#Chess Rush guides

[nightsmarish]

Summary: after talking to Regulus, you both decide to take the offer to stay with the Potters, and barty gets thrown across the slytherin table by Evan

Pt1

A/n: very focused on Reg for some reason, not 100% sure why, but it's lovely, also we love bestie barty. ALSO ALSO, reader is aggressively, very aggressively, hinted to be slytherin

Poly!moonwater x reader (Remus lupin x regulus black x reader) | 1.4k words

Tw: toxic family, running away? Family disappointment, ect. Barty jinxing Gryffindors for sport and an owl flying into a chess game

Asked to be tagged: @misacc08

★⋆｡°⋆𖦹✮₊★⋆｡°⋆𖦹✮₊★⋆｡°⋆𖦹✮₊

It's finally two weeks until the end of this year at Hogwarts. Class times have been filled with going over study guides and reviewing for the final exams only a few days away. 

Neither you nor Regulus have said yes to staying at Potter Manor this summer. Despite James being very adamant about it.

“I’ll just mention you blokes might be joining us.” James told you when you visited Gryffindor table one morning, as he wrote his parents. 

“James-” 

“No, no, let ‘im. No harm in it? Is there?” Sirius cuts you off, feet extended to rest on the bench across the table from him. 

“But Mrs. Potter shouldn’t prepare an extra room if neither of us will be joining.” Your points are acknowledged when James hums to confirm he heard you, but his quill never stops moving.

Remus has been looking at you the whole time. Not in a creepy way, you're both pretty sure not in a creepy way at least. Just in an undivided attention way. Practically ignoring the other two boys to admire you, other than when he occasionally slaps away Sirius’ hand on his fifth attempt to grab Remus’ food. 

You look down to where Remus sits as well. Honestly, he's not that much shorter than you sitting down, but wherever. Your hand that's not holding the strap of your bag gently scratched the hair at the base of his head before kissing his cheek, mumbling a small promise to see him during your study time later. 

ᯓ★

It's not like you don’t want to go to stay with everyone else. It’d be amazing; it really would. But the idea of going when Regulus stays at the Black House feels wrong. You know being with your parents won’t help him, nor will being at James’ house, but it feels wrong. 

Remembering how destroyed he was when Sirius left. When he came back to school, you two hadn’t known the Marauders like you do now. The anger he knew was misplaced, but he couldn’t help but feel abandoned by Sirius. You remember it—the crying, the way he couldn’t focus until a month into school. And you remember Sirius being disowned.

And maybe that's part of it too. The idea of being disowned. Even if you know they are horrible people, people you don’t wish to be related to. The idea still makes you sick. Their horrible and evil, but dear Salazar, parent approval is so addicting and you hate how much you still want it. 

So which is worse, feeling like you betrayed one of your boyfriends, or your parents disapproval? 

“Regulus?” You keep your voice low in the library. The aforementioned boy looks up from his textbook sitting across from you. Remus, next to you, pauses, moving his quill to focus on you two as well.

“Yes?” His voice matches yours, despite being a little more stiff. 

“I wanna talk about it again. About James’ house.” You rush the words out. Probably because you know Regulus will want to shoot it down immediately.

“Love, you know I’m not going.” He sighs, sitting up straight in his seat. 

“Why? Why not go?” 

"Dove-" Remus tries to interject, not sure how well direct confrontation will go after Regulus has already denied it far too many times.

“What would I do?”

Both you and Remus pause, looking right at Regulus. Who stares right back at you.

“What do you mean?’ Remus says what you think.

“I leave, I get disowned, I lose the family fortune.” There are unspoken words there; everyone knows. He loses the Black name, he loses the reputation, and he loses everything he ever knew. Sirius had always wanted to leave; he had dreamed about it long before the possibility ever even crossed Regulus’ mind. The older Black had an idea of what would happen long before he left. Regulus hasn't gotten that right. 

“We can figure it out when we get there, love.” Remus rests his quill in the small ink pot, reaching both his hands to cup Regulus’ hands between his own. 

All three of you stay silent for a second, Regulus looking down at Remus’ hand covering his own, you staring at Regulus, and Remus looking between the two of you, trying to figure out what to do. 

"If..." you sigh, shifting in your seat, “if... you go... I’ll go, and we can figure it out together.” 

Gray eyes shoot up to yours. “Are you serious?” His voice is unsure, like you're going to take your offer back for no apparent reason. 

“Yeah. I’m scared too, but I don't think I can bring myself to go back, not this time. But at the same time, I won’t be okay with going if you don’t go.”

Remus takes a deep breath, one hand still holding the younger boy's hand, other moving so his arm wraps around your shoulder, gently rubbing your upper arm. “So, it's settled. I can tell James.” 

“Thank you,” You whisper, and Regulus takes one of his hands from the lycan to intertwine your fingers. 

ᯓ★

The letter felt wrong to write. Less than a week before you're off to Potter Manor is when you get a response.

You're sitting at the Slytherin table in the morning when the letter holding their response arrives. Your owl landing smoothly, unlike the poor Hufflepuff owl you see sly head first into a game of Wizard Chess.

The seal of the letter belongs to your family, and it's painfully obvious. Regulus had gotten his response within a few days. Hurtful and harsh, despite never reading it yourself.

Looking around, Regulus is watching Barty, who is sitting on the long table rather than at it, cast small, mostly-hopefully harmless jinxs on a few older Gryffindors who haven't seemed to notice who's doing it. While Evan is whispering more and more jinxs for Barty to use.

Deciding that you might as well get it over with, you break the wax seal. The letter was nothing but vile, as you expected, the threats, the anger, the disappointment. Yet, you are honestly relieved. Like a huge, bolder is off your back. Sisyphus would envy you.

"And what do you have? A secret admirer? Are you planning on finally leaving the wild beasts you call boyfriends?"

Barty turns his attention to you as you finish reading, snatching the letter to inspect it.

"Ew, is that from your parents?" Evans nose scrunches up, noticing the names signed at the bottom of the parchment when he leans over Bartys shoulder.

"Yeah, I wrote them last week that I'd be staying with the Potters this summer, and they finally got back to me." Your voice remains surprisingly even, despite feeling somewhere between calm and like you're going to vomit, cry, and punch a wall.

Evan and Barty continue to scrutinize the letter, the phrasing, and how your mother writes the letter S weird. While Regulus leans closer to you.

"Everything okay?" His quite, a stark contrast two the boys sitting acorsd from you as Barty pushes his boyfriend off the seat for something or another and Evan kicks a little too close to Bartys dick.

"Yeah, it'll be okay." You hum, scooting closer to the pale boy, "would you and Remus want to come stay at my dorm tonight? At least for a little? Serenella and Iris are both going to be out all night."

"Of course, love. I'll grab Remus after charms and we can meet you there before dinner?" A soft kiss is placed on the top of your head when he finishes his sentence.

"That sounds good."

The peace of the situation is cut off by Barty falling off the table towards you, taking you down to the floor with him.

"God damnit Barty!" A smile far to big for the situation paints your face face.

"Evan threw me, gem! He tried to kill me! I'm wounded." Barty sits half on hus knees, half laid out on the gross Hogwarts in such a pathetic manor Regulus chuckles under his breath.

"And I'll do it again idiot!" Evan sits back on his spot at the long table. Huffing while smoothing out his hair and uniform.

"Oh God, gem, I won't make it." Barty throws himself onto you, your back to the ground as you laugh. "If I die will you leave your loser boyfriends to join me and Evan?"

"Okay, junior, that's enough." Remus appears in your vision, slightly nudging Bartys side, like touching him too long will make whatever is sodding wrong with the boy rub off on him.

"Hello, big boy." Barty stands up and takes you with him, dusting off his and your clothes. "You know, both of you could leave Regulus and-"

"Okay Barty!" Regulus pushes Barty to sit back down, shutting him up as he begins to bicker with Regulus next.

[mizgnomer]

Behind the Scenes of The Giggle - Part Six Excerpt from Benjamin Cook's DWM #597 Interview with Catherine Tate (with guest appearance by David Tennant)

"Do you know, we went to an escape room with Neil? He loves them. It was his birthday while we were here…” [ Neil Patrick Harris ] celebrated his 49th while filming Doctor Who in Bristol last month. By day, he donned the Toymaker’s tux and shimmied gleefully on the streets. By night, he took David and Catherine out to dinner, then on to Worlds Collide, Bristol’s best – and only – Doctor Who-themed escape room. Players are given 60 minutes to work out how to close a tear in the fabric of spacetime, before the Cybermen break through (the Toymaker has fought the Cybermen!!). “He’d booked it out,” says Catherine. “He’d shut down the whole place [for the night] and they let us in.” “Proper Hollywood,” says David. “Innit, though! That’s old money, that is,” she laughs. “And Jodie [Whittaker’s Doctor] turns up,” says David. “She was on a PA. As if –” “– as if she’s calling you. And there was a scarf. And a sonic screwdriver.” “And a Cyberman.” “A Cyberman head, yeah.” Aren’t Catherine and David… you know, overqualified for a Doctor Who escape room? “I was quite hopeful,” he says. “I thought, these are puzzles I’m going to be able to solve. But then–” “There were chess pieces,” says Catherine, in much the same tone of voice in which Donna once informed the Doctor that Santa’s a robot. “I mean, oh my God! Sorry, but how the hell –?” Neil was brilliant at it, though. “He was annoyingly good.” The Toymaker and his games are quite notorious. “Yes, because then he went, ‘Let’s do another one! We’re gonna do the World War Two room.’ That’s when I came to life.” “It’s true,” says David. “I loved that one. It was great. We were spies and we’d infiltrated a Nazi bunker.” “It involved a bit more role play, didn’t it? Very Toymaker. And zome outrageous ack-sents!” “But after the Doctor Who one,” says Catherine, “it was clear that Neil and David were better at it. There was a clear division between the coulds and the could-nots. So Neil and David went into one room, and me, [executive producer] Phil Collinson, and Charlie [De Melo], who plays… is it Charles Banerjee? [glimpsed in last year’s Christmas Day trailer, rushing through the rain towards Mr Emporium’s toyshop] – went in another room. I’d said to Phil and Charlie, ‘Let’s cut the deadwood and go into a room on our own.’ You do it against each other, and see who gets out first. “So me, Charlie and Phil had a right old laugh,” recalls Catherine, cracking up, “while David and Neil went off and… got out much quicker. Midway through ours, they’d already finished and were watching us scrabble around trying to get out of our German bunker.” She chuckles at the memory. “Then suddenly through the PA comes: ‘DONNAAA!!!’” David says nothing, but he looks very pleased with himself.

