#Had they actually planned the kidnapping at this point; or did they decide to do it /because/ Shinichi had just brought his name out

[pureconancommentary]

"We can't do anything"? How about invite her inside your house, Agasa? She's been waiting in the snow for three hours, just standing there doing nothing else, and you just watched and thought 'oh man, that's sad. ...Anyways, shame on you Shinichi'.

I mean, there are other concerns, such as 'how did she arrive to wait for three hours and Conan seems to have only arrived'. If I were to assume, he had to talk with Megure for a little while as Shinichi for case reasons, and then slip away and return to the agency, only to find that Ran wasn't there. Though it also brings up how it'd take three whole hours, and also why Ran decided to wait in front of Shinichi's house in the cold when she'd previously just waltzed inside when she thought he might have gone home. Even now, right when the lights turn on, she just pushes the gate and front door open, so there's no reason we see for why she'd stand there for three hours. She's not even wearing pants, she's in a skirt with long socks, there is no reason to have her do that.

[tizeline]

TSAU Season 2 Finale - Part 2

Click here to get to Part 1

So Leo and Raph portal to Big Mama's hotel, Raph isn't very enthusiastic about making a deal with Big Mama considering Draxum has always warned them of how dangerous she can be, but it's not like they have a lot of better options. So while Raph is contemplating how to get BM's help without completely screwing themselves over, Leo immedietly jumps in as soon as they meet her and suggests that Raph can fight in the Battle Nexus in exchange for her help! Without consulting Raph about any of this first! Uh oh! So needless to say, Raph starts freaking out a little bit about this, which is made even worse when Leo just decides to reveal that the both of them were made from Lou Jitsu's DNA! UH OH!!

So the reason why Draxum has always tried keeping his sons away from Big Mama is because just them being genetically modified super soldiers already makes it more likely that BM would wanna kidnap them and force them to become gladiators in her Battle Nexus. This possibility doubles triples quadruples if she were to ever find out that they're more or less biologically speaking Lou Jitsu's kids. Not to mention she might wanna take revenge on Draxum for stealing Lou Jitsu from her. All of this is to say, Draxum has always made it very clear to his sons that this is something they need to keep hidden from her. It's a big secret. A big secret that Leo just revealed to Big Mama. The one thing Draxum told them not to do? Yeah Leo just did it. What the fuck.

Listen, Leo's inital offer of having Raph fight in the Nexus wasn't quite enough to get Big Mama to agree to the deal, she needed an extra push, so Leo took a calculated risk and revealed their secret origins. From here on out it plays out basically like in canon, with Raph freaking out the entire time. They both get Lou Jitsu outfits cuz Raph is basically being marketed as "Lou Jitsu Jr". Then when the battle begins Leo also gets yeeted into the arena, it's revealed that he actually planned this entire thing, him and Raph defeat the enemies and Raph is confronted witht he fact that Leo may or may not be a tactical genius???

No one ever really realized just how strategic Leo can be, including Leo! Granted, he can also be very impulsive and reckless at times so it's not entirely their fault no one ever realized Leo's full potential. That being said, he can clearly be real clever with coming up with strategies and plans when he puts his mind to it, he just outsmarted BIG MAMA! No one outsmarts Big Mama! Raph had already started to learn that maybe he should trust Leo a bit more than he usually does when he found out that Leo was right about the whole Dark Armour thing, but this moment right here really cements it for him. But with this little side-quest over and done with, it's time to head back to Donnie, April, Splinter and Shelldon.

So what have they been up to this entire time? Well, again it's rather similar to in canon, they've just been fighting Shredder the entire time lol, April gets to kick ass using a crane! Mikey doesn't get to yeet that big boat this time tough :( since he's not even here. What does still happen is that Donnie almost gets his fucking shell ripped to pieces by Shredder (he's called that for a reason ig). Donnie's battle shell in the AU already isn't really armour and it leaves half of his shell exposed, and he's not even weaing it right now! THANKFULLY he has gotten good enough at using his Ninpō at this point so that he can use that to shield himself, cuz otherwise LEMME TELL YA he'd be fucking DEAD.

Finally they end up that alleyway where Donnie have managed to calculate that Shredder is supposed to appear in. That's when Leo and Raph return with the mystic collar they got from Big Mama, again the rest basically plays out like in canon, Shredder shows up and they manage to get the collar on him and he's finally defeated, yay! Big Mama shows up, sends him to some magic prison dimension and I'm sure this is definitely not gonna become a problem later on, yay again!

With that entire distaster prevented, everyone is now tired as fuck so it's time to go home. With all the drama going on in the Draxum family at the moment, Splinter suggest that Leo and Raph should stay at his and Donnie's home, if only for a few days if they don't feel comfortable going back to Draxum. Leo and Raph decline though since they feel a responsibility to make sure that Draxum and Mikey are doing okay, especially since The Hidden City authorites may or may not come after them now that all their crimes have been exposed. But Leo and Donnie promise to meet up again soon now that they're officially BROS!

Aaaand that's the TSAU season 1 finale! A lot of stuff is gonna go down in season 2, like all the Draxum family drama, Mikey's angsty teen arc, Shredder coming back and causing problems, Mikey maybe getting a cat, Donnie properly bonding with at least some of his brothers, and finding out wherever Casey disappeared to! So yeah, stay tuned for that!

Also bonus doodle vvv

[sunderwight]

SV fic where Luo Bingge discovers that Shen Jiu had a long-lost half-brother or something, and subsequently decides that he's going to infiltrate the minor sect which this "Shen Yuan" belongs to in order to get close to him and then indulge in revenge fantasy 2.0 when it inevitably turns out that Shen Yuan is like Shen Jiu (i.e. a horrible abusive scum teacher).

So Bingge uses some magical object or technique or other, makes himself look like a scrawny 12-14 year old, then puts himself in Shen Yuan's path in hopes of convincing the man to take him on as a disciple. The idea being that after Shen Yuan abuses him, Bingge will be justified in reenacting his Shen Qingqiu Revenge Arc again and maybe finally feeling some closure about the whole thing.

Yes, this is a very deranged plan. No, no one is going to tell the emperor of the three realms that. Bingge also wants it to be clear that this has nothing whatsoever to do with his recent escapade in an alternate universe, except that he was inspired to find Shen Jiu's relative as a consequence of that. But he's absolutely sure that this guy is going to turn out just as rotten as his brother, given the opportunity. That is definitely the only reason he is doing this!

Flash forward about four years. Bingge's retainers are begging on their knees for him to actually come back and do some administrative work. The harem is running itself at this point and they're all very terrified of the situation with Liu Mingyan and Sha Hualing (i.e. ruling with lesbian iron fists) and whatever the heck Ning Yingying is up to (no one is certain but it's something). The outer provinces are rebelling. Mobei Jun's somehow found another weird human surnamed Shang to cavort with, except this one is basically running admin for the entire northern kingdom now and no one's even sure if they're fucking or if it's some kind of mind control situation or what.

Bingge is annoyed. He doesn't have a good explanation for why a bunch of demon lords would be showing up on the doorstep of Tiny Cultivation Sect to beg him for anything. They're going to spoil his cover! And they're interrupting his schedule! It's already four o'clock and he hasn't started on Shizun's dinner yet! Shoo! Get lost!

Anyway, eventually some of his demon followers get desperate and dramatically kidnap him. Shen Yuan is horrified and grieved when it seems that his precious disciple, so like white lotus Luo Binghe from the novel, has been captured by demons. He tries to track the assailants down, but they've covered their tracks too well. In the end, there's only one path left to him to pursue: taking this matter to the protagonist!

Yes, the protagonist! Because the thing is, Shen Yuan noticed the similarities between his disciple and the book character he so admired. Not only that, but he did manage to glimpse Bingge one time from afar. It wasn't anywhere near to a real interaction, but it was enough for him to notice the strong resemblance between the protagonist and the mistreated little lamb who showed up at his doorstep. A resemblance for which there can only be one explanation:

Shen Yuan's disciple is one of Binghe's kids!

Yes, he had it figured out since fairly early on. Not only was there a resemblance, and not only were their dispositions quite similar, but also the boy showed a lot of signs of some demonic heritage. Shen Yuan was just working up to broaching the subject, partly because he had been trying to avoid any direct or even indirect interactions with the emperor, and partly because he... became somewhat reluctant to part ways with his student. Sue him! He got attached! And anyway, he knew how missing child plots usually went. There was probably someone in the harem who was out for his disciple's blood, and it wouldn't be safe to send him back into that mess until he was strong enough to look after himself.

But as is inevitable, the plot seems to have reclaimed Shen Yuan's student all on its own.

He just... needs to make sure that it isn't a tragic outcome. It seems it falls on him to make the emperor aware of his son's survival, and subsequent peril, and help launch a rescue!

Which also means approaching Luo Binghe in person, which he knows is very risky indeed, due to his connection to the infamous Shen Qingqiu! He'd been avoiding the protagonist at all costs for that exact reason.

But if it's his only hope of rescuing his disciple, he will simply have to take the risk, and hope that enough time has passed that Luo Binghe doesn't read too much into a shared surname and a passing resemblance. Or that restoring the emperor's long-lost son to him will be worth seem lenience for the crime of being connected to Shen Qingqiu. Maybe if he's lucky, he will even be allowed to continue visiting his disciple! (Ha, yeah right! More likely, Luo Binghe's going to take his head for hiding his own kid from him for so long!)

Anyway, cue Luo Bingge running around swapping between his Emperor and Disciple forms, dramatically trying to orchestrate a situation where he can fake the emperor's death and go back to the sect with Shizun as his disciple, or something, only for it all to blow up in his face because Shen Yuan keeps flinging himself between Bingge and potentially fatal threats that could plausibly kill him???

[radiance1]

I have decided to continue this post.

It ain't gonna be much of a story but just me putting out my thoughts okay SO.

Damian walks around Gotham with purpose, why? To find Danny of course, after he was finally allowed out of the manor after he healed from their last encounter as Robin and Killer Croc's little follower. He finds Danny where he would normally.

In an alleyway.

They enter their usual song and dance, Danny throwing attacks and Damian redirecting, blocking and occasionally sending back one of his own before Killer Croc just crawls from a nearby sewer. Waylon questions why Damian keeps coming back to fight his nibling, and how Bruce Wayne just lets him go off to do what he's doing now.

Damian does not respond, instead he asks for Killer Croc's permission to take Danny out for today, leaving both mutants (He isn't quite sure if Danny is a mutant, but he has enhanced strength so, maybe) quite surprised. Killer Croc is a bit hesitantly, mostly because he doesn't want Danny out of his sight, but he also thinks it would be good for him to go out and interact with kids his age more.

Even if it's a rich kid.

So he agrees, and Danny gets to go along with Damian for the day and Damian? He doesn't know what to do actually, he came in fully prepared for a refusal and didn't plan that far.

So he takes Danny to a dog park. Then they get ice cream, and then he finds himself chiding Danny over his form and then they're now talking about animals.

And then both Danny and Damian get kidnapped while they were just walking. Which, incredibly rude and Damian doesn't like that he would have to wait for one of his siblings to come save the both of them when they're perfectly capable of its themselves.

But. Well, he has too.

Until Danny seemingly had enough, manages to get himself out of his bindings and throws the first punch, so Damian was obligated to help him at that point. Just as they were about to deal with the last few, Killer Croc busted through a wall and put the fear of Gotham into them.

Then Damian was freed (yes he did fight with his arms bound) he realized it was practically nighttime and he had to go home.

It made a headline, not surprising actually. But they questioned what exactly the relationship Damian, Danny and Killer Crocc had with each other. Not that he actually cared.

He had another, more proper, outing to plan.

Because he wasn't ever going to verbally admit it soon, but he sees Danny as a friend.

[fanfic-obsessed]

Knowing

I have just had the worst, or best, brainwave and I need to share it. 

Here is an AU for you.

Vader thinks that he killed his wife and child, right?

Right up until he meets little Leia Organa when she is 10 years old. Like his one brain cell woke the fuck up when he was confronted with a passionate, angry little girl with Padme’s eyes and his chin. This is maybe a month after she was kidnapped and returned to Alderaan. Leia decides that she would need to learn how to be a senator and insists that Bail takes her with him to the next session of the imperial senate.  

Bail does not want to bring her to the imperial senate. However he knows very well who her birth parents were, it is either Bail brings Leia to the Imperial Senate or Leia brings Leia to the Imperial Senate, probably bringing with her someone she really shouldn’t (Like actual Obi Wan Kenobi-I just want you to picture for a moment, because Bail certainly did, looking up and realizing that Leia is charging down the halls outside his office, dragging with her a bemused and sandy Obi Wan, both in badly conceived disguises).

Bail is super stressed as he tries to run a rebellion while riding herd on his well meaning but very direct 10 year old daughter on top of his normal duties as an imperial senator. Bail is also very afraid that the moment the Emperor sees Leia, he will make the connection between Leia and Padme Amidala (The emperor does not socialize with the senate any longer, thank the stars). He has no idea that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, so has no cause to be more careful than normal (because Vader) about Vader seeing Leia. As such Bail does not even notice when Vader stops to consider them from the shadows. Leia is haranguing another planet’s senatorial aide who had chosen the wrong moment to make a bigoted joke. 

Vader is very abruptly, though mentally, thrown back to this very hallway 12 years earlier where he watched his wife do the same thing, for the same reason, possibly to this same aide. Though Leia is still a child and Padme was an adult, he can still see his wife in this little girl.

The realization that this is Padme’s child hits him with the force of a Ventanor. Followed immediately, before he even realized that this meant that his child was standing in front of him, by the soul deep knowledge that she must be protected from the Emperor at all costs. 

Vader had known for years that his suit had been designed to cause him more pain, he just thought he deserved it. The thought of Palpatine getting ahold of Padme’s daughter was abhorrent. Vader sticks to the shadows and watches, seeing how well Bail loved and protected Leia. 

While he is thinking(read Obsessing) about his daughter, the part of him that is always centered on Obi Wan points out that his old master had been one of the last people to see Padme after Vader choked her. But the little voice that spoke in Padme’s tones piped up, the shock of Leia living being enough to finally make this little voice loud enough to be heard, saying that until recently Obi Wan believed that Anakin Skywalker was all the way dead, he was protecting their child as best as he knew how. 

And Vader has issues with just about every choice Obi Wan Kenobi ever made. But he will admit that hiding Padme’s daughter was the best option. 

As Vader knows that paying too much attention to Leia would draw the Emperor’s attention, he would be willing to wait until the right moment to get his daughter back. His one concession to his need to protect her was taking one of his personal guard, one of the few units still made up almost entirely of clones, and assigning them to be Leia Organa’s bodyguard, her shadow (I also want you to take a moment to consider what that did for Bail’s stress level).  And then Vader gets to planning. 

With his one brain cell awake and focused on the Organa’s it takes Vader all of 15 minutes to realize that Bail Organa is running the Rebellion (I want it to be clear, this is not a slight on Bail at all, Anakin Skywalker was a war general, well educated through the Jedi on a number of subjects, and does have a fair measure of politics learning from both his former master and his dead wife).  However Vader is no more loyal to the Empire than Anakin was to the Republic.  In fact, upon realizing that Padme’s daughter had lived Vader firmly decided that he needed to find a way to kill Palpatine to crown Leia.  With the realization that Bail, and likely Leia (neither Vader nor Anakin have any idea what activities are appropriate for a 10 year old), are part of the Rebellion, Vader decides that The Rebellion would succeed (or everyone would die trying). 

Note: Vader only really gets away with no one realizing that he now supported the Rebellion because, well, no one can quite believe that Darth Vader supports the Rebellion. Most people think there is a new type of Space Madness, and that one of the symptoms is hallucinating Darth Vader giving you intel for the Rebellion.

By the time Leia was a teenager, rumors abound about the odd way that Vader acted around her. By sheer happenstance (and some judicial violence on Vader’s part) these rumors had never reached the Emperor. A good deal of these rumors implied that Vader was looking to the Princess of Alderaan as a wife.  The reaction Vader had, the only time it was brought up in front of him, was…impressive, even for the amount of violence he normally dealt out. Still there are members of Vader’s personal guard who watch over Leia whenever she is on Imperial Center, and no one wants to repeat the time when she was 12 when one of Bail enemies tried to kidnap her for ransom.  It took an entire corps of engineers to put those levels back to rights (after they scrubbed the blood off).  

