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hollowed-theory-hall · 9 months ago

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The Riddle of Tom Riddle: Part 2/?

(Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7)

Voldemort Isn't Insane, At Least, Not in the Way You Think

Horcruxes and Dark Magic don't cause insanity and physical deformity the way Dumbledore implies, and I can prove it.

So, first Dark Magic doesn't make you go mad

So, first off, let's just set the record about Dark Magic not causing the changes in appearance we see in Voldemort and neither does it cause insanity. (I'm talking of run-of-the-mill Unforgivables here, I talk about Horcruxes more in-depth later in this post)

Now, what other character we can be sure practiced Dark Magic... Bellatrix, of course.

And, as a matter of fact, we do get a look at her before she goes to Azkaban:

The dementors placed each of the four people in the four chairs with chained arms that now stood on the dungeon floor. There was a thickset man who stared blankly up at Crouch; a thinner and more nervous-looking man, whose eyes were darting around the crowd; a woman with thick, shining dark hair and heavily hooded eyes, who was sitting in the chained chair as though it were a throne; and a boy in his late teens, who looked nothing short of petrified. He was shivering, his straw-colored hair all over his face, his freckled skin milk-white.

(Goblet of Fire, page 594)

She is clearly not deformed. None of the Death Eaters show any sign of physical changes to their appearance or behaviour due to Dark Magic in general.

the woman with the heavy-lidded eyes looked up at Crouch and called, “The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!”

(Goblet of Fire, page 595)

Bellatrix is sane and coherent before Azkaban. I believe most of her baby talk and more manic behavior we see in the series is caused by her time in Azkaban. While she was definitely loyal to Voldemort to a fault — she wasn't laughing maniacly in a baby voice like in Order of the Phoenix...

So, it isn't Dark Magic that made Voldemort snake-faced, so, maybe it's Horcruxes...

Second, Horcruxes don't make you go mad either

So, I talked about Horcruxes a bit here. But not about their effects on the person casting them.

So, let's try and trace the moments in time we meet Tom and count his Horcruxes. If his Horcruxes were indeed the cause for the change in his appearance, we'd expect to see a gradual change after each one in his appearance and behavior, if they indeed caused his insanity.

So, the first account we have of Voldemort is from Slughorn'smemory in 1943:

Half a dozen boys were sitting around Slughorn, all on harder or lower seats than his, and all in their mid-teens. Harry recognized Voldemort at once. His was the most handsome face and he looked the most relaxed of all the boys. His right hand lay negligently upon the arm of his chair; with a jolt, Harry saw that he was wearing Marvolo’s goldand-black ring; he had already killed his father.

(Half-Blood Prince, page 494)

As Tom is mentioned wearing the Gaunt Ring, we know this memory takes place during his sixth year, after he made the Diary and the Ring into Horcruxes already. (Why ask Slughorn about them if he already made two? Well, I'm gonna write a whole post about that don't worry)

But the point is, 2 Horcruxes in and there are no discernable changes in behavior or appearance. Harry actually describes him as very handsome, so clearly, he isn't snake-like yet.

The next time we see Tom is with Hepzibah Smith in 1956, the thing is, this memory doesn't give us much since it's before he killed her to make his third Horcrux, so we should expect nothing to change.

That then leads us to jump straight to 1967 and his job interview with Dumbledore. Between the talk with Slughonr about Horcruxes and this memory, Tom added 3 more Horcruxes to his collection (the cup, the locket, and the diadem).

So, we should expect to see a drastic change in behavior and appearance, and, well:

Voldemort had entered the room. His features were not those Harry had seen emerge from the great stone cauldron almost two years ago: They were not as snakelike, the eyes were not yet scarlet, the face not yet masklike, and yet he was no longer handsome Tom Riddle. It was as though his features had been burned and blurred; they were waxy and oddly distorted, and the whites of the eyes now had a permanently bloody look, though the pupils were not yet the slits that Harry knew they would become. He was wearing a long black cloak, and his face was as pale as the snow glistening on his shoulders. The Dumbledore behind the desk showed no sign of surprise. Evidently this visit had been made by appointment.

(Half-Blood Prince, page 441)

Tom's behavior throughout this interview isn't any different from what we've seen in his interactions with Dumbledore up to this point. So, I'll take that as a no, for Horcruxes causing insanity as he showed no sign of gradually deteriorating with each one.

And as for his appearence, yes, we see a change. But something about the wording bothered me. Harry referred to his face as looking: "burned and blurred; they were waxy and oddly distorted". This is a really off way to describe a face.

And it actually reminded me of a different description from Harry for a different memory:

And it happened all over again: The dense fog filled the room so that Harry could not see Slughorn or Voldemort at all; only Dumbledore, smiling serenely beside him. Then Slughorn’s voice boomed out again, just as it had done before. “I don’t know anything about Horcruxes and I wouldn’t tell you if I did! Now get out of here at once and don’t let me catch you mentioning them again!” “Well, that’s that,” said Dumbledore placidly beside Harry. “Time to go.” And Harry’s feet left the floor to fall, seconds later, back onto the rug in front of Dumbledore’s desk. “That’s all there is?” said Harry blankly. Dumbledore had said that this was the most important memory of all, but he could not see what was so significant about it. Admittedly the fog, and the fact that nobody seemed to have noticed it, was odd, but other than that nothing seemed to have happened except that Voldemort had asked a question and failed to get an answer. “As you might have noticed,” said Dumbledore, reseating himself behind his desk, “that memory has been tampered with.” “Tampered with?” repeated Harry, sitting back down too. “Certainly,” said Dumbledore. “Professor Slughorn has meddled with his own recollections.”

(Half-Blood Prince, page 371)

Memories can be edited and when they are, they become fogged and blurry. Slughorn's memory is clearly very crudely edited, but a master Legilemence like Dumbledore could surely do a better job of it.

Because Dumbledore has an agenda with all these memories, he needs to convince Harry to be ready to die to kill Voldemort — that's his end goal. And as such, yeah, he could reasonably edit Tom's appearance. As he seemed to have.

So, do we have a different source about Tom's appearance during the First War, because the next Horcrux after the diadem is Harry?

We do, Voldemort himself:

“Nice costume, mister!” He saw the small boy’s smile falter as he ran near enough to see beneath the hood of the cloak, saw the fear cloud his painted face. Then the child turned and ran away. . .

(Deathly Hollows, pages 295)

In this memory Voldemort shows mercy to a muggle child, not killing someone whose death isn't necessary — another point to him not being insane.

As for appearance, well, his face scared the child, but, it's hard to tell why. I'm sure JKR intended us to assume it's because he looked snake-like, but, again, no Horcruxes were made between the interview in Dumbledore's office and this scene, so he shouldn't be any more distorted. And while Harry's description in the interview memory isn't flattering, it isn't horrifying either.

Therefore, my assumption is that Voldemort is staring at this little child dressed like a pumpkin with the most impressive death glare the child has ever seen and this kid actually thinks, Tom is going to kill him. Which, well, it's a fair reason to be scared, I'll give him that.

His white hand pulled out the wand beneath his cloak and pointed it at the door, which burst open.

(Deathly Hollows, pages 296)

"White hand" doesn't say much. Tom was always described as pale and nothing odd about the skin texture is mentioned.

I'll add, that magically speaking, at least, according to the way I believe Horcruxes are made, it makes no sense for them to effect one's appearance and sanity negatively. Well, making them isn't pleasant, but they won't make you lose your intelligence and coherence.

So, what's up with Voldemort?

Well, I'm getting there.

For his appearence, my assumption was always that Pettigrew butchered the resurrection potion (when making a potion or alchemical concoction the mindset of the brewer matters. If Pettigrew was adding Nagini's venom without thinking of it as a soul component but as a body component, it can cause the changes in appearences we see). It can also be affected by the unicorn blood, which we don't really know the negetive effects of.

As for the insanity... When talking about insanity in fiction the conversation is sometimes very shallow. the word "insane" is just used to describe any character people don't understand, or that acts somewhat unpredictably. But if we look at insanity as a concept, as in a mental illness or delusions of some kind, they always have consistency. Both in fiction and reality.

Say, if a person believes they are a butterfly, they would always believe they are a butterfly. All their actions and behavior would stem from that delusion. We would expect them to try and drink from flowers, or try to fly — because that's what butterflies do.

Voldemort doesn't have that.

He doesn't have a consistent behavior pattern I could chuck to insanity and call it a day. No, Tom Riddle is a more complex character than that and I feel calling him "insane" is a cop-out from analyzing his character properly.

I'm gonna make a full post about it and what exactly is going through his mind, but I wanted to cover the insanity claims first.

#harry potter #harry potter theory #harry potter thoughts #hollowedtheory #hp theory #overthinking #wizarding world #voldemort analysis #lord voldemort #voldemort #tom marvolo riddle #tom riddle #first wizarding war

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writingbylee · 3 months ago

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hi hello i think it’s time that i actually introduce all of my OCs? because i truly have so many and i never actually talk about half of them. so below you will find all my OCs! along with short bullet point explanations of their characters. if they have an OC sheet, that’ll be linked— as well as any fic i have posted about them. i’ve also included links to my vibes page (@vibesforlee) where i’ve got tags for each of my OCs.

Fandoms Below Include: Star Wars, A Song of Ice and Fire, Percy Jackson, Marvel, Chronicles of Narnia, Critical Role, Avatar The Last Airbender, and Top Gun: Maverick

so uhhhh yeah i hope this is helpful for at least my own brain but also anyone else who is interested!

dividers by: @saradika-graphics

banners by: me

Lyra Amidala Naberrie

General Knowledge

Younger sister of Padme Amidala

Jedi Healer during the Clone Wars

Served as Medic General of the 104th Legion, Chief Medical Officer of the 104th Company known as the “Wolfpack”, and as Medic General of the 501st Legion

Fic: @abandoned-by-destiny

Vibes

House of the Dragon

Aemma Velaryon Targaryen

General Knowledge

Firstborn child to Rhaenyra Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon, before Laenor’s premature death three years after the marriage

Older sister to Jacaerys Targaryen Strong, Lucerys Targaryen Strong, Joffrey Targaryen Strong, Viserys Targaryen Strong, and Visenya Targaryen Strong

Bonded to the dragon Vermithor

Vibes

Game of Thrones

Lyanna Stark

General Knowledge

Eldest child of Catelyn and Ned Stark (by approximately seven minutes)

Twin sister to Robb Stark; believed half-sister of Jon Snow; older sister to Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, and Rickon Stark

bonded to a red and brown direwolf called Scarlet Shadow

Fic: screaming from a crypt

oc blog: @princess-lyanna-stark

Vibes

Ceara Murphy

General Knowledge

daughter of Neptune and Emma Murphy, a legacy of Fortuna and daughter of Irish immigrants living in Portland, Oregon

inherited the power from her father to start earthquakes, and eventually manipulate seismic waves into concentrated blasts

brought down Mount Othrys after helping Jason Grace kill the Titan Krios

one of the demigods of the prophecy of Nine

Vibes

Emmalee Miller

General Knowledge

inherits the spirit and powers of the mythical Scarlet Witch when Wanda Maximoff is killed during her torture and experimentation at The Raft prison

is brought in by SHIELD after her powers emerge, and is initially assumed to be an Inhuman— and is therefore recruited by Daisy Johnson to join her Secret Warriors

Vibes

Edme Pevensie (female!Edmund Pevensie)

