victorious as both manage to piece the others armor — a hush falling over the crowd when blood appears on them both. the round is halted, the maesters declaring both unfit to continue when it is shown that severe injuries have been sustained. lady adrielle having been using an unapproved lance, sharper than most that has pierced lord connin chyttering’s side, and lady adrielle not properly fitted in her armor and taking a direct blow to the chest. neither advance to the next round.

match two

prince doran martell rides against lord auster oakheart

having already been given his favor, the prince searches for lord lannister in the crowd. lord auster follows in the steps of others before him, favor offered to the ruling lady of his region with a bow, accepted out of courtesy, before he takes his place. it was unevenly matched from the start, the power behind the lance of the martell prince far harder than that of lord auster’s, though in an attempt to even the playing field a jab is taken as they pass each other, one that none can see the affect of until after the officials have separated the two. a last volley finds the lance shattering upon lord oakheart’s armor, splintering into pieces with one lodged into his eye. prince doran advances to the next round, the maesters descending on him to treat the arm held limply at his side.

match three

lord qhorin drumm rides against mikael beesbury

when asked about a double elimination, the drumm had scoffed that he had nothing better to do. another kiss given to his cheek by lord lukas harlaw with more eyes rolled in the crowd as his horse is turned to the starting point. lord mikael beesbury, known for being a wild card in tourneys and not one that is bet upon unless feeling extremely lucky requests the favor of grand maester to the north, lady kaina upcliff. it is clear between the two who is more experienced, yet mikael makes an error in over correction. landing a blow that is too soft to send the drumm off his horse but enough to put himself off balance, qhorin strikes the beesbury in the shoulder and pushes him from the horse. qhorin advances to the next round, brushing off attempts from the maesters to look under his armor.

match four

prince jon stark rides against natarie algood.

none known much about the algood, a new knight to make her debut in her first joust. she seeks no one’s favor, the stark prince calling attention to the bright purple of the lady dayne’s favor resting against his chest. the match is doomed from the start, a false start on natari’s part before it begins — her lance swinging wildly as it isn��t held with a grip needed to be secured. a gasp rises in the stands as it smacks against the stark’s helmet, his own hitting the center of her chest and lifting her up and off of the horse. the prince advances to the next round, holding his head as he is lead away.

double eliminations

hours pass as the maesters work quickly to try to give ointments, salves, and bandages to those that need it. it is announced that lord connin chyttering and lord auster oakheart couldn’t be helped, both of them dying. lances have been switched out, horses watered, and rules of what is allowed and what’s not re explained before the next round begins.

match one

kai rogare rides against prince doran martell

it is obvious from how the prince is riding upon his horse that despite the maesters best efforts, the injury he sustained is still one that is troublesome. the volley is one that given past performances, no one expects to be over as quickly as it is. kai’s lance hits doran in the chest, doran’s numb arm proving to be a nuisance in trying to joust on his weaker side. kai rogare proves victorious to advance to the next round, while the prince is ushered to the maester’s tent once more.

match two

prince sunwoo stark rides against lord qhorin drumm

the luck that was on the drumm’s side thus far seems to have run out as the match begins, wide jabs of his lance not coming close to the new stark. it gives sunwoo opportunity to land a blow, unfortunate in that it hits in the same place the beesbury had struck and sends the drumm to the ground. prince sunwoo is declared the winner and sent to the next round.

match three

prince jon stark rides against prince abraxas martell

it was said that the maesters had not cleared the stark for the next round of the joust, woflish stubbornness having him back in the saddle despite the warnings. the two princes would seem evenly matched, this round of the joust one that stirs up the watching crowd to see who will come out on top. in the end, it is prince abraxas that is declared the winner, with the stark seemingly disoriented and off balance on his horse. it doesn’t take much for jon to be knocked from his perch, and abraxas advances without issue.

match four

victario of lys rides against lord timur blacktyde

another wild card match that no one can find themselves betting on. the observers are split down the middle as to who they think will win, iron born roaring in the crowd for their own in typical boisterous behavior. as the two get set, it is victario that lands a blow that has many wincing as timur goes down. the maesters are quick to swarm the arena to check over the blacktyde while victario is declared fit to move to the next round.

