#But I really liked this book! I'm really looking forward to the Captain Hook book!

[ends-of-the-wayward-storm]

Spoilers for "Cold-Hearted" by Serena Valentino IV

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Just finished the book last night and omg wow. Sir Richard was such a jerk (putting it very mildly)! I was seriously in shock and kinda disgusted that he was such a bad man 'cause like I always thought he was a very kind man in the movie so I had to mentally sit down. (Yes I'm aware the book and the movie are different but still.)

He definitely manipulated Cinderella into telling him Lady Tremaine was leaving since I think she genuinely cared about her stepmother and stepsisters. Poor thing had tears in her eyes. Also like tiny Cinderella kinda being a little turd for a bit threw me off, but then I thought "well she's a kid, but still, sweetie why?" and just moved on.

ALSO LIKE THE ODD SISTERS PLUS CIRCE (I love her T-T) POPPING IN AT THE BALL??? HELLO??? AND THE TRIO COMING IN BEFORE THAT??? (And me and my dusty memory of the series almost forgot who Nanny was. 🥲Irony.) I have complicated thoughts on the Fairy Godmother but that's another "book vs movie" thing. Anyway I seriously felt for Tremaine when she asked for the Fairy Godmother's help only to be denied it, even if she did mistreat Cinderella.

Oh and don't even get me started about how Sir Richard treated Lady Tremaine and her daughters because I was SO upset how he gradually began to belittle and mistreat them. Like it was literally unfair. Also like she was still evil even though technically she was a victim of circumstance and abuse BUT STILL. I seriously felt bad for them. (Meanwhile tiny Cinderella's doing damage control in any way she can. T-T)

On a related note, both Sir Richard and Lady Tremaine were still chained down by the memory of their deceased marital partners, and it affected them differently to a certain degree. Nonetheless both of them did cruel things, stepsisters included. I kinda don't wanna put Cinderella in the same slot (as much as I love her), but her very first interactions with her stepfamily was kinda unintentionally rude—even if she was likely still recovering from losing her mother. I do, however, think that her father did manipulate her in some way, as mentioned previously. But she did get along with them later.

Either way, everyone had a role in the mistreatment of one another, however big or small, intentional or not. I can understand why they mistreated each other, but that doesn't mean I'm condoning it. Except Sir Richard. I felt real betrayed with how differently he acted between meeting Lady Tremaine and when they got to the Many Kingdoms. He can just take a long walk off a short pier (sorry Cinderella but your dad's not the greatest T-T).

[mistywaves98]

REQUESTING A PART TWO FOR SIREN SCARA? U GOT ME ADDICTED I LOVE HIM HES SO PERFECT <3333

Maybe he can turn into a human on land? I wouldnt mind hiding him from some hunters just for him to find us in our room/boat later <3

I've so many asks begging for more siren! Scara lmao, but I can't blame any of you, he is perfect 🙏🏻🙏🏻

✧･ﾟ:* ->Siren! Scaramouche x Fem! Reader

✧･ﾟ:* ->¡Warnings!: NSFW, Pet name is used twice ('little captain'), Brief fingering, Sub! Reader, Dom! Character!

That old hag of a sea witch was pretty sketchy, but at least he can traverse land freely now, is what Scaramouche thought to himself as he cautiously practiced walking for the first time on the shoreline. So this is how humans move about everyday? Scaramouche figured that being able to zip around beneath the waves was much more efficient, but he would have to get used to these legs for a while if he was hoping to meet you again.

Despite having a human lower half, that didn't change the fact he still retained most of his sirenic features. And of course that was bound to be a nuisance. And a nuisance it was as Scaramouche found himself being persued by a group of hunters who only saw him as a walking money bag. He barely managed to get away, ducking into a dark alley way as they ran straight past.

Coincidentally, the building also happened to be the same seaside inn he saw you staying at. Scaramouche glanced up and saw the an open window illuminated by the glow of a lantern that no doubt lead to your room.

The last thing you were expecting as you curled up on your bed, reading a book peacefully, was to see someone climbing through your window with a grin on his face which showcased rows of sharp teeth. It didn't take long for his identity to click in your mind though as your eyes widened, slowly placing down your book as you sat up, "Scaramouche...?"

His smiled seemed to widen at your recognition as he wasted no time in crawling onto your bed, hastily pinning you down with his body. He leaned down, licking the shell of your ear sensually as he whispered,"Yes, my little captain. It's me, surprised? I knew you'd be. I went through quite a bit of trouble to get you, so I don't suppose you'll let me reward myself a bit now, do you?" Scaramouche's eager hands fiddled with the hem of your pants, already hooking his fingers around the waistband to pull them down.

You blushed at his forwardness, still in slight shock that the siren who was supposed to be sea-bound was now pinning you to your bed and begging for your pussy. But you weren't complaining but the urge to tease him for his eagerness was too strong,"Oh— Not even a hello..? You know, it's pretty rude to just climb through one's windows without notice," Scaramouche chuckled at that, bringing up a hand to grab your face, nails digging into the soft skin as he spoke in a tone that contrasted his deathly grip,"Trying to tease me now, are you? It's all fun and games till I'm the one teasing you with the thought of cumming. Is that what you want? For me to edge you till you cry?"

Your answer didn't really matter to him, all his mind was focused on was getting to put his dick in your pussy. Before you could get another word out, he used his nails to slice away your pants and underwear, leaving them in shreds as your folds glistened in all their glory. His pupils narrowed at the sight, red splashing his cheeks as he looked up to meet your embarrassed face,"So you wanted to 'take it slow' while you're practically dripping for my cock. Ironic, isn't it?"

Scaramouche dragged his index along your slit, gathering your slick before bringing it up for you to see. The way he was taunting you about your own arousal made you bite your lip as you shifted uncomfortably, hands fisting the sheets. The siren revelled in your movement, it was like holding the little fish he would catch and eat for dinner, so wriggly and desperate.

Without warning, he pushed two fingers inside you, knuckle deep before pumping them in and out at a steady pace. You inhaled sharply, face heating up,"Scara—!" "Mm.. Yes, my little captain, say my name like that.." His fingers worked their way inside of you, occasionally doing scissor motions to try and loosen you up in preparation for taking his cock. When he decided that he'd done enough prep, he removed his fingers from your gaping hole, watching it clench around nothing as you attempted to protest.

A hand covered your mouth to silence you before you suddenly feel a stinging burn in your lower half as he penetrates you, bottoming out immediately. He groaned as your walls clenched around him, he'd never felt anything like it before. And he wants more, he wants to feel your walls convulse around him forever. Scaramouche holds your hip with one hand, the other moving from your mouth to push down on your chest as he thrusts into you, albeit a bit sloppy at first but eventually picking up a pace, going deep and hard.

Your breath struggles to stay even as you grab his shoulders to stabilize yourself. Each roll of his hips against yours sends you to heaven and back, the room filling with the sounds of your moans and skin on skin. Your orgasm is inevitable, and you let him know through gasps and cries for more,"Ahn...! C-cumming—! Nngh..—!" Scaramouche's grip on your hips tightened as he heard that, fins twitching with anticipation as he muttered huskily,"Do it. I wanna watch you come undone on my cock.."

He didn't need to repeat himself as you felt the knot in your stomach snap, cunt clenching around him one last time before coating the base of his length with a creamy white ring. The look of utter bliss on your face as you came made him come too, pace faltering as he buried his load inside of you. When his thrusts finally came to a stop, he let himself collapse on top of you, nuzzling the crook of your neck as he engulfed you with his arms.

Scaramouche didn't bother to pull out, preferring to just lay there with you as you both panted heavily, basking in the aftermath of your actions. Your body twitched, thighs trembling as you take a few minutes to process what just happened. His seed is still hot inside you, making your lower half feel warm,"That..that was amazing.." You managed to whisper, a low hum coming from him in response.

You felt a combination of his tongue licking and teeth nibbling a fold of skin on your neck, his face flushing as he tasted the salty tinge of your sweat,"Mhm...It's worth taking the risk to see you. I'll be doing that more often from now on.."

"So expect a lot of surprise visits from me. Maybe I'll even bother saying 'hi' this time.."

[audriel]

hi audriel! Didnt know you had tumblr and had to double-check. I really love your fangrui fics on ao3! I noticed some were taken down? And thank you so much for always posting fangrui pics on discord!! Really appreciate it. Really like how approachable and friendly you are on discord, feels like talking to a friend who you can gush about fandom stuffs with, hope you have a good day ahead!

questions, when did you first started to like qzgs, and what made you do it? What are your top 3 fav chars? Did it ever change? What do you like about them?

hi anon! actually, i made my ao3 and tumblr account almost at the same time, so you're safe! i joined discord pretty recently, that's why i unfortunately lost my chance to use the name audriel there >_<

another fang rui lover! thank you! i'm glad you like them! <333

i'm just so happy that i found people who loves qzgs to gush over together. and to spread all the fang rui love. so thank you for being so kind and welcoming! it took quite a lot of courage for me to finally ask to join the server, and participate actively. it's thanks to everyone in the discord.

are you asking the moon in autumn? it's still there, but only accessible for ao3 users since it's a long fic, and i do have concerns for data scraping for fanfictions. if let's start thinkin' bout it gets long enough, i might end up doing the same. i might only unlock them for few days when there's a new update.

now onto your questions!

i'm pretty sure it's due to the pandemic. since i started to read a lot of korean webtoons/manhwa that's almost always adapted from webnovels, i ended up reading a lot of them during that time (there was not much to do but stay at home after all). however, they were very rarely completed. oh the horror. so i looked for recommendations and there was quan zhi gao shou/the king's avatar on the list. it's highly rated and reviewed, and it's completed! even though it's chinese webnovel and not the genre i usually read (online games, more so professional gaming), so i gave it a try, and boy i'm so very glad i do. i'm hooked.

it has everything i love to read in a story: a smart, powerful protagonist; rich, complex characters and world; and a wonderful storytelling.

the only downside? i'm late to the the fandom. QAQ

i think we all love ye xiu, it's no brainer right? he's perfect but also imperfect at the same time. his strength in character and in his belief is so admirable that i sorely wish i had a fraction of it. but at the same time as a protag, we didn't see much from his perspective. so he's not the character i resonate with the most. definitely top three, but not the top. qiao yifan was my best boi then. i can relate with his struggle the most. and i love seeing him learning and growing under ye xiu's wings. from the transparent tiny herb player to the most stable, reliable happy rookie. i'm so looking forward to the person he'll be in the future.

then there's fang rui. he's overshadowed by huang shaotian at first. huang shaotian is so lively, so distinctive, so difficult to look away from. so at the beginning my top three was qiao yifan, ye xiu and huang shaotian.

only on my reread that fang rui finally caught my eye. at first, he and huang shaotian look so similar and differ greatly with other oh so serious captains and god-level players in that they are bright and lively, and they are open with their emotions. but i end up thinking twice at the latter. huang shaotian is an open book, fang rui is not.

wait, wait are we reading the same novel?

fang rui feels like an open book, because we have seen his own perspective, we've seen his thoughts and emotions. but whenever we've got outsiders' perspective on him, fang rui is always playful even he performs badly. if anything, he acts out, hams it up, just like when he miscommunicated with mo fan or when he lost so badly that he sat in the corner to reflect. when he's troubled, most often he closes up, just like when lin jingyan approached him when tyranny dropped by or when he was so tired after taking on zhou zekai and lu boyuan in his bad condition.

meanwhile, huang shaotian can put up a public persona like the celebrity he is, but overall he doesn't really bother to hide how he feels, just like when he didn't want to talk after he lost in the finals and when he questioned yu feng after he went to hundred blossoms (even he got the first turn in beating up liu hao lol). in summary, huang shaotian is the real open book. we can count on him for being honest, and also being loyal. while at the same time, he's such an stealthy assassin and deadly opportunist on stage. it makes him such an appealing character and a favorite among the fandom.

but for me, the complexity and contrast of fang rui really caught my eye. that there's more to him that it meets the eye. which is admittedly my favorite type of character. it shows that he has an exceptional emotional intelligence, he understands emotions, his own and others, and he doesn't shy away from it, more so, he owns it. i have admiration for calm and composed characters, but i admire more those who obviously struggling with his emotions but still retain their calm and composure. and that fits fang rui to the t.

because damn, when we put it into context, fang rui has the hardest time in season 10. ye xiu (and qiao yifan) did have a hard time with their previous team, ye xiu can be also said as the reason for excellent era, his beloved team's demise. but the fans and later qiu fei gave him hope for the team to be reborn, then su mucheng joined him in happy, all he needs is to focus on the championship that he's back in the alliance. fang rui?

he has to leave his beloved team and account, then he transforms to a completely different class with a wholly new account, at the huge risk to himself, then he has to fight his former partner/mentor repeatedly until being the one to end lin jingyan's career. the latter feels dramatic, but considering how fang rui's performance is visibly affected by lin jingyan's decline, i'm not surprised if that's how it feels from his perspective. and yet... he gives himself the hardest time when he performs badly in the finals, for not giving his best for happy. he just wanted to return the trust given to him. even though he was exhausted, he still did his best to assure the team. i just... the moment i put things into perspective, i think fall in love right then and there, and there's no coming back from it.

so my current top three: fang rui, qiao yifan, and ye xiu.

i think there's a pattern right there. all three are happy. all three have transformed. all three have left their teams, not by choice. all have suffered rejections and come up victorious.

thank you for the wonderful ask! i don't mind if you have more questions! i enjoy it very much! i can do the same for you if you wish. just let me know!