General Knowledge

Younger sister to Peter and Simon Pevensie, older sister to Lucy Pevensie

gains the power to manipulate ice and water after being stabbed with the shattered wand of The White Witch during The First Battle of Beruna

is crowned as High Queen Edme the Just, alongside her siblings; High King Peter the Magnificent, King Simon the Gentle, and Queen Lucy the Valiant

returns to Narnia twice after The Golden Age, both times to assist Prince, later King, Caspian the Tenth

Fic: A Reminder

Vibes

Campaign 1: Vox Machina

Alythea Vance

General Knowledge

Level 1 Druid/Level 11 Cleric (Death Domain) when hired by Vox Machina

is hired by Vox Machina to be their temporary healer/cleric during their mission to Whitestone, after Pike Trickfoot leaves on her vision quest

helps liberate the town of people of Whitestone, and returns to Vox Machina after the arrival of the Chroma Conclave in Emon

Vibes

Campaign 2: Mighty Nein

Kara Dean

General Knowledge

Level 7 Bard (College of Valor) when she meets the Mighty Nein

is Captain Avantika’s first mate/navigator when the Mighty Nein meet up with Avantika after stealing The Mist in Nicodranus

betrays Avantika and helps the Mighty Nein steal her journal

leaves The Revelry and Darktow with the Mighty Nein after The Plank King kills Avantika

Vibes

Xia Beifong

General Knowledge

Older sister to Toph Beifong, and heir apparent to the Beifong fortune

a nonbender who has trained extensively in swordplay

assists her younger sister in escaping, both to the fighting ring and to leave with the Avatar

in retaliation, is essentially sold by her father into marriage to the much older Earth King in Ba Sing Se

Vibes

Major Taylor Gardner

General Knowledge

28 year old Marine pilot

first Marine to ever be allowed to attend Top Gun, and the youngest female aviator to ever win Top Gun

callsign “Wasp”; due to the fifth generation fighter, colloquially called a Stinger, that she stole while escaping the uranium enrichment plant after being undercover there for several weeks obtaining vital intel

fic: Hangman and The Wasp

Vibes

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tenaciouschronicler · 3 months ago

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August 2 and 3 2024 2009

I fear I really will need to put all my posts into a word doc.

Lets work through the lore shall we.

So, back on page 251 when the Kernel divided it 'hatched' upon arrival to The Medium. These Kernels, one light and one dark, upon situating themselves in their respective Orbs activate the Imps present giving them characteristics from the prototyping, in this case harlequin clothing.

Im gonna put the rest under the cut, this post got away from me.

Again working from top to bottom, These Orbs are situated upon one of Four Spires which make up the throne of either sides Sovereign Power; the Dark throne is purple while the Light throne is gold. The first Kernels arrival is the catalyst that starts the 'true game', increasing the board to a 12x12, adding more pieces and actually placing the kings on opposite corners. Light is also always destined to lose. Im curious if each game can only be played by four players or if only the first four are placed in the spires and subsequesnt players dont have any effect on the Sovereign Powers? Could you play with less than four players and how would that game play out?

John and WV both wonder what the point is then if Light always loses and Nanna says that is The Ultimate Riddle they have to solve.

This part made me remember way back on page 82 when the narrator said:

The game presently eluding you is only the latest sleight of hand in the repertoire of an unseen riddler, one to engender a sense not of mirth, but of lack. His coarse schemes are those less of a prankster than a common pickpocket.

His riddle is Absence itself. It is a mystery dispersing altogether, like the moon's faint reflection, with even one pebble of inquiry dropped in its black well. It is the most diabolical riddle of all.

At the time I wrote, "Googling Absence gives us "the state of being away from a place or person". So his riddle is a state of being away from others... I feel like the following statement gives more but I cant discern what." Could this be The Ultimate Riddle Nanna is refering to? I still cant tell what the riddle is, maybe after I put all the Lore together I can at least try to add more to this. (After stepping back and re-reading it I figured out the 'diabolical riddle'; the nature of Absence is transitory and evanescent, here one moment gone the next. Looking for answers only serves to hasten its absence, obscuring itself with more questions.)

For now, John has to climb towards Skia by passing through the gates utilizing the games building funtion to reach. In that way he can save Dad! And what about Earth?

Nanna drops the bombshell that Earth is done for, regardless of how well they do in this game.

Finally done with her duty, Nanna heads off to bake John cookies! For the first time we see her phase through the walls leaving blue goo on the Con Air poster. We didnt see her doing that earlier but maybe theres more goo around the house.

WV is All About them cookies and pushes John to pursue. We learn John hates any and all baked goods "totally abjur[ing] the hell out of that idea."

Roses Pesterchum image is annoyed now, having tried to get Johns attention this whole time and is now trying to use a box to the head.

Unfortunately for her I think this is Johns last straw and hes having a well deserved scream. After everything hes gone through and learned, I think he needs it.

In the meantime and probably against better judgement, theres still a fire raging Rose, shes gonna update the GameFAQ. And apparently get sassed by a dead cat. It's pretty much all his fault you're in this mess in the first place, so he can just button it.

Whatever you say Rose.

#i wrote most of this yesterday but forgot to finish and post #i was just so freaking tired #work was a nightmare #hsrp liveblog #homestuck #homestuck replay #chrono #hsrp lore

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fluffyjack5 · 11 months ago

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This is it! The reveal of main antagonists of Zoophobia, also known as Four Horsemen of Apocalypse. Not wasting the time.....

The first character is Jestine-Deity of Dreams, before known as a Sin of Pride. A long time ago she tried to overthrown Lucifer from throne, but she failed. After this act she was banished from hell. But soon Malvada offered to her to become the Deity of Dreams in exchange for her serving him. She was placed under supervision of second main antagonist-KayCee.

KayCee-The Deity of Chaos with demonic origin, like how Jestine, and like Jestine she's serving to Malvada-Strange and mystical person, She wants only one-to see the whole world in chaotic fire. But she need a help to do this terrific plan, and firstly she was hoping to our third antagonist-Mirage

Mirage is Demon-Oni, which (in my headcanon at least), can take over the body of various species. A long time ago, after Jestine's failed coup d'etat, Oni was subjected to genocide for that, they was supporting Jestine in coup. But Malvada saved Mirage from fate to being killed in massacre. Despite she was owe him for that, Mirage wants something more that just being a puppet in someone's hands. Once she discovered information about Sun Wukong's rod-Artefact, which can gave to his user the power, which subject only for chosen one. So after this, she make the escape plan alongside with Phineas-at this moment, lover of Jestine (Yeah, i used some old canon things in my HC). They escaped because of Gale, in which Mirage take over. Now Mirage and Phineas want to find this artefact to become most powerful subject in the world. But someone also wants to take this power, like how our fourth and last character in this time-Tha-Haarut

Tha-Haarut is a right hand of Jestine. He's a Deity of Fantasies and caretaker of Jestine's daughter. But as a Mirage he's not loyal to Malvada, but wants to not show this. He was obsessed by idea being most powerful deity in Panteon (place where living various deities, like how Autumn or Heff. At this moment the most powerfull deity in Panteon is Father Sky), so when Mirage discovored the existance of Sun Wukong's rod, Tha-Haarut decided to find this artefact for all cost. (Yeah. I know that he looks like how piece of ShiihS, so wait for redesing of him)

That's all. Malvada is only at last guys. The most main antagonist is so important for Zoophobia's universe, that he needs to other page.

#zoophobia #vivzieverse #vivziemind #vivziepop #vivienne westwood #hellaverse #helluva boss fandom #helluvaboss

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khaleesikels · 9 months ago

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I wanted to send my crazy Throne of Glass/ACOTAR/Crescent City into the universe. Enjoy!

My Theories- Throne of Glass/ACOTAR/Crescent City:

Kingdom of Ash- Worlds Overlapping

• Mala only held out a hand. In it lay a kernel of white-hot power. A fallen star. “Take it One last gift to my bloodline.” …Chapter 98, Page 794

o This is giving Starborn? Or, at least, a hellacious coincidence to Theia’s line?

• She was falling. Falling and being thrown. The Wyrdgate sealed behind her, and yet she was not home. As it closed, all worlds overlapped… Chapter 99, Page 799

o This almost makes it sound like the worlds did not previously overlap…?

Queen of Shadows- Thoughts on the Bone Carver/ Old Gods

• “Seems like this god of truth,” Aedion called from his wall, “was more of a Sin-Eater than anything. You should read some of the things people wrote- all the horrible things they did. I think this was a place for them to be buried, and to confess on the bones of other sinners.” …Chapter 50, Page 411

o “These aren’t ordinary catacombs,” Rowan said, setting down his torch. “This was a temple.” Indeed, alters, benches, and even a dark reflection pool lay in the massive space… Chapter 50, Page 410

o “There’s writing on these bones,” Aedion said, striding down the steps and onto the bone floor. Aelin grimaced… Chapter 50, Page 411

o “It’s in every language- all in different handwriting,” Aedion marveled… Chapter 50, Page 411

A Court of Mist and Fury

• The boy’s smile (The Bone Carver) was a mockery of innocence. “Are you frightened?” “Yes,” I said. Never lie (truth telling God, anyone?)- That had been Rhy’s first command… Chapter 18, Page 196.

A Court of Wings and Ruin

• (At the Prison-Prythian) “There was life here,” Cassian said, “before the High Lords took Prythian. Old gods, we call them. They ruled the forests and the rivers and the mountains (Throne of Glass world has elemental magic, fire/ice/wind)- some were those things. Then magic shifted to the High Fae, who brought the Cauldron and Mother along with them, and though the old gods were still worshipped by a select few, most people forgot them.”

o Feyre: “The Bone Carver was an old god?”

o Cassian: “That’s what legend says.” … Chapter 22, Page 233

• “Clever, that Fae warrior. Her bloodline is long gone now- though a trace still runs through some human line.” He smiled, “No one remembers her name. But I do. She would have been my salvation, had I not made my choice long before she walked this earth.”

o (Continued, Bone Carver) “She could not kill them in the end- they were too strong. They could only be contained.” …Chapter 23, Page 239.

▪ At first, I thought of Bryce... Until I realized the Bone Carver and his siblings are not Asteri. They were old Gods. Who do we know that locked away “gods” in their story? Not kill… Locked away. Aelin.

▪ Also, Dorian and Aelin are related. Dorian has magic and is also a human. Also- Aelin has both Fae and Human forms... Magic being passed down through a human lineage.

▪ Both Dorian and Aelin are descendants of Mala and Brannon. I have a theory that Lidia is related to Aelin and Dorian through Brannon and Mala somehow.

• Aelin approached the archway of the god’s realm. To where Mala now walked across the shimmering grass, little more than a shaft of sunlight herself. The Lady of Light halted- and lifted an arm in farewell. Aelin smiled and bowed…. The gods began shouting, running towards her, as Aelin ripped open a hole in their sky. Right into a world she had only seen once. Had accidentally opened a portal into one night in a stone castle. Distant, baying howls cracked the bleak gray expanse. A portal into a hell-realm. A door now thrown open… Chapter 98, Page 796, Kingdom of Ash.

o This also becomes important later in my dissertation about who the “Mother” is and where the Cauldron came from.

Final Thoughts on Mala Fire-Bringer:

• Mala Fire-Bringer is also known as:

o Goddess of the Sun

o Lady of Light (STARBORN!?)

o Lady of Fire

o The Bright Lady (STARBORN!?)

o Formerly a god that gave up their immortality to be mortal/human to Forge the lock.

Archesian Amulet/ Witches

• Archesian Amulet described as 3 circles overlapping one another.