match five

aranya baratheon rides against lord vorian dayne

one of the sole woman riders that has not been knocked out of the competition, lady baratheon is the favorite picked by many to continue her winning streak. it is thwarted as her lance is off to the right upon her volley, the lord commander of dorne’s hitting her side. it’s enough to send her sprawling from her horse, thus ending her reign of victory. vorian is the victor of this round and entered for the next.

match six

darnell arryn rides against osric arryn

another hush falls over the crowd before it grows loud, eager to see two family members pit against each other. the elder with more experience, the younger having the aptitude to be one that could become a successful tourney knight in his own right. the round begins with the crowd loud enough that you can barely hear the thudding hooves of the horses, the sand in the arena clearing to show that osric arryn has been pushed from his horse. darnell arryn is made the winner and moved to the next round.

match seven

prince rhaegar targaryen rides against prince ryon martell

with more experience on his side, there is the thought that rhaegar will take the entirety of the tourney but there are still those that root for the underdog. three volleys, the most in the tournament so far, are taken as the pair seem to be evenly matched on strength alone. it is a flick of ryon’s reigns that lead his downfall, his horse stepping to the side on the last volley that allows a direct hit to his armor that throws him from the saddle into the sand. rhaegar is made the winner to move to the next round.

match eight

prince cregan stark rides against lord brynden tully

with no one expecting for cregan to not have been knocked out in the first round, the final match up is one that has everyone on the edge of their seats. one volley leaves a non declared victor, each man sitting high astride their horses, the second having a shattering sound filling the air. another lance has broken, prince cregan off his horse, but thankfully, declared to have not sustained any injuries as lord chyttering had. brynden tully is declared the winner.

the second day of jousting has concluded.

#rfms.joust #rfms.event06 #blood tw #eye horror tw #gore tw #death tw

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aro-paladin-pidge · 1 year

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A while ago I made a timeline for Lance in my No Blue AU, so today I’m doing Hunk’s. Small note: I really hated that the Paladins were all human in canon, so now that it makes sense, most of the paladins are going to be at least part alien. Hunk will probably be, like, 1/3 Balmeran or whatever species the original Yellow Paladin was.

Hunk is Samoan, so he’s probably born there, and spends the first ~13 years of his life there with his family just like in canon

He enrolls in the Garrison, but never becomes friends with Lance bc Lance leaves the Garrison a month after joining, and until like Season 2 when Lance and him meet properly, his opinion of him is, like, ‘oh that’s the guy who left for the super fancy school. We had a couple friendly conversations’

Hunk is a pretty chill, introverted guy, so while he probably had a lot of friend-adjacent acquaintances, like a bunch of the other mechanical cadets, without Lance he probably wouldn’t have had any close friends so he’s pretty lonely for the next 3 years until he meets Pidge, this brilliant communications cadet who scored so high on his entrance tests that he was placed as a Senior Cadet pretty much instantly, and they bond and become friends really fast

The pilot for their group is James Griffin, who is obsessed with getting top marks and is an absolute jerk about it, especially to Hunk bc of his motion sickness, so Hunk requests a room change and he and Pidge become roommates. Pidge is an anti-imperial activist who slowly helps Hunk realize how evil the empire is. The instant he tells hunk about his family, Hunk gives him a hug and promises to help him search. Pidge definitely cries.

So they spend their nights together on the Garrison’s roof, intercepting Galran military radio signals and trying to decode it (in canon, I think they can’t understand what’s being said bc it’s in a different language, but in this au they’d definitely speak Galran, so it’s like a super-ancient dialect that’s also been encoded or something). Bc Hunk is there, Pidge is a lot more heathy and less singleminded about their search. They talk a lot, about their families, about how big of a jerk James is, about how they’re both part alien in a mostly human school (Pidge is half-Olkari), and eventually Pidge comes out as non-binary to him. I want there to be plenty of wholesome garrison flashbacks at some point, alright? Sue me.

Eventually, on canon O’clock, after a particularly rough simulator session that involves both James and Iverson screaming at them (James: you almost made me fail! Iverson: that was the most disastrous technical ‘pass’ of a simulation I’ve ever seen! You’re all decent on your own, but you can’t works as a team!) they sneak out onto the roof together. Pidge is really excited, because their equipment has been monitoring all day and they think they’ve finally got something that could crack the code: right after their simulation, it recorded a word ‘Voltron’ that’s definitely not Galran (it’s not Altean either, I hate that Voltron only had 2 generations of paladins, so some super ancient aliens made the lions millennia before the Alteans existed), which somehow allows them to crack the code-and there’s something big going on.