So we get all the way up to the timeframe of ANH. The Death Star in this does not start out under the control of Darth Vader. It starts out under the control of Tarkin, it is important to note this. Leia still sends out R2D2 and C3P0 to find Obi Wan Kenobi, none of that part changes. 

It is after Leia is captured that Darth Vader shows up (does he lurk silently in any system that Leia is due to be in as often as he can get away with…why yes, yes he does). Tarkin had wanted Leia tortured, however no one wanted to find out how many decks Vader would spread their entrails across for touching her.  Vader arrives on the bridge just as Tarkin is threatening to blow up Alderaan. Tarkin orders the weapon to begin its charge. 

Leia, Leia who is so like her mother in that she will use every weapon in her arsenal, turns to Darth Vader and speaks to him for the first time. ‘Please’ she said, no effort to hide her distress, ‘please save my planet’

Something Leia had no cause to know-An angel who she resembled once thanked Anakin Skywalker for saving her planet. 

Tarkin is dead almost before she finishes speaking. Vader orders the DS weapons to power down and disengage, which is done post haste. Then announces that Leia Organa was now in control. 

So Leia now owns a Death Star (genuine article-never used). Leia is not sure if that is how this works, but no one is arguing with the tall man in black who has OPINIONS and will enforce them.  Leia manages to communicate this to her parents, who take a shuttle up to the space station to figure out what the fuck is going on, and what, if anything, they need to do next.

Two hours later: Obi Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, R2D2, C3P0, and Chewbacca have just been caught trying to sneak onto the Death Star. The Organas are still on board, trying to get answers (In that time Vader has said precisely five words to them ‘You have raised her well’).  It is to this room that the troopers manning the station (who are deeply confused and a bit conflicted because it seems like they may have all been forcibly defected from the Empire, but no one is willing to disobey Lord Vader) bring Obi Wan and co. and present them to Leia, as she is considered in command.  Somehow Luke’s full name (I kind of picture him still dumbly introducing himself to Leia, followed with ‘we’re here to rescue you’) gets used before the situation deteriorates. Which naturally causes everything to deteriorate further and faster than before.  

Far away on Imperial Center, the Emperor pauses in the middle of a hallway ‘I feel’ he says to no one ‘a disturbance in the Force.’ another pause ‘like some shit has just hit the fan’

Far away on Dagobah Yoda looks up, ‘weird, shit just got’

[notthecutesttrash]

Mascara and Tears

Content: You’ve escaped him before, and this time you’ve made a life for yourself. You decide one day to go out with another man and risk him finding you.

Warnings: 18+ Dark bloodlust Gojo, kidnapping, death, blood, implied noncon, yandere stuff you know.

Word Count: 2.5k

It’s been months after the first escape attempt. 

Gojo had been on a mission and left his door barely locked, it was enough for you to devise a plan to make a run for it. 

You were caught in half an hour. 

It’s been weeks after your second. 

You managed to drug him when he least expected it, leaving you to escape as quietly as possible. 

This time, you left no trace. This time, you’d be happy.

You’ve studied him well enough to know that he was capable of finding you. But he hasn’t, so you know you’ve done a good job. Still, you find yourself terrified even in the cold nights. Occasionally you’re overcome by fear and restlessness as paranoia surges through your mind. 

You’re angrily pressing your fingers into dough before your coworker Andy pats your back and saves you from the contemplation. “Treat the dough with a little respect (Y/n), it’s your friend, not an enemy,” he jokes and you force a small chuckle. 

“Sorry, just got too into it.” 

He laughs in response and begins to knead at one of his pieces. “I get it, sometimes it’s fun to play with and throw around. You can make some pizzas, bread, or sweets. You can do anything with dough, and that’s the beauty." He’s nearly beaming at you, and you're stifling a chortle, breaking out with a “nerd.” 

“Hey!” He points accusingly and you snicker. 

When a comfy silence erupts and you’re both drawn into your work, after a few minutes, Andy clears his throat. “So, (Y/n).”

You turn to him, and there’s a small blush on his cheeks. Your heart drops a little, and you’re begging silently. Please don’t say it.

“Do you maybe want to get drinks after this shift?” 

He said it. 

Inwardly sighing, you squint your eyes as if lost in thought and he stammers. “I mean, I know you always have a busy schedule, but I just thought- I don’t know, it’d be nice to get your mind away from things for a change. You always look so tense.” 

No matter how many times he or your other coworkers would ask, you were always busy. One day your sister had to be picked up, you had to run to the hospital, or your dog needed walking. Meanwhile, in reality, you’d sit at home and cradle yourself in fear. Sure that the one moment you're caught off guard, you'd find Gojo sitting quietly in your room with the lights off, ready to take you just like the last time.

Humming in response, you agree, you are always tense. 

Maybe just one day of going out would do you good. He wasn’t bound to find you just from a chat at the bar right? There’s only so much sitting and moping around in lonely shivers that you can partake in.

Besides, if you’re actually free now, you can finally have friends. People to make you happy, to have conversations with, and to freely walk around with wherever you want. Rather than just being kept in a locked room that was no bigger than a dozen feet across. 

Maybe if he finds you again, you’d at least be happy with just having this bit of freedom. 

Shaking yourself out of the thoughts, your brows knit together angrily. You’re not going to let that happen. 

Turning to Andy, you give him a reassuring smile. “Yeah, that’d be fine.” He gasps and practically bounces in the joy that he attempts to so poorly conceal. 

He works with the dough a little less focused now as the grin stays glued to his face. “Awesome, so there’s this place around town that just opened up, heard it’s fancy though, don’t know if you want to go there.” 

You shrug. Truthfully because you never went anywhere or did anything you had a bit of spare money saved up. You didn’t mind splurging for today.

But what if Gojo finds your records? What if somehow has your bank account information? Or finds you had gone there with another man? 

“(Y/n)?” Andy calls out when you don’t answer.

“No no,  I don’t mind, sounds great. But don’t know if we’re really well equipped for that after work.” Gesturing to your clothes filled with baking powder, Andy glances to his own and shares a laugh. 

“You’re right.” A blush scatters to his face again and you’re exhaling a small sigh. 

“I guess I can pick you up after..?” He trails off expectantly, his hand brushing against his neck as he timidly averts away. If only Gojo hadn’t ever been involved, then you’d think about having a possible romance.

“Sure.” 

You press your hands into the substance for what feels like hours until your wrist feels like it’s going to fall off. And when you go home, you’re holding your breath, a stammering in your chest as you walk through the door. Your first instinct is to always immediately click the lights and when you'd notice nothing, you'll slump in great relief. 

You refuse to allow the thoughts of this kidnapper to ruin your day out. You’re free now, that’s all there is to it, and you dress yourself up real pretty to prove that. Even having the liberty to apply makeup which you’ve never done for Gojo. 

Not even if he tortured you and rubbed the bottom of your lip, declaring just how pretty you’d be if they were stained red just for him to ruin. Even if he forced you on your knees and implied just how much he’d love it if he could see the mascara rolling down your cheeks while you cried. 

This time, you were going to be beautiful to no one else's enjoyment but yourself.

Andy had been patiently waiting and when you stepped out his heart sped into his throat. You smile at him and his skin burns red. 

“Now I almost feel a little underdressed,” he mumbles awkwardly glancing down at his attire. 

“Don’t worry, you look fine. Anything’s better than the baking powder.” Sharing a giggle, you two begin walking, the clack of your heels echoing against the sidewalk.

Andy is continuously glimpsing to you, then at the ground. His bottom lip draws into his mouth. “You look.. amazing by the way,” he finally breaks the silence, and you turn to him, gleaming.  

“Thanks.”

He gazes at you too long, gawking in amazement, and you lightly poke him out of the concentration. “Relax, I’m not that good-looking.” You joke, and he instantly shakes his head. 

“That’s not true (Y/n), seriously, you are.. you’re beautiful.” 

It's been awhile since you had a genuine compliment that wasn't so creepy sounding.

You would’ve rolled your eyes at the twinkling in his orbs. But this time you’re flattered and a light pink forms.

“Thanks.. I don’t typically get pretty for events or anything… I don’t really go out in general.” 

“Why not?” He’s quick to ask, brows knitting in worry. 

You cuss beneath your breath. Too much oversharing. Not talking to a person in a while will do that to you.

“Nothing- I just don’t like to. More of an.. inside person I guess.” Your eyes avoid his peering and he breaks out into a small smile. 

“I get it, my sis is like that, introvert right?”

You nod. That wasn’t remotely the reason, but you'll let him think that.

“I’m a bit of both, you know, I like talking but not too much. Sometimes it can be draining, sometimes it can be-“

“This isn’t going to be like your rambles about dough is it?” You cut him off jokingly and he shyly averts. 

“No no- sorry.. I have a tendency to talk too much.” Andy grazes his arm awkwardly, and you feel him distance himself a little. Perhaps that was a bit mean. 

You try to ease the heaviness in the atmosphere. “I like hearing your rambling. I was just being sarcastic, don't worry. Maybe it wasn’t the best time to joke like that,” you admit, and you notice him visibly relax. 

“That’s okay.” He beams and you mimic the expression.

When you reach the bar you’re in a nice little section by yourselves, and you’re surrounded by comfortable lighting, modern decorations, leather brown chairs, and relaxed people doing their own things.

It was amazing. 

“You act like you haven’t seen people in years,” Andy chuckles as he takes a sip of his drink. 

An evident frown shifts your expresion and he notices. His hand carefully touches your wrist and you shift to him.

“Sorry, did I offend?” 

Shaking your head, you force a small smile and declare an excuse. Whether it be along the lines of “just tired,” “lost in thought,” or anything else, it was all the same. The truth was too horrid even for you to bear. Seriously, how unlucky did you have to be for that?

There was only so much you could do for yourself. You’re ecstatic you managed to escape. You have a life now. You can see all these people, revel in the laughter, maybe even fall in love and have children. Though, maybe you were getting too ahead of yourself.

You made sure not to get drunk. When you walked home that was always the scariest part of the day. Whether it be at night, or in the morning, it didn’t make too much of a difference. A dangerous fear you have is walking pass a certain tall figure with white hair.

Though he’d more likely take the scarier approach. Stealthy. Watching you from the shadows and contemplating when he’d take you. You wondered many times if this was the case already. Perhaps he is just toying with your freedom. 

Repeatedly you force away from the anxieties. You can’t think so negatively. You have a life now. It’s already been a few weeks. You bested him whether he liked it or not. You won. 

Andy fortunately isn’t too drunk either, maybe a bit tipsy, but nothing unsafe. Man or not, having another person beside you made you feel comfortable. Even if Gojo was watching, he or any rational person isn’t likely to just snatch a person when they’re with another. It’s just too suspicious. No one can risk that. 

“Are you okay? You look scared,” Andy asks, and you fake a tug at your lips, a pouring discomfort in you. 

“I’m okay, it’s just the night can be a little creepy you know." You quickly reason.

Andy purses his lips, pondering a moment before draping his arm over your shoulder. Surprise rushes to you, a swarm of butterflies swooning at the gesture. He was warm, and his grip unlike Gojo’s was gentle. It was like you’d break if he held you any harder. 

“Don’t worry, I’m here.” He speaks with a determined but sweet tone and you giggle, leaning into his touch. 

“How sweet.” A mocking voice behind your form makes you stop dead in your tracks, eyes going wide. 

“(Y/n)?” Andy turns when you aren’t keeping up with him, and you’re frozen, still as a plank of wood. His eyes blink up at the cause, surely meeting your worst nightmare. 

You're terrified, but instinctively you whirl around, tears brewing in your eyes as you shout, “Don’t hurt him!” 

Gojo’s blue orbs are shining down at you, and he’s smiling wide.

“Oh?” He muses, raising his brow as he walks over to you. Every step he made caused you to flinch in place, and your hands were shaking as he rounded closer.

Suddenly his lips press to your ears and he whispers, “Should’ve thought about that before you ran off and made new friends.” 

Instinctively, Andy rushes to shove him away and Gojo holds out his hand, forcing him to stop in place. He grins, and you step back, fixating on those eyes you dreaded so much. “Don’t..” you plead.

Snickering, he strolls to Andy whose almost frozen, and he casually observes his features with a dark gaze. “Hm, I at least expected you to pursue someone better.” 

You open your mouth to speak, and blood splatters over you, gushing atop your pretty makeup. Your throat is unable to let out a blaring scream, instead your shaky hands move to your vision. Red. Red liquid splotched against your fingers, staining your skin. 

Gojo lets out a tired exhale, and he starts caressing your hair in the way you hate so much. The way he’d pet you without an ounce of care once he'd finish giving you a punishment or would cause you to heave out with sobs.

He's scanning you for a second until he moves and you instinctively shift back. Repeating, you step and something big crunches beneath your heel, causing you to fall back.

Finally, the scream escapes, and you’re rushing to crawl away from the horror. Blood is decorating the ground, the walls, the trash that lays around, everything, anywhere but on him. Gojo is sauntering, and there's a grin spreading his features wide.

Your desperate movement leads to no avail when your back hits a wall and Gojo eventually crouches down to you.

“Get away from me!” You shout as Gojo tugs your hair forcefully back.

His blue orbs glower at you. “Huh?” His grip tightens, and you whine from the pain searing in your scalp. “What was that?” He tugs harder and you scream.

Tears start to cascade, and you plead desperately. “Please d-don’t take me back.” The force pulling your locks lessens, and he stoically observes the scene.

You’re hiccuping through your sobs as you keep going, “P-Please… I don’t want to go back, I’ll do a-anything, p-please don’t take me there, please.” 

A grin finally breaks out as he speaks, “Now, where’s the fun in that?” He evilly snickers in a way that has you crying more. Even if you know pleading with him will do nothing, you’re desperate.

But it’ll only further amuse him.

“I don’t want t-to go." You’re whining pathetically, and he exhales a disappointed sigh as he ignores you to study the mascara falling in streams at your cheeks. 

“Man, what a waste,” he mutters to himself then presses a hand to his chin, tilting his head as he loses himself in thought.

“I’m surprised you even managed to avoid me for a whole month, I’m almost impressed.” His view is fixated on the sky as he continues. 

“Looks like the first punishment wasn’t enough. So hm, what am I going to do now?” He fakes a curiosity while a glimmer shines in his eyes. He knows, and so do you, and you’re sniveling through the choke in your throat at the thought. 

“I was gonna be all nice to you too. Even when you don’t deserve it,” he sighs. “I was gonna take you back home, have a sweet dinner date since it’s been so long, but.. since you decided to get all pretty for that guy there,” he motions to the corpse behind him, then zones in on you.

“I’ll have a bit of fun with you first.” 

You’re exploding into a fit of panicked tears, desperate begs falling from your lips. “P-Please don’t do this.” 

“Aw,” He mockingly coos, wiping a few tears from your eyes. 

“Don’t worry. You’ll love it.” 

·:*:· ★ ·:*:· ·:*:· ★ ·:*:·　 

A quick sketch for my girls out there.

[winterspellsfrozenkit]

Theory as to Why Disney's Hades Wanted to Overthrow Zeus

So, I was thinking recently about why Hades tries to overthrow Zeus in Disney's Hercules. The reason that the Muses give us is because he "thought the dead were dull and uncouth", but that feels super flimsy to me as an excuse. Especially when we see Hades say this:

He points out the scheme's been around for 18 years, which means that Hades had set up the hostile takeover scheme right around Hercules's birth, but he hadn't checked with the Fates until the day Zeus had that party for Hercules on Olympus. How do we know he hadn't checked before? Clotho tells Lachesis they are not supposed to tell anyone the future. I doubt she'd argue if they'd already told Hades the future of his plans before.

Also, while Hades may not like his job, his job makes him the most powerful king because EVERYONE will eventually become his subject. Why would he even want to rule over the living if he thinks the dead are so dull and uncouth? It's not like being dead robs you of intelligence or good manners... So why then would he want to rule Olympus and overthrow Zeus?