• Eye of Elena description (Throne of Glass): The Eye of Elena was a warped metal amulet composed of two overlapping circles inside a greater circle. The heart of the amulet was in the shape of an eye- with a blue gemstone in the middle.

o Rhiannon Crochran created the basis of the Lock: the symbol of the Three-Faced Goddess in an amulet. Rhiannon crafted a witch mirror in the middle eye, absorbing immense power. The amulet had been called the Eye of the Goddess.

This leads me into the Three-Faced Goddess which has been mentioned in all three series (ToG, ACOTAR, CC).

• Throne of Glass we know that the witch clans- all 3- are represented by the Three-Faced Goddess. The Three-Faced Goddess is symbolized as the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. We see this in Throne of Glass symbolically represented by the 3 witch clans:

o Blueblood Clan- The Maiden

o The Blackbeak Clan- The Mother

o The Yellowlegs Clan- The Crone

• In ACOTAR, we get this snippet from Amren when she is assisting Nesta with Scrying (stones and bones as she calls it): She didn’t seem to notice as she untied the small pouch and dumped out its contents. Three stones, four bones. The latter were brown and gleamed with age; the former were white as the moon and smooth as glass, each marked with a thin, reedy letter I did not recognize. “Three stones for the faces of the Mother,” Amren said upon seeing Nesta’s raised brows. “Four bones… For whatever reason the charlatans came up with that I can’t be bothered to remember.”

o The Mother has 3 faces... Where have we heard this? The Three-Faced Goddess. The Maiden, The Mother, and The Crone.

o This also leads me into a statement made by Tamlin in the first ACOTAR book. He asks Feyre, “Didn’t your mother ever tell you anything about us?” Which I always thought was weird. Why would Feyre’s mom know anything about the Fae? Who has a long enough life span to rival the Fae in the Throne of Glass series? Witches.

▪ I think Feyre, Elain, and Nesta’s mom was a witch, and by association, them as well.

• Lord Devlon in the ACOTAR series even calls Nesta a witch.

o The Three-Faced Goddess is represented by the Archeron sister’s as well:

▪ Elain- The Maiden (Also- Elain is a Seer- we know this is a gift known to Witches as well. It is mentioned in Crescent City that Witches have gifts that range from Seers to potion-making)

▪ Feyre- The Mother (Literally popped out Nyx)

▪ Nesta- The Crone (Death/ Her ability to have the Silver Flames/ Death Incarnate)

o I know Crescent City has witches, and Jesiba Roga was one, but I am not far enough along in Flame and Shadow to continue my thoughts until I finish the book.

Lastly, the Mother and the Cauldron: My crackpot theory is that the Mother is the Three-Faced Goddess and she created Prythian when Aelin banished them into their new hellscape.

In ACOTAR, Feyre sees a mural in Tamlin’s manor and describes it as: A might black cauldron held by glowing, slender female hands in a starry, endless night. Those hands tipped it over, golden sparkling liquid pouring out over the lip. No- not sparkling, but… Effervescent with small symbols, perhaps of some ancient faerie language. (Wyrdmarks, anyone? Who would know about Wyrdmarks? Someone from the Throne of Glass world).

This would also make sense why Feyre and her sisters seem “blessed” by some. They are powerful… Witches

#acotar #throne of glass #crescent city #conspiracy theories #maasverse #sarah j maas #wyrd sisters #witches #bryce quinlan #feyre archeron #nesta archeron #elain archeron #aelin ashryver galathynius #prythian #terrasen #midgardsormr

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mermaidsirennikita · 1 year ago

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Hi!! Do you have any fantasy romance recs? I loved IAD

Hello fellow IAD reader!! Sorry for the lateness, blame Thanksgiving.

I do have fantasy recs!

A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane--this one has a high fantasy setting, the hero is trying to avenge his parents who were killed by this evil king figure. He almost kills the heroine, the king guy's daughter--but she's the heir to throne and wants her dad dead too. So they agree to work together... and marry for an alliance. SO HOT. So angsty. So emotional. This is the book where she famously gives him a handy using her dead brother's blood as lube. It's GOOD.

The Winter King by C.L. Wilson--the hero is the prince of a winter-magic kingdom, and he inherits when the prince of the sun-kingdom kills his parents and brother. He takes revenge, conquers the sun kingdom, and the book begins with him solidifying a treaty by marrying the daughter of the sun king. The sun king tricks the hero into marrying the daughter he loves least, and the heroine has to give the hero an heir within a year... or else. This is for the Zutara girlies, it's a man with a heart of ice with this defiant princess, perfect enemies to lovers, with a dash of... Elsa?

The next book is The Sea King, which has the first heroine's sister being doggedly pursued by like... Prince Aquaman. From a matriarchal country. Where he was literally trained in the art of pussy. (TW: this one has sexual assault on the page, not by the hero.)

Consort of Fire by Kit Rocha--the first heroine is sent to marry this dragon god, and she must kill him or die. The twist: she and her handmaiden (who's super dangerous) are long term lovers. Twist twist: she and her new husband feel an instant chemistry. Twist twist twist: her husband her lover also have an angry sexual tension. It's hot, it's intense, and it's FFM. Beginning of an ongoing series.

Ruby Dixon's Aspect and Anchor series is GREAT. The first three books have modern women in our world end up in parallel fantasy words, where they must act as the "anchors" for these "aspects" (basically: supernatural gods). The first one is Bound to the Battle God, and it's such a good defiant heroine/stern hero book. There's a scene where the heroine is under the influence of an aphrodisiac and he has to boredly get her off. I live for it.

#romance novel blogging #book recs

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the-cult-of-russo · 2 years ago

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Endorphins (Part 1)

Pairing: Reader/Billy Russo

Warnings: cursing, angst, pain, the usual dark shit. I don't wanna tag it too like specifically to keep the suspense alive lmao the usual Punisher type of bullshit. It’s nothing you haven’t read before if you’ve read my other angsty shit.

A/N: Soooo this was a request but it turned into multiple parts because I got carried away. And I don't wanna put the request on here like I usually do because of spoilers lmaooo Also, I’ll just be posting these one after the other ‘cause I just wanna get this out there.

But to answer the rest of your ask anon, I know, I was away awhile. Life hasn’t been kind to me and then I ended up knee-deep in another fandom lmao But I’m back babeeeyyyy!! ;)

Also, the name of this series is from a Don Broco song with the same name. If you don’t know who they are, check them out. They’re my fav band and I love them.

Endorphins are running through my veins and it's pathetic

Endorphins are rushing out my brain and it's pathetic

Mighty morphing into a piece of shit, it's so pathetic

I'm so pathetic

—--------------------

Your leg bobbed nervously, eyes darting around at the other people sitting around in the hallway. You were interviewing for a job at a company called Anvil. It was a secretary/PA position. You'd done this kind of work before but the company you'd been working for had to close down, so now you were broke and out of work. You knew Anvil was doing well. The company had gained a reputation for itself and working here would mean good pay and opportunities. But the company wasn't the only thing that had a reputation. You'd heard many things about the man sitting on the throne. A serial womanizer. Rumor was, his last PA was fired after he fucked her. And she wasn’t the first. But maybe that's all it was. A rumor. But still, as you looked at the other people here, you couldn't help but feel like a sack of potatoes. All the leggy pretty women that looked like they should be on a catwalk and not interviewing for a job like this. If he really was as shallow as you'd heard, you'd have no chance. You'd not had to be interviewed in so long, being at your last job for as long as you did, and the nerves were chipping at you. You were just considering bolting out of the door when your name was called by a blonde woman with a kind face.

She'd introduced herself to all of the interviewees as Karen Page. She'd told you all that while she didn't technically work here, she helped out from time to time. Her partner was Frank, the head trainer and Billy Russo's best friend. You blinked at her for a long moment, eyes wide as your heart hammered in your chest. She gave you a warm and encouraging smile as you stood. Your legs felt like jello, ready to give out at a moment's notice. You hadn't expected to be so nervous here. But you were on the verge of losing your apartment and you needed this job. But you weren't like all the others here. Calm and composed, seemingly not fussed in the least about the interview. You stuck out like a sore thumb and you were sure that's why Karen decided to give your arm a reassuring squeeze when you stood next to her outside of Mr Russo's office.

"You've got this," she smiled warmly. You wondered if she felt bad for you. You knew you must have looked ridiculous with how nervous you were. You blew out a shaky breath with a nod.

"I've got this," you repeated, not too convincingly as your voice wobbled. After one more smile, Karen opened the door for you. You stepped in, almost flinching at the sound of the door shutting behind you.

The office was large yet simple. A minimalist look to it. Only one painting hung on the wall. Some scenic oil painting that looked legit and like it cost a shit tonne of money. You swallowed thickly as your eyes landed on the man behind the desk. His suit looked like it was made just for him and his hair was perfectly styled. And now you had to impress him or you'd be living in a cardboard box on the streets.

"Mr Russo," you greeted meekly, a polite yet shy smile on your face.

"Ms Y/L/N, please take a seat," he said cordially, gesturing to the chair on the other side of his desk. You walked over, sitting down before your eyes flit around anxiously. There was no way in hell you'd be able to impress this man given your competition. Your heart thudded away dully in your chest. When your eyes landed back on him, he was already watching you. His eyes were dark, darker than you’d ever seen before. They felt like they saw right through you and sucked you in all at the same time. His lips quirked up slightly and you realized you'd just been sitting there looking at him like a deer in the headlights. You felt your cheeks burn.

"I'm sorry. I swear I'm not usually this… nervous. It's just been a long time since I've had to sit for an interview," you admitted with a self-deprecating chuckle. You figured if you couldn't win him over with looks, you might as well just be honest with him.

He smiled at you, glancing at the paper on his desk.

"I noticed. Your resume is quite impressive. A loyal employee. You worked at Johnson and Sons for…-" he trailed off as he glanced to the paper again.."-8 years. He must have thought you were a good employee to keep you on that long," he mused, his dark eyes going back to you. You felt your face heat up a little at the compliment as you looked down at your hands clasped in your lap.

"I guess so," You shrugged with a wry smile.

"Mr Johnson was a good man. Was a shame what happened to him," he murmured thoughtfully. A small frown creased your brow as you felt a pinch in your chest. Mr Johnson had worked his whole life to get his business to where it ended up. And then a month ago he had a heart attack in the middle of a meeting. You'd witnessed it. Now he was dead and instead of his sons carrying on the business as they were supposed to, they closed it down.

"He was a good man. He always looked after me," you replied sadly. He gave you a sympathetic look, His finger tapping on the desk a little.

"So… why do you think you'd be a good fit here at Anvil?" He asked you, eyes boring into you. You licked your lower lip, mouth suddenly feeling dry like all the moisture had evaporated.

"I'm a hard worker. I always go above and beyond what's expected of me. If you need me to do something, then I’ll do it. Whether it's staying here late to help you prep for a big meeting or just running down the street to get you a bagel and coffee,” you tried to sound confident but you weren’t sure if you succeeded or not. He nodded, leaning back in his chair a little like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“I gotta be honest, when I saw the name on your resume, I already knew who you were before I read it,” he said, lips tugging into a wry smirk as you blinked at him.

“You did?” you asked, slightly confused. He chuckled, raking his teeth over his lower lip as he looked at you.

“I did a lot of business with Mr Johnson. He never shut up about you, how good his PA was. Made me pretty jealous about it. I don’t know if you remember, but we met two years ago, at the Charity ball for homeless people your company ran,” he murmured, a note of amusement in his voice. Your brows furrowed a little as you tried to remember the night. You’d planned all of it and Mr Johnson insisted you attend it to at least enjoy the fruits of your labors. He’d even bought you a swanky dress that was still sitting in your closet despite the fact you'd never use it again. You couldn't just chuck something away that you knew cost so much. You tried to quickly flip through the memories of the night. You’d met so many people then, so many business contacts. And then you remembered briefly being introduced to Mr Russo but you hadn't done more than say a polite hello with a smile. Mr Johnson liked to call you a workaholic. Even at the event you were working and making sure things were in order, taking notes when important people were around.