Approximately a week ago was a huge prison break from the criminal gladiator arenas (There’s two divisions of the gladiator arenas, I think, since Lotor and a another general fought each other in the arena in the season 3 premier, and I can’t imagine they’d allow high-ranking military and princes to fight in the same division as slaves and criminals) in Central Fleet, and while most of the escapees were captured, one of them, the Champion, managed to snag a fighter and is currently headed right to earth. They listen as Shiro’s damaged fighter gets closer and closer to earth, before finally crash-landing right next to the Garrison. The building goes on lockdown, and Hunk wants to go back in, but Pidge insists on getting closer and checking it out. They drag Hunk out above the crashed ship, and the two of them hack into the camera feed and see Shiro. He lost consciousness and got a nasty concussion upon reentry to the atmosphere, so he’s conked out. Pidge and Hunk are paralyzed, knowing they need to help, but without Lance they don’t have any idea how to. Enter Keith.

Keith blazes in on his future-motorcycle, throws a few homemade grenades (some of them work, some of them don’t) and distracts enough faculty + soldiers that Pidge and Hunk sneak in. Keith gets in there, and they have a quick whisper-argument, but realize that neither party is going to leave without Shiro, so they reluctantly agree to work together. They get to Keith’s place (assumedly not a shack in the desert), where they talk. Shiro tells them about his time in the arena, Hunk is rightly horrified. Things are fuzzy in Shiro’s mind, but it’s because of trauma and concussion, not weird amnesia, so he remembers what happened but it’s all fuzzy and mixed together. Like, he knows that Matt and Sam weren’t with him for most of his time in the arena, but he doesn’t remember when they were separated, or exactly what happened when they were. Hunk insists that they have to do something to help the other recaptured prisoners; Shiro agrees, and mentions that someone who helped set up the escape implanted something in his arm that could help, but he doesn’t exactly remember what it is. Hunk does mechanical surgery on his arm, and extracts the coordinates for the BoM base.

They steal a Garrison ship, go to the BoM base where things happen (this will be in my Keith timeline post, when it comes out) and they eventually work together to steal the Red Lion. When they try to leave with Red, they’re intercepted by the Alteans (not all of the Ateans died during the war, just most of them, and the few that survived his on Arus, near the Castle of Lions, searching for Voltron. They get into the Castle with an Altean escort (Romelle), and wake up Coran and Allura

Here, things proceed similarly to canon, -Lance. The paladins agree to help Allura, but they don’t know that they’re paladins yet, other than Keith. Allura gives them, like, quintessence imprints that let them through the Lions’ particle barriers and allow them to fly back to the castle. Hunk and Keith go to get Yellow, everything goes approximately the same as it does in canon, but there’s a scene where Yellow chooses Hunk. Back on Arus, everything goes the same, but Lance and Blue are with Sendak, and, since they don’t have Blue, there’s no Black either. Hunk, Keith, and Pidge free the other prisoners and fight Sendak and Blue. Eventually, they end the fight somehow, and we don’t really see Lance again until Season 2. Just felt wrong to leave him out of the premier.

For the rest of the season, Hunk is the most committed to freeing people from the Galra, but he’s also the most diplomatic. Since he’s probably part Balmera, I imagine that the Balmera episodes hit him extra hard and he goes a little apeshit. He’s consistently kind and diplomatic, and we see him and Yellow helping rebuild on several freed planets. After the Balmera arc, we get an episode that’s our Hunk + Yellow bonding, and he probably gets a cool weapon powerup here.

In the season finale, when they rescue Allura, he tries to save as many innocents and even soldiers as possible. They aren’t in Centrsl Fleet here, but some other fleet-city, so we get a scene or two of him flying around and helping people evacuate.

In season 2, he and Lance have several weird debate-fights where they stand in their lions, shout out why they think the other is wrong, talk about how they think the other is a genuinely good person, if they could just see the truth, and they also halfheartedly shoot at each other.