Well, I noticed this in the song "One Last Hope".

The song has Fall and Winter. If you've studied Greek Mythology, you know that means Hades is married because Fall and Winter happen in Greek mythology when Persephone is in the Underworld. We actually do see Persephone and Demeter in several shots on Olympus in the movie.

On top of that, Hades says this when he's offering his deal to Hercules.

I think that Hades decided to overthrow Zeus because he was angry that Persephone had to spend Spring and Summer with her mother, rather than being his wife and Queen all the time AND on top of that, he had to take the rap for Demeter causing a mass famine over her daughter's marriage to him. Here's why I think this.

When Hades shows up, he tries to break the ice with a joke, but we see the party glaring at him. You know who we don't see? Demeter, who by all accounts, SHOULD be there and the ANGRIEST with him. After all, in Greek myth, he kidnapped his wife. But she's noticeably ABSENT.

The ones glaring at him are Ares, Athena, Poseidon, Dionysus/Bacchus, and Aphrodite. All people who were likely massively affected by the massive famine Demeter put in place. Wars and tactical strategies don't go well if the people are starving to the point of death, repopulation drops if there's not enough food, if there's no grapes growing, there's no wine or drunken madness, and besides the ocean, Poseidon is also over horses and many horses likely died due to lack of plant growth. But they don't seem to be mad at Demeter, given Poseidon is chatting with her earlier in the scene.

Instead, all the ire seems to be directed at Hades, who, as far as we know, hasn't DONE anything to warrant that reaction. All he did was tell a poor joke, but everyone is looking at him like he caused a major problem by being there. Hades brushes their reactions off and starts trying to play nice and then Zeus grabs him and says, "You finally made it!" And notice Hades's face here:

Hades looks so uncomfortable with Zeus trying to make small talk, but he's trying to hide his negative emotions. He's forcing a smile and when Zeus asks how things are in the Underworld, he responds with this:

Hades, then focuses on Hercules, and doesn't seem to have a problem with him until he crushes his finger, but the point where Hades drops the mask and shows his ire is when Zeus says "Join the celebration!"

He says, "Hey! Love to, babe, but unlike you gods lounging about up here, I, regrettably, have a full-time gig, that you, by the way, so charitably bestowed on me, Zeus. So, can't. Love to but can't." He then quickly leaves.

I hear this as Hades subtly reminding Zeus that he has a taxing job that he can't be away from too long, especially now that the one person who SHOULD, by all means, be there to help him with the load of running the Underworld, can't be there half the time to help him get the excess work under control. Persephone, unlike the rest of the wives in the Greek Pantheon, has EQUAL power to Hades, which means that if she'd been able to be with him all year, they'd likely get the work done faster and could do things other than work.

Zeus makes a joke about Hades working himself to death, a few of the Olympians laugh, but again, Demeter and Persephone are missing from the scene.

Hades, however, is very upset at the joke at his expense and he mutters, "If only... If only..." when Zeus says he kills himself. Back in the Underworld, Hades says this about Zeus.

Now, we just saw Zeus be super welcoming to Hades at the party for Hercules. Why on Earth would Hades call Zeus "Mr. High and Mighty, Mr. "Hey, you, get off of my cloud"? I think Zeus behaved this way when Hades argued against the summons for Persephone to return to Demeter. Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld, and in myth, the reason Hades kidnapped Persephone? Her father, ZEUS, told him to do so.

Zeus is the reason for Persephone's kidnapping and marriage. Hades was following the law of Ancient Greece at the time. Ancient Greece was cool about many things, but women's rights? Not one of them. Greek men, if they wanted to get married, arranged it with the father of the bride. The mother and the bride herself had little to no say. So, in actuality, the one at fault when Demeter caused a mass famine? Zeus. The famine was actually targeting Zeus, because if all humans died, he'd get no more sacrifices, and all the dead become Hades and Persephone's subjects.

So I think that Zeus realized how ENRAGED Demeter was and made Persephone return to her mother, but Hades tried to argue against it because Persephone was his partner is a very demanding job and he'd gotten Zeus's permission, but Zeus used his title as King to force Hades to comply. As in, "I already decided, so we're done talking about it. Now, leave and go home." That would explain also why Hades says this:

Another thing I see as a hint to Hades attempting to overthrow Zeus because he's mad about the Persephone situation? When he's in the mortal world, Hades only destroys a few things. One is the statue of lovers that he uses as a throne when he's questioning Meg about Hercules's weakness, another is the vases of Hercules because he's mad that he can't beat him, but the other two? Plant life.

In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the main source for the Hades and Persephone myth, it's Demeter who brings back spring and plant life because she's happy about Persephone's return to her, not Persephone herself making the plants grow. While this could just be Hades taking out his frustrations on his surroundings, I find it interesting that he DECIMATES a grove of trees because Hercules is alive and could muck up his plans and that he burns a flower when he figures Hercules's weakness, which are often a sign of Springtime. It's almost like he's taking out his anger at Demeter's famine costing him his wife by destroying the plant life that Demeter creates as some small way to vent his frustrations. And speaking of Hercules's weakness, once Meg points out that monsters haven't been working against Hercules, Hades says this:

Now, given by this point, we KNOW due to "One Last Hope" that Hades and Persephone are married. I think this played into him figuring out to use Meg against Hercules. On top of that, Hades says this when Hercules is worried about innocent people getting hurt because of the deal:

I think Hades might have the same mentality about overthrowing Olympus. Having his wife back is more important to him than the ire of the rest of Olympus. Having his wife back is more important than keeping the Titans locked away. Having his wife back is worth being hated by all of Greece. Given the short time frame of his plot and all these other little things in his behavior, I really do think the reason that Hades decided to overthrow Zeus was so he could reverse the order for Persephone to spend half the year with him and half the year with her mother. But that's just my little theory/headcanon.

TLDR: I think the reason Hades tried to overthrow Zeus in Disney's Hercules was because he was angry he could only be with Persephone half the year.

[marvelous-bamf]

in honor of (its looking like) frank castle in born again episode 3, id like to revisit the beloved "punisher chains daredevil to the roof so they can have a moral debate" scene because i do think theres a couple of things that get glossed over

1. frank's line of "You know my moment of clarity came from the strangest of places... what the hell kind of name is the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, anyway?". the punisher was inspired by daredevil! hes technically one of the "devil worshiper" copycats. its why matt feels responsible for the punisher and by extension every person hes killed.

2. if frank had just wanted daredevil out of the way, he could have much more easily just left matt for the cops when he passed out. but he didn't want daredevil arrested or dead, just out of his way for a bit while he killed the dogs of hell.

the whole "tape a loaded gun to his hand and force a moral dilemma" thing was definitely not the original plan. matt just managed to piss him off so bad that frank said "actually FUCK this guy" and pressed pause on his entire plan just to go kidnap grotto

3. all "so why did frank do all that, was he just horny?" jokes aside. the moment that frank decides to go off script? it was when matt called him unhinged and insane. that's what made him blow up, probably because it's something he was afraid was true

to me the entire grotto thing was frank saying "i'm not crazy, because even your self righteous ass would make the same decision in my circumstances. you arent better than me". thus the "what kind of choice is that?" and "the kind i make every day" lines.

i don't think it was as much about forcing matt to kill, necessarily, but more about self justification and proving a point using a guy's life as an object lesson. this feeds into why frank doesnt try to force matt to kill again and in fact discourages him from it.

in conclusion: god damn am i excited for these characters to interact again.

[ordering-milk-at-a-bar]

The Apothecary's Travel Guide Chapter 2

--

Damn it… Dad’s going to be really worried.

A feeling of déjà-vu washed over you as you slowly came to. Kidnappings were no fun, you decided, and this was only your second time. What could people possibly want from you this time?

You could hear voices becoming louder the more you came to. Now that you listened closer, they sounded an awful lot like those strange travellers you met. Your father would tell you to not assume based on conjecture, but all the signs so far pointed towards one conclusion.

Hesitantly opening your eyes would only deepen your suspicions. The first thing you saw was the bright sun, making you squeeze your eyes shut and let out a displeased sound. Then there was movement beside you. Someone put their hands on your body, as if trying to shake you awake.

Daring to ‘wake up’ once again, you saw a head of messy brown hair. Strange clothes. Pointed ears. Yeah, it was as you thought: those travellers were back in your life. You recognised the face as the person you yelled at for bringing that waterskin.

“Are you okay? Can you stand up?”

Normally, you’d be the one to ask those questions. The irony of the situation was almost enough to get a laugh out of you, but the headache you were cursed with made you decide against it. Though your head throbbed and your vision was far from crystal clear, you pulled yourself up enough to sit rather than continue to lay on the grass and dirt below. Gathering the strength to actually stand up on your feet might still take a bit, though.

The young man beside you let out a relieved breath when he saw that you were doing well. Or, at least better than before. Thankfully for you, he had taken his hands off of you when he saw that you were conscious again.

Scanning the group that had gathered, you spotted all of the people you had met at the inn, plus two new, rather young-looking faces. But actually, now that you looked closer, one of those new strangers might just be short for his age, if his build and face was anything to go by. Still, the two of them had the same pointed ears. Admittedly, you were starting to feel very out of place.

“Listen, if you’re looking to sell me off, then, I’m sorry to say this, but someone already beat you to the punch.”

The one with the cape took a startled step back. “S-sell you?!”

Well, that certainly was a reaction. Was I kidnapped for information, then? Back at the inn they were asking some odd questions. They surely can’t expect to get that much out of one girl, right? Or maybe they plan to ransom me to the palace? Oh god, don’t tell me they’re keeping me around for their own desires. Your face immediately soured at the thought and you felt shivers run down your whole body.

“Oh for the love of-  we’re not kidnappers! And stop glaring like that!” This time the one with the red clothes shouted, pointing his finger at your less-than-amused face.

You, in fact, did not stop glaring. “Then why am I here with you?”

“Because we found you here! What were you doing here, huh?”

“Calm down, there’s no need to start pointing fingers. But he is right in saying that we did not bring you here.” Maybe you were right in labeling the armored one the ‘leader,’ after all. He clearly had the most authority among this group. They referred to the one with the scarf as ‘captain,’ so perhaps this leader has an even higher rank.

“The last thing I remember is walking back home until I was dragged away somewhere. Unfortunately, I did not see the one who did it, so I can’t give you a description of the culprit.”

After thinking about it for a few seconds, they all looked at each other. “I think we have a hunch.”

Clearly, they did not trust you enough with that information. “Where is this, anyway?” You didn’t recognise your surroundings; an open field with a well beaten path nearby. Given the position of the sun, you could not have been unconscious for very long, so you could only hope that you were close enough to your hometown to make it back before anyone noticed.

Your question seemed to strike a chord as multiple men looked away awkwardly or pretended to be busy so someone else would have to answer for them. This group was becoming stranger by the minute. Perhaps you should not rule out your suspicions just yet.

“Alright then, keep your secrets.” You huffed and picked up your basket. From the look of it, nothing was stolen, so they at least had the decency to not go through your items.

--

You stayed near the end of the small army as you walked. You would have liked to be the last one, but the ‘captain’ was seemingly insistent on staying next to you. Though you kept your distance from him, you were just slightly glad to see that he had recovered from his previous incident.

He was the first one to speak. “I never did get your name.”

“I’m just an apothecary from the pleasure district, lowly of birth. There was no need to give it.” You replied. “Besides, the rules of etiquette demand that one gives out one’s own name before asking for someone else’s, no?”

“Touché. Where are my manners?” He let out a chuckle. “I’m Link. Well, all of us here are named that, so we use our titles instead. Feel free to call me Warriors. The one you were arguing with earlier is Legend, and the one who stopped it is Time.”

Nine people sharing the same name? Now that was something you have not heard before. Could it be a family tradition? You have noticed the similarities in their physical appearances, so it was definitely possible that they were blood related. But, still, nine of them? That must have been rough on their mother. You cringe a little at the image your brain oh so generously created.

“You have strange taste in names.”

“Maybe.” He turned his almost sickeningly sweet smile to you. “So… May I have your name now?”

If he didn’t stop looking at you like that, you’d shove him into the creek next to the road. Still, you bit your tongue so as to not let out any unpleasant and unneeded extra words. “[Name].”

“A lovely name for an equally lovely lady.”

Ew. That was the only thing on your mind when you looked at him. What was he trying to accomplish here? Doesn’t matter, you’ll be staying away from him. He was really starting to remind you of a certain eunuch back at the palace, and if he was anything like that guy, he was going to create a lot of headaches for you.

Why isn’t it working on her? Normally women would be swooning over him and his words, but this one… Were you actually glaring at him? Huh. That’s a new one. For now he would pull further back behind the group and reconsider his approach. Maybe if he came at you with a different angle, he could get his information gathering plan to work after all.

A new voice cut through the awkward air. “You seem awfully calm about this whole thing.” It was the one with the wolf pelt that spoke. You think you heard the others refer to him as Twilight. “Normally, people would be scared out of their wits when they wake up in the middle of nowhere.”

You shrugged. “It’s not like this is my first kidnapping.” It seems you’ve unintentionally caught the attention of multiple people.

“What…?”

“A lot has happened.” You replied rather bluntly.

“Can’t you give us a short version?”

You paused, thinking of how to summarise what has happened so far. “Hmm… Kidnapped servant girl avoids awkward family reunion by becoming the world’s most enthusiastic poison tester.” Despite your attempt to condense the recent events in your life, you received a bunch of confused - and slightly concerned - looks.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“I feel like we’re missing some context here.”

“Wait. So when you said that you’ve been working in the palace, you were actually kidnapped and basically held hostage this whole time?”

“‘Hostage’ is taking it a bit far.” You interjected. “But yes, I was sold off to the palace as a servant and ended up getting promoted to poison tester.”

“You’re a poison tester? That’s so cool!” The child of the group shouted, stars practically shining in his eyes. “Have you ever caught someone trying to poison the food?”

“Yes, actually.” Though it was a shame I couldn’t swallow that poisoned soup.

“Good grief, why didn’t you try to run away if you were kidnapped? Or at least asked for help?” Legend was seemingly determined to fight you at every opportunity.

“Oh, that’d be nice.” Your voice dripped with sarcasm. “It’s not that simple. The palace has every right to come take me back by force or execute me for running away. I just have to keep working until either my contract expires or I get fired. Besides, I like my job as a poison tester.” You explained.

And the atmosphere was awkward again, with no one really sure on what to say. Should they offer their condolences for what happened to you? Ask if you were okay? The way you talked about your ‘situation’ so casually was… Unusual to say the least. “Unnerving” might even be more accurate.

To avoid talking about yourself more, you turned your attention to anything else. Like the side of the road. Yeah, that sounded really nice right about now. Now that you looked closer, you didn’t recognise a few of the plants growing nearby. That was strange. You assumed that you weren’t that far from home, and you knew all of the foliage that grew there, yet this one was unlike any that you’ve seen before.

“What is that plant, anyway? We’ve walked past them a few times.”

The one with long hair - Wild, you’ve heard - spoke up when he noticed the sprout you were talking about. “Oh, that? Those are just some medicinal herbs. Don’t know exactly which ones, though.”

Now that certainly caught your attention. “Wha- now you mention that?” Practically leaping towards the grass, you crouched down and began to carefully pick them. “These are good quality samples. Here’s more! There too!”

“Wow. I’ve never seen anyone get so excited over plants.”

Wars’ comment got a chuckle out of Legend. “What, jealous that someone’s not looking at you like that?”

“Don’t start with that again.”

“Hey, mister lady’s man, what’s it like to lose to some weeds on the side of the road?” The veteran continued the teasing.

“Drop it.”

“They’re not weeds.” You corrected from afar. “The term ‘weed’ would imply that these plants are a nuisance or grow in a place that conflicts with one’s preferences, needs or goals. These are anything but ‘weeds’.”

Wild could already see that you were going to be at this for a while. Maybe because he was also very enthusiastic when it came to gathering materials, but he could empathise with your little “collection frenzy.” But the group should really get going.