“I completely forgot about that,” you muttered, feeling a little sheepish. You weren't quite sure how you could forget someone like Mr Russo. He shot you another amused grin as he shrugged lazily.

“I’m not surprised. Mr Johnson said you’d work yourself to death. You were supposed to be enjoyin’ the party and instead you were workin’ your ass off,” he teased. You bit your lip with a smile, feeling a little more at ease with him the more he spoke. He was intimidating yet calming at the same time and it was strange.

“Yep, sounds about right,” you snorted. He moved to sit forward again, hands clasped on his desk in front of him.

“Look… I’ll be real transparent with you, Y/N. Your resume is one of many I’ve had to go through, but as soon as I saw your name, I already knew who I was gonna pick. If you got Mr Johnson's stamp of approval then you already got mine. I know he didn’t keep anyone on his team that wasn’t capable of workin’ hard and keepin’ cool under pressure. I knew you’d be perfect for the job. I’d be stupid to hire anyone else out there over you,” he admitted, his face deadly serious as his dark gaze cut into you. You blinked dumbly at him for a moment. You weren’t really expecting this. You’d been sure you didn't have a chance. And you felt flattered that Mr Johnson had been so impressed with you that he’d spoken about you so much.

“Really?” you asked, feeling stupid as soon as the words left your mouth. His serious face changed then as his lips quirked up at you.

“Really. If you want the job, it's yours,” he offered with a warm smile. All the nerves that had gripped you tightly since you’d walked in seemed to melt from you, your body sagging a little in relief after being held so tightly for so long.

“I really do want the job,” you nodded eagerly. His grin widened then, reaching a hand out for you to shake. You took it, shaking it with a smile.

“Welcome to the family, Y/N. I think you’ll love it here,” he grinned.

—-

You pulled your coat tighter around yourself to stave off the bite of chilly wind as you walked briskly home. Your heels sounded like the only noise in the street, clicking on the pavement at your hurried steps. You’d been working with Anvil for exactly a week. It was Monday and you’d quickly gathered Monday was a busy day. There would always be tonnes of messages for you to sift through that had come through at the weekend. You didn’t mind it though. It was pretty much the same as it had been back at your other job. You’d met mostly everyone there and everyone seemed nice. Frank had been polite and sweet to you, which hadn't been expected with his grumpy face. You'd even gotten to know Karen a little better. She’d come in sometimes to see Frank and wind up speaking to you for a bit too. Mr Russo was a really good boss too. Not the hard ass like you thought he might be. He’d even shown you the ropes himself and made a point of showing you around and introducing you to people there. Overall, you were enjoying the job. But as you walked home, you were feeling an unsettling feeling and it wasn't the first time you'd felt it since you started working there. It started on your second day. You’d been walking home when you felt uneasy. That feeling you get when you know someone’s watching you. You knew you were being paranoid, you hadn't seen anyone when you’d glanced around. But the hairs on the back of your neck were prickling up and it made your stomach churn. You’d convinced yourself you were being silly. It was an overactive imagination or something. But it happened every night when you walked home from work. You’d never felt this way when working at your old job and you couldn't shake it. And so, as it happened once again, you hurried home feeling your chest constrict like you were on the verge of a panic. You’d never been an overly anxious person walking around, even at night. You knew what New York could be like but it didn't really bother you. So you weren’t quite sure just why you were feeling this way. You always felt like you were ready to get snatched into an alleyway or something. You hated it. You wished it wasn’t winter. It wouldn't be dark on your way home in the summer.

As you were almost at your apartment, you heard a crash from the other side of the street. Your head whipped around quickly, your heart stuttering for a moment. On the other side of the street, there was a figure all in black, a hood pulled over their head and obscuring their face. It looked like they’d knocked over a trash can. There was something really ominous feeling about the person, especially since he hadn't been there when you’d looked over your shoulder a few minutes before. You turned around quickly and ran the rest of the way, almost ripping the door to your apartment building off the hinges once you let yourself in. You stood in the hallway, chest heaving a little as you told yourself to get it together. You were being stupid. It wasn't like you were the only person allowed out at night. It was probably just some guy minding his own business. You walked back over to the door, peeping through the long window curiously. You felt your stomach drop when you saw the hooded figure across the road standing there unmoving. Looking right at your building. You backed away slowly, trying to shake the uncomfortable feeling settling in the pit of your stomach as you rushed up the stairs. It was only once you were in your apartment you felt a little safe. When you chanced a glance out of your window, the figure was gone and you felt yourself unwind a little. It was weird and you didn't like it. You wondered if you should mention it to Mr Russo. He did own a security firm after all. Maybe he could give you some tips to keep yourself safe. You weren't quite sure why it had only just started but maybe Anvil came with some cons as well as pros. You weren't sure but you found it hard to go to sleep that night.

—--

You stood outside of Mr Russo’s office anxiously, gnawing at your lower lip. It was lunchtime and you’d already given him his lunch. But you’d been on the fence about speaking to him about your nightly scares or not. Once the morning came, you weren't sure if you’d been imagining it or not. You felt a little bit silly going to him about it. But you’d be a liar if you said you weren't already dreading the walk home. It wasn't far which is why you never bothered with a cab. You were starting to wonder if maybe you should start. After heaving a large breath, you knocked on his door firmly. Once he told you to come in, you opened the door and hovered inside uncertainly.

“Mr Russo… could I speak to you a moment?” you asked tentatively.

“I keep tellin’ you, call me Billy. Come and sit down,” he gestured to the seat, giving you a smile as he balled up his sandwich wrapper and tossed it into the trash can. His casual demeanor put you at ease instantly. He’d been telling you to call him Billy since your first day but for some reason your brain was having a hard time with it. To be fair to you, you’d never done it with Mr Johnson despite his insistence to call him by his first name.

“Billy, sorry,” you murmured wryly as you moved to sit down.

“What's worrying you?” he asked pointedly, raising a brow at you.

“How do you know I’m worried?” you countered, giving him an amused smirk. Despite being cordial and professional with him, he had a way of always putting you at ease and making you feel comfortable. It had been easy to talk to him in your short time here and he’d even joke with you sometimes. You’d admit it was refreshing working with someone closer to your own age. He gave you a look that you’d quickly learnt meant ‘cut the bullshit’ and you sighed.

“It’s… It’s gonna sound stupid. I think I’m just being paranoid or something,” you muttered, feeling your cheeks burning a little at your words. You felt silly in front of him now.

“Paranoid or not, somethin’s got you worried. You know you can talk to me. What happened?” he asked seriously. You chewed on your lower lip again, fiddling with your hands on the desk as your eyes landed on anything other than him. Suddenly his large and warm hand settled over yours, stilling their restless motions and your eyes snapped to his. That was another thing you weren’t quite used to. Mr Johnson never put his hands on you, no matter how gentle. Billy had done it a few times. Just little touches like a squeeze to the arm, his hand on your back for the briefest of moments. You didn't mind it though really.

“I think… I think someone’s been following me home,” you admitted quietly. A deep frown graced his face then and you idly thought about how he hadn't removed his hand.

“And you’re sure?” he asked after a moment. He didn't sound happy at the notion and you were slightly touched he cared.

“I mean… I don’t know. It started my second day here. You know you can just… sense when someone’s watching you? And it's been every night when I go home. And then last night, there was a guy all in black. I wasn’t sure he was following me at first but once I got inside my building, he just… stood there watching me,” you swallowed thickly, getting a chill down your spine just remembering how weird it had been. Billy was quiet for a moment before he squeezed your hand and stood up. He walked over to a cupboard across his office, rooting around in there before he came back over to you with something in his hand. It was pepper spray. You took it gratefully, feeling at least like you had something to protect yourself with.

“Use it if you feel threatened. Even if some poor innocent bastard gets sprayed. If they're close enough to make you scared they deserve it anyway,” he mused as he sat back in his chair.

“Thank you,” you breathed with a smile.

“Look, I know you don’t live too far but I think maybe walkin’ isn’t too safe out there at night,” he frowned thoughtfully. You looked from the pepper spray in your hands to him, tilting your head a little.

“I’m thinking of taking cabs from now on, just to be safe,” you admitted.

“Good. You ever taken self-defense classes?” he asked seriously. You felt small under his gaze and you knew your answer wouldn't please him given his line of work.

“No,” you gave him a sheepish smile as he rolled his eyes goodnaturedly at you.

“Frank’s been teachin’ Karen in the private training room in the back. Does it most days after work. You up for it?” he asked expectantly.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” you smiled. You’d always wanted to learn but you’d always been so busy that it would slip your mind. But given how you were feeling lately, you knew it would make you feel even safer. He shot you a grin with a pleased nod.

“Alright, tomorrow after work. Bring something comfortable to change into,” he instructed.

“Thank you, Mr- … uh Billy. I really appreciate all this,” you said softly, a grateful smile on your face as you stood. You figured you’d taken up enough of his time as it was. You knew just how busy he was. He stood too, walking you to the door.

“Anytime. You know you can come to me about anything. No matter how small you think it might be. What kinda boss would I be if I let somethin’ bad happen to my favorite PA?” he asked with a mischievous smile. You snorted, feeling your cheeks burn at his praise. You felt like a cat getting a head rub and you almost smacked yourself for your own reaction.

“I’ve only been here for a week,” you replied amused. He gave you a cheeky grin and shrugged.

“And you’re still my favorite PA,” he countered. You left his office feeling a little better about the whole thing. You’d take cabs and you now had pepper spray if you needed it. And soon, Frank would have you trained up so you’d be able to defend yourself.

—---

You made your way to the training room in the back slowly. You were in a tank top and some leggings with some sneakers on. Your work clothes now in the bag you were holding. You’d changed in the bathroom. The night before, you’d taken a cab home. But as you were going inside of your apartment, you’d felt that feeling again. This time you couldn't see anyone, but you’d hurried inside anyway. You’d barely seen Billy that day. He’d been swamped with meetings but when you had briefly seen him as you gave him his lunch, he’d asked you if you were still up for training and of course you told him yes. You felt a little strange though in crashing the couples time training together, like you were intruding almost. But you knew Frank was head trainer here so he’d be good. You also hoped Billy had mentioned you’d be dropping in. But as you walked into the training room, it wasn't just the couple there. Billy was there too. For some reason, that thought hadn't even crossed your mind but it did make you feel a little better. Karen was standing off to one side as Billy and Frank wrestled with each other. It looked like they didn’t even notice you come in. You wandered over to Karen, plonking your bag down on the floor.

“Boys, am I right?” she asked with a wry smirk, making you snort as you watched them. They were scrambling on the floor looking like a pair of kids play fighting and it amused you. Billy ended up behind Frank, getting him in a chokehold.

“How’dya like that?” He asked gleefully, making Frank huff and throw his elbow back. It connected with Billy’s side and he let him go with a grunt.

“Afraid I’m gonna make you look bad in front of your girl, Bill?” Frank asked teasingly. It was at that moment that Billy’s eyes shot up and connected with yours. And the same moment Frank decided to pounce on him and tackle him to the floor, pinning him down. You tried to ignore the weird feeling in the pit of your stomach at Frank’s words. They were just talking shit to each other.