During the Season 3 peace talks arc, he’s the one on the coalition’s side who pushes for the peace talks to happen, and he handles a lot of the diplomacy with Allura and Shiro. He and Lance have several personal conversations, and, after the peace talks fall through, Hunk gives him a secure communication device and tells him to call if he ever wants to leave the Empire. After a big, destructive battle in the Season 3 finale, Lance uses it.

In Season 4, the Garrison trio forms. Hunk, Pidge, and Lance make up the ‘Smart guy’ side of the team with Hunk’s mechanics, Pidge’s computers, and Lance tactics + insider knowledge, while Allura, Shiro, and Keith make up the more physical side. As they try to form Voltron in Season 4, each paladin has a solo episode where they bond with their Lions more and learn to trust themselves, since I think all of the members probably struggle with various amounts of impostor syndrome. Hunk’s episode takes place on a very ancient Balmera where one of the previous paladins lived, and he learns about his people’s history, how to balance being a leader in a war with his ethics, and he comes to respect the Galra as an oppressed group under Zarkon, which leads into his Season 5 fascination with their culture.

And, as mentioned in the previous timeline post, I only have up to season 4, and honestly most things past season 1 are rough outlines more than anything. Expect Keith’s timeline post soon enough.

#Hunk #Voltron #voltron au #Voltron hunk #au #No Blue AU #I just really love Hunk he’s probably original VLD’s best character but he deserved so much better #paladins

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aquaburst3 · 2 years

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I've seen countless Reddit threads about this and I want to toss my hat into the arena, so here are my unpopular TWST opinions! God, I'm gonna be roasted alive for this.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind this is all just opinion. You can completely disagree with me. This is just my own thoughts. None of this an attack on Yana as a person. I just think that she has many weaknesses as a writer like many of us, myself included. She's an adult, so I can call things out how they are.

(undercut because super long)

The whole debate about Yuu's gender is so fucking stupid: The character in the game clearly represents you—the player yourself, hence the name YUU, so they are whatever gender, sexuality, race, etc that you want them to be. Genderless and faceless MCs in genres outside of otomes are more popular in western games then East Asian far as I can tell, so people might not be as used to one being here, but they are still a thing, guys.

I wish Yuu had more of an impact on the plot and wasn't passive: I like the fact that Yuu is faceless and genderless. This gives a chance for people who are less represented in Japanese media to create their own "Yuus". Hell, I know I did this myself with mine being a latina, bisexual among other things who represents me more. People who want a lead who has a face and personality always have the manga and novels.

However, I wish they had an impact on the plot. As is, Yuu just an observer who chimes in once in awhile. That is really dragging down the immersion in the game, because it feels like you can scrap them from the narrative and have little impact.

The worldbuilding is terrible and is one of the worst I've ever seen: Okay. Maybe not the worst. It's not as bad as Descendants where it makes zero sense and makes the Disney characters super OOC, but it's still up there.

For starters, the game takes place in a modern setting. That's fine. Hell, I would've normally loved that, since that's one of the reasons why I enjoy The Owl House so much. But it wasn't excutied properly here.

Unlike The Owl House where it's a fantasy world with some modern elements, here it's exactly like real life with a few exceptions. That's not realistic. The existence of magic, mermaids, fae and furries alone would've changed things a lot, but yet they have no impact on anything. It's like the movie Bright. Instead of incorporating these elements organically into the world and considering how each of them would change things, they are just slapped on top of reality like magnates on a fridge.

What new worldbuild there is present is completely scatterbrained. When you lay it all out, none of it is coherent. Like...

Why is overblotting a thing in this universe?

Why doesn't everyone know about overblotting by now? (Even if it's rare, most people should know about its existence.)

Why is STYKs even a thing? Wouldn't everyone figure out about it eons ago?

Why aren't most of the residents there mages like in the ATLA or BNHA universes? If mages have interbreed with nonmages for millenia, then the magic gene would eventually overtake the genepool thanks to it benefitting people the most from an evolutionary perspective. Unlike the HP universe, there was no stigma against mages intermarrying, so that's not an excuse. Why the small percentage?

Why are none of the villains like Ursula called by their real names? I know they are historical figures, but some of these happened only a few hundred years ago, so they should have records of this shit.

Why is there so little known about the Great Seven, since, again, some of this happened less than a few hundred years ago.

Why isn't everyone in this world Hellenistic if they know the Greek Gods are real?

Why is Christianity a thing in this world, despite the Greek Gods being real?