So he told Time to just go ahead with the rest of the gang while he stayed back until you were done. This did raise some eyebrows, but Wild promised to keep an eye on their new “travel buddy” to make sure they stayed out of trouble or didn’t get lost. Ultimately, they relented.

While the rest of the group kept going along the road, you continued your business, not even noticing that they’d left. Yeah, if this was how you always were, Wild was starting to see how someone could manage to kidnap someone like you.

“So what kind of medicinal herbs are these?” You examined a leaf you had picked out from the bunch. “Do they help with digestion? Stop bleeding? Dull aches?”

“Umm… I don’t really know? Does it matter?” Wild knelt down next to you.

“Obviously. How else am I supposed to know what kind of medicine I’m making?”

“Honestly, I just kinda throw everything into the same pot and hope for the best. I’m more knowledgeable in cooking than the healing arts.”

You looked at him stunned. How has he made it this far? “That’s it, I’m taking over the medicinal side of things from now on. I don’t want you giving someone with an open wound something that’ll cause them to have diarrhoea.”

Thankfully, Wild did not fight you on your declaration, realising that it was probably best to leave this kind of work to the professionals. In reality you just wanted an excuse to make something with these new, unfamiliar herbs. I mean, when does one ever get the chance to try out a medicine from a different world?

“You don’t know what these do and neither do I.” You muttered to yourself, eyeing the plant in your hand. “Well, only one way to find out.” Before Wild could ask what you meant, you shoved the leaf into your mouth and began to chew.

Hmm… Bitter… Kind of tough… A little dirty, to be honest.

“Does- does it taste good?” Should he try it too? He was getting kind of curious.

“No. Tastes rather awful, actually.” You said with your mouth still full.

And after you had swallowed your stomach started getting the rumblies. Temperature started rising in your mouth and your tongue began to tingle. The telltale activation of your gag reflex told you enough. Quickly you stood up and ran behind the nearest bush to empty the contents of your stomach while Wild cringed and looked away. Suddenly he was very glad he didn’t let his curiosity get the better of him this time.

“Are you okay?”

You wiped your mouth with a leaf you plucked from the bush. “Yeah.”

“We should start moving. The others already have a pretty big head start on us.”

“They do?”

--

Finally, you had reached a town bordering a dense forest. Though no one had told you, logic dictated that the rest of the group had most likely made their way into town. You were about to do the same, but Wild came to an abrupt halt. When questioned, he simply took his dark cloak off and held it out towards you, earning a confused look in return.

“You should probably put this on.”

“Why?”

“It’s just… Your clothes are very different from ours - and likely from everyone in that town - so you might get stared at.”

Fair enough, you supposed. This was not worth starting an argument, anyway. You draped the cloth over you and attached the metal clasp over your collarbone, making sure to cover as much as you could. When you looked over to Wild for a sign of approval, he motioned with his hands. The message was clear: lift the hood, too.

“What, is my hair a problem?”

“No no no.” Wild quickly got defensive, though he just as quickly apologised that he should have been more clear. “It’s your ears.”

“What about them?”

“Everyone around here has ears like us. People might see yours and think some weird things. More so than because of your clothes.”

“Fine.” You sighed and muttered in annoyance, but still did as you were told. “Honestly, you might as well just ask me to stay out here.”

Once you passed your ‘appearance check,’ the two of you walked into town. It didn't take long to find the rest of the group, who had broken up into smaller teams to cover more ground in the town’s small market. It wasn’t nearly as busy or crowded as the markets you were used to, but it still had that general familiar feeling to it.

“Oh, there you two are!” Sky called over from one of the stalls, arm waving in the air.

Four, next to him, paused his bartering with the merchant to look over in your direction. “Hey, you made it.”

“Stocking up on supplies?”

“Yeah. Wars thought it might be a good idea since we likely won’t reach another town for a while.”

You took a good look at the vares being sold. Apples and dried meat (normal enough), a few bundles of arrows (maybe this town does a lot of hunting, given how dense and large the forest just outside is), and what seemed to be more arrows, but they looked different. Red, crystalline arrowheads in the shape of a candle flame. Decorative art pieces, perhaps?

“Hey, nice! They have Fire Arrows!” Wild turned to the merchant. “I’ll take your entire stock.”

“Fire Arrows?” That’s new. You thought to yourself.

And when Wild went to pay for his requested items, instead of bronze or silver coins, or even the golden Yuanbao you’ve seen, he instead handed over some colourful crystals. Given that the merchant accepted them without a care, it was safe to assume that this was their form of currency.

That would certainly explain some things. The bag of “reimbursements” you received from them earlier suddenly made a lot more sense. When you had first opened the bag earlier and saw those same gems, you couldn’t decide whether they were overcompensating you or if you had been suckered. However, with this interaction serving as proof, your doubts were beginning to fade.

“Ah, I just remembered.” Sky spoke up, turning to you. “Wars and Twilight were heading towards the clothing store. You might want to join them.”

He had a point. Bidding farewell to the three, you left in the pointed direction, soon seeing a little storefront leading into a house and two familiar faces inside. Though it seemed that your rather quiet arrival and abrupt greeting caused them to jump slightly in surprise.

“Oh sweet Hylia!”

“Jeez. We need to put a bell on you.” This comment got a nod from Wars.

You only hummed in acknowledgement, turning your attention to the clothing items on sale. They were very different from the ones back home, that’s for sure. The materials were much rougher and less breathable than the silks you were used to seeing in the rear palace. No one in a high position would be caught dead wearing this, not even the lower ranked concubines. But you were a servant, so you were used to this.

You looked over your small selection. You didn’t want to go for a full set, much less multiple, so you settled on new boots meant for walking (because your simple shoes would not cut it), a tunic to throw on top of your regular undershirt, and a pair of pants. Yes, this should do it.

“Let me.” Wars flashed you another sugary sweet smile - which you cringed at once more - and took out a small wallet.

He was about to hand it over to the shopkeep, but you interrupted, taking a similar pouch out of your basket. “It’s fine. I have my own money.”

Might as well. You were not about to fall into one one else’s debts. Least of all his.

Oh, right, you don’t know how much each of these was worth. Why does this place have to use such strange currency? It would be one thing if it was coins, even ones that weren’t made of precious metals, but gems, and all of them a different colour of the rainbow?

But when you thought back to when Wild bought those arrows, he used the purple ones. Those were probably the best bet. Fishing a few of them out, you handed them over to the shopkeep. In return he gave two blue “Rupees.”

Alright, so the blue ones are worth less than the purple ones. Good to know.

Thanks were given and your little team left to reconvene with everyone at the edge of town. It took a few more minutes for everyone to arrive, but eventually, every “team” was able to give a rundown of what they’ve been able to gather.

“We asked around, but no one’s seen any black-bloods.” There it was again, that term that you still had next to no knowledge of. Not that it was the only thing you knew very little about; you really should have a proper sit-down-and-talk moment with these people.

“Though, it seems like people have been going missing lately.” Time added onto Legend’s earlier statement. “Most believe they’ve gone into the woods and have been attacked or abducted there, but no one’s seen or heard anything amiss. No sign of a struggle anywhere. They just vanish without a sound.”

Creepy. You thought to yourself. Sounds like the beginning of a ghost story.

--

The rest of the group was rather intent on finding the missing villagers, leading to all of you heading into the woods to investigate and - possibly - conduct a rescue mission. Hmm. Maybe they weren’t such bad people as you initially thought.

It certainly was quiet. No birds singing, no bugs, no little animals scurrying in the grass and bushes, barely even a breeze. There was a sweet scent wafting through the air, helping you relax. Perhaps the flowers in this place must have much stronger scents than you were used to? You haven’t seen any flowers nearby, though. This was too dense of a forest for a flower field, even if it was starting to thin out.

You heard a yawn coming from beside you, spotting Wind covering his mouth. At least he had some manners drilled into him. “If something interesting doesn’t happen soon, I’m gonna fall asleep.”

“This day hasn’t been exciting for you?” You half-jokingly asked.

After thinking about it he let out a childish “nuh-uh.” Still acts like a kid, huh? “All we’ve done is walk and go shopping.”

“And picked up a new person.” You added on as if he had forgotten.

“Yeah, but we’ve already had that happen with each one of us joining. It’s kind of old news to be meeting new people.” Guess he had a point there. “Even thinking about that is making me tired.” After letting out an annoyed groan, as well as another yawn - which had, in turn, infected Sky with how contagious it was - Wind’s face turned to you with an expecting look. “Maybe if someone were to tell some cool stories about working as a poison tester, I wouldn’t be bored to sleep.”

“Why would you want to hear about me eating a bunch of food?”

“Come on.” He was practically whining. “There has to be one interesting thing that’s happened. The only time I get to hear anything about poisonings is when Rulie decides to cook.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad.” Said hero was quick to defend himself. “You’d know if you actually tried some.”

You saw multiple people’s faces cringe in response, clearly disagreeing. Okay, note to self: do not eat the traveller’s food. Still, you gave Wind’s request some thought. “I suppose some interesting things have happened at the rear palace, though not when I was testing for poison. There were a string of mysterious deaths that I was tasked with solving.”

This time it was the Captain who joined in the conversation. “No offence, but why you?”

“I suppose it was because I would initially be asked how the victim died, but then I’d end up uncovering the method of - sometimes - murder.” You explained. “Then that scenario would repeat; give or take a few differences depending on the case.”

“I think Sun would like your stories. She’s always liked mysteries.” Sky mused.

“Who?”

“Ah, right. You don’t know her.” Sky let out another yawn. “She’s a close friend of mine.” Honestly, he didn’t really know why he brought her up. Was he really so sleepy that his brain wasn’t working right? Why did he feel so tired, anyway? They haven’t been walking for that long. “Huh. That sweet smell is getting really strong-”

His train of thought was cut short, however, when his legs gave out. As soon as his head hit the soft, mossy dirt below, he fell asleep.

The sight was a surprise to see, to say the least. Immediately you clued in that something was definitely not right. Wait. Sweet smell? No signs of life in this large forest, not even any birds or bugs flying around? All the people who went missing in these woods… The fact that all of you have been feeling really tired, even more so as this sweet smell is getting stronger.

“Don’t breathe in! It’s some kind of sleeping gas!” Using your hand, you cover your mouth and nose, all the while coughing to try to get as much of the ‘poison’ out as possible.

“Yeah, yeah, just let me rest my eyes for a second. I’m too tired right now.” Wind curled up on the softest pile of dirt he could find, not even caring about anything anymore. This sentiment was quickly echoed by many others, who all seemed to forget the world around them in favour of taking an immediate nap.

First it was the tiny smith, then the traveller, the ranch hand, the cook, the veteran, the captain - all of them fell, much to your confusion and horror.

You scanned the area with your eyes, spotting something strange in the middle of the clearing that you all had arrived in: a giant plant creature resembling the carnivorous plants you’d seen in textbooks, spewing that same aroma from its mouth. Panic set in your mind.

Damn it. What should I do? I don’t know how to fight this thing and the others are all already asleep. Should you run and get help from the town? No, there was no guarantee that you’d even make it there, or that there would be any people capable enough to defeat this monster. And running away would just leave the others in danger of dying even faster.

Regardless, you had to act now. It was ‘do or die’ time and the clock was counting down fast. You dropped your basket onto the ground and pulled a cloth towel from there, tying the fabric around your mouth and nose as a makeshift gas mask. Realistically, it would buy you only a little bit of time, but it was certainly better than nothing.

“[Name].” Turning your attention elsewhere, you spotted Time about to fall to his knees. Rushing over, you used what little strength your body possessed to help him hold himself up.

“Look.” He pointed towards the plant, near the roots of which lay multiple people. Ones which you couldn’t tell whether they were dead or asleep. “Those must be the missing villagers. Get them and yourself out of here.”

Watching the monster eagerly snap its teeth laden jaws at you made your confidence waver. “Forget it. I can’t get near that thing without getting eaten. Besides, what about you?”

“I’ll handle it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! You can’t even stand upright!”

And that was the last of the conversation as Time’s body slumped against yours, and fell onto the ground as you could not hold him up anymore. No amount of shaking and/or shouting could get the others to wake up, either.

Heartbeat was on the rise, your mind swimming with questions, limbs shaking as you succumbed to your panic.

A vine grabbed you by the ankle and began dragging you towards the monster’s awaiting maw. Running on pure instinct, you grabbed Time’s sword and brought the blade down onto the appendage with much force and little grace, trying not to hit yourself in the process. The monster pulled its injured ‘limb’ back, screeching in - what you assumed to be - agony, while the severed part of the vine continued to wriggle around, something you were fast to remove from yourself, tossing it away with disgust.

But now that you held the sword in your hands you realised just how uncomfortable it felt. You also had no idea how to even use it, so it was hardly a good fit for you. You placed the sword back at Time’s side, eyes searching for something you could wield more easily.

But, realistically, what could you do?

You couldn’t do this alone. If you kept this up you’d die. Soon, the gas would overwhelm you and you’d fall asleep or get eaten. You’d never see your father or sisters or friends at the palace again, never do your job again, never test poisons again; lost in a strange, unfamiliar place that you had no knowledge of, not even sure if you could entirely trust the people around you. The thought was enough to get your eyes to sting with tears. You needed help. Someone, anyone, please help.

But help wasn’t coming, was it?

The monster moved in for the attack, no doubt trying to end you as quickly as possible for revenge. Unsure of what exactly to do, you grabbed the nearest object to protect yourself; a rock just slightly smaller than the palm of your hand. Mustering up all your strength you threw the stone as hard as you could, hoping that it would do at least something. The rock just barely grazed the monster’s sharp teeth, but the contact was still strong enough to cause sparks by the monster’s mouth, the gas around it lighting up for a split second.

Wait. Sparks?

The gas is flammable. Immediately, the gears in your head started to turn. You could use this to your advantage. Now if only you had a good enough source of fire. Spark rocks were out of the question; too unreliable, they weren’t guaranteed to set the gas alight, and even then you had to be very close, which could end with you getting eaten, getting gassed, or setting off an explosion that would hurt you too. You obviously couldn’t build a fire, as you lacked both time and materials.

Fire. Fire. Fire. How to get fire?

“They have Fire Arrows!” And as if by divine intervention, you recalled Wild’s words from earlier in the day.

Now, you were no expert in weaponry, much less that of the magical kind, but you sincerely hoped that the name was accurate to what you were imagining. Diving towards Wild, you grabbed a bow from his back and an arrow with a bright, red, flame-shaped tip from his quiver. You’d have to apologise for taking his things later, even if ‘later’ might be just a pipedream at this point.

Though your hands fumbled with the placement of the arrow - you were certain that if any of the heroes saw your form they’d lecture and scold you for doing it wrong - you gripped the bow tightly and pulled the string back as much as you could. As you lined up the shot, you began to feel lightheaded. The gas was starting to get to you, making you lose your vision and sense of balance. It was getting harder to breathe. Your chest felt tight against the bandages wrapped around your skin.

Come on, please. You prayed to whichever gods were looking over you. Be it the Jade Emperor, the Buddha, your ancestors, or any other higher power you were not familiar with; it did not matter, so long as your voice reached them.

You let the arrow go.

The red gleam of magic left a streak in the air through which it flew. You could hear the sizzling sound of a small, yet blazing hot fire, as if you had just lit the gunpowder trail leading to a powderkeg. An apt comparison, actually.

Yet as soon as your hopes were beginning to rise, they were dashed against the rocks. The arrow lost speed mid-air, causing it to fall and impale the ground beneath, only about halfway from its intended target. You cursed your lack of strength.

You were tired. Eyelids heavy, limbs even heavier, vision losing focus, your grip on the bow fell slack, sounds muffled, as if your ears were stuffed with cotton. No, it couldn’t end this way.

Before you could reach for another arrow, your body collapsed. Trying to get up was an unbelievably difficult fight, perhaps futile, but it was one you had to endure. Not just for the sake of your own survival, but everyone else’s.

The plant, noticing your struggle, sent more vines after you. They grabbed you by the arm and neck, dragging you along the dirt. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think this was its attempt to humiliate and demoralise you further by battering your already weary body.