“You’re an asshole, Frankie,” Billy wheezed, looking disgruntled yet amused. Frank grinned, tapping him on the cheek before standing up and offering Billy his hand. He took it, letting Frank pull him up before they hugged it out in a manly way. You smirked to yourself. Karen made a beeline to Frank as Billy waltzed over to you, swiping a bottle of water from a bench near where you stood.

“Having fun?” you asked knowingly. He’d told you before how he loved sparring with Frank. He wasn't afraid to really lay into him and give him a good challenge like his recruits were.

“What d’you think?” he answered cheekily. He looked like he was glowing. A radiant smile on his face. That one that made his eyes crinkle. It made you smile at him. Your eyes drifted to Frank and Karen then. They were adorable together. Frank could seem mean on the outside, an intimidating aura about him. But with Karen, he was all soft and squishy and you loved it.

“You’re gonna be with me. You ready?” Billy asked, breaking you out of your thoughts.

“I hope so,” you murmured wryly, making him shoot you a smirk.

The training went really well. Frank and Karen were doing their own training as Billy focused on you. You’d felt self-conscious at first, never having done anything like this before. But Billy was a really good teacher and would praise you every time you did something good. He never made you feel stupid for getting things mixed up or wrong. He’d gently correct you and make sure to compliment your technique on something. You appreciated it. He’d taught you how to disarm someone and various self-defense moves. And then he had you spar with him a little bit to practice the moves out on a moving target. After almost two hours, you were tired. He went to grab you and you stumbled backwards, grabbing his wrist as you started to fall, bringing him with you. You weren't sure just how his reflexes were so fast because you didn't hit the floor. You landed on Billy instead who had somehow maneuvered you both to swap places. You were sprawled on top of him and blinked at him in shock for a moment.

“You two wanna get a room?” Frank called over mischievously, making Karen giggle a little. Your cheeks felt like they were on fire as you scrambled off Billy, waiting for him to look disgusted by the comment. Instead, he tilted his head to look at Frank from where he was lying with an amused smirk before giving him the finger. He had the grace of a cat as he hopped to his feet and he held his hand out to you to help you up. You gave him a sheepish smile before taking it and letting him pull you to your feet.

“I think I’m wiped out,” you murmured with a yawn. He grinned at you as you both walked over to your bottles of water.

“You did good today. Pushed yourself hard. We do this a couple of times a week, you won’t have anything to worry about,” he said softly. You shot him a grateful smile before taking a long pull of your drink.

“Want me to drive you home?” he asked, wiping his forehead with his t-shirt. You tried not to look at his abs. He looked good like this in basketball shorts and a tee. You’d never seen him look anything other than pristine.

“You don't have to,” you shook your head. It would be even later now with staying behind for training and you didn't want to walk home. But even though cabs were a safer option, you couldn't help but worry about the cab driver too. It wouldn't take much to lock the doors and drive off somewhere and murder you. Why did working here make you so paranoid?

“I know I don’t. I want to,” he countered, giving you a look that was a mix of amusement and determination.

“Only if you don’t mind,” you shrugged. He playfully rolled his eyes at your unwillingness to just say yes.

“I don’t,” he said firmly, signaling the end of it. You slipped your jacket on before you and Billy said your goodbyes to Frank and Karen and then you were in his car on your way home. His very fancy car.

“I bet this car cost the same as a year's worth of my rent,” you snorted, glancing at him as he drove. You really didn't live far so you knew it would be a short drive. He smirked to himself for a moment before his face softened into a more earnest look.

“It’s alright, I guess,” he murmured. You blinked at him for a moment and he didn't take his eyes off the road.

“You don't like it?” you questioned. He had the money to buy something else if he wanted. You weren't sure why he was still driving it if he didn't like it.

“I do, it’s just… I used to think I wanted money more than anything. Money is power, right?” he asked, glancing at you briefly before back at the road. “But the past few years… I’ve been thinkin’ about how it ain’t everything. There’s more to life than money. Than power. It’s not what makes you happy,” he mused softly. You weren't really sure what to say to that if you were honest.

“Didn’t realize you were so philosophical,” you grinned teasingly, making him snort and shoot you a look.

“Maybe I’m just finally growin’ up,” he shrugged. With that, he pulled to a stop outside of your apartment.

“Thank you. For the training and the ride… just everything,” you murmured, glancing to him. He looked at you properly then with a soft smile.

“You don’t gotta thank me,” he shook his head.

“Well I did, so deal with it,” you smirked. He let out a surprised laugh at you and it made you smile to yourself. You preferred the carefree happy Billy to the overworked stressed one. He watched you for a long moment and it made you feel all funny as you just blinked at him.

“I’m really glad you took that job,” he admitted, a small smile playing on his lips. You bit your lower lip with a shy smile as you nodded.

“I’m glad too,” you replied. You felt a little weird now. You knew you needed to get out of the car and go home, but this was such a strangely soft moment between the pair of you and you felt weird breaking it. But then you reminded yourself that he was your boss and that you were reading far too much into everything. It was easy getting sucked in by him and his charm but all he saw was his PA that maybe he was becoming friends with.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” you said with a smile, opening the car door.

“See you tomorrow,” he replied quietly, watching as you got out. As you went inside, you gave yourself a good telling-off. You were acting like a schoolgirl with a crush and it needed to stop before it got you fired. Whether that was from Billy finding out and being grossed out or by ending up in bed with him. Because you knew his track record and how that always went.

#billy russo #billy russo x reader #billy russo fanfic #billy russo imagine

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snappydragon14 · 3 months ago

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Scenario pt 2: Mictlan and Mortal Soar

P.s this is out of boredom!! Not canon with the story line!

Previous page~

"MORTAL!!"

She sighed as she rubbed her dark eye bags, ever since she was kidnapped she was stuck in a land of despair and misery. She considered herself lucky not to be killed, but right now she has to focus on the fussy warlord with his impatience. Speed walking down the halls of the temple as her wild dirty blonde hair gave off a dim glow with the fire's light. Her boots making subtle 'clicks' with every quick step, making it into the throne room full of gods. She despised being stuck down here, she wanted her freedom...but her demands would have to wait, walking past the many menacing gods and kneeling down Infront of the Lord of War himself, noticing Lady Micte's absence.

"Yes? My Lord?" She wanted to take back those words, she didn't serve anyone but herself!

Mictlan, the warlord and god of the underworld, turned his piercing eyes toward her. His imposing figure was seated on a throne made of bones, adorned with dark, intricate carvings that seemed to move and shift in the dim light. His voice, deep and resonant, filled the room as he spoke.

"You have been summoned for a reason, mortal," he said, his tone dripping with contempt. "Your presence here is no accident. You possess something that we need."

She swallowed hard, her heart pounding in her chest. "What could I possibly have that a god like you needs?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice steady.

A sinister smile curled at the corners of Mictlan's lips. "Your defiance is amusing, but do not mistake it for strength. You carry knowledge of the world above, knowledge that is invaluable to us. We need information, mortal. And you will provide it."

Her mind raced as she tried to comprehend his words. "And what if I refuse?" she challenged, feeling a surge of rebellion.

Mictlan's smile vanished, replaced by a look of cold fury. "Refusal is not an option. You will do as you are told, or suffer the consequences."

She clenched her fists, feeling the weight of her captivity press down on her. But she knew she had to play along, at least for now. "What do you want to possibly know?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Everything," Mictlan replied, his eyes gleaming with a sinister light. "Every detail of the world you came from. You will speak, and you will not leave a single thing out."

She had every right to keep her knowledge to herself! All she had to offer was just knowledge about stars, lights, weather, and even craftsmanship with weapons. If he was Soo ancient why couldn't he just read a scroll and get the knowledge himself instead of kidnapping a singular mortal!

her blue eyes narrowed as she stood firm. Her usual long range of patience cut short at his demand.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no! You listen here-"

She stomped forward, firmly grasping one of his tusks and pulling him down to her level with a firm tug.

"you won't be getting anything out if me, if you want my knowledge you'll have to rip every little detail out of my skull! I don't care if you kill me, but the knowledge you want will have to be worked for. Is that understood?!"

She asked rather harshly, her grip on his tusk tightening as it felt like staring death in the face. She wanted to give this man a taste of his own medicine! And this was his first shot...

Mictlan stared dumbfounded, every god in the room letting out a shocked gasp at her boldness. No one...and I mean no one....has ever been so bold....and has lived to tell the tale....

His blue gaze staring into her irritated scowl despite the dusky skin and wild hair, a mortal like this.....too foolish.....yet too stubborn.....

"S-sí mortal" the gods looks shocked....no one has ever made the mighty god of war crumble with just a singular tug....not even Lady Micte has ever made him act like this....

"It's Soar, not Mortal." She corrected, blowing some hair out of her left eye. Her eyes now focused on the god of war as they remained narrow and firm. Letting go of his tusk and stomping away.

#maya and the three #lord mictlan #angel #oc #Scenario

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thegeekcloud · 1 year ago

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⚠️ BSD MANGA SPOILERS ⚠️

This is some theories I've gathered from tiktok and some i made myself and whether I agree with them or not.

Number 1: everything was part of sigma viewing fyodor's plan - although comforting i don't think thia theory is fairly stable. First of all, there are a lot of things happening in a lot of different places that are shown among the same pages and can't be part of fyodor's plan (particularly anya and bram). Furthermore, Sigma's ability is to exchange information and what he asked was fyodor's secrets. Though this could apply to his plan, the amount of secrets fyodor holds was so large that it overwhelmed sigma (as shown) and even if we got fragments of them in those pages they wouldn't be our characters but rather some more groundbreaking to sigma information . Now, is Sigma alive? Usually fyodor kills with a particular style, meaning that there is ALWAYS some form of blood splatter.

As you can see, there is none. Fyodor could had killed sigma but didn't. He seems to be just overwhelmed the way atsushi was.

Which brings me to

Number 2: Fyodor has a double personality ability. - although I doubt that is his whole ability, i believe it is a side effect from it. Fyodor's true ability remains a mystery to all but sigma. Fyodor told sigma about his other persona and then proceeded to say he lied about it. So the information sigma uncovered by touching him would not surprise him that much if that was all to it. However, the fact that I believe fyodor left sigma alive, also suggests that there is a part of fyodor who made the decision to show mercy. Ergo, the second, scared persona we saw in the last issue.

And now.

For the elephant in the room

Number 3: Dazai is still alive. - i honest to God want to believe that. As a writer myself I understand the decision of killing a character such as dazai. He is in the role of the "mentor", someone who accompanied the mc since the beginning and became a role model/father figure to them and ultimately dies to urge the hero forward. There is sense in killing the mentor. However, this does not seem an opportune moment for it. Other reasons for killing dazai would be to push tragedy into the story, chuuya waking up after the world is saved and realising that he was the one to kill dazai, or simply demonstrating the unfairness of life (basically how game of thrones shocked). Both these options seem reasonable for this case anf Asagiri might have chosen to walk down one of these paths. However, since atsushi is also incapacitated, if asagiri chose the former he would place the entire burden of saving the world to anya. Though jt would make a statement to have a little girl do what all these anility users can't, it would lowkey render the rest of the story meaningless as anya is not as explored as a character as others are. Not in the least. As for the second one.....i'm worried about that one cause asagiri is a f*cling masochist sometimes.

Now, how could dazai still be alive?

First clue that we all agree upon:

Though people have stayed conscious after being shot in the head, we are talking about a

Close up forehead shot

The gun was touching his fucking SKIN

There is absolutely NO WAY for dazai to have survived that shot and take another and also have life to chat.