[tinyfantasminha]

Glorious Masquerade has got to be my favorite TWST event!!!! Love to see people hype it up!!! It just felt so extravagant and huge… literally EVERY character was serving. Idia in particular 👀 also I think part of why it was so good had to do with the timing, the fact it came right before chapter 7 and the contests of the event were actually REALLY pertinent in the main story…

I kinda doubt this year’s halloween event will be AS impressive but I hope it comes close to it. It has the potential!! But GM is so iconic. I’m really looking forward to the Pinocchio theme. Just think of Grim’s new little outfit 🥺

No cause I'm sure they timed the first release of book 7 right after masquerade so the event could foreshadow the main story, like how Rollo says Malleus is a villain that will bring calamity (I don't remember the exact words but it was something like that lol)

THIS EVENT WAS MOSTLY TAILORED TO MALLEUS AND IDIA AND IT SHOWS, I remember that before Rollo's motive was revealed, I was theorizing if Rollo was also inspired on musical-Frollo and not just the dsny Frollo, where he has a deceased younger brother. And I was like ''if that's the case, it makes even more sense why Idia would be the SSR; he's the only one who can trully relate and understand Rollo's pain'' AND I WAS RIGHT 👏👏👏 LET ME COOK

For that reason is why I think GloMas wouldn't work if it had a sequel like the first halloween event of it were a if/remix version like fairy gala but with the other rest of the cast; Malleus is simply too crucial for this event, Rollo's motive wouldn't make sense without him. I admit I'm a bit sad that we won't see the other boys in the masquerade outfits and them interacting with Rollo (I wanted to see Ace clown on Rollo </3) but honestly this is for the best... They're getting an entire new event with new characters just for themselves!! I'd say this is a better outcome than just repeating GloMas all over again with the other half of the cast, it just wouldn't be impactful.

I'm not emotionally attached to Pinnocchio as I am with THoND but I'm excited because this movie is DARK AS HELL, and it's PERFECT for a halloween event. Also I've been waiting years for new beastmen characters and we are getting a fOX BOY RIGHT OFF THE BAT....GRRRRRrrRR *foams at the mouth*

I can't wait for the trailer of the new event, if they really are wearing carnival inspired outfits I'm gonna be BALLISTIC!!! And let's hope every new halloween event from now on will be based in a dsny movie with new guest characters every time 😳 I'm hoping for a Peter Pan event next cause WE GOTTA SEE TWST CAPTAIN HOOK?!?!?

And yes, Grimmy's little outfit 🙏maybe his outfit will be similar to pinocchio's in those little italian clothes ORRR maybe jiminy cricket's black tailcoat 🥺🥺

[topaz-eyes]

Ten Random Lines Meme

Nicked from @shes-a-voodoo-child

rules: pick any ten of your fics, scroll to the midpoint, pick a line (or three) and share it. then tag ten people.

tagging: not tagging anyone--meme, don't meme, it's all up to you!

Midnight At The Lost And Found (Emergency!, Johnny Gage/Roy DeSoto)

“Yeah, I do.” Johnny paused for another lathering up, then continued in a carefully controlled, matter-of-fact voice. “The second is… man, I don’t know why it’s so hard to say this, but--” Johnny’s voice faltered, but recovered, and he plunged forward. “The second thing is that I love you, Roy, like, really love you, with everything I have. My heart, my soul… and yeah okay, that includes the physical way too. I’ve always liked the men as much as I like the ladies, and I figure we’re compatible in every other way, so it was easy to, uh, extrapolate…” Johnny cleared his throat; Roy could almost see the blush rising in his cheeks, as surely as he felt his own redden.

2. Watching You, Watching Me (House MD, Gregory House/Lisa Cuddy)

"Now remember the last time."

She concentrated, and suddenly she was back to eighteen years ago: back to the days when they were Greg and Lisa instead of House and Cuddy. Back to that sultry June afternoon in House's studio apartment; the day before House was to set off for Baltimore and his fellowship at Johns Hopkins. In the small, cramped room that had no air conditioning, stacks of books piled on the desk, music scores scattered on the floor by his guitar leaning against the wall; back to what turned out to be the last time.

3. Let Be (Torchwood/House MD, Jack Harkness, James Wilson)

"Now that's a nice greatcoat! God, it's gorgeous! Where'd you get it?"

Jack looked down and brushed its wool fondly. "It's an heirloom."

"It's perfect on you. You look like you stepped out of Twelve O'Clock High."

Jack grinned. "Yeah? I know a bit about that era."

James peered at him. "Are you sure you're not Gregory Peck? 'Cause you sorta look like him."

He stared at James' well-manicured hand, sobering slightly as he thought of the Captain reaching for his own. "I'm positive."

4. Home For Christmas (House MD, Gregory House, James Wilson, Blythe House)

"Don't cause a scene, House. Open it," Wilson hissed in House's ear.

"No."

Wilson glanced at Blythe, whose gaze darted everywhere across the room except where her son sat.

"If you won't do it for yourself, at least do it for your mother." He plucked the envelope off House's lap and pushed it against his hand.

5. Downpour (Lie To Me, Cal Lightman/Gillian Foster)

Soon enough the air temperature decides to drop and the breeze picks up. "Finally," Gillian sighs a few minutes later, when the first drops of water patter onto the gravel of the rooftop. She raises her face skyward in relief.

The rain steps up quickly, from sprinkle to steady. The next thing she knows, Cal's stepped up close too, his hand splayed on her waist; his breath is hot in her ear.

"Ever shagged in the rain, Foster?"

6. Stranger Cures (Strike Back, Thomas "Mac" McAllister/Samuel Wyatt)

Wyatt heard a soft, almost resigned exhale from Mac’s bed. Maybe he should just bunk down in the main room the rest of the night. But after a moment, he heard the cot springs squeak as Mac rose, followed by two creaks of wood as he crossed the floor. His mattress dipped on the edge as Mac sat beside him.

Mac laid a warm, broad hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. “Will you trust me?” Mac said.

Wyatt drew in a quick, deep breath against an oncoming spasm and held it in, but it didn’t succeed, and he expelled it in frustration. “I just want this to stop, man,” he said, not bothering to hide his exhaustion now. “I don’t care how anymore.”

7. One Safe Place (X Company, Tom Cummings/Neil Mackay)

“Shove off,” Neil murmurs, not unkindly. Tom mumbles something incoherent and hooks his leg across him too.

“Fantastic,” Neil says, and rolls his eyes, but he doesn't have the heart to push Tom away. That's decided then, he's obviously not moving anytime soon. (And again, being honest, he really doesn't mind.) He settles back down, adjusting just a bit to rest his cheek on Tom's forehead to help keep the heat in (or so he tells himself). Lulled by the warmth in the shared sleeping bag, the rhythm of the rain, and the easy weight of Tom resting against him, Neil's eyelids droop, and he begins to drift.

8. Reunion (24, Jack Bauer/Tony Almeida)

Jack lived on his senses. He trusted his instincts. He knew Tony Almeida more than anyone alive, knew him down to his touch and taste and smell. But the stench of Tony's current anger and bitterness in the FBI office had overwhelmed any hint of him that Jack had filed away. He'd seen Tony frustrated and despondent, but this--

It was obvious that Bill Buchanan trusted this man implicitly, to the point of Deep Sky. But Bill too had been misled before, had placed his trust in the wrong person; hell, they all had. Double, even triple agents weren't unheard of: appearances could be surgically altered, voices re-trained, operatives conditioned. Jack had made enough mistakes today already; he couldn't afford to make another.

He had to know.

9. On The Shoulder Of Orion (Elementary, Joan Watson and Sherlock Holmes)

She looked up from the eyepiece to find Sherlock rocking back and forth on his heels, a pleased expression on his normally dour face. Joan smiled softly at him. “You’ve picked up a lot of incredibly detailed information in a very short time,” she noted.

“I promised Arthur I would assist him with his astronomy project on the evolution of stars,” Sherlock admitted, rather abashed; and he cleared his throat, looking away towards the horizon. “I believe the history of Betelgeuse makes a most excellent illustration of the concept.”

10. A Kinder Fate (Doctor Who 2005, Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond, Sister-of-Mine)

"Lucy."

Once a year, every year, that had been the arrangement; but after the first year he'd forgotten and hadn't visited her since. He rushed to the mirror that hung across from the entrance to the library. He straightened his bow tie though it didn't need it, and waited.

And soon enough there she was, peeking from a crack in the door, the alien who usurped Lucy Cartwright and wore her face. "Hello, Sister-of-Mine," he greeted.

Lucy hung back by the door, her brow furrowed; gripping her balloon string tight, she shook her head.

"Yes, it's me," the Doctor said. "I've changed my appearance from the last time you saw me, but I'm still the Doctor." Still your jailer, he thought, wincing again.

[quintrudar]

The Tomb of Captain Bartamaus

Gogo was never going to let me live this moment down. The rope nipped hard at my skin as I tried to twist my hands-free. My claws couldn't reach long enough and I couldn't do anything without breaking my wrist.

Resting my head against the wall of the carriage my ass was getting jostled as the carriage moved down whatever road the driver had found. My gear was gone, and I had no idea where Vanna had gone off to. Since I met Vanna in a town just outside of Limsa Lominsa we had been on the run with our map and a promise that we'd get to the treasure of Captain Bartamaus. I didn't want the treasure, what I really wanted was a book he had collected before being assassinated.

Of course, there is always another person on their way for gold and glory.

As the carriage came to a stop I groaned and shifted myself and let my numb ass get some blood flow to it. Of course by the time I was on the pins and needles stage the flap to the back of the carriage was opened and a man with a glorious mustache and an eyepatch was grinning at me.

"Enjoy your trip Mr. Rudar?" He said his accent thickly Limpsin. 

"You have the greatest hostage accommodations I've ever seen, one star," I said dryly as he came in and pulled me up to my feet. He was a tall Hyur though I was still taller than him without my ears.

Being dragged out the light burned my eyes and I squinted and wished I could shield my eyes with my arm or something. We were in a large crevice that had a steady path up to higher ground on one side, but on the other was a large carved door made of stone. The stones had a language the others couldn't read, but I could. Over the last year, I had spent every waking hour obsessing over the words that now marked the door.

In a language long dead it read: 

'Enter the enlightened, parish the coward'

I frowned and looked up at the writing. It was ominous, but there was a reason for it. Those words had been carved there long before, by something I couldn't name yet. All I knew was it felt right to see those words. More right than it was for anything I dealt with.

"That's one big door." A voice came from behind me and walking arm in arm were the two least likely people. One was an elaezen man wth blond hair that was pulled back in a low bun, he was dressed in a sharp suit and a long trench coat. The man who spoke... That would be Vanna.

Vanna was a Miqo'te with dark blond hair and brown eyes. I had been so shocked when he flirted with me, but I never had said no to attention. Even when I get backstabbed. He had been quickly to attach to me and during our adventure to look through the map he had I thought there was something growing between us.

Obviously he'll fuck anyone who would get him what he wanted. I almost admire that. Almost.

"Vanna." I said and tried to grind my teeth without snapping anymore.

The small man paused the fur of his tail going out a little as he saw me. I had to be in a bit of a state. I had taken a good right hook to the jaw and it was probably a nasty bruise now. "Quint, I hope you don't mind. Luis gave me insight on what we're about to face." His voice was soft and at one point I thought he was sweet, too bad he's a fucking manipulative ass.

"I hope he's worth it," I mutter and that's it, that's the end of the relationship. Easy come easy go.

"Now," The Elezen Luis strolled forward with Vanna's map and looked at the door. "This says the door will open with the correct key. Mr. Rudar, I suppose you already found said key, and idea of where you put it amongst your things?"

Of course, that's why I'm still alive. I had hidden the key in my gear, inside one of the devices I carried around with me. If they mishandled one of the items it could kill them with a deadly spring or short circuit. That had been part of the plan, but what will they do with me once I gave them the key?

I had no choice but to go with my instinct. I'm not going to die yet, at least not without a proper fight.

"Untie my hands and I'll get it for you," I said, turning around and wiggling my fingers. Luis did the honors as he untied my hands I leaned closer to him to whisper. "You're not the first man who's put rope on my skin, though this is far less satisfying."

Luis pushed me forward and his men threw my pack at me. It was heavy and would be full of devices they wouldn't be able to reason with. I crouched down and found one device that would keep me warm even in cold weather and got out my tools to open it up. Machines were easy, they. had a reason for always breaking to for working. Things with them made sense.