Also, from Charlie De Melo's Instagram:

I'm struggling to think of a stranger evening than one, last June, doing a @bbcdoctorwho themed escape room, with The Doctor, Donna and the Toymaker. David and Neil, it turns out, are *very* good at escape rooms. The rest of us, less so. They rushed around the room, picking up clues and turning switches and all manner of other things, whilst the rest of us looked on, utterly bemused (& a little tooty in my case). So on they powered. Leaving us scratching our heads in a room full of disembodied Cybermen ones. Before confusion could give way to frustration, the tannoy crackled. It was David. They'd somehow managed to finish the entire thing whilst we all had stood still where we'd been left. Although he'd lost his lilting, melodic, Scottish brogue. He was now The Doctor. And in the Doctor's voice he began barking orders at us, talking us through the puzzles and guiding us out of whatever wibbly wobbly mess we were in and back to the safety of Bristol. "Donna! Quick! You have to get them out of there, the Cybermen are coming!"

For other posts in this set, please see the #whoBtsGiggle tag. The full episode list is [ here ]

[sunnycanvas]

Hello there 💕

May I kindly request a story in which Baldwin IV teaches his son to play chess and the reader is admiring them? ( If possible )

Thank you so much💗 I really love the way you write the stories, they really bring out Baldwin’s behaviour

Queen (Y/N) has been tirelessly wandering around the castle searching for her son. She would have ask nearby gaurds same question. "Have you seen the prince?". The gaurds would shook their head making the queen more anxious. Finally she reached another part of castle where she asked the gaurd again who said "Your Grace, I saw the young prince entering the king's chamber. The queen in relief decided to rush to her husband. When she thought of knocking the door but decided otherwise when she heard the sound of giggles. Curious the queen slightly open's the door and witnesses heart warming scene. The young prince's hand is held by his father who is guiding him about chess piece. The young prince who holds chess piece of queen asks his father curious"What about the queen, papa?". "Why does she get so much power". "Aren't woman inferior?" The king smiled gently at his son and said "That's not true". "Take your mother for example". "She is the strongest woman I have ever known". "The queen here protects the king". "Just like your mother protects your father". The king foundly stared at the chess piece. He gently stroked the chess piece of the queen and then kissed it before putting it next to king piece."You really love mommy, isn't it daddy"? The king smiled and said"Yes, I love her" "I love her very much". The king proceeds to explain next chess pieces with their son listening carefully.

"Daddy, what happens if queen dies?" "Does the game end".

"No" replied the king. "The game must go on". "The game ends if king dies" Confused the prince asks "What will happen to mommy if you aren't here anymore?" "I heard my friends saying you won't live long". The king sighed sadly knowing this topic was bound to come.

"Will you promise me something, will you protect mommy for me if I am no longer here?"

The prince angrily replied "I don't want to be king if it means losing you". The king replied "I won't die for a very long time". "I don't want to leave your mother behind". "Now let's get back to next piece" Queen (Y/N) with tears in her eyes leaves the room wondering how she got so lucky

[gerec]

Do you have any canon movie fics to recommend? (could be canon divergence too)

the best ones of course

Hi Anon,

It's impossible to define 'best ones' when it comes to fic as everyone has their own set of preferences but I'm happy to share some of my personal favourites. :D And this list barely scratches the surface of all the incredible fic we've been blessed with in this fandom so def. do your own search on ao3 and filter for your preferred tropes! Also, feel free to check out some of my previous fic recs posts on my blog for more options! Happy reading!

XMFC

never too late to be who you might have been by acetamide Erik wakes suddenly and takes a deep breath, and realises that there is nothing.

Replay by SlightWeasel (series) After Magneto of an X2-ish future succeeds in the unthinkable, Charles sends his consciousness back to 1962 to guide Erik away from the path that will lead to the genocide of the human race forty years hence.Charles knows that Erik has always loved him, and intends to use this knowledge + sex to seduce Erik away from his ideals in his youth.There’s no way this well-thought-out, sensible, debugged and 100% bulletproof plan can possibly go wrong.

When We Two Parted by nekosmuse At the end of X3, a still depowered Erik travels back in time to meet 1962 Charles. Cue angst, desperate kissing and happy endings for all. Written for the x-men kink meme.

Lucid Dreaming by listerinezero Magneto finds himself in 1962, on the morning they go to Cuba, in the bed of the young Charles who’d spent months letting him think they were in love before breaking his heart. But he is not the same man he was forty years earlier, and as he gets to know young Charles again, he discovers that things might not have been exactly the way he remembered them after all.

Time to Grow by zarah5 In which you'll find chess dates which aren't dates (or maybe Charles is wrong about that). -- Based on First Class, this turns (slightly) AU during the beach scene.

Not Half As Blinding by keire-ke Cuban beach AU. Charles discovers that death does, in fact, solve everything.

Blood and Steel and Miles Between by dreamlittleyo (Post-movie AU.) On a beach in Cuba, Charles manages to talk Erik down from the edge. But even after the missiles have been diverted, compromise is impossible. There are two different futures to build, and Erik and Charles will always be separated by their principles. But when Charles is kidnapped and the X-Men can't find him, Erik will get him back no matter the consequences.

Homecoming by nekosmuse Five years after they part ways on a beach in Cuba, Charles sends a telepathic message: We are under attack.. Erik drops everything to rush to Charles' side. In which battles are fought, war is avoided, a middle ground is found, and happily ever afters do exist.

how near to fairyland by ikeracity Since childhood, Charles has kept all the things he can't let go of in a beautiful room in his head. Cuba brings his precarious balancing act crashing down.

The Line in the Sand by ikeracity The CIA agents on the base are bullying the children, mocking them for their mutations. Charles will not tolerate it.

DOFP

Hope by daymarket  A near-decade of hatred can't be wiped out with a single summer, no matter how eventful that summer might be. When Erik shows up uninvited at the mansion, Charles is just barely civil enough to not throw him out, but that doesn't mean he'll let him stay.

Mile High by cygnaut There’s only so much time you can spend sublimating your emotions into chess.

Spark Me Up by blarfkey “This is Erik raw. This is Erik lost. This is Erik looking at Charles like he is the only piece of wreckage in a vast ocean. The only star in the sky.

And such a look does things to Charles.”

After ten years, they are both starving for each other.

XMA

third time's the charm by Gerec XMA ficlets and missing scenes

Regrets by SlightWeasel After Apocalypse, Charles and Erik sleep together—but it’s way too soon for Erik.

as it arcs towards the sun by pearl_o

night by night by pearl_o

things worth fearing by pearl_o

Dark Phoenix

After the End of the World (One Bad Day) by kianspo Set during and immediately after the events of X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Everyone deals with the aftermath of Jean's transformation and everything that comes with it in their own way. Could there be found a measure of peace and happiness after everything they've lost?

Never a Place by kianspo It takes some getting used to. Charles hasn’t seen Erik cheerful, actually cheerful without a homicidal intent of some sort in a very long time—perhaps never. Or. Charles takes Erik up on his offer while trying to process everything. Erik is remarkably patient until he isn't.

rue de la paix by Ireliss Post Dark Phoenix. Charles, Erik, and the winding road towards peace.

The First Move by TurtleTotem Charles and Erik live together now, in Genosha. They get up together, spend the day together. And then... go to sleep in their separate beds.

Charles is going quietly crazy.

[celestialtarot11]

PAC~ What exciting things are coming in your future?

Hi everyone! Here’s a new PAC reading for you all. Just close your eyes and choose what you feel called to. Today we’re featuring the lovely spirit quartz, opalite and labradorite!

Piles~

Pile 1~ 🌃✨

Hi there lovely pile 1’s! I see you made it over here. For exciting things in your future, I am picking up deep healing. A deep rejuvenation that you have control over, and this is such an empowering experience. If you are on this journey already, it must be tiring and overwhelming. Your feelings are valid and real. This part of your journey is helping you to empower yourself through the choices you make, and in doing so, you attract abundance and balance. In all areas of your life, you will find stability, peace, and joy within yourself. This tough part is almost over! Releasing the past is making room for the new. If you have been manifesting, you will be receiving them soon! For those who have not begun this part of their journey, you have all the resources you need to work through this. This is an important time for you to awaken to the deeper parts of your self that need healing, and love. Take care pile 1’s!

Pile 2~ 🤎✨

Similar to pile 1, there’s a lot of rest and nurturing energy surrounding you or will be surrounding you soon. I see you going on vacation, or traveling to your favorite spot to feel happy. I see a time of friends coming together, and maybe romantic partners for some of you. This is a sweet reunion time, and a time for reconnection within yourself, and others. If you have been resting and slowing down, good job. The cards are highlighting what amazing progress you’ve made. Walking away from what does not serve you has done you well, now you can celebrate how far you’ve come. Writing down what it is you want in your future is important. Manifest all you desire, its time to listen to your heart space. What’s coming for you, is all your dreams you’ve ever wanted. They are all here for you to experience. It is not a dream anymore, or a desire. It’s now reality. Time to receive it all. You are blessed, guided, and supported. I saw 222 when typing this, so that may be a significant number for you all. It has to do with reunions, soulmates, divine counterpart energy and balance. See you again pile 2’s!

Pile 3’s ✈️✨

Hi there lovely pile 3’s! What’s coming for your future is a time for rest. A time to slow down, and breathe. This is very much needed since in the cards, I see you are overwhelmed. Scared even. It’s all going to be okay. If there is a decision you’ve been pondering about, or felt scared to make the choice, it’s okay to slow it down. You don’t have to rush this, or make it right away. Take the time you need for yourself to breathe. Factor in what benefits you, and how you’ll feel about this choice in the long run. If things have been chaotic, they will slow down and even itself out. Taking a walk may benefit you a lot, you may even find answers. Your intuition is strong in nature I’m hearing. Spirit/god/universe, or whatever you believe in, is creating an opportunity for you to rest and slow down! Take care pile 3’s! Stay hydrated and remember to take your time.