Yet this action by a mindless beast gave you the opportunity you so desperately needed. While letting it yank you towards its awaiting maw, you grabbed onto the arrow that had pierced the dirt, pulling it from the earth as if it was a weed or a legendary weapon. You hoped that it still had some firepower left.

The sight of sharp, conical teeth was not enjoyable. Neither was the experience of being lifted into the air by the neck. Even with another vine restraining your arm, you used that hand to pull at the appendage around your throat, trying to give yourself just a little bit of breathing room. The monster placed its mouth right up to yours, releasing a large puff of gas at point blank range. You coughed and sputtered, however the cloth tied around your mouth and nose did little to stop the sweet smelling, but deadly toxin from entering your body.

Now was your last chance. If you failed this, it was over.

Releasing a loud warcry, done moreso to keep yourself awake and focused than to intimidate anyone, you raised your one free hand, the one holding the arrow, and jammed the thing right down the monster’s throat.

More gas was beginning to release, yet it reacted with the arrow’s tip, causing sparks. Then more. And even more. Until a chain reaction was set loose, the tiny sparks exploded into a fire. The monster, being literally burned from the inside out, released its deathly strong grip, letting you fall to the ground as it screeched in agony. More gas was released, which was then lit ablaze, spreading more along the monster’s trunk, vines, leaves and exposed   roots, sealing its fate.

You struggled to roll yourself away from the quickly spreading inferno, trying to breathe for what felt like the first time. Your chest felt tighter than ever, like a lead weight was pressing in on all sides. Muscles and limbs begging, screaming for rest as you coughed out small puffs of smoke.

Sky yawned as he stretched his limbs. “Good nap.” Then the strong smell of smoke entered his nose, acting as effectively as a slap to the face for a wakeup call. “Fire!”

More people began to wake up, jumping to their feet at the sight. “Who started a forest fire?!”

“I swear it’s not my fault this time.” Wild looked at his bow on the ground next to him. That was not where he left it. Also, one of his newly bought Fire Arrows was gone. “... Probably.”

Four grabbed his attention. “Well, what are you waiting for? Help us get this under control before the whole forest becomes a literal hellscape!”

“R-right!” Scrambling to his feet, Wild set about extinguishing the fire.

Meanwhile, Time, having fully recovered just after, ran over to your unmoving body and pulled it away from the scene just before some burning vines could collapse on top of you. “[Name], are you alright?”

“I’m tired…” And just like that, you were out like a candle. It was honestly a miracle that you even made it this long.

“Is she going to be okay?” Hyrule asked, after having dumped the contents of his waterkin onto some remaining flames.

“Let her rest. Based on us waking up, she should sleep it off soon enough.” The older man replied, setting you down by a tree. “Besides, I think she’s earned a nap.”

“More than any of us, that’s for sure. Yeesh,” Warriors huffed as he looked over at the damage done to the clearing. How in the world could one girl, an apothecary from another world - one who obviously had no fighting skill to speak of - do this much to a monster of that calibre?

Four spoke up, also looking at the site. “You can say that again. We nearly got turned into plant fertiliser.” The smith then gave whatever remained of the plant’s head a good kick, causing it to crumble. Whether this was him letting off his frustrations or to make sure it was really, truly dead, didn’t really matter.

While the others were busy discussing the events that had taken place (at least, the parts that they witnessed), Hyrule took a few steps closer to their new sleeping companion.

He had noticed the red strangulation marks on your arm and neck. Clearly, that monster nearly succeeded in killing you. Though you didn’t show it, mostly because of how spent you were, you must have been terrified. And who could blame you? No weapons, no fighting experience, no backup because all of them - the heroes who were supposed to be fighting to save people - were useless on the ground, sleeping as if nothing was wrong. You noticed that something was wrong, you tried to warn them, you saved them. Saved them twice now.

“Is it a bad time to point out how she’s done more for us than we have for her?”

All eyes present turned to the traveller.

“I mean, she cured Warriors’ poisoning, gave us medicine and whatever info she had, and now she pulled all our butts from the fire again, even at the very real risk of her own life.” He paused. “I know we all have our suspicions and she has hers, but I don’t think she’s out to get us. If she did… If she was really sent by someone to take us out, wouldn’t she have simply left us back there? It would have been the perfect opportunity, wouldn’t it?”

“It’s still odd how she just so happened to get through a portal right after we met her.” Legend muttered. “She’s not a fighter, I know it, you know it, she knows it. She’s not a hero like us; she’s just a regular person.”

“The postman has followed us through them, hasn’t he?”

He had a point. Things didn’t seem to add up when they analysed their stance.

After giving it some thought, Time spoke up. “We’ll keep an eye on her for a while longer. There’s still a lot we don’t know for certain. But if she proves herself to be genuine in her desire to help, then we should let her.”

--

Never have you woken up feeling so tired. Even stretching felt like a chore.

“Good morning. You were out for a while, we even managed to set up a makeshift temporary camp.” Oh, you really did not want to deal with that flirty captain’s jokes. “Come on, I’m sure it’s not very comfortable down there.”

Lending you a hand, he helped you stand up and lead you to the middle of the aforementioned camp, where there was a small fire and a cooking pot filled with bubbling soup. But your limbs were still heavy, so you sat down on a felled log. 

Wild handed you a bowl of hot food, which you graciously accepted.

Warriors took a seat next to you. “So, you killed your first monster. How do you feel?”

You let out a groan. “Like I was dropped down a cliff.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” He let out a chuckle in response. “All joking aside, you did good. Defeating a powerful monster like that all on your own, and with no prior fighting experience - I doubt you realise how impressive that really is.”

“I just got lucky.” You rubbed your neck, feeling how sore and painful it was. “Had I made one misstep or hesitated for one second, it would have been over.”

“That reminds me. How exactly did you beat it?”

“I noticed that the gas it breathed out was flammable.” You explained. “So I grabbed a Fire Arrow and used it to ignite the gas from the inside.” It was then when your face took on a ‘guilty’ look. “Sorry about taking your things without permission, by the way.”

“It’s fine.” Wild reassured you. “Those were meant for combat anyway. I’m just glad I decided to buy them.”

Silence returned to the makeshift camp, no one quite knowing what to say. You turned your gaze to the few unfamiliar bodies near where the remnants of the plant were crumbling into fine ash. “So… What do we do with them?”

“I suppose we should bring them back to the town.” Time suggested after some thought. “The locals will probably want to bury their loved ones instead of letting them rot here.”

Yes, that was probably the better option. They might not even believe you if you told them what happened and didn’t bring back any proof. You certainly wouldn’t.

--

After recovering some more, and having had some food, you were beginning to feel a lot better. The others had already begun to pack things up and prepare to leave. And that meant having to move the bodies.

“Oh man, this one’s heavy.” Hyrule huffed, trying to lift one of the corpses. “Apothecary, could you come help me?”

“Sorry, no can do.” You said, packing up your own things. “My Master has strictly forbidden me from touching corpses.”

Twilight butted in, almost effortlessly aiding Hyrule. “That right? Is it for some cultural reason?”

“... Yes.” In reality, it was due to something completely different.

“[Name], you must not come into contact with the bodies of the deceased. If you don’t stop now, you’ll get curious and soon you’ll be digging up graveyards for your experiments.” That’s what your father actually told you. Man, that lecture was a pain to sit through. Totally not because he had just the slightest bit of a point or anything. No, everyone knew that that would be the desecration of the dead, and therefore, wrong.

While the others were occupied, you moved closer to the ashen remains of the monster. It fascinated you. Never in your life have you thought you’d encounter anything like it, and you couldn’t help your curiosity. Nothing notable remained of the burned bits, but because it was an immoble plant, it had to have roots; roots that could not have been damaged, roots that you could study.

Digging a little under the dirt you found what you were looking for. Thick, sturdy roots untouched by flames. Perfect.

The ranch hand - distracted from his previous actions by the digging noises - came up to you. “What are you doing?”

“I figured that I should take some samples.” You asked for a knife and used it to cut yourself a piece of the plant’s root. “I could potentially make something with the sleeping toxin, like a gas bomb or maybe even an antidote.” Or maybe you could use it as incense, selling it as sleep medication for insomniacs or those who just want to relax. There were already so many options swirling in your head, making you giddy. Maybe you should take just a little more, in case you run out.

Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw you eagerly weighing your choices, muttering to yourself about the possibilities. “You sure love your work, huh?”

“Yes I do.” You smiled to yourself with pride.

“Oh my gosh, this one’s still alive!” Wild shouted to no one in particular. All heads trend to him and the man who was being helped to stand up by the hero. “Are you hurt? How are you feeling?”

Both you and Twilight came to help, with Twilight holding the man up with Wild and you to conduct a physical examination. The man was certainly out of the loop, with his demeanour being that of a surly drunk, but he didn’t have any severe injuries. He must have been one of the more recent victims.

“Thank goodness.” You breathed out in relief. It was hardly more than a whisper, but still heard. To be more specific it was heard by Twilight, who most certainly took note of it.

--

After making sure that the one survivor was sober enough to walk, you all packed up your things and left the forest behind. The walk back to town did take a bit long, but seeing the man’s face light up at the sight of his home made it feel worth it.

The man was given back to his family, who were crying tears of joy, before all of you were questioned as to what happened and where everyone else was. It was then when you - or at least the people other than you, as you preferred not to take the spotlight - had no choice but to explain what happened, including the deaths of the other missing villagers. Though very obviously disheartened by the info given, they still thanked the group for helping get rid of the danger and for bringing at least one person back.

A few of the heroes awkwardly glanced back at you when they received the credit, but you shook your head. It was better this way. There are some things you can’t hold back. Curiosity, a thirst for knowledge… And just a smidgen of a sense of justice.

“Please, at least take shelter in the local inn before you go.” One of the villagers pleaded. “You can recuperate and clean yourself up.”

It was then when you finally noticed just how dirty you had gotten. Oh great. You just had a bath and now you had to take another. The offer was taken up. It would have been awkward if they hadn’t, even if sleep was the last thing on everyone’s minds.

--

The inn was rather nice, actually. It was similar to the ones back home, only a lot more modest, both in colour and decorations. But you liked the humble quaintness.

You ended up sharing a room, but you weren’t particularly bothered by the fact that it was with Wind. Sharing a room with someone else would have been a lot more awkward and less comfortable for you. Though you suspected that the young boy would be trying to keep you up later to hear more stories from you.

Finding the bathroom was easy and thankfully the innkeeper was more than happy to heat up the water for the bath you needed. You should enjoy this while you can. Given the group’s plans, you’d all be leaving the town tomorrow morning and travelling by foot hardly meant a lot of chances for hot baths. You sunk further into the tub, letting the steaming water sap your soreness away.

Though the water barely moved as you relaxed, your mind was active. There was no denying it anymore. You had to face the fact that you really were in another world now. You had your suspicions, but no matter how far fetched it sounded, it was the only explanation that made sense. This was no dream; the fight from before, as well as the injuries sustained from it - and the pain that accompanied them - were proof enough. You wondered how long it would take to get back home. The distance between seemed even farther than ever.

Once thoroughly clean again, you stepped out of the tub and examined yourself in the nearby mirror. Geez. That monster really got you good, given the large red mark wrapping all around your neck. You wouldn’t be shocked if it would leave bruises.

Oh. Your freckles were gone. Well, that shouldn’t be too surprising, I suppose. Dried clay does not do that well against hot water. You remembered that your makeup was in your basket back in your room. For once you were glad that Big Sister Meimei was so insistent on having you take some of her cosmetics with you before you left. They would help in concealing your injuries. Now that you thought about it, you should probably change your chest bindings, too.

Putting on your new set of clothes you peeked out from the bathroom, looking out for any passerbys. Could you make it to your room without anyone seeing you?

Well, no time like the present. Shutting the door behind you, you quickly shuffled your way down the hall towards your room. You were just about to go up the stairs when someone turned the corner and the two of you collided.

Damn it. You were sure that you didn’t see or hear anyone coming.

Thankfully, the other person caught you before you could hit the ground.

“Ah, sorry about that. Are you okay?”

Oh no. You recognised that voice. Opening your eyes you were met with not the usual armour, but a green tunic and a blue scarf.

For a moment, time seemed to stop.

“Who are you?”

--

I want you guys to know that this shit hurt me. I wanted to get this out way sooner, but I had like no idea what to do with it, then got a random burst of inspiration, it disappeared and left me with a chapter that was both too long and too short at the same time. Also I had to deal with my (upaid) internship stuff for like an entire month which really ate up my schedule and left me with very little inspiration.

If you know that one bit from the Great British Bake Off where the guy was like “started making it, had a breakdown, bon appetit” - that is me. That is how I felt writing this piece of shit chapter. I looked at the word count when I was only about halfway done and it was well over 4000 words and the final thing ended up being over 8000. I suffered for this, y’all better appreciate this istg.

Also, I wanted to make it clear that the sword that [Name] grabbed off of Time was his Gilded Sword, not the Biggoron Sword. She obviously would not be able to lift it, let alone swing it.

@rustic-lowborn I think you meant you wanted to be a part of the taglist for this fic, but let me know if you were talking about something else

[ffverr]

Ok so let me add my two cents to this and say how it isn't a good reference to Ororo and Scott's duel or history.

To do that I'll also compare McKay's reference in Avengers (2024) #18, which is just the proliferation of a fanon cliché at best, with Hickman's reference in House of X and Powers of X, which actually understands the context of the source material.

Storm and Scott's duel in issue #201 of Uncanny X-Men happens in a very specific context that both modern writers and fanon either forgot, don't know or misinterpreted it over time.

I-The necessary context:

Jean grey dies

Scott is deeply hurt by that

Over something like a dozen issues he decided to actually leave the X-Men as he doesn't feel up for it anymore.

The leadership of the team is naturally passed down to Storm that has always acted as a second in command to Scott. He often asked her opinion on plans and she often found last resort solutions when he was backed up against a corner.

On his "hiatus", Scott meets Madelyne Pryor. They fall in love, get married and Maddy is pregnant with a child as we learn when they reappear on the team in the mini: Alpha flight Vs X-Men.

Storm acts as leader of the team but goes through many changes, like losing her powers, which rattles her to her core and gives her some insecurities about her place in the X-Men as a leader.

An Asgard adventure tells the story of Storm and the new mutants getting kidnapped by Loki.

This emergency makes the rest of the X-Men call Scott back to the team's leadership for a rescue mission.

Madelyne is brought to Westchester to wait for the return of her husband.

After the X-Men's comeback from Asgard, The trial of Magneto is happening in Paris, where they are attacked by evil Mutants. They're immediately teleported to that emergency.

Charles Xavier almost dies, but is at the last minute rescued by the Star Jammers and his love interest Lilandra in order to get emergency care.

Charles is stranded in space, and no X-Men knows if he's even alive

This hurts Cyclops enormously.

During this long absence on the X-Men (asgard+trial of magneto), Madelyne gives birth to their child, Nathan, alone at xavier's mansion as Scott is gone fulfilling his momentary duty.

After their return, Madelyne feels like this huge absence from Scott and his half frequent comebacks to the team is making her lose him bit by bit.

So, with Charle's status as presumed dead, Scott, very paranoid and depressed, does the only thing he sees fit at the moment. Come back as leader because the team needs him without Charles around. This is Scott's pathetic attempt at regression to familiarity as Charles being dead and him becoming a father is a COMPLETELY new and very scary situation he's not sure to handle.

Becoming a leader again is a delusional idea considering he has pledged his presence and loyalty to his wife and newborn, in ALASKA, and Storm is already leader of the team.

Madelyne, pushed by the insecurity of her husband's lack of presence in their family, begs Storm to challenge him in a duel in order to banish the thought of leadership from Scott's head.

II- THE MISCONCEPTION ABOUT THE DUEL:

Storm didn't initiate it! She did not challenge Scott because she thinks she's a better leader than him or because she wanted to prove herself or even gain the leadership of the team for the first time (as some seem to think?).