"Here you go," I held up the key but as the men moved to take it I pulled it closer to me. "I'll put the key in the door. And this key is needed for another part. Vanna might be cute, but I'm the one who figured out the puzzle to get this key. I'm the brains."

The Miqo'te rolled his eyes but he had to be right, he was the one half screaming senselessly as I was dodging poisoned traps set up by the Captain's men. Luis frowned and looked at the door. He had to know there were going to be traps involved. We weren't popping into a random cave. Captain Bartamaus had been ruthless in his clever traps. the last cave system of his I went into had three different traps that required me to play games with an unseen enemy, balance a scale to an obscure reference, and wait until a floor went out from under me to find my prize.

If this was anything like that, they were going to need me.

"Fine, let Mr. Rudar use the key." Luis moved away from me and the other men cleared the path.

Coming up to the door I reread the message and found the covering for the keyhole. Inserting the key I twisted it, a mechanical sound churned behind the rock and the wall opened up. A gust of stale air hit my sensitive nose and I tried to blow out the air before it lingered in my lungs for too long.

"Let's hope the good Captain has all the wonders promised to us secured down here." Luis passed me as his men pushed me forward.

The cave we entered slowly moved down and deep into the ground. The air got cooler and I knew we were getting close to the water table if we were this low to the ground. Just as I thought we would hit the water the cave opened up to a large chasm and below I could see an underground river moving below us.

On our side of the chasm, there was a pillar of crystal and a gilded hammer beside it. Next to the pillar, in the stone read:

'Ring' 

Only the R also looked like an S. It as 'Ring' and 'Sing', What most scholars forgot to mention in all the historical accounts for the former Pirate lord was he loved music. He loved it so much there was reasonable proof he might have been a bard once.

"Ring the bell," Luis told one of his men.

A larger Roe stalked up to the pillar and used the hammer to ring out the tone. The sound echoed around the cavern but nothing happened.

"Great," Vanna said his voice letting out a huff. "Do you think the mechanism broke?"

Given the puzzle used magic, I highly doubted it was going to break down. I watched the men argue over the validity of the puzzle as I tried to test out if I could hum the tune. It took me a few tries but soon I got the right pitch and let out the tone.

The rock on the other side started to move, singing in chorus with me. The magic was something to behold and I stopped the tone and noticed the rocks rumble back into the wall that they came from. The men looked back to me some of them had their mouths so open I swore I could see into their stomachs.

"What?" I said and moved over to the ledge. "It can be read as an R or an S. Ring and Sing."

The other men looked at each other and again the hit the pillar again, this time they were the ones who had to search for the note, only this time when they hit it I drew in a long breath and sang as well.

When the bridge started to form I bolted down the bridge. Only there was one problem with that sort of plan. Running takes air, and singing takes air. Singing and running could work if I was a bard, but I'm not. I'm a mage who's fallen in love with engineering and history.

I can hear that the others have stopped singing, if I stop, if I don't hold this note for long enough, I will die. My lungs are burning, and my eyes watering as I try to find more air. As my feet carry me across the bridge. With each pounding step, I get to the edge and throw myself to the other side. I hit the ground hard and take a long, cool, choking breath.

Even as I catch my breath the others are having a much less dramatic cross. I debate about trying to run. Give myself a head start and get to my goal before they come in and ruin the site. I had to stop waiting, I needed to move.

Getting back to my feet I found the next passageway and started down it and tried to look around for clues for any next test they might give me. But as I came to the next room I saw a checkered board of tiles, some green, some blue. I skitter to a halt and knew I only had so much time to figure out this puzzle before they caught up to me.

The Captain had a flag, and from what historians could recount it was green, but it was also true that the man had a love for blue as that is what he normally wore. Where we were going was his final resting place, so the only people he would want to come this way are those who knew what he loved.

The sound of footsteps was right behind me and I started to jump to each of the blue tiles. Crossing the room I could see the other side when I heard the others coming into view. The large Roe stepped onto a green tile and instantly he fell through it and probably to his death. Luis and Vanna stopped seeing me get to the other side.

"He really is fast isn't he," Luis said. "Mr. Rudar, it seems you're trying to race ahead."

I paused and dusted off my jacket. "I can't help it, I like good competition. I'll see you gentlemen at the other side." I gave a small bow and kept going forward, not telling them the solution to the problem. They will either take forever or do something rash and figure out the blue ties are safe.

Coming to the next room I stopped dead in my tracks. The room had bellowed out ahead of me and there was all the gold that was promised. A small mountain that would make even the most modest-living person wonder if they could steal a few of the coins or gems. 

The treasure was off limits.

I knew better than to take wealth from tombs. The person who made this tomb wanted to keep his money even after death. Crossing the room there was a long table where a skeleton was resting, lounging like it was waiting for someone to bring him back to life.

"Captain Bartamaus I presume." I moved closer, the table was full of empty bowls, plates, and goblets covered in gold and gemstones. One of those goblets could keep my airship in the sky for a year. 

Wiping my brow I bowed to the dead captain and looked around him. "I don't want your treasure, just a book," I said, noticing behind him a shelf full of items on display. Spiders had made their home amongst the treasure, creating curtains of webs that I peeked through until I saw it.

The book was humble. It was after all a personal journal of the Captain, detailing his journey into unknown lands. I needed that information. 

I needed to know what happened to her. To the woman who gave birth to me.

Picking up the journal I cradled it in my arms like it was a newborn child. It was older than me, probably older than anyone I knew, but it was precious to me. Opening the book I flipped through the pages and saw the dates, the information had to be here, but I needed time to properly read it.

The sound of footsteps caught in my ears and I looked up to see Luis and Vanna running into the room. Both of them looked tired from the chase but as I started to move Luis pulled his bow and arrow and aimed it at me.

"I would put that book down Mr. Rudar." He said his voice light and his smirk growing wide. "You're not going to get out of this alive if you try to run."

I might be really good at running, but I'm not so good when there are two people, and I know Vanna can close a distance in no time if he knows it's safe. He might believe he's able to hide behind being a pretty face, but he also is more deadly than most would give him credit.

"What are you going to do with the book?" I said. "You know there's more gold here, you could retire somewhere comfortable. I just want the book."

"If that was the reason we were here, we wouldn't have to worry." Luis's eyes were on the book. "Put the book down now, or I'll kill you now."

"Why haven't you killed me then?" I said and realized there had to be a reason for it. "There's something you need from me isn't there?"

Vanna shifted on his feet his tail whipping side to side as he grew irritated. I was close to something. I had something they didn't. Could this book be taken unless I gave it? Was that the answer? I opened the book and noticed on the front page of the book, where I had skipped in my first search was a sigil that would burn the book if it was stolen from its next owner. Me. 

Freezing into place I looked at the other men and knew they. They could threaten me, kill me, but they would then lose the book.

"I'm sorry gentlemen." I said and shook my head. "but I'm not going to do that."

"Fine." Luis loosed the arrow and it pierced the leather of my jacket, the pain bloomed cold in my arm as I dropped the book. The cold slithered through me like a snake going towards its borrow. It was poison, and I didn't have any antidote on me. All of it was outside... with my gear.

I fell to the ground feeling boneless for a moment.

"Give us the book, and I'll give you the antidote, you'll get to live, live to fight another day." Luis crouched down beside me. The cold was cutting through me, but he did produce the antidote to show me he was being truthful. "Go on, just tell me it's mine, and then you're safe."

It can't be true. He can't be telling me the truth? But what choice did I have?

"Fine," I grunted. "The book is yours."

My breath hitched as his hand moved to the book. He picked it up and pulled away, without dropping the antidote. "You know it's sad, I hear you've been looking for this book because what did he tell you Van dear?"

"His mother vanished while researching the Captain's life," Vanna said, smirking at me. I was shivering now, the poison had latched onto me fully. "I think you said she might be dead?"

"She probably is dead. Not like she'd care about you." Luis opened the book and flipped through the pages. "This is perfect. Just what I was needing."

"The antidote." I croaked.

"I'm giving you what you really want Mr. Rudar. To see your mother again, in the afterlife." He turned back tucking the book into his jacket. Only for a moment later to draw a knife and plunge it into Vanna's chest. "And that's for betraying him, I don't keep traitors as lovers."

Blood bubbled up from Vanna's mouth his brown eyes large with concern. His death was going to be far sooner than mine I feared. He fell to the ground and he didn't even have the decency to look at me. Instead all of his shock was for the man who betrayed him.

"I think this is fitting, both of you, together." Luis paused momentarily to admire his handiwork then turned on his heel. "Goodbye, Mr. Rudar."

As his footsteps faded I started to crawl closer to Vanna. The light was barely left in his eyes, but that didn't mean he couldn't help me. Early, far earlier I was a mage. One who was willing to do darker magic to get ahead. But I had felt how draining that magic can be.

I dug my fingers into his blood and whispered words I had locked away. Swearing to a deeper thrumming magic that rested far within me. It swirled and twisted like it was too much for my skin. My body shook, I opened my mouth and the contents of my stomach came up. My whole pulsing mass of organs flexed and retched as a burning sensation seared its way through my veins.

Whispers happened next, dark whispers that told me I was coming home. I was going where I belonged if I died. I don't want to die, I will live because I have too much to live for.

Again I retched and this time a large lump was coughed up. It was a wiggling mass that looked like worms. The worms were a manifestation, it was the poison. All of it. But I fell over the dust of the ground covering me as I tried to breathe.

Taking each cool breath I settled my stomach. One breath, two breaths, three breaths. I counted to ten to know I was still alive. The poison was gone, and I was going to survive this.

Looking up I saw Vanna, his body had twisted during my spell. Like all of the living essences in him had dried up. He was already going to die, and I could have joined him or used him. In the end, I needed to live. I could regret this later. But I can't blame myself for it.

I'm covered in dust, blood, and sweat, and I have nothing to show for it. Looking back at the skeleton of the Captain I wanted to shout at him. Curse him for not making better traps to kill Luis before he got to me. But there is no point in being angry with a dead man. 

I would find Luis again, I would find him, and convince him to give me the book. Then I'll be back on track. Then I can keep searching for my mother.

[mediaevalmusereads]

The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates. By Peter T. Leeson. Princeton University Press, 2009.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Genre: economics, history

Series: N/A

Summary: Pack your cutlass and blunderbuss — it’s time to go a-pirating! The Invisible Hook takes readers inside the wily world of late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century pirates. With swashbuckling irreverence and devilish wit, Peter Leeson uncovers the hidden economics behind pirates’ notorious, entertaining, and sometimes downright shocking behavior. Why did pirates fly flags of Skull & Bones? Why did they create a “pirate code”? Were pirates really ferocious madmen? And what made them so successful? The Invisible Hook uses economics to examine these and other infamous aspects of piracy. Leeson argues that the pirate customs we know and love resulted from pirates responding rationally to prevailing economic conditions in the pursuit of profits.

The Invisible Hook looks at legendary pirate captains like Blackbeard, Black Bart Roberts, and Calico Jack Rackam, and shows how pirates’ search for plunder led them to pioneer remarkable and forward-thinking practices. Pirates understood the advantages of constitutional democracy — a model they adopted more than fifty years before the United States did so. Pirates also initiated an early system of workers’ compensation, regulated drinking and smoking, and in some cases practiced racial tolerance and equality. Leeson contends that pirates exemplified the virtues of vice — their self-seeking interests generated socially desirable effects and their greedy criminality secured social order. Pirates proved that anarchy could be organized.

Revealing the democratic and economic forces propelling history’s most colorful criminals, The Invisible Hook establishes pirates’ trailblazing relevance to the contemporary world.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: descriptions of torture, economics of slavery

This book has been on my TBR for a while. I don't remember how I learned about it, but I do remember being intrigued by the premise. I'm not anhuge pirate enthusiast, but I love a good historical take, so here we are.

Overall, I'm of mixed opinions on this book. I do find the argument that pirates are driven by a desire for profit rather than some unified ideology is convincing. With such variances in the way historical pirates conducted themselves, it makes more sense for their actions to be driven by a desire for material profitability than some adherence to a proto-socialist worldview. This doesn't mean all individual pirates cared only about profit, but as a lens for looking at the history of piracy, it certainly proves useful for describing the prevalence of certain behaviors or items (like the Jolly Roger).

I also appreciated that Leeson included primary sources and allowed for nuance it many of his takes. Although Leeson has a specific angle for his book, he's very clear that there are always exceptions to his points and his work is based on a specific set of assumptions. Allowing for nuance and defining assumptions made me more aware that his book was less about history than perhaps doing some critical theory. It wasn't a worthless pursuit, but since Leeson admits to being neither a historian nor a pirate (har har), I think this book could have been stronger with some interdisciplinary work.