🌸Cards featured: 🌸

Queer Tarot by Ash and Chess

Work Your Light Oracle Cards by Rebecca Campbell

Thank you all for reading, if it resonates feel free to comment, like and reblog! I am still taking personal paid readings as well. Thank you for the support.

[iwantedtoforgetyou]

A VARIETY OF HARRY POTTER BOY IMAGINES

Love Confessions (silent, angry, etc)

Harry James Potter

It was a quarter past six, and the sun timidly emerged on the horizon.

You and Harry had quietly snuck out early, donning scarves around your necks and stolen hot chocolate from the great room.

Visible puffs of breath hung in the air as the two of you strolled through the courtyard.

"My glasses are fogging up," Harry half-laughed, a lopsided grin gracing his face—the kind of look you could never tire of.

"Here," you handed him your mug, deftly removing his glasses and wiping them with the sleeve of your sweater.

His gaze softened as he observed you, his chest aching for reasons beyond the cold.

A soft smile played on your lips as you returned the cleared glasses to his face.

"Perfect," you said, grinning.

Ronald Bilius Weasley

The fireplace crackled, releasing a puff of smoke into the room.

Having returned from a chilly afternoon in Hogsmeade, you and Ron opted to cozy up in front of the fireplace.

A chess board occupied the space between you, accompanied by the treats acquired in Hogsmeade casually strewn to the side.

"Checkmate," Ron declared, a smirk playing on his lips as he unwrapped a chocolate candy.

You playfully rolled your eyes, grabbing the candy from his hands. "I let you win."

He laughed. "Sure you did."

You shrugged, popping the candy into your mouth. Without a second thought, Ron reached across the chessboard, wiping the corner of your mouth.

"You're a mess," he half-laughed, and you looked away, cheeks aching from smiling.

Draco Lucius Malfoy

The air hung heavy and still, as if the slightest sound could shatter the silence.

Draco sat on the staircase, his head buried in his hands, a level of distress you'd never witnessed in him before.

"Why is this so hard?" you questioned, running your hands through your hair before letting them rest at the base of your neck.

"Because," he began, drawing out the word, his voice low and uncertain. Abruptly, he lifted his head and stood up.

"What are you—"

"Shut up," he interrupted, stepping closer, his hands grasping either side of your face.

Your mouths collided, breaths melding into a heated mess.

He pulled away for a moment, smirking against your lips. "Because of this."

Cedric Diggory

The field resounded with noise.

Cheers erupted, the stands quivered, and your heart thudded against your ribcage.

The Hufflepuff had secured their first Quidditch victory, and yet, your thoughts centered on a particular brunette seeker.

You joined the rush onto the field, and amidst the celebration, it didn't take long to spot Cedric in the midst of the crowd, holding a towering golden trophy.

Eagerly, you sprinted toward him, and as you approached, he handed off the prize and enveloped you in a tight embrace.

Cedric spun you around, laughter resonating through his chest.

"Oh god, you were everything!" you exclaimed over the roaring crowd, and he responded by squeezing you even tighter.

Fred Weasley

Each step guided your chest to rise, Fred's palms covering your eyes as he led you.

Exiting the Great Hall after dinner, Fred whisked you outdoors, draping a scarf around you in his mischievous manner. Chuckling to himself, he brought you to a halt in front of a railing.

"Ready?" he asked, the hint of a smile evident in his voice.

You nodded, and he removed his hands. A brief silence enveloped the scene, darkness prevailing until a burst of light filled the air—a firework exploding.

They continued, one after the other, each eruption illuminating your eyes with a vibrant array of colors.

"This is amazing," you exclaimed, stealing a glance at Fred, who was already focused on you.

He grinned, encircling you with an arm and pulling you closer to his chest.

"You're amazing," he murmured, planting a kiss on the top of your head.

George Weasley

The library sat vacant, save for a handful of students scattered at tables.

You and George occupied seats across from each other, a spread of books lying between.

With the owls exam looming, George had volunteered to keep you company during the late-night study session.

Although he proved to be more of a distraction, the company was welcomed.

"Take a look at this one," he suggested, handing you an open book. Placing it down, you began to read, only to flip a page and discover a hidden note.

In messy cursive, it read, "Can I borrow a kiss? I promise I'll give it back."

You bit the inside of your cheek to stifle a laugh, but George was already ahead.

"You're cute," you remarked in a mocking tone.

He shrugged, still smiling.

[pridepurgatorium]

— My Sweetheart Is Handsome But They Are Even Prettier

Lucifer/reader, Corsets, Mature

I’m so downbad for corseted men, this was written in delirium.

Orignal AO3 link here.

When Lucifer calls you to his room you usually expect a couple things. He could be punishing you for some slight trasgression or a flubbed test. He could have figured out you were giving Mammon food while he was tied up. Maybe he simply wants to beat you at chess. Maybe he wants to have a meaningful conversation. However, of all these things you would have never expected to walk in on Lucifer, bare chested save for a untied corset on his torso.

“You certainly took your time. I need help tying this, I would usually be able to do so myself, however I just had to get new lace for this one so it’s a bit harder for me. Therefore I’m requesting your help.” He said as if there were any logical thoughts running through your head.

“Lucifer I don’t know how to tie a corset, I’ve never done it before-“ He cut you off before you could get your last syllable out.

“Nonsense, you can tie ribbons, I’ll guide you through it. Come here.” Lucifer commanded. As if you were capable of not obeying every one his commands.

Walking over to him without blushing like a madman proved to be a challenge. You somehow managed.

“Now, take the lace and pull as hard as you can. You’re human so don’t worry about hurting me, I will be fine.” He said.

Thanking the stars and whoever invented corsets that the laces were on the back (Of course they were, ties on the front wouldn’t make sense.)(Not that that matters in the grand scheme of things.) you picked up the laces and pulled just as Lucifer had instructed.

“Come now, you can do better than that.” He almost seemed to taunt.

Not one to displease Lucifer, you put more weight into it. This time you seemed to get more of a reaction. He seemed more pleased now.

“Wonderful job my dear, now please tie a bow at the bottom, make it neat. I cannot very well go around looking anything less than perfect.”

“You’re walking around like this?” You asked before you could realize what you were saying.

“Yes, is there a problem with that?” He asked with a tinge of anger if his voice.

“Oh no! I just- you- you’re beautiful I just thought this was for me or something but now that I think about it that seems silly, I mean obviously you were just trying to look pretty- and you do!! I guess I just-“ You rambled but were cut off with a kiss from Lucifer.

“My dear, while I appreciate the praise, I meant that I’d be going out with a blouse on top. I figured I wanted to be feminine tomorrow so I just need everything prepared. I will keep in mind that you like the way it looks, perhaps you were thinking about my corset in a sexual manner?” He teased at the end but he was right on the goddamn money. Later you would ask for a strip tease from feminine Lucifer. Later.

Besides the wild images of Lucifer pulling off articles of clothing with his mouth and slowly with his hands in your mind, your blood was now only in your cheeks.

An unfortunate way to die but not entirely bad. But before you go you have a mission. Tie Lucifer’s corset in a pretty bow. Pulling your focus away from your thoughts and Lucifer’s sultry looks ~~Diavolo were you thinking about everything but innocent corset lacing~~ you put all your effort into tying the prettiest bow you were capable of producing and when you finished way faster than you expected, you held your breath in anticipation of Lucifer’s reaction.

“Oh sweetheart, you did such a wonderful job.” He praised once again, and once again, your blood was rushed back to your cheeks. You started to worry about the lack of blood in the rest of your body.

He turned to face you and you swore that somehow there was more blood rushing to your cheeks his pectorals were squished up because of the corset and DIAVOLO you were close to fainting. He was giving you that look that he knew you found incredibly sexy. Now finding yourself weak in the knees, you grabbed him by the shoulder and dove in for a kiss.

In between the heated makeout session that was occurring he somehow managed to speak real words.

“If I had known- hah- you liked the corset this much, I would’ve shown it to you much sooner.” He was panting at this point and you were not faring much better.

“You’re so incredibly hot in anything my dear. Just that you caught me off guard with the corset. It’s beautifully made. I love the lace.” Yeah, sure, you were definitely cutting your praises short. If you didn’t cut them off they’d come out of your mouth all day.

The lipsticks staining your collarbone the next morning was a welcome surprise. A gorgeous shade for a handsome man.

Or rather, a beautiful one.

A/N: this was meant to be fluff what happened

[fras-redacted-shapes]

Ahti and Warlin are probably such good friends. They have so much in common!

They're both mysterious, timeless paranatural beings, unaffected by the manufactured realities of nightmares, who can travel across places through an interdimensional nexus that takes the shape of a building that's not easily accessed by normal means.

Ahti goes in and out of The Oldest House unobstructed. The building has probably shown Ahti some sights as a token of gratitude for all the upkeep.

And Warlin maybe has seen and been through everything, willing his own Door in the Oceanview to take him when and where he wants and needs to be.

I wonder if it's the Oceanview where they met for the first time. Or where they've never met.

How that conversation went. When Door offered a Janitor job to Ahti in his Talk Show Studio when there was no more work on the Bureau. Ahti has no closet in the Nightmare version of the Oceanview as far I remember.

How that conversation went. When Ahti unlocked a Door for a tired Warlin in the Motel, so he wouldn't need to go through the Janitor's closet.

How that conversation went. When each one noticed the other had always been in the Oceanview.

I wonder if Warlin has ever set foot within The Oldest House. Such event being a mere possibility means he has. Some time and some universe else.

And there are more connections and reflections if you will.

Ahti meets Jesse who never once complains about her given title, Janitor's Assistant. She's happy about it, she knows the ins and outs of the job very well. Maybe one day she'll be handed the keys to the Motel and command of the House itself, the Gods themselves sang about it

And so I’m drawn ever deeper In the Oldest House and all these empty rooms This vacant, spellbound mystery motel Where I’m the keeper, where I set the rules

He's never once lied to Jesse, or hidden information from her. Sure he may seem a bit obscure, if you've had to learn a second language then you know how infuriating the barrier is sometimes, and the little rush of pride you may feel in refusing to try to translate idioms, and Jesse seems to have compassion or intuition of this fact, maybe even both. And she never resented anyone for her lack of understanding.

Ahti knew what Jesse wanted and needed, and immediately pointed her in the right direction, the elevator is just over there. Go find your brother, get rid of the pests. And scrub some of the mold in your way there.