She was ALREADY leader and completely agreed with Madelyne that Scott had to stick to his new family and responsibility as a father and husband. Ororo knows Scott extremely well, especially from an emotional stand point. Most of the time she sees right through him and she understands that this decision to come back to the X-Men as leader is coming from a place of deep confusion and loss. It's a coming mechanism for him, and she's not about to let him indulge in it when he's got new and more important responsibilities.

Thus, she complies with Madelyne's request and beats Scott in a duel for leadership.

#201 Uncanny X-Men

He snaps out of his delusional state (in which he couldn't even bring himself to communicate with Madelyne or be happy about the birth of his kid by the way).

He feels completely lost and dejected and comes back to his family. His relationship with Madelyne becomes distant and strained.(This plot continues in X-Factor).

Storm keeps on being leader of the X-Men and goes through her own hardships and journey for self determination.

So, no. Mackay's vision as this moment in time being "Storm can't go back to being under Scott's leadership because she's better than him or too cool to be a part of an X-Men team she doesn't lead" is utter bullshit.

III-Text, meta and fanon:

This fanon vision of the duel and later history between the characters just further carves the drift between storm and her friends that is already prevalent because of how many writers like to dehumanise Ororo as a character and limit her personal emotional relationships to the X-Men to a maximum.

Her and Scott have a deep friendship built out of mutual respect and their shared grief over Jean's passing.

God loves, man kills

She doesn't believe that her and Scott "can't go back to getting orders from one another" that's just a misconception....

The truth is, neither one or the other would mind taking orders from each other considering they work insanely well as co-leaders. (As they did during their time on the team as leader and second in command from #94 to Scott leaving the team)

The Meta problem :

The issue, of course, is meta-textual, and shouldn't be baked into the text.

Storm hasn't "outgrown" being on an X-Men team or being submitted to hierarchy. This is just mixing up meta textual and text.

Yes, as a character, Storm deserves to be pushed forward as a leader. It's a spot that suits her and puts her in a very interesting head space. It would be unfortunate for FANS and for the journey of the character to keep her subordinated to other leaders.

HOWEVER this isn't a feeling she has in comics. That just makes her relationship with Scott oddly bitter when in actuality, there is none of that...

Not to say they both don't enjoy a little fun teasing competition as "who's the best leader?" But it isn't that deep. It's not something they actually genuinely querelle about.

McKay's reference just feeds into the misconceptions about them and it sucks because they love working together! And this vision of their relationship just puts a useless drift between them that would, in the long run, take away their interactions from us.

To me, it's a cheap textual justification of why she wouldn't join Scott's Alaskan team when in reality she's just not interested in whatever fight he's fighting and thinks that at this moment she's meant for bigger things (protecting the entirety of planet earth, in natural continuation to her responsibilities on Arakko). It would have been completely fine to just say that instead of sticking it on them having a power struggle.

IV-Hickman:

Hickman's reference though is quite good! Not perfect, but it holds an overall good understanding of that spot in their relationship. (And their friendship in general)

In hoxpox Scott says "Once, I thought I was strong -- a leader of mutants. And then you showed me what strong was."

This line stays up for interpretation. But for me, it's Scott recognising that at that time, because of Jean's death and Charle's presumption of death, he wasn't in the right headspace to be a great X-Men leader. He was still dealing with a lot of codependency of Charles and jean and didn't just yet actually stand on his two feet in a way that wasn't fragile, strained and harmful for HIMSELF.

Meanwhile, Storm had lost her powers! She was going through a very very hard identity crisis. Dealing with imposter syndrome and overall depression. But that didn't completely hinder her leadership like it did Scott. She rained in her problems and handled the team the best she could.

Scott running away from his responsibilities as a father because of how complicated his bond to the team's leadership and members is, wasn't real strength. But Storm dealing with these life changing moments and still holding her ground was strength.

And that duel taught him this lesson. And that's why Hickman's reference is great. Not because Storm is an objectively better leader than Scott or whatnot, but because the two of them learned lessons about personal strength and perseverance from each other.

Storm responding with "I learned it watching you" is the cherry on the cake because she did. To a certain extent, on a tactical aspect, Scott taught her a lot about leading missions and that's undeniable.

Anyways, ted talk done.

Stan Ororo and Scott! The greatest leaders of the X-Men! Don't pit them against each other and leave their friendship feeling odd and distant for no real reasons. They'll never grow over cooperating.

[blacklunardice]

✦Falling for the Same Darling — Lin Kuei✦

Request: Can u do a short story where sub-zero, smoke, and scorpion all have the hots for the reader and they end up kidnapping her? + Someone also requested some headcanons for them too.

Warning(s): Possessive Behavior, Kidnapping, Mentions of Punishment (Spanking, Isolation), Mentions of Unwanted Touching, Slight Guilt Tripping

Note: I don't really do one shots as of now, so these are a headcanon/scenario type of thing. This had been requested twice and I've decided to write out how they are as yanderes separately and how they'd be if they all fell for the same person. Anyway, this was fun to write! :D

For starters, I have this feeling in my gut that Kuai Liang and Tomas are more willing to work together if they find out they like you. The two of them wouldn't really see a need to fight over you, given that they want the same thing. Basically to protect you from any dangers the world could throw at you.

The same can be said for Bi-Han, but...he's a bit possessive... I saw this but know that's a bit of an understatement. He butts heads with the two younger Lin Kuei members. Sure, he is aware of how capable they are, but he believes he can fully protect and provide for you on his own. He's pretty adamant and territorial.

The only way he would fold and actually give in to sharing you is if Kuai Liang and Tomas take some much-needed time to convince him. They'd bring up how it would just be needless violence and fighting if they dueled for your affections when they can all just come to an agreement. They bring up the benefits of this arrangement. You'd be fully protected by all of them and no one would really want to approach you when there are going to be three ninjas who can practically wield the elements.

So in the case of the two convincing Bi-Han, he begrudgingly agrees. I will mention that there is going to be tension between him and Tomas, unfortunately. He's okay with sharing you with Kuai Liang...but Tomas is another case. He always did treated the younger member differently ever since their father adopted him and that hadn't changed. It's usually Kuai Liang who stands as a mediator even when the tension escalates.

✦Bi-Han — Sub-Zero✦

This man is hella possessive; even before deciding to kidnap you. It wouldn't be surprising if he was the one to suggest it. He is a man who takes charge and has confidence in his decisions. Bi-Han believes that having you within arm's length is for the best (again, due to his possessiveness). He was going to go through with the kidnapping on his own! To his annoyance, though, his brother had caught on to his plans. It was not hard to pinpoint that he felt some type of way about you, but you may mistake it for dislike or that he despises you. It’s since he has a resting bitch face and many assume he’s glaring at everyone within the vicinity. Still, his younger sibling knew better and understood his deep affection for you.

He’s almost the same when you’re within the walls of the Lin Kuei after the kidnapping. Bi-Han remains tense and cold as ever even in your presence. He does get annoyed when you want to push yourself away from him, which prompts him to pull you back to him aggressively (not in a way that hurts you). Your place is right here and he’ll always remind you of that. Still, he is told to be gentle in his approach towards you, especially if he wants you to come to him and willingly stay by his side. Bi-Han understands this, despite his grumbling, and tries to be softer. It’s a little difficult for him, but he at least tries.

It’s better to be caught by the other two than him if you ever try an escape and fail. This man is very blunt and his words are as sharp as icicles when he lectures (maybe to the point of berating you) you after dragging you back to the home. He doesn’t hold back and he has to be pulled away for a moment to have time to cool his temper down. He won’t hurt you — especially if  Kuai Liang and Tomas have anything to that. The worst he would do is spank you or make you sit in a room alone. He’s a little bitter after your punishment is over and it shows. He gives you pointed looks, dragging you close to him, and overall gets more demanding.

✦Kuai Liang — Scorpion✦

Kuai Liang has your best interest in mind before and after the kidnapping. He deeply cares for you and would hate if you ended up fearing him or his brothers. Discovering Bi-Han’s plan to kidnap you was something. He had a suspicion that his elder brother was up to something the moment he noticed his gaze on you. It was the same way he looked at you when you were not looking. The situation is definitely complicated, but he doesn’t want conflict between him and Bi-Han since he knows it won’t end well. Every choice and negotiation he makes is all for you and your sake. It’s safe to say that Kuai Liang is fiercely loyal to you and would move heaven and Earth to make sure you’re okay. So he falls into the overprotective yandere category, but at least he can keep a cool head.

Your comfort is assured while under their roof. He understands that you need time to adjust, so he doesn’t push you. However, he knows that Bi-Han and Tomas are not the same as him, so he must remind the two that this will take time. Yes, he does want to hold you close and never let go, but he won’t be hasty. Even so, there are times when he wants to be just a little selfish — to just bring you in his arms without any hint or indication of his actions.

He scolds you if you ever try to escape, but at least he’s not as harsh as Bi-Han. No, he’s just a little disappointed that you would even attempt to leave. I don’t know why, but I can see Kuai Liang guilt-tripping you a bit to make you feel bad. He brings up how the three of them have provided you with everything you need, so it is foolish to want to leave. After the lecture, he sighs, holding you close and making sure you’re not injured. If it's your first attempt, he won't punish you. However, you are not going to be let off the hook with any attempts after this. You're not going to be left alone at all, since alone time is considered a privilege. If you want that back then you'll have to make up for it.

✦Tomas Vrbada — Smoke✦

Soft. He is very soft towards you and practically adores you. Tomas definitely was the one to fall for you first out of the three. He is a bit clingy and maybe obsessive since he hangs off of every word you say. He can’t really help it since he enjoys your company as he gets to know you. However, he does have some possessive traits and they show a little the moment he notices how Bi-Han is looking at you. He frowns at this, at first not sure how to make of this. Tomas knows for sure that the older Lin Kuei member’s gaze is not out of distaste. No, he knows better. There’s a bitter taste in his mouth. He just…cannot allow Bi-Han to pursue you; you deserve better than that. He’s always felt a little out of place within the family and that is purely due to Bi-Han, so there is a bit of anger towards the older man. Then he learns about the plan to kidnap you. It almost sets him off and if it weren’t for Kuai Liang, he would have confronted Bi-han himself.

Sharing you with the other two within the walls of the Lin Kuai is fine. He can take what he can get and he does want what’s best for you. Despite reminding himself that, Tomas wished he had you all to himself. It felt a little wrong to be this selfish, but the cryokinesis user does not make the situation easier. Again, as mentioned before, there will be tension between these two. Tomas is the most approachable and you’ll probably feel the most comfortable being around him. Even so, he does tend to get in your space a lot. If you show discomfort in any way, he will back off a little…but only until the next time you two spend time together. Once again, he can’t help it; he loves being around you. It’s either that or you dealing with how Bi-Han is. Yes, he would absolutely put himself as the best option (especially compared to Sub-Zero).

Tomas is going to make excuses for your attempted escape. At first. When noticing you are gone, he is calm but his mind is racing. He assumes that maybe someone from a rival clan had taken you away or something else had happened. The moment he gets you back, he asks questions. He does not want to believe you left because you don’t want to be with them; to be with him. It would break his heart. He wants to know what can he do to make things better. Is it Bi-Han? Are you homesick? Do you not feel loved enough? There has to be a solution to this…and no, you’re not going back home. That would defeat the whole purpose of bringing you with them in the first place. You would be asking for too much.

[tangerinesgirl]

Hi! Can i request vampire Frank smut where he and the reader had been flirting the entire night, and at the end he is a vampire and has killed all the others(including lambert and abigail) and the reader is the only human left, hut since Frank took a liking to her ,he ends up asking him to stay with him and they end up fucking to "satisfy the flirting" plssssss (ur an awesome writer btwww)

Fuck Around, Find Out

**SPOILERS FOR ABIGAIL (2024)**

Reader x Frank (Abigail)

Word count: 1.3k

Rating: 18+, nsfw, explicit

Warnings: flirting, smut, choking, violence, language, technically p in v but no explicit reader body parts mentioned, Frank being feral, rough sex, some hints of enemies to lovers

Notes: tysm for the kind words! 💕 Sammy uses they/them pronouns for reader once, but otherwise reader has no specific gender, so everyone can enjoy this fic! Some use of Y/N.

🦇

You freak out. Everyone freaks out. You've all just put a death sentence on each others heads by kidnapping a freaking vampire. Did Lambert know? How could he do this to us? Lots of thought are going through your head. You snap out of it and see Frank choking and threatening Peter. The whole operation has gone to shit.

Frank drops Peter as he admits defeat. Frank has clearly lost the plot too, you decide you have to be the calm voice in the commotion and maintain composure.

"If you put your hand around my neck, you'll lose it", you snap at Frank, letting him know his actions were completely out of order.

"Oh yeah?", he swaggers over to you, putting the back of his palm on your cheek, stroking it. "And...what about putting my hand around a different body part?"

A click. Frank looks down, your gun pointing directly at his crotch. "I don't know. Try it. Fuck around. Find out."

Frank is clearly impressed, he tries to hide it but you can see the glint in his eyes. You squint as you smile at him sarcastically. He backs away, with his arms held up in surrender. You holster your gun in the dip at the back of your jeans. Frank swipes a hand through his hair, either in exasperation or to try and maintain a calm appearance somehow. As he does so he gives you a subtle wink, and gives each member of the crew a plan to take down the ballerina vampire.

*

Frank, Sammy and Peter essentially tumble down the stairs after their encounter with Abigail. You and Joey look at each other as if to say "we told them so", and start working on the casualties.

You walk over to Frank, "You know this is the second time I've saved your life tonight".

"I wouldn't count a pencil to the hand as a fucking life saving event."

"Hey lead poisoning can be very fatal."

"You know there's not actually any lead in-"

You pull the stake out of his leg in one swift motion, Frank cursing every deity under the sun. You quickly bandage his leg up to use as a tourniquet, it's not great but it'll do for now, at least it's stopped the bleeding. Frank looks at you with gratitude, but is too self-righteous to say anything. You look at him and can't help feeling more attracted to Frank seeing him disheveled like this. You quickly snap out of it and start tending to Peter's wounds.

As you're working, you can't help but see Frank in the reflection of a bookcase looking directly at your ass. You smile to yourself and turn around, "Hey we're supposed to keep grab ass to a minimum, remember?" Frank smiles and looks you up and down, clearly thinking unholy thoughts. Your body shivers as he does, goosebumps appearing on your skin.

Sammy chirps in, "Yeah, they're right. You were fully checking them out, you weren't even subtle dude."

Frank barks at Sammy, "I think the rules have gone out the fucking window now. And maybe you should mind your own fucking business and flirt with Peter some more."

"Sammy is flirting with me?" Peter is dumbfounded, but low-key delighted.

Frank rolls his eyes. You swear if he rolls them anymore tonight, they may as well turn into marbles.

*

You back away from Frank, slipping on Lambert and Abigail's blood, the warmth seeping through your jeans, you try to find purchase with your feet to try and stand up. Frank is clearly relishing in his new found life, this is what he's always wanted afterall. Pure unadulterated power. He feels his new fangs with his teeth, moaning, you feel awkward yet somehow aroused watching him, maybe you should leave and give him a moment. He snaps out of his daydream as you start to stand up. Frank tilts his head, curious, looking at you like a wild animal and smirks. "Like what you see?"

You don't say anything. "Come on Y/N, we had such a good thing going earlier. I can tell what an impression we made on each other...what I made on you."

He grabs your shirt and pulls you closer to him, he takes a deep sniff of you. "I can fucking smell it on you." You recoil as you can smell Frank's blood on his breath, but it's also somehow...hypnotising. Primal. "I mean you've clearly got me going, I've got you going, we have chemistry... We just need to get it out of our system. Don't you agree?"

You think over the events of the night, you can't help but feel somehow more attracted to him? Even if it is totally wrong, after seeing him stab a guy quite literally in the back. But seeing Frank just being given eternal life and the power he's always hungered for... and he's choosing you?

You nod slightly.

"I'm going to need you to use your words."

"Yes sir."

Frank wastes no more time and crashes his lips into you like a man starved. You try to grip on to his face or his hair, but you can't find purchase as the blood makes your hands slip. The metallic taste invades your taste buds as Frank kisses deeper, pushing you against the wall. Frank's hands roam your body, his hands slide down the back of your jeans, grabbing your ass as you grind into him.