But as much as I saw potential in this book, there were things about it that made me scratch my head. For one, I do think Leeson uses some strange phrases or analogies, but those alone don't ruin the reading experience. I do think his approach to countering other critics is rather simplistic. For example, even in 2009, I don't think many (if any) scholars were saying *all* pirates were gay or *all* pirates were socialists. If they were, that would be poor scholarship. Therefore, pushing against these all or nothing claims somewhat weakens Leeson's historical arguments, and even if we were talking about pirates in popular culture, the history of pirates in literature in film would probably require a different kind of analysis or more robust scholarship on fiction version history, audience reception, genre, etc.

TL;DR: The Invisible Hook puts forth some compelling arguments about the economic drivers behind pirate activity. However, since the author is neither a historian nor a literary critic, a lot of the analysis could have been pushed further or more clearly communicated its usefulness as a lens rather than a claim to historical fact.

[atangledfate]

Jet actually smiled at Surge as she got up in his face! The fact that she'd threatened him seemed to either amuse him, or just sit better with him then Sonic and his boyscout bullshit! The Hawk looked at Sonic and pointed toward Surge with a smug smile on his face! He chuckled at her and enjoyed Sonic's annoyed stare! yea he liked torturing the bastard!

" HAH! i like her, spicy..."

He didn't directly acknowledge her being a Tenrec but if nothing else he seemed to respect her threats!

" Awww whats wrong blue! did you MISS me! "

Sonic Placed a hand on the bridge of his nose clearly not in the mood for Jet today. He sighed and waved a hand in a dismissive way as they had bigger issues to deal with right now. He was of the same mind as Surge, he'd have been find with her finishing her sentence just this once!

" No ... no Surge has the right idea--- I really don't have the time for this Jet. We are here to Stop Clutch, and make sure this floating eye sore doesn't crash into Restoration... now either you are gonna help or get outta my way! "

Jet just laughed at Sonic as he crossed his arms and floated toward the hole in the hanger bay door. He seemed rather confident and full of himself! mostly because he knew sonic and surge missed the party and that made him smile inside! he loved when Sonic fell on his face! as long as it didn't cause him problems like the war, it was all good in his book!

" Well! Looks like everyone wants to strange the old man! I'll do you two a solid! Wave says there was a Chaos Energy spike about 2 minutes ago... do with that what you want! as for me! I'm gonna make like my name and peace out! OH and hog ALL the glory! "

Jet let out the most annoying squawking laugh!

" GUESS you were just--- TO SLOW Sonic! hah! peace losers! oh yea! one more thing! pretty sure the self destruct is active... sooooo might wanna get while the gettin's good! OH and Miles is in the engine room! tryin't get this tub moving! you might wanna get on that! "

Jet gave them both a rude hand gesture! launched out the hole and shot across the sky to catch up with his team! Sonic just looked like he was gonna blow a gasket! He never did get along with Jet, especially not after--- well was better not to think of the past. He turned to Surge and sighed giving her a long stare.

" i fucking hate that guy--- Chaos Energy Spike, could Clutch use Chaos Control? Nah no way! must have been something else... still what ever it was, sounds like He dipped. "

He let out an exasperated sigh

" probably ... in ... that shuttle... huh, guess you were right. Sorry... I messed up...Probably long gone by now. Look if you wanna split i get it, but i gotta save my little buddy--- and get outta here before this thing goes nuclear... once we are on the ground. I'll keep my promise... "

=============================================

Meanwhile deep in the depths of the Air Ship mils stepped over the last of the security force. Grabbing the console as he pulled his miles electric out of his fluffy tail. He hooked it up to the console and quickly broke the fire wall. He tapped it a few times and the manual controls slid up from the deck. He turned and gripped the handles and took a deep breath... well this was it!

With a smile he pushed the throttle forward changing the direction of the airship and pushed out of the giant wisps grasp. The entire ship lunging forward. Miles, finally had control but with the red lights flashing he wasn't sure he could get it clear and escape in time. He hooked into the coms of the air ship and spoke directly into it.

" Attention idiot's of Clean Sweep! this is your new captain speaking! you have about 3 minutes before this boat goes critical! if you have half a brain you should abandon ship! Find a shuttle! an escape pod! or your nearest window or door and jump for it! you'll have a shot at surviving! sorry, shuffle board has been canceled! i repeat! shuffle board has been canceled! thanks for flying Prower Air! see ya losers! "

He sighed as he flipped intercom back off and braced himself for the task ahead! Saving restoration was his biggest concern! that mean flying this hunk of junk away from restoration air space! but... he wasn't sure he had enough time to do that and escape, boy what a shit choice!

" welp... i wish i could take my own advice... hehe... boy i could use a blue hedgehog right about now..."

Surge would dash right in front of Jet's face once he finished flapping his beak. "I'm a fucking TENREC. If you ever call me a hedgehog again I'll shove that board right up you're fucking-" The tenrec suddenly cut herself off, as if she was listening to someone before glaring at Jet. "Get it right next time or you'll regret it," the speedster said, walking away from the avian before she socks him right in the face.

Surge then walk up to Sonic. "You deal with the annoying fucking bird before I do something you'll get all annoyed about." The tenrec was temped to follow through with her unfinished threat, though didn't need the hedgehog bitching to her about till the ends of the universe about it. "And be quick about it. The sooner this ends the sooner you can take Drippy home," the speedster said, leaning against the wall and waiting.

'You know, you could just tell Jet it's a personal thing with you and not threaten him. It's not like he knows.' A voice in Surge's head spoke. 'Then again, he may provoke you about it and then I'll just agree with you to knock him on his ass. Smart move letting Sonic deal with him.'

'Can you just shut up right now? I've been though enough shit today and that fact that you're still hanging around isn't help.' Surge had been starting to hear Selene voice ever since the sewers and all her fucking advice on how to do shit. 'Why are you even here? Didn't you say you would fade away into my subconscious or some shit?' The tenrec was confused why this was happening.

'I said supposedly, though I'm not psychiatrist by any means. That means it was just an educated guess with me having zero clue about it that a few random videos I saw at some point.' Selene doubts that could even count as having any kind of information. 'Still wished we could've broken one of Clutch's leg. That's be real pay back for shooting... us? Me? Now I'm confused.'

'Don't worry, I'll make sure to bust both his fucking legs if I ever get the chance. Doubtful with how long I'll be locked up, though a gal can dream.' Surge pretty much missed her only chance and was sure Eggman was to thank for that. Always finding ways to screw people over even if he didn't plan to. 'Though I could honestly use some quiet thoughts right now.'

'Alright, I'll leave you alone. I'm still trying to figure out what happened anyway.' Selene wasn't sure how she was still around, though wasn't really going to complain. Made her wonder if she could take control of their body, though only time would tell she guessed.

The Mother Wisp finally let go of the airship after moving it away by a decent length. She was starting to get extremely annoyed at the weapons shooting at her, though figured it was best to just ignore it. "Sonic, I believe it is far enough? I'm not completely sure, though if it is then I'd like to get away from this airship. It's starting to annoy me."

[kokororyuu]

once more [levi ackerman x reader]

synopsis: it was impossible. he would never see you again, levi thought, but perhaps he had jinxed himself. though he didn’t regret a single thing.

warnings ⚠️: angst, major character death(s), manga SPOILERS, (brief) suicidal thoughts, brief description of gore

word count: 2k

author’s note: i think this is one of my best works yet, like i literally LOVE love this one :>>, i think the only part i was kinda “ehhh” about was the part where [eradicated] dies because i cannOT write gore </3, but either way, have fun reading, bubs!!

PART ONE: miles apart

he missed you.

god, he missed you so much.

he still remembered your touch, your smile, your words, no matter how irritating they’d get when they interfered with work, but he couldn’t even blame you for being on his mind. after all, it was him who was attracted to you.

and in your last moments, you had whispered the same to him.

you were so addictive, like the tea he served himself daily. not too bitter, not too sweet, a perfect mix of flavors that seemed to wash away his unspoken confessions on the tip of his tongue every time he took another sip, leaving a bitter aftertaste and unsettled emotions.

levi couldn’t stay still in his office, burying himself in paperwork only to change his mind and toss his quill down with a sigh. he drew back the curtain in his office to stare blankly at the moon, now full as it had been that day; bright, blue, and breathtakingly beautiful. he scoffed at himself, he couldn’t believe he had caught himself gawking at the moon, its light casting shadows that danced around his room with the swishing curtains.

he just wanted to see you once more.

not mangled and broken, bleeding out beside him outside the walls, but with that familiar smile of yours that shone brighter than the stars, the sun, and held warmth that levi craved so badly.

the thought lingered for a second as he continued to gaze at the moon before he shook his head, how foolish of me, to think he would be able to see you again. his fingers traced the windowsill as he stayed deep in thought, maybe in another life, he mused before pulling out a book hange gave him from one of the drawers on his desk, lighting a lamp and beginning to read where he had previously left off…

“then i defy you, stars!”

levi didn’t know how he ended up in this position.

having fought over a dozen of titans, most abnormal, on his own after all of the cadets he had taken with him died, it wasn’t a surprise that he couldn’t avoid the quick swing of the titan on his left as he tried to dig his last pair of blades, now dull, into another titan’s nape.

he would’ve gotten up, could’ve gotten up, but he had sustained severe injuries earlier from trying to save the other cadets as well as save himself.

this was bad, really bad,

or maybe it wasn’t.

levi didn’t have the choice to decide, his limbs numb from the abuse and gaze hazy as he eyed the titan’s unusual gait, its figure stomping closer and closer. a heavy breath pushed past his lips as he used the last of his adrenaline rush to hook his odm gear into a nearby tree, swinging up onto a high branch and propping himself against it.

he wheezed, oxygen exiting his lungs and leaving him completely and utterly breathless from the exertion, but he figured that if he was up here, he at least wouldn’t die from the jaws of those horrid beasts and by this antagonizing blood loss instead.

blood seeped out from his wounds slowly and dyed his tattered uniform red, and with the silence and his vision fading in and out, he found himself thinking back to just a few months prior, his gaze latched onto the moon that peeked through the trees.

he wondered if he’d look like how you did that day, lifeless, cold, empty, soulless. he hoped your death wasn’t as painful as this, because no matter how numb the winter that nipped at his skin made him feel, there was still the hot searing pain spreading from the gaping wound on his side.

did you go through this much pain? did you suffer?

if it weren’t from the injuries, was it from his ignorance and blatant refusal to spare just a glance at you before you passed?

death was never a scary thing to levi, at least, not his own. he imagined times where it might’ve been better to just end it all. less suffering, less pain, no more losing loved ones. he hoped you felt the same when you died, that you left without regrets after your whispered-out words of confession.

once more,

he laughed, though it sounded more like a gurgle with all the blood pushing past his lips with every slowing rise and fall of his chest. he guessed it was about time his wish came true.

and then everything went black, and levi was swallowed up by oh-so-sweet embrace of the afterlife.

“levi?” a familiar voice called out in both confusion and surprise. “i wasn’t expecting you here this soon,”

he opened his eyes faster than he should’ve, immediately squinting at how bright it was, wherever he was. he wasn’t on a tree branch bleeding out anymore, instead, he was laying on soil, the dirt soft under his fingertips. the sky was bright and blue, a contrast to the dark sky of night that was only lit by the lonesome moon a second ago.

and most importantly, there was erwin, commander erwin, crouching down by his side with a look of mirth. levi’s gaze flickered around the area, eyeing cadets he remembered from years ago up and about, laughing and conversing with one another.

what is this, some type of heaven? he doubted that was what this was with all the death he had brought upon humanity, but he was sure this was some type of afterlife. erwin let out a soft chuckle at levi’s bewildered glare that demanded answers to silent questions.

“i know you have inquiries, but it’d be best to save them for later. i’m sure there’s people who’d like to see you first,” he stood to his feet and reached out a hand toward the other, him hesitantly grabbing onto it and pulling himself up from the ground. levi let himself be led to a circle of people chatting amongst themselves with bright smiles.

they welcomed him with open arms, poking fun at his arrival and calling him, “a newbie to the afterlife,” with his rapid fire questioning and quick glances around the open field.

“you’re looking for them, aren’t you, captain?” a former scout called out and teased.

levi couldn’t deny the obviously true accusation, scowling and crossing his arms as a defense mechanism, “zip it, cadet. afterlife or not, i can still beat your ass,” a few giggles and laughs erupted from the group while some sheepishly tried to cover them up with coughs and clearing their throats.

it was true, he was looking for you. he had hoped you would’ve been the first person he saw, but you were nowhere to be found. an anxious feeling gnawed at him and thoughts filled with doubt swirled in his chest.

did you not want to see him?

you probably didn’t, especially after what he had done.

“the moon is beautiful tonight, isn’t it?”

the words stained his conscience red.