That shot didn't fire a bullet. Even if a gun doesn't fire a bullet it can still ignite the powder and burn the skin, especially if it's touching it like in here. Someone on tiktok noticed this:

Could it be a design of the jacket? Sure. But it could also be the bullet that never got fired. In the end there are three fracture point on the wall tiles:

The first one happens when dazai is shot on his right shoulder

We see a characteristic blood splatter. Thing is, only two out of three holes have that trail.

Since he was definetely shot in his left shoulder as well we have to assume that hole is from there. So what is the third one at the bottom?

Did chuuya stop the bullet at the gun's barrel, brought it behind him and shot it at the lower wall along with his third gunshot ?

Guess we'll see. All i want is for my baby to stay alive. We should always keep in mind that both dazai and fyodor as also poisoned. My guess is that vampirism will be released in the next episode for at least one of the characters, so that is what anya's contribution.

He can definitely stretch it but he already pulled that chard with fukuchi escaping twice. It's gonna get boring and annoying at some point.

Question for then:

Will akutagawa return as a corpse afyer he is released? Or will he be healed?

#soukoku #skk #bsd skk #chuuya nakahara #bsd fukuchi #bsd #bsd atsushi #bsd akutagawa #bsd sigma #bsd dazai #dazai osamu #osamu dazai #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #asagiri kafka #fyodor dostoevsky #bsd fyodor

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doctorstrangereview · 24 days ago

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Strange Tales #154

Cover Date: March 1967 On-Sale Date: December 8, 1966

The title is "Clea Must Die" yet Ms. Severin decides to put Clea at the bottom of the splash page prominently highlighting Umar, Doc and a Mindless One. Presumably this is the Mindless One that Umar disguised as Clea so perhaps that counts. There's also a caption that claims Doc invaded the Dark Dimension when he was, in fact, kidnapped by Umar (multiple times if you've been following closely.) I'm sure Stan was busy and just forgot what he wrote two months ago.

Weakened and facing the now undisguised Mindless One, Doc attempts to form a strategy. This strategy turns out going ghost, which he hasn't done in a while. We now learn some new secrets about astral travel. It grants him extra powers, allows him to recover his strength and renders his body immune to harm. This certainly would have come in handy in some earlier stories.

Doc also realizes that Umar is doing what he has done in some many earlier stories. She's not finishing the job and assuming he's dead. Silly Umar needs to watch that episode of The Odd Couple. Meanwhile, as Doc's astral body floats around doing something, his physical body has gone all Kitty Pryde with the Mindless One's eye beams and fists going right through him. Damn, this would have come in handy in SO MANY situations.

The Mindless One eventually gets bored and walks away. Doc needs an incantation to rejoin his physical form. That's a first! But, now he's all rested up and back to his old, powerful self!

Doc continues on his quest to rescue Clea, wherever the heck she is. He continues through the Dark Dimension which Ms. Severin has give a makeover. Bill Everett made the Dark Dimension look like outer space. Ms. Severin makes it look like Latevria after a few years of Zorba's rule. This is not your father's Dark Dimension.

Where did all the weird floating stuff go? Why is Umar hanging out in Castle Dracula?

Heck, it looks like Umar even managed to kidnap one of The Wicked Witch of the West's flying monkeys!

Anyway, Doc has sent the eye from his All-Purpose Amulet to spy on Umar. She assumes Doc is vanquished and is proceeding with her plans to conquer everything else. If you don't like it, well, the Dungeon of the Doomed seems nice. Doc is horrified that Umar is sending people to this dungeon and goes there to free them. Uh oh! It's protected by a coating of liquid fire! (Yes, Doc calls it a coating.) Like every other barrier in the Dark Dimension, this one doesn't take much effort to get past. Once past the fire, Doc is sucked into a giant vacuum. How does the vacuum not suck in the fire? At least we get a slightly trippy panel, finally.

Doc confronts the prisoners who all turn away since they think he works for Umar. How do they know? Part of the punishment seems to be turning prisoners monochrome, while Doc is still in full color.

Doc attempts to wring the truth out of the prisoners. They won't talk to him. One, who is just a floating cloak approaches him. He's just a hooded cloak floating in mid air. This is Veritas, the living embodiment of truth. He's there of his own free will and can come and go as he pleases, apparently.

Doc asks Veritas to take him to Clea. Instead he takes him by Umar's Dracula like castle where he's seen by a purple bird. Umar then sends more purple birds after him. What happened to the flying monkey? Doc casts a spell which makes them as heavy as lead and they all fall out of the sky? Did Doc just murder a bunch of living beings?

Doc invades the castle and proceeds to Umar. Umar doesn't like this and strikes him down.

Why didn't she do this two issues ago? It would have save everyone a lot of time and effort. Doc has a secret weapon. Veritas enters Umar's chamber or throne room or whatever it is. He shows her her real self and she's distracted long enough for Doc to get free. I feel like we've seen this scenario before!

Doc's now in Umar's presence. There's also one of those smoky, floaty magic TV things there. These seem to be very common in the Dark Dimension. Clea appears on the TV and Umar uses it send a death ray her way.

This was an interesting set of obstacles Umar sets in Doc's path in his attempt to rescue the girl he loves, yet hardly knows. Marie Severin's vision of the Dark Dimension is disappointing. It's creepy, but not bizarre. This really could just be earth. Where are all the floating paths and doors in the sky? Where are all the freaky creatures? There's definitely too much Wizard of Oz referenced here. There's less lucky coincidence than usual, which is a good thing, and Doc actually has to think and work his way out of deadly situations. Things will improve a bit next issue, thankfully.

If you're young and wondering what the heck The Odd Couple has to do with this, watch this short video.

youtube

#doctor strange #doctor strange reviews #strange tales #stephen strange #clea #umar #Youtube

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winchesterszvonecek · 2 months ago

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I See Red 18+

Chapter 8 - What The Hell’s a Dutch Baby?

Word Count: 5179

Series Masterlist | Full Masterlist

Two weeks had gone painfully by and yet Crowley still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Selina. Not a single text, call or even a summon had been fired his way by her. Or anyone bearing the surname Winchester for that matter.

He was becoming antsy. Impatient. Scared that Selina might never be able to forgive him for the events that transpired between herself and Damien, who Crowley still wished he’d killed slowly as it was his fault all this was happening in the first place. Had that complete and utter moron not gone and kidnapped Claire, who was basically Selina’s little sister, then maybe Crowley wouldn’t have spent the last two weeks sulking around his palace, miserable and on the verge of insanity.

Maybe he wouldn’t have been left stewing in the false hope that perhaps his days were off and he was still inside that two week wheelhouse that Alex had mentioned. Of course, he knew his calendar was correct. After all, he was punctual like that, but still, you can’t fault a guy for dreaming now can you?

Crowley was just hanging onto the hope that perhaps it would take Selina just a little while longer to decide to talk to him again given that the situation hadn’t involved only her. That maybe because Claire had been involved, that the situation had fallen higher on the ladder and deserved a lengthier punishment than Sam not looking for her in Purgatory did.

Chances are Claire was the reasoning behind the entire silent treatment he was receiving as something told Crowely that Selina wouldn’t have even been phased, let alone angry enough to freeze him out had Damien only kidnapped her.

If that had been the case then nothing would have changed between the two of them at all. It would still be drinks, near kisses and texts all round like it had once been. Unfortunately for him though, that wasn’t the case. Therefore he hadn’t heard a single peep from Selina since that fateful day and to tell the truth… Crowley wasn’t quite sure how much longer he could keep going like this.

Even his subjects had started to notice he wasn’t his usual self. Hard not to when they’d be in the middle of trials and punishments, the latter being a personal favourite of the King, and yet Crowley would zone out completely, appearing like he’d rather be anywhere else but there.

Obviously they didn't know exactly why he was so out of it these days, although they had an inkling, but they were hoping that whatever it was would sort itself out eventually. They couldn’t believe they were thinking this but they actually missed the old Crowley, even if he did use them as dartboards as at least that way he wasn’t slouched on his throne, frowning and with his eyes glued to his phone like a teenager instead of doing his job.

“Sir?” Guthrie’s slightly confused voice seemed to snap Crowley out of wallowing in his own self pity. The King’s head slowly lifted from his phone as his brow furrowed a little in question, to which Guthrie replied with, “The trial, sir.”

Following the brief cock of Guthrie’s head, Crowley’s tired gaze came to land on the row of demons patiently awaiting their sentencing. For crimes they swore up and down they didn’t commit and to be honest, some of them probably were innocent but this was Hell-related after all, so they can’t exactly expect a fair trial. Sighing, Crowley beckoned the next fear riddled demon forth, holding out his hand that was soon met with a clipboard.

Another sigh escaped Crowley’s lips, his eyes falling to the parchment in his hand as he brought it towards him, flicking briefly through the vast amount of pages. He began to read, or more so skim, over the unnecessarily small writing that riddled them, telling him in excruciating and over-complicated detail exactly what the demon before him was being accused of.

Truth be told, Crowley’s mind wasn’t taking in a single word of what was in front of him. Unless it was a letter written to him by Selina, one telling him that all was forgiven and that she was ready to talk to him again, then he simply didn’t care what the contents were about. Fed up already, he flipped the pages all the way back to the first one, tossing it aside and finding a touch of satisfaction when it clattered against the floor and was no longer his problem.

“You’re guilty of… Something.” Crowley began, waving his hand lazily in the air as he was too un-bothered to care about coming up with a proper crime. “Which I won’t tolerate… Whatever it was�� Your sentence is death.” He said happily, motioning for his guards to take the accused away and once they did so he turned to the other occupants in the room, adding sternly, “The rest of you, get out.”

Those left in the throne room were gone mere seconds after the words left Crowley’s lips, not wishing to face the fierce wrath of the King. Certainly not whilst he was like this, all surly and unpredictable. Last time that happened he ended up feeding the demons to his hound, who had now developed quite a taste for demon blood so forgive them for being wary.

The only one who remained in the room was Guthrie, who was slightly less afraid than the others as he was Crowley’s right hand man after all. Although, that didn’t mean he was exempt from becoming Juliette’s chew toy and so he approached the throne with minor trepidation.

“Sir, if I may.” Guthrie began, backing up a touch when Crowley stood from his throne and stepped down as he half expected an angel blade to the chest for lingering. Only to his surprise, Crowley simply walked past him and beelined for the drink’s cart, beckoning with his hand for the demon to carry on. “There have been rumours floating around the asylum recently, sir.”

“Rumours?” Crowley repeated, arching an eyebrow as he poured himself a hefty drink.

“About your majesty and… Selina Winchester.” Guthrie replied carefully, not daring to make eye contact.

The second the words escaped into the air Crowley’s grasp tightened on his glass, his knuckles quickly turning white with how hard he held it and he was surprised it hadn’t shattered in his hand. He sucked in a breath, dragging his bottom lip between his teeth as he closed his eyes, needing a second to prepare himself for what he was about to hear.

Opening his eyes, Crowley took a long sip of his scotch before repeating in question, “Myself and Selina Winchester?”

“Yes sir.”

“And what, precisely, do these rumours say about us?” Crowley turned, eyebrow raising again as he tried his best to act casual. When in reality his heart was racing and for once his palm grew sweaty. So sweaty, in fact, that he could feel his glass fighting to slip from his hold.

“For starters, there's the texting… Something that’s been noticed even by those of simple minds.” Guthrie said, hearing a faint huff of amusement coming from Crowley. “Secondly, there’s Arman, sir, who has been rather vocal about the fact that he witnessed you saving Miss Winchester from a human attacker… That you seemed almost concerned about her wellbeing and that you sent her attacker to Hell… Personally.”

“Hmm.” Crowley’s eyes narrowed, tongue running over his bottom lip as he made a mental note to have Arman killed. Painfully.