Why does the game say that transformation potions are banned, despite the mermaid characters using them to attend Night Raven and the school literally teaching the kids how to make them? Isn't that like Walter White teaching his class how to make crack?

Why is there only one country where fae live? Wouldn't they be universal? Same goes for beastman.

How the fuck can both the heroes and the villains be both honoured historical figures? It's either one or the other.

Why are the people in Bairer Valley like the fantasy version of the Amish?

What the hell is the deal with that war Lilia keeps bringing up?

Why are merfolk only located in one sea?

These are just some of the ones from the top of my head! This still goes on and on!

It reminds me of when you are planning stages of a fantasy story's worldbuilding and you toss a bunch of shit at the wall, even some nonsensical things. But usually you have to go back in and tie up all the loose ends to have things line up correctly. Twisted Wonderland doesn't. Instead it still has all of these half baked worldbuilding ideas, even when they don't add up to the large picture, and it rips a part at the seams.

There's also a huge issue of a lack of research as well like in the scene where Kalim says an explanation for his surname, but it's completely wrong.

Honestly, when I have to go back in and completely alter the worldbuilding so that it makes sense in my fanfics, you know that the game fucked up in that regard. If you want to see a fantasy world with modern elements done right, go watch The Owl House or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Malleus is a good-looking, but bland character: While I know characters like Jamil lacked any development until their arc, thing is that despite being almost at Diasomnia arc, we still know little about him. All we know is that he is prideful, a himbo and is a bit naive. For a character that we knew since the early chapters, that is pretty bad. It's disappointing, since his character concept on paper sounds so awesome, but yet it falls flat in execution.

Malleus and Yuu's friendship isn't very believable: Don't get me wrong. I understand why Malleus sees Yuu as a friend, but why the other way around? They hardly spend any time together. He just pops up every once in a while, says a few lines and that's it. But yet the game expects us to see them as close friends? Bullshit.

I think a lot of it has to do on the instance of having Yuu not learning Malleus' identity. One of my close online friends @stormkitty97 looked back at our first interactions, and they were pretty bland like Malleus and Yuu's as well. However, over time we talked more and began to hang out, becoming actual friends. Having Yuu and Malleus grow closer after spending time with one another would make their bond relatable and allowed the game to actually develop the Diasomnia more. But again, if the game did that, then that whole misunderstanding bs would fly out the window.

Ortho and Idia are lost potential: The idea of a child on the brink of death being brought back as a robot child sounds awesome. But like many things, it falls flat in execution.

Ortho has ZERO personality and is just the obligatory kawaii child character. It also makes no sense. Ortho was a child when he died, yes. But the current one is supposed to be the same age as the first years, so why the hell is he acting like a little kid? That's like if Alfonse acted like a child instead of a young man after his soul was sealed inside of the armour.

Idia is fine, I guess. But I REALLY don't see him as a good representative of Hades, who was known for being a smooth, funny fast-talker while he's the act opposite.

There's little conflict between the brothers, so it makes their dynamic feel stale and uninteresting. All stories need conflict. There's plenty of it there if it was actually explored.

(Personally, if I wrote this I would've keep Idia as is, but made Ortho more like Claudia from Interview with a Vampire with the personality of Hades—a soul of a young man trapped in the boy of a small child, who desperately wants a normal human body. Something like that would make him grow angry and make tensions grow between them with Ortho taking actions to get his body back, even in questionable ways.)

Chapter Six is on par Savanaclaw, ie it's one of the worst arcs in the game so far: If you know me well, you probably heard me rant about this before, but I'll say it now once again. To keep things short, it added too much random worldbuilding that came straight the fuck outta nowhere, the new worldbuilding makes no sense, the pacing is terrible, everyone acts extremely OOC, a lot of the things surrounding the Shroud Brothers makes no sense and Malleus coming in as a Deus Ex Machina fairy to resolve the plot when Vil could've easily solved the problem himself makes my eyes roll.