“i'm leaving,” levi turned on his heels and began walking without waiting for a response. erwin rose a brow at his murmur but nodded nonetheless, bidding him goodbye.

the skies were so blue, littered with white clouds that levi felt he could touch if he so wished to with just a raise of his hand. there was no sun, surprisingly enough

with how bright the afterlife was, and he was thankful for this. no sun meant no heat, no hot days that needed to be fought through or sweaty palms and heavily drawn breaths.

however, no sun meant no moon.

it was strange to not have nighttime anymore, no more stars to gaze at as he thought to himself and let those thoughts consume him. did they sleep? levi swept the area with his eyes and didn’t see a single room or bed. he wasn’t going to get used to this anytime soon, though he was thankful for how he strangely felt energized, or at least not drained from his insomnia like he usually was.

nevermind that, levi shook his head before scanning the area once more, where were you? he felt like his feet had been bringing him in circles—had he seen that cadet already? had this person already greeted him?—perhaps he was just lost at this point, in a crowd of people he knew or never seen before, but out of everyone there, there wasn’t a single sign of you.

he noticeably slumped, maybe he’d never see you again like he had prepared himself for. he didn’t deserve it after all.

but oh, did he miss you.

levi squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment and sighed, a furrow in his brow as he tried to settle the sudden drop of disappointment that settled in his stomach.

he just wanted to see you once more.

“levi!”

the man nearly tripped over his own feet at the voice that called for him. levi felt his heart soar, his skin buzz in anxiety, anticipation, hope.

he turns and—

it’s you.

you were running toward him from across the field filled with numerous scouts, weaving through the bustling crowd with that grin of yours, and your eyes, his light, twinkling so brightly at him.

you were coming closer and closer, and if levi just reached his arm out he could—

wait, his arm froze midair, his foot catching on the ground as he paused before your open arms.

he was scared.

in your last moments, he had completely ignored you, had watched you leave the world as you confessed your love with your last dying breath. maybe you wouldn’t want to see him, to hear his pathetic excuses and apologies, but alas, you proved him wrong, surging forward in the second of hesitation and wrapping your arms tightly around his neck.

levi tensed up, his arms hovering in the air like an idiot before he heard you murmur, “just relax, levi,”

and with those few words, levi felt every single tension in his body leave within seconds, his hands coming up to grip onto the back of your shirt as if begging you not to leave him, again.

though the whole situation felt so surreal, and he felt if he didn’t hug you tight enough, you’d slip through his fingertips, never to be seen again.

you were real, levi came to this revelation when he buried his face into the junction between your neck and shoulder, your heartbeat thumping as wildly as his as the two of you embraced.

“hi again, levi,” you brushed a hand through his ebony black hair with a breathless laugh.

“hello, my light,” levi whispered softly, sending a tickling breath to your neck, though he was pretty sure you heard if the little squeeze you gave around his shoulders were any indicator. you pulled away to rest your forehead against his, his eyes twinkling with such adoration, god, it was like you could see the stars.

“you know...” he murmured, his eyes closing and hiding their galaxies. levi felt his heartbeat pick up, and his hands trembled as they squeezed at your waist.

you were patient, tracing soothing patterns into his nape as you tugged him just a little closer, your lips brushing against his ever so slightly and sending a sweet chill down his spine. he almost became distracted from his original goal, his lips mindlessly chasing yours but stopping at the little tug you gave his head of hair. “go on, levi,”

god, had he missed the way you said his name. it sounded so perfect, and with your soft encouragement, levi drew in another shaky breath, his eyes fluttering open to meet yours. “the moon was always beautiful,”

explanations:

“i defy you, stars!”

this is a quote from shakespeare’s “romeo and juliet” !!! i interpret it as levi going against fate to be with you again :>

“the moon was always beautiful,”

this is a connection to “miles apart.” he’s basically saying that he has always loved you :D

[mokutone]

can u share some head canons about kkym ? either about them individually or together i dont mind i just wanna hear ur thoughts on them <333

is kkym the abbreviation for them as a ship? sure i can share some hcs sdkjghsjkg, I should say that I'm very picky when it comes to ships insofar as romantically: if n when i ship them in canon don't really see them getting together until they're well into their 30s or maybe even early 40s—I think a lot of people will find that weird bc like. that's a long time to wait, and in fandom there's the pervasive notion of "once in love, always in love" where romantic love kind of. transcends all interactions? like if characters are in love at any point it means they must have been in love at all points? but i don't agree or relate to that and certainly not in this case they're both incredibly practical and cautious people, and especially about how they can affect others! I think they would both understand how it can be dangerous to enter into a committed relationship when you don't have a strong sense of self, and this is an issue for both of them up through anbu (so I just generally don't ship either of them during that time period) in jōnin times, kakashi is steady on to his way of understanding himself by the time Yamato has to join in—but Yamato...during the course of canon he starts to really come into himself as team Kakashi's co-captain, but I'm under the impression that the war arc kind of destroys all that progress. (um. understandably. i think being used as a dehumanized mokuton weapon to do harm to people you care about while not even being conscious of it happening is. kind of. the worst setback yamato could ever run into.) Furthermore, with his epilogue, it kinda leads me to believe firmly that he's lost the tethers he did have, and might've even accepted himself as a lost cause either partially or wholly (i can't...see him wanting to return to proximity around orochimaru as anything other than trying to like. regain control of the most basic elements of his dehumanization, ie: the mad scientist who did it first) it's!!! super depressing!!! his canon epilogue is super depressing!!! i don't think that i would want to see him in a romantic relationship like that—not until he's on stable ground again...

that said, PLATONICALLY...now this is my wheelhouse. i think that yamato was very involved with the training of kakashis current crew of ninken. he didn't do much training but he did record a lot of it so that kakashi could watch it over and try to correct his own mistakes (the only place a sharingan can't look, after all, is its user). kakashi has offered on multiple occasions to hook yamato up with his own ninken, and yamato refuses. he's not really a dog person (but i WISH he WAS because I am and I'd love to draw him with a dog.) Kakashi is a good cook—but only for a few meals. as a kid there was debate about whether he should be allowed to care for himself, or whether he should, by default, be absorbed into the inuzuka clan. he really fucking hated the idea, like. viscerally hated it, and endeavored to show that he was the worlds most autonomous child. he only knows about ten basic meals, but he knows how to make them backward and forward. he could make them blindfolded. Yamato...well. it's not that he's a bad cook exactly? It's more just that he. doesn't. cook. he likes to eat very basic things, raw fruit or vegetables for example, plain rice (perhaps with salt), or de-shelled nuts. he probably likes salads fairly well! When they cook together, generally Yamato is preparing the ingredients (chopping vegetables, etc), and then will slide them over to Kakashi who will do the cooking. They don't cook together often because they like to argue about food a lot—(a favorite habit stemming from when Tenzō was being weaned off food pills and onto like. proper meals) Neither of them bake things very often at all. When Yamato does step out of his comfort zone cooking, he's very by-the-book, and so when he sees Kakashi improvising (or perhaps following his own recipes or things he'd seen sakumo or maito dai do) he's generally quick to ask why! Their tastes are very similar as well, although if u were to chart it all out, Yamato leans slightly more towards bitter flavors, and Kakashi more towards umami flavors. both hate sweets and fried food They didn't talk a lot in the three years where Kakashi was a jōnin and Tenzō was still in anbu. Gai and Tenzō worked together (mostly at Gai's behest and functioning under Gai's plan) to get Kakashi discharged from anbu, and for a solid amount of time, Tenzō (who is very preoccupied with ideas of agency and respecting individual autonomy, since he had his own so thoroughly undermined) has trouble forgiving himself, and believing that Kakashi would forgive him for denying him the ability to make the choice to either stay in anbu or leave. Eventually, he sees, as Gai had told him he would, that Kakashi's mental health is improving, and he's able to relax and relieve himself of that guilt—but he still generally stays away until the Yamato/co-captaining assignment. It's not only that anbu is a tough gig, but also that he spent his time there working directly under Kakashi, and he needs to better solidify his sense of how he operates outside of that teamwork. He doesn't have a bad time, or a good time, but it's important to his growth to do so.

i think thats all i have off the top of my head??? i hope this has been entertaining!

[athena-is-a-chaotic-lil-shit]

Feral Fatality

(Part 1)

So this has been in my works for a week now. You see, it was a typical day for me scrolling through Tumblr and visiting some....tags, and then a short drabble inspired me to write about a feral reader totally not because I was craving violence and murder no, which reached more than 4k words on the first draft so here we are! Shitty title, I know. The proofread work went over 7k, and it's not even finished yet. Once I'm done posting this and my main orc fic, I will get into the requests so please be patient!

Pairing: Jason Voorhees x Fem!Reader

Word count: 3k

Warnings: Brief blood and violence at the end of the first part

Contains: Swearing, mentions of neglect and abuse (not graphic)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

-

Screams slit through the twilight as the frigid autumn wind blew harshly through the trees of Camp Crystal Lake. The rustling of bushes and cracking of twigs echoed as foolish teenagers attempted to escape, running for their lives when they were the ones who dared step foot in the place, tarnishing it with their sins.

Jason Voorhees, the innocent kid who died several years ago; pushed to the lake by his bullies and left to drown for being different and unsightly— all because the counselors were busy with their fucking business—, returned as an undead killing machine right after his mother murdered them and died. His sole purpose: to protect the land and purge the people who had no right to be here, sentencing them to a horrendous death.

One by one, they struck the ground, lifeless, either chopped into pieces, beheaded, or stabbed countless times by his trusty machete.

Limbs...ripped off with his bare hands.

-

The muffled snapping of branches reached your ears as the vehicle's wheels ran over them, stirring you from your nap. You rubbed your chilled skin under your clothes as you looked out of the window, thumping your forehead on the glass when you leaned forward the moment you saw the scenery. Trees, both ancient and young, their leaves varying in hues of green, orange and red, filled your line of sight. It was still early in autumn, your favorite time of the year, not hot but not too cold either. You watched in awe as the warm-colored leaves cascaded down from the branches and down to the ground, some carried by the wind farther from their origin.

The view did its best to distract you from a couple in session a seat before yours. They always seem to do that all the time, regardless of place or occasion.

This was a week-long getaway after graduation, they said.

Nothing but a white lie.

An excuse for the girls to hook up with their campus crushes, a week of fucking and smoking drugs.

You, however, just got invited —forced— by your "friend" Eloiza, the self-proclaimed hottest girl in the entire school, typical captain of the cheerleading squad; blonde and curvy. Her words were much too sugar-coated that even a deaf person could tell she had ulterior motives.

She only planned to use you as a tool to raise her fame. A stepping stone for her own gain.

That wasn't the only reason though.

Everyone knew who you were, but only by your name. News and rumors alike spread like wildfire through gossipy mouths. Your deeds were known throughout campus.

(Y/N)(L/N), top academic competitor and multiple-award winner, a straight-A student for five years in succession. Some believed you were a genius, the rest called you insane.

You wouldn't call yourself a genius though, you did not possess the obsessive need to acquire eternal knowledge and discover the secrets of the universe as most of them do, to effortlessly solve every problem that comes their way.

If that were the case, then you wouldn't be here in the first place.

You only love learning and indulging in the beauty of Mother Nature, plus a handful of hyper-fixations.

Fine, a buttload of hyper-fixations. And such came in handy in various situations.

You were unrivaled, not one of your peers could come close to your level of wit. Many people wished to have a brain like yours, and just as many hated you for even having one, praised you just as much as slandered your name and judged you.

Despite your reputation, the poor school didn't broadcast it, at least every time. The staff probably got tired of repeating the same phrase over and over again. Which caused more than half of the whole campus to never believe you to be the one behind all of that, laughing at your face when you said your name.

"You? The (Y/N) (L/N)? Ha! As if I'd fall for that! Everyone knows how she looks. You're the absolute opposite!"

"You got to be kidding me."

"You're a joker, aren't you? Is this a prank? If so please stop it, don't pretend like you're her."

Yep, and it goes on and on and on. They were right, you didn't look like someone who would win contests or excel in class.

You constantly wore clothes that hid your form, silent unless spoken to or asked to answer, distant and reserved, you preferred the company of books and nature to the rowdiness and prying hands of humans. A sociopath they deemed you. Quite an extreme word to use when you simply wanted to enjoy the only things that made you happy in this living hell.

You only know a handful of people who approached you first-hand and praised you genuinely, even asking for an autograph, which really surprised you.

Yet, they would never understand you even if you explained, because you can't, words evade you when it comes down to voice out what you feel. Even if you can, no one would care. And even if they did? You doubt it was real. Everyone wants to use you, and they seem to believe you'd let them. You didn't trust anyone. The last time you did only left you sobbing on the dirt.

You wanted to be left alone.

To connect with nature and get as far away as possible from your parents. Parents who kept shouting profanities at each other, the main cause for your depression and anxiety levels to skyrocket, the shaking turning into trembling, 7 hours of sleep to barely a blink.

That's why you agreed to go in the first place.

You hated your household—despised it— a mess of broken shards of bottles and ceramics littered your kitchen floor more often than not. You didn't bother cleaning it up anymore, your mother would just waste away her money on more things to break and throw them at your joke of a father when they fought anyway.

Not only that, you thought...No, you believed if you worked hard to be the best and win countless competitions, your parents would give you recognition and reconcile for your sake, but no, no, no. They didn't care one bit about you or your medals, it was as if you were never even included in their lives at all. Even birthday celebrations ceased to exist in everyone's books after your 13th.