“Not to mention Damien. Who appears to have gone missing after reporting in that he’d kidnapped Miss Winchester. Along with another young hunter girl.” At that Crowley couldn’t stop his eyes from flicking red and the way his features tightened out of anger was enough to make Guthrie recoil out of fear. He quickly bowed his head, stammering out in order to save himself, “But like I said, sire… Rumours.”

“Exactly.” Crowley’s eyes returned to their normal shade and he took a breath, that usual cocky grin of his rising slowly on his lips as he made things abundantly clear with just one word. “Rumours.”

Crowley was quick to leave the room afterwards, doing nothing but staring down at the darkened liquid of his refilled drink as it swirled in his glass with each step he took, slowly making his way through the stone halls of his asylum. He wasn’t overly worried about these so-called rumours, not really anyway.

Demons always did have a tendency to gossip amongst themselves as a way to stave off boredom and even if the rumours reached other ears, hunter ears to be exact, nobody in their right mind would ever believe them. Why would they?

Who would be stupid enough to believe a demon spread rumour about Selina Winchester being best friends with the King of Hell?

Nobody, that’s who.

Nobody, whether they be a hunter, angel or even other demons would ever believe such a tale as given Selina’s history, she’d made it perfectly clear how she felt about all demon kind. Just ask Azazel or Ruby… Oh wait, you can’t, because she killed them.

Crowley himself may have been a special case but even he knew Selina hated demons. With a passion.

Everybody knew it. Therefore he didn’t have much to worry about in terms of her safety as even should someone try to take her out, whether it be another hunter who assumed she was compromised or perhaps a rogue demon who accused her of poisoning the mind of the King, they wouldn’t stand a chance against her and that much Crowley knew for sure.

In another part of the country, in a town only about an eight hour drive away from Crowley’s asylum, Selina and her brothers were in the middle of what would end up being a rather crazy case. One that was about to start when they rolled slowly into the parking lot of a local diner and pulled up beside a rather familiar looking logo.

“God, I hate these guys.” Dean grumbled, shutting off the engine and taking a second to fully psych himself up for what he was about to endure.

“Oh come on, they’re fun.” Selina chuckled, patting Dean on the shoulder and hopping out of the car, surprising both of her brothers as lately she’d been downright miserable.

Like seriously, it had taken a hell of a lot longer than it should have to drag her out of bed this morning. Not even Sam’s famous chocolate chip pancakes could have enticed her and had it not been for Selina’s need to pee, she might have still been hidden under her covers, refusing to talk to anyone.

To make things worse, she hadn’t even seemed interested in this case when Dean told her about it. She hadn’t even batted an eye at the strange crime scene photo and had it not been for Sam physically pulling her out of her room then she wouldn’t be here. Although now that she was, Selina was kind of glad she’d tagged along as not only did she need this, but she’d also kind of missed the owners of the white van parked next to them.

A van with only a single word painted on the side… Ghostfacers.

“You’re only saying that because they both think you’re hot.” Dean mumbled, his lips scrunching up a little at even having to say that. Just because his sister would be considered conventionally attractive, didn’t mean he’d like to think about it, thank you very much.

“I am hot.” Selina replied plainly, and with a cocky smile which had Dean roll his eyes as they headed towards the entrance of the diner.

The bell above the door dinged faintly as they entered, their noses greeted with the mouthwatering smell of food and reminding Selina she hadn’t eaten yet. It was relatively quiet inside, it being just a little before the lunch rush which meant this conversation would go a whole lot easier as they didn’t have to worry about eavesdropping ears.

It was never fun explaining to those unfortunate enough to overhear their supernatural related talks. Most of the time they just pretended they were writing a book as it was much simpler that way.

“No way.” Selina breathed out, coming to a stop next to a lonesome sign that stood just inside the door. “They make Dutch babies here… Let’s order one.”

“What the hell’s a Dutch baby?” Sam asked, his brow a little furrowed as he glanced towards the poster.

“About two thousand dollars less than an American baby.” Dean replied wittly, grinning at his own joke which only had Sam frown in response.

At least Selina found it funny, Dean thought to himself. And honestly, he was glad she did as he hadn’t even seen her smile since she got back from Jody’s let alone laugh at something. She was still taking what happened to Claire rather hard on herself so any chance he’d get to cheer her up, he’d happily take it. Especially if it meant aggravating Sam in the process.

“It’s their world famous high-rise pancake.” Selina informed them, speaking as though it was obvious by the name. Which it was. For some anyway.

Clearly not Sam though as he still looked a little confused. However, not confused enough to point out how long they took to cook.

“Cat, it says it takes twenty-five minutes.” He tapped his knuckles lightly against the sign, casting his gaze back towards his sister. “Have you forgotten that we’re on a case?”

“I don’t care.” Selina replied, folding her arms over her chest. “I’m still reeling from being kidnapped… Not to mention I’m currently bleeding from my-”

“Okay, okay. You don’t need to say it. We get it.” Sam held up one hand, silencing her before she said anything that might scar him for life.

“Oh grow up, will you?” Selina muttered with a roll of her eyes. She’d never understand men and their disgust for periods. Sam and Dean especially as they’d experienced far worse over the years than a little bleeding.

They’d literally been to Hell for crying out loud but God forbid Selina ask them to buy her a box of tampons or mention she had cramps.

“It’s just a vagina. We’ve all seen one.” She added, for good measure as they really needed to get over themselves.

“Well, Sam hasn’t. He’s still a virgin, remember.” Dean happily pointed out, making Sam frown more than he already was and even his eyebrows seemed to fall with it.

“Right, from the chastity group thing.” Selina chuckled, shaking her head a little. “That’s unfortunate… It's been a while, Sam. You want me to help you find someone?” She glanced up at him, rolling her lips and finding clear amusement in his blank expression.

“Can you both focus? We’re working.” Sam said bluntly, a soft sigh escaping his lips when all Dean and Selina did was snicker in response.

Maybe Crowley had been right that day in the car, maybe Selina wasn’t his twin after all as she was far too similar to Dean than she was him.

“Okay, jeez, relax you big virgin.” Selina teased, giving Sam a playful tap on the arm. “We can work and order a Dutch baby at the same time.”

“Fine, you order your baby, Dean and I will go talk to these two idiots.” Sam replied, about to spin on his heels before Selina spoke again.

“Oh, is there a mirror in here?” She joked, this time making both Sam and Dean frown. She rolled her eyes, exhaling tiredly, “I’m kidding. God, you’re both so stiff it’s hard to believe we’re related.”

“Let’s just go.” Sam nudged Dean, cocking his head towards the table where he’d spotted their old friends. Or acquaintances rather? Whatever they were, they were a pain in their ass.

“Hey, order me one too.” Dean whispered towards Selina before he was dragged away by Sam. She flashed him a thumbs up, making a happy grin rise on his face.

Only that grin quickly fell when the two of them collapsed into the booth next to their two least favourite people, Ed and Harry. Both of whom looked equally as amused to see Winchesters as they did to see them.

“Ah, the Winchesters... Yay.” Harry muttered, equally as fed up as he was sarcastic.

“Says nobody.” Ed carried on.

“Ever.” Harry finished, rolling his eyes a little before Selina approached, slamming a chair down at the end of the table which had both himself and Ed jump in their skin.

“Hey boys.” Selina smiled, clearly pretending to flirt with them as she spun her chair around and straddled it, noticing the drastic change in behaviours the two boys seemed to exhibit over her appearance.

“H-Hey, Cat. Nice to… To see you again.” Harry stammered out, doing his best not to look her directly in the eyes.

“You changed your hair…” Ed pointed out, ignoring the furrowed eyebrows being fired his way by Sam and Dean. “Looks… Looks good.”

“All right, keep it in your pants.” Dean muttered, fed up already as it was bad enough just running into them, he didn’t need them both drooling over his sister too.

“What… I don’t…”

“Just up and listen, both of you. This is how it's gonna go.” Dean carried on, banging his fist on the table a little before pointing at them. “You two clowns are gonna get into that mystery machine outside and you’re gonna leave town… Or I’m gonna put holes in your knees.”

“Okay, first of all… You guys don’t scare us.” Harry said bravely, gesturing only between Sam and Dean as despite how attractive he found Selina, he was rather scared of her.

Last time they’d been together, locked in that Morton House, she proved just how scary she could be so the last thing he wanted was to provoke her. Dean might not make good on his word of putting holes in their knees, but Selina would, that much he was certain of.

“Not at all.” Ed added, trying his best to act cool when in reality, he was a tiny bit scared.

Lifting his shirt to reveal a gun tucked into his waistband Harry carried on, “Say hola to my little pistola.”

"Am I supposed to be impressed with that treasure trail or the lady gun you got hiding in your pants there?" Dean asked, pointing briefly towards the world's smallest gun.

“Uh… Both?” Harry hesitated, brows knitted together as that had sounded more like a question than a statement. His face relaxed, his shirt dropping as he unconvincingly shrugged, “Mainly the gun.”

“Hmm, I think mine is bigger.” Selina teased, lifting her own shirt to reveal not only the much bigger gun she had tucked in her own waistband, but the bottom of her bra too.

Obviously she hadn’t meant to show it. She’d just pulled her t-shirt up a little too high but it seemed to only add to the impact as it appeared as though the boys were practically whimpering to themselves and she couldn’t help but think that was the only bra they’d ever seen on a woman.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Sam interrupted, motioning for Selina to lower her t-shirt. “Maybe you should go and wait outside.”

“Yeah, before these two melt into a puddle of ectoplasm.” Dean added, a soft scoff leaving the back of his throat as he looked over at the dazed boys.

“Fine.” Selina stood up, lifting her chair and placing it back under the table she got it from. She glanced over her shoulder, catching the eyes of the obviously disappointed Ghostfacers and adding, “See you boys around… And as for you two, don’t forget my Dutch baby.”

“We won’t.” Sam and Dean called after her in unison, knowing better than to forget anything food related when it came to Selina as she was worse than Dean when it came to pie.

Satisfied, Selina left, allowing her brothers to do whatever it was they’d come here to do as honestly she hadn’t been listening to them. The entire car ride here she’d been scrolling through her phone. More specifically her text thread with Crowley, which had been mostly one sided as she’d yet to respond to any of his messages.

He’d given up trying to call her as she only declined it the second his name flashed on her screen. So instead he’d restored to texting her a few times a week to see if she was ready to talk to him again. To be honest, Selina didn’t even know if she was ready or if she ever would be , hence the fact that she’d straight up ignored each message no matter how hard it was for her to do so.

With a sigh, she locked her phone and tucked it back into her pocket after making note of the time as she was rather looking forward to her Dutch baby and was counting down the minutes to when she could eat it. Selina leaned back, hearing the slight squeak of the leather of her jacket against the car door as she glanced up at the sky, wondering at what point in her life had things gotten so damn complicated that she felt bad for ignoring a demon.

She knew it was the trials. That the last one had bonded her and Crowley in a way she never would have expected it to, but she didn’t like thinking about that day. Not when she only ended up remembering what Crowley had confessed to her and how badly she wanted to be able to give it to him.

Meow. Saved by the cat, thank God.

Selina’s head cocked to the side a little, her eyes soon spotting the small, black cat that was strolling towards her. She couldn’t help but smile a little, crouching down and holding out her hand as the cat approached her cautiously. It sniffed at her fingertips, eyeing her carefully and when it came to realise she wasn’t a threat, it happily allowed her to pet it.

“Aren’t you such a cutie?” Selina cooed, trailing her fingers along the cat’s back as it brushed up against her, purring softly and in a way that made her feel all warm inside as she always did like when animals took a liking to her. Cats especially.