He was even there in her Nightmare, once again a guide. Encouraging her, and proud when the third time around she got a grip on herself to awaken and merge with her Guardian Angel.

Same and not the same with the writer. Another lost soul in a Nightmare, this one of his own making. Although with him, Ahti seemed wary about unlocking the door. Was Ahti trying to protect Alan from himself? He knew the writer had not mastered his Stalking Demon yet. And, he's just the Janitor you see, not a Gatekeeper.

How many times did Ahti talk to Jesse in The Oldest House? Maybe it's the same number he talked to Alan in the Dark Place.

And Warlin? He's got one unwilling disciple, playing something like a twelve-dimensional chess with him as a piece. A center piece?

And his approach is, particular, to say the least. Unlike Ahti's clear waters, Door is obscuring as much as possible from Timothy. There's no upfront information here. And Warlin knows the outcome, maybe. Tim will eventually know what is going on, the why of every one of Warlin's actions, perhaps Tim will even understand him, for there was at least once a different version of both of them that ended up working together. There was a path for Jack Joyce to follow Martin Hatch.

Funny how the Janitor's Assistant and the Unwilling Disciple met and worked together in a different version of themselves.

I wonder, if Warlin shifted into this version because here, when she'd emerge, it would be her the one to shoot the man in charge of the shady institution that "employed" her? Where instead of dying in an explosion like a supernova, she'd carry a Star within her? An echo that didn't need to be Wilder, where she had the space and guidance to come into full and total control, unlike the disease of time and loneliness that wreaked havoc in Door himself once/always?

And the woman Warlin is worried about in this version of this universe? His very own daughter. But don't tell anyone, that's not his style.

How excited must he be for the moment Saga gets to see through it all. They'll maybe even complain about Mr. Wake, and how he made a habit of a writing other people's daughters into his story. And toast to make sure it doesn't happen a third time.

[ladybellissima]

Finding Love Katakuri x Reader Part 40 End

"(Y/N) my dear… Wake up. We are here…", Katakuri's voice let her eyes slowly open and with a short yawn she stretched her arms. Realizing what he had said and looking into his smirking face, she gasped surprised and hugged him tightly of pure joy. Chuckling of her sweet act, he placed a kiss onto her forehead and took her bridal style to walk back to the cockpit. Sitting down in his seat, he placed his wife in his lap and guided the ship to the port of whole cake. It was really happening. Finally they were back home.

(Y/N) 's eyes widened of the sight before her. She totally forgot how literally sweet everything looked and how much she had missed it. The beautiful colors, extraordinary designed houses made out of chocolate and candy.

Absolutely stunning.

On top of that it was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly down and let the sweets glister. Coming closer, they could see chess soldiers gathering together and looking quite surprised and most of all irritated. The news spreaded quickly, like a crossfire, after the pink bonbon stopped before sweet city. Oven was eating dinner, the moment a bunch of soldiers rushed through the doors like maniacs. Annoyed he scolded them to be more sensitive and most of all not so damn loud, but their message let his whole world spin like a ferry wheel. Mouth agape he first had to collect his thoughts. Shocked and uneasy of what to believe, he jumped to his feet to stumble out of the room quickly. On his way he was met with Brulee, Daifuku, Flambe…the list went on. More and more siblings followed his trail stunned and excited to see what was going on outside.

"Can you believe it?", Brulee breathed out stressed of what to think either about the news.

"Out of nowhere… I don't know Brulee. I hope she is in there.. I hope she is okay.", he spoke, while he was fighting with his inner self of what to feel. For happiness it was too soon. Who knows what was going on. Getting down to sweet city they were met with hundreds of chess soldiers, who were guarding the bonbon ship nervously. The familiar mass of pink gave the Charlotte siblings goosebumps. It sure looked like it was traveling through a battlefield and it sure meant a disaster for the one who caused this damage. Getting to the front, the sibling's look fell onto the entry of the submerge ship, which slowly started to move. Nervously they watched how the door opened. Gulping stressed Oven could hear silent footsteps, which came closer and closer.

Was (Y/N) really coming out there?

After all the despair they had been through, would she be back? Save and sound?

Gasping, shocked shouts of "Look there", were called after a familiar silhouette stepped out of the vehicle. Bright and beautiful shining eyes which had tears of joy in them, looked up to them and let the charlottes sob bitterly.

There she was.

After days, weeks and months of horrors, she was finally back at whole cake.

"I am back…", (Y/N) spoke, while tears rolled down her cheeks. Everyone was relieved and happy, nevertheless the moment felt also bittersweet for them.

"Come on. Don't be so slow…", (Y/N) called out into the ship and let everyone raise their brows in confusion, but then it hit them like a ton of bricks.

"This…. This isn't real..", Oven gasped and fell to his knees, while Brulee shut her mouth with one hand to control her outburst of emotions.

With one big step the sweet general of the big mom pirates stepped out of the ship carefully and faced his siblings with an uneasy look on his face. Still wearing the red scarf, he got from (Y/N), and only dressed in black pants, he felt kind of vulnerable without his usual look. But at that moment nobody really cared at all.

"Brother Katakuri….", everyone was crying out and comprehending what really happened now, while their brother watched their distress sadly.

"I didn't mean to worry you so much.",his deep usual strong voice let them cry even more. Even in this unusual outfit, even in this heartbreaking moment, he looked intimidating, tall and confident like the pirate he always was.

"You idiot…. What are you saying. We thought we will lose you. You and (Y/N).", Brulee cried out and his next words let her eyes widen. It let everyone's eyes widen.

"I am sorry. I missed you too."

Opening his arms she could see the soft smile by the look of his eyes and without to hesitate she jumped into his arms and clinged onto him desperately. Not only Brulee. Everyone came to his side and clinged onto his leg, arm, chest with a dead grip, while crying and shouting how much they missed him. (Y/N) smiled happily and was about to step back to gave them more space, but Pudding grabbed her hand and pulled her into a tight embrace with other siblings close by.

"(Y/N).. We were so worried. But you made it. You really made it and brought him back home."

It took them awhile to calm down and Katakuri had to pull his wife up to his chest and step further away to not fall into the water of their outbursts of emotions. All eyes were on the sweet general and his beautiful wife and Katakuri knew all too well what they were thinking right now.

What the hell happened? And how could they get back to whole cake together?

After minutes of silence, Katakuri sighed deeply. Honestly he wasn't in the mood to explain anything now. He just wanted to rest, have a shower, have his clothes and his old self back. Plus, spend long needed time with his wife, but they deserved information after everything they had been through.

"Is Mama still at Wano Land?", Katakuri asked seriously and Brulee gave him a short nod as a yes. Relieved to hear that, he placed (Y/N) down and turned to the submerge ship. Oven clapped his shoulder in a friendly way and scratched his head uneasy at the sight before him.

" Mama's ship needs some repairs.", Katakuri spoke and got a chuckle of his brother.

"You mean a complete makeover. This ship is a disaster. Thank god Mama isn't here..", Oven spoke and ordered to get the ship into the Underground entry. (Y/N) watched her husband discussing things and realized how she missed seeing this intimating and strong sight of him. It was only a short time since he had arrived, nevertheless everyone was listening to him eagerly to fulfill his orders. Smiling slightly, she leaned against a close by tree and enjoyed the fresh air, mixed with the sweet scent of the island. After such a long time she was able to really relax. To calm down and feel save. No running away, no hiding and suffering. Just stay and enjoy the moment. A shadow at the sky got her attention and the next moment she was met with a news coo.

"Ah the daily news. Always a pleasure.", Brulee spoke in a mocking tone and came to her side to pay for the newspaper. Like always she delivered the news to Oven and didn't notice that a piece of paper landed on the ground. (Y/N) was about to call out to her, but stopped midtracks after giving it a closer look. It wasn't just an ordinary paper, like an add or part of some news.

That would have been way better than that.

Mouth agape she grabbed the wanted poster and read through the text with an horrified expression. In the corner of his eyes, Katakuri could see that something was off and stopped his talk with his brother to get to her side.

"What's wrong?…", he started and the next moment grabbed the paper roughly from her hands to read the text with widened eyes.

" Wanted

(Y/N) Charlotte

Alive

1 Billion berries

"

Above the text was a picture of a breathtaking young woman, dressed in a marine dress and smiling one of her beautiful smiles. It seemed like a dark cloud hovered over Katakuri's head, while his hands were shaking of anger. His eyes were piercing the text, mostly the word alive, because he knew all too well who was the one who caused this.

"Katakuri…?", (Y/N) asked worried and stopped after she noticed his more than pissed look. Seeing her in the enemies clothes, still looking beautiful, but also it let the words of captain Coby pop up in his mind.

"She has to move to his private chambers."

"Like hell this will ever happen.", he growled pissed and let (Y/N) look at him confused.

"This damn bastard…. I swear if he tries to attack us…dares to come closer to you, I will not only kill him.", he growled and got frightened looks from his siblings. Oven and Daifuku were able to snatch the paper out of their brother's hand and read through the news stunned.

" (Y/N)? Is that you? In a marine outfit? ", Daifuku asked shocked and again she was confronted with her picture.

"You see… How should I start..", (Y/N) stuttered nervously and thought about it, if she really should talk about that, because Katakuri was already on the verge of exploding.

"She entered marineford undercover and became a marine to safe me.", Katakuri cut in and let the others gasp of surprise.

"But she got the attention of this fleet Admiral bastard Akainu and now he is after her..", he added with a growl which let not only (Y/N) shiver.

"Sure. This man would never accept such a failure that you were able to get him out of prison.", Oven started, but was roughly grabbed by his collar and pulled close to Katakuri's face.

"You think that's it? This damn bastard wants (Y/N), because he likes her. He is after my wife, because he wants her in his bed.", Katakuri hissed and let his brother's eyes widen like saucers.

"He.. What?", everyone shouted, while looking at (Y/N) who was fighting for words.

"Crazy right?..", she spoke uneasy and gave her husband a sad look.

"What now?", she asked, while Daifuku balled his fist and let the paper scrunch up to a ball of the build up hatred against the marines.

"We will make sure to guard every outpost, every corner of whole cake with enough soldiers. Plus Flour island. I don't expect that they would come to whole cake for you. Never would they dare to attack Mama directly, but who knows. I will make sure to keep you safe here.", Katakuri spoke pissed, while (Y/N) hugged his arm to calm him down.