So you gave up.

Down into the void, your wishful thinking went, that they'll become better people over time, that the attention and love you deserve will be given one day. Instead, you wallowed yourself in your studies, besting everyone in everything academic. Oh, but you weren't athletic. Far from it. Damn, you were getting thin and sleep-deprived from being neglected, dark circles under your eyes every time you looked at your reflection. People hating your existence wasn't helping, some teachers even suspected you of cheating.

There's no way in hell you'd let yourself get dragged down to end up like them! You were of legal age now, a fresh graduate from high school, you doubt your parents even knew that since they didn't fucking show up on your graduation day. You were moving out of that shithole of a town. Anywhere is better than where they breathed and spat their poison.

And so here you are. Standing in this breath-taking and mysterious place. Camp Crystal Lake, it is named, secluded, barely touched by modernization as it is hidden between mountains and trees as far as the eye could see. Not to mention its namesake, the lake, you imagined it would mirror the sky, be it day or night. You loved it, you adored the fresh, breathable air that went through you the moment you stepped out of the van.

You also knew about him.

Resolved to never go back to that goddamned house, you took everything you had and needed; the special little trinkets you've collected through the years shoved into a box, the few clothes you had, art materials, and your precious books carefully packed inside a big travel bag, along with your stocked up canned goods, convenience food, snacks, and toiletries.

And other, important things.

You hauled your baggage out of the van and got off, immediately moving to the side and away from everyone.

You got used to people ignoring you that you didn't care anymore.

Why waste your time with them when you can have all of it to yourself?

Eloiza led the group into the larger cabins, the others went straight into the lake for a swim. You even notice some teens disappear into the trees, most likely for a quickie.

In return, you stayed out of their way, fully satisfied being invisible and with your own company as you trudged to a cabin, the one you caught a glimpse of earlier in the van. It was a long way's separated from the rest, closest to the forest and hidden behind a few trees.

You were panting when you finally stopped in front of it, clearly not used to walking long distances and carrying stuff near as heavy as your weight.

Upon closer inspection, you found yourself gaping at its appearance. The wooden walls lost their color as they aged, white and brown mushrooms grew on the ground along with green moss sticking to the beams, and a few vines crawling their way up and on the roof. Despite all of that, the cabin looked sturdy still.

There's this "one with nature" vibe that drew you to it, like a string pulling you closer and inviting you. Ominous most would say, but you almost cried when the rich scent of earth and oxygen filled your lungs as you took one big inhale, sighing in content for once. It was a lot smaller compared to the others, but you didn't care. As long as you were left alone with your stuff you were a-okay.

Perfect.

You turned the knob and peeked inside, letting out a small gasp and opening the door wider to see the whole thing.

Old as it is, it was proper and neat, regardless of the tiny cobwebs on the upper corners. A small, square dining table sat in the middle of the first part of the place, two wooden stools placed underneath. There were cupboards on the wall and a simple sink with an empty space to the side. You went to the next room, doorless and separated with but a wall of thick plywood. It had a single bed in the corner, off-white cotton sheets sitting atop, not a wrinkle in sight. No pillow though. There's a decent-sized closet along with a small table on one side of the bed. One of the windows had a hole in the middle, a ray of sunlight streaming in through the cracks. It was too big for the size of a gunshot, so maybe a rock.

A bit hesitant, your fingers traced the wood, feeling the inconsistent texture. When you went through the back door, your smile reached your ears when trunks of trees and bushes greeted you...

Wait, is that what you think it is?

Stepping closer to the treeline, your jaw dropped when you spotted a thicket of fruit-bearing plants past them, gathered in a tiny clearing.

Blueberries.

Purple little cuties poked out of the green shrubs, sporting a vibrant hue that caught your eye. The sun shone overhead and providing the energy they needed. Blueberries managed to grow in the area despite the trees fencing them.

Tempted and suspicious, you crouched down, inspecting the shrub if it really was a blueberry plant and not a deadly doppelganger. Once you were sure it was, (it would be hilarious if you simply died from nighshade poisoning), you plucked one and brought it to your mouth. It was sweeter than you expected, with a slightly bitter aftertaste. You hummed in delight, wiping the juice with your thumb when it dribbled out, staining your finger and lips.

You didn't want to anger anybody. Hell, coming here was already trespassing, so you didn't push your luck and left it alone, hoping they'd forgive you for picking one. They surely didn't look wild with the way they lined up.

You scanned the rest of the area, eventually going back inside to unpack after your little evaluation.

-

The sun was a hand's away from setting when you finished. Pride swelled in your chest at the work you did, your things stocked and organized with care inside the cabinets and drawers. You won't have to worry about your food for now as cupboards were filled to the brim with them. You also had a decent amount of money left from your savings account that your parents weren't aware of. Prize money, allowance, and the salary you got from doing online jobs all went into it. The camp was a few miles off the road, and a couple more to the nearest gas station with a convenience store. Very far yes, but it's better than living with the people who made you do this in the first place.

You just hoped you wouldn't die walking.

Everything was worth it, anyways. You were free now, at least that's what you think.

You trudged to the bed, eyeing the cushions, wary and a little scared to touch the sheets that appeared to be cleaned just recently, you didn't even lay a finger on them ever since you got inside. Oh, but your tired muscles were screaming to just flump down and relax.

So you did.

You dumped yourself face first and inhaled. It wasn't smelly nor fragrant, just the simple freshness on the cotton fabric. You felt beat but ain't sleepy, yet, so you reached to the drawer beside the bed and pulled out a book to pass the time as you waited for the sun to go down and give way for the moon. Its spine and pages had creases, worn out and yellow-stained from age and use. It was a horror-mystery novel told through a first-person narrative, a story of a middle-aged detective and her Maine coon in their attempts to solve a murder case of a young European lady named Cassandra Chase.

You dozed off in the middle of chapter 21, the part where Dinnie, the cat, discovers a valuable clue to the crime, a rotten limb in the dried basement well.

—

—

Jason settled down on the stairs of his porch; shoulders relaxed and hunched as he leisurely sharpened his machete with a small whetstone. Lines of sunlight kissed him through the leaves of trees, the birds in the area chirped on their perches, and the grass swayed, gentle, as a cool wind passed by.

His day be so fine. No troublemakers to deal wi—

The alarm rang, announcing unwelcomed arrival. As if a switch flipped inside, he's already on his feet, making his way swiftly to their location.

A new batch of wretched youngsters, another day ruined. Hunting them down makes his blood thrum in his veins, yes, but they soured his mood, just when he was at peace. He's dead set on slaughtering them in the most gruesome ways possible, only then he could go back and enjoy the serenity the nature around him brings.

He surveyed the area, camouflaging with the wilderness, silent as he watched and counted the soon-to-be corpses, his mother's voice at the back of his mind, guiding him.

They decided to go either to the main cabins, or the lake...even into the trees.

All but one.

Jason already planned to cut down the couple later as they lose themselves in the forest, doing nasty, dirty things to his camp. The killer shifted his attention to you, curious as to why you didn't join the lot. Instead, you walked back down the road. He followed and saw you approach the small cabin, separated from the rest, your eyes widened...

Adoration?

You were quiet— except for the little gasps of awe you let out in between pants—as you looked around and over the place. The ones you came with were rowdy and destructive, a complete opposite. He hid as he observed you from afar, moving around to adjust his vision on you. You smiled every time you looked to the trees, he noticed.

Why were you smiling like that? Why did you pick this cabin? Were you planning on defiling it?

The last question in his mind made his blood boil. He'll kill you first if that was the case. That cabin you chose was special, it was where he and his mother used to stay. He occasionally visits that one to keep it clean and free of dust. If you even think of—

Jason, sweetie...look closer. She does not have such intentions.

His mother's words rang in his head. Even from where he stood, he could see what you did inside. You looked a little hesitant, touching and drawing back your hand before letting your fingers feel the wood as if it was something delicate. Despite the initial...shyness? You proceeded to make it your home, somewhat, dropping the large duffel bags you carried on your front and back, and a similarly large roller case on your left. It was as if you planned to stay for a long time.

Jason hears you take a long breath and sigh as you went out the backdoor. You grinned wider when you saw the nature around you. You stepped forward, straight in his direction...

For a moment he thought you saw him, seeing your jaw drop. You moved closer, and he just froze there, until you crouched down.

Oh, his plants.

He watched you as you gently picked a fruit, your gaze...soft. You brought it to your mouth, some of the juice spilling on the side and you wiped it with your thumb.

Cute.

You went back inside and continued to unpack your things, carefully maneuvering around the cabin.

Maybe he'll spare you if you continue to be good. You didn't do anything dirty, yet. It's only a matter of time before the camp is shrouded in darkness and his hunt will begin.

Let's see what you'll do before that happens.

-

Jason tracked down the three that went into the forest. He knew the place like the back of his hand, and it was easier to pinpoint them as he heard moans.

What he saw was utmost disgusting, two girls pleasuring a male with their mouths in broad daylight.

Kill them, my boy! Such foul beings need to die! Kill them, kill!

He circled them, steps soundless. Jason gripped his machete and brought it down the guy's neck, embedding the weapon into the bark, the head rolled down, oozing with blood, and fell against the women, drenching them in red. Not a single cry left from their mouths as he sliced both with one swing, blood pouring out of their throats and staining the ground. Jason dragged their bodies and tossed them into a pit he dug beforehand, making quick work in burying them.

A swift end. Now he waits.

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 41

THE ROAD SO FAR

One step closer to the end.

FIVE Seconds

John 'Soap' MacTavish

Task Force 141 Base - Infirmary

We overcame Ultranationalists, chopper crashes, danger close with gunships but a goddamn dog is what'll get me into an infirmary? Rabies, ridiculous. What a waste of time. 

John wrote down his anger in his black journal. It housed all his thoughts ever since being recruited at the Task Force regarding mission briefings, regrets and training schedules. It was his outlet on all the things going on around the world.

He noticed that Captain Price also slept by the other bed, his eyes looked tired from staying up late, he never gave up on Volt that he tired himself out.

He winced at the pain of the bruise the rotten dog gave him. He was never really a fan of them as most dogs tend to chase him wherever he went. Yesterday was another proof. Luckily, France seemed to catch up on his body language, how he didn't want anyone to know that a dog was the reason he's in the infirmary. The way she knew it without telling her was starting to convince the Scotsman that he got himself a keeper. Someone who understands.

Speaking of which, the same gorgeous blonde girl entered the infirmary, greeting Soap with a very genuine smile of relief. 

"Hi." She smiled quietly as Price was still asleep. 

"Aye. Hello there." He greeted, his voice was low and rough as he attempted to catch the lady off guard. She may look tough wearing her 141 training uniform, but Soap knows how to make her lose her composure. 

"How's the wound?" She asked, her face was already turning red as she approached him. She looked so cute right now, Soap won't mind kissing her amidst the Captain being there along with some CCTVs.

"Getting better. Hopefully enough to join the fight. How about you?" he replied, smiling at the female soldier. The general mood of the room quickly shifted and the two of them were pretty aware about it.

"I'm fine. I'm just here to thank you for saving me back then. But you didn't have to… I deserved that bite for not being careful." She muttered.

Soap sighed. 

"Eh, you know full well that I care for you, France. For once let me be the hero." He chuckled and France laughed.

"You already know that you are my hero, dummy." She winked as she started to leave.

"I gotta go. It's my turn to clean up the comms. Wish you'd help me though, Hero." she teased as she left the room, Soap was left staring at her beautiful figure exit the room.

"You sure got yourself a tough lass there, lad." Price grumbled as he woke up, commenting on the two.

"Aye. She's definitely a keeper. I just hope I don't mess up. Because I think she's the one." Soap finally admitted, to Price of all people. The captain just chuckled.

"Yeah. My word of advice. Go with what your heart and mind says." He said with full sincerity, as if he didn't want Soap to regret everything. There was flavor in his words that made Soap wonder if such advice came from experience. Though he did hear rumors that he and Laswell had some sort of history, and he got that from France.

"Aye, Captain… Will do." Soap nodded and Price got up.

"I'm giving Volt a final visit." He grumbled and went off, leaving Soap alone in his thoughts once again.

The next day, Soap was cleared from the infirmary and was immediately tasked on the mission. Last night, Nero started his assault on the capital and thousands of rangers were struggling to keep them off the country. With Volt finally given up, he relayed information regarding one of Nero's allies.

They were going to Havana, the home base of the mind manipulation and the command center of Nero's forces. How it managed to stay hidden, nobody knows but the team was eager to find out soon. Especially that another nuke is ready for launch.

Abandoned Building, Cuba, Havana

Soap could hear France hum the song Havana quietly as she crossed her arms just before the plane started. She was nervous and Soap knew that so he tried to hold her hand in secrecy, showing him a face that assured her that everything will be alright.

In this mission, time was of the essence so stealth wasn't an option. They were headed to the base guns blazing, all in hopes to disable the second nuke launch.