You unbutton and remove your jeans and underwear and start to undo Frank's zipper and pull down his pants. You can't help but widen your eyes at the size of him, and he notices, this will only fuel his cockiness even more. His lips smash back into you, he can barely keep himself off you as he moans into the kiss. Frank briefly snaps out of it as he feels your hand on his member, positioning him at your entrance. Frank lifts up your legs to wrap around his waist, and pushes himself into you.

The air escapes your lungs as he thrusts inside you in one push, your back slamming against the wall. The size of him hurts at first, but he fills you up oh so good. Of course Frank is bigger than average, he clearly knows, it's all in his attitude. Frank thrusts into you, moaning every time he does. He puts his hand on the wall behind you to try and push into you deeper, but the wall swallows his hand up, leaving a huge hole in the brickwork. Frank still needs to know the limits of his new vampire strength.

Frank gets agitated and aggressively picks you up, him still inside you. He swipes his arm to remove all the items off a nearby desk and lays you on top of it. He grabs your legs to forcefully move you to the edge of the table as he continues to fuck into you. You can feel the table buckling underneath you. You try to tell Frank when-

The desk collapses on the floor, you still on top of it. Luckily Frank's hands were still underneath you, cushioning most of your fall. Frank doesn't care in the slightest, the only thing that matters in the world right now is fucking you. He continues to pound into you. You swear he growls in your ear at one point. You can feel yourself starting to clench around him as you reach your peak. Frank notices and puts a hand around your neck, squeezing slightly. This is exactly what you needed to send yourself over the edge, you cum around him, hard. Your legs wrapping around his waist, your walls squeezing him tight.

Frank lets out a gutteral moan as he arches his back as he cums inside you. The warm liquid starting to seep out of you. He feels amazing, all of his senses heightened. He comes down from his high and takes himself out of you. He dips two fingers into the pool forming underneath you. He runs his fingers along his fangs and licks them clean. He mumbles an "oh yeah" under his breath. Frank looks at you, spread out on the floor, the room a complete mess. It really is a sight to behold. He bites his lip, "I think I might just keep you".

[ridox]

A Theory on Caleb and MC’s dynamics —

Now that our beloved Pilot is back from the dead with a new preview I have several theories regarding his and MC’s past involving Ever

(I’m also back with theorizing this year now that we’re finally getting main story progression and updates!)

All theories under cut! 🦾

What struck me the most about the preview was the line “They are the optimal weapon for destroying one another.”

Alongside the information we got that Caleb’s EVOL is classified as gravitational combat.

We already know that Grandma was a former researcher for EVER that adopted both Caleb and MC after the experimentations done to them. Whether it was green lighted by EVER or not is not entirely sure yet but we could infer that EVER didn’t mind so long as MC was with Caleb and Grandma (more so Caleb). Why?

I think Caleb was sculpted by EVER to be MC’s demise if her EVOL goes out of control. He was made as a Plan B if their efforts to suppress her EVOL did not work.

MC is essentially carrying the power of a planet’s core inside of her (re: see Xavier’s myth regarding MC and her role in saving Philos). EVER wanted to make sure that if things ever go south they would have an asset behind them that could take out the threat.

And the closest asset they have to her is Caleb himself. Too much gravitational pull could make a planet collapse in on itself. MC’s Anhaunsen Class EVOL could be the push that Caleb’s EVOL needs to trigger that. Except he doesn’t want to kill MC, he’s grown to attached to her and have been keeping her in the dark when it comes to his space missions as a feeble attempt to save her.

EVER has had their eyes on MC since she was a child, but she didn’t became a liability until the supposed guardians the company assigned to her mysteriously died. But we now know that Caleb isn’t actually dead.

Of course, it only makes sense that EVER is going to save him. He’s their only weapon against MC should she decide to awake her full power and wage a war against them. Caleb is the only LI linking them to her because all the other LI’s have grudges against EVER.

Case in point:

- Xavier doesn’t trust Ever for experimenting on Wanderers. It’s also been suggested that former backtrackers who formed a grudge against their prince for ‘abandoning them’ has made it known that they’re also out of MC and possibly even started working with the company to annihilate her.

- Zayne doesn’t trust Ever for their involvement in practicing dubious medicine involving protocores. One of his specialties as a doctor is dealing with symptoms of protocore syndrome and from his branch we were able to see just how much distrust and disdain he has for these people.

- Rafayel’s involvement is hazy but possible that he has some inkling of a doubt about the experiments Ever has been doing behind closed doors. He’s a possible asset to them after all if they get him. Former God of the Sea and one of the few remaining Lemurians alive today. We also know he made a deal with a representative of Ever during the auctions so there’s no doubt he actually knows their shady business on the side.

But this is where it gets interesting for me!

Sylus has direct contact with Ever in the N109 Zone and he has all the reason to involve himself in their business after they involved him in theirs. We know Sylus was gone for an unnamed amount of time and within that timespan the two explosions had happened. They pinned it on Onychinus afterwards to take advantage of Sylus’ missing status.

It also just make sense that once he got a wind of it, he’s going to investigate what really happened. Sherman was most likely bought off by Ever to do their dirty work in the N109 Zone and possibly to kidnap MC once they got wind that she’ll be at the auction. I feel like through those series of events Sylus was able to find out that Caleb was in fact still alive and has been tasked to get MC back to Ever’s hands.

Alas! These are all merely theories. I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts. I’m so excited for the Main Story Update more than anything.

[rae-pss]

Hello, may I please ask for headcanons for la squadra reacting to their s/o turning absolutely feral when they got backed to a corner. They got kidnapped and they turned crazy, like they bite their captor’s throat and rip it out, blood and all and scratch their eyes out. Please

masterlist

˗ˏˋ꒰ 💭 ꒱ . . . okay, read this one and got quite of like "huh...?", imagine the scene was something for sure. i'll make this as them all dating reader, simply because it wasn't specified. hope you like it, dear anon (<3).

˗ˏˋ꒰ 💭 ꒱ . . . lowercase intended, mentions of blood and slight gore.

–the nerve someone had to kidnap you wasn't anything normal, especially considering who you were affiliated with.

–to say that madness spread through the base as soon as they realized your absence was an understatement.

–there were hours in which the group of seven men did everything and more to find where you were and, once they found out your exact location, plan in detail how to attack and get you out of there with the least possible damage.

–so, imagine their surprises when upon entering where you were, they found themselves face to face with a scene that not even in their worst dreams they could fathom.

more under the cut

–blood, a lot of blood on the walls and floor.

–two limp bodies on the ground, neither being yours, their throats bitten to the point where their heads almost looked decapitated. crimson puddles surrounded the corpses, an expression of horror evident on their faces.

–however, what caught the group's attention the most was, without a doubt, how your lips, your jaw, you were stained with the blood of those two… what had you just done?

—of all, the most concerned duo is, without a doubt, prosciutto and pesci. they both can't help: one, fearing that you had hurt yourself, and two, worrying about how you had done that. even the older one screaming at you for doing that, although, he later apologized for shouting at you after such a stressful event. and, the younger one, almost started crying, yet with some words from yours he managed to relax.

—risotto was, to no one's surprise, the one that reacted the calmest; simply asking if you were okay and sending the others to help clean up any evidence that could incriminate you. yes, once in the solitude of his room, he hugged you as if it were the last time he'd do so and whispered in your ear how worried he actually was.

—the first thing illuso and formaggio did, after putting on an expression of pure surprise, was laugh and joke about the massacre you did. in spite of their concern for you, knowing that you were fine, they both decided to take it more as something funny that you'd laugh at in the future, yes, they both gave you hugs (illuso did so in secret).

—melone was in charge of checking to see if you had any injuries or physical wounds, which you didn't have, much less the marks from the ropes with which they tied your hands and possible damage to your jaw from such bites that you launched. he laughed softly, and despite that, he left a kiss on your forehead telling you not to do that again and to give them a little more time to get there.

—if you think prosciutto yelled at you, wait until you see the reaction ghiaccio had. the poor guy lost his temper faster than usual, commenting loudly on the madness of it all. more exalted one couldn't be. although, later, once he had calmed down, he also asked for your forgiveness.

[reiding-writing]

macarons and misunderstandings [ s.r ]

Summary:

You coax Spencer into joining you in a bakery café that your friend recommended you to visit whilst on a case in NYC, and although it starts as two friends getting lunch together, it doesn’t end that way.

WARNINGS: minor swearing, wholesome miscommunication

pairing: spencer reid x gn!reader

genre: fluff, just the most sickeningly sweet wholesome fluff

wc: 3.4k

masterlist!!

a/n: rest assured, i will be returning to my comfort zone of hurt/comfort for my next fic bc i cannot write wholesome stuff for the life of me 😭

“Alright, take a break everyone, we’ll pick this back up after everyone’s had the chance to eat,” Hotch’s voice rings across the NYPD conference room alongside the closing of the file he was reading from, and he tucks the manilla folder under his arm as he stands. “I want you all back here by 1:30,”

There’s a small chain of nods and ‘yes sir’s before the team is rising from the table and grabbing their belongings to vacate the police station to go and get some lunch, and you manage to catch Spencer right before he leaves. “Hey Spence-”

“Hm? Yeah?” He does a full U-turn with his body, almost walking straight into you in the process if not for his hand still holding the door open to give him a point of balance, and you have to stifle a small smile that tries to break its way onto your face.

“You got any plans for lunch or can I effectively kidnap you for an hour?”

Spencer gives you slightly furrowed expression although doesn’t seem opposed to the idea. “I’m not sure that was the best way to word that but no I haven’t,”

“Yeah probably not-“ You let out a small breath that could almost constitute as a laugh. "Anyway, apparently there’s a really good french bakery like two blocks away from here, we should go check it out before Hotch changes his mind and decides we’re confined to the station,”

“Right… yeah uh-.” Spencer laughed softly, encouraging you out of the door ahead of him before following behind you. “A bakery sounds really nice actually,”

"My friend told me about it when she was down here for fashion week, she said it has some of the best pastries she’s ever tried," You emphasise the word ‘best’ with your hands, and Spencer’s eyes followed them as he got caught up in your enthusiasm.

One of your favourite things about your oddly-developed friendship with Spencer was that you could do things like take a trip to a bakery together without a single hint of awkwardness.

Long since had the silences between you held any unfamiliar tension or apprehension when it came to getting to know each other those five years ago.

It was comfortable. Secure. And you weren’t entirely sure it was just a ‘friendship’.

“Did she happen to mention what type of pastries they have?” Spencer asked you, his eyebrows raised with genuine curiosity.

"She specifically mentioned the almond croissants, although i’m also eager to try their lemon crêpes because they sound absolutely amazing," You continue to exaggerate what you’re saying with your hands as you push open the door of the Police Station, exiting into the cool autumnal breeze of the New York City streets.

Spencer followed closely behind you, nodding along to what you were saying as he placed his hands the pockets of his tattered trench coat. Although, he wasn’t entirely listening to the words leaving your mouth, too focused on how the autumn breeze blew your hair softly and how the partially concealed rays of sun made your eyes look like they they held all of the stars in the milky way.

"Ooh, and macarons-" You turn towards Spencer as your excitement about what pastries to get overtakes any lingering thoughts of the case you’re working on, gripping onto his sleeve with your left hand.

You were excited about the pastries; He was excited about the warmth of your hand through his sleeve.

“Macarons do sound good. You know what would go really well with them?” Spencer looked at you as he spoke, smiling like you’d ripped the sun from the sky and given it to him as a present. “Hot chocolate.”

"Oh you are so right-" You give an immediate sharp nod at Spencer’s suggestion, sliding down his arm to rest on the inside of his elbow, fingers pressed gently into the slight curve created from where his hands rested inside his pockets.

To the unassuming eye, the two of you most probably looked like a couple out on a date, your arms linked and Spencer looking at you like you were the only person in existence.

Spencer was very aware that the way you touched him made it look like you were in a relationship.

And it made him feel a little giddy.

He had to force himself back to reality. He wasn’t in a relationship with you. All he was doing was going out with you as a friend to grab some pastries for lunch. That’s it.

"Okay so we have definite yeses to macarons and hot chocolate, I feel like we’ve gotta get at least one almond croissant considering how much my friend was raving about them, anything else?"

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a crêpe before. Maybe we should try one of those?”

Spencer had a sudden urge to kiss you, and he didn’t really know why. Maybe it was gentle heat of your fingers against his arm. Maybe it was the light pink flush on your cheeks from the cold breeze. Maybe it was the fact that he’d been subconsciously pining after you for years to the point where he could barely think of anything else.

"Yes. Definitely. 100%." You give the inside of his elbow a small squeeze at the prospect of introducing him to the delicacy that is french crêpes. "I cannot let you live a life without crêpes in it."

Spencer nodded along arbitrarily, not listening to a single word that you just said as he internally imagined how it would feel to have your hands in his hair and your lips on his skin.

Why wasn’t he in a relationship with you? You were just… perfect, and he was really into you.

He felt like there had to be a reason why you weren’t together, but that train of thought made Spencer fluster to the point he was afraid you’d be able to see it if he thought about it any longer.

"Aha," You make an exclamation of victory as the bakery comes into view, pushing the door open with a soft bell chime and tugging Spencer inside with you with a gentle but excited insistence.

The bakery looked amazing, although much closer to a café. It had a small quaint European feel to it despite it being on a main Street in New York City, and surprisingly, it wasn’t that busy either. It was the exact type of bakery that Spencer had hoped it would be.

You scour the chalkboard menu for a second to make sure they actually had everything you wanted before going up to order, and Spencer noticed as your hand slid downwards to the inside of his wrist so that you could lean forward to see the chalk whilst still keeping yourself anchored to him.

He was definitely blushing now, his heart taunting him as it pounded against his chest.

Spencer wanted to ask you to kiss him, or at least hold his hand, but the thought of bringing attention to the unspoken connection the two of you had may ruin it stopped him from saying anything, not wanting to risk losing what he currently had in the very minor instance of gaining something more.

"You’re alright with sharing a croissant and a crêpe right? I figure it might be too much otherwise-"

Spencer nodded with a smile. “I don’t mind sharing a croissant and a crêpe with you.”

You give him a beamed smile and a nod as you leave his side to go and order, shutting down his offer to pay before he could even suggest it.

He subconsciously ran his fingers over his wrist as he waited for you, trying to compensate from the loss of your touch and the gentle warmth that accompanied it as he watched you engage in polite small talk with the cashier.

You looked so sweet. So perfect.

"let’s sit outside yeah? it’s a nice day," You retreat back towards him with a tray balanced in your hands, two mugs of hot chocolate joined with four coloured macarons and a single croissant and crêpe, carefully distributed to balance the weight as you carry it.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Spencer nods at you softly, a wistful expression still on his face as he takes you by the elbow in order to help you carry the tray safely.

The reinstating of your previous contact brought a small flush back over his cheeks, and even through his hands were only brushing against the fabric of your shirt, it still felt oddly intimate.

The two of you walk over to a vacant table, set under a large parasol that casted the table in a comfortable shade.

Spencer took a seat across from you as you both sat down, separated by a small table in between the two of you.

Funny how a little table could do that.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Oh my god we are definitely coming back here next time we have a case down here-" You give a satisfied sigh as you wipe your fingers on a serviette, placing it inside your empty mug and pulling out your phone to check the time.

1:17.

You should get back to the station.

The thought of having to go back dampened your mood a little, and not just because it meant you now had to spend the rest of the day bent over a desk to curate a profile.

You really enjoyed spending time with Spencer like this, whether it be accompanying him to a new museum exhibit or driving him to buy his groceries so he wouldn’t have to sit behind the wheel.

It was a small highlight of your time not spent working, and you always found yourself disheartened when it was time to leave.

“We should definitely come back.” Spencer looked at you as he spoke, catching the mild change in your expression. “Are you okay?”

“Hm? Yeah- yeah i’m good,” You give him a nod and a reassuring smile as you stand from you seat with him following not long after you. “Just not exactly looking forward to going back to work,”

“Yeah I understand what you mean,” Spencer gives a small laugh, stuffing his hands back into his pockets again.