I think the Masquerade Event is rather problematic and I wish it was done differently: My major problem with it, outside of making the worldbuilding even more nonsensical is that it not only made Frollo an honoured historical figure, but said that he was on par with the Great Seven. Look, I know none of the other Great Seven in the game are saints, and all of them did extremely fucked up shit, but those guys are written in such a way that they are still likeable with a supernatural flare. You can easily twist their stories around to make it where while they aren't saints, at least you can understand where they are coming from and think they made the right call given the circumstances. Frollo is the exact opposite. He's a villain firmly rooted in reality, especailly here in the west, with ZERO redeeming qualities about him. In his movie, he almost drowned a baby in a well for being "deformed", made a woman's skull crack open after kicking her, wanted to exterminate all of the Rroma in Paris and is an old man who lusted after an underaged woman. Having characters idolize him when he's so rooted in reality feels wrong. It's like if the game made the Coachman or Radcliff honoured figures, despite the former being the fantasy version of a human trafficker and the latter being a literal fucking colonizer. Yes, they can do it, but it's in poor taste and makes no sense from an in universe standpoint.

If the game wanted to model that school after someone, I think Mother Gothel would've been the better option. While she is problematic too with her plan essentially being blood libel, which is an anti semitic trope, at least she's less rooted in reality than Frollo. Plus, it would've made the town name make a lot more sense thanks to her being tied to a golden flower. (Seriously, what the fuck does The Hunchback of Notre Dame have to do with flowers?) I think that if Yana REALLY wanted to add a Frollo counterpart to the game, he should've been in the same camp as Vargas or Crewel where he's a character without a statue honouring the actual person.

To be honest, this event is so problematic that I wouldn't be surprised if it was a Japanese exclusive or has massive overhauls to it like what happened with Sam's design or Fairy Gala. I can't imagine how westerners would take it as is, especailly when the game inevitably becomes more mainstream after the anime adaption next year.

Vil and Neige should've been stepbrothers: I talked about this at length before, so I won't get into it too much. But for the abridged version, it would've gave the events in that arc more impact, aligned Vil with the Evil Queen more and better explained why Vil overblotted and was so angry with him than if Neige was just a former coworker. To be honest, having that not be the case is such a bizarre writing choice that I have no idea what the hell Yana was going for with those two. But either way, it fell flat.

There should've been more half fae/mermen/beastmen and human characters in the cast: You can't look me in the eye and tell me that Sebek is the only half fae in that whole school. There would be a lot more attending Night Raven, including others of the main cast. I can see Epel and especailly Vil being half fae.

Vil and Jack's friendship should've played a bigger role in the game: When I first heard about this, I was intrigued. But this is hardly mentioned outside of a few vignettes. It comes across as one of the many plot points in the game that Yana brought up, but then promptly dropped, because she simply forgot about it, which is one of her major problems she has a writer that I've noticed. But still, if she wasn't gonna do anything with this, why bring it up in the first place?

Leona should've had a Swahili name: Usually in Disney projects that centre around The Lion King characters they would ALWAYS have Swahili names like Kion, Banji, Nala, etc. Having the game break that pattern is just...bizarre. Him having a Swahili name would fit the lore more and make more sense, especailly considering he's from an African coded country and is royalty, which is huge on tradition.

Leona and Jamil should've suffered more consequences for their actions after their overblots: I love these two, especailly Jamil, but they were left off the hook far too easily. Leona stated that he learnt nothing from that whole experience. Kalim instantly completely forgives Jamil despite his betrayal without any loss of trust at all. Actions always have consequences for good or ill, and that should've been shown a lot more. Having Kalim and Ruggie being angry at them for what they did would've mitigated this a lot.

Ruggie should've overblotted, not Leona: It makes far more sense, especailly with Ruggie drinking that one potion. The fact that he doesn't is just bizarre.

The Scarabia Dou should've went their own ways: I love the Scarabia Dou's dynamic just as much everyone else, but the game implying that Jamil should continue serving Kalim's family, despite treating his family like total shit, during the Ignihyde arc is super fucked up. Instead I think it should've ended with Kalim realizing how fucked up his family is and setting Jamil's family free. Yes, it's cliche. But it's what makes the most sense for them. Plus, it would've aligned those two with the movie more where Aladdin sets the Genie free. Or least having them learn to become their own person and setting boundaries for themselves.