The helo flew dangerously low as metal clanged on it's base as soon as enemies fired at it. It was a risky move but the squad needed to drop by the rooftops to get a clear vantage point.

Soap immediately seeked for cover by the edge of the rooftop, eyeing the door that led to the lower floors where the command center should be.

"We'll hold them off! You go!" Alex yelled as Soap, Price, Roach and France breached the door, descending to the second floor of the building. 

The place was abandoned and very open, enemies' footsteps echoed across the halls, making the team aware of their positions.

"Soap, focus on getting to the control room. We'll take care of them. France, cover his six. Roach and I will make a grand distraction." Price said, popping a grenade on the main hall and Roach assisted him, drawing all the attention towards them.

"Alex, when you're done sweeping up the yard, I need your team down here asap." Price muttered over comms.

"Roger that." he replied.

"Looks like it's you and me against the clock now." Soap managed to chuckle at their situation. France just chuckled and cleared the location so Soap could advance. This was her forte. Stealth and close quarters.

"You're good to go, John." She said as she took the stairs down. Soap cautiously followed as he heard gunshots from France's location.

"Two tangos down." She declared, clearing the staircase to the basement.

"Multiple tangos in the basement. Looks like we're in the right place." France nodded and Soap followed, pulling the pin of a grenade and tossing it to the narrow hallway.

"GRANADA!!" One yelled and an explosion followed, signaling the couple to press on the narrow hallway while they're dazed.

They shot down the enemies until more emerged from behind, trapping the two of them.

"Shite! At this rate we'll never push forward. We're pinned!" Soap called for help.

"Someone's escaping! Reinforcements are arriving!" Alex warned as the team was now overwhelmed with hostiles. Time was running out.

"John! Watch my six and I'll clear a path for you." France said and left without letting him reply. This worried Soap but he had to trust her and so he covered her six. Shooting at enemies dumb enough to dive on to the narrow hallway. He did his best to retaliate by firing back and tossing any grenades back to its source.

It felt like the longest two minutes of his life. France fought her way to the command center and him, defending the entrance while his ammo slowly ran out. Then after what seemed like forever, he heard her go signal.

Soap ran as fast as he could, and just before he lost sight of the entrance, he saw Price immediately follow him. They did it. They cleared the entrance.

He fished out his journal for the cryllic translator, decoding every letter just so he could stop the launch. They only had five seconds left. 

Soap furiously typed the code Volt gave them and pressed enter as soon as it's done. The launch didn't stop. Soap figured that they were too late, but Price's face never looked worried.

"Captain. The launch didn't stop! What are we going to do?" France said, worried.

"It's all according to plan." He muttered as he signaled his head to head back to the rooftop.

"Let's burn this place down." He added and they all ran back to the rooftops for exfil.

"Dropping the skyhook now! Latch yourselves in!" Eagle Two Four yelled as the thick rope dropped from the sky, Soap quickly latched himself in and looked behind him. France was a few meters away from the final hook as a stray bullet grazed her thigh.

"France! Hang on!" Soap quickly detached himself almost automatically, without thinking. The rest of the team were already being hoisted up when they noticed the two members still on the rooftops.

Soap's body felt the rush as he quickly carried her up and held her tight, running toward the last hook and quickly attaching himself in, all while holding her tight in his arms.

"Why didn't you call out to me? You know I'm going to save you whatever it takes." he whispered as he felt France already in tears. If it wasn't for him always checking out on her, she would've been left alone in that abandoned building.

"Is she going to be fine?" The worried Scotsman asked the nurse. His voice was almost loud enough to disturb everyone else.

"She got hit twice. One on the chest and one on the thigh. They're both minor but she just passed out from the panic and exhaustion. We found this on her chest. The thing practically saved her life." The nurse handed over his journal. Soap's eyes widened at the hole that pierced through the whole book. He must've left it when he typed the abort codes and she must've grabbed it from there.

"The bullet barely pierced through her armor thanks to that book." She said as Soap looked up and silently thanked that she was safe. He quickly flipped through the pages until he found the page where he drew her. The bullet hole on the page was where her heart was. It was funny because it was the other way around. That woman was the one that fired a bullet straight to his heart. And he wasn't a big fan of metaphors at this rate.

"So is she okay?" Roach quickly ran to Soap's side, a worried look on his face. Alex and Price were behind him.

"The journal saved her." He said, raising the pierced black book as proof.

"She's lucky enough you got her on time. I couldn't think of any other way she could be saved from there." Price commented as she looked at her through the glass.

"She's a tough lad. But sometimes she needs to understand that she isn't alone." Price added and Alex nodded. 

"She'll wake up soon." Alex tapped Soap's shoulder and he nodded, as they left the infirmary for another briefing.

On the way to the briefing room, they caught up with Ghost and Alexandra bringing an unknown man to the interrogation area, which prompted the team to follow.

Inside the interrogation room's observation area, the team sat while Price and Jack talked to the man.

"Nice to see ya, Jack. Thought Nero got rid of you." He smugly said with a wide annoying grin on his mouth.

"Who is this prick, anyway?!" Roach hissed.

"That's Gabriel Lannister. CIA's Research and Development Head." Alex said nonchalantly, Soap could see the disbelief in his eyes. There was more than just one mole in his previous department.

"He was the one in charge with the mass manipulation of the missing persons cases." Ryder added.

"While you lot launched the nuke, he went off running with four convoys of protection. Luckily we were able to intercept them by the bridge." Ghost informed.

"What about the nuke?" Soap asked, completely forgetting about it. It was his responsibility, as he typed the whole command on it.

"Blasted at Nero's fleet not too far from the White House. If you were five seconds later, the war would've ended differently." Ryder supplied the information.

"And the capital?" Roach asked.

"Mostly damaged, but it will recover. Turns out Nero did really burn the place down." Ghost answered. 

"What about Nero?" Alex asked, eyes not leaving the whole interrogation.

"No one knows where he is. We were hoping this guy would give information about him." Ryder pointed to Gabriel, who was having a fun time at the interrogation.

The tension inside the room was different. Each person had their own little realizations and this pushed them to end the war as soon as possible.

Soap immediately exited the area and went back to the infirmary.

"Hey." He was greeted by France, who was already up.

"How are you holding up?" He asked, his tone more concerned than ever.

"Well, It doesn't hurt right now but… I'm… I almost died out there, John… What if I died?" Her voice croaked and tears started falling from her eyes. John quickly approached her and hugged her gently close to his chest.

"Don't say that… What's important is you're alive… I got you and you're safe…" He whispered.

"Thank you." She croaked. John just rubbed her back assuring her everything will be alright.

"No. Thank you. You changed me, France. You made me realize a lot of things. I know that this isn't the most perfect place right now, but… Will you be my girlfriend? Because I can't help thinking about how every single day of my life since I met you, I can't stop thinking about you. Your smile, your face, the things you say, the way you hide what you really feel. I want all of those and after that last mission, I realized that I shouldn't have left you waiting. There was no better time than as soon as possible." He said, offering his notebook as replacement for flowers.

France nodded with tears in her eyes, accepting the journal with confusion.

"Turn it on the last page." Soap said as she did it, showing a sketch of her and him together happily smiling. She wore the clothes she wore when they were out together in that coffee shop.

"This is beautiful." She said, tracing a finger on the paper.

"I love you, John MacTavish." She said as she leaned in for a kiss, not letting him reply.

Next Chapter : FOUR Weeks of Silence

Notification Squad my Beloved

@smokeywhalee @enderio @samatedeansbroccoli @ricinbach @whimsywispsblog @bumblingbee1

[throwaninkpot]

[ID: Anon ask reading, "Sorry,but could you explain to me the significance of the scene where gen shouts I can do anything I want? Because I'm not really sure how to interpret it :( thank you so much!" END ID]

This has been in my inbox for so long, I don't even remember the original context for the question. Whoops. If you're still hanging this blog, Anon, I'm sorry, but better late than never!

So. There's two things that stick out to me about Gen's iconic "I can do anything I want".

First, its a mile marker on his journey from the young thief we met inside the King's prison in Sounis. "I can steal anything," Gen declares with easy confidence in The Thief, twice in the first chapter. He is a thief, aiming to prove himself as the Thief. So when he boasts, this skill is what he focuses on.

Flash forward one Epic Quest and one divine betrayal later.

"I can steal anything," Gen pleads frantic in The Queen of Attolia, strapped to a chair beside a fire pit with gleaming instruments in the bowels of Attolia's prison. He is the Thief, and he would offer Attolia so much more than that his skill, but it's the only thing at this moment she would even consider accepting and so his skill is what he offers.

Flash forward again, one chop-chop, one Long PTSD Episode, one devasting war (two? three? at least one war with three layers), one ~and she believed him~, and one coronation.

In The King of Attolia, back in Attolia's prison again, Eugenides shouts (all caps), "I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT!"

And this is where he's at. Three books have taken Gen from "I can steal anything" to "I can do anything". From a thief looking to secure his country and prove himself, to a king handed (heh) a nearly secure country and with however much power he wishes to wield. It's not a confident statement of capability, but a threat of what he can order. The focus has shifted away from "steal"; Gen fears he's no longer a Thief now that he's king, and maybe he's right.

And the second part of this scene that is so important, is linked to this newly attained power. Remember that this scene takes place in the middle of the prison below the palace of Attolia while Eugenides is visiting Relius, who is being held for treason. Right before his shouting match with Teleus, Gen is escorted to Relius's cell by the prison keeper.

The chief of the prison guards, in their guardroom, bowed to the king, looked at the hook at the end of the king's arm, and hid his smile.

There's no telling if this is the same man who ran the prison while Eugenides was held here, but it's a pretty fair assumption. Especially given Eugenides's reaction towards him.

"I desire" --the king interrupted in a level voice--"never again to see your living face."

This whole scene of Eugenides visiting the prison is full of nods to his time here as a prisoner.

Eugenides sat in the chair that had been brought and leaned back carefully. "So, Relius," he said finally, "are you ready to discuss the resources of your queen?"

It was a curious question, like an echo without a source. As if Relius had once asked the king the same question and the king was casting it back at him.

And then later, when Teleus interrupts them and challenges the king's authority (as Gen the Thief challenged Attolia's authority, sneaking through her palace and rooms) Gen snaps.

[T]he king shouted back, equally impassioned and incomprehensible, their words ricocheting against the walls and clashing into meaningless noise that made Costis long to cover his ears. If Teleus swelled with rage, the king burned with it. No matter that Teleus was nearly a head taller than the king, if Teleus meant to overwhelm him with his physical presence, he failed. Like a feral cat against a barnyard dog, the king stood his ground , and the two shouted until Teleus caught sight of the Secretary of the Archives. Relius had turned his head away, trying hopelessly to shut out the sound. Abruptly Teleus fell silent, letting the king's final words ring uncontested.

"I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT!"

The prison keeper chose an inopportune moment to look around the doorway into the cell. He and the king locked gazes, and the king's eyes narrowed while the prison keeper's widened. Then the angry flush in the king's cheeks faded away. [...] He reached for the chair, and his hook banged awkwardly over the top of it.

(emphasis mine)

The most important figure here isn't Teleus, isn't Relius, isn't even Eugenides. It's the prison keeper. A smug man who played a roll in Eugenides's darkest moment. We don't know what Eugenides is thinking when he and the prison keeper stare at each other, but surely it's nothing kind. In the heat of his fury, he could be thinking of lashing out at the man, punishing him, doing something cruel to him. Maybe send him to the room with the fire pit and the gleaming instruments, and let him suffer as Gen did.

And at that thought, Gen blanches. Later in the book, Gen confides to Costis that he doesn't want to kill anyone; he's so terrified of abusing the power of a king that he's afraid to even use it (and that's the point of KoA, Gen learning to allow himself to be king). In this moment, angry and still hurting and wanting to prove that he can do anything, maybe Gen sees what went through Attolia's head when she ordered his amputation.

And it terrifies him. And he rejects it for himself.

"I don't care whose orders you think you are following, Captain, but you will see that Relius is moved to the palace infirmary and some physician, other than the butcher down here, treats him.["]

[...]

[The King] said, speaking very gently so that a man exhausted and in pain could understand, "You are pardoned, Relius, because I want you to be. Not because I want your loyalty."

Eugenides can do anything he wants, and what he wants is to pardon Relius and give him better medical care and a comfortable bed out of prison.

[eruri-things]

Wow okay I wrote a fic-

That’s a first in a while...

MARIA PRE-SCHOOL FIRST DAY

Erwin held tightly to his dad's hand as he walked through the door on his first day of preschool, the warmth of the room hitting his face and complete difference from the chilly weather outside, it being mid september it was expected though.

Erwin wore a simple blue coat and black jeans underneath a long sleeved grey Captain America t-shirt, he also had on little grey running shoes, his small green backpack hung over his shoulders, his fluffy blonde hair parted to the left.

“Papa what if no one likes me…” the small blonde mumbled as his father crouched and squished Erwins cheeks. The boy still had almost all his baby fat and was so squishy.