If she had it her way, there would be a cat running around the bunker but unfortunately her brothers were absolutely no fun at all and therefore wouldn’t allow it, making herself and Castiel rather disappointed.

“The cat seems to like you… No surprise there.”

Two weeks was a long time for Selina to have gone without hearing that utterly smooth voice, meaning she was unable to stop the intense shiver from running up her spine and having her entire body shudder in response. She glanced to her side, spotting Crowley’s signature black suit as he made his way closer, every step only accelerating her otherwise calm breathing.

Selina’s eyes moved slowly up the length of his body and she swallowed thickly the closer she got to his face, the one she hadn’t been able to get out of her head no matter how angry she was with him. The second her gaze locked onto his, she was practically done for, her heart hammering furiously beneath her enochian carved ribs and for a second, she played about with the idea of throwing herself at him.

“Hello Selina.” Crowley added, deepening his voice purposely as he could almost sense the way Selina was feeling about him. He took one step forward, only to stop instantly when the cat she had been petting hissed at him before scarpering away.

Now annoyed, Selina sighed then muttered, “Did you have to do that?”

She was unable to help the slight scowl that flashed across her face as she straightened, folding her arms over her chest. She did her best to avoid making more unnecessary eye contact now that she was face to face with him, should she roll over and submit to his every need and desire.

“Apologies.” Crowley replied, edging his way closer to her as she leaned back against the Impala, still opting not to look directly at him again. But he had hope. After all, she did talk to him.

“What do you want?” Selina asked, a soft sigh leaving her lips as nothing but the sound of gravel crunching beneath Crowley’s feet met her ears in response.

A moment went by and still silence. For a second Selina thought he might have left due to her attitude, until the gap between them closed a lot more than she would have expected it to. She felt Crowley’s finger hook gently beneath her chin, slowly raising her face to meet his.

“For starters, for you to look at me for longer than five seconds.” He began, watching as Selina’s lips pressed together into a tight line, almost apologetically. And when she didn’t drop her gaze after more than those five seconds, he began to feel hope spark beneath his chest.

“There.” Selina breathed out, her heart hammering even harder against her ribcage at just how close he was to her. That still wasn’t enough to make her fully forgive him though, which may have been why her tone seemed so hostile when she next spoke. “I’ve looked at you. Now what do you want? ”

“Selina, don’t be like that.” Crowley said softly, opening the hand still beneath her chin to land lightly aside her face, watching the way her eyelids slowly fluttered and for a split second, her lips curled upwards. “I said I was sorry, didn’t I?”

Wrong choice of words Crowley thought to himself, as the second they crossed his tongue and escaped into the air Selina’s face dropped beneath his touch. She raised her hand, wrapping her fingers tightly around his wrist and pulling his own away from her face, all but throwing it back at him as she moved away from the car and out of his intoxicating personal space.

“Because that makes it so much better.” Selina scoffed as she turned away from him, not finding herself able to look at him for another second. “Sorry doesn’t change the fact that Claire and Alex could have been killed, all because you don’t know how to keep your demons in check.”

“I know.” Crowley said softly, choosing to be patient as Selina was far, far more stubborn than he ever was. He edged his way closer to her, reaching out and lightly ghosting his hand over her shoulder, a spark of relief igniting within when she seemed to relax under his touch rather than tense up. “But I truly am sorry, Selina.”

Crowley’s hand landed properly on her shoulder, a soft sigh meeting his ears after it escaped from Selina’s lips. She turned her head, eyes flowing up from the warmth of his hand to meet his, the honesty behind them making it all the more difficult for her to stay mad at him. She knew how hard it was for Crowley to admit fault let alone apologise for anything, only adding to the confirmation that he really had changed.

“And I promise you…” He began, his touch slowly working its way up the length of her neck. He gently cradled one side, running his thumb along the almost faded bruise on her jawline, all while his eyes never once left hers. “For as long as Hell follows me, it will never happen again.”

“It better not.” Selina whispered, her breath hitching a little as this was all so much for her to take in at one time.

The gentleness of his touch. The softness of his words. Not to mention the look in his eyes, the one so filled with care and adoration that it had her unable to fully believe he was the same demon who had once tried to kill her. It was overwhelming to tell the truth, and for once she was praying that her brothers would show their faces and scare Crowley off as she didn’t know how much resistance she had left in her.

“You have my word, darling.” Crowley said, continuing to draw light circles over her skin with his thumb. And for his own sake he ignored the rapidness of her pulse against his palm as chances are her heart was beating fast for entirely different reasons and not because of him. “And you know I always keep those.”

It was true, he did always keep his word which is why Selina simply nodded her head once in response, her lips twitching upwards just enough to allow Crowley to let out the breath he’d been holding since the moment he showed up.

She’d forgiven him.

“I’ll do what I can to make it up to you.” Crowley added, for good measure as it couldn't hurt to offer her more in terms of an apology.

“Just keep your demons away from my girls and we’ll call it square.” Selina breathed out, doing her best to ignore the way her hand twitched out of eagerness to touch him. “They’ve been through enough.”

“You have my word that I’ll try my best.” Crowley replied, unable to fully promise her that he would as he couldn’t control every single demon on earth. “But you know as well as I do, there are unruly demons still out there.”

“That’s okay… As long as they aren’t yours, then we won’t have a problem.” Selina said assuringly, offering him a warm smile which all but had his heart want to leap from his chest.

Once again their bodies seemed to involuntarily lean forward, as though they were magnetic and unable to stop themselves from connecting. Their eyes found one another and they both knew what was about to happen, yet neither of them did anything to try and stop it. They wanted this, more than anything did they want this to happen but unfortunately for them, the universe was, once again, not on their side.

“I’m just saying, the sign said they take twenty-five minutes. Ours came out in twenty. That makes it preemie.”

“It’s a pancake, Dean. Not a real baby.”

The sound of her brother's nearing voices had Selina step abruptly away from Crowley, despite how hard it was to move her legs away from the gravitational pull they seemed to have towards one another. Not that it mattered as in the blink of an eye Crowley was gone, leaving her to do nothing but think… What if?

What if life didn’t keep getting in the way? Would she kiss Crowley? Or would her conscience get the better of her and stop her because deep down, she knew it was wrong? Selina wasn’t overly sure, but she was sure she’d find out next time as you know what they say… Third time’s the charm.

Chapter 9 ->

#supernatural #crowley #crowley x original character #crowley x oc #supernatural fanfic series

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emblazons · 2 years ago

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Honesty Hour: I am literally never going to understand “Duffer doubt” or full abject disappointment in them as show runners…and it’s because their story makes sense.

Like. The fear for queer rep thing I understand completely, but so far, even with how little I resonated with S3 or S4-2 at first…they are solid writers with a sense of both direction and their audience, and I have no core issues with what they’ve presented.

Forewarning: pettiness, byler doubt (only mentions for context) & potential elitism idk (it’s also a little long lmao)

This idea The Duffers are gonna drop every single thing they’ve set up from the get go to accommodate the most surface level, least in-character storyline “because heteronormativity” is absolutely insane to me. The idea that, after setting up FOUR SEASONS of buildup, they’re going to kill off the primary protagonist of S1 and drop every single character lesson / core narrative to shove the YOUNGEST CHARACTERS in the gd show into a Disney fantasy marriage is crazy. I literally don’t even know how to imagine them doing that—not because it has never happened in a show, but because hearing them talk about ST makes it clear it’s BEEN mapped from the get, and they have explained clearly why certain things went the way they did in their own way.

Noah got cast on a monologue from a second season before they even have a confirmation of its existence, and character traits we are just pulling on now in characters like Mike (his insecurity especially) are written CLEAR AS DAY in the PITCH OF THE SHOW. Every single sign people on THIS LITERAL APP have pointed to for Y E A R S before S4 that Will was gay turned out to be right, and there has been, from the very first moment Netflix picked this thing up, a 25 page document where they broke down the UD lore.

Where on literal earth are people getting that they have no idea what they’re doing? Or that the lore people point to as foreshadowing is gonna get thrown out the window in the final season of the show? I get being nervous or anxious that your favorite character might not get all the time you want, or even being afraid that they won’t dig into all the things you want personally, but…the idea that two self-proclaimed film boys who were as into their inspirations as we are their show are going to undermine their own narrative integrity to pull a 180 on every theme they’ve set up from the get go and start killing off characters who are front and center in the “we tell the stories of the outcasts as a fuck you to the people who make media we think sucks” narrative? I’m gonna need you to be serious.

As a long time fan and fandom consumer of television, and someone who had to live through being invested in Game of Thrones, I am saying with my whole chest that the doubt is entirely emotional rather than based on anything objective that the duffers have said or done.

They’re not D&D from GoT, who were great ADAPTORS but who just started winging it because they didn’t have completed source material from GRRM. They aren’t the Voltron writers who had a good premise but mixed it all up because of firing their best writers and then caving to fandom nonsense. They aren’t the supernatural writers, or the Sherlock writers who set up an ongoing joke without the follow through people expected. They are the Duffers. And while their writing style is nothing like what I would do, they are telling a story that I can follow and respect until proven otherwise.

All this talk about “mistakes” and the like, even with queer rep. Like??? They released this show in 2016, and the last several years in its country of origin have been absolutely steeped in a horrifying level of bigotry both sociopolitically and in media. Stranger Things was released the same year Tr*mp was elected, and still managed to stand in abject criticism of every value on display in American conservatism ever since.

The push and pull of what was “allowed” in media because of the cultural insanity & bigotry that moved to center stage in the United States makes it clear why they didn’t bring their queer storyline to the fore at first glance and just put it in the subtext—to tell the story without being undermined by the “two seasons and cancelled” era of Netflix before it got huge (because, as we all know, Netflix and cancelling shows is a huge problem for many writers to this literal day) and to keep the bigots on main from noticing it until the train was too fast to stop. That’s what we’re dealing with now—a lot of people yelling loudly on places like Reddit, expecting to be consoled in in their homophobia and bigotry, because now Stranger Things is popular and far along enough to start saying the quiet part (that has ALWAYS been there) out loud.

Hiding the queer storyline in the subtext is something people have done in tv and film for DECADES anyway, and in literature for CENTURIES before that…but somehow the fact that it wasn’t made explicit until the fourth season invalidates it? Or makes it suddenly a reason to call into question the integrity of the entire show, or to let some random m*leven shipper undermine your sense of what makes a good story (which is also what matters most to the “we don’t listen to Reddit, and we regret focusing more on fan theories than our plot” duffers)? Once again: I’m gonna need you to be serious.

All I’m saying is that the way some people in this fandom are willing to believe and agonize over the takes of 18-19 year old actors or a random twitter account or YouTuber instead of listening to the creators of the show + looking at cultural context and how queer stories have been told for eons is crazy. It reeks of immaturity insecurity and media illiteracy, and gives two guys who have put a lot of time and (ADMITTEDLY IMPERFECT) effort into a show that remains one of the best told stories (despite network interference) in recent memory.

I get being nervous. I get being suspicious. But critical consumption & media literacy is more than just theorizing about what things mean or watching what inspired The Duffers. Stop looking at social media posts and randoms for information and start paying attention to the people who MAKE the things you’re so emotionally attached to in their context. I am literally begging at this point.

#forgive me but...sometimes I'm just like ??? friends please #esp with all this talk of ‘leaks’ today before we even have gd SCRIPTS #I had to get it out of my system I promise I'm back to contented on main after this LMFAO #I could literally talk about this all day though. there are so many facets ugh #the duffer brothers #st commentary #my st commentary #stranger things #duffer brothers

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