Azul's eating disorder and Vil fussing over his weight should've been addressed and handled A LOT better: If you read between the lines, it's clear that Azul has body dysmorphia and a eating disorder (likely Bulimia thanks to him liking "fatty foods" and hating unhealthy ones, so I can easily see him going hungry, eating a huge unhealthy meal and purging it) thanks to being constantly fat shamed as a kid. He often says lines like, "I wish they'd list calories in the school's cafeteria. It makes things difficult", and "I like tightening my belt, because it gives me a slimmer figure". Azul gets anxious when Yuu offers him candy. During the Halloween event, Jamil comments that Azul has never ate anything, but is eyeing up all of the food. Is this ever addressed? No, of course not. If anything, it's treated as the butt of the joke, including a scene where everyone laughs at Azul for being fat as a kid. Not only that, but there is a bit in one of Vil's stories where Rook encourages Vil to lose weight.

Look, I'm far from being one of those "Can someone please think of the children!?" type of people, but adding disordered eating in a game targeted at teenagers and having it be not only uncriticized, but ACTIVELY ENCOURAGED is an incredibly irresponsible writing choice on Yana's part. I'm of the mindset of that if you want to tackle dark subject matter in shoujo/YA, fine, go ahead, but be mature about it and actual treat it with respect. This, of course, doesn't. (Granted, I think some of this is cultural on Yana's part, considering being plus sized is much more frowned upon in East Asia than the west and being only 5 pounds overweight can make others bully you for being "fat", but that's no excuse and she should've known better.) Good God, I thought that Hunk from VLD was bad, but this is on a whole other level.

#aqua rambles

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chanoyu-to-wa · 1 month

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The Chanoyu Hyaku-shu [茶湯百首], Part I: Poem 2.

〽 Narai-tsutsu mite-koso narae, narawazu ni yoshi-ashi iu ha oroka nari-keri

[習いつつ見てこそ習え、習わずに善し惡し言うは愚かなりけり].

“While [one is] learning, learn by observation; but as for things [you] have not studied, to declare [something] is right or wrong -- isn't that foolish?”

Both in Jōō’s and Rikyū’s day, and even now, the only way someone can learn how to do things is by observing other people doing it (and then, or course, interpreting what was seen through one’s own body).

In the sixteenth century, this was easier, since the beginner never began by learning how to do things. He -- as has been mentioned before -- started by participating in his tea group’s gatherings, as a middle guest (meaning that his principle obligation was to sit quietly and take in everything that was going on around him). Thus, he not only saw how things were done, but observed them in context -- and context is as important as the mechanics of an action.

But nowadays, it is often the case that the beginner finds himself in a room with other beginners, and if none of them has ever had tea lessons, then nobody will have any idea what to do¹. And since teachers are warned never to perform a temae in front of their students, the learning process is drawn out and riddled with missteps, precisely because it is very likely that nobody has ever seen the temae performed properly.

Chanoyu is best learned by careful and unopinionated observation, followed by careful reflection on what one has seen. Though it is also important that the observing be done of someone who knows what they are doing.

As for the second idea -- that one should not express an opinion regarding something about which one knows nothing -- this should be so obvious that we might wonder why Jōō bothered mentioning it here. But in the real world, very few people can actually approach something with a true beginner’s mind. We usually form an immediate opinion about everything we encounter, and this probably cannot be avoided. Yet the point of this poem is that it is the height of foolishness to throw those ideas (born of inexperience) out into the public arena. If you have an opinion, keep it to yourself if you are not qualified to hold forth on the matter -- and, so long as you remain unqualified, try to keep an open mind, and allow your idea to be challenged, and changed, by what you see other people doing.

These ideas do not apply only to the study of chanoyu.

Once again, both the position, and the wording of this poem are the same in all of the collections. This confirms the importance of approaching chanoyu with the beginner’s mind.

_________________________

¹There are two ways of looking at this, however. If nobody has ever studied, then everyone will be a blank slate. But if one or two of the students have studied previously -- if only, perhaps, with their mother -- then it is possible that they will have learned to do things in a slightly different way from what is prescribed by their iemoto (this is more a problem with the modern approach than it was before chanoyu was extensively codified in the early 20th century), and such inopprobrious ways of doing things can easily infect the other students -- especially if the students are more or less sitting in a row, with the teacher facing them (because it is easier to mimic someone who is sitting beside oneself, rather than try to mentally reverse a series of actions being performed by someone who is facing you).

So, while this poem is written for, and directed toward, the beginner, these considerations should also be reflected upon by the teacher, because a sensitivity to the situation of the student will always enhance the teacher’s ability to teach.

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