“Everyone will love you, Erwin.” his dad kissed his cheek once before standing up and walking to the door giving him a little wave. Erwin took a deep breath and waved back before he turned, his father stayed put watching as Erwin walked a little farther into the room and looked around observing everyone in the room it seemed. Erwin knew his father would only be a few doors down in the older kids classroom but it was still nerve wracking to be in a new place without anyone he knew and nerve wracking for his father to send him off by himself. But he knew Erwin could handle it.

As Erwin glanced around the room noticing how a few kids had started playing, a man with short blonde hair walked up to him.

“Hey there, you must be Erwin right? I'm Armin, can I help you place your backpack and your coat in your cubby?” The man wore a genuine smile on his face and Erwin decided then that he could trust this man.

“Sure.” Erwin smiled as he started to pull his bag off by himself handing it to Armin. The large blonde took it in one arm while his other hand started to unbutton Erwins coat pulling it off him he placed it over his bag his other hand reaching to hold Erwins hand, the smaller boy took it and they walked over the wall where there were a bunch of square cubbies each one had everyone in the classes names on them. Armin pointed at one on the second layer.

“Erwin Smith here it is...see you are on top of Levi Ackerman..” he pointed down to another cubby tag that was underneath his, there was a little blue and white bag in there, Armin placed his bag in the cubby and then pointed to a wall that was covered with hooks all had little name tags under each hook.

“And here's your hook.” Armin hung his coat up and Erwin just stood there nodding his head. Armin crouched down so they were the same height once again.

“Would you like me to introduce you to some other kids?” Erwin shook his head at the offer.

“I think I got it, thank you.” Erwin turned glazing once more at the name tag underneath his, it was now his life's goal to find his cubby neighbor.

Erwin headed towards a dirty blonde haired boy, his hair was covering his eyes and most of his face so it was hard for Erwin to see what it looked like. The boy was sitting down at one of the small tables coloring next to a girl with short blonde hair. She picked up her white paper that had two stick figures holding hands and both heads had a yellow scribble on them.

“Look Mike I drew us!” She smiled happily, her eyes shining with joy. Erwin walked up to the table and leaned on it.

“Excuse me have you two seen a boy named Levi?” The blonde girl looked at Erwin and shook her head

“No sorry…” she mumbled and glanced to her friend

“Have you Mike?” She asked. Mike nodded his head before he turned and pointed towards a boy sitting in the corner of the classroom, arms wrapped around his legs and a scowl on his face. He had bandages over both his knees. Erwin’s blue eyes widened.

“That one huh…okay...thank you…” Erwin smiled and started to walk over to the corner where the kid sat. He got a little nervous as he was walking over towards him. What if that was the naughty corner? He didn’t want to make a bad impression and sit in the naughty corner by accident. He glanced around not seeing another teacher and Armin was busy helping a kid with chin length brown hair and glasses pull off their coat. He moved fast and soon stood in front of the boy. He was even smaller then Erwin.

“Umm hi…are you Levi?” Erwin was able to mumble out. The raven haired boy looked up at him a little confused before he nodded hearing his name.

“I’m Erwin.” He smiled pushing his hand out in front of him to shake the boy's hand. He had seen his father do this when he was meeting someone for the first time. The boy glanced at his hand before shaking his head, not taking it. He finally spoke up.

“I watched you touch the table. Who knows how long it’s been since those adults washed it. It could have the plague on it!” Erwin’s scrunched his eyebrows together.

“Well then wouldn’t I be sick if it had the..p-plague on it?” Erwin asked, keeping his hand out. Levi sat there for a moment before he finally grabbed Erwin’s hand.

“You...have a good point.” The boy pulled on Erwin’s hand making him sit down in front of him. Erwin made a little ‘oof’ sound as his bottom hit the squishy foam padded floor.

“Why are you in the corner?” Erwin asked and he reached out to touch Levi’s bandages on his knees.

“And what did you do to get these…” he looked into the others silver eyes. They were awfully pretty. Levi shrugged.

“None of the people here were worth my time...other than you...your nice...oh…” the little boy looked at his knees and a pout on his face as he touched them gently.

“I fell…” Erwin pouted not happy to hear that his new friend had gotten hurt. He leaned forward and pressed kisses to each of the bandages.

“My kisses will make it better.” He smiled before hearing someone clear their throat. It was an adult he hadn’t seen yet. It was a girl with short black hair.

“Hey there boys we are starting to clean up to get ready for storytime can you two help pick something up?” Erwin started to stand grabbing Levi’s hand

“Yes ma’am.” Erwin smiled as he pulled Levi close to him. Levi was obviously going to say something snarky to her but Erwin responded too fast.

“You don’t gotta help, I'll pick up twice as many things so it’ll look like you helped.” He started to grab some blocks that a boy with black pointy hair was trying to pick up alone. Erwin kept his hand tightly on Levi’s hand. He grabbed a block and put it in the bucket. Levi made a little noise before he grabbed a block and placed it in next to Erwin’s.

“I’m going to help silly…” Levi whispered. After clean up time was over all the kids were brought over to a rug that had their names taped on. Erwin kept his hand on Levi’s and pointed as he showed Levi that their spots were next to each other. They sat down and n the rug and looked up as Armin sat down in a chair in the front. He had a book in his lap.

“Alright everyone today we are gonna be reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar…” The story went by quickly and by the end of it Erwin tummy was rumbling, and thankfully it was snack time. Erwin hadn’t let go of Levi’s hand all day and it didn’t seem that Levi didn’t really mind going around with the blonde everywhere. Today's snack was graham crackers and string cheese. Erwin and Levi sat at one of the tables.

“Do you like superheroes Levi?” Erwin asked as he bit into his graham cracker. Levi nodded his head and pointed at Erwins chest where Captain America stood proudly and then his hand moved to Erwin's face.

“I like these two..” Levi had a small smile on his face. Erwin was confused he wasn't a superhero.

“Silly! I'm not a superhero!” Levi shook his head, not agreeing with Erwin, to him Erwin was the best superhero out there. He was the only kid that had walked over to talk to him after all. Snack time finished up and it was once again free play time until a parent came and picked them up, pre-school was only half day after all. Because Erwin’s dad worked at the school he couldn't come and pick him up which meant he had to wait for his mom to get him. Levi led Erwin to the craft table after snack. A kid with brown short hair was making two little dolls, they were a little creepy to Erwin both made from tan paper and they didn’t even have clothes on. The blonde boy hoped they would get dressed soon. Levi looked at the kid and his eyes widened.

“Hey how did you make those?” he asked. The kid looked up at Levi

“You mean Sonny and Bean?” The kid asked as they pushed up their black glasses. She picked up the little paper doll, its body parts taped on and dangling everywhere.

“Well I just folded up this paper into a tube and then added body parts--” Erwin cut the kid off and just blurted out what he was thinking.

“--wHy ArE tHeY nAkEd?” the kid with brown hair started to laugh. Erwin didn't understand what was so funny he was just asking a question.

“You're funny! I like you! They are from a tv show! They don't wear stuffs...in it either...I’m Hanji by the way..” Erwins mouth made a little ‘o’ shape and he smiled as they introduced themselves.

“Oh..i see...My name is Erwin and this is Levi.” Erwin pointed to Levi who was starting to fold somewhite paper into a tube, he was struggling to tape it and hold it down at the same time. Erwin reached out and pulled some tape off the stick and smiled as Levi held it catching onto what Erwin was trying to do. Erwin placed the tape as soon as Levi held the paper down. The smile on Levi's face grew once he had the white tube. He colored on a little tan jacket and tried to give the tobe a little green bolo tie but it looked more like a necklace. He then started to tape little white legs onto the tube. He added tan arms and then looked at Erwin.

“Help me squishy this ball of paper…” Levi mumbled handing it to Erwin. Erwin squished the ball in his hands.

“What are you doing Levi?” Erwin asked Hanji looking at the start of Levi's little doll. Once Levi had the peach paper squished he added some yellow scribbles to his head and stuck it onto the body. He looked at Erwin once more noticing he had eyes. Levi grabbed a blue pen and gave the newly formed doll bright blue eyes.

“All superheroes have toys that look like them..” Levi mumbled and handed it to Erwin. Erwin looked down at the paper in his hands realizing it was him. Erwin smiled and wrapped his arms around Levi giving him a hug.

“Thank you Levi!” Erwin spoke as Levi stood there a little awkward not sure where to put his hands.

“Erwin, did you make a friend?” Erwin pulled away from the hug, the doll still in hand, his eyes went wider as he recognized the woman instantly.

“MOMMY!” The blonde boy wrapped his arms around his mom. And he glanced back at Levi.

“Levi this is my mommy! she's here to get me.” a pout then formed on his face as he realized that would mean he would have to leave Levi here all alone. He looked at the doll and walked towards Levi handing him the doll.

“I have to go for now...but doll me will protect you I promise. And i'll be here again tomorrow.” Levi took the doll and wrapped his arms around it hugging it as his eyes teared up a little.

“Okay Erwin..” he whispered out and Erwin gave him a hug again before he turned and waved at Levi. He grabbed his mom's hand and she already had his coat and bag. She leaned down and wrapped Erwin in his coat. Erwin waved then at Armin who was waiting by the door.

“Bye bye..” He walked out of the class to his moms car, as soon as he was buckled in his mom glanced back at him.

“You have a good day?” His mother asked. Erwin just nodded his head before the little boy talked about EVERYTHING that had happened that day and it was mostly all focused on Levi.

[aestheticallyinlovewithcaitlyn]

(YAY LOOK LOOK I CAN SEND YOU ASKS LOOK I'M SO HAPPY) Ehem For the fandom ask: B, C, J, N, O, Z:)

Thank you for the ask!B: kasinara. I didn’t pay much attention to the kree at first, but @sinarasmith got me shipping themC: skyeward. I watched season 1 after finding out about Ward being hydra, so I didn’t even ship them during the time when they were being set up to be canonJ: Ok, I’ve got 2 for this one. The first is supergirl. I’d seen the first episode, since I’d wanted to check it out, but I never continued it until I saw a ton of stuff about supergirl on my dash. The second is Wynonna Earp. I’d never heard of the show until a bunch of Wayhaught (canon lesbian couple) gifs kept ending up on my dash, and now I’m hooked.N: answered here - https://shadowhunteragentofshield.tumblr.com/post/178737302457O: Ok, so I hit shuffle on my Spotify, and the song that came on was take me to church by hozier. Thanks to @pizza-is-my-buziness, that song always makes me think of skimmons.Z: Ok, you wanted me to ramble, so here it goes. Earlier today I was reading the magnus chase books (branch off of percy jackson), which I haven’t read since before I started watching marvel. For those who don’t know, magnus chase is the son of the Norse god, Frey, and all of Norse mythology is real, basically. So anyways, there are so freaking many marvel references. For example: Loki was eating pop tarts. That’s right, mcu Thor’s favorite food. (Oh, when I say marvel I mean mcu btw). Magnus also mentioned Captain America, and they joke around about bread and potatoes being named Phil and Steve. Phil Coulson and Steve Rogers? I have accepted it as a marvel reference. Also, Magnus said “I don’t feel so good” to Loki, and that made me think about infinity war, which is not a good thing. I also find it interesting how different some of the stuff is in Magnus Chase as opposed to marvel (also, I just noticed that marvel cinematic universe and magnus chase universe have the same initials - mcu). Instead of being all handsome and Chris Hemsworth, Thor is more of a traditional viking. Loud, bushy red beard, etc. Frey looks more like Chris Hemsworth, actually. Sif is very very different. Instead of the warrior she is in Marvel, she is a literal trophy wife (her hair is made of gold, and she uses it to make trophies). There are some good changes though. Loki is gender fluid, for example. Take a hint, marvel! Another interesting thing I found is that the magnus chase books are about stopping Ragnorak. Hm, marvel did something about Ragnorak recently. Magnus chase came out in 2015, with Thor: Ragnorak coming out in 2017. Interesting. I was actually looking forward to Thor ragnorak even though I hadn’t seen any marvel before because of the magnus chase books. The first marvel movie I watched was Thor, and then thor: the dark world, then ragnorak, and then I just kind of went on a marvel spree. I was excited to see how they would portray the valkyries, as one of the characters I really like in Magnus Chase is a valkyrie. I found it odd that Valkyrie in ragnorak didn’t have a name. How did they differentiate between them before they all died? Also, as messed up as the godly family trees are in Magnus Chase, at least they stick to the original myths. Marvel, not so much. Loki isn’t a frost giant. Loki is odin’s brother, not Thor’s. Hela is Loki’s daughter. Fenris wolf (hela’s pet wolf in ragnorak) is also Loki’s child. Yes, this is really weird, but look at any form of mythology, there’s gonna be weird stuff. Take the Greek gods for example, they marry and have children with their siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews all the time. Ok, I think I’ve rambled for way too long, so I’m gonna stop now.Thanks again for the ask!