"We should do this more often you know,” You tilt your head slightly at him, the words leaving your mouth without any thought behind them. "I uh- enjoy spending time with you like this,"

“I enjoy spending time with you too,” Spencer smiled gently.

He looked at you, feeling a slight bit of courage at your confession of enjoying spending time with him one on one.

Come on Spencer, just ask them out already.

"I’m glad," You give Spencer a half-laugh, turning away from him slightly to hide the flushed nature of your cheeks from your embarrassment.

Spencer’s eyes studied you, and he felt like now might be the time. You two were still technically off work, you loved spending time together, and you’d just spent the last half an hour listening to him rant about the new book he was reading whilst the two of you drank hot chocolate and shared french pastries with each other.

You weren’t just friends. You were more than that.

At least he hoped so.

“Can I take you out… on a date?” Spencer’s voice was soft, but it carried confidence.

"A- date?" You stop walking in the middle of the street, your body re-directing any cognitive functioning to focus on computing Spencer’s question.

Spencer stopped as you did, eyes entirely trained on your expression. He couldn’t help but look at how beautiful you were right now. Your face painted with a blush and a mild look of confusion characterised through the slight furrow in your eyebrows.

“Y- yeah… do you want to go on a date with me?”

Of course it was okay if you didn’t. It wouldn’t hurt Spencer. He’d handle the rejection. Right?

"I- Yeah-" You nod quickly, a little too enthusiastically if you were to think about it logically. “Yes,”

"I’d love to go on a date with you-" You’re words are rushed and slightly muddled together as you hastily agree to his proposition, but they get the point across.

Spencer’s face lit up with a blush as you said yes.

That’s wonderful news.

A small grin spread across his face. “I’m glad…” The words slipped out without Spencer realising it, joined by a notable fluster.

He was glad.

He was absolutely thrilled about the fact you want to go on a date with him.

Spencer was so incredibly grateful that you said yes.

“Wouldn’t- I mean- We just like went out together and got food and talked and stuff- was that… a date?-“ You gesture your hand back to the bakery café the two of you had just left.

You weren’t exactly wrong, and he understood your confusion.

“I suppose it follows the motions of a date,” Spencer looked at you, overtaken by how perfectly ethereal you looked with the breeze fluttering against your shirt and a blush covering your cheeks.

“But an actual date would be much more romantic.” His words were confident, even if he was embarrassed that he was admitting to you just how much of a romantic he was underneath his façade of being uninterested in finding someone.

"So it wasn’t a date?” You raise an eyebrow slightly, fiddling with your sleeves. “Because I want to kiss you but if it wasn’t a date then I can’t because you can’t kiss someone without going on a date with them first because it breaks date etiquette-”

Spencer’s eyes widened as he listened to you ramble without taking a single breath. You wanted to kiss him?

You wanted to kiss him.

You wanted to kiss him.

Spencer was trying to keep his emotions in check as he stared at you. Your words made him tingle with excitement. “Um… you can- still kiss me if you want…?”

You shake your head with determination. “You can’t kiss someone before you’ve been on a date with them,”

Spencer looked so utterly confused.

So, you didn’t want to kiss him?

He wanted to kiss you.

“Why not? Your logic makes no sense. Why can’t kiss me?” Spencer was so utterly confused, his eyebrows knitted in a way that made you want to plant your lips between them as he tried to understand what your issue was.

"My logic makes complete sense-" You cross your arms over your chest as you gesture for the two of you to keep walking with a nod of your head.

"Everybody knows that you never kiss somebody until the end of the first date, it curses your whole future relationship otherwise,"

Spencer couldn’t help but stare at you blankly.

What he heard you say was wrong. Really wrong.

You should kiss someone whenever you want to kiss someone. Especially if they’re your crush.

But you were adamant you couldn’t kiss Spencer because of this stupid arbitrary rule.

"Well, if you’d have agreed to my judgement that our bakery stop was a date then you’d be getting a kiss," You shrug your shoulders nonchalantly, lips pressed into a straight line. "But you don’t, therefore I can’t kiss you,"

Spencer stared at you in disbelief as you spoke, before his eyes widened.

He knew what you wanted to hear, and so he gave in.

It was the only way he’d get a kiss.

“Okay okay- It was a date at the bakery I was wrong-”

He hated how desperate he sounded, but you were so beautiful, you were stunning, you were the most gorgeous person he ever met.

Spencer wanted to be with you. And you were giving him an in to finally press his lips against your perfect face.

"Are you sure?" You furrow your eyebrows at him in mock accusation, agains stopping in your tracks to stand in front of him with your eyes fixed on his face.

Spencer sighed. “I��� yes. It was a date. I was just being silly…” Spencer took your hand for a moment as he spoke to you, interlacing his fingers in yours and feeling the warmth of your hands against his frigidly cold ones.

He wanted you to know that he felt a lot differently towards you compared to how he’d felt about anyone else.

You were special.

And he wanted you.

"Right you are pretty boy," You give his hand a small squeeze as you use your other to cup his face, pulling it towards you with a gentle insistence so that you could press a chaste kiss to those perfect pink lips that had just been begging you to silence them. "You were being silly,"

Spencer’s face lit up with another blush as you called him pretty boy.

Of course you thought Spencer was pretty. Not handsome or beautiful.

Pretty.

He let himself be pulled in closer as you spoke to him teasingly, telling him that he was being silly.

And then… your lips. Pressed against his with a soft pressure that he gladly returned.

That was all it took for Spencer to feel like the luckiest man on earth.

"Here’s to a successful first date," You chuckle softly as your lips part, your noses brushing as you lean back to admire the rosy tint to his cheeks and the beaming smile that accompanied it.

Spencer felt so happy. So overwhelmingly, sickeningly happy.

And so, he did a thing that he never thought he had the courage to do. He pulled you into his arms, leaning in to kiss you with so much fervour that you were relying on the strength of his hands on your waist for stability.

Spencer didn’t know when he’d get the opportunity to do this again. So he was 100% going to make the most of it.

You can’t help the smile that erupts on your face as he pulls you in again, your hands cradling his cheeks and your head tilted ever so slightly to the left as you rested your weight into his hands.

If you’d recorded this moment and told him it was a scene from a cheesy romance movie he would’ve believed you.

As the two of you reluctantly pull away due to the unfortunate human necessity of breathing, you catch a glance at the watch face on the inside of your wrist.

1:29.

“Shit- We really need to get back to the station.” Your hands fall from his face to grab one of his own, pulling him down the streets as you hurry back to the police station, mildly out of breath and still completely flustered.

“So-“ Spencer pulled a small resistance against your hands as the two of you stopped outside of the door.

“We’re going on a second date once we get home right?”

[thranduel]

the writers have purposefully made so many parallels between will and el (as individual characters and their relationships with mike) that it would make no sense if nothing happens with byler

before i start, i need to make it very clear that pointing out the fact that el pretty much came out of nowhere and, in a way, unintentionally ruined a huge part of will's life, is NOT bashing el as a person or character. she was just a child when she opened the gate and it wasn’t done on purpose to hurt will. also, she did not intentionally "steal" mike away from will. she loves him so much and he loves her too, and she did not plan for any of the pain he’s suffered.

BUT, the writers did.

and this is something we need to acknowledge, because if they plan to keep mike and el together after EVERYTHING they've done to will, that is extremely cruel and horrible writing, and i'll explain why.

the writers wrote their story in a way that will was basically replaced by el since the beginning.

there were SO many other ways for them to introduce el as a character without hurting will and ruining his life, but they didn't. and to cause extra pain, they decided to:

- make him gay and in love with mike

- make him get kidnapped because of a mistake el made

- have him stuck in an alternate dimension cold and alone while mike and el develop a relationship and start a romance when he’s literally not there

- be forced to watch mike and el be all lovey dovey in front of him while they CONSTANTLY ignore him (this happened throughout BOTH season 3 and 4, there was NO growth from either of them whatsoever)

- and then had the audacity to use him as a plot device to force mike and el back together while he suffers all alone… AGAIN.

here are some more examples and details of how will has been "replaced" and why mike and el's entire relationship is a slap in the face to him:

season 1

will goes missing because of the gate el opened and disappears from mike's life. el comes along and appears in it, essentially "replacing" him in the party and filling the empty spot he left behind.

they also chose to make el show up in the woods, close to where will’s bike was last seen, and many people in town actually thought el was a boy and mistook her for will.

there are so many parallels between them, like they are two sides of the same coin, but the writers chose to ruin will's life and then have el practically "replace" him in his party AND get the boy he loved first (again, not her fault directly because she didn't plan to do that on purpose, but the WRITERS did).

to make things even worse, will is traumatised and scarred for the rest of his life because of this gate being opened, but many people don't want to acknowledge that.

i constantly see comments like "will owes el his life! she helped save him!" and it's infuriating because he wouldn't have needed saving in the first place if she didn't open the gate?? like obviously it was kind of her to help save him and she risked her life which was a massive thing but it was also kind of what she owed him considering it was her fault he got taken in the first place! he was in danger BECAUSE of her mistakes. also, will's life didn't suddenly become good just because he was rescued. in fact, it got WORSE. he suffers with ptsd, anxiety and depression, and he already suffered with these things because of his childhood, but now it's even worse. he literally has a part of the mind flayer INSIDE of him even now and he also has to watch the boy he loves fall in love with someone else.

copying mike and will’s story + parallels

all the selfless and compassionate things mike did for will FIRST were essentially copied and pasted, and the writers made mike do the exact same things for el (but of course, because el is a girl, those gestures are automatically "romantic" now).

we haven’t seen mike do anything like this with dustin or lucas. this shows is that his relationships with will and el are different to his other relationships, but i just find it interesting how they had no creativity for mike and el. they just basically copied mike and will’s story, which makes it even more insulting to will.

when mike first met will, he:

- walked up to him and asked to be his friend

- saved him from being alone and ended up becoming will’s safe place

then in season 1, he:

- cried and hugged his mother after he saw his “body”

- looked through something that reminded of him (his drawings) in his basement when he thought he lost him

- tried to talk to him on the walkie talkie because he heard his voice

- never gave up on him and did whatever he could to find him

does that sound familiar? because they did the same thing with el.

- mike met her when she was alone and gave her a place to stay

- after she sacrificed herself, he cried and hugged his mother

- in his basement, he looked through something that reminded him of her (the star wars ship) on the couch in the SAME SPOT where he looked through will’s drawings first.

there are so many parallels between mike’s relationships with will and el. parallels can be beautiful and meaningful sometimes, and i love the similarities between will and el as individual characters especially because they've both been through so much and end up becoming closer when they become siblings, but i do NOT like that the gay character is the one that stays alone and has to suffer the entire show.

obviously if this is all leading up to byler being endgame, then it would make so much sense and these parallels would be extremely smart, especially if viewers go back and rewatch and pay close attention to every little detail.

but if they plan to keep mike and el together after making will suffer AND copying so much of mike and will’s relationship to use for mike and el, that’s absolutely horrible. there are too many parallels between them and the thing that people need to remember is that everything between mike and will happened FIRST. all the beautiful, meaningful, emotional things that make these relationships so special happened with mike and will long before it happened with mike and el. THAT is the difference here. mike met will and saved him from being alone. he lost him and then never gave up on finding him. he became protective of him once he returned. these are just a few things, but notice how mike and el’s story basically goes like that too?

the only difference between byler and m*leven is that they forced mike and el to be romantic because they’re a boy and a girl. people always try to use “but mike called el every day!” as proof of him being in love with her, but he did the same with will when he was missing. in fact, he did even MORE. he physically went out of his way to try and find him. he told everyone he was still alive. he wouldn’t listen to anyone that tried to stop him from finding will. even the cops warned them to stop, but he didn’t. he didn’t even do any of that with el and just kept everything to himself. i understand the situation with el had to be more secretive and was difficult for many reasons, but he didn’t even mention it to dustin and lucas who were also close to her. and yeah, he called her for a long time, because she was missing for a long time! they found will fairly quickly so of course he wasn’t searching for him as long as he was searching for el? but if will was still missing, of course he never would’ve given up on him either. he still went out every single day searching for will.

season 2 + season 3 + season 4

mike became extremely protective over will after he returned.

- he stayed by his side and made sure he was okay

- they had beautiful, meaningful scenes and heart-to-heart conversations where they would be there for each other

- he even got a bit defensive whenever someone else would come near him

- when will was possessed by the mindflayer, mike said a beautiful monologue where he told will about the day they first met

- he said he walked up to will and asked him to be his friend and that it was the best thing he’s ever done

again, does that sound familiar?

- the writers decided to make mike become protective over el after she returned at the end of season 2

- but in season 3, instead of beautiful, meaningful moments where they had heart-to-heart conversations and comforted each other like mike and will did, they just… made out and excluded all their friends. real nice

- anyways, in season 4 when el is being choked by vines, mike is basically pressured into a monologue where he tells el he loves her (because he knows that’s what she wants to hear since that was what their fight was about) and he talks about the first day they met

- he claims his life started the day he met her in the woods, which we know isn’t true, because he was a traumatised 12 year old searching for his missing best friend and he knew nothing about romantic love. he also doesn’t believe in love at first sight and didn’t fall in love with a stranger he barely knew. he was literally planning to send her to pennhurst the next morning

- anyways, it’s obvious they tried so hard to copy mike’s meaningful monologue to will but totally failed. most of the audience thought mike’s monologue to el was extremely forced and cheesy. it’s even more insulting because they chose to make will have to sit there and listen to it while being heartbroken.

more from season 4

in the airport scene, will is extremely excited to see mike (he looks even more excited than el). he has his painting in his hand and he’s ready to hug him, but mike doesn’t hug back because he’s clearly struggling with his own personal issues and feels like he needs to push will away. will doesn’t know why he’s acting so cold though, and this makes him feel insecure and upset. his mood changes from this point forward, and rightfully so (el notices all of this too).

now here’s where it gets so infuriating. mike and el cling to each other and el says “i want today to be about me and you”, right IN FRONT OF WILL WHEN HE IS STANDING RIGHT THERE. like are you actually kidding me?! mike was will’s best friend FIRST. he has known him much longer than el and he was just excited to see his best friend. why couldn’t el even TRY to include him? she saw he was upset. she saw he just wanted to spend time with mike too. “they’re dating and were just excited to see each other” is no excuse to treat will so horribly. you can date someone while still including your other friends. the way they had the audacity to hold hands without even looking at will in the roller rink was just immature and selfish. if mike has internalised homophobia then at least that KIND OF explains his behaviour and allows us to understand him more (it still sucks but still), but el has no reason to treat her brother like that. he was literally comforting her and asking if she was okay the previous day when she was alone and upset. but when will is alone and upset? absolute silence 😭

anyways, the only reason mike said “i love you” to el was BECAUSE OF WILL. yet another example of will being replaced, and this time, the writers made will do it to HIMSELF. the van scene was supposed to be a special moment between mike and will ONLY. that painting was something will worked so hard on for mike.

since the beginning, will’s artwork has always been very personal and special to both of them and no one else. mike collects his art and has it all over his basement walls. will saw that mike was feeling insecure and upset and decided to sacrifice his own feelings for him just to make him happy, because THAT is how much he loves him. he used el’s name as a disguise, replacing his own in the process, to help mike and el’s relationship even though he didn’t have to. this is what led to mike telling el what she wanted.

so in the end, will gets hurt and suffers alone, el gets told she’s loved, and mike is just… the same. literally the same. basically just reduced to el’s boyfriend and nothing more. it’s so frustrating.

anyways, the writers have basically “replaced” will with el in so many scenarios, and they’ve also copied so much of mike and will’s relationship and used it for mike and el. it’s even worse because they’re doing all of this to an abused and traumatised gay character who has suffered almost his entire life. i know almost every character has trauma in this show and i genuinely want them all to be happy too, but the deliberate things they’ve constantly done to will is actually ridiculous.

if they wanted mike and el to be a couple, they didn’t have to drag will into it and make him go through so much pain because of them.