" I can't believe it. Our (Y/N) is official a pirate. ", Brulee spoke with a smile.

" Now the world nows who you are and where you belong. ", Daifuku added with a smile.

" and I am sure Mama will be happy too. She always loves to see a new wanted poster with her last name on it. ", Oven spoke amused and gave Katakuri a proud smile. He knew what they were up to. They wanted to make the best out of this situation. In a way they were right. His mother loved such news. It sure would be a great help with all the other problems they still had to deal with. But most of all they were safe now. That was more important than anything else.

"I need some rest…For now we will stay at whole cake.", he spoke exhausted and took (Y/N)'s hand in his to signal her to go. Nodding happily, she let herself guide to the path of whole cake chateau. At the back they could hear everyone cheer to have their brother back. With big smiles on their faces, they watched their brother holding his wife's hand, a gesture they never thought to see ever.

"Katakuri.", (Y/N) spoke and let him look down to her sweet expression.

" I am really sorry… I never thought that this man would… ", she stopped mid way to avoid making her husband angry again. "Is it that bad to be on that list?", she asked seriously and let him stop for a moment. Sighing he thought for a moment of what to say. Sure she didn't know exactly. This wasn't something she had to deal with ever in her life.

"What do you think? To be wanted means you will never be able to go out there freely ever again. There will always be a shadow haunting you down… Forever. Not to mention what this lava shithead will do… ", he spoke strained and got irritated of her smile. Giving his hand a short kiss, she smiled even wider into his stunned face.

"But you will be with me. Right?", her words let his heart flutter and suddenly this problem didn't feel difficult anymore. Nothing seemed difficult anymore.

Smiling under his scarf, he got down to her level and slowly reached for his scarf. Stunned she watched his actions mouth agape. Was he showing his face here? Outside? With still his siblings at the back, who got eyes like saucers after noticing his actions? Looking back to the others, (Y/N) got kind of nervous. These intimated moments were only held in private. To be seen like that with others, made her cheeks flush furiously.

A soft fabric landed around her neck.

A familiar scent, which she adored so much.

Noticing the red scarf around her head, she was met with the face of her smirking husband, who placed the accessorie around her too, to have her close. Hidden behind the fabric nobody was able to see what she could see. A smiling sweet general, who pressed his lips against hers. The time stopped, nevertheless they still could hear the cheering at the back of having such a sweet moment in front of them.

"always my sweet wife….", he whispered against her gasping lips of his passionate kiss.

"I will stay by your side forever…. "

Xxx

End - one special left 🥰

Such a sweet Sweet General…. Thank you so much for reading. And feel free to leave a comment. I always love to read feedback and support from you. Any idea is welcome!

Have a nice day! 😊

[elentari-celestaire]

✧unyielding pillar, fleeting mist✧

i. molten amber amidst that which concealed a heart too gentle for a war-torn world.

[ previous ll masterlist ll next ]

pairing: morax x f!reader synopsis: a story of a human female from Earth, who was thrown into the world of Teyvat during one of its most dangerous era. despite being bestowed with a power far stronger than any Teyvat mortal could wield, y/n decided to use her gift of mist to hide away from the burning and bloodied war-filled world. but, what will she do when Morax, the warrior god, one of the seven victors of the archon war and future geo archon waltzed into her mist-concealed island, that she had hidden away from the inhabitants of Teyvat for decades? author’s note: i wrote this in a rush and also, in a sleep-deprived state. rips anyways, it’s been almost a decade since i last publicly post a fanfic. if there’s any warning or tags i should have added, do let me know.

On fog shrouded island — hidden from the eyes of the rest of Teyvat, two figures ran through a field of ice flowers.

“This way, Lady y/n!!! Lady Seiran is with the outsiders at this very moment!!” a young man declared, his voice laced with panic as he led the divine priestess of the island.

“What do they look like?” y/n questioned, her voice laced with worry — her chest heaved heavily as an anxious feeling grew within her.

“I apologise, my lady. I could not see their faces. They were hooded.”

For almost a century, she has protected and guided the people of this island but, never had an outsider set foot in this sanctuary. The fog that surrounded the island had always managed to ward off beings — mortals and even immortals.

‘Then, how in the world did they manage to see through the mist?! Who are they?! What did I wrote in the contingency plans for this situation?!’ y/n screamed inwardly.

The people of the village were not trained fighters. Yes, her right-hand man was gifted with a hydro vision and they could defend themselves against wild beasts and perhaps against other mortals with vision but, not against gods.

Even if one of them has a vision and another, the ability to manipulate mist, what could a group of regular villagers do against gods — who could literally one shot a mere human if they so want to?

Many decades ago, she was blessed with the power of mist — in the form of a pawn-shaped chess piece filled with swirling mist. With those powers, she promised to keep these people of the village safe and away from the upcoming war.

These people who took her in saving her from drowning in the sea when she was strangely thrown into the world of Teyvat — the very world she had always wanted to see and experience.

Yet, this was not what she had wished for.

The world she was in right now felt both familiar yet, different from the one in the game — where she had spent countless hours wandering and travelling.

It took her awhile to discovered why it felt different. Despite indeed being in Teyvat, she was centuries ahead of the time she knew so well — hundreds of years before the time of peace. An era, when war and bloodshed were rampant throughout Teyvat.

Y/n knew all too well the outcome of this particular war but, the very thought of being involved in the war of gods filled her with dread and terror. Countless sleepless nights spent worrying about everyone’s safety and countless more planning on ways to keep everyone from the cruelty of war.

At times, y/n questioned what even was her purpose here in Teyvat? Does Celestia have a customer support page, where she can ask why did she even get a gnosis?? Isn’t that something the Archons get after they win the goddamn Archon War??? Then, why??

Was it her protectiveness over the villagers?? Or was it her desperation over not wanting to die or killed brutally in a war? Or is she perhaps a pawn, like the very chess piece she received?

If so, then damn it. They're really not hiding the fact that she's just thrown there as a form of entertainment. Will she even be able to return to her world? Does she even want to return? Despite being thrown in there at a dangerous time, she had always wanted to be in Teyvat.

After decades of having those questions constantly plaguing her mind, she decided to give up on finding an answer.

As y/n and her male companion approached the centre of the main community area, she couldn’t help but, winced at the sight of the stone statue of her as the divine priestess.

Despite always telling the villagers to treat her like a friend or even family, imagine the shock when she left her residence and saw a statue of her — though she’s thankful that statue has her face covered with a veil.

With each step she took toward the statue, the outlines of three figures became clearer. A female person, dressed in the traditional priestess garb — Seiran, one of her close friends and confidants. The two figures facing Seiran, were dressed in robes — their faces hidden behind their hoods.

Activating her elemental sight, y/n could see two elemental pulses, one of hydro and geo. The hydro energy was undeniably strong but, the intensity of the golden waves emanating from the other figure — whose form and robes seemed particularly familiar to y/n — made her stomach turn.

Y/n paused as she realized that the geo energy did not come from just any god but, rather the one god — whom she hoped to never encounter during her who-knows-how-long-and-for-what-purpose stay in Teyvat.

The geo insignia on the back of the robe only proved to confirm her suspicions, and before she knew it, his name escaped her lips in a whisper.

“Morax?”

E/c eyes widened in disbelief at her own actions, while her hands hastily covered her mouth. Y/n prayed to whichever Celestia gods who threw her into this world — that it was not loud enough to be heard by anyone especially him.

Unfortunately for y/n, her soft whispers did not go unheard. Not only was it picked up by the young man standing next to her but, it was also carried by the wind to the person — whose very name she had just whispered.

Morax. Lord of Geo. The Warrior God. And, the future Geo Archon.

Y/n panicked and inwardly cursed herself for her carelessness while being bombarded with questions by the person next to her.

But, everything around her came to a halt when golden ambers locked onto hers.

amber gems that gleam a brilliant gold, hidden umber locks flowing in the icy breeze; after all i did to protect all those i care for, why does my heart waver in your presence?

[20elements]

I’ll be discussing some of my favorite perspectives on each of Night Raven College’s seven dorms and/or their chapters. If I sound like I’m using “fighting words”, it’s not my purpose to roast or insult any characters (I just like reading my own words). A lot of these may also tie into the deadly sin their Overblotters embody. Be forewarned that there will be Chapter 7 spoilers and more in this entry.

Heartslabyul - Rush the Roses Red

For why Heartslabyul marks our first chapter, I’ll get the obvious explanations out of the way first: We know both the game’s title and which dorm’s based on Wonderland itself. Not surprisingly, we get Ace and Deuce as joint tritagonists even before Chapter 1 starts. Additionally, the Queen of Hearts’ role in Alice was relatively short, so it’s easy to see why Heartslabyul would get the shortest hence first chapter in the game. But what I really want to go into is Riddle Rosehearts.

We now know that Chapter 1 is earlier than the writers had planned to explain Blot, but they still use so many puddle scenes to keep us in anticipation. And who better to use than Riddle, the irritable teapot despot? If I’m not mistaken, there were more Blot sightings in Chapter 1 than any other, not to mention how soon we would fight his Overblot. As Chapter 6 would confirm, Riddle easily produces Blot because of both his temperament and his exhaustive use of magic. In short, because Riddle's so quick to anger, he's also quick to OB, which is why he's up first.

Savanaclaw - Pawn Promotion

“If you intend to stay in this dorm, there is but one rule you have to follow. Obey me.” —Leona Kingscholar

What makes Leona so effortlessly charismatic is not only his strength and skills, but more importantly, how he strategically instructs his underlings just like a game of chess (in good faith to Scar’s campaign). As long as his leadership guides his team where needed, Leona can always get away with slacking himself; even the Spelldrive Club attests to this. But the clearest example is in Chapter 2, go figure.

For starters, Leona doesn’t have a high opinion of Ruggie’s UM, yet he invests a great deal into the hyena. Leona turns Ruggie into a serial “assassin” who successfully injures so many potential competitors, including even some vice housewardens. He even gets Ruggie a UM buff to carry a stadium’s worth of people. (When I first saw Chapter 2, I even wondered if Ruggie would be the one to OB instead, tbh.) 

As efficient as Leona’s tactics usually are, however, the king himself barely moves a square. When cornered, Leona just drops the ball on his plans, yet Overblots when pressed further. Still, as lazy as Leona is, stepping too close to the king is dangerous for both parties, but on this occasion, he doesn’t bring home a “checkmate”.

Octavinelle - Inciting the Impoverished

In order to make my point about Octavinelle, or at least Azul, I’ll also have to make this about “us”, or the MC. In Chapter 3, we are both Azul’s foil and a testament to his avarice. It’s harrowing enough for the MC that we’re isekai’d into TW with zero superpowers, but now our closest friends are “un-maged” and we lose our only shelter for trying to save them. In the end, we’re left with… Jack—whoescortsintolion’sdenandfindsushelp!! 

(…Ahem.) So for once the villain’s challenging the MC, our stakes are direct, and we have to explore options ourselves to protect our livelihood. In fact, this is the only chapter so far where the MC proactively contributes to the story. And although we still need help from reluctant allies, we ultimately come up with a solution that foils Azul’s plans completely.

So why is this significant to Tako Bell? Because the MC embodies everything that Azul’s afraid of becoming: a “nothing”. Azul attributes his own self worth to his possessions, but after his greed reaches the MC and pushes us into survival mode, Azul gets outwitted by someone so empty-handed. In contrast to the MC, none of Azul’s many gifts could prevent Leona from destroying his prized contracts. When Azul is reduced to desperation, even his most trusted Leech Bros. turn on him; at that point, not even Azul’s OB would save him from defeat. Justice couldn’t be more poetic in this chapter.

“Sorry, Azul. You’re just not as dastardly a villain as ___ is.” —Leona

Scarabia - Veiled Venom

At this point, Jamil is notorious for “acting mid” to hide his charts, no small thanks to social hierarchy. But TW does even more to hide our dragons; remember the housewarden greetings? Unlike other dorms, if you’re sorted into Scarabia, Kalim gives you a nice warm welcome describing only the perks of your medicine; no indication of side effects whatsoever. He’s not here to lie, but Kalim’s hospitality masks Scarabia’s fangs as effectively as Jamil’s cookings lure prey. 

And then there’s the timing of Chapter 4; as if to keep most of the student body in the dark from Jamil’s potential, Scarabia’s story takes place in the middle of winter break (go figure, the usual tritagonists are off-campus too). As a result, only a relative few are around to witness the first vice warden OB this year.

“Mediocre, nothing. He's easily one of the top magicians in the entire school, to say nothing of Scarabia!” —Azul

But while Jamil is sold as a dark horse and established as Scarabia’s true face, we owe Kalim another look. As carefree as he is, Kalim’s potential is also a crouching tiger. He was able to surprise the Octavinelle guests twice, with a heart strong enough to deflect Jade’s truth serum and an abundantly resourceful UM for the sea creatures to use (ntm Azul’s potential cash cow). Yet, Jamil belittles Kalim the same way he himself dreads and it becomes his undoing in Chapter 4.

"You clearly don't appreciate Kalim's power for what it is, then." --Azul

Pomefiore - Mirror Mirror Magnified

“As I often remind you, I spend more time looking at you than you do looking at yourself in the mirror.” —Rook Hunt

Chapter 5 is no exception to reflecting its mascot in some way, but it’s because of Vil’s pride that the story does a few things new. As a deadly sin, pride is often considered the “mother of all sins” and yet a reasonable amount can also be a virtue. Until Vil crossed the line, the story even justifies the confidence he exudes. Hence my gist: Vil's "magic mirror" is not merely on his wall (nor pocket), but the very world around him.

All of the previous Overblotters qualify as antagonists throughout their chapters, but Vil, despite a few quarrels, has mostly remained on our side. His motives may be self serving, but he puts an earnest effort into training his team. While his critiques may be harsh, Vil explains in painstaking detail why he finds them necessary, if not agreeable. Whatever his faults, I’d argue that Vil’s the most leaderlike out of all the housewardens bar none. And when Vil deserves to be proud, the story smiles on him…

Just as Pomefiore boasts being NRC’s oldest dorm, Vil is representing the whole campus rather than just his dorm (ntm it’s Chapter 5 that recalls “Piece of My World”). Vil's pride continues to be mirrored, now using the coliseum he's performing on. Thus, when his ego does drive him out of line, we fight Vil’s OB in this very location, where the weather now sucks, “repairmen” fill his audience, and the stage is wrecked. (To add insult, the masses were off-stadium to watch Vil's brainwashed rival instead.) Chapter 5's whole mirror theme comes full circle when "Spudling 2" literally reflects Vil's own power against him two-fold, finishing his OB off. This battle even compromises his team’s ability to perform at their best afterwards. 

“The skies were clear and sunny before, yet now a tempest rages... Truly, it is like a reflection of Vil's own heart.” —Rook

So we see just how much Vil’s ego can hurt himself, but the story does still give him a lot to be proud of. Even if his OB wrecks the place, Vil’s the first boss we fight outside of his dorm and it’s on NRC’s grand stage. While drawing the line between a healthy pride and its sinful counterpart, Chapter 5 uses everything to reflect Vil in both cases.

Ignihyde - Buried Blazes Burn Blue

“Maybe to Idia and Ortho, this nightmarish situation is the reality and their life at school was more like a dream. One they’ll forget as soon as they wake up.” —Riddle

Sounds about right, we don’t even get a tour of the blue dorm in their own chapter! Instead we get STYX, which is a glorified prison as far as Idia’s concerned and that sums up his mentality. Idia rarely has the heart to explore opportunities outside, but will sing like a canary inside his own fort. But more deeply than the STYX as a whole, the most powerful metaphor for Idia’s heart is Tartarus.

Idia has a dangerous UM buried several stories underground in a fixed location and reaching it is more tedious than its stair count. If a mage’s UM reflects their heart, this tells us just how trapped Idia feels. All his talent and passion are forced under a tight lid until it bubbles up and bursts. Case in point, when we do dig deep enough, literally all hell breaks loose: Idia’s Overblot battle outscales any of the previous...

…and may take a while to break down. It’s inferred that Idia’s curse burned enough Blot from creating his own Phantom. And although he still experienced a “rush”, Idia is still level enough to talk to Ortho pragmatically and be self-aware of his own OB (a first). Speaking of, Idia’s not the only trapped heat now venting; we also have Ortho who’s been below Tartarus’ gate for nearly a decade but has consumed enough Phantoms to cause this whole incident and become the giant “Hades” we see.

In addition to the Blot burner, if I assume that Phantom Ortho is backing OB Idia without draining him like the usual, Idia gets the perks of OB free of price! All the more reasonable then that our battle against the Super Shroud Bros. would take three whole phases alongside other housewardens, Rook, Epel, and three Thunder Spears to best! Meanwhile, Idia heals at every turn, inflicts burn debuffs, and uses his “triple threat” more freely than previous OB bosses. This is the monster we find at the bottom of Tartarus—the Idia we unravel.

Also notable are Idia’s flame colors. He confirms that touching his hair wouldn’t burn us normally, but as long as blue’s hotter than orange, that tells me it’s trapped heat. But when he’s extremely pissed, Idia lets his sparks fly orange and while cooler than blue, it’s widespread enough to become his ultimate during his final OB phase. Just as his flames reflect his emotions, trapped or freed, the Tartarus towers that symbolize his depressors are the opposite element—a deep freezer for the Phantoms. 

Diasomnia - The Truest Tall Tales Told

Silver: “This isn’t a game. This is our reality.”

Idia: “W-wow! Man, that was totally protagonist dialogue! I wish I could say cool stuff like that…”

Even by TW’s standards, the Diasomnia tribe looks straight out of a fairy tale in body and soul (go figure, they even have real Fae). They’re not trying to be fictitious, but members of other dorms may still find them “chuuni”. Conversely, Diasomnia can make the rest of TW look “realistic” by comparison. And I honestly find this amusing—just picture a more “normal” sports team losing to fantasy warriors; the Spelldrive results would be even less surprising but in the most comical way possible.

On the flipside, it’s not unreasonable for Diasomnia’s characters to have a peculiar view of others as well. Take Sebek, who patronizes mankind and barely wants anything to do with us. His background might have something to do with that—Sebek grew up with very lofty figures like Malleus and Lilia to look up to, long enough to skew his own standards. But his case is a much smaller example of my point compared to the most mythical housewarden in the game, Malleus Draconia…

“Even if I had great power, I couldn’t get anything. I keep losing them. Everyone will get up from their seats and leave me. …There is no one to invite me anymore…” —Malleus

A deity among mages, Malleus embodies many “unrealistic expectations” and probably feels that the real world has no place for someone like him. His own common sense sounds alien to everyone else’s (including his own dorm members’ at times) and vice versa. Yet here he is in this reality being feared for his strength and isolated by his own lifestyle. To add to his grievances, two of the few people Malleus could get along with have plans to leave. Overall, this is not a reality Malleus is happy with and his solution couldn’t be more on point: Trap everyone in an Infinite Tsukuyomi.

“If you surrender to sleep, 1000 years will pass in a blink. You will all become the main characters of a fairy tale.” —Malleus

Sounds a lot like Silver, who’s already a shining knight in all but armor. His UM is literally NiGHTS Into Dreams and helps us traverse literal fantasies. But ironically, the most fantastical dream we visit is Lilia’s true story (aside from the added guests) and it takes us along a mapped RPG quest. Back to my point, what’s real for Diasomnia is a fairy tale for everyone else. Only way my perspective can come full circle is if Malleus’ OB fight takes place in a dream world as well, but Chapter 7 is still a ways from done as I’m typing this.

[skyguywrites]

chess/matty + “  i gotta go, sorry.  ”

At present, Matthew Parker was currently entirely naked, sprawled out on top of his own, silk bedsheets, with arguably the most gorgeous woman alive currently straddling his lap. With one hand on her hip, Matty firmly inside of her, Francesca Howard was staring down at him looking utterly heaven sent. Her hair was knotted, falling from its cute little bun as it spilled out around her face, framing her perfect features in a way that made the man harder by the minute. He noted the gentle way she shifted her hips, no doubt feeling the blood rush to his cock, the involuntary thrust he’d let out at the sheer sight of her. 

The words she’d uttered next should have surprised him, given the pretty little seat he’d provided her with, but instead it only made him smirk up at her. He’d heard those words countless times before from Chess, not least of all the very night before. The two of them had stumbled into his apartment a little tipsy, Chessie’s dress already askew from riding his tongue on the elevator up to the top floor. She’d been furious with him as she’d shouldered through his front door, scolding him for tearing her favourite knickers, insisting that she was going home. Yet, it hadn’t been long before she was eagerly stripping him down, pinning him to the kitchen table and taking him into her mouth. 

All the same, with Matty’s cock hard and Chess utterly soaked through, he figured her protestations were a little harder to believe this time. 

At present, Matthew Parker was currently entirely naked, sprawled out on top of his own, silk bedsheets, with arguably the most gorgeous woman alive currently straddling his lap. With one hand on her hip, Matty firmly inside of her, Francesca Howard was staring down at him looking utterly heaven sent. Her hair was knotted, falling from its cute little bun as it spilled out around her face, framing her perfect features in a way that made the man harder by the minute. He noted the gentle way she shifted her hips, no doubt feeling the blood rush to his cock, the involuntary thrust he’d let out at the sheer sight of her. 

The words she’d uttered next should have surprised him, given the pretty little seat he’d provided her with, but instead it only made him smirk up at her. He’d heard those words countless times before from Chess, not least of all the very night before. The two of them had stumbled into his apartment a little tipsy, Chessie’s dress already askew from riding his tongue on the elevator up to the top floor. She’d been furious with him as she’d shouldered through his front door, scolding him for tearing her favourite knickers, insisting that she was going home. Yet, it hadn’t been long before she was eagerly stripping him down, pinning him to the kitchen table and taking him into her mouth. 

All the same, with Matty’s cock hard and Chess utterly soaked through, he figured her protestations were a little harder to believe this time. 

“Oh, I’m sure you do, honey. And I'm the King of fucking England,” he teased, his hand guiding her hip as he begun to quicken the pace of his thrusts. It was barely 7am and Matty could think of nothing better than waking up to the sound of Chessie’s breathy moans, his name spilling from her lips.  

Bringing his free hand up to his mouth, Matty spat unceremoniously onto his own fingers, and slid them between her legs, eliciting a fresh whimper from her. 

“Not to worry, sweetheart. Just a little while longer, and then you can go...” 

[ace-angel-judas]

Remember the Minyoon royal au where Hayoon was a concubine and Minho was king? Can we get some of that?

“You look so Western, maybe it’ll make you special,”

The way this woman grabbed her chin made Hayoon flinch slightly as maids pulled at her hair with brushes. She had been scrubbed clean, make up applied to her face and an expensive blue gown wrapped around herself.

It hadn’t been her choice to join the royal harem, she had been sold into it. The downfall of the kingdom she called home had resulted into a complete life change.

“You’re a virgin, yes?” The woman asked suddenly.

“I-, excuse me?” Hayoon asked in a small voice, confusion on her face.

“Men like virgins,” The woman stated, “You were demanded right away so you’ve had no time to train, I suggest you just lay there and let it happen, there’s no use fighting,”

Right. Her current situation.

She was being fancied up to be the King’s concubine for the night.

All too soon the ritual was over and she was being rushed to the King’s quarters. A pair of red doors loomed down the hallway, as if they represented hell itself.

“Wait, the king will be here soon,”

Shoved inside, Hayoon almost tripped, catching herself on a piece of furniture. The room around her looked lavish, but that was to be expected. The walls seemed to be decorated with gold, an expensive chandelier ler hanging from the ceiling.

She gulped at the sight of the bed, it was on a slight raised platform and looked big enough to fit twelve people easily.

A small table caught her attention, Hayoon slowly stepping towards it. Chess pieces laid waiting on the black and white checkered board. Picking up a piece, Hayoon slowly observed the carving of the wood of the pawn.

“Do you play?”

A small noise left her mouth, jumping as she turned and looked at the man. He wore a red and black hanbok, brown eyes staring at her.

“Um..,” She swallowed softly, “I do..,”

“Really?” He chuckled and approached, “Well then, play against me,”

He took a seat on the couch, Hayoon slowly moving to the other side of the board. She had played chess a million times with her mother, in secret.

“It’s a Western game but I imagine you would know that,” He pointed out.

“I do..,” Hayoon whispered, “Your majesty..,”

“While we’re in this room, you can call me Minho,”

Nodding, Hayoon watched as he moved a piece on the board. She moved her own piece, followed by him moving another.

“No one’s beaten me at this game-“

“Checkmate,”

Eyes going wide, Minho stared down at the board. Hayoon leaned back slightly, hands folding in her lap and looking away.

“Well..,” He smirked, “Look at that..,”

Stifling a yawn, Hayoon nodded, “Sorry, your majesty-“

“I told you to call me Minho,” He spoke, “You must be tired, you were only bought here this afternoon,”

“It’s alright,” Hayoon played with her fingers, “I h-have to-“

“Come,” Minho stood up, holding out his hand, “Rest,”

“I can rest in my room-“

“Are you refusing an order from the king?”

Standing straight up, Hayoon shook her head quickly. Minho grabbed her hand, leading her towards the bed. She stalled slightly, until he guided her towards the sheets.

They were surprisingly softly, fluffy pillows nestled against her head. Hayoon whined in relief, she hadn’t slept in something so nice in at least a month.

“They told me I need to-“

“No,” Minho whispered and softly touched her cheek, “Just sleep, my love,”

[sims-half-crazy]

Early Autumn 1891

Estella had been keeping a secret. A secret that she'd held since she was a girl. She was certain that her mother must've had an inkling about it, but she'd never mentioned so maybe she didn't. Estella had watched Philibert from afar. She'd attended the funerals of his sisters and only brother. He and his brother, Ferdinand, had been childhood friends with Eugene. When Ferdinand had died, Philibert had all but disappeared. Over the years, Estella had heard mother and Mrs. Fontaine complain about their respective children and their lack of communication while away at university. It seemed to be a common occurence in young men.

Estella always kept her ears open for any gossip about Philibert. She thought he was just perfect. He was handsome, funny, and intelligent. He could be hot-headed and jealous but even Adonis had his faults. After years of avoiding his mother, Philibert had come home for a visit a while back and Estella had seen her chance to be included in his life. It was an easy thing to manuever. All she did was suggest that she invite her friends over for a small musicale to showcase her skills and she casually mentioned that she'd seen Philibert walking with his father the day before. True to form, her mother immediately took the bait and sent out notices to her friends inviting them over the next day for refreshments and musical performance. Her plan worked better than she could have hoped, because Philibert had been so moved by her performance that he sought her out afterwards and they had a lovely time getting to know one another again. Estella was over the moon that he was paying attention to her. She'd not known that he was so appreciative of music. This discovery only cemented that they were meant for each other more firmly in her mind.

The problem of his returning to school arose a few days later when it was overheard that he was leaving the next day. Estella was moved to action and quickly penned a note to Philibert asking him to pay her a call before he returned to his studies. Philibert called that very afternoon and thus began their correspondence. They'd been regularly writing to one another for about a year, when Philibert decided to surprise his mother and Estella with a visit home, but on the way home he stopped by the pub with some of his mates. He staggered up the drive where the row of homes stood atop the hill. His home was next door to Estella's.

Estella had just finished playing a game of chess with Eugene when he said he was off to bed, and Estella had gazed out the front window when she saw Philibert start up the drive. Something looked off with him. He was moving with less grace than he usually displayed. She quickly donned her hat and rushed out the front door to help him. "Are you quite alright, Philibert?" Estella reached him and placed a guiding hand on his back, but he took her hand and pulled her to face him. He gazed at her with an intensity that she was familiar with. The same kind of intensity that she felt while her fingers splayed over the keys of her piano. His gaze bore into hers as he dipped his head closer to hers.

"Estella." Just her name dropped from his lips and she was lost. It didn't matter that they were standing in the drive that lead to both their homes. It didn't matter that no official words of love had been spoken. They were friends and they'd become confidants and she wanted him to be more. She wished for it fervently before she laid her head to her pillow every night and now he was here and he needed her help, but he was looking at her the way that she'd dreamt so many times and the only thing she could think of was how nice it would be to feel his lips pressed against hers. At first she was uncertain that the whisper light warmth of his lips was actually a kiss, but then the kiss deepened just a bit and she was elated. Unfortunately, the mothers were their to witness their intimate moment.

"Philibert! Estella! What ever is going on here," Léopoldine exclaimed!

Philibert took in Estella's face for a moment more before sliding into a lazy smile and looking directly at his mother, "I do believe that I just kissed Miss Estella and enjoyed it." The mothers collectively gasped at his outrageous comment, and Estella tried to move aside but he grasped her hand.

"Philibert and I have been corresponding since the musicale. We've become very good friends...," Estella rushed out the words to be interrupted by her mother.

"We can see how friendly you've become. Why did you not tell us?"

"I- I- I don't know. It was nice to have a secret," Estella stuttered and Philibert squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"I did not plan on making such a grand gesture tonight, but I'm not upset by it either. I know that we must marry and I can't think of a better way to ring in Estella's 18th birthday than by standing up in church and taking her as my wife. Is that acceptable to the mothers?"

"It's fine with me, but Estella must agree." Staring up at her soon to be husband, Estella knew that the answer was shining across her face like a 100 lanterns in the night sky. She reached up to fix a fallen lock of hair and brush it out of his eyes. "I don't really suppose we need an answer because it's plainly evident that you will take him. Come let's go inside and we can discuss the particulars tomorrow."

[creator-of-calm-queer-chaos]

Febuwhump day 9: Found Footage with Peter and the Avengers

For @febuwhump ‘s challenge! Day 9: Found footage with Peter and the Avengers

Ao3 stand alone: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44926849 

Ao3 as chapter: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44655928/chapters/113042605

Timeline: god knows, fictional timeline pre civil war but Peter's there?? Nothing makes sense but we're going with it

TW: kidnapping, torture, broken ribs, cuts, all that fun stuff we love

Tony had mixed feelings about going back there. On one hand, Peter had made it back safe. On the other hand, burn the fuckers to the ground. Burning the fuckers to the ground won. 

Peter had arrived at the Avengers Tower at 2 in the morning about a week prior. He swung himself up to the open level and stumbled inside. Tony and Nat were sitting on the couch in an intense game of chess when he did. Immediately, they both sprang to their feet and ran over. Peter was wearing his suit but didn’t have his mask on, and was covered in blood and dirt. 

“What happened?!” Tony yelled, gently guiding him over to the elevator. Nat followed. 

“I… got kidnapped,” Peter panted, clutching his ribs. “Shit, that hurts.” 

Nat picked him up like a baby, and he let her. 

“Tell us later,” she said. “Oh my маленький паук, we’ll fix this.” 

They made their way to the med bay, and Nat placed him on the table. 

“JARVIS, scan him, what’s wrong?” Tony ordered. 

Immediately, a light was scanning Peter and information popped up on the screens. 

“It seems his ribs are fractured, his left ulna is broken, and there’s a rough gash on his right thigh, as well as several small things but those seem to be healing rapidly. I would suggest setting the ulna and cleaning the gash first,” JARVIS said. “Mr Parker, if you could remove your suit?” 

Peter did, and the night was filled with JARVIS and Nat stitching him up and setting his bone. Tony held his hand, and was almost more panicked. As Nat finished the stitches and JARVIS finished wrapping his leg in a cast, Peter heaved a sigh and looked at them. 

“Fine. I’ll tell you. As long as!” he added, wincing as Nat tied the knot. “As long as you don’t fly off there and murder them right now.” 

Grudgingly, Tony and Nat nodded. 

“Good. I was patrolling in upper Manhattan, like normal, but I was swinging over these alleyways that are trouble, and then someone threw a net over me.” 

“Like a fishing net?” Tony asked. Peter nodded. 

“Exactly! It was weighted, and they caught me mid-swing, so I fell on top of a rooftop. Those things are super hard to get out of -” he exhaled, and Nat handed him some water. He drank, then kept talking “- so I was tangled in it, trying to get out, when a group of people opened a door to the roof, I think, and they came out and one of them smashed my head with a fire extinguisher.” 

“Oof,” Tony muttered. 

“Yeah, so then I’m knocked out, but when I come to I’m in the boot of a trunk and it feels like we’re going down a really bumpy road. They hadn’t taken off my mask, though. And so Karen’s online, and she tells me where we are and then we pull over. There’s this butchery in Hunts Point but I guess it’s a front because when they opened the trunk and pulled me out the back door was open and it was full of people milling about tables and maps and stuff. So then Karen helps me get out of the cuffs they put me in and I do my thing and get away and… yeah,” Peter finished quietly. He had rushed through the last part, and something about it seemed off, but neither Nat nor Tony pressed. 

“We’ll get them,” Nat said, standing up and facing the windows. “I promise.” 

Tony hugged him gently and kissed his head. 

Four days later, Steve, Tony, Nat, Sam, Clint, and Peter suited up and made their way to the site. Peter was nervous, but Tony had insisted on taking them down. So, as they stood just across the water from the building, Peter nervously twisted his hands. 

“It’s hard, going back to a place where you were hurt,” Nat said. He hadn’t even heard her approach. “You doing okay, маленький паук?” 

Peter nodded, then shook his head. “I don’t know if I can do this.” 

“You can stay here,” she offered. “We can go in and kick their asses and turn them in.” 

“No, I can’t do that, either.” He took a deep breath. “I can do this. Just be there. That’s all I need to do.” 

“Damn right,” Tony said, walking up to him and putting his arm around him. “We’ll do all the work. Just be there.” 

Peter nodded and offered him a hasty smile. With that, Tony picked up Peter and Clint as Sam picked up Steve and Nat, and they flew across the river. 

With a threataning clang, they landed on the metal roof of the ‘butchery.’ Clint loaded his bow and Nat drew her guns as they went down the ladder. 

“Ready?” Tony asked, then busted down the back door without asking. 

It was empty. There were some tables and chairs in the huge space, but not a single person was there. The six of them stood in the doorway for a moment, looking around. Slowly, they advanced, weapons drawn. 

“Hello?” Tony called. Only his echo answered. 

“This is a trap,” Steve whispered. 

“No shit, Sherlock. Or do you not understand that reference,” Sam hissed back. 

“Elementary,” Steve responded. 

With a clang, just as Peter crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind them. He yelped and spun around. A whirring noise began, and a light blinded all of them. Nat fired her gun automatically, but as they recovered, they could see the projector on the opposite side of the room.  

“What’s going on?” Clint asked, sweeping the room. 

“No heat signatures anywhere,” Tony muttered. 

“Guys,” Sam said. He was facing the wall behind them. 

Images were being projected on them. The team backed up and moved out of the light. It was a video of the werehouse they were standing in, except it was packed with people. Peter shrunk behind Tony, trembling. Clint fired an arrow at the images, but it only hit the wall. 

“What was that for?” Steve asked. 

“Hell if I know,” he muttered. 

Then the door in the video opened with a clang. Three people dragged a hooded Peter in. Tony inhaled sharply. In the video, they were dragging Peter by his shoulders, and he was clearly unconcious. Two other people came over and they chained Peter against a wall, two ropes under his armpits, one around his waist, two around his wrists, and two around his ankles. He was spread like a star against the wall. 

“Peter, what is this?” Steve asked, not taking his eyes of the video. Peter didn’t answer, still hiding behind Tony. “You said they didn’t hurt you.” 

“Shush, look,” Sam said softly, nodding back to the wall. 

Someone else came up to Peter’s limp body and jabbed a needle into his arm and took off the hood. His mask was off. Within a few seconds, Peter groggily raised his head and looked around. It took a second, but then he became panicked. 

“Wh- what’s going on?” video-Peter exclaimed. “Who are you?” 

“Nothing to you. Just pain,” one of them said. “You hurt each one of us, in one way or another. For me? You killed my brother. And so I’ll kill you for that,” they snarled. 

Video-Peter shrunk into himself, and he looked absolutely petrified. Then the person flipped open a switchblade and sank it deftly into Peter’s leg. Video-Peter let out a terrible scream and everyone jumped. Real Peter cowered and Tony instinctively grabbed him and hugged him close. To their horror, the giant mass of people queued up and each delivered a slice, punch, slap, or stab to Peter. He wailed and screamed and pleaded, but nothing deterred them. He yelled for them, for Mr Stark and Natasha and Steve and Clint and Ned and everyone he loved. But none of them arrived. His suit was ripped aside, and his abdomen was a mass of bloody flesh. His face was red and it looked like his nose was broken. Slowly, he fell silent and his screams turned to whimpers turned to groans turned to silence. Finally, his blood was pooling on the ground, and they stopped. 

“That’s for everyone you couldn’t save,” one of them hissed. But Video-Peter’s chin was resting against his chest. 

The video stopped. 

Everyone turned to Peter, who was silently crying in Tony’s arms. Tony was crying as well, and everyone was shocked. 

“I’ll kill them,” Tony snarled, unusually quiet. “I’ll kill them all.” 

“Let’s get out of here,” Steve said. 

No one protested when Sam kicked open the door. Peter was silent as Tony picked him up, and no one complained when Sam took two trips across the river so that Tony didn’t have to put Peter down. In fact, no one said a word the entire way back to the compound. It was only once they arrived and had taken off their suits and were all holding hot chocolate when they finally cried. All of them, together, crying for their son. 

[thechaoticfanartist]

(banner by @arrthurpendragon )

The Clone Wars Gets A New Victim (2021 - 2023)

Chapter Episode guide

01x01: In A Galaxy Far Far Away

Grim Kennet appears in a brand new universe.

01x02: A Lesson In Belonging

Grim struggles with the fact she's from another universe.

01x03: Grim and Ahsoka

Grim begins to develop unexpected feelings.

01x04: The Blue Shadow Virus

Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Grim must save Naboo.

01x05: Innocents Of Ryloth

Obi-Wan, Grim, and a small Clone force take on a powerful droid cannon.

01x06: Future Fears

Grim has to learn to separate between the present and the future.

01x07: Bounty Hunters

Anakin, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Grim work with four deadly bounty hunters.

01x08: Learning The Dance

Grim has a couple of sparring matches.

01x09: The Reality

Grim begins to realize the dangerous reality of war.

01x10: Legacy Of Terror

Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Grim lead a search for Luminara.

01x11: Silly Plans And Hopeful Dreams

With no missions or assignments Grim decides to gather evidence about Darth Sidious.

01x12: The Duchess Of Mandalore

Obi-Wan and Grim are sent to investigate the truth.

02x01: Truth And Discovery

Anakin and Grim learn the truth about themselves.

02x02: A Secret Kept And A Secret Told

Grim grapples with the truths that have been revealed.

02x03: A Chance To Save

Grim and Ahsoka sneak along on a dangerous mission.

02x04: A Taste Of Darkness

Grim goes too far.

02x05: Haunted By Darkness

Grim must face her inner darkness.

02x06: Compassion Breaks

Grim struggles with who she is.

02x07: The Fixer

Grim comforts Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

03x01: The Moment Of Truth And The Moment To Lie

When Obi-Wan fakes his death Grim and Anakin take things into their own hands.

03x02: Scars And Ghosts

Grim's search for answers leaves a permanent mark.

03x03: The Dark's Return

When Maul returns Grim follows Obi-Wan against his wishes.

03x04: Scars Of A Burden

Grim grapples with her trauma.

03x05: Stolen Moments

Grim and Ahsoka help advise some rebels - Grim wants to do more.

03x06: Regrets

Obi-Wan, Adi Galia, and Grim investigate a recent attack that leads them to Maul and Savage.

03x07: Death In The Night

Obi-Wan and Grim disobey the Jedi Council.

03x08: Cracked Hearts

Grim can no longer hide the truth

03x09: A Goodbye

When Ahsoka is framed for a crime she didn't commit Grim must make a choice.

03x10: The Final Chance

Grim and Fives work to uncover the truth.

03x11: A Reunion

Grim and Ahsoka see each other one last time.

04x01: The Beginning

Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Grim must rescue the Chancellor.

04x02: The Game Of Chess

Grim and Palpatine are forced to pretend.

04x03: The Endgame

Grim, Anakin, Palpatine, and Obi-Wan must find a way to get to Coruscant

04x04: Check

Truths are revealed.

04x05: Checkmate

Grim loses.

04x06: The Day Before Night

Grim and Obi-Wan face off against General Grievous.

04x07: And A Million Voices Cried Out

Order 66 is executed.

04x08: The Ashes Of Our Home

Upon seeing the ruins of the Jedi Temple Grim begins to question her beliefs.

04x09: The Deaths Of Heroes

Grim confronts Anakin on Mustafar. Obi-Wan must rush to find his Padawans before it's too late.

04x10: A Spark Of Light

Hope survives.